Blood Debt (The Blood Sisters Book 2) (19 page)

****

Jessica didn’t
want to be here. Didn’t want to be getting ready to rush off into battle, but
there was no choice. Up near the altar of the church, Jessica stood as everyone
else gathered supplies. She needed to get her head in the game and she didn’t
know how. Not after everything she had just gone through. A good night’s
sleep, at least,
would help put things into
order.

Would she
feel better if she turned herself over to the police? She could tell them all
how she slaughtered the Black Scorpions and clear Ron’s name. It wouldn’t
change anything, but shouldn’t she be punished?

“You
should stop thinking things like that because we need you. I need you,” Amanda
said.

Turning,
Jessica sighed as she took in Amanda’s face. She had a determined lip pucker,
but her eyes were soft. Sad. In her
hands,
she held Jessica’s
shotgun
. “Here I
thought
holding
those gave you hives.”

Amanda
turned her hand over and Jessica saw a blister rising up on the inside of her
wrist. “I’ve learned to embrace the pain. Well, still working on it, I feel a
little green. Without you around, I had to get strong. I had to keep going.
Before, I’d turn away from pain, but I learned if I grabbed onto it, if I held
it, I’m even stronger. My power’s growing, but I don’t want to face it alone.”

Amanda
offered Jessica the gun, holding it out straight, but Jessica turned her head.
Couldn’t look at it yet. “Our car is here, you know. Dad’s car.”

It meant
so much, always had. Now knowing Dad was in the underworld
suffering,
when Jessica had been so close to
him— “So what? Just get back inside? Start driving and pretend that none of
this happened? That doesn’t sound like you.”

Amanda
shook her head. “If the world needs saving from Lourdes, I think we have to do
it, don’t we? Maybe along the way figure out what happened to Dad
and
if there’s a way we can help him. I can’t
believe he fought demons.”

Jessica
could, after her vision. “He gave up his life for Mom. For us. Wanted to keep
us safe. He didn’t realize it was you until the bitter end. I wish I could’ve
saved him.” She ducked her head down low, feeling the compounding of guilt.

“So make
his death mean something. Help us, please, Jessica.”

The
shotgun seemed to glisten and Jessica took it. The weight of it; heavier than
ever. “All right, but just so you don’t have to hold it anymore.”

Amanda
smirked in a way that was uncommon for her. She was changing, growing. Becoming
more her own person.

It
terrified Jessica that Amanda might be changing. What if she didn’t recognize
who her sister turned into, thanks to all that power? Glancing to her left,
Jessica saw Gwen. Stomping down the stairs, they stood side by side. “What
aren’t you telling us?”

Gwen did
a double take and Jessica snorted. “Please, after keeping that secret for
twenty-five plus years, there’s no way you told us everything. I always knew
you had secrets and regret, but that was bigger than I’d ever imagined.”

“If your
faith in me was rocked, I am sorry. More than you’ll ever know, child.”

Jessica
bit her lip. “You make so much more sense to me now, actually. The drive. The
mission. Since you were personally responsible, it makes sense.”

Gwen’s
tongue clicked inside her mouth. “So much for not casting blame.”

“I don’t
mean to. That’s Amanda’s thing, not mine.” Jessica stared her down. “It’s her,
isn’t it? That’s what you’re holding back. You always said we had to keep her
pure. Keep her powers from mutating into something more and now that’s all
gone. She was on drugs, she’s embracing pain and allowing her powers to evolve
into something more.”

Gwen nodded.
“I’m afraid for her. Can we keep it at that?”

“We
better or else she’ll just read it in our minds, but if something happens to
her, I’m blaming you. And that priest.” Jessica tore out of the church, feeling
a little better—a little bit like her old self.

And it
was good for a few minutes to be alone.

Outside
played like a scene out of a wild west movie. There
were
bullet fragments everywhere and there were skid marks
on
the street that went straight down a hill
into a ditch from big wheels—like a bus or a semi. In the middle of it all, was
Amanda. She was crying and clutching something tight to her chest.

