Page 44 of The Nephilim's Finesse

I called Nate and Azariel to get all the information they had, which wasn't much. Charlie and Andrew were taken in front of Charlie’s apartment, and their phones were dead. Azariel thought that the vampires were behind this to get to us Nephilim. We agreed that I'd be late for the meeting; I'd interrogate Victorija first. Hopefully, she could help us, if she wanted or not.

During my drive to where we held her, my mind raced. I was so stupid, my heart getting the better of me. She was our enemy, not my lover. How could I become so slack? She’d manipulated my mind over the last few weeks. Her hot-as-hell body and her curiosity fogged my mind, but that was over now. She was my enemy. Because of my incapacity, the mates of two of my best friends were taken. I had wasted my questions getting to know her better, to understand her. Instead, I should have asked all Puriel's questions, written down the answers, and been done with it. But no, she had me in her web, made me weak. Not anymore.

I had no doubt that vampires were behind this kidnapping. Who else? We were at peace with the fae and witches; lower demons were too stupid to pull something like this on their own, and if a high demon was residing on Earth, we'd know it.

I stormed through the door into her room. Victorija's smile changed into confusion the second she saw my face. My heart pounded in my chest; my blood boiled in my veins as I saw her standing there. Two people I cared about were in danger because of her; I was sure of it. I stripped off my t-shirt and my trousers while walking into the room.

“What are you doing?” Victorija frowned and stepped back, her green eyes unsure.

“I need answers.” I fixed her with my gaze while walking towards her. Gripping her arms, I pulled her to me and kissed her hard. But instead of complying, she pressed her hands against my chest with all her might, separating us.

“No, not like this. Ask me.”

“I haven’t paid yet,” I growled.

Holding her hands in front of her, she shook her head. “No, not like that.” She sighed. “I won’t sleep with you when you are so angry at me. I came so often yesterday. Count that or pay later; I don’t care. But tell me what’s wrong.” Her eyes darted back and forth, and her brow furrowed in concern. She bit her lip nervously as she scanned my face, her body tense with worry.

Very well, that suited me fine. I didn’t know if I could have focused on bringing her to several orgasms. A million questions spun in my mind, and I hadn't even one answer. “I need answers, fast.” I cleared my throat. “Where are the captives?”

She frowned. “You have to give me more if you want to have an adequate answer.”

Victorija was right. I took a deep breath to calm myself. She came up to me and lay a hand on my arm. “What happened?” Her compassion seemed genuine.

“The human mates of two Nephilim were taken. We need to find them. Where would the vampires hold them?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know.”

After a look into my eyes, she stepped back. “We have about ten houses all around London. They could be there. They could be in a warehouse that I don’t know of.”

I exhaled sharply, my nostrils flaring as anger surged through me. I tapped my foot anxiously, my eyes glued to her face. Instead of waiting for the information I required, my mind raced with all the things I could be doing, and I shifted my weight from one foot to the other. Nothing seemed to ease the restlessness that was building inside of me. I just needed her to talk. “Where most likely?”

“I. Don’t. Know.” She threw her hands in the air. “I've been here for two months?” I nodded shortly. “I don’t know who is in charge. Depending on this, I could assume, but I know nothing. They could be anywhere.”

That didn’t help us. We had to send people to all the houses to check for the siblings. But we couldn’t be sure, even if we saw some vampires in one of the accommodations. I let out a frustrated sigh.

Victorija's green eyes filled with desperation. She furrowed her brow and stared off into the distance, lost in thought. Her fingers rapidly beat her leg as she considered the options. Her eyes narrowing, she suggested tentatively, “You could let me go." She nodded to herself, determined. "I'd take my leadership back and release them immediately.”

My jaw clenched as I stood firm. “You know that I can’t do that.” I stood resolute, my expression stern as I shook my head.

She scoffed loudly, her mouth curled into a sneer. “Why, for God’s sake? Why are you still holding me here?” She leant forward, her shoulders tense and her fists clenched at her sides. Her eyes narrowed as she glared at me, her posture becoming increasingly aggressive. She took short, quick breaths while the scowl on her face intensified. It was clear that she was ready to fight, and nothing was going to stop her.

I held her eyes as I stayed quiet. Silence stretched between us as we both knew the answer anyway. My shoulders sagged as I shifted on my feet, unable to say that I didn't want to let her go, that I wanted her here, that I wanted her to stay. That I wanted her to choose to stay with me.

Seeing that there was no way to get out, her eyes filled with hurt and hate. “Why do you care for humans, anyway?” She spat bitterly, moisture forming in her eyes.

Her words hit me like daggers of ice, yet beneath the anger, I heard her pleading question: why was I willing to go to such lengths to help these people when I had done nothing for her? Why wouldn't I let her go, but do everything to free those people? A wave of anger and shame washed over me as I realised what a hypocrite I was.

“You were once human,” I said calmly. A heavy silence descended upon us before she finally uttered, “And what good did it do me?”

Another flashback hit her. I didn’t have time for this. Putting my guilt behind me, I gathered myself up and slipped out of the door. I needed to get to the meeting. My mind turned to what would help my friends, planning to address my own issues with her later.

13 Victorija

I had been pacing the room for what seemed like an eternity, my mind racing back and forth between possibilities. I had no way of knowing what was happening, but I was certain of one thing: it wasn't good. The time ticked away slowly, each passing second dragging on for longer than the one before. I tried to distract myself with books and the telly, re-watching the period drama, but nothing seemed to work. I was nervous. A bad feeling had come over me for the last few hours, as if something terrible had happened.

Finally, Raph entered my room. If he had been angry this morning, he was furious now. The room felt like it was on fire as I watched him storm towards me. His fists were balled up, the muscles in his neck taut. Raph's eyes were burning with fury as he stopped and fixed them on me, his mouth a tight line. His jaw clenched tight as he loomed over me.

“Did you find the humans?” My stomach dropped at the thought that he’d blame me if something had happened to them. It didn't matter that I was in here and had no influence. I’d had my share of angry men who accused me of things I had no hand in, and I was wary.

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