Vampire Trinity Part 25

Xavier stared at her for long moments. The beat of the club's music vibrated through Gideon's feet, in tune with his thundering heartbeat, the pulse of Anwyn's body, so close to them both and yet so distant in a strange way. Her mind was shuttered like a trap, a total darkness that awed and worried him at once. When he dared a glance around, he realized they were almost alone. The other patrons had moved on, as if sensing the volatile nature of what was happening, or encouraged that way by two other vampires who had appeared from the shadows, here to reinforce Xavier's will if needed.

Despite the force with which she'd just taken the reins, a familiar rubber-band-taut apprehension was swirling in his gut. He'd had it twice before, both times right before he'd been captured by a vampire. It made him antsy as h.e.l.l. He wanted to strike out, fight in some physical way before things became any more claustrophobic. He held steady, though, because she did. Though Xavier saw and felt only the s.e.xy frosting of the ice she was dis.h.i.+ng out, Gideon could feel her pulling on his strength with all that she had to keep that chill. They were a unit, one person. He had to remember that.

Xavier shook his head at last, a rough chuckle rumbling from his chest. "Boys, I best watch my step. I might be talking to a future Council member here. You've certainly got bigger b.a.l.l.s than most of them. Not a whiff of fear on you." His gaze hardened. "Don't push it, though. Lovely and clever only go so far with me."

For the first time, he turned his attention to Gideon. "This one looks big and mean enough, but you seem to have him towing the line. I should have known you had more than one ace in that tight dress of yours." He proffered an arm. "Shall we take that tour?"

Inclining her head, she laid her slim fingers in the crook of his arm, caressing his biceps with easy familiarity, as if they'd never teetered on a violent edge. "It would be my pleasure, Master Xavier."

He took his b.l.o.o.d.y time with it. A thorough tour of the upper area, and then the lower dungeons, where more intense, and a lot less legal, play occurred. Couples that liked to push it way past the safe-word route, into play that was far too risky for the body. Asphyxiation, full sensory deprivation, beatings, electric shock. Russian roulette with loaded weapons. Anwyn pa.s.sed by it all with perfect aplomb, whereas Gideon felt like he needed a shower. What he'd seen in the lower levels of her dungeon had skirted into these areas, but were far better monitored, the boundaries far clearer than he'd realized at the time. Anwyn had no interest in facilitating people with a careless desire to throw away their lives or who cared so little for the trust of their slaves that they'd cause them permanent damage.

While Gideon had s.h.i.+ed away from the physical machinations of BDSM, having a difficult enough time with his own strong responses to psychological D/s, he had a new appreciation for Anwyn's firm but intelligent hand on it by the time they reached the final staircase. They were already belowground, making Gideon wonder if the club had once been some type of utility facility, delving this far into the earth.

"If you're a bit squeamish about taking things too far, this level isn't for you, little queen," Xavier said, sliding a finger across the top of her right breast, a casually possessive touch, as if he already a.s.sumed he had that liberty. "Typically only very select clientele go into this area."

"Lord Stephen hinted you had such a place." Her gaze gleamed, her lips lifting in a cruel smile. "Why do you think I was so eager to come here?" She glanced back at Gideon as if she were looking at a prized possession, not a sentient being. "Last night, I used a bullwhip on him. Thirty-six lashes, until the skin was hanging in strips off his back." She gave a s.h.i.+ver. "He screamed during the last of it. Then he crawled to me, put his lips to my shoe. I was a Mistress before I was a vampire, but I find I like how much deeper I can take it . . . with fangs."

"I would have liked to see that. I can see why Lord Stephen directed you our way." Eyes gleaming in antic.i.p.ation, Xavier flourished her ahead. "I have a captive lion below that needs to learn quite a bit more humility. Maybe I'll let you help me with that."

"My pleasure." Anwyn's expression reflected eagerness, with the right touch of wariness. Gideon amended his earlier a.s.sessment. She was scarier than he'd ever imagined she could be. However, as she gracefully descended, he had to bite back his irritation and discomfort when Xavier stepped in behind her, leaving him to bring up the rear. The b.a.s.t.a.r.d's hand rested nearly on her a.s.s to "steady" her going down the winding staircase.

