Chapter Twenty-One
Simon fought with everything he had to dislodge Svetlana from his body. He no longer felt the silver burning into his wrists and ankles. He was consumed by rage, fueled by desperation.
Madison was dying. Simon could hear her heartbeat weakening until it stopped altogether.
“Nooooo!” he roared, bucking Svetlana off him.
The sound of a door crashing in could be heard over the thundering of Simon’s heart.
Svetlana froze, her eyes appearing as wild as Simon felt.
“The Impaler,” she rasped, before vanishing from view. The only evidence Simon had of her departure was the shattering of glass from a nearby window.
Gene dropped Madison’s limp body to the floor and disappeared behind Svetlana.
The door to Simon’s room abruptly opened, admitting a tall, dark-haired vampire wearing jeans and a leather jacket. “Damn, man. You’re tied up every which way to Sunday.”
“Free me,” Simon hissed, his insides howling in denial of what he knew to be true. Madison was dead; drained by Gene until her heart had stopped beating.
The dark-haired vampire glanced down at Madison’s nude form before stepping over her to reach Simon. “She yours?”
Roman came barreling into the room. “Son of a bitch!” He bent, and scooped Madison up into his arms. “Madison…”
“Wait!” Simon snarled, his gaze glued to Madison as the vampire in the leather jacket slipped on a pair of gloves and freed him from his bonds.
Simon was on his feet instantly. “Give her to me.”
Roman’s gaze softened. “She’s gone, Simon.”
“Not yet, she isn’t,” Simon held out his arms, unable to look away from Madison’s pale face.
Vlad the Impaler calmly stepped into the room, one of his powerful hands wrapped around Gene’s throat. “Svetlana escaped.”
Simon’s lips peeled back over his fangs. “Save him for me.”
Returning his attention to Madison, Simon carefully took her into his arms. “Everyone out.”
Vlad lifted a raven-black eyebrow.
“Please,” Simon amended, staring into the eyes of the most powerful vampire in the world.
Vlad simply nodded, taking Gene with him from the room.
Roman wasn’t so quick to obey. “You can’t turn her, Simon. Madison wouldn’t want that.”
“I can’t let her die, Roman. I won’t.”
Roman’s gaze flicked to Madison, uncertainty swimming in his eyes. “She will hate you for eternity if you do this.”
“Then she will just have to hate me. It’s a risk I’m willing to take. Now…go find Svetlana.”
Roman lingered.
“For fuck’s sake, Roman. I cannot let her die! You can either go find the bitch responsible for this, or stand there and watch, but I’m doing it. With or without your consent.”
Roman hesitated a moment longer and then left the room.
Simon gently placed Madison’s nude body in the center of the bed. He sat on the side of the mattress, bit into his wrist to open a vein, and placed the bleeding wound over Madison’s lips.
He crawled up next to her and propped her head up onto his chest; continuously massaging her throat to keep the blood from going down her windpipe.
The first beat of her heart nearly bowed him over in relief. He hadn’t been too late.
Simon continued to feed Madison his blood for what seemed an eternity when Roman stepped back into the room. He didn’t speak, he merely stared at Simon in sadness.
“She’s alive,” Simon murmured, returning his attention to Madison’s pale features. He pulled a sheet over her body to protect her modesty.
Roman remained near the doorway. “She is not alive, Simon, she exists. I hope you are prepared to deal with the repercussions of what you’ve done.”
“I am.” It didn’t matter to Simon if Madison hated him, as long as she lived.
Roman nodded. “You’ve given her enough. She’ll sleep for a few days. You need to feed. You look like a corpse.”
Still Simon held his bleeding wrist over Madison’s mouth.
“Come on,” Roman insisted, waving Simon forward. “Leave her be for a while.”
Knowing Roman spoke the truth, Simon lifted his wrist to his mouth and licked the wound closed. He eased Madison’s head from his chest, left the bed, and gathered his clothes. He was dressed before Roman made it back to the hallway.
Simon stopped at the door, and sent Madison one last sorrowful look. Yeah, she would hate him when she woke, but he would deal with that when the time came. He turned and followed Roman down the stairs.
