“He’s telling the truth!” Wes shouted and charged at them. “Let him the fuck go, or I’m gonna turn you into a toad!”

“Fucking witch!” was the tracker’s reply.

From the corner of his eye, Luther saw the guy aim his weapon at Wesley.

“Don’t, Wes!” Luther warned and kicked back, using the vampire’s momentary surprise at seeing a witch to push him off his back. He managed to stand up and barreled against the tracker brandishing the gun at Wesley.

“Stop! Drop your weapons!” Samson’s authoritative voice sounded from behind them.

The eyes of the other two trackers widened instantly. Luther looked over his shoulder and saw Samson, Amaury, and Gabriel standing in a line, all of them armed with semi-automatics pointed at the two vampire enforcers.

Luther breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank God you’re here.”

“We saw the incident via your camera feed.” Amaury pointed to Luther’s jacket.

Samson motioned to the two strangers. “I want you to call the head of the council and tell him Samson Woodford wants to speak to him.”

Neither of the two vampires budged.

“Now!” Samson ground out.

One of them reached into his pocket and pulled out a cell phone. He punched in a code, then put the phone to his ear.

“Sir,” he said stiffly, “this is Rigsby. A Samson Woodford insists on talking to you.” He paused, then nodded and handed the phone to Samson. “Here.”

Samson took it. “Watch them,” he instructed his friends and turned away. “Sir…” He walked back to the entry door of Scanguards, making it impossible for Luther to follow the conversation.

It took only thirty seconds though it felt much longer, until Samson came back and handed the phone to Rigsby. “I’ve arranged for a delay in Luther’s arrest. I’m personally vouching for him. He’ll turn himself in when this is over. The head of the council will confirm our arrangement.”

Rigsby grunted and pressed the phone to his ear. “Sir?” Displeasure spread over his face as his listened to his superior. “But, sir…” There was a short pause. “Yes, sir,” he ground out. “I understand.” But it was clear he wasn’t pleased about the development. He turned to his colleague. “Tolliver, take off his cuffs.”

When Tolliver freed him of the cuffs, Luther rubbed his wrists. “Thanks, Samson!” Then he opened the car door. “Let’s move. We’ve lost enough time already.”

“We’ll follow you,” Rigsby said, narrowing his eyes.

“I’ll turn myself in just as soon as Katie is safe. You have my word.” Luther jumped into the passenger seat, while Wes slid into the driver’s seat and Blake hopped in the back, throwing the bag with the guns on the back seat.

Wes gunned the engine and raced down Sixteenth Street.

Luther stared straight ahead, urging the car to go faster even though the needle was already passing sixty.

I’m coming for you, Katie.

45

South Beach Harbor consisted of seven docks, or fingers, south of Pier 40, each of which had approximately eighty slips for small sailboats and motorboats. The marina was framed by a concrete wall on the bay side, acting as a breakwater, with one exit to the south and one to the north. Blake had given him a quick overview of the area on the drive there, and now Luther reached for the door handle, ready to leap from the car.

Blake disconnected his call. “Okay, two of our guys are already there. They saw movement on the sixth finger at the southern end of the marina. But they weren’t close enough to even see if the guy was a vampire.”

“I’m going there.” Luther jumped out of the car the moment Wesley brought it to a stop near the sidewalk. He didn’t even bother closing the door and raced over the grass surface that separated King Street from the walking path along the water. He sprinted past the children’s playground, his eyes already scanning the boats in the water.

To his right the clubhouse lay in darkness. Luther charged past it, heading for the row of slips where Scanguards’ men had seen somebody. He prayed he wasn’t too late. He focused all his senses on the sixth dock, checking each boat for any indication of recent movement, searching for any boat that generated more waves than its neighbor.

At the same time he inhaled deeply, trying to pick up Katie’s scent. Her blood still permeated his cells and led him closer to the dock.

There, he could smell her. She’d been here not long ago. Her scent was still fresh and strong. She had to be close.