Veso

  “Please?”

  An earsplitting howl almost sent her crashing to her knees as she covered her ears.

  “STOP!”

  It cut off and she lowered her hands. “Thank you.” She darted a glance his way. Whoever had cut his hair had done a decent job at least. It was jet-black in color but his eyes freaked her out a little. They didn’t appear human; they were golden-brownish but showed a lot of yellow. She’d had a cat once with eyes similar in color.

  He still struggled against his bonds, and she saw blood near one ankle.

  “Listen.” She tried to use reason. “We’re both prisoners here. My name is Glen.”

  “Stay away from me!”

  His voice was deeper than any man’s she’d ever heard, and she totally wanted to obey that command. “No problem.”

  “I know what they want. I’ll kill you if you straddle me.”

  She sat down on the hard-packed dirt, putting her back to him as she studied the metal door. It was locked; she’d already tried to yank on it. No other openings were in the room that, like the other, looked as if it had been carved out of stone. “No worries there. I’ve never raped a guy before and don’t plan to start now.”

  He grew quiet, and she almost missed his growls. It was eerily silent, reminding her of what she assumed a grave would be like. She reached out and touched the rock wall. Then she lowered her hand and dug in the dirt until she found more rock.

  “I don’t suppose you have claws that can dig through rock, do you?”

  He said nothing.

  “I was told you’re like half Werewolf. I don’t know anything about them except what I’ve seen in movies. Do you have super-strength that can knock down a metal door?”

  His continued silence irritated her.

  “I’m trying to think of a way to escape.”

  “I can’t dig through rock or break down that door.”

  His softer tone was kind of nice and husky. It beat him snarling. She resisted the urge to turn her head to glance at him. The whole naked thing made her uncomfortable, and probably him too.

  “I was hopeful.”

  “Why do you have a man’s name?”

  The question surprised her. “That’s what you want to know? Really? Out of all the things to ask me, you choose that? It’s short for Glenda. But I hate it. Kids teased me growing up.”

  “It’s a good name.”

  “Glenda the good witch. It sucked. I told them it’s spelled differently but kids don’t care about actual facts. They just want someone to torment.”

  He growled. “You’re a witch?”

  “No!” She did look over her shoulder then, seeing his face turned her way. He was shockingly handsome, with masculine features and full lips. His expression was still scary though. “Don’t you watch movies? Never mind. Are witches real?”

  He said nothing.

  “Forget I asked. I don’t want to know. Ignorance was bliss. I really wish I didn’t know Vampires were real, or Werewolves, but I’m sure this isn’t some nightmare. I would have woken up by now if it were.”

  He sniffed. “You’re human.”

  “And you’re not.” She got to her feet and brushed off her skirt, examining the lock on the door. “I wish I’d been wilder as a teen. I might have been able to figure out how to pick this. It looks old.”

  He kept quiet.

  “I was kidnapped from my apartment, and apparently, I’m some distant relative of the master.”

  “I was told why we’re here and what they want.”

  “Then you know I’m not here because I want to be.”

  “Yes.”

  “We’re both in a hell of a lot of trouble. I don’t suppose you have a pack like Werewolves do in the movies, and they’ll track you down to save us?”

  “Doubtful.”

  “Great. There goes that scenario. We’re on our own.”

  “Just stay away from me.”

  As if she had to be told. Glen muffled a snort. “Did you hear me the first time? I’m not a rapist, and I sure as hell don’t want to go near you. I’m not even looking your way.”

  She kept close to the walls with her gaze averted away from him. The chains of the handcuffs made little noises, so she assumed he continued to struggle to break free.

  Glen ran her fingers over a crack in the wall, trying to see if it had any give to it. Some loose chips of rock broke off. She looked up, studying the ceiling. There were blast marks, which meant that the room had probably been carefully made. “The room they kept me in was much older. I’m sure we’re in an abandoned mine. I saw wood beams where I was kept and they appeared to be rotting. This section is newer. They used metal braces in the tunnels here. What do you think?”

  “We’re definitely in a mine.”

  She almost forgot he was naked and barely stopped herself from turning around. “Do you know what location we’re at? Like a guess? I have no idea. I was taken and knocked out. I woke up here.”

  “Not really. They drugged me and I woke right before they brought me inside. It’s boarded up from the outside, they had to lift a section to drag me in. Who gives a shit where we are?”

  “I do. I don’t know if it’s night or day, how long I’ve been here, but I’d like to figure out where I am in case I can find a way to escape.”

  “Pay attention to when you don’t see the soldiers. They’ll be sleeping during the day. That’s how you can tell the passage of time.”

  “Soldiers?”

  “The ones with the red eyes and the veins showing on their skin. They are soldiers.”

  “Creepers. I call them that because they’re as creepy as hell.”

  “You can call them whatever you want. Vampires make them and use them until they become too insane and unstable to control any longer.”

  “How do you kill one? Do you know?”

  “Take the damn head off.”

  “What about a stake to the heart or crosses?”

  “Total bullshit. You have to take the head off to keep them from healing and getting back up.”

  She filed that information away. “Where’s a machete when I really need one?”

