Dawn's First Light

The city was eerily silent and still. In a place that never seemed to sleep, everyone was oddly enough tucked into bed. Dane didn't like it one bit. This whole thing had the smell of a set up. And they were about to rush head first into a trap. He motioned for Patrick to scout the perimeter and hauled Keene to the side of the building to wait for the all clear. The man was suffering. But, he wasn't about to allow Keene to bully his way inside until they had a better picture of what they were dealing with.

Kayla stared up at the blank wall of windows looming over her head. The idea was a simple one. Put one foot in front of the other and bravely walk through the front door. She clutched Mr. Smiles to her chest and took a deep breath. Bryce gently tugged her arm, pulling her away from the door to the side of the building.

Patrick dropped low to the ground and inhaled. He shuffled through the smells of the city and latched on to the bitterly sweet scent of rogues. Roark had been through here recently and from the smell of it, a small army along with him. The trail led deeper into the city away from the high rise. There were fainter scents beneath the lingering scent of rogue. One in particular caught his attention. Blood. He walked a few steps, following the smell. Lori had been here, about an hour or so ago. Her trail led into the city. Roark and his men weren't out for an evening stroll. They were tracking her. And they had a damn good head start. "I've got her. This way," he said.

Kayla was glad, one way or the other that it would be over soon. She could not even begin to match a vampire's speed or endurance and she'd be damned if they were going to leave her here alone. Reluctantly, she climbed onto Bryce's back and wrapped her legs tightly around his waist, gripping his shoulders in a tight hold.

Bryce bit back a quip about being a pack mule and adjusted Kayla's weight on his back. Alone, she was defenseless. And since they weren't exactly sure where they were going to end up she couldn't follow behind in the SUV. That trail could lead anywhere. Places a vehicle couldn't go. He wasn't about to let her out of his sight. Not when she was one of Roark's primary targets. So, it looked like she was coming along for the ride. He gradually picked up speed and stayed in step with the brothers. Having her so close to him. Her body pressed against his was a bit distracting. But, the bigger threat of Roark helped to keep things in proper perspective.

Keene knew the area well. A ramshackle, rotting cluster of buildings on the edge of the city Roark had bulldozed months ago. The very piece of land he'd used under the guises of philanthropy and urban renewal to lure Anna in. The loose ground and mounds of dirt made for easy disposal of Roark's victims. No one would question the equipment and laborers who dug deep holes into the earth in the name of progress. Served the bastard right that he should die in this place. Given the lives it had destroyed.

*****

"Damn you're a heavy bitch," Angel huffed, dropping Lori on her feet. She was exhausted and couldn't take another step while carrying the girl. Roark's men were hot on their trail, driving them forward. The abandoned construction site was the best hiding place she could come up with. She'd managed to pick her way around the deep pits and mountains of loose dirt and creatively hide them amongst the steel girders and I beams that made up the skeleton of the building before her strength gave out. They weren't safe here. But, it'd have to do for a few minutes while she recovered. "Do you think you can you make the rest of the way on your own?"

"I'm not sure," Lori replied in a shaky voice. Her head and stomach were woozy from being slung over Angel's shoulder and carried at such a breakneck pace. Lori closed her eyes. Inching down the steel I beam holding her upright till her butt connected with the rough concrete floor. She wished the world would stop spinning and let her get off the ride. "I think I need a minute or two first."

"That makes two of us," Angel gritted. She sank to the floor beside to Lori and pressed her back against a concrete column. The smell of dried human blood made her hungry. And with her strength depleted a sip or two of type o negative would sure hit the spot right now. But, she hadn't risked her life just to end up sucking her intended rescuee dry. Wouldn't Roark bust a gut laughing at the irony of that? Angel scooted away from Lori and buried her face in her shirtsleeve to cover the scent.

"You didn't answer my question. Why are you helping me?" Lori turned her head and eyed the vampire cautiously. Angel hadn't risked her neck only to drag her out here and kill her. Or at least that was Lori's assumption. The gleaming tips Angel's fangs poked out from beneath her upper lip and only meant one thing, she was hungry. And Lori happened to be the only fast food around. She admitted that she might have drawn her conclusion about Angel a little prematurely. Lori drew the collar of Roark's shirt tightly around her neck, hoping Angel would find the scent as repulsive as she did and make other dinner plans.

