Relentless (Vampire Awakenings Book 11)

by Brenda K. Davies

  A breeze caused the leaves overhead to rustle as the wind stirred the trees. In between the students, robins hopped across the grass as they hunted the worms driven from the earth by last night’s rain. Dante focused on the birds as the knot forming in his chest nearly choked him.

  He’d spent the past twenty years relentlessly searching for answers. It was what propelled him from bed on the mornings he could barely face another day alone. And now that he might finally have those answers, he dreaded them as much as anticipated them.

  Maya was dead, but was he ready to see her body? Was he prepared to know how his sister died? Please let her death have been quick, he pleaded like he had thousands of other times over the years.

  Even with the shouts of the students, the day was peaceful, but an air of sadness enshrouded it. He’d returned to this college dozens of times since his sister vanished in search of answers. Every time and everywhere he went, he sensed her ghost and the ghosts of his past haunting him.

  Today wasn’t any different. He could feel a ghost from his past hovering over his shoulder; it was the one that appeared the most. The one that told him over and over again he should have put his books aside and gone with Maya to get ice cream.

  Unlike her friends, he never would have let her walk back to her dorm alone. Sometimes, he could see that alternative reality playing out in his mind. In it, his parents were still alive as the loss of Maya hadn’t beaten them down so badly they had no fight left in them.

  And they were alive because it was his fantasy, and he wanted them there when he and Maya had children. They were there for all the births, jobs, birthday parties, holidays, family cookouts, and graduations they’d celebrate over the years.

  But, in that alternate reality, Cassidy didn’t exist because he never would have met Clora or her. That brought a screeching halt to his alternative world. While he would never be glad he didn’t go with Maya, for the first time, he was happy with the path his life took.

  He lost his family, but he’d discovered a new one. Kyle and Julian weren’t thrilled about him in the beginning, but he would have been the same way if one of them was chasing after Maya, so he understood.

  It had been nearly a week since he returned Julie to her home. Cassidy had spent the past few days moving into his place, but they spent a fair amount of time in her old apartment, and her brothers had accepted him. They bickered over video games and cheered on their favorite sports teams while trying not to piss off Aida and Cassidy.

  Next week, they were going to Maine so he could meet the rest of her family. The prospect of meeting them all at once was a little daunting, but he was looking forward to it. His family was small, but they were close-knit, and he’d missed those bonds since they were severed.

  And soon, he would make being a member of her family official. The ring tucked inside his jacket pocket had been burning a hole there for the past three days, but he hadn’t found the right time to propose.

  He knew she wasn’t expecting a proposal; to her and her family, the mate bond was more than enough to unite them. But he wanted her to have his mother’s ring, and though he was a vampire, he still believed in some human customs—marriage was one of them.

  When Cassidy slid her hand into his and squeezed, he smiled and tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear before kissing her forehead. Resting his fingers against her cheek, he relished the beauty and wonder of her.

  If this didn’t work out, he would never give up his search for Maya. He vowed years ago to bring her home and bury her with his parents, but for the first time in years, he had something magnificent in his life, and he was excited about their future.

  “I love you,” he said and kissed her forehead.

  She beamed at him. “I love you too.”

  Kyle took a couple of steps forward before walking away from them. “I’ll be right back.”

  “Where are you going?” Cassidy asked.

  Kyle didn’t look back as he waved a hand impatiently behind him. “I’ll be right back.”

  Cassidy watched as he approached a young woman sitting on a blanket at the far edge of the lawn. Kyle’s step slowed, and he hesitated as if he were uncertain. She’d never seen her brother unsure about anything in his life.

  Turning her attention to the woman, Cassidy studied the cinnamon-colored hair spilling over her shoulders. Her hair shielded her face and brushed against the blanket as she leaned forward over her book.

  Kyle stopped for a second before striding toward the woman. He crouched at the edge of the blanket and rested his fingers on the ground. The woman lifted her head and stiffened when she spotted him. Most women melted when her brother smiled at him; this one stared at him like he was talking out his ass.

