Page 98 of Grayson’s Challenge

We’re nine minutes out. Tell me how many men Abel has.

There was a pause, and Grayson’s heart beat out of control. Had they already hurt her?

He can’t have many. William and Rufus are here. And three other vampires are apparently guarding the house.

“At least six hostiles, including Abel,” Grayson reported to his colleagues.

Where in the house are you?

I don’t know. But I heard that cuckoo clock, so I’m either on the first floor or the second. You can’t hear that clock well enough farther up.

Are you in a bedroom?

Yes. Small. Not as fancy as the ones my parents and I stayed in.

Grayson nodded to himself.

Got it. Are the chains silver?

Yes.

Okay, babe. We’re almost there. I love you.

Hurry.

“They’re keeping her in a bedroom. It might be the staff quarters on the first floor, just off the kitchen.” He looked over his shoulder to Patrick. “She’s chained with silver. Get the bolt cutter.”

Patrick got up from his seat and, hunched over, walked to a metal box in the back of the van, which held various tools. “Got it.”

“Are there any gloves in there?” Grayson asked. They would need them to protect themselves from the silver chains Abel was using on Monique.

“Yep.”

Patrick pulled out several pairs of gloves and distributed them to everybody in the van.

“Got my own,” Striker said.

Grayson acknowledged his words with a nod. He was glad that two of the meanest vampires he knew where helping with Monique’s rescue. Zane was a lean, mean fighting machine. And Striker was rumored to be lethal and cold-blooded. The only one of that caliber missing was Orlando, but Grayson agreed with Isabelle that Orlando wasn’t in top shape. Hell, he would take another day to heal properly. Grayson knew he had to apologize to the guy for suspecting him to be the traitor, but that could wait. Monique couldn’t.

Grayson slipped the gloves on and noticed that his hands were shaking. Fuck! He couldn’t lose his nerve now. His future depended on this. Without Monique, he was nothing. She’d turned him into the man he’d always wanted to be: strong, decisive, complete. If he lost her, he would lose everything, even himself. He needed Monique like he needed blood to survive. To save her he would do anything he could. Even if it meant to give his life for hers. That revelation hit him in the gut, making him realize just how much he loved her.

I love you, Monique. Hold on just a little while longer. I’m almost there.

~ ~ ~

Monique kicked her foot into Rufus’s stomach, catapulting him back. But still being chained to the bed didn’t give her a lot of leverage. Besides, barefoot, she couldn’t do much damage anyway. Not that it mattered. All she was trying to do was to buy herself some time until the cavalry arrived.

Rufus grabbed her left arm to jerk her toward him and punched her in the face. Her head whipped sideways, but he’d have to do a lot more to cause her any significant pain.

“Bitch!” Rufus cursed and reached for her bra again.

This time, he used his claws to cut the garment in half. The cups peeled away from her breasts, freeing them, but the straps remained on her shoulders, and with the way she was chained—hands over her head—it was impossible to remove the garment completely unless Rufus decided to cut the straps too. Not that it mattered. She was exposed, and the satisfied grin on the asshole’s face proved that he enjoyed her humiliation.

“Go ahead, look your fill while you can. But you won’t enjoy the sight for long,” she promised. Because once Grayson was here and had freed her, she would turn the bastard to dust.

Now all she still wore were her panties. When Rufus’s gaze landed there, her fangs lengthened, and her hands turned to claws. She reared up from the bed as far as the chains allowed, ignoring the searing pain the silver inflicted. Her wrists would heal. But she had no intention of making it easy for Abel and his men. Especially not now that she knew that help was only moments away.

“Get the hell away from me!” she yelled, not because she thought it would do any good to keep Rufus’s hands off her, but because she had to make sure that Grayson could hear her and find her quickly, once he was in the house.