4—Cause Problem
Dallas looked at the cave entrance and saw no help coming from that direction.
Thorn gestured at the group of women, hissing, “We’ve got to help them.”
Dallas took a step away, but Maze stepped closer to Thorn, nodding and saying, “I’ll drive them to the hospital if they’ll get in the van.”
The women grouped up and huddled like rugby players. He moved to his left in the evening darkness, trying to get back and away from all the people.
A woman broke from the group and shrieked like a Valkyrie, rushing the cave entrance in bare feet.
Fuck. Dallas got in her way and stopped her.
Two other women followed her and Maze came close.
Dallas put weight on his good leg and moved his bad one behind where no one could kick it out from under him.
“You need help,” Thorn said, and he moved in closer to the women, speaking soothingly. “Hey, hey now. It’s cool, we’re cool, we can figure this out. No one’s going to hurt you.”
The three women calmed some, responding to Thorn. Even the ones still grouped up near the van seemed quieter, and all eyes were on Thorn.
“Reservations?” a woman said and they all got worked up again, looking like they might rush Thorn—but then something strange happened.
The group of women all twitched as a unit, then the hostility drained from them and the strange blur disappeared, making Dallas’ stomach swoop.
The women looked around like they had no idea where they were, and they looked at each other, then looked at Maze and Dallas and Thorn.
One of them burst into tears and hid behind the group.
They touched their necks and held their wrists close to their bodies, looking at the males with fear in their eyes.
Maze backed away, his eyes on the cave entrance. “Keep them out,” he said, pointing at the women. “I’ll be… I’ve got to check something.” He sprinted into the cave.
Dallas watched him go, then locked eyes with Thorn. Thorn shrugged and Dallas shrugged back.
“Ah, get in the van, everyone,” Dallas called. “We'll take you to the hospital.”
Not one woman moved. They huddled closer to each other.
“Yeah!” Thorn said. “Yes! We'll do that.”
Thorn hustled over to the driver’s side of the van and his face went white. “Uh oh,” he said, looking down. “We’ve got a problem here.”
Dallas ran over. At the driver’s door, the scent of pine and bitter herbs hit him in the face, and he gagged at the smell of death mixed in. A rotting carcass dressed in a moldering dark suit lay sprawled across the driver’s seat.
“Gross,” Dallas said, finally believing. “Vampire.”
“Vampire?” Thorn asked, his eyes big, his mouth twisted.
Dallas shook his head, holding his hand out. “I don't know, man, what else would do that?”
Thorn looked back down at it, nodding. Dallas got a good, strong whiff of Thorn’s scent for the first time and it left him feeling confused. Was Thorn even a shifter? His animal scented fucking strange. Thorn caught him staring.
“Get rid of it,” Dallas said, gesturing to the carcass.
Thorn backed up. “I'm not touching it.”
Shit. Dallas looked over at the group of women. They were huddling together, some crying, some hugging, some looking around tearfully at the dark, surrounding forest.
Dallas leaned over the gross-ass carcass and grabbed a manila folder from the center console.
He used it to push the nasty-ass clothing and bones and skull off of the seat, onto the ground.
It all hit the ground with a tiny splat.
Dallas pushed it under the van with his boot.
He covered his mouth and nose with one hand, then used the folder to wipe the seat clean, while vampire bone dust floated in the air.
Thorn backed farther away, his face a drawn mask.
Dallas tossed the folder in the bushes and backed off, taking in big gulps of fresh air.
“The keys are there,” he told Thorn, pointing at the ignition.
Thorn nodded but didn’t move.
Dallas moved around the van, toward the women, pointing at the van. “You can get in. We’ll drive you.”
The woman in the nightgown shrieked and they all backed away together.
“Stay away!” one yelled.
“No, no, you got it wrong,” Dallas said. “It wasn't us. We're helping you. We didn't…” He gestured to his neck. “We didn’t do anything to you. We chased down the guys and ah, well, our friends chased them into that cave and we're going to take you to the hospital now.”
Thorn moved slowly closer. “That's right. You all deserve the best medical care. I won't stand for what happened to you! I-I want to help you. We'll take you to the doctor and get this sorted out. I'll pay for it and make sure you all get home to your families.”
Dallas took a step away from Thorn, watching the passionate speech, confused. Thorn sure was taking it personally. He even seemed to feel guilty… but the women ate it up. They stared openly at Thorn, some of them nodding along as he spoke.
At the cave entrance, someone came out—Maze. He stalked toward the group, his demeanor different—dark and angry now.
“Get into the van,” Thorn told the women, waving Maze to the driver’s seat. “Right now, go ahead, all of you. I’ll personally make sure each of you gets the best care possible.”
The women seemed almost hypnotized now, all their eyes on Thorn, heading for the van. He herded them inside like sheep, then shut the sliding van door and turned.
“Let’s go,” Thorn said, turning to Maze, a commanding note in his voice.
Maze looked confused for a moment. He nodded, then climbed behind the wheel of the van.
Dallas looked around again, not sure what the hell he was supposed to be doing out here. “I, uh, I’ll stay here.”
Maze started the van and eased it along the drive with the women inside. Thorn ran to his car and followed.
The vampire carcass lay on the ground where it had been revealed when the van drove off. The bones and even the skull had collapsed into dust, and the clothing lay in disarray.
Dallas stared at it.
Vampires were real. His sister was a witch.
And he was a fucking liability. He looked up at the cave entrance.
Should he go in? Should he stay out? He shook his head.
What if he went in there to help fight and his sister had to save him?
He shook his head at that horrible thought. This fucking sucked.
Should he bury the vampire remains? Or push it into the bushes?
Dallas paced around, thinking, ignoring the throbbing in his bad leg.
He went inside the caves a short way. He came to a juncture and didn’t know which way to go.
He shifted into his animal and stood stock still for several moments, scenting and listening.
Dakota was fine, and she didn’t need him. Aven didn’t need him either. He wasn’t sure how he knew, but he did, so he shifted back into a man, nodding his head appreciatively at his clothes reappearing, then he strolled back outside.
Dallas took a knee in the grass and waited, listening, scenting, ready for anything… even vampires.