Now that I’d had a little time to think about it, my answer waffled. I valued my friends’ lives above my own, and if it was within my power to save one, I would.
Yes, Ethan would double-cross me as suspected. But I’d be aware of that going in and have ways to circumvent him. And even if he came up with ways to circumvent me, it could still be a win for my team. If I ended up in an Anima facility, I could free the boys and possibly damage a branch of the company.
Torture and death were the only downsides, but I was in danger of the latter every day, no matter where I happened to be.
We searched the apartment. Besides a few pieces of furniture and a TV, the place was empty. There were no secret compartments or hidden cubbyholes that we could find—just a chair and a few empty bags of chips and cans of soda. It looked like the guy had been holed up, just waiting for us to show up.
We finished canvassing the building, and it wasn’t long before we found the clue we’d so desperately needed. A fortysomething woman had gone outside to smoke the night of the attacks, and she remembered seeing a teenage boy being put inside a dark sedan and hearing two guys in black talk about where to take him. Dr. Hodad or Dr. Rangarajan. The men in black had laughingly decided on Hodad.
Hopefully he was listed.
But when were things ever that uncomplicated?
Darkness had fallen by the time we finished, and the proof-of-life photos still hadn’t come in.
“What’s next?” I asked.
Lines of tension framed River’s eyes. “You’re welcome at my place.”
I looked to Cole. We could go to our new safe house instead.
But he shook his head at me and said to River, “Sounds good.”
Well, okay, then.
“My boys will work a little computer magic and learn everything they can about this Dr. Hodad.” River smiled without humor. “The more we know, the more likely we are to hit him where it hurts and get the answers we need.”
Agreed.
We met up with the other group. Cole pulled Frosty aside, and the two engaged in a heated conversation.
I couldn’t hear what was being said.
“I told Frosty we wouldn’t have any problems, and I was right,” Kat said, beside me. “Now he’s even more ticked, thinking I’ll want to accompany him on every mission.”
“Is he right?” I asked.
“Hardly. This kind of sucked.”
Good.
The boys returned, but Cole wouldn’t meet my gaze.
O-kay. Clearly he had a problem. Thinking about me offering to trade myself for Justin, perhaps?
Yeah. Definitely. In other words, date night had just become lecture night. Great!
Everyone climbed into the cars. Ours claimed the front of the line and Frosty’s the rear. All of us kept our attention on the streets, searching for any sign of zombies. And, even worse, the detectives.
“Feel free to hang in the courtyard,” River said as we entered the building. “I’ve got to tell my tech nerds what we need. I’ll be out in a few.” He stepped away, only to pause. “Veronica, why don’t you come with me?”
“I’d love to,” she said, smiling as she bounded to his side.
“I’m going with them.” Cole brushed his fingertips over my cheek and took off.
“But—”
He was gone.
Goodbye to you, too.
“No courtyard for us. We want a room,” a very tense Frosty said, his arm slung around Kat’s shoulders.
She blew me a kiss. I winked at her.
“Toni,” Camilla shouted, and a young girl rushed over. “Show those two to a room.”
“A good room,” Kat corrected. “The best.”
The threesome headed upstairs.
Camilla glanced at me, sighed and led us to the courtyard, where another death match was taking place on one side and a party with dancing on the other. There were around fifty other slayers present, and all were in their late teens or early twenties.
For a single girl, this had to be a slice of heaven.
My friends might not understand the cheers and boos surrounding the zombie pit, but they gravitated to the action.
“Introduce me.” A boy stepped in front of us, stopping us, and nodded to Mackenzie. He was my height and on the lean side, Asian, with hair colored green. He had three teardrops tattooed underneath his right eye.
“Hiroaki, these are Cole and Ali’s friends.” Camilla rattled off their names. The boys nodded stiffly. The girls smiled in welcome.
Hiroaki kept his attention on Mackenzie. “Nice to meet you.”
“You, too,” she replied formally.
I waited for her to curtsy.
Two other boys approached and flanked Hiroaki. One of them was Knuckle Scars, and he, too, focused intently on Mackenzie, as if he’d just spotted his next—and last—meal.
“Who do we have here?” the other one asked. He was black and rugged, pure sex appeal. But he couldn’t have cared less about the girls. He peered at Gavin with come-hither intent. “I could just eat you up one tasty bite at a time.”