“He said something about a woman, but now he’s gone.”
“Then, call him back!”
“I’m trying.”
“Calm yourself,” Delia said in a warning tone. “Let him do his work. He’ll apprise us of what he’s learned once he’s done.”
Anger raced through Gunner at the speed at which he wanted to rush to Imogen, but after a glance to Blaine, who nodded, he raised his hands in surrender.
“While he does whatever he does, I’d like to talk about the connection to The Directive,” Jana said. “If we figure out who the perpetrator is, we might be able to end this quickly.”
“Whoever runs District 7 is behind this,” Blaine said.
“Why do you keep saying that?”
“Shortly after Lee mated with Piper, Gunner was under the mistaken assumption that she was his intended instead.”
“Hmm.”
“It was Imogen’s scent on her, and that’s how they figured out who fate had chosen for him. The very night that Gunner met Imogen, they were attacked by a group who tried to take her from him.” He paused and looked at her. “But that’s the first you’ve heard of this, isn’t it? It wasn’t on any activity reports?” Jana shook her head. “But, you see, I alerted the local Directive chapter within minutes after it happened.”
“Let me guess. District 7?”
“Exactly.”
Jana took her phone from her purse and said, “An armed contingent is to go to Terrance’s home and apprehend him on my orders. Use the precision team. I want it done ASAP. Take him to the rendition area.” She paused. “Yes, you heard me correctly! Call me back when it’s done.”
“She’s not there,” Henry said. All eyes went to him, and he held Imogen’s phone up, showing it to them. “The electrical currents help me make connections with the other side.”
Wanting to rip into Henry and make him hurry up and tell them where to go, Gunner shouted, “Where is she, then?”
“Amongst the dead.”
Chapter 29
Imogen clutched her arms around her tighter, trying to keep warm.
She’d attempted to meditate but hadn’t been able to clear her mind. Not until she let her thoughts meander where they wanted to—when she saw Gunner’s face—was she able to find some semblance of rest. Only then had she been able to fall asleep in the corner in spite of the horrible milky-eyed dead things staring at her.
She dreamt of Gunner, but that time, it wasn’t of a sexual nature. Instead, he was speaking words of encouragement and hope.
“Don’t give in to them, Imogen. Fight!
You can and will survive this.
I’ll be there soon, baby. Hold on a little bit longer.
We’re gonna be so happy together. This is just a bump in our road.
Remember our night of bliss, baby. When it gets difficult, go there. Be in my arms and find peace.
Don’t worry about the things in the room. They can’t hurt you.”
When she awoke, she didn’t know if it were her own brain, or some other force, sending images of him to her, but she didn’t care. Whatever caused it had brought her comfort, and for that, she was grateful.
During her slumber, someone had brought a tray with food and water and set it just inside the door. She remembered what they’d said about the blood moon being in a week, and judging from the hushed and reverent tones she’d heard in their voices as they looked at her, she was certain that they didn’t intend to kill her yet.
Still, she sniffed the tomato and mozzarella on wheat sandwich and the water, but she didn’t detect anything amiss. She decided to risk a taste, so she swallowed a small bite and then waited for any pains or sluggishness that would portend poison or drugs. At least, that was what she’d seen in the movies.
After a few minutes, nothing happened, but she opted to open the bag of chips, anyway. Her stomach grumbled, wanting meat.
As she chomped on them, she took a long draught of the water and then thought better of it, deciding to ration it. There was no way to know when or if she would get more, and she didn’t have any facilities to use. Looking around, she figured she’d have to relieve herself in one of the corners in the room.
While she thought about eating a T-bone steak and carving into it, her eyes wandered back to the bodies.
Oh, my God! A knife! Maybe one is buried in that pile... or something else you can use as a weapon!
As she steeled herself for what she was about to do, she wondered how her captors would respond if they caught her.
It’s not like they’re gonna sacrifice you before the big night. Could be your chance to escape when they open the door. You’re not going down without a fight! Pacifism be damned!
With no other option than to start working her way through the bodies, she stood, took a deep breath, and then jogged in place, as she tried to psych herself up.
You can do this! You have to! Detach, Imogen. Go somewhere else in your mind. Do it!
When she felt like she was in the right head space, she approached the first one, a nude woman with slits along her femoral and carotid arteries. Dried blood was in lines down her legs, and her mouth was open in a silent scream.
Shuddering, and breathing through her mouth to lessen her perception of the stench that was rising in the air from the shifting bodies, Imogen moved her over and went to the next. It was a male, and she noticed that he hadn’t been totally disrobed prior to his death. He was heavy, and she had to use her leg strength and arms to turn him over to check for anything of use.
All the women, it seemed, had been executed in the same manner, but the men had been bled out from their necks only. She thought that perhaps they’d put up a stronger fight than the females, and the carotid arteries were the easiest for Terrance to slice.
