Aiden landed in a crouch with his fist on the dirt floor as he surveyed the darkness. Some instinct told him to roll a second before he heard a crossbow release. He bit his lip to keep from making any sound when his back came up against a wall. Dirt rained down on him, and he realized the bolt had embedded in the wall above him.

Twenty feet over his head, he saw the opening of Carha’s trapdoor. Behind him, soft footsteps crunching on dirt drew his attention away from the door and to the woman fleeing him. Aiden launched to his feet and raced after Carha. He had no idea where he was going, couldn’t see his hand in front of his face, but her footsteps drew him onward.

The thrill of the hunt pumped his adrenaline faster, and his fangs lengthened. Instead of trying to bury his more malevolent nature, he let it have free reign. He’d intended to take Carha alive, but he would do whatever it took to keep Maggie safe; Carha’s existence was a threat to her he wouldn’t tolerate.

The footsteps moved toward the left. He turned to follow them, but not in time to prevent his shoulder from colliding with a wall. The impact staggered him briefly to the side; debris clattered to the ground. Recovering his balance, he honed in on Carha as she continued with barely a sound. She’d traveled this escape route often to remain so silent down here and to progress so fast.

Hearing a creaking sounded ahead, he poured on the speed as he realized a door was opening. He ran headlong into what he initially thought was another wall. The impact rocked him backward, but not as hard as it should have if he’d hit something completely unmoving.

Whatever he hit, swung away from him, and instinctively he reached out to grab it before he fell over. His hand curved around the edge of a door. Jerking it toward him, he wrenched it off its hinges. Chunks of debris crashed onto the floor when the door smashed into the wall.

As if a dozen tanks were being driven through it, the tunnel shook from the impact of the door. A thundering crash rocked the tunnel behind him, and when a shout sounded, he suspected part of the ceiling had collapsed near Declan and Saxon, if they’d both followed him.

Carha released a startled cry and Aiden continued his pursuit of her. Judging by the increased sounds of her breathing and the closeness of her steps, he was almost on her. Then, something creaked again, and the light suddenly flooding the dark space nearly blinded him.

“They’re after me!” Carha shrieked.

Aiden blinked as he tried to acclimate to the influx of light. He skidded to a halt in the doorway, and five heads turned toward him; he recognized the faces of each one. The Savages’ red eyes blazed in the fluorescents hanging above.

One glance at the cavernous space told him Carha’s escape route had led into a warehouse with the remaining Savages who had jumped him. The concrete floor was barren and night pressed against the rectangle windows set high up in the walls.

Smiling smugly, Carha slipped behind two of the Savages and rested her hands on their shoulders. He had no idea why she didn’t stink as badly as they did, but it was clear she was in league with them. The Savage Ronan captured had ultimately given Carha up as their ringleader before Aiden destroyed him.

“You should have taken me up on my offer,” Carha taunted as the Savages surrounded him.

“And what offer was that?” Aiden growled.

“The one for the best fuck of your life.”

Aiden’s mind flashed back to their last conversation in her room. “Soon,” she’d said. “You’ll be begging to have me.”

“That will be the last time I come here,” he’d told her.

“Oh, I doubt that will be the last time,” she’d replied.

Then, he’d assumed she meant he would only come back for more sex with her afterward, but what she’d truly meant was she expected that night to be the last time he entered her club. He’d refused her advances too many times, and the miserable bitch had taken the saying “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” to a whole new level.

He’d make her pay, not for what she’d done to him, but because Maggie had been caught up in Carha’s spitefulness too.

“And when they’re done with you, they’re going to kill that little human bitch you brought into my club,” Carha said.

Aiden’s hands fisted, but he kept himself from lunging at her. “You’ll be dead before that can ever happen,” Aiden vowed.

Fear flickered in Carha’s eyes, but his attention was drawn from her and to the vampire beside her, the one who had hurt Maggie. “She tasted delicious,” the Savage murmured and licked his lips.

