PHOENIX CRINGED AS she watched the motel door open, and Gerald entered the room after being outside to make phone calls. They hadn’t made it far the night before. While Gerald’s SUV had been drivable after he had crashed it, it’d made clanking noises, and he hadn’t wanted to risk going too far in it and having it breakdown. This had earned her a black eye next to the one she’d already sported from when he punched her after her escape. She’d managed to peek at them the few times when she was allowed to go to the bathroom, and they hadn’t looked too pretty.
He had found a cheap roadside motel room to stop and stay, and he’d immediately trussed her up to make sure she wouldn’t escape again. She would have tried during the transition from the vehicle to the motel room, except he had kept his gun on her head the whole time.
He had tied a rope around her wrists and then wrapped the rope around the back of the headboard, so her arms were spread wide on the bed. This time, he had gagged her, too. Thankfully, he had tied her feet together and then to the dresser across from the bed. She didn’t know if she could have stood it if she’d had her legs tied spread eagle.
So far, he hadn’t raped her, but he had tried. After he had tied her up, he had stepped outside for a while to use his phone. The cunning asshole had watched her through the open window the whole time, and Phoenix hadn’t been lucky enough to have someone walk by and see her tied up.
When Gerald had stepped back inside the hotel room, she had seen the sexual gleam in his eye, and she had wanted to puke. The thought of the traitorous bastard sticking his gross, nasty penis inside her had almost made her hyperventilate. The only thing stronger than her revulsion was her resolve for him not to know how much she was affected by his threats. Thank God he didn’t know about her past.
Gerald came into the room and pulled down her gag. “Don’t bother screaming. There is no one to hear you.” Then, he used a claw to cut her shirt open and ogled her chest. “I always knew you had a great rack hidden under those ridiculous clothes.”
She hated her breasts. She had developed early, and it had earned her attention that she had never wanted or asked for. It took all her concentration to pretend that she was bored and not trembling with fear and revulsion inside.
She shrugged. “Whatever. They are just boobs. Every woman has them.”
He didn’t even bother looking at her face when he replied, “Not everyone has what you have.”
The man was practically salivating now, and it made her sick.
When he bent down and put her nipple in his mouth, she had almost passed out. She had gone back and forth between hoping she would and that she wouldn’t. If she passed out, she wouldn’t have to endure the torture, but if she did, he would know that this provoked her far more than she was letting on.
She didn’t expect him to raise his head halfway from her and yell, “What the fuck?” He leaned back down and bit her nipple hard enough to draw blood.
She stifled her scream even though she wanted to shake him off and cover herself.
“Fucking whore.”
She had no idea what he was talking about, and she didn’t even get to ask when he bit her other nipple with just as much force.
This time, a whimper escaped her.
Gerald jumped from the bed and threw her shirt together over her chest. “I’ve been waiting for years to get my mouth on your goddamn tits, and now, you reek like a fucking vampire. You walked around all high and mighty, too good for anyone, but you spread your legs for a fucking bloodsucker. Fucking vampire whore. God, I can’t even stand the smell of you.”
She had never had sex with a vampire, but she had let Dante feed from her, and she had drunk some of his blood in return. Of course, there was the orgasm that he had given her during the feeding, but they had never had sex.
At this point, she would have welcomed Dante into her bed a thousand times if it meant that Gerald wouldn’t touch her.
“Dante is ten times the man you are.” She meant it, too.
This had earned her a slap across the face and a fat lip to go with her two black eyes and her bruised and bloody nipples before he’d put her gag back in place. But at least he hadn’t touched her again. In truth, he had mostly ignored her since then, which was a huge relief. He had slept most of the day and spent a lot of the night planning who-knows-what. She couldn’t imagine he had any allies left.
But now, he watched her as he approached the bed, and she knew her reprieve was over.
“Hey, vamp whore. I have to step out and take care of some business.”
This would be her opportunity to get away.
He smirked. “Don’t even think about it, cunt. I have someone watching the room. They won’t hesitate to shoot your pretty head off if you try to leave.”
With that, he spun and left the motel room. Apparently, he still had a few friends out there. Maybe he had hired humans to do his dirty work again.
Phoenix waited a few minutes until she heard his vehicle leaving before trying to break free of her binds. She might not be able to leave the room without getting her head blown off, but she didn’t have to wait here like a sitting duck. She could plan her own attack against the traitor, including calling for backup. Dumbass had left the motel phone. For someone trying to take over the pride, he wasn’t the brightest.
She started working on getting her hands loose, but she was completely exhausted. She hadn’t slept at all the night or day before, even while Gerald had been sleeping, because she had worried that he would try something. Maybe if she rested her eyes for a minute, she’d have more energy to get free.
When she awoke, she saw that she had lost several hours. Shit.
Gerald could be back at any minute. She’d wasted way too much time sleeping.
Since she hadn’t been able to get her hands free before, she tried a new strategy. She began working on pulling the dresser closer to the bed with her legs, and then she felt it. It was a tingle deep inside her, a hum in her blood. She actually looked around the room, expecting someone to be there, but she was alone.
The feeling grew, and soon, she was able to figure out what it was.
More importantly, who it was.
Dante.
It was coming up on the end of the second night in the quest to find Phoenix, and Dante was feeling helpless. They had struck out the night before, and it looked like tonight was also going to be a bust. He hated that the sun restricted him. He wanted to keep searching. Dante had even lowered his blocking a little in hopes that Phoenix would feel him and, in turn, make her emotions stronger.
Right now, they were searching hotels and motels all around the Cities, but it was probably hopeless. If Dante were Gerald, he would’ve hightailed it out of town.
“We’ll find her, man,” Hunter said from beside him.
Dante had told Hunter he could work on this alone, but Hunter had insisted on helping Dante.
