Dead and Damaged (The Endangered Series Book 2)

by S. L. Eaves

  I can’t help but smile at the kismet beauty of it all.

  Crina looks at him as if just realizing he’s here. I give a shrug. “He’s not wrong. Could have predicted that one, Marcus. In fact, I did. Had you taken your own advice and not aligned with a human, you might have both your hands right now.”

  “Crina!” Marcus shouts, ignoring me. “Release me! We can get revenge. I know I made a mistake in bringing us here, but let me rectify this. Together we can take over Trion.”

  Crina walks over to him.

  “You have got to be kidding me,” she snaps at him. “You’re the reason we’ve all been suffering.”

  “I don’t understand; I thought—” he stammers. “But we—but I love you!” Marcus gives a pathetic, exasperated cry.

  “I’ll give you two some privacy.” I retreat into the hallway and close the door behind me.

  It’s about time Marcus and Crina had an honest conversation about their relationship.

  I should go find the others. Bring them up to speed. I can’t resist the urge to eavesdrop from the sidelines, though. I want to hear Marcus’s confession almost as much as Crina does.

  Through the window I watch as Crina stands over Marcus. She looks absolutely lethal, but I can tell she’s wrestling with her feelings for him. Trying to decide what to do; perhaps she’s talking herself into killing him. With all their history, I don’t honestly know if she can. But she has to be the one to do it. My fate may rest in her decision, too.

  “Tell me about Dominique,” she demands.

  “What?”

  “The fire at the Covenant. How is it you survived? We survived? The truth, Marcus.”

  “Whatever Lori told you—she’s filling your head with lies to protect herself.”

  “She knew too much to be making it up, Marcus.”

  “Come on, Crina, don’t be absurd. How long have you known me? That little bitch is only interested in self-preservation. You can’t tell me you believe her.”

  “Seems to me you know a lot about self-preservation, Marcus.”

  “Get me off this table! We get out of here and I’ll explain everything. You are being manipulated!” Angry words through gritted teeth.

  Crina picks up the bone saw, fiddles with it, finds the switch, and makes the wheel spin to life.

  “This what they used on your wrists?”

  We really don’t have time for an elaborate torture session, but I dare not interrupt.

  “Tell me the truth about the firestorm, about Striden. I want to hear your version.”

  ***

  Brixton’s suit seals the gash in her neck; the collar’s metallic fibers stitch the wound closed; a temporary but effective dressing. The screen on her forearm displays vital signs. Red blinking LED letters read: “Resuscitate.”

  Tubes along her spine carry blood as it’s pumped from a container in her lower back through to the IVs in her arms. Then the LED displays: “Stage 3: Activating Defibrillator” and a charge is emitted from the chest plate. It sends a jolt through Brixton’s heart and her body convulses on the blood-stained linoleum.

  She gasps. Her body seizes and then relaxes as she lies on her back, blinking the room into focus.

  After a moment, she checks the screen on her forearm. “Vital signs: critical”

  She taps the screen and the display changes to “BL: 30%”

  “I need more blood. Fast.” She slowly staggers to her feet, checking her balance, surveying the suit for damage.

  “Fantastic! The phoenix has risen.” She makes a fist, feels the blood pulsate through her body. Enjoys it for a minute, then disappears through a door along the back wall, behind where her desk used to stand. Her private quarters don’t just house a bed; her bathroom is equipped with enough medical supplies to be considered a small infirmary, and her closet holds a private arsenal of suits and weapons.

  ***

  Vega and Rex appear at the end of the hallway and I turn my attention from the window.

  “Where are Brixton and Marcus?” Vega demands, suddenly by my side.

  He looks past me and into the lab.

  “They have some things to work out,” I explain the scene behind me.

  Vega takes a step towards the door and I grab his arm. He looks at me; I release my grip and shake my head. He relents.

  “Brixton is dead. The DIA is on their way. We need to find Xan, Javier too if he’s here, and clear out anything worth taking. Anything we don’t want the humans to have.”

