Undone (Vampire Awakenings, Book 5) Page 4

  What did it matter if she hated him?

  It mattered; that was all he knew right now.

  Taking a deep breath, he looked at her again. “You must be prepared for what we’ll find in there.”

  “I know what we’ll find,” she said in a hushed voice. “I can smell too, maybe better than you.”

  “You purebreds, always so smug.”

  She forced a smile, but no color returned to her face. “We try.”

  He kept hold of her arm, staying slightly ahead of her as they walked up the cracked and broken sidewalk to the sagging wood stairs. The steps creaked beneath his weight but held firm enough for him to allow her to climb them too. He kept his senses attuned for anyone moving within the shadows. He doubted someone would be capable of attacking them here, but he wasn’t about to take any chances with her.

  He shoved aside the sagging front door. From within, he heard a sensual moan that stopped him in his tracks. Abby should not be in here. Seeming to guess at his thoughts, she planted her feet before he could spin her around and take her back outside. His hand twitched toward the phone in his pocket. He didn’t know where her family’s place was in Maine, but he knew it wouldn’t take Stefan much time to get here if Brian told him what was up.

  Her eyes followed the movement of his hand toward his pocket and narrowed on him. “Don’t even think about it,” she whispered.

  “You don’t know what I’m thinking.”

  “I’ll be gone, and on the hunt for Vicky on my own, before any member of my family can show up to stop me.”

  Brian’s jaw clenched as they stared at each other. If she got hurt because of him…

  He broke the thought off. She wasn’t his responsibility, and the only reason he was here was because of her and her sister. He may have led her to this place, but only because she’d asked him to. She was a full-grown, purebred vampire who was far more lethal than she appeared. Still, he couldn’t shake his impulse to protect her.

  Turning his attention back to the building, he studied the shadows as the scents of urine, feces, body odor, and sex filled his nostrils. Beneath it all, he smelled the acrid aroma of some human drug that ate away at their souls as they eagerly dosed themselves with more.

  “She never would have been here,” Abby whispered. “She couldn’t know someone who would be here.”

  “I may not always get the exact location, but I definitely get the general vicinity right. Someone from the apartment we just left is either here right now, or has been here recently.”

  Her hand shook when she brushed back a strand of pale hair from her eye. He glanced down at her plump breasts, swaying beneath her sweater. He may have no choice about bringing her in there, but he could at least make sure she had more clothes on when he did so.

  “Come with me,” he commanded briskly.

  She didn’t have a chance to respond before he was pulling her back out of the building. “I told you I’m not leaving!” she protested, and tried to jerk her arm free.

  “We’re not leaving,” he told her. “I just have to get something before we can continue.”

  Abby reluctantly allowed him to lead her off the porch and back toward his truck. If he tried to force her to leave, she’d kick him in the balls so hard they’d never come back down again. Then, she’d go into that building by herself while he was still trying to figure out if he was now a female.

  He didn’t lead her to the cab of the truck but around to the back of it. After he released her, she watched as he grabbed a duffel bag and pulled it toward him. Jerking the bag open, he tugged out a windbreaker and returned to her. She frowned at the jacket when he held it out to her.

  “I’m not cold,” she muttered. He glanced pointedly down at her breasts before thrusting the jacket at her again.

  With furrowed brows, she glanced down at her chest to where her nipples pressed against her shirt in the cool fall air. Heat blazed into her face as she snatched the jacket from him and slipped it on. She’d been in such a rush, and so annoyed with Jasmine for trying to get her to stay, she’d forgotten to put a bra on. The jacket nearly fell to her knees when she tugged it into place. She shoved the sleeves up to keep her hands free.

  It’s better than before, Brian decided before taking hold of her again and returning to the building.

  Abby took a deep breath and walked beside him into the pit of despair. She’d never smelled anything as bad as this place in her life, and she’d grown up with a bunch of boys who considered disgusting smells great fun. Ian had proudly shoved his stinking, sweaty sneakers into her face more times than she cared to recall, and Aiden had thought it hilarious to put his younger siblings into a headlock after going for a twenty mile run.