To see
her so upset lit a fire under Jessica. “What is it?” She grabbed Amanda’s arm
and spun her around.

Jessica
saw the jacket she clutched had the Black Scorpion patch on the back. It was
Duncan’s jacket and that realization punched her straight in the gut.

“He’s
gone,” Amanda’s voice wobbled in distress, “they’ve got him. He’s gone.”

W
hen
Duncan came to, he lay still on the floor of the
bus
.

Sticky
and matted with grime, the night’s events flashed through his mind. His face
ached where he had been punched. His chest burned when he tried to take a deep
breath, thanks to the kicks he hadn’t bothered to fight against.

Promise
was a promise, right?

“He’s
awake, mistress.”

“I can
see that from the shallow breaths he’s taking.” Vain kicked him in the gut and
Duncan groaned. His eyes shut tight to block the pain assaulting him. “Next
time,” the cold tip of a dagger pressed up against his neck, “I’ll kick you
somewhere more painful.”

Pleasure
enriched her voice.
Vain
leaned over and
looped her rope around Duncan’s throat. He peered at her through one swollen
eyelid. Couldn’t grab the rope as she tightened it because his arms were fastened
behind his back. Hurt, damn it hurt. His shoulder blades burned and his fingers
tingled, barely able to feel a thing.

Vain
wrapped the rope around her gloved hand. “Sorry we had to interrupt the
festivities, but someone is very eager to see you. Be a man, force a smile and
be a good little prisoner for me, won’t you?”

She blew
him a kiss. Might as well be covered in
posion.

Duncan
chuckled, thought to retort, but Vain pulled him through the bus. He had to
grit his teeth just not to scream out in agony as his face smashed into the
floor. With the stairs coming, Vain picked up speed and Duncan tried to get up
on his knees. Must have had a broken rib, because trying to stand caused
clenching pain and all the air in his lungs expelled.

He fell
down the
stairs of
the bus and his face
smashed into a dock. His nose broken, the richness of his blood spilled against
the wood. Behind him, the demons laughed as they followed. Duncan’s temper
boiled, he never liked being the butt of
anyone's
jokes, but he wasn’t able to stand up for himself.

Couldn’t
stand at all.

Blood
filled his mouth. Duncan turned his head and spat it out. He caught sight of a
short pier and harbor… some sort of fishing port. Moaning, Duncan lifted up
onto his knees. The world spun something fierce and the buildings around them
were starting to split in two.

So much
for his stupid plan to escape. He hadn’t thought Vain would be this tough on
him. Right now, Duncan didn’t think he had the strength to walk, let alone
escape.

Vain
tugged on the rope and Duncan jerked forward. Almost fell again, but he forced
himself up and followed. Pain shot up his thighs, but it was better than the
alternative. Vain threw him a smile as she opened the door to a warehouse and
held it open. “You go inside and say hello. Your
biggest
fan is waiting for you.”

Suspicious,
Duncan limped forward. In the darkened warehouse he caught the sound of women,
many women, crying. One with short hair was familiar.

These
were the woman from Vaughn’s strong hold.

His heart
plummeted, but maybe that’s why he was here. Maybe if he had to be Vain’s
prisoner, he could find a way to save this woman. “What the hell have you done,
Vain?”

Her jaw
shifted, penetrating anger from her eyes. “Fine then. Have it your way.”
Shoving Duncan into the warehouse, she kicked him in the back and sent him
sailing onto his chest across the threshold.

Groaning,
he rolled over and saw cages of woman all around. Their frail, thin bodies
hunkered down, with no room to move. Their eyes were afraid, the ones who
weren’t stoned out of their minds, and one extended her fingers toward him.
“Help me. Please. Help me.”

This was
what he hated the most. These girls had to be freed. He missed the opportunity
before when he fled Vaughn’s compound, but now he had a second chance—if he
could get free. If somehow he could find a way.

Vain
grabbed him by the scruff of his collar and angled his head back. “If you’re a
bad boy, I’m sure we can find a cage for you.” She patted his cheek and then
drove his chin down onto the ground.

