Chapter 28
Becky sat at a beat-up kitchen table, her eyes taking in everything.
She half listened to what was being said around her, but most of her focus was on finding a way out.
The idiots still hadn’t checked her bag sitting on her lap, and just knowing the gun was within reach gave her a small thread of hope.
There were two doors, front and back. They had brought her in through the front, but her gaze kept drifting to the back door right off the kitchen.
Darius walked up and tossed a box on the table in front of her. “The bathroom is through that door.”
Looking at the pregnancy test, she frowned. “I’m not taking that.”
“Yes, Becky, you are,” he replied, clearly not happy with her refusal. Yeah, well, tough shit.
“I told you I’m not pregnant,” she lied with a shrug.
“And I don’t believe you.” He slammed his hand down on the table hard enough to make the box jump. “Take the fucking test.”
“No.” She shook her head, wondering if she was making a mistake.
Maybe she should tell him she was pregnant because honestly, she didn’t know what he planned to do to her if he thought she wasn’t.
But then her hand tightened around the strap of her bag, and the fear cleared just enough for anger to slide in.
This bastard didn’t get the truth. He didn’t get anything from her. Not willingly.
A man came in and whispered something to Darius, who nodded but kept his eyes on her. She saw a flash of uncertainty in his gaze and decided to add to it.
“He’s coming for me.” Becky tilted her head slightly. “You know that, don’t you?”
“I’m counting on it.” His smile was full of confidence as he stared her down. “I need more of his blood, so after I kill him, I’ll drain him dry.”
“If you say so,” she replied flippantly, knowing damn well she was pushing it.
But she wanted to knock the bastard down a peg or two.
She was terrified, yes, but she needed a plan to get the hell out of there.
She knew the silver bullets in her gun wouldn’t kill Darius, but they would kill the idiot full-blood leaning against the wall looking bored to death.
She just needed to get Darius the hell out of there.
“I have fifty demons guarding us right now.” Darius’s tone turned arrogant, as if nothing could get inside the building.
“And we have the Demon Slayer.” Becky cocked an eyebrow. “As well as the Dark Guardians. Oh, and the Warriors will take care of your vampires.”
Becky’s eyes narrowed as she glared at him.
“But you...” She said with confidence because she believed in Sloan and knew he would find her. “Sloan will handle you.”
Darius stared at her for a long moment before a smile slowly spread across his lips.
Walking toward her, he pulled a chair close and sat facing her.
He reached for her stomach, but she quickly scooted her chair back.
His eyes shot to hers, his smile disappearing.
“We, and when I say we, I mean you and I, have created something that will take care of the Demon Slayer.”
Becky’s stomach rolled with disgust, but she didn’t let it show.
This sick son of a bitch really believed it.
He thought there was something inside her that belonged to him, something he had created, and planned to use against Daniel.
Fine. Let him believe whatever twisted shit made him feel powerful. She wasn’t giving him the truth.
“If you think for one minute I’m going to let Sloan Murphy ruin this for me, well, Becky, you are sadly mistaken.” Darius tsked, shaking his head slowly. “I don’t think you understand how big this is. The demons want the Slayer gone, and they will go to any length to see it happen.”
“One of those lengths being using low-life idiots like you to do their dirty work,” Becky spat in disgust.
She didn’t see the slap coming. Her head snapped to the side, the sharp sting exploding across her cheek as the taste of blood filled her mouth.
For a second, everything went quiet in her head, but she refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing how badly it hurt.
Slowly, she turned back to him, her eyes narrowed. “What do you get out of this?”
“What everyone wants in this fucked-up world.” Darius stared at her cheek, then reached out and ran a finger along the place he’d struck her. His eyes snapped back to hers. “Power. Money.”
Becky didn’t move away from his touch even though every part of her wanted to. Instead, she smiled, slow and cold. “That’s all?”
His fingers stilled against her cheek.
“You sold your soul for power and money?” Becky shook her head, tasting blood as her smile widened. “That’s it? That’s what all this is for? You’re a weak, pathetic boy using women to accomplish your insane goals. Who’s pulling your strings, Darius? Satan himself?”
Okay, maybe, just maybe, she had gone too far. His golden eye turned black as it narrowed, and his fangs pushed down.
“Either the Warriors have no idea what they are up against, or maybe they do and are too afraid to speak it out loud.” Darius leaned closer, his voice dropping into something colder.
“The demons are everywhere, Becky. Everywhere. In places your precious Warriors walk past every damn day because they’re too busy chasing rogues and pretending they still control the darkness. ”
Becky didn’t respond. Not because she didn’t have anything to say, but because the crazy bastard was finally talking.
“And people like me?” His lip curled as he pointed to himself. “We get shoved aside. Half-breed. Mistake. Not vampire enough. Not human enough. Not anything enough unless someone needs dirty work done. But the demons saw me. They knew what I could be. What I could create.”
“You mean what you could steal,” Becky shot back, her voice shaking with anger. “Because let’s not dress this up as some grand plan. You couldn’t create shit on your own, so you helped violate women who never asked to be part of your sick little science project.”
