Sydney wanted to comfort Kade. A lot of shit had gone down over the past few weeks; she was determined to help find Luca. Kade felt helpless not being able to locate Luca and blamed himself for not anticipating the attack. She wasn’t sure how to make him feel better except by comforting him in the one way she knew how. Wrapping her arms around Kade’s neck, she kissed him lightly, letting him know she was there for him. “Kade, I will do whatever you need me to do. I promise we’ll find Luca. I love you.”
“But Sydney…”He wasn’t convinced. In the nearly two hundred years since he’d turned Luca, they’d never gone without speaking for so long. Kade felt Luca dying; they needed to work fast.
“But nothing. I mean it. I would do anything for you. No exceptions. You felt Luca. Maybe it was just a slight sense, but he’s here somewhere. Now, let’s go get him.”
Kade zipped through the streets of the Garden District, driving feverishly towards the French Quarter. “It’s getting stronger. He’s not far away.”
“Is he in the French Quarter?” Sydney asked.
“No, a little farther. Maybe Foubourg Marigny?” Kade guessed.
“Hmmm…along the water? Well, that would explain the odor Luca described,” she replied.
“Sydney, we don’t know who took him or if there will be danger where we’re headed. Please. For the love of God, let me go in first. We can’t take any chances.” He knew Sydney had a tendency to act first and think later.
“Really? Are we doing this again? I have my guns with me. And do I need to remind you that you are the one who’s weakened during the day, not me? How about this…we go in together, I stay behind you.” She smiled coyly at Kade, knowing he could not refuse her during the daytime. She swore to him that she’d do what he said but that didn’t mean she couldn’t hold her own.
“All right. But no heroics and as promised, you do as I ask. We go in, get Luca, put him in the back of the SUV and get the hell out of there. Luca will most likely need emergency attention. Étienne, Dominique and Xavier are procuring donors to feed him when we return.”
Sydney cringed at the term ‘donors’. She knew there were plenty of humans out there who would willingly donate their blood in exchange for the pleasurable bite of a vampire. Given that most humans climaxed during the experience, she couldn’t understand how someone would let a strange vamp bite them, regardless of the high it guaranteed. She sighed. “I promise I’ll behave myself. Let me know if you sense any vampires or witches, though. I hate surprises.”
Kade reached across the seat and ran the back of his hand across Sydney’s cheek. He loved her so much. She was brave and beautiful. And she’d agreed to be his wife.
Sydney felt chills run throughout her body straight to her womb. God, how she loved that man. She didn’t want to worry him, and after the mess with Asgear and Simone, she’d learned her lesson. Vampires were seriously dangerous creatures, and she worried about how Luca would react to the smell of a human after being injured. Luca was formidable on a good day, let alone when he was hurt.
As they approached the riverfront neighborhood, Kade slowed the car. “There!” he shouted, pointing over to a church.
Sydney noticed the heavy broken padlocks lying on the concrete sidewalk. “Looks like someone has been goin’ to church. The locks have been broken,” she observed.
The enormous stone building must have been beautiful in its heyday. Three large arches adorned the front of the building, giving way to large, wooden double doors. Ornately carved gargoyles perched along the top of the structure guarded its entrance, providing a gothic warning to evil ne’er-do-wells. Remnants of stained glass mosaic windows accentuated the church in broken shades of indigo and evergreen.
Kade parked the car but left it running. “Sydney, you stay behind me. Remember what I told you. It’s possible that Luca hasn’t eaten in days. If he’s injured, he won’t be himself.”
“What do you mean? Luca’s always just so pleasant and friendly with us humans. Warm and fuzzy comes to mind,” Sydney joked sarcastically, knowing that Luca wasn’t crazy about humans. She made a face.
Kade frowned. “It’s more than not winning the mister congeniality contest. I expect that he’ll want to see you, but not because he necessarily wants to have a chat. It’s more than possible that the man hasn’t eaten since he was taken. You’re food. Need I explain more?” He shook his head, knowing his friend would not be in good shape. “You can follow me in and assist me if…and this is a big if, I need help. Otherwise, just stay back. I will get Luca. Please Sydney. I need you to obey me on this.”
Sydney nodded. She’d been in more than a few scuffles with vampires lately and did not want to become Luca’s dinner. She was as tough as they came, but she knew with certainty that Luca would not be the cool and collected vampire she knew. People were warned never to touch injured wild animals, because they might attack due to fear or pain, and you could get injured in the process of trying to help. A starved and injured Luca could be like a large and dangerous lion. And a lion tamer she was not. As much as she wanted to help, she needed to be cautious. The road to hell is paved with good intentions and all that business. She decided to follow Kade’s directions to the letter.
Kade exited the car. The warm summer breeze blew against his face; his nostrils flared, concentrating on finding Luca inside the church. “I can smell him. Something’s wrong.”
Sydney placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Kade, he’ll be okay. Luca is tough. Come on…let’s go. I promise to stay back.” She reached for her Sig Sauger and clicked the safety off.
With a great shove against the decrepit, weather-worn doors, Kade stumbled into the open vestibule. Rank, moldy air choked their lungs and dust danced throughout light beams, pulsating through the cracked stained glass windows. Sensing no one but Luca, Kade cautiously proceeded into the antechamber. Glancing back at Sydney, he held up his hand to her, reminding her to stay behind. She nodded in agreement as Kade entered the church.
With preternatural velocity, Kade rushed to the stone altar and hissed at the sight of Luca chained to the slab. “Sydney, come quickly. He’s silvered. I need you now.”
Sydney sprinted up the aisle, aghast at seeing Luca’s handsome face now crusted over with dried blood. His once muscular body looked emaciated, with burns oozing from the silver chains. “Oh my God. What did they do to him? Luca…we’re here. We’ve got you.” She reached over and began unraveling the heavy chains from his limbs. Sydney expected Luca to wince but he remained unnervingly still, unresponsive to the pain. The chains clanged onto the floor, dispersing the dirty needles and dried leaves that had blown in through the broken windows. “Kade. Look at all the needles. What the hell? Why would they do this?”
Kade showed no emotion while circling the altar, scanning the mess around them. He waited patiently for Sydney to remove all the silver. “Fucking assholes. They probably took blood from Luca to be sold on the black market.” Anger surged as he kicked the needles aside, silently vowing revenge on the perpetrators.
Since the vampires had become known to the public, both pharmaceutical companies and entrepreneurs had been looking to capitalize on the immortality of vampires. Try as they might, no progress had been made towards perpetual life without incurring that nasty little side effect of becoming a vampire. While plenty of vampires were willing to sell their blood for profit, it didn’t stop the gangs from kidnapping and draining vamps to sell their blood on the black market at a discounted price.