Bite the Bullet (Bitten Book 5) (3 page)

Moving slowly, I wandered out of the den and down the hall toward the kitchen. I could smell garlic and onions, and my stomach rumbled. When I entered the kitchen, Duncan looked over at me from the sink where he was draining a pot of pasta.

We took turns making meals. When we first arrived at this house together, Luca and Duncan had incorrectly assumed I would be doing all the cooking. After I’d made it clear that wouldn’t be the case, we’d gone on a rotation. We each cooked two nights a week and one of the guys would pick up take-out on the night none of us cooked.

“Spaghetti tonight?” I asked, my mouth watering.

He nodded.

I loved spaghetti and meat sauce. It was one of my favorite comfort foods, and Duncan made the absolute best, which was ironic because Duncan had been born a vampire in Ireland. Even Luca loved Duncan’s spaghetti and meat sauce and he grew up in Italy before he was turned.

I knew he’d made it because he understood that I was feeling out of sorts. Duncan often did things like that. He sensed when I was feeling antsy or upset, and somehow he would find a way to cheer me up. Much like the way I would take the time to make Luca feel better when I sensed he was brooding about something.

As Duncan brought the platters of spaghetti and garlic bread to the table, I settled into a chair.

When we were both seated, I smiled at him and said, “Thank you.”

He knew exactly what I meant, but he didn’t address it. “You’re welcome.”

“Where’s Luca?” I asked. Usually it was Luca who called me to dinner if Duncan was cooking.

“He wasn’t hungry.”

Shit. I knew Luca’s withdrawal had to do with our conversation this morning.

“Maybe I should go talk to him,” I murmured.

Duncan shook his head as he twirled spaghetti on his fork. “I wouldn’t.”

I glanced up at him, surprised at his statement. “Why? Did he say something?”

As he shoved the food into his mouth, he shook his head. After he swallowed the bite, he said, “He never says anything, but he’s a broody bastard. You need to give him time and space to deal with whatever’s bugging him.”

Duncan would understand Luca better than I. They’d known each other for decades.

Still, I loathed the idea that I might have caused Luca pain and there was nothing I could do to assuage it. I also didn’t understand why my request upset him so much.

“I don’t understand why he’s so upset,” I muttered under my breath.

Duncan leveled a look at me. “Don’t you?”

I shook my head. “No, I don’t, Duncan.”

“I know you’re a sensitive, Shannon. Surely you can feel his emotions.”

“Not always. I try to keep that part of me closed off when it’s just us. I know it’s an intrusion and I don’t want to invade either of your privacy.”

He looked surprised at my admission. “You can do that?”

“It doesn’t always work the way I want, but I can do it most of the time.”

“So you really don’t know?” he asked.

“Know what? Why are you being so cryptic, Duncan?”

He stared at me for a prolonged moment. “It’s not my story to tell. You’ll have to talk to Luca.” He paused. “Just give him a day or two, okay?”

“What am I missing?” I pushed.

Duncan shook his head. “I can’t tell you anymore, Shannon.”

With a sigh, I let it go. It seemed he was intent upon remaining tight-lipped. “Fine.”

My pleasure in my favorite meal dampened, I took a sip of the red wine Duncan had poured for us earlier and picked up my fork. As we ate in silence, I realized that I no longer had control of my life and there was nothing I could do about it.

And that scared the hell out of me.

D
uncan and I
spent an oddly tense night watching TV in the den. Luca never reappeared. I was so busy mulling that I didn’t hear half of Duncan’s complaints about the television show I forced him to watch. Hell, I didn’t even notice that the TV was on.

Finally, at nine-thirty, I threw in the towel. I couldn’t handle the tension any longer. Even though Duncan and I were both using mental blocks, I could still feel the weight of his thoughts in the air and I was sure he was sensing some of my worries as well. This was one of those times that I couldn’t shut down my abilities as well as I wanted to.

“Okay, I’m going to bed,” I stated.

Duncan grunted, which made me smile. Sometimes he treated me more like a little sister than a woman. I was used to it though. Most of the men I worked with at the security firm were the same. It was what I wanted. I needed them to see me as
one of the boys
and treat me as an equal.

I required the same from Duncan and Luca because it granted the illusion of normalcy even though my world had been turned upside down.

I climbed the stairs to my bedroom, pausing next to Luca’s door. There was no light beneath and no sounds of the radio or the television, but I sensed that he was awake inside. I hated the thought that he might be sitting alone in the dark and I wanted to knock, but I didn’t. That’s not what he wanted from me right now.

I walked down the hall to my bedroom and closed the door behind me. Since it was still a little too early for me to go to sleep, I decided to take a long, hot bath and then settle down to read for a bit.

I was about to turn on the water when my burner phone rang. My heart sank. My phone never rang except on my scheduled days to talk to my girlfriends. Today wasn’t one of those days.

I connected the call and lifted the phone to my ear. “Hello?”

“Shannon, it’s Conner.”

“Is everything okay? Please tell me nothing happened to Donna—”

“Everyone’s fine,” he reassured me.

My body relaxed as relief filled me. “Okay. Okay, good.” I took a deep breath and released it slowly. “So what’s going on?”

“I’m on my way over.”

“What?”

“Duncan knows I’m coming. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

I wanted to ask him what in the hell was going on, but he didn’t wait for a response from me.

“See you soon,” he stated, disconnecting the call.

Slowly I lowered the cell away from my ear, wondering what had prompted this late night visit from Conner. I rarely made trips away from the safe house and he’d
never
been here before. It was dangerous for too many people to come and go from this location.

I jerked at the sharp rap on my bedroom door and walked over to answer it. Duncan stood on the other side, looking grim.

“Conner’s on his way over.”