His hand shot out, gripping the back of her chair, trapping her without touching her. “You have no idea what I’m capable of.”
“I know exactly what you’re capable of.” Becky’s eyes narrowed.
“You kidnapped my son to get to me. You need demons to protect you. You need doctors to do your work. You need women’s bodies to make yourself feel powerful.
So don’t sit there and tell me how dangerous you are, Darius.
Dangerous men don’t have to keep proving it. ”
For a second, his face twisted with pure hate, and Becky knew she had exposed something inside this asshole.
“You think Sloan Murphy is coming here to save you.” Darius smiled, but there was nothing calm in it now. “Good. Let him come. Let all of them come. Because when the Demon Slayer falls and your Warriors are choking on their own blood, you’ll understand what I helped start.”
Becky forced herself not to look at her bag. Forced herself not to reach for the gun. Not yet. “You didn’t start anything,” she said, her voice low. “You’re just another weak man following orders and pretending it makes you important.”
Darius’s smile vanished.
“And the funniest part?” Becky tilted her head, even though her heart was pounding so hard she could feel it in her throat. “You did all this for nothing. I told you already, I’m not pregnant.”
Darius moved so fast she barely had time to flinch. He grabbed the pregnancy test off the table and slammed it against her chest hard enough to knock the breath out of her. “Then prove it,” he snarled, his face inches from hers. “Take the fucking test.”
Becky glared at him, her fingers tightening around the strap of her bag.
Darius’s eyes cut to the bored vampire against the wall. “Take her to the bathroom and watch her take it. If she tries anything, break something. But don’t damage what belongs to me.”
The vampire pushed off the wall with a lazy grin and grabbed Becky’s arm. She let him pull her up, her bag clasped tightly in her hand. Let them believe she was scared enough to obey.
She wasn’t scared. She was petrified, but this was her chance. Glancing back, she saw Darius storm out of the room. She had gotten to the asshole. Good. That had been the plan. Knowing Frankie was safe, her survival instincts had kicked into high gear.
She was shoved into a small bathroom, and as she turned, her eyes flicked past the asshole blocking the doorway to the back door just beyond him.
Looking back up at him, she frowned, clutching her bag tighter.
If he watched her, there was no way she could get to her gun and blow his damn balls off.
She had never shot anyone before, never dreamed she’d be in the position to even consider shooting someone, and yet, she would do it in a heartbeat to save her life and the life of her unborn child.
“I can’t do this while you’re watching me,” she said, then frowned when he just stood there staring at her.
With a sigh, she opened the pregnancy test and dropped the package on the floor.
Setting her bag on the sink, she looked back at the vampire watching her.
“At least turn around. Seriously, where am I going to go? There’s no window.
Leave the door open, I don’t care. Just please turn around so I can get this done. ”
The vampire rolled his eyes, then took a few steps back before turning around.
He stood with his arms crossed, his back to her.
Vomit rose in her throat at what she was about to do.
With shaking hands, she quietly reached into her bag, her fingers hitting the cold metal of the gun.
Her eyes never left his back. She didn’t blink as she pulled it free.
Dropping the test to the floor, she slowly brought the gun up and aimed.
“Are you finished yet?” he grouched, shifting his stance.
Becky couldn’t answer. Her mouth was so dry it felt like her tongue had swollen three sizes too big. The click of the trigger echoed in the silence of the bathroom. His shoulders stiffened, and he slowly turned his head to look at her over his shoulder.
“I don’t want to shoot you, but I fucking will,” Becky managed, her voice shaking despite how hard she tried to control it. “Let me walk out of here, and you’ll live. And yes, my gun is loaded with silver bullets.”
Becky took a slow, deep breath, her eyes locked on him as Sloan’s voice slid through her head.
‘If it’s you or them, watch their movements. Shoot before they strike. Keep your focus just above the shoulders.’
Her hands shook, but the gun stayed aimed. She didn’t look at his face. Didn’t look at the door. Didn’t think about what pulling the trigger would do to her later. She watched his shoulders. The moment one of them twitched, she fired.
The shot exploded through the tiny bathroom. The vampire dropped like dead weight, his body convulsing as the silver tore through him. Becky didn’t wait to see if he stayed down. She jumped over him and ran for the door.
She yanked the back door open and ran into the yard, the wind slamming into her as thunder cracked overhead.
Rain hit her face, mixing with the tears she didn’t have time to wipe away.
Her shoes slipped in the wet grass, but she kept going, clutching the gun in one hand as she headed for the line of trees.
Yells ripped through the night behind her. Becky looked back, her heart pounding as shadows moved near the house.
“There!” someone shouted. “Heading toward the trees!”
She turned back and pushed herself harder. Just a few more steps and she could lose herself in the thick trees surrounding the property. A sob broke from her throat as she heard footsteps pounding behind her.
Just as she hit the tree line, she slammed into something solid, hard enough to knock the air from her lungs. A scream tore from her throat as strong arms closed around her.
She had failed.