Atticus had done this work for years and knew how quickly a Vampire would react the second impalement wood was pulled out of them. Scratching his jaw, he asked, “You wouldn’t happen to have any heavy chains, would you?”
“That’ll hold him?”
“No, but it’ll slow him down from knocking your head off.”
Tak pursed his lips and gave the Vampire a critical gaze. “Don’t start without me. I have something that might work.”
After Tak left the room, Atticus squeezed the Vampire’s throat and lifted him so they were eye to eye. This one had an exceptionally narrow nose, which made his nostrils appear even larger. Atticus scratched his fingernail across the man’s forehead. When a bubble of blood formed, he swiped a dropand licked it. Vampires could gather information from blood. Emotions, memories, core facts—the skill level of blood reading varied from person to person.
Fear coated his tongue, but what gave him pause was the amount of violence and rage churning through the man’s veins. They needed to be careful with this interrogation. Angry men were unpredictable. Atticus brushed his tongue against the roof of his mouth, pushing the flavors around.
Hmm, he’s insecure. Not as strong as other Vampires, but fast.
“I see you had garlic toast this morning for breakfast. Quite the cliché breaker, aren’t we?”
Heavy footfalls drew closer, and a chain rattled.
Entering the room, Tak said, “Will this work?” He produced a heavy-duty chain with padlocks.
Atticus gave a curt nod.
Tak dropped the chain and then retrieved handcuffs from his back pocket. “Archer found these in Krys’s room.” After cuffing the Vampire’s wrists behind his back, Tak wrapped the heavy chain around him as tightly as possible before clicking the last padlock closed. “Do you want to charm him before or after I pull out the stake?”
“Before.” With one hand gripping the Vampire’s throat and the other lifting his eyelids, Atticus commanded, “Focus on me and listen closely to what I’m about to say. Cooperating is in your best interest. When we remove the stake, you’ll stand very still. Do not blink, and look at nothing else but me.”
Their prisoner remained under a trance. It wasn’t always easy to know with certainty since a Vampire’s pupils were fully dilated, but Atticus had charmed enough Vampires in his lifetime to know how to do it right.
“Don’t break the arrow,” he warned Tak. “That would be messy.”
Tak gave a sinister grin. “Needn’t worry. If that happens, we can dig it out with a garden shovel.”
If any large splinters were left behind, the Vampire would remain in a paralyzed state. But after a look at the smooth polish on the arrow, that wouldn’t be an issue.
Tak gripped the arrow and looked at Atticus. “Ready?”
Atticus lowered his hand and braced himself. With a hard thrust, Tak unexpectedly pushed most of the arrow through the front, causing Atticus to jump back a step.
While still maintaining eye contact with the prisoner, Atticus muttered, “I wasn’t expecting that.”
Tak reached around the man and gripped the tip. “It’s a broadhead. I don’t want blood all over Mercy’s office, and it comes out cleaner this way. The fletchings will hurt though. What happens if one of them breaks off inside him? They’re plastic.”
“His body will push it out. Eventually.”
Tak yanked the arrow, and it made a sickening sound when it pulled free.
The wound slowly sealed up while the Vampire maintained a catatonic expression.
Tak shivered. “I’ll never get over how creepy that is.” He then pressed the tip of the bloody arrow against their captive’s neck in case the charming magic didn’t hold.
Atticus wasn’t comfortable with Tak’s proximity, but it was pointless to argue with an alpha. While maintaining eye contact with the Vampire, he began the interrogation. “What’s your name?”
“Randolph Clay,” the man replied, his voice flat with a suggestion of an accent.
“Why were you trespassing on this land?”
“To kill the Shifter who goes by the name Salem Lockwood.”
The accent was definitely British but too muddled to pinpoint.
