Warrior (Relentless #4)(51)
He swallowed. “This is different. It’s the middle of the day, and she’ll be back soon.”
“Khristu! When will you three get it through your heads that no place, no time, is safe for her anymore. She’s an untrained Mohiri, and no match for the kind of enemies we have. The vampire that attacked her is still out there somewhere.”
“But it’s sunny and –”
“Any number of demons can go out in sunlight, and they would be only too happy to do a vampire’s bidding for the right price.”
Fear and uncertainty flashed in his eyes. “She just went to… She’ll be back soon.”
“What is she doing, Roland? What is so important that she had to take off again like this?”
“I-I can’t say. She made me swear.”
My Mori growled and pressed forward, and the effort to keep it back made me grit my teeth so hard my jaw ached. Its intent was clear, and the only thing that stopped me from shaking the truth out of the werewolf was Sara. She’d never forgive me if I hurt him. Any other time, I’d admire the unwavering loyalty the three of them had for each other, but right now, it was impeding my ability to keep her safe.
“Just tell me they haven’t left town,” I managed to say.
“They haven’t,” he rushed to assure me. “All I can tell you is that she went to talk to someone.”
“About what?” My Mori eased off a bit, knowing she was still in town. “Is this about her father?”
He gave me a startled look. “No… Why would you say that?”
His expression told me I was right. “Tell me where she is, Roland.”
“I can’t say.” His tone was apologetic, but it was clear he wouldn’t betray Sara’s trust. He glanced at his phone. “They’ll be back soon. You can ask her then.”
Oh, I intend to. I folded my arms across my chest, staring across the lake as if that would make her magically appear.
“Whose idea was it to use jet skis?” I asked, though I already knew the answer.
“Sara’s. She’s pretty creative.”
I released an angry sigh. “So I’ve noticed.”
Chris joined us. “What do you want to do?”
What I wanted to do was find Sara and take her straight to Westhorne. Since that wasn’t an option, I’d settle for finding her and making sure she never did anything this risky again.
“I can’t wait around here.” I fixed Roland with a hard look. “Will you call me the second she shows up?”
“Yes.”
We exchanged phone numbers, and then I strode toward the driveway, ignoring the curious stares that followed me. My face must have reflected my mood because people quickly moved out of my way.
At my bike, I looked at Chris who had accompanied me. “Roland said she didn’t leave town. Let’s split up and hope one of us spots her.”
“You believe him?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.” He walked over to a dark blue Toyota and stuck his hand under the front bumper. Then he pulled out his tracking monitor and turned it on to check the signal. “Just as a precaution. If he leaves, we’ll know.”
“Good idea.” Roland hadn’t looked like he planned to go anywhere, but Sara had proven to have more than a little influence over her friends. One call from her and he’d be out of here.
Chris straddled his bike, his eyes dark with remorse. “I’m sorry, Nikolas.”
I picked up my helmet. “It’s not your fault. Sara had this all planned out. She knew we couldn’t catch them on the lake without a boat.”
“Clever girl.”
“Too clever for her own good,” I muttered as my bike roared to life.
We separated at the main road. I went one way around the lake, and Chris headed in the other direction. If Roland was right about Sara and Peter returning soon, they couldn’t have gone too far. I might even catch them as they returned to the cottage where they’d left the jet skis.
I’d almost made it to the other side of the lake when a police car sped past me with its lights flashing. My stomach twisted, even though I knew it most likely had nothing to do with Sara, and I did a U-turn to follow the vehicle. When it drove up a ramp to the highway, I almost didn’t follow because Roland had sworn Sara was still in town. But a gut feeling had me tailing them to a rest stop a few miles down the highway.
Half a dozen people were milling around when I pulled in behind the police car. They all gave slightly different accounts to the officers, but I was able to get a picture of what had happened. And it made my blood run cold. Three teenagers had gotten into an altercation with a large man wielding a knife. One of the boys was stabbed before they took off in a red Mustang. The man had jumped into a black Escalade and gone after the teens, one of whom was a female with long dark hair.
I left the rest stop, heading in the only direction the Mustang could have gone, and took the first exit I came to. At the bottom of the ramp, I found myself on a road in a small industrial area with little traffic. There was no sign of the Mustang or the Escalade, but the place wasn’t that large. If either vehicle was around here, I’d find it.
As I began searching the area, I called Chris, bringing him up to speed. “It’s them. I’m sure of it. I don’t know who the second boy is, possibly the person they went to see.”