"Let's just say I've had time to think about it," Angel replied. "I was human once too." She turned away from Lori and stared into the darkness. "I'd kill him myself, if I had the strength to do it. I don't. I've fucked up everything, ok. And now, I'm trying to make up for it. Revenge comes with a price tag attached. And I'm not saying if I get the chance, I won't. But, not like this. I thought I was willing to pay the price Roark wanted to give me what I want. I'm not. And I'm sorry he hurt you."

"How long ago were you human?" Lori asked.

"It's not important. Now, shut up." Angel grumbled. She breathed in and out through her mouth in hopes it would weaken the smell of Lori's blood. It didn't. At all. Angel huffed and drew a breath into her nostrils. "Shit," she hissed. The sweet scent of vampire crept into her nose with the air she'd sucked into her nose. "Roark's here."

"What's he doing?" Lori gasped. She didn't expect him to find them quite so quickly. She stared out into the dark blinking out into nothing in hopes of a little warning before he reached out of the night and snatched her up by her hair. But, it was pointless. She couldn't see anything but heavy machinery and mounds of rubble. It was too dark. When Roark came for her, it would be silent and without warning.

"Waiting," Angel answered dryly.

"For what?"

"My guess would be your boyfriend."

"We've got to get out of here." Lori tugged on Angel's arm, trying desperately to pull her onto her feet. But, she remained stubbornly planted and stared up at her with a droll expression on her face. In utter panic, Lori considered leaving her behind and making a run for it. But, Angel didn't have to help her. And she could have dumped her anywhere and taken off without her. She could have left her for Roark to find and saved herself. "Please," Lori pled.

"Where do you think you're going to go? There's no place left to run." Angel pried Lori's fingers loose from her bicep and sat with her knees tucked up under her chin. Trying to outrun Roark wasn't worth the effort it would take or the perverse pleasure it'd give him in hunting them down. Angel had always assumed that Roark would be the death of her, sooner or later. But, she never believed that she'd be waiting death in quite this manner. Huddled in the dark surrounded by dirt, concrete, and steel.

"I am not staying here and being the bait," Lori huffed. Keene was coming. She could sense him getting closer and closer. He and the brothers were about to walk straight into a trap. Maybe, if she could distract Roark's attention off of Keene and onto her, Keene would have half a chance. Her legs were still rubbery and shaky. But, she forced her feet to move. She didn't make it out of the skeletal shadows of the building before Angel toppled her to the ground. Lori flayed uselessly, pinned face down in the dirt by Angel's weight.

"Don't be a complete idiot. Roark will kill you," Angel hissed in Lori's ear.

"I'd rather take my chances than sit here like a coward and wait for him to finish me off." Lori clawed at the loose clumps of dirt with her fingers and scrabbled for leverage. She felt Angel's breath skate across neck and shuddered as she realized, it wasn't Roark who posed the greatest danger to her life right now. It was Angel. "Keene!"

Angel held Lori face down in the dirt. Gripping Lori's blonde hair in her fist, she tried to subdue her. "Stop fighting me or you'll get us both killed," she huffed. The smell of the dried blood in Lori's hair and the fury in which she struggled beneath her was too much to withstand.

Angel was a predator and every instinct within her roared for Lori's blood. She was too hungry and too weak to fight against it. She could feel the wild thrum of Lori's heartbeat and smell the blood rushing through her veins. She. Could. Not. Hold. Off. Any. Longer. Her fangs were a mass of aching nerve endings pounding and throbbing in time with the beat of Lori's heart. Everything slowed to a single pulse as she drove her fangs into Lori's flesh and tasted the first drop on the tip of her tongue.

Chapter 54

"ROARK!" Keene bellowed. He slid Kayla off his back and handed her off to Bryce. With her safely tucked away he stormed into the heart of the construction site to end this. Under Dane's instruction, the brothers fanned out, melting into the maze of equipment. There was an unspoken understanding between them. All of them wanted Roark dead. But, unless the fight went south and he needed the backup, this was between Roark and he. The sweet, coppery smell of blood tinged the air. He'd recognize the scent anywhere and whom it belonged to. Bristling, he unsheathed his blades and crouched for attack. Roark was a master at unhinging the enemy. And with the scent of Lori's blood in the air, he'd certainly managed to accomplish that. "Roark, show yourself!" Keene shouted into the eerie darkness.

