“Now that looks an awful lot like worry.” I forced a smile. “I thought I told you not—”
“Just be careful,” he said.
Oh hell, I was the very picture of carefulness. Er, mostly. I attempted a laugh to diffuse the tension, and failed horribly. “I’m always careful. I think it’s that brain dead vamp over there you should—”
“I don’t care if he gets hurt.” He swallowed tightly, stared at me, and colour touched his cheeks.
Oh. Wow. I tried not to think about the implications of that—tried not to read too much into it. After all, I was probably his strongest ally in this, so of course he wouldn’t want to see me harmed...
Should we survive our little adventure tonight, this triangle is going to get a whole lot more interesting.
“Just...keep on guard.” He released my arm and turned to walk away.
Oh no—he wasn’t leaving that easy. “Hey!” This time I grabbed his arm and gave him a tug back to me. His mouth opened to say something; I leaned forward, pressed my lips to his cheek, then shifted to whisper next to his ear. “You and me are having a chat when this is over. It may involve dangling on the edge and begging for release.” I grinned as I let him go and backed away. “I’m always on guard, honey.”
A smile flickered on his lips, though it might’ve been the lighting.
Jamie waited for me next to the fence, and after Nate gave the signal, we both leaped over the wall.
I had only a second to take in the sight around me. The odd bush and small tree were scattered about the lawn. Sure enough, several guards dressed all in black and carrying automatic weapons were positioned around the front of the house. The home itself was three stories high, with a one and a half story garage to the far right. Jamie nodded toward the garage, as if reading my thoughts, and in moments we were racing across the grass.
We shot right past the guards, who would have had a difficult time spotting us even if we didn’t have the invisibility spell. Not twenty seconds after the spell was set in motion, we had jumped onto the garage and then on top of the main house.
Jamie gestured for the rear of the house and silently we crept across the slanted roof. Our spell had undoubtedly worn off by then, but we were high enough up that someone would have to be looking for us in order to catch a glimpse. Once we reached the back, I glanced down to see several more people stationed around the rear door. No one was looking as Jamie uncoiled the rope he had tied to his belt, attached it to the harness I was wearing, and then lowered me over the edge of the roof.
I was suspended there in the air with guards not twenty-five feet below, and with a large window on either side of me. The room inside was dark, leaving me unable to make out what was within. I hated having to go in without the slightest clue about what the house interior was or what to expect inside, but all we’d gotten on the place was the rough exterior layout via Google Earth.
As I pulled out the tools I would be using to get through the window pane, a light turned on in the room. I cursed under my breath, ducked out of the way, and carefully turned to press my back against the two feet of brick that divided the space between the windows.
The rope gave a little and my feet flew out to the windowsills on either side of me to steady myself. One of my heels scraped the brick and I froze, praying the people just below me didn’t hear.
Goddamn that Jamie, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be able to hold on...
I glanced up to see Jamie peering down at me from his kneeling position on the roof. He looked confused, and gave a slight shrug to indicate he wondered why I was taking so long. Like he couldn’t see the lamplight in the windows.
I impatiently gestured to the windows, then motioned for him to stay still. God help me, I’d rip his damn head off if he fucking dropped me.
A careful glance around the corner into the room yielded no results; I couldn’t make out who was in there without sticking myself in plain view. So I waited, hanging in the air, and wishing that I had sent Jamie down instead. But, knowing him, he’d probably just continue working on cutting the hole in the window no matter who was looking. Idiot. Clearly I was the best available person for the job.
A little over an eternity passed before the lights went out again. In my head I counted two minutes before swinging around to face the window again.
My belt had all kinds of goodies attached; first I pulled out a handle that affixed to the glass pane. With one hand placed firmly on the grip, I pulled out a second small knife specifically for scoring glass and ran it in a wide arc.
Nate damn well better have any magical protections dispelled...or he’s getting decapitated too.
I slipped the knife back in my belt and cautiously popped the glass out. No alarms went off, but then I wasn’t sure what a breach of magical security would entail. Light flashing? Loud noise? Or would someone just show up and kill us?
The house beyond remained silent. I lowered the window pane to the floor inside, then shifted and stepped through the hole with care. Once I was safely inside, I untied the rope and gave it a tug. Jamie pulled it back up on the roof and a few moments later he swung himself inside.
He paused at the window to survey my work as I slipped off the harness and dropped it with the glass.
“Looks a little crooked,” he whispered.
I gave his arm a slap. “Maybe if you had simply stayed in place instead of shifting the rope around, it would look better.”
“I couldn’t help myself.” He grinned and reached over to run a hand along the V-cut neck of my black top, his fingers pausing at the bottom of the V. “I had a pretty great view.”
Jesus Christ. My fist struck before I could stop myself; I punched him again, this time significantly harder.
“You should probably rethink wearing tight, low-cut tops when we’re breaking into people’s homes,” he continued. “Not complaining, it’s just that I find it a little distracting.”
I rolled my eyes and started for the door.
“Keep those low-risers though.” He gave my rear a playful smack, so I elbowed him in the ribs.
