They sat there quietly, enjoying the music, and Liz found herself lost in the entire ambiance of the place. It was as if she had been transported back in time to a speakeasy–and she loved it.
Marcus watched Liz from the corner of his eye as she took in the sights around her, and wondered how he could ask her whom she had come into contact with. The thought that another vampire had been near her was eating away at him, and he knew that it would gnaw at him until he found out just when she had come across another bloodsucker. Shit! He hated that he couldn’t compel her! It would just make things so much simpler if he could.
“So,” he said finally, watching as she sipped her wine with intent interest. Damn, but the woman was beautiful. “What sites have you seen so far?”
“I just did a bit of window shopping,” she laughed. “They have some wonderful shops.”
Marcus nodded, his mind working overtime. He guessed that she could have run into the Vamp in one of the many stores along the street, but still, something was nagging at him. It was just a hint of something a whole hell of a lot like trepidation. That inkling of danger. Damn it. Well, he was never one to sweep his gut feelings aside.
“Did you meet anyone interesting?” he asked, and found that he would like nothing more than to kick himself in the ass. Holy Hell–he sounded like an idiot!
Liz looked at him, her brow crinkling slightly. “I’m sorry?” she said, her face showing her confusion.
Marcus cleared his throat and tried to give her a grin. “Have you met any of the locals? They can be quite colorful.” Oh, yeah, that wasn’t lame at all. Christ!
Liz took another sip of her wine, fighting the shiver that ran up her spine as she remembered the man on the street she had run into, and the way that he had looked at her. “Colorful isn’t the half of it,” she responded quietly.
“Did something happen?” he asked, his body tensing. He knew it!
Liz shook her head with a small smile. “No, not really. I just…I just ran into someone on the street. I mean I literally walked right into him, and he just kind of creeped me out a bit.”
Marcus leaned in a bit closer to her, and she instinctively stiffened. He didn’t seem to notice as he studied her intently. “How so?”
“He was just a bit odd,” she explained, realizing that she was probably just overreacting. Her judgment with men was not the best. No matter how hard she tried, most men just scared her. “I’m being silly,” she sighed, laughing nervously. “It was nothing, really. He just seemed…well, sort of intense.”
“Did he say or do anything to you?” he asked, his body taught with anger. Where this protectiveness was coming from, he didn’t know, but he was hard pressed to push it back. This woman made him want to protect her.
Liz took another sip of her wine and smiled. “Really, it was nothing.”
Marcus nodded, conceding to her unspoken wishes. He knew that she didn’t want to talk about it and he dropped it. Maybe he was overreacting. But Christ, with the way things had been going the last few months you couldn’t be too careful. He shook the thoughts aside and grinned.
“Would you like to dance?”
Liz felt a moment of panic hit her full on. Dance? She had never… She looked down at her hands. “I…I don’t know how,” she admitted quietly.
“You don’t?” Marcus asked in complete surprise.
Liz shook her head and looked back up at him, her face flushing red. “No. I never learned.” She laughed again softly, uncomfortably, and swallowed the lump that had sprung up in her throat. Geez, she was a pitiful loser!
“Well, no time like the present,” he chuckled, standing. He held out his hand to her and she hesitantly took it and stood, just as she heard the buzzing of his cell phone.
“Damn it. Hold on one second.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and glanced at it. His brows furrowed in confusion as he read Brianna’s text.
Need u here as soon as possible. Bri
“Crap!” he mumbled under his breath, knowing that if Brianna needed him back at the B&B, it wasn’t good. He shoved his phone back into his pocket and looked at Liz, his expression apologetic. “I’m really sorry; I’m going to have to take a rain check on our dance. Brianna needs me back at the house.”
“No, that’s fine,” she said, inwardly thankful. She didn’t know if she could take dancing with the man. He did things to her that she really needed to sort through and get a handle on.
