by Maggie Walsh
Before Kane could answer, Marvin, his manservant entered, his face flushed, but pale. His eyes showed his terror and Diego knew he was about to receive more bad news. He raised a brow at the man, silently telling him to speak.
Marvin clasped his hands before him as he dropped his head and looked at the floor. “The other one is also gone, Master. The little vampire,” Marvin said softly, almost in a whisper.
Diego fisted his hand, exploding the bag of blood he held within it, the contents raining over his hand and the bar, a small amount splashing on his shirt. “So, you mean to tell me that not only has my prized human disappeared, but he was able to take the fucking vampire with him? They couldn’t have gone far, otherwise Jasper would burn in the sun. Get your asses to the jet skis and go after them!” he ordered and both men quickly fled.
CHAPTER 14
Diego grabbed another bag of blood and a hand towel, then walked out of the salon onto the deck, so he could look around and watch as his men left on the skis. If they weren’t able to reclaim the human, he would be up shit creek. Diego would hand both Kane and Lonny over to his client as a peace offering, but the damage would be done until he could either get Barnabas back, or find another to replace him. And even then, he would have to forfeit his payment to make good with his client. The man was a very rich and powerful Russian who Diego did not want on his bad side.
A splash coming from the side of the boat caught his attention and Diego looked over the rail, but saw nothing. Stepping back Diego drank from the blood bag in his hand as he watched Kane lower a jet ski into the water. The man then went back into the boat and out of his sight, but after five minutes he didn’t return. “What the fuck is the hold up now?” Diego growled, then downed the last of the blood from the bag.
He dropped the now empty bag on the table beside him and hurried down the stairs to the lower level deck. As he turned to look for Kane, something came out of the darkness to his right. Diego turned to see what was there, when he spotted a figure all dressed in black from head to toe, slip over the railing from the water. The man landed silently on the deck, then froze when he saw Diego.
Well, he could only guess that the man had seen him. He didn’t know for sure because even the man’s face was covered. The guy reached for his hip and Diego’s gaze followed the move. Diego quickly jumped back and around the other side of the boat as he saw the guy pull a gun from his belt.
He couldn’t hear the man giving chase, but he could feel him at his back as Diego made a run for the door leading down into the galley. He gripped the handle and flung the door open then ran as fast as he could down the steps, missing some along the way. Once he made it to the galley, Diego quickly ran for the walk-in refrigerator they had and slipped inside, then went to the far corner and ducked behind a stack of crated vegetables.
Gunshots rang out from above and Diego ducked down lower, hoping the man who was chasing him hadn’t seen where he went. The minutes ticked by slowly and Diego could hear movement above. The sound of footsteps moving around suddenly tripled and Diego’s eyes widened. Who are these men and what do they want?
If he kept quiet enough, then maybe they wouldn’t notice him. Maybe the one who had been chasing him would forget about him with everything else going on? There was no way that was going to happen. Diego wasn’t going to kid himself, he was good and screwed. There had to be a way for him to get off this yacht without being noticed, but how?
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
“Report,” Devlin ordered as he stepped on the yacht.
They each followed, climbing on board and looked around. Two men lay dead on the deck, and another man knelt nearby, shaking like a leaf.
“We found these two trying to escape on the jet skis,” the man replied as he motioned toward the two bodies. “The larger one pulled out a gun so we shot his ass. Unfortunately, the other one got in the way,” the man continued, but Silas could see the guy didn’t give a damn about the other one lying dead.
“How many others?” Devlin asked.
“We have three cuffed upstairs and the Captain up in the wheelhouse.”
“No one else?” Devlin asked with a raised brow.
“Simpson was chasing after another one, but we haven’t seen him yet.”
“Where?” Devlin asked as he moved to head into the boat.
“I saw the guy make a beeline to a door that lead into the lower decks, Simpson on his tail.”
Just then another guy stepped out. “He made it into the galley, but from there I lost him. It was that Diego guy. He’s hiding somewhere below deck.”
Both Silas and Snow began to growl causing everyone to look at them. Devlin smirked then said happily, “He’s all yours, gentlemen. My men will make sure he has no way off this ship. King Raven would love if he was alive when he took him into custody, but it wasn’t a requirement, so happy hunting.”
Immediately, Snow shifted into his feline and began to scent the deck as he moved into the shadows. Silas allowed his anger and fear to come to the surface and his fangs broke through his gums as his claws thrust out of his fingertips. Raven would have to get over the pieces they sent back to him, because Silas wasn’t holding back. Using his vampire speed, he flew through the doorway and disappeared inside, heading for the galley.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Suddenly everything was quiet. So quiet he could almost hear the fish swimming by underneath the boat. Diego slowly got to his feet and as quietly as he could, he crept to the door, then pressed his ear against the cold metal and listened. Nothing. Not a sound.
He released the breath he had been holding and smiled, then Diego grabbed the door handle and clicked the latch, slowly opening the door to peek out an inch. The galley was empty. No sign of anyone even nearby.
Diego opened the door wider and stepped out, then looked behind the door in the other direction, his gaze taking in the deserted hallway beyond. Taking a few more steps he allowed the door to close then tiptoed to the bottom of the stairs. Twisting his back and head, he leaned in and looked up, listening, but still all he was met with was silence.
