Page 14 of Bound by Vengeance
“Why did you move?”
“Some of the others felt it would be betterafter Kadence turned into a vamp.”
“Your sister would never betray you.”
“I know that,” Nathan replied as he shiftedinto gear. “Many others don’t. Don’t forget, working with vampiresis as new and unusual to us as it is to you.”
“Yeah,” she muttered, and her handinstinctively went to the weapons still tucked inside her coat.
“There’s no one else here,” he assuredher.
“Are you sure no one else decided to stop bywhile you were gone?”
“It’s unlikely, but if someone is here, theywon’t harm you.”
“Some of your kind aren’t exactly thrilledto be working with us.”
“And neither are some of your kind,” hereplied.
She turned away as they traveled atree-lined road before coming into a clearing where numerous cabinswere laid out in a circular pattern around a large brick house. Theplace reminded her of a settlement from the days of the pilgrims,but with newer homes. Although, nature was already creeping forwardto reclaim its land. Already, one house had a broken window and abird’s nest in the gutter.
“Won’t the hunters be mad you brought mehere?” she asked as they passed the homes and other buildings, oneof which looked like a school.
“If they knew, yes, but they won’t know. Imade it so the security system here doesn’t record my code at thegate, and the cameras turn off when I enter. With no one here, thevideo footage isn’t monitored, and won’t be unless somethinghappens, so no one has noticed the lapse in footage while I’mhere.”
“How very ingenious and rebellious of you,head hunter.”
He gave her a wan smile before focusing onthe road winding through the woods. Aged trees crowded the sides ofthe road, creeping ever closer. He’d been here last week, but thatdidn’t mean a branch or tree couldn’t have fallen to block the waysince then.
Ribbons of asphalt spread before him untilit became a dirt track. He decelerated to keep the truck frombouncing too much over the ruts and possibly knocking one of thebodies free from the back.
Winding deeper into the compound, he foundhimself repeatedly glancing at Vicky. He almost took her hand whenher fingers dug into her thighs and her jasmine scent intensified,but he stopped himself. If he touched her again, he wasn’t sure hecould prevent himself from drawing her close for more than justcomfort this time.
“Why didn’t you blindfold me before cominghere?” Vicky asked.
“You were sound asleep.”
“I could have been faking it.”
“You don’t fake that kind of snoring.”
She sniffed. “I don’t snore.”
Chuckling, he pulled the truck onto anotherdirt road. “You do,” he assured her before stopping at the edge ofa vast pit.
Putting the truck in neutral, he pulled theemergency brake and hopped out. Vicky climbed out of the passengerside and crept toward the giant crater. It had to be at least twohundred feet across and a hundred feet deep. At the bottom, waterglistened in the reflection of the headlights barely penetratingthe murky depths.
“What is this?” she asked.
“An old quarry. We turned it into a swimminghole, and now—”
“A cemetery,” she murmured.
“Yes.”
She went to help him with the bodies when hepulled back the tarp. “Do you dump bodies here often?”
“When necessary.” He hefted the first bodyout and slung it over his shoulder. He seized her hand when shereached for one too. “I’ll take care of this.”
