by Nashoda Rose
“He won’t negotiate,” Liam said.
Jasmine smiled. “He will in exchange for Rayne.” She ran a finger across her lower lip, tracing it as if she were applying lipstick. “Once we both have what we want, we go our separate ways.”
Liam nodded. “Of course.”
Jasmine strolled to the elevator, pressed the button, and turned to peer over her shoulder as the doors opened. “Don’t torture the poor girl too much, Liam. She’s like a daughter to me.” She winked at me then laughed as the doors slid closed behind her.
ANSTICE WALKED OUT OF Kilter’s bedroom and everyone stood, if they weren’t already. Jedrik continued to smash the balls around on the pool table without a cue or using his hands, instead using his mind.
“How is he?” Keir asked as he approached her. He snaked his arm around her waist and she sagged into him.
“Unconscious still. I’ve healed his wounds, but he lost a large amount of blood.” I watched as Anstice put her palm on Keir’s chest and bit her lip. “I saw what happened. I saw what she did.” She glanced at each of us then said, “Rayne gave herself up in exchange for his life.”
Shit. Kilter was going to be a loose cannon when he woke.
Anstice continued, “I felt his anguish. God, I heard him beg her. He begged her. After losing Gemma and her betrayal… this will put him over the edge.”
“Gemma was a treacherous bitch and we searched the goddamn world for him. He knows that now,” Tye said.
“We don’t leave a Scar behind¸” Keir said.
He was right, we’d never leave a Scar in the hands of our enemies. Rayne was one of us now.
Keir whispered something to Anstice and she nodded then made her way upstairs. Then he looked at Balen. “We need Danni’s telepathy. She may be able to reach her,” Keir said then chin-lifted to his brother. “Hack, get on your computer and check the city’s security cameras. We need to know where the Lilac took her.”
“Already done,” Hack said. Keir’s brows lifted as he nodded his head with respect. “I followed them to Liam’s penthouse.”
Shit. That was good and bad. I could get into Liam’s place, the security guys knew me. But there’d be no way to get Rayne out of the penthouse without a keycard. “I’ll go,” I said, pushing away from the wall. “I can find out what he’s up to.”
“No,” Keir said, shaking his head.
“I can—”
“Delara!” Jedrik ground out. “You need to stay clear of that bastard.”
I’d learned something about Liam by sleeping with him—he was clever as hell, persistent as a badger, and patient as a lion. The Lilac I knew nothing about, except Lilacs were Waleron’s worst enemy.
“Anyone hear from Damien?” Keir asked. When no one said anything, he continued, “I’ll call Waleron and find out what is going on with Abby. In the meantime, we keep quiet. I don’t want any yahoo shit like with the Ryker scenario, so keep Kilter calm. We take turns watching him.”
“He’s going to blow his lid,” Jedrik said, whipping a ball across the green felt into a corner pocket.
“We’re going to have to lock him up with Ryker,” Tye said. “None of you were there when he came back from Ulrich’s clutches. He can’t lose Rayne. He’s already fuckin’ unstable.”
“We find out what Liam and the Lilac want,” Keir said. “Then we get her back.”
“Even if it means sacrificing Abby?” Damien said as he strode down the hallway toward us.
The only place that hallway led to was the sub-basement where Ryker was held. What was he doing here? He was supposed to be with Abby. Shit, was Abby dead? Liam would kill Rayne if Abby died. I had to talk to Liam.
“Damien,” Jedrik said, then winced. “Whoa, man, you look like shit.”
He ignored Jedrik’s comment and stood to the side of the room, back to the wall, so he could see all of us. He did look like shit—black lines under his eyes, pale, and his cheekbones more prominent as if he’d lost weight.
“Abby is below,” Damien said. “Waleron is with her.”
Relief poured through me. Abby was alive.
“We don’t sacrifice one for another, Damien. Even if Abby isn’t a Scar,” Keir said. “We find another way. How is she?”
I wasn’t so sure about that. Waleron might think differently, but I remained quiet.
“She Turned,” Damien said.
Oh fuck.
“Fuck,” Jedrik muttered, rolling a stripped ball back and forth under his palm. “Trinity is going to have a spell-fart.”
