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My phone buzzed with a text. It was from Lucian telling me that my time was up.
I started up the stairs, ignoring Anya’s question about where I was going so soon. I sent Lucian another text because he hadn’t responded to my last question. When I got outside, I was immediately confronted by Bennigan, Jezabel, and Leah.
I looked up toward the rooftop where Lucian was supposed to be with Alaric and Seraphina.
Bennigan moved closer, his smile triumphant and cocky. He was wearing the same large fur coat that he’d worn the first time I saw him. It made his shoulders look inhumanly broad. With the bald head and scars on his face, he looked like some kind of Russian mafia boss. “You’re a difficult one to catch, aren’t you? I can see why Lucian prizes you so highly.”
“Where are they?”
“You mean the three Undergroves you thought could keep you safe from all of us? You all really have no idea what you’re up against, do you?”
“Is Lucian okay? What did you do with my roommates?”
“Your distraction, you mean?” He grinned wickedly. “The plan was cute, but we’ve been watching you too closely. I grew tired of you slipping through my hands. This time, you won’t want to leave.”
He stepped closer, eyes blazing as he stared at me. “You are mine now. I am the only thing you care about. The only thing you will ever love. You would lay down your life for me.”
I felt the faintest swirl of dizziness as he spoke. There was a vague sense of losing consciousness, but I found if I just focused, I could keep it at bay. He was trying to charm me, and it seemed I’d been right, because I still loved Lucian. I felt nothing for the hulking vampire with the shaved head who was looming over me.
I tried to think of what someone would do if his little trick had worked. I let my eyes grow a little heavy, then nodded my head, almost sleepily. “Yes. Everything you just said.”
Shit. That probably wasn’t the most convincing line.
I discreetly looked at Bennigan and the two women. They were watching me with a twinge of suspicion but seemed to trust in his abilities too much to let their doubt take hold.
“Come,” Bennigan said. “We’ll get you somewhere Lucian won’t find you before I call my allies off.”
“Yes,” I said in my best zombie impression. “Whatever you say.”
He gave me one last odd look, then seemed to decide it was better to just get moving. I followed the three vampires for a long while, letting them lead me through an abandoned subway station. We went down darkened stairs, through a long tunnel, and then stepped through a crumbled section of the wall to a room that had been hollowed out of the dirt.
I tried my best to stay calm. My heart was thudding so hard I worried one of my captors might hear it, but I was otherwise doing a convincing job of keeping my face neutral. I had one hand in the pocket of my jacket, clutching the syringe I’d whipped up. I had no idea how or when I planned to use it, but I had hoped Lucian would be within “save my ass” distance before I revealed Bennigan’s little charming technique hadn’t worked on me.
Jezabel sat down against the far wall, watching me closely. Leah pulled out a phone and smiled at something as she swiped her thumb, apparently unconcerned with my addition to their strange life as Bennigan’s pets.
I felt a pang of sympathy for the women. If he’d just used his power to force them into servitude, then they weren’t really to blame for anything they’d done.
“How many others are there?” I asked, hoping I still sounded like a zombie.
“Jealous, already?” Bennigan chuckled. “I have thirty others like you who are bound to me. Jezabel and Leah are my favorites, but I still make time for all of my pets.”
Bennigan made my skin crawl when he patted my head and motioned for me to sit.
I clenched my jaw, then took a spot in the corner. Come on, Lucian.
“What will you do with Lucian Undergrove?” I asked.
The question drew a lingering look from Bennigan, but he answered after a few seconds. “I had my people detaining him and his friends. Now that I have you, I’ll let him go. I want him to live a long, long life. Long enough to imagine all the fun we’re having together.”
I nodded. “Yes,” I said dully.
That was good. It meant Lucian was going to know exactly where to find me, and it meant Bennigan probably still hadn’t figured we were still bonded.
I’d wait until I knew he was here, then I’d do my best to weaken Bennigan with the syringe—hopefully—and Lucian could do the rest.