Roark slid out of the shadows. The maniacal sound of his laughter filled the air and echoed off the tall concrete towers of the unfinished high rise. "It seems my little girl's got teeth. A pity yours doesn't." He stepped to the edge of a towering column and jumped, landing agilely on his feet. "Which is more important to you? Your life or hers? You know as well as I do, I won't stop hunting you until one of us is dead. And here's your chance, your only chance to finish me off."

Keene stayed focused on Roark. Knowing the Rogue Master as well as he did. He knew Roark was using Lori as bait to lure him in. Keene had faith in his brothers. They'd take care of Lori and neutralize any threat to her. Roark would hunt Lori and he to the ends of the earth. Neither one of them would ever know one seconds worth of peace as long as he lived. Roark was crafty. He could wait patiently for centuries before he showed his face again. Keene had centuries. Lori did not. And she deserved better than a life of hiding and fear. He planted his boots on the loosely packed earth and leveled his weapon. "I've never been one for putting off till tomorrow what can be done today. We end this for once and for all. Now."

"Oh, I couldn't agree more." Roark slid his weapon out of the leather sheath strapped to his thigh and palmed the hilt with his fist. In life he was a sneaky bastard. In battle, Roark liked things direct and to the point. And tonight he'd bury that point in Keene's black heart. With lethal fury and grace, Roark attacked.

Kayla stood wrapped in Bryce's arms, trembling with fear. She heard the deadly clash of sword against sword echoing in the darkness. She strained her eyes to see in the inky blackness. It was too dark to discern anything but random shapes and figures. Anything could be hiding in wait for her and she'd never see it coming. Bryce was a fierce protector. But, knowing Angel's thirst for revenge and Roark's sadistic nature, she didn't fall for the illusion of safety. Both Angel and Roark wanted her dead. And they'd do anything to get to her.

A shrill, inhuman cry of agony pierced the darkness. Kayla's heart broke at the sound and her skin crawled. She'd heard that sound too many times before to ignore it. The same cry had escaped her own lips as Roark tortured her for nothing more than his sadistic pleasure. It was the heart-wrenching cry of death coming on swift wings to someone who didn't deserve it. She struggled to free herself from Bryce's arms. There wasn't much she could do to help the girl. But, she had to try. "Bryce, we have to do something. We can't let her die!"

"God damn it!" Bryce spat the curse. Kayla was right. Of course, they had to help. His brothers were scattered throughout the darkness. And he was the closest one to the piteous cries. If the brothers left their posts and tried to help, something else critical would be left unattended. The place was crawling with Roark's henchmen. His job was to protect Kayla. He couldn't leave her behind to fend off whatever would slink out of the darkness. Dragging her along with him would place her in just as much danger. If he stayed put, Lori would die. Either way they were equally screwed.

"Hold on!" he ordered. As soon as she latched onto his back, he ran through the construction site toward the origin of Lori's muffled, anguished cries. He was going to regret this. He just knew it. It was just a matter of how badly. Roark was busy with Keene. But, the dark was full of other things that wanted Kayla dead just as desperately.

Angel pulled greedy mouthfuls from Lori's neck. She lay limp on the ground. Her weak struggles stilled as she gave up and succumbed to the bite. Angel's hunger was sated. But, she wanted more, all of it. Lori was human. And what else were humans for if not dinner? She could rationalize her thinking a dozen different ways. But, what it boiled down to was that she was a killer.

A familiar scent floated swirled around her, drawing her attention from Lori. The smell of sweet bubblegum and youth, the scent she'd always associated with Kayla. Aided by Lori's blood, Angel's body recovered quickly from its weakness. Fueled by her quest for revenge, she bristled and rose to her feet to seek the bitch out. It seemed Angel was filled with all kinds of self-deceptions. She thought her rage toward Kayla was forgotten. But, Kayla's sweet smell brought it back to the surface.

"Angel!" Kayla gasped. She tried to push her way around Bryce who blocked her path. His stance was that of a warrior, poised to unleash lethal amounts of damage. "Bryce, move," she demanded. Even in the weak beams of an overhead floodlight, Angel looked every bit the crazed, demented vampire straight off a Hollywood B movie set. Blood dripped down her chin in sticky rivulets. Her fangs were long and sharp, stained red, and her skin pale. There was a hard ruthlessness to her eyes that froze Kayla mid-step. "Oh my God, Angel what happened to you?"

