The Mary Sue Virus: Beyond Death
Jul. 28th, 2018 09:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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marysuevirusTitle: The Mary Sue Virus: Beyond Death
Chapter Sixty Eight: Torture
Fandom: Anita Blake universe
Rating: 18 and up
Warnings: graphic sex and violence, language, anything else i can toss in.
Disclaimer: the recognizable characters and places contained herein are the property of LKH. i'm merely borrowing for the sake of entertainment. no money is being made from this venture. the Sues are the sole property of their originators, Ginevra, Dazzledfirestar, Nanaea, SilverFoxChan and ladydeathfaerie. the concept and title of The Mary Sue Virus are used with permission from Dazzledfirestar.
Author's Notes: oh, look. its more of that plot i've had sitting around for ages, just waiting for a chance to step out
The Mary Sue Virus: Beyond Death - Index Link
The interior of the diner was visible from the car and he'd been watching it for some time now. Waiting. Growing ever more impatient as the moments ticked by. He frowned and glanced at the numbers illuminated on the vehicle's dash board. Half past the hour. She was supposed to have been there fifteen minutes ago. He didn't like that she was late. It took but a moment to fish his cell phone from his pocket and he thumbed a couple of buttons that saw the call ringing through on the other end.
The other line rang three times before it was answered by a very professional sounding voice. "Animators, Inc. This is Craig. How may I help you?"
"Aedan Kinkade, please," he replied.
"I'm sorry, sir. Miss Kinkade is out of the office. May I take a message?"
He frowned at that. "When did Miss Kinkade leave?"
There was a moment of silence, then the voice replied. "Nearly half an hour ago, sir. Is there a message?"
"No. No message. Thank you," he returned, then hung up the phone. His frown deepened. Another couple of button pushes saw the other end ringing again. He waited, hoping the call would be picked up. And watched as several heads in the diner turned toward one of the tables that was out of view. He muttered a curse and hung the phone up. He didn't like that one bit. Instinct told him something was wrong.
Asher cast his gaze around the parking lot, looking for something that would tell him what was going on. Anything at all. At the far end, hidden behind a large SUV in black, was Aedan's Jeep. He hadn't seen it when they'd pulled into the lot. And he hadn't seen it pull in after they'd arrived. Which meant she'd gotten there before he had. Had gone inside to wait for him. Muttering a curse under his breath, he opened his door and stepped out into the cool night air.
The air was brisk, slightly chilled, as he started across the lot. It was filled with the muffled sound of traffic zipping along the road. There was a highway just a block over, the diner a small, out of the way place that had seemed a good place to meet. Now... Perhaps he'd made a mistake suggesting the eatery. He was almost to Aedan's Jeep when he noticed the cracked windshield on the SUV. Senses on high alert, he approached the vehicle slowly. And stopped before he even got close. He could smell blood on the air, along with a faint whiff of gun powder. And death. Fresh death. Thoughts raced through his head, none of them good, leaving him momentarily frozen.
It took him a moment to shove the confusion of thoughts aside. He reached for the handle on the SUV's driver side door. Pulled it. The door swung open to show a pair of rats slumped against their seat belts. The pair of rats that had been assigned as Aedan's guards for the night. Even from where he stood, he could see the holes in their foreheads. Could see the slick, glistening stain that ran down their torsos to pool in their laps. His frown grew and he turned for the diner. Something was very wrong here.
His pace quickened as he walked to the door. Despite the dead rats, he hoped beyond hope that Aedan was safe inside the diner. Hoped that he wasn't going to have to call Jean Claude and tell his friend that his human servant had gone missing.
The interior of the diner had a feeling of age to it. As if it had stopped trying to impress at some point and had simply settled into a slow, painful decay. About half the tables were occupied, filled with young people chatting with one another or staring down at the bright screens of their electronic devices. The rest of the tables awaited customers. One in the back, set in the corner with two walls surrounding it, had a bag resting on top of it. Asher could see that the bag was Aedan's. Next to it, on the worn surface of the table, was her phone.
He was on his way toward that table when a waitress came out of the back and offered him a smile. "Good evening, hon. Can I help you?" she asked cheerfully.
"The woman who was sitting here. Where is she?" Asher asked, not bothering to moderate his tone. Anger and fear lined his words, making the woman's smile falter when she looked at the table he indicated with his hand.
She stared at it a moment, then shook her head and frowned. "She was here not that long ago. She ordered a water and said she was waiting on a friend." The woman stopped and shifted her attention to one of the other tables. "Tommy, did you see what happened to the nice young lady sitting at six?" she asked the man sitting there.
The one called Tommy looked up from his tablet, focused on the waitress for a moment before cutting his glance the indicated table's way. Then he frowned and shook his head. "Sorry, Bev. I was involved in my show. I didn't see anything. I thought I heard the door a couple times, though." he offered, his tone suggesting he really did feel bad that he'd apparently missed something.
The woman, Bev, gave Asher a faintly apologetic look. "Maybe she got up and went to the bathroom?" Her tone when she suggested it said that Bev didn't honestly believe it. But she was trying to offer hope. Asher took a moment and let his senses stretch, picking up each and every heartbeat in the place. He knew Aedan's by memory, knew the cadence of it as if it was a favorite melody. And it was not there. That must have shown on his face. "Do you want me to call the police, hon? We have a couple regulars who come in. I can get them here in less than ten minutes."
"No. Thank you. I will handle it," Asher assured her. She nodded and wandered off to one of the tables, leaving him standing near the table with fear running through his veins. He tugged his phone from his coat pocket and once more tapped a couple of buttons.
"Asher? What has you calling me this evening, mon chardonneret?" Jean Claude asked only a moment later.
"Have you seen or spoken with Aedan recently?" he asked. And immediately felt the change in the other man's attention. Even across the distance and the phone, he could sense the sudden increase of tension from his longtime friend and lover.
"Why do I get the feeling that I will not like the direction this call takes?" There was deep emotion in Jean Claude's voice.
"I arranged a dinner meeting with her," Asher told him, not bothering with the rhetorical question. "I arrived at the designated meeting place some fifteen minutes ago and waited. Aedan never showed up. A closer look at the parking lot told me that she'd gotten here before I had. Her Jeep is parked in the far corner of the lot. Naturally, I went to investigate. There is a black SUV next to her Jeep, Jean Claude. The bodies of her body guards are still inside. Still in their seat belts. Someone killed them with a single shot to the head."
"And Aedan?" Jean Claude questioned, voice empty.
"I found her bag and her phone inside the diner. But she is not here."
There was silence from the other end of the phone for several long moments. Then a soft sigh. Asher heard relief in it, though it was shot through with fear. "I can feel her. The link is weak. I believe she is drugged. But she is alive."
Relief washed through him at that bit of news. But it still left him wondering what the hell was going on. Who had taken her? He didn't think it was work of the Harlequin. They would have simply killed her. Perhaps Anita's killers were behind this latest turn of events. "What do we do?" he asked.
"Gather up her things and wait for me in the parking lot. I am already on my way to your location. For the time being, do not call anyone else. Until we know for certain what is happening, I have no wish to alarm anyone."
"Very good," Asher said and disconnected the call. He put it back into the pocket of his coat, then gathered up Aedan's possessions. He slipped her phone into her bag, picked the bag up, and headed outside. No one inside the diner tried to stop him, something for which he was grateful. He didn't want to have to explain to them how he knew her. Or that she'd apparently been taken. That would involve the police and Jean Claude wasn't ready to include the police. They still had no idea just who was behind Aedan's disappearance.
He returned to his car and climbed into the backseat to wait. And kicked himself for not being there earlier. For not being there to protect her. This was his fault. He was the one who had asked her to meet him, who had suggested the diner simply because it was out of the way and mostly unknown. It would afford them privacy, a chance to talk without the fear of being interrupted or overheard.
In the week since Aedan had offered herself to an insane demon summoner and technically died, the atmosphere in the lair below the Circus had been tense. And that was a polite word for it. Janika had stopped sleeping there, returning to her apartment without any warning. Asher knew it stemmed from her feelings of hurt and betrayal. Her feelings for Aedan ran deeper than she was willing to admit, and there was something chilling about watching a friend willingly die. He didn't think it was something Janika had ever had to face before. And anytime he tried to ask her about it or suggest she try to talk to Aedan, she merely shut him down with a look that said she wanted nothing to do with the other woman.
Some wounds had healed. Others were still gaping wide and oozing blood.
Asher hated to see Janika so lost. And she was lost, even if she pretended that she wasn't. Her anger did a fine job of hiding the rest of her emotional turmoil, but he peeked into her head from time to time. And, more often than not, Janika was trying to figure out why she'd let herself fall for someone who was reckless and ignorant. It had been that inner turmoil that had seen him seeking Aedan out. Had seen him asking her to meet so they could talk. The look she'd given him had suggested she knew exactly what he wanted to speak with her about. But she'd agreed to the meeting without any argument, had agreed to the small diner.
He did want to talk to her about her falling out with Janika and the others. In part. But he also wanted to talk to her about the secrets she'd been keeping from everyone. He was sure that it was those secrets that had seen her following the course of action she had. And he'd promised Janika, some time ago, that he'd try to find out what it was that Aedan kept hidden from everyone. He'd hoped, by meeting her someplace neutral and lacking in other members of the kiss, that she'd open up to him and tell him what he needed to know to help bridge the chasm between Aedan and Janika.
He'd been a fool to think that he'd be able to accomplish such a thing. And now, it looked as if his foolishness had put Aedan in further danger. He was never going to be able to live with himself if something happened to her. And he wouldn't be able to blame Jean Claude if the other man wanted nothing to do with him after this.
His heart froze in his chest with the idea that he could very possibly lose two people he held so very dear. He had to do whatever it took to make this right. No matter what that might be.
~*~*~*~*~
The parking lot was only partially filled with cars when he arrived. He could see Aedan's Jeep in the corner of the lot, away from lights. The black SUV parked next to it sat silent and still in the darkness. His enhanced vision allowed him to pick out the webbing of cracks in the windshield, the twin holes at the center of all that webbing. And the slumped figures behind the cracked glass. Asher's car was on the other end of the lot, the driver still in the front seat. The interior of the diner was bright with lights, several people crowding around tables, while a single waitress moved effortlessly between her patrons with a tray in hand and a smile on her face.
He emerged from the limo with the Wicked Truth at his heels. The door to Asher's car opened and he watched as the other vampire climbed from the vehicle. Though there was nothing to see on Asher's face, he could feel the anger and blame that radiated from the other man. The sadness that clouded his heart. "This is not your fault, mon chardonneret," Jean Claude told him softly.
"I am the one who wished to meet here," Asher replied, voice brittle and thin.
"To what end? Why here?" Jean Claude asked, turning to stare at the sagging diner skeptically.
"To talk to her. To see if I could discover the secrets she carries. To see if I could maybe mend the rift between her and Janika," the other man told him. His words were harsh. Filled with self-loathing.
"Have they spoken since the hospital?" Jean Claude asked softly. He turned toward the SUV, trusting that Asher would follow him. That trust was not misplaced. Asher trailed after him, his power stretching out around him as if searching for Aedan's presence.
"They have not. Any time I mention Aedan to her, Janika closes off from me. I am not sure there is anything to be done to bring the two of them back together."
"We will find her," Jean Claude assured him. They stopped before the SUV and looked it over, as if perhaps there was some clue on the exterior of the vehicle. The flash of headlights across the scene saw them turning to find that another SUV had pulled into the lot. It parked next to Jean Claude's limo, the engine cut, and the doors opened. Rafael climbed out of the back, along with Claudia and Bobby Lee. Several other rats followed them and spread out around the lot. Rafael headed in their direction.
Jean Claude worried for a moment that they were going to attract attention. But he noticed a pair of rats entering the diner, which made him think that Rafael was doing his best to keep that from happening. Rafael stopped before him, eyes taking in the state of the SUV and the corpses of his rats inside. "Do we know who's responsible?" he asked without preamble.
"Not as of yet," Jean Claude replied. A gesture from Rafael saw Bobby Lee studying the SUV intently.
"High powered shot. Probably from a rifle. Can't be sure without getting a closer look, but I'm willing to bet that the shot came from that direction," Bobby Lee said, one hand pointing back toward the other side of the lot. Which suggested that the rats in the SUV had been killed from the front.
"Can you figure out where the sniper was located?" Rafael asked him.
"There are no exit holes on the back of the SUV," Claudia reported, coming around the side from the back end. Bobby Lee turned and studied the far side of the lot.
