Oh, God, they were in a blood den. Cold, ripe fear shot through her. She saw it reflected in Mindy’s eyes. Tears streaked down her friend’s face.
“How long have we been here?” Olivia asked.
“I don’t know. I just woke up a few minutes ago.” Mindy looked the other way, toward the other captives. “We’re going to die here.”
“No, we’re not. We will figure out a way. Campbell will find us.”
“Campbell? He’s the reason we’re here in the first place.”
Olivia flinched at the ferocity of Mindy’s words. She told herself that Mindy was scared, and if anger kept her going, that was okay. Olivia did her best not to give in to panic and fear herself. She pulled as hard as she could at the restraints, but they didn’t budge.
The door at the top of the stairs opened, and loud music filtered through. Bile rose in Olivia’s throat as three well-dressed vampires descended, a woman and two men.
“You have impeccable timing tonight,” said the guy in the front to the others. “We just acquired two new sources today. One is already spoken for, but the other is the blood type you require. She’s young and healthy, so you can both tap her together.”
The vampire couple looked at each other and smiled. Olivia got the feeling that simultaneous feeding was somehow erotic to them, that it would be a sexual act as well as the gaining of sustenance.
The guy in the front met Olivia’s eyes, and she hated him on sight. She would have hated him if he’d been human. He had that slick “I can get away with anything” look about him.
“This one proved a challenge,” he said as he gestured to Olivia. “But I have a distinct feeling she’ll pay for it later tonight.” He gave her a knowing smile that sent cold rushing through her veins. Then he led the couple to Mindy, who struggled in vain against the restraints holding her.
“You’re wasting your energy,” the guy said. “You might as well stop struggling and enjoy it.”
Mindy spat in his face. He slapped her with such a ferocity that Olivia gasped and worried that he’d killed her. But then Mindy moved.
“Leave her alone,” Olivia said.
The guy moved slowly toward Olivia. “Can’t stand to watch what you caused?”
Olivia forced herself not to flinch from him. His kind thrived on seeing fear in others. “You can keep me. Just let her go.”
“No,” Mindy said.
“She’s right. We’re not letting either of you go,” he said. “You might as well set that pretty little head to accepting your new existence because it’s all you’ll ever see for the rest of your miserable little life.” Suddenly, he grabbed her breast and ran his other hand down her stomach. His vile touch turned her stomach. “Too bad you’re spoken for or I’d enjoy banging you against this wall while your friend watched helplessly.” He smiled, showing the tips of his fangs. “Instead you will be the one to watch as your friend lives her worst nightmare.”
He stepped away suddenly and motioned for the couple to come forward. In a flash, they were at Mindy’s sides. When they both sank their fangs into Mindy’s neck, she screamed the most horrible scream Olivia had ever heard. Olivia struggled as fat tears streamed out of her eyes. Her pleas for them to stop fell on deaf ears.
The man who evidently ran this den headed up the stairs, looking very pleased with himself.
“You’re going to die for this, you monster!” she yelled at him.
He smiled at her. “That I highly doubt.”
She’d never hated anyone so much in her life. She closed her eyes and prayed that Campbell found them soon, before the couple drained Mindy dry. Before the sound of Mindy’s screams drove Olivia mad with grief and guilt.
* * *
Sometime during the feeding, Mindy passed out. Olivia’s tears flowed a long time after the vampires left. She wanted nothing more than to be able to pull Mindy into her arms, but she was as helpless as anyone else hanging from this cold stone wall.
“I’m sorry about your friend.”
Olivia looked beyond Mindy to a young woman and realized it was Jennifer Watson, who’d been abducted behind her apartment building. “Me, too. How are you doing?”
“Still here,” she said with a shaky smile that seemed to cost her all her energy. “Not sure how much longer I can take this, though. I wonder if I’ll die or go crazy first.”
Though her own hope had suffered a lot in the aftermath of Mindy’s ordeal, Olivia found she wanted to give this young woman a reason to believe they’d be rescued. “I have faith someone will find us.”
