Shattered Days (The Firsts Book 7)

by C. L. Quinn

  Lamont froze, his hand in his jacket pocket, his eyes on Taggert. Marc could see him attempting to justify the choice whether to let Tamesine out of his sight to save his own sorry ass.

  He decided to try to push him. “Sir, they are coming.”

  Shifting his gaze to Marc, he squinted as he tried to recall who he was. Then he looked at Tamesine, bloody and still on the cage floor. He dug deep inside his jacket to a pocket sewn into the lining, and pulled out a small electronic device.

  “Here. Secure her, or I will have your heads. I will return when the vampires have been sedated. Taggert, you will advise me when it is safe.”

  Taggert nodded and gave the device to Marc, who opened the cage door with codes Taggert had already given him. He dropped down, his hand on Tamesine’s head as he laid the badges on top of the cuff that encircled her right hand.

  “The codes for the release badge?” Taggert said as Lamont reached the double doors to the room.

  Turning, with a smile, Lamont paused. “Oh, yes. It is 9485623. The very second the vampires are sedated, call me.”

  Lamont disappeared behind the closed doors.

  Taggert hurried over to the barred door.

  “On the top of the badge, dial 9-4-8-5-6-2-3. Then repeat it on the second cuff. Hurry, he’s suspicious. I won’t be surprised if he doesn’t return.”

  Marc swiftly keyed the numbers in, watched with relief as the first cuff snapped apart and fell onto the floor with a loud thud, then did the same on the left cuff. The moment she was free of the bonds, he gathered her into his arms and lifted her.

  “She weighs next to nothing. He didn’t even feed her.”

  “No, but I think he fed on her.” Taggert’s eyes went to several vials on a countertop that still held traces of blood.

  Rage exploded in Marc’s mind, his body tensed in response. “Let’s go now, or I’ll go after him. I will anyway, just not today. I’m going to disembowel that man.”

  “Whoo. Although I don’t disagree, you’re a hard man, my temporary brother.”

  “He can’t be allowed to live. And he shouldn’t die easy, from what I hear, from what I see.”

  “I can attest to that. All right, follow me, let’s get your girl out of here. Let the vampires take care of this place.”

  With Tamesine curled into Marc’s arms, Taggert led them back out of the lab and turned to the same corridor from which they’d come only minutes ago. They were stopped in their tracks by Lamont, literally frozen in place using first blood talents that still worked from his Brazilian blood cocktails. Beside him, Claude stood with his arms folded, smiling.

  “Yes, that’s him,” Claude said. “I thought I recognized him on the monitor. I think he’s fucked her, and it must have been a great fuck, since he’s on the other side of the world trying to get her back.”

  The rage that had surged in Marc moments ago as he’d picked up Tamesine from the filth they’d kept her in, exploded into blinding fury, but he still couldn’t move. His body was trapped, as Tamesine had done to him once before to prove her claim of being vampire. Only this time, he and Taggert were in mortal danger.

  Still grinning, as wide as any image of the Cheshire cat, Claude walked up to within inches of Marc.

  “You should be a guest of the state of California, not here interfering in affairs that are none of your concern. And this woman does not belong to you.”

  Brutally, Claude tore Tamesine from Marc’s arms.

  “You’re going to die begging me to kill you,” Marc said through teeth so tightly gritted his jaws hurt.

  Claude’s grin widened further into a malevolent smirk. He looked down at Tamesine, and pulled her shirt back to expose a breast and a perfect erect rose nipple. “Hmm. Looks tasty.”

  Lamont cleared his throat. “Claude, you forget yourself. That vampire whore is mine. Cover her up and get her down to that new cell immediately.”

  Nodding, Claude glanced back at Marc as he carried Tamesine away and they disappeared around a turn in the corridor.

  “Now, what to do with you two,” Lamont said. He turned to Taggert, frozen in place next to Marc, his eyes searching Taggert’s, as Lamont tapped him on the forehead with his index finger. “Taggert, you’ll die soon for your betrayal, but there will be considerable pain first. I hate betrayal.” Then he faced Marc.

