Cursed (The Brookehaven Vampires #4) (67 page)

This realization didn’t surprise me, but it still hurt. He was my brother, after all.

The car stopped abruptly, and something hard from inside the trunk hit me in the back of the head, right where the stitches were. Stars appeared in my vision. I was beginning to think Carter should
wear a helmet. Constantly.

When the trunk popped open, I pretended to still be out. I peeked through my eyelashes hoping to give myself some sort of idea where I was and who I was with. And maybe even give myself an advantage if they thought I was unconscious.

“Don’t be fooled. He’s conscious,” I heard my brother’s voice say as I was tugged out of the trunk and dumped to the ground.

Dammit.

Abandoning my previous plan, I opened my eyes and quickly scanned the area before my own brother jerked me to my feet and shoved me ahead of him.

I stumbled forward, following a heavyset man
who was walking toward some sort of shack that was surrounded by trees.
The shack.
Was this the shack Ashton had told Laney about. Was he a part of this nightmare, too?

I scanned the area again, feeling desperate to get away from my captors. A dense grove of trees surrounded us, consuming everything, including the night sky above. Only bits of moonlight peeked through the heavy canopy, allowing me to see nothing other than the walnut trees and the shack. I knew they were walnut trees, because walnuts, still in their shells, were scattered over the ground. They were crunching under our feet, making it difficult to keep my balance. I was sure the head trauma
wasn’t helping.

At the door to the shack, Oscar shoved me insid
e when the big guy opened it. I was convinced the big guy was a Were; I could smell it on him, even as Carter, I could smell what he was. It was also possible the man was just in desperate need of a shower, there was very little difference in the stench. But this wasn’t what was important, what was important was the fact my own brother had taken up with the Weres. Why would he do that?

The shack was a single wooden room
, lit only by a lone hanging bulb. If I was myself, I would have broken the bulb and overpowered these two, even bound. But as Carter, it would never work. Oscar could easily take me. The fat guy, not so much. Yeah, I called him a fat guy.

I stayed silent, mostly because I had no choice since I was gagged. I watched as the big fella lifted a door that was in the floorboards. Once the door was open, the big fella gestured for Oscar to shove me inside. He even grunted like a Neanderthal instead of using actual words.

Oscar nudged me forward. I braced myself for the fall, but he didn’t push this time. Instead, he grabbed hold of the bindings around my wrists at my back, and he held onto my shoulder as he nudged me down the stairs into a concrete basement below the orchard that was brightly lit by large fluorescent lights.

Once at the bottom of the steps, Oscar gave me a shove and I collided—face first because my hands were still tied behind my back—with the wall to the left of the stairs.

More head trauma.

I groaned as my vision wavered. Oscar spun me around, his dark blue eyes level with mine while he pressed his forearm against my neck. I struggled to breath
e, but I didn’t panic. I knew my brother; this was his signature move, along with the panic he liked to inflict with it.

When I
didn’t give him what he wanted—the struggle or the panic—he released me and stepped away, watching me from a distance as I inhaled several deep breaths.

Then it was the big fella’s turn to torture me, though I am not sure he knew he was doing so. He bent over right there in front of me
, gathering some heavy chains that were soon to become my restraints. While he did so, I got an unwelcomed view of his fat ass crack. I shut my eyes for a moment, wishing I could burn the vision from my memory.

My brother stepped forward to help Fatty shackle me to the wall. He shackled my feet first while Oscar held me against the wall, his forearm cutting off my windpipe while the horrid-smelling fat guy cut my hands free of their bounds and began cuffing my wrists.

I was actually grateful I couldn’t breathe with that nasty bastard so close, but it didn’t prevent me from struggling.

And, just to add another element of torture, I got a
front row view of Fatty’s gut hanging over his pants when he was connecting my restraints high on the wall. Nasty.

I was pissed that I was powerless against my brother and that fat bastard, so I was lashing out with the only thing I had, my words. Sadly, I
couldn’t voice them—only think them…for the time being.

When they were finished, Fat Guy was sweating profusely, mostly because I
hadn’t made it easy for them, but that’s not what I was getting at. When they were finished, I was attached to the wall by chains, my arms and legs shackled in a very vulnerable and medieval way. I was angry, terrified, and way too defenseless. There was no way for me to protect myself.

Fatty headed up the stairs, huffing and puffing, after he and Oscar had a quiet conversation about letting the others know I was ready. The stairs groaned under that fat bastard. He was going to be the first one I killed as soon as I was free. And I would get free, I did not doubt this. I just wasn’t sure how, yet.

Oscar turned toward me and smiled that same smug, evil grin. “I’ve missed you, brother.”

Oh,
Shit…

Family Secrets

“What do you mean you have no idea who took him?” I shouted.

We were in Amber’s apartment. Felix just told me that someone had grabbed Carter’s body from behind the diner. He had also just told me that Oscar was involved, so you can see why I was angry. He just told me who did it!

“If you find Oscar, you’ll find Oliver! Carter! Ugh!” I threw my hands up in frustration.

Oliver was across the room from me, his body anyway, leaning against the wall and watching me, helplessly.

“Delaney,” Felix said, reaching for me. I jerked away and glared at him. He dropped his big-ass hand. “If we knew where Oscar was, we would have brought him in already.”

“Why is that?” I said, my hands suddenly on my hips, my eyes narrowing. “Why is it that a whole mess of your guys haven’t been able to catch him? Huh? Why?” I was shouting again. I heard it, but I couldn’t control it.

Amber had disappeared, heading into the kitchen when
I’d started yelling. She was taking her sweet time with the next pot of tea, on purpose, I was sure.

Felix closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Because,” he said, his tone making it very clear that he too had had just about enough.

