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IF YOU DECIDE TO attack a base full of armed super-villains, always find cover, especially if you’re human and you can’t heal like one of them. A bullet flew so close by my head I swear I felt my hair move. Shock happens. Put that on a T-shirt.
One minute we were out in the open, and the next, we were huddled together behind a wooden crate in the corner of the warehouse, having been funneled here like cattle to their slaughter.
Larna inspected the rest of her gear and then chanced a peek around the side of the crate. “Ten more just showed up… at least. You got any more ammo?”
I flung myself down beside her, fumbling with the Velcro on my vest in order to yank a magazine out of my pocket and slam it into her hands. She reloaded the fresh mag as another hail of gunfire erupted around us.
“Where’s Black Beard?” I growled. “Or better yet, Vinson?”
“Who is Black Beard?” she asked as she fired two more rounds blindly around the side of the crate. “And Vinson is supposed to be on the roof, where we should be right about now. But unless you have a way past all those guards out there, we’re trapped.”
“Black Beard—the guy I compelled. Here. I’ve got three rounds left.” I handed her the gun and she tucked it into her belt. There wasn’t enough room for me to start shooting, so I stayed down and let her take over.
I rested the dagger on my lap, holding it reverently in the palms of my hands. It was time I took them all out.
“Vinson better hurr—” Larna started to say, but her voice caught as soon as she saw the blade on my lap. “As much as I want to see you throw down some thunder and lightning, I also really don’t want to be caught in the crossfire.”
I wasn’t sure if I would take her out in the process, a prospect that left my mouth dry as a bone. I felt something wet on my head and ran a hand through my hair. It came back slick with blood. The bullet must have grazed me, or maybe it was from when we crashed. Either way, I had been banged up pretty good.
I ground my teeth together, looking down at the blade. “I hate that there isn’t an instruction manual for this thing.” Another barrage of gunfire smacked into the wall near my head, and I ducked lower. “But it would appear we might be out of options.”
Larna pulled the pistol with the remaining three rounds from her waistband as if she were the last surviving samurai. “Not if I can help it.”
Before she could jump out in a blaze of glory, the shooting suddenly stopped, and everything went deathly still.
With a quick glance around the corner, she turned back to me, her eyes round as saucers. “They’re just standing there—”
A deep, resonating voice rang out, interrupting Larna. “Corinth Taylor,” a woman’s voice said loudly, “further bloodshed will not be necessary.”
The way she said my name made me think she might have known me, so from my crouched position, I risked a glance out. A striking woman stood in the center of the warehouse. A throng of bad guys all dressed in black surrounded her. Wearing a long flowing crimson gown, she looked completely out of place. The dress hugged her curves in all the right places, though. If I hadn’t just survived a deadly fire-fight, I might have found her ridiculously attractive.
I didn’t, though, find her attractive.
Hoping I sounded just as authoritative as she did, I shouted, “I see my reputation has proceeded me… You know my name, but I don’t know yours.”
I guess I still needed a confidence boost, because Larna rolled her eyes at me.
The woman’s commanding voice carried throughout the warehouse, sounding ominous. “I am Imani.” She said her name as if I should know who she was. “You’re surrounded. There are more guards on their way. Come out now and I will guarantee your safety.”
As I thought about it, I realized her name did sound vaguely familiar. And then it hit me. I turned quickly back to Larna. “That sociopath who compelled my sister, Zoey, back at the cemetery. Remember the chick wearing that red dress?” I motioned to the other side of the crate and mouthed, “That’s her.”
Larna’s frown deepened as she nodded. “Now what?”
I gave her an exaggerated shrug. “Do you think Vinson set timers on all those explosives?”
“Good question,” she said.
I yelled out around the corner of the crate, “I have a firm rule against trusting anyone wearing that amount of red!”
I heard a flurry of motion and footsteps shuffling closer as Imani said, “I just want to talk. I can’t guarantee your safety when the others arrive. Give up now.”
I poked my head out briefly to get a better look at her. She stood out as bright as a beacon on an open sea of darkly clad enemies. I had the same impression the last time I saw her. There was no forgetting those Amazonian legs and rich black skin. The smallest hint of a smile played on cherry-red lips. I wondered if this was her intention—wearing the opposite of Deimos’ usual clan attire to show her position and separation from the rest of the group. Maybe Gabe worked for her. Either way, I had a feeling I didn’t want to mess with her.
She snapped impatiently at someone. It took three of their biggest and baddest to haul a struggling Vinson through the set of double doors he’d run into when the shooting had started.
