Shiela Stewart - [Darkness 08]

by Surviving theDarkness (epub)

  ***

  At least once a month they got a customer who had to test their limits. The rules were you were not allowed to drink from more than one supplier a night. If you wanted more blood you had to purchase a bottle and settle for that. But there were always those who insisted they deserved more.

  While two of his bodyguards held the burly vampire down, Zach did his best to calm the hysterical female suppliers. Handing them each a blanket to cover up their nudity, he spoke as softly as possible. “Now, start from the beginning and tell me what happened.”

  “He wanted a threesome so we gave it to him. We made him sign the agreement that he was only allowed to drink from one of us and Bunny and I agreed It would be me ‘cause she’s feeling a little under the weather today,” Candy explained through chattering teeth.

  Zach laid a hand on Bunny’s shoulder to comfort the poor girl’s sobbing.

  “Buck, that’s his name, asked us to get started and so we did. He got undressed while we made out. I was on top of Bunny, kissing her when he came up behind us. He spread her legs and started fucking her while I was still on top. Whatever…it’s his kink. I was getting pretty hot, aroused, then he bit my neck. Both Bunny and I came at the same time. He pulled out and said it was my turn. So Bunny and I switched spots. He penetrated me and bit her neck.”

  “I couldn’t get him off of me,” Bunny sobbed, pulling the blanket tighter around her body.

  Zach stroked his hand up and down her back.

  “We both started screaming and security came in. They yanked him off us and that’s when the fight started,” Candy continued explaining as she held onto Bunny’s hand.

  “Okay, girls. Why don’t you both go shower, get changed and go home for the night. Check in with Sophia in counseling before you head out of here. If you’re not up to working tomorrow just let her know.” He left both women and sauntered over to the furious-looking vampire currently secured by steel cuffs locked around his ankles and wrists.

  This one had been trouble from day one.

  “This is your second strike, Buck. You know the rules.”

  “Fuck you and your rules,” Buck spat at him.

  “Take him to JCPD boys. I’ll call ahead and let them know what to expect.”

  The bouncers hoisted the brute to his feet, one on either side of him holding him securely.

  “This is bull-shit. It’s all bull-shit. I have a right to drink from whoever I fucking please whenever I fucking please,” he ranted on as they escorted him from the room.

  Zach pulled out his cell phone and dialed the Jacob’s Cove Police department. He informed them of what to expect and who was bringing him in. He didn’t particularly like the cops, but Zach didn’t like rule-breakers either. Especially the ones who hurt women. Assured that Buck would be taken care of, Zach headed back down to his suite.

  “Sorry it took so long. There was an incident with a belligerent vampire, but you have my full attention now.” He was baffled to find the suite empty. “Deborah?” Her purse was here, yet she wasn’t. Maybe she went upstairs. Probably wanted to talk to Ginny about the house.

  Leaving his suite he headed to the elevator.

  Deborah was right of course. It would be better if they lived away from his club. There had been no need for him to live anywhere but beneath the club before. Now there was. Especially if he and Deborah ever had children. He hoped she wanted children. They still had so much to talk about, to figure out.

  He stepped out of the elevator and headed to the bar. The place was jumping tonight, which was good. He hated it when it was empty.

  “Hey, Wade. Have you seen Deborah?”

  “Not recently. I thought she was downstairs with you.” Wade slid two bottles of beer across the bar to the customers at the end all without looking.

  “She was. I came up to deal with an altercation in the back. When I went back down she wasn’t there. I thought maybe she came up here to talk to Ginny.”

  “Ginny’s at table twelve if you wanna talk to her about it.”

  “Thanks, Wade.” Zach headed in her direction and caught up with her as she made her way toward the bar. “Hey, looks like they’re keeping you busy tonight.”

  “And then some. My feet are killing me. What’s up?”

  “I was just wondering if Deborah came up to see you. I was called to the back and when I returned she wasn’t in the suite.”

  Ginny shook her head, shifted the tray from one hand to the other. “I haven’t seen her since she first came in. She talk to you about the house?”

  Zach nodded, throwing his hand in the air to wave at a regular customer. “She did. I’ll let her tell you the about it. If you see her, tell her I’m looking for her.”

  “Will do, boss.”

  Baffled, Zach decided to check if her car was in the lot. If she wasn’t in the club or his suite maybe she went out for something. He headed out the back to where he knew she always parked and saw her car still in the same spot it had been when she’d arrived. Even more baffled, he turned back to the building and kicked something with his shoe. Glancing down, he saw the overhead light glinting off of the object and as he knelt down to see what it was, recognized it as keys.

  Deborah’s keys.

  Taking them in his hand, he looked around and saw nothing out of the ordinary. Only problem was, his gut was telling him there was a problem. Why would she have dropped her keys?

  He threw the door open and ran to the basement to the security area. Bursting through the door, surprising the guard, he headed straight for the video screens. He went right for the one focused on the back entrance. “Did you see anything out of the ordinary back here tonight?”

  “No, sir.”

