“People are dying because the CDC screwed up and mutated the bacteria found in the Bracadytes’ barbs,” Mallory shot back. “It’s not Hauke and Abbie’s fault. It’s Raducha’s.”
Jefferies leaned forward, resting his arm on the back of Mallory’s seat. “At this point, it doesn’t really matter whose fault it is. It only matters that we stop this virus before it kills us all.”
“Save lives by taking lives?” Vaulcron narrowed his eyes at Jefferies.
Jefferies met his gaze. “They’re not going to take your life. They’re going to use it.”
A strange feeling came over Vaulcron. “Use it? How?”
“That’s between you and the president. I’m merely the messenger.”
“That does not sound good,” Zaureth whispered through Vaulcron’s mind. “But at least they do not plan on killing you.”
“Yet,” Vaulcron sent back, reaching across the seat to gently squeeze Mallory’s hand.
* * * *
Glenn Anderson watched as Amy Brighton moved around her apartment with a grace that belied her disability.
She stopped in the kitchen and took down a cup before placing it beneath her coffee machine. “Would you care for a cup, Mr…?”
Glenn had to admire her for her obvious attempt to get his name. “No, thank you. And you can call me G.”
“Very well, G. Can you tell me what’s going to happen to my sister?”
Glenn’s conscience ate at him the longer he stood there staring at Amy. He glanced away when she turned to face him, though he knew she couldn’t see him. “I honestly don’t know everything, but I can tell you that they aren’t planning on killing her.”
“Then why hold a gun on her?”
Surprised by her words, Glenn glanced down at his own weapon. “What makes you think he held a gun on your sister?”
“I’m blind, not stupid,” Amy softly whispered. “Being without sight my entire life has enhanced my other senses.”
Glenn holstered his weapon and drifted closer to the innocent girl in the kitchen.
Amy was beautiful, he thought, taking a seat at the dining table. Her golden hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and her face was devoid of makeup. Her light blue eyes, though unseeing, sparkled with intelligence and honor.
“How old are you, if you don’t mind me asking?”
Amy appeared uncomfortable with his question. “I don’t understand why my age would matter to you.”
“Just curious is all.”
“I’m twenty-five.”
Glenn let that soak in. “And you live here alone?”
Amy moved her now full coffee cup to the counter and began spooning in sugar. “Why are you so interested in my living arrangements? You just had my sister taken to God knows where, and now you’re going to sit here and expect me to make small talk with you?”
Glenn became fascinated by the flash of anger in her light blue eyes. She had to be one of the sweetest yet sexiest women he’d ever seen. “I’m sorry, Amy. I know I seem like the bad guy to you, but I can assure you, I’m not.”
“Then what are you doing here?” she cried, staring at a place a few inches from where he sat.
“Following orders. I wouldn’t be here otherwise. Please sit down, Amy. I’m not going to hurt you.”
Chapter Ten
Mallory pulled the car into the parking lot of Winchester Industries and switched off the engine.
Jefferies exited the car and opened her door. The gun he’d had earlier was nowhere to be seen. Then again, he’d left the only weapon he really needed back at the apartment with Amy, in the form of a six-foot soldier. “Now what?”
“Both of you get out and walk slowly to the entrance. One wrong word when we get inside, and I give the order to terminate your sister.”
It took everything Mallory had not to spit in Jefferies’s face. She slowly climbed from the vehicle and nearly stumbled into Vaulcron. She hadn’t heard him get out.
He held out a hand to steady her before turning to face their adversary. “I will kill you at the first opportunity.”
“If I had a nickel for every time I heard that,” Jefferies mumbled, waving them two of them forward.
Mallory’s view of Jefferies was blocked by Vaulcron’s massive shoulders and back. She stepped in close and followed him toward the tall building of Winchester Industries.
Jefferies flashed his ID at the camera situated outside the front entrance. A click sounded, indicating the door had unlocked.
Pulling it open, Jefferies nodded for them to enter.
