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  Ivan nodded as he finally selected the right key and jammed it into the ignition. He turned to Massimo. “Should we take their cell phones now?”

  Massimo was quiet for a long time before his hand darted out and slapped Ivan in the face. “Why didn’t you think of this sooner?”

  Ivan held his face as he cowered against the door. “I’m sorry, sire! I’ll fix it now.”

  “Hurry, stupido! I want to make it back to the city before dawn.”

  “Yes, sire. Of course.”

  He climbed into the back and rummaged through both our pockets until he came up with two cell phones. I cursed the fact that Ivan had remembered at all since last time Massimo forgot. Ivan scurried back into the driver’s seat and got the engine running before he peeled out of the parking lot, me and Charlotte tumbling over one another in the back.

  Things got quiet as we sped down the dark highway. I felt every mile like it was another lash against my heart because every one took me farther from Nicholas.

  I closed my eyes and laid back on the dirty carpet, letting my mind wander and doing my best to ignore the burning pain surrounding my wrists.

  I wondered what, if anything, Nicholas was feeling. I’d never been too curious about beheadings, so I’d never asked if vampires were still conscious while they were missing their head. For his sake, I hoped he wasn’t. I hoped he’d passed out the moment his head had been removed, and he was blissfully unaware that he was about to meet a more permanent ending.

  I squeezed my eyes tighter as my heart contracted in my chest.

  I didn’t want to think about Nicholas dying. About losing him so permanently. But I couldn’t stop. The pain of missing him was all I had left.

  I didn’t know how much time passed, but it was spent in silence. The only sound was the engine and the occasional roar of a passing car.

  All I knew was the sky was no longer the pitch-black of the deep night when the van started beeping.

  “What is that sound?” Massimo asked.

  The other vampire’s hands fluttered along the dashboard, flipping switches and pressing buttons. “I don’t know!”

  “Well, figure it out!”

  The van started to slow, the engine puttering as Massimo berated the other vampire louder, and he got more hysterical.

  Finally, the driver veered onto an off-ramp and navigated us off the highway. We were let out into a quiet residential neighborhood as the van chugged valiantly forward. With one last wheeze, the vehicle ground to a halt and the beeping sound stopped.

  “What the fuck is this, Ivan?” Massimo roared.

  Ivan held up his hands in surrender, his shoulders hunched like he was already preparing for a strike. “I don’t know, sire!”

  “Are you so inept that you couldn’t even purchase a vehicle that would last us one night?”

  “Sire, I didn’t have much money left over after renting the shipping container! This was the best I could do on such short notice and with so little money!” he wailed.

  Massimo darted forward and slapped Ivan hard across the face. The other vampire’s head whipped to the side, the sound reverberating through the van.

  “Go fix it,” Massimo hissed between gritted teeth.

  Ivan jumped out of the vehicle and scurried over to the hood. When he opened it, a cloud of smoke rose into the night sky and Massimo sighed. “Worthless puttana,” he muttered before climbing out of the van to join Ivan out front.

  I glanced around but could only see out the back and front windows. It looked like there were only dark homes nearby and that wouldn’t help me much. Not only could Massimo catch me before I made it to any of them, I wasn’t willing to risk anyone’s life just to save my own.

  With a sigh, I laid back down and stared up at the ceiling, resigning myself to whatever fate had in store. With every passing moment, it got harder to find the will to keep fighting when I knew I had nothing to fight for.

  A loud gasp rang through the van and I turned to find Charlotte’s chest heaving and her eyes wild. I crawled over to her and awkwardly brushed the messy blonde hair out of her face with my bound hands.

  “Hey, Char, are you okay?”

  Her wide blue eyes met mine. “Adrienne?”

  “Yeah, it’s me.”

  She looked around the enclosed space, her gaze darting from corner to corner like a caged animal. “Where are we? What’s going on? Where’s Alexander?”

