She could do it, she thought, gearing herself up. She rolled over onto her back and sat up. No one kept her from sitting up, so she pushed her luck further and came up onto her knees, trying to keep her balance as they took turns hard. The driver was beyond a typical New York driver. You would think he was in the Daytona 500.

“Killean is going to reward us good for getting them,” the female said.

Renee froze. Killean? Killean was behind this? Was that where they were going? Were they finally going to learn where Killean was? And she’d just said “them.” That meant Rafe was with her.

Her plan changed. She would take someone captive and have him or her take her to Killean. Take both her and Rafe. And an army of others. They could call in Danton and any number of vampires. They could finally get him and make them all safe. Make Rafe’s queen safe. All the diplomats safe. She would do what she had promised to do: She would help the vampire nation.

But were these people armed? Were they simply depending on their strength and numbers or did they have weapons as well?

It was clear they saw her as no kind of threat as she backed up against the wall of the van, hiding her hands from view as best as she was able to tell. She twisted her wrists in opposing directions, bearing the pain happily. Then with a jerk of her hands she snapped the ties. She reached up and yanked off her hood while simultaneously drawing her weapon. Her police training kicked in. She took in all of her targets at once and started shooting the nearest one first. She remembered she needed to do brain-stem shots so she aimed for the backs of their head or their throats, whichever was facing her.

Pop! Pop!

Two targets down in rapid succession. The other two froze as their compatriots fell over. It gave her time to take out the third vampire. Then the fourth surged forward, rushing her. She moved forward into him, bringing her elbow up into his face. He grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled painfully hard, skewing her ability to aim. She brought her gun up by feel, popped off a shot, sending the vampire back with a jerk. He let go of her hair as he gaped at her in surprise, his hand going to his chest where she’d shot him. That moment of surprise was all she needed. She aimed for his throat and pulled the trigger. She then aimed at the driver and shot him in the arm. He cried out and the van careened wildly. She was sent lurching forward, but she kept hold of her gun as she rolled across the van floor. As she rolled she snapped the tie around her ankles, came up and aimed at the driver again.

“Stop the van or the next one’s right through your neck!”

The driver hit the brakes hard, and Renee used the momentum to propel herself to her feet and forward. She grabbed the driver by his shirt and pressed her weapon to the back of his neck. The van was halted and she looked out of the window to see people staring and yelling at them for the erratic driving.

“Now turn us around and take us back to the parking lot you took us from,” she instructed him, pressing the gun more firmly into his skull.

He quickly did as she asked, taking them around the block and heading back in the direction of the vampire’s building. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Rafe lying there, unmoving, a hood on his head and his hands and feet bound. But she resisted the urge to go to him. She had to keep control of the driver. He was their only source for finding Killean.

“Rafe?” she called to him.

No response. She gritted her teeth and said to the driver, “If you’ve hurt him, I’m going to take pleasure in personally shooting you in every joint of your body. Kneecaps. Elbows. Wrists. You get the idea.”

“Y-yes.”

“Why did you kidnap us?” she asked. “Why me?”

“I-I-It wasn’t about you. It’s about him. You’re just collateral.”

“So why do you want him?”

“I-I think it’s because he knows where every lawful vampire diplomat is staying.”

Renee frowned. She hadn’t realized Rafe was so full of such sensitive information. He was a target. The target. That was why he’d been attacked twice in as many nights. Not just because they were all being attacked. That had to have been a red herring to cover who their actual target was. But what specific information was Killean after?

“Why does Killean want to know where the diplomats are staying?”

“I don’t know,” he said shakily.

Renee nudged the gun against the back of his head.

“I swear I don’t know!” he cried.

“We’ll see,” she said as they pulled into the underground garage once more. They found a spot and parked. Then Renee yanked the driver out of his seat and dragged him into the back of the van. “Untie him,” she instructed him, pushing him toward Rafe. By this time the other vampire bodies had disintegrated. This seemed to shake up the driver more than anything.

“Please. I don’t want to die and disappear into nothingness.”

“Then do as I say. Untie him.”

The vampire shakily withdrew a knife from his belt and Renee pressed the gun even tighter to his skull.

“One wrong move and you’re dust. If you hurt him, I’ll kill you. Cut the ties then hand the knife to me.”

She followed his every move, watching him carefully for signs he might use the knife in a dangerous way. She would cut the ties herself, but she didn’t want to turn her back to this vampire. He was stronger than she was. Faster. She couldn’t afford to move her gun even an inch away from his head.

They moved carefully in tandem, the vampire reaching to pull off Rafe’s hood and then cut the tie at his feet. Renee bit her lip when she saw Rafe was bleeding from the head. He had been hit hard enough to knock him out cold and cause a deep gash in his head. It made her angry all over again.

“Now his hands.”

The vampire hesitated and tensed. She suspected he might try something so she took her advantage in her hands. If Rafe could be knocked out, then so could this vampire. She raised up her gun and then brought it back down hard on the back of his head. The first strike only dazed him it seemed, so she had to hit him again. Finally he slumped over, unconscious.

She snatched up the knife and, without turning her back on the unconscious vampire, she cut Rafe’s bonds free. Then she softly patted his cheek, trying to rouse him. When that didn’t work she tried slapping him harder.

“Rafe! Wake up!”

He stirred and opened his eyes with a groan. He rolled onto his back and looked up at her.