Chapter 32 #2
“Speaking of cars…” Rhyne gestured toward Cargill.
He didn’t address the man directly. He had to keep his eyes on Welsh.
“Cargill, you’ve now been implicated by the cops.
Because they know Welsh was in your car with you, that makes you culpable.
They may even bring charges against you for being accomplices in the murder! ”
Cargill snarled as the truth sank in. They’d not only lost their home and their jobs, they’d have to go elsewhere and assume new identities.
Although it wasn’t uncommon for vamps with long lives to have to pull up stakes—no pun intended—and start from scratch with a whole new existence when they’d stayed too long in one place, it was a major pain in the ass.
Welsh gnashed his teeth. “If Rhyne hadn’t turned the cops on us, they wouldn’t have known where we’d gone!”
“If you hadn’t killed Norris in full view of a camera, you wouldn’t have fled town in the first place!” Rhyne called out. He could tell Cargill wanted to battle Welsh, but vamp law gave precedence to Welsh’s nest mates. Only when Welsh killed Rhyne would Cargill be able to step in.
Enraged, Welsh pivoted and launched himself at Rhyne, but this time Rhyne was ready for him. Half-turning, he jabbed the man in the throat with his elbow. Welsh let out a gurgling noise as his fingers met air, and he dropped to his knees.
Clasping his hands into a double fist, Rhyne raised it over his head to bring it down like a club over Welsh’s neck and spine, when Welsh grabbed him by the ankles and jerked his feet out from under him.
Rhyne hit the ground flat on his back, momentarily stunning him.
The next instant, Welsh was on top of him, pinning Rhyne’s arms in the dirt with his legs, and giving Welsh the advantage.
Chuckling, Welsh reached down to drive his thumbs into Rhyne’s eyes.
The large rock came from out of nowhere, hitting Welsh on the side of the head. Before the man could react, an enormous tree branch appeared above him. “Rhyne! Move!” Nash screamed and brought the branch down on Welsh, crushing the back of the man’s skull.
Rhyne rolled to the side at the last second before Welsh hit the dirt.
Breathing heavily, he watched as Nash slammed the branch into Welsh’s head and back repeatedly until the man no longer moved.
Once Nash was certain their roommate was dead, he tossed the branch into a nearby clump of bushes and moved away from the growing pool of blood.
Rhyne coughed. “Thanks, Nash.”
The man grimly nodded. “He no longer has any power over me,” Nash stated, adding, “or over you or Grace.”
He walked over and offered his hand to Rhyne to help him to his feet. Bent over, Rhyne placed his hands on his thighs and gulped in several large breaths as he fought the mounting headache and fatigue. The last thing he expected was for a straw to suddenly appear in front of his face.
“I don’t know why I put it in my pocket,” Nash admitted. “But you’re welcome to use it.”
Rhyne turned his head to give his friend a grateful smile. It would be Welsh’s final degradation. A centuries-old vampiric tradition that Rhyne had witnessed but never partaken of. Not until now.
Taking the straw, he went over to the cooling body, dropped onto his knees, and bent over to drink his enemy’s blood. It was like inhaling energy. When he’d had enough, he shoved the straw into the dirt and stood to face Cargill.
“I wish there was a way I could make up for Welsh placing a target on your backs,” he told Cargill.
The man appeared to be studying him. “There is,” Cargill responded. “I want to taste your woman’s magic elixir and be able to see colors again, if only for a short while.”
“I’ll ask her if she’s willing to donate to you, but I can’t promise she’ll say yes. However, I know she regularly donates to the hospital where she works. She might be willing to donate a few extra vials that I can offer you.”
“What will it cost me?” Cargill questioned. Judging by the man’s body language, Rhyne believed he expected Rhyne to quote an exorbitant price.
“Your silence.”
Cargill was stunned. “My silence? That’s all?”
“Yes. From you and your men, your nest. Total silence and secrecy about Grace’s blood. I dread to think what her life, our life together, would be like if other vamps learned about her.”
Cargill glanced over at his men, both of whom nodded in agreement. “It’s a deal,” Cargill promised.
“As soon as you get settled into a new location, we’ll find a way to get in touch.”
“Agreed.” Stepping up to Rhyne, Cargill held out his hand to seal his vow. The other two men also shook Rhyne’s hand. “Now…” Cargill waved a dismissive hand at Rhyne. “You go to your Grace. Me and my men will dispose of Welsh’s remains.”
No more needed to be said. Cargill and the others would remove every trace of Welsh until nothing remained. Just as it had always been done by their kind for centuries.
No words passed between them as Rhyne and Nash made their way back to the highway.
Rhyne had no way of knowing how long it took them to return to the main road.
When they finally emerged from the heavy brush, they were somewhat surprised to find the sheriff’s department cruisers still in the vicinity.
The helicopter was no longer within hearing distance.
A large, bear-like figure of a man, along with a couple of the deputies, approached them as they climbed over the barbed wire fence. Rhyne recognized the guy’s seniority before he spoke.
“I’m Sheriff Veese with the Massey County Sheriff’s Department. Who are you two?”
Nash answered first. “I’m Nash Villaton. This is my friend, Rhyne Castille.”
A deputy spoke up. “These are the men who told us about Roebuck’s whereabouts, Sheriff.” He pointed to Rhyne. “That’s the female victim’s boyfriend.”
Veese’s gaze took in their torn and bloody appearances. “Why did you two run off?”
“We tried to find him for you,” Rhyne calmly replied.
“And? Were you successful?”
Rhyne held his hands out to his side. “Does it look like we were?”
“How do we know you didn’t find them and warn them?” the deputy sheriff asked.
“Warn them about what?” Rhyne cast him a questioning look.
“You crashed their car. They took off running. Nash and I tried to find out where they’d gone but we gave up because it was too dark to see anything.
It’s not like we were going to try to capture them and bring them back here.
Not when it’s just the two of us against the four of them. ”
“That’s a battle we wouldn’t have won,” Nash sardonically remarked.
Veese chuckled. “Looks more like you got the worst of it from battling that brush. Do we need to call you an ambulance?”
“No. I’m fine,” Rhyne declined. “But I would like to go to the hospital to see how Grace is doing.”
Veese crossed his arms over his chest. “I’ll dismiss you after you answer a couple more questions for me.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Well, for starters…” The sheriff threw a thumb over his shoulder. “What are you doing with a deer carcass in your back seat?”