Immortal Danger (Night Watch 0.5)(42)
Author: Cynthia Eden

She’d damn well better be.

They didn’t have much longer to search for her. The whisper in Maya’s head, that soft call, was growing more insistent.

Nassor would rise soon.

And call to those taken of his blood.

She turned away from Adam, began walking fast.

"Maya!"

His shout stopped her. There was something in his voice. A hesitation. A fear? She glanced over her shoulder. Found him watching her with a face that looked hard and cold under the streetlights.

"Why’d you do it?" His voice was soft, but easily reached her ears.

"Do what?"

"Dig me out of those rocks." His gaze bored into her. "Why didn’t you just me leave me-"

To die.

"Leaving you wasn’t an option." She’d never even thought about it.

"Why?" Stark.

She didn’t know. She just…hadn’t been able to walk away. She couldn’t leave, not when she knew he was down there, trapped under those rocks. Maya forced a shrug. "Hey, I’m sure you would have done the same for me, right?"

She turned away, not wanting to see his expression and Adam didn’t reply, didn’t speak again.

His silence followed her to Temptation.

"Hey, I’m sure you would have done the same for me, right?" Her words seemed to echo in Adam’s ears.

But would he have done the same? He watched her stalk away from him, back perfectly straight, shoulders thrown back. Her hips swayed slightly, a sexy roll that caught his eye-and the eyes of others.

Maya.

She marched past the crowd. Flashed the guards the promised smile and slipped inside. He could hear the doors slide closed behind her, a soft whoosh that seemed far too final.

Alone. Damn. He didn’t want her in there without him.

Sure, the lady knew how to handle herself, but there was only so much that she could do against a gang of vampires.

Be safe, Maya. And get the hell out of there, fast.

He sighed and turned toward the alley. He’d wait for her, as she’d ordered, but if he caught even the faintest whiff of trouble, he’d knock down the bar’s doors and go in after her.

"Hey, I’m sure you would have done the same for me, right?"

It was just as she remembered. Gold cages lined the walls. Scantily clad men and women undulated inside them, dancing in a slow, teasing rhythm to match the beat of the band.

A woman was lying across the bar as a vampire fed from her neck. She moaned in ecstasy, her hips rocking against the smooth surface.

Couples were dancing. Humans, vamps. Blood was flowing.

You come to f**k or to feed? That had been the question gruffly asked by the guard at the door.

She’d replied, as most vamps did. "Both."

Maya knew she wasn’t going to find the kid in any of the main rooms. Not the bar, not the VIP lounge, not the sex rooms in the back. If Cammie was there-and since it was Torrence’s little home away from home, it figured that the girl would be-then he’d have hidden her well.

Her gaze darted to the gray door marked "Private." It led below. She knew, she’d caught a glimpse of stairs when the door had opened before.

What waited below? Who waited? The hair on her nape began to rise. Slowly, she let her stare drift around the crowded bar.

So many vampires.

Sex and blood. The scent filled her nostrils.

Her eyes locked on the tall figure of a man. A man with blond hair, a perfect face, and fangs that were just inches away from a woman’s throat.

Torrence? She couldn’t be sure. He fit the description, but that wasn’t saying much.

Just to be safe, she used the crowd as a cover and carefully made her way to the gray door. She’d search below first. If there was no sign of the girl, then she’d work her way back up until she covered every inch of Temptation.

Her hands were against the door when a shiver of awareness worked its way over her body. She glanced back.

And found the blond vampire smiling at her. Kind of like a cat who’d just caught a fat mouse and was now getting ready to have a really, really good dinner.

Fuck it. Maya shoved open the door and took the steps three at a time.

CHAPTER 12

The night was too quiet. Adam stood near the back entrance of Temptation, a steel door that was locked tight, and wondered why the night seemed so quiet.

Maya had been inside for ten minutes now.

Not enough time to search the bar.

Enough time to die? He swallowed back his fear. He’d give her a little longer. She’d been right to leave him behind, he knew that. If he went inside, saw that bastard Torrence, the rage would overwhelm him and everything would go to shit.

And the feeding room would go up in flames.

Not a good plan.

Cammie came first.

Revenge would be a sweet second.

Hurry, Maya.

A lone wolf’s howl ripped through the night.

Adam stiffened. Aw, hell .

Harold "Harry" Thomas knew that Temptation wasn’t a normal bar. Each time the door opened, he’d caught the scent of blood. He’d seen the marks on the men and women when they came out-if they came out.

But he knew not to ask too many questions. If he did his job, he got paid and he got to keep living.

Seemed like a good enough arrangement to him.

Besides, the way Harry figured it, he wasn’t really doing anything wrong. Those fools who went inside, they were looking for trouble. Not his fault if they found it.

Vampires. Shit. Who would have thought they were real? And sometimes, they looked so harmless. So normal.

Like that last woman who’d gone inside. Pretty little thing-silky black hair, body so small, and a sweet ol’ face on her.

Then she’d smiled at him, shown him her fangs, and met his stare with eyes gone pitch-black.

You just never knew about those vamps-they were everywhere and could be anyone.

Static crackled in his headphones. "Send in more girls."

Harry motioned to the two leather-clad redheads at the front of the line. They’d been waiting for an hour. It was their turn.

They giggled as they hurried past him, their eyes a little too bright.

Maybe the drugs would make it easier for them.

Harry went back to his post. His partner Mac stood silently beside him.

It was gonna be another long night.

Harry’s gaze swept the street.

The piercing cry of a wolf’s howl split the night.

What the hell? He stepped forward and saw them. Big, dark shapes moving fluidly in the night. Running.

Snarling. Coming closer, closer.

The men and women in line began to scream, to run.

But the wolves just kept coming closer.

"Trouble! Shit!" He screamed into the microphone, stumbling back against the white column.

"We’ve got-"

A man stepped from the middle of the snarling pack of wolves. A tall man, with black hair, eyes colder than hell, and a twisted smile on his lips.