Marked by the Vampire (7 page)

He stared at her, then…shook his head, as if confused by her.  “I told you…Pate sent me.”

She stepped toward him. Her legs were all shaky and she could actually still
feel
the man inside of her.  Inside. Outside. All around her.  “You’re FBI?”

He nodded.

“Since when does the FBI hire vampires?”

“Since I owed Eric Pate a blood debt, and this was my way of repaying him.”

Oh…um, okay.

“I’m part of the Seattle Para Unit,” he continued, his voice fully devoid of emotion. “When Pate’s targets are too big for his normal resources to handle, I step in.”

She ventured another step closer to him. “Shane Morgan…is that your real name?”

He shook his head, and her humiliation deepened. Wonderful. She’d had sex with a man without even knowing his real name.

“Shane Morgan is the name I use for my cover here at Purgatory. I’ve been Shane August. Shane Elliott, Shane—”

Olivia held up her hand. “I really get the idea.” She stared at him. “What is your
real
name?”

“Just Shane is close enough. That’s the name I’ve used the longest.”

He was driving her crazy.  “What’s happening in Purgatory?”

“That’s what I was supposed to find out.” One blond brow lifted. “But then I got distracted by saving your sexy ass.”

Did he think her ass was sexy? She almost glanced back but didn’t.  “Do you know a way for us to get off this island?”
That’s it—just keep talking. Don’t think about the sex or the bite. Just think about safety.

“Maybe.” His voice was mild.  “But that’s going to depend.”

Another small step had her nearly touching him. “On what?”

His eyes narrowed. “On just how badly the people in Purgatory want you back.”

The knots in her stomach were getting worse.

“I answered your questions, now you answer mine.”  He cocked his head. “Who sent you to Purgatory?”

Uh, they’d just covered this. “Pate. Eric Pate, you know—”

“Pate got orders from above that you were supposed to be shipped in. How’d you work that? 
Who
sent you?”

Olivia shook her head.

“Don’t play games with me.”  His face hardened as he stared at her. “If I’m risking my life for you, I want to know the risk is worth it. Because if you’re playing me…”

“I’m not!”

“Then you’ll pay.” Flat. Cold.

“Look, I’m—”

He leapt toward her. Put his hand over her mouth and pulled her tightly against him.

She struggled, but he just held her tighter. She tried to—

A rock fell down from overhead, crashing against the side of the cave and ricocheting before it sank into the water. “They’re close…” Shane whispered in her ear.  His warning was a breath of sound.  “Too close.”

She couldn’t hear anything but the desperate thunder of her heartbeat.

“Don’t move.”

His head slid back from her, and he glanced up. Another rock fell down, barely missing Olivia’s foot.

She held herself perfectly still, too afraid in that instant to even breathe.

***

“They aren’t here!” Case yelled at David. The werewolf was proving himself to be a total waste. They’d been all around the island, and the wolf had turned up
nothing
so far.

Case’s head tilted back as he gazed at the water that surrounded the island. They were at the highest point on the island, a stony hill that gave them a vantage point to survey the area around them.

But we still haven’t found the vampire.

“Alphas are supposed to be better than this,” Case snarled. His fingers tightened around the collar’s remote. Maybe it was time to find a new alpha to use on this hunt.

“In wolf form, I’d find them instantly.”  David’s voice was low, tight with anger. “The wolf is always the stronger hunter.”

Case frowned. He actually knew that bit was true, but… “You seriously think I’ll let you take off that collar so you can change?” Did he look like an idiot?

David whirled toward him. “I’m close! I can catch the faintest hint of the vamp’s scent…of
her…
” He shook his head. “But I won’t get any closer, I won’t find more unless I shift!”

Case shook his head and he hit the button on the remote—the button that would send a powerful surge of silver right into the werewolf’s blood.

David gave a guttural cry of pain. “I…can…find them!”

“So can another wolf. One who doesn’t have to shift in order to get the job done.”  He’d go through every werewolf in the place if he had to do it. Every single one.

Pain twisted the werewolf’s face. “Others…can’t…find them. Vamp was…smart. He went underwater…that-that cloaked…scent.”

Yes, the vampire had been more resourceful than he’d expected, and Case still wanted to know how the vampire had known about the tunnel under Purgatory.

