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Prologue 6 страница






were still on, plus there was that whole

impossibility factor with connecting to

someone in my sleep. Still, the

coincidences were piling up.

“Call Vlad, ” I said, seized with a near

desperate urge to be proven wrong.

Both his brows shot up. “Why? ”

“To see if he”— threatens your life,

tells you to put me on the phone,

anything like that— “sounds weird, ” I

finished lamely.

Maximus stared at me, skepticism

written all over his face.

“It’s important, ” I said, gripping his

upper arm.

After another penetrating stare, he went

over to where he’d thrown his coat and

pulled out his cell phone.

“Vlad, ” he said after a brief pause.

“Sorry. I must’ve unintentionally redialed

the last number that called me...”

I waited with indrawn breath, expecting

to hear my name amidst an explosion of

threats. But although I could make out

Vlad’s voice on the other line, he spoke

too softly for the words to be clear. After

a minute, Maximus hung up and shrugged.

“He sounds fine.”

I let out my breath in a sigh that seemed

to come from my soul. Only a dream!

trumpeted across my mind. No matter how

it felt or my spontaneous nosebleed, if it

had been real, Vlad would’ve torn into

Maximus as soon as he heard his voice—

I froze, claws of doubt skittering up my

spine. Or would he? Vlad told me to get

away from Maximus and then contact him.

If Maximus knew the jig surrounding my

purported death was up, he wouldn’t let

me out of his sight long enough for me to

do that. Vlad also insinuated that Maximus

might be the one behind the gas line bomb.

If he believed that, would he tip his hand

about my ability to contact him in my

sleep?

No. Vlad was cunning to the point of

being a sociopath. He’d never reveal such

an advantage until it was too late.

Of course, there was another

possibility. Vlad might not reveal that I’d

contacted him in my dreams just to mess

with me.

“Going to tell me why I just crankcalled

my sire? ”

Maximus’s wry voice cut through my

musings. Even though I didn’t believe the

insinuations Dream Vlad had levied,

niggling doubts kept me from replying

with the truth.

“I, um, had a dream that his plane

crashed, ” I said, managing to hold his gaze

despite feeling like I had “Liar! ” written

in neon lights on my forehead.

A grunt. “You need to get over him.

You’ll only make yourself crazy if you

don’t.”

Make myself crazy? I thought bleakly.

All signs indicated that I was already

there.

Chapter 13

S weat dampened my clothes and my

muscles screamed, but I kept lifting and

lowering my legs in a smooth, controlled

rhythm. One hundred thirty-nine... one

hundred forty...

“You’ve got to stop. This isn’t healthy.”

Maximus’s arms were crossed, his

handsome features creased into a scowl. I

ignored him, continuing my leg lifts.

Cool hands locked around my ankles,

keeping me from my next set of lifts. “I

mean it, Leila. Stop.”

I glared up at him. “Let me go.”

His grip only tightened. “Not until you

tell me what’s been eating you the past

few days.”

Laughter came out in pants from my

exertions. “Should I start with my best

friend being blown to smithereens, or skip

to the part where you think his killer may

be my ex-boyfriend? ”

Or maybe even you? my nasty inner

voice added.

I tried to ignore that voice, but it had

been growing louder. Maximus claimed he

hadn’t known about my being fireproof,

but he could’ve overheard that while I’d

been living at Vlad’s. He’d helped me

find the bomber, but what if that was

because he knew Adrian would already be

dead? Since then, he’d been adamant

about me holding off on looking for the

female vampire, citing concerns for my

health. But what if the heart attack never

happened? What if the only repercussions

from me overusing my powers were a

nosebleed?

“Something else is bothering you, ”

Maximus said, letting go of my ankles. I

sat up and carefully picked my words.

“Exercise helps keep me strong and I’ll

need that to link to the female vampire

tomorrow. I’ve waited long enough.”

Maximus grunted. “Some days, you

remind me of Vlad.”

“Meaning? ” I asked sharply.

“Your obsession with revenge. Next

you’ll want to drive a pole through that

vampire once you find her.”

The thought was appealing, but...

“It’s not just revenge. My family will

have targets on their backs as soon as the

killers find out I’m alive.” Then I

switched tactics. “Besides, I keep having

nightmares about Vlad finding us.

Exercise helps me sleep without those.”

All true. I’d let myself off easy last

night and regretted it when Dream Vlad

told me he was closing in on me. It wasn’t

real, but I woke up with a nosebleed and a

sense of foreboding anyway, both of

which I hid from Maximus.

His gray gaze became tinged with

green. “There are other ways to tire

yourself out before sleeping.”