"Let me scout. I'll see what I can find and report back with anything," he told them, then headed off toward the line of trees on the edge of the parking lot. Claudia was on the phone, speaking to someone about bringing out a wrecker and a panel van. No doubt to remove the bodies and the SUV before anyone got too curious.
"Do we know anything at all?" Rafael asked. His power rippled around him, attesting to the level of anger he felt.
"Only that she was inside the diner alone," Asher told them. "She was waiting for me to arrive. I had no idea she was already here. I did not think to step inside and see if she had arrived."
"Why weren't my men inside with her?" Rafael asked. There was a spark of his anger in his voice.
"She likely ordered them to stay out here," Jean Claude told him, unwilling to have a clash of egos and tempers in the lot when it was possible for other people to take notice. "She will tolerate her guards so long as they do not get in her way. I have taken her to task for it more than once. But she insists that she can protect herself."
"I'm going to have to have a talk with her about that," Rafael muttered, his gaze sliding to the SUV and his dead people.
"You will have to get in line," Jean Claude said mildly.
"What's the next move?" Rafael questioned. Claudia joined them, her phone tucked away in her pocket. She looked as upset as Rafael. "Do we involve the police?"
"We have. In a way," Jean Claude replied.
"Death?" Rafael guessed.
Jean Claude nodded. "I have already called Edward. He is on his way to St. Louis as we speak. He expects to be here in only a few hours. I will do what I can to keep the local police out of it. As well as the federal authorities. With Edward here, if either group becomes aware of Aedan's disappearance, they should be appeased."
"How do we know this isn't the work of Anita's killers?" Rafael gave Jean Claude a look.
"I can feel her. I have no doubt, if it were Anita's killers, that they would have simply ended Aedan's life and walked away. I do not believe this is something they have done. I believe this is another threat. I simply do not know who it might be. Or why they would take her."
"Shooter was two streets away," Bobby Lee announced, breaking through the trees. He held up a plastic bag with dull metallic cylinders inside it. "They left a few shell casings behind. Not professionals. No professional killer would have left casings behind. They'd police their scene. Harder to trace a kill to them if there's no proof they were there."
"You are sure?" Jean Claude asked.
The rat nodded and showed him the casings. "These shells are the same kind that most snipers would use. It feels like someone was trying to make it look like a professional hit. I caught the scent of cologne and cigarette smoke. There was some oil on the ground. Whatever vehicle they were in, its got a slow leak. Not that it does us much good. But if I happen across the shooter, I'll know them."
"What are the odds that such a thing will happen?" Asher stared at the rat.
"Not good. Normally. However, I happen to have a few ins with some of the groups that would have information on a pro or semi-pro hitter being in town. They might be able to give me something. I'll make some calls. See what I can find out," Bobby Lee promised them. He was silent a moment, then reached out to lay a hand on Jean Claude's arm. "We'll find her. She's like a daughter. I'm not going to rest until we get her back, even if I have to turn the entire city upside down to do that."
"Our people should be here shortly. The sooner we get the bodies out of there, the better I'll feel," Claudia said, glancing at the diner. As yet, no one was standing with their faces pressed to the glass in the hopes of seeing something exciting. Whatever the rats inside had said and done, it was working. For now.
"If the need arises, we can ensure that the diners remember nothing," Jean Claude murmured softly. He was only half paying attention to the conversation, his mind already stretching out along the ethereal bond between himself and Aedan in an attempt to discern anything. All he got was that slow, sluggish, staticky sensation that generally meant drugs. He had to wonder why whoever had taken her had drugged her, doing his very best at not letting his mind run wild with possible reasons. Aedan? Can you hear me, ma mie? Please answer me. Tell me you are alright.
He thought he felt her try to answer. Something brushed against his mind, but it was too ephemeral to grasp. Gone to fast to catch. Maybe he could help push the drugs from her system. Maybe he could feed her his strength and energy and try to clear her head so she could answer him. So she could tell him where she was. Tell him what was going on. Slowly, gradually, he allowed energy to flow down their link, allowed some of his strength to fill her. And slowly, gradually, he felt her mind begin to clear.
~*~*~*~*~
"What do we do with the bitch now that we've got her?" a voice asked, low and thick and grating as rocks tumbling over one another in a land slide.
"We wait. Boss will call soon and tell us what he wants done. Until then, we have a beer. Watch a game. Consider what kind of fun we can have with her." The second voice was almost as gravely as the first one, though it was as if there was a touch of glass chewing up his throat when he spoke. She didn't recognize either one of the voices.
"Great. I hate it when I have to wait to get to work," the first one said. He sounded put out about having to wait. She was all for him having to wait. Because she could feel thick straps of leather pulling at her ankles and her wrists, keeping her from trying to sit up. Not that she was trying. She wasn't sure she wanted them to know that she was coming around.
Last thing she remembered, she was sitting at a table in a non-descript little diner in the middle of nowhere, waiting on Asher to arrive. Someone had walked past her and she'd felt... something. And that was it until just now. She couldn't even be sure she knew what had woken her.
"Aedan?" Jean Claude's voice echoed around her head, slightly distorted and far too loud for her comfort. She had to bite her tongue to stop herself from gasping aloud. She could feel him at the back of her mind, uneasy and concerned. "Answer me, ma mie. Please."
I'm here. Where ever here is.
"Then you do not know where you are?" There was disappointment in his voice as he asked that question.
No. I don't dare open my eyes. I'm afraid if I do, they'll start doing whatever it is they plan doing, she informed him, trying hard to keep her mind from pulling up all manner of gruesome images. The last thing Jean Claude needed to see was what she thought might happen to her.
"Can you at least tell who it is that has you?" he asked.
I don't know. I've never heard their voices before. But they're not vampires. Or lycanthropes. I don't feel any power coming off them. It was a curious thing, because she'd have expected her enemies to send their strongest and most powerful after her this time. Not a couple of regular humans.
"She's a nice piece of ass. Suppose the boss will let us have a little fun with her?" the first voice asked, breaking the silence that had fallen between her two captors. She felt a hand brush over the curve of her thigh and had to struggle to remain still and silent. At least her clothes were between her skin and his.
The meaty sound of a hand smacking flesh filled her ears. "Hands off. She's off limits. You know the rules."
"Rules were made to be broken," came the reply. There was a certain lack of care or concern about said rules that made Aedan's blood run cold. The last thing she wanted to put on her list of worries was whether or not she was going to have to fend off a rapist. Though that was going to be hard to do with her arms and legs strapped down as they were. She could only hope one of them made the mistake of loosing one of her wrists. She'd do her best to get in a good shot to the jaw. Or the dick. Depending on which body part was closest.
"I can feel your fear, Aedan. What is it?"
Nothing, Jean Claude. Nothing I can't handle. Don't worry about me. Just worry about finding me. She hoped that her tone conveyed the confidence she absolutely did not feel. She hoped that he wouldn't pry too hard. Because she was honestly afraid that she'd start crying if she had to tell him what was happening.
"We are already working on it. I swear that I will find you and bring you home. I just need you to do whatever you need to do to stay alive." She could hear his fear and it did nothing to calm her own.
I'll try. Just don't take too long. I already miss you, she admitted, voice a whisper. Her words saw him filling her with his pleasure and a touch of warmth that she so desperately needed.
"When you are home, we will spend the entire night in front of your television. We can watch whatever you like. Even that ridiculous animated film you like so much" It was as much a promise as it was a plea. He was telling her to come back to him. To stay alive and return to him.
A loud burst of hard rock music shattered the silence and pulled her away from Jean Claude. She realized that it was someone's ring tone when it quit and, a moment later, one of her captors spoke into the phone. "Yeah. We've got her. It was easy. She's drugged up and tied down. We're just waiting your orders."
Silence filled the room as the speaker paused to listen to whatever the person on the other end of the phone had to say. They must not have had much to say because it seemed that not more than half a minute had passed before her captor spoke again. "Got it. Make her spill it, no matter what it takes. You want anything else out of her?"
Another pause as the caller answered the man's question.
"I think we can manage that. There isn't a person we haven't broken yet. And this one looks like she'll cry if she breaks a nail. I'll call you back when we've got something. Shouldn't be too long." A couple seconds after his words trailed off, there was a loud clatter and Aedan realized that he'd tossed the phone down onto a hard surface. As if he didn't care if it broke or not. Probably a burner phone.
"What'd he say?" the first voice asked, eagerness heavy and thick in his words.
"Whatever it takes to get the information he's looking for," the second one replied.
"Really? Anything at all?" There was a pause, then a hand touched her leg again. "This is going to be fun."
I need to block you, Jean Claude. They're going to start doing whatever it is that I'm here for. I don't want you to be part of it.
"Do not shut me out, Aedan. I can help you with whatever they do." There was perhaps a touch of panic in his words, as if he was afraid he'd never hear from her again if she shut him out now.
This isn't your problem, Jean Claude. This is mine. Don't-- The words trailed off when a fist landed hard and heavy against her abdomen. All of her breath left her in a rush and she couldn't stop her eyes from flying open. From a series of coughs from rolling up her throat. She found she was in a very plain room, all bare wooden walls and lacking in furniture. Except for a wall of implements she knew were used for torture. And her two captors. One leered at her menacingly. The other leered lecherously.
"Nice of you to join us, whore," the menacer said.
"Really? You're going to call me whore without even getting to know me first?" Aedan coughed, trying hard to pull air into her lungs. She decided she was lucky that she'd healed up completely from the demon's talons before this happened or she'd really be up shit creek without a paddle. "How cliché."
"Shut up," Menacing ordered, the back of his hand smacking against her cheek. She felt her teeth mash against the inside of her cheek, tasted blood.
"Go fuck yourself," she retorted, taking the opportunity to spit a glob of blood and saliva into his face.
"Aedan! What is happening? Talk to me."
"Shut the fuck up, whore," Lecherous snapped at her. The next think she knew, something hard slammed down against her abdomen and stars exploded behind her eyes. She could hear Jean Claude nearly shouting in her head and between his presence and the pain radiating out from her belly, she felt like she was going to hurl. She struggled to close the link, to keep him from overwhelming her with his presence, and then concentrated on drawing air in and not blowing chunks.
She could only hope that she had the opportunity to slug both of them in the nuts.
~*~*~*~*~
Jean Claude staggered under the sudden force Aedan used to cut their link off. He hated that she could do that, because it kept him out of her head. Kept him from lingering and ensuring that she wasn't being beaten senseless. Or worse. Asher's hand on his arm kept him from losing his balance and he lifted his head to a group of curious stares. "Jean Claude?"
"Aedan shut me out," he said, taking care with trying to right himself. Her sudden disappearance left him off balance and even slightly dizzy. He'd gotten a taste of her fear and her pain just before she'd cut the link, could only wonder what it was her captors wanted with her. He hadn't liked the feelings she'd had about them, worried that they would do more than simply inflict pain. There were so many different ways to torture a person. "Whatever it is they want of her, they have already started inflicting pain."
"Could you see anything that would help us figure out where they took her?"
"No. She was in a room that was largely unfurnished," he replied. He didn't want to tell anyone about the instruments of pain that she'd glimpsed. Or that she was bound to a flat surface. He certainly didn't want to tell them that he worried about whether or not someone would try to assault her sexually. And if her little display was anything to go by, she was going to goad them into violence in short order. "I could see nothing that would help. And I do not recognize her captors at all."
Anything else he might have said was brought to a halt by the arrival of several more vehicles. There was a plain black panel van and a tow truck. Jean Claude watched as the van maneuvered into position near the SUV, then a door opened and several of the rats got out and headed for the other vehicle.
"What do we do? We can't just sit around and wait for some hint or clue to fall out of the sky," Rafael said. "I want to find the people who did this and make them pay for it." One hand indicated his two dead rats. The look on his face said that he planned on making their killer or killers pay for a very long time.
"You will take your people home and give them a proper burial. Mourn them. Asher and I will return to the Circus and await Edward's arrival. And we will, in the meantime. try to decide how to tell everyone else that Aedan has been taken," Jean Claude told Rafael.
"And you're certain they're not going to just kill her right away?" Claudia asked.
"I do not believe so. They want something from her. And they were told to use whatever means necessary to get that something. I think they will keep her alive. That will give us time to discover where she is being held," Jean Claude told them. "We can only hope that Aedan is able to withstand their abuse until we can find."
"She's tough, that one," Bobby Lee assured him. "I'm sure she'll hang on until we can get to her."
