4 Vamp Versus Vamp (30 page)

“Swerve the car,” I commanded.

Kellan drove the car in a maze-like pattern down the dirt road, trying to shake the vampeen. It wasn’t until he could take a sharp ninety-degree turn onto the main road that the vamp flew off the car into the trees.

“I know what he was waiting for,” I stated, awareness hitting me like a ton of bricks.

“What?” Kellan didn’t take his eyes off the road.

“Me. He knew at some point that you would have to bring me in. Now he has a permanent way to track me.”

Kellan was quiet, but his expression screamed danger. I’d never seen him look so lethal. He appeared ready to shred anything in his path, from a kitten to a giant. He ground his foot on the gas pedal until it hit the floor of the car.

I watched him closely the rest of the drive. He remained in control of the car the entire time, though he did push it to the max. His Beamer surprisingly didn’t give out, though.

He parked the car in the Bladangs’ driveway and was outside opening my door before I could get my bearings. He pulled me to him. He stared at me harshly. “I swear I will get whatever the hell it is out of you.” His brows furrowed. He was biting the inside of his mouth. That’s when I realized he was angry
at
himself on top of the situation.

I placed my hands on his cheeks. “Stop. I know you didn’t do this on purpose.”

He stepped backward, away from my touch. He laughed grimly. “I’m always going off about protecting you and taking care of you, and then I lead you right into the arms of danger. How’s that for being a great fiancé? Oh, and then I’m stressed and constantly losing my temper on top of it all.”

I didn’t reply. There was nothing I could say in this moment that he would listen to. He was on the pity train. Was this what I was like? More than one person had said I was a masochist. Taking everything into my own hands, trying to protect everyone else at the potential cost of my own life…. We were both a mess. This mission had hit too close to home. Cesar was hitting us too close to home.

“Let’s get inside so we’re not a visible target at least.”  I spoke softly, calmly.

He didn’t argue. He led me into the house, not even bothering to knock.

Chapter 29

The moment we were inside, Kai rushed us. He punched Kellan
square
in the jaw. I squealed, covering my mouth with my hands. Kellan swung back at the vampire, connecting with his lip. Kai’s lip split open, blood dripping.

“Stop! You’re fighting the wrong person here.”

Kai glared at Kellan with disgust. “If anything happens to her, it’s on your head.”

“Let’s go,” Kalel called. He stood beside the door that led down a hall to the weapons room and lab.

Auggy and Chek barged in the front door, Auggy mid-rant when he noticed Kellan’s bruised jaw and Kai’s bloodied lip. They were both already starting to heal, but the damage was still visible. “For Christ’s sake, can’t you two give it a rest? At this rate you’re going to kill each other and leave her with no one. You may as well call a truce and consider a ménage.”

I drew back, my eyes widening. I immediately flew to Kalel, not wanting to see the guys’ reactions or even consider it. I loved them both, but it didn’t mean I wanted to be with them both, especially not at the same time. It wasn’t fair to them.

“Come on.” Kalel ushered me into the back hall and led me through several doors to the massive weapons room. It’d been a while since I’d been back here.

The warehouse was expansive, larger than any I’d ever seen. Weapons of every kind lined the walls and shelves in neat sections. The tall, clear bin of grenades startled me every time, though.

I followed Kalel through the maze to the laboratory tucked in the right rear section of the space. The first person I looked for was Ralph, but I didn’t see him.

“We’ve turned him over to the High Authorities,” Kalel said.

“Have my thoughts been open this whole time?”

“No, but I know you well.” He approached a ghastly pale male with bleached blond hair, pale blue eyes, and not an ounce of fat on his body. His lack of plumpness caused him to have a sallow appearance that aged him beyond his years. I heard no heartbeat, indicating he was a vampire. “Rupert, this is Leka; Leka, this is Rupert.”

“Hello.” The man smiled shyly and nodded his head in a courteous greeting.

“We have an emergency. Odorless gas with molecular trackers has seeped into our pores. Any way to extract it?”

