“Get her off me.” The driver attempted to shrug her off. Even bent his head to try and bite her arm.
Her scalp burned as one of her captors grabbed a fistful of her hair from behind. He yanked violently, pulling on her ponytail. She turned around and elbowed him across the chin. Teeth and blood flew up into the air, but she didn’t have time to finish him off. They were trying to kill Vicq.
Vicq stood atop the hood and punched through the front windshield, causing the glass to shatter in all directions. Shards of it flew back into the back of the van, striking her bare extremities.
Vicq’s eyes had transformed to blood-red, and fangs shot through his gums as he went into attack mode.
The driver swung at him with one arm while still trying to control the steering wheel with the other.
Vicq tugged the driver by the hair. “Stop the fucking van!”
A rope circled her neck and jerked her back. Her wrists were then tied behind her. The thing was wrapped around her so that the harder she yanked, the more she choked herself.
The van halted abruptly. Vicq had the driver by the neck. The driver’s face grew just as red as Vicqs, but for different reasons. The driver’s chin hit his chest and he slumped over.
Another struggle broke out as Bloody Face rushed forward and fought with Vicq to keep him out of the van.
Scraping sounds across the floor directed her line of sight away from Vicq. A small launcher was being dragged from its case.
“No!” She scrambled forward and kicked her feet out, trying to trip the tracker.
He swung his arm back and her body flung across the van so hard that her heart stopped. Pain crept through her back and chest as she heaved in an attempt to breathe again.
Elaina looked up and locked eyes with Vicq. Go. She wanted to tell him to flee, but no words would escape her lips. Her mouth filled with fluid, but it wasn’t the water she so desperately needed. The thick liquid tasted of metallic and salt. It was her own blood.
Time seemed to stop as Vicq stood atop the stalled van. His eyes flicking from her to the mini rocket launcher that was sure to kill him.
Go! Now! Her mind screamed and pleaded with him.
“Put a bigger hole in his gut this time!”
The explosion from the weapon rocked the van. Sparks of light and smoke from the launch nearly blinded her. But she did glimpse Vicq’s form tumble from the van with smoke surrounding him.
God, no! Please don’t let him be hurt. Gunpowder crept up her nostrils. The tears burned her eyes and her head swirled like a tornado. The sound of a roaring engine thrummed through her eardrums. Her heart fluttered in an uneven rhythm. She couldn’t breathe. Too much chaos and pain. She could barely keep her eyelids from falling over her vision.
Hard, cold hands pushed at her violently. The back of her head hit hard metal. Someone stabbed a needle in her neck. Her veins grew frigid and cold. The voices grew distant...
Chapter 14
Vicq came to in a ditch. Mud and dirt caked the side of his face. He gritted his teeth as pain and rage coursed through him. The rocket had barely grazed his side, but the heat from the blaze had scorched him enough. If it wasn’t for the shadow that was cast over him from the trench, he probably would have simmered to death under the waning sun.
He teleported from the ditch to the highway and looked both ways. As he’d thought, the lanes were desolate. Elaina and the van were long gone. Glancing up at the dusky sky, he estimated that almost an hour had passed. She could’ve been anywhere by now. Bile rose up in his throat and he bent over to catch his breath.
There was something small and hard gripped in his palm. He uncurled his fingers and revealed the dog tags within them. They belonged to the driver he’d choked to death. His skin was cut where the chain had dug in across his wrist from pulling it. He held it high for his inspection and notated the numbers embedded in the surface. The 5 symbol. And something that looked like a series of digits followed by dashes.
He sincerely hoped that this was what he needed to find out where they were taking Elaina. He’d lost her once before. Damn it! How could he have let this happen again? He’d failed her.
His gaze flowed to the evening sky once again. Just as he prepared to teleport, the small suitcase she’d brought along flashed in his mind. He had yet to ask her what it was, what the evidence was that she’d mentioned, but knew that it had to be something important that he should retrieve.
Thick trees and boulders heavily guarded the sanctuary. Black Mountain was a favorite attraction of tourists, but few ever crossed over to the small, dense region that Vicq’s coven members called home. The mountains were too steep, the edges too rough for climbing where they lived. In addition, cougars were too ravenous, black bears were too aggressive, and the mountain lions too bloodthirsty.
Vicq barged through a wooden door to enter the first cave. A few of his men were huddled over computer screens when he teleported into the main study. They hissed, revolted at his condition. Maybe he should have taken a dip in the lake first, but he simply didn’t have time for such niceties.
“What happened to you?” Brandon stood first, rushing over to offer aid. The red-haired, green-eyed geek had been a doctor in his human life. The life-saving surgeries he’d performed hadn’t been enough to escape from his unexpected fate—life as a Dresdan.
Vicq shook his head and held up his hand to ward off Brandon’s attempt. “I’m fine. Three District trackers have Elaina. I need your help.”
Eli, the youngest scientist in their sanctuary, looked up from the keyboard. “You mean the woman you’ve been protecting?”
“Yes. The woman I will bring here to live safely.” His head swam with so many flashbacks and images he thought he was hallucinating. He reached out to grab the edge of a table to keep from falling over.
