by J. L. McCoy
“Enough,” Weston growled with a flick of his hand, effectively silencing Jonas.
“What do you want from me?” I asked as I slid my murderous black eyes to Weston.
“I want your help with something,” he smiled with satisfaction. “Our mutual friend and I have the same ultimate goal. To achieve it, we need you.”
“That’s not telling me very much,” I growled tightly as I tried to control my temper.
“That’s telling you enough for now,” he flicked his wrist dismissively then turned his eyes to Archer. “When I am finished with her, if she obeys us and does what we ask, she can return to you if she chooses.” Archer growled unhappily and Hagan and Hunter joined him.
“And how long will that take?” Archer growled lowly.
“That entirely depends on Skye,” Weston answered. “It could be one month, or it could be one year.”
“What if I say no?” I asked, crossing my arms defiantly over my chest.
“The girl dies,” Weston said with a smile. “I’ll let my friend here rape, torture, and dismember her.” He leaned closer to me and whispered gleefully. “I hear he especially likes skinning young, beautiful women, so he’s sure to have a great time with your friend.”
I swallowed thickly, terrified for my best friend. I knew I had no choice; I had to save her and would do anything they asked to insure she walked away from this. After all, she was taken because of me. It was my fault she was in this mess. My eyes slid apologetically to Archer’s and he spoke quickly in my head.
“Tell them you need time to think it over. Tell them to give you until nightfall tomorrow. That’ll give us time to come up with a plan. I’m not letting them take you, Skye. I’ll die before that happens.”
I closed my eyes and sighed as I hung my head. Archer was gambling with Nikki’s life and that worried me. After a minute, I gazed back up at Weston and chose my words carefully. “I need some time to get my affairs in order. Will you allow me to have until sundown tomorrow? I’ll do whatever you need me to do, but you have to promise me you won’t hurt Nikki any further. No feeding, no drugging. She is to be treated as your guest from now on and not a prisoner.”
Weston laughed and the other Dark Ones joined him. Nikki visibly stiffened with fear and shrank further back into the booth seat. My heart ached at the sight as my mind ran wild with the different possible acts they had afflicted upon her during the three days they’d had her in their custody.
“Until you’re mine, I will do as I please with the human,” Weston laughed. To drive his point home, he took Nikki’s wrist and brought it to his mouth. She didn’t scream or move, just watched with detached acceptance. I growled loudly as his fangs slid down and I flashed out of the seat. Archer, Hagan, and Hunter immediately flanked me and growled out a warning as well.
“On my life, if you put one fang in her and I’ll make sure you don’t live to regret it, Weston,” I seethed.
“Threatening me will get you nowhere,” Weston chuckled then slowly snaked his tongue out to lick the underside of Nikki’s wrist.
“Neither will pissing me off,” I rumbled, my fists clenched tightly down at my sides. I was itching to fight and it took all my control to refrain.
Weston stared at me for a long moment and I met his gaze unwaveringly. Finally, he sighed and dropped Nikki’s wrist. “Very well, but hear this. If you think you can trick me, Skye Morrison, you can’t. We have over two hundred Dark here in the city committed to our cause, and they are not afraid to fight for me.” My brow furrowed deeply as I listened. What the fuck is he talking about? Cause? What is this?
“I don’t know, cion,” Archer answered me silently, “and that worries me greatly.”
“You will meet us at the Mesa Ranch Private Airstrip at nine tomorrow night and you will come alone,” Weston said. “Bring anyone else and I’ll make sure one of the two hundred men I’ll have with me kills them.”
“Please allow one of my children to escort her,” Archer quickly spoke up. “Mesa City is a long way from Austin and the human will need a ride home when you release her. It will put Skye at ease knowing her friend is being taken care of.”
Weston frowned at Archer and took a moment to consider his proposal. “I’ll allow one child. Who do you propose?”
“My son Lochlan,” Archer answered, motioning his hand to the second floor bar. Hagan’s brow furrowed incredulously and he looked at Archer as if he’d lost his mind.
