Chapter 28
Twenty-Eight
Ethan wiped the sweat threatening to drip into his eyes with the back of his hand.
He leaned against the wall and very slowly peeked around the corner.
It wasn’t even warm out, but between climbing over the huge, strong wall and sneaking past the guards and dogs, he was pretty sure he’d had more of a workout in the past five minutes than he’d gotten in the last three months.
And they still had to locate Marcus and Rafe.
Unfortunately, Bel had been unable to reach Winter, and they’d begun to fear the worst. Bel was trying to remain optimistic, claiming that Winter had likely let himself be captured so he could take down the Black Wolf clan from the inside. Ethan could only pray he was right.
Glancing around the corner, Ethan wanted to cry.
It was yet another long hallway filled with exquisite rugs and priceless vases.
He really wanted to smash each one of those damn things, but he knew the noise would bring people running.
They’d been in the house for at least six minutes already and hadn’t found a single sign of Marcus or the others.
Six vampires had been killed between Ethan’s bullets and Bel’s formula-coated knives.
And those six deaths hadn’t been pretty.
Bel’s deadly formula did exactly what he predicted.
After becoming infected, the vampire had about three seconds before he felt the effects, and then it was only a few more seconds before they were reduced to a hissing and popping puddle of greenish goo.
It looked like the blood melted the poor creature’s bones into a sticky substance.
Even if it was a relatively quick death, it was not one Ethan would have chosen for himself. But that didn’t stop him from using the bullets. They were the only way he was getting through this death house to his man.
For now, he was keeping a close count on them. He’d used five on four vampires while Bel took out the other two with his knives.
“See anything helpful?” Bel whispered.
“More stupid vases and closed doors. Probably bedrooms,” Ethan muttered. His palm was sweaty, and it made the gun feel loose in his hand like he was in danger of dropping it. “I feel like we’re in going in fucking circles. Where the hell are the prisoners hidden?”
“I’ve never kept prisoners, so it’s hard to say. Away from where anyone might stumble across them.”
Bel’s calm and sensible tone had Ethan looking over his shoulder at his companion in stunned silence.
He said it like it was a complete possibility that everyone at one time kept prisoners and he’d just not gotten around to it yet.
Bel was…interesting. Ethan was never quite sure what was going to come out of his mouth.
It was a strange similarity he had with his twin.
The only difference was that you knew half the things Rafe said were total bullshit.
Bel honestly meant the insanity he spewed.
“I’d say we need to find either a door with guards or at the very least, a basement.”
“That makes sense.”
Ethan bit back a sigh. “Well, that’s not this way. I say we turn around and go through the kitchen again. Maybe there’s a door off the kitchen that leads to the basement. At least, that’s where I’d put it if I was the architect.”
“We need to hurry. Lola and the others have got to be drawing a lot of fire.”
Ethan grunted as he turned and started jogging down the hall with Bel following behind.
Lola and the others were attacking the guards outside the house, drawing everyone’s attention away from him and Bel as they conducted their search and rescue.
Six minutes was already a damn long time, but even after looking at the rough sketch they had of the Black Wolf clan house, it hadn’t prepared him for the sheer size of the place.
It was amazing that people were surviving in studio apartments that were only a few hundred square feet when some people felt monstrous structures like this were necessary.
As they neared another corner, the sounds of fighting reached them. Had Lola and her team been chased inside the house? Fuck. That couldn’t be a good sign. Ethan slowed his pace and was careful as he peeked around the corner to keep from giving their presence away.
The first thing he saw was Marcus’s fist slamming into a vampire’s face.
The vampire staggered but didn’t go down.
Before he could launch himself at Marcus again, Ethan jumped out and fired his gun at the vamp, hitting him in the back.
The impact was enough to spin the vampire around.
Fangs bared in a blood-smeared face, he snarled and took one step toward Ethan.
That was as far as he got before a look of confusion flashed across his face.
A second later it shifted to horror. It never really reached pain before he started to dissolve.
Yeah, Bel was a mad genius. Thank God he was on their side.
“Ethan?”
Ethan looked up to see a blood-covered Marcus staring at him in shock. He was wounded in more than one place, and his skin under the blood was a sickly pale. And he was still the best thing Ethan had ever seen in his life.
