Bound by Night(95)

Hunter narrowed his ebony eyes at her. “What are you getting at?”
“Grant and I have been poring over the files I took from the lab . . . there’s so much more, but I believe
Daedalus has discovered why vampires have difficulty conceiving and giving birth. That’s what the breeding experiments have been about.”
“They want vampires to conceive?” His skepticism rang clear as a bell.
“No. Well, yes, because the goal is to fully domesticate vampires. Engineer them into docile, harmless creatures and then breed them like cattle.” She watched his hands open and close into fists over and over, and she wondered if he was imagining squeezing any particular human—or recently turned-vampire— between them. “It’s too much work and too expensive to catch wild vampires and enslave them. Too much risk when things go bad. And only the wealthy can afford vampire slaves.”
“But if they bred their own mindless, spineless drones, they could mass-produce them and make a fortune selling to the average citizen.”
“Exactly.”
Hunter snarled. “I hate humans.”#p#分页标题#e#
Not long ago, she’d have been insulted. Now she was right there with him.
“So what’s your plan?” Hunter asked, all business and impatience.
“I’ll promise ShadowSpawn as many pregnancies as they want in exchange for Riker and Lucy. And don’t worry, I’ll make sure Grant has all of the information he needs to help MoonBound make babies, too, just in case anything goes wrong with ShadowSpawn and I’m, well . . . not able to come back.”
“No.”
She uttered an exasperated curse. “How can you say no? This is the best shot we have of getting Riker out of there alive, and you know it.”
“He wouldn’t want this, Nicole.”
“I don’t care what he wants. He’s not here to make the decision, is he?” She wheeled around, paced a few steps, and came back, more determined than ever. “This is my choice. If you don’t agree, I’ll find a way to do it. I’m nothing if not resourceful, Hunter. I got out of here before, and I can do it again. So either I do this with your backing, or I go alone. Which is it?”
Hunter thought about that for a long time, his shrewd gaze never leaving her. Finally, he said quietly,
“When do you want to go?”
“I need a day to get everything together.”
There was a knock at the door, and Hunter barked, “Enter.”
Myne appeared in the doorway. He didn’t meet her gaze. “Nicole left me a message to meet you both here.”
Hunter crossed his arms over his chest and shot her an accusatory look. “Did she?”
She nodded. “I want Myne to take me.” For some reason, Myne jerked like he’d been stuck with a cattle prod.
“Take you?” Myne’s voice sounded strangled.
“To ShadowSpawn,” Hunter said, and Myne blew out a relieved breath before he squared his stance, as if preparing for danger. “But you’re not going alone. I’m going with you.”
“Is this about Riker and Lucy?” Myne asked.
Nicole closed her eyes, relieved and happy to be able to help. “I think I can save them.” She opened her eyes to find that Myne was finally looking at her, but his cheeks were flushed pink. “I also have something
I think you can use.” She gave herself five seconds to change her mind, and then she said very deliberately,
“Chuck is always at the Daedalus Ridge Golf Course on Thursdays.”
 
 
• • • • • •

 
 
Cold. Pain. Hunger. Riker was close personal friends with all of them. Most people would have called them enemies, but Riker knew what an enemy was, and in comparison with ShadowSpawn vampires, even starvation seemed friendly enough.
Shackles bit into his raw wrists as he shifted from his knees to sitting against the rock wall with his legs stretched out in front of him. Those were the only two positions available to him, and neither was comfortable, given that his arms had been bound behind his
back. He’d been stripped and beaten, but on the second day of his captivity, one of the chief’s daughters, the one with the limp, had brought him a pair of flannel pajama bottoms. They were too short, but he’d been grateful nevertheless.
Of course, he’d also been suspicious as hell, but no matter how many times he asked the female, Aylin, why she was giving him clothes, she didn’t respond.
Her twin sister, however, had left him bleeding and nearly blinded just two hours earlier.
Rasha was a royal bitch.
He wondered how Bastien and Nicole were doing.
He regretted not having more time to spend with the boy, but maybe those few hours they’d spent together before this all went down would leave Bastien with positive memories. The idea that all he’d ever known of fathers was pain and abuse was too horrible to bear.