Wolf Called, page 14
That vampire was a bad guy. He deserved it. It was him or me…him or Chaser. I didn’t even know who they were.
Forcing myself to squash the memories, I washed the suds out of my hair and smoothed through some conditioner. As I rinsed, I made plans so I would have something else to focus on.
Within a day or two, Chaser and I would arrive at the Fortitude compound, and our whirlwind road trip would be over. Chaser, William, star employee of the Fortitude wolves, branded lackey to my father… Time was limited if I wanted to solve the one mystery that would haunt me for the rest of my miserable days. Who was the vampire I’d grown to care about? Who was the man underneath the blood and fangs?
My heart twisted at the thought of him. Too many emotional responses in such a short amount of time had me overloaded. I was spiralling into a one-way ticket to a psych ward.
I had to stop caring.
I’d killed a man to save him.
This was my last chance to convince Chaser to either let me go or come with me. I could tell him how I felt now or forever hold my peace and die a slow, miserable death at the hands of Fortitude.
Emerging from the little cubicle, I pulled on my clothes, bumping against Chaser as the train moved from side to side. The accidental touch made my heart twist, and I scowled. I hated that he’d heard it.
Sitting in the seat closest to the window, I towel-dried my hair and watched as he rifled through his stuff, taking out a T-shirt and a pair of dark-coloured jeans and boxers. I wrinkled my nose when he sniffed the T-shirt, checking for freshness or blood, I wasn’t sure which.
He didn’t speak as he closed himself inside the cubicle. Turning my head, I realised his bag was still lying open on the seat next to me, his belongings on show. Inside, I could see his wallet, gun, spare ammo, and my Ziplock bag of money. All the things I wanted to steal from him way back at the beginning of our messed-up road trip. They were just lying there, ripe for the picking.
Glancing at the door, I knew only a handful of inches separated me from Chaser. It made the thought of rifling through his things even more exhilarating.
Reaching out, I picked up his wallet and ran my fingers over the soft leather square. After all we’d been through, he finally trusted me, which made what I was about to do all the more terrible. I could’ve trusted him in return and told him how I felt, but there were just too many secrets he was holding back.
So, I opened his wallet.
Inside were a few twenty-dollar notes and the usual bits and pieces. There was a credit card with the name William Mason and a matching Victorian driver’s license. Tilting the card back and forth, I studied the photo. It wasn’t half bad, the lucky bastard. The address and date of birth were fake, so I didn’t pay too much attention to that. It was starting to bother me that I didn’t know Chaser’s real name until now. It felt like he’d been touting a lie this entire time, but did I have any right to be angry about it? I knew what he was and despite that, I fell for him anyway.
Checking his wallet again, a piece of paper tucked into one of the card slots caught my eye, and I pulled it out. Turning it over, I froze.
It was an old-fashioned sepia photograph of a woman, like one of those studio portraits. She had long dark hair with a feathered fascinator pinned to the side, pale skin, and big eyes, her black and cream lace dress buttoned up to her neck. She couldn’t be a day over twenty-five—the same age as me. There was this sweet and wholesome look about her that didn’t fit Chaser at all.
Who was she? She was obviously someone special to him; otherwise, why would he carry her picture everywhere? A picture he’d probably been carrying for a hundred and thirty years.
I scowled as jealousy burned in my gut. Maybe she was the reason things had never quite changed between us, why he didn’t want to help me. I didn’t like her, whoever she was.
The bathroom door opened, and I jumped, my heart skipping a beat. Chaser’s gaze fell to the wallet in my lap and then to the photograph in my hands. His demeanour changed in an instant.
“Get a good look?” he snarled.
I swallowed hard and held up the photo. “Who is she?”
Chaser’s expression was pure anger, and for a split-second, I faltered. Then he said the last thing I was expecting. “She’s my wife.”
Everything fell away, and my hands trembled, the photograph shaking. It was as if my body was tearing apart, my heart barely holding on. The world shook, and the foundations of everything I believed in had shattered. Destruction only took a second after all.
His…wife? My gaze fell to his hand. He didn’t wear a ring, and there wasn’t a mark… There wouldn’t be, though, would there? He was a vampire. I’d be a fool to think he hadn’t had several lifetimes of relationships, but he spoke about her as if she were still alive.
At the beginning of our road trip nightmare, Chaser and I sat at that roadhouse pub and argued about trust and death. I’d found no one I would die for—not until I’d shot that vampire by the side of the road before he could kill Chaser—not until his life was on the line.
In that moment, I knew I would die for him because that was what you did for those you cared about. I just didn’t understand it until now.
“You did,” I whispered. “You found someone you’d die for.” And it wasn’t me. It was the most selfish thing I could’ve thought at that moment, but it hurt. I’d always been the package he was ordered to deliver to Fortitude.
I was no one.
“You were never going to help me, were you?” I asked, my voice trembling.
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
He snatched the photo out of my hands and shoved it into his pocket.
His silence only drove another hot poker into my heart, and I glanced away before he could see my welling tears.
“I told you about me and Fortitude,” he went on, his voice thin. “I’m indebted to them. They—”
“I don’t need to hear it,” I snapped.