Vlad stood in the kitchen, his hip resting against a counter. “I can hear the heartbeat of the woman upstairs. It grows in strength with every passing second. She will be a strong one.”
“She’s always been strong,” Simon confessed in a wooden tone. “She’s also strong-willed, and will likely carry a deep hatred for me to my grave.”
The corner of Vlad’s mouth lifted. “At least she cannot kill you.”
Simon wasn’t so sure if that was a blessing or a curse. His hatred for Svetlana had grown over the centuries, for that very reason. “Where is Sawyer?”
“In the truck. I’m about to take him back to the compound.”
“Is he alright?”
Roman gave a brisk nod. “He will be. He’s been beaten pretty badly and appears to have shards of silver in his system. Madison needs to return with us as well.”
Simon had no intension of arguing with that. “I agree.”
“Go feed,” Roman insisted, moving toward the stairs.
Glancing at Vlad, Simon asked, “Gene?”
Vlad hooked his thumb toward a door off to his left. “In the same cage I presume the redhead was kept in.”
Simon hurried to the door, jerked it open, and blurred his way down a short set of steps. A giant of a man sat in a chair next to the cage. Simon recognized him as a feeder. Svetlana always kept the big ones around to feed from after they’d pleasured her. “Open it.”
The man got to his feet and unlocked the cage door.
Gene stared straight ahead, his eyes vacant. It became obvious to Simon that Vlad had control of the vampire’s mind.
“Release him,” Simon called out, knowing Vlad would hear and understand.
Gene’s gaze cleared before focusing on Simon. “I was only doing what I—”
Simon was on him before he finished speaking, his fangs buried in the other vampire’s throat.
He slammed Gene against the silver bars of the cage, his eyes rolling back in pleasure as Gene fought to no avail. The other vampire might be strong, but Simon had age on his side; age and revenge. Gene had drained the life from the woman that Simon…what, cared for?
Gene began to twitch in Simon’s hold, telling Simon without words that he’d taken enough. Still, he drank. He drank until Gene’s body went limp and he became dead weight in Simon’s arms.
Simon retracted his fangs from the asshole’s throat. Power coursed through his veins as Gene’s blood rapidly renewed him.
He gripped Gene by the sides of the skull and ripped his head from his neck before tossing the offensive piece of garbage to the floor. Gene’s body dropped with a thunk.
Returning to the kitchen, Simon found Vlad standing in the same spot he’d been earlier.
“Roman has taken Sawyer and Madison back to the compound.”
Simon tore a paper towel free from a nearby roll and wiped his mouth clean. “Thank you for coming.”
Vlad dipped his head. “Tales of Svetlana’s notorious games have been brought before the elders time and time again. Yet, they did nothing. Since they are gone, it is my place to put a stop to her. Besides, Nita has demanded I take care of the situation before it becomes a problem to our…clan, if you will.”
“Your clan?”
Humor sparked in Vlad’s eyes. “It’s a bit of a challenge at times, but it has worked out far better than I’d ever imagined. The shifters guard our lands by day and the vampires by night.”
Simon could only stare back at Vlad with a blank look. Since the known existence of the first vampire, there had never been a shifter and vampire mating. Yet it didn’t seem so strange coming from Vlad.
Vlad pushed away from the counter. “Angelo and Shon will meet us back at Roman’s compound. They are out tracking Svetlana.”
Simon had to lock his teeth together to keep from snarling. “I can’t return to the compound while Svetlana is on the loose.”
“And what do expect to do if you find her? You’ll only end up back in her clutches once again.”
Knowing Vlad was right, Simon pinched the bridge of his nose. If he were being completely honest with himself, he’d rather face running into Svetlana than to face Madison when she awoke. “We need to torch this place.”
Vlad jerked his chin toward the basement. “Are you planning to burn the human alive?”
Simon thought about the giant of a man he’d left in the basement. He couldn’t leave him alive. Now that the guy was no longer under the influence of Svetlana he would be a liability. “We’ll take him back to the compound,” he found himself saying. “Roman can decide his fate.”
“You are growing soft in your old age.” Vlad pulled a lighter from the pocket of his black pants and moved to the window to set the curtain on fire.