Chapter Twenty-One
Angelina disconnected the line, then turned her ire on Dani. Even with the glare that Angelina gave her, Dani sat on the floor, her legs crossed and her hands folded neatly in her lap. She kept her chin held high when all she really wanted to do was cower under the direct stare of the woman who’d tried to kill her.
Angelina sat poised on a chair. It wasn’t a regular sized chair, but more like an oversized throne. The other reason why it wasn’t regular was because it was made entirely of ice. The chair didn’t look comfortable, but Angelina draped across it as if it was fluffy and warm.
The cave Alex had brought her to was made of stone and had a dirt floor. Dani didn’t know the exact temperature, but it had to be below freezing. The water in Dani’s eyes was freezing over, making it difficult to blink. Every time she breathed in her nostrils deflated and stuck to her face. While Dani shivered, her pajamas not doing anything to keep her warm, Angelina acted as though the single digit temperature didn’t bother her in the least. The formal gown that she wore, made of gold and chiffon with a sweeping neckline, spaghetti straps and ankle length, couldn’t be the only thing keeping Angelina warm. If crazy provided warmth then Angelina must’ve been burning up.
Even as an evil bitch, Angelina was beautiful. She didn’t have the same long straight hair as before, but wore it in a short, severe bob complete with bangs. The style only brought out the arresting vibrancy of her eyes.
“I told you that I don’t mean anything to him,” Dani whispered.
Angelina tilted her head to the side and assessed Dani. “You believe that, don’t you?”
Dani thrust her chin higher.
Angelina snarled then turned away. Dani blew out a breath and watched it form as a white puff in the air. She shivered again. The biting cold settled into her bones. Her butt was numb, and her legs were stiff. Her only hope was that the sun would rise soon and the vampires fell asleep. Only then would she be able to use the tunnel to claw her way to freedom.
“Did you hear Ramsey, Dani? Your lover doesn’t want you anymore,” Alex sang. He pushed away from his post by Angelina’s side. He’d been resting his shoulder against Angelina’s throne ice chair and smirking at her during Angelina and Ramsey’s conversation.
Dani had tried her best not to cry as she’d listened to Ramsey on the speakerphone. He didn’t love or care for her. Just an innocent to help pass the time.
She would grow older, and he would stay the same. She hadn’t let herself think of the inevitable before. He spoke the truth, and that’s what hurt her the most. She’d been living in a fantasy world believing that she and Ramsey could ever have a real relationship. How long did she honestly think they would’ve lasted? Five, maybe ten years? How could she have ever thought that someone like Ramsey would’ve still cared for her when she was old and grey?
Dani blinked back the tears that tried to form again.
Alex paraded around her, doing a shuffling dance as he walked. “Ha! You got kicked to the curb. You’re all mine now.”
Alex picked up a lock of her hair, and Dani pulled her head away, not wanting him to touch her ever again. He was disgusting. The things he’d told her about himself. And what he’d tried to make Bride do. As soon as she found a sharp object she was staking him through the heart.
I wonder if I can break a piece of Angelina’s chair off and stab him while he sleeps.
Alex thrust his hand to her scalp, grabbing a handful of her hair, and tugged. Dani’s head jerked up, and something in her neck popped. Blinding pain rushed through her. She cried out. A single drop of blood spilled over her forehead.
“Alex!” Angelina yelled.
Alex held onto Dani, ignoring his mistress. The pain shot down to Dani’s spine. She couldn’t breathe. He pulled her hair out by the fistfuls. Alex growled low and leaned to her neck. His hot breath was almost a welcome against the cold.
“I can hear the blood rushing through your veins,” he whispered to her. “Your heart is beating so fast. I could drown myself in your blood, and it probably still wouldn’t be enough to satisfy what I’m feeling right now.”
Alex opened his mouth, and she tried to shrink away. His teeth grazed against her skin. Each beat of her heart threatened to burst through her chest. Dani scrambled against the floor but couldn’t break free. More blood dripped from her head. “But you stink.” His grip tightened, and she stopped fighting and cried out.
Angelina was on her chair one second and the next she had Alex’s neck in her hand. Alex released Dani, and she slumped to the ground, covering her head with an arm. Her cries came out as soft whimpers.
