PS01 - Tall, Dark & Lonely (35 page)

“God damn it!” He threw the emergency lights and sirens on and floored it.

Chapter 22

Madison and Chris huddled together on the floor as they watched the blonde hair blue eyed bitch, as Madison liked to think of

her, pace the cavernous stone basement. The bitch kept glancing their way, thoughtfully.

“I’m going to get you out of here, Chris. I promise,” Madison whispered.

Chris took her hand in his and raised it, shaking it gently until their chains made a soft clinking noise. “How exactly are you

planning on saving me when you can’t even save yourself?”

She glowered at him.

“Someone shut them up, I’m trying to think,” blonde bitch said.

“If we’re making too much noise we’d be happy to wait outside while you think. Hey, I don’t mind chilling in a car if it will

help you,” Chris said with his most charming smile.

Blonde bitch growled her frustration. “Shut up! Just shut up! The two of you have wrecked my plans!”

“At the risk of pissing you off and you tearing my throat out I have to ask how exactly did we wreck your plans? You

kidnapped us,” Chris pointed out.

“I’ve been planning this for over a hundred and forty years.”

“Bullshit, we haven’t been alive for a hundred and forty years.”

“Ah, Chris, she was talking about Ephraim.”

“Oh.” He gestured with his hand for her to continue.

Her cold eyes focused on Chris. “The only reason I’m not ripping your throat out right now is because you’re a Sentinel and

you will definitely come in handy.”

Madison froze.

Chris laughed. “Lady, you’re confused. I don’t know what they you’re talking about, but it’s not me.”

Blonde bitch stopped abruptly to study him. “Don’t play coy with me, little boy. I’ve been alive for over five hundred years

and I could sniff out a Sentinel from a hundred yards away and you, boy, are a Sentinel. The only question at the moment is

whether or not I have to worry about your mate coming to get you. That would wreck my plans.”

“Huh?”

She rolled her eyes and walked over to them. “Let’s see where we stand on the mate issue, shall we?” She grabbed Chris by

the ear and pulled him up. “Ouch!” She yanked his shirt up and his pants and boxers down until they were barely covering his

groin.

“Hey, stop that!”

Bitch laughed. “Oh, do calm down it’s not as if you can get it up so I wouldn’t worry if I were you.”

Chris went utterly still. Madison watched all the blood in his face disappear. “What are you talking about?” he spoke calmly

with only a hint of a crack in his voice.

“That you can’t get it up? Because I’m not your mate.” She ran her finger over his mark. White smoke rose from his mark. She

hissed and pulled it away, putting her finger into her mouth and sucking it gently. “The real deal. You are a Sentinel let me

assure you.”

“What did you mean by the mate part?” Chris was focused like she’d never seen him before. His eyes never left the bitch.

She laughed. “Were you afraid your manhood was faulty? Or was your fear that you didn’t really like girls?”

Chris’ hands clenched into fists.

“I am so happy to be the one to tell you this then, at least some good will come of my night since the two of you wrecked it.

You, my boy, are a Sentinel and because of that your packaging only wants one woman.” She held up her hand when he opened

his mouth to speak. “Your mate was made for you and you for her. I promise you if I ever let you out of here and you meet her

you’ll be able to perform without any problems whatsoever and more importantly you’ll want her.”

He nodded slowly as he sat down. “That’s good to know at least.” He avoided Madison’s gaze. “Incidentally, I don’t need to

have that talk with Dad anymore.” He looked thoughtful for a moment. “I believe I will need to have an entirely different talk

with him though.”

“Imagine my relief,” the bitch said acidly.

“How did Madison wreck your plans?” Chris asked. Madison took his hand into hers.

Bitch gestured towards her. “She’s carrying his child. The child I want. Granted it cuts some time off my plans, but now he

won’t come. He knows I won’t hurt her until the baby comes and you are too valuable to me to hurt.”

“So, you don’t think he’ll come?” Chris asked, relief colored his tone.

