The Vampire’s Priceless Treasure

by Painter, Kristen

  She laughed at his bravado. “Thank you for protecting me. Maybe when my father hears about it, he’ll give you some of that million dollars after all.”

  Greyson took her hand in his and laid them both against his chest. “I didn’t do it for the money.”

  “I know. And I appreciate that.” She held his gaze for a second. “There’s about forty-five minutes left before we land if you want to shower and change.”

  “I do.” Especially since she obviously had, based on how nice she smelled and how clean she looked in her new outfit of black leather leggings, boots, and a slouchy dark red sweater. “I still have sand in areas that really shouldn’t.”

  She snorted as she got up. “I don’t need to know that.”

  “Why not? It’s your fault.”

  Grinning, she headed for the door. “I’ll pour you some breakfast when you get out of the shower.”

  “Thanks. Hey.”

  She turned. “What?”

  “How did I get on the plane?”

  She grinned. “I carried you.”

  “I was afraid of that.”

  “Really?” She tipped her head. “That’s what you were afraid of? Not that I might violate your personal space while you were unconscious?” She wiggled her fingers at him while leering mischievously. “You have no idea where my hands might have been. You’re a strange man, Mr. Garrett.”

  With a wicked smirk, she left the room, leaving him to wonder if she really had violated his personal space. If she had, it sucked that he couldn’t remember it.

  He showered, probably using up all of the plane’s hot water, but he needed it. Running through that sandstorm had coated every inch of him with grit. He washed the welts on his arm, too, not liking how rough and bumpy they felt. He hadn’t thought vampires could get infections, but there was no other way to describe what was going on with his arm, not with the redness, the heat, and the throbbing.

  If it wasn’t better by the time they got back, he was going to have to see someone. Preferably someone who understood poisons, because that had to be what the Brotherhood had used on him.

  He got out, dried off, then dressed in the last clean clothes he had: dark jeans and a charcoal sweater. He put on his lug-sole boots and went out to the cabin.

  Kora was in the lounge area where the seats were positioned around a low table. She was charging her phone and looking at the jewel they’d found in the cathedral. The matryoshka dolls had been put back together and now sat at the end of the table.

  As promised, breakfast awaited him in a tall glass.

  He sat catty-corner to her and drank half of it in one draught. As soon as the liquid hit his system, energy coursed through him. “Having new thoughts?”

  She shook her head. “No, the same ones, actually. Wondering what this thing does that has everyone after it. Oh, and I figured out why it looks so familiar. It’s identical to the red spinel that sits atop the Imperial Crown of Russia.”

  “How about that? Whatever power this stone has, it must be something pretty amazing.”

  “I agree. I don’t think it’s the power to shape-shift, although I could be wrong.”

  “You think that because you’ve tried, right?”

  She snickered. “Yes. Well, wouldn’t you?”

  “Totally.” He emptied the glass.

  “It still could be that, and I just don’t know how to make it work, but would that be enough to get the wolves all worked up? I mean…I guess it would be if it was kind of a general shapeshifting power. I’m sure the werewolf community wouldn’t want vampires to suddenly be able to become wolves, too.”

  He leaned back in the seat, crossing one ankle over the opposite leg. “That would be enough to get them riled up, for sure.”

  She glanced at him. “Then what happens if I turn this over to the Fox, and war really does break out? I don’t want to be responsible for that kind of rift in the supernatural world. Things are pretty smooth right now. And have been for a while. Can you imagine returning to the days of chaos?”

  He uncrossed his legs, unsettled by such a thought. “No. And as much as I’d like to think we’re past that, the Brotherhood was pretty adamant that things would go south if that stone fell into the wrong hands.”

  “So what do I do?”

  He thought for a moment. “Is there any way the Fox wants it so she can put it into storage? You know, safekeeping so that the power in that thing isn’t abused?”

  “Anything’s possible, but without knowing who the Fox is, how can I say what her intent is?”

  “Right. And without knowing more about the Brotherhood, or what that thing actually does, we can’t rightly assume anyone’s motive.”

  She sighed. “Which brings me back to what do I do?”

  He put his elbows on his knees. “I don’t think I can tell you what to do. This is your decision to make. You’re the one who did the work. The one with something to lose.”

  “Greyson, I want your advice. What would you do?”

  He steepled his fingers under his chin. “I would meet the Fox, ask some questions, maybe get a demonstration of this stone’s power, then I would go with my gut and my heart and make the decision that feels the most right.”

  She stared into the stone, her expression a mix of uncertainty and frustration. “I can do that.” She looked at him again. “And if I don’t like the answers I get, or what this thing does, then you’re going to have to help me get out of there alive, because if I don’t turn this stone over to the Fox, my gut is already telling me it’s not going to be pretty.”

  He reached out and squeezed her knee. “You never have to worry about me having your back.”

  “Thanks.” Her smile was thin and unconvincing. “But listen. I mean this in all sincerity. As much as I want your help, I don’t want you putting your life on the line for me again. I got myself into this. I don’t want you hurt again because of me. Or worse.”

