Page 107 of Fire Dancer
“Who are you?” the nearest policewoman demanded when he asked to be let through.
“Special Agent Kemper,” he said.
“He’s with us,” another officer — a really hot one with spiky hair and soulful eyes — assured the first.
And just like that, Ingo was through. A few minutes later, he and Spike led us to a squad car parked close to a thick patch of woods.
“Thanks, Kyle.” Ingo patted the officer’s shoulder.
Ah, so this was Kyle Williams, the wolf shifter from Twin Moon Ranch.
“Thanks for keeping us out of this.” Kyle nodded at the woods.
The bushes rustled, and I glimpsed canine eyes glowing in the dark. When low snarls sounded, three men hurried back into the lit area, turning themselves in to the police with their hands raised.
Delaney looked at me, but I signaled that I would explain later. The Twin Moon wolves were keeping a low profile but still contributing by keeping Jananovich’s cronies — human or otherwise — from fleeing. With Erin and Nash incinerating any escaping vampires, I decided I could sleep soundly that night.
Ingo squeezed my hand, and I grinned. I would definitely sleep well tonight.
I’d done a quick head count, and all the escorts had made it out alive. They were now in police custody, but that sure beat vampires. Whatever happened next, I hoped they would steer clear of pointy-toothed supernaturals in the future.
“How will they explain themselves to the police?” I murmured, watching Kelly and Rob being led to a squad car.
“The truth, more or less,” Delaney said. “That was part of escort training. If we ever got picked up by police, we were supposed to say we were part of an escort service, and we didn’t know the details of anything higher up. Which is the truth — except for omitting thevampirepart.”
A big omission, but it made sense.
Another blast of fire appeared higher up the mountain. How would Kyle explainthatto his human colleagues?
He must have caught my expression, because he answered with a totally straight face. “Drones.”
I chuckled. “Drones that do what?”
He shrugged. “That will be for the ADMSA to figure out.”
Ingo sighed. “If I’m still on the job by then.”
I meant to console him, but I did a little fist pump instead.
“Hey!” poor Ingo grumbled, thinking I meant his job.
“No — I meant that. Him.” I pointed to Stacy’s bear shifter driver being handcuffed by the police.
A female officer waved for Kyle’s attention, and he excused himself. Delaney leaned against the front of the squad car, while Ingo and I moved a few steps away, watching the blaze light up the night.
“What a mess,” I murmured.
He shook his head. “A mess is when things end with a high body count. And luckily, vampires don’t leave bodies.”
“That’s the only good thing you can say about them.”
He slid an arm over my shoulders. “I just feel bad about your glass.”
I pictured my beautiful decanter and glasses. The heat of the fire would melt them to lumps, much like the raw materials I’d started with.
“Yeah, all that work… Totally worth it, though,” I decided.
Ingo shook his head sadly, and his voice cracked. “Not sure any of this was worth it. My obsession with Jananovich could have gotten you killed.”