I risked a look down the wall trying to find another possibly cleaner window, but they each looked just as bad. What I needed was to get inside to take a look around.
"What are you doing?" James whispered.
I appeared out from under the bushes and brushed more dirt off of me.
"This isn't going to work. I can't see a thing through those dirty windows." I said.
He looked up and down the building but must have come to the same conclusion as me because he shook his head.
"We can't go in now. We'll have to go back to the hotel." He said.
I was unconvinced that we were done, and I told him as much. Maybe I could use my skinned-up knee to our advantage.
"No way, you are not going in there, especially not alone," James said, making a slicing motion with his hands as if that would clear the thought from my mind.
"I'll pretend I took a spill while jogging. Then I can go in and ask to use the bathroom so I can clean up." I said while pulling James back toward the car.
James pulled out his phone, but I grabbed it before he could dial.
"Don't call him," I said, pleading with my eyes. "I need to do this."
"Marek will not be happy about this. It isn't a good idea." He said, shaking his head from side to side.
I put my hands on his chest to draw his attention then slid them up around his neck. His eyes met mine, and I stared into them, willing him to agree with me. His hands touched my hips in response, and I was surprised to not feel a surge of heat. It was underhanded and completely taking advantage of him, but I needed this.
"I can do this, James," I assured him.
He nodded then stayed quiet as I pulled away and tied up my t-shirt in the front to reveal my stomach. I was going for a look that said I was someone out for a run. It also helped to emphasize my breasts through the V-neck of the shirt, which would help distract any men that might be inside. If the heat in James' gaze was anything to go by, my outfit was right on point.
My knee must have been up for the charade because blood started dripping as we walked back to the front of the building. I smiled to myself and tried to think of what I would say if anyone inside questioned my story. Hopefully, if it were a man, he would be too distracted and not worry about it.
"You go in, go into the bathroom, then come right back out, understood?" James asked.
"Yes," I said, crossing my fingers behind my back. I couldn't promise that would be it.
If he was suspicious that I wasn't honest, he didn't say anything. I jogged in place after pulling my hair into a ponytail. When I had enough of a sweat to look convincing, I practiced a limp while walking toward the building. It wasn't that hard considering my knee hurt like I had actually taken a spill and not just pretended to take a fall.
James held back, and I could see his agitation. It made me a little nervous about what I was about to do, but I reminded myself that if I found Natalie, we would get her back that much quicker. I was doing this for her. Besides, there was no telling whether this was the right location anyway. The other buildings we had checked out were both duds.
When I was within view of the front door, I bent down to look at my knee. I figured that would both look like I was concerned for the injury and give any men inside a view down my shirt. It felt a little degrading, but if it sold the con, all the better.
The door was locked when I tried to push it open, so I took a moment to see who was inside. Two guards or front office types were behind a desk of some sort, so I waved at them and smiled. They hesitated so long I thought this wasn't going to work. Then the two men looked at each other and smiled.
One got up and walked toward the door. The man moved slowly but smoothly, and a sudden surge of fear threatened to paralyze me. The man's smile was creepy, and he licked his lips when he noticed my bloody knee. I hoped he wasn't what I thought he was.
The door opened, and the man leaned out.
"Whatcha want girly?" He said with a scratchy voice that made my teeth hurt.
"Um, I fell and was wondering if you might let me use your bathroom so I could get cleaned up?" I said.
"Why would I do that?" he said, and his smile grew.
"Well, I hoped you would help out a woman in need," I said uncomfortably.
His eyes moved down my body ending in a flare of his nostrils. He inhaled deeply and smiled a yellow-toothed grin. If he was scenting the blood from my knee, then he was certainly not human. My stomach rolled, threatening to send my breakfast back up.
"I cannot let ya in wittout ya give me sometin'," He said in barely enough English to understand.
Anger mixed with fear flowed through my body at his words, and I realized I had to make a decision. Either I turned tail and run or try to play dumb. I sucked up my courage.
"What is it you want? I don't have anything with me. I was jogging." I said, looking behind me, trying to see if James was close enough to hear this.
The man behind the desk barked something I couldn't understand. Yellow teeth turned around and shook his head.
"Fine," he said, turning back around. "Ya can use da can."
He said, looking disappointed and opening the door wider so that I could come in. I hesitated long enough that the other man inside got up and started walking toward us. I figured he was the guy in charge, so I should act thankful and hurry.
I took a few steps inside and smiled up at the other man. "Thank you. I'll just be a minute."
"Take your time." He said in a deep voice that sounded much nicer than the man with the yellow teeth.
He pointed me toward a door across the room and told me there was a first aid kit in the cabinet. I walked to the door remembering to limp then closed the door behind me. I leaned against it for a minute listening in case the men said anything. I couldn't hear their voices, so I looked for the first aid kit and started cleaning up my knee.
A quick look around the room showed me that I wouldn't get anywhere other than back to the lobby from this room. My mission to learn something was going to be cut short. I fought the urge to kick the wall and instead splashed my face with cold water. It did little to calm my temper.
