I stopped, trained my .38 on Pengfei. She was yelling at Lung in Chinese as she pulled two throwing stars from her pockets. I shot her as she wound up and she lurched sideways. She still managed to throw one, hitting Vayl in the thigh. It staggered him enough to weaken his hold on Lung, who tore away and grabbed Pengfei.
By now flames engulfed the entire tent roof. At any moment it would fall and then we’d be some crispy critters. Cole and Bergman backed toward the front exit yelling, “Get out! Get out!” I couldn’t see Preston and Cassandra, which probably meant they’d already left.
I ran to Vayl, who had jerked the throwing star out of his leg. Blood spurted from the wound in steady bursts, soaking his pants and leaving a solid trail as I pulled him backstage and out of the tent. Cole and Bergman waited for us there, Bergman holding the RV keys in his hand.
“Help me with him,” I told Cole as I led Vayl toward the seawall. Without a word, Cole put a shoulder under Vayl’s arm. My concern deepened when Vayl allowed him to help.
“Okay if I move the RV?” Bergman asked.
“As soon as you bring us the first-aid kit.”
That job done, Bergman drove our temporary headquarters out of the fire’s reach, as Cole and I worked to get the bleeding under control. When the first step is yanking a belt around your patient’s thigh, the project is not going well.
“In all your long life, didn’t anyone ever once tell you not to pull out something after it had been stuck into you?” I hissed as Cole tugged the belt tight and I laid on the gauze.
Vayl didn’t reply, though I could feel his leg stiffen under my hand. I thought it was a reaction to physical pain until Cole said, “Jaz, maybe you shouldn’t yell at the bleeding guy who just pulled crazy dragon dude off our psychic friend.”
“Oh my God.” I looked from Vayl to Cole and back again. “I’ve become my mother. Quick, look, have I developed bitchy naggy lines beside my mouth?” I turned my head from side to side so they could see better.
“I have lived long enough to be able to tell the difference between genuine concern and petty complaints,” Vayl said. He leaned his forehead against mine. “Now, calm down. This bleeding is simply a result of refusing to hunt. There is a quality in the blood of living donors that seems to go missing once it is packaged. Jasmine, I will recover, much sooner than any human could.” His eyes crinkled at the corners. “And it was worth the wound to see the worry on your face.”
When the belt finally came off and the gauze stayed white, the three of us sat side by side on the walk, our backs to the wall, watching the firemen pour the last of their water on the smoking remains of our tent. What a disaster. But it could’ve been much worse.
Cassandra came to join us. Between the smoke and the frost, her outfit had wilted into rags. I glanced down at my own costume. Yup, I resembled one of those poor souls who’ve been dug out of earthquake rubble. But while I felt like part of me still remained pinned under a refrigerator, Cassandra looked like her fairy godmother had just told her she was about to score a new ball gown and some glass slippers.
“The tent is a complete loss,” she announced cheerfully. “Nothing standing nearby was damaged though. I couldn’t believe how fast the firemen got there. Jericho said they are some of the best in the state.”
“Who is Jericho?” asked Vayl wearily.
“The SWAT man,” Cassandra said. “Jericho Preston.”
I held up my hand so Cassandra and I could exchange hi fives.
“What are we celebrating?” Cole asked.
“Cassandra’s vision went up with those flames tonight,” I told him. “Which means she and Preston may be an item after all.”
He immediately went to his knees in front of her. With both hands over his heart he said, “Please, my beauty, say it isn’t so. Have you given your heart to another?”
“You are so full of it,” she said, but she laughed as he got to his feet.
“I don’t know about you guys,” he said, “but surviving arson gives me the munchies. What do you say we hit the fridge? You look like you could use a pick-me-up, Vayl.”
Vayl nodded. “But first, a shower,” he said.
“Not if I beat you to it,” said Cole, sizing him up. “And tonight, I think I can.”
I said, “We all need to get cleaned up, and I’m betting the RV’s water heater won’t be able to handle the traffic.” I thought of the hotel key, hidden in my weapons case, and suddenly my crazy move showed a bright side. “I’m getting a hotel room. That way I can have a long, hot shower while you guys are doing your three-minute shifts.”
“That sounds wonderful,” said Cassandra. “Can I come?”
I hesitated. Now I would either have to reveal my strange actions to her or pull some elaborate scam to make her think I was booking a room I’d already rented. You know what? Screw it. All the woman had to do was touch me and she’d know the whole story. “Absolutely. Let’s go get our things.”
Cassandra helped me to my feet. “Oh.” I looked down at Vayl. “Will you be okay for an hour or so?”
He nodded, looking strangely stunned. As Cassandra and I walked away I heard Cole say, “What just happened?”
And Vayl replied, “We have been outsmarted. Just be glad they are on our side.”
CHAPTERNINETEEN
Cassandra insisted that I shower first since it was my idea, my room, and my weird daydream that had led to the whole setup in the first place.
“You do understand this whole issue centers around your relationship with Matt, don’t you?” she’d asked when I explained how I’d ended up with a key card.
I nodded.
“I just wish Gregory hadn’t left when he did. I’m sure he could’ve helped. Maybe we should call him.”
“I’ve thought of somebody else I can talk to,” I said and we left it at that.
I don’t much mind grime because of that squeaky-clean feeling you get from the shower afterward. I sat on the bed, flipping through the channels, feeling like I could star in an Ivory soap commercial when I heard a knock on the door.
Probably Cole with that have-mercy look on his face, here to beg some hot water time. I opened the door.
David stood in the doorway, dressed to kill in his navy blue body armor. “Jasmine, they’re coming!”
“How did they find us?” I whispered as a little guy galloped through my mind on a sweat-soaked horse screaming, “The vampires are coming! The vampires are coming!”
“Maybe Matt told them.”
I punched him in the arm. Hard. “Matt would never betray us.”
Dave’s look said he thought otherwise, but he was smart enough to keep his mouth shut.
I threw on my shoulder holster and strapped it tight while he monitored the hall.
Clear, he signaled.
I inched into the hall beside him. Light yellow walls. Burgundy carpet with a large floral print. Gold fixtures. Sweet, middle-class feel that somehow tripled the horror. All we needed was thePsycho soundtrack and we could just skip straight to the funny farm.
Dave jabbed my shoulder. “Pull yourself together!” he hissed. Leave it to a twin to know just when you’re about to flip out.
You couldn’t see the elevator from our vantage point, but the stairs were just two doors to our left. We were only on the second floor. It wouldn’t take long for us to get to the lobby. To reach the sleek, black motorcycles waiting for us outside. That was, if we were lucky. We weren’t.