by Vivi Anna
Shaky, he felt along the door again. His hand was numb and he could barely feel his fingers as they pressed against the wood. He dug his fingers into the groove of the door but there was no way he could pry it open without a tool. It was useless. There was no way out. He was stuck in the room until someone came to get him.
Cale settled himself again on the floor leaning against the wall, his knees up. He’d sit and prepare himself for whatever came next. It was obvious now that he’d been taken for a reason. Ransom most likely. A trade-off for Ivy and the virus. It was standard procedure not to negotiate with terrorists, so Cale knew he was on his own.
He wondered how Olena was doing. Was she scouring the city for him? His ego made him consider it, but in reality he knew she’d do the right thing, the logical thing, and try and follow the evidence. If there was any. He liked to think she’d want to trade the girl and virus for him, but he knew she wouldn’t. She was a professional.
She would do everything she could to find him, he knew, but in the end she would do what was right.
Rubbing his hands over his face, he tried to erase the remnants of the grogginess he felt. He’d need his strength and his wits if he was going to survive. Once they realized that the NMPD wasn’t going to trade him, he’d become expendable. And they’d get rid of him, quickly and quietly, covering their tracks as they did so.
Cale wasn’t going to make it easy for them. He was trained in several fighting styles and could kill a man with a few well-placed moves. Killing a lycan or a vampire was another matter altogether, but he knew a few things that could take down any man, no matter what species. All men were vulnerable in certain spots on their bodies, whether they had fangs or grew furry during a full moon. He might not kill them, but at least he could stun them and maybe give himself some time to escape.
While he was pondering this, the door creaked open and the doorway filled with two very large bodies.
“Wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey,” said one of the bruisers as he stepped into the room. The other one followed behind.
Cale was on his feet in seconds, preparing to fight.
“Valentino wants to talk,” the first bruiser said. The other one smiled, revealing several tiny pointed teeth.
Lycans, the both of them. He was going to have one hell of a fight on his hands.
“Come on, human, and make it easier on yourself.”
Cale took a step back with his right leg and settled his hands at his waist, looking for an opening. They were both really big, muscular but not fat. One he might be able to injure, but two were next to impossible. Despite all this, every fiber of his being told him to fight.
They circled him, obviously sensing he wasn’t going to go quietly. In their arrogance they left an opening between them. It was a small opening, but one nonetheless. He had to take the chance.
“Come on, little human. Don’t make me collar you and drag you out the door.” The big bruiser took another step toward Cale.
It was just enough room for him to dash between them. Without another thought, Cale pushed off with his right leg and dove between the two lycans, rolling on the floor and coming up near the door. He sprinted over the threshold and kept running. He was maybe ten feet down a dark empty hall when one of the lycans was on him.
He took the fierce blow in the lower back. It took his legs out from underneath him. The pain exploded through his body and he crumpled to the ground. He’d be surprised if that hit hadn’t busted something inside. Rolling over to get up, he could barely breathe.
But the lycan kicked him in the side before he could sit up. Then the other lycan arrived and they took turns kicking him from side to side like a soccer ball. After about the fifth kick, Cale stopped feeling them. His whole body was just one giant mass of dark agony.
Curling into a ball, his arms over his face, he swirled in and out of consciousness until finally, blissfully, the darkness took him under.
The sting of icy water jerked him awake. Sputtering to catch his breath, he noticed that he was in another room, a larger one, tied tightly to a wooden chair. He twitched a little to test his bonds. They were secure. He wasn’t going anywhere.
Even that small move sent a rush of stabbing, agonizing pain through him. It nearly made him retch. His vision was impaired; everything seemed blurry, as if he was peering through a dirty window.
“Hello, Agent Braxton.”
Cale lifted his head to see Valentino leaning against a long wooden table. Though the image wavered in and out of focus, Cale could tell exactly who it was. Valentino was dressed casually but still with a wealthy flair.
“You’re a tricky little man, aren’t you?”
Cale ignored the barb and surveyed his surroundings. There were a couple of high windows in the room. They were blacked out with what looked like spray paint. Then he must be in an area where Valentino feared nosy neighbors. Maybe there was hope yet to get out of this situation.
“I need to ask you a few questions.”
Cale dropped his head to his chest. He couldn’t hold it up any longer. He was having a difficult time even staying conscious.
More cold water was splashed over him. It cleared his head a little, but the iciness stole his breath.
“Don’t fall asleep on me now, Agent Braxton.
You have to answer some questions for me. Then you can go to sleep for as long as you want.” There was that manic giggle again.
Cale raised his head and glared at Valentino. “And what if I don’t feel like talking? Are you going to have your two goons beat me again?”
Valentino smiled, shaking his head. “No. That would be too easy for you. You’ve probably had hours and hours of conditioning for that exact situation.” A giggle. “No, I have something even better for you.”
He nodded toward the open door. “Bring her in.”
One of the big bruisers came into the room. With him, struggling against his hold, was a woman. A woman with long sable-colored hair and vivid green eyes.
“Olena!” Cale called.
She struggled even more. “Cale,” she shouted.
The lycan wrapped his big meaty hand around her neck and pushed her to her knees.
