Relentless (Vampire Awakenings Book 11)

by Brenda K. Davies

  A breeze could have blown him over. She’d kept track of them? “Well, you vanished twenty years ago.”

  “Dante—”

  “Mom and Dad were broken shells of the man and woman they were before they lost you. They died never knowing what became of you, and once they were gone, I believed I’d lost everyone I loved. I was so angry and lost, but you knew about their deaths and never came back.”

  “Dante—”

  “What happened, Maya?” he bit out from between his clenched teeth.

  The idea of hearing any excuses or apologies from her caused acid to burn up his throat. He was sitting in the middle of her perfect little home, in the middle of her perfect little life, and he’d never been so fucking angry.

  Cassidy’s hand tightened on his as Maya glanced at her. Sorrow radiated from the woman’s eyes, but Cassidy was too worried about Dante to have any pity for Maya. Tension vibrated from every inch of him, and rage hummed across their bond. She wanted to take him away from here, hug him, and assure him he was loved, because that was what he needed most right now.

  Maya’s gaze fell to their joined hands, and a small smile played at the corners of her mouth. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know your name. I’m Maya.” She extended a delicate hand across the space separating them.

  Cassidy took it. “Cassidy.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  “You also.”

  Cassidy released her hand, and Maya took a deep breath before speaking. “After I left you in the library, I went to the ice cream place with my friends—”

  “I know,” Dante said. “I’ve retraced what’s known about that night, read the reports, and talked to the witnesses. I joined the police force so I could gain access to most of that information.”

  Maya blinked at him. “I was curious why you decided to become an officer instead of following our dream.”

  And he was curious why she was sitting in a million-dollar home instead of being buried in the woods, but he didn’t voice the question. She was aware of his anger and growing bitterness; he didn’t have to hammer it home.

  “I enjoyed my career,” he stated.

  She hesitated before speaking again. “Good, I’m glad.”

  He didn’t want to hear how glad she was about anything in his life. “What happened after you left your friends?”

  When Maya looked over his shoulder, a distant look crossed her face. “They were all going to a party, but I was tired, so I decided to return to my dorm. Some things about that night are so vivid, but I barely remember other events. I recall looking at the stars and thinking what a beautiful night it was when something suddenly felt… wrong.”

  “What do you mean wrong?” Dante asked when she stopped speaking.

  She gripped her hands so tightly in her lap that her knuckles turned white, and no color remained in her face. Her foot tapped against the ground at an increasing rate as her eyes took on a haunted look.

  Whatever happened that night, it wasn’t something she liked recalling. Despite his anger with her, sorrow rose in his chest. She was a stranger to him, but she was also his sister.

  “I felt like someone was watching me, following me. I turned to search the campus but didn’t see anyone, yet I was certain someone was watching me. I walked faster, but I could feel it there, breathing down my neck. And I could feel its hot breath against my flesh, but every time I turned, there was nothing there. I’d never been so scared, but I felt so stupid because obviously, there was nothing there.

  “I was near the tree with all the names carved into it, so close to my dorm, I could see the window to my room when it attacked. It went from playing with me to pushing me to the ground and tearing at me. I tried to scream, but its weight pressing my chest into the ground made it impossible to breathe.”

  Maya’s breath came faster as she rested her hand against her chest while her eyes remained on the window over his shoulder. “I could see people moving around their rooms; a party was going on in the rec room. If I could scream, they would hear me, but… but—”

  “Easy,” Dante said as he leaned across the space separating them and rested his hand on her knee. “It’s okay. It’s over; you’re here with us now.”

  Her eyes spun toward him, and for a minute, she didn’t seem to recognize him. Then some of her anxiety eased and her shoulders slumped. She clasped his hand in both of hers so hard his bones grated together, but he didn’t protest.

  “I’ve never been so scared in my life. I was going to die, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I clawed at the ground as I fought to get out from under its heavy weight, but it was crushing me. And then… it bit me.”

