Family Blood Ties Set - 3 books in 1

by Dale Mayer

  David grabbed his arm. "Don't."

  "We have to do something other than just stand here." Cody kept his voice low. "Follow a few steps after me. In case they try to take me out."

  "Fine," David said so softly Cody had to lean over to hear him. He released Cody's arm. "But be careful. I don't trust her."

  Neither did Cody, but damn...she was pretty. He swallowed, gave her a carefree grin, and then shot a warning look at David and Jared. Her waiting for him right at the doorway was another big fat warning sign. Why was he walking into a trap? Because he knew it, and their options were disappearing damn fast.

  The door was only a few feet in front of him when Rhia appeared at Tami's side. Cody reared back and frowned.

  "I think there's something wrong with the person on monitor twenty-three-fifty-five," Rhia said hurriedly.

  Cody didn't know what to make of that statement. She hadn't been gone but twenty minutes. Was something wrong? Or was she maybe creating a diversion? Damn it.

  The nurse took one look at Rhia and headed back into the warehouse.

  Rhia turned to him. "Are you okay, Cody? You're not looking so good. Maybe you should lie down for a bit."

  He stared at her in shock. "Are you serious?"

  She frowned. "Of course I am. What are you doing hiding away in here, anyway?"

  "I'm never going to lie down inside this place. Remember what happened to the last person who did?"

  "Cody, what are you talking about?" Her frown deepened. "If you're not going to take a nap, then I highly suggest you get back to work. We don't have time for this. We need your help. These people have to be moved, and fast. That means you and the others are going to need to pitch in." She gave him an even darker frown before turning on her heels and walking out of sight of the doorway.

  "Others?" Jared asked carefully.

  "Who took my mother and replaced her with that imposter?" The shock in David's face made Cody realize just how bizarre Rhia's actions and words had truly been.

  "She's been brainwashed," Jared said. "Although I hadn't seen any sign of it before, that's the only thing that makes any sense."

  "Brainwashing isn't likely with vampires. Our brains are physiologically different from yours." Cody continued to stare at the open doorway. It now represented the entrance to another world. A place so foreign and strange he scrambled to find an explanation for it. What had they done to David's mother? And so fast?

  "Now what do we do?" Shock threaded through David's voice. "I figured they had an ambush sitting right there waiting for you."

  "So did I, and they may still have one set up." Cody stared at David as the answer came to him. "Drugs. That's the only explanation."

  "Explanation for what, for Christ's sakes?"

  "For Rhia's behavior. She never would've acted like that otherwise." He spun around. "Think about it. This place is crawling with drugs and experiments. They had to have injected her with something. There are loads of mind altering, personality shifting drugs on the black market."

  "I remember hearing Mom and Dad talking about it awhile ago."

  "Well, that does it. I'm not going out there." Jared backed up several feet and crossed his arms over his chest. "That's why the only guy I managed to have a conversation with in here wasn't upset about being hung as a stuck pig for the rest of his life."

  The other two looked at him.

  "He actually seemed happy," Jared explained. "I couldn't understand it. Your mom suggested they'd given him drugs, telling me how powerful vampire drugs can be. Now…yeah, now I'm convinced."

  "How does this change things?" Cody couldn't help but think that it did. He just hadn't worked his way through all the ramifications.

  "I can't leave Mom and Jewel behind. And we have Ian to consider, as well. They're counting on us," David uttered with a finality that made Cody's stomach sink. "We have to save them."

  "That's not what I wanted to hear."

  David stared up at him. "We have no choice. They've done something to Mom. We have to believe the worst about Jewel...and Ian."

  Jared snorted. "Sure we have a choice. We make a quick getaway or we go out there and end up as happy zombies."

  David spun on him, furry etched on his face. Cody pulled him back. "Easy. He wasn't trying to insult Rhia."

  Unappeased, David glared at Jared. "Go ahead. You make a solo trek out of here and get help. We'll stay and rescue the others."

  Jared scowled back. "And maybe I will. Tessa could also need help. Did you think of that?"

  "I have." Cody sighed. "But I have to believe that she will be fine with the two elders. Our family and friends need us down here."

  "And someone needs to go for help. I'll try the tunnel."

  "And maybe get caught and shipped out to yet another warehouse. Haven't you realized that every time we split up something happens to one of us?"

  "Hi, Cody. Aren't you coming out?" Cody stiffened, closing his eyes as Tami spoke from the warehouse just past the door. Whatever window of time they had was gone. "Shit," he whispered.

  David's face shut down as he looked past Cody. He called out, "Did you fix the problem with that poor person?"

  "No. It's beyond me." Tami called back. "One of the men has gone to see what he can do about it."

  "Oh. Well, I know Cody said he'd go out there, but honestly all those people are giving him the heebie-jeebies. He's quite shy."

  The same light tinkling laugh washed over them. "I'll hold his hand. Take him down to where the others are and introduce him."

