The Immortal Hunter

"Dani?" The voice on the phone was a deep growl that Dani didn't recognize.

"Nicholas?" she asked hopefully.

"Yes. They probably won't leave you alone for long. We have to keep this short so listen to me. I don't know the younger kid, but I know Decker and you're safe with him. He would never hurt you, and I don't think the fellow with him would either. All right?" he asked. "You're safe."

"But they're crazy," she protested, and then bit her lip and glanced out the window, afraid she'd spoken too loudly. Justin and Decker appeared not to have heard, however. In fact, they were now walking as they talked, moving away from the van.

"They may seem crazy, but they aren't. You are safe with them. Trust me on this."

"You don't understand," Dani said with frustration. "They stuck branches in the bodies of those men who took us, and-Are they CSIS?" she asked abruptly.

"No, they are in law enforcement, but not any organization you've heard of."

"What organization?" Dani asked anyway, unwilling to accept that explanation this time.

After a hesitation, Nicholas answered. "They're Council enforcers."

"What are Council enforcers?" she asked at once.

"It doesn't matter. What matters is that you know that you are safe with them."

"But my sister-"

"She's alive and well. I'm still following them. Your sister should be all right. He can't hurt her while he's driving, and I don't intend to lose them so he can hurt her."

Dani closed her eyes with relief at his words.

"You haven't called your family on your cell phone, have you?" he asked suddenly.

Dani's eyes popped open as amazement shot through her. She should have called them at once... and the police. "No," she admitted finally, and then added fretfully, "I should have done that right away. I don't know why I didn't."

"They probably put the suggestion in your mind that you shouldn't," he said calmly. "I don't know why they didn't take the phone away at the same time."

She was frowning, wondering whose side the man was on here, and then he said, "Dani, I risked being caught to save your life, so trust me. Stay with them."

"Caught?" she echoed with a frown. "Why are they trying to catch you?"

The pause this time was very long before he said, "I made a mistake a long time ago. I'm afraid I killed someone. They were sent to find me and bring me in for judgment. They are the good guys Dani, I'm the bad seed."

"And you're asking me to trust you?" she asked dryly.

"Yeah" Nicholas said with what sounded like bitter amusement. "So who's the crazy one here, huh?"

Dani didn't say anything. She didn't know what to think now. He'd killed someone?

"I know you're scared, Dani, but you really do need to trust me and stay with Decker. And it would probably be for the best if you didn't try calling your family. At least not until we get your sister back, and I promise I will get her back for you, but in return you have to not contact your family. They'd just worry anyway. It's better they don't know until it's over and you're both safe. All right?"

She bit her lip, not sure what she should do.

"All right?" he repeated.

"All right," Dani responded quietly, though she wasn't sure she would keep her word.

Another moment of silence passed, and she suspected he was worrying that she wouldn't keep it, and then he sighed. "I won't call you again. They'll know we talked."

"No they won't," she assured him, not wanting to lose this connection with her sister. Nicholas was the only one who could reassure her that her sister was still safe and not lying at the bottom of a ditch like one of those women back at the clearing. "They're outside. I can see them. They don't know I'm talking to you."

"It doesn't matter. They'll know," Nicholas assured her solemnly and then added for good measure, "They'll read your mind and know everything you've thought and said and heard."

"Read my mind?" Dani asked uncertainly, beginning to wonder if the whole world had gone mad while she was in that grocery store.

"I know none of this is making sense to you, but you just have to trust me," Nicholas said firmly. "I'll do what I can to get your sister back, but they can do more. Tell them we just passed Georgian Bay on Highway 400. My guess is he's going to take the highway all the way to Toronto and try to get lost in the crowds there."

"Georgian Bay," Dani echoed faintly. That was almost an hour away. She frowned, confused by how they had gotten so far so fast. Surely she hadn't slept for that long, had she? And what had the men been doing during that time for her sister's kidnappers to get such a head start? Her gaze slid to the tarp-covered bodies behind her.

