Blood Judgment (Judgment Series) (35 page)

And he knew it.

Chapter Thirty-five

THE FOLLOWING night, as Julian climbed out of Ashton’s car, he was still reeling from the shock of learning about his father.

Ashton took a small wooden box from the trunk and tucked it under his arm. His steel gaze went from Julian to Slade. “I don’t want any shit between you two tonight. Got it?”

“Yes,” Slade growled.

Julian nodded. He wasn’t about to let Slade sidetrack him into a fight. This was a chance for him to prove himself worthy and Slade wasn’t going to derail it. Knowing where he came from made proving himself more important than ever.

“Okay,” Ashton said. “Let’s go.”

They slipped through the shadows until they stood outside the trader’s holding facility.

Julian peeked through the small window into the basement. Four men were engrossed in a card game and a single vampire lay in a cage. Tommy wasn’t there.

Ashton set the box outside the door and pulled his weapon. Slade and Julian armed themselves and waited for Ashton to give the signal.

Ashton shoved the door open. They barreled through the opening and dove for cover.

The men leapt from the table, drawing weapons as they scrambled for something to hide behind.

Shots rang out, deafening in the small concrete space. Julian and Slade crouched side by side behind a workbench and Ashton hunkered behind a partial block wall near the door.

A trader bobbed up and took a shot. Another gabbled in a panicked voice, presumably calling reinforcements.

Julian’s keen hearing picked up the telltale brush of someone snaking toward him. He rose up and squeezed the trigger in the same instant his assailant fired. The dart grazed his upper arm, leaving a burning trail. He dropped back behind his hiding place and wiped away the blood.

His opponent hadn’t fared as well. The man sprawled face down in a spreading puddle of blood.

Julian sniffed and their greatest liability landed a Mike Tyson knockout to his gut. Like it or not, they were slaves to the weakness of craving blood.

“Shit,” Slade said. “Let me see your arm.”

“I’m okay, it barely scratched me.”

“It doesn’t take much of that shit to put you down. Now let me see it.”

Julian turned and made direct eye contact with a trader worming toward them, his gun trained on Slade.

Julian jerked his weapon up and fired a single round. The bullet took the man’s forehead off in a splatter of tissue and blood.

Julian stared in fascinated horror at the remainder of the man’s cranium. His stomach flipped over.

“Thanks,” Slade said. “Asshole almost hit me with that shit.”

“Just return the favor if I ever need it.” He looked away from the vaporized head and waited to see if his breakfast was going to come up.

Across the basement, the vampire had flattened himself on the cage’s floor where he lay hissing at the commotion going on around him. A stray dart pegged him in the thigh and he let out a yelp. He yanked the dart out and pulled himself into a back corner of the cage.

Another shot rang out, followed by a thud. Ashton had taken a third man down.

Slade motioned in the direction of the remaining man.

Julian listened for movement that would give the man’s position away. Silence filled the basement except for the caged vampire’s labored breathing.

“The drugs must have overloaded his system,” Slade said.

Slow and uncoordinated, the vampire clawed at his pocket.

The slap of running footsteps brought Julian’s attention back to the last human.

Slade popped up and fired.

The man fell in a twitching heap. A moment later he lay still.

Ashton raced to the counter and pawed through strewn items until he found a ring of keys. He hurried to the cage and tried keys until the lock clicked open. Crawling half in the cage himself, he grabbed the captive and pulled him out onto the floor. Ashton smacked the male’s cheeks.

He opened cloudy eyes and weakly pushed something into Ashton’s hand. “Make sure Lexi gets this.”

Julian looked over Ashton’s shoulder. “What is it?”

Ashton extended his hand. A small charm, half a heart with the name Lexi engraved on it, lay in his palm.

The youngster exhaled and his eyelids slid shut, the stench of death already seeping from him.

“Shit.” Ashton slid the charm in his pocket. “Tear this fucking place apart. Find their records. Take anything useful.”

Julian and Slade went to work, going through drawers, shelves, stacks of paper, anything that might contain records.

Julian yanked open a drawer. A heavy set of chains with snaps on both ends lay in a coil. He didn’t have a use for them, but he stuffed one chain in each of his jacket pockets.

