A Conquest Like No Other (15 page)

“Listen here, you overgrown
buffoon,” she said, standing on the tips of her toes, trying unsuccessfully to
be level with Judge’s face. “I consider Nikki a friend. It is something I have
very few of, and I don’t plan on abandoning her when she needs me just because
you said so. I’ve dealt with danger most of my life. This is nothing new to
me!”

“Danger? What fucking danger?”
Judge demanded.

“That’s none of your business!”
Charli replied, stepping back toward Viper.

Her progress was halted by Judge,
who was physically shaking. “You’re my mate. That makes it my business!”

Viper was suddenly bombarded with
an emotion that wasn’t his. Pain. Panic. Trying to pinpoint the location it was
emanating from, Viper shut the argument between Judge and Charli out of his
mind. His frustration grew as he realized he was going around in circles.
Nikki’s emotions were too intense. Her fear was magnifying them, making it
impossible to find her exact position. Though his brother wasn’t going to like
it, Viper needed Charli’s help. Nikki’s life depended on it.

Chapter
Nineteen

Nikki woke in a world full of
pain. She couldn’t distinguish where one hurt finished and the other began. Her
mind was so clouded with fog that she had no recollection of what had happened
to cause her to be in such a state. Her body’s torment was worsened when she
tried to push for answers.

Groaning at the situation, Nikki
was gifted with clarity at the unwelcome voice she heard over the pounding in
her head. “Good, you’re awake! I don’t like to be kept waiting, Nicole, you
know that,” Paul stated angrily. He was the only one who had insisted on using
her full name. Not even her mother, the woman who gave it to her, had ever
called her Nicole.

“What happened?” she asked,
forcing her eyes open. Dust and grit filled them, so she shut them again.

“I had been trying to work out
how to get into that ward you work on.” The evil intent behind his words broke
through the pounding in her head. She heard madness in his voice. “And it would
seem that the angels smiled down upon me and delivered you right at my feet.”

It all started to come back to
her, work, the emergency and the stairwell. “It was you following me?”

 
“Yes and you stupidly tried to run.”

“What are you going to do to me?”
she asked, fear overriding the agony she was in.

“It’s been three years, Nicole!
What do you think?” he shouted. “I had these wonderful plans for our reunion,
and you had to go and try to spoil them by getting hurt! But it makes no
difference to me.”

While he had been speaking, she
had attempted to move. She couldn’t. She was currently lying
facedown
on a thin table or bench, completely naked. Her
hands and ankles were bound to the metal legs of the piece of furniture. Though
she had established her legs were perpendicular to the rest of her body, and
her ass was hanging off the edge of the bench. It didn’t bode well for her, not
with this man as her captor.

Trying to gain as much
information as she could, she forced her eyes to reopen. They were unable to
give her any idea of where she was. Darkness filled the room. The only light
source was coming from behind her. A lamp, maybe. It was too dim to be much
more. She saw no way out of this situation. Viper would probably know that
something was wrong by now, especially when she didn’t make it home from the
hospital. But how was he going to find her, when she didn’t know where she was?

Suddenly she heard a gentle
buzzing noise, just before her lower back went up in fire. “What are you doing
to me?” she squealed.

“I’m making sure everyone knows
who you belong to! Just like he did to me in jail. Do you have any idea what
it’s like to be raped, Nicole?”

“Are you forgetting what landed
you in jail in the first place?”

“I never raped you! You were
always mine to do with as I saw fit. Now I’m marking you as mine to ensure
everyone knows not to touch you.” Pain flashed across her tender skin. The
buzzing sounded in her ears. She tried to move away from it only for her sides
to cry out in agony. “Uh-uh, don’t move! If you do you’ll only end up hurting
yourself unnecessarily.”

“What are you planning?”

