Family Blood Ties Set - 3 books in 1

by Dale Mayer

  "Good. Let's get that damn thing."

  Sian bent down under the bed and tugged at something. A minute later, she popped up, a smile on her face. "I've got it. Even better, I have my laptop here. So we can change the skin on top and make it look like this is mine."

  While Rhia watched, Sian opened her bag, tugged out her own laptop, and made the switch. Then, pulling her chair closer, she turned on the laptop. Rhia shifted her position to lean up against the head of the bed. Holding out her hand, she accepted the laptop from Sian.

  "Now, let's see what we've got here."

  Tessa landed behind the big vamp. He spun around, saw her, and grinned. "Came to have watch the fun, did you?" He glanced behind her. "I guess the big boss man won't care."

  "He might." She looked up at him with a serious expression. "But I didn't want you to have to face this group on your own. I couldn't see how many are trying to escape, but the odds aren't in your favor."

  "Pshaw." He chuckled. "I don't need any help. But you get a front-row seat this way."

  "Who would even be trying to escape? This place looks pretty secure."

  "Oh, it is. But every once in a while we get a more difficult captive. Of course, we're usually forced to terminate those subjects, as they don't take to the mind-control drugs."

  Mind-control drugs. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask him about those when she realized that, in her impersonation role, she should already know. "So, anyone with a curious or daring mindset doesn't take the medication well?"

  "Right. The more normal or average human becomes docile in captivity, but there is always a renegade type and they don't accept the programming."

  She nodded as if that made sense to her. "What about other vampires, do we have matching test results on them, too?" She was taking a chance asking about the vampire experiments, but as long as she pretended to know what the hell she was talking about, he might believe that she did.

  And she figured he didn't know the difference.

  "We're finding it takes several shots of the drugs at controlled injection times over a span of a week for the drugs to set in properly. We've had the odd one take to the programming right away, but it wears off quickly if they don't receive another dose within twenty-four hours. As for some of the bigger males, they just don't take well to any mind-control drugs." He shrugged. "Think about it. We're kind of bad-assed and don't like anyone messing with our minds." He grinned. "Or anything else, for that matter."

  "So it's effective on smaller, younger, and probably on older vampires, especially if multiple doses are given. That means you'd need to have a large place to keep them until all the doses are given," she said. "And probably to keep them under observation to see if they need a booster shot in a month or so."

  "Exactly." He looked at her admiringly. "See, you understand this stuff. That's great."

  "I have a mind for this type of thing," she said with a small, deprecating laugh. Like hell she did. But she was starting to understand. "Is that what's under construction here?"

  "Yes." He walked forward, his arm out and waving to the weird-looking structures. "These all connect. We move them from one room to the next as we move them through the process. We can open any number of doors and pull out the ones we want any time."

  Gross. She smiled brightly. "Nice."

  "Yeah."

  A weird hush sounded. A feral look came over his face and he spun around, crouching. "And every once in a while, we get to play with the mice."

  "And what do you do with them when you catch them?" she asked curiously.

  He tossed her back a big grin. "I get to kill them. Human or vamp. Once they start to fight, they aren't worth keeping. We take them out back and bury them."

  Nice. Not.

  "Is this a show the big bosses get to see?"

  "Naw. I checked to see if they are in the observation room. But they aren't. Just my luck," he said gloomily. "I get a chance to show off and they aren't even there to see it."

  "No." Tessa smiled grimly. "But I am."

  His eyes lit up. "You are, aren't you? Perfect. You'll be sure to put in a good word for me, won't you?"

  "No problem. How can I find them so I can tell them? Maybe I can reach them in time for them to watch you round up the escapees."

  "Not likely, but…" He pointed up to the side of the cavern, where some scaffolding climbed up the wall. "The observation room is up there and the offices are in behind." There's some kind of meeting going on today, so everyone is busy with preparations. That's why I've got to take care of these characters fast. We can't have people running around loose when the bosses are showing the investors around."

  "Oh, no. That would never do." Tessa smiled prettily as she stepped back, as if to give him more room. "Go for it."

  He nodded once, gave her a salute, and took off.

  Cody, the mother of all big-assed vamps is just about there.

  We know. You stay out of sight.

  So not going to happen. Tessa cast one glance up at the scaffolding area. As far as she could see, no one was watching. She slipped into the shadows, checked the observation room one more time, saw no energy signatures, and snuck in behind the vamp. There was no way she was going to let him kill her friends. And, from the sounds of it, he thought they'd be dead easy. That meant he had a trick up his sleeve.

  Still…she didn't want to kill him. He'd been helpful. She slipped around the next stack of building material and peered out. There was no sign of him. Damn it, she needed to get higher. No sooner had that thought crossed her mind, she found herself on top of the construction stack. She ran to the other end of the lumber, then hopped up on top of a higher stack. She made several lateral jumps, trying to keep her landings soft and her approach silent. From the corner of her eye, she watched the vamp creep up on her friends. She landed on the far side…

  And heard Ian's voice. "Hey."

