Undying Hunger (22 page)

Chapter Twenty-Three

Fuck, fuck, fuck!

Markus swung his arm low and behind Alexandria’s knees, lifted her up, and cradled her against his chest. She inhaled against his throat, and her body shuddered against his, causing his heart to clench.

What the hell had she been thinking? He surveyed the other male slumped on the sidewalk. Christ, Markus was so damn pissed. If he’d known Guerin had allowed Alexandria to switch places with Eve… He should have finished off the bastard instead of tagging him in his side where the silver would only hurt like a bitch. The cocktail of silver and a tranq in the bullet would only immobilize him, but knowing Guerin, he’d shake it off very soon. What the hell was he supposed to do now? How was he going to pass off Alexandria as Eve for long enough to take the others down before they both got killed?

“You’re going to have to help me here,” he whispered with his mouth close to the dark blue hood covering her head. “When we get in there, you’re going to need to pretend you’re out cold. Keep your face hidden as long as you can, and listen for my cues.”

A groan rumbled from her throat in confirmation.
Good girl.

Closing his eyes, Markus pictured the front of the warehouse Enrique and Dominic had chosen for him to deliver Eve. Then he was falling, the world disappearing beneath his feet into a shimmering bottomless pit. A wave of momentary disorientation swamped him, and his gut rebelled. Markus tightened his grip on the precious cargo in his arms. Phasing any distance with someone other than himself expended more energy and was always a harsher trip.

But it was unavoidable.

He couldn’t travel for nearly a mile with a body in his arms without drawing unnecessary attention from the human population.

The dim yellow glow of a streetlight shimmered into view. Markus blinked, clearing his vision as his boots resettled against concrete. His destination, a large, rusted metal warehouse, sat in front of him. A soft breeze blew loose strands of hair across his face and salt air into his nostrils. Inhaling, he steadied himself for what waited for them behind the large metal door. He had to get Alexandria out of this alive.

Fuck that.

Alexandria
would
make it out alive.

Christian and the Enclave had better come through. He’d modified his own plans against Enrique in favor of helping Kenric and Guerin bring down the son of bitch as well as the other vampires he’d brought in for this scheme. Yet somehow the only thing that had ever truly mattered to him had ended up in the middle of this—with her life on the line.

“Kenric, you’d better come through,” he muttered.

Markus grabbed the latch on the metal door and yanked it open. Alexandria’s head rested against his chest, her hood draped over her face. One of her arms fell free and swayed with each of his steps. He kicked the door closed and continued on, treading through the large dark space, aiming toward the beacon of light in the back of the building.

A few moments later, he rounded a series of crates and entered into what looked like a military triage setup. A metal surgical table sat near the back wall. Syringes, tubes, and an array of glass jars filled another nearby. Fucking hell. They were ready to dissect her. Except the “her” in his arms wasn’t the female they were after.

We’re so damn screwed.

“Anybody home?” Markus sauntered into the makeshift room. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted movement.

“I knew you were the right person for the job.” Enrique rounded the wall of crates to his left. With his lips spread into a wide smile, fluorescent lights glinting off his fangs, he eyed Alexandria’s slumped form. “Finally.” He sighed. “Dominic will be well pleased. As am I.” He chuckled. “We’re about to receive a glorious payday, my friend.”

Markus laughed. “I think your glee has affected your brain. ‘Friend’ is pushing it.”

“Who the hell cares?” Enrique threaded his fingers and cracked his knuckles, the sound of the snapping cartilage bouncing off the metal walls. “You have her. That’s all that matters.” The dark male edged closer as if prepared to inspect the package.

Shit.

Sidestepping the vampire, Markus made his way over to the empty metal table. “I assume this is for her?”

“That’s correct,” a new male voice said.

Dominic.

Gently, Markus deposited Alexandria onto the cool surface, making sure her covered head lolled away from the other males. Markus shrugged, adjusted his coat, and turned toward the others.

“Excellent work, Mr. Santini,” Dominic said, one hand inside the pocket of his pin-striped trousers, while the fingers of his free hand worked a thin cigar. Behind him lurked two of his hired muscle, one on either side. Of course. At least two had tailed him during the retrieval.

