Twice Tempted (Night Prince #2)(21)
Author: Jeaniene Frost

"Bullets are liquid silver," he rasped. "Run!"

I was horrified. Even a vampire’s regenerative abilities wouldn’t be able to expel that, and not only would it near-paralyze Maximus, it would feel like acid burning all through him. I shoved him off me, but not to run. To slice an electric bolt through whoever tried to shoot him with that poison again. I yanked my gloves off, grimly satisfied at the unearthly glow suffusing my right hand. Then I held it up while letting loose a snarl of my own.

"You want to kill him, Vlad? You’ll have to go through me!"

Mocking laughter met this statement. The door didn’t open – it flew across the room to smash against the bed. A cloaked figure appeared in the door frame, face in shadows, but I caught a glimpse of dark hair. I tensed, my heart twisting even as the electricity channeling into my hand became more intense. Could I kill the man I loved to protect the man I didn’t?

"If you want him to live, don’t move."

Moonlight fell onto the cloaked man’s face, revealing short black hair, a smooth jaw, and a wide, full mouth. Not Vlad, I realized, or anyone else I recognized. Who the hell was he?

The stranger smiled, showing fangs. "You have questions, but we only have time to answer one. Will he live or die?" Belittling nod at Maximus, who writhed in agony. "If you want him to die, fight me. You’ll lose because I didn’t come alone, and then we’ll take you anyway and kill him. Leave with me willingly, however, and I’ll let him live."

"Don’t listen to him," Maximus managed to grit out.

I didn’t glance his way because that would require taking my eyes off this stranger; a mistake I wouldn’t make.

"I should trust you why?" I asked with heavy sarcasm.

His eyes flashed green. "Because I’d rather not lose my best leverage over you."

That single sentence spoke volumes. Whoever he was, he wasn’t stupid. He also wasn’t one of Vlad’s men. Vlad wouldn’t attempt to use Maximus as leverage against me. He’d know it was pointless since he’d already told me he was going to kill him.

Sirens sounded in the distance. The stranger sighed. "Time’s up, little bird. Which will it be?"

My hand ached with the overload of currents coursing into it, but slowly, I lowered it. Now wasn’t the time. Maximus cursed between ragged moans of pain. The stranger smiled.

"I heard you were smart. Let’s hope your friend is, too."

Something hard jabbed me in the chest. I glanced down, seeing what looked like a dart sticking out of me. By the time I glanced back at the stranger, my vision was already starting to blur and my legs felt like they’d been replaced with jelly.

"Make sure you get her gloves" was the last thing I heard before everything went dark.

Chapter 14

When I came to, I didn’t open my eyes or alter my breathing. Instead, I took inventory while pretending I was still unconscious. Headache, no surprise, but other than that I felt okay. My arms were behind my back. Thickness around my fingers was gloves, tightness around my wrists and ankles was restraints. Uncomfortable gag in my mouth, self-explanatory.

Then I moved on to my surroundings. The pitch and roll beneath me had to be waves, which meant I was on a boat. Some of my captors were topside, from the voices, but I could tell someone was in the room with me.

So when I opened my eyes, my gaze landed unerringly on the black-haired vampire who’d shot up the hotel last night. The only surprise he showed was to blink.

"Didn’t expect you to be up already," he drawled.

I glanced down at my gag and back at him, raising a brow.

He translated the silent message. "Do I need to tell you that screaming is useless?"

I rolled my eyes. What was this, amateur day? He smiled before rising from the opposite berth. "I thought not."

The vampire looked to be around my age, but I judged him to be less than a hundred in undead years. Really old vampires had a certain . . . weight in their stares, as if the passing centuries had left a tangible heaviness. My nameless captor didn’t have that, and if I was lucky, neither did anyone else on this boat.

Young vampires were easier to kill.

"Water," I said once the gag was removed. Between that and the aftereffects from being drugged, my mouth was so dry that my tongue felt like a wadded-up sock.

The vampire disappeared and then returned with a can of Coke. Even better. The caffeine would help my headache, and watching him pop the soda can tab meant he hadn’t doctored the contents, so I wasn’t about to be drugged again.

I gulped at it when the vampire held it to my lips, which meant that I let out an extended burp when I stopped swallowing. If that burp happened to be aimed in my captor’s face, well, it wasn’t my fault. I was tied up.

"Charming," he said dryly.

"I lost my concern for social niceties when you shot my friend up with liquid silver," I replied in an even tone. "Speaking of, I want to see him."

The vampire’s mouth quirked. "You’re not in a position to make demands, but yes, he’s still alive."

"You don’t want to take me to him, fine," I said, thinking fast. "I assume you know I pick up psychic impressions from touch, so take these gloves off and let me touch you. Then I’ll know if you’re telling the truth."

The vampire chuckled, a brighter green swarming in the peat-moss color of his eyes. "Touch me? Don’t you mean use that deadly electrical whip you can manifest to cut me in half?"

I stiffened. How did he know about that? Aside from Vlad, Maximus, and a handful of Vlad’s guards, everyone who’d seen me wield that power was dead.

"That’s why those rubber gloves are duct-taped onto you," he went on, unperturbed. "Just in case."

"What’s your name again?" I asked, glad I sounded casual.

Those wide lips stretched further. "Call me Hannibal."

I smiled back. "Okay, Hannibal, what do you want me to do? Use my abilities to find one of your enemies? Tell you if someone is betraying you? Or read the past from an object?"

Hannibal laughed, and though it was more Dr. Evil caliber than chilling, it was still foreboding enough to creep me out.

"I don’t want you to do anything, little bird. I’m merely the delivery boy. I don’t even know who I’m delivering you to. All I know is you’re worth three times as much alive, but if you try anything, dead is still a good payday for me."

Hannibal gave me a cheery wave before leaving the room. I said nothing, trying to think of a way out of my predicament. I was not going to let myself or Maximus be delivered to some unknown baddie. I’d find a way out of this if it killed me.

The fact that it might didn’t deter me. After everything that had happened, I’d rather an early death while fighting than living with more regret than I already had.