Faith Revisited (33 page)
“And what of your vampires? Which one of them has gone rogue?”
The vampire's eyes narrowed angrily even though there was a silver-cored sword poised to slice his head from his neck. “If any of my vampires had done anything to Faith, I would know.”
Bale's laugh held no humor. “Really? So you knew one of your vampires intentionally tried to kill Hope's mate while she begged and pleaded for his life.”
Garrett studied Bale for a moment. “I do not monitor every thought my vampires contrive to have or every action. I trust them…at least I did. If what you say is true, Martin will be punished.”
Zeke was beginning to suspect vampires had had nothing to do with Faith's abduction. He knew none of them would want to consider the possibility that it had been someone else. That thought was entirely too frightening. If it had been Raym, how would they ever find Faith in time to prevent her death? Because Zeke was certain that would be Raym's intention.
A shudder passed through Bale, and then he released the pressure of his blade against the vampire's neck. The knowledge in his brother's eyes ripped through Zeke, the loss in those brown depths haunting. Bale had already come to the same conclusion. He believed Faith already dead.
Zeke felt something inside him break. “No,” he growled. He clenched his hand into a fist, then shot out, connecting with Bale's chin. He wanted his brother angry, not defeated. As Bale grasped his jaw in surprise, Zeke grabbed the front of his shirt. “You will not for one moment believe she does not live. Because damn it, Bale, we will not lose another one. Not this time.
What the hell will Faith think when she learns you have already given up on her?”
With a roar, Bale rose to his feet, knocking Zeke backward. It was a damn good thing too, because then Bale swung his sword, and it would likely have connected with a part of Zeke's anatomy he'd prefer to keep. Not that Arak ever thought he used his dick for anything worthwhile.
Bale's sword fell uselessly to the floor before he lunged at Zeke, catching him around the waist. The overall mass of Bale's body sent him crashing to the floor. Zeke figured he was about to get his ass kicked and struggled to keep Bale's fists from doing too much damage.
“Where is my daughter? What has happened to Faith?” The vampire's voice froze Bale in midswing.
Bale rolled off Zeke, landing on his back. Neither male answered for a moment as each tried to catch his breath. As Bale sat up, he stated, “We do not know for certain. She disappeared outside her club.”
The vampire rose to his feet and covered his naked form with the navy blue silk robe that had been folded over the end of the bed. The door to his bedroom opened, and two other 148
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vampires stepped in. One of them Zeke recognized as the male's enforcer. If they had arrived due to the noise or if the vampire had silently called out to them, Zeke did not know, but Garrett immediately turned to his men.
“Send a call out. I want every vampire and wolf—everyone at our disposal—here within the hour.”
The other vampire nodded and turned to do as he was bid, but the enforcer didn't move a muscle. “Why the sudden urge to play nice with others?” he drawled.
“Faith is still my daughter, and any slight against her is against me. She has been kidnapped by…” The vampire arched a brow at Bale.
“Demons,” he snarled as he accepted the hand Zeke offered to help him rise to his feet.
Ignoring Garrett's gasp, Bale met Zeke's gaze, nodded, and then dissipated.
With a sigh, Zeke also ignored the other vampires' surprise, centering his attention on Faith's father. “We will get in touch with you over the next several hours. Hopefully we will know more by then.” Zeke reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card that had his cell phone number on it. He normally used them for his snitches but figured he could always use an informant within the vampire community. “This is my number. Call if you learn anything useful.”
Zeke didn't wait for the vampire to respond. As soon as Garrett took hold of the card, Zeke teleported from the room. He found himself once again in the club's parking lot. Remy and Levi had joined them, Remy having pulled Bale aside, talking to him quietly while Arak paced the area, a cell phone held to his ear. Jet knelt on the ground, eyes closed as he tried to get a reading from Faith's purse.
“Who's Arak on the phone with?”
Levi stood on the sidelines, keeping his eyes glued to their surroundings, constantly scanning the area for any movement or threat. “Some female who works at the bar. He's trying to track down that werewolf friend of Faith's.” Levi looked him up and down. “What the hell happened to you?”
“Bale.” Zeke raised a hand to his eye and winced. It was starting to swell and hurt like a bitch.
“Had to keep him from killing those vampires?” he asked with a soft chuckle.
“Something like that,” Zeke murmured, his gaze settling on Bale.
Following the direction of his gaze, Levi sobered instantly. “How's he holding up?”
“Exactly how you'd expect. And if he doesn't beat her ass when we get her back, you can be guaranteed, I will.”
“I pray you both get the chance.”
Zeke clasped his hand on Levi's shoulder. “Christ, me too.”
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Chapter Seventeen
Hope slowly opened her eyes, feeling fuzzy and disoriented. It took her a moment to determine she was in Arak's infirmary, lying on one of the twin beds. Glancing to her left confirmed her suspicion. Kash was in the bed next to her, watching her carefully.
“What happened?” she asked, finding her voice hoarse. “Why am I here?”
“You don't remember, doll?”
Hope shook her head.
“It was some weird shit. Zeke said your eyes changed color; then you passed out.”
She considered what he said…and what he didn't. Straining to recall anything, Hope released a frustrated sigh. “I don't remember.”
Something flashed in Kash's eyes that looked suspiciously like regret, and it put Hope on edge. He said her eyes had changed color. What the hell did that mean? And when she only received a shrug as a response, an unreasonable anger spread through her.
“What color?” she demanded savagely.
For a moment, Kash did not respond, and it almost seemed as if he was afraid to answer her. “Green.”
