She could hear doors open and close, as well as echoes of the same. But her assailants were so light on their feet that she couldn’t hear their movements at all. Not a single footstep, neither a breath nor heartbeat. They were silent as death. The only sounds she could hear were the ambient noises of the city: traffic, sirens, the deep rumble of the occasional underground train.
Michael had explained that vampires didn’t harm other vampires, so these must be the rogues that had attacked her in the first place. It was the only logical explanation; that was why their leader had recognized her. In trying to locate evidence of her old life, she’d been discovered by the very creatures she’d tried to escape.
The further they carried her, the quieter her surroundings became, until she couldn’t even hear the traffic anymore.
Finally, they pushed her forward into an empty space and shut a heavy door behind her. Anna clawed at the hood on her face and tore it off as quickly as she could.
The view that greeted her was unexpected; the room was narrow and long, with a curved ceiling like a tunnel, but there was nothing at the end of it, just a solid wall. The only way out was the heavy metal door that she’d just heard shut behind her. She still couldn’t hear a single sound other than her own breaths and movements.
Where was she?
They had overpowered her so easily. Despite her changed form, formidable strength, and additional powers, she was helpless to stop her captors this second time around, either. Anna found herself alone in the dark, cut off from the outside world. The walls surrounding her were thick and solid. She’d found as much as she’d explored them by touch.
How long she’d been in here? She wasn’t quite sure. Every so often a deep vibration rocked the walls around her—a tube train, perhaps?
Yesterday she’d felt the sunrise just before it happened. She couldn’t explain it really, but it had compelled her to get off the roof just in time. She didn’t feel that way yet, so it still had to be dark outside. Or perhaps she was so far away from the sun that she wouldn’t be able to feel the coming of dawn.
The darkness wasn’t as disorienting as it would have been to a human; what bothered her more was that her brand new super sensitive hearing couldn’t pick up on anything useful either. Her five senses were useless to her now. Although she tried her best to stay calm, the walls seemed to want to close in on her.
“Let me out!” she screamed.
There was no response, just her own dull echo.
“People will be coming to look for me!”
It was no use. Either they weren’t within earshot, or they were ignoring her.
For the first time in two days, she was completely and utterly alone.
Michael would come to look for her, though, wouldn’t he? Then again, she hadn’t gone home like she’d told him. So how would he even find her here?
She sank down onto the ground, resting her back against the cold concrete wall, and wrapped her arms around herself. She had nothing and no one right now, only what was in her thoughts.
It wouldn’t be helpful to worry about whether Michael could track her down somehow, so she diverted her attention to something else. Their relationship.
As distasteful as Lucille’s remarks had been, some of what she’d said could explain why Michael had rejected her after she’d kissed him.
If he wasn’t the committed relationship type, then getting into some kind of romantic relationship with a woman he’d just turned into a vampire would be the last thing he’d want. She had nowhere else to go. She didn’t even remember where she lived before he took her home.
So if they ended up together, he’d be stuck with her in the same house. That would be beyond awkward.
Of course he hadn’t reciprocated her kiss.
How stupid and naive she’d been.
He hadn’t wanted her dead—that was why he’d saved her. And he’d been trying to teach her about what it meant to be a vampire, because he felt responsible for her safety now. But he didn’t want anything more than that.
Why would he? He was immortal, and he could hypnotize any woman in the world to be with him. Why would he want to tie himself to some newbie who had willingly walked into a bloody trap and let herself be captured by the same people who had tried to kill her in the first place?
Ugh. She’d been so reckless and stupid. Instead of getting out of that cab to investigate this neighborhood, she should have gone home and come back to this area with Michael later.
As awkward as it felt to admit it to herself, she should have asked for help.
Anna rested her head on her knees and closed her eyes.
Her future was out of her hands now. All she could do was wait.
Chapter Ten
Michael was furious. How dare Lucille disrespect him like that in front of Anna? What business did she have, meddling in their relationship?
Of course, he’d had no choice but to stay behind as Anna left, because Lucille was right. Julius would have very little patience for him if he didn’t cooperate with a Council investigation. And so he was even more frustrated.
Why did Lucille need him for this, though? They didn’t get along, and he hadn’t even seen the rogue vampires who had created this mess. He had no further intel to share. What use could she possibly have for him?
At the same time, he worried about Anna finding her way back home on her own. The blood she’d drank earlier should keep her from doing anything rash, but you really never knew with a young vampire like her. In his first days, he had raised a whole lot of hell on his own. If the likes of Lucille and Julius had found out about all his transgressions from back in the day, he probably would have been put to death.
She was his responsibility. Not just to make sure she didn’t attack anyone, but also for her own safety. If the vampires who had attacked her found her wandering around the city alone, they might see her as a threat.
The more he thought about them, the angrier Lucille’s remarks made him.
“You had no business talking to her like that,” Michael finally said.
Lucille stopped inspecting the large incinerator she’d identified as a perfect vampire hiding place.
“What?”
