Noah and I remained quiet for the rest of the drive, lost in our own thoughts. Finally, soon after sunrise, we entered the Chicago city limits.
After getting off the freeway, I didn’t need the GPS to tell me where to go anymore.
I knew how to get to the Bettencourt just as well as I knew how to get home. And the closer we got to the hotel, the more my stomach flip-flopped like crazy.
I wanted to turn around and drive as far away possible. But of course I didn’t do that.
Raven’s life was more important than my wounded pride.
It didn’t take long until we were there. With its carved stone facade, the Bettencourt screamed elegance the moment we turned onto the Magnificent Mile and saw its shiny gold overhang taking up the majority of the block. Even though I’d been there many times before, I never ceased to be awed by the hotel’s sleek elegance.
The building was imposing and impressive—just like Thomas.
But I didn’t stop at the front of the hotel. Instead, I headed around to the garage and drove down the ramp toward the gate.
It didn’t open when I pulled up.
“This garage is for residents of the Bettencourt only,” an automated voice said from the speaker next to the gate. “If you’re a guest at the hotel, please pull around to the front entrance, and our valet will be happy to park your car for you.”
“I need a private audience with Thomas Bettencourt,” I spoke into the machine, knowing someone would hear me. “Now. And I need to park myself. In his private lot.”
I glanced around at the ceilings and walls. While invisible to the naked eye, there were more cameras in the Bettencourt than there were in a casino in a Vegas hotel. I had no doubt that someone was watching us at this very moment.
And that person was likely Thomas.
A few seconds passed with no response. I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel, getting out nervous energy as I waited. Noah continued to stoke Raven’s hair, his eyes growing more panicked by the second.
Once five minutes passed, I worried that my plan to drop by without warning had been really stupid. But this wasn’t something I could spring on Thomas through a phone call.
He needed to hear what we had to say in person.
Finally, the intercom clicked. Someone had picked up.
I stared at it, my throat tightening so much that I wasn’t sure I’d be able to speak. What if it was Thomas?
I never imagined that the first time I’d speak to him since he’d dumped me would be through the intercom system in the parking garage at his hotel.
“Ms. Montgomery,” a female voice said, and I relaxed—slightly. “You have permission to enter Mr. Bettencourt’s private garage. Will you be needing directions?”
“No.” I was so nervous that I had to force the word out.
I hated that I still cared so much.
“Very well,” she said. “Please proceed. Mr. Bettencourt is waiting for you in his penthouse.”
The gate opened, and I took the few turns that led to Thomas’s private garage. Eventually, I pulled up to a dead end—a narrow passageway that faced a concrete wall—and put the car into park.
“Is this Thomas’s private garage?” Noah glanced around, looking confused.
“No.” I stared straight ahead.
“Then why’d you stop?”
I couldn’t blame him for being confused. It likely looked like I’d stopped because I was nervous about seeing Thomas and wasn’t sure I could continue.
While the first part was true—the part about being nervous to see Thomas—the second part wasn’t.
“Just wait,” I said. “You’ll see.”
The floor rumbled beneath us, and it clicked, like it was coming loose. Then we started to slowly lower down into the ground through a car-sized opening.
Half a minute later, we stared around at a titanium-enclosed space lined with dozens of cars. They ranged from antique models that looked like they’d come straight out of the early twentieth century, to futuristic-looking sports cars, with a few funky ones thrown in for good measure.
My favorite had always been the DeLorean, mainly because it was equipped with its own flux capacitor. Not a working one, of course—time travel didn’t exist. But it was designed to flux and everything.
I’d always remember the time Thomas had let me drive it out of the city and take it up to eighty-eight miles per hour. That day had been incredible.
But I shook the memory out of my head, not wanting to dwell on the past. It would only get me upset.
Despite the thought of seeing Thomas again driving me crazy on the inside, I was determined to appear as cool and collected as possible. Which meant staying focused on our mission—saving Raven’s life.
Refocusing, I drove off the moving platform and glanced into the rearview mirror, watching it rise up again behind us.
“This is Thomas’s personal garage,” I told Noah, driving around the underground car fortress to search for an empty spot.
“These cars aren’t all his.” Noah gazed around at them in awe. “Are they?”
“They are,” I said. “But he lets members of his coven take them out. Well, certain cars. His favorites are only to be touched by him.”
I stopped once I found an empty spot next to the elevator. I knew this spot—it was always reserved for one of Thomas’s favorite cars. He must have had it cleared for us sometime between when we’d arrived and now.
He must have seen through the cameras that there was an unconscious girl in the back of the car.
Clearing the spot for us had been thoughtful, and I hated that. Well, I was grateful, since it would be better for Noah not to have to carry Raven as far. But I hated that it made me remember how considerate Thomas could be.
We got out of the car, Noah carrying Raven protectively in his arms. Her skin looked redder than when we’d left Nashville, and I could barely hear the pounding of her heart. She was holding on, but barely. It was a good thing we’d arrived when we did.
The moment we approached the glass doors that led to the elevator, a red light on the side of them turned green. They parted to let us in.
