The Darkbloods leaped across the room in an instant, overcome by bloodlust. Pavlos didn’t join them, although his balled fist flew to his mouth, yellowed fangs grazing his lower lip. Only Alfonso held back with his hands still tightly gripped around her ankles. She wrapped her arms over her head, trying to drown out the sounds of the snapping and snarling.
That blood was their last hope.
“Nice try, Miss Shaw,” Pavlos said. “From the looks of it, you’re quite delectable. What a special treat this will be for you, Dominic. I’ve decided to let you watch as I have my way with your lady. I had planned to wait, but you know what? I’m suddenly hungry and I so enjoy a good fight when I take a woman. It makes life so much more interesting. Wonder if she’ll be as fiery as your mother.”
The instruments on the metal trays shook with the force of Dom’s roar. He pulled at the chains like an enraged animal. They held tight and he sunk to the ground again. “How could you allow him to do what he did?” Dom said to his brother, his voice as thin and deadly as a stiletto. “Did you know this? That he…raped her, too?”
“Oh, your brother knows all right. He’s the one who tipped me off on how to get to your parents. He just couldn’t bear to do it himself, right, Alfonso?”
“Yes, m’lord,” Alfonso said, his eyes cast down at his feet.
Pavlos clapped him on the back as a father would. With a jolt, Alfonso’s gaze locked onto Mackenzie’s. He held it for a moment before he looked away. Was that sorrow she saw reflected in his eyes? Desperation? Or maybe a combination of both?
“It’s got to be frustrating, being so ineffectual and weak,” Pavlos said to Dom. “To see the people you love get hurt because of your ineptitude and your misguided beliefs.”
“When did being a monster become the ideal?” Dom said through his fangs.
“It’s called being superior. And if you had realized it all those years ago, your parents would be alive today. Let’s see. Your father would still be smoking those pipes of his, and he’d have his horses. And your mother— Well, she’d have continued to inspire great artists of the twenty-first century with her beauty. Did you know I bought one of the nude paintings she posed for back in—oh, when was it?—1870-something. It’s one of my favorite mementos.”
Dom continued to struggle even though she sensed his energy level was waning fast. Since it had been so long since he’d had any significant amounts of her blood, he probably wouldn’t be able to vapor out of the chain, either.
“And now, here we are again,” Pavlos continued. “I’m going to enjoy this as much as I did back then. In fact, I may enjoy this better. I do so love an audience. Let’s get this little party started.”
Alfonso double-checked the leather of her straps, taking care to count the holes as if to ensure they were tight enough. “M’lord, wouldn’t you be more comfortable taking the woman into your quarters? The metal of the gurney can’t be good with that bad knee of yours.”
Pavlos twisted one of his jeweled rings. “Excellent idea. Always the thinker. Oh, and bring your brother, too.”
Alfonso moved to the foot of her gurney, his expression devoid of all emotion. He snapped his head up when a Darkblood nurse entered the room.
“M’lord, I’m so sorry to interrupt you, but the blonde’s ultrasound showed she’s ovulating and I knew you wanted to watch the first mating.”
“Yes, yes, I do want to watch, but I’m a little busy at the moment. Tell Dr. Skinner to wait. I’ll be there shortly.” He turned back to Mackenzie and ran his yellowed nails along her cheek. When she tried to turn away, he grabbed her cheeks. “You will look at me when I touch you.”
“But, sir,” the nurse said. “Dr. Skinner has already injected the young man with the erectile enhancement drug and he’s ready to go.”
Pavlos’s eyes somehow managed to get blacker.
“M’lord, this is the first one.” Alfonso set the foot brake on Mackenzie’s gurney and joined the nurse near the door. “You need to witness this, sir. It’s history in the making. Just think how much more ready for the woman you’ll be after seeing your dreams come to fruition.”
Pavlos stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. If only her eyes were daggers, she’d cut him to shreds. “Yes, you’re absolutely right. No need to rush things with you, dear. We’ve got plenty of time.”
