by Laken Cane
But she saw Strad as she was walking out and when she met his gaze, a seed of hope began to sprout.
She could stomp the melancholy down.
Fuck Nicolas Llodra.
Chapter Seventeen
She let herself into Strad’s apartment after her knocking failed to summon Tina. She worried Tina might overdose on the sedatives she’d been given or open a vein.
But Tina was in bed—Strad’s bed—the shades pulled and not a single light on in the entire apartment.
Rune sat down on the edge of the bed and shook the woman’s shoulder. “Tina.”
Tina finally sat up, pushed her hair out of her face, and stared blankly at Rune. “What is it? Is…did you—”
“No, no.” Dammit. “Not yet. I just wanted to check on you. Have you eaten?”
Tina lay back down. “I’m not hungry. You should be out searching for my son, not sitting here with me. Go. Please.”
Tina’s grief was overwhelming and Rune stood, pacing the room. “We’ll find him, baby. I promise.”
“I shouldn’t have brought him here.”
Rune pulled one of the shades and stared out the window. It was nearly full dark but even the night was better than the stifling room. She breathed a little easier once she could see the streetlights and the world outside the window.
“Get dressed and I’ll make you some dinner.”
“I couldn’t eat, Rune. I want to be left alone.”
Rune grabbed the remote and flipped on the little TV in the corner of the room. The sound of canned laughter filled the room. It was better than nothing. “I’ll be right back.”
She ran down the stairs and into the kitchen, putting together a sandwich while coffee brewed. Coffee made everything a little better.
She loaded a tray and carried it upstairs. “Tina, sit up. Don’t make me drag your ass out of that bed.”
Tina sighed but sat up, pushing herself back against the headboard. Her hair was a bristly mess, tangled and matted, and her eyes were large, dark pools of despair in her pale face. “I know you think you’re being helpful but—”
“I’ll leave after you’ve had a cup of coffee and eaten at least half this sandwich. Otherwise, I’ll stay here. All night if I have to.” She was bluffing, but Tina didn’t know her well enough to be sure.
Tina grudgingly picked up the sandwich, took a bite, and then swallowed it down with a gulp of too hot coffee.
“Good,” Rune said.
Tina didn’t speak until she’d eaten the entire sandwich. “Where’s Strad?”
“Still at work.”
“Will he be home soon? I really don’t want to be here alone, now that you’ve forced me awake.”
Rune took the tray and set it on the nightstand. “I don’t know. I can call him…”
“No, I will if he’s not back in a while. Are you going to look for Matthew tonight?”
Rune hesitated. “I have a meeting tonight, but I will first thing in the morning.”
“Do you think you’ll find him?”
“Yes.”
“Alive?”
Again, Rune hesitated. “I hope so, baby.”
Tina patted the bed. “Talk with me for a few minutes before you go.”
Rune sat. “Do you want to take a ride with me tomorrow, get out of this apartment for a while?”
Tina plucked at the sheets. “No. Not really. I’m afraid to leave. The kidnappers might bring him back here.” She looked at Rune. “They might.” As though Rune had argued.
“Okay. Whatever you need.”
“When I first heard about you and saw you on the news, I thought…” Tina pressed her lips together, then hurried on. “I thought of you as an Other. You looked so terrible. Terrifying. And I…” She blushed, then dropped her gaze before continuing. “I was disgusted that Strad let you drink his blood. I got so angry at him.”
Rune stared at the wall. “I am Other.”
“Yes. But now that I know you, I don’t think of you as a monster. You’re everything I wish I could be. You know, brave, confident, in control. Badass.”
Rune looked at her, surprised.
Tina threw her a quick, wan smile. “I think we can be friends.”
“Okay.” Rune cleared her throat. Damn. She was not good with the whole girl talk, BFF shit. “Sure.”
“But Alexis Love—Lexi—frightens me. There’s something about her.”
“She lived through hell.”