“Someone named Campbell?” Jennifer shook her head. “There’s no way anyone can find us down here. There are too many vampires.”
Olivia looked toward the door and wished she had just one bit of knowledge—what time it was, where they were, if Campbell even knew she’d been taken. Deciding to focus on something she could determine, she looked past Jennifer. She recognized the teenage boy who’d been snatched up on his way to school. There were four others, but she didn’t recognize them. The reporter, Leila Russell, wasn’t among them.
“Has there been anyone else kept down here?”
Jennifer leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes. Were it not for the shackles holding her up, Olivia had no doubt Jennifer would crumple to the floor.
“A couple,” Jennifer said. “One...one boy died. Another woman was taken somewhere else.”
“Leila Russell?”
“Yeah.” Jennifer shook her head slowly. “I’m not sure if I saw this or dreamed it, but I’d swear a man in a black cloak took her. I couldn’t see his face, but...there was something terrifying about him. It was more than him just being a vampire.”
Olivia swallowed past the dryness in her throat and prayed again that Campbell and the rest of V Force found them soon.
Jennifer lapsed into silence and Olivia thought maybe she’d fallen asleep or passed out. Endless minutes passed with the occasional moan from someone else in the room. The minutes stretched until Olivia wondered if they’d become hours.
“Liv?” Mindy said, sounding weak.
“I’m right here. I’m so sorry, Min. I never meant for any of this to happen. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to prevent them from taking you.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“It is.” Fresh tears ran down her cheeks.
Mindy was quiet for several moments before she spoke again. “It’s not your fault. The world just isn’t a good place anymore.”
Olivia didn’t like the tone of Mindy’s voice, as if she was giving up. “Min, listen to me. We will get out of this. I swear to you, I will figure out a way.” She thought she saw a weak smile on Mindy’s lips, one of those that said she didn’t believe a word she was hearing but appreciated the effort.
The door at the top of the stairs opened and the slick vampire descended, thankfully alone this time. He didn’t even spare them a glance as he walked the length of the room and opened a door at the end. After a long moment passed, three people in cloaks walked in. Hoods obscured their faces as they seemed to glide into the room, ever closer to Olivia. When she could see them better, she noticed two of them wore red while one was cloaked in deep black. The story Jennifer had told about Leila caused Olivia’s heart to accelerate. If they took her out of here, she feared she’d never be found and be doomed to a life of horror.
“This is the one I told you about,” the slick guy said. “She’s not been tapped, and she’s AB negative just like you requested.”
Olivia pressed her back against the wall as if she could dissolve into it. The pain she’d seen on Mindy’s face as she’d been fanged made Olivia’s neck burn in dread.
The person in the black cloak nodded once, and the ones in red stepped forward and unshackled her. Immediately, she fought them, but it did no good. Their grips were ironclad.
“No,” Mindy said, her voice still weak but determined. “Let her go.”
They ignored Mindy’s pleas as much as Olivia’
s struggles as they dragged Olivia toward the door at the end of the room.
“Liv!” Mindy called out, a bit more forcefully.
“Stay strong,” Olivia said right before she was dragged into a dark corridor and the door shut behind her.
She couldn’t help the thought that the door had just shut forever on the life that she’d known.
* * *
When night finally fell, everyone was already geared up without any direction from Campbell. They knew their jobs and did them well. They all had their own reasons for wanting to put lowlife vampires like Salmeri away.
An hour before Salmeri was supposed to be at the club, Campbell texted Matt with Team 2 that they were heading out and his team should do the same. Everyone had their assigned positions and would be in them within minutes.
Campbell had to tell himself over and over to stay in control, stick with the plan. It was the best way to ensure Olivia, Mindy and the others stayed safe. The best way to make sure they found them and made certain this time Salmeri paid for his crimes. That he didn’t hurt anyone else.