  “You. Hmmm. Interesting. You came all the way here for this woman. Claude says that you’ve fucked her, so I must ask myself if there is something special about you. Are you vampire?”

  Marc couldn’t speak. His voice locked now, not by Lamont, but by his intense hatred of this man, his mind preoccupied as he searched for a way out of this situation.

  At this point, he wanted to tear Lamont apart almost as much as he wanted to save Tam. He knew it was the alpha soldier that wanted to rip into the man in front of him, even though protecting Tam was his priority.

  Lamont stepped closer and smacked Marc’s cheek, the intention an insult rather than injury. “I will not stand to be ignored. Answer me or I will cut you open to find out!”

  Finally, Marc found his voice. “You’re a damaged little shit, aren’t you? Delusions of godhood from an ant like you doesn’t make you a god. But no, I’m not a vampire.”

  So angry that spittle flew from his mouth, Lamont shoved Marc with such superhuman force, his body flew across the wide room to crash so hard against the brick wall, his breath seized, the back of his head split, and he nearly lost consciousness.

  “You will join your friend in torture and death. No one speaks to me like that and lives very long. By the way, picture your little vampire with her mouth around me before I shove it up high inside of her.”

  His fury matching Lamont’s, Marc tried to stand, but injury from the hard impact was so severe, blood seeped in increasing pressure from a deep gash at the back of his head. He fought for consciousness as his vision slowly cleared and he saw his new vampire friends behind Lamont.

  Eillia and Park were holding hands, their other hands upheld towards Lamont, who froze just as Marc and Taggert had under Lamont’s control.

  Displacing air, Koen was in front of Lamont and had him bound in seconds, although he looked up at Bas, who stood nearby in case Lamont tried to make an escape.

  “We should kill him right here.”

  “Not yet,” Park said, as she knelt near Marc, who struggled to stay awake. She stood after laying her hand on his head to check him.

  “You’re okay. The wound is already closing, thanks to Eillia’s blood. Just stay down a few more minutes and you’ll feel much better.”

  Taggert was free to move again, but stood still watching the vampires surrounding him. They made him feel uneasy, he’d never been flanked on all sides by these powerful beings that he had been trained to hate. Fuck, he thought, they really are beautiful…and frightening! His eyes went to Marc, who still struggled to stand. He knew that all that this man wanted was to go after his vampire lover, and he knew it was likely too late.

  Taggert had feared Lamont’s psychotic strange power, but with Claude, Taggert knew. He was the evil one. Lamont had a mission, a goal that overtook everything in his mind, to destroy the supernatural world. When he’d become corrupted, and realized that he wanted their power more, his mission had changed, but he was still just a misguided man with too much money who wanted something so desperately, he would do anything to get it.

  But Claude... Taggert had seen it the moment he met him, the cold emptiness in his eyes, the complete lack of any true emotion. Claude was flat-out fucking evil. And that was more dangerous than anything on earth.

  FOURTEEN

  He wasn’t going to the cells beneath the hotel. Claude had exactly what he wanted. The coveted vampire with incredible power, and the new serum designed specifically with her blood…a serum that, so far, worked perfectly. She had just begun to regain consciousness, but as soon as he injected her, she moaned and went right back out.

  Claude smiled as he dropped her
body without care into the back of his rented SUV. Lamont was trapped now, the victim of his hubris, the short-sighted asshole. They would kill him and do Claude’s job for him.

  Lamont thought he ruled the world. That wasn’t his first mistake, but it might be his last.

  Starting the car, he headed out away from the underground tunnels that no one else knew existed except Lamont. And he wouldn’t be talking. Claude pulled up the soundtrack from the James Bond movies. There was just something about listening to the theme song that thrilled him. He’d even taken the name once or twice in his career because he had to, just had to, say those words. The name is Bond. James Bond.

  The tunnel exited two miles south of the hotel. They’d never find him or the sleeping first blood vampire who was going to change his world.

  Eillia was frantic.

