Waiting (29 page)

Broken shards of glass
laid
at my feet, crunching when I took steps, reminding me of the effect the drink had on me.

Though my body was shaking, muscles tense and sore, mind a complete wreck of emotions and thoughts, I kept coming back to the same solution. Parker. It was the only thi
ng
that kept my body moving. Survival. If anything, I'd stay alive long enough to see him again, hold him, just look into his emotional eyes to feel important.

There in the crowd, my eyes finally found the man that had given me that drink. He was feeding off a human, eyes roaming over me every couple of seconds, watching me but keeping his distance. He must be one of Parker's friends. Thank God!

A new sensation came over me, giving me chills as a low ache starting tingling low in
my belly. How could I
 
possibly
be turned on right now?

My hands starting roaming over my skin, imagining they were Parker's as they lightly skimmed over my stomach then down past my hips to tease my thighs. Holy hell this was amazing. It was as if he really was touching me everywhere.

I gasped and looked up, scanning the crowd while trying to avoid eye contact with anyone. My heart rate shot up, sky rocketed really, feeling familiar eyes on me, though I couldn't find the source.

What was in that drink? A
hallucinogen
proba
bly. I didn't recognize anybody
exce
pt for the mysterious drink man
who was now dancing, or
getting it on with some random.  I
t was hard to tell what was really happening.

Damnit! He'd probably drugged me to feel this way. I guess if I'm going to die, this feeling was a hell of a way to go out.

My world stopped.

My heart beat slowed, partially from the heart attack I was sure I was having, and partially from the spike of euphoria shooting through my veins again.

Parker was in the center of the crowd, clad in the same outfit as the man who'd given me the drink, looking sexy as hell as his dark eyes bored into mine, emotions foretelling what he didn't have to say. He looked deadly and ready to fight.

I moaned and my hands started
 
running against my skin again, his lips
thinning
before I shut my eyes and looked in a different direction, sure it wasn't him I was really seeing.
 

When I opened them again, he was there, directly in my line of site, lips parted when my hands skimmed over my breasts, before rage consumed his face, disappearing from view once again.

I'd remember him like that. Or maybe the way he looked when we made love for the first time. Either way he was heart stoppingly beautiful.

I regained control of my hands long enough to grasp the cage
bars while moving my hips again
before feeling the slightest touch across my backside. Turning, no
one was there
though I felt that same zing of awareness when something clicked in my head as it had with the drink.

Was I dying? What were these feelings and zings of control I was having?

The next thing I knew my cage was practically o
n the ground.  M
y feet stuttered
but I qu
ickly regained my balance and
pace since the music was still blaring.

Someone's hand had ripped the cage from the ceiling and was carrying me through the mass
of people, barely jostling me
before they stopped on top of what looked to be a stage that I hadn't noticed until now.

It was small, but
large in comparison to my cage.  E
veryone seemed to be gathered around now, waiting, watching as my body wouldn't stop convulsing until a loud booming voice had the courtesy to let me rest.

“Stop!”

Sam.

My legs shook as
I
fell to the ground, eyes searching for Parker in the crowd of hundreds when the music abruptly stopped, all eyes on me.

“Fangs and Pulpas! It's
my pleasure to present to you…
miss Piper Smith!”

The crowd howled, though I'm not sure why. Why would they care about me?

I regained the strength to stand,
wiping the glass shards off
my knees
while
trying to get a better
view.
I guess I hadn't really seen Parker earlier.

“Now, she's a newbie
, fleshie, but sexy as hell a
nd the star of our show tonight!
”

Sam came walking gracefully through the crowd as they parted, then helped her stand next to my cage before she flicked the l
ocked and opened the door,
grabbing onto my wrist and yanking me out.

I could see a group of about twenty being led out of the main room by Quinn, though I quickly diverted my gaze, not wanting to get stuck obeying anyone else.

“So put your hands together! Keep your fangs in your mouth!
E
njoy the show, and get ready to start the bidding in a few minutes.”

Sam winked, then stood in front of me while fluffing the wig again.

“Dance to this song. Last song, I promise.” She leaned in and kissed my cheek, rousing huge cheers from the crowd.

There were three poles spaced evenly across the stage that was only four feet off the main dance floor. I grabbed onto the closest one and started swaying slowly, trying to go back into my fantasy world of just me and Parker, but it wouldn't happen.

A man came on the stage and grabbed me, pulling me against his practically naked crotch before Sam was there, flicking her hand and sending him sailing across the stage into the far wall, shattering the plaster and exciti
ng the rest of the watchers
.

Great. If they like violence, I'm for sure a goner.

NINETEEN

As soon as the man was mixed back in with the crowd, a new man took hold of me with his right arm around my waist, his left clad in a heavy black glove that covered up to his elbow with a thick silver chain wrapped around, slack dangling from his fingers threateningly.

