Blood and Bondage: Under the Skin Serial Part Three Read online

  “He has a lot to learn if he plans to help you, Hollis,” Bishop rumbled.

  I sighed heavily and nodded. “I know. He’s just worried. We don't know why Lucy was taken, but we have to find her. She's connected in all this somehow. Why would whoever is supplying the city with BloodLust want her? I've checked her history. She’s just an ordinary girl who tattooed the wrong guy. What more is there that I’m missing?”

  “I’m not entirely sure. But if you've searched every possible spot within the city, it might be time to think outside the box now,” he replied.

  A commotion outside the room caught our attention just before the door was thrown open. Claudia came marching in with a pissed off look and walking towards me like a woman on a mission.

  I've gotten to know Claudia a lot more these few weeks that Lucy’s been gone, and one thing I’ve learned was that she was a force to be reckoned with. Every day she called me, demanding updates on what we’d found, throwing out suggestions on where to look based on rumors floating around the club. Claudia Adams may be a girl who could be sweet as pie and make you feel like the oldest friend to her after only just meeting her, but there was nothing she wouldn't do for Lucy. That included talking up some less than friendly vampires who came in and out of The Sassy Sanguine. Sloan had immediately put a stop to it when he finally questioned how she was getting her intel. It was quite the argument when he chastised her for putting herself at risk like that, just before letting her know she wasn’t allowed to help us anymore. She didn't take too kindly to being ordered around, that was for sure. I wisely stayed out of it.

  With the way she was stomping towards me now, I wasn’t too sure she’d be leaving without getting what she came for. I hated admitting it, but in this moment, she was downright terrifying.

  “Hollis Michelangelo Grey!” She shouted, shaking her finger at me as she closed in.

  “That’s not my middle name,” I groused at her, rubbing my hand down my face in aggravation. She changed my middle name up every time she fussed at me.

  She pushed me with more force than I thought her little body could dole out, knocking me into the table. “I don't give a flying fuck what your middle name is! You will not keep me from this investigation anymore!”

  “I tried to stop her, but she punched me in the nose,” Sloan said nasally. He came up behind her, rubbing his nose with his palm and giving her the evil eye.

  “I could've done worse and you know it,” she shot over her shoulder before crossing her arms and leering at me. “Now I’ve waited two days for you to update me and I haven't gotten shit. So, you're either gonna fill me in or I'm going to stand right here all night.”

  Bishop grunted beside me.

  “And this is where I take my leave. Good luck, Agent Grey. Let me know if you need anything else.” Bishop surprisingly stepped as far around the glittery little vampire as he could before exiting the room.

  It was almost laughable at how uneasy he looked at someone as small as her and was hard to choke down the laugh threatening to bubble up. To think this pixie of a vampire made such a massive Bull Shifter uncomfortable. I had a feeling if I did laugh though, Claudia would surely use my face as a punching bag next.

  “Claudia, we still don't know much. Agent Bentley helped us narrow down some spots that weren't on any of the maps within the city. We’re going to have to widen our search range now.”

  Her shoulders sagged and the tension flew from her body. “This just sucks, you guys. I need her home safe. There's no telling what those vampires are doing to her.” Bloody tears welled in her eyes. It broke my heart seeing Lucy’s friend like this.

  Sloan slung his arm over her shoulder and pulled her in close to hug her. “We’ll get her back, Claude. It's taking longer than all of us want it to, but it will happen. She's tough. They obviously need her for something, so I'm sure she’s fine.”

  As she turned and cried into his shoulder, he gave me a determined look over her shoulder. He wanted to believe his words just as much as I did, but we needed to step up our game if we wanted to hold out hope that they were true. We wouldn't stop until we had her back in our arms where she belonged.

  I just prayed our girl was still the same girl when we rescued her…

  Chapter 19

  Lucy

  After hearing Vex’s story of how he came to be my maker, it was like every memory I’d been missing from that night other than the pain of the turn had come slamming into me like a tidal wave.

