AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Kodiak only wished the damned woman wasn’t so persistent about putting herself in danger. She knew nothing about the supernatural world she’d been dumped into. He had no idea how her human mind had even processed the sight of his transformation. After that, plus seeing vampires drinking blood, she had to be in a world of denial, leaving her more vulnerable than she could ever realize.
And he was responsible for this. So he owed her, beyond want, beyond his own desires, he owed her. And that meant keeping her safe. He had to get to her before the vampires did.
Nothing else mattered.
7
Tamaska
Heart hammering an erratic tattoo,she half expected someone to stop her when she entered the building, but no one approached her.
Not a sound or whisper of movement broke the silence of the place. Her heart thumped in her ears so loud, she was sure they’d hear it in Parramatta. The place gave off the energy of emptiness and waiting.
She clamped down on her overactive imagination as she crept down the wide hallway, peering past the first door on her right.
They weren’t here. That was the only obvious explanation.
Still, it didn’t stop her skin crawling or the ice sliding down her spine.
The faster I get this over and done with, the faster I’m out of here. The thought buoyed.
She slid just inside the door. Could the Blood Opal be in there? Her heart hammered faster, louder in her chest.
Inside was a basic kitchen-like area, with the excessive stainless-steel countertops industrial kitchens had. But what would they want such a thing for? This place didn’t serve food and…
Tamaska let the thought trail, refusing to follow it as she checked out the handful of drawers and only found knives, handsaws, needles, and syringes. It was rather odd, but then it matched the eccentric, drug-dealing nature of the nightclub.
Right? Right?
Drugs and nothing more.
A shiver slowly eased over her skin as the image of people drinking blood came to her mind, no matter how she tried to avoid that path of thought. Bile curdled her stomach and she quickly left, not wanting to stay a moment longer in the strange kitchen. It wasn’t any place to keep a priceless gem. The stone had to be locked up somewhere else in the building.
If it wasn’t here, then… Then she’d deal with that. But first she’d exhaust this place. Every tiny nook. Every hidey-hole.
Squaring her shoulders, ignoring that tingle of unease, she continued down the corridor, peering into two more rooms, each looked similar to the other kitchen. The sight made her feel sick to her stomach.
Wanting to get away from those rooms, she pushed through the door at the end of the corridor and found herself at the back of the stage. The sound equipment and lights stood in place, ready for nighttime parties.
That also wasn’t the right place to hide a gem. Too many people would be coming and going from the stage. Tamaska walked around it, keeping a lookout in case there was anyone around. The unease didn’t dissipate at all as she did so, even though it was clear she was alone.
It didn’t matter. She had a mission to complete.
On the other side of the room, she spied a balcony-like structure. Her stomach flipped, and a sliver of hope shot through her. That must be the nightclub office, where the boss had a full view of the dance floor for surveillance. She’d worked enough venues as an event manager to be familiar with some of the tricks of the trade. Usually, the security would be strict around the office and perhaps could be a safe place to keep a gem safe.
She ran across the open space of the dance floor, ignoring the curtained areas where she’d lost her mind, gave into her lust, and had sex with Kodiak. She ignored the pull of heat and memory as she hurried to a door partly concealed in the wall. It had to lead to the balcony office.
The sound of another door slamming ricocheted through her bones and she jumped. Adrenaline rushed through her veins, a river of fire, sending her pulse out of control. Fingers shaking, she pushed through the door and rushed out of sight.
The last thing she wanted was to be discovered now, not when she was so close to getting her hands on the Blood Opal.
Tamaska stumbled into the stairwell and ran down the steps to get away. Hand on the rail, she stopped, horror hitting her. In her haste to escape, she’d just run, and instead of stairs taking her up, they led down.
Fuck, no.
Her chance to reach the balcony was slipping away. Closing her eyes, she listened but no footsteps, no voices, not even the whisper of clothes. Edging forward to the next step, she forced herself to calm.
As she listened, no sound filtered. Not a thing. Slowly, the wild stampede in her chest settled. There hadn’t been anyone there. She must have imagined the sound of the door slamming. After all, she was in some kind of waking nightmare. No wonder her imagination was getting the better of her. See one blood sucking creature of the night and the man who she had sex with turn into a wolf, and hearing sounds like slamming doors was nothing at all.
