Another hit to the back of his head made him collapse. Before blackness filled his vision he wondered, Is she the angel of death? He’d never seen anyone more beautiful, but he hoped she would help carry him into the afterlife.
Moonlight bathed Lian’s body and illuminated the scene a few feet in front of her. She stood amongst the embers of a dying crash site as a cold wind stirred the long strands of her hair across her face and caused goose bumps to spread along her exposed skin. Her thin dress floated around her.
She couldn’t look away, but it wasn’t because of the devastation. No, the majestic man on his knees, wearing torn jeans, captivated her. The impressive musculature of his upper body rippled with his every move; his stubbly hair shone along his scalp. He also had an air of feral violence about him. And he was hurt. She could see the blood gushing from his abdomen and staining the snow under his knees.
On some level, Lian thought his aggressiveness should scare her but her pulse quickened with excitement, not fear. She couldn’t believe it. This was the man she’d been dreaming about for months.
Who is he?
The guards barked commands to one another, but she couldn’t hear a word. They surrounded him as he sniffed the air, taking one of the guards who’d strayed too close into his arms to gnaw into the side of the man’s neck. When the victim was finally dragged away from him, he howled like the wild wolves in the mountains, blood dripping from his mouth.
One of the guards struck him and he fell onto his chest. That was when he spotted her and didn’t break eye contact until Hogan smacked him in the back of the head with the butt of his rifle.
Lian wanted to get closer. She couldn’t explain why she felt compelled to help, but knew the man needed her. So she continued forward until she missed a step and her surroundings vanished, her body tumbling down a dark hole.
Lian opened her eyes, panicked. She lifted her head and found she was lying face-down on her bedroom floor with the sheets tangled around her legs.
Just another dream. Disappointed, she pushed against the floor and then used the bed to help her stand. She made her way toward the monitor embedded in one of the bedroom walls and pressed her fingertips against it.
“Did you enjoy your nap, Li?” the familiar female voice greeted.
Nap…hadn’t she passed out? She yawned. “Yeah, Mya, I did.” She checked the time and she’d been out for a few hours.
“Do you want to connect to the Network? I have a lot to show you.”
“Not yet. Thanks anyway.” Mya was always friendly and helpful, and seemed to have developed a personality throughout the years. A feature Lian hadn’t known machines were capable of, but she’d never thought of Mya as a machine. Lian considered this processor to be part of her family. Mya was her teacher and friend. They spent countless hours communicating, which was how Lian had gotten most of her education. Mya’s connection to the house’s internal Network was priceless. Not only did she feed Lian information and surveillance footage from other rooms and cells, but she’d taught her several tricks for finding the data she needed.
Mya was the reason Lian, Vera, and Hogan had been able to interfere with Meiling’s plans in the first place.
“Are you sure? There was some excitement earlier.”
That got her attention. “Do you know what happened outside?”
“A ship was shot down, as per instructions, from the bots.”
Lian made her way to the window. The enhanced image made her pulse quicken. The wreckage she’d witnessed in her dream lay strewn beneath the dark, clouded sky, but not the guards or the mysterious man.
She hadn’t imagined the fireball and crash before passing out.
“Were there any survivors?”
“One—a male now being held inside one of the cells.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m positive.”
The way Mya sounded so human would unnerve others, but Lian loved how easily the processor had adapted. “Can you tell me more?”
“Not yet.”
“Thank you.” Vera would surely be able to fill in the blanks. The cells were part of her patrol. Lian rushed for the door, and as if reading her mind, her friend was already there. “Vera! Do you know what’s going on?”
Vera stepped inside and the door slid shut behind her. “Going on where?”
“Someone crashed onto the estate. You know that, right?” She found it hard to tamp down her excitement.
Vera nodded and looked past her to the magnified image on the window.
“According to Mya, someone was shot down.” Lian’s heart sped up. If the computer was right, maybe the dream was much more than just a figment of her imagination.
“Sounds about right,” Vera said, turning to face her. “The bots patrolling the sky are programmed to shoot down anyone who enters our airspace without clearance—”
“It’s a man.”
“It could be anyone—”
“No, it’s a man. I dreamt about him.”
Vera stepped closer, her dark eyes widening. “The same man you’ve already told me about?”
Lian nodded, a small smile curving her lips. “Yes. I don’t know how it’s possible, but I dreamt I was there after it happened. And I saw him. My dream man has come for me. No, for us! He’s going to help all of us find freedom, I’m sure of it.”
Vera closed the distance between them and took both of her hands. “Lian, it’s just a dream. I don’t want you to get your hopes up, okay?”
“But I’m sure he’s the one who will help us.” She’d seen it happen.
“You can’t know for sure.” Vera sighed. “How can he possibly help us? You know what your mother is capable of.”
“But I’ve seen it. I can feel it.” Lian was starting to understand the constant barrage of dreams. The snippets—the mysterious man setting them free, the house going up in flames, the taste of freedom, the blood—were now coming to pass. “You have to believe me.”
