Chapter 38
38
C ole jumped out of the taxi he’d taken to Scanguards’ headquarters building and hurried into the foyer.
The receptionist waved at him. “They’re in the command center. They’re expecting you.”
He’s never met the woman before, and could only assume that Gabriel had already sent word to her to expect him. With a quick word of acknowledgement, Cole hurried down the corridor, jumped into the elevator and headed to the floor where the command center was located.
He’d left his car opposite the alley the kidnappers had entered and gotten a quick lay of the land to determine in which building the kidnappers were holding the hostages, before hailing a taxi to take him to HQ.
When he entered the command center, the room was chock-full of vampires, some of whom he hadn’t seen at the meeting a few hours earlier. Gabriel waved him to approach, and Cole paved his way through the crowd to join him at the computer console where he and Samson stood.
On the monitors behind him, a multitude of live feeds without sounds were showing scenes. One he recognized instantly. It was a video feed from his cell phone, which he’d affixed inside the passenger window in a way so it was pointed directly at the alley. It would alert them if any of the vampires were leaving, or if more of them were arriving.
Gabriel put a hand on his shoulder. “I can’t even tell you how grateful we all are. Without you, we would have no idea where Milo took our kids.”
Samson squeezed Cole’s shoulder for a moment, then pointed to three young women. Cole looked at them. He recognized Scarlet immediately, but had never seen the two blond women before.
“Naomi, Scarlet, and Anita are communicating with their blood-bonded mates telepathically. But it appears that all hybrids were blindfolded,” Samson said, “and therefore couldn’t give us any information as to their whereabouts. So, thank you, Cole. You did good.”
“We have the same goal. Get our loved ones back.”
Cole let the words sink in, and even though he wanted to know why these three women could communicate telepathically with their husbands, he knew there was no time for long explanations now. They had to mount a rescue operation.
“Did any of the vans leave?” Cole asked.
“No, they’re all still in the building,” Gabriel replied.
The curvy woman with the long blonde curls tapped on a microphone, sending a crackling sound through the loudspeakers in the room, silencing the murmurs and hushed conversations.
“Damian is reporting that there are at least forty-five vampires working for Milo. And they’re pretty sure that there are no hybrids among them.”
“Thanks, Naomi,” Samson said, and turned to the others. “Then our plan might work. Thomas, where are the drones?”
Thomas moved from one computer to another, and tapped on something. Several of the camera feeds became smaller to make room for another projection. This was an aerial shot, flying over the rooftops of San Francisco.
“We have three drones in the air, each one of them covering a slightly different section.” Thomas looked over his shoulder. “Cole, is that the building?”
Cole took a step closer to Thomas, and took Thomas’s mouse to point to it. “That’s it.”
“Good,” Thomas said and took the mouse again. “One of the drones is equipped with infrared cameras, so we can get an idea of where in the buildings the hybrids are held.”
Thomas switched to the drone with the infrared camera, and a bunch of yellow, orange, and red dots appeared on the screen. Some of the dots were so close together that it was impossible to see how many people were huddled together, because they became a continuous warm area.
“From previous tests with our infrared cameras, we know that hybrids and pureblood vampires show up with slightly different heat signatures and—”
Thomas was interrupted, when a beeping sound suddenly came from the computer console in front of Samson. Everybody seemed to hold their breath, as did Cole, while he watched Samson press a button.
“Milo, I was expecting your call,” Samson said, his jaw tightening.
“And I was expecting you to catch on a little earlier.” Milo’s voice came through the loudspeakers in the command center for everybody to hear. “Frankly, I’m a little disappointed in your IT staff that they didn’t figure out earlier that the incels were just a diversion.”
“What do you want?”
“Oh, right down to business? No reminiscing about the past? No where have you been all these years ? Well, all right then.” Milo blew out an audible breath. “Here it goes. Wire all cash in Scanguards’, as well as your personal accounts, to a Swiss bank. I’ll text you the details. And don’t cheat me. I know down to the penny how much you have in all your accounts. You have one hour to complete the transaction. If the money isn’t in my account by then, I’ll kill the first hybrid. I’ll pick one at random. Maybe it’ll be your son, or your daughter, or one of Amaury’s sons.”
Cole could see the tension in Samson’s face, but his voice remained calm as he replied, “Send the account information.”
“What? No haggling? No threats? Wow, having children really made you soft.”
A chuckle echoed through the loudspeaker, and Cole felt as if a snake slithered down his spine.
“Why waste time? We know you have the upper hand. And I’m not stupid enough to underestimate you.”
“That’s good to know. Oh, and now the second part of my demand.”
Cole watched as the vampires in the room exchanged surprised looks.
“Go on,” Samson demanded.
“When the money is in my account, I’ll send you a location. I want Amaury.”
“What do you want with him?”
“Isn’t that obvious? You said it yourself back then: Amaury staked Ilona. So, it’s only fair that I take his life for hers. Or would you rather I chose you?”
Samson exchanged a look with Amaury, who now lifted his hand to stop Samson from replying. Instead, Amaury raised his voice. “I can’t wait to do to you what I did to your sister.”
“Still the same bravado as always. You really haven’t changed, Amaury. You know, I never liked you.”
“The feeling is mutual.”
“Whatever.” Then Milo’s voice changed. “Oh, and Thomas, if you’re trying to trace this call, good luck, but I’ve learned a thing or two since you and I were an item. Not even you will be able to follow the signal. Samson, you’ve got one hour.”
There was a click, and Milo was gone. Another ping sounded, and one of the screens showed the banking information Milo had promised. On the screen next to it, a clock started counting backwards.
Samson turned to the assembled vampires. “Everybody, down to the supply rooms. Let’s get suited up. Thomas, you know what to do here.”
Thomas shook his head and put his hand on Eddie’s arm. “Eddie will run things from here. I’m coming with you.”
Thomas rose from his chair.
“Thomas, you don’t need to—”
“Samson, I have to. It’s my fault. I’ll put it right. Milo will die today, even if it’s the last thing I’ll ever do.”
Cole watched as Thomas and Eddie exchanged a long look, but neither said another word. It was as if they understood each other without words. Or could they, too, communicate telepathically?
“What can I do?” Cole asked, his gaze ping-ponging between Samson and Gabriel.
“I suppose I won’t be able to convince you to stay here with Eddie?” Gabriel said, grimacing.
“No. Vanessa is with that madman. There’s no way I’ll stay here twiddling my thumbs.”
“Figured.” Gabriel waved him to follow, then looked at Samson. “Guess we’ll have to arm him.”
Samson nodded. “Just as well that Luther got us a large supply of guns from the prison.”
“Guns?” Cole asked. “But I thought vampires could only be killed with stakes?”
Gabriel put his hand on Cole’s shoulder. “I’ll explain on the way.”