I took a moment to try reaching out with my power. Since I made it inside, the hope was that proximity would help me find Natalie. I took a deep breath and tried reaching out. I felt a buzzing in my head and pushed out like I did when I shared my vision with Marek. I was hoping to see something, but after a few minutes, I realized nothing was happening.
My brilliant plan to infiltrate Viktor's lair wasn't working. The only thing I succeeded in doing so far was to get frightened by a creepy guy, a guy who bore a shocking resemblance to a vampire who made the situation all the more troublesome. Somehow, I had to get out of here without drawing any more of their suspicion.
I fixed up my knee with three bandage strips. Once they were applied, I trashed the supplies I had used and readied myself to leave. I listened at the door before opening it but didn't hear a thing.
When I stepped back out into the room, I noticed one of the guards was by the front door, and the other was casually standing near the bathroom door. I smiled at both of them and started toward the exit.
"Thanks for letting me in," I said, stepping toward the door.
"Leavin'?" Yellow teeth said.
I turned around to find that he had moved from the bathroom door to just a few steps behind me. His nostrils were flaring, and I tried to ignore it.
"Yes, thank you. I'm all bandaged up." I said, pointing at my knee.
His eyes didn't dip down to check out the wound. Instead, he stared into my eyes. I felt my body stop moving as I looked at his eyes, and the shock of it pulled me out of whatever he was trying to do. I turned and strode toward the door.
"But we didn't even catch your name," guy number two said, stepping in front of my only exit.
"Oh, well, that was rude of me. My name is Sally." I said, reaching out my hand to his.
He took it, then brought my hand to his lip
s. I tried to pull my hand free, but he wouldn't let go. As his lips touched my skin, our eyes locked, and I felt myself getting dizzy. Unlike with the other man, I wasn't able to pull myself away.
"Sally, is it? What are you really doing here?" he said softly.
I fought the compulsion at first, but then I couldn't stop myself from speaking. "I was out looking for someone that is lost."
"Who is lost?" he asked.
I hesitated then started to say my sister but was interrupted by a loud knocking on the door. The man cursed under his breath and let my hand go. He turned and cautiously opened the door.
"I'm sorry to bother you, but my girlfriend called to say she fell on her run and that she was going to stop in one of these warehouses to clean up. Have you seen…?" James saw me at that moment and stopped midsentence.
He held out his hand, and I practically ran to him. The feel of his hand in mine cleared my head enough to know that I was in grave danger before he showed up. The smile on James' face disappeared as soon as he saw my face and realized that something was wrong.
"Well, there she is." He said and pulled me past him and out the door.
I kept moving until I reached the sun then waited for James. His words were too soft for me to hear, but whatever it was, he was steaming mad when he joined me.
"What did they do?" he asked, speaking softly while ushering me ahead of him back to the car.
"I'm not sure exactly, but whatever it was, I'm glad you stopped it," I said.
James pulled me into his arms and hugged me tightly.
"Jesus Em, that was reckless." He said, pulling me back to look at me.
He kissed the crown of my head then let me go and pulled his phone out of his pocket. I assumed he was calling Marek, and that was confirmed when he started talking.
"I think we found the right warehouse. You were right, Ember got herself into some trouble, but she's okay." He said, glancing at me.
He unlocked the car and waited for me to get in before he finished his phone call. I could feel anger coming from my connection with Marek. I tried to block it, and it shut off immediately. Well, that was interesting.
James wrenched open the driver’s side door and dropped into the seat like a reluctant prisoner. Understanding dawned on me a little too late regarding who was going to pay the price for this incident. I immediately pulled out my phone, but James stopped me from pulling up Marek's phone number.
"It won't help. Nothing you can say or do right now will take away the fact that I agreed to let you go in that building alone." James said.
His voice was soft and resolved to accept his fate. A fate that I made him accept by my rash actions.
"It's my fault. I didn't give you much choice. I can talk to him…" but James wouldn't let me speak.
"No, Ember. I'll drop you off at the hotel. Marek will speak with me later." He said, then started the car and drove.
Panic fluttered through my chest thinking about what would happen to him. What would he do to James? The last time James got into this much trouble; Marek beat him within an inch of his life. I didn't want that to happen ever again, especially when it was my fault.
I pondered the possibilities on the drive back to the hotel. There had to be something I could do or say to persuade Marek that It was my fault.
James drove the rest of the way without saying a word. The closer we got, the more relaxed he became, and the more worried I got. He was going to take whatever punishment he received, and I couldn't let that happen.
When we arrived, James pulled up to the front door then got out but left the car running. He wasn't going to come in with me, and that made tears well up in my eyes. He shook his head when he saw me and drew me into his arms.
"It will be okay, Ember. I'm stronger than you think." He said and smiled down at me.
"But…" I started, but he stopped me with a finger to my lips.
"No, go upstairs." He said, then kissed me on the forehead and got back in the car.
My legs felt frozen like I wouldn't be able to walk. Marek stepped out of the elevator as I approached it. I should have known James would not have left me to go in on my own without knowing I would be protected. I stopped abruptly and looked around to see how many people were in the lobby.
