Immortal Distraction (32 page)

“So this is how you’re going to win the support of the council? You’ve lost your fucking mind.” She was speaking to the floor with her head resting against the door. She couldn’t sit without the bullet moving or her shoulder pulling farther against the socket it
wasn’t
currently anchored in, and frankly, she was trying hard not to lose it.

“You think I give a fuck about the council? As though it weren’t enough to be completely fucked over for a bitch, I’m being bumped from my position … but I’m guessing you already know that.” Driscoll had pulled into traffic as they were speaking and every bump, pothole, divot left Brit thinking she was going to lose her mind from the pain. Being a vampire didn’t stop pain, it simply kept her from dying from it. Under the circumstances, she wasn’t sure that was such a good thing. She was losing this fight. However strong she had felt she was in comparison to her human form, it was nowhere near strong enough to beat two male vampires who were fully fed. She might just be fucked.

“You know you’re a dead man, Langford. You’ve pretty much guaranteed yourself that fate.” Another fist to the side of her face, and the tendons and ligaments in her shoulder strained even more as her shoulder joint was separated even further. She grunted at the pain, cursing loudly. “Fuck!” She knew she wasn’t helping herself any, but she was reasonably sure she was going to die before the end of the night, and she was equally certain there was nothing she could say or do to get out of it.

“Angus would never have let his dick do his thinking for him were it not for you, and I don’t appreciate the fact he’s made decisions based on the human world over our own. I don’t give a shit that you’re now a vampire and he’s your sire. He’d have chosen you over us regardless of the fact he sired you. That’s why this is happening. You hold no sway over us, and you shouldn’t have been allowed to survive transition. He’s breaking the rules he’s supposed to uphold. I see it as my right, hell duty, to hold his feet to the fire.” His voice never rose above a calm, conversational tone as he spoke.

Driscoll had yet to say anything, but as she sat up straight, his cold, taunting stare found her in the rearview mirror. He smirked. She wanted to reach up and tear his head off and were her hands free, she wouldn’t hesitate. They pulled up in front of Langford’s building, and she was pulled out of the backseat by Driscoll. He punched her in the gut just for fun as she dropped to her knees. “Fuck!” She was in pain. Cussing wasn’t helping, but it kept her from breaking down into sobs, which is exactly what she wanted to do. She wasn’t ready to die, and she sure as hell wasn’t ready to lose Angus. It was a depressing and dark thought lurking in the periphery of her mind. She was pushing it away with her fury and pain, but it was there—the devastation of it all.

She was dragged by her forearms, hyperextending her shoulder farther to the point she thought it might rotate completely. She started retching again as she was drug, and her arm felt as though it was being torn off. When her head started feeling faint, she started praying vampires could pass out. It would be the only reprieve aside from death that would save her from this pain, and she couldn’t tolerate it much longer. The pain left her feeling as though she was losing her mind. It was disturbing in its effect on her brain. It left her wanting to die and ready to meet her end.

As she was pulled over the threshold, she didn’t even fight. It was some imaginary line between living and dying for her, and her eyes suddenly teared at the thought. She so desperately didn’t want to lose Angus yet. This was her fault. She’d done this. Her hell-bent-on-revenge pain put her in this position, and she was going to be the cause for the end with him. It was heartbreaking. If she’d been any other woman in the world, she’d have been content to let him keep her safe. But Brit was a fighter; she’d lost her ability to go quietly into the night a long time ago when she discovered she could only tolerate her life when she had a spine made of steel. What it also meant was she was giving up the only relationship that ever truly reached her, touched her, made her want more from her existence. That thought alone had the tears flowing and the sobs breaking free from her throat.

* * * *

“Hey, Em. What’s up?”

“How about I can’t find your girlfriend? Her car’s gone, Jonathan said she left over two hours ago, and she’s not answering her phone.” His heart started pounding, and as Truman and Aaron caught the sudden ferocious thudding sound coming from his chest, their attention snapped to him. “I’m worried, Angus.”

“We’re on our way.” He disconnected, but before he’d even pocketed his phone it rang again. “What?” He was too terrified to sound decent.

“We need to talk.” It was Langford, and he was the last man Angus wanted to talk to at the moment.