  "Oh, who's down there?"

  Cody stared at his friend. How the hell had David managed to keep his voice so even and neutral when he wanted to run and hide. That mind stuff that happened to Rhia was plain freaky. He wanted nothing to do with it.

  "Your friends. We made a fresh pot of coffee and everyone's sitting down and visiting. I'm here to coax you to join us." She gave that same tinkle laugh as before. Had he thought she was cute? Not anymore. A viper came to mind instead. Cody shuddered, making sure a warning was plain in his eyes as he fixed his gaze on David.

  David grinned at him, but his tone never wavered. "Sounds good. We'll finish our private discussion, and then come join you."

  "You won't come back with me now?" She stepped closer.

  From his position, Cody could see her face, but he doubted David could.

  "In a minute," David said from behind him. ,

  A hint, just a flash of something akin to fury, hatred even, flashed in her eyes. If Cody hadn't seen it for himself, he never would've have believed it. His wings loosened, and the energy in the room changed.

  He tossed her a haughty look. "Private boy talk. Sorry. We'll be finished soon."

  "Well..." She struggled to maintain her friendly facade, and that made for fascinating watching. Eventually she conceded with a curt nod, however, and added, "I'll go tell the others you're on your way, then." She spun on her heel and left the doorway, the sound of her clipped steps echoing in the cavernous warehouse.

  "We need to get out of this room." Cody led the way to the door without waiting to see if the others agreed with him, throwing back over his shoulder, "She'll return with backup in just a few seconds."

  "Yeah. That's my take on it, too," David said, hurrying to follow Cody.

  The two of them slipped out the door and turned right, the opposite direction from the way she'd gone.

  ***

  Jared paused as Cody and David dashed out of the room. He wanted to follow them, but at the same time, couldn't make himself do it. They were going to get caught. Or maybe he would. He didn't have their abilities, and as much as that pissed him off, his sense of inferiority made him even madder. They were vampires; he was human. That was like comparing apples to oranges. They each had their strengths.

  Right. If he kept telling himself that, he might actually believe it.

  He knew one thing. No way in hell he was ever going be taken prisoner again. Not in this lifetime. He felt sorry fo
r the others, but the best thing he could do was to bring in more people to rescue the others. Humans, this time. God knew there were enough vampires wandering around. He couldn't tell friend from foe – and neither could they.

  With one last look around, he opened the door leading to the stairs and closed it tightly behind him. They probably wouldn't even notice that he'd left.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Desperate to get her feet under her before she hit the ground, Tessa twisted in mid-air. Somehow, glide training hadn't included 'fall' training. "Shit."

  Out of options, she flipped over in a comical imitation of a summersault and somehow – and she wished she knew how – she ended up feet first in a hard landing. A bone jarring landing was more like it. She still ended up on her backside, but hit the ground much more softly than she deserved.

  Back on her feet, she searched around, hoping no one had seen her. Like she needed to hear about this incident for the rest of her life. Thankfully, she was alone. The early morning sun had risen, although it was still hidden behind a heavy cloud cover. Her father could manage for a little while longer. Goran, too, except she had no idea where he'd ended up. She hoped he was with her father. Dad needed him. With a grimace, she realized that even if her oomph had gotten up and left, the scenario hadn't. She needed to get it together and fast.

  Sneaking around the corner of the mansion, she studied the layout. Empty, as usual. So where were the elders? Moving snug against the wall, she peered far enough around the next corner to see the vehicles.

  And the horrific mess.

  "If you don't come out, we'll kill him," The sarcastic, arrogant voice floated over her, sounding as if he were looking forward to the job.

  Tessa pulled back, her heart hammering in her chest. She couldn't see who they'd caught.

  "Or maybe we won't kill him. We'll start by breaking his wings. A maimed ancient is just another vampire, no matter how kingly he thinks he is."

  A bellow ripped through the air.

  "Oh, no," she whispered. They had Goran. They'd probably caught him in the air. She knew those damn fliers had to have been out there somewhere. She hadn't seen them fly in, but the fortress had too many avenues in and out for them to watch them all.

  "So what's it going to be?" the first man asked. "Give it up and live to fight another day, or we'll maim this one and you when we get a hold of you."

  "And tell that retarded daughter of yours to get over here, too," another clammy almost recognizable voice said, the sound chilling Tessa to the bone. "I'm tired of chasing her around the countryside."

  Her heart locked down. Who was that? She almost recognized it – just not quite.

  "Serus, forget about me," Goran snapped in a hard voice. "Get out of here."

  Yeah, that made sense. But with a sinking feeling, Tessa realized her Dad was more likely to think she was still safe up in the damn tree and that his friend, once free, could help him kick ass. She looked around for something, anything to break the deadlock before he gave in.

  She could create a diversion, but they had plenty of people available to chase her. She wracked her brain. Chasing her would still even the odds for the elders, but would it be enough? Or would they take her down as well?

