Catch

by Annie Nicholas

  They would need the source, but what would they use it for? A chill froze my heart as the facts came together.

  I sat forward and leaned my face onto my hands. Shit.

  They must realize Tane won’t tell them anything. After two nights of torture he never broke. What leverage did they have?

  As soon as the question appeared in my thoughts I knew the answer.

  Rurik!

  My feet were running for the mansion before my brain registered what was going on.

  The door slammed open as I hurled myself against it then ran toward the stairs. Taking the steps two at a time, I raced to our bedroom. Tears burned behind my eyelids and a hard lump constricted my throat, which made it hard to breathe.

  Please, please, please…

  I turned the doorknob and entered. The empty, unmade bed greeted my arrival.

  No…please. No. A sob heaved my chest and the tears streamed down my cheeks. They took him too. My lover, my friend, my heart—and Tane’s biggest weakness. I crossed the room and moved the blankets as if he hid under them.

  Just when I thought I hit rock bottom, someone handed me a shovel.

  Archios or Luckard had more accomplices than we thought. One of them must have taken Rurik when he was helpless and waited for there to be only a handful of guards in the mansion. Crap. It never occurred to any of us he might be in danger.

  My numb legs finally gave out and I sank to the floor. Leaning against the bed I reached into my short’s pocket to retrieve my cell phone and dialed a number I knew by heart.

  “What?”

  “Colby, they took Rurik as well.”

  Silence answered my statement. “Why?”

  I’d hoped he wouldn’t ask. Shame of how complicated my love life had become flamed my cheeks. “Tane…cares for Rurik.” I still couldn’t say loved.

  He sighed into the phone. “Doesn’t change our plans. We find Tane, we’ll find Rurik.”

  I nodded even though he couldn’t see because I choked on a sob.

  “Connie.” He said my name with concern. Something I’d never heard before. “When you get tired of this lifestyle, you can come back to work for me anytime. No questions asked.”

  “Okay.” I sniffed like a five year old, but not comforted by his offer and closed the line. How the heck did Luckard and Archios get involved together?

  Archios seemed to be Tane’s right hand man. What more could he want? He could never rule the vampire nation. Only a Nosferatu had the power to unite the different factions.

  Even if they had an unlimited source of the drug, Archios couldn’t use it to control everyone. Damn, I wish I knew what he wanted it for.

  Why did Luckard need Archios? If he killed Tane could he try to succeed him? I never took vampire politics 101 in school so I wasn’t sure if that’s how it worked. It seemed too easy. Nothing involving vampires was simple. Maybe he needed Archios’

  connections and supporters to make it work.

  Pulling my knees close to my chest, I leaned my forehead against them and closed my eyes. Exhausted from the past few days of craziness, I wished for my knight in shining armor to come to my rescue. The question remained, what did I need rescuing from?

  Seconds turned into minutes and minutes turned into hours. My mind drifted from thought to recollections to regrets. Each moment that went by meant less of a chance of finding my vampires.

  A flash of memory yanked me away. The manacles on my wrists, pressed to a dirty wall, the bite of the whip as it tore my flesh—I groaned and pulled my knees tighter to my chest. What would they be doing to Rurik?

  He’d heal every time they’d cut him. Nausea formed in the pit of my stomach. The things they’d do to him a human wouldn’t survive. Could Tane watch?

  I struck the hardwood floor with my fists. Helpless, I needed to wait on Colby or Gwen to find a trail. They did it last time, except they followed my cell phone signal. No phone this time, just a fading scent and a foggy mind connection.

  The window, hidden by heavy drapes and wooden shutters, cracked open. The sound snapped me out of my misery. I rolled into a crouch and stayed behind the bed. All our games of fox and rabbit taught me how to hide and how to run, but sometimes a rabbit needed to stand its ground.

  A thump followed as if the sneak tumbled through the window.

  My heart rate skyrocketed as adrenaline pumped into my veins. The muscles in my arms and legs tensed with anticipation. I heard a delicate sniff. A clumsy, crying burglar?