“That I’d move on to someone else. I’m her maker. That’s not something I’m willing to take lightly.”
“Her maker. Right.” Lucille shook her head and climbed inside the hatch.
Michael didn’t move. Just because she was in there didn’t mean he had to follow. “What are you trying to say?”
Lucille stuck her head out and glared at him. “I’ve walked this earth a lot longer than the likes of you.”
“That doesn’t give you the right to convince my fledgling that I’m going to just abandon her at will.”
“What exactly is your problem? That I advised her to be independent or that I told her the truth about what you are? In any case, I thought you’d welcome the help. Nobody likes a clingy fledgling.”
“It wasn’t your place. And you have no idea who I am,” Michael corrected her.
Lucille rolled her eyes. “So you like her. Whatever. Now, if you’ll stop arguing for a moment, come see this.”
“I don’t like her! I’m responsible for her. There’s a difference!”
Michael swallowed his anger and approached the hatch. It was no wonder she’d roped him into this stupid investigation. Anyone as abrasive as Lucille probably didn’t have very many allies, and certainly no friends.
What vampire in their right mind would want to befriend the Council Enforcer anyway? It was much too risky to keep that kind of company.
“What is it?” he asked impatiently.
She pointed at the deep gashes on the inside of the hatch. “What do you think?”
“How would I know? Someone scratched the door?”
“Someone was locked in here and tried to fight his way out.” Lucille smiled to herself.
Michael frowned. Her reality was vastly different from his own, if this grue
some discovery actually pleased her this much.
“These marks are quite deep. A human couldn’t have done this,” Lucille remarked as she followed the gashes in the reinforced metal. “Someone locked a vampire in here.”
Lucille climbed out of the incinerator and wandered off with a spring in her step. Michael remained, scratching his head. She was unnervingly cheerful. Looking at the marks Lucille had just inspected, he felt horrified, not excited.
He was about to comment on her bizarre behavior when a sharp pain pierced his chest. What the hell?
He closed his eyes, just as a second bout of pain and horror hit him. They had made a terrible discovery, but that was no reason to have a visceral reaction like this. Something horrible was happening somewhere else, he just knew it.
“Lucille,” he called out as he stumbled out of the same hatch.
“Lucille!”
“What?” Her voice was muffled.
“Something is wrong!” Michael said.
Lucille returned to his position and scrutinized him.
He found it hard to explain what was happening, so he just gestured at his own chest. “I feel something. Here.”
She cocked her head to the side and frowned. “You feel the Bond?”
“The what?”
“The Bond. The connection between maker and newborn. Is something wrong with her?”
“How would I know, I’ve never been anyone’s maker before!” Michael argued. Shit. Was that what he was feeling? Was Anna in danger? He really shouldn’t have let her out of his sight.
“What exactly is it that you feel?” Lucille asked.
“Like someone is trying to tear my chest open and rip my heart out.” It sounded overly dramatic now that he’d said it out loud. But it was still the most accurate description he could come up with.
“We should go.” Lucille didn’t give him the chance to respond before grabbing him by the arm and dragging him out of the building at superhuman speed.
Outside, Michael could breathe better, but he was still overcome by dread.
She pulled her phone out of her pocket and started tapping away at it. “The house seems secure.”
“You’re surveilling Alexander’s house now?” Michael asked, as he looked over her shoulder at the various video feeds on her screen.
Lucille glanced at him sideways. “After what happened, Julius didn’t exactly give me another choice.”
That’s how she’d known about Anna’s arrival. And here he’d thought Gillian or some other disgruntled vampire had taken it upon themselves to spy on them. This made a lot more sense.
“So if the house is fine, then where is Anna?” Michael wondered aloud.
“What if she never made it home?” Lucille asked.
“Where else would she have gone? She doesn’t remember much from before the Ritual. Not even where she lived.” As soon as Michael had finished talking, he started to doubt his own words.
“Perhaps she remembered something,” Lucille offered.
Michael nodded. That was possible. Her memory had slowly been coming back.
“So how do we find her?” Michael asked.
Lucille didn’t answer, neither did she stop walking. They returned to the gap in the fence and climbed through it. Lucille led the way toward some shops further up the road. Except for a restaurant and a small supermarket, the rest of the shops had already closed for the night.
“What are you thinking? How do we find her?” Michael repeated himself.
Lucille pointed at the parked cars, one of them a black cab. “Good old fashioned canvassing.”
Michael frowned. Anna had left over half an hour ago. What were the chances that this guy knew anything? Lucille’s idea was better than nothing, though.
As they got closer to the cab, Michael examined the driver. He was just sitting there, with both hands on the steering, looking straight ahead. All the other people around here were going about their usual business: talking on the phone, checking their watches as they rushed on by carrying bags of groceries.
This guy was doing nothing at all, and yet he didn’t even look bored.
Lucille knocked on his window, but he didn’t react.
“He’s been hypnotized,” Michael observed.