Bitch kicked a solid oak end table clear across the room, smashing it into the stone wall. “Of course he won’t come. Not until

the baby comes. That was the only thing I could use to get him to even consider my plan before. Now he has one on the way. He

doesn’t love women, he uses them. The bastard’s cold. Nothing and no one means anything to him.”

“Then why did you think kidnapping us would bring him here?” Chris asked.

“I didn’t want you. My slaves fucked up if you must know, but I am rather happy now. It’s not every day that I get an untrained

Sentinel as a gift.” She didn’t know Ephraim had been training him and by Chris’ amused expression he was slowly realizing

what Ephraim did. His lips tugged up into a smile, but quickly disappeared, hiding his reaction.

“Fuck!” She kicked the matching table and sent it flying across the room crashing with a loud bang. “There’s no way that

bastard doesn’t know she’s pregnant. He has the strongest senses of anyone I’ve ever met. He probably knew the second it

happened.”

“So, he was using me?” Madison didn’t believe it, but she might.

She laughed a cold superior laugh and leaned down, resting her hands on her knees. “Oh, did you think you were special? That

he was ever going to love you? Oh, that is rich.”

She straightened up and paced again, shaking her head in disbelief. “I’ll admit that I wasn’t sure what his plan was with you.

He usually uses a woman and tosses her aside. Then it dawned on me that he was finally going to try and sire a child.”

Her hands came together with a loud clap. “And now that baby will be mine.”

She looked lost in thought. A feeling of dread came over Madison.

“And you think he’ll want you? That he’ll stay with you?” Madison asked slowly.

“Of course he will,” she spat out. “Did you think he’d stay with you? You’re aging even as we speak. Did you really think he

was going to climb between your legs in fifty years and suck on your flattened tits?” She laughed. “No, he won’t. Trust me.

Ephraim is a cold bastard. He’ll stop fucking you the second he loses interest.”

“Is that what he did to you?” Madison snapped. Her anger overrode her fears for the baby, Chris and Ephraim. For the last few

months she forced herself to enjoy the moment and forget about the future. She knew she would age and that he wouldn’t.

Knowing this woman could offer him something that she couldn’t was the final straw.

“You bitch!” She stalked forward with her hand raised, ready to slap Madison. Chris moved in front of Madison, blocking her.

Caroline growled and backed off. “Fuck this, cover them just in case.”

Two of the men who kidnapped them stepped away from the bottom basement door. Each man positioned himself on either side

of Chris and Madison, pulling out a gun and aiming it at their heads.

“Hey! I thought you said you needed us!”

“Oh, I do. There is something you should know. Ephraim is the coldest bastard I’ve ever met, but I’m the coldest bitch you’ll

ever meet. If I don’t get what I want from him,
if
he comes I’ll shoot you first, boy, then the bitch.”

“What about the baby? If you kill her you’ll kill the baby!” Chris pulled Madison closer, trying to get her away from the gun.

She shrugged. “He’ll never die and he likes to fuck. I’m sure he’ll knock someone else up soon enough. Of course it won’t

matter if he finally gives me what I want.”

“What’s that?” Madison asked.

“Why what every vampire wants of course, to walk in the sun and live forever.” She giggled.

“If I had to deal with a bitch like you day and night I’d turn gay,” Ephraim’s voice drawled.

Everyone turned to see him stroll casually into the room and plop down in an oversized chair facing them. He leaned back, his

eyes never leaving Caroline.

“How are you, Caroline? It’s been ages,” Ephraim said casually as if he was running into an old friend at the market.

“How did you get past my security?” Caroline demanded.

“Oh.” He looked over his shoulder and waved his hand lazily in the air. “Killed them, you know how it goes,” he said with a

shrug.

“You killed my vampires and slaves?”

“Yup, well the ones who didn’t run off anyway. I have to tell you, Caroline, I am a bit disappointed in your selection. They

hardly fought back.”

“Holy shit!” Chris gasped.

Ephraim shrugged unconcerned. “They were standing between me and my property.”

“Property?” Madison’s voice sounded hollow even to her.

He ignored her. “So, what is it going to be, Caroline? Are you still hell bent on your petty revenge, is that it?”

