‘I wanted information about you, about the agency, but Rufus was clever. He sent his wife and children away and they were protected by magic. He was ready to talk to our mutual friend Nathaniel, but I tricked him before he had a chance to spill my secret. Fiorillo had to repay me, so he arranged a meeting with Rufus. Then it was just the case of snatching him away.’ McGregor paused and paced around the basement, muttering to himself for a minute or two, then he stopped and looked at me. ‘You see, Julia, Rufy here is a strong and very skilled giant. We had a hell of a problem with him. He killed my two best guys, but in the end everyone breaks. It is just the matter of time.’
Rufus sucked a sharp breath not taking his eyes off McGregor. I kept wondering how he managed to take away my magic. He thought of everything.
‘Then there was Nathaniel. Did he tell you that we went to Oxford together?’ he asked me. I nodded narrowing my eyes.
‘You see, he didn’t come up with the idea of a magic shot, I did. But at the time I wasn’t interested. I had other plans. I came back to London and ran into another mutual friend who told me all about Nathaniel’s business. Nate used my idea and he refused to share his profits. I tried to be a good friend, but he failed me, our friendship didn’t mean anything to him.’
‘A good friend?’ I hissed. ‘You kidnapped and killed his fiancée!’
McGregor didn’t expect that I knew. He stopped pacing, staring at me with a startled expression. ‘Well, that’s not quite right, dear. I don’t like to dwell on the past and I would explain what happened with Isabelle, but we are running out of time. I gathered all of you here today to complete a specific transaction. Nate here will sign some documents that will allow me to take over his business, all his assets and properties abroad—so basically everything he took from me. Then the contract that Paranormal Personnel has with La Caz Corporation will be terminated and moved to StaffSpell Recruitment. Also all the charges against me will be dropped. If he refuses, you will be the one that will motivate him.’
I started laughing. I couldn’t believe that McGregor was after Nathaniel’s business. It wasn’t just the revenge, he wanted to prove his point and destroy Nathaniel completely.
‘What’s so funny Julia?, he asked with a stiff voice.
‘You will never get away with this,’ I said, still wondering how I could gather enough strength to call out my magic. I had to get outside. He was a vampire; he had no idea what I could do if my magic took over.
‘I would love to agree with you, however, you mean something to my old friend here and he will do anything if your neck is on the line. He loved Isabelle that’s why I took her away from him. You were well protected and people were willing to risk their lives for you. I was ready to give up. You wasted so much of my time and energy. Rufus was useless. I was going to kill him but I kind of grew to like him. Then someone came promising to deliver you to me. He failed and I was getting inpatient. Nothing was going according to plan.’
I kept wondering how long he was planning to talk. He thought of everything. I should have listened to Dad.
‘Then I got lucky: two police officers that worked for your Daddy were willing to help me. They wanted money and I was willing to pay,’ he said smiling. ‘It was that simple; it turns out that everyone is for sale.’
There was a movement by the door and another man stood on the stairs to the basement. He was a wizard. I could feel his power as he swept his blue eyes over everyone in the room.
‘Chester, how nice for you to join us,’ McGregor said. ‘I was just about to send for you. You need to uncharm the guest of honour.’
‘Whatever,’ muttered Chester.
‘Always so helpful.’
He approached Nathaniel and poked him with his wand talking fast in Latin. My heart pounded and I waited. Nathaniel inhaled sharply, his hazel eyes searching for me. His face contracted with pain.
‘Welcome back, Nate,’ sang McGregor.
‘Let her go, she has nothing to do with this. It’s between you and me,’ he said slowly, his voice low and raspy.
But I knew no one was going to leave this room alive. They wanted me for my blood. They wanted Nathaniel for what he had. Rufus was innocent, and he had to live.
McGregor sounded bored. ‘I have to give it to you Nate, she has got something. Isabelle was weak, but this one here is strong.’
‘You still can’t get over the fact that she had chosen me,’ said Nathaniel. With vampire speed McGregor was beside him, clenching his palms around his neck, ready to strangle him. I gasped and Nathaniel shot me a hopeless look.
‘Sign the fucking papers, or you will watch as I slowly drain the life away from her,’ growled McGregor.
