Chapter 23
Rayne
Ilistened Intentlyto the minds around us, searching for anyone who had thoughts of coming after us. Most of the hunters were too focused on the vampires they were fighting to even notice that their leader had been killed or that the very person they were coming in here to get was already found.
But there were a few starting to give us an interested look from where I stood in the doorway.
“I don't mean to break up the party but I think we should probably get out of here,” I told the others, wanting so much to hold Piper in my arms but knowing that I have to wait until later.
Piper smiled at me and my heart stuttered. “Of course, let's go. Let's get out the hell out of here.” She took two steps forward and then grabbed her large stomach groaning out in pain.
“What is it? What's wrong?” Drake, who was closest to her, grabbed one side of her while his brother grabbed the other side of her.
Piper held her stomach and moaned out, “I don't know it just hurts.” And then a second later water began pouring out between her legs.
“Uhhh...I'm not an expert,” Alister began, pointing out the water puddle on the floor, “but I think she's going into labor. I think her water just broke.”
“No shit, Sherlock,” Piper shot back at him and then groaned again.
“What should we do? We can't have the baby here,” I cried out, shooting my eyes back into the hallway where the vampire hunters were getting a little too close for comfort.
“I had a midwife,” Piper began but then her eyes moved over to the other body that was shoved to the side of the doorway. “But I guess she can't help me now.”
Antoine took charge. “Let's get out of the building and then we can worry about finding somewhere safe for you to give birth. Do you have any ideas of how to get out of here?”
“We can't just walk out the front door?'' Piper asked before leaning against Drake with another groan of pain.
“Because there's a horde of vampire hunters and the vampires they're killing in the way and based on the way they tried to attack us when we were coming in to get you even though they were told not to, I don't trust they are going to leave you alone.” If I needed to breathe, I would have been panting after that long winded explanation.
Piper winced and glanced back at the dead body of her midwife. “Well, Agnes said there was an escape route through the basement.”
“And where exactly is that located,” Antoine asked.
“I have no idea.”
“I know,” I jumped in before Piper could get upset again. “I've looked at the schematics of the building. Follow me,” I told them all before darting into the hallway.
The others followed after me quickly, Drake holding Piper in his arms. We got a few strange looks from the hunters as we passed by but too many of them were focused on their fight to pay attention to us. I darted down to the right, heading back towards the front of the building. There was an entrance to the basement just off of the dining room. Strange that they would set their home up in the same manner that we did.
I quickly found the doorway and ushered us down the stairs, keeping an ear out for any hunters that might decide that it would be a good idea to follow us. I caught sight of Tristan and Mizuki, ushering the others out of the building. With any luck they would be gone before we even got back to the car. I just hoped that Piper would last that long.
“Down here,” I instructed them all and they hurried past me, Piper groaning and moaning the entire way. I shut the door behind us, locking it for good measure.
The basement wasn't as well furnished as ours; it was just a big old empty room with a bunch of caskets thrown here and there. The only other object in the room was a large refrigerator lining the wall.
“Where do you think the exit is?” I asked Piper, searching around the room for some kind of hint of a secret passage.
“Why the fuck you asking me? I'm in labor, you idiot.”
“Yeah,” Drake told me with a snap.
The rest of us quickly went to the walls, pressing here and there searching for an exit to get out of the basement. I could hear the scrimmage upstairs getting worse. It seemed that they couldn’t get their hunters to leave. Instead, they were too riled up in their blood lust to listen to their superiors. Especially after they found Vincent's dead body.
“Here it is,” Wynn instructed from beside the large refrigerator, pulling it open from one side. “This seems to lead outside.”
Without much choice in the matter, we hustled into the doorway. We rushed forward with Piper in between all of us in case we got attacked from either side.
“Do you hear anything else?” Allister asked, coming up behind me.