“You could have told me some of this.”
“Why? So you could lose your job, too? You’re a great Collector. It would have been wrong for you to pay for my recklessness.”
Her anger started to creep back in. “We were in love. I would have gladly helped you.”
He smiled sadly. “I know you would have. I have no doubt about that. But the risk was too great.” He stared at the concrete landing. “I also knew that if you’d gotten involved, you would have become a target for Blackwell, too.”
“I think that’s already happened.”
“Which is why I have to kill him. I have to put an end to this.” He hesitated. “Look, I don’t expect you to forgive me, but maybe someday you’ll understand. See things from my side. That’s all I can hope for.” He glanced at her, sincerity shining in his gaze. “I never meant to get you into trouble. And I never wanted you hurt in any way. I am deeply sorry for the pain you’ve had to endure because of me.”
She covered her face with her hands for a moment and took a few deep breaths. She still loved this man. Yes, she was angry at him. But that didn’t erase their history or what she felt. She pulled her hands away and looked at him again. Why did he have to be so damn handsome? He’d been so sweet to her when they’d been locked up. The same way he’d been when they were together. It made her ache for those perfect years. “I would be a fool to get involved with you again.”
“Yeah, I get that.” He straightened and reached for the door. “We should go. The Alchemist set up a meeting to deliver me to Blackwell. I don’t want to be late and make Blackwell think something’s gone wrong.”
“You’re not going to that meeting alone.”
He stopped. “You’re not going with me.”
“The hell I’m not.”
“You need to rest and recover. Your hearing isn’t even back to normal yet.”
“It’s close. Maybe seventy-five percent. Doesn’t matter, because this is non-negotiable. I’m going with you.”
He stabbed a finger at the ground. “This is why I didn’t tell you about this whole mess in the first place.”
“Because I’m stubborn? Because I do what I want to? That’s nothing new. I’ve always been that way.” She walked toward him, stopping in front of the door.
“I’m aware. And yes, you’re damn stubborn.”
She shrugged. “Deal with it. I’m not letting you go alone.” The thought of Blackwell killing Gage was more than she could handle. “At least with me there you’ll have a fighting chance.”
He rolled his eyes.
“I’m an asset.”
“You might be a liability.” He looked away for a second. “I need to be able to concentrate. Blackwell and I are pretty evenly matched when it comes to speed and strength. We were turned at the same time. But I’ve spent years honing my fighting skills, while he’s spent years paying others to do his dirty work. I should be able to take him, but if I have to look out for you, it could cost me that edge.”
“I know how to fight.”
He put his hands on her shoulders and lowered his head to meet her eye to eye. “You’re an amazing fighter. I have the bruises to prove it. But the second Blackwell knows I care for you, he will make it his mission to kill you.” Hard, dark fear shrouded his gaze. “I cannot bear to watch him drain you, because that’s what he’ll do.”
She thought for a moment, then tapped a finger on his chest. “Then let’s use that against him and you won’t have to fight him at all.”
“What are you talking about?”
She tipped her head toward the control room. “Let’s go see how badly the Alchemist wants to live.”
The abandoned theater was a fitting location for Gage’s final showdown with Blackwell since the man had been the author behind the drama driving Gage all these long years.
He hung in the shadows behind some discarded scenery panels. Every fiber of his being was on edge in anticipation of Blackwell’s arrival. There was too much at stake, too many ways it could all go wrong for him to be anything but a raw nerve.
The Alchemist stood beside him, now very much subdued and willing to be an accomplice to their game in exchange for his life. Which might still be forfeit if things didn’t go the way he’d promised.
Behind Gage, Minka shifted and exhaled a ragged breath. If she was nervous, he understood. What they were about to attempt was one of the riskiest things they’d ever done together. And that was saying something.
The squeal of unused hinges announced someone had entered the building. It had to be Blackwell. Gage clenched his hands, his desire for revenge a palpable thing. The restraints binding his wrists bit into his flesh, and the subtle pain allowed him to focus. They’d have one shot at this.
