by Cat Miller
“Look at me, Lindsay,” Kayden rumbled in Lindsay’s ear. She didn’t want to look into his angry hazel eyes. She clung to him but refused to open her eyes. She didn’t want to see his disgust. How could he not be disgusted? She was a junkie in the throes of withdrawal. She knew Kayden was frustrated with her when he demanded again, “Open your eyes and look at me, dammit, Lindsay!”
It took a monumental effort for Lindsay to peel open her eyelids and concentrate on the face hovering just above hers. When she was finally able to bring Kayden into focus, it wasn’t disgust she saw peering back at her from the hazel green depths of his eyes, but worry and maybe a little fear. Lindsay knew then that she’d been right about him lying to her. She was in bad shape. He brushed her hair back out of her face and cupped her cheek and jaw with one huge, rough hand. Lindsay had the random thought that Kayden could palm her head with that large hand. He’d cupped her ass with it once upon a time. When he spoke to her again, Kayden’s tone had gentled to an almost pleading whisper.
“Promise me you won’t give up. I know you’re going through hell. I can’t imagine how hard this must be for you.” Kayden brushed his thumb over Lindsay’s cheek. He looked over her face and shook his head sadly. Lindsay couldn’t imagine what he was seeing in her exhausted face. “You did nothing to deserve this pain. You didn’t do anything to earn what you’ve survived, but here you are giving death one big middle-fucking-finger. You survived. I don’t know many people who could have made it out alive. You did. You fought your way through it, and now you must keep fighting. Promise me that you won’t give up now that you’re safe among friends.”
Kayden thought she was strong? His faith in her gave Lindsay a reason to fight through her withdrawal when she was past ready to give up on life. She didn’t know why, but the idea of disappointing him after he found and carried her out of Sheena’s nest was repugnant. Letting down the man who’d held her tight and warmed her body when she was cold down to her soul wasn’t something she wanted to do. Not ever.
“Tell me the truth, why am I so sick? What’s wrong with me?” Lindsay asked the direct question because something was very wrong. Her guts were being shredded from the inside out. Lindsay breathed slowly through another bout of nausea.
A woman in a white coat with a stethoscope hanging around her neck stepped to the side of the bed and leaned in so Lindsay could see her. The white jacket sent a shaft of fear through her heart. She’d developed a real fear of doctors, but Kayden was there, and she knew he wouldn’t let anyone hurt her.
“Hello, Lindsay, I’m Dr. Rosen. I’m going to give it to you straight. The chemicals you have in your system are poison. You’ve been given massive amounts of these chemicals over a prolonged period. We’re working to find a course of treatment for you, but until we know exactly what’s already swimming in your veins and settled in your organs, we can’t introduce anything new. It’s too dangerous. You’re a vampire now, so your body should be working to help process the drugs and get them out of your system, but it isn’t. It’s as if you’re saturated beyond your systems ability to heal.”
Dr. Rosen’s eyebrows were drawn together in frustration. This woman was a vampire and a physician who was trying to help, unlike the scientists who worked for Sheena, but fear still pounded in the back of Lindsay’s mind. She knew that Kayden wouldn’t let the doctor be there if she meant any harm. He’d promised to get her the medical help she needed, and that’s what he had done. Logically, Lindsay knew that doctors were good people. She’d only had one doctor in her life, though. She’d never been sick or injured and therefore, never been to a hospital. She had bi-annual home visits with her family physician. He’d been a very kind man who had never frightened Lindsay. So she wrestled back the fear and focused on what Dr. Rosen was explaining. Lindsay absorbed that information. Her situation didn’t sound promising. Anger began to rise in her chest, eclipsing the fear. Kayden was right. She hadn’t done a damn thing to deserve the shit she’d survived. She might be out of Sheena’s clutches, but she was still a slave to Sheena’s drugs. She was alive but for how long?
“I’m going to go down to the lab to see if they’ve made any progress on identifying the substance. I’ll be back to check on you shortly.” Dr. Rosen left the room and shut the door quietly behind her.
