Kayla lifted her off the bed and in a fluid movement had her on the bathroom floor. She then spoke into the phone.
“Solara, we have moved into the bathroom. They are still downstairs and from what I can hear they don’t have any immediate plans to come up.” She looked down at Scarlet huddled in a corner. “Put Stephan on. Scarlet is slipping into hysteria.”
She handed the phone to Scarlet who took it all too eagerly. She didn’t speak until she heard the familiar bass from the other end.
“Scarlet, I am almost home. Vincent should be there any second from now. Stay calm and quiet and do what Kayla tells you.” He tried to sound as reassuring as he could. He could only imagine how scared she was. He cursed himself for leaving her but was relieved that they had hit a blood bank before leaving town. He had enough strength in him if it came to a fight.
“Hurry! I’m so scared. Please hurry!” her voice was trembling. She was scared. One night Stephan had left her and there were intruders in her house.
Scarlet’s phone screeched at her dresser. It took Kayla a second to get it from the room and into the bathroom. She had it on silent before she rejected the call. It was Marcie and Kayla didn’t think it was the appropriate time to answer social calls.
“What was that?”
“It was just my phone Stephan. Kayla, what is it?”
Scarlet noticed the defensive position Kayla had taken at the door. She didn’t know what was scarier, the blood-red eyes that replaced Kayla’s brown ones. Or whatever was on the other side of the door that had caused the reaction.
“Stephan I’m scared. Kayla is staring at the door and she isn’t answering me. And her eyes have gone red all of a sudden.”
“Scarlet be quiet and don’t distract her. Don’t talk anymore but don’t hang up. We are almost there.”
“What is it?” Solara was beyond worried now. The thought of Kayla facing four beasts on her own frightened him.
“They got to them. Where the hell is Vincent? He should have been there by now.” Stephan was tensing. He thought of phasing but he couldn’t. He still wanted to keep in contact with Scarlet.
The bathroom door flew out of its hinges and hit Kayla. The door fell into splinters as it crushed into her. She still didn’t move the door hadn’t done any damage to her. She still stood at the same spot she had.
Stephan could hear the noise from the other end of the line. Scarlet’s scream tore right through him.
“Scarlet!”
“They found us. Kayla! Kayla! No!”
***
Marcie held her phone to her ear. Willing someone at the other end to answer. She had tried Kayla’s cell but it was engaged. She was getting desperate.
She was sitting at the table with the stranger across from her. He watched amused by her. He seemed to enjoy her squirming.
“No one is picking up.” She was getting frustrated as another busy tone rang in her ear. It was the middle of the night. She wondered what was so important that neither of the two girls would answer their phones.
“Keep trying until someone picks up. If no one answers in the next hour, well…” he was swinging in his seat, looking up at the ceiling.
“What do you want with him anyway? If it’s that important why not just go there?” she didn’t want to purposefully endanger Scarlet or Kayla, but she needed to get away from this mad man.
“That’s a thought. You would do that wouldn’t you?” he lifted the table between them and tossed it to the side. “And that is why you are sited here with me.”
He pulled her towards him. “Move a little closer. You are so far away.” His hands outlined her shape and settled on her waist. In one move he had her straddled on his hips.
“That’s better don’t you think so?” He combed his fingers through her red curls gently at first, and then he grabbed her hair and forced her hair back. He planted kisses along her neck.
“That is what you would do?”-Kiss- “that is a stupid move you know” –kiss- “let me tell you why. Stephan seems to have back up, and rocking into the little hole he calls home will be suicide.” –Kiss- “you don’t want me to get hurt do you?”
He pulled her face to him, to kiss her lips. “Do you? Or are you hoping that he kills me in the process?”
“No… I don’t want that.” She could barely control her disgust for him. She was determined to play along, so long as it guaranteed her survival. She pressed her lips together as he continued planting kisses on her. A low whimper escaped her lips. She wanted to cry but was determined not to.
“Where are my manners, we haven’t been introduced. What is your name?” He was smiling at her again.
“Marcie.”
“Marcie. What a beautiful name. My name is Zen.”
***
“Scarlet! Scarlet! Tell Kayla not to engage him. If she attempts to fight him he will kill her.”
Solara’s head span towards him at the mention of Kayla’s name. He knew only too well how hard-headed Kayla was. He could only hope that Vincent got there soon.
Kayla relaxed her posture. She knew fighting all four of them was a waste of time. Besides she had heard what Stephan had told Scarlet about her engaging them. She had to ensure Scarlet’s safety and that was only possible if she was alive.
She didn’t fight or struggle against them when they took both of them to the living room. Scarlet shoved the phone in her pocket as a woman grabbed her by her arm and pulled her off the floor. She didn’t want to hang up because it would only worry Stephan and she wanted him to hear what was going on. She placed her hand casually over the pocket as she followed her.
Stephan held the phone firmly to his ear as he ran through the forest. They were approaching the clearing, the other side of it was Scarlet. Solara was running just as fast beside him. He had a worried look on his face.