  I suddenly remembered that night he had bumped into my table, spilling my coffee and how I had been completely transfixed on who he was. It was such a far-off memory, I had lost the details of his face, yet somehow subconsciously remembered them. He was the reason I began furthering my research on vampires. I had rallied for their rights before I even was one, but it took meeting him and seeing that I had been right about them not being monsters that made me give myself over to the change.

  I wanted to change. My life had looked picture perfect to those around me, but it was anything but. My parents weren't very good people and had basically disowned me not long before my change from life to afterlife. I had escaped to Baltimore as a big ‘fuck you’ to them because they hated the idea of vampires. When I met Vex, he solidified for me what I was born to be. When I had awakened without him there, I was foggy on a lot of things, mainly why I was suddenly a vampire. I’d heard of vampires losing memories when they were turned, but I figured my mind blocked it out for a reason.

  Vex was telling the truth. He was my maker. I knew when I met him for those few short seconds at the cafe that I trusted him with my entire being. I wasn’t sure why, but he was a beacon of hope for me to escape the life I was living. So, when I saw him as the one changing me, I gave myself over. Then it was all gone when I woke up.

  After Vex told me the story and brought back those memories, I decided to give him a chance. We devised a plan to hide me away in my cell on days his maker was here and plot a way for us all to escape anytime he was gone. He allowed me to visit Diego in his cell and fill him in on what we were planning.

  Diego, of course was unconvinced, but I managed to sway him in at least trusting me. Vex unchained him and told him to just wait it out until the time was right in the cell. It was his safest option.

  For a week and a half, Vex kept the vampires loyal to only his maker at bay while we switched back and forth between me being in the cell and being free. Unfortunately, his maker was still shooting him up with BloodLust. He finally told me his maker’s name was Bellamy. He was over a thousand years old and one of the younger of the Ancients still walking the earth. It gave me an unsteady feeling in the pit of my stomach. Ancients weren’t to be trifled with. You would never know what kind of power they carried within them until you faced them yourself. Mental influence, vocal influence and telekinesis were just the ones I knew about. None of which you wanted to be on the receiving end of.

  It was hard planning our escape when Vex was constantly on the verge of losing his sanity. Still, we pushed forward. We had to time our departure on a night that both Bellamy and the other vampires were out of the building we were currently in; which Vex kindly explained was actually a bunker built within the Catskill Mountains.

  Finally, we were blessed with an opening. Bellamy would be leaving for another round of gathering vampires to bring into his BloodLust army. Vex had no idea what Bellamy was planning, but from how many vampires he’d injected so far, it wasn’t good. My guess was releasing them all on the city, either taking it over or wiping it out completely. New York City was a damn island and a good place to release a siege of vampires. Tons of people and very few escape routes.

  We had to get out of here and warn Hollis and his team.

  It was the night before Bellamy’s arrival and Vex and I were hanging out in his room; which was more like a suite than anything. I spent a lot of my time here when an influx of vampires loyal to Bellamy wandered the halls. Anytime I was taken from the room, Vex would throw
the bag over my head to hide my face, pretending I was just a pet human he liked to keep around. It placated the vampires, who even though they mainly followed Bellamy’s orders, feared Vex all the same.

  I had gotten to know the men that followed Vex, Viper being one of them. He and I actually had a bit of a love-hate relationship. He was an okay guy and still marveled over the snake tattoo I’d done on him. He’d apologized for fooling me into believing he was a bad guy when we first reacquainted ourselves with each other. But he was still kind of an asshole. The other vampires, Luke, Basil and Ash weren't so bad either, well, except Ash. I still hated him. Ash was the one who had knocked me out, so I steered clear of him as much as possible.

  “Whip it out. I wanna see it,” I jested with Vex.