Oh no, this is bad. Very bad.
He was bound and wrapped up like a Christmas present. My heart plummeted at seeing him trussed up like that. They dropped him unceremoniously at Imani’s feet. He thrashed against his bonds as the three who carried him out stayed close, the fear evident on their faces. Vinson wasn’t one to trifle with and they knew it.
Shooting a worried glance at Larna, I whispered, “This is not good.” I drew the dagger up to my chest and squeezed it tightly, willing it to come up with a plan so I didn’t have to.
“If you don’t come out, I’ll drain him right here in front of you, Corinth… I really would like to keep this civil.”
Larna raised her gun, ready to unload the three remaining bullets on them, but I dove toward her to grab her arm. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
“We don’t have a plan B,” she murmured. “Better me than you.”
“More bloodshed isn’t going to help us get Vinson back. Plus, there are a lot more out there than three vamps. We have to think of another way out of this.”
Imani snapped impatiently. “Have it your way.”
From my crouched position behind the crate, I watched with growing dread as the three goons picked Vinson up and presented him to Imani like he was a fine bottle of wine. Without preamble, she pulled off her five-inch stilettos. Even with her shoes off, she was tall. I suddenly realized I didn’t want to know what she was going to do.
Imani rolled her shoulders back and, with calculated coldness, said, “A woman’s shoes are her best asset.” Her eyes flicked back toward us to make sure we were witnessing what she was about to do. Once she was satisfied that we were watching, she drew back the sharp point of her heel and slammed it into his thigh.
I was sure it had to be excruciatingly painful to have a lady’s stiletto shoved into your leg, but he didn’t scream or shout. In fact, the only way I knew it affected him was from a deep blue vein popping out on his forehead.
I, however, jerked back as if it was my leg she’d stabbed. Throwing a hand over my mouth, I exchanged another glance with Larna. I’m sure the expression on her face matched mine in abhorrence.
We couldn’t let him be tortured. Since Jack had been killed, Vinson had become our most trusted ally. And even though he’d never say it to me, I considered him my friend. I was pretty sure the only reason he stuck around was out of loyalty for Jack. Those two had had a special bond. Whatever Jack had done to earn that trust from him had to have been huge. I knew there was a story there, but I never pressed. Whatever his motivation for helping us, he was still a part of this team. It was high time I stepped up.
Imani had stopped talking, but I could still hear the impatience in her body language: a tapping of a long red fingernail against her patent leather heels. She snapped her fingers again, and the guy to her left handed her his gun, and when she aimed it right between Vinson’s eyes my heart shot up into my throat.
I blew out a deep breath, knowing exactly what I had to do and not liking it one bit. Clutching the dagger between slick fingers, I leaped out from behind the safety of cover, raising my hands over my head. “Don’t kill him,” I said loudly. “I’m coming out.”
Imani smiled coolly at me, her eyes sliding to the blade in my hand. She handed the gun back to the goon on her left, and ever so slowly, pulled her heel out of his thigh, the small smile turning into a sadistic grin as Vinson struggled against his captor’s hold.
I scanned our surroundings, searching for a way out. There were about fifteen vamps surrounding us. Three were crouched near the demolished car, two more against the wall on the opposite side of the warehouse, and the rest surrounding Imani and Vinson.
We are so screwed.
Larna was a few feet behind me. I was glad I couldn’t see her face, mainly because I could feel her eyes burrowing into the back of my skull. She was probably beyond pissed at me for giving myself up. I just hoped I could get them both out of this, myself be damned.
There was only one play I had left.
“Well, well, well… the—” her eyes flicked over me, assessing “—boy of the hour.” She licked her blood-red lips as if in anticipation of devouring a tasty snack.
As I inched closer, I noticed her eyes were swallowed by black. She looked both seductive and deadly. She’d given me the same kind of scrutiny back at the graveyard.
Anger bubbled to the surface, but I didn’t feel the torrent of power that usually flooded through me when I took hold of the blade. All that was left was a woozy fatigue.
“You were at the church with my sister.” I flashed a wicked grin. “Please tell me Gabe has a nice scar on his back.” My eyebrows shot up, bragging. “You know… from when I stabbed him with the dagger and he ran away like a coward.” I looked her up and down before saying, “I seem to remember you running scared too, sweetheart.”
She tapped a long red fingernail against the side of her pistol, arms crossed over her chest. After a second, she let out a chillingly cold laugh while the rest of her entourage glanced nervously between each other. I didn’t think they liked the fact that I still had my hands on the infamous blade.
