Chapter 4

SHE TRIED TO STAY AWAKE , but the stress of the past day and the colossal rush of endorphins hit her like a brick to the face. She had climbed into Joshua’s lap and fell asleep, cradled in his strong arms.

Her life was so fucking weird.

Hours later? Days later? Who the hell knew at this point? She woke up, disoriented in the dingy cell. Her head throbbed, an aftereffect of the pheromones used by the Vasile vampires to manipulate her. She shifted, wincing as Joshua’s arms tightened around her. As her eyes adjusted, confusion set in. The cell was as bright as day. Squinting up at the light bulb, it looked like the sun.

The outline of iron bars, the curve of the far wall, even the faint glimmer of moisture on the stones was crystal clear. What the hell was going on? A low groan in her ear made her squirm in Joshua’s lap. The memory of their frantic coupling sent a flush of heat through her body.

"I want to fuck you again,” he said.

She was down for that, too, but first, she needed some answers. “Did it get brighter in here?"

“Are you speaking metaphorically or realistically?”

“It’s no longer pitch black. Did they change the lighting in here while I slept?”

Joshua made a thoughtful huff. “No. It must be how you’re reacting to our mating bond. Between vampires, it enhances each other’s powers. I’ve never heard of a vampire and a human being bonded together. You’ll probably gain some vampiric senses.”

Keri swallowed hard. Bond . Such an inadequate word for the primal, earth-shattering connection that had formed between them. “Do I have to drink blood?”

“No.”

“That’s good.”

“At least, we’ll surprise the Vasiles as well with what we can do."

"How are you feeling?"

Joshua flexed his hands. "My strength is returning. The wards on this cell have been dampening my abilities, but now..." He reached over and lightly punched the wall. The stone cracked. "I feel almost myself again."

Alarm flared through her. "Did you hurt yourself?”

He showed her his knuckles, not even an abrasion.

"We should test your abilities,” he said. “You have improved sight. What about the other senses? Listen and tell me what you can hear."

Keri frowned, concentrating. At first, there was nothing but the drip of water and her own breathing. Then, faint but steady, she heard conversations buzzing like insects above them, filtering through the stone.

“I can’t make out words,” she said, “But I hear voices, and they are coming closer. How long will these enhanced senses last?” she asked.

“If it works like a vampire bond, as long as we live.”

“That’s a long time.”

“For one of us anyways,” he said.

“Yeah.” That wasn’t very comforting. “So I've got superpowers, and you've got your vampire mojo back. Please tell me we can use this to get out of here."

Joshua's expression turned grim. "The wards are still in place. I cannot pass through the bars, no matter my strength. You, however...."

She followed his gaze to the cell door. "You think I could still get through, even after the mate bond has changed me?"

"The wards are designed to contain vampires. You're human, mostly." There was a hint of distaste in his voice that made Keri bristle.

"Mostly? What's that supposed to mean?"

"You’re not entirely human anymore."

Not entirely human. What did that make her, then?

She scurried to her feet and ran over to the door. She tried to bend the bars. Surprisingly, she felt them give slightly, but not enough for her to squeeze through. She punched them. “Ow, shit. So much for super strength.”

“Pity,” Joshua said, but he didn’t sound concerned.

"Now what?” she asked, exasperated.

"We wait for our captors to return. They'll be eager to see the results of their little experiment."

“Yeah, me too,” she muttered. “I’m surprised they don’t have cameras set up to watch us.”

“The wards interfere with electronics. They could either have cameras or they could have protection. Sadly, they chose protection.”

“Speaking of protection...we didn’t use any.”

“You’re not on the pill?” At her expression, he grinned. “You have no need to worry about disease or pregnancy. I cannot give you either.”

She probably could have come up with a smart-ass answer to that, but she heard two sets of footsteps approaching the dungeon’s entrance. Meeting Joshua’s eyes, she realized he heard them as well.

“We need to act as though we're under the influence of their drug,” he said in her ear. His low voice caused her to shiver.

“Problem,” she whispered. “We don’t know what outcome they’re expecting.”

“Let’s go with compliant and docile and play it by ear. Can you do that?" he asked.

"Sure, what about you?”

"I'll take my cues from them, but if you see an opportunity to strike, take it."

Strike what?

Before she could respond, the door to the dungeon opened. Keri turned to Joshua and clung to him as if she needed him to stand up straight.

Two vampires — a man and a woman, both pale and sharp-featured smirked at them as they stopped outside the cell.