Silence fell suddenly as the newly arrived rats brought the first of their fallen comrades out of the SUV and carried him over to the van. Rafael, Claudia, and Bobby Lee watched with eyes that glittered with equal parts of rage and sorrow. When the first body was stowed carefully in the back of the van, the rats went back to the SUV for the second corpse. Rafael said something softly under his breath. While the words were foreign, Jean Claude recognized the cadence of them as that of a prayer. Rafael repeated it when the second body was stowed in the back of the van.
"We will find them, Rafael. And we will make them pay for what they have done here tonight," Jean Claude assured him.
Rafael nodded his head before turning and crossing to the car he'd arrived in. Bobby Lee and Claudia were at his heels. He stopped before climbing into his car and stared right at Jean Claude. "Keep me informed," he ordered, then got into the vehicle. The engine turned over, then the car was pulling out of the lot, close on the bumper of the van transporting the two dead rats.
"You are sure we will find her?" Asher asked softly, his gaze shifting toward Aedan's Jeep.
"We have to, Asher. We have to."
~*~*~*~*~
Jean Claude was waiting for him in one of the offices above the Circus when he arrived. And the vampire looked like he was worried. That was something Edward wasn't used to seeing on the man's face. Which made him wonder if he was too late in arriving. "What do you know?" he asked without preamble.
"She was taken at a diner, while waiting for Asher to show," Jean Claude told him.
"Where were her body guards?"
"Outside in their SUV," Jean Claude answered, then lifted a hand before he could even ask the next question. "They were found dead, Both of them had been shot once through the head with a high powered rifle from a distance."
"A hit," Edward said.
"It was made to look like a hit. But Bobby Lee does not believe it actually was a hit. He found shell casings a few streets over from the diner, discarded in a parking lot."
"Who would stage a hit?"
"We do not know. Bobby Lee is speaking with some of his contacts, attempting to find out if there is anyone in town who would have left evidence behind at a crime scene."
"And Aedan? Do we know anything about her kidnappers?" If Jean Claude disliked his all business attitude, it didn't show.
"We know they are after something that they believe she, specifically, can give them. We do not know what it is. We know that they have her in a very non-descript room that has a wall of equipment used for the business of torture. We know they drugged her and tied her down. We know that they have started whatever it is they do," Jean Claude told him, voice precise and matter of fact. Terribly controlled, as if it was all that kept him from falling apart. "We know that she has shut herself off from me and refuses to let me in to see what is happening and if I can help her."
He considered that. Aedan had always been a private person. It was possible that she simply didn't want Jean Claude to see her at what was likely going to be one of her worst times. Edward took a breath and rose from his seat. "She's probably doing it to protect you. We have no idea what her kidnappers plan on doing to her. Its possible she shut you out to keep you from having to suffer whatever she does. Show me this diner. I want to get a feel for the situation."
"Of course," Jean Claude nodded. He rose from his seat and motioned toward the door with one hand. Edward let him go first. It wasn't that he didn't trust the other man. He'd spent enough time around Jean Claude to know, as far as a vampire went, he was plenty trust worthy. But Edward had spent a lot of time around vampires and lycanthropes and worse and was smart enough to never leave one at his back. No matter who it was.
The Circus was filled with people, loud and boisterous and clustered together in groups, making it hard for them to make their way toward the door. Wicked and Truth were with them, one heading the line up while the other brought up the rear, and Edward couldn't help but think that one of them should have been with Aedan earlier. If they had...
He bit off a sigh and shook his head. There was no dwelling on what could have been. The only thing to do was find out who had taken Aedan. Where they'd taken her. And get her back. Whoever was responsible wasn't going to survive to regret the mistake they'd made. He would see to it that they paid for their crimes. Maybe he'd kill them fast. Maybe he'd kill them slow. That would depend on what kind of shape Aedan was in when he got her back.
And he was going to get her back. There was no if. No maybe. He was going to find her and he was going to bring her home. He'd meant what he'd said to Donna. He didn't think he'd be able to live with himself if anything happened to her. It had been bad enough to come to terms with Anita's death. Somehow, Aedan had become an important, permanent fixture in his life. Just like Anita had. He couldn't imagine not being able to make the girl's life hell. He absolutely was not going to lose another one. Not if he had anything to say about it.
They made it to the parking lot on the side of the building and climbed into Jean Claude's limo. The moment the door was shut, the car was in motion, sweeping them along through the darkness toward their destination. No one seemed bothered by the silence, the brothers giving the appearance of being stoic. Like statues. Edward had seen them move. He knew better. He knew that there were few vampires like the Wicked Truth and that their own kind feared them the way they feared little else.
Jean Claude had turned his head to look out the window. Edward didn't need to look at his face to know how he was feeling. There was a tell-tale tension in the man's shoulders. Imperceptible to anyone who didn't know him well. But Edward had spent far more time around the vampire than he should perhaps be comfortable with. Jean Claude was worried. More importantly, he was afraid. It wasn't something he was used to seeing from the vampire.
"When we get to the diner, I want you to wait in the car. I'm going to go in there and act in an official capacity and I'm not sure the employees will believe that with a vampire tagging along beside me. No matter the circumstances. No matter who that vampire happens to be," Edward told him. "If they have security cameras, I will ask to see their footage. And, if at all possible, I'll make a copy so that you can see it. And so that we can maybe have still images of the men who took her."
"Very good," Jean Claude agreed.
The rest of the ride was made in silence, Jean Claude staring out into the darkness as if it would offer him some nugget of hope. Wicked and Truth were almost like statues, but their eyes moved constantly, as if tracking any and all possible threats. Even those that didn't exist. Edward retreated into his thoughts, trying hard to put aside the ones that said they'd never find Aedan in time. He was pretty sure the last time his brain was so tied up in thoughts of what would happen to someone he cared about was when Peter and Becca had been taken. And that had been long enough ago that it seemed like another lifetime.
Caring about people was problematic. Troublesome. It made one vulnerable. A target. But he couldn't seem to stop caring about Aedan. It had been the same with Anita, much as he hadn't wanted it to go that route. Maybe because both women had never judged Edward for who and what he was. Maybe that was why he'd let them get close. Maybe because he'd always been lonely and it felt good to have someone around who got it. It was damned hard trying to explain to someone that his hobbies included killing things people thought didn't exist and washing the blood out of his jeans. Most people would look at you like you were cracked in the head if you told them that things like that were you favorite ways to pass the time.
What was he going to do if he was too late? If he wasn't fast enough. If Aedan let her mouth run away from her and she pushed one of her captors over the edge? She had problems with self-preservation. And she was prone to smart assed comments at the worst moments. It was practically a recipe for disaster.
How could he have not seen this coming? How could he have missed something like this? Wasn't it his job to know everything about the people in his life? How had he so thoroughly fucked that up? The problem was, he honestly couldn't figure out who would want to kidnap Aedan. Or for what purpose. He was relatively positive that her disappearance wasn't the work of the people who wanted her dead. They were the kind of assholes that would kill her and then leave her corpse on the lawn so everyone could see what they'd done.
No. This kidnapping had the taste of something else entirely. He just didn't know what that something was.
Jean Claude had mentioned that they knew her captors had wanted something specific from her. Maybe, if Edward could figure that part out, he could figure out who had grabbed her. Maybe he could track their cowardly asses down and make them suffer a slow, painful, bloody death. Maybe he could--
"We are here," Jean Claude's voice cut across his thoughts, pulling him away from a particularly satisfying image that involved Edward skinning a faceless person who had dared leave a bruise on Aedan's arm.
He glanced out the window of the limo and frowned. What the hell was Aedan doing meeting Asher here? The place was a dive. He was going to have to ask Asher some questions. Try and get to the bottom of their secret liaison. "Stay here. I'll be back in a bit."
He climbed from the back of the limo without waiting to find out if anyone had anything to say to that. The night air was filled with the smell of old grease and cigarette smoke. It was brisk and chill and it reminded him of another night, only a few days ago. Of a night a few months ago. Those two memories merged and became one, saw him curling a hand into a fist. The urge to punch something or someone was so strong, he had to force himself to uncurl his fingers and straighten them out.
The idle chatter that filled the interior of the diner cut out abruptly when he stepped through the door. Every eye in the place came to rest on him and he saw each gaze assess him. Ignoring them all, expression bland and cool, he headed toward the back of the diner, where a waitress was just emerging from the back room. She gave him a look and frowned. "Give me a minute. I've got to deliver these orders," she told him and hurried past. He watched her go, let his eyes wander around the interior of the diner while she made quick work of seeing that everyone had their orders. When she returned to his side, her tray was empty and her eyes were dark with worry. "Now. What can I do for you?"
"The name's Ted Forrester," he said, pulling his badge from an inner pocket of his coat. She stared at it, stared at the ID that accompanied it in the leather wallet, then lifted her gaze to his face.
"A Federal Marshal? Have we done something wrong?" she asked. He could hear the worry in her voice. Edward took a moment to put on a smile meant to reassure.
"No, ma'am. I'm here to look into the disappearance of one of your patrons. She was here earlier this evening. I believe someone came looking for her a few hours ago," he said.
Her face cleared in an instant. The worry faded, only to be replaced with concern and outrage. "Oh, yes. A nice young man came in and asked about her. She was sitting at that table," the woman said, one hand pointing to the corner table. Walls on two sides, so that she had her back to a solid surface. Just like he'd taught her. Edward felt a moment of pride, then let it fade away and nodded his head. "Sweet looking thing. Young. Dark red hair. She looked like of sad."
"That would be the one. Her name is Aedan Kinkade. She's actually a colleague," he told her. The woman's eyes widened.
"That girl is a Federal Marshal?" she asked.
"Yes, ma'am," he replied, then flicked his gaze to the camera in the corner. "Your cameras? Do they work or are they just for show?"
"They work. There were a few robberies a while back. The owner installed a security system after that happened," she explained.
"They running earlier when my friend was here?"
"They run twenty-four, seven," the woman confirmed.
"I don't supposed you'd let me have a look at them?" he asked, making it a request. She considered him a moment, then looked around the place. As if she expected her boss to jump out of a corner somewhere.
"Normally, I'm supposed to call the owner and get permission. But seeing as you and your friend are both feds, I'm going to just show you to the office so you can check out the playback. Maybe there's something on the tape that will help you find your friend," she told him.
"That's very kind of you, ma'am. I appreciate it," He offered her a smile to punctuate his words. She smiled back and started toward the back of the diner.
"Anything to help our law enforcement friends," she said, tone open and honest. Edward followed her down a narrow hallway, noting the door that led to the kitchen, the one that led to the unisex bathroom, the one that opened into a storage closet. The door to the office was at the end of the hall and she showed him into the cramped room. There was a bank of eight monitors, one for each of the security cameras, a safe, and a computer. "I have to go keep an eye on the front. Call for me if you need anything. Name's Bev."
"Thank you, Bev." Edward nodded at her and watched as she bustled out the door. When he was alone, he sat at the computer and found his way into the program that ran the security cameras. One of those cameras had an excellent view of the entrance and the path to Aedan's table. He zipped back to before she came in, then played the video and simply watched.
Aedan came in and stood in the doorway long enough to pick her table, then headed back to the corner. When she passed out of the camera's view, he found the next angle and watched as she took her seat. Her bag was dropped on the table top and her phone was laid on the table. The video showed Bev come over and drop a menu before her. There was a moment of conversation, the waitress no doubt asking Aedan if she wanted something to drink, then Bev wandered away and Aedan was left alone. Maybe five minutes passed when a big man stepped into view of the camera. His body language said that he was not there for a home cooked meal.
He adjusted the camera angle again, this time switching to the one over Aedan's table. It gave him a fairly good view of the stranger, though the angle cut some of the action. Edward watched as the big guy's hand came out of his pocket, then tapped against Aedan's arm briefly. He watched as she shifted, saw one hand come up to rub at her arm in the video, then she was looking up at the big guy. Seconds later, he was hauling her up out of her seat. Even at this angle, Edward could see she was putting up a mostly clumsy fight.
Another adjustment of camera angles showed him the big man half walking, half dragging Aedan to the door. He had one arm around her back to support her, the other had hold of one of her hands. The man pushed the door open with a foot and stepped out into the night with Aedan in tow.
Edward rewound it to before she came in once more, then slipped a jump drive from his pocket and plugged it into a USB port on the computer. It took a few keystrokes to copy the images onto the drive, then he was exiting out of the system, returning everything to the way it had been when he'd sat down. He was just pocketing the drive when Bev poked her head through the door. "Everything okay back here?"
