Argeneau Family - The Immortal Hunter Part 4

"Good, good," Lucian said, sounding calmer. "Okay, so you now have Nicholas and two other rogues to find?"

"That's why I asked you to track the SUV. If Nicholas is chasing it and we can catch up to the SUV, we can find both Nicholas and at least one other rogue."

"And rescue the second girl," Lucian muttered. "I'll call Bastien and have him track it. I presume you have a vehicle to give pursuit?"

"We took their van."

"What about blood?"

"In the SUV."

"Along with your weapons," Lucian said, sounding testy again.

"Yes," Decker admitted quietly. "We have a couple of guns each, but are low on ammo."

"All right. Sit tight. I'll call Bastien and get things rolling. I'll get back to you when I have coordinates and a plan for how to get a new SUV with blood and weapons to you."

Decker grunted and waited a moment to see if there were further instructions. When the only sound was the click of the phone disconnecting, he flipped his own phone closed with a sigh.

"Is he going to track the SUV and send someone to look after the clearing?" Justin asked as he watched Decker slip it in his pocket.

"Yes. And see about getting us another SUV with blood and weapons."

Justin's gaze moved to the tarp-covered bodies. "It will be nice to be rid of these guys. I keep thinking I catch a glimpse of the tarp moving out of the corner of my eye. I keep looking back, expecting them to sit up and start coming after us."

"You watch too much television," Decker said with disgust. "They've been staked. They aren't going anywhere."

"Yeah, well, I'll still be glad to be rid of them," Justin muttered, and then asked, "Will whoever brings us a new SUV take Dani too?"

Decker stiffened and shook his head. "No. She stays with us. She could be useful in helping to keep Stephanie calm when we get her back," he added, but knew Justin wasn't fooled into believing that was the real reason he wanted to keep Dani with him.

They could control Stephanie as Justin had controlled Dani if need be.

Turning away to avoid the other man's eyes, he glanced out the window, looking for the woman in question, and then frowned.

"Where is she?"

Justin followed his gaze, and then turned and peered through the windows on the opposite side. "There she is."

Decker twisted around and spotted Dani on the side of the road, a good hundred feet away.

"You don't think she's running away, do you?" Justin asked, sounding more curious than concerned.

"No." Decker opened the van door and slid out.

"I told you, you should let me keep her under my control," Justin said smugly. "She wouldn't even have had to get out of the van if I had."

"No," Decker repeated firmly, turning back to peer through the open door. "No more controlling her. I don't like you being inside her head. Just stay out of her mind."

Justin arched an eyebrow. "And if she really does try to run away?"

"Then I'll stop her." Decker said firmly. He started to slide the door closed and then paused to peer at the kid grimly. "She's mine. Stay out of her head."

"I'm a hundred years old, hardly a kid," Justin said dryly, plucking the thought from his mind.

Decker merely scowled, pulled the door closed, and started around the van to head after Dani.

Justin unrolled the driver's side window and leaned out to call softly, "Don't take too long. I think we should wait in town for the call."

Decker paused and glanced back. His tone was dry when he said, "Let me guess, you're getting hungry."

"I am," Justin admitted, and then added, "But you're also starting to look pale. You're going to need blood soon."Decker shrugged that away and turned to continue after Dani. He wasn't terribly surprised to hear that he was pale. He had been shot twice, and his body had been working overtime to make repairs. It would be using up blood to do it and would soon need to replenish that blood. If Decker hadn't been distracted with everything going on, he would have long ago noticed the slight cramping in his stomach-his body's way of telling him it wanted more blood. He was certainly noticing it now that Justin had gotten him thinking about it, and it made him hope that Lucian was quick about getting another truck and blood to them.

A cool breeze against his chest brought Decker's attention to the fact that his s.h.i.+rt was still undone. Fortunately, Justin hadn't mentioned-and Dani hadn't gotten a look at his back to see-that he'd actually been shot twice. As he did up his s.h.i.+rt, Decker started to worry over what she must have thought when she tended to the one wound she had seen. It seemed obvious that she'd noticed something amiss when she'd removed the bullet. Decker's guess would be that the healing had been much further along than it would have been if he were a mortal. His kind healed much more quickly. It was why Justin had kept saying he should let her look sooner rather than later. Within twenty-four hours that bullet, along with the one in his back, would have been long pushed out of his body and Decker would have been fully healed.

