Secrets (The Serenity Series Book 1)

by Dawn Kirby

  “Alright, but in this case, your claws are bigger than mine.” I thought it prudent to remind him that he and Raine would have to be our first line of defense if it came to a fight.

  “Point taken,” he said, giving me thumbs up.

  “We’re gonna need Donovan to make this work.” Raine told us. “Where is he?”

  May glanced at me and gave him a look of warning. “He and Declan are entertaining.”

  Raine’s body tensed up. “I’m not taking Leah in there,” he said flatly.

  “You may not have a choice, sweetie,” May told him. “Leah may be the only person that can get his attention right now. They haven’t had company in over a week now.”

  “She can handle it,” Kale took up for me. “She’s a lot tougher than she looks. I’ve seen her in action.”

  “So have I,” Raine said. “But I can barely stomach being outside the door.”

  I had no idea what the big deal was. So, they had company? Surely David’s life would take precedence over being good hosts. Kale leaned against the counter and looked at his brother thoughtfully.

  “What have you seen that makes you think she can’t?” Kale asked frankly. Raine didn’t have an answer. “This is the same woman who found her mother dead and still managed to tell me who did it. Not only that, she figured out, with a body lying on top of her mind you, that he wasn’t the one who had been in her house. Then knowing full well someone could be waiting to grab her, she went outside alone to find Deana. Oh, and let’s not forget she shot Judith to save your ass.” He shook his head; apparently still amazed I’d done it. “I don’t think there is much more she could see that’s gonna shock her.”

  “At this point, I think surprises are impossible,” I agreed with Kale. Not that the things I’d seen didn’t bother me. In fact, they terrified me. Like it or not, they were all a part of my life now.

  My phone started vibrating on the table. Raine grabbed it before I had a chance to move and gave it to me when he saw it was a text message from Drew.

  “Kale it’s from Drew.” He was at my side in a flash.

  “SOB took me! At Srs house. Am ok. Tell Happy 2 get here fast. Any car will do. D”

  “How in the hell are we supposed to be in two places at once?” Kale growled.

  I texted back: “B there ASAP. Gotta get it together. BEHAVE!! L”

  How she’d managed to keep her phone on her was beyond me, but I was glad she had it. For now it was our only connection to her. I prayed she she’d be able to keep it hidden long enough for us to get her to safety.

  “Why’d you tell her to behave?” Kale asked, frowning at the phone.

  “You’ve met her. They’re liable to kill her just to shut her up,” I told him.

  “You’re probably right,” he said, smiling in remembrance.

  “Hey, snap out of it!” I stood up and hit him in the chest- hard. “What do we do? They both have to come back safely.”

  Kale stared at me and rubbed his chest. “You even hit like a vampire. Are you sure you’re only half?”

  “Granny where is Michael’s place,” Raine asked, completely ignoring Kale.

  “Outside Fort Worth somewhere,” she answered quickly.

  “Donovan’s been there a few times.”

  “Where’s Donovan?” I asked her urgently. David and Drew were losing precious time.

  “He’s in his room, but you really don’t want to go in there,” Kale said. He put himself between me and the door.

  “You just gave him a lecture about how strong I am. Now you’re doing the same thing Raine was,” I said impatiently. “I’ll admit I’ve been teary since the night we met, but May’s right. If I don’t suck it up, they win. All this started because of me. Now they think they know about Raine. I’ll be damned if I let anything happen to him!”

  May stood up and hugged me tightly. She looked both impressed and pleased. “I knew that fire was burning in you somewhere,” she said. “Be careful. All of you. And remember what I said. Wounds will heal.” She gave them a tight hug and disappeared into her apartment.

  “She can’t go. Dane will kill her on sight,” Raine said stiffly.

  Drew sent me another message that simplified things considerably. “Gone to Vampire Mike’s. Dane wants the big guy. Take care. It’s a trap. D”

  Great, now Michael and Dane were working together. “C U soon. Hang tight. L”

  “That’s one problem solved. Take me to Donovan, we need to go,” I told them.

