Chapter 9: You're Not Going to Die…Tonight

-Ronan-

Martin Van Arder is doing all he can to sell me this development idea, and all I can think of is that the car is taking too long to get here.

"That area has been occupied by fishermen and broken-down old homes. You'll probably find people living in your property somewhere along the coastline, by the marshes."

"I'll think about it," I say, hoping that will make him shut up and leave me alone.

"I've heard we might join bloodlines soon." He winks and nudges me with his elbow. "What would be better than to expand the new family business?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I say coldly. "Excuse me. My car is here."

The limo that pulled up to the driver isn't mine, but he doesn't know that, so I leave him standing in the foyer and head outside. A clearly intoxicated vampire and her attendant step out, almost bumping into me.

Something isn't right.

The distance to the parking space at the entrance of the property isn't so extensive. It wouldn't have taken Ara so long to get there, even with her limited mobility.

Thunder roars through the sky, announcing it's going to rain. Now I'm pissed, because I don't want to get wet.

I begin to walk down there and lightning flashes, tearing into the dark clouds and shining a brief light on something lying next to the pathway. I get closer and realize it's Ara's monster shoes.

Could she be so stupid to try to run away? That would immediately break the contract and even impose a fine on her, so I doubt she'd do that. I think back to the man she had been talking to earlier in the evening, thinking maybe she wanted to meet him again.

I speed down the pathway, thinking I might just murder someone before the sun rises, and I try to calm down. The thought of them fucking in some car out in the parking lot threatens to make me upend each and every vehicle in my way.

Once I reach the gatehouse, nothing seems out of the ordinary. A few dozen drivers and valets are inside, laughing and smoking, and they don't see me.

The smell, however, is not a good sign.

It smells of Ara.

Of her blood.

I find my limo parked near the corner, and my driver is slumped in his seat. At first, I think he's sleeping, but the driver's seat door isn't properly closed.

His limp body falls onto the gravel when I open it, and he groans. I pick him up by the collar of his shirt.

"Where is she?" I say, and I see that there's a huge bump on his forehead. Someone wanted him unconscious, but not dead.

The driver stirs a bit but I can tell it's going to take a while for him to recover. I leave him there and scan the area, trying to pick up her scent.

She wouldn't do this, would she?

I don't know enough about her yet to assess whether she would assault my driver and try to run away, but I have a strong feeling that something has happened TO her, instead of the other way around.

It isn't unheard of for attendants to be kidnapped, but she hasn't even been mine for an entire day. This has to be the doing of someone who has been watching me for some time.

Her scent grows stronger as I head toward the forest that surrounds the Van Arders' estate. The thunderous sky echoes the storm brewing inside of me.

Why take her away on foot? If they meant to kidnap her, they would have taken a car. But instead, everything pointed to her being dragged toward the thick, dense treeline.

That could only mean they want to harm her. Not take her away. Possibly kill her.

And I can't let that happen.

What I paid for Arabella is nothing to me. I could get ten more attendants if I want to. But I've chosen HER. And even if she is proving to be a handful and obstinately annoying in the brief time I've had her, I don't want to lose her.

This is a different time, a different century. But I'm not losing someone again.

I kneel on the ground, sensing my surroundings and take in the scents as I close my eyes. There's moisture in the heavy air before the rain and the smells linger.

I have to try to block out everything about Ara to try to see beyond her.

It was humans. More than one. They were carrying guns. There's a whisk of aftershave and cheap perfume. Alcohol. Sweat.

Despite the urgency of the situation, a smile forms on my lips. I've said it before and I'll say it now: humans can be so, so stupid.

I am not a vampire just because I drink blood.

I'm a vampire because I am a hunter, and while I don't particularly enjoy tapping into the essence of who I am, I do it now.

I dig deep within me, feeling that raw, primal power of bloodlust.

Energy surges through me as the wind picks up, rattling the leaves and trees around me.

I start running and almost see wisps of scent weaving their way through the forest, like I'm tracking a wounded doe that's leaving me clues as she bleeds out.

I try to ignore Ara's scent because she isn't the one who's going to be on the receiving end of the violence that's building up inside me, but she's the one who calls out to me.

Her taste, her essence, her whole being. I can almost hear her breathing, though I know she isn't close yet. It takes me seconds to cover the distance that a normal human would in a few minutes.

And then it suddenly overwhelms me, the smell of her sweet, delicious blood, and I have to come to an abrupt stop so I don't break my cover. There's a stout man guarding the entrance to a hole in the ground. It looks like some sort of bunker, and I can't help but smile again.

Because I thrive in the darkness.

The poor man doesn't know what hits him before it's all over. I pounce from behind him and snap his neck before he even realizes I'm there.

There's a narrow metal ladder that leads underground and I jump down, not bothering with what's below. It's an afterthought that maybe I could have gotten the truth out of that man before ending him, but there are more of them, and I need to find Arabella.

Fluorescent lights flicker on and off down a long, moldy tunnel.

"Brent? Is that you?" A voice echoes down the tunnel, and I snap the wires connecting the lights together. "What the fuck? Brent?!"

