“It’s a door,” Saxon said when they exposed more of it.
It was a door, but there was no handle to enter the flat surface built into the ground.
“They’re not coming in and out of here,” Killean said. “So where is their main entrance or entrances?”
“From the looks of it, this is an exit they never expected anyone to find,” Ronan said. “That’s why there are no cameras in this area.”
“Wouldn’t they have prepared for the possibility Elyse would find them?” Nathan asked.
“As far as they know, she can only track someone for a short, limited time. They probably think they’re safe from her,” Saxon said.
“Or they have no fear of us,” Ronan said.
Elyse couldn’t imagine anyone not fearing them. Even if she did not know their world, she would get out of their way if she saw them coming down the street. But then, the Savages were just as ruthless.
“They’re like rats,” she murmured.
“That they are,” Saxon said.
Elyse could sense her dad, but what condition would they find him in, and how many of those bastards were down there with him? What if she’d led them all to their deaths? What if she’d led Saxon to his death?
She seized Saxon’s hand and squeezed it as she tried to get her rising terror under control.
“Can you find another way in?” Asher asked her.
“I don’t know where or if there are other ways in. I just know about this one,” she said. “This is where I was led.”
“Can we get in there?” Killean asked.
Elyse shrugged; she didn’t know why he assumed she’d have the answer to his question.
“No matter what it takes, we’re getting in there,” Ronan said. He pulled out his phone, hit a button, and after a few seconds said, “We found it. Meet us where I showed you on the map and bring all the weapons.”
He hung up the phone and turned to Saxon. “Take her back to the road and wait for the others to arrive. I’ve already informed Saber and Duncan they’ll be taking her back to the cabin. She’ll be safe there as I’ve left a group behind to protect Kadence and Simone.”
Saxon didn’t want Elyse here, but he’d prefer not to hand her over to Duncan, a turned vamp who’d spent most of his life caring for orphaned children, and Saber, a purebred who’d recently joined them. He trusted them, but they wouldn’t protect her like he would. He’d prefer to keep her away from Logan too, but the hunter would be out for at least another day.
“You’re going in there today?” Elyse blurted; she’d expected them to wait until tomorrow or the next day when they were more prepared.
“Yes,” Ronan said. “There’s still plenty of sunlight left, and we can’t give the Savages a chance to learn we were here. Plus, we need to be back before Logan wakes up; we’ll have to make sure he has a blood supply.”
“But…” She glanced between him and Saxon. She couldn’t leave him. “Take me with you. You don’t know what my dad looks like, and I can lead you to him.”
“We’ll know a mortal when we see him,” Declan said kindly.
She could almost hear the words he hadn’t said—especially a mortal missing his appendages and teeth.
“And you are not going in there,” Saxon said.
She opened her mouth to protest his words before recalling his reaction earlier. She couldn’t push him when he was about to put his life at risk. He couldn’t enter that place in a rage; he had to be calm and in control when he went inside.
“You’ll be a hindrance and distraction in there,” Ronan said. “It’s time for you to go.”
Elyse bowed her head as she allowed Saxon to help her to her feet. “What is your father’s name?” he asked.
Elyse swallowed the lump in her throat. “Raymond.”
“I’m going to do everything I can to bring him back to you, Elyse.”
“What about my mom?”
“I’ll find out what happened to her.” Hating the crestfallen slump of her shoulders, he drew her close and kissed her forehead. “We’ll get there faster if I carry you.”
She didn’t argue with him; this may be the last time she got to feel his arms around her, and she refused to ruin it.
Chapter Forty-One
Elyse stared at the cabin when they pulled up in front of it. She was finding it increasingly difficult to breathe as the seconds stretched into minutes and every minute was one where she didn’t know what was happening with Saxon. She couldn’t stop picking at her cast as she tried to remain calm.
