Rogue Darkness by Dianne Duvall

“Those aren’t my orders.”

“I don’t give a fuck. Do it.”

“These people may not know any more than the vampires did,” Darius continued doggedly. “Reordon’s orders were explicit: Let them take her and step in only if she requires our aid.”

Sean grabbed Nicole’s backpack and yanked the modified mini-fridge’s door open so hard it almost fell off. “Where are you?” With a burst of speed, he stuffed all but one bag of blood into the largest compartment, added a cold pack, then zipped it and looped it over a shoulder. He raised the last blood bag to his lips and sank his teeth into it.

“Approaching our vehicle.” Keys jingled in the background. The chirp of the alarm shutting off carried over the line seconds before a door opened.

“Don’t leave,” Sean ordered, tossing the empty blood bag aside. “I’m on my way.”

“What?” Darius blurted. “You can’t—”

“Just keep your ass there!” He redirected the Find My app to Darius’s phone. Thankfully, Reordon had given him every special op agent’s cell number so he could locate them in an emergency.

Leaving Becca’s dorm room, Sean headed for the side entrance that got less traffic. Bright sunlight spilled through the glass door at the end of the hallway. As soon as the app found Darius, Sean stepped outside, glanced around to ensure no one was looking, and shot off at preternatural speeds.

The campus took on a surreal strobe-light quality as he raced in and out of sunlight and shade. Students walking to class only noticed a breeze as he zipped past. Sean’s skin began to tingle as he reached the parking lot and spotted the network’s black SUV.

He reached it just as the engine started. When he tried the back door, it was locked.

Darius swung around in the driver’s seat and gaped at him. Both the woman in the passenger seat and the man in the back jumped and drew weapons.

“Open the fucking door,” Sean snarled.

Darius hit the unlock button on the door console.

As soon as Sean heard the telltale thunk, he yanked the door open and ducked inside.

“Are you out of your freakin’ mind?” Darius snapped.

Sean slammed the door. “Yes. Where are they? Have they left yet?”

The woman—Iris, if he remembered her name correctly—lowered her weapon and shot Darius a triumphant grin. “Ha! I told you they weren’t acting. He’s totally in love with her. You owe me fifty bucks.”

In the rearview mirror, Sean saw Darius roll his eyes as he put the SUV in reverse and backed out of the parking space. “If this op ends up FUBAR, it’s on you, Sean.”

“I’m okay with that.” He grimaced at the sunlight that streamed through his window. “Catch me up.”

Iris gave him a rundown of what had happened. Sean seethed when she told him the asshole had hit Nicole in the head with a football. Her returning the favor wasn’t enough. When Sean got his hands on him, that bastard was going down.

A screen in the SUV’s console displayed a map much like a sat nav would, a blinking dot showing them Nicole’s current location.

Sean scooted to the middle of the seat so he could monitor it and avoid the sunlight that kept trying to sear him. Feeling eyes on him, he glanced at the soldier beside him and found him smiling. “What?”

“Nothin’,” he replied. “It’s just… You’re my third immortal.”

Sean stared at him. “What?”

“I’ve only ever met two Immortal Guardians, Aidan and Seth. You’re my third.” He thrust out a hand. “I’m Rick. Nice to meet ya.”

Sean shook his hand. “Sean.”

“Don’t mind him,” Darius said over his shoulder. “Rick’s new.”

“He’s one of the gifted ones Gershom took but didn’t turn,” Iris added.

Rick’s smile broadened into a grin. “Do you know Dana?”

“Yeah,” Sean answered absently.

“We were roomies for a few hours at the base. I had the privilege of getting my ass kicked by her before we escaped.”

Sean had no idea what to say to that. “Okay.”

Darius laughed.

It sounded like a fun story, but all Sean could think about was Nicole.

The kidnappers drove a dark gray SUV. Darius remained far enough behind it that Sean only glimpsed it twice. When they turned onto a less-traveled road, Darius dropped back even more.

“Don’t let them get too far ahead,” Sean told him.

“If I get any closer, they’ll make us,” Darius responded, unperturbed.

Sean ground his teeth. “Damn Reordon for agreeing to this.”

“Seth agreed to it, too,” Darius pointed out.

Iris sent him a look of sympathy. “She’ll be okay, Sean.”

“You don’t know that.”

“They can’t use her as bait if she’s dead.”

“But they can hurt her and threaten to torture her to gain Nick’s swift cooperation,” he countered.

None of them could deny that, so they opted to remain silent.

Sean didn’t know how far they drove, but at least thirty or forty minutes passed.

“Looks like they’re heading to a small airport,” Darius murmured.