The union, p.24
The Union, page 24
“A bald fucker was chasing Layla. Have you seen Lane?”
“Negative on both,” she returned. “The SEAL team is two minutes out.”
The human was bleeding from an area on his lower back where it appeared as though he’d been stabbed.
I rolled him over. He looked like Adam Emery minus the wicked scar on his face. Jordyn had mentioned Fred Emery. “It seems someone clocked Fred Emery. Can you get someone up here to make sure we bring him in?”
“Copy that,” she said before she clicked off.
My phone rang.
“Layla, where the fuck are you?”
“Sam,” she whispered in a heavy breath. “I’m in the basement of the hospital. Jordyn is bleeding. But there are SWAT men chasing us as well.”
“Where in the basement?” I jogged back the way I’d come. “Are they vampires?” Roman’s men could very well be in SWAT gear.
“The sign said boiler room. I managed to scream when one of them tried to grab me, and he collapsed. He’s out, but not for long. Jordyn passed out too. They’re not vampires.” She shuddered.
“I’m coming your way.”
“Don’t,” she bit out harshly. “They have those dart guns.”
I clutched the phone, almost crushing it. “How many men?”
“I only saw two,” she said in a low tone. “I think they’re with Intech.”
That much was true since Fred Emery had brought his goons with him. “Have you seen Lane? And where’s the bald vamp who was chasing you?”
“They were fighting in the alleyway.”
Once out of the garage, I hopped over a median, then took off down a road alongside the hospital. “Keep talking.”
“Someone is coming,” she whispered.
I ran with the phone to my ear, searching for the door into the boiler area. Again, images from long ago fucked with my head. Jo had been stabbed by Cliff, our alcoholic foster dad, and a trip to the emergency room had set us on a course to hell.
“Come on, Jo. Keep moving.” I pulled her as we skirted a dumpster in a dark alley, looking for the boiler room.
But it wasn’t nighttime, and I wasn’t human anymore.
The long expanse of the building had doors punched in it, but no fucking boiler sign.
“Layla,” I said. “Are you still with me?”
Silence.
I looked at my cell. Fuuuuck! Either she hung up, or she lost the signal.
The smell of detergent drifted out of an open door up ahead, accompanied by a cloud of steam. I tried Layla again. Her voice mail connected. I was ready to throw my phone when a man wearing a hairnet sauntered out with a cigarette in his hand.
He was about to light the cancer stick when his gaze landed on me. His hackles lifted, and he dropped his cigarette in fear.
I smiled, showing my fangs. “I don’t want trouble.” Unless you don’t answer my question correctly.
I quickly glanced into the laundry area where industrial washing machines and dryers droned, and bins of sheets were lined up side by side.
“I’m looking for two women. One with auburn hair and the other with brown. Have you seen them?”
He gulped in air. “You have fangs like the other men I saw.”
“Describe them quickly,” I ordered.
His pulse pounded within his carotid artery like a drummer in a solo performance. “Two of them had short blond hair, fangs like yours, and black eyes.” He shivered. “The other one was bald with a scar on his face.”
Lane had blond hair and Roman did too. “You saw all three of them together?”
“No. One of the blonds came through the laundry room about thirty minutes ago, carrying a duffel bag. He asked for the electrical room. The other blond was in a Jeep and chased the bald guy.” He stuck his finger to his right. “That way.”
Fury had me growling, which made the human shake like a leaf.
All I could think about was Layla’s rental house blowing up. Roman had lured me there while he stormed the naval base.
“And the women?” I asked, clenching my teeth so hard my fangs embedded in the skin below my lip.
He swung out his trembling arm to the door behind him. “They ran through here too. Are you people the reason the fire alarm went off?”
Ignoring his question, I asked, “Where’s the boiler room?”
“Around the back side of the hospital, or you can go through—”
I took off before he could finish, my mind scrambling to figure out what the fuck Roman was up to. Maybe his agenda didn’t match Emery’s or Harriet’s. Maybe he just wanted to kill Layla and me both. But that didn’t add up either. Or… he was creating a diversion.
They had to be watching us, waiting for us to leave the naval base. How else had they known Layla and I would be at the hospital? It wasn’t like her emergency was planned. Not only that, but Roman was supposed to be in Cleveland, although Tripp and Ben only talked about Roman’s men. They’d never said they had eyes on Roman. But the hows and whys had to wait along with the answers to my questions.
When I turned the corner, I came to an abrupt halt as pain clawed at my chest. Lane’s head sat in the middle of the road next to the idling Jeep.
Pure hellfire burned through me as an intense need to kill pulsed in my veins.
I shook my head like a dog shaking off water, but it did nothing except spike my adrenaline to new heights.
I took off running like a wild man, scanning doors, seething, and hoping beyond hope I got to Layla in time. The hospital had too many fucking entrances. I passed a door with no sign on it. The next one—electrical. As tempted as I was to find out what Roman was up to, I had to get to Layla first.
I sprinted to the end of the building and came up empty for the boiler area. I turned the corner, but there weren’t any doors along that side.
