Chapter 28 #2
Talon had been watching from the other chair, his long legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles, his deep-set eyes taking in everything. “You sure?”
“Yes.” The memory of others locked in that same cell flickered through me—people my father had taken me down to see as a lesson, people I hadn’t been able to help. I dug my fingernails into my thighs, and added, “Very sure.”
“So how do we get to her?”
“You can’t,” I said. “Not on your own. You need me.”
“Or a map,” Cain said from behind me. “Along with the appropriate codes and instructions.”
“No.” I craned my neck to look at him. “It won’t work without me. You can get through the first door with a code, but you need my palm print for the next two.”
“We have ways to get around that.”
“It’ll be faster with me.”
His brow lowered. “I’m not letting you—”
“Can you do it?” Brien cut in.
I swung back to him. “Yes. There’s a tunnel. No cameras—my father likes to have a private route in and out of the lair. Only a few people even know it exists. I can get in, open doors for whoever goes with me.”
“And we’d be in the shadows, of course.” Twilight pursed her lips, thinking. “Could work.”
“If it’s not a trap,” Talon interjected. “Nazaire will be expecting something like this, especially if he believes Nyx has flipped to our side.”
“Good.” Brien’s handsome face hardened. “I want the motherfucker watching his back. I want him worried.” He glanced at me. “You can map it for us? Draw diagrams?”
“Do I have your word that you’ll take me with you?”
The four exchanged glances.
“You won’t have much time,” I pointed out. “The cell is in the center of the lair. The only way you’ll make it that far is the shadows, and there are multiple doors between the tunnel and the cell. You can’t open them in the shadows. You need someone with you, someone the cams recognize.”
“We’ll probably have to fight our way out.” Twilight looked me up and down, sizing me up. “You won’t slow us down?”
I straightened. “I’ve been training with vampires my whole life.”
“And you were the other person on the island,” she said, almost to herself. “The boat—our boat—you rigged it to blow.”
I stiffened, but she didn’t sound angry. She sounded impressed.
“I won’t go in as myself,” I added. “I’m good with a glamour.”
I swept my gaze up and down her and let the change roll over me. Within thirty seconds, I was Twilight’s twin, from her coffee-colored braid to her raspberry pink sneakers.
Her dark brows rose. She glanced at Brien. “She’s resourceful. I say we take her.”
“Agreed,” he said.
Relief washed through me. I dropped the glamour just as Cain’s hand closed on my arm, hauling me from the chair.
“We need to talk,” he said between his teeth and marched me into the bedroom, kicking the door shut behind us.
He backed me against the wall, forearms braced on either side of my head. His warmth surrounded me, his breath brushing my cheek.
“No,” he ground out. “It’s too risky.”
I met his glare with one of my own. “You don’t get a say, Lieutenant.”
A muscle in his cheek ticked a warning. “Like Hades I don’t.”
I lifted my chin. “We’re nothing to each other. And Perla’s my friend—I have to go.”
“No, you don’t. You can give us all the info we need, and we can get through the damn doors on our own. If this goes sideways, Nazaire will come straight for you.”
“Let him,” I shot back, even though the thought made me a little nauseous. “But nothing will go wrong.”
Cain’s nostrils flared. He slid his fingers into my damp hair and dragged my head back, rough and possessive.
My pulse stuttered.
He gave my hair a little tug. “Even the best-planned ops can go to shit. You're not going, are we clear?”
I licked my lips, and his gaze dropped to my mouth. An electric heat sizzled between us. My tongue felt suddenly thick.
“I’m going,” I managed to say.
His lips came to my throat, sending a shiver sliding over my skin. “No,” he repeated, softer now, almost tender.
“Brien said—”
“Fuck Brien.” He bit my neck. Not hard. Just enough to let me know he wasn’t pleased with me. “He knows better than to come between a man and his woman.”
Pain shredded my heart. I turned my head away, my cheek against the wall.
“But I’m not your woman,” I said evenly. “And Perla needs me.”
