Vengeance of the Demons (16 page)

She nodded and followed him out of the library. They headed down to the prison wing.

“Let me do the talking,” Tommy said.

She had to admit that Tommy was better with people than she was. His laid-back air and friendly smile put people at ease in a way that she’d never been able to.

He took the lead and walked toward the guard she didn’t recognize.

“Hey, Johnny,” said Tommy.

“Howdy.”

“Lou sent us down to check on the prisoners. This is my sister, Evan. She’s been put in charge of questioning the new vampyr.”

Johnny looked between them. “I should call Lou and make sure.”

“Yeah, of course,” said Tommy. “He’s out loading the trucks so the raiding team can get on the road. I’m sure he won’t mind.”

Evan held her breath. If he called Lou, they’d both be dead.

Johnny licked his lips. “Nah. It’s cool.” He chuckled and opened the door.

Evan’s nerves raced like a jackrabbit as she walked to William’s room with Tommy.

“I’ll wait here.”

She nodded and stepped into the dim room. The sunlight crept in through the small window, and William lay on the floor.

“Hey,” she called.

He didn’t move.

“William?” Chills ran up her spine. “William?” She raced to his side, panic etching her voice.

She rolled him over and he groaned. His face was worse than before.

“William, oh my gosh. Peter! I’m going to kill him.” She jumped to her feet.

He grabbed her ankle. “Stay,” he croaked.

She pushed the hair from his face. “What can I do?”

“I need blood.”

Her mind raced. “I don’t think there is any here. I can see if maybe there’s some in the lab. Or…”

“Blood.”

She licked her lips. It’d been a long time since she’d let someone drink from her. And that hadn’t been by choice. Never once. Not even after she and Travis had started sleeping together had she willingly given him blood, not that he’d ever asked her permission.

She lifted his sweatshirt with a shaky hand. Every inch of his torso was battered and bruised. It had been at least two weeks since he’d had real blood. There was no way he was going to heal without blood. Human blood. Not animal or synthetic.

A cold sweat bloomed on her skin and her palms grew clammy. She tried to swallow but her throat clenched so tight she thought she’d choke herself.

“Okay,” she finally said. “Where do you want me?”

“Evan–”

She shook her head. “Don’t even try to talk me out of this.”

She pushed up her sleeve and held her arm out to his mouth. He couldn’t even lift his head and his grip on her skin was so weak she didn’t know how he could lift his arm.

He hesitated and his eyes connected with hers. Her gut clenched, but she nodded.

His eyelids closed and he bit into her wrist. She let out a shuddered breath as the pull on her vein shot horrible memories through her. A moment of panic crawled up her spine, torturing her. She wanted to pull away. To scream and slap him.

His fingers caressed her forearm, and she looked down to find his eyes on her again. The cooling pull on her vein conflicted with the warmth that spread through her body. He gulped over and over. Minutes passed and his drinking slowed until he finally licked her wound shut and pulled her down on top of him in one fell swoop. His lips attacked hers. His tongue plunging into her mouth, probing and searching every surface.

His hand traveled up her spine and tangled in her hair. The cement floor dug into her elbows as she tried to prop herself up.

He broke the kiss, and his lips glided down her throat. “Evan,” he murmured against her skin.

“Evangeline,” she whispered. “My name is Evangeline.”

He murmured her name again sending a chill over her.

“I want you,” he said.

It’d been so long… She didn’t want to give in, to tell him the truth. To tell him how she felt about him was opening a door that she wouldn’t be able to shut again. If she let him in, she was opening herself to the pleasure as well as the pain that came with caring for someone.

“I want you too,” she said.

His hands pushed under her shirt.

“Wait,” she said. “We can’t do this now.”

“Why?” He kissed her again.

“Because…” She pulled away. “You haven’t had a bath in a week.”

A wide grin broke across his face. “It’s been eight days actually.”

“Even more reason.”

His smile fell a fraction.

“What?” she asked.

He pushed her hair behind her ear. “I want to make love to you,” he said. “I’ve wanted to make love to you for months. In a soft bed with lots of pillows. Feeling your weight on my body, your nails on my skin—”

“You’ve had a long time to think about me, haven’t you?”

