Love Game Chapter 9

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CHAPTER 9

Danica

BEING SQUEEZED INTO A BALL big enough to fit into a golf hole best described what came of the mist. Their misty transport whisked them to the parking lot in the rear of the blood bank. But they traveled fast. Her feet barely touched the ground as they ushered away her and Kelly.

“I demand you let go of me at once.” She clenched her teeth and fought against them, although no one was holding her. Some sort of invisible rope tied her arms behind her back as an equally invisible force pushed her forward.

Between the buildings, she saw a sliver of their car parked out front. The building cast the car’s front window in shadow so she couldn’t see Asher and she was certain he couldn’t see her either. But his vampire hearing might pick up her distress.

“Asher! Help! Asher!” She shouted, glancing at the car. The glossy paint gleamed, but she didn’t hear any of the doors open. Crap, why has she been hell bent on leaving him behind? Her mistakes were multiplying exponentially. She was a royal. She knew better than anyone to never go anyplace alone. Even one as mundane as Clide City.

“Shut her up.”

The invisible binds on her wrists multiplied and one set slithered up her arms and twisted around her mouth, bringing her screams to an abrupt halt.

“Put them in here.”

She eyed the oil-black sedan with horror. She thrashed against her binds, but the mage guards stuffed her into the back. Her shoulder scraped across the back seat and her hair singed on something fiery hot. Her forehead felt as if they’d held it to an open flame. A bright red laser-like web cordoned off the front seat from the back.

“You try to cross this,” Thick-Neck climbed into the front seat as the guards put Sebastian Wade into the passenger, “and you’ll see the true power of magekind.”

“It’ll burn us,” Kelly said quietly through shaking tears before staring at the man in the rearview mirror. “Mr. Lix, you have to understand. This was a misunderstanding.”

Thick-Neck merely grunted. Kelly whimpered. Streaks of black eyeliner ran down her face. And Dani’s weak heart dropped low in her chest, watching the misery on her friend’s face. She tried to speak, but the binds tightened, cutting into her cheeks.

They pulled out of the parking lot and drove the opposite direction of the main street. Further away from freedom. She bit against the invisible binds between her teeth and slammed her body into the door, rocking the car. The sedan may have looked like the standard issue human car, but it was heavy enough to rival a tank.

Lix looked back at her. “There’s no escape, not even for your kind.”

She jammed her shoulder into the door a second time. Lix shook his head and turned down a bumpy pothole filled road, causing them to jolt in the back. Even the front passenger seat moved. A moan escaped Tattoos and she could see him fighting for consciousness. His face pinched, his eyes rolled behind his closed eyelids until they lifted. His large fingers raked through his hair.

Groggy, he sat up, rocking in his chair as he regained consciousness. He seemed to envelop the entire seat even though his frame didn’t widen.

“Where the hell is she?” His raspy voice demanded.

“Behind you, boss.”

His dark eyes cut to hers through the rearview mirror. “So, you thought you could kill me and get away with it?”

From the look hardening his high cheekbones, he’d probably cause her bodily harm if the net of Satan did not separate them.

“They were trying to hide you,” Lix added, completely unhelpfully.

Kelly shook her head vehemently when his face turned deadly. “We were trying to keep you safe… I didn’t hurt you.”

“I know you didn’t Santana.” Tattoos didn’t even glance Kelly’s way, even though she let out a sigh of relief. Instead, he kept his gaze laser focused on hers. “It’s her I have a problem with. That makes the third person you’ve hurt while in my city.”

What the hell was he talking about? She hadn’t hurt anyone, but when she tried to tell him, the binds against her mouth tightened. So did her vampire.

The mesmerizing scent she’d thought she left behind in the alley was back. Now that Tattoos was awake, it was as if it burst out of him all at once. She gritted her teeth and fought for control. Her fangs dipped down, making the bindings in her mouth painfully uncomfortable.

“Nothing to say for yourself?”

“She’s bound,” Kelly said instead, her voice softer than the air itself.

Sebastian Wade pulled a sleek phone out of his pocket and tapped against the screen.

After a second, the hold on her mouth loosened. So did the binds making it painfully uncomfortable to sit. Her vampire surged forward on the warpath. She wanted to finish what they’d started in the alley. Dani tightened in her seat. Panic constricted her muscles.

“Put them back on. I don’t want to hurt anyone else.”

Everyone in the car looked at her as if she’d grown a second head that recited Shakespearian sonnets in Latin.

“I’m thirsty.” She closed her eyes tight, trying to force her vampire to go away. “I still need to feed, but I can’t risk hurting anyone.”

A quick glance at Kelly told her of the horror she’d become. Her reflection in her eyes confirmed it. Her eyes had pooled to black. Her fangs were down. She looked savage.

“Since when is a vampire concerned about the wellbeing of others?”

“Dani is,” Kelly said urgently. “She drinks from a blood bag. She doesn’t touch humans. It’s against their honor code, right?”

She nodded, avoiding Kelly’s earnest eyes and squeezing her vampire tight.

“Then how did your fangs end up in my neck?”