I gave a slight nod of thanks, knowing that a camera somewhere would see it.
The up button on the elevator was already pressed, and it opened for us a second later. The elevator was just like I remembered—polished marble floors and mirrored walls with simple patterns along the edges. It gave the illusion of the interior going on for miles.
I faced the front, not wanting to look at my reflection. The last thing I’d done before Raven’s injury was fight a red-eyed wolf shifter. I’d healed quickly, and since I’d fought the shifter in wolf form, my clothes were intact and there was no blood on me. But my hair was a wreck, my makeup was a mess, and I had huge circles under my eyes from driving all night.
This really wasn’t how I wanted to look when I saw Thomas again for the first time.
But I had no choice. Because once the doors shut, the elevator shot up to the penthouse without anyone needing to press a button.
Sage
Once we reached the top floor, the doors opened straight into Thomas’s foyer. We stepped into the bright, modern penthouse, where Thomas was waiting in the living room.
As always, he wore a tailored suit fitted perfectly for him. He stared at me with those dark, soulful eyes, and suddenly I felt like a teen again, left speechless at the sight of him. It was like no time had passed since the last time we’d seen each other. It didn’t help that he looked exactly the same, since vampires were immortal and all.
My cheeks flushed with the knowledge that due to his heightened senses, he could likely hear how quickly my heart was pounding. I stepped out of the elevator, trying to look anywhere but straight into his eyes. Unfortunately, my body betrayed me. It was impossible to look away from him for long.
Noah rushed past me, hurried to one of the couches, and laid Raven down upon it.
For the first time since we’d ent
ered, Thomas broke his gaze away from mine to look at Raven. His eyes widened when he saw her. Almost like he recognized her?
But that was impossible. He was more likely appalled that Noah had just placed a dirty, nearly dead human girl on his pristine white sofa.
“Sage Montgomery,” Thomas finally spoke, my name flowing from his lips like music. He was poised as always, and I wished I had just an ounce of his composure right now. “I assume there’s an important reason why you and your shifter friend here stopped by with no warning, looking like you’ve just driven all night, to drop a dying human onto my sofa?”
I swallowed and clenched my fists, needing to get my wits back so I could do what we’d come here to do and save Raven’s life.
I’d practiced this in my mind during the long drive here. I could do this.
“Her name is Raven.” I glanced at where Raven was motionless on the sofa. Noah sat beside her, cradling her head in his lap. The desperation in his eyes gave me the strength to continue. “How I got to be traveling with her and Noah is a long story, and one I’ll tell later. The important part for now is that she and Noah have imprinted on each other. She’s received mortal injuries that can’t be treated with healing potion. She needs your blood to save her life.”
Thomas stared at me and placed a hand in his pants pocket. A nervous habit of his.
I wasn’t sure what he’d expected me to say, but it certainly hadn’t been that.
He raised an eyebrow, challenging me. “Why does she need my blood?” he asked.
“Because vampire blood has the power to heal humans.” I squared my shoulders and leveled my gaze with his, not wanting to give him a reason to contradict me. If I looked unsure, he’d know I wasn’t sure if I believed it myself. “Even from mortal injuries.”
“How did you come to know this?” he asked.
“I’m not the one who knew.” I glanced over at Raven. “Raven did. She communicated with Noah through their imprint bond to let him know it was the only way to save her.”
“And you came knocking on my door because I’m the only vampire you didn’t think would kill you for being privy to this top secret information.” He studied me suspiciously, making me wonder if I was mistaken in thinking he still valued my life.
“Was I wrong?” I maintained a strong appearance, stopping myself from looking around the penthouse to search for an escape.
Now that we were up here, there was no escape. Thomas controlled every bit of technology in this building. If he wanted us dead, we wouldn’t stand a chance of getting out alive.
“If I wanted to kill you, you’d be dead already,” he confirmed.
I let out a breath, relieved and slightly terrified at the same time. I wasn’t used to him treating me like this—the same way he treated everyone else. I’d always been special to him. When we’d been together, Thomas had been protective, open, and loving.
To the rest of the world, he was as cold as the machines he controlled.
That was the side of him I was seeing now. It was like he’d never loved me at all. Like I was a stranger to him.
My heart felt like it was breaking all over again—just like it had on the day he’d called off our engagement.
But like he’d said, if I were truly a stranger to him, I’d be dead right now.
So I refused to let his emotional walls set me off course.
“Raven doesn’t have long. She needs your blood to live.” I hated begging—especially in the current circumstances—but I’d do it to save Raven. As crazy as it was, Raven had quickly turned into one of the closest friends I’d ever had. I couldn’t just let her die. “Please.”
Thomas stepped closer to Raven, examining her. His expression didn’t change in the slightest. “She’s a human, yet imprinted on a shifter.” He zeroed in on Noah, looking down at him suspiciously. “How’s that possible?”
“I don’t know.” Noah stared up at Thomas and held Raven’s limp body protectively, as if warning Thomas not to hurt her. “But as far as I know, it’s the first time a shifter has ever imprinted on someone outside of our species. Who knows if it’ll ever happen again? It might not. So if we want to understand what allowed her to imprint on me, then you have to save her. Now.”