  He made a snorting sound. “As if it would do you any good. You’re human. The only way you’re going to be able to kill one is if you attack it while it’s sleeping during the day.”

  She didn’t like the sneered tone. Someone sounded prejudiced against her kind. He’d said “human” as if it were an insult. “Like you could kill them either.”

  “I could if I were free.”

  Her heart sped up. “You could?”

  “I have claws. I could rip their heads right from their bodies. They wouldn’t have gotten me if they hadn’t cheated by drugging me.”

  “I’ve counted at least nine of the creeper things, plus the master and Vlad. Those two don’t have red eyes or ugly skin veins like the creepers do.”

  “Soldiers,” he corrected. “That’s how you can tell what they are.”

  “Okay. You think you could win a fight against that many of those things?” She wasn’t sure.

  “I’m strong and fast. I could take out the soldiers and Vlad. He’s a younger bloodsucker but a full one. The master would be harder to kill, but I could win if I were able to destroy everyone else in the nest first. They wouldn’t be able to swarm me.”

  “Swarm?”

  “They would all attack at once to bite and claw me. The massive blood loss would weaken me enough for the master to have a chance at winning.”

  Glen slid a glance his way, taking a quick peek. He did appear really big, even lying down. He was also very muscular. She could try to free him but then he could become a threat to her. She retook a seat on the dirt, trying to weigh her options.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Thinking.”

  He mumbled, “I’ll kill them all. They’ll have to let me up at some point.”

  “What makes you think that?”

  “I have to piss, and I??
?m going to start smelling after a week or so if I can’t bathe.”

  She wrinkled her nose at the thought of that, then felt sympathy. “You have to pee right now?”

  “Yes.”

  She’d hate being chained down. The poor guy would have to urinate where he lay. She glanced around and only spotted a bucket in the corner. It was a poor man’s version of a camping toilet. Shit.

  She rose to her feet and hesitated, trying to form a plan.

  “What are you doing now? Keep away from me. I’m not breeding you.”

  “Stop being paranoid. I’m not going to jump your bones. I’m trying to come up with a way to help you out.”

  “You don’t have keys for these chains. There’s nothing you can do.”

  He had a point about not having keys. He was restrained to a gurney table though. She snapped her fingers. “I’m going to go under you. Don’t freak out.”

  “What?”

  “I’m going to investigate that bed you’re on. I bet it has screws or something. Maybe I could take it apart enough to free you. At least it means you’d be off the table and able to move around.”

  “Go ahead.”

  She hesitated then faced him, keeping her gaze locked on his face. “How do I know you won’t kill me? You obviously don’t like me, but I’m a prisoner here too. I just want to survive and go home.”

  His lips twisted downward as he scowled. “Try to set me free.”

  “Are you going to hurt or kill me if I manage to do this?”

  His chest distracted her when he sucked in a deep breath, watching it expand. She darted her gaze back to his face. He was grimly staring at her. “I give you my word. I won’t harm you.”

  “How do I know you’re not a liar?”

  Anger glittered in his eyes. “I’m honorable. I’m a VampLycan.”

  “And that means what, exactly? I know jack shit about you except you’re super pissed, don’t seem to like what I am, and you’re supposed to be some kind of half Werewolf-slash-Vampire. Maybe you’ll go for my throat and suck my blood.”

  He growled low. “Fine. I need you to escape. Do you believe that?”

  “You said you could kill them if you’re free. It doesn’t sound like I’m of much use since I can’t kill them.”

  “I need you to draw them in here,” he stated softly. “It will get them to open that door. That’s honest enough. I won’t hurt you.”

  “Why would they open the door?”

  “You’re important to their master. They’d rush in here to save you if they thought I’d gotten free and might kill you.”

  “Will you take me with you if you get out of this room?”

  He hesitated.

  “Don’t be an asshole.”

  He surprised her by smiling. It reached his eyes, and he actually seemed amused. “Fine. I swear on my life to not harm you, and I’ll take you outside. You’re on your own after that.”

  “Okay. I guess that’s a good compromise.”

  “Get over here and see what you can do with this damn table.”

  “We have a deal. Don’t forget that.” It was tough to approach him and not look at his lower body. She lifted a hand and used her fingers to block her view until she was close to the gurney. She ducked down, then gripped the edge of it to help keep her balance. It was shadowed beneath the table, so making out the details was tough.

  “I’d kill for a flashlight. Those lanterns are too high for me to reach and take one down.”

  “Human eyesight,” he grumbled. “Great.”

  “I’m not the one strapped to a table about to have an accident,” she muttered. She dropped to her knees and reached up, feeling the underside of the table.

  She closed her eyes since they didn’t do her much good anyway. “This thing is an antique. I can feel rust.”

  “Just get me free.”

  “I’m trying. I found a lever thing. Let me see what it does.”

  She had to wiggle it a lot of times to get it to move. It was stuck. She gasped when it did move, and part of the table collapsed. She threw her body back, narrowly avoiding being struck. Her butt hit the dirt floor hard and the lower half of the table drastically tilted. “Um…okay.”

  “What are you doing?”

