Because the Night

Chapter Thirteen

The hard smack of an open palm hitting me on the cheek wakes me up. I gasp and jerk back to evade more of the same, but there’s nothing I can do. Nowhere I can go. I am slumped uncomfortably on the floor. My hands are secured behind my back to a steel post, and silver chains are burning my skin. My face stings, though the pain soon fades. I don’t think I’ve ever actually been hit before—at least not in the face like this.

The last thing I remember is being in the bathroom and hearing the noise from behind me. My shoes and clutch are missing. And the back of my head hurts. Guess they knocked me out to bring me here. Though, if they did, I would have thought an injury like that would be healed by now. But I feel dizzy and weak, and I don’t know what.

This is bad. Really bad. It looks like I’m in another basement. This one, however, lacks all of the faded charm of the speakeasy. Concrete walls, three thugs, and a selection of implements just perfect for torture laid out on the floor. A hammer, pliers, a saw, some knives, and a baseball bat. Along with scissors, a steak knife, a jar of salt, and needle and thread. No idea what the last few things would be used for. But none of it is giving me comfort.

Two of the thugs are vampires, but one is human. I can hear his galloping heart inside his chest. Somebody else besides me is nervous.

I lived the whole of my mortal life without being of much interest to anyone. To now be the subject of all this attention is both bizarre and awful.

“She’s awake,” mumbles one of them. “Are you sure you got all of the bugs off her clothing? Last fucking thing we need is the Woodsman tracking her here.”

Tracking devices in my clothing and accessories sounds about right. Very Lucas. The assholes finding them is not good. What I need to do is stay calm and think. But I have the distinct feeling I’m on the verge of the biggest panic attack of my life. Or death. I might also just slide back into unconsciousness. Black spots are dancing before my eyes.

Someone must have noticed me missing by now. The family will be looking for me. I’d love to know how they got me out of The Boulevard. In all likelihood through another of those hidden passageways Nicholas was talking about. Not to be harsh, but I officially kind of hate that hotel.

Lucas will find me. I know he will. I just don’t know if he’ll find me while I’m still in one piece. Therefore, I am going to have to help myself.

“I’ll take those,” says another of the thugs, getting in my face. I focus on him, concentrating hard, searching for the still part of my mind, and it actually works. The word that appears inside my head is bored . Abduction and assault have lost their thrill for him, apparently. But the emotion accompanying the word is greed. Which makes perfect sense when he kneels in front of me and rips out my diamond earrings. Just tears the hooks through the flesh of my earlobes.

My howls of pain fill the room. A few drops of blood fall onto my bare shoulders. I have no tolerance for pain. Never have. Therefore, being tortured is a problem for me. A really fucking big one.

“Stupid bitch,” mutters the second vampire, and he kicks me in the thigh with his steel-toed boots. Once, twice, three times, making me scream in pain even louder. He doesn’t stop until the sound of cracking echoes in the cold, empty space. My upper leg is a mass of bruises ever so slowly changing color by the barest of degrees. I am not healing anywhere near as fast as I should. And he just broke the thickest damn bone in my body with relative ease. Shit.

At this point, I burst into tears. I can’t help it. Fear owns me completely. I have never been so scared in my life. Not even when Lucas turned me, which is saying something. Speaking of my sire, I would dearly love to know where he is right now.

All three of the assholes start laughing at me. Guess I make a pretty pathetic figure, sitting on the ground, sobbing. My leg is sheer agony. I am helpless, and I hate it.

“Let’s get a drink,” says one vampire to the other. Then he turns to the human. “Watch her.”

“What?” asks the human in a high-pitched voice. “You’re leaving me on my own?”

“It’s not like she’s going anywhere with a broken femur,” the second vampire scoffs. “That’s why we bled her, you idiot. So she wouldn’t have the strength to heal herself. And she’s too new to be able to compel you. That shit takes years to learn.”

The human frowns his whole heart out. “Yeah, but—”

“You’re not actually scared of this pitiful, bawling newborn, are you? All you have to do is stand here and keep an eye on her. Just don’t get too close. You’ll be fine.”

“He’ll be here soon,” says the first vampire. And a word appears inside my head, surrounded by a wary sort of respect. Marc . Which makes perfect sense.

Then the two vampires walk out, shutting the door behind them. The way it echoes hollowly is like something out of a horror film.

I huddle on the floor, sniffling. The pain in my leg is easing ever so slowly as the bone knits itself back together. Thank goodness. But fuck, it hurts. Having a bone broken and feeling it heal just might be the most excruciating thing ever.

