When the door opened, Katie peeked past Luther. Relieved, she went around him, though he tried to hold her back.

“I’m fine.” She pointed to the new arrival. “That’s John, he’s with them.”

The tall vampire with the southern accent stepped into the room, his eyes quickly scanning the room. Apparently satisfied with what he saw, he addressed Blake, “Somebody’s approaching.”

“Vampire?”

“Yeah.”

“That must be Striker,” Luther said. “He owns this cabin. I sent him out to get info on Forrester.”

John furrowed his forehead. “Are you talking about Striker Reed?”

“You know him?”

“I know of him.” John tossed his colleagues a sideways glance. “I’d suggest you lower your weapons, guys, because that dude is trigger happy, and if he finds you in his house uninvited and armed, he’ll shoot first and ask questions later.”

“Your friend has a point,” a voice came from the hallway behind them.

Katie spun around and stared right into their host’s glaring red eyes, a gun leveled at them.

Luther’s arms locked around her, pulling her into the protection of his body. “Striker, don’t!” Luther yelled. “They’re friends.”

“Then tell them to put down their weapons.”

“Guys, please,” Luther said over his shoulder, his arms still around her, pressing her against his warm body.

The gesture made her feel protected, and the knowledge that Luther’s first instinct had been to protect her, sent a pleasant tingle through her body.

Slowly she noticed Striker relax. Then he pulled one side of his mouth up. “When I said make yourself at home, Luther, I didn’t mean you could invite your friends for a party.”

Katie felt Luther’s muscles relax, but he didn’t let go of her. She was glad that he kept her in his embrace, giving her a chance to enjoy a few more moments of closeness.

“It was kind of last minute,” Luther said with a chuckle, “and a little unexpected. Not to say inconvenient.”

At his last words, Katie lifted her face and caught Luther’s gaze. Did he regret the interruption of their lovemaking as much as she did? The look in his eyes seemed to suggest it.

Striker approached, holstering his weapon at his belt. “Don’t you wanna introduce me?”

Luther released her from his embrace, albeit seemingly reluctantly. He motioned to the other men in the room. “These men work for Scanguards: meet Blake, Grayson, Wesley, and John.”

All the men nodded.

“This is Striker Reed. He was the council’s best tracker.”

“Still am,” Striker threw in and grinned. “I just don’t work for them anymore.”

“A tracker?” Katie asked.

“I find people,” Striker said cryptically.

“People who don’t want to be found,” Luther explained, turning to her. “Mostly escaped criminals. It’s one of the most dangerous jobs out there. There are few vampires who make the cut to be a tracker, and even fewer who want the job. Though I hear the council doesn’t take no for an answer when it sets its sights on a capable candidate.”

Striker pulled one side of his mouth up and tilted his head to the side. “Something like that.” Then he exchanged a look with Luther. “I have a location for you.”

30

Sitting in the back of Scanguards’ blackout SUV, Luther casually glanced over his shoulder. John and Grayson were following them in Katie’s Audi, which they had retrieved from the place in the woods where they’d left it behind. They’d ditched the stolen truck. Wesley was driving the SUV and Blake sat in the front passenger seat, his cell phone glued to his ear as if it were permanently attached. He’d been talking to headquarters since they’d left Striker’s cabin, conveying all the information to his team and receiving an update on what Scanguards had been able to find out on their own.

Next to Luther, Katie was sitting silently, her head leaning against his shoulder.

“You tired?” he murmured, keeping his voice low. With a little luck, Blake was too distracted by his phone call to listen in on their conversation, and Wesley didn’t have a vampire’s sensitive hearing.

“Just a little,” she admitted and snuggled closer to him.

He lifted his arm and put it around her, pulling her against his chest, inhaling the scent of her hair. “Sleep a few minutes. I’ll wake you when we get there.”

“I’m too agitated to sleep.”