Blood Betrayal (Deathless Night Series Book 4) Read online

  What the fuck had just happened?

  A pair of dirty feet encased in worn leather sandals appeared in his line of vision. A voice like a rusty bucket of nails sounded above him, and another answered. His mind screamed in denial as his silver bracelet was ripped from his wrist while another pair of impatient hands rifled through his pockets quickly and efficiently. When nothing more was found, the one doing the searching stood up and gave him a shove with a foot on his arm. Rapid Spanish between the two followed, too fast for Christian to keep up with.

  Rolling to his side and placing one hand under his shoulder, he attempted to get his lame ass up off of the pavement. He needed to get his bracelet back.

  He saw houses…well, more like shacks…lining the sidewalk he was laying next to. Maybe someone would help him. The sun would be coming up soon.

  He opened his mouth to yell for help, and looked up just in time to see the bat come flying through the air at him one more time.

  And then there was nothing.

  Chapter 14

  Luukas watched the city lights fly past the window from the passenger side of the SUV as it headed out of Seattle. His fingertips thrummed a steady beat on his thigh. He was worried. And he didn’t like being worried. Being worried made him distracted. And what was worse, he didn’t know exactly what he was worrying about.

  Usually it was Keira, his little witch. He worried about her a lot. Mostly that something would happen to her. Or that he would discover her alleged feelings for him were all part of the plan to bring him down. Or that she would leave him.

  That was the worst one of all. He was kind of surprised she hadn’t already. But he was also grateful, because if any of those happened, it would utterly destroy him. She was the only thing that kept him somewhat grounded. And strangely enough, she was the only one he completed trusted, even with all of his worrying and all that had happened between them.

  Turning away from the window, he checked out his brother’s profile. Nikulas certainly had his hands full these days. His older brother was on the verge of losing his mind half the time and his best friend was reluctantly possessed by a demon.

  As if he felt his eyes on him, Nik’s blue eyes glanced questioningly in his direction. “What’s up, bro? You okay?” he asked. One hand ran through his blonde hair, pushing it back off his face. It was a nervous gesture Luukas knew well.

  “I’m good,” he reassured him. “Just feeling a little unsettled for some reason. I can’t quite put my finger on it.”

  “It’s because the demons are running amok,” Aiden chimed in from the back seat as he flipped the page of the old Rolling Stone magazine he was reading for the hundredth time.

  Luukas cranked his head around and scowled at him. “What do you mean?”

  “The demons,” Aiden repeated. He flipped another page.

  “Aiden! Explain.” Sometimes Luukas wondered why he bothered to pull this one out of the muck of the battlefield he’d found him in.

  Marking his page, Aiden shut the magazine and laid it on the seat next to him. “The vampires you created, the ones that left your colony to run off with Leeha, she possessed them with demons.”

  “Yes, I know that,” Luukas stated impatiently.

  “Well, now that she’s gone, they’re running amok.” He waved a hand in front of him. “All over the Pacific Northwest and Canada. That’s probably why you’re getting that feeling.”

  “And how do you know this?”

  Aiden just looked at him, much as he had Nikulas.

  “Ah. Yes.” Turning back around in his seat, he directed his next question to Nikulas. “And you knew about this?”

  “He just told me tonight.”

  “But why would it be affecting me like this?” he murmured, more to himself than anyone else.

  “Can I ask you something, Luuk?” Nik stopped at a red light and flipped on the turn signal.

  “I don’t know, can you?”

  Nik stared at him blankly for a moment at the old childhood joke, then he grinned. “I can, and I will.” He got serious again. “Did you feel it? When Leeha was changing all of those vampires? Did you sense anything?”

  Luukas tensed at the reminder of those years when he was chained up in Leeha’s underground cell. Trying not to sound like the madman he was when he first came out of there, the madman who screamed to come out still, he only said, “I don’t recall. I didn’t notice much of anything then other than what was going on with me.”