In the driver’s seat, Duncan put the SUV in park and turned to face her. He was one of the largest men she’d ever seen, but his brown eyes were kind as he rubbed at his scruffy beard. “They’re going to be fine,” he assured her.
She could only nod, and the motion pulled at the fresh bite marks Saxon left on her while they were waiting for the others to arrive. He hadn’t wanted to take more of her blood, but she insisted on it. He had to be as strong as possible before entering that place.
In the passenger seat, Saber had looked anything but pleased since Saxon helped her into the vehicle. Whereas Duncan was nothing but kind, Saber exuded an air of power and cruelty. With his head bowed, she could see the end of a tattooed sword handle beneath the short black hair at his nape. What she could see of the tattoo over the top of his jacket was done in black ink, but she got the impression it was like an iceberg, and she only saw the tip of the work on his back.
When he turned toward her, his piercing, cobalt blue eyes were emotionless. She couldn’t tell if he was handsome or not with his narrow face and hollow cheeks, mostly because something about him unnerved her.
“We’ll be out here if you need us,” he said.
“Okay,” she croaked.
Gripping the handle, she climbed out of the SUV and into the cold day. She tilted her head back to savor the warmth of the sun before taking a deep breath and heading for the cabin. Simone and Kadence opened the door before her foot hit the first step.
“What did you find?” Simone asked.
Death. Elyse thought but didn’t say it; they didn’t have to know what awaited their loved ones, but Elyse had no doubt many would die today.
* * *
Saxon gazed at the doorway the others had completely uncovered while he’d been with Elyse. The hunters and vamps he’d returned with spread out around the door. Even without the guards, they left at the compound and the cabins, they had nearly seventy-five fighters with them.
He didn’t think it would be enough.
Once they figured out a way inside and funneled into the bunker, they would be sitting ducks as he doubted they could go more than three wide at a time.
Ronan had sent scouts into the woods to see if they could uncover another entrance. With the lack of animals in the area, the Savages were hunting here, which meant another door was probably close by, but so far, they hadn’t found anything.
They had to make their move while the sun was still out. The sunlight wouldn’t do them any good once they were underground, but if they could push the Savages into the day, the sun would take care of some of them.
“I brought the explosives,” one of the hunters said and pointed to two black suitcases in the hands of two other hunters. “Give the order, and I’ll have this door open.”
Saxon couldn’t remember the hunter’s name, but he’d seen him around the compound. He was older than Nathan with salt and pepper hair and brown eyes that had seen too much over the years. Lines etched the corners of his eyes as he lifted his gaze to Nathan.
“Isn’t it a bomb shelter?” Lucien asked.
“Yes.” The hunter stepped closer to the entrance and knelt to examine the surface. “It could withstand numerous bombs in the area, but it won’t hold up against my carefully placed explosives.”
“Do it,” Ronan said.
“Elijah.” The man turned to walk toward the suitcases but stopped when Nathan said his name. “Make sure you leave enough
explosives so we can blow this entire thing sky high if we have to.”
The corner of Elijah’s mouth curved into a small smile. “I will.”
“Since when do we work with explosives?” Lucien asked.
“Since you started working with hunters,” Nathan replied. “We have trained experts in many fields.”
“And we came to Maine prepared for anything after that news story,” Ronan replied.
“We’re like the Boy Scouts,” Declan said. “Minus the merit badges.”
“Maybe they have one for killing,” Asher suggested.
“We’ve all earned that one,” Killean said.
Lucien stepped away from the tree he was leaning against and started walking around the door. “What if we blow the whole bunker up?”
“Elyse’s father is in there,” Saxon reminded him.
Lucien met his gaze, and though he didn’t say it, Saxon knew what he was thinking; what was the life of one human if they could end the lives of numerous Savages?
Saxon understood his reasoning, and if Elyse weren’t involved, he’d probably feel the same way, but he couldn’t return to her without at least trying to rescue her dad. He’d never be able to look her in the eyes again if he did.
