Tall, Dark & Heartless: A Pyte/Sentinel Series Novel

by R. L. Mathewson

  With an annoyed growl, mostly at himself for being such a fool for caring even a little, he climbed up the small metal ladder and punched the manhole cover, sending it flying through the air away from him. He barely registered the loud clatter of the cover slamming into a wall and hitting the ground. All his focus was on the dimly lit alleyway he found himself in.

  There was only the barest trace of vampire scent in the alley. It was almost undetectable beneath the heavy cloying scent of fresh blood. He didn't need to see Greg kneeling over Danni's body ten yards away to know that it was her blood. He would know the scent of her blood anywhere. Her blood was the sweetest, most enticing blood he'd ever come across.

  When Danni was a child he'd found the scent of her blood pleasant, yet sweet. It had been a temptation, but one he'd easily ignored. It wasn't until she was on the brink of adulthood that her blood began calling to him, tormenting him. Pushing her away had been the only choice, one he made himself believe he never regretted since it saved her life.

  "Danni? Danni, wake up!" Greg said, shaking her. Caine knew he should walk away and leave it to the little prick to take care of her, but he didn't trust him.

  With a curse he walked over to Danni and shoved the asshole aside. "Danni?" he said softly as ran his eyes over her. There was a deep gash across her palm, but other than a few fresh bruises and cuts he couldn't see any injuries that would explain why she was unconscious.

  "What happened to her?" he demanded, as he leaned over her head and closed his eyes. He slowly moved down her body as he breathed in her scent. He could smell small amounts of blood forming bruises beneath her skin, but nothing serious. He could also scent the aspirin he saw her take an hour ago, but no other drugs. There was absolutely nothing he could scent on her that would explain why she was out. He could smell the low levels of iron in her blood, but that didn't explain why she was out cold.

  He opened his eyes as he picked up her hand and concentrated on the deep gash and frowned. There were no defensive marks, no jagged edges or bruising on her hand. Even after all these years he knew Danni would never sit still and allow someone to do this to her and she sure as hell wouldn't leave a wound like this open, drawing every vampire within a ten mile radius to her. Something was very wrong here and he had a feeling the asshole he was seconds away from killing was the reason.

  "What the hell happened to her?" he demanded again, feeling his patience evaporate. His eyes burned with their change as his fangs descended in his mouth. So help him if the asshole didn't answer him soon he was going to tear his-

  "You know she said you wouldn't come. I guess she was wrong," Greg suddenly said, chuckling. "I'm sure she'll be flattered when she wakes up."

  "What the fuck did you do to her?" he roared, turning to attack him only to come to an abrupt halt when he came face to face with the barrel of a gun. He didn't need to look to know the gun was already cocked and ready.

  It was a trap.

  A fucking trap and he walked right into it, he thought with disgust.

  Greg didn't hesitate in pulling the trigger, which was the only thing that saved him. If he'd hesitated even for a second Caine would have been on him instead of slamming backwards as the hot bullet tore through skin and bone as it made its journey through his head.

  He felt himself drop back, falling limply on his side as his sight blacked out and white hot pain shot through his skull as it was mutilated along the bullet's passage until all he knew was pain and darkness.

  **********

  "How was that 'talk' for you?" Greg demanded, laughing. He pulled back his foot and sent it flying into Caine's stomach over and over again. "You're my bitch now, asshole," he said, kicking Caine one last time in stomach before he pulled his phone out.

  "Come get him," he said, unable to stop grinning. He'd waited twenty-five years to do that and it had been worth the wait. In fact, after Caine did what the Master wanted, Greg looked forward to doing this again, right before they got rid of him permanently.

  His eyes darted over to the secret to his success and he damn near sighed with contentment. She was the key to everything, otherwise he would have killed the bitch years ago.

  Even when they were kids he couldn't stand her. She'd been a little know-it-all bitch who always got in the way and had the rest of the kids fooled. They all thought she was so fucking cool because Caine talked to her and spent time with her. While he had to deal with proving himself to the other kids and getting his ass kicked on a daily basis no one dared to look sideways at Danni. She'd been untouchable.

  The few times he'd tried to put the little bitch in her place had ended poorly for him thanks to her fucking lapdog. When he was a child, Greg knew that Caine was different. Unfortunately for him he hadn't known the full extent of Caine's abilities until it was too late.

  When he was twelve he learned that Caine could hear just about anything from a mile away, if he was paying attention. It was how the bastard discovered Danni was trapped in an old pit hole deep in the woods. They'd been playing tag, the Sentinel version where they mixed training with fun, and while everyone else was running and doing their best to cover their tracks he'd followed the little brat, intent on teaching her a lesson. He couldn't believe his luck when she found an old pit.