  Sounded as if we were related.

  As the thief stepped past the foot of the bed, I sprang. My shoulder connected to the back of their knees and we rolled head over heels. A high-pitched screech accompanied my attack and I wasn’t the one making it.

  I twisted and sat on top of a petite body, fists ready. A warning bell clanged in my head and I hesitated enough to see the tear smudged face of Belatia.

  She held her hands in front to ward off any blows.

  “Bel?”

  Peeking through her pale eyelashes, she glanced at me. A shudder shook her body as a sob racked her chest.

  I got off her and she sat up.

  Dirt stained tears streaked her cheeks. Her clear blue eyes shone like sapphires as she stared at me in earnest. “Connie, I’ve been trying to find you.” She wore a black t-shirt with a Guns and Roses emblem on the front. Not Bel’s usual, old fashion style. The left shoulder had a rip, the knees of her jeans bore mud stains, and her hands looked as if she’d been digging.

  “What has Archios done to you?” I was going to kill him if it was the last thing I ever did.

  His sweet, innocent wife broke into more tears and hugged me.

  Patting her back, I tried to have patience. I tried to be sympathetic and comforting, but ended shaking her shoulders. “Bel, pull yourself together and talk to me.” She retreated from my arms and spoke between sobs. “He’s done something terrible, Connie.”

  No shit.

  “R—Rurik and Tane, he’s got them. I woke in a strange place and heard a scream.” I flinched.

  “I went to go see where it came from and climbed the stairs. Luckard was there with my husband. At first, I thought we were prisoners, but then I saw Archios hurting Rurik.

  My husband has lost his mind and is conspiring with the enemy.” She fell back into her tears.

  “Where?”

  She shook her head. “I was so scared. Luckard yelled at me and Archios yelled at him, so I ran and came to find you.” She took my hand. “I know I’m not smart and I get right and wrong confused sometimes. What they’re doing is wrong, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, it is. Can you take me to where they are?”

  She nodded. “It’s all Luckard’s fault, Connie. You have to explain to Tane so he doesn’t hurt Archios.” Her eyes pleaded for me to understand.

  “I will.” The lie cost me a piece of my soul. Like Tane said, Luckard didn’t have the support or the brains to pull this off. Archios was the mastermind behind all of this. Bel would never understand; love was blind.

  “I can lead you there, but we need to jump from the window.” She stood and crossed the room.

  “Why can’t we use the door?” As soon as the question left my mouth, I knew the answer.

  Bel rolled her eyes. “If someone recognizes me in my disguise I could get in trouble.

  I’m sure someone is upset about Tane and Rurik missing.” Yeah, silly me. “I can’t jump from this height and survive. I’ll meet you outside.” I got to my feet. “What direction are we going?”

  “Over the mountain, through the jungle and into the city.” My heart stopped. “Can’t we take a car instead?”

  She stared at her shoes. “I don’t know how to get to the city by the roads. I always went this way.”

  “Archios made you go through the jungle?”

  “No.” She shook her head and glanced at me. “I’m not supposed to go to the city but…but sometimes I get lonely.”

  I sighed with exasperatio
n, not wanting to hear why Bel was confined to the mansion at the moment. “Fine, through the freaking jungle it is.” I spun around and exited the room. Walking at a brisk pace through the mansion, I called Colby. “I’ve got a lead.”

  “How?”

  “Archios’s wife.” I trotted down the stairs.

  “Where are they being kept?”

  “I don’t know yet. She’s a little simple and can’t give me directions. She’s going to lead me to them.”

  “No, it sounds like a trap. Wait right there. Gwen will send some of her pack over.”

  “She’s too frightened, Colby. They might make her bolt. I can’t take the chance.”

  “How do you plan to rescue them all by yourself?” His voice rumbled with anger.

  “I’m not. Once I get there, I’ll call again. It can’t be too far, Bel came by foot.” Heavy breathing sounded through our connection then he whispered to someone on his end before returning to our conversation. “We’re scattered around the city at the moment, but when you call we’ll be ready.”

