Consumed (24 page)

“Then I guess I love you, don’t I? Why are you crying?” His arm wrapped around me, pulling me close. Of course Salem would never understand that his words could possibly have any emotional impact. To him, it was actions that spoke. “Stop it. I hate it when you cry.”

I smiled, trying to blink away the tears. “Okay, stop freaking out.”

“Does this mean you’ll Bind with me?”

“Yes, and we don’t have to have a party.” I had to giggle at the relief that crossed his face. Bindings were week-long events of entertainment that culminated in a ceremony. Being a host and the centre of attention would literally kill him. “We’ll just skip straight to the ceremony, and then have a little after-party. Okay?”

He inhaled deeply. “I can do that.”

“You do understand that we can’t have it until after this assignment is over, don’t you? You’ll have to walk into that battle without a Binding link.”

“I know. And I trust that you’ll keep yourself safe for me.”

That made my smile widen. “Just like I trust that you’ll keep yourself alive for me.”

His expression turned fierce. “But I won’t go on any other assignment after this until we’re Bound.”

“You’re really adorable when you get all growly.”

Ooh, he was offended. “Only
you
would ever describe me as stuff like adorable, or warm, or cuddly. And I’m betting you only do it to drive me crazy.”

“Is it working?”

Growling, he rolled me onto my back, hooked my leg around his hip, and drove himself deep. “Yes. And I have no idea why I like it.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

(Ava)

Okay, so when everyone was prepared to leave for Giles’ club at dusk, the plan had been simple enough: pay him a visit, offer him one final chance to give up Diane. If he refused to do so, we would then give him two options.

Option A: return with us to The Hollow so that Ryder could do his thing, and Giles and his nest would then be spared.

Option B: let his entire nest die by engaging in a battle with us they had no hope of winning, and then we’d take him with us anyway.

However, two things fucked up that plan. The first was that Sam and Jared received a call from Giles an hour before we were ready to leave. He gave them Diane’s current location in exchange for escaping punishment. The second thing was that Sebastian arrived at The Hollow merely three minutes after Sam and Jared’s call with Giles had ended. Sebastian’s news had not been welcome.

Sam frowned, leaning forward in her seat at the conference table. “She has something I want? What does that mean?”

Sebastian shook his head. “I have no idea. But I managed to track her to the abandoned warehouse where Giles claims she’s hiding. I overheard her discussing the matter.” As with Jared, Antonio had given Sebastian additional power as a reward, allowing him to develop a second gift. As such, in addition to having the ability to teleport, Sebastian was able to create a mental shield that prevented him from being sensed.

“At least we know he’s telling the truth about her location,” said Chico.

Sebastian continued speaking to Sam. “He is with her, willing to fight alongside her, as you predicted. She does not believe it will come to a fight; she is sure that her marksmen will eliminate your squad. She also believes that when you see what she has in her possession, you will give her what she wants.”

“What
does
she want?” asked Sam.

“She didn’t say. This ‘something’ she has will soon be planted in the abandoned building adjacent to the warehouse.”

“If it’s not there yet,” began Jared, “it could mean this is all just bullshit; that she intends to call our bluff.”

“It is a possibility,” allowed Sebastian. “But I doubt it – she seems too smug.”

“It could be that she wants immunity for her crimes,” suggested Butch.

Max’s mouth twisted. “Or maybe she wants The Hollow.”

“I’m quite sure we can cross the latter off the list of possibilities,” replied Sebastian. “When Giles asked if she would demand The Hollow, she scoffed at the idea. She is perfectly aware that we would never leave The Hollow unguarded; that we would never bring the entire legion to any assignment. As such, she’s certain that the moment she and Giles stepped on the island, they would be killed. She says she has no intention of dying, and what she wants from Sam is much more significant.”

“She honestly believes that she has something important to me?” Sam shook her head, seemingly baffled. “The only things or people important to me are on this island.”

“She was extremely vague about her plan to Giles. She either does not trust him, or she is simply enjoying his irritation and confusion.”

“Maybe it’s a bit of both,” said Jude.

Jared sighed. “Okay, so we know she plans to place this ‘something’ in the building adjacent to the warehouse. Will it arrive before we do?”

“Yes,” replied Sebastian. “She believes it will be in place by then.”

