by Cat Miller
He’d thought about her every minute that his attention wasn’t needed elsewhere. To be honest, he’d thought of little else since she’d kissed him. Kayden had known Lindsay back before he became involved with Dani. He’d known she was beautiful back then, but the single night he’d spent with Lindsay still haunted his dreams. He’d avoided her after that night because frankly, she scared the shit out of him. A female like that could change a man’s whole world. He’d felt out of control for the first time and his life, and he didn’t like it. Her world and his did not mix.
Things had gotten out of control as soon as Kayden touched her that first time. They’d had mad chemistry, but she was human, so he avoided running into her again. Kayden never did the same human twice. They got too clingy. He felt like a real jerk when he thought about it now. Not about the other females. Just Lindsay. There had been something between them that he couldn’t deal with at the time.
When he saw Lindsay at the club with her friends, he still wanted her. Man, was she a knockout. She’d been so sweet, and he didn’t just mean her blood. He’d told himself again and again that she was human, so there was no point in a repeat. It wouldn’t lead to anything more than they’d already had. It was wrong to use anyone that way. Even if she was sex on heels and made him hard as a pike. Kayden was sure after that night that Lindsay was the relationship type of female. If it hadn’t been for mind-blowing attraction between them, Kayden didn’t think Lindsay would have shared her body with him.
Then one night Dani walked into their world. Dani had a strange power that blinded some males to anyone but her. Doc Stevens believed it was a super pheromone she released in times of stress and fear. The doctor thought it had something to do with her human genes. Just like Abel, Dani had been incredibly alluring to both races. It was a defense mechanism, in the doc’s opinion. The doc was studying all of the mutations in vampire ability and how those skills presented in the demi-vamps. Dani didn’t know she was luring them all in at the time. She hadn’t even known she was part vampire yet. A host of males—human and vampire alike—were powerless to resist her, even when she didn’t want their attention. Thankfully, it had stopped working when she was mated.
He was glad to know it hadn’t only been him who was caught in her lavender and vanilla haze. He couldn’t blame it all on Dani, even if he sometimes wanted to in order to relieve his own guilt and embarrassment over nearly losing his best friend. In truth, once he got to know Dani it was easy to see why Chase was so enamored. Dani was an amazing person. She was brave and beautiful and everything a male could want in a mate. Until the night Dani shared a secret that Kayden just couldn’t get his head around, and it all came to a screeching halt. Now she was one of his two best friends, and Kayden was grateful he hadn’t lost Chase or Dani. It had taken him a while to get over it. In the end, he couldn’t regret anything that happened. Dani’s presence in Kayden’s life had forced him to think about more than just himself. He was a strong warrior now, and for that, he would always be grateful.
It had been a few years since Kayden had looked at any female as more than a way to relieve stress. He’d reverted to his old ways as far as the ladies went. He’d dated Karrie, a friend from his school days for a while. As beautiful as Karrie was, Kayden hadn’t put any effort into the relationship. Karrie was a tough female and fear of getting their asses kicked had kept the other chicks away from him for a while. Karrie fell in love with a friend of Abel’s and ended things with Kayden. He’d been too busy to even consider more than a passing fling since Karrie. He was still too busy, but his brain was now stuck on Lindsay. That’s all he’d been thinking about since he walked into that cell and realized his long-lost Lindsay was the same female Dani, Brandi, and Abel had been hunting.
When Lindsay pressed her lips to his in an aggressive, attention-grabbing kiss that intense attraction relit like a flame that couldn’t be extinguished. She had kissed Kayden with a passion that stayed with him days later. That was what had made him so hot for Lindsay in the past. She was honest. Kayden was used to females acting timid or playing games. Many vampire females were very aware that Kayden was the heir to his clan, and that made him a target. If you were looking for a mate and you weren’t of the upper class, you wouldn’t find a better prospect than the son of Chief Gage Paris. Kayden wasn’t arrogant. It was just the truth. Lindsay had no idea who Kayden was beyond a guy she was drawn to when she’d shamelessly enjoyed their night together. That was a long time ago. Lindsay wasn’t the same female now. Kayden wasn’t the same male he’d been five years ago either.
