“That’s ‘cuz I’m a white person, missy. Not like that gorilla you’re hiding behind there.”

“Enough, Hugh,” Colin snapped. “I’m sure we’re all very impressed by your bullshit attitude and what a tough guy you are. Now, answer a couple of questions for me, and we’ll be on our way.”

“Ask then. Can’t get rid of you soon enough.”

Leighton turned her head to give Colin a disgusted look. He just shrugged and looked back at Pulaski. “Word is you’re familiar with any white supremacist groups operating in these parts,” he said.

“A‘course,” Pulaski said again. “Ain’t much I don’t know.”

“You know if they had anything to do with these murders?”

“Like I’d tell you if they did?”

“Well, I’ll tell you, Mister Pulaski,” Leighton snapped suddenly. “This is a murder investigation. You might not care for vampires, but they’ve got rights whether you like it or not. And if you know something about what happened out there and don’t tell us, that’s called conspiracy after the fact . . . or maybe you did a little conspiring before the fact? Maybe Murphy here should snap some handcuffs on those skinny, white wrists of yours and haul you into town. Shouldn’t take too long for the County boys to arrive, make a proper arrest. A‘course,” she said, mimicking him, “ . . . it might take a bit more than a day, don’t you think? Might get dark in the meantime, and I don’t think that jail I saw at Murphy’s office would do much to keep the vampires out. What do you think, Robbie?”

“Hard to say, Miz Cynthia,” Robbie drawled. “But them vampires are hellacious strong. Why I’ve seen ‘em rip iron bars like that right out the walls. Hell, they probably won’t bother with the bars a’tall. Probably just bust right through them walls.” He paused, as if thinking about it. “Yep, that’s what they’d do, all right.”

“So what’s it gonna be, Mister Pulaski? You want to answer a few questions for us? Or wait until after dark?” She regarded him lazily, a smug smile playing around her mouth. “Personally, I’m hoping you wait.”

Pulaski gave her a hate-filled glare, but not before Colin caught the flash of fear on his face.

“Just tell me what you know, Hugh,” Colin said patiently. “It’ll go no further than the four of us here.”

Hugh shifted his gaze to Colin, back to Leighton and over to Colin again. He took a step back and away from Leighton, his fingers tightening on the gun at his side. Robbie saw it, too. “Cyn,” he said sharply, touching her arm and stepping in front of her again.

The bodyguard’s reaction pleased Hugh and he had a sly smile on his face when he looked back at Colin. “The ones doing this aren’t from around here,” he said abruptly. “Outsiders barging in and taking over like they belong. Shoved aside those of us who’ve lived here all our lives like we were nothing. Brought lots of money and guns, all kinds of equipment and shit I’ve never seen before.”

“You didn’t recognize anyone? Why would they choose Cooper’s Rest, if they’re not from around here?”

“Wouldn’t tell you if I did know ‘em. But I didn’t. As for why Coop’s? Hell, Murphy, it’s ‘cuz of those damn vampires moving in with their big, fancy house and their fucking fancy whores.” He looked at Leighton when he said those last words, giving her a sneering up and down appraisal. “You be careful there, missy,” he said. “A looker like you whoring yourself out, those righteous men might just do to you what they did to Mariane. Woman’ll take it from a vampire, she’ll take it from just about anyone.”

Leighton didn’t even flinch. She just met old Hugh’s gaze and bared her teeth, her eyes going cold and flat. Colin had seen that look on a lot of faces before, but never from a woman.

Not trusting what might happen next, he said, “Fine, we’re outta here. You watch who you keep company with, Hugh. This is gonna go badly for anyone involved with what went down out there.”

Robbie was already hustling Leighton back to the truck, opening the door to the backseat and urging her inside. He slammed the door and waited until Colin was behind the wheel before holstering his weapon and sliding into the truck himself. “Let’s get the fuck out of here,” he snarled.

Colin reversed out of the clearing in front of Hugh’s house, not willing to take his eyes off the old man until they had some distance between them. Once he hit the narrow private road, he backed off the road enough to get some turn around room, then headed out toward the highway.

“So how’d white boy back there know about Mariane?” Leighton said. She had scooted to the edge of the back bench and was leaning between the two front seats.

