Chapter 25

The best medical bay in this country was on Jason’s plane. Alex had Sebastian and Kai sent there while the rest of the team headed to the hotel. Adam said there was an emergency there.

On the way, it had been decided the conference was over. Everyone would leave immediately. She promised Esmeralda and Morgan she would call them before takeoff. She wasn’t sure how to tell them about Amy.

David stayed with his brother and Sebastian. Xavier and Alex were the only members of the team left to fight. Erin was the next target.

“We’ll find her,” Xavier hummed as he pushed the SUV faster and faster toward the hotel. “And when we do, she’s done.”

“We have to make sure Jason and his group are secured on the plane first. If she hasn’t found the tracker I planted on her, then she’ll be easy to find.”

They pulled up to the hotel and were escorted to Jason’s floor. As they exited the elevator, the smell of ash wafted toward them.

“Someone’s dead,” Xavier whispered.

Alex entered the room to see it in shambles. Jason sat next to the window, a pile of ash at his feet. Adam was on the phone next to the rumpled king-size bed. He spoke in low tones.

“What happened?” she asked the room.

“Nikki’s missing,” Jason’s weary voice announced.

“Mobile?”

“No answer,” he sighed. “We’re trying to track it, but so far nothing.”

Alex walked around the mess hoping to spot a clue. She didn’t think Nikki was in on this, but she had to be sure.

“Who’s dust?” she asked.

“Paul, probably,” Adam answered before Jason could. “He was assigned to her, and that’s his ring there in the middle.”

A small signet sat on the dust, charred and warped from the heat of his body as it burned. Jason just stared at it without blinking. Then she spotted something odd—the pile of coffee grounds next to the ash.

“Coffee grounds. Where’d they come from?”

Xavier picked up the busted wrapper with a knife he took from the room service tray.

“Looks like they’re from a café around the corner from here.”

Jason stood, crossed in front of Alex then punched the flatscreen TV dead center. The glass spiderwebbed but stayed bolted to the wall. He stepped up to a silent bodyguard.

“Go down to the café and find out if she was there,” he ordered.

“Yes, Sire,” he said, taking the paper from Xavier and leaving the room.

“Why wasn’t she at this morning’s meeting?” Alex asked Jason’s back.

“I told her she could have the morning off,” he said. It didn’t sound like the complete truth to her.

She turned to everyone else. “Give us five minutes please. Then take Mr. Stavros and Mr. Craig to the plane.”

When the room was empty, except for Adam, Jason, and Alex, he turned to her. He looked angry and tired and ready to kill someone. He didn’t want do this in front of Adam, but right now his pride wasn’t the most important thing, was it?

“Why wasn’t she with you this morning?” Alex repeated.

“We argued, so I told her to stay here.”

Adam took a seat on the bed.

“What did you argue about?”

“Us,” he answered. “You and me.”

Jason glanced at Adam, who was still as a statue. Unlike Alex, he knew Adam could mask his rage into a nonchalant gaze of indifference.

“So you got mad and made her stay here,” Alex said. He nodded. “Did you notice anything unusual when you left?”

“Nothing.”

He watched her approach the pile of ash and pick up the ring. She stood as she studied it closely. Then she slipped it in her pocket. That’s when he noticed the rips and tears in her uniform. That’s when he noticed she had blood on her hands too.

“When was the last time you fed from her?” she asked in the most unemotional tone he had ever heard.

His anger burned through him. Was she trying to embarrass him? Scold him in front of his sire?

“A couple of days ago,” he replied when he realized why she asked the question. “I don’t think I can track her now. I’ve never been very good at it and she’s fed from someone else recently.”

“Who?” Adam joined the conversation.

Jason dropped his gaze to the ashes then back up at Alex. She shook her head as she rubbed at her temples. They all turned to the door when it opened again.

“We got a fix on Erin,” Xavier announced.

“The tracker worked?” Alex asked, a little excited.

“No. She’s on the phone,” he replied as he held his out to her. “She wants to speak to you.”

“He wants her back, you know,” Alex heard Erin giggle. There was some commotion in the background. Nikki’s voice screamed and Coop’s familiar chuckle cut through it.

“Yes, I know.”

“You seem awfully calm for someone who just got dumped,” she giggled. “But, you’re probably used to it by now, huh?”

“Let’s get to the part where you tell me where you are,” Alex sneered. “You know it’s me you want and you know you’re gonna tell me to come and get Nikki.”

