After a moment, she knelt and began searching each one for a phone. Only one carried a cell. She pulled it out of his jacket and pocketed it. Her brother was a computer nut who loved to show off. He'd helped her track more than one vamp, and she'd need his help again once the vamps knew not to return to this warehouse again.
Satisfied with her night, she rose and trotted out the back door and into an alley running between warehouses near the wharf where she'd stashed her things. Yanking off the mask, she stuffed it into her backpack and pulled on a hoodie. She slid the backpack onto her back and paused at the edge of the alley. The evening crowd strolled along the bay front San Diego area, and she joined them seamlessly.
Certain she looked like any other college student out for a walk, she glanced down at her stinging hand. She'd suffered a cut and bruises but nothing else from the fight. Her skills were becoming more instinctive, less consciously controlled, and no one - aside from Xander - was able to keep up with her. Her wounds healed five times faster than that of a human. It wasn't instant, but by morning, the scratch would be a scar. It was one of the side benefits of her Natural warrior talent. She was hard to take out and almost impossible to keep down.
She scrolled through the phone she'd stolen, frowning when she saw it contained only two contact numbers. Like all the others. The Black God ran a tight ship for being a relative newbie. None of his vamps had contact information for more than one level up and down, and she'd yet to fight anyone high enough ranking to have his number.
"Damn you, Jonny." It wasn't the first time she'd uttered the words in frustration, and it wouldn't be the last. "I have a score to settle."
She glanced at her brother Brandon as he approached. He held an iPad in his hand. "Your vitals are good. How'd it go?"
"Do you have to start a conversation like that?" she grumbled.
"Like what?"
"About my vitals. I already know I have issues."
"Whatever. It's a legit concern."
"I won. Can we focus on that?" Ashley tugged her t-shirt away from her chest to peer down at the nodes attached to her chest that fed her brother information electronically. "And I didn't lose any of the node thingies this time."
"Good. Those are expensive."
She frowned. "Oh, dammit. I lost my necklace."
"The one Mom gave you?"
She stopped, debating whether it was smart to return to the warehouse. "Yeah."