By Blood Sworn

by Jones, Janice

  She folded her legs underneath her and sighed as she dropped the wet towel over the side of the bed. “They just wanted Alex to come. That’s all I remember picking up from the girl—a huge amount of hate for Alex.”

  “What else? Did they mention any names?”

  “Nope.”

  After she stretched her arms over her head, she lay down and curled into a fetal position behind Jason. His bed welcomed her weight. She sank into the folds of expensive silk and Egyptian cotton with a sigh.

  “What else do you remember?”

  “The next thing I remember is Alex standing next to my bed,” she frowned. “You saved me,” she yawned then grinned. “I knew you loved me more.”

  Jason leaned down and kissed her forehead. She was asleep. After he pulled the cover over her body, he left her in the room alone. Downstairs was quiet. Inside his private office was too. In the dim afternoon light, he sat at his desk and tried to read emails, but it didn’t help. It didn’t help him not think about Alex, not think about what Nikki said.

  “They didn’t ask me anything,” he mumbled to no one. “Huge amount of hate for Alex.”

  He turned the flat screen on mute. Evening news had just started, some bullshit stories about drug busts and robberies in surrounding neighborhoods. Then, a story on his return. The false item indicated he had returned from some tech conference in Geneva concerning new slot technology. He couldn’t believe the lies people bought from the media sometimes.

  Conner was holding back; Jason knew that. Alex was too and he wanted—no, needed— to know why. His first official day as a member of the Lower Chamber was Monday. According to his briefing, the topic of discussion would be the upcoming Dark Ball. He sighed.

  “What are we, party planners?” he murmured to himself.

  Away from the desk, he poured himself a drink and stood beside the window to watch the light fade once again. A week went by so fast. He had accomplished what he was asked to accomplish. There was some action, some bloodshed, and death. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had such an adventurous week. But people he knew were dead now—people Alex was close to.

  His phone buzzed with a text from Alex. Her short message had a big impact on him. She could have called, but that’s who she was, wasn’t it?

  It was my pleasure to protect you. I hope that Nikki is well, and let Adam know he’s full of shit. Good luck on your upcoming nuptials and I wish you both the best.

  He laughed as he sat back down again. Then his phone buzzed again.

  “Stavros.”

  “How’s your lady?” Coop’s familiar chuckle scratched at Jason’s eardrum.

  “Perfect, no thanks to you,” Jason snarled.

  “She’s tougher than I thought,” Coop replied.

  “What do you want?”

  “I just wanted to give you and Nikki my congrats on the wedding thing and kudos on getting into Alex’s pants,” he laughed—howled, really.

  “Sounds like you tried and failed,” Jason laughed. “She does have standards, turns out.”

  “Please,” Coop crowed. “This will be so much better. I’m like you now. Apparently, she’s into that.”

  “You’re nothing like me,” Jason replied. “She’s going to find you and Tristan, and you’re going to die. I just hope the Council lets me help her.”

  Coop laughed for what seemed like forever to Jason. “The Council will fall, just like he planned. You’re going to have to choose sides, Jas—soon. No one will be safe once the truth comes out.”

  “I have chosen,” Jason answered.

  “Choose again.”

  Coop was gone before Jason opened his mouth again. He dropped the phone on the desk and finished his drink.

  “We’re almost done here,” General Diaz stated as the stenographer’s long fingers flew over the keys. “Are you sure Cooper is alive? I mean, a vampire now?”

  “Yes,” Alex answered.

  “Are you sure he was responsible for Matthew Wolf’s death?” he continued.

  “Yes,” she said.

  “And Tristan Ambrose has resumed his place as the leader of HellClaw?”

  “No.”

  “No?”

  “He’s back in the world, yes,” she replied. “But HellClaw was destroyed. The new clan doesn’t have a name yet. At least not one he’s revealed to us.”

  “Do you know where he is?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Can you find him?”

  Alex didn’t reply. She glanced at Sebastian, Xavier, and David as they sat at the door with a guard on either side of them.

  “What happened to him at Dugway?” Alex asked.

  Diaz immediately straightened his back. He placed his hands on the table and stared into Alex’s eyes. He was in a battle with himself. In his mind, she could hear him tell himself she needed to know. But his duty got in the way.

  “I’m not at liberty to discuss that with you at this time,” was his reply.

  “Then I’m not at liberty to tell you whether or not I can find him.”

  “It’s not us you should tell, Ms. Stone. The Council has offered the Tracker team unlimited resources and help with bringing him in. Do you understand what that means?”

  “Yes. That means you’re rolling over and playing dead. Just like I knew you would. You’re handing the team over to the Council. Problem with that is, they don’t have to go, if they don’t want to.”

  “You’re right, they don’t have to go,” Diaz sniffed. “The Justice Department doesn’t own the contracts anymore for Strategic. Gale Enterprises does. So they do what they’re told or they lose their jobs.”

  Alex turned her head to the young men. “Anybody care about that?”

  “No,” was the unanimous reply from the group.

  Alex grinned at General Diaz because she knew she’d won. “We’re done.”

