de Sang: Embrace Your Blood Lust (17 page)

Chapter Fifteen

Kate stared in horror as Slade collapsed to the floor. It couldn't be…no, it was impossible! He was so strong; he couldn't be taken out by something as miniscule as a bullet. Any minute, he was going to jump to his feet and complete her rescue. He had to.

But he didn't move. And not only was the back of his shirt soaked in blood, red liquid was beginning to ooze from beneath his heavy chest.

She clamped her eyes shut. This couldn't be happening.

Thick remorse flooded her veins, making her heart feel like it was pumping mud. Remorse for leaving Melanie with Lohr. Remorse for wasting days resisting Slade. Remorse for not telling him how much he meant to her.

She heard the sharp clap of hand against flesh and opened her eyes to see Satin covering her mouth and Lohr jerking his hand back. "If I wanted to kill him, I would have done it myself," he hissed.

"I'm sorry Master," Satin said meekly.

"Not good enough." Grabbing her free arm, he spun her around and pinned her to his chest. Covering the hand holding the gun with his, he put the weapon to her head and forced the trigger. It happened so fast, Satin had just opened her mouth to scream when her head split open and her brains splattered on his face. Without an ounce of emotion, he released the body and watched it fall limply to the floor before lifting his bright eyes to Kate.

Kate's scream was as silent as Satin's.

Swallowing against the desert in her throat, she forced herself to hold his gaze. If he was going to kill her, she was going to look death in the eye when he did. She'd failed Melanie, and now Slade; she could at least face her death bravely. Her poor choices had brought them here. If she hadn't abandoned Melanie at Forever Dark with Lohr, Kate wouldn't be helplessly tied to this bed and both Mel and Slade would be alive.

Lohr grinned. "My queen," he purred, wiping his face with a red linen handkerchief and slinking toward her. "I knew you would succumb."

Kate remained silent, but her eyes never left his. The hatred she felt for him chewed angrily at her weak flesh, but she kept it buried with her fear. He untied a foot. "You are exhausted now, I know, but you will be stronger soon." He untied the other foot. "Stronger than you can imagine."

He moved to her right hand and slipped the rope from her wrist. Her numb fingers tingled as blood found its way back to them. As Lohr moved to her final restraint, Kate flexed her hand and realized with dismay that she was far too weak to put up any kind of resistance.

After releasing her, he slowly eased her to a seated position. It was too much too fast. Her throbbing head swooned and her stomach lurched. Her body heaving, she expelled the meager contents of her stomach, Lohr's blood making the vomit look like she'd lost an organ in the process.

He wasn't fazed by the ordeal. Wiping the corners of her mouth with the same handkerchief he'd used to remove Satin from his face, he said, "Your body will adjust. But it does take time."

A snarky reply rested just behind her pursed lips, something about an eternity not being enough time. She tried to lift her eyes to glare at him, but they were becoming increasingly heavy. God, she couldn't black out again. If there was a glimmer of a chance she might escape, it had to happen now.

"It's time to go," Lohr said, lifting her into his surprisingly strong arms. She barely had the strength to hold her head upright and she knew then, there would be no escape.

As he carried her from the room, Kate let her eyes settle on Slade's still body. If she'd only had more time, if only she'd handled things differently, she could have loved him with all the passion he deserved.

* * * *

Julia stared at her phone. She'd set the stopwatch for twenty minutes the moment the door closed behind Armand. As the minutes ticked by, her anxiety grew. Now that the countdown was in the seconds, she was bordering on having a panic attack.

It wasn't that she didn't have faith in Armand and Slade, but seeing Darus again brought back a fear she thought she'd left behind last year. Remembering Armand's ominous warning about the dark haired Vampire, and how Lohr's unwavering stare filled her with dread chilled her even further.

Most of the Community members were good people. They had their quirks sure, but Julia found she had more in common with them than she would have dreamed. And among them, she found some of the closest friends she could have ever imagined.