  Just in case...she pulled out her phone. Writing up one message, she sent it to everyone on her phone list. Most of her friends were safe, and she had a lot of her brother's friends on the list. Not to mention all of her teachers from both the vampire and human schools. She hated the limitations of the damn characters on a single message. Why hadn't she bought that stupid app that would allow her to send longer messages? With a short explanation, she gave them the license plate numbers of the vans and directions to the place. Took three messages to get it all out and after having sending the last one, she understood what she'd done. She'd hit the equivalent of a panic button.

  Only time would tell what help would come.

  Being virtually invisible to most of her egotistical species had given her many chances to watch their interactions. They all thought they could do whatever they wanted and get away with it. Her aunt Gittora, Rhia's oldest sister, especially. Then again, she hated Tessa. She'd suggested euthanasia at Tessa's birth.

  Her mom had kicked her sister out of the house at the time and it had taken until the last couple of years for the two to become friendly again. David had told Tessa about it a few years ago, after one of Gittora's nastier visits had left Tessa bristling. Unfortunately, being a bitch didn't make her one of the bad guys.

  And just wanting her to be one of them didn't make it so, either.

  Tessa groaned at the weariness chasing through her body. She had to do something. She couldn't let the others down. How did the vampires go for so long without exhaustion weakening them?

  Her vampire heritage needed to kick in soon.

  Even as she wished it, a wave of energy slipped into her veins. She straightened, relishing the sense of power racing up and down her body and through her blood, empowering her muscles and clearing her mind.

  Whoa. Did that mean she could access the energy just by asking?

  Who knew?

  Stepping out in front of the house, she stopped, put her hands on her hips, and surveyed the four men dressed in black, including their motorcycle helmets. Except Goran didn't have the same protection. They weren't going to have to injure him. If the clouds continued to break up and the sun fulfilled its promise, he'd burn to ash in minutes.

  She still wore her father's heavy coat. Stripping it off, she walked up to the group.

  "Hi everyone." Coat in hand, she smiled innocently and tossed it over Goran, covering his injured wing, head, and shoulders. Thankfully the long coat also covered his hands tied behind his back. "There you go. In about five minutes, you're going to be glad to have that."

  "Damn it, Tessa," he snapped. "Your father told you to stay back there."

  Ignoring him and keeping her eyes focused on the leader, Tessa smiled. "Hey. Nice outfit."

  Just then the sun peeked through the clouds. She grinned. Walking closer to the first two, and in a surprise move, she ripped the helmet off his head, then smacked a high kick into the second guy's throat. He howled and instinctively bent over. Blood poured out of his mouth. Before he could do anything to save himself, Tessa ripped off his helmet, too.

  "Dad, catch." She tossed the first helmet in her father's direction as he raced toward them, and he caught it. Goran lifted the coat above his head, and she flung the second one his way. Now the battle was even. Two on two.

  The other two men rushed at her. She laughed, jumped to the top of the porch roof, where she surveyed the chaos below.

  "Hey, assholes!" she called out. "What are you doing down there?"

  "Bitch." One of the men with a helmet still took a step toward her. "We'll get you for th–"

  Tessa's father lifted his body, stopping him mid-word, and flung him with the fury of a man getting payback against someone who'd hurt his family. The second man turned to flee, but Goran caught him. The man never made a sound. Instead, his bones crunched.

  Tessa shuddered at the sound. She jumped down. And came face to face with the crumpled ashes of one of the men she'd stripped of his helmet.

  She'd killed him.

  Her eyes slammed shut and she spun away from the evidence, her gut clenching and threatening to ditch the acid bubbling inside it. And faced the remains of the second man the sun had burned. She stared down at him, her breath coming out in hard gasps. She'd done this. She'd killed. Twice.

  Didn't matter that the men had been trying to kill the three of them. She was now responsible for two deaths. She had to find peace with that. Somehow.

  Goran placed a heavy hand on her shoulder. "Don't look at them, Tessa. I'm sorry you were forced to do that but they got what they deserved."

  Swallowing, she nodded. Walking over to the man lying barely conscious on the ground in the shade of one of the vans, she stripped off his helmet. It was Jacob.

 
"Well, that answers that question." Serus grabbed the teen who'd spent many long hours in his home and tossed him into the sunlight.

  Tessa cried out, but it was too late. Jacob burned to ash right in front of her. Jacob wasn't a nameless bad guy. She'd known him. That made it so much worse.

  She stood still, trembling, unable to believe what had just happened.

  Serus reached out and pulled her into a hug. He squeezed her tight, then released her and stepped back. His face stern, intense, he looked down at her.

  "Tessa, I'd do anything for you to have missed this last half hour – but I can't change that you didn't. You were supposed to stay in that damn tree." He gave her shoulders a shake. "This is war. No one is going to remain unscathed. The sooner we clean up this mess, the better."