  She stood and so did the young men. Diaz got to his feet and had asked the stenographer to leave the room. Once she was gone, the guards were dismissed as well. He went over to the viewing window, turned off the surveillance, and flipped a switch on the wall, opening a secret observation room to reveal several Gales.

  They had been watching the whole time. She locked eyes with Michael first, then went from face to face until she reached Conner. He smiled as a guard opened the door and he led the way out of the room.

  They filed in one after the other. She hadn’t bothered to do any research on the family for some reason. Now she wished she had. Conner, Aiden, and Michael stood on one side of the table while the four young men of various age and skin color blocked the exit.

  His own little United Nations, she mused. The youngest couldn’t have been more than a teenager and he was still human, she noted. He was actually the first to speak.

  “Big fan,” he nodded and grinned at her. One of the others, a young vampire with beautiful, dark skin and silky twists of hair tapped him on the shoulder with a shake of his head.

  “My youngest has been eager to meet you,” Conner replied as he extended his hand. She shook it, even though she didn’t want to. “You’ve met everyone else.”

  “Yes, I have,” she looked at Michael again. “In Vegas, yes. Nice to see you all again.”

  “I’m Andrew,” the young man stepped forward again with nervousness about him. “Drew. Really nice to meet you.”

  “Same here,” she stated and turned back to Conner.

  “I think Ms. Stone and I should speak privately,” Conner stated to the room. Sean held the door while his brothers and the General filed out. Her team remained.

  “Gentlemen,” Conner said as he walked over to them. “I can assure you, she is safe.”

  They didn’t respond or move; they just turned their eyes to Alex. She excused them with a nod. The door closed with barely a sound. On the other sid
e was the vampire elite and the team that had nothing to lose by pissing them off.

  “My mother is meeting me at the airport,” David sighed as he stared at his phone. “Arrangements are being made.”

  Xavier put an arm around his shoulder. “We’re here for you. We’ll get ‘em—all of ‘em.” Sebastian leaned against the wall and nodded.

  Being inside the Pentagon was intimidating enough. Add to that Marine guards ordered to shoot to kill if anybody got twitchy, and Sebastian started to worry. He watched the other vampires with curiosity and a slight bit of anger. They had put their lives on the line for Jason and what did they get for it? Thanks and see ya later.

  “Holy shit,” he heard Xavier whisper as he leaned over David so he could see the screen of his smartphone. “Am I seeing that right?”

  David scrambled inside his pocket and pulled out his phone too. “Holy shit.”

  Sebastian moved over to them. “What?”

  “Pull up your account,” Xavier whispered then glanced over his shoulder at the Gale brothers. They were huddled on the opposite end of the hallway.

  “Umm,” Sebastian hummed. “Is this for real?”

  The sum was not their usual pay for any job they’d ever done. And they all had an equal sum. Except David. Both Sebastian and Xavier figured he’d gotten his brother’s share as well.

  “How come this is so much?” David hummed.

  Xavier moved closer to his friends. “Alex.”

  Conner Gale was a classically handsome man—didn’t matter that he was almost two thousand years old. He looked like a fit and healthy middle-aged guy. How anyone could believe he was the father of six was beyond her. But the younger four were adopted, so maybe it was easier for people to accept.

  “How are you?” he said.

  “Glad to be home,” she replied. “Well, almost home.”

  “And the others?”

  “They’ll survive.”

  “Mr. Yun has lost his brother,” Conner stated with a sad tone.

  “They’ve all lost their brother,” Alex replied with a lift of her chin, “and their sisters. They will learn to live with what’s missing.”

  “Spoken like someone who’s been there,” he grinned. She figured it was an attempt to appear supportive, empathic.

  “Where’s my father?”

  “On his way to my facility in New York,” Conner answered. “Our lab is state-of-the-art. He’ll be able to identify the compound a lot faster at Gale Enterprises.”

  “And Leland?”

  “That I don’t know.”

  Alex inhaled and pushed the air out slowly. She focused her power on the sound of Conner’s very slow heartbeat. Since she couldn’t read his thoughts, she’d listen for any lies through that.

  “You should probably try to find him. He was Brice Campbell’s handler. He may be able to shed some light on him for us.”

  “Maybe, but the most important thing right now is to find out what this compound is and how to combat it,” Conner sighed. “Now, I have a question for you.”

  “Shoot.”

  “Why did you let Cooper go?”

  “I didn’t. I was kinda busy saving Nikki and my team.”

  “You let some off-the-books team take Creed—why?”

  “It wasn’t my job to bring him back to you. So . . .” she shrugged.

  “You know what will happen to him in the Circle.”

  “So?”

  Conner appeared frustrated. His green eyes darkened as he tried not to yell at her like she was one of his children. She could tell because her father used to get that same look on his face.

  “So he may have been able to lead us to Tristan,” he replied. “Now that’s not possible.”

  “Creed is very resourceful,” Alex grinned. “He may just surprise all of us and talk his way out of getting his ass handed to him in the Circle.”

  “That is a fight to the death,” Conner grinned back.

  “It’s Lucas’s call,” Alex replied.

  “He is going to let Creed live after what he’s done? I wouldn’t.”

  “That’s you. Sometimes, it’s not about revenge. Sometimes it’s about justice.”

