Page 8 of Vicious and Volatile (Vengeance and Venom #2)

T he next day, we head to Baltimore. The whole drive there, I pray to whatever god or gods might be out there that this will be Ophelia. Emotionally, I don’t know if I can handle it, seeing person after person be rescued from something so awful and devastating. I’m healing from my own trauma. Seeing others in the worst of theirs is hard and heavy for someone with their own dark past.

Ares and I ride in tense silence as we cross the state border. My right knee bounces as nerves take over my system. I try to imagine what it will be like when I finally see Ophelia walk outside, when I finally get to hug her again. I know there will be tears involved. But after these eight weeks, it’s going to be one of the best damn days of my life.

We turn down the last street as the GPS navigates us. It’s an upscale neighborhood, much more like I’d expect, considering the cost of buying a human. It feels a lot more like Lawrence’s house than the one we found Kelsey at. Ares is getting bolder. He parks in the empty driveway. He pulls his ball cap down farther on his head, obscuring his face. I kind of thought he’d look ridiculous in a hat, considering the tatted and leather style he’s always sporting, but no. He looks like a wet dream even in a hat.

“I’m going in with you for this one,” I insist as I pull my own hat on and slide on some sunglasses.

“Lana,” Ares says, my name a warning.

I shake my head. “I hate the idea of you going in alone. I’ll stay out of danger, I swear. But you need back up.”

His lips press into a thin line, and he lets out a hard breath, a sign of his exasperation. But he laces his fingers back into my hair and leans forward to kiss me just once. “Gun is loaded?”

I nod.

“Let’s go,” he says as he opens the door and climbs out. I don’t wait for him to change his mind and scramble out of the car to join at his side.

Ares marches right to the front door. He tries the knob, and when it twists, he pushes it open.

And suddenly my heart starts going crazy.

We walk into a gorgeous entry. A set of ornate stairs curves up to the right to the upper floor. Straight ahead is a beautiful living room with a view that looks back onto a golf course.

Ares strides right in. I stay five paces behind him.

“The reckoning day has arrived,” Ares growls, and as I round the corner, I see a man and a woman standing in the kitchen. Both look at Ares with wide, shocked eyes. “Where is the woman?”

“What woman?” the man asks, his words quaking. He’s… remarkably average, considering he must be a vampire. He’s no t exactly fit, though he isn’t overweight either. His hair looks like it’s thinning a little on top. If I were to see him in the city, he’d be immediately forgotten.

Ares crosses the space in a blur. He grips the man by his shirt, yanking the man until their faces are just three inches apart. The woman backs away with a scream. “The one you bought from that sick bastard.”

“How do you kn?—”

“Where is she?” Ares bellows in his face, cutting the man off.

“Right here!” the woman in the kitchen shrieks, and she sounds truly terrified. But it’s for this vampire that she sounds scared. “I’m right here.”

In unison, Ares and I both look over at the woman.

Blonde hair. Average build. She’s probably around thirty.

But she looks well fed. She’s dressed nicely. Her hair is done, and she’s wearing makeup. Even her nails are done, and they look professional.

“He bought you, though?” Ares says, the confusion evident on his face.

The woman nods, and she still looks terrified. But not of this man. She’s scared of Ares . “He did,” she nods. Her eyes flick to the man, and I see… what is that? Concern? Worry? Love? “At first, I was scared. But all the worst parts were being in that damn warehouse. As soon as I came to Jerry’s, well, I’ve never been treated better.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Ares asks, his tone completely baffled.

“I’ve never hurt Leslie,” the man—Jerry, says. “I swear. Yes, I paid for her. But I always intended to make an easy, nice life for whoever I got. Trust me, I didn’t want to have to do that— buy someone like they weren’t human. But hunting someone down or stealing blood that the hospitals need, it felt just as bad.”

“You realize these people were taken from their lives, right?” I ask, the disgust climbing up my throat. “They were taken against their will. Put in cages. You paid to take her life away.”

