I write back to him: Okay, see you then. Then I put my phone down, suddenly aware that my heart is racing. It’s just nerves because I haven’t seen Zeke since the breakup, I tell myself, but I’m not sure whether that’s true. What if Maximus is right and I really am in danger?
“Now you’re just being paranoid,” I say aloud. Even so, I’m tempted to message Maximus and tell him where I’ll be. But that would only guarantee that he’ll show up, which is exactly what I don’t want. A confrontation between him and Zeke would not end well.
Glancing at the clock, I see that it’s almost four in the afternoon. While I’m keen to get this unpleasant meeting over and done with, I also need groceries, so at least I have time to run to the store and back before going to the diner.
Everything will be fine, I reassure myself as I slip on my shoes and make sure I have my wallet, purse, phone and keys. You’re just antsy because Maximus keeps telling you how dangerous Zeke is. But he’s one to talk. I doubt Zeke killed anyone yesterday.
How in the hell did my life get so complicated all of a sudden?
22
Sabina
My throat is dry as I watch Zeke get out of his beat-up old Mustang. His dirty-blond hair is shaggy, almost reaching his shoulders, and he’s wearing blue jeans and a green and black checkered shirt. I can’t help compare him to Maximus, but the difference is like night and day. Looking at Zeke now, I don’t know what I ever saw in him.
Smoothing back my hair, which I’ve got in a casual ponytail, I sling my bag over my chest, then climb out of my own car and walk towards my ex. I deliberately dressed down, not wanting Zeke to think I was trying to impress him. Even so, he rakes me with a long, lingering look as soon as he clocks me.
“Sabina,” he says. “You look pretty.”
“What do you think you’re playing at?” I snap the moment I’m within a few feet of him.
He looks hurt. “What do you mean?”
“Those messages.” I put my hands on my hips. “What are you trying to do, scare me? Intimidate me? If you’re trying to get me back, you’re going about it—”
“Hello to you, too,” he interrupts me, the corner of his lip curling up. “Shame you left your manners at home.”
“My manners?” I clench my fists, forcing my voice to remain calm even though my pulse is racing. “This from the guy who has been threatening me, stalking me—”
“Stalking you?”
“I know it was you outside the clinic the other day.”
“I’m looking out for you, baby,” he says, and the term of endearment makes me cringe. “You shouldn’t have gone to that club. It’s dangerous. You have no idea what kinds of people lurk around there.” He pauses then, and rubs his chin, dark with dirty blond stubble. “Or maybe you do. I’ve seen you with that leech. Are you fucking him?”
“Leech? I don’t know what you’re talking—” I begin, but then everything goes dark and I’m grabbed from both sides. “Zeke, what the fuck?” My voice is muffled and I realize some kind of bag or pillowcase has been shoved over my head. I can’t see, and the sudden panic rises like bile in my throat.
“Little leech whores who don’t want to learn have to feel,” Zeke says, and the icy tone in his voice turns my knees to water. “Put her in my car.”
“Wait, Zeke, we can talk about this. You don’t have to—put me down!” I shriek as I’m half-carried, half-dragged the short way to his car. I have no idea who’s gripping me, who’s now opening the rear door and shoving me down until I sprawl across the backseat, but they’re strong. It’s definitely two guys. Who the hell helps their friend kidnap his ex-girlfriend?
“Shut up, bitch,” one of them snarls. “Or we’ll gag you.”
“She’d enjoy that.” Zeke’s voice is full of contempt. “You know what those perverts do in that disgusting club.”
I can’t believe this is happening. Like a worm, I wriggle across the backseat, trying to find the opposite door handle, but as soon as I’ve reached it, the door opens and someone grabs my wrists.
“Does she like being tied up, too?” I hear, and then rope is looped around my wrists and pulled taut, biting into my skin.
“Wouldn’t put it past her.”
“Where are you taking me?” I bleat, hating how terrified I sound.
“Somewhere private,” Zeke says. The door by my head slams shut again. “Thanks, guys. I can take it from here.”
“Are you sure? She seems like a fighter.”