They fell into the premission silence as they walked the now familiar series of hallways to the garage. They climbed into their new truck and Colin drove them out on their first foray since the bombing. Campbell could tell by the focused look on everyone’s faces that they were eager not only to save the human abductees but also to dish out some retribution for Billy’s death.
Colin parked in the dark alley they’d chosen for the express purpose of staying hidden from any vamp who might tip off Salmeri. Still without speaking, they all slipped out into the night and blended with the shadows as they walked the final three blocks to the edge of the Tribeca vampire-club strip. Campbell held up his hand, indicating everyone should stop while he checked in with Matt.
“You guys ready?” he asked over the radio as he looked up to the rooflines surrounding Universal Donor.
“All set here,” Matt said back, and gave Campbell a two-fingered salute from his post across the street. Dressed as he was all in black, he blended against the night sky behind him.
Despite the fact he didn’t need it, Campbell took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. “Okay, here we go. Move in hard and fast, and don’t let anyone get in your way.”
When Campbell moved forward at full speed, he sensed the rest of his team doing the same. The bouncer saw them at the last second and started to block their path inside. Campbell knocked him aside so hard that the guy crashed into the side of the building next door.
The moment they were inside, internal security descended. If this were a law-abiding club, no one would have messed with a V Force team. The fact they were meeting resistance was all the proof Campbell needed that something illegal was going on here.
Colin and Kaja parted a path for him, and he scanned the club until he spotted Salmeri sitting in a corner yet again, this time with a leggy brunette draped over him. He dumped her on the floor the moment he saw Campbell and tried to make a smooth getaway.
“No such luck, you bastard,” Campbell said as he sped after Salmeri and tackled him in a flying leap. Before Salmeri could buck him off, Campbell clamped a set of silver cuffs on him behind his back.
“You better have a damn good reason for assaulting me,” Salmeri spat over his shoulder.
Kaja placed her booted foot on his head and shoved it back to the floor. “We’re just taking out the garbage, and you’re stinking up the neighborhood.”
“Bitch.”
“Big mistake,” Kaja said then called Salmeri a rather unflattering name. She pressed down until his cheeks flattened.
Campbell let her have her bit of payback then signaled for her to back off. She did so with a final sneer in Salmeri’s direction. Campbell jerked him to his feet, and not gently. A quick glance around the club showed him his team had trussed up the security goons, and the club’s patrons had been herded onto the opposite side of the glowing dance floor.
He returned his attention to Salmeri and leaned in close. “One chance. That’s all you get to come clean about the abductions and the location of the people you took.”
Salmeri answered by spitting in his face. Campbell responded with a fist to the other vampire’s jaw. Then he simply stood and looked at the crowd.
“Everyone stay where you are. There’s another team outside armed with stakes and enough holy water to float the U.S. Navy.” Matt came through the front door then. “Watch this no-good piece of garbage.”
“With pleasure,” Matt said as he settled his hand atop a stake at his waist.
Campbell looked at his own team. “Tear this place apart. Look for anything that might lead us to the captives.”
They searched every room on every floor, but it wasn’t until they descended the stairs to the basement that they found what they were looking for.
“They’re here,” Colin called up the stairs.
Campbell couldn’t get to the basement fast enough.
A line of humans stood against the wall, their hands chained to it above their heads and their feet manacled and secured to large metal rings in the stone floor.
“Oh, my God,” Sophia said.
One of the women looked up and started whimpering. “Please, not again,” she said. Though she’d only been gone a few hours, Mindy was pale from multiple feedings.
“We’re not here to hurt you,” Sophia said as she moved toward her.
Mindy flinched and tried to get away even though she had to know it was no use trying. But the human survival instinct was strong.
He scanned the faces of the rest of the captives but didn’t see Olivia. Was he too late? No, he couldn’t be. He refused to believe it.
“Mindy, where’s Olivia?” he asked. His question was more like a command, and it made her recoil.
Colin gripped Campbell’s shoulder. “You’re scaring her.”
“I need to find Olivia.”
