“What about Stacy?” He knew the guy wasn’t as likely to kill a human, but he also knew Shayne was worried about it. The tension in reception when Stacy had shut him down was enough to tell him that.
“She refuses to lock herself into one of the empty rooms for the night. She won’t leave her post at the front desk,” Shayne said, shaking his head. “Said it would look too suspicious.” He was clearly infuriated as he muttered under his breath about the foolhardy woman.
“She has guts,” Skye murmured, before she smiled at Theo and raised her voice, “and she has a serious crush on this guy right here.”
Shayne stopped walking and turned, frowning at Theo. Skye giggled. She covered her mouth with her free hand.
“She meant you, idiot,” Theo said.
The guy’s expression didn’t change but he got back to walking.
Theo shook his head at her. She just shrugged as they followed Shayne.
The darkness up ahead was expected, but he felt Skye shudder as they approached. He let go of her hand. “I’ll get the light.”
He dashed past Shayne, down the set of stairs and hit the switch at the bottom, making sure to keep his hand on it. There were spirits in this passageway. They didn’t like the light. He could feel their presences swirling when it was dark, less so when the light was on. Something was touching his hand, making it much colder. He knew the second he moved it off the switch the light would go back off.
He looked up as Shayne and Skye walked down the stairs. Skye folded her arms.
“This place is spooky.” She quickened her step to get to his side faster.
He smiled. “You should go on ahead. This switch is slippery. The lights won’t stay on once I let go.”
Shayne was already walking past. Skye hesitated before she followed him, looking back and making his stomach twist up inside. It cramped again, and knew he’d have to get more blood soon. The bar was a good place to be for that. He’d just need to be careful. Too much could make him sick. Little and often was what it would take to get back to normal.
He let go of the switch once Shayne and Skye rounded the corner. Darkness engulfed him. Did he really want to get back to normal? The question seemed to stump him. Presences whirled through the pitch black hall as he turned the thought over in his mind. He felt the spirits tug at his limbs. He moved through the dark place and stood watching Shayne and Skye enter the cavern-like bar with its well lit pool hall and sitting areas. His mind seemed to mist over. He wasn’t so sure what he wanted anymore. He brushed the thought aside before it could clarify. The important thing right now was getting Skye out of the brothel. She couldn’t be here when Brody’s vengeful father came back.
He stepped out of the darkness and into the bar. It wasn’t busy tonight, which was just as well considering what was going on. Besides the three of them, Marina and Abby were lounging on a purple sofa near the back of the room. The brothel’s only female vampires had the night off, it seemed. They were talking quietly and drinking blood out of wine glasses.
He went behind the bar to get himself something. He didn’t need to decide now if he was done starving himself, he just needed to make sure he wasn’t hungry when he was leading Skye the rest of the way out.
“The passageway will bring you out inside the ground floor of Haven.” Shayne passed Theo a slip of paper and a set of keys. “These are the keys to get to the main floor and out that door.”
Theo understood now why Shayne wasn’t coming with them. It would take longer than he could stand to leave Stacy alone with Mark. He walked back into the darkness before Theo could say a word.
“What’s the slip of paper?” Skye asked, as Abby got up from her seat and walked towards them.
He glanced at it and slipped it into his pocket. “It’s instructions on how to unlock the passageway when we get to the location. We need to get there alone to leave.”
“Beautiful,” Abby said, smiling in the dreamy way she always did as she touched Skye’s hair.
Skye jumped slightly, and he could see from the fright in her eyes that she hadn’t noticed the semi-naked brunette vampire sneak up on them.
Marina made her way over with her glass in her hand as Theo gave Abby a warning glance.
“She’s not here for you.”
Abby dropped her hand and tittered at him. She never looked entirely present and today was no exception. Her lack of clothes seemed to back up her state of mind; she was wearing hot pink underwear that was entirely transparent, and nothing else.
“Someone’s possessive,” her comment was softly spoken, and the lilting quality to her voice made her sound drunk.
“Don’t mind her,” Marina said in her usual wry tone, smiling nicely at him. “She just misses the old me.”
Abby moved close and wrapped her arms around Marina’s slender waist. Her new body was young, she almost looked like a teenager again, and her hair was dark and cut in a bobbed style that reminded him of the girl who ran the brothel alongside Brody. Marina used to be blonde, and apparently Abby had preferred that.
“This new body isn’t you,” Abby complained, putting her head on Marina’s shoulder. “It’s Brody’s. I never should have let him choose.”
Marina rolled her eyes. “Oh shush. I wouldn’t even be back here if it wasn’t for Brody.”
Abby’s gaze slid to Skye, longingly. “She’d be perfect.”
Theo frowned at her. “She’s not here for that.”
He turned to Skye. “I just need to drink this and we’re leaving.” He uncapped the bottle.
“You know what? I could really use a drink,” Skye said, going behind the bar and looking around.
“So, I’m hearing the angel of death is near,” Marina said, sipping from her wine glass, and staining her lips scarlet.
