The Blood Order (Fanghunters Book Two) (28 page)

Inside, Vincent smiled to himself. Leviah was losing. And they both knew it.

He just prayed that Trixie and Dom could make it out of Leviah's trap alive. He'd have to hold on; he had the Eye, which gave him the upper hand. Now, it was just down to Trixie.

Vincent watched Leviah raise his clenched fists high above his head and thump the glass with a dull thud; it trembled under the impact. He then spun, and without setting eyes on Vincent again, stormed out of the chamber, leaving his captive alone.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

D
om pulled into the mansion once more, coming to a stop near the front entrance. Night had fallen, but was still in its infancy. Above them, the stars twinkled like glitter.

Trixie jumped out of the passenger seat and went inside for a brief moment. The front security light then came on, lighting the whole area up. She came back out and lounged around outside the mansion, her cell in her hand. She watched the front entrance to the estate with anxious eyes.

Dom got out and went and stood next to her. He huffed. "What exactly are we waiting for?" he asked, worried about the unconscious Blacklake out back.

"The cavalry," Trixie stated.

"The cavalry?" Dom echoed. "We got cavalry?"

"We sure do."

A gray Mini with tinted windows then came rolling into the estate.

"Right on cue," Trixie said on seeing it.

Dom stared at the Mini nonplussed. He watched on as it came to a halt a few feet away. The engine died and the driver's door swung open. Out stepped a lady in a black turtle neck; auburn hair, slightly curled at the ends, hung over her shoulders. Her face was ashen, causing her deep brown eyes to appear even deeper. She reminded Dom of the middle-aged version of Agent Scully from
The X-Files
. She strode up to them with an air of elegance and confidence, taking lazy puffs on an e-cig. She looked almost shadow-like as she moved. Dom stared at her in confusion as she approached.
This is the cavalry?

"Thanks for coming so quick," Trixie said as Scully made it up to them both.

"No biggie, Trixie," she replied in a delectable, sultry English accent, vapor flitting out between her lips. Even when she spoke, her voice was in shadow. "I was in the area." She stopped short of them. She looked Dom up and down, taking another puff on her e-cig. "Who's the jock?" she asked Trixie.

Dom's face pinched.
Jock?

"Dom. This is the Wolff."

Dom frowned in confusion. "The Wolff?" he echoed.

"Miranda Wolff," she said, holding out her hand. "At your service."

Dom took it and shook it.

Trixie shrugged. "That's just what she calls herself. She cleans up any mess we make doing our job. And she doesn't ask questions."

"Only if there aren't any to ask," she said without a hint of a smile, and Dom didn't know if she was kidding or not.

"Well, usually we don't make much mess, but now and then..."

Miranda looked around. "Where's Vincent?" she asked.

Trixie looked down. "He's gone."

"What do you mean gone?"

Trixie grabbed her forehead. "I mean not here, but somewhere else."

"Very vague, Trixie. What's the story here?"

"You better come out back," Trixie replied.

Miranda shrugged. "Okay, let's have a look."

Dom and Trixie rushed toward the mansion.

Miranda frowned. "What's the rush?"

They didn't answer. Instead, they ran for the back entrance. Miranda huffed before following up as fast as she could, her boots clacking on the marble floor, still taking puffs on her e-cig as she went.

Miranda slowed as she laid eyes on the broken back doors and the bodies all over the patio outside. "My my, what
have
you kids been up to?" she asked, as she stepped out onto the patio to join Dom and Trixie.

"It wasn't us," Dom replied as he grabbed up a merc's radio from the ground and stuffed it in his pocket. Any chatter could give them more clues to what was going on.

Miranda stepped over some broken glass and then stopped dead. 'Blimey, what the bejeezus happened here?" she asked, gazing at the unconscious bodies around her.

"The party got a little too wild," quipped Trixie.

"I'll say." Miranda looked about her with concerned eyes. "Erm, these look suspiciously like Blacklake."

Trixie shrugged. "That's cause they
are
Blacklake, Miranda."

Miranda turned her head to the side, her face pinching in a frown. "Ooh, that's Black Ops stuff, Trixie. Out of my territory, I'm afraid. Are they dead or unconscious?"

"Come on, Miranda. You know we don't kill people."

"Unconscious then." She continued to gaze at the prone bodies around her, puffing on her e-cig. "So what exactly were these lovely blokes doing here?"

"They came for Dad. We think they're looking for something."

"And what would that be?"

"We don't know, but we'll find out."

Miranda let out a small huff. "This is a frightful mess, Trixie. This is big."

"Yeah, it is. That's why we need your help, Miranda." Trixie gave Miranda a sincere, wide-eyed stare.

Miranda met her gaze. After a second or two, she appeared to cave. "Okay, Trixie. But Vincent will owe for me for this one!"

A grin broke out on Trixie's face. "When we get him back, I'll let him know!"