Colin centered himself a few feet in front of Mindy. “Hi, Mindy. I’m Colin. I know you’re scared, but I also know you want to save Olivia. Do you know where she is?”
“She needs to go to a hospital,” Sophia said to Campbell. “They all do.”
Mindy stared at Colin in confusion. “I’ve died, haven’t I? Or I’m having a dream.”
“No, you’re awake and if you’ll let me come closer, I’ll take the restraints off you,” Colin said. “We can free all of you.”
Tears streaked down Mindy’s cheeks, and Campbell knew exactly what she must be thinking. That she’d thought she’d never see the outside of this basement ever again. But he desperately needed her to focus.
With what little energy Mindy had, she nodded. Campbell motioned to the rest of the team to start releasing the prisoners. Colin moved forward slowly. Even with freedom not far away, Mindy couldn’t hide her vivid fear of him. Once the chains were off Mindy, Colin helped her slide to a sitting position on the floor and offered her a bottle of water they’d brought in the hope they’d find the prisoners alive. With shaking hands, Mindy sucked the bottle dry in seconds. It seemed to push away some of her hysteria. When she looked up, she appeared to be thinking more clearly.
Mindy closed her eyes and took a shaky breath. “Olivia. They sold her, to someone really scary.”
“Scary how?” Campbell asked.
“These people came in wearing red cloaks with hoods, then a guy with the same kind of cloak, only black. He never said a word, but...there was something about him. Cold, made my skin crawl.”
“Some vamp with a weird fetish?” Len suggested.
“Maybe,” Campbell said, but he was getting a distinctly bad feeling. “How long ago did they leave?”
Mindy looked confused for a moment, as if she’d lost all track of time. “Not long.”
Campbell headed for the stairs.
“No,” Mindy said with more force than she’d exhibited since they arrived. She pointed toward the other end of the room, toward a half-hidden door in the shadows. “They went through the
re.”
Campbell nearly ripped the door from its hinges in his haste to reach Olivia. He heard more feet pounding behind him, but he didn’t look back to see who it was. He ran as fast as he could through a series of dark corridors. He’d lost count of how many turns they’d made when he rounded another and saw movement up ahead, the fluttering of cloaks. Two big guys in red turned toward him, and he saw Olivia hanging between them. If they’d hurt her, he was going to slice the flesh from their bodies before he staked them.
They shoved Olivia into the darkness ahead of them and turned to fight. Campbell and Len hit them full steam. Fists flew and Campbell took a couple to the jaw and an elbow to the gut. Another blow busted his lip and rattled his fangs. Not in the mood to let this guy live any longer, he pulled his stake-shooting gun from his hip and pressed it against the guy’s chest. He pulled the trigger and the fight went out of the guy like a light switch being turned off.
Campbell let him drop and stood in time to see Len make a powerful swipe with a knife that severed the other guy’s head from his body.
When Campbell looked ahead, Olivia was gone. “Damn it.” He raced past the dead vamps. He refused to believe he’d gotten so close only to lose her. He rounded another corner and skidded to a halt. Olivia lay in the middle of the floor, struggling to lift herself. He ran to her and dropped to her side. She yelped and tried to crawl away.
“Shh, Livvi. It’s me.”
When she saw him, tears sprang to her eyes and she crawled into his arms. “I knew you’d come for me,” she said. “I knew it.”
He held her close. “Are you okay?”
She nodded against his chest. “Now I am.” She sat back suddenly. “Mindy?”
He framed her face with his palm. “Safe. The rest of the team is getting them across the street to a human-owned building.”
“Mindy needs to get to the hospital. She’s lost a lot of blood.”
He ran his hand over her mussed hair, needing to reassure himself that she was really there in front of him, really safe. “We’ll take you both to the hospital.” He glanced down the darkened corridor, considered sending Len after the guy who got away. But he was probably long gone, and getting the humans help was more important at the moment. He didn’t let go of Olivia as he led her back through the maze of corridors.
Out of the Night hn-170 Page 23