I tensed, prepared for Thomas to react poorly to being ordered to do anything.
But instead of getting angry, he smirked. “Point received.” He nodded. “I’ll save your human companion.”
Noah and I thanked him at the same time, but Thomas held a hand up to cut us off.
I pressed my lips together, waiting for what he was going to say next. I’d hoped he’d save Raven because a part of him still loved me and wanted to make me happy, but I’d prepared myself for that not being the case.
It was enough that we’d gotten this far without him killing us. It would have been foolish to truly believe that the man who’d broken our engagement over a phone call would save a friend of mine’s life simply to make me happy.
“I’ll save your companion,” Thomas repeated. “But only on a few conditions.”
Sage
“Of course,” I said, not surprised at all. “What are your conditions?”
“Before I get into that, you should know how vampire blood will affect your human companion.” Thomas sat down on one of the armchairs and motioned for me to do the same on the one next to him.
I did as he wanted, sitting on the edge of the seat as I waited for him to continue.
“My blood will heal her, as you already know,” he said. “But it will also give her vampire abilities for twenty-four hours.”
“Seriously?” I widened my eyes, not having expected that. “So humans can drink vampire blood every day and have vampire abilities without having to actually be vampires?”
“Technically, yes,” he said. “Which is another reason why we keep the effects of our blood secret. The last thing we need to deal with is crazed humans hunting us down for our blood.”
“Makes sense,” I said.
“But while our blood will give humans our abilities, it causes a lot of stress on their bodies,” he continued. “A human who constantly drinks vampire blood will age much faster than they would naturally.”
“How fast?” I asked.
“A few experiments have been done in the past.” He waved his hand, as if the idea of experimenting on humans wasn’t disturbing to him in the slightest. “In secret, of course. It’s not an exact science. If a strong, healthy human drinks vampire blood for a year straight, they’ll age about five human years. But it could age them as much as ten years. It depends on the individual.”
I did some quick math in my head. While it would lower the human lifespan significantly, I had no doubts that there were plenty of humans who would take ten to twenty years of supernatural abilities over a full life as a human.
I also couldn’t help realizing that a few weeks of drinking vampire blood wouldn’t age a human significantly. Meaning that if Raven drank vampire blood for the remainder of our hunt, she’d be a lot stronger and able to help.
But I’d breach that idea later. Right now, we didn’t know how much longer she had left. I needed to finalize this agreement with Thomas and save her life.
“I see the wheels in your mind spinning,” Thomas said with a knowing smile.
I dug my fingernails into my palms, hating how he knew me so well. It was yet another reminder of what we’d had and lost.
Despite my natural instinct to return his smile, I forced myself to keep a straight face. “Raven doesn’t have a lot of time,” I said what I was thinking. “What are your conditions?”
“I’m getting to that.” He held a finger up for me to be patient. “Like I was saying, your human companion—Raven—will have vampire abilities for twenty-four hours after drinking vampire blood. We can’t have anyone seeing her and thinking she’s a vampire, and then being confused when she returns to being human. It’ll ruin the secret of our blood. So she’ll need to remain hidden in a secure room
in the penthouse until the supernatural abilities wear off.”
There went my plan of having Raven drink vampire blood for the remainder of the demon hunt. If Thomas wouldn’t let anyone see Raven while she was under the influence of his blood, he’d never let her go out and hunt with us.
Oh well. It was a good plan while it had lasted.
But we’d gotten this far with her having no supernatural abilities, and we only had one more demon left to slay until we had all ten teeth to present to the Earth Angel at Avalon. We could keep her safe until then.
“That’s fine,” I agreed.
“Great.” Noah looked down at Raven anxiously before returning his gaze to Thomas. “So are you ready to do this or what?”
“That was only the first of my conditions.” Thomas chuckled. “I have three more.”
“Let’s hear them.” Noah narrowed his eyes at Thomas, like he was challenging him to see just how far he’d go to save Raven’s life.
Hopefully Thomas didn’t want anything too extreme.
But knowing him, I doubted it.
“Firstly, both of you must make a blood oath with me that you’ll tell no one about what you know about vampire blood,” he said. “Once Raven is healed, she won’t be allowed to leave the penthouse until she makes the blood oath too.”
“Got it.” I nodded in agreement, and Noah did the same.
Blood oaths were the strongest promises supernaturals could make. Even humans could enter into blood oaths, as long as it was with a supernatural. If someone tried to go against a blood oath they’d made, their blood would turn against them and kill them. It was thought to be one of the most painful deaths imaginable.
I avoided entering into blood oaths—most supernaturals did. I’d never entered into one before. I’d offered one to Leia, the alpha of the rougarou pack in New Orleans, to ensure our safety. Luckily, I hadn’t needed to go through with it since we’d gained trust in each other and made an alliance instead.
This blood oath would be my first. But it was one I was willing to make.
“And your second condition?” Noah tapped his foot on the floor, getting antsier by the second. I couldn’t blame him, since Raven’s life was on the line and Thomas was acting like we had all the time in the world.
The Angel Trap Page 2