He dug into another drawer and pawed through the contents. He glanced up and his stomach twisted. A tiny red light glowed from the ceiling.

“Bingo!” Slade shouted with glee and hauled out two large ledgers from a drawer. “Here they are.”

“Ashton,” Julian said. “Guys…”

“What?” Ashton sounded impatient.

“Over there.” Julian pointed to a recessed area in the ceiling. Barely visible, a small camera sat mounted above a large plastic pipe. The red light indicated its functioning status.

“Fuck. Bring the books. I’ll get him.” Ashton indicated the dead male. “We have to get out of here, now.”

Ashton snatched a blanket from the floor and wrapped the body. He gathered up the corpse and followed Julian and Slade out of the basement.

Ashton laid the bundle on the asphalt and handed Slade his keys. “Get the car. We’ll finish up and meet you on the street.”

Slade took the keys and trotted off.

Ashton retrieved the box he’d hidden and took out two liquid-filled quart bottles. He handed them to Julian. A piece of cloth jammed the neck of each bottle.

The stench of gasoline rose from them. Ashton had two more for himself. He handed Julian a lighter. “Go around the side, to the far end. Light one, throw it, and run. Throw the second one before you come around the front corner. I’ll take this side.”

Julian nodded.

Ashton grabbed his arm. “Once you light them, don’t fuck around. It’ll hit the gas fast. If you catch yourself on fire, you’re dead.”

“I know.” Julian clutched the reeking bottles and sprinted to the back corner of the building. Old architecture and ornate ironwork lent the building a spooky appearance.

Clutching one bottle between his arm and body, he held the other in his left hand and lit the strip of cloth. The moment it caught, he launched the bottle of gasoline and flour with a hard throw.

The bottle smashed against the building and a glut of flame leapt to life with a loud whoosh.

Julian ran for the front. He stopped and lit the cloth hanging from the second bottle and threw it with all his strength.

It shattered into flame and he raced around the front corner.

Ashton tore around the other side.

Flames already illuminated the sky and the air shimmered with heat. The fire roared behind them, consuming the structure. Thick, acrid smoke rose into the sky and embers danced on the breeze.

Julian scanned the street. Slade sat behind the wheel of Ashton’s car, lights off, motor idling.

Ashton scooped up the wrapped body and headed for the car with Julian beside him.

Julian yanked open the back door.

Ashton stuffed the corpse into the seat and slammed the door.

Julian ran for the other side and climbed in next to the body. Ashton dove into the front and Slade tore out with squalling tires as flames engulfed the building and a fine mist of ash fell like gray snow.

VALI SAT in the downstairs great room with the TV to keep him company. He wanted to be out with the others, not stuck there like some gimp. Yeah, like that was ever going to happen.

The doorbell rang and he jumped. “What the fuck,” he said under his breath and struggled onto his feet with the hated crutches.

The doorbell chimed again. “Wait a damn minute.” Vali made his way around Ashton’s gadgets and furniture. Cursing under his breath, he hobbled to the door and yanked it open.

His mouth fell open and he gawked like a fool at a young female. She blushed and he berated himself for being a rude ass. “Hi,” he blurted like an even bigger idiot.

“Hi.” She had a breathy little voice. “Is Saranna here? I need to talk with her.”

“She went to pick up some food. You want to come in and wait for her? She shouldn’t be long.”

“Well… I don’t know.”

“Ah, come on in. She’ll be right home.” He gave her a disarming smile. “I’m Vali, her cousin.” He couldn’t take his eyes off her hair. The color of copper, it spilled down her back and over her shoulders and begged to be touched.

She bit her lower lip, hesitated, and stepped over the threshold. “I’m Nissa.”

“Make yourself comfortable.” Vali motioned for her to go into the great room. “Can I get you a Coke or something?”

“A Coke would be nice.” She settled on the edge of an overstuffed chair.

Vali went into the kitchen and opened the fridge.

“Oh, wait a minute,” she called. A moment later, she joined him in the kitchen. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking. You need your hands free to get around. I’ll get it.”

“Thanks.” God, she must see him as a total loser. But then, he
was
a loser.

“Can I get one for you?”

