The Immortal Hunter (Argeneau #11)

The Immortal Hunter (Argeneau #11) Page 2

"Where the hell is he going?" Decker muttered under his breath as he steered the SUV down the rutted dirt road to follow the white van ahead.

"Hell if I know," Justin Bricker answered.

Decker glanced briefly to the younger immortal, his temporary partner for this hunt, but didn't bother explaining that he'd been talking to himself. He returned his concentration to the road, squinting in an effort to see where he was going. While their kind could see in the dark better than mortals, even he was straining in the almost complete absence of light out here. It was a starless night, and Decker had turned off the headlights several miles back to prevent being spotted by Nicholas. The enforcer SUVs had several modifications; an absence of driving lights that came on every time the vehicle was started was just one of them.

"I didn't expect it to be this easy to track him down," Justin said suddenly.

Decker grunted, surprised by it himself. Nicholas Argeneau had been rogue for a good fifty years, during which time no one had even caught sight of the man. For it to have taken a mere day of showing his picture around to pick up his trail seemed too easy. Way too easy. It made Decker suspicious and wary. Why hadn't Nicholas erased the memories of the mortals he'd encountered? He must have done that in the past to have remained off the radar, and yet suddenly he wasn't doing so. Instead he appeared to have left a trail as clear as radioactive green cookie crumbs.

Justin cursed beside him and grabbed for the dashboard as the dirt lane came to an end and they followed the van off-road, bouncing over tall grass and bushes.

"Maybe he's tired of running," Justin suggested suddenly through gritted teeth, no doubt to keep from biting off his tongue as they jolted over the uneven trail. "Maybe he wants to be caught."

Decker didn't respond. He didn't for a minute think Nicholas was giving up, and he didn't know what was going on, but Justin Bricker's constant need to talk was beginning to drive him crazy. He had no idea how Mortimer, Justin's usual partner, had taken it all these years.

"He's stopping."

"I can see that," Decker muttered between his teeth, steering the SUV to the side of the road. He parked as far into the woods as he dared without risking getting stuck. Hoping it was far enough that their prey wouldn't notice them, he then turned off the engine and ordered, "Watch him."

Leaving the keys in the ignition to save time should Nicholas notice them and try to get away in the van, Decker crawled over the seat and all the way to the back of the SUV where the blood and weapons were. He moved to the cooler first, retrieving a couple of bags of blood and tossing one over the seats into Justin's lap. "Drink up. You'll need your strength."

"I gather you don't think he's going to give up when he sees us, then?" Justin asked dryly and then slapped the bag to his mouth.

Decker snorted at the very suggestion. He waited for his own canine teeth to drop down, and slapped a bag of blood to the fangs with one hand as he reached with the other to unlock and flip open the nearest weapons case. His eyes slid over the guns inside. While you weren't likely to kill an immortal with a gun, you could slow him down and even temporarily incapacitate him... especially using bullets that were coated with the tranquilizer Bastien's techie boys had developed.

"He's getting out of the van," Justin announced.

Decker glanced forward to see that Justin had already drained his bag and was shoving it in the small bag at his feet, one filled with fast-food wrappers. The man liked to eat as much as he liked to talk, Decker had noticed. Shaking his head, he glanced past him to peer out the front windshield, but couldn't see much over the seats. Pulling his own now-empty bag from his teeth, he asked, "What's he doing?"

"Walking around to the back of the van... opening the door... he's digging around inside, getting something-I think he's getting out weapons." Justin glanced back, worry on his face as he asked, "Do you think he spotted us?"

Decker's mouth tightened. He set aside the empty bag and turned back to the case before him. "Come pick your weapons."

"Should we call Lucian or Mortimer?" Justin asked as he headed back to join him.

Decker considered the question as he chose two guns and a box of coated bullets. Lucian had sent them north as a mere precaution. He'd also sent Mortimer and Sam west for the same reason, but he and his life mate, Leigh, were searching the Haliburton area where Nicholas had actually been seen by Grant. Decker suspected his uncle had expected to find him there, and hoped to be the one to get to him first. It meant both couples were far enough away that they weren't going to be of any use at this point. He shook his head. "It would take at least an hour, possibly two for either of them to get here. We're on our own."

Justin nodded slowly, and then transformed from the good-natured, slightly mischievous sidekick he usually acted, to the hunter he was. His shoulders straightened and his expression became grim as he began to select weapons from the case.