  “Do I look like I know medical equipment? I don’t.” She stood up—and realized her mistake as she stared right at his bare lap.

  She spun around. He wasn’t aroused, but she’d seen way more of the man than she’d meant to.

  “Get me free!” he demanded again.

  “What’s your name?”

  “What does it matter?”

  “Just tell me your name and stop being a dick.” She instantly regretted calling him that, the image of his still in her mind.

  “Veso.”

  She hesitated, and then reached for her skirt, shoving it down. He snarled from behind her but she ignored him, stepping out of the skirt. Her shirt fell long, hiding her panties. Glen held the material out and stepping forward. She covered his lap and tucked the bottom and top of her skirt under his butt, careful not to touch skin. She stepped back fast.

  “Better.”

  He openly examined her legs. “Don’t think of breeding with me.”

  “Give me a break! I just was covering you up. I have underwear on, which is more than I can say about you.” She rounded the table and crouched down by his head. “I have an idea. You aren’t going to like it but I need better lighting.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “Just stay there.” She chuckled at her own joke. It wasn’t like he had a choice.

  “I asked you what you’re goin—”

  She found the matching lever on the other side and pulled. It wasn’t rusted. The front dropped, the legs totally collapsing. It left him inches from the floor with the wheels under him.

  “That.” She took a deep breath and crawled to the side of the gurney, gripping the edge of it with both hands. “I’m going to roll you over.”

  “Don’t!”

  “It’s dirt. It shouldn’t hurt. I need to see the bottom of this thing. Do you want to be free or not?”

  He glared at her. His eyes were intense and kind of pretty in a strange way, if she could look beyond the anger.

  “Do it.”

  “Okay. Here we go.”

  He weighed a ton. She strained to lift one side. He threw his weight in the opposite direction as much as he could. It helped, and the gurney tore from her fingers, flipping him over the rest of the way to land with a hard thud. Now the gurney covered his back and he lay face down.

  “Are you okay? Can you breathe?”

  “Now you ask that?”

  She grinned and bent forward. “I’ll take that for a yes. I can see everything better. There are screws. I think I can take it apart.”

  “Just the wheels or where I’m chained?”

  “I’m not sure.” She tried to use her fingernail to twist a screw. It wouldn’t budge. “Shit.”

  “What?”

  “They won’t move.”

  He sighed loudly. “I guess I won’t have to worry about you mounting me now. You’re too weak to flip me back over.”

  “Shush. I’m thinking.” She glanced at what little clothes she had left and grimaced. “I have an idea. Can you see me at all?”

  “No. My face is in the other direction and I’d have to lift this up a bit to turn my head.”

  “Good.” She reached back and shoved up her shirt to reach her bra. “We’re in luck, I think. These are old flat-head screws. It just means I need something straight and rigid to turn them.”

  “What’s good about that? You don’t have a screwdriver.”

  “No, but I have underwires in my bra.” She removed the garment and pulled down her shirt, studying the lacey material. “Vlad didn’t take it away from me.” She found where the underwire rested and used her teeth to bite the thin material. “These damn things tend to break through at some point, so I end up removing them.
It’s annoying how that always happens…but not this time. It’s going to work in our favor.”

  She caught a glimpse of plastic through the black bra, and continued gnawing the threads until the tiny hole was just big enough to start pushing the capped metal out of one side of her bra cup. “Bingo. We have one.” She tossed the bra on the floor and fit the straightest part of the wire against the screw. It started to turn.

  “I’m a genius!”

  He muttered something she didn’t catch.

  “What?”

  “I’ll think you’re smart if you get me loose.”

  “Would you be grateful enough to actually get me to a city or a house with a phone when we break out of here? I can’t imagine an abandoned mine is close to anything.”

  He refused to answer. She got one screw free and worked on another. “Ingrate.”

  He growled.

  She ignored him, hoping her plan would work. She had no idea what she was dismantling, but she’d remove every screw, and hopefully the gurney would just fall apart. That would leave her cellmate free to move around, even if he had to drag a section of metal with him.

  Veso fumed. He’d been kidnapped by Vampires. It was humiliating enough to acknowledge that a weaker species had gotten the better of him. He would have turned them into dust if they hadn’t cheated. They never would have captured him if they hadn’t shot him with darts that drugged him into sleep. Cowards!

  But his rage burned hotter as he thought about why it had happened. The Vampire who’d hired others to drug him planned to force him to breed with a human. It was like adding insult to injury. They’d even shorn his hair, as if he were a scruffy dog that needed grooming. Their clammy fingers had touched his scalp as they’d chopped away his hair until if felt very short. The degradation had grown when one had produced disposable razors to remove his chest hair.

  His current position of being flat on a dirt floor with a table strapped to his back didn’t do anything to defuse his temper. He was at the mercy of this human to help him escape.

  He was going to kill every damn Vampire he came across once he was freed.

  He’d keep his bargain with Glenda though. He wouldn’t hurt her and he’d take her to the surface. He’d even help her get to a safe location, but he’d have to wipe her mind afterward. She had been captured too and brought into the mine against her will. She was an innocent.