Viper (30 page)

Chapter 29

Kane pulled into the gravel parking lot, flipped the centerstand down on the bike and hit the ground running.

“Kane! Run!” Cara’s warning traveled to his acute hearing.

Blood roared through his veins. He knew he should be more cautious, but there was no way he’d sneak up on the primordial. Not when the vampire expected him. The moment Kane arrived, the vamp felt his presence. Kane’s best hope lay in him not expecting Kaleb. If he could hold the primordial’s attention captive while his twin snuck in and ambushed him, it would be their best hope at surviving this thing. Without the element of surprise, neither Kane nor Cara had a prayer against this psycho. The ancient vampire was far superior in strength and mind.

Running down the path, the forest but a blur, Kane quickly closed in on the small abandoned shed. Nighttime forest creatures scurried at his approach, detecting impending doom. A dog growled from his hiding place by a downed tree. His glassy eyes reflected the moonlight peeking through the evergreens.

The light coming from the wooden shack cast a glow just beyond the door illuminating a small area of the forest beyond. Kane could smell the primordial, knew he was close. Just beyond the door, Kane paused, listening to the rustle of clothing, the shuffling of feet, detecting more than one person inside the shed. And unless the primordial stole more than Cara, he had pinpointed the location of both.

Kane steeled his jaw and stepped across the threshold, his form filling the small doorway. What he saw turned his blood cold. Cara stood just out of arm’s reach, her back against the blond vampire, one of his pale forearms wrapping her waist, while the other hand held the sharp edge of a hunting knife against her throat. Kane had to give her credit. She masked her fear quite well, holding her composure. One swipe of that knife and it would be all over. Even with Kane’s quick reflexes, he wouldn’t be able to stop the son of a bitch. She’d bleed out well before he had time to get her help.

“You took your sweet-ass time getting here,” the smarmy vampire said. “I was slowly losing my patience.”

“Let her go.” Kane held out a palm. “It’s me you want.”

The man smiled, chilling Kane to the bone. “Oh, but it’s so much more fun to watch you squirm.”

Kane dropped his hand. “What do you want with me?”

“I believe we share a lover. But when this is finished, she’ll only have one.”

“Rosalee,” he barely breathed, his heart icing over. He had guessed as much. The bitch needed to be stopped.

The man’s smile grew.

“Who are you? I’d like to know the name of the man who thinks to take me out.”

“Alec Funar,” he said, his smile condescending. “Not that it will do you any good. But there is no thinking about it. You will die at my hand.”

Alec tightened his hold on Cara, causing her to wince as the sharp edge of the knife pressed farther into her throat. Kane held her gaze but a moment before returning his gaze to Alec’s.

“I met Rosalee after you so coldly sent her back to Italy,” he continued. “I was living under her father’s household. I should thank you for releasing her.”

“You’re from Mircea’s clan?”

“Not Mircea’s. I’m a guest in his home.”

Kane needed to keep this piece of shit talking. Give Kaleb time to arrive. Hopefully Kaleb’s scent was similar enough to Kane’s that the primordial wouldn’t be able to detect his arrival.

Cara swallowed, drawing his attention again, her gaze wide and hopeful. Though her bravado held strong, he could still smell her fear. He wished he could tell her all would be okay, but he couldn’t promise her something he might not be able to deliver.

“Actually, I come from Vlad’s clan. Where you’re a great grandson of Vlad’s loins, I’m merely the son to one of his concubines, having no relation to the Romanian Ruler at all. Old enough to be a primordial, but not a member of any royal bloodlines. Taking Rosalee as a mate would seal my place with Mircea’s clan.”

“Rosalee is already mated.”

“To you.”

“Nothing breaks the mating bond and you know it.”

“Your death will.”

“She would never wish me dead.”

Kane heard the catch in Cara’s breath, saw the hurt in her eyes. She, no doubt, thought herself just a passing piece of ass as Tab had been. Nothing could be farther from the truth. If they ever got out of this alive, he’d make sure she knew exactly how important she was to him. The hell with his bond to Rosalee. Cara would be his choice for life. He’d hunt down Mircea himself to get the ancient’s blessing.

“It won’t matter,” Alec said, his self-important tone grating Kane’s last nerve.

Kane wanted to take the blade pressing into Cara’s throat and sever his fucking head from his body.

“Regardless of Rosalee’s desire, you won’t make it out of here alive.”

“She’s behind the murders?”

“She wanted you to suffer, to drain the women you slept with.”

Kane raised a brow. “I don’t even remember all of the women who were murdered. That makes this whole debacle pointless. Those women died for nothing.”

Alec made a tsking sound. “For nothing? What about the last one? Surely after three years you remember her quite well.”

“An inconvenience to be sure as I’m still in need of another donor. But mourn her loss? No.”

“There had to be casualties to get your attention.”

“So now you have my attention. But I promise you, if you think to kill Cara and allow me to walk as Rosalee wishes, I won’t stop until I see you dead.”

“Rosalee may want you alive, but it’s not in my plan.”

“If my death comes at your hand, you know she’ll never forgive you.”

“You let me worry about Rosalee. With you in the way, she never will be mine.”

Kane felt his twin’s connection the minute he arrived. Kaleb wasn’t far beyond the doorway and it didn’t appear Alec had yet detected him. Kane needed to keep Alec’s focus, so he took a step in the primordial’s direction. The knife bit into Cara’s flesh and a drop of crimson blood trickled down her throat. The scent caused his gums to ache and his fangs began to fill his mouth. He wasn’t far from becoming the frightening animal Cara thought she had witnessed ten years back. That man had sex and satisfaction on his mind. This man, the one before her now, wanted to rip out Alec’s throat with his teeth.

Kane wanted blood all right. He wanted primordial blood.

