Damien opened his mouth to say something when a door slammed. Then Waleron walked down the hallway toward us.
And, Jesus, he looked furious, eyes a pale ice blue and brows lowered over them. My eyes landed on the crushed cell phone in his hand. Oh, God, something happened. I lived in perpetual fear that Liam would call Waleron and tell him.
My throat closed up as my nerves clamped down on me.
Waleron nodded toward the bedroom door. “He lives?”
Keir nodded.
“Good,” Waleron said. “I need him functioning by tomorrow night.”
“Damien told us Abby Turned,” Keir said.
“Yes. Simian is with her.” Waleron turned to Damien. “I gave Abby animal blood and she’s calm and sane. I need you to call Simian to you. Then you’ll return to Florida. The jet is waiting at Pearson.”
“I’m not fuckin’ leaving,” Damien stated, eyes unwavering from Waleron’s.
Oh shit. This was not good.
“It’s unwise for you to be here, Damien,” Waleron said. “You’ve done more than could be asked to help this witch. You must let her go, as must Simian. She’s a vampire now.”
Damien glared at Waleron, his hands curled into fists, cheeks with deep red splotches on them. He suddenly smashed his fist through the drywall.
I held my breath, waiting for him to do more, but he brushed past Waleron and went upstairs. I heard the front door slam.
“Waleron, there must be a way to help Abby,” Jedrik said.
“There is nothing we can do,” Waleron stated. “Liam wishes to negotiate for Rayne’s release.”
“We don’t negotiate. Ever,” Keir stated. “It’s out of the question. We go after him. Simple.”
I watched Waleron. He was off. Something was really off. He was steady. Calm. Face unemotional, but it was the hint of uneasiness in his stance. Probably no one would pick up on it except me.
A shiver went down my spine as I realized what was different. He’d not once looked at me.
“We will meet Liam tomorrow evening,” Waleron said and tossed the busted cell on the side table. All eyes went to it then back to him. “I will inform Trinity.”
I didn’t imagine Trinity would be pleased that one of her coven girls had fucked up so royally. She liked debts paid to her, never vice versa, and she’d owe the Scars after this.
I stiffened when finally Waleron’s gaze settled on me, and it was far from a good settle. It was so fierce and filled with unadulterated fury that I actually felt that my life might be in danger.
It took him five strides to reach me, and it took everything I had not to run. Shit, I probably couldn’t anyway because I was freaking out and frozen.
He grabbed my forearm, fingers bruising as he yanked me up against his chest then locked me to him, eyes glaring into mine as if daring me to say something.
I didn’t. Shit, I couldn’t even breathe.
Waleron placed one arm around my back, and then there was a swirling mist around us. My vision blurred. My body turned ice-cold.
Then nothing.
I WOKE TO MY worst nightmare—Rayne gone and the bedroom filled with fuckin’ Scars hovering. My eyes slid from Tye to Jedrik then passed through Keir and Anstice.
“Fuck,” I muttered then threw my legs over the side of the bed, grunting because my body objected even after Anstice had obviously healed me, and stood anyway. I’d suffered pain a billion times worse under Ulrich’s hand.
Anstice stepped toward me, despite Keir’s warning look as he grabbed for her hand, which she shoved aside. “You’ve lost a lot of blood, Kilter. Lie down before you fall down.”
“Don’t like sayin’ this to the woman who just saved my life, but fuck off.” I bent and snagged my T-shirt off the floor then tossed it aside when I saw the large bloodstain.
“Asshole sounds fine to me,” Jedrik muttered.
My head felt as if a grenade had gone off in it, obviously from the shit kicking I’d taken. A shit kicking that shouldn’t have happened. I still had my jeans on, although they had bloodstains on them, too. I grabbed my knives and gun off the bedside table where someone had put them.
No one said anything, but it was coming. They weren’t hanging out in my room for the fuckin’ atmosphere.
“Danni is trying to contact Rayne,” Anstice continued, standing a couple feet away from me. A quick glance at Keir and I knew he wasn’t pleased about her being near me, but he was giving his woman her space to do what she needed to do, and right now, that was to get me to lie the fuck down. “She’s in the next room. If you’d lie down and wait—”
“Not waiting for shit.” I sat on the edge of the mattress and yanked on my boots. If Rayne was unconscious or drugged, then Danni, no matter how good her telepathy was, wouldn’t be able to reach her.