  “There’s an incinerator out by the loading dock. We dropped the guards down it. Don’t see why we can’t just do that with every human in here.” Rex is taking out the cameras at the end of the hall.

  “The scientists have ankle bracelets on. They’re Brixton’s hostages. Captures. I don’t see the point in killing them. Let the DIA have them. Their testimony can only hurt Trion.” I plead my case. “And I think I killed the camera feeds.”

  Rex nods and joins us.

  “They know about us.” Vega is not asking permission.

  “So does the DIA. And right now they are an ally. You want to disrupt that delicate balance over a handful of human lives, go ahead.”

  “And Brixton? You just leaving her body for the DIA to find?” Rex asks.

  “DIA will want to confirm her death. They won’t be pleased; they wanted her alive. But all this evidence in the compound should keep them busy for a while.”

  “Which is why you want the scientists alive,” Vega grumbles.

  “And any guards that are left. They’ll talk. With Brixton dead, they’ll want to cut a deal.”

  “I doubt there’s any still alive at this point,” Rex shrugs.

  “There’s a couple cell blocks in the basement; we should round up everyone here who’s not a vamp. Put the bodies in one cell, detain the rest in the other.”

  Marcus screams. I do my best to ignore it.

  “You guys seen Xan? I haven’t been able to locate him.”

  “The others went to find him,” Rex says, distracted by the events in the lab. “Wait, is Javier here?”

  “Can’t confirm. Something went down while I was breaking out of the cell. It may have been Javier’s arrival. I overheard Brixton get a call about a vampire. Crina was going to look into it. Make sure they hadn’t spotted you guys approaching. Whatever went down wasn’t pretty. By the time I got out, Marcus and Crina were strapped to operating tables. Crina says they have Xan, too…”

  “I’ll track down Dade and Quinn, see if they’ve had any luck.” Rex starts down the hall.

  I point my thumb over my shoulder. “I’ll see if she’s getting bored yet.”

  Vega hesitates, watching Marcus.

  “C’mon, boss,” Rex encourages. Vega sighs and disappears down the hall.

  Rex re-appears at my side a minutes later to sneak a kiss. “Don’t be long, babe.”

  His lips touch mine and I’m immediately hit with an image of Brixton driving a stake through his heart.

  I pull away, eyes wide with fright.

  “What? What is it?”

  “Brixton. She’s still alive.”

  “Uh. Wait, you had a vision?”

  “Stay here, help Crina.”

  I dash down the hall.

  Chapter 28

  Vega enters Brixton’s office. Nothing but shattered glass and streaks of blood. Human blood.

  He looks around, guard up.

  “What are you?”

  Brixton takes a cautious step out from her room, hand fiddling with buttons on a gadget she’s affixed to her suit.

  “You must be Brixton.” Vega eyes her curiously.

  “And you are?”

  “Someone who does not have time for your antics.”

  “Aww, what’s the matter? I kill some of your friends? Marcus summon you as backup?”

  “I’m not here for Marcus.”

  “Well, that’s probably for the better. You know the state he’s in right now? I honestly wish one of you woul
d stay corporal long enough for me to complete one successful experiment. Your kind turns to ash so quickly…it’s rather irritating at times. This won’t be one of those times.” She flashes a menacing grin. “Seriously, though, what are you? You do not look like the others.”

  “You’re about to find out,” Vega hisses through bared fangs.

  ***

  Rex grabs my wrist as I tear up the stairs.

  “Wait, tell me what’s going on!”

  “No time. I saw Brixton. She’s still alive.” I keep running, Rex at my heels. “And I told you to stay with Crina.”

  “She doesn’t need my help, and you know it,” he calls after. “What aren’t you telling me?”

  I stop and lock eyes with him.

  “I need you to stay clear of Brixton. I saw her stake you.”

  “Well, why didn’t you just say that in the first place?!”

  Rex and I slow our pace as we reach her corridor. Blood has seeped into the hallway. We hear a strange rumbling sound from inside her office, almost like thunder. It sounds as if a transformer exploded. Rex lurches forward and I grab his arm.

  “Hang back. You are walking right into my vision.”