It is not, however, unusual for me to be underestimated. In work environments, by boyfriends, etcetera. And this situation is no different. If they think I’m going to sit here docilely waiting to get tortured, they are kidding themselves. I refuse to end like this. These assholes will not be what kills me. Not when me being undead was starting to show such promise.

“Please don’t hurt me,” I whisper, watching him through my lashes.

“Shut up,” he says, staring off at the wall.

“I can turn you. That’s what you want, isn’t it? That’s why you’re with them?”

The human pulls a gun no doubt loaded with wooden bullets out of the back of his pants. His brows draw tight together as he frowns.

“Don’t you want to be immortal and live forever?”

“You were only just turned. You probably can’t even do that yet.”

“But I was turned by the Woodsman. His blood is stronger than his brother’s. You know that, right?”

He shrugs and scowls at the ground. But he’s listening. I have his attention.

“And I’m his favorite,” I say with a forced smile. I really should have been practicing this mind control stuff before now. More than just the one time with Henry. But I push as hard as I can, forcing my focus onto him, all while searching again for the still and silent part of my mind. The place where other people’s words and feelings seem to appear to me out of nowhere. This has to work. It just has to. “He gave me those diamond earrings. Help me, and he’ll give you even more. He’s got cars and jewels and whatever you want.”

“Look, would you just…”

And I have him. It actually works! The muscles in his face slacken and his gaze goes dazed. That’s the thing with humans…they’re trained from a young age to look at people when speaking to them. Hooray for having good manners.

“Get the chains off me,” I say. “Now.”

He rushes to do my bidding, dropping the gun on the floor in the process. A couple of layers of my skin peel away with the silver chains, which stings like hell. But at least I’m free. My leg doesn’t want to support me at first. A break obviously takes a while to heal. I, however, don’t have time to waste. The great thing about a background in administration is the ability to give clear and concise instructions under pressure.

“Pick up your gun and go shoot the vampires outside,” I order. “Be quick. Use all your bullets. Aim to kill.”

He all but runs for the door with his weapon back in hand. I limp over to the selection of torture implements. I’m going to need all the help I can get. The long, sharp, serrated knife is tempting. Same goes for the hammer. But in the end, I grab the old baseball bat with a selection of truly dubious dark stains in the wood. Keeping some distance between me and them seems smart. Not having to get in quite so close to cause the most damage is paramount.

I swing it a time or two to test my arm. It’s about time my childhood P.E. classes come in handy for something.

The bang of the gun goes off again and again outside.

Time to go. If Marc catches me here, it will not be fun. A broken femur will be the least of my worries.

Outside are a lot of pipes and electrical wiring with the same concrete walls. We’re in a basement underneath a big building, but that’s about all I can tell. This time the concrete rooms form masses of hallways running every which way. Some random human stands there screaming. It’s a shrill, piercing sort of sound. Blood seeps from the messy bite wound on his neck. The way the scent of it calls to me, making my mouth water, gives me pause.

One of the vampires is already on the ground with a gunshot wound smack bam center of the forehead. His body turns to ash before my eyes. Seems my hypnotized human knows his way around a gun. Lucky me. But the other one is fighting back despite a nasty bullet graze across his face and one embedded in his chest.

My hypnotized human fires the remainder of his bullets. Another hits center body mass before the gun clicks empty. However, the vampire is still standing. Not okay. I am done with being hurt today, so this asshole has got to die. Right now, while he’s focusing on the human instead of me. Because the element of surprise is my very best friend.

Without hesitation, I rush him and swing. The meaty thwack of the bat hitting the side of his head is disgusting. Just truly fucking awful. How his skull caves in and everything. Down he goes, lying still at my feet. I bare my teeth and bring the bat down on his head two more times. Then he finally turns to ash.

To the screaming human, I say, “Be quiet and follow us.” Then I turn to my friend with the gun and order, “Show me the fastest and safest way out of here.”

The human leads us through a maze of tunnels. With each step my leg is a little stronger, but it’s still not great. My bare feet scrape against the cold, dirty ground. When we reach an elevator, my stomach twists nervously. Here is where the people always get caught in the movies. When they’re almost out and safe. It’s when the bad guy arrives, and everything goes to Hell.

But the elevator dings and the doors slide open and it’s empty. I could almost cry again from relief.

As soon as we’re inside, I drop the bat and grab the guy with the gun. I need what he has. I have to heal. As soon as I sink my teeth into his neck, fresh warm blood fills my mouth. It tastes so damn good. Much better than the packaged stuff. Lucas was right about that. It rushes through me, strengthening me.

I drink and drink, and it doesn’t even occur to me not to drain him of every last drop. Nothing could stop me from taking it all. Which is horrifying, but I don’t have time to deal with the morality of it right now. His heartbeat slows before it finally stops. I toss his body into the corner. Hard to feel bad about killing someone who was more than willing to do the same to me.

