Page 56 of Blood Moon

Eli and Viktor were seriously injured? I wondered if they had managed to get away. I still had no idea where I was or why I had been taken. Instead of giving in to the fear that was trying to take hold of me, I decided to focus on my surroundings. I needed to remember how Eli taught me to relax.

“Focus on five things you can see,” he had told me when I started having panic attacks after Uncle Vinny was killed. “List them in your head or out loud.” I pictured his blue eyes and that piece of blond hair that always dropped down to cover them. I would reach up and brush it away. Thinking of him helped.

Okay, I can do this. Five things I can see, four things I can smell. I took a deep breath and looked around, sitting up. I wasn’t brave enough to stand up. That might draw too much attention. No, wait—that’s not right. Five things I can see, four I can touch, three I can hear, two I can smell, and one I can taste. I could hear Eli’s words in my head.

Five things I could see—three guards with guns hanging around the door, two other cages that are empty, windows along one wall, a table with four chairs in the middle of the room, and a ratty rug on the floor opposite the windows. I wasn’t sure if any of it was important, but it did help to calm my mind.

Next, I needed to list four things I could touch. I noticed the bars of the cage, the concrete beneath my feet, the thin cot I sat on, and the musty blanket lying on the cot.

Then three things I can hear. What did I hear? Those two guys had stopped fighting. I listened closer for a moment. I heard footsteps—probably the guards patroling the exits. There was something else. What was that sound? It could be a generator. I focused more, pushing everything else away. It was definitely a generator, and I could hear a truck idling outside. That meant I was near an outer wall.

Two things I could smell. This was more difficult. The scents here all seemed to mingle together. I tried anyway and managed to notice stale coffee, and something I couldn’t quite figure out. The unknown scent was sweet but metallic, almost like blood. That thought made my heart race again. What if they’d brought me here to drain me? What if I was going to be their dinner?

That thought freaked me out so much that I couldn’t remember the rest of the calming steps Eli had showed me. My mind refused to stop showing me every bad thing it could come up with that might happen to me.

A man came to my cage and opened the door. I didn’t move. I knew I couldn’t escape yet. I had no idea where I was or which direction to go if I tried.

“Come on. It’s time to go.” He spoke quietly, almost as if he didn’t want to do this. When I didn’t move immediately, he gestured toward the door where the guards with guns had turned their attention toward me. I nodded and stood to follow him.

When I got to the door, he put a black cloth sack over my head so I couldn’t see. I knew it was pointless to ask why. He didn’t want me to see where we were going or where I was.

He shoved me along until I felt the cool breeze blowing on my skin. We were outside. Where was he taking me? My heart started racing again, but I was too scared to speak. The man kept shoving me, making me walk forward, then grabbing my arm and turning me in the direction he wanted me to go.

He pushed me into a car. “Stay here,” he ordered. I heard a door close, then another opened and closed. I guessed he got into the driver’s seat because the car started to move. I wasn’t sure how long or how far we drove, but when the car stopped, I heard a door open and slam. Fear froze me to the seat. I clutched the cool leather and prayed that Vik and Eli would find me. It was the only thing keeping me from sobbing.

The door next to me opened and the bag was taken off my head. I took an automatic deep breath of air, searching the world around me.

“Go inside and sit away from the window. If Strain or Maxwell finds you first, you lose. They will be killed.” His gruff words terrified me. He was tall and lanky but I could tell he was stronger than he looked. His dark hair was greasy and he smelled of stale coffee and cigarettes.

“What if they don’t find me first?” I asked, my voice shaking. He didn’t answer, instead shoving me toward the door of a deli.

My heart raced as I walked inside. I glanced around the room for someone who could help me. I had no idea if any of these people were vampires or had the resources to fight against the men who’d taken me. The faces were a blur against the tears in my eyes. I knew that even if I did exactly what I was told, my guys weren’t safe. Which meant I wasn’t safe. I fought against the terror taking hold of me.

As instructed, I had taken a seat at a small table that was near the windows without being right in front of them, with my back to the door in case Eli or Viktor managed to drive past. I didn’t doubt their ability to hunt me down for a moment. I knew I didn’t have much time to figure this out. There was a commotion behind me, and I turned to glance over my shoulder. What is Jones doing here?

I almost held up a hand to wave when I saw the gun in his hand. Did Viktor send him to find me? Wouldn’t that be just like Viktor to send his right-hand man to hunt me down for running off? Did he and Eli think I ran away? I sank lower in my chair, trying to hide. Hopefully he would just leave if he didn’t see me. That idea was lost when he started shooting. I stood up and turned toward him.

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m right here,” I said, thinking that somehow him shooting up this deli was because he was searching for me. Jones turned his attention toward me and snarled. He hadn’t been looking for me after all. Or maybe he had. Something told me that I should have stayed hidden.

“I guess Petey decided to make things easy for me.” He bared his fangs and pulled the trigger. I didn’t have any time to even think of moving out of the way. The bullet impacted and I felt it tear through my stomach. It burned like I was on fire, and I collapsed to the ground. The pain was unbearable. I screamed.

Suddenly it was as if everything around me was going in slow motion. I pressed my hands to my bleeding stomach and tried to look around the room. I heard the faint clicking of fangs extending and realized that most of the patrons here had to be vampires. I couldn’t see any way that I would survive this. I wondered if Viktor knew that Jones wasn’t loyal. That was a strange thought to have after being shot. I got shot. The room started to spin, and I dropped to the floor on my knees.

I tried to stay awake and focus on everyone around me, but it was impossible. The room was spinning, and everything was moving so slowly. I felt myself falling but couldn’t stop it. I could hear voices but couldn’t tell what they were saying. I knew that I was losing too much blood and if I didn’t make it to a hospital soon, I wouldn’t make it.

I thought about Viktor and Eli as I lay there, on the floor of a deli on the west side, bleeding to death. They had no idea where I was or that I’d been shot. Viktor had no idea that Jones had gone rogue. Or did he? Had Viktor sent the man to find me? Was this what he’d wanted? The thoughts swam through my head as I bounced in and out of consciousness.

I barely felt it as a strong pair of arms scooped me up and carried me from the deli. I couldn’t really feel anything at all. The voices weren’t familiar but encouraged me to stay with them. The broad chest I was pressed against was solid and comforting. The thumping heart against my ear calmed me. I felt a hand gently caress my face and wipe tears from my eyes. The pain wasn’t as bad now.

I wondered if that meant I wasn’t injured as badly as I had thought, or if it meant that I was dying. Hmm, so this is what death feels like. Either way, I was glad for the reprieve from the burning. I thought the strong arms placed me in a car, but I couldn’t be sure. All I knew was that suddenly the broad, strong chest I was leaning against was replaced with the supple leather of a vehicle of some sort.

Nothing about what was happening to me was familiar. I tried to focus enough to see who was driving but couldn’t. I thought I saw a pair of green eyes peek at me through a mane of red curls, but then the car hit a bump and the world went black.

Chapter 54

Eli

Letting Viktor drive had been a mistake. He treated my Porsche as if it were a sedan, barely hitting sixty on the city street. I wondered when he lost his edge. When I finally got the car’s computer to work, I shouted directions at him, and he took them at a sluggish pace.

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