“What’s going on?” Ruby mouthed, noting the worried expressions on Harlan’s and Julius’ faces.

“Vampires,” Harlan mouthed back, pointing toward the warehouse.

Oh, shit. As in plural? Ruby thought, feeling her heartbeat starting to race.

She had considered the possibility that Grant might be there, with his sponsor, but several vampires? Ruby was definitely not prepared for that. The net she had gotten from Mark would cover one vampire, tops.

The absurdity of the fact that she was thinking about the logistics of netting vampires like this was some sort of fishing expedition didn’t escape her. But this was the new normal, and she was just going to have to deal with it.

Yet despite the realization she might have gotten herself in the middle of something she had no business being in the middle of, there was one thing she kept thinking about, and that was how stupidly, irrationally good it was to see Harlan again.

Despite the fact he’s a lying jerk who I should hate, she reminded herself.

Lost in how he still had his arm wrapped around her, and starting to forget why she was so mad at him in the first place, Ruby almost jumped when the doors of the warehouse suddenly flew open.

By her count, seven men poured out, some with guns and others with knives in their hands. She couldn’t tell which, if any, of them were vampires, but it didn’t really matter. Having planned on a simple recon mission to see if Theo’s crew would lead her to Grant’s location, this was now much more than she had bargained for.

Harlan grabbed her face in his hands, staring into her eyes.

“I’m sorry about before. Stay hidden, we’ll talk later,” he hurriedly said, before planting a quick, passionate kiss on her lips and disappearing.

Stupid, sexy vampire, Ruby huffed to herself, trying not to smile.

She still felt betrayed, and very much hurt by how cold he had been with her when they’d last spoken, but this seemed to be the Harlan she had thought she knew. And against her better judgment, she was looking forward to that talk he had just promised her. Maybe he did have an explanation for everything…

Ruby certainly hoped so, because as much as she tried to hate the man, her heart seemed to be forcing her in the opposite direction.

Flattening herself against the side of the building, Ruby watched as Julius and Harlan were little more than blurs, speeding toward the goons standing in front of the warehouse, their heads on a swivel.

When the first thug went flying, only to land on his face in the dirt, it quickly became clear which of Theo’s men were vampires and which were not.

As the human guards started spraying the air with what she could only assume were silver bullets, the vampires leapt into action, until there were four blurry bodies whizzing around. Everything was moving so fast and in the chaos, Ruby couldn’t even tell which side was winning.

The humans were definitely the ones taking most of the beating, though, as they struggled to aim at the right people while being knocked to the ground by unseen assailants. Five men were either groaning or lying motionless on the ground before she even knew it, with their guns in a neat heap out of their reach.

Peering around the corner, Ruby could see Julius and Harlan standing in the light pouring out of the warehouse, facing off against the remaining two – a tall, dark-haired man and a wide-set blond guy, both heavily tattooed and wearing bulletproof vests. Ruby had no doubts these were the vampires of the group, or they wouldn’t still be standing.

Ducking down, she started carefully moving in between the nearby buildings, with the goal of reaching the car. Harlan and Julius might have been handling the situation, but she still wasn’t comfortable just standing around, with no weapon and no way to defend herself.

And no way to help Harlan and Julius if something goes wrong.

Glancing over at the front of the warehouse, she could see Harlan’s fangs were now out as he charged at the dark-haired goon, letting out a savage snarl as he went flying to the air and knocked the man down.

Julius was grappling with the blond guy, holding on to the man’s arms as he lifted the guy in the air and brought him crashing down into the ground. Dirt went flying around, and Ruby was sure if the blond man hadn’t been a vampire, every bone in his body would have been shattered.

Remind me to never piss off Julius, she thought to herself, creeping closer to the Corvette.

With Theo’s human thugs all incapacitated, and the vampires busy beating the shit out of each other, she managed to reach the car with no problems. Popping the trunk, she let out a sigh as the silver net came into view, glinting in the dim illumination of the sparse streetlights.

But as she got out her secret weapon and closed the trunk, she spotted movement beyond the open doors of the warehouse. It looked like someone was in a hurry to get to the back entrance, which definitely caught her attention.

From what she could make out, the man she was seeing was heavy-set, with a shaved head, and wearing a flashy, green suit. From the pictures she had seen of Theo Greene, both in magazines and in police files, she was sure that had to be the crime lord extraordinaire, trying to make a quick getaway in the confusion.

And since Big Theo was the only link she had to Grant, Ruby was not about to let that happen.

Throwing the net over her shoulder and grabbing the gun Harlan had taken from Mickey, she quickly circled around the building to head Theo off. The fight between Harlan, Julius and the two other vampires was still going on, so everyone was distracted enough to not even notice her.

As she ran around the side of the building, she could hear the sound of a car idling nearby. With her gun gripped in her left hand, she rounded the corner, ready for anything. She came face to face with Theo Greene, hurrying toward a black SUV, breathing heavily as the man did not look like he usually did a lot of running.

“Stop right there,” Ruby called out, aiming the gun at him while also keeping an eye on the car. “And whoever’s in there, come out with your hands up,” she added, pointing her chin toward the SUV.

“You’re making a big mistake,” Theo shook his head at her, beady eyes fixed on her face.

“I don’t think so,” Ruby replied, using both hands to keep her weapon steady. “You’re going to tell me where I can find Grant, or you’re not getting out of here alive,” she said, just as the door to the SUV swung open.

Her heart skipped a beat as a very familiar figure stepped out, grinning at her with his fangs extended. With her blood running cold, she could only stare, the Colt in her hand suddenly feeling as useless as a toy gun.

“You’re looking for me, little girl?” Grant asked, giving her a once-over. “Well, here I am.”