The Immortal Hunter(27)

She didn't understand why those bodies were back there, anyway. Why hadn't they left them in the clearing for the police to find as they had the victims in the ravine? That was a question that should have occurred to her at the start, but somehow hadn't. There was a lot that hadn't occurred to her that should have, though. It was almost as if a veil had been drawn over her brain, making her thoughts fuzzy and slow. Perhaps she'd been drugged, she thought suddenly. Perhaps that was why she'd slept and didn't recall dropping off to sleep. Perhaps Justin or Decker, or both, had drugged her.

The possibility made her wonder once again if she shouldn't be trying to get away from these men, but the fact still remained that they were her only link to her sister at the moment. They could track the SUV Stephanie had been taken in, something she didn't think the police could do without more information than she had to give them.

Dani sat fretting over these thoughts as they raced along the highway. Justin was driving much more quickly than was legally allowed, not to mention much more swiftly than was safe, but she didn't comment. The faster they went, the faster they'd catch up to Stephanie, so she merely checked that her seat belt was securely fastened and prayed they didn't get pulled over.

She'd barely had the thought when Justin announced, "We've picked up a cop."

Dani peered into the side mirror to see a police car approaching at speed, lights flashing.

"I've got it," Decker assured him, and barely a heartbeat later, the flashing lights shut off and the police cruiser slowed and began to fall behind. She stared at the disappearing vehicle in the mirror with confusion, not sure what had just taken place. It was just something else for her to fret over as they rushed along the highway. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that time seemed to fly by, and it was a bit of a shock when she spotted the sign that read Vaughan Mills.

"Here we are," Justin announced as he took an off ramp a few minutes later. "You'll get to meet Eshe and Lucian now."

Outdoor World was long closed and the parking lot virtually empty as they pulled in. Decker eyed V the lone silver SUV there, noting the three people inside. He could make out the distinctive shape of Eshe in the driver's seat, but there were also the bigger, bulkier forms of two men-one in the front passenger seat and one on the back bench seat. It brought a frown to Decker's lips. Lucian hadn't mentioned the woman would have company.

"Eshe's not alone," Justin commented as he turned the steering wheel to park two spots away on the driver's side of the other vehicle.

"Who are the men with her?" Dani asked curiously.

Decker glanced her way to see she was squinting out her window at the neighboring vehicle.

"I don't know," Justin admitted. "I've never seen them before."

When he and Dani then turned to peer back at Decker in question, he merely shook his head. He'd never seen the pair before either.

"Probably just more enforcers," Justin decided aloud, and Decker turned sharply on him for the slip, but neither he nor Dani appeared to have caught it. Shaking his head, he eased closer to the van's side door and opened it. He got out, grateful not to be on his knees anymore, and then turned to open the door for Dani, noting that Eshe and the men were getting out of the other vehicle as well.

"Thank you," Dani murmured, dropping to the ground in front of him.

Decker nodded and closed the door, then took her arm to lead her toward the approaching trio.

"Jeez," Dani breathed as they neared, and he smiled wryly to himself at the impression she must be getting. Eshe, by herself, was pretty amazing. She was six feet tall as Justin had said, and presently wearing a tight, black leather bodysuit that showed just what he'd meant by lean and mean, but that's not where Decker's attention was. Eshe often sported interesting and unusual hairstyles, always short and often fitting her mood of the moment. Judging by her hair tonight, she'd had a rough week. The tight black curls that usually lay close to her head were standing up in short, kinky waves that had been dyed intermittently blond and red so that it looked almost like fire. Her large, intelligent eyes were flashing gold and black, and the smile of greeting she offered was hard and sharklike, revealing pearly white teeth that contrasted sharply with her lovely mahogany skin. The woman was beautiful and-Decker had noticed-intimidating as hell to most people who met her, both mortal and immortal alike. It seemed Dani was no different.

Either that or it was the men who had her eyes going so wide, he thought, his gaze now moving to the mirror images on either side of Eshe. Paler-skinned and obviously twins, the men too were dressed in leather, but tall as Eshe was, they had a good four to six inches on her. They both had long dark hair; one wore it pulled back in a ponytail, while the other was wearing it loose around his face. However, it was their build that was most startling; the men were a pair of powerhouses, wide and bulky with muscle.

Individually, each of the three people approaching would attract attention; together it was impossible not to gawk, Decker thought, and then noted that each man carried a small black case by its strap. He eyed them curiously, suspecting they held computers, though he wasn't sure for what purpose.

"Did you run into any trouble on the way?" Eshe greeted them when they reached each other.

Decker left Justin to answer the question, sorry he had when the younger immortal seemed to forget Dani's presence and said, "Nah. We had a cop jump on our tail at one point, but Decker did the mind-control thing and sent him on his way."