  She’d give anything for Ian’s stinky feet right now.

  Vicky wouldn’t hang out with anyone associated with this place; she simply wouldn’t have. Abby kept trying to deny it, but Brian’s confident words kept ringing in her mind. Ian and Aiden called him a vampire GPS. Maybe his internal satellite, or whatever it was he used for navigation, had been blocked by the moon or something unexplainable this time and had brought him to the wrong place.

  Her breath caught and her arm jerked in his grasp as they stepped into a sunken living room littered with people and vampires. She could instinctively pick her kind out in the crowd, but then it wouldn’t have been difficult as three-quarters of them were feeding on the passed out humans sprawled around the room.

  Bile rushed up Abby’s throat. She took a step away before determinedly thrusting her shoulders back. She’d face this; she’d face anything if it meant finding Vicky. One of the vampires fell away from his food source. His eyes rolled back in ecstasy, and he wiped the blood from his mouth.

  Abby was still trying to process what she was seeing when Brian gestured toward a set of stairs. Keeping her close to his side, he led her up them. At the top of the stairs, she heard the low sounds of someone having sex from a room at the end of the hall. After three years of living in a dorm, she knew those sounds well. She peered into the rooms as they passed each one, dreading and praying they would find Vicky inside. She didn’t know how she would handle finding Vicky here, but at least she would have found her.

  Brian kept Abby away from the room at the end, unwilling to have her see what he knew was going on inside. Peering into the room, he spotted the couple having sex. Neither one of them were the one who had drawn him here. Ducking back, he hooked his elbow through hers and pulled her back toward the stairs.

  “She’s not here,” she whispered.

  “She’s not,” he agreed as he led her down the stairs.

  Her shoulders sagged, but whether it was from relief or despair, he didn’t know. All he knew was he had to get her out of this place. He was beginning to wonder if he wanted her around her sister. Her twin had gotten herself mixed up in some pretty nasty shit if this was the type of vampire she’d become involved with.

  Rumors about these new drug houses popping up in some cities were circulating amongst some of the seedier vampires he used as informants. They’d all laughed the rumors off at the time, but nothing about this place was cause for laughter. Most vampires knew these kind of places were not tolerated or allowed by their kind.

  He was propelling Abby toward the front door when she abruptly broke away from him. “Abby!” he hissed when she turned a corner and stalked toward the back of the house.

  “I’m not leaving until we’ve looked everywhere,” she tossed over her shoulder.

  He hurried to catch up with her as continued resolutely onward. “Abigail!”

  She stopped at the edge of another room, her gaze scanning over the people and vampires gathered within. He arrived at her side just as a voice within the room murmured, “Vicky?”

  Brian’s head shot in the direction of the filthy vampire in the corner. He grabbed hold of Abby’s arm when she started toward the vampire, tugging her back.

  “Can’t be you,” the vampire slurred.

 
Abby jerked on her arm, but Brian held firmly onto it. “Let go of me!”

  “You’ll stay by my side,” he commanded gruffly.

  She glared at him, but relented when he started to lead her across the room toward the man. “It really is you,” the vampire murmured when they stopped before him.

  “My name is Abby; you know Vicky?”

  “You’re Vicky.”

  Brian kept hold of her arm when she knelt before the man. He’d have her jerked away from him and the vamp’s throat in his hand before she could blink, if the bastard tried anything. Abby seized hold of the man’s stubble-lined cheeks when his head lulled to the side. She ignored the filth covering him as she pulled his head toward her.

  “Where’s my sister?” she inquired. The vampire groaned and his lids drooped closed. “Hey! Wake up!”

  “He said you were with them, Vicky,” the vamp murmured. “No one comes back from where they go.”

  Heedless of the fact his clothes could stand on their own, Abby grabbed his slimy coat. “Who said that? Who is them?” she demanded with a sharp shake. “No one comes back from where?”

  His head snapped back and forth with each of her jolting shakes, but he remained unconscious. “Wake up!” she yelled at him.

