“Where are we?”
Nina glanced around the dark room. It was made of stone and concrete without any windows and only a few wall sconces for light. There was one heavy-looking door, no furniture or decoration. If she had to guess, she’d say it was underground.
“I don’t know. They blindfolded me on the way here. But we were in the car for over half an hour, maybe longer.”
Nina gave Delilah a cautious look. She didn’t appear to be upset with her, when she had every right to be so. After all, she’d prevented Carl from killing one of the vampires, her brother.
“How’s your arm?”
“I think it’s fine. It seems to have healed already. How long was I out for?” Judging by the state of her injury she guessed at least two days.
“Only a couple of hours. Your brother healed the injury.”
So she hadn’t imagined it all. Eddie was alive, and he was a vampire—a vampire working for the other side. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”
Delilah squeezed her hand. “I understand.”
Nina shook her head. “I couldn’t let Carl kill him. He’s still my brother.”
“Nina. Please, I would have done the same in your situation. I had a brother once, too. I would have done anything to save him.” There was a faraway look in her eyes before she snapped back to the present. “Now we just have to convince Samson and Amaury of your innocence. They think you were working for Luther all along.”
Nina swallowed the shock of Delilah’s statement. Amaury thought she was a traitor? Yet he’d bonded with her? It didn’t make any sense.
“When did you talk to him?”
“On the way here.”
“They left you a cell phone?”
Delilah chuckled softly. “Of course not. I communicated with Samson via our bond.”
Her expression must have been utterly confused, because Delilah clarified, “Telepathically. All blood-bonded couples do it.”
“Oh.” She’d never heard of such a thing. “You mean I can do that with Amaury?”
Delilah nodded. “I’m sure he’s already tried to reach you, but you were out cold.”
“I’m normally not the person who faints.” Nina, the self-confessed vampire fighter, had to faint when push came to shove. How embarrassing.
“You were injured; you had a lot to deal with. The shock of seeing your brother. It was just too much for you. Sometimes our body just tells us when we’ve had enough.”
Delilah seemed calm considering the situation they were in.
“I didn’t know Eddie is alive …”
Delilah squeezed Nina’s hand. “I know that now. But when our guys got back to the house they found Carl—”
A bolt of guilt shot through Nina. “Carl—oh God, Luther killed him. I’m so sorry.” She pushed back the tears.
Delilah shook her head. “Carl’s alive. But he told them that you fought on Luther’s side when you defended Eddie. That’s why they believe you’ve betrayed us.”
“But I couldn’t let Eddie be killed, I couldn’t. They have to understand that. He’s my brother. He’s all the family I have.” If she lost him, she’d have nobody.
“They’ll understand – in time. Amaury will understand.”
Amaury. Would he really understand? The man who jumped to conclusions in two seconds flat? He would condemn her.
“Unfortunately, they also think you let Luther in the house. I didn’t have a chance to tell Samson before our communication ended. He’s going to be so upset.”
Nina stared at her. “About what?”
“Luther used mind control on me and made me open the door,” she explained.
“Can’t you contact him now?” Nina asked.
Delilah shook her head. “I can’t get through. Either he’s too occupied with preparing a plan to get us out, or we’re just too far apart.”
“Oh no. What now?”
“I know Samson and the guys are coming for us.”
Nina had to admire her confidence. She herself didn’t feel this sure of anything right now. There was just too much to come to grips with. Her brother was alive and working for the enemy. She was in some sort of underground bunker with no means of escape, and the men who were supposedly on their way to rescue them believed she was a traitor. Where would she even start to fix things?
“How are they going to find us?”
“Trust me, they will. A blood-bonded vampire will never give up on his mate. If he does, it will be his own death.”