Mia could still feel Cole’s eyes burning a hole through her as she pulled into the sheriff’s headquarters. After trying every key on Cole’s ring, the lock to the back door clicked. Figures… last one on the ring.
She descended the stairwell. With each step, her heart pounded, and adrenaline raced through her as she reached the basement door. Another small set of stairs, and the use of Cole’s security key, and she was right where she wanted to be.
Her eyes darted around, the damp chill in the room making her shiver. Cole was right; there was no light pollution at all down here.
The cells shined with a silver metal luster that she admired with her hand, as she walked past each cell. One by one, the vampires inside them looked up as she went past. Coming upon the one she was looking for, she froze, staring at the vampire inside.
“Igor!” Her tone was strong. The vampire slowly turned his head to look at her.
“Aren’t you dead, yet?”
“No, but you’ll soon be.” She pulled the ax from behind her, and his eyes widened as they locked onto the shine of the blade.
“What? Wait, you can’t do that. They said I have to stand trial first,” he stammered.
She began fitting the keys into the lock. As each one failed, rage built inside her. Igor was the answer. He knew how to find Cynthia.
“You will stand my trial. Where is Evet Bass?” Rage slowly crept into every fiber of her body. Her hands became clumsy as she fumbled with each key.
“No, you can’t. You have to go by the law. Vampires… cops follow the law. They never break it!” He was frantic, his eyes falling to the ax resting against her leg as she worked the keys. He scurried back into the corner of the cell, avoiding her eyes.
“Well, sucks to be you. I’m not the police or a vampire, and I will ram this ax right through your neck. Tell me where he is!” She only had two keys left until Igor was hers.
“I don’t know where he is. He just made me into this creature, and told me to bring you to him.”
“Where? Where did he tell you to bring me?” Mia heard the key click inside the lock and felt an internal release. She paused. Could she do this? Was it right? She struggled with herself. She was about to kill a man, even if he was a vampire. Could her mind distinguish between the two after she killed him? Can I forgive myself? With each thought, her feet moved forward until she glared down at Igor.
She had to save Cynthia, at any cost. She raised the ax above her shoulder. Her eyes narrowed at him, trapping his power with her gaze. “Tell me where he is!”
“I don’t know.” He put his hands up in an attempt to block the ax as he screamed back at her.
“Wrong answer, Igor!" Her mind unraveled, everything spun through her head. She was furious with Cole. She was angry with everyone. She abandoned herself to a fit of rage and swung the ax.
In the next instant, she was flying backward through the air. She heard the cell door lock. Instantly, a figure pinned her to the floor. Her rage consumed her, and she fought until exhaustion set in. She breathed heavy on the concrete floor. When a voice whispered in her ear, she shuddered.
“It excites me when you fight—you know that. Now, stop fighting, or I’ll take you right here,” Cole’s voice was calm, but laced with a primal lust.
“Get off of me!” She jerked her body again, trying to buck him off.
His mouth came down upon hers, hard, devouring the taste of her rage. He had no regard for her skin or bones, and her teeth cut into her lip from the pressure. The iron taste of blood flowed over her tongue as it leaked from the cut.
He took her bleeding lip into his mouth, sucking, releasing a soft moan as the taste of her flowed into him. She bucked again with more strength, trying hard to push him off.
“Mia. Stop. I’m very hungry, and you’re pushing me too far. Calm your pulse.” Cole lay on top of her as she struggled with her self-control. Her emotions were raw, and his expression reflected her pain and rage. With his lips close to her ear, his breath rolled across it as he spoke. “I would save you. You’re the only thing that matters to me. That’s why I just saved you from yourself.”
Her body went limp beneath him. He was right. She wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she’d decapitated Igor. Art was different. He begged her to set him free and let him go to his wife. She would have killed Igor out of hate and anger. He was obviously young and had been made a vampire under false pretenses.
Mia was on an emotional rollercoaster that was about to derail. Cynthia was missing. No one would help her. She hated the man she loved.
Mia heard noises from inside the room, but Cole didn’t move.
“Cole, get off of her.” The sheriff’s voice echoed through the long corridor of cells.
Cole stared down at her, his eyes turning as black as the night sky. At first, his voice was a whisper. “Hate me, Mia.”
