“You son of a bitch!”
Glacier carried the struggling and canvas-wrapped Mandy down the stairs. “Stop it. You’ll get burned if you kick free. The sun is still up.”
He eased his crushing hold on her when they reached the basement and there was no longer a danger of her skin being exposed to sunlight. He strode to the bench but hesitated to put her on it. Then again, it was the only way to restrain her.
He dumped her onto her back and climbed up on the bench, straddling her hips to pin her down. The canvas he’d wrapped a few times around her was in the way of him reaching her arms. It meant unleashing his claws as she bucked and thrashed under him.
“Be still.” He started slicing at the canvas.
“I told you what you wanted to know!” She stilled under him. “I even made it easy for you. All you had to do was use the showerhead to wash the tiles if blood sprayed on the walls. Ashes go right down a drain. I should know.”
“I’m not going to kill you yet.”
She tried to buck her hips to unseat him. “When did you become a dick? You want to watch me lose my mind? That’s what’s going to happen. Is that your version of fun? Seeing a Vamp in full-on bloodlust?”
He cut at the top of the canvas and lifted his body just enough to slide the material between them and slice open another layer. “I’m not going to cut off your head, nor do I plan to watch you suffer starvation. Now will you behave so I can get you free of this? I snagged a pair of drawstring pajama bottoms and a shirt on the way down here. Would you like to wear them?”
She became very still under him. “What kind of game are you playing?”
“I’m not.” He eased off her and the counter, reaching for the canvas again. She worked with him, almost falling off the smooth surface when she was freed, but he caught her before she could. He took the clothes off his shoulder where he’d tossed them and dropped them on her lap before turning away. “Get dressed.”
He heard her movements and turned when they stopped. A laugh caught in his throat. His stuff looked huge on her. The legs of the pants were pooled over her feet until he couldn’t even see them, and her arms were completely lost in the long sleeves of his shirt.
The humor died fast though. She looked cute as hell and vulnerable at the same time. He might forget she was a bloodsucker if it wasn’t for her pale skin and the fangs peeking out from her lips. Her eyes when she looked at him were glowing blue.
“You’re going to give me some of your blood?”
“No. I’m off limits.”
Her gaze roamed over his chest and she licked her lips. He caught the motion when she seemed to shiver but she turned away and walked around the table, putting it between them. Her chin dropped to her chest and her wet hair fell forward. “Within a matter of hours, I’m going to lose my shit, Glacier. Probably less time. I think I mentioned I didn’t feed when I should have. I don’t have to do it every night, but I can’t go more than three days without it becoming dangerous. I hit that last night.”
“Why did you go so long without blood?”
“I didn’t get to feed the night we left home. It was a wake-up-and-here’s-your-orders kind of thing. Pack and leave. I would have found someone to bite in the airport but security has cameras everywhere. The bathrooms were packed when I tried to find someone alone in a stall. I hate those fucking pee-a-boo doors. Why do they have a goddamn inch gap?
“Anyway, I figured I’d feed when we arrived in Atlanta. No big deal, missing a meal. But then there was a problem with the engine of the plane we were supposed to board. It meant we had to get a hotel to day sleep, and then catch a flight the next night, so we weren’t stuck in the air while the sun was up. It was a hotel by the airport filled with senior citizens. They weren’t really a spry group, you know? There was some kind of power outage where two nursing homes were located and they bussed them all to that hotel. The maid had a medical bracelet on, and the only other person working when we checked in was the clerk. He was all beat to hell and on crutches. It seems he’d been in a car accident a few days before. Who the hell feeds off someone with medical conditions? Not me.
“The bathrooms were packed again when we went back to the airport, so I figured I’d feed when we landed. Except Marco sent Pedro, his second, to pick us up. The asshole was waiting to take us to the restaurant. We got our orders to get right to work so we just dropped our bags at the hotel and boom—I ran into you.”
He chuckled, amused as hell.
Her head whipped up. “You think that’s funny?”
“It kind of is.”
“Fuck you. I was going to find someone to bite after work last night.”
“You could have tried to go for Teenie’s throat.”
