Free Taken by the Others by Jess Haines

and oaken furniture had gilded scrollwork, the gold reflecting dim candlelight. A large walk-in closet with mirrored sliding doors was left open, revealing more ball gowns and ladies’ dress shoes than a bridal depot at the mall.
    Whoever dragged me in here hadn’t thought to dump me on the thick, comfortable-looking bed done in crimson and cream, and I groaned as I twisted onto my side and struggled to sit up. At least I was left to sleep off whatever Nicolas had done to me on carpet instead of hardwood. And hey, I was still alive. My ribs ached, but the pain wasn’t so sharp as to make me think they’d been broken. That much was a blessing.
    However, I had no idea where I was or what my captors wanted with me. I was alone in the room, and when I awkwardly tried opening the single door with my cuffed hands, it was locked.
    I spotted my purse on top of a dresser. With a little ingenuity, I unzipped it and spilled out the contents on the floor. My cell phone and mace were still there, mixed in with my makeup and breath mints. Once the screen of the cell was illuminated, I saw that it was well past nightfall, almost nine. Thankfully it was still Saturday. I hadn’t lost an entire day to unconsciousness, so I figured they must be planning to do something with me on a relatively immediate basis. Joy of joys.
    It took some shifting and twisting and struggling, but eventually I slid my arms under my butt and got my hands in front instead of behind me. I quickly texted Sara, Arnold, and Chaz a message:
    KIDNAPPED! SEND HELP! THINK IT IS MAX CARLYLE, CALL COPS OR ROYCE OR JACK/WHITE HATS. DON’T KNOWWHERE I AM. CAREFUL, HE HAS MAGE ON HIS SIDE. (NICOLAS?)
    I frantically jabbed at the send button as I heard a key in the lock and the handle of the door jiggling. The phone slid across the top of the dresser and fell off as I scrambled for the mace, backing up as far from the door as I could get. There weren’t any good hiding places, and with my hands bound, I felt more than a little vulnerable.
    Worse, Peter was the first person through the door. He grinned nastily when he spotted me, baring fangs and stalking closer. I found myself abruptly backed into the farthest corner, looking around frantically for something more useful than mace to attack him with. Since he was a vampire, I couldn’t be sure it would work on him. Maybe I could use one of the candelabras to hit him or set him on fire?
    Nicolas trailed into the room next, followed by a man I didn’t know. My big worry was the vampire right in front of me, so I didn’t pay a whole lot of attention to them just yet. One bad guy at a time.
    Peter moved human-slow. He didn’t have that deadly speed and grace that Royce commanded. That didn’t stop him from being fast enough to cut off my attempt to escape as he grabbed my arms. He lifted me up and shoved me back, cracking the back of my head against the wall painfully enough for my vision to blur and the little canister to drop out of my bound hands.
    “That’s enough. Put her down,” said the man I didn’t know. Peter might’ve obeyed if I hadn’t kicked him as hard as I could before he had the chance.
    Peter staggered back, wincing. More evidence that he hadn’t been turned very long; he still felt some modicum of pain at a blow from a human. However, it wasn’t enough to get him to drop me. Rather, his fingers tightened punishingly around my biceps, making me gasp. After a moment taken to recover, he glared and pulled me away from the wall, shoving me back in the direction of the mage and the guy who I was guessing was Max Carlyle.
    The guy caught me before I could fall to my knees. His grip was tight, but not painful. He carefully set me back on my feet, making sure I could stand before he let me go. I glared at him as I straightened, not in the least bit grateful for his help.
    “What the fuck do you want me for? Let me go!”
    He smiled, amused with my reaction. I noted that his features were similar to