Now this she could do. Try to do. “Okay.”
“Okay?” Piers repeated. “Hell, man, I was hoping for more of an I-swear-on-my-life—”
“I won’t push, I won’t try to—” Sarah stopped talking because, quite suddenly, the wolves weren’t focused on her anymore. They’d turned as one toward the main house, faces intent, noses—twitching?
“Vampire,” Jordan breathed and there was hate in the word. Yeah, with his particular history, who could blame the guy?
But wait, vampire. Sarah’s mouth got very dry, very fast. Vamps were her least favorite of all the supernaturals. They liked to play with their food way too much for her taste.
“Sulfur,” Piers muttered. “It’s in the air . . . shit. It’s them.”
“Camellia?” Jordan asked, and he lunged forward, racing toward the house.
Wait, Camellia . . . that name was familiar. It clicked in her mind. When Jordan had been taken by the vamps, he hadn’t been their only prisoner, they’d also taken a girl. A shifter. Of course, Sarah had thought some of the rumors about the girl were bullshit because those stories had said the girl wasn’t your run-of-the-mill two-spirit shifter.
The stories claimed she was a dragon.
Lucas ran after Jordan, roaring his name. The other wolves followed, quickly closing rank, and Sarah, well, she wasn’t about to be left behind.
After all, pack stayed together.
She rushed after them, wishing she had a weapon. It was daytime, and any vamp would be a fool to attack now. All vamps were at their weakest during the day, even those born to the blood.
Lucas tackled Jordan. “She’s not with them. Her scent’s on him, but she’s not here.”
Sarah saw the woman then. A small, dark-haired woman vaulted over the outer wall and began to stalk toward them. A man was at her side, tall, his blond hair gleaming. His body stayed close to the woman’s as their steps shadowed each other.
“Thanks for that open invitation, wolf,” the woman called out, her voice carrying easily. “It was nice not to have to fight my way past that new security of yours.”
Security Sarah knew he’d put out to protect them from Rafe.
The woman didn’t really look like a vamp. Other than the paleness. She looked . . . pretty. Actually, the chick was freaking beautiful. High cheeks. Heart-shaped face. Not a blemish, wrinkle, or scar anywhere on her.
Vampire? Really?
Then Sarah caught sight of her fangs.
Vampire.
“Maya.” Lucas rose slowly and she noticed that he kept his body in front of Jordan’s. And she also noticed the way he said the woman’s name. With affection.
So those tales were true, too. Lucas did have a soft spot for the vamp who’d hauled his brother out of hell one night. Sarah knew that hard kick in her gut was jealousy.
Maya lifted her right hand. Her fingers were curled in a fist.
“Easy,” the man next to Maya said, his shoulder brushing hers.
“Wanna tell me . . .” Maya bit out. “Why your scent was all over Marie Dusean?”
Lucas just shrugged.
The vamp lunged forward.
But her man was faster. He grabbed her arms, yanking her back. Maya’s hand opened, though, and she threw something at Lucas. Something small and hard, something that hit him in the chest and fell to the ground.
“You shouldn’t be out when you’re weak, Maya,” Lucas said mildly.
She growled at him. Pretty good growl for a vamp.
Sarah’s eyes narrowed as she stared at the ground near his feet. What was—
A ring.
Not just any ring.
She hurried forward.
“Sarah!” Lucas caught her arm. But it was too late. She was in front of him, scooping up the familiar ring. Marie’s ring.
Now it was time for her fingers to curl around the precious ruby. “Why do you have this?” she asked, meeting the vampire’s stare. Right then, they were a perfect fighting match. Almost human-to-human. She didn’t need to be scared of Maya Black.
No matter what the whispers on the streets said.
One tough bitch to stake.
“You know that ring?” Maya’s attention sharpened on her.
Sarah nodded. “Did she send you?” And her palm was sweating around the ring. “Is it time for me to—”
The laughter stopped her. The hard, rolling laughter. Laughter edged with a fine coat of rage. “Marie didn’t send me,” Maya said. “Marie can’t do anything right now.”
The blond beside her dropped his hold.
Maya stepped forward. “The mambo’s dead. I found her less than thirty minutes ago.” Her gaze drifted past Sarah. “Her throat had been slashed. That ring—she wore it on her neck, always. But the bastard who killed her, his claws were so strong he cut through the gold chain, through the flesh, and he took her life away.”
Another step forward. The man came with her, and the same rage was reflected on his face.
“She sent for me, but I got to her too late,” Maya said, and there was pain in her voice. “All these years, and I got there too late.”
The ring seemed heavy in Sarah’s hand.
“I found her dead, lying in a pool of blood, and the stench of wolf was all around her.” Maya shook her head. “We all know there’s only one alpha in LA. One alpha, a bastard that I know saw Marie last night. And now she’s gone, killed by a wolf’s claws.”
Sarah braced her body in front of Lucas. “It wasn’t him.” Maya smiled at her with a flash of vampire fangs. “Of course. Let me guess, he was screwing you last night, right, human? Screwing you . . . so he couldn’t have been killing her.”
Half-right. The sex hadn’t started until morning, and it hadn’t been screwing. “Marie helped us last night. I owe her.” She opened her hand and glanced down at the ring. “Lucas wasn’t in any condition to deal a killing blow when we were at her place.”
More laughter, only this time, it came from the big blond and the scent in the air—yeah, it did kinda smell like sulfur—deepened. “Lady, trust me,” he said, “Lucas Simone is always up for a killing blow.”
Maybe. “He didn’t kill her,” she said, her own voice fierce.
Maya’s gaze darted to the men who’d gathered. When she looked at Jordan, her stare seemed to warm a bit. Only semi-arctic. “Then which of these wolves,” she wanted to know, “is the one who’s gonna bleed for attacking my mambo?”