by Nina Bangs
“Who the hell are you?” She fumbled, trying to unzip her purse so she could reach her gun.
“Don’t panic. It’s just me. Jude sent me over to pass on some info he found that could help you.” The figure glided forward. “I have to dress this way so I can go out during the daylight.”
Kelly relaxed. She’d gotten a good look at the person’s face. “God, you scared me. Why didn’t Jude call instead of making you play messenger?”
The figure leaned close. “Because it’s very important information.”
Kelly’s sudden realization came too late. She felt the prick of a needle even as she blurted, “Wait, how’d you get past Fin’s security?”
While weakness made Kelly stagger and darkness pushed at her consciousness, the vampire laughed. “No security keeps Mr. Wyatt out.”
The vampire’s laughter followed her into the blackness. Kelly felt her flute case slip from her grasp as she fell.
Ty propped his feet up on his coffee table as he let Q run
out of rant.
“Fin sent a freaking fish along with you instead of me.”
“Lio isn’t a fish. He’s a swimming reptile. You saw the stuff Fin put on that CD.”
“Same thing. I can’t believe it. I could’ve done the job. Who helped you take out the red wolves? This whole thing sucks.” Q continued pacing, flinging his arms around to emphasize his outrage. “Fin screwed me, that’s what.”
“Hey, we’re partners. Fin just thought it’d be a little easier for Lio to handle anyone who went into the water. It was dark, and you might’ve had trouble spotting them from overhead. You should’ve relaxed and enjoyed the night off.”
Q didn’t look appeased. “So it wouldn’t have pissed you if Fin decided to leave you home last night?”
“Okay, point made. Look, it’s over and we’ll be hunting together tonight.” He’d bring Q up to date, and then they’d go over to pick up Kelly.
No matter how much he tried to deny it, the thought of being with her again excited him. At least a dozen times this afternoon he’d almost given in and walked across the hall to her. It was tough trying to do the right thing.
Ten minutes later he’d told Q everything and shown him the description of Thadeus. On their way out, Ty knocked at Kelly’s door and waited. He knocked again. Nothing. Frowning, he tried the door. Unease touched him when he found it was unlocked.
After calling her name and getting no response, Ty walked into her apartment. Q followed him inside. Without speaking, the two men searched the place.
“No signs of a struggle.” Q swung in a circle, taking in every inch of the living room.
“She wouldn’t go out and leave her purse on the counter, her flute on the floor, and her door unlocked.” Unease slid quickly into fear. Along with guilt. If only he’d come over earlier. And where the hell had his famous sense for wrongness been? When it counted the most, his talent had failed him.
“Better let Fin know.” Q raked his fingers through his hair. “Crap. First Neva and now Kelly.”
“We don’t know that for sure.” But he did. Ty tried to control his rising fury. If anyone hurt Kelly, neither heaven nor hell could save the bastard.
Q’s expression softened. “Contact Fin, man.”
Ty nodded. Forgetting his earlier anger at Fin, he opened their mental link. He didn’t wait for Fin to acknowledge him. “Someone took Kelly out of her apartment this afternoon.”
Fin’s response was immediate. “Get the disks from the security cameras. I’ll send someone to pick you up. I’m calling in the rest of the Eleven.”
That was it. Fin never wasted time soothing fears or pandering to emotions. This time, Ty was glad of Fin’s ability to coldly and unemotionally focus on a problem.
An hour later, the Eleven sat around the long dining room table in the condo. Fin scanned the group with hard eyes. “We’ve looked at the security tapes. A figure wearing a cowl carried Kelly out the door. I’m assuming he or she had a car pulled up right outside. We couldn’t see a face, but the cowl might serve as more than just a disguise. The figure wore gloves. I’m thinking we’re probably dealing with a vampire. A vampire would have had the strength to carry her out of the building, and a vampire would have to protect all exposed skin from daylight. I’ve already spoken to Jude. Only a few of his people are old enough to rise before sunset. He’ll see what he can find out.”
Ty listened to Fin with barely controlled anger. “How do we find Kelly?”
Fin hesitated. “I don’t know yet.”
