Deliverance (17 page)

They both fell when another explosion rocked the building. More vampires were heading toward her and Nik when the glaring lights and roaring sound of a helicopter came over them. Bullets sprayed out from the helicopter, peppering the rooftop all around Annette and Ellery.

“Enough,” Ellery shouted, ignoring the occasional bullet tearing through her. “There’s no time. Let’s leave while we still can.” The woman ran toward the edge as fast she could and then disappeared into the smoky sky.

Annette followed suit and the other vampires went with them.

Nik ran to Samantha and helped her up. He led her to the opposite side of the building.

“We’ll have to jump and just hope that we see the ground before we hit it.”

After mentally tallying how many stairs they’d climbed, Samantha’s stomach dropped. “I can’t jump!” The roof was heating underneath her feet.

Lips twitching, he held his hand out to her. “We’ve done this before. I’ll hold you and keep you safe. I promise.”

She had been carried by Nik when he hopped from rooftop to rooftop, but this was a different scenario. “You don’t actually know if you can keep me safe. Not when you don’t know where you’re landing.” Her soles were getting blistered from the hot floor and she stood on her toes.

The vampire gently put his arms around her back and pulled her into his body. “Trust me.” His breath tickled her ear.

Conceding defeat, she hugged him tightly, bringing her ankles up and hooking them behind his back. She squeezed her eyes shut, preparing for the expected wave of nausea—traveling this way always made her sick. If it weren’t for the situation, this close proximity would have felt awkward. But since there was no other way, Samantha allowed herself to take in his unique smell and enjoy the feel of his muscles moving under her as he crouched down, then leaped high.

The flimsy material of her clothes flapped painfully against her skin. The wind was strong, tossing her hair every which way, stinging against her face and neck.

She knew they were well away from the compound because she could suddenly draw a deep, satisfying breath. Her lungs filled with ice cold air. The contrast between the hot smoke and the frigidness made her cough.

Nik’s arms tightened around her. “Try not to move,” he mumbled.

Just as he spoke, Samantha felt them hit something, making them tumble in a corkscrew motion while still in the air. Nik curved his body around her, trying to take blows for himself as they continued to fly into one thing after another. Samantha felt as if they were stuck in a pinball machine, being shot in different directions only to hit something else.

Though the vampire was doing his best to keep Samantha from getting hit directly, every time they crashed into something, it was with bruising force. On the fifth impact, Samantha felt branches scrape over her skin.
We’re hitting trees?
Another jolt cause her to bite her tongue, warm coppery fluid filling her mouth.

Suddenly, they were no longer ricocheting from one trunk to another, but falling straight down. Snapping twigs and branches echoed loudly as they broke under the weight of Nik and Samantha sliding over them.

They finally landed hard, Samantha on top of Nik. Icy snow exploded around them, cocooning them in white flakes. Samantha wondered dizzily if the cold would help numb the pain shooting throughout her body before she lost consciousness.

24 BC

Chilly saltwater and wind made
up Iliana’s existence. It was everywhere; in her eyes and mouth, encompassing her entire body. Waves rolled higher than mountains, splashing water and rain in every direction, plastering her hair over her eyes.

Breathing was difficult, but she had to hang on, had to hope that she and her daughter would make it. Their ship had been sturdy, but not enough to contend with the force of nature that attacked it. When the boat had capsized, Iliana had clutched her baby to her as she’d been pitched overboard. The large ship must have hit something in the deep water, because after several minutes of floundering, Iliana had found a large scrap of wood that she guessed came from the sinking ship. Eagerly, she’d put her daughter onto it and had tried to climb up after her. Unfortunately, every time she’d heaved her body up, the small raft tilted, sliding the baby back into the water. Iliana had settled for keeping her wailing daughter on the wood, one hand on the infant’s stomach to keep her from sliding around, while Iliana’s own legs and torso remained pruning up in the churning saltwater.

Now, all she could do was pray.
But who do I pray to?
She knew this storm was no mere coincidence. He must have sent it. Which meant that he had found her. She’d hoped he would have stopped after wiping out the village. A sob of despair escaped her, and more water flooded into her lungs.

Her poor daughter was screaming, the wind taking away the sounds as soon as they came out of her mouth. Iliana felt it was a miracle the little bundle had survived this long. She hoped that was a good omen.

Iliana’s hands were beginning to cramp from holding onto the piece of wood, but she couldn’t let go. That would mean death.

Something in the distance caught her eye.
Land?
It was hard to tell with the ominous clouds covering the sun. The rain and high waves certainly didn’t help, either. Still, she squinted through the rain as a wave took her small raft up to dizzying heights.
Either it is land or I hope too much.

After a moment of debate, Iliana reached into the water and awkwardly worked her skirt off. She used the cloth to secure her baby to the raft. That done, she started to kick with more fervor, trying to push the chunk of wood in the direction she hoped would be their salvation.

Swimming in the churning water was exhausting. She couldn’t catch her breath because so much water splashed into her mouth. Though the ocean wasn’t very cold, she shivered uncontrollably, but forced herself to continue. Brushing her matted hair out of her face, she saw that the land suddenly looked closer. With renewed vigor, she paddled toward it. It felt that no matter how hard she kicked, the land was getting no closer.