I nodded and lifted my phone. “I know. He just called me.”

“Any idea why?” he asked.

“Not a clue,” I answered, shaking my head.

“Damn. This can’t be good.”

“Okay, well, I’ll meet you downstairs in a few minutes. He said he’ll be here in fifteen.”

Duncan nodded. “I’ll let Luca know what’s going on.”

I went into the bathroom and winced when I saw my reflection. My skin was pale and my hair was twisted into a messy knot. I hadn’t been thinking much about my appearance lately since I never left the house. There was a little nudge in my conscious mind, telling me to take a few moments to make myself presentable. I didn’t question it.

Quickly I washed my face and took my hair down to brush it then smoothed it back into a neat ponytail. When I finished, I headed downstairs to find both Duncan and Luca in the den, frowning at each other.

“Either of you know what’s going on?” I asked.

Duncan shrugged and Luca crossed his arms over his chest. The doorbell rang and Duncan went to answer it. Conner entered the room, nodding at both Luca and I, before continuing past us.

Confused, I watched as he walked through the den and headed straight toward the back door. When he opened it, my heart thumped hard against my sternum before settling into a rapid tattoo.

Asher stepped over the threshold, his blue eyes locked on me. Something deep inside me shifted, like two pieces of my soul had finally come together. They clicked into place and, for a moment, I thought everyone in the room heard it.

“Shannon, you remember Asher, right?” Conner asked.

I managed to tear my eyes off of Asher and pull myself out of my trance to answer his question.

“Yeah, I remember Asher.” I chanced another look at the vampire in question. “Hello.”

He nodded at me. The rest of the vampires greeted each other with handshakes and quiet words. I couldn’t focus on what was happening around me. The shifting of my very soul resonated within me and I was so shaken by it that I couldn’t believe I was still standing.

Suddenly I became aware of Luca and Duncan leaving the room. Neither of them looked happy. Before I could ask them what was happening, Conner distracted me.

“Shannon, why don’t we all have a seat? Asher and I want to talk to you about something.”

I perched on one of the chairs across from the couch as they took a seat as well. My nerves were jangling, but I couldn’t tell if it was because of Asher or if it had to do with the reason they were here. Overwhelmed with my own emotions, I couldn’t get a clear read on the room.

I noticed that no one had spoken for close to a minute. Clearing my throat, I asked, “Okay, so what did you want to talk about?”

“Since your visit yesterday evening, I’ve spoken to several unmated vampires I know. Most of them are willing to help you.” He paused. “But Asher proposed something that I think you would be interested in. Because of your experience, I think it’s something to consider.”

Now I was even more confused. “I don’t understand.”

Conner looked to Asher. I had to steel myself before I met his eyes because I feared he would see my every thought and feeling written on my face. When I was confident that my mental block was in place, I lifted my gaze to his.

His expression gave me no clue as to what he was thinking and his emotions were locked up just like mine.

“I’m going to kidnap you.”

“Excuse me?” I glanced quickly at Conner, whose eyes were rolling toward the ceiling in obvious exasperation.

Before Asher could answer my question, Conner raised a hand. “Maybe I should explain the plan.” He shot an irritated look at Asher.

“Yeah, maybe you should.” I hadn’t meant to sound snippy, so I cleared my throat. “I mean, please go on.”

He stared at me, his expression impossible to read, but whatever thoughts he had they probably weren’t good. Finally, he continued, “For the last few months, Asher has been an active member in the Faction. They seemed very eager to have him at first, especially when we fed them information. However, since Kerry killed Dante, things have changed. They’ve been keeping Asher on the outside. We need to get their attention and gain their trust, but in a way that won’t raise suspicions.”

Understanding dawned on me as I listened. They were going to use me as bait. Excitement began to hum in my veins. This wasn’t the first time I’d played this sort of role in an operation, but it was definitely the most dangerous.

“If Asher has one of the prophesied Five in his possession, then he’ll have the key to the inner workings of the Faction,” Conner explained.

Asher interrupted. “Cornelius will be eager to get his hands on one of you.”

A chill ran down my spine and spread out to my arms and legs. I didn’t want to think about what Cornelius might want to do to me.

“Okay, so tell me the plan.”

“I would take you from the safe house sometime in the next few days,” Asher explained. “You would be my captive.”

I wasn’t sure I liked the sound of that.

“He could present you as his pet,” Conner suggested. “But that would require a lot of…acting on your part.”

I definitely didn’t like the sound of pet, but the idea of being locked up for days or weeks at a time was making my skin crawl. It appeared to be the lesser of the two evils.

“And then what?” They stared at me blankly, so I elaborated. “After Asher is back in with Cornelius, then what?”

“He gathers information about the Faction and we form a plan of attack.”

“So, in other words, that is the plan? Information gathering so we can make another plan?”

I saw the corner of Conner’s mouth twitch before he controlled it. Asher glared at me.

“Sarcasm is the last resort of small minds,” he grumbled.

“Actually, there are studies which have proven that sarcastic people function on a higher intellectual level than those who are not.” I crossed my arms over my chest and settled back into my chair. I didn’t care how sexy he was, that was an extremely rude thing to say. Maybe I’d been right to avoid him before.

Conner grunted, a strangely strangled sound, then cleared his throat before muttering, “Uncanny.”

I couldn’t help myself, I grinned at him. “I’m telling you, she’s a bad influence.”

“I’m beginning to believe she’s not the influence after all,” he retorted.

I shrugged, still smiling. “Will she know about this?”

Conner nodded. “I’ll need her help, so yes.”

“Who are you two talking about?” Asher snapped.

“Donna,” I shot back. “Now, if you’re done with your snit, we need to continue this discussion of your supposed plan.”

“Why?”