“That’s as much of a description as I can give you,” I told Chris as Jonathan and I sat opposite him at the desk in the police station.
Chris made a few more notes on his paper and nodded. “That’s fine. We can start here. Check with the others and see what they’ve heard.”
The others. That’s who we needed to hear from. We had allies all over the world. Not all of them were part of a clan, but many of them were. It was safer. People who had your back.
But the more in a clan, the more dangerous it became as well. More people meant more chances for someone to slip up or more people who might seem suspicious.
I had no idea how the hunters had found out we were here, but I knew they had eyes and ears just like us. They knew other hunters all over the world. While we were just trying to live our lives and not make any waves, their sole purpose in life was to track us down.
I checked my watch. I still had time before I wanted to be back at Maya’s to meet Hawk. And I was hoping they had more information to give me. The sooner we got on top of this, the better.
“I’ll let you know if Hawk and Maya come up with anything else,” I told him.
Jonathan glanced over. “Speaking of Hawk.” He smiled, a teasing sort of smile that he hadn’t done often before David had come along. “How are things?”
I clasped my hands together in my lap, unconcerned with being overheard. We were the only ones in the room and everyone else was too far away in the building to have any clue what we were talking about.
“They’re fine.”
Chris chuckled. “That’s all you’re going to give us? Come on.”
Jonathan lifted his eyebrows. “Yes. Come on. You know all of our business.”
“I don’t want to know all your business,” I told him. “Certain business of yours can stay right where it is.”
He chuckled. “All right, then. What about Chris’s business? We haven’t heard about that.”
Chris held up his hands. “I have no business. I have my job and that’s it.”
“What about Maya?” Jonathan asked. “I thought you two were kind of hitting it off.”
“We’re friends,” Chris said, “and you know that. Don’t try to make something out of nothing.”
My lips curved. It felt good to joke like this. To ease into lighter conversation before I spoke with Hawk again. I wanted to compromise with him, I just wasn’t sure how to without putting him in danger.
Jonathan might understand, but I didn’t think Chris would be able to see where I was coming from. He’d never stood against a hunter before. He had no clue how dangerous they were.
Something tingled my senses, and my stomach clenched.
Maya. I felt her before I saw her.
She came in as I was standing, her hair wind-blown. Seeing her without Hawk make alarm bells go off in my head.
“What’s wrong?” I asked immediately.
She met me halfway across the room. Jonathan and Chris walked over, immediately losing their smiles.
“I saw him—the hunter—”
Chris’s hand went to his belt immediately, fingers resting on his gun. “Where. Here in town?”
“No. In a vision—”
“Where’s Hawk?” I asked.
“I thought…I mean, he said you were here and he’d be here soon. He said he had somewhere else to go first—”
“Where?” I snapped.
“I don’t know.”
“Dammit.” I glanced at Jonathan, completely lost for a moment.
Hawk was missing. Those were the only words I could seem to think. He was missing, I had no idea where he was, and there was a vampire hunter on the way.
Jonathan held up his hands. “Don’t panic. Maya. Tell us exactly what you saw.”
She confirmed it was the man I’d already talked to Chris about, and that he, indeed, was a hunter. She relayed to us the image she’d seen of me and Chris fighting the hunter.
“I don’t know when,” she said, “but he’s going to be here in Silver Creek.”
“What did Hawk do?” Jonathan asked calmly.
“It scared him. He didn’t say anything, just got up and walked right out after he told me you were here. I saw him drive away but I have no idea where he went.”
Jonathan checked the clock on the wall. “David’s shift just ended. I’ll call him and see if he’s seen Hawk.”
“Call the others,” I told Chris. “Tell them we need to have a meeting. Tell them to be careful. And you—”
“I’ll be fine,” Chris said.
“Maya, stay with him,” I commanded. “He could be in danger, and you don’t know hunters like I do. They’re nearly as strong as you and they know exactly how to kill a vampire.”
“You’re in danger, too,” he started.
“I have to find Hawk.”
“Call him,” Maya said. “Call him first.”
I pulled out my phone as Jonathan hung up his. His eyes locked on mine. His mouth was set in a frown. “No answer.”
I let my call ring several times, too, but I got the same thing. No answer.
“Where is he?” I hissed.
“Maybe they’re together. David said they understood each other. Maybe—”
“Fuck.” I ran a hand through my hair, the thought hitting me out of nowhere. “I need—I have to—”
“Hold on,” Jonathan soothed.
But I didn’t listen. I raced outside, ready to run wherever I needed to. What if Hawk had gone to David? What if he’d asked him to turn him into a vampire? Hawk trusted David—and surely David could understand what he was going through.
Jonathan arrived at my side and gripped my arm. “Tell me what’s happening.”
“Hawk wants to be turned. I think he might have gone to David.”
Jonathan shook his head. “David wouldn’t do that—not without talking to us first. Or without a good reason.”
“He has a good one,” I snapped. “I’m in danger—Chris is in danger—and Hawk thinks he’ll be able to help if he’s one of us.”
Jonathan pointed to his car. “Get in. Stay calm. We don’t know what’s going on—”
“I have to find him. I have to—”
“I know,” Jonathan said, pulling out his keys. “But we can’t make a scene. Get in and feel—feel with your mind. See if you can sense where they are. David said he was going to go home after his shift, so let’s try there first.”
I got in reluctantly, not knowing what else to do. Hawk couldn’t do this—wouldn’t do this—would he? He knew becoming a vampire was dangerous. He knew I was against it.
“Hurry,” I muttered, tapping my fingers on the armrest.
“Don’t do anything rash.”
I glared at him. Jonathan knew me too well. I wasn’t often rash, but when I was, it was for good cause. Though last time it hadn’t been for the best. I’d kidnapped David because I’d discovered he knew our secret.
But he hadn’t been the bad guy and things had turned out all right in the end. If Jonathan had been able to trust me during that situation, I needed to trust him now.
That didn’t mean I didn’t want to hop out of the car right now and get to his home faster. David had moved in with him quickly after he’d become a vampire and they’d been living together in Jonathan’s home since.
As we got closer, I could feel it. Something inside, a sense in my stomach and my mind that they were close. “They’re there,” I said as we rounded a corner. “I can feel it.”
He picked up speed, and I didn’t even wait for the car to stop before I was out and racing up the steps. I burst through the front door to find David and Hawk in the living room.
They both jerked to attention when I came in.
Hawk, eyes wide, said, “You’re too late.”