This was the first time since our

sidewalk kiss that he’d made a pass;

pretty chivalrous considering we’d been

locked in the same room for the past three

days. I was about to let him down gently

when that inner voice roared to the

surface.

Now’s your chance! Take your gloves

off and touch him. If the brunette’s

essence is anywhere on him, he’s guilty

as hell.

I paused. Could I be so ruthless?

You’re swimming with sharks, that

pitiless voice snapped. Either grow some

teeth or get eaten.

Maximus’s gaze grew brighter. Little

did he know why I was considering his

offer. Guilt competed with cold

practicality. Maximus had been nothing

but kind to me, but how well did I truly

know him? For that matter, Vlad had

known him for centuries, yet Maximus

was still going behind his back now.

Marty’s face flashed in my mind,

followed by my dad’s and Gretchen’s.

Someone had murdered my best friend and

would hurt my family to lure me out. I

couldn’t afford to be naively trusting when

I could be sure instead.

Very slowly, I stripped off my gloves.

Maximus’s eyes gleamed brighter, bathing

the room in a soft emerald glow. Then he

came over and knelt, each movement

deliberate, as if anything sudden would

startle me into bolting.

It might. My heart beat so fast it made

me slightly dizzy. I was about to play a

sensual version of Russian roulette with

the nearly thousand-year-old, six-and-ahalf-

foot vampire crouched in front of me.

There was a fine line between survival

and recklessness, and right now, I wasn’t

sure which side my actions fell on.

Maximus came closer with that slow,

leonine crawl. When he was only inches

away, he inhaled, and a frown stitched his

brow.

“What’s wrong? ”

Damn vampires and their ability to

decipher emotions by scent. I glanced at

my hands and then back at him. Lies were

more convincing when peppered with the

truth.

“I don’t want to hurt you, but I don’t

want to put my gloves back on.” I

swallowed a lump that wasn’t entirely

made up of nervousness. “I—I want to

touch you.”

A low growl sent icy-hot chills up my

spine. Before my next breath, I was in his

arms. He kissed me with an intensity that

briefly made me forget my objective. Then

he pulled me onto his lap, shifting until I

straddled him.

A large bulge jutted between my thighs.

He grasped my hips and rocked me against

it, that hard length rubbing my most

sensitive spot. I gasped, but with a touch

of despair. It felt good, but also...

meaningless. With sudden clarity, I

understood the difference between lust

and lovemaking. If I had sex with

Maximus, I’d enjoy it the same way I

enjoyed Chinese food—with the

knowledge that too soon, I’d feel empty

inside again.

Damn Vlad! Even in another man’s

arms, the memory of that hardhearted

vampire tormented me. I tore my mouth

away.

“Maximus, stop.”

His hands stilled, but he gave my neck a

long, hungry lick.

“What’s wrong? ”

For starters, you’re not the man I’m

still in love with. Besides that, I’m not

sure I can trust you. “I... it’s too soon.”

I dropped my head as I said the words,

letting my fingers play over his shoulders

as if in apology. No trace of foreign

essences there. Then I sat back with a

sigh, trailing my hands down his arms. An

all-too-familiar essence thread popped up,

making me silently curse Vlad again. He

wasn’t only embedded in my skin; he was

in Maximus’s, too.

His hands slid over my thigh. “Too

soon for sex, perhaps, but there are other

things we can do.”

I stopped his hands by working down

his arms to grip them.

“Sorry. It’s, ah, too soon for that, too.”

His disappointed sigh made me feel

guilty. Tease! my conscience mocked.

That devious inner voice didn’t care. It

urged me to grasp Maximus’s hands in a

pretense of concern while I searched them

for incriminating essence traces.

“It’s fine.” Wry smile. “I’m not getting

any older.”

Another essence trail was imprinted on

his right hand, but it didn’t belong to the

brunette vampire or to Vlad. Whoever it

was felt very guilty when he—or she—

touched Maximus, but if it wasn’t the

female killer, it wasn’t my business.

“Thanks for understanding, ” I said

before dropping my hands and rising. “I,

ah, think I’ll hit the shower now.”

I wouldn’t even need to make it a cold

one. For the third time, I cursed Vlad. It

wasn’t fair that he’d been the only man to

inflame my heart and my body. Wherever

he was, I hoped my memory still burned

him inside and out, too.

Maximus got up, too. Then his head

cocked as if listening—and I was on the

floor, his big body protecting mine from

an explosion of glass. Over the noise from

our window shattering, I heard him groan.

Felt him shudder so violently that his grip

became excruciating, but before I could

scream, he let go. Then he grabbed

several knives and leapt up.

