Finding Amber (Book 5) Jacobs Broken Mercenaries

chapter 12

Amber

My head is killing me. I feel around for the cause and find a large knot at the base of my skull. Flinching at the contact, I open my eyes and find Estevan staring at me.
“Ah! Back up.” I snap. He does, giving me a sour look. A squeak of pain shoots out of my lips when his hand probes the bump on my head. I smack his chest, pushing at him and give him the what for look I’ve perfected around him.
“You need to feed. You’re not healing.”
Before I can make a smart remark, memories bombard me.
“What happened… Where are we?” I demand. When Estevan doesn’t supply an answer instantaneously, I take in my surroundings.  Earth around me. Straw walls above me and moans of complaint? 
“We’ve been captured, they think were human.” Estevan whispers in my ear. My stomach knots when I smell blood. I climb the mud like some possessed thing following the smell. Estevan’s hand grips my ankle, pulling me from the top. I land with a hard thump, hitting my already aching head against the ground so hard it bounces.
I jump at him, driving his body an inch deep and hiss. I can feel my teeth sharpen. Estevan smiles, confusing me.
“I was wondering when you were going to delve into your instinct.”
I close my mouth over, aching teeth and back up. 
“Why did you do that?” there’s more anger than hurt in my tone. A rustling draws my attention, and a sickly looking man appears above me. He reaches in with a long-hooked stick, and I jump back against the wall. I hear Estevan tell me to relax, but I’m focused on the stick. He reaches past me to retrieve a bucket I hadn’t noticed. When the hunched back creep sees it empty. He tosses it back in, and I have to dodge it. Rude! I mouth the words, what the fuck to Estevan, but he just shakes his head, holding up a finger in my direction. 
I don’t know why we’re being quiet when everyone else is so loud. How many people are in here? Where is here? Are we on earth? I think then I really wouldn’t care. We’ve been captured as long as we’re out of that dimension or plane, whatever they’re called.
“The chenoos brought us here. We need to make a run for it and there’s only a couple of hours to come up with a Plan B.”
My hunger distracts me, making it hard to focus on what he’s saying, but I get the gist of it.
“Why are we whispering?”
He fixes me with a glare.
“I don’t want the humans learning our plans. They will get in the way.”
My eyes round.
“You’re not suggesting we leave them?” I ask sure that I miss understood, or it’s part of the plan to get keep them out of the loop.
“That’s exactly what we’re going to do! You didn’t see the number of chenoo’s behind that door. I can get us out, but there’s no chance of getting that many people by undetected.”
I massage my temples; the ache intensifying. I’m sure it’s hunger, but the frustration isn’t helping. 
“I’m not leaving these people here!” I fold my arms, confident with voicing my decision.  Out of the corner of my eye, I watch him look in the exit's direction, then at the people until settling on me.
“And how will they survive out there in the cold?” he asks. I hadn’t really thought of that. A sadness dampens my hopes to save them.
“They’re dead either way. Even if they make it to a cave and that’s a big if.  The chenoos will just drag them back. Why give them false hope? Most have dealt with their fate.”  
Estevan’s words repeat in my head like an echo. There’s got to be a way out of this mess. Damn Mica, I hope he’s dead! Wait a minute, Estevan said Plan B, didn’t he?
“What’s plan A Estevan?”
He gives me a peculiar look, probably wondering what took so long for me to ask. I guess I hit my head pretty hard. Everything seems to be happening so fast.
“A shot in the dark. We wait a couple of hours then make a run for it.” 
My jaw drops at the explanation.  That’s his plan? Really? I’m no expert, but I know that no plan is never a plan. Every time I’ve ever just winged something, it’s always gone wrong. 
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” I tell him, shaking my head.
“Got a better one?”
No, I don’t, actually. Which makes his the best next to nothing. When my stomach growls, hunger pains shoot through the center, doubling me over. Estevan’s warm hands engulf my back as he awkwardly tries to comfort me. I don’t get how he’s so warm and I’m always cold. We’re both vampires. 
“Come with me and be quiet.” 
I straighten, making eye contact. Go where? To the other side of the six-foot-wide hole? He glides out of the crater effortlessly and silently. He looks back at me after glancing at what I presume is the exit/entrance. 
“Now?” I ask in a whisper, wondering if we’re escaping.  He shakes his head side to side in a single movement. A few seconds later he says:
“Hurry.”
There is no way I can do what he just did, and he’s crazy if he thinks so. I shake my head and hold out my arms. Estevan looks back at the Door then crouches down to grit out:
“Just try Amber, amuse me.”
I roll my eyes and do as he says; taking a running start. My feet barely touch the ground. It’s as if I’m floating on air. I shoot into Estevan’s arms clumsily.
“Oh, my god did you see that! I did it.”
He clasps my mouth and shushes me. Oops, I didn’t mean to raise my voice. His hand stays clasped as he listens for a moment with us both facing the door. The way he handles these situations assures me this is nothing new. 
I Study him a moment, getting lost in his uniquely dark features.  I have a funny thought; aren’t vampires supposed to be pale? I fit the profile perfectly.  Estevan looks like he spends days in the sun repeatedly soaking it up. I realize he’s studying me, too. The moment our eyes meet something sparks between us, I can feel it. I wonder, is he just as desperate as me to finish what we started in that cave? 
Another ache ruins the stolen moment. I gulp air, trying not to make noise. When it passes, Estevan pulls me to the back of the room. I can smell it before I even see it. The aroma is different but good, different, really good. Like spice muffins but… blood. I stand over the tub with a watering mouth trying to figure out why they have it and then the answer hits me in the face like a hammer fist. 
It’s human blood! 
“I thought we weren’t supposed to drink this?” I say in a hushed tone.
Estevan whispers back. 
“Not straight from the source, but it’s fine once it’s left the body.”
He looks at me with steely eyes, watching for the slightest reaction as he cups some in his hand, bringing to my mouth. The situation feels intimate, but I can’t take my eyes from his. The moment the thick, silky liquid hits my tongue, my body hums with pleasure. Every muscle awakens my filling out like I was nothing but a deflated balloon. Life blood… it’s what this is to us. Without it I’m afraid I’d waste away but with it I feel like superman.
Pigs blood has got nothing on this. It’s like comparing water to wine. Sure, water hydrates you, but wine gives you a buzz and gets your blood flowing.  That’s what human blood is like and I can’t ever go back. Once I’m full and can think clearly, a staggering thought enters my head.
“How do you know this blood is clean? What if I catch something?” The thought throws me into a panic.
“Relax Amber, we can’t catch human ailments. Only four ways to die. Remember?”
His voice is horse and uneven. Maybe he’s hungry? I don’t have time to analyze him. I stand watch under his command while he drinks. I don’t look his way because it feels personal and I don’t want to know what my drinking blood looks like. That will make it too real and I’m not there yet.
Estevan guide me close to the hole and peeks through the straw door. He holds his finger up, telling me to wait. What feels like a lifetime later, he makes his way back to me. As I watch his return, the intensity and concentration on his face makes him look his age or at least older than first glance. He makes me feel a certain way in the brief moments between all the crazy. I promise myself if I get out of this, I’m going to figure out him and all my feelings toward him.