Hunted By The Others (14 page)

We waited until past sunset to leave Sara’s place. I didn’t think it would be a good idea to keep Royce waiting, but Arnold and Sara disagreed, telling me it would put him on edge and make him think I was having thoughts of running instead of facing him tonight. It would be more convincing if I acted well and truly reluctant to hand over the papers.

I had slid some ammo clips into the pockets of the jacket along with my cell phone. When they dropped me off in front of Royce’s office building, Arnold promised to park close enough to come to the rescue or make a fast getaway if needed.

Now, I stood in front of the office tower, staring up at the building while clinging to the closed edge of my trench coat with my free hand and taking a few deep breaths to steady myself. I glanced at the documents in my other hand, feeling my stomach flip-flop in queasy reaction. “This is it,” I breathed, knowing that everything in my life was about to change.

Keeping my head bowed, I tucked the stack under my arm and affected as wooden and reluctant a stance as I could manage as I walked in through the revolving doors. I didn’t know if there were cameras or security guards, and I didn’t want to take the chance that Royce might have some other kind of sentry watching for anything suspicious. There was a guard at the desk, a different one this time. He barely glanced up as I headed to the elevators, the coat flaps slapping softly against my legs with each step I took.

I felt my palms starting to sweat, my heart creeping up into my throat as I entered the elevator and hit the button for the eighth floor. This was it. This was really it. I hoped and prayed the Amber Kiss perfume I was wearing would dull the scent of my fear, that he wouldn’t realize what I’d done, that he wouldn’t think to look over the papers before filing them with the courts.

When the elevator “pinged,” I took another deep, steadying breath, stepped out, and clumped slowly to his office. When I opened the door, I was surprised to be greeted by a receptionist and a bunch of other people sitting at the desks and in the offices that had been empty before.

“Can I help you, miss?”

I stared for a second, that deer-in-headlights look of complete shock at being confronted by an actual human being written across my face. People really worked here at night? “Yes—uh…” I stammered, “Mr. Royce is expecting me?” Why in God’s name were there people here?

She nodded, gesturing for me to take a seat in one of three chairs lined up against the wall, near a small table with restaurant and fine dining magazines scattered across it. I moved over to a chair and slumped into it, trying to get around my shock at seeing people working so late. They probably kept odd hours due to working for a vampire. It made sense once I thought about it. After all, he couldn’t be here to supervise them during the day, and someone with an empire (so to speak) as diverse and widespread as Royce’s would need support staff. Funny, I hadn’t given it any thought until confronted with it, except maybe to assume the empty desks and offices were for show.

In an agony of suppressed terror and fading adrenaline, I sat and fidgeted for close to an hour. It was getting unbearably hot in my jacket, but I didn’t dare take it off or even unbutton it, not with the chance of someone seeing the guns, ammo clips, and stakes. I don’t know if he was trying to irritate me or heighten the sense of anticipation with the wait. Either way, it was driving me crazy.

Finally, an eternity or so later, a young man who, in his slightly-too-big suit and crooked tie, looked like an earnest intern trying hard to fit in with the big boys came around the receptionist’s desk to greet me. “Ms. Waynest? Come with me, please.”

I did as he bade, rising slowly from the chair, clutching the papers to my chest. He led me down a long hallway to a small conference room. On the way, we passed Allison, The Circle’s receptionist, going in the other direction. She gave me a scathing look as we approached. What bug crawled up her ass? Her obvious and intense hatred had no ready source that I could see. She whacked me with her purse when we passed, and didn’t look back. I stared at her over my shoulder until I bumped my shin on a desk, cursing softly in pain before hurrying to catch up with the little intern. He was watching me with a mixture of confusion and amusement, but politely said nothing.

Once inside, he indicated I should take a seat. A pencil-skirted older lady was arranging a dish of pastries, coffee, and tea at a sideboard, and as soon as she saw us, she hurried out. After I sat down, the kid cocked his skinny wrist to look at his watch and then stood at one side of the door, eyeing the painting on one wall with studied disinterest. I soon found myself doing the same, wondering what this was all about.

Royce entered a few minutes later, sporting an elegant navy blue suit and striped tie, his gleaming hair tied back at the nape of his neck. He nodded to the young man and approached me, holding out his hand expectantly. “Shiarra, I’m glad to see you did as you were told. The papers?”

I tightened my grip on them, twisting around in the chair a little and shrinking back. I knew I was gaping at him, but it took a second for me to regain enough of my poise to stammer out an answer. “I—Mr. Royce, can we maybe talk about this first?”

The vampire exchanged a look with the guy by the door, who grinned widely enough to show fully extended fanged incisors. Oh shit.

Unthinking, I jerked back from the table, stumbling to my feet and backing away to put some distance between us. Royce and the other vampire stayed where they were, seeming no more than vaguely amused by my panicked reaction.

“Look, you can’t—this—it doesn’t work like that. You can’t touch me until they’re filed!” I babbled. “Whatever it is you want from me, there has to be another way. Please just tell me what you want from me, you don’t need the papers for that.”

