Blood and Revenge: Under the Skin Serial Part 4

by K. B. Ladnier

  Blood and Revenge

  Under the Skin Serial Part 4

  K.B. Ladnier

  Contents

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Title Page

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Acknowledgments

  Author’s Note

  About the Author

  Copyright © 2017 by K.B. Ladnier

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  Cover Design by Stacy Ane

  Dedicated to the people of Waitr.

  Because you deliver my food when I’m too lazy or too busy writing to drive five miles to get it.

  Chapter 22

  Vex

  I will rip her to shreds!

  I raked my nails down the stone wall, screaming at the top of my lungs.

  No … no, I won’t. She’s mine. Mine to love. To cherish. To …

  I breathed in and out, trying to fight. But I couldn’t.

  Blood! I want her blood! Her flesh! I need to tear her heart out!

  NO!

  I pounded my fist into the door with all my might, blood gushing out from my broken knuckles only to heal moments later.

  Back and forth I went, over and over. My mind couldn’t tell what was real and what wasn’t. In the dark of this cell, I could see everything, yet nothing. I’d see her. My intoxicating progeny in all her shining glory. At first, she’d be talking to me, laughing, and smiling. Then, she’d change. She’d hiss and began bleeding from eyes, ears, and throat. The last as if I’d torn it open myself. I’d check my hands, but there’d be nothing.

  I couldn’t take this anymore! I ran back and forth, growling and hissing as I smashed myself against one wall just to run back and do it to the other. Anything. I’d do anything to not think the things I was thinking of doing to her.

  Blood. Blood. Blood. Blood. I want it. It’s mine. She’s mine!

  For hours, I destroyed my body over and over, trying to exert myself and break myself enough the drug would bleed out of me. I needed to get it out. I needed to find her.

  Bellamy would pay for this…

  A door opened, its creaking sound echoing down the hallways of cells mine was attached to. I stopped moving, listening for her, and smelling the air.

  There…

  I could smell her and feel her as she drew near. She had come back!

  Several sets of footsteps sounded, only one set running and getting closer. I hissed hungry for blood. Especially that of my delicious progeny.

  “Vex!” Her voice called.

  No. No, she can’t open this door! It’s not over yet!

  A feral growl came out of my mouth as I slammed my body against the door, grabbing onto the handle in case she tried opening it. I looked out the window, my eyes barely able to see through the dim light. She was almost to my door, her face in a mask of worry.

  I couldn’t let her in. My mind was slowly coming back a little, but not enough I trusted myself.

  “Vex! Thank god you’re still here!” She said as she finally made it to the window. The wolf and the agent came around the corner, each looking back and forth between my face in the door and Lucy’s who was still looking at me.

  “How are you? Is it over?” She asked me sadly, laying her hand on the glass.

  “Do not…open...this door…Lucy,” I spewed out through clenched teeth. My mind was quickly deteriorating back to wanting to claw her heart from her chest.

  The wolf and the agent stepped to either side of her, pulling her away from the window a little at the sight of me. I slammed my fists against the door, making them both jump back with her at the banging and taking her further away.

  “Mine!” I snarled at them.

  “Luce. I think you need to stay away from the door,” the wolf said to her, looking at me uneasily.

  “How much BloodLust did you say he gave him?” The agent asked.

  Bloody tears started to drop from her eyes as she turned her head to look at him. “Too much. I don’t know how long he’ll be like this. Or even if he can come back from this, Hollis. His mind was already on the verge of breaking.”

  Just one taste…

  Shut the fuck up! I internally yelled, squeezing my eyes shut and pulling away from the door. I quickly went back to slamming my body back and forth between the walls, snarling loudly as I broke my shoulder, then my wrist, then my jaw. All of it still healing way too fast.

  “Oh my god! Vex! Stop that!” Lucy shouted, slapping her hands on the window.

  I couldn’t listen, though. I had to bleed it out of me.

  “Holy shit! What the hell is he doing?” The wolf asked in disbelief.

  “Stop him! One of you or both of you! Just fucking stop him before he kills himself!” She shouted at them, banging her hands against the window once again. “Please! Vex, you have to stop! That won’t do anything!”

  But I kept going, blood coming from every ligament I tore open in my violent haste to get rid of this toxin overtaking me.

  “Back up, Lucy. We’re going in there and chaining him.”

  Don’t open the door. Don’t open the door. Don’t open the door.

  Too late.

  I heard the door swing open and halted to a dead stop, crouching and hissing as the wolf and agent approached me.

  “Easy, there. We’re just trying to help you,” said the wolf, his hands raised up to show he came in peace.

  What was his name again?

  I snarled, blood and saliva dropping from my mouth as I smelled the blood beneath his veins. I rocked back and forth between my feet, looking side to side at them as they curved their steps to come at me from the sides.

  But then there she was. Standing in the door way with her hands fisted in her shirt and blood coming from her eyes. Sweet, intoxicating blood. I wanted it. I needed it. I zeroed in on her and she gasped, taking a small step back.

