Hot Decadent Rising (Breath of Darkness) (31 page)

Once they exited the cave, Jeremy
stopped. “If any of your mutts get any closer I’ll crush her throat.”

Eli knew he could and would break her
neck in an instant. He knew his pack understood what was happening. They knew
the danger. They would stand their ground, but they wouldn’t blindly charge the
vampire as long as he had his hands on her. Then again, rather than take any
chances he used his mind to communicate with them to make sure they didn’t rush
to attack.

 “Let her go,” Eli said.

“That’s it? That’s all you have?”

“She is my mate. If you let her go now
I’ll let you run and give you a head start.”

“Your mate?” He laughed out loud. “I thought
your mate ran off with a demon. Never mind that for now. I have no intention of
harming your second choice. She’s very valuable to me at the moment, but I
assure you that if you become a problem to me, she will lose her value very
quickly.”

He saw confusion in her eyes. Perhaps
even a stab of pain, but he couldn’t focus on it at the moment. “What do you
want with her?”

“I simply need to borrow her for a
little while. As soon she succeeds in getting me what I want I will let her
go.”

“You aren’t taking her out of my sight.”

“That is a problem.” Jeremy paused. “I
think I have the perfect solution, if you’re willing put your life on the line
for her.”

“I will do whatever it takes.”

“Send your pack away and stay here with
us as my captive.”

His pack would stay close. They wouldn’t
like him playing the role of a vampire’s captive, but they would obey his
orders. Of course they would watch and wait for the perfect opportunity to
attack, but no matter how long it took they would stand down until that moment
arrived. He met Cain’s gaze. “Get them out of here.”

Cain nodded. “As you wish.”

As expected, when his pack backed off
into the woods and out of sight another vampire moved in closer.

 “What do you expect her to do for
you?” Eli asked.

“Sorry. You’re my captive. As such you
don’t get to ask questions. If you wish to fight we can do that, but as we’ve
already discussed, if you wish to cooperate with me it will go much better for
you and for her.” He handed Kara off to another vampire and pointed to a pine tree.
“Cuff their hands together with their backs against the tree until I return.”

The vampire that had moved closer asked,
“Why didn’t you just kill the wolf?”

“I need him. As long as we have control
of Eli, we have control of his pack. As long as his wrists are cuffed to her
fragile wrists we have control of him.” Jeremy explained.

“You don’t need him.”

“If I kill him his pack would come down
on us hard.”

I was counting on you to save me. You
shouldn’t have agreed to let him cuff you to me, Eli
.

I didn’t have a choice. It was the only
way to prevent him from hurting you and still stay close to you at the same
time.

 
What do you think he expects me
to do for him?

I’m not sure.

I hope he isn’t trying to get my father
to pay a ransom. That won’t go well at all.

No. He knows your father believes you’re
dead. It’s something else.
Eli explained.

It must have something to do with my
mom. He believes she’s still alive. I can’t think of anything he might
find...oh, no. He’s looking at me like…do it. Break the cuffs. I know you can
do it.
She
said.

I can’t.
Never in all of
his life had he imagined he would find himself in such a horrible situation.
I
would rip your arms off.

It’ll only hurt until I pass out from
blood loss. And if you’re quick you can kill him before I pass out and then I
won’t miss a thing.

Forget it
. She was scared
to death, but doing her best to put on a good show. He wanted to tell her that
her mom was still alive, but the news might lessen her ability to focus. He
needed her to be able to function when the time to act came along.

We’re going to die, aren’t we?

It was possible, but he refused to admit
it.
No. Not today.

You’re trying to make me feel better,
Eli?

Is it working?

A little.

That’s better than not at all.

How many vampires are there?

Only a few, but there are many more
ghouls.

Just as I suspected. But what happened
to trying to make me feel better?

Oops. Sorry. I don’t know what I was
thinking.

He heard her gasp.
What’s wrong?

Nothing.

Don’t lie to me. Something startled you.

Jeremy is looking at me like he…oh,
shit. He’s walking toward me
.

***

Kara
knew what was on Jeremy’s mind as he walked toward her. He had a knife in his
hand, but she knew he wouldn’t use it soon enough. He planned to rape her. Along
with her own horror she felt Eli’s horror and rage.

Do it. Break the cuffs.

I already told you that it’s not
happening. Stay calm.

Please.
She pled.

Look at him like you want him.

It’s not happening.

Make him think you want him.

You’re crazy.

Trust me.

Jeremy pressed the blade against her
throat. “Call out to your mom.” 

“She’s dead.”

I’m good but I’m not that good, Eli.

You’re better than good. You’re
wonderful. Get him to undo the cuffs. The second you do, my entire pack will be
free to attack.

Why did you let him cuff us together?

I didn’t know he would do it. I only
wanted to stay as near to you as possible, until I could kill him without
putting you in danger.

How am I supposed to get him to undo
them?

Seduce him. Make him need to feel your
hands on his body.

If I do it, will you kill him
immediately?

Slowly and painfully.

“Call out to her now,” Jeremy said.

“Help me. I’ll try but I don’t know how
to do it. She died when I was young. I can’t feel her.”

Seeing him smile filled her with so much
hatred and rage.
You will kill him as slowly and painfully as possible,
right?

I promise.

I want to watch.

Of course. I wouldn’t have it any other
way.

Promise me that if this doesn’t work, you
won’t let him rape me. Swear to me that you will break the cuffs and you will
kill him.