Keir nodded. “Abby is a witch. We all knew her chances were slim at best to fight the vampire blood. And now that we know who she is and what she’s capable of, well, she can’t live with vampires with her gift of turning water to blood. With Liam alive, the moment she is released, she will go to him. Ending her life is—”
Damien’s eyes flashed with fury and he raised his hand, sending Keir backward into the wall.
“Damien.” I dove in front of his line of sight to Keir. “Save your anger for Liam. If he dies, Abby won’t be drawn to him any longer and she may have a chance.”
Damien opened his mouth to say something when a door slammed. Then Waleron walked down the hallway toward us.
And, Jesus, he looked furious, eyes a pale ice blue and brows lowered over them. My eyes landed on the crushed cell phone in his hand. Oh, God, something happened. I lived in perpetual fear that Liam would call Waleron and tell him.
My throat closed up as my nerves clamped down on me.
Waleron nodded toward the bedroom door. “He lives?”
Keir nodded.
“Good,” Waleron said. “I need him functioning by tomorrow night.”
“Damien told us Abby Turned,” Keir said.
“Yes. Simian is with her.” Waleron turned to Damien. “I gave Abby animal blood and she’s calm and sane. I need you to call Simian to you. Then you’ll return to Florida. The jet is waiting at Pearson.”
“I’m not fuckin’ leaving,” Damien stated, eyes unwavering from Waleron’s.
Oh shit. This was not good.
“It’s unwise for you to be here, Damien,” Waleron said. “You’ve done more than could be asked to help this witch. You must let her go, as must Simian. She’s a vampire now.”
Damien glared at Waleron, his hands curled into fists, cheeks with deep red splotches on them. He suddenly smashed his fist through the drywall.
I held my breath, waiting for him to do more, but he brushed past Waleron and went upstairs. I heard the front door slam.
“Waleron, there must be a way to help Abby,” Jedrik said.
“There is nothing we can do,” Waleron stated. “Liam wishes to negotiate for Rayne’s release.”
“We don’t negotiate. Ever,” Keir stated. “It’s out of the question. We go after him. Simple.”
I watched Waleron. He was off. Something was really off. He was steady. Calm. Face unemotional, but it was the hint of uneasiness in his stance. Probably no one would pick up on it except me.
A shiver went down my spine as I realized what was different. He’d not once looked at me.
“We will meet Liam tomorrow evening,” Waleron said and tossed the busted cell on the side table. All eyes went to it then back to him. “I will inform Trinity.”
I didn’t imagine Trinity would be pleased that one of her coven girls had fucked up so royally. She liked debts paid to her, never vice versa, and she’d owe the Scars after this.
I stiffened when finally Waleron’s gaze settled on me, and it was far from a good settle. It was so fierce and filled with unadulterated fury that I actually felt that my life might be in danger.
It took him five strides to reach me, and it took everything I had not to run. Shit, I probably couldn’t anyway because I was freaking out and frozen.
He grabbed my forearm, fingers bruising as he yanked me up against his chest then locked me to him, eyes glaring into mine as if daring me to say something.
I didn�
�t. Shit, I couldn’t even breathe.
Waleron placed one arm around my back, and then there was a swirling mist around us. My vision blurred. My body turned ice-cold.
Then nothing.
I WOKE TO MY worst nightmare—Rayne gone and the bedroom filled with fuckin’ Scars hovering. My eyes slid from Tye to Jedrik then passed through Keir and Anstice.
“Fuck,” I muttered then threw my legs over the side of the bed, grunting because my body objected even after Anstice had obviously healed me, and stood anyway. I’d suffered pain a billion times worse under Ulrich’s hand.
Anstice stepped toward me, despite Keir’s warning look as he grabbed for her hand, which she shoved aside. “You’ve lost a lot of blood, Kilter. Lie down before you fall down.”
“Don’t like sayin’ this to the woman who just saved my life, but fuck off.” I bent and snagged my T-shirt off the floor then tossed it aside when I saw the large bloodstain.
“Asshole sounds fine to me,” Jedrik muttered.
