by Tracy Tappan
“What occurred between you and Mr. Brun wasn’t real,” Roth had tried to reassure her. “I hope you and he can derive some measure of comfort from knowing that. You were both under the influence of alternative forces, after all.”
She’d felt a tic pulse in her cheek even as she’d watched Jaċken’s jaw harden to the near shattering point.
As usual, Roth was dead wrong.
She didn’t know how she’d done it—maybe something about her Dragon blood—but she’d maintained a certain level of awareness during the “episode.” It was like her brain had split in two during her sex-attack, one side utterly beyond her control, yes, intent on screwing Jaċken for no other reason than a force inside her was making her. But the other side of her brain had been very aware that the man she was touching and kissing was, in fact, Jaċken. She’d been vividly aware of everything she felt for him, and not only had it been very real, but it’d been the hit-the-wall head-banger of all lust. Way more than the little tingles down below or the slow surge of wetness she’d felt with other men.
“…equally sorry about the harm you endured, Dr. Parthen,” Roth had continued to intone. “Nothing like this has ever happened before. Clearly, our new enemy is blah, blah…very formidable…afraid you’re going to have to remain in the mansion until the situation can be blah, blah, blah.” It was pretty much what she’d expected: Rapunzel-in-the-tower for the rest of her young life.
She’d taken to her bed right after that meeting and hadn’t moved from it in the last seventeen hours.
Her withdrawal had thrown the community into a bit of an uproar. Dr. Jess had come by to try and rouse her, then her mate-choices, then some of the Vârcolac women of the community. Finally, Jaċken. He hadn’t tried to yapped at her like the rest. He’d merely peered down at her for a quiet moment, then set something on her nightstand. When he left the room, she’d turned her head to see what it was.
The African Queen DVD.
She’d spent the next few hours crying, her heart breaking over and over. I’m in love with a vampire. God, it sounded like the worst B movie title. But there it was: the truth. If she hadn’t been certain about it before, she was now. “Unfortunate episodes” like the one she’d shared with Jaċken had a way of solidifying such matters for a girl. God, where was a sack of pebbles when she needed them? She blinked hard at the light fixture and her lips quivered. Maybe if she slept on a bunch of rocks again, Jaċken would realize how strong her feelings were for him, and then he’d set aside his vow to Roth and love her back.
There was a soft knock at the door. “Hey there, it’s us,” Beth said, poking her head around the jamb. “How are you?” She entered, the four other Dragon women following her inside, Maggie, Ellen, Hannah, and Kimberly.
“Oh…hi.” Toni reluctantly hoisted herself to a sitting position. “What’s up?”
Beth gave her a maternal look. “You doing okay?”
“Okay enough, I suppose.” Although she probably looked like Janis Joplin on a bad trip. She dragged a hand through her messy hair. “Uh, so…what’re you all doing here? I mean, I appreciate you coming by, but no offense, I’d prefer to be alone right now.”
Kimberly came forward, a grocery sack in her arms. “I know you’re feeling crappy, Toni, but since everyone is leaving you alone right now, it’d actually be a good time to go.”
Toni blinked. “Go?”
Kimberly smiled triumphantly. “We received a package from your brother that’ll get us out of here.”
“What?” Toni’s mouth dropped open. “Alex?”
“That’s the one.” Kimberly set the sack on the bed next to Toni. “Your genius brother hacked into the community’s email system and contacted Beth. She—well, both of us—wrote back and asked for help with the key code boxes. He sent this to Beth’s PO box topside.” Kimberly pulled a small metal box out of the sack, a couple of electrical wires dangling from it. “Alex says this will read the code and open the doors.”
“You’re kidding,” Toni breathed.
“Nope. Cool on your bro, huh?” Kimberly stuck Alex’s box back in the sack. “I’m sure it feels like bad timing, but actually now would be the best time to escape, like I said.”
Escape. Toni’s pulse jumped in her throat. How long had she dreamed of an opportunity like this? And now here it was, so weighted with oppressive sadness because it meant that she’d be leaving Jaċken. What was the alternative? Risk more instances of throwing herself at him, like the “show me your fangs” day in his bedroom? She’d come embarrassingly close to begging, and she doubted her ego could stand much more of that. She forced herself to her feet. “Actually, it’s perfect timing. What’s the plan?”
