“We’re going to be invading a brothel. It’s not going to be pretty.” I’d come to learn that Ava had a big heart and was highly empathetic. She would no doubt be sickened by what she found there; the images would stick with her. I didn’t want that.
Stifling a smile, Jared raised his hand. “Salem, take it from someone who has a lot of experience with independent females, you don’t want to say another word.”
Oh, but I did. I knew Ava could take care of herself, knew she was strong. Her gift of muscle memory meant that she could memorise and perfectly replicate any combat move she saw. It also made her faster and stronger than other Sventés, and it gave her better reflexes. But, dammit, that wasn’t the point.
“Your concerns are noted, Salem,” said Sam. “But she was in Luther’s vision, she was at the brothel with us. Taking her out of the equation might alter things in a bad way. We can’t risk that.”
Fuck. That wasn’t something I could fight.
“I’m happy to be on board.” Ava ignored my scowl.
“Good.” Sam rose from her chair, and everyone followed suit. “You all have ten minutes to tank yourselves up on NSTs. I want us at full-strength.”
NSTs, or Nutritive Supplemental Tonics, contained blood and vitamins. They were developed by Antonio, so that he didn’t need to move thousands of humans into The Hollow to feed on. The NSTs provided a boost and quickly satisfied the thirst, but they never quite quenched it. Only pure blood did that.
As everyone piled out of the conference room and into the pristine corridor, I kept my eyes on the tiny female in front of me…who was starting to pick up her pace, like she was trying to get away from me. Not gonna happen. Fisting my hand in the back of her t-shirt, I lifted her – ignoring her kicking legs – and shoved her inside the nearest empty conference room before closing the door behind us.
Ava spun on her heel to face me. “I’m not a ragdoll.”
Even glowering at me, she looked cute and sweet. How was that even possible? I advanced on her, pleased when she didn’t back up. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
Hands perched on her hips, Ava lifted her chin. “Aside from the fact that you’re an interfering bastard who thinks you have some say in my decisions?”
“Yeah, aside from that.”
She blinked, surprised. Apparently she’d expected me to resent that statement. “Tell me it isn’t true that you’ve told the males on this island I’m off-limits.” When I didn’t deny it, she said, “You are unbelievable.” She folded her arms, her innocent little face scrunched up in outrage. “Take it back.”
“No. Even the thought of another guy touching you makes me want to kill – and we both know I’d do it without hesitation.” And I’d enjoy it. Probably a little too much.
Her arms flopped to her sides. “Are you high?”
“You know I want you, Ava. So I don’t get why you’re so surprised.”
She massaged her temples. “We don’t have time for this. Just take it back.” Head held high, she tried to march past me. Oh no, I wasn’t having that.
I collared her throat and slammed her against the wall, crowding her, trapping her there. She didn’t struggle or object. Instead, she froze, looking up at me with eyes that were glinting with need. It was a need that mirrored my own.
As the smell of her lust and her mouth-watering scent snaked around me, I groaned inwardly and breezed the pad of my thumb over her bottom lip. “Do you know why I resisted you for so long? Because I knew that if I had even one taste of you, you’d never be free of me. I thought I could do the right thing and stay away. You’re sweet and kind and everything I’m not. I’ve done a lot of bad things. Things I don’t even regret. You can do a hell of a lot better than someone who’s as fucked up as I am. But I’m a selfish prick. I’ve never let anyone keep me from what I want. Ever.”
She licked her lips. “I told you, I don’t do relationships.”
Unease flashed across her face, taking me by surprise. I fought to soften my voice, drawing circles on her throat with my thumb. “What are you so wary of, Ava? Me?” She shook her head, but I wasn’t convinced. “I’ll never hurt you. Tell me you know that.” I’d kill for her, but I’d never hurt her.
“I know.”
I scraped my teeth over her pulse, barely resisting the urge to bite down hard and feel her blood flowing into my mouth. I badly wanted to know how every part of her tasted. “Then why are you nervous?”
