6
Riley
Her eyes didn’t wantto focus, and her head pounded with every weak beat of her heart. For hours, the five vampires had taken turns banging on the cage, delighting in making her cry. She’d begged them to let her go, to loosen the chains. Even to kill her. Death would be better than this.
Now, they slept. Patrick, who appeared to be the leader, had finally unchained her, poured half a bottle of water down her throat, and shoved her into a filthy bathroom so she could relieve her aching bladder before locking her back in the cage again.
On her side, she cradled her broken wrist, and her stomach ached. She was so hungry. The old banana Stephan had thrown in the corner of the cage a few hours ago was mottled yellow and brown, and the thought of it made her nauseous. Would it be better to just let herself starve to death? Except…that could take weeks.
She tore at the banana’s skin with her teeth, but as soon as the mushy fruit oozed out, she retched and tossed the disgusting thing away. She wasn’t that desperate for food. Not yet.
But you will be.
Tears burned her eyes as she realized she’d never escape them. They were too strong. Too fast. And with how much blood they’d taken…she didn’t think she could even stand.
Riley tentatively brushed the scabs that had formed on her neck. Vampires were real. How could she have been so stupid? Running through the Dublin streets late at night with no idea where she was going? Whatever the handsome man in the pub had wanted…it probably would have been better than this.
Closing her eyes, she tried to picture his face. His black eyes. His hair—just a little shaggy, and so thick—and his full lips. Something about him called to her, and when she thought of him, undercurrents of anger, frustration, and fear rolled through her. But the emotions felt so foreign. As if they weren’t hers.
I’m losing it. This is the end. Or will be…soon… Please, God. Let it be quick.
Curling tighter into a ball, she let herself cry until the vampires’ snores faded away.
* * *
She came awake violentlyas Patrick yanked her out of the cage and wrapped the heavy chain around her body, pinning her arms to her sides. “P-please,” she stammered. “Just…let me…go.”
“Now what would be the fun in that?” Patrick taunted as he pressed her face-first into the wall. She bucked and thrashed as best she could, but her limbs felt like they were made of noodles for all the strength she had left. “Yer blood is intoxicatin’. I need more.”
Grabbing a fistful of her hair, he wrenched her head to the side, and Riley squeezed her eyes shut, gritting her teeth and praying for a miracle.Death would be better than this. Please let me die.
Patrick’s fangs ripped through her flesh, and Riley screamed, her entire body seizing, then shaking. Her heart threatened to pound out of her chest, and her eyes rolled back in her head.
Let me die. Please. Please just let me die.
* * *
Declan
Declan paced Shannon’s small underground flat, counting the seconds until the sun went down. He had an idea where to look for the arseholes who’d taken Riley.
Based on Shannon’s detailed notes, he’d identified five different potential locations for the gang’s lair. Architectural records and old photographs of Dublin had helped, and he’d ordered and reordered the list of addresses a dozen times.
And all day, he’d felt…wrapped in a low-level blanket of pain. Could he be sensing Riley? Or was this pain his own? He was not hungry. Not yet. Riley’s blood was stronger, richer, more powerful than any he’d ever tasted.
Why was he drawn to her?
“Declan?” Shannon shuffled out from his bedroom, rubbing his eyes. “Did ya’ figure out where to start looking for ‘er?”
Thrusting the piece of paper at the young hybrid, Declan checked his watch for the hundredth time. “Yes. I’m leaving in five minutes.”
With a subtle shake of his head, Shannon turned around. “Seven.”
“What?”
“Yer gonna need help, mate. Give me seven minutes and I’ll come with ya’.” As the bedroom door slammed shut again, Declan ran his hand through his hair. He could not let the hybrid put himself in danger. Patrick’s gang was vicious, and while they hated humans, thinking them only fit to be food, they hated the hybrids more.
“No. You are not coming.” Declan pushed through the bedroom door, then gaped. The woman standing by the bed cradled the generous swell of her belly through her black robe. “Fuck me, Shannon. You…mated?”
