Relentless (Vampire Awakenings Book 11)

by Brenda K. Davies

  “Fuck,” he muttered as Preston ran away from him. Opal would not have broken off the interior locks. That was done to keep someone locked in here.

  Dante turned to find Preston kneeling at Julie’s side. He searched the room for something to barricade the door, but other than the candles, roses, and Julie, the room was empty. As he strode toward Julie and Preston, he eyed the candles.

  After the fire in the club, he hated the idea of letting them burn, but with the windows covered, it would be utterly dark up here. In the end, he left them burning. A fire in this place might help them escape or kill them. He preferred to leave his options open.

  He arrived at the side of the siblings as Preston removed Julie’s gag and tossed it aside. She licked her lips as tears streamed down her face. Blood shone on her cracked and swollen lips.

  “You’re here,” she whispered.

  “We’re going to get you out of here,” Preston promised. “I’m so sorry, Julie. I don’t understand what happened.”

  Julie swallowed a few times convulsively as Dante knelt to help Preston untie the ropes binding her ankles.

  “It’s Jasmine,” Julie croaked. “She did this. I don’t know…” Gulp. “I don’t know what happened to her.” She released a shuddering sob. “You wouldn’t recognize her. She’s crazy, and her friends are just as crazy.”

  “Friends?” Dante asked.

  “Yes. I don’t know who they are, but they’re crazy, and they scare me.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Preston breathed as the ropes gave way.

  Julie sobbed as she threw herself into his arms, and the siblings clung to each other.

  “Is there another way out of here?” he asked Preston; he didn’t see one, but maybe Preston knew something about this place that he didn’t.

  “There’s another door and a set of stairs over there,” Preston said and pointed to the left.

  Dante saw the faint outline of a doorway near the far corner of the room, but he had a feeling getting out of this place wouldn’t be as simple as taking the backstairs. “What about the windows?”

  “The last time I was here, they were boarded over with metal. We can try tearing it off,” Preston said.

  Dante looked at Julie; he could handle a jump out of the window with no problem, but it would be more difficult with her. He could land while holding her, but he wasn’t sure he could keep her from being injured.

  Unfortunately, they didn’t have a choice. He trusted those backstairs about as much as he trusted an alligator petting zoo.

  “What about the stairs?” Julie asked.

  “They wouldn’t let us escape that easy,” he said.

  “I can’t jump out a third-floor window,” Julie said.

  “I’ll make sure you’re okay,” Dante assured her.

  “I don’t know who you are.”

  “Your mom hired me to find you, and I am going to bring you home to her.”

  More tears filled Julie’s eyes as her lower lip trembled. “Is she okay?”

  “She’s fine; she’s just really missing you.”

  “I’ve been such an asshole to her. I’ll be so much better if we get out of this. I swear I will.”

  Dante squeezed her hand. “You will make it up to her. Now, let’s get one of those windows open.”

  Dante released her, and Preston helped her rise. Once standing, Julie winced, and her knees wobbled; when she tried to take a step, her knees buckled and she almost fell.

  Preston caught her before she hit the ground. Adjusting his hold on her, Preston draped her arm around his shoulders and kept an arm around her waist. He helped her to walk as Dante led them to the closest window.

  Dante’s heart sank when he saw the sheet of metal covering the window and the large bolts holding it in place. Opal’s crew had done an outstanding job of ensuring no sound escaped this place. Or maybe Jasmine and her friends had been busy over the past two weeks getting this place ready.

  Determined not to be deterred, Dante gripped the edges of the metal and tried to get his fingers underneath it. He couldn’t get enough room to wedge the tips of his fingers under it. His flesh peeled back, and blood seeped from his wounds as he clawed at the metal.

  They had to get out of here. Not only did he have to bring Julie home to her mom, but he needed to be with Cassidy. They’d sealed the mate bond; without him, she would die.