Hope's heart picked up speed. “Where is Faith?” When Kash's face fell, she knew deep in her gut that something terrible had occurred. “Where is my sister?”
“We do not know,” he replied quietly. “Bale thought it might have been your father who took her.”
“Was it?” She pinned him with her gaze, expecting to rise from the bed and go head-to-head with her father, no matter how much he frightened her.
Kash shook his head. “Zeke confirmed the vampires had nothing to do with it.”
Hope swung her legs over the side of the bed, intending to stand on her feet, but was surprised by how weak she felt. “And he can tell for certain? You trust him?” Her voice held no condemnation regarding Zeke, and even though in general he annoyed the crap out of her, she was only attempting to gain factual information.
“Absolutely.”
While Kash's unwavering conviction sent a wave of curiosity crashing over her, Hope ignored all the questions that came with it. Right now wasn't about Zeke but about Faith.
“Who, then?”
“We think Raym kidnapped her.”
Kash's reply sucked all the air right out of her, and she gasped for breath.
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Kash rose from the bed and grabbed her by the back of the head, forcing her face between her knees. “Breathe slowly,” he said softly.
Hope tried to do as he demanded, concentrating on his murmurings. His voice became a lifeline, one she clung to as she attempted to control her rising panic. She watched a tear drop from her eye, soundlessly hitting the floor, and released a sob. Without looking up, she felt Kash pull her from the bed and into his, and he enveloped her in his tight embrace.
“Is she still alive?” she whispered against the curve of his neck.
He gently raised her head to meet her gaze. “You tell me, doll. You are the only one who has had contact with her. We don't know how, but through you, she called for Bale.”
With wide eyes, Hope stared at him. She knew she shouldn't be surprised by his words.
She'd always been able to sense things about Faith, something her twin had never been able to reciprocate. But still, if what he said was true, that was taking the twin thing to a whole new level.
Kash gently cupped her cheek. “Close your eyes.” When Hope slid her lids closed, he inquired quietly, “Do you feel her? Sense anything?”
There was a sense of desperation in his voice that had Hope struggling to please. Digging deep within, she tried to feel a connection to her twin…to feel anything. Just when she was about to give up, she stumbled across it, weak but still there, and she sobbed a slight gasp.
“Shit,” Kash mumbled as her eyes flicked open. Meeting his defeated look, she smiled.
“She's still alive.”
“Oh, thank God. That should help Bale.”
Bale. She felt a twinge of guilt because not once had she considered her sister's mate.
“How is he?”
“Just as you would expect—out of his mind. But don't worry about Bale. You just concentrate on contacting Faith. Maybe we can use your connection to find out where she is being held.”
Safe within Kash's arms, Hope closed her eyes again, centering all her attention on the link she held to her sister, trying desperately to turn that little spark into something more.
* * * *
Arak had just flipped the cell phone shut when Bale approached.
“Any luck?”
He shrugged. “The bartender isn't certain the werewolf is available, but said she'll find us another shifter if that's the case. Apparently Faith and Hope are not the only ones out hunting demons for fun. There seems to be a group that calls itself the Venator Society. Prue's going to call around, see if any of them saw or heard anything last night.”
Bale cursed softly. “What the hell kinds of trouble are these females getting into every night?”
“Well, I wouldn't want to meet Prue in a dark alley. The mouth on that female…” Arak shuddered, causing a grin to break out across Bale's face.
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“Yeah, I've been on the receiving end of that.” He mimicked Arak's shudder. “It's an experience I'd not care to relive.”
“Was Jet able to get anything?” Arak asked, referring to the images their brother had tried to pull from the things Faith left behind.
All humor fled Bale, and his face pulled tight. “She was hit from behind…knocked out cold.”
“Damn,” Arak muttered. “That's it?”
Bale stuffed his hands in his pockets, nodding briskly, then glanced away. He hated feeling so helpless. He was used to action, finding the bad guy and terminating him—job done. Now they all stood around with their thumbs up their asses, and the futility of it left Bale feeling vulnerable. And angry.
He wanted Faith back. Wanted to break the bastards who had taken her. Waiting around was killing him.
* * * *
Her eyes darting open, Faith found her wrists secured to the bed frame, and it came back to her, the attack outside the club. And then she groaned. Bale was going to kill her—if she survived.
Taking a quick account, she realized the only injury she had sustained was the blow to the head. Otherwise she seemed to be okay. A little weak and disoriented, but still, she could be worse. She was still clothed, and her legs had been left loose. The intention behind the restraints seemed to be to keep her from escaping. They must have thought that because she was female, she was weak.
That
she could use to her advantage.
Her one disadvantage was that she needed to feed. Fortunately, having been forced to go for days without Bale, she understood how long she had before she really got sick. And since she felt as if she'd been run over by a truck, she figured if she didn't get free soon, she wouldn't be able to function on her own. So as the minutes ticked away, Faith planned and plotted, waiting for her kidnappers to show.
* * * *
“What the hell took you so long?” he barked as she opened the passenger door, allowing a red wolf to jump out.
Her eyes narrowed at him for a split second, and she slammed the door shut. “You are not the only one who has some shit going on. I got here as soon as I could.”
“Faith will be glad to hear it.”
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Prue came to a screeching halt. “For your information, I wasn't sitting on my ass doing nothing. Rumor on the streets is that some demon is looking to start a breeding program. He thinks he's found the cure to some curse. Any of this make sense to you?” She arched a defiant brow at him.