  The light turned green and Nik hit the gas. “Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. I only went there because we’ve been trying to figure out how it would affect you if something happened to them.”

  “It’s all right,” he told his brother. “What’s done is done.” His cell vibrated in his pocket. Pulling it out, he found a text from Keira asking him what was wrong and he smiled. Assuring her that he was fine, he stuck it back in his pocket. Even just that short communication with her made him feel better.

  “Oh! Hey, I found this last night.” Aiden handed something over the top of the seat to Luukas.

  “This is Christian’s phone.” He knew right away by the phone case. He held it up for Nikulas to see. “Where did you find this?”

  Aiden picked up the magazine again. “Over in Belltown. Close to that little strip club. I assume he was on his way to shag one of the dancers there. He’s been out of control with the females since you’ve been gone, by the way. When he gets back, I think an intervention may be in order.”

  Nik glanced at him through the rear view mirror. “Did you see anything else? Anything that could give us a clue where he is?”

  “No. Nothing, mate. Just the phone. I’m surprised it was still there. It was kind of hidden half under a pile of rubbish though. I only found it because I record the tracking on it, so I knew where it last was before the battery died.” Another page crackled as he turned it. “There are so many bad feelings between Dave and the band, and now they brought Sammy on board. Personally, I prefer the original Van Halen. David Lee Roth was a brilliant front man, if a bit unmanageable.”

  “Dude, that was like, twenty years ago.” Nik rolled his eyes.

  “What? It hasn’t been that long.” He checked out the date on the front cover. “Well, maybe it has.”

  “We’re here,” Nik announced.

  Dimming the headlights, Nik eased the vehicle onto the side of the road next to the empty lot and turned off the ignition. They sat for a few minutes, feeling the place out before they left the safety of the vehicle. Then Luukas leaned forward and peered out the front windshield. “I don’t see anything untoward. Let’s check it out.”

  Quietly, they opened the car doors, slid out, and eased them closed. They had no weapons on them. They didn’t really need them for something like this. They could move faster than a bullet, and knives were child’s play. Besides, weapons just brought about unnecessary questions from anyone who saw them. Their appearance alone was suspicious enough to humans. Without a word between them, they went their separate ways and checked out the perimeters of the lot. When no alerts were called out, they converged near the back of the van.

  Aiden tried the back doors. They were unlocked. “Looks like whoever dumped this thing left in a bloody hurry.” Climbing inside, he rummaged around while Nikulas stayed outside with Luukas and kept watch.

  “It smells like somebody missed the pot in here.”

  “What?” Nik leaned around the door and stuck his head inside, then quickly pulled it back out. “Ugh. It stinks like piss in there.”

  “That’s what I said,” Aiden called from the front seat.

  Luukas rolled his eyes. These two were beyond ridiculous when they were together. They’d always been like that. Ever since they’d found Aiden lying in that field with his insides on the outside.

  He was very glad they were back together.

  Aiden hopped out of the back of the van. At Luukas’ inquiring look, he just shook his head. “No
thing. Not a scrap of any evidence. Not a receipt, a burned match, nothing.”

  Nik sighed deeply. “Well, at least we have the consolation of knowing that Dante obviously scared the piss out of them. Like, literally.”

  “Wouldn’t expect anything less from the commander,” Aiden grinned.

  Luukas let them carry on while he thought about what they should do next. That bad feeling in his chest was escalating, and he unconsciously rubbed the spot.

  Nikulas fake punched Aiden, laughing at his imitation of Dante, and glanced over at his brother. He immediately got serious. “You okay, Luuk?”

  He nodded. “I’m good. Let’s call our guy and get this van towed back to his garage. I want to go over it more thoroughly. Make sure we didn’t miss anything.”

  “I’m on it.” Nikulas already had his cell at his ear.

  Luukas rubbed the back of his neck as his eyes darted around the lot. He still wasn’t completely comfortable. Well, he wasn’t comfortable anywhere really. Not even in his own home. But he was getting there. And searching for his Hunters was good for him. It took his mind off the past and put it back on what was important.

