Tempting Gray - Untouchables 02 (16 page)

“That’s what I want to know.”

“W-well I don’t know how it works. I can track
people and when I found this place I knew it belonged to you. But even when I
was in the same room with you I didn’t know who you were.”

“So you can only partially track me.” He looked
contemplative. “That is interesting.” He turned to the guards. “I have to make
a call. Hose them both down and get him set up on the chains.”

Jericho Donato called his father. The private
line to Vincent was answered on the third ring.

“What is it?” his father asked.

“I have Grayson and the Were down in the
casino.”

A gasp. He could almost feel his father’s pride
and joy through the phone. Jericho smiled. “That’s good, son. That’s real good.
I knew you could do it. For Domico.”

“For Domico,” confirmed Jericho.

His father’s voice came through louder. “I’m
coming down there immediately. Don’t kill him yet. We’ll do it together. That
motherfucker’s gonna taste pain unlike anything he’s ever had before.” It was a
promise.

“Yes, father. The Were, what of her?” he asked
quietly. His father noticed though. Nothing escaped him. His interest in the Were
was already noted and categorized by his father’s calculating mind.

“We kill her.”

“She could track us. I believe she could track
for
us
.”

A pause, then, “Damn fine mind you have there,
boy. We’ll keep her for now. But Jericho, you can’t keep her. We can’t have
another situation like last time. With that girl.” His father was getting
quieter. And when his father got quiet, you listened carefully. He and his
brothers had learned that lesson when they were young. It was no longer a
lesson but instinct ingrained into him through his father’s child rearing.

Jericho’s eye twitched at the reminder of
Theresa. He blushed in embarrassment and gritted his teeth. “Yes, father. I
understand perfectly.”

“Good. I’ll be there tonight.”

Jericho ended the call and only then did he
breathe freely like a great weight had lifted off his chest. He went back into
the prison and found Grayson Blackmoore hanging from his ceiling dripping wet
and bleeding. He palmed his hatchet, the metal hot in his palm.

“We finally meet.”

Grayson, the vampire who’d killed his brother
like nothing more than a dog, didn’t raise his head to watch Jericho coming
toward him. The opportunities that awaited for him were endless. So much pain
to be inflicted. Every scream he could rip from the vampire’s throat was
revenge for Domico.

Jericho flipped the blade in his hand then spun
it and caught it again. He repeated the action until he fell into a rhythm
doing it. The woman, Arabella, had crouched in her cell still naked and cold. She
covered her face afraid to watch what was about to happen. She was so innocent.
He didn’t come across many like her. He could see it in her eyes—she wasn’t a
killer.

“You took someone very important away from me.
And now I’m going to take away everyone important to you. I started with your
mate.”

Grayson surged against the chains, anger
flashing in his eyes.
There you are. The beast.
Jericho struck and put
the beast down.

For hours he hung from chains. And in that time
she was forced to watch and listen to the heinous atrocities happening to a man
she cared about. The cries, the grunts, the trembling breaths and rattle of the
chains. She threw up in the corner then rolled away from the stench. She curled
into a ball, wrapping her arms around her knees wishing she could block
everything out.

The door opened and a man came in, one she hadn’t
heard before. “He’s just now arriving.”

Arabella moved the hair out of her eyes so she
could see. Jericho nodded and slipped the knife he’d been using back into his
waist holder. “Put him in back in a cell.” And then he left.

On bated breath, Arabella watched them take
Grayson down from the chains. He was still alive though he looked barely
conscious. Two guards had to hold him up and drag him toward the cell. “Someone
get the door, will you?” the one she’d attacked earlier snapped.

They opened the door. “You’re such a pussy.”

Angry, the guard threw Grayson into the cell
with her. She pretended she didn’t care and when she saw him lose his balance
she didn’t run to help him like she wanted to. No matter how badly it pained
her not to. Because they’d just fucked up and they hadn’t realized it yet.