“You do.”
“You’re dead to me.” I seethed. “Dead.”
“That’s what happened to her,” he said, sitting beside me.
“Stop it.” I leaned my forehead against the window, the cool glass numbing my skin.
Chaser growled and grasped my arm. Wrenching me towards him, I let out a cry as I hit his chest. His gaze caught mine and wouldn’t let go.
“Let me go.”
“Those vampires who are after you,” he continued, his expression pure thunder, “are the same vampires who took her from me. History will not repeat itself, Sloane. You hear me? I won’t let it.”
I froze, trying to make sense of this whole mess. His wife had been murdered by the same vampires who were trying to kill me. Was that why he cared? I was his redemption? His second chance? This had nothing to do with caring and had everything to do with his own selfish closure.
I was a pawn, always had been.
“I made a deal with Fortitude,” he said. “They help me get revenge, and in exchange, they—”
“I don’t care.” I shook my head and felt a black hole of sadness open inside me.
He didn’t reply; he stared at me, his forehead creasing.
“I should never have let you in,” I snarled, wrenching out of his grasp. He looked as if he’d been slapped, and it only made my rage intensify. I turned away from him, focusing on the landscape rushing past the window. “You’re just like all the others. You’re just like my father. Small, manipulative, sadistic, and power hungry. I killed a man for you.”
“Sloane.”
I felt his hand on my shoulder, and I shook him off with a violent jerk. “Don’t touch me.”
“No, you don’t understand.”
“You don’t get to command me,” I said with a snarl, rising to my feet. “I am not yours! I don’t belong to you, Chaser.”
“Sloane.” He stood before me. “You don’t understand.”
“I’m such a fool…” I murmured, my gaze searching his. “Never again.”
It was a promise, a threat, a contract written in blood.
Never. Again.
Chapter 24
Sloane
I was back at square one.
Chaser was my kidnapper, and I was nothing but cargo. Which only meant one thing…
I had to get away from him before we reached Melbourne because by then, it would be too late to do anything. This train and one of the few stops along the line was my only chance.
I’d curled up in the corner of the seat by the window to put as much distance between us as I could. The size of the room wasn’t helping. Chaser sat opposite, his gaze stuck on me like superglue.
I was doing my best to ignore him, but I squirmed, my heartbeat annoyingly irregular.
Finally, his incessant staring got the better of me.
“Don’t look at me,” I snapped, throwing the first thing my hand fell on.
The mobile phone smacked him in the chest, and he smirked as he put it back into his bag on the seat beside me. He leaned close, making a point of brushing against my leg.
“Don’t touch me, either.”
“Don’t lie to me, Sloane,” he murmured, kneeling before me.
“Oh, that’s rich coming from you.”
“I never owed you anything.” His palms came to rest on my knees.
We stared at one another, a million insults rolling around in my mind.
“I’m hungry,” I said, blurting out something before I punched him in the face. A few hours ago, I would’ve thought about risking my life to kiss him, but now that urge had faded into nothing.
“I’ll go to the dining car,” he said, rising to his feet. “Don’t let anyone else in.”
I narrowed my eyes and turned my attention out the window to the bush rolling past.
He grunted, then opened the door and a moment later, it slammed closed.
The tiny room became a lot larger in his absence, and I breathed deeply. It was the first time I’d been truly alone since he’d taken me away, and it was an exhilarating feeling.
Sitting up, I went for his bag. Unzipping the black leather duffle, I took out my money and the extra ammo. His gun wasn’t there, apparently, he’d taken it with him.
Grabbing my bag, I tipped out the contents and discarded anything I didn’t need. I dumped my laptop, the mobile phone, and half my toiletries and clothes. Packing away my money and ammo, I shouldered the bag and opened the door.
Peering out into the narrow hallway, I found it was empty.
I had no idea how far it was until the next stop, but I wouldn’t have another chance. I’d have to risk breaking my legs and hoping they’d still heal without the power of the full moon.
Movement caught my eye, and I jumped. Seeing it was only a conductor, I straightened and stepped into the hallway. The man smiled when he saw me, and it put my fluttering heart at ease.
“Excuse me,” I called out, “where’s the café car?”
“Six cars to your right,” the man said with a nod.
I smiled and darted down the corridor to the left. Chaser was a master at hunting people down—or so he said—so this time, I had to be better at hiding my tracks.
At the end of the carriage there was a toilet and a large luggage storage area packed full of suitcases and bags, and a door leading to the next car. I glanced over my shoulder, but the conductor was gone.
I pushed through to the next carriage, which looked exactly the same as the one I’d been in.
The train lurched, making me stumble. I caught myself at the last second, my fingers grasping the railing. My bag fell to the ground with a thud, and I cursed.
“Whoa there,” a voice said. Hands clamped on my shoulders, and I instinctively jerked away.
Raising my head, I gasped and fell back against the wall, the railing pressing into the small of my back. Black eyes stared back at me and a coldness spread through my skin.
Vampire.
“We’ve been looking for you,” the man snarled. “You shouldn’t have run.”
My heart skipped a beat and I twisted away, attempting to run back the way I came.