“Shiarra, we’ve already had this discussion. My terms are simple, and you’ve already done the difficult part.” He sighed, sounding a trifle annoyed. “Just give me the contract and let’s get this over with. I’d rather we not be here all night. I’m a busy man.”

Stalling, I looked back and forth between Royce and the other vamp. “Why is he here?”

“To take the papers to the courthouse. He won’t touch you. Isn’t that right, John?” The other vampire nodded, though that fiendish, toothy grin remained prevalent. I think he was enjoying my frightened reaction a little too much. “There, you see? Come on now,” Royce continued, his voice soft and pleasantly cajoling. “You’ll make this much easier on all of us if you just hand them over.”

I looked down at the documents I was holding, feeling my heart rate rev up another notch. Here goes nothing.

I hesitantly sidled around the table and held out the papers, keeping as much distance between us as I could. I didn’t have to fake the tremors making the papers shake. He took the stack out of my hands, doing just as Sara had thought he would and immediately skimming to the last couple of pages just to note my signature and the notary’s stamp. Turning his back to me, he passed the papers over to the other vamp.

“Make a copy of this for our files and then run it down to the court. Call my cell once you’ve paid the fees and filed it.”

John nodded, took the papers in hand, and left, closing the door. I wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, knowing he’d bought it, but I couldn’t relax just yet.

My stomach about dropped down to my shoes when he turned back to me, those depthless black eyes boring into mine with a hunger so primal and dark, I knew for a certainty that he would gladly drink every last drop of blood in my body and not regret it for an instant. The social veneer had been stripped away, leaving the monster beneath bare to view.

“Now,” he said softly, his pace slow, measured, and as predatory as a stalking jungle cat, “we can get down to business.”

“Do try to make a run for it,” he snarled, my heart skipping a beat at the soft promise in his tone. “It’s been so long since anyone’s been afraid…”

Afraid? Try terrified. I staggered back a step, one hand behind me to keep from backing into something, the other held out in front of me to ward him off. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute! No, we’re
not
doing this!” I desperately tried to think of a convincing reason to make him wait. “It’s not filed,” I squeaked, “not yet, you can’t do anything to me yet!”

“Oh,” he murmured, easing the rolling chair I’d been sitting in back under the table as he matched me, step for step, “but I can. John will be in the courthouse in about twenty minutes. After that, none of your laws apply to us anymore. Until then, I can still push every button you have to make the first drop of blood on my tongue worth every bit of trouble you’ve caused me.”

“Trouble? Trouble I caused
you
!” I felt a sudden surge of anger. Good, much better than quivering terror. “I told you I wasn’t out to hurt you, and now the stupid focus and the stupid contract with The Circle probably don’t matter anyway since Veronica is dead! If not for you and Veronica, I would probably be home in bed watching TV right now. Instead I’ve got every Other and White Hat on both sides of the river gunning for me. Don’t even
start
with me about trouble!”

He grinned without any real humor at my outburst. “You underestimate yourself. And your worth. It doesn’t matter anymore. The contract makes you mine.”

I was clearheaded enough to pull out the rolling chairs to try to slow him down, anything to block his way and keep him from getting his hands on me that much sooner. He calmly pushed them aside, inexorably closing the distance.

“What do you
want
from me?” I asked, ticked that he wouldn’t just say it already and get it over with.

“I want,” he said, his arm snaking out lightning quick to close tight as a vise on my upper arm before I could stumble out of his reach, “you to save me.”

“What?” I choked out, trying to writhe out of his grasp. His fingers tightened until I cried out in pain, tears squeezing unbidden from the corners of my eyes.

He didn’t draw me closer, only held my arm still, that glimmer of hunger still shining evilly in his black eyes. His voice took on a low, guttural quality, as though coming from some beast below the surface of his hardened, all-too-human features. “Stop struggling. I can’t control the hunger
and
fight the focus. Stay still.”

I tried, honestly, but there was a part of me screaming “OH-MY-GOD-THAT’S-A-HUNGRY-VAMPIRE-HOLDING-YOUR-ARM” that made it awfully hard to just sit still and listen.

“I’m bound to someone, just like you will be to me. Listen to me, because I can’t fight this forever. I don’t have the focus. I’m not able to tell you who does.” He paused, and his jaw clenched tight, fangs bared fully in a grimace as he turned away from me. I prayed whatever it was he was fighting internally lasted long enough for me to figure out a way out of this. He started speaking again, all in a rush, and I noticed that his voice sounded slightly different from when he was talking about what a pain in the ass I was. There was an urgency behind it, and he sounded a lot more like he had when I had met him back in The Underground. “Don’t fight the binding, and don’t fight me, or the one who has the focus may be able to force my hand into killing you. You need to find it and take it from the holder.”

His fingers spasmed, tightening around my arm, his other hand reaching out to steady himself on the table. It took everything I had not to scream in pain, but somehow I managed. God, he was strong, probably strong enough to snap my arm if he put just a little more effort into it.

“Not interested,” I panted, using my free hand to slide under my jacket and grab one of the guns. “But thanks for the offer,” I said as I shoved the muzzle under his chin.