“I didn’t hear your promise yet,” Kayden reminded Lindsay with a gentle tug on her hair. She was doing everything she could to prevent a violent episode. Her nails were digging into Kayden’s hand, but he said nothing. Her vision was getting gray around the edges, and that voice in her head insisted that she burn the world to the ground. When she sank into the anger and hurt, Lindsay’s vampire took over, and things got ugly. She wanted to destroy everything and everyone in the room, whether they deserved it or not. The sound of Kayden’s voice and the concern in his eyes dragged Lindsay back from the edge of a meltdown.
“I … I promise.” Lindsay made the vow and hoped she was strong enough to keep it. If the doctors couldn’t help her, Lindsay didn’t know what she could do to prevent her own end, but she would try. Kayden smiled down at her, and it was as if the sun had risen for the first time since she was stolen from her life. He brushed his firm lips across Lindsay’s in a caress so light it couldn’t be called a kiss, but the contact filled her with a sense of comfort and connection that she would cling to when she felt like quitting.
A sudden bout of dry heaves ruined the moment. Kayden held her through it. She drifted in and out of consciousness after that. Her body burned with fever. Her heart raced in her chest. The room never stopped spinning like a ride on the playground, and she couldn’t seem to climb off. Then the retching began again. Chills raced up and down her body while she clung to a bedpan. Someone pulled her hair back and secured it at her nape. It was Kayden. He stroked her back and talked to her, but she couldn’t understand the softly spoken words. Eventually, she drifted back into the blessed darkness of unconsciousness.
The next time Lindsay woke she struggled to block out the demons taunting her soul. She didn’t want to hear the chanting in her head. The voices whispered hateful lies and awful truths unendingly.
“You’re a monster and a murderer,” the voices taunted. “No one will ever want you now. But you’re used to that, aren’t you? Not even your parents wanted you, did they? There had been relief in their eyes when you finally left for college. When was the last time you saw them? I wonder if they’ve even noticed you’re missing.”
There was truth mixed in with the lies, and it broke her over and over again. She was not a murderer. No matter how much of that poison they pumped into her veins she had never intentionally killed anyone, but she had attacked people. She had ravaged their throats and bathed her tongue with their blood until the pain receded from her body and her mind began to work again. No, she hadn’t purposely hurt anyone, but all of her victims died when no one came to tend the injuries she had inflicted in her drug-induced rages.
She was a monster. That was true. She had been turned into a creature she feared in movies and books but she never believed could be real. Humans thought vampires were characters created by film producers and horror writers. Hadn’t it been a surprise to find out how wrong they all were?
“Kill them. Kill them all before they kill you. Free yourself from this prison,” the whisper repeated itself ceaselessly.
Lindsay closed her eyes and screamed out her frustrations to drown it all out. The blood-curdling sound went on and on, echoing around the sterile, white room until her voice gave out.
Kayden had been gone for two days with the Horde. They got a lead on Sheena’s movement, and there was no time to waste. He saddled up and rode out with his crew. It was a wild goose chase from one random abandoned location to another. They hadn’t found even a trace of Sheena. It was the consensus that she was planting false information to disguise her movements, but they had to look into each and every lead. They were close, and Sheena knew it. They almost had her when they raided her nest and fo
und Lindsay as well as a few humans in cages.
If nothing else, at least they’d been able to salvage a computer that hadn’t had its hard drive wiped clean. The techs were busy trying to crack the high-tech security protecting the information stored on the hard drive. The quality of the equipment Sheena was working with spoke of a wealth of resources, which begged the question that plagued Kayden. Who was supporting Sheena? Where was she getting the funds, hardware, and personnel for her operation? If they could get to the heart of that mystery, Kayden believed it would be cutting the head off the snake.
On their return, Kayden and Hawk were finally able to interrogate the out-of-control kid they’d taken into custody at the nightclub. He’d had information to share, once he came down off of his psychotic high, but he had been insensible for two solid days. Then he’d spent two more days refusing to talk until he had a lawyer. A fucking lawyer! That was until Hawk paid a visit to lockup.