“Quit grabbing me,” I hissed, swearing to myself that I’d kill him if we got caught simply because he was too busy trying to cop a feel when he should be watching for enemies. Next time I was so taking Nate.
The room we stood in had no discernible purpose that I could see. Sparse furnishings—two armchairs, a loveseat, some tables and lamps—and not much else. I paused, listened for heartbeats in the surrounding area. A few faint ones signified people on the floor but not immediately nearby.
I don’t like this. Something doesn’t feel right... I pushed Nate’s voice from my head and slid the door open an inch.
The corridor was dimly lit by silver sconces on burgundy painted walls. No voices, no footsteps...and whatever heartbeats I thought I heard earlier were gone now—absolutely no signs of anyone. I opened the door the rest of the way and we slipped into the hallway.
“Any suggestions as to where to look for this witch?” I whispered.
“Not a clue, dear,” he said. “I guess we should just start checking rooms and kill anyone who doesn’t look like our girl.”
“Brilliant.” Not like I have any bright ideas, though.
We went down the hall, checking for lights under the doors and pressing our ears to the wood to listen for sounds of life within. We came up with nothing.
Around the first corner we encountered another corridor, but this time there was a single open door and the glow of yellow light spilling across the floor into the hallway. Success? Perhaps. If it wasn’t occupied, though, I hoped we could lie in wait and someone would show up soon.
Dread and worry prickled on the back of my neck as we filed toward the door. Backs pressed against the wall, both of us had a hand hovering over the respective guns holstered at our belts. I motioned for Jamie to take the other side and cover me while I went in. He raced past the doorway in the blink of an eye, pulled out his gun, and nodded for me to
continue.
Here’s hoping she doesn’t have a spell or two handy.
With my gun in hand, I crouched down and crept across the carpet. The room’s light came from a fireplace opposite the door; yellow-orange light suffused the room in a glow and shadows played on the walls. The big room could’ve been a study or something, but like the room we’d come in, this one seemed devoid of a purpose too. The single desk pushed beneath the window looked unused, and there were only a couple of bookshelves on one wall and a couch resting against another.
It was just...wrong. Every fiber in me screamed to get the fuck out of there and come up with a new plan because something was really, really off about the whole goddamn situation. Even “trap” scrawled across the wall would’ve been more subtle.
I rose and took two more steps in, swinging my gaze from side to side as I went. A mostly furnished, guarded house...that didn’t look lived in. What the hell?
Jamie’s voice broke through the silence behind me. “Zara!”
I spun around to see a black gloved fist smack his chin; bone cracked and he flew back into the hallway, out of my view. Five guys, dressed all in black with ski-masks like the ones we’d seen outside, rushed into the room. A few more tangled with Jamie in the corridor.
On my own then. Five wasn’t too bad.
The nearest one leaped at me, wasting no time getting right into the fight. Well, I did appreciate his directness. He lost points for clumsiness, though, as I whirled out of his way and caught the guy to my left in the face with my elbow. The first one lost his balance and stumbled, then charged at me again. Once more, I slipped out of his path.
“If it didn’t work the first time, what made you think you’d get me the second try?” I raised the gun and fired a bullet into his chest.
He fell to the carpet and didn’t reply. Can’t say I expected him to, though. If there were reanimated corpses with demon spirits on the property, Nate had hopefully already dispelled them out of existence.
Something hard and heavy struck my back; pain zigzagged through my muscles and bone cracked. The gun dropped from my grip as I sprawled on the floor.
What. The. Fuck? Shit, it felt like a bus hit me. Or maybe a truck.
Hair had tumbled out of the careful bun I’d locked it in; I glanced up through locks of thick black tresses. One of the guys held an antique divan in the air. Superhuman strength—put a check in the “Zara was wrong” column then, ’cause it looked like I was probably dealing with demon-doggie guys again. Why hadn’t Nate taken care of that?
Something could’ve happened. Shit, something definitely happened, and I’d left the three of them out there unprotected. Fuck.
I tried to reel to the side, but the end of the couch caught me again, this time in the stomach. I cried out and clutched my gut. Roll, roll, roll... I was twisting, moving, preparing for another whack with the divan; instead, something shot into my back. An electric charge zapped through my body—one of the guys carried a Taser. It was far more useful than a standard stun gun as this one left a couple of barbs in my skin and sent the charge via wires, keeping my attacker well out of my reach. The electricity burned through me, feeling leaving my body...but, lucky for me, it took more than a single Taser to take out a vampire. I fought my way onto my knees, reached for the Taser chords—
Someone else fired at me as well.
Motherfucker! My arms thrashed about, but I couldn’t get a grip on the wires. The one guy tossed the couch to the other side of the room and knelt next to me.
I tried to speak, tried to protest, or throw some witty comment about my predicament his way, but I couldn’t form a single word. My consciousness was already slipping from me when I saw him bring out a syringe loaded with a clear liquid.
He pumped the substance into my left arm. My head slump onto the carpet just as I passed out.
****
My body throbbed with pain as I awoke. Might have been the multiple Taser shots. Might have been whatever drug I had been given. Or it might have even been the couch I had been hit with multiple times. But I didn’t bloody well care why. I hurt and I was pretty pissed about it.
