by RK Close
We would attack in force, an hour before sunrise. That way if we weren’t completely successful, Xavier’s people would be more worried about getting away from the sun than taking Seth or me with them. Yep. Too many ways this could go wrong.
It was agreed that Simon would sit this fight out because of the warning I shared from Zoey. He agreed, albeit reluctantly, but I felt he took Zoey’s threat seriously. I certainly did. I was relieved that Simon would be safe when I took matters into my own hands before the others had time to implement their strategy.
Liam and Jessica were curled up on the sofa, and the other couples were staying close to one another, knowing that anything could happen in battle. In the blink of an eye, this moment could be their last time together, the last words, the last smile, or the last kiss.
Nobody spoke of it, but we all felt it. “I’m going to get some air,” I said, heading toward the front door. Simon stood, but I stopped him. “Alone, if you don’t mind, Simon. I just want to think.”
He nodded and returned to the spot on the floor that he’d claimed as his. I took one last look at every face in the room before closing the door behind me and greeting the night.
I moved away from the house at vamp-speed. When I was a safe distance away, I pulled my cell phone from my pocket and dialed the number on the card. The call was answered almost immediately.
“Hello, Olivia. I thought you may have decided to run again. I’m pleased that you didn’t. I wasn’t looking forward to killing the wolf or playing chase,” Xavier said in a silky voice.
“I bet.” You piece of dog crap. “Where do I need to meet you for the trade?” I already had an idea of where, but I didn’t want to let him know that we’d found his location. He might decide to move Seth.
He gave me the address, and I memorized it. “Oh, and Olivia. Wear something nice for me.”
“You can shove—”
“Now, now. Do remember that I still hold all the cards. Something nice for the drive home.”
The line went dead. I wanted to crush the phone in my hand as I imagined it was Xavier’s head. I went to the house and put on the dress I’d worn to the masquerade ball. I didn’t have anything nice besides that. I’d been a bit of a fashion reject. It matched my pissy mood, since becoming a vampire.
I kept my black hiking boots on and strapped the dagger to my thigh. Luckily there was a long slit that would give me quick access when the time came.
It was my plan to wait until Seth was free and we were driving back to Chicago. As soon as Xavier relaxed and began to enjoy his petty victory, I’d drive that blade through his black heart.
Even if I didn’t get a clean shot, according to Zoey, a nick would do and bye, bye, bad vampire. And bye, bye, Olivia. His men would kill me the moment the shock wore off that their leader was dead.
22
Seth
As I sat there in the stale, dank room, Xavier’s words kept running through my mind. The thought of him touching Olivia made bile rise in my throat. I’d die before I’d let that happen, but I’d take him with me. My feelings for Olivia were complicated. I needed to protect her and the desire to be near her felt as strong as my bond with Liam and Cole.
A surge in movements, along with muffled conversations, drew me from my thoughts of Olivia. Something was happening. I worried that they were planning to torture me some more. It had been a while. This was as good a time as any to make my play.
I focused on Olivia’s face in my mind. It was now or never. If I could get free, I’d protect her, even if I needed to take her away from here.
Would she let me do that? Would she trust me enough?
I stripped off my jeans and boots. My shirt was ripped from me when they’d begun the first torture party. Once I was naked, I backed up against the opposite wall to give myself the longest distance to build momentum. Pushing off from the wall, I hit the area where I’d dug out much of the mortar. It almost broke through but not entirely. I quickly backed up and tried again. Time was my enemy, and those few seconds may have cost me dearly.
When I hit the solid surface of the now weakened wall, I crashed through to the outside and barely touched the ground before giving over to my wolf. Handing over all trust and will to that wild part of myself, my human subconscious faded to the background.
In wolf form, I ran like the hounds of hell were after me. The tables had turned, and now the hunter had become the prey. My wolf consumed my consciousness and detailed thoughts became vague. Safety was the only thing that mattered.
Reach my pack. Find my mate. Stronger together. Pack means protection.
After a time, I managed to make it to Cole’s house, but I’d pushed myself so far that I collapsed on the porch with a hard thud. I’d used every ounce of energy to escape the vampires. My enemies had fallen off, one by one, until they were only in my head.
The front door flew open as I felt my body shifting back to my human form. Liam’s voice barked commands, and I was carried inside and covered with a blanket. I’d begun to shiver, so the blanket was a welcome comfort.
I’d never been the emotional type, but I was so relieved to be with my brothers that my eyes brimmed with tears. Cole searched my body, looking for injuries, while Liam placed a hand on my shoulder and watched me closely. The touch was a wolf thing, and it helped to relax me.
“Seth, are you hurt?” Liam asked.
I shook my head. For the first time, I noticed the room was full of vampires. My eyes focused on Victor, standing behind Liam. I knew it was him, the one who turned Olivia, and the one who was there in the forest, where our birth mother died.
Liam must have realized that I was glaring at Victor. “Seth, they’re here to help. They came back to help Olivia, and they were prepared to assist us in saving you.”
Pulling my gaze from the vampire, I looked at Liam. “Don’t worry about me. It’s more important that we protect Olivia. The vampire who took me wants her. Where is she?” I searched all the faces in the room.
