Alex took the bandage Sebastian still had in his hand, and they left her cabin together. She went in the opposite direction as Sebastian trailed behind Erin to the sleeping quarters.
“She’s the boss, Erin,” he said softly.
“Yeah,” she replied as they continued to walk toward the rooms. “She’s the boss. She calls the shots and we follow like good little soldiers.”
He pulled her to a stop. “I’m staying on this assignment.”
Erin stepped closer to Sebastian with a weird look in her eyes. When she brushed her hand across his crotch, a small giggle escaped from her mouth. He let her lick at his bottom lip until she bit it, hard.
“Shit,” he hissed as he pushed her back. “What was that for?”
The taste of his own blood filled his mouth as he licked it away. Erin just stared at him with no real emotion. He’d grown used to her being distant and cold after intimacy, but he chalked it up to her past: strict parents who had her entire life planned out. They never showed her affection, according to her, anyway.
“One last bite,” she giggled again, “for the road.”
Erin didn’t say anything else as they continued through the quiet plane. When he reached his cabin, he looked back to see her disappear through the door of the room she shared with Amy.
Xavier, head covered with a small pillow, was already asleep. On his own small bed, Sebastian fluffed the pillow under his head and decided Alex was right. He and Erin weren’t really serious anyway. What was serious was their real mission—to find Coop, if he was still alive.
Their investigation of Jesse Cooper had started months ago. His alleged crimes? Treason, followed by espionage, money laundering, and a host of other things. Sebastian could hardly believe it. No one could. He had almost told Alex, but maybe now wasn’t the best time. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe never.
From the laptop in her pack, a muffled ping reached her ears. Cross-legged in the center of the bed, she pulled the device onto her knees and opened it. A video call was queued in a secured program used by one person. Alex took several deep breaths, then tapped the icon she’d labeled “contracts” just in case. His face appeared illuminated by the computer screen. Everything behind him was in deep, deep shadow.
“How are you?” Leland smiled then put a crystal glass to his lips. When he moved the glass to spin the liquid around, its single ice cube plowed through the ripples before settling.
“Fine. Any news?”
“Bad news, I’m afraid. Another test subject has disappeared. Cory missed his appointment with Dr. Carlisle a couple of days ago. His parents reported him missing a few hours ago.”
“So? Maybe he’s out with the frat boys,” Alex replied.
“The frat boys were the ones who told his parents he didn’t show last night,” Leland smirked.
Alex smirked back. “The frat boys are lying. And I’m halfway to Paris,” she huffed. “On assignment. For you. I can’t help you look for the body from here.”
Leland scratched lightly at the side of his face as his eyes bore straight through her. A slim, mocha-colored hand placed a fresh drink in his line of sight and he gave the owner a nod.
“Why do you think they’re lying?” he asked with an amused look on his face. “We’ve found no evidence of any foul play yet. Scorch just got to his apartment.”
Scorch, one of the company’s cleaners, could completely sanitize any situation in a matter of hours. If the target was already dead, he would make sure there was no DNA to be found, no fingerprints, not the slightest indication anyone ever existed. That included birth certificates, bank records, and employment files—even Social Security records. Everything, gone.
“Pick up the frat boys, and let the Professor have them,” Alex grinned. “He’ll get the truth.”
Leland squirmed slightly in his comfortable looking chair. The Professor was the best interrogator Strategic had on the payroll. His methods may have been rather unorthodox, but he got the job done every time. After he took a long sip of the golden liquid in his glass, Leland looked at the camera again. “They’re off the reservation. We have a team looking for them now.”
“Where are you looking?” she asked.
“On campus, his apartment,” Leland answered. “The boys said they waited all night at an off-campus bar for him, but he never showed. Where should we look now?”
“Try the old hanger at Groom Lake,” Alex replied. She saw him pick up a small notepad. “Building number 370-8.”
“That’s awfully specific,” Leland stated in the most bored way possible. “Almost like you were involved.”
Alex just laughed and she could tell it irritated him.
“Dr. Carlisle has come up short identifying your attackers,” Leland continued when he didn’t get a reaction from her. “Lucky for you, the Mother says she didn’t order a hit on you, so we’re stumped.”
She shook her head, more at the situation than his statement. How did they ever get anything done after she left?
“Well, color me surprised,” she said with a fake yawn and stretch. “We’re done, right?”
“Yes,” he groaned. “Our futures may be going down the drain, but don’t you worry your pretty little head one more minute!”
“I won’t,” Alex smiled as she straightened her numb legs. “When we get back, you can tell me how disappointed you are in me. And pretend I care what you think.”
He disconnected, and Alex laughed so hard she felt a stitch pop loose. When she stood up, the thin silk thread lay on the bed. She picked it up, wrapped it in a tissue and placed it inside her pack. That would be burned as well, when they got to Paris.
Chapter 14
After the obligatory warning from Adam to keep his mind on business, Jason finished off two bottles of wine before he realized it wasn’t helping. He still wanted to know what Alex was doing out there and who she was doing it with.