  They both looked at me with pure determination in their eyes. I couldn’t figure out what they were so worried about. I’d already seen the worst thing I could possibly imagine. So Donovan had company. Naturally, that company would consist of other vampires. They didn’t scare me as long as Michael wasn’t around.

  “Look, you can show me or I can search the whole house. It may take a while but I will find him,” I told them. “I have too.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  I could smell blood. Declan and Donovan were around, too. Their strong scents were easy to detect despite the bitter, metallic scent. Two hearts were beating on the other side of the door. What was taking place in the next room suddenly hit me and I began to rethink my decision to find him. My grip tightened on Raine’s hand a little.

  We entered a small, empty room across the hall from his office and walked to another door at the back. Muffled sounds came from behind the door. They sounded like moans, but I wasn’t sure. Personally, I couldn’t see how drinking blood could be a pleasant experience.

  Kale looked at me pitifully and pushed open the door. Raine stepped in front of me as we walked through. The room swam with so many different scents it drove my nose crazy. I kept my eyes on the floor while I tried to clear my senses.

  I looked up, and froze. Involuntarily, I put my other hand on top Raine’s. For a while, I stood there, staring. What we had walked into never entered my mind.

  Donovan had said turning a person was an erotic experience, but he hadn’t said a word about feeding. Entertaining meant dinner. Dinner apparently equals sex. I knew they lived on blood, but I never expected to see this. Now I understood why David found a vampire’s lifestyle so repulsive.

  Donovan was in the bed with a woman I couldn’t see. I could hear him sucking the blood from her neck. The whole time he was pounding away at her. She moaned vigorously in response to his brutal thrusts. His pinned down her hands to the bed. He held them so tightly her hands had turned purple.

  Declan sat on a huge lounge chair with a redhead in his lap. They were both naked. The short haired woman had new and old bite marks all over what I could see of her body. At the moment, she was wiggling around on top of him while his fangs sank deep in the side of her breast. His technique didn’t seem half as forceful as Donovan’s.

  When I could at last think clearly, I walked slowly towards the bed. I didn’t want to, but I needed to get his attention. Raine thankfully stayed right there with me. Though the closer we got the tighter his jaw clenched.

  The woman under Donovan was blond and very pretty. They were still in their own world. I took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling, only to be greeted with a reflection of their vigorous activities on the bed. Donovan, in all his glory, was completely visible for all to see.

  The blond opened her eyes when he released her hands. She smiled brightly when her eyes fell on me. Her smile was as warm as if we were meeting over a cup of hot tea.

  “Oh my, you’re gorgeous,” she said excitedly. “Just leave her here boys. We’ll take good care of her.”

  “She’s not here for you,” Raine said harshly.

  Donovan let go of her neck and looked at me, not us. A chill ran down my spine as he licked a spot of blood off the corner of his mouth. His eyes were so glassy I wasn’t sure he could actually see. Our presence beside him didn’t make a bit of difference; he kept right on pounding into her.

  “My lover, this is Leah,” he cooed in her ear. “She belongs to David.”
>
  “Lucky man. You must be pretty special. He never joins us,” she said, arching her back.

  Donovan drove into her with the force of a jackhammer. Her fingers clawed furiously at the sheets. Pain burned in her eyes. I didn’t think it was possible, but he started moving even faster. Her head literally banged against the headboard.

  “She is his daughter, love,” he moaned, exploding into her.

  He rolled away, pausing a moment to admire the view from the ceiling. He winked at his reflection and leaned over for one last taste of his lady before he got off the bed. The woman lay there, running a finger suggestively across her sweaty chest. Her lustful gaze fell on Raine.

  Disgusted, Raine threw the sheet over her sweaty body. She shrugged off his negative response and looked at Kale. He simply curled up his lip. With a defeated sigh she slipped out of the bed and sauntered over to the chair to join the redhead in Declan’s lap.

  “What can I do for you, Leah?” Donovan asked, pulling on his pants.

