Family Blood Ties Set - 3 books in 1

by Dale Mayer

  "How are we going to find her, when she's the one who found everyone else?" Serus grumbled.

  They came back out into the hallway. Having searched the top two stories of the house, they moved down to the main floor. "What's the chance she's locked inside that secret room on the way down to the basement?" David asked.

  "It's possible." Serus nodded. "We must stay logical in our search, and then we'll know we haven't missed anything."

  Everyone agreed, and the three of them tripped from room to room, checking closets and tapping walls.

  Nothing.

  Finally, dispirited, they reached the basement door.

  David opened it. "I'll go in first."

  "And why's that?" his Dad growled.

  "I want to see if I can find what Tessa was trying to point out when we found Cody and Jewel locked down here."

  "Found Cody where?" Goran's roar echoed in the long stairwell.

  "We found him in a secret room while searching for Jared. Tessa is the only reason we found them."

  "Where were they?" Goran's face was carved from stone, and his expression grew even harder the deeper they went.

  At the landing, David said, "They were behind this wall."

  "Open it."

  David backed up and kicked the approximate spot where Tessa had kicked it last time, hitting a secret mechanism that had opened the full-sized stone door. The door didn't move. He tried again, slightly higher.

  After he kicked again, and then a fourth time, the door finally swung open.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Tessa's hands slipped free of the ropes. She groaned, a shudder rippled down her spine as her shoulders were released from the painful position they'd been locked into for hours. She closed her eyes for a moment, and painful, aching waves slid down her back. Checking her wrists, she realized they'd bled and crusted over, but the scabs had ripped off as she'd strained to get free.

  Tough. So what if she was bleeding. It's not like she could do anything about it right now.

  She turned her attention to the bindings at her ankles. Within minutes, she'd untied her legs. Swinging them over the side of the bed, she stood up slowly. Her feet felt like they'd been replaced by wooden blocks. Stumbling around the room, she tried to get the blood to circulate back through her body. Somehow, she had to escape. She could only guess at what she might find outside of this room. Or whom she might find.

  If the big guy, Bydron, came back before she got away, her punishment would be severe.

  And she so did not want to know what that meant.

  She grabbed up the loose ropes and stuffed them into her back pockets. She might need them later. For her captors. She smirked. At the door, she listened for sounds from outside.

  Nothing.

  With luck, she was still in the same vampire lair where they'd snatched her. This room had a similar clinical, antiseptic look. She turned the knob gently under her hand.

  Unlocked.

  She pulled the door open slightly. So far, so good. Peering through the crack, she saw nothing. The place appeared to be deserted. So she opened the door a little wider and peered out into another long, white hospital corridor. The same endless miles of white she'd seen before. She had to still be at the blood farm.

  Not knowing which way to go, she frowned. The sooner she found a way out of this place, the better. Opening both her human and vampire vision together, she studied the energy trail left by the two guards. The men had turned left after walking out the door.

  She turned right.

  ***

  "Jared, wake up. You fainted again."

  Jared stared up at her, uncomprehending, before struggling to sit up. He flushed. "Sorry. I moved too fast. Everything blacked out... You also shocked me." He gulped. "Are...are you a vampire?"

  "Yes, I am." Rhia grimaced. "I don't mean you any harm, though. I'm not like the others who kidnapped you."

  Jared swallowed. "But you said you're Tessa's mother."

  "Yes, that's correct." She smiled brightly. "I'm Rhia."

  "I see." Closing his eyes briefly, Jared wished he didn't have to ask this question. He really didn't want to know the answer. Neither could he stand not knowing the truth. He took a deep breath. "Does that mean...Tessa is a vampire, too?"

  Staring up at her, he could read the truth in her face. "She is, isn't she?"

  "Yes, she is." Rhia studied his face intently. "You didn't know, did you?"

  "You didn't know, did you?" Rhia studied his face intently.

  In a soft shocked whisper, he stared up at her and said, "No."

  She rocked back onto her heels. "How is it that you knew what I was but didn't recognize Tessa as one?"

  He'd like to know the answer to that question, too. Was it because of the context in which he'd met each of them? Here he was in a warehouse run by vampires, and all of them looked similar to Rhia. But he'd known Tessa in a school filled with humans. That was the only answer he could think of.

  "I don't know. I guess it never crossed my mind with her." He paused. "I've known Tessa for years. She's great."

  "You mean she was great?"

  "No." He protested, struggling with his confusion. "I-I didn't say that."

  "You didn't really have to. I can see it on your face." Rhia frowned. "I understand vampires might not be your favorite people after what you've endured at their hands, but you shouldn't judge us all the same."

