by Sarah Bailey
“Fuck you.”
He smirked, showing off long, sharp canines. He’d shifted just a little. She felt a ball of nausea rising in her stomach. He was going to enjoy inflicting pain on her.
“Surely you can do better than that.”
His hand twisted over hers, splaying out her fingers over the sides of the metal arm. He gripped her forefinger, holding it still.
“Fuck you!”
She struggled, but he was a lot stronger than he looked. He moved the pliers down, placing her fingernail in between the pincers. She tensed.
“Don’t!”
She felt them pinch down before he tore out her nail. She screamed, pain ripping through her hand and right up her arm. Before she had time to recover, he tore out the nail of her middle finger, followed by her other two fingers. She screamed again, looking down at her bloody fingers. They throbbed, blood dripping down the sides.
“Fuck you,” she whimpered.
He leant down, his tongue flicking out and licking the blood which pooled on the surface of the metal. Her stomach turned at the sight of it. It wasn’t remotely like when Gavin sucked her blood.
“Oh, sweet girl. We have only just started.”
He rose a little so his head was level with hers. She stared into those cold, blue eyes. He was psychotic. There was no doubt in her mind about that.
His hand gripped her chin, holding her in place. He brought his mouth down on hers. She wanted to be sick. She could taste her own blood on his lips. She tried to turn away from him, but he held fast. He shoved his tongue down her throat. She choked back a whimper.
When he finally pulled away, she spat in his face.
“Go fuck yourself!”
He said nothing as he straightened and went back over to the table. He selected something else which she couldn’t see. She was still reeling from the disgust she felt when he’d kissed her.
It was only when he was next to her again that she realised what he was holding. A small knife was dangling from his fingertips.
“It’s time for you and me to get a little more familiar.”
He tore her t-shirt open, ripping it at the seams. He used the knife to snap open her bra at the join between her breasts.
“Oh, but aren’t you perfect? I can see why Gavin finds you so alluring.”
“Shut up. Stop talking about him.”
He just smiled before he dragged the knife down the middle of her breasts, the tip piercing her skin. She winced as the blood pooled in droplets.
“Do you like it when he fucks you? Do you let him bite you?”
“Shut up.”
She daren’t move in case he used the blade to cut deeper.
“Oh, I think you do. You enjoy it when he shows you no mercy. I know all about his little perversion. How he likes to be in control.”
“You don’t know anything.”
He wrapped his hand around her forefinger on her other hand.
“I know that he likes women who do his every bidding. But you, you’re different. I bet you challenge him. He likes to punish you when you step out of line.”
“Shut up!”
She spat at him again. Her blood was boiling. The pain in her fingers and her chest caused her temper to snap. Valehal smiled at her. He knew he was getting to her. He took her finger and bent it backwards. She growled until she felt the bone snap. The pain was like nothing else. She screamed again as it flooded her.
He wasn’t going to stop. He was never going to stop. Tears pricked at her eyes. She wasn’t strong enough to hold them back.
He was going to kill her.
There was nothing she could do to stop him.
Nothing at all.
Chapter Eighteen
Gavin sat bolt upright. Pain flooded his chest with an intensity he’d never felt before. For a moment, he thought it was his own pain, but he realised quickly enough it was something else. Daisy. What was happening to her to cause her such agony?
He put a hand to his chest, trying to dampen down the feelings, but it was too much. They flowed into him, burning hot. He rose from the bed, pacing the room. It was still daytime. He could feel the sun even through the layers of concrete above him. His skin itched. He hated waking during the day.
He felt for her, but her pain was so intense that he couldn’t get a read on her location. She wasn’t in the flat nor was she at her own place. Someone must’ve got to her. There was only one person who would cause such agony.
Valehal.
He cursed. He couldn’t warp to her. He would burn up in the sun. All his underlings were asleep for the day and this wasn’t something he could use his human workforce for. He knew of only two people who had Daisy’s best interests at heart.
He felt another stab of pain. Daisy. She was in agony. He clutched his chest as he sat back on the bed. He could barely concentrate with it raging through him. He managed to grab his phone from the bedside table. He’d made sure to link their phones together so that he could track her that way. Her phone was in his flat judging by the GPS signal. He cursed again. She must’ve left it there by accident. He should’ve damn well told her not to leave the flat today.
He searched his contacts and dialled.
“Well, this must be important if you’re up during the day.”
“Lukas,” he said through gritted teeth. “Val has her.”
“What?”
“Val has Daisy.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I can fucking feel it.”
He grunted as another wave of pain battered him. Lukas was silent for a moment.
“What exactly are you saying?”
“I can feel her pain. It has to be Val.”
“How can you feel that?”
“Because we’ve exchanged blood. I can feel her emotions, feel where she is.”
This wasn’t a conversation he wanted to be having with anyone, let alone Lukas. Vampires did not reveal their secrets to outsiders, but this was a life or death situation for Daisy. He had to get to her somehow.
“Why on earth would you let her drink your blood?”
“Because I needed to keep her safe. Look, we don’t have time to discuss the how’s and why’s. You need to help me find her.”