His shower didn’t help much either. Stretched out on the bed, Jason absently went through his notes for tomorrow. In Paris, he was scheduled to meet with Adelaide and her daughter at their estate in the French countryside.
As the current leader of the clans in France, Adelaide wanted to add her two cents to the briefcase full of two cents from all over the world. Jason was in no mood, but he had no choice.
Adam briefed him fully on how to handle Adelaide. He told Jason to be patient, listen and nod. Basically, just smile pretty, let her have her say, and move on. Adelaide insisted on lunch at her estate. Her daughter was home and she wanted Jason to meet her.
Evangeline was pretty enough, Jason supposed as he tapped the screen to flip through the many images and articles on her notoriously shameless daughter. Her exploits were well documented all over Europe. One famous actor, singer, and politician after another.
Jason stopped when he finally recognized someone. Someone he’d met a few times but didn’t really care for—Michael Gale, Conner’s second son and Head of Security for Gale Enterprises. It didn’t really surprise Jason that he and Evangeline had dated. They just looked odd together. And, with her draped over Michael like a cheap suit, they looked even more mismatched. Jason shook his head and closed the page on the device.
“I guess there’s no accounting for taste,” he said as he finished off the last bit of wine in his glass. The small knock would have gone unnoticed if not for that scent—strong and exciting—catching hold of his senses. Of all the things he would miss about Alex, her scent was the thing he’d miss the most. Had he known their last sexual encounter would be the end, he would have kept her in his bed longer.
“Am I interrupting anything?” Alex asked as she stepped inside and closed the door.
“Not at all,” Jason replied. “Are you feeling better?”
He didn’t rise from the bed and she didn’t move from the door. A battle of wills had begun. Or so he hoped. Was she fighting a
n urge to climb into bed with him? What he fought was anger toward her about tonight. What better way to extinguish it than angry sex! But, with everything else that had happened tonight, she wouldn’t offer herself to him ever again.
“Yeah,” she nodded. “I’ll be back to normal by the time we land.”
“Good,” he answered, before he went back to the tablet in his hand.
Every synapse in his brain was on high alert. The smell of her blood, the look on her face—all of it set his insides on fire. Not to mention her attire. Underneath the black cotton tank, he could see her breasts—nipples pressed against the fabric. As his eyes traveled down her bruised body, he noted that those long brown legs were covered by track pants, to his disappointment.
As casually as he could, he placed the tablet to the side. “Was there something else?”
When she cocked her head to the side, Jason grinned.
“I guess not,” she replied. “I’ll let you get back to work.”
Jason nodded, “It’s going to be a long day and I’ve got a lot on my plate.”
“Sure.”
“You understand, right?”
“Of course,” she replied as she backed away.
As the door silently opened Jason forced himself not to move. When she closed it without leaving, he turned, placed the tablet next to him, flipped the thin blanket from his legs, and held his hand out to her.
“Why did you come in here?” Jason almost whispered. “To torture me?”
Once she was next to the bed, he took her cold hand in his; it trembled slightly.
She replied as her grip on his hand tightened. “No. To tell you that you were right. I should have taken someone with me.”
“Why didn’t you?”
She sat down then picked up the dark tablet. Her fingers traveled back and forth across the glass screen as she stared at it instead of Jason. He placed his hand over hers to stop the motion.
“Why didn’t you take someone with you,” he repeated as his hand pressed hers down on the cold screen of the tablet.
“I didn’t think I needed an escort for a simple meeting,” she lied.
“Based on the way you looked when you got here,” he sighed, took the tablet out of her hands and dropped it next to him in bed, “I’d say nothing about your life is simple. But you did win, so . . .”
“Tell that to the nine stitches in my back,” she smirked at him.
“Are you okay?” Jason asked as his hand landed on her knee. His hand was warm for some reason. Maybe he’d just fed.
“I just spoke with Leland,” she replied. “They’ve got nothing.”
“On the guys that attacked you?” he answered. “I’m surprised.”
“I’m not.”
“Listen, I owe you an apology. I should have told you about Nikki and I before we . . .”
“I’m a big girl, Jason,” she said. “I should have known she was more than just an occasional lover. But now that I know she is much more than that to you, I have to respect that, you know.”
An awkward silence fell between them as his hand took hers. Poor timing might be to blame, but Alex knew better. He was never meant for her.
“And that’s what I like most about you,” he sighed. “Maybe in the next life.”
“Says the immortal vampire,” she stated.
He chuckled then brushed his nose over the vein in her wrist as it pulsed. It throbbed to the rhythm of her heartbeat. Frustration scratched at her insides when she felt his soft warm mouth pull at the thin layer of skin over the vein. He was ready to tap that vein, then her, if she let him. But she’d just made a vow to stay focused on the job and to respect his new relationship status with Nikki. Now she cursed her own pride as she ran her fingers through his hair and pulled free of his grip.
“There’s always room for someone like you among our ranks,” he sighed as his head rose, and they were eye to eye. Somehow he understood that nothing else was going to happen between them—not ever again. She was glad she didn’t have to say it out loud. His hands came up, suddenly, and pulled her face close to his.