She quickly shook her head in denial. “I’m not.”
My lips curved as realisation dawned on me. “You know how tight I’ll hold you to me, don’t you? The thing is, baby, I’ve had a taste of you now.” Recalling how her mouth had felt beneath mine in the bar, I almost groaned. “There’s no going back. As far as I’m concerned, you already belong to me. Every single inch of you. And what’s mine stays mine.” Reluctantly releasing her, I stepped back. “Accept it, Ava. The sooner you do that, the simpler things will be.”
CHAPTER TWO
(Ava)
“It doesn’t look like a brothel.”
I had to agree with David on that. Situated on a long stretch of land a hundred feet away from us, the large manor was beautiful, modern, and contemporary – the kind of house you would expect to hold cocktail parties or charity functions. But behind those colourfully stained windows and red brick walls lay a sight that I wasn’t looking forward to seeing. “They obviously aim to attract upper-class clients.”
I was surprised my voice was steady, considering Salem was pressed up against my side; his body taunting mine merely by being so close. Damn the bastard. After his little declaration, I’d scampered from the conference room, unsure and off-balance. A part of me wanted to give in to him, because the hard thing about resisting a guy like Salem was that…well, that he was as hot and deliciously dominant as Salem. But another part of me was determined to stand my ground. If I was to give him what he wanted, Salem would eventually try to change me like others had before him. I was surprised by just how much the thought of that hurt.
Squatted at my other side, Butch ran a hand through his bronze hair. “It sure guarantees them discretion, being all the way out here in the middle of nowhere.”
Damien turned to Sam and Jared. “By all rights, you could storm in there and demand they surrender. You’re the Grand High Pair now.”
“Yeah,” agreed Sam, “but they might have a teleporter in there, someone who can get the girls out of the manor before we even have the chance to help them. We can’t risk that.”
Max shuffled forward. “So what’s the plan?” I noticed Max was crouched close to Sam – no doubt to irritate Jared purely for his own amusement, as he often did. Going by Jared’s scowl, it was working.
“I need my spies.” Sam looked to Denny who, as an animal mimic, was able to reduce his body to liquid just like the sea cucumber. “I want you to scout the perimeter, find out if there are any guards for us to play with, and check out how many entrances there are. Stuart, I need you to take a look around inside; we need to know how many vampires we’re dealing with and exactly where they are.” Being a Shredder, Stuart exploded into molecules just as Denny melted into a puddle of mush. Then they were both gone.
“Okay, so there are three floors, plus the attic.” Jared pursed his lips. “It’s possible that there’s a basement too, so we have to be prepared to search five floors.”
Sam nodded. “We’ll need to split up for that.”
“Depending on how many girls are in there,” began Max, “it could take quite a few teleporting trips to get us all back to The Hollow. Where will we put them?”
“The infirmary is ready for them,” Jared informed him. “If they’re as bad as Luther described, they may each need to be put on a drip of blood for a while.”
“What drugs do you think they’re using in there?” Harvey’s face was twisted in confusion. “I mean, Luther said we were carrying the girls in his vision, so they have to be pretty out of it, right?”
Sa
m turned to Harvey. “I’ve been thinking about that and…it makes no sense that they would be sedated. Drugs flow in the blood. If a vampire fed from a sedated person, they’d be quickly sedated themselves.”
David tilted his head. “Huh, I never thought of that.”
Damien shifted closer to Sam. “Another reason it doesn’t make sense is that if the girls are totally knocked out, what good are they to clients who like them to be active participants?”
Harvey clicked his fingers. “Exactly. It just doesn’t add up.”
“We have to consider, though, that if the girls weren’t kept sedated, they’d get out.” Chico had a valid point. “They’re vampires, they will all have gifts.”
“Maybe they’re not drugged at all,” I mused. “Maybe whoever runs the place or one of the staff has a gift that allows them to put people under sedation. Or maybe it’s some kind of mind control.”