  “Abby, it’s useless.” Brian rested his hand on her shoulder, determined to draw her away, but she fought against his hold on her.

  She peered closer at the man, trying to see past the dirt and grime streaking his features but she didn’t recognize him. Perhaps he’d been one of Duke’s friends or even one of Vicky’s new ones. She jerked away from Brian’s grasp and pulled back her hand. The slap she delivered to the vampire’s cheek reverberated in the room. Her hand stung from the impact, but he showed no reaction to it.

  Brian’s eyebrows shot up when she slapped the vamp. Mother Teresa wouldn’t have done that. “Well now,” he murmured.

  Abby felt no remorse about hitting the unconscious man; she would do whatever it took to find Vicky. Pulling her hand back, she hit him once more. His fangs extended, but he didn’t awaken. Before she could hit him again, Brian plucked her off the ground and swung her behind him so fast she didn’t realize she’d moved until her feet hit the floor.

  Brian’s corded muscles rippled before her; his eyes blazed like the fires of Hell as he snatched the vamp by the throat and lifted him into the air. Abby gaped as he pulled the man back and slammed him into the wall.

  The building vibrated around them. She glanced nervously at the ceiling as bits of dust and debris rained down on them. This place looked like the next breeze would blow it over, never mind an irritated vampire bashing another against its rotten walls. Around them, some of the people grunted and moved, but nobody ran away like any sane human or vampire would have done.

  “I’d retract those fangs if you want to live,” Brian snarled at the vamp in his grasp.

  The man blinked at him blearily, and then his fangs retracted. “Now,” Brian continued, his fingers digging into the vamp’s throat deep enough to draw blood, “where is her sister?”

  The vampire’s bloodshot eyes swung toward her. “Vicky?” he croaked.

  “Yes, where is Vicky?” she asked eagerly.

  The vampire’s eyelids sagged and fluttered back open when Brian smashed him into the wall again. Abby glanced nervously around as the floor beneath her feet vibrated. “You’re right here,” the man replied.

  “No, I’m not Vicky.”

  “Yes, you are.” Abby’s heart sank. He was too far gone to understand she wasn’t Vicky. “You went with them. No more. Gone away now.”

  Those words caused her heart to lurch in her chest. She took a step closer as the man started to ramble incoherent sentences. Brian’s arm shot out to press against her chest and keep her held back. He gave a warning shake of his head at her. Abby sighed impatiently; she’d grown up in a home full of overbearing and overprotective men. She certainly didn’t need it from him too, but experience had taught her it was best to pick her battles. Now was not the time nor the place for a battle of wills against Brian.

  “I did leave,” she said to the vampire in Brian’s grasp, “but I decided to come back. Do you remember where I went?”

  The vamp’s head dropped before it shot back up. “Doncha ya know?” he slurred.

  “No, I ah… I forgot.”

  He smiled as his head lulled forward once more. “Good times then.”

  Brian gave him a brisk shake, but the man’s head remained on his shoulders. Without any remorse, Brian opened his hand and dropped the unconscious man to the floor. His lips curled in disgust when he glanced at his hand before wiping it on his jeans.

  “Come.” This time there would be no breaking free of his grip as his hand felt like a steel vise around her elbow.

  “Shouldn’t we bring him with us?” she demanded. “Maybe once he sobers up he’ll be able to tell us more!”

  “His mind won’t be any clearer when he’s sober. All he’s going to care about then is finding his next meal and his next high.”

  CHAPTER 5

  “What was that place?” she asked as Brian drove through the streets and back toward the highway. “I mean, I’ve heard of crack houses before, but vampire crack houses?”

  “There have been rumors swirling around about them lately.”

  Abby turned to study his rugged profile. She couldn’t shake the sick feeling in her stomach ever since he’d put her back into the truck and closed the door. “What kind of rumors?”