  He just hoped he could find them.

  Chapter 15

  Ryan struggled against the band of steel wrapped around her neck to no avail. The guy’s arm wouldn’t budge an inch no matter how hard she kicked and twisted and threw herself around. Changing tactics, she gave up trying to pull it away and swung one arm straight down. Her hand formed a claw as she reached between his legs and grabbed a hold of the most sensitive part of him. Digging her nails in, she twisted hard.

  The bastard only got more erect.

  “Do it again,” he panted into her ear. Tightening his arm around her throat and placing his other hand on top of hers over his crotch, he forced her to tighten her grip. “You don’t know how much I’ve missed this.” A wave of such devastating sadness flooded through her, she stopped struggling from the shock of it. Her heart ached in her chest for this unknown man.

  Around them, the wind picked up, but Ryan only caught fragments of what the voices were saying. It sounded like they were arguing. That was new. She still had too much dope in her system for them to come through clearly and she was glad. She didn’t need the distraction of her fucked up head right now. The dope was distracting enough. She kept forgetting that she needed to be trying to get away.

  Two other men stood off to the side. They didn’t look like much, and they appeared to be only mildly interested in the violence that was happening right in front of them. She could see she wouldn’t be getting any help there, but Ryan was pretty sure if she could get away from this young one, the others wouldn’t give much of a chase.

  The one holding her lifted his hand away from his balls, taking her hand around to the front of her with his, and placed them both between her legs instead. Moving her hand up and down, he made her touch herself while he gyrated into her ass. His other arm loosened just enough that he could shove his hand down her shirt to roughly squeeze her breast.

  Ryan began to struggle anew. Why was this being allowed?

  “Yeah, I like a female with some fight in her.” Forcing her down to the ground, he shoved her face into the grass. It tickled her nose and although she knew it was completely inappropriate giving what was happening, she wanted to laugh. “Where’s your magic now, witch? Huh? Why aren’t you throwing me off?” He pushed her face deeper into the grass by the back of the neck. “I think you like it.”

  Magic? What the hell was he talking about? She felt unusually calm for a girl that was about to die, but she couldn’t really bring herself to care. She was floating a foot off the ground, only vaguely aware of the fact that he was now undoing his jeans. Then suddenly he stopped, collapsing on top of her and rolling them both over until she was on top, looking up at the night sky between the tree branches. One arm went around her waist and the other around her shoulders to hold her there. She felt something nick the side of her throat.

  “Move and she is dead,” he said.

  The skin on her neck tingled where the man’s warm breath hit the small wound he’d just made.

  An animalistic growl sounded from somewhere to her left and she shifted her eyes that way. A man stood there. A different man. The other two were gone. No. Not a man. It was the creature she’d let out of the viewing room. His lips were lifted in a snarl, his pointy teeth were bared, and his beautiful eyes glowed from his face. They pierced through the darkness like flames of hell, never wavering from the man underneath her.

  She smiled up at him. Man, did he look pissed. He should try some of her stuff. She had a little left if she could find where she dropped it. It would chill him right out. He’d be comfortably numb. Just like her.

  “Release her,” he gritted out. “NOW.”

  Suddenly she was on her feet fighting a major head rush. The guy who had waylaid her in the park still held her from behind, using her as a shield, but they were on their feet. She didn’t remember standing up, but now that she was, she could see what was left of the bodies of the other two men. Her stomach lurched. She had to tear her eyes away from the gruesome sight.

  “I don’t think you understand, vampire.” His teeth scraped her throat when he talked, and she felt something warm trickling down towards her collar bone. In front of her, the creature’s nostrils flared, and his tongue touched the tips of his sharp teeth as his body leaned towards her.

  “This female isn’t what you think she is,” the one holding her continued. “Besides, look at her. She’s nothing but a junkie. She isn’t worth it.” His voice became hard. “Not that it matters in any case, because you’re both going to die tonight. My queen, she demands it.”

