by Melody Raven
By the time she was dropped off at the penthouse, she felt rather secure that no one was watching her, but she still put one hand in her purse and on the gun as she walked into Marcus’s building. The doorman waved at her and let her in. By now, all of the doormen knew she had free access to the penthouse, and she always had at least one who she could count on to help her with Lady if Marcus wasn’t around.
She’d felt brave enough to go on some short walks with Lady in the sunlight, but now that night had fallen, she’d rely on the nice men downstairs to take Lady on short walks. She felt as if she was being paranoid, but was it really paranoia after being murdered twice and being attacked by three vampires? At this point, all these precautions started to feel like common sense.
The penthouse was empty, save for Lady, as Gena walked in. She’d hoped that Marcus would be back already but hadn’t really expected him to be.
She swallowed her disappointment and tried to keep herself busy, which was easier said than done. She couldn’t get herself to concentrate on the television and was too afraid to leave the penthouse. Instead, she busied herself cleaning various rooms.
The whole place was clean enough that it didn’t need cleaning, but Gena needed to feel like she was being useful. She hated the idea of just sitting around while Marcus could be in danger. Maybe she should have stayed with her mother and Hope longer.
She brushed the idea away as quickly as it came. She left to keep them safe. She kept on reminding herself of that.
Finally, Gena heard the door open and she ran around the kitchen counter to see Marcus walk in. Without a second thought, she jumped into his arms and fueled all of her worries into a passion-filled kiss.
He met her kiss, but stopped before it became more than a kiss. She looked at him questioningly. Outwardly, he looked well enough, but his slight frown told her he was stressed.
She tried to subtly look at his clothes to see whether there were any red stains this time, but he saw right through her. “I didn’t hurt anyone,” he said softly.
Gena blushed at being caught. “Sorry. What happened tonight? You don’t look happy.”
Marcus let her go and paced into the kitchen. “Something is up,” he said. “They are going to attack the opening of the Tower tomorrow.”
“Well, didn’t you already expect that?”
“I expected them to try. They know as much as I do about the Tower. They have to have at least one guy on the inside giving them information, but from the sounds of it, they have more than one.”
“You said that one guard, Fredrick, was working with them before. It makes sense they would have more people working with them.”
Marcus ran his fingers through his hair. “None of this makes sense. I was going to meet with the rebels, recognize them immediately, find out who the leader was and beat him until I knew every detail of their plans. Now I’m surrounded by fucking pure bloods I have never even heard of who claim they have an army just waiting to start another war. How the fuck do they have an army?” he screamed.
Gena jumped back at the outburst, but she knew it wasn’t directed at her. “Do you think he’s bluffing?” What did an army entail? Hundreds of vampires? Thousands? How many casualties would there be if there was a war?
Marcus shook his head. “I hope so. I keep on feeling like I should be doing more, but it seems like Rok is always one step ahead of me, and he isn’t even the head of the operation. He’s just a middleman.”
Gena walked up to Marcus. “How much more can you do? Your own people already hate you because you’re pretending to be something you’re not, and you’re constantly risking your life. You’re doing all you can.”
His jaw was still clenched tight, but he seemed to calm down a tiny bit. “I don’t mean to take this out on you.” He sounded genuinely remorseful. “Was your night with Hope any better?”
Gena couldn’t stop the smile that crept onto her face. “Much better. Hope brought a surprise guest. My mother!”
That caught his full attention. “Your mother is in the city? Are you sure that’s safe?”
Well, he didn’t exactly sound happy for her, but she wrote that off as stress. “I’m not sure at all, but Hope never told me she was coming, so there was nothing I could’ve done. But I got to tell my mom that I was alive and I got to hug her again. I never thought I would. It was amazing.”
Marcus turned away from her and opened the fridge for a bottle of blood.
“It’s good news,” said Gena, confused at his silent reaction.
“Are you going back to Michigan?” he asked solemnly.
“Are you trying to get rid of me again?”
“You were here because you wanted to know why you didn’t die and you had nowhere else to go. Now you have your mother and Hope. And probably her sister Joy if Hope really can’t keep her mouth shut,” he pointed out. “So it makes sense you would go home now.”
Gena stared blankly at him. He was right. The only reasons she had to stay were gone. “I don’t want to go,” she said, bluntly. “I can’t think of anywhere I would rather be right now than here with you.”
She immediately regretted the words. She wanted to be with him, but she didn’t want to scare him away.
She quickly continued, “Michigan is my old life, and even if my mother knows about me, I can never go back to my old house and job. Besides, you and I still have to deal with Ryan.”
Marcus smiled at her. “We do still have to deal with Ryan,” he agreed.
“He could hurt someone else,” she pointed out.
Marcus nodded. “Just so we’re clear, you staying has nothing to do with me?” He smirked.
Gena grinned back at him. “Definitely not. Mostly Ryan.”
He walked over to the cell phone that had been left lying out on the counter and picked it up. “We should give this back. He’s probably missing it by now.”
Gena rolled her eyes. “I’d bet you anything that if he had his phone the past couple of days, the police would have already caught him.”
Marcus smiled at that. “All the more reason to personally return it to him.” He put the phone in his pocket.