“Oh, isn’t this sweet,” Valentino said. “You two make quite the couple.”
Cale could barely contain himself. He pulled and twisted on the ropes binding him to the chair.
It did nothing but chafe and burn his skin. Every movement sent jolts of pain zinging down his body.
The pain was making his head swim, but he didn’t care. He couldn’t let Valentino hurt Olena. And he knew without a doubt that was exactly what he had planned.
The witch pushed away from the table and went to stand in front of Olena. “Now, I can see by your face, Cale, that you know exactly what I am capable of. So here is how this is going to work. I’m going to ask you a question. If you don’t answer me, or if I think you are lying, I’m going to hurt your lady here.”
“I’m going to kill you,” Cale hissed.
Valentino shook his head. “Don’t be stupid. That’s not part of the game. Do you want me to explain the rules to you again?” He grabbed Olena by the hair and plowed his other hand into her face, right into her mouth.
The punching sound reverberated around the room. Squeezing his eyes shut, Cale twisted in his chair, pulling his hands so hard he felt his shoulder pop out of joint. Sweat poured down his forehead and soaked his shirt. He opened his eyes and winced when he saw blood coating Olena’s chin from her busted lip.
“Ask your damn questions.”
“Do you have Ivy Seaborn in custody?”
He glanced at Olena. She was staring at him, her eyes almost begging him. For what he didn’t know.
“No,” he said.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
He kicked Olena in the stomach. She doubled over in pain. Cale bit down on his lip to stop from trying to bolt out of the chair.
“I’ll ask again. Do you have Ivy in c
ustody?”
Cale nodded. “Yes.”
“Do you know where she is being held?”
“No.”
Valentino obviously didn’t like that answer because he hit Olena again. A cut opened up on her cheekbone, and a thin trickle of blood ran down to her jaw.
“I don’t know where she is. She’s in a safe house. But I don’t know where.”
Valentino stared at Cale for a minute then nodded. “I believe you.”
Cale relaxed a little, but it was hard to see Olena hurt. He knew it looked worse than it was. She was a vampiress, and her healing powers were extraordinary. But knowing that didn’t make it any easier to watch her being abused.
“Next question—where is the disc?”
“What disc?”
Valentino sighed. “Cale, I don’t think you fully understand the rules I’ve set out.” He nodded to the lycan holding Olena on her knees.
He yanked her up and dragged her toward the large wooden table. She struggled against his hold, kicking and raking her nails against his hands. Cale could see that she was hurting the lycan by the grimace on his face. Her captor nodded toward the other lycan, who had been standing in the corner motionless. He came over to help. He reached down and grabbed Olena’s legs. She struggled even harder but it was to no avail. The two bruisers were much stronger than she was.
Cale knew what they were planning. He bucked in the chair violently. “Stop it! Stop! I don’t know where the disc is. Ivy never told us where she hid it.”
Valentino didn’t respond but casually walked over to the table where Olena was being held down by the two lycans. Smiling, the witch withdrew a large dagger from a sheath that Cale hadn’t seen hanging on his belt. The tip glittered in the low light. It had been dipped in silver.
Cale cursed so vehemently his throat grew ragged.
Valentino chuckled. “Ah, maybe you do under stand the rules.” But that didn’t stop him. He cut open Olena’s shirt, spreading the two sides. Cale could see her body flinch and jerk away from the tip of the knife.
“I’ve told you what I know.”
“Maybe you have, maybe you haven’t.” Leaning over her, he lowered the knife to her chest. The tip touched her between her breasts. She screamed as the silver burned a mark into her flesh. Smoke curled up from the wound.
Rocking in his chair, Cale clenched his teeth.
“I’m going to kill you. I’m going to kill you, you bastard.”
“Does Interpol know about the virus?” He continued to cut her chest. She couldn’t scream because one of the lycans had his hand over her mouth, but she bucked and writhed against the pain.
“Yes,” Cale bit out between clenched teeth.
“Are they sending more agents?”
“No.”
Valentino lifted the knife. “Do you love this woman?”
He looked at her for a long while before answering. Then it occurred to him that this had been by far the easiest question to answer. “Yes,” he breathed out. “Yes, I love her.”
“Does she love you?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“Well, we’ll soon find out.” Valentino waved his hand over Olena’s writhing body.
A shimmer rushed through the air over her. The lycans let her go, and she rolled over onto her side. And that was when Cale saw her face shift and change. After several seconds, he realized she wasn’t the love of his life but some anonymous woman. Valentino had used magic to transform this poor girl into Olena so he could torture the information out of him.
Valentino chuckled and sheathed his knife. “Lock him back up in the room. We’ll soon find out how much Olena is willing to risk for him.”
Chapter 26
Back at the lab, they were going over everything they were able to collect from the club and from Valentino’s home. So far nothing was pointing to any one direction. François had told Olena it would take him some time to determine what kind of spell had been cast using Cale’s cuff link.
Gabriel had talked to Otto, but the vampire couldn’t tell him anything of consequence. He was still too distraught over the fact that Valentino may have murdered his lover. He swore up and down that he knew nothing about the virus that Ivy had created for Luc. If Valentino was part of some terrorist cell, Otto had no idea and not even suspicion. Nor could he help with Cale’s whereabouts.
