~ Six ~
LEE ANNE WALKED down the sidewalk. Her head was in a strange fog—she couldn’t remember leaving the club. It was well after midnight in a rough part of the city. Walking alone wasn’t a good idea at all. She tried to flag a taxi, but it sped by her and there didn’t appear to be any others.
She struggled to remember why she’d left the club. And why had Jake allowed her to leave alone? It was so unlike him. She wasn’t sure of anything that had happened, but one thing was certain: the evening she had just endured was by far worse than any bout of PMS she’d ever experienced. And she’d gone through some rough ones.
She didn’t make it much further before she felt the creepy sensation of being watched. She stopped and looked all around, but she didn’t see anyone out and about. It suddenly dawned on her that the streets were too quiet. A second passed, and then another, and then an icy cold breeze swept around her, funneling around her. It carried a foul odor so strong it made her gag. She felt the faintest sensation of icy fingers gripping her throat.
Picking up her pace, she started to walk again. She only made it few more steps before she was grabbed from behind and pushed face first against the side of a brick building. “If you try to fight me you’re going to get hurt.”
“What do want?” Twisting and turning, she struggled to break free from her attacker’s grip.
The man turned her around and wrapped his hands around her throat. “It’s not for me to tell you. But don’t worry, you’ll know soon enough.”
She reached up and dug her fingernails into his hands, trying to pry them off her throat. “Stop it.” He squeezed her throat with enough strength to cut her air off to force her to stop. But she didn’t. She dug her nails in deeper.
“You stupid, fucking bitch!” Changing tactics, he took her hands and held them against the building over her head. Hatred burned in his eyes. She wanted to look anywhere but at him, but she couldn’t stop staring at his face. “When I tell you to stop, you stop.” He smashed his forehead against hers with enough force to stun her. Her back sliding against the wall, she fell to her butt. She was somewhat aware of what was happening, but she wasn’t fully conscious when her attacker yanked her into a sitting position by her hair and then grabbed her arms to pull her across the pavement.
He tossed her onto the backseat of a car. His hand gripping her hair, he pressed her face against the seat. Then, yanking his hand out of her hair, he pressed his knee into her lower back and started to tie her hands together. As she regained full consciousness, she fought with all her strength to get away. But it was no use. He was far stronger. She knew she was as good as dead if he managed to drive away with her.
Thunder rumbled in the distance. And then, much closer, thunder rumbled again. Somehow, she knew it was Jake. She felt his approach like hurricane making landfall.
“Get away from her!”
The man’s weight shifted, but not enough for her to move out from under him. “Your services are no longer required, Jake. It’s time for her to meet her destiny.”
What the hell was going on? Was this the man Jake had just claimed was her mate? She tried to turn her head to look at Jake, but she couldn’t see anything. It was too dark.
“He’s not taking her from me.” This time, by the sound of his voice, she knew Jake was closer. She let out of sigh of relief. But then she heard a click right over her head. Oh, God. He has a gun! But before she could warn Jake, the gun went off.
“Jake!” She fought so frantically that she managed to turn over and kick the man. When he stumbled back, clutching his groin, she jumped out of the car and ran toward Jake.
The instant she dropped to her knees next to Jake the gun went off again. Jake’s body jerked, a red stain forming on the front of his shirt. She turned and stood up to face her attacker, to protect Jake, but the man smashed the butt of his gun into her face.
The air exploded out of her lungs. She tried to take a breath, but she couldn’t. She fell to her knees and then hit the pavement face first. Using her arms, she tried to push herself up, but darkness moved in on her until everything went black.
* * *
Opening his eyes, Jake remained absolutely still for a moment to examine his wounds. His memory clouded, he struggled to a half-sitting position. He saw the shadowy image of a man take substance several feet away and then move toward him. He blinked to bring the man into focus. It was Joseph. Suddenly, memories flooding his mind, he jumped to his feet and expanded his mind to reach for Lee Anne. Because of the strength of their connection, he found her quickly. She was unconscious in the back seat of the car.