Imani didn’t seem worried in the least, though, as she eyed me with one side of her mouth snaking upward. “You seem different than when I saw you last.”
I may not have been stronger than these bozos, but she wasn’t going to win the battle of snark against me. “I’ve been doing a lot of yoga lately. There’s this great video you should watch—”
Imani threw her head back, and a lock of dark, wavy hair fell to the side. “I like you.” She turned to the two vamps closest to us and motioned to them with her gun. “But you talk too much.”
The short one with blond hair swept back into a long ponytail grabbed me. I could practically hear his teeth clacking together as he yanked the dagger from my grip. He slow-blinked a few times, probably expecting to be struck down where he stood. When nothing happened, he gave me a rough shove into their newly formed inner circle.
I stumbled forward, shooting him an angry glare over my shoulder. “I’ll go with you, Imani… I won’t fight. Just let them both go.” I swallowed hard, turning back to face her. “You have the dagger and me, just like you wanted.”
The urgent concern in Larna’s voice wasn’t lost on me as she hissed, “Corinth, what are you doing?”
Larna tried to break free at the last second, vaulting forward, her gun back in her grip at the same time as the second vamp cold-cocked her from behind. She fell to her knees, and then he was savagely yanking her back to her feet, relieving her of her pistol. I watched with growing dismay as he grabbed a pair of heavy-duty-looking handcuffs from his belt and wrenched her arms behind her back to snap them on her wrists.
I stepped toward them, but rough hands on my shoulders stopped me. Through clenched teeth, I said, “Y’all seem to be awfully frightened of us.” I whispered menacingly, “Good. You should be.”
Blondie gave me another hard shove as Imani beckoned for him to bring me closer. I couldn’t help but notice the glare Vinson gave me from his place at Imani’s now-bare feet. He was livid, his face a shade of plum that belonged only on a piece of fruit.
She seemed to entertain my negotiation until she cooed, “No deal.” Her lips parted and her teeth flashed dangerously—a face that said she ate babies for breakfast. The dried blood on the side of my head seemed to draw her interest. Feral eyes skimmed to it and then to the bandages on my neck and forearm.
Vampires suck. Literally. If most of my friends weren’t vamps, I’d wipe every single one of them off the face of this earth.
Recognizing that look on her face, I murmured, “Why don’t you try a taste?”
Imani held up a finger to quiet me. “Maybe later …” She inclined her head toward Larna. “For now, Gabriel Stanton wants the girl alive.” She waved a dismissive hand at Vinson. “Kill the Russian.” Then her eyes leveled on me. “We have some things to discuss before I turn you over to Gabriel.”
Imani pointed to the blond with the long ponytail, motioning for him to give her the blade he’d taken from me. Her minion snapped to attention, handing it over as a look of relief washed over his face.
She took it from him with delicate pianist’s fingers. I didn’t like the worshipful glint in her eyes as she studied every inch of it.
Panic twisted inside me, spiraling up my chest; constricting my throat. Why couldn’t I turn my powers on and off whenever I needed them? What was the point in having stupid abilities if I couldn’t use them? The dagger was mine. It had chosen me. I didn’t like seeing her talons on my blade.
Ponytail pulled me roughly away from the rest of our group. It was enough to send me into a tailspin. If they led me away from Larna and Vinson I had a feeling I’d never see them again. There are times when you have to fight. This was one of those times. I kicked out at the vamp that had started to haul me away, readying myself for the fight of my life, but someone sucker punched me in the gut—someone supernatural, because I hadn’t seen it coming or even felt the usual signs accompanied with vampire speed. I sank to my knees, gasping in pain, but still managed to throw a terrified glance over my shoulder. What did I just do? In my stupid thirst to prove myself, I would have agreed to just about any moronic idea. Give yourself up to the bad guy, Corinth… stellar idea.
The goon who’d punched me grabbed my other arm to haul me roughly back to my feet. His gargantuan forehead looked like a blurry smear in my vision as he punched me in the gut again. I doubled over, wheezing, “That… all you… got, Potato Head?”
As soon as Larna saw him hit me, she tried to break free, but her captor yanked hard on the handcuffs, bringing her to her knees. The last thing I saw were her eyes blazing in anger as two more thugs jumped on top of her, trying to hold her down.
“Corinth, I’ll get us out of this!” she shouted, but then her voice, thick with emotion, was fading as I was hauled through a set of double doors on the opposite side of the warehouse.
Imani held her shoes in one hand, and my dagger in the other, leading the way; her dress fanned out behind her just like a devil’s pitchfork.