by Lynn Hagen
As the darkness began to take over, Omar knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was going to die in this hellhole.
“How are the tests going?” Captain O’Hanlon of the Navy Special Warfare asked.
“The test subject is proving harder to break than we originally thought. He seems to exhibit very strong changeling characteristics, but none of the tests thus far have produced the results we were hoping for,” Dr. Formente answered in a frustrated tone. “I could up the dosage.”
“How will that affect your tests?”
“I’m not really sure,” the doctor admitted. “But if we don’t find a way to reverse the lycanthropic disease, we’ll all be infected, eventually. The plague-ridden are growing in alarming numbers.”
“I’m well aware of that,” Captain O’Hanlon snapped.
“Well, what do you want me to do?” the sharp voice on the other end demanded. “We’ve tried everything we could come up with.”
“If he hasn’t shown signs of recessed animal genes by the end of next week, kill him and start over with a fresh test subject. I want results, Dr. Formente, not excuses.” Captain O’Hanlon slammed the phone down, his jaw ticking. They had been close, but then Enrique Marcelo had to go on-air and announce to the world that the United States government was engineering a cure that not only stopped changelings from shifting, but made man and animal sterile, along with giving humans cancer.
Captain O’Hanlon wanted to hang the bioengineer who had invented the cure but had overlooked that vital piece of information.
But Sasha Monroe had stolen the data, which resulted in them starting over. Thank fuck Dr. Formente still had some notes. He had helped Dr. Palmetto with the advanced research and had an exemplary memory. He had also written things down.
So it wouldn’t set them back years.
But Captain O’Hanlon was tired of waiting. It was true. The changeling population seemed to be exploding and he was damned and determined to wipe their species from the face of the earth.
Starting with Enrique Marcelo, Captain O’Hanlon’s bastard changeling son.
It took a second for Rick to register what he was seeing. Dorian was standing in front of him. He covered his mouth with his hand and then pulled the man into his arms and kissed his mate’s cinnamon-brown hair, resting his cheek on the soft strands as he felt relief flood him.
And then he set Dorian aside.
“Rick, no,” Dorian said as he grabbed Rick’s arm. “He didn’t hurt me.”
“But he took you,” Rick countered as his body began to sprout fur. His jaw elongated as his razor-sharp canines slid free. Before Rick could attack, the vampire crumbled to the ground.
Rick didn’t know what to make of this. He wanted to tear the guy apart for laying a hand on Dorian, but even he wasn’t going to attack an unconscious man. “What’s wrong with him?”
“I think he needs to feed,” Dorian replied.
Rick snapped his head over to his mate. “You think he needs to feed? Since when do you care what a vampire needs? I thought you hated the entire race for what they did to Ian.”
“I do,” Dorian answered. “But there were Breed Hunters heading our way. Salvador could have left me to die, but he didn’t.”
Rick felt his anger pulse inside of him. “On a first-name basis?” That knowledge damn near sent Rick over the edge. “You wouldn’t have been in that situation if he hadn’t taken you in the first place.”
Dorian turned his Peruvian-brown eyes on Rick, and he could see the matched anger. “No, I wouldn’t have been in that situation if you hadn’t sent me away like a little boy who doesn’t know how to fight and defend himself.”
Oh, his mate was downright pissed. Rick could feel the animosity coming off of Dorian, and it was choking the shit out of him. He knew shoving Dorian into the truck and telling him to go was going to come back to bite him on the ass. “I was trying to keep you safe from a power that…” Rick refused to finish his sentence. He was about to say a power that scared the shit out of him, but there was no way he was admitting to that in front of everyone. “Vampire.” He pointed at the ground where Salvador lay.
Rick had an urge to kick the fallen man.
“Oh, you saved me all right,” Dorian spat. “You sent me right to him.”
Rick stabbed a finger toward Dorian, ready to put the man in his place when Freedman walked between them and then knelt beside the vampire. “What are you doing?” Rick asked.
