Ed placed his dark sunglasses back on his face. “You think they knew it had something to do with them?”
Christophe shrugged and followed a good ways behind the yellow car. “Probably. They showed up a little after their friend.”
“Dipshit! Why didn’t you try to grab them then?”
Christophe narrowed his eyes but stayed focused straight ahead. “Because,
Dipshit
,” he said, emphasizing the word, “the only photos we had of them were with your brother when he went all gung-ho and got himself killed. I had no idea what they looked like.”
He braced himself for an uproar at the mention of his brother, but it never came.
Ed shrugged. “The asshole should have known better.”
The rest of the ride was in silence, Christophe staying a close distance behind the vehicle and watching its every move closely. They finally stopped outside of a large shopping outlet and watched as a short, round girl came bounding up to the vehicle, nearly tackling their target as she got out. Christophe killed the engine. “All right. Showtime.”
Marshall Brennan sat at his desk in the back room of his quaint little house and typed something into the computer. His large square glasses sat on the end of his nose, and he occasionally looked over them at the screen.
It may have been twenty-something years since he’d had anything to do with the project, but he’d been so engrossed in it, he was confident he could remember almost everything. He swiveled in his chair and rolled it over to a microscope on another table just behind him. Grabbing the vial of blood he’d taken from Rayne, he used a dropper and placed the tiniest drop onto a small, rectangular piece of glass. He placed another on top, sandwiching the sample between the two, and very carefully placed it under the microscope.
He took a deep breath and removed his glasses to look into the instrument. He remained motionless, studying the appearance of the individual cells. There it was, plain as day, and exactly how he’d remembered the original sample to look.
He laughed to himself and clapped his hands together as if in victory. “Aha!” he laughed. “Incredible!” He couldn’t believe it. After twenty years in the host, the ancient, witch-doctor blood had to have completely rearranged the DNA in Rayne’s blood cells. It was definitely still human, but the odd characteristics they’d only ever seen in the original samples were there.
Maybe the rumors, legends, and myths were all true. Maybe the Petonukili Tribe were a magical, holy species, or super-humans, or as some had called them, “gods among us.”
Whatever they were, it was astonishing and unbelievable what one dose of their blood in the human body could do. If only Harry was there to see what they had managed to do all those years ago! He clapped his hands again and spun around excitedly before sitting and trying to calm himself. He returned to his computer and began typing furiously.
Then, another thought popped into his mind.
If anyone else finds out, Rayne is as good as dead. If not worse.
His fingers stopped their tapping, and he sat back. If the wrong people found out about it, it wouldn’t be just her who was in trouble. He ran his hands through his greying hair and sighed. “Not good.”
Camden followed closely behind Rayne and her best friend, occasionally rolling his eyes at their chatter and girlish habits. His shades and leather jacket in place, he kept his head on a swivel and continuously scanned the area.
The girls walked arm-in-arm just a few steps ahead of him, giggling and talking animatedly. It was such a relief to have at least a little time to spend with Layla. Maybe this would be the decompression time that she needed to keep her going strong for the next round of whatever the world had to throw at her.
Layla gasped and pointed at a window with the free hand that wasn’t loaded with bags. “That one!” she said excitedly, and steered her friend through the door of the store.
Camden laughed to himself and followed. He wasn’t a big fan of shopping, but it was nice to see Rayne enjoying herself. So, for whatever pain it caused him, it was a price worth paying. The girls zigged and zagged through the aisles of clothes, inspecting this and grimacing at that. He stayed close, but out of the way.
“What about this one, Rayne?” Layla asked, holding up a black halter dress that looked as though it fit like a second skin.
“Ooh. I like that!” she said, and held it against her.
The pudgy girl nodded her approval and pulled it from the rack.
Camden rolled his eyes again for what felt like the thousandth time since their little outing began a few hours ago. He didn’t want to break up the fun, but it was getting close to time for heading back to Louisiana.
