Embrace the Heat (28 page)

“This place makes my skin crawl,” Cam said
from Layla’s left.

He was right. The buildings were nothing more
than crumbling remnants or burnt out husks. There was still what
looked like human bones in the piles of ashes. If there really was
a settlement in the middle of all of this, the people who lived
there were trying hard to keep others from coming near it.

“This can’t be right,” Layla said quietly.
When the wind changed, her nose picked up the scent of human sweat.
Funny how she could easily pick out that scent now. A glance at Cam
and Jase told her they smelled it too. Her sense of smell was one
of the many things that had improved since her first change into a
lynx. Now, it was really coming in handy.

“I think we’re wasting our time searching for
them in this burnt out old rubble,” Layla said in a voice loud
enough to show she wasn’t worried about being overheard.
“Obviously, the vampires sent us to search here because it’s
creepy. There’s no way anyone would live out here.”

“I agree,” Jase said. “We should report back
and tell the vampires we searched here and didn’t find anything.
How will they know if we skip it?”

“No,” Cam said. “We have orders to search
this area, and I am not going to risk making the vampires mad.”

“Well, well, well,” said a voice that sounded
much too smug. “What do we have here? Vampire pets out doing grunge
work for their masters?”

They all pretended to be startled, and the
idiots staring them down bought it. Who could have missed all the
noise those humans were making as they trudged through the rubble?
Shortly after Layla had caught their scent she’d heard their
footsteps.

Layla reached slowly for her eskrima sticks,
and one of them turned to point the bow he was holding at her.
“Don’t move bitch,” he said.

Layla froze. “Don’t hurt us,” she said in a
shaky voice.

“Not my call,” said the human holding the
bow. “Search them,” he ordered the others. The other four humans
searched and disarmed them. Knowing this was going to happen, Layla
had left most of her weapons behind with Raven and Norah. The
humans also destroyed Layla’s phone. “She’s the only one with a
communication device,” one said with raised eyebrows.

Damn! They hadn’t thought of that. “They’re
both young,” Layla said. “This is their first time out. Why not
just let them go?”

Jase gave her a sharp look. He obviously
thought she believed the humans would really let any of them go.
She knew the humans were either going to kill them or take them in,
probably the latter to try to get information. If the humans
decided to kill them it would ruin the plan. There weren’t enough
humans to pose a real threat, but they needed to be taken into the
settlement to find Simon.

“Walk in front of us,” said the bow man.

Layla took the lead with Jase and Cam at her
back. At the center of the burnt out buildings there was a sizable
compound. The guards let them pass, and they were escorted to the
center building. Much like the island where she’d grown up, there
was housing that was in poor repair surrounding the main building.
While it may not have been in the same condition as the one on the
island, there were no broken windows at the main building, and it
sported fresh paint.

Generators hummed around the outside, meaning
the main building had luxuries most living in this settlement went
without. Those who stayed in the main building probably never went
without hot water or lights. They probably lived in a climate
controlled environment.

The guards led them to a sterile looking
holding area and secured them behind nothing more than a locked
door. While the windows had bars, it wasn’t very secure. The room
was probably fine for holding humans, but there was no way it could
hold them or a vampire.

Mindful of their surroundings, they remained
silent. Waiting was hard. Every instinct in Layla told her to break
down the door and go after Simon, but she knew that would be a
mistake. They needed to wait for the attack to start outside before
they made a move inside. There were too many guards, and they had
no idea where Simon was. She wasn’t going to hold her breath that
they’d just put them in with Simon. One thing she had going for her
was that she knew Simon’s scent and so did Jase and Cam. They could
find him.

The door to the holding area opened nearly
twenty minutes later.

Layla immediately recognized Roger, and her
nose told her he wasn’t human anymore. That could be a problem. He
scanned Cam and Jase first but stopped when he saw her. His eyes
lit with recognition.

“Layla!” he said with a warm smile. “How nice
of you to join us. Did you come to rescue your hero?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she
said with her eyes downcast so he wouldn’t see the shock she was
trying hard to mask.

