Amaliya nodded. “Yep.”
Eduardo sighed. “I thought it would be more exciting than that.”
Cian narrowed his eyes at the coyote. “I’ll need you to act as a guard the night we meet with Rachon. Think you can handle it?”
“I’ve eaten your kind on more than one occasion,” Eduardo said, shrugging. Fastening a charming smile on Amaliya, he said, “In many different ways.”
Amaliya rolled her eyes, but looked amused.
“And what about me?” Samantha asked.
Jeff leaned toward her. “I think we’ll have to test you and see what you are capable of. We may require your help.”
“Only three can meet with Rachon and her entourage,” Alexia reminded him.
“But a few of us could monitor nearby,” Jeff responded with a wry smile. “Right?”
“Considering we’re anticipating a betrayal, yes,” Cian agreed.
“Where will the meeting take place?” Samantha asked.
“Zilker Park. In the open, but away from human activity,” Cian answered. “It’s best to not allow her near my haven.”
“Location doesn’t matter if she’s going to attack you anyway,” Alexia said, shrugging. “I can probably rig up remote cameras if you can pinpoint the exact location for me. I can snag you guys on the digital cameras.”
“I long for the days when film rendered us invisible,” Cian said, winking at Alexia.
She blushed.
“What if Rachon is in cahoots with Etzli and Santos?” Benchley ran his hands through his hair. “Oh, man. That could be bad.”
“Santos hates Rachon. He hates anyone associated with The Summoner. Etzli does speak with Rachon, but I have a feeling that it’s her way of keeping tabs on both Rachon and me. Etzli is...” Cian fell silent, his hand gently rubbing Amaliya’s leg.
“Well?” Benchley prompted.
“Duplicitous,” Cian finally finished.
“So basically we’re just fucked every which way, huh?” Benchley rubbed his face vigorously.
“I plan to survive it,” Eduardo said with a shrug. “Vampires are pussies.”
Cian gave him a dark look.
“Oh, yeah?” Amaliya looked ready to throw down with the coyote.
“Eduardo, stop causing shit,” Jeff said in a weary tone.
“What?” Eduardo had the audacity to look hurt.
“We have less than twenty-four hours to come up with a way to deal with all of this crap coming down on us,” Jeff said. “We need to not fight with each other.”
“The plan should be simple,” Cian said, his voice taking on a dominating tone.
The table fell silent as all eyes turned to him.
“If Rachon attacks, we kill her and her entourage. If we can save Bianca, we’ll do so, but if not, she dies, too. If Etzli or Santos interferes, we will have to deal with them as well.” Cian glanced at Jeff. “We could really use more people.”
“This is it,” Jeff said with a shrug.
“We need more vampires,” Amaliya decided. “Any volunteers?”
“Ha, ha,” Benchley retorted.
Samantha reached out and touched Jeff’s hand gently. “I can shoot, you know. Give me silver bullets.”
“We’re all going to have to be armed for this,” Alexia agreed.
Eduardo lounged in his chair looking bored. “Vampires die just like everything else.”
“We’re harder to kill,” Cian responded.
“Eh, not that hard,” Eduardo shot back with a sardonic smile.
“Enough!” Samantha said, surprising everyone. “This isn’t a time to be arguing over who is more of a bad ass! Okay? Fuck me sideways! Do what Jeff said! We make a plan. We do it! I don’t want to die, okay? I almost did it once and I don’t want to do it again!”
“At least we have an idea of what we’re dealing with,” Jeff said at last. “There shouldn’t be any surprises that we can’t anticipate.”
Amaliya busted out laughing.
“What?” Jeff felt defensive at her outburst.
“Now that you said that, we’re fucking doomed to have something come out of left field and knock us on our asses,” Amaliya answered.
“I’m not that superstitious,” Jeff answered shortly.
“I am,” Benchley said, holding up his hand.
“Me, too,” Alexia said, holding up hers.
“You fucked us,” Eduardo agreed.
“Yeah, honey, you kinda did,” Samantha said, joining the traitorous crew.
“I agree with Jeff,” Cian said firmly.