  Dante stiffened; she’d obviously come into contact with a vampire at some point in her life, but the idea of it brutalizing her in such a way made his blood boil. Tears shimmered in her eyes when they met his again.

  “I didn’t know it was possible to experience such pain and continue living,” she whispered.

  “I understand completely,” Cassidy said.

  Dante’s teeth grated together at the reminder of what Jasmine did to her. He’d gladly watch that bitch die a thousand more times if he could. Leaning closer, he brushed a kiss against Cassidy’s cheek. Love shone in her eyes as she smiled at him.

  Everything he believed he knew about what happened to his sister was a lie, but if he was sure about one thing in his life, it was her love for him. And he was certain about his love for her. He’d die for her, but more than that, he would live for her as she’d brought him back to life in a way he’d never believed possible.

  When his attention shifted back to Maya, he discovered her smiling at them.

  “What happened after that?” Cassidy asked.

  Maya’s smile slid away. “I’m not really sure. At some point, the agony became too much, and I blacked out. I woke hours later, and when I did, everything was too bright, too loud, and wrong. I had flashes of memory about what happened, but no idea how I got where I was or what was wrong with me.”

  “The vampire who attacked you also changed you?” Cassidy asked.

  “No,” Maya said. “The vampire who saved me also changed me.”

  Chapter Fifty-One

  “And who was that?” Dante asked.

  Maya released his hand and rose to walk over to the fireplace mantle. Dante had already noticed more family photos there, but he hadn’t paid much attention to them. She pulled down the picture in the middle and returned to hand it over to him.

  Dante didn’t take it from her; he couldn’t move as he was stunned speechless. He’d believed that when Maya opened the door, nothing would ever shock him again, but he was wrong. Somehow, he managed to keep his mouth from dropping as he stared at the handsome man in the center of the photo. Lewis Guthrie’s blond hair and blue eyes matched those of his daughter.

  Dante recalled the quiet man who watched Maya like a lovesick puppy dog. Lewis had asked her out a couple of times, but Maya always turned him down. Still, Dante believed he was a good guy, which meant he wasn’t Maya’s type.

  And then Maya vanished, and Lewis Guthrie became the main suspect in her case. Over the years, Dante’s memories of the way Lewis watched her like she was the most wonderful thing in the world, twisted until he turned Lewis into a serial killer in hiding.

  He’d become convinced that all the times Lewis brought Maya coffee, carried her books, opened doors for her, or helped her with schoolwork weren’t the desperate moves of a lovesick boy, but the twisted manipulations of a psychopath.

  “Lewis Guthrie saved you?” Dante asked.

  “Yes.” Maya retreated to return the picture to the mantle. “He took me to his parents’ house after the attack, but we moved shortly afterward and kept on moving until Mateo was born. His parents live in Manhattan now, and Lewis and I bought this place a few years ago. We wanted the kids to have a more stable upbringing. Like the kids, Lewis was born a vampire.”

  “So was I,” Cassidy said.
>
  Maya returned to perch on the love seat. “It’s a small world.”

  “That it is,” Cassidy agreed. “There aren’t many purebreds, but the number is growing.”

  “If Lewis is a vampire, then why was he at college?” Dante asked.

  “He always dreamed of living a more human life, and he wanted to experience what it would be like to go to college. Plus, he loves to learn. He’s earned three master’s degrees online, but my attack changed everything for him at our college,” Maya said.

  “Some members of my family went to college too,” Cassidy said.

  Dante pondered this revelation as he stared at the pictures over Maya’s shoulder. Now that he wasn’t purposely trying to ignore them, he saw Lewis in a lot of them.

  “I spent almost as much time trying to find him as I did searching for you,” he said. “He was the only suspect in your disappearance.”

  “By the time he stopped the attack, I was too far gone to be saved. If he hadn’t changed me, I would have died,” Maya said.

