“Ahh… we’re awake,” the rogue whispered in a guttural sneer. The same voice she’d heard on the platform for a brief second after the rag had been placed over her face. “Now, here’s what’s going to happen, Kristina.” The voice was so low it was hard to recognize. She wasn’t sure if maybe it was because the rogue knew Kris would be able to identify the voice or if Derrick was close enough to hear. “Listen very carefully because I don’t like repeating myself.”
Kris nodded, since she couldn’t speak or scream anyway with the tape over her mouth.
“I’m going to take the hood and tape off, but if you as much as utter a word, I’ll kill Derrick. Do you understand?”
She nodded again.
“I don’t want to kill, Derrick. I just want him to go away and you are the key. Derrick will do anything for you.” The rogue turned her, and the sound of a switchblade snapping open caused her to jump. But then she heard the knife break through the tie around her neck, and felt the sack release from over her head, but she still couldn’t see, so obviously she had a blindfold over her eyes as well. A few seconds later, the tape she’d been gnawing on was ripped from her face, leaving a stinging sensation behind.
“Walk forward,” the rogue commanded, and Kris obeyed, as if she had any choice in the matter. “Remember, not a peep.”
Kris gulped, wondering if Derrick was nearby, wanting to scream with all her might, but if she caused his death knowingly, she could never live with herself. A few seconds later, her hands were free, but then the rogue pulled them up over her head, cinching them together with another zip tie. Well, at least that was something, she reasoned. At least they didn’t feel as if they would snap behind her back. Now they just ached from the position they’d been in for God knows how long.
“Move.” The rogue’s hand nudged her forward. “Careful, though, not too fast. I don’t want you to fall.”
The concrete disappeared below Kris, and she gasped at the pain now in her shoulders as all her weight suspended from just the tie around her wrist. Her legs dangled below her, scrambling to find purchase with anything to release the pain of the plastic digging into her skin.
“Lift your right leg. There’s a ledge just above your foot,” the rogue commanded.
Kris did as instructed, feeling the rope remain taut as she inched herself onto the ledge. Only the tips of her toes connected, even as she pushed her foot directly against the wall.
“Now, feel to the right with your hands as I direct you,” the whispered words continued, tugging the rope to her right until her hand hit another ledge. “You better do it quickly before I cut the rope.”
Kris grappled for the ledge, finding the cold ledge as it scraped the tips of her fingers.
“I’m just kidding.” A cackle came from above her. “I’m not cutting the rope yet. Now, I need you to count to one hundred and then scream for Derrick.”
“But you said…”
“And I meant it, and you’ve done well. But now if you don’t call for him, I’ll just have to kill him. If you do as you’re told, however, you can both leave and live happily ever after. Remember the rules, Kristina. Don’t call for him until you count to one hundred, so I can be on my way.”
Something didn’t make sense. Why would she have to count to one hundred? She was in a no-win situation, she realized. If she didn’t call, Derrick would die. If she did call, Derrick would probably die. But… at least if she called, they both stood a chance. Derrick was the most powerful, but she doubted the rogue wanted a fight. But why one hundred. To be prepared?
With no other choice but to trust that Derrick would save them both, Kris started to count, quickly, hoping she wouldn’t fall from the ledge. Her hands were still bound and secured by the rope, but she wouldn’t be able to climb the wall. It wasn’t like rappelling down, which was easy. She couldn’t walk up a wall. Or at least she didn’t think she could. She continued to rattle off the numbers as she thought of any solution.
As soon as she hit one hundred, she screamed as loudly as she could, “Derrick!”
Chapter Forty
Michael glanced at his phone as it lit up. He looked at the map and smiled. Time to go. When he’d spotted his vehicle earlier, he put a GPS tracker on it, so he’d know when he was leaving. He’d left messages for everyone to meet him later tonight, so they wouldn’t wonder why he was dressed for watching. He’d decided the only way was to make it look like a creatus attack. That way no one would question his decision to take him out. He hated doing it, but he didn’t have a choice. It was him or the entire family, and he simply couldn’t allow anything to interfere with everything he’d put in place in the last few years. He’d strategically placed creatus everywhere to protect them if the time came. And he wasn’t bound to let one person within his reach ruin everything.
“Rebecca, I hate to drink and run, but something just came up. We’ll do this again soon.” He bounded up from his chair, grabbed his leather jacket off the backrest, and headed for the door. “By the way, if Victoria, Jonas, or Ry show up, tell them I’ll call them in a little bit.”
“But you just got here,” she called after him.
He turned and ambled back to her, leaning over the chair and planting a kiss on her lips. A test. She threw her head back, accepting him. He pulled himself upright after a moment and peered down at her, enjoying the starry-eyed gaze she shot him. Yep, he still had it, even with a creatus woman, and they weren’t as easy to seduce as humans were. “I’ll see you later, okay?”
She didn’t question him again, so he walked off.
Nope. She wasn’t his type. The kiss had confirmed that, but it’d still been fun to see her melt beneath his lips.
He waited for him to show, and when he did, he came up behind him, surprising him.
Vic heard the scream and ran. When she saw him, she bounded up behind him latching her arm beneath his neck, attempting to cut off blood flow to his brain. It was hard to gain purchase with her leather jacket on, and within seconds, he’d freed himself. She heard a grunt behind her, but refused to take her eyes off her target, knowing he could kill her easily. She flipped around and landed a roundhouse kick to his head and watched as he dropped to the ground. Before he could stand up, she landed another. This time, he grabbed her leg, dropping her to the ground. All the creatus had been trained by the same person, so they all had learned the same moves, which was good—and bad. She knew what to expect, but so did he. The only difference was that she was faster and lither, even if he was stronger.
She’d trained hard for this moment, though. She’d been wrestling creatus men for years, and she had flexibility on her side. Rarely could they pin her. She was back on her feet faster than he could grab her. He reached for her, but she ducked and landed a solid punch to his kidneys, sending him to his knees.
And then she heard the crack.
Derrick heard the scream as clear as if she’d been in his apartment. From the roof? Kristina was on his roof? Clearly it was a set up, he knew, but he had to go.
He charged out of his apartment and darted toward the stairwell. He was on the rooftop of his condominium within seconds, her voice clearer as she called his name. Derrick ran toward her voice, but only saw a thin rope tied to one of the roof vents. “Kristina!”
“Derrick,” her voice rang out in relief. “He’s waiting, Derrick! It’s a trap, I’m sure.”
He peered over the side and she gazed up at him, even though she was blindfolded and couldn’t see him. Thank God she was—An arm latched around his neck, pulling him backward. Derrick tore at the leather jacket. The attacker had trouble gaining purchase as Derrick pulled his chin down in response to the threat. Derrick freed himself and prepared for battle with the rogue. He was dressed as a watcher of course, full black leather and ski mask.