The guard sitting at the front desk immediately got to his feet when he saw Jefferies. “Mr. Secretary, sir.”
“How are you doing, Willie?”
“Fine, sir. Got word that the president is on his way here. He should be here in a few…” His voice trailed off when he got a look at Vaulcron.
Jefferies quickly intervened. “The Bracadyte is here by order of the president. No one else is to know unless cleared by me first. Understood?”
Willie nearly tripped over his chair trying to move back. “Yes, of course.”
“There will be a crew of soldiers coming in shortly. They know what to do and where to set up. Allow them entry and don’t question them on anything.”
Willie glanced at Vaulcron before shifting his nervous gaze back to Jefferies. “They’ll all have security clearances to the building, sir. No questions asked.”
“Thank you, Willie. Also, send Glenn Anderson up when he arrives.” Jefferies trailed off toward the elevators with Mallory and Vaulcron, in tow.
Mallory stood quietly as the elevator took them to the top floor. The doors slid open with a ding.
“That way,” Jeffries ordered, pointing toward the end of the hall.
Mallory’s stomach flipped as they drew closer to the place Jefferies had indicated.
A massive iron door stood open, reminding her of something she’d seen once in a horror movie. “What is that?”
“It’s going to be your home for a while. Better get used to it.”
“That’s it? You brought us down here to keep us locked up in a padded room?”
“Get inside,” Jefferies demanded, nodding toward the iron door. “I’ll have some food delivered shortly."
Grinding her teeth in rage, Mallory marched into the room, comforted by the feel of Vaulcron behind her.
The door clicked shut, sealing their fate.
Mallory’s gaze traveled around the room, taking in everything from the large bed to the medical equipment situated next to it.
“What is this place?” Vaulcron turned in a half circle, his gaze moving around the room.
Mallory glanced at the bed once again. “It’s looks like some kind of a sleep study lab.”
“I am not sure what a sleep study lab is for, but the door indicates a prison.”
“Yes,” Mallory agreed. “Why have an iron door on a sleep study room?”
“I do not know.” Vaulcron strode to the bed and sat on the edge. “Come sit. I am certain we will have the answers we seek, soon enough.”
Mallory’s shoulders sagged from fatigue. She trailed over to the bed and sat next to Vaulcron. “We have to get out of here. I need to check on Amy. She must be terrified.”
Vaulcron wrapped a muscular arm around her and pulled her head down to his shoulder. He spoke in barely a whisper. “Zaureth is already on his way to your sister’s apartment.”
Mallory’s head shot up so fast she bumped his chin. “How do you know that?”
He lifted a finger to his temple. “He has been with us since we left your house tonight.”
Relief unlike any she’d ever felt before washed through Mallory in an instant. “He knows to be careful, right? I mean she’s not alone.”
Vaulcron nodded. “He is aware of the land walker and his weapons. Do not worry. Zaureth will save your sister.”
Mallory stared into Vaulcron’s guileless green eyes, comforted by the truth she saw there. “I
’m sorry I got you into this mess.”
“It is not your fault, Mallory. It is my kind the human military are after.”
“I know, but I brought you here.” She looked away for a moment before meeting his gaze once more. “I need to tell you something.”
When he only stared back at her in open curiosity, she continued. “When I was contacted by you about doing your story, I had all intentions of airing everything about you. Including your location.”
Disappointment entered his eyes, but he didn’t snap her neck. That was a good sign.
“Then why did you not give the information to Jackson? You would not be in this situation now. Neither would your sister.”
“I couldn’t,” Mallory choked out. “I…”
“You what?” he persisted.
How could she tell him that she’d felt an instant attraction for him the moment she’d met him? That something about him pulled her to him like a magnet. That her heart skipped beats when she was in his presence? “I just couldn’t do it.”
He lifted a hand and cupped her cheek, tilting her face up to his. “I will not allow them to hurt you, Mallory. I will protect you with my life.”
And that was what scared her the most. She was responsible for him being in the States. If she’d just done the interview in Cuba and walked away, Vaulcron wouldn’t need to risk his life for her. “I’m so sorry.”
