I’m coming, Jadee.

Chapter Seven

Jadee gripped the wheel with both hands. The twisting dirt path someone had dubbed a road needed major repairs. She had to drive slow to prevent jostling the passengers in the back, easing over a big pothole. The highway was just up ahead.

She glanced at Peggy. She worried about her state of mind. She hadn’t talked at all since she’d climbed into the cab.

“How are you holding up?”

“I’m hanging in there. I’m so sorry about your dad, honey.” Peggy sniffed. “He tried to hook up the rig to the trailer to save it but the water rose too fast.”

“It’s okay.” It was a better story than the truth. She wished she could forget seeing Victor after his attack. Her dad hadn’t stepped inside the RV. It had been a stranger with his face and voice.

“It’s all gone.”

Jadee regretted trying to get Peggy to talk. “It’s going to be fine.”

“No. Everything is over. We should have stopped investigating this stuff years ago. I’m just so sorry. It shouldn’t have ended this way. I’m going to buy that place in Tennessee and try my hand at gardening.”

“That’s good.”

“I don’t think Mark is going to give it up. I’ve been thinking a lot about our relationship lately. I need a change.”

Lavos is good. She had to give him credit.

“Do you think it’s just the grief talking? I mean, we’ve been together for so long but I’m just not happy.”

“You deserve better.” It wasn’t the first time she’d said those words to the woman. “Mark is a tool.”

“He kind of is, isn’t he? I can’t believe he still plans to continue without Vic. It just isn’t right.”

“That’s Mark. You should retire and plant a big garden.”

“That’s what I think too.”

“Brent should go with you.”

“I’m sure he will. He’s as heartbroken as I am over the loss of Vic.”

Jadee sped up when the road finally straightened out, spotting a sign warning of upcoming cross traffic. She blew out a relieved breath. They’d hit the highway soon and get the hell out of dodge. Or Weirdville. She forgot the small town’s name but it might as well have been that. They have Werewolves.

“Do you think the guys are too cold back there? You should have rented an extended cab, Jadee. I don’t like that the men are in the back. It’s kind of dangerous and I’m not even sure if that’s legal.”

“I didn’t exactly foresee all of you needing a ride when I chose this. Dad said I should get something that would be okay off-road. This is what they had. As for having the guys in the back, this is an emergency. I’m sure Mark can rent a car and drive himself home if he doesn’t like the truck bed. You and Brent can ride with me all the way back to Washington. We’ll get you a nice flight home to California. Then you can go online to hunt for the cabin you always dreamed of.”

“I really want to do that. It’s important.”

“Good.”

Something ran into the road ahead of her. The headlights revealed the shape of a man with dark clothes and blond hair. He was directly in her path.

Jadee gasped, and her first instinct was to hit the brakes. She recognized him though as he turned to look at the approaching truck. It was the missing Vampire soldier.

She stomped on the gas instead.

Peggy yelled, “Stop! It’s a man!”

Jadee could see him—and planned to run him down. Three thousand pounds of metal slamming into him would at least hurt him enough for them to get away.

Peggy reached across the cab and grabbed the wheel. Jadee hadn’t expected that.

It happened fast. She had her foot all the way down on the gas, barreling at the monster trying to stop them. Peggy yanked hard and the wheels hit another pothole. The truck rocketed off the road to the right and the tree seemed to just suddenly appear in the headlights. They hit it hard.

Something smashed into Jadee’s face. It threw her back and she slammed against the seat. The horn blared. It cut off fast and Jadee opened her eyes, seeing the air bag deflating that had exploded from the center of the steering column. The headlights were still on, despite the engine being dead. One of the lights pointed up from the hood, crushed at an angle against the tree.

Something was on the hood, and it moved.

Mark groaned, shifting his legs.

Jadee was horrified, realizing in an instant that he’d been thrown forward during the crash, probably hit the tree, and had fallen onto the hood. It was too dark to make out how severe his injuries were but he was alive.

She turned her head, seeing Peggy sagging in her seat. Her belt had kept her in place but the dash over the glove box revealed the other air bag had deployed.

Something moved in the back, bumping against the glass between the cab and the truck bed.

“Peggy?” It was Brent. “Oh shit.”

Jadee remembered the blond monster about the time the truck was suddenly jarred. It felt as if something landed on it hard enough to shake the entire thing. Brent made a horrible gasping sound and the truck shifted again.

She turned her head but it was too dark to see. The glass cracked when something hit it. Jadee made out clothing for that flash of an instant.

She was pretty sure Brent’s body had just been used to spider-web the glass between the cab and the bed of the truck.

They were under attack.

Jadee frantically reached for her belt to release it, fumbling. It clicked open, releasing the pressure from around her waist. She stared at Peggy’s form in the dim interior lights from the dash that were still on. The woman’s head remained slumped but her chest moved. She was alive but unconscious.

Someone stomped on the roof of the cab. The metal protested and she looked out the windshield, watching as the blond stepped down onto the hood. He bent, grabbed Mark by his arms, and lifted.

Mark screamed but it was cut off as the thing attacked his neck. Red splattered the windshield. The soldier was killing him right before her eyes, drinking his blood.

Jadee blindly reached over and hit the lock button. It wouldn’t keep that thing out for long but it was all she could do. Her wrist brushed across metal and leather, reminding her of the holster strapped there, and the gun.