He pointed to a speck of red in the upper left corner of the photo.
“What is that?” Saxon asked.
“A ladybug,” Roland answered. “It landed on the camera.”
“Why would a ladybug send up a red flag?”
“The programs monitoring the footage are set to pick up any red, or a vampire’s eyes. They’re also set to pick up the white-blue color of a turned hunter’s eyes. The red of the ladybug’s wings set off the warning system.”
Before leaving for Mexico, Declan was working with Roland on the programs and monitoring, but the hunter had done a lot more since he left.
“And possibly caught a Savage on camera,” Killean muttered.
“It has to be a Savage,” Saxon said. “There’s no other reason for them not to report in.”
He was right, but if this was the only Savage caught on camera, it made him think they were aware of the cameras and knew how to get around them.
“How many are with Lucien?” Declan asked.
“Four,” Asher answered. “One newer recruit and three hunters.”
“And your sister is with them,” he said to Vicky. He knew the answer, but he had to have it confirmed.
Terror shone in Vicky’s emerald eyes when they met his. “Yes.”
Declan couldn’t stop himself from chomping down on the lollipop. The acrid taste filling his mouth gave him something else to focus on, besides the rage trying to take him over. He chewed on what remained of the pop before using his tongue to pick away the pieces sticking to his teeth.
Willow should not be out there. She was a member of the Alliance, a choice she’d made, but she couldn’t become one of those monsters. He would not allow her or Lucien to be tortured and brutalized until nothing of them remained.
Chapter Five
“How many of the ones on this mission know how to get here?” Declan asked.
“Only Lucien and Leonard,” Ronan said.
“Leonard is a young hunter who only recently completed his training and was allowed to join the fight,” Nathan said.
All the new vampires who joined the Alliance were blindfolded before coming here and placed in the back of a van they couldn’t see out of even if they weren’t blindfolded. They remained at the compound throughout their training, and when it was time to test them on the streets, they were blindfolded and put in the same van. Many of the younger hunters had no idea how to get in and out of here, but the ones who graduated to become fighters did.
Even after the vamps became full-fledged members of the Alliance, they still didn’t reveal their location until the Alliance decided it was okay for them to know. If the recruits didn’t like the arrangement, they didn’t have to stay.
It wasn’t that they didn’t trust them, the recruits wouldn’t be here if they weren’t trustworthy, but they couldn’t risk one of them falling into the hands of the Savages. When the Savages started turning their captives instead of killing them, they completely changed the rules of the game.
If too many vamps and hunters knew the location of the compound, it was only a matter of time before the information fell into the wrong hands. Declan would prefer if they didn’t tell any of them where they were living, but he realized it wasn’t practical or fair to them. Still, he preferred the compound remained more of a secret.
“If they were captured,” Asher said, “we have a big problem.”
“Lucien would never reveal our location,” Killean growled.
Declan had to give Asher credit; he didn’t back down from the lethal look on Killean’s scarred face when many would have fled the room.
“I don’t think he would say anything,” Asher said, “and neither would Leonard, unless they succeed in turning them into Savages, and if they do—”
“That won’t happen,” Killean interjected. “At least not with Lucien.”
Anger flickered in Asher’s eyes, and his jaw clenched. Simone rested her hand on Killean’s arm; he remained visibly tensed but relaxed a little.
“We have to face the possibility it could happen,” she said gently, “to Leonard and Lucien. We’re putting the children at risk if we don’t prepare for the worst.”
Killean opened his mouth to protest, but when Madison let out a small coo and giggled, he clamped his lips together. He stared at the baby for a minute before giving a brisk nod. “We’ll prepare for the worst.”
“Can you track any of the ones who disappeared?” Declan asked Elyse.
Elyse’s rare gift of being able to track others through their blood was a big asset for them until she got pregnant and decided to take a break.
“No,” she said. “I haven’t started using my ability again since Madi’s birth. Besides, there was no reason for me to come into contact with the blood of anyone on that mission.”
His fingers rattled the broken pieces of candy in his pocket as his agitation mounted. The woods around that bunker took up thousands of acres of land; if anyone was alive up there, it could be impossible to find them.
“What about Brian?” Declan asked. “Can he find Willow and Lucien?”
Vicky’s brother-in-law, Brian, had a different ability than Elyse, but he could also locate people and vamps. He’d helped them out more than a few times over the years.
“He’s in Australia,” Vicky said.
“What is he doing there?” Declan demanded.
When they all shot him questioning looks, he took a deep breath to calm the turmoil rolling through him. But they had to find Lucien and Willow; he realized there were three others with them, but right now, he didn’t care about them. Lucien was more like a brother to him, and Willow….
Well, he had no idea what she was to him. However, the idea of her in the hands of the Savages, being brutalized and tortured until she became a monster, awakened protective instincts he never knew he possessed. It also brought forth a murderous rage that was dangerous to them all.
He never should have gone to Mexico. He should have been stronger. He should have handled his desire for Willow instead of leaving. If he’d been here, he would have been on that mission too. He would have kept her safe; he would have helped Lucien… or he could also be missing and possibly in the hands of Savages.
Taking a deep breath, he lifted his eyes to the thousands of books lining the walls as he sought to control the demon part of him trying to break free and destroy. Since the day he stopped aging, he’d walked a fine line between man and monster.
Most days, he expected to lose the battle. But somehow, he got up, got through it, and continued the war against the Savages and himself.
“He took Abby on a tour of the world,” Vicky said. “They’ve been traveling for a couple of weeks and planned to be gone for six months.”
“Have you contacted them?” Declan asked.
“He was the first person I called,” Ronan said. “I haven’t heard back from him.”
“They probably don’t have reception where they are, but they’ll call as soon as they get the messages.” Vicky wiped a tear from her eye as her gaze shifted to the windows. “I had to tell my mom Willow is missing.”