It took mere seconds for me to transfer my wound to the captive. Jared didn’t give the poison a chance to do its job. He ended the vampire with an electric bolt, making the captive explode into ashes.
Panting, I rolled back my now healed shoulder. “Lenox appeared behind me just long enough to do damage. Then he was gone. Either he purposely tried manipulating us into forming that circle so he could get behind us, or he just took advantage of the move. Personally, I don’t know why he bothered. He had to know I could transfer the wound to someone else.”
Jared twisted his lips. “My opinion? It was a punishment. He’s all about punishments right now. He tried making Quinlan pay, but then you healed him. More, we relocated Quinlan once the guy was conscious and at full strength.”
“You hid him like you did Ivan?” I asked, following Jared out of the cell.
“Yes. Lenox has no doubt been looking for them, and he’s no doubt frustrated that he can’t find them. Come on, let’s get back to the others.”
“Wait, I need to remove this tee. It has residue of the poison on it.”
Jared went quiet for a moment, his eyes going out of focus. Then they were clear again. “Lenox has apparently disappeared or, at the very least, is having a rest. I’ll teleport you to your apartment so you can change your tee. But if he reappears before you’re ready to go, I may have to leave you at home so I can get back to Sam and the squads.”
I nodded. “Understood.”
At my apartment, I trashed my ruined top before pulling on another. The moment Jared teleported us both back to the rainforest, my squad members rushed to my side to check that I was fine, despite my assurances that I was healed.
I caught Max staring at me, his fists clenched, his eyes glinting with … something.
“The wanker did a Houdini right after you left,” Sam told Jared. “So his aim wasn’t to separate you and me in the hope that he’d then be able to take one of us out.” She swore. “We were stupid to give him an opening like that. It just never occurred to me that he’d be so bloody ballsy as to turn up in the middle of the circle and attack someone from behind.”
“Same here,” said Jared. “Especially since I was starting to think he was just hopping around for shits and giggles.”
“That or, as David suggested, he was pitting himself against all of us,” said Max.
“It was probably a bit of both,” mused Jared. “Throw in that he’ll be pissed at how his plot to kill Quinlan and Ivan isn’t working so well and, yeah, I’d say he wanted to vent.”
Max looked at me again. “And get back at Paige for saving Quinlan.”
“That, too,” agreed Sam. “And the prick will bloody suffer for it.”
We figured that Lenox would be long gone, but we stayed out there for another hour just in case. When our search came to nothing, we returned to The Hollow. Again, we were all dog tired.
Outside our Residence Hall, I briefly talked with my squad members—or, more accurately, I hushed them when they started bombarding me with whispered questions …
Did you agree to Max’s suggestion?
Is he good in bed?
Did he feed from you?
Are you really staying at his place?
Did he live up to his word and make you come several times?
How likely is it that we could convince you to record him talking dirty, because I just love his voice?
The latter question came from Cassie.
I held up a hand to stave off any further questions. “This isn’t the time or place for us to have this conversation. For now, all I will say is that he’s a man of his word.” He hadn’t just made me come more than once during the first round, he’d done it every round. And he hadn’t been kidding when he’d said I wouldn’t get much sleep. He’d woken me three times throughout the day. Not that I was complaining.
“But I want every detail,” Ava whined.
“Well you may have to wait until the seventy-two hours are up,” I told her, “because he and I agreed that I’d spend my free time at his place until then.” We’d both be heading up to his apartment once he was done speaking with Sam. I cast them a quick look, wondering what they were talking about.
Ava heaved a sigh. “Fine. But maybe take notes so you don’t forget anything.”
Her mouth twitching, Keeley shook her head at the small brunette. “Do you not get sex regularly from Salem or something?”
Ava frowned. “Of course I do. I’m just all about the details, but Paige prefers to only ever deliver the abridged version.”
I shrugged. “It’s just quicker.” Again, I slid Sam and Max a curious look. What the hell was so important that they had to talk about it now?