  He looked different after he’d had blood. His skin wasn’t near as pale and, after a few minutes, his ocean blue eyes weren’t glassy anymore. They looked bright and wild. Her blood had stained his lips dark red. Even with fresh blood running through him, I still couldn’t make out his heartbeat.

  “Michael has David,” I announced.

  Declan threw the women off of him and came to stand beside Donovan. His blue eyes flashed with anger, though his intense emotion lost some of its effectiveness since he was standing there buck naked. I chose to keep my eyes on Donovan. He was at least wearing pants. I’d seen more than enough already.

  “Where are they?” Declan asked urgently.

  “At Michael’s,” Raine told him. “Dane is on his way there now.”

  “He’s got her friend and Mia’s body,” Kale told them.

  “Is this the same friend who came to help Raine?” Donovan asked calmly.

  “Yes. Her name is Drew,” I said quickly. “She was seeing Mark. After she found out he was after me, she broke it off.”

  “Is she aware of your situation?”

  “I told her,” I said.

  “I fear they may be using her as bait,” he said thoughtfully. “Is she meek?”

  “Far from it.” Meek was not in her vocabulary.

  “Fantastic,” he said sarcastically. “Meet us in the garage in thirty minutes. We must act quickly or risk losing them for good.”

  He dismissed us from the room and we all gladly left. Kale went to let May know we would be leaving, while Raine and I went upstairs to put on our shoes. So much for a lazy night at home.

  “I feel like I need a shower, but I don’t think I could get the water hot enough,” I said to him as we climbed up the stairs.

  “That’s why I didn’t want to take you in there,” he said guiltily. “I know they need blood, but I don’t have to know what goes along with it.”

  “I’m the one that insisted,” I told him.

  A decision I regretted immediately. Next time, I think I’ll listen. I opened my bedroom door to find that Julie had already put fresh sheets on the bed. My used towels and stained clothes had already been taken away too. She was very good at her job. I was beginning to think the house was wired.

  Instead of putting my shoes on like I should have, I sat down in the chair by the window and stared outside. I wondered if we could get them out safely and keep ourselves from being caught in the process. We weren’t going up against one vampire tonight.

  Hopefully, Dane and Mark would be the only werewolves involved. If Raine was right about Dane’s strength not being what it should be given his condition, he’d need extra muscle. Werewolf or not, I doubted that Mark would be much help. His body type was nothing like Raine’s or Kale’s.

  Raine came in a few minutes later. I hadn’t even gotten off the chair yet. He got my shoes and knelt down in front of me. It felt silly for him to be putting my shoes on my feet, but he seemed to enjoy it. Pretty soon I was ready for our big night out.

  “Leah, were you serious earlier?” he asked, looking up at me.

  “About what? We’ve covered a lot of ground tonight,” I said honestly.

  “Loving me,” he said.

  “Dead serious,” I told him.

  “Good,” he said. He looked up at me with the most intent look I’ve ever seen. “Because from this point on you’re mine. I’ll be damned if I let anything happen to you out there tonight.”

  “That goes both ways, Raine.” I didn’t know how a relationship between werewolves went, but I wanted ours to be equal. He had certain strengths and so did I. “I do love you, but I don’t need a knight. I need a partner.”

  He kissed my forehead and smiled. “Darlin’, I never wanted a princess.”

  Declan was waiting for us halfway up the hallway when we finally emerged from my room. “Now that ye’ve been with her, Raine, they’ll use it against ye,” he said. “It’s obvious ye love her. Judith has already goaded ye once, don’t let it happen again.”

  “As long as Leah stays safe, it shouldn’t be a problem,” he said flatly.

  “Ye couldn’t have picked a better man,” he said smiling proudly. “David will be pleased. Let’s go bring him back home.” We hurried down to the driveway to find Donovan already waiting. He stood in the center of the garage, eyes closed, head turned up towards the night sky.

  “Leah, you take your car. Raine and Kale can ride with you,” Donovan said, lowering his to look at us. “Declan and I will take the Viper. Speed will be useful if we need to make a hasty retreat.”

