Waleron didn’t say anything.
Roarke continued, “She’ll be expecting us, but not tonight. If we go now, Rayne may have a chance, but,” he paused, looking at me, “Jasmine has a favorite device. It’s impossible to get out of without—”
Waleron approached and said, “A key.”
Roarke nodded. “I’m guessing you’re familiar with the device?” Again Waleron nodded. “As am I.”
“What fuckin’ device?” I didn’t like the word device and my girl in the same sentence.
“Rayne will be wearing a collar,” Waleron stated. “It cannot be removed without a key. If it’s attempted, the collar will snap closed on her neck and kill her instantly.”
I heard a gasp and the shuffling of feet behind us. I turned and saw Jedrik and Delara standing by the dining room doorway. Delara was pale, her eyes wide and filled with horror.
Roarke glanced from Waleron to Delara then back again. “She wants you both to see Rayne suffer and,” Roarke directed his gaze on Delara, “she blames you for Waleron escaping her.”
I couldn’t keep my cool any longer and shouted, “Damn it, where the hell will they take her?”
“I tracked her to a house the night before last,” Roarke said. “It’s in the north end of the city. On Fairmount Street. Number eleven.”
Waleron stiffened and his Ink’s eyes turned bright red.
“What?” I asked.
Keir answered. “Tarek’s house.”
Fuck. Tarek. The rogue Scar who was currently in Rest for almost killing Delara a number of years ago.
“Bring the witch-vampire,” Roarke said. “Liam will be there. We can distract him with her. You have no chance against Liam and his vampires as well as Jasmine and her followers. Give him the girl and he won’t care what happens to Jasmine.”
“No,” Waleron stated. “We cannot let Abby near Liam.”
“You’re planning to kill her anyway, right?” Roarke asked.
No one said a word. Not even a shift in weight, then Waleron nodded.
“Then kill her after we get Rayne.” Roarke pushed away from the doorframe. “Jasmine has the key. Go for her first. Release Rayne. If you can’t, then…” he paused and Waleron finished for him.
“Jasmine will release Rayne in exchange for me,” Waleron concluded.
Delara gasped. “Waleron, no.”
Keir said, “We don’t negotiate, Waleron.”
“This isn’t a negotiation,” he replied. “Get Abby,” he said to Keir. Then he turned to Roarke. “What do you get out of helping us?”
Roarke shifted his gaze to me when he said, “Nothing. Except, I love her.”
I STOOD PARALYZED ON my tiptoes with my arms stretched above my head. The vampire had attached thick steel bands around my wrists and hooked them to a dangling chain hanging from the ceiling. Blood stained the stone tiles beneath my feet as if they’d tortured and killed others here in this house.
But worse than knowing others were killed here before me was the device around my neck. It had sharp metal spikes pointed toward my skin like a prong collar. If I moved my head, the spikes cut into my skin. Any larger movements or if I lost my footing, the spikes would puncture my neck.
We’d moved from Liam’s club to the house an hour ago. It was clear Jasmine had the control and Liam was merely a puppet. Like me. Except I was a puppet who was going to be decapitated soon because my legs shook so badly I could barely keep my balance.
Liam had watched Jasmine hook me up like a Christmas tree ornament. But there was a flicker of uncertainty in him, as he’d looked away several times, head bowed as if he regretted what this had come to.
“Just think, my child. Your father had to remain like this for hours at a time. Sometimes, I left him for days just to see his resilience.” Jasmine ran a hand over my head in a soft caress and I flinched, but couldn’t move away. “He is stubborn. That is what I love about him. So controlled. I wish I’d seen his face today when he heard the news. When he found out his beloved Delara betrayed him.” Her fingers bunched in my hair and she yanked. The prongs dug into the back of my neck and I winced. “You’ve been a constant reminder that he escaped me in order to save that bitch. Tarek was supposed to kill her. Pathetic Scar.”
All this time, she was waiting to use me against Waleron and Delara. I was her revenge on Delara and her plan to lure Waleron back into her prison.
She let me go and I quickly took little steps to gain my balance. My toes cramped and I felt blood drip down the back of my neck where the spikes had pierced through my skin.
“Did you know Roarke had the pleasure of this device, too?” Jasmine asked, her finger sliding down the side of my cheek. “Little reminders to behave himself every so often. That day the Scars escaped, Roarke was as you are right now.”