“He’s a collector. Instead of objects, he collects people and treats them like objects. We’re like puppets that he can control and use for whatever purpose he wants.” Kendra shuddered as she said the last words. Hector liked to control her in more than one way. He demanded obedience in everything, including—and most especially—sex.
“Has anyone ever left him?” Troy asked.
“He lets some of his minions have their own lives.” She cringed inwardly thinking about them. “The ones that are loyal to him.”
Amid the holes left in her memory from Hector’s mental influence, there were other terrible images flashing in her mind. She’d been passed around those minions, raped and abused. Hector called it initiation; she called it torture. His power held her in such thrall that she’d submitted to his every demand, and in turn, to theirs too. She shivered and shook, trying to fight back the haunting nightmares of her memory.
“Are you okay, Kendra?” Marcus leaned forward to the edge of the couch.
“I’m fine.” She fought back the tears and took a deep cleansing breath.
“He hurt you, didn’t he?” Marcus’s hands balled into fists. His lips pulled into a tight scowl.
She nodded and wiped her cheek. “I had to escape.”
“How many others does he have?” Troy asked.
“I don’t know. A few, a lot…. It doesn’t matter. He’s a powerful vampire.” She knew if he ever found her, she’d be forced to return to that wretched life. No matter what her fate, she didn’t want Hector’s malice to spread to the band. “That is why I have to leave you. It will be bad enough if he finds me, but if he catches me with you, there’s no telling what he might do. It’s not worth your lives to finish a few more shows.”
Chad twirled the end of his long beard. “This certainly changes thing.”
“Don’t you think you should have told us this earlier?” Troy asked.
“Things moved a bit fast that night I met you guys. It wasn’t like I had time to plan. You all pretty much told me I had to join you. And, I have to admit, I kind of liked the option. Now that I’ve had a chance to think about the consequences, it’s just not right.”
“Yeah, we would have dealt with Marcus’s mood swings if you’d told us about the power-hungry vampire overlord hunting you, and anyone who chooses to help you, down.” Chad said in an oddly calm tone.
“I’m sorry for that.”
“See-ya,” Mike said, waving his hand and exaggeratedly pointing to the door. “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”
Kendra chuckled at his enthusiasm. “For once, Mikey, I agree with you. I need to leave, now!” She scooted to the edge of her seat, ready to stand. “I’m a liability. You’re just going to have to cancel a few shows while he recovers.”
Marcus rose to his feet, putting himself between Kendra and the door. “Don’t I have a say in this?”
“No!” they all replied in unison.
“Not while you’re under the influence of my blood, Marcus.” Sadness choked Kendra’s voice. “You have to understand. This is for the best.”
“Yeah, man. She’s right.” Chad stood up next to Marcus and placed a hand on his shoulder, ready to pull him back down to the couch. “Consider this an intervention, dude.”
Another tear welled in Kendra’s eye, but she wasn’t able to swipe it away before it spilled over and dribbled down her cheek. Saying goodbye was so hard. Every synapse in her brain was screaming at her to stay. “I’m sorry I got you into this mess.”
“No,” Marcus yelled. “If she goes, I go too.” He shook Chad’s hand from his shoulder and knelt in front of Kendra. “I lost you once. It took us ten years to find each other again. That’s fate telling us to give this a chance.”
Kendra’s heart ached as if someone were squeezing the life out of it. “Marcus, you’re not thinking clearly. If fate had wanted us to be together, we would have.” It pained her to say the words. “Fate gave me Hector, and he will kill you if he finds me with you.”
“I don’t care about Hector. I care about you.”
Her heart threatened to tear itself into two with just the thought of walking out the door. But she knew, no matter how much it hurt, that it was for the best. She’d be saving his life by leaving him. “I care about you too. That’s the reason I have to do this.”
Marcus’s lip quivered; his beautiful hazel eyes silently pleaded with her. He reached out and took her hand in his. “I don’t want to live without you.”
