Embraced by Blood

by Laurie London

  “Okay, but you—”

  “Next, you need to do whatever you can to mask the trail of the places I’ve been to with Lily. We were in Seattle, at my home near Bellingham and up at Region. Lily can give you directions to the house.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Use those scent-masking crystals the Agency developed. Although they’re not foolproof, they should weaken the scent trail just enough that when he comes across a stronger, more recent trail of mine, he’ll follow that instead.”

  Jackson held up his hand. “Hold on. What the fuck are you talking about?”

  “That guy in there? The one who drained the sweetblood? The one who’s in that goddamn helicopter heading back to the mainland? He’s with the Order of the Red Sword. My blood assassin. He’s been on my trail since I betrayed the Alliance. I set up an elaborate ruse in Europe to make him think I was in hiding over there, but obviously, those efforts failed. And now that he knows I’m here, I must disappear again before he IDs anyone I care about.”

  Jackson frowned as he reached into an inner pocket and handed him a dog-eared photo. “We found this in the viewing room with the body.”

  Alfonso took it from him. With one look, his hands shook, a rushing sound ringing in his ears.

  It was a black-and-white photo of Lily. Holding Zoe’s hand.

  Slow, sickening fear snaked up his spine and settled low in his belly. It was the assassin who had been in Lily’s condo. Not some random Darkblood looking for a Tracker. The fucker had walked through her home, into her kitchen, her bathroom, her bedroom, her closet. Memorizing her scent.

  “Lily? Where’s she at now? Who’s with her?” Alfonso could barely choke the words out.

  “She’s with Gibby and his crew. They’re escorting the humans we found down to the boats.”

  Okay, so she was safe for the moment.

  But not Zoe.

  Sweet, beautiful Zoe.

  A tingling sensation rolled in a succession of waves over his skin, growing more and more powerful, while Zoe’s name drummed into his head like a chant. He felt suddenly detached from where he stood, and this time the detachment wasn’t the familiar kind. He pictured Zoe, her chubby, heart-shaped face, her little fingers as she wrapped them around the medallion he’d given to her for luck.

  “Dude, what the hell is going on? You’re…you’re fading.” It sounded like Jackson was talking into a tin can.

  But before Alfonso could respond, the roaring sound got louder, and the ground fell away from his feet.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  THE FIRST THING ALFONSO HEARD was the sound of a piano melody in the air, just before the ground solidified under his boots. A heavy velvet curtain was just inches from his face, and light spilled out through a narrow gap onto the dark wooden floor at his feet.

  He stood from a crouch and looked around.

  What had just happened? Where was he?

  Track lighting hung far above his head along with another row of curtains. He took a few steps, reached out and touched a metal scaffolding. It was solid and very real. This wasn’t a bizarre dream or hallucination.

  He had teleported here. Wherever here was.

  Good God. He really did have the ability. Just as he’d suspected. It hadn’t been some alcohol-induced stupor that had made him think he had teleported to Lily’s bed almost a decade ago. It hadn’t been his overactive imagination, because somehow, he had done it again.

  He was backstage, and from the sounds of it, Zoe was playing her piano piece. It was the same melody he’d helped her with.

  Zoe.

  He had to be at Region Headquarters in the small theater. Had he been able to teleport because he was worried about her?

  Half hobbling, half sprinting, he made it to the wings of the stage and peered around the curtain. With her back to him, Zoe looked dwarfed sitting at a grand piano, her feet not touching the ground. She wore a pale blue dress, and long brown ringlets fell from a ribbon in her hair. The tricky part of the song was coming up. He held his breath, and sure enough, she nailed it.

  Way to go, Baby Girl.

  Lily would be so proud of her, he thought. Too bad she wasn’t here to see this.

  He glanced into the crowd of mostly parents and grandparents. Except for the children doing performances who would probably change their clothes later, everyone was dressed warmly in fleece and scarves, and held heavy winter coats on their laps. They’d be heading out to the bonfires afterward to continue the Longest Night celebrations. Lily’s mother and father sat in the second row next to Steven Hastings, who seemed more engrossed in his phone than his daughter’s performance.