Weston craned his neck up to briefly watch Lochlan as he distractedly served blood to the Dark VIP crowd. His lips broke out in a wide grin and he chuckled as if he found the suggestion amusing. “Very well, Day Walker. Your son Lochlan may accompany the girl. No one else, am I clear?”
Archer nodded his head once and Weston turned his eyes back to me. “Bring nothing with you. You will be given clothes and other requirements once we land. Do I have your word that you will cooperate tomorrow?”
I swallowed thickly and glanced over at Archer. He was staring hard at Weston and would not meet my eyes. Sliding them over to Nikki, I took in her pale skin, bite marks, and trembling form. I had to get her away from them. “You have my word, Mr. Ley,” I said clearly, meeting his eyes. “Do I have yours that you will not harm my friend between now and nine tomorrow night?”
Weston smiled and nodded his head. “You do.”
“Now that you’ve gotten what you came for,” Archer growled, “I’ll ask that you leave my club and take your friends with you.”
Weston chuckled and motioned his head to the other Dark Ones around the table. “This establishment is far too tame for my tastes anyway,” he flicked a wrist as Jonas and Lyric pulled Nikki out of the booth.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Nikki,” I said gently as she passed me. “Everything is going to be okay, honey, I promise. This will all be over soon.”
“How sweet,” the Dark One who threatened to dismember Nikki laughed as he followed them out.
Archer, Hunter, Hagan, and I watched the mass exodus of Dark as they all piled out of the club.
Chapter Twenty-One:
Archer whistled to Pádraig and spoke to him silently. “Close down the club. We’re done for the night.”
“Sir, it’s only ten,” he answered silently. “Are you sure?”
“Do it, Pádraig.”
Hagan began arguing with Archer about Lochlan escorting me and Archer sighed heavily as he cut him off.
“I understand your concern for her, warrior, and I even appreciate it, but now is not the time for this conversation. We’ll discuss it at length back at the house.”
Jameson approached us and Archer began barking orders at everyone. “Hunter, inform the dancers that their shift is over. Tell them they will be paid for the full night. Hagan, please make sure every last Dark One gets the fuck out of my club, and quickly. Jameson, use your phone and call our neighbor. Have him meet us at the house. Skye…” Archer looked down at me then and his angry face softened considerably. “Stay by my side, baby.”
Everyone dispersed as Archer grabbed my hand and dragged me to the VIP bar. “Aoife, tell everyone to get this place cleaned up on the double. I want to leave in ten minutes.” Aoife nodded her head and flashed downstairs to talk to Nola, Quinn, Trey, and Thorin. Archer then turned to Lochlan and met his questioning gaze. “You and I need to talk, son.”
“I heard, athair,” he said solemnly. “Wha’ever you need, sir, I’ll do it.”
Archer sighed heavily and pulled my body tightly against his. I rested my cheek on his chest and gently stroked his back. “What are we going to do, Archer?”
“The only thing we can do, baby,” he answered silently, as he cupped my face and tilted my chin up to meet his eyes. “I can’t lose you.”
The drive back to Archer’s lake house was intense and fast. He drove his Lamborghini like a bat out of hell, but everyone that followed us stayed close. When we arrived, I spotted several motorcycles and cars already parked to the side of the driveway and r
ecognized Dean’s Harley among them.
“You called Dean?” I asked, surprised.
“I had Jameson call him,” he explained as he parked. “I figured Dean would be more receptive to the request that way.”
“So, that’s what you meant by neighbor,” I ah-ha’d as I opened my door.
“I couldn’t take any chances speaking freely at the club,” he said, taking my hand as we waited for everyone to park and join us. “The Mausoleum might be bugged. I’ll have Gunnar and a tech crew sweep the entire building and its surroundings, as well as the telephone lines, tomorrow morning.”
Once everyone gathered, Jameson told us he had Dean and his pack wait for our arrival in the back by the pool.
“Good thinking, Youngblood,” Archer nodded his head before addressing the group. “No consuming blood while Dean and his pack are visiting. They already hate our kind and we need their help if we have any chance of saving both Nikki and Skye. Is that understood?”
