Page 68 of Caretaker

I tried again. “Be careful tonight. Don’t let them take you.”

His expression didn’t change. “I won’t leave you.”

I nodded, pretty sure my heart was in my eyes. None of us spoke again until we reached the island. Even Alejandro was quiet. He’d settled into his own grimness.

We exited the boat five minutes later. Clayton moved as though he hadn’t just been tortured nearly to death, and Alejandro was like a watchful, smooth shadow.

I had confidence in both of them.

There were no guards at the checkpoint right off the docks.

“Where are they?” I murmured.

“I don’t know,” Al answered, “but it’s too bad we didn’t know they were going to be slacking. We could have brought some fucking weapons.”

Silently, watching and listening intently for signs of guards, we walked through the shadows, drawing closer to the prison.

I could almost hear Shane urging me on. “You’ve got this, baby hunter…”

I missed him. I missed Shane the way I missed Angus, and Clayton, and Rhys and, though I didn’t want to admit it because it meant I was…well, I was just fucked up…I missed Amias.

And if I hadn’t finally witnessed the unquestionable horror that lived inside Miriam, I would have admitted that I missed her as well. I wished she hadn’t been the enemy, because I needed her. We all did. We just didn’t need her monster.

Had they all been with me as we landed on the island, I would not have been so afraid. I would not have wondered quite so fiercely if the morning would see me zipped inside a body bag, or if Angus was still alive, or if Clayton would be captured.

The lack of security at the first checkpoint had been surprising, but when we found no one at the second checkpoint, either, I became just a little freaked out. “Something’s wrong,” I said.

And then Alejandro shone his flashlight over the ground, and we spotted the blood.

“Someone killed the guard,” he said.

Then my breath caught as I saw something in the beam of Al’s flashlight.

A fog trail.

“Shit,” I whispered. “Vampire. A vampire killed them.”

A vampire had somehow made it onto the island—had to have been by boat since vampires couldn’t swim for long. He’d killed the guards. I couldn’t figure out a reason a vampire would want to sneak onto the island. Not only would it be extremely risky, but he’d have to be healthy to manage it.

And now he was roaming the island, looking for…

“What? What possible reason could there be?”

“What do we do now?” Al asked.

“As planned,” I said. “Clayton, get out of sight.”

When Clayton disappeared from view, Alejandro and I jogged down the path that led to the prison.

“Are you telling them about the checkpoint guard?”

“Nope.” I lifted my nose and unthinkingly sniffed the air.

I stumbled to a halt, my eyes wide, turning in frantic circles, drawing air into my nose, into my brain.

Alejandro felt for weapons that weren’t there, searching the moonlit darkness with darting eyes. “What is it, Sinclair?”

I was afraid my pounding heart might explode from my chest, and I pressed my fist against it. “Madalyn is here.” My words came out in a whispered hiss, as though someone might hear and spirit her away. “The fucking judge’s wife is here.”