by Fall, Carly
“Basement,” the male whispered. Aiden nodded, and opened the door, hoping that the stairs wouldn’t creak, announcing their arrival.
As they made their way down the stairs, which were creaking under their weight, Aiden heard music. Some heavy metal shit—guitars blazing and a singer screaming and no one could understand what the guy was screaming about. No wonder the stairs hadn’t signaled their arrival.
At the bottom, Aiden saw the space had been broken up into three separate rooms, each guarded with a heavy wooden door. Two of the doors were closed, but one stood slightly ajar, and it was where the music was coming from. He signaled for Cy to check the other two doors, and Aiden slowly opened the first door.
The music got louder, yet Aiden couldn’t hear it from the pure rage pulsing through his veins at the scene in front of him.
Holly was naked and unconscious on a bare metal doctor's table, her hands shackled to the white wall behind her, her feet in stirrups, her legs open wide revealing her secret flesh for all to see. In front of her stood a naked blonde male, his hand on his hard cock, sliding it up and down, lubing it up. He said something and then looked over to the corner. There stood another male, also naked, cock in hand. Whatever the first male said, the second male had found it pretty funny and laughed. The first male turned back to Holly and began to push his hips toward her, obviously getting ready to rut on her.
Aiden let go of his knife, sending it into the first male’s throat, the one about to rut on Holly. The male coughed and sputtered, let go of his deflating cock and spun around with surprise to face Aiden. Because of the loud music, his friend in the corner was unaware of what had just transpired. He said something else, and when he didn’t get an answer, he looked up to see his friend with a knife hanging out of his neck. Finally catching up to the events, he lunged for the gun on a small table beside him.
Before his hand made contact, he fell to the floor, Aiden having taken him down with a double tap to the head. Blood quickly pooled under the male, his dead eyes staring up at the ceiling. The guy with the knife in his neck also had one last burst of energy and lunged for the gun. Aiden took three long strides across the room and grabbed the male by the hair. He wrenched his head around and looked into the male’s eyes. Fear welled in them, and Aiden smiled. He grabbed the hilt of the knife still embedded in the side male’s throat, under his ear.
“No one fucks with my woman,” he hissed, and then slowly yanked the knife to the other side of the male's throat, an arc of blood decorating the room. Aiden almost decapitated him, and dropped the body to the ground. He heard the last gurgles of life leave the body as he walked over to Holly.
After Natalie had died, he had gone hunting for her killer. He had been certain he found the man, and had dealt him a long, slow death. Then he had found out the guy hadn't been Natalie's killer. Victor Marano was. As he looked down at Holly, he realized that the death he had just dished out was very satisfying. He hadn't gotten his revenge for Natalie's death . . . yet, but he certainly felt he had served justice in Holly's disappearance.
Upon closer inspection of Holly, he noticed bruising on her face, her lip swollen . . . hell, she was bruised all over her body. Which, of course, made him want to re-animate the slabs of meat on the floor and kill them all over again.
He looked around the room and saw the keys to the shackles resting on the table next to the unused gun both had tried so desperately to get. He stepped over the bodies, making sure to keep clear of the blood, and went back to Holly. His hands shook as he undid the shackles. He gently rested her arms to her sides, and took off his jacket to cover her. He then took her feet out of the stirrups and looked at her face. She looked pale, and with the cuts and bruises to her face, he would have thought her dead if he hadn't seen her chest moving up and down in a slow rhythm. She had obviously been drugged after she had been beaten. He wondered if she had put up a fight. He glanced back at the two on the floor and saw scratches on their faces, a couple of bruises here and there. So yeah, she had put up a fight. His little hellcat wouldn’t go down without dealing out as much damage as she could.
He hit the off button on the stereo, plunging the room into silence. He heard footsteps approaching from the hall, and raised his gun, pointing it at the doorway.
Cy came through the door, a gun in each outstretched hand. He stopped, took in the scene in front of him, and quickly holstered his guns.