Unwilling to risk Nicholas creeping up on them while they were distracted, Decker took his weapons and the box of bullets and made his way up front to the driver's seat. A glance showed that Nicholas now had a quiver full of arrows and a crossbow slung over his back, but was still digging around in the back of the van. Looking for more weapons, Decker supposed, and kept an eye on him as he loaded his guns. Nicholas was still busy in the back of the van when Justin rejoined him in the front of the SUV.

"Now what?" Justin asked, eyeing the rogue. "Try to creep up on him and get the drop?"

"Sounds good to me," Decker muttered. He reached for the keys in the ignition and then thought better of it. If Nicholas became aware of their presence before they reached him, he might hop in the van and try to take off. If that happened, Decker didn't want to be fumbling to get the keys in the ignition to give chase. Leaving them in the ignition, he reached up and shut off the SUV's interior light so it wouldn't come on when the door opened. Fortunately, another modification performed on all their vehicles ensured there was no beeping to warn that the keys were still in the ignition, and he was able to slip silently out of the vehicle even as Justin did.

Afraid even a quiet click would give away their presence, Decker didn't close the door all the way, but left it cracked open. Justin did the same, and the two men moved cautiously forward, easing through the grass as silently as possible. Neither man spoke, but halfway there, Justin moved to the other side of the trail so that they were approaching from opposite sides. It was the kind of thing Decker's usual partner, Anders, would have done automatically, but he and Anders had worked together for decades. Decker supposed he shouldn't be surprised by Justin's actions. This might be the first time he'd worked with him, but Justin had done this with Mortimer for years and knew what he was about. Dropping his worry about the kid being able to handle himself, Decker turned his full attention to their quarry as they moved up silently on him.

They were both perhaps six feet away when Nicholas straightened and said, "It took you long enough to find your balls and approach. I was starting to think I'd be standing here until dawn."

Decker stilled, aware that Justin had as well. All three were silent, and then Nicholas raised his hands and slowly turned. As expected, time had little changed him, his dark hair was a little longer than Decker remembered, but his eyes were still silver-blue and he was still handsome, with chiseled features that would make most women's hearts flutter. The only change was that the easy smile and charm he used to exude had been replaced by a cold, grim expression Decker was more used to seeing on Lucian's face. He also had a gun in each hand, both presently pointed skyward.

"We were choosing and loading weapons," Justin explained, apparently stung by the comment.

Nicholas nodded solemnly, but his gaze was on Decker as he said, "Must be hard to choose what to shoot your own blood with."

Decker merely shrugged, but acknowledged to himself that this wasn't easy for him. Nicholas was family... but he was also a rogue. "How long have you known we were following you?"

"Since the restaurant. I waited a long time there for you," he informed them, and then added grimly, "I hope not too long."

"What do you mean you waited a long time?" Decker asked suspiciously. "How did you even know we were around?"

"Because I arranged it," Nicholas said as if that should be obvious. "Why do you think I let Grant see me when we both happened to stop at the same gas station?"

"Are you saying you wanted us to come find you?" Decker asked.

"Yes." His mouth twisted down when Decker didn't hide his disbelief, and he added, "When I saw Grant I realized that his seeing me might not be a bad thing, so I walked over to say hello. I knew that when he reported the sighting Lucian would send a couple teams up to hunt me." Nicholas paused and then continued with displeasure, "I just didn't realize you guys had gotten so lax in your job. You should have been able to track me down by the day before yesterday. I left a clear enough trail. And still I had to wait for two days for you to show up."

"Grant didn't report the sighting. He didn't know you were rogue. It was only blind luck that he mentioned you this morning," Justin explained, the defensive note to his words making Decker scowl. They had nothing to prove to the man.

Nicholas narrowed his eyes at this news, and then sighed and nodded.

"Then I can't blame you if these girls die," he muttered unhappily, and shook his head. "It will be my . own fault for waiting."

"What girls?" Decker asked. "And why would you want to be found?"

"Because I got on to-and have been following-a nest of nasty rogues. By the time I spotted Grant I'd realized I was going to need help bringing them down. Running into him at the gas station seemed almost fortuitous. At least, it did when I thought he'd turn my ass in," he added bitterly, and then berated himself. "I shouldn't have counted on his reporting me, I should have called it in. Those girls would still be happy and oblivious otherwise." Nicholas paused and then said solemnly, "These are some really bad ones, Decker."