“That’s not what I want to hear.” Ty’s words were forced through clenched teeth.
Fin met his gaze. “I think Nine ordered Kelly taken. He’s the only supernatural entity in Houston strong enough to bypass my security. I think she’s still alive, and my best guess is that Nine intends to use her as bait.”
“If he’s smart, he’ll know we won’t fall for that.” Lio’s expensive suit gave no hint of the soul that had torn apart werewolves and vampires alike last night.
“I don’t care why he took her. I just want to know where she is so I can go get her.” Ty could feel his T. rex shaking the bars of its cage.
Fin looked away from Ty. “Emotion sometimes makes people choose an unwise path.” He pushed his chair away from the table. “I want all of you to begin searching for Kelly. Let me know immediately if you turn up anything.” His attention returned to Ty. “If you think you’ve found her, call me before attempting a rescue. Got that, Ty?”
“Yeah, I’ve got it.” Ty couldn’t stay here one more minute. He rose and stalked to the door; Q was right behind him.
“We need to wait for someone to drive us home, Ty.” Q glanced back to where Fin was watching them.
“Like hell we do.” He was tired of being carted around like a helpless baby.
He yanked open the door, reached the elevator in a few angry strides, and stepped into the waiting car. Within seconds Q and he were walking toward the desk where the two doormen were stationed. “Call a taxi for me.”
Without waiting to hear their response, he strode out into the darkness. Ty drew a deep breath of night air. Sure, it wasn’t the unpolluted air his primitive soul longed for, but it was the air he was stuck with for the present. And when the taxi came, he let Q take care of talking to the driver. He had other things to think about.
Once they reached the apartment, Q tried to reason with him. “Don’t do anything stupid. You know Fin is on this. As soon as he comes up with something, he’ll call us. If anyone can find her, it’s Fin.”
Ty knew his answer was an inarticulate snarl, but he couldn’t help it. He was filled with so much rage and terror that he almost couldn’t hold his emotions in. He had to control them, though. A T. rex tearing up Houston wouldn’t help Kelly.
Once inside his apartment, he couldn’t settle down. Pacing back and forth, he tried to think rationally. But it didn’t work. Ty kept imagining what she was going through. He remembered the horror of finding Neva last night. Only Neva’s werewolf strength and ferocity had kept her alive. Kelly didn’t have that advantage.
But she’s strong inside. God, let that inner strength keep her alive, because he was going to find her. Damn it to hell, he was coming for her. Flinging himself across the room, he almost ran from his apartment. Kelly’s door was still unlocked. He’d been too upset when he’d left to think about locking it. After all, the most important thing inside was already gone.
Relieved, he discovered her purse still sitting on the counter. Rummaging through it, he found the keys to the SUV. For only a moment, he paused. Was he really going to do this? Stupid question because his choice was already made. He’d drive into hell itself if he had to.
He grabbed her keys, raced out of the building, and climbed into the car. Ty had watched how Kelly drove. He could do it. He started the SUV and steered it out of the parking lot.
Lucky for Ty, he had lightning-quick reflexes and a good memory. Both served him well tonight. A few drivers never
knew how close they came to death as he tried to concentrate on his driving and search for his destination at the same time.
When he finally pulled into the parking lot at Hermann Park, Ty shut off the engine, then took a minute just to breathe. His adrenaline was shooting through the top of his head.
He was way too early, so he sat in the car thinking about Kelly. And sometime during the lonely hours before midnight, Ty made his decision. When he found Kelly, he was going to ask her to share a part of his soul, because he never wanted to be without her again. He was too damn weak to walk away from her.
Finally he climbed from the SUV and walked to the circle with the big statue of Sam Houston in the center island.
Ty waited, afraid his one chance to find Kelly wouldn’t show and knowing exactly what he would have to give up for that chance. He was staring into the darkness when someone spoke behind him.
“I suppose we all eventually find something worth losing our souls over.” Seir sounded dead serious.
Ty turned to face the demon. “The immortal we call Nine has taken Kelly. She’s—”
“I remember her.” Seir smiled. “And I think if you have to loan out your soul for a night, she’s definitely worth the sacrifice.” His smile widened. “Although you might find being in the passenger seat when I take the wheel more of a rush than you expected.”
