Shiela Stewart - [Darkness 02] Read online

  “You won’t set it off. Please don’t set it off,” Tyson pleaded.

  “We won’t, as long as you do as we ask.”

  “I’ll do whatever you want, just please don’t set it off.”

  “Good. What we need is for you to deliver this note to Danny Vega. You know who he is, right?” Tyson’s head bobbed up and down rapidly. “Perfect. Now, if you don’t deliver him to the place instructed in the note by the time indicated, that little device inside of you is going to send out a nasty electrical charge. It was tested on a rat and shall we say that there wasn’t anything left of the rat that was identifiable. Granted, you are considerably larger than a rat, but not by much. It took the rat fifteen minutes to die. Add in your weight and height, I would say it will take you approximately, forty minutes to die. I can’t imagine having your internal organs frying would be a pleasant feeling. Can you, dear?”

  “I’m betting it’ll hurt like hell.” She truly loved Basil now. He was so good at scaring the shit out of a person while still keeping his cool.

  “And then some. Do you understand how important it is for you to deliver this message?” He held up the paper.

  Tyson’s head bobbed rapidly again. “Yes, yes I do.”

  “Good. We’ll escort you out and provide you with a ride into the city.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Dante hadn’t expected things to be moving as fast as they were, but he couldn’t say he was upset by it by any means. The sooner they found Jonah the better for everyone. Trinity drove the car while he sat in the passenger’s side and Basil in the back watching their messenger. The guy was as jittery as a mouse surrounded by cats and Dante could only hope the guy was up for the job.

  They dropped him off downtown, then headed to Dante’s shop. He missed working, missed keeping active, and he missed the income. But when he stepped into the outer office to see a pile of files scattered on the floor, he quickly changed his mind.

  He wasn’t looking forward to getting back to archiving those suckers.

  “Looks like vandals got in here.” Basil stepped over a pile of files.

  “No, it always looks this way. The guy’s a slob.”

  “Hey, I resent that.” Dante shot Trinity a look. “I keep my room clean. I just haven’t been able to get to the files. Been a little preoccupied.” Unlocking the front door, Dante propped it open with a chair as a sign that he was there and waiting. He hoped his brother didn’t make a liar out of him. “You two can hide in my office back there.”

  “We’ll be out here faster than you can blink if anything happens.”

  He acknowledged Trinity with a nod. “Maybe while you’re in there you could start putting the files on the computer.”

  “In your dreams.”

  Dante smiled to himself as they went to his office to hide. He clicked on the lights then sat on what used to be Lexi’s desk and waited. They had an hour before the supposed electrode was going to be set off. He imagined the poor guy was probably shitting his pants with fear.

  He checked his watch again, then looked around the room. The walls could use a coat of paint, and the waiting chairs were a little worn. Maybe a few plants in the corners or from the ceiling would add a little life to the place. Lexi was always bugging him to make the place more sophisticated. Maybe she was right. Couldn’t hurt.

  He heard the footsteps and stood up, ready. His knee was beginning to throb again, which told him the pain killers were wearing off. The pain soon became an after thought when he saw Danny enter the room. It was hard for him to look at his brother knowing Danny had been the one to sire the woman he was falling in love with. His brother didn’t come alone, though. Aside from the wimpy messenger, he was escorted by two burly guards.

  Dante suddenly felt very uneasy.

  “I’m glad you came.”

  Danny shrugged thin shoulders, glancing around the room as if he was bored. “Do you seriously think I’m stupid enough to believe you planted a deadly device inside of him?”

  “All we needed was for him to believe it.”

  “This thing inside of me isn’t going to electrocute me?” Tyson asked in a squeaky voice.

  “Might make you constipated but it won’t kill you,” Dante supplied.

  “Fuck!” Ty exclaimed. “I’m out of here.” He bolted out the door in a blur of scraggly brown hair and denim.

  “If you called me here to ask me about your friend, you wasted your time. I’ve got nothing to say.”

  “Will you at least tell me if he’s still alive?” Jonah had to be alive. He’d never forgive himself if Jonah were dead.

  “He’s alive.”

  “Is he still human?”

  Danny laughed and it was a sound Dante hadn’t heard in years. His brother’s laughter brought back memories of the good times they used to share. “I’m still human, bro, but I don’t expect you to understand that.”

  He hadn’t answered his question and that terrified him. “What I meant was, is he a vampire?”

  “He’s not a vampire, but he is serving a purpose.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “You can’t be that stupid.”

  Dante gritted his teeth. “Let him go, Danny.”

  “That’s not in my control.”

  “Chaos has him?”

  Danny nodded, then examined his nails. “Is that all you wanted from me, because I’ve got other things to do.”

  “Why won’t you help me, Danny?”

  His yellow eyes lifted and Dante felt the chill of the look. “Do you think just because we share the same DNA that I’m obligated to help you? We may have shared the same womb for nine months but we’re not family anymore. You need to understand that. Chaos is my family now.”