"Aren't all rogues bad?" Justin asked dubiously.

"I guess they are," Nicholas said, a weary note to his voice, and then he continued, "But there's bad, and then there's real demon seed-slaughter the innocent, roll around in their blood for the hell of it, and laugh while you're doing it sickos."

"Jesus," Justin breathed.

Decker eyed Nicholas narrowly. "Are you trying to tell me that you're still hunting rogues even though you're rogue now yourself? Why would you do that?"

"It's hard to kick old habits," Nicholas said bitterly. He shifted impatiently. "Now, I've explained enough. We have to get moving before they start in on these two."

"Just a minute," Decker snapped as Nicholas lowered his hands and turned away to start up the side of the van. "We're not going anywhere, and who are these two girls you keep talking about?"

Nicholas glanced back over his shoulder to say, "They're the two girls these rogues took from the grocery store parking lot before you guys showed up at the restaurant. Once they grabbed the girls, I couldn't wait anymore for backup. Fortunately, you showed up just as I was heading out and followed. Now we can-"

"How do you know they took two girls at the grocery store?" Decker interrupted. "The restaurant where we caught up to you is well away from-"

"Jesus," Nicholas interrupted impatiently. "We don't have time for this now. Can't you hear them screaming?"

Decker opened his mouth to insist that Nicholas explain, but paused as he became aware of the panicked shrieks coming from ahead. Either it had just started or he'd been concentrating so hard on what Nicholas was saying, he'd blocked it out. He was hearing it now, though, and once heard, those desperate, bloodcurdling screams couldn't be ignored... nor could the cruel male laughter that nearly drowned it out.

"Shoot me in the back if you want to," Nicholas snapped. "But I've seen what those bastards do, and I can't just stand here explaining while they cut up those women." He then whirled and charged ahead, crashing into the trees.

"Do I shoot him?" Justin asked, his gun aimed at Nicholas's quickly disappearing back.

Decker ground his teeth together and then shook his head as another scream resounded. "Not yet," he snapped, and broke into a run after his cousin, aware that Justin was hard on his heels.

Dani peered over Stephanie's shoulder at the "no signal" message on her phone, snapped it shut, slid it back into her pocket, and hugged the young girl close, whispering, "It's going to be okay, Stephi."

It was a lie, one to make them both feel better, but Stephanie wouldn't let the lie stand. Arms tightening around her waist, the teenager sobbed, "No, it's not."

Heart clenching at the despair in her voice, Dani twisted her head around to glance at the man who stood behind her. Tall and skinny, with long, lank blond hair, he'd been left to stand guard over them while the others had gathered wood, built a fire, and attended other unknown duties. He watched them with a concentration that gave her the creeps, and most of his attention, she noted worriedly, was on Stephanie.

Dani tightened her arms protectively around her sister and then glanced warily toward the others as they returned one after another. Appearing out of the darkness like pale specters, they stepped into the circle of light cast by the fire, five men all so similar in looks to the first that they must be related. Some were empty-handed and simply took seats on the logs placed in a square around the fire pit. The others dropped what wood they had found next to the fire and joined them so that two sat on each of the three logs facing Dani and Stephanie. Firelight flickered over their faces, the shadows and light licking at them like the flames of hell as they watched Dani and Stephanie, cats eyeing a pair of juicy mice. Dani managed to withstand their silent inspection for a moment, but then blurted, "What are you going to do with us?"

The moment the words left her lips, she wished she could take them back. The question brought cruelly amused smiles and low chuckles from the men as they exchanged glances. Even worse, one of them then stood and started across the clearing. Dani watched warily as he paused beside the fire and bent to grab one of the logs. He lifted the burning wood into the air, holding it aloft as he continued toward them, and for one terrified moment she feared he would swing it at them. It was almost a relief when, instead, he reached out with his free hand and caught her by the upper arm.

Dani immediately released Stephanie so that she could try to pry the hand off her, but before she could he was pulling her to her feet.

"No! Leave her alone!" Stephanie shrieked and clawed at Dani's other hand, trying to keep her from being taken away, but neither her efforts nor Dani's own prevented the man from dragging her away. She continued to struggle to no avail as he tugged her across the clearing, but paused to glance around when he stopped. At first she couldn't see anything but darkness before her, and then her captor held out the makeshift torch, and she saw that they stood on the edge of a shallow ravine.