“Is he going to kill Cynthia?”
“Yes.” His eyes began to pull at her mind. She could feel him trying to gain control of it, and the tug was more powerful than he’d ever displayed.
Mia felt her breath as it bounced off Cole’s skin. There was movement all around them as others joined the sheriff. Cole’s eyes intensified, and she stared back at him.
“What if I just let go and let you win?” She searched his eyes. His face tightened, and his jaw began to twitch as he clenched his teeth.
“Don’t let me win. Fight me, Mia. Wake the demon up inside you, and learn how to control it.”
He knew something she didn’t. She could sense it. What was he doing? Tears pooled in her eyes.
Cole pushed his body harder against her, squeezing her wrists. “No tears. Don’t do that. Hate me.”
“Why?”
“You won’t have a chance if you show weakness. I must protect you anyway I can.”
Cole quickly glanced behind him, and she peered over his shoulder to where everyone stood watching. He turned back to Mia. She felt his power grabbing her, and the familiar look of pain surfaced in his dark eyes as he spoke louder than before. “I’m done with her now. I had my fun. The sheriff has first choice if he wants her.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “You bastard. Get off of me! I do hate you!”
“No, it’s not enough yet. You have to feel it,” he whispered.
Confused, her pulse raced, and her anger built into a ball that settled in the pit of her stomach, growing with every word he spoke. She refused to let the tears stinging her eyes fall. Like a switch, she turned every emotion she was feeling into hate, and the pain she felt was so deep, her soul screamed.
“When I get up from here, I’m going to grab that ax and ram it through your dead heart, and then I’m going to cut your fucking head off.”
“Yes, that’s it. I can feel your demon. It wants out, Mia. Let it out. Hate me.” Cole peered behind him as he spoke, with a smug and arrogant tone, “I suggest whoever gets her takes her on an elevator. She’ll give you quite a ride.”
Oh, that’s it. I hate him now for sure. With every ounce of strength she could pull up, she rolled with him until she straddled his waist. The lights flickered in the room as her body jerked to the side, and she grabbed the ax on the floor. Cole quickly sat up, knocking it from her hand and pinned her arms behind her. She slumped forward onto his shoulder, breathless from her rage.
“Okay. Shows over! Everyone out!” The sheriff pushed everyone out the door, locking it behind them.
Cole loosened his grip on her arms. “John, was everyone here?”
“Yes, they all witnessed it.”
Mia sat motionless on her knees, straddling Cole’s lap. She brought her head back, brushing her cheek against his, until she met his eyes. As angry as she was, she couldn’t resist his scent. It was intoxicating. Great. I’m addicted to him, which means I’m an idiot and fucked. She bent down in thought, brushing her lips against his neck. He stiffened under her touch. She pulled back, and then buried her teeth into his neck, licking the blood as it surfaced. Her aches instantly felt better.
Cole gasped, and grabbing her shoulders, he pushed her back to glare at her.
“That was payback for my lip. Now, let go of me.” Her emotions were unguarded, and she knew he saw right through to her soul and straight into her heart.
“No, Mia. Hate me. It’s over. We’re done.” She pulled her hands free from his grasp and straightened herself on her knees. Mia stared back at him. Her hand went to the back of his head, pulling him to her lips.
Mia now fully understood why vampires became excited in times of bedlam. He responded to her out of impulse, and she pulled away from him. With ragged breaths, she stared into his dark eyes, eyes that told her a different story than his words, deep pools that she loved and hated so deeply.
“I do hate you. I’ll hate you for the rest of your existence.” And love you for the rest of mine. She couldn’t take the pain in her heart, or his eyes, any longer. She knew this was going to hurt. She stood and turned toward the sheriff. “I’m going home now. Can Nancy drive me?” Her voice was empty of emotion.
Cole stood, exchanging looks with the sheriff as they began communicating without words, or so it seemed.
“Have Nancy take her home. Tell everyone that I’ll be out in a minute.” For the first time, the sheriff looked weakened.
Cole turned his back to her.
She was happy for that, it made it easier to walk away from him.
Cole had stared down into the face of an angel, his perfect match, and the only woman he’d ever loved. He would rather be scorched by the sun than to see her in pain—pain that he had caused. However, when he had searched her eyes, he saw something he didn’t want to see. Finally, he saw a piece of her heart, and it killed him to shatter it. He kept his back to her and tilted his head toward John once she was gone.
