Authors: Rhyannon Byrd
“Maybe not.” Ashe ran his hands along the paneling, feeling for something between the grooves. “Here we go,” he rasped, just as there was a soft click…and a section of the paneling popped open.
Too impatient to wait, Seth ripped the paneling out of the way, revealing a narrow hallway that led to what looked like some kind of thick metal door, the light filtering in from behind him glinting against its dull surface. “What the hell is this place?” he asked, moving into the hallway.
“I’m betting it’s an old Stasiinterrogation room,” Ashe murmured, the sounds of the hotel’s generators rattling through the walls.
“How would a guy like Seton even know it was here?” he asked, trying to open the door the instant they reached it. But it was locked. He pressed his ear to the cold metal, but the door was too thick to hear anything from inside the room. Still, he knew she was in there. The knowledge filled every cell of his body, and his muscles seemed to expand with rage, coiling beneath his skin.
As he pulled his gun and stepped back, getting ready to blast the lock to hell and back, Ashe answered his question, saying, “Seton wouldn’t know about it, considering he’s been locked away for the past millennium and only managed to escape within the past year. But that body he’s taken over comes with a lifetime full of memories. His human host could have been a war historian. Hell, he could have been the builder who did the
renovations on this place. Anything’s possible,” he added, just as Seth fired the shot.
The bullet ripped through the lock, shattering it into pieces. Seth immediately kicked in the door and rushed into the room, too furious to consider that Seton might have a gun of his own.
So much for control…
But if the Casus had a gun, he never got the chance to fire off a shot because he was too busy handling Raine. He had her backed against a wooden table in the center of the room, both of them bloody and shouting as she struggled to fight him off. With a red, visceral haze of fury filling his vision, Seth headed straight for the Casus, a guttural roar tearing from his chest as Seton shoved Raine to the side, her head cracking loudly on the edge of the table. In the next instant, Seth slammed into him, taking the guy to the ground. They rolled across the gritty floor, punches flying as blood spattered. This bastard had touched
his
woman—had hurt her—and Seth wanted his blood with a primal fury unlike anything he’d ever known. He snarled as he grappled against the Casus’s supernatural strength, finally landing a shot that broke Seton’s jaw. Then he hit him again…and again, until the son of a bitch finally lost consciousness.
Blood pooled beneath Seton’s head, his lips split, nose broken, both eyes swollen shut. A part of Seth wanted to keep smashing the asshole into the floor, the bloodthirsty rage like a narcotic in his veins, but he managed to stop himself as he caught sight of Raine’s Marker. It was wrapped around Seton’s wrist, the cord broken where
he’d obviously cut it away from her neck. Seth yanked the Marker free, shoved three “tranq” poppers into the side of Seton’s throat, then pulled himself to his feet and turned, using his shoulder to wipe the blood off his mouth as he made his way back to Raine.
Ashe had gotten her off the floor and set her on the edge of the table, the single bulb hanging from the ceiling casting a pale light over them as the vampire used his sleeve to blot the blood dripping from her nose. Though she was holding her head up, it swayed, her gaze unfocused. Seth made a low sound as he watched Ashe place a hand on the back of her neck to hold her steady, the gesture too possessive for his liking.
“Move back, Granger.”
With a breathless laugh, Ashe stepped away, allowing Seth to move between her legs, putting his own hand on the back of her neck. He whispered her name, but her eyes rolled back in her head, the lids sliding closed, as if she’d passed out.
“What about Seton?” Ashe asked.
“What about him?” he snarled, wishing Raine would open her eyes and look at him. He couldn’t handle her being hurt.
“I’m just hoping you didn’t kill him, considering he’s the best lead we’ve got for finding Westmore.”
Her cap had fallen off, her long hair streaming over one shoulder, and Seth gritted his teeth, hating that he was going to have to touch it, knowing how much it bothered her. But he needed to check her head, worried that she’d injured it when she’d hit the edge of the table.
As he ran his fingers over her skull, he answered Ashe’s question, saying, “I didn’t kill him, but he won’t be waking up anytime soon. I dosed him with sedatives.”
The Deschanel’s tone was dry. “I was wondering how we were going to keep him from turning fully Casus on us, so I guess that works.”