“And when exactly are you planning on returning it?”
“We will have to see how tomorrow goes, but we should have time in the next couple of days.”
Gena raised a brow. “Do you think he’ll kill me again? I don’t really have a good track record with him. Last time I saw him, he accused me of being a demon who killed the other me that he stabbed.”
Marcus gave a little laugh at the ridiculousness of what she said. “I’ll be with you the whole time, and I would love to see him try to hurt you again.”
Gena felt butterflies in her stomach. It was hard to be afraid of anything when you had a vampire promising to protect you. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
“Don’t most women like the idea of men fighting over them?”
“Most women? I probably wouldn’t mind a punch being thrown, but I have a strong feeling that if you and Ryan got into a fight, only one would make it out alive, and it would most definitely be you.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
She tried to think of something witty to respond with, but a knock at the door stopped her.
Marcus met her eyes. “Expecting someone?” he whispered.
Gena shook her head. “Who wouldn’t use the intercom?” she asked softly.
“Lots of people. Why don’t you put Lady upstairs, just in case,” he whispered back to her.
Just in case whoever was knocking wasn’t friendly, she completed in her thoughts. “Should I stay up there too?”
Marcus clenched his jaw. “It doesn’t matter. Whoever it is might not be able to hear what we are saying, but they can hear two voices. They already know you’re here.”
Gena took a calming breath before she led Lady upstairs. As she put her dog in the bathroom and gently shut the door, she couldn’t help but remember the last time she’d ru
shed to put Lady away.
Things were different now. She wasn’t alone in her house. She was with Marcus, and she was so much stronger now than she had been.
She heard the entry door open and heard multiple sets of footsteps enter. It sounded like three people. Her worst fears were confirmed when she heard Marcus say, “I thought we were done for the night.”
So the men who were planning on attacking the Tower opening tomorrow night were downstairs. Gena tried to overcome the spike of fear that shot through her. What would they do when they saw her?
No matter what they did when they found her, she still had an ace up her sleeve. She was no mere mortal to be messed with. She was immortal in her own right and was impervious to their control.
The ace up her sleeve was nice, but she’d prefer a knife. Silver would be best. She reached under the nightstand where Marcus had shown her a hidden dagger. She quickly slipped the blade into the back of her pants and hid the hilt with her t-shirt. It wasn’t the most secure location, but on short notice, it was the best place she could think of to keep the blade in an easy to access position. She’d have to make sure to keep her back arched and stretch the fabric of her jeans tight enough against the silver.
She reminded herself once more that she was immortal and headed downstairs to face these three men who caused this fear.
She walked down the stairs as casually as possible. When the three men and Marcus came into view, all eyes immediately turned to her. She forced her feet to keep moving her forward but avoided eye contact with any of the intimidating men.
And they were all intimidating. They were huge and well over six feet tall. Two of the men were covered in tattoos and had the upper bodies of a bodybuilder. The third stood out from the rest. He was just as tall, but a bit leaner, and Gena didn’t see any tattoos showing. He had well-kept dark hair slicked back around an extremely handsome face.
She couldn’t say for certain, but she was convinced that the two tattooed men had been the ones pushing her around in the alley behind Fang. Well, great, they already want to bite me, she thought.
She plastered a smile on her face. “Marcus, who are your friends?”
One of the tattooed men spoke first. “I think we already met a few nights ago at that club your boyfriend frequents. We even danced. Don’t you remember?”
Dancing was one word for assault she’d never thought of. She cocked her head to the side as if she tried to remember him. “You know, I’m so forgetful sometimes. I’m sorry. What was your name again?”
He smiled at her forgetfulness, as though it was funny Marcus had brainwashed her to forget. “I’m Kilk.”
“Kilk? That’s such a unique name. Is it Irish?” She remembered that Marcus didn’t know where these vampires had come from.
“Let’s just say that it’s foreign,” was all he said.
Gena looked at the more handsome of the three just staring at her. She didn’t think it was possible, but she got more uncomfortable. “You are?”
“Rok.” He eyed her for a moment. “You’re not what I expected.”
So she didn’t look like a normal vampire’s pet? She wasn’t sure whether she should take that as a compliment or not. She couldn’t think of anything to say back to him, so instead she turned to Marcus. “What is going on?” If she was really trying to be a good hostess, she’d offer to get drinks for everyone, but knowing what these guests preferred to drink, she decided against it.
“I’m not sure. Rok, Kilk, and Goff just dropped by.” She tried to get a read on his fear level, but he was completely stoic.
“We just wanted to make sure you told us everything you know about the Tower before the opening,” said Rok. Kilk and Goff spread out around the apartment, looking over the furniture and appliances. They were also surrounding Marcus and Gena.
She resisted the urge to reach for the knife at her back and held her ground. Marcus was still a good ten feet away from her, and she wanted to be closer to him.
“We went over this a dozen times. You know everything I know, and I think you knew it all before I even told you anything. Why are you really here?” Marcus challenged.
“I have plenty of contacts in the Tower. I was hoping you would be a true ally. I know you have a history of switching sides, and I was hoping you would see the benefits of joining us,” said Rok.
