Tall, Dark & Heartless

"He's fine. We have another problem though," she said, worrying her bottom lip.

"What?"

"Tattletale found a video stream being transmitted twenty minutes ago."

"What did it find?" he asked, already wondering what her program that learned on its own and could break into anything, found now.

"This," she said quietly, reaching over to type something. Seconds later a video popped onto the large flat screen that had his stomach dropping.

"Fuck me......."

Chapter 10

Why in the hell had he reacted?

He should have stayed the hell out of it. A few more seconds and she would have been dead and he would have been freed from this damn hold she had over him. He could have escaped without having to worry about what would happen to her. Right now he could be starting over somewhere and making damn sure never to allow another human into his heart ever again, but he just had to open his f**king eyes, hadn't he?

When he saw the twisted smile on that sick f**k's face as he shoved Danni down in the water and started pressing the green button down, something in him snapped. In that moment he knew he couldn't allow Danni to die that way. He owed it to that little girl who used to make him smile to make sure that she died as a very old woman in the safety of her bed and surrounded by her family.

In a matter of seconds he tore the arm that kept shoving her down off and took her in his arms, ready to kill anyone that got in his way. Instead of taking the time to gently lay her on the mattress he should have finished the job and killed the bastard when he had the chance. A mistake he would not make again.

He kept an eye on the vampire as he stepped into the room. When Greg didn't appear he scented the air, but couldn't detect him so he shifted his attention back on the man as he stepped in front of Danni.

"If you have a moment, I would like to speak with both of you," he said, watching them with open curiosity. Caine watched as the man's eyes shifted to the tank that was already filling the room with a vile scent.

"What do you want?" Caine demanded, never taking his eyes off the man. He already noted that the man wasn't holding a remote. After a quick scan of the man's attire, a simple pale blue dress shirt and slacks he didn't believe the man carried one either. The man was either cocky or he wasn't a coward like Greg. Then again, he didn't need a remote as long as the person watching the monitors had one.

"First," he said, gesturing to the tank, "let's get rid of this."

While Caine watched, the vampire signaled to the camera. A minute later several vampires cautiously entered the room. When their eyes lingered too long on Danni he growled in warning. That was all it took for them to look away. While two men rolled the tank out another two men made quick work of cleaning the floor with orange scented cleaner. Once it was clean the men left as quickly as they came.

"I'd like to apologize for Gregory. It seems he has a little anger management issue that we were unaware of," the vampire said, placing his hands in his front pockets as he leaned casually against the wall.

Caine doubted very much that they were unaware of Greg's hatred of Danni. He also knew why they were receiving the "good cop" routine. When he'd protected Danni he'd proven that she meant something to him and as much as he'd love to deny it, he couldn't. He couldn't lie to himself anymore. He cared too damn much for her and that was going to cost them, but he'd do his damndest to protect her.

If he managed to get her out of here he planned on getting her the hell away from all of this and setting her up with the life that she deserved. It was the least he could do for the little girl she once was. He'd get her settled so she'd never want for another thing as long as she lived and he would hire extra men to watch out for her. Then he'd leave her to live her life and he'd be free.

"What do you want?" Danni demanded weakly from behind him.

The man looked at Danni and frowned. "I'm very sorry for what occurred to you, Danni. I'm afraid Greg went too far. That will not happen again," the vampire promised.

"Uh huh," Danni said, not sounding like she believed him at all. Smart girl.

There was no doubt in his mind that they'd go after her again when they realized Caine would not be doing as they asked. He might have decided to protect her, but he would not change her and he sure as hell wouldn't f**k her, but he didn't inform the vampire in front of them about that because he needed to buy them some time to figure out how they were going to get the hell out of here.

"You have the Master's word on that," the vampire said solemnly.

He didn't have to look back to know that Danni was rolling her eyes at that little announcement. He knew her well enough to know that she wouldn't believe any of the bullshit this vampire was sprouting. Then again, she had fallen for that little prick's bullshit so maybe he didn't know her as well as he thought he did.

"If you would allow me," he said, gesturing to the door where Caine could scent several vampires and minions waiting nervously, "I would like to make amends for what Greg did."

Caine scented the air deeply and slowly nodded. He didn't know what their game was now, but he'd play along. If it meant that he could get Danni back to fighting condition then he'd do whatever the hell he needed short of f**king or turning her.

He would never turn anyone, never give them the life he had to endure. She had a choice, he hadn't. He'd been born this way to a servant, who'd died giving birth to him. When he'd been human he'd been told that his mother had lain with her employer and that the man he'd known as his father was just her bitter husband. It wasn't until much later that he discovered that his mother's master had been a vampire. The bastard could have saved her life if he'd simply changed her just before he was born.

After he went through his transformation he went back to the city where his mother had worked, but no one had seen the Lord since his mother passed away. He searched for a few more years, but it had been pointless. The man had vanished into thin air and Caine had grown tired of looking for him. In the end it hadn't mattered anyway. He'd gotten his answers and even discovered there were others like him. If rumor was true, there were some that even worked for the Sentinels like him and from what he heard, were happy.

It didn't matter to him that other Pytes learned to accept what they were since he knew exactly how quickly happiness could end. He also wasn't stupid enough to change someone who was already a prisoner. They'd keep her weak, but make sure that she was fed just enough to do as they asked. Then again this was Danni and he knew the stubborn woman would fight them every inch of the way and develop memories that would haunt her centuries later. He'd been there and done that and didn't want that for her.

If he couldn't get her the hell out of here then he'd have no choice, but to sit back and watch her die. It was better than having no escape and being trapped in a never ending hell.

"This should make you feel better, Danni," the vampire said as men walked into the room, keeping as far away from him as possible, as they carried in fresh towels, soaps, a first aid kit, a small red cooler, a clean shirt, a blanket and what appeared to be a small plastic crate overfilled with prepackaged food and bottled water.