by Dannika Dark
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay down here and guard me?”
The wolf pounced into the elevator and turned in a circle. Wyatt pushed the button for the lobby and then hauled ass toward the control room. Keystone was still a ways from their destination, and if he didn’t hurry and get to that control panel…
Just when he passed the secret elevator, it chimed, and the doors opened.
Chapter 30
After quickly assessing my predicament in the ring, I decided that even if I had wings, I wouldn’t have flown to the upper viewing area. Going alone would be suicide, and I liked my life too much to waste it on these trolls. Now that I was barefoot, I might have a fighting chance at climbing up the slide. Or at least far enough to be out of reach. Then I’d have to wait it out.
I bolted toward the dark hole. When I’d nearly reached it, Christian came flying out with his legs spread open. He scissored my neck, and I fell flat on my back. The crowd gasped, but I was beyond caring about their tepid reactions with Christian’s crotch in my face.
I shoved him off me and coughed. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Christian got on all fours. “Jaysus wept. I think I just relived my birth.” He looked up at me with a twinkle in his eye. “Is this a bloodbath in here?”
I tucked my bloody hair behind my ears. “Now isn’t the time for your puns. I’m not going to ask why you came down that way, but I sure as hell hope that the rest of the team isn’t behind you. That wolf is about to break out of his chains, and this crowd is thirsty for blood. Now we’re both going to die.”
He stood up and dusted off his pants. “First of all, the odds of my survival are better than yours. Worry not, lass. I’ll be sure he doesn’t devour all your remains.”
I glanced at the gate, but Audrey wasn’t there.
“Catch me up to speed,” Christian said, nearing my side. “I’m a wee bit confused as to why all these shitebags are dressed up for Halloween.”
“Welcome to fight club, starring us. I thought you were busy guarding Lenore the Whore?”
“I pulled out early.”
“Sounds about right.”
Christian swaggered over to the wall and hefted a spiked club. Then he moved toward the wolf, who still had the bag over his head.
“Don’t hurt him.” I gave Christian a scolding look.
“Are you afflicted in some way? The chains won’t hold him for long.” Christian hurled the club into the crowd, and it struck someone in the head. They fell backward, yet no one ran screaming. Some even applauded. “We need to get up there.”
“Armed with what?”
Christian tossed an axe at me, and I caught it before it accidentally severed my arm. “Gird your loins, lass. We’re storming the gates.”
“How?”
He erased the distance between us. “Do you trust me?”
“I’m going to regret saying yes, aren’t I?”
Christian winked and stood next to me. I looked down as he slid his hand between my legs from behind and gripped my sex nice and tight. His other hand flattened on my chest, and the next thing I knew, he was hurling me into the stands.
A shriek escaped my lips as I soared through the air with an axe in my hand. When I realized I was going to fall short of the ledge, I let go of the axe and grabbed the wall for dear life. Before my weight pulled me down, I threw my leg over and climbed up.
“Your aim sucks!” I yelled at him without looking back.
Masked faces retreated, and someone said, “This isn’t allowed.”
Banking on the assumption that these were prissy little aristocrats who couldn’t throw a punch, I sharpened my light and kept my cool. When I spotted the victim of Christian’s club toss, I pulled the spiked weapon from her skull, and her mask fell away. Chestnut hair spilled across her face, and I felt guilty for just the slightest of moments before I remembered who these lunatics were.
I twirled the club and threw a coldhearted gaze at my audience. “Sorry to crash your party, but this is a sting operation. You’re all under arrest. I want everyone to sit down with your hands on your head.”
Someone threw their glass at my face and flashed off. Another ripped off her mask and rushed me. I swung the club and struck her arm. Blood sprayed the onlookers to my left. The club fell from my grip and into the ring as two people shoved me toward the ledge.
So much for an orderly arrest.
I spotted Christian in the ring. “I could use some help up here!”
“Working on it!” He charged the gate and bounced off like a quarter against a mattress.