“I saw him jump in front of a bullet for
you,” Roger said. “Did you fall in love with the pretty vampire,
Layla? Is that why you’re here?”

Layla snorted. “I was just following orders.
I’m glad he saved my life, but we barely know each other. Why would
someone in the vampire settlement’s leadership spend time with
me?”

Cam was studying Roger with a strange
intensity when he moved up to Layla’s side and slipped an arm
around her. “It’s okay, Kitten,” he said against the top of her
hair. “I’m sure they’ll let us go. We’re no threat to them. They’re
human like us.”

Roger smiled. “So Layla is with you?”

Cam shifted even closer. “Yeah, and she’s not
any danger to you. Let us go, and we won’t tell the vampires where
to find you. We like having a place to live, but we don’t feel any
loyalty to them.”

Roger leaned against the wall and crossed his
arms in front of his chest. He was eyeing them with a predatory
sparkle in his eyes. “I don’t think so. Do you love him, Layla?
Would you do anything to keep me from hurting your lover?”

Layla leaned into Cam and played along. “Yes,
I’ll do anything to keep him safe. Please let him and his brother
go. I’ll do anything you ask. Just don’t hurt them.”

Roger laughed. “Let’s test that theory. You
do what I ask, or I’ll torture your lover in front of you.” Then
his attention shifted to Cam. “Don’t worry; you get to watch what
she does to protect you. If you interfere, I’ll torture Layla in
front of you. Trust me; I truly enjoy torture, so I’m kind of
hoping one of you doesn’t follow orders.”

Guards roughly removed Layla and Cam from the
holding cell and dragged them down the corridor, leaving Jase in
the cell.

Layla really hoped reinforcements arrived
soon. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know what Roger had planned for
her, and the expression on Cam’s face told her he wasn’t going to
tolerate being manhandled much longer. She knew how he felt. Her
inner cat was telling her to tear the guards to shreds. That
instinct was really hard to resist, and neither of them were going
to be able to play along too much longer.

Simon laid on his side on the cold cement
floor. The pressure on the brand hurt, but the cold felt good.
Every time he shifted, the burn felt like it was on fire.

On a happy note, everyone had left him alone
for more than an hour. Narissa had left after he’d regained
consciousness. The bitch had waited around just to remind him that
she’d be back to use him soon, and to assure him that Roger would
take good care of him until then.

When the door opened, Simon sat up and
glared. He couldn’t hide his shock and anger when Layla was led
into the room by guards. Roger was with her. It was hard to mask
his surprise when he realized that one of the shifters was also
with her. Why was the shifter here? Come to think of it, why was
Layla here? She was supposed to be safe at home. Connor would never
let her go out searching for him. Plus, she was off rotation.

“I brought you a present,” Roger said with
the same condescending tone Simon remembered from his youth.

“A knife to put in your black heart?” Simon
asked with a blank look.

Roger laughed. “You really have grown into an
arrogant blood whore. I thought you’d like some comfort while you
recover from your injuries.” Roger reached out to grab Layla, and
she shrank away. Her reaction made Roger laugh even more. “Behave
or I’ll hurt your lover.”

Layla nodded.

“Good girl,” Roger said and took hold of her
chin. “I want you to make the blood whore feel better. Don’t you
want to make your hero feel better?”

“I don’t understand,” Layla said
hesitantly.

“No,” Simon croaked, tasting his own
bile.

“Undress,” Roger ordered her. “Then I want
you to pleasure him with your mouth.”

Simon couldn’t stop his own reaction; he
curled in on himself. This couldn’t be happening. It especially
couldn’t be happening with Layla. Reliving this nightmare was the
one thing he didn’t think he could survive.

Layla had a lot of trouble controlling her
desire to kill Roger. Sadly, with four guards in the room, she’d
probably fail if she tried it now. Sure, she could surprise them
with her speed and strength, and she might actually be able to take
Roger down. Then what? Even if she killed Roger, and they made it
out of the cell, they’d never make it out of the compound alive.
They needed the attack to be under way. She’d have to wait a little
longer to kill Roger.

