Jordyn rolled her big brown eyes. “Of course not. But the way I see it, we could threaten to expose him. We could blast their existence over social media. We could even stage it, so we get him to show his true colors. Vampires don’t want to be exposed to the human population.”
“Threats won’t work. Look at what he did to Rianne. Sam will want to know why we were at the club to kidnap him.”
Jordyn took another sip of her coffee. “Then we tell him. We don’t have much on our benefactor except his name.”
“I would bet Dowell isn’t his real name.” I nursed my coffee. “Or we could kill Sam. That would bring Rianne back.”
“Too difficult. He’s a vampire Navy SEAL and on a heavily guarded naval base. Plus, the element of surprise is blown.”
“And he has my dagger. The one with the family crest on it.”
She pursed her lips. “Layla Aberdeen.” Her chiding tone reminded me of our mother’s when we’d done something wrong.
I hung my head. “I’m sorry. You know I’m superstitious. That dagger brings me good luck. Well, it did until last night.”
She set her cup on the nightstand. “It doesn’t matter anyway. I’m sure the vampire military has a way of finding out who we are without a dagger.” She got up. “I need to use the bathroom.”
I’d expected her to scream and shout at me for leaving my dagger behind. Rianne sure would have. If either of my sisters was a stickler for detail and making sure we covered our tracks, it was Rianne. She was the tactical one. I was the strategist, and Jordyn had a knack for computers and research.
I slipped into Jordyn’s spot next to Rianne and swiped my hand over her hair. “We’ll get you back. And when we do, you can beat Sam Mason to your heart’s content.” I could picture her doing just that. She wasn’t afraid to tango with the enemy. None of us were.
But we had never come face-to-face with a Mason. As much as I didn’t want to beg a vampire for his help, I had no choice. It was time to confront the vamp who’d made me want to ride his dick until the sun came up.
7
LAYLA
Ithrew on a pair of black jeans that fit like leggings, a long-sleeve T-shirt, a sweater, boots, and a soft knitted scarf that had a cashmere feel to it.
Jordyn rested her shoulder against the doorjamb of my room. “I’m going to make some breakfast before we head out.”
I opened the blinds. “I’m not sure if our car will make it to the navy base in this weather.”
“We can’t sit here all day,” she said before she left.
She was right. We needed to keep moving, although walking onto a military base full of vampires wasn’t exactly the greatest idea to keep moving.
After a few swipes of a brush through my hair, I secured it up with a band. Then I tucked a dagger inside my boot. The suede fur-lined ankle boots weren’t as accommodating as the over-the-knee ones we’d worn the night before. We’d been able to hide several weapons in that style of footwear.
Once I had my phone, I checked myself in the small mirror tacked to the wall. Dark circles marred the undersides of my eyes, making the blue of my irises stand out. My skin was paler than usual, and the corners of my lips were chapped. Damn cold weather made humans look like something out ofThe Walking Dead.
I snagged some Chapstick I had in a dish on the dresser then made my way downstairs. I’d barely reached the landing when I heard glass shatter.
“Jordyn!” I shouted as I bent down and pulled out my dagger.
I heard no response.
I climbed down each step with caution as I called out her name again. Cold air and snow swept in through the open front door.
Son of a bitch.
I flew down the remaining steps. Once at the bottom, I skidded to a stop at the front door. My heart punched my ribs like a boxer ramming his fists into a heavy-weight bag. I quickly checked the driveway and didn’t see any cars or tire tracks, but when my gaze landed on the footprints on the walkway leading up the porch steps, my blood gelled.
The first person who came to mind was our neighbor. I’d never liked the way he looked at my sisters and me. I might be jumping the gun, though. After all, I did piss off a vampire Navy SEAL—one who didn’t have any problem showing us how powerful he was. One last pass of the front yard, and I came up empty. If Jordyn had been taken, then they’d gone out the back.
I rushed through the house and once again skidded to a halt, as did my heart. Jordyn was pinned against the pantry door by a monster of a woman. Sasquatch had her claws around Jordyn’s neck. By claws, I meant animal claws. No doubt the tall, beefy woman who had to be six feet in height with arms bigger than Sam Mason’s was a shifter. Which kind, I wasn’t sure. The more I came into contact with supernaturals, the more I found that I shouldn’t be surprised by anything in this world.
Jordyn shook her head as if to tell me not to react or try something stupid. I wasn’t planning on it, not with Sasquatch’s lethal canines showing. But when I followed her line of sight to the blond man sitting at the small island, I was ready to launch my dagger at him.
