Chained - Zara Novak Page 0,48

there alone.”

“I’m not fighting my way out, or in.” I actually had the vague idea of a plan now, but it was hinging on a whole lot of luck. “I go in myself, and I get Vincent out, this Monroe doesn’t scare me.”

“Rachel,” Tasha pleaded to me. “What you’re proposing here, you could get hurt. Killed even. Don Cartello might even be on his way back—”

“He’s not,” I said, taking notice of the sinking feeling in my stomach. “I don’t know how to explain, I can just feel it. Something has gone wrong and he needs me there. It’s almost like he’s summoning me.”

Wardorf considered me carefully. “He’s far away, but it’s possible he’s speaking to us through her. If that’s the case, then I’ll chalk this insanity up as a direct order from Vincent himself.”

“So, you’ll help me?” I asked.

“I’ll take you,” Wardorf said, “but if Don Cartello asks this was your idea. You’ve got another thing coming if you think Monroe will let you walk out of there with Vincent.”

I smiled to myself as I considered the words.

“When I’m finished, he will beg me to take him. You can be sure of that.” I turned and looked at Tasha. “I need your help again before we leave.”

“What do you need?”

I looked down at the outfit she had picked out for me. The dress was beautiful, but it no longer aligned with my current plans.

“An outfit change. Something a little more… terrifying.”

An unholy storm swept in as we took off from the castle. Wardorf didn’t want to fly the chopper at all, he kept complaining that the conditions were too dangerous. A stern look and an arch of my brow was all it took to get him in the chopper.

It looked like the threat of my power was more than enough to move mountains.

Rain and wind blasted the chopper as it took off into the sky. I have to admit that I was scared. In any other circumstance there was no chance I would take a chopper in weather like this, it felt like I was voluntarily climbing into a deathtrap.

Circumstances demanded risk though. Vincent was in trouble. He needed me.

Liftoff was the hairiest part, but once we were actually in the air things were less troubling. From that point on it was pretty much straight flying through the night until we touched down an hour later.

As Wardorf started to bring the helicopter down a voice broke over the radio. Wardorf warned me something like this would happen. He glanced at me and I nodded back, prompting him to give the answer I had prepared.

“You’re in private airspace,” the voice from the ground said. “Identify yourself.”

“Vagner Wardorf,” Wardorf said. “I have brought an offering for the release of Don Vincent.”

“Offering? What offering?”

“His wife,” Wardorf ordered. “The breeder, Rachel Chase.”

There was silence for a second, but the voice spoke again. “Set down at the front. Arms in the air when you exit.”

I was in. Just like that.

A moment later Wardorf brought the chopper down on the front drive of a sprawling country estate. A group of armed vampires approached the helicopter and aimed their guns at us, while keeping a safe distance. Wardorf shut the engine off and we both climbed out.

Wind whipped my hair and the long black coat Tasha had prepared for me. As soon as we stepped onto the ground Monroe’s guards were shouting.

“Hands in the air! Both of you!”

We complied and the guards came over. There were five of them in total, all wearing suits and holding automatic rifles. One at the front stood out. He had long black wavy hair and a thin scar running diagonally across his face.

“Casper Black,” Wardorf whispered to me. “Monroe’s head of security.”

“Cuff him,” Casper shouted to one of his men. The guard ran forward and apprehended Wardorf, leaving me with my hands in the air. “Explain why you have come here,” he said to me very curtly.

“My name is Rachel. I am Vincent’s wife. I have come here to negotiate his release.”

“What makes you so sure he is here?” Casper asked.

“He has contacted me,” I said. I knew vampires had the ability to communicate without words. While I hadn’t distinctly heard anything from Vincent, I knew he was calling for me.

Casper’s unnerving expression didn’t change. “What do you bring as an offering?”

“Me,” I answered. “Myself. I am a breeder. I’m sure Don Monroe will find that of extreme interest.”

The vampire’s eyes brightened a little at my prospect. There was