“At an hour before sunrise, this is the route I’ll take to investigate an area where Cynthia may be. Make sure this information leaks, in case I need backup.” Cole winked as he handed the sheriff a piece of paper.
John looked at him with a bewildered expression. “Are you sure?”
It would definitely flush out an inside leak, but it could also get Cole killed. “It’s time to finish this.” Cole saw the look in his friend’s eyes. “It has to be done.”
“Cole, you’re going into this blind, and for what? Revenge?”
Cole ran his fingers through his hair and met John’s eyes. “No, for Mia. Bass will not stop until he gets to her—you know that. The minute he spoke her name through the phone, none of the pain from the past mattered. She is mine, and I will protect what is mine.”
“You don’t even know that. You haven’t fed from her, you could be wrong.”
“I’ve never felt surer about anything. I can’t explain it, but even without having her blood, I know. She is my fated bride, the one that is meant for me. I can’t stand the thought of Bass touching her.”
John placed a hand on his shoulder, sighing in defeat. “I’ll come with you then. We’ll ride together once again to take down Bass.”
“No. Sorry, my friend. I go alone. I need you to look after her if I do not return.”
“You have my word. I’ll watch over her, but you know I can’t control her without harming her.”
Cole laughed low. “I know. She’s a fighter, and if it comes to that, let her do what she needs. But watch over her.”
***
Nancy pulled the key from her pocket as Mia relayed the rest of the sheriff’s message. When they reached the parking lot, Mia paused.
“Nancy, can you wait one second?”
Nancy arched a brow, looking at her sideways as she stopped by Cole’s car. Luckily, the doors were still unlocked from earlier. When she reached in to grab her purse, she noticed something on the floor that she couldn’t wait to wrap her hands around. Shutting the door behind her, she stepped back.
“Hey, Nancy, do you guys get these department cars repaired pretty quickly?”
Nancy cocked her head, giving Mia a suspicious look. “We get a new car until the one that’s broken is repaired. But Cole really loves this car.”
Mia bit the inside of her cheek and with a wicked grin, she stepped backward. “Good. That’s what I was hoping for.” The beautiful, rectangular, red brick rolled out from her fingers as if she were a pitcher on a mound, shattering Cole’s window.
Nancy’s mouth twitched, and it almost looked like she would smile. “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” Nancy stopped a couple cars over, pressing the key fob to unlock the doors.
Mia whistled as she glided down in the seat, running her hands across the leather. “Nice Beamer. I take it this is not a department car?” She admired it further by looking into the back seat.
Nancy smile as she turned the key in the ignition. “Yes, it is. They give me what I want. I’m a full Sector 13 agent, whereas Cole works for the department and is on the Sector 13 Task Force.”
Mia filed the information, smiling at Nancy. She had a feeling Nancy didn’t give out information easily, and was honored to get the info she got.
Nancy brought the car to a stop in front of Mia’s apartment.
“Thanks for the ride. Nancy, do you remember your idea? Are you still up for using me as bait?”
Nancy’s eyes glowed with excitement giving them a light chocolate hue. “I’ll call you tomorrow. Cole and the sheriff can’t know, Mia.”
“Okay. I know who’s bringing the girls to Bass. I can take you there. I saw it through Art’s pack of Reds.”
Nancy’s smile broadened. “I knew it. I was hoping you’d pick them up. That’s why I placed them on the table for you to see. Hey, do you know anyone with a big truck? Something that would hold a couple of girls and provide a safe place for us to sleep?”
“Won’t the FBI provide that?”
“We are alone on this, Mia. If the sheriff knows, he will stop it.” Nancy’s tone was firm with a touch of a threat.
“Well, if I’m going to be used, at least I can do it of my own free will. I can get us a truck. See you tomorrow.” As soon as she walked into the apartment, Cole’s smell filled her senses, jerking her emotions forward. She traced the scent with her eyes to the couch. His torn shirt hung over the backrest. She stared at it as if it had a heartbeat.
After a quick shower, she grabbed the shirt on the way to bed, curling herself around it. The drums beat with a thunderous boom in her head. One dream fading into another. Something was coming, something powerful.