“What murders on the border? Did you say Juarez?” Baojia stopped mid-extension. His arms hung perfectly still, but he felt his heart thump once. “Dez, what murders?”

There was silence on the other end of the phone. Finally, Dez said, “I… I thought you would have known about it. I mean, it’s on the edge of Ernesto’s territory. That’s why I gave her your name. I really wasn’t trying to cause problems, but I thought if anyone would have information…”

Baojia heard Matt talking to his wife as his mind raced. “Honey, Natalie’s a reporter,” the human said. “A really smart, persistent one, if I remember correctly. Why on earth did you think giving her an introduction to a vampire would be a good thing? She’s going to figure out something’s not what it seems, and the last thing Baojia or Ernesto need is someone really smart and really curious poking around!”

“Don’t talk to me like that! You didn’t see what happened in Juarez. I did. And looking back with what I know now, I’m almost positive there is some sort of tie-in with a vampire. None of the human authorities could make sense of it. And there were hundreds of girls, Matt. Hundreds. And if what was happening in Juarez is moving into California—”

“Desiree,” Baojia said. She stopped as soon as she heard his voice.

Dez still sounded annoyed. “What?”

“Thank you for making me aware of this.”

That seemed to surprise her because she fell silent.

Matt said, “I’m sorry your name was brought into this, Baojia. I know you keep a low profile, even in LA.”

“I’d rather be informed than anonymous. It’s fine. I’ll deal with it.”

Murders along the border. He’d tracked the activity in Juarez for years, and he had to agree with Dez. There was probably a vampire or a group of them that was responsible for the deaths of so many young women. But since Juarez, Mexico, was clearly out of his sire’s territory, there wasn’t much that he could do about it. It was horrible, but not his concern. Murders along the California border, however…

“When did she start following this story?”

“Natalie said it started a few months ago. There were isolated reports out in Imperial Valley about farmers finding bodies, but the police investigations went nowhere. Then the Border Patrol reported that nine bodies were found out in the middle of the desert two months ago. They guessed that a coyote, a smuggler, had taken the women’s mo

“Why not?”

“All the women were found together, within a few yards of each other. If they’d been left out there, they would have walked. Probably some would have fallen behind. They would have been spread out, at least a little. But the bodies looked like they’d been dumped in one location.”

Smart human.

“And there were no visible signs of death or struggle?”

“No bruises or wounds. Could they have been—”

“Drained?” He hated to think it. “Yes. A vampire could have drained them and sealed the wounds. It would be unusual, but it’s possible.”

Most of their kind didn’t need to drink much blood. To drain a human was wasteful. Gluttonous. Like killing a chicken to get the eggs. Only the youngest and most immature would do it, and a responsible sire wouldn’t want to attract the attention. No, vampires only drained when they were out of control or intended to kill an enemy. How could nine young women in the desert have become a target? Dez was right. The similarities to Juarez were disturbing.

“And then she started to get in touch with some of her contacts in Mexico,” Dez continued. “When she called me… Baojia, I’m sorry if you feel like I exposed you in some way, but if this is like Juarez, then it has to be stopped. The killings down there have been going on for years. They’re still going on, despite what the Mexican authorities say. If this is a vampire in Ernesto’s territory—”

“I’ll look into it.” He came out of his frozen stance, continuing in his practice as his mind started to catalogue the information he’d been given.

“You will?”

“Of course I will,” he said, slightly annoyed. “Did you think I was going to let some vampire run rampant in the desert?”

“Well, no, but—”

“It would look incredibly bad for my sire if I allowed something like that to continue.” The fact it had happened in Ernesto’s territories at all was bad enough. Did Rory know about this? Why hadn’t he come to him for help? He felt the water from the fountain draw to his chest as he resumed practice. Cross. Thrust. Center. Draw back. Center. Sweep. His loose practice pants brushed silently against his legs.

“There’s the whole innocent-people-being-slaughtered thing, too,” Matt said.

“That too.” His thoughts tripped back to the curious redhead. “How did your friend get Ivan’s name?”

“I have no idea,” Dez said. “Honestly, I’ve never even heard of him before. But Natalie… she has a way of finding out things. She didn’t mention Ivan to me. Who is he?”

Matt said, “Not anyone you’re ever going to meet. That’s for sure.”

Baojia took a deep breath, willing himself to be patient toward the human man. Really, did he think keeping his mate uninformed was to her benefit? “Ivan has a similar job to mine, Dez, but he works for the vampires who control most of Mexico and Central America.”