But there were levels to the members: from mostly normal, to a little socially awkward, to scary weird. Since she'd moved down here she'd met the best friends of her life and people she was afraid to bump into on a crowded street all in the same night.

Thirty seconds were left on the stopwatch and Julia's hand was itching to dial 911. But Armand had said twenty minutes, and she trusted him. She just didn't trust Lohr, and Slade had looked worse than shit. If she could have forced him to take her blood she would have. But he was quite possibly the most stubborn man she knew. And like her favorite brother.

When five seconds remained, Julia couldn't stand it any longer. Grabbing the phone, she was about to dial when it rang.

"Oh my God," she breathed, warm relief flooding her body. "Is everything okay?"

"No." Armand's tone was short and cold. It turned her flesh to ice. "I'm taking Kate's roommate to the hospital and Slade stayed behind to find Kate. You should see this girl, Julia. It's beyond disturbing."

Julia had never met Kate, but knowing they hadn't yet found her made Julia's heart sink. "What do you need me to do?"

"I've already called the police. But can you call the emergency room? Have them give a message to Dr. Anderson. Tell him I'll be there in ten with a twenty-four-year-old female suffering from blood loss, a possible drug OD, and alcohol poisoning."

Just like Eve.

"Of course." Julia knew Doc, though not incredibly well. He shied easily, and every time she tried to talk to him, he bolted like a spooked horse. Armand called him a Reluctant Vampire.

"Also," Armand continued. "Close the bar. Put a sign out or don't, I don't care. I'm not supporting these assholes tonight." His issues with the messed up aspect of the Community ran deep but she knew not to question them. If he got too angry, he might be inclined to shut the bar down completely, and Julia had seen enough to know there was a definite need in the Community for
Luxure's
presence and services.

"Sure."

"And Julia? Meet me at the hospital. I need you."

"I'll be right there."

After calling the hospital and repeating Armand's instructions, jotting down a quick, "Due to a family emergency,
La Luxure
will be closed tonight. We are sorry for any inconvenience.", and calling the staff to give them a brief run-down, Julia grabbed her purse and headed toward Royal to hail a cab.

When the cabbie was zipping toward Tulane, she impulsively pulled out her phone and called Slade. It rang a full five times before going to voicemail. That didn't make her feel better.

"Hey, when you get this please call me or Armand. Let us know you and Kate are okay. Okay?" Dropping the phone into her purse, she leaned back against seat. Exhaustion from travelling and the evening ordeal suddenly gripped her, but she knew she had to push through it. She had a feeling it was going to get a lot worse.

* * * *

Deep in his front pocket and wedged between the floor and his groin, the sensation of his vibrating phone roused him from the black hole that had swallowed his head. He groaned. The entire left side of Slade's body felt like it had been run over by a herd of rhinos.

He pried open his eyes. The shattered skull of Satin's head was the first thing he saw. The second was her sightless eyes. His gaze shot to the bed. It was empty.

Kate.

Wincing, he forced his muscles to lift his body from the floor. It was no easy task, his shirt first sticking and then peeling away from the concrete as he wobbled his way upright. He stumbled as he tried to find his legs, his blood sluggish in his veins.

Assuming Lohr was fleeing or attempting to flee, Slade staggered toward the parking lot. His sense of urgency might be strong but his muscles weren't and he felt like he was running through mud. He tripped twice in the hall, and as he pushed through the front door, he lost his footing and almost took the fast way down the stairs.

The passenger door of Lohr's silver Mercedes was open and he was setting Kate in the seat. Seeing Kate's limp body being stuffed into Lohr's car filled Slade with enough rage and adrenaline to overcome the fatigue threatening to take him down. Jumping over the rail, he reached Lohr in four bounding strides.

Grabbing his shoulder, Slade spun him around and eagerly introduced his fist to Lohr's face. The blow sent Lohr to the ground. Slade shuddered as fury overtook him. Pouncing on Lohr like the worthless rat he was, Slade lifted him from the asphalt and threw him onto the hood of the Merc. His entire body trembled with the effort, and his shoulder screamed in pain, but he continued to pound his fists into Lohr's face until blood trickled from his nose and split lip in a steady river of red.