Aiden smiled at the Savage as his fangs lengthened. “I’m going to enjoy killing you the most.”

Aiden widened his stance as he beckoned the Savages forward with a wave of his hands.

* * *

Maggie glanced at her phone, worried she’d somehow turned it off or accidentally placed it on silent. It wasn’t her normal phone, after all; it was possible she’d done something to it. Or at least that’s what she kept telling herself.

It was still on, the screen obnoxiously blank. She’d tried calling and texting Aiden, but it had gone straight to a computerized voice mail, and there had been no reply to her messages. Maggie drummed her fingers on the bar as she gazed at the occupants.

Sitting here was driving her nuts, but she had no idea what else to do. Usually, she’d go for a run, but she had at least a bottle of Crown Royal in her, and she didn’t think a whiskey-fueled run was the best idea. Absently, she scratched at her arm before rechecking her phone.

She hated this almost clinginess feeling and sense of loss enveloping her. This wasn’t who she was. Yes, she cared for Aiden, but her whole world couldn’t revolve around a man; she refused to let it.

“He’s fine,” Vicky said, but she didn’t sound as confident as she had earlier.

Maggie glanced at the TV. The game had ended over an hour ago. She rose and stood on the backside of her stool. She gripped the seat. “Then why do I have such a bad feeling?” she muttered.

Vicky and Abby exchanged a nervous look. “Why don’t you call Ronan?” Abby suggested to Brian, who already had his phone to his ear.

“Ronan’s phone is off,” Brian replied, “but that’s normal if they’re working on something. Also, now that Ronan’s mated, his phone’s off more often too.”

“Those damn mated vamps,” Vicky quipped and winked at her sister before smiling at Maggie. “See, there’s nothing to worry about.”

“You don’t believe that either,” Maggie said to her. “Can we go to where they are?” she asked Brian.

“No. I’m not taking you three anywhere near what is going on. No,” he said more firmly to Abby when she opened her mouth to protest. He placed his hand over hers as if to temper his next words. “You won’t win this one. Besides, Maggie is mortal.”

Abby stared at him for a minute. “He’s right. Aiden will have our asses if we risk yours.”

“Maybe he’s decided not to return,” Maggie said.

“That will never happen,” Abby said. “I know you don’t get the bond of mates, but believe me, Hell itself wouldn’t keep him away from you.”

Brian nodded his agreement. Maggie downed the rest of her glass and pushed it toward the bartender. The heat of someone’s body warmed her elbow. She glanced at the man who had walked up to stand beside her. “Can I buy you a drink?” he inquired.

“No.” She turned dismissively away from him.

“Come on, just one. It looks like you enjoy your whiskey.”

Brian started to rise from his seat as she turned back to the man. “Creepy stalker guy is not attractive, and if you know my drink, then that makes you creepy stalker guy.”

The man’s forehead furrowed as he seemed not to process her words. Given the glassiness of his eyes, Maggie suspected he’d had more to drink than she had. “Only one,” he said and placed his hand over hers.

Maggie snatched her hand away and turned it over to seize his palm. Pressing down between his thumb and index finger, she gave a firm squeeze. “Back off.”

The man’s knees buckled, and he nearly went to the ground. “Let go!” he wailed.

Maggie released him. He gazed at her as if she were the antichrist before shaking out his hand and hurrying to a booth crowded with other young guys. They were all laughing at him.

She focused on the others once more.

“I don’t know why I’m here,” Brian said as he sat back on his stool.

Vicky and Abby both grinned at her. “Where did you learn to do that?” Abby asked.

“You grow up as a foster kid, and you learn how to defend yourself,” Maggie replied.

“You grew up in foster care?”

“I did.”

“Come, sit, tell us more about yourself,” Vicky said and slapped the stool. “It will help take all our minds off things.”

With no idea what else to do, Maggie sat, but she kept her phone in front of her as her uneasiness grew.