  Jared swallowed, the rest of the words caught in his throat. Tessa was a vampire? Surely not. He couldn't reconcile that with his image of her. Vampires had taken him captive. Not able to help himself, he looked upon the rows of humans strung up like automatic pumps supplying the world with their blood – unconscious, in a state caught between life and death.

  "We did not do this to you." Rhia's voice held an edge. "Tessa is the one who made us come look for you."

  Jared shot her a shuttered look. Did that mean, if not for Tessa, no one would have come looking?

  Rhia stood. "Let's get you over to the chair. The team should be here any minute, and we don't want you to get any sicker before they arrive."

  She reached under his shoulders and pulled him to his feet as if he were an oversized doll. Jared couldn't help being impressed with her inherent strength. With her help, he hobbled over to the chair and collapsed into it, hating his weakened state more every second.

  "Thanks," he muttered, belatedly remembering his manners.

  With a gentle smile, she nodded and walked back over the bed to retrieve a blanket. Returning, she wrapped it around his shoulders. "The others should be back soon."

  "What others?" he asked cautiously.

  "Tessa's brother and father are here, along with several family friends. We all searched until we found you. Tessa wouldn't have it any other way."

  He gulped. More vampires. "Where's Tessa?"

  He needed to see her. To see for himself that she was a vampire. Thoughts of her had kept him sane throughout this long ordeal. Now he wondered if maybe he'd crossed a line and become mentally unstable. Rhia didn't look so much like a vampire, as she didn't look quite human. Sure, vampires coexisted with humans now, but he'd never had anything to do with them. They didn't hang around in his circles. At least, he hadn't thought so. No. Tessa was different. She'd never seemed to be anything other than human.

  Besides that, he'd really liked her. The uncomfortable silence that had fallen between him and Rhia finally penetrated his thick brain.

  "What are you not telling me?" Worry filled him, and he met her eyes. "Where is Tessa?"

  "She's missing." Rhia swallowed, hard. "We think she's been kidnapped."

  ***

  David stood at the entrance to the room. Empty. He'd been secretly hoping Tessa would be here. Had counted on it, actually. All of their better options had run out.

  "How many other rooms like this do you think we've missed?" he asked.

  His father placed a heavy hand on his shoulder. "We'll find her, David."

  "Ye
s, we will, but will that be this year? Or in a decade or two? Will she end up like those poor people suspended in there? Will we find her when she's old and gray, and her muscles have laid to waste from lack of use?"

  "Don't." His father squeezed his shoulder, and then shook him roughly. His voice hardened. "We found Jared; we'll find her. And the asshole who took her is mine."

  "So he should be." David welcomed the jolt and his father's words. At least it meant he had muscles, bones, and a heart that still worked.

  "I want the one who's running this factory."

  Goran's bitterness washed over them both, reminding David they weren't alone. He glared into the empty room as the elders started their usual wrangling. Tessa would know what to do next.

  Where the hell was she?

  "Come on," Goren finally said. "There's no one here. Let's return to the women. The team might have arrived by now."

  David nodded and led the way up the stairs again. They should have left someone on guard outside the house to wait for them. The team would need to be shown how to get down to the warehouse. They should have brought Jewel for that reason. Instead, Jewel had elected to stay below with his mom and rest. Not that she was weak or anything. Jewel was... He smiled, his heart warming. Jewel was his.

  Cody knew about their relationship, of course. He'd known for a while. Now David's dad, who'd just found out, had yet to mention it. Maybe he wouldn't. It was David's business, after all. Tessa had noticed, duh. Of course she had. Being female and all, she hadn't missed much about Jewel's behavior.

  But like Cody, she hadn't said anything. Then there were Cody and Tessa. What was up with that? Tessa was almost seventeen, but that was a hell of a long way from Cody's worldly age of eighteen – and not just in years. Then again, two years, when you would live for centuries, was only a blip in the meter of life. Still…charismatic Cody and David's kid sister?

  He frowned. He'd have to think that one through.

  ***

  Cody hid from the daylight behind thick stone walls, his feet growing colder by the minute from the water. He wished the smell would go away. Stagnant water, wet stones, and some kind of mossy stuff was trying to survive above the water line. With daylight shining down, they couldn't explore any further in this direction. Outside, all he'd seen appeared to be a marsh. Or the edge of a lake. He couldn't tell with the bushes clogging the area. Whatever it was, the land wasn't amiable for walking, and that's the only thing that made him feel better. No one else was likely to be out there, either. And especially not carrying something as large as a person. They would have left sunken footprints, for one thing. The sunlight was another great deterrent – at least for his people.

  Satisfied, he slogged back through the water toward Ian.