They looked confused.
Daisy, spoke up. “She said she was going out to get some air, but that was almost an hour ago.”
I sat up and the blanket fell away. Daisy and Jessica averted their gazes. The vampires didn’t seem to care.
“Where is she?” I demanded of Victor.
Cole disappeared down the hall and returned with sweatpants that he handed to me. I stood and pulled them on. Victor watched me but didn’t respond. I turned my attention to Liam.
“Well?”
“Simon is missing as well,” said the tall, silver-haired female standing close to Victor.
Victor shook his head. “I fear Olivia has taken matters into her own hands. I should have suspected she’d consider something like this.”
Cole handed me a T-shirt.
“What about Simon? Do you think he’s with Olivia?” I asked.
“Simon agreed to sit this fight out because of the witch’s premonition. He may have left, but it is more likely that he followed Olivia for her own safety. He’s extremely protective of her,” Victor said.
I was on the verge of flipping out on all of them. How could they let her leave? “I have to find her, Liam.”
Liam looked at me hard. I don’t know what he saw, but he turned to Victor. “I guess we need to rescue Olivia now. Same plan, but Seth will stand in for Olivia if he’s able. Do we wait for the hour before dawn?”
“I’m able,” I said.
“They’re on the move. If you hope to get her back, we need to go now,” a familiar voice said from the front door.
Every head turned to see Zoey standing with one hand on her hip and the other holding a wicked-looking crossbow. I couldn’t help stealing a glance at Cole. His expression was full of wonder.
“Damn straight!” Cole said enthusiastically.
Jessica hurried over to Zoey and gave her a quick hug, while avoiding the pointing part of the crossbow. Zoey looked slightly uncomfortable with the girly affection.
&nbs
p; “Can you teach me how to use one of those someday? That could be a handy skill to have if I’m going to be involved with the McKenzies,” Jessica said, turning to wink at Liam.
Liam shook his head and smiled. “We’ll talk about that later. For now, it sounds like we need to move fast. Seth, you ready for this? You still look pale.”
“You can fill me in on this plan of yours on the way,” I said, walking past him toward Zoey. I stopped in front of her. “Thank you. I know you don’t like to get involved with this sort of thing.”
She looked up at me, then nodded once. Zoey told us we’d need to intercept them on Interstate 40 as they were heading out of town, but she had no further information to share.
I was thankful for the chance, no matter what.
23
Olivia
I arrived at the warehouse and was immediately confronted by two of Xavier’s goons.
They looked me up and down, pausing at my army-issue hiking boots that I’d purchased from a surplus store. I knew what they were thinking—Xavier wasn’t going to like my choice of shoes. He said to dress nice. He didn’t specify whose version of nice it should be.
“This way. He’s expecting you,” said one of the men.
The super-sized vampires walked far too closely on either side of me. It made me feel claustrophobic and twitchy. I thought about telling them to back off, but I figured that I’d given up all rights when I walked in the door.
The warehouse was mostly empty, besides a leather armchair that looked new. Xavier was sitting in the chair under what may have been the only light in the entire building.
I wondered where they’d stolen that chair from. It looked surreal and out of place in this forgotten factory. Random, unimportant thoughts helped me keep my head clear at a time when all my instincts were screaming at me to run away.
Xavier stood and greeted me with a kiss. Well, he tried to. I pulled back before his lips could touch mine. I could tell that it irritated him, but he smiled before taking my hand and kissing it. It was all I could do not to yank my hand away when his lips lingered long enough to make his point. I was his property, and he was going to make sure that I knew it.
He was playing nice for the moment, but his patience wouldn’t hold for long. From what I’d heard, nobody denied Xavier what he desired. I planned to give him something he actually deserved. If I could manage it.
“Where’s Seth?” I demanded.
“Business before pleasure, I see,” Xavier said as he motioned to one of his men.
A loud noise from somewhere in the building sounded and the vampires were suddenly on high alert. Xavier grabbed my arm and began barking orders.
“Check on the prisoner! Find out what that noise was!” He pulled me back toward the way I’d entered. I resisted, but he was strong, incredibly strong.
“What’s happening? Where is Seth?” I demanded again.
One of the vampires approached us. “He’s gone. He broke through the block wall. I have every available man pursuing him now,” he reported, stone-faced.
Seth escaped. I was so relieved, I could have cried. Then I looked up at the vampire holding my arm. Xavier’s face warned that he might explode at any moment. The man with the message showed no reaction, but I could smell his fear.
“Call them off. I have what I came for. Round up the men. We leave now,” Xavier commanded as he dragged me toward a shiny black car.
I dug my heels in as best I could, but he wasn’t having it. Finally, he turned and struck me hard across the face. My head swam as all the fight left me. When I almost passed out, Xavier made an exasperated noise, then threw me over his shoulder. He moved like a bullet to the car. I was unceremoniously dumped in the back seat.
Xavier slid next to me as another vampire entered on the opposite side, pinning me in between them. I shuddered at their closeness. After a short time, all the vampires returned, until the two vehicles were overly full. The cars sped through the streets of Flagstaff until we reached the freeway. We turned onto the 40-East, and I closed my eyes, trying to fight back tears.
