I still had a chance.
I still had a very small opportunity to try to save her.
It was downhill for me.
I very much doubted Renwick was traveling alone. His kind rarely did.
I could probably match Renwick in strength even if he had one over on me in speed. It would be a pretty fair fight, all said and done.
But I knew there was no way I was taking on a whole crew of bloodsuckers on my own without backup.
My fate was going to involve a lot of fucking pain. And, if they didn't outright disown me, a war between his kind and my own for years to come.
But I could save her.
If I said the right thing.
If she was listening.
If she understood what I was trying to say between the words.
"Funny," I said, giving her waist a squeeze, silently begging her to pay attention. "It's amazing what modern drugs can do to ease pain."
"Hm," Renwick said, putting it together.
"Makes her real pliable too," I added. "Doesn't even try to run away back to you."
She had to act like the enthrallment was still intact. If she could play that part, go back to the mansion, and play along for a day or two, she could get herself free while they slept during the daylight hours.
"Strange," Renwick said, eyeing the nearly paralyzed Nova. "She doesn't seem pleased to see me."
"Just shot her up with enough cocaine to get an elephant high. Figured she and I would have some fun," I added, the words like battery acid on my tongue. But he had to think I had selfish motivations. It fit with my nature. And it made sense why I'd stolen her, why I'd drugged her. To make her easy to overcome, to take advantage of.
If Renwick believed that, if she could convince him that she'd been tormented instead of freed and given a steady stream of orgasms, she could still gain her freedom.
That was what mattered.
Nova let out a whimper, her head lolling around.
I wasn't sure if she was losing her mind in fear, or if she was trying to play along.
"And what made you think you could put your hands on what belongs to me?"
"Saw her. Wanted her. Pretty simple."
"Well, you'll pay for it," he said, snapping over his shoulder.
The other bloodsuckers moved in then. I carefully released Nova. Renwick was there before she hit the ground, scooping her up.
The others charged at me.
I went ahead and put up a good fight even though I knew there was no winning.
"Enough. Just throw him in the trunk," Renwick demanded.
I watched as Renwick loaded Nova into the car.
Her gaze sought mine for a desperate second, confused, scared.
I couldn't give her anything more than a wink at that moment.
So that was what I gave her.
Then I was in the trunk.
And I didn't see her again.
Chapter Eleven
Nova
One moment, I was free.
And happy.
God, yes, happy.
With Drex.
The next, I was being pushed into a town car with dark window tinting, a town car I'd been in a million times before. And a bloodied Drex was being shoved into the trunk.
Nestled against a familiar seat with the man I'd once thought would offer me the world, all I could seem to focus on was the fact that even when he knew he was going to be beaten and abducted, Drex's last move had been to try to explain something to me, try to make me understand him.
He wanted me to pretend he'd kidnapped, drugged, and abused me.
He wanted me to still seem enthralled with Renwick.
It didn't take me long to figure out why, either.
Because if I could play along for just long enough, eventually, they would all go to sleep.
And I could just... walk out of the house.
No one would know where I'd gone to.
No one would know how to find me.
I could just disappear.
There was a flaw in his plan, though.
He thought I would be able to leave him behind. To some unknown fate. One that would be worse than death. Renwick would see to that. Because Drex couldn't die. But he could hurt. And Renwick enjoyed hurting people who betrayed him.
So, what? Drex would become a prisoner to be abused for the rest of eternity because of what Renwick thought he'd done to his "property?"
No.
Absolutely not.
I couldn't claim to be a brave person.
But I could not leave the man who'd saved me, who'd taken care of me, who'd shown me more kindness than anyone I'd ever known—when it wasn't even in his nature to be kind—to rot in a basement cell while I went off and lived my life.
That was not going to happen.
I didn't know how, but once we were back at the mansion, once Renwick and the others were asleep, I was going to get down to the basement, and break Drex free.
That was the only option.
He was going to get free with me. We could run away together again. This time, go further. Jump a boat if we had to. Get lost in the sunniest country in the world.
That was the new plan, whether he knew it or not.
I just needed to convince Renwick I was drugged and abused and happy to see him.
Drex had claimed I'd taken a large dose of cocaine. Enough to drug an elephant. So I felt like curling up in a ball was a good plan.
And for good measure, I curled toward Renwick.
It wasn't like Davor.
I didn't hate Renwick.
Once upon a time, I fancied myself a little bit in love with him. Though, with time and distance, I could see that a lot of those feelings were manipulated through the enthrallment and the love-bombing that went on when you were the highly desired new girl in the house.
There was no more enthrallment. And there was no more illusion, either.
I didn't feel sick being close to him, but I knew our paths no longer aligned. I knew all his actions were born of selfishness, that there was no actual affection. There never had been. Just wants and needs being met. Just bodies being used.
"The drivers will have us home in two days," Renwick said, not exactly comforting, just relaying the facts to me. "Try to sleep off the drugs."
I allowed a whimpering noise to escape me at that. Because I felt it. Because he would think it was appropriate.
"The cocaine will be in your system for four or so days."
So no one would want to drink from me.
Much like Drex told me about demons and alcohol, vampires couldn't get high. But they would taste the drugs. It seemed like whatever the taste was, it wouldn't be palatable.
Good.
That was good.
Hopefully I could avoid running across Davor.
I could play sick. From withdrawal. Renwick would allow me to be alone until I felt better.
That was good.
It gave me a chance to find Drex, to get him free, to escape with him.
I just had to play the game for a few more days.
The drive back to the mansion felt ten times longer than the ride away from it. I guess because I was trading freedom for imprisonment.
We stopped infrequently. To let me pee. To get me some food. Food I only managed to choke down, finding my newfound ravenous appetite again suppressed at the idea of being with the vampires once again after only barely tasting freedom.
But it was okay.
I would be okay.
It wasn't going to be for long.