Nightshade (1)

by Michelle Rowen

  When he opened the door, a small tabby cat slipped in and made a beeline for the bed.

  “Molly,” Noah said. “What are you doing in here?”

  I lifted the comforter up off the side of the bed and got down on my knees, reaching under to gather the small animal into my arms. She didn’t weigh more than six or seven pounds. When I rose to my feet, I saw that Declan now stood at the doorway.

  “You can go,” he said, his head turned toward Noah.

  “Sure thing. Later, Jill.” Noah disappeared through the open door before Declan’s attention returned to me.

  The anger I’d misplaced during Noah and my conversation returned in full force. “This yours?”

  “She is.”

  “Molly, right?” My jaw was clenched so tightly it was difficult to form words.

  His eye narrowed. “How do you know that?”

  I shrugged, glad I’d caught him off guard. “Noah told me.”

  “Noah talks too much.” He hadn’t stepped all the way in my room, instead staying near the door.

  She was not the prettiest feline I’d ever seen. She was missing patches of fur, there was a chunk that looked as if it had been bitten out of one of her ears, and as Noah had already told me, she only had one eye.

  It was an ugly cat, really.

  “When the hell am I going to be released from here, Declan?” I demanded.

  “Soon.”

  “How soon?”

  “Can’t you be patient?”

  “No, I guess I can’t. Carson said two days max.”

  “It hasn’t been two days yet.”

  “That was before he served me up on a platter to your vampire guest this morning.”

  “So now your patience has worn out?”

  “I want out of here. Now.”

  “That isn’t going to happen.”

  That anger inside me burned so bright it made me want to lash out. I couldn’t seem to fake friendliness as easily with Declan as I could with Noah. I guessed it helped that I actually liked Noah.

  “Then take your fucking one-eyed cat and leave me the hell alone.” Just as I said it, the cat tensed and scrambled to leap out of my arms, managing to swipe its sharp claws over my forearm. It brushed against Declan’s leg, an affectionate motion considering its previous violent turn, then ran out of the room. I eyed the door. He hadn’t bothered closing it. I figured he knew there was no way I could escape with him currently blocking my way.

  I held my hand against my arm, but blood had already welled up. Declan had closed the distance between us.

  “Let me see.” He took my arm in his grip and turned it over, then hissed out a breath at the sight of my blood.

  I tried to wrench my arm away from him, but he held me firmly in place and looked down at my brand-new wound. Just as I’d seen on the vampire’s lips this morning, my blood was a different color than it used to be. Whereas before it had been bright red—just as any blood was—the blood that oozed from the scratch was darker, almost burgundy. It was as if my normal blood had been blended with the black substance that I kept puking up on a semi-regular basis.

  Declan’s grip on my arm increased.

  “What?” I asked.

  His breathing had increased its pace. “You need to clean and bandage this immediately.”

  “Then you’re going to have to let go of me.”

  “Right.” But his grip didn’t loosen. “It’s ... surprisingly hard for me to resist. I shouldn’t have approached you right now. For a moment I wasn’t thinking.”

  He was tempted by my strange, unnatural-looking blood. He’d said before that my scent was difficult to resist—but that had been when he was off the serum. Maybe it didn’t matter this close up. I didn’t smell anything, but I wasn’t a dhampyr.

  The scratch wasn’t even that bad, but it was enough to appeal to his vampire half. For a moment, I wanted him to bend down for a taste. He’d destroyed my life, why shouldn’t I destroy his?

  “Get control of yourself,” I snapped after a few more seconds went by. “You disgust me, you ugly bastard.”

  His gray eye flicked from my arm back to my face in a heartbeat. My sharp tone had worked as well as a slap.

  He let go of me so abruptly I nearly fell backward since I’d been tugging to get my arm away from his grasp. “Good night, Jillian.”

  He turned and left my room. I didn’t cry this time—total progress, I thought. Instead, I spent the rest of my night brainstorming how the hell I was going to escape.