He threw some money down on the table and ushered her toward the door with a gentle hand on her back. “Come on, we’ll walk back together.” He didn’t give her a chance to protest. It didn’t matter whether her bumping into the vampire was an accident or not, he didn’t want her walking alone through the city at night.
They walked along in a strangely comfortable silence, and Liz found herself wondering just why Brianna needed Marcus back, and why she had even called him to begin with. She again wondered what their relationship actually was. She silently chastised herself. It was absolutely none of her business! She grunted softy in disgust, angry at herself for even letting herself think about it.
“I really am sorry that we had to leave so abruptly,” Marcus apologized quietly.
“I’m not,” Liz said with a smile, feeling surprisingly at ease with him. She burst out laughing a moment later when his mouth dropped open in surprise.
“Wow, that’s really great for a guy’s ego,” he replied, trying to sound utterly wounded, and actually succeeding.
“That’s not it at all,” she laughed. “I…I just…” She sighed. “I’m just not the most graceful person,” she explained hastily, trying not to let his hurt expression affect her the way that it was. He looked so damned cute. And, how someone so very masculine could even pull that off was totally beyond her. “I would have just embarrassed myself by stepping all over your toes,” she finished with a small shrug.
Marcus’s face broke out in to a grin and he chuckled, low and deep. “I can’t imagine that would have been a problem.”
“Oh, you don’t know me! Trust me when I tell you that I am a walking, talking accident, just waiting to happen. I’ve never really been one to go out and…socialize much, so I’ve never really learned to dance.”
Marcus watched her, studying her intently. The woman was fascinating. She seemed to have a wall built up around her and he just wanted to tear it down….brick by brick.
When they reached the Nightshade, they found Brianna waiting in the foyer, her brows tightly knit with worry. Her eyes widened as Marcus ushered Liz through the doorway ahead of him, her expression one of complete shock. She fidgeted slightly, and plastered a smile on her face.
“I’m so sorry to…um, interrupt your evening,” she stammered, not having the slightest idea what to do or say. She needed to speak to Marcus alone…and now. “I didn’t realize that the two of you were out…”
Marcus chuckled as he closed the door and turned toward Brianna. “I ran into Elizabeth at Café Du Monde,” he explained. He noted the worry in her eyes with a frown. Damn, whatever she needed to tell him, he was sure was not going to be good. Thinking quickly, he turned to Liz and smiled. “Again, I apologize for having to end the evening early, but Brianna needs me to check something downstairs, and I guess I have been elected Mr. Fix It tonight.”
Liz forced a smile, feeling the tension in the air like a dark, looming, storm cloud. It was undeniable. She shrugged it off as none of her business and turned toward the steps. “Really, it’s completely okay, I understand. Thank you again for introducing me to Jazz. It was amazing. Now, if you two will excuse me, I think I’ll go relax in a bath before going to bed. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight,” they called in unison, then watched and waited in silence until she had disappeared upstairs.
Finally, Marcus turned to Brianna, his mouth set in a tight line. “What is going on?” he asked, feeling her unease as if it were a palpable thing–and it was unnerving him to no end.
Brianna pulled him a
long through the kitchen and down the steps to the basement. “I need to talk to you,” she explained. “And, well, we might as well talk down here so you don’t look like a complete liar.” She began to pace, her mouth set in a frown.
“Just what in the hell is going on, Bri?” he asked, his hand going to her arm and stilling her.
Brianna took a deep breath and sighed. “Maybe it’s nothing,” she began, her voice low. “I mean, it is New Orleans, and we have weird shit going down around here all the time, but…”
Marcus felt a tightening in his gut. “What, Bri?”
“Sebastian called me. They found a body.” When she saw his confusion, she took a deep breath and pushed on. “She was drained of blood and…basically ripped to shreds.”
“What?” Marcus breathed, his entire body tensing up as the overwhelming urge to jump right out of his skin overtook him. Just what in the Hell was going on now? “Do they know who it was?” he asked, and the thought that Liz had bumped into a vampire earlier in the evening sent shockwaves through his body as it crept across his mind. It couldn’t have been the same one. Could it? He felt a shudder run across his spine.