They filed from the room, leaving a guard at the door, and Mackenzie heard multiple deadbolts slide into place.
With the excess chain wrapped around his forearm, Dom put his foot on the taut length and pulled. All the muscles in his arms bulged as he strained. Nothing.
“Nice try, asshole. You ain’t going nowhere.” The guard came down the three steps from the door and Mackenzie’s heart quickened. But he pushed a chair over to the far wall underneath a tiny interior window and stood up on the seat. The other exam room must be over there. He wanted to watch, as well.
She turned back to Dom. They don’t know…my blood makes you stronger, do they?
He shook his head almost imperceptibly.
Mackenzie tugged at the leather straps binding her limbs to the table and noticed that one of the wrist straps was buckled into the second to last hole, rather than the last one as it had been earlier. Alfonso? Was that what all the fuss with the straps was about?
She threw a glance at the guard. He had his hand down his pants. Carefully, she twisted her wrist and pulled. The band definitely shifted lower. Gritting her teeth, she folded her thumb against her palm and pulled her hand free.
Kenz!
Shit. The guard was looking straight at her.
“What the hell…” He jumped off the chair, but he was a moment too late.
Her fingers found the large silver cross under her T-shirt and she yanked it free. The guard lunged at her and she shoved the sharp point into his throat. With a hideous, breathy groan, he spun away, clutching his neck.
“He’s down, but he’s almost more dangerous,” Dom whispered. “Get away from him or he’ll attack you like I did at the cemetery to get at your blood.”
She struggled to unfasten the rest of the buckles and when she jumped from the table the room began to spin. Oh God, she’d forgotten how weak she was. Grabbing for the edge of the gurney, she slipped anyway and the floor slammed up to meet her.
A flood of nausea washed over her as she tried to get her brain to work. Growing darkness surrounded her like a tunnel, but Dom’s voice, although far away, gave her the strength she needed to keep going.
“I’ll kill you, you bitch.” From behind, the guard’s voice was breathy. She’d punctured his windpipe.
Her head pounded as she stumbled to Dom and examined the cuffs. They were locked, and who knew where the key was. The chains were connected to the wall in a similar fashion. It’s solid. I can’t get them undone. She pulled his face close to hers, their noses almost touching. Listen to me, Dom. It’s the only way. You’re not going to hurt me.
I’ll kill you if I drink from you again. I can’t.
She brushed his hair back from his face and kissed his forehead, his eyelids, his lips. You must do this, sweetheart. I know you’re worried, but I also have complete faith in you. And honestly, I’d rather die peacefully in the arms of the man I love than at the hands of him— she inclined her head toward the guard—or that monster Pavlos. Please, Dom. You must try. It’s our only hope.
Straddling his lap, she swept her hair behind her shoulder.
“Do it now,” she whispered.
THE RHYTHM OF her heart rang in his head. It was the only way. He knew that. He had no other choice.
But what if he took too much as he had before? With all the blood they’d taken from her already, she couldn’t spare much more. What if he couldn’t stop this time? What made today any different?
He didn’t care as much about himself. As a soldier in this war, he was prepared to die fighting for what he believed in. It was a possibility he faced every day. But she was innocent, caught in this dark web through
no fault of her own. If he did nothing, she would be forced to endure the most unspeakable horrors and she would die anyway. Fury ran cold in his veins when he thought of Pavlos even laying a finger on this beautiful woman.
This was his woman. His life.
To die in the arms of the man she loved, she had said.
Mackenzie, I love you. If anything happens, if I’m not able to stop, with God as my witness, I pledge that I will die with you.
The skin of her neck was soft and delicate against his lips. Running his tongue over her pulse, he felt the blood rushing below the surface. With his hands chained, he wouldn’t be able to slip them up to her temple and put her into the light calming trance they used when they fed. She’ll feel everything, he thought.
“Hurry, Dom. Just do it.”
“I love you, Kenz.” He closed his eyes and bit.
He heard a pop and her sharp intake of breath when his teeth pierced her vein. As her sweet blood filled his mouth, she leaned her body into his and relaxed against him.