  “I’m not going to let some human get the better of me. She won’t get close enough to stake me.”

  “Just let me assess the scene.”

  I shove him behind me protectively as we reach the door. Another loud boom; this time we’re close enough to see a flash of blue light and feel the floor beneath us tremor.

  We enter the office as Vega, flying backwards, slams into one of the few remaining monitors against the wall by the door. He lands unconscious at my feet, smoke rising from his flesh. I turn to see Brixton in the middle of the room.

  “Back for round two?” she asks, sparks emanating from her left arm. I look at the black stitches across her neck, wondering how she recovered so quickly. “Best part about this suit: it comes with enhancements. This one hasn’t been tested—or hadn’t rather—but it appears to be performing as promised.”

  For a moment I debate about trying to reason with her. Asking her to surrender. The suit might get her past us, but it isn’t going to get her out of here alive. I can see in her eyes her mind is made up.

  There is no saving some people.

  “You’re dead under that suit.” I start towards her.

  “Same could be said for you.” She raises the sparking arm. “There’s enough electricity surging through this arm to fry you from the inside. If there is anything still alive, it won’t be for long. I’m amazed your friend over there didn’t burst into a pile of dust, but something tells me he’s a little stronger than the average vampire.”

  “It’ll take more than an artificial lightning bolt to take him out.”

  Gunfire erupts behind me. I feel the heat of bullets pass on the right and drop to the ground. Over my shoulder, Rex is standing in the doorway, gun aimed at Brixton. He lands a couple in her chest and she staggers backwards. I see her grab the Glock holstered on her right hip as she dives sideways to avoid taking more shots. Her suit can clearly absorb the impact, but it rattles her. I can tell she’s not used to being shot at. She’s used to her men protecting her from such unpleasantness.

  I scramble to my feet as she begins to return fire. Rex uses the doorframe for cover as he reloads. I lunge for her gun and get hit with a couple bullets for the effort. Still on my feet, I manage to grab her arm and we wrestle for the gun. She strikes me with her left arm. I hear a zap, but it must be recharging or something because I don’t feel much more than a mild sting—certainly not an impulse strong enough to fry me.

  We continue to thrash around the room as I try to break apart the exoskeleton. The wooden stake emerges from her wrist plate, forcing me to release my grip to avoid taking a fatal blow to the chest. She’s on her back and grabs the gun off the floor. Taking advantage of my backpedaling, she fires several shots into my leg. I drop to the ground, unable to stand.

  Rex resumes shooting and she redirects her attention to him as she gets to her feet. His gun clicks empty and she laughs. Vega begins to stir along the wall and pulls himself up to his knees. Both she and Rex notice this simultaneously and, having determined him the biggest threat in the room, Brixton charges him in an attempt to take him out before he can fully recover.

  With a bullet or two lodged in my leg, I can’t recover fast enough to get my footing. Rex instinctively dives to intercept the stake as Brixton thrusts it towards a dazed Vega.

  “Rex!” I launch forward on my good leg, hand clutching a dragger of glass in desperation as I watch my vision play out.

  A blast comes from the doorway.

  Brixton’s head snaps to the right; bone and brains, mixed with metallic pieces of her suit, spray the room. Her body, along with what remains of her head, drop to the floor, the ping of her stilettos now replaced by the dull thud of her body against the linoleum.

  It all happens so fast. I’m still scrambling to stab her with the glass shard, driving it into her leg as she collapses. I fail to fully realize the impact of the blast on Brixton’s body until I look up and see the absence of a head, except for a few pieces of bone and brain matter clinging to the remains of the suit’s headpiece.

  “Shit, that worked well!” Quinn exclaims as she enters the office. “That was Brixton, right?”

  “Yeah…” Rex says, stunned expression on his face.

  “A scientist downstairs gave me this prototype, said it would do some major damage.” Quinn holds up a small shotgun. “I didn’t expect much given the size, but wow, he really didn’t like Brixton.”

  “Remind me to thank him,” Rex smiles.

  “We all should…” Vega bends over the body. “This suit is impressive. Look at these IVs.”

