These Vampires may not have killed my brother themselves. They may not have even given the order, but they’d made it possible. They’d sacrificed Vampires and their mates to horrors that I could barely stomach while being driven around by armed security and hanging out in their mansions. They’d spoken about Zeke’s death like it wasnothing.
My mate was in danger because of these motherfuckers. Had been in pain for weeks while I searched for them.
“Danny, how you doing, buddy?” Chance asked as I blinked and blinked.
“I can give you names,” Morren said quickly, his face filled with horror. “I can give you everything.”
“Yes, but will you?” Dalton replied, his eyes still on Adamson.
“Whatever you want,” Morren promised. “I’ll tell you everything.”
“Right, because you didn’t want to be here in the first place.”
“I didn’t,” he said quickly. “I didn’t want anything to do with this. I didn’t have any choice.”
“There’s always a choice,” Ian barked.
“There wasn’t. Once I knew, they would’ve killed me if I tried to back out. Once I knew, it was too late.”
“Fucking coward,” I ground out.
“I know.” His head nodded so fast he looked like one of those bobbleheads that people put on their dashboards. “I know, but I was forced.”
Dalton shot him. “I think one is plenty, don’t you?” He looked at Chance.
“More than enough,” Chance agreed. Lowering his rifle, he strode toward Adamson. “Come on, little fella. Time to get up.”
“You really think this is going to go well for you?” Adamson wheezed as Chance jerked him to his feet. “You broke in and killed two of the top generals in the United States. You think anyone will believe whatever bullshit story you try to spin?”
“Even if they don’t,” Dalton said, his smile all teeth. “I’ll take your head before this is through.” He looked to his son. “Make sure there’s no coming back for them.”
“Yep,” Ian said.
I should’ve done something—helped Chance with Adamson or taken the job from Ian—but I didn’t. I wasn’t sure that I could keep myself locked down. Listening to the three of them talk about what they’d done so casually had pushed me to the limits of my control.
I led the way back upstairs, ignoring the thumping behind me as Chance dragged Adamson up the stairs. The Vampire was completely unable to walk after Dalton had ruined his knee.
“Let’s take one of the SUVs,” Dalton said when we reached the front door. He pulled a set of keys from his pocket. “Better than running.”
“I’ll drive,” I replied, catching the keys when he tossed them.
I waited in the driver’s seat while Chance searched Adamson and then stuffed him into the trunk. Dalton and Ian disappeared into the woods to make sure that all the Vampires there were still tied up and hopefully still knocked out.
It took us about three minutes to get back to the helicopter, and in that time, Dalton was busy. Bending over the back seat, he tied a tourniquet around Adamson’s leg while peppering him with questions. Who had made the initial proposal? How had the three Vampires met Baudelaire? What was the humans’ objective? Were there any other Vampires involved? Question after question was voiced, but no answers were forthcoming. At first, Adamson sat silently, but as soon as Dalton tied the tourniquet, he passed out from the pain.
“That mess won’t take long to find,” Dalton announced as we parked and climbed out of the vehicle. “I’m going to call Arthur.”
I just stared at him.
“He asked me to find the head of the snake,” Dalton reminded me. “We’ve found it. I need to apprise him of the situation before he finds out that two of his generals are dead and one is missing.”
“Do it,” Chance answered for me. “If Arthur wants to party, I’ll bring the disco ball.”
“You sure?” I asked him. If Arthur was dirty, we’d be fucked. There wasn’t a corner of the earth that he couldn’t reach. He had the entirety of the United States Vampire Command at his disposal.
Chance nodded.
My brother and I went to the back of the SUV and opened it, lifting Adamson’s limp body out, Chance at the head, and me at the feet. Halfway to the helicopter, he fucking let go.
