“Keep coming,” Cayden murmured. “I can see you.”
They cut across a grassy knoll until Gillian finally heard the rumble of an engine. When they got to the delivery truck, she slid the door open and practically shoved Brooke into the back. “Thank God.”
Gillian collapsed into the seat and took off her mask, shaking from head to toe.
Cayden turned to face them and concern flashed in his eyes as he looked over at Brooke. “Are you okay?” He flicked on the interior lights inside the van.
Her head slumped forward on her chest, her breathing now labored. Gillian touched her hand. “She’s ice cold. Brooke? What’s wrong?”
“It looks like she’s suffering from blood loss. A medivac should be on the way. We anticipated something like this, but they won’t have enough blood for all these victims. We had no way of knowing there were so many.” Cayden said with a shake of his head. “I can’t risk it. We could lose her. I’m taking her straight to a hospital.” He handed her an enormous jacket from the passenger seat. “Here, put this on her.”
Gillian wrapped the jacket over Brooke’s shoulders and held her hand, praying they’d get there in time. “Drive, please.”
“Let’s bounce.” Cayden turned to face the front. He shifted the truck into gear and sped away, leaving the squeal of tires and the smell of burnt rubber in his wake. They drove down a dark, winding road that headed away from the estate.
“When will this nightmare end?” Gillian asked, and then glanced over her shoulder to see if they were being followed.
“We’re not out of the clear yet. The task force has their hands full. They’re still at the front of the house. We need to make it past the rear gate. The guards won’t be inclined to let anyone leave the property.” Cayden pressed buttons on his phone, which sat in a holder on his dashboard.
When they reached the wrought iron gate, it was closed. Cayden stopped at the security box at the guard shack. “Quick, put the jacket over you. They’re looking for Brooke, which means trying to get away from this house of horrors is going to be a bitch. The other agents have no visual on us here. We have to wing it.” Cayden wrenched on his window. “I’m from Haven Catering. I’m just leaving. We need this truck for the next job.”
“No one gets through the gate,” a male voice said from the other side. A light shone into the car and Gillian prayed he didn’t see them. There was a crackling noise as the guard spoke into a radio.
After a few minutes, Cayden cursed. “He’s not opening the gate. I think they’re onto us. Time for plan B.” The van lurched into reverse and backed up. The wheels spun in the gravel. “I can try and crash through the gate, but it looks too high. There’s no way.” He glanced in the rear-view mirror. “Shit, the station guard is headed this way. Listen to me, Gillian, the gate only opens by the swipe of a card. The moment he gets here, I’ll knock him out and hand you the card. You go out the back of the van, swipe the card, and come right back. “Got it?”
“Promise me one thing. If something goes wrong, you head straight to the hospital with Brooke. Don’t waste time coming back for me. Garrett will find a way to get me out of here.”
“C’mon, Gillian, you can’t ask me to make that kind of promise,” Cayden shot back.
“Promise me, Cayden!”
He sighed. “Fine, I promise.”
With no time to hesitate, Gillian stood on wobbly legs, trying not to throw up from nerves, and moved to the rear door of the truck. She glanced over her shoulder. The guard approached Cayden’s door, and he got out of the van, grumbling about getting to his next job. Then, he grabbed the guard by the throat and slammed his head into the side of the truck. The guard crumbled to the ground in a heap.
Cayden took the card from the lanyard around his neck and passed it over to Gillian. “Go now. I’ll stay here with Brooke.”
Gillian jumped from the back and ran to the guard station, trying not to trip in her heels. Once inside, she glanced at the blinking green panel and swiped the card across the board. Turning her head, she exhaled when the gate opened. She ran back toward the van and stumbled when a giant hand wrapped around her throat, cutting off her air supply. She choked and gasped as he turned her around to face him, lifting her halfway off the ground. Dangling in midair, she tried to kick him in the groin, but she missed and only managed to hit his shin.
“Don’t even think about going anywhere.” Finally, he put her down, releasing his hold on her throat.
Coughing, she lay on the ground, gasping for air. She glanced over at a second guard, now racing toward the driver’s door, but before he could reach it, the van zoomed through the open gate and onto the main road.
She sighed with relief. At least Brooke would be safe.
A golf cart pulled up and the guard pushed Gillian into the rear seat. “You’re too much trouble for your own good.”
They sped back toward the house and came to an abrupt stop at an enormous garden set up like a maze. “There’s police up ahead,” he muttered. “Get out.” He grabbed her by the arm and nudged her along, beyond the topiary bushes, fountains, and trees set in huge terra cotta pots.
Before she could try and make a run for it through the maze, the guard pushed her past a row of hedges and tall shrubs to a clearing. “We’ll wait here until I decide what to do with you.”
A rustling in the bushes made Gillian glance over her shoulder. A vampire, dressed as a pirate with a patch over his eye, walked toward them. He carried an unconscious woman whose head lolled to the side.
“What the hell are you doing here?” The guard demanded, flashing a light on the pirate. “You’ve been warned about this kind of thing. You’re not supposed to kill any of them. You stupid sonofabitch. This place is crawling with special agents and cops. You’re not taking the rest of us down for murder.” The guard reached for his walkie-talkie “I’m calling the boss.”
Adrenaline coursed through Gillian’s veins, making her tremble from head to toe. Her stomach roiled. She breathed in and out, willing herself not to puke in a bush.
“Hey, there’s no need to call anyone. At least come over here and help me hide the body before the cops get here.”
