I held in my gasp when I saw the blood smeared on her face.
My eyes darted to the person in her lap, realizing she’d been feeding on them.
Jasmine chuckled. “Riley, I’m certain Liam will be angry if you get blood on his furniture. Do be careful.”
“Riley, take your toy and leave,” a man said from the top of the spiral staircase.
The red-haired vampire smiled at me then shoved the unconscious, or maybe even dead, man to the floor. She picked up his leg and dragged him down the marble hallway and disappeared.
A door slammed.
Holy shit. My stomach churned and I wanted to run as fast as I could for the elevator, but it wouldn’t do me any good. I had a Lilac with webs shooting from her fingers and a condo full of vampires.
“Jasmine. Rayne.” The man strolled down the stairs, walked over to us, and kissed Jasmine on each cheek. Then he nodded to me. “I’m Liam.”
I glared and didn’t say anything. He laughed then turned back to Jasmine. “Everything go smoothly?” He briefly glanced at the wound on my shoulder.
“We had a mild hiccup at Keir’s house and had to track her. Roarke was with her.”
A vampire approached with three glasses of wine. He passed one to Liam and Jasmine and then waited for me to take the other one.
I didn’t.
“Take it,” Liam ordered.
I hesitated and his grin slipped away and I was met with an icy stare. I met it back, but when I saw his fangs and heard his subtle hiss, I took the wine.
“Let’s toast—to blood kin.” Liam raised his glass, as did Jasmine. “Family and those we love. That’s why we’re all here, isn’t it?”
I refused to lift my glass.
He took a sip then lowered his goblet and shifted to look at me. I had the urge to back away, but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. His head tilted slightly and his brows furrowed. “You love him.” It was not a question.
Bastard had read my thoughts. “Does it matter?” My grip tightened on the glass and it shattered, red wine mixed with shards falling to the marble floor.
Liam snapped his fingers and a minion ran out of the room and into the kitchen. “It matters because he will come for you.”
Jasmine walked over to the fireplace and set her glass on the mantel. “It is highly unlikely he will survive.”
“You don’t know Kilter,” I retorted.
She raised her brows. “Mmm, true. He was rather determined to live.” Her finger casually swept across the mantel as if checking for dust. “But determination will get him killed.”
“Bitch!” I swung at her, but just before my fist made contact with her jaw, someone pulled me back, wrenching my arms behind my back. “You go after him, I will never give you anything you want. Never.”
Jasmine laughed, the deep, throaty sound like a harp playing in a windstorm. She threw the rest of her wine into the fire and the flames burst into an inferno for seconds, then calmed again.
“Oh, you’re mistaken, dearest Rayne. I don’t want anything from you.” She looked at Liam. “Set up the meeting. Tell him to bring your Abby, and then we shall see what Waleron will do when he learns the truth.”
“He won’t negotiate,” Liam said.
Jasmine smiled. “He will in exchange for Rayne.” She ran a finger across her lower lip, tracing it as if she were applying lipstick. “Once we both have what we want, we go our separate ways.”
Liam nodded. “Of course.”
Jasmine strolled to the elevator, pressed the button, and turned to peer over her shoulder as the doors opened. “Don’t torture the poor girl too much, Liam. She’s like a daughter to me.” She winked at me then laughed as the doors slid closed behind her.
ANSTICE WALKED OUT OF Kilter’s bedroom and everyone stood, if they weren’t already. Jedrik continued to smash the balls around on the pool table without a cue or using his hands, instead using his mind.
“How is he?” Keir asked as he approached her. He snaked his arm around her waist and she sagged into him.
“Unconscious still. I’ve healed his wounds, but he lost a large amount of blood.” I watched as Anstice put her palm on Keir’s chest and bit her lip. “I saw what happened. I saw what she did.” She glanced at each of us then said, “Rayne gave herself up in exchange for his life.”
Shit. Kilter was going to be a loose cannon when he woke.
Anstice continued, “I felt his anguish. God, I heard him beg her. He begged her. After losing Gemma and her betrayal… this will put him over the edge.”
“Gemma was a treacherous bitch and we searched the goddamn world for him. He knows that now,” Tye said.
“We don’t leave a Scar behind¸” Keir said.
He was right, we’d never leave a Scar in the hands of our enemies. Rayne was one of us now.
Keir whispered something to Anstice and she nodded then made her way upstairs. Then he looked at Balen. “We need Danni’s telepathy. She may be able to reach her,” Keir said then chin-lifted to his brother. “Hack, get on your computer and check the city’s security cameras. We need to know where the Lilac took her.”
“Already done,” Hack said. Keir’s brows lifted as he nodded his head with respect. “I followed them to Liam’s penthouse.”
Shit. That was good and bad. I could get into Liam’s place, the security guys knew me. But there’d be no way to get Rayne out of the penthouse without a keycard. “I’ll go,” I said, pushing away from the wall. “I can find out what he’s up to.”