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"Shit!"

Needing to lash out, Hayden turned and kicked the coffee table. It landed upside down, its collection of ashtrays and beer bottles catapulting onto the floor. Warm, flat beer and ashes stained the rug. He walked through the kitchen and slammed through the screen door, which rebounded off the house. Outside in the yard, he covered his face and tried to walk it off, the short grass bending under his shoes.

He got halfway to the fence and crouched on his haunches.

Gods, what the fuck did he do now?

Katherine. He remembered hearing about the vamp in Nevada. Actually, he remembered seeing her when they attacked Beowawe, some kind of artillery-obsessed Rambo with long, brown hair. Kris used to fight her all the time. One time, she came home talking about a car chase. Now, the vampire had remote explosives locked around his girlfriend's neck.

Fury overtook him. This was when being a regular guy was hardest. When he was angry as hell and virtually helpless to take it out on the culprit. The slightest suspicious move and he put not only himself in serious danger, but more importantly, Kris. The only way out was to get that remote off the vampire and deactivate the collar, or somehow interrupt the signal from a distance.

"Think," he coached himself, hands steepled in front of his mouth.

After a minute, he stood up and pulled a cell phone out of his jeans, his pacing wearing a bald path into his yard.


Voicemail for Izzy: "Izzy, it's Hayden. I need a favor. How good are you with manipulating explosive devices? Give me a call."


Text: "Vampire has control over Kris. It's Katherine. Collar has explosives."