“Then we’ll have Evan and his squad retrieve it while Donnie and his squad remains on the lookout,” said Sam. “You’ll all do exactly what you were trained to do: split into five groups, invade the warehouse after the marksmen are dead, and then pick off whatever guards lurk inside so that you can circle the group that awaits us.

“At the same time, Evan and his squad will invade the other building. We’ll have to trust that they’ll have retrieved what’s inside before Diane has the chance to try and use it against us.”

Jared nodded his agreement with that plan. “Is the building guarded, Sebastian?”

“No. The warehouse is, however. But I did not stay long enough to get an accurate number of guards – I wanted to quickly relay the information I’d gathered.”

“It was the right thing to do.” Jared exhaled heavily. “Okay, we do just as Sam said.”

“You don’t want to take more squads with us?” Damien asked Sam and Jared.

She shook her head. “No, especially not when two of the other squads are still hunting clients. The Hollow needs to be protected – it’s been invaded too many times for us to take its safety for granted.”

Salem spoke then. “When do we leave?”

It was Jared who answered. “Giles told us that Diane intends to leave the warehouse sometime in the next two hours – which is clearly his way of getting us to arrive in a timeframe that suits them and prevents us from taking them by surprise. We’ll have to leave very soon.”

“Sebastian, I’d like you to return to the warehouse now,” Sam told him. “We just need to have a quick chat with the other two squads first to let them know of the changes to our plan before we leave. My hope is that Diane may have this ‘something’ transported to the other building by then.”

With a nod, Sebastian teleported away.

The rest of us met with the other two squads at the rear of the mansion. As Sam and Jared quickly debriefed them, Salem turned to me. “Remember: keep yourself safe for me and stay close. That’s what teams do, right?”

I smiled at that. He was trusting me with not only my safety, but his. “Right,” I confirmed. “Same to you. I don’t want to see a single scratch on your body. Got it?”

His mouth twitched. “Got it.”

(Salem)

It wasn’t until Reuben had strengthened certain gifts that the squads were teleported to a desolate building a short distance away from the warehouse. Once all thirty of us were gathered there, Jared summoned Sebastian telepathically. Moments later, the Keja appeared at Sam’s side.

“Please tell me you know what’s inside the –” Sam stopped mid-sentence as she took in his grim expression. “I’m not going to like this, am I?”

“The ‘something’ she referred to…” Sebastian cast Ava a brief glance before continuing. “She has your old nest.”

Ava tensed, inhaling sharply. I took her hand in mine, but she was like stone – I wasn’t sure whether it was anger or shock that had her in its jaws.

Sam gaped. “The entire nest?”

“I’m not sure if it is all of them. There are thirty-three inside.”

“Including my brother?” Ava’s voice was like ice. Sebastian’s nod didn’t gain a response; her body remained stiff as a board. Seriously, it was like rigor fucking mortis had set in or something. Had to be shock.

“Thirty-three isn’t a big number for a nest,” remarked Harvey.

“A lot of vampires left the nest when Victor was alive,” said Ava tonelessly, her expression distant, “so it’s not as big as it once was.” The girls supportively gathered close to her, but she didn’t react in any way.

David puffed out a long breath. “I did not see that coming.” Murmurs of agreement rang throughout the large crowd of vampires.

“They were brought here in a large van only minutes ago,” Sebastian told us. “They are all unconscious – I’m guessing as a result of some kind of psychic attack. None of them seem close to waking. I was just about to follow the vampires inside the building to see where they placed the nest when Jared contacted me.”

“Well, fuck a duck.” Sam began pacing as a concerned Jared watched her closely, as if he feared she’d run off in a rage and try to burn down both buildings.

“Odd that she’d expect you to care about them though, Coach, since you’re not a big fan of your old nest,” said Damien.

“I was never a fan of my deceased Sire, but I never had an issue with most of the others. Ava’s brother is in there.” Sam knotted a hand in her own hair. “
Shit
.”

Jared’s voice was sharp. “Those of you who are our best spies, go.”

Stuart, Denny, and three others disappeared instantly.

“I have to get him out of there,” stated Ava, her voice still arctic-cold. “I have to get to Cristiano.”

“We will get him out, Ava. I swear to you,” vowed Jared. “First, we need to find out if the building is guarded. If it isn’t, this could be a straightforward retrieval job.”