One.
Blackwell strode into the theater, walking down the center aisle like he was the king of the world. The years hadn’t changed him one bit. Arrogant bastard. He put his hands on his hips. “Show yourself, human. I know you’re here. I can smell you.”
The Alchemist stumbled forward, pulling Gage and Minka along with him. “I’m here.”
Blackwell’s gaze went to Gage, and his thin lips widened in a triumphant smile. “Yes, you are. And with my present.” Then he shifted to Minka. “What’s the woman doing here?”
The Alchemist scratched at his head nervously. “They wouldn’t kill each other. Too much in love.” He made a gagging sound. “I thought you might appreciate being able to do to her what this one couldn’t.”
Minka raised her zip-tied hands to give him the finger. “Screw you, you pasty bloodsucker.”
“Feisty, isn’t she?” Blackwell’s smile took on an especially wicked intent. “Well, this is a pleasure I hadn’t counted on. And you don’t mind not killing her yourself?” He looked askance at the Alchemist. “I thought you wanted revenge for your wife’s death at the hands of these two.”
The Alchemist shrugged. “I’ll still be getting that, even if you’re the one who kills her.”
Blackwell nodded. “That you will.”
“You lay a hand on me and you’ll be sorry,” Minka spat.
Gage let his head sag to his chest, playing the part of the drugged prisoner but also attempting to hide his face in case the smile he was fighting won. Minka was enjoying this, he could tell. Didn’t take the danger out of the situation, but at least she kept things interesting.
Blackwell cleared his throat. “You’ve drugged him, as per our agreement.”
“Yes.” The Alchemist poked Gage. “He’s on a cocktail of one of my partial paralytics with a little downer thrown in for good measure. Don’t expect a lot out of him in the way of reaction.”
“But he’s aware of what’s happening?”
“You mean, will he know you’re draining his girlfriend? Yes.”
“Excellent.” Blackwell almost purred, amping up Gage’s desire to throttle the man. “Let’s get started, shall we?” He pointed to the steps leading up to the stage. “Give the girl to me, then sit him down over there and hold his head up. I want to make sure he sees this.”
The Alchemist handed Minka over and led Gage to the steps. As soon as they were seated, the Alchemist grabbed a handful of Gage’s hair and pulled his head back.
Minka hissed at Blackwell. “I will kill you.”
He laughed. “You are a live one. No wonder Gage keeps you around.”
She spat at him.
He backhanded her. Gage fought not to charge forward, rip the vampire’s heart from his chest and turn him to ash right then.
Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. “Please,” she whispered. “Just let me go.”
“I don’t think so, little one.” Blackwell tipped her chin up with his finger. “You see, your boyfriend was a very bad vampire many years ago, and now you’re going to pay the price for it. Really, this is his fault.”
He snaked his arm around her and pulled her against his chest, then used his other hand to crank her head down and expose her neck
. “Say good-bye to your boyfriend.”
Minka started crying. “Please don’t do this, please…”
Gage struggled to keep up the act of being drugged as her pleas cut into him. Pretend or not, the fear in her voice made him see red.
Blackwell’s grin remained in place a second longer, then it turned into a sneer. “Watch now, Gage. Watch as I take someone else from you.” He bared his fangs and bit down on Minka’s neck.
She cried out, begging to be released once more, then she stopped struggling and focused on Gage.
He watched her eyes, waiting for the slightest sign that their plan was going wrong.
Blackwell’s head snapped up, blood staining his mouth. “What’s this?” He shook his head like he was trying to rid himself of something. “What did you do to me?” He stumbled, putting a hand out as he fell into the first row of seats.
Minka yanked her wrists apart, snapping the zip ties, and ran toward Gage, shocking him by sticking to the plan. She put a hand to her bleeding neck. “Take the bastard down. I’ve got the Alchemist.” She pulled her blade from her hip and pointed it at their former captor.