“Yes, I’m sure.” She grabbed Rune’s arm. “Rune, I was once involved with a man who was a zealous member of the Church of Slayers. I was in love with him.”
Rune forced herself not to pull away. “Fucking COS?”
Tina started nodding and couldn’t seem to stop. “Because of our relationship, I got involved with the church as well.” Tears welled up and spilled over, but she gazed steadily into Rune’s eyes. “I needed you to know, but I’m afraid if Lex finds out she might…” She gestured wildly. “Do something.”
Rune finally and gently extracted her arm from Tina’s grip and stood. “Lex won’t hurt you.”
“You don’t see it, but I do. I’m sure I’m not the only one. Lex is not soft. She is very protective of you. She’d hurt me over you. Imagine what she’d do if she found out I was ex COS.”
“Does Strad know?”
Tina nodded. “But I got out of COS after I met him.”
Rune thought her head might explode. “Strad knew you were COS and he still hooked up with you?”
“He knew I was trying to get out, and he helped me. The Church does not relinquish its hold easily. At least not the branch in Philadelphia.”
Rune clenched her fists to keep them from trembling. “When?”
“Nearly nine years ago. I got pregnant and…we got married. After Matthew was born we just drifted apart. Strad was always out doing what he does, coming home hurt. I resented him.” She twisted her fingers together. “I made a mistake.”
“What do you mean?”
“I want him back. I want our family back,” Tina whispered. “I need him now more than ever.”
Rune picked up the glass of water she’d brought upstairs for Tina and downed it in one long drink. Fuck me.
Tina climbed from the bed and walked unsteadily into the bathroom. “I know you have things to do. I didn’t mean to unload like that, but thank you for listening. Nothing really matters except getting Matthew back.” She shut the door gently.
Rune left the house, locking the door behind her. “Shit,” she whispered. “Things just keep getting better.”
She got a burger and a milkshake and ate as she drove to Wormwood. She’d have a talk with Gunnar and if he shed some light on Llodra or Matthew’s kidnapping, she’d kiss the ghoul. Right on the lips.
She was captain of Shiv Crew. She was Other. She for damn sure should have found Llodra by now. “Where are you hiding, Nicolas? Where?”
But he didn’t answer.
The streets were empty, which was a good sign. There were going to be some humans out—it couldn’t be avoided. But SPD was patrolling, RISC had crews out other than Shiv Crew, and the humans had been warned.
It was all they could do.
Z called her five minutes before she reached the cemetery. “People are getting scared. SPD just informed us a man shot a teenager half an hour ago. Thought the kid was a vampire because he was dressed in black.”
“Fucking Llodra,” she said. “It’s going to get a lot worse if we don’t get him soon.”
“The crew might find something tonight. Ellis told us you’d started a night search.”
“Yes. We’ll trade off. I would go tonight, get a couple hours sleep and do tomorrow too, but…”
“But what? Got a date?”
“Right. Like I’d go out instead of searching for Llodra.”
“Just be careful, sweet thing.”
“Back at you. And don’t call me sweet thing.”
She hung up and stopped the car in front of Worm
wood’s gates, full of nervous energy. It was a good time to fight the wolf. She needed to burn off some rage. Some fear. No better way to do that than kick a wolf’s ass.
Or get her ass kicked.
Almost like old times.
She fished a Baby Ruth from the glove box. Gunnar the Ghoul should be hungry for chocolate by now. The ghoul had grown on her. She wouldn’t admit it to him but not only was he her best informant, he was one of her favorite “people.”
And he was spooky as hell.
When she opened the gates and stepped inside the vast graveyard, he was waiting for her.
“Quickly,” he said, motioning her farther inside with his long fingers. “Make haste, Your Ponderousness.”
“Gunnar, why are you in such a hurry lately?” She looked around at the deserted area, frowning. “Are you in danger?”