“We’ll give him another dose before we leave, just to be safe,” he rasped, his heart pounding as he found a lump just behind her left ear that was the size of an egg…and still swelling. Jesus. No wonder she was out of it.
“Speaking of leaving,” the vampire murmured, “you’ll need to give her your wrist before we go.”
He cut the vamp a sharp look. “Why?”
“She needs blood.”
A gritty laugh jerked from his chest at how easily Ashe could drawl such a statement, as if he’d just said,
She looks like she needs a pickup. We should grab her some Starbucks
.
“I don’t know what blood is going to do for a lump on her head,” he muttered. “And she just took my blood before we left our room.”
“If she’s got a concussion, fresh blood will help her heal more quickly. And since we need to let things calm down a bit upstairs before we sneak out of here, we’ve got the time.”
“But I don’t feed her from my vein,” he growled, the rough words thick with frustration. “I collect it for her in a cup.”
The vampire’s surprise was obvious. His lips parted, and he looked like he wanted to say something, but
changed his mind. Instead, his dark brows drew into a tight frown as he started to roll back the sleeve on his bloodstained shirt, muttering something under his breath about how they weren’t exactly standing in a housewares department. And he was right. The only thing left inside that miserable room, besides themselves, was the table, lightbulb and Seton.
“Can I drip it in her mouth?” Seth asked, feeling like a fucking idiot.
“If she was conscious. But considering she’s out of it, if we want to make sure she swallows, we have to get her to bite.”
When the vampire reached out, taking hold of Raine’s arm to hold her steady, Seth reluctantly stepped away, unable to believe he was going to let this happen. But what choice did he have? He wouldn’t be able to stomach giving her his own vein, and she needed the blood.
But it was hell to watch. As Ashe lifted his wrist to her soft lips, Seth locked his jaw so hard he was surprised it didn’t crack.
“Come on, honey,” Ashe murmured, stroking his skin against her lips, coaxing her to feed. “That’s it,” he crooned, looking as if he was trying hard to hide his pleasure when she moaned, then sank her fangs into his flesh and started sucking. She moaned louder, grasping the vampire’s arm to hold it tighter against her mouth…and the temperature in the musty room seemed to rise, higher…and higher, a drop of sweat snaking down Seth’s spine. A hard shudder racked the vampire’s tall frame
and he looked away, as though he didn’t want Seth to see his expression.
“Careful, vamp.” Seth’s voice was a low, sinister rasp, his jealousy and frustration like a physical force in his body, punching against his skin as it struggled to break free.
Ashe didn’t say anything in response—but Seth could have sworn the vamp’s shoulders were shaking slightly, as if he was holding back a laugh. Bloody smart-ass.
Keeping his narrow gaze locked on Raine’s face, Seth watched as color bloomed in her cheeks, the bruises already fading…her busted lip mending before his eyes. Ashe’s blood apparently packed a hell of a punch, which was the only thing that kept him from acting like a caveman and knocking the bastard out of the way.
After what had to be at least thirty seconds of strong, hungry feeding, Raine finally opened her eyes, that storm-dark gaze immediately connecting with Seth’s. Her eyes shot wide and she pulled back from Ashe’s arm with an audible gasp, as if only just realizing that she’d been enjoying another man’s taste in front of him.
“Um…thanks,” she whispered to the vampire, wiping her damp mouth with the backs of her fingers.
Seth was still seething with frustration, but it didn’t stop him from moving in front of her the instant Ashe stepped away, a hoarse, “No problem,” falling from the vampire’s lips as he headed over to where Seton lay bleeding on the floor.
Unable to control the trembling in his hands, Seth shoved them in his pockets and popped his jaw. He
opened his mouth, swallowed, his throat uncomfortably tight as he finally managed to grind out the words he needed to say. “What the hell were you thinking?”
She blinked, as if taken back by his question, then frowned. “I was doing what I came here to do, Seth. And I’d have had him, too, if he hadn’t gotten lucky with the Marker.”
“We’re meant to be doing this together,” he growled. “But every time I turn my back, you fucking disappear.”
“I didn’t have any choice,” she shot back, her own anger mounting. “When I saw Seton, it looked like he was slinking away and I couldn’t risk losing him. You were busy with Spark and Ashe had his hands full. So I did what I had to. It’s not like I planned for it to happen. It just did.”
