Priceless (37 page)

“
You seemed busy
,
”
I said
, unable to turn off my bitch switch
. He tried to flip me arou
nd to face him, but I fought even that. I was so close to escape
. Suddenly
,
I knew how the children being snatched must
have felt
. He handled me as if I was a child, his movements sure and steady as I flailed
,
using every trick I knew
in an
attempt to escape
, knowing all along I couldn
’
t fight him forever. He just had to wait me out
. Screaming, I knew I was losing, his deceiving calm holding back the anger brew
ing
beneath the fa
ç
ade.
All my training, all the strength I
’
d built on over the years
,
was nothing to him.

“
Fuck!
”
I
knew
he almost had me
.
I could feel my resistance to him slowing. For all I was worth
,
I clung to O
’
Shea
’
s emotions.

“
Let go of him.
”

“
No.
”

“
Do as I say, Rylee.
”
His words were so
insistent;
I wanted to do as he asked
. I wanted to please him
.

My body shiver
ed
,
caught between the two men. I had nothing left to fight
,
and his lips covered mine, his tongue plunging into the depths of my mouth. Power flowed between us
,
and he ground his hips into mine
,
his desire obvious. I wasn
’
t Milly, but I knew an out when one was given
to me
. Still hanging onto O
’
Shea
’
s emotions, I kissed the cloaked man back until his arms went around me, sliding down over my hips, cupping my ass against his ever hardening body.

His hands started to strip me out of
my
clothes and at that moment
,
I sensed his loss of control. He couldn
’
t fuck me and keep a handle on my psyche at the same time. Still, I kept my eyes closed
.
I didn
’
t want to see his eyes,
those icy blue eyes that sucked me in like some sort of vortex. I had a feeling if I looked him in the face
,
no amount of control lost on his part would save me.

Instead, I started to strip the cloak off him, pulling it over his head
, a
nd the horny fool let me. Like a hockey player starting a fight, I lifted the cloak up, got it halfway over his head, tangled it
,
and
shoved him backwards
, kicking out at his left knee. The joint gave way under my foot
,
and he screamed. Thank you, Doran, for that
little gem
.

I spun, yanked the door open and tumbled through into the caves. Without a goddamned light.
All the
Coven
members were dead, so all
of their
Witchlight
s were
out.

I
n the pitch black
,
I was
unable to see my hand
,
let alone know where I wa
s going
. But,
I had a plan. In a manner of speaking.

The plan was to follow along the edge of the wall until I hit the bodies of the two witches we
’
d killed. If the woman was still alive she could make a witch light
;
if she wasn
’
t
,
surely one of them would have something on them I could use. Surely.

Of course, three steps in and the door behind me opened
.
T
he man
—
sorcerer
—
whatever the fuck he was, was right behind me. With a light. Well, that would work. I bolted down the cavern
with
him right on my tail
. Even
with his busted leg
,
he was
fast
. The upside was he was no longer trying to control me. The downside was that I knew if he wasn
’
t trying to control me, he was going to try and kill me.

Arms pumping, sweat dripp
ing
down the side of my fa
ce,
I could taste the dusty cavern on the back of my tongue with each desperate breath I took. Fingers grazed th
e back of my jeans giving me an
extra spurt of adrenaline.

We raced through the cavern
and
turned a corner that turned into a near spill for me
.
A
s I looked up from my scramble, I could see the harness dangling, like Manna from heaven.

Three feet away
,
I leapt for it and started to climb, but he was too close and latched onto my ankle before I could get out of reach.

“
We
’
re not done yet, Rylee
.
”

I didn
’
t answer,
and
just kicked out with my free foot
,
catching him in the forehead, snapping his head back. A flash of white fangs and
those
icy blue eyes made me scream.

Vampire, he was a vampire.

The rope was nearly yanked out of my hands as someone began to haul me up. I fought my urge to flee and the urge to drop back to the ground
to
try to finish him off. Berget, my Berget
,
had been taken by vampire
s
.