“I don’t bite Were kids. Or any kids, for that matter. Throats aren’t my thing, either. I take from the arms of my donors.”
Only the sweetheart he’d once known would avoid biting humans because she felt sympathy toward them. Now he was really curious. “Why?”
“Because I’m not a sick jerk who’s into kids!”
“I meant, why sink your fangs into someone’s arm?”
“Some humans get turned on when there’s a mouth at their throats. They’re in a trance, thinking happy thoughts that turn to sex, and always try to grope me when I bite them there. That doesn’t happen if I sink my fangs into their wrists.”
“Don’t you ever fuck your donors?” That thought didn’t amuse him one bit.
She wrinkled her nose at him. “No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I believe in free will, and not taking advantage of someone when they’re being controlled by me. I go to the homeless. They need the money, and I try to find ones who are already living in an altered reality, since it’s a risk that someone may be immune to mind control. I’ve never wanted to kill someone, Glacier. If I pick someone who thinks aliens or shadow people are after them, it won’t matter if they rant about Vampires, too. They aren’t seen as a threat.”
He arched his eyebrows. “I can’t believe you’re an assassin for the council.”
“Let me rephrase that. I don’t want to kill someone innocent. I mostly get sent after rogues or bat-shit crazy Vamps who are putting us all at risk of exposure. Those are assholes who deserve to die.”
“What if they weren’t rogues or crazy? Did you still kill them?”
“I wouldn’t do it if I knew it was flat-out wrong. That’s only happened twice. The first time with a human family who’d managed to kill a Vamp in self-defense. They went to the police about the attack with their memories intact. They said a Vampire kidnapped them. The council ordered them silenced. The humans weren’t at fault, so I messed with their memories then helped convince an FBI agent that their lives were in danger from a serial killer. The agent put the family into that witness relocation program. I figured with new identities, maybe the council wouldn’t find them. The second time was last night, with you.”
He was stunned. “How in the hell did you survive this long, Mandy? You’re too soft-hearted to be a Vampire.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “I took out that asshole last night just fine. I feel no guilt about ashing him. He went after a kid. I’ve killed plenty of Vamps and even some murderous Weres over the years. Human predators, too. Those weren’t even sanctioned by the council, by the way. They love it when humans go nuts and it becomes a news story. They can shove the blame on those psychos when a Vamp does bad things. I’ve run across some terrible humans while on assignment and stopped them from hurting anyone else. I don’t hesitate to kill bad guys.”
He started to feel anger growing. Not at her, but the situation. It would have been so much easier if she’d become a heartless creature. Instead, he found himself drawn to her even more than he was thirty years ago.
She sighed loudly and placed her hands on the workbench, peering at him. “You took the tracker out of me. I’m a dead Vamp walking. It was really hard to expose my throat to you and face my death, but I did—twice. I’m going out anyway. What are you waiting for, Glacier? You said you don’t plan to feed me. Have you ever seen full-on bloodlust? I’ll attack you. I could even hurt you. Or worse, if I get away from you, I will go after anyone unlucky enough to cross my path. That would be a helpless human, and I’d probably kill them without meaning to. I won’t be able to stop myself.”
“I’m going to chain you up again.”
The sadness he saw flashing in her eyes made him feel like a bastard.
“Fine.” She hopped up on the table and stretched her hands over her head. “You better gag me though if any humans are nearby. I’ve heard Vamps being tortured by starvation. I’ll start screaming when the pain becomes too intense. I wouldn’t want to live anyway if I ended up killing some good Samaritan who rushes to my rescue. Ignore what happens to my body, too. The hungrier I get, the more I’ll confuse the need for blood with wanting sex. It’s nature’s way of helping women bait men to get within striking distance.”
He knew that but kept silent, restraining her wrists first, and then her ankles. “I’m sorry I don’t have somewhere more comfortable to put you. The frame on the only bed in this place is cheap wood you’d snap with ease. I have to get ready, since Teenie will be here within the hour. I’ll see you soon.”
He walked out of the basement but left the light on, refusing to leave her in the dark. He closed the door and hurried up the stairs to shower. It was probably the fastest one he’d ever taken and when he turned off the water, he heard pounding coming from somewhere below.
