Chasing Demons (Book 2) Rated R

Chapter 12

Chris was definitely being tortured.

There was no doubt about it in my mind now as I waited for Julian to pick me up at the wrought-iron gates of the Embassy.

My kidneys felt bruised as if I'd been repeatedly punched in them.

I groaned as another wave of nausea passed over me. Whatever they were doing to him, I could feel the effects of it across my entire body.

And apparently, my healing magic did not know how to fix telepathic wounds.

Just as a sleek, black Mercedes-Benz barreled down the road toward me, I doubled over in pain and vomited, missing my shoes by a mere inch.

Though it wasn't particularly warm out, I felt clammy and hot. But if I was being honest, I'd take this and bruised kidneys over another round of holy water any day.

The car screeched to a halt beside me and the window rolled down, revealing a put-together Julian on the other side.

"You look like crap, Ms. Matthews."

"Shut up," I grumbled as I threw my bag into the back seat and climbed into the passenger side. "Whatever your nephew's gotten himself into, I can feel every ounce of it through this stupid bond. So here's what we're going to do. I'm going to help you find him but I'm going to need a blood contract first."

"Oh?" Julian said, eyebrows arching as he merged onto the highway, leaving behind the Embassy and most importantly Damian.

I hated how we'd parted ways but I couldn't allow myself to focus on that right now. Something good had to come out of this, otherwise, I'd just been cruel to my best friend, my childhood friend, over nothing.

"I want a blood contract that specifically states to you will force Christian to lend me soldiers in exchange for his rescue. I want one hundred men. No, one-fifty."

"Let's make it an even number. Two hundred men! Going once, going twice..."

"I'm not joking."

"Neither am I, Ms. Mathews. I'm certain Christian will have no problem agreeing to these terms. Once we can get him safely back to his rightful place on the throne, of course."

"Yeah, well, if you or Christian fail to deliver these men to me, I want it written in blood that I get to castrate you."

"You sadistic girl," He said, wrinkling his nose. "Fine, fine. I must love my nephew a good deal to put my gonads on the line."

"Great. You can pull over and draft the contract now."

"You offend me. I am a vampire, very capable of multitasking. Do you have something to write on?"

I fished through my bag until I found the envelope Christian's wedding invitation had arrived in.

I tried not to be affected by that.

Why I'd stuffed it into my bag at the last moment right before I called Julian instead of flushing it down the toilet with the rest of the invitation, I didn't know.

Maybe it was to remind myself that I was only going on this rescue mission because it was mutually beneficial to me. He was getting married, we clearly were never getting back together and I couldn't march into Blackrock Castle if I was being interrupted by bouts of fiery pain along the way.

And this had nothing to do with me being worried sick about him...

Julian used the steering wheel to scribble the terms of the contract over the paper. Using his vampire incisors, he drew blood from his wrist and signed using his fingernail.