by Cat Miller
The sound of movement in the hall startled her. She scrambled back into the corner. She was getting her strength back. The small amount of the drug Sheena had injected into her was giving Lindsay a second wind. She’d already made up her mind that she would die before she killed another living being. She wouldn’t let them inject her with that evil chemical again either. She wouldn’t hurt another person unless it were in self-defense. The shots they gave Lindsay made her a creature that needed to be destroyed. She was a living nightmare. When she attacked the people they put in her cell, Lindsay could feel their terror, but she was powerless to stop the driving need to feed and destroy. It wasn’t until later that she was forced to deal with the misery and pain she felt when she drained the life-sustaining blood from her victims. She refused to go through it again. Either they would kill her, or she would find a way to do the job herself before Sheena finally pushed Lindsay to become a murderer in fact.
“We’ve got a live one in here,” a deep voice shouted from the door. Lindsay looked up and realized that the cell door had been left open. If she’d had the strength, she could have escaped, or at least tried to hide.
A man entered her cell, and she cowered in the corner. He was dressed in head to toe black, and he wore a ski mask that covered his face except for his hazel-green eyes. He was a huge man. Muscles stretched the sleeves of his shirt, and his shoulders were nearly too broad to fit through the opening of her cell. Holy hell. Sheena had found herself a new orderly and Lindsay knew she didn’t stand a chance against him. If Lindsay was going to have to fight this guy, she wished she’d gotten a little more of the drug she hated so much. It would have given her a slight advantage. She wouldn’t let him inject her without a fight unless he had that lethal dose.
“Whoa, just relax, I won’t hurt you. It’s all right. We’re the good guys,” he told her in a reassuring voice as he laid his massive gun on the floor. He pulled the mask from his head so Lindsay could see his face. He was familiar to Lindsay, but her brain was too addled to focus on more than the fear coursing through her body. Lindsay focused on those eyes. She knew this man. She was sure of it. Everything inside of her was screaming for her to go to him.
Lindsay didn’t know if she should believe him. She didn’t know if she could trust her own instincts any longer. Lindsay watched the man cautiously as she tried to sort out her own thoughts. If he made a threatening move, Lindsay would attack. She’d lose, but she would fight.
Sheena’s people never pretended to be kind or caring, though. They treated her like an animal, a lab rat. She knew this man was a vampire, though she wasn’t sure how she knew it. It was possibly her acute sense of smell that gave her details she normally wouldn’t have known. Like that this man spent a lot of time outside, probably in the woods. He smelled like clean air, the forest in spring, and rain. He didn’t look like a doctor, and he wasn’t dressed like an orderly in scrubs, but that didn’t mean she could trust him. The last time she trusted a vampire it had gotten her where she was today, but if he was telling the truth, maybe he could help the dying man.
“I didn’t mean to do it,” she said, her voice rough as a gravel road. She pointed to the injured man. He peered down at the man who was likely already dead and winced at the damage she’d done to the poor soul.
“I know you didn’t mean it. You would never hurt anyone by choice, Lindsay. Do you remember me?” he asked as he lowered himself to one knee on the other side of the cell. “We were … friends. You can trust me. I would never hurt you.”
Lindsay studied his face more closely. He knew her name. He was familiar, very familiar. For all she knew, he could be one of the monsters who had tried to buy her the day she woke up in hell. Lindsay concentrated on his features. He was striking. His breathtaking good looks went past merely handsome to beautiful. Men didn’t like being called beautiful, but this man was beyond even gorgeous. Closing her eyes tight, she searched her memory for images of that face. A flash of memory and an emotion struck her. It was years old, and she’d struggled to forget him. They were dancing. She had admired the guy who ignored her until that night. They were dancing, and he was kissing Lindsay. He wanted her. She craved him.
“I know you.” Her eyes popped open. Damn David for screwing with her head and damn the drugs for making it worse! It was those hazel eyes that she would never forget, though. She’d stared into those eyes when their bodies were pressed together most intimately.
“Yes, you do. Try to remember. It’s been a while since you’ve seen me. It’s been a few years at least. I’m Kayden Paris. We … well, we met at Thirst,” he explained. “I’m a friend of Dani Deidrick.” He smiled. “She was Danielle Vaughn back then. She’s married to my best friend, Chase, now.”