Dani instinctively struggled to back away, afraid he intended to throw her off, but it was the log he threw, tossing it out so that it tumbled through the darkness, rotating end over end before coming to a landing with a soft thud of sound. She saw then that while the dropoff was steep, it wasn't very deep. No more than ten feet, Dani guessed, and then gave up that worry as she realized that there was something lying in the bottom of the ravine amid the grass and trees.

Unable to help herself, she stopped struggling and even leaned forward, pulling against the hand holding her to try to make sense of what her eyes were seeing. Dani was immediately sorry she had. In her capacity as a doctor, she'd seen a lot of horrible things, but never in her life had she even imagined seeing anything as gruesome as the twisted and bloody bodies in the bottom of that natural ditch. The sight itself was terrible, but not half as terrifying as her sudden realization that she and Stephanie were doomed. There was no hope for them at all. They were meant to join the two women who lay rotting in that ravine... and judging by the state of the bodies below, it would be a long and painful journey getting there.

This isn't happening, Dani thought faintly, her mind unable to accept the turn her life had taken. She was a doctor who spent most of her time working. This weekend had been an uncommon bright spot in her life, a rare bit of time off filled with sun and sand in the bosom of her family. The McGill family reunion had been four days and three nights of laughing, swimming, fishing, and just enjoying one another's company. Dani had soaked it all in and had been happy and relaxed for the first time in years as they'd started the long drive home. Then they'd stopped for snacks for the eight-hour journey and...

It wasn't supposed to end like this, her mind howled. This was Canada, for God's sake; boring, safe Canada where nothing as monstrous as this happened. But it was happening, she acknowledged as Stephanie began to shriek hysterically, interrupting her dazed thoughts. She turned her head to see that the younger girl had been dragged over by one of the other men to bear witness to the contents of the ravine. Now she too knew how hopeless their situation was, Dani thought unhappily.

As Stephanie's screams rose in pitch and hysteria, Dani began to struggle again, frantic to get to her, but the hand holding her was hard and strong, and all her kicks, hits, and attempts to bite her captor merely made him laugh harder... much as the man holding her sister was doing. These animals seemed to find their horror and panic amusing. That brought fury bubbling up inside Dani, and she redoubled her frenzied attempt to break free and get to the girl.

"She's a screamer," the one holding Stephi proclaimed with a laugh, shaking her so that her shrieks vibrated somewhat. It only made him laugh even harder.

Dani was just wishing she had a gun and could shoot the bastard when he suddenly stiffened, surprise crossing his face. He released his hold on Stephanie, letting her collapse to the ground as he reached toward his back where an arrow now protruded from between his shoulder blades. The sight so surprised Dani that she briefly stopped fighting her own captor and simply watched the man turn in a slow circle, like a dog chasing its tail, as he tried to reach the arrow. Everyone else had frozen too, except for Stephanie. Sobbing and whimpering, her sister was crawling away across the dirt. The sight drew Dani out of her shocked stillness and she was about to kick back at her captor and try to break free when a hissing sound made her freeze. Suddenly an arrow was protruding from her captor's arm, the fletching quivering next to her cheek.

Dani found herself not only released, but flung away as the man roared in pain. She careened toward the edge overlooking the ravine, but-recalling what lay below-wasn't eager to land there. Dani grabbed frantically for something to save herself. Her fingers closed over what felt to be several thin branches of a bush. However, the hold swung her around so that she slid over the edge feetfirst and began to slide down the sharp incline. Dani ignored the sting as the branches ran through her fingers, stripping the leaves along the way. Desperate to stop herself, she tightened her grasp, but the branches immediately snapped under the full brunt of her weight. She released them, reaching for something else to save her, but there was nothing, and Dani was left clawing at the dirt she was now sliding down.

Fortunately, the combination of that and her brief hold on the bush slowed her enough that Dani came to a halt halfway down the small ravine. She closed her eyes and sent up a silent prayer of thanks before peering up toward the ledge.

The sounds now coming from the clearing were chaotic and loud. Her sister was screaming again, but the sound had been joined by men's shouts and several sharp cracking noises. Apparently arrows were no longer the only weapons being shot up there. Her thoughts on Stephanie, Dani began to climb back up to the ledge, her heart seeming to echo the cracks of gunfire from above. She reached the ledge, managed to get one arm over the top to hold her weight, and pulled herself up far enough to take in the scene in the clearing. Three of their six captors were down, two others had taken cover behind a large log and were being fired on by at least two, possibly three or more men crouching behind trees in the woods surrounding them. But Dani couldn't see the sixth kidnapper... or her sister.