It
cracked hard and sent stars sailing around his head. Duncan moaned. He had to
find a way to conserve strength to get out of this mess—a mess of his own
making, but the girls would come. Duncan prayed against hope that Amanda had
been able to remove the mark. Jessica would be okay and she’d come from him.

He
couldn’t think of the possibility that Jessica killed Amanda. The only
possibility his heart could stand was that Jessica would come for him. Nothing could
stop that girl. With her in his corner, Duncan just had to bide his time.

Familiar
laughter echoed through
the space
and
Duncan winced. A boot pressed into his lower back. “I never thought I’d see the
day, Jasper.”

Vaughn.
Duncan’s skin curled at the notion that he was under Vaughn’s direct control
again. “Guess I just can’t get enough of you.”

Stepping
off of him, Vaughn kicked him in the gut. The pain in Duncan’s ribs increased
ten-fold. Unable to draw breath, Duncan writhed as Vain rolled him over onto
his back. His hands pinned behind him, he cried out in agony as his shoulder
crunched in an unnatural angle. “Say hello to my girls. All works of beauty, in
their own way. Just like your—.”

“Don’t
say it,” Duncan said through gritted teeth.

“Sister,”
Vaughn sneered. “You’re in no position to issue threats. I’ll do as I want,
take what I want. I thought by this point, you’d learned your lesson.”

Duncan
tilted his head back to catch a breath. Out of the corner of his eye, Vain
shifted her weight, anxious to get her hands on him again. “Tell me what you
did to that girl. The one you sent to me. How the hell did you get her to blow
like that?” Duncan asked.

Vaughn
stood up straight and headed toward a hanging black curtain in the room. Duncan
took the opportunity to roll onto his side and caught Vain’s eyes. “You don’t
really want to work for him, do you? These girls, they could’ve been you.”

“Shut
up.” Vain placed the tip of her boot against Duncan’s throat. “Or I’ll make it
so you’ll never speak again.”

Why did
he even try? Duncan had always thought, beneath the lust for power and money,
Vain had to have some humanity left. To kidnap and sell girls into the trade?
How could a woman do such a thing? Duncan understood the demons, but Vain? No,
he’d never understand her or her motivations.

“Come on
out,” Vaughn said to someone in a soft voice. Duncan had never heard him use a
tender tone before, but then he saw why. “That’s it, sweetheart.” Coming close
again, Vaughn ushered a young lady forward. She wore only an unbuttoned black
dress shirt, her arms clamped around it kept it closed.

Her hair
was unkempt like she hadn’t been out of bed in days and her eyes had a mist of
green floating through them. Duncan’s jaw tensed the closer she got.

“Beautiful,
isn’t she?” Vaughn pulled her hair to the side and nuzzled her neck. The girl’s
face contorted into a sob as he kissed her, ravaging her skin with his mouth
while his hands pressed against her breasts. “Soon she’ll bear me an heir. This
time, I’m sure of it.”

“Like
you’re always sure of it?” Vain rolled her eyes. “No woman is strong enough to
carry a demon of your caliber, Vaughn.”

He
laughed. “Doesn’t make trying any less fun.”

Duncan’s
hands clenched as they yanked on the handcuffs. “You’re a sick monster, Vaughn.
She’s just a kid.”

“A work
of art,” Vaughn caressed her middle and beneath his touch, she shuddered. “You
asked how I made that girl explode. Now you’ll get to witness it yourself.”
Vaughn snapped his fingers and a demon handed him a needle. The green essence
of a demon sparkled inside, but darker and more intense than any Duncan had
ever seen before.

“A
special dose,” Vaughn’s tongue licked his lip as he slipped the needle beneath
the skin of a girl trapped inside a cage. She moaned and fell against the bars.
“Concentrated. More than any human can
handle
unless your name is Amanda Blood. She, in fact, gave me the idea.

“You see
regular drugs weren’t enough for Amanda. I needed to make it stronger, but then
when I gave it to other girls, I considered it a failure. They exploded. Then I
realized I could turn them into weapons.” Vaughn sneered.

“You’re
giving it to all these girls?” The idea sickened him.