“Hell if I know,” Freedman replied as he picked the unconscious man up and took him over to the dead humans lying in the middle of the road. Rick had been shocked when he found Freedman standing in roadway, his gun drawn, and a bunch of humans lying dead all around. He still hadn’t had time to ask the man what had happened.
Dorian had shown up right after Rick had arrived.
All turned and watched as Freedman lay the vampire down next to one of the dead human’s and grabbed the human’s wrist, pressing the flesh to the vampire’s mouth.
“Freedman,” Rick said in warning. “We don’t even know why he took my mate. Why are you trying to revive him? He is the one who set off all my warning bells. He’s dangerous.”
Apparently the human wasn’t dead. The guy made a small moaning noise. But Freedman ignored it as he coaxed the vampire’s mouth open. Rick just stood there in stunned disbelief.
“Now I’ve seen it all,” Sasha Monroe said. The leopard stood there staring at Freedman, looking just as stunned as Rick. “If the vampire gets up and attacks, I say we feed him Freedman first.”
“He’s not going to attack,” Freedman said over his shoulder.
“And how in the hell do you know this?” Rick asked.
“I just do,” Freedman replied as he turned back around.
Rick’s eyes grew round as the vampire’s jaw lowered, his fangs gleaming from the pale light of the moon, and then he bit down into the human’s flesh. Rick pulled his gun free, aiming it at the vampire. “One false move and he gets it right in the heart.”
“He’s too weak to fight,” Dorian said. “I was hoping you kicked his ass, but I think you should wait until he is at least on his feet.”
Rick glanced at his mate and wondered if Dorian hit his head. Was he defending the vampire or wanting Rick to attack? He wasn’t sure what was going on in his mate’s head, but Rick was going to get some answers from the vampire as soon as he could speak.
Striding over to where Freedman was bent down, Rick took a good long look at Salvador. For a vampire, he sure as hell had a nice tan. Rick had never seen one of the dead guys with skin the color of bronze. His short black hair was soaking wet, as if the man had been sweating profusely—which was damn strange for a vampire to do—and fringes of the black strands fell over the man’s face.
Rick could scent the guy was pure vampire, but hell if he looked like one. Even in the guy’s weakened state, Rick could feel the powers radiating in this man. He was dangerous. There was no doubt in his mind.
“He’s feeding,” Freedman said so low, it almost sounded like he was talking to himself.
“You okay?” Rick asked. The man was not acting himself. Freedman was a fighter, but he was also a very intelligent being. It was out of character for the human to grab a stranger, a vampire no less, and aid him in feeding.
It was damn bizarre. Freedman helped strangers. The man had a heart of gold, even if he was a quiet and lethal guy. But to see him bending over, making sure a vampire didn’t die made Rick question the guy’s sanity.
“I’m fine,” Freedman answered.
“Then why in the hell are you shoving a human’s wrist into a vampire’s mouth? You don’t even know him. He’s not someone you want to fully wake up, Freedman.” Rick placed his hand on Freedman’s shoulder and the vampire sprung from the ground, crouching in front of Freedman, baring his fangs.
Rick aimed his gun at the man’s head. “Easy now.”
The vampire’s eyes were pure red, including the irises. He still had
blood around his mouth as he moved further in front of Freedman, as if protecting him. Rick was stumped. Just what in the hell was going on?
Freedman stood. “I’m thinking he wants you to back away.”
Rick glanced at his friend. “Not while you are standing behind him.”
The rest of Rick’s group had their guns out, all barrels pointing at the vampire. Salvador didn’t stand a chance. When the man began to stand, Rick chambered a bullet. “I said easy.”
Rick was staring at the man’s chin. He knew better than to look him directly in the eyes. This one was old and Rick wasn’t sure what the vampire could do. He wasn’t taking any chances.
“We need to get going before these yahoos’ friends come looking for them,” Freedman said as he nodded toward the dead men lying all around.
“Just what happened here?” Rick asked, but never took his eyes off of the vampire.