“You’re so smart, aren’t you?”

The line went dead then a text came through—the address to Dracula’s Castle.

“Who was that?” Jason said. “Do they have Nikki? Is she alive?”

“Yes and we’ll get her back. I just need to get you to the plane safely.”

Adam stepped in her path to the door. “Who was that?”

“Erin.”

“Erin,” Jason stated. “Your Erin?”

“Yes. She and Coop, and probably Creed, have Nikki. We’re going to get her back, alive, and then we’re leaving this place.”

“I’m going with you,” Jason announced as he dropped one last bag on the cart and watched the bellhop roll it away.

“No, you’re not.”

“Why is it just you and Xavier here? Where are the others?”

They followed the cart to the elevator. Jason let Adam get on first, then he told him they would take the next one. The doors closed with Adam glaring at them.

“Where are the others?” he repeated.

The car came up and they stepped inside. Alex pressed the button and kept her back to Jason. He spun her around.

“Where is the rest of the team?”

“Sebastian was hurt in the explosion,” she said as she faced forward again. “Kai is in critical condition. David is with him.”

“And Amy?”

Alex faced Jason and she fought back tears with everything she had.

“She’s dead.”

The stunned look on Jason’s face almost made her cry. The doors opened and she waved him out first. As they walked behind his bags, two bodyguards fell in line behind them. Everything was already loaded in the trucks when they stepped outside. It had become overcast and began to snow again.

 

Erin didn’t like to wait. Not for permission. Not for action. Not for anything. All that time spent training with Alex and learning from her had paid off though. I know Alex pretty well, she thought to herself. Alex will come for Jason’s whore just to look like the bigger person. She won’t let Jason come with her though—not smart. And, if nothing else, Alex is smart.

“Idiots,” Nikki hissed at them, “all of you!”

With a grin, Erin turned from the dirty window she had watched the sun set through. Nikki, held to a metal chair by pure silver chains, grew weaker by the minute. If they didn’t hurry, it would be too late and Jason would hate Alex forever.

She took a step toward Nikki with the intention of causing her more pain, but Coop stopped her. His hazel eyes sparkled as he spoke.

“Don’t let her in your head. It’s not worth it.”

“Is that the best advice you can give?” Nikki moaned as her head lolled from side to side. She coughed up blood as she laughed. “How about, ‘run before it’s too late’—before I get free?”

The yell brought dust from above. The old theater had seen better days. Its stage was scuffed and dirty, littered with old costumes and sheet music. The once red velvet curtains were moth eaten and filthy from years of neglect. The audience seats were in disarray. Some were tossed carelessly in the orchestra pit. Others had been pulled loose during an abandoned renovation attempt.

Above them, rusted chains held backdrops high. They looked as if they’d fall any minute.

“You should stop struggling, Nick,” Coop said with a smile. “That only helps the silver move faster through your body.”

Coop peered out from center stage. The spots of lights from the damaged roof made it possible to see some of the darker points of the room. But as the sun died, so would the light, so Erin had left a trail for Alex to follow.

All at once, Coop could smell Erin’s blood. Alex had slammed her to the ground pretty hard back at the palace. Her lip was busted. The pain of his fangs as they cut through his still-adjusting gums was bearable, but not by much.

When he stepped up to Nikki, the smell of silver made him queasy. Her once ocean-blue eyes were milky and pale now.

“Bet this isn’t the first time you’ve been tied up, though,” he chuckled as she snapped her teeth at him.

A little giggle came from Erin, but a deeper laugh came at them from the back of the theater. When he stepped from the shadows of the house lights, he looked ten feet tall. As he reached the orchestra pit, dressed in dark slacks and a gray sweater, Mason Creed appeared to float up the stairs.

Creed had a new sense of confidence about him. Coop noticed it right away. A warm glow to his skin, even in the cold, dank place, signaled a recent meal. He’d been dosed and Coop was suddenly jealous.

“Don’t be rude, Cooper,” he smiled as he entered the pool of light Nikki sat in. “She’s our guest, after all.”

Creed frowned as Erin took the handkerchief he held out to her. The scent of her blood and sweat mixed with silver tickled at the back of his throat.

“Wipe her face, please,” he said. “Can’t have her looking like a wet dog when they come.”

Erin did as she was told. Nikki jerked at the chains, but she was too weak to break free. After Erin smoothed her hair back, she took a stance next to Creed.