“It was an accident. If I don’t feed often…” Her words were lost in her lap as she struggled for control. The longer Tattoos talked, the more his scent returned to its potency.

“Let me out, please.”

“No.”

“Roll down the window.”

“No.”

“Please,” she screeched, her head bouncing up to his. He looked shocked by her appearance. It was clear he never seen a vampire in full garb before.

“Lix, crack the window.”

The thick-necked man rolled down the window just enough to let fresh air whirl inside the car. It wasn’t nearly enough. She stuck her fingers through the opening and forced the window down several inches.

“What the hell are you doing?” The car swerved.

She, on the other hand, was too busy sticking her face outside the car and sucking in fresh air. Her mind cleared enough for her to stuff her vampire away.

“Roll it back up,” Tattoos ordered.

He tried to, but the mechanism ground under the weight of her hands.

“You can’t roll it back up. I’ll lose control.”

“You don’t make the rules here.” His fingers danced on his phone again. A second later, another laser web shot up on her side of the car. The heat of it grazed her palms making her recoil back, but it seemed the window remained rolled down enough to let in fresh air. “Now, Danica, are you ready to talk?”

“Talk about what?”

“About why you keep hurting the people in my city.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t hurt anyone.”

“Then why are you on this side of town?”

What kind of question is that? “Because I go where I please.”

The car slowed to a glacial pace. The world beyond the two of them dimmed. He smirked from the front seat when he noticed she realized what he was doing. The haziness returned as he took control of her mind.

“Answer my question, Danica.” His voice became hypnotic again. Her thoughts moved in the direction of his. Trying to keep her vampire in check left little strength to fend him off too. Her mouth opened.

“I have an internship at the blood bank.”

“For what?”

“That’s none of your concern.”

He whipped around, fingers digging into the seat rest as he bore into her eyes. “You will answer me without complaint.”

The force of his words was strong, but his hold on her mind felt different. Weaker the more he pushed. The world sped to a normal pace, the haziness dissipated. She worked on telling him to slap himself, but his control was not yet gone. “I’m at the internship to get blood.”

“Why?”

“Because I need it.” She was careful not to say anything about having to bring it back to the vampire realm. It was enough of the truth for her mouth to close, but Sebastian Wade wasn’t looking at her. His severe gaze sent Kelly into a stammering fit.

“You took her without permission?”

“I-I d-didn’t think anything would be w-wrong with it.”

“I’m only taking the bags going to waste,” she stepped in when Kelly devolved into the shakes. “I can use them before they spoil but after viable use for humans.”

He didn’t even acknowledge the fact that she spoke. Instead, he held his gaze trained on Kelly’s shifted wig and smeared mascara. “You know better Santana. And if she’s in your charge, you better make damn sure she knows the rules.”

She really hated the way he spoke to Kelly. She was shivering in the backseat, yet he decided he didn’t care one ounce about her fear. In fact, he seemed to revel in it. Dani’s eyes narrowed as she stared at the back of Sebastian Wade’s head. He was probably only tough because there was a laser wall in front of them. Remove that, he’d probably be a little mouse.

“Calm down, it’s not a big deal. I needed blood. Kelly pointed me to the bank. It’s hardly rocket science.”

Finally, the heat of his dark eyes lifted from the top of Kelly’s head and landed on her. She straightened in her seat and didn’t break eye contact. She wasn’t afraid of him, she told herself.

“You forget one thing, Danica. This is my city, and no one does business here without my say so.”

“Didn’t realize that, but thanks for letting me know. If that’ll be all, you can take us back now.”

He chuckled darkly. “Not until you realize I have the power here.”

Lix turned up a street she’d never been on. Anything that had been familiar faded as they ventured into new territory. Territory that she didn’t know her way out of.

“Is that what this is? A power grab?” she snorted. Now that the air was clear and her vampire was at bay, her lips twisted in annoyance. “Please don’t make this day any shittier than it already is.”

Kelly gasped in the seat beside her, shaking her head, warning her not to get onto Tattoo’s bad side. As she figured it, she was already too late. Tattoos wouldn’t respond to meek, fearful apologies.

“I guess shitty days are in spades.”

“Maybe if you weren’t such a shitty person…”

“You should watch that pretty little mouth of yours.” His eyes narrowed in the reflection of the front window glass. “Someone under my protection ended up dead.”

She faltered, then peered up at him, trying to study everything about his reflection in the front window. The muscles in his throat flexed, rippling the bite mark that still hadn’t healed. He looked to be holding in contempt—and agony.

“I’m sorry to hear that. May their final sunfall come with peace.”

Tattoo’s jaw hardened enough to grind stone. “Spare me the pleasantries. I’m trying to find the person responsible.”

“I see.”

“That’s where you come in.”

“Me? Why me?” How could she be of help with his deceased… by the gods, he thought she did it. A knot the size of a boulder pitted in her gut.

To her surprise, he pulled out a plastic bag from the glove box and held it up over his shoulder. It looked similar to the one that had fallen out of her purse the day they met. She looked at Kelly, who’d studied her toes, then back at the bag before letting her eyes travel from his hand and back into his eyes.

