“I would much rather get this undercover thing under way. You said it was crucial we get close and find out what the plan is this weekend. So stop wasting time and help me figure out a cover. Something fast. Something believable.”

“We’ll have to consult with Danton. He already texted me that he wanted to see you.”

“Really? When were you going to tell me this?” she asked irritably.

“I’m telling you now. You were a little busy a few minutes ago.”

She settled. “So what do you think he’s going to say? Will he have suggestions or is he expecting us to come up with one?”

“I’m sure he’ll have a suggestion. He probably has a network already in place so you won’t be going in cold. But the odds of you getting close enough to find out where Killean is and notifying us are very small. Not in the amount of time you have.”

“Well, I can at least try. Take me to Danton.”

“We’re going there now. He’s in the same building.”

“What kind of work do you all do in that building?”

“The kind that makes enough money to keep all the New York friends living in comfort.”

“Do you have communal earnings?”

“And living. We work together and support one another as a community in all ways. None of us go hungry. None of us are out in the cold. We are always welcome as long as we follow the law.”

“So you’re a bunch of hippies living in the city,” she teased.

“Basically.” He pulled into the parking garage and parked in his spot.

“But some of you are more important than others.”

“Even hippies need leaders.”

They alighted from the vehicle and headed toward the elevators.

The attack came out of nowhere. Someone came up behind them and slammed into them. Both went sprawling onto the concrete floor as heavy weights crushed down on them from above. Renee felt and saw a sack of some kind being pulled down over her head, blinding her with darkness. She struggled to get free, but there were too many hands grabbing on to too many of her appendages. Then she was being lifted and thrown into what she assumed was a vehicle. A metal van to be exact, judging by the feel of the van’s bed along her body as she was pinned down. Someone tied her wrists together behind her back using a zip tie. They did the same to her feet and then lifted away from her, leaving her lying on her belly on the cold metal floor with the sack still over her head.

There was a jerk of movement and the squeal of tires as the van raced out of the parking garage.

Renee tried to get her bearings. She wondered if Rafe had been taken as well, or if he had been left there…or worse, killed. Panic tried to creep over her as she thought of him losing his life.

“Rafe? Rafe!” she cried.

But there was no response other than a sharp kick in her ribs.

“Keep quiet. Unless you want me to eat you. Wouldn’t you like that, guys? To eat her? She’s all fresh and clean. She’d be pretty tasty.”

“Yeah,” said a female voice. “Tasty.”

Someone reached out and stroked the back of her neck beneath the sack and she felt her stomach clench with panic once more.

No. She had to keep a cool head. They were trying to scare her. They would get off on it. She couldn’t give them the satisfaction. It would give them all of the power.

“I already belong to someone else,” she said boldly.

“Oh, we don’t care about that. We don’t care if a hundred vampires have come before us. We’ll still eat you. Suck you dry until you die,” the female said wickedly.

“Yeah. You’ve seen our handiwork haven’t you, nosy bitch? You know what it looks like when we suck someone to death.”

So, they knew who she was and what she was investigating. Did that mean it was two different vampires that had attacked her two victims? Were these attacks somehow systematic? Had they captured her because she was getting close to some answers? But how could that be? She didn’t think she was that close at all. They had only just begun their investigations. They hadn’t had time to unearth even the smallest clue.

Unless…unless she had seen and done something she wasn’t aware of. But what? What could it be?

It might not be that at all. This might have nothing to do with her. It might have something to do with Rafe. Where was he? Was he captive as well? She had to know!

“Where are you taking us?” she asked, fishing for information.

“The boss wants to see you. And don’t ask us why. We don’t know and we don’t care.”

That didn’t tell her much. It didn’t even tell her if Rafe was with them.

“Who’s your boss?”

“Shut up!” She got another kick in the ribs, making her curl up protectively with a groan.

All she could do then was lie quietly and take in everything around her. She became aware of every pothole they hit. Aware of every turn they took. She tried to keep a map in her head, but after a while there was no telling where they were or what direction they were going in. Instead she listened to the people in the back of the van, who proved to be very talkative.

“Take us down Sixty-Fifth through the park,” a new voice from the back of the van said.

So that meant there were at least four actors. One driver and three in the back of the van. She figured there was probably one more riding shotgun.

“Don’t tell me how to drive,” a voice from up front barked.

“It’s going to take forever if we go this way.”

“Are you really in a rush to get back?”

That won a moment of silence and she got the feeling they weren’t in a rush at all. Maybe she could use that. Maybe they weren’t happy about this assignment they had been given.

Even so, they had carried it out quickly and smoothly. As if they had done it before. But then again, it had been a blitz attack. The many outweighing the few. She and Rafe hadn’t even gotten off a single punch or kick. At least, not that she’d seen. She hadn’t heard sounds of Rafe fighting. She didn’t know what that meant.

Was he with them?

Was he well? Was he dead?

She didn’t know. And she didn’t know how to find out. She grew angry. What good had all her police training done her? She hadn’t even had time to react.

But she still had her gun clipped to her belt she realized. They hadn’t disarmed her. They were clearly banking on the fact that she was subdued and tied up. But the thing was…she knew how to snap a zip tie. She had learned it in a training scenario. At the time she had wondered when she would ever need to know this but now she was grateful for the lesson. The only question was when she should go after her weapon. She would have to break free, pull off her hood, and draw her gun within a matter of seconds to keep from being overpowered again.