Scorched Ice (Fire and Ice #3)(27)

“Not possible. I can feel the strength in you.”

“I’m not a normal vampire. I’m a friend.”

“Who hangs out with the enemy. You think we didn’t see you all in the pool. You think we don’t know who Julian and Devon are; you think we didn’t recognize some of our own. The traitors amongst our own kind!” he spat at her. “There’s been a standing kill order on all of them for two years. We may not know who you are, but we’ll figure it out.”

She’d never seen this guy in the poolroom. Where had he been hiding? Had they purposely sent the other man to lure them away from the pool? She had the unpleasant suspicion the answer to that question was yes.

They’d been lured away and split up, making them more vulnerable to an attack.

Where were her friends? How many members of The Commission and Hunters were in this hotel? Had her friends all been taken or killed already?

Julian. Terror tugged at her gut, but she couldn’t give in to it. If she let her emotions rule her, she’d never make it out of this fight. Julian was still alive; she would know if he wasn’t.

This man had said there was a standing kill order on the others, but what of her? The Commission had no idea who she was, and this man was more than curious about her. Would he try to take her alive in order for The Commission to figure out exactly who and what she was?

Julian had told her some of what had been done to him and Cassie while they’d been held prisoner and tortured. She’d seen more of his imprisonment when their minds were connected while they fed from each other.

She would die before ever letting these bastards experiment on her in such a way. If they ever figured out what she truly was, she had a feeling they would make eternity for her an exercise in brutality.

“Don’t force me to kill you,” she said.

The man’s thin lips twisted into a smile, and in that instant, she knew only one of them would walk away from this. The flicker of the lights in the room revealed the lethal ability this Hunter possessed. She had only a second to brace herself before a bolt of electricity slammed into her chest, flinging her backward.





CHAPTER 11


“Where is Quinn?” Julian asked of Cassie when they found her in the hallway.

“We split up,” she replied as she glowered at him before turning to aim a killing glare at Devon. “What were you thinking?”

Devon lifted an eyebrow but refrained from responding.

“Why would you split up?” Julian demanded, drawing her gaze back to him.

“Because you two idiots took off after a man who is a member of The Commission!” she retorted. “Because we had no idea what had happened to you or what was going on. Because you could have run straight into a trap without so much as a backward freaking glance at us!”

Devon stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. She remained rigid in his grasp, her chin jutting out as red briefly burst to life in her eyes.

“We’ll find the others,” Devon assured him as he ran his hands up and down Cassie’s arms. She relaxed a little in his hold. “Which way did they go?”

“Chris, Melissa, and Dani went that way. Quinn went that way,” Cassie answered as she pointed down the different hallways.

“She went alone?” Julian’s throat went dry, and his chest constricted at the realization. “We have no way of knowing how many of them are here.”

Cassie didn’t bother to tell him he should have considered that before he left Quinn behind; he already knew that. If it were possible to kick himself in the ass, he would gladly do it up and down this hallway as soon as he found Quinn. He never should have taken off after that man, but the second Lou had said Commission, he hadn’t been able to think about anything other than murder. His impulsiveness and rage were things he’d believed he’d gained better control of; he’d been wrong. He wouldn’t make the same mistake again.

“Did you catch him?” Cassie asked instead.

“No,” Julian replied. The man must have had a room to retreat into soon after he’d fled from the pool area. With all the numerous scents filling the hotel and the many heartbeats, it had been impossible to track the man once he vanished from sight.

Horror filled Cassie’s eyes. “We have to find him.”

“We will,” Devon assured her.

“You go after the others. I’ll locate Quinn,” Julian said.

He took a step away from them as all the lights lining the hallway dimmed.

“Dani,” Cassie whispered. The lights flared back to life before dimming again. “They’re in trouble.”

“Find them,” Julian said. “I have to find Quinn.”

He didn’t look back as he fled down the hall Quinn had taken. If the others were in trouble, she could be too.

The lights dimmed again, this time for a longer period of time. When they burst to full life again, three of the bulbs lining the walls shattered. Julian didn’t bother to try to protect himself from the shards of glass raining over him. He barely felt the slices tearing across his skin as he ran.

***

The glass of the pinball machine shattered beneath the impact of her body. Quinn groaned as pain lanced through her. Not only had the bastard hit her with a bolt of electricity, but he’d drawn from the energy flowing through the hotel before doing so.