He moved a little closer to the duo and was about to speak when his cell phone rang. Pulling it out of his pocket, he furrowed his brows at he studied the unrecognizable number. Cautiously, he answered and glanced around nervously. “Hello?”
“Camden! It’s Marsh…”
The last part of his sentence was all jumbled with signal interference. “Dr. Brennan?” he asked.
Rayne’s head jerked toward him at the mention of the scientist’s name.
“Ye…” another garbled statement came through.
“Dr. Brennan, I can’t understand you. Hold on.”
Rayne watched as her vampire companion moved closer to the door. She turned back to Layla and forced a smile, not wanting to give away that anything was amiss.
But it has to be, right
?
Why else is he calling Camden
? She doubted it was for a leisurely chat, seeing as to how he reacted to the two of them yesterday.
Camden stood at the all glass front of the store and strained his advanced hearing to see if he could make out more of what was being said. “Dr. Brennan?” he asked again.
“Camden!”
This time, it was a little clearer. “I can hear you now.”
A sigh of relief came from the other end. “Good. Camden, listen to me,” he began. “I looked at the samples of Rayne’s blood.”
Camden nodded, even though Dr. Brennan could not see him. “Ok.”
“It’s incredible! Her body has bonded with the serum she was given as a child.”
He shook his head. “I’m not following you.”
“It’s her, Camden!” the scientist nearly yelled. “She IS the formula! It’s running through her veins right this very second!”
His eyes widened. “You mean…” his voice trailed off as his brain ran circles around a million different possibilities.
“Yes!” he yelled, his voice somewhere between excited and fearful. “You have to keep her safe! You know what this means if the wrong people find out.”
Camden jerked his head to where the two were previously standing, only to find nothing but their bags on the floor. His heart felt as though it had dropped out of his chest, and the phone fell to the floor. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move.
“Rayne!” He yelled out. Using his inhuman speed, he raced around the small department store, searching every nook and cranny, only to come up empty-handed.
In seconds, he was picking his phone up off the floor. “They’ve got her. Pack your bags and leave now. They’ll be coming for you, too. I’ll be in touch,” he said, trying to catch his breath as he hung up the phone.
His stomach did flip-flops, and he felt as though he were going to be sick.
What have I done? How did I let this happen?
he asked himself, pacing the space and frustratedly running his hands through his hair.
Thinking quickly, he dialed a number and waited until it was answered on the second ring. “Connor. Get the jet and get here now. They’ve got her.”
He replaced the device into his pocket and left the building, not caring if anyone noticed his speed. He had to find her. He had to get her back. Not just for the sake of the human world, but for himself. He couldn’t live without her, not now. He knew then that he’d fallen in love with Rayne Slade, and he would get her back if he died trying.
Somewhere along the way, whether it began from the stories of her grandfather or a week ago when they were tossed together in a hurricane of turmoil, it didn’t matter. He now belonged to her.
Chapter 20
Rayne and Layla stared at each other, tears of horror staining their cheeks as they sat bound in the back of the car. The silver duct tape covering their mouths prevented them from screaming, and the same at their wrists and feet to keep them from escaping nearly was suffocating.
Her bright green eyes stared across the dimness of the vehicle as it sped away from downtown Seattle, trying to console her best friend. She wished she’d told Layla about everything. The poor girl had no clue what was going on or why it was happening. For all she knew, they were the victims of a random kidnapping.
But Rayne knew better. She immediately recognized the blonde-haired vampire as Christophe, and although she’d never seen the other, he oddly reminded her of the one from the hotel.
Her black-haired friend sobbed and squeezed her eyes shut as if she were trying to wake up from a nightmare.
“I’m sorry,” Rayne mumbled inaudibly against the tape. “I should have told you.”
Layla shook her head and continued to pull against her restraints.
“Hey! Cut it out back there!” the large vampire barked.
The girls jumped at his command and immediately stilled.
Every possible scenario was running through Rayne’s head. Would they kill them both? Would they be tortured? Would Camden come for them?
