Blood Struck (16 page)

“This is not the Olympic power walking race,” I said to him after I had to actually break into a run or risk being left behind at a crosswalk.

He slowed down for a moment. “Sorry. I’m just edgy.” And then he sped up again, forcing me into a light jog. For a second I had a little flashback to the night we first met and the way his goons had swept me along at such a pace that I’d tripped and fallen. I grimaced at the memory, which seemed to delight in taunting me.

By the time we arrived at the sub way station, my heart pounded in my ears and I was flushed and out of breath. Kristos bought two tickets and a few minutes later we were on a train destined for the Grand Central stop in Manhattan. Kristos remained silent but alert, his eyes constantly scanning the people around us. The train jostled us against each other in a not unpleasant rhythm and I watched the world stream by outside the window, trying to bite back anxiety about what would happen next.

At Grand Central, Kristos guided me out to the street and flagged a taxi. He gave the driver an address that made no sense to me and I found myself wishing I knew the terrain of New York City better. All I caught was something tower followed by a bunch of street numbers. Knowing he wouldn’t tell me, I didn’t ask.

Kristos leaned back in the seat next to me and reached out to squeeze my knee. “So far, so good. We’re almost home free.”

I opened my mouth to say something about how I couldn’t wait, but before I could utter a word, a black SUV squealed around the corner at the cross street in front of us. Its engine roaring, it zeroed in on our vehicle.

The cab driver screamed. “We’re going to crash. Brace yourselves!”

I looked at Kristos as I gripped the ‘oh shit’ handle with both hands. There was no time to do anything else before the SUV smashed into the front end of our taxi. The impact slammed me back into my seat with such force that I rebounded forward, my head hitting the plastic partition dividing the front of the taxi from the back. Pain split my skull and while my eyes were open, I couldn’t see anything but darkness and weird little sparkles. Reaching out my hand I felt for Kristos, relieved when I found his shoulder.

“Myra, are you okay?” he asked sounding surprisingly unaffected by the accident. Super vamp probably didn’t have a scratch on him.

“I think so,” I managed to whisper, my words slurring together like I was drunk. “My head hurts.”

“I’m going to get out and come around to your side. Don’t move, okay?”

I heard the sound of his car door opening and waited for him to open mine, trying to stay as still as possible because movement was painful. The cab driver groaned in his seat and a blinker clicked incessantly. I hoped the guy was okay and I really wished someone would shut off the damn blinker, it made my head hurt even more. My eyesight was beginning to clear now, revealing splashes of colors alternated with shadows. I could see parts of the taxi, but blackout spots kept my vision from being whole.

My door opened and hands grabbed me, hauling me out into the street. I looked up expecting to see Kristos, but the man above me was not him. While I was processing that fact, a gun shot rang out and someone made a loud ‘oof’ sound as the bullet connected. I tracked the noise and stopped breathing when I saw Kristos flat on the ground in the middle of the street, his eyes dead and staring up at nothing.

“Kristos!” I screamed fighting to break free and go to him, but whoever had me was stronger than I would ever be. Vampire strong. The thought hit me and I went still. They’d found us and I’d just lost my only protector. My heart convulsed and tears streamed down my cheeks. Was he dead or just incapacitated? Would I ever see him again? I couldn’t bear the idea of not having Kristos at my back. He’d been amazing from day one. The thought of being without him made grief close my throat, choking me on my own sobs.

I didn’t even fight when the vampire dragged me away from the scene. A black limo pulled up alongside us. When the door opened, I was unceremoniously stuffed inside.

I sprawled on the floor of the limo. It took me a minute to recover because the rapid movement had sloshed my already scrambled brain. It felt like there was a huge bruise inside my skull and it throbbed in pulses of sharp agony. With a groan, I pulled myself into an empty seat and tried to take stock of my surroundings.

There were three of them sitting on the bench seat across from me. All male vampires. One being the guy who had grabbed me. He was built like a prizefighter with a shiny bald head, bulging arm muscles and large, ham hands that could probably wrap all the way around my neck.

The second was dressed in a meticulous three-piece suit with fancy Italian leather shoes. He had brown hair and unremarkable features. He looked like a corporate middle manager and reminded me of one of my professors in school.

