Chapter 35
The silver-reinforced door creaked open. My heart thumped against my ribcage.
"Time to go," Esposito said, low-voiced. He grabbed my arm and urged me out the door. "Something's up. If they see us, let me do the talking, okay?"
I dipped my chin in acknowledgment, blinking rapidly. Even the dim light in the hall was too much after so many hours in the dark. For the first minute, I had to rely on him to guide me.
When we reached a staircase, he mouthed, "Follow me," and jogged up the narrow metal steps, me scrambling after him as best I could.
The door at the top of the stairs stood open. Esposito sniffed, shooting a frowning glance at me over his shoulder. That's when I smelled it—the faint, acrid scent of smoke.
"That's the only exit," Esposito whispered, indicating a thick wood door at the far end of the hall. "We have to chance it. I'll go first. Wait for my signal, then follow."
For the first time I got a good look at his face. Yeah, this was definitely Talon's father. Same dark curls (although Esposito's were streaked with gray), same full lower lip, same deep-set eyes. But this man's features were softer, weaker, the face of a man who usually took the easy way out.
"Got it," I mouthed. "And thank you."
With an odd little smile, he shoved his hands into his pants pockets and sauntered into the hall. Nothing to see here, people. The man could've been an actor.
He cast a casual glance around, then jerked his chin at me to follow.
I counted three doors ahead of us, two behind. If this was a vampire's lair, it was a small one, and by vampire standards, bare bones. The walls were white-washed stone, the floor rough planks, the only lighting a half-dozen sconces shaped like hanging bats, electric tea lights cupped in their upside-down wings.
Esposito inched forward, me creeping after him. We passed the first door. The second.
The smell of smoke increased. At the end of the hall, a gray wisp snaked under the door and curled lazily through the air.
We were almost to the third door when it was thrown open. I froze. Esposito cursed and grabbed my arm, dragging me backward.
A blur of motion, and the vampire from the first night, his face a mask of fury, halted in front of us. I gulped. The contrast between his terrifying expression and elegant navy suit was disorienting, like an accountant had been possessed by the spirit of Cujo.
Esposito released me and raised his hands, palms out. "Lemaire. I—"
The thin, dark-haired vampire hissed. grabbed Esposito's throat and squeezed. "Where do you think you're going?"
Esposito scrabbled at Lemaire's wrists. "Take it easy," he choked out. "It's not what you th—"
The vampire shook him like a rabbit. "It's exactly what I think."
"Run!" Esposito hissed at me out of the side of his mouth.
I nodded rapidly and backed up.
Silver flashed. Blood spurted from Esposito's throat.
I moaned and clapped a hand to my mouth as he kicked wildly to be free.
Lemaire's fangs extended. He zeroed in on Esposito's bleeding throat. I could practically feel his craving, like a pulsing in the air.
Run, my brain screamed, but my feet had grown roots. I was lost in horror, unable to look away as Lemaire bent Esposito over an arm, mouth open, fangs glistening. His eyes met mine over Esposito's writhing body, and his focus shifted to me.
The glowing blue around his irises brightened. He lifted his head, that vampire-hot gaze trained on me. He was going to try and compel me. I knew it as certainly as if he'd told me aloud.
Esposito made a heartbreaking sound, somewhere between a groan and a whimper. Lemaire glanced at him again.
My muscles unlocked. I wrenched my gaze from the men and bolted back the way we'd come.
Please let Esposito be wrong. Please let there be another exit.
I tried the first door. A bedroom.
I kept going, tried the second. Another bedroom.
My breath sobbed in.
Esposito had been right. The only exit was behind Lemaire.
The door with a fire burning on the other side.
I halted, lungs heaving, and risked a look at the two men. Lemaire had latched onto Esposito's throat. He hunched over his victim, an urbane spider feeding on his prey. Mercifully, the other man was no longer moving. I prayed he'd lost consciousness.
Behind them, the hall was filling with smoke. It's not easy to kill a vampire by fire, but if the fire's hot enough, it's possible. Was this Lemaire's doing, or part of a plan to rescue me?
Whatever. Time was running out.
I couldn't stay here, but I didn't think I'd get past Lemaire, even distracted as he was.
