But something was wrong. Well, quite a few things were wrong, starting with the fact that she and Delilah were tied to a couple of poles. But up until a few seconds earlier, nothing had been happening. Now, it appeared something had started with the ticking sound. And a ticking sound was never a good thing. Any movie buff could tell her that.

Nina craned her neck again, and out of the corner of her eye she could see a flicker of light. Twisting her body a little more, she managed to move another inch and finally saw it: a digital clock, counting backwards.

Well, that solved the mystery of the ticking sound.

Who the fuck switched on the damn bomb?

She’d seen nobody in the vicinity which meant somebody was doing it remotely. The wires suggested as much. After Johan and another vampire had tied her and Delilah up, they’d left them alone. That had been over an hour ago if she had to guess.

Nina? Can you hear me?

The voice in her head sounded familiar.

Amaury?

Was this what Delilah had spoken about? The telepathic communication via the bond?

Yes, it’s me. Tell me what’s happening. We’re close.

Nina adjusted to the voice in her head. It gave her a strange sense of calm.

You’d better come closer fast—there’s a bomb ticking.

There was silence. No answer came from him. Where the hell had he gone?

Amaury, damn it! What are you gonna do about it?

Another few seconds passed before she finally felt the warmth again that came with the thoughts reaching her mind.

Listen carefully. I think we triggered it by approaching.

Idiots!

Is there a clock?

Of course there’s a clock, she answered him.

Can you see the time?

Nina craned her neck once more. Less than ten minutes.

Shit!

Before she could concentrate on replying to him, she noticed a motion to her side. She stretched. From the corner of her eye she saw Eddie. But he wasn’t walking toward her. He crawled along the bushes which grew alongside the stairs, hiding behind them. What was he trying to do?

Her attention was diverted again when a booming voice behind her spoke.

“I see everybody has finally arrived.”

Why was it that every villain had to have his obligatory speech before he blew everything to smithereens?

“Lights,” Luther called out, and a moment later the podium was flooded with light as was the grassy area in front of them. No matter who’d approach them, they would have no way of hiding now.

Luther remained behind her and Delilah, clearly using them as a shield so no vampires trying to rescue them would be able to get a clear shot at him.

***

Amaury looked at the podium. The light gave him a perfect view of the spot where Luther had decided to kill their women. He instantly realized there was no way to get to the podium without being seen. This would not be a stealth rescue operation. This would be all about speed.

Amaury set his stop watch to nine minutes, the time remaining until the bomb would blow.

“We don’t have much time,” he spoke softly into the mic. “The motion detectors triggered the countdown to a bomb.”

“Welcome to my little show,” Luther’s voice called from across the clearing. “I trust we’re all here?” There was a little pause, before he continued. “Good. I wouldn’t want to start without you.”

Amaury aimed his semiautomatic into Luther’s direction and looked through the viewfinder. His target stood right between Nina and Delilah. His finger tightened on the trigger. Luther moved. Pearls of sweat built on Amaury’s forehead as his trigger finger trembled. A look at Nina told him he couldn’t risk shooting. What if he missed? No. It was too risky. Slowly he lowered his arm.

Samson stirred next to him. “I know.” Then he spoke into the mic. “We can’t do anything from the front. Can you guys get to them from the sides?”

“Working on it,” Gabriel’s voice came through the ear piece.

“Ricky, anything on the wires?”

There was no response. “Ricky?”

Samson shot Amaury an alarmed look. “Yvette, Zane—check in the back for Ricky.”

“Will do.” Yvette’s voice sounded through the ear phone, then clicked off.

“No matter what you’re planning to do, you won’t be able to save your mates, just like I wasn’t able to save mine.” Luther’s voice echoed through the night. “I’ve waited for this moment for a long time. I never thought I’d catch two birds with one stone. Frankly, Amaury, my old friend, I didn’t think you had it in you.”