"Brent isn't here," I say, and I'm a shadow, clearly seeing through the darkness that blinds this man.

He lets out an anguished cry when my fist collides with his jaw, and the deafening bang of his gun going off rattles the dust and dirt that line the tunnel. I can see it all like flecks of gold flying in the air.

I begin to move again when my phone rings, and I freeze. It has a sobering effect on me, which I don't need, because I need my mind to function differently right now.

When I look to see who's calling, thinking it might be Desmond, the call says it's from an unknown number, so I pick up.

I'm greeted by muffled cries and groans that can only belong to her.

"Ara?" I say, still moving.

"Ronan? Why…I can't see anything. They…they grabbed me." The sound is spotty, but clear enough for me to understand her.

"Did they hurt you?" I say, briefly separating the phone from my ear to see if I can hear her in the tunnel as well.

"My head. I'm bleeding." She coughs and spits. "What…what am I supposed to do? I'm so dizzy…"

"Is anyone there with you?" I cut her off. I need the important details, first.

"They left a phone here and ran off, I think. I can't hear anyone. It's so cold." Her voice seems to be dying down, and I realize I'm underestimating the urgency of the situation.

If she's bleeding, added to the fact that I fed from her today, she could still be in danger even if those men have left her here for me to find. For all I know, they're listening to everything we're saying.

But I don't care. They won't live long enough for that to matter.

"Concentrate on staying awake. Stay with me." I remember I have my earphones in my pocket and I activate one, placing it into my ear and storing my phone again.

"Did you call the police?" she says, and I almost laugh.

"I'm coming to get you. Do you remember where they took you?"

"Just you? But they have guns."

"Yes, just me. Who else do you think I need?"

I'm slightly offended that she thinks I can't deal with these pathetic men and their guns.

Ara mumbles something, and I reach an intersection where the tunnel breaks into three different paths. Her scent is everywhere, making it hard for me to pinpoint exactly where they carried her.

There's a hatch door near the rightmost path, and I open it, but the stale room is empty.

"Arabella, keep talking to me. Don't stop talking."

"I… everything hurts," she says, her voice cracking. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. This isn't your fault. Can you move? Bang on something?"

"My hands and legs are tied. It's hard to breathe with the bag…"

"What bag?"

"There's a bag on my head. Shit, shit, shit!"

"What is it?" I say, trying to keep calm.

These tunnels must extend throughout most of the forest. I try to remember what this place used to be before the Van Arders bought it. Most likely a government facility, but that won't help me get to Arabella.

"Shiiiit!" Arabella screams into the phone, and consequently, my ear. "ARGH, I don't want to die."

"What is going on, Arabella?"

"There's something wet and cold touching me. Water. I don't know…"

She's openly crying now, and I realize what she's talking about. There's water seeping into the tunnel, evident by the splashes I make as I run. It must have begun raining above us.

The last thing I need is for this place to start flooding.

"Can you move your body? Pound on the floor so I can try to hear where you are?" I say, taking a final turn that I think leads to the direction I haven't explored yet.

Her breathing is labored, but she seems to be trying to do as I told her.

"I…I can't. I don't…there's no more energy left in me."

I reach a hatch that's locked, and I send it flying open.

Arabella screams into my earphone and my free ear.

She's here.

I take out my phone again and turn on its flashlight, only to see that it's even worse than I thought.

The water that surrounds her is crimson and greenish. Too much red.

She's lying there near a corner, shaking and trying to scoot toward the wall.

"Please don't hurt me. Ronan! RONAAAN!"

"It's me," I say gently, rushing over to her and removing the bag off her head.

A burner phone falls out and lands in the water that's starting to cover most of the room.

Ara barely opens her eyes and squints at the bright light I'm shining onto her face. It's a red and purple mess of dirt and blood, and I heave, trying to ignore it.

I've had a long time to learn to control my blood-drinking impulses, but when it's flowing so freely out of a human body, it's still intoxicating. Just the smell of it is like a drug.

I untie her extremities and cover her with my jacket. When I pick her up, I see that there's a gaping wound on her matted hair, still unhealed. Her blood seeps through, soaking my formerly white shirt.

"Does this count as bodily harm?" she says in a woozy voice.

"Shh. Don't talk," I say softly, though I have to admit I'm a little hurt. She's asking if what happened to her constitutes a breach of contract.

It doesn't, because I didn't do this to her. I'm required to protect her, but I'm not liable for third parties harming her in most conditions if it's out of my control.

But that doesn't matter now. I have to get her out of here and to a hospital.

Her eyes can barely stay open and now it's me who's slightly trembling from the cold—and from fear.

I really don't like being afraid. It's a feeling so foreign to me that it's paralyzing. I can barely breathe.

I stop and set her down, knowing that I wouldn't be able to live with myself if this beautiful, fragile human died in my arms.

So I do the one thing I'm not allowed to do, by human or vampire law.

I bite into my wrist and let my own blood seep into her lips.

"You're not going to die," I whisper. "At least, not tonight."

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