“More like he’s jealous that I’m touching you,” grumbled Jared.

Yeah, Dexter often hissed at Jared, not yet comfortable with him.

“I’d appreciate it if you moved him away from me. He’s heading in a direction that I’m not happy about.”

Smiling, I gently coaxed Dexter over to me. He came easily. “Only I get to bite that part of you.”

A devilish grin took over his face. I’d just joined my lips to his when we heard two distinct beeps. And we knew just which mobile phone was beeping. Swallowing hard, Jared retrieved Leon’s mobile phone from the kitchen drawer and brought it to the bed. “It’s from ‘Del’.”

This was what we’d been waiting for. This was what we’d been stressing over since meeting Jude. This was also something that was going to cause a humungous argument between Jared and me. “I’m not staying behind.”

“There is no way you’re going on this assignment, Sam.”

“Oh I think you’ll find I am.”

“Oh I think you’ll find you’re not.”

And on and on it went.

(Jared)

A full hour. I’d spent a full hour trying to make the homicidal bitch listen to me, trying to make her see reason. What had she done the entire time? Smiled indulgently at me, much like a parent would at a teenager having a tantrum. “Sam, you can’t expect me to be okay with you going out there helpless.”

“I’m not helpless.”

“Really? Conjure your whip. Go on.”

I watched as she absorbed energy into her palms, just as she had done thousands of times before. As I’d anticipated, nothing happened. Well, one thing happened: a stream of energy shot out of her palms in the form of water, drenching Luther.

Wincing at him in sympathy, she said, “Sorry, Gandalf.”

Dignified, he wiped at his face. “It’s quite all right.”

I gestured at the soaking wet Advisor. “And that is why I want you to stay behind.”

She snorted. “Tough titties. I’m going. Everything shouldn’t always come down to my gifts…unless you’re saying they’re all I have to offer?”

The woman always knew what cards to play. “Of course I’m not.” I truly wasn’t. To me, she was intelligent, skilful, determined, tenacious, strong, resilient…and still not going.

“I won’t send off my co-commander and my squad on a risky assignment while I stay home all safe and sound. Jude doesn’t have an offensive power, yet you haven’t objected to her going.”

“Jude isn’t the woman I intend to Bind with.”

“No, she’s not, but you wouldn’t allow any person to go on an assignment unless you thought they were capable enough to handle it. So am I to take this as you think she’s capable, but I’m not?”

Damn, how did she do that? How did she take something I’d done or said, twist it around, and use it against me?

“You have so little faith in me, do you?” That smile was back. She knew I was struggling with this one, and she was enjoying it. Of course I could declare that neither female was going, but in that case there would be uproar – particularly since Jude was out for blood. “You believe I’m weak like those Master Vampires who’ve come to supposedly offer their congratulations to us?”

“Stop twisting things.” I was ashamed to say that had come out sounding a little petulant. She appeared to have enjoyed that, too. “I just want you to be safe. If you can’t properly defend yourself, you won’t be safe. Right now, as much as it pains us both, you can’t—”

She held up a finger, wearing a look that reminded me of one of my old school teachers. “Quiet now. It’s your own time you’re wasting.”

Chuckles burst of both Antonio and Luther. How supportive of them.

“So I’m the only one who cares whether or not she’s safe?”

Antonio quickly sobered. Well, sort of – he was no longer chuckling out loud, but his body was still shaking with it. “You know Sam’s well-being is of great importance to me. If I believed, for even one moment, that she could not handle this assignment, I would insist that she remained behind. But Sam is right; there is more to her than her gifts. You are simply unable to look at this objectively and I understand why. Bear in mind that you will not be facing vampires, but humans. Sam may not be a Pagori or a Keja, but she is still significantly stronger and faster than any human.”

Before I could respond, Sam said brightly, “Now that that’s all sorted, why don’t I tell you my plan?”

Plan? Why did I get the feeling that I wasn’t going to like this?