  I hung up before he changed his mind. Not knowing if either of my vampires could hear me, I sent them a mental message. I’m coming.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  My cell phone signal disappeared as we reached the summit of the small mountain behind Tane’s mansion. The vastness of my stupidity engulfed me. I stood in the middle of the jungle at night with a vampire. My only weapon, a flashlight Gwen handed me before she went with Colby.

  If I screamed bloody murder in the middle on the jungle with no one to hear, did I really make a sound?

  Bel stared at the blanket of stars overhead. “Do you think vampires can go to heaven?”

  I swung my flashlight around to face her. “I don’t know.” Something flapped overhead and I ducked. “I can hardly see where we’re going. Don’t wander too far.” She came to stand next to me as I stared down the path winding down the other side of the mountain. “I won’t, Connie. I’ll protect you from the Tree People if I have to.” My heart stopped. “Tree People?” I faced her. “No one ever mentioned Tree People, Bel.” My grip on the flash light tightened.

  “Archios told me about them. They live in these jungles and prey upon vampires. It’s why we’re not supposed to cross through here.”

  I blinked, not sure how to respond. “You do it anyway?” She shrugged and walked ahead of me. “They’ve never caught me. I can run real fast.”

  “What do they look like?” I aimed my flashlight into the trees.

  “I haven’t seen one. When I hear them coming, I run.” A shiver ran down my spine. “You do realize I can’t run as fast as you?” I hoped Archios concocted this story of Tree People to keep Bel at home.

  “I know, but they don’t eat humans.” After twenty minutes of hiking down the mountain, Bel dropped the pace. “Hold on,” she said, voice low, eyes wide. “I hear them talking." Standing still, she cocked her head as if listening. "Good Lord, it’s the Tree People.” She spun around to face me. “I just know it’s them. They’re coming to get me.” I heard it too, except it sounded like the wind whistling through the branches.

  Without another word, Bel took off into the jungle, running flat out away from me.

  I ran after her, crashing through the underbrush, following her zigzag path around trees. She was fast and I barely kept her within the scope of my flashlight. “Bel! Wait for me.” There were no Tree People, there were no Tree People, I kept chanting this in my head, but my heart shouted, the Tree People are going to get me.

  Something snagged my t-shirt’s collar from behind, yet I pulled loose. I never bothered to look over my shoulder. “Feet don’t fail me now.” I kicked it into a gear I didn’t know existed and flew through the brush at a ground eating pace.

  “They’ve got me.” Bel shrieked. “Help. They’re going to eat me.” I found Bel not far ahead, floundering against a tree trunk. What looked like thin vines wrapped around her torso. I squinted in the dark and reached out to her. “Grab my hand.”

  “I got it.”

  With all my might, I played tug of war with the vines. They grew up into the branches above us and held Bel suspended off the ground.

  “This is the end. I’m going to die. The Tree People got me,” she cried out.

  I wrapped myself around Bel and applied my weight. With a sharp snap, the vines gave away and the soft jungle ground broke my fall. Too bad Bel fell on top of me. I tried to stand so I could fight, but she knocked the wind out of my lungs. Black spots danced in my vision and like a Weebles-Wobble I stood before what I assumed was a Tree Person.

  Gazing up at a great Banyan tree, the wind blew its vine like tendrils. “It’s just a fucking tree, Bel.” I wheezed in a great gulp of air. “You’re not going to die. Not unless I choke you for having a total freak-out.”

  Bel rose to her feet. “A tree?”

  I grinned. I couldn’t help it. “Yep. No Tree People.” Draping my arm over her narrow shoulders, I used her for support. If I didn’t have the lives of my vampires depending on us, I would have sat down and laughed my ass off. “Lead the way, Bel. No more craziness. Got it?”

  “I’m sorry, Connie. No more freak-outs.”

  * * * *

  The jungle growth thinned as we crossed a small portion of Parque Ecologico.

  According to Bel, Tane’s mansion existed on the park grounds before the land was sanctioned so they couldn’t make him move. I’m suspected Tane’s power influenced some of those decisions as well.