  “Kora—”

  “I’m serious, Greyson. You’ve already done so much for me. I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you and it was my fault. I know how heavy guilt is. It’s suffocating.” She clenched her fist around the stone. “Please promise me that if it’s a life-or-death situation, you won’t sacrifice yourself for me.”

  The very idea made his heart hurt. “I can’t promise you that.”

  She closed her eyes for a second. “If you die because of me…” She swallowed. “I can’t bear that weight for eternity.” She met his gaze again. “And I won’t. Do you understand?”

  He nodded. What he understood was that he had to get them both out alive. No ifs, ands, or buts.

  Rome in the evening was as beautiful and crowded as Kora remembered, but there was no time for sightseeing on this trip, not any more than she could do from the table of the sidewalk café where she and Greyson were currently parked. It had become their procedure. Find a spot to people watch in order to see if anyone was watching them.

  So far, nothing out of the ordinary. But she was itching to move.

  She wanted to be done here as quickly as possible, and not just because she didn’t want the authorities to find out she was in town.

  And sure, she wanted to avoid another run-in with the Brotherhood, but she also wanted to get back to Nocturne Falls. Back to her family, back to her life, and back to Waffles.

  Her gaze moved to Greyson, who was watching the crowd strolling past.

  Another part of her really wanted to see what would happen between the two of them once everything went back to normal. It was easy to be attracted to someone who was saving your life and living on the edge with you in this kind of minute-to-minute adventure they were on.

  How would they feel about each other when the big excitement was a movie night on the couch?

  She grinned. That actually sounded pretty good to her. Partially because it wasn’t something she’d ever really done and partially because spending an evening tucked up against Greyson had its own appeal.
>
  But would he still be interested in her when she wasn’t a leather-clad warrior woman? Time would tell. Then again, he’d been pretty gone over the elf princess, and she’d run a toy shop.

  At least Kora managed Greyson’s favorite night spot. They could always hang out there.

  Her phone vibrated. Hopefully with the Fox’s answer to Kora’s text that they’d arrived. She checked the screen. It was. The Fox had sent an address, along with a simple response.

  I’ll be waiting.

  Kora stared at the text for a moment. It was all about to come to an end. She’d finally have the information she’d always wanted.

  “Is that what we’ve been waiting for?”

  She looked up and nodded. “Yes. I need to plug the address into the GPS, and then we can go. Have you seen anything?”

  His eyes went back to the people going past. “Nothing worth noting.”

  “Good.” She copied the address out of the text, then pasted it into her maps app. “We’re twenty minutes away.”

  “By foot or by car?”

  “Either. Apparently, with traffic it’s a wash.”

  “I’d rather walk.”

  “Me, too.”

  They paid and left, ever mindful of their surroundings. Greyson took her hand.

  She looked at him in surprise.

  He smiled. “We’re just two tourists on a romantic trip to Rome.”

  If only that were true. She smiled back. “Got it.”

  He held his expression, but his eyes turned darker. “I wish I didn’t feel like we were being watched.”

  “I thought that earlier, but you said you didn’t see anything suspicious, so…” She shrugged.

  “And I still don’t. But I can’t shake the feeling there are eyes on us.”

  “We are two supernaturally attractive people, if I do say so myself. Maybe it’s just normal eyes. Not creepy-wolf-shifters-who-want-to-stake-us eyes.”

  “Maybe. But based on how things have gone so far, that wouldn’t be my guess.”

  “Right.” She scanned the passing crowd, but if they were being watched, it wouldn’t be by someone in front of them.

  She made a show of stretching her neck and shoulders, using the movements to check the buildings around them, but she saw no one partially hidden by a curtain, no one on a balcony, no one on a rooftop who looked suspicious.

  As they walked, the area became more residential, and the tourist traffic lightened. There were still some people out walking and taking in the grand villas, peeking through the gated entrances, and snapping selfies for social media, but the foreigners were easy to spot.

  Greyson and Kora turned a corner, and he suddenly pulled her into a doorway.

  “Shh,” he whispered.

  She nodded. They were waiting for whoever might be following them to make the turn as well.

  Footsteps echoed off the walled estates and down the street. Shuffling footsteps. Almost…animalistic.

  Greyson put his arms around her and kissed her. She gasped in shock. That wasn’t what she’d been expecting in the moment.

  But she welcomed the distraction, melting into him with every fiber of her being. Even if this was part of their cover, she was all about it.

  The footsteps went past.

  Greyson broke the kiss, turning them both to see the owner of the footsteps.

  A little old man and his sheepdog out for a walk.

  They both relaxed, but only a little. There was every chance they were still being watched.

  Greyson shook his head as he looked at her again. “How much farther?”

  She lit up her phone’s screen. “Not much.” She showed him the map. “Straight on, then a right and two more blocks.”

  “If it’s one of these homes, your Fox has done all right for herself.” He checked the street in both directions before stepping out onto the sidewalk again.

  “Then maybe I should ask for a little money in addition to the information.”

  “Couldn’t hurt to try.” He offered her his arm—his uninjured one—and they set off again.