Shooting pains from Iliana’s right leg told her that the end was near. She’d used her last reserve of strength. Resting her head onto her hands next to her crying child, she knew with absolute certainty that she was going to die. Tears of defeat choked her along with the saltwater. She reached out and pushed the small mop of hair out of her daughter’s face. She despaired at the thought of her child dying without ever having a chance to live.

With that thought in mind, Iliana forced her tears back. Blinking through the wind and water, she vowed, “I might die this day, but hell will have me first before this innocent babe loses her life!” Once again, she pushed the makeshift raft toward land.

Chapter 21

“R
inwa is ignoring her stomach again,” Liam said in his unique accent.

Leisha stayed on the couch as she watched Tafari sigh and walk over to their daughter, who was engrossed in her computer. The big man put his hands under their daughter’s armpits and picked her up as if she were a little girl.

“No,” Rinwa protested. “I was getting somewhere with that hard drive!”

“Later,” Tafari said as he carried her into the small kitchen. “First, you will eat, then sleep for a while.”

Rinwa looked over at Liam, who was seated next to Leisha. “Traitor.”

The boy shrugged. “Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God. In this case, our parents are God.”

Rinwa slid her sunglasses down until she unobtrusively glared at her brother. “I’m supposed to be the tyrant in this analogy, then?”

Instead of answering, Liam shrugged again, this time with a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

A chair creaked as Rinwa landed heavily in it. Tafari turned and began reheating the stir-fry left over from the previous day. Leisha noticed that he added more meat and then sliced a few pieces of French bread.

Leisha studied her daughter as the blonde glowered at the table. When she and Tafari had returned from their trip, it was to find Rinwa at the computer, looking skeletal and pale. She’d been so focused on her work that she’d neglected to eat for almost the entire eight days that they’d been gone. She would have died if she had still been mortal. But as an immortal, starvation would not kill her. However, she had been completely weak and could barely walk.

After a few days of nourishing her back to health, Leisha had pulled out the backups she and Tafari had taken from the deserted compound and Rinwa had happily begun working again. Leisha had tried to look at them herself, but she wasn’t that savvy with computers, and neither she nor Tafari wanted Rinwa to get overly distracted again before she was fully recovered.

“I’m glad you’re here to help us keep an eye on her,” Leisha said to her son. She wrapped an arm around his shoulders and hugged him from the side. “There’s no way she’ll get as bad as she was.”

Liam tilted his head to look at his mother. “I really did try to help her while you were gone. She just wouldn’t listen to me.” A hint of vulnerability shined in his eyes.

Stroking his hair, Leisha nodded. “I know how stubborn she can be, and you’re only half her size. You’re such an amazing boy.”

Rinwa huffed from the kitchen. “You can’t possibly believe he’s so innocent. My so-called brother attacked me a few times, but finally backed off because he was doing more damage than good.”

Her son looked down. “You’re a good fighter, Rinwa. I cut you more than I’d intended because you fought so hard and didn’t really give me much of a choice.”

Rinwa opened her mouth for some kind of rebuttal but Tafari interrupted before she could.

“All right, children.” His deep timbre filled the whole apartment. “That is enough. There is no need to bicker about the past. Rinwa should know better about taking care of herself.” He put up a hand before she could snap at him. “But she is under a lot of pressure to find Samantha. So we must do what we can to help her.”

“Why don’t you just spoon feed me while I keep working?” Rinwa said in a biting tone.

In response, Tafari grabbed the fork from her plate, yanked on her hair to pull her head back, and shoved a forkful of fried veggies into her mouth. Rinwa made frustrated sounds in the back of her throat, but didn’t bother to talk past the food in her mouth. Liam’s whole body shook with silent laughter. Leisha pressed her lips together to keep herself from bursting out.

Tafari stood over his daughter to make sure she ate every bite on her plate. Leisha didn’t think he needed to. After Rinwa got her first bite of food, she dug right in and devoured the rest. But she understood that he was still concerned about the girl.

“Okay,” Rinwa stood. “Do you have any objections to me finally getting back to work now,
sir
?”
The scalding heat radiating from her tone could have cooked all the frozen food in the freezer.

“None,” Tafari said, deadpan. “Just be sure to take another break in a few hours.”

Color rose to her cheeks, but the immortal said nothing as she retreated back to her computer.

Leisha patted Liam’s knee affectionately before she stood and walked over to her husband. “Do you think we could have a few moments alone?”

Tafari’s lips quirked up at the corners. “I am certain we are not needed right now.”

Smiling up at him, Leisha led the way down the short hall and to their bedroom. She turned to him as he closed the door. “I know I’ve been drinking a lot of your blood lately, but do you think I could feed from you again tonight?” She found she couldn’t quite meet his gaze as she asked.

“You only drank from me a few nights ago.” Tafari approached and held her elbows. “Is my blood no longer substantial?”

“No, I don’t think it’s that.” She looked up into his silvery blue eyes. “I’m pretty sure this is an indicator that Samantha isn’t doing well. I’m hungry a lot more because she’s weak or hurt or starving.”