He understood Lindsay’s reason for kissing him at such an odd time. She was under the influence of some mind-altering drugs. Her mind and body wanted to fight. Just like Rider, Lindsay was fighting an uncontrollable urge for violence. The difference between Rider and Lindsay, however, was that Lindsay had found a way to pull herself back from the edge. She turned her anger into passion and Kayden was the recipient of all of that heat. It wasn’t meant to be sexual, Kayden’s mind understood that, but his body didn’t care. Lindsay believed she could hurt him, and she probably could if he were asleep. Other than that, there was no way she would get the drop on Kayden. Lindsay didn’t understand the abilities of a full-grown male vampire from the warrior class. So she channeled that energy in another way, to protect him. That was all. She hadn’t meant to stir Kayden’s lust beyond reason, but that’s what had happened.
Kayden had been reliving the night he’d spent with Lindsay in his mind. He was ashamed of his physical reaction. Lindsay was sick and in need of protection, not an erection. Kayden had to shake his head to dislodge the memory of how good it had felt to be so wrapped up in a female that he’d forgotten himself for a short time. He supposed Lindsay had gotten the drop on him in a way. She could have cut his throat, and he wouldn’t have raised a hand to stop her once her lips had crashed into his. Then she let him hold her while she fell apart. Kayden needed to sit down with Abel to get the backstory between him and Lindsay. An unexpected and even more unwanted wave of jealousy swept over Kayden at the thought of Abel and Lindsay together. The idea of Lindsay kissing another guy the way she kissed him was rage inducing. He had to work to control his urge to punch something.
Breathing through his irrational anger, he refocused his thoughts on the reason he was currently standing outside of a locked door in the infirmary. Lindsay was in there suffering through never-ending withdrawal that was quickly draining away what was left of her mind and body. Her once lush figure that made every male stare with appreciation was now painfully frail. Her once shiny golden locks were now dull and flat. Her peachy cream skin was now an ashen gray. Worst of all, the spark of mischief and life Kayden remembered seeing in Lindsay’s eyes before she’d been abducted was now a void of cold black emptiness. Her eyes were permanently transformed. They never reverted to her natural brown, even when she was lucid.
“Isn’t there anything we can do for her?” Kayden demanded of Dr. Rosen.
“I was trying to keep her hydrated, but she keeps ripping out the lines. Until we are able to isolate the drugs in her system, or they find the ingredients or an antidote on the hard drive you retrieved, there isn’t much I can do. If I introduce the wrong medication, it could kill her,” Dr. Rosen said, repeating the same thing she’d told him and Lindsay two days ago.
Kayden refused to simply stand there and watch Lindsay waste away. He pulled out his phone and started making calls. First, he called Hawk to have him hassle the local IT department for an update on the hard drive. Then he called Doc Stevens back home. He’d treated Dani when she suffered from Hypno overdose. Kayden was hoping Doc could give him a magic cure for Lindsay, but it didn’t look like anyone would be able to help her.
Doc told him more of the same he’d already heard. “I’m sorry, Kayden. We’re dealing with two different drugs. There is a world of difference between treating an overdose and an addiction. You say the drug isn’t dissipating?”
“That’s what
Dr. Rosen said. They haven’t been able to draw blood today. Nobody can get near her. It’s like her organs are saturated in that trash. She’s dying, Doc. Shouldn’t we try something? Anything? Fuck! I can’t just watch her fade away like this!” Kayden cursed and paced down the hall outside of Lindsay’s room. He was undeniably emotional over this female. He needed to get his shit in line. He brought the phone back to his ear. “Sorry, Doc, I just don’t know where else to turn.”
“I understand. I have an idea. Give Dr. Rosen my number. I’m not Lindsay’s physician, so we need Dr. Rosen to agree. It’s dangerous, but if the female is dying anyway, it’s worth taking a chance in my opinion.”
“We have to try something, Doc.”