  “Nothing? Did you see Deborah head out to her car about a half hour ago?”

  “No, sir. “

  He pulled the memory plate from the computer and inserted it into another computer and hit play. The instant it came on, showing the back entrance, Zach hit rewind. He jammed on the stop the instant he saw her. “How the hell could you miss this?”

  There she was, in the arms of her abductor, being dragged off.

  His blood went cold.

  “I…uh…must have been in the washroom at that time.”

  “Sonofabitch.” Racing out of the room, he darted out the back door, not sure what that would accomplish. The woman he loved had been abducted in his own territory and he’d had no clue.

  Though he hated asking for help, he knew now he had no choice. Deborah’s life depended on it.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Her head felt so heavy, fuzzy. As Deborah tried to clear the fog she could hear someone moving about. Was that Zach? Why did she feel so tired, so…drugged?

  She was drugged. He’d drugged her.

  Peter Milligan had found her.

  Forcing her eyes open, Deborah saw him as he worked with something at the back of the room. The dim light in the room didn’t allow her to see much. She had no idea where she was. It looked like a rundown bedroom, and it smelled awful. And her wrists were tied to the bed posts.

  Not again!

  “Ah, you’re awake. Good.”

  She tried to swallow but her throat was utterly dry.

  Carrying a lantern, he walked to the bed. “I was worried I’d used too much chloroform on you. But you haven’t been out more than an hour so I guess I got it right. How do you feel?”

  “Let me go, Peter.” She found her voice. Rough as it was, it was more than she had done the first time he’d abducted her.

  “No can do, Debbie.” He set the lantern on the floor beside the bed. “This time it’s for keeps. You really shouldn’t have run away from me.”

  She flinched when he touched her cheek. At least she was still clothed. Thank God for small favors. “You
don’t want to do this, Peter. Please, just let me go.”

  He sat on the edge of the bed, stroking her hair. She wanted to vomit. “I can’t let you go, Debbie. I love you. You’re mine. We’re meant for each other. You just need to see that.”

  She swallowed the bile in her throat. “I’m not yours, Peter, and I never will be.”

  “We’ll see about that.” Giving her face a not-so-gentle squeeze. he got up from the bed and left the room.

  Despite her heart thumping wildly and her stomach doing cartwheels, Deborah thought about escaping. She thought about all the techniques Zach had shown her, had made her work through. Only problem was, she was tied to the bed. How was she supposed to protect herself, defend herself when she was tied up.

  Giving her wrists a tug, Deborah winced when the rope cut into her skin. It hurt, but the outcome if she stayed tied to the bed was far worse. She needed to fight.

  And so she did.

  With each tug she felt the ropes cut into her skin, burning away the still-healing flesh to expose a raw layer beneath. She bit her lip, fighting the pain and continued to work the ropes. Even if she could manage to get one hand loose she could untie the other.

  Damn, why did he have to tie them so tight?

  Her eyes blurred with the tears that formed but still she pushed on. Did Zach know she was missing? Was he looking for her? She had no idea where she was so the chance that Zach would find her was slim to none. Not unless he’d seen her being taken, and what were the odds of that?

  She was on her own and she needed to protect herself.

  Her wrists began to bleed and though she was in a great deal of pain, Deborah used the slick moisture to her advantage. Wounds would heal, as they had before.

  God, please let me get out of this alive.

  ***

  Entering the Jacob’s Cove Police Station, Zach took a deep breath. He hated that he had to be here but he had no other choice. He knew what the cops thought of him and his establishment but he didn’t care. At least he was keeping the majority of the vampires, demons, and werewolves off the streets. He needed help and despite his dislike for the JCPD he had no other choice.

  Marching up to the front desk, he stated point blank what he needed. “I need to speak to Lieutenant Storm. Now.”

  The young woman behind the desk looked up at him with a great deal of distain. “May I ask the nature of your request?”

  “Just tell me where I can find her. It’s urgent.”

  “The lieutenant is busy at the moment. If you’ll have a seat I’ll notify her you wish to see her Mr….?

  “Damn it, I don’t have time for this.” Rushing off, he burst through the door that led to a long lobby of offices. If he had to break into every damn room to find the lieutenant he damn well would.

  He wasn’t the least bit surprised when three officers rushed toward him from the end of the hall. He promptly changed into a spider and scurried up the wall and carried on his way.

  “God Damn I hate shape shifters,” one of the officers exclaimed.

  Reading the name plates on the door, Zach spotted the lieutenant’s door three doors up but just as he got to it, the door flew open. He fell to the floor and changed back.

  “What the hell?” she gasped, her hand reaching instinctually for her weapon.

  “I need your help, Lieutenant.” He wasted no time and shoved her into her office. He clicked the locks, preventing the officers from entering. He wasn’t surprised at all when she leveled her weapon at his chest. “I mean you no harm. I only need your help. Deborah Carmichael’s been taken by her abductor and I need you to find her.”

  Her hand perfectly steady, the lieutenant responded. “You need to calm down.” She inched toward the door to unlock it and allow the officers inside.