He laughed. It was the first time since she’d known him that she’d heard him really laugh. “Oh, Your Majesty. Am I in danger.” He chuckled and dabbed at the corner of his eye with a dirty handkerchief.
She failed to see the humor. “Are you?”
He ignored her question and asked one of his own. “You have brought my treat?”
“Of course.”
“Then ask your question.”
“I need Llodra’s location. I need it badly. Give me something, sexy.”
“He is well and truly hidden and I do not know where. But I can tell you this—the master will hide where you will not expect him to hide. In the open, in the last place you would think to look. Now that I’ve informed you of this, you must think hard.”
He leaned toward her, the fuzzy strands of his lank black hair drifting over his face. His cheekbones were even more pronounced than usual, sharp cliffs above which gleamed his deep-set eyes. They burned with intensity. “You must find him before he finds you, Your Preciousness.”
“But where, Gunnar? Do you have an idea? A hint? I’ll take anything.”
“I have nothing more.” He hid his face behind his hair, as though ashamed he kept failing her.
Llodra was not inside the gates of Wormwood—Gunnar would have known, and he would have told her.
“Here, baby,” she said, and tossed him the candy. “One more question.”
He glanced around. “The graveyard is not safe right now. You must not visit me so often.”
“I can take care of myself. Do you know anything of Matthew, the berserker’s child?”
He shook his head. “I do not know where he is, either. I am sorry, Your Highness.”
She closed her eyes and sighed. “I’ve been useless. There are no traces of him. If I can’t find the vampire, I won’t find the boy. His parents need an end to this. I can’t figure out why Llodra won’t leave Matthew’s body somewhere for me to find. Fucker would enjoy the pain that would cause.”
Gunnar widened his eyes. “But there is no body.”
“What do you mean? Did the son of a bitch burn the child’s body?”
“The child is not dead.”
Her heart stopped beating for one long pause. When she could breathe again she grabbed Gunnar’s bony shoulders, shaking him. “Is that true? Do you know that for sure? How would you know?”
“Some things I just know. When these things are close to you, I know.”
“Gunnar—”
“And I know the boy child Matthew is alive.”
Chapter Eighteen
Back in her car she punched in the berserker’s number, then held the phone to her ear with a shaking hand.
“News?” he asked.
“I’ve just visited Gunnar the Ghoul, Strad. He knows things. He told me Matthew is alive. I believe him.”
He said nothing but the silence was as thick as the tears standing in her eyes.
She’d thought death was Matthew’s best hope. Alive, he would surely be tortured and terrorized and chained in the dark as Amy had been. But hearing that he was alive sent her heart soaring.
He was alive. She could save him. She would save him.
Somehow.
“Did you hear me, Berserker?” she whispered. “He’s alive.”
“Anything else?” His voice was so low and gravely she could barely understand him.
“Gunnar said Llodra will hide in the open, in the last place we would think to look. I have to give this some thought.” She paused. “We’ll save Matthew, Strad. I fucking swear it.” And she meant it.
He hung up, and she understood.
Tomorrow, she’d visit Tina and tell her face to face that Matthew was still alive. She’d make Tina believe it, because it was true. If Gunnar knew it, it was true.
She slept for a couple of hours before her alarm told her it was time to meet the wolves. She dressed lightly in clothes that would allow her to move, leaving most of her weapons and her jacket behind.
In her car was a kill kit containing her vgun, and she had a few shivs in various places inside the car as well. Just in case.
After she picked Ellis up, she sat for a long moment watching him buckle himself in and chatter incessant nonsense, and realized she’d been stupid.
She couldn’t take Ellis without also taking backup—it was simply too dangerous for him. With Llodra’s vampires lurking around, she couldn’t take chances with Ellis’s safety. She was certain Llodra himself wouldn’t show up. He wasn’t that mad. But he might send some of his children.
She sighed and called Z. “I want you to listen and not argue. Okay?”
“Oh boy. Continue.”