  “That houses like that were beginning to spring up around the world again. The humans want their drugs, the vampires want their blood, and vampires tend to have a lot more money than humans, even the drug-addled vampires. It’s a lot easier for a vamp to steal money and anything else without being caught. The vampires pay for the human’s drugs and in return the vampires are allowed to feed from them, but the contaminated blood effects them too.”

  “I’ve seen my brothers drink a keg each and not be as messed up as those vamps in there were.”

  “Beer is one thing; drugs are something entirely different. Not to mention, your brothers allowed themselves to sober up after those kegs. These vamps aren’t doing that. They’re drinking drug-enhanced blood as often and as continuously as they can. It’s building up in their systems and keeping them on a constant high. I saw something like it with the opium dens in the eighteen hundreds. Vampires were falling under the spell of drug-enhanced blood then too. Many of the vampires involved were slaughtered.”

  “Why?” Abby gasped.

  “The knowledge of our existence can’t ever get out to the humans. Drug-addicted vampires, who are under the influence of the blood containing that drug, often don’t care about consequences and slip up. This sort of thing is not allowed amongst our kind. Not only do Ronan’s men go after them, but so will other vampires in order to keep our existence a secret. Apparently these younger, imbecilic vamps never got the memo.”

  Abby’s blood ran cold, and her mouth parted as her heart beat rapidly in her chest. “You’re going to tell Ronan,” she whispered.

  She knew from her brothers that Brian sometimes worked with Ronan, the oldest pureblood of their kind. She’d never met the man, but she’d heard the stories of him from her family. If Ronan decided her sister was somehow a danger, or these drug-addicted vampires were, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill them.

  Vicky may know someone in that house, but she wouldn’t be mixed up in the same thing as the vamps in there were. Her sister had changed a lot over this past month and half though. Maybe she was wrong and didn’t know Vicky as well as she believed, at least not anymore.

  No, Vicky is not messed up in this. There has to be something else going on.

  Maybe she was in denial, but she’d call herself the queen of denial until she had definite confirmation of something different.

  Brian glanced over at Abby, hating the horrified look on her pale face. He should tell Ronan about what they’d witnessed; it should be
his first call when he got her somewhere safe. They risked exposure by allowing those vamps to continue with what they were doing, but he knew Ronan and his group would raze every vampire drug house they could find without a second’s hesitation. It wouldn’t matter who was inside, not even if it was Abby and Aiden’s sister.

  “I’m not going to tell him yet. We’ll find your sister first,” he assured her. Lust has blinded you, you idiot, and it will get you killed. Go out tonight and find someone else to slake yourself on and come back to this tomorrow with a clear mind.

  Maybe that was all true, but when he glanced at Abby again, he knew he wouldn’t be going out to ease himself between the thighs of the first woman who welcomed him. Desire for her may be clouding his decision making processes, but he wasn’t going to leave her unprotected for one second while her sister remained missing. He had a feeling she wouldn’t stay where he told her to, and he highly doubted he’d be satisfied with any other woman right now.

  “If he finds out you didn’t tell him and you knew—”

  “He’ll rip off my head,” Brian informed her as nonchalantly as if he’d said it looked like it might rain.

  The sick feeling in her stomach intensified. It was one thing that she’d involved him in this whole mess, it was an entirely different thing to put his life at risk. She couldn’t stand the idea of anything bad happening to him because of her.

  “I can do this on my own,” she said. “You don’t have to be involved anymore.”

  Those icy eyes flickered over her. “It’s too late for that, young Byrne. I already know and haven’t made the call to Ronan. If you try to do this on your own, I will find you and make the call.”

  Her eyes widened at the callous words and the flippant way he’d said them. “Don’t threaten me—”

  “I don’t threaten. I make promises, and I keep them.”

  Abby glowered at him. Over the years, she’d eagerly drank in every word her family members had said about him. She’d raptly listened to their stories while ignoring the numerous times she’d heard them say he’s cold, ruthless, indifferent, violent, yada, yada, yada, but she had always believed there was so much more to this man who had captivated her six years ago. Her family had started to come around to him a little more after he’d helped them a couple of times, but they were still wary of him.