“Honestly,” she sighed with a shake of her head, “what’s so great about Alex? I mean, I was with her for two weeks and I was ready to kill her in her sleep.”

Creed and Coop laughed. Creed, better than any of them, understood that side of Alex that made you want to kill her. Her judgements were harsh. She found fault in almost everything he had done except when they were in bed. And, come to think of it, she may have held back on her criticism there too. He shook that thought. She never held back, especially when it came to other people’s faults.

“She can be a bitch,” Coop said. “Especially when she’s training someone. Be glad you only had to train for two weeks. I spent six with her before SandBox,” he shook his head slowly. “If I could have spiked her Gatorade, I would have, trust me.”

Creed stood back as Erin and Coop traded war stories about Alex. He could have joined them in the bash, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Even with the harsh way she forced him to end their relationship, he still felt some fondness for her. In a way, he probably always would. But now was not the time to have sympathy for Alex Stone. She was marked by his new sire for something even he was not privy to just yet. And, whatever it was, he wanted to be witness to it, even if he had to watch Tristan destroy her.

“You loved her,” he heard Nikki whisper.

Creed moved close and knelt so he was at eye level with her. The space between them was heavy with the mixture Tristan had created: silver and some other compound formed a cocktail of pain for vampires. He secretly hoped he would get a chance to use it on Coop soon. There was no love lost between them. From the moment Coop had turned and swore his allegiance to Tristan and this plan, he had strutted around like a rooster in a henhouse.

“Yes, I did,” he grinned. “Just like Jason does now.”

Her fangs dropped to sharp points as she managed a weak growl at him. When her eyes opened slightly, her irises were solid white with dilated pupils. The handcuffs were heavily coated in the mixture. At this rate, she’d be dead by the time help came for her. Creed almost felt sorry for her.

“He doesn’t love her,” she hissed and moaned. “He loves me!”

“I know when a man can’t get Alex out of his system,” he sighed. “One word from her and he’ll leave you at the altar. Sorry.”

Blood tears rolled down the sides of her face as her head dropped back. Her long blonde hair fell from the loose bun as she whimpered softly. Then she struggled to raise her head again and growled at Creed.

“He’s coming for me. And I’ll make sure he kills you first!” At that, she lost consciousness. Erin and Coop turned toward them.

“Something I said,” Creed shrugged and stood up again.

He dropped a long arm around Erin’s shoulders and kissed her forehead lightly. Her swollen lip had a small bit of blood on it still. He tipped her chin up and kissed her fully after he cut the tip of his own tongue with a sharp fang. She moaned as he licked her lip with his bloody tongue. Erin pressed her body to his. When he pulled away, the mixture of his blood and hers had healed the cut on her lip almost completely.

“Thank you,” she purred sweetly.

 

“Sebastian’s not doing so well,” Xavier said as they prepared to leave the plane and rescue Nikki. “Jason’s doctor says there’s something in his blood that he doesn’t recognize. He needs a professional lab to identify it.”

“This won’t take long,” she replied. Her phone buzzed with a text. Help was on the way to the castle now. “What about Kai?”

He just shook his head. “Same thing.” David took in a deep breath and stepped closer. “Can’t Jason help? I mean, at least heal some of the damage?”

Alex had thought of that, but whatever was in Sebastian’s bloodstream could also hurt Jason. That was not an option. As far as Kai was concerned, there was too much physical damage for even the pills to repair. Shrapnel from the explosion had ripped through him like bullets. For him to have sustained this much damage, he was most likely in the first stages of degeneration anyway. If that were true, how long would it be before Xavier and David started to display symptoms too? Then she thought about Amy.

From what the doctor was able to tell, she died the instant that metal hit her body. No vampire on earth was strong enough to bring back the dead. The impact had sent the pole through Sebastian and straight through her heart. And it was coated with the same compound as was found in Kit—a new poison with some sort of cryogenic base, her father said. Laced with pure silver nitrate, this new poison would be a problem for all vampires, especially the youngest ones. Unless they could find an antidote, any vampire under a couple hundred years old was susceptible to it. Even the oldest of the pure could be slowed down by it.

“He can’t risk it,” Alex answered. David’s face morphed into a deep sadness. “Sebastian was exposed to that toxin. Amy died instantly,” she took David in her arms, placed her lips close to his ear. He trembled as he let her hold him. “Stay with them,” she whispered. “I need you focused.”