“Because why?” I pushed.

His eyes snapped open,
and his hand dropped, fast. “Because he used to be one of us!” he shouted, his voice booming so loudly, it hurt my eardrums.

I ducked, covering my ears.

Amber was out of the kitchen in that moment, calling Felix’s name. He closed his eyes again, this time with the realization of what he’d done wrong.

I straightened and uncovered my ears. I was glaring at Felix even though he wasn’t looking at me. He left the room to join Amber in the kitchen. I imagined so she could have a nice talking with him. At least I hoped so.

“Laney,” Oliver’s voice said. He pushed away from the wall across from the front door, the one that separated Amber’s kitchen and front room. He took a step toward me, toward where I was standing near the front door, fuming and desperate.

I put my hand out to stop him. “Don’t,” I said, and that’s when the tears started.

He came closer, gently taking my hand and pulling me against his chest.

“We have to find him,” I said as I breathed in Oliver’s scent, letting it calm me. He held me tight as I fought against my tears.

“I know, and we will. But we can’t go turning on each other,” Oliver’s voice said, but I knew it wasn’t Oliver saying those words. Oliver was trapped somewhere in Carter’s body, and by his own brother.

Felix returned
, and I peeked over Oliver’s arm to see him coming toward us, slowly, his expression showing his guilt. I was pretty sure Amber had put him in his place.

Felix moved closer, took hold of my arm, and gently pulled me out of Carter’s grip. Felix wrapped his beefy arms around me, and I felt as though they were engulfing me
while he hugged me against his solid chest.

He held me for a few minutes before he finally said, “I know that you have lost your trust in me because of the angel, but please know that I always have your best interest
s at heart, and please trust in me to do what is right to find him.”

I nodded against his massive chest. I felt so freakin’ tiny. And
very safe. “Now what?” I asked as he let go of me and I stepped away.

“Well,” he said as he moved around the coffee table and took a seat on Amber’s small, spindly loveseat. That thing sure
as hell was sturdier than it appeared.

Amber returned with another pot of tea
while I stared at Felix, waiting for the rest of his response. Amber took a seat beside Felix, on what was left of the couch, which wasn’t much. She sat regally, as she always did. She rested her hands in her lap and her eyes settled on mine.

“You probably won’t like this,” Felix finally said, his sky-blue eyes lifting to meet mine.

“Won’t like what?” I questioned, crossing my arms over my chest to express I already didn’t like what he was saying. I was on the other side of the coffee table, Carter was nearby, and I narrowed my eyes at Felix, waiting.

He looked to Carter for a moment, and then his eyes were back on mine. “We use you as bait.”

“No,” Carter said. He grabbed my arm, squeezing it a little too hard as he pulled me to him.

“We must if we intend to find Oliver, and your body,” Felix told him.

My eyes met Amber’s. She gave a little nod to assure me it was our best option.

“Fine,” I said.

“No, Laney,” Carter protested. “You can’t do this.”

“I have to,” I told him, my eyes meeting
my boyfriend’s. “You know I have to.”

He looked so miserable and helpless
, and it was heartbreaking to stare into the eyes of my boyfriend and know he wasn’t there.

I pleaded with him silently, and eventually he caved. Not willingly.

His hand slipped from my arm to my hand, and he held it tight, squeezing my fingers while Felix explained the details of his plan.

“Assuming Oscar knows his brother’s consciousness is in Carter’s body, he will use him as leverage. He wants Julz,” Felix told us.

“And Hayden,” I added.

A scary, warrior-like expression crossed Felix’s face for a quick moment. It made me step closer to Oliver’s body. His hand tightened on mine.

“As I was saying,” Felix continued, as if he hadn’t had a moment of…whatever it was, “he wants his mate, which is only natural. But Oscar is a special case. He is not quite…all there.”

“Ya think?” I said. All eyes turned to me for a moment. I shrugged. The words had just
fallen out.

“It is good to know that you can keep your sense of humor even when you are so angry,” Felix said, just the hint of a smile
appearing on his round face.

As he continued, I took a breath to steady myself.

“It is likely he will have some sort of ridiculous plan—one that is unlikely to make sense. He will try to barter with you, Delaney. He will want to trade Carter’s body for Julz…and Hayden.” Hayden’s name came out of his mouth with some hesitation.

“You don’t think this is why Carter and Oliver were switched, do you?” I questioned. “So Oscar could get Julz back? It seems too…strategic. Oscar
doesn’t strike me as the type to be able to pull off something so elaborate.”

Felix shrugged. “You would be surprised by what Oscar is capable of.
He has an uncanny ability to bend any situation to fit his needs. Nevertheless, I believe there is more to this. I do not believe these are isolated events we have been experiencing, and after some research with Ambrose, we have come to the conclusion that there is someone else, and he is after something more.”

“Who is this ‘someone,’ and what do they want?” I asked.

Felix’s eyes held mine. “He wants you, Delaney.” Amber placed her hand on Felix’s thigh, just above his knee, either for support, or to shut him up, I wasn’t sure.

“Me?” I questioned, taken aback. “Why would this person want me?” I thought of my father. Had whomever he’d been hiding from found me?

“It is your biological grandfather,” Felix told me, his eyes never leaving mine.

“Wait, what?” I felt my forehead scrunching together as I pictured my mom’s dad, questioning how that man
, who was far from evil, could be the mastermind behind swapping my boyfriend and my friend. Or was this the reason my father had kept me away from them. Were they secretly evil? Or was this my father’s father?
Wait a minute…
“What do you mean ‘biological’?” I questioned. I only had the one grandfather, that I knew of, and I didn’t have any step grandparents. I didn’t think I did, anyway.