"Looks like our little lovebirds survived." The woman unlocked the cell door and stepped back. She beckoned to Keri. "Come here, sweetness. Let's have a look at you."

Keri hesitated, then tried to shuffle forward, but Joshua didn’t let her go.

The female vampire frowned. “Tell him to let you go.”

“Let me go,” Keri said.

Reluctantly, he opened his arms. She kept her eyes downcast. Every instinct screamed at her to fight, to run, but she forced herself to remain passive. She crossed the threshold of the cell, and her eyes darted to find a way to escape. The female vampire circled her, inhaling deeply.

"Mmm. You do smell divine. I can see why our guest couldn't resist." She jerked her head towards Joshua. "And how are you feeling, assassin? Ready to play nice?"

Joshua's voice was a low growl. "What do you want from me?"

The male vampire laughed. "What you do best. The Vasile family has big plans, and you're going to help us realize them. Whether you like it or not." He reached out, gripping Keri's arm. She fought not to flinch at his cold touch. "After all, we wouldn't want anything to happen to your pretty little mate, would we?"

A snarl ripped from Joshua's throat. For a moment, Keri thought he would lunge at them, wards be damned. But he mastered himself, shoulders slumping in apparent defeat.

"Fine," he spat. "I'll cooperate. Just don't hurt her."

The female vampire clapped her hands in delight. "Wonderful! I do love it when a plan comes together. Sweetness, tell your mate not to attack us.”

“Mate, don’t attack us,” she said.

“I will not attack,” Joshua said bitterly.

“You fell right into our hands, Nicolau. Now, Sweetness, tell your mate to obey us.”

“Mate, obey us,” she said, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. Keri couldn’t believe the vampires were buying this, but they didn’t even question it.

“I will obey,” he intoned.

“The fun part of all this is you both are aware of everything we’re doing, but the human is powerless to go against our orders, and you’re powerless to go against your mate’s orders.”

Boy, was this bitch in for a surprise.

Keri hoped that the vampire would monologue a little more so she could understand just what the heck they were doing to vampires and humans, but no luck. She would have to find that out on her own once they escaped from this hell hole.

The female vampire gestured to her companion. "Lower the wards. Our new friend won't be needing them anymore."

The male vampire frowned. “Are you sure?” He pulled a device out of his pocket that pulsed with a strange energy. “He’s dangerous.”

“Of course, I’m sure. They’re bound by so many ties, they should be a shoelace.”

Keri didn’t even know what the hell that meant. She kept her gaze wide-eyed and innocent, acutely aware of Joshua's tension.

“We need to send him back to his clan so he can eliminate them.”

The male vampire fiddled with the device. A faint shimmer in the air went out, and the energy was gone. Did that mean the wards had dropped?

Time seemed to slow. In the space of a heartbeat, several things happened at once. The male vampire's grip on Keri's arm loosened as he turned towards Joshua. Joshua exploded into motion, a blur of speed and fury. Operating on pure instinct, she drove her elbow into the vampire’s solar plexus. He crumbled in surprise. She might not have been able to bend bars, but she could tell she had put extra oomph into that shot.

Chaos erupted. Keri's new senses struggled to keep up with the whirlwind of movement around her. She caught flashes of Joshua grappling with the female guard, fangs bared. The male vampire recovered quickly, lunging at Keri with inhuman speed. But she twisted, narrowly avoiding razor-sharp claws.

Whoot! She was fast!

A primal, animal part of her brain took over. She ducked and weaved, her body responding with a grace and speed she'd never possessed before. The vampire snarled in frustration, his attacks growing wilder. But then he got in a lucky shot, and his punch snapped her head around.

Ow, that fucking hurt.

The next thing she knew, Joshua had the male guard pinned against the wall, fangs sunk deep into his throat. The sight should have horrified her. Instead, a thrill ran through her body. Joshua's eyes met hers over the guard's shoulder, blazing with a predatory hunger that made her breath catch.

“Tell him to stop,” the female vampire said.

“Kill them,” Keri said instead. “Kill them both.”

Where had that bloodthirsty command come from? Keri put a hand to her lips in shock. Her moment of distraction cost her, though. The female vampire's hand closed around Keri's throat, slamming her against the dungeon wall. Spots danced in her vision as she struggled for air.

"Stupid little bitch," the vampire hissed. "Did you really think you could fight us? You're nothing but a snack."

Keri clawed at the hand around her neck, panic rising. Her lungs burned. She couldn't breathe. Couldn't think.

And then, suddenly, she could.

