The vampires were silent and they were damn well staying behind that line of fire.
“Tell me what you know about him,” Cain demanded, voice rumbling. “Tell me.”
A more subtle approach might have worked best, but . . .
“Come with me.” A male’s voice. Rising above the flames. A voice that seemed familiar.
The lights flashed again. Again. Eve saw the vampire who’d moved too close to the fire. A vampire with blond hair, wide shoulders, and a face that she knew.
The vampire from Genesis.
Her fingers curled around Cain’s shoulder. “Let’s talk to him.”
The flames died.
A few smart humans ran out the door. The rest offered their necks again. Vamps went back to feeding. Business as usual. Guess it took more than a little fire to rattle those guys.
The blond vampire headed toward them with his hands up. His eyes were on her. “I owe you.”
She forced herself to breathe. The last time she’d gotten close to this guy, he’d tried to take a bite out of her.
“You’ve got to work on that fear,” he told her with a shake of his head. “It’s like an aphrodisiac to every vamp in the room. Don’t you know”—he gave a small pause—“we get off on fear?”
“And here I thought it was just the blood,” she muttered with a glare.
Cain was beside her, and, yeah, she was sure grateful for his strength. Without him, would she have been able to go into the vamp bar? She would have tried, but the stark truth was . . . vampires terrified her. When they’d closed in . . .
She forced her muscles to unlock. “We need to talk. Privately.” Not in the middle of that chaos. Preferably in a room with a lot fewer vampires.
The blond vamp pointed to the left. She couldn’t see anything that way, but she followed the vamp and Cain. They headed down a hallway and slid inside another pitch-black room.
The vamp’s hand hit the wall, and lights flooded on. The brightness had her blinking as spots danced before her eyes.
When the spots vanished, the vampire was staring at her.
“I’m Ryder Duncan.” He offered a faint smile, one that showed the sharp edge of a fang. “I didn’t get to introduce myself the last time we met.”
No, he’d been too busy trying to bite her—while she’d been fighting to save him.
Ryder’s gaze swept over to Cain. “I see you’re still playing guard. Haven’t let her get away yet, have you?”
Uh, what?
Cain glared back at him. “Where’s Wyatt?”
“Seems we’d both like to know that,” Ryder said, face hardening. “That bastard has something I want, something I need, and I will be getting it back.”
Great for him. “Did you see Wyatt that night? Did you see him escape?” Eve needed to know.
Ryder shook his head. “Not then. I thought the guy burned. It wasn’t until the next day that I started to hear the stories.”
Cain stepped toward him. “Just what stories did you hear?”
“Some of those who escaped . . . they said Wyatt retreated to his second lab.”
A second lab? Eve’s stomach knotted. There were more paranormals being held out there? Being tortured?
She’d tried so hard to research Genesis before she’d gone in, but the place was surrounded by miles and miles of red tape. She’d bribed her way to some security files and learned what she could.
The original Genesis Foundation had been created over forty years ago, by Richard Wyatt’s father Jeremiah. After his death, Richard had taken over the family business.
What a twisted, bloody business it was.
Two labs.
“Wyatt’s got a bounty on you both.” Ryder’s gaze—a sharp, cold green—went from Cain back to Eve. “Seems he wants you two very, very badly.”
“Badly enough to kill,” Eve said.
Ryder nodded. “And he’s got plenty of firepower behind him.”
Yes, she knew that part. Cops at his beck and call. Guards armed to the teeth. So what? Richard Wyatt would still go down. She’d make sure of it.
“Do you know where he is?” The question was Cain’s.
Ryder hesitated, then shook his head.
“Then what good are you?” Cain asked him as he lifted his hands.
Ryder took a fast step back. “Easy, easy. Shit. I’m not looking for you to send your flames at me again.”
When had Cain done that?
Ryder exhaled on a hard breath. “I don’t know where he is, but I know how to get the guy to come to us, okay? I know how to bring the bastard right out into the open so we can take him.”