“It’s not petty.”

Ephraim laughed. “You really need to get over it, sweetheart. I’m sure you’ve fucked plenty of guys and walked off when you

became bored.”

“Jealous?” She gave him a sensual smile.

“Not in the least. Fuck whoever you want just don’t touch my property anymore. You know the rules.”

Caroline walked around his chair, running her hands over his shoulders. “So, which of your property do you want back?”

Ephraim’s cold eyes ran over Chris and Madison. If he cared it didn’t show. “Tell those assholes to lower their guns or I’ll rip

their hearts out.”

She waved a hand and both guns lowered. “That’s fine, Ephraim, but realize that not even you will be able to get there before

they shoot and you most certainly won’t be able to save them both. Now tell me, is it the woman or the baby that you want?”

“Does it matter?”

“No, not really. All that matters is I get what I want and I don’t care how it happens.”

“Cut the shit and tell me what exactly what you want? I know your little brain has been scheming for the last century.”

“Hmmm.” She walked away from him and stopped directly in front of Chris and Madison. “Lower them,” she said firmly and

stepped away. They watched as a set of thick chains lowered two feet from the ceiling in the spot she just abandoned. At the

end of each chain was a thick cuff.

“What is that?” Chris asked.

Caroline smiled triumphantly. “I’m guessing from the look of fear on Ephraim’s face that it’s déjà vu.”

Madison looked at Ephraim. His face was pale and his hands were clenching the arms of the chairs. He looked utterly terrified.

Caroline reached up and ran her fingers lovingly over one of the cuffs. “To answer your question, Ephraim, yes these are your

old chains. I believe these were the very ones you woke up wearing on that faithful day. Of course, I had them reinforced and

cleaned up. They’re stronger, much stronger. Granted it would have been cheaper to buy new ones, but where’s the fun in that?

I would have missed the look on your face and that is utterly priceless.” She winked at him.

She snapped her fingers and the man that hid in the corner stepped forward pushing a cloth covered table. “It costs a little bit

extra, but I do believe I was able to recover all of Nichol’s favorite tools.” She pulled back the cover, revealing at least a

dozen sharp barbaric looking instruments. “What I couldn’t have repaired I had replaced and of course I’ve added a few of my

own over the years, anticipating this moment.”

Ephraim remained quiet. His eyes moved over each tool slowly. “Of course you don’t have to do this. You can get up and

leave at any moment we both know that. I’ll see you in nine months and we can further negotiate. Until then I’m sure the boy

and your whore will be very happy. I’ll take very good care of them.”

“Let me do this and I’ll let them leave. A fighting chance you might say. She’ll have nine months to run and hide and have the

little bastard then a lifetime to hide the child from me. It will be her only chance and his as well. Or leave and you can come

back for the baby and the bitch will be dead and the boy will be my new bitch.”

“Ephraim, just go!” Madison pleaded. She didn’t know exactly what Caroline had in mind, but she knew it wasn’t good. He

had to go. He had to. She wanted him safe and away from here and she never wanted to see that look of raw panic on his face

again.

“Don’t you dare leave Madison here, you son of a bitch! I don’t care if you were using her or not, don’t leave her here!” Chris

yelled.

Ephraim stared a moment longer before standing up. His face was white as a sheet. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“You son of a bitch!” Chris screamed.

“I knew you wouldn’t do it,” Caroline said smugly. She didn’t seem upset at all. In fact she seemed relieved. Her eyes darted

to Madison for a quick second and it became obvious. She was jealous and worried that Ephraim cared about her. Well, she

just got her answer. Madison wanted to cry for herself, but she loved him too much even if he didn’t love her she needed him to

leave.

Chris’ grip tightened around her. “It’s okay, Madison. I’ll take care of you.”

Ephraim turned around and stepped up to Caroline. He gripped the bottom of his shirt and tugged it over his head, throwing it

to the floor. Then he pulled off the cross necklace before she asked him. “If I were you I would make it last because the very

second I escape you’re dust.” He reached up and clasped a cuff around his wrist. It closed with a sickening "
clink
." He held up