Blood Secrets-Valorian 1 (22 page)

Clawing at his hand, Eve tried to fend him off. But he was much too strong, and she realized now that she had been drugged with more than just chloroform. She could still feel the paralyzing effects of it wearing off. And judging by the horrid taste in her mouth, she had breathed in a lot of it.

She’d been kidnapped from Caine’s deck. But how? Didn’t she see Mel Howard in the police station in handcuffs? They had caught him. He was guilty of murdering that poor young girl and his accomplice in cold blood. Did they let him go?

Then she felt a sharp pinch just below her right ear. Within seconds, it felt like she was being sucked through a vacuum hose. He released his grip around her neck, but she still had trouble getting air.

She clawed at her throat, but soon her hands felt heavy, leaden and they fell away to the side of her head. Her arms stiffened like superglue drying. Instantly freezing in place. She tried to move her legs, but couldn’t. The only thing she was capable of doing was shifting her eyes.

She was paralyzed.

Mel leaned down. She could feel his nose pressed against her cheek and his hot, rancid breath in her ear. “I’m so pleased that I get playtime with you, sweet thing.” He rolled his tongue over her earlobe. “It’s my reward for serving him so well.”

Eve screamed. But nothing came out. She was incapable of opening her mouth. The sound just echoed around in her skull, bouncing around like a rubber ball, until she thought she’d go insane. Maybe she would. Then she could retreat into herself, away from what Mel was going to do to her.

She tried to clamp her teeth together when his hand trailed lower. But something else drew her attention. Shifting her eyes up, she swore she saw another shadow fill the yellow rectangle of light on the floor.

“W here the hell is my trace evidence?” Caine paced the lab staff room, his hands clenched into tight fists. His team was watching him from various positions around the room. They had processed the scene, his home, quickly and respectfully, but now it was a matter of waiting for that evidence to be processed.

They had lifted Mel’s prints from the deck railing, so they knew for sure he was the one who took Eve, and they discovered trace amounts of dirt on the deck. Other than that they had nothing to go on. So far, no reports had come back on the APB for his red sports car.

“It’s coming, Chief. You know it takes time to do it right,” Lyra said from her seat at the table.

“Why do you think he took her?” Mahina asked from her perch on the edge of the counter. “It would’ve been smarter for him to disappear. He could’ve crossed the city lines and gotten lost in San Antonio. We would’ve had a hard time tracking him there.”

“Revenge maybe?” Jace offered. “To prove that he could.”

“I’d like to know how the hell he got out,” Caine growled, turning on Mahina.

“We don’t know, Caine. It had to have been an inside job, though. Anyone in law enforcement would have access to the holding cells.” She pushed away from the counter.

“Including staff of this lab.”

Caine stopped pacing and glared at her. “Are you accusing one of my team?”

“I’m not saying that.”

“What are you saying?”

“That we have to look at every possibility.”

Caine rubbed at his forehead where a massive migraine was pounding, making a valiant effort to break his skull in half. “Okay, what do you need?”

“Access to everyone on staff. I need to ask everyone where they were between five and eight last night.”

“On a Sunday night most of the staff would’ve been at home.”

“Then I’ll need names and addresses.”

Caine nodded. “I’ll get the list. It’s in my office.”

Kellen slid off the counter where he’d been sitting silently, munching on day-old pizza.

“Well, kids, I’m out of here. Looks like you have it all handled. Nothing I can do.”

Caine glared at him. “No one’s leaving until we find Eve.”

Kellen put up his hand in defense. “Hey, I feel bad for the girl, it’s a real shame, but it’s not like I have a vested interest in her.” He snorted. “I’m not the one nailing her.”

Faster than anyone could blink, Caine gripped Kellen by the throat, heaved him up off the floor and slammed him onto his back on top of the table. The other vampire struggled, but it was pointless. Caine’s strength was fueled by fury. There was no breaking his hold, however much the other vampire punched and scratched at Caine. He’d let go only if he wanted to.

Leaning down into Kellen’s face, Caine sneered, “I could end you right now.”

Mahina approached the table, her hands out in a calming gesture. “Caine, this isn’t helping.”

