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I snapped my head to the left, expecting to see them dragging in Adryan’s body, but when I saw it was the vampire who’d brought me here, the one with the neck scar, I exhaled in relief.
“You remember James? That scar really makes him stand out, doesn’t it?” Salvatore laughed and snapped his finger, and James came to stand next to Salvatore, his murderous gaze on me. “You know how he got that?”
I looked back at Salvatore. “I don’t care.” I hated that my voice shook.
“Oh,” Salvatore said with mock surprise, his eyes widening, his eyebrows going to his hairline. “Adryan didn’t reveal the origin of how James got this accessory?” He looked at James, still wearing that shocked expression. “Do you want to tell her, or should I?” When James gritted his teeth and stayed silent, Salvatore chuckled and shook his head. “Maybe now isn’t the time, huh?” He stared at me then, his shock fading. “Unfortunately, you're on James’s shit list by association. You see, James has been working for my organization for a very long time, ever since something very important was taken from him and he lost that loyalty.”
I didn’t care about any of this. I didn’t want to hear about James or his history with Adryan and didn’t want to give either of them the time of day. I just wanted out of here. I wanted to go back to my life where the only thing I was really worried about was one crazy and possessive-as-hell vampire mate.
But escaping wasn’t even a realistic option. Even if I could get out of the cell, I had no idea where I was and had a feeling this place was like a maze with security up the ass and enough guards and firepower to stop me before I could feel optimistic.
I let my gaze slide to James once more, the hatred aimed right at me enough to have coldness seeping into my blood. I knew if he could kill me right here and now, he would. God, he looked like he was salivating to do just that.
And as I stared into his eyes, I knew the truth, or at least part of it. It wasn’t hard to put two and two together on what that “something” was that had torn at James. Clearly, that “something” was actually “someone” James had cared about. A broken heart caused this kind of pain, this kind of hatred… this kind of violence.
“And you call Adryan evil and dangerous?” I stared at Salvatore and hoped he could feel all my anger. I shook my head and spit out, “You and your fucked-up organization can go to hell. I won’t allow you to use me against him.”
Salvatore’s expression was blank a second before he shrugged. “Hell is just another name for the world we live in, Ms. Monroe. I’m a firm believer in letting all my cards show, and now that we have you here and it’s only a matter of time”—he looked at his wristwatch—“as in Adryan will be coming here very soon, might as well explain the story.”
My heart thundered. “Adryan’s here?” Oh God. Adryan’s here.
“Of course he’s here,” Salvatore said blandly. “He arrived on the property half an hour ago with an army of Otherworlders. It’s only a matter of time before he loses all self-control and storms in.” He grinned slowly. “Which is exactly what we’re hoping for, of course. Makes it easy when the mouse walks right into the cat’s mouth.”
“You were responsible for the break-in at my home,” I whispered, not surprised, but all the pieces were falling in place now, or maybe it was a better analogy that all the pieces were falling in disarray all around me. “Were you there?” My throat was so tight I couldn’t get enough air into my lungs.
“I wanted to be.” He took a step closer and let his slimy gaze travel up and down my body. “Believe me, I wanted to be. My plans had been far different in getting you where I needed you.” My stomach roiled. “But I took your decline for my further company like a gentleman and moved to Plan B.”
I kept shaking my head, but there was nothing I could deny. My world kept getting turned upside down, worse and worse until soon I’d be nothing but a shell of the former person I was, my life nothing more than a memory.
I opened my mouth, knowing I’d fight to the death, that I’d never let them use me to hurt Adryan.
Didn’t they know… I was mated to the most dangerous vampire in the world?
I curled my hands into fists at my sides and narrowed my eyes. I’d go down fighting.
I took a step toward Salvatore and watched excitement move across his face. He wanted me to fight back. But before I could move closer, the cell was plunged into darkness for a split second before red security lights filled the interior and a shrill alarm went off.
“Looks like my vampire’s here.”
30
Adryan
We’d made our way into a long, wide underground tunnel, red security lights illuminating the space. The adrenaline was still racing through me, but I felt a drugging sensation start to settle in my bones.
I stopped and looked down at myself—three bullet holes, one in my abdomen and the other two right under my sternum, all steadily seeping blood and soaking my shirt. It wasn’t just blood, but also something darker and almost luminescent mixed with the red.
I grabbed my shirt and ripped it down the center, the two halves hanging open as I stared at my torso and the bullet wounds. I ran my fingers through the dark, inky substance, rubbing it between my fingers, sticky as fuck.
“Fuckers are getting crafty with their shit.” I looked back down at the dark, pearlescent liquid between my fingers. Whatever they were lacing the bullets with had to be of the Otherworld.
I kept moving as I dug my finger into one of the bullet holes, gritting my teeth as I felt around for one of the slugs. I pulled it out and held the chunk of metal between my thumb and forefinger. I tossed it aside and went about doing the same with the next.
“This is a trap,” I murmured. “You know that, right?”
“Aye,” Odhran gritted out. “Makes no difference though. Still going tae take down all these fookers.”
I grinned and cut a glance at him. “Oh, we sure as hell will, wolf.”