Kilk and Goff took a small step closer to Marcus, and Gena knew things would go downhill fast.
“So tell me one thing that no one else can. Why did you join sides with Kirill during the first vampire war? Once you switched sides, Kirill had all the momentum he needed to win. We wanted that momentum with us. So what was it that caused you to betray your former brethren?”
Gena met Marcus’s eyes from across the room. She was the reason he’d joined Kirill. Or rather, Mary was. She had a feeling Rok would not appreciate Marcus changing sides because a human he loved was murdered. She willed him to think of something smart to say.
Marcus shrugged. “I can’t give you one defining event that caused me to turn my back on my former men. Sometimes things change and if you don’t change with them, you are left behind. If you are the direction that things are changing in, I would be more than happy to follow you.”
“I find that hard to believe,” said Rok. “You told me Ironheart might be making an appearance tomorrow. Why didn’t you tell me you are the one who recommended she be there?”
A heavy tension filled the room. They knew Marcus had warned the guards at the Tower that there might be an attack. Gena eyed Kilk and Goff, who both looked as if they were about to pounce on Marcus.
“Marcus!” she said, loudly enough to make all four men jump. “You never told me you fought in a war! Which one? I love a man in uniform.”
“Take care of her,” Rok said to Kilk as Goff ran for Marcus.
Gena ran toward Marcus but barely took one step before Kilk grabbed her from behind and pulled her away from where Marcus was struggling between Rok and Goff. She screamed in anger and frustration as he pulled her away from Marcus.
Marcus was a trained fighter, but it was clear that Goff was too. Every blow Marcus tried to land was blocked by Goff and met with another that Marcus only barely dodged. Rok used his vampire speed to get behind Marcus while he defended himself against Goff and pulled out a small syringe from his jacket.
“Turn around!” she screamed, but it was too late. Rok plunged the syringe into his neck and Marcus’s reaction was instant. He groaned in pain and every muscle clenched.
“What the fuck did you do?” she shouted as she watched Marcus fall to the ground in agony.
“Liquid silver.” Rok stepped over Marcus and made his way to Gena. He looked angrily at Kilk. “I told you to take care of her. Why is she still screaming?”
“I haven’t gotten her to look me in the eye,” responded Kilk.
Rok shook his head and reached a hand out toward Gena’s face. She turned away from him as much as possible in Kilk’s restraining grip and looked to Marcus, still hunched over on the floor. He looked at her and their eyes met. He nodded to her and she could tell the small motion hurt him.
He wanted her to play along. She focused all her energy on stopping tears from flowing as Rok caught her chin and yanked her head until her eyes met his jet-black gaze. “What are you going to do to him?” she squeaked out.
Rok seemed surprised that she’d spoken and looked her over again. “Something is off about you,” he said. Did he know she wasn’t human? “I don’t believe your boyfriend has told us everything he knows yet so I’m taking him with me. You, I don’t need.” With that, he looked intently toward her eyes, as if he were looking into her mind.
She felt herself falling into his gaze and her limbs felt numb.
“We were never here. Marcus was never taken. The man holding you is Kilk. You will do whatever he tells you and no matter what, you will. Not. Scream.”
The words echoed in her mind, but they didn’t stick. She was still under her
own control. She forced her expression to go blank as she numbly nodded.
“Was that so fucking hard?” Rok abruptly let go of Gena’s face. Kilk loosened his hold on her as Goff hoisted Marcus over his shoulder. Gena heard his groan of pain and forced herself to remain still.
Rok and Goff started to leave, but Rok stopped and looked to Kilk. “You asked for her and you got her, but it will be daylight soon. She’s going to be dead when you leave, understand?”
A sadistic grin filled Kilk’s face. “Understood.”
Was she supposed to pretend she didn’t hear that? Rok never told her to ignore what he said, and she really didn’t know how this mind control stuff was supposed to work.
She remained silent as Goff walked farther and farther away until she could no longer see Marcus. As she forced herself to remain still, her mind screamed at her to race after him. How could she just stand there and not do anything as her Marcus was being carried away to God knows what types of torture?
Kilk shut the door and turned to her with that same nasty smile in place. Gena tried to keep her expression blank, but she knew some of her hatred was spilling over.
“You are going to do whatever I say, right?” he asked.
“Whatever you tell me to do,” she responded in a monotone.
He laughed softly at that, flaming the fires of her anger. He slowly walked a circle around her and looked her over carefully. Evaluating his prize.
“What exactly did Marcus like about you so much?” he said, almost to himself.
Gena took it upon herself to answer. “He said I’m an amazing kisser.” Although she had no desire to kiss the beast walking around her, she did want him closer. If she ran for him with the knife, his vampire speed would surely stop her before she got anywhere near him, but if he wanted her close, she could attack before he knew what was coming...
“A good kisser, huh? Where do you kiss him?”
Gena repressed a scowl. He wanted to talk dirty before he raped her? Disgust and anger replaced any fear she’d felt. All she wanted was a chance to find Marcus and bring him home. As long as this sorry excuse for a sentient being stood in front of her, she was stuck in the penthouse.