Part 33 (1/2)

Kendra bared her teeth, a terrible parody of a smile. ”Oh, I think you should, Gabby. After all, Jamie's life depends on it.”

Cold dread pierced her heart. ”What?”

Kendra nodded her head toward the waiting sedan. A tinted window eased down, and there was Jamie, sitting in the backseat beside an enormous thug.

”Gabrielle?” Jamie called out, a panicked look in his eyes.

”Oh, no. Not Jamie. Kendra, please don't let anyone hurt him.”

”That'll be entirely up to you,” Kendra said politely. She grabbed Gabrielle's purse out of her hands. ”You won't be needing anything in here.”

She motioned for Gabrielle to walk ahead of her toward the idling car. ”Shall we?”

Lucan set two bars of C4 under the huge water heaters in the asylum's boiler room. Crouched down behind the utility equipment, he flipped up the transmitter antennas, then spoke into his mic to report his progress.

”Boiler room is a check,” he told Niko on the other end. ”I've got three more units to set and then I'm out-”

He froze, hearing the scuff of footsteps outside the closed door.

”Lucan?”

”s.h.i.+t. Company coming,” he murmured quietly as he rose from his position and crept near the door to prepare to strike.

He wrapped his gloved hand around the hilt of a nasty serrated blade sheathed across his chest. He had a gun on him, too, but they'd all agreed no firearms on this mission. No need to alert the Rogues of their presence, and with Niko throwing the gas main outside, pumping fumes into the building, the spark of a bullet firing was liable to set the whole works off prematurely.

The latch on the boiler room door began to twist.

Lucan smelled the stench of a Rogue, and the unmistakable coppery scent of human blood. m.u.f.fled animal grunts mingled with wet smacking and the faint whine of a victim being bled dry. The door opened, letting in a huge gust of putrid air as the Rogue started to drag its dying plaything into the dark alcove.

Lucan waited to the side of the door until the Rogue's big head came into full view. The suckhead was too involved in its prey to notice the threat. Lucan brought his hand up, burying the blade in the Rogue's rib cage. It roared, huge jaws gaping, yellow eyes bulging as the t.i.tanium sped through its blood system.

The human fell to the floor in a slump, boneless, spasming in the throes of death while the Rogue who'd been feeding off of him began to sizzle and shake, blisters rising like it had been doused with acid.

No sooner did the Rogue collapse into swift decomposition than another came pounding up the corridor. Lucan leaped to meet the new attack, but before he could deliver the first blow, the suckhead came up short, yanked off its feet from behind by a black- clad arm.

A blade flashed, as crisp and quietly as lightning, across the Rogue's throat, severing the big head in one clean strike.

The huge body was dropped to the floor like rubbish. Tegan stood there, blade dripping gore, green eyes steady. He was a killing machine, and the grim set of his mouth seemed to reiterate his earlier promise to Lucan that if Bloodl.u.s.t ever got the better of him, Tegan was going to make sure Lucan got his own taste of t.i.tanium fury.

Looking at the warrior now, Lucan had no doubt that if Tegan ever came for him, it would be over before he even knew the vampire was in the room.

He met that cool, lethal look and gave a nod of acknowledgment.

”Talk to me,” Niko said over Lucan's earpiece. ”You good in there?”

”Yeah. All clear.” He cleaned his dagger on the human's s.h.i.+rt, then sheathed it. When he glanced up, Tegan was already gone, vanished like the specter of death that he was.

”Heading to the north entry points now to place the rest of these party cakes,” he told Nikolai as he ducked out of the boiler room and crept down an empty stretch of corridor.

CHAPTER Thirty-two

Gabrielle, what's happening? What's wrong with Kendra? She came to the gallery and told me you were in an accident and that I had to come with her right away. Why would she lie about that?”

She didn't know how to answer Jamie's anxious, whispered questions from beside her in the backseat of the sedan. They were speeding away from Beacon Hill, toward downtown. Financial District skysc.r.a.pers loomed ahead in the dark, office lights twinkling like Christmas bulbs. Kendra sat in the front seat next to the driver, a thick -necked bouncer type in a thug's dark suit and sungla.s.ses.

Gabrielle and Jamie had a similar companion in back with them crowding them onto one side of the slick leather bench seat. She didn't think they were Rogues; they didn't appear to be hiding huge fangs behind their tense lips, and from what little she knew of the Breed's deadly enemies, she didn't expect that she or Jamie would have gone so much as a minute without getting their throats ripped out if the two men were, in fact, blood-addicted Rogues.

Minions, then, she reasoned. Human mind slaves of a powerful vampire Master.

Like Kendra was.

”What are they going to do with us, Gabby?”

”I'm not sure.” She reached over and squeezed Jamie's hand. She kept her voice low, too, but she knew their captors were listening to every word. ”It'll be okay, though. I promise.”

They had to get out of the car before they reached their destination, that much she did know. It was the most basic rule of self - defense: never let yourself be taken to a secondary location. Then you were on your attacker's turf.

Odds of survival would go from poor to nil.

She glanced at the sliding lock on the door next to Jamie. He watched her eyes, brow pinching in question as she stared at him then back to the lock. Then he got it. He gave her a nearly imperceptible nod.

But when he started to s.h.i.+ft his hands into place to unlock the door, Kendra chose that moment to turn around and taunt them from the front seat. ”Almost there now, kiddies. Are you excited? I know I am. I can't wait for my Master to finally meet you in the flesh, Gabby. Mm, mmm! He's just gonna eat you right up.”

Jamie leaned forward, practically snarling with venom. ”Back off, you lying b.i.t.c.h!”

”Jamie, don't!” Gabrielle tried to hold him back, fear seizing her at his naive display of protectiveness. He had no idea what he was doing, agitating Kendra or the other two Minions in the car with them.

But he wouldn't be swayed. He made a lunge from his seat. ”You touch either one of us and so help me, I'll claw your eyes out!”

”Jamie, stop, it's okay,” Gabrielle said, pus.h.i.+ng him back down. ”Calm down, please! It'll be okay.”

Kendra had hardly flinched. Staring at them both, she let out a sudden, shrill giggle. ”Ah, Jamie. You always have been Gabby's faithful little terrier. Arf! Arf! You're pathetic.” Very slowly, obviously very full of herself, Kendra resituated herself in the front seat, giving them her back. ”Turn up at the light,”

she told the driver.

Gabrielle blew out a tremulous sigh of relief as she settled back against the cold leather. Jamie was bunched up against the car door, fuming. When their eyes met, he slid a fraction to the side, letting her see that the door was now unlocked.

Her heart jumped at his ingenuity and courage. She could hardly contain her hopeful smile as the vehicle slowed for the traffic light a few yards ahead. It was red, but based on the line of cars stopped in front of them, it was due to change at any second.

This was their only chance.

She glanced at Jamie, and saw that he understood the plan perfectly.