  He was currently in his walk-in closet getting weapons hidden inside ready for our escape tomorrow. Tonight was one of the few nights that his mind wasn’t fogged over with the drug, which meant Bellamy was bound to have him drugged up again before he left. He’d gotten a few extra nights longer than usual and was more of a sane man than he’d been in my entire stay. I liked this Vex. He was kind, funny, and even though he had a slightly sociopathic disposition, was a good man.

  Vex had informed me that while compulsion worked, he could still somewhat resist it. That’s where BloodLust came in. It prevented Vex from resisting, making him easier to control.

  “That isn't going to happen,” he said, sticking his head out of the closet with a smile to reply before going back to what he was doing.

  “But you're always hiding it,” I replied with a laugh, hopping off the chaise I sat on to stand by the closet opening. “I heard one of your men say in passing, that if you like someone, you'll show it to them but we can't touch it.”

  Vex let out a gruff laugh. “That just sounds dirty. You’re not ready to meet Betty.”

  I gave him an amused grin. “You seriously named it Betty?”

  He shrugged. “Don’t men always name their favorite toys?” He walked out of the closet in his dark jeans, boots, and leather jacket with no shirt beneath. He’d been wearing a shirt every time I’d seen him after that night in the dining room, so my mouth went dry seeing that he decided to leave it off tonight. I still didn't get why he did this, but I wasn’t complaining.

  I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t come to appreciate his looks these past few weeks. Vex was a beautiful specimen and now that I knew he only meant to protect me, it was hard not to appraise him constantly. Sometimes, I internally argued with myself that I had two men back home who were probably going out of their minds worrying over me. However, the connection between a vampire and their maker was one of the deepest bonds that could be formed. If either of us died, the other would feel it exponentially. It was why Claudia was so close with her maker, Abraham.

  She was hopelessly in love with him, yet she denied it often, especially to herself. I could tell he loved her the same, but he’d not pursue her further until she could admit it out loud to him. Her past was complicated, though. Claudia hadn’t been involved with any man since before she turned. I didn't know all the gory details, but it was enough she feared being touched in any intimate way.

  Looking at Vex, it was hard not feeling things for him. I felt them now, just as much if not more than I had when I met him. I’d ignored them before remembering everything, but now I didn't have to. Did I want to now that I knew everything, though? Was it really so wrong to want Vex even knowing Hollis and Sloan were waiting for me at home. Maybe it was by wanting to be with him as more than maker and progeny without them here to give their input. Was that fair to them?

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” Vex asked me, leaning on the doorway and watching me as I snapped out of my daze.

  “Sorry. I got lost there for a second. How was I looking at you?”

  He smiled and edged closer to me, leaving barely a foot between us. “Like you wanted to bite me,” he whispered.

  If my cheeks could flush, I was sure they would be. He wasn’t entirely wrong. I bit my lip, trying my best to not look as guilty of the thought as I actually was. He saw it though, and chuckled. His finger came up and pulled my lip from between my teeth.

  “If I show you, will you not do that? It's distracting.”

  My brows pinched together in confusion, completely forgetting what he was talking about. He laughed loudly.

  “Betty. I’ll show you Betty.”

  “Oh! Yeah. Show me.”

  He shook his head and reached behind him towards the back pocket I always saw him fiddling with. His jacket always covered whatever it was he continually carried with him. I wasn’t sure what he was pulling out, but it wasn't what I was expecting.

  “Betty is a hammer,” I deadpanned. “That's the big secret?” I went to grab it from him, but he yanked it back and held it above my head out of reach.

  “Nu uh! I said I'd show you. Viper was right. You can look, but you can't touch.”

  I shook my head at him. “I cannot believe you’ve been this secretive over a hammer.”

  He brought it back down to my eye level so I could take a better look at it. The handle was a worn down light colored wood with dark stains in some places, leading me to believe it was blood. He angled it to show me the tip. “It's been dipped in silver. She is my favorite weapon. I'm not a fan of guns and she has a great kill ratio.”

