Page 42 of Vampires & Bikers

“And the al-Hattari,” I added and saw Harris nod.

So, he knew.

“If he is the leader of this rebellion, we need to focus our efforts on him,” I said.

Harris nodded.

There was a moment of silence. I thought of Matteo and how he had been killed close to Alexandra and only months later, I had survived an assassination attempt and again, Alexandra was close by. Had she been trying to get me off course by pointing at vampires when there was no evidence of it?

There was a link somewhere in all of this, a part of the picture that I wasn’t seeing. Whoever had killed Matteo was after me too and I had a feeling it wasn’t Alexandra.

I got up and thanked Harris and Michael for the drink and the invitation to their home.

We shook hands and I had the feeling that while Harris and I were more on the same page now, we were still not completely in sync.

There was something about him that I was missing.

I decided that warranted a closer look.

As I left his house, a sharp pain shot through my chest.

Ruby.

She was closer, all of a sudden, within reach.

Our link had been restored.

I had to get to her.

Chapter 19

Ruby

It feels like I have been underground for weeks, months even.

I realize it has only been days when Rat Man brings me coffee and sandwiches and tells me what has happened in the war since I’ve been taken.

“We’re gonna win this war,” he says to me, his tiny eyes gleaming. “Already, we’ve made gains on several fronts, hitting them where it hurts them the most, their pockets.”

I try to eat something but my mouth is too painful. I break small bits of food off and put it in my mouth, sucking on it.

“People think them bloodsuckers care about blood only, but that ain’t it at all. They want money, all of it. They live for hundreds of years and in the banks their money grows, off the backs of us humans.”

I can feel his hatred.

I have never heard Luc talk about money or his possessions. He once referred in passing to his family land but I have no idea what it looks like, or what kind of house he has there. He has talked of the flowers only and the hills, the way the wind blows when there is a storm coming. When he talks about it, he grows sad and it puts him in a melancholic frame of mind. It has made me see how much he has lost. The longer he has lived, the more he has lost, in terms of people he has loved and lives he has seen pass him by. But cars, money, planes? It isn’t important to him at all.

Not that I’d dream of saying anything like that to Rat Man.

“They think we are weak and dumb, but we will show them!”

Once the coffee has cooled, I gingerly sip from the cup. It burns my lips and I wince. I crave the taste but it hurts to swallow, everything hurts. But I know I need my strength. The thought of getting out of here fuels me to try to drink some more and eat the bread even though I’d rather not.

The moment I am above ground, Luc will come to rescue me and who knows how many shifters will descend upon him. Their plan is to capture him, torture him. I have heard them talking, they will deprive him of blood and burn him with fire. I’ve told them he is weakest during the day and their plan is to bring me up in the early afternoon, when the sun is at its brightest. They don’t know that Luc is able to handle the heat of the sun on account of his age and experience. He is exceptionally strong, even for a vampire, a fact he once shared plainly with me, not bragging, just stating the obvious.

But even he would not be able to defeat the shifters when they jump him in the forest. I said I would not try to help him but I have to do what I can. I can’t lead him into his death.

After breakfast, they take me to a rudimentary bathroom where there is a bucket and some bottled water. A piece of a mirror shows me what I look like. I am shocked at my appearance, my face all mottled with bruises, swollen and cut up. My hair is matted with dry blood and there is a cut on my cheek that will leave a scar.

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