When they heard voices in the distance, David moved out of her arms with a quick nod as he wiped away his tears.

Jason came from the back of the plane with a look of determination. He also had a bodyguard and a gun with him.

“You’re not going,” she said with a shake of her head.

“Try and stop me,” he replied.

She glanced at the guard then Xavier, who shrugged.

“You stay close and do as I say,” she ordered Jason. “When we find Nikki, you get her out and don’t look back.”

“You and Xavier are not going to win this alone,” Jason hissed.

Alex adjusted the earpiece and the weapon under her jacket. “We’re not going to be alone.”

Xavier led the way to the exit ramp. Adam appeared from the cockpit. His stare stopped them all in their tracks.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he growled at Jason.

“I can do this, Sire,” he said. “I’m going to do this. I don’t need your permission.”

Adam turned his clouded eyes to Alex. “He dies, you die.”

Alex just nodded and waved Xavier forward.

“Jason and the big guy will be back here shortly,” she said as Adam followed them to the doorway. At the top of the ramp, she turned to Adam. “If we’re not back one hour after they arrive, take off. If your doctor can keep Sebastian and Kai stable, 51 will be waiting for them. No one touches Amy. Your doctor knows what to do when Nikki gets here.”

Adam’s expression softened. “Understood.”

 

Tomas looked nervous, but Becker was more so. He didn’t want to let Alex down and he sure as hell didn’t want to lose whoever was responsible for Matt’s death. Every waking moment over the last few weeks was spent monitoring Strategic and the Tracker team for any information on Matt’s killers.

As he checked his weapon for the fifth time in as many minutes, he kept the image of Matt’s dead body in his mind. It would help him do what needed to be done to bring the bastards responsible to justice. Not the justice anyone would be familiar with though. He wanted justice to be in the Circle, with Lucas Wolfe. The toughest bastard in any pack in the world. If the guilty were lucky, he’d take them out quick. But, from the looks of Matt’s remains, they didn’t go easy on him, so turnabout is fair play. Money talks in the merch business, and, as of five minutes ago, someone had talked their organization into a capture instead of a termination.

“K.C.,” Tomas interrupted his thoughts. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just peachy,” he grinned.

“I don’t understand,” he frowned over the passenger seat.

“I’m good,” Becker replied.

His driver and right-hand-man, Marcus, glanced at Becker in the rearview. He was a former Navy Seal. But it’s hard to give up the rush of hunting and war sometimes. When he lost his right foot in combat, he was sidelined.

“Becks,” Marcus said over the heater. “We sure this Stone chick ain’t gonna screw us on this deal? I mean, our client paid us a good chunk of change to bring whoever in. You sure you can handle her?”

Becker understood the hesitation. In this line of business, it was hard to know who to trust, even if that someone saved your life once or twice. “She’s good.”

“Okay,” Marcus sighed. The truck picked up speed. Becker glanced back to make sure the others were still close behind them. He wanted to get there in one piece though.

Dracula’s Castle rose slowly ahead of them in the darkness. Spotlights, yellow and dim, lit up the concrete path all the way to the front entrance. They wouldn’t use the front door this time. Marcus killed the headlights when Becker ordered. He slowed down and eased the four-wheel drive vehicle off the main road.

“There’s a caretaker’s path to your left,” Becker announced. “You should see it soon. Park there.”

True to the map in his head, it was there. Muddy snow piled on either side, but it was there. The two trucks parked. Four big guys exited the truck behind them. As they stood between them, Becker repeated the drill and made sure the comms were in working order.

Two men headed toward the back entrance. Deliveries were made there and a flimsy lock held the bay doors in place. The other pair, led by Tomas, headed back to the main road. Just to the right of the main entrance was a set of French doors. They would gain access from there. Becker and Marcus would take the scenic route.

With their climbing gear secure, Becker, Marcus, and their team stepped up to the lowest wall and scaled it quickly. It would have been much easier if he were still on the drugs, but it felt good to do this as a regular guy. At the top of the building, they dropped the gear, checked weapons and comms, and made their way to a roof entrance. In the near dark, the rusty stairs looked about ready to collapse. At the bottom, a red fire alarm light focused a beam on the hardwood floor. Reaching the bottom without much noise, they waited in the darkness to see if anyone heard. Thirty seconds went by—then all hell broke loose.