Sinfully Spellbound (Spells That Bind Book 1) (25 page)

It wasn’t until I was getting ready to leave my office for
SpellBinders that I realized what had been bothering me about the vampire the
police believed to be responsible for the killings. I quickly fished out the
card for the shade detective and called him.

“Yeah,” he answered, sounding annoyed.

“This is Dylan Hunt. Listen, the vampire couldn’t have
worked alone,” I said.

“What the hell are you talking about?” the shade asked.

“The vampire you think killed the succubi,” I explained. “He
couldn’t have been working alone because the guy who tried to grab Allie
couldn’t have been a vampire. I set the guy’s arm on fire. A vampire would have
been a pile of ash. The killer is still out there.”

“Mr. Hunt,” the detective said in a patient tone. “We still
don’t know who killed those succubi.”

“Someone claiming to be a police officer called Allie and
told her the killer had been located and she was safe,” I told him as fear
consumed me.

“Where is she now?” the detective asked more urgently.

“At work,” I answered. “At SpellBinders.”

“I’m sending someone to SpellBinders now,” he said.

After hanging up with the detective, I immediately tried
Allie’s number, but it went straight to voicemail, meaning her phone was off.
Trevor had messaged me to assure me Allie’s phone was on and with her before
he’d left SpellBinders. After quickly locking up my office, I called Trevor on
my way to the car.

“If you’re calling to beg me to pick Allie up, I can’t,” he
said by way of greeting.

“I just talked to the police. They never called Allie to let
her know they’d found the killer.” I was working hard to get my breathing under
control. “The killer is still out there. I should have been suspicious with the
details they gave her on the phone. Hell, I
was
suspicious, but I
figured I was just having trouble believing she was finally safe. Now, Allie’s
not answering her phone.”

“Shit!” Trevor cursed loudly.

“You put the tracking spell on her phone like I asked,
right?”

“Yeah,” Trevor confirmed, and I could hear him running with
someone beside him.

“I’m heading to my car. Let me know which way to go,” I
said.

“I’ll work on tracing her when I get to my car.” I heard him
speak to the person behind him then. “We think the killer has Allie.”

While I couldn’t make out what was being said, I was pretty
sure that was Mel in the background, berating Trevor and me for failing to keep
her cousin safe. I was pissed at myself, so I figured she had a right to chew
my ass out.

“I’m still at the studio,” Trevor said. “In case you
couldn’t guess by Melina’s threats to unman me.”

“I figured that out,” I said impatiently. “Which way should
I start heading?”

“Give me a minute,” he said, and I knew he was focusing hard
on the spell. Trevor was one of the few warlocks I knew who could successfully
cast and work with a tracking spell. I knew plenty who could cast them but
still couldn’t follow the spell to its source. It was one of the more advanced
spells.

“I’m going to call Nick to see if he was at the club
tonight,” I told him, mostly because I needed something to do while I waited on
Trevor. If I didn’t distract myself, I’d continue asking questions, which would
make it impossible for him to focus. “He checks up on Allie most nights, so he
might have seen something,” I added, mostly for myself.

“I’ll call you when I have her location,” Trevor said in a
distracted voice.

Nick answered on the second ring, sounding overly cheerful.
“Hello.”

“Hey, Nick,” I greeted. “Did you see Allie at SpellBinders
tonight? Her phone is off, and I think she may be in danger.”

“Why would she be in danger?” Nick asked, sounding less
concerned than I’d expected, considering his attachment to Allie. “Allie told
me the police found the vampire who tried to grab her. I’m sure she just turned
her phone off.”

“Are you at SpellBinders?” I asked.

“Nah,” he said. “I was gonna go by there later, but I might
just stay home. You should head over to the club to check on her. That’ll make
you feel better.”

“You’re right. I’ll head over there now,” I agreed with a
calm I didn’t feel. Of course, I was lying, but Nick wasn’t going to be any
help, and I didn’t want to waste more time.

“I don’t want to be rude, but I have a few things to take
care of,” Nick said. “Call me when you hear from Allie.”

“No problem,” I told him as calmly as I could when the woman
I loved was in danger.

While I knew Allie’s phone could be off for any number of
reasons, my gut told me she was in danger. I hadn’t called SpellBinders to
check on her because the police were heading there, so I figured that was
covered. As far as I was concerned, the tracking spell was my best bet for
finding Allie.

My phone rang almost as soon as I hung up with Nick.

“Did you find her?” I asked.

“Yeah, I got her location,” Trevor answered, sounding
somewhat dazed. “She’s in one of the vampire housing developments.”

“Send the details to my phone,” I nearly growled.

“Sending it now, and we’re on our way there, as well,”
Trevor said before ending the call.

Loading the directions into my car’s GPS, I hoped like hell
I wouldn’t be too late. Allie just had to be okay.

When I regained consciousness, it took my brain time to
process what had happened. Marcos had used a spell to knock me out, and I was
assuming he’d also moved me from SpellBinders. Where? I had no idea. Opening my
eyes, I discovered I was not in some creepy warehouse or dank basement. Based
on the lack of windows, I probably
was
in a basement, but the entire
room was extravagantly decked out with plush sofas and a king size bed. I was
lying on one of the plush sofas with a soft blanket covering me.

