Jimmy was on the first floor underground. For the past twenty minutes, he's been moving back the forth down one of the three hallways. His tactic was good; the worst possible thing to do when dealing with Edmond was staying in one place. If one were to stop moving, Edmond would get bored and go for the kill.

Dorian had figured out a way to corner him. We would introduce another player in the cat and mouse game. Another mouse, easily located and unmoving. Edmond would fall for it, because he'd recognize his hiding as inferior; a nuisance, an opponent not worth fighting. He'd go for the kill.

But...

He wouldn't see the lion sneaking from behind.

The plan was good, except it required something I wasn't willing to give to Dorian.

Complete trust.

Once we entered the basement, Dorian has suddenly gone completely serious. The sunglasses were off, the gun was in his hand, and he moved with finesse and elegance of a skilled dancer. His feet barely made any sound upon contact with the floor. Without issue, we moved down the middle hallway in an attempt to locate Jimmy.

The first level was eerily silent, making me wonder if perhaps we were too late and the hunters were all dead. The thought of so many people dying at the hands of my brothers made me feel uneasy.

There was something rotten in our family. Something dark, and devious, and perverse.

Dorian suddenly spread out a hand, halting us in place. We were at the western wall, if my coordination still worked, about to turn the corner and head north, to the other set of stairs.

Dorian turned his head slightly and put his finger on his lips, telling us to stay quiet.

"Hey, Jimmy!" Edmond's whistle spread through the air, piercing my ears.

Jax stilled next to me. My entire body squeezed into itself.

"There's no way out!" Edmond shouted, his voice playful and high. "There are guards upstairs, you know? They're waiting for you. Their fingers are on the triggers, ready to fire."

Dorian faced me completely, put his hands on my shoulder, and pointed towards the other end of the hallway. I listened immediately, and we turned on our heels and ran. We turned another corner and headed to the north.

"I won't let them kill you, though, don't worry." Edmond continued whistling, stupidly giving his location away. "They'd just capture you, and no one would touch you except for me."

Edmond let out a shrill laugh, and I imagined his face, so fucking similar to mine, distorting, twisting, glowing with malice.

"I'll keep you around as a blood whore!" Edmond shouted. "It's a fun job, trust me. Lots of drugs, and screwing, and bleeding. Well, you don't choose what you'll consume, who's going to fuck you, and which part of you is going to bleed, but, hey, no job's perfect."

As we moved to the stairs, all I could think about was Lucia and her baby. For the first time since she came to me, I wondered if she should have just aborted. If she should have just gotten rid of Edmond's son.

We rushed down the stairs, and to my surprise – some of the hunters were hiding at the bottom of the stairs, waiting in complete silence. Some were wounded, some even bitten, and judging by the look on Jax's face, some weren't here. Mikey was there, though. His dark eyes were wide and scared, and his scrawny hands were shaking.

Jax's expression quickly turned to confusion when he realised they were waiting for us.

Briefly, my gaze jumped to Dorian, but he was already giving commands, telling the hunters to follow us upstairs. Jax helped them up in complete silence one by one. Dorian instructed me to give some of my blood to all of them, which was a good idea. Some of them weren't in shape to run.

"Go ahead." Jax told one of the hunters, a man around forty with large dark circles under his greyish eyes and a gunshot in his left calf.

"It's a vampire." The hunter said, his eyes scanning me with unbelievable coldness.

"It'll help you." Jax said, knowing the man wouldn't make it out alive if something didn't stop the bleeding. "Plus, it feels like cocaine, but without the hangover."

I gazed at Jax with curiosity, but he wouldn't return the favour.

The man in front of me looked at his wound, then my offered wrist, and eventually gave in.

Once all the hunters were sufficiently pumped up on vampire blood, we climbed up.

So far, so good.

But the tricky part wasn't getting the hunters out. Not with all the guards on the first floor bribed to courageously leave the fight. No, that part would be easy.

Unease grew within me as we ascended one by one to the upper floor, the first floor of the basement. Dorian went ahead, and my eyes remained glued to his back. We needed to get the hunters out. We needed to get Jax and Mikey out.

But if they all left, we wouldn't be able to do the tricky part.

Dorian knew Jimmy would leave his scent all over the place. It was enough to prevent us from smelling Edmond, but it also prevented Edmond from smelling us. Another human present in the basement, and Edmond just wouldn't see us coming.

"Dorian." I hissed, trying to quietly pass by one of the bulkier hunters.

Dorian turned his head slightly, leaned his long finger against his lips, and shushed me.

I rolled my eyes and pushed through until I was by his side.

We were up, hiding behind the wall of the stairwell, hoping Edmond wasn't a foot away from us. We were just supposed to go straight down and we'd find ourselves in the same hallway as the exit. If we headed right, we'd be making an unnecessary circle. Dorian stuck his head out and checked the hallway. What would he do if Edmond found us? Would he attack him? Or would he turn on the hunters?

