Quinn had no choice. There were too many witnesses to deal with if he refused the fire captain’s orders. But maybe that same fact would help them in the end: there were too many witnesses gathering for Keegan to really do any damage.
“Everybody, evacuate,” Quinn called into the house, letting his colleagues know that the fireman’s orders were to be followed.
When Zane appeared in the hallway, his colleague’s warning glare landed on him. “Is that necessary?” he asked from between clenched teeth.
Where on his lean body he’d hidden the silver knife, the throwing stars and the stake he liked to fight with was anybody’s guess. Even knowing Zane was armed didn’t help Quinn figure out where he might have hidden the weapons.
Quinn approached his friend and whispered back, “Too many people out there. If I use mind control on him, we’ll draw too much suspicion on us from the other firefighters and all the gawkers. There are already too many witnesses watching what’s going on. And besides, there’s nothing Keegan can do out there without drawing attention to himself. In a few minutes we’ll have news teams breathing down own necks.”
“I wish I knew what he looked like,” Zane griped.
“We’ll catch him.” His eyes followed the humans who stormed upstairs.
One by one, his colleagues reached the foyer, each of them clearly reluctant to leave the house. Luckily, they all had either tucked their weapons away inside their clothing or hidden them in the house. It would be hard to explain why they were sitting around in a dark house in the middle of the night armed to the teeth.
“All civilians evacuate the building,” the fire captain repeated and pointed to the door.
Quinn exchanged a look with Amaury and Zane, instilling caution in them as they exited. When he stepped out into the night, the lights of the fire engine illuminated the front yard with another one pointed at the roof. His eyes quickly adjusted and scanned the assembled crowd. He used his vampire senses to ascertain if any vampire had infiltrated the crowd and was biding his time to attack should the occasion arise. He noticed how his friends did the same.
The police had arrived in the meantime and were taking the three youths into custody. As he’d suspected, they were human and from their stunned looks on their faces they appeared unaware of what they had been doing. Quinn made a mental note to talk to Samson so he could use his influence with the mayor, a vampire hybrid, to smooth things over for those kids.
Turning back to the mansion while his friends continued to keep an eye on the crowd, he glanced up at the roof. The fire was contained to a small area, flames working their way through the shingles. The engine’s ladder was already at a sufficient height to attack the fire. When the water started to shoot from the fire hose, Quinn lowered his head and looked back at his friends. They had spread out, each of them positioning themselves at strategic locations from which to counterattack should Keegan make a move.
Nina stayed close to Amaury, Rose was backing up Wesley, while Zane and Amaury stood battle-ready at the periphery. Relieved he turned his head back toward the entrance, when realization hit him.
Shit! Oliver and Cain were missing.
He scanned the crowd once more, his eyes racing from one face to the next, but Oliver and Cain were nowhere to be seen.
Something was wrong. Concern for his prodigy and his colleague made him spring into action. He walked up the steps to the front door. One fireman stood guard, blocking the entrance.
“Step back, sir, you can’t go in there.”
But this time Quinn wasn’t going to obey any commands. He allowed his power to flow and sent his thoughts into the man’s mind, until he stepped aside and let him enter.
The foyer and staircase were illuminated, but nobody had switched on any lights in any of the other rooms. Quinn used his night vision and sense of smell to guide him through the house. The two had to be somewhere in there. Rounding another corner, he picked up the scent of vampire. He followed it down the corridor, cautiously looking around him, walking softly so he couldn’t be heard.
Not that any human would have heard him over the din in the house that the firemen were producing. But he was still aware that Keegan had to have caused all this and therefore couldn’t be far away.
Before he reached the kitchen, he heard a noise coming from the laundry room. Quinn slid along the wall, then tested the door. It was ajar. Heavy breathing originated from inside the small room. He filled his lungs with the scent and let out a sigh of relief.
Pushing the door open, he entered.
“What’s wrong?”
The glaring red color in Oliver’s eyes was impossible to miss, as were the claws that were holding him back from charging out the door: Cain had slung his arms around him, immobilizing him.