“Sure.”

She grabbed the cans and shut the fridge.

He followed her back into the great room and lowered himself onto the sofa. She handed him one of the Cokes. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he was glad she’d helped him out. Which confirmed his loserness. He’d dropped more than one thing while trying to get around. And as bad as needing help was, demonstrating it with his physical limitations would be worse.

She looked at the can of Coke, avoiding his eyes. Saranna didn’t have visitors often, and never ones around his age. “Have you known Saranna long?”

“No. I was with her when … when Julian saved us.”

“Oh.” Neither Saranna nor Julian had talked about it and he wasn’t going to ask. “Julian’s a good guy. I’m glad she hooked up with him.”

“Me, too.” She hesitated. “Were you in an accident?”

Vali scowled.

“Never mind, it’s none of my business.”

“No, it’s okay.” He could have kicked himself. He held up his right arm, letting her see the brands and made quick work of what had happened.

“I’m sorry.” Her pretty, golden eyes reflected horror. “They’ll be okay, won’t they? Your legs?”

He shrugged. “The doc says I might be able to walk in time. Maybe not, though. I may be a gimp the rest of my life.” Tears of self-pity formed and he blinked them away, not willing to let her see him as a weak piece of shit.

It didn’t matter, though. No female would tie herself to a blemished thing like him. It wasn’t the nature of their species. Females were drawn to partners who were able to protect them and any offspring they produced. Both were beyond his capabilities.

“It’ll be okay. Either way, I’ll get by.” Right. It would definitely be okay because he would take matters into his own hands if he was never going to walk again. He wouldn’t face hundreds of years as a worthless cripple.

The door opened and Saranna came in with a stack of pizza boxes. A smile of welcome lit her face.

“Nissa, how are you?” She set the boxes down and rushed to greet her.

The females embraced. Saranna stepped back. “How have you been?”

Nissa’s eyes filled with tears and she shook her head.

Saranna took Nissa’s hands. “Come with me upstairs, so we can talk about it.”

She led the younger female up to the loft. The TV clicked on and muffled their conversation.

Vali sighed and waited for the others to come home. The smell of pizza made his mouth water. If he opened one of the boxes, none of them would care. But it was bad form to eat while they were out risking their lives and he sat on his ass like some kind of worthless pod.

Besides, as the youngest, by rights he had to give them first dibs on the food and anything else they wanted.

A little jab speared his chest. What if one of them took a fancy to Nissa? Even though he would never be acceptable to her, he didn’t want one of them taking her.

Both his cousins were lookers and never had a problem attracting females. Hell, even Julian posed a threat. He was downright beautiful. It didn’t matter that he’d claimed Saranna. Unlike females, males occasionally bonded with multiple females and took them as mates.

The door slammed open and he jumped.

The guys tromped in. Slade carried two large ledgers that he tossed on the table.

“All right,” Julian said. “Saranna took care of us.” He snatched one of the pizza boxes and popped it open.

Vali crutched over to the table and eased into a chair. He snagged a slice of pepperoni and sausage. “How’d it go?”

“Killed four of the fuckers and got their books.” Ashton indicated the ledgers. “They had a male in there, couldn’t save him though.”

“They won’t be keeping any more captives there. We firebombed the shit out of it.” Slade stuffed a slice in his mouth and bit off a large hunk.

Vali nudged Julian with his elbow. “A friend of Saranna’s came by, Nissa. They’re upstairs having a girl talk. You might want to steer clear and give them some alone time.”

Julian nodded. “Did Nissa say why she wanted to see Saranna?”

“Nope.”

“Vali, I need you to help us.” Ashton took the ledgers to him. “I want you to go through these books and create a spreadsheet. Log every single transaction, name, address, and the financial details.”

“Ah hell, you don’t have to try to make me feel included.”

Ashton scowled. “I’m not. I need you to do this.”

Vali took the books. “Okay, if you think it would be useful.”

“I do. And thanks.”

THREE HOURS later, Vali huddled in the corner of his room, a blanket pulled to his chin. Though chills racked his body, fever baked his insides. The pizza he’d eaten lay like a rock in his stomach and he swallowed repeatedly in an effort to keep from throwing up.