Page 60 of Hitched to the Vampire King
“Position’s clear. I can move closer,” Avery whispered.
“Negative,” I immediately replied, keeping my voice as quiet as possible. Nash was a vampire. Headsets or not, there was a risk he could overhear. “Nash knows your scent. We can’t risk him spotting you. Try to stay upwind, and we’ll see if Josh and Jaden can get a visual confirmation first.”
The last thing I wanted was Avery taking on Nash by herself. The man had a hold on her emotionally, and we couldn’t risk him escaping if she freaked out. It was best to let him come closer before we made our move.
Josh’s voice crackled over the line, “Got eyes on a moving target. Looks like a vampire. Tall, hair could be blond, hard to say in the dark.” Silence, and then, “Looks to be heading for the side entrance.”
“It’s him,” Avery hissed. “I’d know his scent anywhere.”
And seeing as how she was the only one of us to have ever met him in person, we had to take her word on that.
“Go,” I murmured, giving everyone the green light.
“Jaden and I are on the move,” Josh whispered. “Proceeding to the side door entrance.”
“On my way,” Avery replied. “I’ll cut off his rear retreat.”
“Gabriel and I will come in head-on,” I finished.
“Good luck,” came Lucy’s soft reply.
No one responded, seeing as how we were all too busy getting into position.
Gabriel and I darted toward the side of the building. Hugging the corner, I held up three fingers to Gabriel and silently counted down, just as I’d done with Sam earlier in the day. When I reached zero, we both stepped around the corner and came face to face with the vamp himself, just as Jaden and Josh appeared from the side, and Avery at his back. If I hadn’t known any better, I would have thought we’d practiced this.
Nash staggered back a step, clearly shocked to see us here. But the moment he realized who we were, a slow cat-like grin spread across his face.
“I was wonderin’ if we’d ever get to meet in person,” he drawled in an incredibly thick Louisiana accent. “How nice it is to meet you two. I never had the pleasure of introducin’ myself while you were all locked up.”
Great, he was a talker.
“I must say, I’m honored to be meeting our king,” Nash continued, his focus lasered on Gabriel.
I didn’t like that one bit, and I stepped forward, brandishing my stake. The vamp had to know we outnumbered him, yet that damn grin of his didn’t so much as flicker. I did, however, catch the slight shift in his stance, preparing himself for whatever might come next.
“Though, I suppose you ain’t much of a king here, now are ya?”
“Where are Adrian and Elias?” I demanded, drawing Nash’s attention.
His gaze flicked to me, and a flash of interest brightened his eyes. “Ah, yes. Thewerewolfmate. I would have loved to have gotten my hands on you.” He leaned forward and licked his lips. “I do so enjoy playing with your kind, as your friend Avery can attest.”
An inhuman snarl sounded behind me, and before I could stop Gabriel, he snatched Nash by the collar of his shirt and slammed him into the side of the building.
“Don’t evenlookat her,” Gabriel growled.
Nash merely sized Gabriel up, then started laughing. “So the king does have some teeth.” His gaze lifted over Gabriel’s shoulder, and he eyed me. “You like them fanged, sweetheart?” He made a show of flicking his tongue at his canines before fixing a malicious grin in my direction.
Gabriel’s response was swift and visceral—he slammed a fist into Nash’s gut, one that had the vamp doubling over from the force. Yet Nash’s laughter persisted, as grating and defiant as ever. Guess the only thing that would shut him up was a stake through the heart, which I was happy to oblige.
I sidestepped Gabriel, my resolve hardening just as Josh, Jaden, and Avery closed ranks around Nash, sealing him inside a semi-circle of vampire hunters.
“No more games, Nash,” I said, my voice steady despite the frustration boiling within me. “Tell me where Adrian is, and I’ll make this quick.”
Nash, clearly undeterred by the threat or this entire situation, smirked. “Ah, darlin’. You should know by now that I don’t like doing things quick. I prefer taking my time?—”
His taunt was cut short as Gabriel, with a ferocity that took me by surprise, gripped Nash by the throat and heaved him into the air one-handed. He slammed Nash against the building with a force that shook the aluminum siding.
I glanced at my mate, my heart jumping at the sight of him. He looked every inch the powerful vampire king, fueled by righteous anger.