At the end of Imogen’s struggle, she hadn’t found any type of weapon, so she put the bodies back as they had been before, using her remaining strength. She then returned to her corner, as she’d come to think of it. Slumping into it, she curled her arms around her bent knees, and her mind went back to her psychology class in college.
This is how people get broken down. They’re isolated. They grow to depend on their captors for their survival, and they’re slowly taught to accept what is required of them.
Well, screw that! They’ve got another thing coming, because this girl is not gonna comply with their plans.
Chapter 30
From his seat at the head of the room, Terrance observed his followers, as they performed their obeisance to him. He enjoyed hearing their chants of his name and wails of devotion. Reina led them through the proper words and actions, as she stood in front of him to the side.
As he watched them, he considered his next move.
No doubt, Gunner was in the thralls of the Thirst, with blood being the only thing on his addled mind. He’d provided such a useful cover for Terrance’s activities, a ready explanation for the past sacrifices.
The Directive, especially Magno Zara, had no patience with a supernatural on a killing spree. Once Reina, Terrance’s little messenger pigeon, had whispered into his ear about what she gleaned by going through Gunner’s files, he set his plan into motion. But Gunner had been set free by Jana.
What better way to take them both down than to set Gunner up again for the exact same crime? Terrance would swoop in, as he had before, arrest Gunner, and present him to Magno in the crazed state of the Thirst, with his dead and drained Bloodmate at his feet. It would be obvious at that point that Gunner and his attorney had played upon Jana’s sympathies and that she’d shown a weakness The Directive could not afford in its midst.
Two birds, one stone.
“Our great leader has assented to lower himself and speak a few words to us, his faithful,” Reina announced.
The congregation sat back on their heels, with their arms up in supplication.
“Free us from the bonds The Directive has us in!” one cried.
Another shouted, “We are above th
em all!”
Lifting his hands in the air, signaling them to be quiet, Terrance rose from his seat, letting his hood fall to his shoulders, while he stepped closer to the huddled mass.
“The Directive tells us to be good stewards, watchful and cognizant of our powers and abilities. To be one with humanity. What say you to that?”
A chorus of “No!” went through the room, growing in volume into a crescendo.
“I will bring you the next millennium with the entire world under our feet! All who would follow me, show your allegiance!”
The audience rose, and Terrance glanced at Reina. He gave her a nod, and she went to stand in front of him, where she eased her robe off her body, dropping it to the floor. She stood before them nude and held her wrists out to the man nearest her.
“Respect the offering I am granting to you. Take from her, but not too much. Reina is mine, and I share this gift with you as a promise of the nights to come that only I can bring to you. Soon the streets will run with the blood of her species… at our hands.”
As they drank from Reina, with one at each wrist, and the others sinking their fangs into her thighs, calves, and hips, he watched, ensuring that their sips were small. Even so, when the last one’s fangs left her flesh, she collapsed to the floor.
“Leave us,” he commanded, flinging his arm towards the door.
Once they were alone, he gathered her puncture-marked body into his arms, opened a vein, and placed it to her mouth. Her heaving breaths lessened when she latched onto his wrist, linking her lips to his skin, as she drew in his life force.
“You did well. You pleased me,” he said, trailing the fingers of his other hand through her hair. “When you’re better, I have another task for you.”
She nodded and closed her eyes.
Chapter 31
“Stop playing that music!” Imogen screamed, covering her ears.
She’d tried tuning it out, singing another song over it, but she hadn’t been able to drown out the droning melancholy chords that were playing just loud enough for her to hear in the background. Her thoughts had devolved into seeing herself pale and still inside a casket, or her body being placed on a funeral pyre like the rites the Vikings performed.
Imogen was convinced that her abductor was an expert at breaking people—a professional. She was on the edge, and it was only the second night of her captivity. All her initial bravado and intentions of being strong, fighting, were dissolving into a somber depression with every passing minute of her confinement.
Pain laced through her bones from the concrete she sat on for hours on end, until she fell into a fitful sleep of nightmares. As deeply in the throes of the Thirst as he was in her dreams, Gunner was unable to save her. He was controlled by that alone. Sometimes he killed her himself, drinking from her until she was no more. Though in her heart, she was sure he wouldn’t do that, her mind kept running those scenes on a loop, driving her to tears.
The universe chose us for each other. It won’t allow us to be apart.
As she pondered her deep connection with Gunner, she wondered why the force would be so strong and insistent that she and Gunner be together, only to let something come between them. It didn’t make sense. While pondering those thoughts, she began to settle, and her breathing slowed from racing in and out of her lungs.
If nothing else, I can have faith in that.
The gown she’d been dressed in had grown dirty, brown or gray in some areas, from dragging it when she walked or from sleeping on the floor. As she looked it over, plucking at the hem, her eyes flitted to the male bodies that were still clad in their shirts. Standing, she shivered with the chill once again.
Enough of this. He’s not going to rule you with fear. If one of those guys were Lee, God forbid, he’d tell you to take what you needed to survive.