"Yes, ma'am. I've got everything I need. Thank you for letting me have a look. I appreciate it," he told her sincerely.
Bev smiled and stepped further into the room. "Anything to help law enforcement. I hope it helps you find your colleague. I hate to think of anything happening to her," the woman told him.
"I'm going to do my best to figure out who they are and where they took her. Thank you again," Edward said as he started for the door. The woman said nothing more, simply followed him from the office. The people clustered at the tables barely took note of him when he stepped out of the hallway into the dining room. No one watched him go through the door and out into the night.
It was no wonder no one had seen anything.
Jean Claude was watching him when he pulled the car's door opened and climbed into the back of the limo. "Did you find anything?"
"I got a copy of their surveillance video. I'm going to send it to a buddy of mine. See if he can find me some ID on the man who grabbed Aedan," he told the other man.
"Do you think this man can help?"
"I think he's a better bet than the local police. Possibly even better than Bobby Lee's contacts. No one in the business is going to leave behind such a sloppy crime scene. Its practically an invitation for someone to find out who the sniper is and go looking for them," Edward told him, brutally honest. He didn't want Jean Claude to think that he was being anything other than professional. "I think the man who did the hit is an amateur. Not on any of the usual hitman registries. But it doesn't hurt to look and be thorough."
Jean Claude nodded absently.
"What was she doing at a place like this? Why was she meeting Asher here?"
"Asher was going to try and talk to her about a few things. The secrets she keeps. The rift that has grown between her and her friends," Jean Claude replied.
Edward said nothing, but he was pretty sure he knew exactly how that meeting would have gone. Aedan likely would have told Asher to go to hell and mind his own business. But that was a moot point now. He had to figure out how the kidnappers knew she was meeting Asher at that diner. And when. And then he had to figure out where they'd taken her. He was starting to think that this wasn't done by any of her enemies. This was something else.
He just had to figure out what.
~*~*~*~*~
"Where does the demon reside, bitch?" Lecherous asked, one hand curled around a length of steel pipe. She glared at him across the table, wishing for maybe the millionth time that she had her gun on her.
"You can suck my dick, fuckwad," she retorted. There was no way she was going to give him anything he wanted. It didn't matter that he'd been trying to shatter the bones in her foot for the past hour. It didn't matter that he was going to try it again here in a moment. "I'm not telling you shit."
"Rotten bitch," Lecherous snarled, then brought the pipe down in an arc until it slammed into the bottom of her foot. Fresh pain shot through her in white hot waves and it took everything in her to keep the walls in place. To keep from instinctively reaching for Jean Claude. She wasn't going to make anyone else suffer her pain with her.
"This is getting us nowhere," Menacing said, eyes flat and lifeless. Aedan watched as he headed over to what his accomplice had affectionately dubbed 'the toy wall' and removed a knife from its designated spot. "We're going to try a different approach. We're going to ask you a question. Every time you fail to answer it, I'm going to slice into your skin. Maybe I won't slice too deep. Maybe I will. We'll have to see. Regardless, you're going to be in a world of hurt if you don't start taking us seriously and answering our questions."
"What the fuck makes you think I'm going to give you anyone else?" she asked him, teeth clenched together as she rode out a small wave of pain.
"Because I can be very persuasive," he replied, holding the knife up so that she could see it.
"You don't scare me. I'm friends with a man who hunts things that would make you piss yourself. He's a lot scarier than you are," she informed him. "I'll say it again, and I'll say it slowly so that you are sure to understand me. I am not telling you a fucking thing. So go fuck yourself."
"Mouthy bitch," Menacing said. Of the two of them, he was the one she worried about most. He was the one who was most in control, who didn't lose his temper. He was the one who was going to be the bigger pain in her ass. Because he wasn't going to let anything derail him from his sworn duty.
"You guys really need to work on your vocabulary," she got out, managing a mocking smile. "All you've called me so far is bitch and whore? Are those the only words you know where women are concerned?"
"How about cunt? How do you feel about that one?" Lecherous asked. The grin on his face told her he thought she was being amusing.
She gave the appearance of considering it, though she'd known that was the next stop on the humiliation train. They had absolutely no imagination. It must have all been soaked up to feed their muscles. "Hmmm. Cunt. I mean, its an okay word. But its used so much. Men use it to describe women who refuse to give in to them. Which, let's be honest, tells you just how strong a cunt can really be. Men are weak ass cry babies next to women. Go suck shit through a straw."
"Mouthy whore," Menacing said softly. It was the only warning he gave. The next thing Aedan knew, a thin line of pain burst into being across the top of her thigh, feeding fire into her veins. It took her a moment to realize that Menacing had done exactly what he'd said he would do. He'd opened up her flesh with the blade of his knife.
"Keep it up, dickface," she warned him. Each word came out sharp and hard, edged with the pain rushing through her body. "That friend I was telling you about? He's going to find you. And when he does, he's going to make you eat that fucking knife. He knows more about torture than you'll ever hope to learn."
"No one's ever going to find us. Or you," Lecherous promised with a dark grin. "You're here for as long as it takes us to get what we want from you. Might as well lay back and enjoy the ride, baby."
"Does that line get you past the front gate?" she asked. "I imagine all the dogs in the pound are just positively overjoyed to see you outside their cages at night."
It didn't take Lecherous to get the implication behind her statement. When he did, his face turned red with his rage and the expression he wore darkened until she was sure he was going to commit murder. Good. Anger made people stupid. If she got one of them riled up enough, maybe she could use it to her advantage.
"You arrogant slut!" he growled at her, moving around the table until he was even with her waist.
"I'm hardly a slut," she countered.
"You lay with a demon. You're a slut and a whore," he retorted. If she could just get him a little closer
"Hey. Genius," she laughed. "Those two words mean the same goddamn thing. Maybe you should look into getting a thesaurus."
A fist lashed out and caught her in the jaw, snapping her head to the side and making stars explode behind her eyes. Aedan held on to her groan of pain and carefully turned her head so that she was looking at Lecherous again. He smirked down at her, apparently thinking he'd won that argument with his physical attack. Aedan smiled, then spat in his face. A shiny blob of spit, tinged bright red with her blood, slid down his cheek to drip off his chin.
"Go fuck your mother," she told him.
"Filthy demon servant," the man growled. He crowded close to the table they had her laid out on, until she could feel the denim of his jeans against her hand. She wasn't sure what he intended to do, and she didn't bother waiting to find out. In the blink of an eye, she turned her hand and took hold of him. curling her fingers inward until she got a good hold on him. And smiled when she realized she had a hold of his dick. She drew on the strength she got from Jean Claude and clenched her fingers down until the joints ached. And was rewarded for her efforts with a loud, high howl of pain.
"On second thought, don't go fuck your mother. She'd be disappointed with the shrimp dick you have stuffed in your jeans."
Pain seared through her arm, making her finger flex and release their hold. Menacing stood over her with the knife in hand, dripping fresh blood, his face blank. "Enough fucking around, demon whore. This isn't playtime. Now I'm going to have to play rough."
"Try me, asshole," she growled.
The cuff at her wrist was released, Menacing's hand there to take hold of it so that she couldn't punch anyone. He brought her arm up, allowing her to see the gash he'd left in it as it oozed blood, and held it in place while his free hand reached for a dangling metal cuff connected to a chain. He locked the cuff in place, then reached out and took hold of another chain. Gave a sharp pull. Metal rattled as it slid through a pulley mounted to the ceiling and her arm went up. Kept going up until the joint pulled and protested. Until pain screamed along her nerves. Until she felt the bone pop out of place.
Nothing in the world could hold back the scream that came with her arm being wrenched from its socket. And all she could do was hope that Jean Claude or Edward would find her soon.
~*~*~*~*~
Minette blinked bleary eyes as she stared around the room. It was small, as far as rooms under the Circus went, with only a handful of chairs and a bare bulb hanging from the ceiling. There was also a plain cot in one corner, a bag resting on top of it. But that wasn't the most interesting part of the room. No. The most interesting part was that she was staring at Edward, who looked as blank and empty as she'd ever seen him. He was staring at her. And at the other three people in the room with her. Isis, Rhia, and Janika looked as confused as she felt. She couldn't imagine why he'd summon them together. And why he'd do so without Aedan being there.
"What's going on, Edward?" Janika asked. There was exhaustion in her voice. And anger. She apparently didn't like being dragged out of bed at the ass crack of dawn.
"Aedan has been kidnapped," he told them. It was such an outright statement that Minette had a hard time processing it for a minute or two. During that time, she simply gaped at him, as if he'd spoken a foreign language and she hadn't understood a word he'd said.
"I'm sorry. What did you say?" Rhia asked, giving him a look that suggested she thought he was pulling their legs.
"You heard me," he returned. The tone of his voice plainly said that he wasn't fond of the idea that she thought he'd make something like that up and that he was more than willing to inflict a little pain on the next person who questioned him the way she had.
"When?" Minette frowned.
"Just a few hours ago. I guess your reactions negate the need to ask if any of you have spoken to her recently," he said. The accusation in his tone was plain to hear. "I was hoping that one of you might know anything. That one of you might have discussed anything odd or out of the ordinary with her. But is obvious that you're all still giving her the cold shoulder. This is a waste of my time."
He crossed the room and opened the door, held it wide. "Thanks for coming, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave. I have things to do and a missing friend to find. I don't have time for twenty questions from you."
Minette frowned. It was pretty crappy of him to be mad at them after what Aedan had done. He knew better than anyone why they were upset with her. And it was unfair of him to take her side in the matter, as if their points and feelings weren't valid. Maybe this was a carefully crafted ruse to get them to lower their guard. To get them talking to her again. She tuned the rest of them out, despite the fact that Isis was raising a stink about being pulled from bed the way she had been, only to be tossed out on her ear a moment later.
She could feel the link that bound her to Aedan and Jean Claude as easily as if it was a real, solid presence. It stretched out in two different directions. Going one way took her to Jean Claude, the link strong and vibrant and robust. She could feel him on the other end, but not in any clear way. There were no thoughts or feelings, as if he was holed up inside of himself. She left him and traced the other link as it stretched out and away from her. The further she got, the thinner it became. And when she finally reached Aedan, it was to find she was blocked by some kind of wall that felt almost solid. Almost, but not quite. There were weak spots here and there. And through them, she could glimpse brief snippets of things. A hazy room. Maniacal laughter. A wash of pain that burned up her nerve endings. A scream, loud and raw and ripe with pain that raced along the link to fill her head. Echo around her brain and leave her gasping. Panting for air.
Tears were on her cheeks and she couldn't remember letting them fall.
"Minette?" The voice was Edward's, and it was almost soft. Almost gentle. Filled with curiosity.
"What are they doing to her?" she asked in a raw whisper.
"They want information," he said simply. She lifted her eyes to stare at him, saw a touch of fear and concern in his eyes. A pinch of sympathy.
"They're torturing her?" she questioned, trying to wrap her brain around that. "For what? What information does she have that they want? Who are they?"
"That's the million dollar question," he returned. When Minette looked around, it was to find that the other three were watching her closely.
"He's telling the truth?" Isis asked. She still sounded like she wasn't sure this whole thing wasn't a hoax.
"He's telling the truth," Minette confirmed. "Whatever they want, they're willing to hurt her in order to get it."
"What do we do?" Rhia questioned him, her voice quiet. Minette thought she heard maybe a touch of guilt in the woman's words. If she did, it was probably the same guilt Minette felt. Maybe if they'd been willing to talk to Aedan a little..
"We find her. We bring her home. We deal with the people who took her." He made it sound so simple. So easy. Minette knew, if he was there, it was anything but.
"And what do you need from us?" Janika pinned him with a glare. She was apparently still a little miffed at him for his not so subtle accusations.
"Keep your eyes and ears open. There's something off about the timing of this kidnapping. About how and when and where it was enacted. I feel like we're missing an important piece of the puzzle. I need your help in figuring out what that is. And the best way to do that is to simply pay attention to seemingly odd things that happen around here." He let his arctic gaze slide around the room, let it stop on and chill each of them. "Someone around here knows something. We need to find out what it is."
Hopefully before things went from bad to worse.
Chapter Sixty Eight: Torture
Fandom: Anita Blake universe
Rating: 18 and up
Warnings: graphic sex and violence, language, anything else i can toss in.