The third vampire was Abe Lincoln tall, his knees rising high up past the seat level. His arms were long and thin and he wore black trousers with a black dress shirt and black shoes. The expression on his face gave me a start as he watched me with the intensity of a lion stalking its prey. His dark eyes reminded me of Arlo and made me feel like I was staring down a black hole of nothingness.

He smiled at me, his thin lips making the expression a threat full of malice. “Hello, daughter.”

Chapter Fourteen

I stared at the man across from me taking in his narrow face and high cheek bones that were eerily similar to mine. My mouth dropped open in shock and my eyes went so wide I thought for sure they would pop out of my head. “D-d-dad?” The word sounded wrong on my tongue. This was my Dad?
Oh God I hope not
. Because that would mean my dad hadn’t just missed my entire life to date, he’d also shot Kristos. My stomach clenched. This wasn’t going to be a happy reunion.

His smile widened, revealing pointed fangs. “Yes, it’s me, your sire.” He waved to the vampires next to him. “These are my associates. Say hello to my daughter.”

The two vampires gave slight nods of their heads.

Ignoring the introductions, I kept my focus on what mattered. “Kristos?” I couldn’t keep myself from sounding hopeful. The idea of him gone was killing me.

At the mention of Kristos’ name Devon’s expression soured and his dark eyes flashed. “He will no longer trouble you, daughter. You are mine, you will always be mine.” His gaze pinned me down then and I froze as the power of his eyes hit me.

Somehow he was inside my head, rummaging through it like so many dresser drawers. Arlo had invaded me with his thoughts and Kristos had been able to create a common link between us, but we had all exchanged blood. This vampire, my father, was inside my mind easy as a knife cutting butter. I had no resistance to him.

He caught my thought process and gave a satisfied smile. “You were blood bound to me at birth, dear one. I chose not to invoke it until you were old enough to be useful to me.” He paused for a second and then asked, “But what is this about Arlo? You knew him?”

He poked around my memories and brought back the night I’d first met Arlo. He winced at the picture of the decapitation.

“Did you send him after me?” I asked. It took enormous effort for me to speak, the weight of him in my head was suffocating and banging my skull around like a piñata hadn’t done me any favors either.

Devon shook his head. “No, I set him loose some time ago. He’s no longer mine. Pity he had to die like that, but if you hadn’t killed him I would have.” He leaned forward and rested a long bony finger on my knee. “No one touches what’s mine, daughter. No one.” The pressure of his finger intensified until it dug into my thigh like a hard rock.

My spine crawled at his touch and all sorts of alarms went off in my head. Devon may be my father but he was no doting parent. In my fantasies, I’d always imagined meeting my Dad to be a joyous moment, but in reality, I was filled with a gnawing fear. The guy was a creep.

The good thing about our conversation, Devon’s focus on me had lessened. I took advantage of the lull to send out a panicky thought toward the bond I had shared with Kristos.
Are you okay? Can you feel me?
Normally I would have sensed the connection between us but this time there was only emptiness. The place in my soul that had held Kristos was vacant. My heart sank.

I was alone and my ‘Dad’ made an angry cobra seem safe.

Putting on a brave front, I said, “Where are we going?”

“I’m taking you home, dear one. Where you belong. I would have come for you sooner, but it took time to make suitable arrangements for your care.” The limo lurched to a stop as he spoke and the two vampires at his side, quickly exited the vehicle. Devon motioned for me to go first and I stepped out into the frigid winter night, my feet unsteady and my spirits failing.

Devon poured out of the limo in a smooth, graceful motion. Standing, he towered over everyone, confirming my first impression of his height. He nodded at the prizefighter vampire who went to a manhole cover in the middle of the street and lifted it up.

“What’s down there?” I grimaced, picturing rats and raw sewage. I could believe a vampire like Devon would live in a filthy dark void.

“The city beneath the city.” Devon walked to stand at the edge of the manhole and beckoned to me. “Come.” His gaze tore through mine again and I stumbled forward, compelled.

