Blood Hunt (Sentinel Wars Book 5) Page 10

  Ava pushed the blanket away and reached between her legs, heedless of her lack of clothing. The jeans she’d been wearing when she was taken hadn’t fit her for months. Even the stretchy T-shirt she wore couldn’t cover her belly. Her immodesty had stopped having meaning a long time ago, and she only vaguely remembered now that there had been a time when she cared.

  The man jerked the blanket away, finally seeing what was going on. “You’re pregnant.”

  “Not for long,” she grated out between clenched teeth.

  “Hell. Hold on.” He didn’t look worried. Simply resigned.

  “Have you done this before?” she asked him.

  “What?”

  “Delivered a baby.”

  “Yeah. Couple of times.”

  That made her feel better. Safer. And then another contraction hit and all she could feel was pain and pressure. Her body took over, forcing her to bare down. Another searing sting burned her as the baby’s shoulders passed. Her child slid from her. The pressure faded, leaving her panting for breath. She caught her baby’s slippery body and brought him up to her chest.

  She had a baby boy. A wave of something nameless and profound washed over her, altering her forever. She was a mom. In this single, still moment, nothing else mattered.

  Her boy let out his first choked cry. It grew louder as the seconds passed, reassuring her as nothing else could.

  She’d done it. She’d delivered a healthy baby despite the torture she’d endured for almost a year.

  The man was hunched over, his body filling the doorway. He was staring at her with an odd look on his face. A kind of resignation. “I’ll find something to tie off the cord.”

  The wetness beneath her began to cool, making her shiver. She covered them both, reveling in the squawking cries of her boy.

  The man came back a moment later with two strips of frayed cloth. She allowed him to tie off the cord and sever it with a sharp knife.

  Something hot and wet slid from between her legs, followed by a gush of fluid.

  The man glanced down and a grim look tightened his hard features. “You’re bleeding. I need to get you to a doctor.”

  It was his speed that gave away the urgency of the situation. So far, his movements had been methodical and easy—fast but not rushed.

  He was rushing now.

  As the car jolted over the road, Ava held her baby, protecting him from the rough ride as well as she could. She could feel the slow trickle of blood flowing from her, but didn’t know what to do to stop it. She wadded the blanket up between her thighs and clenched them together.

  “Hold on,” said the man. “Bump.”

  The car lurched, going airborne for a second before landing hard. Ava was getting nauseated from the ride, but she didn’t dare sit up and look out a window. Moving might make the bleeding worse.

  She heard him talk to someone on the phone, but couldn’t hear the words over the roar of the engine. All she could hear was the pissed-off tone in his voice.

  “How much farther?” she asked.

  “Not much. You just hold on.”

  “I’m cold. Can you turn on the heat?”

  He didn’t say anything for a moment, then responded with, “Sure.”

  The next time they went over a big bump, Ava’s arms didn’t seem to work. Her baby shifted and she had to struggle to keep him safe against her chest. When her head began to spin, she realized that the weakness wasn’t a simple mistake. The blanket between her legs was soaked.

  She was bleeding out.

  Her vision blurred, going dark around the edges. She focused on her baby and swallowed a lump of regret. She wanted to see him grow up. Wanted to play with him and teach him things. She wanted to protect him from the monsters that had taken her.

  They’d put this baby inside her. She knew they were going to want him back.

  Her strength was fading. She wasn’t going to make it much longer. She forced her voice out so it was loud enough for the man to hear. “Promise me you’ll take care of him.”

  “That’s your job.”

  “It’s yours now. Promise me.” Her voice was getting weaker. She wasn’t sure if he heard her. If so, he didn’t answer.

  Ava could no longer keep her eyes open. She was so cold. She kissed her baby’s head and gathered her strength for one last plea for help. “Please,” she said. “Protect my son.”

  Iain didn’t dare give his promise. If that child was one of the abominations, it was his job to kill it. From what little he’d seen, he couldn’t tell if there were signs of Synestryn blood flowing through the infant’s veins, but with her in that cave, pregnant and alone, chances were good the father wasn’t human.

  Several silent minutes passed as Iain sped over the rutted road. She didn’t speak again.

  “Are you still with me?” he asked.

  When she didn’t answer, he knew she was either dead or unconscious. And that the child was back there, unrestrained.

  If it was human, he could kill it if he hit a bump the wrong way.

  Iain slowed the Suburban and pulled off the road. He got out and drew his sword before approaching the back door. If the child came springing toward him, fangs bared, he was going to be ready for it.

  Logan found more blood on the second floor. He crouched next to the spot. It was fresh, only a few drops, but enough to know it was from a heavily blooded human male. And he’d shed it tonight.

  Hope let out a breath laced with fear. “Is that . . . ?”

  “I think it’s time to get you out of here,” said Logan. “I’ll continue my search and find you when I’m done.”

  “You don’t even know where I live.”

  He stood and looked in her eyes. The need to reach out and stroke her cheek slammed into him, blindsiding him. He fisted his hands in the pockets of his coat to keep from touching her. “I have your blood inside me. I’ll be able to find you.”