“I’m busy. It’ll have to wait.” He snapped the words in annoyance.

But just as he started pulling his phone from his ear, Langford spoke again. “Busy doing what? Looking for your girlfriend?” Angus didn’t have a chance to question the man before Langford hung up on him.

The other men stared at him as shock started sinking in. “Truman, we need to go now.” He stumbled to his feet as Truman and Aaron followed. Truman had driven them to the hotel Aaron was staying at for their meeting with the man, and it was a lucky thing too. Angus wasn’t at all sure he could manage a car at the moment. His hands were trembling as he fumbled with his phone. When he tried to call Brit, it went straight to voice mail, and his trembling turned to violent shakes. She was in trouble.

Truman sped toward Langford’s building, weaving in and out of traffic. Aaron had come with them, and he almost felt bad for the man. Aaron had been reluctant at best to accept Angus’ proposition, and this couldn’t be helping the sell. But the man refused to sit idly by in the hotel when they went in search of Brit. He was liking Aaron more by the second, but as Angus stared out the window, he wasn’t in their world anymore. He was in the world he loved more than any other—the world that seemed to exist around he and Brit alone and left little attachment for anything beyond it.

“So, who is Brit?” Angus heard the question being asked by Aaron from the backseat, but he didn’t bother opening his mouth to respond.

Truman quite obviously understood his need to remain silent and took the honors. “She’s a cop … and she’s a new vampire … and she’s Angus’ girlfriend. She wears a few hats at the moment. Driscoll killed her mother two and half weeks ago…”

“Fuck.” Aaron muttered the word that summed up pretty much all of their feelings at the moment.

When they arrived at Langford’s building, they found the door unlocked. Langford’s building was smaller than the council’s building, and there was no valet, no real lobby of any sort, just a small deserted entryway with an open staircase that ascended the four floors of the building. It was an incredible quaint old building that Angus had admired on more than one occasion, but on this night, he hated it. It felt like a cold tomb that was going to be the end for him. If Brit died, it would definitely be his end.

They walked upstairs together, silently moving from one floor to the next. Langford’s residence was on the fourth floor, and he was guessing that’s where he would find the man. As his foot fell on one step after another, his mind got away from him again. All he could think about was her. He couldn’t survive losing her; of that, he was certain. He used to think an eternity with any one person would be a nightmare, more than that, impossible. It had been inconceivable to him. But the question of whether he could handle an eternity with one person was no longer a question in his mind at all. The real question now was could he survive an eternity without her, and the answer was most definitely no. It amazed him even as he ascended quickly up the stairs how his perspective had changed since meeting her.

They didn’t bother knocking when they reached the penthouse door that took up the entire fourth floor. Any vampire within would have heard them coming, but the element of surprise wasn’t what they were going for. His heart lurched as the door was pushed open. He wasn’t prepared to see her hurt or worse, and it terrified him to think they might just be too late. When the door pushed open, she was there. She was standing in front of Driscoll, and he held a knife partially impaled in the side of her neck. His guts clenched as he took in the sight of her. Langford stood casually by watching them enter.

“Let her go. Your fight isn’t with her.” His voice was demanding, but he knew there was little he could do. They had the upper hand, and they damn well knew it.

“No, you’re right about that. My fight is with you, and since apparently going through her to get to you is the most effective way to get your attention, she will be staying for this meeting. Whether she stays permanently or leaves with you, hasn’t yet been decided.” Langford’s voice was calm and passive. It made no real sense why he was aligning himself with Driscoll, but Angus didn’t much care about the why, so long as Brit was safe.

She looked bad—more than bad. She looked half-dead. Her hands were restrained behind her back, and her right shoulder joint looked unnaturally detached from her arm. He cringed just at the sight of it. Her skin was far more pale than usual, and her face and hair were streaked with blood. Her shirt was tattered and the skin beneath as bloody as her face. She watched him, but she looked practically deranged in pain as she tried to hold her head up. He could barely keep himself from lunging for her, but Truman’s hand was tightly clamped on his elbow, pulling him back firmly as his body willed him to move forward. He could feel his lips pulled back in a snarl, and were his throat not so restricted from terror, he would likely be growling.

