by Arthur, Keri
Obviously. He hesitated, then added. They’ll be here, of that I have no doubt. I just don’t think we can afford to sit around and wait for them.
Not when Talon plans to use you as a punching bag for his latest batch of clones.
Shifting my right foot, I began turning and twisting and tugging at the chain, until the skin around my ankle was raw and pain burned up my leg. The ring in the wall began to move, the small puffs of dust providing hope.
It came away suddenly, the chain lashing out across the carpet, then snapping back like a pissed-off snake.
I started on the ring holding my other leg captive and was slick with sweat and trembling by the time it came loose. I edged the chains behind my legs just in case Talon came back in, then started work on the chains pinning my arms together.
Maybe it was the fact that the ring was higher and I was able to hang more weight off it, but that one came out quicker. Even so, my wrists were red and raw.
I’m free. Still wearing chains, but free. I rattled past the long control panel and began going through the drawers of the desk.
Great. Now comes the more difficult part—finding me.
Unfortunately, Talon has not been considerate enough to leave floor plans lying about.
Quinn’s amusement shimmered through my mind, momentarily dulling the ache in my wrists and ankles. I’ll have a word with him when I meet him.
The third drawer down was locked. I forced it open, and found several keys. The fourth key opened the locks around my wrists, the seventh the ones around my ankles. I had no idea what the rest opened, but I wasn’t about to leave them behind.
I puddled the chains under the desk and walked back to the control panel. Any idea where you are?
No. There are no signs and no movement whatsoever.
I scanned the many screens and eventually found what looked like pictures from security cams. I pressed a button, and the picture jumped to a different setting. I kept pressing. The first person I found was Talon. He was in a lab, peering into a microscope, and just the way he stood suggested he was far from happy. And that made me extremely happy.
I moved on, eventually finding what looked to be a series of crisscrossed red lights. Those lasers bars . . . are they red and on all four sides?
Yes.
Then I think I’ve found where you are. I glanced at the top of the screen. Sublevel three. All I have to do now is find how to get there.
Be careful.
No . . . really? And here I was all set to go running down the halls.
His laughter reminded me of a summer breeze—so warm and rich. Anyone would think you did this for a living.
My clothes were nowhere to be found, so I walked over to what looked like a cupboard. Inside, there were several leather jackets and Talon-sized pants, as well as a white lab coat. I put on the coat, rolled up the sleeves, then undid my hair to retrieve the finger laser. The knives I left where they were.
On my way. Hopefully.
I opened the door and peered out. The corridor was long and curved around to the right. I glanced up. Two security cams, one just above me, another right on the curve.
Shoot them out.
I do that and it’ll raise the alarm.
The mere act of walking out could do that. You have no idea who’s watching.
I slipped the laser onto my fingers, adjusted the trigger, then raised my hand and fired. Black glass shattered, falling to the floor as softly as snow. I did the same to the second camera, then listened for any sound that might indicate the alarm had been raised.
Nothing.
I edged out. The silence was eerie, the air cold. Shivering, wishing I had more than a thin coat on, I edged down the corridor.
As I moved around the corner, a slight hum filled the silence. I froze. Sweat trickled down my back, and my finger trembled against the laser’s trigger. The humming stopped. I let loose the breath I’d been holding, but in that instant, footsteps echoed, coming down the hall toward me.
I swore under my breath and looked around quickly. No doors and nowhere to go but back to that room. I might not have gotten far, but I wasn’t about to retreat. I sniffed the air. Pine and coffee. Not Talon, then.
Taking a deep breath, I pushed away from the wall and walked down the hall, the rap of my bootheels as loud as the beat of my heart. His scent got sharper, and a second later I saw him—a small brown man clutching a clipboard and wearing a furtive expression.
He stopped when he saw me. “Who the hell are you?”
“Research.” I continued walking toward him.
His frown increased. “What division?”
