Bad Mouth

by Angela McCallister

  Nothing could happen to Kade, not now. He’d said he loved her. “God, I love you.” Those were the words she’d treasure her entire life. She’d pull that memory out every night to kiss and stroke. She didn’t think he had even noticed saying them, but they rocked her to her toes. And what had she done in response? She’d cried like a baby. She was not a crier, damn it. Now if he died, he’d never know she loved him.

  When the car jarred to a stop, she realized she’d lost track of time. At least her distracted thoughts had eaten the torturous wait to get there. They’d stopped at the base of the driveway, where they waited another torturous fifteen minutes before the VLO’s SWAT forces arrived to meet her. Alice had ridden with them.

  “I can’t believe you came, too,” Val said. Considering how Alice felt about law enforcement officers, her presence was earth-shaking. She avoided them like the plague at headquarters.

  “As if I’d miss this. This is the most excitement I’ve had since my high school prom. Are they all here?”

  “I don’t know. We’ve been waiting down here for you guys.” Val checked her watch. Kade’s merry men had to have arrived ahead of them. “Let’s go.”

  They hiked up to the dismal mansion, but not before the SWAT commander made both of them don Kevlar vests. Val’s heart thundered and nearly beat out of her chest when the SWAT guys kicked the door open, and she heard the clang of swords near the staircase.

  Swords?

  Throwing caution aside, she dodged Alice’s restraining hand and raced past the commander. She had her pistol drawn, but wasn’t sure what good it would do if Kade was engaged in battle. With her lousy aim, she could hit him as easily as one of the Ancients, and if she didn’t land the shot perfectly, it would only annoy whichever vampire she hit.

  The scene at the staircase wasn’t what she’d expected. Kade’s team formed a large circle with Kade and Olen at the center. Near one foot of the staircase, Evangeline stood with Graham at her side. Val did a double take when she saw him. His eyes glowed red.

  Oh, Graham. What a fool. He’d pay a high price for his deceit and betrayal.

  Another clang of metal brought her attention to the center of the onlookers. Kade and Olen circled each other, their eyes bright and alert, watching for the slightest weakness in stance. It was like some barbaric medieval death match and everyone seemed content to let them fight it out. Was this vampire custom? Kade’s merry men didn’t seem overly concerned. Val signaled for the SWAT commander to hold back.

  Ezra caught sight of her. He worked his way around to stand in front of her, bodily blocking her from the battle scene. She shoved at him, but he stood his ground.

  “Do not interfere,” he rasped. “They’re fighting for the crown.”

  “I don’t care, Ezra,” she said. She pushed a paper in his hands. “I’m here in an official capacity. I have an order for Olen’s arrest as well as Evangeline’s. I’ll have one for Graham within an hour.” She turned to Alice who had caught up with her. “Can you get Graham’s papers?”

  “Sure thing, boss.”

  “Val.” Ezra demanded her attention again. “If they don’t finish, Olen keeps the crown whether he’s detained or not. You have to let them finish.”

  Frustration bit into her. She couldn’t believe Ezra was willing to let this all play out until his friend was killed. “And if Kade dies?”

  “You have to trust him.”

  But she did trust him. That didn’t stave off the terror of losing him. It suddenly struck her that she could lose him whether he won or not. She couldn’t live with a foot in each world, and he couldn’t join hers. If she chose not to join his, they’d have to part ways. She wasn’t ready to leave him. She didn’t think she’d ever be ready for that.

  Her hand gripped Ezra’s and the words burst from her like floodwaters behind a dam. “I love him, Ezra.”

  He nodded. “I know that.”

  “I never told him.” A panicky feeling struck her at that thought.

  He smiled and squeezed her hand soothingly. “Come, let’s stand back here. He can’t afford to know you’re here.”

  She didn’t need to ask why—she couldn’t distract Kade.

  The pair of adversaries were both sweating and out of breath. Both wore blood from a few strikes that had landed at some point, but neither looked as if they were ready to lose the battle. They faced each other with swords at the ready, though a lull had fallen between them. Val couldn’t help scrutinizing every visible inch of Kade for injuries. It took everything she had not to rush in between the vampires and put an end to this senseless duel.