  He waited quietly as she walked around the edge. When she was leaning over the edge with her back to him he snuck up behind her as quietly as he could and just as she was about to turn he ran the last several feet separating them and shoved her.

  The sounds of her falling and the accompanying screams had been music to his ears. He would have loved to sit there listening to her scream for help, but he knew what would happen to him if anyone discovered what he'd done so he ran. He ran to where he knew the rest of the kids were playing and circled around so it seemed that he came from the opposite direction. He made sure that no one could connect him with Danni's "accident."

  To this day he still remembered the unholy roar that startled every single living creature for miles. Birds seemed to burst out of tree tops into the sky as animals scattered in a desperate rush for escape. Even the Sentinel adults were startled. They'd quickly gathered up all the children and escorted them through the woods with their weapons drawn.

  While the other children had been scared he had to work damn hard not to smile. All he could think of was Danni's pitiful screams as he ran that mile back to the compound. Every pregnant woman and every child, Sentinel and human, were placed in the downstairs training room with guards set up at every exit, prepared to fight the rogue demon they thought was on the property, but Greg knew better.

  He wasn't at all surprised when barely five minutes had passed since the lockdown and Caine came storming in with Danni crying in his arms. When Greg saw the makeshift splints on Danni's small arm and leg, a small snort of laughter escaped him before he could stop himself.

  Caine's red eyes, which still scared everyone to this day, narrowed on him and Greg did his best to appear innocent, not that he was afraid. He knew his parents and every Sentinel in the compound would protect him from the crazed Pyte. Besides, no one had seen what he'd done so he knew he was in the clear. He watched with relish as Danni cried and screamed as they set her bones. He would have loved to watch them put her in casts, but by that point everyone had been ushered out of the room.

  It wasn't until later that night when his parents were out on patrol that he learned very differently. He'd woken up to find a very angry Pyte hovering over him. Caine never touched him, but then again he didn't need to. The things that he promised to do to Greg if he ever touched Danni again had been enough to leave him shaking and crying in his freshly pissed soaked bed.

  From that day on he maintained his distance from Danni, but he watched her. Always. His hatred for her only intensified after that day. For years he waited for an opportunity to get to her, but the Pyte was always there, always watching. When the two seemed to have a falling out he thought for sure the wait was over, but he learned very differently
when he went to make his move on the bitch one night during training. It was the first time Caine made good on all those threats he made years earlier and beat the living shit out of him.

  After that he backed off, waiting for the right opportunity and fearing he would never get it because of the Pyte. He began hitting the shifter and vampire hangouts looking for any information on how to solve his little Pyte problem.

  Word spread and soon he found himself in front of a Master who was only too happy to help Greg for a price, but then again Greg had a demand of his own. He was going to correct the problem of his human birth.

  After the Master explained what he wanted, Greg was only too happy to help and provide the incentive they needed. A year ago he'd put his plan into action and befriended the little bitch. Somehow he'd stopped himself from killing her, reminding himself that he needed her, but it had been difficult.

  Soon they were dating and he almost had her trusting him, but then the bitch had to walk out into that alley and find him fucking another woman and his plans had been blown to shit. It had taken a few months, but he finally managed to set up a trap for the both of them, one that he liked better than his original plan.

  He knelt beside Danni and pressed the gun to her head, wishing he could pull the trigger, but unfortunately they needed her. So he'd just have to resign himself to making her life a living hell.

  Chapter 4

  Caine came awake gasping for air as his hands shot to his face, seeking out the damage, already knowing there would be none. His blood and time had done their work, allowing him to heal.

  As his breathing slowed down he became aware of the thick metal cuff locked around his right ankle. He dropped his hands from his face as he sat up and took in his new surroundings.

  What the hell.......

  He looked around the large off-white tiled room and couldn't help but frown when he spotted Danni lying on a twin mattress on the floor. She was dressed in a man's dress shirt and had a thick black bracelet around her right ankle with an unusually thick black wire running from it to the wall. Reluctantly he looked away from her to take in the rest of the room while wondering why he wasn't in bloodlust and attacking her.

  His body required blood to heal. Although his body could heal on its own through a pain coma, as it had just done, his body always required ingested blood to make up for what he lost. By all rights he should have woken up already in the throes of bloodlust and attacked whatever was available. The fact that it was Danni in the room with him, whose blood he craved night and day should have guaranteed that he attacked her.

  Instead of feeling the need to feed he felt oddly full, which meant that someone fed him when he'd been out cold. Whoever had masterminded this, obviously wanted her alive otherwise they wouldn't have fed him and that meant that whatever they had planned for him involved Danni.

  "Shit," he muttered, coming to his feet as he scanned the rest of the room.