  Ahead, bright lights of cars passed us at high speeds. Bel remained hidden in the foliage as I walked across the grass. I spun around. “How much farther?”

  “Across the canal there is a neighborhood. The house is on one of those streets.” Bel joined me and flinched as someone honked. “I can’t get used to all the noise and lights of the city.”

  What would I be like in a few centuries? I vowed to keep up with technology so I wouldn’t struggle like Bel. “Do you know the name of the street?’

  “I can’t read.”

  Her simple statement slapped me in the face. “How long have you been a vampire?”

  “A long, long time, but I don’t count years anymore. I remember living on a farm, and I drove a cart pulled by an ox. A city then could be considered a village now.” She grabbed my hand and her eyes sparkled with excitement. “I remember when Tane brought Rurik home as a fledgling.”

  “That was a few centuries ago. No one has taught you to read since then?”

  “Archios tried, but I didn’t like it. So he reads to me instead every day before sunrise. He has the most marvelous voice.”

  “How sweet.” Not. The more she spoke about their relationship, the more deranged it appeared. Archios seemed more father than husband; obviously they met each other’s needs. They’d been together for centuries. Who was I to judge? My stomach turned queasy. “The traffic is lessening. Let’s cross.”

  We jogged across the four-lane highway and reached a canal.

  I stared at the dark murky water and my determination solidified. “I’m not swimming.”

  “Eww, no. There’s a bridge.” Bel looked in each direction as if trying to decide which way to go then looked at the stars. “It’s south of here.” She pointed to the right.

  Retrieving my cell phone from my pocket, I checked the signal. Still nothing. I hoped as we got closer to the city it would return.

  About a half mile walk from where we started by the canal I saw a row of lights that crossed the bridge. “How far to the building from here?” My knees wobbled like rubber.

  I’d run from the cave to the mansion, the pool to my bedroom, then from the mansion to here.

  “Do you want me to carry you?” She held out her arms.

  A flashback from our swim and near drowning experience returned. She wouldn’t hurt me on purpose, though if she got excited or thought the Tree People were coming, she might squeeze me in half. “No thanks.”

  I followed Bel across the bri
dge on numb legs. “Why do you think Archios is involved with Luckard? Why does he want the drug?” None of it made sense, but Bel might shed some light.

  “What drug?” She skipped ahead of me.

  I sighed. “Never mind.” A neighborhood lay to the left of our position. “Is the house in there?” I pointed.

  She nodded and picked up the pace.

  Something clicked in my head as if a dam broke and a flood of mind-blowing pain poured into my body. I never had a chance to even scream. Under a street lamp, I fell to my knees on the sidewalk, mouth open and eyes wide open, trying to pop from their sockets.

  My chest…oh, my chest burned with pain. Something stabbed through me, ripping my flesh.

  I reached out to Bel who skipped away, oblivious to my incapacitation. Tears dribbled from the corners of my eyes. I needed to breath, except the pain wouldn’t let me move.

  “Rabbit?” With the mental question, the pain disappeared like a switch turned off.

  I gasped and my lungs filled with sweet air as I lay on the ground, face pressed to the hard concrete of the sidewalk. Tremors twanged the muscles of my tense limbs from the remembered agony.

  Whatever was left of my mental shield lay in tatters. I could sense Tane waiting, not trying to intrude. “What the hell was that?”

  “Luckard inserting the last restraining bar through me. I’m sorry, the pain was too much and I’ve little control over my powers.”

  Holy crap, and a truckload of it. The strain of shielding me from his torture vibrated through our connection. Why wasn’t he screaming and freaking-out? My respect for him grew three-fold. “I’m coming for you—for both of you.” His weakened state from the drug allowed me a glimpse in his head. I sensed surprise and joy that I included him.

  A touch on my shoulder drew me away. Bel squatted next to me. “Connie?”

  “I’m okay. I tripped.” Rolling onto my side I sat, then heaved to my feet. “Lead the way.” Tane’s presence faded and I concentrated on building my mental shields stronger.