Chapter Eight – Sheridan
It was a mistake to leave Maribel.
Sheridan paced from one end of his study to the other, unable to stand still. Logically, he knew that he had to leave her, that it was the best way to get this all resolved. Cooperate, and things would move faster. He only got the lawyers involved because it was so obvious that Maribel wanted to come home, and Armstrong still refused to let her go. They were currently looking into what he could do about it, but it didn't seem like much at the moment. He had also put in a call to the governor to get her to intervene in this one case, but so far he had heard nothing back.
The vampire king wrung his hands. It had seemed like the best choice to leave Maribel there to avoid Armstrong from blowing the situation out of proportion. Avoid any military incursions that would no doubt lead to bloodshed.
It was also necessary to move quickly, to stop anti-vampire zealots from causing trouble to the donors he was having to leave behind. He was sure that the longer he stayed at the hotel, the more humans would find out about it. He didn't want those protesters to get it into their heads that they could attack him while he was there. That would have ended with quite a few humans dead, or injured at least.
But the more he paced his study, thinking about the anger in Armstrong's face and the slump of Maribel's shoulders as he walked away, the more he realized he had made a mistake.
He should have taken Maribel away. Armstrong didn't want her in the vampire city, but had also said Maribel could go anywhere she wanted–Sheridan could have taken her to another hotel, or one of the vampire safe houses that were dotted throughout the city in case messengers or diplomats found themselves in hostile situations.
Shaking his head, he pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed Maribel's number. If he didn't hear her voice, he would go crazy. The phone rang half a dozen times before going to voicemail.
His stomach dropped but he forced himself to stay calm. Maybe she was just in the shower. He left a message and put the phone back into his pocket.
There was a small knock on the door. Sheridan stopped his pacing to glare at it. "Enter!"
Billie slipped in. Her lips were pressed tightly, her eyes slightly widened, skin a paler shade than normal. Her shoulders were rounded, hunched, as though she wanted to make herself look smaller.
All the worry and stress in Sheridan's body disappeared. Instead, he just felt numb. His hands began to shake, and he knew that it was about Maribel. Something had happened. He swallowed hard and nodded at Billie to speak. She inched a little further into the room, wetting her lips. Tears actually pricked her eyes.
"I just got word from Armstrong."
Sheridan nodded, his lungs feeling like they were collapsing. He couldn't draw in a breath.
"She has finished her investigation and has concluded that the charges against the vampires are unfounded. The donors are being released to return. But her people leaked all of their identities to the media, their faces are everywhere."
"Send a fleet of vehicles to go pick them up. And inform our lawyers we intend on suing Armstrong and her team for putting the donors in jeopardy." He stepped closer. "Now stop delaying. What happened to Maribel?"
Billie flinched. She looked down at the floor. "My lord… Armstrong claims that she left the hotel. As soon as you left, she got into a cab and left. But I have tried calling her and she's not answering."
Sheridan closed his eyes. He pulled in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Either Armstrong was lying and she had done something to his wife, or she had told the truth and something had happened after his wife left. Either way, something was wrong.
"I want the location of Maribel's phone."
Billie's eyes widened.
"She is my wife and she carries my child. I'm going after her." He strode to his desk and pulled a tablet from one of the drawers. He quickly patched into the security system, so he could keep up-to-date with Maribel's location once it was found. He glanced up to see Billie still staring at him. "What are you waiting for?"
"Sir, are you sure this is wise? It could be a trap."
"I won't go alone. I'll take two guards with me. I'm not going to argue, Billie." He strode towards the door. "Do as I say."
***
Tracking Maribel's cellphone led him to a dingy little motel on the far side of the city. The building looked like it was about to be condemned, with rotting shingles and siding that was falling off. Sheridan pulled into the parking lot, tense and wary.
"Sir, you should stay in the car until we've made sure the area is secure," said one of the two guards that had accompanied him.
Sheridan scowled. He didn’t like staying behind, but he nodded. The two guards slid out of the vehicle and separated, checking around the building. Sheridan made himself stay where he was. He inhaled deeply and strained his hearing, but there were too many scents and sounds. He couldn't tell if Maribel was here or not.
He heard the crack of the gunshot just in time to see one of the guards fall, howling. His head whipped towards the motel as the second guard ran to help him. Another gunshot. This time, Sheridan saw the flash of a light. The windshield shattered. He felt the bullet brush his ear. It burned like a flame. Silver.
The injured guard waved his hand at his companion, yelling at him to bring the king to safety. But Sheridan wasn't going to leave. The assassination attempt just proved that Maribel was here. With a roar, he kicked open the car door and charged towards the motel. The muzzle flash had come from a window on the second floor.
"My lord!" the uninjured guard reached for him, but Sheridan ignored him.
A second roar and he leaped at the building. The siding crushed beneath his hands as he climbed rapidly. His uninjured guard followed close behind, the one that had been shot cursing and spluttering as he tried to get to his feet. From the assassin's window, he heard a shout–then a scream.
Maribel's scream.
Sheridan's heart stopped but even as it did, an angry burst of fire rose in him. A red haze settled over his vision. He felt his fangs grow longer. His senses grew sharper and he could smell Maribel, her fear, her anger. He could hear the rapid beat of her heart and her lungs filling with air, ready for another scream.
The window was only an inch open. Sheridan tore it clean from its frame and launched himself into the room. There were three humans inside besides Maribel. He caught the first by the throat and readied to rip his head off.
"No!" Maribel screamed.
Sheridan's head jerked up. He didn't release his grip on the human, but neither did he kill him. Maribel was standing on the opposite side of the room, eyes wide, tears running down her face. Behind her was Phil Bennet. He had an arm around her waist, pinning her elbows to her sides. A gun was pressed to her jaw.
"Hold." Sheridan held up a fist and his guard, now climbing through the window, froze.
Phil smirked. "Tell your man there to leave."
Sheridan tightened his grip on the human he held. "Leave."
"My lord—," his guard started.
"Leave! And take the other one with you."
The guard hesitated.
"Do as I say." The growl in Sheridan’s voice reverberated around the room.
The guard's jaw worked, but he nodded and dropped from view. The trap was sprung and he was caught, but he wasn't going to sacrifice his men. The human in his grip squirmed. The king tightened his hold.
"Let her go, Phil," Sheridan said softly. "None of you will get out of this alive if you hurt her."
"Sheridan, no," Maribel gasped. "Get out of here, leave me."
"Shut up," Phil snapped. He wet his lips. "Let go of my man, or Maribel dies."
"Sher—"
"I told you to shut up!"
Sheridan growled low in his throat at Phil. But he let his prisoner go and held up his hands. All he needed was one moment where Phil hesitated, and he would be able to act. But the man was too steady, and when he moved, he only shifted Maribel into a position where she was blocking him.
"I was only going to ransom her and screw over Armstrong, but I can see that's not going to work." Phil's expression twisted. "You're an idiot, vampire. You could have survived this. Now I have to kill you."
Sheridan narrowed his eyes.
Phil shook his head. "Let's all get to the van. Armstrong will want her pomp and circumstance. If I can't get my ransom money, at least I'll still get paid for bringing the vampire king to her. Now move!"