Vera pursed her lips. “Just don’t get too carried away, okay?” She squeezed Lian’s hands, still frowning. “Listen, the reason I’m here is because your mother didn’t complete the transaction with Sergei Orloff. They discovered the empty cells.”
“How did he take it?” Her blood boiled at the reminder of what Sergei did under the table. And her mother had been prepared to sell him all those innocent girls?
“Sergei was furious and demanded he leave with you right away.”
“I’m not going anywhere with that oaf.”
“Relax, he’s not here anymore.”
“Good, when did he leave?”
“About half an hour ago,” Vera said. “And he left with a smile on his face, so Boss might have struck a deal with him.”
Lian swallowed the lump forming in her throat. “Do you have any idea what the deal could be?”
Vera shook her head, but her eyes were filled with uncertainty. “She’s really angry and vowed to find out who did this.”
“She doesn’t suspect anyone yet, right?” Lian didn’t want someone else to take the fall for her actions.
“Not yet, but it won’t take her long. To be honest with you, I’m surprised she hasn’t worked it out yet.”
The same thought had struck her. Six months of sporadic disappearances was suspicious. So why would her mother stall at finding out what was really going on?
“We’ll just have to be more careful.”
Vera nodded.
“I need to get to the cells.”
“Why?”
“Mya said a man was taken to the cells. I need to see if it’s him.” And if it was the man from her dreams, she couldn’t let her mother destroy, sell or imprison him like she did everyone else. Every person on her mother’s staff had been bought or traded—all slaves.
Lian glanced at the silver collar secured around Vera’s neck. Everyone living in this house had one of these chokers with the tiny, green light. Well, everyone except for family, and Meiling had other ways of kee
ping them trapped.
“It’s too dangerous to go down there right now,” Vera said with a stern shake of her head. “Your mother will probably be there.”
“I have to—”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“Please, Vera. He’s innocent, just like everyone else we’ve saved. We have to find out what happened, and how he got here. We have to free him before Meiling gets a chance to hurt him.”
Vera looked thoughtful for a few moments, before finally nodding. “Okay. But we have to be quick.”
Lian threw her arms around Vera and hugged her tight. “Thank you.”
They ducked into the empty corridor and Vera led the way. None of the guards loitered around, so it wasn’t hard to take the back stairs down to the main level and veer down the stairs leading to the cells below.
The sound of voices stopped Vera in her tracks, and Lian smacked into her.
“Sorry.” She couldn’t wait to catch a glimpse of the stranger; her heart was already racing. What if it was him? What would she do when she saw him? How would he react? Had he dreamed about her too?
“Open this door and wait inside, okay?”
Lian unlocked it using her index finger and stepped into the cell.
Vera turned back to face her. “I’ll find out what’s going on. Come over as soon as the others leave, take a quick look and leave. Okay?” Lian nodded, but Vera didn’t move. “I’m serious. You have to be quick and then run back to your room before anyone sees you. I’ll meet you there so we can formulate a plan. If he needs our help.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know.”
As soon as Vera left, Lian kept the door open a crack, enough to peek around the corner. She waited, unable to tamp down her impatience as the murmur of voices continued.
Was it really worth it? The risk they were taking might not pay off. Maybe she’d find herself staring into an empty cell. No, Mya said they’d captured a male and Lian knew it was him. She could still see him in her mind—the fierce shine in his eyes when he’d locked his gaze with hers.
“You better go and get Boss right away, both of you!” Vera called as her voice got closer and louder.
“She’s already been advised.”
“Well, she’s not here yet, is she? So go on, hurry up and get her!”
Lian shut the door farther just as two guards rushed past so quickly neither of them noticed her. Without wasting another second, she ran for the other cell.
“Hurry, they won’t be gone for long,” Vera said. “It worked out better than I thought. I was positive I would have to go with them.”
Lian smiled. “Thanks.”
“Unlock the door and be quick. I’ll keep watch.”
She stuck her left index finger into the port. The click echoed around them, but she didn’t waste any time stepping inside.
Lian took small steps toward the prisoner kneeling in the middle of the cell. Both his wrists were cuffed with chains, holding him steady on either side. A cup of water sat out of his reach. He looked unconscious, with his face lowered.
Her heart sped up. “Who are you?” she whispered, knowing he wouldn’t respond. She moved closer, intending to touch his head, arm or shoulder—any part of him that would confirm he was real. She reached for him. When her fingertips connected with the coarse stubble, he twitched.
The man raised his head and those intense dark eyes met hers. At first they seemed filled with confusion and anger, but slowly melted into something else—curiosity.
It’s him. It’s really him!
Lian took a step back, not in fear but in surprise. She hadn’t expected him to wake up. “Who are you?” she repeated.
“More importantly, who are you?” He looked around the darkened, roofless cell. “And where am I?”
Lian opened her mouth to answer, but Vera charged into the room and grabbed her by the arm. “Come on, we need to go.”
She couldn’t respond. Couldn’t do much more than stare at the man kneeling in front of her. The one making her heart feel as if it were about to explode inside her chest. She didn’t want to leave him. Not now, possibly not ever.