“I’ll talk to Dr. Rosen. But, Kayden, you need to prepare yourself for a negative outcome either way. Do you understand? We don’t know the extent of the experimentation or what permanent damage might have been done to the young lady. She wasn’t born vampire so there are some variables we can’t predict.”
“Do what you can. I’ll have Dr. Rosen call you as soon as possible.” Kayden disconnected the call and leaned his head against the institutional white wall of the infirmary.
Kayden didn’t understand it, and he wasn’t going to try to, but as soon as he set eyes on Lindsay again something inside of him had clicked into place. It felt as if something loosened in his chest and he could breathe just a little easier than he had in several years. When she’d attacked Abel and Kayden had to pull Lindsay off of him, Kayden had been so confused. She’d screamed out her rage at Abel for abandoning her and Kayden began to see the fighter in the broken female. She was down, but she wasn’t out, not yet.
Now that Lindsay had been examined by the doctor extensively, they had an idea about some of the horrors she’d survived. She’d been through hell and came out on the other side still swinging. Why that made Kayden’s chest swell with pride for the female, he couldn’t say. What he did know was that she deserved a second chance at life and Kayden was going to fight for her to get it.
The idea of losing Lindsay after he’d promised to protect her made Kayden’s muscles twitch. His fists clenched while he breathed away the urge to punch the wall. Kayden had promised Lindsay that she was safe and everything was going to be okay now. He told her they were going to get her medical attention. Then she needed some counseling to help her deal with the trauma she’d experienced. After that she had a brand new, and much longer life, just waiting for her to decide what she wanted to do with it. The way she’d melted into his arms, trusting that he would protect her proved that she believed every word he’d said. He couldn’t let her down, not after she’d fought to stay alive. They had to at least try something. Just watching her fade wasn’t an option. Kayden stalked toward the nurse’s station and asked for Dr. Rosen.
By the next morning, Dr. Rosen was ready to try just about anything to save her patient.
“During the night she passed out long enough for me to draw blood. I did it myself. None of the nurses are willing to enter the room,” Dr. Rosen informed Kayden.
He looked around the nurse’s station with a glare. Neither of the two nurses on duty wanted to make eye contact with an annoyed warrior.
“The results from the lab aren’t good. Not only is the mysterious drug still going strong in Lindsay’s system, but her kidneys are failing. Organ failure is the beginning of the end. This should not be happening. I’ve only ever seen organ failure in the very elderly of our race.”
Kayden fought the urge to shake the doctor.
“What’s your plan of action?” Kayden asked through gritted teeth.
“First, do you mind if I ask your relationship to the patient? I know your team rescued her, but that doesn’t mean you have a personal interest or the right to make decisions in her case. How did you know Lindsay before this incident?”
Oh hell no. This chick was not going to deny him what little access he had to Lindsay. He said the first thing that came to his mind.
“She’s my girlfriend. I’m her only connection in the nation. She has no one else to speak for her,” Kayden lied smoothly. If needed, Dani and Brandi could also speak on Lindsay’s behalf, but the doctor didn’t know that, and nobody else had been allowed to see Lindsay since her admission. Kayden was only there because he had his father’s name to open doors for him. If the Houses of Vaughn and Deidrick got involved Kayden would be overruled. Still, he couldn’t imagine the sisters wanting to watch Lindsay waste away without making an effort to save her.
“You were dating a human?” the doctor asked skeptically.
“I was.” He nodded. “You saw how Lindsay is with me. She trusts me to take care of her. If you let me help, this might go more smoothly. She’s been traumatized, for fang’s sake. She needs to have someone she trusts in her corner.”
“Fine, since she has no family, let’s talk about her management. I agree with Dr. Steven’s plan of treatment. Lindsay is slipping away from us rapidly. She is much worse off now than when she arrived. I believe if she hadn’t been found when she was, Lindsay would have died by now in captivity. Not doing anything seems just as dangerous as interceding with a risky treatment.” The doctor was writing notes in Lindsay’s chart as she spoke.
