Chapter 32
Consequences
Rhyne watched as Grace was loaded into the ambulance. “Which hospital is she being taken to?” he asked one of the EMS techs.
“Massey County Memorial.”
He nodded. “Thanks.”
Stepping out of the man’s way, he continued to study her, searching for any sign that she was regaining consciousness, but she remained out of it. In a way, that was good. When she finally woke up, she’d find herself in a safe place, out of danger and out of Welsh’s reach.
As the ambulance pulled away, Rhyne watched and waited for the right time to slip away.
With the night now upon them, it wouldn’t be too difficult.
So far, Nash hadn’t returned, which told him the man had gone after the four vamps who’d abandoned the black SUV after it crashed.
Why the man had ventured out on his own was perplexing, but Rhyne tucked that bit away in favor of his more urgent matter.
From what he could hear, the sheriff deputies gathered around the crash site were waiting for someone with a tracking dog to arrive.
Meanwhile, their attention was on the overturned Aspenall, dismissing Rhyne for the time being.
As soon as he was certain he wasn’t being observed, Rhyne hopped the fence and took off.
Not hearing a hue and cry go up at his disappearance, he plunged into the growth.
Following the other vamps’ trails was ridiculously easy. Although Welsh and the others had scattered seconds after the incident, they’d immediately rejoined and were heading somewhere as a pack.
Overhead, the helicopter circled above the area where Welsh and the others had vanished. The copter wasn’t using a spotlight, which told Rhyne it must be attempting to find the missing men with one of those heat-sensing devices.
“Good luck with that,” he chuckled. “Vamps don’t give off heat sigs.”
He slipped between the trees and through the brush with little trouble and barely making any noise.
His prey was moving in a straight line, and he could easily guess their intent.
They hoped to come across a lone farmhouse or small town where they could overcome some poor slob and steal his car, which they’d ditch somewhere down the road for another form of transport.
It was an old tried-and-true method that had worked for them in the past whenever they had to make a quick getaway.
Except, in this case, there had to be a huge question mark hanging over Welsh’s head.
Namely, why did the police, or in this case, the sheriff’s department, get involved?
Smiling, Rhyne could only imagine the conversation between Welsh and Cargill, who’d been innocently drawn into this mess. One thing, however, was certain. Welsh had disregarded the most sacred of vampire laws, and for that, there was only one outcome.
The only question remaining was who would deal the fatal blow?
He passed a small grove of oak trees. Pausing there, he took the chance to relieve himself since he hadn’t been able to at the Traveler’s Rest. He also listened for any sound that would forewarn him of someone approaching.
He detected movement far to his left. The helicopter was a faint beat in the distance.
The sheriff deputies were heading away from the direction where Welsh and the others had gone, the distance between them gradually becoming wider.
Even if they brought a dog in to sniff them out, the canine wouldn’t be able to glom onto their vamp scents.
Rhyne kept going, despite a growing headache, pushing himself to his limits, but he also realized his limits were becoming weaker and weaker.
He needed to feed. Nash, on the other hand, had fed on the deer carcass.
And Welsh and Cargill and his nest… The images of all those bloody pinpricks dotting Grace’s arms was all the proof he needed to know that those men had fed on her.
His mounting anger gave him the fuel he needed to press forward.
He stumbled unexpectedly into a clearing. As soon as he was free from the brush, he caught the sound of voices coming from what appeared to be either a windbreak or hunting cabin. They were arguing. Heatedly. And the most strident of them was Welsh’s.
Steeling himself, Rhyne started toward the structure when a loud hiss to his right caught his attention. Even in the dim, nearly nonexistent light coming from the night sky and quarter moon, he recognized Nash. The man urgently waved to him. Rhyne relented and went over to find out why.
Before Nash could speak, he hotly demanded, “Welsh and the rest of them are in there, aren’t they?”
“Yeah, and—”
“Can you understand what they’re bickering over?”
“Apparently Cargill’s two men were taking turns feeding off of Grace.”
Rhyne cut him off. “I’ve already discovered that.”
Nash frowned. “Is she okay?”
“She’s on her way to the hospital right now. She’ll be okay physically, but after the shit those men put her through…”
Nash gave a nod. “Those men who fed on her, they’ve already gained their color sight. Welsh is pissed because they did so behind his back.”