“Trust me, I’ve got it.”
I can both hear and feel him getting behind the wheel and I wriggle, struggling to get into a sitting position. “Zeke,” I try again. “You don’t have to do this. I’m sorry, okay? We can talk about this like adults—”
“Shut up, you little whore!” he barks, startling me into silence. I hear something click and realize that he’s locked all the doors.
Shit.
“I don’t want to hear another word out of you until we get to where we’re going. Someone needs to be taught a lesson.”
My mind is reeling, my entire body rigid with panic. I’m almost hyperventilating, the cloth over my face being sucked into my mouth with every breath. Calm down, I tell myself, freaking out is just about the worst thing you can do right now. He’s probably just putting on a show to scare me.
The next moment, death metal music is blaring from all the speakers, pounding through my skull. I’ve never liked it, and the volume is so high that the car is vibrating with it. Zeke is obviously not in a mood to talk right now.
As he revs the engine and peels away, I force myself to slow my breathing. One thing is for sure: I’m done protecting this asshole. When Maximus hears about this, he’s going to want revenge. And I’m going to let him take it.
I have no idea where Zeke is taking me, or how long we’ve been driving for. It’s hard to think straight when your eardrums are bleeding. But at length, the car stops moving and the music is finally cut off. If I wasn’t so scared about what was going to come next, I would weep with relief.
The locks click again and the door to my right is opened. I feel the cool air waft over me and wish I could breathe without the fabric clinging to my face. The next moment, my wish is granted as the bag is yanked off my head before I’m tugged out of the car by my upper arm. With my wrists still tied together in front of me, I stand on trembling legs, looking around and trying to get my bearings. We’re out in a more rural area; the only building I can see is what looks like a large warehouse.
“Where are we?” I turn to look at Zeke for the first time since the bag was shoved over my head. He’s remarkably composed, as if he does this sort of thing all the time.
“Clubhouse,” he says curtly, then begins to lead me towards the squat building. There are no lights on inside it, from what I can tell, and the area around us is all dirt and scrub brush. I glance up at the sky and, for a brief second, the beauty of the stars distracts me from this surreal nightmare.
I don’t want to enter that warehouse. I have the feeling it won’t end well for me. So I stop walking abruptly, buying time, trying frantically to think of a way to escape. “Clubhouse?” I say casually. “I didn’t know you were in a gang.”
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Sabina. And it’s a shame. I had hoped to be showing you this place under very different circumstances. Still, it is what it is.” He begins to propel me forward once more.
“Then tell me,” I urge him. “You’ve got my attention.”
He lets out a snort. “Now I have your attention. But look what I had to do to get it. Just shut up and get inside.” He unlocks the double doors and shoves one of them open.
Dread has settled like concrete in my gut and I enter the building as slowly as I dare, still wondering how the fuck I’m going to get myself out of this mess.
Maybe there’s still a way. Maybe Maximus will never have to find out. At this point, I’m not sure what would be worse—his anger with me for putting myself in this s
ituation and not even telling him where I was going, or my humiliation if I end up unable to save myself.
I’m a smart, intelligent adult, I tell myself. Not a damsel in distress. All right, so this isn’t quite how I thought my talk with Zeke would go, but so far, nothing too bad has happened. Essentially, I’ve just been taken to a warehouse out in the wilderness somewhere. Maybe he really is just trying to intimidate me. He’s only a guy, and not a very clever one at that. Surely I can outwit him. Play along. Give him whatever it is he wants—or at least let him believe I will.
The cavernous room really does seem to be some kind of clubhouse. There’s a rough-hewn bar along one wall boasting a couple of beer taps and there’s a shelf behind it holding a few bottles. Worn, filthy, mismatched sofas and armchairs are scattered throughout, and there are two pool tables at the far end. Posters of naked women and a variety of bands paper the walls. It reminds me of a motorcycle club only without the bikes out front.
“So, do you come here often?” I quip, trying to lighten the mood.
