by Opal Carew
He nodded and yet she sensed there was more to the story than he was willing to let on. He and his family must have stormed the estates and been caught off-guard... a rare occurrence unless they’d been so angry, they had not used enough caution. But then again, her father and mother had been caught off-guard, too.
She stared out the window. “Why did your sister’s friend come here?”
“She’d met some hunter and ran away from her family. Her family should have taken care of the matter, not mine. But since my sister had gotten involved, we couldn’t very well let her run loose on her own.” He sounded angry.
She wanted to soothe the hunter seated beside her, who had lost his identity in one foul meeting with Piaras. But Adonis wouldn’t want her pity. Yet, she had no idea how to comfort him, to show him it didn’t matter to her what he was.
“Is there anything else?” Not that what had happened wasn’t enough, but she instinctively knew he was holding back. Nothing he said had made her so emotionally unstable that she couldn’t complete her mission. What was he not telling her?
“I’ll tell you about all of it later.” His voice was shadowed with concern.
Whatever it was, it couldn’t be good. Was he more vampire than hunter now?
For an instant, a crushing panic filled her chest. What if he had gotten her away from her family and intended to turn her over to Piaras after all? Here in the dead of the night, in the darkened warehouse district where low light barely penetrated the gloom.
Maybe he wanted Piaras and his vampires to trust him, and this would prove his loyalty. Hunters wouldn’t truly accept him for what he was now. But if he could wreak havoc with hunter groups because he had been a hunter, couldn’t that put him in better stead with his vampire clan?
How could she be so trusting of a hunter, no—a vampire—who might very well be leading her to... to her death? Or worse, a life of servitude as Piaras’s mistress?
Her face grew hot. She chastised herself for being so naïve.
She touched her dagger. Could she use it on Adonis if need be? To protect her life, to prevent being turned? She thought she could. But the meal she had eaten curdled in her stomach.
But no, he seemed so sincere that his sister needed her help and meant what they said. She was certain her thoughts were running amok because of having to hunt her first human vampires. “My parents were caught off-guard, too,” she said softly.
Adonis pulled into an empty lot where a metal building sat squarely, covering a whole block, and shut off his headlights, then killed the engine. “Your uncle finally told you what happened?” His dark eyes indicated his apprehension.
Was he worried about how she felt? Or concerned she might not be able to handle the job now? She couldn’t shake free of the feeling of distrust that had wormed its way into the pit of her stomach.
“He said Piaras killed them in front of their home after my uncle had them over for dinner.”
“Why did Piaras kill them?”
She shook her head and took a stabilizing breath. “No one knows.”
“Where were you at the time?”
“Crying next to my mother’s body. He must have marked me, then taken off.”
He squeezed the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white. “But why? I can’t figure out why he wants you so badly.”
She vacillated between staying in the car and learning the truth and getting on with the mission.
“If he marked you, he’d want to claim you at the right time when you were an acceptable age.”
As his mistress. She exhaled the breath she’d been holding.
Adonis reached to take her hand, but she pulled back. His expression grew grave. “I was ordered to take you to him... yes. But I would never give you up to him. It is as I said. I’m taking you there because you can get close to him like no other hunter or huntress can. Together, we’ll kill him.”
He reached out to take her hand in his. She desired his touch, to confirm that he truly cared for her, but could he? Was a vampire capable of love? She’d always been told they weren’t. That they were only interested in fulfilling their sexual needs.
“Speaking about this right now is not a good idea. You have to have a clear head to fight the bloodsuckers.”
“Could the reason Piaras wants me be anything to do with my father? Perhaps he hunted someone Piaras cherished?”
“I’ve never seen him attached to anyone the month I’ve known him. The only thing I could think of was Piaras wanted to show your uncle how powerless he is compared to the vampire, despite the fact Tobias is the head of the hunter league here in Dallas.”
“That’s probably it.” Although it didn’t make the situation any less tenable.
Adonis squeezed her hand with reassurance. “Are you going to be all right?”
“Yes.” She had to be. She had to eliminate the devil vampire himself or forever be kept in seclusion, worrying he’d snatch her away from her family.
Several of her kind had tried and failed to terminate the bastard. But they’d used the usual hunter techniques, attempting to lure him away from his fortified estate and go in for the kill. She would go into the heart of his estate, at his request, but when she was ready, and on her own terms, she would terminate him.
“I want you to handle them on your own so that you’ll get the feel of taking care of multiple threats. But I’ll be nearby in case you need me.” He leaned over the console and kissed her lips.
When he pulled back, she wasn’t ready for the separation. She reached forward and pressed her mouth against his, making him smile. Then he took a ragged breath. “It’s nearly time for them to arrive. I need to get you in before that happens.” He climbed out of the SUV.
She couldn’t squelch the butterflies fluttering in her stomach as she exited the vehicle. “What now?”
He slipped his arm around her waist. “I’ll take you to that fire escape balcony up there. Then I’ll get inside and—”
“You’ve been invited in before?” She’d envisioned he would have to break a lock, and then she’d have to go inside to invite him in. But if the vampires were to be here to turn the dogs, they must have been invited in already. Maybe he’d been with them at the same time. He was one of them came to mind. A shiver crept up her spine.
