He cursed himself for not checking Scott earlier, but he never thought a group of vampires would allow a human to remain so well armed in their midst. He never could have guessed how thoroughly they’d corrupted this human.
“Are all these weapons in case the clients get out of line with you?” Mike inquired as he handed Mollie the gun.
“They’re in case filth likeyougets in,” Scott replied with a sneer.
“They’ve warped you,” Doug murmured.
“These are real bullets,” Mollie said as she closed the cylinder on the revolver.
“To keep the humans in line,” Mike said. “Or I suppose they qualify as filth too.”
“They do,” Scott confirmed.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
“So,if you’re keeping the humans in line, then that means thereareother humans here?” Mollie asked.
When Scott clamped his lips together, Mollie almost lifted the gun and fired a round into his temple. He wouldn’t tell them any more, and he didn’t deserve to live, but she couldn’t bring herself to kill him in cold blood.
“He was reaching for the cat,” Mollie said. “I don’t think he planned to try anything against us until we were distracted, and the scream provided that distraction. Try tugging or moving or doing something with the cat.”
Mike returned to the bookcase and gripped the cat, but when he lifted it off the shelf, nothing happened. “Is there a basement in this room?” he asked Scott. “I can make you tell me.”
Scott snorted and rolled his eyes. “You don’t think my masters haven’t protected me from the likes of you. Go ahead, try messing with my mind; it won’t do you any good.”
Mike resisted the impulse to bash the smug smile off the arrogant prick’s face, but though the Savages had most likely made it impossible for him to gain control of Scott’s mind, he still might need the human. Gritting his teeth, he forced his attention back to the bookcases lining the room.
“You’re right,” he said to Mollie. “I don’t think he planned to try anything until we were distracted. Which means, he would have been as honest as possible so we didn’t become suspicious of his true nature. I think there’s something hidden in this room.”
“Then let’s find it,” Mollie said.
Doug led Scott away from the bookcase while Mollie and Mike went to work examining the shelves. He focused on the higher shelves while she concentrated on the bottom ones. Mollie didn’t care what anything might be worth, or its history, as she started tossing artifacts and books from the shelves in the hopes of locating something to help them.
She tried not to think about the fact Scott might have been leading them into a trap, but the possibility niggled at the back of her mind. Even with the niggling, she didn’t stop; they had little else to go on, and she had to find Aida, or at least learn what had become of her.
She grasped a book and went to heave it aside, but it slipped from her grasp when it remained stuck in the bookcase but tipped forward. Mollie jumped back when something clicked, and the bookcase swung toward her. At her side in an instant, Mike lifted her up and spun her away from the opening door.
Mollie held her breath as she waited for something awful to come charging out at them, but nothing emerged when the door stopped moving. She glanced over at where Scott sat in the armchair Doug had shoved him into. Scott’s face remained impassive, but he couldn’t hide the beads of sweat dotting his brow.
Mike released Mollie and stepped around her to examine what the open bookcase revealed. A steel door with a single silver lock was tucked behind the shelf. Gazing at the thick steel, Mike knew there was no way he could break through it. Then, he recalled Scott’s keys.
Stalking over to the human, he bent and ripped the keys from where they were secured to his waist. “Tie him up,” he said to Doug, “and gag him.”
Doug went to work tearing Scott’s clothes off him to use for binds. Mike returned with the keys and sorted through them until he found a larger key that looked like it would fit the lock. Mollie hovered at his side as he slid the key into the lock and turned it. The bolt slid free with a click.
Stepping protectively in front of Mollie, Mike rested his hand on the door and nudged it open. The well-oiled hinges didn’t make a sound as the door swung open to reveal what lay beyond. The light from the library illuminated the top of a set of wooden stairs, but the bottom half of the steps remained in shadow.
“Aida,” Mollie breathed.
He glanced over his shoulder at Doug as he shoved Scott’s sock into his mouth. Doug twisted another piece of cloth around Scott’s head and cinched the gag in place. Doug smiled smugly when Scott grunted.
“Mollie, stay up here with Doug,” Mike said.
“No, if Aida is down there—”
“We have no idea what is down there, and until I do, Ineedyou to stay here. I’ll let you know if it’s safe to come down.”
He couldn’t have her storming down there to discover her sister’s body, or numerous bodies, piled below. Mike saw her starting to gear up for an argument as Doug approached.