  “Do you have any idea how stalkerish that sounds?” she asked.

  “Go home. Get warm. I’ll come find you soon.”

  “At least take my cell phone number. In case you run into trouble.”

  “I will gladly take your number, but there are others I can call for help if necessary.”

  “Big, strong men with lots of guns?” she asked, forcing a smile.

  Logan’s hand was on her face before he’d realized how foolish his touch of reassurance was. Her skin was warm and soft under his fingers. The planes of her smooth cheek were basked in shadow, casting an air of mystery around her. She leaned into his touch just the slightest bit, but he sensed the subtle movement. Reveled in it.

  He heard her pulse speed and felt her skin warm. She looked up at him, her amber eyes shining with trust and something else. Something hot and womanly.

  There was desire in that look, and while Logan was used to such things, he wasn’t used to feeling a physical response to them.

  His own pulse sped and he felt a wave of heat sweep down his body, settling in his groin. The untimely swelling of his manhood made him wish for things he could not have—made him wish for the man he had been once upon a time, before the blood of the ancients had dwindled from this world.

  No longer. Duty had to come before pleasure. If he failed in that, others would die. Perhaps even the woman standing before him.

  She covered his hand with hers, holding it in place against her cheek. “I don’t know what you’re doing to me. But I’m starting to like it.”

  Logan refused to touch that comment. He couldn’t think about giving her pleasure. If he did, his thoughts would stray beyond duty to a place much more enticing.

  He pulled his hand away and took her elbow in a firm grip, guiding her to the stairwell exit. “You must go now. I have colleagues on the way. If you don’t hear from me before sunrise, I’ll seek you out tomorrow night.”

  “I’ll wait up for you,” she said. “No matter how late it gets.”

  Regret burned in his chest. “I cannot come to you in dayl
ight. I’ll send another to protect you.”

  “I don’t want another.”

  “We rarely get what we want in this life. I suggest you become accustomed to it.”

  They exited the stairwell and walked toward the hole in the overhead door. “Believe me. I already am.”

  Rather than stop and interrogate her about her intriguing answer, Logan escorted her outside to his van. “I’ll drive you home, then come back here and investigate the blood.”

  “How?”

  He unlocked the doors and opened hers. “I’ll follow the trail and see where it leads.”

  “What trail? I only saw a few drops.”

  “There is a scent trail.”

  “Again with your sense of smell. That’s not normal, you know.”

  “No, it’s not. But it is useful.” He shut her door and went around to his side. The van’s engine started smoothly. He turned to ask her how to get to her home and saw her staring in the back of his van.

  There was a narrow mattress back there. All the windows were blacked out.

  “Are you some kind of pervert?” she asked.

  “Hardly. But sometimes I’m forced to sleep here.”

  She relaxed a little and toyed with the blackout curtain, which currently hung open. “Don’t you have a home?”

  “I do, but I travel frequently.”

  The night was running out and he still had a lot of work to do. “Which way?” he asked her.

  “North two blocks. Take a right. The studio is three blocks down on the right.”

  “Studio?”

  “A photography studio where I work. I live upstairs.”

  Logan drove her there and pulled up in front of the studio. “Stay inside around as many people as possible. I’ll contact you as soon as I can.”

  Hope hopped out of the van. “Don’t make me wait, Logan. I’m not a patient woman.”

  Logan nodded. “I’ll be swift.”

  Hope hurried up the stairs and disappeared into the building. Logan sat there for a long moment, feeling the cold sink into him more with every step she took.

  It was all in his head. It had to be. He was simply worried over losing sight of such a precious source of power. There was no other explanation—at least none he’d allow himself.

  Before he could dwell on that too long, he put his van in gear and headed back for the building where the blood trail began.

  It was time to go blood hunting.

  Chapter 9

  Jackie Patton refused to hide in her room. She’d spent the last two years as a prisoner in a cave. That was as much of her life as she was willing to allow the Synestryn to steal from her. It was time to move on. To what, she wasn’t sure, but whatever it was, it wouldn’t be in this room the Sentinels had provided for her.

  She was still weak from her ordeal, but getting stronger every day. Food was settling better in her stomach, and now that she’d cut the matted tangles from her hair and put on real clothes rather than tattered rags, she felt almost human.

  Funny how ironic that was, all things considered.

  Jackie opened her door to find Helen standing there, her fist poised to knock. “I was just coming to see you.”

  Jackie looked at the other woman, studying her, looking for the family resemblance in the woman who was apparently her half sister.

  Helen’s brown hair was braided, with each of her twin braids falling forward over her shoulders. Her face was sweetly rounded, which seemed at odds with the power the woman wielded.

  Jackie had seen firsthand what that woman could do with magical fire.

  “I was just going down to the dining hall for some food,” said Jackie.

  “Mind if I join you?”

  Jackie did, but manners won out. “Sure.”

  They walked down the winding halls. Jackie had already gotten lost a couple of times before she learned the numbering system that helped her navigate. The numbers got smaller the closer she was to the public areas.

  “How are you feeling?” asked Helen.

  “Better. Thank you.”