Lucille turned and shot him a disapproving look. “You taught her how to hypnotize people already? Why would you do that? She doesn’t even know how to feed herself yet!”
Michael raised his hands in defense. “I did nothing of the sort! She must have figured it out on her own.”
Although hypnosis was a talent all vampires possessed, it didn’t come easily to most fledglings. Anna really was something special, and he couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride. This wasn’t the time to dwell on how special or how talented Anna was, though.
She was in danger, and this human was their best possible lead.
Michael approached the driver’s side window of the cab and knocked on it again. “We need your help.” His tone was firm as he spoke, and his focus was entirely aimed at infiltrating the man’s mind with his own. He was quite young in vampire terms himself, but he also had somewhat of a talent for mind control.
Sure enough, the cabbie turned his head and looked Michael directly in the eye. “Of course, what do you need?”
“Did you pick up a woman from here earlier—curvaceous, wavy, dark blond hair, and light brown eyes? Where did you drop her?”
The driver frowned and his eyes went distant again, as though he was reliving the moment. “We were going to Kensington Palace Gardens, when suddenly she made me pull over. I was going to wait for her, but she told me to head back here and wait for my next fare.”
Michael and Lucille exchanged a look. That’s why she’d never made it home. But what had inspired her to abandon the idea of heading back to the house?
“Can you take us there?” Michael asked.
The cabbie smiled and nodded. “Of course. Happy to help.”
Michael opened the rear door of the cab for Lucille, and then joined her inside.
“I can’t believe a newborn could have done this,” Lucille grumbled. “I’ve been in this city a long time, and cab drivers have always been some of the most suspicious and difficult humans I’ve had the displeasure of dealing with.”
Michael looked out the window as the taxi pulled into the road and suppressed a sigh. One needed people skills in order to deal with difficult humans, something which Lucille sorely lacked.
“I suppose she’s not just any other newborn,” Michael remarked, mostly to himself.
“We shall see.” Lucille folded her arms and looked out the window at her side.
Michael glanced at her, then shook his head. He’d never understand Lucille. Was she jealous of Anna? Did she dislike her for some reason? Or was this just her default behavior?
They sat in silence as the cab zipped through the dense traffic of the city, until it came to a halt somewhere on Cromwell Road, which was particularly busy.
The cabbie turned around to face them. “This is it.”
Michael nodded and grabbed for his wallet. “How much?”
“Oh, I must have forgotten to switch on the meter. It’s fine. I hope you two find what you’re looking for.”
Michael focused his thoughts again, this time aiming to release the mental connection between himself and the driver. That was where Anna must have gone wrong; that was why the man had still been under her spell even after he’d dropped her off. He’d teach her how to do it properly, if only he could find her and take her to safety first.
As soon as they got out, Lucille started to walk.
“What have you got?” Michael asked, as he caught up with her.
“She was here,” Lucille said as she scanned the street ahead. “Her trail is still fresh.”
Michael inhaled deeply, but he couldn’t pick out Anna’s scent in the muddled chaos that surrounded them. Shops, cafés, restaurants, and crowds of people confused his senses.
H
e understood now; Lucille was a talented tracker. That was what made her so valuable to the Council.
She didn’t seem to have any difficulty picking out Anna’s scent, and started to walk again.
They continued up the road for a little bit, and then turned off into a smaller side street.
Lucille paused for a moment at the next intersection. “It gets confusing here,” she mumbled.
Michael looked around. None of the surrounding buildings or streets seemed particularly interesting. And yet there must have been something here to attract Anna’s attention.
“She’s been in all of these streets,” Lucille said. “Almost like she’s been walking around in circles and doubling back on herself.”
“She was looking for something,” Michael concluded.
Lucille nodded. “It’ll take too long if we rely on my sense of smell alone. It’s your turn.”
Michael raised an eyebrow.
“Follow the Bond,” she urged.
Michael closed his eyes; doing so seemed to strengthen his connection to Anna. Although he could still feel that something was very wrong, he couldn’t easily pinpoint where the feeling originated. It didn’t help that in closing his eyes, he kept seeing her. The way she looked at him up on the roof, just before they’d kissed. It broke his heart to consider the possibility that he might never see her again.
“I can’t tell where she is,” he said.
“Try harder!” Lucille said.
Michael opened his eyes and glared at her. “I am! It’s not that easy.”
Lucille observed him for a moment, then pursed her lips. “Okay, I have an idea. Close your eyes again.”
Michael did as asked, and almost instantly, Lucille started dragging him forward by his arm. “You just let me know if we’re getting warmer or colder,”
Michael was about to protest that this wasn’t a game, when suddenly he felt it. The tension in his chest seemed to grow marginally. “Okay, warmer.”
Chapter Eleven
It didn’t take Michael and Lucille all that long to locate the spot where Michael’s connection to Anna was the strongest. There was just one problem: they’d ended up in the center of a cobbled road with no sign of Anna anywhere.
Michael's Soul Mate: A Steamy BBW Vampire Romance (Vampires of London Book 2) Page 7