My head felt as if a grenade had gone off in it, obviously from the shit kicking I’d taken. A shit kicking that shouldn’t have happened. I still had my jeans on, although they had bloodstains on them, too. I grabbed my knives and gun off the bedside table where someone had put them.
No one said anything, but it was coming. They weren’t hanging out in my room for the fuckin’ atmosphere.
“Danni is trying to contact Rayne,” Anstice continued, standing a couple feet away from me. A quick glance at Keir and I knew he wasn’t pleased about her being near me, but he was giving his woman her space to do what she needed to do, and right now, that was to get me to lie the fuck down. “She’s in the next room. If you’d lie down and wait—”
“Not waiting for shit.” I sat on the edge of the mattress and yanked on my boots. If Rayne was unconscious or drugged, then Danni, no matter how good her telepathy was, wouldn’t be able to reach her.
I was going after her before that Jasmine bitch disappeared. “Need to see Waleron.” And tell him that the bitch who took my girl was Jasmine, his nemesis. I went to the dresser, opened it, and grabbed a T-shirt, yanking it over my head.
“Kilter, Liam called Waleron,” Keir said. I had my hand on the doorknob. “He has her.” What? Jasmine gave Rayne to Liam? What the hell was going on? “He wants to meet tonight.”
Fuckin’ bastard vampire. I clenched my jaw, my hand tightening on the doorknob until it broke off in my grip. I threw it across the room and it bounced off the lounge chair and fell to the floor.
Beating a few vampires was nothing compared to a Master of the city with all his rats to contend with. I couldn’t possibly go after Liam on my own, no matter how much I wanted to. The problem was the Scars didn’t trust me, and I sure as hell didn’t trust them.
“Kilter,” Keir said, and my eyes shot to him. “We don’t leave one of ours. Period. I don’t know exactly what happened with your past and I don’t care. This is now. What we do. These Scars around you, we risk our lives to protect humans. What we do for one another is much more. We would and will do whatever it takes. Not because we have to, but because that’s what we do for one another, and you need to get onboard with that.” Keir didn’t let up, his tone unyielding. “There won’t be any cowboy stunts like what you pulled in Newfoundland.”
I didn’t say anything. I was contemplating and processing, and since I had one fuck of a headache, it was as painful as hell. There were parts of me that wanted to stop and listen, but every time I saw Rayne’s face, my body was already moving to go after her.
But I didn’t open the door. I shifted to face Keir.
“Liam is intelligent and knows everything that goes on in this city. We handle this delicate and we handle it together,” Keir stated.
“Delicate?” I snorted. “Don’t do delicate.” Delicate meant planning for fuckin’ weeks while Rayne was more than likely being tortured. And who knows what Jasmine was getting out of this. She’d said Rayne was hers. No way did she just hand her over to Liam. No, she was part of this somehow.
“Not doing it your way.” I threw open the door. A palm slapped on the door above my head and it slammed shut again. “What the fuck?”
I turned and Tye was in my face, like seriously in my face, and there was nothing in him that said he was going to back down as he glared at me. “We’re on the same fuckin’ side, asshole. Get that through your thick, stubborn skull. You trust Rayne. Time to throw some of that our way before you lose her and every single person in this room.” Then he stepped away from the door. “Go. Do what you have to do, but you fuck this up it’s on you. And don’t you say you don’t give a shit, because this time, you do.”
I did. I fuckin’ cared. Jesus, I cared. No, it was more than that. I loved her. And if I didn’t do something, I was going to break.
Balen called from the next room. “Danni’s reached her.”
Some of the pressure in my head eased as I flung open the door and strode into the guest bedroom. Danni lay pale and quiet on the bed. Her eyes were closed with creases around them as if she was concentrating. It took a lot to keep focused and find another Scar, especially if they were shielded.
Balen walked over and sat on the bed beside his maite, caressing her cheek as Danni opened her eyes.
Fuck, please, let her be okay. Let me do this right.
Danni was quiet a few seconds; then her eyes went to me. “She’s in Liam’s penthouse.”
I crossed my arms and braced myself. My heart was telling me to go after her, but my instinct, for once, was to stay. To listen. To be patient. But it took a hell of a lot to do that when I knew where she was.
