Page 41 of Bishop's Flight
“Yes, Miss Wong.”
The man left the room and closed the door behind him.
“Tell me what your best guess is,” Agnes said. “Are you going to be able to find Lucas?”
It was an impossible question. “We’ve made good progress so far, but there are no guarantees.”
She continued pacing. “At what point do we evacuate our people and give this vampire the city?”
“I wouldn’t advise doing that. The minute you hand over the city, they’ve no reason to keep Lucas alive.”
“They say they’ll return him if we leave.”
“And you believe them?”
Agnes sank onto the couch and closed her eyes. “I never should have allowed Rose to get attached. We should have hidden them better. We’ve put the children in danger.”
Brigid felt her phone buzzing in her jacket pocket. She pulled out the device and saw Carwyn’s name on the screen, then tapped the button through the case. “I’m here.”
“We have Gary Preston’s address. It’s a large compound south of town, and from what we can tell, his car isn’t there but a bunch of other ones are. We’re heading there now.”
She tapped the couch to get Agnes’s attention. “I’ll have Agnes get her people and we’ll meet you there. Text me the address.”
“I will.”
Brigid shut the phone off and set it to the side. “We have an address. It’s out of town and appears to have some cars parked there, but no sign of Preston’s. This could be it.”
Thirteen
The house wasn’t set on its own but within a large complex of sprawling estates with unnaturally green grass for a desert. Gary Preston’s ranch consisted of a main house with a lavish swimming pool in front of it, horse stables on the hill, and several smaller guesthouses scattered around the ten-acre property.
Preston had two cars registered to his name, neither of which was visible. There were, however, five other cars and trucks on the property. They didn’t spot anyone outside, and there were only two lights on in the house.
At the guardhouse, Miguel got the lone security guard to admit that the last time he’d seen Mr. Preston was four days ago. His guests had shown up right after him, but Mr. Preston had asked him not to record their names and the man had reluctantly agreed.
Miguel joined Carwyn in the car after he’d surveilled the house from the road. “No movement. It almost looks like they parked the cars here and took off on foot.”
“If they’re immortal, that’s not improbable. Remember, we can run much faster than humans and we don’t tire. Some of us can fly.”
“Agnes called me. Told me your wife is coming with a team of people. Bernard is with them.”
“Good.” He could wait. If the boy was in the house, he was safe for now. The moment they started an attack, he would be vulnerable.
“You never answered me about the donor thing.” Miguel was staring at the house, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.
“What about the donor thing?”
“At the strip club, you didn’t want to answer me about how you justified the donor thing when you don’t like objectifying humans.”
“I have mixed feelings, and I don’t actually feed from humans.”
Miguel frowned. “How is that possible?”
“Vampires can feed from wild animals too. Any mammal actually. Probably other animals, but mammal blood is the most nourishing after humans.”
“So you could just buy cow blood or pig blood and not feed from humans?”
“Yes. I suppose they don’t taste as good. I imagine it’s a little like eating meat replacements instead of a good steak. But it will keep you alive and strong.”
