Page 52 of Trapped for Her Blood
“How many shifters are incarcerated down here?” I ask Gracen, as she lounges against the wall of the alcove in a posture that tells me she still hasn’t given up on seducing me.
“No idea. We don’t mix with them.” She reaches toward me, but I lean back against the opposite wall.
“And who has been here the longest?”
She shrugs. “Psycho, I think. Or maybe the bear?”
“Psycho is the large vampire who threatened my mate?”
She points with the mimed gun. “Bingo again! You’re on a roll, professor.”
“Earlier, you implied that everyone down here has crossed the CEO in some manner. What did Psycho do to Octavia?”
Leaning back against the wall, she crosses her arms over her chest. “More to the point, what didyoudo to her?” Her eyes narrow slightly.
To gain information, it is customary to share some, so I carefully consider my response. “I was captured in error, alongside the intended target, a pirate who stole from DEFTA. Once that error was discovered, I was taken out of here and questioned, but during that time I said something to offend her.”
Gracen’s eyes widen. “Fuck. What the hell did you say?”
I shake my head. “It is another misunderstanding. She believes that I lied to her. I did not.”Not exactly.I tip my head back toward the sunlight. “Are the guards stationed at that gate at night?”
“Sometimes.”
Hope bubbles inside me. It can’t be that easy. “If that gate is not guarded every night, what keeps prisoners from escaping?”
“You name it.” She rolls her eyes. “Booby traps. Spring loaded stake shooters, silver netting, colloidal silver that sprays from the ceiling, fans of decapitating blades.”
Shifting her position, she shudders. “I’ve never seen anyone go for it—not personally—but I’ve heard enough stories not to try.”
“You said you were down here because of a man,” I say. “With whom did you fornicate?”
“Someone that bitch wanted as a mate.” Gracen’s gaze drifts to the ceiling. “I fucking loved him.”
Pain flashes over her face and I think through Octavia’s mates wondering whether one of them is the vampire in question.
“And Psycho? You said he’d been down here the longest?”
She nods. “Now,that’sa story. Shit.”
“Please tell me. I am interested in hearing all you know.” The more I know about the dungeon’s inhabitants, especially those who seem to have some command over the others, the better the chances of being able to use that information to gain Ember’s freedom. And if Psycho has been down here the longest, he is most likely to possess knowledge of the dungeon’s secrets.
“Psycho…” she draws in a long breath as if preparing for something good “—he was fuckingmarriedto Octavia.”
I blink in surprise. “Ishethe mate with whom you fornicated?” But I quickly realize she said Psycho had been down here longer.
“Nah.” She chuckles. “Me, in love with Psycho? Youarehilarious.” She chuckles again. “When the bitch and Psycho were married, she washuman.”
“Really?” I realize how little I know of Octavia. I was so glad to have someone else interested in my research, even if she was a baby vampire at the time, that I never inquired much about her.
And admit I did not even care how she later seized control of DEFTA.
“Do you know their story?”
Gracen nods. “It’s a fucking juicy one.”
“Please, tell me. Tell me all that you know.”
“My, aren’t you an eager beaver.” She pushes off the wall, dodging the sun to move nearer. “You’re asking a lot of questions, professor. If I tell you, what’s in it for me?” She reaches for my crotch again, but I shift to the other wall before she makes contact.
