Chapter 19
My neck screams with pain.
With a groan, I lift my head, but the pain intensifies. The agony of the muscles tells me I’ve been in this position for hours.
I shift, my back also spiking with pain. And as I try to stand, to roll over, to move in any direction, I stay exactly put. I’m sitting in a chair, and my hands are bound behind my back, my ankles tied to the chair.
My eyes rip open, desperately searching my surroundings as my heart rate skyrockets and adrenaline floods my system.
The room is dark. I only make out shadowy outlines as my eyes slowly refocus. I feel… groggy. Fuzzy. And then I remember the sharp bite of pain in my neck just before I went out.
Drugged.
“Good morning.”
Dread and terror soar in my veins as the voice cuts through the dark. A dim red light turns on, and through the dark shadows, I see Augustus crossing the room.
His dark eyes are fixed on me, his expression cold and blank. He’s dressed in a suit, the only attire I’ve ever seen him wear. Slowly, controlled, he crosses the space until he’s standing right in front of me.
“Seems you’re a bit of a lightweight when it comes to sedatives,” Augustus says as he stops right in front of me. “I was worried for a minute there that Toby might have killed you. I thought you would have woken hours ago.”
“What’s going on?” I ask, trying to remain calm, even though everything in me is screaming that this is bad. Really, really bad. “Augustus, where’s Ares?”
“I would imagine my son is out looking for you,” he says, keeping his tone so calm it makes my skin crawl. “You never showed up for work, and then you didn’t come home last night. If my son loves you as much as his gaze says he does, I imagine he’s having one of the worst nights of his life.”
“What are you doing?” I ask, my tone growing harder. “Augustus, where the fuck am I, and why did you kidnap me?”
He gives a chilling little chuckle. “Such a dramatic word, don’t you think? But you catch on quick. What gave it away? Was it the knots around your wrists? The needle to the neck? The surprise grab?”
He’s taunting me, and I’m in no fucking mood for games. “You know what Ares is going to do to you for this, right? You named him. Expect nothing less than dark and terrible from the god of war.”
A smile grows on Augustus’ face. “Amazing, isn’t it? How, even as a newborn, one can tell a being’s future. I knew exactly what I was doing when I named my first-born son.”
“At least you’ll meet your end against a worthy opponent,” I snarl.
Augustus smiles, though every inch of it is condescending. He drags a chair across the space, placing it directly in front of me. He takes a seat, crossing one leg over the other. “You know, I thought you were going to be the perfect woman for my son. You came along, and finally, my son came back where he belongs. But you’ve… distracted him. Captured his attention and intentions wholly. Ares might not understand why you had to be dealt with, but he will come back around. He will fulfill his purpose in this city.”
“If you think Ares is ever going to help you traffic people as living blood bags, you don’t know him for shit,” I spit, wading into the deep end because I’ve never been afraid to swim.
“How did you really meet my son, Lana?” he asks.
My stomach sinks, and my blood goes cold.
“Online,” I say through gritted teeth.
He gives another of those sinister smiles. “You can say whatever you like. I suppose it doesn’t matter anymore.”
I lean back in my seat as Augustus stands and takes slow strides toward me. He bends until his face is right in front of mine. I take in every detail of him.
How can someone who looks so much like the man I’ve fallen for be so heinous? How can I hate everything about him when I’m coming to love everything about his offspring?
“You should have stayed the hell out of my business,” he says, his words low, quiet, terrifying. “Do you know how much you cost me, letting those three go? Not just money, but relationships. Reputation. You’ll pay dearly for that.”
My head whips to the side as an anvil collides with the side of it. Pain explodes in my face, and I swear I hear something in my skull crack.
Augustus’ other hand strikes next, whipping my face to the other side. A startled, pained scream shutters over my lips. And in the next moment, Augustus grips me by the front of my shirt, hauling me out of the chair, only it’s still tied to my ankles, so it drags across the floor as he hauls me up and then pins me against a wall.
“If you taste the way you smell, you will more than make up for what was lost,” he says, his words coming out nearly delirious with glee. “Let’s find out, shall we?”
One startled gasp of fear and pain escapes my lips as sharp points pierce my skin.
And then I can’t explain it.
My body goes numb. Still. Calm.
My mind stops.
I’m aware of the sensation of blood leaving my body. Augustus sucks, drawing my blood out of me, his lips latched to my neck.
But I feel nothing.
I am nothing.
Nothing exists.
The world has ended.
And all is quiet and still.