  FOR BREAKFAST AND LUNCH THE NEXT DAY, NOAH ARRIVED right on schedule with a tray of food. He even added a flower in a vase at lunch. He stuck around for a few minutes talking to me, but had no more information about the antidote or what was going on downstairs, although he did mention that there had been many closed-door meetings since my date with the vampire yesterday.

  When I told him I’d had two more attacks since last night, he visibly flinched. The kid wasn’t without empathy, I’d give him that. I could probably talk him into helping me out if I had enough time to work on him.

  Unfortunately, time didn’t appear to be on my side. The last attack had left me weaker than ever and honestly praying for a death that didn’t come. It wasn’t an uplifting moment.

  During our friendly chats, I’d established that Noah had car keys in his pocket. He played with them nervously when we spoke. I turned the conversation toward cars—a favorite subject of many men, I’d found. Noah was no exception to that rule. He told me about his brand-new red Mustang, which was a bit too flashy for his grocery and general supplies runs in a populated town twenty miles west of Silver Ridge.

  All important pieces of information.

  I hadn’t seen Declan yet today, although the look in his eye when he had studied my cat scratch stayed with me. Well, he was half-vampire. Maybe I’d been wrong. Maybe he should definitely stay on his serum.

  I figured Carson wouldn’t want to help me anymore if I reduced his perfectly behaved, emotionless, eunuch weapon into a pile of ash because he couldn’t keep his mouth off me.

  Emotionless. He was supposed to be, wasn’t he? But his reaction to the insult I’d thrown at him stayed with me. I’d called him an ugly bastard, and at the time I’d meant it. But the look on his scarred face made me think for a moment that I’d hurt his feelings.

  Sure. Because that made sense.

  Sticks and stones—and knives and bullets—might truly hurt him. But I didn’t think names ever could.

  So I spent Thursday waiting. Waiting for news about the antidote. Waiting for someone to tell me what the hell was really going on. Waiting for Declan to make another appearance. And finally, when that waiting didn’t lead to any new answers, waiting for the arrival of my next meal.

  Noah pushed the door open with his shoulder since his hands were occupied holding my dinner tray. A quick whiff told me it was macaroni and cheese. One of my favorites, actually. He took a couple steps inside then glanced around for me.

  I’d been waiting behind the door so he didn’t see me.

  “Jill?” he asked.

  “I’m sorry, Noah.”

  “What?”

  When he turned I hit him with the seat from the wooden chair I’d used to try to break the window. Clobbered him right across the side of his head. The tray crashed to the floor a split second before Noah followed it.

  “Oh my God.” I swallowed a cry that welled up in my chest. I hadn’t wanted to hurt him, but there was no other way. Luckily I didn’t have to hit him again since he seemed to be out like a light. For a moment, I worried that I’d killed him so I checked his pulse. He still had one. That was a good sign.

  I grabbed his keys from his pocket and some money from his wallet and turned toward the door that remained ajar, slipping outside and closing it behind me. I didn’t know how long Noah would stay unconscious, but I figured I didn’t have much time to get out of the house and find where he parked his car. Then I’d drive back to San Diego and check mysel
f into the hospital for dialysis treatments. Declan said that wouldn’t be a good idea and would cause trouble for me and, besides, they wouldn’t be able to do anything for me when I got there. Well, fuck him. I didn’t care what I had to do, I was going to solve this myself. I was finished with waiting for someone else to save me. I’d damn well save myself.

  I flew down the stairs so fast I had to hang on to the railing so I wouldn’t fall. After fumbling to unlock the front door, I emerged into the warm air outside. Keeping to the shadows—and since it was dusk there were a lot of shadows—I swiftly made my way to the back of the house, where there was a small parking lot.

  Noah’s Mustang was there. This was going to work. I’d drive out of here as fast as I could and never look back.

