The large vamp moved into place beside her.
"You know this is for your benefit not mine, right?" she asked, looking up into his red eyes.
"He's aware." Charles shoved her weapons at her. "Remember. Follow the rules."
"I hate rules," she mumbled and accepted the weapons she was forced to surrender the moment they returned.
Charles ignored her. Ashley tucked the knives and batons in their places then waited for Hector to finish with his small arsenal. Unlike the others, she wasn't allowed to carry grenades or guns or anything that might give her more of a leg up. And Hector carried a Taser in case she went off the grid.
Ashley joined the others outside in their teams, waiting for their team's turn to be Traveled to the raid sites for the night. Usually, Jonny was present to watch over his troops leaving but tonight, the Black God was nowhere in sight.
She was grateful for his absence, too angry and confused to want anything to do him. How did she trust someone who admitted he'd betray her? How did she believe he was going to help Brandon when he cared more about his vamps?
It felt like forever before it was her turn to be Traveled. Charles had given the two teams instructions she hadn't heard. She'd follow Hector's lead and then sneak away when she had the chance so she could find out where Valon wanted her to go.
Finally, they were at the site, and she stood quietly to observe the location. The abandoned factory building was isolated from the rest of the rundown neighborhood by a slatted fence topped with barbed wire. No lights were on, but it wasn't going to be possible to tell how active the place was until they set foot inside. It was absolutely huge, and she guessed the factory had been used to build cars or some other large product by its sheer size. The main building extended the length of a football field with several satellite buildings half its size flanking it.
"Front door," Hector said and nudged her.
She blinked, still not yet able to focus outside of her thoughts completely, and saw Tasha's team starting down the side of the building. Charles was headed down the other side, while she and Hector were left alone to tackle the front door.
"Am I bait again?" she complained.
"Vamps like bait."
She rolled her eyes and withdrew her weapons before striding towards a metal door halfway off its hinges. Hector hefted it open for her, and she stepped inside, pausing to let her senses and eyes adjust.