He ignored her. He wanted to hurt something, someone. Maybe then the pain of Eve’s kidnapping would dissipate. Maybe it would somehow dampen the agony that tore through him since she’d been taken. Caine wasn’t sure how much more he could stand before he completely lost his mind, and his soul. He felt fractured without her.

Kellen mumbled something, snapping Caine from his bloodlust rage. Releasing his grip a little, he leaned in closer to him.

“I’m sorry,” Kellen rasped.

As Caine stared into the other vampire’s eyes, he saw a flash of regret. It was enough to snap him out of his fury and back to reality.

He released his hold and took a step away. His hands still shook with anger, but he reined it in. Not once had he ever physically harmed any member of his team. Until now.

Aided by Mahina and Jace, Kellen sat up and rubbed at his neck. He looked up and met Caine’s gaze. “I’m sorry, Chief. I didn’t realize.”

Revulsion swirled in his stomach. Clenching his hands, Caine dropped his gaze and turned. He’d come so close to seriously hurting Kellen. Over fifty years ago, he had vowed not to use his power to harm another being. And he had snapped over something as harmless as a few careless words. Mean-spirited certainly, but words nonetheless.

What were his feelings for Eve doing to him?

Kellen slid off the table and approached Caine. He offered his hand to him. Sighing, Caine took it.

“I’m sorry for my stupid mouth. I didn’t realize you had actually bonded with her. It won’t happen again, Chief. I swear.”

They shook hands.

“I apologize for nearly snapping your neck.”

Kellen smiled and shrugged. “I’ll live.” Taking his hand back, Kellen shuffled out the door. “I’ll go see if the trace lab is done.”

When he was gone, Caine ran his hands over his face and through his hair. He couldn’t believe what he’d almost done. His feelings for Eve would be the death of him—or the death of someone else.

Mahina placed her hand on his shoulder and leaned in. “Do you want me to see where Kellen was a few hours ago?”

Caine met her gaze. He could see the wheels turning inside her head. Unfortunately, the same wheels were spinning in his. Something had triggered Kellen’s attitude toward Eve.

He didn’t want to consider it, but at this point he had to look into every possibility.

He nodded.

She squeezed his shoulder in understanding, then took a step back.

“I’ll go get you that employee list, Mahina.”

“Good idea.”

Before Caine could leave, Lyra spoke. “Maybe he’s trying to finish what he started.” She peered around the room.

Caine knew that look. Her witchy senses were tingling. “You mean with this demon summoning?”

She nodded.

“He began the ceremony with Lillian, so now he wants to use Eve to finish it?”

She nodded again, her face growing pale.

Bile rose in his throat. He didn’t want to consider it, but knew if he didn’t he might miss something important in the evidence. That was all they had to go on.

“What would he need to do it properly?”

Chewing on her lip, Lyra said, “The second ceremony is a longer one. He’d need the blood from his first victim, another animal bone and time. A secluded place most likely and a stone dais. So, I’m thinking he must’ve had the place already picked out long ago.”

Jace grunted. “I can’t believe we’re entertaining this notion. It’s ridiculous. Demons don’t exist.”

“Whether they exist or not isn’t the issue here, Jace,” Lyra said. “The suspect believes in it.”

“Lyra’s right. We need to consider every possibility.” Caine ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “Let’s think of places where he could go. Secluded buildings or areas. And somewhere close. He’d want to do this quickly.”

Looking around at the others, he knew what they were thinking. That it was already done.

That Eve had already been sacrificed. But he knew it wasn’t true. He would know if she was dead. Because of their bonding, he would feel if she was gone. A feeling of complete emptiness would invade his heart. So far, it hadn’t. They still had time to find her. He had to find her.

Lyra stood. “I’ll get a map of the downtown grid, from Twelfth Street to Digger and Moonglow Road to Fallen. There must be a few abandoned warehouses in the area.”

Caine nodded.

Jace stood. “I’ll help you, Lyra.”

As they left the room to locate a map, Jace patted Caine on the shoulder. But before they got two steps out, Gwen came barreling into the room, paper rustling in her hands.

“Got the results, Chief,” she panted, clearly out of breath.

Caine took the sheet and scanned the results. “Soil decomp and trace bits of grass.”

“Decomp?” Jace questioned. “Where the hell would he have picked up that?”