  My stomach flipped deep inside me as I realized I’d have to be the one to give her the worst news of her life. “We’re with my former maker. I don’t know where he’s taking us, but we’re on the way there now.”

  She focused on me, her eyes still glassy. “Where’s Alexander?” she asked again.

  I swallowed hard, wishing she’d forgotten to ask this question a second time. “He’s back at the training facility.” The words clogged up my throat, making it impossible to speak. But I had to. She deserved to know the truth. “He’s dead,” I said softly.

  Charlotte shook her head, brows furrowed. “No, he’s not.”

  I nodded slowly. “I’m sorry, hon. He is.” The next words didn’t want to break free either, but I pushed them out anyway. “So is Nicholas.”

  Her expression turned soft as she reached for my hand. “How do you know?”

  I closed my eyes as the tears built up and threatened to spill again. “I saw it,” I whispered. I cleared my throat and tried again. “I watched Massimo rip his head off.”

  She squeezed my fingers. “But they can survive that.”

  I blew out a deep breath and shook my head. “Yeah, if anyone finds them before dawn. But they won’t. They’re both gone.”

  The words came out monotone and robotic because that was the only way I could speak them and not break down.

  Charlotte shook her head again. “No, I’m telling you, Alexander–”

  The hood was closed with a loud bang and we both turned to look.

  Massimo grabbed Ivan roughly by the back of the neck and slammed him against the front of the van. “You worthless bastard! Now we’re going to have to find somewhere to stay for the day because you can’t do anything right!”

  “I’m sorry, sire!” he cried. “I’ll fix it. I’ll find us somewhere safe.”

  Massimo picked him back up and then tossed him aside, his face filled with disgust. “You better. And quickly.”

  Ivan scrambled to his feet, head bobbing quickly. “Of course, sire.” He turned to leave when Massimo called him back.

  “You know what? You’ve proven too stupid to handle anything properly.” Massimo shoved him aside and Ivan crashed into the hood of the van again. “I’ll go find somewhere appropriate and you watch the girls. If you fuck this up, I’ll just kill you and save myself the headache.”

  Ivan nodded quickly again. “Of course, sire. I won’t fail you again.”

  Massimo rolled his eyes and stalked off, walking quickly down the street until he was just a black blur in the distance. All three of us watched him in silence before Charlotte broke it.

  “Adrienne, I have to tell you something,” she breathed.

  Ivan’s head whipped in our direction and I looked away before he could see me staring. Turning to Charlotte, I widened my eyes and jerked my head to the side just a fraction of an inch, but it was enough. Her gaze filled with understanding as she pressed her lips together and looked down at her hands.

  I breathed a sigh of relief as Ivan turned back to watch the direction Massimo had disappeared. The van was quiet again. The only sounds were our heartbeats and soft breaths.

  Only a few minutes passed before Massimo returned, a smug smile on his face. “I, of course, have found us the perfect place to wait out the sun.”

  Ivan clapped his hands. “Oh, sire! Of course you did! I never doubted you for a second!”

  Massimo lunged forward and punched Ivan in the face. The other vampire’s head snapped back before blood spurted out of his nose.

  “Silenzio, you idiot!�
� Massimo hissed.

  Ivan grabbed his nose to staunch the blood flow as he nodded over and over. “Of course, sire. Forgive me.”

  Massimo narrowed his eyes at his progeny, his expression full of disdain. “Gather my wife and the human. I’ll show you where we’re staying tonight.”

  Ivan rushed to the back of the van and yanked us out. He had one hand wrapped around each of us as he walked us back toward Massimo. Ivan let go of us for a moment to retrieve a big black backpack out of the front seat before grabbing us once again.

  “How did you find an unoccupied house so quickly, sire?” Ivan asked as we followed Massimo down the suburban street.

  My former maker turned back to us, his eyes lit with excitement. “Oh, it’s occupied, but not for long.”

  Chapter 8

  Alexander

  “What the hell?”

  I ripped my eyes open at the sound, but it didn’t make much of a difference. I’d been staring at the same piece of carpet for hours.

