Page 9 of The Rebirth
He confirmed what I had originally thought. “If he was your prisoner, how did he get computer access?”
“We had someone in our ranks who believed Matthew would pay him a hefty sum in exchange for help,” Adam said.
“That person’s head is no longer attached to his body,” Roman bragged.
One thing I could count on with Roman was he liked to play games, but he also liked to gloat.
“Where are Ross and Tucker?” I asked.
Adam and Roman exchanged satisfied looks before Roman said, “You should be worried about yourself and your family, including my beloved Abbey. I didn’t know she could be the first female vampire to procreate. Color me shocked when Matthew told me that. I’ve always wanted kids, Mason. And now Abbey is my number one target.”
He was goading me into reacting in some way. But my hands were tied, and I needed to reserve my energy to think of a way out before Adam chopped off more heads, especially my wife’s or those of my team.
“No response?” Roman asked.
I stared at him with a blank look. “Do you want one?”
“I like your threats,” he said. “They don’t mean anything to me. But I do like to rile you up.”
I laughed, and only because he was right. He knew how to light my anger on fire. “You know very well that Abbey is out of your reach, and it’s not me you have to contend with but my sister and brother-in-law.”
I considered myself to be a great fighter, but Abbey’s dad, Webb London, could be much more lethal than me. Jo could as well.
Roman studied me intently. “Who says I don’t have her already?”
A cold chill clawed its way down my spine, giving me the feeling that he wasn’t lying. “Bullshit.” Although he could be telling the truth. I hadn’t had time to think about Abbey. After all, my children were my number one priority, especially in light of Patricia’s threat—“We already have people heading to retrieve your two daughters.”
A phone ringing broke the iceberg-thick tension.
Adam dug in his pants pocket and removed his cell. “Maybe this is your father now. Hello,” he said, answering the call.
I sharpened my vamp hearing and listened. The man on the other end wasn’t my dad, and I didn’t recognize his voice either.
Adam walked away, shoulders hunched upward as he gripped the phone tightly.
Roman came closer until he was an inch from me. “Odd that I can stand here without anything between us except an invisible wall. I want to rip out your fangs.”
“That’s all?” I volleyed back. “Take down the wall and give it your best shot.”
“Roman,” Adam said firmly. “We’ve got company.”
Roman pressed his nose against the invisible wall.
I threw a punch that did nothing to hurt him.
His laughter was maddening. “By the time I return, Layla should be awake and ready for round two. And I can’t wait for you to watch.” He pivoted on his heel.
“You’re a dead man,” I called out.
He held his middle finger high in the air as he and Adam left.
Once I was alone, I punched the cage until my bones broke.
4
SAM
It was approaching the witching hour. That time of night when supernatural beings were at their most powerful. I had to laugh because I certainly didn’t have any of my abilities. I was dead in the water—imprisoned behind a fucking invisible barricade that separated Layla and me.
