Although they were buffeted by the storm, Mateo watched with admiration as Finn managed to set the helicopter down in a field about a mile from the facility. The man stayed behind with the aircraft while the rest of them, armed with silver weaponry, made their way on foot.

The nondescript structure was built into the mountainside, just as Selena had described, so the access points were limited. After they cut a hole in the chain-link fence, Roxy broke them into two groups. She and Zeph would go in through the front, while Mateo and Kip would try to gain access via the delivery entrance. Their goal was to locate and free any sweetbloods before the sisterhood knew they were there. Vampires addicted to Sweet were very territorial. They wouldn’t hesitate to kill a blood slave in order to keep them out of the hands of another vampire.

Mateo and Kip headed for the underground parking garage. Crouching low, they ran from pillar to pillar until they reached the loading dock on the far side. They hadn’t seen any cameras, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any. Spotting a lone security guard on the platform, Mateo snuck closer. He was only a few feet away from her when his boot caught the edge of the concrete step. She spun around at the sound and reached for the comm device attached to her shoulder.

Shit. He bounded up the steps.

“Intru—” He stripped away the device, quickly subdued her, then cuffed her to an exposed metal pipe with a pair of silver handcuffs.

“Damn,” Kip growled. “Do you think anyone heard?”

Mateo was about to say he wasn’t sure when the sound of a loud alarm cut through the still night air. “That would be a yes. Let’s go. We don’t have much time.”

Once inside, Kip paused and sniffed. “Three sweetbloods. Two females and a male.” He was a highly skilled Tracker, Mateo had learned, capable of distinguishing and tracking almost any scent. “This way.”

Mateo sprinted after him down a dimly lit corridor, the alarm continuing to echo off the walls. At the third door on the right, Kip stopped. “They’re in here. And they have company.”

Mateo didn’t bother trying the door. Weapons drawn, he kicked it down. He was surprised to see a small but well-furnished apartment. He’d been expecting a holding cell of some sort.

The three sweetbloods had been sitting around a table, but they jumped to their feet at the noise. Their guard, a small woman in a brown pantsuit, lunged not at Mateo and Kip, but at the captives. Before either of them could get across the room, she had one of the sweetbloods by the throat, fangs inches from the woman’s jugular.

“Back off,” the vampire hissed, “or she dies.”

Mateo took a step backward and motioned for the other two sweetbloods to come toward him.

The man shook his head. “We want to stay here.”

Kip curled his lips into a sneer. “Talk about a fucked-up mind suggestion.”

“No,” the human woman said. “It’s not like that. In exchange for our blood, they’re going to turn us.”

If that was true, it was so fucking illegal. But then so was letting Darkbloods take the blood and sell it on the black market. The deal was probably just a ploy to gain the humans’ cooperation; the sisterhood had no intention of turning them.

Mateo saw a flash from the corner of his eye. He turned to see Kip’s knife flying through the air to land with a thunk in the vampire’s chest, a hair’s breadth from the woman she was holding. Holy fuck. He’d never have taken a chance like that. A fraction of an inch further and the woman would’ve been dead.

Jaw agape as if she couldn’t believe what was happening, the vampire released the human and sunk to the ground. Then her body began to charcoal, folding in on itself until all that was left was a zipper and a few metal buttons.

After getting the all-clear from Roxy through his earpiece, they led the dazed sweetbloods into the corridor and headed back the way they had come. Roxy and Zeph were in the lobby along with at least a dozen handcuffed dakai.

“Might as well get comfortable, gentleman,” Roxy said, folding her arms over her chest. “I’ve called HQ for a transport. It’s going to be a while.”

Get comfortable? Ha. Not until he got back to Selena. He ran a hand through his hair and wondered what she was doing. Was Brenna telling her what a vampire/human relationship was like? Was Selena even interested in something like that with him? Even after knowing all that he’d done?

“You,” said one of the dakai, interrupting his thoughts. It was an older woman in a white pantsuit, the leader. The silver handcuffs had drained her energy, but her eyes were still bright. “I smell her all over you.”

What was she talking about? “You’re confused,” he told her, gesturing toward the sweetbloods. “I haven’t bitten any of your sweetblood captives, but one of your lackeys almost did.”

“Not them. Selena Tosca,” the woman said slowly, each syllable an effort. “My caterer. That’s why you’re here, isn’t it? You’re sleeping with her and she showed you the rum.”

Anger coursed through his body like a jolt of electricity. “You seem to have forgotten about her blood turning up on the black market. That’s the reason we’re here.”

“Black market? Her blood? Please.” She rolled her eyes. “I haven’t touched her or her blood.”

“Then one of your Darkblood cohorts has.”

The woman’s expression went ice cold. “I have no dealings with Darkbloods. Never have. Never will.”

She had to be lying. He turned to Kip. “Can you tell how long it’s been since DBs have been here?” Because of their all-blood diet, they had a subtle but unmistakable stench that resembled rotten meat.

The man shrugged. “Not in the past few months, but I don’t know beyond that. The scent would be too old even for me to detect.”

Kip’s words sent Mateo reeling. If Selena hadn’t been drained by Darkbloods here at the dakai compound, then where had it happened? He’d been to her house and hadn’t picked up the scent there either.

The woman smiled coldly as realization dawned in her eyes. “You’re in love with her, aren’t you? Think you’re strong enough to resist the temptation night after night? Day after day? Good luck with that.” She laughed, and the sound was like an ice pick, chipping away at his heart.

He loved Selena. That much was true. But was he strong enough not to hurt her tomorrow? Next year? What about ten years from now?

His phone buzzed, and he absently pulled it from his pocket, his brain trying to sort out this new information. Since learning about the Sweet-laced rum, he’d assumed Selena’s client was the one responsible for her blood turning up on the black market, but now he wasn’t so sure.

He looked at the screen. The text from Selena nearly brought him to his knees.

It was one word.

Help.