With my only backup outside, watching over the human, I was all alone but fuck it. I’ve faced worse odds than this before. Much worse.
“What do you want?” I asked, my eyes darting around for anything I could use to gain leverage.
I was hoping I’d be able to distract him, if only for a bit while I figured out what I’d do next.
His tongue raked over his fangs as he glanced down at the council woman. I could see the hunger in his eyes as tugged her closer, sniffing at her neck. This brought out another anguished scream from the woman who, no doubt, knew she was in trouble. She knew the odds of me saving her was fifty-fifty and she’d been right. On my way in, I’d wondered if taking her to the others was such a good idea, considering what she knew, and at that moment, it was perfect. If Marcus killed her, I’d be scot free without that secret hanging over my head but I’d also be placing my brothers in danger. All of it was connected - the disappearances, the drugs, Zed. It was all too coincidental, and I had no doubt that somehow Davina was involved.
When Marcus flicked his gaze up at me, saying, “How about a trade? This old bag of bones for the girl sitting outside with Smoke.” I knew I’d been right. Dammit to hell, as if we hadn’t been going through enough. The girl was bringing more trouble than she was worth and if I had my way, I would have handed her over the moment Benny said HU wanted her. They could have the bitch if that meant they’d leave me and my brothers in peace, but we all knew that wouldn’t happen. HU had been hell bent on ridding Alamogordo of the vampire population and if they wanted Davina, they had to feel she’d be able to help them in this goal.
Shaking my head, I said, “Smoke won’t let her go, but if you give me the council woman, we can work something out. I can deliver the girl to you…”
He scoffed, seeing it for the lie it was but that gave me enough time to rush toward the wall and trigger the alarm. Startled by the alarms wailing, Marcus let go of Agnes, cupping his ears to ease the pain I knew the alarm would cause him. As it were, I was going through a significant amount myself but with his abilities amplified, I’d hoped it would be enough to distract him further as I grabbed Agnes by the arm and hauled her out of the room.
Out in the hallway, I planted her up against the wall. “Don’t move.”
She gave me a nod just as I was yanked away from her and tossed by into the room. Before I could do anything, Marcus was on me, his fists connecting with my face with nearly enough force to knock me out. The room began to darken and spin and I knew I had to do something. I shoved at him but it was like shoving against a brick wall. The man was solid muscle and rage, an immoveable force who wanted nothing more than to rip my throat out.
I shoved at him again, only this time he went flying into the opposite wall. Stunned, I picked myself up from the floor, only to find Smoke standing there, his back turned toward me and Davina who was looking me over for wounds. Luckily most of the damage was to my face and that would heal up pretty quickly.
“Marcus, whatever they’ve done to you, we can fix it,” Smoke said, his hands outstretched.
Marcus cut him a look of disbelief. “They freed me. Made me stronger, faster, better. I don’t need a fix brother. I just need the girl.”
He zipped around Smoke, reached for Davina before the oddest thing happened. She cringed away from his grasp, her hand coming up to shield her face and he stopped mid-step as if something had spooked him. Whatever it was had him cowering away from her before disappearing altogether, much faster than even I could track.
I glanced up at Davina who was still backing away from the space he’d once occupied but couldn’t see anything that would explain his sudden reaction to her. But what I did know was something had spooked him and I’d bet my life she knew exactly what it was.
Chapter Seventeen
Davina
So far, I’d helped them hack into systems to set Zed up and kidnap a council woman. Still, I felt like I knew nothing about what was going on. That was the thing about being on the outside looking in, always surrounded by people who rarely trusted you with all the details while counting on you to do your job. I’d had enough. It was with that thought I found myself back in Smoke’s office, waiting for him return with something, anything that would clear up this mess for me.
I glanced up at the clock above his door. Two hours. Two hours I’d waited and he hadn’t shown yet. Anger washed over me so violently I shook. Like every other time in my life, I was an afterthought and that alone had me ready to collect my things and leave. I did what I was asked, I was done. At least that’s what I wanted to think but the way things were playing out, I wasn’t certain of that anymore.