“It’s quite simple, actually!
After I rejected one of the prisoners, he had his goons hold me down with a
knife in my side so I couldn’t move while he tattooed
my bitch
on my back. With that tattoo he then owned me and could do
anything he liked to me. You owe me, Nicole. I’ve spent the last three years in
hell coming up with how you were going to repay me. And since I wasn’t willing
to share our reunion with anyone else, I had to come up with a way for you to
experience a little of what I did. So I have rigged this bench with everything
I need. If you move, these knives at your sides will slice into your beautiful
skin.” He emphasized his words by jiggling the sharp instruments, cutting
deeper into her sides. “And you should be thankful. I’m at least using a
sterile tattoo gun, rather than what was used on me. By the time I’ve finished
with you everyone will know whose bitch you are. Your life is now mine to do
with as I see fit.”

“You’re fucking crazy.”

“Watch how you speak to me,
Nicole! I don’t care what state your body’s in when I take my payment for the
lies you told to land me in prison, or for the fact that you were sleeping with
that redhead,” Paul said, leaning over her injured body, sending every nerve
ending screaming. “You had a fucking vibrator, you didn’t need him!”

“You took it from the house?” she
managed to ask as her mind threatened to black out again. She couldn’t allow
it. She needed to keep him talking. The more he spoke, the less damage he did
to her body.

“What, your vibrator? Yes, of
course. I have it here. I thought we could play a little while I work,” came
his reply before she heard the toy’s distinct humming. “You were always partial
to the color purple, weren’t you?”

She felt his body move, right
before she sensed him standing beside her head. His evil presence had a shudder
of terror running up her spine. Unable to quell the shaking, Nikki felt the
knives pushing deeper into her sides. Crying out in pain, she tried to still
her body, but it was impossible. This man was forcing her to relive her worst
nightmare. Whimpering as he drew closer to her face, she pulled her head back
as far as it could go.

The hand with the vibrator shot
toward her mouth. “Open for me, Nicole!” She held her lips firmly closed. “This
is going into that mouth of yours, one way or the other. You’d best accept your
fate, because I’m done with all this chitchat. I have work to do before I can
play with your body, and I want you conscious the whole time.”

Tears fell from her eyes as she
held on to her resolve. Paul once again proved that he had the upper hand when
he pinched her nose, blocking off her only other airway. The fear and panic
that had been running through her whole being escalated. This crazy man was one
step away from killing everything that she and Viper had been working toward.
How was she going to fight him, when she had nothing left to fight with?

Her thoughts turned to Viper. He
had worked his way into her heart, and she was never going to have the
opportunity to tell him how much she loved him. His strength filled her. A
calm, almost serene feeling came over her and answers were gifted. If Paul
thought he could force himself on her again, then he had another thing coming.
She didn’t doubt that he would kill her once he had his fill. He had ignorantly
given her the tools to take matters into her own hands. If her life was ending
tonight, then she would be the one deciding when. The answer was now.

Opening her mouth, she took a
deep breath in before the vibrator was shoved forcibly down her throat. Still
that didn’t stop her. Wrapping her toes and fingers around the legs of the
bench, she gained the leverage she needed. Sending Viper thoughts of her love
for him, she moved her body from side to side, inviting the knives deeper into
her sides. Warmth filled the area as her blood exited her body. The drip had
now turned into a gush. She allowed the darkness to once again take her,
content in the knowledge that she had beaten Paul at his own game.

****

Viper felt Nikki’s resolve as
clear as if it were his own. The strength she was displaying would have made
him proud, if she wasn’t planning on removing herself from his life.

“How far, Charli?” he demanded,
knowing his mate’s life hung in the balance. His question was met with silence.
“Damn it, woman! Tell me, are we close?”

“Watch your tone,
fae
!” came Judge’s growled response.

“There! There it is!” Charli said
excitedly from the front seat.

As soon as Judge pulled his car
over, Viper had the back door open. His sword was drawn, ready for action as he
took a step toward the dilapidated building. His progress was stopped by a hand
on his arm.

“Get your hands off me, cat!”

“Viper, you’re not thinking
clearly. You need to wait for Devil and Chaos so we can assess the situation,”
Judge said calmly. “Going off half-cocked is going to get your mate killed.”

“She’s already dying, Judge. I
have to get to her.”

“He’s right,” Chaos said,
stepping out of the black van he and Devil had driven in. “Her life force is
weak.”

“And I’m smelling nothing but
blood,” Devil added.

With a look back at the car where
his mate currently sat, Judge partly transformed in to his mountain lion and
said in a rougher tone, “Then let’s go get this fucker!”