“I’m not in the mood for jokes,” Zeke snarls, digging his fingertip into my upper arm. “Sit down there and shut up. I’ll be doing the talking.” He propels me toward a green couch covered in dubious stains and cigarette burns, and shoves me into it. A spring digs into my buttock and my skin feels itchy immediately.
I rest my bound hands in my lap, determined not to show my discomfort, and look up at him as he begins to pace. With his lank hair falling over his eyes and his hands clasped behind his back, he marches back and forth in front of me like a headmaster about to deliver a lecture. A young, grimy headmaster who couldn’t command authority over a bunch of kindergarten kids.
“Go on then,” I say defiantly. “Talk. If you’re not sure where to start, I have a whole bunch of questions.” My initial fear has given way to anger. Now his goons have disappeared and it’s just the two of us, I feel less worried that he’ll actually hurt me, and more livid that he thinks he has any right to treat me this way.
“You know I hate it when you cop an attitude,” he growls. “You seemed like such a lady when we met. Now I know you’re nothing more than a whore.”
Against my better judgment, I answer back. “You keep calling me that, but why? After a few dates with you, I realized we weren’t compatible and broke it off. What I’ve done since then is none of your business but for what it’s worth, I’ve been in touch with one man and he hasn’t paid me. So your definition of whore must be different to mine.”
“Those leeches are all rich as fuck,” Zeke says, spittle flying off his lips at the expletive. “So maybe they don’t pay directly, but no doubt you get nice clothes, expensive dinners, jewelry…”
I let out a bark of mirthless laughter. “Is that so? I must be doing something wrong then. I’ve had none of those things.” I gesture to my blue sweatshirt and gray yoga pants. “Or do I look like a kept woman to you?”
“You didn’t dress up for me,” he snarls, “but you do for him. I’ve seen you. High heels, tight dresses, shiny, flowing hair. Wasted on a fucking leech.”
“Leech? You keep using that term but I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Zeke stops pacing and whirls to face me. His skin is ashen and his eyes are blazing with such loathing, I cringe. “Vampires. Fucking leeches. Bloodsucking undead scum of the earth,” he roars. “They should all be staked out in the desert until the sun turns them into dust.”
I realize my mouth is hanging open and close it, my thoughts tumbling over one another as I try to digest what he’s saying. “So you know,” I say slowly. “How?”
“His kind has always hated our kind. And the feeling’s entirely mutual.” Before I can ask him what the fuck he’s talking about—what’s Zeke’s kind?—he continues, “I told you not to go to that club, Sabina. I asked one thing of you. One fucking thing. And you didn’t even respect me enough to grant me that.”
“I didn’t go while we were dating!” I blurt out. “What I did after we broke up is none of your concern!”
“Oh, but it is.” He sits down next to me and lays a hand on my thigh. Even though every cell in my body is screaming for me to recoil, I don’t want to antagonize him so I force myself to remain still. “I never agreed to break up. It wasn’t a mutual decision. Which is why you’re still mine. My mate.”
“Your mate?” I close my eyes and take a deep breath, wondering when exactly I entered the fucking Twilight Zone. “First of all, that’s not how breakups work. They don’t have to be mutual. If one person decides to end it, that’s it. Relationship is over. Secondly, what exactly is your kind? I assume you’re not a vampire.”
I shouldn’t have said it but sometimes my mouth runs away with me when I’m mad, and I’m spitting right now. Zeke rewards my snark by squeezing my thigh so hard, I yelp with pain. “Do I fucking look like a fucking vampire to you?” he snarls.
I take in his greasy, limp hair, his unshaven chin, his dirty fingernails, his torn jeans. Don’t do it. Don’t say it, Sabina. “No. You’re not nearly groomed or attractive enough.”
I hear the slap before I feel it. My ear is ringing, and a hot burn spreads over my left cheek. Still, I refuse to give Zeke the satisfaction of knowing he hurt me. I glare at him, lifting my chin in a show of defiance.
“One more comment like that, slut, and I’ll call my friends over here to take turns on you,” Zeke says in a low, furious voice. “Maybe I’ll get that leech of yours over here to watch.”