We both knew that McGregor was going to kill us anyway, but I wanted him to sign whatever contract McGregor prepared. I didn’t want to see him suffer anymore.
The tall werewolf brought the stack of papers and handed them to Nathaniel who was breathing like he couldn’t suck in any air. His knuckles were white. Everyone was waiting as the tension saturated the air filling me up. He looked at me, smiled, and then attacked. He attempted a punch that didn’t go anywhere. He had no strength left within him; his body was just a wreck. McGregor knocked him on the ground, roaring with rage. His men charged towards them, but McGregor stopped them.
‘Oh, Nate, it’s got to be the hard way, then,’ he said, getting up and smoothing his trousers. His people pressed Nathaniel down to the ground.
Then he was beside me clenching his strong arms around my breasts. My hands were tied together and I couldn’t move. My heart moved down to my throat as I felt his breath on my neck.
‘First lesson, don’t struggle because she will suffer,’ he growled, kissing my cheek. I wanted to vomit, but fear paralyzed me. Nathaniel’s chest heaved, he jerked, but he was knocked down with another strong punch.
‘I can already smell her delicious scent,’ he added, pulling my head back so he had access to my neck. A tall werewolf held Rufus once McGregor sunk his sharp fangs into me and started drinking. The pain was pulling me apart and I wanted to scream, but no sound came out. I didn’t know how long he was sucking my blood as the voices and my vision became dense and my senses unclear. Nathaniel’s hazel eyes never left me.
‘Do you want me to continue or should we move on?’
Tears rolled down my face as I lay on the floor trying to breathe. They must have pulled Nathaniel back as he had the pen in hand. His wounds were wide open again and the blood was dripping down on to the floor. His eyes were dark and fixated on me.
He signed the contract several times, barely holding up the pen.
‘See, that wasn’t so hard?’
‘Fuck you,’ spat Nathaniel. ‘Keep your end of the bargain and let her go. Everything is yours now.’
I waited for something to happen, but McGregor kept looking at me, probably contemplating what to do. The blood was pouring out of me and my pulse was dropping quickly. I didn’t care about the pain. I just wanted to get the hell out of here. McGregor checked all the forms, and he looked satisfied.
‘She is mine now, like Isabelle,’ replied McGregor, winking at me. Nathaniel tried to stand up but he was held by McGregor’s men.
‘You touch her and I swear that I’ll hunt you down and rip your heart out of your chest with my bare hands!’ Nathaniel said, trying to free himself, but he couldn’t fight the two large paranormals that were already dragging him away.
The colour drained from my face. My mind was racing as Nathaniel’s screams faded away. Rufus was dragged out as well. He struggled at first but one of the trolls hit him with a shovel and he passed out. After a few minutes I was alone in the basement with a vampire who wanted me and my blood. No one could help me here. I was on my own and I was going to die.
I lifted myself up taking a long sharp breath. My neck was throbbing with pain but he wasn’t going to get to me without a fight. I was ready to scratch his eyes out and rip his fangs from his mouth.
‘You never planned to
release me did you?’ I asked.
‘I did, before I tasted you. You see, me and Nathaniel, well we always had a similar taste in women,’ McGregor said, approaching me.
‘Fuck you’ I spat. He was on top of me before I could even blink. My body crumbled but I started scuffling and screaming at the top of my lungs. He was pressed against my thighs, and his hand began touching my breasts.
‘I like naughty girls, you are only turning me on by resisting it,’ he growled, ripping my dress apart. His pupils dilated and I screamed, trying to push him off of me. I lost a lot of blood and he was stronger. His hardness was pressed against my stomach. He hit my mouth and I stopped moving, accepting whatever he was about to do to me. Then his dirty mouth was on my nipples, I clenched my teeth and kept lying there motionless. I gave up and he moved his hand down between my legs. For this long horrible moment I thought about my grandmother. Deep down she was right. I was going to end up like my cousin.
Dead and drained.
Chapter forty-four
No, no, no, you’re not dead; you will live.
Caleb McGregor was raping me. His didn’t take his eyes off of me and it didn’t matter because I had already accepted the pain and humiliation. I lay underneath him, not making any sound, my dress was in pieces, my breasts were out, pressed closely to his chest as he was drinking my precious blood. He was rough, sucking at my skin, taking away the last of my energy. Then I heard my own internal voice telling me to fight. No one in my family gave up, every one of them were warriors. I couldn’t just accept death like that even if I was ready to die.
