Natalie.

He was too far away from her. He left the body where he’d killed it and raced back. Carwyn was ripping into another vampire only a few feet away as he heard more shots, but not from where Ben was still sitting. Natalie was still crouched next to the boy. Still clutching her stun gun as if her life depended on it, but happily isolated from the bloodshed around her.

“Who’s shooting?” he yelled.

Carwyn twisted a scrambling immortal’s head under his arm, reached down to grab at the man’s arm, and pulled, holding him as his neck was detached and the scrambling stopped. Then Carwyn looked over at Baojia and grinned. “That’d be my girl. She does love her weapons. A few shots to incapacitate, then a quick slice to the spine to end things quickly.”

“How kind.” Baojia tried not to shiver. He’d never liked guns. He glanced at the still-unmolested humans at the center of the fight. “How many left?”

“Tenzin’s had two or three. I think. I’ve had three. Brigid two. You?”

“Three.”

Two more, and where were they? He fell silent. Everything was silent. Then he saw him.

The vampire had snuck down from the other side of the crater. He’d been able to flee from the initial surprise attack, but instead of running, he’d come back, drawn like an addict to the smell of the girls’ blood. Baojia spread his arms, gathering the driving rain that pelted his back and turning it toward the vampire. Within seconds, a bridge of water formed in the air as he sent a rush of amnis through the element he commanded. The vampire exploded in pain as Baojia’s energy hit, reeling back with bared fangs as Tenzin fell on him and cut off his head, snarling into his face as he still reached for the women.

“Pathetic,” she muttered as blood dripped down her chin. Then she turned to Baojia. “There’s one I can’t find. I looked in the desert, but I can’t spot him.”

Baojia frowned as he looked around, then his eyes landed on Carwyn and he yelled, “The ground!”

A second later, the center of the crater caved in, taking Natalie, Ben, and the women with it.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

She ached. Everything hurt. Her head. Her body. She felt as if she’d been run over by a truck. One second she was watching the brutal fight around her as if she was caught in some otherworldly action movie, the next, everything was dark and she heard a scream. Then quiet. Another scream.

More quiet. There was a scrambling sound as blood and sand filled her mouth. Water fell on her face as she blinked her eyes open and saw him.

She knew him. Where did she know him from?

A clanging sound. The casino? Flashing lights and a bitter aftertaste in her mouth.

Carlos. His name was Carlos and he was Ivan’s right hand.

Ivan’s right hand who was apparently killing the evidence of his boss’s guilt.

“Natalie?” She heard Baojia’s voice from above.

teg the e>No Ben. Where was Ben? The young man had kept her centered and calm as the fight around them had raged.

“She’s over here, Baojia! I’ve got her.”

There he was. It made her smile to hear Ben’s voice.

“Carlos?” she whispered.

Natalie turned toward a scuffling sound. Carlos was barely visible in the dim light, holding a girl by the hair as she wailed. But within seconds, the girl’s eyes had gone dead, no doubt calmed by the same power all vampires wielded.

“Put the girl down,” Baojia said. “It’s over.”

“No,” Carlos said. “It’s not. You have no idea. This has just begun.”

“Nat,” Ben whispered, “we have to dig you out of here. Just hang on. I’m going to get Carwyn.”

“Okay.”

Baojia was yelling at Carlos. “This wasn’t you! You don’t do anything without Ivan’s permission. Put the girl down. There’s no need to kill her.”

“She’s dead already!” Carlos laughed. “Don’t you realize? You’re saving these girls so they can die anyway. You think he’s going to stop? He’ll just set up somewhere else. Somewhere you don’t know about. He made so much money, Baojia. More than he ever made through the cartel. They came from everywhere to get a taste of these worthless girls.” Carlos’s bitter laugh churned her gut. “He was only doing it here and dumping the bodies on your land to fuck with you.”

“Why?” Baojia moved farther into the cave. His chest was soaking wet and his pants were, too. His hair dripped around his face, the water pouring over him from the crater above. Natalie could feel it, sloshing around her feet as she lay in a crumbled heap on the dirt floor. “Why was Ivan baiting me?”

“It wasn’t his idea,” Carlos said in defeat. “It was Rory’s. Rory wanted you gone. As long as you were in San Diego, you could always go back to LA, but if you fucked up something down here? He figured Ernesto would just get rid of you. Everyone knows how you two fight. Rory wanted you out of the way. He found out what Ivan was doing and came to us.”

The pain had stopped and a dull ache was crawling up her side toward her neck. Her feet were cold. Was it from the water?

Carlos had dropped the girl and raised his hands. “You know what? Kill me. I’ve killed your woman anyway. I deserve it. I’m sorry, Baojia. You were always honest with me. I don’t want to be a part of this anymore anyway. It was too much.”

Baojia snarled and looked her direction. His eyes widened in alarm just as Carmen sat up and reached for the Taser. She raised it toward Carlos, who was still holding the hair of one of the girls.