His chest rumbled in displeasure. He straightened from me, taking his warmth with him. “Nyx—”
I rushed into speech. I didn’t want to hear his excuses—or worse, an apology.
“Please, Cain.” I touched his arm, dropping my defenses. This was more important than me or my pride. “I know that lair—I grew up in it. And Talon’s right—it’s probably a trap. You go in without me, who knows what will happen? You want your friends to end up dead?”
A short, charged silence fell. Then he swore and stepped back. “Come, then, damn you. But you’ll do exactly what I say, understand? No going off-book.”
“Understood,” I told him.
And I did understand. That didn’t mean I wouldn’t improvise if it was the only way to save Perla.
Back in the living room, Cain’s friends looked up, faces questioning.
“She’s coming,” he said, mouth tight.
Brien nodded.
Twilight straightened, her dark eyes met mine. “We’ll get your friend out of there. I promise.”
“Thank you,” I said, voice low.
Cain fished my phone from his pocket. “Should we respond to Nazaire? Or let him stew?”
“Answer him,” I said. “He hates to be ignored. I’m afraid of what he’ll do to Perla if we don’t.” A cold prickle crept over my skin, and I rubbed my upper arms.
“Here.” Cain handed me the phone. “You do it—you know him better than we do.”
“Call him directly,” suggested Brien.
“Yes.” It was the right move, even if the thought of hearing his voice made my stomach twist. But this wasn’t about me.
I set my jaw and pressed Nazaire’s number.
He answered on the second ring.
“All?,” I said. “C’est moi—Nyx.”
A short silence. Then he said in French, “You got my message, then.”
“Yes,” I said in the same language, then blurted, “Please let Perla go. She has nothing to do with this.”
The others stiffened. I knew all three men spoke French, and Twilight’s narrowed eyes told me she understood as well. But if there was even the smallest chance my father would release Perla, I had to try.
He chuckled. “She means so much to you, then?”
Too late, I realized I’d only confirmed that Perla was important to me. I tightened my grip on the phone. “What do you want?”
His voice turned cold. “I think you know, little rabbit.”
My mouth tightened. “Why would I know?”
“Because that bastard of a lieutenant is probably standing right next to you.”
“And if he is?”
“Tell him I’m waiting.” He paused. “Meanwhile, Perla is, too. I’ve missed her taste. It would be a shame to drain her completely…”
Drain her?
“No! Please—”
But he’d ended the call.
Around me, the others had stilled.
“He’s not bluffing,” Twilight said.
“No.” I stared down at the phone, the screen blurring for a moment. “But he’ll keep her alive for now. Just keep…torturing her. And sending me photos—”
My voice cracked, and Cain’s arms came around me in a hard hug.
I wanted to stiffen against him, but I couldn’t. I needed that hug too badly. So I sank into it, let myself take some comfort.
He touched his lips to my temple. “Tomorrow night,” he promised. “We won’t let him drag this out.”
His friends muttered their agreement.
“Good,” I said fiercely and pulled away from Cain.
Twilight grabbed my drawing pad and the pencil box. “I know you’ll be with us,” she said, “but map out Nazaire’s lair anyway. The more we know going in, the better.”
I nodded and led them into the kitchenette, settling on a stool. The others crowded in—Cain and Twilight on either side of me, Talon and Brien across the counter. I flipped to an empty page and pulled out a fine charcoal pencil.
“Can I ask you something?” I said to Brien as I began to sketch. “Give Perla a place here on the island. She’s not safe in Quebec.”
He nodded without hesitation. “Of course.”
“Thank you.” I sent him a grateful smile. “You won’t be sorry. She’s a good person, and she works hard.”
Twilight glanced from me to Cain. “And you?”
Cain drew breath to answer, but I got there first. “I’ll manage. But I would like a ride somewhere. Europe, maybe.”
Some country without a major syndicate.
Cain’s hand settled on my lower back. “She’ll be staying here,” he said firmly. “On Lilith Island.”
I made a noncommittal sound and bent over the pad. This wasn’t a fight I was having in front of his friends.
But I would be leaving.
Because staying would break me.