“The…only way…is if I shift…”

Case eased up on the remote and the silver concentration surging into David slowed.  “You realize if I take off that collar, the only option for containing you will be death? If you make one wrong move, my men will be forced to pump you full of silver bullets.”

Actually, the more he thought about it…

That idea works.

Case had planned to discard the werewolf, anyway.  He couldn’t let David go back and tell the others about the tunnel. Someone else might try to escape.

Not on my watch.

And if he were to spread the story that David had attacked his men or tried to flee, without his collar—
everyone will think his death was justified. The only recourse left to my men.

“You won’t have to…to contain me.”

No, he wouldn’t. Case would just kill him,
if
he had to do it.  “Fine.” Case nodded and motioned to his men. But they hesitated, and didn’t move forward. “
Unlock his collar.”

One guard began to inch toward David.

Case pulled out his gun. Checked the silver bullets. Then aimed the weapon at David. “One wrong move, and you’re dead.”

David nodded.

***

“We need to get out of here,” Shane rasped.  He’d caught the werewolf’s scent, and that jerk David was far too close for his peace of mind.

With wide eyes, Olivia nodded. He saw her stare dip toward the water.

“Yes, love, sorry, but that’s our only option.” She was afraid of the water, he knew that. But better to face the water than a pissed-off werewolf. He caught her hand. Twined his fingers with hers. “It’s all right. I’ve got you.”

She bit her lip.  The woman should
not
be doing that. When she nibbled that plump lower lip, it made him want to bite, and he’d just sprouted that BS about how he could easily hold off on biting her, how he’d wait for her to
ask
for his bite.

“Olivia…” Shane began, but then his head jerked to right at the distinct
popping
he’d just heard. A pop. A crack. A…growl.  Every muscle in his body stiffened right then. No, oh, hell, no, that sound had better not be what he suspected it was.

“Shane?”

He heard the crack once more. “Bones are breaking.” He hauled her toward the water. “That fool warden is letting the alpha shift.”

“Y-you’re saying a shifted werewolf is coming after us?”

They were at the edge of the water.

“He’ll find us. Wherever we go on this island, the werewolf will find us.” That was why they had to get off that island, right then.  “You wished for the seaplane, right?”

“What?”

“
You want the seaplane.
” His fingers tightened on hers.

“Ouch! Yes, yes, I want the seaplane. I wish it was waiting for us. I want it—”

“Hold your breath.”

She did.

They jumped into the water. 

***

The change from man to beast was brutal.  Vicious. Painful to see, and probably agony to feel.

Case kept his gun aimed at David as the werewolf shifted. The snapping and breaking of the wolf’s bones seemed to go on forever, but in reality, he knew the transformation only lasted for a few moments. Just a few precious moments and then—

The shifted werewolf started clawing at the ground.

Case frowned at him. “What are you doing? You’re supposed to find the vampire!”

The werewolf kept clawing, digging into the earth, digging down and down, as if he were trying to make a hole right beneath him.

Understanding hit Case.
Caves.
He’d heard there were a few caves scattered around the island, but they were only accessible from the sea.

And that vamp Shane had gone into the water when he’d fled Purgatory.

“Help him dig!” Case shouted to his men. “Help him!”

But then Case heard another sound on the horizon. At first, it was like the buzzing of a bee hive.  But that sound grew louder, stronger.

No, no, not now!

He could just see the shape of the seaplane in the sky. Heading right toward them. That plane shouldn’t have been there right then.  There was no damn reason for the plane to  come early.  He fumbled for his radio and had to lower his gun. “Tell that pilot not to land! Get him out of here!”

As Case shouted, the werewolf’s head turned toward him. Saliva dripped from the beast’s mouth—a mouth bursting with razor sharp teeth.

The gun!

Case tried to aim his weapon once more, but the werewolf leapt for him. The beast’s claws tore into Case’s shirt. Blood soaked him. “Sh-shoot!” Case yelled as he tried to fight the werewolf.

The beast’s teeth closed around his wrist.  Sank in deep.  Case cried out in pain.

Gunfire blasted.

The werewolf shuddered, jerked back, then raced away.

“After…him!” Case yelled as he tried to sit up. But the men didn’t run after the werewolf. They crowded around him. “What the hell are you waiting for?” Case snarled. Blood pumped from the slashes in his chest and from the wound on his wrist.

