Page 96 of Fire Dancer
My blood boiled.
The chain link fence surrounding La Puebla rose and fell with every contour of the mountain, but my concern for Pippa carried me over easily.
Kyle grabbed the fence from the outside. “Wait!”
I shook my head. Waiting meant death. I was sure of it.
“Stand by,” I grunted. “If we’re not out in fifteen minutes, I need you to come in. All of you.” I shot a meaningful look at the shadows in the slope above us.
A contingent of wolves from Twin Moon pack had concealed themselves all around La Puebla, but concern over drawing the attention of the agency or making a powerful vampire enemy meant they would only rush in as a last resort.
As far as I was concerned, thiswasour last resort.
Apparently, they had different ideas.
Let me out!my wolf howled as I ran in a crouch.
I was dying to release my inner beast and let him rage, but human form was best for now. A fact proven two minutes later when I took out the man standing guard at the delivery entrance to the main house. I could muffle his shout with one hand and wring his neck with the other.
Brutal? Yes. But I wasn’t taking any prisoners tonight.
Human form also came in handy for silently turning doorknobs and stealing through the halls. The house was a goddamn maze, but instinct guided me around every turn without so much as a pause.
That way,my wolf pointed, urging me on.
I threw open one door, then stared at the pile of ash on the floor.
My wolf cheered.Pippa one, vampires zero.
I hurried onward, checking the adjoining rooms. Earlier, I’d seen a dozen vampires enter the premises. Even eliminating one left many, many more to go.
And what the hell was Pippa doing, killing vampires? She was supposed to set up the camera, then get the hell out.
The party was in full swing down the hall, but to the right… The scent trails were confusing as hell, with lots of movement back and forth. Pippa had been by several times.
Right,my wolf barked.
I took off at a jog, then slowed to check a corner. Four steps later, my nose caught an acrid smell, and I peered into a room on the right.
“Shit.” I cursed, halting my right foot an inch above another pile of ash. I crouched and poked at the remains of a sequined cocktail dress. A female vampire? I narrowed my eyes on the shape protruding from the back. The remains of a stake, though it was mere charcoal now.
As far as I knew, Pippa hadn’t gone in armed with stakes. She hadn’t gone in armed withanythingbut a tiny camera and her own wits. What the hell was going on?
A bump sounded in the next room. I froze, then rushed into the hall and burst through the adjoining room just as a body thumped to the floor. Two women leaped back when I entered, and—
“Pippa?” I stared.
“Ingo!”
My wolf howled in glee. She was alive!
Her eyes filled with joy, then panic.
“Wait!” she cried to the second woman.
I turned in time to grab the woman’s arm before she staked me too.
“Watch it,” I ordered, gripping her arm tightly.