The music stopped and my
 
muscles gave out altogether as I sagged against my support, the earlier effects of the drink I'd had completely vanishing. I got the strength to lift my head to see it was Parker, looking out at the crowd with a deadly glare. My body zinged with awareness again as I was finally released from Sam's hold. Francis must have been the one
to brush up against me earlier
because I felt no ties holding me in place and no weights in my mind.

“Everyone not involved or doesn't want to join a fight to the death, I suggest you l
eave now!
”

The crowd looked around
,
stunned
,
before most of them shrugged and turned to leave the club while chatting, seeming to choose life more p
referable
.

I wrapped my arm around his waist to help support my weakened body to remain standing.

By the time all was said and done, about twenty men and women stayed inside, all of which seemed to be on Parker's team, taking a defensive stance around us. Everyone in the room had their fangs extended, still on high alert.

I’d never seen this side of Parker. It scared me. And also excited me more than it should. Waayy more than it should.

“Are you alright?” Parker's voice remained strained, looking down at me with hard eyes, making me gulp.

“I'm fine.” He nodded and glanced back out while tightening his hold. “We need to get Gunner.”

“I'm here.”

I turned to see him entering the room followed by Francis and a few others.
 

Relief flooded through me. Everyone was safe and nobody was killed.

“Let's get out of here.”

“Couldn't agree more.”

Francis and a few others joined us on the stage before our attention turned back to a voice near the bar.

“I'm so happy you could finally join us, Parker.”
 

In front of the bar stood Sam, Quinn, and a man I'd never seen before. He was average height,
almost orange hair,
thick with muscle and donning an evil smile giving me the feeling Parker and him knew each
other personally. A skinny but deep scar started at the top of his right eye brow and curved under his
deep
red
eye before curving back out and disappearing close to his ear.
A fat nose centered perfectly on his plump face.

Two rows of silver bars shot up out of the ground into the ceiling blocking our path to leave on both sides of the room. Well, damn. I guess they weren't going to let us go without a fight.

“You've brought a
lot of your friends.” The man took two tiny steps forward then stopped, letting his eyes roam over everyone as if seeing if he recognized anyone. “If you want them to live, I suggest you have them do exactly as I say.”

A few rushed the man
but flew backwards,
an invisible
shield
stunned and then threw them back.

“Stop!” Parker's grip remained tight against my hip, my adrenaline kicking in strength I didn't think I had left. “There is no need for bloodshed, let us leave and I will forget this ever happened.”

Francis stepped closer to me and glared back at Sam with nothing but hatred. She remained straight faced, but it didn't take super heightened senses to be able to tell she was nervous.

“You're right. There is no need for bloodshed, Parker, if Francis breaks the blood oath he holds over Quinn. It's as simple as that.”

My eyes widened at the amazing deal this man was offering, silently asking Parker to take it before the man spoke again.

“Oh, and we get to keep him too of course, and you can take your human.”

“No!” I gasped out loud before I realized what I was doing.

There's no way I'd let Parker take me from here but leave Francis to be tortured. Or worse.

“Deal.”

It was Francis who spoke
, making me gasp again as Parker switched sides holding me to grip Francis with his other hand.

“No deal!” Parker barked then pulled Francis back. “What are you doing?”

They continued their conversation in their heads for a few seconds before Parker growled furiously, startling me.

“Deal,
” Francis repeated and jerked out of Parker's reach.

My eyes filled with
tears watching him walk toward
the enemy, only to halt halfway there. For a split second Sam's features contorted into pain before turning back into a sneer, the same as her peers.

“Koopa, let them leave and I'll remain here.”

At once, the silver b
ars leading outside disappeared.  E
veryone looked around for instruction.

This must be a trick. We can't leave Francis here. They must be forming a plan inside their minds.

Parker gave a nod of his head and everyone starting filing out, watching their backs for a surprise attack that didn't come,
until
it was just the three of us and the three of them.

He was shaking, gripping me just a little too hard before he realized and stopped, his eyes glowing black in anger. Something was definitely wrong.

“Francis!”

“Go! Before she see's something.”

“No!” I yelled out this time, unable to control myself.

Parker growled long and raw before gripping me and flashing us outside where the rest of his friends waited.

I broke down and tried to run back in but Parker held me firm. He let Gunner wrap his arm around me as I yelled out and continued my waste of time attempt to get free while tears starting flowing freely, my vision blurring as I quickly tried to think of something to do.
A way to fix this mess.

The sound of a loud crack before a car alarm started going off pulled my attention to find Parker ripping out huge trees from the ground and tossing them across the lot at the parked cars in a fit of rage.

That
sobered
me enough to realize I should be comforting him, not addin
g to the
misery of losing his brother.

Gunner held firm until I turned to face him and kneed him in the groin hard enough to release his hold so I could run to Parker.
 
He was on his knees, yelling
out in rage when I reached him.  N
o
one else tried to stop me once they knew where I was headed.