Diego sighed heavily and straightened as he relaxed, then chuckled lightly. He had done it. They had forgotten he was there.
A soft tap sounded behind him, and Diego froze, his body instantly tensing again as he listened for what had made that sound. It hadn’t been anything big or loud, but a soft click. Maybe it was one of the gadgets in the kitchen like a motor on the refrigerator clicking on?
He turned his head slightly and listened more carefully, but again, only silence. He blew out a breath and turned as he slumped against the wall, a triumphant smile on his face. His gaze met the eyes of a ferocious snow leopard, and Diego froze, the smile dropping from his lips as fear engulfed him.
Movement over the leopard’s shoulder caught his attention and Diego gulped when his gaze fell on an extremely pissed off vampire standing only a foot behind the feline. The vampires fangs were showing as the man curled his lip and snarled, and as for those eyes, they were filled with blind rage and Diego knew his time was up.
At once the leopard and the vampire struck, coming at him ferociously and Diego screamed, but it was cut off as his throat filled with the coppery taste of blood, and he began to choke on it.
The vampire’s glowing red eyes filled his vision as Diego watched his clawed hand raise, then drop down over him. Pain like he had never felt before consumed him and Diego tried to scream again, but all that came out was a wet gurgling sound. His body wasn’t its own anymore as he was ripped from where he had dropped on the floor and flung across the room, then blackness came.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Fabian heard the scream, then the bangs, snarls, and what could only be ripping of flesh. He knew Silas and Snow had found Diego, but couldn’t find an ounce of pity, or empathy within him. The man deserved whatever the pair gave him for what Diego had done to countless others.
Saber walked closer, his eyes haunted and Fabian wondered why. He
turned to his brother with furrowed brows as he tried to see what was wrong. “Saber?”
Saber looked to him solemnly with sadness in his eyes. “They’re not here,” he whispered.
Fabian’s heart sank and his eyes widened. “What? What do you mean they're not here? They have to be here,” he said, in a panic.
Devlin stepped forward, his face as grim as Saber’s. “He’s right, Fabian. Neither your brother, or Silas’s mate are here. My men have checked every nook and cranny.”
“But.. what the hell am I going to tell Silas and Snow?”
“What are you going to tell us about what?” Silas asked, and Fabian spun around to face his brother.
Silas stood a few feet away, his clothes and face drenched in blood. Snow, still in his leopard form stood beside him, he too covered in the blood of their kill. The pair looked deadly, but still not satisfied.
Devlin stepped forward when Fabian didn’t answer, but he grabbed the man's arm, holding him back. As much as he would like to leave this up to someone else, Fabian knew he had to break the bad news to his brother and Snow.
He took a deep breath, then released it as he moved toward the pair. He licked his lips, then opened his mouth and met Silas’s gaze. “They’re not here.”
Fabian’s gaze flicked to Snow and he saw the same confusion in his eyes as Fabian saw in Silas’s and he looked back to his brother.
“What do you mean they’re not here? They’re supposed to be here. We know they were here, because I can smell my mate all over this fucking ship! So where the hell are they?” Silas’s words started off low, but quickly turned into a loud bellow as he raged.
“We can’t find them,” Devlin replied.
Silas thrust his hands through the hair on the top of his head as he spun around, his chest rising and lowering quickly as he panted. Fabian saw the moment Silas’s gaze fell on the men they had kneeling on the floor with their hands tied behind their backs and he was afraid Silas would rip them all apart. He quickly went to his brother’s side, Saber following and they each grabbed an arm.
“Hold on, brother. We may be able to get some information out of them,” Saber hissed, as he struggled with Silas, their brother trying to break free from their hold.
Suddenly, the snow leopard sprang from behind them and pounced on one of the bound men, knocking him to the floor as the man squealed frantically. Snow stood on the man’s chest and lowered his jaws toward his throat.
“Where are they?” Silas demanded. “Tell me now before I let the beast taste you.”
“We don’t know,” one of the others replied, his body shaking as his gaze remained frozen on Snow.
Devlin went to the man and grabbed his hair, then yanked his head back until the man was looking up at him. “Explain!”
“Th-they escaped. We don’t know when. How long ago. We were looking for them when your men came on board. Master figured it couldn’t be long since the one is a vampire and would be killed in the sun.”
“So no one has any idea of when they left, how, or which way they went?” Devlin asked.
The man shook his head the best he could with Devlin still holding him. “N-no, S-sir. We were all asleep. When we woke up we found them gone.”
Fabian quickly retrieved his phone and called Kalen. “Kalen, are you still hacked into that satellite?”
“Yeah. What do you need?” Kalen replied.
“I want you to find our coordinates right now at the present time, then go backwards. Can you even do that?”
“If you mean you want me to look at what went on there all day, then yes, I can pull up the feed. Just give me a minute. What am I looking for anyway?”
“You’re looking for the moment our brother and B.B. escaped this hellhole and what direction they took off in,” Fabian replied with a smile.
“What? They escaped?”
“Yeah. Have you found it yet?”
