Aiden's Betrayal

by CT Nicholson

  “How're you still awake? I thought you’d pass out within minutes.” She rubbed her hands together in anticipation. “This may be better than I realized. You’re the first torture who lasted this long and you’re the main prize. Well, I would've liked some more time with your weak human girl but she’s dead now.”

  Aiden hid his relief as he realized Luciana didn’t know the truth. The truth that Elle was alive and safe inside Sanctuary. With every swipe he endured, all Aiden cared about was knowing Elle would be safe from Luciana.

  Maybe he should've been there when she woke and told her how he really felt. But seeing her eyes darken under his touch. The taste of her still lingered and he’d take the little piece of heaven Elle gave him to his grave. His days came to an end and seeing Elle again would be a dream come true.

  Now he'd die at the hands of Luciana but if he did, he prayed the others took her out fast and easy. He wanted no more casualties because of him.

  Agonizing pain tore him away from his thoughts of Elle as Luciana slammed her fist into his thigh, causing the sharpened claw to stab deep. The pain felt like the claw went completely through his leg. He could feel his muscles, veins, and tendons ripping and breaking with every torturing twist of her hand.

  “Maybe you’ll come back to reality and listen to what I was saying.” The wicked gleam lighting Luciana’s eyes showed she enjoyed her display of authority. “Nicolas will be fun, too. After all, he was the one who came to kill me.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Nicolas paced the floor waiting for night to take over and release him from what lately had felt like a prison. Thinking about Anya and Elle without his protection pissed him off. He didn’t understand why they wouldn’t come with him to Sanctuary.

  “Stubborn females.” Thinking Anya ditched him at the club confused him and finding out she’d actually been kidnapped didn’t help. He tried to get close to her but any time he touched her, she’d move away. She confused the hell out of him and with Aiden missing, he didn’t need that kind of problem weighing on him.

  “Nicolas?” Julian trudged toward him with his mouth set in a grim line. “You should be resting until time to leave.”

  “Yea, just like you?” Once again, Nicolas spoke without thinking ahead. His proof showed as Julian’s white brows lifted when his eyes widened with shock.

  “It still eludes me why I’m still shocked by the things you say. You’ve always been one to speak your mind.” Julian laughed as he smacked him on the back. “Go get something to eat at least.”

  Nicolas shook his head in confusion. “Why've you been so happy lately?” When he looked up at Julian for his answer, Nicolas saw something cross Julian’s face before Julian smiled.

  The sadness Nicolas saw made him regret opening his mouth more than any other time he said something stupid.

  Averting his gaze, Nicolas started to leave. “I think I’ll head to get some food like you said.”

  “Good.” Julian went in the opposite direction without a second glance.

  Maybe one day Julian would open up to them but for now Nicolas needed blood and an update.

  In the kitchen Nicolas grabbed a bag of blood from the fridge. With his fangs, Nicolas poked two holes in the bag before drinking straight from it. He didn’t really care about being proper. Finishing his bag, he grabbed another and headed to see Ethan.

  In the control room, Nicolas stood behind Ethan as he watched the screen without a clue as to what Ethan stared at. “Did you find him?”

  “No. Don’t you think I would have let you know if I di? And will you please stop looking over my shoulder.” Ethan turned to glare at him with an unusual frown on his face. “I hate when you do that.”

  “Fine, I’m going to gear up anyway. Nightfall’s almost here.” Nicolas walked out but made sure to slam the door just hard enough to piss Ethan off even more.

  After strapping his weapons on, Nicolas went to open the front door but it nailed him in the nose before he had the chance to open it for himself. There she stood in the tightest jeans and black t-shirt that teased him with small glimpses of her midriff. Anya drove him nuts every time she spoke or smiled. Something about her distracted him and even in that moment, Nicolas calculated at least fifteen different ways he could fuck her and show her who was truly the boss. That’s what he did, fight and fuck. He knew nothing better than those two subjects.