  “What happened to the vamp who attacked you?”

  “Lewis killed him.”

  “Who was it?”

  “I don’t know. Lewis didn’t know either, and neither did his friends. They’d never seen him before.”

  “Why was Lewis there that night?”

  “He was out walking with Jim and Tom when they witnessed the attack and intervened. Both Jim and Tom were there when I woke up, but they didn’t remember anything; Lewis and his father changed their memories. Jim owned the Jeep that brought me to Lewis’s parents, and they also brought the body of the vamp who attacked me. It burned up before I got the chance to see it, and Lewis sent his friends back to the school later that day. He told them—”

  “To say they helped him move back home,” Dante said, “and that was the last time they saw him.”

  “Yes,” Maya said.

  “I’ve interviewed Jim and Tom multiple times over the years; their stories never wavered. I compelled them into telling me the truth, and their stories didn’t change.”

  Dante didn’t know if he wanted to bellow and smash his fist into a wall, cry from the joy of finding her, or laugh bitterly over the years he wasted on trying to find someone who didn’t want to be found. When he bowed his head, Cassidy rested her hand on his shoulder and edged closer.

  “Compelling them wouldn’t have worked,” she said. “The memories Lewis and his father put in there were their real memories, or at least they were to them. Their mind had already been manipulated into a new truth by vampires stronger than you.”

  “Shit,” Dante muttered as he tugged at his hair.

  “What happened afterward?” Cassidy asked Maya.

  “I was so freaked out by the attack, my heightened senses, and my newfound thirst for blood, that it took me a couple of months to adjust and accept what I’d become. I had nightmares every night about the attack, and Lewis would come in to comfort me. We became friends, and over time, it developed into more. By the time Lewis reached maturity, we were already mated.”

  He hated that she experienced such a traumatic event, but he still didn’t understand why she shut them out. “Why didn’t you come home or at least let us know you were alive?”

  Maya bit her bottom lip and ducked her head. “At first, I was too scared to be around people. I was worried that I’d attack one of you, or you would somehow see right through me and know I was different. And then, as more time passed, I was scared to return because I was gone for so long. I was afraid of what you would all say and do, and I didn’t know what to tell you about why I’d gone missing. I couldn’t stand seeing the hurt and betrayal I knew would be on all your faces. I told myself every day that I would stop being a coward and go back, but then…”

  “What?” Dante prodded when her voice trailed off.

  Maya sighed and met his gaze again. She wiped away the tear streaking her cheek. “And then I read Mom’s obituary and learned Dad had already passed and I… I was too late.”

  After all this time, Dante still hated to see his sister cry. In the past, he would have hugged her and told her a joke, or threatened to beat someone up to make her laugh. Now, despite the fact he still loved her and always would, he couldn’t bring himself to do any of those things. She was not the person he remembered; he wasn’t sure she was ever the person he’d believed her to be.

  “I was still alive,” he said.

  “I was scared,” she whispered.

  “Of what?”

  “That you would hate me.”

  And he was saddened to realize a part of him did hate her for what she put them through. She couldn’t have told them the truth about her disappearance, but she could have returned at some point. Julie had faced it with her mom, but Maya had chosen to hide instead.

  “Even if you didn’t stay, you could have come back or called to let us know you were alive. Yes, we would have been pissed and upset, but we also would have been so happy, and Mom and Dad wouldn’t have been so broken.”

  Maya winced and bowed her head. He waited for her to say something more, but she didn’t. Her silence only annoyed him more.

  “Mom and I watched the cancer eat Dad alive. We cried together, we prayed together, and throughout it all, I wished you were there to help us get through it. And then, he was gone.”

  Unable to sit anymore, Dante rose and paced over to the mantle. His nails dug into his palms as he resisted the urge to smash the pictures of the smiling, perfect family built on the ashes of his family.

  “I was the one who found Mom,” he said.