"Dani!"

The scream drew her gaze to the right to see Stephanie being dragged off, used as a shield by the sixth man as he slid away into the woods. Cursing, Dani ignored the gunshots going off around her and began to struggle to pull herself out of the ravine.

"One of them is getting away!"

Justin's shout dragged Decker's attention from the two rogues shooting at them, and to the one slipping away through the woods. He was dragging the younger female with him.

"I've got it," Nicholas barked, and was off, leaping from his cover behind a neighboring tree and moving through the woods around the clearing, ducking and weaving as he went.

"No! Wait, Nicholas!" Decker roared, and instinctively lunged after him to give chase, but another shout from Justin brought him to a halt. Turning back, he followed the younger immortal's gesture to the woman presently trying to drag herself up onto the ledge on the far side of the clearing. Decker had seen her go flying off the cliff after Nicholas shot an arrow into the arm of the rogue holding her. He'd feared she would either be dead or seriously injured from the fall, but it appeared she'd managed to save herself and was now struggling to pull herself back to safety.

Even as Decker noted this, the woman slipped and began to sink from view. The desperation on her face and the way her fingers clawed frantically at the ground to stop her slide suggested to him that it would indeed prove deadly should she not be able to save herself.

Cursing, he immediately changed direction, charging straight through the clearing toward the cliff. Decker moved as quickly as he was capable, gritting his teeth as bullets whizzed past. While the rogues' bullets wouldn't be coated with tranquilizer like their own, they could still cause pain and a good deal of damage... and if they were lucky and shot him in the heart, he'd be down and helpless to prevent them from finishing him off.

Decker was surprised, and not a little relieved, when he made it to the ledge without taking a bullet. He managed to catch the woman's hand just as her fingers slipped from the edge... and that's when he finally caught one of the bullets being shot his way. It slammed into his back with enough impact that he nearly released the woman and tumbled forward off the cliff himself, but then managed to brace himself with his other hand. Pushing at the ground to keep from rolling forward, Decker jerked the woman upward with the hand grasping hers, turning back toward the clearing at the same time. The combination put more force behind the action than he'd intended and didn't just bring her back up to the safety of the ledge, but pretty much tossed her several feet away from it.

That's when the second bullet hit him, puncturing his chest below the shoulder and knocking the wind out of him. It felt like a serrated metal band was being cinched around his chest. Forcing himself to ignore the pain, Decker raised his gun hand. Pushing himself to his feet, he began firing in the general direction of the two men pressed up against the log, quickly moving sideways away from the mortal woman as he did. It was an effort to draw the gunfire away from her as he took in the situation. Both rogues had given up their cover and were now standing, one shooting at him and the other aiming for Justin, who was charging from the other side of the clearing.

Seeing that, Decker stopped moving, took aim at the one shooting his way, and hit him point-blank in the chest. He waited long enough to see the rogue clutch at the wound with surprise and start to fall back, but then immediately turned to aim at the second man. However, that one was already falling, shot by Justin.

Decker glanced toward the woman then, only to see her disappearing into the woods in the direction Nicholas had taken. Leaving Justin to handle the men in the clearing, he chased after her, intent on catching up to Nicholas. He followed the sound of the woman thrashing her way through the underbrush ahead and soon found himself back out on the wider path where they'd parked the SUV... only it was no longer there, nor was Nicholas's van.

Decker closed his eyes on a curse. He'd left the keys in the SUV, and apparently the rogue had taken advantage and stolen the vehicle.

Cursing again, Decker turned his attention to the figure standing where his vehicle should have been. Her back had been to him since he'd stepped out of the woods, but she turned now, a woman of medium height, with a curvaceous figure and mid-length blond hair that fell around her face in loose curls. It was all he really noticed just then-that and the fact that she came to an abrupt halt as she spotted him, her eyes shifting toward the road and back to him with a combination of worry and uncertainty. It seemed obvious the worry was for the girl who had been taken. The uncertainty was no doubt because she was unsure if he was friend or foe.