The hallway was clear.

"We need to get them out of here." I hissed again, now closer to his ear. "There won't be time."

"Quiet." Dorian whispered. "Jimmy is close."

My heart pounded, "Dorian-"

"You said you trusted me." He repeated, gaze cutting through me – liquid midnight blue in the darkness of the basement. "Now, I'm going to go find a baseball bat."

I looked behind me down the stairwell without really thinking about it, and my eyes landed on Jax a few steps down. He glanced up, his jaw ticking.

"Dorian." My fingers dug into his forearm. "Don't. Be. Late."

His gaze softened, "Have some faith in me."

And then he shook my hand off and moved down the right hallway in utter silence. My throat bobbed as I watched him disappeared in the darkness, and the commotion behind me let me know I was now in charge. Jax's whispers sounded urgent, and I knew he was moving on up.

I faced the crowd, "We're going to the exit now, straight down the hallway."

Jax reached me, his hand wrapping around my upper arm with aggression I hadn't known he possessed. He pulled me closer, gaze jumping to where Dorian disappeared.

"Where-"

"He's going to find Jimmy." I lied, my entire body recoiling. "And meet us at the exit."

Jax's eyes searched my face, and I knew he's been skimming through everything we've told him about vampires and how to fight them.

"We reach the exit and we leave?" Jax asked.

I nodded.

After so many lies I've told him, he shouldn't have believed me. But he did. And he led his partners down the hallway one by one, the scent of their blood overwhelming the top floor of the basement. The urge to shove them out of this wretched place was strong. But Dorian's plan was too tempting.

My veins constricting with anxiety, I took in a deep breath through my nose, trying to locate anyone by their smell, but all I scented was sweat and blood and adrenaline. Goddammit, Dorian sure betted a lot on my abilities.

"Hey, Jimmy!" The voice thundered through the basement, and the hunters behind me stilled. "Eddy's getting a bit bored. Do you think it's time we stopped with this silly game?"

My entire body rebelling, I moved further down the hallway, and the hunters followed me. Edmond was done playing, he was going for the kill. We turned right at the end of the hallway and soon, we were in front of the staircase. Unlike when we entered, the door was locked. The anxiety around me doubled instantly.

"Where is he?" Jax growled in my ear. "We need to get the fuck out of here. Now."

"Getting Jimmy." I answered, my eyes glued to the hallway, my answer mechanic, my blood racing.

One of the hunters began rattling with the lock, causing noise.

"Drew, quit it." Jax hissed. "He's going to hear us. Odette?"

His hand wrapped around my upper arm again and he tried to turn me around, but I held my ground, needing to keep my eyes on the hallway and unable to look at him. The rattling of the lock stopped.

"I can smell you, you know?" Edmond's voice became louder, nearer. "I can smell your sweat, and your blood, and your tears. I can feel the vibrating of your bones as you try to move."

"Odette." Mikey, who wouldn't even look at me before this moment, stood in front of me. "Where is the other guy? Where is Jimmy? We need-"

"Be quiet." I rasped. "Someone's coming."

But it wasn't Edmond. No, not yet. This was someone covered in blood, and sweat, and tears. The crowd around me grabbed their weapons when they saw a head peeking behind the wall. But it was only Jimmy; his hands and arms bruised, his face sweaty, and his legs shaking. When he noticed us, his face lit up with hope. I felt sorry for Jimmy. He only wanted to fight someone, and it turned out to be a bigger monster than he could handle.

Jax rushed to his side without a second thought and helped him get to the door. His move startled me for a second. Jax truly was one of the good ones. And he had to run into me.

"Odette, the door." He grunted when he led Jimmy to the group.

"Jimmy!" Edmond screamed, finally losing his cool. "Jimmy, I'm tired. I'd like to kiss and make up now."

"Dorian has a key." I told Jax, my voice dropping to an almost silent whisper.

Jax's frown flattened, the wheels turning in his head.

"I need to find Dorian." I swallowed and took a step back.

"Jimmy! Your blood calls to me!"

He was here. He was right around the corner.

"Odette." Jax reached for me and shook his head, his expression distorting, this time in disbelief. "Please."

I stepped out of his reach, "I'm sorry."

I knew as I turned on my heel and rushed the other way in complete silence that I've probably just lost him forever. There were some things Jax would never forget, and disrespecting him in a battle was one of them. I also knew I'd probably regret doing this, but I had made my decision. I decided to trust Dorian, for better or worse.

Blood rushed through my muscles and urged me to move, especially when I heard Edmond's voice, coming closer and closer to the group of hunters.

"Come on, Dorian." I whispered under my breath and took a sharp left turn, making a circle through the basement. "Where the fuck are you?"

"There you are!" Edmond's voice rippled around.

He found them.

He found them.

He found-

A shot from a suppressed gun whooshed through the air.