Blood

by K. B. Ladnier

  I arched my brow in confusion. “What do you mean?”

  “My team is only one of many. I know you knew that, but each team is responsible for a specific thing. Mine is for the apprehension or execution of vampires dealing in drugs and petty crimes. We’re basically the Narcs of the system.”

  When I gave him a look of amusement, he pulled the thought I was thinking right out of my head, waving his hand at me.

  “But that doesn’t make us any less deadly. There’s other teams that deal solely with the human side of things and then there’s the teams that deal solely with werewolves and any other supernatural creature known or unknown. Bishop Bentley leads the Alpha Team that focuses on werewolves. He’s not an appealing person to deal with, but he’s the best and strongest of all the men in the precinct next to me. He could help us.”

  I inclined my head, wondering what was so bad about the guy. “What is he?”

  When Hollis gave me a questioning stare, I continued.

  “I mean supernatural wise.”

  Hollis’ lip twitched as he shook his head in disbelief. “Honestly, that guy is scary to even me. Believe it or not, he’s a bull shifter.”

  I gawked at him, not knowing that bull shifters still existed. I grew up hearing stories, but

  “You’re fucking joking! You’re telling me that those scary shifters that the Minotaur myths are based off of, are still alive and kicking?”

  Hollis laughed. “The very same. Never seen him shift, but I believe it. He makes me look like a shrimp.”

  I scoffed, not entirely sure I believed him. “Well, I’ll believe it when I see it. I call bull.”

  Hollis laughed again at my attempt at humor and got out of the car, me following behind him. “You’ll believe me when you see him. Come on. I don’t wanna waste daylight. They won’t be moving with her while the sun’s up, so we may be able to get something done while they rest.”

  With a little hope blooming in my chest that these other teams could help, I followed Hollis into the station. I was exhausted, but I’d be getting no sleep today.

  I’ll rest when Lucy is found, but until then, come hell or high water, I would use every second looking for her.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Lucy

  “Welcome, Lucy. I’ve waited a long time to meet you.”

  I shuddered when the man walking into my room spoke. His voice was deep and had a British accent. He sounded very chipper rather than evil, and I wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.

  My eyes were having a hard time adjusting with that damn light shining through the open door. Between that making him look like some dark silhouette and my hand held up to block out the brightness, I still couldn’t make out what this stranger looked like. I did, however, finally notice what I was wearing. I was so spaced out on what was going on, it hadn’t occurred to me that I wasn’t wearing shoes. Or pants. Or anything that I had on when I was taken, for that matter.

  Someone had dressed me in a long white tank top. It barely skimmed my thighs and was almost see through with how thin the material was. With enough slack on my chains, I surged to my feet and turned a glare towards my captor. It was worthless even bothering to do it though, considering I still had to shield my eyes from the light.

  “Think you could turn that fucking light out? Can’t exactly meet ya back if I can’t even see you, asshole.” I snarled out at him. The clothes thing almost pissed me off more than the being kidnapped. Almost.

  He completely ignored my insult and slowly closed the door, dimming the light.

  I lowered my hand and blinked a few times as my eyes adjusted back to the darkness. The vampire standing before me wasn’t at all what I was expecting.

  He was definitely vampire with his eyes bright red and skin a shade darker than the paleness of my own. His hair was a light, golden blonde and pushed back like he continually ran his hands through it. He was roughly six feet tall, give or take an inch. He had a thin face that was on the verge of being feminine, yet somehow retained its masculinity. His nose was long and slightly pointed and his perfectly plump lips were tilted up in a very large grin as my eyes flowed over him.

  He wore only a leather jacket with no shirt beneath, revealing a very slender but toned chest and torso. His black jeans were loosely fitted around his hips, but tight as they went down his legs and tucked into black Doc Marten boots that went up just past his ankles with the laces untied.

  All in all, he was gorgeous, but something about him scared me and pulled me all at once. His posture and the way he seemed to rock on his heels with his hands in his pockets, put me on edge.

  I didn’t know how long I stared at him, but it must’ve been a good bit. His facial expression told me he noticed my intense perusal of him. He didn’t seem to mind.

  “You are more fascinating than I imagined you’d be. If you’re done checking me out, I think it’s time we talked.”

  Holy shit. Why was I checking him out?

  “Then talk. Who are you and where the hell am I?” I asked with irritation. “And who the fuck changed my clothes?”

  The vampire smiled, walking closer again and stopping within two feet of me. He fiddled with something behind his back, making me eye him warily. I clenched my fists, readying myself in case he wanted a fight.

  “To answer your questions, this morning I was someone, but now here with you, I’m someone else. It’s very odd really. You are here, and as for your clothes—” he paused in the middle of his cryptic response before stepping closer and snagging the strap on my shoulder. I tensed when his fingers grazed my skin, sending a weird warming sensation down my arm.

  “I dressed you, but I didn’t choose what you are wearing. It is rather fetching on you, though. I wonder if it’s mine.” He stepped closer and sniffed the material. I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion. Why was he sniffing me?

  He was a strange vampire. His demeanor was terrifying, but he didn’t seem to bring out the fear in me that Viper had. This guy had to be the boss they all talked about, so why was I not afraid?

