Lena’s eyes closed. “It’s the ME, Heider.”
The woman could see something like that without the aid of a scrying mirror? Annette’s suspicions about just what Lena was deepened…and so did her fear. She licked her lips and said, “Garrison was with him earlier. He must have told Heider we were here. Heider was analyzing Paris’s blood. I’d—I’d better go see what he discovered.” She’d stuttered. Oh, hell. She never stuttered. Mostly because she never allowed herself to feel fear. But the fear racing through her blood wasn’t just for herself.
It was for them all.
Paris.
Garrison.
Aidan.
Jane.
We’ve been tricked. By a creature who is the most skilled at tricks.
She hurried from the room. “I’ll go get Heider.” I’ll give him a message. Get him to run and bring back Vivian. Vivian and the whole freaking pack. Because they were about to enter a blood bath.
They were about to face the true end.
She nearly tripped in her haste to get to that front door. She pulled it open, the rusty hinges groaning, and Heider stood there, his tortoiseshell glasses in place, his hair standing a bit on end as if he’d been running his fingers through it all night. When he saw her, he took a quick step back. “Ah, Annette…” She heard the faint click as he swallowed. “Is, um, is Jane here? I really need to talk to her and Garrison said that—”
She grabbed his shirt front and yanked him close. “Go get Vivian.” Her words were barely a breath of sound.
He stared down at the hand fisting his shirt. “Um, yeah, I need Jane. I have to tell her about the tests I did—”
Footsteps tapped behind her. Vincent was coming close. With his vamp hearing, had he picked up on her words to Heider? “Leave,” she said, her voice even softer. “Run.”
Heider backed up. “Jane’s blood was definitely given to Paris. And when I thought about it, I remembered that I’d had samples at my old lab. I’d taken them from her right before everything pretty much went to hell.”
They were in hell. The guy was not getting the freaking hint and Vincent’s steps were coming ever closer.
“I think someone stole her blood and gave it to Paris.” He nodded, decisively. “They stole it from me and used it against Paris.”
“Don’t worry about Paris.” They had another immediate concern. She could practically feel Vincent behind her.
“Maybe the good doctor could help patch up Drew,” Vincent called out. His voice was mild, friendly. Non-threatening. Clever bastard. “Especially since you’ve said I can’t kill him, Annette.”
She caught the slight widening of Heider’s eyes. Really—was he just now seeing the vamp closing in on them? “Go.” This time, she didn’t speak the words at all. She just mouthed them as she frantically conveyed her message. “Go! Enemy. Get help.”
Heider grabbed his phone from his pocket as he stumbled. “Oh, damn, I have a text from the office.” He backed away, fast and looked down at the phone in his hand. “Another dead body. The dead just don’t stop.” Then he turned on his heel. “I’ll be back with—”
Vincent tried to lunge past her and grab Heider, but Annette twisted her body and she threw herself against him as hard as she could, hoping to catch him by surprise. They slammed down onto the floor together. “Run!” She screamed at Heider but he was already running, not even stopping to look back.
She’d always known the man had a very high sense of self-preservation.
“You bitch,” Vincent snarled.
She was on top of him, but she was hardly strong enough to hold down a vampire. He threw her off him, and Annette hurtled through the air. She expected to hit a wall. To feel her back break…
But someone caught her. Strong arms wrapped around her and held her close. “You’re all right.”
What the hell? Her head jerked to the left and she saw that her rescuer was Garrison. Garrison!
He eased her to her feet then pushed her behind him. She peeked over his shoulder and saw that Vincent had risen to his feet. Lena had closed in on their little group, but she just stood there, watching. Not helping Vincent but certainly not doing anything to stop him, either.
But then Lena caught Annette’s eye. She lifted her hands, and the bracelets around her wrists gleamed.
If she’s what I think she is…she can’t help but she sure can destroy us.
Outside, she heard the sound of tires squealing. Heider had gotten away. Now, if he could just bring help—
“You’ll be dead, voodoo queen, long before anyone comes back to you.” Vincent flashed his fangs. “Figured it out, did you? Or maybe you just finally fucking saw the truth in your black glass? Lena said the truth could only hide for so long. The more blood and death that was shed, the more the truth would emerge.” He didn’t even sound worried. “I knew I was working against the clock.”
That was why he’d come to see her at the Voodoo Shop. His little visit made sense now. He’d been trying to figure out just how much she knew.
Too little.