Teetering over the edge of the balcony, I turned my head and chomped someone’s arm. When they let go, I elbowed the other person who had ahold of my hair. One look at my fangs and they recoiled. I kicked the person in the stomach, and her mask fell off. Pandemonium ensued as the crowd turned into a mob and surged toward me. I braced for my imminent death, but they ran on by.
“What the hell?” I turned to watch the mayhem.
One of them hurtled over the wall. On the opposite side, others were leaping into the pit.
“Everyone down!” Shepherd’s strident voice made me flinch as he fired his gun into the air.
Dust and pebbles showered over Gem, and she shook her head. “Watch where you aim that thing.”
Gem curled her fingers rhythmically as a sphere of light rolled in her palm. Her energy ball was throwing the crowd in a panic.
I joined them. “Glad you made it. What’s the plan?”
Shepherd frowned at the unconscious woman on the ground. “Where’s the boss lady? Viktor wants her in custody before we do anything else.”
Striding up to us, Christian tucked a lollipop inside his cheek and rested his arm on Shepherd’s shoulder. “Couldn’t help but overhear your dilemma. Why don’t we throw everyone in the pit before they get it in their wee minds to flee or fight?”
“You busted the gate,” I pointed out.
He pulled out the red lollipop and kissed the end of it. “Blue let me in. The gate’s closed. Anyone up for a tossing game? Whoever gets the most in the ring takes a cut of everyone’s pay.”
Shepherd glowered. “Nobody’s got time for that. Did you see the redhead or the little man?”
I glanced behind me at the masked crowd. Gem was keeping them at bay with her electric ball, static ripping through the air like needles. “Pablo was down here earlier, and he didn’t use the slide. There has to be an elevator somewhere.”
Gem’s power ball suddenly fizzled out. “Oopsie.”
A bystander made a wild lunge at Gem, who didn’t see it coming. The person thrust their palm into her face and made a run for it. Shepherd fired his gun, and they fell like a stone. The mask came off, revealing a man who looked twenty.
When the bystanders saw we weren’t killing them, they stopped cowering. With the lollipop stick poking out of his mouth, Christian grabbed a woman by the throat and flung her into the ring.
I flashed down the stairwell. Claude was guarding a tunnel entrance, his eyes feral and all four fangs extended. A woman lay at his feet. She was lucky she had only two puncture marks in her neck instead of four, but I couldn’t imagine Claude intentionally killing a woman with his venom, even in primal mode. These people didn’t know that though, so I couldn’t think of a better person to guard the exit than a Mage’s mortal enemy.
I took off in search of Audrey. As I passed the gate to the ring, I noticed a woman reaching for the long lever so she could free those inside.
“Oh no you don’t.” I yanked her away by her black robe.
The woman scowled at me and drew closer. Suddenly I felt an uncontrollable attraction to her—those lovely green eyes, those full lips, that deliciously sexy vein in her slender neck. My Vampire side sounded the alarm bells.
“Charmer,” I hissed before biting her neck.
She struggled but eventually weakened in my grip. Her blood revolted me, the vile flavor like bug spray or old chemicals.
Everyone had their own unique flavor, but mostly I just tasted their sins.
Instead of pulling her light, which was usually how I finished off my victims, I had to refrain from the urge to kill so I could get a lock on Audrey.
“Let us out of here!” a woman begged, her fingers wrapped around the bars. “I can make you so rich that you’ll never have to work again.”
I neared the bars and sized her up: diamond-studded earrings, metallic eyeshadow, nude lipstick, blond curls spilling down her black robe. Her nails were bejeweled, and mine were caked in blood. Her perfume filled my nostrils as I leaned in. “Better get used to these,” I said, tapping my fingers against the bars. “You’ll be seeing them for a long time.”
I strutted off and approached a naked man lying on the ground. It looked like Christian had secured the chain around his wolf’s neck by bending the metal and looping the other end around a torch holder. The chain was loose, so I took it off and knelt. He was barely lucid.