  He stepped away and smiled. “Yes, definitely mine.”

  “That was the weirdest way to answer me. You do realize that, right?” I stated blandly. Why did it feel like I’ve met him before? When I first heard him speak, his voice wasn’t familiar. But now that I’ve gotten a better look at him, I felt like I’d met him before.

  “I realize a lot of things, actually.” He stepped back and looked down at his wrist as if something was there. But there was nothing. Has he lost his damn mind?

  “I have some things to attend to, so I hope you don’t mind your living quarters for a little while,” he waved his hand dramatically at my cell. I looked around with my brow raised in an ‘are you shitting me?’ manner.

  “At least until you learn you can trust me.” He added with a smile that made me little inclined to even think about doing that.

  I surged forward at him until my chains tugged at my wrists, putting my face only inches from his. “That’s not going to happen,” I spat coldly at him.

  “We’ll see about that, Lucy.”

  Without another word, he left.

  I scooted backwards until my back rested against the wall and slid down. The questions of how long I’d been out and where my guys were, began to consume me. I had a feeling I’d be getting a lot of time to think things over while in here. I just hoped he at least fed me.

  What felt like days, went by. I wasn’t sure how long I was there for. There was no way to tell the time, so I had to rely on counting the minutes and hours in my head. I counted at least six days, with some random asshole coming in every other day to hand me bagged blood that barely staved off my starvation. It kept me sane and away from a haze, but my throat burned with hunger nonetheless.

  On day seven, the vampire who had first appeared when I woke up, finally came back.

  When he stepped into the cell, he had a smile lighting his face like it was Christmas, but I could see his eyes had the tellta
le signs of a vampire under the influence of BloodLust. Were they drugging him?

  “It’s tea time! Guess we need to remove these chains now, don’t we?” He pulled a silver key from his pocket and held out his hand. “I don’t bite. Well, I do, but not you. Not yet, at least.”

  I wasn’t sure if he was messing with me or being serious. He was really hard to read. I put my shackled wrists into his hands and let him unlock them. They fell to the floor with a loud crash. He knelt down and began unlocking the ones around my ankles, and that’s when I saw my chance.

  He had made the mistake of undoing my wrists first, so the second the ones around my ankles fell and he stood, I kicked him in the balls with all my might. He fell to the floor with a gasp and I jumped over him. With a crash, I slammed the door of the cell behind me and looked back and forth, trying to decide which way to go.

  I heard him curse before a bang came from the other side of the door. I didn’t have long before he’d get out. So, without thinking, I ran left.

  The hallway was narrow and made completely of concrete just like the cell. Fluorescent lights lit the way as I ran. Left. Right. Right again. Each hallway only had a door that turned out to be a cell just like mine. All of them were empty, and none led me out. The place was like a fucking maze. I didn’t see any stairs leading up or down.

  I cursed with aggravation. How the fuck was I supposed to get out of here?

  Somewhere behind me, I heard his voice carry like an echo. But he wasn’t talking. He was singing.

  “Hey, Lucy, I remember your name. I left a dozen roses on your grave today…”

  Realizing I wasn’t getting anywhere without knowing where I was going, I started tugging on the cell doors along the hallway. His voice continued singing behind me, closer by the minute.

  “Now that it’s over, I just wanna hold her…”

  How the hell had he managed to make such a nice song sound so fucking creepy? I tugged on another door and was happy when I finally found one that opened. I ducked inside and closed the door lightly, cowering as I pressed against it. I heard him still singing as he passed by and sagged to the ground in relief. If I waited long enough, maybe I could slip out and find a different escape route.

  “Lucy?” I heard to my right just before chains rattled against the concrete floor.

  I jumped in surprise at my name and saw a man chained to the wall much like I had been. He wasn’t familiar to me at all, but his shirt was ripped open and the words ‘STF Scum’ were carved into his chest. The words were burned around the edges, making me sure he was a vampire who’d met a blade of silver. It’s then I remembered Hollis saying he had a man on the inside. My guess was he was that twelfth member of his team and had been found out.

  I slid closer to him, keeping my voice in a whisper just in case. “You’re part of Hollis’ team, aren’t you?” I asked him.

  His eyes were drooping and body even paler than normal and limp, most likely from being starved of blood. No wonder they didn’t lock his cell door. He wasn’t getting out of these chains in this state.

  “Yeah. They pegged me as an undercover agent pretty quickly,” he rasped. “They shot me up with their BloodLust shit and strung me up in here. I had no choice. They made me tell them everything.” His tone was solemn.

  I scooted up next to him and tried yanking on the chains that held his wrists up, the silver burning my palms in the process. I hissed through my teeth, but kept tugging. It was useless, though. I wasn’t much better off than this guy.

  “What’s your name?” I asked him, giving up on trying to free him and resting my head against the wall as I sat there. I was losing hope either one of us would get out of here.

  “Diego Brody,” he said. “I’m sorry you’re here. It’s my fault for getting caught.”

  I looked over at him and saw his chin resting against his chest in defeat.