  "Nothing?" Ian called out.

  He shook his head. "A way out, maybe, but doesn't look like anyone's used it in a long time."

  "Good. Let's get the hell out of here. The place gives me the creeps."

  Cody laughed. "That's just because you hate water. Even if it is only a few inches deep."

  "That's harsh, man. The water is at least six inches right here." Grinning, Ian sped up the stairs ahead of him. Then he halted and turned to face Cody. "You do realize we have a good couple of thousand stairs to climb – straight up – right?"

  Cody grinned and half flew, half hopped over his friend's head, spraying him with water droplets. He landed up a good hundred stairs.

  "Hey, that's not fair!" Ian shouted. He raced to catch up, and by the time they reached the top of the stairs, they were both out of breath. He scowled at Cody. "I am so going to get you for that."

  They both hit the door at the top of the stairs and tumbled through it at full speed.

  Cody never saw what hit them.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Tessa slipped around the corner, grateful for the first bit of cover she could find. Except to her dismay, another endless hallway greeted her. Eyeing a door next to her, she leaned in more closely to listen for recognizable sounds. Other than her two guards, she hadn't seen or heard anything since she'd woken up. If other people were here, she didn't know where they were. And she so didn't want to find them.

  She turned the knob and stuck her head around the corner. Another empty room with empty beds. Why? She'd to be in the same warehouse. Everything looked so similar.

  Hope had her moving on to the next door. Empty again. With a shake of her head, she moved on down the corridor to find every room the same except for one that appeared to be a broom closet. Uniforms hung along one wall. Eying them carefully, she considered her options.

  Wearing the uniform would help, but the thought was so repugnant she couldn't put one on. Then she spied a lab coat at the far end and compromised with that. Snatching it up, she put it on over her outfit that had looked rather sophisticated and classy when she'd first put it on, but now looked more trashy and flashy. Or maybe her exhaustion had simply given her a change of heart.

  Feeling as if she could pass herself off as a lab tech if necessary, she walked down the hallway to the last door. She'd yet to see a window, so maybe she was still underground.

  With one last glance back down the gleaming hallway, she entered the final door. Yes. A staircase. And more gleaming white walls and tiles. Did they not understand the value of a second color for relief?

  She studied her two options. Up…or down? If she were still in the same warehouse, where would her family be? Up or down? Up spelled possible freedom – if she were underground. And yet, if not…

  She studied the energy trails of the other people who'd come this way. They had all gone down.

  Then she would go up.

  She bolted up the stairs then paused at the next landing to open the door and peer down yet another hallway. Less doors and less signs of traffic. She closed it and made her way up the next flight of stairs. They ended in front of yet another white door. Opening it surprised her. It was heavy. That meant it had to be an exterior door, didn't it? Or maybe not. She stared into the small room and discovered it had only one other doorway off to the left. Mud and dirt tracked from that door to a series of large elevators.

  Yay. She had to be at the top. A part of her wanted to go inside the elevator and check the button to see how many floors were in this place. From what she could tell, this place was huge.

  She hit the call button, and one of the sets of double doors opened. She jumped back, afraid someone might be inside. No one came out. Taking a deep breath, she raced inside just long enough to read the buttons.

  According to the panel, the place had nine floors and something called service. Stepping back out, she walked to the exit. She turned, gave the small room one final glance, hoping for anything that might help her identify the people who ran the place, the name of the company, or at least the location of the building so she could tell the others. But…nothing.

  She pushed the door open. Immediately, an alarm ripped through her ears. A security system. Why hadn't she thought of that? She bolted out to the covered entranceway.

  And came to a dead stop.

  She couldn't see anything but pure white in every direction.

  Snow. Everywhere.

  ***

  David stood at the open front door to the house. The damn thing had been on a time lock. They'd no sooner searched the house and returned when it had unlocked while they stood and contemplated it. Goran had been prepared to break a window to get out. Instead they'd needed to do nothing. Crazy house. David was almost disappointed. He'd like something to pound right about now.

  Where was the damn team? They should have been here by now. In the background, he could hear his dad talking to his mom on the phone. He didn't need to hear what they were saying to know his mother wasn't happy. Hell, he wasn't happy, either. Tessa was still nowhere to be found.

  He pulled out his own phone and sent her another text message. What had happened to her phone, anyway? Had she lost it? Was the battery dead? Or had someone taken it from her
? She carried it on her at all times like every other teenager he knew. Chances were good that since she hadn't responded, she couldn't. Yet he couldn't keep himself from staring down at his phone's display.

  Serus walked up behind him. "Is she answering this time?"

  David glared down at his silent phone. "No."

  "She probably doesn't have her phone any longer."