“The dump?” Mahina offered.

Caine shook his head. “The landfill is pretty far out of the area. It’s at least a forty-five-minute drive from here.”

Rubbing his fingers at his temple, Caine pondered the evidence. The answer was there. It always was, if a person knew how to put it all together. So how did it go together?

Decomp. Demons. Blood. Sacrifice.

Caine turned to Lyra. “What did you say he’d need for the ceremony?”

“Blood, an altar, someplace secluded and an animal bone to draw the symbols with.”

“Animal bone. We found one at the last scene. Decomp. How about a slaughterhouse?

Any near here?”

One by one they rushed into the analysis room. Caine sat at the computer and pulled up a map of Necropolis. In the search engine, he typed in slaughterhouses. Three possible results came up.

Excitedly, Lyra pointed to the screen. “Look. This one’s on Nightspell and Digger.”

“And it’s been closed for years,” Caine added.

Jace slapped Caine on the shoulder. “That’s got to be it.”

“Do you want me to send units to the other two locations?” Mahina asked.

Caine nodded. But now that they had a location, he knew deep down inside it was the right place. He could sense it on several levels. When he closed his eyes and concentrated, he could feel Eve’s pain and her fear. Thankfully, she was still alive. And waiting for him.

Hang on, Eve! I’m coming!

E ve jerked awake. Something had jolted her out of her dreamless slumber. A sound. A thought. She wasn’t sure. All she knew was that she was still on the hard cement floor struggling to stay alert and conscious. So far she wasn’t doing very well with either.

Mel had injected her with something. Her neck still throbbed from the puncture wound.

Vampatamine, she guessed, by the way her body moved like thick molasses, as if restrained by some unseen chains. And her mind was muddled and confused.

Time was irrelevant to her. She didn’t know whether a minute had passed since last time she was awake, or a few hours. She knew that it couldn’t have been any longer than six or seven hours as her stomach rumbled from hunger but didn’t feel hollow.

Struggling to move, Eve jerked her shoulder and rolled onto her back. The motion made her nauseous, but she managed to keep the bile rising in her throat down. If she could just focus on something she’d be able to ride out the effects of the drug. As long as he didn’t inject her again, she was sure it would wear off in a few more hours. Someone would find her before then, she hoped desperately.

Blinking her eyes repeatedly, she tried to take in more of the room. It was still dark, but she was starting to adjust to it. She was definitely in some sort of large empty room. A rancid odor was ingrained into the cement. She’d smelled something similar before, but couldn’t place it.

Lifting her hands, she smoothed them over her form. She was still wearing the robe, and it was still done up, marginally, but it proved to her that Mel had not taken advantage of her. Not yet anyway. Gauging her body, she didn’t feel anything wrong with it. No immediate pain radiated from having been violated. Maybe she’d be saved that agony.

She had a sense that he had been interrupted before he could do anything. As if someone else had entered the room. She’d seen another shadow on the floor, hadn’t she? Shaking her head, she tried to remember.

But her memories were disjointed, fractured like glass shards scattered all over her mind’s surface. When she tried to put everything back together, the entire picture made no sense. It didn’t fit. Either something was missing or there were too many pieces.

The sound of the door opening startled her. She tried to see who had entered. It wasn’t long before she found out. Mel leered down at her. But there was something wrong with his face. She couldn’t exactly say, but it seemed like his mouth had grown wider, longer even. As if somehow his face had melted, letting gravity do its work on his flesh. There were also dark streaks over his chin, and across his cheeks. Was it blood?

When he crouched down next to her, a distinct metallic odor wafted over her and up her nose. It was most definitely blood.

He licked his lips and snarled. “He told me to feed before the ceremony. Said he didn’t want me to interrupt it with my voracious thirst for blood.” Reaching up, he gently touched her hair, rubbing the strands between his fingers. The action reminded her of Caine, and a sense of utter loss swept over her, tearing at her heart. Tears filled her eyes.

Oh God, she didn’t want to die. Not before having one more chance to tell Caine. To tell him she was in love with him.

Mel trailed his fingers over her forehead, down her nose and to her lips. “As if I would do that. The summoning is more important than anything else.” He pushed his finger into her mouth. “Even a sweet thing like you.”