  Their final destination brought them to a walled estate with a gated entrance much like all the others on the street. Beyond the gate was an elaborate garden with olive and lemon trees and white stone pathways that all seemed to spiral out from a gorgeous marble fountain. A ceramic plaque on the side read Palazzo Volpini.

  The GPS announced that they had arrived.

  Kora closed the app and tucked the phone away. “I guess we should just go in. She said she’d be waiting.”

  Greyson tried the gate. It wasn’t locked. He pushed it open cautiously. “Better than standing out on the street.”

  “True.” She went in.

  With one more look over his shoulder, he entered as well. He shut the gate, but they were both aware there was nothing keeping anyone else out either.

  They headed through the garden, past the low Moroccan-inspired fountain in the center and on to the main house. That brought them to a portico and another gate, except it was really a door. Two, to be exact. High, arched wrought iron backed with glass.

  And they were locked.

  Kora pushed the small bell off to the side, then they stood waiting.

  Two statues flanked the entrance, maidens carrying vessels. Maybe of wine, maybe of water, Kora had no idea. But they looked like very old marble, just like some of the urns in the garden.

  There were designs painted around the entrance, too. Terra-cotta and turquoise, faded by time and the Roman climate. Probably painted around the same time as the two statues had been carved. Everything about this home spoke to its age and the wealth of its owner.

  A man came to the door. He wore the black livery of household staff, and although he clearly wasn’t young, he also had the unmistakable vibrancy that only one thing could provide.

  The immortality of being a vampire.

  He opened the door. “You must be Kora.”

  “I am.”

  He looked at Greyson, then back at Kora. “Your guest may remain here.”

  “No. He comes with me, or I don’t come in at all.”

  The manservant didn’t look upset. He just nodded. “I’ll let the signorina know of your wishes.”

  He closed the door and left them outside.

  “Signorina. So it is a woman.” Kora looked at Greyson and snorted. “She’d better be okay with you coming in, because I am not going inside without you.”

  “What if she says no?”

  “She won’t. She wants the jewel too much, I’m sure.”

  He nodded. “I guess we’ll see.”

  The manservant returned a few minutes later. “She is not pleased, but she will allow it.”

  Kora shot Greyson a look before walking into the house. “That’s very generous of her, considering what we’ve been through.” She frowned at the manservant. “No one could have done alone what we did.”

  He nodded. “Yes, miss. Right this way.”

  They followed him through the enormity that was the palazzo. Past rooms painted with frescoes. Past rooms filled with enough statuary to be mistaken for museum galleries. Past rooms appointed with the kind of opulent, ornate furnishings that only a long-standing Roman estate could get away with.

  This wasn’t a house, it was an ode to extravagant living and old money. Exactly the kind of place where an ancient, wealthy vampire would live. And Kora had no doubt that was who they were about to meet.

  The manservant led them through a set of burled-wood doors and into a sitting room with an intricately tiled floor and olive-green wallpaper with a scrollwork design. Gold leaf and more burled wood showed up in the furniture, but the ceiling was painted with a mural of satyrs and nymphs cavorting. “The signorina will be with you in una momento.”

  “Thank you,” Greyson said. As the manservant left and shut the doors behind him, Greyson’s brows lifted. “This is some house.”

  Kora nodded. “You can say that again.” She kept her voice dow
n. “I’m definitely asking for expenses.”

  “At least.”

  Three or four minutes passed before the doors opened again.

  Kora turned to meet the woman who had sent her on this wild chase. And stared straight into a face she’d never expected to see again. She went hot and cold, stiff and weak, sick and elated all at once.

  How was this possible?

  The woman smiled. “Hello, Kora.”

  Her throat frozen with disbelief, Kora finally found her voice. “Mom?”

  Pavlina held out her hand. “Now that you have the answer you were promised, I’d like the treasure that’s due in exchange.”

  Greyson had never met Pavlina, never seen a picture of her, never even heard her described, but there was no denying the resemblance she and Kora shared. The slight upturn at the corners of the eyes, the same elfin smile. A certain something around the mouth. Even their jawlines were similar.

  Except that while Pavlina looked rather unmoved, Kora looked like she was about to throw up. Or cry. Or punch something. She could use a moment to gather herself, he thought.

  He stuck his hand out. “Pavlina?”

  She turned toward him, and the hand she’d been holding out for the stone went into his. “Ah, yes. And you must be Greyson.” She shook his hand, her grip firm and cool. The movement made him grit his teeth because of the pain in his arm, but he managed not to react more than that.

  If Pavlina noticed, she didn’t let on. “I understand you’ve been very helpful to my daughter. For that, I’m grateful. But you must understand I am less than pleased to have an employee of my former husband’s in my home.”

  “I’m not currently working for Lucien, nor have I recently.”

  Her smile was thin and placating. “Well, that’s something, then, isn’t it?”

  “How?” Kora spat the word like it was all she could manage. She still looked dumbstruck, which Greyson found completely understandable. “Why?”

  Pavlina glanced at her daughter again. “I’m sure you have many questions, Kora. I will answer what I can, but you must tell me if you truly have what I sent you to find.”