“About fucking time you woke up,” Marcos muttered in a bored
tone. “I was beginning to worry that I’d have to leave and miss seeing your
initial reaction. It would have been a pity if that had happened.”

“You kidnapped me,” I accused lamely.

Marcos just laughed. “Yeah, I kidnapped you, Al. I can’t
believe it took two tries. You have no idea how much I want to hurt you after
that asshole warlock of yours burned my arm. I wanted to beat you into
unconsciousness instead of using that spell, but I figured it was best to get
you out of SpellBinders before you figured out that your call from the police
was a fake.”

I was blaming the spell for the fact that my mind was having
so much trouble processing what Marcos had just said. My heart slammed against
my chest, but I worked hard to stay calm because I needed a clear head to
figure a way out of this mess.

“You’re the one killing the succubi?” I asked. Even with all
the evidence staring at me, I couldn’t believe it. Sure, Marcos was an asshole,
but he had nothing to gain from this. In fact, the killings had inconvenienced
him. “Why would you do this?”

“It’s good business.” He was lounging on one of the sofas at
the far end of the room, looking as bored as he sounded. “Sure, it’s a pain
replacing the staff we kill, but the money makes it worth it.”

Adrenaline was doing a great job of clearing my mind. I
stood and faced Marcos.

“Good business?” I demanded. “I always knew you were scum,
but this is low even for you.”

Marcos shot to his feet and closed the distance between us.
The back of his hand made contact with my cheek, knocking me to the ground.

“Stupid cunt!” he spat out. “You’ve always thought you were
better than me, but you’re nothing more than a brainless little cock tease.”

“Don’t hit her again,” came a familiar voice from the stairs
near the back of the room just before Nick emerged.

“Run, Nick!” I shouted. “He’s crazy, and he’ll kill you.”

Nick chuckled, and it sounded nothing like the easygoing
laughter I was used to hearing from him. “I think I’ll stay. You may as well
call me Nikolai,” he said. “Soon, you’ll call me Master. I’d love to hear you
call me that now, but I know it’ll take time to train you.”

Not believing what I was hearing, I shook my head. “We’re
friends.”

Marcos grabbed my hair to pull me to my feet as he laughed.
“See? You really are a stupid cunt. I knew you’d fall for poor Nick’s story
about being denied by the woman he loves. I knew you’d be dumb enough to
protect him and take him with you everywhere.”

Nick glided toward me, looking more like a killer than the
sweet guy I’d thought I knew.

“I wasn’t sure anyone could be that gullible,” Nick
muttered, reaching out to stroke my swollen cheek with his cold hand. “You
know, I’d planned to just kill you, but after Marcos’ first failed attempt to
abduct you, we couldn’t get you alone. I was fine with finding another
succubus, but Marcos was determined to kill you after Dylan injured him. It was
a matter of pride to him. That’s why we came up with the idea of me befriending
you to get you alone. It was all just a game, but after spending time around
you, I knew I had to have you. Not to kill you, of course. Killing you was no
longer an option after I got to know you.”

I tried to pull away from Nick, but Marcos simply tightened
his hold on my hair until I was sure he’d end up ripping chunks of it out.

“You almost ruined all of my plans by taking that stupid
test.” Nick sounded angry. “Had you completed the marriage ceremony, I would
have been forced to kill Dylan, and I kind of like him. Naturally, I’ll see him
a few more times so we can talk about how much we miss you. Then I’ll have to
disappear. It wouldn’t be good for Dylan to see me after we finish the spell
involving the succubus essence. That would definitely tip him off to my
involvement.”

“I thought you liked me,” I said, feeling like Marcos was
right about me being stupid.

“I do,” Nick murmured as he leaned forward and grazed my
neck with his fangs. “If I didn’t like you, I’d be killing you right now.”

“If you liked me, you wouldn’t have kidnapped me,” I
muttered.

Marcos gave my hair a vicious tug, which made me cry out in
pain. Nick gave him another sharp look. “Don’t hurt her, demon. I paid you well
for her, and I am the only one who can discipline her from this point forward.”
His face softened when his eyes fell on me. “Hopefully, you won’t force me to
hurt you, because I’d hate to leave any marks on your beautiful skin.”

“Why are you doing this?” I demanded of Marcos.

“Money,” he said with a shrug, releasing my hair and
stepping back. “Why else would I do it? If it weren’t for the money, I’d kill
you and send pieces of you back to your warlock for the pain he put me through.
Lucky for you, Nikolai paid me well to keep you alive.”

“So, you’re also helping him kill people for money?” I asked
in disbelief. While I wasn’t entirely surprised that he’d take money to help
kidnap me, killing was something I hadn’t expected. “So, that’s why you’ve been
wearing long-sleeve shirts. How badly did Dylan burn you when you tried to
abduct me the first time?”

Rather than answering, Marcos glared at me, which made Nick
laugh.