"Nicholas," Dani began, but before she could get any further she heard the click as he ended the call. She pulled the phone away and stared at it, her thoughts returning to his claim that he'd killed someone and that Decker and Justin had been sent to bring him in for judgment. Oddly enough, the claim didn't worry her as much as the one that Decker and Justin could read her mind. It seemed to suggest Nicholas was just as crazy as they were.

As for the bit about them having put the suggestion into her mind not to call her parents, that was just crazy too. She hadn't called because she'd been too distracted with other things, Dani told herself and began to punch in the number of her mother's cell phone. She had to call and tell them what was happening. They needed to know. She didn't look forward to explaining about Stephanie, but it was the responsible thing to do and-

Dani stopped and glanced up swiftly when the front passenger door opened and Decker slid inside. She immediately snapped her phone closed and slipped it quickly in her pocket, afraid it would be taken away if they saw it.

When Decker pulled the door closed and then turned to glance at her as Justin got in on the driver's side, she forced a smile and asked, "Is everything all right?"

"Yes," he said at once.

It was Justin who added, "I just wanted to talk to Decker about something. Guy type things."

Dani nodded and tried not to look like she had heard a good deal of their conversation and now knew they were crazy. She was relieved by the distraction Justin offered when he said cheerfully, "So, while we're waiting, why don't we go into town and get something to eat?"

Before Decker or Dani could shoot down the idea, Decker's phone began to ring. The two men peered at each other silently, and then Justin reached for the tracker in the cup holder nearest him and began to fiddle with it as Decker pulled out the phone and placed it to his ear. Knowing Justin was removing a battery or otherwise deactivating the tracker, Dani concentrated on Decker as he said, "Hello" and then listened briefly, before saying, "Can you repeat that for Bricker?"

He held out the phone and Justin set the tracker back in the cup holder and then took the phone. He too said, "Hello" and listened briefly before saying, "All right."

Decker took back the phone and had a short conversation that consisted of mostly listening and the occasional grunt and then he snapped the phone closed. As he slid it in his pocket, Decker leaned to the side to glance back at her and said, "They weren't able to track the SUV. We're to head back to Toronto to coordinate and come up with a plan to track down the man who has your sister."

"I see," Dani murmured, and despite the fact that she'd expected it, found she was disappointed by his lying. Obviously, both men had just been told that the GPS on the SUV had been tracked and was on Highway 400, heading toward Toronto.

This was proven to her when Justin started the engine and asked, "You don't happen to know how to get to Highway 400 from here, do you? We had GPS in the SUV to get up here and I didn't find a map in the van when I searched it before we left."

Dani nodded and peered out the window as she said, "I can direct you. Head straight up here and I'll tell you when to turn."

Dani was staring blindly out the back side door window, lost in thought, when a curse from Justin made her glance curiously his way. She noted the frown on his face and the way his gaze kept dropping to the instrument panel.

"We need gas... like now. The warning light is on."

Dani's eyes widened in dismay at this news, and she sat up on her knees to peer out the windshield at the dark road ahead.

"Don't panic," Decker said firmly, noticing her anxiety. "I'm sure we'll find somewhere to stop before we run out."

"And if we don't?" she asked anxiously.

He didn't answer. Instead he turned and leaned forward in his seat to peer out at what lay ahead.

They rode in silence for a couple of tense minutes, and then Decker straightened, eyes squinting briefly before he let his breath out on a relieved sigh and said, "There's a sign up ahead."

"I see it." Justin nodded, relaxing a bit in his seat as he added, "An off ramp in one kilometer."

Dani squinted, trying to see what they claimed to, but all she saw was dark highway and taillights. She spent another moment straining before she could make out the green sign ahead, and it was a moment after that before she could read it in the intermittent lights of the cars preceding them and see that it was indeed an off ramp. Dani then sank back on her haunches, thinking that either the men had been lying to try to keep her from panicking, or she needed to get her eyes checked.

The moment they exited the off ramp, Dani rose up on her knees again, relieved when she spotted the gas station ahead.

"There's a restaurant right next to it," Justin pointed out as he steered them up the road. "If-"

"Jesus, Justin," Decker said with disgust.

