Valerie pressed her hand to the wound, trying to slow the loss of blood, and then spared a glance for Igor. He lay prone, seemingly dead. Reassured, she turned her attention to the room itself. There was a phone on the bedside table farthest from the en suite bathroom. Like the décor, the phone was old, but she didn’t care so long as it worked.
Pushing away from the post, Valerie moved to the bedside table, a bit alarmed to find she was unsteady on her feet. Ignoring it, she dialed 911.
Her legs were shaking and her head swimming as she waited for her call to be answered. Afraid she’d collapse, Valerie almost sat on the bed, but then changed her mind. She might not be able to get back up.
Fortunately, the table was between the bed and the outer wall, and a window was only a foot away. Pulling the old-fashioned cord taut, she eased to the window and leaned against the sill as her call was answered.
“911.”
“I need the police and an ambulance. Immediately,” Valerie said, frowning at how weak and shaky her voice sounded.
“What’s your emergency and the address?” the dispatcher asked.
“I don’t know the address. I’ve been kidnapped and—”
“Kidnapped?” the dispatcher interrupted.
“Yes. And there are six other women in the basement. Or were,” she added grimly, glancing toward Igor. “I think he took too much blood and one or possibly even two of them might be dead.”
“Took too much blood?” the dispatcher asked, surprise showing in his previously professional voice. “Did you say you’ve been kidnapped, ma’am? And were these other women kidnapped too?”
“Yes,” she answered impatiently. “You’ll need more than one ambulance. I’m wounded, Igor’s dead, and then there are the other women.”
“Igor?” the dispatcher’s voice took on an edge of suspicion as he picked out the name Valerie and the other women had given to their caretaker. “Did you say that Igor is dead?”
“Yes,” she said, closing her eyes with frustration and wishing she’d kept that bit for the emergency workers to learn when they got there. Since she hadn’t, she had to explain or risk the dispatcher thinking she was crazy. “Look, Igor’s just the name we called him. None of us knew his real name. He was the one who fed us and fetched us from our cages for his boss to bite us. And, yes, I’m pretty sure I killed him. I staked him in the heart.”
“Did you say bite? And that you staked him in the heart?” There was definite suspicion now. No doubt he now thought she was pulling a prank call or something.
Valerie leaned her cheek wearily against the window. The glass was cold against her skin as she tried to clear her increasingly sluggish thoughts and sort out the best way to ensure her call was taken seriously and help was sent.
She finally said, “I realize some of what I’ve said probably sounds crazy and I’m sorry. The man who kidnapped us is a nutcase. He likes to play vampire and bite us. But I think he took too much blood from Janey and Beth. They haven’t talked much the last couple nights and if they aren’t dead, they’re probably dying. You need to send help, EMTs and the police, lots of them, and fast. He—” She paused and stiffened as she became aware of a faraway whirring sound. The automatic garage door opening, she realized as adrenaline shot through her. It was probably the only modern item in this place and she was grateful as hell for the warning it was giving her.
“Ma’am?” the dispatcher asked when she went silent.
“He’s back. Send help,” she hissed.
“Who’s back?” the dispatcher asked.
“Who do you think?” she asked harshly. “The man who kidnapped us. And when he gets up here and sees that Igor is dead, he’ll probably kill me and maybe even the other women. Send help now.”
“Ma’am, just stay calm. I—”
“Have you traced the call yet? Do you know the address?” she interrupted, and then as the whirring stopped she added, “It doesn’t matter. I’ll leave the phone off the hook. Trace the call and send help.”
“Ma’am, I need you to remain calm and stay on the line. I—”
“Yeah, well, I need an UZI and silver bullets, but I guess we’re both out of luck,” she said dryly. “I’m leaving the phone off the hook and booking it. Trace the call and send help,” she repeated grimly as the whirring below started again. The garage door closing, obviously, Valerie thought as she set the phone on the table. He’d parked and would enter the house and come up here next. She only had moments.
Rather than risk moving back through the house and running into the monster she was trying to escape, Valerie turned to the window, relieved when it slid up easily. She was even more relieved to find there was no screen to have to deal with. Thank God it was an old house and obviously let go. If it had been a new house with those fancy newfangled windows that didn’t open all the way and had screens, she’d have had to take a chance and leave the room to find an exit.
Valerie leaned out the window and peered down. She was on the second floor overlooking a large backyard. There was no handy tree or trellis to climb down from, but bushes lined the house below. If nothing else, they’d break her fall.
Grimacing at the thought, she swung one leg over to straddle the ledge, then paused as she heard a door close somewhere in the house. Probably the door from the garage to the house, Valerie realized and threw her other leg over the ledge, only to pause again. There was a window below this one. She didn’t know the layout of the house very well and had no idea if he might now be in the room below her. If he was and he saw her drop past the window . . .
Valerie closed her eyes and forced herself to wait and listen to the faint sounds of movement in the house. But the moment she heard the thud of footsteps on the stairs, she pushed herself off the ledge.
Anders stepped out onto the porch and sucked in a breath of fresh air. The house he’d just left didn’t smell pretty, but then the situation it presented wasn’t pretty either. He hadn’t seen many worse.