Gathering force, I pushed him, screaming with desperation, but that only made him harder, more eager to carry on. He sucked my sweet blood not letting me move.
‘I love feisty women,’ he growled, struggling with his trousers. The tears were running down my cheeks as he crawled over me, breathing hard. ‘Fucking you will give me so much pleasure.’
‘It’s time to die,’ whispered someone moving in the darkness behind McGregor. I screamed seeing a shadow of a man. He whisked McGregor away from me, and before I knew what was coming, the stranger slit the knife over his throat. The blood sprayed my face as his body fell on the floor next to me. I couldn’t stop screaming. The deadly vampire was on the ground choking, pressing his hands to his throat. I felt as if I was going through seizures shivering. It was like the air wasn’t getting to my lungs quickly enough. The panic blinded me for a second or two.
‘Julia, please calm down. It’s me, it’s only me,’ said the man, cuddling me to his chest. I recognised his voice.
‘Jasper?’ I choked.
‘I saved you, darling. It’s over now,’ he said.
My heart skipped a beat then started racing away. ‘What are you doing here?’
Jasper dropped the knife on the floor. My heart had been beating fiercely in my chest. My mind was blank. Caleb was losing so much blood fast and he wasn’t healing himself like he should.
‘What have you done to him?’ I whispered.
Jasper smiled, and his eyes hardened on the vampire. ‘I charmed the knife so he won’t heal. H e is dying.’
Caleb growled, trying to reach for me, but I scuttled away, somehow glad that he would bleed out. I wanted him to suffer and experience the pain that he put me through. We both watched as he stopped moving, seeing his eyes fill with his death. Soon his limbs were still and he stopped jerking. Vampires didn’t die like humans, their bodies turned into a dirt and ash. I waited for something to happen, but he was still lying there, now dead.
‘Why is nothing happening? His body should be going through the transformation,’ I said pressing my palms together.
‘He is dead, let’s get out of here,’ Jasper yelled, pulling me towards the door.
‘Why is his body not changing?’ I pressed.
‘Don’t know and don’t care. We got to get the fuck out of here before anyone realises what we have done.’
‘Jasper, let go of me,’ I said, trying to gather my thoughts. ‘How did you even know that I was here?’
I was shivering and I was weak, but not stupid. Jasper couldn’t know that I had been taken.
‘Julia, I’ll explain later. Come on!’
‘I can’t leave. Rufus and Nathaniel are upstairs. They will die if we leave them there,’ I explained, brushing my hair away from my bloody face.
Jasper looked startled, breathing heavily. ‘Fuck them, if it wasn’t for me you would be dead,’ he roared looking at me as if I had lost my mind. ‘I’m not letting you out there to risk your life for a bloodsucker.’
‘Take it or leave it, Jasper, I won’t let them die,’ I snapped, pulling myself off the floor, trying to cover myself with pieces of clothing that I had left. It didn’t matter that I was weakened by that bastard and I could barely stand up. There was no way I was going to leave them here and let them die. Jasper was behind me, cursing under his breath. He pushed the door open and we were out of the basement. He let me know to be quiet, hearing voices in the other part of the house. I closed my eyes and felt the magic was with me again, rocking through my body, entitling my soul. Everything came alive at once. I looked at my bloody fingers, as the sparks danced all over them.
Jasper gave me a sign to move along. We still had time; I could feel that Nathaniel and Rufus were alive. We both crept through the immaculate corridor. The smell of furniture polish coursed through the air, but I was concentrating on my own power, gathering the strength to kill.
‘On my sign,’ whispered Jasper holding his magic wand in his hand.
‘Fuck the sign,’ I said and hurried towards the room where I heard voices. My chest heaved as my light blasted out the door, the wind swept everything around us. Things started flying. My power was like a breath of fresh air. I didn’t feel anything. My magic took over, demolishing the light all over the room. Paranormals were hurrying away, someone screamed, but they had no chance of any of them getting away.
‘She’s escaped!’ roared a deep voice, but my light hurt him before he could reach me. His face tensed, limbs fell down. He was dead before he even reached me.