“Dani,” she repeated the name and memories flooded back into Lindsay’s mind.
She’d just been thinking about Dani and Olivia, her friends from the dorm. Dani was a part of Lindsay’s old life when she was human, not a monster, and happy for once in her life. Dani had disappeared from school one day. When she returned, it was only to gather her things. Dani was continuing her education with online classes after less than a semester on campus, but they’d been friends. Lindsay later learned from Brandi, a fellow prisoner of the master’s for a short time, that Dani was also a vampire. It made Lindsay’s head spin. She had to wonder how many vampires she’d known in her old life.
Thoughts of Dani and Olivia and her other friends from college, led to thoughts of the club they frequented. Then all of Lindsay’s memories of Kayden rushed back to her. They’d done more than just meet at Thirst. Kayden was a guy she’d had a fling with in college. It wasn’t really a fling, though. They’d only been together one time. Lindsay had thought Kayden liked her—the chemistry between them had been off the charts—but after their one night together, Kayden disappeared. He stopped coming to the club for a while. When she saw him again, he’d given her a polite nod of his head and walked away. That was that. She never approached him again. Lindsay didn’t want to be another chick in the crowd trying to get his attention. This man had caused her pain, too, but it hadn’t been intentional. She’d read the signals wrong, believing he’d wanted more than a one-nighter. She’d been such an idiot. That seemed to be an ongoing theme in her life.
Lindsay had forgotten so many things. It was like her mind had built a wall between who she used to be and what she had become in captivity. She was no longer a person. No longer worthy of human rights. Knowing she would never return to that life was painful, so she’d let it go. Only the people closest to her had remained as a vague reminder of the past.
“Yes,” Kayden spoke and regained her attention. “Dani and her sister, Brandi, have been searching for you. They’re both here, outside, waiting to see if you’re here before they continue the search,” Kayden explained and inched a little closer to her. “Lindsay, babe, I didn’t know the Lindsay we were looking for was you. I’m so sorry I didn’t find you sooner. I didn’t know.”
Emotion filled Kayden’s eyes. He did remember her, and she believed that he was sorry. She knew he meant it. That made her feel almost human again. He cared about her, and so did Dani and Brandi. She wasn’t all alone anymore.
“Th-they’re looking for me?” Warmth flooded her chest and tears filled her eyes. Someone had missed her. Her friends were searching for her, and they’d finally found her in Sheena’s pit.
Movement behind Kayden caught Lindsay’s eyes. Her breath caught in her throat. All the warm feelings and relief of possibly being rescued vanished. It was Abel, the vampire who’d pretended to be human and a friend. A look of relief washed over Abel’s face when he set eyes on Lindsay. Why did he look so fucking happy to see her? It was because of Abel that her life was a living hell. It wasn’t until then that Lindsay really felt the effects of the injection she’d received from Sheena. The sight of Abel was a trigger that threw her into an uncontrollable rage. She rushed from the corner she was hiding in and tried to take off his lying head
. This was entirely his fault. Abel had done this to her.
Kayden attempted to catch Lindsay, but she was faster than either of the men. Lindsay barreled into her ex-friend with all of the force she could muster. They slammed into the ground hard and rolled to a stop with her on top of Abel and already swinging. She would kill him. He needed to die before she died.
Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!
It was her only thought, but somewhere in her subconscious Lindsay knew it wasn’t really her that wanted him dead. It was the creature those drugs had awakened inside of her. They had changed her forever. That little voice that told her to drink blood and destroy would never go away now.
Kayden was finally able to wrestle her off of Abel, but she fought to continue her assault. Kayden held her tightly to his chest and allowed her to kick and pummel him until he was able to pin her limbs. She eventually gave up trying to reach Abel. Kayden wasn’t letting her go and she hadn’t received a big enough dose of the drug for Lindsay not to care that she was hurting the wrong man. Angry tears began to flow down her cheeks.