  “Must be how she recovered from my attack earlier. I know I slit her throat; I watched the blood spurt out of her like a fountain.” I shake my head and check the bullet wounds in my leg. The other wounds have healed, so one or two lingering bullets isn’t bad, all things considered.

  “So now we opt for the incinerator?” Rex asks.

  “No, leave her. No way she’s coming back from that. DIA will still want her body. I’m sure they can confirm identity through DNA or something.”

  Rex tries to help me walk, but I wave him off. “It’s just a little limp, I’m good.”

  “You’re stubborn is what you are.” Rex shakes his head. “Tell me, did that play out how you saw it?” He smirks.

  “I think you know the answer to that.” I hug him.

  “Say what now?” Quinn asks.

  I smile, “You have a knack for timing, I’ll give you that.”

  Vega gives Quinn a hug. “Yes, she certainly does. Thank you.”

  “Did you find Xan?” I ask Quinn.

  She bites her lower lip, nods.

  “And?” Vega pushes.

  “Dade and Malik are with him. He’s in rough shape…they’d begun harvesting his organs.”

  Rex makes a disgusted face.

  “This place is sick.” Vega shakes his head.

  “He needed to be stitched back up; he’ll be okay.”

  “I’m relieved to hear that. Any sign of Javier? We didn’t have any luck intercepting him.”

  “Xan says he and Marcus saw Brixton’s men take out a vampire. It’s safe to assume it was him. Apparently there was a fight outside the compound. Javier wasn’t going to come in quietly. Things escalated when he and Marcus tried to intervene, but Brixton’s men killed him, then turned on Marcus and Xan.” Quinn’s tone is solemn. “I’m sorry, Vega.”

  “Not your fault; glad we got here before we lost anyone else.”

  “Speaking of which, where are Marcus and Crina?”

  Quinn looks to Vega, who then looks to me.

  “Lab downstairs. We should get her.” Vega’s eyes don’t waver. I give a reluctant nod.

  “Ah, okay…I’ll go see how the boys are making out with Xan.” Quinn heads for the door.
<
br />   “That’s a good idea. Rex, let’s go round up the remaining humans,” Vega orders. “Everyone meet at the loading dock in ten.”

  Chapter 29

  The screaming has subsided. I stop at the door and peer inside. Large pools of blood have formed around the legs of the table where Marcus had been restrained. At the sight of the now-empty table, I freeze and my spine goes ridged. Marcus escaped is the first panicked thought that enters my mind. Then I notice the dissipating cloud of dust looming over the table and the ashes speckling ponds of blood.

  I open the door and check inside.

  Crina is curled up against the wall by the door, rocking with her head between her knees. She doesn’t look up when I enter.

  “Hey, so…I’d ask how it went, but that seems like a dumb question.”

  “He killed Dominique. He didn’t say why, just called him arrogant and naïve…I think he was jealous.” She lifts her head slightly, chin on her knees.

  “Said the plan was to set his bedroom on fire. Something that the others could easily contain. It was never supposed to go down how it did. But they attacked during the day and used explosives…How, Lori? How could he have been so stupid to trust wolves?

  “He said he went after Striden after it happened, but couldn’t find him. Not at first. Said it was years later that he resurfaced, and by then, the wolves were everywhere. We were already fighting a losing battle. So he tried to make a new alliance. Claimed he did it to protect us. Kept Striden from hunting us down…and I guess to some extent it worked; I mean, we didn’t have wolves showing up at our doorstep…You know, not till the alliance broke down…Fuck.” Her eyes are full of pain and fury.

  “Yeah…I’m sorry, Crina. I’m glad he confessed, but I’m not happy he betrayed you. It’s never easy to hear.”

  “I didn’t want it to be true. After all these years…I hate him like I’ve never hated anyone. He died too quickly. I want to resurrect him so I can torture him for as long as he lied to me.”

  “We have to go.” I reach down to help her up. Her hands are coated in blood and the left one is clenching an instrument that looks like a meat cleaver. I inch the blade cautiously from her numb fingers and pull her to her feet.