“They pulled up wanting to have a little fun, and then they recognized me. That was when their plans changed and their greedy asses wanted to cash me in.” Freedman bent down and grabbed a piece of paper from one of the dead men’s hand. He held it up for Rick to see.
It was a picture of Freedman with a healthy sum under his name. “Shit.”
“Yeah,” Freedman replied. “I didn’t shoot until they came after me. I used the driver as a human shield as I took the rest out.”
The vampire turned his head, but Rick didn’t raise his eyes to see how the vampire was staring at Freedman. Hopefully he wasn’t looking at the man as a snack. “I’d feel a lot better if you moved away from the vampire, Freedman.”
“He will not leave my side,” the vampire finally spoke.
“Wanna bet?” Rick asked. “Me and my friends here think you’ll move.”
“Do you think bullets will stop me?”
“Yeah, I do,” Rick replied. “You may be dead, but the heart is still a very important piece of hardware for you.”
The man laughed. “I am not dead, homem insensato.”
“He said he was muerto desde el útero,” Dorian replied. “Same as the guy who attacked Edward.”
Dead from the womb. Rick knew very little about vampires, but he knew the man was born a vampire, not turned. That made Salvador ten times more dangerous. “Why are you here?”
Salvador moved, making sure Freedman was well covered as he raised his hand. “To meet you.”
“Me?” Rick asked in confusion. “Why the hell do you want to meet me?”
“Because,” Salvador said, “you are very well known. My servant said you are great in war and are defeating the humans.”
“Your servant?” Rick hated feeling clueless. It only made him want to shoot the man.
“Yes,” Salvador said. “The man I sent here to assess the situation. You met him. He is known as the Shadow.”
Rick was stunned. “I thought that was just a nickname I gave him.”
“And your nickname would have been correct. He moves through the shadows, using the darkness to hide his existence. I am impressed you spotted him in that warehouse. No one has been able to find him when he does not want to be seen.”
Rick remembered the Shadow vividly. He, and some of his group, had shot at the damn thing, and the bullets seemed to go right through the creature. He moved lightning-fast and was able to climb walls and ceilings.
The man was creepy scary.
“So you kidnapped my mate to meet me? The last time someone did that, things didn’t turn out so well for the guy.” Rick refused to think about Leon, but he was trying to make a point.
“I was merely borrowing him,” Salvador replied. “Tell me, Enrique, do you know where Kraven Rubinsky is hiding?”
Rick’s heart gave an extra beat at the master vampire’s name. “Hopefully he’s dead.”
Salvador took a step closer, which made Rick raise his gun higher.
“Pray that he is not dead, changeling. If he is, then the Mãos da Morte have been unleashed on your precious world, and there will be no reining them in.”
Chapter Five
Freedman had no clue what he was doing or why. He just had a deep-down desire to make sure this man didn’t die. But what really tipped the strange scale was the fact that watching the vampire feed didn’t bother him.
It should have.
It should have been gross as hell.
But it wasn’t.
The fact that the act of watching him drink blood from a dying man didn’t freak Freedman out…freaked Freedman out. He stepped around the vampire, trying to get past him when Salvador threw his arm up, stopping Freedman in his tracks.
“Let me go,” Freedman said in a low warning voice. He may have insanely helped this man, but the madness ended here. He didn’t like doing things and not having a reason why.
“It would be best if you stayed close to me,” Salvador said as he gazed at Freedman. The man had very dark irises. They looked black, and there was a red ring around the obsidian orbs.
“Don’t look him in the eyes,” Rick warned from a few feet away. “Vampires can enthrall you when you look them directly in the eyes.”
Freedman heard Rick’s warning, but the only thing he felt looking at Salvador was irritation. There was nothing hypnotic about the guy’s eyes. Well, they were pretty. But he didn’t feel as if he wanted to obey the man’s every command.
“It would be best if you didn’t stop me,” Freedman replied to Salvador. The side of the man’s mouth twitched, as if he found Freedman humorous. As Freedman glared at the man, something inside of him was trying to push Freedman toward the vampire.