He abruptly shoved me away from him, sending me sprawling back on my ass. It was a good thing the safety was still on, or the gun would’ve gone off and he’d be missing a good portion of his face.

“You conniving little bitch!”

“Alive and whole conniving little bitch,” I shot back, using one hand to grab on to the sideboard next to me to pull myself up. I knocked a bunch of cookies or something to the floor in the process, but didn’t bother to look. My eyes stayed firmly focused on the vampire just a few feet away, who looked like he was having a tough time deciding whether or not to rush me. My other hand kept the gun trained on him, though technically I couldn’t do anything to him with it just yet.

“You can’t fight back,” he growled, taking one menacing step forward. “Are you crazy or stupid or both? There is no provision in that contract that can save you from your own people if you shoot me.”

Levering up to my feet, ignoring the twinge in my back, I brandished the gun at him and gestured for him to back up. Panting a little from fear and pain, I narrowed my eyes and deliberately flicked the safety off the gun.

“Au contraire,”
I said, feeling particularly high and mighty right at that second for having gotten the better of a vampire as old as he was. “It’s been doctored. You touch me, and I swear to all that is holy I will use this gun to shoot those pearly white fangs of yours into the back of your skull. Want to try me?”

His face twisted into an angry, silent snarl, but he backed up a couple of steps. Thank the Lord, it was working. The plan was working! I unbuttoned my trench coat very deliberately, very slowly, revealing the other gun and the stakes. His eyes widened at the sight of the belt, and his fists clenched at his sides. “I told you to give that to me!”

“Tough shit. It was a gift. It’s mine, not The Circle’s, and doesn’t come with buying out their contract.” After a moment’s thought, I added, “Aside from which, you don’t own me. We have a binding agreement that we can legally hurt or kill each other with impunity. That doesn’t mean we should act on it.”

He growled, low and deep, rumbling in his throat and sending a shiver through me. I really needed to reconsider baiting the already very pissed off vampire.

“Check,” he said, his tones resuming that honey-sweet lull that made it hard to decide whether or not to be frightened of him. The fangs made it easier to stay scared. “But not mate. I’ll let the contract stand as is, then. You’ve caught me off guard this time, it’s true. But you can’t hide from me forever, and the minute you let your guard down, you’re mine.”

“Is that Royce speaking, or the one holding the focus?” I asked snidely, cocking my hip to look a lot more relaxed and arrogant than I was. “You’re starting to sound a little like a bad B-movie.”

He snarled and narrowed his eyes, leaning forward threateningly. “You’re speaking to the holder of the focus. I know who you are, Shiarra Waynest. Do you know me?”

I paused. What the heck was this? “No.” I let a bit of my own glare come out. “I don’t care who you are or what you’re after, I just want you to leave me alone. Can we make a deal, you go your separate way and leave me out of whatever it is you’re up to?”

“No,” he said, the scowl easing into a dark, dangerous smile, the kind that would melt your insides if you didn’t know there were fangs hidden behind those velveteen lips. “Maybe, if you’d been less intuitive, if you hadn’t worked for The Circle. Maybe. Not now. I’ll find a way to hunt you down, whether I have to use Royce or another means of reaching you. Your little pet mage can’t keep you safe from me.”

Okay, this was just getting creepy. “That’s nice. I’m leaving now. You stay right where you are or so help me I will use your teeth for shooting targets.” I cautiously backed around the table, never taking the gun or my eyes off him and some part of me intuitively knowing where to step so as not to bump into any of the scattered chairs.

He did what I said, seething, something dark and menacing moving behind his eyes. Alien thoughts, not his own. I could almost see him fighting to regain some measure of control of himself, clawing toward but never quite reaching the surface. Like a part of him wanted to spring at me and another wanted to stay put. It was hard to tell which side was winning out.

Just in case he lost his mind and decided to jump me, I slid my other hand into my pocket, fingering my cell phone to turn off the key lock, and pressed until I heard the reassuring beep that said my preprepared text message had been sent to Sara. If I wasn’t downstairs in the next five minutes, she and Arnold would come looking for me.

“Shiarra.” Royce’s voice was faint, slick with unspoken promise, hissing out between his clenched teeth. “I know where your parents live. I know you’ve been staying with that rich little cunt. I know you’re still working with someone from The Circle. Walk out that door, and I will personally see that every Other in the state makes it their business to destroy everything, everyone you’ve ever known.”

Chilled, I paused with one hand on the doorjamb. What was
with
this guy? “What did I ever do to you? I already said I don’t want any part of this.”

He took a slow step forward, creeping closer to me. There was still a healthy distance between us, but no more table or chairs to bar his way. “You interfered. You forced my hand.” Anger started creeping into that not-quite-Royce’s voice. “You made me have to take it before I was ready. But you know what?”

“What?” I asked, unnerved. He wasn’t making any sudden movements, but I didn’t like that surreal gleam to his eye as his snarl turned into a dark, nasty grin.

“Seeing you bleed will make it all worth it.” With those few words, he sprang at me, faster than I would have thought possible.