“You remember I took Janine’s artificial baby bump after Jude had killed her, right? You never wondered why I wanted it?”

Oh shit.

CHAPTER NINE

(Sam)

I would have thought that seeing a pregnant woman stumbling out of a supermarket would get a reaction out of people. Most hadn’t even noticed, wrapped up in conversations or using their mobile phones. Out of those that did notice, only one person had asked if I was okay. Some had looked at others, trying to judge if they would act or thought it necessary to. It seemed it was that whole bystander apathy thing.

It was as I reached the parking lot that a vehicle pulled up beside me. One of the tinted windows of the grey Volvo wound down just enough to show me a concerned face. This sure looked like our Wendy − if that was even her real name, of course. Approximately ten minutes ago, Jared had sent a response from Leon’s phone; giving a description of me as the pregnant woman who had been drugged.

“Is everything all right, hon?”

I continued to stagger at a slow pace as I slurred, “F-fine.” It was at times like this that I wished I’d been paying a little attention in drama class.

“You look like you need to see a doctor.”

“Really, I’m fine,” I slurred again.

“You’re not fine, hon. Come on, jump in, I’ll take you to the hospital.”

“But my car—”

“You can’t drive like that. You’re close to passing out. It’s important you get to a hospital fast…as long as you don’t mind listening to a two year old recite his ABCs all the way there,” she added with a laugh. Yes, Wendy had brought along a toddler to look unsuspicious. I wondered if he was her child or she’d borrowed him like the weirdo that she was.

Once the familiar mush by my feet had wriggled through the cracks of the rear door and was inside the vehicle, I said, “Okay, thanks.” For show, I fumbled and stumbled as I got into the Volvo.

“Don’t worry about anything, hon. You just rest. I’ll get you help.”

If I’d been adhering to Jared’s proposal, I would simply have waited patiently until he and the rest of the squad stopped the vehicle. But as my own plan had been more popular – more popular to everyone but Jared – I would be continuing the ‘I’m in agony and disorientated’ act, allowing her to lead me and the others right to the Medics.

Jared had insisted that the Deliverer would have easily told us their whereabouts. After a bit of torture, she most likely would have done. But that would have taken time. We couldn’t risk the Medics deciding to leave as this was our best chance at getting to them. I knew that Jared was still pissed, but he had been slightly placated by my keeping Denny with me.

During the entire journey, I was sure to moan in pain, and to appear as if I was drifting in and out of consciousness. Instead of taking us to an isolated spot, as I would have expected, Wendy took us deeper into the city. Once we reached a row of industrial warehouses, she stopped the car. She paid me no attention whatsoever as she took her mobile phone from her purse and dialled a number. “Outside” was all she said.

Moments later, there was a loud crashing sound as one of the yellow roller doors opened. Three people, all in scrubs, came dashing out with a flatbed trolley. Wendy lit a cigarette and watched with a bored expression as they – all humans, I detected – placed me on the bed and wheeled me toward the building. Shame I wouldn’t get to see her face when Denny materialised in front of her.

Thankfully, the little boy in the backseat was asleep. As instructed, Denny and Chico would immediately hand the little boy over to the police.

I was surprised by the interior of the warehouse. The large, bare space was much cleaner than I’d been expecting. In the far corner was a large white lorry that, at first glance, seemed like an average heavy goods vehicle. It was actually a mobile hospital.

The three humans – two men, one woman – lifted the bed into the vehicle with a practiced ease that made my blood boil. Just how many women had they done this to? Just how many bodies hadn’t yet been discovered?

They took me past a supply station, a small lab, and a curtained area that contained a baby incubator and cot. Finally, they halted and I saw that we were in an operating suite. They transferred me from the trolley to a standard hospital bed, arranging my body in the position that they wanted.

The dark-skinned male took a place at the bottom of the bed. “Right, let’s get this over with.” He didn’t sound happy to be doing it. At least he had a conscience, even if it was tiny.