  “What about Mia?” Raine asked. “We’ll need something bigger than two sports cars.”

  “I do not intend to leave survivors,” Donovan said curtly.

  “You sure you want a battle?” Kale asked. “It’s liable to start a war.”

  “We will attempt to negotiate,” Donovan said, “But knowing Michael as I do, it may not play out in our favor. We go in ready for anything.”

  Declan bowed his head toward Donovan and they went to get in the Viper. I pulled my keys out of my pocket and the three of us piled into my car. It felt so good to be back behind the wheel.

  “I don’t know what Declan was so impressed with. It’s probably like driving my Vette,” Kale said stiffly.

  I smiled and adjusted my rear view mirror so I could see his face when the motor turned over. I didn’t know how his car sounded, but it would be interesting to see how it compared. This car was nowhere near weak.

  I wasted no time in bringing the motor to life. The intense power under the hood vibrated the whole car. Kale looked at the floorboard sporting an ear-to-ear grin. Apparently, there was no comparison between the two cars. Clearly, mine won.

  “Okay, I take that back,” he said after a few seconds.

  “I love my car,” I told him proudly.

  “I can see why,” he said happily.

  “No, you don’t.” I grinned. “I haven’t even put in drive yet.”

  I winked at Raine and pulled out of the garage. Donovan was already gone. I could just make out his taillights when I pulled onto the private drive. There was no point in being a slowpoke so I punched it. The gears melded fluidly into one another as I shifted.

  For the last few months the Shelby had been my escape. A drive down a long stretch of road at breakneck speed usually clears my head. I didn’t want an escape this time, just a small break. All too soon we’d be walking into a carefully laid trap. I did my best to push the fear and anger I felt aside, and let myself enjoy the ride.

  “Who are you?” Raine asked.

  His knuckles had turned stark white from gripping the door so hard. At eighty miles an hour, the drive felt fantastic. I threw my head back and laughed. Just for good measure, I accelerated a tiny bit more.

  “How long have you had her?” Kale asked me.

  “Since December. It was a graduation present,” I told him.

  “This was a gift?” he said quietly. I shook my head and gri
nned wider.

  “What’d you get your degree in?” Raine asked easing his death grip on the door.

  “Business and Accounting,” I said, shifting back down.

  Donovan slowed down to get onto the main road. My lead foot came off the accelerator and a more cautious one took its place. We drove through Weatherford and headed towards Fort Worth.

  Declan called a few miles outside town to let us in on Donovan’s plan. He would go in and try to buy David’s freedom, while we snuck in to find Drew. Declan was in charge of finding my mother’s body. Kale and Raine were not to leave my side. Donovan didn’t think Dane had brought in any help from the pack since this was a personal matter. I hoped he was right.

  Raine told me to pull into the unfinished garage of a vacant house so we could stay out of sight until we knew Donovan was inside Michael’s house. Declan would send us a text message to let know when Donovan made it.

  “Leah, can I borrow your car sometime?” Kale asked. I could hear the anticipation in his voice. “I promise I’ll take good care of it.”

  “Sure, but if you put some much as a scratch on it, I’ll let Drew loose on you,” I said, playing with him.

  “How big would the scratch have to be to qualify for that?” he asked impishly. That goofy smile was spread across his face again. I turned around to look at him. With my fingers, I showed him. His minty fragrance filled up the car. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “Please do,” I said. “This car means more to me than you’ll ever know.”

  Raine’s phone rang and our conversation immediately stopped. We were expecting a text not a call. He answered it and put it on speakerphone.

  “Donovan’s in. There are two guards at the front gate,” he instructed quickly. “Take the maintenance road on the far side o’ the property. Ye should be able to get in unseen there.”

  His voice sounded strange. He knew we’d get in, but I got the impression he had no confidence at all that we would get back out. The doubt resonating in his voice bothered me. If a being as strong as Declan was worried, we’re all in trouble.