I had to try, though. I'd die if I didn't.
Fragments of how to escape a fire flitted through my mind.
Stay low.
Cover your mouth and nose.
If you catch on fire, stop, drop and roll.
Pulling my sweater up over my face, I sidled back down the hall, knees shaking, heart threatening to beat out of my chest. Lemaire remained intent on his meal. I held my breath and kept going.
Just when I thought I'd made it past him, he flicked me a look. My stomach dropped and I sped up.
He reached out almost casually, backhanding me across the mouth. A bright pain exploded in my brain. I slammed into the wall, the breath leaving my lungs in a whoosh. The coppery taste of blood filled my mouth. Stunned, I brought my hand to my cheek, working my jaw back and forth.
Lemaire dropped Esposito and straightened, his striped tie spattered with red. He removed a silk handkerchief from his breast pocket and wiped the blood from his mouth and chin, his gaze never leaving mine.
I swallowed queasily and brought my hand down.
Blue-rimmed eyes snagged mine. "Don't move," he said, and hit me with a compulsion so hard I froze in the act of turning to run, one foot planted, the other knee bent, the ball of my foot ready to push off.
I struggled against the compulsion, but only managed to make a small, frightened sound. The smoke grew thicker. Stinging my eyes. Burning my throat.
"I wouldn't fight it," Lemaire said. "There are two ways out, and one is blocked by fire. Stay behind, and you'll die." He moved closer and put a hand on my belly. "That would be a shame, wouldn't it?"
I shuddered at the possessive touch.
His blue-touched eyes glowed impossibly bright. "You're going to come with me, Eden Montgomery. You'll stay within a meter of me at all times. Say ‘yes, master' if you understand."
Against my will, my lips moved. "Yes, master."
"That's my pet." Taking my arm, he strode back to the stairs to the lower level, pulling me onto the landing and locking the door behind us.
He released me and reinforced the compulsion by repeating that I was to stay within a meter of him, then ran lightly down the metal steps. The compulsion tugged at me like I was attached to a rope with him at the other end, forcing me to follow at the same speed so that I remained within a meter of him. I jogged down the steps after him, a hand on the rail, praying I wouldn't trip and fall.
When we reached the bottom, he turned in the opposite direction of the cellar where I'd been imprisoned. This hall wasn't lighted. I had to feel my way along the wall, helpless against the compulsion's pull, my legs moving as fast as they could despite my attempts to slow down.
Fortunately, we didn't have far to go. When Lemaire halted, I nearly ran into him.
"Stop," he ordered absently, his attention on something in front of him.
Metal groaned, then slid to the left. A metal gate.
Lemaire took me by the arm and pulled me through an opening. The gate slammed shut behind us.
"Keep following." He set off again, at a slower pace this time.
I found out why when I felt rough stone on either side of me. We'd entered a narrow tunnel. The damp air had a salty bite, and somewhere ahead, the surf boomed.
I trudged behind my captor, feeling my way along the uneven, pitch-black passage, trying not to panic. What if the cavern narrowed further? Lemaire was lean as a weasel. He might not have calculated for my pregnant body.
Events had happened so quickly that I'd been moving on autopilot, fueled by terror and adrenaline, my focus on surviving at any cost. Now I steadied—and noticed that the compulsion to follow him had lessened.
My step hitched. The adrenaline kicked in again.
Run.
I actually took a small step backward until I realized I had nowhere to go. The way behind us was blocked by the gate. The only way out was forward.
And yet… Lemaire didn't seem aware that I was no longer bound to him as firmly. If I could fool him into thinking I was still under his compulsion, I might be able to escape.
I kept walking.
The sound of the surf grew louder. A light breeze teased at my nostrils. I drew a deep breath, filling my lungs with the fresh ocean scent. After two days in a dank cellar, it smelled like freedom.
Gradually, the darkness lightened. Somewhere ahead, light sparkled on an expanse of water, and then we were out of the tunnel and in a sea cave, its walls carved by the ocean. Moonlight slanted through the large opening, illuminating a small motorboat floating inside the cavern, its glossy black hull barely visible against the night sky beyond.
