The throb of raw flesh awoke me with a start. I lay on my stomach, no longer shackled to a wall and left free on the ground. A glimpse of the dimly lit room gave me the impression I was alone.
My eyes fluttered closed again as I rested my forehead on the cool tiled floor and groaned with the burning ache. Did they put me through a meat grinder? Deep breathing made it worse. The dried scabs on by back split and blood trickled with each breath. I needed to keep each precious drop in my body. Who knew how much I’d lost?
Tane assured we’d get rescued, but how long had I slept on this hard floor? Maybe they were empty promises. Tane and ‘hero’ were like oil and water.
Panting through the pain, I removed my arms from under me and dragged them next to my head. Alone, the tears I’d fought to hold back returned. The sobs came one after another in great uncontrolled racks that shook my shoulders. They caused more bleeding, yet I couldn’t stop them.
I’d been beaten, hunted and heartbroken, but never tortured. They didn’t even want anything from me, only to use my agony against Tane since whatever they inflicted on me he felt. Or at least that was what they thought. Could it be true? Were we bound? God forbid. The knife they stabbed in his side may as well have gone through mine. He didn’t even cry out when they did it. What kind of monster didn’t react to pain?
When Dragos almost drank me dry in Budapest, Tane sought to save me by giving me his blood. He could have let Rurik do it, however he chose to force a drop of his own blood in my mouth. In frenzy, Rurik slew Dragos and yanked Tane from me. He fed me to bind our souls together. Could that one little drop Tane pressed between my lips overcome all the blood I drank from Rurik? When Luckard struck Rurik on the beach I never felt his pain.
My sobs grew more intense. I wanted to live an eternity with Rurik, my love. Now I’d be enslaved to my personal demon. A chill seeped into my soul. I couldn’t even have the satisfaction of jamming a stake into his heart. Our lives were one, if he died so did I.
The lashes on my back grew into one big throbbing ache. I gritted my teeth and pushed on the floor with my uninjured hand until I sat cross-legged. With the corner of what was left of my little silk dress, I wiped my face. One of the spaghetti straps hung loose, probably snapped when the whip hit it. My stomach rolled at the image. The dress held together by one strap now.
Rurik brought me to Rio. He insisted we come here for New Year’s Eve. I agreed since he’d never asked for a specific destination in the time we’d been together. Prior to this trip, he happily followed where I wanted to go. For the past few nights, he brought me to dance clubs, one after another, as if trying to catch someone’s attention. Well, he sure as hell succeeded.
Vampire politics consumed all around them, I experienced this firsthand. We left Budapest because of it and now I was drowning once more. These creatures lived for centuries, some millenniums. They made lying an art form. I never knew the truth.
Plain, dirt smudged walls surrounded me with no windows, a dull naked bulb swung from a wire overhead and a pile of smelly laundry sat in the far corner. I couldn’t tell the time of day.
Dirty laundry? I peered closer at the pile. A foot stuck out. It lay very—inert. The chill in my bones turned into ice. My body tensed as a shiver ran down my spine.
“Hello?” I didn’t know what would frighten me more—if it answered or stayed silent.
Vampires slept in the day. Rurik became almost lifeless in our bed when the sun rose, yet I could still sense an existence from his body, an occasional stirring or a breath.
I got nothing from the corner. “Do you need help?” Chances were he needed medical attention. “Wiggle your toes if you hear me.” I sniffed and wiped my nose on the dress.
Crap, they probably spoke Portuguese. “Senhor?” Rurik taught me to say some key phrases, somehow where is the bathroom? didn’t seem appropriate.
With a deep groan, I tried to move. Sharp, exploding pain blinded me. A cry escaped my lips and I squeezed my eyes shut. That wasn’t happening.
Fuck.
“Senhor?” My voice came out strained and weak. The room spun in a slow arc.
Nausea roared in my stomach and a wave of warmth rushed over my body. I blinked and once again. Had the laundry pile fallen on its side? No, I had. I tried to swallow, but a desert parked itself in my mouth and throat.
I recognized these symptoms from after Dragos fed on me a long time ago, too much blood loss. The pain faded as if it belonged to someone else. “Well, buddy, maybe you can help me out.” I giggled then it turned into a sob.
A distant bang startled me and reality slammed me out of my self-pity. I listened.
What did it mean? Another bang, as if a door kicked in and shouting filled the silence.
Something akin to hope soared in my heart. I lifted my head and stared at the door. “I’m in here!” The shout, born of desperation, echoed in the room.