We're getting close, Gideon. She'd done such a good job of pulling in Xavier, Gideon was relieved to hear her voice, the concern and compa.s.sion, speak in his mind. She'd done such a good job of pulling in Xavier, Gideon was relieved to hear her voice, the concern and compa.s.sion, speak in his mind. I can feel him, but I'm not sure . . . I think he's out again. I can feel him, but I'm not sure . . . I think he's out again.

All right. We know our plan. Hold to it. I've seen eight vampires in the building so far, and it's a safe bet Xavier's linked to all of them.

This was a dungeon in truth, complete with water dripping from damp walls and stifling, close air. Though he heard nothing, it was like the stone had absorbed past cries of pain and hopelessness. Cold fingers gripped his vitals. As they reached the ground level, Xavier took them down a narrow, poorly lit corridor. Opening a metal door with a security panel code, he swung it inward, gesturing Anwyn ahead of him.

Following them in, Gideon saw several cells. Two of them held small cl.u.s.ters of young women who had obviously been club patrons above. Their clothes were too thin and scanty for this damp level. Some were like junkies, sprawled on the dirty floor or cots in various stages of stupor. Seeing the pallid tones of their skin, their lethargy, he realized they were being used as donors, with no care for how much or how often. When they were husks, their bodies would be discarded.

Others not so far gone huddled in the corners or behind the cots, keeping their eyes down, as if that would keep them from being noticed. He saw bruises and gashes, evidence of other forms of abuse Anwyn would recognize far too well. The pretty clothes they'd donned to entice others and please themselves were now soiled rags that mocked the independent spirit that had brought them to the club doors.

"It's inconvenient to my men to maintain servants, and going out to dinner all the time can be a pain in the a.s.s. Why do that when we have a potential buffet upstairs every night?"

"Indeed," Anwyn murmured. "But don't you worry about human law enforcement?"

"Their disappearances are never connected here. My men talk up the girls, target the ones that come alone, that have few family ties, or are just traveling in the area, not locals. We take a new one every few months, s.p.a.ce it out." He nodded to a girl that appeared to be barely breathing, curled in a fetal position in a corner. "That tough little piece of a.s.s, we call her Sarah. She's survived nearly six months with us. If any authority gets too close, it's easy to distract them or make them vanish. That's what you need to understand, fledgling." Xavier shrugged a ma.s.sive shoulder. "The Council won't tell you this, but as long as we stick to the shadows, we can do as we please. Humans don't want to discover us. They don't want to believe we exist."

"I'm only seeing young girls," she said, with just a touch of boredom. "You promised me a lion." She glanced up at him with an avaricious smile tinged with hope that Gideon fervently wished never to see on her face again. "I saw a bear once, in the States. All pent up in a cage outside a casino. He caught a gawker who got too close. They'd declawed him, the cowards, but he still crushed the man's chest, beat him to death against the bars. It was when I was human, so at the time I thought I was appalled. But secretly . . . it was delicious, in a way."

"Yeah, you have a taste for it, all right. Maybe you should consider staying in our territory for a while." Xavier leaned in with a wink. "You could be my little secret, so I wouldn't have to share you with a territory overlord. I bet Stephen would do it as a favor for me. You could pretend to get on your plane back to the States, but never really go back."

Anwyn laughed. "As appealing as that sounds, I have a club to run there, a lucrative business. Maybe you could come be my my little secret, hmm?" She winked at him, moved forward with a sashay of hips that was pretty much indecent. Walking down the stairs had worked the dress up around her hips, the lower curve of one bare b.u.t.tock almost visible, even in the dim light. She adjusted the hem with a finger caressing the cheek, making Xavier growl low in his chest. little secret, hmm?" She winked at him, moved forward with a sashay of hips that was pretty much indecent. Walking down the stairs had worked the dress up around her hips, the lower curve of one bare b.u.t.tock almost visible, even in the dim light. She adjusted the hem with a finger caressing the cheek, making Xavier growl low in his chest.

"You'll be f.u.c.king me tonight, fledgling. No matter what clever words you say or do. Hope you can handle a big c.o.c.k in that smart a.s.s of yours. I want to make you cry."