“Yeah, I can’t wait. So let’s make the deal. My soul for a night in exchange for Nine’s location.” Ty tensed, knowing that if Seir backed out now, he’d be hard pressed not to tear into the demon. Losing control wouldn’t help Kelly, but it’d feel damn good.
Seir nodded. “My choice of time and place to move in.”
“Done.” Ty knew making that concession could come back to bite him, but he was desperate. He didn’t have time to negotiate.
“No backing out, no matter what?”
“No backing out. Now give me the damn information.” T. rexes weren’t known for their patience.
Seemingly satisfied, Seir got down to business. “I don’t know where he is now, but Nine sent out a call for all his Houston recruits to meet at midnight tomorrow in the Astrodome. He’ll have Kelly with him.”
“Thanks.” Ty started to turn away.
“Don’t you want to hear the rest?” There was definite laughter in his voice.
Seir’s tone had a “gotcha” quality to it. This wasn’t going to be good. “Tell me.”
“By showing up tonight you saved me the trouble of hunting you down tomorrow. I’ve done a few little jobs for this guy. My latest one was to pass on my Astrodome info to you. I not only did that, but I got your soul in the bargain. Nice night’s work. And by the way, he calls himself Mr. Wyatt.”
Ty gathered himself, death in his soul. Seir had played him, and demon or not, he’d pay for that.
“Don’t go all silent-and-deadly killer on me. Hear me out.”
“Talk fast.” Calm. He clamped his will around his fury.
“This is what Wyatt wanted to happen.” The bastard was enjoying himself. “I was supposed to talk to you tomorrow night when you were out with your partner. I’d say I knew where Kelly was, but you had to follow me right then because Wyatt was getting ready to kill her. I’d make it clear that you didn’t have time to call for help. I’d claim to know a way to sneak into the Astrodome without alerting the guards. Then once you and your partner were inside, Wyatt would capture you.”
Ty frowned. “What made him think I’d fall for that?”
“Wyatt keeps track of everything. You’ve met Balan. Well, he’s been sneaking around on big cat feet spying on you and then reporting back to the boss. Wyatt suspects how you feel about Kelly. He’s counting on emotion to overcome your common sense.”
Taking a deep breath, Ty relaxed a little and tried to think. “Okay, assuming I’d fall for your story, what does he have planned for Q and me? We’d be damn tough to kill.”
Seir stopped smiling. “He’s one of the most powerful entities I’ve ever seen. He could take all of you except your leader. And he wants to stage the ultimate fight for his followers before he leaves Houston. You and whoever you bring with you. I’d vote for that Spin guy from the other night. If he can make it happen, Wyatt will impress the hell out of his recruits and leave everyone with a can-do attitude.”
“And he doesn’t think Fin will find out?” Ty decided not to say anything about his mental link with Fin, although Seir would probably suspect anyway.
The demon shrugged. “He’s counting on Fin being too late or his head guy keeping your head guy distracted.”
One more question. “Why are you telling me all this?”
Seir glanced away from Ty. “I get a kick out of making people think I’m something that I’m not. And this Wyatt guy is an arrogant bastard. Besides, I can’t possess your soul if you’re dead.”
That made sense on some demonic level. “Do you know where Eternal Pleasure is?”
“Montrose? Vampire club?”
Ty nodded. “Meet me there tomorrow at eleven.”
Seir looked at him. No smiles this time. “Don’t underestimate this guy.” And then he was gone.
Back in the SUV, Ty opened his link to Fin. It took only a few minutes to fill Fin in. Then he started the car and began the drive back to Fin’s condo.
Chapter Seventeen
Kelly fought her way up through the fog, feeling as if she’d been doing the same thing over and over for a very long while. But this time was different. This time she’d break the surface.
When her mind finally cleared enough for her to think, she knew she’d made it. She kept her eyes closed, trying to remember. Gradually it all came back. Walking into her apartment, finding the vampire, the needle, and then oblivion.
Waves of nausea rolled over her. Oh, God, she didn’t want to throw up. Stoically she forced back the urge to heave until her stomach settled a little.