Alex let him kiss her slowly and deeply, then he pulled away.
“What an immortal vampire you’d make,” he whispered on her lips. “Just say the word and I’ll make you one of us, make you mine forever.”
Alex stood, as her index finger moved across his bottom lip slowly, then she stepped away from the bed. At the door, she turned to him.
“Thanks,” she grinned, “I’m good.”
He’d seen that look before—the orgasmic stare of a killer who enjoyed the work. Tons of faces with that exact expression whizzed through his mind. Since a dream woke him from a deep sleep around two in the morning, he tried to count the number of times he’d seen that look on a stranger’s face or on his own.
As he counted them like sheep, Tristan found the memories excited him rather than lulled him to sleep. But no memory brought him more pleasure than his very last one. His last real memory of the past before the darkness took over and he awoke, unable to move, inside the lab. Chained and chemically bound, the doctor in charge spoke gibberish into a device that hung over his head.
“I can’t wait to give him a taste of his own medicine,” Tristan whispered to the breaking dawn outside his bedroom windows.
His new body was young and strong, but it would take more time to return to the level of near invincibility of his old one. After almost two thousand years, it should have been invincible. Giselle stressed the importance of recognizing his limitations with this new vessel. He hated limitations.
“This body was once human,” Giselle had said over dinner a few hours ago. “You may as well get used to having to be more careful with it.”
Now, as he flipped through the images on the electronic tablet she’d given him, he wondered what it would be like to go head-to-head with today’s Alex Stone. In their first encounter, she was much younger.
The older Alex Stone didn’t look much different, but she had honed her skills. He could tell. Even still, he should be strong enough to take her, shouldn’t he?
Maybe I should listen to Giselle, he mused as he clicked play on the video footage. Let the pawns do the hard work for now. There was time, after all. Once she was worn down, weak from the constant obstacles he planned to put in her path, it would be easier to convince her to join his cause. He needed her, and she would find, by the end of the conference, that she needed him too. Or she’d be stupid enough to think she could fight her way to her own freedom and then he’d have to kill her.
His laugh echoed through the room. The entertainment from last night stirred in the bed a few feet away, then they were still again.
“You’re better than before,” he said to the screen. “So much better than anyone I could send after you.”
With a tap of the glass, the video stopped midaction. He tapped the play button again and she dispatched her attacker with very little effort. She would have been able to take them both, he was certain of that. But his interest grew when he was told who her companion for the night was.
Michael Gale had all the earmarks of a savage killer as well, but he held back. Good breeding can do that, make one soft, he sighed with a shake of his head. Tristan made a mental note to learn all he could about the Gale family in this century.
As he remembered, Conner Gale had been a very different man during the crusades. Some say he hid his fortune in Rosslyn Chapel then created a mythology that still stands today.
As a Templar Knight, Conner was brave and ruthless and legendary. He showed no weakness or fear in the face of his enemies, and his son had displayed those same traits the other night.
“I wonder,” Tristan sighed. “Would you die for her? Would Conner allow such a sacrifice for a human? Doubtful.”
He dropped the tablet on the table when his bed partners s
tirred again. They had done well by bringing this video back to him. Within the mass of tangled bed sheets, his new playmates were wrapped around each other, exhausted and low on blood. Last night’s escapades still lingered. Of course he won that test of wills, but they did try their hardest to keep up.
Youth was no advantage when engaged in sex with a vampire as old as Tristan, even in a new body, they discovered. Stamina was king in that game. As members of his medical team back at the facility, they were in awe of him and everything that he was. For their help with his rescue, he’d promised to turn them, but they had to prove their worth before that would happen. So far they’d done well, but there was more to come for them, unfortunately.
Tristan would have been satisfied to take his time with them, but they insisted on showing him what they could do. Not surprisingly, they were spent somewhere around the third hour. The young man was the first to concede defeat. Tristan drank his fill before he granted him mercy though. The young woman fared a little better, but not by much.
“Humans,” he whispered as they tried to sit up. Like clumsy animals, they groaned and struggled to untangle themselves from the sheets and each other. Then the door to the bedroom swung open.
Fiona and another servant walked in with fresh coffee, toast, and juice. They sat the trays down on a small table in the center of the massive room, then waited for further instruction.
“Get them cleaned up and paid when they’re done,” Tristan stated absently. “Burn those sheets too, if you don’t mind. I hate the smell of humans in the morning.”
Fiona bowed as her helper hustled the humans from the bed and toward the food. The helper stripped the bed quickly, gathering everything up in his long arms before leaving the room without a word.
“I will make sure they are taken care of, Sire. Your shower is hot and running. Hurry, or you’ll be late, young man.”
Tristan nodded to her. He left the room feeling strange. Maybe he was still hungry? Tired? No, he decided. He grappled with a memory suddenly. When his head began to spin, he sat down against the wall to wait for it to pass. As the dizziness faded, images began to play behind his closed eyes like a movie. His first look at her—Alex Stone.
By Blood Sworn Page 14