The pressure on her throat vanished. Keri collapsed to the ground, gasping. Through watering eyes, she saw Joshua standing over the female vampire's crumpled form. Blood — so much blood — stained his mouth and chin. He looked savage. Terrifying.

Beautiful.

"Are you all right?" His voice was rough.

She nodded, unable to speak just yet. Joshua crouched beside her, his cool hands gentle as they examined her throat. The contrast between his tenderness now and the violence of moments before made her head spin.

"We need to move," he said. "More guards will be coming soon."

Keri found her voice. "What about them?" She nodded towards the unconscious vampires.

Joshua's expression hardened. "What about them?"

"We can't just leave them here. They'll raise the alarm as soon as they wake up."

"They won't wake up." The flat finality in his voice sent a chill through her.

"You mean..." Keri swallowed hard. "You're going to kill them?"

Joshua met her gaze steadily. "I already have."

Keri knew she should be horrified, but she wasn’t. In fact, she was a little turned on. She chalked that up to the lingering pheromones in the air. "But they’re still there. Their bodies haven’t turned to ash. Don’t we have to stake them or shove garlic in their mouths?”

“You’ve watched a lot of movies, haven’t you?”

“Well, excuse me for not having primary sources for my information. How do you kill a vampire?”

“I kill them very easily.”

“Do you want to share that knowledge?” she asked tartly.

“Not at the present time. We need to get out of this dungeon. Then you need to go home, and I need to complete my mission."

“To kill Anatole Vasile?”

“Yes.”

“I can’t leave without Chrissy.”

“She betrayed you. Why do you care?”

It was a good question, and she hesitated to tell him the real reason. But there was this connection that she felt. The bond between them made her feel safe with him. It was ridiculous. He was a violent assassin and a stranger, but somehow, she knew he would understand.

“I don’t have anyone else,” she admitted.

“How is that possible?” he asked. “You are young, beautiful, and full of life.”

Keri snorted. “I think the pheromones are still messing with your head. My family has different views of the world than I do. They aren’t who I want in my life. On the rare occasion when we’re together, we argue and it turns out ugly. I don’t want to be like them, and they think I’m an idealistic fool who doesn’t see the real world.” She gave a half laugh. “Even without vampires and magic.”

“Family is difficult,” Joshua said kindly.

“I suppose your clan is very close-knit?”

“I would die for them and vice versa.”

Keri shook her head. “With my clan, it’s every man for himself, and women don’t really matter much unless there’s cooking or cleaning to be done. I was born female, and that was my first mistake. The second mistake was I wasn’t very obedient.”

Joshua nodded. “There are some older vampires that have those same ideas as well.”

“Well, at least they have the excuse of being born in a time when that was the norm,” she said, wiping her eyes that had suspiciously started to leak. “They tried to beat it out of me.”

Joshua scowled.

“And when that didn’t work, they all but disowned me. I left as soon as I could and never looked back. Chrissy was in a similar situation. We met on the train coming into the city and were friends ever since. She must have been forced to trap me. She had to have been mind-controlled like they thought we were.”

“If she’s a Vasile vampire, then she’s a puppet to Anatole. There’s nothing we can do to save her short of killing him.”

“Then that’s what we do.”

He acknowledged her words with a tilt of his head. He listened with his head still cocked. "No immediate pursuit, but that won't last. Can you walk?"

Keri pushed herself to her feet, surprised to find her legs steady beneath her. More than steady — she felt energized, almost euphoric. Whether from their escape or some lingering effect of their bond, she couldn't say.

"I can do better than walk," she said. "I can run. I’ve got super speed."

A ghost of a smile touched Joshua's lips. "Good. You may need to make a hasty retreat." He moved to the open door of the dungeon, peering out into the corridor. "Stay close to me. If I tell you to run, you run. Understood?"

Keri nodded. "Understood. But there might be other prisoners down here. We can't just leave them."

Joshua's jaw tightened. "We don't have time for a rescue mission.”

"But—"

"No." His tone brooked no argument. "I know you want to help them. But think. Even if we could free them, how would we get a group of terrified, possibly injured humans out of a vampire stronghold? We'd be putting them and ourselves at risk, especially if they can be mind-controlled by the Vasiles."

Keri wanted to argue, but she knew he was right. The thought of abandoning innocent people to suffer at the hands of the Vasiles made her stomach churn. But the cold logic of Joshua's words was undeniable.

"Fine," she said, hating herself a little for agreeing. "But we come back for them. As soon as we can. Promise me."