“Hey, you’re gonna be okay. What’s your name?”
“Tom,” he croaked.
“Tom, do you think you can stay here? It’s too dangerous to run around. Can you sit tight for a little while?”
He nodded.
“Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. We’ll take care of you.”
He shook his head. “I thought you were lying.”
“It doesn’t matter. Just sit tight, okay?”
My heart clenched. How bad was this guy’s life that death matches were a viable solution? Audrey must have targeted men at rock bottom, but no matter what they initially agreed to, they certainly weren’t here of their own free will. Not if they were caged.
“Don’t open that gate,” I warned him. “Those are the people who wanted to watch you die tonight. Anything they promise you is a lie.”
His eyes closed. Tom’s condition had nothing to do with injuries sustained in the ring, as I’d done my best to go easy on him. He probably hadn’t slept in days, dreading his certain death.
I followed the dark tunnel and approached a gate. After pulling the lever, I jogged down the tunnel until I reached Rafferty’s prison. Without a key, I couldn’t get inside. “Rafferty, open the door! I promise not to kill you if you cooperate.”
I scanned the room and didn’t see any plump shadows hiding behind one of the pillars. The only sound I heard was the low growling of a vicious panther. “Audrey? Are you in there?”
“Do you really think she’ll answer?” Christian asked darkly.
I turned to face him. “Don’t sneak up on me. That’s a good way to get yourself killed.”
He took the lollipop out of his mouth and let it rest on his bottom lip. “And how will you manage to strike me down without a weapon? Or did you plan to give me a coronary by flashing those blood-soaked knockers? Go on. Give us a peek.”
“Open the gate.”
With a bored look, he reached over and gave the locking mechanism a hard squeeze until it shattered. “No one’s in there but a sniveling man with an atrocious flatulence problem.”
I rounded the butcher’s block and caught sight of Rafferty cowering on the floor. Grabbing a long knife, I squatted in front of him and pressed the tip to his fleshy gullet. “Where is she?”
His eyes rounded. “I don’t know.”
Rafferty gasped when I pushed the tip of the blade in deep enough to draw blood. “If you don’t tell me where she is, I’m going to pour that bucket of chum all over you and lock you in the cage with the panther. How does that sound? I bet he starts with your intestines first. That’s a slow death, you know.”
The man whimpered. I didn’t sense he was Breed, so he must have been a human servant.
Christian’s chuckle was low but audible.
Rafferty pointed at the opposite door. “That way,” he breathed. “That way.”
I tapped his nose with the blade. “If you’re smart, you’ll stay right here. You have no idea what’s going on out there.”
He probably did. If he’d seen Audrey flying through here, it must have tipped him off that something had gone wrong.
I hurried toward the far door and looked back at Christian. “Is anyone upstairs in the auction house? You should call them and let them know Audrey might be taking the elevator.”
Christian snorted. “I don’t have my phone on me. I’m afraid our fate is in the hands of Spooky McGravewalker.”
The door swung outward. “You should still—”
Air whooshed out of my lungs when the ground disappeared. I gasped—my tank top had wrapped around my neck, and it felt like someone was pulling my hair. I flailed my arms to grab something—anything. Christian seized my hand, and I hung suspended for a moment, assessing the fact that my boobs were out.
When he lifted me up and set me down, I stared up at Christian in shock.
His eyes skimmed down to my chest. “Ah, there they are. I think I might just have that coronary after all.”
I pulled my tank top down. One of the straps was broken, but not as broken as I would have been if I’d fallen into that pit. We both leaned over and looked inside.
“Metal spikes. Nice touch,” he said. “Hasn’t anyone ever taught you not to run headlong through a dungeon door?”
“Lesson learned. I guess it’s safe to assume this isn’t the only booby trap?”
He winked. “Nice word choice.”
I scowled at Rafferty. “You could have warned us.”
The human looked equally amused and terrified. “I didn’t know. I swear I didn’t—”
“One more word and I’ll drain you,” Christian ground out, his eyes still locked on mine. When Rafferty piped down, Christian lifted my chin with the crook of his finger. “Do you trust me?”