  She could see that he didn’t get it. Few people did unless it happened to them. To let one’s enemy live was sometimes the worst punishment of all. The rest of the supernatural world had always seen the Pack as wild animals. Alex knew a different side to them.

  “What does he want?” Alex asked.

  “Who?”

  She frowned at Conner and his tell was the absent way he straightened his tie. He was going to lie, if he could.

  “Tristan. What does he want?”

  “What he’s always wanted,” Conner scowled. “He wants to rule the vampire world, alone, and enslave humans, and not necessarily in that order.”

  “He could have done that already,” she said with a shake of her head. “He wants something he doesn’t have the power to get. What is it?”

  “You tell me. He seems to be fixated on you right now. What do you think he wants that he doesn’t have the power to get?”

  Conner could tell the wheels in her head were working overtime. She didn’t know any more than they did about what Tristan wanted. Her tough demeanor and barrage of questions proved that. Of course she was afraid, but she would never show it. Conner was afraid too. When she showed her fear, he would too.

  “Unfortunately, he’s gone underground,” she said. Conner felt the pain it took for her to admit it. It amused him. “And whoever’s funding him has deep pockets.”

  “He hid a lot from us,” Conner admitted. “He had loyal followers and a plan. We underestimated him. Do not make that same mistake.”

  “I won’t,” she stated with the same pride he had seen in her the night they met.

  After she saved Jason’s life, Conner decided her skill had been underestimated as well. Like Tristan, she had secrets and a plan. If she revealed those to anyone, it most certainly wouldn’t be him. He’d hoped it would be Michael, but that was probably a long shot as well now.

  “I need to see my father,” Alex said.

  “I’m sure you can reach him anytime you like,” Conner replied.

  “I need to see him,” she repeated.

  “Oh, of course. We can be in New York in an hour if you need a ride.”

  She just stared at her own hands. They were clean, but he could still smell a faint hint of blood. Hand soap and sanitizer couldn’t completely kill that smell.

  “I’d like to see David off and meet his mother as well. Sebastian and Xavier are coming home with me.”

  “Absolutely,” he replied, crossing the room to open the door. “Raph?” His dark-haired son of Spanish descent walked over to them. “Let the pilot know we will have three more passengers on the ride home.”

  He smiled and pulled a sleek smart device from his jacket pocket. As he spoke, he walked away from the noise of conversation around him. With Conner and Alex behind him, the rest of the young men followed.

  Back down a long marble hallway, the group was flanked by Marines. The General waited at the exit with more guards. He offered his condolences once more, thanked Conner for some reason, and watched them exit the building.

  People were used to the sight of official-looking SUVs on the streets of Washington DC. As they rolled toward the interstate and Dulles, no one seemed to care. They were too busy shopping or meeting others for dinner. The snow fell in big, silent flakes around them. Alex was suddenly tired of the snow. Its beauty was lost on her and the others as they prepared to see that special casket one last time.

  David and Kai’s mother was striking to see in person. The bad lighting and angles on CSPAN didn’t do anyone justice. Her long, dark hair was full and healthy. Like her sons, she was tall and slim. Kai had her smile.
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br />   She thanked them for their service and for bringing her sons back to her, even if one of them was in a box. Alex didn’t expect her to be so calm. But she was a politician and they didn’t do anything without an audience—not even grieve. Conner had somehow managed to have the press banned from the terminal.

  Her hands were cold when she shook Alex’s. She didn’t say anything, just nodded at her with tears in her eyes. Then she pulled Alex into her arms and whispered in her ear, “Kill them.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” she answered as she stepped back.

  “I’ll see you guys in San Francisco,” David said to his friends, his brothers, his family.

  “Yes,” Xavier said then hugged him tight.

  “And Amy?” David asked as he stepped up to Sebastian next.

  “The Warrens will wait for us then plan her service,” he answered as he wiped the tears from his eyes.

  David turned to Alex and held her eyes with his. Once he took her in his arms, she could feel his body shake and she squeezed him hard. He pulled away and wiped his face.

  “He liked working for you,” David’s voice was raspy and worn.

  Alex nodded as a tear slid down her face. “We’re not done yet. Not by a long shot.”

  “I’m ready,” he said.

  They waited until David and his mother were down the boarding ramp before they turned away, heading to the boarding gate for their own flight.

  “You lit into Michael pretty good,” Sebastian said as they found a vacant spot of seats across from the VIP lounge. “You’re still willing to work with them after that?”

  Conner and his sons were inside that lounge in a super secret conversation. He’d text her when they were done or the plane was ready, whichever came first. She was fine with that.

  “I just wanted to see how much they knew,” she replied, “which is next to nothing. I would have done the same thing, I guess.”

  “You hungry?” Xavier asked as he stood. “I’m hungry.”

  “Sure,” Alex replied.

  Sebastian stood too. “What’s your poison?”

  “Anything that’s not leafy, green, and good for me,” she grinned. “And don’t say poison.”

  She could see a hot dog stand a few feet away. Sebastian and Xavier immediately engaged in small talk with the pretty clerk. What she thought was fatigue—manifested as a sharp pain in the temple—was really something else.