She didn’t want to leave him. She didn’t want to cause him this pain… but she had to. Her throat burned as she tried to hold back the emotions in her voice. “Death isn’t the worst fate Hector can bestow on you.” She pulled her hand away and balled up her fists, holding tight to the last ounce of self-control she had. “He’s pure evil. I can’t put you willingly into his path. I’m sorry. I have to leave.”
“I can’t let you go.”
“It’s over, man,” Troy said. He and Chad both grabbed Marcus and hoisted him back onto the couch.
Kendra wiped another tear from her face. “These last two days have been amazing. I’ll cherish them forever.”
“Please, don’t go.” Marcus struggled against Chad and Troy’s hold, but remained seated on the couch.
Troy held out his free hand to Kendra. “We’ll hit the road for now. Gary is sleeping, but I can handle the bus for a little bit. That will put some immediate distance between us. Will you be okay here alone?”
The thought of being alone again wasn’t pleasant either, but she had no other choice. “Yeah. I’ve been on my own for a little while. I think I can handle things. Just take care of Marcus.”
“Hey, Necrophilia,” Mike said with a snort. “You’re not so bad… for a dead girl. But I hope I never see you again.”
“Right back at you.” Kendra forced a smile on her face.
Chad, still holding Marcus down, turned his head to look at Kendra. “Sorry to see you go. You’d have made a great songwriter. I saw that duet you and Marcus wrote. Even started working on a bass line for it.”
“You guys will have to finish it without me.” She turned and walked to the door. “For what it’s worth, though, I’m still your biggest fan. When he recovers, you guys had better keep playing. I’ll catch you on the Internet or TV.”
She stepped off of the bus with a heavy heart. Every impulse inside of her screamed at her to turn around, but she continued on. The bus started with a loud roar. She swore she heard Marcus’s banging on the windows and pleading with the band to stop. She didn’t dare turn to wave goodbye, fearing she wouldn’t be strong enough to let them leave without her.
The engine’s rumble slowly faded as the bus pulled away, but Kendra still felt the excruciating pain of two hearts breaking. She cried out in agony, wishing for death’s release. It was as if the walls of her chest had been split open and everything that made her whole was being ripped out, piece by piece. A terrible emptiness enveloped her as the space between her and Marcus grew wider and wider. It was ready to consume her whole, leaving nothing but a dry dead husk in its wake.
She collapsed on the ground, sobbing. Tears poured from her eyes as if a dam had burst. Not even the thought of saving Marcus from Hector’s wrath gave her peace.
CHAPTER 9
ALL FOR NAUGHT
“Why didn’t you go with them, darlin’?” a cold voice asked. “Didn’t you like being a groupie?”
Any last shred of hope Kendra had was gone the moment she heard that voice. She looked up, praying he wouldn’t be there, and found the cold eyes and angular face of Hector above her. She’d been so wrapped up in her grief she’d failed to sense that Hector had been close, that he had found her.
“What exquisite torture this Marcus is.” His voice was deep and as cruel and cold as ever. He smiled as he looked down at her sobbing on the ground. “But you know you deserve this pain, don’t you?” His words sent a streak of fear straight into her aching heart. She hadn’t saved
Marcus at all, not if Hector knew about him.
“You didn’t think you could hide your little boy toy from me, did you?” He bent down, grabbed her arm, and hauled Kendra up to her feet. “Foolish girl. You belong to me.”
“I don’t want to.” She barely squeaked the words out.
He backhanded her across the face, hard enough to turn her head, but the pain barely registered next to Kendra’s aching heart.
Kill me. Please. Put me out of my misery. She was drowning in a sea of anguish, unable to force the words from her mouth, but she knew Hector could still hear her plea.
“I’m not going to let you off that easy,” he laughed. “Rest assured, you will be punished. And so will your new boyfriend.”
“You’ll never find him. He’s gone,” Kendra snapped, finding her voice.
“I won’t have to find him. He’ll find us,” Hector said with a condescending snort. “You two are bonded by blood and by—” he sneered— “emotions. Love. Oh, he’ll be back. He’ll find you, just as I did.”
