He stretched his painful muscles and shook out his legs, wishing for the backseat of his SUV to lie down on.
The door to the cell opened and in walked the tall blond he recognized as a bystander from his previous beatings. He closed the door and leaned on it heavily. He spent several minutes watching William.
“Was there something you wanted to know?” William finally asked. “Or did you want to beat me like the other one?”
“My brother, Peter, has always been one to use his fists first.”
William looked the younger guy up and down. His posture was relaxed but not hostile.
“Aren’t you afraid of me?”
“Should I be? You’re chained and in a heavily armed prison area.”
“Plus I’ve not fought back once.”
“Yeah, that too.”
“I’m William, and you are…”
“Tommy. Peter and Evan’s brother.”
“Evan’s brother?”
A strange expression crossed Peter’s face. “Do you know her?”
William swallowed his dry lump. “I met her yesterday.”
“You seemed surprised when I said she was my sister.”
He needed to change the subject. He couldn’t afford to get Evan in trouble.
“Did you need something?”
“I’ve just been wondering why you helped my sister? Why did you risk yourself to bring her here? You had to know there was a large chance that you’d be caught.”
“She was hurt and in trouble.”
“But you could have taken her to a Vampire hospital.”
“True, but she asked me not to.”
His brow furrowed. “Really?”
“When I found her she was delirious. I was headed this direction anyway, and I figured it would be better if I brought her where she asked to go. If I took her to a Vampire hospital, I’d feel responsible for her. I’d have to explain where I found her and where she came from, and I figured if she were out on her own like that she was probably running from someone and for good reason.”
“So you don’t believe in human slaves then?”
“The area I’m from no longer allows human slaves. They’ve been freed.”
“Really?”
The door had been opened. This may be the opportunity William had waited for. “This facility is rather large and advanced.”
“One of the biggest.”
“So there are others?”
“Dozens that we’ve found.”
“And they are all as big and well-armed as this one?”
Tommy stood from where he lounged. “I’ve said too much.”
“Wait,” said William.
Tommy stopped.
“Do you think I could get something to drink?”
Tommy shook his head. “Sorry. I’m not allowed.”
William nodded and it was suddenly as if his entire body had lost all moisture. His sight locked on to Tommy’s neck. Tommy was a big guy. Plenty of blood pumping through his veins. Surely he wouldn’t miss a pint or two.
William turned his head away and ground his teeth together till his fangs dug craters into his lower lip. He couldn’t do that. Evan’s face floated into his mind. He had to keep it together.
* * * *
“Hey.” Tommy stood outside Evan’s room.
They stared at each other for a minute before she opened the door wider and let him in. She stomped back to her bed and threw herself down on it. She picked at the edge of a pillow, her anger swirling inside like a vortex.
“I’m sorry coming back is upsetting,” he said.
She exploded. “How can he do this? How can this possibly be okay? What the hell happened here?” she asked. “When Norman was in charge we were missioned with finding other survivors and bringing them to safety. Helping them. Now we’re what? On a mission to destroy Vampires?”
Tommy blew out a breath and sat heavily on her bed. “Things have changed, sis. Lots of things.” He looked up at her with his big doe eyes and the faithful soldier façade cracked.
The anger whooshed out of her and she sat next to him. “What happened?”
Tommy shook his head and shrugged. “It was chaos after Norman left. He’d heard there was a small enclave that needed help. He left Pop in charge. But days turned into weeks and people started to panic. We’d had an influx of new people months before and most of them only knew Norman as a leader. Pop had a hard time controlling them. That’s when the rules started getting stricter. The patrols started and everyone was assigned a job. Things got tighter. Food rations, work hours, all kinds of stuff. Most of it good, some of it not so good.”
“Like what?” She didn’t want to ask, but she needed to know what she was getting into.
“There were a couple of accidental deaths. Several not so accidental. And a group of people exiled.”
“Exiled?”
“They refused to follow the rules. So they were driven down to Los Angeles and let go.”
“What? How could you just leave them there in a Vampire city? That was as good as walking them into a slave auction.”
“Pop said it was for the good of the enclave. We had to think of the whole not the individual.”
“But wasn’t that risky? I mean, if they’re captured they could tell where this place is.”
“Pop said it was a chance we had to take.”
Her gut twisted. Pop. Pop. Pop. It all came back to Lou. And Lou may have changed but she knew one thing for sure. He wasn’t one to leave things to chance. He’d never have let those people go so close to Los Angeles. She stared at Tommy and wondered if he really believed the lie that those people had been exiled to Los Angeles or if he’d already figured out the truth. Those people were in a shallow grave somewhere in the desert.
A question churned in her mind, something she needed to know, but wasn’t quite sure how to broach the subject without seeming strange.
“Where did all the guns come from?” she asked. “We never had all these weapons before.”
“We went up to Idaho. There was a base up there in Mountain Home, about forty minutes from Boise. We took everything we could find.”
“So, if we were attacked, guns are all we have?”
