Aveoth Read online

  He jabbed the needle into her arm. She tried to jerk away but the bastard holding her shoulders wouldn’t permit her to move much. A coldness spread up her arm and into her chest.

  “I’m taking you to Decker,” the shark hissed. “Those were my orders.”

  “Fuck you.”

  Spots danced before her eyes and her knees collapsed under her. Everything went dark.

  * * * * *

  Aveoth grinned and showed Fray what he’d just purchased. “What do you think?”

  “Your mate will love it.”

  “She was raised human so I wanted to buy her a ring. My mother told me what size to get. I hope she’s right.”

  “Resizing a ring would be a bitch once we get home. You ready to return to the airport?”

  “Yes.”

  Aveoth’s phone rang and he withdrew it, seeing Chaz’s number. “They must have beat us to the jet.” He answered. “We’re on our way now.”

  “They took her,” the GarLycan rasped.

  “What?” Instant fear and rage poured through him. “Who took her?”

  “VampLycans. They shot me. I didn’t have time to shell first.” Chaz coughed, and it sounded wet. “Get to her place. I haven’t recovered enough to stand yet. They might still be near.”

  “We’re on our way.” He hung up.

  Fray was already at the curb, and he opened the back door of the cab they’d had waiting for them in front of the jewelry store. The GarLycan appeared furious. “I heard. Let’s go.”

  Aveoth nearly dove into the backseat and seethed as Fray climbed in the other side, giving the driver the address. His mate had been taken. The idea seemed surreal but he knew it was a fact. Chaz would never play such a twisted prank on him.

  Fray withdrew a wad of cash. “Break every speed limit to get us there and this is yours.”

  The driver glanced back, and then the vehicle lurched forward, tires squealing as he punched his foot down on the gas.

  “Remain calm, my lord. We’ll track them and get her back.”

  “Who would dare do this?” He immediately answered his own question. “Decker.”

  “You don’t know that for sure. There’s no way he’d know we’d brought her here.”

  “Unless Garson betrayed us. I’ll tear him apart a piece at a time.”

  Fray grasped his arm tight. “Breathe in and out. I have spent time with Garson. He wouldn’t do this. I don’t know how they tracked our movements, but watch your skin,” he murmured.

  Aveoth glanced down and saw the warning signs of partial shelling. It took every ounce of control to force his body into submission. Fray whipped out a spare pair of sunglasses from his jacket and held them out.

  Aveoth took them and covered his eyes. “I’m going to—”

  “Not here. Not now. Just breathe, my lord. In. Out. We’ll get her back.”

  Every minute seemed like an eternity until the cab screeched to a halt in front of an old gray building. Aveoth almost ripped the door open to get out, breathing in every scent around him. He picked up VampLycans right away. One glance back showed Fray giving the driver money. Aveoth rushed to the front door of the building, only to find it locked. He viciously twisted the handle and threw his shoulder into it. The lock broke and he shoved inside.

  Aveoth stared at the shop, his nose burning from the strong stench of chemicals. Metals and paint fumes. He stormed across the room to another door and threw it open. Chaz lay on the floor in a pool of blood but the enforcer’s eyes were open. His sunglasses were lying feet away.

  “I’m sorry.”

  Aveoth assessed Chaz’s severe injuries at a glance. He’d suffered two blasts to the chest, and additional shots to his shoulder, stomach, and hip. Blood coated his lips and ran down his chin to his throat. Aveoth stepped over the male, staring at the open back door and up the stairs where blood was smeared on the steps.

  “Outside,” Chaz got out, coughing up more blood. “She escaped from upstairs and they rushed out the door after her.”

  Aveoth ran and picked up more scents once he’d left the stench of the building’s interior. Fray was right on his heels and they separated.

  His enforcer crouched near a Dumpster and touched the ground. “She was here.” He looked up. “The window is open. She must have jumped out that way and fallen to the ground.”

  Aveoth tracked the scents he recognized. They were from the two VampLycans he’d beaten for Jill after meeting her for the first time. There was an unfamiliar scent, too, by an abandoned backpack. He followed his nose out an open gate, where all the scents disappeared at the street. Fray grabbed his arm again.

  “We’ll get her back. Don’t lose your shit, my lord. It’s broad daylight. You can’t fly in the city to search for her.”

  “Decker has her again!”

  “He’ll want something then. He always does. It means he won’t dare hurt her. Think. I know it’s rough right now because she’s your mate, but you must.”

  He closed his eyes and tried to clear his thoughts. “I can track her.”

  “Shit. I forgot. What direction?”

  Aveoth mentally reached out to Jill but couldn’t get a sense of where she was. “I’m getting nothing.”

  “You bonded to her, you can, you’re just upset. Concentrate, my lord.”

  Aveoth tried again, then felt more rage and frustration. “I sense nothing. They’ve killed her!” He crashed to his knees, his heart feeling as if someone had ripped it out.

  Fray bent and hooked his arms around him, lifted, and nearly dragged him back into the yard they’d just left before putting him down. He kicked the gate closed and began prowling the yard. Aveoth stayed down and grew cold inside, dead. His skin throbbed and he knew he had begun to shell. It didn’t matter anymore. Nothing did.

  Fray came back to him and knelt. “I found a topper thing to a needle. Don’t shut down, Aveoth.” Fray gripped the back of his neck and squeezed hard. “Do you hear me, damn it? Decker wants something. He needs your mate alive. You’re not sensing her because she must be drugged. You know it can block your ability to get her location if her mind is shut down.”

  He latched onto the words and fought to breathe again. To soften his skin.

  “That’s it,” Fray encouraged. “Come on, Aveoth. If nothing else, get mad at me for being informal with you.”

  Aveoth opened his eyes and saw the red syringe cap Fray held in his palm. He took it and sniffed. It did smell of some form of drug, even if it was slight.

  “She’s carrying your scent.” Fray released his neck. “Decker wants his clan back. He’ll use Jill to force you to help him do that. Are you thinking clearer now? I’d like to check on my twin. He looked like shit when I glanced at him.”

  “Go to Chaz.”

  “I’ll be right back.”

  Aveoth slowly stood—and silently promised to reign hell down on Decker and any of his loyal to get Jill back. He checked his phone but he hadn’t missed any calls. Decker would be contacting him, though. The bastard had taken his mate.

  He entered the building, watching as Fray helped his brother stand.

  Chaz refused to meet his eyes. “I’m so sorry, my lord.”

  “Stop.” Aveoth came forward and put his hands on the GarLycan’s chest, examining the wounds. They were bad but the holes were very slowly closing and the bleeding had slowed. “Punctured lung?”

  “Yes. It doesn’t matter. I failed you.” Chaz leaned heavily on Fray. “I failed your mate.”

  Aveoth glanced at Fray, seeing the twin’s fear flash across his features. He could guess why.

  “Not another word, Chaz. I know what you’re going to say. I refuse to take your life as punishment. The bastards used the stench in here to hide their scents and they attacked you with human weapons before you could react.” He’d noticed the three shotguns, discarded on the floor by an open door that revealed an office with a desk inside. “It was a trap. Anyone could have walked into it. None of us suspected Decker