“Hell no.”
Without further discussion, I backed up a few paces and then jumped over the pit. I landed on one foot and stumbled a little before turning around.
Christian followed close behind and landed on both feet. “That little gobshite is lucky I don’t throw his arse down there along with the jaguar.”
Without light, I fell back a step and gripped Christian’s arm so he could lead me. “It’s a panther.”
“Aye. But a panther is just a blanket term for a black cat of any Panthera species.”
“You have a disturbing knowledge base about animals.”
“Remind me to tell you about the mating ritual of honeybees.” Christian crunched on his candy. “Isn’t this romantic? All that shite about flowers, dinner, and a night on the town is overrated. All a man needs is a woman with supple breasts, a bucket of blood, a dark tunnel, and a slim chance of survival.”
“Be still my beating heart.”
“Don’t ever say that to a Vampire.” After two more steps, he yanked me to the ground. “Duck.”
Something whooshed over our heads, and the hair on the back of my neck stood up.
“What was that?” I whispered.
“A free haircut. Will you stop distracting me? I missed the trip wire.”
Annoyed, I crawled ahead of him.
“Mmm, nice view,” he growled. His voice sounded higher up, and before I had the chance to ask if it was safe to stand, he made an oomph.
“You okay?”
Wood snapped, and the air whistled overhead. It sounded as if a body hit the ground a short distance away.
“Aye,” he grunted. “Just dandy. Get on your feet, lass.”
I stood and waited for him to offer me his arm. “This is like an Indiana Jones movie,” I mused. “If they unleash spiders, I’m running the other way. Just so you know.”
“Jaysus. Did you have to say that aloud?”
“Since when is the man who has spiders for roommates scared of spiders?”
“’Tis one thing to have a few wee spiders scurrying about. ’Tis another to have a cluster of foot-long tarantulas.”
I slowed my pace. “I never said anything about tarantulas. Why did you just say that?”
“Keep to the le
ft,” he said, amusement in his voice.
“I hate you.”
After a short turn, he quickly stopped and broke from my grip. I stared into the darkness, trying to make sense of incoherent sounds like rustling clothes, metal vibrations, and Christian heaving a sigh.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Fecking door is thicker than my cock.”
I blindly staggered forward and felt for the knob. “Did you try opening it first?”
“What you know about dungeons could fill a thimble.”
When I turned the lever, the door swung open. I grinned wide in the darkness. “After you, Poe.”
I swear I could hear his jaw clench.
When Christian whooshed past, I heard his feet stomp in the distance.
“Jump, and I’ll catch you.”
I imagined a dark pit like the other one. “How long is it?”
“If I had a dime for every time I heard that,” he murmured.
“What?”
“Pretend it’s the Grand Canyon. Just run, and I’ll tell you when to jump.”
I backed up and ran full speed. My heart dropped when, after a second, I was certain I’d passed the door. Before my feet could skid to a stop, I crashed into Christian.
He belted out a laugh. “Fell for that one, didn’t ya?”
“You fanghole.” I shoved him away and moved toward a lit hallway on the right. There was a gold elevator at the end. I came to a stop and cocked my head. “Listen. Can you hear all that screaming? We must be close to the fighting pit.”
He neared the wall. “Aye. There’s a draft behind this stone. Looks like a secret doorway.”
“Keep it shut. I don’t want anyone escaping. Let’s go.”
When we got inside the elevator, I pushed the only button on the panel. “Were there really spiders back there?”
Christian clasped his hands behind his back and whistled a tune as the doors closed.
Chapter 31
Moments earlier.
Wyatt had no time to spare as he jogged to the control room. If Keystone didn’t get past the second set of doors, they might never capture the ringleader, and they would have failed this mission. What good are documents without the criminals? Just as he passed the mysterious elevator, he heard a ding. Backing up a few steps, he watched the doors open.