“What happened?”
Jake knew Joseph was already taking the information from his mind. “They’ve taken her,” he confirmed. He was so distraught that it was all he could say at the moment. He looked down at his stomach. Both bullets had ripped straight through his body.
“Can you shift?”
Meeting Joseph’s gaze, Jake nodded. The wounds were nearly healed, but he’d lost a considerable amount of blood. Not enough to stop him from shifting, but he would definitely need blood to replenish his strength before morning or he would die.
“We will get her back,” Joseph vowed as his image began to shimmer. Within seconds, Jake was staring at the empty space where Joseph had been standing.
For a few seconds he stood there in shock, unable to move. He’d allowed her to be taken. Snapping out of it, he concentrated on pinpointing the location of the car. At first, he couldn’t find it. But then he reached for Lee Anne and once again found her. Within seconds, he’d located the car and started the process of dissolving into a mist to shift to her.
* * *
Head pounding, Lee Anne woke up slowly. When she felt the warmth of blood dripping down her face, she tried to reach up and realized her hands were tied behind her back. Rather than panic, she forced herself to remain calm as she worked to wiggle her arms free of the rope.
At first she couldn’t remember anything. Staying completely still, she tried to force the memory of what had happened to come to her, but it didn’t work. She focused on her surroundings. She was in the back seat of a moving car. She could hear a man talking, but she couldn’t make out his words. She figured he was having a conversation with someone on a phone, because his was the only voice.
Just then, he shouted, “I had to shoot the bastard!” And in a flash, Lee Anne remembered everything. “I didn’t have a fucking a choice. He wasn’t going to allow me to drive off with the bitch. This is your fucked-up mess. I didn’t start any of it. And if you fucking threaten me one more time you’re on your own.” He paused for several seconds. “There’s no reason for you to worry about that. We both know nothing is going to stop him. He’ll come for her as planned.”
Rather than pounding, her head felt as if it had been cracked in two. Who the hell was coming for her? She couldn’t worry about that right now. She needed to get free to help Jake. He could be bleeding to death. Or worse, he could be dead. No. She wouldn’t believe he was dead. But how long ago had he been shot? How long had she been unconscious? It didn’t matter—Jake couldn’t be dead. She couldn’t lose him. She would get to him in time. But first, she needed to get her arms free and escape from her abductor.
Within seconds, her hands were free. For the time being, she couldn’t allow her thoughts to wander to Jake. The thought of him lying alone, bleeding to death, was just too much. She figured that since her hands were free, she had a chance. Not much of a chance since the man had a gun. But a little chance was enough. It had to be.
The car slowed down and made such a sharp turn that she rolled off the seat. She heard gravel crunching beneath the tires. Being on a gravel road was definitely not good. They could be headed into the forest, and it was dark. If she got away, she wouldn’t be able see. Where would she run?
She knew from the conversation that at least one other person was waiting for them and another was planning to show up. She couldn’t believe she
was being abducted. And worse, Jake must have had some idea it was going to happen for quite some time. Why had he waited until tonight to tell her that she had a price on her head? If the situation were reversed, if she had known something bad was going to happen to him, she would’ve warned him in time to do something to protect himself.
The car stopped. A few seconds later, the driver opened his door and got out. Just before he shut the door, she realized she could smell salty ocean air. The nearest beach was several hours away from where she’d been attacked. Her heart sank. Jake had been shot hours ago. What if no one had discovered him in the alley?
Waiting for the dome light to go out before she moved, she heard several voices but couldn’t make out what they were saying. Then, all was silent. Perhaps they’d left her. When she sat up to investigate, she couldn’t see anything. It was way too dark. Holding her breath, hoping for the best, she opened the car door.
The dome light went on. She froze. Her heart stopped. She forced herself to move. She got out of the car slowly and shut the door quietly. She waited for a few seconds, and then, believing no had noticed the light, she turned to run.