“Earlier today, I paid the place a visit. I asked to see the manager and as soon as the foreman let me in, I apologized and said I was in the wrong building and left. Anyway, I’ll unlock the door from the inside and let you in.”
“How can the other vampires get in?” she asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe a host let them in last night. I really am not sure.”
So he hadn’t been with them. For whatever reason, that gave her a small bit of relief, knowing that he didn’t chum around with them all the time.
After he alighted on the balcony with Rachael, he kissed her lips, his warm touch lingering a bit, then he pressed her mouth more firmly and moaned when she melted against him. Holding her face in his hands, he touched his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. Did he worry whether she would manage on her own all right? Hunters didn’t take down vampire humans unless they’d been supervised for some time. Would he come to her aid if she needed him to?
As much as she wanted to do this, she couldn’t reassure herself she’d be fine.
Adonis kissed her forehead. “I’ll let you in.” Then he vanished.
She blinked. She’d never get used to him disappearing like that.
Within seconds, the door squeaked open, and with her heart beating pell mell, she walked inside. A narrow walkway, surrounded by a wrought iron railing, led to offices on the second level of the building. But in the center of the warehouse it was open air from the first floor all the way up to the high ceiling she guessed was about thirty feet high. She peered down. Crates were stacked like building-block towers all along the edges of the warehouse and extended several feet deep. A metal stairway led down to the ground floor.
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sp; A fraction of the building’s lights were on. In a restaurant, she would have considered it ambience. Here, it made the place appear sinister.
Adonis touched her hand and he raised his finger to his lips, warning her to be quiet.
“Where are the dogs?” she whispered.
“I’ll see to the dogs. I can use my abilities to make them sleep. I’ll be back for you after that.”
Again, Adonis disappeared. Her heart in her throat, she did breathing exercises to try and calm her nerves. Leaning against the railing, she peered down into the dimly lit warehouse, searching for any sign of the dogs, Adonis, or the other vampires, but didn’t hear anyone or anything. She listened silently, now barely breathing, trying to hear any sound indicating a vampire’s arrival. She envisioned Adonis would begin speaking to the vampires down below, then bring them to her. After all, they were supposed to turn the dogs, so the vampires would initially go to where they were. So she listened intently for their words, but then realized, Adonis and the bloodsuckers would most likely convey their thoughts telepathically. She hadn’t considered that. No prior warning for her then. It didn’t bode well.
Seconds later, she heard dogs growling. Evidently Adonis had found the Rottweilers.
But the flapping noise nearby set her nerves on edge. She yanked out her dagger. The hair stood at the nape of her neck. But she didn’t see any sign of anyone. And the dogs had grown quiet.
“What have we here?” an unfamiliar man’s voice said from above her.
She jerked her gaze upward. Standing on a ladder leaning against the wall and three feet higher than her, a man looked down at her. Approximately six-foot tall, with dark hair pulled back in a ponytail, the vampire’s dark eyes pierced her with intrigue. He wore a black cape and jeans, but an ice white shirt, opened far enough to reveal his pale skin.
She held her dagger ready but wished she had her sword. Now she wasn’t sure she could kill a human vampire. Not when he didn’t snarl at her with fangs poised for her destruction. She steeled her back. “Why don’t you come down and see?”
“I thought the warehouse owner only had dogs here to guard his merchandise. Who’d have thought he’d have a female security officer. And one as pretty as you to boot.”
He didn’t realize she was a huntress? That knowledge definitely gave her the advantage. Sure, why would he think a lone huntress would be waiting to terminate him inside a warehouse?
The vampire jumped down from the ladder with a springy half flying step and landed on the grating in front of Rachael. Her heart picked up its pace, and she tightened her grip on the dagger.
Kill her, turn her into his own kind, or maybe have some fun with her first. That’s what he was trying to decide, she assumed.
He glanced down at her dagger. “Guess the owner’s too cheap to provide you with a firearm. Or maybe you’re afraid of guns?”
He looked into her eyes, piercingly intense as though he tried to control her thoughts. And then what? Make her drop her weapon? Vampires liked the odds in their favor. Unarmed, mindless humans to do with as they wished.
But when he couldn’t control her, his eyes widened a bit. Realization dawning? He glanced back at her dagger, and his head jerked upward. “Huntress,” he hissed, his teeth instantly extending and bared at her.
Without a minute’s hesitation, she lunged at him. Plunged the ancient hunter’s blade between his ribs and into his heart.
Instantly, he wizened into a mummified figure of a man—like those entombed in ancient Egypt, dry skin clinging to bones. Then he collapsed to the floor. An ancient. She killed one all on her own.
Before she could feel any further exhilaration about his death and the fact she had the huntress skills to do this, a vampire hissed behind her. She whipped around to face a female this time. Her perilous canines already extended, bared at Rachael.
No surprise attack this time. Rachael charged forward, managing to strike the vampire with her dagger. But the blade struck into her chest and hit a rib, missing the heart. The creature screamed out, then grabbed Rachael’s shoulders and slammed her against the wall. Pain radiated through Rachael’s back, and she accidentally bit her lip. Blood trickled down her chin.
