Waiting

by Kiahana

  The last to put on were the heavy black boots that came up past my knees, the thick heels making me as tall as her.

  “I can make your time here easier if you'd like me to mess with your mind. I can make it so you don't feel anything.”

  Why would she offer me that after she promised to torture me?

  “Like I could trust you to just do that, and nothing else.”

  “Whatever.”

  My second mistake: Looking directly into her eyes.

  She held my gaze and my body immobile, her blue eyes streaking with a wicked gleam before black bled through, revealing her vampire side.

  “You will feel no pain. You will obey without question.” She walked toward me and stopped once she reached my feet, sifting my hair out of my face before whispering directly into my ear. “You won’t tell Parker anything until after you’re free. You will only run when you know you'll be able to get away. You'll know the moment. You'll feel it.” She took a step back and spoke at a normal level. “When Parker gets here you'll continue to do as you’re told.”

  She stepped forward once more, rubbing her leather against mine. The noise was louder than her next whisper as her breath blew against my ear while she placed a long black wig expertly over my hair.

  “Tell him I'm sorry, but I had to save my mate. You'll be free to move and say as you like after Parker and Francis come into contact with you, but you will remember what I've told you.”

  The door opened behind her. She licked my cheek from chin to temple. I stood there too stunned to move or say anything.

  “Are you done giving her instructions? Oh, are you tasting already? I want some.” Quinn strode forward, shirtless, but wearing, you guessed it, black leather pants.

  Sam turned to him with fangs extended, hissing.

  “No tasting until Parker and Francis get here! I was just licking her. Her skin is delicious.”

  Quinn moved past her, grabbed my arms to face him then bent his nose in the crook of my neck, visibly inhaling across my collar, flicking his tongue across my pulse before pulling back.

  Revoltion was one of the few feelings I was having, and it was the most apparent at the look I was giving him. That angered him.

  Sam was only doing this because they'd taken her mate, easing my tension a bit, though not a lot since I knew I wasn't at the top of her list to save if things got even uglier here. She was still a traitor in my eyes.

  “She only smells like fear. Her skin tastes better than Georgia's though.” He chuckled as new fear rippled across my features, thinking of the other people they might be holding here for meals. “She looks sexy though.” He pinched my exposed right butt cheek and left without looking back.

  Sam was back to playing the part of my evil abductor, leering at me as she led me out of the room, down back into the basement with Gunner who was laying across the bed before hearing us come back through the door. His eyes widened as I was placed back into the cell, then diverted his gaze. I crossed to the mattress and wrapped the thin sheet around my body. He relaxed almost instantly.

  “Are you alright? What did they do to you?”

  “Nothing. Sam just made me change into this.”

  “That means you're going to be part of the club scenery tonight, in a cage.” He cast a worried look at me. “At least that's what I'm hoping. If it's not that, then you'll be one of the meals they pass around the dance floor. Once you’re almost drained they'll fill you back up and put you back out there.”

  I gulped. I definitely hoped for the cage thing then. How the hell had this day turned out this way?

  It was close to nine o'clock now, getting darker by the minute. Not that we could see from our current cage but I caught glimpses while I was topside.

  “They let me feed while you were gone. I only took what I needed to stay alert since I didn't want to harm the girl any more than what's already been done to her.”

  “Let me guess, Georgia?”

  “What?”

  “The girls name?”

  “Oh, I didn't ask.”

  Of course no one cares about where they got their meal from. Or from whom.

  “Never mind, it doesn't matter anyways.” I just want to go home and hide under my blankets. “Why would they let you feed? This isn't making any sense.”

  “I don't know. The girl came down alone, didn't say a word but put her arm through the cage bars for me to drink.”

  His eyes were gray, the silver markings completely erased from his neck and wrist.

  Sighing, I moved to my purse and dug out my phone before standing on top of the bed and holding it as high as it would go.

  A bar popped up!

  Trying not to move an inch, afraid I'd lose it again, I used my other hand to scroll down to Parker's number and hit send.

  It rang!

  “Where are you?” he growled into the phone, voice full of hope and frustration.

  Instead of letting me answer Gunner grabbed the phone from my hand and spoke in tones too low for me to hear. His brow was furrowed while listening to the same low whispers coming out of my phone.

  The excitement of my phone being turned back on quickly depleted into worry and jealousy, since I had no idea what they were saying. It didn't matter as long as he got us out of here. Gunner's face gave me hope, easing some of my fear. Barely.

  “Can I talk now?” I whispered, but Gunner acted as if I yelled right in his ear. His lips moved a few more times before the phone was handed back to me. “Gunner is Ashley's dad? Why didn't you tell me? I thought you killed him.”

  A frustrated chuckle met my irrational question. That was the least of my concerns right now, but it was the first thing that came to mind.

  “You need to hang up the phone and stop talking so loud. I'm surprised they've let the conversation go on this long. The club must be open and the music on, and Sam must've forgotten you had your phone.”

  “About Sam...”

  “I know. That conniving, ungrateful bitch!” Anger exploded into my ear on his growl. “We'll be there soon. I've got friends showing up shortly to keep an eye on things. I'm so sorry about all of this.”