The guard tossed some taunts back and forth as
they slammed the cage door closed. They scattered, the one she’d hurt leaving
to go get his throat looked at. That left three guards and none of them were
paying her any attention. Arabella shuffled across the floor in a hurry. She
shoved Grayson’s hair out of his face so she could get a better look. She
gasped at all the damage she saw. Not just to his face but everywhere. They’d
stripped him too. His skin was fiercely chilled like hers. She wanted to hug
their bodies close but he’d been stabbed and cut through the stomach. There was
so much wrong with him she didn’t know if she could touch him anywhere without causing
intense agony.

“Grayson?” she whispered.

His eyelids didn’t flutter.

“Grayson,” she said louder. This time his
eyelids slowly peeled back. His eyes were red, tired, and pinched with pain. It
took a minute for his eyes to focus but when they did he looked at her. She
smiled. “Hi. Can you hear me fine?”

He swallowed and nodded and she wondered if he
could even talk.
Don’t cry now
. “Great, I need you to do something and
if I were you I’d be quick about it before he comes back.”

“What?” he croaked.

“Take my blood.”

He jerked his head. “No. I will get us out of
here. He’ll make a mistake soon and I’ll get the jump on him. I promise.”

Here he was lying broken and in agony and he
was still trying to protect her. She didn’t know whether to slap him or kiss
him. “Listen here, you’re weak as sick kitten, Gray. I need you to just do what
I say and do it now while we have time.” She took a breath. “Now bite my
fucking neck!”

In a flash his eyes glowed amber like an animal
in the night. The deadly speed vampires had honed over thousands of years were
put to use when he struck. She jumped. His fangs stabbed deep into her neck,
stunning her. But the pain was fleeting. She’d never been bitten by a vampire
before, or by anything really. A warm pressure grew at the intrusion sight. The
feeling expanded and morphed into something pleasing. She clung to him basking
in the new sensations. The bite was almost erotic; it could be in a different
situation. His suckling warmed her body which in turn warmed his even through
the bitter cold. He groaned as he sucked, her blood giving him life. The spark
of arousal flared but stayed beneath the surface.

The door crashed open and Jericho came through.
“What the hell are you doing? You put him back in with her!” He was angry, speaking
in harsh commands without ever raising his voice.

The guards ran to the cell.

“Drink more!” she urged him. He sucked hard. It
reminded her of the few times she’d been given a hickey. She was thrown off
bodily and tossed back against the bars like a ragdoll.

Grayson flew at them in a furry. At the same
time, down the hall where they’d come in from, the door flew open. Everyone
turned in surprise at the intrusion. No one was more surprised than Arabella.

Kane strolled into the room and swiftly branded
two guns. He raised his arms and began firing. One guard went down. Grayson
took down another one, snapping his neck with a nasty
crunch.
Silver
bullets blasted through the room so loud it was like explosions. Men screamed
and more blood spilled.

Jericho Donato looked completely feral—the mask
having slipped off. And his gaze locked on her. Arabella turned to run back
into the cell but he caught her by the hair yanking her backward. The last
guard fell, his throat gurgling from where his neck had been torn through with a
knife Grayson had peeled off another guard.

“What are you doing here, Kane?” Jericho asked,
pressing the flat side of the hatchet against her belly. At any moment he could
swing that blade and gut her, or, take her head clean off. Just like he did
with Anita.
And then he’ll be burying me.

No, not today. Not with this psycho. Arabella
threw all her weight backward, surprisingly Jericho and tossing him off
balance. His grip didn’t waver in her hair but the arm with the hatchet
released her. This allowed her to spin around and throw and elbow back as hard
as she could. She caught his nose and he howled, dropping her from his grasp
completely. The second she was free she sprinted down the hall.

Grayson stood over the last guard, his hands stained
with blood. “Get out of here now!”

Kane stood there with his hand held out for
her. “I told you I wanted a kiss. I came back for it.”

He pulled his jacket off and handed it to her.
She pulled it on then held out her hand. “Give me a gun.”

Heart racing, she watched Grayson and Jericho
lock into battle. “Now why would I do that?”

