Without Regret (Pyte/Sentinel #2)(131)

The one time he’d changed someone had been his wife and she’d been healthy at the time, not struggling to live.

Knowing he could very well be rushing his son towards the grave he leaned over and bit into Joshua’s throat, pulling on the blood fast as he shoved his wrist into Joshua’s mouth. He just prayed some of the blood made its way into his stomach.

“Stop! What the hell are you doing?” someone demanded, but he didn’t care who it was. If they tried to stop him he would kill them and they must have sensed that because no one tried to stop him.

“Is he going to be okay, Daddy?” Joshua asked, sobbing.

He didn’t know. For all he knew it was too late, but he wouldn’t give up until he felt Joshua’s heart give out. A minute later it did just that.

*********

“Master?” a minion cowering near the doorway said.

“We have a problem.”

Logan glared at the man as he shoved past him. “Her screams gave her away,” he bit out tightly, still trying to deal with the shock of discovering that Isabella was pregnant. A child was a problem, a problem that he couldn’t afford.

“Not that, Master. T-the other Masters have sent their men to take her,” the minion said, stopping him dead in his tracks.

“What did you just say?” he asked, knowing that it should be impossible. No one should know that he had her.

No one.

“There are demons and shifters surrounding the house, Master. They want the girl and have promised immortality and money to everyone that helped them.”

That was his only warning before the minion attacked, but Logan was ready for him. He didn’t trust anyone, but especially not the humans working for him. Just as the stake was coming down at him, he shifted to the side, grabbed the man’s wrist and twisted it until he heard a wet snap. He didn’t hesitate in breaking the traitor’s neck. He dropped the body to the ground and continued towards the hallway, not surprised when three more minions came for him.

He killed them just as quickly as the first and wasn’t too surprised when a few of his vampires, men he’d turned, came for him. He was a difficult Master to work for. He didn’t allow mistakes of give second chances and the chance to go to another Master, one making all kinds of promises they’d probably never fulfill was hard to pass up.

The vampires took longer to handle and caused some damage of their own, but they were turning to ash as he made his way to the basement. He wondered if he’d have to fight with the Ramjis for his prize as well. All it would take would be the promise of more money to turn the demons on him.

When he made his way downstairs he had to hold back the sigh of relief when he spotted the demons and a few vampires standing guard, looking almost bored as they watched the little scene in the cell unfold.

He forced himself to remain calm as he signaled for them to leave, hoping they would leave without a word, but of course they wouldn’t.

“We’re not leaving him with you,” one of the demons said firmly.

“He’ll be alive when you see him again, but for right now I need to do your damn jobs and go guard the upstairs,” he bit out evenly.

With one last glare in Kale’s direction they left. He knew they only had minutes before they came back and he needed them to count. There was no way he would allow another Master to get his hands on his prize. Not when he was so close to getting everything he needed.

When he heard the basement door click shut, he grabbed the crowbar in the corner of the room near the old furnace and found the small notch in the cement floor and jabbed it inside.

“What the hell is going on, Logan?” Kale demanded when Isabella thankfully stopped screaming.

“I’m going to make another deal with you,” he said as his muscles strained to pull the large block of cement and stone up.

Kale snorted. “Because this deal has worked out so well for me?”

He managed to pull the cement block and to the side just as he heard a loud bang upstairs. It would only be a matter of minutes before they stormed the basement.

“The other Masters got greedy. If we don’t get her out of here now they’ll probably tear her apart,” he said, pulling the key out of his pocket and unlocking the cell door, noting the murderous gleam in her mate’s eyes.

“If you want to get her out of here alive you’ll come with me and do what I say,” he said, knowing he’d be killing her mate and Kale the first chance that he got.

“Let’s go then,” the Sentinel male said, picking Isabella in his arms quickly and carrying her out of the cage.

How had he come so close only to have everything fall apart in the end? he wondered as he followed the couple to large hole.

“It’s part of the old Underground Railroad system.

There are stone steps that lead down and from there I can lead you to a safe tunnel,” he promised.

Holding the sobbing woman tightly in his arms, the male turned and met his eyes in a way no one had done in centuries. “If you touch one hair on her head. I’ll kill you.”

*******

“It hurts,” Izzy cried into his shoulder as they moved through the cramped tunnels.

He forced himself not to look back and to keep moving, but it was difficult. He didn’t like having two enemies at his back, especially knowing that at least one of them planned on killing him to get his hands on Izzy.