Hunting Season (Aurora Sky (18 page)

BOOK: Hunting Season (Aurora Sky
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I performed the world's quickest wardrobe change. Dress off. Dark jeans and tank top on. Securing a dagger above my ankle took a little longer, but no way was I stepping outside unarmed.

“Come on, Tommy,” I said, clutching my phone and the roll of duct tape. “We have one last task to complete before I go.”

The golden retriever followed me downstairs.

Light seeped into the hallway from the kitchen.

Dang and double dang.

I felt like a pit bull being dragged away from a meaty bone. I had half a mind to attack whoever was outside, but that wouldn't do Fane any good.

After tonight, I wanted my own gun. A knife just wasn't cutting it. Ha, ha. Excuse the pun—a sure sign that I was wired.

I called Noel again. After several rings she answered. “Hey, I'm on my way.”

“Good because I have to go. Henry's holding Fane hostage.”

“What the hell?”

“Listen, Noel, I have to go now. I'll be back with Fane as soon as I can, but just in case, I'm writing down Giselle's phone number. If something happens to me, make the swap. Get Dante back.”

“Wait, Aurora—”

I ended the call. Before facing whoever waited outside, I walked swiftly to the kitchen and wrote down Giselle's name and number on a pad of paper by the wall on the kitchen counter.

Jared remained slumped over the table, breathing from his nose on my laptop.

My nose wrinkled in disgust.

It was a laptop. It could be replaced. Dante couldn't.

My fingernails dug into the tape's seam. I yanked back. The duct tape made a thundering rip. If Jared hadn't been drugged, this was the moment he would have woken up. Thank God he remained unconscious.

I crouched beside his chair and taped his wrists together first. My work was quick, but tight. The tape better hold up if Jared happened to stir before Noel or I made it back. It would have to do. I'd used as much extra time as I dared to change and call Noel. I kept expecting a knock at the door, a blast of a horn, a call on my phone—or all three.

I sat on the floor to tape Jared's calves to the chair legs.

Tommy panted in rhythmic bursts. I looked over at him and he stopped.

Once straightened out, I set the duct tape on the table, went over to Tommy, and stroked his head.

“You have to stay here, Tommy. Guard Jared until Noel gets home. Can you do that for me?”

His ears perked up.

“Whatever you do, don't get hurt and don't leave the house. Okay?”

Tommy wagged his tail.

Tears gathered into my eyes. I hoped this wouldn't be the last time I saw Tommy. He seemed safe enough. I wasn't so sure about myself.

I put on my jacket, stuffed my phone in the pocket and headed for the door.

Time to face the music—or whatever awaited me outside.

When I first stepped out, I was alone on the porch. A big black SUV idled inside the driveway.

Oh god, what if it's one of Melcher's? What if he's on to me?
No. Couldn't be. I'd only discovered his secret within the last half hour.

I turned and locked the door. By the time I turned back around, a large muscled man dressed in dark jeans and a loose black T-shirt stood, arms folded on the porch.

“Diederick is waiting for you in the car,” he said.

Sick shivers ran through me.
Diederick?

“What is he doing here?”

The man in black had me by the arm before I even saw his arms uncross.

“There's no time to explain,” he hissed inside my ear. “My job was to help him escape and get him out of town, but he insisted on waiting at the bottom of the mountain. He recognized the Mustang and ordered me to follow it.”

This had to be Melcher's informant. In that case, why was he gripping me so tight?

The informant glanced quickly at the striped Mustang parked on the road before returning to my ear. “Where's Jared?”

My heart flipped. I couldn't have an informant knowing I'd drugged the agency's top recruiter.

“He escaped out the back way,” I answered quickly.

Liar, liar, blood on fire.

The informant gave a slight nod. “Good. I'll do what I can for you, but for now you have to come with us.”

Without waiting for a response, he hauled me over to the waiting SUV. The informant pulled open the back door with one hand and shoved me inside with the other.

Real gentlemanly.

I threw my hands out to catch myself on the cold leather seats and right myself into a sitting position. There was only a second to get my bearings before the informant leaned over me. As he did, I noticed Diederick sitting in front of me in the passenger's seat. He didn't turn around.

The informant pulled out a zip tie and grabbed my wrist.

“Hey!” I said as he groped around for my second wrist. I lifted it out of reach.

“Give me your other wrist,” the informant said.

“No. I've come out willingly. Why do you need to tie my wrists?”