The male immediately went to the oversized Mac desktop computer and began typing an equation on the screen. He faced us, a grave look on his face.

“Just give it to me.” Kalel was impatient.

“I can remove it, but I would have to dehydrate you with a chemical powder to an extremely dangerous level.”

“How dangerous?” Kalel focused on the scientist.

“Possible irreversible damage.”

“Why?”

“Because it is a vampire-class chemical that I would have to use, not a human-grade one.”

Kalel punched the table in front of him. Glass beakers of liquid shook. “Are there any other options?”

“Without knowing the specific formula you’ve been introduced to, I can’t do anything more,” the meek vamp replied.

“How could you get to it?” Kalel pressed.

“I would have to remove a chunk of flesh down to the muscle.”

Kalel ripped off his shirt. “Do it.”

“Kalel! Don’t. We can find another way.”

“No, Leka.” He closed his eyes. “I’ve never felt anything so concentrated. I know you have to understand to some degree, but I’d do anything to be with her again, even if it means enduring some pain to get there.”

“Then he’ll have to do both of us, because the chemical may affect vampeens differently from vampires.”

His focus shot to me. He ground his teeth. “Fine.”

“We don’t know where the trigger was aimed, but most of the time it’s higher rather than lower. I will cut the minimal amount from the center of the back where the neck meets the shoulders,” Rupert said.

“Just do it already,” Kalel growled.

Rupert fumbled around for a surgical blade and tweezers. I grabbed Kalel’s hands, willing his attention to be on me.

“It’s a good thing the others are doddling; otherwise, our plan would have been squashed by now.”

He smiled, gripping my hands. Rupert came around the table and sprayed a liquid on Kalel’s back. I knew the second the knife had bitten into his skin because his entire body tensed; he squeezed my hands before softening his clutch. Rupert grabbed a Petri dish off the table and laid the thin slice of skin and tissue in it.

The scientist pressed a tissue to Kalel’s back. “Turn around and let her hold this in place.”

“I don’t need it.”

Rupert shrugged his shoulders, tossing the bloodied paper into the trash. He came around to my rear. I focused on Kalel, looking no place but in his eyes. He was strong. He was always brave, the perfect big brother I never had.

I lifted my shirt over my head, leaving my arms intact so the shirt covered the front of me. I felt the cold liquid freeze my pores. I gasped, my eyes watering as the blade pierced my skin. A sharp pain shot through my upper body and down my arms.

Kalel frowned. “We have company.”

“What the hell are you doing to her?” Kai yelled.

“Leave him,” Kalel ordered, his voice echoing through the space.

“He’s slicing her up. The hell I’m going to leave him,” Kellan barked.

“Don’t!” Footsteps halted at my panicked, agony-stricken tone. “Hurry up, Rupert.”

One final cut, one last blazing ache, and then he said, “Done.”

I breathed a sigh of relief, feeling the blood beginning to pour down my back. Kalel hugged my hands before releasing them.

“There better be a damn good explanation for that move, Kulani,” Auggy snapped.

Kalel didn’t reply. He watched as Rupert examined the flesh beneath the microscope. He dissected the skin into smaller vertical slivers and transferred them to other dishes. He added a different-color drop of liquid to each dish, followed by some clear fluid.

“You have blood running down your back.” Kellan pressed a cloth to my back. He came around my side and kissed my cheek. His upper body was bare. It was his shirt pressed to my back. “It should start closing up in a minute or two.” He held the shirt in place until the time had elapsed. He prompted me to fix my shirt when the bleeding had stopped.

I gazed around. Kai, Auggy, and Chek stood off to the side. Chek was searching the place high and low, what for I wasn’t sure. I didn’t get an uneasy feeling. His actions seemed more habitual than anything.

“I have good news and bad news,” Rupert announced.

My pulse accelerated; my muscles stiffened. I looked at the dishes. One in particular stood out. The liquid had turned a frightening black, completely clouding over the skin. Rupert had separated the lineup. Kalel was on his left; I was on his right. It was a dish on his right that had changed.

