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Stone didhis best to ignore the stench coming from the brick building and its large yard mostly empty of carts.
Thanks to Old Tom—one of the corner costermongers who hawked his wares from first light to the cooks and households near Leo's gaming hell—Stone knew the wagon with five males and one female slumped against one of them, had passed by Tom's stretch of road. It was unusual, as the cart carried bottles of some sort of drink, but no one would usually deliver that kind of goods so early. Alcohol was primarily an afternoon routine in Old Tom's patch of London.
Stone had then followed the direction the bottle-carrying wagon had taken, questioning the children, shopkeepers, flower sellers, or anyone who might've seen something. It had finally led him here, to the yard of the night soil men.
He barely paid any notice to the reek of shite and piss. No, he and several of his trusted guards from Leo's place were watching, waiting, and determining the best time to strike.
Because once the cart with the slumped female had reached this building, it hadn't gone anywhere else.
Which meant Reika had to be inside.
Not wanting to think they'd killed her and hid her in the land outside London where the night soil men deposited their loads of waste, he focused on weaknesses for the building, anyone he could see milling in the windows, all things that could help get him inside.
It was full dark when the carts went out to collect refuse from the homes without flushing toilets. Even if the darkness gave up his advantage of being able to walk freely in the sun—whereas any full-blooded vampires couldn't, at least not for long—he'd decided that if the males had been in the daylight to kidnap Reika, daylight didn't matter to them anyway. And it was easier to investigate and sneak inside when the yard and building would be the most abandoned.
His most trusted fellow guard, Theo, approached and whispered, "One of the maids said only a few workers would still be inside at this time of night. And that she'd been given a strange instruction—to stay away from the storage rooms. Somewhere she usually went on a regular basis, to fetch cleaning supplies."
Stone grunted at his friend. Dark-skinned with a winning smile, Theo was good at charming females to get what he wanted. No doubt he'd used his hands and mouth to convince the maid, but Stone wouldn't judge. If the female wanted a quick tup, then it wasn't his business. "Right, then combined with what else we know, we go with the plan we made earlier."
Theo nodded and went to inform the others.
It seemed forever before he heard the bird call, the signal that everyone was in position. Stone withdrew his knife, checked his pistol was easy to draw if needed, and counted to one hundred. He gave his own bird whistle and they all quietly, and slowly, snuck up to the rear entrance, the one usually used by the servants or the night soil men themselves.
Stone allowed Theo to pick the lock, and the other male gently pushed the door inward. Assured the hinges were well-oiled and wouldn't squeak, Theo opened it fully.
After a quick look, Theo gave the signal to proceed. Stone took the lead, and once they all were inside with the door shut, he listened closely.
There. While faint, male laughter came from further down the hall, maybe even from below stairs. Any sort of group in the building wouldn't be employees, not at this time of night.
With no more than a wave to signal they proceed, they all moved toward the sound. Stopping in front of the closed door, Stone could finally make out a male voice say, "How much longer do we have to wait? I've never fucked a bitch from the East. And I'm ready to welcome her to London and show her what real males can do."
Stone barely heard the laughter as anger churned in his stomach. There was no fucking way he'd let those arseholes touch Reika. And he was going to make sure to draw out their pain for as long as possible for the insult.
Theo laid a hand on his arm and leaned closer to whisper softly, "Calm the fuck down. We won't move until you do."
Taking a deep breath, Stone nodded, getting a grip on his anger. He could unleash it on them once Reika was safe, but not before.
Temper finally reined in, he gave his team a particular series of gestures for the rescue plan. Once done, Theo opened the lock and twisted the handle without pushing it inward. After a few more seconds, Stone gave the signal and Theo opened the door.
Still no squeak—he silently thanked the servants for doing their jobs—and they descended, the male voices growing louder. Just as one started to describe what he was going to do with Reika's body, Stone motioned for them to attack.
Since he'd learned that four of the males in the cart were just half-vampire dockworkers hired for a job, he was right to think they didn't have a lot of weaponry. Four startled gazes met his. Stone narrowed his eyes and immediately went after the only male about to draw a pistol.
In a flash, he knocked the weapon from the male's grip and punched him in the nose. When he screamed, Stone then gave an uppercut and the man fell to the ground with a thud.
He turned, ready to take down another bastard, only to find his men had them all either contained or unconscious. "That was easy."
One of the still conscious males gave a bloody smile. "Oh, St. Vincent will find you, no doubt."
Stone didn't recognize the name but tucked the information away for later. He approached the male, grabbed his shirt, and lifted him off the ground. "Where is she?"
When he said nothing, Stone kneed him in the bollocks. As the male squealed, Stone shook him and growled, "Tell me where she is or I'll make you a eunuch next."
The disgusting filth squeaked, "She's just in there, behind that door."
After one more shake, he dropped the male into Theo's care and went to the door at the far end of the room. "Reika?"
