Luther's Return (Scanguards Vampires Book 10)

Christ, he didn’t know why she was riling him up, or why he was fighting back by provoking her. But he just couldn’t stop himself.

Katie thrust her chin up. “I don’t give a damn who you fucked in prison, or who the guards or the other prisoners fucked. All I care about is getting into that damn building and finding out who kidnapped Isabelle. Can you get that into your thick skull?”

“As long as you can get it into your thick skull that I’m the one giving the orders here.” He turned and walked toward the wall. “You coming, or what?”

With satisfaction he heard her stomp after him.

For now he had the upper hand. And it was absolutely necessary for it to remain that way. She needed to listen to him to survive inside the prison walls. Katie knew that. But once they had what they’d come for, he couldn’t wait until they went their separate ways. Because a woman like Katie could get under a man’s skin, in more ways than one. And that was another thing she knew only too well. Or why else would she swing her hips in that enticing way, and dangle her boobs in front of him as if she were offering them?

Luther suppressed another curse. Maybe Katie had already gotten under his skin, because as much as he wanted to regret the kiss he’d stolen from her, he couldn’t. For the first time in over twenty years he’d felt alive. And the thought of never again feeling like that drove him half insane. It took all his self control to restrain himself and not pull her back into his arms and bring that kiss to a much more satisfying conclusion. One that he could guarantee would be satisfying for both of them.





18


The hidden entry was exactly how he’d designed it. The mechanism was opened by a sequence that was easily deciphered if one understood the system behind it. It was a combination that changed daily and depended on a number of factors including the longitude and latitude of the prison location, and the time and date. Simple but effective.

Luther wasn’t surprised that they’d never changed the system to a random code controlled by the guards inside; he understood the reasoning behind it. In case of a prison riot, reinforcements had to assume that all the guards were dead or unable to communicate, which would delay access to the building if they had to be given the code from somebody on the inside.

When the heavy steel-and-concrete door fell shut behind them, Luther didn’t look back. He knew there were no indentations, no ridges, no grooves on this side that would even indicate that it was a door. There was no way out. Even trying to blast a hole with C4 would be an exercise in futility. A deadly one: the force of the blast had nowhere to go but down the long tunnel leading away from the door. Anybody standing in its deadly path would be incinerated.

The tunnel was equipped with low level lighting strips running along the floor, the same type of strips that guided passengers on a plane to the emergency exits.

Luther looked over his shoulder. Katie’s emerald eyes sparkled in the dark like a beacon. It wasn’t hard to guess why she’d gotten movie roles. Even he could tell that the camera loved eyes like hers, expressive and full of mystery. With those eyes she could capture her audience and make them forget everything around them.

“What is it?” she suddenly asked and stared past him.

Luther forced himself to look toward the end of the tunnel, motioning to it. “Once we’re out of the tunnel, you need to do exactly as I say. Your life will depend on it.”

She nodded, her jaw tight.

“Can you see well enough?”

“I’ll manage.”

He reached for her elbow and noticed her jolt at the contact. “I’ll guide you until we’re out of the tunnel.”

“I don’t need—”

He started walking, not giving her a chance to complete her protest. “Just accept my damn help when I offer it. Next time I might not be offering.”

He’d never heard a woman grunt, but by God, his ears were not fooling him.

“You’re welcome,” he ground out and continued marching toward the end of the tunnel.

Her arm felt rigid under his grip. As if she was disgusted by his touch. Less than twenty-four hours earlier she’d sung an entirely different tune. She’d yielded to his touch. None of that submissiveness was evident now. Well, it appeared kissing Katie against her will had been a stupid move. One he wasn’t going to repeat.

“Where does this corridor lead to?” she suddenly said into the silence.

“We’ll emerge in cold storage.”

She gave him a sideways glance. “What’s that?”

“You’ll see.”

He slowed as they came to the end of the tunnel.

“There’s no door!” Katie’s voice was laced with panic.

Luther squeezed her arm. “There is. It’s just not evident. Trust me.” He let go of her and ran his hands along the left side of the wall. He felt the indentations almost instantly. His fingers slid into the grooves. With only the lightest of pressure he pushed against the indentations.