"I was only going to say that if Dani wanted to use the washroom, I'd drop her there, get gas, and come back for her," Justin said dryly, "This might be her only chance until we need gas again."

"Oh," Decker said with a sigh and closed his eyes. Dani took that opportunity to take a good look at the man in the illumination cast over them by the parking lot lights. She hadn't been able to really look at him before this tonight. Not in good light and not even in bad. It seemed to her that every time her eyes had moved his way it was to find him staring back, so her gaze had continually slipped away, gaining just an impression of a handsome man before she looked elsewhere. Now, however, with his eyes closed, she was able to really look at the man Nicholas had assured her she was safe with. He was a very handsome man, she thought as her eyes traveled over his straight nose and firm jaw. He had an interesting mouth, with a thinner upper lip but a full, sensual lower lip. However, he was-at the moment-extremely pale, unhealthily so. It reminded her of the wound he'd taken and made her worry that he'd lost more blood than she'd thought, or that it was infected.

"However," Justin added, distracting her, "now that you've mentioned it, if she wanted to grab me a burger or something while she was in there, she probably has the time and-"

"Bricker," Decker barked, silencing him.

Dani bit her lip, amused despite herself by the exasperation in Decker's voice. It was like riding with the odd couple in this van. While Dani had been staring out the window for most of the ride, she hadn't been completely lost in thought. Half of her attention had been on the brief spurts of conversation the two men had held. She hadn't comprehended all of what they said, she suspected they spoke in code a lot to avoid her understanding, but what she had picked up on was that Justin and Decker were complete opposites.

Justin appeared to enjoy the sound of his own voice and chattered a lot, while Decker was more quiet, speaking only when he had something to say. Justin had claimed at one point to love city life, enjoying the variety and the nightclubs, while Decker had responded that he preferred the peace and quiet of cottage country where he apparently had a second home. Justin enjoyed action movies and sitcoms, while Decker had said he didn't watch much of such things, preferring a good book and cozy fire.

Dani too preferred reading to television, and a cozy fire in a cottage beat out city life for her any day of the week despite-or perhaps because of-the fact that she'd been born and raised in a city and that's where her practice was. She'd also found herself in sympathy with Decker when it came to his obvious exasperation with Justin. It seemed apparent to her that Justin-who seemed younger even though they looked the same age-was deliberately taunting Decker and intentionally exasperating him.

"Dani?"

She let these thoughts slip away and glanced to Decker in question.

"Do you want to stop to use the facilities?" he asked.

Dani hesitated. She didn't really have to go to the bathroom, but knew it might be a good idea anyway.

Besides, it would be an opportunity to call her parents and the police, so she murmured, "Yes, thank you."

Decker nodded. He glanced around as Justin pulled into the restaurant parking lot, but then turned back to look at her again. He was going to get a crick in his neck from constantly turning to look back at her if he didn't stop that, she thought absently, and said, "You look pale. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," he assured her, waving away her worry. "I just need to feed."

"Then maybe you should get something to eat while we're here," Dani pointed out. She was too worried about her sister to be hungry herself, but could understand if Decker and Justin didn't feel the same way and they would be in the restaurant anyway.

"I'm not hungry," he answered contrarily, his gaze shifting to peer out the windshield as Justin slowed to a stop.

She was about to ask which it was, that he needed to feed or that he wasn't hungry when Justin distracted her by saying, "We'll pick you up as soon as we're done getting gas."

Dani hesitated, but then nodded and shifted across the floor to the door, her gaze sliding to the tarp-covered bodies as she went. While dead bodies didn't normally bother her, these ones were really starting to creep her out. She'd be glad to get away from them, Dani decided as she reached for the door handle. Before she could touch it, it began to move and the door slid aside to reveal Decker. She'd been so distracted she hadn't noticed him getting out of the front seat to help her disembark.

"Thank you." Dani accepted the hand he offered and gripped it as she got to her feet in a bent position and jumped to the ground. A sharp crack and skittering sound made her glance around to see what she'd dropped, and her eyes widened with alarm when she saw her phone lying on the pavement, its back off and lying several feet away beside the battery. She must not have gotten it all the way in her pocket earlier, and the jolt as she'd landed had dislodged it.