I did, too, voltage surging to my right

hand from a double shot of fear and

adrenaline. Vlad must have found us! This

was the same way he’d stormed a hotel

room when we first met. I expected fire to

soon surround us, but it didn’t. Instead,

another volley of gunfire sounded.

Maximus knocked me down and shielded

me once again, but this time, he didn’t

leap up after the barrage stopped. He

slumped forward, agony streaking his face

as vividly as the bloody holes all over his

body.

“Bullets are liquid silver, ” he rasped.

“Run! ”

I was horrified. Even a vampire’s

regenerative abilities wouldn’t be able to

expel that, and not only would it nearparalyze

Maximus, it would feel like acid

burning all through him. I shoved him off

me, but not to run. To slice an electric bolt

through whoever tried to shoot him with

that poison again. I yanked my gloves off,

grimly satisfied at the unearthly glow

suffusing my right hand. Then I held it up

while letting loose a snarl of my own.

“You want to kill him, Vlad? You’ll

have to go through me! ”

Mocking laughter met this statement.

The door didn’t open—it flew across the

room to smash against the bed. A cloaked

figure appeared in the door frame, face in

shadows, but I caught a glimpse of dark

hair. I tensed, my heart twisting even as

the electricity channeling into my hand

became more intense. Could I kill the man

I loved to protect the man I didn’t?

“If you want him to live, don’t move.”

Moonlight fell onto the cloaked man’s

face, revealing short black hair, a smooth

jaw, and a wide, full mouth. Not Vlad, I

realized, or anyone else I recognized.

Who the hell was he?

The stranger smiled, showing fangs.

“You have questions, but we only have

time to answer one. Will he live or die? ”

Belittling nod at Maximus, who writhed in

agony. “If you want him to die, fight me.

You’ll lose because I didn’t come alone,

and then we’ll take you anyway and kill

him. Leave with me willingly, however,

and I’ll let him live.”

“Don’t listen to him, ” Maximus

managed to grit out.

I didn’t glance his way because that

would require taking my eyes off this

stranger; a mistake I wouldn’t make.

“I should trust you why? ” I asked with

heavy sarcasm.

His eyes flashed green. “Because I’d

rather not lose my best leverage over

you.”

That single sentence spoke volumes.

Whoever he was, he wasn’t stupid. He

also wasn’t one of Vlad’s men. Vlad

wouldn’t attempt to use Maximus as

leverage against me. He’d know it was

pointless since he’d already told me he

was going to kill him.

Sirens sounded in the distance. The

stranger sighed. “Time’s up, little bird.

Which will it be? ”

My hand ached with the overload of

currents coursing into it, but slowly, I

lowered it. Now wasn’t the time.

Maximus cursed between ragged moans of

pain. The stranger smiled.

“I heard you were smart. Let’s hope

your friend is, too.”

Something hard jabbed me in the chest.

I glanced down, seeing what looked like a

dart sticking out of me. By the time I

glanced back at the stranger, my vision

was already starting to blur and my legs

felt like they’d been replaced with jelly.

“Make sure you get her gloves” was the

last thing I heard before everything went

dark.

Chapter 14

W hen I came to, I didn’t open my eyes or

alter my breathing. Instead, I took

inventory while pretending I was still

unconscious. Headache, no surprise, but

other than that I felt okay. My arms were

behind my back. Thickness around my

fingers was gloves, tightness around my

wrists and ankles was restraints.

Uncomfortable gag in my mouth, selfexplanatory.

Then I moved on to my surroundings.

The pitch and roll beneath me had to be

waves, which meant I was on a boat.

Some of my captors were topside, from

the voices, but I could tell someone was in

the room with me.

So when I opened my eyes, my gaze

landed unerringly on the black-haired

vampire who’d shot up the hotel last night.

The only surprise he showed was to blink.

“Didn’t expect you to be up already, ”

he drawled.

I glanced down at my gag and back at

him, raising a brow.

He translated the silent message. “Do I

need to tell you that screaming is

useless? ”

I rolled my eyes. What was this,

amateur day? He smiled before rising

from the opposite berth. “I thought not.”

The vampire looked to be around my

age, but I judged him to be less than a

hundred in undead years. Really old

vampires had a certain... weight in their

stares, as if the passing centuries had left a

tangible heaviness. My nameless captor

didn’t have that, and if I was lucky, neither

did anyone else on this boat.

Young vampires were easier to kill.

“Water, ” I said once the gag was

removed. Between that and the aftereffects

from being drugged, my mouth was so dry

that my tongue felt like a wadded-up sock.

The vampire disappeared and then

returned with a can of Coke. Even better.