“This one.” I popped the buttons on my lab coat and flashed him.
The clipboard dropped to the floor and his jaw just about did the same. That’s when I hit him. His head snapped back and he hit the floor with a crack that made me wince. I dragged him to the side and checked that he still had a pulse.
He did. I grabbed the pass from around his neck, wrapped the coat around me as best I could, picked up the clipboard, and continued on. Elevator doors came into view. So too did another camera.
I kept my head down and kept on walking. The doors slid open. I walked in, pressed sublevel three, then stepped back and waited.
And waited.
Heart thumping, fingers trembling, I pressed the button a second time.
Still nothing.
Then I saw the keycard slot beside the panel. Cursing under my breath, I swiped the stolen pass through the slot and the elevator doors slid closed.
I flopped back against the wall and took several deep breaths. Until I saw the camera. The whole place was worse than the damn Directorate for spying on people. But I didn’t move, hoping my disheveled and sweaty state would have any watchers thinking I was nothing more than another of Talon’s floozies. Which I guess I was.
The lift stopped at sublevel three and the doors opened. I peered out. Darkness crisscrossed by red lines greeted me. I switched to infrared and scanned the room. Heat fluttered down the far end of the room. There was nothing—or no one—else near.
Hurry, Quinn said.
“Like I’m not,” I muttered, and heard the distant ring of amusement, felt it wash through my mind as sweetly as a kiss.
It seemed to take forever to weave through the web of lasers. Hurrying wasn’t a priority when the slightest wrong move could result in body parts being sliced off.
Eventually, I reached his cell, and the sheer relief of seeing him again had me shaking. I retrieved the keys from the pocket of the coat, found one that looked right, and slid it into the lock. The lasers withdrew, and Quinn was free.
He didn’t move, just studied me in a detached sort of way. Though I wanted nothing more than to lose myself in the safety and warmth of his arms, it was a risk I couldn’t take. The fever was knife-edged.
“And if we meet Talon?”
He was reading my thoughts better than I was his. But then, he’d had more practice. I shrugged. “I’ll deal with it.”
He nodded, accepting my answer though we both knew there was only one way to deal with the heat that burned through my bloodstream.
“Let’s go.”
He led the way back through the maze of lights. A soft humming filled the silence. The elevator was on the move again.
“You hide left, I’ll hide right. If it stops here, we’ll attack,” Quinn said.
Mouth dry, I wrapped the shadows around my body and pressed back against the wall. The movements of the elevator vibrated into my spine, and I closed my eyes, hoping against hope it didn’t stop.
It did.
Eight people walked out and began moving toward the laser cells. They smelled of death, and a sliver of relief ran through me. A single werewolf in the mix could have spelled trouble.
The elevator door closed and cut off any immediate retreat.
Go, Quinn said, and I did.
I might be vampire-fast but my heels still rapped against the floor and gav
e the game away. There was a shout and the last vampire in line spun, his fist flying in a blur. I ducked, then punched, my blow smashing into his ribs with enough force to elicit a groan.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw the flash of movement. I swung, kicked the first vampire in the head, then twisted away from the hands grabbing at me. Only to fall into the grasp of another. His arm snaked around my neck and I cursed, mule-kicking. I hit nothing but air and he laughed, his breath foul as it brushed past my cheek. I twisted and grabbed his balls, squeezing hard. He made a strangled sound, his grip around my neck loosening. I tore free and thrust him into the path of another. They went down in a tangle of arms and legs.
Another vampire lunged for me. I backpedaled fast, barely avoiding his fist. I ducked a second blow, then pivoted and kicked him in the gut. The blow bounced off the vampire’s flesh and jarred my whole leg. The bastard obviously had bricks in place of stomach muscles.
I danced away from another blow, then lashed out at the vampire’s jaw. Though his head snapped back, he snarled—or smiled. It was hard to tell when all I saw was the flash of teeth. I hit him again, but he caught the blow in his fist and twisted hard. Pain burned white-hot up my arm, and a scream tore up my throat—a scream that became more intense as his teeth slashed into my arm. The sound of his greedy sucking churned my gut.