Tafari’s eyebrows drew together. “But I thought the human servant link only worked one way. That you would draw from the link, not that she would be able to do the same.”

She shook her head in confusion. “I don’t know what to tell you. We’re entering unknown territory here. Vampires live just fine if their human servant dies, but I don’t know what normally happens if a human servant is being . . . tortured, or something.”

His strong hands tightened over her arms. “You do not know that she is hurt.”

“You’re right. I have no idea what’s going on right now. All I do know is that she’s slowly pulling energy from our bond. I imagine she doesn’t even know she’s doing it, which makes me think it’s because she’s in dire circumstances.”

Leisha knew that when Tafari pulled her into his arms, it was meant to comfort, but she saw the look of concern he was trying to hide from her.

“We are doing all that we can.” He rolled up the sleeve of his shirt. “For now, that will have to be enough.” Holding his wrist before her mouth, Tafari stroked the side of her face. “You are not taking too much. I recover quickly.”

Before she leaned down to his wrist, Leisha quirked a brow. “I guess since you’re offering this so casually, it means this won’t be used as foreplay this time?”

He barked out a husky laugh. “You know how much I enjoy this. But no, not tonight. I would still like to make sure Rinwa is all right. It is not like her to neglect herself so much.”

Leisha made a noise of agreement in her throat. “I feel like I haven’t had much alone time with Liam, so this will work for everyone.” She moved toward Tafari’s arm. His blood seemed to call out to her in a way that no one else’s ever had. She couldn’t help but flick her tongue over the sensitive area first.

“Leisha,” Tafari growled. “Do not tempt me, my love.”

Without further ado, she bit down, her teeth tearing through his flesh and the rich, sweet blood sprang onto her tongue. Moaning at the ambrosia, she eagerly swallowed what she could before her husband’s fast-healing body closed up the wound.

As she pulled away, Tafari gently stroked the side of her face. His expression was soft, and his eyes brimming with a tenderness that made her stop breathing.

Slowly, his hand traveled to the back of her neck and he moved his mouth closer to hers. Leisha closed the distance and felt his full lips gently travel over her own before his tongue flicked out and entered her. She moaned again and wrapped her arms around him, pushing her body into his.

Their tender kiss became harder, their breaths more shallow as they explored the depths of each other.

“I think I found something!” Rinwa’s voice called from the other room.

Reluctantly, they pulled apart. Leisha kept her head down, but glanced up at her husband. He had a half smile playing around the side of his lips. “It seems I cannot resist you.”

Giggling, she gave him a quick peck on the lips and then left the room before they got carried away again.

“What is it?” she asked as she sat next to Rinwa at the table.

Liam was still lounging on the couch, but was studying the monitor with interest. Tafari stood behind Leisha’s chair as Rinwa explained.

“This was some good stuff you brought back.” Their daughter was animated in a way that Leisha had never seen. It was almost like a girl who had just met a cute boy. “The backups on this hard drive show the direct link where everyone in the company reported to. It’s some innocuous place in Kansas that nobody would think anything of. From there, I was able to hack into their system. I know how many employees work in that building, their salaries, everything.” She sat back with a smug look spreading over her features.

“Yes, but can you find where they’re keeping the vampires and Samantha?” Leisha leaned forward to see what Rinwa had up on the computer screen. There were six locations listed in alphabetical order, and they were scattered all over. It would take a lot of travel and time to physically investigate each one.

With a big smile, Rinwa placed her index finger under the first location. “This one just reported that they received their large shipment almost three weeks ago. The date is about two days after the vampires were attacked. And the shipment is very large. This facility is also one of two that has some sort of research hospital listed in their records.”

“Anchorage, huh?” Liam piped up from the couch. “It would be fun to visit Alaska. We’ve never been up that way before.”

Rinwa minimized the window on the computer screen and pulled up a map so they could see the location. “The compound is southeast of the city, pretty close to that mountain range,” she said as she pointed.

Studying the map, Leisha thought of several possible strategies. “I think we should fly into Canada and drive up from there.”

“But that will take longer to reach the compound,” Tafari pointed out. “We will have to rent a specialized vehicle to drive through that terrain. Since it’s February, there must be a lot of snow that will slow us down even further.”

“That’s true,” Leisha acknowledged. “But I just don’t want us to fly in too close to their facility where they’ll be on alert.”

Rinwa shook her head. “I don’t think that will be a problem. After all, you’re supposed to be brilliant with disguises, right?” Her brow rose as if in challenge.

“Of course I am. But I don’t know if they’ll have facial recognition scanning up there. I’m just trying to be cautious.”

Pulling up an online search, Rinwa reported after a few minutes, “I don’t think we have any other option but to fly into Anchorage. It’s not like it’s an easy place to drive to, and it’s the largest airport nearby. The only way to get to those smaller airports is through Anchorage anyway.”

“Well, that settles that.” Tafari straightened. “Please get the flight booked for us, Rinwa. You already know which aliases we will be using.” He turned to Liam. “The rest of us should pack up and make certain we get a good rest tonight.”

Their son nodded and went back to the room he and Rinwa shared. Leisha stood and trailed behind him.