Chapter Twenty-Five
MARIUS
I selected a bottle of wine, checked the label, then hurled it. Glass shattered and wine splashed against the stone wall, leaving a blood-colored stain. I reached for another bottle.
Inside, my dragon seethed.
Soon — very soon — I would rip Henrik to pieces. Celeste too, and Baumann. They would regret this, big-time.
For now, however… I chose another bottle and flung it.
“Not helping,” Roux muttered.
Yes, Roux, who’d been shoved into this makeshift cell shortly after Mina and me.
“Helps my mood,” I grunted. “Fucking Henrik…”
Smash! Bottle number two shattered.
We were locked in an alcove with meter-thick stone walls in the very, very old cellar of the building. The vaulted ceiling was so low, neither Roux nor I could stand straight. It was cold and damp, with tiny stalactites on the ceiling and steel bars separating us from the sole exit.
On the plus side, that same alcove housed the overflow from Baumann’s wine collection, so I could vent some of my frustration.
“That was a perfectly good Chateauneuf,” Roux muttered.
“You sound like Henrik.” I threw a third bottle.
Smash!
Did it make me feel better? No, but it was better than beating up on myself. Why had I allowed Mina to get mixed up in such risky business?
I raised another bottle but stopped when she touched my shoulder.
“I’m ready to kill Henrik too, but those bottles aren’t going to do it.” The warmth of her touch calmed my inner beast slightly. “Also, the fumes are starting to get to me.” She flashed a thin smile. “Get it? Fumes. Fuming mad…”
My lips curled a tiny bit, but Roux groaned. “Very funny. Besides, maybe Henrik isn’t a traitor. Maybe he just held back until he could figure out a Plan B.”
Mina scoffed. “That would take a sense of responsibility.”
“Think about it. He can’t afford for this mission to fail any more than we can.”
“Maybe he’s made a deal with Celeste,” I grumbled. “Maybe they’re double-crossing us together.”
We all fell silent, considering. Mina walked to the bars of our improvised cell and peered out.
The space faced a stone wall, so there wasn’t much to see unless you looked left or right at an angle, and the sole light was a dim, naked bulb hanging from the ceiling.
Occasionally, voices drifted in from the direction of the exit, but all seemed quiet now.
More alcoves lay to our right, followed by a dead end.
My mind caught on the words — dead end — and immediately erased them.
Mina looked both ways, then turned back to us.
“What about Delphine? Do you think they’ve caught on to her?” she whispered.
Leave it to Mina to think about someone else when she was the one locked in a cellar.
Roux grimaced. “Probably not, given the fact that she hasn’t been thrown in here with us. But there’s bound to be security footage of her with me, so it’s only a question of time.”
“That, or Henrik will turn her in,” I muttered.
Mina shook her head sadly. “I can’t believe he turned on us. Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised, though.”
I rolled my fists so tightly, my knuckles cracked. When I got my hands on that vampire…
“So…getting out of here…” Mina gripped the bars of our cell and shook them.
They didn’t budge. Not even a rattle.
“I don’t suppose you could break them, huh?” she tried.
I loved that she considered that a possibility, but sadly…
I shook my head. “Maybe in dragon form, but there’s no space for me to shift in here.”
Mina moved her hand between two bars, measuring the gap. “Enough space for a tiger to slip through?”
Roux snorted. “Maybe a cub. Not me.”
Mina shook the bars again. “I prefer breaking out to waiting for Baumann or Henrik to come for us.”
Me too, but how?
Mina peered at the lock, one of those old-fashioned, skeleton-key setups. One of Baumann’s private security guards had locked us in, then exited with the key.
“I hate to say it, but I think Bene is our best hope right now,” Roux said.
I huffed. “Bene, best, and hope do not fit in one sentence together. Not even two of the three.”
Mina rolled her eyes. “You two are as bad as some of my fifth graders.”
I pictured her in a classroom, stern yet caring. My mind clung to that image and stashed it away like treasure. I knew so little about Mina that anything — everything — mattered.
“Well, Bene isn’t completely useless. He can follow instructions,” Roux tried.
I gave him a look, and he corrected himself.
“Okay, he can mostly follow instructions. But having him improvise on his own…” He trailed off grimly.
“Maybe you’re underestimating him.” Mina crossed her arms fiercely.