The caffeine would help my headache, and

watching him pop the soda can tab meant

he hadn’t doctored the contents, so I

wasn’t about to be drugged again.

I gulped at it when the vampire held it

to my lips, which meant that I let out an

extended burp when I stopped

swallowing. If that burp happened to be

aimed in my captor’s face, well, it wasn’t

my fault. I was tied up.

“Charming, ” he said dryly.

“I lost my concern for social niceties

when you shot my friend up with liquid

silver, ” I replied in an even tone.

“Speaking of, I want to see him.”

The vampire’s mouth quirked. “You’re

not in a position to make demands, but

yes, he’s still alive.”

“You don’t want to take me to him,

fine, ” I said, thinking fast. “I assume you

know I pick up psychic impressions from

touch, so take these gloves off and let me

touch you. Then I’ll know if you’re telling

the truth.”

The vampire chuckled, a brighter green

swarming in the peat-moss color of his

eyes. “Touch me? Don’t you mean use that

deadly electrical whip you can manifest to

cut me in half? ”

I stiffened. How did he know about

that? Aside from Vlad, Maximus, and a

handful of Vlad’s guards, everyone who’d

seen me wield that power was dead.

“That’s why those rubber gloves are

duct-taped onto you, ” he went on,

unperturbed. “Just in case.”

“What’s your name again? ” I asked,

glad I sounded casual.

Those wide lips stretched further. “Call

me Hannibal.”

I smiled back. “Okay, Hannibal, what

do you want me to do? Use my abilities to

find one of your enemies? Tell you if

someone is betraying you? Or read the

past from an object? ”

Hannibal laughed, and though it was

more Dr. Evil caliber than chilling, it was

still foreboding enough to creep me out.

“I don’t want you to do anything, little

bird. I’m merely the delivery boy. I don’t

even know who I’m delivering you to. All

I know is you’re worth three times as

much alive, but if you try anything, dead is

still a good payday for me.”

Hannibal gave me a cheery wave

before leaving the room. I said nothing,

trying to think of a way out of my

predicament. I was not going to let myself

or Maximus be delivered to some

unknown baddie. I’d find a way out of this

if it killed me.

The fact that it might didn’t deter me.

After everything that had happened, I’d

rather an early death while fighting than

living with more regret than I already had.

E very ten minutes, one of my captors

would check in on me. I’d seen four

different faces in addition to Hannibal’s,

and from the paneled walls, queen-sized

bed, curtained windows, and the size of

the room, whoever hired them had deep

pockets. If I weren’t trussed up to the

handicapped railing, I’d have enjoyed

traveling in such a nice vessel.

The only window had the drapes

drawn, but from the lack of light peeking

out, it was still night. Guess Hannibal had

been telling the truth about me not being

out that long. Lake Michigan was the

closest large body of water to the hotel

and it was larger than some seas, so it

might be a while until we arrived at our

destination. Or we might arrive in

minutes.

That’s why I was concentrating, trying

to channel all the currents in my body to

my right hand. After several moments, the

overload of electricity began to form into

what felt like a spike. It pushed against my

glove, seeking the smallest crack to free

itself from its heavy rubberized cage.

No such crack existed, but my goal was

to make one. Better to be killed trying to

escape than meekly be delivered to

whoever wanted me dead or alive. I

should never have surrendered to

Hannibal, but I hadn’t anticipated him

knowing the full extent of my abilities, and

Maximus’s life had been on the line.

He’s probably dead already, my nasty

inner voice whispered. You gave yourself

up for nothing!

My teeth ground together. How I hated

the dark part of me that continually

foretold failure or futility. It had driven

me to a suicide attempt at sixteen, but it

would not defeat me now. Dismal odds or

no dismal odds, I was getting out of this.

I refocused on my right hand, willing

more currents into it. If that spike of

energy became sharp and strong enough, it

would punch through the rubber and I

would get free. Come on, I silently urged

it. Drill, baby, drill!

Was it my imagination, or did the layer

of rubber around that energy spike feel

like it suddenly... dented?

My heart pounded, either from

excitement or from being overly strained. I

didn’t need a doctor to tell me that

building up so much electricity was

hazardous to my health, but I kept

concentrating, willing those inner currents

to grow and strengthen. Sweat beaded on

my upper lip, my vision blurred, and my

whole body started to tremble, yet I kept

focusing—

White light briefly suffused the room

and I heard a zzzt! right before an ominous

cracking at my feet. I looked down, both

elated and mildly terrified to see a small

but distinct hole. Good news: I’d broken

through my glove. Bad news: I might’ve

punched a hole all the way through the

boat’s hull, too.