Lemaire ordered me to get into the boat and leapt the half-dozen meters to the deck, leaving me to wade through waist-deep water.
The ocean surged, lifting me off my feet. I lunged up for the mooring line, fighting to remain upright as the icy liquid receded, sucking at my legs. The nylon line stretched, and I almost went under. Somehow, I managed to stay upright, but the shock broke Lemaire's compulsion for good.
Clinging to the line, I waded the last couple of meters to the boat. The water was up to my armpits now. The last few steps I was half-walking, half-pulling myself along the line until I reached the metal cleat it was fastened to.
I had to stretch up to grab the cleat. I clung to it, my other hand on the hull, as the ocean tugged at my water-logged clothing.
"I need help," I told Lemaire, careful to wipe my face of expression.
Muttering under his breath, he fastened cool fingers around my wrists and swung me aboard. "Sit." He pointed at a short bench on the boat's port side.
My sweater and jacket were soaked, my short leather boots filled with water. I sloshed across the deck and lowered myself onto the bench.
Lemaire leapt back to shore, where the mooring line was attached to a sturdy metal pole. A tug, and the line came free. He tossed it onto the deck and followed.
"Talon brought the prima," he told me. "They were spotted a few minutes ago."
My head snapped up. Hope surged. "He's here?"
He came.
Lemaire sneered. "He must think I'm a fool to believe he'd exchange his prima for a thrall, even one pregnant with his spawn."
"But…that was the deal."
"What deal? The instructions were for Talon to bring Twilight himself. No deals were offered."
I mentally replayed the message I'd been forced to record.
"We want Twilight. You'll be contacted telling you where and when. And Talon? Bring her yourself, and do not tell anyone. That means Brien and Cain, too. We'll be watching."
Lemaire was right. My heart sank.
"Then why would he bring the prima?" I asked.
Lemaire sniffed and straightened his lapel. "No doubt he thinks to outwit me. My guess is he brought a couple of men in the shadows—that's what I would do. What he doesn't know is that I expected that. We're playing a little game, he and I." An unpleasant smile. "The fire is only the first obstacle. We'll see if they think you died in the fire…or went with me willingly. You ran once, after all."
Doubt poked at me with bony fingers.
I clasped my hands between my knees. Stop it. He's messing with you. The bastard enjoys seeing you sweat.
On the other hand, I had run once, and Talon had only just started to trust me.
If Talon's here with Twilight, then they have a plan to save you. You have to believe that.
"You hate me," Lemaire said, clearly amused. "You'd kill me if you could. The man who bought you will beat that out of you. He prefers well-trained, obedient thralls."
The man who bought me would beat it out of me?
I rolled my lips into my mouth, afraid and angry—and yeah, hating Lemaire with every cell of my body.
Lemaire went to start the boat, but it coughed and sputtered before falling silent. Face set, he tried again. This time it didn't make a sound. He cursed and tried a third time, and when it still didn't start, removed his suit coat, rolled up his sleeves and went to have a look at the engines.
My wet clothes were no match for the wind off the North Atlantic. The cold seeped into my bones. Miserable and shivering, I hugged my arms around myself, watching him out of the corner of my eye.
He'd forgotten to renew the compulsion. If he hadn't been distracted, he probably would've noticed by now.
This was my chance, except, again, where would I go? Even if I made it outside the sea cave, my only options would be to swim for it or climb the cliff I could just make out beyond the entrance. Lemaire wouldn't even have to work hard to recapture me.
He grabbed a couple of tools from a toolbox and went back to work, his back to me.
"The man who bought you will beat that out of you."
I swallowed and decided to try anyway. It's not like I had anything to lose. He was talking about blood slavery. And they wouldn't own just me, but the baby.
Lemaire cursed and banged on one of the engines with a wrench.
Now.
I slung a leg over the rail and eased into the water. Somehow I managed to stay upright long enough to get to shore. I headed for a tumble of boulders, hoping to crouch out of sight.
Water squelched from my boots. I could no longer feel my toes. I shuffled forward because stopping wasn't an option.
"Eden Montgomery." Lemaire's voice lashed at me like a whip. "Come back here."
My shoulders pulled up around my ears. I fought an urge to obey, to give in.