Disclaimer: the recognizable characters and places contained herein are the property of LKH. i'm merely borrowing for the sake of entertainment. no money is being made from this venture. the Sues are the sole property of their originators, Ginevra, Dazzledfirestar, Nanaea, SilverFoxChan and ladydeathfaerie. the concept and title of The Mary Sue Virus are used with permission from Dazzledfirestar.
Author's Notes: oh, look. its more of that plot i've had sitting around for ages, just waiting for a chance to step out
The Mary Sue Virus: Beyond Death - Index Link
The interior of the diner was visible from the car and he'd been watching it for some time now. Waiting. Growing ever more impatient as the moments ticked by. He frowned and glanced at the numbers illuminated on the vehicle's dash board. Half past the hour. She was supposed to have been there fifteen minutes ago. He didn't like that she was late. It took but a moment to fish his cell phone from his pocket and he thumbed a couple of buttons that saw the call ringing through on the other end.
The other line rang three times before it was answered by a very professional sounding voice. "Animators, Inc. This is Craig. How may I help you?"
"Aedan Kinkade, please," he replied.
"I'm sorry, sir. Miss Kinkade is out of the office. May I take a message?"
He frowned at that. "When did Miss Kinkade leave?"
There was a moment of silence, then the voice replied. "Nearly half an hour ago, sir. Is there a message?"
"No. No message. Thank you," he returned, then hung up the phone. His frown deepened. Another couple of button pushes saw the other end ringing again. He waited, hoping the call would be picked up. And watched as several heads in the diner turned toward one of the tables that was out of view. He muttered a curse and hung the phone up. He didn't like that one bit. Instinct told him something was wrong.
Asher cast his gaze around the parking lot, looking for something that would tell him what was going on. Anything at all. At the far end, hidden behind a large SUV in black, was Aedan's Jeep. He hadn't seen it when they'd pulled into the lot. And he hadn't seen it pull in after they'd arrived. Which meant she'd gotten there before he had. Had gone inside to wait for him. Muttering a curse under his breath, he opened his door and stepped out into the cool night air.
The air was brisk, slightly chilled, as he started across the lot. It was filled with the muffled sound of traffic zipping along the road. There was a highway just a block over, the diner a small, out of the way place that had seemed a good place to meet. Now... Perhaps he'd made a mistake suggesting the eatery. He was almost to Aedan's Jeep when he noticed the cracked windshield on the SUV. Senses on high alert, he approached the vehicle slowly. And stopped before he even got close. He could smell blood on the air, along with a faint whiff of gun powder. And death. Fresh death. Thoughts raced through his head, none of them good, leaving him momentarily frozen.
It took him a moment to shove the confusion of thoughts aside. He reached for the handle on the SUV's driver side door. Pulled it. The door swung open to show a pair of rats slumped against their seat belts. The pair of rats that had been assigned as Aedan's guards for the night. Even from where he stood, he could see the holes in their foreheads. Could see the slick, glistening stain that ran down their torsos to pool in their laps. His frown grew and he turned for the diner. Something was very wrong here.
His pace quickened as he walked to the door. Despite the dead rats, he hoped beyond hope that Aedan was safe inside the diner. Hoped that he wasn't going to have to call Jean Claude and tell his friend that his human servant had gone missing.
The interior of the diner had a feeling of age to it. As if it had stopped trying to impress at some point and had simply settled into a slow, painful decay. About half the tables were occupied, filled with young people chatting with one another or staring down at the bright screens of their electronic devices. The rest of the tables awaited customers. One in the back, set in the corner with two walls surrounding it, had a bag resting on top of it. Asher could see that the bag was Aedan's. Next to it, on the worn surface of the table, was her phone.
He was on his way toward that table when a waitress came out of the back and offered him a smile. "Good evening, hon. Can I help you?" she asked cheerfully.
"The woman who was sitting here. Where is she?" Asher asked, not bothering to moderate his tone. Anger and fear lined his words, making the woman's smile falter when she looked at the table he indicated with his hand.
She stared at it a moment, then shook her head and frowned. "She was here not that long ago. She ordered a water and said she was waiting on a friend." The woman stopped and shifted her attention to one of the other tables. "Tommy, did you see what happened to the nice young lady sitting at six?" she asked the man sitting there.
The one called Tommy looked up from his tablet, focused on the waitress for a moment before cutting his glance the indicated table's way. Then he frowned and shook his head. "Sorry, Bev. I was involved in my show. I didn't see anything. I thought I heard the door a couple times, though." he offered, his tone suggesting he really did feel bad that he'd apparently missed something.
The woman, Bev, gave Asher a faintly apologetic look. "Maybe she got up and went to the bathroom?" Her tone when she suggested it said that Bev didn't honestly believe it. But she was trying to offer hope. Asher took a moment and let his senses stretch, picking up each and every heartbeat in the place. He knew Aedan's by memory, knew the cadence of it as if it was a favorite melody. And it was not there. That must have shown on his face. "Do you want me to call the police, hon? We have a couple regulars who come in. I can get them here in less than ten minutes."
"No. Thank you. I will handle it," Asher assured her. She nodded and wandered off to one of the tables, leaving him standing near the table with fear running through his veins. He tugged his phone from his coat pocket and once more tapped a couple of buttons.
"Asher? What has you calling me this evening, mon chardonneret?" Jean Claude asked only a moment later.
"Have you seen or spoken with Aedan recently?" he asked. And immediately felt the change in the other man's attention. Even across the distance and the phone, he could sense the sudden increase of tension from his longtime friend and lover.
"Why do I get the feeling that I will not like the direction this call takes?" There was deep emotion in Jean Claude's voice.
"I arranged a dinner meeting with her," Asher told him, not bothering with the rhetorical question. "I arrived at the designated meeting place some fifteen minutes ago and waited. Aedan never showed up. A closer look at the parking lot told me that she'd gotten here before I had. Her Jeep is parked in the far corner of the lot. Naturally, I went to investigate. There is a black SUV next to her Jeep, Jean Claude. The bodies of her body guards are still inside. Still in their seat belts. Someone killed them with a single shot to the head."
"And Aedan?" Jean Claude questioned, voice empty.
"I found her bag and her phone inside the diner. But she is not here."
There was silence from the other end of the phone for several long moments. Then a soft sigh. Asher heard relief in it, though it was shot through with fear. "I can feel her. The link is weak. I believe she is drugged. But she is alive."
Relief washed through him at that bit of news. But it still left him wondering what the hell was going on. Who had taken her? He didn't think it was work of the Harlequin. They would have simply killed her. Perhaps Anita's killers were behind this latest turn of events. "What do we do?" he asked.
"Gather up her things and wait for me in the parking lot. I am already on my way to your location. For the time being, do not call anyone else. Until we know for certain what is happening, I have no wish to alarm anyone."
"Very good," Asher said and disconnected the call. He put it back into the pocket of his coat, then gathered up Aedan's possessions. He slipped her phone into her bag, picked the bag up, and headed outside. No one inside the diner tried to stop him, something for which he was grateful. He didn't want to have to explain to them how he knew her. Or that she'd apparently been taken. That would involve the police and Jean Claude wasn't ready to include the police. They still had no idea just who was behind Aedan's disappearance.
He returned to his car and climbed into the backseat to wait. And kicked himself for not being there earlier. For not being there to protect her. This was his fault. He was the one who had asked her to meet him, who had suggested the diner simply because it was out of the way and mostly unknown. It would afford them privacy, a chance to talk without the fear of being interrupted or overheard.
In the week since Aedan had offered herself to an insane demon summoner and technically died, the atmosphere in the lair below the Circus had been tense. And that was a polite word for it. Janika had stopped sleeping there, returning to her apartment without any warning. Asher knew it stemmed from her feelings of hurt and betrayal. Her feelings for Aedan ran deeper than she was willing to admit, and there was something chilling about watching a friend willingly die. He didn't think it was something Janika had ever had to face before. And anytime he tried to ask her about it or suggest she try to talk to Aedan, she merely shut him down with a look that said she wanted nothing to do with the other woman.
Some wounds had healed. Others were still gaping wide and oozing blood.
Asher hated to see Janika so lost. And she was lost, even if she pretended that she wasn't. Her anger did a fine job of hiding the rest of her emotional turmoil, but he peeked into her head from time to time. And, more often than not, Janika was trying to figure out why she'd let herself fall for someone who was reckless and ignorant. It had been that inner turmoil that had seen him seeking Aedan out. Had seen him asking her to meet so they could talk. The look she'd given him had suggested she knew exactly what he wanted to speak with her about. But she'd agreed to the meeting without any argument, had agreed to the small diner.
He did want to talk to her about her falling out with Janika and the others. In part. But he also wanted to talk to her about the secrets she'd been keeping from everyone. He was sure that it was those secrets that had seen her following the course of action she had. And he'd promised Janika, some time ago, that he'd try to find out what it was that Aedan kept hidden from everyone. He'd hoped, by meeting her someplace neutral and lacking in other members of the kiss, that she'd open up to him and tell him what he needed to know to help bridge the chasm between Aedan and Janika.
He'd been a fool to think that he'd be able to accomplish such a thing. And now, it looked as if his foolishness had put Aedan in further danger. He was never going to be able to live with himself if something happened to her. And he wouldn't be able to blame Jean Claude if the other man wanted nothing to do with him after this.
His heart froze in his chest with the idea that he could very possibly lose two people he held so very dear. He had to do whatever it took to make this right. No matter what that might be.
~*~*~*~*~
The parking lot was only partially filled with cars when he arrived. He could see Aedan's Jeep in the corner of the lot, away from lights. The black SUV parked next to it sat silent and still in the darkness. His enhanced vision allowed him to pick out the webbing of cracks in the windshield, the twin holes at the center of all that webbing. And the slumped figures behind the cracked glass. Asher's car was on the other end of the lot, the driver still in the front seat. The interior of the diner was bright with lights, several people crowding around tables, while a single waitress moved effortlessly between her patrons with a tray in hand and a smile on her face.
He emerged from the limo with the Wicked Truth at his heels. The door to Asher's car opened and he watched as the other vampire climbed from the vehicle. Though there was nothing to see on Asher's face, he could feel the anger and blame that radiated from the other man. The sadness that clouded his heart. "This is not your fault, mon chardonneret," Jean Claude told him softly.
"I am the one who wished to meet here," Asher replied, voice brittle and thin.
"To what end? Why here?" Jean Claude asked, turning to stare at the sagging diner skeptically.
"To talk to her. To see if I could discover the secrets she carries. To see if I could maybe mend the rift between her and Janika," the other man told him. His words were harsh. Filled with self-loathing.
"Have they spoken since the hospital?" Jean Claude asked softly. He turned toward the SUV, trusting that Asher would follow him. That trust was not misplaced. Asher trailed after him, his power stretching out around him as if searching for Aedan's presence.
"They have not. Any time I mention Aedan to her, Janika closes off from me. I am not sure there is anything to be done to bring the two of them back together."
"We will find her," Jean Claude assured him. They stopped before the SUV and looked it over, as if perhaps there was some clue on the exterior of the vehicle. The flash of headlights across the scene saw them turning to find that another SUV had pulled into the lot. It parked next to Jean Claude's limo, the engine cut, and the doors opened. Rafael climbed out of the back, along with Claudia and Bobby Lee. Several other rats followed them and spread out around the lot. Rafael headed in their direction.
Jean Claude worried for a moment that they were going to attract attention. But he noticed a pair of rats entering the diner, which made him think that Rafael was doing his best to keep that from happening. Rafael stopped before him, eyes taking in the state of the SUV and the corpses of his rats inside. "Do we know who's responsible?" he asked without preamble.
"Not as of yet," Jean Claude replied. A gesture from Rafael saw Bobby Lee studying the SUV intently.
"High powered shot. Probably from a rifle. Can't be sure without getting a closer look, but I'm willing to bet that the shot came from that direction," Bobby Lee said, one hand pointing back toward the other side of the lot. Which suggested that the rats in the SUV had been killed from the front.
"Can you figure out where the sniper was located?" Rafael asked him.
"There are no exit holes on the back of the SUV," Claudia reported, coming around the side from the back end. Bobby Lee turned and studied the far side of the lot.
"Let me scout. I'll see what I can find and report back with anything," he told them, then headed off toward the line of trees on the edge of the parking lot. Claudia was on the phone, speaking to someone about bringing out a wrecker and a panel van. No doubt to remove the bodies and the SUV before anyone got too curious.