As a doctor, even seeing it as quickly as she had, Dani would have noticed that the bullet was much closer to the surface than it should be. He had no idea how she'd explained that to herself, but she hadn't commented, and, he hoped, now that she'd done all she could by removing the bullet she would stop fussing over it.

Decker let that concern drop away as he reached Dani. He was about to tap her on the shoulder when she suddenly whirled in his direction. She jumped back with a startled little gasp as she saw him standing there.

"Where were you going?" he asked.

"I was just walking off some worry," she answered, and then moved past him to head in the direction of the van. "So, were they able to track the SUV? Are we ready to go?"

"They're tracking it now. They'll call when they have something," he answered, following.

She nodded. "Shouldn't we start out anyway? Head for town maybe? It might save us some time when they do call."

"Or it might add more time if we head in the wrong direction," he pointed out, and then shook his head. "We're better off waiting to hear back from Lucian."

"I suppose you're right," she said unhappily.

"It shouldn't take too long," Decker a.s.sured her gruffly, and then to distract her from her worry, said, "Tell me what happened."

When she paused and looked at him, he added, "It might help us figure out how to approach the situation when we catch up to your sister and the man who has her."

Dani was silent for so long that he thought she wasn't going to answer, but then said, "We came up for a family reunion. My uncle owns a house with several cottages on his property, and once a year has the whole family up for a weekend." She frowned and then admitted, "I'm usually too busy to come, but I managed to get some time off this year."

Decker nodded and didn't mention that he was very glad she had. He doubted very much if she was at the moment.

"We were supposed to leave tonight to avoid the weekend traffic. My idea," Dani added bitterly, no doubt thinking that if they'd left Sunday morning instead of in the evening, none of this would have happened. It was an excuse for her to take the blame for what had taken place, and Decker was searching his mind for something to say to take away that blame when she continued, "Anyway, Stephanie wanted to ride with me rather than crammed into my dad's van with our brothers and sisters."

"How many are there?" he asked curiously."Me, Stephanie, who's the youngest, and two brothers and two more sisters in between," Dani answered and smiled wryly as she pointed out, "The van was pretty packed with luggage and people on the way up, and I thought the company would be nice so I said sure."

Decker nodded.

"Stephanie wanted some snacks for the trip home, so I pulled into the grocery store." She let her breath out on an unhappy sigh.

"I should have just stopped at the coffee shop or something. I-"

"What happened isn't your fault, Dani," he said quietly.

"Isn't it?" she asked huskily.

He shook his head. "You seem to be using every decision you made as a reason to blame yourself, but it isn't your fault."

Dani shrugged, her gaze on the ground ahead, and Decker knew she wasn't hearing him so he said, "It was your uncle's idea to have the reunion this weekend. If he hadn't, you wouldn't have been here. Do you blame him?"

"No, of course not," she said at once, and he nodded.

"Well, the fact you suggested everyone stay later to avoid traffic, or that you agreed to stop at the grocery store so your sister could get some snacks doesn't make it your fault either. If you want to lay blame, lay it where it belongs... with the men who took you."

Dani let her breath out slowly. "You're right, of course."

"But you're still blaming yourself," Decker guessed dryly.

"Maybe," she admitted wryly. "But I'll try not to."

Knowing that was the best he could expect, Decker let it go and asked, "Did they grab you on the way into the grocery store or on the way out?"

"Out," Dani answered, and then smiled as she admitted, "Stephanie had gone a little wild making her selections. My mother doesn't allow junk food in the house and Stephi went nuts, getting everything she loves but rarely gets. We were both laden down with bags when we came out. The van was parked beside the car when we came back. I didn't think much of it, and then..."

Decker's eyes narrowed on her face, noting the confusion and bewilderment there. "What is it?"

"I-We-The van door slid open and we just-Both Stephanie and I just dropped our bags and climbed into the van. I don't know why, but we just did," she said with bewilderment.

"And then what happened?" Decker asked, not wanting her to think about that too long. It was obvious the rogues had used mind control, but he could hardly explain that to her.

Dani hesitated, obviously still troubled by her own actions, and then continued, "Once we were in the van I suddenly knew we shouldn't be and I grabbed Stephanie's arm and tried to drag her back out. The men just laughed, and one knocked me back while another grabbed Stephanie and pulled her onto his lap and started pawing her. I tried to help her, but just got knocked back again. The man who hit me seemed to be enjoying it," she added angrily, and then her expression clouded with confusion and she said, "And then the one driving told them to stop playing with the foody Decker's mouth tightened, but he merely said, "What happened next?"

