Gideon amended his earlier assessment. She was scarier than he"d ever imagined she could be.

However, as she gracefully descended, he had to bite back his irritation and discomfort when Xavier stepped in behind her, leaving him to bring up the rear. The bastard"s hand rested nearly on her ass to “steady” her going down the winding staircase.

We’re getting close, Gideon. She"d done such a good job of pulling in Xavier, Gideon was relieved to hear her voice, the concern and compassion, speak in his mind. I can feel him, but I’m not sure . . . I think he’s out again.

All right. We know our plan. Hold to it. I’ve seen eight vampires in the building so far, and it’s a safe bet Xavier’s linked to all of them.

This was a dungeon in truth, complete with water dripping from damp walls and stifling, close air. Though he heard nothing, it was like the stone had absorbed past cries of pain and hopelessness. Cold fingers gripped his vitals. As they reached the ground level, Xavier took them down a narrow, poorly lit corridor. Opening a metal door with a security panel code, he swung it inward, gesturing Anwyn ahead of him.

Following them in, Gideon saw several cells. Two of them held small clusters of young women who had obviously been club patrons above. Their clothes were too thin and scanty for this damp level. Some were like junkies, sprawled on the dirty floor or cots in various stages of stupor. Seeing the pallid tones of their skin, their lethargy, he realized they were being used as donors, with no care for how much or how often. When they were husks, their bodies would be discarded.

Others not so far gone huddled in the corners or behind the cots, keeping their eyes down, as if that would keep them from being noticed. He saw bruises and gashes, evidence of other forms of abuse Anwyn would recognize far too well. The pretty clothes they"d donned to entice others and please themselves were now soiled rags that mocked the independent spirit that had brought them to the club doors.

“It"s inconvenient to my men to maintain servants, and going out to dinner all the time can be a pain in the ass. Why do that when we have a potential buffet upstairs every night?”

“Indeed,” Anwyn murmured. “But don"t you worry about human law enforcement?”

“Their disappearances are never connected here. My men talk up the girls, target the ones that come alone, that have few family ties, or are just traveling in the area, not locals. We take a new one every few months, space it out.” He nodded to a girl that appeared to be barely breathing, curled in a fetal position in a corner. “That tough little piece of ass, we call her Sarah. She"s survived nearly six months with us. If any authority gets too close, it"s easy to distract them or make them vanish. That"s what you need to understand, fledgling.” Xavier shrugged a massive shoulder. “The Council won"t tell you this, but as long as we stick to the shadows, we can do as we please. Humans don"t want to discover us. They don"t want to believe we exist.”

“I"m only seeing young girls,” she said, with just a touch of boredom. “You promised me a lion.” She glanced up at him with an avaricious smile tinged with hope that Gideon fervently wished never to see on her face again. “I saw a bear once, in the States. All pent up in a cage outside a casino. He caught a gawker who got too close. They"d declawed him, the cowards, but he still crushed the man"s chest, beat him to death against the bars. It was when I was human, so at the time I thought I was appalled. But secretly . . . it was delicious, in a way.”

“Yeah, you have a taste for it, all right. Maybe you should consider staying in our territory for a while.” Xavier leaned in with a wink. “You could be my little secret, so I wouldn"t have to share you with a territory overlord. I bet Stephen would do it as a favor for me. You could pretend to get on your plane back to the States, but never really go back.” Anwyn laughed. “As appealing as that sounds, I have a club to run there, a lucrative business. Maybe you could come be my little secret, hmm?” She winked at him, moved forward with a sashay of hips that was pretty much indecent. Walking down the stairs had worked the dress up around her hips, the lower curve of one bare buttock almost visible, even in the dim light. She adjusted the hem with a finger caressing the cheek, making Xavier growl low in his chest.

“You"ll be fucking me tonight, fledgling. No matter what clever words you say or do. Hope you can handle a big cock in that smart ass of yours. I want to make you cry.”

“I don"t waste my time on anything small.” She gave that head toss again. “Where"s my lion?”

Xavier chuckled. “Impatient bitch. I have other, more interesting playrooms for vampires beyond this one, but I"ll show you my current prize.” He moved past the cells to another heavy door and pushed it open.

Gideon tried to brace himself for the next horror he would see. More important, he prepared to brace Anwyn, if it was Daegan.

It was.

She saw him first, because Gideon felt all those carefully packed boxes in her mind swell against their seams, in danger of rupturing as rage entered her mind like a flood. It shoved into every corner of her mind, threatening to disrupt that cool veneer that had carried her this far.