  That shouldn’t hurt as much as it did. Yet the pain ripped into him with a devastating force. “If anything happens to Jonah, I’ll hold you responsible,” he found himself saying and suddenly realized he cared more about a friend than he did his brother. How sad was that?

  Danny smiled as he pushed himself away from the wall. “You don’t worry me in the slightest, Dante. I’ve got more power in my little finger than you have in your entire body. I could snap you like a twig in no time flat.”

  “You lay one finger on him and I’ll rip your face off.”

  Dante spun around to see Gypsy standing behind him. Where the hell had she come from? And why the hell was she here?

  Danny glared at her as she stepped up beside Dante. “I’d like to see you try.”

  “I thought we agreed that you would stay at home,” Dante chastised through gritted teeth.

  “I never agreed to anything,” she said stepping in front of him. “Where is Jonah?”

  Danny laughed, crossing his arms over his chest. “What makes you think I’ll tell you when I wouldn’t even tell him? Grab her boys.”

  Dante stepped in front of her as Danny’s guards moved towards him. “Back off.”

  “She’s mine and I want her back.”

  “She isn’t property. She’s a human being and there is no damn way I’m going to let you take her out of here.”

  “Well well, looks like someone is smitten with her. Did you tell him I was the one who sired you?” Danny’s eyes flickered to Gypsy.

  “He knows.”

  “Do you now? Does it give you a boner to know I had her first? That my blood is inside of her? That she will always be drawn to me because of my blood.”

  “I’m not drawn to you or your blood,” Gypsy stated firmly, wrapping her arms around Dante’s and hugging him close to her side.

  “No? We’ll let’s test that out then.” Lifting his left hand, Danny bit into his wrist then held it up as the blood began to trickle from the wound.

  “Gypsy, go into my office and
wait for me there.” Dante couldn’t be sure she wouldn’t be drawn to Danny. But Dante knew that if she was, he’d fight to the death for her.

  “It’s not doing anything to me.” She looked up at Dante, her eyes bright. “I don’t feel any kind of pull.”

  “Grab her and let’s get out of here, boys,” Danny demanded.

  Dante stepped in front of her in protection. He didn’t care what he had to do or who he did it to but he was not letting any one of them lay a hand on Gypsy. “You touch her and you’ll be very sorry.”

  Danny’s laughter cracked the tension in the room. “There are three of us and only two of you, and you’re no match for us.”

  “No, but we are,” Trinity pointed out as she and Basil stepped out from the office. “Sleep.”

  Dante watched in bewilderment as each one of the vamps, including his brother, dropped to the floor. “What did you do to them?” he asked, turning to Trinity.

  “I put them to sleep. Let’s get them to the car. Basil, check to make sure no one’s waiting outside.”

  “I love a commanding woman.” He smiled, then kissed her cheek before transforming into a mouse and scurrying out the front door.

  “That is so cool. How does he do that?” Gypsy wanted to know.

  “Long story. What the hell were you thinking coming here?” Dante scolded her.

  “I had to know. I had to be sure I wasn’t drawn to him, that he didn’t have control over me and now I know.” She wrapped her arms around his waist. “I felt nothing for him, not even when he drew his own blood.”

  Though he was relieved by that, he still wasn’t happy that she’d followed them. “It was still risky.”

  “All’s clear,” Basil announced, entering the office in his human form. “Lets get them out of here before someone comes looking for them.” He hoisted one of the bigger ones over his shoulder while Trinity took the other. “Gypsy, take Danny.”

  “I can take him,” Dante snarled it.

  “Not with your bum knee.” She pushed past him and lifted Danny up then swung him over her shoulder. “I honestly feel nothing for him. Isn’t that great?”

  He was pretty happy about it, and would be more so if she wasn’t carrying Danny like he was no heavier than a sack of potatoes. Sure, okay, he was injured, but give a man his dignity. Feeling insulted, Dante limped his way to Gypsy’s car. “We’ll meet you back at the house.”

  ***

  Jonah didn’t know how long he’d been hanging from the hard cement wall, chained up like an animal. Time had no meaning. He’d blacked out shortly after that woman had come to him. She’d been kind, and her soft voice had soothed him. She had black hair, he remembered that, and soft blue eyes. And unless she wore contacts, he figured she was as human as he was. So what the hell was she doing here with a bunch of vamps?

  Probably the same reason he was.

  Every ounce of his body hurt. His chest burned from the whip’s lashes but it was the pain in his heart he felt the most. He wanted desperately to be with Ariel now, and wished death claimed him soon.

  He lifted his head when he heard the cellar door creak open and fully expected it to be Chaos with more torture for him. Instead, it was the woman.

  “You’re awake. Good. I brought you something to eat.”

  He watched as she hurried towards him, carrying a tray. He didn’t want food. He wanted death.

  “Your wounds look really bad.” She shook her head then set the tray on the table across the room from him. She picked something off of it then came towards him. “This should help.”

  “What is that?”

  “Ointment. It might sting a little when I apply it. I’m sorry for that.”

  She squeezed the ointment onto her finger and he winced when she touched it to his wounds.

  “Sorry.”