It’s kind of peaceful in this nothing. I think I get it now, why that sad girl knowingly went to the Red parties to be fed on. There is no joy here, no happiness, but there’s also no pain, no remorse, no sadness. I just dissolve into the universe.
But suddenly, the numbness lessens, and my feet hit the floor as Augustus releases me. Only my legs can’t hold me, and I drop to the floor, my back roughly sliding down the wall behind me.
“Oh, you will fetch a price,” Augustus says, licking at the corners of his mouth. And my head spins at the red I see there. Blood. My blood.
My heart rate picks up. The world tilts just a little.
You can’t fall apart now, Lana. It’s just blood. It’s. Just. Blood.
I shake my head, take a deep breath, and square my shoulders.
Ares checked for cameras when we went to that warehouse. He might not have seen them, but they were absolutely there. Augustus knows exactly what we did. And I will pay the price for it.
“You could have had it all,” Augustus says as he once more grips me by the front of my shirt. He hauls me up as if I weigh nothing, righting my chair and roughly dropping me back down on it. “Ares would have settled into his position as a Baron. You could have stood at his side, supported him, bore him the children who would have helped establish this city. You could have had a very comfortable life. My son would have taken care of you. Instead, you twisted him. You turned him against his legacy. So, in the end, this cannot be blamed on anyone but yourself, Lana.”
“You’re a sick, twisted fuck,” I spit, my words slightly slurred as his venom lingers in my blood. “Ares is nothing like you, and he never will be. I only wish I could be there to watch him rip your cold, dead heart out.”
Augustus chuckles. “Ah, the naiveté of early love. You’ve known my son for a few months and assume you know him best. I’ve groomed him for years. When it comes down to it, Ares will realize his place. Money. Power. Influence. There’s a reason they’ve had a chokehold on the world for all of time. I only wish to see him rise to his full potential. Why would you hold him back?”
There is no reasoning with Augustus. This man’s heart is black all the way through.
“Ophelia Bennett,” I say, changing the course of the conversation. “Who did you sell her to?”
Augustus turns, looking over his shoulder at me with a smile. “You think I know any of their names? You think I memorize every purchase? Come, Lana. I thought you were beginning to understand me.”
“You bastard,” I say as tears sting my eyes. I shake my head. I will not let them fall. I will not let this monster see me cry.
He doesn’t acknowledge my insult, he turns back toward me, and from his pocket, he draws a knife. And my heart goes into overdrive as he stalks back toward me. My eyes widen as I take in his form, bathed in red light, his eyes glowing brilliantly. My whole body tenses as he stops before me.
But he crouches, and cuts the ropes from my ankles.
“I want you to get comfortable,” he says as he looks up into my eyes. “Enjoy your last few days of ease, Miss Kincade. The transaction is already finished. Only travel arrangements remain. Your buyer will be here in two days to take you to your new home.”
He slices through the rope around my wrists. And I surge forward, attempting a last-ditch effort at freedom.
But even as I grab for his knife, Augustus is suddenly across the room, my hair ruffling in the wind he creates with his incomprehensible speed.
He only smirks as he rests his hand on the doorknob. “Just remember, as you serve the rest of your days as a living donor, that you brought this on yourself, Lana. You could have had a different life if you’d have just minded your own damn business.”
He twists the knob and steps out, even as I surge to my feet.
But I’m nowhere near fast enough. Before I’m halfway across the room, the door has shut again, and I hear a heavy lock click into place.
I slam against the door futilely. My fists bang on the steel surface.
“Augustus!” I scream, tasting blood in my throat, the word comes out so brutally. “You can’t do this, you bastard! Ares will find you, and he will fucking end you!”
But I hear nothing out there but silence.
Cold, dead silence.
The tears push heavy on my lashes as I turn, taking in the room for the first time. My breath rips in and out of my chest in rough pulls.
There are no windows. There are no light switches even. I can’t even tell where the red light is coming from.
There is a blanket on the floor. There is a bucket in the corner. There is no food and no source of water. The only furniture is the chair I was tied to and the one Augustus sat in.
It’s a blank, empty room.
With no escapes. With no way out, except for that locked door.
I have no idea where I am. I don’t know how long it’s been since I was taken. I pat my pockets, and sure enough, my cell phone is gone. I have no way to contact anyone. And from the lack of sound coming into this room, I assume no sound is getting out either.
I’ve been taken by my sadistic, fake father-in-law. And I don’t doubt him.
In just a few days, a buyer is going to show up.
I’ve been sold to a vampire, and there is no escaping.
THE END OF BOOK ONE