Ultimate Weapon (McClouds & Friends #6)(103)

He laughed. “It’s one of the things I love about you, my blood-thirsty vampire queen. Soon. I can make it soon, if you prefer it.”

“Oh, yes,” she breathed, all excited. “I prefer it.”

Something inside her screamed in protest at what she was about to do to herself. She let the hand with the hypodermic drop, sliding the tiny device between her middle and ring finger.

No, no, no, the fifteen-year-old girl inside her sobbed. Don’t make me do this. Not again.

But she had to. This was the perfect scenario. A gift of fate—for Val and Imre, if not for her. But having a hateful, foul-breath goblin jerking and heaving on top of her while another watched, salivating for his turn—that had not been part of the bargain.

Oh, God, no. She couldn’t face that. Not again. Not now.

It’s only temporary, she told herself, not for the first time.

Hah. Temporary was a fictitious concept. Time was not linear, and she was not made of metal or gemstones, much as she wished that she were. Kurt, Georg, Drago Stengl, they had all been temporary, and even so, they had warped her almost beyond redemption.

For love? Could she? She thought of the look on Val’s face when he talked of Imre.

Love? Like he’ll love you after this, if he ever really did. He’s just a man. You can’t. There’s only so much a woman can bear.

But it was the only way. If Rachel was going to have any sort of mother—even one like her—this was her best chance to survive. To be inside the attacking force, provide information to Val from within, create a diversion during a rescue attempt—it was streamlined, it was perfect. It made sense. It beckoned to her as the intelligent, practical solution. And if she managed to kill Georg in the process, so much the better.

Her arms tightened around him. “Why’s he taking so long?” she complained.

“He’ll be here soon. He’s dealing with that agent. Maybe Janos is taking longer to eliminate than Hegel anticip—”

Crash. The door burst open. Val took in the tableau on the bed, and dove toward Georg. His grimace of rage made his face almost unrecognizable.

Georg flung her away from himself with a hoarse shout. Tam rolled off the bed and thudded to the floor.

Val leaped on top of him. Crack, a pistol in Val’s hand connected with Georg’s face. Blood spattered and flew, along with a couple of teeth, arcing across the coverlet. Georg’s leg whipped out, his foot connecting with Val’s jaw. Val spun away, bounced off the wall, and came right back at him with a roar, crashing into him. The two men toppled off the bed and grappled on the floor, Val on top.

A smashing blow to the nose, and Georg lay limp, eyes closed, blood streaming over his mouth and chin. Val raised his hand to chop down—

“No!” Tam lunged, grabbed his arm to block the killing blow. “Stop! You idiot!”

He stared at her. “What do you mean, stop? Is this not what we agreed? Was this not the plan?”

“No! He’s going to kill Novak!” she whispered fiercely. “Soon! In days! This is our chance, Val! To save Imre! Listen to me, goddamnit!”

Val stared at her, panting. Struggling with the powerful instinct to conclude his kill. His eyes were tormented with confusion.

“Do not kill him.” She enunciated the words very clearly. “Not yet. Use him first, you f*cking idiot! Why do you think he’s not already dead by now? Why do you think I was naked in a bed with that freak in the first place? What, do you think I pull stunts like this for my health?”

Val stared at the unconscious man, his huge fists shook. “Novak?” He repeated the name helplessly. It was all his mind could take in.

“Georg has a plan to kill Novak. Soon! We could use it,” she said. “I’ll stay with Georg, and let you know when he—”

“No.” His hand clamped over her forearm. “You’re not staying.”

“Calm down, Val,” she soothed. “Be professional. Take advantage of the situation. Don’t be a baby. This way, I can feed information—”

“No. Shut up, and put on your f*cking clothes.”

The fury in his voice rocked her back. She stared into his hard face, feeling slapped. She knew that look. That judging look that pushed her away from him, and said whore.

She hadn’t even had sex with that hideous turd, but she would pay the price anyway, just for having been willing to do so. And for Imre’s sake, too. She was such a fool. Such a goddamn fool.

Well, and so. Fuck him, too, then. Fuck them all.

She got up, deliberately flaunting her naked body, and pulled on the clothes Georg had made her remove. She grabbed Georg’s automatic pistol and holster from the dresser, checked the cartridge. Full—fifteen shots. Better than nothing. She stuck it in her purse.

As soon as she was decent, briefcase and purse in hand, he dragged her out of the room. Three men were sprawled in the hall outside. All of them unconscious. Val hauled them into the room and left them there in a bleeding heap.

He dragged her into the stairwell, and they sped down, barely staying on their feet. The ground floor had a door that led out to a side street. A little blue Vespino waited. Val swung his leg over it, waited for her to climb on behind. His eyes dared her to make a snide comment.

She had to struggle not to laugh. After all the blood, all the drama, a sky blue Vespino? It was an anticlimax, buzzing around the hills of San Vito on a mini-scooter, like a couple of thirteen-year-old in-namorati looking for a place to smooch.