Heart of Stone - Book 2: Hearts Collide

Suppressing a growl, Stone eased toward them, his hands in his pockets.

Davis’ eyes narrowed at him as he took a drag from his cigarette, exhaled, and drew it from his lips with his gloved hands and flicked the ash from its glowing tip. “Again? What business have you got in my city this time?”

Stone crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned up against the opposite wall from Davis several yards down. He wanted to make sure they understood he meant business, not that he would be a threat.

Remembering their discussion yesterday, he pushed down his anxious thoughts regarding how they knew about Aubree. This wasn’t just about Aubree, though. This was about exterminating the main threat to him and everyone else.

“Same business until Carina is taken out,” he said.

Raising the cigarette to his lips, Davis took another puff as he regarded Stone. A thin line of smoke curled up from the tip as it glowed orange in the faint light. As he exhaled, he asked, “So, you want her taken out now, huh?”

Stone nodded. “It would be beneficial for you to know that I’ve taken out Adranus last night. My warrior took out another vampire as well, not that it matters as I did not know his name. He was with Carina and Adranus at the time.”

Swearing under his breath, Thomas pulled himself up from the ground and stood next to Davis’ side, running his hand through his dark hair.

Davis’ eyebrows arched up before pulling down in a deep frown. “You’re fucking me?”

Stone lifted his chin. “I’d rather not.”

The glow from his cigarette reflected in Davis’ eyes and began to burn more brightly. “You killed her lover and let her get away? Have you lost your fucking mind?”

Stone’s jaw clenched at Davis’ tone. “Trust me. If I had it my way, I’d have taken care of her as well.”

Tearing his eyes away, Davis took one last drag on his cigarette before flicking the butt over his shoulder and cursing again. His hands balled into fists before jamming them into the deep pockets of his coat. “You fucked up, mutt. You seriously fucked up this time.”

Stone tried not to gnash his teeth together. He knew he screwed up. He didn’t need to be reminded by these two imbeciles. It was because of this mistake that he needed to take care of her as soon as possible.

“I’m well aware of the repercussions,” he said through gritted teeth. “Which is why I’m looking for her here tonight.”

Davis shook his head, his temper seeping out and rolling over Stone in hot, bitter waves. “Your fuck-up is going to cost you your human mate’s life. Do you have any idea how many vampires are hiding in this city?”

Stone didn’t but he was sure that Davis was about to fill him in.

“There’s at least a dozen of them, most of them newborns, but some of them have been long-time acquaintances. You’ve killed a lover, a friend, and a father-figure to them. They’re going to retaliate in the only way they know how.”

Confirming Stone’s own assumptions, he swallowed his mounting anger and dread and pushed them into his gut. He’d been around vampires far longer than these two. He knew how the bloodsuckers operated. He’d been involved in their ploys for centuries. “All the more reason to work together to take them out now, before they grow too numerous.”

Davis shook his head again, pulling his hands from his pockets and crossing his arms over his chest. “Are you forgetting how long it takes us to not only recruit new vampire slayers but train them too? We’re talking weeks, mutt. We don’t have weeks. We have a few days if that. They can multiply tenfold in a single night. There’s no way we can keep up with them.”

“We will have to team up with the North Fang Pack. Their numbers are far greater than I can offer, but my pack will do whatever it takes to take them out,” Stone said.

Davis pinched the bridge of his nose, his body temperature lowering as his mind continued to race and his scent shifting to one of fear. “This is going to draw too much attention from the humans.”

“We’ll call it a clash of gangs,” Stone said, his own anger subsiding as he searched his mind for possible solutions that he could offer.

He didn’t want the humans to get involved in this and he couldn’t let the truth of their existence come out for the world to see. The Council would surely have his head if that happened.

“I have my connections with government officials in the city,” he continued. “We’ll warn them ahead of time. They can use the media to try and scare residents into staying in their homes at night. The fewer people out on the streets, the fewer people the vampires have to draw from.”

Davis sighed as he pulled his fingers from his face. “That’s all well and good—”

“It’s a start,” Stone interrupted. “Do you have any better ideas?”

Davis thought for a moment, while Thomas finally piped up.

“Daytime raids,” he said. “If we can find their hiding places while they sleep, we’ll have a better chance of taking them out—especially the newborns while they’re in transition.”

Stone nodded. Vampires enter a “coma-like” phase before they wake up twenty-four hours later as a fully developed vampire interested in one thing and one thing only—their first meal.

“If we can get more trackers into the city shortly after daybreak, we can track them to their hiding places,” Stone said. “The warriors can hunt them during the night and our weaker wolves can hunt them during the day when the vampires are at a disadvantage.”

“This is going to turn into an outright war,” Davis grunted. “And frankly, I don’t see us winning in the end.”

“We have to,” Stone growled, his lips curling back as his hands balled into fists. “I won’t rest until Carina’s taken out and the city is safe.”

“If we take out Carina and the other seasoned vamps, the newborns will be lost. They’ll be easy. We can wipe the floor with them.” Thomas grinned. He closed his eyes with a smile still plastered on his face. “Then, I can finally live a normal life.”

Davis rolled his eyes at his partner as he pushed away from the brick wall. “Keep dreaming, dumbass.”

Stone followed suit, pushing himself off the wall and taking a step toward the older, thicker-set slayer. “Can I count on both of you with the hunt?” Stone eyed them warily.

Thomas looked to Davis—nervous, yet excited.

Davis sighed and shrugged as he shoved another cigarette between his lips and lit up. He took a long drag before his eyes met Stone’s. “Guess we got no choice, huh, Tom? We’re in.”

Davis put his hand out there and Stone stared at it for a moment before realizing what he was doing. He nodded before taking Davis’ out-stretched hand in his and shook it firmly.

Wincing, Davis pulled away, holding his hand against his chest. “Fuck man.”

Stone bristled before turning and marching away.

Sometimes he didn’t know his own strength.