* * *

Kane had found her, but little good it would do as she stood no chance of getting out alive. It was but a matter of seconds before the cold steel blade cut through arteries and veins, nearly decapitating her. She couldn’t die without letting him know how she felt, selfish as it might be. Because if he lived, and her instincts were correct, he’d have to deal with losing someone else he deeply cared about.

She held his gaze. Tears filled her eyes and slipped down her cheeks, making watery treks. The salty taste reached her lips as she opened her mouth to speak. It was now or never.

“I love you.”

Kane lunged for them, whether it was her admission or his desire to kill the vampire holding her, she was unsure. Time slowed to a snail’s pace as the sharp blade slid across her throat, the sting of the bite traveling to her brain. Her hands covered the wound, blood splaying out as the ancient vampire released her and shoved her in Kane’s direction.

“I’m not done with you, biker,” he hissed, “but follow me and she dies. It’s your decision to make.”

Alec could have left the shed for all she knew for her gaze stayed on Kane, wanting his face to be the last she saw before bowing to death. He pulled her into his arms as he carried her to the floor, cradling her in his strong embrace. Her blood covered his face, throat, and chest. My god but it was everywhere. His obsidian gaze glassed over like the Black Sea as he leaned down and placed a tender kiss upon her forehead.

“Forgive me, Mia Bella,” he whispered, barely audible over the buzzing in her ears.

Kane sank his fangs into the flesh of his forearm tearing open an artery and carried the bleeding wrist to her lips. Cara couldn’t speak, her mouth gaped for oxygen of which she seemed incapable of drawing. The knife had probably sliced through her trachea as well. Unable to question his actions, she watched as he placed the bleeding wound over her mouth and laid it against her lips. The first drop of his sweet blood passed over her tongue, nearly causing her to choke.

“Drink.”

Cara latched onto his jagged cut as if it were the most natural thing in the world, the warm metallic tang a balm to her dying soul. Her gaze fixed on his. She wasn’t ready to die. Her soul cried out and bright lights beckoned to her just beyond the black shadows clouding her vision.

The last thing she heard before succumbing was Kane’s watery admission, “I love you too, Mia Bella,” he said, then placed another warm kiss upon her temple.

Weightlessness settled over Cara. Her last thought before yielding to the darkness was that Kane had loved her.

* * *

The strong scent of human blood wafted to his nose.
Son of a bitch!
Kaleb stood just beyond the door, waiting for the perfect timing, praying to any god who might hear. They needed the fates to be on their side if they were to get out of this alive. Time sure as the hell wasn’t, if the scent of Cara’s blood was any indication. If the primordial even suspected he stood just beyond the door, they’d all be dead. No way could Kane and Kaleb’s combined strength match that of the ancient vampire’s. The best they could hope for would be blind-siding the bastard.

Taking a deep breath, crouching just beyond the entrance, Kaleb readied to pounce on the son of a bitch as he heard footfalls heading for the door. Just as he made his move, he leapt into the oncoming path of Alec Funar. Kaleb rolled backwards from the force and Alec flew head first into the dirt. Before Alec could get his footing, Kaleb jumped to his feet and dove on top of the vampire.

He grabbed a fistful of blond hair and yanked back his head, Alec hissing in response. Kaleb had all of two seconds to act before this shit tossed him like a rag doll and ripped his limbs from his body. Snatching the large hunting knife from the dirt that the vamp had dropped when colliding into Kaleb, he drew it across the ancient’s throat with all his might and separated his head from his shoulders, drenching himself in the primordial’s blood.

Kaleb shuddered at the dying wail. After a few violent thrashes, the body beneath him stilled. He tossed the blond head a few feet away, just in case the damn thing had the ability to bite by reflex. Kaleb stood up from the headless corpse, watching as the flesh quickly fossilized before his eyes.

Not wanting to waste another moment on the fuck, he turned and headed for the door of the shed, hoping Kane hadn’t been too late. Inside, he saw Cara’s pale lifeless form in his brother’s arms. He couldn’t help but ache at the loss.

“Is she gone?” he asked.

Kane’s obsidian gaze turned on him and he shook his head. “Her heart beats.”

Kaleb cursed a colorful stream. “Jesus, Viper! What the hell did you do?”

His brother looked back at the woman lying in his arms, her limbs now twitching and the gaping wound on her neck closing miraculously. No divine healing here.

“She’s one of us.”

Kaleb ran a grimy hand through the overlong curls on his head. “Ah, hell! What the fuck am I supposed to tell the Sons?”

“Tell them the truth.” Kane reached to his breast and pulled the president patch from his cut and handed it to Kaleb. “I know what I did was against club rules. But given the option, I’d do the same. Take them the facts, let them judge me.”

“And if they decide to take your rockers?”

“As long as it’s not a death sentence, I can live with it.” Kane turned from him and looked down on Cara. “Living without her wasn’t an option.”

“I know,” Kaleb said.

And he did. The look in his brother’s eyes told him as much, as if the bond they shared as twins wouldn’t have. But that wasn’t going to be reason enough for the MC not to hand out punishment for his actions. Turning another into a vampire was forbidden, unless first voted and agreed to by every voting member.

Kane glanced back at his twin. “And Alec? Did he get away?”

“No. I wasted that fuck.” Kaleb grinned. “Guess I’ll have my own actions to answer for. You know as well as I do, killing a primordial is forbidden. If convicted of such, you and I both know the judgment is death. Looks like we better bury this fuck and pray that no one finds him.”

A cell phone rang, drawing their attention to the door where one lay in the dirt just beyond the opening. Alec must have dropped it in his hurry to flee. Walking over to the downed phone, Kaleb smiled at the name staring back at him.

“It’s Rosalee. You want to speak to her?”

His smile grew as Kane’s laughter filled the small building.