  A jolt of surprise went through Cassidy as she stared at Dante’s rigid back. They’d shared a lot since meeting each other, but he hadn’t revealed this horrible secret to her. She doubted it was something he wanted to revisit, and she didn’t blame him.

  Her heart ached for him as her chest constricted. He’d endured so much in his lifetime, and though she understood Maya’s terror over what happened, she glowered at the woman. Most of the unnecessary suffering he endured was because of her.

  Cassidy tore her gaze away from Maya. Being angry at her was pointless, especially when Dante was mad enough for both of them. Cassidy almost rose to comfort him but stopped herself. This was between him and sister; if she could slip out of the room without them noticing, she would, but that was impossible.

  “Oh, Dante,” Maya breathed. “I’m so sorry.”

  Dante rested his hands on the mantle as he stared at the pictures. The smiles and joy in these pictures were real. Maya loved Lewis, and he loved her. Their children were adorable; she’d built a new life, and he didn’t fit into it.

  “I’m glad you found happiness here, Maya,” he said, and he meant it.

  Despite his shock and fury, he was thrilled she was alive and happy. He turned back to focus on Cassidy. She was paler than normal as she looked between him and his sister and back again. When he smiled at her, she smiled tremulously back.

  “We should go,” he said.

  Cassidy started to speak as Maya launched to her feet. “Please, don’t go!” Maya blurted. “I’ve missed you so much over the years. I’ve thought about you every day and wondered what became of you. Before you disappeared, I picked up my phone every day to call you, but then I always chickened out. I never suspected you had become a vampire too. If I’d known—”

  “But you didn’t call. I understand you were frightened, and what happened to you was horrific and brutal. I wish it never happened, or that I’d been there to protect you, but I’ve wished that every day for years. However, you could have done so many things differently, and you didn’t. I’m not saying we’ll never see each other again; I’d love to get to know my niece and nephew if you’ll let me, but I have to get out of this house.”

  “Of course, I want you to know them!” she blurted. “Take a walk with me. We’ll get out of the house together. The children will be okay on their own for a bit, and Lewis will be home soon.”

  “Wher
e is Lewis?” Dante asked.

  “He went to pick up more blood for us,” Maya said.

  Dante ran a hand through his hair and tugged at the ends.

  “A walk sounds nice,” Cassidy said. “I’ll stay here to make sure the kids don’t burn down the house.”

  “They already tried once,” Maya said with a small smile that succeeded in coaxing one from Dante too.

  “Oh, I’m sure,” Cassidy said. “If they’re anything like my siblings and me, they’ll try again.”

  “Please, take a walk with me,” Maya said. “The gardens are lovely right now.”

  My sister has gardens, Dante thought. My dead, and then not dead, sister has gardens.

  He wanted to get out of this perfect little home and away from all this so he could think, but he found himself nodding in agreement. Cassidy smiled at him as he strode over to pull her close and kiss her temple.

  “Are you okay?” she whispered in his mind.

  “Yes.” He clasped her against him before releasing her. “I’ll be back soon.”

  “Take your time,” she said. “I’ll let the others know we’ll be here for a little longer.”

  “The others?” Maya asked.

  “Some of my family came with us,” Cassidy explained.

  “Oh,” Maya said and glanced nervously toward the window.

  “They’re harmless,” Cassidy assured her. Or at least they’re mostly harmless. But she kept that to herself. “Go on; enjoy your walk. I’ll see you soon.”

  “The kids will probably sneak back down soon.”

  “I have nine siblings and an assortment of nieces and nephews; I know how to keep kids entertained.”

  Maya’s eyebrows shot into her hairline. “I bet you do.”

  “Go on; we’ll be fine.”

  Maya hesitated before replying. “Thank you.”

  Cassidy watched as they walked out of the room. She listened as a door opened and closed before sitting on the edge of the couch again. Dropping her head into her hand, she rubbed her forehead as she tried to understand this turn of events.