Viper brought his
fae
magic forward as he advanced on the building. He knew
his eyes would be glowing yellow and his aura a muddy red.

His sword silently did away with
the boarded up door. Their entrance remained undetected. Stepping into the
abandoned factory, Viper could hear the crazy rantings of Watson.

“What the fuck did you do, bitch?
That was my life to take away, not yours.”

Viper couldn’t allow himself to
think of his mate being dead. Nikki needed the warrior in him, not the mate who
loved her. He continued on his path. The one that would lead him to justice and
the hope that Nikki had offered him.

Once they had ventured through
the room that would have once been the reception area, they came to a large
opening. Beyond it was Viper’s mate and her kidnapper. Scuffling could be heard
as Paul continued with his tirade. Devil took a quick glance around the wall.
He held up one finger, confirming what Viper already knew. Watson was acting
alone.

Not bothering to wait any longer,
Viper barged his way into the larger room with his sword drawn, ready to punish
this man. What Viper hadn’t counted on was the closeness of Watson to Nikki. In
his impatience, he had ignored the powers his
fae
blood allowed him. The man immediately ducked around the bench Nikki lay
bleeding on. He held a knife to her throat.

Viper’s gaze followed the knife.
His heart sank at the sight of his mate. For such a strong woman, she seemed so
frail now. Helplessness filled him, followed by anger. He couldn’t concede
defeat while there was still life in Nikki’s body. Watson’s next words worked
to fuel Viper’s ire, drawing him further out of his melancholy.

“Stay the fuck away from her.
She’s mine!” Watson yelled. “All of you, stay back!”

Viper would have traded his life
for his mate’s in a heartbeat, but he knew the monster in front of them would
have none of it. The man was the worst of humankind that Viper had witnessed.
And it wasn’t just because he stood in between Viper and his mate. Watson’s
aura was a dull, flat red, highlighting the man’s disregard for consequences.
His thought process revolved solely around his own wants and needs.

Considering what Watson’s aura
told Viper, he knew he needed to find a way of attacking the man without using
physical force. Devil, Judge and Chaos seemed to be waiting for his next move.
As Nikki’s mate, he was the one that responsibility fell to.

His plan of attack came to him.
It was simple and didn’t involve him moving from the spot. Unfortunately, it
was also going to be the most difficult thing Viper had had to do. Closing his
mind to the picture in front of him, Viper went in search of Watson’s mind. He
needed to discover this man’s true desires. Not surprisingly, they revolved
around Nikki’s ultimate submission and absolute devotion.

Taking his delusions, Viper ran
with them. Implanting Nikki’s image into the man’s head, Viper spoke in her
voice. “Paul, I’m here with you. Take me out of here.”

“Nicole?”

“Yes, it’s me. How are we going
to get out of this dump?” Viper asked, again using Nikki’s voice.

“I have a car waiting,” Watson
replied.

“Would you mind going and
bringing it around? I feel very tired.” Viper pushed all thought of his, Devil,
Judge and Chaos’ presence out of the man’s head, as well as Nikki’s previous
rejection. Instead, he reminded Watson of a time when he and Nikki were happy
together.

“You’re right. Let’s go home,
babe,” Watson said, kissing the phantom Nikki’s forehead. “I’ll be right back!”

As soon as he had moved away from
Nikki’s lifeless body, Viper pounced. He altered the images in Watson’s head, causing
him to relive his worst nightmare. It was a memory from jail that would
traumatize anyone. Once Viper had set the recollection on a loop, constantly
replaying that experience, he moved toward his mate.

Destroying the contraption that
had caused the damage to Nikki’s sides, Viper gathered her into his arms. He
bound his life force with hers and held it to him, refusing to allow her to
leave him. The thread that he clung to was weak and waning. Nikki needed more
than what he could offer.

“Devil, get over here. Nikki
needs your blood!” he ordered.

As the vampire approached,
leaving Judge and Chaos to deal with Watson, he explained calmly, “Viper, she’s
lost too much blood. If I give her mine now it’ll bring on the transformation.”

“Damn it, Devil! I can’t lose
her. Just do it!”