  “Why try so hard, Kade?” the Rex taunted. “I will always be your better. I’ve lived more than twice your lifetime.”

  Kade circled Olen slowly, most likely watching for a moment of weakness. “So when’s the last time you’ve actually fought, Old One? Longer than I’ve been alive.”

  “You can’t lead the Immortalis. You haven’t lived long enough.” Olen matched steps with Kade, keeping them face-to-face He didn’t seem worried about the outcome of the battle.

  “That won’t stop me from taking it.” Kade grinned in that cocky way of his, and it did the trick, if enraging his father was the goal.

  Olen roared and lunged. Val choked off a gasp, but Kade leaned into the attack. Her man didn’t ever shy away from a fight, and he’d been waiting for this one a long time. He kept his stance and his balance. Still he couldn’t force his father back. The older vampire was incredibly strong. Olen swung in rapid succession several times. Kade blocked each strike, but he seemed to be slowing down.

  “You think even if you win that you can get away with creating deranged to do your bidding?” Kade’s breath heaved as he spoke. He was losing position inch by inch as he spoke, backing away from the power of Olen’s hits. Val’s tension ramped up so high she thought she’d scream. “You think the masses will appreciate the bloodings you allow with your abominations? The Legion will never respect and follow a madman who preys on his own kind.”

  Olen reeled back suddenly as if a spring had broken. Kade advanced on him, but Olen held up a hand and lowered his sword. “Stop.”

  Val thought he should keep going, but Kade did as he’d been ordered, although his merry men readied their weapons. As she scanned the room, she noticed Ptolomy lounging against the wall like he hadn’t a care in the world. Whose side was he playing this evening? Her focus went back to the center of the circle until she saw movement out of the corner of her eye.

  She caught sight of Evangeline. The woman’s hands covered her mouth and a look of stricken horror paled her face to a corpse-like color. Val had never seen the woman have one real emotion until that moment. Graham stood beside Evangeline, obviously clueless.

  “What say you, Kade? What are your accusations?” Olen asked. Val’s attention snapped back to the Rex. He seemed genuinely surprised by Kade’s words.

  “Accusations? I’ve seen it with my own eyes,” Kade yelled. He lowered his sword and approached his father, his lips pulled back over his teeth in a snarl. “We caught Will, a deranged responsible for several bloodings. We had him in chains at an empty warehouse. And then your Enforcers broke in, attacked me and my men, and shot a VLO agent. You know damn well what you’ve done, and whether I take the Immortalis from you or not, you will pay.”

  Olen dropped his sword and left his hands limp at his sides. “My son,” he said. “I have done many terrible things in my lifetime. Humanity treated me poorly, and when I had the opportunity to change my fate, to become, I swore I’d have my vengeance. And I’ve had it, many times over. The grand finale was in raising a perfectly hateful child.”

  “You’re fucking warped.” Kade’s words were hoarse. Olen had wounded him, and he hated that more than the wound itself. She could hear it in his agonized voice.

  “Keeping you out of caste politics and leaving your upbringing to subjugates turned out a sound strategy. With your strong ties to both castes and your outlook on humans,
you were perfectly groomed to dominate humanity without dividing the Immortalis. Sending the liaisons was our last effort to get you where you needed to be.”

  “Not where I needed to be. Where you wanted me to be. This was never about me.” Kade tossed his sword aside. “But that doesn’t explain why you’d disgrace the Immortalis.”

  “I did not.” Olen’s voice echoed through the hall. “The Immortalis is my life. I would not disgrace it for all the vengeance in the world.”

  “What do you call creating Will and sending your Enforcers to free him? Ask Graham what happened in that warehouse.” Kade gestured in Graham’s direction. “He was there when Val was shot.”

  “Val was shot?”

  Val glanced at Graham, who’d yelled the question with a look of absolute shock on his face. “Where is she? Is she all right? Is she—”

  Obviously he hadn’t seen her yet.

  “What the fuck do you care?” Kade growled. “You left her to die at the hands of Dominorum Enforcers. You betrayed her. You’re no better than that deranged fuck, Will.”

