“Jolie,” said Flynn, touching her arm.
She focused on him.
“Let me end her life. She came into our home under my watch. I want to make her pay.”
She watched his fangs slide into his mouth as his icy blue eyes clouded with inky darkness.
“My love, Death wants a gory kill.” It was her way of warning him. “I should do it.” Jolie didn't want to make him live that kind of wrath.
His soul was pure--for the most part.
“No. She’s mine. Please let me do this for you. Death will get what she wants.”
Jolie backed up.
Nodding at Jacques, he flipped the woman around so she was back on her feet.
“Thank you, baby,” he offered, moving close to Lara. Soon, her blood would be spilled. This was Flynn’s way of proving his undying allegiance, all the while keeping Jolie from having to carry this on her shoulders.
He hissed before moving in.
From the bed, both young vampyres watched in fascination. Their master was like them. It confused and pleased the two women. They knew he was a good man, and now he was avenging Mathew’s abduction.
“You came into our home, insulted our mate, and took what wasn’t yours,” he murmured, staring at the woman’s throat. In the back of Flynn’s mind, he wondered what she would taste like.
He’d only fed from his mates.
‘Like blood,’ whispered Jolie through his mind.
“Please,” Lara whispered.
The second the words were out of her mouth, he attacked. Yanking her head to the side with his large hand, Flynn buried his fangs deep in her throat.
He feasted.
As he gulped hungrily from the screaming woman, the anger grew. When he consumed all he could, Flynn pulled away.
She was still alive.
“Finish her,” Jacques stated, watching their mate in the throes of blood lust.
With a smooth motion, Flynn twisted her head, breaking her neck. While she deserved to suffer, he was still part human…somewhere beneath the monster.
When he turned, he was covered in the gore.
Death’s tendrils floated across the floor, wrapping themselves around Jolie’s mate and the dead human. Death also feasted on the fallen.
Flynn waited for Death to have its fill. He’d learned not to move when it was wrapped around his body. The second he was free, Jolie was by his side. He held her to his torso, allowing her to lap at the blood that was running down his chin.
“I love you,” he said, as she clung to his body.
“I love you too.”
Jacques placed his hand on his shoulder. “You’re such a sloppy eater, my friend. We have to work on that,” he teased.
Brogan laughed. “I wasn’t thinking about staying clean.”
Jolie’s fingers went to the buttons of his shirt. “We’ll get you cleaned up, and then head to Belladonna’s home. I don’t doubt that they’ll be expecting us.”
Jolie glanced over at Mina. “You’ll have to join us. We may need you to get us in.”
She simply nodded.
“I’ll take a quick shower,” he offered, heading to the bathroom door.
“Flynn?” she called.
“Yes?”
“I’ll join you.”
He grinned wickedly. “I’ll get all soapy for you.”
With that, he escaped.
Jolie focused on her other mate. “Can you handle this?”
Jacques nodded. “I can manage. I’ll make sure Chloe is guarded. I’m sure our two vampyres will keep her safe,” he offered.
“Yes, we will, Master,” they said in unison.
Jolie headed to the bathroom. She was proud of her mate, and she wanted to thank him--gratuitously.
The two vampyre women watched their mistress leave.
“Master?” asked Trina.
“Yes, little one?”
“Master Flynn…he’s definitely one of us, isn’t he?”
The man smiled, his own fangs showing from the scent of blood in the air. “Yes, Trina, he certainly is.”
The women followed him out.
“We’re glad,” Clariel offered.
And so was he.
CHAPTER sixteen
Everything felt off. The feel, the sound, and the smell of his surroundings set him on alert. At dawn, he’d gone to death in his own bed, but now he wasn’t there. All Mathew knew was that at some point, he’d been moved. Oh, and that he was someplace closed in and very dark.
As he tried to move, he found that he was tightly confined in the small suffocating space. Immediately, he flashed back to Delina’s house of horrors. This was just like something she would do to him before and after a rough session of sex.
It freaked him out.
He was so scared that he began using his claws to scratch at the wooden box. While he struggled to move his arms, Mathew found that they were chained behind his back with just enough a give to allow his arms to remain securely at his sides.
It was hopeless.
He was trapped.
More panic filled him.
There was this fear that his mistress was tired of him and had placed him in the box. Could this be her mates getting rid of him? He wanted to scream.
Surely, Jolie wouldn’t do this to him. She was well aware that Delina tortured them, but he’d never mentioned this type of punishment to her.
How had she known?
He began struggling and screaming in his head.
Then, there was a calming voice.
‘Mathew, shhhh… it’s me. We’re coming.’ She could feel everything in him go still as if he was unsure he had heard her correctly.
‘Mistress, where am I?’
‘Belladonna has taken you as a bargaining chip to get me. You don’t need to worry. We’re coming for you.’
‘I’m afraid.’
‘I know you are, but we’ll get to you, Mathew. Where are you?’
‘She has me in a coffin. I can’t move my hands, and my legs are chained in place. I’m wedged in here.’
The panic was evident in his voice.
‘We’re coming, Mathew. Please remain still and keep your mind open.’