I’ve seen how fast Maximus can move. I know he can—and will—kill without hesitation. “Do it,” I challenge Zeke. “Call him over here. I guarantee you that not one of your slimy, shitty friends would survive the night.”
“Don’t be so sure,” Zeke retorts. “Leeches aren’t the only ones with special abilities.”
Once again, I wonder what the hell he’s talking about. “So what are yours? Aside from being an asshole?”
Grabbing my chin, he turns my face so I’m looking directly at him. It takes a moment for me to see it but when I do, a cold fear prickles over my skin. His pupils, instead of being round, are suddenly vertical slits in his green irises. Like a cat’s. What the fuck? “Nice contacts,” I say, trying to hide how freaked out I am, but then he blinks and his pupils grow round again. “What are you?”
“I’m a shifter. I can turn into a cheetah.”
At first, I’m not sure I heard him correctly. “A cheetah? Like the big cat?”
“Yes, like the big cat.” He rolls his eyes. “Many of us have settled here. Our packs include bears, wolves, even rarer animals like owls, gorillas—”
It’s all too much. The bubble of laughter rises up in my chest and bursts out of me before I can stop it. I cackle maniacally, and the look of angry disbelief on Zeke’s face only serves to make me laugh harder. It takes me several moments to get a grip on myself. “You’re seriously expecting me to believe that, as well as a nest of vampires, Tucson hosts several packs of shifters? What, is this the secret supernatural capital of the world? Do the tooth fairy and Santa live in Arizona as well?”
At that, Zeke lets out a primal, animal snarl which sounds just like the big cat he’s purporting to be. It’s fierce and inhuman, and my mirth dies instantly.
“You’re not kidding,” I whisper, fear once again gripping my gut. “It’s really true?”
“It’s nice to see you finally giving me the respect I deserve,” Zeke says coldly.
I realize my thighs are trembling and jam them together to hide how unnerved I am. “I have so many questions,” I say, trying to distract him.
“I’m not here to answer your questions,” he snaps. “You’re here to answer mine.”
“All right,” I say, defeated. If he can really shift into a fucking cheetah, he’s a lot more dangerous than I thought. Does Maximus know about this? Was this why he was so worried?
I want to kick myself for being so stubborn. For not telling him I was meeting Zeke. For not listening to his warning
s. And I know what I have to do.
Looking up at Zeke as seductively as I can, I say, “I’ll answer your questions. But would it be okay if I go to the bathroom first? Nature calls. I assume you have a bathroom in here…”
He indicates a door towards the back of the building. “Just the one. It’s the men’s, so don’t expect any flowers or shit.” I wonder what he thinks ladies’ rooms are like. Classical music, lace doilies and bouquets of fresh roses? “I won’t,” I say drily. “I’ll be quick.” I hold out my bound wrists. “Could you untie me first?”
“No chance,” he says, getting off the sofa and hauling me to my feet. “You’ll manage somehow. And I’ll be right outside, so don’t even think about pulling any tricks. We’re a long way from town, and I have the car keys right here.” He pats his jeans pocket. “You won’t get far if you try to run. I’ll have caught you and called my friends before you even make it off the property.”
“Jeeze, I just need to use the bathroom,” I mutter. “I’m not planning any kind of escape.”
“Just wanted to warn you.” We’ve reached the back of the room now and he shoves the door open for me. “And hurry it up.”
“I’d be quicker if you untied me, but I’ll go as fast as I can.”
“And no locking the door. I can kick it in anyway.”
“All right, there’s no escape! You’ve made your point! God. Can I go pee now?” Without waiting for a reply, I push the door shut in his face, yank my pants and panties down and squat over the bowl. No doubt he’ll be listening. Then I fish my phone out of my purse. My hands are shaking so much, it takes me a couple of tries before I’ve selected Maximus from my list of contacts. I hit new message, then type out my cry for help before pressing send.
I can only pray he’ll see it in time, and that the software he installed works the way he said it would.
Her Vampire Addiction (Midnight Doms Book 9) Page 16