I didn’t hear any footsteps, but I hadn’t

expected any strange sounds to go

uninvestigated. Seconds later when the

guard with the thick beard and long black

hair appeared in the doorway, I’d already

covered the hole with my foot.

Of course, if that hole started spurting

water, I was dead.

“You’ve got to let me out! ” I

improvised, banging against the pole and

making more of a ruckus. “I, um, I have to

pee! ”

The guard, who I’d nicknamed Captain

Morgan because of his looks, shook his

head in disgust.

“Humans, ” he muttered. Then he

disappeared.

I waited, breath sucked in, but he didn’t

reappear and water didn’t start shooting

up beneath my foot. Then I exhaled with

relief and ruthless determination. Ten

more minutes until the next guard checked

in with me. In that time, I’d have to get

free, and once I did, I’d have to kill them

all.

Chapter 15

T hankfully, I got loose without punching

more holes into the floor, but I barely

made it to the blind spot behind the door

before the next guard came to check on

me. I cursed my heartbeat as I heard those

light footsteps come nearer. Could the

guard hear that I was no longer secured to

the railing? If so, I was signing my own

death warrant. Hannibal’s warning echoed

through my thoughts. Dead is still a good

payday for me...

Nerves and fear added to the electricity

shooting into my hand, making a tiny

shower of sparks rain from it. The air felt

thicker and I caught a whiff of ozone. Then

the guard paused at the doorway before

rushing forward with a muttered “What? ”

My wrist snapped, the currents arcing

out as though they had a will of their own.

The blond guard didn’t utter another word,

but his mouth was still moving when his

head hit the floor. The rest of him stayed

upright for a few seconds, arms flailing as

though he was trying to get his balance.

I was too worked up to be sickened.

Fear-fueled adrenaline surged through me,

acting like jumper cables to my currents. I

peeked down the hallway, saw no one,

and at once seized on a way to lure

another guard in the room without

arousing suspicion.

“What are you doing? ” I asked in a

shrill voice. “Stop! Get your filthy hands

off me! ”

I punctuated that by making a slapping

sound and then crying out as though in

pain. After that, I made ragged

whimpering noises interspersed with cries

of “Don’t, no, stop! ”

Moments later, Hannibal muttered, “I

told you not to damage the merchandise,

Stephen. Fuck someone in the hold instead

—”

My wrist snapped as soon as Hannibal

crossed the threshold, but he took one look

at the body and slammed the door back

into me. The whiplike current sliced into

his waist instead of his neck, but not

deeply enough. He was still standing.

“Bitch, ” Hannibal snarled as something

red hit the floor.

Part of me was screaming in disgusted

horror, but survival instinct trumped

everything else. Hannibal lunged at me

and I whipped another sizzling current at

him. It cut through his shoulder all the way

down to his side, blanketing me in a veil

of red as his momentum carried him into

me.

I shoved him away. He fell, but the half

of him that had a head kept flopping

toward me. Only a few inches of flesh

attached his left side to his torso, yet he

still wasn’t dead?

“Bitch, ” he rasped.

My eyes bugged. He could talk, too?

I didn’t want to see what else Hannibal

could do. Another burst of current turned

him from a large Y shape into a dotted i,

but I didn’t have time to breathe a sigh of

relief. More footsteps sounded in the

hallway.

“Not inviting me to the party? ” an

amused voice asked.

I didn’t wait for him to see that the

“party” had taken a lethal turn. As soon as

those footsteps got close, I whipped a bolt

into the hallway, hitting the Captain

Morgan look-alike. He stared at me with

the oddest expression on his face. Then

everything north of his jaw slid off, hitting

the floor with a thud that was echoed by

his body moments later.

“What the fuck. ”

A fresh surge of adrenaline shot through

me. The fourth guard stared at the remains

of Captain Morgan with disbelief. Then he

disappeared up the stairs with vampiric

speed.

I ran after him, desperation or

overexertion making my heart feel like it

would burst. The vampire was already at

the controls, punching a button as he

glanced back at me—

The bolt cut him across the face, but I

was too far away for it to kill. I lashed

another one at him as I scrabbled up the

deck so fast that I fell. Immediately,

something heavy smashed into me, pinning

me down before it bashed my head against

the thick fiberglass.

The fifth guard had joined the fight.

My vision swam while pain seared my

mind, but if I focused on that, I was dead.

Instead of protecting my head as I

instinctively wanted to do, I laid my right

hand against the vampire, shooting

everything I had left into him.

Immediately, his weight was gone. I

crawled backward so fast that I almost

pitched myself overboard, but I grabbed

the railing just in time. Then I held on,

looking around with frantic resolve for my






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