Minty (13 page)

Alex sat silently looking at the passing traffic, then finally answered. “Rex and I will get answers, but I will get the female. I left Deck in my seat at the Council, with everyone growling, including Deck.” He flipped the phone back towards Rex who snagged it out of the air. Rex listened to his sire and gave one answer.

“Yes.”

Rex looked over at the Council Lord, The beautiful man was dressed as if he had just stepped out of an ad for Armani’s latest men’s perfume. Expensive, perfectly fitted suit, polished loafers, silk shirt and tie. He might have been in the outfit for hours on a plane, but the price of the material in such clothes also ensured that they brought the wearer to their destination in perfect shape.

The suit might be dark but the overcoat was a light tan and the silk scarf hanging down was dark and brought to mind dark deeds that such a beautiful scarf could be put to in the right hands.

* * * *

Alex was thinking of Deck. He knew the silent warrior hated being separated from him. But he needed to go after Minty. He needed good eyes in Rome. Suddenly Alex leaned forward, pulling one of the suitcases close. He opened a side pocket and pulled out two knives.

Both knives were silver, solid. The smaller one had a black handle and both blades had beautiful scrollwork that had letters in the old language on them. There was a belief that blood caught into the letters brought the knives alive in the hands of the owner.

The larger knife was a big twin of the smaller one but had been wrapped with leather strapping on the handle. This was not unusual. No one wanted their handle to become slippery from blood during a fight. Alex brought the handle up to his nose and took a deep smell, then concealed the two weapons in his clothing. Before he put the case away he pulled out several small silver items and slipped them into his pocket.

“Where do you want to go first?”

“To the prisoners.”

So the limo drove into the seamy side of Cicero and stopped before a rundown townhouse. The two men went around to the back as two men got out of the front of the limo to stand against it and hope that someone came along to challenge them. It was a night for fight and pain.

The three prisoners were in the custody of five of Rex’s men, men who knew how to hold nightwalkers. Very simply they were held by a silver neck brace attached to a chain locked to the wall.

Rex’s men stood up as soon as he entered the room with the elegant nightwalker right behind him. Alex walked around and looked at each of them and he nodded.

“Strip them and leave.” This was said in a quiet voice and the men quickly did as requested. Soon only Rex and Alex and the prisoners were left.

“You are not going to get any answers here, Council Lord, and soon that title will be stripped from you.”

Alex looked over at the brave one who was pulling at his collar. He walked slowly over to the man. Pulling out a small silver stud from his pocket, he hunched down and looked the man straight in the eyes. The man had ceased his struggles. Alex slowly put the stud on the man’s left chest just below his collarbone, pushing it in. There was a long slow gasp from the nightwalker.

“So, you want that collar off and you want to talk
—
well my friend here is going to take it off. He is going to put you up on that table. We are going to listen to you talk, all the rest of the day, even all night too, if necessary.”

Chapter Sixteen

Minty spent the next day walking, doing pushups, going to the window and looking out. She ate and drank everything they brought her. She hated the food, sometimes having to work to keep it down, but if her Master along with the knife was coming to save her, she needed her strength, she needed to be well.

She used the lavatory, even when one of them watched, laughing at her. She shut them out of her mind doing what she had to do. In the reflection of the window she saw that the left side of her face had turned black, blue, and yellow. She also saw the one who had struck her. One time he was on guard duty. He pointed at her, making a fist.

She did not say anything but just stared at him until he turned around. She knew he was dead. She knew her knife was going to make his blood flow. It would be more painful for him than the dark was for her, because the knife was angry that he had hurt her. Only her Master and the knife could hurt her. No one else would ever be allowed to hurt her again as long as they were there to protect her. She smiled as the man glared then turned away with a frown.

She waited patiently all day, looking out the windows to see if she could see anything that would help her Master. She took a careful count of the men who were present, carefully noting what they wore, so that she did not count anyone twice, did not miss anyone. She noted the times they came and went. There were only two that went outside the warehouse in a newer Ford sedan which she thought was the car they had brought her to the site.

Eventually she was able to catch the license plate. She memorized the number. She waited and waited for the Master to come back to her mind. He didn’t come this day so she finally lay down in the corner, facing the wall, waiting to go to sleep.

“Do you know who this is?”

She was awake but she didn’t move, didn’t open her eyes. She felt the guards didn’t watch her very close at night but she didn’t want them to know she talked to her Master.

“Yes, Master.”

“Did you please yourself as I told you?”

“Yes, Master, I hope it met with your approval that I came twice. I enjoyed it.”

“Did you think of the knife deep in your ass?”

She felt the muscles in her rectum tighten.
“Yes, Master, it brought back the feeling. I hope you don’t mind, as it was uncomfortable.”

“It is not for you to question what I mind. Now what have you learned.”

So carefully and in great detail she told him everything. She told him about the receipt and the city on the white slip. She told him about the number of men, what each was wearing, what they looked like, what weapons she could see. She described the man who had hit her. She told him that the man had on a red jacket. She told him about the car, the color, the make and the license number. She told him how many steps on the stairs with the location of other doors she saw. She described the location of her holding area, but finally she stopped and waited.

“Your Master and the knife are pleased. We are coming for you. When we take you from there, them the knife will take special revenge on the one who hurt you. When we leave, you will hold the knife until we reach a safe area. Your Master does this for you, but don’t expect leniency from me. You will do as I say. You will receive dark and pain. But it will only be from your Master and the knife. It will never be from anyone else again. The pain will bring pleasure. Tell me you will kiss the knife.”