But when the ‘spies’ returned a few minutes later, it was to tell us that the building was as heavily guarded as the warehouse; two guards covered the roof and all four sides.

Jared turned to the commanders of the other two squads. “Evan, Donnie – your roles remain the same.” The two commanders and their squads dispersed, ready to target the marksmen. “As much as I hate to do this, we’re going to have to split into two units. It’s vital that we get into both buildings. Evan and his squad can help, but they wouldn’t be able to take on the retrieval job alone. Not with how well guarded it is, and especially since there is a nest of vampires to retrieve. If we add him and his squad to our number then that gives us thirty people.”

Sam nodded, visibly gathering herself. “Half can concentrate on infiltrating the warehouse, and the other half can concentrate on rescuing the nest. Other than that minor change, everything remains the same: we split up into small groups, invade whatever building we’re assigned to from the upstairs and all sides, and then kill any guards inside. Meanwhile, Donnie and his squad will be on the lookout.”

“How are we dividing?” asked Cassie, clearly anxious at just the idea of separating. I’d seen that look on David’s face dozens of times; he never liked it when the squad split. Although I hadn’t judged him for that, I’d never understood his anxiety. Now that I had Ava, I finally got it. David felt at ease and self-possessed when with his team, with those he trusted. The only times I ever felt truly at ease and level-headed was around Ava, the only person I completely trusted.

Jared turned to Sebastian. “I want you to go with Evan and his squad. You can teleport, and we’re going to need that ability to relocate the unconscious nest to The Hollow. Between you and the teleporter in Evan’s squad, you should be able to get the nest out of there pretty quickly.”

Chico spoke then. “Which of us will accompany Evan, his squad, and Sebastian?”

Jared ran his gaze along all of us, lingering on Ava.
If I don’t send her with them to retrieve her nest, will she go postal?
he asked me.

No, she’ll follow your orders. But she’ll be thinking about her brother, wishing she could rush in and help him, just like you would if it was Evan.

After a moment of silence, Jared said, “Ava, Salem, and Max – you’ll go with Evan, his squad, and Sebastian to find and move the nest to safety.”

It was the right decision, in my opinion. Ava relaxed
ever
so slightly.

“That will then mean fifteen vampires are working on retrieving the nest while the remaining fifteen of us concentrate on getting to Diane and Giles.”

Sam scanned those who would be accompanying her and Jared. “We’ll all split up much the same as we did during training.” She then separated all fifteen of them into five groups of three.

“What about the second squad we brought with us?” probed Maya. “Can’t they help us?”

“Unless totally necessary, I don’t want them shifting their attention from guarding the perimeter,” replied Sam. “Up until now, Diane has been very careful, and very well-prepared. She’s resourceful and cunning. We can’t afford to be suddenly surrounded by more vampires or let Diane and Giles escape; if she realises she’s losing, she’ll do a runner. Donnie and his squad can ensure both of those scenarios don’t happen.”

Jared stiffened, cocking his head, and I guessed he was speaking to someone telepathically. “That was Evan. The marksmen are out of the equation. Time to move. Ava, Salem, and Max – you enter through the front of the building that’s holding the nest. Sebastian, you need to meet Evan and one of his squad members at the rear of the building; you three will cover the back exit. The remaining nine of Evan’s squad has been divided into threes that will enter the building from the upstairs and the sides. They’re ready when you are.”

Each of the girls hugged the breath out of Ava, instructing her to take care of herself, just as she did the same with a forced smile.

Sebastian turned to me. “Before I meet Evan, I can teleport you, Ava, and Max to a spot that’s a little closer to the front of the building.” I nodded in appreciation.

Sam spoke to Ava; both females looked totally fierce. “Get them back for us.”

Ava’s smile – which was now a little malevolent – wasn’t forced this time. “You can fucking count on it.”

In a blink, I found myself in an old, crumbling building that smelled of mildew, mould, and ash. The charred walls were adorned in graffiti, and I wondered if it had once been the victim of a fire. Going by the machinery, it was an abandoned factory.

Careful to remain concealed by the shadows, Sebastian peeked out of the window and gestured to the six-floored, L-shaped building opposite the factory. “That is where you will find the nest. Good luck.”