“Because I need it and I’m very thankful right
now, enough to maybe kiss you. But I’m asking because I really need it, please.”
She asked as kindly as she could. It’d make her father proud.

He handed a gun over. “Be careful with that.”

She turned and headed back toward them. She
raised the gun.

“Hey now what do you think you’re—”

She fired.
Bam bam bam!
They split apart.
The gun was so loud in the tight space, deafening. A high-pitch ringing began
in her right ear, then moved to the left ear. Blood ran down Jericho’s face.
Grayson shouted something at her. She couldn’t hear because of the damn ringing
in her ears and she couldn’t make out what he said. She aimed at Jericho and
fired. She hit his chest. He grunted and stumbled back a few steps, cupping the
wound over his chest.

She squeezed that trigger one more time.
Click
.
Nothing happened.

That’s when Kane came up and grabbed the gun
from her hands. Her hearing began to fade back in like someone was turning the
volume up. “That’s enough of that.”

“Why did you do that? He’s almost dead!”

“Sorry, babe, but the clip is out.”

The hatchet had flown from his hands. Grayson
stood up looking like predator about to go in for the kill.

“Better hurry if you wanna get your girl out of
here,” Kane said.

Grayson stopped and looked back at them,
surprise flickering as if he’d forgotten they were in the room with him. “Get
her out of here,” he said.

“I’m not leaving you here now, dammit. You’re
coming with me. We get out of this together.” Her voice clogged on the last
word. She hated being emotional at a time like this but she could do nothing
but
be
emotional at a time like this.

“Go, Arabella.”

“Heh. Little liar. Raquel, my ass,” muttered
Kane.

Arabella ignored him. “I will
not
leave
here,
I swear
. Unless you come with me.” Jericho struggled to stand. He
was breathing hard, blood pouring from the silver gunshot wound and he must be
feeling dizzy from all the fighting with Grayson.

“Then don’t watch.” He turned to Jericho as he
picked up the silver hatchet. “Is this what killed my mate?”

Arabella shook at the sound of his voice. He
was going to kill this man and probably relish doing so. She should look away
as he said but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Not even for one second.
Grayson limped on his left leg, standing hunched over from the stab wounds and
number of pains he must be feeling.

“Yes,” Jericho said in that soft voice. “But
first I killed all those bodyguards to help dull the blade. So that by time I
got to her skinny little neck it was like cutting a chicken’s head off with a
steak knife. It took four full blows and some sawing to completely sever it. Of
course I marked her with our seal first. She’s one of us now.”

“She was nothing to you. She deserved better.”

“So did my brother.”

“He attacked first.”

Jericho laughed, spitting up bright red blood
and spit. “Your whole family is going to die, Blackmoore. Even her,” his gaze
slid straight to Arabella. She paled. Grayson’s gaze narrowed. There was so
much pent-up rage and anger trembling from his mighty shoulders it was a wonder
he didn’t tear Jericho apart limb from limb with his bare hands. That’s what he
looked like he wanted to do—to bask in this man’s blood. “I can smell your need
for her. How odd that I didn’t now smell that unique scent in your own home toward
your own mate. Did your
bruid
not please you?”

Grayson roared. It was a savage, feral sound.
And then he hacked at Jericho. She watched every awful second of it. Even until
the head dangled by a thick tendon from Jericho’s neck in the gristliest thing
she’d ever seen. With a final whack, the head fell, severed, to the floor.

He stood, breathing hard over the body,
violence trembling in his hands.

“Time to go now, babe. Like
now
,” Kane
said.

She didn’t know him and she didn’t trust him,
but he saved their lives so she believed him. “Grayson, let’s go!”

His stare landed on hers, wild and chaotic.

“Come to me.” He clutched the hatchet like he
wanted to continue to hit. “I need you to do this for me.” Her words finally
reached him and he dropped the hatchet.

“Let’s get the hell out of here,” Grayson said.

“Couldn’t have said it better myself,” she
agreed.

Before they left, Grayson turned to Kane. “If
you try to kiss her, I’ll kill you.”