“This is a small town,” Colin said, turning off Hugh’s drive and onto the highway. “Everyone knew everything there was to know about the attack on Mariane and Jeremy within hours. Maybe not every little detail, but a rough idea of what had happened and who was involved. What’s more curious is that Hugh didn’t even flinch when I mentioned Marco and Preston. He already knew they were dead, but I didn’t even know it until you told me yesterday and I’ve told no one else. He might not be directly involved in these crimes, but he knows what they’re doing. Maybe—probably—he’s just sitting at a table in the shadows and eavesdropping.”

She made an exasperated noise and pushed herself back against the seat behind her. “So, you’ve got some white supremacists operating in your back yard. But how the hell does that tie in to what happened up in Vancouver?”

“What happened in Vancouver?”

Leighton just looked at him.

“Come on, Leighton,” he said, eyeing her in the rear view mirror. “You want cooperation from me, it’s a two-way street. What happened in Vancouver?”

She met his reflected gaze. “Your girlfriend Sophia didn’t tell you?”

Colin gave her a cold stare. “She’s not my girlfriend,” he said evenly. “And you’re avoiding the question.”

Leighton shrugged, stretching out her legs before answering. “Three more vampires were killed,” she said. “That’s why Sophia’s here. She thinks, and I tend to agree, that whoever killed the vamps up there has decided to spread the joy southward.”

“Shit.”

“That doesn’t begin to cover it. You’ve never seen what happens when a vampire gets really pissed, Colin. I have. They don’t believe in trial by jury and they don’t give second chances. These killers, whoever they are, sealed their fates the minute they decided to cross into Raphael’s territory. This isn’t going to be pretty, no matter how you look at it.”

“Yeah? Well, I’ll tell you how I look at it, Leighton. I saw what they did to Mariane. So, as long as the only ones getting bloodied are the animals who did that, I say let the bloodletting begin.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Sophia checked herself in the mirror critically, using both hands to pull her hair out of the high-necked sweater she’d chosen for tonight’s hunt. It seemed foolish to think of it as a hunt, especially in this day and age, but she didn’t have any other word for it. Raphael’s vampires were going to hunt down the humans who’d crossed the line of civility and started the killing. It seemed clear, to Sophia at least, that the motive for these crimes was simple hatred. The things they’d done to that child Mariane were proof of that, if any further proof was necessary. She thought Raphael agreed with her, although it was difficult to know for sure since she was still frozen out of any serious discussions.

The western vampire lord didn’t trust her, not even after last night when she’d shown her own trust by admitting him not just to Lucien’s territory, but to the heart of his nest. Trust came hard to vampires. She had to remind herself of that now that she was back in Vancouver. She’d spent too many years down in Brazil, a country ruled by a vampire lord so laid back he barely qualified for the title.

She should have remembered, though. Should have remembered that village in Central America and the night she’d been given a choice—leave now or swear loyalty to a new master. That region’s vampire lord hadn’t been laid back. He’d been unwilling to tolerate her presence in his territory as long as she was sworn to Lucien. And Sophia had had no intention of forsaking her Sire, not when there were so many other places in the world she could live peacefully.

Of course, leaving the hostile vampire lord’s territory had meant leaving Colin, too. She’d rationalized the decision in her head a million times over the years. That he was human, that he wouldn’t understand, that he wouldn’t want her if he knew what she was. Or that he’d have left her soon, anyway, called away by his own masters in the United States military. But every one of those excuses still left a bad taste in her mouth. She could have handled it differently. Should have handled it differently. But when the fire had struck, it had seemed like a gift, a sign from the Fates that this was the right path for her to take.

But then, she’d never expected to see him again, never expected to feel that punch in the gut when she’d walked into the room upstairs and seen those blue eyes accusing her.

She turned away from the mirror, no longer willing to see the accusation in her own reflection. Maybe she should talk to him again. Try to make him understand. She snorted delicately. As if Colin hadn’t made his own feelings on the subject perfectly clear already.

Heavy footsteps sounded in the hallway outside, reminding her of the night’s coming festivities. She ran her hands over her hips, pulling the sweater into place. Thank God she’d thought to pick up some clothes in Vancouver last night. She’d never planned on being in Raphael’s territory this long, but it looked as if she’d be staying here at least a couple more nights. She didn’t think they could wrap this up before then, not even with Raphael’s power and resources on their side.