Darkness Rises

“Bathe every inch of each other’s body . . .”

“Really liking it.”

“Then make love again, giving me a chance to do some of those things I mentioned wanting to do to you.”

Her pulse jumped. “Go get the water running,” she encouraged him in a throaty voice she barely recognized as her own.

Grinning, he stole a kiss, then leapt naked from the bed, giving her an eyeful of aroused immortal male as he headed into the bathroom.

Smiling, Krysta scooted off the bed and followed.

Seth felt his fury rise as he examined the unconscious mercenaries. There were eight of them being held in one of the holding rooms designed for vampires at network headquarters. All were chained together and lay on cots that had been hastily erected. Not to make the men more comfortable, he suspected, but so he wouldn’t have to kneel down to read their minds if touching them became necessary.

Two of the mercenaries were brain-damaged. The immortals were still having trouble determining how hard they could hit humans without killing them or rendering them useless.

He rested his palm on the forehead of a third, then a fourth, a fifth, his anger mounting.

He turned to face his companions.

Chris, Bastien, and Melanie all took a cautious step backward.

Bastien wrapped a protective arm around Melanie’s shoulders.

Seth drew in a deep breath and let some of the rage drain out of him. “There’s nothing.”

Bastien frowned. “Did Richart and Etienne hit them too hard?”

“A couple of them. But those who are merely unconscious yield no information that can aid us. They don’t know who their commander is. They don’t know the name of his operation. And they don’t know where it is located.”

Chris swore. “How the hell is that possible?”

“Each one of them was recruited from another PMC, except for that one. He’s an army veteran. Chris, I’d like to see if we can’t win him over to our side. He seems like a good man. He’s just been misled.”

Chris nodded.

“All are single—no families—and were approached by a man who claimed he worked for an elite Private Military Company that regularly received government contracts. He told them he had a highly secretive mission that involved homeland security.”

“Was he bullshitting?” Chris asked.

“We won’t know for sure until we confront their commander. Once they consented, he sedated them and took them to the compound from which they operate. They travel to and from it either blindfolded or in windowless transport vehicles. They don’t know where it is. And they don’t know who he is. He gave them a code name.”

Bastien frowned. “Are they stupid? How can they just go gunning for people based on something someone they can’t even identify told them?”

“They aren’t stupid. Just gullible. Mostly. Those three there would shoot their own grandmother for a paycheck. And they were offered a big paycheck.”

“How big?” Melanie asked.

“The equivalent of a Second’s salary.”

Chris whistled. “So whoever these guys are, they’re very well funded.”

“Which makes them even more dangerous,” Seth finished for him. More money meant more resources.

Bastien released Melanie and strolled forward to scowl down at the men. “So there’s nothing?”

“Nothing.”

“Did you see the face of the man who recruited them?”

“Yes. I don’t recognize him.”

“Shit.”

“Exactly.”

Bastien combed his fingers through his long hair. “If these men know nothing, we have no reason to believe any of the others will tell us anything.”

“Precisely.”

Quiet filled the room as brows furrowed.

They had been operating on the assumption that, if they could capture one of the mercenaries, Seth could learn the whereabouts of the group and they could swoop in and kill them.

And they did intend to kill them this time. All of them.

Chris’s face suddenly brightened. “Tracking devices.”

Seth tilted his head to one side. “What?”

“Their minds may not be able to tell us where their base is, but their bodies can. We do to them what they did to us. Plant tracking devices on them and let them lead us home.”

Seth met Bastien’s gaze. “That’s not a bad idea.”

Bastien nodded. “They think we’re monsters. I doubt they would credit us with the forethought it would take to turn the tables on them.”

Melanie didn’t look convinced. “What if they’re more paranoid than that? What if they check the men with metal detectors the way Chris checked these and the vampires you brought in?”

Bastien shrugged. “Plant the devices on their weapons. I’m sure they disarm before they’re scanned. If they’re scanned.”

Chris smiled. “You devious bastard. That would work.”

Bastien raised an eyebrow. “Is it doable?”