  His fangs lengthened, and he clawed at the metal. He would not fail Cassidy or Julie. He would not let either of them die because of him. More blood spilled free, but he couldn’t get the metal to budge.

  With a curse, he gave up and spun to face the room. Their only other option was the backstairs, and he knew it wasn’t an option. Leaving Preston and Julie standing by the window, he sprinted to the next one to discover it as sealed as the first.

  “This way,” he said as he returned to them.

  He bent to drape Julie’s arm around his shoulders. “We’ll try the back door,” he said.

  The two of them ran Julie across the floor and to the back door, where he discovered more metal bolted into place over the top of it. They had no choice. They either fought their way out of this mess, or they died.

  He hoped Jasmine didn’t have many friends as, behind him, the door creaked open.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Dante took a deep breath before turning to face their enemy. Standing in the doorway was a striking woman with auburn hair that fell in waves to her waist. She had a pointed chin and a narrow face, but somehow, they didn’t make her look like a rat; instead, along with her almond-shaped eyes, they gave her an exotic appearance.

  She rested one hand on a rounded hip as she struck a pose, both seductive and predatory. Her eyes flashed red as her cruel smile revealed her elongated fangs. When Julie whimpered, Preston hugged her closer.

  That whimper was all Dante required to confirm this was Jasmine. He suppressed a snarl as he studied the vicious woman. She’d created so much suffering and destroyed lives, and all for what, revenge on an ex?

  An ex who had every reason to break up with her given the fact she was crazy. And she seemed to be getting crazier by the day.

  Jasmine pushed the door further open to reveal three sets of reddened eyes hovering behind her in the shadows. He couldn’t see them, but he suspected there were more in the stairwell.

  “Do you have a stake?” Dante asked Preston.

  “No,” Preston said.

  Dante handed Preston his stake and removed the last one from inside his jacket. They were outnumbered and had Julie to protect, but he would tear these things apart to get back to Cassidy.

  Jasmine ran her tongue over her teeth before stopping to prod one of the tips of her fangs with it. “Hello, Preston,” she greeted in a husky voice. “Who’s your friend?”

  Dante lifted an eyebrow when she nodded toward him. He smiled grimly back at her as he tapped the end of the stake against the palm of his other hand.

  When Jasmine’s eyes narrowed at the implied threat, Dante’s smile widened. If he could provoke her into acting recklessly and leaving her companions behind, he’d have an easier time of taking her down. But then, her anger vanished, and she winked at him.

  Dante kept his face impassive as wrath simmered inside him. He’d been trying to provoke a reaction from her; he refused to let her turn the tables on him.

  “Are you going to tell me your name, handsome?” Jasmine asked.

  “It’s Dan,” Dante replied.

  Her brow furrowed before smoothing out again. “How boring for someone as delicious as you.”

  “I’ll make sure to let my parents know.”

  “Why are you doing this, Jasmine?” Preston demanded.

  When her attention shifted back to him, the fire in her eyes grew. “I gave you life, and you threw me aside. You are going to pay for that.”

  “I never threw you aside,” Preston said. “I love you, but you started acting so crazy after you turned me that I couldn’t take it anymore.�
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  “Crazy!” she practically screeched. “Crazy!”

  Her features twisted into something so malevolent and inhuman it was as if a demonic creature possessed her.

  “Don’t call her that again,” Julie whispered.

  With measured effort, Jasmine fisted her hands and inhaled a ragged breath. Then she plastered a serene smile on her face, unclenched her hands, and smoothed the front of her body-hugging, black shirt.

  “I’m glad you’re here. I had planned to call you, but it seems you, or someone else—” She flicked a pointed glance at Dante. “—discovered my little surprise earlier than I anticipated. Imagine my delight when my little spies told me that you were already on your way. It’s okay, as I’d already finished getting everything ready for you.”

  Little spies? Dante wondered.

  Then he recalled the workers by the boathouse. Everyone else had gone home, but there they were. And after they drove by, one of them had gotten on the phone. He hadn’t thought anything of it then, but that bastard was calling Jasmine.