The three men stood over Scarlet and Kayla who was now seated on the sofa, the woman stood further behind them her gaze constantly on Scarlet.
“We are not here for you. Where is he?”
They didn’t answer him. Kayla already knew what they wanted and was sure that in ten minutes they would get what he asked for. For now, they would have to make do with the two of them. The three of them. She squeezed Scarlet’s hand. She could hear Vincent’s thoughts getting clearer. Relief washed through her. She was sure he knew how best to handle the situation.
Vincent is here
Scarlet closed her eyes and smiled in relief. It wouldn’t be long before Stephan and Solara got there.
Vincent burst through the door before the interrogation continued. He planted himself between the men and the girls. “What do you want here? I thought that your first visit was enough? I can promise you we didn’t miss you enough for a second one.”
“You mean to tell me this is their second visit. Vincent?” Kayla was furious.
“She is very brave, isn’t she?” one of the men stared at Kayla as he spoke. “We weren’t introduced the first time we were here. I am Xavier and the men behind me are Sam and Eric.” The men nodded as their names were called out. “The woman is Nikki. It’s her first visit here. She isn’t particularly fond of the human, but many of us aren’t.” He snickered before turning his attention to Vincent. “And you are?”
“Vincent. The ladies are Scarlet and Kayla. Kayla is the one whose courage seems to have caught your eye.”
“Yes. Her beauty does match her brave nature. It is a shame that I don’t venture outside my species. You must be Stephan’s pet.” A grin curved on Xavier’s lips as he stared at Scarlet.
Scarlet and Kayla had been too busy being frightened to notice him before. But now, with such a clear view they could see how handsome he was. His devilish grin only brought out the beauty in his face.
“I suppose you are their protector. You are not doing such a good job of it.”
The woman stepped forward out of the shadows, a scowl on her face. “My only wonder is why they haven’t made a meal out of this one.”
“You know why.” Xavier’s head inclined to the left where she stood.
“I can smell it from across the room.” Nikki sneered the words out, her irritation increasing.
“Now be silent we aren’t here for that.” Nikki stepped back when Xavier spoke. She had made her distaste for Scarlet clear. Nikki’s glare never left Scarlet.
“I’m sorry, do we have a problem?” Scarlet asked.
Kayla giggled for a second. Scarlet’s head turned to her. She was wondering what part of the situation amused her. She then stood up and pulled Scarlet to her feet beside her. She now stood in the middle of the two vampires. She stared at the smile that Kayla had on her face, confused.
I’m glad this amuses you. She contemplated shoving her elbow in her ribs. But that would only hurt her and this wasn’t the time for it.
“We are here to see the half breed. Bring him to us.” Eric’s voice was authoritative. It was easy to pick him as being the leader of the group. “Where is he?”
“Right here!”
Scarlet’s head turned to the door, where Stephan’s voice came from. Now she understood Kayla’s smile and giggles. She knew they had arrived and didn’t tell her. She couldn’t help but be excited. Moving as fast as she could, she runs to go and stand behind him.
Solara took his position beside Kayla drawing her into his side with an arm around her.
“It seems you are spoken for, brave one. My apologies.” Eric smiled at them before focusing on Stephan who was still standing at the door. His hand held onto Scarlet’s who had taken cover behind him.
“We need to talk, half breed. Your mate seems very frightened of us. She also seems to be the only human left. Solara seems to have changed his.” Xavier coughed out a laugh and took a seat in the armchair.
“How did he know?” Scarlet was curious. This was the second time he had referred to her relationship with Stephan.
“How did I know? I can smell him in you. He has left his mark on you. It is a beast thing and because of it no other beast can approach you.” Xavier chortled.
Stephan ignored his comment and got to the point. “We have already talked about this. I don’t want any part of this. So if you would be so kind as to leave?”
“Yes, we have. But I am here to offer it to you one more time. Just in case you have changed your mind. I can see you haven’t so I am going to leave this with you. You can contact me on it.” Xavier tossed a cell phone on the table. “It has only one number, mine. It is also the only number I will recognize if you call me. If you attempt to use the one your mate has in her pocket, I will not answer.”
Scarlet reached into her pocket and pulled out Kayla’s phone. She could feel her face burn up. It was ridiculous to think that they didn’t know she was hiding a phone. She disconnected the call that was still in progress with Solara’s phone.
“Fine, you have said your piece and left the phone. Please leave.” Stephan moved from the door, pulling Scarlet with him. “You have caused enough terror for one night.”
“We have overstayed our welcome. We apologies for the damage caused upstairs.” Scarlet winced at the memory of the door being kicked. As it flew at Kayla and shattered as soon as it came into contact with her. One by one they left the house and disappeared into the darkness.
Stephan shut the door before pulling Scarlet into his arms. He was kissing her neck and running his hand over her back. He hated to admit it but he was scared. At that moment he was relieved to have her in his arms again.