  It didn’t matter though, because Elle stood right beside her and Ethan would have front row seat to the video. Besides, Anya didn’t like him. Maybe she fascinated him because of her dislike of him. Why did life have to be like this? For once he actually liked a woman and not just for a one-night stand and she didn’t want anything to do with him. Figured.

  Damn! His erection strained against his pants. Pissed off at the world, Nicolas hurried past them.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  “I see you decided to come anyway,” Nicolas commented snidely as he moved past them and headed out the door.

  Anya rolled her eyes and they hurried to Ethan’s control room.

  “I hope we’re not too late,” Elle whispered to Anya as they opened the door.

  “Elle!” Jodi jumped up and hugged her tight before pulling back.

  They all loved Aiden and knowing that made her feel more confident that he’d be okay. “I needed to be here to find out what’s going on. Sitting at home biting my nails wasn’t doing me any good. At least here I can bite my nails but still be in on the situation.”

  “So far I’ve got a search out on the phone but she has it turned off or it’s trashed.” Ethan rolled across in his chair in a blur.

  “How does he keep up with all of this?” Elle gestured to all of the computers.

  “I have no clue. He’s a genius.” Jodi beamed proudly at Ethan.

  The worry and exhaustion dimmed a little as Ethan gave Jodi a quick smile and took a kiss. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  Elle’s chest tightened at the sight of their love for each other. The love she felt for Aiden felt just as strong but he didn’t feel the same. Would she ever be able to get over him?

  A beeping sounded from one of the computers and Elle watched as Ethan jumped up and his hands went back and forth between two keyboards. Her eyes started to cross until he threw his hands in the air with success.

  “Hot damn!” He hit a few more keys and grabbed Jodi in for a big hug and kiss before pulling back. “I’ve got them.”

  Picking up the phone, Ethan's grin went from ear to ear as he waited for an answer. “They’re at 1054 Clinton Ave. Yeah, downtown.”

  Ethan stayed quiet as she heard Nicolas talking on the other end.

  “It’s a rundown street. Only the homeless and squatters live there.” Closing the phone, Ethan sat back at the computer and watched as blinking green dots on the screen got closer to the big red one in the middle of the screen.

  That’s where she needed to go.

  “I’m going to unpack my things.” Elle glanced at Jodi. “Should I go back to the last room I was in?”

  “Oh yes! I’ll help.” Jodi started to the door.

  Elle’s shoulders dropped.

  “We’ve got it. You stay here in case something changes. I’ll come back as soon as I drop my things off.” She gave Jodi a reassuring hug. “Thanks for everything.”

  Anya grinned and nodded. “Thanks Jodi. See ya in a minute.”

  They both tried to hurry without suspicion until coming up to the room she first woke in. Inside, they dropped their things carelessly to the ground. “We need weapons.”

  “I did some snooping when I was waiting for you to wake the last time we were here. I know where the weapon's room is but they keep it locked.” Anya grabbed her hand and dragged her out into the hall.

  “I think I know where you’re talking about. Maybe we’ll get lucky and they left something out.” She could only hope they forgot something but none of the men seemed like the type to leave their weapons just anyw
here.

  Inside the training room, Elle and Anya ran over to the room holding the weapons. Elle gasped with excitement when she saw the door cracked just a tiny bit.

  “You’re kidding me.” Opening the door, she prayed Ethan stayed distracted and didn't notice them.

  “Oooh, what’s this?” Anya picked up a stick with a chain and ball attached. Spikes covered the ball and it seemed like a gruesome weapon. “How medieval is this? Surely they don’t still use this.”

  Anya dropped the weapon back in its place and moved on to the knives. “I can strap these on and I’ll take this gun, too.”

  Elle picked up a gun and looked back at Anya who seemed to be taking a whole arsenal with her. “I don’t see a holster. Where do I put this?”

  “Make sure the safety’s on and put it just like this.” Anya slid the gun behind her back between the waistband of her jeans.

  “Haven’t you seen the movies?” She said as she rolled her eyes.