  “Did you kill Margie?” Preston blurted.

  Jasmine lifted her hand to inspect her pointed, purple nails. “We all make sacrifices for those we love.”

  “But… but she loved you, and you loved her.”

  “Preston dear, I’ve come to realize love is worth killing for, and all humans are walking bags of food. We’re the predator, they’re the prey, and we should embrace that part of our nature. No, we should do more than embrace it; we should revel in it. We should bask in the joy that comes with wielding our power over these lesser beings as we tear their throats out. And that is what I’ve been doing.”

  “What happened to you?” Preston whispered.

  “I woke up.”

  The red eyes in the shadows shifted as they edged forward. As he’d suspected, more eyes emerged in the shadows behind them as three men stepped into the room and fanned out around Jasmine. Then three more men entered the room.

  Dante kept his face impassive as he studied their opponents. Seven against two, they weren’t the best odds, but Dante would make them pay for getting involved with Jasmine.

  “Why did you involve Julie in this?” Preston asked.

  “She’s my anniversary gift to you,” Jasmine replied.

  She clapped her hands in a way that reminded Dante of a wind-up monkey banging its cymbals together. He loathed those creepy little things and this woman.

  “She’s the one who’s going to wake you up,” Jasmine continued.

  “What are you talking about?” Preston demanded.

  “Once you kill her, you’ll understand what it’s like to be free.”

  Dante’s skin prickled like someone had dropped an ice cube down his shirt. Jasmine might be the most twisted creature he’d ever come across, and he once helped transport a serial killer who ate his victim’s eyes so they would forever see the soul of their killer. Dante’s skin crawled the entire time he was in the van with that monster.

  He hadn’t laughed when his partner asked the monster what happened after he shit out those eyes; could they still see his soul? The monster smiled as he replied that those eyes were still inside him; he felt the flutter of their lashes every time they blinked. Dante was grateful when his partner decided not to ask any more questions.

  Preston hugged Julie closer when she whimpered, and Dante stepped forward to stand protectively in front of the girl.

  “I would never hurt her,” Preston said.

  Jasmine shrugged one shoulder. “You say that now, but after you’ve been locked in here with her for a couple of weeks, I’m sure you’ll change your mind. Of course, your friend is going to have to die. He has no part in this.”

  Preston hissed out a breath as he nudged Julie behind him. “You’re going to have to kill me too.”

  “That’s not the plan, and it’s not going to happen. I’m going to keep you, and I’m going to watch you kill your sister, and I will wake you up to the beauty of death.”

  She turned toward the vamp standing near the doorway. “Shut the door.”

  The vamp closed the door.

  Though Dante continued to shut her out, Cassidy felt the pull of their bond drawing her toward him when they arrived at the waterfront. She directed the driver where to go as she concentrated on finding him. At the end of one street, she spotted some humans outside one of the buildings, but they didn’t go near them.

  She told the driver to take the next turn, and when they were getting closer, she asked the driver to pull over because not only did she feel the pull of Dante, but she also detected the stench of a Savage.

  Kyle glanced at her as the car pulled over in front of a row of decrepit buildings. She paid the driver, changed her memories, and exited the vehicle as fast as she could. Dante was here, and so were those monsters. But where were they?

  The car turned around and left while Cassidy followed the scent of something rotten. Kyle sprinted beside her as they raced down the street to a run-down blue building facing the water. Cassidy skidded to a halt in front of it while Kyle continued for a few feet before realizing she’d stopped.

  This was where the bond was bringing her, and judging by the putrid aroma drifting from it, there were more than one or two Savages inside.

  “Shit,” Kyle said.

  “Dante’s in there.”

  “Then let’s go.”

  Cassidy glanced at her twin. She didn’t want him involved in this, but when he flashed her a crazy grin, she knew there was no place he’d rather be. They were family, they were friends, and they would fight to the death for each other.

  “Come on,” he said. “Let’s go have some family bonding time and kill things.”

