The men examined the body and the note that was left with it. It read, "You are next. No one else needs to be hurt if you come willingly."
The body belonged to another girl, also named Danielle, who had been missing for a week. Griffin and Mason carried her out wrapped in a blanket. They didn't need to worry about being seen. No human would notice a vamp who didn't want to be seen.
As soon as they were out of the room, Dani began to pack a few things. Kayden waited while she showered, and he was glad she had. She smelled strongly of human male and it was obvious she'd recently fed. When she emerged from the bathroom, she was wet and sexy in nothing but an oversize towel, and the scent of sweet lavender billowed through the air. Damn it, she was hot!
She grabbed some clothes and woke Olivia before heading back in to get dressed. It was weird. Dani didn't even say anything to her. She just touched her, and Olivia got up, gave her a hug, and left with a smile, like they'd had a whole conversation. On the way to his car, Griffin called to tell Kayden to take Danielle to Chase's home, where he had a room ready for her. That didn't make Kayden or Dani happy, and she snatched the phone from him.
"I've had a shitty damn week, and I am not going to put up with Chase tonight. There has to be another place to stay for a few days until I can get my head on straight, Griffin. If not, you may find that boy dead too," she snapped.
Kayden was astonished at her complete lack of respect for Griffin Vaughn. Nobody spoke to him that way.
"You can stay with me, if you like. I live with my parents, but we have a spare bedroom. It's not fancy, like the Vaughn estate, but it's home," he whispered in her other ear.
"I'm going home with Kayden. We'll check in tomorrow." She hung up the phone without saying good-bye.
"I'm really sorry you have to leave school for a while, but after today, you have to understand the need for it. I'll do my level best to stay out of your way. Honestly, I hope we can become friends. It'll make it easier for you to have me around." Kayden wanted to plant the seeds of friendship before he pushed her for more.
"I just need to think, Kayden. I've had my whole world rocked in the last twenty-four hours. I hope you can forgive my need for silence." Dani closed the conversation with a swift slam of Kayden's car door.
The ride out of town toward Kayden's house took about thirty minutes. She'd never really noticed Kayden's scent before, but being in the car with him brought it to her attention. He smelled earthy, like the woods behind her mom's house in the spring when everything was in bloom. The good thing about Kayden was he didn't need to fill the silence. He could let her think without needing to know what she was thinking about. She didn't want to talk about all the shit that was happening, and if she did, Dani couldn't tell him anyway.
Kayden pulled off the freeway and said, "We need to check in at the Enclave before we head to my house. I'm sure Mr. Vaughn has called my father, but I still think we should make him aware that you're in town. The warriors in the area need to be on the lookout for anything odd." The all-business side of Kayden was new to Dani. The more time she spent with him, the more intriguing he became to her.
"What exactly is the Enclave?"
"It's where all the warriors in this region report. Some of them even live there. Think of it as a cross between a police station and a military base."
At least she'd be close to reinforcements if the shit hit the fan. She thought it would be interesting to see a hive of warrior-type meatheads.
She supposed she shouldn't be so narrow-minded. After all, they would be protecting her and, from what she'd seen earlier, she needed it. Dani was just so pissed off. She was in the middle of a shit storm with no umbrella, and she was sick of it.
Kayden drove into a gated community, passing the armed guards, who didn't even make him pause. By the time they were up the short drive leading to the gatehouse, it was open, and the guards respectfully nodded at Kayden.
The new Kayden was such a surprise and not at all like the party hound she'd seen and heard about from others. Crossing the grounds was an experience. Indeed, there were a lot of warrior-looking men trotting around, but there were also a lot of families. There were moms and kids at the various playgrounds. People cooked on stationary grills, while other people gathered around picnic tables. The day was warm, and everyone took advantage of it. There were individual houses and buildings that looked like apartments with courtyards and gardens. In the center of the complex there were large buildings that she assumed were the training facilities. Kayden parked and exited the vehicle before he came around and opened her door. She looked at him in misery.
"Can't I just stay here, Kayden?" she pleaded with a pout.
"How am I supposed to protect you if I don't stay with you?" he smiled and held out his hand.
"I'm just not in a very good mood. I don't know if I can be polite." She gave in and took his hand. "I feel like hitting somebody. I feel like screaming and kicking and fighting." She finished with a growl.
Kayden stopped and looked at her. He smiled the bad-boy smile she was used to seeing. "If you wanna fight, this is the right place. I could find a hundred people willing to spar with you at any moment. Or maybe you wanna fight with me?" He raised one naughty eyebrow. "I wouldn't be opposed to doing some self-defense training with you. If you plan to fight fair, that is." He turned and started walking.
"Are you serious? You would spar with me? You would teach me to fight?" she asked, thrilled he didn't treat her like a defenseless girl.
"I would love to teach you to fight. It would make me feel better to know you could defend yourself if need be. As far as wanting to hit someone, I understand that completely. I come here frequently to spar in order to work out my anger issues. The only thing is, you can't cheat. No using your superpowers," he said with a grin as he held the door for her.
The building appeared to be a police station in the front. Long hallways branched off to meeting rooms and gyms with boxing rings. People wrestled on matted floors and played on basketball courts. They passed a huge pool and several saunas before reaching the locker room. She hadn't seen a woman since they passed the area of the grounds where the houses were located. Not one woman was inside the training facility itself.
"Are you ready to get your ass handed to you?" he asked playfully.
"I'm not dressed for it." She looked down at her jeans and sweater.
"That's okay. I'm sure I can find you something. Stay right here." He disappeared into the locker room. While he was gone, a group of large, mountain-looking men came down the hall in a loud cluster, boasting over a basketball victory, insulting each others' skills and manhood. When they noticed Dani they got quiet, and several of them stopped to interrogate her.
"What is a sweet thing like you doing hanging around outside the locker room? Wow. Have you boys ever seen a girl with hair like that? Are they power marks, baby doll? You look like you could be very, very powerful," the crew cut blond asked, flashing a smile that would melt the heart of any woman. He was man personified, and he knew it. He had a scar that started at the corner of his eye, stretched across his cheekbone, and disappeared under his chin. Somehow, the battle scar made him even sexier.
Alright. She was feeling intimidated and a little embarrassed with them all staring at her. Dani squeezed her way out of the circle and walked down the hall toward the front of the building. She was officially ready to fight. When she finally reached Kayden's car, she was glad to find it unlocked. Dani dug in her bag until she found a pair of yoga pants and a tight workout top and went back inside to change in a bathroom with no gender sign on the door. Ladies' rooms were unnecessary with no ladies. She changed quickly, excited at the prospect of taking a few swings at Kayden. Hopefully he wouldn't hit her too hard. Maybe he would hit her hard enough to knock her out for a few days. She could use the break.
"Damn it!" Kayden had taken a while trying to find her something to change into, but he'd told her to stay still. Where the hell could she have gone? She wasn't in the car or any bathroom he came across. There was no way anyone could get to her on the Enclave. What if she left on foot? No, she wouldn't do that; would she?
On the way back from his car, Kayden overheard a couple of guys talking about how odd it was to see a female in the training building. "What happened to the girl you saw?" he demanded through gritted teeth.
"A few of the guys stopped to give her a hard time, but I didn't stop. You know I can't stand Darren, and he was all in her face." The guy shook his head.