Of course, being ordered to undress worked to
her advantage. She needed to undress to change forms. Shifting
hadn’t been part of the plan because they hadn’t expected to have
time to undress when the fighting started. She’d learned her lesson
about changing forms while still dressed. Having her cat caught up
in her clothes would be a distraction but not a helpful one.
Undressing now was definitely a good idea. Naked, she could go
feline when the fighting started.

She didn’t know what pissed her off most
about Simon’s captivity. There was so much to be pissed about. The
way Simon seemed to withdraw into his past when Roger gave his
order was probably the worst. Still, she couldn’t ignore the collar
around Simon’s neck. The chain on the collar attached to the wall.
Bastard had chained Simon to a wall! Then she studied the collar
closer. This could complicate matters. It looked like one of the
collars they had at the vampire settlement. Looking over, under the
guise of being embarrassed about undressing, she saw that Roger had
the armband. She tried to motion to it with her eyes, but she
wasn’t sure Cam would get the hint. She’d never seen one of the
collars used before, but Raven had explained to her how they
worked.

Roger must have taken her scanning the room
to mean she was considering refusing his order. “If you don’t get
moving, I will kill your boyfriend very slowly.”

“Please don’t hurt Cam,” Layla begged, hoping
Simon would play along.

Simon eyed her warily as she approached.
“Please don’t do this,” he rasped out, and Layla wasn’t sure if he
was talking to her or Roger.

She really hoped she got the opportunity to
kill Roger for what he was doing to Simon.

“Oh my,” Norah said as the vampires
approached with Connor and Rand in the lead.

Raven had nothing better to say. She’d met up
with Norah and Zane close to the compound after Layla, Cam, and
Jase were captured. Of course, she’d messaged Connor first. His
only reply had been.

You had better be joking.

“The vampires are really mad,” Zane said with
a happy grin. Leave it to a shifter to be excited about the
possibility of conflict.

“I’m glad this situation amuses you so much,”
Raven muttered before giving Connor a shaky smile. It’s not that
she was afraid of Connor, but he was too sexy for words when he was
all dominant. Norah obviously felt the same about Rand because she
pretended to fan herself.

“Don’t give me that look, Norah,” Rand
practically growled.

“You either,” Connor said but ruined his
threatening stance when he pulled Raven in for a long slow kiss.
Damn that vampire could kiss.

“Simon is never going to forgive me for
letting Layla get captured,” Connor said as he cradled the back of
Raven’s head in one hand.

“You didn’t,” Raven said. “We let Layla get
captured, but we sent two other shifters in with her.”

“Simon is going to ask me why I let you out
of my sight long enough to cause this kind of trouble. Honestly,
I’ve been asking myself the same question since I realized you were
missing,” Connor said. “How could I not have realized you were up
to something when you weren’t giving me problems about Layla, or
asking to help search for Simon and Ian?”

“I think I liked it better when I didn’t have
to worry about you getting into this kind of trouble,” Rand
grumbled. Hurt flashed in Norah’s eyes, so he quickly added. “I’m
kidding. Well, sort of. I hate worrying about you, but seeing you
in fighting gear is pretty damn sexy. Still, I’m so angry right now
that I may need to spend a week in your body before I get over
this.”

Norah batted her eyes. “Then I’m not sure how
this is a bad thing for me.”

Connor released Raven and stepped back. “I
assume you have a plan.”

Raven sighed. “It’s not great, but the idea
is that we attack from the outside. Layla, Cam, and Jase are going
to try to free Simon and attack from the inside. They’ll also try
to locate Ian.”

“That’s not a very good plan,” Jack said.

“Yep, it kind of sucks,” Carla added.

Raven was glad to see that Shelby hadn’t come
with them. Her arm was still stiff and made her more of a hindrance
during a fight.

“Got any better ideas?” Raven asked.

“Nope,” Jack said. “Now let’s get moving.
This is the last place in the world I want to hang out. Let’s get
this over with.”