I wasn’t really sure of anything, if I was honest. While it may have been a great idea to leave, before shit got any worse, I wasn’t sure I could do that. Not when they needed my help and not when it seemed everyone was out to get me. I’d probably manage a few days without being found but if HU wanted me dead, they had the resources to see that done. And in a tiny city like Alamogordo, it wouldn’t be long before death came knocking at my door, giving me no choice but to stay.
I sighed, thinking about it. Vampires were dangerous and cared about no one but their own, but they’d protected me. They’d offered me safety where there’d been none, friendship I’d been without my entire life and I couldn’t just let them down.
My thoughts were scattered and I tried to shift through them but I couldn’t make any sense of it. On one hand, I wanted to belong. On another, I wish I’d never met any of them and that thought brought a frown to my face. At least until I heard the rumble of a bike just outside the office window.
Moments later, Smoke stormed into the office, slamming the door behind him so hard I jumped in my seat.
“You have some explaining to do,” he said, stepping behind his desk and taking a seat.
Of course, I did. Because to them, it wasn’t possible I knew just as little as they did about what was going on, if not less.
“What else can I tell you? I’ve told you everything I know. You know my background, you’ve run your checks on me, and if you aren’t around me, Jon is. I’ve helped you find the bug in your systems when I could have just let it stay there. Hell, without me, you wouldn’t have even known Zed and council woman was connected. What more do I need to tell you?”
He leaned back in his seat. “How about why they are after you?”
“Who? Who’s after me?”
“HU. Humans United, as stupid as that name sounds. They’re the ones kidnapping vampires and fucking with their heads, using that drug to control them and I want to know why? What do you have to do with it all?”
“I don’t know.”
He leaned forward and slammed his hands on the desk. “Bullshit. You’re hiding something from us and I want to know what it is.”
I sank back in my seat, suddenly afraid. I’d never seen him so out of control and it terrified me to no end. That familiar lump formed in my throat and I started heaving for air as my chest grew heavy. I could feel tears swelling up in my eyes, threatening to spill but I held on to them as long as I could. I didn’t want to completely break down, not when I needed to keep my wits about me.
I leaned forward, sucking in another breath and he was at my side in an instant, rubbing my back.
“I’m sorry,” he said, wrapping his arm around me and pulling me close. “I didn’t mean…”
I pushed away from him and stood to my feet. “I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know why they’re after me but what I do know is I’ve trusted you all to keep me safe. I am trusting you with my life and you can’t even give me one ounce of trust in return?”
I stepped around him, headed for the door as fresh tears fell from my eyes.
“Davina,” he said, suddenly at my side and without warning, he grabbed my arm and pulled me toward him, planting his lips against mine.
Kissing Smoke before had been like a blazing inferno of heat between the two of us, a dizzying experienc
e that confused and enticed at the same time. But this kiss was different. It was more exploratory than anything as he ran his tongue along my bottom lip, questioning me, asking me for permission to go further. In answer, I parted my lips, allowing him to deepen the kiss as his tongue dipped into my mouth, bringing with it his taste that had me moaning, my body trembling with pleasure.
His arm wrapped around me, pulling me up to wrap my legs around his waist. One moment we were in his office, the next, he was sitting me at the edge of his bed, his lips never leaving mine. He kneeled before me, his hands coming up to cup the swell of my breasts and a giddy thrill slid through me, settling between my thighs. I felt myself getting moist, felt the tension building in my core so potent my sex clenched with need.
He must have felt my arousal for he deepened the kiss, as his hands made quick work of the buttons of my shirt. He pulled away for a moment to ease the shirt off of me before reclaiming my lips in a kiss that was borderline violent. I winced as his fangs bit into my lip and he stilled his movement as the coppery taste of blood hit my tongue. A look I couldn’t decipher flitted across his face before, in an instant, he was gone, leaving me there alone.
More of this series
Nightborne Renegades MC Book Two
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Claimed: Nightborne Renegades MC Book Two
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Captured: A Dark Vampire Motorcycle Club Paranormal Romance (Nightborne Renegades MC Book 1) Page 10