“No, no, but hold on. I can’t believe they escaped. Give me a few minutes to locate it and get to the moment they left and I’ll call you right back.”
“Please hurry, Kalen,” Fabian said, before he hung up.
CHAPTER 15
Jasper didn’t think he was going to make it another minute out here in this cold. The sun had gone down hours ago, and as night fell, so did the temperature. Then there was the slight mist of spray coming off the ocean as the waves crashed against the rocks. Jasper’s teeth began to chatter as another wave of chill wracked his body.
He pulled B.B. closer to his chest and tightened his hold as he scooted back farther from the water's edge. High tide must be coming in. Once he had woken to find B.B. lying beside him pale and looking dead, with his arm splayed out and two fang marks in his wrist, Jasper had cried like he had never cried before. Fear gripped him as he thought how he had killed his friend, his brother, his savior, but when the water reached them and splashed against B.B.’s face, Jasper cried again when B.B. moaned and tried to move.
He had looked around them and saw that the water which he knew was once a distance from them was now surrounding them and he had to get B.B. away from there.
With the sun down and his renewed strength he had gotten from drinking B.B.’s selfless gift, Jasper had been able to lift B.B. up and carry him to a dryer spot, but the waterline kept approaching. He had moved them a few times over the past hour, when suddenly he had run out of room, so Jasper had used his strength to lift B.B. up over the six foot cliff he found and placed his brother-in-law there, then Jasper had jumped up to join him.
Once he made it to the top and looked around, Jasper knew they didn’t have to fear the water reaching them any longer, but now there was nothing blocking them from the wind and B.B. was soaked. He needed to do something to warm B.B. up.
Jasper didn’t want to leave B.B. behind, but he had to find something that could help them. Looking around, he noticed the land rose up like a hill and Jasper headed toward it, hoping once he reached the top he would be able to see more.
Using what little energy he had left, Jasper dug his heels in and used his hands to help climb the hill, luckily it wasn’t too bad. When he got to the top and straightened, his eyes widened when he saw that where they were was actually attached to a larger island and there was a lighthouse on it. Jasper was filled with hope as he looked at the structure, but it was short lived when he realized the distance between where he had left B.B. in conjunction to the lighthouse. In his condition he would never be able to carry B.B. that far. There had to be something he could do, but what?
Maybe if they got back on the jet ski he could take them around to another spot closer to the lighthouse? No, that wouldn’t work. First of all with the tide coming in, the jet ski was now floating too far away for him to get to it without taking a swim. Then with B.B. being unconscious, Jasper had no idea how he would get B.B. to stay on the thing and not fall off and Jasper wouldn’t risk losing B.B in the ocean. His vampire sight might be great in the dark, but he was pretty sure it would still be difficult to spot B.B. in the water at night.
Looking around, Jasper had never been more grateful to be a vampire as he was in that moment, because of his enhanced sight. He could see a crops of trees not that far off and what looked like a toolshed of some sort. Maybe he could get B.B. there?
Carefully, Jasper made his way back down the hill, sliding on his butt most of the way. The last thing they needed was for him to get injured again. Thank the gods his ankle was now healed thanks to B.B.’s blood, but if he was to get hurt again, there was no way he could take another drop from his friend.
Once he returned to B.B., Jasper sat for a moment to rest a bit. He wouldn’t take too long to move them, but he just needed a moment. The weight of everything that had happened earlier had hit him as Jasper made his way back, and his body began to shake. The earlier memories brought on others, and Jasper wasn’t prepared to deal with them at that moment. He had more important things to do than relive the terrors he had lived through. B.B. needed him right no
w and Jasper wouldn’t fail him.
He drew his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them as his body began to shake. As much as he tried to fight it, the flood came and Jasper wasn’t strong enough to fight it. B.B. needed him to be strong, but Diego and Master Kane’s faces flashed before his eyes and Jasper froze with fear and he couldn’t move. Visions of the things they had done to him, the things they had forced him to do, came rushing back and suddenly, Jasper couldn’t breathe.
What was wrong with him? How could he ever think that he of all people would be strong enough to help B.B.? He was a weakling who wasn’t good for anything. Anything but… no. No, he didn’t want the memories now. He didn’t want them ever, but now would be dangerous. They would crush him out here in the middle of nowhere with no help in sight.
He had to fight them and do what he could for B.B.. His brother-in-law deserved to live and be happy with Silas. He didn’t have anyone to go home to, so it would be no great loss if he died out here, but B.B. deserved a chance. With everything he had left inside him, Jasper straightened his legs, then lay down at B.B.’s back, pressing his front as close as he could, then wrapped his arms around his friend. It wasn’t much, but hopefully it would be enough until B.B. regained some strength, or until the sun rose, whichever came first.
Jasper closed his eyes tight as he thought of his brothers, and he said goodbye to them in his mind. Then he thought of Atty and B.B. and how quickly they had become so important to him. How they had befriended him. Then there was the Sentinels. They were some of the most intense men that Jasper had ever met besides his brothers, but he had become friends with them as well. Surprisingly, he and River had found they had a lot in common and had become fast friends. Jasper would miss River’s weird sense of humor and his infectious smile.