  Cassidy managed to give him a strained smile, but between her concern for Dante and her dread over having to kill anything again, her legs felt wooden as she made her way inside the building.

  She removed one of the stakes tucked inside her jacket and touched the small crossbow in her other pocket. Rats screeched and skittered out of the way as Cassidy jogged through the building with Kyle at her side. She searched the shadows and strained to hear anything other than the four-legged critters as her bond drew her onward.

  “Cassidy, slow down,” Kyle hissed when they entered a small back room.

  She couldn’t slow down. She was frantic to see Dante and reassure herself he was okay. He was still alive—she felt that—but for how long? Had they made it this far only to be too late to save him?

  The possibility sent jolts of adrenaline through her. Each jolt caused her hands to tremble as her brain yelled at her. Go faster, run, or you’ll be too late!

  When she spotted a set of backstairs, she started toward it, but Kyle grabbed her arm and pulled her back. She glowered at him, and he glowered back as he lifted a finger to his lips and held it there.

  “They can’t know we’re coming, or we’ll all end up dead,” he whispered.

  Cassidy nodded, but Kyle continued to stare at her until a rat ran over his foot. He released a muffled squeak and jumped back from the rodent that vanished under the stairs.

  “I hate rats,” he grated through his teeth. “Why are these things so fat? What have they been eating?”

  Under normal circumstances, Cassidy would have found his reaction amusing, but she couldn’t experience humor when terror pulsed through her with every beat of her heart.

  Kyle took another deep breath before focusing on her. “Let me go first.”

  Cassidy opened her mouth to protest, but she decided not to waste any time arguing with him. He edged past her and, keeping his back to the wall, started up the stairs. Careful about where she put her feet, she held her breath as she waited for one of the steps to give out completely.

  They were halfway up when one of the stairs creaked before bowing beneath her weight. They both froze, and Kyle’s head turned toward her. He reached for her, but when the stair remained firm beneath her, his hand fell away.

  They stared a
t each other for a second before they both looked to the darkened stairwell. Cassidy bit her lip as she strained to hear any sound while waiting for something to burst out and attack them.

  The chatter of the rats became as loud as gunshots in her ears as the silence stretched on, and then Kyle started forward again. For a second, she couldn’t move. Sweat covered her palms and stuck her shirt to her back. Some of her siblings thrived on this adrenaline junky garbage; she despised it.

  What would they discover above? Was she ready for this fight?

  Move! Or you’ll discover Dante’s body. That spurred her on, and it took everything she had not to shove Kyle out of her way and bolt up the steps.

  The stair beneath Kyle’s foot squeaked; he grimaced as he paused.

  Please let them think it was the rats, she inwardly pleaded.

  A loud boom sounded overhead, and the walls quaked from the force of whatever caused it. Her heart leapt into her throat, choking the breath from her. No!

  Forgetting about being quiet, Cassidy surged forward, and so did Kyle. He took the steps two at a time as they bypassed the second floor and continued to the third.

  Another bang shook the building as Kyle arrived at the heavy metal door and shoved it open.

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Cassidy barely had time to take in the strange scene that was a blend of romance and violence before one of the Savages ran at her. The Savage was almost to her when Kyle lowered his shoulder and barreled into the creature. The impact lifted the monster off the ground and flung it away.

  “Kill them!” a woman screeched, and Cassidy assumed it was Jasmine.

  Across the room, Cassidy spotted Dante, and their eyes met. He’d shut her out, but she felt a ripple of disapproval across their bond.

  Her attention was diverted from him when a Savage lunged at her. She dodged its attack and, swinging out her hand, managed to deliver a solid throat punch. The Savage clawed at its throat as it stumbled back.

  Over the years, her family had taught her plenty of defensive moves, and she’d learned how to fight dirty from her siblings, but her skin prickled as her cold sweat increased. She’d killed before; she would do it again, and she would not be a liability to Kyle and Dante.