Rachael quickly shoved her blade into the vampire’s body again, but the weapon glanced off another rib.
The vampire hissed and grabbed Rachael’s throat and squeezed hard. Nearly out of air, Rachael thrust her dagger once, but not being able to see what she was doing, she again missed the heart. Leaning over, the vampire ripped at Rachael’s blouse with her teeth, tearing the fabric apart, exposing Rachael’s skin.
Rachael struggled to pull her dagger free from the vampire’s chest.
The vampire hissed, then sank her teeth against Rachael’s shoulder. Pain stabbed her as the wicked fangs cut into her. But just as quickly, the vampire pulled her canines out and released her grip on Rachael’s throat. Her eyes widened as she looked from Rachael’s shoulder to her face. Then she took a step back. The vampire’s strange action allowed Rachael to gasp for air. Her breathing ragged, Rachael lunged forward and jammed her blade into the vampire’s chest. This time the weapon struck the heart muscle.
The vampire cried out, shriveled up, and shrank to the floor into a heap of dehydrated skin and bones and baggy clothing. Another ancient.
Rachael held her throat and continued to pant to get her breath, her heart beating too fast. But suddenly voices down below, somewhere in another part of the warehouse, made her attempt to quiet her actions.
“You’re bringing her to me tonight, then?” a male voice said, his tone dark.
“Her uncle’s concerned for her welfare. I can’t help it that one of your other blood-bonds told the hunters you were coming after her,” Adonis responded, annoyed.
“You are the one who caused the hunters’ caution. I should kill you where you stand and send another for her.”
Piaras? Was it the devil vampire himself?
Rachael clutched the railing, wanting to confront the bastard, wanting to protect Adonis in the event the vampire meant what he said. Adonis couldn’t kill the vampire, but Piaras could easily kill the hunter. But she feared she couldn’t fight him either, that if she ran down the stairs, Piaras would grab her and take her to his lair and that would be the end of Adonis’s plans and most likely the end of Adonis and his family.
“She wouldn’t come willingly to some other vampire of your choosing. You know this,” Adonis said, so arrogant, so sure of himself. And she loved him for it.
Silence, pacing. Then a cruel chuckle. “Maybe an unwilling huntress would be more to my liking. Humans are a different story. But a woman like that…”
“You wouldn’t want her like that. That’s what makes her so desirable. That you can will a huntress to you that normally could never be approached.”
“We have a deal, Adonis,” the man said. Silence. “Where the hell are Sirces and Julia? They should have been here by now.”
Hoping the door wouldn’t make any creaking sounds, although when they had first opened it, it had not, Rachael pushed it ajar as much as she dared to and slipped outside into the cool damp night air.
Adonis and Piaras had a deal. Could Adonis be his own man or was he just Piaras’s minion? But then she considered the fact Adonis hadn’t turned her over to him, instead had said she was safe at her uncle’s place. He was buying her time to get away.
She peered down from the balcony outside the building. There wasn’t any way down except for the way a vampire traveled. A wrought iron staircase had been removed in part, probably to reduce the chance of break-ins. Dropping ten feet to the asphalt didn’t seem like a viable alternative. She’d most likely break a leg... or two.
She glanced back at the building. When Piaras discovered his dead vampire buddies, he’d know a hunter had been in the building and recently... too recently. Upon seeing a ladder extending to the roof, she headed for it. After climbing halfway up it, the door opened onto the balcony.
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p; She paused for a second, then as carefully as she could, she hurried the rest of the way up to the roof, praying to God she could move as soundlessly as the vampires did.
“Julias, Sircus.” The man’s words were filled with regret. “There’s no sign of anyone here,” the same man said, his voice darkening with rage. “The hunter has to be in the warehouse somewhere.” Again there was a pause. “Or on the roof.”
“I’ll check it out,” Adonis said. He didn’t betray any hint of emotion.
“If you find him, save him for me.”
The door slammed.
In the next instant, Adonis stood on top of the roof.
Rachael didn’t move, afraid her footfalls on the rooftop would alert the vampire inside. “My God, Adonis. Was it Piaras?” she whispered.
Adonis moved in his silent way and pulled her close, his body stiff with tension. His gaze darted from place to place, trying to assess their dark surroundings. “Shhh, yes. I have to get you out of here.”
“But, can’t I kill him now?”
“Not here.”
“Why not? Are there others?”
“You’re not ready.”
He grasped her waist and held her even closer this time, his body protective and welcome. He transported her to the parking area, then settled beside his SUV. “Go home.” His voice was hurried, verging on panic. He handed her the vehicle’s keys. “Wait for me in the SUV or Danai can return you to the house. When Piaras and I have finished searching for the hunter, I’ll return to you.”
“But—”
“Go, Rachael, before he catches us together.”
He vanished without another word, making her heart skip a beat. Not waiting another second to be discovered, she slipped into the driver’s seat. What if Piaras learned of Adonis’s treachery?
She shuddered to think what would become of him. And for an instant, she wanted to go to him, to help him if Piaras tried to kill him.