Salem frowned thoughtfully. “You could be right there.” I didn’t hold his gaze for long, not wanting him to see just how emotionally off-centre I was.
“Here’s Denny,” announced Reuben.
Returning to his usual form, Denny came to squat in front of Sam and Jared. “There are no guards outside.”
“None?” Jared exchanged a surprised look with Sam.
“There are security cameras everywhere, though. At the back of the manor is a parking lot. I tell ya, these clients aren’t average Joes. Some of the cars are Porches and Bentleys. There are even three limos. The chauffeurs were outside, talking; I got the impression from what they said that limo-service is something the brothel provides.”
“What about the entrances?”
“There are three. The front door. The patio doors – which seem to be the general entrance for the clients to use. And there’s also a set of steps that lead to a basement, but it’s boarded up.” He exhaled heavily. “There’s a large annex behind the house, surrounded by barbed wire, like a huge aviary or something. Not sure if that’s where the girls are taken to eat or sleep, but there’s a row of empty beds in there.”
A thought occurred to me. “It could be where the captives were taken when they first arrived.”
“I heard things. Cries. Whatever’s happening in that place, it isn’t good.”
Wisps of the surrounding energy seemed to suddenly attach themselves to Sam and slithered over her skin, as if responding to her livid state. “Bastards,” she bit out.
Butch spoke then. “Stuart’s on his way.”
Once he’d reformed into his human self, Stuart crouched beside Denny, his eyes troubled. “Brace yourselves. You’re going to see things in there you’ll never forget. Luther was right: the place is fucking evil.”
As if he’d picked up on my anxiety and wanted to ease it, Salem placed his hand on my thigh and squeezed lightly. “How many are we dealing with?” he then asked.
“There are ten staff in total; two receptionists, the guy monitoring the cameras, three chauffeurs, a bartender, two maids, and a woman who hovers around, overseeing things. She must be the brothel keeper. All of them are Pagoris.”
“Motherfuckers.” Reuben sighed and rubbed at his stubbly jaw, probably appalled that his own breed was so deeply involved.
“Any clients in there?” Sam asked Stuart.
“Nine. Four of them are Pagoris; two are upstairs, but another two are sitting in the waiting area, laughing and joking while reading the ‘menu’ of services. There are also three Kejas and two Sventés upstairs.”
“How many captives?”
“There’s one in every bedroom, and one in the attic. In total, that’s nine girls. And six guys.” Surprise lit many people’s faces.
“Guys?” Damien’s dark skin paled slightly.
“It probably should have occurred to me that both genders were targets.” Sam scrubbed a hand down her face. She went to say something else, but when her gaze landed on a squirming Stuart, she narrowed her eyes. “What is it?”
It was a short moment before he responded. “They’re not all vampires.”
“There are humans in there?” Jared’s shock was shared by all of us.
“Two, actually.” Stuart squirmed once more. “But there are other kinds of preternatural beings, too.”
Sam’s brows flew up. “Say again?”
“I don’t know exactly what they are, I just know they aren’t vampires. I think one of them might be an animal shifter – they all have a musky scent like her – but I’m not sure. I haven’t been around many other species.”
“Shit,” muttered Jared.
Sam clenched her firsts. “It would seem then that these vampires are running a brothel for those who might want to fuck and snack on other beings as well as their own kind.”
“That’s certainly a niche in the market.” Cold as those words were, Butch was right. Preternatural species didn’t mix often, preferring to stick to their own kind.
Jared nodded. “Vampires will pay good money for the opportunity to feed from other species – especially since some are rumoured to increase strength and power.” He looked at Sam. “You said it was possible the brothel was catering for certain tastes. You were right.”
She didn’t look pleased to be. “Talk us through the layout, Stuart.”
“The basement is empty of people.”
“What’s down there?”
“It’s some kind of dungeon. Like a sadistic playroom.”
“The ground floor?”
