Chapter Twenty-Three
Vlad stood in the shadows with Angelo and Shon, watching as Nita conversed with the enemy.
It irked him to see Leighton’s gaze drop to her breasts more than a dozen times during their conversation.
“I’m sending her to meet up with Mordecai when she’s done here.”
Shon crossed his arms over his chest. “And you think she’s simply going to smile and do as you say?”
Vlad narrowed his eyes. “We don’t need her to stay here. The three of us can follow him as easily as she can.”
“Then why is she here?” Angel rumbled, keeping his gaze on the café.
“Because the council requested her to be.”
Angel spun to face Vlad. “Since when have you ever listened to the council?”
“Since I suspected them of being involved with the Seekers.”
“What?” Shon and Angel whispered simultaneously.
Vlad glanced from one to the other as he spoke. “Don’t you find it strange that the council would be ignorant to Gina’s dealings with the Seekers? First Clay, then Ellis.”
Angel pinched the bridge of his nose. “But you made them aware of Gina’s dealings during the meeting at my condo with the council.”
“Exactly,” Vlad agreed. “Shortly before I took Gina’s life.”
Shon rested his hands on his hips. “I see what you’re getting at. If Calimari was no longer alive, how did the leader of the Seekers know about Nita’s involvement with the vampires?”
“What makes you think it was one of the council members and not some other vampire in the area?” Angel inquired in a low tone.
Vlad glanced at Nita’s profile through the café window before meeting Angel’s gaze once more. “Because, the council members are the only ones who would benefit from my death.”
Shon threw up his hands. “I thought you were pretty much immortal. How can a Seeker, a mere human, take your life?”
“By removing my heart,” Vlad explained. “Which is what I believe the council intends to do. I don’t think Gina was alone in her quest to resurrect Lilith.”
Angel held up a hand. “Then why not do it themselves? The council are a hundred times more powerful than the Seekers.”
Vlad had considered that. “If they failed, they risk exposure, and my wrath.”
“What are you going to do?” Shon asked, tying his hair back into a ponytail. “Run into the Seekers’ lair and pull a Steven Seagal? I’m betting they’ll have weapons equipped with silver.”
“I’ve set a trap of my own,” Vlad informed Shon, turning to face the trees.
At least three dozen vampires emerged, dressed in black, fangs gleaming in the dark.
Vlad gave them a slight nod, waiting until they disappeared from sight before settling his gaze onto Nita once again. “They will take care of the Seekers while I remove the council members’ heads.”
“You’re going to destroy our leaders?” Angel asked quietly.
Vlad kept his gaze locked on Nita. “Every last one of them.”
Nita suddenly stood, exiting the café without looking back to see if Leighton followed.
Vlad’s gums itched to release his fangs as Nita got into the Benz and backed out of the parking lot.
“Keep your eyes on Leighton,” Vlad informed Shon and Angel before darting through the woods toward the road Nita would appear on.
Headlights shone in the distance, becoming brighter as the car rounded the curve.
Vlad watched as Nita turned onto the dirt road and switched off the engine.
He jogged over and pulled open the door. “I want you to take the Benz and meet up with Mordecai and the others.”
Nita shook her head and climbed out. “Hell no. I’m going to finish what I came here to do.”
“It’s a trap, Nita.” Vlad filled her in on everything he’d recently revealed to Angel and Shon.
Nita paled. “Your own people want you dead?”
“Only the most powerful ones. As long as I live, Lilith cannot be resurrected.”
“Jesus,” Nita breathed, staring up at him with horror-filled eyes. “What if she’s the robed figure I saw in my vision? All the bodies, the blood…the death…”
Vlad reached down and cupped Nita’s face. He softly dragged his thumb across her bottom lip. “The only way for Lilith to live is for me to die. And I don’t plan on dying tonight.”
“But—”
“Call your mother, find out where they are headed, and go to them. I will contact you when it’s over.”
Something shifted in her beautiful amber eyes. “If that’s truly what you want.”
“It’s exactly what I want,” Vlad assured her, relieved she no longer argued with him.