The corporate looking vampire was the first to go down, his designer shoes clanging against the metal rungs of the ladder. Devon made me go next with a pointed look and a brusque motion of his hand. He didn’t even have to talk to elicit my full cooperation. My hands gripped the cold steel ladder and my feet felt their way from rung to rung. It was colder too, the temperature dropping as the blackness below New York City swallowed me up.

Once everyone had come down, someone grabbed my elbow and guided me down a long corridor. Apparenlty, they could see in the dark with their super vamp eyes, which left me solely dependent on their guidance. On the upside, even though I tripped and bumbled about, at least Devon couldn’t focus on me with his eyes. My head cleared somewhat as a result, but that wasn’t much of an improvement since I ended up obsessing over Kristos. Was he really dead? I couldn’t bring myself to believe it, yet I’d seen him fall.

We walked for quite some time, silent except for the occasional ‘this way’ or ‘over there’ comment. At last we emerged in a dimly lit underground cavern about the size of a grocery store. Exposed bedrock made up the ceiling and rows of string lights provided dim illumination. The floor underneath was dusty concrete. A tow motor sat in the distance next to several large propane tanks and disorderly rows of steel barrels.

The most noteworthy features of the subterranean landscape consisted of two construction trailers to my right. A string of construction lights hung above them, but they weren’t on. As Devon thrust me in that general direction, I saw that someone had broken the light bulbs.

“Welcome to your new home,” Devon said as he pushed me inside one of the trailers. The other two vampires followed and we all crammed into the small space. To my relief, someone turned on a light, allowing me to orient myself. I’d been afraid they lived like bats down there, hiding from all and any light.

On the outside the trailer had the dilapidated look of an abandoned construction site, but on the inside it was furnished with sleek leather furniture and ornate rugs. In the back, there was a bed with a crimson duvet that had the sheen of silk or satin. A chill went through me when I saw the walls, which were decked out like the torture chamber I’d found in Kristos’ apartment. There were whips and floggers, chains and other things I didn’t recognize although I knew what they were for: Pain.

Devon waved to the bed. “Chain her there.”

The prizefighter vampire grabbed me by the wrist and dragged me toward the bed. I dug in my heels, which didn’t deter him in the least. In fact, he laughed at me. A human trying to fight a vampire probably was funny...if you were the vampire.

Whether I liked it or not, he deposited me in the middle of the bed’s too soft mattress. The prizefighter then yanked my arms overhead and secured them in place with chains that wrapped around and through a metal ring in the wall.

Even though I knew it was no use, I pulled on my chains anyway. On the off chance the steel was defective.

Devon came to stand at the end of the bed and gloat. He looked at me with calculated glee. “Franklin and I are going to run some errands,” he said indicating the vampire in the suit. “Until then, Ivan here,” he pointed to the prizefighter, “will keep an eye on you.”

My eyes widened at the mention of Ivan. Wasn’t that the name of the vampire that Jacques had been so terrified of? Was it possible they were one and the same? I shot a quick glance his way and he leered at me as he leaned against the wall, one hand going to caress one of the whips hanging there.

Oh god.

I closed my eyes and screamed at the connection I shared with Kristos. I poured everything I had into it, hoping to raise a response of some kind, but I sensed nothing. No one was listening on the other end of the line.

Shit.

I bit back a sob and willed myself not to cry.

Devon’s face assembled into expression of mocking concern.“What’s wrong, daughter? Is not the bed soft enough? I have prepared for your every comfort.”

I rattled my chains, using the tension to pull myself upright. “Then let me go.”

“And have to hunt you down again? That’s a messy business I would rather not repeat. You could get hurt.” He sat on the edge of the bed and ran a hand up my thigh. “You are the future of the world, Myra. Together we will create a new race. You must be protected for your own good.”

I couldn’t keep the horror from my face. Together as in me and my father? “I don’t want to make a new race.”

He shook his head in disappointment. “Then you are thinking small, dear one. You are the human side of my DNA and we have the ability to do what has never been done. I will breed in you a new kind of vampire.”

I recoiled at his words, wincing as their meaning hit me. A sick dread turned in my stomach. My father wanted...I couldn’t even complete the thought.