Six rules undying book 2, p.35
Six (Rules Undying Book 2), page 35
“You’re lucky I’m tired and drugged,” she growled.
“I found out what we were shot up with by the Lungs,” he said, daring to lean in closer to his patient. “It was vitamins and sedatives.
It looks like they were treating us like prize livestock after all. The patch they smacked on you was another dose of the same hormone cocktail that laced the spaghetti, but at a much lower and controlled level.”
Paige simply stared at him.
“I really am glad you’re all right. I thought you were going to call in—”
She tapped her temple. “I think I did anyway,” she growled.
Kyle shifted uncomfortably beside her. “You know I didn’t like what Grandpa did—”
“But you didn’t stop him,” she snarled.
“What was I supposed to do?” he asked. “Look, I’m a doctor. My job is to help people. He asked me to make sure that you were safe, so I did what I could. When I came back alone, he freaked out, I
swear. As soon as you contacted him, he made us all come and get you—”
“So he could get my father and all my little werewolf friends too,” Paige muttered. “How very convenient for him.”
Kyle looked away. He started packing up his medical supplies.
“Did you know that he could control me?” Paige asked.
Kyle nodded sadly. “He made me promise not to tell you. I told him that you were strong and would figure it out and fight him, but convincing a centuries-old vampire of anything is an exercise in futility.” Kyle made sure to glare right in Paige’s left eye with his final remark. “And yeah, he told me to let you run off with that Morgan guy on your own, before you ask. I feel like the asshole of the year.”
“What happens now?” Paige asked.
“I’d say talk to Grandpa. You two have unfinished business.” He looked at her left eye again. “But I think he deserves another slap or two.”
“You’re not that bad, Kyle. Thank you,” Paige said weakly.
“That’s me, doctor first, scumbag second.” He sighed before slipping out of her cage. “I’ll go and, um—”
“I want to get this over with,” Paige sighed.
Her wish was granted a few minutes later as the shadows seemed to coalesce in the doorway leading out of the dungeon.
Lorcan took his time to circle the cage. Paige couldn’t help but smile at the dark bruise along his jaw.
“You must hate me right now, a rún—”
“Don’t call me that,” she growled.
“Paige—”
She snarled and pounced against the bars. “No more games, Lorcan,” she hissed. “I’m tired of you using me.”
Lorcan walked slowly to the cage door and unlocked it. He then turned the key again, yanked it out, and tossed it across the room, leaving him trapped inside with the unamused werewolf.
“You’re brave,” Paige said.
“I told Kyle to give us an hour. You know, I’ve never seen him as loyal to anyone as he is to you. It took all my begging in Chicago for him to not inject you with tetracycline when he figured out that the
piece of me that was in you wasn’t dying at all. That was terrifying to hear over the phone.”
“Are you going to get this hunk of you out of me?”
“Yes,” Lorcan said gravely. “Though I doubt that it will be pleasant for either of us at this point.”
“And what happens to my friends? To my father?”
“Well, that depends on what I learn once I’m whole again,”
Lorcan said. “Everything that you’ve seen and heard and felt will become part of me as well, and I’m afraid that some traces of me will linger within you.”
“So you’ll get to learn that you’re an asshole.”
“More than likely,” he sighed, “and understandable given the circumstances.”
“And what happens to me once you’re gone?” she asked.
“That will be your choice.”
“Oh, sure,” she muttered. “Like I’ve had so much choice before.”
Lorcan said nothing. The two of them stared in silence until the vampire finally extended his hand. “If you’re ready, a r—Miss Paige,”
he said softly.
She extended her hand. Ever so slowly she let him pull her close. She rested her head against his chest and listened to the gentle whooshing sound, so alien yet so familiar.
“Just try to relax,” he said. “I need you to let go of me.”
“I already have.”
He pulled her tightly against him and tilted her neck to the side.
Her head began to spin as she felt a sharp pain in her neck. Her heart pounded in her ears, and her jaws tightened. The pressure continued to build in her aching head. The vampire clawed at her shoulders and back as he fought to drain her blood. Both of them moaned.