Behind her, Blackwell righted himself.
With a roar, Gage ripped off the restraints and charged Blackwell like he’d wanted to do since the man had entered the building. Gage knew he’d have only a minute or two before the drugs wore off and Blackwell was back at full strength. The Alchemist had claimed that finding something that could reside in Minka’s bloodstream without adversely affecting her but was also strong enough to fell a vampire left them with very few choices. Gage wasn’t complaining. The Alchemist had held up his end of the deal so far.
Gage punched Blackwell across the jaw. “It’s over this time, Blackwell.”
Blackwell staggered down the aisle, tilting until he crashed into another row of seats. He managed to keep retreating. “She drugged me. That nasty little pixie drugged me. Did you know about this, Hudson?”
“Of course I did. We planned it that way. And drugging you is the least of what we’re going to do to you.” Gage caught up to him and unleashed a flurry of punches, taking the man to the ground and pounding on him until his features started to melt into a bloody pulp.
Minka’s hand grabbed his shoulder. “Gage, enough.”
Gage sat back, still seething with rage. “He needs to pay.”
“He’s going to, but you need him able to speak. Do any more damage and you’ll have to wait for him to heal to find out where your brother’s body is.”
He turned to look at her. She was right. He’d been on the verge of losing it, and once again, she’d set him right. Part of him ached at how good they were together. How much he still needed her in his life. But she’d already said she’d be a fool to get back together with him, and he was going to have to come to terms with that. Until then, he had Blackwell to deal with. “You’re right. As usual.”
She nudged his shoulder with something. “Restrain him already. We’re wasting darkness, and that sedative won’t last forever.”
He wanted to kiss her. She’d been through hell for him these last few hours. The least he could do was stick to the plan. He took the restraints she was offering, SCC issued and capable of holding a vampire. He climbed off Blackwell, flipped him over and cuffed him. “Done.”
“Good.” She smiled, but looked pale. How she was even upright, he wasn’t sure, but then she’d always been amazingly resilient, even for a supe. With the amount of blood she’d donated in such a short amount of time and then using her pixie dust on the Alchemist, she had to be jonesing for a nice long nap.
Gage hoisted Blackwell to his feet and dragged him toward the front of the theater. On the stage, the Alchemist was trussed up and immobile, thanks to Minka’s deft hands. Gage shoved Blackwell into one of the front-row seats, then took a few steps away to speak to her. “If you want to take the Alchemist and get out of here, I totally understand. I can finish this.”
“No. We’ve come this far together, let’s finish it that way.”
He wanted to tell her he loved her, how much her staying meant, but this was neither the time nor the place, and she didn’t want to hear it anyway. He nodded instead. “Okay.”
What else could he do?
Tired was an understatement, but Minka’s years as a Collector had taught her to rise above things like pain and hunger and the need for sleep. It had also taught her not to leave a fellow Collector in the midst of a mission. No, this wasn’t a sanctioned Collection, and she and Gage weren’t partners anymore, but damn if it didn’t feel that way. Like old times. When things had been so good between them, she’d dreamed of their future together.
A dream she’d blamed Gage for destroying. Now she knew he wasn’t entirely to blame. How much did that change things?
She wasn’t sure.
She sat on the steps of the main stage and let him question the man responsible for his brother’s death. She settled in and turned to look at the Alchemist. “You did right by us. You’re going to get locked up for the rest of your natural life, but I’ll make sure they don’t put you in with the hard cases.”
He scowled at her. “You still deserve to die for what you did to my wife.”
She glanced skyward and sighed. “You try to be nice to someone… Fine. You want to play tough guy, knock yourself out. You and your damn bells. I ought to—”
Blackwell’s laughter caught her attention, and she realized her hearing was back one hundred percent. As much as she wanted to lie down and crash, she wondered if Gage needed her. If Blackwell was laughing, that couldn’t mean the interrogation was going that well. She got up and walked to Gage’s side. “What’s going on?”