“Yes Master, I want to kiss the knife.”

“We will be there soon.”

She went to the table and climbed onto it. She pulled her legs up, folded them under her, sitting patiently to wait.

Dawn came quietly. One of the guards looked into the room. He was surprised, turned to nudge the other guard who came into view to join him looking through the window at her. They must have decided not to do anything, just turned their backs.

It was several hours before the door was opened. They brought in the same drive thru meal and set it on the table beside her. She hadn’t moved, but she watched them carefully.

She stretched out her legs then drew them back up under her. She didn’t need food today, today the Master was coming. She smiled, watching through the glass as the men moved around, traded places. She was watching dead men.

* * * *

Rex didn’t know how Alex knew they had taken her to Kansas City. They had gotten info from the nightwalker in the basement about the ties in Rome. They had relayed it back to Rad. Radames had come with more men to mop up the rest of the rogues in the area. They dusted the other two in the basement, leaving the studded one for Rad.

Rad had talked to Rex on the phone as Alex was indicating he was leaving for Kansas City after going into a trance. “Go with him, ask him how many men he needs and take them. You are in charge, and Rex, I want reports, regularly.”

Rex relayed his orders to Alex.

Alex’s reply was strange, since it was precise. “I need you to find a map of the industrial area of Kansas City. Find out how many fast food drive thru restaurants are within a mile or two. I need a survey team for each restaurant. We are looking for this car.” He handed Rex a slip of paper that described a Ford sedan with a license number on it.

They were in an Audi, breaking speed limits heading west. Rex opened his laptop. He spent some time searching then hit his phone. He had one car behind them but he called a contact in Kansas City, Mo. The two cities were sisters, side by side. He identified the fact that he was a Lieutenant for Radames. He explained that he was in the company of Council Lord Alexander Bider. Suddenly he had another voice on the phone and he had all the help he needed.

He wanted another car for the extra men in the car behind. He needed two other cars with two men each. He gave them the info on the car to look for at the drive thrus, with instructions not to interfere but to follow and report.

At the speeds Alex drove it only took one fill up to get to Kansas. With the team in place, Rex and Alex just cruised, waiting for reports. It was late afternoon before the call came in. Alex slammed on the brakes as Rex listened. He looked over at Alex and nodded.

“Turn around, we are two blocks north.”

“Wait, I have to do something.” Alex leaned back and closed his eyes.

* * * *

“Minty, are you ready, because the knife is very, very thirsty.”

“Master, what would you have me do.”

“We want you to get under the table. Stay there until we come to take you out. Tell me you will obey, tell the knife you will obey.”

“I obey my Master and the knife.”

He opened his eyes and sighed.

Alex drove slowly, pulled over and parked. They were about one block away when Rex hit his phone. Two men came out from between two large buildings, walking down to join them.

“One street over, tall new building, three entrances with overhead doors.”

Alex looked up. “There are skylights
—
get someone on the roof. There are also two side doors on the right side. Do we have a vehicle tough enough to ram one of the overhead doors?”

“We have a Ram truck with full front grille and bumper guard. It will take any door down.”

Alex nodded. “Okay, we go in ten, truck through the door, drop down through the skylight, I will be going down through one of them, and teams through the side doors. The only prisoner I need is a tall thin nightwalker wearing a red satin jacket.” He looked around and saw nods from all. He took off.

He went over two roofs and found the slightly angled roof with the skylights. He walked as a shadow across the roof. He felt her, her heartbeat, her soft smell, her touch of mind, trusting him completely, him and the knife. He was totally hers.
Fuck
. It had always been the other way around with the females in his life, a touch, a take and a leave. This one possessed him
—
there was no leaving.

He went down as a shadow, but formed solid as he hit the floor with a loud thud. There was a man at the window who turned at the noise, freezing in place. Then Alex launched himself through the glass, sent the man over the rail as he turned and plunged his knife deep into the heart of the second nightwalker who was slow in reacting. Big mistake.

There were two rogues starting up the stairs using the speed that Vamps could use, but the rest of the team was in place. The truck slammed through the door, peeling the folding metal back over as it drove completely into the building, coming to rest behind the Ford sedan.

The nightwalkers coming in were well trained, loyal to Radames, impressed that a Council Lord was actually fighting in person. They backed up each other. Although the rogues were tough and ready they did not have the same impulse to impress. No one among the attackers wanted to be less than the best in front of the fighting Lord.

Although Alex was already flying into the first nightwalker up the stairs, a teammate was on the back of the second one. The entire fight, at the speed of nightwalkers, was over in minutes except for one group. There were five team members circling a nightwalker who had been injured but was strongly on his feet, turning around and around, facing the circle of nightwalkers surrounding him. He had on a red jacket.

Alex went up to the office and sat down on his heels. He looked at her. “Come to me, Minty.”

Total confusion on her face, Minty stared at him a long time. Alex entered her mind to read her thoughts.
This is the beautiful man. Where is my Master, where is the knife I love?

He held out the knife.
“I am your Master, when you are in the dark or when I am in your mind. But when we are in the light, when others are around I am Alex, your lover. If you treat me as Alex your lover in the light, as your Master of the dark it won’t make the pain too deep, if you don’t handle the lover Alex in light, I and the knife will have to hurt you very much and very deep in the dark. We may have to hold you down and pound you. You don’t want that do you?”