Page 119 of Fang Fiction

“Can you get to the pool?” Tess asked.

“I don’t know,” Joni answered. “There are so many people—”

“Just get to the desk and wait for me,” Flora said. “I’ll make us a portal. Tess?”

“I’ll take the service elevator,” Tess said. “See you there.”

Tess took a second to collect her breath, but she knew she had to keep moving. She hurried to the service elevator and jammed the up button. Come to think of it, she didn’t know whether the elevators would even work once the fire alarm had been pulled—but she breathed an enormous sigh of relief when she heard the elevator cables whirring behind the closed door. Was Taylor okay? And Mika, and Willie, and everyone else? She couldn’t think about that now—they had to be.

The elevator door dinged, and Tess rushed in and pressed the button for the pool deck. She hit the door close button over and over, but it didn’t do shit. A few seconds later, the doors started closing in their own sweet time—

Except before they could close completely, a hand jammed between the doors and pushed them open with ease.

As the doors spread open, the blood drained from Tess’s face.

Because Felix Hawthorn was standing there, a wide, chilling smile on his face.

Chapter 30

“Hello, Tess,” Felix said as he stepped into the elevator. “I have to admit, I thought it would take more than a few hours to find you. Perhaps I gave you too much credit.”

The elevator doors slid closed, and the car started to rise. Tess kept her mouth shut—she wouldn’t give this asshole the satisfaction of knowing how much he scared her.

“Fern?” Felix clipped. “I have Tess. She was on her way to the pool, which I assume means the others are too. Meet you there?”

“You guys doing your fun little telepathy trick?” Tess spat. “How does it feel to be Konstantin’s lapdog?”

“Why don’t you ask Callum? He has far more experience than I do.” Felix sniffed. “Konstantin is so looking forward to meeting you—he thinks torturing you will lure Callum back. But I know Callum. He won’t risk his neck for yours. And when he leaves you here to die, I’ll be the one who gets to kill you.”

Felix leaned in, inhaling Tess’s scent—the sound of his breath made her sick. Tess’s hand automatically twitched toward her pouch of stakes, but Felix clocked the movement immediately.

“Don’t be stupid,” he said, his voice low and threatening. “You’d never get there.”

“Ask some of your friends how fast I got there,” Tess seethed. She knew it wasn’t wise to bait him, but maybe if she riled him up, he’d get sloppy, do something she could exploit to her advantage. For a second, Tess saw anger flash behind Felix’s eyes—but then he just laughed.

“Do you think you’re some kind of hero? You staked a couple of nobodies?”

“Blood Feud made me think you were a hero,” Tess said quietly. “Now I’m not sure they even exist.”

Felix narrowed his eyes as the elevator jerked to a halt and the doors slid open with a ding.

“Come on.” Felix stood outside the open doors, glaring at her. “Move.”

Tess kept her chin high as she marched down the service hallway and through the door that led to the pool. They walked past the empty cabana suite where Octavia had stayed for weeks, past the bar where Tess used to hole up and read Blood Feud, and onto the main pool deck, where Joni and Flora were waiting in the dark gray light before dawn, surrounded by Konstantin, Fern, and half a dozen others. Tess felt a small surge of pride that she’d lessened their number by two—but her heart sank when she saw that Flora’s hands were bound. Flora’s face was blank and unreadable; Joni was trying to stay tough, but Tess could see that she was terrified. There was no way they could fight this many vampires out in the open—and no way they could escape if Flora couldn’t make them a portal.

“You must be Tess,” Konstantin said as she approached. “Good of you to join us.”

His voice was smooth, and his manner was even, not angry or agitated at all. Unlike Felix, he didn’t seem to be acting out of any kind of personal vendetta—he was simply tying up loose ends.

“Thanks for coming all the way to Brooklyn,” Tess deadpanned. “Hope you didn’t hit too much traffic.”

“Very thoughtful,” Felix snapped. “Now why don’t you tell us where Callum and Octavia went?”

Tess felt an unexpected pang at the mention of Callum’s name. He had to know this was a possibility when he left, that Tess would meet some horrible end without him here to fight for her. She squared her shoulders. She could still fight for herself.

“I don’t know where they went,” she said firmly. “And I wouldn’t tell you if I did.”

“You wouldn’t have a choice,” Felix sneered.