  I smiled a wicked grin and leapt for her.

  “Grab him!” one of them bellowed, stopping my forward progression.

  I was gripped by my shoulders on either side and pushed backwards until I hit the back wall, both men putting their weight against me. I growled, kicked and claws at them, trying to break free and get to what was rightfully mine.

  They began to push me downwards to the floor, sliding my back roughly against the gritted wall. When I was seated, they both put a knee on each of my thighs, holding down my arms so that my palms were against the floor. I struggled, yet I was no match for them combined.

  “Luce! We need you to come shackle him! He’s too damn strong for us to hold and put them on!” The wolf ground out, losing his hold enough I could lash out and claw him across the cheek.

  He jumped back on me, tightening his grip. “Now, Luce!”

  “Okay,” she said, walking quickly into the room, and hissing as the silver burned her hands when she picked them up. “Fuck that burns!”

  I felt my skin sizzle with heat as she placed one after the other on each wrist and ankle, all of them jumping backwards when she let them know they were secure. I lashed out, but my reach only allowed me to stand.

  “Shit! Whatever that drug is, it makes them strong,”
the wolf said, his hands on his knees and breathing hard.

  “It does more than that. It takes away their control completely and gives it over to Bellamy. You think Vex is bad? Imagine if he manages to inject it into every vampire in the city. I don’t think even Abraham can help us then, and he’s one of the strongest Ancients left.”

  That’s right, girl. He will kill all of you! Your precious wolf and agent. Your friends. All of them. And I will bathe in your blood!

  I bellowed out another snarl and grabbed my head between my hands.

  Stop it! I will not kill her! I will not let Bellamy win! Get the fuck out of my head!

  I fell to my knees, cradling my head as leaned down and pressed it against the floor. I needed to stay calm. I needed to focus. I was chained, so bleeding this shite out was no longer an option.

  “He’s fighting it. That’s good, Lucy. Other vampires just give in from what I’ve seen. But him?” I heard the agent sigh. “If anyone can beat the BloodLust, it’s him.”

  “I know,” I heard her reply. “He’s strong. He fought through it quite a few times while I was here. Bellamy would come and give him more every other day or so, and he’d come back to me ... I just - …” She paused.

  I lifted my head and stared at her; her eyes were fixed on me with so much love and concern and her hand was palmed over her heart. I felt a little bit of me lift out of the darkness of my mind at the sight.

  “I can’t live without you,” she whispered to me, before dropping her face into her hands to cry.

  Chapter 23

  Lucy

  We all sat with Vex for the next couple of hours as his BloodLust induced state continued to dwindle.

  Sometimes, Hollis and Sloan had to restrain him from banging himself against the wall. Other times, Vex would just sit there, mumbling to himself quietly over and over. It broke my heart every second.

  The longer it took for it to wear off, the more I hated Bellamy for what he’d done to my maker. For what he’d done to me for taking away my chance to grow as a vampire with Vex by my side, teaching me how to live and survive like all makers should be able to teach their progenies. Bellamy took everything away.

  And I wanted revenge for that.

  I wanted him to suffer the way he made Vex suffer all these years. To feel the loss, he made me feel. I wanted him to burn from the inside out with unbridled agony before his body turned to ash by my feet. Then I’d spit in them, desecrating them for the poison that they were.

  “Hey, Luce. I think he’s coming around,” Sloan said to me.

  I lifted my head from my hands and saw Vex, who was sitting against the wall, now looking around with fresh eyes that no longer held the red of the drug. I stood from my crouched position and rushed to his side, taking his hand in mine.

  He groaned and placed his other hand to his temple. “That was bloody awful. I feel like my head is splitting in two.”

  I let out a relieved laugh before throwing my arms around his neck, squeezing him to me tightly. He hugged me back, but when he winced at my right grip, I let go quickly and just kissed his cheek instead.

  “Well, you did kind of bash your head in a good few hundred times,” Sloan added. “I think we got you before you could get any kind of permanent brain damage, though.”

  “Good on you, mates,” Vex said with a smirk, grabbing my hands from him as I moved them around, trying to inspect him to make sure he was all healed up. “Love, I’m fine. You can stop fretting.”

  “You’re not fine! Do you know how many times you broke your hands, your face, and your shoulders? Thirty-six times, Vex! I counted every time I heard a crack. So, don’t you tell me ‘you can stop fretting’.” I added that last part in my best British imitation of him.

  “That was awful, pet. Worst representation of me yet,” he gave me a mock affronted look before smiling.

  “Shut up and let’s get you up.”

  Sloan and Hollis helped me lift him from the ground, Hollis undoing the shackles for him when he was standing.

  Vex held his hand out to Hollis. “Thank you. Both of you,” he said looking back and forth between my two men. “If you hadn’t helped, I fear what I would’ve done to Lucy otherwise.”