“Sir…” One guard spoke, his voice little more than a whisper. “You’ve been…bitten.”

He knew he had—he’d felt the werewolf’s teeth tear into him.

“It’s poison, sir,” that guard continued. “Y-you know that.”

Case shoved to his feet. Staggered.

“The bite either kills you…or changes you.”

Case’s blood covered fingers tightened around his gun. “I said…go after that bastard werewolf!”  He took a step forward, and agony ripped through him.

The guards kept talking, but he couldn’t hear them any longer. He was screaming because Case felt as if he were burning alive.

The bite either kills you…or changes you.

When she crawled up the beach, Olivia heard a low, droning
hum
sound. Her gaze jerked upward even as her fingers sank into the sand and she saw the seaplane heading toward them.

Relief had her shaking.

“Fucking figured…we are both screwed,” Shane muttered as his hands closed around her hips and he hauled Olivia up to her feet.

“Screwed? We’re saved!”  She threw her arms around him and held on tight. “We’re going to be all right! We’re going—”

She heard a howl then. A long, angry howl from a wolf.

Shane lifted her into his arms in an instant, then he took off, moving with that vamp agility and speed, and she was so happy to be out of the water and heading toward the seaplane that she didn’t even kick him for carrying her around like a sack of potatoes this time. He’d tossed her over his shoulder as he ran and she did her best to hold on as he rushed toward the droning/whirring sound of the seaplane’s engine.

And the howls followed them. Howls and snarls that seemed to be getting so much closer.

“Stop!” A male’s voice shouted. “Stop or I’ll shoot!”

Shane staggered to a stop.

“Put the woman down.”

She twisted around, trying to see who was shouting orders, and her gaze fell on the armed guards who were positioned at the edge of the dock. Five men stood there, weapons at the ready. Five men who blocked their escape because the seaplane was landing behind them, coming in with a spray of water.

Taking his time, Shane lowered Olivia to her feet.

“Come here, Dr. Maddox!” A blond guard shouted. “We’ll keep you safe.”

That wasn’t just any blond guard. She recognized Evan.  The man who’d left her with the wolves. And that jerk was offering her safety?  Did she look like an idiot?

“Shane, it’s him, he’s the one who took me—”

Evan fired. The bullet flew through the air. Only the bullet wasn’t aimed at Shane. It was aimed at her.

Shane leapt in front of her. The bullet thudded into his body. She heard the horrifying, sickening sound as it sank into him.

Then the other guards were firing.  For an instant, the gunfire drowned out the approach of the plane. Olivia covered her ears, screaming because the bullets were all around them.

But the bullets didn’t touch her. Shane was in front of her. Shielding her. Protecting her and—and then leaping for the guards when they stopped to reload.

He tore through them. All fangs and fury.  Blood flowed, but this time, that blood came from the guards.  Their bodies hit the ground as the men cried out in pain.

Her hands had fallen away from her ears.  She stared at the men around her, but the scene seemed to flicker in her mind.  The past and the present merged.

She saw another time. Another blood-soaked place.

Shane hadn’t been there to shield her.

Her…her father had been there.

He’d laughed while he killed. 
Laughed. “No one controls me!”
Her father’s words were forever burned into her memory.

Her body shuddered.

The blood had splashed onto her when she’d been a child. It had covered her hands, her clothes.  The blood—

“
Come on, Olivia!”
Shane roared, ripping her out of the past.

She blinked and realized that he was running down the narrow, wooden dock. Heading right toward the seaplane.

Shaking her head, she rushed after him. The men on the ground were still alive, she could hear their groans of pain.  She darted around them, staying out of their reach, and hurrying toward the plane.

The pilot was still inside that seaplane. As Olivia watched, he shoved open his door and came out, armed.

“Shane, look out!”

But the pilot didn’t aim his weapon at Shane. The tall, dark haired man’s gaze flew toward her. Alarm flashed across his face. “
Hurry, run!”

She
was
hurrying. It wasn’t like she had vamp speed.

At the pilot’s cry, Shane whipped back around toward her. She saw an expression of horror flash across his face.

Oh, no. If Shane was horrified, then whoever—whatever was behind her had to be very bad. Olivia ran as fast as she could. Shane was now leaping toward her and she wanted to get to that vampire because—

He can keep me safe.