Seth was safe. That was all that really mattered.
The highway was almost deserted. I watched all the familiar businesses as they flashed by the car window and marvelled at the small town that I’d thought so little of only two months ago. It finally started to feel like home, now that I was leaving.
“What did you do to Douglas?” I asked. I never stopped worrying about the shy graduate student that supplied me with blood.
“Who?” Xavier asked. “Oh yes. You are asking about your supplier.”
“What did you do to him? Did you kill him?” Douglas would be the one I didn’t manage to save. The collateral damage that would ensure me a one-way ticket to hell. I liked Douglas, even though we’d only shared a few conversations. I’d stalked him long enough to know he was a good guy and he worked hard. He didn’t deserve to die.
“He’s perfectly fine. Although, I do believe he’s missing his finals,” Xavier said.
I glared at him. “You didn’t kill him?”
“No need. We simply destroyed his phone, put him in a van headed to Las Vegas for an all-expenses-paid seven-day vacation. I’m sure he’s enjoying himself,” he said in a patronizing tone. “Smart man, that one. He didn’t resist or ask any stupid questions. He did exactly as he was told. If he’d played it any differently, he’d be dead, instead of living it up in Sin City.” He laughed when he observed my doubtful expression. “I don’t kill everyone. Dead bodies are messy and lead to questions.”
I looked away. I doubted Douglas was living it up. He was probably freaking out about his finals. I felt bad that this would most likely ruin his semester but relieved that the young man was otherwise unharmed. That is if Xavier could be believed. I didn’t see the benefit of him lying to me now and hoped it was true.
I slouched down in the seat and tried to think through my plan to kill Xavier at the first available opportunity. The sheath, with the blade strapped to my thigh, was like money burning a hole in my pocket. My hand itched to grab it, since the moment I first laid eyes on Xavier.
Now was not the time. I wouldn’t be able to get the blade out fast enough without Xavier or the other guy stopping me. My time would come. I just needed to do it before he discovered the weapon and disarmed me.
To Xavier, it was no more than a toothpick. Few injuries were fatal to vampires besides losing our heart or head. He couldn’t know that Zoey had spelled it for me. The only way I could repay her was to make certain that it served its purpose.
I noticed another vehicle came alongside of us, mostly because the freeway was deserted at that time of the morning. Then, suddenly, there was a car driving as fast as we were. Before I could peer through the windows to get a look at the driver, the other car veered into us and sent us careening into the second vehicle in our caravan, and then off the road and into the dirt median.
Our driver lost control, and we were suddenly airborne as the car rolled again and again. We finally came to a stop, upside down. I must have been the only one wearing a seatbelt—old habits die hard. I was also, most likely, the youngest vampire in the car. The others were thrown from the vehicle, and when the car stopped moving, I was the only one still inside.
Hanging upside down, I shook my head to try and clear the ringing in my ears. It didn’t work. I unbuckled the seatbelt and caught myself as I dropped to the ceiling. I crawled out of the car and was preparing to stand when I was roughly yanked to my feet.
Xavier pulled me toward the forest. We rolled through the median and over the oncoming lane. The car had stopped rolling just before the tree line. The upside down car caught fire.
There was no time to see what happened to the other vehicle before Xavier pulled me swiftly into the woods. I fought him and he struck me again. I was getting tired of him using me as a punching bag. When I continued to fight him, he grabbed me by the hair and just took off.
I lost my balance and fell, but that d
idn’t slow Xavier down. He simply carried on, ready to remove my hair from my scalp if I didn’t hold on for dear life.
“Kill them,” Xavier ordered.
The other vampires left us.
“Kill who?” I asked, still resisting by digging my boots into the ground for all I was worth.
“Your pets, I believe. Seems they think they’re strong enough to challenge me.” Xavier was completely pissed off by this point.
Seth.
Could he be here? The thought made me fight harder as panic seized me.
Seconds later, I heard Seth call my name. Xavier stopped dragging me, and froze.
The next thing I knew a huge black wolf was bearing down on us. Just when I thought it would attack me, it leaped into the air and lunged for Xavier’s throat.
Xavier punched the wolf in the head, sending it rolling several yards before it jumped up and shook itself. It focused its glowing amber eyes on me for only a second before turning its lethal gaze on Xavier.
Xavier jerked me up and held me against him, pinning my arms and digging his nails into my neck. He was using me as a shield—the coward.
I stared into the eyes of the animal. They were so familiar, I knew immediately that the wolf was Seth. He’d come for me.
Damn it! Why would he do that?
Panic squeezed my heart as images of Xavier killing Seth raced across my mind. The vampire was too strong, too fast, and too evil for any one person to best him.
In a spontaneous attempt to break free, I bit down on Xavier’s wrist. I felt his anger, as it radiated from him. He ripped his arm from my mouth and I thought my head would follow. A second later, he spun me around and slapped me with the back of his hand, hard enough to send me flying into the air. A large pine tree stopped me hard, and I crashed to the ground.