Song - Secrets, The Weeknd

Feeling someone shake my leg, I woke to see Jasper leaning close. He gave me a flick of his head and returned to the dining table that was now surrounded by boxes. Dani sat up, rubbing her eyes.

Pulling on my pants, I wandered over and sat down at the table. Wrapped up in a dressing gown, Dani sat on the other chair.

"So, I've done a lot while you two were asleep and we've got a few things to discuss. While I was walking back from the shop, I thought about that warehouse you were talking about so I did a little digging. Turns out it is owned by Otis. It used to be one of their law offices but it was shut down when they acquired the building. It's a little strange that he's using it to store money in boxes but I'm sure there is a reason for it."

"And why it's not in a bank."

"What's more surprising is that the street cameras have been positioned so that they do not see what or who goes through the front door. If we were to go into this, I'd have no view of the building beforehand or during whatever we do. We'd have to go in blind."

"If we go in."

We looked at Dani who shrugged.

"We don't know who the money belongs to. Just because the building is owned by Otis does not mean he is the one storing the boxes there. I'd rather let the shady friend take it if he's feeling brave enough."

"This sounds like a can of worms that I'm not ready to open." I grumbled. "At least not until we have more information, like who owns the money. We can think about this one for a while. What else have you got?"

"Well, there was an email sent to the guild members detailing the night we left. They declared that they found no vampires or any evidence of a vampire being in the areas they searched. Otis has written off the night as successful because he believes it means that all the vampires have fled London, as he predicted. There was a morbid addendum to the email, advising that Noah passed after an altercation during the hunt. Otis did not state that it was a vampire though."

I looked at Dani and hoped that I didn't appear angry or menacing. She shrugged at me.

"There was a choice to be made that night. Either me or him. He believed that Lewis would leave without me. Noah might have said he'd let me leave but it was obvious he wouldn't. I'd become fascinating to him and there was no way he was going to let me walk away."

"You know I don't care, right? The hunt was for Jasper and me. I'm not going to mourn the life of someone who I didn't know and clearly never cared about me."

I gripped her hand, hoping Dani understood I was being serious.

"Anyway," Jasper interrupted. "Otis is holding a wake at the office on New Year's Eve so that everyone can attend, drown their sorrows and recover from the hangover the next day. The office is set to reopen on the second but that's only the skeleton staff."

"So, you're saying that every single guild member is going to be in that building at the same time?"

Jasper nodded with a smile that was so beautifully macabre that it lit a fire within me. I chuckled, thoroughly amused.

"What are the chances that there's a civilian among them? I have issues with doing anything that could harm the innocent." Dani stated firmly.

"This is a guild only event. His funeral is tomorrow. Besides, they don't let civilians into that building except for catering for the Christmas party."

"Children?"

"Uh no. The email was clear in saying that it was an above legal age event. I guess we know what that means, as gross as it sounds."

"Yep. How many children will be left orphaned?"

Jasper raised an eyebrow at Dani, then glanced at me like I had the answer.

"Is that something that will stop you from taking everyone down?"

Dani shrugged at him.

"I ask because the strike rate for a victim having dependents is high. You've made a seriously wrong choice for your future if you are going to ask questions like that."

She sighed, falling back against the chair while giving Jasper a dismissive flick of her hand.

"Whatever."

I restrained the frustration as I looked at Jasper. It wasn't the time to have thoughts like this and it made me wonder if Dani was ready for a life as a vampire. We could not have empathy for our victims or their families.

"So," I began, hoping to keep the conversation flowing in a positive direction. "Are we going to do something about this?"

"Better question is, are you going to tell your father?"

"I'd rather not call him nor tell him that you've had access to information all this time."

The only reason we had this blissful few moments alone was that I didn't have my phone with me. I'm sure he's figured out we're not at the castle any longer and is now sourcing what spies he had left. If he'd rounded up every single vampire in London and the surrounding areas to take them to Scotland, it would leave him with human spies.

"So, if we were able to figure out how to kill every single guild member in the building, what happens then? Does the UK go without hunters or will the Europeans send in replacements?"

"It's possible they might send replacements but I doubt it. The ones who are here now will have left because they're supposed to be on break for Christmas and I doubt they're going to give that up. As for what happens beyond that? It's hard to say. The guild in Europe as a whole is not as grand as what my father makes it out to be. With the vampire clans being stronger, they have more of a stranglehold over the streets. It is what my father said he wants for our future, the powerhouse family that rules without issue. The difference between them and us is they have no connection that binds them to the hunters. It has been our major letdown for years. Dad has subdued the vampires to ensure no one harms Noah but only for my mother's sake. I guess it's his way of apologising for what happened. He knows that if he didn't stray, my mother wouldn't have gone for a walk and crossed paths with Otis, then Noah wouldn't be here. There would be no angry Otis who is desperate to make all vampires pay. For the record," I said as I gripped Dani's thigh, looking at her to ensure she knew I was serious. "My mother does not care. Any love she had for Noah disappeared when he laid out his first threat and that was long before he met you. This has been a drama years in the making and you were nothing but the spark that lit the bomb."

She shrugged and I knew that this would be a problem in her mind for a long time. If I could convince her that it wasn't, it would be a miracle.

"Speaking of bombs," Jasper began. "How are we planning on killing what could be a hundred or more? It's not like we can walk into the building with guns and just fire at them."

"Well, we could try." Dani said.

"They'll come at us. Guns might be quick but they won't be enough. This is our one shot at this and the clock is ticking fast. I know that you don't want to call your father but I think it might be our only solution."

"What about my friend's shady customer?"

Jasper gave Dani a shrug. Like me, he didn't know if we could trust this unknown person.

"He might not be able to get what we want."

"Or he could get caught by the cops and name us to get a deal. Be careful of who you deal with. You don't know this guy. He's a customer of your friend, so he's not even an acquaintance."

"I know and trust me, I have issues but at the moment, he's got potential. We haven't even figured out how we're going to take them down."

Dani was right but I had a gut feeling that this was not the path for us.