Shuddering, I twisted, sweeping the creature off its feet again. Pain twisted up my arm as his teeth were ripped from my flesh, and he roared in frustration. I lashed out, the blow catching the side of his face and sending him staggering.
He didn’t get far. There was a blur of red heat, then Quinn was in front of me, his fury so great it scorched both skin and mind.
He wrapped his fingers around the vampire’s neck and pulled him close. “Where is the man who is being used to produce the clones?”
The vampire cursed him, but the words abruptly cut off. Silence fell. No conversation, no movement from either vampire. But I knew what was happening. Quinn was raiding the other’s mind.
I thrust up the coat’s sleeve and checked the wound. It was as bad as it felt but before I could shift shape, there was a crack of bone and Quinn’s hand was on mine. The vampire lay limp behind him.
“Let me,” he said softly.
He raised my wrist to his mouth and flicked his tongue across the wound. The sweet bliss of the caress made me jump, a whimper escaping my lips. His dark gaze burned into mine, his breath fiery against my skin. He licked at the wound as a cat might, washing away the blood, cleaning and healing the wound. It was erotic and sensual and undeniably exquisite.
My breath caught somewhere in my throat and the fever battered the walls of control. “Quinn, don’t.”
It was a soft and breathy plea, but one he ignored. Sensations tumbled through me. I quivered under the gentle eroticism of his touch, clenching my thighs as the pressure built and built, until I felt so tightly strung everything would surely snap. Then it did, and I was unraveling, groaning, with the intensity of the orgasm flowing through me.
It had only taken a few minutes, and as I opened my eyes and met his dark gaze, I knew it had been deliberate. He’d lifted the lid off the pressure cooker inside me, giving me more of a chance to control it a little longer.
“Thank you.”
“Blood as sweet as yours should never be wasted.” He kissed my fingers, his lips warm against my skin, then released my hand and stepped away. “We have to get going.”
At that moment, I would have I followed him anywhere, but I settled for the elevator. “Did you get anything from the vampire before you killed him?”
“The location of Henri and the nearest exit.”
“So we get Henri first, then retreat?”
“No. I get Henri and you get the hell out of here.”
“Quinn—”
The doors opened. He pressed a hand into my back, guiding me inside. “It’s for the best. There’s an exit not far from the elevator. The alarm doesn’t appear to have gone out yet, but it soon will. That’s when it’ll get dangerous.”
“You can’t fight all these creatures alone.”
He took the pass from me, swiping it through the slot before hitting the first-floor button. “I can fight a whole lot better knowing you are safe. Please, do what is sensible.”
I took a deep, shuddering breath. Part of me wanted to stay and fight by his side, but the rest knew he was right. I wasn’t trained for this sort of work. I could fight, but I didn’t want to kill, and that could get dangerous for not only me but Quinn as well.
“Okay.”
A smile tugged his lush lips. “You are the most surprising woman I have ever met.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Because I do what is sensible?”
“Because you do so without arguing first.”
“I do not have a death wish, and this is not a situation I’m enjoying.” Besides, though there were no windows and clocks to be seen in this place, I knew night was falling. The full moon was close to rising, and the force of it had my whole body tingling. Soon I would be wolf, and while teeth were a good weapon against one, against many they would be useless.
I lightly touched his cheek. “Please be careful.”
He caught my hand and kissed my palm. “I’m a very old vampire, and I didn’t get this way by being careless. And one crazy young werewolf with Hitler delusions will not take me out.”
Maybe. But that crazy young werewolf had an army of dysfunctional clones at his back, and they very well might.
The elevator stopped, and the doors opened. Quinn released me and peered out. I retrieved a couple of knives from my boots and put them in the coat’s pockets.