He kissed her. “A very a long time.”

The door to the cell flew open.

“Evan!” Peter rushed into the room and pulled her to her feet. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.”

William was up in a flash. “Get off her.”

Peter’s fiery gaze stabbed him. “You disgusting son of a bitch.”

William took a step closer to Peter and Evan. “I said, get your hands off her.”

“William, I’m fine.” Evan wasn’t sure what to do that wouldn’t make things worse.

Peter looked between her and William. “What the hell is going on here?” he asked.

“I can explain,” she replied.

“Are you sleeping with this bloodsucker?” Peter’s fingers pressed into her arms.

Anger coursed through Evan and she tried to wiggle out of his grasp. “You’re hurting me.”

“I’m not going to tell you again to get your hands off her,” said William.

“Tell me!” Peter shook her.

Before Evan could speak, William grabbed Peter and threw him across the room. Peter was up in a flash, but William crossed to him and slammed him into the wall before kneeing him in the ribs.

“Don’t you know you never put your hands on a woman?” William punched Peter in the face.

“William, stop.” Evan crossed to him and grabbed his arm.

William turned to her, and in that moment, Peter punched him in the jaw. William stumbled, and Evan took his place and slammed Peter into the wall.

“Lay off him. You’ve done enough.”

“How could you?” Peter yelled. “He’s a bloodsucker.”

“What the hell is wrong with you? You’re not this person Peter, I know you aren’t. You have to stop this now before you can’t go back. Think of Petie. He needs someone to look up to.”

“What do you think I’m doing this for? So my son learns the difference between us and them. So he doesn’t have to grow up scared and afraid. I’m going to show him we’re just as strong and twice as good as these vermin.”

“He’s a person. His name is William. And he saved my life.”

“What the hell is going on?” Lou walked in with the other guard.

“She’s sleeping with this bloodsucker,” Peter said.

“I haven’t slept with William,” she protested. “Lou, I haven’t slept with William, but I won’t deny that he is someone I care for.”

“Evan!”

“Don’t seem so surprised. He’s a good person. He saved my life. And what he’s tried to tell you is true. There are demons in Chicago, and they are trying to take over.”

“You’ve seen them?”

“I’ve seen two of them. Two that are trying to help us.”

“I can’t believe you’ve done this, Evan. I knew you weren’t ready to deal with what we were working on here, but I had no idea you were this far gone.”

“I’m not gone. I see more clearly than ever. Vampires are no longer our enemy. There are those out there who need our help.”

“You’ve been brainwashed. That’s the only reason you would lie to me about knowing this bloodsucker.” Lou turned to Tommy. “And you. Did you know about this?”

“No.” Evan wasn’t about to let Tommy get a tongue lashing for what she’d done. “I dragged Tommy down here. I told him I was going to question William. He had nothing to do with any of this.”

Tension lingered in the air.

“Everyone out. Evan, you are forbidden from coming to this area again,” said Lou.

“You can’t do that,” she said.

Lou stepped forward. “This is my house, and I can do whatever the hell I want.”

“Well the only way you’re gonna keep me away from William is by either chaining me up or kicking me out. You’ve been letting Peter come down here and beat the crap out of William and William hasn’t fought back. Not at all till now. Because of me. Because I was in danger. Something I never thought I’d ever have to worry about from my own family.”

“Are you questioning my methods?” Lou demanded.

“Yes. How many have you let Peter and the others work out their anger on?”

“That’s enough!” Lou yelled. “I will not be questioned by you. You’ve been compromised. We’ll have to deal with it accordingly.” He motioned to the guard from the hall.

The guard moved toward Evan. William stepped between them.

“Leave her alone. I did it. I enticed her. It isn’t her fault.”

“William, I’m capable of taking care of myself.” She tried to step around him.

The guard lunged for her as did Peter. William growled and pounced on the guard, kicking Peter out of the way at the same time. The guard threw a punch at William but William caught it and pushed him back. Lou advanced, producing a stun gun from his pocket. He aimed it at William, but Evan got in the way.