“You know what, Raine? You wouldn’t have told me even if you
had
planned it.”
“Only because I know you would have tried to stop me, and he’s our best chance at finding Westmore. The opportunity was there, so I took it. But I didn’t mean to worry you. I didn’t think you’d—”
“What? That I’d care?” he rasped, the ragged words hoarse with emotion. A muscle pulsed in his jaw, and he fisted his hands inside his pockets. “Christ, Raine, I don’t want to lose you, but I can feel you slipping away from me, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. When are you going to realize you don’t have to keep holding on to that fucking hatred of yours so tightly? You could
let it go, if you’d just open your eyes and see what’s right in front of you!”
“Seth.”
Her face instantly softened, the gray of her eyes seeming to shine like silver. “I know I’ve been saying this a lot lately, but I’m sorry.”
“Sorry you scared ten years off my life?” he muttered, running a shaky hand down his face.
“Yes.”
Seth took a deep breath, then quietly asked her, “Were you…are you trying to kill yourself, Raine? Do you want to die? Is that what this is all about?”
“No.” She gave a little shake of her head and lifted her shoulders. “I just… I guess I wasn’t as worried as I normally would have been. I mean…if something went wrong, I knew you weren’t going to be far behind us. That you would come for me.”
In that moment, he was torn between wanting to kiss her…and needing to throttle her crazy little ass for taking such a dangerous risk. “And what if I hadn’t been able to get here in time? How do you think that would have made me feel? I’d have spent the rest of my life knowing I hadn’t been able to keep you safe.”
“But you did.”
He glared at her bruised, blood-smeared face. “Barely.”
“Please don’t be angry with me,” she pleaded, wetting her lips. “I know I worried you, but I was afraid he was going to get away and we’d be left second-guessing where he was. But now we can use him to find Westmore.” The husky words vibrated with excitement. “I thought you’d
think this was a good thing, Seth. I thought you wanted Westmore as badly as I do.”
“Yeah, I want Westmore.” His voice was flinty, and she flinched at the sound of it. “I just wasn’t willing to see you raped or killed to get him.”
Figuring there was nothing left to say, Seth had just started to turn away from her when she slipped off the table and grabbed his arm. “If you don’t want to talk to me any more, that’s fine. But can you at least tell me what the plan is when we leave here? It’s not like we can check into a new hotel carrying an unconscious man.”
“Actually, I think I can help with that,” Ashe offered from the other side of the room, proving that he’d been listening to every word they’d said. “There’s a
Förmyndare
safe house not far from here that isn’t in use. It’ll give us the perfect place to…
question
the Casus.”
Oh, Christ. How much stranger can this get?
A breathless laugh shook Seth’s chest, the situation too surreal to take in. A year ago, getting anywhere near a
Förmyndare
safe house would have meant certain death for a guy who was part of the Collective Army. And now he was being
invited
to stay at one.
Despite his shitty mood, a grim smile curved his mouth as he thought of all the demons who were surely shivering from the cold at that moment, ice forming on their gnarled horns, snowflakes glistening on their lashes…
Because hell had surely just frozen over.
An hour later…
A small town on the outskirts of Venice, Italy
K
NEELING BEFORE
a bloodstained altar that he’d built in the closet of his suite, Westmore carved a crescent into the palm of his hand, dripping the blood into the bowl that sat before him. The flickering lights of the thick candles that surrounded him cast maniacal shadows against the gleaming metal of the altar, but not even the candles’ rich scent could disguise the grisly odor of the entrails coiled in the bottom of the bowl, along with other various body parts. Some animal. Some human.
He waited with sharp impatience, eager to impart his news, his eyes sliding closed as he began to chant the ritual words he’d found written in the pages of the archives.
“It’s going according to plan,” he murmured a moment later, when a shadowy face finally filled his mind. It was Anthony Calder’s shade, the Casus leader’s ice-blue eyes glowing within the monstrous contours of his wolf-shaped head.
“They’ve taken Seton?” the Casus asked, the words garbled by his fang-filled muzzle. The shades were eternally trapped in their true form, until they could escape from Meridian and come back to this world.