Summoning a clear vision of Nicole in his mind, he imagined running his hands through the soft silk of her long, black hair. Called up the image of her expressive blue eyes and the faded freckles on her nose that he liked to kiss. Squeezing his eyes closed, he called to her. Nicole. Nicole, can you hear me?

Nicole groaned. She'd been trying to keep track of which way the car turned but it was hard to concentrate when every b.u.mp shifted her battered body. The smell of exhaust combined with the car's motion added to the nauseating effects of the drug they'd given her. It became a battle to keep from throwing up. Unable to move or pull the blanket off her face, she realized she'd probably drown in her own vomit. Ugh.

Eventually she let her mind go blank. She must have fallen asleep for a bit because she jerked awake when the car turned from a smooth, fast road that she'd a.s.sumed was a freeway onto a b.u.mpier road. Tentatively she tried to move her fingers and realized whatever drug they'd used on her was starting to wear off. Reaching her hand up, she pulled the blanket off her face.

Not that it helped any. The back of the trunk was pitch-black. But she could breathe a little easier and didn't feel so claustrophobic without her face covered. Moving her hands around the floor of her tight prison, she searched for a tire iron or something she could use as a weapon. The effort was futile. Which made sense. Who'd be stupid enough to leave something like that in the trunk of a car you planned on using to transport your kidnapped victim?

Zane. She wanted Zane, d.a.m.n it! She wanted him to get her out of this trunk. The car hit a pothole in the road, jarring her already sore body. Adding another bruise to the dozens she already had from this road trip to h.e.l.l. Tears streamed down her face. Allowing herself a few moments of self-pity, she sobbed quietly in the dark.

It was too bad Zane couldn't read her mind except for when she was writing s.e.x. If she could concentrate through this pain in her head she'd try to come up with an erotic scene that would let him know she'd been kidnapped.

Nicole froze.

Would that work? h.e.l.l. She didn't know. But it was the only chance she had.

Closing her eyes, she tried to ignore the pounding in her head and the painful ache in her body. She wasn't feeling particularly creative. So instead of coming up with something new, she used her memories of the night she'd had s.e.x with Zane in the car.

Zane took his shaft in his hand and ran the tip between her legs, over her slit until she arched her a.s.s upward. His first forward motion was tentative. The front of her body rested on the trunk. Nicky tugged on his ponytail, holding his head away and interrupting the intoxicatingly sweet torture of his possessive kiss. When he touched her like this, the sensations made it hard to remember Mike was kidnapping her...

Zane. Do you hear me? Mike is kidnapping me!

When he touched her like this, the sensations made it hard to remember Mike was kidnapping her. Zane. Do you hear me? Mike is kidnapping me!

Zane tightened his grip on the ruby. Nicole! Nicole, honey, where are you?

Playing with his nipple, she whispered, I'm in the trunk of a car. Going north, I think. She shifted restlessly. Wanting him to hurry. To take her...

Nicky. Sweetheart, I don't think you need to try to write this into a s.e.x scene. Just talk to me and tell me you're okay. The link was so strong Zane felt her sigh of relief.

I'm okay. Just a little bruised. What time is it?

Zane glanced down at his watch. Almost three-thirty.

When I turned off my computer just before Mike showed up, it was one o'clock. I've only been gone a couple hours?

Too long. We need to figure out where you are so I can come rescue you. Zane paced back and forth in the living room. His eyes were open, but instead of seeing the rock fireplace and bank of windows, he imagined Nicky in the trunk of that car.

Oh G.o.d, what's that smell?

Zane heard Nicky gag. The longer they communicated through their mental link, the stronger the bond became.

Wait a minute! The pitch of her mental voice rose with excitement. I know that smell! It's the G.o.d-awful stinky paper mill on Interstate 5. The one just south of Salem.

Zane stopped his pacing. I'm coming, Nicky.

Oh s.h.i.t. The car just turned left. It turned off what must have been the frontage road. Now we're on a b.u.mpy, unpaved road with a lot of dust...it's coming in the car.

Keep talking to me, sweetheart. Let me know if you make any more turns. I'm getting ready to leave here and get on the road.

The car stopped! Nicky gasped.

Zane hit the wall with his fist when her voice fell silent.

The trunk was thrown open and Nicky glared up into the sunlight. She'd gone way past not feeling well to extremely ill. Head throbbing painfully with every beat of her heart, she was sweating and her stomach was in knots.

Great, she'd been kidnapped while in the throes of a nasty case of the flu. She would bet her new friends hadn't stocked up on chicken soup. And why was she trying to be funny? Carrying on some sort of sick comedy routine in her head was ridiculous. She was terrified of Mikey and the thought of what he would do to her if he got the chance.

She guessed that was her answer. Making jokes and using sarcasm were preferable to thinking about what might happen next.