“If you can feel her, then you must know where she is.”
“It doesn’t work like that.” He grunted again, the pain intensifying. “I can’t tell you exactly where she is. I could use the shadows to go to her, but it’s daytime.”
“Are you okay?”
“No. Whatever Val is doing to her is crippling her and by extension, me.”
“What do you need me to do?”
“She’s in too much pain for me to accurately tell where she is, but I think I know where Val might have taken her. I need you to check it out. If she’s not there, then there are other places she might be.”
“Okay, Ella and I will get on it.”
“Just find her. Find her and make sure Val doesn’t kill her.”
“I’m going to do my damned best to try.”
Lukas hung up. Gavin fired off several messages to him with addresses where Val could’ve taken Daisy. He knew all Raquel’s old haunts and some of the lesser known places that Val liked to take human girls to murder them. All their investigations into his little killing spree last year had finally come in handy.
He lay back on the bed, unable to stand the agony he was feeling from Daisy. Her suffering tore at his heart. He needed to go to her, to save her, but he couldn’t. He was useless, and it killed him more than anything else. As powerful as vampires were, their one weakness was the sun. Val had exploited it by taking Daisy during the daytime. He knew the vampires couldn’t go after him.
He must’ve been wearing the artefact Ella had told him about. Daisy would never have gone with him otherwise. He cursed. That fucking werefox had been a thorn in his side for years. He knew Daisy wouldn’t reveal their bond to Val. The fox would only make it worse for her if he knew he could
get to Gavin that way. He was going to make Val pay dearly when he got his hands on that fucking fox. I’m going to tear him limb from limb.
A new wave of pain shot through him. He dreaded to think what Val was doing to his Daisy. What state would she be in when they found her? Lukas better work fast or she would be gone before they got to her. He couldn’t even begin to comprehend the magnitude of devastation he would feel if she died. It didn’t even bear thinking about. Lukas and Ella would find her. They had to. Nightfall was still an hour away. He only hoped that she would survive until then.
The pain suddenly stopped. No. Was she dead? He could still feel her. She’d just fallen unconscious. The agony in his chest lessened. He could finally move again without it crippling him. He had some calls to make now it was close to sunset.
§
Daisy cracked her good eye open. The other was swollen shut. Her whole body radiated pain. She’d passed out when he tore out the fingernails of her other hand. Val had broken several of her fingers and toes. There were cuts and bruises all over her torso and legs. She’d lost too much blood. She felt weak and woozy.
There were no windows in this room. She didn’t know what time it was. Val was no longer here and for that, she could only be thankful.
Where was Gavin? Had he felt her pain? She couldn’t imagine what he was feeling right now, knowing she was suffering. She struggled weakly against the restraints. She felt desolate. Who knew how much more her body could take before it gave out. Why couldn’t he just kill her and get it over with? Why was he making her suffer like this? Her only crime was being friends with the person who killed his mate. She didn’t deserve any of this.
Valehal was a sick, twisted individual. If he was this cruel, then she couldn’t imagine what Raquel had been like. She didn’t want to think about the fox and his games but thinking about Gavin only made her heart ache. She had been too cowardly to tell him how she really felt. She’d been an idiot. Too worried about his reaction.
Fuck his reaction!
She wanted him to know he had her heart and now she couldn’t tell him. All her idiotic concerns seemed so insignificant in light of the fact that she could die. She’d never really felt that way about anyone before. She thought she’d been in love with Aaron, but really it was just an infatuation. The way she felt about Gavin eclipsed everything else. She didn’t care if he laughed or said it was stupid of her to be in love with him. But she knew he wouldn’t laugh at her or make fun of her. He wasn’t that type of person. Vampire. Whatever he was. He was just Gavin to her. He cared about her. More than anyone had cared about her in her entire life, Ella included. Even if he never loved her. It didn’t matter. All she needed in this world was him.
She whimpered, tears streaming down her face.
“I swear,” she whispered to herself. “I swear I’ll fight to stay alive long enough to tell you.”
The door to the room swung open and in walked Valehal, rage contorting his features.
“You have been keeping things from me.”
“What?”
“Don’t you play dumb.”
He strode over to her, picking up a huge knife before slamming it down into her hand. She screamed. The pain drove all the way up her arm.
“Explain to me how your two little friends found us?”
“What? Ella and Lukas are here? I don’t know. I don’t know how they knew I was missing. I swear.”
She did know. Deep down she knew all her suffering had woken Gavin from his slumber and he’d sent Lukas and Ella to find her. It was the only explanation. There could be no other way that they’d know. If he’d sent them, it was still daylight outside. He couldn’t come until the sun had set. Could she hold out long enough for any of them to get to her?
“I don’t believe you.”
He twisted the knife around. She cried out.
“Please! I don’t know. I don’t know anything.”
The knife twisted further.
“Lies! Tell me the truth. Tell me how you got a message to them.”
“I didn’t. How could I possibly have done anything in this state?”
She sobbed from the pain in her hand and everywhere else.
