Thirst [All-American Vampires 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) (28 page)

“You ready, sweetheart?”

“I guess.” Her voice was a ragged gasp of need. “Yes. Do it. Fuck my ass, Hawk.”

“Push down for me, sweetheart.” Unhurriedly he pressed his cock against Claire’s rear entrance, keeping the pressure slow and steady, until he felt the head move past the tight sphincter muscle and slide inside. He bent for a moment, resting his head against Claire’s shoulder as he took several deep breaths in an effort to keep command of the raging desire that threatened to overtake his rigid control. Then he felt Claire move, arching against him as if eager for his full penetration, and he lost it.

He took her hard and rough and deep, pounding himself into her over and over, a savage need to prove to both of them that she belonged to him, to wipe out any memory of those others from her mind. He felt himself climbing closer and closer to orgasm and moved faster, his thrusts changing to short, hard strokes. Just before his climax claimed him, he took her blood. Distantly he heard her cry as her own orgasm rocked her.

When it was over, he pulled from her body and rolled onto his back, rubbing his hand across his face guiltily. What could he possibly say to her to excuse his behavior? He’d been an animal. He’d been too rough, too out of control. Had he hurt her?

“Claire, I…”

“That was wonderful. I definitely like your man parts, Hawk. I’m not gonna cut ’em off ever,” she whispered drowsily.

Surprised, he turned his head only to see that she’d fallen asleep, a smile on her face. Relaxing back into the bed, he drew a deep breath of relief that he hadn’t hurt her or frightened her with his demands. He thought of her smile and felt the peace that only she could give him. He just hoped that she would still be smiling tomorrow and that they would find her sister safe and unharmed. But deep down he was afraid that Cassidy might very well be dead already.

Hawk shut the door of the van, trying not to notice the worried expression on her face. She would wait there with Ace while he and his men entered the house and looked for Cassidy. Still unsure if he’d made the right decision in bringing her with him, he leaned through open window to give her a quick kiss before he strode off. When he reached the stone wall, he turned back to give her a brief wave. It took him only a moment to climb over the wall, landing gracefully on his feet on the other side. He waited, listening to the earpiece that was embedded in his ear for a few moments as his men reported their positions before speaking into the small microphone he wore.

“All men clear and ready to move.”

He heard Ace acknowledge his words on his headset and then he gave the order for the men to take down the dogs with the tranq darts that they had brought for just that purpose. In the distance he could hear the barking sounds growing closer. A howl pierced the darkness for half a second, and then there was total silence.

He listened as the men responsible for the dogs reported in to him.

“Confirmed the dogs are down. Rhys, get started on the alarm system. Everyone else, hold positions.” The seconds ticked by. If Rhys made any mistakes, a silent alarm would signal the guards that they had company. Then they would have a fight on their hands.

Several long minutes of silence passed before Hawk spoke again. “Rhys?”

“Almost there,” came the quiet reply from the electronics expert.

“Get ready, everyone. Keep it sharp.” Hawk kept his voice calm and commanding.

“Done.”

“All right, men. Remember, tranqs and stuns when possible. Deadly force only when necessary. Let’s go.”

Hawk moved forward, his gun held at the ready. Once he reached the tree line, he paused, knowing that this would be one of the most dangerous parts of the mission. He would be an easy target if he were spotted crossing that grassy expanse. Keeping low to the ground, he ran forward in a zigzag pattern designed to foil any would-be snipers from getting a bead on him.

From out of the night, the whiz of a bullet buzzed by his head. He cursed and fell to the ground, rolling quickly to the side. “To the left. Shooter. Take him out,” he bit out, peering into the darkness for any sign of the man.

There were a few seconds of silence, and then one of his men quietly reported, “Got him.”

“Did he have time to send out an alarm, Nate?”

A pause. “Negative.”

Saying a brief prayer of thanks, he climbed back to his feet and continued forward.

“West quadrant clear,” another voice sounded quietly in Hawk’s ear.

“Proceed to the house. Enter and continue sweep.”