Olivia risked a desperate glance over her shoulder.  A werewolf was just feet away. A fully shifted, terrifying beast of a werewolf who was moving far too fast for her.  The beast was easily twice the size of a normal wolf, and his thick fur was a stark white.  Saliva dripped from his razor sharp teeth.

“
Get down!”
That bellow wasn’t Shane’s. Was it the pilot’s? Didn’t matter. Shane had just grabbed her wrist and pulled her against him even as more gunfire erupted.

But this time, the gunfire wasn’t aimed at her or Shane.

She peeked over her shoulder.

The werewolf had hit the ground. The bullets had hit him.

“Silver bullets, but I didn’t hit his heart so
hurry the hell up!”

Her head whipped back around. That was the pilot talking. The pilot who was frantically motioning toward them and telling Shane to, “Move the hell on, vamp!”

The pilot wasn’t sounding the alarm? He was helping them?

Shane pretty much tossed her into that seaplane. He followed in right behind her.

“Damn nice timing, Connor,” Shane muttered. “I owe you.”

“You sure as hell do.”  The guy—Connor—was back in the pilot’s seat.  He was flipping dials and pushing some buttons and the plane was starting to move. “Now hold on, because we’re going out fast and hot.”

She held onto the seat with a death grip.

The plane sent water flying into the air as it pulled away from Purgatory, heading out toward the ocean, then going up and up.

Escape.  

Olivia looked back at the island.  The guards were still on the ground.  And the werewolf was moving.  Crawling toward…Evan?  Yes, the guard was fumbling for his weapon but—

Her eyes squeezed shut when she heard his scream.

“Things on Purgatory are FUBAR,” Shane said flatly.

She swallowed the lump in her throat.

“Get Pate. He needs to send men in there to take over right away,” Shane continued, his voice a rumble that she could barely hear over the engines. “The warden’s dirty, just like the last one, and whoever is pulling the strings on that place—whoever is in control back in D.C.—they want the paranormals on the edge out there.”

She opened her eyes. Saw the waves beneath them.

“What the hell happened down there?” Connor demanded. “I got word from the boss that I needed to go in because he’d gotten Intel that some big powerhouse had come in at the island.”

She turned her head. Found Shane watching her with eyes that seemed strangely cold. Suspicious.

“A powerhouse did come in,” he agreed as he stared at Olivia. “But you can radio Pate and tell him that particular situation has been contained.”

It had? From where she was sitting, nothing was contained at Purgatory.

“Tell him…” Shane continued as he reached over and grabbed a black bag. The pilot’s bag?  Shane pulled out a set of gleaming, silver hand-cuffs. “Tell him that I have her.”

Her?

Then Shane grabbed her wrists. He locked the cuffs around her as she stared at him in shock.

“Pate needs to know that I’ve got a djinn.”

“Are you crazy?” Olivia shrieked. But the plane was loud now, its engines whirling at full power. She could barely hear her own voice. “
What are you doing?”

Even above the roar of the plane, she heard his clear and cold response, “Containing you.”

***

“Take off the handcuffs, Shane.”

The seaplane had just touched down off the Washington coast. It wasn’t a location that saw much air traffic—in fact, Shane would guess that the rickety dock didn’t see much traffic at all.

“I know you heard me. Take them
off.
”

Connor killed the engines. He glanced back at them, one brow raised.  “I think we both heard you, Dr. Maddox, but if Shane says you need to be contained…” His golden eyes narrowed on her.  Obviously, he thought she was a threat. “You’re being contained.”

Her mouth opened, closed, then opened again.  Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes gleamed. “This isn’t happening, I wish you would—”

Shane hated to do it. Oh, damn, he hated it, but he gagged her then.

Fear flashed across her face when he tied the small rope behind her head. He’d moved so fast that she hadn’t been given the chance to fight him.

“Uh, yeah…” Connor’s voice was guarded. “When are you going to update me on what’s going on with her?”

“Soon,” he promised. As soon as he had her calm and—

Olivia tried to head-butt him.  And for the fifth time, the fifth damn time, he attempted to use compulsion on her.

When a vampire drank from a human, a link was formed. The vampire could control his prey. And that link of control wasn’t just exclusive to humans, either.  Vamps could control werewolves the same way.  They were supposed to be able to control
all
prey.

But he couldn’t forge any kind of link with her.

