“I’m here to see Gunner, of course! I came as quickly as I could after I heard he’d gotten out!”
“From whom?” he asked, taking a step forward.
“What?”
“Who told you?”
“I don’t know. I overheard a conversation at the District office.”
His eyes went to slits, as he looked her over.
“Hmm. What business did you have there as a human?”
“What concern is it of yours? I don’t answer to you, Blaine. Gunner’s free, and we can be together again, whether you like it or not!”
“After you abandoned him? Why would he ever accept you after you showed such disloyalty?”
“Because he loves me! He knows I was scared. I told him that’s why I had to leave him when it happened! It was too much for me to handle!” She waved her hand in the air at them in dismissal. “I’m hungry and tired of this conversation. When Gunner comes downstairs, tell him I’ve arrived and to wait for me in the study. I’ll join him after I’ve eaten.”
Flipping around on her heels, she headed towards the kitchen, certain that they wouldn’t follow her, since Blaine had hated her with a passion from the moment they met, and she’d handled the shifter well enough.
As she approached, sashaying through the swinging doors, she heard voices mumbling. Not breaking her stride, she went directly to the refrigerator and opened it wide. She didn’t have any interest in food—at least, not the human kind. She needed access to the special containment area Gunner had for his blood stores. Since the room wasn’t empty, she had to change her strategy and figure out how she could get rid of whoever was in there.
“Excuse me,” a woman said. “Who are you?”
“Starving,” Reina answered, as she searched the shelves.
“Well, I made some sandwiches—turkey, cheese, and avocado on wheat—if you’d like one.”
“No, that won’t do, I’m afraid.”
A chair squeaked against the floor, and Reina heard footsteps as they came up behind her.
“My name’s Piper, and that guy over there is Henry. And you are...?”
Reina straightened, taking her time, as she turned to face the female. When she was done, she leisurely assessed the woman, starting at her feet in glittery flip-flops, making her way up the gray couture sweatpants, the white billowy open-sleeved top, and lastly, to Piper’s expectant face.
“Better dressed,” she said, staring Piper in the eyes.
“Excuse me?”
“You look like a discount store exploded all over you.”
Rather than bursting into tears and running away, like Reina was hoping, Piper straightened her back, reached out, and poked her in the chest.
“Who do you think you are, talkin’ to me like that?”
Reina gave her a haughty huff and said, “Gunner’s girlfriend.”
Piper’s face fell, softening in pity, and it was all Reina could do not to bust out laughing at the thought that anyone would believe she ever wanted to be with him.
“But you’re not Imo—” Henry started, and Piper cleared her throat loudly to cut him off.
Acting like she hadn’t heard him, Reina said, “If you don’t mind, I’d like to have a meal in my house. It’s been a while, and I’d rather be alone to reacquaint myself.”
“Fine. I’m chalkin’ your attitude up to the hunger pangs that everyone’s sufferin’ from lately, but don’t push it.” Piper shook her head at Reina with a disgusted look on her face. “Let’s go, Henry.”
“Can I—?”
“Yes, you can take your plate with you.”
As Reina watched him pick up his sandwich, he froze, bent over, with his hand outstretched, barely touching the ceramic dish. Then, in halting moves, he swiveled his head in her direction.
“What are you looking at?” she snapped.
“I’m not sure.”
“Just get out,” she said, turning her attention back to the fridge.
A cold wind went through her, and she knew it had nothing to do with the temperature of the appliance. The way that man had stared at her was foreboding, telling her that she had to work fast or be found out.
The doors swished, as they left, but then someone else entered the kitchen.
“Reina,” Gunner said.
Freezing where she stood for a few seconds, she swallowed her revulsion at hearing his voice say her name.
After forcing tears into her eyes, she flipped around and screamed, “Gunner!” as she ran full speed towards him.
Gentleman that he was, he opened his arms to catch her. When he did, she placed kisses on his cheeks and neck, avoiding his lips. She wasn’t going to touch them unless she had no other recourse.
“I don’t understand why you’ve come.”
“So we can be together again, of course! Isn’t it wonderful? I couldn’t believe the news! I’ve missed you so much!”
She noticed that he hadn’t cuddled her to him, as he had in the past, and his entire demeanor was closed off.
Fine. Just go into hysterics when he breaks up with you.
“We need to talk,” Gunner mumbled.
He took her hand and led her out of the kitchen to his study, with all those musty books that made her want to sneeze. She took a seat, and then he sat across from her.
“What is it?” she said, beaming a smile at him.
“I don’t wanna be with you anymore.”
“But why?”
“Aside from your running away from me after I was accused?”
“You know I can’t handle drama.”
“It was my life at stake, Reina.”
He withdrew a blood pack from a cooler at his feet and drank it down in a couple of seconds.
“What did they do, starve you in prison?”
“No. Look, I’d appreciate it if you left and didn’t come back.”
“What? You can’t do that! You promised yourself to me!” As she protested his words, she hoped that her act was up to snuff. She couldn’t tell, since she felt like she was simply going through the required emotional response. “I can’t believe you’re doing this to me! Throwing me away like a piece of garbage! It isn’t my fault you got locked up!”
