“Release me now or fight me at dusk.”
A snort sounded, and Conall turned to Raoul, who’d emitted it, and now wore a grin. Of his betas, Raoul had always been the quicker to laugh. “That sounds like the old Conall. Ultimatums galore. Let him go, Sloan. If he wants to kill the human, let him. It’s only one human and no one will have to know. I certainly don’t want to face him at dusk. Do you?”
Sloan had no reaction save for the tightening of his lips. Still, he retrieved the key that opened the large lock on the front of the cage.
When Conall had agreed to have a cage put in one of the many rooms above the nightclub, he’d never anticipated being forced into it. He’d intended it for those who chose to create havoc in his establishment, the immortals he couldn’t kill without repercussion…and his own betas had locked him in.
Both Raoul and Sloan backed away immediately, moving to block the door as they grew serious. From their identical stances, Conall knew they were bracing for an attack. They still did not fully believe his “madness” had passed.
After pushing the cage door open, he swiftly jumped down, his big body slightly hunched over in a crouch. Straightening, he headed for them.
Raoul’s eyes flickered yellow briefly, and Conall knew the other man’s wolf was just below the surface. Sloan’s demeanor, on the other hand, was calm and watchful. He didn’t resort to wolf form unless it was absolutely necessary.
“Find Eli.” His nephew would have to make do with the few hours he’d had at the place. “We leave for Cedar Creek within the hour.”
***
“I told you we should have taken her to the hospital,” Drew hissed as she stared at Vivienne, fully dressed and lying unconscious atop her duvet, and then to the man at whom her rage was directed.
After Vivienne had fainted, the cab arrived and Max lifted her into it. Instead of telling the cabbie to head to the nearest hospital, Vivienne’s idiot friend had given him the address of their shared apartment. Ignoring Drew’s many protests, many of which included her telling the cabbie to head to the nearest hospital, Max had offered the driver a crisp hundred-dollar bill, and afterward, Drew’s pleas had fallen on deaf ears.
“Vivienne hates hospitals,” was the only response she received from Max as he tilted Vivienne’s head and placed a cup containing some kind of liquid to her lips.
“Vivienne hates hospitals? Seriously? This isn’t a game, Max. So what she doesn’t like hospitals? She could die!” Drew yelled, and then looked down to see if Vivienne had had any kind of response to her tone. Her friend hadn’t moved, not even to shift or blink. She’d moved in the cab, but as soon as they’d put her to bed, Vivienne had been still except for the easy rise and fall of her chest.
Having reached her limit, Drew moved around Vivienne’s bed to where her cordless phone rested. Max might be dense and stupid when it came to things like these but she was not and she certainly was not going to let Vivienne die because Max was too stupid and stubborn to realize the seriousness of the situation.
She’d picked it up, pushed the on button, and dialed “9” before Max reached her and tugged the phone from her hand.
“Give me the damn phone, Max! I am not playing with you!”
“She’s sleeping. Calm down. She’s—”
“Look, last time I checked, you were not a doctor so you give me that phone right now or I’m going to kick your ass and take it from you!” She grabbed for the phone but Max lifted it above his head, making it impossible for her to reach it. “Max, this is Vivienne’s life we’re talking about!”
“Just shut up and listen to me,” Max said, his voice rising as he looked down at her. “Her pulse is stable, her breathing even. She’s resting. And I’m not a doctor but I took an EMT class, didn’t I? Viv’s my friend, too. I wouldn’t sit here and let anything happen to her just because she doesn’t like hospitals. But I don’t see the point in freaking her out any more by taking her to one when it’s not necessary.”
As Drew weighed his statements, she gradually calmed. He had taken an EMT class during college, but did that really qualify him to make such a decision on Vivienne’s behalf? She was just about to counter with that argument when a groan suddenly touched her ears.
Max was already moving to Vivienne’s side. She did the same, taking the other side of the bed.
Vivienne blinked rapidly, and she lifted her hand to cover her eyes.
“Light too bright?” Max asked, his voice the gentlest Drew had ever heard him use.