Fluorescent lights above me struck my vision as I opened my eyes. I swear, that crap is almost as bad as sunlight.
I lay in a room about eight feet square, flat on my back. Under me, a bed? No, it was far too firm for there to be a mattress. So I was resting on something, a few feet off the ground, and there was a lump nestled in the small of my back. Some wiggling revealed the bump was my hands and a bit of shifting told me my wrists were shackled together. Great. Fucking beautiful. My ankles were similarly bound.
Knock me out, tie me up, and leave me in a shockingly white room. Nice.
“Someone had better get me the fuck out of here!” My voice echoed through the small space and my ears rang. Pain thrummed in my head in time with the beat of my heart, a dull ache probably from the drugs they’d shot me with. Oh well—I’d keep yelling. “Get me outta here or I’m gonna be pretty goddamn pissed off!”
No answer.
“Hello! If you’re going to kidnap me, common decency dictates that you’d at least tell me why, you fucktards!”
I tried to sit up; a strap went across my chest and prevented me from doing anything more than bending my head forward. A good, quick jerk didn’t loosen it—might’ve been steel or something.
“You know, I’m pretty sure tying me down like this might present a problem if there’s a fire.” I was certain no one was listening, but talking kept me calm. Well, not really calm, but at least not panicking and screaming ’til I passed out. “Someone’s going to be putting in a call to the fire marshal about this, ’cause I think you’re in serious violation of a few laws here.”
Footsteps and low voices sounded across the room. The far wall wasn’t, in fact, an actual wall, but a Plexiglas sliding door of some sort. I couldn’t make out much beyond it, but the footfalls grew louder. I caught sight of a man’s arm as whoever was out there conferred with someone else. Ah, so I guess someone was listening.
“Hey asshole!” I hollered. “C’mon in—let’s chat!”
A moment later there was a beep, a click, and then the door slid open. I strained my neck to see who I was hearing slowly step across the tiled floor...and my lips parted, though words escaped me.
Nate’s piercing blue eyes stared back at me.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
M.I.A.
Nate...Nate...no, God and Goddess and whoever else—please, not Nate...
I wasn’t sure whether my insistence to the contrary did it, or whether my vision had just been blurry due to my blackout and the bright lighting...but I quickly realized it wasn’t Nate.
His hair was too short, for one thing. It was the same dark brown, but cut close to his skull. Where Nate had a couple of lines that creased around his eyes on the rare occasion he smiled, this man had about twice that, and another few grooves at the corners of his mouth. He had the same straight features as my warlock friend, and was perhaps in his mid-thirties. Maybe he’d’ve been handsome if I wasn’t positive the bastard was responsible for me being locked up.
“You look surprised about something.” Even his fucking voice sounded like Nate’s, deep and commanding.
I swallowed dryly and hoped to hell my face didn’t show how freaked out he left me. “Well, you kinda look like this guy I saw at a party once. But you are like way too old to be him. My bad.”
“Ah.” He grinned, but it wasn’t a friendly smile. It was one that twisted my stomach and tickled my throat with worry—it disturbed me, a vampire who had caused more innocent bloodshed than just about any human could imagine. Whatever dark thing I saw as his lips slowly curved upward, I was more than certain I wasn’t interested in ever seeing it again.
“You must be thinking of my brother, Nathan,” he continued.
If I hadn’t already deduced Nate’s older brother, Sean, was actually alive and kicking, that certainly sealed the deal for me.
“You know, I think I see a resemblance.” I squinted as I pretended to study his face. “Yeah, I see it now...of course, I didn’t notice that male pattern baldness emerging quite so strongly on him.” I nodded to Sean’s head where his hairline was running for cover. “It probably came on out of the blue when you were what, thirty-two? Thirty-three? I’d give it another decade at most. But they do have creams and stuff for that now, you know, unless you think you can rock the bald look. Between you and me, I don’t think your head’s the right shape for it.”
He seemed unfazed by my insults, though I suppose it was worth a try.
“Where’s Nate?” I asked.
“Dead,” Sean replied coldly. “Like the witch and that other one. It’s just you and me now.”
I didn’t blink. “You’d better not be hitting on me, ’cause coming from you, that would be gross.” A lump formed in my throat, eyes burned. Heart twisted. Nate could’ve fought him off...right?
Except Nate said Sean’s abilities were unsurpassed.
Oh god.
“I presume you would like to know why you’re here, Miss Lain?” Sean asked.
I leveled a predatory grin his way. “Nah, I was actually hoping you’d unchain me and we could discuss this in a way I’m more comfortable with.”
“You know, it’s tempting, if only so you could see how useless it would be to attack me.”
“Your father thought the same thing just before I snapped his neck.”
“My father was weak,” Sean replied with a shrug. “And I do believe it would be better to keep you at least partially immobilized. What do you say?” He turned to someone who waited outside the room.
“I think you’re probably right on that count,” said a familiar voice.
Never mind that I hadn’t fed in a week and it felt as though ice ran through my veins—my blood still boiled. As if reading my thoughts, Jamie walked in and leaned against the doorway.
Bloodlines (Demons of Oblivion) Page 21