  “He doesn’t quit, does he?” Abby asked as she came to stand beside her.

  “It’s… it’s hard for him,” Cassidy said as Kyle extended his hand to the woman.

  Abby rested her hand on Cassidy’s arm. “I know it is.”

  The woman stared at Kyle’s hand, then at him, before tentatively clasping it. She released it almost as soon as they touched. Closing her book, she held it against her chest.

  “I think I have something,” Brian said.

  Dante’s head turned toward him. “I thought you couldn’t trace the dead.”

  Brian’s ice blue eyes met his over the top of Abby’s head. “I’ve never traced the dead before, but age and my bond to Abby have strengthened my ability.”

  He looked lovingly at Abby as he said this last part. Her pretty face glowed with vitality, and her emerald eyes shone with love as she beamed at him. Their fingers entwined, and Abby’s hand fluttered to her belly before falling away. It was a gesture he’d seen many pregnant women make before.

  No one else noticed the gesture as Cassidy remained focused on Kyle, and Julian and Aida had wandered over to examine a tree with dozens of names carved into its bark. He didn’t know if Abby’s subtle movement meant anything, but if it did, they were keeping it to themselves for now, and so would he.

  Brian reluctantly tore his attention away from Abby. “Are you ready to go?” he asked Dante.

  Cassidy turned away from Kyle. “Where are we going?”

  “I’m not sure,” Brian answered. “We’ll find out as we go.”

  “Are we leaving the campus?” Dante asked.

  “I think so,” Brian said. “I’ll follow the trail until I lose it or it leads us somewhere.”

  For twenty years, Dante prepared himself for the answer to his sister’s disappearance, but he suddenly wasn’t ready for them. However, he didn’t have many options.

  “Let’s go,” he said.

  “Kyle!” Cassidy called across the lawn. “We’re leaving.”

  Kyle held up a finger before saying something to the woman. She shook her head and, keeping the book against her chest, rose. She lifted the blanket from the ground and twisted it around her arm in a fluid motion. The woman said something to Kyle before hurrying away with her head bent and her shoulders hunched as if she expected a blow.

  Kyle took a step after her before stopping. His head tilted to the side, and he watched her for a minute before jogging back to them.

  “Who was that?” Cassidy asked when he returned.

  “Melanie,” Kyle said. “Her name is Melanie.”

  “Well, look at you remembering her name. I’m proud of you,” Cassidy said and playfully bumped his hip.

  Kyle’s half-hearted smile didn’t reach his eyes, and then he grinned. “I do remember it.”

  Abby laughed as Cassidy rolled her eyes. “You’re such an ass.”

  She’d been trying not to give him a hard time about women since realizing how difficult all this was on him, but sometimes, he asked for it. Being proud of himself for remembering the name of a girl he met thirty seconds ago was one of those times.

  “Come on.” Cassidy looped her arm through Kyle’s. “Brian has a lead.”

  “Let’s go then,” Kyle said and pra
ctically skipped back toward their vehicle.

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Almost four hours later, and after a lot of stopping for Brian to look at the photo again, Brian navigated his SUV onto a long, paved road. As they passed beneath the dozens of cherry trees lining the drive, Dante studied the rolling green lawn spread out behind the trees. Wood fencing penned in the horses munching on the grass.

  He frowned as he tried to figure out where they were going, but this serene landscape in the middle of Connecticut was not what he was expecting. He’d expected to trudge through woods or up mountains to a burial spot, not drive through the land of the wealthy.

  Rocks crunched under the tires as they left the pavement for a circular, stone driveway in front of a large, gray colonial home. Potted plants with an assortment of colorful flowers hung from the porch beams, and flower boxes lined the railings. Bees and a butterfly hovered around the flowers, and a tiny hummingbird darted in to drink from one of the petunias before flying away.