“Give me a few,” he yelled, knowing Teenie would hear him.
The pounding stopped as he dried off and entered the small bedroom he’d taken over. He put on a pair of black jeans, a T-shirt, and his boots. One check of his cell phone showed six missed calls from Kevin. He growled low in irritation. Sometimes alphas were the bane of his existence.
It wasn’t just Teenie standing at the back door he unlocked and jerked open. Kevin and one of his male enforcers also waited. He stepped outside, not wanting them anywhere near Mandy. He blocked the door and leaned against the frame. “What?”
Kevin stepped close and puffed out his chest. “You haven’t been answering my calls.”
“I had my cell off while I slept and then showered. Did something happen?”
The alpha clenched his fists hanging at his side, a show of anger. “Yes. I wanted to know what you learned from the Vampire you captured last night. You should have allowed Teenie to help you torture it. I shouldn’t have had to wait all day to hear the results.”
“I work alone unless I need bait.” Glacier hated pissing contests. Some alphas just naturally couldn’t help trying to intimidate everyone around them who they viewed as a physical threat, but it didn’t work on him.
“Move aside.”
Glacier shook his head. “No. This is my private space while I’m in your territory. That was the deal.”
Kevin’s expression showed he didn’t like being refused or challenged on his authority one bit, nor did his two enforcers. All three of them rumbled protests. The big bastard on Kevin’s right even sprouted some hair.
Glacier smiled, amused. It would piss them off more, but he was only in their city because they’d needed his help. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have reached out to Lord Aveoth. He didn’t care if he offended the entire pack.
“What did you learn from the Vampire?”
He held Kevin’s glare as if he were bored. “I know where the nest is hiding.”
Kevin withdrew his phone. “I’ll call in the rest of my enforcers.”
“Don’t bother.”
A snarl came from the alpha and he clenched the phone he’d withdrawn from his front pocket tight enough that a crack could be heard. “What did you say to me?”
“They’re in a basement. They wouldn’t hole up there unless they had a way to escape. First, you’re going to need to reach out to a contact in the city for schematics of all sewer and water runoff drain lines around the building. Then we need to wait until dawn to go in after them.”
“We’ll just hunt them down if they run.”
Glacier snorted. “I’m the expert on extinguishing nests. Do you want to know why? I’ve done this many times. You can’t track them through the sewers if that’s their escape route. All you’ll be smelling is shit. A seasoned Vamp could hold his breath, slow his heart rate, and stay under water for almost an hour. Your trackers would pass right by them.” He shook his head. “We do this my way. That means being smart. We find out what their options are, block them to keep them trapped, and take out the entire nest when they’re at their weakest. That’s daylight. I’m hoping only the master has the ability to move once the sun comes up, but he’s the one we want the most. He survives, and he’ll just remake another nest. Hell, he could be so pissed over the loss that he turns humans into dozens of soldiers to unleash on your ass. I’ve seen it happen before.”
“Those bastards murdered some of our kids!”
“I understand, but you have your pack locked down and protected. One night is worth the wait. We can take them all out at once with no mistakes, or deal with the consequences if any get away. Don’t you want to make sure every member of that nest pays?”
“We should go after them now,” the male enforcer growled.
Kevin raised his hand, motioning for silence. “Fine. We’ll do this your way, Glacier.”
“Good. I’ll turn my cell on. Let me know when you have the information we need, and then we’ll form a plan on how to trap them in that basement come morning.”
The alpha narrowed his gaze, studying Glacier. “We can go back to the pack house now and start planning. I’ll have Ted here go pay a visit to our human friend who works for city sanitation. He’ll bring the maps and a blueprint of the building to us.”
“I have a phone call to make first. I’ll drive to your pack house when I’m done.”
Kevin shook his head. “Now.”
“Twenty minutes,” Glacier stated.
“We’ll take my car and you can make your phone call on the way.”
“I have shit to do first, and I don’t want you listening in on my conversation.” Glacier let his irritation sound in his voice. “I don’t take my orders from you. I have to check in with Kelzeb and give my report to Lord Aveoth.”