"Do we know anything at all?" Rafael asked. His power rippled around him, attesting to the level of anger he felt.
"Only that she was inside the diner alone," Asher told them. "She was waiting for me to arrive. I had no idea she was already here. I did not think to step inside and see if she had arrived."
"Why weren't my men inside with her?" Rafael asked. There was a spark of his anger in his voice.
"She likely ordered them to stay out here," Jean Claude told him, unwilling to have a clash of egos and tempers in the lot when it was possible for other people to take notice. "She will tolerate her guards so long as they do not get in her way. I have taken her to task for it more than once. But she insists that she can protect herself."
"I'm going to have to have a talk with her about that," Rafael muttered, his gaze sliding to the SUV and his dead people.
"You will have to get in line," Jean Claude said mildly.
"What's the next move?" Rafael questioned. Claudia joined them, her phone tucked away in her pocket. She looked as upset as Rafael. "Do we involve the police?"
"We have. In a way," Jean Claude replied.
"Death?" Rafael guessed.
Jean Claude nodded. "I have already called Edward. He is on his way to St. Louis as we speak. He expects to be here in only a few hours. I will do what I can to keep the local police out of it. As well as the federal authorities. With Edward here, if either group becomes aware of Aedan's disappearance, they should be appeased."
"How do we know this isn't the work of Anita's killers?" Rafael gave Jean Claude a look.
"I can feel her. I have no doubt, if it were Anita's killers, that they would have simply ended Aedan's life and walked away. I do not believe this is something they have done. I believe this is another threat. I simply do not know who it might be. Or why they would take her."
"Shooter was two streets away," Bobby Lee announced, breaking through the trees. He held up a plastic bag with dull metallic cylinders inside it. "They left a few shell casings behind. Not professionals. No professional killer would have left casings behind. They'd police their scene. Harder to trace a kill to them if there's no proof they were there."
"You are sure?" Jean Claude asked.
The rat nodded and showed him the casings. "These shells are the same kind that most snipers would use. It feels like someone was trying to make it look like a professional hit. I caught the scent of cologne and cigarette smoke. There was some oil on the ground. Whatever vehicle they were in, its got a slow leak. Not that it does us much good. But if I happen across the shooter, I'll know them."
"What are the odds that such a thing will happen?" Asher stared at the rat.
"Not good. Normally. However, I happen to have a few ins with some of the groups that would have information on a pro or semi-pro hitter being in town. They might be able to give me something. I'll make some calls. See what I can find out," Bobby Lee promised them. He was silent a moment, then reached out to lay a hand on Jean Claude's arm. "We'll find her. She's like a daughter. I'm not going to rest until we get her back, even if I have to turn the entire city upside down to do that."
"Our people should be here shortly. The sooner we get the bodies out of there, the better I'll feel," Claudia said, glancing at the diner. As yet, no one was standing with their faces pressed to the glass in the hopes of seeing something exciting. Whatever the rats inside had said and done, it was working. For now.
"If the need arises, we can ensure that the diners remember nothing," Jean Claude murmured softly. He was only half paying attention to the conversation, his mind already stretching out along the ethereal bond between himself and Aedan in an attempt to discern anything. All he got was that slow, sluggish, staticky sensation that generally meant drugs. He had to wonder why whoever had taken her had drugged her, doing his very best at not letting his mind run wild with possible reasons. Aedan? Can you hear me, ma mie? Please answer me. Tell me you are alright.
He thought he felt her try to answer. Something brushed against his mind, but it was too ephemeral to grasp. Gone to fast to catch. Maybe he could help push the drugs from her system. Maybe he could feed her his strength and energy and try to clear her head so she could answer him. So she could tell him where she was. Tell him what was going on. Slowly, gradually, he allowed energy to flow down their link, allowed some of his strength to fill her. And slowly, gradually, he felt her mind begin to clear.
~*~*~*~*~
"What do we do with the bitch now that we've got her?" a voice asked, low and thick and grating as rocks tumbling over one another in a land slide.
"We wait. Boss will call soon and tell us what he wants done. Until then, we have a beer. Watch a game. Consider what kind of fun we can have with her." The second voice was almost as gravely as the first one, though it was as if there was a touch of glass chewing up his throat when he spoke. She didn't recognize either one of the voices.
"Great. I hate it when I have to wait to get to work," the first one said. He sounded put out about having to wait. She was all for him having to wait. Because she could feel thick straps of leather pulling at her ankles and her wrists, keeping her from trying to sit up. Not that she was trying. She wasn't sure she wanted them to know that she was coming around.
Last thing she remembered, she was sitting at a table in a non-descript little diner in the middle of nowhere, waiting on Asher to arrive. Someone had walked past her and she'd felt... something. And that was it until just now. She couldn't even be sure she knew what had woken her.
"Aedan?" Jean Claude's voice echoed around her head, slightly distorted and far too loud for her comfort. She had to bite her tongue to stop herself from gasping aloud. She could feel him at the back of her mind, uneasy and concerned. "Answer me, ma mie. Please."
I'm here. Where ever here is.
"Then you do not know where you are?" There was disappointment in his voice as he asked that question.
No. I don't dare open my eyes. I'm afraid if I do, they'll start doing whatever it is they plan doing, she informed him, trying hard to keep her mind from pulling up all manner of gruesome images. The last thing Jean Claude needed to see was what she thought might happen to her.
"Can you at least tell who it is that has you?" he asked.
I don't know. I've never heard their voices before. But they're not vampires. Or lycanthropes. I don't feel any power coming off them. It was a curious thing, because she'd have expected her enemies to send their strongest and most powerful after her this time. Not a couple of regular humans.
"She's a nice piece of ass. Suppose the boss will let us have a little fun with her?" the first voice asked, breaking the silence that had fallen between her two captors. She felt a hand brush over the curve of her thigh and had to struggle to remain still and silent. At least her clothes were between her skin and his.
The meaty sound of a hand smacking flesh filled her ears. "Hands off. She's off limits. You know the rules."
"Rules were made to be broken," came the reply. There was a certain lack of care or concern about said rules that made Aedan's blood run cold. The last thing she wanted to put on her list of worries was whether or not she was going to have to fend off a rapist. Though that was going to be hard to do with her arms and legs strapped down as they were. She could only hope one of them made the mistake of loosing one of her wrists. She'd do her best to get in a good shot to the jaw. Or the dick. Depending on which body part was closest.
"I can feel your fear, Aedan. What is it?"
Nothing, Jean Claude. Nothing I can't handle. Don't worry about me. Just worry about finding me. She hoped that her tone conveyed the confidence she absolutely did not feel. She hoped that he wouldn't pry too hard. Because she was honestly afraid that she'd start crying if she had to tell him what was happening.
"We are already working on it. I swear that I will find you and bring you home. I just need you to do whatever you need to do to stay alive." She could hear his fear and it did nothing to calm her own.
I'll try. Just don't take too long. I already miss you, she admitted, voice a whisper. Her words saw him filling her with his pleasure and a touch of warmth that she so desperately needed.
"When you are home, we will spend the entire night in front of your television. We can watch whatever you like. Even that ridiculous animated film you like so much" It was as much a promise as it was a plea. He was telling her to come back to him. To stay alive and return to him.
A loud burst of hard rock music shattered the silence and pulled her away from Jean Claude. She realized that it was someone's ring tone when it quit and, a moment later, one of her captors spoke into the phone. "Yeah. We've got her. It was easy. She's drugged up and tied down. We're just waiting your orders."
Silence filled the room as the speaker paused to listen to whatever the person on the other end of the phone had to say. They must not have had much to say because it seemed that not more than half a minute had passed before her captor spoke again. "Got it. Make her spill it, no matter what it takes. You want anything else out of her?"
Another pause as the caller answered the man's question.
"I think we can manage that. There isn't a person we haven't broken yet. And this one looks like she'll cry if she breaks a nail. I'll call you back when we've got something. Shouldn't be too long." A couple seconds after his words trailed off, there was a loud clatter and Aedan realized that he'd tossed the phone down onto a hard surface. As if he didn't care if it broke or not. Probably a burner phone.
"What'd he say?" the first voice asked, eagerness heavy and thick in his words.
"Whatever it takes to get the information he's looking for," the second one replied.
"Really? Anything at all?" There was a pause, then a hand touched her leg again. "This is going to be fun."
I need to block you, Jean Claude. They're going to start doing whatever it is that I'm here for. I don't want you to be part of it.
"Do not shut me out, Aedan. I can help you with whatever they do." There was perhaps a touch of panic in his words, as if he was afraid he'd never hear from her again if she shut him out now.
This isn't your problem, Jean Claude. This is mine. Don't-- The words trailed off when a fist landed hard and heavy against her abdomen. All of her breath left her in a rush and she couldn't stop her eyes from flying open. From a series of coughs from rolling up her throat. She found she was in a very plain room, all bare wooden walls and lacking in furniture. Except for a wall of implements she knew were used for torture. And her two captors. One leered at her menacingly. The other leered lecherously.
"Nice of you to join us, whore," the menacer said.
"Really? You're going to call me whore without even getting to know me first?" Aedan coughed, trying hard to pull air into her lungs. She decided she was lucky that she'd healed up completely from the demon's talons before this happened or she'd really be up shit creek without a paddle. "How cliché."
"Shut up," Menacing ordered, the back of his hand smacking against her cheek. She felt her teeth mash against the inside of her cheek, tasted blood.
"Go fuck yourself," she retorted, taking the opportunity to spit a glob of blood and saliva into his face.
"Aedan! What is happening? Talk to me."
"Shut the fuck up, whore," Lecherous snapped at her. The next think she knew, something hard slammed down against her abdomen and stars exploded behind her eyes. She could hear Jean Claude nearly shouting in her head and between his presence and the pain radiating out from her belly, she felt like she was going to hurl. She struggled to close the link, to keep him from overwhelming her with his presence, and then concentrated on drawing air in and not blowing chunks.
She could only hope that she had the opportunity to slug both of them in the nuts.
~*~*~*~*~
Jean Claude staggered under the sudden force Aedan used to cut their link off. He hated that she could do that, because it kept him out of her head. Kept him from lingering and ensuring that she wasn't being beaten senseless. Or worse. Asher's hand on his arm kept him from losing his balance and he lifted his head to a group of curious stares. "Jean Claude?"
"Aedan shut me out," he said, taking care with trying to right himself. Her sudden disappearance left him off balance and even slightly dizzy. He'd gotten a taste of her fear and her pain just before she'd cut the link, could only wonder what it was her captors wanted with her. He hadn't liked the feelings she'd had about them, worried that they would do more than simply inflict pain. There were so many different ways to torture a person. "Whatever it is they want of her, they have already started inflicting pain."
"Could you see anything that would help us figure out where they took her?"
"No. She was in a room that was largely unfurnished," he replied. He didn't want to tell anyone about the instruments of pain that she'd glimpsed. Or that she was bound to a flat surface. He certainly didn't want to tell them that he worried about whether or not someone would try to assault her sexually. And if her little display was anything to go by, she was going to goad them into violence in short order. "I could see nothing that would help. And I do not recognize her captors at all."
Anything else he might have said was brought to a halt by the arrival of several more vehicles. There was a plain black panel van and a tow truck. Jean Claude watched as the van maneuvered into position near the SUV, then a door opened and several of the rats got out and headed for the other vehicle.
"What do we do? We can't just sit around and wait for some hint or clue to fall out of the sky," Rafael said. "I want to find the people who did this and make them pay for it." One hand indicated his two dead rats. The look on his face said that he planned on making their killer or killers pay for a very long time.
"You will take your people home and give them a proper burial. Mourn them. Asher and I will return to the Circus and await Edward's arrival. And we will, in the meantime. try to decide how to tell everyone else that Aedan has been taken," Jean Claude told Rafael.
"And you're certain they're not going to just kill her right away?" Claudia asked.
"I do not believe so. They want something from her. And they were told to use whatever means necessary to get that something. I think they will keep her alive. That will give us time to discover where she is being held," Jean Claude told them. "We can only hope that Aedan is able to withstand their abuse until we can find."
"She's tough, that one," Bobby Lee assured him. "I'm sure she'll hang on until we can get to her."
Silence fell suddenly as the newly arrived rats brought the first of their fallen comrades out of the SUV and carried him over to the van. Rafael, Claudia, and Bobby Lee watched with eyes that glittered with equal parts of rage and sorrow. When the first body was stowed carefully in the back of the van, the rats went back to the SUV for the second corpse. Rafael said something softly under his breath. While the words were foreign, Jean Claude recognized the cadence of them as that of a prayer. Rafael repeated it when the second body was stowed in the back of the van.