Angel laughed at the horror in Kayla's expression and then bristled as she turned to face her one time friend. "You did. You left me for dead!" Her voice reverberated off the concrete walls. She hissed at the vampire, scrabbling to hold Kayla back, in warning. She had no beef with him. But, he was in her way. "Do you want to know all the terrible things Roark did to me because of you?"

"I..." Kayla stammered. "I had to, Angel. Roark was going to kill me. You know that. I would have come back for you and the other girls, if I'd been able to. I swear." Her first instinct was to cower behind Bryce like a terrified child. It was so easy to revert back to the weak and helpless Kayla she'd been and let someone else fight her battle. But, that wasn't who she was, not any longer. She needed to stand up to Angel. Do her best to try to make her understand how desperate she'd been at the time. "I...I'm sorry Angel."

"It's too late for the others. They're all dead. And it's your fault." Angel lunged for Kayla. She stood safely behind the vampire, acting all wide-eyed and innocent, as if she'd done nothing wrong. But, Angel knew better. Kayla left her to bear Roark's fury while she used her good looks and her body to ensure her safety. The bitch had to pay. Not only for the things she'd left Angel to face alone. But, for the lives of the other girls Roark had taken out one by one. It was time for retribution.

"All of them?" Kayla gasped. Her bottom lip trembled in regret. She should have done more to try to help the girls. She shouldn't have been safe while they suffered and died in her place.

"It should have been you!" Angel roared. She grappled with Bryce. Punching and kicking, trying to bull her way though him. Kayla was so close, almost within her grasp. She could finish it, here and now. Have her revenge. But first, she had to find a way around Bryce. "You can't protect her forever," she growled.

"Stop it!" Bryce shouted. He snatched Angel by the throat and lifted her off her feet, holding her suspended by his fist. He shook her hard and brought her face level to his. It was the only warning he was going to give. He would kill her to keep Kayla and Lori safe. He curled his lip to reveal his fangs and withdrew a blade from his belt. "You're not nearly as immortal as you think," he growled.

"Bryce, NO!" Kayla wrapped her hands around his muscular arm in a feeble attempt to stop him from killing Angel. "She's right. It should have been me." Even if it meant her life, she didn't want another death on her conscience. And Bryce was poised, ready to kill to protect her. "Don't."

"Kayla," Bryce warned. Stopping him when he was in full brotherhood mode was a stupid thing for her to try. She might end up getting accidentally hurt. All his rage had to go somewhere. And he'd rather exact it on Angel than on her. "You don't want to see this, Kayla. Things are about to get very messy."

Angel struggled in Bryce's grip and pried at his fingers, still clamped around her throat. "She deserves to die for what she did," she growled. At this point, it didn't matter if she lived or died. Dead was good, as long as she took Kayla with her.

Bryce stood torn between his instinct to protect an innocent and kill the rogue trapped in his grip. They were both victims of circumstance. And neither one of them had deserved what they'd gotten. The two of them were just pawns for Roark's entertainment. And he was still playing with them. "Kayla didn't kill those girls. She didn't hurt you. Roark did. He deserves to die, not her and not you."

"Angel, please listen to him," Kayla pleaded. "We were all victims. If I hadn't gotten out when I did, it would have been me, and then you. Please Angel, stop this. If you need to kill me to make yourself feel better, do it. But, it won't make the pain go away. And it won't change anything that happened. Even if the son of a bitch doesn't survive the night. The pain will still be there. I promise you that."

Bryce released his grip and set Angel down. He kept a strong hand on her shoulder. He was ready, if she tried anything. If the thought so much as entered her mind, he'd take her out. "Listen to her. Kayla is right. Killing her won't change anything. In fact, it would make matters worse. You don't want to do this. You're going to have to go through me to get to her. And you won't succeed. I guarantee you that."

Angel drew a deep breath. Kayla's scent set her teeth on edge and made the demon howl inside her head. She closed her eyes, fighting to keep the beast at bay. Bryce could have easily killed her. Used his razor sharp fangs to rip through her throat or the dagger poised in his grip. But, he hadn't. She stiffened and lowered her eyes to Lori's prostrate body. Lori was still alive, unconscious, but breathing. There were others not nearly so lucky. And those were the lives she had to pay for. "By your laws, I have to die. I've killed."