“Don’t hurt him, please. It was all my fault. I did it. I bonded him accidentally. He had nothing to do with it.”
“And you will be severely punished for that. Have no fear. But, seeing as I can’t have you or him trying to run off together again...” He looked down at her and his lip curled enough to reveal his fangs. “He’ll have to be destroyed.”
“No. Please. Don’t kill him.” She folded her hands as if in prayer and fell to her knees before Hector. “I’ll do whatever you want.”
He scoffed. “You’ll do what I want because I command it, not because I spared some pathetic little human. I am your master!”
“Let him live,” Kendra wailed. “Please just let him live. Don’t kill him.”
“Darlin’, you’re a simple thing, aren’t you? Death isn’t the only way to destroy a man.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but the words died before passing her lips. Hector was pure evil, and Marcus was doomed.
He hauled her back up to her feet. “Now, let’s go.”
She walked numbly behind Hector like a dog on a leash, feeling desperate and utterly helpless. She had known Hector would eventually catch up to her. And for that reason alone, she should have never gone near Marcus. No one had ever escaped the blood bond. Death was the only way to break the link. Had she been smarter, she would have taken that option before condemning Marcus. Now they would both suffer at Hector’s hand.
CHAPTER 10
HECTOR’S REVENGE
Kendra spent the day locked in Hector’s hotel room, with no hope of escaping. He’d drained her nearly dry of blood to keep her weak and defenseless before taking his daily rest. Even if she’d had the strength to flee, she would still be imprisoned by the harsh rays of sunlight.
Left with only her thoughts, Kendra contemplated death to escape her fate. She knew what life would be like back in Hector’s servitude. The holes in her memory were not enough to block out all of the horrible things Hector had made her do. As tempting as death was, Kendra had to dismiss the thought. That would break her tie to Hector, but now that he knew of Marcus, it wouldn’t stop him from taking revenge. She couldn’t leave Marcus vulnerable to Hector’s wrath, though she didn’t know how to save him either.
Hector was right. She felt Marcus’s presence before his knock echoed though the room. She stared at the door, knowing he was on the other side. He’d found her just as Hector had planned. Somewhere in the back of her mind she’d hoped he would be wrong, but Hector never was.
“Kendra, I know you’re in there!” Marcus yelled, his voice, though muffled through the wooden door, carried the words clearly into the room.
It was a trap. Hector loved to make people suffer for his own personal entertainment. Like a soap opera, he set the characters up to play a dramatic scene before his grand entrance.
“Go away, Marcus.” Kendra responded, leaning her back against the door, as if to hold it closed.
“No. I can feel something is wrong. I can feel you’re hurt. I don’t care who Hector is. I won’t let him hurt you.”
“It’s not me he wants to hurt now…” It was a half-truth. Hector wanted them both to feel pain, but she would bear the brunt of it if he’d only listen and leave. “Just go… before it’s too late.”
“It’s already too late. Kendra, I love you. I always have. Even before this bond thing was created, it was only you in my heart. No other girl ever compared to you. I wish I’d had the chance to tell you this before. I wish I’d taken the time to talk to you—”
“This is the bond talking. Before I was turned, we’d never even spoken. Go. Now, and save yourself.”
“I was there, listening to your poetry. I was there, sitting in the crowd every Friday night. Why do you think we picked Café Enigma to play our gigs at? I wanted an excuse to talk to you. I just never took the opportunity. That’s why I held on to your notebook. I hoped someday you would come looking for it.”
His words tore at her already aching heart. She’d wished a thousand times to change what had happened that night. If only she had ignored Hector, if only she had talked with Marcus, things could have been perfect. “In another life, we might have worked, but you have to let go now.” She mashed her eyes shut, fighting back the tears. “If you leave, Hector might let you go free, but he’ll do worse than kill you if you try to stay.”
“I’m already dead without you.”
Hector emerged from the bedroom with a devious smile etched across his face. “Open the door, darlin’, don’t leave our guest waiting.” His voice was as smooth as silk.