Self preservation kicked in and I clung to the rope as it
—
and I
—were
pulled to the surface.
Hanging from the rope, I had time to think, time to ponder. But I did nothing
. I
let my mind go blank, let my fear hold me onto the rope for the lifeline it was.
I was yanked from the mineshaft and slapped into handcuffs. My Miranda rights read to me
.
My mind
numb
.
I was
unable to believe what had just happened
,
and
I didn
’
t fight them
.

From below, the vampire called up to me.
“
I
’
m not what you think I am
,
Rylee. But not to worry, we
’
ll meet again. I promise you that.
”

For the first time in my life, I was grateful for the police. Of course, at that particular moment they were arresting me for multiple murders of FBI agents, not to mention I was in league with the rogue former FBI Agent O
’
Shea
,
and being accused of being the leader of a kidnapping ring
. The moon had risen since we
’
d been in the mineshaft, the soft light pick
ed
up the blood more effectively than if we
saw
it under the bright light of the day.
Even to me
,
it seemed surreal, and I was used to the weird and supernatural side of
the world.

They
shoved
me
into a
n
armoured transport vehicle, two FBI agents in with me, their guns visible and their hatred of me, a cop killer in their eyes, obvious. I didn
’
t care. At that point, all I wanted was to sleep
,
and I knew a jail would be as safe, or safer, than any place I could find. The one bright side was that I knew O
’
Shea and Milly would get the two kids to safety, and with that thought tumbling through my mind, I leaned my head back and closed my eyes.

26

Getting the kids to the hospital was
the
first priority
;
a close second was getting Adamson back to
the human
side of whatever the hell
sh
e
’
d crossed over.

O
’
Shea drove
,
careening into the hospital parking lot, all the while wondering at why Milly had insisted they leave. Once India was settled
and
Jake was rushed off into the emergency room, the witch grabbed him by the arm and dragged him outside, finally answering
the
question he
’
d asked what felt like a hundred times on the drive to the hospital.

“
You don
’
t get it
,
A
gent
;
we can
’
t get her back from that route, we have to go to where the two of you came in. If it
’
s still open, she has a chance.
”
Her eyes flashed bright green at him.

He nodded.
“
Okay, but then we
’
re going to have to hurry.
”

A shuffle behind them, one of the nurses that had admitted the kids
,
cleared her throat.
“
Excuse me, are you Agent O
’
Shea?
”

Surprised, he started to say yes,
but
thought about the belief that he was a cop killer
,
and the word froze on his lips.

He needn
’
t have worried, the witch ratted him out.

“
Yes, he is
,
”
she
said.

“
There
’
s a phone call, urgent. Agent Valley, he said his name was.
”
She beckoned them inside.

O
’
Shea
’
s surprise turned to shock. Valley was second in the bureau only to Jessop Darlington. O
’
Shea took a breath
,
knowing the phone call was either going to be very good, or very, very bad.

He just didn
’
t know which one.

*-*-*-*

Jail wasn
’
t so bad. Not if you overlooked the smell of urine and vomit under the
pine-
scented cleaner that had been used. I was in my own cell, a single hard bed with no mattress, a toilet and a sink. Of course, it wasn
’
t a jail, not really. I was in the holding cells below the Bismark police department.
I had a couple of neighbours, but they were both sleeping off the party from the night before by the sounds of it
, though I suspected they
’
d added to the smell I couldn
’
t get away from. Pacing
,
I mulled over my options.

Sleep hadn
’
t come as easy as I
’
d hoped. My mind had been unable to let go of the fear and inability to fight back that man, vampire, whatever he was. Then there was O
’
Shea. I kept checking in with him, and the emotions were freaking me out a bit. Surprise, pleasure, happiness. Had he slept with Milly? It wouldn
’
t surprise me, not when it came to my best friend. But then, why
was there a
sudden stab of anger that rode shotgun to that thought?

Nope, not going there.

Footsteps
sounded
down the long hallway that was the only way in or out. My heart clenched
;
what if it was the vampire? There was no way I could get away from him, not here.
It was the middle of the night and totally plausible that he could walk right in and snatch me.

Two black suits came into view, mirrored glasses and an almost comical resemblance to
“
Men in Black
.
”