Brianna shook her head slowly. “The…the body was too badly mangled,” she whispered. “And there was no ID. It will be days before they will be able to identify her, if at all. Sebastian has friends…and because of the state of the body, they called him immediately.”
“What else?” he asked, knowing that there was something more that she was keeping from him.
“Sebastian said that the word getting around is…that this could quite possibly be the vampire that we are looking for. I guess they’ve seen this before. It’s kind of like his calling card, so to speak. Luckily, there are those on the Police force that are…shall we say, privy to supernatural happenings and keep deaths like these on the down low. But, they have come across this before and...” She shook her head and shuddered. “Draining them isn’t enough for this sadistic bastard; he likes to tear them apart as well.”
“Shit,” Marcus breathed. This was not good.
Liz closed her eyes and let the fragrant water soothe her tired muscles. Her mind was going in a million different directions at once, and she was trying with everything that she had to calm the storm of emotions rushing through her. Thoughts of Marcus, the tension she felt coming from Brianna, not to mention her worry for Angie, filled her head. Why hadn’t she shown up? Was she hurt? Had the bastard that she was involved with discovered that she was planning to leave and hurt her? The possibilities were endless, and none of them was the least bit comforting.
She felt a shiver run across her body at the thought. Damn it! She only hoped that for whatever reason, the woman just couldn’t meet her and would contact her in the next day or two. She sighed and slipped under the water, just trying to relax.
She surfaced and breathed in deeply, doing the exercises she had learned when her panic attacks hit. The deep, slow breaths helped to calm her frazzled nerves. Feeling much better, she stood and grabbed a towel, drying herself quickly and slipping into her t-shirt and panties. She ran a brush through her hair and headed into the bedroom and the wonderfully inviting bed. She stopped short and glanced at the French doors. Maybe some fresh air before she went to sleep would help.
Liz walked over and stepped out onto the veranda, breathing in the warm air greedily, loving the scent that floated on the slight breeze. She couldn’t even begin to name the flowers that filled the garden below; she only knew that their fragrance was absolutely intoxicating. She looked up at the stars and smiled, loving the peace that they brought. As a little girl, one of her favorite things had always been to lay down in the back yard of whatever foster home she was living in at the time and just stare up at the night sky. The twinkling of the stars had always seemed so alive in the dark, so safe, and she had made so many wishes on them.
The hair on the back of Liz’s neck prickled as the overwhelming feeling of being watched hit her. She searched the yard but saw nothing below in the shadows, yet the feeling persisted. Gooseflesh ran along her arms and she gasped when she saw a shadow move behind a tree at the far end of the grounds. She wrapped her arms around herself and stepped back inside, making sure to lock the door as she did.
“Come on, Elizabeth,” she whispered shakily, trying desperately not to panic. “It was probably just an animal.” She held on to that thought as she crawled into bed, pulling the sheets up to her chin. “Stop imagining things,” she murmured, and closed her eyes, begging sleep to take her.
Chapter Seven
“Lucas,” Desmond called from his study as his friend passed by the door. Luke stopped and leaned in.
“What’s up?”
“Please, come and sit. I need to speak with you.” Desmond swiped his hand across his eyes and waited for his friend to take a seat.
“Damn,” Luke grumbled as he settled his long frame in the chair across from Desmond, stretching his legs out in front of him and crossing his arms over his broad chest. “Why do I have the sinking feeling that my pleasant evening is about to an end?”
Desmond sighed heavily and leaned his head back against the chair. “It might be nothing, but we just cannot take any chances. I just got off of the phone with Marcus, and…well, there’s been a death.”
Luke sat up straight and leaned forward–his amber eyes glowing. “What? Who?”
“They don’t know yet, but the body was mauled… and drained of blood.”
“Shit! What, do they think it was a Bloodsucker and a Were?” he bit out. This was definitely not something that Luke wanted to hear. Christ!
