Wanted: Undead or Alive

jacket back on. “What do you want?”

Rhett smirked. “You, of course.”

“Not going to happen.” She glanced down at Phineas. He seemed to be conscious and watching her.

“The vampires are paralyzed.” Rhett motioned to Dimitri. “Thanks to a special potion Dimitri brought us. Kyle, would you care to demonstrate?”

Kyle came forward and kicked Phineas in the ribs. He lay there, helplessly taking the attack.

“Stop!” Brynley shouted.

“Oh, it could get much worse,” Rhett said. “You see, Kyle has a stake, and he’s ready to plunge it right into the hearts of these vampires.”

Kyle whipped a wooden stake from his belt and held it over Phineas’s bare chest.

Brynley’s heart stuttered.

“So, Miss Jones,” Rhett continued with a sly grin. “I believe we were going to get married?”

Chapter Nineteen

Nightshade. Phineas struggled to make his body follow orders, but it lay attached to his active mind like a sack of dead meat. Too ironic. The former drug dealer taken down by a drug. And not just any drug, but the same damned drug that had inspired his death and transformation. The Malcontents had murdered him and made him a vampire so he could get them the ingredients to make Nightshade.

Karma was a bitch. It had come back to kick him in the butt. Or the ribs. He winced inwardly as Kyle rammed another pointed cowboy boot into his side. The creep had done the same thing earlier to his brother.

Shit kicker, Phineas wanted to yell at Kyle, but then that made him the shit. And rightly so. He should have called Jack before coming. He should have managed to teleport Brynley away before succumbing to the drug. Now she was in danger. Her eyes met his, and he cringed inwardly at the fear he saw there.

Be strong. You’re a survivor. As long as you’re alive, you can fight.

A rebellious spark lit in her eyes, as if she’d heard him.

“You haven’t answered me, Miss Jones.” Rhett Bleddyn strode toward her. “Have you agreed to marry me?”

She narrowed her eyes. “I’ll consider it if you leave these men alone.”

“You’ll agree or the vampires will die.” He motioned to Phineas. “That one first. His scent is all over you.” He stepped closer, his face twisted in a sneer. “You reek of sex with him. It disgusts me.”

She lifted her chin and glared back. “Frankly, Rhett, I don’t give a damn.”

He slapped her hard enough to make her eyes water.

Rage burst inside Phineas, but with nowhere for it to go, it felt like his head would explode. Stay strong, sweetheart. Don’t give up hope.

“I have heard of your disobedience to your father,” Rhett growled at her. “With me, you will learn to submit.”

She avoided looking at him and focused on Phineas, her cheek aflame with a red handprint. “I will marry you a week from today.”

Hope flared in Phineas’s chest. She was looking at him, making the promise to him.

“Three days,” Rhett countered. “On the first night after the three nights of the full moon.”

It was a strategic maneuver, Phineas realized. Any werewolf could shift on the three-night period of the full moon, but only an Alpha like Rhett could shift the following night. He wanted the ability to defeat any ordinary werewolf that might object to a forced marriage. Brynley’s father was an Alpha, too, but he was obviously for the marriage.

But this was a mistake on Rhett’s part. It gave Phineas and his friends three nights to gather their troops and rescue Brynley. Unless, of course, Rhett intended to kill him and Jack tonight.

Brynley inclined her head. “I want the ceremony to be at my father’s ranch in Montana.”

“Of course. We’ll be going there shortly. I suggest you dress appropriately and wash that vampire’s stench off you.” Rhett motioned to Dimitri. “Make sure that restroom is secure.”

Dimitri peered inside. “No windows, no doors. She can’t escape here.”

She picked up the clothes she’d discarded earlier and with a worried glance at Phineas, she went inside the bathroom and shut the door.

Rhett sneered down at him. “She will do everything I ask. Kyle will remain here with his stakes, and if she gives me any trouble, I’ll call him, and he’ll turn you to dust.”

“He deserves to die,” Corky hissed as she moved toward them. “He is the one who betrayed me and tried to capture me.”

“There, there, love.” Rhett pulled her close and kissed her brow. “I was happy you came to see me again.”

She gave him a sly smile. “Our plans are going well.” She glanced down at Phineas. “Dimitri found the formula and ingredients to make Nightshade hidden in a safe at the Coven House in Brooklyn. He cooked us up a batch and brought it here.”

She nudged Phineas with her foot. “We have plenty more. You and your traitorous companions will not be able to stop us.”

Phineas wondered what Corky and Rhett were up to. They appeared to be lovers, even though Rhett was forcing Brynley to marry him. His motivation for marriage was clearly not love, but most probably wealth and power. Just as Brynley had said, she was more of a pawn than a princess.

She emerged from the bathroom, dressed in jeans and a plaid shirt. She ignored Rhett as she walked past him, and aimed a look of love at Phineas. He tried to return it. She sat nearby at the kitchen table and pulled on her socks and boots.

“Your father will be pleased that I’ve returned you to the pack,” Rhett boasted. “And he will be impressed by how well you obey me.”

She shot him an annoyed look as she tugged on the last boot.

“You will obey,” Rhett reminded her. “Or I’ll call Kyle, and he’ll stake the vampires.”

Her gaze shifted to Phineas and Jack, then to Kyle. “If you hurt them, the entire Vamp world will come after you. Including your brother.”

Kyle snorted. “Nate’s dead.”

“Undead.”

Kyle turned pale. “What?” He gave Rhett a frantic look. “You said he would die, that the ranch would be mine.”

“It will be.” Rhett glowered at his minion. “You will obey me in all things and be rewarded. You will not question me again.”

Kyle inclined his head. “Yes, master.”

Rhett shifted his glare to Brynley. “You’re back in the Lycan world now. Adjust your loyalties.” He motioned to Corky and Dimitri. “Take us to the Jones ranch in Montana.”

Corky wrapped her arms around Rhett and cuddled up to him, then they vanished.

Brynley rushed toward Phineas, but before she could reach him, Dimitri zoomed to her and grabbed her. One last look, her eyes filled with a mixture of hope and despair, and then she was gone.

Her emotions transferred straight from her eyes to his heart. Despair that she was gone, that he’d lost her, that she would suffer abuse and humiliation at the hands of Rhett Bleddyn and her father. And hope that he would find her, rescue her, and spend the rest of his life giving her the love she deserved.

“You’d better hope Rhett doesn’t call.” Kyle tapped him on the chest with the stake. “And I don’t care if you made Nate a vampire. I’m not afraid of him. I have plenty of these.” He stuffed the stake in his belt.

“Anything to eat around here?” He glanced toward the kitchen, then back down at Phineas. “Don’t run off.”