A Shade of Novak (A Shade of Vampire #8)(55)

I stood up straight, dipping my hands into my pockets as I took a few steps closer to her, casually closing the distance between us.

“And what’s that?” she asked, her eyebrows arched.

“Adelle, I—”

The door crashed open and Sofia sped in, her face alight with panic, sweat dripping from her brow.

“Have you seen Anna?” she panted.

“No,” I said, walking up to my daughter and gripping her shoulders. “What’s wrong, darling?”

“Kyle said she’s disappeared.”

Adelle and I both stared at Sofia, dumbstruck.

Chapter 42: Sofia

I stood staring across our kitchen table at Derek.

“A setup,” I murmured.

“What else could this be?” He glared back at me. “As soon as they realized we’d shown up without Anna, those vampires had Caleb concoct an excuse to enter this island—that he was returning Rose to us. And while he was here, he swiped Anna.”

His words sent my head into a tailspin. Every inch of the island had been searched. Anna had well and truly disappeared. Kyle was distraught, although he was trying to put on a brave face for Ariana and Jason.

“I can’t believe we could have been so stupid and gullible as to trust that vampire,” Derek seethed, throwing his hands in the air.

“Derek,” I gasped, tears burning my eyes. “Anna’s pregnant. She’s eight months pregnant, goddamn it!”

I picked up a vase from the table and hurled it against the floor, shattering it into a thousand pieces.

I sank to my knees, fighting back the tears. I never had been one to express my feelings with violence, but this was about Anna.

Whoever is responsible for Anna’s disappearance—be it Caleb or someone else—has just called upon a very different side of me than anyone is used to witnessing.

Chapter 43: Caleb

I swore as soon as the hatch slammed shut above me.

The taste of Rose was still alive on my tongue, her scent still haunting my senses.

What the hell was I thinking?

I stormed through the passageway and sat down in the control room, lowering the submarine as quickly as I could. Getting away as quickly as I could. Away from her.

As the dark waters flooded past us, I ramped up the speed.

“Hello, Caleb.”

I whirled around to see Stellan standing a few inches away from me, a syringe between his fingers.

He stabbed it into my neck before I could react.

“Staying away for so many hours allowing me time to recover could have been excusable, but using one of my submarines to hold me captive in? You sure are a fool,” he hissed in my ear as I sank to the floor. “I always keep keys on me.” He lifted up a small chain of keys from a hidden pouch within his shirt and dangled them in front of me. He gripped me roughly and dragged my limp body out of the control room, down the steps toward the lower deck.

He stopped in front of the storage chamber. Before opening the door, he leaned down over me. His eyes glinting, he withdrew another syringe from his pocket and stabbed it into my neck. Blackness was clouding my vision fast now.

“Hm,” he muttered loud enough for me to hear. “This dosage should be enough to keep you unconscious for just over seven days. Now I just need to decide where to dump you for all that time…”

He swung the door of the chamber open. I caught a glimpse of a young pregnant woman lying still in a corner before he flung me down against the hard floor and locked the door, plunging the room into darkness.