  “She wasn’t supposed to be there. That trap was for you,” Graham insisted.

  Evangeline slapped Graham hard across the face. “Shut your mouth, you little fool.”

  Olen straightened with a jerk, his face growing cold and stony. “Evangeline.” He’d said only a name, but his tone made her shiver. Lord, the Ancients were scary creatures. Would Kade ever seem that scary to her? Her eyes found him, and the sight of him warmed her. No, she could never be frightened of him. After all she’d learned of him, she had no doubt he’d use his last breath to protect her.

  Evangeline stepped forward to face her mate. “My darling,” she said in her sweetest voice. “We wanted revenge. You wanted a war. I only wished to give you your greatest desire.”

  “By creating abominations of our own kind?” Olen advanced on Evangeline. “You lied to me. You tried to kill our son. You would have had me kill my own child.”

  Her simpering persona dropped and she hissed. “He was useless! All these years waiting and planning and waiting even more, but he never became what we’d intended.”

  “He didn’t walk the path we’d chosen for him, but I’ve never been anything but proud of what he’s become. He is everything a pure vampire should be. He will rule the Immortalis with iron limbs one day.”

  “He will never have the Immortalis!” Evangeline shrieked, and her arm flew up, pulling a gun from the folds of her dress and firing three shots into Kade before Olen knocked the gun from her hand.

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Someone screamed, and Val realized it was her. Her out-of-body sensation left her and she raced toward Kade. He’d dropped to his knees, and his hands were at his throat. Bloody spray flecked his left shoulder and the side of his face.

  “Kade!” She searched frantically for his wounds to apply pressure. “Please open your eyes. Where are you hit?” After surviving a swordfight with an Ancient, he couldn’t possibly die from a mere bullet wound.

  Ezra knelt next to Kade. “Dead doesn’t suit you, my prince. Get your lazy ass up and take care of business.”

  Val pushed at Ezra’s chest. “You’re not funny. Can’t you do something useful?”

  Kade laughed weakly, his pain-glazed eyes opening finally to look between her and his friend. “I thought it was funny.”

  Oh God, he was okay. She nearly sagged with relief. Then a wrenching wail reached through the fog of her mind. Evangeline.

  Olen’s hands framed Evangeline’s face, and his voice dipped to a whisper. “What have you done? What have you become?”

  “No, Olen! We can be perfect again.” She sobbed. “Don’t do this. What will you do without me?”

  Don’t do what? Val frowned and then gasped when she realized Olen’s intent. To her horror, Olen gripped Evangeline’s head tighter and with a violent twist, ripped it from her body with his bare hands. Blood sprayed and Evangeline’s body thumped onto the floor. Val’s stomach rioted and shock numbed her body.

  “Without you, my Domina? Without you, I will die.” Olen knelt to place Evangeline’s head lovingly on her body. Val had never seen such emotion on Olen’s face. His grief was all consuming, but when he arose, he appeared calm and collected. “Ezra,” he called.

  Ezra’s head snapped up. “Yes, my lord.”

  “How is the prince?”

  “I’m pretty sure I’m still alive,” Kade answered for himself.

  “She missed the artery but he needs blood, my lord.”

  Olen, his features nearly gray, collapsed to his knees before Kade’s kneeling form, bringing them face-to-face. Tears filled the Rex’s eyes, but never overflowed. He slit his own wrist and offered it to Kade. The darkest, thickest blood she’d ever seen oozed out.

  Ezra looked on with a dazed expression. “My lord, you know there are witnesses.”

  “I’m aware of what I do,” Olen said without looking away from Kade.

  Kade finally found his voice. “Olen—”

  “Do not speak.”

  Kade obeyed the command without question. His fangs extended, and then he accepted the blood offering from his father after only a slight hesitation. There was no missing the significance of the scene playing out. The other vampires looked on with matching expressions of awe blended with astonishment. After a few moments, Kade withdrew his fangs and bowed his head to the floor before the Rex.

  Olen directed his attention to Val. “Ms. Craig, if you have any hope of making him happy, you must become. We aren’t killers. The Domina’s execution should be sufficient to pay for her crimes.”

