“Is that what he did to you?” Madison snapped. Her anger overrode her fears for the baby, Chris and Ephraim. For the last few months she forced herself to enjoy the moment and forget about the future. She knew she would age and that he wouldn’t. Knowing this woman could offer him something that she couldn’t was the final straw.
“You bitch!” She stalked forward with her hand raised, ready to slap Madison. Chris moved in front of Madison, blocking her. Caroline growled and backed off. “Fuck this, cover them just in case.”
Two of the men who kidnapped them stepped away from the bottom basement door. Each man positioned himself on either side of Chris and Madison, pulling out a gun and aiming it at their heads.
“Hey! I thought you said you needed us!”
“Oh, I do. There is something you should know. Ephraim is the coldest bastard I’ve ever met, but I’m the coldest bitch you’ll ever meet. If I don’t get what I want from him, if he comes I’ll shoot you first, boy, then the bitch.”
“What about the baby? If you kill her you’ll kill the baby!” Chris pulled Madison closer, trying to get her away from the gun.
She shrugged. “He’ll never die and he likes to f**k. I’m sure he’ll knock someone else up soon enough. Of course it won’t matter if he finally gives me what I want.”
“What’s that?” Madison asked.
“Why what every vampire wants of course, to walk in the sun and live forever.” She giggled.
“If I had to deal with a bitch like you day and night I’d turn g*y,” Ephraim’s voice drawled.
Everyone turned to see him stroll casually into the room and plop down in an oversized chair facing them. He leaned back, his eyes never leaving Caroline.
“How are you, Caroline? It’s been ages,” Ephraim said casually as if he was running into an old friend at the market.
“How did you get past my security?” Caroline demanded.
“Oh.” He looked over his shoulder and waved his hand lazily in the air. “Killed them, you know how it goes,” he said with a shrug.
“You killed my vampires and slaves?”
“Yup, well the ones who didn’t run off anyway. I have to tell you, Caroline, I am a bit disappointed in your selection. They hardly fought back.”
“Holy shit!” Chris gasped.
Ephraim shrugged unconcerned. “They were standing between me and my property.”
“Property?” Madison’s voice sounded hollow even to her.
He ignored her. “So, what is it going to be, Caroline? Are you still hell bent on your petty revenge, is that it?”
“It’s not petty.”
Ephraim laughed. “You really need to get over it, sweetheart. I’m sure you’ve f**ked plenty of guys and walked off when you became bored.”
“Jealous?” She gave him a sensual smile.
“Not in the least. Fuck whoever you want just don’t touch my property anymore. You know the rules.”
Caroline walked around his chair, running her hands over his shoulders. “So, which of your property do you want back?”
Ephraim’s cold eyes ran over Chris and Madison. If he cared it didn’t show. “Tell those ass**les to lower their guns or I’ll rip their hearts out.”
She waved a hand and both guns lowered. “That’s fine, Ephraim, but realize that not even you will be able to get there before they shoot and you most certainly won’t be able to save them both. Now tell me, is it the woman or the baby that you want?”
“Does it matter?”
“No, not really. All that matters is I get what I want and I don’t care how it happens.”
“Cut the shit and tell me what exactly what you want? I know your little brain has been scheming for the last century.”
“Hmmm.” She walked away from him and stopped directly in front of Chris and Madison. “Lower them,” she said firmly and stepped away. They watched as a set of thick chains lowered two feet from the ceiling in the spot she just abandoned. At the end of each chain was a thick cuff.
“What is that?” Chris asked.
Caroline smiled triumphantly. “I’m guessing from the look of fear on Ephraim’s face that it’s déjà vu.”
Madison looked at Ephraim. His face was pale and his hands were clenching the arms of the chairs. He looked utterly terrified.
Caroline reached up and ran her fingers lovingly over one of the cuffs. “To answer your question, Ephraim, yes these are your old chains. I believe these were the very ones you woke up wearing on that faithful day. Of course, I had them reinforced and cleaned up. They’re stronger, much stronger. Granted it would have been cheaper to buy new ones, but where’s the fun in that? I would have missed the look on your face and that is utterly priceless.” She winked at him.
She snapped her fingers and the man that hid in the corner stepped forward pushing a cloth covered table. “It costs a little bit extra, but I do believe I was able to recover all of Nichol’s favorite tools.” She pulled back the cover, revealing at least a dozen sharp barbaric looking instruments. “What I couldn’t have repaired I had replaced and of course I’ve added a few of my own over the years, anticipating this moment.”
Ephraim remained quiet. His eyes moved over each tool slowly. “Of course you don’t have to do this. You can get up and leave at any moment we both know that. I’ll see you in nine months and we can further negotiate. Until then I’m sure the boy and your whore will be very happy. I’ll take very good care of them.”
“Let me do this and I’ll let them leave. A fighting chance you might say. She’ll have nine months to run and hide and have the little bastard then a lifetime to hide the child from me. It will be her only chance and his as well. Or leave and you can come back for the baby and the bitch will be dead and the boy will be my new bitch.”
“Ephraim, just go!” Madison pleaded. She didn’t know exactly what Caroline had in mind, but she knew it wasn’t good. He had to go. He had to. She wanted him safe and away from here and she never wanted to see that look of raw panic on his face again.
“Don’t you dare leave Madison here, you son of a bitch! I don’t care if you were using her or not, don’t leave her here!” Chris yelled.
Ephraim stared a moment longer before standing up. His face was white as a sheet. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.