“And they
will be my special bait and prize for Jessica Blood. Once Vain is finished
having her fun with you, you’ll be next.” Vaughn pointed the needle at him.
“String him up in my private bed chamber. Have your fun with him before it’s my
turn.”

“With
pleasure,” Vain’s voice purred as she grabbed Duncan’s leash and yanked him up
to his feet. She shoved him past the curtain and he fell face first onto the
bed. The sheets were sullied and wreaked of sweat.

What
happened here, to that girl…Now what, he was just expected to lay there and
take it?

Vain
rolled him over onto his back. Her mouth opened and her eyes sparkled crazily.
Wide and full of lust, she straddled him and tore his shirt open. Duncan stared
up at the ceiling as her mouth found its
way
to his
pecks
.

“You’re
really okay with exploding girls?” Duncan gritted his teeth. “Really?”

“Admit it,”
Vain whispered, her fingers stroking his chin, “you’ve missed this.”

She
really didn’t have a soul. Duncan licked his lips and ignored the anger
ravaging deep in his gut. “The only thing I know, I’m not sure how I ever
managed to pretend to love you in the first place.”

Rearing
up high on her knees, Vain punched him across the jaw. The blow forced his head
to the side. Preoccupied with thoughts of the girls in their cages, Duncan’s
body barely registered the blow. He needed to help them, but with so many
demons around, how could
he
escape?

Duncan
needed to find a way. If those girls were getting the new drug, they were
ticking time bombs. It wasn’t something he could just let happen.

“So you
rather be with those other girls? Jessica and Amanda? What do they have that I
don’t?”

“Other
than a soul?” Duncan asked, bracing himself for the next punch, but
instead
Vain just unzipped his pants and he
turned his eyes away from her.

“Not
going to fight me?” Vain asked, disappointment in her voice.

Duncan
licked his lips. “I promised you I wouldn’t. Do what you want with me, for as
long as you want, but know there’ll be no enjoyment. I won’t get a single thing
out of it, other than a stomach ache from how sick you make me.”

Vain
grabbed him by the throat and squeezed. “We’ll see about that, won’t we?”

****

Duncan
lay unconscious on the bed. His face bloodied, his mouth parted as he struggled
to
breathe
through his swollen nose.
Shirt ripped apart, Vain stroked his bruised chest, her bloodied fingers
against his ribs. His breath snorted in pain from her touch and she smiled. At
least that brought her pleasure.

Stepping
off of him, Vain zipped up her leather suit. She’d give it to Duncan
Jasper,
when he said something, he gave his
word. He hadn’t called out or gasped during sex even a little bit. Frustrated,
Vain took her pound of flesh another way.

Pity. A
real pity.

Had Vain
ever really loved him? Probably not, but she wouldn’t be used. No one played
with her blackened heart.

Walking
away, she found Vaughn pacing between the
cages
of the girls. “Have your fun?”

“Some,
but I’m not ready to let him go yet.”

Vaughn
snickered. “When have you ever been ready to let something go?” He slid his
hand down onto her lower back and Vain allowed it. Inside she was revolted, but
she allowed it.

“Touché,”
Vain smiled. “Walk with me, Vaughn. There’s something we need to discuss.” Vain
grabbed the edge of his cape and dragged him over to the cages.

Inside
the girls shuddered. Some shivered in pain. They were drugged out, Vaughn’s
little toys, but the time had come for them to answer to a new master.

“I need
you to unlock the cages.” Vain threw her head toward poor young Hannah,
tethered to a pole, weeping on her knees. “Bring
me,
Hannah.”

Vaughn
laughed. “My finest treasures? Nice joke, Vain, but if you wanted my
attention,” he bit the soft flesh of her cheek, “all you had to do was ask.”

Vain
stroked his firm chest. Her fingers traced over his tattoos. “You’re good, but
not that good, honey. I’m not sure how to tell you this, so I’m just going to
come right out and say it.”

“All
right,” Vaughn’s eyes flashed with uncertainty. Maybe a bit of fear? Hardly,
Vain doubted he was smart enough to fear her.