I backtracked and ripped off the door to the electrical room. The electricity in the air hummed and sizzled, and I absorbed every bit of it. Pipes, control boxes, pumps, and tanks crowded the space. Straight ahead, an open archway spilled into yet another area.
Walking deeper into the room, I held my phone in one hand and fisted my other, prepared to unleash my wrath at a moment’s notice, when my phone vibrated.
“Layla,” I said into my cell.
“Sam!” she screamed. “There’s a—”
My heart dropped to the cement floor. “Layla!” I shouted, running farther into the belly of the beast.
I couldn’t hear any heartbeats or breathing. Too many sounds—pump motors trilling, electricity sizzling, the loud rumble of the boiler blasting in the machine-packed room. I listened intently, sniffed, checked around more tanks, pumps, pipes, and corners. But my senses were on overload, and the oil permeating the air was potent.
I backtracked a ways. Maybe I’d missed something. She said she was in the boiler room. The dude with the hairnet said a blond vamp asked for the electrical room. I was standing not far from the boiler.
“Layla,” I said into the phone but realized the call had ended.
I searched again, my heart freaking the fuck out. “Where are you, baby doll?” I said to no one. I was about to enter the electrical area when an explosion threw me against the boiler. I bounced off it like a fucking basketball and stumbled to my feet. I growled, inhaling the dirt and debris and all the fucking natural energy I could. Then I was wiping the shit and metal from my face when a second explosion rocked the fucking room right in my ear. The boiler blew, sending me soaring through the air.
Motherfucker in hell.
All I could think of was Layla and our babies. Rage, fear, madness, and murder strangled me. I wasn’t the type to pray, but I was praying like a priest—not for me, but for my family. Hellfire was about to rain down on this planet. I wouldn’t stop until I had the hearts of every last fucker responsible, human and vampire, in my bloody hands.
To be continued…
Sam & Layla’s story continues in The Dawning and will release on 10/18/2022. You can preorder your copy HERE.
About the Author
Bestselling author S.B. Alexander is an independent author with over 25 titles to date. She writes paranormal, new adult, and sweet romances that feature hot heroes stealing hearts.
* * *
S.B. or Susan as she likes to be called is a navy veteran, former high school teacher, and former corporate sales executive. She’s a lover of sports, especially baseball, although nowadays you can find her glued to the TV during football season.
* * *
Her motto: “Life is too short to waste. So live every moment like it’s your last.”
* * *
You can connect with S.B. Alexander in the following ways:
Reader Group: https://sbalexander.com/beastsandbitches
Author Website: https://sbalexander.com
Newsletter: https://sbalexander.com/newsletter
Email: susan@sbalexander.com
* * *
NEVER MISS A NEW RELEASE:
Sign up for her Author App
iTunes: https://bit.ly/sbalexanderitunes
Android: https://bit.ly/sbalexanderandroid
Also by S.B. Alexander
Visit https://sbalexander.com/all-books/ to learn more about S.B. Alexander books and future releases. Please note release dates are subject to change based on reader demand and the author’s schedule. Subscribing to the author’s newsletter or following her on Facebook is the best way to stay updated with planned new releases.
Glossary of Terms
Natural-born vampire: A human born with the vampire gene that, when activated, will turn them into a vampire.
* * *
Activation process: Those who carry the vampire gene can only turn by drinking the blood of their vampire father at the age of sixteen years or older.
* * *
Council of Elders – A group of five vampires who set the laws.
* * *
Genetic engineering: Turning humans into vampires through a process of restructuring their DNA.
* * *
Cobalt – A vampire’s kryptonite. The metal will kill a vampire if staked through the heart. It will also burn a vampire’s skin if they come in contact with it.
* * *
Reproduction: A natural-born vampire is born by a male vampire and a human female with a rare blood type of Vel negative.
* * *
Council of Eternal Affairs: The legal department of the vampire government.
* * *
Vampire characteristics: Sunlight doesn’t burn them. Their hearts beat at <5 bpm. Skin temperature is ten degrees cooler than a human. Eye color changes to black except for a few chosen ones.
* * *
Steven Mason: Vampire and father to twins Jo and Sam Mason. He’s dubbed the most powerful of all vampires because of his many powers, including his mind-reading abilities. He can only read minds when touching someone except when it comes to his children. His normal eye color is green. His vampire eye color is silver.
* * *
Jo Mason: Turned at sixteen. Powers include seeing the future through her dreams, mind-reading without touching a person, telekinesis, and she’s an elemental with the ability to manipulate water, air, earth, and fire. Her normal eye color is silver. Her vampire eye color is violet.
* * *
Sam Mason: Turned at sixteen. Powers include feeling what others feel (Empath), telekinesis, and he can compel a person using a series of numbers woven into a magical spell. He’s also an elemental with the ability to manipulate water, air, earth, and fire. His normal eye color is green. His vampire eye color is silver.
* * *
Guardians: Vampires who are equivalent to the human police.
S.B. Alexander, The Union