Kayden relaxed when the doctor dropped her questioning. He was grateful she wasn’t looking at him because the news that Lindsay might have died before he reached her made his knees a little weak. If they weren’t checking out every lead on Sheena’s possible whereabouts, Lindsay would be gone.
“It won’t be long before we get started.” She looked at her watch. “You can stay but don’t get in the way, Mr. Paris. I can see that you care for my patient. There are no guarantees that this will work. Please prepare yourself for that possibility.”
Kayden didn’t have anything polite to say to that. He was a warrior. They didn’t know how to prepare for anything other than success. He returned to watching Lindsay pace like a caged animal in her room until he heard the sound of booted feet approaching. A warrior holding a dart gun stopped to speak to one of the nurses.
“I was told you had a bad seed that needed plucking.” Grinning, the warrior tapped his rifle.
If that gun were meant for Lindsay, Kayden would show this ass-hat what it felt like to be plucked. He lost his temper. The doctor saw his reaction and hurried around the counter.
“What the hell do you think you’re going to do with that?” Kayden stormed toward them ready for a fight. He was going to shove that gun down the guy’s throat. Dr. Rosen stepped between Kayden and the other male with her hands outstretched as if she were calming a wild animal.
“We have to sedate her, but we can’t get close enough to do that without causing more physical trauma. I should have done it last night while she was down for a while, but I wasn’t convinced yet that it was worth the risk. This is our best option, rather than risking injury to Lindsay or anyone else. She fights anyone who enters her room with tooth and nail. I’m out of options here.” Dr. Rosen defended her decision to call for a dart gun.
Kayden glared at the doctor. He wasn’t letting anyone shoot Lindsay, even if it was just a sedative. “I’ll do it. Give me the sedative. I’ll go in. She trusts me. I can get close enough.” He squared off with Dr. Rosen until she finally relented. Kayden would administer the shot his damn self.
Kayden had no choice but to head out with the Horde again that evening, so he was glad the doctor decided to try to sedate Lindsay when she did. Lindsay became insensible whenever she saw anyone in a white jacket or scrubs. It was a problem. Dr. Rosen was sure it was a post-traumatic stress reaction. To make this less stressful for Lindsay, Kayden was going to go in alone. He hadn’t been allowed in the room with Lindsay since he returned from his run with the Horde. Kayden was just about ready to call his father and pull some strings so the doctor would loosen up and let him speak to Lindsay. She’d grown increasingly unstable. Kayden felt like he was watching her slipping away. So this plan worked for him. He�
��d get to speak to Lindsay before he had to leave. He was just waiting for the medication the doctor ordered to arrive so he could go in.
“I didn’t think we could actually die from something like this. There’s no significant blood loss, you know? The heart is still pumping, and the head is still in place. In theory, Lindsay should be healed by now, right?” Kayden watched as the doctor drew up a dose of the medication that had just arrived in a needle that wasn’t for a gun. “I didn’t even know we could be addicted to drugs until recently.”
“Addiction was unheard of among vampires,” Dr. Rosen agreed with a nod. “Our metabolism is too high for anything to stay in our systems for very long. Until now, we needed to feed on an inebriated human to even get a buzz. The creation of these drugs has brought a new epidemic to our people that we just aren’t prepared to deal with. In Lindsay’s case, she’s a turned vampire so that could be part of her problem. Born vampires heal faster in general. Lindsay has been exposed to these chemicals, and God only knows what else for an extended period of time. She hasn’t been allowed a chance to heal entirely between the experiments they were performing.”
Kayden wanted to know each and every procedure that had been carried out on Lindsay. That way when he caught up with the so-called doctors who had participated in Lindsay’s torture he would know exactly how to repay them for their bedside manner. He wanted their blood on his hands in the worst way.
He was well aware of the effects of feeding on drunken humans. He’d done it many times. Lindsay had been buzzed the night he fed on her, but he’d never been interested in drugs. He’d seen firsthand what Hypnovamp could do in a large dose when administered directly to the vampire instead of it being filtered through human blood. Dani had been in a coma-like state, unable to wake up for days. She had been partially aware but trapped in her own mind.