“Marcus!” Ethan shouted, joy filling his voice. But it was short-lived. Vampires from the Black Wolf clan were running down the hall, threatening to overwhelm them. It didn’t help that Rafe and Winter weren’t looking much better than Marcus.
“Take this!” Bel shouted before he tossed the black-bladed machete he’d been carrying in his right hand to Marcus. “Don’t touch the blade.”
“The poison?”
“Yes. I’ve got Ethan.”
Before Ethan could ask what Bel meant by that, Bel’s strong arms wrapped around him from behind, pulling him in tight against his chest. He was trapped, couldn’t even lift his arm to fire his gun.
“Bel!” Ethan protested.
Bel lowered his face to Ethan’s ear, his arms tightening until Ethan could barely breathe. “Stay still. I’ve got you.”
Ethan wanted to argue that they needed to help Marcus, but the world was suddenly plunged into complete darkness.
It was more than someone cutting the power.
This darkness was heavy and all-consuming.
He blinked again and again, trying to get his eyes to focus, to find some little spark of light to glom onto, but there was nothing.
And then the screaming started.
Ethan sucked in a fractured breath. He could feel the first tendrils of panic wrapping around him, causing his limbs to tremble.
His brain kept trying to tell him that he was falling, that he was falling into a bottomless pit and he was never getting out again.
Never seeing Marcus or his brothers again. Never seeing light again.
Arms tightened painfully around Ethan and he welcomed it. The pain was better than the pervading sense of hopelessness that was trying to sink into him.
“I’ve got you. You’re safe,” Bel repeated over and over again. But even while Ethan could feel his face pressed to the side of his head, his voice sounded so very far away. His words helped ground him, but he couldn’t shake the idea that he would only feel better when he could see Marcus again.
A moment later, the lights returned and the darkness receded.
Ethan blinked and he swore it looked like the light was actually flowing out of Marcus and back into the lamps, but he was sure his eyes were simply playing tricks on him after being subjected to such complete darkness.
Bel released him and Ethan lurched forward, running to Marcus.
The hallway was filled with bubbling pools of green goo that had been vampires, while Winter and Rafe leaned against the wall, trying to catch their breaths.
Marcus’s strong arms closed around Ethan, and everything felt a little bit better. There was a soft grunt of pain from Marcus, but when Ethan tried to step away, Marcus held him tighter.
“I was so worried about you,” Marcus murmured against Ethan’s sweaty and dirty hair.
“Found Bel just like you told me to. We also found some of Rafe’s friends.” Ethan lifted his head and peered around Marcus to smile at an exhausted-looking Rafe. “Lola is a total badass.”
Rafe managed a small half smile. “Yes, she is.”
“Speaking of, Lola and the others won’t be able to keep them distracted for much longer,” Bel interjected. “We need to get out of here now.”
Marcus nodded and released Ethan. “Agreed, but Minerva needs to be taken care of as well. Get Ethan, Winter, and Rafe out of here. I’ll follow as soon as I can.”
“Not happening,” Winter growled.
“I’ve got to agree with the wee one,” Rafe drawled. He pushed away from the wall, standing on his own. “We’re not leaving you, darling brother.”
“You’re injured—” Marcus started to argue but Winter cut him off.
“We’re all injured. Well, except for maybe Bel.”
“I did scrape my palm when I climbed over the wall.” Ethan snorted when he saw Bel hold up his perfectly healed palm.
“Someone needs to get Ethan out of here,” Marcus snarled.
Ethan started to argue, but Rafe beat him to it. “No, he needs to stay, and you know it.”
Okay, that was weird and disturbingly ominous, but he wasn’t going to counter Rafe. He wanted to stay and try to keep Marcus as protected as possible.
Marcus glared at Rafe for a moment, but the sibling didn’t back down. The standoff didn’t last more than a second before Marcus nodded. “Let’s find Minerva and end this.”
They collected a few weapons they found dropped by the attacking vampires and continued through the house on the first floor. They slaughtered several more of the Black Wolf clan, but there still wasn’t any sign of this Minerva that Marcus mentioned.