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I had started pulling the clothes on when those words were enough to make me freeze. My heart pounded in my chest. A blood test… I should’ve known that it would be coming. I’d already seen the needle. What kind of tyrants would these people be if they didn’t demand confirmation that we all were who we said we were?
It didn’t matter how good of a hacker I was. There was only so much of a paper trail I could lay down without the proper help of the veterans in the field. Considering there was only one located within range of the city, there was no way in hell I could risk going to him — or afford his fee. The demons had all the time in the world to tear apart the fake identity and learn that I was never on the map more than being reported as a live birth at the local human clinic.
They were used to those files missing information, but this blood test would blow everything apart.
It took far too long to realize that Bianca had been studying me while I got dressed. Those furrowed eyebrows revealed that she had noticed how much my hands had started shaking. Hell, she could probably tell that I was a shade paler coming out of the shower than I had been going in. Still, she didn’t say a damn thing until I finished and Jackson had gotten a hold of me.
The walk back to the enclosed area was far too short. By the time the vampire planted me back in the chair, I was weak at the knees and ready to faint. I turned my head slightly and honed in on a needle that had been left on the clipboard.
Bianca retrieved it and an empty vial, sliding the pieces into place. “Are you going to give me a problem, Miss Barone?”
It didn’t matter how much I struggled to avoid looking at the damn needle. My eyes still honed in on it. “You’re not touching me with that thing,” I rasped.
An exasperated sigh escaped her. “Jackson?”
I jolted back against the chair as the vampire simply vanished from his spot in the aisle. It didn’t take long for firm hands to seize my lower arms and trap them against the wooden armrests. “Let me the fuck go!”
The goon seemed to detect my next move just by the way my body shifted. As soon as I thrust my head back, he eased out of the path and kept his nose from injury. “I’d grab a sedative, doc.”
My heart skipped a beat. No, no, no!
A sedative meant absolutely no strength to resist and prolong the inevitable truth being uncovered. Despite the iron grip the goon had on my arms, I threw everything I had in trying to break free from him before the good doctor drifted into sight with a filled needle. As soon as my eyes caught sight of it, the panic grew even more intense. Any strategy that I might have had initially went right out the window.
Jackson managed to keep me still just long enough for Bianca to administer the sedative. He grunted as he immediately pressed his body against me and kept me trapped against the thin wooden table attached to the chair. “Fucking hell. She’s strong for a human.”
That remark just made everything worse. I threw my head back in a feeble attempt to deliver a blow to his face. While my mind saw me moving quickly toward the target, a gentle tap revealed that my movements were already sluggish and the bastard hadn’t tried to move at all. My breathing hitched in my throat.
The sedative was already working its way into my system.
Bianca approached with the empty needle, working quickly to find a vein and fill the vial. The sting of the needle barely registered in my mind. She remained silent until she pulled back and tossed the used needle into the trash. “Take her back to the cell. Someone will retrieve her once we get the results back.”
“Gonna do a rush job?”
She stifled a frustrated noise. “I’ll have to. He wants her delivered by sunset. We don’t have more than a few hours before that deadline.”
Jackson released my arms. All it took was a swift movement on his part before he hoisted me into his arms. “Send for me when you need me, doc. I’ll take care of the transportation.”
I was nestled against his chest, leaving me with lungfuls of a unique scent combination of freshly mowed grass and a small hint of lemon. Only a small part of me was disgusted that it was consuming my senses while the rest just simply didn’t give a damn. The dark abyss of my unconsciousness was already reaching out to me and I was struggling to keep my eyes open. The rocking movement of the vampire walking made it impossible to achieve such a simple task.
By the time the door to my cell opened, I had sunk into the dark ocean. My last few hours of freedom would simply be eaten away by the forced slumber. The next time I opened my eyes, my entire world would change and the life I knew would be a thing of the past.
I was nothing more than the prince’s property now.
ASHER
“I didn’t peg you for being distracted right after a raid.”
I didn’t realize how much I had stumbled into my thoughts until Archer strolled up to plant himself right beside me. Humming softly, I only offered him a brief glance before I watched Cade line up the angels that had been caught working in the warehouse during our unannounced arrival while Mateo followed in his footsteps to plant his personal mark on each one.
All it took was one touch for a symbol to glow on their foreheads seconds before they tumbled over, their eyes rolling up into the back of their heads. They were absolutely useless as hosts where lower demons were concerned. Angel bodies and demonic souls simply didn’t mix, but it would help make their transport far easier. Less complications to face.
“Not a good night for distractions, boss.”
I flexed my jaw as a surge of annoyance tore through my veins. “Is there a reason why you’re hounding me about my attention span?”
He arched an eyebrow and released a soft snort. “I just figured you would’ve wanted to partake in the fun a little, considering they did steal from us.”
There was only a small part of me that was even willing to dignify that with a response. When I noticed two of Archer’s goons dragging a young male in our general direction, I honed in on them and raised my chin slightly. “Now who did we find?”