“I mean now, Reina.”
When he didn’t back down, she made herself cry again, with heaving breaths for effect. He pointed to the door, as he brought out another blood bag.
In a blubbering voice, she said, “Fine. I see. You’re a liar, and I’m better off without you. I need to get my purse. Will you at least allow me to do that, before kicking me to the curb? It’s in the kitchen. Then I’ll leave you alone like you want, Gunner.”
“Thank you,” he replied, dropping the emptied pack into the cooler.
He went to the bar and poured himself a drink, while she stalked away, raising her voice to shrieking. Stomping her feet in feigned anger, she went back to the kitchen, spied the blood storage area, and grabbed her purse off the counter. She slipped a long thin dagger out of one of its pockets and opened the door.
Thinking that if they caught her, she could blame her actions on rage, she squatted down and stabbed bag after bag. Blood spiked from them, hitting her in the face, and by the time she was done, the floor was a river of red, and Gunner’s entire supply was destroyed.
Reina preened herself about her success: Getting everyone to leave her to her own devices, Gunner speaking to her only long enough to tell her to get lost, her rude treatment of everyone else, all culminating in her being able to fulfill her mission.
Hearing the sound of footfalls approaching, she jumped up and shoved the knife back into her purse. Then she ran to the back door and slipped out quietly, closing it behind her. Smiling, she covered her mouth with her hand to mute her laughter.
As she made her escape, she heard Piper screaming, “Lee! Gunner! Blaine! Come here! She destroyed it all!”
Chapter 34
“That bitch!” Piper yelled, as Gunner’s stomach rolled, and he fought
the urge to lick the blood off the floor. “I could understand trashin’ the place over you breakin’ her heart, but poppin’ all those bags? She knows you need ‘em! What kinda psycho does that?”
Unable to withstand the craving a second longer, he went to his hands and knees. In his mind, he understood that what he was going to do was sickening, but the Thirst had taken him over. Sliding his hands through the liquid, he coated them with it and then lifted it to his lips, licking and sucking it down. Then he returned for more, as visions of Imogen’s face and the taste of her essence drove him to the brink of madness.
“Gunner,” Blaine said in a hushed tone.
Ignoring him, he focused on feeding his unyielding need. From the corner of his eye, he saw Delia, Jana, and Lee, as they came into the room. His hands returned to the floor, and he covered them with as much blood as he could.
“What’s happening here?” he heard Jana ask through the red fog engulfing his brain.
Then there was a lot of chatter around him that he didn’t listen to. He had to satisfy his hunger or go crazy. As he licked his fingers once more, he scraped them with his fangs, and then his own blood mixed with what he’d salvaged of the remnants of his stores.
At last, the yearning began to subside in sluggish shifts through his body, until his ears opened enough for him to hear what they were talking about.
“It doesn’t make sense,” Blaine said, as Gunner surmised that Piper had filled everyone in on what had occurred. “Why would Reina take her anger out that way?”
“Oh, we can be vindictive, buddy. Trust me,” Piper stated. “Even so, this seems over the top to me. But I don’t know her other than her insultin’ me, badmouthin’ my outfit.”
“That was jealousy, babe,” Lee replied. “You look sexy as hell.”
Jana said, “I need to call The Directive-approved blood banks and get him some more as quickly as possible.”
“He needs to be restrained,” Delia stated matter-of-factly. “He’s a danger to everyone in this house, including himself, until we get to the bottom of this.”
“I agree,” Jana added.
Turning his back to them, Gunner hissed at her response, as he sat down in the middle of the pool and gathered more crimson fluid onto his hands.
“Before we do that,” Blaine interjected, as he withdrew his phone from his jacket and headed out of the kitchen, “let me reach out to my contacts.”
“Make it quick, and we’ll keep an eye on him.”
Lee said, “Piper, go to the media room and watch a movie or something. You don’t want to mess up your clothes in here.”
“I’m not leavin’ my alpha,” she replied in a tone that told him the discussion was over.
Hearing her, Gunner wanted to laugh at her back-talking her mate. He wished he could react to anything other than the desire running rampant through him, but he couldn’t.
“What about Henry? Does he have more information? Any leads for us to pursue?” Jana asked.
“He’s been in meditation most of the day, up to now,” Delia said. “He mentioned something about a chess game, queens and pawns. I can’t follow his ramblings. I simply keep hoping that he’ll pull through for us.”
“What? You’ve turned on us too, Mark?” Blaine shouted, as his shoes slapped against the floor when he came back into the room. “On whose orders?”
Everyone went silent except Gunner, who groaned in ecstasy when more blood touched his tongue.
“Email the document to me immediately!”
Something inside Gunner told him that he needed to listen to his friend, so he twisted around to see him.
“What is it?” Delia asked.
“I just called every supplier in the area.”
“And?” Jana said.
“Neither Gunner nor I may purchase from them any longer. They’ve been instructed that we are persona non grata, that we’re dwindling their reserves to the point that they cannot service others, thereby hurting the vampire community as a whole.”
“Who gave this order?” Jana asked.