Roux sighed. “Always a safer bet with Bene.”
“Besides, it’s only a question of time before Henrik rats him out too — if he hasn’t already,” I added.
We bounced ideas back and forth for the next ten minutes.
Picking the lock didn’t work, nor did heaving at the bars of our cell.
That left escaping when someone came for us — the hardest option to plan for.
How many men would Baumann send for us? Would Henrik be among them?
When would they come, and where would they take us?
We were debating using broken-off bottles as weapons when voices sounded. We rushed to the bars, listening, then fell back when the main door burst open.
I stepped in front of Mina. Whoever that was would have to get through me to get to her, dammit.
Light streamed in, backlighting a tall man who paused in the doorway. He cursed, then glided forward.
“Henrik?” Roux called.
“Henrik,” Mina and I growled at the same time.
The vampire beckoned to someone behind him. “Hurry.”
I’d been expecting the same cold, hard shell of a man as usual, but Henrik genuinely seemed flustered. Since when did vampires hurry?
He strode closer, but a second person overtook him. The light caught in his fair hair, and—
Mina cheered. “Bene!”
“Heya, Mina.” He grinned, then wrinkled his nose at the stench of wine. “Whoa. Have you guys been partying or something?”
She motioned impatiently to the lock. “Key?”
He held up a skeleton key, then bent over to work it into the lock. “You doing okay?”
“Peachy, thank you for asking,” she said, glaring at Henrik. “Just full of questions.”
Henrik stuck up his hands. “I had to think fast. It was the best I could come up with.”
She huffed. “Getting us all locked up was the best you could do?”
“No, taking great personal risk to bring Bene here is,” Henrik replied coolly.
Bene glanced up long enough to nod. “It’s the truth. He didn’t turn you in. It just took us a while to figure out where they’d taken you.”
The lock clicked open, and I leaped out, claws bared. But Bene stopped me from throttling Henrik.
“None of that now. He’s on our side.”
“Is he? Because all I know is that he was on the outside while we were locked up.”
“If I’d broken cover too early, none of us would be walking out,” Henrik said.
“I don’t believe a word, you son of a—” I started, but Roux gripped my shirt.
“Later. We need to move fast. Do you want Mina out of here or don’t you?”
Moving fast didn’t register, but getting Mina out did. I stuffed away my fury and forced myself to focus.
“Out is good,” she agreed. “But not without that painting.”
Oh no, you don’t jumped to the tip of my tongue, but Bene was already leading her to the exit. He peeked both ways, then stepped around three prone bodies.
Mina froze. “Oh my God. You didn’t—”
Bene snorted. “Don’t worry. Mr. Spirit of the Night here wanted to off them, but he settled for knocking them out instead.”
Henrik shot us a haughty look that said, See? Aren’t I such a softy?
I wasn’t fooled, but I saved my two-fisted reply for later.
We regrouped and hurried down the dim hallway with Bene and Henrik in front, Mina and me in the middle, and Roux bringing up the rear.
The place was a goddamn labyrinth, but Bene led the way without hesitation.
Several twists and turns later, he pushed open an arched doorway, peered out, then motioned us forward.
“The coast is clear.”
We tiptoed outside, keeping to the shadows against the side of the building. The bright lights of the villa’s service entrance weren’t far, but catering vans blocked us from view.
“Okay, everyone. Head that way.” Bene pointed. “Roux knows where the vehicle is. I’ll give you a ten-minute head start while I find Delphine and get the hell out of here.”
Henrik stepped back toward the cellar, and I grabbed him by the collar. “Where the hell are you going?”
He flashed his fangs. “I have to get back to the party. Otherwise, they’ll suspect me. You go.”
“Not without the painting,” Mina insisted.
Bene looked at me. “Will you talk some sense into her?”
I opened my mouth, then closed it. He was right, but anything I said would only infuriate her.
“We’re aborting this mission,” Roux barked in his best I’m in charge here tone.
For once, I didn’t question the guy. But Mina dug in her heels.
“I’m not leaving without that painting.”
“She’s right,” Henrik said, surprising the hell out of everyone. “We have to go back.”
I frowned. Since when did he care about art?
Roux looked at him, echoing that sentiment.
Henrik took a long time to answer, raising my suspicions.
“Gordon will be pissed if we don’t deliver,” he finally tried.
