Blood Bonded

32

A few minutes later, they pulled into a parking garage. Gabe jumped out, bubbling with excitement and following Iggy like he was a superhero. Crockett exited, looking a bit green.

Dominic nudged Dane off Raelyn and gently shook her awake. "Raelyn. We're changing cars."

"Hm?" she asked, turning his way. She then grimaced and rolled her shoulder. "Ouch." She rubbed her neck and yawned. "Where are we?"

Dominic smiled and undid her seat belt. "You can go back to sleep once we're in a new car."

She nodded with her eyes closed and allowed Dominic to help her out. Iggy pulled up another SUV—bright blue with a soccer mom sticker. Dominic helped Raelyn to the back and let her lay down, curling up in the back row. He pulled a seat belt over her and let Dane lay on the ground underneath her.

The drive out to the suburbs was quiet. Normally, they would have stayed close to the city, but Dominic preferred to have a safe house a state away, just over the border in Indiana. They pulled off into one of the small suburban towns and into a detached garage.

Iggy pulled into the garage and hopped out to close the door before reentering and turning over his shoulder to look at Dominic, Gabe, Raelyn, and Crockett. "So, what exactly happened?"

Dominic placed his hands over Gabe's ears. "What the hell happened? I told you to watch Raelyn. Why the fu—"

Gabe raised his hands. "I can still hear you."

Dominic lowered his hands, trying to control his anger for the sake of his little brother. "Crockett, clear the house and make sure it's safe." Crockett nodded and exited the car, leaving out the door of the garage.

Iggy glanced over at Raelyn. "So, we left Dane with the girl. I went back to the car to get a blanket for her. Next thing I know, the girl is gone and the dog's tied up."

Gabe nodded. "She's a vampire. That makes sense." He narrowed his eyes and then looked at Dominic. "Did you not know she was a vampire?"

Dominic stared. "What do you mean? She's a source and hunter. Why would I expect her to also be a vampire?"

Iggy frowned. "She's a vampire?" He frowned. "She's a hunter? What if she blasted me into next week?"

"If she blasted you into next week, she would be doing me a favor. You couldn't keep an eye on her for thirty seconds?"

"She's a Capo, too."

Dominic stared at his little brother who had just spoken. "What did you say?"

"She's a Capo. I don't know how, but her dad's gotta be Capo. Her mom must be some sort of hunter. Maybe her mom is a source, too."

Dominic frowned. "How would you know that?"

Gabe shrugged. "She smelled familiar the first time we met. I couldn't place it, so I had to find a way to smell the Four Families."

"That's why you came to the gala? To smell the families?"

Gabe nodded and leaned back. "And I did pretty good. I'm sure you could ask Capo."

Rae shifted in her sleep and Dominic glanced between her and Gabe, who yawned. "Let's call it quits for tonight. Tomorrow, we'll..."

"We'll what?" Gabe asked.

Dominic sighed. "We'll make a plan."