"Anyone else down here, Cy?"
Cy shook his head, and Aiden swore he saw tears in the male's eyes. "A body," he said quietly, avoiding Aiden's gaze. "Female vampire. It looks as though . . . " he cleared his throat, still not meeting Aiden's eyes, " . . . it looks as though she's committed suicide. She wrapped the chains around her neck."
Aiden felt as though someone had kicked him in the sternum. A dead female vampire, who was most likely one of Holly's friends, committed suicide. He felt like throwing up, and Holly was going to devastated.
"We need to give her some type of burial," Cy said quietly.
Aiden nodded, and heard boots on the stairs.
Both he and Cy positioned themselves between Holly and the door and drew their guns. Thaddeus announced himself before turning the corner into gunfire range.
"What do we have?" Thaddeus said once his brothers had lowered their guns.
"Holly," Aiden said. He could hear the shakiness in his voice. "Alive, but beaten pretty badly. Next door Cy found the body of a female vampire."
Thaddeus's eyes went wide, and then he shook his head. "Goddammit."
Cy nodded in agreement.
"Aiden, take care of Holly. Cy, let's get the body upstairs and give her the burial prayer, but we're going to have to leave her for the sun."
Aiden winced. It wasn't much of a burial, but it was the best the could do.
"Aiden," Thaddeus said, "Holly is going to have to do an I.D. on the body."
Aiden nodded, hating that Holly would have to see that. "Take a picture with your phone. Send it to me, and when she's better, I'll have her I.D. it."
Twenty minutes later, Aiden sat in the car with Holly in the backseat. Thaddeus and Cy rode up front.
"Did you happen to find Victor in there?" Aiden quietly said to Thaddeus.
“Negative," Thaddeus said. "But when I do, that fucker is going to die a slow death."
"I'm doing everything I can to find Victor," Cy said with quiet determination. "Everything. That bastard has caused too much pain. First, he takes Emily's kid, Brandon, and turns him into a vampire. Next, we find out that he actually killed Natalie, and now this." He shook his head again. "I've been working on a new computer program that may help me find an address on Victor. Let me get back to fighting this fight my way."
Chapter 32
Thaddeus called the house and spoke to Hugo, telling him that once they arrived, there should be no welcoming party. He then asked the male to look up a vampire doctor Thaddeus knew in Texas, and get the guy on a private jet to Reno stat. He wanted the doctor in his house by dawn, no excuses.
They arrived at Thaddeus’s house, and Aiden made a beeline for Holly’s room. He pulled back the covers to her bed, and laid her out gently on the gray sheets. He pulled his jacket away, and did a quick cursory glance over her body again. A lot of bruises, but no blood. He gently pulled the dark blue bedspread up to her chin and stared at her, hating how patches of her skin were the same color as the comforter.
As he stood in the silence, he felt his whole body shake. Not the tremors of rage he had felt before, but the quakes of fear. They hit him so badly he could barely make it to the chair across the room. His knees gave out just as he reached it.
He sat in the dimly lit room and watched Holly sleep. Her black spiky hair almost glowed against the white pillow. Her breathing was shallow, but steady, which Aiden assumed was a good thing. But she did look a little pale. Perhaps he should check her for a fever? She could have caught a bug down in that basement. It had been a little cold, and if she had caught a bug he
didn't want it to get anymore serious, so perhaps she needed another blanket, and he bet Emily knew where there was a thermometer. Maybe he should put a cold cloth on her forehead . . . okay . . . time to cut the Marcus Welby wannabe crap. Time to get down to why he was shaking so hard that he felt like he was a leaf on a tree during a fall wind storm.