The other human stands docile and silent. But the look in his eyes says I’m a monster. And he’s right. He is absolutely right. Because I just killed someone without hesitation, and I am absolutely willing to do it again to get out of here.

With the fresh blood in me, I feel a lot better. Ignoring the twinges and lingering ache in my leg, I pick up the bat and hold it in a good tight grip. Ready for whatever awaits us. The sire bond thing in my chest tugs…Lucas is reaching out to me. But it’s not like I can answer him. I don’t even know if he has a phone number for the house. Nor do I have any money or anything useful on me.

We arrive at the ground floor and the doors slide open. It’s a pretty standard sort of lobby. Rows of mailboxes and a plastic potted plant. Along with another vampire guard. His head rolls across the floor as his body crumples. Then both turn to ash.

And standing there with an axe in hand is Lucas.

I have never been happier to see someone in my life. Seems my undead heart is every bit as messy as my beating one was. Because the need I have to throw myself into his arms and cry up a storm is huge. But I guess I am becoming more vampire minded, because the idea of looking weak grates at me.

“Hello, little sister,” says Henry, standing behind him. Blood covers the front of his white button-down shirt. “We’ve been looking for you. So rude to leave a party without saying goodbye. I, for one, was outraged at such shoddy behavior.”

“I think we can safely assume it wasn’t by choice.” Lucas’s gaze is frantic while his lips are a straight, pissed-off line. “Look at me. Are you okay?”

I nod. “Yeah.”

The tension in his shoulders eases just a little at my words. But he still doesn’t seem happy.

“Henry, what happened to you?”

“There I was, waiting for you in the hallway, when some idiot tried to stake me. Can you believe that shit?” he asks, with comically wide eyes. “Sadly for them, they botched the job and wound up on the receiving end of that particular piece of sharpened wood.”

“Thank goodness for that.”

“I found the entrance they used hidden in a wall. But you were already gone. I am sorry for failing you.”

I attempt a smile. “Getting kidnapped from a bathroom wasn’t on either of our bingo cards.”

Henry just sighs.

Benedict gives me a wink. “Nice baseball bat.”

“Very Father coded, isn’t it?” asks Henry. “I told you they make a nice couple.”

I turn back and tell the remaining human, “Run. Get to safety.”

“Skye, you’re limping and there’s blood on you. Let me try another question, and hopefully this time you’ll give me an honest response,” says Lucas. “Who hurt you?”

“Thugs hired by Marc.”

Lucas growls low in his throat. “I am going to fucking kill them. Then, for once and for all, I am going to kill my brother.”

“You can’t.”

“Oh yes, I can.”

“No,” I say patiently. “You can’t kill them because I already did that. But feel free to put an end to your brother. I would really appreciate it.”

There’s no imagining the surprise on their faces. Lucas just blinks. “You killed them?”

“Yes. I mean…I had some help, but…yeah.”

“Huh,” says Henry. “Good job, little sister.”

Nicholas gives me a nod of approval.

With the fresh blood in me, I can move more easily. My hair is half in, half out of the now-lopsided bun, and my evening dress is bedraggled. No idea what my makeup is like; though, I doubt it’s good with the amount of crying I’ve been doing. Just about every nail is chipped or broken. It shouldn’t matter that I’m a wreck. But everything seems to be catching up with me now.

Lucas holds out a hand and I reach for it, but my own is streaked with blood and ash. Just covered in it. And I don’t like the way my limb is shaking either.

The sky outside is lightening. I can feel it care of the lethargy creeping into my limbs. It’s like the dawn has this deadly pull on me. An entire night was lost to this kidnapping fuckery. What a waste.

“It’s decision time. We staying or going?” asks Nico.

I frown. “But Marc—”

“Isn’t here,” says Lucas. “He was just sighted to the north of the city. Samuel informed us a few minutes ago.”

“He’s not here?”

Lucas shakes his head. “You need to feed and rest. And we need to discuss next steps. Do you need me to carry you?”

“No,” I say. “Thank you.”

Outside is Benedict’s G Wagon for us and a Ducati motorbike for Nico. Lucas hovers as I limp along. We’re not even that far from home or the hotel. Marc’s goons obviously didn’t hide me all that well. Not knowing I have secret psychic powers giving me a kick along in this life is one thing. But their general ineptness is a little bewildering. Leaving me alone with the human whom I might have managed to overpower, etcetera. I don’t know. It just doesn’t quite make sense. Tonight is probably a prime example of getting what you paid for because Marc’s goons were not great at their jobs.