  Alfonso spotted Santiago standing near the back of the auditorium. Pain shooting through his knee, he dashed down a back hallway as quickly as he could, slipped in behind Santiago and vise-gripped his arm.

  “What kind of fucking intel do you guys have over in Europe anyway?” he growled into Santiago’s ear. Then he jerked him into the foyer, where he shoved him against the wall.

  A mixture of shock and indignation registered on Santiago’s face. “What the hell’s going on? Where did you come from?”

  “Your people in Europe screwed up. Rejavik is here. At the Night of Wilding party. And he knows about Lily and Zoe.”

  Santiago’s jaw dropped. It wasn’t often the guy was speechless. “Rejavik is here? What the fuck are you talking about? I verified with Prague this morning, like I’ve done every morning since you told me, and he was still there. The Alliance is conducting training exercises and Rejavik was overseeing some of it.”

  “Someone over there is either lying, on crack or just an idiot, because the guy’s definitely here and now Lily and Zoe are his targets.” And somehow, his own safeguards had failed as well. As he quickly explained to Santiago what had happened at the party, people began filing out of the theater. He kept his voice as low as possible. “So you’ve got to put Zoe into lockdown along with Mr. and Dr. DeGraff. There’s no telling what Rejavik will do. I’m not sure if he’s flying straight here or if he plans to come later. You’ve got a Region bunker, don’t you?” Santiago nodded.

  “Get them there and stay with them until you get the all clear.”

  “You’ve got my word, but what are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to put an end to this once and for all.”

  He spun on his heel—and ran straight into Dr. DeGraff.

  With narrowed eyes, she zeroed in on his knee, clearly noticing how much he was favoring it. He distributed his weight more evenly, but she wasn’t fooled. “I see you’ve not been following my orders to take it easy.”

  “I…ah…”

  “Come on. Let me take a look at it. The bonfires aren’t scheduled to be lit for another thirty minutes.”

  “I don’t have time. Santiago is—”

  “Alfonso!” Zoe ran up behind her grandmother and hugged him around the legs. He winced, trying not to show how much it hurt. “You did come. I knew you would. The good-luck charm worked. I didn’t mess up.”

  Hoisting her into his arms, he held her tight, thankful he had gotten here in time before anything had happened. Her baby fine hair was even silkier than Lily’s, he thought as he brushed it away from his nose.

  “Yes, I know, Baby Girl. You were fantastic, just like I knew you would be.” He tucked his chin over her shoulder and spoke to Dr. DeGraff. “Look, I don’t have time to explain. But you’re all going to need to go with Santiago. He’ll tell you what’s going on.”

  Dr. DeGraff studied his face for a moment and Alfonso realized where Lily had gotten that nothing-gets-past-me look. Growing up with that mother of hers had to have been a bitch. No sneaking out. No monkey business. No wonder Lily was such a rule follower.

  She patted Zoe’s back. “Come on, honey, do as Alfonso says.” Zoe wiggled out of his arms. Turning to Santiago, Dr. DeGraff said, “I’ll be with you in a moment. I need to talk to Alfonso in private.”

  Aw, Jesus, he didn’t
have time for Twenty Questions and an angry lecture from his doctor. “I can’t. I’ve got to—”

  Dr. DeGraff poked a finger in his chest, stopping him. “Listen, you’re going to give me five minutes, whether you want to or not. I just received some very interesting test results you need to be aware of.”

  Exasperated, he rubbed the back of his neck and tried to remain civil to Lily’s mother. He didn’t have time to explain how or why. Let Santiago tell her whatever he wanted to. It didn’t matter to him. “I don’t care about any test results. Frankly, it’s the least of my worries. I’ve got to go. Now.”

  He turned away, wondering how he’d conjure up the ability to teleport again, but she grabbed the sleeve of his jacket, stopping him. The intensity in her eyes made him take a half step back.

  “You might be interested to learn that you share a somewhat unusual DNA characteristic with Zoe.”

  He frowned. What the hell was she talking about? He didn’t have time for this. Now that he’d ensured Zoe was safe, it was time for him to go.