“We head down to the basement exit,” Kimberly explained, “which leads to the garage, and from there we grab one of the community’s cars and head up on the elevator. Simple.”
Toni lifted her brows high. “It can’t be that easy.”
“No? I’d be willing to bet big money that the code boxes are the only form of security they have against us.” Kimberly smirked. “Just one of the benefits of being underestimated by the men around here.”
* * *
Beth sat spine-straight in the black antique chair set before Roth’s desk, her hands gripped tightly in her lap.
Roth was drumming his fingers on his desktop, his retinas hard and shiny like polished metal.
Along the wall of bookshelves, the Dragons’ husbands were lined up. Pedrr, Ellen’s husband, was the most difficult to read; Beth couldn’t even begin to guess what was going on behind his stoic expression. Brainiac architect Luken, Maggie’s mate, generally approached everything in life with logical precision, and today’s crisis appeared to be no exception. Sedge looked to be in a mood of resigned acceptance, as if he’d known something like this was going to happen at some point. The surprise factor was shy and gentle Willen; he was clearly very pissed. But then his wife, Hannah, was nearing the end of her pregnancy, and a protective male Vârcolac never liked to be far from a mate, especially when she was carrying his child.
Jaċken, standing to one side of Roth’s desk, also looked like he wanted to eat Beth’s head.
She twisted her hands into a harder knot, fear and nervousness sitting like vinegar at the back of her mouth. She’d never had to face this kind of intense anger before; people just didn’t get mad at pretty girls, especially not men. Swallowing hard, she glanced to the side at her husband and managed to regain some of her calm.
Arc was standing with his muscular arms crossed over his chest and his booted feet spread in a distinctly aggressive posture. As perturbed as Arc was with her for the stunt she’d pulled with the Dragons, he wasn’t going to let anyone just roll over his bonded mate.
Her chest shrank in on itself, and she let her eyes drift closed, feeling her lashes tremble against her cheeks. She’d volunteered to remain in Ţărână and be the go-between because she’d known full well the backlash she’d have to endure, and dealing with it would force her to quit being such a sap. And now here she was already relying on Arc’s strength. For the love of Pete, did she never plan on becoming a grownup?
Roth stopped drumming his fingers. “How did the Dragons get past the key code boxes?” he asked in a cutting tone.
Beth set her shoulders and steadied her voice. “I’m sorry, but I’m not at liberty to discuss that.” There. That sounded like something Kimberly would say, lawyerly and stalwart and—
Roth snapped his chair upright, his brows lowering. “A most heinous breach of our security has been committed, Mrs. Costache. It is paramount that we be allowed to assess the damage you’ve inflicted on the poor innocents of this community.”
A sudden, thick tension blanketed the office, dark and full of blame.
Beth opened her mouth, but, to her shame, only a small squeak came out. Somewhere in her mind, she knew that Roth was deliberately trying to make her feel guilty, but, yes, dear God, it was working. She’d never forgive herself if anything bad
happened to the people here. “N-Nothing bad will…will…. We didn’t tell about the entrances. How could we?” She repeated Kimberly’s rationalization. “We don’t even know where they are ourselves to—”
“Tell whom?” Roth’s words dripped ice.
Beth’s mouth worked, her heart hammering into her throat.
Rage darkened Jaċken’s complexion.
“Beth,” Arc urged quietly. “Who did you tell about us? This is important.”
She passed trembling fingers over her lips. The words backed up in her throat for another moment. “Toni’s brother, Alex, who’s some sort of computer genius, hacked into our system and sent me an email, asking about Toni. Kimberly and I described the key code boxes to him”—she heard Sedge exhale a short breath—“and then Alex sent a small machine to my topside PO box that could read the code. But that’s all we told him. So…so, everyone’s safe.”
“Everyone’s safe?” Jaċken growled her words back at her. “Jesus Christ, I’ve never heard anything more screwed in the head. Toni’s unmated!” Jaċken pounded over to Beth and leaned right into her face. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?! Even the faintest clue how much danger Toni’s in up there!?”