"We will find them, Rafael. And we will make them pay for what they have done here tonight," Jean Claude assured him.
Rafael nodded his head before turning and crossing to the car he'd arrived in. Bobby Lee and Claudia were at his heels. He stopped before climbing into his car and stared right at Jean Claude. "Keep me informed," he ordered, then got into the vehicle. The engine turned over, then the car was pulling out of the lot, close on the bumper of the van transporting the two dead rats.
"You are sure we will find her?" Asher asked softly, his gaze shifting toward Aedan's Jeep.
"We have to, Asher. We have to."
~*~*~*~*~
Jean Claude was waiting for him in one of the offices above the Circus when he arrived. And the vampire looked like he was worried. That was something Edward wasn't used to seeing on the man's face. Which made him wonder if he was too late in arriving. "What do you know?" he asked without preamble.
"She was taken at a diner, while waiting for Asher to show," Jean Claude told him.
"Where were her body guards?"
"Outside in their SUV," Jean Claude answered, then lifted a hand before he could even ask the next question. "They were found dead, Both of them had been shot once through the head with a high powered rifle from a distance."
"A hit," Edward said.
"It was made to look like a hit. But Bobby Lee does not believe it actually was a hit. He found shell casings a few streets over from the diner, discarded in a parking lot."
"Who would stage a hit?"
"We do not know. Bobby Lee is speaking with some of his contacts, attempting to find out if there is anyone in town who would have left evidence behind at a crime scene."
"And Aedan? Do we know anything about her kidnappers?" If Jean Claude disliked his all business attitude, it didn't show.
"We know they are after something that they believe she, specifically, can give them. We do not know what it is. We know that they have her in a very non-descript room that has a wall of equipment used for the business of torture. We know they drugged her and tied her down. We know that they have started whatever it is they do," Jean Claude told him, voice precise and matter of fact. Terribly controlled, as if it was all that kept him from falling apart. "We know that she has shut herself off from me and refuses to let me in to see what is happening and if I can help her."
He considered that. Aedan had always been a private person. It was possible that she simply didn't want Jean Claude to see her at what was likely going to be one of her worst times. Edward took a breath and rose from his seat. "She's probably doing it to protect you. We have no idea what her kidnappers plan on doing to her. Its possible she shut you out to keep you from having to suffer whatever she does. Show me this diner. I want to get a feel for the situation."
"Of course," Jean Claude nodded. He rose from his seat and motioned toward the door with one hand. Edward let him go first. It wasn't that he didn't trust the other man. He'd spent enough time around Jean Claude to know, as far as a vampire went, he was plenty trust worthy. But Edward had spent a lot of time around vampires and lycanthropes and worse and was smart enough to never leave one at his back. No matter who it was.
The Circus was filled with people, loud and boisterous and clustered together in groups, making it hard for them to make their way toward the door. Wicked and Truth were with them, one heading the line up while the other brought up the rear, and Edward couldn't help but think that one of them should have been with Aedan earlier. If they had...
He bit off a sigh and shook his head. There was no dwelling on what could have been. The only thing to do was find out who had taken Aedan. Where they'd taken her. And get her back. Whoever was responsible wasn't going to survive to regret the mistake they'd made. He would see to it that they paid for their crimes. Maybe he'd kill them fast. Maybe he'd kill them slow. That would depend on what kind of shape Aedan was in when he got her back.
And he was going to get her back. There was no if. No maybe. He was going to find her and he was going to bring her home. He'd meant what he'd said to Donna. He didn't think he'd be able to live with himself if anything happened to her. It had been bad enough to come to terms with Anita's death. Somehow, Aedan had become an important, permanent fixture in his life. Just like Anita had. He couldn't imagine not being able to make the girl's life hell. He absolutely was not going to lose another one. Not if he had anything to say about it.
They made it to the parking lot on the side of the building and climbed into Jean Claude's limo. The moment the door was shut, the car was in motion, sweeping them along through the darkness toward their destination. No one seemed bothered by the silence, the brothers giving the appearance of being stoic. Like statues. Edward had seen them move. He knew better. He knew that there were few vampires like the Wicked Truth and that their own kind feared them the way they feared little else.
Jean Claude had turned his head to look out the window. Edward didn't need to look at his face to know how he was feeling. There was a tell-tale tension in the man's shoulders. Imperceptible to anyone who didn't know him well. But Edward had spent far more time around the vampire than he should perhaps be comfortable with. Jean Claude was worried. More importantly, he was afraid. It wasn't something he was used to seeing from the vampire.
"When we get to the diner, I want you to wait in the car. I'm going to go in there and act in an official capacity and I'm not sure the employees will believe that with a vampire tagging along beside me. No matter the circumstances. No matter who that vampire happens to be," Edward told him. "If they have security cameras, I will ask to see their footage. And, if at all possible, I'll make a copy so that you can see it. And so that we can maybe have still images of the men who took her."
"Very good," Jean Claude agreed.
The rest of the ride was made in silence, Jean Claude staring out into the darkness as if it would offer him some nugget of hope. Wicked and Truth were almost like statues, but their eyes moved constantly, as if tracking any and all possible threats. Even those that didn't exist. Edward retreated into his thoughts, trying hard to put aside the ones that said they'd never find Aedan in time. He was pretty sure the last time his brain was so tied up in thoughts of what would happen to someone he cared about was when Peter and Becca had been taken. And that had been long enough ago that it seemed like another lifetime.
Caring about people was problematic. Troublesome. It made one vulnerable. A target. But he couldn't seem to stop caring about Aedan. It had been the same with Anita, much as he hadn't wanted it to go that route. Maybe because both women had never judged Edward for who and what he was. Maybe that was why he'd let them get close. Maybe because he'd always been lonely and it felt good to have someone around who got it. It was damned hard trying to explain to someone that his hobbies included killing things people thought didn't exist and washing the blood out of his jeans. Most people would look at you like you were cracked in the head if you told them that things like that were you favorite ways to pass the time.
What was he going to do if he was too late? If he wasn't fast enough. If Aedan let her mouth run away from her and she pushed one of her captors over the edge? She had problems with self-preservation. And she was prone to smart assed comments at the worst moments. It was practically a recipe for disaster.
How could he have not seen this coming? How could he have missed something like this? Wasn't it his job to know everything about the people in his life? How had he so thoroughly fucked that up? The problem was, he honestly couldn't figure out who would want to kidnap Aedan. Or for what purpose. He was relatively positive that her disappearance wasn't the work of the people who wanted her dead. They were the kind of assholes that would kill her and then leave her corpse on the lawn so everyone could see what they'd done.
No. This kidnapping had the taste of something else entirely. He just didn't know what that something was.
Jean Claude had mentioned that they knew her captors had wanted something specific from her. Maybe, if Edward could figure that part out, he could figure out who had grabbed her. Maybe he could track their cowardly asses down and make them suffer a slow, painful, bloody death. Maybe he could--
"We are here," Jean Claude's voice cut across his thoughts, pulling him away from a particularly satisfying image that involved Edward skinning a faceless person who had dared leave a bruise on Aedan's arm.
He glanced out the window of the limo and frowned. What the hell was Aedan doing meeting Asher here? The place was a dive. He was going to have to ask Asher some questions. Try and get to the bottom of their secret liaison. "Stay here. I'll be back in a bit."
He climbed from the back of the limo without waiting to find out if anyone had anything to say to that. The night air was filled with the smell of old grease and cigarette smoke. It was brisk and chill and it reminded him of another night, only a few days ago. Of a night a few months ago. Those two memories merged and became one, saw him curling a hand into a fist. The urge to punch something or someone was so strong, he had to force himself to uncurl his fingers and straighten them out.
The idle chatter that filled the interior of the diner cut out abruptly when he stepped through the door. Every eye in the place came to rest on him and he saw each gaze assess him. Ignoring them all, expression bland and cool, he headed toward the back of the diner, where a waitress was just emerging from the back room. She gave him a look and frowned. "Give me a minute. I've got to deliver these orders," she told him and hurried past. He watched her go, let his eyes wander around the interior of the diner while she made quick work of seeing that everyone had their orders. When she returned to his side, her tray was empty and her eyes were dark with worry. "Now. What can I do for you?"
"The name's Ted Forrester," he said, pulling his badge from an inner pocket of his coat. She stared at it, stared at the ID that accompanied it in the leather wallet, then lifted her gaze to his face.
"A Federal Marshal? Have we done something wrong?" she asked. He could hear the worry in her voice. Edward took a moment to put on a smile meant to reassure.
"No, ma'am. I'm here to look into the disappearance of one of your patrons. She was here earlier this evening. I believe someone came looking for her a few hours ago," he said.
Her face cleared in an instant. The worry faded, only to be replaced with concern and outrage. "Oh, yes. A nice young man came in and asked about her. She was sitting at that table," the woman said, one hand pointing to the corner table. Walls on two sides, so that she had her back to a solid surface. Just like he'd taught her. Edward felt a moment of pride, then let it fade away and nodded his head. "Sweet looking thing. Young. Dark red hair. She looked like of sad."
"That would be the one. Her name is Aedan Kinkade. She's actually a colleague," he told her. The woman's eyes widened.
"That girl is a Federal Marshal?" she asked.
"Yes, ma'am," he replied, then flicked his gaze to the camera in the corner. "Your cameras? Do they work or are they just for show?"
"They work. There were a few robberies a while back. The owner installed a security system after that happened," she explained.
"They running earlier when my friend was here?"
"They run twenty-four, seven," the woman confirmed.
"I don't supposed you'd let me have a look at them?" he asked, making it a request. She considered him a moment, then looked around the place. As if she expected her boss to jump out of a corner somewhere.
"Normally, I'm supposed to call the owner and get permission. But seeing as you and your friend are both feds, I'm going to just show you to the office so you can check out the playback. Maybe there's something on the tape that will help you find your friend," she told him.
"That's very kind of you, ma'am. I appreciate it," He offered her a smile to punctuate his words. She smiled back and started toward the back of the diner.
"Anything to help our law enforcement friends," she said, tone open and honest. Edward followed her down a narrow hallway, noting the door that led to the kitchen, the one that led to the unisex bathroom, the one that opened into a storage closet. The door to the office was at the end of the hall and she showed him into the cramped room. There was a bank of eight monitors, one for each of the security cameras, a safe, and a computer. "I have to go keep an eye on the front. Call for me if you need anything. Name's Bev."
"Thank you, Bev." Edward nodded at her and watched as she bustled out the door. When he was alone, he sat at the computer and found his way into the program that ran the security cameras. One of those cameras had an excellent view of the entrance and the path to Aedan's table. He zipped back to before she came in, then played the video and simply watched.
Aedan came in and stood in the doorway long enough to pick her table, then headed back to the corner. When she passed out of the camera's view, he found the next angle and watched as she took her seat. Her bag was dropped on the table top and her phone was laid on the table. The video showed Bev come over and drop a menu before her. There was a moment of conversation, the waitress no doubt asking Aedan if she wanted something to drink, then Bev wandered away and Aedan was left alone. Maybe five minutes passed when a big man stepped into view of the camera. His body language said that he was not there for a home cooked meal.
He adjusted the camera angle again, this time switching to the one over Aedan's table. It gave him a fairly good view of the stranger, though the angle cut some of the action. Edward watched as the big guy's hand came out of his pocket, then tapped against Aedan's arm briefly. He watched as she shifted, saw one hand come up to rub at her arm in the video, then she was looking up at the big guy. Seconds later, he was hauling her up out of her seat. Even at this angle, Edward could see she was putting up a mostly clumsy fight.
Another adjustment of camera angles showed him the big man half walking, half dragging Aedan to the door. He had one arm around her back to support her, the other had hold of one of her hands. The man pushed the door open with a foot and stepped out into the night with Aedan in tow.
Edward rewound it to before she came in once more, then slipped a jump drive from his pocket and plugged it into a USB port on the computer. It took a few keystrokes to copy the images onto the drive, then he was exiting out of the system, returning everything to the way it had been when he'd sat down. He was just pocketing the drive when Bev poked her head through the door. "Everything okay back here?"
"Yes, ma'am. I've got everything I need. Thank you for letting me have a look. I appreciate it," he told her sincerely.
Bev smiled and stepped further into the room. "Anything to help law enforcement. I hope it helps you find your colleague. I hate to think of anything happening to her," the woman told him.