“Clear.” He tugged me out. “Go left and take the first corridor on the right. The exit is at the very end.”
I didn’t move, etching his face in my mind, just in case something happened and I never saw him again.
“Go,” he said softly and released my hand.
I stepped forward, brushed a quick kiss across his lips, then turned and walked away. But I’d barely gone ten steps when a strident ringing cut through the silence. I froze, my heart sitting somewhere in my throat and beating ten to the dozen.
Run, Quinn said.
I ran. The ringing was deafening, echoing through my ears, but hopefully overwhelming the loud tattoo of my footsteps. The corridor was long, curving around to the left, affording no vision of what was coming the other way. I hadn’t seen many people walking the halls, and hoped like hell it stayed that way until I got out.
Should have known my luck was never likely to hold.
Somewhere behind me a door opened, and the sound of heavy footsteps seemed to boom in time with the alarm. They were running toward me, not away.
From ahead, there were more footsteps. I swore softly and checked the laser. Half-charged. I could mow down a few more people before I was reduced to fighting with knife and fist.
The curve of the corridor came to an end, and so, too, did freedom. Talon stood under the exit sign, as naked as when he’d left me earlier, his brawny arms crossed and an arrogant expression on his face. Six clones were at his back.
I slid to a stop and clenched my right hand, my finger against the laser’s trigger, ready to fire it should any of them make the slightest move.
“Planning to go somewhere?” he drawled.
My other hand was around a knife. “I’ve decided I’m not keen on this resort. Don’t suppose you’d be kind enough to move so I can get to the exit?”
He raised an eyebrow. “I don’t suppose you’d be kind enough to tell me where your vampire lover is?”
“What makes you think I’d know or care?”
“The fact you helped him escape.”
“If I helped him escape, he’d be with me, wouldn’t he?”
His smile made my skin crawl. “He will never find his friend, you know. This place is a maze, and the corridors bright. No shadows for a vampire to hide in, I’m afraid.”
Quinn di
dn’t need shadows and he didn’t need to hide. All he had to do was touch the minds of all those he passed and make them see nothing. Far better than shadows.
“So all this racket is because a wolf and a vampire escaped your net? A bit over the top, don’t you think?”
He shrugged. “The alarm is automatic when a door is breached.”
My heart began to race a little faster. Neither Quinn nor I had breached a door. Did that mean Rhoan and Jack were on the way?
Though surely Talon wouldn’t just presume it was us. Surely he would check with security first.
His next words answered my question. “Mark, grab her, will you? Security is paging me.”
Footsteps echoed behind me. I swung and dropped, sweeping the laser’s light across the legs of three men who approached, cutting through flesh and bone as sweetly as a knife through butter. The smell of burned flesh stung the air, and the three of them hit the floor, screaming and grabbing at legs that were no longer a part of their bodies.
Nausea rose. I swallowed heavily, allowing myself no time to dwell on what I’d done.
Though what I’d done was, in many ways, worse than killing them.
Talon’s curse was lost to the sound of more footsteps. I swung back round, cutting down three more clones before the laser petered out. I grabbed the second knife out of my pocket, then lunged forward, the paper-thin weapons glinting like diamonds under the harsh lighting. Two more clones went down, the blades lodged deep in their chests.
Then the last one was on me. I ducked the first few blows, then dropped and swept with my leg, knocking him over. He grabbed at me as he went down, but I broke his hold and punched as hard as I could. My fist mashed flesh, and the ripe warmth of blood spilled into the air. I swung around, grabbed his leg, and twisted it. Bone cracked, and the clone screamed.
My chest heaved as I battled to catch my breath, and sweat trickled down my back. I stepped back from the clone, ignored the bile that rose in my throat, and met Talon’s gaze.
My actions might have angered him, but they’d also aroused him.
“Now it’s just you and me,” I said softly.
“Not really. I have a hundred such creations at my beck and call.”