She didn’t make it more than a few feet before she ran into something solid and arms wrapped around her. “You’re not thinking of leaving us, are you?”
She struggled to get away but stopped when something sharp pierced her arm. She knew it was a needle. She felt the burn of whatever substance was in the syringe work its way through her veins. The moment the thought of being drugged registered, her head started spinning. She tried to pull away from the man, but her balance was off and he released her so she ended up falling flat on her back.
She tried to get up, but her arms and legs wouldn’t move. It felt as if she were paralyzed. Her flesh tingled, but deep inside her muscles a horrible fire burned. Never before had she ever experienced such intense pain. It felt as if a fist had gripped her heart and was squeezing it. She knew it was struggling to beat. She knew that whatever had been injected into her body was killing her.
Sprawled out on her back, she noticed it was getting harder and harder to breathe. At that point, being in so much pain and knowing she was going to die, she wished for the end to come quickly. Unable to see anything, she listened to what was going on around her. It helped take her focus off the pain. She heard several male voices. She was able to figure out by what they were saying that they were waiting for someone. Eventually, she felt herself drifting into a state of unconsciousness.
“What took you so long, Jake?” The question snapped her back to a state of total awareness even though the fiery pain assaulting her was so intense. Jake’s alive! She smiled despite the pain she was experiencing. She wanted to let go, to slip into the darkness again, but she wanted to look into his eyes once more.
“She’s your mate. Why would you hurt her, Jeremy?” Jake voice came from directly above her.
“Knowing you still think she’s my mate feels so wonderful. I knew making you her guardian was a brilliant plan. Some told me that my plan for revenge against you would never work. But I always knew I could count on your honor to keep you in check. It’s actually quite funny you haven’t figured it out after all the time you’ve spent with her. You have no idea how I’m grateful for the opportunity to tell you that she has always belonged to you. And now, because of your honor, she is dying, and you will walk alone for the rest of your miserable existence.”
* * *
Jake couldn’t believe what he was hearing. For so long, believing she belonged to Jeremy, he’d denied the truth that was always so clear. Lee Anne couldn’t possibly belong to Jeremy or any other man. She belonged to him. Only him. “You idiot. Your brother chose his fate. And now, you’ve chosen yours. But I promise your death won’t come as quickly as his.”
“You didn’t even give him a chance. You murdered him.”
“You know better. He’d lost his mind to rage. In a moment of lucidity he begged me to kill him. Just as you will.”
“He was mourning the death of his mate. It wasn’t too late for him. He just needed time. He would’ve recovered.”
“Our kind cannot recover from the loss of a mate.”
“Do you feel the rage yet?” Jeremy laughed. “I’ve heard that she must be dead before it takes you.”
Jake glanced down at Lee Anne. He knew it was true. She was on the verge of death. But he didn’t know why. As enraged as he was it took every ounce of his strength to keep from killing Jeremy immediately, but he couldn’t. Not yet. He needed more information if he was going to save her.
“Can you hear her heart laboring?”
“What did you do to her?”
“It doesn’t matter. There is nothing you can do for her now unless you break the rules. And we both know that Jake Mann, executioner of his own people, doesn’t break the rules for anyone.”
All at once Jake realized what they’d injected into her system. “Tainted blood?” Devastated, Jake stared down at her. “You’ve given her tainted blood.”
“Yes. And now, you must kill her. Once the conversion is complete, she’ll be consumed by the blood-lust.”
Jake knew it was true. The tainted blood would cause her to become a sadistic murderer. He had no choice. He couldn’t allow her to suffer. He had to kill her. Jake dropped to his knees. “She never wronged you.” He reached down and placed his hand on her chest. Her heart was barely beating.
Lee Anne’s eyes snapped open. She growled at him. Her body convulsed. She looked so terrified. So small. And so very fragile. She was in terrible pain. Suddenly, appearing to recognize him, her body went still and her eyes widened. She opened her mouth and whispered his name. She smiled.
