Questions whirled in her mind until she felt dizzy. What were the beasts? Where was this guy taking her? What would happen when they got there?
Then she thought of Ethan. Would he search for her? She had to believe he would. Cassie prayed that Garrity wasn’t going to use her as bait. Not that she’d have to live with any guilt if she was the instrument of Ethan’s death, because she had no doubt Garrity intended to kill her once her usefulness ended.
And just when she didn’t think she could stand one more minute of feeling Henry’s stare on her, his hunger, the van pulled up behind what looked like a large abandoned building. She didn’t see any lights inside.
The man got out and came around to open the van’s back doors. Henry jumped out and waited as his handler snapped his leash onto his collar. Then the man climbed in to release Cassie from the van. He didn’t take off the cuffs.
He gave her a little shove toward a door hidden in the shadows. “We’ve kept Mr. Garrity waiting long enough.”
Inside, the darkness was complete. Henry’s hungry whining urged her to go faster. Panic made her clumsy, and she tripped on what felt like a raised board. Unable to break her fall, Cassie fell to her knees hard and for a moment the pain took the place of terror. Something sharp had torn her pants and cut into her knee. But then the man was there yanking her to her feet and pushing her forward.
While she stumbled along, Cassie sensed others in the darkness. They didn’t speak, didn’t move. Guards?
Finally, she reached another door. He pulled it open and light flooded out. Cassie saw a stairway leading down. Anxious to stay a few steps ahead of Henry, she didn’t hesitate.
Once the man joined her at the bottom, he led her to the end of a hallway and then knocked on the door there. With an electronic hum, the door slid open.
He pushed her inside. “This is as far as I go.” The door slid closed, leaving her alone with . . .
The smell of disinfectant made her wrinkle her nose. She glanced around the large room. It looked terrifyingly familiar. Lab equipment, sinks, and containers with God knew what in them. Gurneys, some of which had empty glass coffins on them. A man and woman stood by one of the gurneys watching her with unblinking intensity. Human? She thought so. At least the woman was. The man had that complete stillness she associated with vampires.
Cassie’s gaze finally settled on the far corner of the room. A desk with a man sitting behind it.
“Garrity, I presume.” Cassie hoped she sounded at least semi in control. She clenched her cuffed hands into fists so they wouldn’t shake.
“Cassie, I’ve looked forward to this moment.” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Come. Sit.” He pointed to one of the two chairs facing his desk.
Just to make sure, she reached back awkwardly with her cuffed hands to try the door handle. Locked. Taking a deep calming breath, she walked to the chair he’d indicated and sat. Then she took stock of Roland Garrity.
Cassie had pictured someone who would look the part of a human monster. He disappointed her. Standing, he’d be of average height and build. Thinning, light brown hair. Faded blue eyes. A weak chin. She would pass him on the street and never notice him.
Right now, she didn’t have control of her physical situation, but her mouth was still her own. “Why did you bring me here? If you try to use me as bait, Ethan won’t be stupid enough to walk into a trap.”
Garrity raised one brow. “Bait? I’m afraid you overestimate your importance to the vampires. They won’t bother searching for you.” He leaned forward to rest his elbows on his desk. He steepled his hands and studied her. “No, I only went to the trouble of sending Caleb to take you for two reasons—vengeance and to make sure Felicity’s family doesn’t discover that I was involved in her disappearance. Families can be tenacious and meddlesome.”
Vengeance. Cassie repressed a shudder. She didn’t trust herself to speak, so she simply stared at him.
He went on as though he hadn’t expected her to comment. “You are directly responsible for the loss of Eternal Rest. Now I’ll have to deal with insurance and a police investigation besides having to find a new place of business. I believe you owe me for all the trouble you’ve caused.”
“What’re you going to do?” No matter how horrible, she wanted to know his plans.
“First I’ll explain all this”—he swept his hands wide to encompass the room—“because no one should have their human life terminated without knowing why it happened. And then I’ll change you from a pain in the ass into a useful commodity.”
