Maksim nodded. “I fed twice, first for Blaze and then again for myself. Our security team was very cooperative.”

Tariq bent his head to Maksim’s wrist, accepting his answer. Maksim knew what was at stake. They were far from the Carpathian Mountains and had to create their own sense of family. Maksim and Blaze were part of Tariq’s family just as he knew he was part of theirs. They relied on one another to guard their lifemates. Blaze was precious to them. She had represented hope for Tariq, another reason to hang on no matter how long he had to endure that gray world of nothing.

Blaze was a warrior through and through, and Tariq found it interesting that Charlotte was as well. Charlotte wasn’t skilled in fighting as Blaze was, but she had the spirit and courage of a fighter. He would never forget that moment in the parking garage when she’d tried to protect him.

When he’d taken enough blood to feed Charlotte, he closed the laceration on Maksim’s wrist and stepped back, looking around the compound. His first order of business was to make certain they had every single splinter from the carousel. He didn’t want there to be any mistakes. The children couldn’t accidently stumble across one of Vadim’s evil shadows. He waved his hand and sent wind swirling through the yard, a magnet for the ancient splinters of wood. His security team had handled the larger pieces but there was no way for them to get every splinter. He had to do it. He sent the debris into the basement, where the rest of the carousel was waiting.

“The two men aiding Emeline,” he ventured as they continued across the compound toward the small guardhouse where the prisoners would have been taken. “They were both in the tunnel when Liv was thrown to the puppet.”

“I remember,” Maksim said. “Vividly. That child has endured far too much in her short life.”

As they approached the house, the head of security, Matt Bennet, stepped out to greet them. He was armed and looked grim, but Tariq had always noted the man rarely smiled. “Sir, we picked up three other prisoners just a little while ago. They claim they’re friends of yours and have information you need.”

Tariq wanted to groan aloud. He knew exactly who those men were. Idiots. Had they witnessed the attack? More than likely. He knew they wouldn’t leave it alone. They’d all but told him they wouldn’t. He had two of Vadim’s human soldiers locked up, a child missing and now the three vampire hunters.

He sighed and shook his head. “Thanks for getting here so quickly.”

Matt nodded. “We tried to follow the child, but we lost her. The main force engaged with us, allowing them to slip her away.”

“We’ll get her back. In the meantime, I need to see the three crazies who just won’t stay away from this mess.”

Matt led the way inside. Maksim followed Tariq. He needed to feed again to gain strength and taking the blood of spies seemed fair, even though the security detail had no qualms about providing for them.

Daniel Forester leapt to his feet when Tariq and Maksim entered the room. Vince Tidwell and Bruce Van Hues were a little slower to get up, and both eyed Matt warily. Vince sported a bruise on his jaw, and Bruce had lumps on his forehead and temple. Daniel moved stiffly, holding his ribs.

“We drove up to talk to you,” Daniel said, the words spilling out of his mouth fast, “when a man burst through your gates carrying a child. There were soldiers and disgusting-looking creatures following and then your soldiers engaged with them. We saw that the man carrying the child was slipping away while the others fought, so we followed him.”

Tariq shook his head. “You have no idea what kind of fire you’re playing with.” He wanted to shake all three of them, but on the other hand, he couldn’t help but respect their courage. They’d seen Vadim’s puppets and they’d still followed the very intimidating half-human hybrid in order to find out where he was taking Liv.

“I told you, we’re committed to destroying these things. They have an army that can’t possibly be vampires because the sun would kill them.” Daniel made it a statement, but then he frowned. “Right? Vampires can’t go out in the sun?”

“No, they can’t,” Tariq said. “But you aren’t trained to fight these creatures and eventually, when you go up against one, you’re going to die.”

Daniel gestured toward Matt. “He fought them.”

“He’s trained.” Tariq was aware of time ticking away. “I have to get to Liv. You’re going to stay here until I get back. Matt, keep an eye on them. I want them contained where I know they’re safe.”

“You said if we thought about it and decided for certain, we could help. We decided. We’re not without some skills. We could be assets to you.”

Maksim smirked as he moved toward Daniel. “Do you really want to see what you’d be getting into? We hunt the vampire, and in order to do that, we have to live, century after century. We exist the way they do. On blood. Sleeping in the ground. We have powers you can’t imagine, just as they do. If you’re an asset we can count on, that means you provide blood when needed.”

Daniel scowled and refused to give ground. “I’m not afraid of you.”

“You should be,” Maksim said, and hooked his hand around the back of Daniel’s neck, yanking the man to him. Without hesitation, he sank his teeth into Daniel’s neck.

Daniel didn’t move, but his two friends did. Both rushed toward Maksim, who simply held up a hand. The two men bounced back as if they’d hit an invisible barrier.

“That’s what you’re going to be dealing with,” Tariq said. “Where did they take Liv?”

Breathing far too fast and loud, Vince, his eyes on Daniel and Maksim, face pale, tried to answer, but stuttered a little. “Warehouse. Out by the harbor.” He gave the address.

Tariq left them to Maksim’s mercy. Maksim would take blood from each of them in order to monitor them at all times. If he deemed it necessary, he would remove their memories of all events that had transpired. If he believed the three men would be assets to them, he would turn them over to Matt for training. If that was successful, Maksim and Tariq would continue that training until they were as elite as Matt. Only then would Tariq approve them joining the fight.

Tariq needed to visit the two human males who had aided Emeline. Matt had them under guard. The two ex-soldiers guarding Vadim’s recruits nodded to him when he entered the room. These two men had served countless missions for their country. They never hesitated, no matter the odds. He liked them both. He hadn’t known it until Charlotte came into his life, but he remembered the two men because they were excellent at learning how to kill a vampire. Like Matt, they showed no hesitation.