Replica(64)

But there was barely a whiff of him.

“He went willingly,” Calvin confirmed. “This place is good at bringing people in without a struggle. They’ve perfected it.”

“How?”

“Was his pack taken at some point? I assume so, since he’s here with you.” Calvin looked down the left hand branch of the intersection, then ducked back. “Camera.”

I nodded. “Yes, his entire pack was killed, but...” The conversation I’d seen in Rachel’s memory was so strong. The way Ivan had spoken of his wife, the pain on his face.

“He’d have followed her anywhere,” I whispered. And the truth slammed into me like a ten-inch silver stake.

I was a fucking moron.

I swung a hand at Calvin, grabbing him around the throat and lifting him off the floor. “And you were my bait, I suppose?”

He scrabbled at my hands, but Ivan’s blood still sang in my veins, making me stronger than Calvin by ten-fold. As if he were a mere human again.

“Not like that,” he bit out. “Helping.”

I tightened my hold and then threw him into the T-intersection, slamming his body into the far wall hard enough to send him through it. A high-pitched alarm went off, and a chorus of howling sounded from the depths of the facility, carried to us through the filtration vents.

“You’re going to get us both killed!” Calvin slowly pulled himself out of the hole. “I swear I can get you to them!”

“And then walk me right into a trap? I think not, my friend.” Madre de Dios, I was a fool’s fool. I had more than one problem. I couldn’t leave Calvin loose. He’d already confessed he was doing his master’s bidding.

But I wasn’t sure I could kill him, in spite of our agreement. Even I wasn’t that cold. He took a slow side step away from me as his eyes widened. “You can’t kill me, Lea. Not yet. I’m not done yet.”

“You know the rules, Cal. No witnesses.”

His eyes widened as I leapt at him and tackled him to the floor. We rolled down the hall, fists flying hard and fast. I pulled a stake from the top of my boot and drove it into his shoulder, twisting it until it ground against bone.

Calvin screamed, his body arching under the silver. “Fuck!”

I left the stake where it was and steeled myself. “I’m sorry, Calvin.” And drove my fangs into his exposed neck. I drew down his blood, gulping it until I felt as full as a bloated tick, my body barely able to contain everything I took. Sweet blood, the blood of my friend and the one person I’d trusted for so long. Tears trickled down my cheeks. I was the monster he’d accused me of being so many times.

I unlatched my mouth from his neck and his eyes flickered. I’d taken enough to make him too weak to follow me, but not enough to kill him. Even now, I couldn’t make myself end his life.

“Damn you,” he whispered.

“I am damned, no need to remind me.” I rose and lifted him easily into my arms. I slid into the first open door I found and settled him inside the room. Until someone came along, he’d be going nowhere. “If I can, I’ll come back for you.”

He glared at me and I shrugged.

“No, you won’t.” He said.

I didn’t argue with him, just bent and took his pass card from around his neck. I couldn’t say goodbye, not again. So I backed out the door and closed it softly. A distant howl caught my ears.

A howl I knew all too well.

“Fuck it all, Ivan,” I snarled. “You’re going to get us all killed.”

I sprinted down the hall, following his scent to a wide open room—a small ballroom by the looks of it. But why would there be a ballroom in a facility like this one? I took one step inside before the room’s lights dimmed. I froze and watched as an image flickered to life in front of me, about halfway across the open space. A tall auburn-haired woman with pale gray eyes smiled at me.

“Ivan.” She breathed his name and held a hand out to me. “My love, come to me.” She glanced over her shoulder, a full body shudder rippling over her. The scent of roses and fear wafted into the room.

Fuck, whoever had put this hologram together was good. I could see the glimmer of sweat on her brow, the flicker of uncertainty in her eye, even the twitch of her muscles as she seemed to fight something.

I held my ground and she went to her knees, pleading. “Ivan, don’t leave me here. Please!” The words sang between us. She tried to move toward me on her hands and knees and then flipped onto her back, her whole body convulsing as if electricity were being run through it. “IVAN!”

From below us came a howl full of pain and grief.