“Magno Zara himself.”
“That can’t be!” Jana gasped. “I don’t understand! I informed him that Gunner has been stricken with the Thirst!”
“I asked them all to send over the papers they received.”
“There’s no time for that,” Jana replied, as she rushed towards the swinging doors. “I’m calling him and then my office right now. They need to send me a copy of another of Magno’s edicts for comparison purposes.”
The thought of his blood source running out hit Gunner like a sledgehammer, and any semblance of dignity he had left disappeared, as he lowered his head to the floor, taking his sustenance straight from it with his tongue.
“I’m getting the cuffs,” he heard Delia mumble. “The type I carry will keep him secure but won’t hurt him. They’ve been specially made for this type of situation.”
“Gunner designed a safe room that has a two-foot thick steel door. I think it was originally a bank vault. He’ll be secure there.”
“Perfect,” Delia replied.
His mind screamed at him to run, to flee into the night and save himself from the additional torment to come, but the blood surrounding him sealed his fate, keeping him fixed in that spot, powerless to move.
As his thoughts dissolved into a crimson mania, the shackles clicked around his wrists, and he was restrained once again.
Chapter 35
“Magno,” Jana said, “apologies for interrupting your well-deserved time away from the office, but I’m calling with a matter of utmost importance. The situation here is dire, and I’ve just been given information that makes it much worse.”
“What is it?”
“We’ve been advised that none of The Directive-approved blood banks are to sell to Gunner or to Blaine.”
“By whom?”
“They’re claiming it was you.”
“What?” he thundered, as Jana held the device away from her ear. Her eyes went to Blaine, who had his laptop sitting on his thighs, clicking his fingers along the keyboard. “I’ve given no such order, Jana.”
“As I was certain. We’re in the process of obtaining the documentation that they claim came from your office. I’ll forward it upon receipt.”
“I’ll be waiting for it.”
“Magno, there’s something underhanded going on here. I am thoroughly convinced that Gunner was set up as the fall guy for those murders, and Terrance is behind all of it. As I notified you, I ordered Terrance’s arrest, but we’ve been unable to apprehend him. It’s like he’s dropped off the planet.”
“He’s in hiding, preparing his next move. Jana, I’ll be on the next flight out to join you. Someone is threatening my leadership and has now gone as far as impersonating me. Both inexcusable offenses.”
“Agreed.”
“I’ll deal with Terrance personally.”
“The APB has everyone on alert to find him.”
“Good. Send me your location, and I’ll message you when we land. I’ll bring Clarence up to date on this conversation and get his thoughts.”
“Great idea. I’ll text you our address shortly.”
She ended the call, and Blaine stood, walked over to her, and set his PC on the desk.
“Here’s what was sent to them.”
She peered into the screen, reading the orders given to the suppliers.
“That’s Magno’s signature,” she murmured, reaching out to trace the bold script with her fingertip. “A perfect copy.”
“And not a cut and paste job, either. It was written by hand.”
“Appears that way to me, too.”
“Terrance must’ve enlisted some help with this,” he said, as he straightened. “We need to know who’s been arrested for forgery in the area.”
“My thoughts exactly,” she replied, as she made another call. “Preston, send me a listing of the arrest records for the past three years in District 7, please. ASAP. And in a format I ca
n sort.”
“Yes, ma’am. On it.”
She thanked him, and he hung up.
“One more call to make,” she said, and Blaine arched his brow. “They may not sell to you right now, but once I’m done making The Directive’s and my stance on this issue abundantly clear, they will.”
Chapter 36
“Imogen!” Gunner screamed her name for what must have been the thousandth time in a voice devoid of his humanity. The preternatural sound rolled over his vocal cords like a thunderstorm.
It was the next night, and upon his waking, his skin burned as if flames were licking over his flesh, consuming, as the fire ate its way through what remained of his mind.
Gunner’s shoulder connected with the steel door, as he rammed it at his full vampire speed, but it absorbed the blow without a dent.
“Release me!” In the haze of his memories, he recalled hearing similar shouts from a man imprisoned with him. Slamming his fists against the door, he pleaded to anyone listening, “I have to find her! Please! She’s in danger! My mate! My love!”
From the other side, a small slot slid open, and Jana’s hard eyes pinned his desperate and flaming ones.
“Stand back, vampire,” she said, her voice a powerful growl. “I have nourishment for you.”
Dropping to his knees, he grabbed the packs, as they were pushed through the opening at a steady pace, and then drank them dry, his handcuffs clinking together each time he drew a bag to his mouth.
“Tell me when you’re feeling like yourself.”
He nodded, unable to do anything more.
Minutes passed, with the only sound he heard being that of the bags landing on the floor and the rushing of the blood as it filled him.
“Imogen,” he said, as he grabbed another. “Did you find her? Is she here?”
“We haven’t, but we’ve cleared one important hurdle. We’ve proven your innocence, Gunner.”
He shot to standing, plastic littering the area around his feet, and shouted, “You believe me?”
“Absolutely. Are you controlled enough for me to open the door? I’m asking for your safety, not mine.”
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