The Vampire and Her Human Mate

18| Captured

Bianca came to slowly. Plastic coated silver chains held her arms affixed to a chair, a metal table before her. The chains were designed to weaken, but not hurt her. There was a light overhead that cast a circle around her- darkness around that. The light made it difficult to see into the surrounding dark- it was a special UV bulb designed to impact vampires night vision and it was working. The oppressing feeling of the metal weighed her down as well as the fog of whatever had knocked her out.

With fury in her voice she spat, “Whoever you are, you are going to regret-” She stopped abruptly, smelling her captors. A second later they came into view- stepping into the light and taking a seat opposite to her.

“What the f**k?” She cried, pulling at her bonds.

Rose and Bronson regarded her.

“We’re going to call this an intervention,” Bronson spoke first.

Bianca looked back and forth between the two of them, confused. “Intervention? What is going on?”

Rose took over, “You have been acting strange lately. I don’t know what Cordon has you doing, but you have never kept anything from us and we aren’t going to let whatever this is keep going.”

Bianca squeezed her eyes shut. s**t.

“We understand you need to keep some things close to your chest Bianca,” Rose added, “But this disappearing for days- blocking your phone and GPS from us. We aren’t going to let you put yourself in danger any longer. You will stay seated here until you tell us what is going on.”

“Oh you bloody…” tears stung her eyes from frustration. Of course her crew thought she had gotten caught up in something and that she was withholding it from them to keep them safe. A thought came to her, “How long have I been out?”

“A couple of hours,” Bronson answered.

“s**t!” She bucked. She should have picked up Beau an hour ago. “It’s not what you think. Just let me go and I will tell you all later.”

“Strat twenty-nine,” Rose relayed the definition, "where we fake the job to Cordon and keep it for ourselves- paying the fees because we know we'll get something better in return. But never have you not included us in the plan."

"And Raven told us you asked them to plant the information about the client, The Fox- the f**k kinda codename is that anyway?" Rose added. If Bianca hadn't been so pissed she might have been impressed by their deductions and execution- Bianca wasn't an easy vamp to incapacitate, though she had been distracted.

“Hey guys…” Raven called from back there in the dark.

Bronson and Rose looked over their shoulders.

Raven wandered into the light with them. “Apart from her phone blowing up with calls and texts, from a number under Beau- I’m getting pings from calls to hospitals looking for Bianca. Her full name blasted out.”

Bianca but her lip. Of course he would call hospitals looking for me, she thought with a little twinge in her heart. She thought of how she would feel if he went missing like this. She would tear the world apart.

Bianca could see Raven had her phone in their hand and it was attached to their custom phone hacking device. If they had already been at it for a couple of hours it would be unlocked soon and then they would be able to see everything on it, including her messages between Beau.

Shit, she thought again.

“This is just a misunderstanding. I’m sorry. I’ve been ghosting you, locking you out. But there is a good reason and I swear I’m not in danger or trying to keep you out of business.”

“We know you went to visit your mother, Bianca. Something dire needs to have come up for that- and Cordon has her so far in his pocket-”

She groaned in frustration. “I just needed something from her.”

“Right,” Rose said, lifting the box from the ground by her feet and placing it on the table. “This bunch of weird ass s**t, Bianca?” She tipped the contents out, the instructions for masking sliding out with everything else. “Since when do we need a witch's help with anything? Let alone your mother's?”

Ravens device dinged. “I’m in.”

Bianca watched as Raven unlocked her phone. “I found my mate!”

All three of her friends looked at her. To say they looked startled was an understatement.

"What?" Rose spoke first. Her voice became small and Bianca could hear her hurt. "When?"

Bianca couldn't look at them. "A couple of weeks. Just before the Paris job."

"Here?" Bronson asked. "In LA?"

"You didn't reject them?" Rose asked before Bianca could answer Bronson's questions. She had tears in her eyes now. Bianca had always said she would- had been so staunchly anti-fated mates.

Bianca could only shake her head. "I couldn't do it…"

Rose got up abruptly and ran off.

"s**t Bianca. Why didn't you tell us?" Raven turned and went after her.

"Bron. Please untie me."

Bronson sat back in his chair heavily. "That would be your mate calling human hospitals looking for you?”

Bianca nodded.

“Why would they do that?” Bronson asked but Bianca could tell from the look on her friend's face that he had guessed why. Bianca could only stare back at him. “f**k, Bianca.”

~*~