“I need you to get Jack and meet me in Hawthorne forest. A wolf is going to fight me for alpha. I have to throw the fight and make it look good, so I’m going to get hurt. Ellis is with me…” She hesitated before continuing on. “He has blood. I need you guys to keep watch in case the vampires decide to make an appearance. Protect Ellie while I’m distracted.”
He breathed a gentle sigh, but understood arguing was pointless. “We’ll be there.”
“Thanks, baby.”
Ellis approved. “I’m proud of you, Rune. Not long ago you wouldn’t have asked for help.”
“If I would have risked your life because of my pride, then I’m sorry I was ever such an idiot.”
He grinned and squeezed her hand. “Let’s get this over with.”
“I shouldn’t drag you into this.”
“Hey, someone has to keep you alive.” But his hands fluttered nervously over the bag in his lap.
“I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“I know. Just worry about yourself.”
They arrived at Hawthorne Ridge and she parked her car at the edge of the woods so Z and Jack would see it…not that they’d need much direction. She could see flames from a bonfire flickering through the trees and knew that’s where the wolves waited.
“Wait, Rune,” Ellis said when she climbed out. “How will I know when to bring you blood?”
“You’ll see the wolves leaving, or hear the end of the battle. And if that fails, send one of the guys to check in a while. You’ll know.”
He clutched the bag. “I don’t like this.”
“I know baby, but it’s too late now.” She glanced over her shoulder. “I have to go.”
“Rune!”
But she shut the door firmly and walked away. She didn’t want the pack getting impatient and coming to find her. If they saw Ellis with the bag, it would clue them in on her plans and the wannabe alpha’s chances would be gone.
Fucking wolves.
She jogged toward the fire, dodging tree limbs and jumping over logs and stones. The moon was cooperating a little, shedding a nice glow over the area, but the fire would add enough light to see by.
She could see better than humans at night—and the wolves could see better than she could—but she appreciated the extra light. Z and Jack would need it, especially if the vampires attacked.
The wolves sat silent around the fire, and she stopped in her tracks just to watch them. The scene was eerie and beautiful�
�a shifted pack around a bright fire, faces raised to the slice of moon.
Finally one of them stood, sniffing the air, and then looked right at her.
She stepped from the trees and went to them, her skin prickling with the heavy expectation in the air.
The other wolves stayed as they were but the one who’d scented her shifted to his human form. He was a lean man of average height, young and eager.
She stopped a few paces from him. “I’m Rune. Let’s do this.”
He nodded. “I’m Chris, the challenger. Do you need the rules recited?”
“No, dude. I know the rules.”
He nodded his close-shaven head, not even remotely concerned that he stood before her and the pack bare and vulnerable.
But shifters were accustomed to being naked. They couldn’t very well shift back into their clothes.
She held a hand out, and surprised, he took it. “If you win this, and ever need my help with anything, call me.”
He studied her for a second before nodding. “I will.” He knew. He knew she was going to throw the fight. He also understood—perhaps even better than she did—what that was going to take.
A new look of respect gleamed from his eyes and he gave her fingers a quick squeeze before releasing them.
She liked him. If she’d hated him it would have been harder to let him half kill her.
He backed off and shifted, his shift a little slower but nearly as seamless as a wolf a hell of a lot older than he was.
She dropped her fangs.
Strad’s blood was going to carry her through this. She could feel his presence as surely as if he’d been standing there, his arms around her.
Chris growled, his hot breath sending plumes of white steam into the frigid night. He leaped at her, his big body flying through the air. His teeth were long, sharp, and deadly, and he went for her throat.
She shot her claws through the tips of her fingers and twisted to the side at the last moment, her claws raking the big wolf’s chest as he passed her.
At the first scent of blood she woke up, sniffing the air like a starving person catching the aroma of cooking meat. This. This was what she needed.
The pack scattered, watching from a safe distance, their howls and growls adding a strange music to the fight.