Finn, Bria, and Owen immediately threw themselves to the ground, out of the line of fire.

   Crack!

   Crack! Crack!

   Crack!

   One giant fell, then another one. Bria scrambled over and pulled a dead giant’s gun out of his hand. She tossed it over to Finn, then fumbled to get the giant’s second weapon out of the holster on his belt. Owen was also grabbing the weapon from the dead giant closest to him.

   My friends battling the giants meant that only one man was left. I scanned the street for Tucker.

   But the bastard wasn’t here.

   My head snapped left and right, searching for him. I hadn’t gone through all this just to let him get away now. So where was he? Where was that sneaky rat bastard—

   I spotted a flash of movement out of the corner of my eye, and I turned my head just in time to see Tucker leave the street behind and sprint into an alley. I started to head in that direction but stopped and glanced over at my friends.

   Finn had seen the vampire too, and he ripped the bandanna out of his mouth and waved his still-tied hands at me. “We’re fine!” he yelled. “Go! Get Tucker!”

   I flashed him a grateful smile and did as he commanded, hurrying down the street after my enemy.

   * * *

   I was hampered by all the holes and burns in and on my body, especially the ones in my thigh, but I ignored the pain of my many injuries and limped along as quickly as I could. But Tucker was exceptionally fast, and he easily put some distance between us. He was at the far side of the staging area before I’d even stepped out of the alley. But instead of taking the path that led back to the hotel, he headed toward a different one. I frowned, wondering where he was going, but then I realized exactly where that path led—the boat dock down at the lake.

   No doubt Tucker had his escape route already mapped out. Take a boat across the lake where he would most likely have a car waiting, then vanish into the night, along with the jewels.

   I wasn’t about to let him get away that easily.

   So I gritted my teeth and forced myself to move faster. I was good at plowing through things, so that’s exactly what I did, knocking over barrels, hay bales, tumbleweeds, and everything else that stood in my way. The good thing about running was that it got rid of the chill that had sunk into my bones from being dunked in the water trough. The bad thing was that it made my entire body scream with the pain of my burns and bullet wounds. But I ignored the agony as best I could and kept running.

   I left the staging area behind and stepped onto the path that led down to the lake. With no obstacles here, I picked up my pace.

   But I was still too damn late.

   In the distance, I heard a boat engine rumble to life. I snarled out a curse and kept going.

   I left the woods behind and sprinted down a hill, straight toward the wooden dock that stretched out like an arrow into the water. Holiday lights had been wrapped around the dock too, letting me clearly see Tucker standing in a boat at the far end, casting off a rope, and gunning the engine. I put on an extra burst of speed, doing my best to catch up with him.

   But it was no use.

   By the time I reached the end of the dock, Tucker was already thirty feet out into the water, with the engine idling. With no guns and no magic left, the bastard knew that I couldn’t kill him now, and he’d stayed behind just to taunt me.

   Tucker shook his head. “You just don’t know when to quit, do you, Gin?”

   “Only losers quit. You? You’re just going to die.”

   He smiled, his teeth flashing like opals in his face. “Not tonight.”

   “No,” I muttered. “Not tonight.”

   “Tell me one thing, though,” he called out.

   “What?”

   He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the black velvet bag, letting it swing from his hand like a clock pendulum, mocking me with it. “Where did Deirdre hide the jewels? My men and I searched everywhere for them.”

   “They were in her suite. Hidden in a couple of snow globes like they were just worthless stones.”

   Tucker shook his head again. “That bitch. Deirdre was clever, but I’d never thought that she’d be that clever.”

   “Oh, I imagine that she got the idea the day the two of you paid my mother a visit in her office, right before her annual holiday party.”

   Tucker froze, the smug smile dropping from his face. “You remember that?”

   “Yeah. I remember it. I especially remember the man you sent to hurt my mother that night.”

   He eyed me a moment, then shrugged. “It was just business. Surely, you of all people can understand that.”

   “Oh, I do understand it. And I’m going to make it my business to end you and the rest of the Circle.”

   The vampire smiled, his black eyes glittering in his face. “Careful what you wish for, little Genevieve. That’s one can of worms you might not want to open.”

   “I—”

   Tucker gave me a mock salute and gunned the engine, drowning me out. The vampire waggled the black velvet bag at me again, mocking me a final time, before steering the boat around, pushing the throttle, and gliding across the lake.

   Tucker was right. He wasn’t going to die tonight.

   But soon—very soon.

   I’d make sure of that.

28

   “Gin! Where are you? Gin!” My friends’ voices drifted through the air to me in a loud, worried chorus.

   “Over here!” I called out. “Down at the boat dock!”

   A minute later, Finn, Bria, and Owen appeared, running down to the dock. I hobbled back in their direction, the pain of my injuries flooding my body with every single step. My friends skidded to a stop, guns in their hands, looking left and right.