Others charged toward me. Jasper was throwing spells, fighting with the wizard that uncharmed Nathaniel. There was no more fear left in my cells, instead I was filled with death. The world around me went black as I spread the pain. No one had a chance to make it when my friends suffered. The magic lifted me above the ground, all the voices around me faded. New power drenched my veins. The energy was raw, killing everyone that stood in my way. The red ripping light burst out of me. Once there was nothing else left inside me I crashed to the ground, and it hurt to even breathe. My body locked up for a few minutes once I inhaled. Jasper approached me. The wizard that he fought with was now dead; we both were surrounded by bodies and blood. I’d killed people, lost control and became one of them. I felt nothing.
‘Are you all right, Julia?’ asked Jasper, touching my face. I blinked slowly and wiped the sweat and blood off my face, searching for Nathaniel.
‘I’m fine, call my father,’ I said. I moved my body, but the pain nearly shut me down. Panic whipped through me when I saw Rufus. He was lying by the wall, his eyes partly open.
‘Rufus, oh my God, Rufus!’
‘I’m fine, Julie, I’ll survive,’ he breathed out, closing his eyes. My hands were shaking when I touched him. He was alive. Jasper was gone. I searched for Nathaniel and found he was lying next to the fireplace. I rushed towards him kneeling next to him.
No, no, no, you’re not dead; you will live.
I touched his wounded face and panic erupted, trapping me with fear. He wasn’t gone yet, and I refused to accept that he was dead. I looked at Jasper who stood beside me, his eyes wide and lost.
‘Your father is on his way,’ he whispered.
‘Thanks.’ Holding Nathaniel’s body, I couldn’t stop the tears. I touched his neck and found the pulse. It was faint, but he was still with me. Alive.
‘Why do you love him? What does
he have that I don’t?’
I darted my eyes to Jasper. He stood watching me as pain coursed over his face. Then I finally understood why he was here. I was blind for so long, but now I realised that he’d been planning to save me for so long expecting that I would forgive him.
‘Oh my God,’ I whispered, not taking my eyes off him. ‘It’s been you all along; you were the wizard that McGregor was talking about!’
Regret and remorse flickered in his eyes. Then he dropped his head and clenched his muscles. For a long moment he didn’t say anything, staring at the motionless body of the only man that I ever loved. I didn’t need or want his explanation, he sickened me.
‘I’m sorry Julia,’ he whispered, and his eyes filled with tears. I looked away, shaking my head.
‘Why Jasper, why did you have to help him?’ I asked. ‘You betrayed me pretending to love me.’
‘He promised to spare you,’ said Jasper, falling down on his knees in front of me. ‘He would kill La Caz for me, then you and I could have been happy together.’
‘I can’t believe that you would be stupid enough to believe him. You pretended to save my life in that old warehouse, but all this time you’ve been working for him.’
‘No, I did save your life. I killed his men for you.’
‘Bullshit!’ I roared. ‘You’re just like him, a dirty scum. I hate you.’
‘I love you.’
‘Don’t you dare say that,’ I yelled, slapping him hard. ‘You don’t understand those words.’
‘It’s the truth, I do love you.’
‘I will never choose you!’
Jasper laughed shaking his head. ‘We are destined to be together.’
I didn’t want respond. It was easy to put two and two together. My father set up a very strong protection charm around my apartment. No one could get in, no one apart from a very skilled wizard. Jasper must have known about the charms when he came to my apartment that night.
We heard the sirens in the background. Jasper paced around the room, muttering to himself. I didn’t even want to look at him. His presence disgusted me. He vanished before I could even stop him. He was a coward, refusing to answer for his crimes. I wished that I had the strength to scream, but I felt hollow. An hour later I was in the ambulance going to the hospital. My father had gone grey in a matter of hours. I didn’t remember much of what had happened after Paranormal Squad entered the house. People were talking, and my father was screaming, telling me that everything would be all right. I kept seeing death everywhere. I killed those people with uncontrolled rage. I asked the medic to give me something so I could sleep and forget. I had corrupted memories and I would be haunted for what I had done forever.
Paranormal Personnel Saga Box Set - Books 1-3 Page 49