Jolie sent him peace and love before opening her eyes to glance over at her mates. She shared Mathew’s predicament.
“That’s not very original,” replied Jacques, as he drove. “I don’t know anyone who’s ever rested in a coffin.”
Flynn had to go there. “So, vampyres don’t ever sleep in them?”
Both looked at him like he had lost his mind.
“No, Flynn,” Jacques replied. “Would you sleep in a foot locker?”
He laughed. “If Jolie was joining me, then yes.”
The man had a point.
Jolie shared some of their past. “They’re predominantly used as torture devices in the early years. When you wake up in one, it’s terrifying. There’s no room to move, so you can’t use your strength to break free.” She spoke from experience.
Yet, neither of her mates pressed for more details. This was a slippery slope, and they knew it.
“We’re here,” said Jacques, pulling the car into the shadows of the trees.
Jolie scanned the house and found her intended targets. “They’re inside in the basement.”
“Of course they are,” said Flynn, checking the clip in his gun. “Where else do you keep a coffin but in the basement?” There was nothing but contempt and disgust in his voice at the treatment of his family. “How many are we looking at?”
“Belladonna and Morden are down there with the coffin, and I can feel Mathew, plus two lesser vampyres with them. I think there’s a human too. I’m not sure, since the energy is faint.”
Jacques stepped from the vehicle before heading into the shadows. “Mina, you’ll have to invite us in.”
Flynn didn't like using one of their humans like that. It was risky. They’d already lost Mathew. Losing Mina would be a big blow to their core.
/> Brogan stepped forward, “I can go in first.”
Jolie wasn’t so sure about that, but she’d give her mate the chance to test out his theory.
“That’s fine, but think of Mina as our back up plan.”
That seemed to mollify him.
“Mina,” she whispered, keeping her human donor close. “When we go in, I want you to head back to the vehicle and stay locked inside. Am I clear?”
“Yes, Mistress.”
At the door, they paused. There was still no one around them. This screamed of a trap.
“They’re expecting us.”
Jolie was well aware.
Flynn turned the doorknob and pushed it open. As he tried to enter, he was blocked.
Well, that answered that question. This was going to be a big problem when he finally went back to work. How was he, as a cop, supposed to enter crime scenes?
“Well, shit.”
Jolie touched his arm. They had suspected as much. “It’s okay, Flynn,” she offered.
Mina did her thing, and then raced back to the car. For now, she’d wait with the motor running.
Inside, Jolie navigated the house, leading them toward the basement door. The screams from Mathew nearly took her to her knees. He was being tormented by Morden, and it incensed her. Mathew was a delicate soul to begin with, but this might set his recovery way back.
‘Hold in the anger, Jolie. We’re going to need it,’ whispered Jacques into her mind.
‘I’m trying, but I will kill them.’ Jolie could feel Death trying to pull away from her body, but she held on to it, promising a kill as soon as she could find the first victim. With that vow, Death subsided, just barely contained beneath her skin, waiting for the promise to be fulfilled.
It was going to be a bloodbath.
That was for sure.
Inside the room, the four vampyres were unmercifully taunting Mathew. With each vicious slide of a blade, the heat and fire burned through his flesh.
He howled in anguish.
Instead of the horrors abating, the vicious vampyres taunted him further, enjoying his suffering.
He screamed again and was answered with sick laughter. It was the same sick torture that Delina would revel in for entertainment. Again, a blade slammed into the coffin and tore into his body, causing him to buck and writhe in agony.
“This is too much fun, Morden. Maybe we’ll keep him so we can play every day.”
Mathew wanted to weep.
“Only next time, we should use silver and maybe dip the knives in Mercury.” She signaled her guardians, and this time, four blades were shoved into the coffin at once.
It was almost too much for him to handle.
“Turn the blades! I want him to feel pain!”
Mathew screamed at the torture.
“I hope his mistress can feel his pain. She’ll know that I definitely mean business. That bitch has what I want, and now I’ll take something of hers.”
Mathew could feel the blood oozing from his torn flesh. Granted, it would heal once the blades were removed, but the ones who held him captive were keeping the blades in long enough to cause enough blood loss to weaken him.
He prayed for death to take him.
It was too much to endure.
‘Please, I can’t be in this box any longer,’ he screamed into Jolie’s mind, begging her to save him.
‘I’m outside the door, Mathew. We’re coming.’
He screamed again as the next blade slammed precariously close to the artery in his groin.
Jolie reached for her mates’ minds. ‘We have to go in now. Once we open that door, I have to drop our protection. They’re going to attack.’
They didn't care. For now, Mathew’s pain came first.
‘I’ll take Morden,’ said Jacques.
‘Then the guardians are mine,’ offered Flynn, pulling his second gun from the holster. This was going to be one of those fights. He could already tell.
Jolie nodded. ‘Then the bitch is mine.’
Hearing Mathew’s next scream, they knew that they needed to move fast.
Now they were aiming for important parts of his body, and if they hit an artery, they could bleed him to death.
It was time.
Placing her hand against the door, it flew open. The four vampyres inside jumped as it hit the wall.
Jolie wasn’t the first inside. Her mates pushed past her, clearing a path for Jolie. It irritated her, but she wasn’t surprised.