  Her touch was incredibly gentle and after the initial burning the ointment began to sooth the wounds. “Why are you doing this?”

  “It’ll get infected if I don’t.” She continued applying the cream to the slashes on his chest.

  “And maybe I’ll be lucky enough that it’ll kill me.”

  Her blue eyes lifted to his and he was struck by the sorrow he saw in them. “I won’t let you die.”

  “I wish you would.”

  Her hand paused briefly. “You want to die?”

  “What do I have to live for?”

  She finished applying the ointment then closed the tube. “I heard about your wife. I’m sorry.”

  She seemed to say that a lot. “I’m nothing without her.”

  “Don’t say that. You have plenty to live for.”

  He snorted. “How would you know that? You don’t even know me.”

  “We all have something to live for. You feel the pain of loss now, but it will get better, in time.”

  “I hate when people say that.” And he hated that he’d said that a time or two as well to people he knew who had lost a loved one. Time did not heal all wounds.

  “I know. Most people do when they’ve lost someone close to them. But it is true. No, you will never forget her, and yes, she will always have a place in your heart. But with each day, the pain will grow less.”

  He doubted that very much. “She was pregnant.”

  Her eyes lifted to his again. “Oh, I am so sorry.”

  “Saying that doesn’t make it any better.”

  “I know. It’s all I have right now. I brought a sandwich. I hope you like it.”

  He clamed his mouth shut when she lifted it to his lips.

  “You have to eat, Jonah.”

  He shook his head, keeping his mouth tightly closed.

  “So you’re just going to give up then and let Chaos win?” All he did was stare at her. “Is that what your wife would want for you to do?”

  “Don’t—” The sandwich was shoved into his mouth, and he cursed himself for falling for her trick. He spit it out, then clamped his mouth shut once more. The cellar door opened and he watched as she scurried to the tray and dropped the sandwich down before hanging her head.

  “Has he eaten?” Chaos asked entering the room.

  “No, sir. He refuses.”

  “Do you now?” He walked to Jonah, glancing down at his chest. “You applied something to his wounds?”

  “Yes, I did, sir.”

  “Why?”

  “I figured you wanted him around for a while. Those wounds are beginning to get infected. If they weren’t treated, he wouldn’t last long.”

  “Very smart of you. I’m pleased with you.”

  “Thank you, sir.” She bowed her head a little more.

  “Now, why is it you refuse to eat?” he asked Jonah.

  “Just let me die.” The slap to his face stung but he didn’t yelp.

  “Coward. How is it someone as spineless as you could outwit someone as intelligent as me? It insults me.” He slapped him again.

  Jonah tasted his own blood and the sting of his broken lip. But he remained silent.

  “What is the code to Basil’s alarm system?”

  “Go to hell.” He’d die before telling him anything.

  “I can keep you alive forever and these torture sessions bring me great joy. I’m really in no hurry. I have the upper hand here. Trinity will want you back and I know she’ll do anything to get you back. It’s only a matter of time before she steps out of her hiding spot and my men take her down. And then victory will be mine.”

  The cellar door opened again and someone hurried down the steps.

  “Sir! Sir, we have a problem.”

  Chaos turned to the tall vampire and Jonah recognized him as one of the vampires that had run them off the road. Behind him was a scrawny looking young man. “What is it?”

 
“Danny’s been captured by Trinity and Basil.”

  “What? How did this happen?”

  “Danny went to meet his brother at his office and they ambushed him. His guards were taken as well.”

  “How do you know this?”

  The scrawny guy stepped forward. “I saw it. I was there. I was hiding.”

  Chaos walked to the young man, his shoulders squared. “What was he doing there? I gave him strict instructions to stay away from his brother.”

  The scrawny guy stepped back.

  “What involvement in this did you have?”

  “They made me do it. They made me swallow a chip and told me it would electrocute me if I didn’t bring Danny to them by a certain time. I believed them. I was scared. I didn’t want to die.”

  Chaos stepped a little closer, then took the boy’s face in his hands and looked up at his guard. “Have him terminated.”

  “No, no, please, please, don’t kill me. I didn’t know they were lying to me. Please, don’t kill me.”

  Jonah watched as the guard dragged the boy up the stairs, kicking and screaming. “Let him go,” he demanded, tugging at his shackles.

  “I am growing tired of Trinity ruining everything I have planned.”

  Jonah cringed when Chaos threw the chair across the room. He saw the woman cower against the wall and tugged at his shackles to try and save her.

  “She took the king from me, took Magnus, and now she has my Daniel.” He tossed the table and it narrowly missed hitting the woman. “She will pay for this, and she will pay dearly.”

  Like a blur, Jonah saw Chaos lunge at him and before he had a moment to register what was about to happen, he felt Chaos’ teeth sink into his neck.

  “No!”

  He heard the woman scream and it rang like bells inside his head. He felt the fangs dig deeper into his neck, felt the slice as they penetrated the vein, then shook as the blood was sucked from his body. He was helpless to defend himself, and with each pull from his neck, he felt himself grow more and more lightheaded. Was this his death now? Would he finally have peace?