  She grinned at him. Ian punched Cody and David. Cody pinned her in place, a willing victim to his glowing blue eyes as they landed and locked on her.

  Yes. This was what she'd been looking for. Her insides melted, her heart swelled. Once again, the damn man turned her to mush.

  Damn it, Tessa, you were supposed to stay out of sight.

  She opened her mouth to snap at him, when the vamp, a huge sneer on his face, rushed them.

  "Watch out," Jewel cried.

  Cody spun around and stepped up beside David. They both whipped something from their pockets.

  Tessa watched in shock and amazement as the big vamp jumped them both – his big arms coming around her brother and friend in a single hug – and squeezed. She winced.

  Then something odd happened. The big vamp went down with a heavy thud and writhed, groaning at their feet. She ran closer.

  Instead of a decent fight from a big warrior, it was a non-battle.

  "What the heck did you do?"

  And then she saw it. Both men had silver spikes in their gloved hands. She pulled hers free and held it up. Their eyes lit up. David grinned. He stepped around the dying vamp and wrapped his arms around her. "Damn, it's good to see you. Where the hell where you?"

  She snorted. "Hello. I was in the SUV. Where the hell were you?"

  Cody reached over and snagged her shoulders, pulling her out of her brother's arms and into his. He hugged her fiercely, then set her back to look into her eyes. "You were still in the same vehicle?"

  She nodded mutely, knowing her joy at seeing her friends and brother again was shining from her eyes. "I hated waking up alone. I wondered if you'd taken off on me."

  Cody cuddled her against his chest. "We wouldn't do something so terrible. You know that, right?"

  She nodded, but that was all she could manage being held so close against him. And that was where she wanted to be. Tears welled up. It seemed like she'd been alone for so long that she'd never find them. And now, here they were. United once again.

  She smiled mistily up at him. "I'm glad to hear that."

&nbs
p; "It wouldn't happen, sis."

  She nodded and tossed her brother a big smile. "Figured. Can't say being left behind was much fun. Then there hasn't been much fun since Jared went missing."

  At the mention of Jared's name Cody stiffened, then relaxed. His arms tightened briefly then dropped away. She hated that. She fought her instinct to step closer, to throw her arms around him and hold him close. But it wasn't the time. And she'd said that too many times recently, also. She wanted the time to be right. She wanted the time to talk to him. To hold him. To kiss him.

  "Nice coat."

  His dry tone made her laugh. "Yeah, isn't it? Don't worry, you can have it back." She went to remove it, but he tugged her back into her arms and said close to her ears, "You can wear it any time. "

  She grinned. It felt so right to be in his arms. She felt so safe with him.

  But they weren't safe. Neither were their fathers. She pulled back slightly and said, "I spoke with Dad."

  David reared back. "What? You have a phone?"

  She pulled it free of her pocket and handed it over. "Actually, I got it from Bart. I checked all the dying vamps, too, but no one here seems to have cell phones."

  "Bart?" sang a chorus of voices.

  Cody's harsh gasp had her turning to look up at him in surprise. "Dying vamps?" he asked cautiously.

  She snorted. "I killed a couple and the sun killed a couple." She took a deep breath, then continued. "One of them said as they were dying, that they were forced into being part of the blood farm."

  "That makes sense. If the bosses lost so many people, they need to have more pressed into service. Many vamps will be lining up to accept the enhancements offered."

  Cody frowned. "Size being one of them. They've got some monster siz—"

  Ian fell to the ground with a heavy groan. Jewel shrieked as she was caught in a tight grasp and pulled off to the side.

  Tessa gasped but didn't have time to cry out. Cody went to step forward…and stopped.

  They were surrounded. And, in the middle of them, stood a beautiful young redhead.

  Shit.

  ***

  Serus ran behind Goran, happy to see his friend regaining strength. They headed through the main warehouse back to the rooms where Goran had been held captive before. The door was closed. Not a surprise. Goran glanced at Serus, then stepped back and kicked the door open.

  Cries of alarm sounded. Then silence.

  "Goran?" Taz's voice came from somewhere in the back of the crowd.

  "There you are." Goran grinned as Taz made his way toward them. "'Bout time we found you. Are you all good guys in here?"

  "Yes, and we're a mix of humans and vamps."

  "Good to know. 'Cause there is a mess of bad guys out here just pissing us off. We've taken out at least a half dozen."

  "Each," said Serus. He smacked Taz on the shoulder. "Boy, you need to contact Sian. She's going to kill you herself if you don't soon."

  Taz's face split in a sloppy grin. "I will. She's okay, right?"