  One thing was clear. Whoever captured them was well set up to handle prisoners. In one corner there was a shower built into the wall with a drain in the floor as well as a toilet a few feet away offering zero privacy. Towels and toiletries lined the wall on the other side of the toilet. In the opposite corner was a metal door, and the only exit from the room. He didn't need to walk towards the door to know that his chain would stop him short before he reached it.

  Curious, he looked down at the thick chain and wasn't too surprised to discover that it was made of titanium, one of the very few metals he couldn't break. He scanned the ceiling and nearly growled when he spotted the cameras planted just out of his reach.

  He flipped off the cameras as he scanned the room again, hoping he'd missed something. But after a minute, it became obviously that the door held their only escape. He looked down at his ankle, absently noting that whoever had chained him up had also stripped, cleaned, and dressed him. He was now only wearing a pair of gray boxer briefs. Caine focused his attention on the cuff, looking for a way to pry it open.

  After a few minutes he gave up and focused his energy on trying to pull the chain out of the wall where it was secured, only ending up more pissed off. Whoever had planned this had done their homework.

  The sound of several locks clicking drew his attention back to the door. Caine smelled the asshole seconds before he stepped into the room.

  "Well, well, look who's awake," Greg mused as he stepped to the side, allowing a vampire carrying a medium sized red cooler to step into the room. The vampire shot him a nervous glance before his eyes landed on Danni and stayed there.

  Caine felt his eyes begin to burn as the man licked his lips hungrily. The scent of his arousal drifted towards Caine. A low menacing growl erupted from his throat, echoing loudly in the room, startling the man, but not enough to make him look away from Danni.

  "Leave," Greg demanded, sounding oddly smug.

  Caine watched as the vampire scurried out of the room before he shifted his attention back on Greg to find the man holding what appeared to be a remote.

  "Do you know what this is?" Greg asked, holding the remote up higher so Caine could make out a green and red button.

  "The battery charger for your vibrator?" Caine drawled.

  Greg took a threatening step towards him before coming to a sudden halt and stepping back, further pissing Caine off. A few more inches and Caine was sure he would have been able to reach him and tear his throat out.

  "How about a demonstration?" Greg suggested tightly, as he pressed the green button.

  Caine heard the sizzle of electricity flowing seconds before Danni screamed in her sleep. His eyes shot over to Danni. He watched helplessly as her body arched off the bed, hands fisted in the sheet, eyes squeezed tightly shut as an agonizing scream escaped her. He forced himself to stand there, knowing the little shit was hoping for a reaction from him.

  It was one of the most difficult things he'd ever done, but somehow he forced himself to look away from her and look back at the asshole he was going to kill.

  Very soon.

  "Do I have your attention now?" Greg asked, smirking. He reluctantly removed his finger from the button, but Caine could tell man was dying to hit it again.

  "What do you want?" Caine asked, forcing himself to ignore Danni's gasps.

  Greg shrugged, leaning back against the wall as his thumb lazily traced circles around the remote's buttons. For the first time since he walked into the room Caine noted the Sentinel black fatigues were gone, replaced by a silk shirt and tailored black pants. Although Sentinels weren't hurting for money they usually didn't wear anything fashionable. They were usually more concerned with the job than needless comfort and that habit was usually followed by their human children since they would likely be taunted and teased for being pussies.

  "First, I think we should cover the rules, don't you?" Greg asked, smiling when Caine only glared at him. "There are four of these lovely little devices," Greg said, holding up the remote. "If you try to escape or attack any of my men I'll push the red button, which as I'm sure you've guessed will kill the little bitch."

  Caine swallowed hard as dread filled him. "If you try to remove the device from her leg or the wall I'll push the red button, but for all those other little things that simply piss me off I'll push the green button and as you can see," Greg said, jutting his chin out in Danni's direction, "she probably won't enjoy that."

  "What makes you think that I care?" Caine asked, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned back against the wall.

  "Then I guess you won't mind if I do this again," Greg said, not bothering to hide his grin as he hit the green button. Caine refused to look at Danni.

  "You son of a bitch!" Danni screamed, at him or the douche bag, he wasn't sure. It didn't matter at the moment. The only thing that mattered was getting the message across that he couldn't care less about her, because when it came down to it he really didn't. He cared about the little girl that she had once been, but nobody else.

  "No, not really," he said
in a bored tone, shrugging. "The only thing I care about is why I'm here."

  "I suppose we could get down to business," Greg said, reluctantly removing his finger from the button. He nodded in Danni's direction. "We want you to change her."

  Caine chuckled darkly. "Not fucking happening."

  "Why not?" Greg asked, cocking a brow. "We both know that you haven't used your one turn yet."

  No, he hadn't and he never planned to use it. It didn't matter that the Sentinel council had threatened to encase his ass in cement and drop him in the deepest part of the ocean where he'd spend eternity wishing for a death that he knew would never come. He would never give anyone the life he hated.