He didn’t understand why.
If he had to put a label on what he was feeling, it would be attraction. Admittedly, the man was handsome. Freedman’s fingers itched to brush away the fall of black hair over the man’s eyes. His lips tingled to kiss the vampire’s tempting full lips.
Freedman gave a slow blink, wondering if he really had lost his mind.
“We need to go.” Rick’s voice pulled Freedman from openly staring at the man. “We need to find a way to free Omar from the detention center.”
Hearing Omar’s name snapped Freedman back to the here and now. He felt a tightness in his chest as he thought about the blond-haired man. Maybe this vampire could be of use after all. So far, he hadn’t found anyone who would help him. Rick said he would, but Freedman knew breaking into the last remaining detention center was going to take more than a handful of humans and changelings.
Last time they broke into one of those facilities, it had taken an entire force. They didn’t have an entire force with them now. They barely had a unit. So many of their people had died during battle or been assassinated by Breed Hunters. While they might be winning the war, it was coming at a very heavy price.
Now he knew all his marbles weren’t lined up in a row. Freedman was seriously considering asking this man for help. Maybe this war was finally taking its toll on him and he was cracking up.
“Who is this Omar you speak of?” Salvador asked with a deadly infliction. It seemed anger made the man’s accent thicker, a little harder to understand.
Freedman’s eyes snapped to the vampire, feeling the anger that had been eating away at him since Omar had been taken. “What the fuck do you care?”
“I do not. But you obviously do.” Frown lines marred Salvador’s bronzed face. “Why do you care?” The man sounded almost curious—almost. There was a darkening in his eyes—which was strange considering the vampire’s eyes were black—that belied the man’s outward calm. “Who is this man to you?”
Freedman almost ground his molars together. “A friend.”
The intensely quizzical way that Salvador stared at him gave Freedman the shivers. He almost felt like the vampire was trying to see directly into his mind, and no one needed to be there. Freedman had enough to deal with without anyone knowing how messed up in the head he truly was. He seriously didn’t need anyone pointing that fact out to him.
It took more w
illpower than Freedman was comfortable with to tear his gaze away from Salvador and look at Rick. He didn’t understand the strange pull the vampire seemed to have over him, and he certainly knew he didn’t like it.
“Can we go now?”
“Yeah.” Rick’s eyes seemed troubled as he glanced from the dead bodies littering the ground to his mate. “That might not be a bad idea. There’s no telling if these guys were alone or not.”
“I’m pretty sure they were. I got the idea from the leader that they were trying to prove themselves so that they could join up with the Breed Hunters.”
“They were rejected?” That seemed to catch Rick unaware. His eyebrows shot up as a look of surprise came over his face. “I thought the Breed Hunters took whoever could pull a trigger.”
Freedman shrugged as he glanced around at the dead bodies littering the dark stretch of road. “Guess not.”
He started to head for one of the vehicles when he noticed Salvador walking beside him, matching him step for step. Freedman stopped and stared at the man. “Can I help you?” he snapped.
“No, but I may be able to help you.”
Freedman’s eyes narrowed. “How?”
“You want to retrieve this friend, do you not?”
Just what sort of game was this vampire playing? Freedman didn’t know much about vampires other than the fact that they sucked people dry and killed whatever was left. That didn’t give him the warm fuzzies. “Yeah?”
“Then I will assist you in this endeavor.”
Again, what the fuck?
“Why would you do that?”
“It is what you desire.” The statement was simple, just a few words, and yet they had the power to make Freedman more nervous than he had been when facing down the band of thugs that had just tried to cash in on him.
“Look, just because I had a compelling compulsion to make sure you didn’t die—which I am still trying to figure out where that insanity came from—doesn’t make us buddies. Now scram.” Freedman made a shooing motion with his hands. “Get lost, Mr. Dangerous Vampire. Go on, mosey on down the road and go find another ‘best friend.’”