“Aye,” he said, taking a gulp of his bottle. Blood wasn’t half as good cold, but he barely tasted it as it went down. Calming his thirst was all he cared about right now.
“I don’t think he’s after me this time,” she went on. “I’m sure he’ll be curious to find out what happened as soon as he locked this place down though. Have a nice night, Theo.”
She put her empty glass down and broke away from Abby to leave the bar, allowing her hand to be taken when Abby skipped to catch her up.
Theo tried to ignore the paranoia her words had implanted in his head. There were no cameras down here. Still, he knew he’d have to be on his guard. He turned back to Skye and caught her staring into the darkness, a frown creasing her features.
She sighed before she turned to him. “That kind of gave me the creeps.”
“Should you really be drinking right now?” He watched her pour a whiskey glass half-full of rum before she went to pull a mixer out of the fridge.
“I’m thinking it’ll make this whole thing seem less disturbing, so yes, I really should.”
He nodded slightly, wondering how well she’d take it once they had to walk through the spectre-filled darkness to get to the passageway. Apparently he’d only be able to find the door in the dark. The piece of paper told him which bricks he’d need to push to get the passageway to open. He was going to have to go with her, all the way. He sank the rest of the bottle and considered taking one for the trip. In the end he didn’t do it. It wasn’t going to take longer than an hour.
“Okay,” she said, taking a sip of the rum and coke. “Do you think this could possibly be a trap? Like, even a little bit?”
He considered what Marina had said. There was every chance Brody’s father would do something like that. Make it seem like he was doing one thing when really, he was planning another. He couldn’t be sure. But he didn’t want Skye to worry about that. They had one way out and they had to take it. Anything else was too risky. She couldn’t be in the brothel when Brody’s father came back. He couldn’t stand the thought of being helpless if the man decided to hurt her. He couldn’t go through that again.
He shook his head. “It’s our best chance to get you out of
here.”
She raised an eyebrow. “To get me out of here?”
“You’re not safe here.”
“That’s not what I was…” She sighed, taking another sip. “Forget it. Let’s get moving.”
“You’ll need to take my hand, and hold on tight.”
She did as he said without question. When he took a step towards the darkness she froze.
“Are you kidding?”
He shook his head. “Unfortunately not.”
She let go of his hand and dashed back to the bar to sink the rest of her abandoned drink.
“Okay, let’s get the hell out of here.”
Chapter Sixteen
Skye walked into the dark hallway with Theo, grasping his hand tightly. There was something freaky about the atmosphere in the hall, something that made her take a deep breath before she stepped into it. It felt like an abyss. The strangely cool air that seemed to be still one moment and rushing over her skin the next made her incredibly nervous. She moved with Theo, wishing she could see him. Her death grip on his hand was all that was pulling her though this nightmare passageway. She wondered how long this trip was going to take and her stomach lurched. Please let it be quick, she thought.
The ground seemed uneven under her feet. She stumbled over something and gasped, breathing in cold air and shuddering uncontrollably. Something brushed her shoulder and she realized in relief that it was Theo’s other hand.
“Are you okay?” The sound of his voice calmed her racing heart a little.
She nodded and then realized he probably couldn’t really see that. “I’m freaking out slightly. Where is this place we’re going? Are we close yet?”
“We’re close. I’ll have to let go of your hand soon to find the door.”
She felt her heart stop, just for a second, but it was enough. “No. Please. I can’t…”
“Put your arm around my waist.”
She swallowed, afraid to let go of his hand. “What if I lose you?”
“You won’t. I promise.” His other hand stroked the side of her face before his lips brushed hers, briefly. “Let go of my hand.”
She did it only after she touched the one he’d placed on her cheek, keeping it in place. If the lights were on, he might find her blushing at how pathetically afraid she was right now. Then again, if the lights were on she wouldn’t be freaking out like this at all.
His hand led her arm until it was around his waist, then he moved away until he was standing next to her instead of in front of her. She grabbed a wad of his shirt in her fist so he wouldn’t walk out of her grip.
“Ready?” He asked.
“Let’s go.”
He got moving and she made sure she matched his pace. She was more shuffling than walking, he was going slowly enough for that. It made her less anxious. She held her breath when he stopped. He moved a little, stopped, moved a little, stopped. Then a blast of cool air made her gasp.
“Found it,” he said, taking her other hand and leading her forward. There were strange, metallic smells in this passage that there weren’t in the hallway, and there didn’t seem to be any light whatsoever, which only confirmed her horror that the whole way out would be in darkness. The scraping sound and the whoosh of air as the door Theo had opened closed, sealing them inside the passageway made her heart begin to pound too loudly to ignore. It was all she could hear as her fingers brushed the wall, telling herself everything was okay, even as her throat tightened. She took another step and heard his leather jacket scrape against the bricks on her other side. It confirmed that the passage was extremely narrow. It made her fight to force in a breath. She tried to calm herself down. This was her escape. She had to do this. The alternative was likely death. It was the thought of the endless trail through the narrow passage that caused her panic to flare. She didn’t think she could make it.