“Yes, love,” she whispered, stroking his hair.
She was every bit as amazing as he had remembered. Actually, more so. With every swallow, with every beat of her heart, he could feel himself getting stronger and more powerful. Her blood was transforming him into a better version of himself. He yanked at the chains holding his wrists and ankles, and they snapped like dry twigs.
Blackness loomed ahead, beckoning him, but it held no sway over him. This woman in his arms was willing to give herself to him completely, to trust him, to love him. And he loved her. Wanted to complete her, to make her happy, to be her everything.
Her pulse continued to flicker against his lips, filling him with her lifeblood. His hunger was sated, his need fulfilled. And he knew that he’d taken enough.
DOM SPRANG FROM the pile of silver chains and was shocked at the speed and efficiency with which he killed the guard. After vaporing under the door of the viewing room, he solidified, strapped on his own weapons, and unlocked the door before Mackenzie had even managed to push herself to her feet. Was he really moving that fast? He did feel so much stronger with her blood in his system, maybe even stronger than when he’d drunk from her at the cemetery.
He swept her into his arms and in an instant he was running down the hallway again.
“Dom,” Mackenzie whispered in his ear as she clung to his neck. “Where are you taking me? Aren’t you going to kill Pavlos?”
“Your safety overrides everything. We are Enlazado por la Sangre, and you’re the most important thing in my world. I will not leave you unprotected in order to seek out my revenge.” For once, he was going to think before he acted.
“But, Dom, he killed my father and—”
“I have no intention of letting him slip away. It’s daylight. He’s not going anywhere. I will not leave you in order to get my revenge. I’ll wait until the other teams arrive.”
He sprinted up the stairs three at a time, his feet barely touching the treads, and burst into the upper hallway. The exit door loomed ahead at the end, hanging sideways in the jamb and casting a long, triangular beam of sunlight on the gray linoleum.
As he approached, the smell of rotten meat assailed him.
He skidded to a stop and Pavlos stepped out in front of him.
“Well, well, well. You are tenacious, aren’t you, Serrano?”
He shoved Mackenzie behind him and palmed a short blade.
“I see you’ve finally discovered the profound effects human blood can have.”
He was so fucking tired of hearing the sound of that voice. He took aim and threw the knife. Before it reached him, Pavlos sidestepped it with surprising agility.
But Dom was ready. With his left hand he threw another blade and grabbed the rawhide handle of the brind-mahl with his right. He swung the coil once over his head, flicked his wrist and sent the long tail of the silver-laced leather flying. It circled around Pavlos’s neck with a snap. Dom jerked his hand down, and Pavlos fell, clutching his throat. In the span of a heartbeat, Dom was on him. He pulled out a long blade, and in one downward motion, separated Pavlos’s head from his shoulders.
FOOTSTEPS REVERBERATED behind Mackenzie as she lay on the floor. Dom slammed her into the doorway and covered her with his body. A man and woman in street clothes ran toward them.
“It’s okay, Dom. It’s two of the other captives.”
His muscles relaxed and he scooped her into his arms again. Never had she felt so safe, so protected.
“Follow us,” Dom told them.
“So how did you escape?” Mackenzie asked the woman.
“It was when the Overlord left. We were…” The woman choked back a sob while the man covered his ears.
“I’m so sorry,” the man said over and over.
Oh, these poor people. Mackenzie’s arms stiffened around Dom’s neck as he carried her outside, into the sunlight.
They’ll be all right, love, his voice soothed in her head. Our doctor will check them, then we’ll do a mind-wipe. They’ll remember none of this.
No more doctors, Dom. Given what they’ve been through, that could terrify them.
That’s why Lily’s mother is on her way down from Region. She’s one of our top physicians. When Lily heard we’d located the facility, she sent for her. She’s very compassionate.
Mackenzie relaxed. If Lily’s mother was anything like her daughter, everyone would be well cared for.