"Get out of the car!" Mike stood glaring down at her.

"Just give me a second, will you! I need a breath of fresh air and time to make sure all my muscles work." Her voice croaked out. But at least it worked.

She ignored his impatient glare. Or tried to ignore it. Maybe she was being foolish-irritating her kidnapper instead of being meek and cowering under his evil eye. Nicole sighed. She'd never written a meek and cowering heroine in her life. She certainly wasn't going to act like one. Didn't think she could act like one.

Nicole tried to sit up but every little movement made her muscles cramp. Her mouth watered with the early warning sign that she was about lose her breakfast. Taking slow, deep breaths, she struggled into a sitting position and looked around. She saw trees and rustic outer buildings, but nothing that gave her a point of reference.

A newer tin building loomed ominously beside the car. She noticed a chain-link fence running around the property and several big German shepherds locked in a kennel. There were two burly men holding guns, watching her every move. s.h.i.t.

Evidently Mike's patience had run out. He grabbed her by her braid and yanked her out of the car. Pushing her, he made no move to stop her from hitting the back fender with her face.

Nicole let out a scream of pain and let the darkness take her.

Chapter Eight.

Slumped in the front seat of his SUV, Zane kept calling to Nicole with his mind. Because he was focused on his mate, he'd turned the driving over to Igor. Vlad and Veronica were in the backseat, talking quietly.

Vlad was probably giving Ronnie all kinds of instructions. The man was seriously unhappy he couldn't leave his mate at the house. But one of the inherent downfalls of a vampire true bond was togetherness.

A mated pair would start to get sick if more than a few hundred feet separated them. Kept apart long enough, the couple would die. It gave a whole new meaning to "until death do us part".

Being apart from Nicole explained his aching muscles and throbbing head. He hated to imagine what Nicole was going through.

Besides their paranormal powers, the group had brought along enough weapons to wage a small war. Guns. Knives. A few boxes of plastic explosives. Things every paranoid immortal kept around the house.

Zane had noticed over the years that one of the myths surrounding vampires was certainly true. They preferred black clothing, or at the very least shades of gray. No one needed to change out of pastels before they headed north.

His thoughts were rambling. He needed to stay focused.

Nicky, sweetheart. Talk to me, he pleaded.

Squeezing the ruby, he felt his adrenaline surge as he worried about why she didn't respond. He briefly considered what he'd do when they neared the paper mill. You could smell the d.a.m.n thing for miles. How was he going to locate her once they got closer?

"This is why you need a human servant," Vlad intoned solemnly.

Zane turned to look at him. "What are you talking about?"

"You know our human servants have the ability to track us." Dark eyes serious, Vlad's stare made Zane nervous.

Pulling his hand through his hair, he shifted his focus to study Igor as if this was his fault. "What the h.e.l.l does that have to do with anything? I'm not missing-Nicky is."

Ronnie reached over the seat and put her hand on his shoulder. "It's going to be okay, Zane. You know we'll find her. With all of the power sitting in this car, we can't fail."

Staring into serious blue eyes, he hoped she was right. Taking a deep breath, he glared at Vlad. "Explain the human servant remark."

"Igor became my servant a few years after I was turned. He has always been able to find me when I've needed his help. There have been times when I was too wounded to call to him, yet he knew I was in trouble and came to extract me from whatever prison my enemies forged. He once told me that there's this little red dot in his mind that lets him know where I am. It flashes if I am agitated or hurt."

Igor didn't talk, except telepathically to Vlad. Zane sighed. This wasn't news. He knew human servants and their masters had this connection. "I'm not the one who's missing," Zane said again. While he imagined the bond had its uses, for this conversation the observation was pointless.

"A few days after I met Veronica and started getting sick...before I realized she was my mate, Igor acquired a second little dot. Except his new mental beacon was green."

It took Zane a minute. "The green dot told him where Veronica was?"

This time it was Ronnie who answered his question. "Yeah. Imagine my dismay when this big, hulking beast," she pointed at Igor and smiled, "tracked me down. I'd run away from Vlad and he hadn't been able to find me. Igor didn't know what the green flashy thing meant, but he felt a sense of urgency to figure it out."

Vlad leaned forward. "Ronnie has been kidnapped twice. Each time Igor has found her."

"Hey! Don't make it sound like I'm always the one getting in trouble. Igor's had to track your a.s.s down a couple times as well." The woman huffed.

Zane noticed Igor's mouth twitching. It wasn't a smile, but it was the closest thing he'd ever seen to one on the man's face. A tremor of sheer terror snaked up his spine. Ronnie had been taken from Vlad...twice? This mate-bond thing was going to make him insane.

Vlad cut in on his musings. "My advice to you, my friend? Find Nicole. Once the mating fever has cooled a bit, get yourself a human servant. Think about it as an insurance policy."