Everyone agreed and we followed Hagan into the house. Archer and I went to greet the wolves as Aoife flipped on the house lights and Trey got refreshments ready. Dean and several members of his pack were seated on the lounge chairs and stood as Archer unlocked the French doors.
“Jameson said it was urgent,” Dean rumbled worriedly as he stepped inside and walked up to me. He pulled me into a brief, tight hug before letting me go and studying my face. “Are you okay?”
“No, I’m not,” I shook my head and sighed. “The Dark One that was in your bar the other night, Weston Ley, he kidnapped Nikki and is threatening to kill her if I don’t go with him and help him with something.”
A fierce growl ripped itself from his chest as his eyes flashed to Archer’s. “This happened tonight?”
“Nikki St. James was kidnapped three days ago,” Archer explained as Dean’s wolves filed in behind him. “Weston came into my club tonight with the girl and demanded to speak to Skye.”
“You should have seen her, Dean,” I whispered, the horrors of her state evident on my face. “She was pale, had bite marks all over her, and…and they drugged her with something.”
“I knew I should have killed him,” Dean growled angrily.
“Why don’t you boys have a seat,” Trey called out from the living room as he brought in a tray filled with glasses, beer, and bottles of liquor and set it down on the coffee table. “You can have something to drink while we discuss.”
Dean nodded his head to Zephyr and the wolves spread out around the living room. Quinn and Pádraig brought in the six chairs from the kitchen table so everyone would have a place to sit as Dean grabbed my hand and pulled me into the living room with him. He sat us on the sofa and Archer sat on the other side of me.
“Skye, you already know Zephyr, Dylan, and Primo,” Dean said, motioning to the men with his head. “I’d like you to meet Sayer, Thatch, Fitz, Cage, and Trigger.”
My eyes took in each impressive man as I studied them. Sayer had assisted Dean in rescuing me from Amun and Martin when I’d been kidnapped and tortured but I’d never met him before. He was tall and well-muscled with full sleeve tattoos and long black hair. His skin was tan and he appeared to have strong Native American ancestry.
Sliding my eyes to Fitz, the first thing I noticed about him was his striking grey eyes. They almost looked like liquid silver and contrasted strongly with his tall green Mohawk. He was covered in colorful tattoos as well and sported several facial piercings and gauged ears.
Thatch smiled widely at me when I looked him over. He seemed oddly out of place among these rough bikers. Thatch was pasty pale and wore a long sleeved shirt under a black vest. His black rimmed glasses did their best to hide his gorgeous green eyes and his hair was short, brown, and neatly styled. I glanced over at Dean questioningly before skimming my eyes over the next wolf.
Cage was by far the most muscled and mean looking man in the room. His presence was practically electrifying as he calmly studied my vampire family. I couldn’t figure out why, but I suddenly wanted to know everything there was about Cage. He looked like a MMA/UFC fighter and he had the tell-tale cauliflower ears and scars above his eye to prove he scrapped and often. His dark blond hair was long and pulled back into a man bun and his corded arms and bulging neck were covered in shaded gray tattoos. Cage was a good looking man and I would have bet anything he had a harem of willing women at his beck and call.
When my eyes glanced over at Trigger, I noticed he was staring at me hard. His brown eyes looked like they had seen a lot of shit in the twenty-five plus years he had been on this earth and I wouldn’t have doubted that he’d killed a man before. He was oddly beautiful with his military haircut and hard face. Trigger’s hands were heavily calloused and stained black with grease; I guessed he was probably a mechanic by day. He arched one brow as I studied him and I arched one back.
“You like what you see, vampire?” Trigger drawled.
“Actually, yes,” I answered truthfully as I got comfortable on the sofa, sandwiched between Archer and Dean, and crossed my legs.
His thin lips slid into a smile before his eyes found Dean’s. “I see why you like her, boss.”
Dean smiled as he rested his arm behind me on the back of the sofa. Archer stiffened and I reached out for his hand and laced my fingers with his.
“So, someone fill me in,” Dean said as Trey stood and began going around the room with the beverage tray.