A blast of adrenaline sped Beth’s heart into an erratic rhythm. “I-I-I…” she stammered.
Arc stepped forward, and Jaċken bolted his eyes up to him. “Please, Costache, take a swing. It would so fucking make my day.”
Beth took advantage of the distraction to scramble out of her chair and back away from the men. “Toni knew the risks she was taking by leaving here and she willingly took them.” She firmed her chin to keep it from quivering. “I stand by my actions.”
“Do you?” Jaċken glared at her, fury rolling off him in boiling waves. “So the thought of Toni staked out on a bed and being repeatedly gang raped by a bunch of Topside Om Rău is just peachy keen with you?”
She felt herself going pale. “She’s with her brother.” Her control stretched like a taffy pull, thinning and thinning. “I have every confidence that she—”
“Ah, that’s okay, then.” Jaċken sneered. “Because a computer genius milquetoast can keep her so safe from those Topside Om Rău when they decide to make another move on her.”
She pinched her lips together. “Well, I can’t see how Alex could do a much worse job protecting her than you’ve been doing, lately, Jaċken.”
“Beth,” Arc hissed.
Jaċken canted back as if he’d been struck, a snarl seething past his lips.
“Stars and bats!” Willen exhorted. “Where are they, Beth!? Just tell us, please.”
“I-I don’t know.” She backed up another few steps. “I’m only here to receive messages.”
“Unbelievable! This is the most—”
“—something should happen to the women?! It’s daylight—”
“E-everyone stop yelling at me. I’m sick to death of being blamed for something that’s not my fault.” She pointed an unsteady finger at Roth. “You’re the one to blame for putting innocent women in a repopulation program, and you warriors”—she accused Sedge and her own husband—“for actively participating in the kidnappings when you knew they were wrong. “And you,” she dared, facing Jaċken. “You have only yourself to fault for Toni being gone. I saw the way she looked at you at the Water Cliffs. She wanted to be with you, Jaċken, but you weren’t man enough to go tell Roth to shove his vow of celibacy in the toilet. That’s why she left!”
A dark noise rumbled out of Jaċken, his eyes going demon black.
“Be quiet, Beth!” Arc warned.
She shook her head, her hair seething around her. “Every man in this room is at fault! The Dragons tried to warn all of you about their unhappiness, but you just preferred to stuff cotton in your ears.” She threw her arms wide. “Well, are you listening now?!”
“Enough!” Roth bellowed, surging to his feet, his eyes steely, his brow thunderous. “Mrs. Costache, for your unutterable breach of our most sacred rules of our security, you are hereby stripped of all your clearances.”
She staggered backward. What? Her adrenaline abandoned her in rush, leaving her knees weak and her breathing faltering in her lungs.
“You will no longer be permitted use the Internet or receive mail from your topside PO box,” Roth continued through a set jaw. “Nor will you be able to—”
“No!” She gripped her throat. Oh, God, she was going to throw up.
Arc quickly took her in his arms and hugged her close. “Ssh, baby, don’t worry,” he said softly into her ear. “Everything’s going to be fine, okay. I’m not going to let you lose anything.”
She buried her face in his chest, tears gushing down her cheeks.
“Beth’s pregnant,” Arc said to Roth, his voice going hard, “which means she has to have contact with her mother right now, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let that be taken away when she needs it the most. You know, it’s bad enough that she’s only allowed to see her mother and sisters on birthdays and Christmas. She hates that, but she puts up with it because she loves me and this community. We’re lucky to have her, damn it, and she deserves better than punishments, I don’t care what the hell she did with the Dragons.” She felt Arc tense. “Anyone tries to make a prisoner out of my wife, and I’ll tear this cave down with my own fists to get her out, you can be fucking sure of that.”
Beth bit into her bottom lip, her tears quieting to sniffles. She couldn’t believe Arc was saying all of this. She’d never heard anyone stand up to Roth before.
