His grandfather never answered him with anything other than a slow wink.

He clapped a hand on his grandfather’s shoulder. “One last thing.”

“What?”

“Kiss my mate again, and I’ll have the vampire drain you.” He winked and his grandfather threw back his head and gave a laugh that turned into a howl.

“Boy, you are so like me it should frighten me. You’ll make a good replacement when I’m gone.” He spun and loped away, still laughing.

Rylee approached them, and touched his hand. “Liam, we have to go.”

“Do you know where?”

She shook her head, eyes swirling. “No. The clues he gave us were vague at best and downright encrypted at worst.” A smile lit her lips. “In other words, no worse than any other salvage we’ve been on.”

Smiling a grim smile, he boosted her onto Eve’s back and took his place on Marco’s. She had a point.

One he wouldn’t argue even for a second.

CHAPTER 21

Pamela

I was bound and gagged, and my hands were submerged in a small bucket of water behind me. Blindfolded, I stumbled, and Frank caught my elbow steadying me. Peta was the only one who’d gotten away, and I sent her with one goal. Find Rylee.

“I think she’s putting us on a plane,” Frank said softly, his voice right in my ear. The shuffle of our shoes on tarmac as we were pushed along was the only confirmation I had of his words. With the blindfold on I was at the mercy of Frank, and worse, Milly.

I wanted to burn up the place, unleash all my anger and frustration in a blinding flurry of magic and power until I collapsed. But Orion had been faster than Milly, and I would never have that chance again.

The second Orion knew he was trapped in my body, and was unable to use my magic because of the salt water, he left me and leapt back into poor Milly. She tried to run and we tried to help her . . . but that had only made matters worse. Frank sported a gash down the side of his face and I had been knocked out for . . . I didn’t even know how long.

And now we were trapped once more with no way out. Frank bumped me and the saltwater sloshed out of the container. He’d been doing it the whole way from the mansion. There was only a quarter of the water left now. I curled my fingers up and away from it.

“One more time,” I whispered to him.

“One more time, what?” Milly, no, Orion snapped.

I sniffed, thinking fast. “I want him to tell me it’s going to be okay.”

Orion laughed, the sound ugly and deep in poor Milly’s voice. “Not for you two, it won’t.”

I turned toward the demon’s voice. “What are you going to do with us?”

“Well, darling,” he drawled, a finger touching the side of my neck and trailing down to the top of my shirt. “You two will make for perfect bait. The Tracker will come for you. Why did you think I allowed the cat to leave?”

My throat tightened. We’d been fools to think we could outsmart a demon.

Frank pushed me behind him, which caused the water to slosh out more. “Don’t touch her.”

“Oh, you don’t want to share? If she’s anything like Milly, she won’t mind taking both of us between her legs.”

There was a grunt and the sound of flesh being thumped, and then a flash of brilliant light. “Stop! Don’t hurt him!”

Orion laughed again. “He’s done his job, what have I got to keep him around for?”

“Because if I lose him, you have nothing to stop me.” It was true. If I was on my own, I would fight without thought. With Frank beside me, I had to think about him too.

Silence and then a snort. “Fine. We’ll keep him, for the moment.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. “Frank, are you okay?”

“The gash just opened up again.” His words were laced with pain.

“I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault.” He took me by the arm and guided me up a set of stairs and into what I could only guess was a plane of some sort. My blindfold was jerked off and we were stuck into seats in the middle of the plane, but across from one another. Sitting was difficult with the bucket strapped to my backside, and I didn’t doubt that was part of my punishment too. However far we were going, I was not going to be given any chance to recoup.

I kept my fingers curled tight, up and away from the last of the salt water. It was a long shot, but if my hands dried I might be able to do something. Anything.

The plane’s engines rumbled and the hunk of steel started to roll. I swallowed hard. “Are you sure it will work with all of us on here?”

“If it doesn’t, we’ll throw the brownie out,” Orion said from the front of the plane. He looked over his shoulder and I didn’t see Milly any longer. I couldn’t. Her eyes were full-on black with embers that glowed red and the twist of her mouth was cruel. Hard.

How could I have been such a fool?

Charlie came down the aisle with a glass of water for Frank. I watched as he took a huge gulp. He swallowed it and then said, “I have to use the toilet.”

Charlie looked from him to me. “Once we’s in the air.”

The brownie sat beside me, a cup of water held to my lips. I sipped it, the cool liquid easing a burning in my throat I hadn’t even noticed. “Can you pour some on my wrists?” I whispered. “They hurt me something fierce.”

Charlie looked at me and shook his head. “No. I don’t trust you, Pamela. You aren’t the girl any of us thought.”