“Hell, yes. You saw how small the one the mercenaries used was. My tech guys can duplicate that and make it magnetic,” Chris said. “Would you and the other immortals be able to plant them on the weapons without them knowing?”

“To quote you, Hell, yes.”

Seth nodded. It was a solid plan. And it was good to see these two working together and leaving past animosities behind them. He clapped Bastien on the back and looked to Chris. “Put your men on it immediately and distribute the devices to all of the immortals in the area when you have enough. Their Seconds, too.”

“I’m on it. What do you want me to do with these guys?”

“Hold them for now. Preferably elsewhere so their complaints and shouting, once they awaken, won’t disturb the vampires.”

Chris nodded. “When Bastien started talking about recruiting vampires, I bought an abandoned missile silo and outfitted it with all of the trappings of a vampire’s prison in case the shit hit the fan. Do you want me to transfer them there?”

Once more, Chris had thought of everything. He was a damned good man to have on their side. “Sounds perfect. We’ll decide what to do with them after we discover who their commander is. Keep the veteran comfortable, though. The others are in it for the money. He’s in it to protect his country.” And he likely would be the only one Seth would let live . . . if the man joined them.

“And the vamps?” Chris asked.

“I’ll see to them next.”

Bastien took a step forward. “They seem sincere in their desire to side with us against the mercenaries.” He wanted so badly to help vampires, having seen firsthand so many fight the madness that infects them.

Seth looked to Chris. “Would adding new apartments be a problem?”

Chris glanced at Bastien. “This far underground, it would be a bit of a challenge, but it’s possible.” He met Seth’s gaze. “I’m more concerned about security. If you give all of them the okay, we’ll have seven vampires living here amongst the human employees. We’ve given Cliff and Stuart more leeway lately and let them move around more freely on this floor. We can’t do that with seven vamps. Not unless you start assigning immortals to serve as guards. Two vampires against three dozen human guards armed with automatic weapons and tranquilizer guns won’t win. Seven might.”

Seth corrected him. “Three dozen guards and one immortal. Melanie is very strong. As strong as Roland despite her youth.”

Chris swore. “I keep forgetting she’s immortal now.”

“And Bastien lingers here most nights.”

Bastien caught Seth’s gaze and tapped his temple. Can you hear me?

Yes.

Would you take the four of us somewhere private for a moment? Somewhere the vamps can’t hear us.

Seth teleported them to Chris’s home and used telekinesis to flick on the lights.

Giving their surroundings a hasty inspection, Melanie wrinkled her nose.

Bastien took in the piles of clothes, stacks of papers, discarded pizza boxes, and assorted other crap that cluttered the living room floor and furniture and frowned. “Where the hell are we?”

“My home,” Chris said, glaring at Seth, “and don’t say a word.”

Bastien wisely held his tongue. “Look, the whole purpose of recruiting vampires is to get them to help us spread the word and get other vampires to avoid the mercenaries. Or help us fight as they did tonight, if it comes to that. They can’t do that cooped up at the network.”

Seth agreed. “What do you propose?”

“I think we should see if Melanie can find a way to surgically implant tracking devices on the vampires, so we can turn them loose every night.”

Melanie regarded him with surprise.

“Richart can teleport them to my old lair each evening, so they won’t be able to disclose the location of the network. They can then roam where they will and get the word out to other vampires. When they return to my lair before dawn, Richart can then bring them back.”

Chris arched a brow. “And we’ll just go on faith that they aren’t preying upon innocents while they’re roaming where they will and getting the word out?”

“We can reduce the chances of that by keeping them supplied with blood at the network and having Lisette or Etienne read their thoughts nightly or weekly, however you want to do it. I’ll hunt while the vamps are out and about. And, when they’re not, I’ll serve as guard at the network. At least while Melanie is working.”

Chris gaped at him. “You serve as guard? Are you shitting me?”

Bastien shrugged. “It would allow me to spend more time with Melanie. Cliff and Stuart like me being around. The new vamps will likely be more comfortable with me around. It’s a win-win situation.”

“Yeah,” Chris said, “except most of the emergencies we’ve had at the network in recent years—which spawned many injuries and a hell of a lot of damage to the property—were instigated by you.” ns class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true">