"My phone!" she cried with alarm, and, afraid the battery and phone back would be run over, she rushed to grab them first and then turned around to find Decker straightening from collecting the actual phone itself.

"It doesn't look too bad. I'll put it back together while you use the ladies' room," he said, holding out his hand for the items she'd rescued.

"It's okay, I can do it." Dani moved back to him intending to take back the phone.

"Decker, we have to move," Justin called from the driver's seat.

Decker hesitated, and then turned to the van and said, "Go ahead. I'm going to throw some water on my face."

Much to her dismay, he pocketed her cell phone and closed the van door, then caught Dani's arm and urged her toward the restaurant entrance.

"If you'll give it back, I can fix my phone," Dani said as he hustled her into the building.

"Later." Decker sounded distracted and his gaze slid over the people standing in lines at the tills as they moved past them. He escorted her around to the hallway leading to the washrooms and then gave her a little push toward the ladies' room door, saying, "I'll meet you out here when you're done."

Dani pushed her way reluctantly into the bathroom. It seemed she wasn't making the call this time... if she could make it at all. The phone looked fine other than the missing battery and backing, but if something had been jarred loose inside... She frowned over the possibility as she automatically joined the line of women waiting for a free stall.

"Why is there always a lineup in the women's washroom?" a redhead in front of her complained, drawing her attention. Dani stilled as she saw that the woman was punching out a text message on a cell phone.

"I don't know. I bet the men's room isn't this busy," a brunette responded, and then glanced at the message her friend was sending, and asked, "Telling Harry we're going to be longer than expected?"

"Yeah," the first woman said.

Dani was considering asking to use the woman's phone when she heard the low murmur of Decker's voice from the hall. It was followed by a high, feminine giggle. She glanced curiously in that direction, but the door was closed. When the male murmur she was sure was Decker's came again, she strained to hear what he was saying, but all she could make out was a low rumble of sound and then the female voice said what sounded like "broom closet."

"Hey miss? You're up."

Dani glanced around to see that the redhead was gone, only the brunette remained.

"I don't have to go. I was just keeping Sally company," the woman said when Dani glanced to her with confusion. "The third stall's free though."

"Oh, thanks," she murmured, and moved past her to the third stall. Dani went inside, quickly did her business, and then hurried out, hoping to catch the redhead and use her phone before she left. Unfortunately, Dani stepped out of the stall just in time to see the two women exit the washroom, laughing over something as they went.

Sighing, she moved to the sink, her gaze sliding around the room. It was as Dani washed her hands that it occurred to her that she might be able to borrow someone else's phone to make the call. She had a five-dollar bill and coins in her pocket, change from the grocery store. She could offer it to someone for the trouble. Unfortunately, there was no longer a lineup of women waiting for the washrooms. She turned off the tap and moved to the hand dryer, watching the stalls, waiting for someone to come out so she could ask.

The first person to step out was an older woman who, when asked, said apologetically that she didn't bother with "those things." The second was a middle-aged woman who said hers was in her purse at the table. Since she wasn't carrying a purse, Dani supposed it was probably true. She was about to ask a third woman who was stepping out of a stall with her purse on her arm, when the bathroom door opened and a dark-haired woman paused with it ajar to ask, "Is there a Dani in here?"

"Yes," she said turning to the door with surprise.

"There's a guy out here in the hall wondering what's taking you so long. He was afraid he'd missed you while he was in the men's room."

"Oh." Dani hesitated, her gaze sliding to the girl she was going to approach about having a phone she might use, and then back to the woman at the door. The dark-haired woman raised her eyebrows, still holding the door open, obviously expecting her to rush right out. Grimacing, Dani decided now obviously wasn't the time and moved toward the door. As she started past the woman, she glanced up to murmur, "Thank you" and then paused with surprise.

"What is it?" she asked.

"There's blood on your neck," Dani informed her. "Just here."