Nita stood on tiptoes and pressed her lips to his. “Stay alive, Vlad. No matter what.”
Without another word, she pulled back, returned to her seat behind the wheel, and backed out onto the highway.
Vlad watched her go with a mixture of relief and something else he couldn’t name. His heart ached when her taillights disappeared from view.
At least he had one consolation if he didn’t survive the night…Nita would be safe.
Blurring his way back to the café, Vlad arrived in time to see Leighton backing out of the parking lot.
“He’s on the move,” Shon announced, turning to follow.
Vlad gave the signal to the others waiting in the shadows before taking off in the direction of Leighton’s taillights.
Twenty minutes later, Vlad came to a stop outside a large block building situated deep in the forest. Several cars were parked along the front, including Leighton’s.
The windows were boarded up, and a dim light shone through the cracks.
Vlad glanced around at the glowing red eyes of the vampires who’d come to his aid. “Keep your wits about you. They’ll have more than handguns in there.
“Atticus is here,” Vlad whispered, his nostrils picking up the council member’s scent. “Leave him to me.”
Shon stepped in close. “Do the Seekers honestly think the council members don’t plan to kill them once they’ve gotten what they want?”
Vlad carefully scanned the perimeter. “I would venture to guess that the Seekers have the same idea. And I doubt they know of the council’s plan to resurrect Lilith.”
Satisfied that no one lurked in the surrounding trees, Vlad met the gazes of the impatient vampires pacing around him. “Move in.”
Vlad’s cloak swirled around him as he blurred his way to the block building and kicked in the door.
Colors and shapes drifted in and out of his peripheral with the rush of vampires entering alongside him.
An explosion of sound erupted around Vlad. Bullets whizzed past his head to embed in the walls behind him.
Vlad spun through the structure, ripping out throats as he went. “Atticus?” he yelled, blocking out the terrified screams echoing around him.
The short blond leader stood at the other end of the building, holding an automatic weapon in Vlad’s direction. “It would seem that you’re not as smart as you’d like to think.”
Vlad kept his gaze trained on Atticus, drifting closer while he expanded his senses. “I knew you would be here.”
Surprise flashed in the blond vampire’s eyes, but disappeared as quickly as it appeared. “It matters not. For you will not make it out of here alive.”
The scent of wolf suddenly drifted up Vlad’s nose, and the sounds of howls could be heard over the fighting taking place inside the massive structure.
A confident smile split Atticus’s lips as he pulled the trigger, peppering the area with bullets.
Silver bullets, Vlad mentally corrected as he spun in a circle, barely avoiding a direct hit.
Atticus laughed, opening another round of gunfire, taking out everything in its path, Seekers included.
A bullet grazed Vlad’s arm, burning through his skin like fire.
Vlad’s fangs throbbed in anticipation of ripping out the elder’s throat. He blasted toward Atticus with the speed of a six-hundred-year-old vampire.
Atticus screamed and fired off another round, sending two bullets into Vlad’s chest, knocking the Impaler back several feet.
Vlad fought against the pain screaming through his insides, only to find himself thrown to the floor by Atticus.
The basement door abruptly opened, and several dozen vampires rose up from its bowels like rabid animals.
The sounds of fighting became deafening as blood sprayed across Vlad’s face. He peeled back his lips and gripped Atticus by the throat.
It took enormous effort for Vlad to push past the silver cooking inside his chest and overpower the blond vampire straddling him.
Atticus fought to stay on top, but was no match for the pissed-off Impaler.
Vlad flipped him over, sank his teeth into the elder’s neck, and ripped out his throat.
Pain unlike anything Vlad could have imagined suddenly drove into his back.
A roar of agony wrenched from deep within, holding Vlad in its grip as realization instantly sank in.
“I’m sorry, old friend, but it has to be done.”
“Declan,” Vlad rasped, his voice barely a whisper. “I was wondering when you would show.”
Declan dropped to his haunches next to Vlad’s head. “You always were a smart one. If it makes any difference, I would rather it had been someone else. I honestly don’t relish killing one so dear to me.”
“I’m going to destroy you slowly,” Vlad slurred, darkness overtaking him.