“Did you end the Vampire?”
He debated about lying but decided to go with the truth. There wasn’t a damn thing the pack could do about it. “Not yet. I still have questions for her.”
Kevin snarled, clearly unhappy.
Glacier arched his eyebrows.
The tense standoff lasted for a full minute before Kevin stepped back. “I want that fucking thing dead.”
His response pissed Glacier off. “She’s a Vampire, not a thing.”
Ted smirked, looking at Glacier in a way that he didn’t like.
“What?”
“You’re one of those.”
Kevin glanced back at his enforcer. “What are you talking about?”
Glacier wanted an answer, too.
“I heard about a group of enforcers in another pack who caught a female Vamp feeding off their human neighbors. They were ordered to bring her to their alpha so he could take her head himself. The thing was, she put up a hell of a fight and they had to really mess her up. They muzzled her to keep her from biting but while they were driving her in, she went into heat. It seems getting clawed and beaten turns on those fanged bitches like nothing else. Is that why you haven’t killed her? You enjoying getting some Vamp pussy? The more you hurt ’em, the hotter they get, wanting to be fucked. I heard it was the wildest piece they ever had.”
Glacier felt his skin cool as his rage flared inside. He didn’t need to look down at his arm to know his body had turned a bit gray. “It doesn’t turn them on. It sends them into bloodlust, you asshole. That captured Vamp probably lost so much blood that her body was starving. Are you accusing me of being the type who’d torture and then rape a woman? Rape is exactly what it would be to take advantage of a woman lost to bloodlust. You should answer carefully.”
Ted paled and backed up a step.
“You better hope I never find out what pack those enforcers were from, or I might go hunting for what they did to that Vamp before she was killed.”
His gaze jerked to Kevin. “Obviously intelligence isn’t a requirement to be one of your enforcers. Get him the fuck out of my sight before I hurt him for implying I’m some twisted sicko.”
Kevin nodded. “Be at the pack house soon.” He shoved Ted ahead of him, and Teenie trailed hot on their asses down the alley.
Glacier spun, entered the shop, and slammed the door. He snarled, wanting to punch something. He looked at his fist, focused on it, until his skin returned to flesh tone.
His temper eventually faded as he took deep breaths. He left the store, locked the door, and made damn sure no Lycans were hanging around to watch his place. He left the alley and walked a block over to where he’d seen drug dealers and hookers hanging out. He approached one of the women and smiled. “How much?”
She smiled back, revealing some missing teeth. Scabs covered her exposed arms and chest. He knew it was a result of doing drugs. She reeked of them, as if she had them coming out of her pores. “What do you want?”
“How would you like to make two hundred bucks?”
Her eyes widened. “That’s a lot of money.”
“It is. I won’t hurt you. I promise. I have a place right around the corner. I’ve been sleeping in the basement and could really use a blow job. You up for that?”
She got to her feet. “Yes. Can I have the money now?”
He glanced around and withdrew his wallet, taking out a hundred. “This for now. The rest for after.” He made sure she could see the thick wad of bills.
“You got it, honey.” She smiled and batted her eyelashes.
“Come with me.”
She stayed right at his side as he returned to the shop and unlocked the door. The moment she stepped inside, she turned and reached for the front of his jeans.
“The bed is downstairs. I like to lie down. Bad knees.”
Nervousness crossed her face as she glanced around at the dilapidated shop.
He withdrew his wallet again and took out another hundred, passing it to her. “I’m not into hurting women. I swear. Ten minutes at most and you’ll be returning to your spot where I found you. I won’t even last long. It’s been a while.”
She nodded.
He led the way and she followed. They were halfway down the stairs when he figured she’d finally see Mandy restrained to the counter. He spun, grabbed her, and put his hand over her mouth. She tried to scream as he carried her down the rest of the stairs, careful not to hurt her.
Mandy stared at him in shock as he approached.
“Take over her mind, damn it! She’s terrified,” he ordered.
Mandy’s glowing gaze left his to focus on the woman. “Look at me. It’s okay. Relax. You’re fine. Everything is good.”