Not a minute later, the door splintered open and Rurik stepped inside. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth and a splatter of it marred the pale skin of his chest. He still wore the same outfit he danced in on New Year’s—a pair of tight, black pants with no shirt. Maybe less time had passed than I thought.
He knelt next to me. “Rabbit.” Relief visible in his face, he pushed the curls from my cheeks. “All will be well.” His lips pressed against my forehead for a short kiss. “Tane and Colby’s forces have taken over this complex.” A dark storm of anger thundered within his eyes as his gaze slid to my back. He licked his lips as he stared at what must be a mess. “I’m going to kill him.”
Which him did he referred to? Ah heck, he could go kill them all. I wrapped my hand around his. “Check on that guy in the corner before you go on a murdering rampage.”
My flip comment brought a small sardonic smile to his mouth. “I want you to feed from me first so you can heal.” He raised his wrist to his mouth to open a vein.
“Wait.” After all the noise and action, nothing stirred from the corner. Dread settled in my gut. “I don’t think my nerves will let me until you see if he’s okay.”
“Fine, except I smell death.” He sighed and crossed the room in three steps then removed the clothing that covered the person. “We’re too late.” His soft voice carried more than regret, it carried recognition.
“Who?” I grimaced as I tried to lift and turn my head. Eric sat slumped against the wall, his throat torn out. I wasn’t any kind of forensic expert, but I could tell he’d been there a while. They must have thrown the clothes on top of him. The smell released from under the fabric roiled over me and I retched. Nothing came out. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d eaten. I heaved again, and this time Rurik cradled my head. “I can’t feed here. Get me out.”
“It’s going to hurt.”
“I don’t care.” After last night, I understood pain.
He frowned and his eyebrows drew together. With a gentle touch, he slid one hand under my shoulder. The brush of his fingers on my open wounds sent an electric fire through my nerve endings.
I cried out. “You’re right, it’s too much.” My mind raced. The smell of rotting flesh grew stronger. God, I was such a wimp.
“I can block some of your pain, but I’d have to link with your mind.”
“Yes, yes, do it. Just get me out of here, Rurik. Please.”
Tears welled in his eyes. Any doubts about him fostered in my dark hour left my belfry like a colony of bats. “I’m going to kill Luckard.”
Like his hands, his mind touched mine with an expert’s ease. The trauma of this ordeal destroyed what mental shielding I usually sustained. I didn’t have any special abilities, any human could do it with practice and concentration. My thoughts were so scattered I couldn’t spell my own name.
His presence surrounded me and soothed all the aches with love. I breathed easier.
He couldn’t take it all away but made it tolerable.
He lifted me in his arms and sped me from the room. Outside the door we ran into a tall, dark haired woman.
She appraised us with cool amber eyes. “My Master asked me to check on your status, Ms. Bence.”
“You can tell your Master to shove—“
Rurik managed to cover my mouth with his fingers. “She’s been hurt and I’m very displeased. I need a place to tend to her wounds.”
“I’ll relay the message.” She reached for a radio hooked to her belt.
“No, you’ll accompany us to a room and guard our backs while she feeds, Gwen.”
Who? How did he know her name? She’d pulled her long brown hair into a tight braid that hung to her behind. Almond shaped, hard eyes stared at him then she nodded and led us downstairs to a worn couch. “This should do.” She stood with her back to the wall and rested a hand on the gun holstered on her hip next to the radio.
Rurik sat with me on his lap. He bit into his wrist and offered me a fix.
I glanced at Gwen.
Tall and strong, her attention was to the entrance.
With the tip of my tongue, I tasted the temptation, hating the satisfaction it provided.
“Bashful?” Rurik’s incredulous question made me jump. “Do you want me to ask her to leave the room before you bleed to death?” He whispered, an undertone of frustration apparent.
Gwen ignored us.
Good, I couldn’t bear an audience. I wanted to nod but the sweet scent of his blood drew my attention. My hunger roared to life, cutting off all thoughts. On the edge of starvation, I jerked his wrist to my mouth. If I was bound to Tane why did I crave another’s blood?
I pressed my mouth to his wrist and drank. The heat of his blood couldn’t compete with the burning heat on my cheeks. Each salty swallow eased some of the hunger, not all of it though. These last few weeks something seemed missing like an essential vitamin. I knew what now.
Tane.
My gut clenched and I pulled away from Rurik. “Enough.”
“You haven’t even begun to heal.”
Gwen faced us. “Time to go, she says she done.” With a stiff jerk of her head, she gestured for us to follow and marched deeper into the building. Wooden stakes attached to the back of her belt caught my attention.
