Page 18 of The Union
I shook my head. “You’re not Sam.” I wasn’t sure how I knew that, but the man who stood about ten feet from me wasn’t the sexy vampire I was in love with. I stiffened. “Who are you?”
The Sam look-alike threw his head back and laughed. “I’m your worst nightmare, Layla Aberdeen.” The man’s face morphed into Ray’s. “You’re going to hell for killing me.”
I screamed at the top of my lungs, and when I did, the fire died. Before I could take a step, I was spiraling down a long metal tube, my screech sounding hollow, echoing and blasting in my ears. I landed in a bin of towels with anoof. I was hurrying to climb out when a hand gripped my arm. I toppled into a hard chest, my back to his front. He spun me around, and I came face-to-face with Sam.
My breath rushed out of me like a fast-moving train. His manly scent, his cocky grin, those forest-green eyes that caused my heart to skip a beat indicated he was Sam. I touched his unshaven jaw. “Is that really you, Sam?”
He grinned, his fangs lowering slow and steady before he pounced. His strong arms banded around me, and quick as a whip, he sank his fangs into my neck.
I became a rag doll in his arms as he fed on me like a hungry animal who hadn’t eaten in months. I scraped my nails up his bare back, and he moaned, drawing my life into him. Minutes went by, and the more he feasted, the weaker I became.
I pushed him away, but he wouldn’t budge. “Sam, stop. You’re taking too much blood.” My mind became fuzzy and my eyes heavy. “Sam, please,” I begged, wiggling and pushing as a faint ringing sound cut through my soupy consciousness.
The sound grew louder and louder as Sam vanished, and slowly I became alert until I was gulping in air and sitting upright in bed. My tank top clung to me like a wet rag as I brushed hair off my forehead.
The ringing stopped as I rubbed my neck. “What the hell was that?” I said, feeling like I’d just been through hell and back.
I flopped back onto the pillow, cleared the sleep from my eyes, and stared at the popcorn ceiling of the hotel room. We’d found a place to crash about fifteen minutes from that abandoned airport. A lot of good that did if I couldn’t get any rest.
I sighed, rifling through my nightmare—a table in an empty room and the lettersEandM. Sam and I had been connected through one of my dreams before, so I believed he had to be giving me a sign. I puffed out my cheeks. I didn’t have much to go on.
A ray of light wormed through the crack where two curtain panels met in the middle. Thedrip, drip, dripof the bathroom faucet played a soft tune.
I checked the clock on the nightstand. One damn thirty in the morning. I’d only fallen asleep two hours ago. After a rough day at the airport, I had a feeling I wouldn’t be able to sleep until we found Sam. I laughed, my voice echoing in the room.Rough day. Ha.I would bet hell had to be a cakewalk compared to the day I had.
I quivered at the remembrance of plummeting to earth. A shaky laugh erupted. I was a complete idiot but grateful fate was on my side. Now I just needed a sign, a clue of Sam’s whereabouts.
I swung my legs over the edge of the bed, dragging a hand over my carotid artery, checking again. I could almost feel Sam’s fangs in me.
My phone rang, and I flinched before a dose of excitement stirred. Maybe Jo or Steven had news on Sam. I fumbled to snag my cell from the nightstand. Jordyn’s name brightened the screen.
My voice was raw and rough as I answered. “Hey, sis.”
“Sorry to wake you,” she said. “This is the first chance I’ve had to do anything, and I wanted to catch you before things got busy again.”
“I was awake. Steven tells me you’re helping Sawyer and his tech team.” On the way to the hotel when I tried to call Jordyn and she hadn’t answered, Steven informed me that she was on the naval base, working alongside Sawyer.
“Yeah, so talk to me. I’m so sorry about Sam. We’re busting our butts to find something that will lead us to him.” She yawned. “Sorry, I haven’t slept.”
“Did anyone fill you in on any of the details?” I’d asked Steven not to share the part about me falling out of the sky or Ray’s death with Jordyn. I wanted to be the one to tell her. I wanted her to hear my voice and know I was okay.
“Just that it was chaos and Uncle Ray betrayed Jack, which I can’t say I’m surprised about. Why? Did something else happen? Is the baby okay?”
I didn’t even know where to begin or how to tell her I was responsible for our uncle’s death. I cleared the emotions lodged in my throat. “The baby is fine, as far as I know.” I was still craving blood, so to me that seemed like a good sign. “Uncle Ray is dead.” I held my breath.
The sound of her shriek blared through the phone. “What the fuck! How?”
I bit my bottom lip. “I think I’m partly responsible. But everything happened so fast. The more I think through things, the fuzzier they get, but Uncle Ray grabbed me when I ran toward Sam, and I screamed at the top of my lungs. Uncle Ray collapsed, and blood oozed out of his ears. Not long after that, he was dead. I’m so going to hell.” Guilt encased my heart as Ray’s dead body flashed before me.
A viscous silence stretched over the line.
I dug my fingers into my chest, hoping my heart would stop jackhammering against my ribs.
“Sis.” The softness of her tone helped to slow my pulse slightly. “Can a scream cause someone to die? I understand we’re dealing with the supernatural here, but you’re far from acquiring powerful abilities. Sure, you probably have some since you drink Sam’s blood, but nothing that would kill a person.”
“I’ve been trying to rationalize the correlation between my scream and Ray’s death, but nothing is jiving. You’re right, though. I have minor abilities from Sam. But we also can’t discount Mom’s family. Jo told me that females with the Vel-negative blood type come from a line of witches.”
She snorted. “For real?” Her giggle sounded a little wild. “What else will we learn about our mysterious mother?”