“I trusted you!” Lindsay screamed at Abel. “You were my best friend, and you killed me! I’m a monster, a nightmare, because of you! You let them do this to me!” Lindsay went limp and began to sob in Kayden’s arms.
Kayden made calming sounds and stroked her back while Abel watched from his position where he still lay on the floor. Abel rose from the ground and came to comfort Lindsay, but she shrank away from his touch. She didn’t want his pity. She didn’t deserve comfort from anyone after all the damage she’d done to others, and she laid some of that blame at Abel’s feet as well. Lindsay tried to break away from Kayden so she could retreat to her corner, but he wouldn’t let her go.
“I’m sorry, Lindsay. I didn’t mean to drag you down with me. I did and still do care for you. I never meant for my sick, twisted world to touch you. I only wanted a friend. You were the one who paid for my weakness. There was nothing I could do to help you at the time. You saw all of those crazed males. You spent time with their leader. I had to wait for the right time to come for you. So much has happened since then. It’s no excuse, and I don’t expect you to ever forgive me. I just hope you can find a way to believe me when I say that I never meant to hurt you. I swear I didn’t,” Abel vowed with conviction before he quietly retreated and disappeared from sight. When the sound of his footsteps faded, Lindsay collapsed once again into Kayden’s arms. The pain of betrayal and the sorrow for her lost humanity burned brightly. Kayden sank to the floor and held her tight while she fell apart. The fight hadn’t gone out of Lindsay, though she was trying to control it.
“It’s all right now. I’ve got you. We can make this right. I’ve got you,” Kayden whispered into her hair in his soothing bass voice.
Lindsay remembered that voice whispering to her one other time. She remembered having his big body pressed against her and what it was like to feel completely safe in his strong arms.
She didn’t believe anything would ever be right again but some instinct she couldn’t quite comprehend told her that Kayden didn’t mean to lie to her. She was sure he sincerely wanted to help her. Lindsay could feel his genuine and profound need to protect her rolling off of him in waves. It was weird to feel the emotions of others. Being a vampire was fucked up.
Anger began to boil in her gut, and it rose quickly to ride Lindsay again. It would take time for the chemical in her blood to fade. She tried to breathe through her building aggression, but it wasn’t working. She couldn’t sit there calmly any longer. She wanted to rage. She needed to destroy. Hate was a living thing that banged around in her brain seeking a way to free itself. She wished Abel would come back, so she had a target for her hostility. As it was, Kayden was her only possible victim.
Lindsay sat up and looked into Kayden’s hazel eyes. Her nails dug into his shoulders through his shirt, and he hissed in surprise at the sting. He wasn’t a bad guy, even if he had hurt her feelings once upon a time. Kayden didn’t deserve her rage. He was trying to help her, but hate beat against her skull, and she had to do something to relieve the pressure. She didn’t want to hurt Kayden, but the rage insisted that she attack. Attack hard and fast. Kayden was an equal predator, and Lindsay’s instinct was to take him off guard.
Without a thought, Lindsay grabbed Kayden’s face. She intended to snap his neck. The sound of snapping bone would satisfy her need to kill. She enjoyed breaking the limbs of the orderlies who attacked her. It would be so easy, but Lindsay changed her mind though at the last possible moment, and instead of a killing blow, she kissed him. Lindsay kissed Kayden with all of the aggression ripping her insides apart. She ate at his mouth and forced her way past his full lips. Finally, with a moan, Kayden began to kiss her back.
They clutched each other in a mad embrace that made no sense to Lindsay, but it engulfed both of them entirely. It was just like the one time they’d been alone together in a little studio apartment in the rear of the club. As soon as Kayden had closed the door behind them, a fire flamed to life and burned them both to the ground. She and Kayden had been the only two people on earth for long hours that night.
Lindsay was thankful those heated memories were burned into her psyche. She’d found a way to convert her rage into passion, preventing the monster hiding in her soul from killing him. She kissed him deeply, like the cure for her madness could only be found in Kayden’s mouth and on his tongue. She devoured him until the pounding need to kill faded, and Lindsay was able to think again. Shocked at her behavior, she ripped her lips away from Kayden’s mouth and tried to crawl off of his lap, but he clutched her to his chest.