I wince when I put my weight on my leg climbing out of the vehicle at home. But it’s almost back to normal. Three stories of white walls and terracotta roof tiles tower over me. It’s never been a more welcome sight. The scent of the climbing roses and jasmine. I made it back in one piece. Go me.

Nico escorts us home, then rides off at speed. Hunting our enemies, no doubt.

Lucas sweeps me up into his arms. “Enough.”

“I can walk.”

“Not well, you can’t.”

I loop my arms around his neck as we head down to the basement lair. He says nothing as he carries me through his bedroom and into his en suite. There, he carefully sets me down so he can start running a bath. Steam starts to billow as hot water slowly fills the tub.

He grabs a face towel and wets it before taking my chin in hand. “Let’s get the dried blood off your face.”

“I fed on someone and killed them. The human they had with them.”

“You did what you had to.” He tosses the dirty towel into the sink and drops to his knees to examine my leg. Strong hands gently feel along the line of the bone leading up to my hip. The man does not look happy; though, he says, “It seems to be healing satisfactorily.”

“Yeah.”

He stands and toes off his shoes. “Tell me everything that happened in as much detail as possible. Don’t leave anything out.”

And I do as told. His getting naked, however, is damn distracting. It works to break through the shock. My brain seems to be doing better at dealing with the here and now. At calming down and feeling safe in this moment.

By the time I’m finished talking, he’s down to nothing. Even at his ease, he’s a sight to behold. Not that I stare at his crotch or anything because that would be awkward. While I’m not sure exactly what we’re doing, I don’t think this is about sex. He doesn’t seem to be giving off those vibes right now. Which is a good thing. The events of tonight have left me feeling fragile.

“Stand up,” he says, then he undoes the zipper on the back of my dress. My strapless bra and panties are soon gone, too. He climbs into the bath, then holds out a hand to me. It is nice to know I’m not alone. I think I need some company right now.

I sit between his legs, my back to his front. The hot water is heavenly. Having the solid strength of his body pressed against me is even better. I am home and safe and everything is okay. For the moment, at least.

First thing, I wash all of the makeup off my face. Lucas starts pulling the pins out of my messy hair and dropping them on the floor. Not stopping until my hair hangs loose. Then he combs it with his fingers, working out the worst of the tangles with more patience than I would have given him credit for.

“You really killed two vampires and a human?” he asks with an edge of surprise.

“Yeah. Basically. I did things tonight I never imagined I would have to do, and it was…I don’t know. I try to be a kind person. Mostly,” I say. “But the rules change when someone wants to torture and kill you. I don’t know how else to explain it. Guess we’re both monsters now.”

He grunts.

“That’s all you’ve got to say?”

He sighs. “Skye, why did you want to go off on your own at the hotel?”

“I just needed a moment. You’re used to these things, with everyone staring at you. They still weird me out.”

“You weren’t jealous of Zofia?”

To be honest, I had forgotten all about her. I rest my head back against his shoulder and think it over. “A little, maybe. But not really.”

“Please explain.”

“We banged once on your office desk,” I say. “It doesn’t equate to a situation where I believe I have any rights over you.”

“Mm.”

“Zofia is very beautiful. I might have liked to dance with her myself.”

He goes from lazily tracing a finger back and forth along the length of my arm, to having his hand wrapped firmly around my throat in an instant. “No, Skye.”

“Speaking of jealousy.”

“The difference between us is…I am not pretending otherwise.”

I don’t know what to say to that.

He presses a kiss to my forehead and, a finger at a time, releases the hold on my throat. I don’t know if it’s all vampires, or just this one in particular. But they are emotional quicksand. I never know where I’m standing, let alone how fast I’m sinking.

“We haven’t even known each other a full week,” I say in a quiet voice.

“What’s that got to do with it?”

“Well…”

“Do you think after fifteen-hundred years, I don’t know my own mind?” he asks in his usual calm tone. “I assure you, I do.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“And what I want is you , so I am going to have you.”

I wrinkle my nose. “What about what I want?”

“Your wants and needs are important and will be seen to. By me.”

“No.” I shake my head. “Lucas, we’re not—”

“Yes, Skye, we are.”

And with that, he rises and steps out of the bath, reaching for a towel. Watching the water running off his body might have me inspired to write bad poetry. It is definitely harder to be angry at him when he’s naked. Not to be shallow or anything. But the magnificence of his buttocks really shouldn’t be underestimated.

“I have some things to discuss with the others,” he says. “I trust you’re fine on your own?”

“This conversation isn’t over.”

He doesn’t even bother to answer. Just walks through to his bedroom, toweling off his dark hair.

What the hell have I gotten myself into?