"You better." Miranda took a languid puff on her e-cig, her eyes not leaving the nearest merc. Through the mist of vapor spilling from her mouth and behind her dark eyes, Dom could see her mind ticking over.

"How long does the tranq last?" Miranda then asked.

"A few hours," Trixie told her.

Miranda nodded. "Good. That gives us enough time."

Trixie's eyes lit up. "You got a plan?"

Miranda turned to face her. "Darling, I've always got a plan. Which is why you call me when things go belly up." She took another puff on her e-cig. "You wouldn't happen to have a van on the premises would you?"

"There's a Sun van in the garage," Trixie told her. "Dad sometimes uses it to bring home his weird collector's items."

"Sounds just the job." She replaced her e-cig in her pocket. "Now, what is it this lot are after?"

T
rixie led them to the secret door at the back of the staircase. "This is Trixie," she said into the voice modulator. A beep went off and the panel slid open, exposing the staircase beyond. "Whatever it is they want from Dad is down here," she said as she began her descent. "Good job these guys were too dumb to find it."

She led them down into the lab. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she stood hands on hips and looked around. Everything seemed to be as normal. She then headed for the secret room and repeated the phrase 'This is Trixie' into the voice modulator. The door slid open and she slipped inside, Dom and Miranda following up. Trixie marched straight past all the shelves of amalgamated fangs toward the safe on the far wall.

Miranda looked about her in slack-jaw wonder. "Golly. So that's why he's known as the Dentist."

Dom gave her a knowing nod
.

"Yep. Creepy ain't it?" Trixie said over her shoulder, her gaze fixed on the safe.

"I'll say," Miranda responded in a stupefied daze.

"Dad said something about an item in the safe. Pretty sure it's in here. Whatever it is or why it's valuable to Dad or the Order is anyone's guess." She then pulled out her cell and began swiping the screen. "Dad sent me the combination. Here it is." She then began turning the dial on the safe while Dom and Miranda waited in anticipation.

"Must be something big for all this fuss," Miranda suggested, as Trixie dialed.

"Gold?" Dom proposed.

"Maybe diamonds," Miranda countered.

"We're rich!" Dom said with a grin.

Trixie got the combination in and the lock clicked open. The door came ajar. She took a breath, and then swung the door fully open. They all craned their necks in the space beyond, their eyes wide with eagerness.

Sitting inside was a lonely pebble-like item, brown and not quite round.

A sense of anti-climax set into the local atmosphere.

"Well
,
that's a disappointment," Miranda declared.

"Is
that
it?" Trixie asked, her top lip curled up.

Dom frowned as he stared at it. "What the hell is it?" he asked, moving his hand toward it.

Trixie slapped his hand. "No! Don't touch it!" she snapped.

Dom's hand recoiled. "Ow!" he moaned, rubbing it. He stared at Trixie with hot eyes. "What's got into you?"

"I just think it's best if we leave it be," Trixie retorted.

"Whatever," Dom said in a peeved voice.

They all huddled their heads in toward it once more, their eyes squinted.

"I wonder what it is," Trixie said in a quiet voice.

"Looks like a big piece of chicken poop," Dom stated.

"Or any kind of poop," Miranda added.

Trixie huffed. "Whatever it is, the Order have tried to kill us, almost killed Rufus, and kidnapped Dad for it."

"They did all that for a piece of poop?" asked Miranda.

"It must be a special kind of poop," Trixie ascertained. She shrugged and closed the safe door. They all straightened their backs once more.

"So, what now?" Dom asked.

'It's still early,' replied Trixie. 'Troy won't be awake yet. Gives us a chance to get rid of our problem outside.'

A loud crackle then sounded out, making them all spin their heads. A gruff voice broke the crackle. "
Rhino Peacock. Rhino Peacock, come in.
"

Dom looked down at the radio in his hand.
"Rhino Peacock,"
it repeated.

Dom put the radio up to his mouth. "Rhino Peacock here."

"Update on the needle in the haystack."

Dom met Trixie's stare. "Tell them we've found a safe in a secret room," she whispered.

"Uh, we've found a safe inside a secret room."

"Nice work. What's in the safe?"

"Uh..."

Trixie shook her head.

"We... don't know. We'll have to crack it." Dom nodded to himself. "Yeah that's it, we'll have to crack it. Reckon it's gonna take a while to get this sucker open."

"Foxy Knox is good at that kinda stuff."

Dom's face pinched in bemusement. "Okay, I'll ask...
Foxy Knox
to get it cracked," he said with a bewildered shake of his head.

"Get a move on!"
The line then went dead.

Trixie puffed her cheeks. "That's bought us some more time," she stated.

"Righteo, kids," said Miranda. "I'll make a few calls to arrange disposal of all those bodies." She turned her attention to Dom. "You ready for a bit of lifting, big boy?" she asked him, giving him an elbow nudge as she spoke.