"I'm going to do my best to figure out who they are and where they took her. Thank you again," Edward said as he started for the door. The woman said nothing more, simply followed him from the office. The people clustered at the tables barely took note of him when he stepped out of the hallway into the dining room. No one watched him go through the door and out into the night.
It was no wonder no one had seen anything.
Jean Claude was watching him when he pulled the car's door opened and climbed into the back of the limo. "Did you find anything?"
"I got a copy of their surveillance video. I'm going to send it to a buddy of mine. See if he can find me some ID on the man who grabbed Aedan," he told the other man.
"Do you think this man can help?"
"I think he's a better bet than the local police. Possibly even better than Bobby Lee's contacts. No one in the business is going to leave behind such a sloppy crime scene. Its practically an invitation for someone to find out who the sniper is and go looking for them," Edward told him, brutally honest. He didn't want Jean Claude to think that he was being anything other than professional. "I think the man who did the hit is an amateur. Not on any of the usual hitman registries. But it doesn't hurt to look and be thorough."
Jean Claude nodded absently.
"What was she doing at a place like this? Why was she meeting Asher here?"
"Asher was going to try and talk to her about a few things. The secrets she keeps. The rift that has grown between her and her friends," Jean Claude replied.
Edward said nothing, but he was pretty sure he knew exactly how that meeting would have gone. Aedan likely would have told Asher to go to hell and mind his own business. But that was a moot point now. He had to figure out how the kidnappers knew she was meeting Asher at that diner. And when. And then he had to figure out where they'd taken her. He was starting to think that this wasn't done by any of her enemies. This was something else.
He just had to figure out what.
~*~*~*~*~
"Where does the demon reside, bitch?" Lecherous asked, one hand curled around a length of steel pipe. She glared at him across the table, wishing for maybe the millionth time that she had her gun on her.
"You can suck my dick, fuckwad," she retorted. There was no way she was going to give him anything he wanted. It didn't matter that he'd been trying to shatter the bones in her foot for the past hour. It didn't matter that he was going to try it again here in a moment. "I'm not telling you shit."
"Rotten bitch," Lecherous snarled, then brought the pipe down in an arc until it slammed into the bottom of her foot. Fresh pain shot through her in white hot waves and it took everything in her to keep the walls in place. To keep from instinctively reaching for Jean Claude. She wasn't going to make anyone else suffer her pain with her.
"This is getting us nowhere," Menacing said, eyes flat and lifeless. Aedan watched as he headed over to what his accomplice had affectionately dubbed 'the toy wall' and removed a knife from its designated spot. "We're going to try a different approach. We're going to ask you a question. Every time you fail to answer it, I'm going to slice into your skin. Maybe I won't slice too deep. Maybe I will. We'll have to see. Regardless, you're going to be in a world of hurt if you don't start taking us seriously and answering our questions."
"What the fuck makes you think I'm going to give you anyone else?" she asked him, teeth clenched together as she rode out a small wave of pain.
"Because I can be very persuasive," he replied, holding the knife up so that she could see it.
"You don't scare me. I'm friends with a man who hunts things that would make you piss yourself. He's a lot scarier than you are," she informed him. "I'll say it again, and I'll say it slowly so that you are sure to understand me. I am not telling you a fucking thing. So go fuck yourself."
"Mouthy bitch," Menacing said. Of the two of them, he was the one she worried about most. He was the one who was most in control, who didn't lose his temper. He was the one who was going to be the bigger pain in her ass. Because he wasn't going to let anything derail him from his sworn duty.
"You guys really need to work on your vocabulary," she got out, managing a mocking smile. "All you've called me so far is bitch and whore? Are those the only words you know where women are concerned?"
"How about cunt? How do you feel about that one?" Lecherous asked. The grin on his face told her he thought she was being amusing.
She gave the appearance of considering it, though she'd known that was the next stop on the humiliation train. They had absolutely no imagination. It must have all been soaked up to feed their muscles. "Hmmm. Cunt. I mean, its an okay word. But its used so much. Men use it to describe women who refuse to give in to them. Which, let's be honest, tells you just how strong a cunt can really be. Men are weak ass cry babies next to women. Go suck shit through a straw."
"Mouthy whore," Menacing said softly. It was the only warning he gave. The next thing Aedan knew, a thin line of pain burst into being across the top of her thigh, feeding fire into her veins. It took her a moment to realize that Menacing had done exactly what he'd said he would do. He'd opened up her flesh with the blade of his knife.
"Keep it up, dickface," she warned him. Each word came out sharp and hard, edged with the pain rushing through her body. "That friend I was telling you about? He's going to find you. And when he does, he's going to make you eat that fucking knife. He knows more about torture than you'll ever hope to learn."
"No one's ever going to find us. Or you," Lecherous promised with a dark grin. "You're here for as long as it takes us to get what we want from you. Might as well lay back and enjoy the ride, baby."
"Does that line get you past the front gate?" she asked. "I imagine all the dogs in the pound are just positively overjoyed to see you outside their cages at night."
It didn't take Lecherous to get the implication behind her statement. When he did, his face turned red with his rage and the expression he wore darkened until she was sure he was going to commit murder. Good. Anger made people stupid. If she got one of them riled up enough, maybe she could use it to her advantage.
"You arrogant slut!" he growled at her, moving around the table until he was even with her waist.
"I'm hardly a slut," she countered.
"You lay with a demon. You're a slut and a whore," he retorted. If she could just get him a little closer
"Hey. Genius," she laughed. "Those two words mean the same goddamn thing. Maybe you should look into getting a thesaurus."
A fist lashed out and caught her in the jaw, snapping her head to the side and making stars explode behind her eyes. Aedan held on to her groan of pain and carefully turned her head so that she was looking at Lecherous again. He smirked down at her, apparently thinking he'd won that argument with his physical attack. Aedan smiled, then spat in his face. A shiny blob of spit, tinged bright red with her blood, slid down his cheek to drip off his chin.
"Go fuck your mother," she told him.
"Filthy demon servant," the man growled. He crowded close to the table they had her laid out on, until she could feel the denim of his jeans against her hand. She wasn't sure what he intended to do, and she didn't bother waiting to find out. In the blink of an eye, she turned her hand and took hold of him. curling her fingers inward until she got a good hold on him. And smiled when she realized she had a hold of his dick. She drew on the strength she got from Jean Claude and clenched her fingers down until the joints ached. And was rewarded for her efforts with a loud, high howl of pain.
"On second thought, don't go fuck your mother. She'd be disappointed with the shrimp dick you have stuffed in your jeans."
Pain seared through her arm, making her finger flex and release their hold. Menacing stood over her with the knife in hand, dripping fresh blood, his face blank. "Enough fucking around, demon whore. This isn't playtime. Now I'm going to have to play rough."
"Try me, asshole," she growled.
The cuff at her wrist was released, Menacing's hand there to take hold of it so that she couldn't punch anyone. He brought her arm up, allowing her to see the gash he'd left in it as it oozed blood, and held it in place while his free hand reached for a dangling metal cuff connected to a chain. He locked the cuff in place, then reached out and took hold of another chain. Gave a sharp pull. Metal rattled as it slid through a pulley mounted to the ceiling and her arm went up. Kept going up until the joint pulled and protested. Until pain screamed along her nerves. Until she felt the bone pop out of place.
Nothing in the world could hold back the scream that came with her arm being wrenched from its socket. And all she could do was hope that Jean Claude or Edward would find her soon.
~*~*~*~*~
Minette blinked bleary eyes as she stared around the room. It was small, as far as rooms under the Circus went, with only a handful of chairs and a bare bulb hanging from the ceiling. There was also a plain cot in one corner, a bag resting on top of it. But that wasn't the most interesting part of the room. No. The most interesting part was that she was staring at Edward, who looked as blank and empty as she'd ever seen him. He was staring at her. And at the other three people in the room with her. Isis, Rhia, and Janika looked as confused as she felt. She couldn't imagine why he'd summon them together. And why he'd do so without Aedan being there.
"What's going on, Edward?" Janika asked. There was exhaustion in her voice. And anger. She apparently didn't like being dragged out of bed at the ass crack of dawn.
"Aedan has been kidnapped," he told them. It was such an outright statement that Minette had a hard time processing it for a minute or two. During that time, she simply gaped at him, as if he'd spoken a foreign language and she hadn't understood a word he'd said.
"I'm sorry. What did you say?" Rhia asked, giving him a look that suggested she thought he was pulling their legs.
"You heard me," he returned. The tone of his voice plainly said that he wasn't fond of the idea that she thought he'd make something like that up and that he was more than willing to inflict a little pain on the next person who questioned him the way she had.
"When?" Minette frowned.
"Just a few hours ago. I guess your reactions negate the need to ask if any of you have spoken to her recently," he said. The accusation in his tone was plain to hear. "I was hoping that one of you might know anything. That one of you might have discussed anything odd or out of the ordinary with her. But is obvious that you're all still giving her the cold shoulder. This is a waste of my time."
He crossed the room and opened the door, held it wide. "Thanks for coming, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave. I have things to do and a missing friend to find. I don't have time for twenty questions from you."
Minette frowned. It was pretty crappy of him to be mad at them after what Aedan had done. He knew better than anyone why they were upset with her. And it was unfair of him to take her side in the matter, as if their points and feelings weren't valid. Maybe this was a carefully crafted ruse to get them to lower their guard. To get them talking to her again. She tuned the rest of them out, despite the fact that Isis was raising a stink about being pulled from bed the way she had been, only to be tossed out on her ear a moment later.
She could feel the link that bound her to Aedan and Jean Claude as easily as if it was a real, solid presence. It stretched out in two different directions. Going one way took her to Jean Claude, the link strong and vibrant and robust. She could feel him on the other end, but not in any clear way. There were no thoughts or feelings, as if he was holed up inside of himself. She left him and traced the other link as it stretched out and away from her. The further she got, the thinner it became. And when she finally reached Aedan, it was to find she was blocked by some kind of wall that felt almost solid. Almost, but not quite. There were weak spots here and there. And through them, she could glimpse brief snippets of things. A hazy room. Maniacal laughter. A wash of pain that burned up her nerve endings. A scream, loud and raw and ripe with pain that raced along the link to fill her head. Echo around her brain and leave her gasping. Panting for air.
Tears were on her cheeks and she couldn't remember letting them fall.
"Minette?" The voice was Edward's, and it was almost soft. Almost gentle. Filled with curiosity.
"What are they doing to her?" she asked in a raw whisper.
"They want information," he said simply. She lifted her eyes to stare at him, saw a touch of fear and concern in his eyes. A pinch of sympathy.
"They're torturing her?" she questioned, trying to wrap her brain around that. "For what? What information does she have that they want? Who are they?"
"That's the million dollar question," he returned. When Minette looked around, it was to find that the other three were watching her closely.
"He's telling the truth?" Isis asked. She still sounded like she wasn't sure this whole thing wasn't a hoax.
"He's telling the truth," Minette confirmed. "Whatever they want, they're willing to hurt her in order to get it."
"What do we do?" Rhia questioned him, her voice quiet. Minette thought she heard maybe a touch of guilt in the woman's words. If she did, it was probably the same guilt Minette felt. Maybe if they'd been willing to talk to Aedan a little..
"We find her. We bring her home. We deal with the people who took her." He made it sound so simple. So easy. Minette knew, if he was there, it was anything but.
"And what do you need from us?" Janika pinned him with a glare. She was apparently still a little miffed at him for his not so subtle accusations.
"Keep your eyes and ears open. There's something off about the timing of this kidnapping. About how and when and where it was enacted. I feel like we're missing an important piece of the puzzle. I need your help in figuring out what that is. And the best way to do that is to simply pay attention to seemingly odd things that happen around here." He let his arctic gaze slide around the room, let it stop on and chill each of them. "Someone around here knows something. We need to find out what it is."
Hopefully before things went from bad to worse.
(no subject)
Date: 2018-09-12 11:11 pm (UTC)Yeah, poor Asher. Definite guilt complex there.
I look forward to Edward killing these bastards.
Good job, hon. Hopefully I can get to the next chapter sometime soon-ish.
(no subject)
Date: 2018-09-12 11:27 pm (UTC)yes. Asher's definitely feeling totally responsible. no worries. it shouldn't last long.
Edward does enjoy the killing, doesn't he? just part of his charm.
thanks, bb. glad you enjoyed. the words will be there when you go back. promise.