  Once Elle had the safety on, she copied Anya. Two daggers caught her attention. She ran her fingers over the blade and knew they belonged to Aiden. He’d talked about them and she’d seen him fight with daggers. Obviously he had back-ups and she would take those for him.

  If... No, when she found him she’d give them to him. She knew getting him out would be a fight.

  “Oh, good choice. Those look like they’d tear something to pieces.” Anya handed over a taser. “This might help.”

  Shaking her head no, Elle laid the useless weapon aside. “Nope, I did that to one of the rogues who attacked us at my home and he didn’t even flinch. Not sure why they’d even have one here.”

  “Oh well. I think we’re set. Let’s go get your man.” Anya glanced out into the hall like some kind of spy. “Clear.” She motioned with her hand down the hall.

  If Aiden hadn't been her main concern, Elle might've laughed at Anya’s craziness. With Aiden gone, she could barely crack a fake smile.

  ****

  When Luciana finally left Aiden alone, he worked on getting out of the damn cuffs. Losing blood weakened him but he didn’t doubt he could manage to break at least one hand free.

  Taking a deep breath, Aiden gripped his right hand around the chain and jerked with what strength he had left. The chain didn’t break but the wooden headboard cracked.

  One more jerk of the chain and some wood knocked him in the head. “Fuck.”

  Ignoring another pain added to the rest of his wounds, Aiden used both hands to pull the other chain, breaking the metal free with ease this time. He sucked air between his clenched teeth as he lifted into a sitting position. The wounds on his chest and legs burned like a son of a bitch.

  After working his legs free and getting to his feet, Aiden held on to the bed until the room stopped spinning. If Luciana showed back up, he didn’t know if he could take her down in his current condition.

  He searched the room for some kind of weapon and decided the best thing were the chains still connected to him. Blood loss impaired his vision and made seeing in the dark that much harder. He felt helpless.

  Once he found the door and opened it, he realized his sense of smell must've been impaired.

  Two rogues stood outside with thin lips split into shit eating grins. Their fangs looked blackened with dried blood Aiden stood close enough to them he had no problem smelling the rancid smell of their breath. The last thing they ate had to be dead skunk.

  His whole body felt like pure lead weighing him down. His vision wavered causing the two rogues to look like four. Darkness threatened to take him under. Standing tall, he hid his pain from them. “How about we make this easy? I’m really not in the mood to kick rogue ass right now.”

  Even his words slurred slightly. The ugly one tilted his head sideways. The rogue's nose was missing and his eyes seemed to be sinking into his skull. As the rogues watched him curiously, Aiden took the first strike.

  He swung one arm to bring the chain swinging around the first rogue’s neck. One stiff jerk and the rogue fell to his knees.

  The other male stood shocked for only a second before he jumped in to help.

  The blow to Aiden’s head caused his footing to falter before he caught himself.

  Swinging his left arm seemed to be a harder task, but the chain still did its job and circled the other's neck. Aiden knew he could be making a huge mistake as he jerked backwards to fall to the ground. He let his feet swing over his head and by some miracle, he managed to get back to his feet.

  His arms burned like hot lava as he held tight to the chains. Both rogues flailed around on the ground, hissing and failing at their attempts to scream.

  Taking his only chance, Aiden let the chain fall from the ugly one’s neck and jumped the other male who pulled the knife from his neck with an animalistic snarl. The acidic blood sprayed from the rogue’s neck, burning through Aiden’s skin.

  Ignoring the burn was easier than ignoring his need for blood.

  The knife swiped only a hair away from Aiden’s neck. “Son of a bitch!”

  Nothing could go right for him. He grabbed the rogue’s wrist with both hands to keep the knife from entering his chest. Taking a deep breath, Aiden nailed the asshole in the groin and ripped the knife from his bony hands.

  Red eyes widened with shock as the rogue fell to his knees. Aiden still couldn’t believe that even with all of their vampire strength, you could still give one good hit to the groin and a male vampire would fall to his knees. Aiden knew because the injury happened to him more than once.