"It does not matter how many are here to witness. I am vampyre and can make them believe anything I wish." Marek said while walking toward me.
He took my arm and pulled me over to the waiting elevator. Once inside, I was sure he would yell at me or maybe even hit me. It wouldn't be the first time I was afraid of him.
Instead of reacting the way I thought, he simply stood there waiting for our floor. He was deceptively calm, and yet I could feel a glimmer of his emotions boiling under the surface. He was so angry I wasn't sure if the man standing beside me was the same man I was connecting to the feelings.
The elevator arrived on the seventh floor, and once again, he led me by the arm as if I would run away. I knew better than to think I could get away without speaking to him. He pushed me into the suite, but as soon as he had the door closed and locked, he moved in front of me so quickly I barely saw it. He grabbed me and started searching me for what I assumed were wounds since he was particularly upset about my knee.
"Why is it still fresh?" He asked.
"I cleaned it up, but wounds take time to heal Marek." My voice was a little snippy, but he didn't seem to notice.
Before I could say another word, he lifted me in his arms then placed me on the counter of the little bar we had in the corner of the suite. My heart raced from the shock, and it pained me to admit that it was a bit exciting as well. He was so unpredictable.
He looked me in the eye as if he had heard that last thought. He lifted my knee and pulled the bandages off.
"Ouch!" I yelled and tried to pull my knee back.
"It is still bleeding." He said, looking up into my eyes.
"Well yes, I just injured it less than an hour ago," I said sarcastically.
He shook his head at me, "No, it should be healing already."
I thought of the words James had spoken to me not long ago about the reasons a vampire would share blood with a human. One of them was for healing.
"It's fine, although it would be better had you left the bandage on," I said, not hiding my annoyance.
Marek ignored me and pulled a pocket knife out of his pants. As he wet a towel in the sink, I got a bad feeling about what he was going to do. I was not in the mood to take more of his blood.
"I said it was fine," I said, my voice a little shrill.
He ignored me, slapping my hands away from my knee and giving me a look that begged me to give him a reason to take action. It was the kind of look that made you comply, and I did what he asked. He wasn't someone I could resist, and that scared me even more.
He inspected the wound and found a few pebbles that I had missed. He cleaned them out much to my dismay. The pain was nothing compared to the shock of seeing him take the knife to one of his fingers. He sliced what appeared to be a large gash down his index finger, but no blood came to the surface. He swore under his breath, or at least I thought he did. He was speaking Russian.
He took the knife to his palm next, and blood swelled into his hand. He seemed pleased and proceeded to smear the blood over my knee. I jerked back before I could stop myself. The thought of someone rubbing their blood on my open wound was more than I could comprehend. All reason said that was a terrible idea.
Marek appeared to understand and patiently said, "My blood is not like yours. It will heal and protect your wound."
I nodded my head, and he repeated the process until he was satisfied. He washed the blood from his hand. I was surprised to see that the large gash in his palm had already healed. After a few minutes, he used the wet cloth to clean the blood away from my knee, and I gasped when I saw the perfectly healed skin revealed.
"That's amazing!" I exclaimed.
"That is a minor repair compared to what may
have happened today. Why did you do this?" He asked.
He was still acting so calm, and it was confusing me.
"I know you’re mad," I said.
"Mad is hardly how I would describe it." He said through gritted teeth.
Great, now I'm antagonizing the vampire!
"I'm sorry, but I knew I had to go in there to know where my sister was. If I didn't do it, we wouldn't have known for too long, and that could be deadly for her."
He stared into my eyes for a moment, and I saw something pass beneath his crystal blue gaze. It was a decision of some kind, but I wasn't sure if it would be good or bad for me.
"You are not skilled enough in your powers to be alone on a mission such as that. James was sent with you to deter you from acting in a way that would put you at risk." He said.
It was strange to see a man who was usually so cool and calm be on the verge of yelling at me. I pushed down my fear.
"I understand your anger but…" He didn't let me finish.
"I do not think you understand anything. You are but a child on this earth compared to the creature that has your sister. If you want her back alive and unharmed, you must also be unharmed!" He said the last with such intensity that I shuddered and pulled as far back from him as I could while sitting on a counter.
"Marek I…" but again, there was nothing I could say or rather nothing he wanted me to say.
"No! Your words are poison. They destroy the thinking of skilled Guardians and make them but pawns in your game. It will stop here and now, or we leave your sister to her fate." He said with venom.
Tears fell silently down my cheeks, but there was nothing I could say to refute his statement. James knew better than to let me go in that warehouse, and I convinced him otherwise. It was my fault entirely that James was in trouble and that Marek was so angry.
"I'm sorry. I didn't, I should have…" but there was nothing I could say.
Marek moved toward me and cradled my face with his hands. I could feel the tension in his fingers. He could so easily snap my neck and be done with my drama and problems. I could see it in his eyes. I braced for it as if it was what should happen.
Ember's Shadow - Into the Darkness (an Ember Summers novel Book 2) Page 3