The woman, having taken a place on my left while the other male was at my right, rolled up my sweater, and gasped at the sight of the Empathy Belly Pregnancy Stimulator.

Before any of them could react, I bolted upright and backhanded the Medics on either side of me, sending them crashing to the floor. In a blink, I was then behind the dark-skinned male, holding one of the scalpels to his throat. “Surprise,” I drawled. “Bet you never seen that coming, eh? Shit yourself?”

“I d-don’t understand what th-this is a-about,” he stammered. “I sw-swear I haven’t t-told anyone anything.” So he thought I was one of his employers, most likely based on me being ‘different’…which meant he had detected that something was ‘different’ about them.

“I’m not one of your employers, but I am like them. In fact, this lot are just like them as well,” I added as Jared, the squad, and Jude entered the suite.

The female Medic took one of the scalpels and hurled it at them. It hit Salem in the chest, who merely peered down at it in bemusement. Rolling his eyes, he tugged it out and slung it on the floor. I had to give her credit for trying to fight back.

“Sandra, no!” chastised the human I was restraining. “Just cooperate. You too, Mitch,” he told the other male Medic who was now being held by Reuben.

Salem tangled his hand in Sandra’s hair and dragged her to him, pinning her wrists behind her back with one hand. Neither she nor Mitch struggled.

Jared came to stand in front of the dark male, shooting me a brief glance. Nice work, baby.

See, I’m not helpless just because my gifts are on the blink.

I can see that. Although there was amusement and affection in his tone, his expression was hard as stone. “What’s your name?”

“Erik.”

“Well, Erik, I’ll get straight to the point. I have a few questions for you.” Jared held up his hand, showing the human the trickles of electricity that were playing around his fingertips. “Answer them correctly and I won’t have any reason to demonstrate just exactly how much this will hurt. Play dumb and, well…we’ll find out if you can hit the high notes. Are we clear?”

Erik, stinking of fear, whined, “If I tell you anything, they’ll kill me.”

“Ah, but if you don’t tell me anything, I’ll kill you. That’s if the beautiful female behind you restrains herself long enough to let me. I should probably point out that she has homicidal tendencies. Oh, and you may have noticed the totally pissed off woman at the other end of the suite, glaring at you. She had her baby taken from her.”

“Is this the one that cut you open?” I asked Jude. She nodded, looking fiercer than I’d ever seen her.

Jared scratched his head, giving Erik a falsely sympathetic smile. “Yeah, I think it’s safe to say that you’re not leaving this warehouse alive. I won’t lie to you about that. Denying Jude her vengeance isn’t something I’m prepared to do. But I’m prepared to skip the ‘torture’ part of the interrogation if you answer me honestly and quickly. Think you can do that?”

Startling all of us, Erik abruptly leaned into the scalpel and sharply twisted his head, slitting his own throat. Releasing the gargling human, I jerked back.

Butch sighed. “I guess he didn’t think he could.”

Max cocked his head. “If he’d rather die than talk, they had to have scared him even worse than we have.”

Jared shrugged one shoulder. “No matter. We have two others here who can help us with our enquiries.” At a leisurely pace, he strolled over to Mitch. “I’m hoping that you’ll be more cooperative.”

“He looks like a helpful person,” I said, as I joined Jared.

“He does, doesn’t he?”

The words burst out of Mitch. “I don’t remember anything.” When Jared went to move, he shouted, “It’s true, it’s true! They did something to me.”

Jared crossed his arms over his chest. “Explain.”

“I can’t, not all of it, because I don’t remember. I just know that they put some kind of block on my memories.”

“A block?”

“A block, or they erased them or something. They did the same to Sandra. The only one of us who really knew anything was Erik, but that was because he’d saw stuff that he wasn’t supposed to see. He would never tell me any of it. He said it was safer for me that way.” His expression was poignant as he looked down at the body of his ex-colleague.