and Wrath had a feeling the warrior wouldn't stay unless he felt as if his twin had been dealt with properly. And even then, he might bolt anyway.
Wrath thought about Zsadist, picturing the male in his mind.
Havers had picked the right assassin. It was well-known that Z wasn't tied to anyone or anything, so the good doctor was right to assume the warrior wouldn't have a problem betraying the brotherhood. It was also clear to any observer that Z was one of the few males on the planet lethal enough to kill Wrath.
There was just one thing that was off. Z didn't care about material possessions. As a slave, he'd never had any. As a warrior, he'd never wanted any. So it was hard to believe that money would motivate him.
Then again, he was perfectly capable of killing for fun.
Wrath froze as his nose started to tingle.
Frowning, he went over to one of the vents that brought fresh air into the chamber. He drew in a great breath.
A lesser was on the property.
The same one who'd been in the Hummer at Billy Riddle's house.
Beth put some leftover filet mignon and a little horseradish sauce between two slices of bread. As she bit down, she was in total heaven. Food just tasted better.
While she ate, she looked out the kitchen window at a maple tree. Its dark green leaves were totally lifeless. Summer still. There wasn't a breath of wind, as if the air itself had heat exhaustion.
No, something was moving.
A man was coming through the hedge, approaching the house from the property next door. Her skin prickled in warning.
Which was ridiculous. The guy had on a gray Caldwell Gas & Electric uniform and was carrying a clipboard in one hand. He didn't look particularly threatening, what with his pale hair and his relaxed demeanor. He was big, but he moved casually, just another bored meter reader who was wishing he had a desk job because of all the heat.
The phone on the wall rang and she jumped.
She reached over and picked up, still keeping her eyes on the man. He stopped as he saw her.
“Hello?” she said into the receiver. The CG&E guy started walking again, coming up to the back door.
“Beth, get down here now,” Wrath barked.
At that moment, the meter man looked through the kitchen door's glass panels. Their eyes met. He smiled and lifted his hand.
Chills went over her flesh.
He's not alive , she thought. She wasn't sure how she knew it; she just did.
She dropped the phone and ran.
There was a crashing noise behind her as the back door splintered, and then she heard popping sounds. Something hit her in the shoulder with a sting. And then she felt another prick of pain.
Her body began to slow.
She fell facedown onto the kitchen tile.
Wrath yelled as he felt Beth hit the floor. Bolting up the stairwell, he burst into the drawing room.
The sun hit his skin and burned like a chemical spill, forcing him back into the darkness. He flashed down to his chamber, picked up the phone, and called upstairs. It rang and rang and rang.
His breath pumped in and out of his mouth, his chest moving in a series of rough contractions.
Trapped. He was trapped. He was trapped downstairs while she was…
He let out a roar that was her name.
He could sense her aura dimming. She was being taken away, taken somewhere away from him.
Fury poured out of his heart, a black, deep freeze that made the mirror in the bathroom fracture in a series of cracking sounds.
Fritz picked up. “We've been broken into! Butch is—”
“Get me the cop!” Wrath screamed.
Butch came on the line a moment later. He was breathless. “I couldn't catch whoever it was—”
“Did you see Beth?”
“Isn't she with you?”
Wrath let out another roar, feeling the walls press in around him. He was utterly helpless, caged by the sunlight that washed over the earth above him.
He forced himself to breathe deeply. Only managed one breath before he went back to panting.
“Cop, I need you. I need… you.”
Black Dagger Brotherhood 1 - Dark Lover
Chapter Forty-eight
Mr. X floored the minivan. He couldn't believe it. He absolutely couldn't believe it.
He had the queen. He had abducted the queen.
This was the chance of a lesser's lifetime. And it had happened so smoothly, as if it was all meant to be.
When he'd approached the house, he'd merely been on a scouting mission. It had seemed far too coincidental that the address the vampire had given him last