He forced himself to return the smile. “I love you,” he leaned down to whisper in her ear. And then, her eyes rolled back and her body convulsed as her breaths turned into short, violent gasps.
Jake realized there was something else in her blood. Something far more powerful than vampire blood. “What is mixed with the blood?” Jake stood up. He was going to kill Jeremy, but first he needed this one last bit of information.
“Insurance.”
“What do you mean?”
“Just in case your honor failed, I wanted make sure there was no chance of her surviving. You’ve heard about Mary Tate’s little project, right?” Jeremy pointed up into the night sky. “What do you think? Is it a coincidence, or have they already come to kill her?”
Jake didn’t look up. He already knew it Joseph in the form of the dragon. He was the one demon Jake trusted; he would never harm Lee Anne. “They wouldn’t kill her. They wouldn’t need to. She’s human. She can’t survive being injected with a demon’s blood.”
“That’s the beauty of Mary’s project. Because of her tainted blood, the demon blood won’t kill her, and the demons know it. They also know their blood will make our kind as powerful as they are. They will no longer rule over us. We’ll be unstoppable.”
Enormous waves of rage welled up in Jake. For a moment, he feared he would lose his composure. Every cell in his body ached to attack Jeremy, but he felt he should wait for Joseph to land before making any moves. With Lee Anne so vulnerable and realizing he’d lost track of the other vampire, he didn’t want to take any chances. Don’t wait! Pick her up and get the hell out of there—you’re surrounded! The instant he heard Joseph’s warning, Jake bent over to pick her up, but something very big slammed into him with enough force to hurl his body back several feet.
Surrounded, Jake jumped up and lunged for one of the vampires but stopped and froze when the unthinkable happened. Lee Anne, obviously struggling to remain upright, was stumbling around so very close to the edge of the cliff. Jake took one a step toward her but couldn’t take another. He was grabbed from behind by at least two vampires. They were unusually strong and were able to wrench his arms behind his back. Keeping his gaze focused on Lee Anne and attempting to use a compulsion to get her to move away from the cliff, he fought to get the vampires off
him.
Jeremy stepped in front of him. Jaw clenched, Jeremy flashed a cruel grin. “It appears your mate wishes to save you the trouble killing her.” And then, he stepped to the side just in time for Jake to see Lee Anne go over the edge.
In the same instant, the vampires released Jake, and Joseph, in the form of the dragon, landed. Jake didn’t hesitate. He didn’t wait to see if Joseph needed him. He didn’t care. He dove off the cliff and plunged into the sea. Surrounded by murky darkness, he allowed his instincts to guide him to her. He kept swimming deeper into the icy, dark abyss until he reached her. He pulled her to him and wrapped his arm around her waist. And then, kicking his legs, holding her body against his, he brought them to the surface.
He knew she was unconscious and not breathing. He knew her heart was no longer beating. The fear and pain and anguish he felt were like nothing he’d ever known. He swam for the shore. It seemed as if it took hours, but only seconds passed before he lowered her onto the sand.
He leaned down and tilted her head back, and then he pinched her nose, settled his mouth over hers, and breathed into her several times. If he saved her there was a chance he would later be forced to kill her. It didn’t matter. He had to try. He started chest compressions. It wasn’t working. She wasn’t responding at all. She was dead. She would find peace in death, but he couldn’t allow her to die. He couldn’t go on without her.
“Breathe for me, Lee Anne,” he whispered in her ear, using a powerful compulsion. He breathed into her again. “Please … damn it … just breathe.”
Joseph, still in the form of a dragon, landed only a few feet away. His image shimmered as he took human form.
“She’s not breathing. Her heart is not beating. She can’t die.” Jake looked up at Joseph. “Can you help her?”
Joseph knelt down. “What did they give her?”
Jake feared the outcome of telling him the truth.
Sweet Decadent Fire Page 5