“Ah, good,” Blackwell said through his bloodied mouth. “The girlfriend is here to help you. Hello, pixie. I can see why Gage kept you around. Very tasty despite the nasty trick you played on me.” He wiggled his brows.
She punched him in the mouth, causing him to snarl in pain. Gage’s mouth bent oddly, and she realized he was stifling a smile. “What?”
Gage shrugged. “Nothing. Except you just told me to stop hitting him.”
“Yeah, well.” She wiped her hand off on one of the empty theater seats. “What have you learned?”
“Nothing.” Gage went back to Blackwell. “You’re running out of time. Tell me what you did with my brother’s body and this can all be over.”
Minka sighed. “I say we just kill him and be done. Or…” She tapped a finger against her bottom lip.
Gage looked at her. “Yes?”
Minka lifted her chin toward the door. “Sun’s up in less than three hours.”
“And?”
“We could stake him out in the middle of the desert.” She lifted her brows at the possibility. “That might motivate him to talk. It’s not like you’d have to be there. I could even video what happens after the sun comes up.” She grinned. “Pretty sure that would go viral.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” Blackwell spat.
Minka grabbed his jaw and squeezed, getting as close as she dared. “Then tell Gage where Caleb’s body is and maybe I’ll talk him into turning you over to the Gotham City Collectors instead of ashing you like he really wants to.” She let go of him.
Blackwell’s lip curled. “It’s touching that you care so much, but—”
She punched him again.
“Minka.” Gage shot her a look.
She rolled her eyes. “He’s really hard not to punch.”
“Let me go and I won’t kill either of you,” Blackwell said.
Minka shoved a strand of hair out of her eyes. “Are you joking? You’re the one most likely to end up dead here. Tell Gage where his brother’s body is.”
“Let me go and I’ll tell you,” Blackwell countered.
Minka snorted. “Yeah, that sounds like a good deal.”
Blackwell shot forward, almost knocking her down. Gage tackled him and pinned him to the ground, rendering him unconscious with another punch. “Seda
tive’s worn off.”
“I’ll get the chains.” Minka ran to the duffel bag of supplies they’d brought with them, just a few things scrounged from the Alchemist’s holding cell, which had turned out to be part of an old bomb shelter. She snagged the chain and lock then ran back to help Gage secure Blackwell.
Gage had him propped in one of the theater seats again. Together, he and Minka wound the chain around, finally pulling it tight and locking the links at the back.
Minka stepped back. “That should hold him.”
Blackwell lifted his head, eyes focusing on her. “Not for long. And then I’ll kill you both.”
She shook her head. “Wow, you’re a broken record. If you hadn’t killed Gage’s brother, none of this would even be happening right now. And for what? A woman? Men are such idiots.”
Blackwell’s head fell back, and he laughed like he’d just heard the funniest thing in the world.
Gage grabbed a handful of the man’s hair and yanked his head up. “What’s so funny?”
Blackwell caught his breath. “You think I killed your brother.”
“You did. I was there when you took him. It’s too late to plead innocent now.”
“Oh, I’m not innocent.” Blackwell’s lids did a slow blink that made Minka want to punch him again. “I took Caleb. I admit it. But I didn’t kill him.”
Gage let go of Blackwell and snarled like a trapped animal. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Blackwell’s sneer returned, as though he thought he’d just gotten the upper hand. “Like I said, I didn’t kill Caleb. I just put him in a box and buried him.”
Minka sucked in a breath. The horror of his words made her want to weep.
Blackwell’s eyes narrowed. “Now, let’s talk about letting me go, and maybe, just maybe, I’ll tell you where to find whatever’s left of Caleb.”
A rage like Minka had never seen overtook Gage. It was the only way to explain why he was quivering like an arrow about to be loosed from its bow. Before he could launch, she grabbed his hand and pulled him to the back of the theater.
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