“I see I’m going to have to give you a little more of an incentive.”
He left the knife in her hand. He loosened the strap on her other wrist before he grabbed her arm and applied enough pressure. A sickening crunch sounded as the bones broke in several places. She screamed again. Her arm hung limply on the armrest. The fingers at odd angles from where he’d broken some of them before. Tears streamed down her face. She couldn’t. She just couldn’t tell him about her bond with Gavin. She would take all the pain Val gave her to keep that secret safe.
“Tell me the truth.”
“No,” she whispered.
He ripped the knife out of her hand. Blood gushed out. Her head began to lull.
“Oh no, you don’t.”
He backhanded her across the cheek. Her head snapped back against the chair.
“No. I won’t tell you anything.”
Fury burnt in his blue eyes. She didn’t know how much more of this she could take. How much more her body could take before it gave out.
He tugged off the strap of her other arm before he broke that wrist too. Her throat was hoarse from screaming, but she couldn’t hold back. Pain was everywhere, filling all her senses. Her vision blurred a little.
“Go to hell,” she whispered.
“Tell me, Daisy. What should I break next?”
She didn’t know if she could even speak any longer. Her whole body was on fire. She could barely move. She blinked several times. Her body threatened to give out on her.
“They’re going to kill you,” she croaked. “Whether I live or die, you won’t survive. If Lukas and Ella don’t get you, he will. I’m his and you took me from him. He won’t show you any mercy.”
He just laughed in her face.
“Your idiot vampire doesn’t scare me. I’m not afraid of dying. Only in death will I be reunited with my beloved.”
“Then why don’t you just end it now?”
“Because I want them to suffer. Suffer as I have. Raquel was my whole world. Ella took her from me. I’m going to take you from her and from him because he deserves nothing less.”
Maybe if she could keep him talking, it would buy Lukas and Ella enough time to get up here. She almost felt sorry for the werefox. If he wasn’t so psychotic, the whole thing would be tragic. But she couldn’t feel any sympathy for him. Not when he’d caused her so much pain. So much agony.
It would be stupid to feel sorry for him. He clearly had no regard for her or anyone else. All he wanted was to cause everyone else pain and suffering. He thrived off it. She could see it in his eyes every time he broke one of her bones or cut her skin.
“None of this will bring her back.”
“Don’t you think I know that? She was alive for five hundred years. I only had the pleasure of knowing her for ten of those. They were the ten best years of my life. We did everything together until those fucking vampires intervened. They tore us apart and for what? Because I killed a few worthless humans. They didn’t deserve to live. They were pathetic. Just like all you humans are.”
“What did they do to you?”
“Nothing. I don’t care about humans. You’re all so weak. Raquel and I enjoyed tearing you to pieces. We’d done it for years but your idiotic vampire decided enough was enough. So, what? We broke a few vampire laws. They don’t care about human lives either. They were too worried about exposure. They forced Raquel to banish me. Me!”
She felt more than a little disturbed by his revelation. He killed for sport. The only person he’d cared about was psychotic too. They deserved each other.
“But enough of this, you still haven’t told me how Ella and Lukas found us.”
“I told you, I don’t know.”
He raised his hand to her again, but there was a commotion outside the door. He fro
wned, turning. Something slammed against it.
“It seems this will have to wait.”
He strode towards the door, wrenching it open before he went through. It slammed shut behind him. She could hear loud noises, but the hold she had on her consciousness was fading. She knew she’d lost too much blood. Her body was shutting down. She needed to hold on. She had a promise to keep to herself.
She had to tell Gavin she loved him before she faded from this world forever.
Chapter Nineteen
The sun set. Within moments, he was travelling through the shadows, pulled by the thread of life binding him to Daisy. Ella and Lukas discovered where Val had taken her not long before. He’d ordered Jack and Neave to assemble as many vampires as possible and meet him there. Val had several shifters and vampires under his command. He was not going to go down easily.
He felt Daisy’s agony again. Val had tortured her further, but she was still alive. He had to get to her. Had to reach her before it was too late. He slowed, stepping out of the shadows in front of the warehouse. He could hear sounds of chaos inside. He zipped in, dodging around a flying werewolf.
Ella and Lukas were both in their other forms. Horns sprouted from their forehead and brilliant white wings from their backs. He almost faltered when he saw them. That was different. Daisy told him that Lukas had another form but seeing the two of them in person was a sight to behold.
He didn’t have time to stop. A werewolf came at him in his shifted form. He tried snapping at Gavin’s neck, but he grabbed the wolf mid-jump by its snout. Crunch went the bones in his jaw as Gavin applied the right amount of pressure. The wolf whimpered. He threw it away from him.
He turned around as vampires attacked him. He avoided being thrown to the ground. Three of them were on him, trying to land a punch. He whipped around them, keeping out of reach. They were so much younger than him and didn’t possess the same strength or speed.
There was a screech of tyres outside followed by slamming of doors. More vampires swarmed into the building. Neave must’ve driven at breakneck speed to get here so fast. The others would’ve run.