  “Where the hell?” She yelled, her voice reverberating around the hollowed-out area that held the new super-secure cell commissioned by Lamont. Marc had assured them that Lamont was having her moved there, but the cell was empty, there was no one in the room. Motioning to Park, she swept every corner of the room, her eyes sharp, and found nothing unusual.

  “Tell Koen to bring that asshole down here now. There has to be a secret exit. He’s famous for shit like that.”

  Koen, responding to Park’s message to bring Lamont to the basement, dragged the man to his feet. He nodded when Bas told him that he would take Marc and Taggert to check the facility and begin damage control.

  Lamont’s abilities had waned enough that he had no sway over the vampires. Koen wasn’t inclined to be gentle, though, and was easily frustrated when Lamont tripped or lagged as he took him to Eillia. He really did want to end the creep right there and solve the problem for a lot of supernaturals this man had tortured or killed in his pursuit for knowledge, justice, revenge, power…whatever-the-fuck the asshole thought he was seeking.

  But he also loved to watch his beautiful friend work. Eillia, along with Park, could tear into a man’s head and get anything they wanted. Other than this horrific serum Lamont’s labs had created, there was almost nothing that could stop them. Hopefully, all of this shit was finished now forever. Once they were finished, Koen would destroy any remaining serum, and wipe the formula, and anyone who knew anything about it, from the face of the earth.

  Koen dropped Lamont onto the floor, bound, his mouth uncovered, and stood behind him while Eillia walked up to him.

  She bent over to capture his eyes, and once she had, she spoke forcefully.

  “Where is Tamesine?”

  Under compulsion, which he fought, he stuttered some before he got out a single word. “No.”

  Eillia looked at Park, who stood beside her now, and Koen, still behind Lamont.

  “I’m sorry, what?” Eillia responded. “What do you mean, no?”

  “No. I wouldn’t tell you anything, even if I knew, and I won’t even tell you if I do. I may not have all of my abilities that I received from your bloods, but at least I can maintain my own free will. You can’t compel me. You don’t own me, bitch. You never will.”

  Turning suddenly to face away from him, Eillia got hold of her anger. She wanted to kill him, desperately, for all of the pain and horror he’d caused, but she had to control herself for now, he was her best hope of finding her friend. If nothing else, she knew this man had the welfare of only one person in mind, always, and that was his piece-of-shit self.

  She turned back, and carefully chose her words.

  “This isn’t a negotiation. You’ve lost, you have no choice. Tell me where your henchman took Tamesine and I will see to it that you don’t suffer. Don’t try to work me, or play me, or control me. You are done. Where is she?”

  Lamont lifted his head and smiled, a self-satisfied grin that widened while he stared defiantly into Eillia’s eyes.

  “I don’t care what you do to me, I will tell you nothing. This society began as a way to defeat your kind, and that’s what I plan to do in the end.”

  Koen smacked him on the head so hard, Lamont’s chin nearly hit the floor. “This is your end, asshole. Apparently you’re not getting it, so let me reiterate. You’re done. Here, tonight.”

  As Park stepped forward, she took Eillia’s hand, then they turned back to Lamont.

  “What are you doing?” Lamont asked, his eyes bouncing back and forth between the two women. He knew something was happening and it wasn’t going to be good for him.

  Koen dropped onto his knees, too, and wrapped his hands around Lamont, and although Lamont struggled, he was held so tight he could not move.

  “I’ve got him ladies,” Koen said, straining slightly. “I can’t believe he has the strength he does.”

  “He carries our blood, my friend, that of five powerful vampires. I’m shocked it works without conversion, but it appears even we can still learn new things after all of these years alive.” Eillia turned to Park. “Ready?”

  Park nodded and they both closed their eyes, entered the white space that allowed their minds to merge and become one extraordinarily powerful force. Together, they blew into Lamont’s mind, and while it was still only that of a normal human being, the blood he’d consumed in Brazil had altered his body enough that he fought back.

  Eillia’s consciousness reached for Park’s and they began to search within Lamont’s mind for Tamesine’s whereabouts, Frank’s, anything they needed. This was an excellent opportunity to learn about their enemy and finally discover how they could permanently disable him and his vast research society. But first, they needed to discover where Claude had taken Tamesine.