Human life terminated. There it was. She was going to die. There was a kind of sick relief in knowing the worst. Cassie didn’t say anything, because if she tried to speak she knew her voice would shake. She wouldn’t give him the opportunity to gloat over her terror.
“I and all my employees are part of a larger organization run by a brilliant man. He’s never shared his name with us, but I understand his desire for anonymity. We simply call him the Collector.” He paused.
“And he collects what?” She was proud that her voice sounded clear and steady. He would never know how much effort she’d put into those four words.
“Nonhumans with extraordinary powers and humans with potential.” He leaned back in his seat again, his expression filled with admiration for the Collector. “He’s an amazing scientist, and he’s found a way to transfer power from nonhumans to very rich humans willing to pay for it. The nonhumans are kept alive while their power is slowly leached from them. Our clients have a lifetime supply as long as they don’t get greedy.”
Cassie knew her horror was written all over her face. She couldn’t put together words to describe her disgust. So it was lucky that Garrity wasn’t expecting a comment.
“Those we choose to sell must be physically beautiful as well as powerful. We package our products in attractive clear glass coffins so that our clients can not only enjoy their new power but also have something aesthetically pleasing to admire.” He raised one brow. “Any questions so far?”
Can I throw up on your desk? She forced words past the boulder lodged in her throat. “Fine, so I understand why you collect beautiful vampires. But why humans?” Other questions pushed and shoved to be next in line.
He looked surprised that she’d ask that question. “Every human has latent power. When the human becomes vampire, that power is freed. Of course, we can’t charge as much for humans we’ve just changed because they don’t have a proven gift yet.” He smiled. “You can think of them as sort of grab bags. The buyer has no guarantee, but sometimes he gets a pleasant surprise.”
Cassie felt as though her eyes were glued open. She couldn’t blink, couldn’t breathe, and her heart was pounding so hard that she wondered if every vampire in the city could hear it. No, he couldn’t be going where she thought he was going.
Garrity’s smile was twisted and evil and happy.
“Will your buyer get a pleasant surprise, Cassie?”
Whatever had been holding her in her seat snapped. She was out of it and running for the door even though she knew it was locked. Reason didn’t enter into the blind terror she felt. She kicked at the door and screamed. And when the human who wasn’t a human grabbed her, she bit and kicked and cursed.
Somewhere deep inside where her reasoning self hid, she wasn’t surprised when she felt the prick of a needle. Cassie fought to stay awake, because to close her eyes was to lose her humanity. The man picked her up and placed her on one of the empty gurneys. He took the cuffs off her and then immobilized her with leather restraints. As her vision began to dim, she was aware of Garrity leaning over her.
“This is your binder, Cassie.” He beckoned the woman closer. “She’s a member of a powerful binder family that works exclusively for the Collector. Fortunately, he’s loaned her to me until I replace Tony.” He frowned. “You’ll have to bring a good price to make up for killing him.
“Once we’ve drained you and replaced your blood with nice fresh vampire blood, we’ll tuck you into your shiny new coffin, bind you there, and then bury you in one of the cemeteries I own until someone purchases you.” His smile returned. “Did I mention that the Collector is brilliant? We can hide our merchandise in ordinary graves where no one would think to look.” He started to turn away, but then glanced back. “I do hope you’re not claustrophobic.”
Cassie couldn’t keep her eyes open any longer. Her lids drifted shut, and surprisingly, the last thing she thought about was Ethan. Now she’d be able to stay with him for the rest of his nine hundred ninety-nine lifetimes. As blackness descended, she screamed and screamed and screamed inside her head.
Chapter Eleven
No one would look at his face. Ethan didn’t blame them. The Second One was strong tonight.
He’d hunted for Cassie alone last night. And when he’d tracked down a group of six of Garrity’s men, he hadn’t hesitated. He’d killed them all along with their two beasts, one at a time, while he hid in the shadows. The last man he’d kept alive long enough to get the information he wanted.