“And Cargill?”
“He’s furious that the cops are hunting for them. He’s demanding to know why, but Welsh is refusing to answer. He’s demanding Cargill pay for those men sampling her without his permission.”
Rhyne didn’t try to hide the grim smile lifting the corners of his mouth.
“You know what they say. The best defense is a fucking awesome offense.” That being said, he turned and strode purposefully to the front of the shack.
He didn’t knock, but grabbed the simple latch handle and threw open the door.
All four men whirled around at the intrusion, and Welsh’s face went pale. He stood out in stark contrast in the nearly pitch black darkness in his glaring orange t-shirt.
“You wanna know why the police department and the Massey County Sheriff’s Department is out there right now looking for your asses?
” Rhyne hollered, pointing off to his right.
“You wanna know why there’s a helicopter searching overhead, and K9 dogs trying to hunt you down?
” Rhyne turned to face Welsh directly. “Did you tell them you killed an innocent lab tech over at the Harbor County Hospital, and it was all caught on surveillance video? Did you let them know that, because you wanted Grace and her blood so badly, you deliberately and intentionally broke the cardinal rule?”
Cargill took a step toward Welsh. “That woman we helped you kidnap, she’s part of their investigation?”
Rhyne motioned toward the two men standing next to Cargill. “You sipped her. Don’t even try to deny it. Has your vision changed yet?”
“Yeah,” one of them admitted. “We’ve been trying to tell Cargill, but he doesn’t believe us.”
“Well, he does. Sort of,” the second man countered.
Letting out a bark of laughter, Rhyne pointed to Welsh. “Let me guess. You’re pissed because they drank without paying you first.”
“That’s exactly what he’s saying,” Cargill confirmed with a growl.
Nodding, Rhyne smiled. “So Welsh, you’re more concerned about losing your little gold mine than you are about the ramifications of what you did back at the hospital. Have I got that right?”
Welsh sneered. “Admit it, Rhyne. The only reason why you followed us is because you were wanting to get your hands on her for yourself. You want her all for yourself.” His expression changed.
At the same time, his eyes began to glow from the extent of his growing anger.
“That’s why the cops are after us! You sicced them on us! You snitched on us!”
Rhyne’s own rage came to the forefront. “You brought the cops down us when you broke the cardinal rule!” Taking a deep breath, he stepped back, away from the door, until he stood underneath the pale wash of light coming from the night sky.
“I declare the right of vengeance! Come out here and face me, Welsh!”
He expected the man to walk out of the shack.
Not for Welsh to suddenly bolt toward him.
Rhyne threw up his arms to protect his face and chest from the guy’s assault.
Welsh’s nails raked down his skin, drawing blood.
The man’s impetus kept him moving forward, and he slammed into Rhyne, knocking him off his feet.
Both men fell onto the ground. Welsh continued to slash at Rhyne’s face, aiming for his eyes.
Rhyne struggled to push the man away, but he realized he was at a severe disadvantage.
Because he hadn’t fed in a while, his strength was ebbing.
It was all he could do to keep Welsh from ripping out his throat, or worse.
Rhyne saw an opening and took it, rolling out from underneath Welsh as the man tried to dig his fingers into where Rhyne’s chest should have been.
Instead, his nails hit the dirt, and he snarled in disgust. He leaped to his feet and turned to go after Rhyne when he noticed Rhyne’s posture, how his roommate seemed to be struggling for breath, and he chuckled.
“What’s wrong, Rhyne? You look a bit peaked. Haven’t had your dose today? Haven’t been able to drink from your ripe girlfriend?”
“You killed an innocent man in front of witnesses,” Rhyne darkly reminded him.
“You brought the law into this mess, and because you broke the cardinal rule, our kind are on the verge of being outed.” He pointed a finger at Welsh.
“Because of you, our kind is about to be exposed, and we both know, we all know how that’s going to end! ”
“Don’t try to pin this all on me, Rhyne!” Welsh yelled back. “If you hadn’t sent the cops after us, none of this would have happened! They wouldn’t have rammed our car, and we could still be on our way out of state.”