When Dani pointed to the side of her neck, the woman gave a wry laugh and released the door to wipe at it. "Damned blackflies. They were crazy bad up at the cottage this weekend."

Dani opened her mouth to tell her that it didn't look like a blackfly bite to her and that there were, in fact, two of them a little more than an inch apart, but before she could, the woman said, "You'd best get going. It's not smart to leave a man as good-looking as that one waiting. He might decide he'd rather have a woman who doesn't keep him hanging around cooling his heels."

"We're not a couple," Dani said at once.

The dark-haired woman raised her eyebrows doubtfully. "Well, he sure seems to think you are."

Dani flushed, but merely moved past her and out into the hall to find Decker pacing as he waited.

"Oh, there you are." He smiled at her a bit tensely and then caught her arm to lead her up the hall. "I was beginning to think I'd missed you and that you'd already headed out to the van, but didn't want to leave in case you hadn't."

"There was a line," she said.

"Oh." Decker shook his head. "They must put half the bathrooms in ladies' rooms that they put in men's rooms. We never have lines, and I'm always hearing the complaint that women's washrooms do."

"A lot of women suspect that very thing," Dani assured him as they weaved their way through the queuing people in the open area in front of the tills.

Decker actually chuckled, drawing her curious gaze his way, and she couldn't help but notice that much of his earlier pallor had gone. His cheeks were almost rosy. Apparently getting out of the van and splashing water on his face had helped. That or he had a fever, she thought as he ushered her out of the restaurant. When he drew her to a halt on the sidewalk and glanced around to see where the van was, Dani quickly reached out to place the back of her hand against his cheek.

Decker gave a start and caught her hand as he glanced at her in surprise, and she quickly explained, "I was checking to see if you have a fever."

He relaxed, but raised his eyebrows. "And do I?"

"No. You feel fine," she admitted.

"You sound disappointed," Decker said with amusement.

"No, of course not," Dani said and then admitted, "I'm just a little surprised. You weren't looking nearly as healthy earlier, and I was positive infection was setting in, but you look fine now and don't seem to be in pain."

Decker shrugged. "I'm not. I'm a fast healer and have a hearty constitution."

Before Dani could respond, the van slid to a halt in front of them and Justin leaned out the window. "Finally! I thought you two had set up house inside or something. Get in. We have to get back on the road."

Dani didn't resist when Decker caught her hand and led her around the van. He opened the front passenger door, but rather than get in, turned to catch her arm as she made to move past him to the back door. "I'll ride in the back. You take the front this time."

Glad not to be in the back with the bodies, she murmured thank you and allowed him to help her step up into the van. Decker closed the door as Dani did up her seat belt and then opened the back door and climbed in. Justin pulled away as soon as he'd slid the door closed, heading for the on ramp to the highway.

"What the hell is this?"

Dani glanced around at that irritated question from Decker and found him peering down at two large bags, two small bags, and a carton with three large drinks in it that all sat on the floor between the two front seats.

"What does it look like? It's food," Justin said dryly.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. I just can't believe you hit the drive-through," Decker muttered.

"I didn't. I had the drive-through girl bring it to me while I filled up at the gas station next door."

"How did you manage that?" Dani asked with surprise.

"I... used my charm," he muttered, and then added dryly, "Though I wouldn't have bothered had I realized you guys were going to take so long. I could have gone through the drive-through twice in the time it took you to use the washroom."

Dani looked to Decker to find him rolling his eyes at this claim, and then Justin said, "Can someone unwrap a burger for me and hand it over?"

"You got enough food for an army here, Justin," Decker said with disgust as he pulled out a cheeseburger and began to unwrap it.

Dani didn't comment, but it really was an incredible amount of food for one man, and she had to wonder how he managed to keep in such good shape if he regularly ate like this.

"It isn't all for me," Justin reassured them. "I figured as soon as you saw my food, you'd find your appetites, so I got you each a burger, fries, and a drink. The rest are burgers for me. They're easier to eat while driving than anything else." He paused and glanced down at the food before saying, "Where is that burger?"