Yes, he would, but we could deal with that shitstorm later. I tugged Mina’s hand, but she stood her ground, glaring at Henrik.
“You’re not risking this for Gordon or the painting.” Her words were a statement, not a question.
Henrik’s brow furrowed, and his eyes sparked with anger. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“Try me,” she growled.
He didn’t, so she went on. “This is about that box, isn’t it?”
Roux caught my eye, telegraphing something like, Box? What box?
I had no idea, and time was ticking.
“No time now.” I tugged more insistently.
Mina yanked her hand away and whirled to face me, angry at first, then pleading. “I know this sounds crazy, but I can’t leave without that painting — or at least trying. Please.”
I had two choices: to cart Mina away against her will, saving her life but losing her respect forever, or indulging her — and putting her life at risk just so I could maybe, just maybe, have a shot with her someday.
I took a deep breath, then amended the sentiment. Mina was strong, intelligent, and independent. It wasn’t my place to make decisions or indulge her. Just to support her — or bow out respectfully. And since I sure as hell wasn’t going to bow out without her…
“Okay,” I said, though it took everything I had. “Just hurry.”
Time would tell whether that was the right answer, but the burst of warmth in Mina’s eyes promised me it was.
Hell, I hoped so.
Every muscle in my body tensed as she and Henrik moved a few steps away to speak in hushed tones.
“I’ll make you a deal,” she started.
Crap. Not a good start.
The rest of their exchange was too quiet to hear, which was the point, I figured. Still, it stung to be excluded.
“I don’t like this,” Roux grumbled.
“What’s to like?” Bene checked his watch, then whispered to Mina. “People will notice if Henrik and I aren’t back soon.”
Mina stuck up a hand in a stop sign and went on whispering.
“Bossy, isn’t she?” Bene chuckled. “Like my sixth-grade teacher.”
Fifth-grade, I nearly whispered.
Finally, she and Henrik finished, and he stepped toward the cellar with a grim look.
“Keep an eye on Celeste,” Roux told him. “Make sure she doesn’t give us away.”
Henrik grimaced, then nodded. “Understood.”
Mina called one more time before he disappeared inside. “Ten minutes. Be ready.”
“Ten minutes.” Henrik nodded, not entirely pleased.
That made two of us, dammit.
“What’s happening in ten minutes?” Bene asked once Henrik left.
We all huddled around Mina, waiting for instructions — even Roux. He might be our leader, but Mina could be a goddamn general when she put her mind to it.
“In ten minutes, we’ll be out of here — with the painting,” she said, then outlined a plan involving a diversion, a dumbwaiter, and some bodily contortions.
“Sounds a little like the original plan,” Bene observed when she was done. “You know, the one you got caught in the middle of?”
“This plan is better. Simpler,” she insisted.
“Riskier,” Roux cut in.
She shrugged. “When was risk not a part of this?”
I rubbed my chin. She had me there.
The next thing I knew, she was sending Bene and Roux away with final, hushed instructions. They took off, leaving just her and me.
She took my hands in hers. Now more than ever, they felt frail and tiny.
But size and power weren’t the only weapons a soldier could wield, and Mina more than made up for that in brains and bravery.
“What’s my job?” I asked.
She smiled, then touched my cheek. “You’re the best. You know that?”
I snorted, but I couldn’t help but puff my chest out a little. No one had ever called me the best anything. If anything, I’d heard a lot of the opposite over the years. But coming from Mina…
“Maybe just reckless,” I whispered, echoing what she’d once said.
She shook her head. “The best.” Then she took a deep breath and went back to general mode. “Your job is creating a diversion.”
Fool that I was, I nodded. Mina wanted a diversion? She’d get one. The best goddamn diversion ever.
She leaned in to kiss me — not very general-like, and thank goodness for that. When our lips meshed, peace filled my soul. Which made no sense at a time like this, but whatever. Maybe trusting…hoping…even loving didn’t have to make sense.
We drew apart slowly, and Mina checked her watch. “You ready?”
Ready to go to hell and back for her, I realized.
“Ready.” I nodded.
Our eyes locked in one last, silent exchange. Then we set off, creeping along the wall. A few steps later, Mina slipped off to the left, while I continued toward the catering area. I glanced back twice. The first time, she was there, but the next, she was gone.
I kept walking, because I had no choice. The plan was in motion, and the clock was ticking.