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Two sets of hands landed hard on his shoulders, yanking him back, and before he could make more than a wordless protest, a weird smelling handkerchief was placed over his nose. Max instinctively tried to fight against the attackers, panic surging through him. It was like fighting against steel bars, trying to budge them. There was no way to win.
Despair filtered through his panic. Vampires. Vampires had hold of him. He could feel his senses shutting down, his mind checking out as the drug on the handkerchief coursed through his system. He forced his eyes open, wanting to at least see their faces. The two vampires holding him were unfamiliar—tall, beefy men with the personalities of rebar, but the woman with them—that witch, Max knew all too well.
“Vanessa,” he slurred. “You stupid bitch.”
“You’ll be thanking me later,” she said, completely unconcerned as she hit the button for the elevator. “I know men who are far wealthier than your master. How about meeting a prince, to start with?”
Fuck her. Max wanted to ream her out, and scream bloody murder, but he’d lost all control of his muscles at that point and unconsciousness was eating at his vision. He had seconds, and that wasn’t enough.
He had one last, truly coherent thought before unconsciousness swept over him—
Zander was going to level the city to find him.
And Max couldn’t wait for the fallout.
The car ride to wherever was decidedly unpleasant. Max woke up in a post-chloroform fog, only to be greeted with the sight of goons. They could have at least offered him some water, dammit. The aftertaste in the back of his mouth was that of an animal that had crawled in and died, messily.
He had no idea how long he’d been out, but it couldn’t have been too long as he still recognized landmarks within the city. Bare minutes later, they arrived at the ritzy side of town before pulling behind an aged, three-story brick building that looked vaguely familiar. After a moment, it clicked—they’d taken him to the city’s VSB branch.
Through the car window, he could see Vanessa waving off people who had gathered at the back door, like she was a queen in her own domain. Which showed him what she really thought of everyone around her—they were all pawns.
Without ceremony, he was roughly escorted out of the van and straight inside. Max thought about resisting, but logically, he was a true vampire’s mate. They needed him alive—and hopefully in one piece—for their underhanded matchmaking. Jarred from his musings, he was led through a back hallway, still feeling like parts of his body were rubber.
That didn’t keep him from shooting his mouth off.
“Fuck you guys, are you seriously this dense? You think kidnapping me is somehow going to pan out well? I guarantee you when Zander gets here, he’ll level this building.”
Goon One scoffed. “He’s strong, but not strong enough to take us all on.”
“Why the hell you think he’ll come alone is another question. His clan is very tight-knit; I guarantee you they will all descend on this place. You really want to take on all of Fernando’s clan? A single mate cannot be worth so much trouble.”
Goon Two smirked down at him. “Well, good thing there’s not just one of you, isn’t there?”
That comment made no sense until Max was led into a small room on the main floor. Then he spied a redhead leaning against the only window, looking out, but he straightened up at their entrance. Another man, who had strong Asian features and a tall, powerful build, was sitting on the couch, looking like he contemplated mayhem. Both of their expressions turned wary at Max’s entrance.
For that matter, Max was wary. He had no idea who these guys were or what the VSB was playing at.
The door slammed shut behind them and he heard the lock turn. That sound had a very heavy weight to it. He would bet anything it was a steel-lined door. In other words, human proof.
“Who are you?” the redhead demanded. “If you say you want a bite, there will be hell to pay. I told them point blank I’m not interested.”
“Oh. Uh, no.” Max waved a hand in denial. “I’m human.”
“Human?” Redhead blinked at him, a light dawning in his eyes. “Vampire’s mate? Is that what you are?”
Max slowly nodded in confirmation. “Right. Why?”
“Us too. Aw, damn, the bureau must be beside themselves. Three rare prizes all at once. No wonder the greed went to their heads.” Redhead slumped against the window.
Max looked at the Asian guy who gave him a grim smile. Might as well start with introductions? “My name is Max.”
Redhead nodded in return. “Hi, I’m Dante. Sorry you’re locked in with us. That’s Jin. He was grabbed shortly before me. We’ve only been here a few hours.”
“Nice to meet you, Jin.” Max regarded Jin steadily. Why did the man give him security guard vibes? Was it the black suit, or the muscles he could see lurking under the fitted material?
Jin gave him a nod in return. “Hi.”
Dante tacked on, “I hope you know more about what’s going on than we do. Jin was heading into work when he was grabbed; I was on a coffee run. No one’s told us jack. Knowing the bureau, though, I assume they grabbed us to do some kind of underhanded shit.”