Flynn fired off four rapid shots, taking down the first guardian and hitting the second one. It wasn’t a kill shot, but it bought them enough time to get close to Morden and Belladonna.
Jacques moved with lightning speed, vaulting the torture devices to reach his prey. His claws lengthened, and his fangs slid effortlessly into place.
Someone was going to pay.
Belladonna was unfazed by their entrance. She laughed as she moved toward the coffin with a silver sword in her hand. It was held precariously over the box, just above Mathew’s heart.
“I’ll kill him.”
“What do you want, Belladonna?” asked Jolie, standing completely still as the chaos went on around her. From her peripheral vision, she could see both mates doing battle. Flynn was bracing himself for the second guardian to return the attack, and Jacques was facing down Morden.
“You can call Death, and I want it back. At one time, it was mine.”
Jolie didn't look away from the woman. She was trying to measure how fast she could reach Mathew’s side to stop that blade. “I don’t know where you got your information, Belladonna, but I don’t control Death. I’m simply the harbinger. It lives within me and does as it pleases,” she replied, taking another step toward the coffin.
She didn't have much time. Reaching for Mathew, Jolie whispered into his mind. ‘Mathew, I need you to turn your body as far to the left as you can.’
‘I can’t move, Mistress.’
‘You don’t have a choice. If you stay where you are, you’re dead.’ She sent him instructions on how to move, and when he obeyed, Jolie knew she was ready.
Turning her focus back to the vampyre before her, Jolie knew it was time. “I won’t help you, Belladonna, because I can’t pass this curse around. I carry it, so you’re out of luck.”
“Then I’ll have to kill your vampyre,” Belladonna taunted before moving to drop the blade.
As the metal began its decent to the coffin, Jolie moved fast. Her only hope was to daze the woman with energy. Jolie shoved everything she had from her body, allowing it to slam into the vampyre in front of her.
Belladonna screamed.
Death took that as its invitation. Slowly, the black tendrils crept along, seeking their boon. Everything around them seemed to move in slow motion.
Belladonna convulsed on the floor.
The last guardian was to his feet and slamming the second blade into the box.
Just as she was prepared to bombard him with Death, Mathew screamed, reaching out to her. The claws of fear ripped through her, flooding Jolie’s body with pain.
The timing couldn’t have been worse.
Normally, she would have been successful at deflecting the guardian’s attack, but not this time. In that moment of hesitation, Jolie knew she was screwed. He charged her, sinking his vicious claws into her flesh.
Jolie’s throat tore, blood spurted, and the room, once again, erupted in to chaos.
Flynn saw the vampyre take Jolie down. As he moved to face him, the undead surged toward him, ready to attack.
There wasn’t much time.
He saw Jolie fall and fired off two shots. It was all Flynn could do to help her.
Yet, he knew the cold hard truth.
This was going to hurt like a bitch.
As if moving in slow motion, he was forced to focus on Jolie, despite the danger. She fell so achingly slow, that he longed to catch her before she hit the ground.
Suddenly, there was pain.
F
lynn’s body slammed into the ground, and time was moving once more.
He screamed in anguish.
Jolie heard his shout for her. Then there was the ‘pop pop’ of the gun, but that wasn’t what held her attention.
It was the intense flood of pain.
It tore through her, and she suspected it wasn’t just from her damaged flesh.
‘Flynn’, she called, knowing he was hurt.
Before she could look over, Death rolled through the room. There was so much blood and destruction, how could it not?
Jacques couldn’t stop. He was in the middle of battle for his family. He collided with Morden, struggling to stay on his feet, unlike his mates. Once he felled the man, he would protect Jolie and Flynn.
Until then, he had to stay focused.
Morden let down his guard, looking away from Jacques. It was then that he struck.
Jacques ripped through Morden’s chest as if it wasn’t even a challenge for him. An old vampyre trained to kill, had met a soft younger vampyre who hadn’t a clue.
The scent of blood filled the room. It was a mingling of his mates’ and the enemys’. Glancing over, Belladonna scampered from the room to escape. Instead of following, Jacques moved toward Jolie to inspect her wounds.
She stared up at him. ‘I’m fine. Check on Flynn.’
He noticed that her flesh was already beginning to knit back into place.
She would survive.
Jacques knew the same wouldn’t be so for Flynn. After the gun shots ripped through the vampyre’s chest, he had seen the killer crash into their detective, taking them both down. His mate was too quiet.
It alarmed him.
Pulling the corpse of the dead guardian off his mate, he was met with the worst case scenario. The silver dagger that the guardian was carrying had found its way into Flynn’s body, driven home by almost two hundred pounds of falling vampyre. It was beyond protruding. It was mostly embedded into his torso.
“Hey, is Jolie alive? I can’t feel her,” he asked, coughing up blood. Despite his pain, he was worried.
Jacques nodded. “She’s healing, but you, my friend, are a mess.” Jacques scanned the rest of his body, and the blood dripping from his mouth was alarming. “You have to let me give you blood and put you to sleep. That knife is silver.”
Dangerous Misery (The Harcourte Vampyre Society Book 3) Page 28