  “Kill ratio?” I gawked at him and eyed the hammer like it would bite me. “Just how many vampires have you killed with it?”

  “Enough,” he replied before sticking Betty back in his pocket. Even in my head I laughed at seriously calling a tool by a name.

  We were abruptly interrupted by someone knocking and opening the door. Vex grabbed me and threw me down into his coffin with inhuman speed, laying himself over me and closing the lid over us.

  “What do you want?” He shouted above me, balancing himself on his elbows so as not to squish me. It was unusual for someone to come barging into Vex’s room. I could feel the tension of his body as it covered me, trying my best to quell the terror filled shivering of my own.

  “Master Bellamy wants you now,” replied a voice I didn't recognize.

  Vex stilled. “I’ll be there when I've finished breakfast. Leave,” he commanded.

  When the sound of the door closing signaled the coast was clear, Vex slid back the lid and sat up on his knees above me. The way he was positioned above me was a sight to behold. I laid there not sure what to do with myself as he loomed over me.

  “Shite. He’s a day early.” He ran his hands down his face in agitation, letting out a groan.

  I sat up, feeling a little awkward being beneath him with my face coming just below his chest. “Is something wrong?” I swallowed, trying to keep my eyes on his when he looked down at me and mind on the more important matter at hand.

  “I'm not sure. I need to go and for you to stay here, Lucy. Bellamy is never early or late. He has a fucking internal clock. Something's up and I don't want you leaving this room. If you hear anyone coming, you hide somewhere. Understand?”

  I nodded that I got it, but when he went to climb from his coffin, I latched onto his jacket as a wave of panic overtook me. I didn't know vampires could actually hyperventilate, but that's exactly what started happening.

  “Oh my god! What if he knows?” I whisper shouted through my rapid breathing, not sure if anyone was listening on the other side of the door. Vampires didn't need to breathe, yet I felt like I was suffocating under the pressure of my fear that was gripping my chest like a vice.

  “Lucy, you need to calm down. You're freaking out over nothing.”

  I didn't believe him and started shaking my head vehemently. “No! He could know! He could be waiting to kill you! Then we’ll never be free and I just found you! I can't do this! I can't breathe!”

  My freak out escalated at the thought of losing my maker after only just getting to know him. I hadn’t had enough time with him! He deserved to be free! Free with me and to fi
nally live normally and not in a drug induced state just following orders of a psychopath!

  Vex tried prying my hands from his jacket and telling me to calm down, but I held on tighter, my other hand gripping the side of the coffin as his words filtered in one ear and out the other. I needed to get us out of here. I needed to do something!

  “Lucy. Lucy. Lucy!” I barely heard him yell just before his lips crashed down on mine.

  The shock that ran through my system at the feel of his tongue rubbing against mine, was one of the most euphoric experiences of my life. My body stilled from the sudden onslaught of emotions I felt in his kiss.

  The way his lips melded to mine like they were made to fit them perfectly.

  The sensation of his fingers weaved into my hair at the nape of my neck to hold me in place.

  The vibration of his chest against mine as he moaned into my mouth.

  I was hyper aware of every. Single. Touch.

  I swear I could almost feel his emotions rolling off him in waves as he held me. Fear, passion, desperation and above all love, were just a few of the most prominent ones I felt behind his kiss. It was deep. It was violent. It was earth shattering on every level.

  I whimpered a little when he pulled his lips from mine to kiss the corners of my mouth gently. He then leaned his forehead against mine.

  “I have not waited forty-four years to lose you now Lucy Bryant,” he whispered softly, tilting my head back to make me look at him. “Whatever happens, I will be fine. If he’s early, it means he's suspicious of something. I don't know what he’ll do, but I will come back to you. I promise.”

  I slowly nodded my head, not trusting myself to speak. He chastely kissed my temple and climbed out of the coffin without another word. I watched him walk out, tears threatening to fall at the thought of what he may be walking into.