“So you don't cause any problems. Now give me your other wrist.”

“I won't cause any problems… as long as you back off,” I said, pulling my wrist out of the informant's hold.

He tightened his grip. “It wasn't a suggestion.”

I glared at him. I wanted to get to Fane, but not with my arms bound.

Diederick turned his head. Immediately, his blood-shot eyes latched onto mine. His arm lifted, and with it came a gun. Diederick aimed it at my temple and pulled the safety back.

My heart stopped.

It was as though everything around me froze.

Gun aimed at head. Gonna die. Good bye, Aurora Sky.

“Give him your wrist,” Diederick said, slow and menacing, enunciating each word.

My throat dried. I didn't move right away, as though I'd gone into a trance and wouldn't snap out of it even if my life depended on it.

“Your wrist,” the informant repeated.

I blinked once and lowered my arm. The informant reached over and grabbed it. This time, I didn't resist.

“Check her for weapons,” Diederick said gruffly.

The informant looked me in the eye then went straight to my pant leg like he'd known I had a knife there all along. He removed my blade with quick, deft fingers.

“Dagger,” he said, holding it up for Diederick to see.

Diederick nodded. “Let's go.”

The informant shut my door and walked swiftly around the SUV to the driver's seat. Soon we were on the road headed downtown.

I kept expecting Diederick to rage at me, but once my wrists were secure, he said nothing, not even to the informant.

Maybe I should have felt more stressed, but I found the car ride oddly lulling. Perhaps I was simply tired from a night of slaughter. I'd finally got the best of Jared. Even if something happened to me, Noel could arrange the swap and reunite Dante and Tommy.

Soon I'd be with Fane.

I set my bound hands in my lap. For the remainder of the ride, I stared out the window, heartbeat increasing the closer we got to Bootlegger's Cove and the palace. The last time I'd been there, I'd killed Marcus. Melcher and Jared had showed up right afterwards. Jared had stormed in wearing the same blue bandana as the dude driving the car that hit me. That's when I knew bandana man and Jared were one and the same.

I'd thought I'd walked out of the palace for good that night.

I still remembered that evening as crisp and clear in my memory as the dark, cold outdoors enfolded me on my walk home. I'd taken the Coastal Trail to Earthquake Park. From there I walked along Lake Hood Drive, passing the airport's fenced perimeter, finishing the last leg of the route along a bike trail that passed our street and old house. It had taken me an hour and a half to walk home.

The cold hadn't bothered me at all. I thought I'd gone numb from seeing Noel with Fane, from killing Marcus, from finding out that Jared had taken my life away.

But I'd been a walking corpse. A creature of the night. A bloodsucker. A killer.

If only I'd known sooner.

What then?

It wasn't likely I would have escaped all this and be sitting on a beach in Hawaii sipping chi-chis.

But maybe, just maybe, I wouldn't be in the position I was in now—wrists bound, Dante and now Fane held prisoner in separate locations.

“We're almost there,” the informant announced as we passed Westchester Lagoon.

As if I wasn't already well aware.

14
Trapped

No one spoke, not even when we parked against the curb outside the palace. There wasn't much to say. Soon enough, Diederick would do the talking or shooting. The informant had promised he'd do what he could for me, but I had no doubt his first priority was to keep his own identity safe.

Fane's car was parked in front of the palace. Seeing the old beater gave me a surge of comfort. As long as we were together, everything would be okay.

The informant parked the car then came around for me. He led me by the arm up to the set of double-doors with their custom stained glass windows.

The informant released my arm to open the door. I walked in first, glancing sideways as I passed the kitchen. It felt like a lifetime ago that I'd sipped champagne during my first appearance with Noel.

The step-down living room wasn't far away. The informant passed me and stopped on the edge. Someone had redecorated. There was less furniture and statues—more open space.

Fane sat in a leather armchair facing us, an arm slung over the arm rest. Two muscular men stood on either side of him. Our eyes met briefly before Fane's gaze moved beyond me and turned cold. It surprised me to next lay eyes on Joss, sitting on the far end of a sofa. Maybe he hadn't wanted to be left alone.

Henry sat on the opposite end of the sofa from Joss, facing away from us. When he turned and saw me, he scowled. The little snitch. I knew he couldn't be trusted.

Diederick stepped into the living room. “Hello, Francesco. Hello, Josslyn.”

Fane lifted his chin. “Diederick.”

“Good evening,” Joss said, looking every bit as calm as Fane.

