Page 16 of Peacemaker

We grabbed vests from the coatrack by the front door, shrugged into them, then headed out. Shane’s shotgun was in his truck, and both our vehicles were outfitted with anything we might need. Leo had stocked my car, transferring my stuff from the loaner and replenishing depleted supplies. I didn’t interfere. He needed to do things to make himself feel useful and I understood that.

“I’ll drive,” Shane told me, striding toward his truck.

“I’lldrive. My new car needs some dust on her.”

He didn’t argue, just grabbed weapons from his truck and then jogged to my car. He gave a low whistle of appreciation when he climbed inside. “Gift from Angus?”

“Yes.” I eyed him, wondering if he was about to say something biting.

He buckled up. “Sweet.”

I grinned. “Crawford said there are at least a dozen vampires. They’re attacking, and…” I paused, frowning. “He said they were different. I’m not sure what he meant.”

Shane patted his shotgun. “Looking forward to finding out. Betty is in need of some action.”

“So am I,” I muttered. Then, “But a group of healthy vampires?”

“Could have traveled in from other cities.”

“The infection spread everywhere, not just Red Valley.”

He shrugged. “Maybe they’re the ones that escaped the island.”

Whatever. We were about to fight.

I gave a loud whoop and sped out of Bay Town, and it wasn’t long before the sounds of shrieking sirens reached my ears. I followed them into the heart of the city, where the humans had only recently begun to brave the night once again.

And in the city was chaos.

A flash of paleness streaked across the street in front of me, there and gone. “So fast,” I whispered, partly awed, partly enraged. No infected could move like that.

Shane unbuckled and slid forward in his seat, his eyes narrowed as another one raced past my car. “Look in the alleys. And there, behind the van.”

My heart was beating out of my chest, partly from fear, mostly from excitement. “At least they’re staying together. That’ll make it easier for us. But they’re huge.”

Humans rushed down the sidewalks and into the streets, brakes squealed as oncoming traffic had to stop for fleeing pedestrians, and people spilled from the doorways of bars, restaurants, and shops.

And even as I parked the car and we jumped from the vehicle, I saw a vampire rush from an apartment and take down the humans he’d chased into the street.

“Vampires are in the homes,” I said, stunned. Vampires couldn’t go into houses. They just couldn’t.

Not unless they were invited in.

I groaned as Silverlight snaked through my body and took possession of my arm, but the pain was over in a few seconds. Eventually, I’d get used to that particular feeling. I hoped.

Shane looped Betty’s strap over his chest and pulled two long, silver blades from the sheaths at his sides. As a hunter, he could have killed vampires with a sharp stick if he’d wanted to, but gleaming silver blades were so much cooler.

“Let’s kill some vampires.” And then he was running toward a group of vampires as they fell upon two human women, his blades flashing.

God, he was sexy.

I forced my attention away from my hunter and put it on the fight.

And finally, I got a good look at the vampires’ faces.

Crawford was right. They were different. They were like caricatures of vampires, almost. Huge and ugly, with coarse, flat features and long, matted wads of hair. And their teeth.

Vampires had a couple of sharp fangs.