“It worked out for the best, anyway,” Nick said. “If he’d
caught you that night, you’d be dead, and I never would have realized how much
I care for you.”

“Care for me?” I asked in disbelief, wondering why I was
even bothering to argue with the deranged vampire.

Nick actually looked hurt. “I
could
kill you.”

“Instead, you’ll enslave me,” I muttered.

“It’s not like that, Alana,” Nick insisted, and thankfully,
he took several steps back, giving me some much-needed space.

“Then how is it, Nick?” I demanded, figuring I couldn’t
really get in much more trouble than I already was.

“My name is Nikolai,” he ground out before taking a deep breath
and releasing it. “Of course, you probably won’t be happy at first, but you’ll
get used to things. Life will be pleasant for you once you learn your place.
We’ll still be friends, Alana, and we’ll have centuries to enjoy each other’s
company.”

“You know nothing about friendship,” I told him. “If you
were my friend, you wouldn’t want to keep me here against my will.”

“If I weren’t your friend, I’d have you strapped to a
ceremonial table, naked, while we sliced you open,” he snapped. “Marcos really
wants to make you suffer, and I’m the only thing standing in his way.”

“Go ahead and make him angry, Al.” Marcos’ evil smirk
promised dire consequences if Nick decided to stop protecting me. “I’m dying to
get you on the ceremonial table so I can spend hours harvesting your blood and
energy while you scream and beg for mercy.”

I swallowed hard because I didn’t want to show my fear. It
was what Marcos wanted. I wasn’t sure what Nick wanted, or Nikolai. I guess it
made sense to call him Nikolai. Nick was a sweet guy who had been my friend—a
guy who’d never really existed. Nikolai was a monster who killed without
remorse, and who had manipulated me into believing he was my friend.

“You’ve seen my reaction, why not just leave?” I snapped at
Marcos. Getting him out of the room meant I only had to worry about Nick when I
tried to make my escape.

“Nikolai promised to let me watch part of the training
process.” Marcos moved to my side with a smirk. “I’ve been trying to teach you
your place for the last year with no luck, so I figured this would be
entertaining.”

“Come here, Alana,” Nikolai said, holding out a hand to me.

I shook my head and backed away slowly.

“That’s a pretty complex security spell,” Trevor muttered as
he followed the pattern of the spell outside the house Allie was in.

I had to agree with him, and I was suddenly regretting not
having someone who could cast security spells meet us here. I’d never been very
good at them, and Trevor was only marginally better than I was.

“Idiots,” Mel muttered from my left.

“I suppose you know how to unravel a complex security
spell?” Trevor asked, glaring at her over his shoulder.

“Nope,” she said as she studied the spell, which consisted
of tiny threads of magic woven together like a spider web. “I have no clue how
to unravel a security spell.”

“Are you telling me that the great Melina Blackwood can’t do
everything?” Trevor asked.

“Enough fighting like children,” I snapped. “I’m going to
call someone who can unravel this.”

“Or, we could just do this,” Mel said as she tapped a finger
on one spot in the spell, which caused it to quite literally shatter.

“Fuck,” I said in awe, because I’d never seen anyone do
something like that.

“Show off,” Trevor muttered.

“The real problem is going to be the dampening spell,” she
said, sounding worried all of a sudden. Up to this point, she’d been the calm
one in the group, insisting there was nothing to worry about. A dampening spell
meant none of us could rely on magic in the house, which put us at a severe
disadvantage.

Now, I felt the hum of the spell, too. Dampening spells were
usually set up in places where one worried that preternatural creatures
wouldn’t get along. In this case, I’d guess it only dampened the powers of
non-vampires. The problem with dampening spells is that they’re cast by
multiple people, making them nearly impossible to remove if you weren’t
involved in casting the original spell.

“How could he have convinced one witch, let alone a group of
witches, to cast this?” Trevor asked.

“It was probably sorcerers,” I said. Sorcerers were humans
who learned to use certain types of magic. Many called themselves witches, even
though they had no idea what it meant to be a witch. While most were weak and
of no concern to us, there were some who were powerful enough to sell their
services in the preternatural community.

We’d called the police, but they were at least half an hour
away because they’d insisted on checking SpellBinders first. It seemed they
didn’t trust Trevor’s tracking spell.

“I’m going in,” I said. “You two stay out here in case the
police show up.”

“I am not letting you go in there alone,” Trevor argued with
a snort.

“He’s right,” Mel agreed. “I’ll stay out here while you go
in.”

That’s when Trevor let out a sigh of relief. I could tell
he’d been afraid Mel would want to go in with us. Trevor walked close to Mel,
and before she could react, he snaked a hand around the back of her neck and
kissed her. It was just a quick kiss that left her glaring at him.

“Go save my cousin or I’ll castrate both of you,” she
warned.

“Ready to do this?” I asked.

“Let’s go save your witch,” Trevor said as we walked through
the now unlocked front door.

I recognized the face in the paintings as soon as we entered
the front room. “Son of a bitch,” I muttered quietly.

“Told you I didn’t trust that vampire,” Trevor said.