Page 42 of Bite of Vengeance

“Now, you’re going to take us where we want to go,” I demanded. “Or I kill you with my blood in your system, and you become one of us. If you obey, then I let you go, and you can keep living your pathetic life—for a while anyway. Until we take what we want.”

“You can’t take her,” he spat out,

“Can’t?” I arched an eyebrow. “You’re in no position to make threats. If you don’t want to help us, I’ll snap your neck right now.”

I took one step toward him, and he stumbled back, hitting the desk. “Fine. Fine. I’ll take you there.”

“Good answer,” I praised him mockingly as I motioned for him to leave the office. “Let’s go.”

I slid my mask back in place, pushing Norman roughly to make him follow Pax into the hall. Pax was just as tense as Norman, and they both walked rigidly toward the stairs. A guy appeared as he entered the building, and he nodded respectfully at Norman.

“Make a sound and I’ll tear into your throat before you get one word out,” I threatened under my breath.

He looked over his shoulder, throwing a glare of pure hatred at me. But he kept his mouth closed as the guy disappeared behind one of the doors. Pax halted in front of the keypad, looking at Norman expectantly.

“Let’s go,” I ordered gruffly.

“Wait, wait,” he sputtered out, holding out his hands. “We can come to an agreement?—”

“I already gave you the agreement,” I cut him off sharply. “You do what we say, and I don’t turn you into the thing you despise most.”

He broke eye contact first, looking down to punch in the code. The light turned green, and Pax opened the door, beginning the climb to the fourth floor. Norman was dragging his feet, and I shoved him forward, making him curse at me as he stumbled up the steps.

“You think PARA won’t declare war if you take her?” Norman grumbled quietly. “We’ve kept the peace for years. You’re about to ruin it.”

“You had to know it wouldn’t last,” Pax spoke up. “Let’s not pretend the humans haven’t been preparing for this.”

Norman sneered at us. “Rowan won’t let this stand.”

I didn’t respond to him as we neared the fourth floor. Rowan was about as high as someone could get in PARA. He was the one who made the decisions about everything. Though, he wasn’t the face of PARA to the civilians. He was the one who ran things from the shadows. Just like Amaros, I wanted to keep Kali faraway from him. The night of Kali’s birthday, I’d seen how he looked at her. He was just as power hungry as my father, and he’d do anything to get what he wanted.

Pax opened the door, and we entered the fourth floor. It looked exactly the same as when I was here last. I grabbed Norman’s arm, dragging him with me until we stopped in front of the wall of locked doors.

“What is this?”

I eyed the PARA member as he stood from the small desk. Since Pax and I had the masks on, the guy wasn’t alarmed as he looked at Norman. Pax strode forward, catching his gaze and putting him under entrancement. The other guard was leaning against the other wall, and he blinked away the sleep in his eyes when he spotted Norman. When he heard Pax talking, his shock flared. I strode across the room before he grabbed his weapon, and slammed his head against the cement wall, knocking him unconscious.

“Open the cell she’s in,” I demanded, turning my attention to Norman. “Now.”

“Think about this,” Norman implored, fear swimming in his eyes. “You already have the other twin. That was the deal. Keep the peace.”

“Open the cell,” I repeated, pushing him forward.

He moved stiffly, going to the farthest door on the left. I followed closely behind, watching him press the buttons on the keypad. The moment the light turned green, I reached for the door handle and pulled it open.

Glancing over my shoulder, I got Pax’s attention. “Watch him.”

Norman glared daggers at me before I slipped into the cell. My heart pounded against my chest as I laid eyes on Keeva. She was huddled on the cement bench with her back to me, and she didn’t move a muscle. Creeping forward, I softly calledher name. She didn’t answer, and I frowned as I touched her shoulder. She didn’t react at all.

“Keeva,” I said again, wondering if that was what the humans called her. “We’re getting you out of here.”

She still didn’t move, and I carefully moved her until she was lying on her back. A weight fell on my chest as I stared at her. She was identical to Kali. Her hair was maybe a bit shorter, but they were the same in every way. Only her scent was different.

Her eyes were closed, and for a second, I thought it was fear keeping her from looking at me until I noticed a thick layer of sweat covering her forehead. Crouching down, I lightly touched her cheek before cursing under my breath. She was burning up. A pained groan left her as she wrapped her arms around her stomach.

Standing back up, I stormed out of the cell, anger rushing through my veins. Norman let out a yell when I grabbed the collar of his shirt and slammed him into the wall.

“She’s sick,” I growled, trying to understand why panic was clawing in my chest when I didn’t even know the woman in the cell.

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