“No skin off my neck,” Markus replied. “What the hell has the Enclave ever done for me, except try to force their morals down my throat?” Markus reached down and pulled the dagger at his thigh free and twirled the hilt inside his palm. “If I’d wanted a spanking for my bad attitude, I could have found someone a hell of a lot prettier to deliver it.”

Dominic smirked and another chuckle, coming from Enrique, echoed in the room.

“I like the way you speak your mind,” Dominic said. “Once we’re finished here, you and I should talk about your future plans.”

“This was a…unique situation.” Markus sauntered over to the table filled with an assortment of tubes and cylinders. Picking up one of the syringes, he examined the sharp point of the needle at the end.
Oh, hell no.
This madness must be stopped. “I do believe I’ve had my fill of reporting to a Master or Mistress.” Markus’s gaze roamed upward and to the hazy windows running along the perimeter of the room.
Where the hell are you, Kenric? I can’t keep them distracted much longer.

“Suit yourself,” Dominic uttered behind him. “See to the female,” he ordered his staff. “Strap her down and get her ready to be purged. We need to process her tissue and get her out of here as quickly as possible.”

Panic seized Markus’s chest, and he spun on his heels. “Wait,” he called out, stopping the others in their tracks. “I’ll handle her while you get whatever it is you need to set up.”

“Fine,” Dominic replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. “I don’t give a shit who straps her down, as long as it gets done.”

Markus sheathed his weapon and inserted himself between Alexandria and the other vampires in the room. Rolling her onto her back, Markus seized her wrists. Alexandria blinked up at him, her violet eyes darkened to a deep purple surrounded by a ring of fire. Her right hand edged closer to her thigh and Markus followed its path, watching as she wrapped her fingers around the hilt of her dagger.
Hell, yeah.
No one had checked if “Eve” had any weapons on her. He’d brought her in, so the others would have assumed he would have disarmed her in case she woke from the tranquilizer. That was his vixen. She wouldn’t go down without a fight.

Giving her a quick nod of acknowledgment, he tightened the silver-laced restraint on her left wrist, leaving the other, nonvisible, hand unbound. A sizzle coming off her flesh met his ears, and a grimace rolled across her expression. An arrow of pain shot through his chest at the sight.
Fuck.
It killed him to hurt her.

Sorry.
He mouthed the word, his spine rigid with constraint. It was all he could do not to roar, rip the bindings from her arm, and tear Enrique’s heart from his chest with his bare hands.

“You guys weren’t going to start without me, were you?” Christian appeared around the corner.

Air Markus had no idea he’d been holding made a mass exit from his lungs. The redhead’s presence was a damn good sign. It meant the Enclave shouldn’t be far behind. Markus’s fists curled in anticipation.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Enrique grabbed the other male’s arm and jerked him forward, his upper lip curled back, baring his fangs.

“Why the hell would I hang around that mansion anymore? Tonight’s the night we finally get our payoff.
We
. Remember?” Christian smirked.

“Whatever.” Enrique grunted and dropped his hand. “Just stay out of the damn way.” He turned his attention to Dominic. “Speaking of payoffs.”

Dominic motioned to one of his bodyguards with a flick of his wrist. The large male grabbed a thick briefcase from the floor by his leg and hefted it onto one of the tables. “I’ve fulfilled my part of our bargain.” Dominic lifted a finely arched brow. “And once I have everything I need from her, it’s yours.”

“Then by all means.” Enrique nodded in the direction of Alexandria. “Proceed with all haste.”

Dammit.
He couldn’t stall any longer. Where the hell was the Enclave?

“Take care of her,” Dominic instructed his staff.

“Yes, sir,” they responded in unison. One of the males finished gathering the supplies as the other approached Alexandria.

Stepping aside, Markus’s jaw ticked and his palms itched with the need for violence. But they were outnumbered, and if he jumped in too soon things could unravel out of control—fast. And he refused to put Alexandria at even greater risk. Yet if the troops didn’t make an entrance soon, he’d have no other choice.

The burly vamp-for-hire clamped onto Alexandria’s hood and yanked it back before taking his blade to the sleeve covering the arm next to him.

Son of a bitch.
His pulse pounded like a damn sledgehammer inside his head.

A wide lock of hair covered her face, but how long would it take before someone noticed it wasn’t Eve? Before the large bastard rammed a needle into her arm?