“She says there are at least twenty vampires around at any given time. Liam and the Lilac are planning something together.”
“Is she okay? Is she hurt?” That’s all I wanted to know right now.
Danni shook her head. “I don’t think she’s been hurt. She speaks clearly, but I have the feeling she was being careful with what she said to me. I’m uncertain whether Liam can intercept our telepathy.” Danni slipped her hand in Balen’s then locked eyes with me. “She says to not give him Abby. No matter what Liam says, don’t give him Abby.”
“Did she say anything else?” Anstice sat on the opposite side of the bed as Balen.
Danni cleared her throat and my eyes shot to her. “What?”
“Shit,” she muttered.
My eyes narrowed and my heart pounded. “What?” I repeated.
“She says to leave her. Don’t give them what they want,” Danni said quietly.
“Abby does not leave here.” All eyes shot to Damien standing in the doorway. He looked like fuckin’ hell. But it was his voice that summed up he was one fucked-up, angry Scar. “Non-negotiable.”
“Damien…” Keir began then stopped when Waleron appeared in a mist behind him.
“Why are you still here, Damien?” Waleron asked.
“You can’t give her to him,” Damien said.
Waleron’s jaw clenched. “Abby is a vampire. It’s too late for her. You know this. She will go with us tonight, but Trinity has agreed that Abby will be—”
Fuck, Abby was a vampire? Not that I really gave a shit, except I knew the danger to all of us with her ability.
“No!” Damien shouted, and everyone tensed.
Waleron said, “Tye, take him to the airport.”
Shit, this was not going to go down well. Tye didn’t move and I knew why. Damien was on edge, and if anyone touched him, there was going to be a reaction and not a good one.
Waleron’s words concerning Abby meant fuck all. It was what he didn’t say that spoke volumes, because Waleron had no intention of handing over Abby and her ability to Liam. He would never give a vampire that much power. We all knew it. Damien most of all. Abby would go with them, but she wouldn’t be leaving alive.
Damien’s eyes burned and swirled with wild rage. “Not fuckin’ happening.” Damien began to call to his Ink, but Tye and Keir leapt acros
s the room and took him to the floor.
A wave of familiarity came over me—the day I lost my shit and Waleron put me in Rest. Damien was headed in the same direction.
I’d never cared about Damien, but I saw it and understood. Damien’s expression of pure horror and anger and desperation all mixed together into a whirlpool of rage.
I shielded my telepathy from everyone except Damien. “Don’t make the same mistake I did. Fuck it up, and you will be put in Rest.”
“They can’t kill Abby.”
“You’re no good to her in Rest. You give a shit about her, then stay out of Rest. Get out of here. Walk away. Fuck, go run around the block. I don’t give a shit, but calm your shit and stay out of Rest.”
Damien stopped fighting Keir and Tye, but his breath heaved in and out and his eyes stormed.
“I’ll keep you in the loop,” I said. “You do what you have to with the info. But you need to stay out of Rest to do that.”
“Why the hell would you help me?”
I didn’t say anything, because I didn’t have an answer. I didn’t know why. He wasn’t my friend. Barely knew the guy. But the black and white I lived in for over a century had shifted.
“Get your ass on the plane now, Damien,” Waleron stated.
“I won’t be getting on a plane,.” Damien said.
“I know, but for now, you need to give.”
Damien turned to Waleron. “Let me say goodbye to her.”
Waleron paused then gave an abrupt nod. “Your Scar’s Ink will be covered so he doesn’t rise.” He looked at Tye. “Accompany him.” He turned to the rest of us. “We meet Liam in two hours.” Then Waleron turned to Delara who came down the stairs and everyone tensed.
I didn’t know what was going on, but Delara was pale as fuck and there was a haunted look in her eyes. Waleron was pissed at her, that much was obvious.
“You will come tonight because Liam has demanded your presence,” Waleron said, his voice harsh. “But I expect you gone when this is over. You will go to another Talde.”
Delara opened her mouth, about to say something, her expression filled with pain and horror. The friction between them—and it wasn’t the usual sexual electricity—was catastrophic. Everyone in the room felt it, tasted it, or scented it. I had never seen Delara so meek and fearful before.