Desmond shook his head. “No, they believe it is the pair that we are looking for. It seems as if our vampire likes to play with his food.”
Luke felt the bile rise in his throat as his stomach churned. What kind of sadistic, twisted bastard were they looking for? He knew that with the word getting around that there were big changes coming, that the evil beings out there were going to become desperate, but ripping a victim to shreds! Really?
“What do we need to do?” he asked, feeling that all too familiar inkling of unease creeping up his spine. Shit! Here he had been hoping that this asshole wouldn’t be a problem! Crap, their luck just sucked!
“Nothing we can do at the moment. I just want you to be aware of what is happening. Just make sure that the pack knows to keep watch with extra care. As I’ve said, I don’t believe they would try to come here, but we can’t be too careful. Who knows what they are capable of now that word is getting out. Desperation breeds stupidity.”
Luke scowled, wanting nothing more than to get his hands on the filthy bloodsucker who had nearly whipped him to death. The coward hadn’t even stayed after he had done his dirty work! He had slunk away like the vermin that he was to let the witches handle the rest. Damn it! He wanted to rip the bastard apart!
“Easy, Luke.” Desmond reprimanded softly, knowing exactly what was going through his friends mind. He could understand Luke’s need for vengeance, but now was not the time to be running off half-cocked. “Marcus is keeping me abreast of everything that is happening. We just need to stay calm and focus.”
Luke nodded stiffly, not liking this in the least. How could Des even begin to understand? He hadn’t been there when that slime had flogged him to within an inch of his life.
“I do understand,” Desmond murmured, his voice laced with compassion, and Luke rolled his eyes. “I do not need to be able to read your thoughts to know what is going through that thick head of yours, my friend,” Desmond said, a slight grin forming on his lips.
Desmond very rarely, if ever, read human thoughts, feeling it an invasion of their privacy. Luke knew that it was a small relief to his friend that Supernaturals were beyond his realm of talents, although, if truth were to be told, Desmond was skilled in reading people without any special vampire senses, supernatural or otherwise.
“Your depth of perception really sucks. You know that?” he grumbled, and Desmond burst
out laughing.
“It does come in handy when I need to know what my hot-headed friend is stewing about.” His tone grew serious once again, and he held Luke’s gaze. “But in all seriousness, Luke, we can’t be rash. We need to keep our wits about us, and I know that it isn’t easy at the moment.”
Both he and Luke were strung tight with worry over their mates’ safety, and Desmond knew that it would be so easy to make a mistake. They needed to keep their mate’s and their children safe.
“I know,” Luke conceded with a heavy sigh. “I just want to tear that bastard to shreds.”
“As do I, but Marcus will handle it. And, if he needs us, he’ll call.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Luke growled, “Sure he will. You know your brother as well as anybody, Des. He worries about everyone but himself. Do you really think he would take the chance of either one of us leaving our mates to go help? Now this shit? It’s not bad enough that he has a female with him, but if this is the same bloodsucker, and they are starting to kill out in the open, it can only get worse.”
Desmond ran his hand over his eyes once again, and sighed. “You are most likely right,” he agreed softly. “But we just cannot risk making a mistake. We need to trust that Marcus will find out who these two are. I just hate that he has do this alone. Sometimes he takes on too much.” He did know his brother. He knew how he had dealt with the guilt of losing his fiancée for over two hundred years, and Desmond knew that it was a guilt that weighed heavily on him. Marcus was terrified of losing someone else he cared for because of his misguided feelings of failure. If this pair was responsible for this murder… shit! The last thing he wanted was for Marcus to put himself in danger because he wanted to protect them. His brother deserved more.
Desmond wanted nothing more than for his brother to find happiness, and his thoughts immediately went to Abby. If only Marcus could find what he and Abby had, or Luke and Kat for that matter. His brother deserved that.
Marcus' Mortal Embrace (Book 3) (The Supernatural Desire Series) Page 6