“What the fuck!” In a flash of color, Enrique charged toward Alexandria.

Shit…meet fan.

Enrique shoved the bodyguard aside. The male staggered but regained his footing, confusion screwing up his face. A roar erupted from Enrique as he snagged a handful of Alexandria’s hair, yanking her head up from the table. Alexandria gasped, her eyelids flickering open.

Markus wrapped his fingers around the hilt of his dagger.
Not yet. Not yet. Come on, Kenric.

“You son of a bitch,” Enrique growled, his head jerking toward Markus. “Did you really think substituting this cunt for Eve had a fuck’s chance in hell of working?”

“What kind of trick is this?” Dominic shouted, closing in on his partner in crime. “Seize him!”

The bodyguards charged toward Markus. Pulling his dagger, Markus backed up a few steps, maneuvering into his fighting stance. Clutching the hilt of his blade, he was more than ready for whatever the two overgrown dickheads wanted to throw at him.

“I’d control that temper of yours, Santini,” Enrique called out. “If you want her throat to remain intact.”

Flickering his gaze to where Enrique held Alexandria, his heart stalled in his chest. Alexandria stared back at him, fear etched in her pale expression. Enrique grinned, satisfaction gleaming in his black eyes as his blade pressed into her throat. Markus froze, allowing the hired muscle to slam into him, latching onto each of his arms.

“I still can’t believe you’d put Eve’s life above the female who only a year ago you would have done
anything
to save.” Enrique shook his head.

“Let her go, Enrique,” Markus commanded. “She’s innocent in all this. It’s me you want. Make me pay. Not her.”

Enrique laughed, the sound manic, crazed. “So sorry, pretty boy. You’ve fucked me over once too often. And as delightful as it was, your cock’s not going to save your whore this time.”

Alexandria blinked at the reference, and her brow furrowed.

Dammit.
Of course he’d bring up their past. Enrique would say and do whatever he needed to make the moment more agonizing for him. Markus’s gut churned at the idea of what she had to be thinking of him. Because without a doubt, she had to remember now what he’d agreed to do with that sick son of a bitch.

Enrique nodded toward Dominic’s guards. “You’re going to want to restrain him with the silver-laced chains until I’m done with her.”

“Before this night is over,” Markus snarled, jerking hard on the male’s grip, “I swear to you, Enrique, you’ll feel the burn of my blade in your heart.”

“Please,” Enrique drawled, then laughed. “Don’t make promises you know you can’t keep.” The dark vampire looked to Christian. “Grab the chain for the boys.”

“He’s not the only one who’s going to pay for this mistake, Enrique,” Dominic announced. “This is a major fuckup and I blame you.” The tall, curly-headed vampire paced the room, mumbling what Markus could only assume were a plethora of curses in Spanish. “Dammit, Enrique. You know this is a setup. Kill them both so we can get the hell out of here.”

“That’s what I intend to do if you’ll shut up!” Enrique spat. He yanked hard on Alexandria’s hair, forcing her to cry out, her back arching.

Pain stabbed through Markus’s own head at the sound of her distress. “You’re mine, Enrique,” Markus gritted out. “You only thought you knew misery with Marguerite.”

“Hey, big guy!” Christian yelled, carrying a mass of chain in his gloved hand.

One of the guards holding Markus glanced Christian’s way at the same moment the redhead tossed the thick metal toward him. Reflex had the burly vampire releasing Markus’s arm to catch the flying silver-coated chain.

Yes!
Who would have thought the young vampire possessed that much cunning?

Markus swung his forearm up and slammed it into the vampire’s massive skull. Out of the corner of his eye, Markus caught a blur of red flashing in Alexandria’s direction.

Christian.

What the fuck was he trying to do?

Roaring, Markus whipped around and rammed a fist into the face of the other bodyguard. The tall hulk of a male staggered backward, blood spraying from his mouth. Markus jerked his attention back to the female who owned his soul, at the same time a venom-laced cry bounced off the metal walls, filling Markus’s ears. Every neuron in his body screamed in helpless rage as Enrique stumbled away from Alexandria, his palm gripping his biceps. Christian’s tall form lay sprawled on top of her, a crimson stream trailing off the table.