Of course he will.
She tried to reassure herself.
She closed her eyes and began to pray to whoever was listening that they would make it through this. How had she even let it happen? How had Camden let this happen? One moment, they were laughing over clothes, the next, both of them were grabbed from behind, their mouths covered, and dragged from the department store at incredible speeds.
It was all so surreal, and fear twisted her gut.
Christophe never said a word the entire ride, only stared straight ahead and refused to have any interaction the with two other than their restraints. He wasn’t a fan of forcing others against their will, no matter the cause. He only did it because he had to. There was no other choice.
Pulling the vehicle into the driveway of an old, abandoned house on the outskirts of town, he killed the engine and exited the car. He and his companion flipped the seats forward and pulled the hostages from the back, Layla kicking and screaming with everything she had.
Rayne didn’t bother. She knew they could crush the both of them in an instant if they wanted. She cut a sideways glance to her best friend and tried to calm her, shaking her head and encouraging her to stop.
But she didn’t. It only served to invigorate her efforts.
Christophe and Ed brought them inside the dirty-smelling building, with grass and weeds growing from between the cracks in the wooden floor. It looked as though it was going to fall in around them at any moment, the boards creaking and cracking with each step.
“Hey Ed, is that you?” An unfamiliar voice came from somewhere in the back of the house.
Ed pushed Layla down into a wooden chair that looked just as decrepit as the rest of the house, and Rayne expected it to collapse under her weight. Surprisingly, it held. Layla stumbled, trying to catch herself from falling out of it.
“Yeah it’s us,” the large vampire called back, almost frustrated. “What the hell are you two doing here?” he asked as he stepped through an open doorway and into what Rayne assumed was the kitchen.
“Boss thought you two would need help.”
Ed scoffed. “The hell we do! We brought her and an extra back, no problem.”
“You got her?” the voice asked incredulously. “Well, let’s have a look, shall we?”
Another vampire emerged from the room, his average build and dirty appearance making him look more like a bum than an immortal being. His dirt-colored hair was slicked back and only added to his already greasy look. “Well, well,” he said, coming to stand in front of them.
Christophe still held onto Rayne’s arms; he kept her steady. He stood silent and motionless.
“A little on the heavy side, but still not bad to look at,” he said, and gave Layla a sleazy grin.
“That’s not her, you idiot,” Ed piped up from the door. “She’s the other one.”
The new vampire turned his attention to Rayne, and her eyes narrowed and seemed to spew anger and hatred in his direction. She wasn’t afraid any more. She was mad, mad as hell.
“Now that’s more like it,” he said, his grin widening as he strutted in her direction. He ran his tongue over his teeth as if he were about to sample a big, juicy steak.
Christophe pulled her backwards and angled her behind himself. “Watch it. Strict orders. No one touches her.”
Ed came around to join his companions and looked down at Layla. “Yeah, but no one said anything about this one.”
A new slew of tears ran down the pudgy girl’s face, and she turned her head to look away from them, curling her legs up to her chest into the fetal position as best she could without slipping from the chair.
Rayne tried to lunge forward, a mess of muffled yells straining against the tape. Christophe effectively kept her from pulling away. She spouted off curse words and her green eyes narrowed to daggers as she dared him to touch her best friend.
“This one’s got something to say,” Ed said, and moved to rip the duct tape from her mouth.
Her lips erupted in stinging pain and she was sure that skin had been stripped away as well, but she still didn’t miss a beat. “I swear if you so much as touch her!” she screamed, and tried to lunge forward again.
This time, the young vampire had to use both hands to keep her stationary.
“You’ll do what?” the large vampire asked, as he stepped forward so that he was inches away and looking down at her.
She wasn’t the least bit frightened by him, not anymore. She didn’t think that this Christophe character would let them hurt her, but she decided that getting him into a fight with his comrades and potentially getting him killed wouldn’t bode well for her sake.