4 Vamp Versus Vamp (32 page)

“See?” He barely nodded his head in acknowledgement. “Work on him, Sanders.” I gave the security officer a kiss on the cheek as well before heading to the first spare bedroom with Kellan.

He pulled me into him on the bed. He caressed my curves in a soothing motion. “Are you nervous about tomorrow?”

“I don’t have a choice.” If I didn’t get everyone in, then Auggy and I had no chance. We’d forever be endangering those around us.

Kellan leaned over me and pressed a kiss to the place on my back where Rupert had removed a piece of me. “Get some sleep, babe. Try not to worry. You’ll have plenty of backup.”

I kissed his lips, savoring the taste of him, the feel of him. His fingers threaded my hair, angling my head back to deepen our connection. In an instant we collided on a cosmic level. The truth of all he’d done over the past few weeks pummeled to the forefront of his thoughts, of his shared truths. His mixed emotions settled into my chest, and the anger he felt towards himself for his mistakes constricted it. I slid my tongue past his, wishing to be even closer, further intertwined. Love was easy; commitment to that love was difficult. No one is perfect, and therefore there will never be a perfect relationship. But a perfect commitment can exist; it does exist for those who seek it.

He pressed his lips to mine several times in quick succession. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” I closed my eyes and snuggled deeper into his chest.

Chapter 31

Auggy was standing with Imara in the lobby of my building. I approached them, my stomach tossing around the blood I’d just drank.

“You ready?” Auggy asked. The first thing I’d noticed was he was wearing jeans and a T-shirt rather than his usual military clothes.

“As ready as I can be.” Kellan squeezed my shoulder, reminding me that he would have my back. Drexel brushed his arm against mine, the only affection he would allow in public.

“Claire and I came up with a good idea last night. You and I are going to switch places. This way we can hopefully catch him off-guard. He knows that the molecular tracker hit you and me, but he would never suspect me to stay in your condo while you approach his compound.”

I tilted my head. “Hm. He would assume it was you coming instead of me.”

“Exactly. Hopefully that will throw him off, at least a little, to where my men and the Bladangs’ men can slip in after you.” He passed me the earrings. I put them on, adjusting them to ensure they were secure. “Try to make sure you angle your head to the side when they enter codes of any sort so we can capture them and get to you quicker.” I nodded. Auggy pat my upper arm. “Everything will work out, sweetie.” Was this a new soft side to Auggy?

“I hope so.” I couldn’t get past my body twisting itself into a pretzel on the inside.

“Felipe and Laurence will be in the air over the area if you need them for anything or if a hostile negotiation takes place. Otherwise, Kalel and Kai will be negotiating anything he offers on both of our behalves.” He turned to Imara. “Take care of her.”

“Of course.” She was dressed in a beautiful green sari. Her black hair was pulled tight at the base of her head.

I glanced down at my own ensemble, feeling too casual next to her. I was wearing tight black running pants, a thin white T-shirt, and tennis shoes. The special diamond stud earrings and my engagement ring were the only other items on me. My hair was in a snug knot on top of my head. I’d given my cell phone to Kellan and left everything else upstairs. I felt naked.

Auggy disappeared towards the elevators with Sanders.

“We need to leave now,” Imara stated.

Drexel led us to his company vehicle while Kellan protected us in the rear.

The closer we got, the tenser my body became. Kellan did his best with gentle touches to try to soothe my nerves. He hadn’t said much. I knew from our connection last night that there was so much more running through his mind than what he let on.

We were met by an army of vamps
when we pulled up to my grandmother’s old house. Gabi and Jack escorted us from the car.

Kalel and Kai met us in the center of the home’s clearing. They tugged me between them.

“This is the vampeen who is going in first. She’s the one they want, and the one we need to protect,” Kalel stated. “Imara is her counterpart. She is to be protected at all costs as well.” Imara stepped forward.

“You are to hold off on stepping out until we give the signal. We’ll have an inside view of the compound through her. You slip up, and not only is she dead, but so are all of you,” Kai added.

A woman stepped forward through the crowd. Francesca smiled at Kalel. His eyes sparkled. He instantly warmed beside me at the sight of her.

I leaned over to Kai. “Your brother’s found a new girl. You might want to take a hint.”

“Now is not the time.” He spoke in a rushed whisper. He was definitely not in a lighthearted mood.

In truth, I wasn’t, either. I think it was the nerves hitting my surface. I couldn’t contain them. I stared out at all the vampires and vampeens spreading out over the open land, hiding amidst the forest. They were all putting their necks on the line for me to get out safely.

A part of me wondered what they planned to do with my grandfather if he didn’t cooperate. I didn’t hate anyone, and he was family, one of the last of my family members. I wanted that connection, but my hope wasn’t strong where he was concerned.

Al came forward, followed by Craig and Steven; they joined Kellan. Perhaps I didn’t have a blood family, but I had the love and support of a new one, a different one.

“All army vamps are to report to Steven or myself once we clear out. If you go missing, if you are not accounted for, we will assume you have turned against us and you will be put on our wanted list.” Al’s attitude was a no-nonsense approach, at least today anyway.

“All Bladang vamps, the same applies to you. Christian, myself, or Kai will be your contact.”

“As a reminder, all vamps stop at the two-mile mark. Do not get any closer than two miles from the house until the signal is given,” Kai ordered.

Gabi slipped in between Kalel and me. “We’ll meet you on the inside.” She was solemn, in business mode. She was giving me a promise she was solemnly swearing to keep.

“I’ll see you on the inside,” I affirmed.

Kellan grabbed my hand. “Let’s go.”