Angelina lifted Alex. He kicked his feet out and made gurgling noises. It was odd to see a petite woman dangling a grown man in the air. Angelina had to stretch her arm high in order to accomplish that. She glared up at him, her beautiful face now twisted and grotesque. “I can pop your head off your shoulders.”
Alex slapped at her hands and flailed, unable to speak as his vocal cords were being smashed.
“I told you that we have to keep her alive for the time being. Because of his mark Ramsey will know immediately if she’s dead. He’s emotionally drawn to her right now. Kill her and he’ll go to the ends of the Earth to find us and we’ll both be dead.”
As if she were tossing a tennis ball, Angelina threw Alex. He went flying back, hitting the stone wall, forming a crack that started from where his back landed and spread in both directions, to the ground and the ceiling. Alex scrambled into a corner and pawed at his neck.
Angelina crouched, coming face to face with Dani. She raised her hand, and Dani instinctively struggled to get away. The last time Angelina had given her the same look, she’d made Dani crush her own skull.
Angelina caught Dani’s foot and pulled her back without much effort at all. Dani clawed at the ground, fighting against her. Dani didn’t win.
“You’re scared of me. I understand,” Angelina said with a pout. “You should be.” She spun Dani around to sit and raked her fingers through Dani’s hair. Dani winced from the pain, and Angelina tsked. “Newbies are always so cocky. They still think like humans. Their only concerns are ass and money.” Angelina leaned over her.
This is it. She’s going to bite me now. Dani pressed her eyes closed tight.
Wetness slid across her scalp. No pain. In fact, the pain subsided.
What?
Dani opened her eyes to find Angelina with her features mushed together like she’d just eaten something sour. Angelina stuck out her tongue and scraped her taste buds off with her fingernails.
Angelina pushed away from her and spit on the floor. “Ugh, disgusting.”
Dani touched the top of her head, expecting to feel bald spots, blood and a lot of pain. She had the bald spots all right, but no more pain. Her hand came away with clumps of hair attached to blood and a piece of scalp. Dani whimpered and thrust her hand back in her hair to pull out the rest. When she was done she had a small pile of hair and skin in front of her.
While Dani whimpered at her ever-growing hair pile, Angelina sauntered back to her chair, this time lying on her side to kick one leg over the armrest. “You were going to heal anyway since his blood is in you now, but I helped to speed the process along. I can’t return you scalped, now can I?”
Dani moved the pile between her legs. It wasn’t like she could reattach any of it, but she wanted it with her just the same. She peered at Angelina when the last sentence sank in. “You’re really going to let me go?”
Angelina giggled. God, that evil bitch was beautiful. “Oh, he’s going to see me let you go.”
“But you promised me that I can have her,” Alex whined from his corner.
Angelina nodded in Alex’s direction. “I can’t be responsible to what happens to you after I release you. Why, I could drop you off at home, safe and sound, but then Alex here could swoop down and nab you a day, a week, or even a month later. How am I supposed to know what happens to you after you leave my care?” She smirked.
Dani glanced at Alex. He wasn’t upset anymore. His eyes were full of crazy, and they were focused on her.
Dani had nowhere to run. The tunnel that Alex had brought her through had to be fifty feet long and at a ninety-degree angle to the surface. She could climb the distance, but not with it made completely of ice.
This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening.
“Ramsey won’t be able to hold me accountable for a misguided newbie,” Angelina continued. “Fledglings are so unpredictable. See, Alex here was obsessed with you when he was turned, so it’s only natural that those thoughts still remain. It might take, oh…” She glanced at the ceiling. “A hundred years or so for him to finally get you out of his system. Only then will he realize that he could have a hundred girls just like you anytime he wants.”
“I don’t want anyone else!” Alex screamed. He dropped to his hands and knees and slunk Dani’s way. “I want Danya.”
Dani whimpered and pushed away. She glanced around the cave wildly. Where could she hide? Besides the chair, there was an oversized bed, an armoire, and a few chests. She was trapped with the crazies.
Angelina took one lazy look at Alex. “Touch her again and I’ll kill you. You were only a piece of my plan. I can find another way by his side without the headache of keeping you alive.”
Alex whimpered and didn’t move any closer. Instead he rolled to his butt and sat in front of her, staring longingly. Dani didn’t know if Alex wanted to eat her or have sex with her. Both options made her shudder.