  “What I’m trying to say is that you are Zoe’s father.”

  It felt as if someone had struck him with a hot branding iron. He staggered backward. A roaring sound rang in his ears. If the wall hadn’t been there to prop him up, he’d have surely fallen to the ground.

  His mouth moved, but he didn’t know if he was speaking aloud. “Her father? Are you sure?”

  Dr. DeGraff’s expression softened, a hint of a smile on her lips. She tucked her hair behind an ear. “I’ve ordered another test just to be sure—it wasn’t a paternity test I did before—but yes, I believe that you, not Steven, are my granddaughter’s father.”

  He was hot. Sweaty. He pulled off his knit cap and unzipped his leather bomber coat. “But how? I don’t understand.”

  “Although I don’t think you really need to hear the birds and bees speech from me, I’d have to imagine you and Lily were together…oh, about nine years and three months ago, to be exact.”

  He turned and pressed his hands to the wall, dipping his head between his shoulders as he tried to think. It had to have happened when he’d teleported to Lily on the eve of his departure. He’d been drinking heavily and had suddenly found himself in her bed. Groggy with sleep, she’d welcomed him into her arms, and they’d made love slowly, one last time, each sharing the other’s blood. At nightfall, unable to find his car, he’d taken a cab to the airport and left for Europe, where he’d spent the next five years. That had to have been the night Zoe was conceived.

  He was a father. Oh Lord, he was Zoe’s father.

  MOVEMENT AT THE MOUTH of the cave caught Lily’s attention.

  Alfonso hobbled out, a grimace on his face. Where had he been? She hadn’t seen him in almost an hour.

  She’d been helping human partygoers down the cliff, where they were loaded onto the boats and taken back to the mainland. They’d be debriefed and have their memories of tonight’s events altered. Capture teams would assess the vampire partiers to determine which ones had killed humans and take appropriate action. The rest would be sent home, to be placed on the Agency’s growing watch list.

  Expression tense, Alfonso limped over to where she was standing with Jackson and pulled her close.

  She wrapped her arms around his waist. His chest felt warm against her cheek, which was chapped and icy from the high winds on the beach.

  “You thought you were out from under the clutches of my mother, but from the looks of how much that knee is bothering you again, you’re going to be heading back up there.” She hesitated when he didn’t laugh. “You doing okay, love? You really shouldn’t be putting any weight on it until she’s had a chance to examine you again.”

  Alfonso gave her a remote smile before turning to Jackson. “You remember what I asked you before?”

  Jackson had a strange look on his face. “Yeah, sure.”

  Something was up. She could feel it by the way he held her. She pulled away from him. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  He ignored her. “Jackson, promise me that no matter what happens, you will not let her out of your sight. Not until this thing with Rejavik is over.”

  She put her hands on her hips. “Rejavik? What are you talking about? I’m not liking the sound of this already.”

  Alfonso turned to her, his forehead pinched with worry, his eyes grim and determined. “He knows about you, Lil. Both you and Zoe. Didn’t Jackson tell you?”

  Jackson held up his hands. “Don’t look at me. I told her nothing. Figured you’d want to.”

  Alfonso pulled a bent, bloodstained photo from an inside pocket and gave it to Lily. “Rejavik wanted me to see this. To let me know that you and Zoe are not safe.”

  Her stomach clenched into a dozen tiny knots. It was the picture from her condo. “It wasn’t a run-of-the-mill DB who broke in, but someone from the ORS? Your…your…that assassin?” Her fangs threatened to break through at the thought of that monster invading her home. The one who’d killed her friend and was now—

  Her eyes widened and her hands went cold. “Oh my God, he knows about Zoe.”

  But before she could make a move toward the mouth of the cave, Alfonso stopped her.

  “She’s safe, Lily. Zoe and your parents are safe. I’ve seen to that.”

  Relief rushed through her. God, she loved this man. “Okay, we track that asshole down and fight him together. I want a piece of this guy.”

  Jackson cracked his knuckles. “Yeah, I’m with you, Lil. He breached the Seattle perimeter on my watch. It’s been too long since I charcoaled a DB.”