Paige’s moan turned into a howl as fiery pain shot down the entire length of her spine. She tried to both shove Lorcan away and yank him closer, arching her back as both of them shuddered.
Finally, the vampire broke free, staring in awe and horror at the blood oozing down Paige’s throat. He fell back against the bars of the cage, grabbing his head as his eyes grew wild and bloodshot.
Paige collapsed against him, still bleeding and shaking. Her head throbbed incessantly, and her throat and nose burned.
“You’re free,” Lorcan choked out before both of them passed out in the cage.
“Yes, I’m taking care of everything. It’s safe for you to come in,” a robotic voice muttered.
Cal whimpered and shook in his seat while Paige tried her best to move her broken body. No claws came to her rescue, and her aching bones refused to mend again. The apartment door opened, and a ghost from Paige’s past walked right inside like he owned the place.
“Great-Grandpa Steve?” Paige choked out right before the vampire sauntered to her side.
She found herself looking at the exact same eyes as her mother and herself, but this family member’s Italian skin tone had faded slightly over time. He smiled sweetly at the helpless Paige, showing off impressively long fangs.
“Now, I know you aren’t going to remember this, but I’m hoping that somewhere in the dark recesses of your mind, you’ll know that I’m here and that I’ll always look out for you, little Paige,” Great-Grandpa Steve said softly as he wiped a frightened tear off her cheek.
“What?” Paige choked out.
“A lot of bad things are about to happen, and I don’t know how much longer I can protect you, your mother, and your grandfather, but I promise you that I will always try my best,” he said.
Paige stared in wonder at the vampire gently caressing her cheek. Something about his boyish face and puppyish eyes made her relax.
“Ren, give me a minute alone here. Take Shit for Brains to the other room,” Steve ordered.
The man in black with the gun grabbed Cal and dragged him meekly from the room. Paige could hear him crying as the bathroom door shut.
“Don’t waste any tears on him, Paige,” Steve warned. “That prick is banging a waitress, and if I didn’t make a promise not to kill anyone this year, he would already be in a ditch.”
She squeaked out “bastard” before letting her vampiric relative continue. He squeezed her hand.
“Paige, I’ve watched over you since before you were born, and I am so sorry that I didn’t find out who your father really was sooner—”
“What?”
“Whatever you do, don’t help him, Paige. He is not the absentminded professor that he pretends to be, and he will do anything to prove that he is smarter than us vampires, even hurt his own daughter.”
“No,” Paige gasped.
“He thinks that he can beat us, and I’m afraid that he’s already trying to rope you in. I’m going to stop him, and I might just have to break my promise to do so. I’m sorry, sweetie,” Steve said before kissing her cheek.
“I’m gonna make you forget that we were here, and I’m going to wipe away all the crap and lies your father tried to spread about us, but I just want you to remember that you are special, sweetie. You’re a DeMarco at heart and always will be.”
“You—”
“There’s another vampire in town now, an asshole, but the kind of asshole that won’t stand for any shenanigans in his city. If anything happens to me, I’ll make him promise to look after you, Paige. If a vampire breaks a promise, it’s punishable by death. You remember that. You remember that and forget everything else,” he said, gritting his fangs. “Sleep tight, sweetie.”
Steve lifted her neck and gave her a kiss on the mouth. A sweet taste filled Paige’s tongue, and her eyelids started to grow heavy. As she was drifting off to sleep, she could hear her great-grandfather sigh in his New York accent, “And, Paige, people around you are using you too much. Why don’t you grow a spine?”
- 32 -
Paige lurched awake and immediately rolled over to check on the still-unconscious vampire. As before, he breathed shallowly, and the whooshing in his heart was slow and faint.
“Kyle!” Paige tried to yell, but her voice was still weak from her previous transformation. “Kyle!”
