Into the Light (The Admiral's Elite Book 2) (33 page)

“Ryan, Gabs, ready to do some hunting?”

Both whined eagerly, ready to chase the demon down and recover their compatriot.

Carefully, ignoring the grinding of broken bones in his ribcage, Michael scooped up Becca’s near lifeless body and cradled her against his chest one handed. “Find us the path of least resistance.”

Cinnamon and gold surged down the hallway, the door rattling on its hinges when first one, then the other hit it with their bodies to fling it open. Michael, unhindered by the insignificant weight of Becca’s body, was right behind them. In the main theatre area Ryan and Gabrielle split. Ryan sniffed at the back door while Gabs scented along the corridor, pausing at the exit signs along the way. She yipped first, signaling the others to come. Nodding that he should go first, Michael shouldered past them and hit the door. It took two good shoves to open it and he stuck his head out.

He could see why no one was guarding the door. It opened onto a narrow alley barely wide enough to ride a bicycle. A half wall of cracked concrete rose opposite the door, snow and dormant trees making it feel even narrower. The only breaks in the foot-high snow between the building and the wall were the tracks of several small animals skirting the building and occasionally meandering into the open. No one came back here and, for most, the door would have been considered impassable.

They were out, now where did they go? Michael turned his focus inward, ignoring the tiny pellets of ice the gusting wind was blowing off the rooftop and onto his face and head. From within his mind, he felt a minor tug. Zeroing in on that pull, he turned right and headed down the narrow path. The wolves walked on either side of him, Ryan pushing ahead, Gabrielle lagging behind. When they reached the edge of the theatre, they flowed across the tiny chasm to the dry cleaner before they came to the street. A quick sideways glance and they darted across. Any attention being paid on this street was up at the theatre. It probably wouldn’t matter if the wolves changed back and were naked at that point, no one would notice. And that was saying something.

A warm breath of air startled him as he reached the other side of the street. Feet stuttering, he came to a sudden halt; Gabrielle nearly crashing into his back. Only vaguely aware of the near run in or the irritated snapping of teeth precariously close to his ass, Michael glanced down. Color was returning to Becca’s lips, her pulse had gained strength.

Ryan whined and Michael grinned. “We must be getting close.” Gabrielle angled her neck around and gently poked Becca’s leg. “Be ready,” he cautioned them both. Two sets of canine eyes blinked and their shaggy heads bobbed understanding.

Becca continued to show signs of revival as they went, her pulse thrumming stronger until it virtually pounded in Michael’s sensitive ears. The shudder that ran through her when they jogged past the backside of the bank, accompanied by the painful vibrations rattling through his bones, told Michael when they reached their destination. He stopped, as did the wolves. “We’re here.”

There was a back door to the bank, not that it was unlocked or unalarmed. However, those were both issues easily dealt with when one was a vampire. Laying Becca down to be guarded by the wolves, Michael walked around the front, asked for the bank manager, and immediately had a willing guide who not only opened the back for them and disabled the alarm, he opened the door to the basement. Once in the basement, they walked past the vault and came to a steel door in the floor. The manager unlocked it and stepped back, eyes not quite focusing. Michael led the way down a flight of rotting wooden steps that opened into a tunnel that branched into a series of tunnels below the building, not used since the days of Prohibition.

The dry tunnels led away from the bank and went next door, opening up to a large chamber that put them smack under the club where things had gone awry the night before. Michael followed the beacon that was the demon and the other half of Becca’s mind down a side tunnel. A cluster of old wooden barrels, some intact, some broken from time or help from a thirsty traveler, sat forgotten in the far corner. Movement and flickering light on the far side sent all three into a crouch and Michael searched for a good place to hide Becca. Already one-handed, he couldn’t hope to fight holding on to her. Their best bet was to stash her where she would be out of harm’s way.

Fortune smiled and he saw a dusty pile of wood and an old threadbare blanket covering a heap of something not fifteen feet ahead of them. He could get there and have her safely tucked away before anyone saw him. Not allowing himself to think of the possibilities of failure or discovery, he lifted the blanket and laid her beneath it, making sure to rumple the pile and make it appear undisturbed when he was done.

Ryan and Gabrielle, growing impatient, moved on ahead and were following the signs of movement when Michael caught up to them. The chamber turned abruptly to the right and opened into a large cavernous room roughly the size of an elementary school’s gym with jagged, pale limestone walls and the light of several fires illuminating the space in flickering orange light. The three exchanged a look. They’d found the opening. Now they just needed the demon.

Chapter 32

Becca cast a desperate look over her shoulder at the dark doorway to the world where the demon belonged and wondered how she would get him down there. Even if she were to fall through, she feared he wouldn’t follow. Why would he? There was so much energy up here for him in this demon’s playground he’d discovered. Manipulating people’s feelings to extremes and then feeding off of them, even the windigo had fed him. Terror had filled each victim as they’d been torn apart and consumed before they died. The demon had only grown stronger with each battle Becca’s unit had fought with it as well. After the theatre, it was impossibly strong. She couldn’t think of how she would defeat it now that she was facing it alone. What had she been thinking? The demon was eyeing her hungrily, its orange sockets glowing bright with something akin to lust. Though not for physical desire, it wanted her psychically.

Taking a page from Michael’s book, Becca shut herself down and locked her emotions away. Left staring vacantly at a spot just beyond the demon, she offered him nothing. If she couldn’t figure out how to defeat him, at least she could stop feeding him. Time passed and her mind went blank.

“Becca?”

Her mind snapped back to reality. “Michael?” She turned to see him walking up behind her. “How did you find me?” She looked around, searching for the demon sure to be lurking close by. “Be careful, the demon’s around here somewhere.”