I explained everything that had happened between the last time I saw him and now. Dean growled lowly a few times, but managed to maintain his temper for the most part.
“That bloodsucker didn’t tell you what they want from you?” Dean asked and took a long pull from his beer.
“Nope,” I sighed. “Whatever it is, it has got to be serious for them to go to all this trouble to get me, though.”
“I’m not letting her go without a fight,” Archer said as he sat up, rested his forearms on his knees, and looked over at Dean. “I’ve insured that one of my most powerful assets against the Dark race will be escorting her tomorrow, but I’m still going to need help if we have any chance against Weston Ley and two hundred Dark Ones. You know I wouldn’t come to you unless I had no other option, Cruz. The Faithful are back in Ireland and I can’t gather enough Day Walkers to fight on such short notice.” He paused for a moment as he glanced at Dean’s wolves. “I’m asking you to help me save my mate and the girl she considers her family. This will be dangerous and there is a good chance someone could die, but without your help, I fear we have no hope of saving both Nikki and Skye. If Skye attacks before Nikki is removed from the situation, Weston will not hesitate to kill her. And if he sees anyone besides Skye and Lochlan at the rendezvous, Nikki dies. ”
“Thatch,” Dean barked, “find me a layout of the area. I want detailed terrain and road maps.”
“Yes, sir,” he said quickly as he pulled a handheld device out of his back pocket and began typing into it.
“Trig, what do you think?” Dean asked next as he gazed at him.
“I think she might be more trouble than she’s worth, boss,” he smirked. “You aren’t even getting a piece of that. Are you sure you want to pull the pack into vampire affairs? We’re going to need at least fifty wolves to take on two hundred fangers. It’s your call, though. You know the boys and I will follow your orders.”
Dean sighed and looked over at me. He seemed to be considering Trigger’s words and I felt compelled to clarify some stuff.
“Look,” I sighed as I sat up and ran my fingers through my hair. “I’m getting real tired of people threatening my family. First Amun threatens to kill everyone I’ve ever cared about, Nikki included, and now I’ve got Weston practically doing the same thing. I aim to make a statement if we fight. I want every Dark One who walks away from this fight to know that I mean fucking business and hopefully they’ll tell their friends. I will not stand idly by while people continue to threaten me and my family just so they can get their way.”
My ey
es found Trigger’s and I knew it was important to get him on my side, so I was brutally honest. “I can’t die. Short of cutting my head off or cutting my heart out, I’m unstoppable. Even then I’m not sure if that’ll kill me because we haven’t tried it yet and frankly, I’m not planning on it. But know this…when I go in there tomorrow night, I’m not walking out of there until Nikki is safe, Weston Ley is dead, and the other Dark Ones surrender. If I have the support of your pack, you’ll always have mine in return. This isn’t a one sided deal for me. I’m prepared to offer my unique skillset to the Kaxaw pack to use any time they need. Dean is my friend and I fight for my friends. Will you help me fight?”
Trigger’s eyes narrowed as he studied me. “Prove you cannot die, then we’ll talk.”
“What do you want me to do?” I asked, raising my chin a bit as I stood. I was prepared to do whatever it took to save Nikki from Weston’s sick ass.
“A knife to the heart will suffice,” he cocked a brow as he stood, removing a large knife from its leather holder on his hip. It was long, pointed, and looked deadly sharp.
Hagan growled and rose from his chair a few feet from me. “You’re not coming near her with that thing.”
“Hagan,” I whispered as I held my hand out to quell his anger, “it’s okay.”
“You know, it’s seriously going to piss me off if you kill her, Trig,” Dean growled from the couch.
“I’ve got this, babe,” I turned my head and smiled over at him. “Been there, done that.”
“I’ll allow one stab, wolf, and then you retreat,” Archer said menacingly as he rose and came to stand next to me. He was obviously unhappy with the situation, but trusted my abilities enough to allow it.
Trigger nodded his head and came toward me. “Wait,” I called out quickly then shimmied out of my shirt, pulling it over my head. “I don’t want to ruin my top.”