  The only company I had were my own thoughts, and they were dark, and angry, and more sinister than they’d ever been.

  I’d used the hours I laid there helplessly to plan a hundred different ways to payback that Italian bastard. I was going to find that son of a bitch and tear him apart for this.

  Those thoughts were easy to entertain. They kept me furious, and that was enough to crowd out the anxiety that was much larger and louder in the back of my mind.

  But I couldn’t go there. Not now.

  “Bea? You in there?”

  Everything in me yearned to answer back, but that wasn’t possible. When a vampire has their head removed from their body, everything stops functioning. I couldn’t talk, I couldn’t move, I couldn’t do anything but open and close my eyes.

  So, that was what I did.

  I laid there and blinked as I waited for whoever it was to do whatever he was going to do. I was pretty sure this person was a vampire, and I was pretty sure he didn’t want to harm me, but I didn’t actually know, and I was completely at his mercy.

  I hadn’t heard his steps before and figured having my head ripped off my body had dulled some of my senses. But now that the man was closer, I could hear his thick boots thumping up the staircase. I tracked his movements and knew the moment he got a good look inside the training facility.

  “What in the hell happened here?” he yelled.

  Even if I could have answered him, I’m not sure what I would have said. I’d spent all this time trying to figure out an answer to that question myself, and I was coming up empty.

  Massimo was supposed to be securely locked away and starved of blood. He was supposed to be so weak by now that he could barely function. So then, how the hell did we get here?

  It must have had something to do with the power outage at the prison the other day. Massimo had to have been behind that. Or, I guess I should say, his bitch was behind that.

  I’d had no trouble recognizing the vampire I’d spoken to just yesterday. The one who worked in the blood bank. The one who’d had no business even being interviewed by me.

  Was that another part of this whole plot?

  How deep did it go?

  How far?

  Were we even at the bottom of this pile of mess? Or was there more we hadn’t even come across yet?

  Those boots hurried my way, and I was relieved when I was picked up and turned to face a vampire I only vaguely recognized.

  “Don’t you worry. I’ll get you put back together.”

  If I could have moved, I might have kissed him.

  He carried me over to my body, swinging my head a little too hard for comfort, but I wasn’t in a position to complain. The vampire placed my head on the base of my neck and I instantly felt the tingling of my skin healing itself.

  The vampire bit into his wrist and held his bleeding appendage above my mouth. The thick liquid slid down my throat, and the tickling sensation in my neck intensified as my body healed faster.

  The prickling got more pronounced until the feeling was almost uncomfortable. Without warning, feeling shot to every corner of my body and I jackknifed into a sitting position, my chest heaving.

  “There you are,” the other vampire said. “I’ve got some blood in the kitchen I can get you once I’m done with your friend over there.”

  I nodded as I covered my pounding heart with a shaking hand. “I’m okay. Please, help Nicholas,” I gasped.

  The vampire’s eyes widened. “That’s Talbot over there?”

  I could only nod again and watch as the vampire scrambled to his feet and raced across the room.

  I took my time, stretching my fingers and toes and luxuriating in being whole again. Maybe I’d think twice in the future about ripping someone else’s head off.

  But then again, probably not.

  I carefully climbed to my feet, having to use the wall to steady myself. The other vampire’s offer of blood sounded more appealing by the moment.

  I heard Nicholas gasp from across the room and let out a relieved breath of my own. He was alive, and soon we’d both be well enough to start the search.

  Because now that I could stand, even as tentatively as I was, my feet itched with the need to move. To run. To chase after the assholes who took Charlotte from me and get her back.

  My only solace, the only hope I had, was Adrienne was with them too. I just had to believe she would do what she could to protect Charlotte from her maker until I could get to her.

  A tiny trickle of fear crept into my system and I searched the house for danger but came up with nothing. The fear grew to panic, and with it came the knowledge that those weren’t my emotions–they were Charlotte’s.