  “We'll get her out of this alive,” Francis' voice cut through Parker's.

  “Parker, I...”

  “Don't, please. I can't feel any worse. Keep your phone on you if you can. Please, just...when this is all over, please forgive me.”

  My breath caught and my eyes immediately started watering.

  “Parker, there’s nothing to forgive!”

  Two beeps had me pull the phone away from my head to see that the call had been lost. Great. I hope he heard what I'd said first.

  I dropped the sheet and looked for a place to keep the phone and only found the inside of my boot to be a safe fit. Placing it inside, it rested against the back of my calf and didn't bulge out enough to be noticeable.

  “What did he say to you?” I asked.

  “He said he'll be here soon and he's got backup.” Duh. I already heard that. “They're coming for you in a few minutes.” He shook his head and looked down at his feet. “You need to make sure you get out of here alive. I have one request if there's no time for me. Please make sure my family is kept safe. I know Parker's already doing that, but if I'm not around...please.” His eyes swirled with a silver, smoky color, revealing his depth of emotion.

  “Of course. But we aren't leaving without you.”

  “Shh.” He pressed his lips to my ear as the door to the stairs flew open again. “Take care of yourself.” He pulled back and half smiled, stepping away from the doors when Quinn approached, signaling for me to follow him.

  “Follow me.”

  Once again my body had no choice but to obey, following him up the stairs and past the other prisoners, then back out to the same room Sam brought me to earlier.

  Loud music blasted through the air, shaking the walls. Club goers were filling up space, starting out their evening as if nothing wrong was going on here.

 
Sam sat on a plaid ottoman, tapping the other end to indicate I join her. Not wanting Quinn's voice to make me, I moved of my own free accord to join her, crossing my legs but turning my face to look directly at her.

  “This'll just take a minute.”

  She picked up a brush and black eyeliner and soon her hands were zooming across my face, doing God knows what since I couldn't see. She kept lifting the thick bangs of my wig then laying them back down.

  Was she painting my forehead?

  “All set.” She sat back and fluffed the long length of the wig, winking flirtatiously at me with a giggle. “Beautiful.”

  She flew around the room, putting everything away before sitting down next to me a few seconds later.

  “Now. I'm going to put you in a dance cage and you'll need to dance until I tell you to stop.” She leaned in to whisper in my ear again. “If Parker and Francis get you free of the cage, you can stop dancing and do of your own free will. If you get the chance, take some of Quinn's blood, it'll break his hold over you.”

  She leaned back with the same wicked grin as before. Withdrawing deep red lipstick, she applied it heavily to my lips before taking my hand and standing me up, twirling me as if to inspect her doll.

  I don't want to do this!

  I placed my hand against the wall to stay upright, afraid I'd fall face first from the lack of oxygen my panic attack was dishing out.

  A woman in her forties with tan skin and huge olive eyes came in and tilted her head to the side, waiting to be fed from. Sam's fangs immediately shot out before she licked her skin and sank her teeth in. The woman moaned, enjoying it as much as Sam did. She fed for a few minutes, the woman obviously growing weak from the lack of blood before collapsing altogether. Sam propped her up against the ottoman, licking her lips and turning back to face me.

  “Alrighty. Let's get this over with.” Her tone was business like now, as if about to close a deal.

  She took my hand and led me through the crowd of dozens, then up on top of the bar where a white metal cage hung a few feet above. The bars were skinny but sturdy so they'd be able to watch my every move. Lifting me in with one arm then shutting the cage door with her other, she sighed worriedly before returning to her happy, scary face.

  “Dance like them.” She held my gaze and pointed to a group of three cages by the far left wall where women were gyrating and dancing as if naked and horny.

  My body obeyed, quickly learning the rhythm and popping and swaying at all the right times. A few of the patrons laughed, liking that I had no choice in the matter. I’m sure I looked like a crack head, my body moving in ways that were foreign and forced. Not a good combination.

  Sam disappeared and every time my eyes locked onto someone watching me, I shuddered, a sickening feeling creeping into my stomach and staying there. I really wish I'd been given permission to cry, to let out this yucky feeling, but I couldn't.

  My instructions were to dance and stay in the cage until Parker and Francis touch me.

  I left my face a blank slate, swaying and bending to the music, popping my hips, grasping the bars to keep my balance.

  Closing my eyes I pictured Parker. Just the two of us. No one else. No creepy, prying eyes staring at me in this degrading, humiliating cage. I pictured Parker's face loving the way I move, reaching out to touch me, but holding back, not wanting me to stop my show.

  A loud scuffle brought my head up to search for the source of the yells. Quinn pushed a man off him before turning on his heel and exiting the club area. The unknown man also turned, heading straight for the bar.

  Turning my back to the crowd, facing a wall of bottles filled with red liquid, different liquids mixed with blood, I closed my eyes again and focused on Parker's face.

  The music continued to blare while the bodies disappeared, leaving me once again, in a room just with Parker. I leaned forward and felt my butt hit the bars, though I pretended it was Parker's hands gently touching my exposed skin and enticing me to move more, loving the fact that he was getting excited.