"How in the h.e.l.l do you find someone willing to serve a vampire for eternity? I'll bet you didn't give Igor a chance. I can't just take over someone's life like that!" Zane swore. As he said the words he knew he was lying. If it would help him find Nicky right now, he'd bite the next person he saw.

"Do what Marie did a few decades ago. Her bookends were dying. They enthusiastically became her servants when they found out she could cure their disease and give them more time together."

That wasn't a bad idea. He'd met Matt and Brian. Knew they'd gladly given up everything to serve as Marie Antoinette's human servants. The gay couple and their wacky antics would drive him up a wall, but he'd take them in a heartbeat if it meant keeping Nicky safe.

Vlad had been after him for years to get a human servant. Finding out the man had been right all along should have made him mad. But all his emotions were centered on Nicole. "Fine," he said, exhaling. "You win."

"Of course I do. You might want to remember this. One way or another, I always win." Vlad's evil chuckle somehow comforted Zane. A formidable enemy, he was a man you wanted on your side.

Nicky groaned. The headache she'd had before she'd bounced off the fender had blossomed into a raging beast with a life of its own. When she tried to move her hands to her head, they were heavier than they should have been. Clanking noises made her frown. Opening her eyes, she stiffened.

Oh h.e.l.l.

Nicole! Talk to me! The frantic demand made her wince.

Shhhh! You don't have to shout! My head is about to explode.

What happened? You've been silent for almost an hour.

Nicole sighed. I'm a little tied up right now. Literally. I hit my head and pa.s.sed out. Now I'm chained to the wall of a little concrete room.

Shifting her arms, she tried to change her position on the floor. Thankfully the chains were long enough that she could move. She leaned up and rested her back against the cold wall.

I'm sorry, baby. We're just a few miles from the mill. Did you see anything that might help me find you once I get close? Zane's tone was soft. But Nicky read between the lines. He was furious.

Good. She needed him furious.

As she relayed what she'd seen outside, she looked around the room. No windows, one door. Not so much as a pot to p.i.s.s in. Groaning at that thought, she ignored the demands of her bladder and tried to evaluate her body. She hurt. Everywhere. Her stomach rolled and she took slow, deep breaths, hoping to calm it down.

Eyes snagging on a small bandage in the crook of her elbow, she frowned. s.h.i.t. Zane, I think they might have- She didn't have a chance to finish that thought.

Mikey slammed into her cell, his face purple with rage. "You're human!" Spit flung from his mouth as he loomed over her.

Well, that confirmed why the bandage was on her arm. They'd taken her blood. She was glad she hadn't been awake. She hated needles.

Nicky sighed wearily. "And what else would I be?" Zane. Mikey's here. He's mad because someone tested my blood and he found out I'm human.

Yelping in pain when the blond man reached down and dragged her to her feet by one arm, she clamped her teeth together to keep from screaming when he shook her. Sweat broke out on her forehead and beaded on her upper lip.

Grinning evilly, he laughed. "Let's just say a part of me hoped Zane Patrick had made you into his little plaything by now. And after finding your necklace in my closet, I refused to give him any more time with you. What did you hear, Nicole?" Pulling her close, he glared into her eyes. He didn't give her a chance to answer. "Did you listen to me when I described what I'd like to do to you if I ever got the chance? No one wants to let me play," the man complained.

"Ah well. While John is in Washington, you and I are going to have a little fun. Then I'll take a few pictures for Zane. See if he cares enough to try to get you back. John Jackson thinks he's got all the answers...thinks he's running things. I'll show him. When he gets back from Washington and his precious meetings, I'll hand him his d.a.m.n vampire. John will get what he wants-then I'll cut that b.a.s.t.a.r.d vamp to pieces!"

Nicole shuddered and tried to pull away from the man's bruising hold. She couldn't focus on Mike and his sick diatribe. He was explaining what she'd already figured out. She was bait. Except Mike thought he could control the time and place to use her.

"Stupid b.i.t.c.h! Pay attention." He shook her and her vision faded.

This time when it cleared, she gasped. Zeroing in on the knife that had appeared in Mike's hand, she stood very still as he slowly played the long blade along the bottom of her shirt and sliced upward. Nicky sucked in her stomach and tried to shrink away from the lethal edge. Once he'd disposed of her shirt, he cut off her bra.

No. Please don't, she silently begged. She refused to plead out loud, knowing the man would enjoy her suffering. Her stomach lurched and her spit thinned.

What's wrong, Nicky?

Zane had heard her plea. But she couldn't put into words what was happening to her. Oh G.o.d. I can't talk. Hurry Zane!

Dropping the knife, Mike grabbed at her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. He squeezed and jiggled them, shaking her again.

She gagged.