“Are you for real?” Hawk asked the vampire youth who was lucky to still be alive after the exposure he’d brought to the nation. “Do you think this is the human world?” Hawk slammed his fists down on the table the kid was chained to. “You don’t get a lawyer! You get a fucking execution!” Hawk yanked the kid over the table until the chains connecting his wrists to the table were straining. “You tried to kill a human in a public place!”
“It was a vampire owned joint!” the kid sputtered and quaked in Hawks grip. “I didn’t know what I was doing!”
“It was full of humans!” Hawk shook the kid like a ragdoll. “Vampires own places like that for feeding, right? They’re ringing the fucking dinner bell! The real customers are the vampires. Humans are what’s for dinner.”
The idiot sniffed the air around Hawk with disdain. “What do you know about the vampire world? You’re a mutt. You’re one of those half-breeds everybody’s talking about.”
Hawk slammed the kid’s face into the table. Blood spattered over the metal surface, and the kid screamed. “Good thing I’m a mutt since your mom likes it doggie-style.”
“Hey, man!” Kayden wrapped his arms around Hawk and pulled him away from the jerk with a death wish. This was no easy task. Hawk was a giant of a man. Kayden was not a small guy himself at six-foot-four, but even he looked up at Hawk.
“Why don’t you give Griffin a call? See if the council is ready for this joker,” Kayden suggested.
Of course, nobody needed to call Griffin. The council would send for the kid when they were ready. Kayden knew they were still monitoring the local news and social media. There was a good chance some of the hundreds of clubbers that night had gotten away with some video. They’d done all they could to prevent it, but the scene was already in full swing when Kayden, Hawk, and Abel arrived. If Chase and Dani hadn’t been in the vampire owned club celebrating their anniversary, the human woman would have died, and probably many others. It was dumb luck that they’d followed a lead at just the right time to prevent a disaster.
Hawk shook Kayden off and snarled at the bleeding, whimpering vampire chained to the interrogation table. “Yeah, I’ll give Councilor Vaughn a shout. I’m sure they’re good and ready for execution after all of those humans shared videos of this asshole ripping out a woman’s throat in front of the world.” Hawk slammed the heavy door on his way out. That was a nice touch at the end. There had been one video of the attack posted on social media, and it was quickly halted. The human who posted it received a thorough mind scrubbing within hours and all trace of the video had been deleted. They’d implanted the thought that it had been a prank pulled by a group of film students. This kid didn’t know that.
This interrogation was not going well. Usually, Hawk was the one holding Kayden back. Today, Kayden could see he would be playing the good cop. Wasn’t that a novel idea? Kayden’s mind briefly drifted back to the days when he and Chase had been the kings of stupid stunts. There had been a few times when Kayden had been forced to talk his literally high and mighty best friend down off the ledge of a monumentally stupid decision. When you were basically royalty, like Chase Deidrick, there weren’t very many repercussions for your bad behavior. So why not test every boundary you could find, right? He’d had to use a bit of logic and occasionally a sledgehammer to tame Chase. The memory brought a smile to his face. Chase was a happily mated male with a female that Kayden was sure was Karma’s way of bringing the crown prince of partying to his knees.
Taking the seat across from the kid, he waited. This was a tactic Kayden’s father, Gage, had used on him many times. After Kayden screwed up, Gage would call him into his office and tell him to take a seat. Then he would ignore him, going about his business while anxiety and guilt built on Kayden’s shoulders. Eventually, Kayden would be the one to break the silence. He’d spill his guts. Just like his father knew he would. The kid only lasted about five minutes before he cracked. Amateur.
“I don’t remember what I did,” he said.
“No? Why don’t you tell me what you do remember? Start with your name,” Kayden suggested.
“Rider. My name is Rider. Who are you?”
“Kayden Paris.” Kayden extended his hand to Rider. Recognition widened Rider’s eyes. Once again, Kayden’s name preceded him, and he would use it to his advantage. This kid might have vital information that could lead to Sheena. If Rider wanted to assume Gage Paris, the chief of the warrior class, had sent his son to do his dirty work, Kayden would let Rider believe it.