The bruises and cuts would heal. But what had been done to her? The image of that male with his dick in his hand flashed through his mind. He closed his eyes hoping to block it out, but it stayed there like a movie that had been put on pause. What if that hadn’t been the first time they had done something like that to her? What if she had been raped repeatedly? What would the experience do to her? Just the thought of it was ripping a hole in his soul. He couldn’t imagine living through it. If they had done anything to her, maybe they had knocked her out. But would that actually be better? To know something had been done to you, but not remember? Or would it be worse to not know if something had been done, and have your imagination cough up all sorts of terrible scenarios, just as his was doing? The thoughts made his head hurt.
Holly let out a groan and Aiden was at the bedside in a second, his shakes temporarily stopping. She rolled to her side and curled up in a fetal position, looking so small, so vulnerable. His rage flared up and he wanted to go back to that house and stab those two all over again.
He went back to his chair and kicked off his combat boots and thought of how much things had changed in a very few short days. When he had first met her, she was the one in the chair, watching over him while he lay in the bed banged up. Now he was in the damn chair, worrying over her, praying that she hadn’t been hurt.
He decided that he would watch over her as she had done for him. He could only hope that he did half as good job. When she woke, he would bring her some food, and she would definitely need to feed. And not from that damned IV she had been using. No, she would drink from him, and his strong first generation half-breed blood would help her body repair itself. He idly wondered if Thaddeus’s doctor would be here before dawn. It would most likely be beneficial to have Holly looked at before she awoke from her drug-induced sleep. He imagined that the trauma she had suffered could be relived through a medical examination.
As he sat there, he stretched his legs out in front of him. He felt the adrenaline and rage begin to ebb out of his body. While he watched Holly sleep, a strange calm came over him. He felt his heart rate slow, his muscles relax. His eyelids became heavy, and he wondered why he was so tired. Oh. yeah. Hadn’t slept in over twenty-four hours. That would do it to a male. As he felt his eyelids close, he had one last thought: he loved Holly, and if she would have him, he would make her his.
Chapter 33
Natalie sat in her white robes on the white sofa watching the flat screen TV. The picture was even grainier, but she could make out what was going on.
Aiden slept in a chair. She couldn't see what else was going on it the room, just Aiden.
He looked exhausted as he stretched out with his gun on his lap. Deep worry lines etched his face, but he looked different. Yes, he looked worried, but he also didn't look angry, nor did he look like he was hurting. He wasn't peaceful by any means, but it seemed things were definitely improving.
She wondered what, or who, was giving him the strength to let go of her. She had always assumed he would just let go on his own accord, but now she wondered. It had to be another woman.
She didn't know how she felt about that. She wanted Aiden to live, not exist, but for her to let him go to another female . . . well, that just hurt.
She found herself standing up and putting her hand over Aiden's face. She remembered how many days she had laid next to him in their bed and watched him sleep. If she looked too long, he would sense it. His eyes would fly open, and after a cursory glance at her to make sure she was okay, he would smile, and then tease her about her not being able to get over his good looks. Yes, he was nice on the eyes, but what she loved about watching him sleep was the way his face actually radiated with happiness and there was a peaceful calm about him. That was the beautiful thing.
She wished she were seeing that now.
Natalie touched the screen again, thinking about how kind he had been. It was almost as if he had existed just to make her happy, and he always found new ways to do that. Breakfast in bed. Letting her pick the movie they watched on TV. Rubbing her shoulders without her asking. And always smiling, always trying to make her laugh.
Natalie heard a light tap coming from the TV, and Aiden flew off the chair, his gun in one hand, and he was reaching behind his back for something else. Startled, Natalie jumped back from the flat screen, frantically looking for the remote. She didn't want to see a fight, and it certainly looked as if this could very well be one.
Chapter 34
Thaddeus's doctor did get to the house before dawn. Aiden was woken by a light tap at the door that had him up on his feet in seconds, a gun in one hand, his other reaching for the knife at his back.
Aiden took a deep breath, told himself to chill, and went to the door. He didn't unsheathe the knife, but he held the gun at his side.