“I’m so sorry,” she panted breathlessly. “I don’t know what came over me. I didn’t want to hurt you,” she tried to explain.
Kayden refused to release his hold on her body. He clutched her to his chest and chuckled.
“It’s okay. I know you’re stronger than you were as a human, but I promise you can’t hurt me. Not really.” Kayden stroked her back soothingly. She rested her head on his chest and listened to the pounding of his heart. “Help is on the way. I’ll have you out of here soon. They will want to have you checked by a medic before we move you, now that the building is secure.”
“I was going to snap your neck,” Lindsay admitted. “I could have done it.”
Kayden’s eyes widened.
Exhaustion and the after-effects of the drugs pulled at Lindsay. She lay in Kayden’s massive arms like a child. She felt safe for the first time since she was snatched from the nightclub. The warmth of his body seeped into her, and Lindsay let herself go. She drifted off to sleep in the arms of a vampire, and honestly, she didn’t care if she ever woke again.
“Just let me die,” she told Kayden as she sank into slumber. “I don’t deserve to live. I’m not sure I want to live.”
Kayden’s thick arms tightened around her. A growl of disapproval vibrated through her body. He was speaking to her, but Lindsay didn’t understand the words. She was too far gone. Judging by the gruff tenor, it didn’t sound like she was going to get her wish yet again.
She was finally warm and comfortable after what felt like a lifetime spent curled up on a cold concrete floor. Lindsay struggled briefly against the undeserved comfort when she remembered all the people she’d hurt, but couldn’t break free of the firm but tender hold of her new captor. That was when she began to really understand that she would never be free again. So why struggle? New voices entered the room, and she relaxed into the soft, warm blanket that was wrapped around her body. She sank deeper into the beckoning darkness with a sigh of regret. She couldn’t fight sleep any longer. So she didn’t try.
Three
Lindsay came to awareness again with a shaft of pain searing her guts that rivaled the worst of the experiments she’d endured. She’d been in and out of consciousness for days. Would this never end? Pain had been her constant companion for longer than she cared to remember, but this was a whole new level of agony. Her hair
and gown were drenched with sweat. Her lungs burned with every inhalation, and her skin felt like something was crawling around under there, trying to escape. She dug into her arms and legs with her nails until blood coated her hands.
Lindsay screamed when a fresh wave of agony ripped through her brain, and she rolled off of the bed to the hard floor. Anxious voices entered the room, but she was too focused on surviving from one breath to the next to decipher the words being spoken. Nausea overcame every other consideration when the suffering became too much. She turned her head and vomited on the clean, white tile. It seemed like Lindsay was going to be allowed to die after all. Of course, she wouldn’t be permitted to die quickly or with any dignity. No, she would suffer to the very end, vomiting in her hair and digging off her own skin.
On the bright side, if there was one to be found, at least she was no longer Sheena’s prisoner. She’d been rescued by the vampires. They were the good guys, or so Kayden had insisted. She was at a place called the Enclave, and she had been taken there for medical care after her rescue. Kayden told her she was in withdrawal from the drugs they’d been testing on her. That’s why she was in so much pain.
Strong arms lifted her off of the floor and gently placed her back on the bed. The comforting smells of spring rain and the woods in summer permeated Lindsay’s senses. She breathed in a little deeper and knew that Kayden was still there by her side.
“Kayden,” she said without opening her eyes because the bright lights in the room were blinding.
“I’m here, Lindsay. You’re doing great. You’ll be back on your feet in no time. The doc here is sure of it.” Kayden was trying to comfort her, but Lindsay knew he was lying. She was in bad shape.
“Don’t lie to me. I can’t do this anymore. I’ve had enough.” Lindsay clutched at the sleeve of his shirt before Kayden could release her. “I just want it to be over.”
“Look at me, Lindsay,” Kayden rumbled in Lindsay’s ear. She didn’t want to look into his angry hazel eyes. She clung to him but refused to open her eyes. She didn’t want to see his disgust. How could he not be disgusted? She was a junkie in the throes of withdrawal. She knew Kayden was frustrated with her when he demanded again, “Open your eyes and look at me, dammit, Lindsay!”