Cain hesitated. “He’s still . . . young.”
“But he can defend himself, right?”
“Of course he can. You worry about him?”
Ursula pressed herself back into the seat. “No.”
Liar, liar, pants on fire.
“Then stop fidgeting. If what you say is true, and those vampires run some sort of blood brothel, my colleagues will pose as clients to get the lay of the land. They won’t start a fight tonight.”
Why hadn’t Oliver told her that? Was he afraid she’d find a way of warning her kidnappers? Did he still not believe her?
“And the guns?”
“You’ve got good eyesight.”
“That doesn’t answer my question,” she shot back.
“Maybe I’m not in the mood to answer questions.” He looked at her, his eyes hard and unyielding. “I’ve read your file cover to cover. The police reports, the newspaper articles. Add to that what you told us yourself. The fact that you escaped from that place.” He motioned his head toward the building. “Looks like a pretty hard thing to do, particularly if there are as many vampires on the premises as you claim. Something about your story stinks. And just because you managed to wrap Oliver around your little finger, doesn’t mean you’ll have as easy a time with the rest of us. I, for one, don’t think with my dick!”
Ursula huffed angrily. She opened her mouth, but he cut her off.
“Save your breath!”
She folded her arms over her chest and looked out the window, watching the building intently. It was dark, but that didn’t have to mean anything. All windows were either painted black from the inside or boarded up, or in some cases hung with heavy drapes, so that no light could penetrate. Likewise, no light could escape to the outside. She was certain her captors had done this on purpose so that nobody would be drawn to the building and start asking questions.
How they attracted clients, she could only guess. Word-of-Mouth most likely. They couldn’t very well advertise that they had blood whores with special blood for hire.
Time seemed to stand still. Nervously, Ursula chewed on her fingernails, when she finally saw a movement at the door to the building. The entrance door opened, and one-by-one the three vampires stepped out, then walked straight toward the van.
Anxiously she waited. All three walked to her side of the van, but Zane was the first to reach it. He opened her door, lashing an angry glare at her.
“What that fuck was that about?” he asked.
Jolted by his harsh tone, she shrunk back from him. “What happened?”
“Nothing happened! Absolutely nothing!” Zane ground out. “Waste of my fucking time!”
Ursula’s gaze darted past him, searching Oliver. When he met her eyes, she saw something akin to disappointment in them.
“Oliver,” she begged.
Oliver hesitated a second before he spoke. “The place was empty.”
Automatically she shook her head. “No, no, that’s not possible.” She pointed her hand toward the building. “That’s the house. I’m absolutely sure. That’s where they imprisoned me.”
Oliver cast his eyes down as if trying to avoid her. Behind him, Amaury’s face was set in stone.
“There’s nothing in there,” Amaury added. “No vampire, no human, no furniture.”
In disbelief, she shook her head. “No, you’re lying! They’re in there. They have to be!”
“We have no reason so lie!” Zane snarled. “You, on the other hand, have been leading us on a wild goose chase. I don’t know what your game is, but honestly, at this point I don’t care. Because it ends here.”
Equally shocked and frightened by Zane’s words, she felt her hands tremble. What was he planning to do to her?
“Please, I can prove it! I’ll show you where I carved my name into the wall of my cell. I can—”
Zane leaned in, his face half a foot from hers, interrupting her. “I don’t care for your lies. Whatever your game is, I’m not playing it.”
Then he turned toward Oliver.
“Wipe her memory, and then you and Cain will put her on a plane to Washington DC. Send an anonymous message to her parents to pick her up from the airport. If anything goes wrong, I’ll make you responsible. Are we clear on that, Oliver?”
No! she wanted to scream, but fear of what Zane would do if she did clamped down her vocal cords.
Oliver stared at Zane. “Listen, there must be another way.”
His bald-headed friend glared at him. “Do as I say!” He pointed back toward the building. “You’ve been in there. It was empty.”