  Koen held Lamont with hard hands, locked on the man just in case he had any other surprises. The two women searching within Lamont’s mind were family, and he would allow nothing and no one to harm them. The past several hundred years of his long life had grown empty and harsh, to the point where he wasn’t sure he wanted to stay alive any longer. His newfound daughter, and Eillia, who he’d known from the beginning of his life, had been a lifeline to him. Whatever happened here, Koen planned that this man would not survive the night.

  Eillia and Park abruptly pulled back, arms around each other as they sought support and balance. After a deep mind scan, it took a few moments to find steady legs again.

  Park roused first, looking into Eillia’s eyes. “My dear Eillia, are you all right?”

  A few tense seconds passed before Eillia nodded and sighed. “I’m okay.”

  “Did you find out about Tamesine?” Koen asked, impatient, ready to finish this. All he really wanted at this moment was to rescue her, and get home to his mate.

  “No,” Eillia answered quietly. “He doesn’t know. Plus, I don’t think he even knew this Claude was going to take her. I think he’s just as surprised as we are. For the moment, we’ve lost her.”

  Park rubbed Eillia’s shoulder as she looked at her father. “But we know he has one more lab, a huge one, just outside of Los Angeles. Not too far from where Tamesine and Marc lived. And I know where he has his redirected funds.”

  Koen grabbed Lamont and hauled him up. “Well, little god, I guess we can finally shut you down.”

  Expressionless, Lamont accepted Koen’s rough treatment and seemed to have accepted his fate. But Park watched his eyes closely as her father hauled him away. Shaking her head, she touched Eillia on the cheek to get her attention again.

  “That man is not right,” Park told her. “I’ve seen his kind before and we can’t trust anything with him. I’m going to stay with my father just in case he tries to pull something. I’ll call Bas and see where he needs help to finish shutting this place down.”

  “Okay,” Eillia agreed. “I’ll keep searching for the tunnel that I know has to be here.”

  Before she left, Park weaved her fingers around Eillia’s. “We’ll find her. She’ll be all right.”

  Un-spilled tears glimmered in Eillia’s eyes. “I pray so. Caedmon has been so quiet since she’s been gone.”

  Park gave her a
reassuring smile and let her fingers slide from Eillia’s as she walked from the cold, empty room. Eillia turned to examine the walls.

  Hours later, just before sunrise, all four vampires lounged on the sofa and chairs in their hotel room, large plates of food in front of each of them. Marc and Taggert were eating, too, much smaller portions, and sat together at the table, nearby but separate, as they listened to the conversation.

  “I can’t believe that once again, there’s no trace. These people are too good,” Bas said as he bit into a thick piece of sweetbread.

  “Aye,” Koen said. “But they had to be, to have gotten this far. We’re still more powerful, so in the end, we’ll fix this god-awful group, eliminate everything that has to do with it, and get back to our lives.” He paused as he took a long swig of wine. “I still think we need to kill Lamont now.”

  “No, my friend. At some point, yes, but right now, other than Marc, he’s our only lead.”

  “You said he doesn’t know anything,” Marc interjected from his chair.

  “He doesn’t, but there may be something that may yet lead us to this Claude. Lamont is pissed, and I can’t help but think that he’d rather turn Tamesine in than let that man gain dominion over her.” Eillia explained.

  “He may be too late. This Claude, he’s much smarter than you’d think for someone who just kills people for a living.” Everyone in the room looked at Taggert after he spoke. His eyes moved from face to face. “I’m just telling you, I’ve watched that man for months, and I’ve never trusted him. Lamont, he’s just an asshole. He’s like a wealthy, petulant child who wants what he wants when he wants it. He’s lived an entitled life and never imagined that everything and everyone wouldn’t do exactly what he expected them to do without question. I think that’s why he hates supernaturals so much. You guys have power he doesn’t. And now that he knows he can get it too, that’s what has made him the most dangerous for you. But Claude, he’s in an entirely different category. He kills, for money, but it’s more than that. He’s a monster.”