He wanted to get closer to her, give her physical as well as emotional support, but Xavier stood between them. His hand was now square on her ass, fondling the hem of her skirt, meaty finger sliding under it. He"d have it in her pussy in a second, and Gideon knew she wouldn"t be able to handle that. Her skin was crawling from everywhere he"d already touched her. The bastard likely planned to fuck her right here. The stench of his arousal was growing.

It was easy to see at a glance why Daegan had sounded so disoriented and weak. He"d been restrained on a steel autopsy table, so that the blood being drained from him flowed down the molded channels. It was a slow drip, but the blood bags to catch the flow were full, another three already lined up where he could see them. There was a refrigerator out in the cell area, so no telling how much had already been banked, or if they were just throwing it away.

Gideon realized the purpose wasn"t torture. That was a side benefit. This was to keep him weak. Apparently, even that hadn"t been enough, because crude electric wires had been wrapped across his far-too-pale body. The bastards had left the power source on, keeping his body jerking, the smell of flesh burning constant and nauseating. No wonder his thoughts had been coming through disjointed.

For as little time as Gideon had known Daegan, perhaps because his mind was so melded with Anwyn"s, he realized he"d unconsciously shared her belief that Daegan Rei would fall to no one. To see him weakened and tortured like this, brought down low by trickery and cowardice, opened something as dark and volatile inside him as what was boiling in Anwyn"s soul. He closed his hands into fists just as Daegan"s eyes opened, the dark, dull depths struggling to focus. Gideon remembered the man"s grace, his deadly speed, the way he"d spoken with such calm about justice. No revenge, no anger, just quiet dispensation to balance the scales.

Sorry, Daegan. I think this calls for full Noah-flood, wrath-of-God response.

“Feel no pity for this one, Mistress Anwyn,” Xavier assured her. “He was a lion to take down in truth. Killed four of my men, even though we had the jump on him. He"s a very powerful vampire. Centuries old.”

“What did he do to earn this punishment?” Her voice was flat and wooden, but fortunately Xavier was caught up in his boasting and didn"t notice.

“He offended me. I will drink his blood, let my men drink it, and keep him alive long past when he is a living skeleton, to show my enemies what I"m capable of being. This is what I was saying, sweet fledgling. I am a worthy overlord for you. At least for tonight. Or until I tire of you.” He gave an ugly laugh that was matched by feral grins from the three vampires now arrayed at the door. Gideon flicked a glance toward them. It was the two from earlier, plus one more. Xavier had apparently signaled them to rejoin the party. Shit.

Anwyn turned on her heel, studying Xavier. “I think it"s time to pay that price of admission,” she said with a slow curve of her lips, the baring of her fangs. To the completely oblivious, it suggested she was aroused by his display of strength. She unfastened her belt, the jewels and chains catching the dim light.

“You knew I wanted to do it right here. Intuitive little thing.” Lust thickened the vampire"s voice. Gideon felt the pressure of his knives, gauged the distance to the three vampires. We’re still a go, Anwyn. Do it.

“Right here.” She echoed Xavier"s words, a cold and deadly tone entering her soft voice.

Then she dropped the belt to the ground with a clink of metal. Threading her fingers under her hair, as if searching for a fastener at the high collar of her dress, she stepped toward the vampire. As he moved to close the distance, she stepped on the belt, the center jewel setting.

The tiny crunch of broken glass made him look down. “Ah, sweet-ling, you broke your pretty baubles. We"ll have to—” He stopped, swaying, his brow furrowing. With a disoriented frown, he turned to his men.

Gideon leaped for him. As expected, the vampires responded instantly, rushing forward to defend their leader.

They crossed right into the invisible fumes now drifting into the air. Thank God it worked fast. They were not as large as Xavier, and fell quicker, dropping to their knees, though one did reach Gideon, tackled him like a front lineman in that rush of movement too quick to follow.

Gideon grunted at the bone-breaking impact that would have killed him if he were still human.

Now he managed to pull the wooden knives he"d concealed in the lining of his jacket, tearing the seam. He staked the one and lunged for the others, who were scrabbling across the floor, eyes wide and dazed.

Xavier remained on his feet, rocking like a tree in a storm, his eyes flashing with anger and fear at once, his giant fists clenching, trying to fight it off.

Anwyn had shoved away from him in that first moment, stepping out of her shoes lithely to run to Daegan"s side. Putting the filter mask she"d had folded inside the neck of her dress over her nose and mouth, she put another one over Daegan"s face.