How could she feel this way about a total stranger when she constantly argued with her mother about not wanting a man she knew nothing about? No, this was different, because on some bizarre level, she’d known this guy forever.
“We need to go, now!”
Lian took a deep breath and sighed. “I’ll be back,” she mouthed.
The man nodded and hung his head, but she kept her eyes on him. Vera practically dragged her out the door. It wasn’t until she heard the sound of footsteps and muffled conversation that she realized just how close her mother and the guards were.
“Shit,” Vera said. “We’re going to have to hide.”
Lian grabbed her hand and pointed at the cell from earlier. “In here.” She stuck her finger into the panel and was relieved when the lock clicked.
They rushed inside just as Meiling sauntered past with an entourage on her heels.
Before Vera closed the door completely, Lian stopped her and whispered, “No, I want to hear them.”
She wanted to hear what her mother had planned for this enigmatic man.
Chapter Four
A cold splash of water forced Knox to raise his head.
The hell? When had he passed out again? He tried to wipe the moisture away from his eyes but couldn’t move his arms. Shit. No matter how many times he pulled, they wouldn’t budge. He eventually shook his head and blinked away the beads of water enough to assess the situation.
His arms were outstretched on either side of him, both wrists cuffed in silver that burned his skin. The cuffs were connected to chains, keeping him in place. He was kneeling against cold and harsh concrete, which probably wasn’t good for his already torn-up knee. Looking down, he was grateful to see the bone wasn’t sticking through the skin and jeans anymore. How had he healed so quickly?
Things began to materialize inside his head—the crash. Trying to escape the snowy terrain. The injuries. The girl. The blood. He’d drunk a man’s blood. His stomach cramped at the thought, yet felt sated.
He cleared his throat “Where am I?”
“Looks like he’s awake,” a male voice said. It belonged to the rifle-wielding, black man standing in front of him, the business end pointed at Knox.
He met the man’s gaze. “Release me.”
“I don’t think so.” The man stepped closer, pressing the tip of his rifle between Knox’s eyes. “For what you did to Moe, I should shoot you right now.”
Who the hell is Moe? “I don’t—”
“You son of a bitch, you nearly tore his throat out!”
Oh. That was Moe. “I didn’t mean to, mate,” he whispered. Just wanted a quick drink…
Another man near the doorway added, “Let’s shoot this monster. He doesn’t deserve to live, not after—”
“Calm down, and put your weapons down. Hogan, step away.” The woman who now strode out of the shadows looked out of place in this concrete dungeon. Her hair was dark and pulled back. She wore a long, red dress that dragged along the ground, revealing high-heeled feet with every step she took.
Knox yanked on the cuffs around his wrists, but they were secured too tightly. The metal burned his skin. At least he could drag the chains up and down along the columns on the wall so his muscles didn’t completely cramp up.
“I know what you are. You won’t be able to free yourself from silver,” the woman said in a calm and smooth voice. “So save your energy.”
He glared at her, wishing he could order her to release him. Couldn’t vampires do that sort of shit? There was only one thing on his mind—to leave this room and find the beautiful angel. Surely he hadn’t imagined her during his bloodlust stupor.
“I’ve got some questions for you.” The woman’s smile was cunning. “My name is Meiling Shan, and I’m the mistress of this estate. You trespassed over my land with a stolen ship. I want to know how
you acquired it.”
He watched her move from side to side, the hem of her dress wet from the melting snow. It wasn’t until then that he realized snowflakes were actually falling around him, frosting his eyebrows.
When he didn’t answer, she continued. “Let’s start from the beginning. What’s your name?” She stopped in front of him, one hand resting on her slim hip, the other at her side.
“Knox.”
“Very well, Knox. Welcome to the Shan Estate. If you answer all of my questions with this much ease, your stay won’t be a hard one.” The smile on her thin lips didn’t seem sincere, but what else could he expect from someone who’d had him chained to a wall?
Getting stuck in hellholes was becoming a bad habit. One he desperately wanted to break.
“How did you get your hands on the ship?” Meiling’s eyes narrowed. “I know it doesn’t belong to you, because it’s one of mine.”
Damn! What rotten luck. “I found it near the town of Grit, down south.” He thought it best not to mention the bartender who’d told him about it, since the bastard might have set him up. He’d seemed so sincere and helpful. Even calmed him with some hocus-pocus mind-bending mojo when he’d felt at his worst.
There’s always a catch.
Knox didn’t need calming now, though. Taking blood—which according to the creepy old coot in the market meant he was on his way to sealing his fate as a parasite—had helped.
Meiling cocked a thin eyebrow. “Hey! I’m talking to you.”
“And I just answered your question.”
She paused, watching him. “You found it in that desert wasteland?”
He nodded.
“Okay.” She stepped closer, never taking her eyes off his. “What was inside the ship when you found it?”
“Nothing, it was empty.” He licked his dry lips. The metallic taste still lingered. “It was abandoned. I didn’t think anyone would miss it.”
“You found it completely empty?” Her face darkened. “Surely there was someone inside.”
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