Her mind clouded again. His voice became low, transforming into a melody her vampire wanted to listen to for an eternity. “I need you to tell me your distribution channels.”

“My what?” She jerked herself alert, focusing on his words instead of the dynamic baritone of his voice. “Let me get this straight. You think I sell that?”

“Don’t pretend it’s so far-fetched. It didn’t show up until you did.

“Ever heard of a coincidence? By the gods, we’ve fretted for days and this is all you wanted to know? Let me put your mind at ease. I don’t sell drugs.”

She looked over at Kelly as if to say back me up here, but Kelly’s fright multiplied and she instantly knew if she reiterated to Sebastian Wade that it had come from Kelly instead, they might constrict the bright laser around her. She’d have to bear this one alone.

“No, of course, you don’t. You have other people do it for you so you can get your little blood fix.”

Dani blew out an annoyed breath. Boy, was he daft. Had he been underground for the last few months? She’d been showboating her money all around town. For someone whom everyone seemed to know, he needed to work his information network better. “I don’t need to sell drugs to get blood because I can afford to buy it on my own.”

He let out a single hard laugh that cocked his head to one side. He clearly didn’t believe her. A wave of clouds formed in her mind as he gained traction.

“Are you selling this in my city, Danica?”

“No.” The word was automatic and clear. He scanned her.

Dark purplish bags grew under his eyes, hollowing out the sockets, but his gaze was sharper than a knife. It raked her slowly. Her insides warmed, her ruddy vampire loving his attention despite his violation of her free will. Just a second ago, she wanted to gouge his neck out. Now, as the man in the front seat focused on her, she wanted to strut like a peacock under his harsh gaze.

“Do you work?” He asked.

“No.”

“Then how do you afford to buy blood?”

“I don’t enjoy toting this around, but my family is well-off.”

By the gods, that sounded pretentious as heck.

“Don’t you mean, coven?”

She stayed silent, but the silence didn’t stretch for long.

“She’s telling the truth,” Kelly said, mouse-quiet beside her. Sebastian turned to her.

“How so? The last living vampire coven with that much wealth died half a century ago.”

“I know nothing about that. All I know is I don’t have to sell drugs for blood.”

“How do you get your money?”

“I told you, I’m well-off.”

“From what?”

Telling him she was the daughter of the High King and Queen of a country in a different realm seemed a lot like exposing her underwear to a crowd of strangers. So, she settled for a half-truth. “Politics.”

“You’re from a coven of politicians,” he sputtered with an incredulous laugh. “Anyone I know?”

She could feel him pushing, but he’d run out of gas. Dani held onto her thoughts firm.

“Nope.” She popped the P on the way out, glad that she didn’t spill her guts, even though part of her wanted to.

“Danica,” he pushed again, hard enough to make her sway backwards in her seat. “Tell me who your coven is.”

“I come from a line of politicians.” She kept her answer simple to fight the cloudiness. Dani clenched her fists at her side as they fought for control of her thoughts. Even tired, he was still strong. He pushed her back. Just when she thought she was going to collapse under the weight of him, her mind released. Something unreadable flashed in his eyes when they connected again. His hold on her mind crumbled to rubble.

Her interrogator fell silent. The heart in his chest beat erratically, the scent of him waned. It should have brought her relief. It didn’t. It scared her.

“Are you okay?” She wasn’t sure where the question came from. He had her caged in the backseat of his car, attempted to control her mind, and all she could do was think of how pale he’d gotten as they drove. How irregular his heartbeat was. How forlorn and tired he’d become.

“Hey!” She called louder.

Lix glanced toward him. His hard face cracked with concern. “Mr. Wade,” he nudged him when his head swayed, knocking against the window. “Bash.”

Tattoos didn’t respond. Instead of pulling over, Lix turned back to the road, keeping his hands on 10 and 2, and drove.

She looked at the driver, whose only focus was on the road ahead of him. “We should go back.”

Her plea to him went unnoticed. Instead of taking them back toward the blood bank, they turned up another street, bringing them farther from the city.

Her eyes scanned outside the window. More unknown territory greeted her, but surprisingly, the image whizzing by the car was oddly familiar. Gorgeous mini-mansions with immaculate exteriors and sprawling lush lawns lined the street. They’d entered the territory of the elite. But from as far as she could see, there wasn’t a hospital in sight.

She looked at the duo in the front seat. Neither of them looked to belong here, which begged the question, “Where are you taking us? He needs help.”

The front seat remained silent as they pulled up to a stately home with long thick columns framing a black flag over wrought iron French doors. Kelly gasped in a mix of horror and awe; her jaw went slack.

“What is this? Where are we?”

No one answered her, but they didn’t need to.

Half-way up the driveway, a wave of energy, denser than fog but clear as glass, blew her back against the seat cushion. If she thought Sebastian Wade was powerful, he had nothing on the waves of magic emanating from the house.

Whatever or whoever was in there packed a lot of firepower.

Author’s Note: Dun, Dun, Dun!!!!