“We can’t try to blow the whole thing. We have no idea how big it is or where it goes,” Ronan said. “Plus, there could be answers to whatever the Savages’ ultimate goal is in there. We can’t blow it up without knowing more. We might not kill any of them; we could drive them out another entrance if we do that.”
For the first time, staring at the door, Saxon was glad he and Elyse hadn’t completed the bond yet. If he’d turned her and bound her to him, she would die if he did today. As a human, her heart would break, but she would survive, and he knew the others would bring her to the compound and keep her safe.
He hated the idea of her alone and vulnerable in the world, but he hated the idea of her death more.
“Are you sure this will work?” Ronan asked Elijah as he carefully removed something from one of the suitcases.
Elijah didn’t look up as he replied. “Yes.”
Ronan pulled out his phone to call someone. “Come back,” he said gruffly, and Saxon realized he was calling back the scouts.
“Where did you learn to do this?” Killean asked Elijah.
“From other hunter compounds,” Nathan answered. “We send some hunters out to be educated in different things like explosives, medicine, and other useful things.”
“Find shelter,” Elijah said as he closed the suitcase.
Saxon didn’t have to hear that warning twice. Being blown up was not on his bucket list of things to try. Taking shelter behind a tree, he leaned against it as he checked his jacket to make sure the weapons Ronan had given him were safely tucked away.
Closing his eyes, he drew on the strength of Elyse’s blood in his veins as he prepared himself for the battle to come. These bastards had imprisoned and tortured her, and he would make them pay.
Enough time passed that he was beginning to wonder if something had gone wrong. He was about to stick his head around the tree when an explosion rent the air, the ground quaked, and the tree branches rattled over his head. With his ears ringing, he poked his head around the tree to discover smoke rising from a hole where the door used to be. Fifty feet away, the door lay smoldering in the center of the clearing.
Saxon glanced at the others, and they all nodded to each other. He took a deep breath before sprinting across the open expanse of land and converged on the door at the same time as Ronan, Lucien, Declan, and Killean.
He’d love to hang back and better ascertain what lay below, but that would only give the Savages more time to prepare for the invasion. Now, he could only hope the Savages weren’t ready as he jumped into the hole first.
Chapter Forty-Two
The air buffeted him and tugged at his hair as he fell twenty feet before hitting the ground and rolling. He came up with a stake in each hand as he heard the thuds of the others landing behind him. He remained crouched, as he searched the shadows for an enemy, but nothing stirred in them.
He chanced a glance behind him as Ronan and Lucien emerged from the shadows followed by Declan and Killean. Behind them, he spotted the ladder pinned to the wall and rising toward the doorway. Nathan and Asher leapt into the hole next, followed by more hunters and vamps.
He’d been right; they couldn’t go any more than three-wide in the tunnel; Ronan and Lucien fell in beside him as he continued down the long, metal hall while the rest of their fighters entered.
Lucien pulled out a flashlight and clicked it on when they moved so far into the tunnel that sunlight stopped penetrating the gloomy depths. Not all of them had flashlights, but they’d brought enough that there was one for every three of them.
Lucien’s beam reflected off lights set into the walls, but all those lights were off. Saxon didn’t know if they were off because they rarely used this tunnel and were conserving energy, or if they’d been shut off when the door blew open.
Behind him, more flashlights clicked on, and their beams played across the silver floor. The only sounds were their soft breaths and the occasional scrape of a boot against the floor. The potent stench of rotten garbage permeated the air, but beneath it, he detected the earthy aroma of dirt and the coppery tang of blood.
A shift in air current alerted him of an opening beside him a second before a Savage leapt out of the dark. He tried to spin in time to catch the bastard, but it was already too late, and the creature crashed into his side. Knocked back a step from the impact of its weight, it took Saxon a second to steady himself.