Arc’s chest expanded on a large breath. “With all due respect, Roth, repopulating our species isn’t just about giving birth to live babies. It’s about creating happy families to raise those kids, and every day it seems to me like you’re getting further and further away from that goal.” Arc’s hand caressed the length of her back. “I didn’t get it before. I wasn’t listening, either, but I’m sure listening now.” Keeping an arm around her shoulders, Arc started to lead her toward the double doors. “I suggest everyone in this room start doing the same.”
Chapter Twenty-eight
Toni, Hannah, Ellen, Maggie, and Kimberly stashed the Pathfinder they’d stolen from the community in a mall parking lot, then Alex picked them up. It took three trips to get all twelve of them—five women and seven children—to the Mission Beach bungalows they’d rented, but hiring a van or taking a cab wasn’t a smart option for women going into hiding.
Toni cried in Alex’s arms as they stood in the doorjamb of one of the bungalows while the four other women bustled about getting their children settled into bed, since it was actually nighttime for them. Her mood was the lowest it’d ever been. She was never going to see Jaċken again. Escaping Ţărână made that official. The other Dragons would go back, but she wouldn’t. She would move out of California, far away from those who sought to hunt her, and try to heal the huge emptiness that threatened to consume her. She’d do it, although it’d take some time. Say, an eternity or two.
Alex, being Alex, just let her cry in silence, even though he probably had a million questions. After she’d wept herself dry, she took a long, hot shower, then curled up in a chair next to a window with a view of the sea, a mug of hot cocoa cupped in her palms. With the other Dragons arrayed around the room, on beds and a couch, Toni told her brother the whole amazing story: her kidnapping from Scripps Hospital, the town of Ţărână, the circumstance of her being a Dragon—probably Alex, too—blood graphs, tattoos, glowing eyes, Fiinţă, Om Rău. And the vampires, of course. Alex took it all in silently, just absorbing, while Ellen, Hannah, Kimberly, and Maggie eyed him carefully. By the end of it, Toni felt utterly spent. She couldn’t believe she’d only been gone for eighteen days; it felt like months. A lifetime.
Toni set her empty mug on the small round hotel table that stood between her and her brother and rubbed a weary hand over her face. It was dusk now, the setting sun turning the ocean into a lake of molten gold. God, how she’d missed sunsets. But then�
�she knew she’d also miss the clean, earthy smell of the air in Ţărână, the low, singing sough of wind through a few special wormholes, the shiny black lava rock that decorated some of the cave walls, and…other things.
She reached up and snapped a lamp on. “So do you think I’m crazy?”
“No, actually….” Alex shook his head, then even laughed. “Truth is, nothing has ever made more sense to me in my life.”
Maggie pulled a small tin box out of her tote bag. “He is being suspiciously calm.”
Alex smiled. “Yeah. In fact, check this out.” He jumped to his feet and crossed to his duffle bag, rummaging a book out of it. “Something told me I should pack this. Now I’m glad I did.” He set the book on the table in front of Toni.
She peered down on it, and, “Wow.” She’d never seen anything like it. The cover was grainy and tan-colored, a blue crescent moon and star shimmering on it like an ethereal deep-sea creature.
“Open it,” Alex said.
She did as the other four women stood and gathered around to look, too, and “Wow,” again. A replica of the dragon tattoo was right on the front page, Roth’s mansion on the next, though looking more like a castle, and people, drawings and drawings of gorgeous people, all of whom looked vaguely familiar.
“That’s them, isn’t it? The vampires?”
“Yes, although not exactly.” They were probably the ancestors of the people currently in the community. “And they’re called Vârcolac.” Had she just corrected her brother on the terminology for a real, live vampire? Toni pressed a hand over her eyes and groaned. “Christ, Alex, this is just so…. Are you sure I’m not insane? Deep down, I’ve been hoping I was.” Her brother chuckled, and she looked at him again. “It’s all true, isn’t it?”
He gave her a lopsided grin. “Looks like it.”
She blew out her cheeks. Yes, she’d known that already, hadn’t she?
“Don’t feel bad,” Maggie said, crossing to Alex and holding out the tin box to him. “It took me till my first bite to truly believe. Want a cookie?”