“We’re worried about a couple of friends of ours. They were in your club a couple of nights ago and they seem to have disappeared. They were seen getting in a car with you.”

Tariq remained silent. He simply stared at them. Forester wasn’t telling the truth now; rather, he was mixing lies with truth. They had powerful binoculars and they’d caught glimpses of Genevieve and Charlotte with the children on the playground.

Tariq quirked an eyebrow at them and folded his arms across his chest, waiting in silence. He didn’t need to touch their minds. They didn’t suspect him of being a vampire. They were chasing after Charlotte and Genevieve.

Daniel tried to hold his eyes but eventually had to look away. Tariq was a predator and he could hold a stare, fully focused, without blinking for hours. He could be absolutely still for hours when necessary. Daniel Forester was an amateur in comparison. In truth, Tariq felt a little childish playing the human male games when they had no chance of winning, but over the centuries, he’d learned the customs, and the stare down was one of them.

“Fine, we’re not exactly friends,” Daniel admitted, “but we were looking out for two women. Genevieve Marten, originally from Paris, and Charlotte Vintage from here. I don’t know how to explain what’s going on, but believe me, they’re in trouble.”

That, at least, was sincere. And the absolute truth. Genevieve and Charlotte were in more trouble than either woman realized. As was Emeline. And now Amelia. He hadn’t thought Vadim had looked at Amelia, but after what the teen had revealed to Charlotte, it was clear the vampire was interested in her as well. Inwardly he sighed. The number of women needing protection was growing fast. He had to find a way to keep all of them safe from Malinov’s master plan.

He’d sent word to the Carpathian Mountains, to the prince, letting him know what Vadim and his brother were plotting. More, he’d sent for available hunters, a healer, and with each hunter came more safeguards woven around the property, below and above it as well, in order to keep his family safe. He knew Josef was coming, a younger Carpathian male, still a child by their standards, but he was good with technology – something all Carpathians needed to catch up on.

His people were gathering, but it would take time to get his defense in a solid position, enough so he could go on the offense – actively go after Vadim and eradicate each and every one of his soldiers. They needed to find out more about the human male psychics Vadim recruited and why they couldn’t be detected as vampire puppets. The men in the memories Charlotte had accessed didn’t seem entirely under Vadim’s control, but acted independently of him.

“Charlotte Vintage is my fiancée,” he announced, using the human term rather than the Carpathian. “She is very safe. My property is guarded and has a full security system as you can see.” He waved his hand toward the high fence. “Genevieve, her friend, is also staying with me. She is safe as well.”

Daniel shook his head and took a step closer. “No, that’s the thing. Neither of them is safe. They’ve been… targeted. I can’t explain to you what that means, but I’m telling you that you can’t possibly keep them safe. The men after them are ruthless. Powerful. They can get to anyone, and they’ll take them. We’ve been following them since Paris, and someone is always watching them. Even now, someone is watching. The moment they leave your property, or maybe even before, these men will be after them.”

It was an impassioned speech. Daniel Forester was afraid for Charlotte and Genevieve. There was no disguising the tremor in his voice. The genuine fear.

“I am well aware of the danger to them. We ran into these men the other night in the club’s parking garage. Fortunately, I had several of my security team with me and they decided to try for the women another night.”

Daniel raked agitated fingers through his hair. “You still don’t understand how dangerous these men are. I don’t know why they want specific women, but they kill to get them. They’re vicious and cunning. They won’t stop. You can’t stop them.”

Tariq studied the man’s face. Psychic energy poured off of him. In his own way, Daniel Forester held power. This was the kind of man Vadim would have chosen to recruit for his human army. He decided to take a chance. “I’ve seen the way these men murder. Tearing out throats. Draining their victims of blood. You believe the ones after Charlotte and Genevieve are vampires, don’t you?”

There was a small silence. Daniel glanced at his two friends, his face flushing dark as he tried to figure out whether Tariq was making fun of him.

“Vampire?” He echoed the word, stalling for time.

Tariq nodded. “That’s the point you were skirting around. You believe the men after Charlotte and Genevieve are vampires.”

Daniel’s chin went up. His shoulders straightened. A muscle jerked in his jaw. “They are vampires. You can think I’m crazy, but I’ve seen what they do. You can’t just stop them with a security fence.” There was a sneer in his voice.

Daniel expected Tariq to make fun of him, but he was standing his ground. Tariq gave him points for that. “If you believe them to be vampires, then surely you must have considered that along with them, there are hunters of vampires.” He spoke softly, planting the thought carefully with just the gentlest of pushes.

Tariq was well aware of “the society” – a group of humans hunting vampires. These men and women didn’t or couldn’t differentiate between Carpathians and vampires. They killed anyone they thought was a danger to them or to society. Often those killed were human beings, not another species. Sometimes, when on a killing spree, they managed to kill or harm Carpathians.

Daniel frowned and rubbed his temples, as if even that gentle push bothered him. “I never thought about it one way or the other. I belong to a group – and it’s large, with cells in every single country around the world – that hunts vampires. Are you referring to the hunters that belong to the society?”

Tariq shook his head. “The hunters would have to be nearly immortal, just as a vampire is. They would have to follow their prey from one century to the next looking for the undead. If that was the case, those hunters, like you, belonging to the society wouldn’t know the difference and would attack and kill the very men who have dedicated their lives to hunting vampires.”