We took off running towards my grandfather’s house. I didn’t slow until ten miles in. I turned around. The sight before me was overwhelming. Hundreds of vamps were sprinting around me. This was an army to protect me. The same men and women I was fighting to bring peace to
were
in return fighting to protect me.

Tears gathered. “We have to fulfill the prophecy, Kellan.”

He wiped the red tears streaming down my cheeks. “We will.” His mouth closed over mine firmly. He assured me that he was in this with me, that he would help me see it to the end.

I realized in this moment that it didn’t matter if this was fate or not; this was what I wanted to do. I wanted to make a difference in my world any way that I could. I wanted to leave my footprints in the sand a thousand times so no one could miss them, so these vamps
who
were so willing to risk themselves for me could have someone fighting for them in return.

“We must go,” Imara stated, cutting into my thoughts.

We resumed our former pace, flying through the trees. We slowed as we reached the two-mile mark. I gave Kellan one last hug and a kiss goodbye. I glanced down the line and saw Kalel hand in hand with Francesca. They would be a couple not to cross. I met Kai’s eyes. He didn’t have to say anything for me to know that he was worried.

“Are you ready?” Imara asked.

I glanced at the horizon once more, overwhelmed by the sheer number of vamps there to defend us. I met her eyes. “I’m ready.”

KELLAN

“Pull out your phones and lock in on the frequency we told you earlier,” Kalel ordered.

I yanked out my phone, pulling up the app and accessing the cameras in Lexi’s earrings. My heart was on the verge of slicing through my chest. It might be dead, but it would always beat for her.

My eyes were glued to the phone, watching her every move.

I felt a hand land on my shoulder. “She’s going to be okay, son.”

I pursed my lips, unable to pull myself from the visual in my hand to look at him. “I hope so.”

I frowned as I watched Lexi approach the house. My gut tightened, my stomach twisting. Something was wrong. I met Kai’s eyes. We both knew it. She was in trouble. I gazed out at the horizon, watching as they ambled towards us. We were all in trouble.

LEXI

The compound was eerily quiet as we approached. An eerie foreboding settled in my chest. My serum nearly choked me in my throat.

“Control yourself. Do not allow your emotions to control you.” Imara clutched my arm, guiding me to the front door of the plantation-style home.

Not one vamp met us. The other day, they’d been crawling all over the property; the map showed more than two hundred vampeens accounted for, yet there were none present. The front door opened of its own accord. Imara led me inside. The door immediately slammed shut and a metal door fell into place, blocking it. What seemed like hundreds of shutters subsequently locked over the
windows.
There would be no escaping.
Not good.

A large chandelier hung in the center of the circular foyer. A wooden staircase clung to the right wall. The house was furnished as if it was still 1900, yet I didn’t see a speck of dust. A study sat untouched to the left, and a large dining room was on the right.

Imara walked into the dining room, around the table, and through the swinging door to the kitchen. The kitchen was a modern-day dream; it stood out like a sore thumb amidst the outdated décor of the rest of the home. Near the edge of the kitchen, she opened another door with stairs leading down.

My heart thumped loudly in my chest.
Still no vampeens.

I followed her down the steep, narrow steps into what was the original basement of the home. She headed straight for the far side of the space to where an opening had been created. She led me into the carved-out tunnel of concrete. Half a mile in, we reached another metal door. It automatically opened for us, and again slammed behind us.

My eyes surveyed the dark, dingy room. A desk sat abandoned to the right. This was definitely a trap. I felt like I was in a Super Mario game, being led through the castle, forced to keep going despite knowing that big Koopa was waiting.

“Calm yourself.” Imara walked to the door on the other side of the room.

The moment I approached behind her, it opened. We were now in a back office area, similar to the vamp army headquarters. There was still not one vampeen in sight, though.

Imara closed her eyes. Her head popped up. “This way.”

We approached a conference room in the corner. It was set up like any other generic conference space. A large table and black office chairs ate up the majority of the space. A white dry-erase board was mounted to the wall at the front of the room.

I gasped, leaping back when the conference table split into two; a large rectangle of the floor surrounding the table and chairs lifted and separated in opposite directions, leaving a gaping black hole in the center.

“We must jump,” she advised.

I swallowed the serum that flooded my mouth. She held out her hand. I took it. We slid along the wall until we reached the center. I stared down into the open pit.

“One, two, three.” We dove down into the black hole.

I landed on my feet before I fell backward. I was quickly on my toes, looking around. Torches were lit, lighting the barren, concrete room around the perimeter. The way we’d gone deeper into the ground and met a blaze of firing torches, it almost seemed like I was a pit in hell. It had a
‘
Daniel and the Lion’s Den
’
feel to it.

My heart thundered in my chest. I was grappling with my emotions, trying to keep my lights under wrap.

Imara threw me against the north side of the wall just in time for liquid to hit the floor. It sizzled, eating away at itself. “Acid.”

Suddenly the wall gave way behind us, and we stumbled backward into another room. I turned and came face to face with my grandfather…along with thirty other vampeens.

Chapter 32

Imara clutched my hand. She closed her eyes. I felt her energy flow through me, an odd tingling in my limbs. “
Can you hear me?
” Her voice was loud and clear in my mind, like Kellan’s.

“
Yes.
”

“
There’s a computer room with their main power supply panel in it on the other side of the back wall. I’m going to wreak havoc on this room, but you have to get to the power supply. Channel all of your emotions and blow up the box. It’s the only way the others will be able to get past the security of the home and reach us.
”

“
Don’t they have a generator?
”

“
Yes, but there is a two-minute delay. Jack knows this. He will be waiting with the others.
”