They’d radioed Pate on the way there, told him to lock down Purgatory as fast as he could, and updated the boss about Olivia. After he’d sworn to hell and back, Pate had given them directions to this safe house.  Just beyond the dock, Shane could see the faded cabin that waited.  He could also see the man striding from that cabin—Eric Pate looked pissed.

Shane felt the same way.

“We aren’t going to hurt you,” Shane told Olivia, and he hoped those words were true.  They’d have to interrogate her, have to discover all of the secrets that the woman might not even realize she possessed.

She was dangerous, a threat that couldn’t be ignored. Someone in power had arranged for her to visit Purgatory because that
someone
knew exactly what Olivia was.

In the wrong hands, Olivia could prove to be more than lethal.

She could prove to be fucking Armageddon.

Connor exited the seaplane.  Keeping his hold on Olivia, Shane followed. She dug in her heels, she growled behind the gag, and he was pretty sure those growls translated to “Asshole” or “Bastard” and he thought there was a “Burn in hell” thrown in there, too.

“Already been there,” he told her as he pulled her along the dock. “It wasn’t nearly as hot as you’d expect.”

The growled/muffled version of “Asshole” came again.

Pate waited for them at the end of the dock. The wind blew against his hair and sent his coat flapping back, clearly revealing the gun strapped to his hip. Pate had his arms crossed over his chest. As Shane approached him, Pate gave a sad shake of his head. “This wasn’t the way the mission was supposed to end.”

“Yes, well, then maybe you shouldn’t have Ok’ed the entrance of a djinn into Purgatory.”

More muffled grunts came from Olivia.

“I didn’t realize that she
was
a djinn, not when I sent her in.” His words sounded disgusted. “Now that I know…you’ll see that things have changed. I dug up every bit of research I had on djinns. We
can
contain her.”

Olivia went silent.

“Fuck me,” Pate muttered, “this isn’t going to be easy.” His gaze swept around the area. “Hide the plane, Connor, then come inside for the interrogation.”

Olivia’s whole body stiffened at the word “interrogation.”

Pate stared at her with hard eyes.  Shane had seen that expression on his friend’s face before. It was Pate’s I’ll-Do-Anything-Necessary look. Shit.

“Bring her.” Then Pate turned and headed back toward the cabin.

Shane glanced at Olivia. She shook her head, frantic.

His jaw locked. “You don’t understand how many lives are on the line here.”

A tear leaked down her cheek, and the sight of that lone tear did something to him. His chest ached, and Shane found himself leaning toward her. Brushing that tear away, then letting his fingers linger against her cheek. “I’ll protect you.”

He
hadn’t
meant to reveal that. Hell, the addiction was worse than he’d thought.

Using his hold on her hand-cuffs, he pulled her toward the cabin. As soon as he got inside and smelled the incense, he knew Pate had been busy. A quick glance at the floor showed the old, intricate symbols that had been painted there, and the familiar scent told Shane that his friend had used blood to make those marks.

A chair sat in the middle of the markings.

Olivia squirmed in his grip, but Shane pushed her toward the chair. In a lightning-fast move, he unhooked her cuffs. She was sighing with relief when he quickly grabbed her arms again and re-cuffed her. Only this time, the cuffs were behind her back.

She mumbled behind her gag and—

He used a knife to cut the gag away.

“You bastard!” Olivia heaved out.  Then she blinked and seemed to realize that the gag was gone. “Help! Someone, help me!”

Pate shut the cabin’s door. “There’s no one here to help you.”

Her gaze was on Shane.
Help me.
It was too easy to read the desperate plea in her eyes.

He tossed away the gag. Put the knife back on the table with the…other instruments that Pate had out.  His gaze lingered on that instrument tray. He’d seen paranormal interrogations before, and he knew just how intense they could become.

I can’t let that happen to her.

He put his body in front of Olivia and turned to face  Pate. His friend. The man he might have to attack in a few moments. “You have a holding spell in place.”

“Damn straight I do. If she really is a djinn, her wishes won’t work here.”  Pate’s lips twisted. “For a little while, anyway.”

“I’m not a djinn!” Olivia shouted.

Pate paced around the room. “Tell me more about what went down on Purgatory.” The words were calm, but an angry tension hung in the air around Pate. “That place is a powder keg, and the last thing I want is for it to explode.”