“Go on,” Kai said. I glanced down the table at him. His lip had already healed, with a minor bit of swelling remaining.

“This only affects vampeens, not vampires.”

I looked at Auggy; he looked at me.
Nothing like having a wrench thrown in your plans.
He clenched his jaw, turning back to Rupert. “What can you do?” Auggy’s tone was softer than usual, yet still tight.

“I’m afraid we don’t have the correct substance to separate the molecules from your cells and extract them. I can order it, but even with overnight shipping, we’re looking at a minimum of three days.” Rupert sounded empathetic enough, but it did no good.

Kellan had been silent beside me. I’d felt his body clench when the news was given. I was terrified to face him.

“If I get us into Cesar’s, what’s the likelihood that he would have a counter-formula or the stuff we need to get rid of it?” I asked to no one in particular.

“He’s in a compound full of only vampeens, which is who this thing affects. He has to have something we can use. Or at the least, we can possibly gain access to the tracker’s signal read and disable it,” Kalel replied.

“Let’s go with that, then. Just give me a day to get myself together.” I turned to Auggy. “Call my aunt.” I regarded everyone in the room. “Thanks for everything, guys.” I headed for the door. I stopped when I realized I didn’t have the correct access to get in and out.

“I’ve got you,” Kai said, catching up with me.

Kellan was on the other side of me, a grim expression on his face. I slipped my hand into his, trying to reassure him. This was the original plan anyway. The only difference was I actually had to extract something from inside Cesar’s lair.

Once we were back inside the main house, I asked to speak with Kai alone. Kellan glared at Kai. “Don’t try anything.”

Kai didn’t respond. He focused on me.

I waited for the front door to close. “I appreciate everything that you’ve done for me, and maybe I am a bit confused as to why I have feelings for you, but the one thing I’m not confused about is that my feelings for Kellan are stronger.”

“Even though his aren’t the same?”

I didn’t know what they were or weren’t at this point. Kellan seemed as muddled as I was lately. Nonetheless, it would always be a resounding, “Yes.”

“I will always be here to protect you when he fails to. I’ll always be here to support you when he doesn’t.” He sighed, shaking his head. He gazed into my eyes. “One of the vamps you love is a ticking time bomb, baby, and it isn’t me. I’m not saying that to upset you. I’m telling you because love is blind sometimes, and I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Based off
Kellan’s
erratic behavior lately, I understood his point of view. I gave him a small smile. “Thanks.”

A smile lit up his face. “Come here, Leka.” He held out his arms to me.

I moved into his embrace. I immediately stuffed my nose into him, inhaling him, inhaling all I loved about Kai. “Will you do me a favor?”

“Anything.”

“Stop beating on my fiancé.”

His chest contracted in a laugh. “I’ll work on it.”

“Thanks.” I kissed his cheek and strolled to the front door. I waved. “Bye, Kai.”

His look was pensive. “Bye, Leka.”

Chapter 30

When we returned to the condo, several guests were waiting. I stalled as I came through the door. “Will, Imara, what are you two doing here?”

Drexel stepped forward. “They said it was urgent. I called the High Authorities and received clearance for them.”

“It’s okay. They’re good,” I assured him.

“What’s wrong?” Kellan asked. We all moved to the island, using it as a conference table.

“I am to enter the dragon’s den with you, Alexa,” Imara stated.

“What? Why?”

“She is telling the truth, Lexi. I’ve studied the prophecy, and it says you do not enter alone.” Will placed the thick binder on the island.

In truth, the prophecy was a blur to me. Will had forced
me and Kellan to read a translated version of it,
but I merely skimmed over it. Who wanted to know that much detail about their future? I’d been freaking out about one vivid scene ever since Puerto Rico. Or perhaps I had willed it to the back of my mind, not wanting anything to do with the possibility that it was all true, particularly the part about Kellan’s death.