“You asshole,” she growled at Lorcan as she saw the key well out of reach. She banged on the bars, but layers of padding on the walls and acoustic tiles prevented just those sorts of sounds from disturbing any of the loyal patrons of the Bust Stop. She turned back to Lorcan, who kept muttering a nonsensical mix of Old English and Gaelic words in his sleep.
“Get up,” she growled. “Get up!”
“What is the good of being a werewolf if you are always stuck in a cage?” she growled.
“Paige?” Lorcan said weakly as his eyes slowly opened.
“Lorcan!” she said, helping him to his feet. As she wrapped her arms around his waist to steady him, he raised a brow.
“This is unexpected,” he muttered.
“We’ll fight later. Did my great-grandfather tell you anything?”
“He asked me once to look out for you, as a courtesy, when we discovered that we were both in town. Like all things the Jaegers do, I assumed that it was a warning not to touch anything under his protection—”
“He can make people forget—”
“Yes, that’s how he hides his trail. All the families use him from time to time—”
“When you left me, I remembered that he visited me,” she choked out. “He was trying to protect me—”
“Jaegers don’t protect humans, even children like Stefano—”
“He warned me about my father. He warned me that he wasn’t who he appeared to be.”
“That’s ridiculous. Your father is only—”
“Human?” a new voice said as the door opened. “How racist of you, Mr. Darcy. That’s not your real name though, is it, Lord Pendragon?”
“And who the hell are you supposed to be?” Lorcan said. His threat was mitigated somewhat by stumbling and needing to support himself with the bars.
“Here I was thinking that I’d just find one pretty little filly in the cage, and here I find a vampire too. It’s like Christmas,” a tall, handsome blond said as he sauntered right on in.
“Irvine,” Paige growled.
“When you’re scared, you always run back to the pack,” Irvine said. “At least that’s what we counted on.”
Lorcan’s eyes narrowed. “Irvine,” he said in the exact same annoyed tone as Paige.
The blond older werewolf paced around the pair. He picked up the key and toyed with it for a minute before tucking it in his pocket.
He sniffed the air. “Oh, Paige, we are going to have fun later.”
“Mr. Wolfe! Please try to remember that I’m here,” Dr.
Carmichael said as he peeked around the door. “Paige, are you OK?”
Lorcan and Paige both growled at the professor. “Dad, what are you doing?”
“I tried to warn you that vampires were dangerous. I didn’t want it to end up this way, but if you’d let me explain—”
“Where are the others?” Paige growled.
Irvine laughed heartily. “Well, thanks to your vampire’s cute little bitch squad, my boys are all peacefully unconscious and out of harm’s way.”
“And I may have slipped something to your two girls while they were checking on the helpless human,” Dexter added. “The look on
the purple-haired girl’s face was priceless as she passed out.”
“So that just leaves the redheaded boy,” Irvine said. “As soon as he comes looking for you, we will have the complete set.”
“And what will you have, really?” Lorcan asked. “My girls will never follow you.”
Irvine smiled. “They will, or I’ll break their pretty little necks. Do you have any idea how much my friends will pay for a healthy female werewolf? I’ll have enough money to rival even you, bloodsucker.”
“Are your friends insane vampires?” Paige growled.
Lorcan stared at the werewolves. “So the Lung clan manipulated a berserker to sell out his own kind, and they got your father involved too, Paige. Well, at least now we know everyone in play.”
“You were so easy to follow,” Irvine sighed. “I never thought it would be so easy to capture a vampire. It’s almost disappointing.”
“I excel at disappointing people,” Lorcan said.
“How long do you think those tranquilizers will last?” Paige asked. “Dad, this guy is crazy—”
Dr. Carmichael’s face darkened. “You know what’s crazy?
Vampires are real, and no one believed me. I told your mother, and she laughed at me. My publisher said to stick to aliens, that they were more believable; but you, Paige, you were the first member of my Young Tinfoil Brigade—”
“Oh, Dad—” Paige said.