  I was frozen in place as the panic turned to dread that twisted my stomach. As the minutes passed, it seemed to dissipate, and it felt like I could breathe again.

  “Alexander,” Nicholas croaked.

  I turned to find my boss struggling to his feet. I would have offered to help, but I wasn’t much steadier on mine.

  “I’ll go grab you some bags of blood,” the vampire who’d saved us said as he scurried from the room.

  “Thanks, Edmund,” Nicholas called softly after him.

  I slowly made my way over to Nicholas, feeling stronger with each step I took. By the time I made it to him, Edmund was back with the blood.

  “I found Bea in the kitchen,” he said quietly. “I’ve put her back together too, but it doesn’t look good.”

  He handed us the bags, his eyes glancing over his shoulder like he wanted to run back in there.

  “Go be with her,” Nicholas said as he took the blood from Edmund. He nodded quickly and dashed from the room.

  We were quiet for a moment, both lost in our own thoughts. I wasn’t sure what Talbot was thinking, but I was just adding another score to settle with the Italian fuck.

  We sank our teeth into the bags of blood simultaneously. As I let the thick liquid course down my throat, I tried not to think about the last time I fed. Because it had been from Charlotte’s neck, and it tasted a hell of a lot better than this shit.

  I squeezed my eyes closed and tried to push her picture from my mind. If I was going to keep it together and not completely fall apart, I couldn’t think of her like that. I couldn’t imagine her sweet face or her beautiful smile.

  I had to focus.

  I had to be single-minded.

  I had to be the asshole I was before I met her.

  I finished my bag before Nicholas and crumpled it in my hand. “Come on, Talbot. We need to get out there and follow their trail before it’s too faint to track.”

  Nicholas pulled his empty bag away from his mouth and shook his head. “No, we need to talk to Parliament. Get the help of the guard.”

  I jerked back like he’d struck me. “They’re hours away from us! We don’t have that kind of time. The sun will be up before then!”

  He opened his mouth to respond, but I couldn’t hear anything over the terror coursing through m
y body. It felt ancient, like I’d always been this scared, but also new, like I’d never been scared like this before.

  And none of it was mine.

  I leaned over and placed my hands on my knees as my stomach flipped violently and I thought I’d throw up the blood I just drank. Nicholas’ hand on my back was so unexpected I almost jumped.

  “What’s the matter with you?”

  “It’s Charlotte,” I said between deep, shaky breaths. “She’s scared.”

  So fucking scared.

  I squeezed my eyes closed as my own feelings overpowered the transplanted ones. My chest ached with the knowledge she was scared somewhere, and I couldn’t get to her. I couldn’t hold her or kiss her or make it better. All I had was this feeling deep in my gut that told me something was very wrong wherever she was.

  After the longest ten minutes of my life, the feelings slowly faded, and I dared to try to stand up straight again.

  “What the hell was that?”

  I was still having trouble catching my breath, so my words were choppy as I forced them past my lips. “It’s the blood claim. I could feel Charlotte’s fear through our connection.” I shook my head. “Fear doesn’t even begin to describe what I just felt.”

  Nicholas was quiet for a long time before I glanced his way. “Do you think he was doing something to her?”

  I slowly shook my head again. “I didn’t feel anything but fear and sickness.”

  He squeezed his eyes closed tightly before asking his next question. “Do you think he was doing something to Adrienne?”

  I swallowed hard past the lump in my throat and told him the truth. “I don’t know.”

  He opened his eyes and nodded once. “There are some guards stationed up here. I’ll call them in,” he said as he pulled his phone from his jeans pocket.

  I watched incredulously as he swiped through the device, his frown deepening. “Son of a bitch,” he whispered. Which shocked the hell out of me, because Nicholas Talbot never swore.

  He closed his eyes again before bringing his phone up to his ear.

  “We don’t have time for phone calls!” I growled.

  He held up a finger to quiet me. “Parliament’s been trying to get in touch with me all day. I’m sure it has to do with the prison.”