“Well, thanks,” Jeff grumbled.
Considering what they were facing, at least he had the support of the master vampire.
“Meeting adjourned,” Cian said.
“Yeah,” Jeff said, feeling a little swept aside as the chairs were shoved back and people rose to their feet.
Samantha leaned toward him, her fingers brushing his hand. “It’s okay, Jeff. If we all die, we know it’s not your fault.”
“Gee, thanks.”
She pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, then joined the others in gathering around the donuts and coffee maker.
Jeff stared at the open book in front of him, dread filling his heart. Nothing felt right. Nothing was really making sense. They were missing something vital, but he was hard pressed to figure out what it was.
Part Four
Sunday
Chapter 14
The heat shimmered over the highway edging the gas station as Pete climbed out of Ethan’s truck and stretched his long legs. Tucking his cowboy hat on his head, he glanced toward the bigger man. Ethan was already messing with the gas pumps, preparing to fill up after their long haul from East Texas to just inside Eastland County.
It was almost six hours since they’d left in the very early morning and the sun was still trekking upward in the cloudless pale blue sky. The hot summer air was scorching as it brushed over his face and tugged at his clothes.
Holding his cowboy hat in place, he stared off down the road that would lead to the home of Amaliya’s grandmother. His head was still throbbing from his hangover, but his stomach had finally settled down. He was starting to feel hungry. It was nearly ten in the morning, but he was hoping he might be able to snag a leftover breakfast taco. Amaliya’s grandmother was an awesome cook.
“I should call them and see if they went to church,” Pete called out.
Ethan glanced over his burly shoulder and gave him a brief nod. The other man’s long duster danced and snapped around his tall form. Somehow his cowboy hat remained firmly on his head in defiance of the hot gusts of wind. “Go ahead, but don’t tell them too much. Keep it simple.”
Pete dug his cellphone out of his pocket. His brain still felt a little mushy and his eyes grainy from what little sleep he had snagged during the trip. Ethan wasn’t much for talking as he drove, so Pete had found himself trying to start up a conversation with unsuccessful results. He’d finally fallen given up and dozed off to sleep away his beer haze. Yawning, he quickly scanned his contact list and found the number for Innocente.
The phone rang three times, then a small voice said, “Hello? Ottmer-Guerra residence.”
Pete hesitated, surprised to hear a child on the phone. But the name was correct: Innocente Ottmer. He knew Guerra was the name of one of the family tree offshoots, so he said, “Hey, this is a friend of Innocente. My name is Pete Talbert.”
“I’ll get her,” the child said, and noisily lay down the phone.
A second later a female voice said, “This is Cynthia Guerra. Who’s calling?”
“Uh, hey, Cynthia. It’s Pete Talbert.”
“Hey, Pete! How are you?”
“I’m good. You and Sergio visiting Innocente?” Pete tugged on his goatee, not really wanting to interrupt a family event.
“We live here now. She’s getting older and with the economy like it is...”
“Yeah, that makes sense. Hey, I’m in the area. Would you mind if I dropped by?” Pete glanced toward Ethan. The other man was still pumping the gas, but his body was slightly angled toward Pete. The dark sunglasses hid his eyes, but Pete knew he was under scrutiny.
There was a pause, then Cynthia said, “Sure. Come on by. Shouldn’t be a problem. We got up late so we’re just now eating breakfast. How far out are you?”
“Uh, I would say about fifteen minutes.”
“Great. That gives me time to get the kids dressed. We’ll see you soon.”
“Talk to you in a few,” Pete answered, then hung up. “They’re just getting up, so it’s all good.”
“No church today, huh?” Ethan finished up at the pump and holstered the nozzle.
“Yeah,” Pete said, realizing how odd it was for the family not to be at church. Innocente was very devout and so was Sergio.
“Wonder what’s up.” Ethan tucked his credit card away in his wallet as he let his words hang in the air.
Pete shifted uncomfortably on his feet, gazing at Ethan through the gloomy interior of the truck. He had a feeling that the mysterious man knew a lot more than he was letting on. “You know something?”