"I don't waste my time on anything small." She gave that head toss again. "Where's my lion?"

Xavier chuckled. "Impatient b.i.t.c.h. I have other, more interesting playrooms for vampires beyond this one, but I'll show you my current prize." He moved past the cells to another heavy door and pushed it open.

Gideon tried to brace himself for the next horror he would see. More important, he prepared to brace Anwyn, if it was Daegan.

It was.

She saw him first, because Gideon felt all those carefully packed boxes in her mind swell against their seams, in danger of rupturing as rage entered her mind like a flood. It shoved into every corner of her mind, threatening to disrupt that cool veneer that had carried her this far.

He wanted to get closer to her, give her physical as well as emotional support, but Xavier stood between them. His hand was now square on her a.s.s, fondling the hem of her skirt, meaty finger sliding under it. He'd have it in her p.u.s.s.y in a second, and Gideon knew she wouldn't be able to handle that. Her skin was crawling from everywhere he'd already touched her. The b.a.s.t.a.r.d likely planned to f.u.c.k her right here. The stench of his arousal was growing.

It was easy to see at a glance why Daegan had sounded so disoriented and weak. He'd been restrained on a steel autopsy table, so that the blood being drained from him flowed down the molded channels. It was a slow drip, but the blood bags to catch the flow were full, another three already lined up where he could see them. There was a refrigerator out in the cell area, so no telling how much had already been banked, or if they were just throwing it away.

Gideon realized the purpose wasn't torture. That was a side benefit. This was to keep him weak. Apparently, even that hadn't been enough, because crude electric wires had been wrapped across his far-too-pale body. The b.a.s.t.a.r.ds had left the power source on, keeping his body jerking, the smell of flesh burning constant and nauseating. No wonder his thoughts had been coming through disjointed.

For as little time as Gideon had known Daegan, perhaps because his mind was so melded with Anwyn's, he realized he'd unconsciously shared her belief that Daegan Rei would fall to no one. To see him weakened and tortured like this, brought down low by trickery and cowardice, opened something as dark and volatile inside him as what was boiling in Anwyn's soul. He closed his hands into fists just as Daegan's eyes opened, the dark, dull depths struggling to focus. Gideon remembered the man's grace, his deadly speed, the way he'd spoken with such calm about justice. No revenge, no anger, just quiet dispensation to balance the scales.

Sorry, Daegan. I think this calls for full Noah-flood, wrath-of-G.o.d response.

"Feel no pity for this one, Mistress Anwyn," Xavier a.s.sured her. "He was a lion to take down in truth. Killed four of my men, even though we had the jump on him. He's a very powerful vampire. Centuries old."

"What did he do to earn this punishment?" Her voice was flat and wooden, but fortunately Xavier was caught up in his boasting and didn't notice.

"He offended me. I will drink his blood, let my men drink it, and keep him alive long past when he is a living skeleton, to show my enemies what I'm capable of being. This is what I was saying, sweet fledgling. I am a worthy overlord for you. At least for tonight. Or until I tire of you." He gave an ugly laugh that was matched by feral grins from the three vampires now arrayed at the door. Gideon flicked a glance toward them. It was the two from earlier, plus one more. Xavier had apparently signaled them to rejoin the party. s.h.i.+t. s.h.i.+t.

Anwyn turned on her heel, studying Xavier. "I think it's time to pay that price of admission," she said with a slow curve of her lips, the baring of her fangs. To the completely oblivious, it suggested she was aroused by his display of strength. She unfastened her belt, the jewels and chains catching the dim light.

"You knew I wanted to do it right here. Intuitive little thing." l.u.s.t thickened the vampire's voice. Gideon felt the pressure of his knives, gauged the distance to the three vampires. We're still a go, Anwyn. Do it. We're still a go, Anwyn. Do it.

"Right here." She echoed Xavier's words, a cold and deadly tone entering her soft voice. Then she dropped the belt to the ground with a clink of metal. Threading her fingers under her hair, as if searching for a fastener at the high collar of her dress, she stepped toward the vampire. As he moved to close the distance, she stepped on the belt, the center jewel setting.