I won’t allow him to rape you. I swear I
will break them.

Kara knew deception well. She’d spent a
lifetime learning it. She braced herself. She made sure Jeremy saw interest and
appreciation in her eyes. “You look familiar. Did we meet before when my mom
was still alive?”

He moved closer. “Do you like what you
see in me?” He was so close to her. Too close. She could actually feel the
unnatural chill of his body. He reached out and wrenched her head to the side.

“Yes. I do.”

“Stop fucking with me!” He slapped her
across the face.

Eli yanked on the cuffs. It hurt like
hell, but she didn’t allow it to stop her. Tilting her head back against the
tree she looked up at Jeremy. “I didn’t mean to upset you. You asked. I
answered. Would you rather I lie to you?”

“You want to play for a while, before I
kill you?”

“You don’t want to kill me. I know you
would’ve already done it if you truly wanted me dead.”

Jeremy wrapped his hands around her
throat and squeezed. When he released her, he had a blank look in his eyes. She
knew that Eli was in his head and controlling him. He blinked twice and then he
took a step back as he walked to the other side of the tree.

“You think you can control me,” Jeremy
asked. “Control this you dumb piece of shit!”

Kara heard a grunt. She knew Jeremy had
used the knife to stab Eli. “Hey, Jeremy.”

What are you doing?
Eli asked.

I’m hoping to convince him that it’ll be
much more fun to play with me than you.

 “Please come over here, Jeremy. I
need to tell you something.”

There was silence. She felt the chains
tightening again. She could feel Eli’s frustration. Seconds later, Jeremy stood
in front of her with a bloody knife in hand.
How bad are you injured?

I’m fine.

She could hear Eli’s struggle to breathe
through the pain. She made eye contact with Jeremy in an attempt to take
control of his actions through his mind. She looked up at Jeremy and smiled. “I
want you to take me away from Eli and everything. Let us begin a new life
together. Choose me. Be with me.”

No! Don’t do it. I won’t break the
cuffs.
Eli said.

Trust me just as I trusted you. I can
make him release you. I can do this.

***

Head
bowed and eyes closed, Eli gathered his strength as he felt Jeremy standing in
front of him. Grabbing a handful of Eli’s hair, the vampire slammed the back of
his head against the tree. He didn’t react in the slightest. Keeping his body
limp, he allowed the vampire to examine and prod the knife wounds he had
inflicted on his chest and belly. “If we kill him outright, his pack will
immediately attack. Take the cuffs off her and then cuff him back up to the
tree.”

“He’ll get away. If he isn’t cuffed to
her, what will stop him from breaking free?” The other vampire cautioned.

“Just do it. He’s too weak to fight,”
Jeremy explained.

“But…”

“Do it!” Jeremy shouted. “He has lost
the majority of his blood. He can’t even hold his head up. He won’t be able to
do a damn thing for hours.”

Eli kept his body limp as they freed her
and cuffed him to the tree again. Though becoming anxious, his pack was waiting
for his command to attack. Kara didn’t give Eli a warning. She held Jeremy
captive with her gaze as she thrust the knife into his chest. Eli turned his
wrists so that he clenched the metal cuffs in his fists. He yanked them hard
using all of his strength until they snapped. Knowing a knife wound wouldn’t
kill Jeremy, Eli shoved Kara to the side. He planned to kill Jeremy, but the
vampire dissolved into a black mist and disappeared.

He took her hand. “Kara.” As if in a
state of shock, she stared down at the spot that Jeremy had disappeared from.
He framed her face between his palms to force her to focus on him. “Are you
okay?”

“Okay? No. I’m better than okay. I
controlled his mind.” She smiled up at him. “I thought he was too strong.”

“You sure did. You’re a very clever
woman. You saved us both today.”

She laughed out loud. “You didn’t need
any saving. You were only stuck to the tree for my sake. You shouldn’t have
allowed him to take you.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. Holding the
deepest knife wound on his left side he wrapped his right arm around her as he
bent down and kissed her. And she returned his kiss with enthusiasm, but she
stopped suddenly. She released him and stepped back. “What are you doing?”

“I was kissing you.”

“That’s the last thing you should be
doing.” She looked him up and down. “You’re hurt. We need to get you to the
hospital. He stabbed you.”

 He cringed at the sound of his
pack’s laughter coming from all around. The last thing he needed was for her to
start babying him in front of them. “I’ve no reason to go running to the
hospital. They’re already healing up just fine.”

“You don’t look fine at all. You look
pale. Maybe you should sit down before you faint.” Obviously attempting to make
sure he knew that she was fully aware of the fact that she was embarrassing him
in front of the pack she smiled and winked at him.

“I don’t faint.”

“Ever?”

“Never.”

“She’s right, Eli. It’s okay. Sit down
before you fall down. That big bad vampire really messed you up with that
knife. You look like shit,” Cain said.

Listening to her laughter, Eli forced
himself to frown. “Don’t encourage her.” He wrapped his arm around her and pulled
her close.

She snuggled up to him. “If we aren’t
rushing you the hospital what’s the plan? It’s getting dark.” She shivered.
“And I’m beyond cold.”

“I’ve a home close by,” Eli stated. “We
will go there for the night.” He began to walk with her.

“Where exactly are we?”

“We’re right in between Latourel Falls
and Multnomah Falls.”