Priceless (14 page)

With a grunt he slid into a heavily cushioned chair.
“
Joints are the ha
rdest thing to heal
. They are never a clean break and take a lot of energy to put the pieces back together.
”

“
Why would you tell me
that
?
”

“
I get the feeling you might need the info when you go after this girl
,
”
he
said, his hand rubbing his knee.

Hmm. Interesting.
And what had he meant by my type? Like blood type?
Or that I was a Tracker and an Immune?

“
Let
’
s keep this simple
,
Rylee. I want your blood
.
I
’
d love to sink my fangs in you . . . amongst other things.
”
His gaze held mine and a burst of heat whipped through me. Damn, he was good if he could rile me up
even
after freaking the hell out of me.

“
Don
’
t even think it
,
”
I
said
, tearing my eyes from his.

“
I will settle for you donating into a cup for me.
”
He pointed at a table across the room. Sitting there, as if he
’
d known I wouldn
’
t go for the whole
‘
bite me
,
do me
’
routine, was a crystal flower vase with a straight razor beside it.

Swallowing hard, I let out a sharp puff of air.
“
Okay. But I will fill it half up. Then
,
you will tell me my entry point, and I will fill it the rest of the way.
”

Winking at me, he settled deeper into the chair, one hand massaging
the
knee I
’
d busted. Stupid
daywalker
, my fear was giving way to anger
.

The crystal vase sparkl
ed
in the light, sending rainbows of colour skittering across the table.
Pretty.

Rolling up my left sleeve, I ignored the razor he
’
d laid out for me and pulled a knife out of my boot. It was clean, sharp
er than
the razor and
,
better than both those things, I knew it had no added substances on it. Like a drug that would knock me out and leave me vulnerable to Doran
’
s fangs.

With a swift slice
,
I cut across my arm, deep enough that I didn
’
t feel it at first. The blood welled in the groove I
’
d cut; I placed it over the vase, and then I felt the first sting. With every ounce of my
self-control
,
I kept my arm dripping into the crystal vase while keeping an eye on Doran. At the halfway mark
,
I nodded
at him
. Holding the knife cut shut
,
I moved my arm away from the vase.

“
Okay, spill
,
”
I said. My arm dripp
ed
blood on the floor; somehow I knew that would drive Doran nuts, the wasting of
“
good blood.
”
I was right.

He started to splutter and stood up.
“
Put your arm back over the vase.
”

“
Tell me my entry point
.
”
I
felt
the distinct shift of power move from him to me.

His eyes dilated and his mo
uth
hung
slightly open
,
fangs extending,
like a junkie staring at his next fix. No response.

I let go of the cut and let the blood drip to the floor, then scuffed it with my boot.
“
I can let the next half pint fall to the floor and technically, I
’
ve fulfilled the bargain.
”

Licking his lips, he gestured with his hand, waving me back to the vase.
“
A mineshaft. You
’
ll find the closest entry point to her in a mineshaft.
”

Well, that only narrowed my search down a bit. Coal was plentiful in North Dakota, and along with that came a lot of mineshafts. Some known, some not so known.

“
No other details?
”
I squeez
ed
out another few drops onto the floor. It hurt, but his response was worth it.

“
Stop! Okay, put your arm over the damn vase, Tracker
,
”
he
snapped, his eyes glitter
ing
with anger.

“
You
’
re going to actually help me? Rather than just give vague answers?
”

Nodding emphatically, he again gestured.
“
Just stop wasting that blood.
”

Placing my arm back over the vase, I let the blood run. With every pump of my heart, a gentle flow slid out. I
’
d cut deep, but not into an artery or it
’
d be spurting blood
—though
I was going to have to make a side trip to the hospital for stitches after this.

Doran came to stand behind me, his body close enough that I could feel the heat off his body.
U
nlike their counterparts whos
e
skin was
cool and tended to be clammy
, daywalkers ran hot
. Not that I knew that from a personal introduction
;
I
’
d never had to deal with a true vampire. They were rare, deadly
,
and didn
’
t tend to leave their territories
.
Not to mention daywalkers were weaker, more human and less badass blood sucker
s
.