The men acknowledged the command and moved forward. Hawk arrived at the back door where two men waited for him. He pulled out his set of lockpick tools. Moments later the door opened, and he stepped inside followed by the two other vamps. He pointed to the right and the two men nodded and moved off in that direction. Hawk went left. He did a slow sweep, listening to his com link as his men cleared each section of the house, taking out targets as they found them. He stepped through a doorway and caught a glimpse of movement from the corner of his eye.

He spun just in time to avoid the slash of a sharp blade as it whistled through the air by his shoulder. He dropped his gun as he reached out to catch the hand gripping the knife. He and his opponent wrestled in eerie silence for what seemed an eternity. Finally, he stepped forward, unbalancing the other man, who went down hard. A quick jab to the man’s temple rendered him unconscious. Just to make sure, he grabbed the tranq gun and fired a shot into the man’s thigh. That would keep him unconscious long enough for them to finish their mission and get out.

He moved again, heading to the door leading to the basement. Cade was there ahead of him. Hawk nodded his head, and Cade reached out to open the door.

“Entering basement,” he reported to the others, and then he and Cade began to move down the stairs. When they reached the bottom, Cade went right and he went left. The basement was a warren of narrow hallways and closed doors. A perfect prison.

“I’ve got something, Hawk,” Cade’s voice sounded quietly in the com.

“What is it?”

“Locked door.”

“Can you get in?”

“Affirmative.”

Silence. Then finally, Cade spoke. “It’s a woman, Hawk. African-American. Bad shape.”

Hawk made a quick decision. “Get her out and to Ace. Everyone else, hold positions. I’ll continue the sweep of the basement.”

Hawk tried each door as he came to it. They were all unlocked and empty, until he reached the last door. It wouldn’t budge. Pressing his ear to the wood, he listened for a few moments. He reported to his men, “I’ve got another locked door. I can hear sounds coming from inside. I’m going in.”

Again, using his tools, he picked the lock and pushed the door wide. His heart fell as he took in the scene before him. He moved forward quickly toward the body that lay curled into a tight ball on the floor in front of him.

* * * *

Claire had been listening to the radio chatter between Hawk and his men. She’d been frightened and worried as the men had moved to take over the house, terrified that something would go wrong. Now she waited breathlessly for Hawk to report what he had found. Long seconds ticked by before Hawk came back on. “I’ve found her. Repeat. I’ve got Cassidy. She’s petrified. Get Claire in here, Justin.”

Claire saw the guard who had been left standing near the stone wall turn and gesture toward her. Without hesitation she climbed from the van and hurried toward him.

“Let’s go quickly.” He took hold of her hand and led her to the wall. Cupping his hands, he nodded. “I’ll boost you over.”

Taking a deep breath, she did as she was told and in no time found herself on the other side of the tall stone wall. The vampire, Justin, followed and then led her across the grounds and to the house at a brisk trot.

When they reached the house, one of the werewolves who had arrived with Ty opened the door. “This way.”

Moving as fast as they could, they made their way to the back of the house and down the stairs into the basement. Claire’s heart was beating so fast she felt like it would jump from her chest. The basement was a confusing maze, but the werewolf had no trouble leading her to Hawk. As soon as they arrived at the room, Hawk stepped out into the hallway, blocking the door.

“How is she? Oh, Hawk. I need to see her.” Claire tried to push past Hawk.

He put his hands on her shoulders and stopped her, shaking her gently. “Calm down, Claire. You’re not going to do Cassidy any good if you go in hysterical.” She knew he was right and forced herself to take some deep, soothing breaths. When she nodded that she was fine, he continued. “It looks like she’s okay. Not in great shape but alive and ambulatory. She’s obviously scared to death. When I entered the room, she was curled up in the far-left corner. She looks pale and thin, and I can see some bruising. I want you to be prepared. Can you do this?”

Claire wanted to cry when she heard his description of her sister but nodded her head at his question. “Yes. Yes. I can.” She met his gaze firmly. “She’s my sister. I can do whatever needs to be done.”

“That’s my girl.” He stepped aside.

Claire eased past Hawk and looked around the room, immediately spotting her sister. Just as Hawk had described, she had curled herself into as small a ball as possible, her hands over her head as if preparing for a blow. Taking a moment to consider the best way to handle her sister’s fear, Claire looked around the squalid little room that had been Cassidy’s home for the past several months. It was horrible. A single, weak bulb was the room’s only illumination. As a vampire, Claire had no trouble seeing clearly, but she knew it must have been horrible for Cassidy with her weaker, human sight.