She stopped and he was forced to as well.
“What’s wrong?” He sounded worried.
She couldn’t get the words out right away, her breathing was too constricted. “I’m… I don’t like… I have to count or else…”
“You’re claustrophobic?”
She started to choke and he came in close. As his body boxed her in against the wall, she felt tears drip from her eyes. She couldn’t suck in a breath. Her head was starting to thump. The sharp feeling of his fangs on her throat was followed by a swell of elation that released her from her fear. She relaxed and was able to breathe. He moved back quickly, his hands on her face. She could see the glow of his demon eyes in the darkness.
“I hope you’ll understand why I did that later.”
He took her hand and she followed him along the passageway.
Chapter Seventeen
Theo’s conscience battled with him as he walked Skye through the narrow escape route. He shouldn’t have done what he did. There had to be a better way to deal with that. But he’d known being bitten would relax her, and he’d taken the easy way out. The path of least resistance. Now he understood why she’d been counting in the wardrobe. She didn’t like enclosed spaces. At least the bite would get her through this. He moved through the darkness, watching for threats. So far, so good. The passageway seemed endless, but he knew how far away the nightclub was from the brothel. It really couldn’t be much further now.
The winding tunnel eventually came out into a cavern. He helped Skye down into the cavern and located the exit. Paranoid thoughts rushed through his head as he moved towards it. The same pattern of bricks told him he just needed to find the right places to press again to open the door. He let go of Skye’s hand. She smiled at him euphorically as he turned to her, to compel her to follow his orders. It felt wrong, he didn’t like to do this, but she wasn’t herself right now and she couldn’t be trusted not to do something crazy if he was attacked as soon as the door opened for them.
Swallowing, he turned back to the wall and began testing it. The same bricks that had opened the brothel end of the passage opened this one. He stared into the back office of the downstairs room at Haven. It was empty. No one was waiting for them. He’d save the sigh of relief for later. They weren’t quite out of the woods yet.
He took Skye’s hand again and led her into the room before closing the passageway behind them. The back office door wasn’t locked, which he was glad about considering there were only two keys on the chain Shayne had given him and one was to get him them into the main club, while the other was to let them out of Haven’s main door if it was locked.
He could feel the bass up above them, telling him they wouldn’t need to worry about the main door. It was Saturday night. The club was open for business. He glanced at Skye. She hugged his arm and sighed happily. They’d look like any other couple out for the night when they got up there. He lead her into the downstairs room, a hall that used to be used for live bands before the vampire massacre that made Brody shut down that room for good. It had bad energy, and that was never going to change. He’d mentioned something about the history of the place to Theo before. Dark magic had been attracted to the place like moths to a flame. He’d tried to counter it with spells to stop magic from being used there at all, but that had been the in the vampires needed to trap and kill the witches who’d come to see their band play.
He didn’t like the way the place felt. It wasn’t as dark as the passageway without the lights on and he found the door to the stairway after a couple of tries.
“Almost home,” he said quietly, glad that Skye’s ordeal was almost over with.
She smiled at him as she moved back slightly. “Almost home.”
He led her up the stairs, and they stepped out into the main club without turning any heads. He was ready to breathe a sigh of relief. If nothing else, they’d gotten out of the brothel. He’d be able to contact Brody about what was happening.
“Dance?” She pulled him forward.
“Home,” he said, compelling her as she pouted at him.
She grinned suddenly. “Home it is!”
&nbs
p; He followed her out of the club, ignoring the frown the bouncer gave him. The guy really needed to take a night off. He took his duties far too seriously.
He thought about asking her for her phone and realized it would be better to get her safely back to her place before he did anything else. He didn’t have Brody’s number memorized besides. He’d have to call the café and hope the endless ringing got Liv to pick up.
Chapter Eighteen
Skye’s flat wasn’t far from Haven. She fumbled in her bag for the keys and took a few tries to actually get the door open. Walking inside and kicking her shoes off, she turned to him.
“Are you coming in, or what?”
He hesitated. This was where he should turn back. He’d brought her home safely. That should be enough. She should sleep off the after effects of his bite.
He had to leave. “I should go.”
She frowned at him. “Well. You’re not getting your jacket back.”
“Skye, is that…” the guy’s voice cut off as she slammed the door in Theo’s face.
He stood at the door, listening in, his heart sinking just a little. She has a boyfriend? Of course she does. He shook his head as he walked away. He realized as he got to the building’s exit that he had no idea what his plan was now.
Go back to the brothel and wait for Brody’s father to kill him? Call his friend and ask what the hell is going on? The first one would be easy enough. The second meant finding a phone. Chances were Brody had no idea what his father was up to. So then what was the point? Just go back. He said it over and over inside his head, but he couldn’t make his feet move.
It all came down to the girl in the flat upstairs. She’d turned everything upside down for him, for better or worse. He didn’t want to give up now. Turning, he headed back to her flat.
At the very least, he could use her phone.
Chapter Nineteen
Awaken (Vampire Nights Book 1) Page 6