Page 31 of Fanged Embrace

Ethan shrugged, sauntering away to retrieve his jacket from where it was hanging over a camera fixed to the wall. “I appreciate the concern, but, y’know…” He glanced down at the guard, yanking his jacket on while the corner of his mouth quirked up. “I think I did all right.”

Hunter stalked forward, stepping over the battered guy on the floor like he was little more than a doormat. “What the hell is going on? We thought you’d been taken.”

“Iwastaken. Kinda. But I had this on me.” Ethan looked annoyingly pleased with himself as he lifted his shirt up, revealing a tiny, intricate talisman dangling at his scrawny chest.

“Is that—” I tilted my head to get a better look at the necklace, but I only needed one glimpse of Hunter’s stormy expression to understand what it really was. “That’s an elven charm.”

No wonder Hunter looked so put out. It was the only thing capable of warding off telepathic abilities like hers. No doubt Ethan wore it just to spite her personally.

“Yes indeed.” He grinned, patting at the talisman with unabashed pride at his own infinite cleverness. “You remember back at the event when that weird guy bumped into me? I heard his voice in my head, telling me to leave the venue in exactly two minutes and wait outside for further instructions.”

Both my brows shot up. “So itwascompulsion.”

Laurie was right.

“Yeah, but it didn’t stick.” Ethan shrugged, flashing a smug little smirk in Hunter’s direction. “Because I always wear this charm.” He met her eyes and smiled with syrupy sweetness.

Hunter huffed, rolling her eyes to the ceiling. “Of course you do.”

Ethan lowered his shirt and straightened out his jacket. “Anyway, because of the charm, I wasn’t actually compelled. But he didn’t seem to know that—So I decided to pretend like it worked, just to see what the guy was up to.”

He nudged the unconscious guard with the toe of his shoe. “Turns out they’re bringing people here, apparently to be turned or experimented on—or both. I’m still figuring out the details.”

Maxine turned to Hunter with a wry smile. “So, your borderline obsessive hatred of magic-repelling trinkets actually saved Ethan’s life. How ironic.”

Ethan’s grin widened and Hunter bristled as she turned on Maxine. “One more word out of you and I will compel you to eat dirt.”

Maxine tapped a finger to her lip, unbothered. “Maybe I should get myself a talisman if you’re going to be making threats?—”

“Why the fuck are you all just standing there!?” Without warning, the intercom in the corner of the room crackled to life, making us all jump, and an urgent voice blared overhead. “River?! Can you hear me?”

On cue, Maxine, Hunter, and Ethan all swiveled toward me. Maxine’s eyebrows climbed halfway up her forehead. “Um… Friend of yours, River?”

I stiffened, my heart leaping to my throat. I knew that voice.

“Laurie…?” I turned in circles, confused about how she could even see us, when my gaze eventually settled on the camera watching us from the wall. “Where are you? What the hell are you doing here? I told you towait?—”

“That’s not important right now!” Her usual impatient tone was evident even through layers of static. “You need to get out of there!”

“Okay, who the hell is this Laurie?!” Hunter threw her hands up like this new twist was too much for her. “Will someonepleasetell me what is going on?!”

“Uh—” I began, but Laurie’s voice sounded again, loud and frantic through the speaker.

“River, listen, there are more guards coming your way and they’re all way more competent than that guy—” We all stepped back to look at the dude still sprawled out on the floor. “These aren’t regular people you’re up against. Please, you have to go.”

Laurie’s voice carried a dire warning, and I understood then that whatever we were about to face, she’d seen it all before. She’d gone directly against my earlier orders and somehow broke into this placebeforeus, but something told me I had to trust her on this one.

She understood this danger better than any of us.

“You heard her.” I grabbed at both Hunter and Maxine—the latter of whom grabbed hold of Ethan—and dragged all three of them toward the door, repeating Laurie’s words with bubbling urgency. “We have to move. Right now.”

16

Laurie

I sat on the edge of my seat, adrenaline jittering in my veins, my gaze pinned to the cluster of screens blinking in the low-lit control room. The dull hum of the generators pulsed in time with my heartbeat and I began to really consider the consequences of my actions.

Alerting River had been a choice, a choice that could very well get me killed for my meddling. Still, I’d decided to help, so... now I was committed to risking life and limb for a vampire and her entourage.