  “We’re wasting valuable time.” He changed back into the spider and by the time she reached the door he’d scurried beneath it and was on his way. If she wasn’t going to help him then he would have to go straight to the top.

  It was so much easier moving about in his spider form so he remained incognito until he reached the floor where the chief and mayor’s offices were located. He’d been here one other time before, when he’d first opened his establishment. He’d been requested by the mayor and chief to see them and so he had. But he’d done so with a great deal of distain. They’d told him then that in no uncertain terms would they allow his business to continue if they got more than four complaints a month. Even after reassuring them both that he had strict rules in his bar, he knew they still disapproved.

  He didn’t give a damn. He kept a relatively calm environment and entertainment for every race and he had happy customers. That was all that mattered.

  He transformed as he came up to Mayor Trinity Hawthorn’s door and without an invitation he walked in. He couldn’t be happier to see her sitting behind her desk.

  Until she froze him to his spot.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing bursting in here without knocking?”

  Not only did the woman have fiery red hair that fell nearly to her knees but her temperament was equally as red. Unable to move, all Zach could do was plead his case and hope she helped him. “You and I both know I wouldn’t be here unless it was urgent. I need your help. Deborah Carmichael, the woman I’ve been seeing, was just abducted by a man who’s been stalking her and who abducted her several months back. You have to help me find her.”

  She stood up nice and slow and eased around the desk. She was a tall, thin woman who had been appointed queen of the vampire race over a year ago by Rajanna, The Realm of Mystic’s Queen. Along with being the queen came some serious powers, one of which was the ability to stop a person in their tracks and hold them there for however long she desired.

  Apparently she had no intention of letting him go anytime soon.

  She took a seat on her desk and stared at him for what seemed like minutes before she spoke. “You found her keys outside your bar?”

  “Yes, how did—oh, you read my mind for the information. Then you know how urgent this is.”

  “Give me her keys.”

  His body gave and he was beyond relief to have movement back. Pulling Deborah’s keys from his pants pocket, he handed them off to Trinity. “What are you doing?”

  She clasped them in her hand and closed her eyes. “Searching for her. I can feel her. She’s terrified. Hurt”

  “I will kill him for that.”

  Her eyes opened and Zach’s breath caught. They were glowing an odd icy blue. “She’s in an abandoned house…”

  “Where?”

  “I…can’t see it clearly.”

  “Damn it. I have to find her.”

  “Wait.” Her eyes cleared. “She’s on Hassleman Street.”

  The door burst open and as he turned around he saw the gun aimed at his head.

  “Do not change on me again, shape shifter.”

  “I don’t have time for this.” Despite the warning from the Lieutenant and the gun she aimed at him, he changed into an ant and scurried off.

  Chapter Thirty

  Deborah had no idea how long she would have until Peter came back into the room so she worked fast. She bit back the pain as the ropes cut deep into her wrist. If she could reach them with her mouth she would have used her teeth on the knots. She could hear movement in another room, the sounds of pots clanking she thought, and worked faster to release her wrists.

  No one was going to save her this time. It was all up to her now.

  Deborah thought about the house she wanted to buy, the garden she wanted to plant. She thought about the life she wanted with Zach. For the first time in her life she was looking to the future for herself, not for her music. She loved playing. It would always be a part of her, but she wanted more. She wanted a life.

&
nbsp; Telling herself to shut off the pain, she struggled harder. The blood trickled down her arm, tickling her as it slid ever so slowly toward her armpit. She twisted her wrists, wiggled them, yanked on them and finally felt the ropes give. Curling her hands in as tight a fist as possible, she continued to work them.

  When the door opened she froze.

  “I figured you might want something to eat.”

  She didn’t want food. What she wanted was to get away. “Please don’t do this to me. I have a new life now. I’m in love with a wonderful man.”

  “You can’t be in love with anyone but me.” He set the tray on the foot of the bed beside her legs.

  She worked her wrist slowly, hoping he didn’t see what she was doing. “But I don’t love you, Peter, and I never will. Can’t you see that? I never will.”

  “In time you will. I’m a very loveable kind of guy.”

  “You’re a monster,” she blurted out. Her right wrist slid free of the rope.

  He came at her so quickly she gasped. When he grabbed hold of her face, the pain she felt as he squeezed her cheeks was barely noticed. “You will respect me. Understood? Now, let’s eat.”

  He released her face with a shove then turned back to the tray.

  This was it, this was her chance. Lifting her foot, she smashed it into his face with enough force to send him flying across the room. In a quick maneuver, she grabbed hold of the rope still holding her left wrist to the bed and pulled her hand free.

  She cried out as her wrist dislocated.

  Clutching it to her chest, she scrambled off the bed and ran for the door. She screamed when he grabbed on to her.

  “You’re not going anywhere, bitch!”

  ***

  Zach ran along the streets, his paws slapping the concrete, his nails scraping as he headed for his destination. The car might have been faster but in his wolf persona he had more maneuverability—jumping over cars that got in his way. He had to find her; he had to get to her before…He had to save her.