  Dante had never been this confused in his life. What were they doing here? Was Maya’s body in the basement or buried in the backyard? Had Brian led them to the door of a serial killer who liked flowers and horses?

  “What is this?” he asked.

  “This is where I was led,” Brian said. “The reason why is for you to discover.”

  Dante glanced at Cassidy, who stared at the house with a furrowed brow. “I’d like to come with you,” she said.

  Clasping her hand, he lifted it to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. If there was a homicidal maniac inside, he really didn’t want her near them, but she had come this far with him, and they were here because of her. He couldn’t tell her no. If there were a serial killer inside, Dante would kill them before they got the chance to hurt her.

  “Then let’s go,” he said.

  Dante opened the door and climbed out of the middle row of the vehicle. Taking hold of Cassidy’s hand, he helped her exit the SUV before closing the door. The others stayed inside the vehicle, but he felt their eyes as they traversed the slate walkway.

  His boots thudded against the stairs and then the porch as he strode toward the ornate, wooden front door. The frosted glass on the upper half of the door held a pretty ivy design that made him ponder if this serial killer also knitted doilies. Dante stared at the glowing, orange light of the doorbell before ringing it.

  He didn’t expect an answer; at two in the afternoon, most people were at work. However, the squeals of young children sounded from inside. The solid thuds of tiny feet raced toward the door.

  “Stay away from that door!” a woman yelled.

  The blood drained from his face as the children’s laughter raced past the door and on to somewhere else. Like a car unable to beat a train across the tracks, the past and present collided as those familiar tones caused his brain to misfire. His mind spun as he tried to process what he heard with everything he knew.

  He tried to inhale, but his lungs refused to let air into them. A loud ringing started in his ears. Locks clicked, the doorknob turned, and still, he couldn’t breathe as the door swung open to reveal a beautiful woman with chocolate-colored hair and eyes so black they rivaled an onyx.

  His breath exploded out of him as the woman’s hand flew to her mouth. Cassidy inhaled a sharp breath and stepped closer to him. From the corner of his eye, he saw her hand stretch toward him, but he barely felt her touch on his arm.

  The ghosts from the past hovered around him again, except this time, they turned his flesh to ice. This couldn’t be real. Yet, no matter how many times he blinked, the woman before him didn’t vanish. Instead, her eyes filled with tears as she stepped toward him.

  Almost twenty years had passed since he last saw Maya, but she looked the same. In fact, she hadn’t aged a day.

  Then the ghosts vanished, the ringing stopped, and unadulterated joy buried his confusion. He stopped letting himself believe Maya was alive years ago, but he had no doubt she was standing across from him.

  “Dante,” she breathed.

  And then, before he could react, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him until she choked the air from him. Unable to respond at first, he stood there with his hands hanging limply at his sides as her tears wet his neck and shirt. Then, as the familiar feel of her sank in, he crushed her against him.

  “How?” he croaked past the lump in his throat. “How is this possible?”

  Maya didn’t respond as she sobbed and clung to him. Dante lowered his head to his sister’s, and his tears slid free.

  Cassidy’s hand slid off Dante’s arm as she stepped back to give the siblings some privacy. She glanced toward the SUV to discover everyone watching from behind the tinted windows.

  She considered retreating to let them have this moment alone, but she suspected Dante would need her before this was all over. His disbelief and joy spread across the bond uniting them, but she also sensed his rising anger.

  Two young faces poked around the corner of the door. Their eyes widened as they watched their mom embracing another man. When they looked to her, she saw the questions in their eyes, but she was sure their questions were nothing compared to the thousands Dante must have.

  Dante perched on the edge of the baby blue couch as Cassidy settled beside him, and Maya sat on the matching love seat across from them. A bay window with gauzy yellow curtains was at his back. Behind Maya was a paneled wood wall full of pictures he didn’t bother to examine. Beyond that was the doorway to the hall.