Olena loathed thinking about the possibility that there was nothing they could do to find Cale.
Nothing but wait. For what, she wasn’t sure, either.
But she had a feeling Valentino was using Cale for leverage.
Sighing, she sank into the chair in Gabriel’s office, feeling defeated and at a loss. When her cell phone shrilled from her jacket pocket, she slid it out and glanced at the incoming number. She didn’t recognize it.
She flipped it open. “This is Olena.”
“You’ve probably figured out by now that I put a spell on your dear little human.”
It was Valentino. She waved at Gabriel to give her his pen and notepad. He handed them over quickly.
“What do you want?” She wrote down the phone number and handed it to Gabriel. He took it, picked up the phone on his desk and called it in. Maybe they could trace it.
“What I always want. Money, power, fame. A really good glass of wine.”
“Is Agent Braxton still alive?”
“Of course. I’m not a murderous psychopath.”
“That’s debatable,” she said, keeping a close eye on Gabriel’s body language. She needed a sign that they could catch this guy. She wanted Cale back in her arms, safe and secure.
Valentino chuckled and it set the little hairs on her neck on edge. “Now, now, Olena, we mustn’t be rude. You wouldn’t want poor Cale to be harmed now, would you?” Another laugh. “Humans are so fragile, aren’t they?”
“Yeah, they can be.”
“He’s in love with you, you know.”
Olena’s heart nearly stopped. She squeezed the phone tightly in her fist, tamping down the urge to beg Valentino to let Cale go.
“He’s been moaning your name constantly.
Pathetic if you ask me.”
Gabriel held up his hand, indicating that they needed another three minutes to trace the number from Olena’s cell phone.
“Well, I didn’t ask you.”
“No you didn’t, did you?” He laughed again.
“Now on to the reason I called. I want the girl and the disc delivered to me by 3:00 a.m. or your poor human Interpol agent is going for a dirt nap.” He laughed even harder. “I always wanted to say that.
Dirt nap. It’s so amusing.”
Olena glanced at her watch. It was nearly nine o’clock now, which meant they had only six hours.
“It’s not enough time. We have to find the girl first.
Then the disc.”
“Don’t lie to me, Olena. I know you have the girl already.”
“We need more time.”
“Nope, sorry. I will call again in two hours with the address of the drop-off. If you lie to me again, Olena, I will send Cale back to you in pieces. Then you could bottle them and keep them forever. You see, who said humans couldn’t last?”
“You know the department doesn’t negotiate with terrorists.”
“I know they won’t. But will you? That’s my question. How far will you go to save the man you love? I know you are a resourceful woman, Olena.
I’m counting on that. And so is Cale.” He hung up.
Gabriel shook his head at her. “We didn’t get the trace.”
She flipped her phone closed and slid it back into her pocket. “He’s holding Cale for ransom. He wants the girl and the disc by 3:00 a.m.”
Gabriel eyed her carefully. “You know we can’t give Ivy and the virus to him.”
“I know.”
“Cale, more than anyone, knows that, too.”
She knew he said it to make her feel less responsible, but she didn’t really hear it
. Guilt bubbled inside her. Deep down she knew it wasn’t her fault but still she felt responsible. She should’ve been able to protect him from something like this.
It was ridiculous to think this way, especially since they both had high-risk jobs. Cale lived with the threat of death or capture every day working for Interpol. But it had happened in her city, by an Otherworlder. No amount of training could’ve protected Cale from this attack. She should’ve been able to.
She should’ve had François create some protective amulets for Cale. She hadn’t been thinking straight.
Along the way she’d forgotten that Cale was human, that he didn’t have all the strength and power and protection that she had, that Gabriel had, that they all had. It was this mistake that might cost him his life.
Gabriel’s voice broke into her thoughts. “This gives us six hours to find Cale’s location.”
She nodded, but her heart was not in it. It was aching too badly right now.
“We’ll find him, Olena.”
“I can’t lose him, Gabriel. I just can’t. I won’t survive it.”
He reached across the desk for her hand and squeezed it. She bit down on her lip to stop the tears. She wouldn’t cry. She couldn’t, not in front of Gabriel. But she sure did want to. To finally let out everything she’d been holding inside. Losing Cale would be losing everything. She wouldn’t survive the heartbreak. Not this time.
Valentino knew she had deep feelings for Cale.
That was why he’d called her. He was counting on her love for Cale. And the thing was, she wasn’t sure she was going to disappoint him.
“I need to see Ivy.”
“Why?”
“She said she would tell me where the disc is. We should get it to keep it safely out of other hands.”
Gabriel looked at her for a few seconds. Olena could tell he was searching for the truth. He was good at reading people, but she was better at hiding.
She’d been doing it a hell of a lot longer than he’d been alive.
He picked up the phone. “I’ll have her brought in.”
Olena nodded, and then stood. She needed to move around. She was too jumpy, too nervous. She very well might have been setting up to go against all her morals and ethics, against an oath she took when she joined the team, to get back the man she loved.