  Hollis shook his hand, giving him an easy smirk. “We’re glad we were here.” He let go and rubbed the back of his neck. “As strange as this all is, we’re just glad that Lucy has some answers about her past and that you were just trying to protect her. As badly as it was executed, by taking her the way you did, I understand the intentions behind it and can’t say I wouldn’t have done the same.”

  “I thought it was a rather ingenious idea,” Vex replied proudly.

  “This coming from the guy who named his favorite weapon Betty,” I joked.

  His facial expression shifted to horror. “Shite! Betty!” He felt around in his back pockets, coming up empty. “That bastard! If I lost her, there will be hell to pay!”

  Without another word, he raced from the cell, leaving Sloan and Hollis looking between the open doorway and me with confused expressions.

  I waved my hand dismissively with a chuckle. “Don’t ask. Come on,” I started walking out of the cell, knowing exactly where Vex was going to look for his prized hammer. “We better help him find Betty before the sun comes completely up and we’re stuck here for another day.”

  As the guys followed behind me through the corridor, I heard Sloan ask Hollis, “What’s a Betty?”

  Thankfully, Vex found his silver tipped hammer quickly, showing the guys exactly what Betty was. Sloan had laughed, finding it absolutely entertaining when Vex kissed the handle. I laughed when Sloan tried to touch it and Vex smacked his hand away like he was a child before pocketing it while giving Sloan a suspicious look.

  Hollis just shook his head at our shenanigans and began corralling us to the exit, wanting to get on the road and back to the station before dawn.

  Luckily, all the agents who had followed him and Sloan waited in their cars while we were inside, stashed extra bags of donor blood in their glove compartments. Vex and I immediately loaded up on the blood. He said he was still a little fuzzy from the after effects of the BloodLust, but the Blood he was given would help shake it off within the next couple of hours.

  I was relieved at that, glad to see that his mind hadn’t completely broken from the fuckery Bellamy had placed on it.

  When we had exited, I saw Diego leaning against one of the cars and rushed to his side to hug him. I got a few weird looks from Sloan and Hollis, but they understood that Diego and I had built a friendship while in the compound.

  We quickly got back on the road, Vex and Sloan sitting in the back so I could lean back in the passenger seat. It did my heart good to hear Vex and Sloan talking quietly to each other, obviously becoming fast friends. I had a feeling they would with how similarly playful they both tended to be. Sloan’s was a bit more of a cheerful and happy kind of playful, while Vex’s version teetered on the line of loony playful.

  Hollis’ hand grabbed mine from beside me, squeezing it gently. “You doing okay, Lucy? You’ve been quiet since we started driving.”

  I nodded and turned my head to smile at him. “Yeah. Just soaking in everything that’s happened. It feels weird to be going home finally. How is everyone? Claudia, Ricky, Randi?”

  Hollis chuckled. “Randi called every day to check and see if there were any updates. She wanted us to let you know when we found you that you still have your job and to just take whatever time you need before coming back. She missed you.”

  “I missed her, too. Thank you for keeping in touch with her. I was afraid I’d lose my job for disappearing without a word.”

  “Nah. She loves you and wouldn’t do that,” he replied, bringing my hand up to kiss my knuckles lightly.

  “And Claudia?”

  “Ha!” shouted Sloan from the back seat. “You’ll be lucky if she doesn’t glue herself to you when you get back. That woman is a damn dictator! A little scary even.”
>
  I giggled. “Sounds about right. I’m guessing she was ready to grab some pitch forks and go hunting down whoever took me?”

  Hollis snorted. “Forget the pitch forks. She was ready to set off nuclear missiles. She stormed into the station demanding to be part of the search and rescue. Made one of my colleagues uncomfortable enough he stepped as far around her as he left the room as he possibly could. Bishop Bentley doesn’t get uncomfortable, so that says a lot.”

  “Really? Who is he?” I asked, curious how my tiny glitter demon friend could scare even an STF agent.

  “A bull shifter. And a scary effin one at that,” replied Sloan.

  “A bull shifter? Really?” Vex asked excitedly.

  “Yep. I wouldn’t even mess with him,” Hollis added.

  “Claudia should be there when we get back. She refused to leave when we told her we had an idea of where you might be. Not even Abraham could make her move.”

  I laughed, loving my best friend even more for her unwavering loyalty.

  The rest of the drive was a mix of silent conversations and me in and out of sleep. I knew I needed to rest when we got back; otherwise, I’d be useless in helping them figure out where Bellamy was planning to execute his siege.

  When we got to the station, I was immediately enveloped in a bone crushing hug from Claudia.

  “Don’t you ever, ever, ever, ever do that to me again! Do you hear me?” She bellowed at me angrily.

  “You’re breaking me, Claude. Wanna let up a little on the squeezing?”

  She immediately let go. “Oh! Sorry! You must be exhausted. Who took you? Why did they take you? Were you hurt?” she bombarded me with questions, but Vex was the one to step up to answer.

  “That’d be my doing,” he replied politely. “Sorry to have worried you about Lucy, but I swear I did it for her protection.”