The woman cleared her throat. “It was the tall man who helped us. The one with blue eyes. He brought us our clothes and told us how to find our way out.”
Mackenzie looked over at the dark prison behind them. She caught a glimpse of a figure in an upper window. Alfonso. As she stared, an eerie orange light flickered behind him. Then he turned away from the window and was gone.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
MACKENZIE COULDN’T BE sure if an hour or a week had passed when she woke up amidst a pile of pillows and beneath a golden down comforter. Bright light filtered through her eyelids as she yawned and arched like a cat, her back cracking several times. Although the thrumming of Dom’s pulse was lighter than if he were in the same room, she still stretched her legs to the opposite side of the bed, hoping maybe he was buried away from the sunlight underneath the down. The sheets on his side were cool. He’d been up for a while, but she felt him nearby, elsewhere in the loft. Good. She needed to discuss something with him.
She slipped from the bed and walked naked to the wall of windows. He’d opened the blinds for her, and she smiled.
Absently she rubbed the tender bruises at her wrists and on the delicate skin inside her elbows as a container ship, guided by two tugboats, moved through Elliott Bay. She stretched her fingers through her hair, expecting to meet with the tangled resistance of major bedhead, but instead they slid right through. He must have brushed her hair again as she slept.
The thrilling heat of anticipation blasted through her veins and she felt Dom’s presence getting stronger as he approached from somewhere else in the loft. Although she knew the light wouldn’t bother him nearly as much now with her blood in his system, she hit the button for the automatic blinds and they droned closed.
Dom entered carrying a tray of breakfast food. As the air wafted in, the smell of bacon and coffee made her stomach rumble.
“Mmm. You’re up.” His eyes raked her from head to toe and a promising smile formed on his lips before he busied himself with setting the tray on the bed and fluffing her pillows. “Feeling better?”
She closed the distance between them and hooked her arms around his waist from behind. He was so warm, and she rubbed her cheek along his shoulder blades, inhaling the scent of his skin.
“Yes, much,” she mumbled, not wanting to exhale. His low-slung pajama bottoms barely covered his hips and she wondered if they were the only article of clothing he wore. Slipping her fingers beneath the drawstring waistband, she confirmed her suspicions.
“Good morning to you, too.” He turne
d to face her, brushing his lips against the hollow of her neck, his stubble tickling her skin, awakening her nerve endings like a blast of electricity, and she expelled the air in her lungs with a moan. “First things first.” Gripping her shoulders, he turned her away. “Get in and eat.”
She climbed back under the covers and he set the tray across her lap. Lifting her chin to him, she gave him her warmest smile as she let him attend to her. His hair fell forward, grazing the tops of his shoulders, and his brows furrowed with concentration as he first cranked the salt grinder over the scrambled eggs, then the peppermill. After opening her napkin, he sprawled out next to her on the bed to watch her eat. How could she concentrate? The closer he was, the harder he was to ignore. She fought the urge to push the tray aside.
“It looks and smells almost perfect. Thank you.”
“Almost?”
Raising an eyebrow, she looked pointedly at him for a moment then blew him an air kiss before turning her attention back to her food. Did he know how much she loved him? He reached out an arm and his fingers twisted a lock of her hair.
Yes, I do, love.
Heavy emotion welled in her eyes and lodged in her throat as she took a sip of the mocha and surveyed the plate. His blood bond with her was much more acute now.
“How long since…how long have I been sleeping?” She stuffed a piece of bacon into her mouth. It tasted so good, it should be its own food group.
“You’re going on fourteen hours now.” He speared a forkful of scrambled eggs and fed her a bite.
They were tender and fluffy and she doubted even Tom Douglas could do better. “Everything tastes amazing. You’re so good to me.”
He reached over, brushing something from her lips and licked his finger. Whipped cream from the mocha, maybe?
Her heartbeat increased as she cleared her throat and sat up a little straighter, the sheet slipping down around her hips. Sensing her change in emotion, Dom looked up at her, but when he saw her exposed breasts, his eyes darkened with desire.
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