“Do you need assistance?” This time, Brandon placed a supporting hand to his shoulder.
“Yes.” He diverted his eyes away from Brandon. Admitting defeat was something he’d never been good at.
Brandon pressed at Vicq’s injured side. “Eli, can you call an aid to get my toolkit?”
“Not that kind of assistance.” Vicq cringed as the former medical student probed at him. The singed flesh on his right side burned like a blaze, but he ignored the pain. Instead, he focused on how he’d get Elaina back.
Taking in a deep breath, Vicq jerked away from Brandon. He slammed the dog tags down onto the table in front of Eli, who’d just called for an aid on his cell phone. “Can you find out what these codes mean?”
Eli lifted the tags from the table and held them up for inspection. His eyes moved from the inscription to Vicq. “I suspect these are coordinates to a District research facility.”
“Then get me the address. Now!”
“You don’t mean to go there, do you?” Logan, who’d been gawking all along, shot up from his seat. “That’s ludicrous. They’ll fry your ass like southern fried chicken. We’ve got plans underway to attack in two months, but they’re premature plans. We’re not ready to stand up—”
Vicq glared at him through narrowed eyes. “I don’t give a damn about plans underway. I need to find her. Tonight.”
“They could be anywhere, Vicq.” Eli turned to his computer station and drummed at the keyboard.
“If I can catch them before they reach that facility...”
“You’re running after a District tracker. How do you know she isn’t against us?” Logan rushed around the table to stand between him and Eli.
Vicq’s fangs ripped violently from his gums. “Don’t fucking question me!”
His outburst caused Logan to put some more space between them. The room was dead silent as they scrambled to conform to his orders.
“If I have the right location, it seems to be two hundred miles south of here.” Eli swung around in his chair, his eyes widened. “Washington, DC. One of District 5’s main facilities.”
Vicq’s heart jumped with hope. It wasn’t her exact loc
ation, but at least he knew where they were headed. That would send him in the right direction.
“The chances of finding her are one in a million.” Brandon came to join them around the computer screen. “Not to mention, every vampire that’s ever set foot on the District properties that we’ve been monitoring has fried.”
“We can get to her before they get to their facility. You forget, brother, that my chances are increased. Although, not completed, I share a bond with her. I can find her, if I’m close enough.”
“That human female will be the death of you,” Logan said through clenched teeth.
“Then start planning my funeral.”
Logan lifted a walkie-talkie from the table, switched it on, and held it close to his lips. “Gather up your men. We have a human to find.”
Brandon nudged Vicq and rolled up his shirt sleeve. “You need to feed.”
Vicq bit the inside of his bottom lip while his stomach rolled in agreement. He craved Elaina, not one of his brothers. Just as he thought, his system relied on her now more than ever. She was his sustenance and the reason why he chose to live when so many wanted him dead.
Without strength, he would not be able to bring her back safely. He lifted Brandon’s wrist to his lips, tore through to the vein, and took until the blood flow slowed.
Chapter 15
Elaina opened her eyes and peered up at the bright lamp hanging from the roof of the van. Her pulse throbbed uncontrollably, as if she’d awakened from a bad dream. A filthy aftertaste of blood and dirt remained in her mouth. She tried to straighten her arms to relieve the cramp in her shoulders, but the ropes still bound her. She focused, and the voices of her kidnappers grew louder and louder. Her body shivered—an aftereffect of the drug they’d used to put her to sleep wearing off.
“Well, well, look who’s awake.” Rough hands hooked under her forearms. Bloody Face braced her up in a sitting position against the wall of the van. “Obviously, that dose wasn’t strong enough.”
Elaina swallowed hard, and the only thing that came of it was her parched tongue scraping against the top of her dry mouth. A gallon of water sat opened and half empty in the center of the van between the men. It appeared to be the same gallon she’d bought back at the convenience store.
“You’re good for something, huh?” Her second kidnapper unwrapped a hotdog and took a bite. “Yum. Fresh and juicy, just like you, eh?”
What a pig! Elaina hoped he choked to death on them.
“Oh.” He giggled like a lunatic. “Are you hungry? Were these your hotdogs?”
Her stomach rumbled in hunger as the van traveled on the bumpy roads. Chances were, they’d kept her alive to take her to heads of District 5. If they wanted her dead, they would’ve killed her already. She wondered what price they’d been offered for her capture.
“Give it a rest, will ya, Roy?” Bloody Face leered at her. “That’s no way to treat a high-ranking officer.”
Roy chuckled again, bits of bread and meat flying from his mouth. “She doesn’t have a rank anymore. You really thought you could hide out, didn’t you?”
He held out a piece of hotdog to her face and she cringed. She wouldn’t eat anything he’d touched, even if it were the last morsel left, or the only thing that would save her.
“So, how does it feel, Elaina?” Bloody Face drew his legs to his chest and propped his forearms on his knees. “To be one of the first hybrids?”
Her headache raged as confusion set in. “I’m not a hybrid.”
“Why do you keep hiding it?” Roy asked. “We knew you were hiding the infection in your blood, but we could never find you to confirm.”
Had they been watching her, too? Had they intentionally let her get away?