The door opened, admitting a frustrated-looking Jefferies carrying a tray of food. He sat it on a table near the entrance. “I suggest you eat. You’re going to be here for a while.”
“Wait,” Mallory called as he turned to leave. “What’s going to happen to us?”
A sigh escaped their captor. He pinched the bridge of his nose before stepping farther into the room. “Since we have been unsuccessful in obtaining the child born from Abbigail Sutherland, you two are going to create one for us.”
Mallory’s stomach lurched. She jumped to her feet in shock as understanding dawned. “You want to breed us? Like cattle?”
“We don’t want to, Miss Cahill. But we’re left with little choice at this point. Unless of course you want to give us the location of Doctor Sutherland’s child.”
Mallory swallowed back bile. “You can go straight to hell.”
“It didn’t have to be this way,” Jefferies muttered, freeing his pistol and aiming it at Vaulcron. “You, come with me.”
“What are you going to do to him?” Mallory grabbed hold of Vaulcron’s arm as he stood and moved in Jefferies’s direction.
Jefferies took a step forward, cocking the gun he held. “He won’t be harmed, Miss Cahill. Now, let him go.”
Vaulcron gently pulled free of her hold. “Do not worry for me. I will be fine.”
Tears of sorrow and fear welled up in her eyes. “Please don’t hurt him.”
Mallory stood paralyzed as Jefferies led Vaulcron from the room, closing the door behind him.
Chapter Eleven
Vaulcron walked along the corridor in front of Jefferies, fighting back the urge to snap the human’s neck. He couldn’t, of course. Not until Zaureth arrived to retrieve Amy. After that, Jefferies would die. Along with anyone else that dared to touch Mallory.
“In there.” Jefferies indicated a room to his left with a wave of his weapon.
Vaulcron did as he was ordered, stopping next to a narrow bed against the wall.
Jefferies stayed in the hall. “Doctor Lambert will be along shortly. You do exactly as he says, and Miss Cahill won’t get hurt.”
The barbs on Vaulcron’s wrists and ankles burned with the sudden burst of blood rushing into them. His protective lenses slid into place, and his fangs itched to rip out Jefferies’s throat. “If you touch her, no amount of weapons will stop me from carving out your black heart.”
Fear sprang to Jefferies eyes, but he didn’t back down. “I won’t have to touch her as long as you do exactly as you’re told.”
Jefferies took a step back and waved someone forward.
A short, gray-haired man wearing a white coat entered the room, holding a bag in his hand. He stopped when he got a look at Vaulcron.
“He’s not a threat,” Jefferies assured the man, obviously afraid to get any closer. “I have insurance that assures me he’ll behave.”
“This is barbaric,” Lambert snapped, inching closer to Vaulcron. Pity swam in the doctor’s friendly brown eyes.
“I agree.” Jefferies began to pull the door closed. “Unfortunately, it’s necessary.”
Vaulcron studied the nervous doctor as he rummaged through his bag, pulling items free and sitting them on a small table.
He looked up, peering at Vaulcron over the rim of his glasses. “You’re not going to stab me with those, are you?” He indicated the slightly erect barbs on Vaulcron’s wrists.
Vaulcron shook his head, forcing his barbs to relax and his protective lenses to slide back. “I will not harm you.”
Lambert nodded. “I will do my best not to hurt you either. Would you mind sitting on the bed? You’ll be less intimidating that way.”
Vaulcron sat on the edge of the narrow bed, watching the doctor pick up an object and a blue flimsy band.
Lambert hesitated a moment and then stepped in close. “I’m going to wrap this around your arm. It’s going to be tight, but I need to take blood from a vein.”
“I understand the concept,” Vaulcron growled. “Be done with it.”
He noticed the doctor’s hands trembled as he secured the band around Vaulcron’s upper arm.
Vaulcron held still, allowing Lambert to prick his arm and fill several glass tubes with his life’s blood.
“That should do it.”