  "Last I heard. She's playing guard to Rhia."

  Taz relaxed. "That's good, then."

  "Yeah, she's a fine one to have your back. Now…can you handle this while we go round up more assholes, or do we need to stay and guard you?"

  Taz shook his head. "We'll be fine. We all have friends and family we're going to contact for help. If we're going to put a stop to this mess, we have to blow it wide open."

  "Good. Many of the kids that were here last night have gone missing. We suspect they're being prepped for another blood farm, so if you're good to go, we're going to hunt them down."

  With big grins, the men left the crowd now milling about and cheering them on.

  ***

  Rhia studied the numbers scrolling down the screen. Names, dates, and places. "Oh my," she whispered in shock. She looked over at Sian, who leaned in even further. She'd long ago given up on sitting in the chair and had climbed up on the bed beside her.

  "How is this possible?" Sian's voice shook.

  Fear or pain, Rhia didn't know. But she understood. They'd both lost last time. And for Sian to go through it all over again – in the condition she was in – was all the more traumatic. She'd faced ridicule and disgust over her relationship already. Carrying a child of mixed heritage was causing her more problems. But if she lost Taz, that would be horrific. They were so loving and good together.

  Rhia turned back to the list of names. "There are several council members here. We need to figure out which ones aren't listed and contact them."

  "I'm thinking we need to publicize this. Let everyone know who is doing what and why."

  With a long fingernail, Rhia tapped the screen. "There's another one. Councilman Toncher."

  Sian gasped. "Really? He's never seemed like the type."

  "But he's been getting so much more aggressive these last few decades." Rhia tried to stay focused on the screen in front of her. It was the only way to keep the memories of the previous war at bay. And the fear. To think of her species going back to the way they'd been before…

  "You think it's from the blood?"

  "It's what happens, isn't it? The more raw blood the vamps feast on, the more aggressive they become." Rhia kept her gaze on the numbers as the screen scrolled down rapidly. "We've seen it many times before. Sure it takes time, but…" She stopped the screen. "These look like locations. I wonder if it's meetings, suppliers, or maybe buyers?"

  Sian studied the information. "Can't be. There aren't enough of them. Maybe they are distribution centers?"

  The two shared grim looks. "Do you see how many there are? Like a dozen at least."

  "Rhia, you realize we're up against probably a hundred of our own people here? Right?"

  "Not our people. They have nothing in common with me." Old bitterness that couldn't quite be suppressed tainted her voice. "I have to put a stop to this."

  "And we might just drive it underground again."

  Rhia frowned. "That's why we have to make sure this goes to the right place." She rubbed her temple, willing the memories back. "This has to stop. I've lost enough already."

  ***

  Jared watched as several black-clothed young males walked toward the car. His stomach twisted as the vulnerability of his situation settled in. He was the lone male with – now – four male vamps. And if that didn't make him cringe inside, nothing would. He'd been their dinner once. He really didn't want to experience that again.

  "Finally. Took your damn time, didn't you."

  Seth stared at the men but unlocked the door so they could get in. One walked around and opened the passenger door and went to get in. He stopped and stared at Jared. "Who the hell are you?"

  Jared stared bravely back.

  Seth answered, "He's coming up with us. Get in."

  Doors slammed closed as the men in the back settled in.

  The vamp snorted and nudged Jared over. "Move over, freak."

  Freak?

  Before he knew it, Jared's fist flew up and punched the guy in the face.

  Tense silence filled the interior or the car as the others looked on in shock.

  "What the hell." The vamp clutched his nose. "What is your fucking problem?"

  Nursing his sore fist, Jared growled, "I'm not a freak."

  "Well, well. Looky here."

  Tessa tossed her braid back and glared at the strangers. She didn't know a single one. But the glittery excitement in the redhead's eyes made her wonder. She kept her mouth shut as she searched their faces, looking for details to remember them by later. 'Cause she'd make sure they didn't stay that way for long.

  Cody and David made as if to step forward. She put out her arms to stop them. "Hello again," she said with a smile, finally recognizing one of them from the first time around at the blood farm. Damn it. Should have killed the asshole then. She smiled directly at him. "Have you been following me?"

  "It didn't take much. You left a pile of ash as a trail," bit off the boss man standing t
o the side. At least she assumed he was, given the essence of power that surrounded him. She thought she might know him, but couldn't put a name to him. She stole a glance at Cody, and from the tic working in his bottom jaw, she figured he might be able to.

  "Councilman Stenger." Cody's cold voice promised retribution.

  Tessa stared as the councilman stiffened. "Well now," she sneered, "isn't this going to be news to the council? Their own councilman running the blood farm and harvesting humans off the streets. And, of course, they are really going to be interested in hearing about the experiments you're doing on our own people."