As he watched, Driscoll pushed the knife deeper into the side of her neck as her eyes bulged and blood dripped from her neck. Her mouth opened as the pain hit, and she cried out as Angus groaned helplessly. She fell silent again, frozen in agony. “Let her go!” His voice bellowed out at Driscoll, but the man’s lips pulled up in a sadistic smile.

“All in due time, Chairman.” It was Langford speaking to him, and as his focus whipped to the man, Langford glared back. “Since you’ve decided to strip me of my position in my family and have taken it upon yourself to determine how my family should be managed, I feel like you owe me at least this little treat.” He started pacing back and forth, casually sauntering behind Brit from one side to the other. “I know you intend to replace me. I wasn’t born yesterday. Not even close. I’ve been paying attention to you, watching your movements. I know full fucking well that if you replace me, you will also try to destroy me as well. So consider this insurance.”

“You’re as crazy as Driscoll.” His voice was seething in fury as he spoke, but as the words were spoken, Driscoll pushed the knife farther, Brit cried out loudly, and he lurched forward. Truman’s hand clamped down tighter on his arm and stilled his movement.

“That may be. Now how about we discuss exactly what you’re going to do for me in order to get your girlfriend back alive, shall we?”

Angus pursed his lips to contain his fury, but he managed to get the words out. “What. Do. You. Want.” He was glaring harshly at Langford who was still pacing slowly behind Brit. When his attention caught on Brit, he gasped and had to clench his teeth tight together to keep from moaning in pain. Her body was sagging, and he could tell her knees were mere moments from giving out. Driscoll was holding her up by the hair at her scalp, and her eyelids were fluttering. She was in more agony than her body could tolerate.

“You’re assurance that you won’t come after me for one. In exchange, I’ll leave town. However, I intend to take my family’s money with me. I can’t cash out our accounts without your signature, and if you want me gone, then you’re going to do it. Seems only fair given the fact you’re forcing me to abdicate my position.”

“Fine. Now turn her loose.”

“Not so fast. You’ll give Driscoll the same protection. The man has done nothing but rid the earth from scum, and you’ve treated him as though he was a pariah.”

“He
is
a pariah!” Brit’s words were spit from her bloodied mouth as she sank to her knees. Her knees were splayed as she struggled to stay upright, but Langford’s bid for Driscoll’s life had gotten her attention. Driscoll was still holding her by the hair and had shifted his hand lower to hold the knife still impaled in her neck.

“Shut up, you stupid bitch!” Driscoll pulled the knife quickly from her neck and released his hold on her hair before he backhanded her with his fist and sent her body skidding across the floor. She struggled to sit and get back up to her knees, and she cried in pain as Angus tried to get to her. But Driscoll was far closer and had her pulled up to stand before Angus could close half the space. He smirked at Angus, and as Angus watched, the man held his eyes and slowly, tauntingly, he pushed the knife right back into the same open wound he’d already given her. She sobbed in pain that was hard for him to listen to and her face was equally hard to look at in her agony.

“Fine!” He screamed the words at Langford as he felt his face contorting in pain.

But as tortured as Brit was, she wasn’t willing to see her need for vengeance dashed so easily. “No! Don’t you dare! You can’t let him go. Goddamnit!” She was grunting as she was speaking, pleading with him. He understood. He didn’t agree, but he understood how she felt. He’d seen the shift in her once her mother died. She was obsessed with ending this, but Angus was fully prepared to take that away from her to save her life.

He looked directly at her as she sobbed, her body trembling from the pain she was in. “I’m sorry, Brit. I love you, and I can’t lose you.” He could feel the tears pricking his eyes, and he clenched his jaw harshly to stifle the emotion that wanted to break forth. Brit’s gaze held his, and her face softened. She was silent but her tears still fell, and as he watched, her eyes slowly closed, and her body was racked with shuddering sobs.

“How very fucking endearing.” Langford’s tone was sarcastic and mocking. “Turn her loose, Driscoll. Her owner wants her back.” Angus watched, trying to hide the tremble in his hands as he waited. He couldn’t stop his mind from whirling with every disastrous outcome he could imagine. He didn’t trust Driscoll. He wanted Driscoll’s hands off her body so much he could barely stand still. He was terrified something would go wrong, and he wasn’t willing to breathe until she was safely in his possession.