  “Is there anything you need?”

  “No. You’ve all been very solicitous.”

  “I spoke with Tynan about you. He said he thought you were well enough to discuss your plans.”

  Jackie didn’t much like the idea that the vampirehealer, or Sanguinar as they called him, had spoken about her condition with others. “I don’t suppose HIPPA means anything to you people, does it?”

  Helen had the decency to blush. “I promise I didn’t ask for details. I just needed to know if you were well enough to start thinking about your future.”

  “You should ask me. Not some blood-drinking monster.”

  “Tynan isn’t a monster.”

  Jackie held her tongue. Anyone who lived on the blood of another was a monster. Period. It didn’t matter if he used that blood to save lives or not. “I’d prefer we don’t discuss him over food. I’d rather be able to eat.”

  Helen’s mouth flattened, but she nodded. “I understand.”

  Jackie truly doubted that. “What exactly is it you want from me?”

  “You’re a Theronai. You may be able to save the life of one of our men and yet you’ve avoided all of them.”

  “I’m not exactly good company right now.”

  Helen pulled Jackie to a halt. There was no one in the hallway, giving them privacy. It served only to make Jackie that much more nervous.

  She wasn’t ready for this kind of pressure. She was barely able to keep from screaming in anger and grief every time she opened her mouth.

  Jackie knew Helen was trying to help, but it didn’t change the fact that it made Jackie feel used and dirty. She’d had enough of that for one lifetime.

  “I can only imagine what you’re going through. You were held captive, starved, fed on.”

  Jackie cringed, pulling away from Helen and her words. As bad as those memories were, they paled in comparison to the suffering she’d been forced to witness. There had been children in those caves with her. The things they’d endured had been much worse than Jackie’s torture. No matter how hard she’d tried, she hadn’t been able to save them all. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “I’m not asking you to. All I’m asking is that you stop hiding from the men. While you may be able to save one of their lives, what I really hope is that one of them might be able to save yours in return.”

  No. Jackie had seen the way Drake looked at Helen. The way Paul looked at Andra. And she couldn’t even stand to see the way Madoc looked at Nika. It was too much. Too full of need. Jackie had been looked at like that for two years. She’d seen bloodlust glowing in the eyes of beasts too hideous to be considered men.

  She never again wanted to be used. Ever. And any man who tried to do so was going to wish he hadn’t.

  Her hands balled into fists and she had to unclench her jaw so she could speak. “Don’t ask me to do this. I simply can’t.”

  “I think you can. I think you’re stronger than that.”

  “Whatever strength I had I used up over the last two years, keeping those children alive. It’s all gone now. Your leader promised me a safe place to rest and recover. If there are strings attached, I’ll go someplace else.” She wasn’t sure where. Her house had likely been sold. Her job was certainly filled by now. The manufacturing facility couldn’t have stayed open without a manager, and there was an endless list of people eager to take her place.

  She had nowhere to go, but she’d leave all the same if these people wanted to use her.

  “No strings,” Helen hurried to say. “I swear. I only meant to let you know that joining with one of the men may be as much of a help to you as it is to them.”

  “It’s not going to happen. Please don’t ask me again.”

  Helen nodded, sadness plain on her pretty face. “I’m sorry if I upset you. We won’t talk about it again. Let’s just go share a meal and get to know one another.”

  Jackie couldn’
t do that. She couldn’t face the dining hall knowing those men would be there, staring at her, wishing for something she could never give. “I’ve changed my mind. I’m going back to my room now.”

  “Okay. I’ll go with you. We’ll order some food to be brought up.”

  “No. I’d rather be alone.”

  At least that way no one would ask the impossible of her. It might make her a coward to hide in her room like that. It might even make her a virtual prisoner. It didn’t matter. She could not be what these people wanted her to be. And if she didn’t get out of here soon, what was left of her humanity might soon vanish.

  Logan followed the scent trail into the basement of the run-down furniture factory. Water had seeped in down here, leaving behind the musty smell of mildew. Beneath that was the unmistakable smell of wet animal hide, cloying sweetness, and malevolence. Synestryn.

  Logan cloaked himself with his power, hoping to avoid any unnecessary combat. He was strong enough now to fend for himself, but he didn’t want to squander his power in that way. It was better to save battle for the Theronai, or even the Slayers. He was more valuable in other ways.

  He checked his watch. There was still an hour before backup arrived. He worried that by then the trail would grow cold, or lead him to another location. He needed to gather intelligence so that when the Theronai did arrive, he could put them to good use.

  Assuming the man he hunted was still alive.

  The basement wasn’t open like the floors above. It was sectioned off into what had once been storage rooms or offices. A long hallway led down the center of the level with a dozen doors on either side.

  He followed the hall to where the scent of blood was strongest. There were a few more drops of blood on the floor here. From beneath the door, he scented much, much more.

  A muffled cry of pain sounded on the far side of the wood. The man was still alive.

  Logan twisted the knob, strengthening his shield to prevent anything from seeing his presence. A rush of power slid from him, and he mourned the loss of it. That was power he could have shared with his brothers.