"Here." Decker held up the now half-wrapped burger.

Removing one hand from the steering wheel, Justin took it with a murmured thanks and then proceeded to eat the thing in two bites. Dani watched the process with amazement. She'd never seen anything like it. He was a human trash compactor.

Her gaze turned to Decker to see him shaking his head at the display. It was obviously something he'd seen before.

"Can I have another please?" Justin asked. "And maybe one of those drinks?"

Dani leaned over to retrieve the drink while Decker set to work unwrapping a second burger for Justin. She didn't hand it to him, but set it in the drink holder on his side.

"Thanks," he said, and picked up the drink, then paused and glanced worriedly to the second cup holder on her side. "You'll have to get the stuff out of your cup holder before you can use it."

Dani didn't ask what stuff. She knew he meant the bug and tracker, but she didn't have to remove them either. Decker did it for her, reaching in to scoop them out with one hand, as he held up another freshly unwrapped cheeseburger with the other for Justin to take.

"Watch the food," Justin cried, almost sounding panicked at the possibility that Decker might kneel on one of the bags.

"I'm watching," Decker said with exasperation as he dropped the two gizmos in his pocket and settled back on his haunches. He glanced down at the bags of food and asked, "One of these is for me?"

"Yeah," Justin said around a full mouth. "Try it, you might like it."

Dani glanced curiously from one man to the other. He made it sound as if Decker might never have eaten a burger before, which just seemed ridiculous. It was hard to imagine anyone never having at least tried a burger. Well, perhaps if he'd been raised a vegetarian, she supposed, but if he was a vegetarian he wouldn't be unwrapping the burger he'd just pulled out of the bag and be taking a healthy bite out of it.

She watched his face, noting the expressions that flitted across it, and would have sworn he really hadn't had one before. "Are you a vegan or something?"

Decker glanced at her with surprise. "No. Why would you ask that?"

"Well, it's like you've never had a burger before."

"He hasn't," Justin informed her. "Decker usually sticks to a liquid diet."

"Justin Bricker," Decker gasped, sounding as shocked as he was horrified by the revelation.

Ignoring him, Dani asked, "You mean protein drinks?"

"Something like that," Justin said evasively. "Their special liquid with lots of protein and-"

"Bricker," Decker snarled now.

"Well, you do," the man said, unrepentant, and then told Dani, "He claims it's too much fuss and bother to eat real food and sticks to a purely liquid diet as a rule."

"Goddammit, Bricker." Decker was nearly rabid with anger now, but the sound of a cell phone ringing made him forget about the man's teasing and start searching his pockets for his phone. His hello when he found and snapped it open was less than welcoming.

Dani watched curiously as he listened, and then he grunted what might have been a good-bye and put the phone away. "We stay on here until Vaughan. They're going to meet us in the parking lot at Outdoor World."

Justin nodded as he swallowed the cheeseburger in his mouth, she suspected without even bothering to chew it. "I know where that is."

"We're stopping?" Dani asked with alarm. Stopping meant Stephanie and the man who had her would just get farther ahead of them.

"Just a quick stop to switch this van for an SUV," Decker assured her.

Dani frowned, but then glanced to the back of the van and muttered, "I suppose it's better than driving around with five dead guys."

"Four," Justin corrected.

"Five," Dani repeated. "There were six in the clearing, and one got away with Stephanie."

The men exchanged a glance, and then Decker admitted, "One was missing from the clearing when we got back. We only managed to get four of them."

"Oh." Dani frowned. She'd thought there were five when she'd looked, but the light had been bad and the bodies were piled on top of each other. There might be only four.

"And don't worry, this won't slow us down much," Justin assured her. "We'll be able to go faster with the SUV. This old van doesn't get above one hundred and thirty kilometers an hour, but our SUVs are juiced up. They really move."

When Dani remained silent, Justin asked Decker, "Who's meeting us at Outdoor World?"

"Eshe," was the answer. "She's bringing a new SUV with supplies. Lucian and Leigh are on their way there too. It sounds like they're a bit behind us, though I don't know how they managed that."

