Devil in Disguise (Kai Parker)

Chapter Thirty-Six: In Too Deep

For a moment, Alaric’s finger tightened on the trigger…

Then, with a look of resignation on his face, he slammed the butt of the gun into Kai’s head. He crumpled to the ground, a knot already forming on his head. Meg would’ve sighed with relief, if it wasn’t for the fingers around her neck.

“Ric!” Damon glared at his friend.

“Thank you.” Jo smiled warmly at him, clutching the wound in her arm. Alaric gave a jerk of his head, a sort of awkward ‘you’re welcome’ and fished a handkerchief out of his pocket. He dabbed the blood from his arm, but there wasn’t much else he could do. He wasn’t a doctor.

Jo, luckily, was. She waved him away, peering at the gaping, gory hole with her tongue between her teeth. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve got everything I need to fix it at home.”

“Sorry to interrupt this lovely reunion,” Damon didn’t sound sorry at all, “But what are we gonna do about the psychopath Ric oh so stupidly knocked out instead of shot? You can always shoot him now – or, better yet, pull him over to this side of the border so I can kill him myself.”

“Shut up, Damon.” Alaric glared at him, then glanced at Kai. There was a moments silence as he contemplated what to do next. Then, he looked at Jo. “C’mon. There are some chains in the trunk of my car; I’ll get them, and then drop you off so you can take care of that.” he gestured vaguely to her arm.

“And what about this one?” Damon’s grip tightened on Meg’s neck and she wheezed.

He shrugged. “She’s your friend.” and put his arm around Jo. They left without another word.

The vampire cursed. He spun Meg around so quickly the whole graveyard turned into a blur, and she found her eyes rolling around in her sockets. “Meg,” Damon said, and she tried to focus on his face. “Can I trust you?”

“I haven’t got any magic right now.” she said, but Damon shook his head.

“That doesn’t seem to matter, because you still teamed up with Mr Sociopath here.” he looked like he would very much like to brave the anti-magic border and snap Kai’s neck.

Meg bit her lip. “I… I don’t want to take a side.” she said weakly.

He smiled grimly. “Unfortunately, Meggie, you’re in too deep to get out of this, and so you need to choose a side.”

“What d’you mean, ‘in too deep –’”

“Do you think Kai’s just gonna let you leave this mess?” Damon said sharply, blue eyes flicking around her face for any sort of response. She grimaced. He was right; Kai would never let her go. Hell, he’d even agreed not to hurt Liv to get her back. That was something unprecedented before in Kai Parker’s life.

“No.” she admitted grudgingly.

“Exactly.”

“But it’s complicated!” she protested, but Damon looked unimpressed.

“Everything is complicated around here. Now, you’re either with us, or against us. Which is it gonna be?”

“What, do I have to choose now?” Meg’s eyes went wide, flicking restlessly from Damon to the motionless Kai, just behind her.

“No time like the present.” he said cynically, and his fingers twitched, warning her if she chose wrong they’d be around her neck again. She made herself focus on Damon, the more imminent threat right now. It wouldn’t do to get herself strangled because she was watching Kai.