He gazed at her for a minute and then shook his head. “No. A group has been searching other military bases for a couple years now. They’ve been coming back with some bigger weapons.”
“Bombs?”
“I don’t know. But I wouldn’t be surprised. They’re stored in a bunker even I’m not given access too.”
“Have you heard Lou say anything about using weapons and going on the offensive?” She held her breath.
“Why so curious?”
“There’s a lot of people out there. Humans and vamps. Innocent people. I’d hate to see them hurt, is all.”
He patted her knee. “It’s good to have you back, sis. I missed you more than you can know. But be careful. This isn’t the place you left. Objectives have changed. It’s not about helping others anymore. It’s about our own survival.”
“Sounds like it isn’t even about that. It’s about retaking the world.”
“Is that a problem?”
They did have a right to live in the world as free people, but if it was at the cost of millions of lives…
“How can you have doubts?” he asked. “After what you’ve been through I’d have thought you of all people would be the first one to pick up a weapon and lead the charge.”
“Don’t get me wrong. I want to live without walls and bars, but I don’t want my freedom at the cost of other people.”
“They aren’t people anymore. Some never even were.”
“How can you say that? Your mom—”
“Is gone.”
She shook her head. “You sound like Lou.”
“How else do you expect me to be? I thought you were gone, and it almost killed me. I can’t think of her being out there. Living as one of those things—”
“They are
n’t things. They’re people. They live, eat, breathe, sleep, work. They’re different but they aren’t things.” Her anger was getting the better of her. And when had she starting standing up for vamps?
“What happened to you out there? You’re different.”
“Nothing.” She shrugged. “I just think the way we’re treating them here is the same thing we were fighting against them for doing. How can we be on the side of good if we act like them?”
“We’re not on the side of good. We’re on the side of humanity.”
“And is this? What’s happening down there. Is it humane?”
He clamped his lips shut tight. She didn’t expect him to go against his dad. She wanted him to see that things weren’t so black and white. Being out there in the new world had taught her that much, even if she didn’t want to admit it.
“I’m gonna let you rest.” He stood and headed for the exit.
“Tommy?”
He turned.
“If they aren’t people anymore and some never were, why is Lou working on a cure?”
His brow furrowed so deep his eyes almost closed. His mouth opened and then closed. He threw the door wide and stormed out to the hall.
After he was gone, she threw herself back on her bed and tossed her arms overhead. The movement pulled on her leg muscles, and she lowered her arms and rubbed her thigh.
Her thoughts turned to William and the hard, dark cell he was shackled in. She needed to find him some food. But getting it wouldn’t be easy.
* * * *
William awoke some time later to a scorching pain in his hand. The sunlight had crept across the floor and his hand lay in it. He pulled it to his chest and tried to sit up. His ribs ached but not as much as they had. The sound of the door unlocking had him completely alert within seconds.
He sat up and tried to straighten his dirty clothes, hoping it would be Evan.
The door pushed inward and in stepped Tommy and Peter.
“You awake in here, bloodsucker?” asked Peter.
William refused to answer. The games had become tiresome within the first hour of his capture. He’d been nothing but forthcoming. And Peter had been nothing but malicious.
Peter crouched down in front of William and stared at him. “I have a question for you. If you answer right, I’ll leave. If you answer wrong, I won’t.”
“I’ve told you everything you’ve asked so far,” said William. “Why would now be any different?”
“Do you know my sister, Evan?”
William swallowed and his eyes flicked to Tommy. That was not what he’d been expecting.
“No.”
Peter’s fist came out of nowhere and connected with William’s jaw. His head rocked back and hit the cement wall, dazing him.
“Wrong answer,” said Peter. “Try again. I’ll even help you. She’s the girl you carried to our gate. She came in here yesterday. You two chatted.”
William turned his head slowly and looked Peter in the eyes. His jaw pounded with pain, but he refused to let them see it. He spat blood on the ground, splattering his own pants.
“I found her wandering. It seemed the best thing I could do for her considering she was mostly delirious.”
“Hmm…” Peter scratched his chin. “So you found her wandering down the road and just happened to know where her family were to bring her home. You sure that’s the answer you want to go with?”
“I’d found a crashed car a few miles back. She was in bad shape. All I wanted to do was help. She told me where she’d been trying to get to.”
“A few miles back, huh? Where exactly did you find that crashed car?”
“Evan wouldn’t do that,” Tommy interjected. “She wouldn’t give up our location.”
William shifted his weight. He’d screwed up by telling them he’d found Evan a few miles back. If they went to check, there’d be no car crash to prove his words. He looked up at the earnest face of the younger brother. “We aren’t all the monsters you think we are. She needed help.”
“And what were you doing all the way out here in the middle of nowhere?” asked Peter.
William tried to remember what he’d told them previously. “I was on my way to Los Angeles as an emissary from Chicago.”
“So you’re not alone?” said Peter. “There are more of you. If you didn’t fly, there had to be more of you. Is that the trick? You get in here and find out what our defenses are like so the rest of your group can attack?” The anger in Peter’s voice rose with each word.