The sound of police yelling at him to halt was the only thing keeping him from bashing Lohr's skull in. That and knowing Kate sat helpless in the passenger seat.

He lurched toward her, his feet so unstable he couldn't keep them moving in a straight line. He ignored the urgent demands of the police, not caring if they put another bullet in him or not. There was only one thing that mattered.

Collapsing to his knees at Kate's side, Slade had to steady himself on all fours before finally using the lip of the car door to heave himself upright. Her light blue eyes locked on him, she flopped her hand out and he grabbed it. Intense emotion washed over him as he pulled her hand to his mouth, kissing the palm.

"Slade," she whispered.

He let his head fall against her thigh and she stroked his hair with unsteady fingers. "Kate, I'm..." He lifted his hundred pound head. Her face was twisted with anguish. He didn't know how to process the helplessness at the horrors that had been done to her. His head suddenly spun and he closed his eyes against it, desperately trying to regain some semblance of control over his body. "I..."

She lifted a heavy finger to his lips, silencing him. "Thank you," she said, bending forward to press her lips against his.

He wanted to wrap her in his arms, he wanted to pull her close, but his pathetic body was useless, and he could only weakly return her soft kiss.

The effort was more than he could handle. He was only able to savor the taste of her kiss for a few meager seconds before the world disappeared.

Chapter Sixteen

Still gripping Slade's hand, Kate watched the cops pour into the parking lot. Guns drawn, they surrounded the car. One approached Lohr lying spread eagle on the hood of his car, and the other came at Slade. "Show me your hands!" the cop demanded, pointing his gun threateningly at Slade.

"He's been shot," she said, her voice barely air squeaking from her lungs.

The barrel of the gun inched closer. "Show me your hands!"

She knew he couldn't hear her. Holding her free hand up in surrender, she shielded Slade's body with hers, pulling him as close as she could.

The hand she raised topped a wrist Lohr had drunk from. The cop must've gotten a good look at the cuts and teeth marks, as well as the bruises from her restraints because she suddenly heard him mutter, "Jesus", and then holster his gun. After radioing for ambulances, he knelt at the car. Leaning close he asked, "Darlin', who did this to you?"

She lofted her head toward Lohr. "There's a body upstairs," she whispered hoarsely. Remembering Melanie, she swallowed hard. "Maybe two." She looked down at Slade. "And he's been shot."

Gently, the cop pushed her back so he could examine Slade, taking his pulse and peering under his shirt at the bullet hole. "Don't worry, darlin'," he said. "Help is on the way."

She nodded, leaning her aching body over Slade's. When her hand brushed against his blood soaked shirt, she choked back a sob. Dry tears fell silently into his thick, black hair. Even passed out, his entire body quivered with an unconscious shiver. There was nothing she could do, no way to help, no comfort she could offer. If it was in her power to help, she never wanted to see him helpless again.

The ambulances arrived moments later. It took two EMTs and the cop to get Slade onto the gurney. Kate begged to ride with him, but the paramedic was too busy strapping her onto her own gurney and sliding an IV needle into her arm to hear her pleas. It was only minutes later that the back door of Slade's ambulance slammed shut and it sped off, sirens blaring.

To get her attention, Kate grabbed the EMT's arm. "We're going to the same hospital, right?"

The woman patted Kate's arm. "Don't worry. You'll be together soon."

Kate closed her eyes and tried to relax, but all she could think about was the hole in Slade's chest. She should be with him right now. She'd be fine, she was sure of it, but Slade? He'd lost a lot more blood than she had, and there was something about the way he'd been trembling that didn't sit right with her. Something was off with his body, and it wasn't just the bullet.

She was unable to dwell on it. Paramedics were wheeling her into the ambulance, and her head was becoming heavier and heavier. By the time the doors closed and the ambulance pulled away, the heaviness had pulled her down.