Samson dialed Gabriel Giles’ number in New York. His call was answered almost immediately.
“Gabriel, I need your help on something.”
***
Thomas lived in a home built into a hillside below Twin Peaks. It afforded the most stunning views of San Francisco. The house was modern, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city and a hidden cave carved into the mountain behind. This was where Thomas’ bedroom was, shielded from any daylight.
Ricky arrived at the same time as Samson and Amaury and was accompanied by two other vampires in Samson’s employ. This situation needed to be handled delicately, and Samson was pleased to see Ricky had chosen two of his most loyal and discreet employees. While Samson didn’t know many of his human employees, he knew virtually every vampire on staff. Ricky was in charge of vampire recruitment at Scanguards and selected every vampire personally.
They all nodded to each other. Ricky’s normally cheerful face was overshadowed by solemnity. It mirrored Amaury’s. Nobody looked forward to what they had to do. They were a tight-knit group; finding out that one of them was a traitor hit all of them equally hard.
“Amaury, can you sense him?” Samson asked his friend.
Amaury looked at the house and closed his eyes. “Yes, he’s here.”
“Let’s go,” Samson ordered.
“Wait!” Amaury’s voice was a command, stopping the four other vampires in their tracks. “Something is wrong. His emotions don’t make sense.”
“What do you mean?” Samson inquired.
“Too many emotions all at once. All jumbled.”
“Could it be that he’s not alone?” Ricky interjected.
Amaury shook his head. “I can only sense him.”
“We have to go now.” Samson pulled out a wooden stake from his pocket. What he had to do was painful, but there was no other resolution. Thomas had been his friend for many years; at least he would make it quick. No torture, no pain for Thomas. He owed him that much.
Samson caught his friends’ looks as they glanced at the stake, and shuddered inwardly. But he couldn’t show weakness now. This betrayal warranted the highest punishment.
The two vampires Ricky had brought were positioned outside the house to prevent Thomas from escaping.
Ricky opened the door with his spare key—a security measure they’d put into place years ago, making sure the four friends could gain access to each other’s homes in emergencies. Quiet and darkness greeted them as they entered.
Samson’s eyes adjusted to the dim light and quickly scanned the interior. The great room they found themselves in was empty as was the adjacent kitchen and bar area. A wall with a door separated the house into two parts: the open and public area, and the private and dark quarters behind.
Samson made a sign to Amaury and Ricky, indicating he was going in first. The corridor was even darker than the front of the house, but just as empty and quiet. He inched forward, his feet making virtually no sound.
Behind him, Ricky and Amaury were as quiet as he was. A small sliver of light came from beneath the door Samson knew to be Thomas’ bedroom. They stopped in front of it.
Samson knew that even though the three of them had been quiet, Thomas would have heard them. A vampire’s hearing was sensitive, and Thomas would have picked up any or all of the noises they had made. It was strange that he hadn’t made a move yet, unless, of course, he had set a trap for them.
Samson braced himself when he turned the knob and swung the door open. Within a split second he’d entered the room and surveyed the scene. Ricky and Amaury did the same, positioning themselves so the three of them formed a triangle at the outer edges of the bedroom. In this formation they could attack.
Only, there was nobody to attack. The room was empty. No Thomas.
“Amaury?” Samson’s question was as clear as if he’d spoken it.
“I can still sense him. He’s in the house.” Amaury closed his eyes again, concentrating. “Downstairs in the garage.”
The house had a garage as well as other caves reaching into the hill.
“He should have been alerted to our presence by now,” Ricky claimed.
Samson nodded. “I don’t like it.”
They stalked downstairs and made their way through the garage which was filled with various motorcycles and a sports car. Nothing out of the ordinary.
“Behind this door. I can feel him.”
Samson was about to put his hand on the door knob when Amaury jerked him back.
“No!”
Samson gave him a questioning look.