Chapter Ten
Madison had never been more pissed off in all her life. The feel of Svetlana’s fangs so close to her neck had terrified her, sending fury coursing through her veins. If the Queen of the Undead meant to take her out, then she would have one hell of a fight on her hands.
Taking advantage of the vampire’s focus on Simon, Madison tightened her hold on the hilt of her knife. She carefully inched it free and then thrust the silver blade into Svetlana’s stomach.
The unholy scream that came from Svetlana’s throat ricocheted off the walls of the kitchen, spurring Madison into action. She dropped to the floor, yanked a small handgun from her boot, and opened fire.
All hell broke loose.
Svetlana roared in agony, her body flying backward, only to scramble up the wall and onto the ceiling.
Madison swung her arm in several directions, attempting to track the injured vampire’s movements.
The breath left Madison’s lungs as she was jerked off the floor by an unseen force.
Simon, Madison realized, her stomach in her throat. He’d snatched her from the room and was in the wind before she could comprehend what had happened.
The sounds of Svetlana’s screams could be heard behind her, until they grew faint and disappeared altogether. Still, Simon ran. He didn’t stop until the lights of the city came into view.
“We have to go back,” Madison demanded, pushing against his chest. She noticed they were in a small suburban neighborhood.
Simon set her on her feet and barked out a harsh laugh. “Go back? Have you lost your mind?”
“We left Sawyer there. She’ll kill him!”
“It’s too late for him. She’s already killed him.”
Madison shook her head in denial. “You don’t know that. She’s injured. She—”
“You’re not going back.”
Her cellphone buzzed in her back pocket. She fished it out, pressed the green button, and brought it to her ear. “Roman, Svetlana has Sawyer. You have to go to Simon’s house and help him.”
“I’m at Simon’s place now,” Roman answered. “Sawyer’s not here. Tell me what happened.”
Madison swallowed hard. “She must have taken him.”
A brief pause ensued before Roman answered. “Where are you?”
“I’m with Simon. We’re just outside town.”
Roman blew out a breath. “Svetlana is injured. I can smell her blood.”
Madison explained everything that had happened since her and Sawyer’s arrival at Simon’s home, ending with, “She’ll kill him, Roman. You have to find her.”
“I’ll find her, Madison. In the meantime, you and Simon need to get back to the compound.”
Madison unconsciously shook her head. “We can’t go back there. I won’t put Lydia and Jacie in that kind of danger.”
“Alex and Niko are there. Svetlana won’t get past the gates.”
“No. I’m not willing to risk it.”
Roman sighed through the phone. “Do you remember that old house I showed you last year?”
“The one you lived in long ago?”
“Yes…I want you to go there. I’ll call as soon as I can.”
Madison tightened her grip on the phone. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to look for Svetlana. She couldn’t have gotten far in her condition. She’s holed up somewhere in my territory. I just have to figure out where.”
Madison disconnected the call and turned to face Simon.
“I heard,” Simon murmured before she opened her mouth. “We need a car. It’ll help mask our scent.”
Glancing around, Madison’s gaze landed on a dark gray sedan parked along the curb. She jogged over, and tried the door. “It’s locked. We’ll have to break the window.”
“We can’t break the glass. It’ll defeat the purpose of masking our scent,” Simon argued. “Stay here.”
Madison watched with baited breath as Simon blurred from her field of vision. He returned a moment later, dangling a set of keys from his fingers.
He quickly unlocked the door and climbed behind the wheel. “Let’s go.”
Madison jogged around to the other side and quietly got in. “Where did you find the keys?”
“On their kitchen table.” He started the engine and pulled away from the curb. “Which way?”
“Go east.” She rattled off the address.
Madison leaned back in her seat, fighting the panic that threatened. She couldn’t take her mind off Sawyer.
“She hasn’t killed him.”
Simon’s quietly spoken words did little to soothe Madison’s nerves. “How can you be so sure?”
“Because, she took him with her. Which means she wants information.”
Madison was going to be sick. “She’ll torture him.”
“Not for a while. She’s injured. She’ll need to sleep to regain her strength.”
“For how long?”
Simon met her gaze. “A couple of days, maybe three…at best.”
Madison turned to stare out the window. “Roman will find her. He has to.”
“If anyone can, it’s Roman.”
Neither of them spoke the rest of the trip, each lost in their own thoughts.
“Take a right up there.” Madison pointed to a barely noticeable drive just past an old mailbox on the side of the road.
Simon turned onto the gravel drive without a word, the headlights of the car bouncing off the surrounding trees.
“That’s it?” Simon nodded toward the old log house.
“You were expecting something else?”
He parked the car close to the front porch, and switched off the engine. “I never knew about this place.”
Madison opened her door and got out. “I believe that was the point. Roman built it in the late eighteen hundreds while you were no doubt committing atrocious acts all over the globe.”
“Define atrocious?”
Stepping up onto the cedar wood porch, Madison removed a small chunk of wood from one of the beams. She plucked out the key before replacing the piece of wood.
Simon lifted an eyebrow. “You just happened to know where he keeps the key?”
“Of course. I’m part of his security team.” Opening the door, Madison pushed it wide and stepped over the threshold. “I even know what brand of socks he wears.”