Tears streamed down Kendra’s face, dripping from her chin. Her hands trembled with a mixture of rage and fear, but she still tried to hold her ground. “No!”
Hector laughed softly. “You never cease to amuse me. You still think you have a choice. You’re weak, Kendra. You can’t fight me. You never could.”
His laugh infuriated her, but she couldn’t act on that anger. He locked eyes with her and in seconds Kendra’s head began to fill with the familiar gray haze. She tried to shake it off, but it was too strong. Anger subsided. Her consciousness floated as if on a cloud. Hector simile at her and said, “Open the door, darlin’,” and as before, Kendra was compelled to give Hector whatever he asked.
She smiled dumbly at him then, and as if her limbs were moving of their own accord, she turned and opened the door.
“What have you done to her?” Marcus said as he burst into the room.
Seeing Marcus’s worried face staring back at her sent a shock through Kendra’s body. She blinked back into reality. No. Please run. Save yourself. She screamed it in her head but couldn’t get the words to travel past her lips. The haze, though diminished, still hung lightly in Kendra’s mind, keeping her lucid enough to bear witness but unable to act.
“Won’t you come in?” Hector said. He strolled over to a red and gold paisley-patterned chair and sat down.
Marcus looked from Kendra to Hector and back as if not quite knowing what his next move should be.
Kendra wanted to speak but had no voice. She stood limply, holding the door open for Marcus. She fought to shake off the haze in her mind, but it clung to her consciousness.
“Please be seated, Marcus. It’s rude to hang in doorways,” Hector said. He lifted a hand and indicated a free space in an open chair matching the one he sat in.
When Marcus didn’t move, Hector’s tone became sharp. “You will do as I say, or I’ll make you do it.”
The haze thickened in her mind. Hector’s voice floated in, the only clear thing among the fog. Bring him to me. She struggled to control her arm, fighting against Hector’s command. Her muscles twitched in protest, but she still lifted her hand and grasped ahold of Marcus.
“What are you doing?” Marcus flinched but couldn’t break free of her grip. “Kendra, fight this. Be strong.”
She pulled him along wordlessly to Hector.
“I know you’re in there,” Marcu
s yelled at her. “Be strong. Do it for us.”
The sound of his voice was loud, but the words had no effect; they floated past Kendra as if on a breeze.
“She won’t respond until I let her.” Hector said matter-of-factly. “That is how our bond works. Or hasn’t she explained that to you? I can make her do anything I want. I am in control. Would you like to see?”
“You’re sick. Let her go. Can’t you feel how much she hates you?” Marcus asked.
“You think I care what her feelings are? She’s a pretty face. Arm candy.” Hector turned to Kendra and smiled. “Come my dear, kiss me like you want it.”
Without a word Kendra dropped Marcus’s arm. Somewhere in the back of her mind, her subconscious whispered not to listen. She hesitated, blinking a few times, trying to fight back, but the pull of Hector’s deep drawling voice was too strong. It was too much for her to resist. Again the fog rolled in thickly. Her mind became grey and hazy. She floated in blank space, with only Hector’s voice to guide her. He called out again to her, his deep bassy voice sending a shiver of delight through her. Come, Kendra, kiss me. Only one thing mattered. Kendra had to give Hector whatever he wanted. His needs were her own, and he needed her to lavish affection on him. She sauntered over to Hector, straddled his lap, wrapped her arms around his neck, and devoured his mouth in a deeply passionate kiss.
“You see. Reality is what I make it,” Hector said, pulling away from Kendra. “That’s enough, my pet.”
Kendra slid from Hector’s lap and stood at his side, staring blankly, as if waiting for more orders. She barely registered that Marcus was standing in front of her.
“I won’t let you do this to her anymore.” Marcus said, his voice full of blind determination.
Hector let out a loud bellowing laugh. “You won’t let me. How cute. Let me demonstrate something to you.” He looked to Kendra. “Make him bow.”
Kendra snapped to attention. “Look at me.” She commanded and locked eyes with Marcus. “Bow to your master.”
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