“Bitch.”
I raised an eyebrow at Rurik, he rarely swore.
He took my face between his hands. “I can’t shield you indefinitely. My strength wanes, I haven’t fed and my daylight rest took place in the trunk of Gwen’s car. Feed some more, at least until you’re healed enough to tolerate the pain.”
“How long have I been here?”
“You’ve been missing a full day.”
I’d been unconscious most of it. “Luckard?”
“Escaped, but the others have been caught or killed.” His eyes narrowed. “I’ll hunt him down.”
“Did you say a combination force of Tane and Colby’s men did this?”
He grinned. “I have a growing appreciation for your ex-boss. He used a cell phone to somehow find you.” Rurik, like most old vampires, understood technology as well as my late grandmother. I’d caught him trying to turn on the television with the portable phone once. “Tane attempted to contact his people with his mind, but the drug still flowed heavy in his blood. He couldn’t tell them the exact location and Colby lacked the forces to storm the place. He and Archios, Tane’s second-in-command, worked out a deal.”
“Who’s Gwen?”
“She manages Tane’s security.”
“I bet after this she’ll be unemployed.”
“Tane never thinks he needs security. He’ll be lucky if she doesn’t quit.” He chuckled and offered his wrist.
How did I explain I had enough of his blood in my system and I needed Tane’s? It felt like treachery. I sighed. “Take me home. Please, baby.”
Something in my expression made him frown. He stood and carried me in the direction Gwen went. We found her standing in a doorway, her back to us, watching what went on inside. Her muscular, thin arms crossed over her chest.
A beast growled and screeched from the room. My heart skipped a beat. Its cry awoke my primal instinct to run. Instead, Rurik pushed past Gwen and carried me inside.
Crouched on the floor a vampire twisted the rod loose in Tane’s flesh. “Brace yourself, Master.” Long brown hair hid his face as he knelt.
Tane stood above him doing his impression of a pincushion with the four rods sticking out of him. He widened his stance and grabbed onto an unfamiliar Nosferatu warrior.
I scanned the room and saw another securing Luckard’s accomplices. Fear gripped my gut. How many of these ubervamps were there? I barely survived two in Budapest and in the last twenty-four hours I’d seen four. An empty foreboding made me hug Rurik closer. My grandmother used to call it a shadow passing over your grave. I believed her.
An inhuman scream came from Tane. His fanged mouth opened unnaturally wide as the long haired vamp slid the bar from his master’s body.
The paint on the walls should have curled from such a sound, I knew my ears wanted to, and I covered them with my hands.
Then the pain hit.
Rurik almost dropped me as the shock flung me into a spine-cracking arch. It burned.
It tore. It hurt. Agony was my only focus. From my shoulder across to my side, almost as if they tried to pull the steel bar from my body instead of Tane’s. My arms flung out as I joined my howls to his screech.
Like a floodgate crashing closed, the pain stopped.
My throat ached from my cries, all I could manage was a whimper.
Rurik gathered me into his arms and hugged me tight. “What’s wrong?” I’d never heard my lover so close tears.
A metal bar clanked to the floor and Tane gasped. “What is she doing here? Gwen, I sent you to get her out.” His voice cracked with strain. “I’m trying to shield you, Rabbit.”
I twisted around to face my personal demon. The vampire at his feet stood to face me. Handsome features and intelligent eyes made me think of Rurik. They could be of the same clan.
“Rurik took over the search and brought her here.” Gwen spoke from behind me, her statement a matter-of-fact.
Thick, dark blood oozed from the closing wound in Tane’s side. I could smell it.
Like buttered toast, it made my mouth water. Our eyes met and without speaking, I knew he understood how I hungered.
The loving arms around me tensed.
I turned to see betrayal and rage surge over Rurik’s face as he glared at Tane.
“You—” A growl built in Rurik’s throat. “She’s bound to you?” The despair carried in his question echoed my own feelings.
“Take them to the house, Gwen. Archios will help set me free.” Tane signaled to the vampire next to him, who appeared lost in his thoughts.
He stared at me then blinked before bending to work on the next bar.
Gwen placed her hand on Rurik’s shoulder. “Follow me.”
He shrugged her hand off. Anger radiated from him in waves. I half expected him to toss me to the floor.
“My flesh has melded to the metal,” Tane snapped. “I can’t block the pain forever.
Not in my state. Stay if you want to make her suffer more.”
In a nebulous silence, Rurik spun and led Gwen from the room, pressing me to his dead heart.