The tiny crunch of broken gla.s.s made him look down. "Ah, sweet-ling, you broke your pretty baubles. We'll have to-" He stopped, swaying, his brow furrowing. With a disoriented frown, he turned to his men.

Gideon leaped for him. As expected, the vampires responded instantly, rus.h.i.+ng forward to defend their leader.

They crossed right into the invisible fumes now drifting into the air. Thank G.o.d it worked fast. They were not as large as Xavier, and fell quicker, dropping to their knees, though one did reach Gideon, tackled him like a front lineman in that rush of movement too quick to follow. Gideon grunted at the bone-breaking impact that would have killed him if he were still human. Now he managed to pull the wooden knives he'd concealed in the lining of his jacket, tearing the seam. He staked the one and lunged for the others, who were scrabbling across the floor, eyes wide and dazed.

Xavier remained on his feet, rocking like a tree in a storm, his eyes flas.h.i.+ng with anger and fear at once, his giant fists clenching, trying to fight it off.

Anwyn had shoved away from him in that first moment, stepping out of her shoes lithely to run to Daegan's side. Putting the filter mask she'd had folded inside the neck of her dress over her nose and mouth, she put another one over Daegan's face.

Xavier struggled forward, stumbling, his murderous gaze on her. Gideon shouted out a warning, tried to get past the two crawling vampires, but he needn't have worried about his Mistress.

He never saw a hint of fear. When the big male fell, she moved back toward him, slipping the mask tie over her head to free both her hands. Bending with a predator's grace, she picked up one of her abandoned stilettos just as Xavier crashed to the floor at her feet. Gideon's heart skipped a beat at how close the monster was to her. However, dizzy and fumbling, Xavier was unable to push her away as she straddled him. Her eyes bright with cold rage, fangs bared, she slammed the heel of her shoe into his chest. Fueled by vengeance, she brought her fist down on it like a hammer. The impact was so great she caved in his chest, making sure those five inches of wood went straight into his heart.

She twisted it with a snarl, and earned a dying bellow of pain. Shaking himself out of his moment of pure admiration and adoration for her, Gideon straddled the other two helplessly wriggling males and staked them with the wooden-bladed knives. When he spun around, Anwyn was back on her bare feet, her eyes still wild.

"Think I can't take him with these heels now?" she demanded, her voice m.u.f.fled by the filter mask.

It took a second to recall his thought about her shoes, barely an hour ago. But she wasn't seeking a response. She was back at Daegan's side, hand on his mask to steady it, to make sure he didn't inadvertently inhale the now-dissipating fumes. Though most vampires didn't breathe when unconscious, Brian had explained the fumes could still enter the nasal membranes or soft tissue in the roof of the mouth if they didn't take the precaution.

Brian's chemical worked on the same theory of high-noon daylight, making vampires more sluggish, the reaction enhanced by a factor of ten. It had no impact on humans. Gideon had wondered if the Council knew Brian was not only researching vampire weaknesses, but making weapons out of them, but knew it was far more likely he was making them with their blessing.

A worry for another time.

He covered the door as she secured the straps for the mask over Daegan's ears. Then she disconnected the battery holding the wires with a competence that suggested she wasn't unfamiliar with electric shock, at least as a BDSM tool. As she pulled the needles out of his arms and throat as gently as she could, she studied the pale face, the closed eyes. "He needs blood, Gideon. A lot of it." Her head came up. "Go into the next room. In that first cell."

Gideon glanced at her sharply, as if he'd caught something unexpected from her mind. "You're not suggesting those girls-"

"If it would save his life and not take theirs? In a heartbeat," she snapped. "But there was a refrigerator there, remember? I'm willing to bet they bank human blood in case of emergencies. Go get as much as you can carry. Unless you have some moral objection to that that."

Knowing she sounded shrill, she closed her eyes, fighting her unreasonable anger with him, out of proportion for the moment. The bloodl.u.s.t boiling through her, the cacophony of voices in her head, were way too roused by this environment.

