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“Trust me, the bitch can never be relied on to do the expected. Throw her in the box with the muerte. If he can’t get out, no one can.” He hesitated, and a hint of cold amusement came into his voice. “And it’ll have the side benefit of bringing back some very delicious memories for her.”
Confusion rolled through me. The man I was remembering hadn’t known me in that way. Oh, he’d wanted to, hence his scars and, subsequently, mine. So why would he imply otherwise?
Angus merely grunted. It wasn’t a happy sound.
“Evan will warn us if anybody comes looking for her, won’t he?” the urbane man added.
Evan? Not a name I knew, but one I could file away for later.
If there was a later.
“That’s what we pay him for.” Again, that bitterness. It just didn’t jell with a man who was only doing his job.
“Good,” the urbane man continued. “Tell Albert and Jay I’ll be there tomorrow night.”
“Will do.”
“And tell them to keep an eye on that fucking muerte. Just because he’s flamed out doesn’t mean he’s not dangerous.”
“If he’s such a problem, then why don’t you just kill the bastard?”
“Because we need to know who set him on to us. The order didn’t come from the council as a whole, but someone on the council must suspect. Muerte rarely move without orders.”
Angus grunted. A second later there was a soft beep, then a clunk, as if something light had hit a seat. The phone, probably.
God, I’d have to find some way to escape before his planned rendezvous tomorrow night. Whoever he might have been in my past, this was the man who’d ordered the hit on Rainey, and I had no doubt he planned to do the same to me. I might need to kill him to free Rainey’s soul, but even in my confused state, I had little hope that he’d face me alone. One full dragon I could cope with. Two was out of my league.
And I needed to survive the encounter to perform the ceremony that would free Rainey.
The throaty roar of an engine invaded the brief silence and the metal flooring underneath me began to vibrate. I was in a van, obviously, but the knowledge did me little good. I remained as I was, caught between consciousness and oblivion, struggling against the odd lethargy that held my body so still. I wished I could do something, anything, to fight these men, but my body remained frozen and unresponsive. Sound was my only ally, and even that was distant, the rumble of the van consuming all other noises. Angus might be at the wheel, but he was as quiet as death.
I’m not sure how long we drove but, in my disconnected state, it seemed to be for only a few minutes. The rumble and vibration of the van stopped and sweet silence filled the void. Then a door slammed, another opened, and hands were grabbing me, hauling me roughly along the metal flooring until I was flung like a sack over the shoulder of someone who smelled like sea and smoke.
The urge to fight, to kick and scream and run, swept through me again. But as hard as I tried to make my muscles respond, they wouldn’t. Just like the dragon deep within.
What the hell had they given me?
It was a thought I pondered as more doors slammed open and closed, followed by the heavy sound of footsteps on wooden flooring.
“Albert, Jay, get your lazy asses down here immediately.” Angus’s voice was sharp and loud, echoing through the molasses of my thoughts.
There was a metallic click and Angus stopped abruptly. A soft, close voice said, “I’ve been watching you for the last two minutes. I could have shot you anytime I desired, sea dragon.”
He said sea dragon like it was an insult. Obviously not a man who had any idea just how dangerous sea dragons could be.
Angus’s snort was derisive, but I could feel the tension in him. “And that would have made the boss real happy, now wouldn’t it?”
“I ain’t afraid of the boss,” the silky voice replied.
“Then you’re a bigger fool than I thought. He’d kill his own fucking brother if he thought it would benefit him.” He shifted my weight a little. “We’ve got another one for you to look after. The boss will be back tomorrow night to interview her.”
A hand grabbed my hair and I heard an intake of breath, as if he were sniffing it. Then he yanked my head up. Suddenly I was glad my muscles weren’t responding, because my instinctive reaction would have been to spit in his face—and I had a bad feeling that would not have been a good idea.
“Even with that scar, she’s a pretty one.”
“And she’ll remain that way,” Angus said sharply. “The boss wants her uncut and untouched until he gets here.”
“The delay will only make her eventual interrogation that much sweeter,” the other man said, and there was something in the way he said it that had chills skating down my spine. He let my head drop. “What has she done?”