She had to know where she was, so reluctantly Kelly opened her eyes…and met the bright stare of the vampire who’d taken her.
Kelly’s first impulse was to throw out a few damns and hells as she leaped off the couch or whatever she was lying on. After a few exploratory movements, though, she changed her plan. Her wrists and ankles were bound to a…She took a good look. It was some kind of padded table, not a couch. Since she was at a disadvantage here, she probably should hold the curses.
“You cut it close. I was afraid you wouldn’t wake up in time.” The woman grinned at her. “Oh, and I’m Lee. Jude never introduced us.”
Lee was still pretty, with big green eyes and curly red hair. Unfortunately, Kelly had seriously underestimated Jude’s bodyguard. She was definitely not too cute to hurt anybody.
“Where am I, and why’d you bring me here?” Kelly craned her neck to scan her surroundings. Looked like some kind of locker room. Not in great condition, either.
“You’re in the Astrodome.” Lee pulled up a folding chair and sat down near her. She glanced at her watch. “I guess I have time to fill you in. It’s the least I can do after all you’ve done for me.” Lee crossed her legs and looked smug. “I got the idea of snatching you after Jude told us how Yvette had taken Neva out of the club right under everyone’s noses. Sounded easy. Mr. Wyatt loved the idea. Gave me my own hunting territory. No more running around keeping Jude’s ass safe.”
“Mr. Wyatt?”
“You call him Nine.”
Oh, shit. As her mind cleared, Kelly started to get a really bad feeling. “Since I’m still alive, I suppose your Mr. Wyatt needs me.”
“Of course. You’re the bait that’s going to lure the Gods of the Night into a trap.” She frowned. “Or at least the one who’s gone all emotional over you.” Her frown cleared. “I still don’t get the corny Gods-of-the-Night name. Nothing godlike about any of them that I can see so far. Yeah, they can turn into dinosaurs, big deal. But they can’t take down Mr. Wyatt.”
“How?” All emotional over her? Omigod, Ty. They were going to use her to cap
ture him.
Lee shrugged. “I don’t know. Mr. Wyatt didn’t tell me all the details. I only know that a demon who works for him is supposed to leak your location. When your guy comes here looking for you, Mr. Wyatt will be waiting.”
The whole plan was transparent. Ty would have to know it was a trap. He wouldn’t walk into it for her, would he? Her mind raced in circles. How could she escape? “Demon? Does it have a name?”
“Seir.”
Silly, but Kelly felt a moment of betrayal. But that was what demons did, wasn’t it?
“You’re probably thinking about escaping, but forget it. Even if you got past me, someone else would stop you.”
“How long have I been out?” Did she still have time to figure out a plan?
“More than twenty-four hours. Now it’s time for you to meet Mr. Wyatt.” Lee left the room for a minute, only to return with two hulking helpers. “I wouldn’t fight this. The guys here like to hurt people. Don’t give them something to smile about.”
Kelly didn’t take direction well. She fought and screamed while the vampires transferred her to a rolling office chair and then tied her to it. Finally they wheeled her out of the locker room and down to the floor of the Astrodome. Oil-lit tiki torches were stuck into the ground at regular intervals around the arena. The flickering glow from the flames cast shifting shadows across the arena’s dirt floor, giving the whole scene a menacing feel.
The man waiting for her looked disappointingly ordinary. Middle aged, medium height, suit and tie, brown hair. Ordinary. Until you met his gaze. What she saw in Nine’s eyes scared her to death.
Lee parked Kelly’s chair beside where Nine stood. His smile was almost fatherly. “It’s so nice of you to join me, my dear. I’ll admit to having warm fuzzy feelings for you. Without you, this couldn’t happen.” He swept his hand to indicate the inside of the Astrodome. “I apologize for the primitive lighting, but we didn’t want to draw attention from outside.”
Kelly followed his gesture. The Astrodome had been the first domed stadium, the Eighth Wonder of the World in its time. Now it just seemed old and worn. But not quite empty. What looked like a few thousand people sat in a circle around the floor of the stadium. Waiting.