  The creature from the strip club was prowling back in forth in front of them now like a caged animal, never taking his eyes from the man holding her. She wondered if he had paced like that when he’d watched her dance.

  “She?” the creature asked. “You take orders from a female?” Those glowing lion’s eyes shifted briefly to her before returning to the scum that held her. “I knew you were a bitch the moment I saw you beating up on a girl,” he told him.

  She felt something warm and wet lapping at her skin and she frowned. Was he licking her? A hand went back to her breast and squeezed. Ryan glanced up just in time to see the creature in front of her stop his pacing. A scream of rage tore from his throat as he leaped towards them, just as she felt something sharp pierce her skin and tear. She fell to the ground. And then everything went cold and black.

  Christian had woken up inside a run down shack posing as someone’s home, white hot spears of pain lancing through his skull and his own blood sticking the side of his face to the floor. Cracking open one eye, he exploded up off the floor, fangs bared and fists up.

  But the skinny kid standing in the doorway with a bowl of soup for him to eat had not been a threat. His aching head and rolling stomach on the other hand…yeah, much more concerning. It had all come back to him in a flash: The bat wrapped in barbed wire, the human man that had wielded it. Him and another guy leaving him in the street. Passing out before he could drag himself somewhere safe from the sun that would be coming up soon.

  And the only thing they’d managed to get off of him was the bracelet he’d worn for as long as he could remember. A bracelet made by his mother’s people. The only thing he had left of her.

  He needed it back, but first, he had to find the girl.

  The night was hot and sticky, and the smell of urine and garbage hung thick in the air. It was no wonder that vampires kept to the colder climates, at least for the most part. Besides the shorter daylight hours most of the year, the cooler air tended to help keep the stronger scents at bay. With their enhanced senses, being somewhere as aromatic as this neighborhood could really kill your appetite.

  Taking a right, Christian didn’t really think much about where he was going. He was just following his instincts at this point. And those instincts were telling him he needed to h
urry. He headed south, away from the red light district, running full out. To those on the sidewalks, he was nothing but a blur. Some did a double take, but by that time he was long gone, and they would continue on their way.

  He ran past fancy two story stucco homes protected by wrought iron fences directly across the street from closed up strip centers. He ran past an Auto Zone and swung a left.

  Man, those things were everywhere.

  As he ran, his chest tightened and his breathing became harsh. Not because of the physical exertion, he could run for hours and barely break a sweat. But something was going on, something was calling him to this particular location. He really couldn’t explain it.

  Up ahead he could see a park with a playground, trees, the whole deal. And the closer he got to it, the more anxious he became. Slowing down, he scanned the area around him. Picnic tables and benches were scattered throughout the place, and he passed by a statue of some dead, upstanding Mexican citizen. He didn’t stop to see who it was.

  There weren’t any people around. He didn’t know if that was the norm for this time of night or not, but he was glad in any case. He had a feeling that whatever was about to go down here wasn’t going to be pretty. And would certainly not be something the humans needed to see.

  His eyes darted from side to side, but he still didn’t see anything or anyone that could be causing this restless feeling inside of him. Of course, he was jazzed up from lack of sex and jonesing for another taste of the girl. That could be all it was.

  And she was here. He could feel her.

  Fighting the urge to rub his hands together in anticipation, he forced himself to pay attention to his surroundings. He’d already been blindsided once. A fountain on his right had some water sitting in its bowl, and he stopped to splash the blood off of his face after a careful look around. He dried his face off with the bottom of his shirt and attempted to suppress his needs for the moment and focus.

  All of his senses on high alert, his thick-soled boots made no sound as he wandered off the path to walk amongst the cover of the trees. He’d only gone about twenty feet when he heard a woman cry out. Holding perfectly still, he listened. She cried out again and his head whipped around towards the sound. He’d know that sound anywhere. It was his female.