Lucien aimed his light at the Savage clinging to him and revealed its pale face and sunken, red eyes. The hunger it radiated beat against Saxon as its finger clawed his flesh. Another Savage barreled from the tunnel, wrapped its arms around his waist, and knocked him into the wall.
Keeping his palm in the face of the Savage hanging off him, he turned its head until its neck snapped, and it fell away. Saxon clasped the shirt of the one with its arms around his waist and yanked it away from him. Killean drove a stake through its heart.
“Shit,” Lucien muttered.
Saxon’s blood ran cold when he spotted the dozens, if not hundreds of Savages, bounding toward them from the side tunnel. There were so many of them; it was impossible to tell their exact numbers. They looked like rats fleeing water as they poured over the top of each other in their eagerness to get at them. In the mix of red eyes, he spotted the eerie, white-blue color the hunter’s eyes turned when they became a vampire.
Shit was right. Savages were bad enough, but hunters turned Savage were stronger and trained on how to fight and kill vampires.
Saxon’s fangs lengthened, and he braced his feet apart as he prepared to fight his way through every last one of them if that was what it took. He grouped closer to Killean and Lucien as the pounding of the Savage’s feet vibrated the tunnels and their eager grunts reverberated off the walls.
He suspected these were newly turned vamps and hunters who’d been starved into mindlessness and turned loose to kill. By the time they regained enough reason to realize what they’d done, it would be too late for them to be anything other than Savages.
The first wave poured out of the tunnel and spread out as they pounced on vampires and hunters. Saxon seized the next one who leapt on him and slammed it into the ground as Lucien bashed another’s head off the wall. Killean tried to tackle one, but it shoved him aside before leaping onto a turned recruit.
Saxon sank his stake into the Savage’s heart as the screams of the wounded and dying sounded around him. The stench of blood and the cloying tang of terror filled the air as more Savages clogged the side tunnel. His vision sharpened to the point where the creatures seemed to run in slow motion as they barreled toward him in a rush of bloodlust and death.
“Get out of the way!” Elijah shouted as he pushed his way through the others. “Get down!”
Saxon d
idn’t see what he threw into the tunnel, but metal clanked against metal as it spiraled into the shadows. Another Savage jumped at him, and, catching it in midair, Saxon pulled it on top of him as the concussive boom of an explosion threw him into the wall behind him.
His ears rang as fire flashed out of the tunnel. Flames blistered the skin of his exposed hands and set the Savage’s clothes on fire. The creature howled; its arms and legs flailed as Saxon lifted it over his head and flung it into the tunnel.
It bounced across the floor before disappearing into the flames devouring its friends. With only the bodies and clothes of the vamps to feed it, the fire quickly retreated, but some of the Savages evaded the explosion and were still coming at them. Ronan tore the throat out of the first one to burst out of the tunnel, and Nathan fired a bolt into the heart of the next.
The flesh of Saxon’s burned hands worked to repair itself as he tore the heart out of the next Savage and dodged a second. One of the hunters killed the one he ducked, but another hunter and a vamp were taken out by two turned hunters before they were destroyed.
They destroyed the rest of the dozen or so remaining Savages and tossed their bodies back into the side tunnel. What remained of the flames crackled as they consumed the bodies sprawled across the tunnel floor.
The smoke and the reek of burning flesh and hair clogging the air made it difficult to breathe and see. Eventually, the air cleared enough that he could see beyond the dying fires to where the roof had collapsed and blocked the tunnel with a thick pile of debris. This place wasn’t capable of withstanding grenades going off inside it.
He hoped Elyse’s father hadn’t been somewhere down there; they’d never find him if he were. He turned his attention to the dead scattered across the floor as flashlights played over their bodies. The smoke was so thick he couldn’t tell how many of their own they’d lost. Some of the wounded were helped to their feet while the injured Savages were destroyed.
“We’ll collect our dead later,” Ronan said. “Let’s go.”
Bound by Passion: The Alliance Series, Book 4 Page 23