Blood Entangled (35 page)

“Feeling a little topsy-turvy?” Kos slid a box cutter along the edge of the table, slicing through tape and freeing the Hunter.

“Go to hell.”

“Hmm.” Kos didn’t look at him, just balled up the tape and tossed it in a trashcan. “That’s where Hunters go, I expect.”

Without any force, he tugged the Hunter off the table and toward the cell, where Kos nudged him inside.

“Kos?” It was Lucas.

“Not now.”

“You need to hear this,” Lucas insisted. “It’s Lena.”

Kos’s legs went limp, and he grabbed the doorframe to steady himself. What could Lucas know about Lena?

A slice of light illuminated Leo, sitting cross-legged against the wall. He drew his knees up. “I saw an email about her from some other vampire who wanted to hire her. Sent it to Ethan right before you captured me.”

No. That couldn’t be true. Lena was safe from Hunters at Mason’s. Ethan couldn’t know where she was.

“There was no address on that email. He couldn’t find Mason’s house. And no one followed us.”

“What’s going on?” Andre stepped up, a pillar of support behind Kos.

Lucas raised his voice as if volume would penetrate the fog in Kos’s mind. “Ethan knows about Lena. He’ll use her against you if he can.”

The only time Kos had seen Ethan had been on the hill above the charred vineyard. Lena had rushed into Kos’s arms, and the Hunter’s golden eyes had honed in on them. He would know Lena mattered to Kos.

“
Krist.
”

Lucas stood, but made no move toward the door. “Derek. What do you know about this?”

Derek rubbed his eyes, then looked from face to face. Finally, he shrugged. “He thinks he has some kind of secret weapon.”

Kos went cold, couldn’t feel his hands or feet—only his heart, squeezing, racing. An animal cry burst from his throat, bypassing his brain altogether.

Andre’s hand came to rest on his shoulder. “Don’t panic. Call her.”

“She won’t take my calls.”

“Shit.” Lucas covered his eyes with his palm. “You vampires should have your own soap opera.”

Kos tried to push past Andre out the door. “I’m going to find her.”

Andre didn’t budge. “It’s dawn.”

Where had the night gone?

“We’ll send Vania,” Andre said.

Kos pushed again. “I can make it now, if I fly.”

“No, Kos. Think. She needs you alive, strong.” Without stepping from the doorway, Andre flipped a light switch outside the closet, filling the small space with bluish light. His stare settled on Leo. “Why are you telling us this?”

It was Lucas who answered. “Because Leo is coming around.”

“Around?” Kos’s brain wasn’t working.

“He’s starting to see things my way. Becoming another vampire sympathizer.”

“You must be joking.” Andre leaned into the doorframe. “There is no such thing as a sympathizer among Hunters.”

“Why else do you think I’m here?” Lucas asked.

Kos clenched his fists. Damn it, he wanted to punch something—Lucas, Andre…he settled for the wall. A fist-sized dent appeared in the plaster, chalk dust filling the small space.

In the silence that followed, he said, “While you all negotiate peace between our races, I’m going to organize a rescue mission.”

At Vania’s door, quiet snores vibrated through the hardwood. Kos burst in.

“Wake up.”

She bounded to her feet in seconds, fully dressed and alert, fine soldier that she was. “What’s happened?”

“Ethan knows about Lena. Is planning to use her against us somehow. It’s dawn. I need you to find her.”

She pulled on a holster, a shiny black leather jacket, combat boots. “I’ll start at Mason’s.”

“Vania. I need you to find her.”

“I’ll do my best. Not for you, the idiot who let her go. But because I like her, and she makes the best damn scones I’ve ever tasted. And most importantly, because I hate those mother fucking Hunters.”

She slammed her fist into his gut, hard. Enough time around vampires had taught her not to pull those punches.

“Learn anything from Derek?” she asked.

“No.”

“Go back. See if he knows where Bennett would take her.”

Lena was dreaming again. She knew it was a dream because even after Kos’s message, he hadn’t shown up to rescue her. And making love with him was too good to be true.

His big hands lifted and stroked her breasts, teasing her nipples. His fingers slid down her belly, over her hips, and parted her legs. A corner of her mind remained firmly planted at Mason’s house. But, she gave herself over to the pleasure of the dream as his tongue swept up her core.

The sensations were so real.

Too real.

She forced her eyes to open. Mason’s face was between her legs, rubbing stubble on the inside of her thighs.

“Miss me?” His breath tickled her sensitive flesh.

“No.”

He laughed, and he wasn’t the only one. At the sound of another voice, Lena sat up. A man and a woman watched from across the room. Not again. Lena sighed, exasperation outweighing her fear.

The woman was human, but the man was definitely a vampire—he was too flawless and ageless to be anything else. She rubbed her eyes and saw that the clock next to her bed said quarter to seven in the morning.

“Jarred and I were having such a great time, Lena, that we decided to bring the party home to you. This is Shannon.”

The woman was pretty in a faded around the edges way, like someone who partied a little too much for her age.

“Make room for me behind you.” Mason’s tone was steel, making Lena’s jaw clench and her spine go rigid.

Stiffly, she inched forward on the bed, and he slid in behind her. He was already hard—a bad sign. Without any ceremony, he bit her and grabbed both her breasts, squeezing. Each finger pressed sharp pain in her tender flesh.