When he pivoted on his heel without further comment, going into the next room to find the fridge, she located a fan in the corner. Turning it on, she waited a few key seconds before she took a cautious inhalation without her mask to confirm the fumes had dispersed adequately. Putting a hand on Daegan's far-too-still face, her throat got thick as she removed the mask and stroked his hair, bent to touch his cold mouth. Thank G.o.d Xavier and his men hadn't favored human servants. If they'd dropped dead on the floor above at the moment she and Gideon had taken their Masters' lives, it might have brought a larger force of vampires down here. As it was, it was getting too close to dawn. Soon the club doors would be closing, and she was sure this lower level was where Xavier's men pa.s.sed the daylight hours, probably toying with those poor girls in the next room, and whatever fresh victims they brought down.

Tapping into Gideon's mind, she found her servant had met an obstacle. The girls still aware enough had shrunk back in fear as he came into the cell. He spoke to them quietly, told them they were trying to get them out of there, but they needed to stay put for now. However, Sarah, the girl who had been in a fetal position, apparently was quite tough, as Xavier had said. At Gideon's words she'd made it to her feet, albeit swaying on legs that were far too thin. The feral look in her eye said she was cognizant enough to recognize escape was near, but her mind too altered to hear what he was saying. The twisting agony in Gideon's heart shot pain through Anwyn's when he had to shove the girl back forcibly, closing the cell door. They couldn't risk her running aloft and calling down the others any sooner.

It's all right, Gideon. We'll take care of them all.

Yeah. A little late for that.

His hot hatred and revulsion for vampire kind boiled over into her brain, nearly upsetting that cauldron of simmering bloodl.u.s.t. She had to fight it down, enough that when he brought her the blood, she could manage only a curt nod. "Watch the door."

His hands were clenched into fists, his gaze on Daegan's too-pale face, but he complied. Anwyn tore the seal off the first packet and brought it to Daegan's lips.

"It's cold, love, but drink. It will bring back your strength. Wake up. Daegan, we don't have much time." She took a deep breath, blasted him in her mind as well as with her low, urgent voice. We're in danger. I need you. We're in danger. I need you.

He came awake with a sudden snap, his hand clamping down on her wrist in a painful vise that could have broken human bones. As it was, it wrenched a gasp from her, but he was too immediately disoriented to gentle his touch. He was drinking, though, pulling hard at the packet in her hand, draining it. She fumbled to reach the other, trying to pull the seal off it one-handed. Ignoring her curt order, Gideon came back and did the task for her. Sliding the empty one from Daegan when he drained it, Gideon brought the next to his mouth. Daegan's hands closed over Gideon's fingers as he drank. Gideon held that contact until Daegan was able to hold the packet on his own; then he slid his hand free.

Anwyn put a hand on his shoulder, another on Daegan's, drawing strength from the fact the three of them were here, together, and alive. At least for the moment. She didn't know if vampires could drink so fast that it would make them sick, but fortunately it didn't seem to be the case. As Daegan gulped down four of the containers, color started to come back to his face, his eyes growing more alert and sharp on the two of them. By the time he finished pack five, he was sitting up without aid, his feet planted solidly on the floor.

The burn lines of the live wires didn't seem to trouble him, and she a.s.sumed they were already healing. Other than that, there were no marks on his naked body, save for a pair of crossed ugly slashes high on the inside of his thigh. A branded X. For that scar to remain, Xavier had seared it with Daegan's own blood, the only way to permanently mark a vampire. He'd wanted Daegan to carry his brand. She wished she'd dispatched the piece of s.h.i.+t in a more painful way.

Could have been worse, cher cher. He talked several times about cutting off my c.o.c.k, putting it in a blender and making me drink it. Daegan wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and glanced around. "Are my clothes anywhere around?" Daegan wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and glanced around. "Are my clothes anywhere around?"

Just like that. Fully in command of the situation, now that his sensibilities had been restored, but Anwyn sensed he needed more. "You're not at full strength. You need some fresh blood."

"I've had enough to get us out of here."

"But not enough to finish the job you came here to do." She knew he wanted that, felt it from him in a low-level pulsing fury that matched her own. She didn't care about what the Council would or wouldn't do to her. She wanted those vampires taken down because they'd hurt him, bound him. She didn't have to reach out far to know Gideon felt the same way.

