On the Prowl (Bad Things #2)(28)

Her stomach twisted. “Tell me about when you met Simon.”

“I…I was at a club. I’d had too much to drink…using my fake ID.”

Jeez, he really wasn’t even old enough to drink.

“I went out back. Was going to puke my guts out. When he—he just appeared.” His words came fast, but they were low, a bit dazed sounding. “He grabbed me…asked if I wanted to play his game.”

Only it wasn’t really a game.

“What all did Simon tell you to do?” Rose asked him.

“He…he said to wait on the boat. He was bringing in a woman, someone he needed. Someone special. He needed me to have the boat ready to go for him.”

Julian started to pace—no, more like prowl. A scary prowl because she was sure she’d just glimpsed the flash of his claws again.

“If he got to the boat with you, we were…we were going to meet the others. If he didn’t come…” His words trailed away and he stared at her, his gaze still unblinking.

“What were you supposed to do if he didn’t come?”

“I was supposed to destroy the boat. Destroy all ties to him. Because he has important work to finish.”

Julian snarled. “I should have just killed that f*cking bastard when I had the chance!” He whirled and pointed at her. “See? This is what happens when you try to do the right thing.”

“I didn’t know Simon was a killer!” An *, yes, she’d known that. But she hadn’t realized he was the—the ring leader! Dammit. “I thought he was just some human following orders—someone like Francis!” She gestured to the bound man. “Simon smelled human. He acted human, and he sure was screaming like a terrified human when he was trapped in that SUV.”

Julian frowned. “Yes, he was.” Now he seemed puzzled. “I thought he was human, too.”

Rayce cleared his throat. “Okay, so I’ll point out the obvious. Julian, you’re a shifter. That means you have the best sense of smell on the planet.”

“Sh-shifter…?” Francis croaked. “Shifters…vampires…”

They all ignored him. Rayce noted, “If you thought the guy smelled human, then odds are high that he is human. Not like we have a monopoly on evil, you know. Sometimes, humans can be worse than we are.” His voice roughened. “I’ve sure seen that shit first-hand.”

So a human was hunting her? No, that didn’t fit. “A human couldn’t work a compulsion.”

“Not without help,” Julian agreed. “The magical kind. So we have to figure out just where he’s getting that help.”

She eyed Francis. “You said he was going to take me to the others.” Rose crossed her arms over her body. “If he has other paranormals, then he could be using their powers some way. Maybe that’s why he’s after us all.” She leaned in close to Francis. “Where were you going to meet the others? Where are they?”

“I-I don’t know.”

“But you said you were going to meet the others—”

“Francis here was just an insurance policy. Someone to make sure that whatever this Simon had left on his boat—that it didn’t make it into the wrong hands,” Rayce cut in. “I’m guessing the destination was plugged into the GPS or some shit like that. So your mysterious buddy Simon could have been heading out to one of the islands that dot the coast. Or he could have been going back to the mainland. He wanted the boat for a fast exit, and he wanted expendable Francis there in case something went wrong with his plan.”

Hell. “Do you remember anything that might help us?” Rose asked Francis.

His brows beetled down. “He…he said we were going where no one would find us. Only the gators could see him.”

Gators?

“My money’s on the mainland,” Rayce said. “Maybe the Everglades? Stretches for freaking miles and miles. That would be the perfect place to hide.”

“Is there anything else?” Rose asked Francis. “Anything else that can help me?”

Francis just stared at her. “What are you?” Then his gaze flew to Julian and Rayce. “What are you all?” His terror was back.

But she knew how to handle that fear. She put her hand under his chin and turned his battered face back toward her. “You never met us. You were never on this island. You’re going to sleep, and when you wake up, you’ll be back in Key West. You partied too much and you can’t remember anything…now all you want to do is go home and forget this trip.”

“Forget this trip,” he whispered.

“Right. Forget it and live a normal life.” Be one of the lucky ones. “Now get your ass to sleep.”

His eyes sagged closed.

She exhaled on a rough sigh and stepped away from him. Her gaze darted to Julian and Rayce. “See? No need to hurt the guy. He told us plenty.” Rose pushed back her shoulders. “And there’s no need to kill him, either. He won’t remember any of us or this place, and he can just be taken back to Key West and left there.”

“Uh, huh…” Julian didn’t look convinced. “What happens if Simon appears and decides to attack him? What then?”

“Well, we just have to find Simon first.” She inclined her head toward Rayce. “You can make sure Francis is safe until he can leave the Keys, and Julian and I—we’ll find Simon.”