  My hands shook as I fumbled for the keys, searching through the six on the key chain for the one for the car. When I found it, the keys slipped out of my sweaty hands and fell to the ground. I swore and got on my knees, feeling for them in the darkness. When I curled my hand around them again, I quickly scrambled back up to my feet and slid the key into the lock.

  I was about to get in the car when I felt a hand grip my upper arm and lurch me backward.

  14

  “WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?” Declan growled.

  I reacted by fighting against him, or at least trying to, but he wasn’t about to let me get a few good punches in this time. He grabbed my wrists so tightly I thought they might snap. I cried out in pain.

  “Let go of me!”

  “Do you know how dangerous it is out here all by yourself?”

  “I think I have an idea.”

  “You have no idea. None.” Holding both my wrists tightly in his grip, he pulled me, nearly yanking me right off my feet, back toward the house.

  “No! You have to let me go!” I tried to get away from him, but his hold on me was unbreakable.

  “Wrong.”

  And just as I’d been on the brink of escaping this house in which I’d been kept prisoner for nearly two days, I was back in it. Declan wordlessly dragged me back up the stairs toward my room.

  Noah was coming to and he pushed himself off the floor, touching his head gingerly. He looked groggily up at us.

  “What the hell happened?” he asked.

  “I told you not to let your defenses down around her,” Declan snapped, tossing the keys, which he’d taken from me, back at Noah. “Looks like you weren’t paying attention. She nearly escaped in your car.”

  “My car?” Noah looked confused and his attention shifted to me. “You hit me?”

  I hated that I felt the least bit of guilt for clobbering Noah, but I did. I chose not to answer him.

  “Look at this mess.” Noah glanced at the broken plates from my untouched dinner. He began to clean it up.

  “Forget it,” Declan said. “Leave us.”

  “But—”

  “Just go. Jillian and I need to have a little talk.”

  I really didn’t like the sound of that.

  Noah looked at me again and instead of accusation in his gaze I could see a bit of pity. Frankly, I’d prefer him being pissed at me for trying to escape than feeling sorry for me for being brought back. I could feel sorry enough for myself without anyone’s help.

  After Noah left, Declan closed the door behind him and turned to me. He looked pissed. Which was strange, considering that I was used to him having no expression at all.

  “What are you trying to do?” he demanded.

  I swallowed. “I’m trying to live to see another day.”

  “And leaving protective custody here where you’re safe and going out there where you might be attacked or worse is a good idea?”

  “I was attacked out there. By you.”

  He hissed out a breath. “I’d feel sorry for your ignorance if your actions didn’t show such stupidity.”

  “Stupidity,” I repeated, “because I’m ready to do what it takes to save my own life? Because I’m sick and tired of waiting?”

  He came closer to me so I could see the fire behind the normally cool gray glare. “We’re trying to help you, don’t you see that?”

  I actually laughed at that. Right in his face. “Fuck you, Declan. If this is help, I think I’d be better off dead.”

  “My father is searching for a way right now to help you.”

  “Maybe I’m not willing to put all my faith in your father.” I said the word like it was another F-word.

  “This isn’t all about you, Jill. It’s unfortunate you’ve been swept up in the current, but there are more important issues at stake here.”

  “Like killing your real father, you mean.”

  Declan visibly flinched and took a step back from me. Confusion slid through his gaze before a hardened resolve took over. “Noah told you.”

  I didn’t reply.

  “Noah has a big fucking mouth. One that will get him in trouble someday.”

  “From you?”

  He started to pace the room, obviously agitated. “That’s very likely.”

  “I guess I am a little unclear on a few things.” I eyed him uneasily. His current mood was confusing to me. “The Nightshade formula was developed specifically to be used on Matthias, right?”

  “He’s the main target, but it was meant to work on all vampires equally.”

  “You’re okay with that? If he’s really your father, I mean?”