No.
I would not go back. I was fighting for not just my freedom, but the baby's.
The compulsion increased. Stop. Turn around. Look into my eyes…
I strained against the urge to obey.
"No!" This time I said it aloud, and then I screamed it. "No! Leave me the fuck alone!"
My scream echoed in the cavern. The compulsion weakened, then abruptly broke. I stumbled forward, falling to my hands and knees on the gritty cavern floor, but kept going, crawling across the cavern floor toward the protection of the boulders. Although what good that would do with Lemaire watching me, I didn't know.
But turning back would be giving in. And I would not give in.
"Eden!" A deep voice made my breath hitch.
I lifted my head. "Talon?"
Was it really him or was I dreaming?
"Hang on, baby. I'm almost there." Powerful arms scooped me up. When I startled, he said, "Easy, now. It's me, Talon."
"Talon?" I brought a hand to his cheek, even though my fingers were blocks of ice, too numb to feel anything. "It's…you? You're really here?"
"Oh, sweetheart." His lips touched my temple. I was so chilled they felt warm to me. "It's me. I've got you. You're safe now."
"You came." Emotion swamped me. I sucked in my lower lip and took a hard breath through my nose, then grabbed his shirt and burrowed my face into his neck. "You came."
He tightened his grip on me, raining kisses on my face. "Of course, I did."
For a couple of heartbeats, I clung to Talon, breathing him in, floating in a delirium of love and relief.
But there was something I had to tell him. Something important. I pulled a little away. "Lemaire, he…"
"What?"
My brain felt like it had been packed in cotton. I gave my head a shake, trying to remember what Lemaire had said.
"He t-told me," I said through chattering teeth, "th-that this is a tr-trick. He's s-set a trap."
"The fire in the lair?" Talon asked.
Shivering uncontrollably, I worked an arm around his neck. "N-no. I m-mean, that's just the f-f-first. There's m-more."
"All right. We won't go back through the lair. We can't anyway—it's an inferno up there."
A grunt drew my eyes to the boat. Brien was fighting Lemaire on the small deck. Blades clanged, the two vampires moving in a flurry of motion too fast to follow.
"Brien's here?" I asked.
Talon nodded. "And Cain and Twilight, too."
"They are? All of them? But—"
"They know how important you are to me. We had most of the island searching for you, the syndicate included."
"Yeah?" I tried to smile, but my teeth clicked together. "I'm s-so c-cold."
Swearing under his breath, Talon retrieved his phone from his pocket. "Twilight? Get the boat around to this side of the island ASAP. We have Eden."
He described our location, then carried me to the side of the cavern out of the wind. He gently cupped my injured cheek. "Lemaire did this?"
"Yeah. And…he forced me to go with him. A compulsion. I mean, I would've gone with him anyway. I couldn't stay in a burning building." My throat worked. "Why d-did he have to do that? I felt so h-h-helpless."
Talon's face darkened. "He's vermin," he said, tight-jawed. His lips touched my bruised flesh, soft as a butterfly's wings. "He's going down. I promise."
"G-good," I said fiercely as another shiver racked my body.
"Hang on," Talon crooned, rocking back and forth with me. "Can you do that for me, baby? I'd light a fire, but Twilight will be here with the boat any minute now."
"But w-what about B-B-Brien?" I asked.
"Don't worry," Talon said without looking away from me. "He's winning."
"But—" I blinked rapidly, my chilled brain uncomprehending. "Sh-shouldn't you be h-helping him?"
A groove formed between Talon's thick dark brows. "You're my priority. You and the baby. Brien can take care of himself."
I still didn't understand—everyone knew Brien came first with Talon. "B-but the blood oath—"
"Look at me." Talon nudged my chin with a finger, waiting until he had my full attention. "Fuck the blood oath," he said, slowly and succinctly. "You're what matters. You're more important. To me, you're everything. Understand?"
When I nodded, he buried his face in my neck. His shoulders heaved. "Don't ever get kidnapped again. I mean it."
I actually chuckled through my chattering teeth. "I d-didn't do it d-deliberately."
"I know. But…just don't, okay? I don't think I could survive it."