The doctor was a small male with a bald head, a bright smile and green eyes. He wore jeans and a button down shirt and carried a small duffle bag. He shook Aiden's hand after Thaddeus quietly introduced them, and then went over to the bed. He rested his hand gently on Holly's head.
"Thaddeus filled me in on how you found her," he said quietly. "Terrible." He turned to Aiden. "I'll need to do a full exam on her." Aiden closed his eyes for an instant, not really wanting to think about what a full exam entailed. He had been to the doctor with Natalie when she was pregnant with Robert, and the "full exams" had just about made him mental. He had vivid recollections of wanting to wrap the rubber glove around the doctor's neck and pull. Hard. He knew he couldn't be in the room for Holly's full exam or he would lose it. At least with Natalie he had been able to tell himself that the doctor needed to do it for the safety of both her and their babe. Now, the doctor was looking for nothing but trauma, but he knew it was necessary. He nodded and told the doctor that he would wait outside.
Aiden leaned against the wall of the hallway, his eyes closed. His fingers rubbed the spot between his eyes. He prayed Holly hadn't been hurt.
"You okay?" Thaddeus asked.
No. Not at all. So far from okay it may as well be on a different planet. "Yeah." He took a deep breath. "We need to catch that Victor guy so that I can kill him long and slow," Aiden said, his eyes still closed.
Thaddeus grunted a response.
They stood in silence for another twenty minutes, and then the door opened. Aiden opened his eyes and looked at the doctor. "Physically, she is bruised up, and will most likely be sore when she comes to. I can't find any broken bones, and I see no evidence of rape. My guess is that she has been drugged, and we'll just have to wait for the drugs to wear off."
Aiden felt his gut begin to uncoil, and he thought his knees might give out. Relief flooded through him. He really wanted to ass plant it on the carpet in the hallway.
"Mentally," the doctor continued, "we'll have to wait and see. She has been through quite a trauma. Someone she trusts should be there when she wakes up. It may be a very jarring experience for her."
Aiden nodded. "Thank you," he said in a weak voice. "Thanks a lot."
Aiden went back into the bedroom, sat down on the edge of the bed, and ran his hand over Holly's cheek.
"Come back to me, baby," he whispered. "Come back."
Chapter 35
Victor stood in the middle of the room with the white painted walls and white tile floor that was slowly turning red from the blood leaking out of the two naked male bodies. They should both be glad they were dead, because if they were alive, Victor would kill them, but it wouldn't be with the fast efficiency that had obviously been dealt out. No, he would make them suffer for days while they begged for an end to it all. For good measure he kicked the one who barely had his head attached.
He sighed. Did he have to do everything by himself? Couldn't he count on anyone to help him forward his plans?
He had chosen the two males on the floor to begin the breeding process because they were first generation half-breeds, sired by another member of The Council. When his youth hormone serum was complete and he could once again get a hard on, he would also participate in the breeding process.
He had procured this house for the sole purpose of having a place to board the female vampires that would give birth to the next generation of the vampire race. He loved that the house had this basement. No one at street level could hear any screaming or crying.
Luck, fate, destiny . . . whatever you wanted to call it, was a funny thing. Just twenty-four hours ago, he had had control over two female vampires. Now, one was missing, and he was guessing that the pile of ash in the living room upstairs was the other. All other vampires in the house were accounted for. He was standing over them.
He looked down at the two dead vampires on the floor, and then noticed the gun still resting on the table. They hadn't a chance to fight back. He had only seen killing this efficient by one group of males—the Dark Forces. They had to be responsible for this debacle.
However, they would not kill a female vampire. Of that, he was certain. He wondered if she had somehow managed to commit suicide, or the two at his feet had somehow beaten her to death.
Victor sighed and then whistled. He heard footsteps on the stairs down to the basement, and turned to see two of his sons. They were about seventeen or so, but looked much older. They had lost their innocence when he had activated their vampire DNA, and now they were straight up killers, as he had conditioned them to be.