Shannon’s eyes widened. Poor girl. She hadn’t known her dates weren’t human. She pivoted to the vampire named Jarred. Instantly, his fangs were out and he growled, turning himself entirely into a predator. Shannon screamed. He ripped off her dress. She kept screaming. He sprang his erection from his pants, obviously excited by her fear.

At Lena’s neck, Mason pulled blood greedily from her vein. She’d never felt it draining from her so fast. Her eyes were fixed to the frightened woman.

Jarred had stripped her, forcing her against the wall, and then he struck. Shannon squirmed and punched uselessly, kicking up with her knees, but he lifted her off the ground and fed. His grunts and swallows were those of a ravenous animal. Shannon succumbed to the arousing bite, fighting less and less. She exhaled a sigh of pleasure, but her eyes were dark with fear. He lifted her and speared her with his penis. She whimpered—a terrible mixture of pleasure and horror.

Mason growled into Lena’s neck, and pain exploded at her throat. Pain? A bite had never hurt before. He was ripping her open, draining her dry.

There was no desire, either. She wasn’t responding to his bite or to the scene he’d staged to frighten her.

He noticed too. He dug his fingers into her breast harder, then pinched her nipples with vampire strength.

Her eyes burned with tears, but she remained still and silent, refusing to give the son of a bitch what he wanted.

He broke the suction. “What the hell?”

Warm liquid poured down her neck, pooling in her collarbone before it trickled over her breasts. It smelled like a rusty wagon. She’d never smelled her own blood like that—so much of it—

Mason jerked her to face him. “Why aren’t you begging for me?”

Shaky, she stood up. He leaned forward, his eyes strangely wide.

The light of dawn broke in around the edges of the curtains. She grabbed her robe and dashed out of the room. No one chased her. A mostly unconscious Shannon slumped over the other vampire, who still fed and thrust into her.

Lena arrived at the garden door and slipped out into the gray morning. The sun wasn’t bright, but it didn’t need to be. She would have a good dozen hours of safety out there. Barefoot, and only wearing the robe would make it a cold day, but she’d be safe.

Warm blood still trickled from her neck. She touched it, and her fingers came away wet and crimson. It wasn’t that much, surely not enough to be dangerous. She pressed her palm to the wound, hoping to form a clot. A shiver wracked her body, and some instinct brought her eyes to the door. Mason stood at the window, and his stare dropped her temperature by another degree.

There he was—her destiny.

Compared to this, her misery at Kaštel had been so childish.

He turned suddenly, and disappeared. Lena found a patch of sun on the brick patio and wrapped her robe around her knees, settling in for a long day.

Only, seconds later, shouts sounded inside the house. Then the door opened and a petite brunette stepped out. She looked like she’d been in a bar fight, with a black-eye, and bruised jaw. How many women had Mason picked up last night?

Lena hopped up to go to her.

“Poor you. Mason—”

“Oh my God, did Mason—?”

At the sound of his name in the other woman’s mouth, Lena froze. “Who are you?”

“My name is Gwen Evans, and I’m here to rescue you.”

She had a sweet accent, not quite Irish, but melodic.

“But how did you—?”

“I knew Mason a long time ago. I don’t want him to hurt you the way he hurt me. Come inside. We’re getting you out of here.”

Lena’s stomach flip-flopped. Was Kos with her, here to save her?

She followed Gwen down the hall to find a group of strange men, heavily armed, dressed in jeans and flannel shirts and work clothes, like a ragtag state militia. Except, these men had golden eyes—so not really men at all. Hunters were the lowest of humans.

Lena’s gaze fell like a domino as she glanced from Gwen to Mason and they both looked to another man. When Lena saw him, all her hope fizzled out. Ethan Bennett.

She’d grown used to those eyes in Pedro, and even Lucas. But Ethan’s were different. He looked at her like he knew everything about her. She shrunk back, feeling even more naked than she was in the bloodstained silk nightie and robe.

A strange numbness crept from her scalp to toes. Her destiny, her dreams—it was all over. So much false hope, so many expectations, wiped away with his icy gaze. When she saw her father in whatever life came after this, she would tell him he’d been right all along.

She turned to the battered woman and planted her hands on her hips. “He tricked you. He’s not here to rescue me. I’m tainted. They’ll kill me once they’re done with Mason…and with whatever else they decide to do to me, first.” And if they knew Gwen had been with Mason, they’d do the same to her. But Lena would keep her secret.

Ethan tsked. “Ms. Isaakson, you could not be more wrong.”

Her mouth opened, and a laugh escaped. She expected it to sound hysterical, but it was deep and low. “Oh really? You’re going to save me from Mason and send me on my merry way. Why don’t I believe you?”

Bennett cocked his head, smiling without showing any teeth. “You haven’t broken her yet, Kearney.”

“It’s more fun to go slow.” Mason stood straighter, but his voice rose high and thin with fear.

“I wish I had time to learn your technique, but we must be going.”

Gwen shuddered, her little body trembling like a frightened bunny. Lena didn’t want to know what they meant, but she sure wanted to comfort the woman. She took a step toward her.

“How do I know you’ll keep your end of the bargain?” Mason asked. “I could just kill you all now, and go on my way at sunset.”

Bargain? Lena’s feet turned to lead.

“If we’re not outside in—” Ethan looked at his watch “—five minutes. The house will explode, with us in it. My men are waiting outside with all their favorite incendiary devices.”

“So you’re on a suicide mission?”

“Hardly. I’m simply certain you’ll look after your own skin by giving us the blood slave, and then leaving town.”