  “Will this heal him?” She gestured toward Olen’s wrist.

  “Don’t worry, young one. I give him no choice but to live.” A smile curved his lips, which just about gave Val a heart attack. “Now off to the only adventure left of which to partake. Liaison, you will care for him better than I ever did.” He made it a statement more than a question. A command? Val looked down at Kade’s bowed form. The bullet wounds on his throat were slowly closing. Olen’s blood had to be powerful stuff.

  “Val, keep your head down,” Killian whispered at her ear with his slight brogue.

  Didn’t he know telling her that would make her look up? So she did and regretted it immediately. Without an iota of sentiment, Ptolomy neatly removed the Rex’s head with Olen’s sword. Bile rose up to the back of Val’s throat, and she turned away.

  Killian shook his head. “What did I tell you? Women.”

  “Val? Val!” Graham’s shout rang through the foyer. The SWAT officers were dragging him away in restraints. “I did this for you!”

  She snorted. As if she’d want a vamp—oh. She did want a vampire, but not simply any vampire. It had to be Kade and only Kade. It wasn’t what he was. It was who he was that made her love him with her whole heart and her entire soul. She needed more time with him, and even that wouldn’t be enough.

  He had come so close to death. If she ever lost him, she didn’t know how she’d cope. She turned her attention to the unlikely love of her life. “How are you?” she asked.

  “Fine,” Kade growled. “But what the fuck are you doing here?”

  She didn’t care about his anger. She peeled off her vest and launched into his arms. “Kade.” Her lips slammed into his. His response was immediate. She gripped his hair in her fist and then leaned back, bringing him closer as he followed her lips. Locking her arms around his shoulders, she cupped the back of his head and met his gaze. He needed to see what she felt for him.

  “I don’t want to wait anymore to tell you.” She stroked his hair, her heart aching with the depth of her emotion. “I love you, Kade.”

  His eyes closed, and he groaned. “Val, my sweet.” His arms tightened around her. “You have no idea what that does to me. I’m so out-of-my-mind in love with you.”

  He pulled her in for another delicious kiss. In a million years she could never tire of the pressure of his lips on hers, the taste of his mou
th, the—whack at back of his head. He nearly bit her lip before he pulled away.

  “You’re gonna make me vomit. Time to go, Casanova,” Ian said.

  Kade gently placed her on her feet and grabbed his sword out of Ian’s hand. With a blur of speed, he disappeared only to reappear behind his friend and take a bone-jarring swing at the man’s rear with the flat of his blade. Ian yelped.

  “You’re a brave man, Ian,” he said. “But you’re right. We have to find Will.”

  “Wait. You’re leaving?” Val rushed to him, her gaze automatically scrutinizing his quickly healing wounds.

  Kade tossed the sword back to Ian and dragged his fingertips up the sides of her throat. The ruby of his eyes grew brighter. “We won’t be long. Find out what you can from Graham and then call me. He may know where they’ve been keeping the little fucker.”

  She nodded. His hands dropped to rest low on his hips, and his smile faded. The shadows she’d noticed so often in his eyes surfaced in full force.

  “Kade?”

  “Heya, Val,” Alice said. “Would you please do something about Graham? He’s driving me insane.”

  Kade closed his eyes and shook his head. “Go on, Val,” he said softly. “I have some things I have to take care of.”

  Alice grabbed her wrist and towed her toward the door. Val freed her arm and twisted around, searching for another glimpse of Kade. He knelt beside Olen’s body with his back toward her and his head bowed. They had been the worst of parents, but they’d been all that Kade had known. Pain jabbed beneath her left breast. How she hated to leave him this way.

  The worry didn’t leave her as she climbed into the back of the SWAT van and faced Graham. She didn’t think she’d ever get used to him having red eyes and fangs. She pictured herself with similar eyes and fangs. Could she do that? A week ago, her answer would have been a resounding no. Now she wasn’t so sure. Deep inside, she believed Kade wouldn’t leave her if she remained human, but she would age as he stayed young and fit. He’d be helpless as he watched her succumb to all of the weaknesses of humanity. A shudder hit her spine.