Page 89 of Grayson’s Challenge

William came into view. “Let me see what’s wrong.” He sidled up her and tried the light switch next to the door.

“I just did that. It’s not working.”

“Hmm.” He grunted. “Oh, it’s working.” He turned to her and lifted his arm. He held something in his hand she couldn’t immediately identify.

He grabbed her and jabbed something into her neck. She felt a sharp hypodermic needle piercing her skin. The liquid with which he was injecting her stung painfully.

She tried to free herself from his grip, but he didn’t let go. “What the fuck! Let me go.”

“Shut up, bitch! You’ve had it coming for a long time,” he sneered.

Monique tried to scream so the other guards or Isabelle would come to her aid, but her throat tightened, and she was unable to get anything coherent over her lips. “What…”

“Personally, I would kill you right here, but Abel wants you alive.”

Fuck! William was the traitor, not Orlando. He’d played his role well. Because he’d been injured in the attack on Samson and Cain, nobody had suspected him. He’d probably had one of the attackers injure him only superficially, yet in a place where he’d bleed profusely, so it would look real.

Fuck! She felt dizzy, her knees suddenly buckling under her.

Grayson!

She tried to use the telepathic bond she shared with Grayson, but couldn’t concentrate, couldn’t muster enough strength to send a message to him.

“Spoiled brat! Looking down on the rest of us. Now you’re gonna suffer for it.”

She could barely feel her own body now, but noticed that William was dragging her toward one of the cars. He opened the trunk.

“And don’t worry, you’ll be awake for what he’ll do to you.”

Again, she tried to scream, but the searing pain that spread through her veins made it impossible. William tossed her into the trunk of the car, and everything around her blurred. She tried to keep her eyes open, tried to fight the encroaching darkness, but it was to no avail. Whatever William had injected her with acted fast. A few more seconds, and pain engulfed her and rendered her unconscious.

40

Grayson was the first to enter the abandoned postal facility, his colleagues hot on his heels. It was dark inside, but he had no trouble seeing that the place wasn’t empty. Several men were taking cover amidst overturned furniture, shelves, and storage containers, using them as barricades to shoot at the entering Scanguards team.

“Take cover!” Grayson yelled, and dove behind a stack of pallets, while aiming at the hostile vampire closest to him.

A painful scream came from the vampire’s direction, indicating that Grayson’s bullet had hit him, but not killed him. For a vampire to die from a silver bullet immediately, only a head shot or a shot into the heart would do, though if the wounded vampire couldn’t get the silver bullet out of him quickly, he would die a slow and agonizing death, the silver poisoning him from inside.

Grayson saw his friends fan out and take positions from where to attack without making themselves into prime targets. Gunshots echoed in the huge building, and screams and grunts now mingled with them.

Over his earpiece and mic, Grayson issued his commands. “Cooper, you’re with me looking for Samson and Cain. The rest of you: give ‘em hell.”

Cooper sidled up to him, and nodded, indicating he was ready.

“Grayson, wait,” Hamish said through the communication device. “I’ll come with you, and make the two of you invisible.”

He hadn’t expected the Stealth Guardians to join the fight, but he was grateful for it. “You sure, Hamish? What about the lead paint on the walls?”

“Once I’m inside, it’s not enough lead to impede my powers to make us invisible.”

“Okay, then, thank you.”

Moments later, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned his head and saw Hamish. “Ready?”

Grayson and Cooper nodded. Grayson pointed to his left. “This way.”

The three of them walked along the outer walls of the building. To one side were several doors, most likely offices of the managers of the postal facility. They weren’t locked. Grayson pushed the first one open and peeked inside. Except for an old desk it was empty. Hamish was already at the next door and opened it, while Cooper covered him.