Page 95 of Fire Dancer

Holy shit. She was either a superhero or a lunatic. But, hell. She was certainly well-armed, and she seemed to have a plan, which was more than I could say.

So, great. I could turn things over to her and hustle my ass to safety, right?

But then I thought about Stacy, and my rubber nerves toughened up a little.

“What about you?” Delaney asked. “Did you lose someone too?”

I thought it over. “Not a sister.”Thank God,I could have added. “But Stacy…”

Delaney nodded sadly. “Every once in a while, one of the others mentioned her, but someone would shut them up.” She scoffed. “They had to have suspected, but somehow, they decided to kid themselves.”

Disgusted, I pointed to the door.

“We have to go. Now. I planted a camera. That should find enough evidence.”

Delaney scoffed. “The police won’t do anything. They thought I was crazy for believing in vampires.”

“Not the police. A supernatural law enforcement team.”

She still looked skeptical. “Somehow, the law doesn’t apply to Jananovich. He always gets away. The only way to end this is to end him. Permanently.”

I wanted to protest, but I knew she was right. Besides, the other escorts were still in danger.

My darker side yelled to forget about them and save myself. If they were stupid enough to get involved with — and stick with — the likes of Jananovich, they deserved whatever fate threw at them. No one was begging for me to be their hero.

But my good side reminded me that each was someone’s son, daughter, brother, or sister.

That last part resonated with me most. Sister. Where would I be without mine? Where would I be if fortune hadn’t given me a loving father, a decent job, opportunities — and, best of all, Ingo?

My heart swelled, and I squared my shoulders. He was somewhere close, but still too far. In any case, he wouldn’t stop until this was finished. Well and truly finished.

And I wouldn’t either.

“You go,” Delaney urged me, pulling a second stake from her boot. “I’ve got this.”

I shook my head, correcting her. “We’vegot this.”

I held out my hand, and she grinned, handing me the stake. “All right, then. Let’s get those suckers.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

INGO

I paced by the fence of La Puebla for the hundredth time, then swore. The nanny cam had been blocked for ages, and when it did come on again, it showed Pippa heading down a hallway — and not coming back.

I threw down my night vision goggles and started ditching the other equipment I’d brought.

“Fuck this. I’m going in.”

I couldn’t mind-speak to Pippa from this distance, but I could sense her general state of mind, and her anxiety had just spiked.

Kyle Williams, police officer and member of Twin Moon pack, grabbed my arm. “Not yet. Backup isn’t fully in position.”

“To hell with backup,” I grunted, heading for the fence.

Pippa had disappeared minutes ago, and every second had been an eternity. Was she all right? Had Jananovich caught on to her? Was she being attacked by a vampire right now?

She’d sent a series of pictures and brief comments an hour ago, but since then, there’d been nothing. Nothing but the sounds of a party in the main house. A vampire party.