"The guy holding Stephanie said something like 'Aw, Dad, we're just having a little fun.'"This seemed to bewilder her even more. Decker wasn't surprised. All immortals looked to be about twenty-five to thirty. The father would look too young to be called Dad by the others.

"It must have been a nickname," Dani said, shaking her head. "They pretty much left us alone after that. They just kept staring at us with this eager, hungry expression that gave me the creeps. After a few minutes, Stephanie stopped screaming and then we got to the clearing. They dragged us from the van and made us sit on this log while they started a fire and stuff. That's when I found out my phone didn't get any reception there."

Decker nodded, recalling her telling him she hadn't been able to get a signal. That was probably why the men hadn't taken away her phone.

"When the men finished gathering wood and had a fire going, they joined us around the fire and I asked what were they going to do with us. They all started laughing and then one of them dragged me over to the cliff and threw a log from the fire down in the ravine and there were these two women-"

Her voice choked off and Decker caught her hand in his and gave it a squeeze. "You don't have to tell me. I saw them."

She nodded and fell silent, and Decker considered what she'd said. The men had obviously controlled her and Stephanie to get them into the van, but then had dropped the control and allowed them to struggle and be terrified for a bit. They hadn't had to.

They could have kept them under their control and unaware the entire time they had them, but apparently enjoyed the horror their victims experienced.

"Those poor women," Dani said unhappily, "and their poor families."

"Yes," he said simply, and squeezed her hand again.

She glanced at him and said reluctantly, "I guess I owe you my life."

"You don't owe anyone anything," he said gruffly.

Dani shrugged and asked, "Did you already suspect these men were responsible for those other women going missing? Were you already following them when they kidnapped us?"

"Nicholas was tracking them," he admitted reluctantly.

"The one who went after my sister?" Dani asked.

He nodded.

"Did he see us get taken in the parking lot, or-"

"No. He was at a restaurant a good distance away when it happened," Decker said, and seeing the question in her eyes, explained, "I gather he put a tracking and listening device in the wheel well of the van. He heard when you were taken and used the tracking device to follow."

"And how did you and Justin end up there?" she asked.

"We followed Nicholas," he said shortly.

"Why were you following Nicholas?"

Decker s.h.i.+fted uncomfortably and merely said, "He was rus.h.i.+ng out of the restaurant when we got there, so we followed."The way her eyes narrowed suggested that it wasn't a very satisfactory answer. He wasn't surprised when she asked, "Who exactly is this Nicholas?"

Decker sought his mind for a way to answer and finally said, "He used to work with us."

"Then why hasn't he called you to tell you where he's tracked the SUV to so far?"

"He doesn't have my cell phone number," Decker said, glad to be able to answer at least that question and honestly. There hadn't even been cell phones when Nicholas had gone rogue. Before she could ask, he added, "And I don't know his number either."

"Does your boss know it?" she asked.

"No."

"Oh." Dani's shoulders drooped briefly and they started walking again, but they'd taken only a few more steps when she paused and turned to him excitedly. "The listening device."

"What about it?" he asked.

"Nicholas might still have the receiver on," she pointed out, and suggested, "You could speak into it and tell him your number and ask him to call you."

Decker raised his eyebrows at the suggestion. It was a clever one, or would be if there was any possibility of Nicholas calling.

There wasn't, but Dani's words made him realize that he'd completely overlooked the presence of the bug and tracker.

Nicholas might very well be listening to them. Justin had put both gizmos in one of the cup holders between the two front seats and they'd promptly forgotten about them. Nicholas had probably heard everything they'd said in the van, including his side of the phone conversation with Lucian, and the tracker would tell him exactly where they were right now. It's what Decker would have done had the situation been reversed and he should have thought of it, but in their rush to get things done and get going, both he and Justin had forgotten all about the two gizmos. At least he knew he had and suspected Justin had, or he would have said something.

"Come on." Dani hurried for the van.

Decker followed more slowly. He was pretty sure Nicholas wouldn't call, and Dani would be disappointed when he didn't.

She'd also wonder why he wasn't calling and start asking more questions, which he didn't want or need. On the other hand, trying to dissuade her from her plan would just bring those questions earlier.