The vampire grabbed my arm and pulled hard. I fell, smashing my jaw on the railing as he dragged me back.
I opened my mouth to scream, but his hand clamped over my face as the other twisted in my hair. He dragged me up and held me against his body.
“Don’t struggle,” the vampire rasped, pressing his mouth against my neck. “I just want a little taste.”
“Let her go,” an unfamiliar voice drawled.
A surge of hope flared inside me, and I struggled against the vampire’s hold. Searching for the source of the mysterious stranger, my gaze met a pair of cold, black eyes.
The conductor.
In that moment I knew. This was a trap.
The second vampire smirked, then nodded down the corridor.
“Get her inside,” he said. “I won’t ask again, Bailey.”
I screamed as I realised I was screwed, but the sound was muffled. No one was going to hear me. No one at all.
Bailey hauled me to my feet, cursing under his breath as he dragged me down the narrow hall and into a room at the end.
It was much larger than the compartment Chaser and I had, but I wasn’t interested in the décor. Once I’d been hauled inside, the conductor closed the door and flipped the lock. My bag was in his hands, and my gaze followed it.
Bailey let me go, shoving me roughly into the seat. Fear and a mixture of bile rose in the back of my throat, and it was all I could do to stop terror from overpowering me. If there was a way to fight back, then I had to.
When Chaser came back from the dining car, he would see I was gone and come looking. Wouldn’t he?
My gaze flickered to the door.
“What does he call himself these days?” the conductor asked, his lips curving into an evil smile. “Chaser?”
“Stupid name, if you ask me,” Bailey said.
“I wasn’t asking you,” the other vampire snapped.
“You know Chaser?” I muttered. Of course, they did. The vampires who’d rammed us off the road knew him by name, too.
“He got what was coming to him,” Bailey said with a smirk. “Eye for an eye.”
I went to stand, my lip curling in a snarl, but the conductor pushed me back down.
“There’s no getting out of this, Betty,” he said calmly. “Fortitude crossed us, William screwed us over, and now we have to take payment. It’s nothing personal.” He eyed me, his gaze raking over my body, taking in every bump and curve. “We’re not the kind of men who show mercy. Mercy is not in our vocabulary. Violence, pain, blood, death, murder… Those are words we understand.”
I tensed, my throat constricting. Why weren’t they finishing me off? Why weren’t they putting a bullet into my head and throwing my limp body off the train? Chaser wasn’t coming—they’d made that much clear. Which meant…
Chaser was dead.
I swallowed a wail of despair. What was the point? There was no way out…there was nothing left.
“Just end it,” I managed to croak out.
The conductor smirked. “You think we want to kill you? What has William been telling you, little wolf?” He shook his head as Bailey laughed. “You’re more valuable to us alive, but after we’re through with you, you’ll likely wish you were dead.”
“I’ll kill you,” I hissed, seething. “I’ll ram a stake right through your heart.”
The vampire snorted and raised his eyebrows. “Hear that? That sounds like a party.”
“She’s got fight in her,” Bailey leered. “I like it when they struggle.”
I tensed. “You’ll never win.”
The conductor’s hand grasped my face and forced me to look at him.
“Oh, but little wolf…we already have.”
Chapter 25
Chaser
I closed the door behind me and gritted my teeth.
Sloane was never meant to find out anything. About her werewolf side, about me being a vampire, about Fortitude…about that photograph. I was meant to deliver her to her father as promised, then things would go back to the way they were before I left Melbourne. At least, they were supposed to.
I hadn’t bargained on a lot of things in my life, least of all meeting Sloane.
A cough drew my attention, breaking me out of my spiralling thoughts. My gaze slammed into a familiar face, and I growled. Ginger-coloured hair, poor choice in clothing, ratty beard, and black eyes full of murder—the vampire from behind the Sailor’s Arms.
He was standing at the end of the corridor, smiling at me in triumph. I pulled my gun and took a purposeful step towards him.
Sensing my reaction, the vampire retreated into the next carriage, and I followed.
Sloane would be fine as long as she stayed put like I told her. Kept the door locked. Tried nothing stupid. There was nowhere for her to go on a moving train.
Leaning against the wall, I eased open the door and listened. The sound of the wheels grinding on the metal tracks drowned out everything. I’d have to go in blind.
Rage burned through my veins as I pushed through the door, my shoulder banging against the wall as the train swayed. The moment I was off-balance, a hand shot out and grasped my wrist, slamming it to the side.
I grunted as the vampire collided with me, his elbow striking me in the temple. I shoved him away and my grip loosened on the gun. He wrenched my wrist as he stumbled backwards, twisting until my fingers loosened, and the firearm clattered to the floor.
We eyed each other for a long second, then he pulled a knife from his pocket and held it out in front of him. My gaze flickered to the gun between us. The wooden bullets would be an advantage, but I could rip him apart with my bare hands if I had to.
I had to put an end to him before he got me, otherwise, Sloane was done for.
The vampire lunged and the knife came with him. Metal flashed, and I flung my body to the side, but there was nowhere to go. I grunted in pain as steel stabbed into my thigh, embedding into my flesh, and I fell back against the wall.