“I have no group. I came alone.”
“Then why not fly?” asked Tommy.
“Because I like the drive. I miss it.”
“Miss it?” Peter snorted.
This was his opportunity to try and build a relationship with these guys and show them that he wasn’t that much different than them.
“I’ve only been a vampyr for a year. Before that I lived in an enclave in Colorado, but we got picked up by slavers in Nebraska.”
“Colorado, huh? We have a guy here from Colorado. His name’s Chuck, remember him?” asked Peter. “Or is that a lie too?”
“There were lots of people in our enclave. I’d have to see him to know for sure.” William looked between the brothers. “It’s not a lie. I’m not here to start an invasion. I’m not here to do anything other than what I said before. The world is in trouble. We need help. Your help. The demons—”
“Oh that’s right.” Peter chuckled. “The demons. I forgot that’s why you were on your way out here. Demons are killing your friends. Sounds like a reason for us to celebrate, not jump to your aid.”
“You don’t get it,” said William. “After the demons are done with Vampires and vamps, who do you think are next? You think they’re going to leave you be?”
“Why not? We didn’t piss them off.”
“They came pissed off. That’s what they are, demons. Pissed off for having been shoved back into their world hundreds of years ago, and now they want to take this world for themselves.”
“Do you know how delusional you sound?”
William’s anger spiked so fast, he couldn’t control his tongue. “The delusional ones are you. Thinking you can stay here and be safe.”
Peter’s fist connected with William’s gut. “You have no idea what’s going on here. We’re stronger than you can imagine. You just wait, bud, we have something fun planned for you tomorrow.”
Peter patted his cheek before punching William in the face again. The pain blinded William for a minute.
“Peter, that’s enough,” said Tommy.
“You goin’ soft, Tommy boy?” Peter stood as William laid his pounding head against the wall and tried to blink back the pain.
“No. I just think enough is enough. Pop doesn’t even know we’re in here. Let the guy alone.”
“Guy?” Peter stepped up to Tommy so quick that Tommy took a step back. “Did you call that thing a guy?”
“You know what I meant.”
“No, Tommy, I don’t think I do. It’s because of guys like him that mom is a vamp and Evan was sold as a slave. It’s because of guys like him that we live in a freaking hotel and have food rations and water rations and an electric barbed wire fence surrounding us twenty-four seven.”
“I get it, okay. I get it. My point is, he wasn’t the one who did all that. He was like us till a year ago.”
Peter’s body language told William he was ready to explode. “Get out of here, Tommy. Get out before I throw you out.”
Tommy’s chest puffed up, and he stood his ground. “I’ll leave when you leave.”
It was like watching two rams about to lock horns. Neither wanted to back down. William hated seeing that kind of animosity between family members.
“May I have a drink of water?” William asked.
Tommy’s gaze flicked to William and then back to his brother. Peter stood rigid for a moment before relaxing a fraction.
“No,” Peter said. “Let’s go.” He left
without looking back.
Tommy stared at William for a minute and chewed his lip.
“Tommy!” Peter shouted from the hall.
Tommy turned and walked out without a word.
William had gotten through to Tommy. Somehow, something he’d said had made a difference. Problem was, Tommy wasn’t the decision maker.
Chapter 12
“It’s a girl,” said Travis.
Elation and exhaustion battled Evan’s shaken body. Sweat poured from her brow, and she tried to keep her eyes open to see the baby.
“Look what we made.” He rubbed down the pink infant with a soft towel and then set her in Evan’s awaiting arms.
The small bundle wriggled and squalled in her arms. A tiny fist balled up in her palm.
“Hey there.” A tear leaked from her cheek. A girl. She had a baby girl.
Strong arms surrounded her as a long, muscular body spooned up behind her.
“What should we name her?” he asked.
Evan shook her head, unable to form coherent sentences. Emotions raced through her so fast she didn’t even know how to register them.
“You should feed her.” A pair of lips touched her hair.
“I…don’t know how,” she whispered.
“I’ll help you.” A nurse stepped forward and helped Evan attach the infant.
The connection between her and the baby suddenly completed. In the small suckling sensation, Evan’s entire being awoke with a protective instinct she’d never possessed before. This tiny being was her life now. Her everything.
“Chéri,” Evan whispered. “Her name is Chéri.”
“Like Mon Chéri?” Travis mused. “It’s perfect.”
Evan kissed her baby’s soft, dark curls and then opened the blanket to look at all of her. She was perfect. Round and rosy with a pert, tiny nose and ten pudgy, little fingers and toes. Everything about her baby, everything she’d hoped and wished for, had come true.
“A family,” she said. “A real family.”
“I’ve spent so many years praying for this moment.”
She looked up into his dark eyes and smiled. “Me too.”
He tilted her chin and pressed his lips to hers. “Thank you.”
Evan awoke and sat up suddenly. “Travis!”
She blinked several times and tried to focus on her surroundings as dim sunlight filtered in through the window. She scanned for the baby bassinette, and then reality hit her like a cold slap of ice water.
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