“You are what’s best for me. It was always you, Lex. Before there were vampires and demons in our daily lives, there was you and me.” His fist clenched in my hair, his mouth warm on my neck.
The genuine affection in his touch washed away the remnants of our past mistakes. For the first time since he’d come back, I saw promise in what we shared. I bit back the onslaught of emotion that threatened. I could cry later. Now, it was time for kicking some ass.
Voices rose beyond the door. Panic seized me. The humans grew louder in their worried protests. Their distressed thoughts were loud inside my head. If only I could silence it.
Linden strode in with two well-dressed vampires in tow. They were clad in black tie attire. Both of them looked our way but were ultimately unimpressed.
Pointing to three different women, Linden said, “You, you and you. Up against the wall. You know the drill.” Two of the women were on their feet immediately. The third, a thirty-something with auburn hair, glared at Linden with open hostility. She refused to comply. I watched with trepidation as he grabbed her by the hair and hauled her up. He threw her against the wall, and she stifled a scream. “This one is a fighter,” Linden said with a laugh. “Guess we’ll have to break that wild spirit.”
“You can kill me, but you will never break me,” she spat. She stared at the vampires with utter hatred. Her fierceness was admirable.
One of the potential buyers nodded enthusiastically. “I like her already. It’s been a while since I’ve had one that put up a good fight.”
I was frozen, helpless, able only to watch. Though I admired her warrior spirit, what she didn’t know was that these guys would take their sweet time killing her. They would break her a thousand times over before death freed her.
Linden reached to take her arm, and she spat in his face, following up with a resounding smack that echoed. The sudden rage that burst from him was explosive. The backhand he threw knocked her to the ground with a shriek. I held my breath, fighting back the protests on my tongue.
Everyone else in the room seemed to shrink as far away from the scene as possible. A couple of the kids began to cry. Their thoughts were a mass of confusion, questions that were words and feelings rather than full phrases. The sense of helplessness grew. What could I do to protect them when I couldn’t protect myself?
Linden whistled, and a few of his security guys entered. “Teach this one that she’s no longer a person. She has no rights. She’s just meat.”
It was hard to get a good feel of a vampire’s age and power without being able to metaphysically touch them. Yet, it appeared that Linden’s personnel was primarily muscle, not brand new vampires but not yet a hundred either. If he had any serious power players in his arsenal, they were elsewhere for a reason. These guys seemed like expendable help.
Picking Linden’s crew apart wasn’t giving me any great insights into him, but it did tell me a little about his people. At his command, right away one of them began to undo his pants, which elicited a series of protests and cries from the captives. Much to my surprise, one vampire agreed with them.
“Not in front of the kids,” he said, meeting Linden’s stony gaze with one to match.
“Fine. Get them out of here. Find them something to eat. Nobody likes them malnourished.” The command was issued as if it had been his idea. Linden wasn’t fooling me anymore. He was the boss here, but he didn’t call all the shots.
I stared after the vampire now leading the youth from the room that was their prison. Dark haired with a chiseled jaw and confident set to his shoulders, he guided them along with a gentle hand. How curious. I hadn’t for a moment expected to find a shred of humanity here among the inhuman. It was a small spark of light in a dark place, and it renewed my hope.
At least it did until the door closed and the sick scenario resumed. It took three vampires to hold her down. She fought so hard. It was amazing. Unfortunately, it earned her a beating. More than one captive was brave enough to intervene. Needless to say, it didn’t go well for them. They were tossed aside like ragdolls.
I was on my feet, throwing myself against the bars. “What kind of monster needs to rape a woman like some common thug to make a point? You make a mockery of what it means to be a vampire, Linden. You f**king coward.”
“Is that right?” Holding up a hand, he stopped his men from tearing the woman’s clothes off. “That’s an interesting accusation coming from a creature who is a master of manipulation. Is making a victim want it any less of a violation?”
Guilty as charged. He was right, and I knew it. But I wasn’t here to argue right and wrong with this wackjob. “How bad do you want to find out?” I taunted, slamming my cuffs against the bars. The sound reverberated through the room. “Get these off and see for yourself.”