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“Gentlemen,” I interrupt, using my best Southern drawl. “Please forgive my ignorance of your being here.” I smile, turning toward Kragen. “See, my fiancé doesn’t always share the prizes for these games he does. My female brain is curious about yours.” I resist the urge to pat myself on the back for my award-winning performance.
The shorter man smiles, matching my energy. “Mademoiselle, you are quite delectable.”
“Why, thank you,” I continue, turning on the charm.
“Keeping information away from such a lovely lady should be a crime,” the man continues. He smiles and covers his mouth with his hand. “Our treasure is worth more than gold,” he whispers with a sickening smile. “Twenty human feeders are on their way to us. We’ve paid for the deluxe edition of the treasure hunt.” He claps his hands in excitement.
I focus on keeping my face from showing the turmoil inside. “Twenty humans?”
“Oui,” he answers. “Kragen has promised the best crop, all under the age of sixteen.”
My stomach drops. Twenty children to feed to vampires?
“Isn’t that lovely?” he asks me.
“It is amazin’,” I answer, hoping he can’t read the turmoil I feel inside. “Where did you find these children?” I ask Kragen.
He smiles. “Oh, you know. Here and there.”
The two vampires stand, signaling us to stand with them. “We will see you tomorrow.”
“Good evening, gentlemen,” Kragen answers.
The shorter vampire moves in front of me in an instant. Taking my hand into his, he licks the back of my hand before placing his lips gently on top. “Good evening, mademoiselle. Until we meet again.”
Kragen wraps my arm through his, pulling me onto the deck of the ship behind the French vampires. The men jump from the deck to the sandy shore of the inlet before loading a large SUV similar to the one David escaped in hours earlier.
He keeps my arm held tightly in his until the lights of their vehicle disappear from sight. “Whatever you think you can do to stop this exchange is futile,” he warns.
“How much are they paying you?”
“That is none of your concern. Neither is the treasure.” He turns, walking away from me.
“Where are they?” My words are no louder than a whisper, but Kragen turns, facing me. “Where are you holding twenty children?”
“It doesn’t matter,” he answers.
“You’re a monster.”
“So I’ve been told.”
“I won’t allow you to do this,” I continue.
“You’re in no position to allow me to do anything.” He disappears below deck. He’s right. I have no power over anything Kragen does.
I pull Jimmy’s cell phone out of my skirt, finding ten missed calls from Brittney’s number. I text her, praying that it gets to Thorne.
Kragen’s ship is anchored in an inlet in the Outer Banks.
Being a flip phone, it takes longer than it should to text one sentence. The moment I hit send, the phone goes dark. “Shit!” I scream into the empty land. Did my message go through?
I resist the urge to throw the phone further than human eyes can track, instead, sliding it back into my skirt.
Twenty human children. My mind flashes back to boarding a ship very similar to this one with eight of my brothers and sisters, heading for what we hoped was a better life.
These twenty children belong to someone. Someone who is looking for them. I can’t allow these “games” to take place. They deserve a chance to live. I don’t know how, but I will stop this.
I spend the next few hours searching the ship forany clues to where Kragen might be holding the “treasure,” finding nothing.