  “This isn’t a fucking game,” Alfonso said, his eyes an icy, dead calm. “Rejavik is no ordinary Darkblood. This battle is between him and me. It’s not with you, Lily, or the Seattle field office. There is no we—only me. Through my selfishness, I’ve put you and Zoe and everyone I care about in danger. But it ends tonight.”

  “Alone? Are you crazy?” He couldn’t possibly be serious, could he? Was he so accustomed to doing things on his own that he couldn’t fathom working with a team?

  “Yes, alone. This is my concern, and mine alone.”

  “If you won’t let us fight him together, then we’ll leave. Just the three of us. Me, you and Zoe. We’ll go somewhere far away where he’ll never find us.”

  “I won’t let you do that to…your daughter. It’s not fair to either of you. We’d be forever looking over our shoulders. I was a fool to think I could hide from him in the first place, but to subject you and Zoe to that is something I won’t do. And if he finds us—” Alfonso balled his hands into fists, the breath rushing out between clenched teeth “—he’ll kill you and Zoe in front of me. Then and only then will he finish me off and fulfill his duty to the Alliance. Is that what you want, Lily?”

  “Of course not, but—”

  “I’m done running. It’s time for this thing to end.”

  “Okay, fine. How do you intend to do that? You going to track him? You told me yourself you’re not a good Tracker. I don’t doubt your ability to fight him face-to-face, but in order to do that, you need to locate the bastard. You need me, Alfonso. Please, let me help you find him.”

  He pulled one of his kunai out and turned it over in his hand. As he rubbed his thumb over the rope grip, moonlight glinted off the blade, flashing light onto the dark walls of the cave opening. Those knives seemed to infuse him with a sense of calmness, she noted. He fingered them often when under stress.

  “I plan to teleport in, using the shevala with my blood as a way to find him.”

  Her head snapped up. Had she heard him correctly? “What? You can…teleport?”

  He nodded. “Lily, I think your blood activates the ability in me.”

  She was speechless and her bones felt like rubber. She clutched his arm to prevent herself from falling. He stowed the blade and pulled her close. If he was right, it could only mean one thing.

  Enlazado por la Sangre.

  Bound through blood, they were co
nnected to each other on a deeper, spiritual level. Partners in the truest sense. Together they were capable of more than they were apart.

  “How long have you known?”

  “Just found out tonight.” He paused. “I was able to teleport up to Region to check on Zoe. I could feel your blood giving me the strength I needed to transform myself. When I realized Rejavik knew about you and Zoe, I was afraid he was flying straight up to Horseshoe Bay to take her. As I stood out near the Ferris wheel, staring in the direction the helicopter had flown, something strange happened. My skin seemed to prickle with an odd energy. Next thing I knew, I was up at Region where Zoe was performing in her recital.” His voice got quiet. “She’s safe, Lily. Zoe is safe.”

  Lily’s mind was numb, her spine tingling with nervous energy. “You…you saw Zoe’s piano recital?” It didn’t seem possible.

  His eyes glittered. “She did a wonderful job. You’d have been so proud of her. I was.”

  Her heart thundered in her chest, so she took a few deep breaths to calm herself. The ability to teleport was an ancient skill, like Dom’s ability to vapor. Could it really be true? “Have you ever done it before? Teleport from one location to another.”

  “Not sure. Maybe. Just one other time.” He kept his eyes downcast, refusing to look at her. She tried to take his face in her hands but he pulled away. “Tell Zoe I’m proud of her and that even though I didn’t get a chance to know her well, I…I care for her. Very much.”

  He sounded so fatalistic, so final. “You’re scaring me, Alfonso. You can tell her that yourself. We’ll go up there tomorrow night. I’ll hear all about her performance and watch the video with her. We all can. All three of us.”

  He shook his head. “And, Lily, I want you to know that no matter what happens tonight, you have always been the most important thing in the world to me. The time we spent together was the happiest of my life, and despite the pain I put you through, I never stopped loving you.” His voice got quiet. “And I never will.”

  He stepped away from her.

  “Jackson,” she said urgently, “will you tell him that the Seattle team will—”