  “I don’t blame you, Diego. Something about that drug gives you little choice.” I paused, running through every option on how to get us out of here. As much as I wanted to leave this place now, I couldn’t in good faith leave him here to die. “I don’t know how to get us out of here.” I admitted dejectedly.

  I tried to hold back the tears, but it was hard. Why was I even here? Who was that vampire and why did he want me?

  “Don’t worry about me. Just get yourself out. Once you do, my team will come.”

  I shook my head and placed my hand on his leg. “I’m not leaving you. They’ll kill you before we could come back for you.”

  “Damn it, Lucy! They don’t want me. They want you. I don’t know why, but that guy that runs things around here isn’t right in the head. Somehow, you’re important, and them having you has got to be worse than them having me.”

  I sighed. I understood what he was trying to do, but my life wasn’t more important than anyone else’s. I was just a tattoo artist who grew up in a small town. There was something else going on and I had to figure out what it was.

  I couldn’t respond, though. The door to the cell flew open and the vampire who’d been looking for me stepped in.

  “I found you,” he whispered.

  As he stalked closer, Diego fought against his chains.

  “Leave her alone! She doesn’t have anything to do with this!” He screamed.

  I tried to bury myself between Diego and the wall behind him, but it was pointless. The vampire grabbed me like I weighed nothing and threw me over his shoulder, exiting the room as I kicked at him. Diego’s screams for me echoed through the door as the vampire slammed it behind us and started down the hallway.

  “You had your fun, pet. Now stop kicking and I’ll let you down.” The guy said in a deep growl, delivering a swift smack to my ass that was hanging out of the shirt I wore.

  “Hey! Alright! Just don’t fucking spank me!” I replied with an elbow to his lower back.

  Suddenly, I was on my feet and thrust against the wall, him crowding me and pinning my hands above my head. I instantly stilled when he ran his lips along my throat. I felt a little sick with myself for the way I shook as his hard body sank against mine. I stared straight ahead and unmoving, fearful of what he might do if I shifted even an inch, and slightly embarrassed at the possibility that my body would betray me and like it if he did do something to me; like drink from me.

  If this wasn’t Stockholm syndrome, I didn’t know what was.

  “I won’t hurt you, darling. It’s just been so long since I’ve been this close to you and able to touch you again. It’s comforting.”

  I stilled. “A-again?” I stuttered out. What the hell did that mean?

  “Story for another day,” his tongue flicked out and ran up the column of my neck. I felt one hand leave from holding mine up and a finger trace down my cheek as he leaned back to stare at me. “My master doesn’t know you’re here and we should keep it that way.”

  Why doesn’t he want him to know? I thought he was in charge, I pondered.

  The way he was looking at me was strange. Earlier, his eyes were crazed and unfocused, but now he looked more aware than when he talked to me in my cell. There was sadness behind the look that I didn’t understand. I couldn’t process his words, since I was too busy processing his face.

  I knew his face. From afar, he was a stranger. But the face I looked at now was pulling at a memory embedded deep within my brain.

  He released his hold on me and stepped back, not fully letting go as he looked at my wrists. “How’d you get out of your shackles?” He turned them over back and forth.

  Seriously?

  He looked back up at me and his eyes were again unfocused. Fuck, he was crazy...

  “Uh, you undid them…”

  He blinked at me a few times and smiled. “Right.” He looked at his non-existent watch. “Tea time! We must be off!” He pulled me further down the hallway before we came to a split. He turned right and there at the end was a set of steps.

  We walked up three flights before he stopped in front of a wa
ll. I watched in confusion as he dusted off some chalky residue, revealing a small key hole.

  He reached into his front pocket and pulled out a small key, inserting it into the slot and turning it twice counter-clockwise. A clicking sound like gears moving sounded just before the door slid open to reveal a long, dark tunnel. There was a lit torch anchored to the wall. The vampire grabbed it and pulled me into the tunnel, the secret door sliding closed behind us.

  I wasn’t sure what to expect at the end of this tunnel, but I prayed that I could figure out a way to escape this place wherever we ended up. Everything depended on my escape. I needed to get help for Diego.

  I needed my men…

  Chapter Sixteen

  As the vampire continued to lead me through the narrow tunnel that wreaked of mildew and dust, I’d tried kicking out at him and yanking myself away several times. But it was all futile. He was stronger than he looked and I doubted he’d give me an opening for another ball shot.

  Since he’d yet to give me his name, I started calling him Mr. Insanity in my head. It seemed fitting. I began dreading what would be at the end of this tunnel as we walked, hoping it at least smelled better. I was imagining some creepy castle or another warehouse like the one the guys and I had staked out.

  I was wrong on both fronts.

  My thoughts wandered to Diego still locked in the cell. I was scared for him and hoped I’d figure things out before they decided his usefulness had diminished. In all honesty, I was surprised they kept him alive after gaining the info about the stakeout.

  Mr. Insanity yanked me forward and pulled something from his back pocket. “I’m sorry for this, but it’s necessary for a moment,” he said before throwing a black, hard to see through bag over my head. I went to protest, but he shushed me before opening the metal door we came to at the end. My eyes opened wide with surprise at what I could see through the sack.