Tucking the glass tubes into his coat pocket, Lambert retrieved a small cup, unscrewed the lid, and handed it to Vaulcron. “I’m going to step out of the room while you produce a sample. There’s a sink over there to clean yourself up when you’re finished.”
Vaulcron accepted the cup with a frown. “I do not understand.”
The doctor cleared his throat. “You are to ejaculate into the cup and replace the cap when you’re done.”
Vaulcron knew he gaped. He couldn’t have heard the doctor right. “You want me to expel my seed into this tiny container?”
Lambert nodded, glancing from Vaulcron to the cup. “That’s how it’s done.”
“I do not understand the purpose of obtaining my seed.”
The doctor’s anxiety filled the room to the point, Vaulcron could almost taste it.
“Look. I am only doing what I’ve been ordered to do. If you don’t give me the sample, they will only send someone else in here to get it. After they’ve hurt the reporter, that is.”
Vaulcron’s muscles tensed at the mention of someone hurting Mallory. He’d never ejaculated under duress before, and he wasn’t certain he could do it now. But he had to try. Mallory’s life depended on it. “Get out.”
Lambert jumped, and scurried through the door, pulling it shut behind him. His muffled voice echoed from the hall. “I’ll be back in fifteen minutes.”
Grinding his teeth in rage, Vaulcron laid the cup on the bed, stood, and pulled his shorts down to his knees.
They expected him to give them his seed in less than fifteen minutes. How was he supposed to ejaculate when he wanted nothing more than to slaughter everyone in the building?
He returned to a sitting position on the bed, propped himself against the wall and fisted his flaccid sex. Pumping his hand up and down its length, he fought back a growl as his shaft remained limp.
There would be no way Vaulcron would be able to expel into that cup. He couldn’t even grow erect.
The thought of Mallory, being held down the hall, counting on his cooperation to keep her alive, drove Vaulcron insane with torment. He had to do this for her.
“Zaureth?”
“I saw. You do not have to do this, Vaulcron. Stall them until we arrive.”
“I cannot hold them off. Mallory’s life is at sta
ke.”
“Then do what you must. Gryke and Braum are with me. As is Tony and Oz.”
“Tony knows this place. You get to Amy. The others can free us from here.”
“Oz could not arrange for a plane that would go unnoticed by the human government. We are coming by boat. Stay strong until we get there.”
“Safe travels, my friend.” Vaulcron severed the connection.
Dropping his head back against the wall, Vaulcron closed his eyes and conjured up a vision of Mallory beneath him on her couch. He could feel her arching against him, her mouth on his, her arms around him, holding him, pulling him tightly against her.
He fisted his now erect shaft, his hand rising and falling with each thrust of his hips.
Vaulcron had never wanted another as much as he wanted Mallory Cahill. He could only imagine her soft, wet walls gripping him tightly, milking him, draining him until he had nothing left to give.
Pumping himself faster, harder, his feet dug into the bed, his entire body began to shake with the force of his seed suddenly rushing into his engorged erection.
He snatched up the cup and held it over the head of his sex. His neck strained, and he locked his teeth together to keep from shouting out Mallory’s name as his seed exploded from his body in a force that staggered him.
Long moments passed before Vaulcron could move. His breathing was still uneven, and his legs felt too weak to stand.
He took several deep breaths, astonished that he’d come in such a violent manner.
Capping the now full cup, Vaulcron set it on the table next to the bed, got to his feet, and stumbled over to the sink to clean himself up.
A knock sounded on the door seconds after he finished lacing up his shorts.
Doctor Lambert stuck his head inside. “Were you able to get the sample?”
Vaulcron handed him the cup, too ashamed to look into the doctor’s eyes. “Take me back to Mallory.”
Chapter Twelve
Mallory paced the room with nervous steps. Vaulcron had been gone for nearly an hour. What were they doing to him?
The door opened, and a pale-faced Vaulcron entered with an elder man wearing a white coat and holding a black bag following close behind him.
Vaulcron (Enigma Series Book 3) Page 5