When and how had they found out that the vampire agent roamed in her blood? “Why are you only just now coming to get me?”
Roy lunged forward and grabbed a fistful of her hair. “Because you hid, you treacherous bitch!”
Her scalp stung like hell as he pulled her strands. This lunatic had a serious temper. Hands still tied behind her back, she pushed off the side of the van, flung out her boot and kicked him in the gut. He sputtered and choked on the piece of hotdog.
She rose to her feet and ground her boot heel into his neck, impaling him to the floor. His face grew red, the veins popping up from his forehead. The color slowly left his face and he clawed at her jeans with his fingers.
“You assault me again and I’ll kill you,” she warned.
Bloody Face thrust her back against the van into a sitting position once more.
“Roy, you jackass.” He helped his sputtering, lunatic buddy up. “Do not underestimate her. We’re supposed to hand her over in one piece.”
Roy shot daggers at her, grabbing at his throat.
She may be tied up like a dog, but he’d learn to respect her, even in her vulnerable state.
“How do you know that I’m infected?”
“You left—”
“Don’t tell her, Ace.”
“Roy, shut the fuck up,” Ace yelled toward his colleague and then glanced at her. “After snipers shot both of you at the diner, the two of you left a trail of blood from your injuries. When there is no match, the blood separates when combined like oil and water. With a match between a human and a vampire, the blood infuses together. By the time they figured it out, you had skipped town.”
Her breath hitched in her throat. Ace more than likely referred to the night she’d been shot with a poisoned arrow by a tracker. Had Vicq not offered his blood to help her with her own loss, she would have died. He gave an adequate amount to save and heal her, but not enough to turn her. It had been the first night he’d fed her.
Ace cracked his knuckles—all eight of them. “You and your little vamp boyfriend left just the right amount to take back to the labs to study. Why’d you run, Elaina, if you knew your DNA was a match?”
She’d run because it had been her only option given her circumstances at the time. She cringed against the bile that rose up in her throat. She would have died that night. Even after their escape, the Dresdan had hunted Vicq down until they’d captured him. She should have stood up for him, but she’d hid behind a city bus until her lover was gone—just as he’d made her promise to do. Days went by, and Vicq had not returned, so she was left to fend for herself. She’d created a new identity and refined her plan to bring down District 5.
Days turned into weeks. And weeks turned into months. It had been hard for her then, but she’d made herself believe that Vicq had been executed.
“Why did you hide, Elaina?”
“I was on a hit list. Did you expect me to blow my cover?”
Ace laughed. “You were, but not anymore. If you cooperate, you will most likely be allowed to live.”
“Allowed?”
He nodded.
It didn’t take a wizard to understand that District 5 wanted to study her. She would take pleasure in making them work for it. “A dead hybrid won’t give them what they need. What exactly do they want with me now, anyway?”
“They can’t figure out what’s in your blood that makes you a match. Even after years of finding people with the same blood type, District scientists are still unable to create more hybrids. There has been some success, but no one has ever maintained the infection and remained in stasis as long as you have.”
Elaina dug her fingers into the insides of her palms and jerked her wrists against the rope. “I refuse to participate in any experiments. I’m not some creature to be controlled.”
“Your body belongs to District 5. You signed your life away. Shoulda stayed on our side and you would have nothin’ to worry about.”
She glared at him. “Murderers! You’ve killed innocent Dresdan, and even humans you’ve experimented on.”
Ace laughed. “Why should you worry about the others? Casualties are the price of victory. You’re prime property. All you have to do is cooperate to save your miserable life.”
Elai
na molded her lips together to keep from screaming out. He’d probably collect millions from District 5 for her capture and return. They were all motivated by greed, lust, power, and money. The training upon recruitment created this type of mentality.
She’d had the world and lost it, all because she’d wanted to stop for snacks. Now she’d have to spend eternity as a puppet, wanting someone who was gone. All her years worth of gathered evidence needed to expose District 5 was lost. The love of her life...gone. What had she been living for all these years? What reasons were there to live now? She hung her head in defeat and rested her forehead on her knees.
Chapter 16
There were two hours left until sunrise and Vicq rode right toward it. Most Dresdan would have thought him a complete fool. Playing the guessing game to track down the van with his true love inside was like solving the maze to escape the realms of Hell. He’d be damned if he let District 5 get away with Elaina.
Vicq lowered his chest in line with the handlebars of the motorcycle and sped up. Derrick and Brad probably thought he’d kill himself...and them in the process. Still, they followed him.
His blood throbbed in his veins with anticipation. He sensed Elaina was near. Every part of his body guided him almost like some invisible force were pushing him like magic toward the only source of food that satisfied him completely. The resident doctor back at sanctuary had told him that if he believed, Fate would guide him. Just like it had when she’d left her life behind as Elaina and had started a new one under an alias. Just like it had when she had been assigned to assassinate him so very long ago.
What would civilians do if they knew District 5 had reverted to experimenting on humans despite the danger involved? They should’ve been exposed long ago, but unidentified high-profile government officials had funded the mission. To expose District 5 meant revealing to humans that they shared the same oxygen with bloodthirsty vampires. Was the world ready for such a revelation? Probably not.
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