Truth be told, Dante appreciated any help he could get.
“Thanks, but I’m—”
“Dante, what is it?”
“I can feel her.” Dante looked at Hunter with amazement. “I can actually feel her.”
“Is she scared?”
Dante chuckled. “More like pissed.”
“What are you waiting for? Let’s go get her.”
They were in an area with a cluster of cheap roadside motels, and it took Dante a couple of minutes to pinpoint Phoenix’s location. He hadn’t even been sure if that was where she was at first, and he hadn’t wanted to assume.
The two vampires exited the vehicle and scouted the area. The only thing they found was the motel attendant playing video games at the desk and one family fast asleep on the other side of the motel. Hopefully, breaking Phoenix free would be a relatively quiet ordeal, and no cops would be called.
When he located the room Phoenix was in and noted the absence of any vehicle, he hoped it was a good sign that she was alone.
The curtains were pulled on the room, but once they got close, the vampires could smell the distinct scents of two cat-shifters.
“Ready?” Dante asked Hunter.
“Ready.”
Dante kicked open the door and was greeted with the sight of Phoenix tied up on the bed. The look on her face and the feeling in his blood of her relief hit him at the same time. He smiled at her to reassure her even though he wanted to rage about her bruised face. Then, he looked down and saw her mangled shirt.
Dante saw red. He was going to kill the fucker for what he had done to her.
Dante moved to free Phoenix when he heard a vehicle outside. Hunter had closed the motel room door behind them, so Dante looked out the window.
It was Gerald.
“Hunter, untie her while I go take care of this asshole.”
Phoenix tried to shout something under her gag, and Hunter yelled out his name, but Dante was on a mission.
The motel parking lot was scattered with lights, so he didn’t have the cover of night to keep him cloaked. Dante had to move fast if he was going to get the jump on Gerald.
Gerald parked far away from the room, probably in case someone spotted his vehicle, before he stepped out of his SUV and grabbed stuff off his seat. Gerald had his back to Dante, so Dante calmed his raging nerves and walked quietly toward the cat-shifter. But it was as if Gerald somehow sensed Dante, and he spun around.
Not wanting to lose Gerald, Dante charged forward. He wanted to destroy the shifter, but he had promised Vance that he would bring the criminal in alive, so Dante’s goal was to incapacitate him.
However, Dante never even got the chance to try.
Gerald hauled his ass back into his vehicle, started it up, and drove out of there as fast as it would take him.
The only thing Dante could do was note that Gerald was still driving his own SUV, going by the license plate, and the direction the automobile was going. He’d had almost had Gerald. It was a huge setback and a major disappointment.
“Dante! Dante!”
Dante swung around just in time to catch Phoenix, who had made a flying leap into his arms.
She wound her arms and legs around him and held on for dear life. “We have to get out of here. Gerald has someone watching the room. He’ll kill you. Gerald said he had a gun,” Phoenix pleaded with him.
Dante smoothed his hand down her hair. “Shh...it’s okay. We scouted the area before we went to your room. There was no one. Gerald lied.”
Her body relaxed in his arms. “What a dickface,” she muttered.
Dante couldn’t help but smile. “Let’s get you out of here.”
“Yes, let’s.”
He expected her to drop her legs and walk on her own two feet, but she turned her head and rested it on his shoulder instead.
Hunter exited the motel room and shook his head. Nothing there to help them figure out Gerald’s plan.
Dante walked toward Hunter and dug his keys out of his pocket, which wasn’t easy with a female cat-shifter wrapped around him. Once he reached his prize, he threw them at Hunter. “You drive.”
Hunter grinned at Dante and Phoenix, and Dante scowled in return. This wasn’t what it looked like. Phoenix was just grateful that they had rescued her. Relief was pretty much all he could feel from her blood.
They reached the vehicle, and figuring it was easier, Dante got in the backseat with Phoenix. “Phoenix, you need to buckle up.”
She sighed but slid off his lap into the next seat. As she put on her seat belt, Dante noticed she wasn’t wearing anything but her ripped shirt.
Dante leaned forward to take his jacket off. He sat back in the seat, ready to offer it to Phoenix, when she leaned over and put her head in his lap, so he draped it over her.
He fished his phone out of his pocket and dialed Vance.
“Vance speaking.”
“Hey, it’s Dante. I got Phoenix.”
“Is she okay?”
“A little beat up but okay.”
The cat-shifter sighed with relief. “Gerald?”
“He got away.” Dante gave Vance their location and the direction Gerald had headed. “Sorry that we didn’t get him.”
“Don’t beat yourself up. He’s not your responsibility.” Another sigh. “He’s mine. I’m just glad you found Phoenix.”
Dante glanced into the front of the SUV. “Look, we have just enough time to get Phoenix to you before the sun comes up. Do you have a place where we can crash for the day when we get there?” They wouldn’t have enough time to get home from Vance’s after they dropped Phoenix off.
Phoenix twisted her head and looked up at Dante. “I want to go home with you.”
“Hold on, Vance.” Dante moved the phone away from his mouth. “What?” he asked her just to make sure that he had heard her correctly.
“I want to go home with you.”
Dante began to feel panic coming from her, so he didn’t push. “Um, Vance, Phoenix wants to come back to the compound with me.”
“Okay. I guess as long as she’s protected. With Gerald still on the loose, she’s probably safer with you.”
Phoenix, upon hearing Vance through the phone, rolled back over and visibly relaxed.
“Thanks, Vance. Keep us updated.”
“Will do. Thanks, Dante.”
Dante hung up the phone and stared down at the female in his lap. Despite their blood connection, he had no idea what was going on with her, and he was baffled that she would rather be with him than with her fellow sentinels.
In the end, it wasn’t his job to figure her out. All he could do was keep her safe, and at this point, he would die before letting her get hurt.