Decker hesitated, briefly considering taking the time to reassure her she was safe, but his back and chest were aching from the bullets he'd taken, and he wasn't in the mood to deal with an undoubtedly emotionally distraught woman. Besides, they didn't have the time for it; he and Justin had to do what they could to clean up the mess here and then head out after Nicholas... again, he thought irritably, and simply slipped into her thoughts to take control of her... or tried to. Much to Decker's amazement, he couldn't seem to pierce her mind.

That fact made him give her a second look. This time he took notice of her blue eyes, her almost too-wide mouth, and her straight little nose. While she wasn't classically beautiful, somehow those individual features-when put together-made up an attractive face. But it was the face of a woman he couldn't read. The question was whether it was because she was upset at the moment, her thoughts possibly in enough chaos after recent events that no immortal could have read her? Or was there another reason he couldn't penetrate her mind?

Decker hesitated, and then concentrated once more on trying to pierce her thoughts, but met a wall of blackness that was hard and impenetrable.

"Who are you?"

He glowered at her for interrupting his concentration, but she merely glowered back. It surprised him into answering.

"Decker Argeneau," he said, and then frowned at the slip and said, "I mean Pimms." He hadn't used the Argeneau name for over a century now. He refused to. The name carried a certain cachet with it, elicited a certain respect from his kind, but he didn't want respect just because of his last name. Decker would rather earn it based on his own merits.

"All right, you're Decker-May be-Argeneau-Maybe-Pimms." The woman sounded grim. "But telling me your name doesn't really tell me who you are and why I shouldn't be running in the opposite direction right now, does it?"

"You're safe," he said, and when she didn't respond or relax, added, "We just saved your life, lady. You're safe."

She hesitated and then asked a touch sharply, "And my sister, Stephanie? Your friend went after them. Will he be able to get her back?"

"I don't know," Decker admitted, "And he's not my friend."

She frowned. "You were together."

"No. Justin and I just followed him here," Decker announced, digging his phone out of his pocket and peering down to find "no signal" flashing on the screen.

"Your phone won't work out here," she announced, and then added, "At least mine didn't. Where's your vehicle? We have to go after my sister."

"I don't have one," Decker muttered, not bothering to explain that it had been stolen. He ignored her then and raised his phone skyward, turning in a circle in hopes of catching a signal. When that didn't work, he snapped it closed with a sigh and slid the useless item back in his pocket. Decker turned his attention back to the blond then, only to find that she'd started off up the trail toward the road.

Rubbing absently at his chest, he instinctively tried to take control of her once more, but this time was no more successful than the last two attempts. Cursing, he gave it up and hurried forward to grab her arm and draw her to a halt, "Wait."

The blond turned on him sharply and glared at the hand he had on her arm.

Decker ignored that and asked, "Where do you think you're going?"

"After my sister," she answered succinctly, and, tugging her arm loose, turned to start walking again.

"On foot?" he asked with exasperation, trailing her.

"Yes, at least until I reach an inhabited house or cottage where I can borrow a car or something."

"No one's going to just give you their car," Decker pointed out grimly. "And you can't go after these guys alone. They aren't your average bad guys. Let us handle this. It's what we do."

She paused and turned to peer at him uncertainly. "Are you a cop or something?"

"Or something," he said vaguely, and took her arm to urge her back the way they'd come. He ignored the way her eyes had narrowed and that she was dragging her feet.

"Are you with the OPP?"

"No. We're not with the Ontario Provincial Police."

"RCMP?"

"No. We're not with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police either."

The blond dug in her heels, refusing to move further. Rather than force her, Decker sighed and turned to say, "Look, we are in law enforcement. We go after bad guys, but there's no sense my telling you the name of the organization I work for. You wouldn't recognize it. We aren't well known by the average citizen. But you are safe."

Her eyes widened at his claim and she asked eagerly, "You mean like CSIS? You're like a secret agent?"

Decker hesitated; he had no desire to claim he was a member of the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service, Canada's version of the FBI, but he'd already said no to all the usual law enforcement organizations and he couldn't tell her the truth, so merely muttered, "Something like that."

When she opened her mouth to ask another question, he forestalled her by quickly asking, "What's your name?"

"Danielle McGill."

"And the other girl is your sister, Stephanie?"

"Younger sister, she's just fifteen," Danielle said. Worry overtook her expression once more, and her gaze again slid up toward the road.

Before Decker could ask anything else, a low whistle drew his attention to Justin's arrival.