Joshua's expression softened just a fraction. "We'll do what we can. But..." He took her hand, his touch sending a jolt through her. "You need to understand. There may not be anything to come back for."

"What do you mean?”

“There might not be a cure for whatever the Vasiles have done. When I destroy their masters, they may perish as well.”

“Chrissy, too?”

"I don't know." Joshua's voice was gentle, but his words cut deep. "The Vasiles' experiments seem to be pushing the boundaries of what's possible." His lip curled in disgust.

Keri's mind reeled. She thought of the other prisoners locked away in dark cells. Were they going through the same thing she and Joshua had experienced? The forced bonding, the overwhelming desire? And if so, what did that mean for their future? For her future?

"In any event, we need to know more about their experiments and the mind control stuff,” she said. “I’m not leaving until I have that information.”

“Have it your way,” he said with a resigned sigh.

They slipped out of the cell, and Keri marveled at how silently they moved. She did her best to mimic his stealthy tread, grateful for her enhanced senses as they navigated the dim corridors. The lower part of the Vasile stronghold was a maze of twisting passages and heavy doors. More than once, Joshua pulled her into shadowy alcoves to listen for pursuit or any alarms that had been raised.

Each time, Keri was acutely aware of his body pressed against hers — the solid planes of his chest, the coiled strength in his arms. Heat pooled low in her belly, and she cursed silently. Now is not the time.

They had just rounded another corner when Joshua suddenly stiffened. Keri opened her mouth to ask what was wrong, but he pressed a finger to her lips, shaking his head. She strained her ears, and then she heard it too — voices approaching, far too close for comfort.

Joshua's eyes darted around, searching for an escape route, but the corridor stretched empty in both directions, with no convenient hiding spots in sight. Keri's heart raced. They were going to be caught, so close to freedom.

Then Joshua's gaze locked onto something above them. He looked back at Keri, a question in his eyes. She followed his line of sight and saw what he had spotted — a narrow ledge running along the top of the wall, shrouded in shadow. It was their only chance.

Keri nodded. Do it.

In one fluid motion, Joshua wrapped an arm around her waist and leapt. Keri bit back a yelp as they soared upwards, defying gravity. They landed on the ledge with barely a sound, Joshua's body curved protectively around hers.

The voices grew louder. Two vampires rounded the corner, deep in conversation. From her perch, Keri could make out every word.

“We need to send the assassin after his own clan. He should have already left on his mission.”

Joshua’s grip around her tightened painfully.

The other vampire chuckled. "We’ll order him to assassinate every last one of them. They’ll never see it coming."

"And the reporter will go back to her miserable existence and help conceal what Anatole is doing from the media until it’s way too late for the other cattle.”

"They need to be kept apart, though. She’s our key to keeping him in line. We want them half-crazed with lust and thinking only of the next time they can mate. They’ll follow orders better that way."

Keri's breath caught. She glanced at Joshua, but his face was an impassive mask as he listened. She was hyperaware of every point of contact between their bodies. His arm around her waist, the solid warmth of his chest against her back. His breath stirred the hair at the nape of her neck, sending shivers down her spine. She craved his bite, wanted him to cup her breasts and ease himself inside her again. It was hard to think of anything but the heat of Joshua's body and his intoxicating scent surrounding her. Her enhanced senses seemed to zero in on him, blocking out everything else.

The guards' voices faded as they moved directly below them. Still, Joshua didn't move. Keri understood why — any motion now might alert keener vampire senses to their presence. But the prolonged contact was doing dangerous things to her self-control.

She shifted, trying to ease the ache building inside her. Joshua's arm tightened around her waist in silent warning. The movement brought her hips flush against his, and — oh .

He was hard.

The realization sent a jolt through her. She bit her lip, fighting the urge to press back against him. This was madness. They were in danger, on the run, and all she could think about was fucking him again. This time, she didn’t have the pheromone compulsion to explain the feelings away.

The vampires passed directly beneath them, oblivious to their presence. Keri hardly dared to breathe. One wrong move, one tiny sound, and they would be discovered.

Timing it perfectly, Joshua dropped down on top of them. In a matter of seconds, he snapped their necks and reached into their chests to rip out their hearts. Their bodies twitched and then lay still. So... that was how you killed a vampire.

“That’s so gross,” Keri said.

“But necessary.” He sounded unconcerned. “Can you jump down, or do you need me to come and get you?”

“I’ll give it a shot.” And with a literal leap of faith, she dropped down as easily as if she were hopping off a bar stool. “I could get used to this.”

“You’re going to have to,” he said dryly.