  Aiden got jerked back into reality as an arm snaked around his neck. As puny as the arm was, he couldn’t break the hold without more strength. The arm tightened to block his airway and darkness finally started to win the battle.

  A loud, painful scream vibrated through his ears and the arm around his neck disappeared. Giving up didn't run in his blood but Aiden couldn’t stop his fall as his knees collapsed. He couldn’t help his smile when Nicolas stopped him from hitting the ground.

  “What the hell is your problem? You got a death wish or something?” Nicolas lowered Aiden down with ease before drawing his weapon. “I could take care of it for you.”

  His usual grin seemed forced and unlike the cousin he loved.

  Nicolas held the sword up and swung just as the ugly rogue tried to move. One swipe and the head fell to the ground. The body started disintegrating instantly. Nicolas grabbed Aiden and helped him out the door.

  “We need to get out of here before Luciana shows up with another round of rogues. I don’t think you’re in any condition to fight and I might be able to take them all but not while I’m babysitting you.” Nicolas laughed as he loaded Aiden into the back seat of the SUV and threw something at him. “Here’s some extra clothing.”

  “Thanks for babysitting me, asshole.” Aiden might've laughed if movement didn’t cause excruciating pain to course through his whole body.

  “Let’s get home.” The pants scraped against his wounds and his breath left his lips in a hiss. Aiden decided against the shirt.

  Thinking about Sanctuary caused his stomach to tighten and his chest to ache, but not from any of his wounds. No, the real pain came from Elle. He didn’t know how she felt toward him.

  Even as he bled all over the back seat, all he wanted was to ask about Elle. Grunting, he lifted into a sitting position.

  “Is everyone else safe?” He didn’t know if Luciana had managed to capture any of the others.

  “Everyone else is fine. Including Elle.” Nicola’s eyes captured Aiden's in the rearview mirror. “You’re still a fucking idiot.”

  “Hmm.” Aiden kept his gaze out the window and watched as everything passed in a blur of movement.

  Thump.

  “What the fuck was that?” Nicolas kept speeding down the road as a loud banging on the rooftop started. “Shit. There’s a damn rogue on the roof. No doubt he’s trying to get to you. Hold on cousin because this is going to be one hell of a ride.”

  Ni
colas slammed on the breaks.

  Aiden couldn’t get a hold of anything before he ended up thrown into the floorboard. Something jabbed into his ribs, making him realize that more than one was broken along with the numerous claw marks that marred his whole body.

  “I told you to hold on,” Nicolas said.

  The SUV lurched into motion. Aiden growled out loud as the vehicle jumped. Once again, he ended up jostled and his ribs took most of the impact. “Damn it, Nicolas! Can’t you drive better than this?”

  “No. The ride’s about to get bumpier.” Nicolas cursed aloud. “Hold on!”

  Aiden managed to drag himself back into the seat and didn’t like what he saw outside the window. There were so many rogues he couldn't even count them all. The motor grew louder as Nicolas slammed the pedal to the floor. Aiden fell back into the seat. “You’re going to run them over?”

  “You have a better fucking idea because I don’t. You’re too injured to fight them and I may be cocky, but even I know I can’t beat them all by myself.”

  Aiden watched as Nicolas’ knuckles turned white. There would be a lot of cleaning up to do. The SUV plowed through the rogues like they were nothing at first until Nicolas swerved to miss a car going by and they found themselves flipping.

  “Don’t lose your head!” Nicolas screamed above the crunching and screeching as the car rolled.

  “Damn it!” Aiden winced as his body was thrown around like a ragdoll. Once the SUV slid to a stop, Aiden found himself hanging halfway out the front windshield, the glass adding to his wounds. He tried moving his right arm and failed.

  More broken bones. They needed help because he had no chance of helping Nicolas. Hell, he didn’t even know what condition Nicolas was in.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Elle screamed along with the tires as Anya slammed on the breaks. When she looked around, her heart dropped. How could they fight all of them? Rogues crowded the streets, but they didn’t even give Elle or Anya one look. No, their gazes stayed glued on the SUV that went flipping through the air.