The younger immortal peered to where their vehicle had been and said, "You left the keys in the SUV."

It wasn't an accusation, just an observation. Justin knew exactly why he'd left the keys in the ignition and hadn't protested it at the time. Neither of them had known about the nest of rogues or expected it to lead to the vehicle being stolen.

A choked sound from Danielle drew Decker's attention just in time to see her spin away with disgust and start up the road again. Irritation beginning to get the better of him, he set out after her once more, catching at her arm. "Hang on. I thought we agreed you'd let us handle this?"

"I didn't agree to anything," she snapped, shaking off his hold. "And, frankly, I'd rather not trust my sister's life to some Austin Powers version of a government spy who can't even remember which name he's using as his cover, and who leaves his keys in the car to make it easier for the bad guys to get away."

Danielle McGill spun away to start out up the trail again.

Mouth tightening, Decker barked, "Justin, take control of that woman and bring her back here."

Justin nodded and started to turn toward Danielle, but then paused, eyes snapping back. "Why haven't you taken control?"

Decker ground his teeth together. "I can't."

The younger immortal's eyes widened. "You can't?"

"She's upset," Decker muttered. "Just see if you can, all right?"

"Man," Justin breathed, shaking his head, "first Mortimer and now you. You guys are dropping like flies."

"Just stop Danielle, will you," Decker said tiredly.

"She prefers Dani," he announced.

"Bricker," he snarled.

"All right, all right. Keep your pants on." Justin moved past him, adding, "I'm just saying..."

Decker ground his teeth together and then realized exactly what the man was saying. To know she preferred being called Dani meant Justin was able to read her thoughts. It wasn't just that she was too upset to be read. She was his...

Life mate.

Decker lifted his eyes skyward, expecting something to happen. He didn't know what, perhaps for the stars overhead to explode into shimmery fireworks, or for the sky to crack open and pour down rain and thunder to mark the moment. But nothing happened. The most important moment of his life arrived not with a bang as he'd always expected, but with the quiet rustle of wind through the trees and a serene breeze brushing his cheeks.

Shaking his head, Decker forced himself to turn his attention back to the business at hand. They were stuck in the woods in the middle of nowhere with a clearing full of bad rogues who were down but not dead. They needed backup to clean up this mess before some unsuspecting mortal came across the scene. And they needed to start hunting for Nicholas again... as well as the other rogue and the girl he'd taken.

Decker wasn't at all sure that both targets would lead in the same direction. It was entirely possible either that Nicholas had been riding with the nest they'd just decimated, or that he'd known about them and led Decker and Justin here when he'd realized they were on his tail because he'd hoped to make his escape while they were busy with the other men. Nicholas certainly had hightailed it out of there pretty quickly the moment the opportunity arose.

But even if he really had deliberately drawn them there with the express purpose of taking down this nest, it didn't mean Nicholas would still be on the rogue's tail now. He was a wanted man. It would be smarter for him to leave it to Decker and the other enforcers to chase after the girl and her kidnapper and take this opportunity to disappear into the ether as he had done fifty years ago.

If that was the case, they had probably lost him again. Their only hope of catching him was if Nicholas Argeneau had somehow seen the error of his ways and was indeed chasing after the girl and the other rogue. Then, at least, they had a chance of catching him... but Decker wasn't holding his breath on that count.

He rubbed at his chest again, recalling that-on top of everything else-he presently had two bullet wounds his body was trying to repair... and their blood was in the SUV along with their weapons. Perfect, Decker thought with weary frustration. This was a hell of a time for him to finally meet his life mate. His gaze slid to the woman in question. Dani.

Justin had managed to stop her and turn her around. She was now walking back toward them, her body relaxed and expression blank.

"I think you have something you want to say to me," Justin said, tongue in cheek as they watched her return.

"You want a thank-you for bringing her back?" Decker asked dryly.

"No, not that."

"What then?"

The younger immortal rolled his eyes. "Oh, I don't know. I thought you might just want to apologize for all that grief you guys gave me for using the cover that we were in a band on our last case. I mean... a government spy?"

"I never-" Decker stopped when he saw the teasing grin on Justin's face. Cursing at himself for allowing the kid to get a rise out of him, he barked, "Just bring her and come on."

"Yes, sir, Mr. Bond, sir," Justin said cheerfully.

"Smart ass," Decker muttered under his breath as he turned away.