The woman stopped struggling and he gently put her on her feet next to the counter, easing his hand away from her mouth. “You feed from her and let her think she gave some faceless guy a blow job. Can you do that? Also wipe this location from her mind, along with seeing you. I don’t want her coming back here on her own looking to score more money from me.”
Mandy glanced at him. “You’re lucky she’s susceptible to mind control.”
“She’s a drug addict. I’ve never met one yet who had the willpower to resist you Vamps. Feed, do your thing, and then I’ll escort her out of here.”
Mandy nodded and focused on the woman. “I want you to think of your favorite childhood memory. Do you understand? You’ll be in that moment again,” Mandy told her. “Nod if you’re there.”
The woman nodded.
“Lift your arm and put it to my mouth.”
Glacier backed away, watching. Mandy had the woman adjust her arm until her wrist pressed against her lips, and then licked her skin, sinking her fangs in. The drug addict didn’t even flinch. She just stood there grinning as if a Vamp wasn’t taking some of her blood.
Mandy stopped and then bit her tongue, licking at the two puncture marks. It fascinated him, watching Mandy implant memories. One of the things she told the woman was to go buy food right away and eat.
She looked at Glacier then. “Now. She’ll come out of her trance when you tell her thank you.”
Glacier took the woman’s hand, leading her upstairs and out of the shop. He left her on the street. “Thank you.”
The woman stopped grinning and just walked away as if he wasn’t there. He watched her enter a donut shop down the street. She never looked back once. He returned to Mandy. She lay on the bench with her eyes closed.
“Better?”
“Much. Thank you.” Her eyes opened and she stared at his face with a frown.
“What?”
“You fed me. Why?”
“I don’t want to see you suffer. Was that enough to last you a few days?”
“Yes. I didn’t want to take too much though. She was pretty thin.”
“Sorry. It was either pick up a hooker or a drug dealer. The latter wouldn’t have willingly followed me down here without putting up a hell of a fight, thinking I planned on robbing him.”
“I bet you have no trouble sweet-talking women into anything.” She blushed. “Sorry. I fed but my body is still a bit, um, off. Thank you, Glacier. I mean it.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I’m glad you’re not a twisted sicko.”
He let her words sink in. “You heard my talk with the pack and what that asshole said.”
“Yes. I have good hearing and the door to the basement doesn’t seem thick.”
He strolled over to her and leaned down, not close enough for her to bite, but so he could really look into her eyes. The glow had faded to a deep blue. “Is that what you thought? That I’d wait for you to go into bloodlust and then fuck you?”
“No.”
He believed her. “Good. Because I wouldn’t do that. I have to go. Are you going to behave by staying quiet while I’m gone or should I gag you? Promise me you won’t yell out trying to draw the attention of some human to set you free.”
“I promise.”
She still appeared to be sincere. “Trust is earned, Mandy. Don’t fuck with mine. I don’t give it easily. This is your chance to show me that some of the girl I used to know still lives.”
“Why are you keeping me alive? The alpha wants me dead. I heard him.”
He lifted his hand and brushed her hair off her face. It was slowly drying. “I don’t answer to him.”
“What are you doing, Glacier? I’ve been thinking, and you said you left my tracker with that Vamp’s ashes. Do you think the council believes the remains are mine?”
“Hopefully.” He liked how soft her skin felt as he caressed her cheek, his thumb tracing her jaw. “They won’t look for you if they think you’re already dead. I have to go. Be quiet and try to get some rest. I’ll be back after I help the pack take out the nest.”
“Are you planning to let me go?” She looked as surprised as she sounded.
“I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do yet.” He released her and straightened. “Light on or off?”
“On.”
He turned and walked toward the stairs.
“Be careful, and don’t forget that Olivia is going to be out there hunting you.”
He nodded and kept going. He locked the door at the top of the stairs and, for good measure, dragged a heavy counter over to block it. He knew the restrains would hold her in place but he worried about someone breaking in and getting to her. She was helpless. It didn’t sit right with him but he couldn’t trust her enough not to flee if he unchained her.
He withdrew his phone to call Kelzeb, needing to update him on what was happening with the pack and nest. He just wasn’t sure what to tell him about Mandy.