Diederick stopped five feet in front of Fane. “Do you know this woman?”

Fane's gaze settled over my bound wrists for several seconds before returning to Diederick. “I hired her.”

“Hired her for what exactly?” Diederick asked.

The leather chair squeaked when Fane leaned forward. “To keep her eyes open for vampire hunters. They've been infiltrating our social gatherings for at least the past year. We have the name of one who was supposed to show up here tonight, but it sounds to me like he went to your place, instead.”

Fane's eyes flicked over Diederick as though he were responsible for screwing things up. If my hands weren't bound, I might have been tempted to applaud Fane's performance.

Too bad the informant was listening to every word spoken. On one hand, we needed Diederick and Henry to think I was on their side. On the other, I couldn't have Melcher's man running back with stories about me being a double-agent. Somehow we had to smooth all this over.

At the moment, I was coming up blank.

There wasn't much time to brainstorm. Diederick suddenly turned, whipping out his gun as he did. He pulled me against his chest and pressed the cold barrel against my temple.

I cried out in surprise.

Fane jumped up from the chair, but the two muscled men were on him before he could make it another step.

Dressed all in black, Fane and I looked like a pair of matching bookends. It reminded me of Sandy at the end of Grease—good girl gone bad—my Olivia Newton-John to Fane's John Travolta.

If only we could break out into song and dance rather than combat.

“Who killed my employees and guests?” Diederick asked.

Speaking was difficult with my heart lodged inside my throat.

“They told me it was a man named Jared,” Henry said. “They claim he killed Marcus, too.”

Diederick's grip tightened on me. “One man couldn't have slaughtered my people single-handedly. Who else did this?” Diederick dug the barrel of the gun into my temple.

“He had help,” I said, barely above a whisper.

“Who?”

“I don't know,” I lied.

Diederick's fingers dug into my arm. The pressure against my temple increased. “Do you value you your life? Because I'm five seconds away from blowing your brains out over this nice hardwood floor.”

“Wait a minute,” Henry cried.

Without a doubt it was in concern for the floor, not me.

Fane struggled against the men gripping his arms. His lips curled back. “Do that, and you're dead.”

“I'm the one holding the gun.” Diederick yanked me sideways. “Now give me their names.”

I couldn't swallow, let alone speak.

“I bet it was Valerie,” Joss said.

The pale husk of a man tapped his finger to his lower lip in thought. Out of everyone in the room, he looked the least stressed.

I stared at him. Everyone stared at him. In Fane's case, it was a full on glare. He probably wished Joss had stayed home.

Diederick's jaw relaxed as his frown softened. “Who is Valerie?” he asked Joss.

“No one you need to concern yourself with,” Fane said, glaring harder at Joss.

The pressure on my temple subsided, though the gun remained beside my head.

“Tell me more about Valerie,” Diederick said.

“She's a dangerous vampire hunter,” Joss said, wrinkling his long, pale nose. “She attempted to attack us in our own home.”

“How do you know her?” Diederick asked.

“This wasn't the first time she targeted Francesco,” Joss said. “They were lovers.”

“Joss,” Fane said in a warning tone.

The informant's head must be spinning. First Jared's name and now Valerie's was being bandied about, not to mention Fane claiming I worked for him. Sorting that out wasn't going to be pretty, but it trumped having my head blown off.

Diederick leaned forward, his grip on me lessening. “Continue, Josslyn.”

“She used her feminine charms to draw Francesco in while he was a student at Denali High School.”

“What about her blood?” Diederick asked Fane. “It didn't poison you?”

“She's not that kind of hunter,” Fane said.

I was surprised he could speak at all with the way he ground his teeth together.

“I have to warn Gavin,” Henry said suddenly. “We've hardly spoken since he started going out with her. I thought he had fallen in love, but she seduced him, didn't she? The same way she seduced you?” He looked at Fane, who scowled in response.

“Valerie Ward did not seduce me.”

“She most certainly did,” Joss said.

Diederick looked around the room at everyone. “This is why I stick to wine, not women,” he said. “Much safer and more satisfying.”

“Tell that to the guests who attended your tasting last night,” Fane said.

Diederick's eyes narrowed. The men holding Fane's arms straightened their backs.

“You better get your hands off me now,” Fane snarled at them.

But they didn't.

My heart raced. Good. I might need that adrenaline in a second.

“I'd say we've all had a rough night,” Joss said. He still didn't appear alarmed in the least. “Wouldn't it be more sensible if we all worked together?”