But Michael was unconcerned. Grinning broadly, he reached out and scooped her up in both arms, holding her close. “He’s gone, the others are tracking him.” He spoke softly in her hair. “I’m so glad you’re safe.”

Becca’s arm tightened around her beloved’s neck, ecstatic to be back with him and to be safe for the time being. “It was dumb of me to follow him.” She laid her head on his chest, looking up. “I hadn’t thought past catching up with him.”

Michael was shaking his head, still grinning. “It doesn’t matter. I’m just happy to have you back.” Lowering his face, he captured her lips with his, his tongue massaging its way into her mouth.

Surprised at his carefree attitude, Becca pulled back and regarded him. “Not that I’m complaining, but shouldn’t we be following Ryan and Gabrielle?”

Hand reaching around the back of her head, Michael brought her close again. “They’ve got it handled.” His other hand slipped down her back and cupped her bottom, pulling her up against him to feel just how excited he was to see her. Her eyes and mouth popped open and Michael didn’t let her up for air again.

In moments, his expert use of his hands and mouth had her mind miles from that tunnel and demon. The only thoughts she had involved him and her, and preferably nothing between them. If his body was any indicator, he was thinking along the same lines.

Breaking from her mouth, Michael’s tongue flicked over the sensitive skin of her neck and she felt it warm under his touch. Moaning, she rubbed her hips against his and slid her hands down his sides. Lifting her up with both hands, he wrapped one arm around her back, using the other to hint that she should wrap her legs around his waist.

Reason itched at the corner of Becca’s mind. Brain clawing its way out of her pants, she opened her eyes and gazed into his from inches away. “Wasn’t your arm hurt?”

Without answering, he pushed her face back to his and bit her lip. Hard. When she tried to pull away he grabbed a handful of her hair and held her tight. Squealing, Becca frowned and pulled away, losing a small chunk of hair in the process. She often fantasized about making him lose control, falling to the passions of his inner monster, but not like this. This wasn’t passion, this was cruelty. This wasn’t her Michael. “Ow, Michael. You bit me.”

“I’m a vampire,” he growled, leaning in to lick her neck again. “We bite.”

The heat of his tongue burned her skin and again she twitched away from him, only to have him clamp down, immovable arms preventing her from squirming. The scrape of teeth against her delicate skin registered just before she felt the pain as he sunk inch long fangs in to her neck. Mouth going wide, Becca felt her throat burning inside and out as she gasped and screamed; her blood ran down between her breasts.

Hesitant to leave Becca, helpless as she was, Michael lagged behind as the others led the way into the cavern. Her moan reached his ears and he stopped. It wasn’t a pained sound. If he wasn’t mistaken, it was one of pleasure. He was well familiar with it. Moving silently, he crept back to where he left her and crouched, being sure to tuck his wounded arm against his side. It would heal but not enough to be used tonight. Carefully, he lifted the edge of the worn blanket. She hadn’t moved. Her body remained exactly as he left it. Satisfied, he lowered the edge of the blanket and stopped. Her hips shifted and her neck craned back. She looked like she was having an erotic dream. The corner of Michael’s mouth twitched and he wished they weren’t in the middle of something or he would happily wake her and help her to make her dream a reality. There wasn’t time to get distracted. Michael let the blanket down. Right when he let go, she started to scream.

Whipping back the cover, he watched blood appear in twin spots on her neck. Two spots that weren’t there before and were shaped in a very familiar pattern that beaded up and began to run down her chest, pooling in her shirt. Gravity would have dictated the blood run over her shoulder, not down. It trailed like she was standing. Brow wrinkling in thought, Michael watched her chest rise and fall. With each shallow breath, the strange smell rose up to his nostrils. Stronger now, he leaned down and sniffed at the punctures. Sulfur.

Leaping to his feet, he was through the mouth of the cavern before a human could have managed a sneeze. And that was where he froze, right between the wolves. Also stopped dead in their tracks. All three stood motionless, watching what couldn’t be happening and not a one had any idea how to go about stopping it.

Michael’s doppelganger was standing facing them, his arms pinning the ghostly image of a woman to his front, his head ducked so that his lower face was hidden by her shoulder, Michael’s double was staring directly at them, daring them to come closer. Beyond him lay the black opening of what had to be the gate to the line he’d walked out of.

Ryan’s huge furry head swung toward the real Michael, his green eyes clearly troubled. Gabrielle refused to take her eyes from the two intertwined bodies, her head hung low but focused. A bomb could have gone off and it was doubtful she would have twitched an ear. Her posturing was clear, she was waiting for any sort of gap between the bodies and she would attack. The green eyes asked Michael for guidance. More intelligent than a normal canine, the wolves were somewhat hampered in brain capacity while in their animal state. Hunting was where they excelled. Strategy was often left to the non-canine accompanying them.

Giving a small shake in the negative, Michael let him know he was equally directionless. This was beyond his ken and he found himself, for once, at a total loss. Fingers dipping into his pocket, he removed them just as quickly. What could Black tell him that he hadn’t already? They had to get the demon through the doorway, and now they had the further complication of cutting Becca’s psychic connection with him. He was fairly certain Black couldn’t help him with the question of what to do when a demon was seducing one’s woman while she was lodged firmly inside both their heads.

Seduction. It gave Michael an idea. Not one that made him feel happy and tingly, but one that might work if he could get through. Hoping she was still somewhat conscious, tethered to this reality, he retreated to the smaller antechamber and fell to his knees. Fingers delicately raised the cover he’d placed over her and threw it back.