Ringo laughed. “I don’t think so. You need to sit in a cell for a while until I decide what to do with you.”
“Fuck you, asshole. Fuck. You. I hate you!” I screamed out as Alfred dragged me by my ponytail down the hall, down the stairs, and then to a door across the kitchen set into the wall. I was grappling at his hands, trying to get him to let me go. It hurt like hell.
“Stop squirming, woman,” Alfred said quietly.
“Let me go, Lurch! I won’t tell anyone, I swear. Just let me go!”
“Sorry, boss’s orders,” he drawled.
He dragged me down a pitch-black and cold stairwell that led to a hall. I could barely see in this place, but I could make out shapes and silhouettes with my enhanced eyesight. Alfred turned and led us down the hallway. The walls were rough and stone-like, but I was thankful the hallway wasn’t very long. A small splice of light shone the very end.
The hall opened up into a large, circular chamber. There were jail cells set along the walls, and in the center was a large desk with four computer monitors around it. Two of the monitors showed what was going on in the underground chamber, one monitor showed what was happening in the grand foyer of the house above us, and the fourth was pointed toward the vast green lawns behind the mansion.
Alfred produced a key from his pocket and opened the lock, then threw me inside. Before closing the door, he told me to be quiet, as I was still yelling. So, he reared his arm up and then backhanded me so hard, I saw nothing but stars and then blessed blackness.
16
Judson
Thirty-five minutes had passed, and I was getting really nervous. The house seemed quiet. Lights were on outside but of course, I couldn’t see anything going on inside, as all the windows had been blacked out. Looked like with paint, but who knew. Vampires were weird.
When all my fingernails had been chewed down to nubs, I knew I had to do something. No way was I just going to drive off and wonder if the love of my life was all right.
Fuck. That. If Daniela was dead, then I wanted to join her. No way was I living out the next fifty years of my life without her. And if she wasn’t dead, she obviously needed help. I wasn’t a pussy. I didn’t leave a woman in distress. I’d never forgive myself for not saving Audrey and the fuck if I was gonna have Dani’s death on my hands, too.
I studied the house for the millionth time. Obviously, using the front door hadn’t worked out so well for Dani, so I slid into the driver’s seat and drove around to the side of the house. The whole thing took up its own block so when I reached the back, I could see vast lawns sprawling toward the back of the house. There was a swimming pool, and on the east side of the property was some kind of drainage ditch surrounded by trees.
Crap. How the hell was I gonna sneak into there?
“Fuck it, I got nothing to lose,” I said to myself as I killed the engine to the SUV and shoved the key into my pocket, closing the driver’s door quietly.
I crept across the lawn, around the pool, and then tried the back door. Shocked it was unlocked, I slid inside and closed it with a quiet click.
It was very, very dark but I knew I was in a hallway. I kept walking toward a light source I could see at the end. Once I was close to it, someone jumped out and grabbed me from behind, wrapping their arms around me.
Shit.
“Where you going, little man?”
Little? No. I was six-foot-one and this guy was shorter than me. In hopes he was a vampire, I pulled the vial of holy water from my pants pocket and splashed it on his arms. He screeched and let go. When I turned around, I could see smoke rising from his arms, so I quickly jumped on him and pulled out my wooden stake, also dipped in holy water. “Where is Daniela?”
He snarled. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“A woman, she was here a half-hour ago. Where is she?” I held the point of the dagger at his throat and drew a little blood.
“All blood bags are either consumed or put in the dungeon,” he stammered out.
“Where’s the fucking dungeon, you leech?” I was trying very hard not to snap.
“Well, below the house, obviously.”
“Obviously,” I gritted out. “How do I get there?”
He looked up at me with crazed eyes. “Fuck you, little man.” Then, he bucked me off and jumped on me. While I was down, he bit into my neck and I yelled out so loud, I was sure someone was going to come running.
“Ow! You asshole!” I put my hand to my neck, and with the other, I stabbed him in the shoulder with my stake.
He jumped off me, but before he could get away, I tackled him. While he was face-down on the floor, I said, “Where’s. The. Door. To. The. Dungeon?”
“Kitchen door. Kitchen door!”
“Thank you.” Then I flipped him over and plunged the stake into his chest. After I jumped off, he turned to ash and clothing.
“Cool!”
It took me twenty minutes to find the damn kitchen, all the while growing weak from the blood loss in my neck. Thankfully, the first door I tried led to a dark, steep staircase where I realized the ‘dungeon’ was. It wasn’t hard to find Daniela sleeping in one of the cold, stone cells.
“Dani!” I whisper-yelled, relieved nobody else was around except a couple of other prisoners.
She blinked her eyes open. “Judson?”
“Yes, it’s me. How do I get you out of here?”
“Lurch has the keys,” she murmured.
I was confused. “Who’s Lurch?” I yanked on the cell door, and it opened up. “What the