"Getting you both to safety is my first priority," Daegan said evenly. Gideon had found the cabinet where they'd stored his weapons and clothes. Daegan yanked on the jeans without bothering with the torn briefs, ignored the tattered s.h.i.+rt. Shrugged into the duster and loaded it with his weapons. The state of the clothes, the bloodstains on the jeans, told her how many injuries he'd initially sustained when they took him down. He twirled the sword, loosening up his wrist, sheathed the knives.

"She's right," Gideon said. "And it's not just about payback, Daegan. They're holding prisoners in the next room, and half of them won't be able to walk out on their own. If we leave them, they'll kill them before we come back. She's right about the blood, too."

Daegan twisted around as Gideon shed his torn coat, revealing his bare upper body, though he left the collar on. "Take it from where you need it."

Anwyn was surprised, warmed by it. Until Gideon locked gazes with her. Might as well give it to him before you make it an order. Right, Mistress? Might as well give it to him before you make it an order. Right, Mistress?

Gideon excelled at wry humor in high-pressure situations. She knew that. But the deepest layers of his soul were at high tide, darkening any light, and the comment didn't hit her as casual wit. He was horrified by what had happened down here. Female victims were always the most difficult for him to handle. His mind was replaying ten years of layered images, the things he'd seen vampires do to his kind.

His kind. She swallowed. Had she really just thought that? In such a short time, was she already identifying more with the vampire she'd become than with the human she'd always been? Remembering the flicker in his gaze when she'd commanded him to go get blood out of the women's cells, she realized that was what he'd seen in her eyes, what had given him pause. And she couldn't deny it.

Not very long ago, he'd expressed amazement she'd handled everything that had been done to her so well. On that same note, she wondered that he'd managed to get this far at her side without having more moments like this, when his pa.s.sive angers reared up and struck like venomous snakes.

Regret crossed Gideon's face, apparently realizing how the comment had struck her, but before he could reach out to her, Daegan surprised them both. Picking up the coat, he tossed it back to Gideon.

"No," he said. "I don't need it." When he strode from the room, they exchanged a glance and followed him, puzzled, to the cells that held the women. Anwyn saw the same confusion of fear and hope that Gideon had confronted, but when they recognized what Daegan and Anwyn were, they shrank back again.

"I need to take some fresh blood from one of you," Daegan said in his velvet, sensual voice, the one that stroked frayed nerves. "Not all vampires are like those here. It won't hurt, and it won't harm you. Three minutes, and then I will be strong enough to get you out of here. You will be able to go back to your homes and families."

He moved into the cell. There were no volunteers, of course, but Anwyn was surprised that he moved toward Sarah. But since she'd uncurled from her fetal position, she'd made it obvious she had the most spirit, even if she was weak from malnourishment and blood loss. Maybe Xavier and his monsters had gotten bored with her and used her less than the newer girls. She looked like a wild animal, hair disheveled and no makeup. Anwyn a.s.sumed they let the girls bathe, because the stench in here was from sickness, blood and fear, not unwashed bodies. However, when she saw a coiled hose in the corner with a cold-water tap, the image of them being hosed down through the bars made Anwyn feel fury anew.

But Daegan was murmuring to her, as if to a wounded and abused animal, which she supposed was what Sarah was. While her fists were still clenched, her frightened, angry eyes watching him, she was trembling. The others shrank back, made no move to bolt toward the open cell door, as if they'd realized long ago how futile that was, only an amusing game for their captors.

"Your name, child," he said quietly. "Do not fear me."

"They called me Sarah. I don't . . . I can't remember my real name." As she met his gaze, hers unexpectedly filled with tears at what she saw in his face. Perhaps she saw the truth, that he did mean to help. Anwyn knew Daegan Rei had that effect on a hurting woman.

Then, oddly, the girl's eyes became unfocused, and she swayed forward, toward Daegan.

"Sarah," he murmured. "Come to me."