  Thousands of questions ran through his mind, but he couldn’t settle on one. Maya was alive! Not only that, but she was alive and sitting across from him, looking precisely the same as the day she vanished. She was a vampire, but how and why and what happened were all needed to be answered.

  Maya fiddled with her linen pants as she kept her focus on her hands and her foot tapped against the floor. The metal of the locket burned into his flesh as he watched her. It was all lies.

  He’d become a vampire to ensure he would have enough time to find her and bury her with his parents. Yet, here she sat in her beautiful home with her expensive clothes and her children. She’d been happy to see him, but he wondered if she was just as unhappy that he’d interrupted her perfect little life. Her perfect little lie.

  He’d spent years searching for her, and she’d been… what? Here the whole time? Traveling the world? What had she been doing since he last saw her?

  “What happened?” Dante finally asked. “Why did you disappear?”

  Maya picked at her pleated, white pants as she finally lifted her gaze to his. A small smile curved her mouth, and her eyes twinkled, but her foot tapped faster. She’d sent the kids off to their rooms, but before she could speak, Dante spotted their heads poking around the doorway from the hall. They looked to be about seven and eight with the boy slightly older. They reminded him a lot of the two of them at that age.

  When their parents didn’t want them around, they’d often go upstairs only to creep down and listen to, or watch, whatever they weren’t supposed to hear and see. Maya should have known better, but he suspected his sister realized her children were there.

  Her children, that meant they were his niece and nephew. He was an uncle, and he didn’t even know their names. He’d always pictured spoiling his nieces and nephews. He’d imagined bringing them toys, taking them to the zoo, and stuffing them so full of candy they would bounce off the walls when he dropped them at home. Maya would yell at him for bringing home a bunch of sugar fiends while he skipped out the door laughing.

  And then those imaginations became part of his alternate reality, and he’d known they would never come true. But here they were, coming true in a spectacularly fucked-up fashion.

  Chapter Fifty

  “It’s a long story,” Maya said.

  “I’ve spent my entire adult life looking for your body; I think I have time,” Dante said.

  Maya winced at the harsh tone of his voice and bowed her head. Cassidy rested her
hand on his knee.

  “Let her talk,” she whispered into his mind.

  Dante inhaled a deep breath as he worked to subdue his resentment. He’d been frantically searching for her, had giving up dreams and his mortality in the hopes of finding her, and here she was. She wasn’t dead; he had his sister back, or at least he might have her back. She’d stayed out of his life for twenty years, which meant she was fine with not being a part of it now.

  A bolt of anguish tore through his anger and struck deep into his heart. His last twenty years centered around her, and he wasn’t a blip on her radar. If he didn’t want answers so badly, he would walk out, but he’d waited decades for the truth.

  His fingers entwined with Cassidy’s on his knee, and he squeezed her hand. Feeling abandoned by one of the people he loved most, he needed Cassidy’s love and support more than ever.

  “What happened?” he asked more gently.

  Maya turned toward the doorway; when she spoke, she confirmed Dante’s suspicions she knew her children were there.

  “Kids, go upstairs,” Maya commanded.

  “Aw, Mom,” they both protested.

  “Go!”

  They grumbled something more, but their heads vanished, and the stairs creaked beneath their weight as they retreated. Maya’s head remained tilted toward the kids as a door closed above.

  “What are their names?” Dante asked when Maya turned back toward him.

  A small smile played at the corners of Maya’s mouth. “Mateo and Jade.”

  Dante felt as if she’d socked him in the chest. “You named them after Mom and Dad?”

  “I did.”

  “They’re dead, you know.”

  Tears shimmered in Maya’s eyes before she ducked her head again. “I know.”

  Fresh fury burned through him as he stared at her bowed head. “You know?”

  Maya looked at him again and gulped. “I saw their obituaries. I kept track of them until they died, and I tracked you the best I could, but you vanished about ten years ago.”