Justin nodded again. "They really should have got there first, but his having to make phone calls probably held them up."

"Who are these people?" Dani asked curiously, twisting in her seat to glance at Decker. "Lucian is your boss, right? But who are Eshe and Leigh?"

"Eshe's another... er... agent like us," Decker answered, avoiding her eyes.

"She's one of the best. Eshe kicks ass," Justin said with a grin.

"Oh? Eshe is a woman then?" Dani asked, glancing at him curiously. She had a lot of patients with interesting and exotic names, but Eshe was one she'd never come across before this.

Justin nodded and said with admiration, "A whole lotta woman. Six feet tall, lean and mean and moves like a panther. I wouldn't want to go up against her. She's enough to scare a guy straight if he's even considering going rogue."

"Rogue?" Dani peered at him with bewilderment.

"Ignore Justin," Decker said grimly. "He's gone into his comic book fantasy mode. Tell me if he starts drooling and I'll find the napkins."

Dani managed a smile at Decker's words.

"Whatever," Justin said dryly, and then informed her, "Eshe is cool, and Leigh is nice."

"Is she an agent too?" Dani asked, just barely catching herself from saying enforcer.

"No. She's Lucian's life mate, though I hear she wants to help out on cases," Justin told her. "I guess it turns out she knows some of that martial arts stuff and can kick ass too."

"Life mate?" Dani asked. It was a term she'd never heard before.

"They aren't married yet," Decker put in.

"Oh."

"Leigh's nice. You'll like her," Justin said suddenly. "But Lucian's a bit of a hard-ass."

Dani shrugged that aside. "It doesn't matter. This is hardly a social occasion. We're just meeting up to switch vehicles."

"True, but I thought I'd better warn you," Justin said. "He can seem a bit harsh at times."

Dani didn't comment; her thoughts were on what she'd learned. Eshe was an agent too, or a Council enforcer as Nicholas had called them. Their boss, Lucian, was a hard-ass, and Leigh was his life mate. She shook her head, suspecting there was a lot about these people that she didn't know and should. Dani was less concerned with that, however, than with worry about her sister. She didn't understand why they had to switch vehicles at all. Did it really matter if they continued on in the van rather than switching for the SUV? While it would be nice not to be driving around with bodies in the back of the vehicle, the stop was going to slow them down, and the man who was holding Stephanie was already an hour ahead of them.

She didn't understand why those bodies were back there, anyway. Why hadn't they left them in the clearing for the police to find as they had the victims in the ravine? That was a question that should have occurred to her at the start, but somehow hadn't. There was a lot that hadn't occurred to her that should have, though. It was almost as if a veil had been drawn over her brain, making her thoughts fuzzy and slow. Perhaps she'd been drugged, she thought suddenly. Perhaps that was why she'd slept and didn't recall dropping off to sleep. Perhaps Justin or Decker, or both, had drugged her.

The possibility made her wonder once again if she shouldn't be trying to get away from these men, but the fact still remained that they were her only link to her sister at the moment. They could track the SUV Stephanie had been taken in, something she didn't think the police could do without more information than she had to give them.

Dani sat fretting over these thoughts as they raced along the highway. Justin was driving much more quickly than was legally allowed, not to mention much more swiftly than was safe, but she didn't comment. The faster they went, the faster they'd catch up to Stephanie, so she merely checked that her seat belt was securely fastened and prayed they didn't get pulled over.

She'd barely had the thought when Justin announced, "We've picked up a cop."

Dani peered into the side mirror to see a police car approaching at speed, lights flashing.

"I've got it," Decker assured him, and barely a heartbeat later, the flashing lights shut off and the police cruiser slowed and began to fall behind. She stared at the disappearing vehicle in the mirror with confusion, not sure what had just taken place. It was just something else for her to fret over as they rushed along the highway. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that time seemed to fly by, and it was a bit of a shock when she spotted the sign that read Vaughan Mills.

"Here we are," Justin announced as he took an off ramp a few minutes later. "You'll get to meet Eshe and Lucian now."