Gideon knew compulsion was a gift that some older vampires had. However, it usually worked only on a human whose blood the vampire had taken, unless the vampire was extremely powerful, like Lady Lyssa. Or in this case, Daegan Rei. As the magic spun its hypnotic web, Daegan drew her closer to his body so she leaned into him, getting lost in the folds of his duster. Her cheek rested on his chest as he stroked her hair to the side and bent his head. When he sank his fangs into the side of her throat, he released the pain-numbing pheromones immediately, for she moved in lazy sensuality against him, responding to it. As he drank, he pressed his arm around her back, stroking her, keeping her still, soothing her. It was probably the first kind touch she'd experienced in months. She certainly hadn't experienced it from Gideon.

He turned away, unable to watch. Anwyn's focus was all on Daegan. Reaching out from his head to hers, he saw the gremlins trembling in the corners of her mind like gladiators waiting for the gate to go up so they could charge the arena. He moved through that center area, going by instinct to help calm her, give her strength against them. He wasn't sure she was even aware of the effort, as everything in her was attuned to the other vampire.

As Sarah's hands relaxed, burrowing into Daegan's coat and the increasing warmth, Anwyn's clenched. Gideon wondered what thoughts were in her mind right now, but his own were so torn up, he couldn't summon the courage to find out, to rise above the insidious gremlin chatter. It was safe there, black and white. His world was easier if he kept it that way.

He'd been there, right in front of him, offering, and Daegan had turned him down. I don't need it. I don't need it.

Daegan had had needed it; he just wouldn't take it from Gideon, though he'd have given him ten quarts of his blood if it got him off that d.a.m.n table and looking like the Daegan he knew. Untouchable, capable of handling anything, even Gideon's constant barbs. needed it; he just wouldn't take it from Gideon, though he'd have given him ten quarts of his blood if it got him off that d.a.m.n table and looking like the Daegan he knew. Untouchable, capable of handling anything, even Gideon's constant barbs.

Just because he couldn't offer blood with f.u.c.king enthusiasm didn't mean he wasn't willing.

They'd lost precious seconds convincing and gentling this terrified woman to get the blood Gideon could have given in a blink. d.a.m.n it, he'd screwed up. He hadn't meant to give Anwyn att.i.tude at such a stupid time, but it had been knee-jerk. A reaction to what he'd seen rear its head in her mind at that moment, like a fire-breathing dragon, scarier than the voices, because it had been her her, not them.

Yeah, he knew this environment was taking its toll on both of them, particularly her. She was working her a.s.s off to keep the things in her mind under control, drawing on his energy as much as possible. But unfortunately, he knew the difference between what Anwyn, the tough-as-nails woman, would do to protect her own, and what the vampire blood thought it had every right to demand. Even though she hadn't consciously recognized it, when she told him to go to the cells to get the blood, it was that voice he'd heard and seen.

If she'd thought fresh blood was necessary, she would have made him drag one of those girls in here and open up her vein for Daegan. Or done it herself. She would have stopped short of killing the girl, just as she said, but she would not have been denied. She knew she had the strength to force her will, and she would have used it.

Just as vampires always did when it came to a choice between what they wanted and what a human wanted. He knew his reaction to that was f.u.c.king idiotic. They were in a life-or-death situation. If something happened to her, he knew he'd go to extremes to protect her as well, care for her. But this was different. He could see in her mind, so he couldn't tell himself he'd misinterpreted her emotions in the heat of the moment. She hadn't thought of it as extreme. It had simply been an option available to her.

Daegan eased a weakened Sarah onto one of the bunks, drawing Gideon out of his mind, and Anwyn's. The cot was filthy, but since the floor was worse, it was the better alternative. "Stay here with her," he commanded the rest of the prisoners, as if they'd become active partic.i.p.ants in the rescue. "We must dispatch the others before we can get you out, so you are safer in here until we have done that." Then he was turning and leaving the cell. He left the cell door closed but unlocked. None of the girls moved, and Gideon didn't blame them.

When Daegan turned toward the two of them, there was nothing remotely human about him. Something had happened while he was drinking. His eyes had gone all the way dark, no whites, though there was a tinge of crimson to them. His movements were so eerily graceful Gideon realized he was moving almost exactly like a feline predator. Now he knew why Xavier had called him a captive lion. It hadn't been an idle taunt.