“
The mineshaft, it runs deep, over 200 feet straight down
, and its back in your home territory.
”
He took a deep breath and my hair actually fluttered toward him. With his chin just above my shoulder, he whispered into my ear.
“
They stole her, in the light of day, underneath her mother
’
s watchful eye. One moment she was in the playground
,
then poof
”
—
he blew across my ear, sending a course of shivers through me
—
“
s
he was gone.
”

Just like Berget.

He stepped back
,
leaving me to listen to my heart hammering in my chest, the beat of it loud enough that I knew he could see my pulse jumping in my throat. Fear
.
I told myself it was fear and adrenaline
;
that was all.

Doran smiled at me, just lifting one corner of his
mouth.
H
e grabbed the lip rings with his fang and pulled at them, capturing my g
aze with ease. There, at the corner of his mouth, it looked soft, as if it were the perfect place to press my lips to his.

“
You
’
r
e
half pint is finished, Rylee.
”

“
Huh
.
”
I clear
ed
my throat.
“
Right.
”

“
Here,
”
he said
, that wicked smile still lingering on his lips
,
“
L
et me help you. I am rather good at stitching up wounds.
”

I stumbled away from him
, more
out of fear for
what I was feeling
than
for my safety
.
“
No. You have your blood and I have my information.
”
He was trying to
pull me under his thrall,
and I was falling for it, my mind weak from the blood loss.

Keeping my eyes on him, I again back
ed
toward the door, gripping my arm, keeping it closed as best I could. I had bandages in the Jeep. I just had to get there.

13

I was shaking by the time I got to my Jeep
,
and I knew I
’
d lost more blood than the pint I
’
d had to give up.
“
Ah, damn it!
”
I couldn
’
t get the wrap tight enough on my forearm. Giving up, I tied off the wrap and turned on the Jeep. The engine turned over nicely and I pulled away from the curb.

If I
’
d been home, I would
’
ve gone to the hospital and checked on Giselle, and got stitched up there.
As it was, Dox could stitch me up.

I barely made it back to the Landing Pad when a wave of dizziness crashed over me.
Leaning on the horn, I didn
’
t lift off until Dox came running out, Alex on his heels with a grin stretched across his face.

“
What the hell happened?
”
Dox
’
s
voice rebound
ed
as if he had a mega phone. Just another quirk of
being
an ogre. A perk when you had to yell over a noisy crowd
;
a serious pain when it was right in your ear.

“
A bargain. I got what I needed, but now I
’
m thinking I could use some stitches
.
”

Dox helped me out and
,
when my legs buckled, swept me up into his arms and strode into his bar.
“
Seriously, I didn
’
t think he
’
d go this far. I
’
ll kill him.
”

“
Can
’
t
.
He
’
s
a
daywalker
.
”

He stopped mid
-
stride and looked down at me.
“
Did he bite you?
”

I shook my head.
“
No, but I had to give him some blood.
”
I took a deep breath.
“
Just a little.
”
I tried to make a pinching motion with my thumb and forefinger on the hand of the arm I
’
d cut. Nothing moved.
“
Oops.
”

“
Oops
,
my ass, Rylee. You cut too damn deep!
”
He laid me out on the bar
.
T
he polished wood was cool and felt nice against my bare skin. Bare skin?

Lifting my head, I glanced down at my body. Apparently I
’
d passed out somewhere in the process as my shirt had been cut off me. Hell, I
’
d liked that shirt.

Dox was on the inside of the bar, my arm in his hands as he cleaned and probed the knife wound.
“
Why did you use your own blade
? You
know they are spelled to cut deep.
”

Shrugging
while
lying down didn
’
t really give the effect I wanted.
“
I didn
’
t want to use the razor he left out. Was afraid he might have put something on it.
”

He grunted, but stopped chastising me. We both knew
daywalkers
, just like their counterparts
,
were more than apt when it came to knocking out their victims and draining them dry over a long period of time.

At first the
tug and pull on my skin as Dox stitched me up didn
’
t hurt
.
I
t just felt weird. And then all my adrenaline started to wear off.