A thin pallet and a few dirty blankets lay in the corner opposite where Cassidy sat hunched over protectively. A toilet and sink were next to it. The room stank, and it was all Claire could do not to gag.

A frightened whimper drew her attention back to her sister.

“Cass? Cass, it’s me, Claire.”

No response.

Claire took a couple of steps forward and then squatted down, afraid that she would frighten her sister even more looming over her.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. We’ve come to get you out of here.”

A slight movement encouraged her to creep closer, but when she reached out to touch her sister’s leg, Cassidy jumped and pulled away as much as possible. Claire sat back, working her bottom lip with her teeth and wondering what to do next. Her eyes studied Cassidy. Hawk was right, there were several bruises on her legs and arms, which were way too thin. She could also see bite marks which had been left to heal on their own. Some of them looked infected. She clenched her hands together, wishing that Hunter Garrison were there so that she could rip his heart out and stuff it down his throat.

“Cass?” she tried again. Again, there was no response.

“Cassidy Victoria Landry,” Claire snapped, needing something to shake the girl out of her fear-induced ball of misery. “You better look up at me right now.”

At that, Cassidy peeped over her arms.

“It’s me. It’s your sister, Claire. I’m getting you out of this stinkhole right now, Cass.” She reached out again and stroked a hand down the girl’s hair, tucking it back behind her ear as she had done so many times when Cassidy was younger. That did it.

“Claire?”

“Yes. It’s me, sweet potato.” The long-forgotten childhood nickname came easily to her lips.

“Claire!” With a cry, Cassidy flung herself forward and into Claire’s arms. Claire hugged her younger sister tightly against her, aching with relief and dismay at the frail figure she held so close. Cassidy was murmuring something over and over so quietly that Claire could barely hear it. “You came. I knew you’d come. You came. I knew you would.”

Tears flooded Claire’s eyes, and she let them fall, gently rocking her sister and murmuring words of love and comfort. At last she felt someone step up beside her. She looked up and straight into Hawk’s grim face. “Thank you,” she mouthed to him. He just nodded.

“We need to go, Claire. No telling when Garrison’s going to show up.”

Cassidy froze when she heard Hawk speak, and Claire rushed to reassure her. “This is Hawk, Cass. He helped me find you. If it weren’t for him, I don’t know how long it would have taken me. Let him help you out, okay?”

Cassidy looked at Hawk suspiciously, and Claire knew she was afraid when her sister clutched her even closer. Hawk knelt down and, in the gentlest voice Claire had ever heard from him, spoke to Cassidy.

“Cassidy, I know you’re afraid, but we need to get out of here before anyone comes back. You’re too weak to walk very fast, so I’m going to have to carry you. Is that okay? I swear, Claire will be right there with us, and you know what a tiger she can be when it comes to protecting those she loves. She won’t let anything happen to you.”

Claire felt Cassidy’s grip loosen. “He’s telling the truth, sweet potato. Let him help you. Please?”

“Sophia,” Cassidy spoke softly. “You have to get Sophia.”

“Is she the young, African-American woman?” Cass nodded. “She’s my friend.”

“We’ve got her out already. Is there anyone else?”

Cass just shook her head.

“Okay. I’m going to pick you up. Is that all right?”

Cassidy finally nodded, and Claire eased back, allowing Hawk to slide his arms beneath her and lift her up.

Hawk spoke into his headpiece. “We’re up and moving out. Everybody cover our exit and then withdraw.”

Then they were moving. Ty lead the way, his weapon in his hand. Hawk came next with Cassidy held close in his arms. Then Claire and Justin followed behind. They made it outside in no time and began crossing the grounds at a fast pace. By the time they reached the wall, the men were there to help get Cassidy up and over it. Claire followed. When she dropped down on the other side, she moved to the back of the van, nervously watching as Ace began working on her sister, who was weeping and trying to get to Sophia. As soon as she saw Claire, she grabbed Claire’s hand and held on so tightly Claire felt like her fingers were going numb. She looked at the young woman who lay beside her sister. She’d been bandaged and looked like she was sleeping.