“If you go in through the front door, you’ll find yourself in an open-plan apartment. If you go in through the patio doors at the back, it’s like walking into an office reception area. There’s a desk with two smartly dressed females behind it. On the left is a lounge with leather sofas, mahogany tables, antique furniture, and even a bar. On the right of the reception area is a room which is filled with monitors. The security system is top of the line. There’s one male watching the cameras.”
“Is he vigilant?” asked Jared.
“Not really. He alternates from watching the monitors to reading a newspaper.”
“That’s good.” Jared looked at the manor. “What about upstairs?”
“There are seven bedrooms on the first floor. Another seven on the second floor. And one in the attic.”
“Only one?” Sam frowned. “It has to be pretty spacious. Weird they haven’t tried to make it into more than one room.”
“I’m guessing they didn’t because they intended to use it as some kind of torture chamber.” Stuart puffed out a long breath. “I thought the basement was bad. Two guys are with the girl and…fuck, we have to get her out of there.”
“Yes, and we have to do it before the clients leave,” agreed Sam. “But if we rush in, we’ll fuck it up and people will get away. Where are the other upstairs clients situated?”
“Two are on the second floor, and three are on the first floor.”
“What about the staff?”
“They’re all on the ground floor, except for the maids – they’re in one of the rooms on the first floor; one is changing the bed-sheet while the other gives the girl a shower in the adjoined bathroom, getting her ready for the next customer. She can barely stand.”
The mercury glint to Sam’s irises were glowing fiercely. “Reuben, do your thing for David and Chico.”
“Sure thing, Coach.” Reuben briefly touched each of their shoulders. Like that, David’s psionic blast and Chico’s poisonous darts were fatal – thanks to his gift of power augmentation.
Salem frowned. “Not me?” Usually, Sam ordered for Reuben to make Salem’s psychic punch fatal.
Sam shook her head. “Not this time. I want the brothel keeper alive so I can question her, but I need you to knock the bitch out first. If Ava’s right and someone has the gift to put someone under sedation, it could be her. I can’t afford for her to be conscious and have the opportunity to send us all to dreamland or, for that matter, use any other gift on us.”
“We’re going to need to separate the m
oment we get in there.” Jared was clearly raring to go, but his tone was calm and even. “If we deal with the staff first, we might give the clients a chance to slip away, and vice versa. That’s not an option.”
Sweeping her gaze across us, Sam spoke. “Salem, Denny, and Max will take the ground floor with me. The rest of you hit the stairs. David, Stuart, Butch – take the first floor. Chico, Reuben, Harvey – check the second floor. Jared, Ava, Damien – head for the attic. First we eliminate the clients and the majority of the staff, then we free the captives.”
Salem’s hand clenched on my thigh, and I knew what was coming. “Coach, Ava is –”
“Once the brothel keeper is out cold, you’re free to join Ava. In the meantime, Jared and Damien will be with her, so don’t whine.”
It was obvious to me that he wanted to argue, but Salem was nothing if not loyal; he followed orders, even when those orders galled him. “Do we let anyone live?” he asked.
“Only the keeper. I’ve got a lot of questions for her. I particularly want to know how many others are involved and where we’ll find them.”
“Stuart, which side of the manor gives access to the stairs?” asked Jared.
“The back. They’re behind the reception desk.”
“Then we go in through the back.”
“Don’t teleport us inside,” Sam told Jared. “Not yet.”
His brow furrowed. “Why?”
“Denny said there are three chauffeurs in the parking lot. If we can get rid of them first, the bastards will be down by three. Three might not sound like much, but if those three have substantial gifts, it’ll make a big difference.”
“Then I’ll teleport us all behind the manor, a safe distance away so we won’t be seen.” A moment later, we were among the trees at the side of the annex. The chauffeurs were leaning against the limos, laughing.
Max rubbed his hands together, blue eyes glinting with anticipation. “Who’s doing the honours?”
Jared looked at Sam. “There is one problem you haven’t considered while bloodlust is running through your veins, baby. The second we kill those fuckers, the security-guy will see, and he’ll alert the others.”