Since when did Joss become the negotiator?

“My team and I can handle this,” Fane said. “Valerie Ward is none of your concern.”

Diederick's fingers left my arm and tightened into a fist. “Oh, but she is. This woman, this Valerie, and this man, Jared, have cost me everything. I want to know where they are right now.”

I knew exactly where they were, and it didn't bode well. There was no way in hell I'd put Noel at risk or lose Jared by giving up his current location at my house. Then there was Valerie. Obviously she hadn't made it yet, which meant she was on her way.

Let the blood bath begin.

Out of all the side effects of being a vampire, I was beginning to wonder if breathing, or lack thereof, was one of them. It seemed like I hadn't taken a breath since walking in, yet I was still standing.

Diederick lowered his gun. He stared at Fane. “You dated her. You know where she lives.”

Fane's jaw tightened. “I told you, my team and I will handle this.”

“This isn't open for negotiation. In fact, given your past history with this woman, I think it's best you stay here.”

“The hell we will,” Fane said, jaw tightening. He broke away from the men at his side, walked forward and took me gently by the arm. “We're going.”

My heart fluttered as his fingers pressed through my coat. Fane shot Joss a look that said,
“Get your bony ass off that sofa right now.”

I walked with him out of the living room, not looking to see if Joss followed.

The two men who had held Fane circled around us and blocked the entry leading to the front door. Fane dropped my arm. His fingers balled into fists.

“Move. Now,” he said.

They held their positions, saying nothing back.

My breath hitched. Did Diederick really mean to imprison us at the palace? We needed to get out of there—back home to Noel and Jared. If only I could get Diederick, Henry, and their goons to suck my blood.

As my thoughts circled around my head, searching for a ready solution, Fane pulled his arm back and socked one of the men in the jaw. The big brute grasped his chin in surprise. Fane twisted quickly, aiming his fist at the second guard, but this one had more time to react. He grabbed Fane's wrist and wrenched his arm around.

“No!” I screamed.

What could I do? The informant had bound my hands and confiscated my knife. That didn't prevent me from beating at the guard nearest me with both hands.

Fane ground his teeth together. “I am giving you three seconds to unhand me,” he said.

Diederick walked toward us. “Please understand I mean no disrespect, but your personal involvement with Valerie makes you a loose cannon. I have to look out for my safety and that of my allies here. I am sure we will all feel better once this woman is dealt with.”

“If you do not release me at once you will regret it,” Fane said. “I promise you that.”

Diederick's eyebrows furrowed. “I do apologize, Francesco, but I'm afraid we're going to have to hold you in the music room.”

My heart dropped.

The music room. Marcus' soundproof torture chamber.

No way. They couldn't throw him in there, not Fane Donado. He wasn't some vamp to be snatched and tossed inside a cell.

My face heated. My entire body shook in outrage.

“Diederick. How could you suggest such a thing?” Joss cried out. “Francesco has been nothing but forthcoming. He's been trying to help.”

Diederick stared at Joss, seeming to consider this. The guards waited with iron grips—at least mine had an iron grip. I couldn't imagine Fane's guard was holding on gently.

Fane quit trying to twist free, focusing a chilling glare on Diederick instead.

“I truly am sorry,” Diederick said. “But this is for Francesco's protection as well as our own. I cannot take risks, not after tonight's massacre.” He nodded at the men.

The guard gripped me with one hand as his other frisked me from shoulder to ankle. He snatched my phone from my pocket.

The guard with Fane pushed him from behind past the living room. Fane narrowed his eyes to slits as he passed Diederick.

“Big mistake,” he said in a low, menacing voice.

Diederick watched with detachment. If I were him, I'd be a lot more concerned. Fane might not be malicious or cruel, but he was fearless, and pride was a lethal weapon.

“And the woman?” the guard holding me asked.

“Put her in with Francesco,” Diederick said. “We'll question her more later.”

My stomach churned. On one hand, I was happy to stay with Fane as long as possible. On the other… I was returning to the music room. It's where Marcus had tried to kill me before I killed him.

I did not want to go back in there.

My feet cemented themselves to the stone entry—stones imported from Jerusalem. Henry had given me the lowdown on that when he and Gavin gave me the palace tour the first time I stepped foot at Marcus'.

Henry looked at me now, searching my face quizzically. He probably still suspected me in Marcus' murder.

BOOK: Hunting Season (Aurora Sky
12.32Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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