By the time the third…creature approached, her fingers and toes felt like blocks of ice, and her vision had gone dark.
“Enough!” Patrick snapped, and wrenched Riley away from whoever was about to…drinkher blood. “This one needs to last us for weeks. Throw her back in the cage until she’s strong enough for us to feed again.”
She was tossed halfway across the room. A kick to her stomach sent her tumbling back into the cage, and the metal doorclangedas one of them locked her in, still chained.
Blood oozed from the multiple puncture wounds on her neck. She could smell it. Feel it drip across her throat. But she was too weak to cry.
* * *
Declan
He’d spent hours searching the worst of the Dublin underground. All the places Patrick, the leader of the gang used to frequent. His connection with Riley was fading, and he feared the reason. If they’d fed from her—drained her—he would rip them to shreds.
Why did he care so much? He’d asked himself that question time and time again as he’d twisted padlocks into hunks of metal, explored abandoned warehouses, hidden basements, and World War I era bunkers. He had no answer.
Save one. Her blood was…strong. Unique. Delicious. And their connection had been unlike any he’d experienced in more than two centuries of feeding without killing his prey.
The edges of the sky started to lighten, and his cheeks warmed. Fuck. He was going to have to find somewhere to hide. He did not have enough time to return home, and that would take him farther from Riley.
Withdrawing his mobile, he made the call. “Shannon, mate. I need that favor.”
“Declan? Yer one I never expected to collect.” The younger vampire—born to a poor lass Declan’s sire had both used as a blood slave and to sate his shriveled, ancient cock—had been near death when Declan had found him chained in silver and caged in the castle’s basement. “But ya’ saved me life. What do ya’ need?”
“A safe place to rest until nightfall. And information.”
“Ya’ know where to find me.” The call went dead, and Declan took off at a run.
* * *
The heavy dooropened to reveal a bleary-eyed vampire in a set of bright green pajamas and orange robe. “Fuck me, Shannon. You look like…” Declan shook his head. “I do not even think there is a word beyond abomination.”
The young hybrid pulled Declan into a quick hug. “It’s good to see ya’ too, mate. Come on in. Ya’ need blood? I have a nice little arrangement with a sweet woman at the blood bank.”
“No.” The word escaped on a growl, and Declan shook his head. “I am sorry. It has been a long night, and there is much at stake. Can you stay awake a bit longer?”
“For you? O’course.” Shannon bolted the door, went to a small ice box in the corner of a stripped-down kitchen, and pulled out a glass bottle. “But I’m gonna drink.”
Declan waved his hand and sank down into an overstuffed leather chair in Shannon’s spartan living room. Two chairs, a television, and a set-up of half a dozen computers were spread out across the space. No art, no personal touches. Shannon had learned way too early in his existence that everything could be taken away from you. Very easily.
“Patrick’s gang has kidnapped a woman.”
“Unsurprisin’.” Shannon took a healthy sip of blood, then wiped his lips with the back of his hand. “They find a new one every few weeks. Lock ‘er up somewhere and use ‘er until she gives up the fight.”
Across the room before he could control himself, Declan lifted Shannon by the upper arms and shoved him against the nearest wall. “Be very careful with your next words, young one. Your callousness will not be tolerated.”
“Declan,” Shannon squeaked. “What the fuck?”
“The human is mine.” The words came from somewhere deep inside of him. Somewhere he hadn’t known existed. A place that had been dead and empty his entire afterlife. “I will not let her be used by those monsters until there is nothing left. I must find her.”
“Then you’ll find ‘er. But killin’ me ain’t gonna help ya’ much. And it’s a shite thing to do since I let ya’ crash here.” The hybrid’s eyes flashed a deeper green, edging towards black, and Declan released him.
“I am sorry. But she is out there, Shannon. Afraid and in pain. I can sense her. And I can do nothing about it for another ten hours. By then…I do not know if there will be any part of her left to save.” Declan slumped into a chair at the small kitchen table and dropped his head into his hands. “It is my fault. I scared her into running from me, right into their hands. And as I have not kept up with their movements in years, I do not know their haunts.”
Shannon yawned. “I don’t have yer strength, mate. I need to sleep a while. But,” he ambled over to his wall of computers, tapped a few keys, and beckoned Declan closer. “I have to live in this city. Patrick and his gang are a menace, and I keep up with their movements.”
Opening a couple of directories, he showed Declan several different files. “Everything ya’ need should be here. And if not, give me a couplea’ hours and I’ll help ya’ track them down.”
Declan swallowed the unfamiliar lump in his throat. “This…is more than I dared hope for. Thank you.” As Shannon shuffled off to his bedroom, Declan took a seat in front of the monitors. He’d find the bastards who’d taken Riley. And he would end them.