“I really don’t know what happened. I was out with friends having a good time. The next thing I remember is waking in the med bay here at the Enclave. I never meant to hurt anyone, I swear it.” Rider was finally beginning to see the severity of his situation.
“Look, Rider, I don’t want to be the bearer of bad tidings here, but you’re in serious trouble. You exposed the entire vampire race. That girl you attacked, she might not survive. The council has been working double time to catch all of the video leaks before they get too far. I want to help you. Your refusal to cooperate with authorities is reflecting very poorly on you. I need you to give me something to take to the council. Where did you get the drugs?”
“It was just a little Hypno. No big deal. It isn’t illegal or anything. I got it from this guy who’s been hanging around Quench. I’ve bought it from him a few times.” Rider shrugged.
“What was his name?” Kayden already knew, but he wanted confirmation, and to be sure there wasn’t an alias.
“His name is Nick.” Rider’s eyebrows came together. “Do you think he sold me some bad stuff?”
“Hypno is a huge deal, Rider. It’s highly addictive. Like crack for vampires. There’s a new drug being developed by some very nasty people, enemies of the nation. You know about the rogue, right?”
“Yeah, that’s the guy who invaded the Enclave in New York and killed all those people.” Rider nodded. “Hey, did you meet the pyrokinetic chick? I heard she ended the fight with a giant fireball.”
“I know her. She saved a lot of lives that day. We should all be very grateful to her.” Kayden knew the news of Brandi’s fire-starting talent would spread soon enough. The fear was that people would be afraid of her, just like they were of Dani. Kayden took every opportunity he got when the subject of Brandi’s gift came up to reinforce the idea that Brandi was a hero and a trusted member of society. Dani could control other vampires, and that made her a target. It would be difficult for anyone who didn’t know her to trust Dani. In Brandi’s case, she was the first elemental vampire to be born in centuries. In the past, there had been fire, water, earth, and wind elemental vamps, but none exist today. None but Brandi and that made her a target as well. The Vaughn family was mighty. It was a wonder Sam hadn’t developed a skill yet. Then there was J.R., the youngest sibling, but he was still too young to show any sign of any extraordinary gifts.
Kayden decided not to go into the rogue being a woman and all the other shit she’d done.
“Exactly. The rogue developed Hypnovamp to make it easier to ab
duct young vampires. There is a new drug that works more like speed, a violently mind-altering speed that sends the user into an uncontrollable murderous rage. Guess who was the first idiot to get a taste of it in public?” Kayden asked rhetorically.
“He poisoned me? That wasn’t Hypno?” Rider’s eyes were like saucers when he heard this news.
“No, it wasn’t Hypno. Just so you know, vampires are dying and ruining their lives with Hypno up and down the East Coast. Just look what has happened to you, and for what, a little buzz? Was it worth it?” Kayden had nothing else to say to Rider. “If I were you I’d tell someone around here what house you were born to. A family connection might be the only thing that saves your neck.”
This was a waste of time. Rider didn’t know anything about how to find Nick. He’d just been an easy target for a dealer. Kayden left the interrogation room without another word. The little shit had made a good point about the drug not being illegal. He’d have to give Griffin a call. They’d been so busy trying to catch Sheena, rebuild the council hall, and clean up the wreckage at the New York Enclave, Kayden hadn’t even thought of using a legal deterrent to try to stop the drug from spreading. Hopefully, Griffin in his wisdom was already working on that. It could make a huge difference in the thought process of young vampires if they knew how dangerous the drug was and its use could earn them a visit to the council hall.
Kayden watched through the small reinforced window of Lindsay’s door while she writhed on the floor. He’d gone straight to Lindsay when he left that useless kid, Rider, in interrogation. The doctors had been forced to remove everything from her room that could be used as a weapon. She had an uncovered mattress on the floor because she’d tried to strangle an orderly with the sheet. After that, the rest of the room was stripped bare. Lindsay would go into these uncontrollable fits of rage without warning or provocation.