The charge hit her like lightning to the chest. Every muscle clenched tight as a coil and then sprang back into place. Over and over her muscles contracted and released. Screaming and yelling filled her ears from all directions, but she couldn’t concentrate to figure out what it was about. Lights flickered on and off before her eyes, and her teeth chattered together so hard she thought they would shatter. Finally, the shockwave stopped, and she dropped to the ground like a pile of dirty laundry.

The yelling was nothing more than a buzz in her ears as aftershocks left her twitchy and discombobulated. Bodies moved all around her. A pair of strong arms grabbed her around her waist and pulled her out of the fray.

* * * *

William flew at Lou, tackling him to the ground and punching him over and over. Peter jumped on his back, and William continued to swing at the older man as Peter attempted to cut of his airway.

Lou put up his hands to protect his face, and Peter squeezed tighter, dragging William away. The guard snatched up the Taser from the floor and headed for William but William kicked out and connected with the guard, pushing him back. He flipped Peter over his shoulders. Peter hit the cement with a crack and a scream. William bared his fangs and dove for Peter’s throat.

“Stop!” Tommy yelled. “Please. Stop.”

William’s head whipped up and his gaze connected with Tommy. The large man held Evan in his arms. She twitched but her eyes were fixed on him.

“Please,” Tommy begged.

William looked down at Peter and then over at the guard and Lou. All three were winded and battered, but it was Peter that grimaced in pain.

William had tried not to lose his temper. He hadn’t meant to, hadn’t wanted to. But threatening Evan and then Tasing her… He couldn’t just stand by and let that happen.

“William.” She held out her hand to him.

He crawled away from Peter to her side and stroked her cheek. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I shouldn’t have lost my temper.”

“No,” said Lou getting to his feet. “You shouldn’t have.”

A shot rang out, and a sting struck William in the arm. A dart protruded from his torn sweatshirt. He pulled it out and then everything went fuzzy.

His gaze connected with Evan’s. “William?”

He dropped to the cement, his head hitting it with a crack like thumping on a watermelon.

She crawled closer but the sound of his name on her lips disappeared. Then, everything else did as well.

William awoke, his eyelids feeling like lead. Bright lights shone from every angle, searing his eyes. A faint beeping sound and the smell of antiseptic permeated the air. He glanced around and found himself surrounded by medical equipment. He tried to sit up but couldn’t.

Only in his underwear, he lay strapped to a hospital bed. Panic gnawed at his gut. His arms, feet, and chest were restrained with leather straps. It surprised him to find that he’d been washed. An IV dangled from his left arm and a clear solution dripped into his veins.

To his right hung a clear curtain separating him from the rest of the facility. In an office at the other end of the room sat three men William couldn’t quite make out.

Four humans in lab coats sat at various metal tables working.

The men in the office stood and the door opened. William swallowed hard and dropped his head back on his pillow.

He tried to collect his thoughts as memories of the fight in his cell surfaced. He groaned, remembering the pain Evan had endured at the hands of her uncle. Humans and Vampires alike could do horrible things, even to those they cared about, if they thought it was for the greater good.

The plastic curtain rustled, and William turned. A tall guard with red hair and freckled skin stared at him.

“He’s awake!” he yelled.

A doctor and Lou walked to William’s bedside. Another person in a lab coat came in with a chart, jotting down notes.

“What’s going on?” asked William.

“I’m Nicholas,” said the doctor. “You’re in my lab.”

A Vampire was the scientist? “So I see. But what am I doing here?”

“Well,” said Lou. “I’m sure Evan told you, one of our main goals here is to find a cure for the vamps. With you two being so close and all.”

William stayed silent. He didn’t need to get Evan in any more trouble than he already had. The desire to ask if she was okay bubbled in his throat, but he swallowed it down. He prayed that she was fine and already on the run from this horrible place.

“Peter and a group were supposed to go out and round up a couple vamps for us to try our latest serum on. But you broke his leg,” said Lou.

“My work must progress,” said Nicholas. “If what you say is true about the demons, and I suspect it is, it is more important than ever that we find a cure.”