  He stopped pacing and his eye narrowed on me. “Yes. I’m more than okay with it. Destroying Matthias is my goal. Even if he wasn’t the vampire I hold responsible for my mother’s death, he’s a direct and growing threat to human life. He needs to die.”

  Well, that was definitive.

  “What’s going on with you?” I asked.

  That question received a glare. “Pardon me?”

  “You’re ... acting strangely.”

  “Am I?”

  “Have you been taking your serum regularly?”

  He cocked his head and the left side of his mouth curled up in a sardonic smile. “Well, Jill, if I wasn’t, you’d probably be in much deeper trouble than you already are trapped in this room with me all alone, wouldn’t you?”

  I inhaled sharply. “Was that a yes or a no?”

  As if the fates were in perfect alignment, the next moment the alarm on his watch sounded. It beeped loudly in the silence of the room before Declan turned it off. He didn’t make an immediate move to grab his vials of serum and a syringe.

  “Oh my God,” I whispered after another moment passed. “You stopped taking it, haven’t you?”

  He was silent before giving me a very unpleasant smile. “You’re so insightful, Jill. Really impressive how well you seem to know me after such a short time.”

  His sarcasm was sharp enough to cut.

  “How long has it been?” I suddenly found it difficult to speak without my voice trembling.

  “I took my last injection shortly before you were introduced to Tobias.”

  I did the math in my head. “That was almost thirty-six hours ago.”

  “Yes, it was.”

  “Why did you stop?”

  He didn’t reply for so long that I began to feel more uncomfortable than I already was. “An experiment. One I never thought I’d participate in, especially not by choice. But what you said to me yesterday morning about the serum ... well, it registered with me. And here we are. It’s the longest I’ve ever gone without it.”

  “And?”

  “The drug’s entirely out of my system now.”

  “Does Carson know?”

  “No. But I haven’t seen much of him in the last day for him to notice any changes. He’s been occupied.”

  “So why do you still have your alarm going off every three hours?”

  “It’s a reminder that I should be taking my serum. A reminder of what a dangerous thing I’m doing.”

  “How do you feel?” I asked cautiously.

  “I feel ... everything.”

  “You do
n’t look happy about that.”

  “I’m not.” His expression tensed.

  I felt a flash of concern for him. “Are you in pain right now?”

  His gaze snapped back to my face. “In a manner of speaking.”

  “Can I help?” This was incredibly scary, but also encouraging. He was off his serum because of what I’d said to him. I searched my memory for what might have been the trigger, but couldn’t really remember anything clearly. I’d been furious with him, that he’d allowed his father to use me like that and throw me in with a hungry vampire as an experiment. I’d said some cruel things afterward that I was sure I wouldn’t want repeated.

  “Can you help?” he repeated dryly. “No, I think you can only do further harm. I’ve been trying to avoid you as much as possible. Being around you is ... painful for me.”

  “Painful?”

  He nodded, his gaze never leaving mine for a moment. “Probably as painful as is it is for you to have to look at my ugly face right now.”

  I remembered then what I’d said to him yesterday. I’d called him an ugly bastard. “Declan ... I didn’t mean—”

  “I have no illusions of how I’d look to a woman like you. And you’ve made it very clear that you find me disgusting. It’s not a problem, as long as I stay clear of you. But yesterday, when you were bleeding ...” He swallowed. “Well, that was a big problem for me. And tonight ... it only proves to me why I need to stay away from you, especially now that I can’t protect you anymore.”

  “Protect me? From the vampires? Noah said they were close to this town.”

  “No, not from the vampires.” Declan drew closer and grabbed my wrist again, tightly. “Protect you from me.”

  I tried to break free from him but he reacted by grabbing my other wrist to help hold me in place.

  “I’m not afraid of you,” I said firmly.

  “You should be.”

  “You’re not like your father.”

  “I wish that were true, but I’m not so sure. The serum kept my hungers at bay, kept my behavior and thoughts controlled. But now ... there’s no control left, Jill. And being near you is dangerous for the both of us.”