Leslie shakes her head. “I’d been going to Red parties for months before I woke up in the warehouse,” she says, rushing her words as if she can’t explain herself fast enough. “The first time I experienced the bite, it was the first time I forgot about the shit that was my life. So, I kept going back. Red parties were the highlight of my month.”

“You were trying to get taken?” Ares asks in disgust.

Leslie shakes her head. “No. Honestly, I didn’t realize that was what the parties were really for. Though, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Most people who go to those parties have pretty bad lives. There’s a reason they’re chasing the bite. I wanted an escape, even for just a few minutes. But I didn’t mean to get taken. Waking up in that cell was the most terrifying day of my life, trust me. But then I woke up here, with Jerry…” She looks over at him, and damn, I can’t deny it. That’s love in her eyes.

Ares looks back at Jerry, really looks at him. Down. Up again. He stares at Jerry with intensity.

It’s kind of hard to believe Jerry is a vampire. He’s just so average . I can’t really imagine a man less intimidating-looking.

I see the conflict in his eyes. Ares came here to serve justice. The man did purchase a person. Ares’ mission is to bring justice to someone who would do such a heinous thing.

But it’s kind of hard to call this heinous .

“Please, don’t hurt him,” Leslie begs, her voice quiet. “I could leave. I could walk out that door any time. But I don’t. I won’t. I happily offer him my blood. My life here, with Jerry… I’ve never been happier. So, please, don’t hurt him.”

Ares suddenly lets Jerry go, backing up a step, his hands still poised in the air, with a little look of disgust on his face, laced with dazed confusion.

I don’t blame him.

This took a turn for the bizarre. I never, ever would have expected this twist.

Is this what Stockholm syndrome looks like? That doesn’t feel quite right, but it’s the closest I can come up with to explain what’s going on.

“Thank you,” Leslie says in emotional relief as she rushes to Jerry’s side. He loops his arms around her, and she buries her face in his neck.

Holy hell. I think this is real.

Jerry loves this woman. Leslie loves the man who bought her.

How do you serve justice in a situation like this? Or is this just a very complicated, unexpected love story?

“I think we should go,” I say to Ares, even though the words feel wrong. Not wrong, just wildly unexpected.

Ares glances back at me, and I see it in his eyes. He’s looking to me for answers. Are there any? He truly doesn’t know what to do, and he’s seeking my opinion as a woman and a human.

“Let’s go,” I say with a nod.

Ares blinks twice and looks back at the… couple.

“This is really what you want?” he asks hesitantly. “Because I can get you out of here, right now. I can take you back to New York. You could go back to your life. Right now.”

Leslie meets Ares’ eyes and shakes her head. “I wouldn’t go back to that life. Ever. I’m exactly where I want to be.”

Ares blinks again, slowly. He shakes his head in disbelief. Then his eyes slide to Jerry. “You ever do something like this again, I will know. And I won’t let it go again.”

“I understand,” Jerry says with a nod. And by the look in his eyes, I think he really does.

I don’t get it, but I do believe Jerry had no sinister motives when he did what he did.

Stiff and wound tight as a spring, Ares turns. He takes my hand, and we walk back to the front door. It feels absolutely insane when we step outside, closing the door behind us, and it’s still just the two of us.

We found our victim. But is she a victim?

It sure as hell didn’t look like it.

That in there was a happy woman who was at peace.

“The fuck?” Ares mutters under his breath as we walk back to the car. He shakes his head again. “We’re doing the right thing?” he asks as we stop at my door.

I shrug and then shake my head. “I… I think so. It didn’t look like she was lying. And why would she? It’s kind of hard to fake the look in her eyes.”

Ares nods, though he still looks like he’s having a hard time accepting it. But he takes my advice and opens my car door. I slip into the passenger seat and buckle up. A moment later, Ares drops into the driver’s seat. He just sits there for thirty solid seconds, staring in the direction of the front door, as if debating if he should storm back inside and finish what he tried to start.

But finally, he presses the start button on the car. He keeps staring at the door for another ten seconds. And then he puts it into reverse, and backs out of the driveway.

We pull down the road. We found our person. It feels damn wrong to leave them. But you have to respect people’s wishes.