Chapter 50
The drive back out to the compound was relatively silent. Jo hated that her relationship with Zane was currently strained. Since she’d arrived in this hell-hole of a mission, he’d been the only one she could consistently rely upon to keep her moving forward. She needed someone like that, someone who believed in her even when she couldn’t see past the fact that she had never been anything but a mess up. The situation needed to be fixed, but if she was any good at correcting her mistakes, she wouldn’t feel like a screw up all the time to begin with.
This time, when they arrived outside of the gate, Lucas’s band of Souled Vampires were already waiting for them. Not only were there far fewer Vampires escorting them in, the ones that were there had their weapons slung against their backs, not at the ready as they had been the night before. It was clear something had changed. Whether or not that should make Jo feel better or not remained to be seen; there was always a chance that the rest of the troops were inside waiting for them there.
Zane pulled the Jeep to a stop in nearly the same place that they’d parked the night before. The mansion looked even larger in the daylight, though the dramatic lighting effects from the night before were negated. As Jo got out of the car, she stood and gazed at the home for a long moment, wondering why anyone would want to trade a quiet life here for the one she was asking them to join, one full of uncertainty, frustration, and possible death.
The feel of Zane’s hand on her back had her moving forward, following their escorts up the steps toward the front doors. They didn’t quite make it, though, before the door opened, putting Jo on high alert. She relaxed when she saw it was just Lucas and was glad she hadn’t pulled her gun from its holster. It was a wonder they hadn’t taken that from her anyway. She could understand why they might do so, even though she wasn’t a threat to injure the Souled Vampire at all--not intentionally anyway.
“Jo! Zane!” Lucas said with his arms open wide, as if he hadn’t seen them for years. “Thank you for returning.”
Even though Jo wasn’t much of a hugger, she faked it and let Lucas wrap his arms loosely around her as she patted him on the back. It seemed so odd to be embraced by a Vampire. Her stomach began to respond to him as if he were the enemy. Naturally, every fiber of her DNA thought that he was, but she was strong enough to remind her conscious mind not to attack. Lucas released her and began to chat while they walked inside, asking them how their night was, if they were ready to get back to their team, etc., but that feeling didn’t go away. With every step she took into the house, the stronger it grew. Jo was glad Zane was able to respond to their host’s questions because she was so busy trying to figure out what was going on inside of her gut that she couldn't possibly get a verbal answer through her lips.
Lucas led them upstairs and down a hallway to a room near the back of the house. The tension inside of her continued to build. Jo had to fight the urge to pull her gun. “What is going on?” she asked Zane through her IAC. “I feel like we’re walking into a hunt.”
“I don’t know, but I feel it, too,” he replied. He caught her eye for a second, said something to Lucas and then said, “We have to trust them.”
“I guess so,” Jo said, but she wasn’t exactly sure why they had to trust anyone. Were they walking into a situation they were going to regret?
Approaching the door at the end of the hallway, Lucas pushed it open. “I appreciate you agreeing to meet with us. I just want you to meet a few of my associates. Let’s talk over how we may be able to help.”
When the door swung open, Jo could clearly see ten or twelve forms hunkered around a table. She paused in the hallway, her breath catching in her chest as she realized every pair of eyes trained on her was a glowing amber. She had been right to be afraid.
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