  A gentle tap on my hip and the call of my name pulled me from my comfort zone as my eyes snapped open to come face to face with someone I'd never seen before. No I did recognize him. He’s the man who’d just fought with Quinn. His eyes were black, skin a natural dark tan with thick black hair and a look of determination. He wore black leather pants and a crisscross of metal suspenders across his rock hard abs that glistened with moisture, though I was sure it wasn't sweat since vampires don't sweat.

  His hand held up a glass that he handed through the bars, wanting me to drink. The thin martini glass held blood, that much I was sure of. I turned and faced the opposite direction, trying to covertly tell him I wasn't interested.

  He appeared in front of my face before I had time to blink, shoving the drink into my hand with a look of determination.

  My third mistake, or possible the smartest thing I'd done all day: I looked into his eyes.

  “Drink this.”

  My hand grabbed the stem of the glass and downed the awkwardly thick contents before it dropped to the cage floor and shattered.

  It's hard to explain but I felt a jolt of release, as if I'd been reawakened, cut loose from an invisible tie holding me down, though my body continued to dance.

  What was that?

  The man disappeared from view, leaving me with questions and no one to answer them. My gaze continued to skim the crowd that quadrupled since I'd been thrown in. I glanced at a clock behind the bar and saw that it was almost midnight. I hadn't just been dancing for a few minutes, but for a few hours.

  The muscles in my thighs would be incredibly sore tomorrow. My sweat slicked across most of my skin, the wig sticking to my back as if I'd just taken a shower. I moved both arms above my head, then both hands beneath the heavy hair and pulled it off my damp skin, holding it inches above while twirling and trying to cool and dry my neck and back off.

  Broken shards of glass laid at my feet, crunching when I took steps, reminding me of the effect the drink had on me.

  Though my body was shaking, muscles tense and sore, mind a complete wreck of emotions and thoughts, I kept coming back to the same solution. Parker. It was the only thing that kept my body moving. Survival. If anything, I'd stay alive long enough to see him again, hold him, just look into his emotional eyes to feel important.

  There in the crowd, my eyes finally found the man that had given me that drink. He was feeding off a human, eyes roaming over me every couple of seconds, watching me but keeping his distance. He must be one of Parker's friends. Thank God!

  A new sensation came over me, giving me chills as a low ache starting tingling low in my belly. How could I possibly be turned on right now?

  My hands starting roaming over my skin, imagining they were Parker's as they lightly skimmed over my stomach then down past my hips to tease my thighs. Holy hell this was amazing. It was as if he really was touching me everywhere.

  I gasped and looked up, scanning the crowd while trying to avoid eye contact with anyone. My heart rate shot up, sky rocketed really, feeling familiar eyes on me, though I couldn't find the source.

  What was in that drink? A hallucinogen probably. I didn't recognize anybody except for the mysterious drink man who was now dancing, or getting it on with some random. It was hard to tell what was really happening.

  Damnit! He'd probably drugged me to feel this way. I guess if I'm going to die, this feeling was a hell of a way to go out.

  My world stopped.

  My heart beat slowed, partially from the heart attack I was sure I was having, and partially from the spike of euphoria shooting through my veins again.

  Parker was in the center of the crowd, clad in the same outfit as the man who'd given me the drink, looking sexy as hell as his dark eyes bored into mine, emotions foretelling what he didn't have to say. He looked deadly and ready to fight.

  I moaned and my hands started running against my skin again, his lips thinning before I shut my eyes and loo
ked in a different direction, sure it wasn't him I was really seeing.

  When I opened them again, he was there, directly in my line of site, lips parted when my hands skimmed over my breasts, before rage consumed his face, disappearing from view once again.

  I'd remember him like that. Or maybe the way he looked when we made love for the first time. Either way he was heart stoppingly beautiful.

  I regained control of my hands long enough to grasp the cage bars while moving my hips again before feeling the slightest touch across my backside. Turning, no one was there though I felt that same zing of awareness when something clicked in my head as it had with the drink.

  Was I dying? What were these feelings and zings of control I was having?

  The next thing I knew my cage was practically on the ground. My feet stuttered but I quickly regained my balance and pace since the music was still blaring.

  Someone's hand had ripped the cage from the ceiling and was carrying me through the mass of people, barely jostling me before they stopped on top of what looked to be a stage that I hadn't noticed until now.

  It was small, but large in comparison to my cage. Everyone seemed to be gathered around now, waiting, watching as my body wouldn't stop convulsing until a loud booming voice had the courtesy to let me rest.

  “Stop!”

  Sam.

  My legs shook as I fell to the ground, eyes searching for Parker in the crowd of hundreds when the music abruptly stopped, all eyes on me.

  “Fangs and Pulpas! It's my pleasure to present to you…miss Piper Smith!”

  The crowd howled, though I'm not sure why. Why would they care about me?

  I regained the strength to stand, wiping the glass shards off my knees while trying to get a better view. I guess I hadn't really seen Parker earlier.

  “Now, she's a newbie, fleshie, but sexy as hell and the star of our show tonight!”

  Sam came walking gracefully through the crowd as they parted, then helped her stand next to my cage before she flicked the locked and opened the door, grabbing onto my wrist and yanking me out.