Crimson Bound (Blood Oath #7)

2. Kade

2

KADE

“ R emind me why we couldn’t just snatch the human from her academic orgy?”

Atlas cuts me a glare from where he stands against the exposed brick wall so he can survey the entire room, though it’s bathed in darkness. Vampire sight at its finest.

“Calla is at a study session,” Gabriel clarifies unnecessarily. “The reason we’re waiting for her here is to minimize any potential complications.”

“How boring,” Lex chimes in, dropping onto the couch next to me, and gives me a shove. Because Lex loves being a pain in my ass.

I tip my head back against the cushions, exhaling a sigh. “How much longer is?—”

“Quiet,” Atlas hisses as the elevator down the hall chimes.

Soft footsteps get closer, and my lips curl into a faint grin as a key slides into the lock.

Game time .

Calla Montgomery steps inside her apartment and freezes, her keychain dangling from the lock. There’s a shallow intake of breath, and her heart beats harder in the stretch of silence. Her posture is tense, muscles rigid, and when her right leg shifts back, Atlas speaks two simple words that make her pulse skyrocket.

“Don’t run.”

To her credit, she doesn’t scream. Doesn’t hesitate before making a break for it, whirling around and dropping her bag in the process of fleeing her apartment.

Gabriel stands, and I follow suit. “Allow me,” I toss at him, my grin stretching wider as I give chase, calling after our target. I chuckle as she throws herself into the elevator, while I move at an easy pace toward the stairwell, pushing my hearing out to keep tabs on where she decides is the best place to get off.

Silly, silly human.

Not much later, the door to the stairwell a few levels below slams shut, reverberating off the concrete walls. The monster in me purrs with delight as I move at preternatural speed down the stairs. I reach Calla in a matter of seconds, grabbing her by the shoulders and pinning her against the wall with blatantly zero effort. When her lovely brown eyes lift to meet my gaze, something in her snaps. She tries to fight me, kicking and scratching at my chest, while I press my lips together against a smile that is sure to ignite a deeper rage in her.

I clamp my hand over her mouth before she can make a sound, exhaling slowly. “Atlas told you not to run.”

Calla exerts seemingly every ounce of strength in her tiny body to pull my hand away from her mouth, and I let her do it. I’m curious to hear what she has to say. I return my hand to her shoulder, tightening my grip.

“I don’t give a shit. Let go of me,” she says through her teeth, her chest heaving with each breath.

I tilt my head to the side, surveying her face as my lips twitch. “If I do that, you’ll run again.”

“I’ll scream,” she warns, shoving at my chest once more. It’s a feeble attempt at escape, but she’s already fought longer than most would. It’s fucking incredible.

“You will, though it’ll be my name before it’s anything else.” I push her back into the wall, dipping my face closer to hers. “But by all means, give it a shot,” I taunt, a lilt of arrogance filling my tone. I’m having way too much fun messing with her.

“Who the fuck are you?” she grounds out.

I smirk. “You know who I am. You ran because you know exactly who we are.” I adjust my grip on her shoulders, ensuring I’m not actually hurting her.

“I ran because it’s the middle of the night and you broke into my apartment.”

“Calla, Calla, Calla,” I purr, tutting softly.

“Stop saying my name.”

I can’t help the grin that curls my lips. “Are you going to play nice if I step away now?”

A muscle ticks along her jaw as she glares at me. “That depends, if you consider me punching you in the face playing nice.”

What a beautifully violent little thing…

I whistle softly. “You’re going to be quite the handful, aren’t you?”

She stiffens, her pulse jumping as Gabriel approaches from the level above.

“Kade, that’s enough,” he says, walking down the concrete steps toward us.

I roll my eyes at him. “Relax, Gabriel. She’s fine. Aren’t you, Calla?” I turn back to her, snagging her chin and guiding her gaze to mine. The tension eases from her expression the moment my glamour washes over her, and she nods, even returning my smile. Until I blink, severing the glamour, and then she’s pissed .

Her eyes narrow sharply, and her muscles tense again as she curls her hands into fists. “You fucking pr?—”

Gabriel intervenes before she can finish, pulling her away from me all too soon. Too bad. I was enjoying myself. “All right, angel,” Gabriel says in a gentle voice, “let’s go.”

Angel isn’t exactly the term I’d use for?—

Calla ducks under Gabriel’s arm and takes off down the stairs, but he moves faster, appearing in front of her at the next landing. She gasps for breath as Gabriel urges her softly to, “Stop running.”

I join them on the landing, moving behind Calla before she registers my presence. She turns to me, and I grin before I realize her eyes are glassy.

Well, fuck. I didn’t mean to make the girl cry.

“Calla.” Gabriel pulls her attention away from me, and she shakes her head, nearly vibrating with an interesting combination of anger and fear.

“Please,” she says, a near-whisper.

“Oh, come on,” I chime in, needing to lighten the mood pronto. I wrap my arm around Calla’s shoulders, holding her against my side. “Don’t start begging now. I much prefer your sharp tongue.”

Her brows knit as she stares at me with an incredulous expression, gritting her teeth as she seethes, “Fuck you.” She shoves away from me, and I don’t bother pulling her back.

Gabriel steps in once more, his hand at her back as he guides her toward the hallway, and we leave the stairwell behind.

“See? That’s much better.” I grin at her slow inhale, as if she’s trying to calm herself.

Calla doesn’t speak as we step onto the elevator and Gabriel presses the button to her floor. She watches him while I watch her . The way her posture remains unnaturally rigid, the bob of her throat when she swallows, the rapid beat of her pulse…My gums throb as my fangs threaten to extend, but I fight back the desire her blood sends rushing forward. Flashing my fangs is probably not the best move at this very moment, especially when the human is already on edge with us.