“After Irvine said that you bit him, I knew what I had to do. I was told that if you were scared, if you were pushed enough—”
“You—” Paige said, still shaking her head in disbelief. “You’re my father.”
“My buyers only wanted a couple of females, so I’ll get to keep you all to myself,” Irvine added.
Paige rattled the cage. “You are a pig,” she spat. “When Morgan
—”
“Morgan? That piss-poor excuse for a werewolf that let his whole family die? The wimp who won’t throw a punch no matter how many times you beat him? Hah, I’m more afraid of Bernard, and he still plays with toys.”
“Are your vampire associates here yet, Mister Irvine?” Lorcan asked.
“Nah, they are still in Vegas, but they will be here soon enough.”
“Good,” Lorcan said with an ever-so-sly smile.
The shadows in the room gathered around the grinning vampire. Irvine heard the click in time and was able to duck out the door, but the vampire was able to easily shoot Paige’s gawking father and send him staggering to the floor. Paige turned to Lorcan and stared at the pistol in his hands.
“You shot my father?” she asked.
“He’s conspiring with an insane berserker and my ancient enemy. You’re lucky I used horse tranquilizer.”
“But you had a gun the whole time—” Paige protested.
“If there is one thing I’ve learned in two thousand years; megalomaniacs always love to tell you their plans. You just have to give them enough time. Now, Miss Paige, I think we’d best get out of here.”
“But how? Irvine has the key—”
“Be my clever Paige,” Lorcan said with a little wink.
She slid over to the door and pressed the latch.
“But you never locked it,” she sighed.
“No one ever thinks to try the handle,” Lorcan said.
He steadied himself after only a few steps. Paige slid under his arm so that they could limp slightly more quickly to the door.
“Are you going to be able to take on anyone like this?” Paige asked.
“No, but we need to not let Irvine know that. He’s probably figured out by now that we let him follow us, so he’ll be much harder to take by surprise,” the vampire said. “We need to find the others.”
“What about Kyle?”
“What about Kyle?” a familiar voice called from behind them.
They whirled around to see a leather-clad gimp crawl out from behind the rack of whips and chains.
“Kyle?” both of them asked in horror.
The gimp unzipped his face mask and let out a sigh of relief. “I thought you were going to hurt Paige, so I wanted to keep an eye on
things,” he said as he took a few breaths. “I doused the leather in mint-scented anal wash so you wouldn’t notice me.”
“Oh, that’s what it was? I thought someone stepped on a peppermint,” Paige muttered as she wrinkled her nose.
“Not one word about this, ever,” Kyle growled as he fished his medical kit out of a box of neckties and silk scarves. He glared pointedly at Lorcan. “Ever.”
Kyle knelt down beside Paige’s dad and checked his pulse.
“He’ll live,” Kyle muttered.
Paige, on the other hand, grabbed a handful of scarves and tied her father up. Lorcan and Kyle looked stunned as she then dragged him into the cage and used fuzzy handcuffs for good measure.
“This is not over, Dad,” she growled.
The three of them moved cautiously toward the dungeon stairs.
Paige tried not to notice the audible squeaking of Kyle’s tight leather outfit. Lorcan checked his pistol before inching out of the upper door.
They could hear loud music coming from the main stage, but no other sounds. They found the strippers unconscious in the ladies’
dressing room and Bunny bound and gagged in her office. Kyle kicked in the visitors’ dressing room, Miami Vice-style, and Paige let out a sigh of relief as she found Billy, Sammy, Bernard, and Wesley peacefully snoring and tied up in zip ties.
“Where are Nadia and Toy?” Lorcan asked, as Paige asked,
“Where’s Morgan?”
Kyle immediately went to work, snapping the other boys free.
“I’ve got these guys; find the others.”
Paige and Lorcan found the strength to creep their way into the main showroom. The “Sorry We’re Closed” sign still swayed across the main door. Lorcan stumbled with remarkable speed, crashing through tables to get to the door. Paige was barely able to knock aside a dangerously broken wooden chair to help the undead juggernaut get to his final destination.