Minutes later, sweating from exertion, Imogen slid her arms through a flannel shirt and tied another around her waist. After ripping the gown apart, she stuffed the pieces under the door and sat in the center of the room with the dead behind her.
Do not focus on what he wants you to. You’re made of strong stuff, and you’ve been through more hell in your life than what he can throw at you.
With a loud voice, she sang every cheesy, sunshiney pop song she knew, finally drowning out the somber tones around her. Closing her eyes, she belted out the lyrics, and after a while, as her body warmed, so did her soul.
When she lifted her lids, the tattered dress was gone, and she smiled.
Take that, asshole!
Chapter 32
While he waited for Reina to return, Terrance paced around his office. He’d narrowly escaped The Directive’s forces, using his hidden tunnels to flash miles from his home and then go above ground.
As an ancient vampire, he had the ability to walk in the sun. It was one of his greatest tools of persuasion with his followers—that once he was in power, he would grant them the gift of daylight, as well.
Gullible idiots.
Reina ran into the room, stopping when she saw him, and dropped to her knees.
“What did you find out?” he asked, as he walked to where she was kneeling before him.
“I saw the shifter with his woman and another man. They were driving a grooming service vehicle.”
“For what purpose?”
“I don’t know.”
“Pardon?”
“My lord, I’m human. I couldn’t hear what was being said without giving my position away.”
The thought crossed his mind to change her, but then he wouldn’t have had her veins to share with his congregation.
“What did you learn that I can use?”
“Jana, the female wolf, is with them. Thankfully, I was close enough to overhear her order for your capture, and that’s how I was able to alert you to their activities.”
“That was a given. What else have you been able to observe?”
“Gunner’s Thirst is increasing, but he’s still able to control it. He’s drinking almost constantly.”
“Perfect. By next week, when the blood moon is high, we shall lay the trap, my queen.”
Reina sat back on her heels.
“How can I help? He won’t want me now.”
Terrance smiled down at her upturned face and reached out to her. When she raised her hand, he took it into his, drew her to standing, and gathered her to his chest.
Peering into her eyes, he said, “You can ensure our victory without having to debase yourself as you did so beautifully for me in his bed.” Nuzzling his nose against her neck, he sucked her earlobe into his mouth and then released it, before whispering, “Did you scream his name?”
She nodded and spoke at the same volume, “Yes, for it to seem real.”
“For whom?”
“Him.”
“It was real for you, then?”
“No, sire. In my heart, it was you using my body for your pleasure. It was the only way I could bear it, to imagine it was you inside me.”
Terrance leaned down, pressing his lips to hers.
“You’ll be the key player in his downfall, my love. The queen, taking this game to the pawn.”
Groaning, she pressed herself against him, whispering words of love and devotion to him between their kisses.
“Take my blood before you leave. It will make you stronger and heal you if you’re injured. I don’t want them to be able to compromise you in any way. Do what is needed and then return to my side. Do you understand?”
“Yes, my king.”
“But before you leave,” he said, swooping her up and carrying her into his bedroom. “I want to drink your tears and revel in your shouts of my name.”
Reina shivered in his arms, and he smiled.
When he paused at the door, she reached out and closed them in together.
Chapter 33
Reina pressed the button for the doorbell, listening to its dulled chimes from the stoop where she’d stood when she tricked Imogen. As she waited,
she put a worried and concerned expression on her face. Then she pounded hard with her fists.
“Gunner! I came as soon as I heard you’d been released!”
The door eased open, and the shifter she’d seen when she followed Gunner came into view. He was tall, and his svelte muscles showed through his tight shirt. As her gaze lifted to his face, he had the same impact on her as he had before. Though he was extremely good looking, with his piercing amber eyes and tresses that fell in waves to his shoulders, he didn’t have the hardness about him that she was drawn to. If he’d ordered her to her knees, she would’ve laughed in his face rather than drop like a stone as she did for Terrance.
“Can I help you?” he asked, leaning with his hand on the jamb.
Ignoring his question, she ducked under his arm and dashed past him, into the house, calling, “Gunner! Gunner, it’s me! I’m here!”
“Hey! Hold on! Who are you?”
He caught up with her and took hold of her by her arm.
“I’m Gunner’s girlfriend Reina! Let me go! Who are you?”
He released her immediately, and she smirked, as he rubbed the back of his neck.
“He’s in the shower. Be down in a few. And I’m Lee.”
“I’ll wait in the kitchen, then. In my rush to get here, I completely forgot to eat.”
“Blaine!” Lee called. “Sorry, Reina, but I need to confirm what you’re saying, before you take one more step inside this house.”
“Gunner hasn’t mentioned me?”
“He’s been a little preoccupied.”
“You must be one of his new friends. Were you in jail with him?”
“No. We’re working together.”
“Oh?” She twirled a loose piece of her hair between her fingers. “On what?”
“Yes?” Blaine strode into the foyer, holding some papers. He stopped in his tracks and pinned her with an angry glare. “What do you want, Reina?”
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