I stand against the opposite wall, humming Pink Floyd’s Comfortably Numb under my breath, when Calla’s eyes slide toward me. I don’t let on to knowing she’s checking me out; I let her get her fill as we ascend to the fifteenth floor.

Getting off the elevator, I walk a few paces behind Gabriel and Calla just in case she decides to attempt fleeing again. A twisted part of me is disappointed when she doesn’t.

Stepping around them, I move forward and open the door to her apartment, walking inside where someone has turned on the lights. Lex and Atlas are sitting on the couch in the living room, speaking softly about taking Calla back to our house tonight. They stop talking as we approach, and I drop onto the couch next to Lex.

Atlas stands and says, “Calla Montgomery,” as he walks toward her.

Calla’s gaze locks on him, her posture stiffening as she takes him in. To be fair, Atlas York is pretty fucking scary, especially when he decides you have a reason to fear him. He oozes power and seduction so effortlessly it’s oftentimes as infuriating as it is arousing. And I’ve known the bastard for decades.

Calla’s lips thin. “If I say you have the wrong person, will you leave?”

I chuckle, while Lex rolls his eyes, and Gabriel remains silent, observing the exchange between Atlas and Calla.

“You understand why we’re here.”

“Of course she knows, Atlas,” Gabriel speaks up.

“For me,” she says in a flat voice.

“Are you afraid?” Atlas asks, his tone hinting at curiosity.

Something like disbelief flickers across her tired features. “No. No, I’m super thrilled to have four strangers in my apartment for the sole reason of stealing my future.” In an instant, she clamps her jaw shut, her pulse jackhammering as her gaze snaps to where Lex has appeared in front of her in a flash of movement. She rears back, though her eyes roam over him as her heart thunders in her chest. I think she’s looking at his tattoos. Granted, Lex has many intricate vines and roses inked across his body, and his tattoo artist is incredibly talented.

“Perhaps not the sole reason,” Lex offers, and something in his gaze has Calla’s cheeks flushing as she stares at him, wide-eyed.

“Don’t freak the poor girl out, Lex,” I say, hauling myself off the couch to join the others in the middle of Calla’s apartment. Her gaze bounces around to each of us, and she swallows hard, jaw clenching.

“We’ll give you a few minutes to pack a bag,” Atlas tells her, walking away to the kitchen. He plucks an apple from Calla’s fruit bowl, taking a bite as he leans against the counter.

Calla’s expression turns bitter, resentful. “I’m not going anywhere with you. Not only am I pissed you showed up here in the middle of the fucking night. I’m in university. It’s the first week of March—I can’t just leave halfway through the term.”

Lex glances at me, and I shrug before he turns his attention to her. “That’s what you’re concerned about?” he asks with a sharp laugh, arching a brow at her. “Humans truly are silly creatures.”

She continues to stare at him incredulously, then snaps, “You might be concerned too if you were forking out sixty grand a year.”

Lex shrugs. “You don’t want to pack a bag, fine. I’ll do it.”

I can see this is going to end well…

Lex disappears down the hallway that leads to Calla’s bedroom, and when her gaze lands on me, I grin at her.

“He’s gonna go through your panty drawer.”

She shakes her head slowly, the darkness under her eyes becoming more prominent. “I don’t care,” she mutters.

“We should go,” Gabriel says from the couch, drumming his fingers against the cushion. “Calla’s had a long night.”

“ Calla can speak for herself.”

I’m surprised at how sharp her tone is, considering she looks exhausted enough to fall over. It makes me step closer to her, only for her to narrow her eyes at me and move backward—right into Atlas’s chest. He moved at the same moment I did, as if we both sensed she was quickly reaching the end of her rope.

Calla’s body tenses, but before she can move, Atlas snakes his arm around her waist and warns in a low voice, “Don’t make this harder.”

To no one’s shock, she tries to fight him. Of course, it does virtually nothing, save for irritating Atlas if I had to bet, though he doesn’t let it show.

“Calla.” Atlas’s voice is smooth like velvet. The most enticing, impossible to ignore, siren-like sound.

Calla’s heart races, and she squeezes her eyes shut in an attempt to protect herself from his glamour, which she’ll inevitably discover is impossible when it comes to Atlas. Clenching her hands into fists, she says, “Let go of me.”

“You don’t need to keep fighting.” He wraps his fingers around her throat, guiding her head back until it touches his chest. The fight vanishes from her posture, and Atlas murmurs, “That’s better.”

Calla blinks her eyes open as Atlas releases her, her expression cloudy with confusion. “W-what? No…”

Gabriel smiles. “Glamour works in different ways, angel. For vampires like Atlas, skin-to-skin contact is just as powerful as eye contact.”

The confusion in her gaze swiftly shifts to annoyance as she mumbles, “That’s not fair.”

Atlas offers a short laugh as Lex comes back from the bedroom with a duffle bag over his shoulder. He surveys the room, arching a brow. “We good?” His gaze finds Calla. “Don’t worry, I grabbed the pretty lace ones.” He pats the side of the bag and shoots her a wink.

Her voice is low, distant when she says, “I’m going to kill you. All of you.” She walks to the door, grabbing her jacket and bag off the hook, while the rest of us exchange glances mixed with a healthy dose of uncertainty and, in Lex’s case, devious excitement.

I shoot him a quick grin as we follow the others out of Calla’s apartment.

This is going to be fun.