It wasn’t rare that she dealt with strange men, but most of them were eager to leave their contact information behind. At the very least, they sent assistants to leave their contact information behind.
“Whatever,” she muttered.
The bell above the door jingled, and Jade looked up. “Dale!” she said with a warm smile. “Where have you been hiding?” She came around the corner to hug the old man, one of the few connections she had left of her grandfather.
“My dear,” Dale said as he stroked her hair. She could feel the tremors and his body, and she frowned. Clearly, he wasn’t doing well. “I’d heard that you opened a store with your grandfather’s books. This is quite an impressive place.”
“Thank you! It’s only been four months, but I’m really getting the hang of it!”
He smiled feebly, but there was a look of worry in his eyes. “Did you keep any of his books in storage, or did you sell them all?”
Jade bit her bottom lip. “I haven’t sold his entire collection, but what’s left is on display. Was there a certain book you wanted? I’m so sorry. I would have absolutely put it aside for you! Give me the title, and I’ll look it up for you.”
He waved his hands and shook his head. “It’s nothing like that. It’s just that some of his books are more valuable than you might think. Have you had any issues since you opened the store?”
“Issues? Like what?”
“Break-ins. Threats. Strange people coming in?”
Jade laughed. “Dale, it’s an antique bookstore. Lots of strange people come in. But I’ve never had anything to worry about. I’ve priced all these books. While plenty are old, I don’t have anything here that’s worth millions of dollars.”
His hand whipped out, and he gripped her arm tightly. “Jade, if I thought for a second that I could convince you to shut this store down, I would. Those books were never meant to be sold. Your grandfather told your father that, and I wish more than anything that your father had passed along that information to you.”
Jade gently wrenched away. Dale sometimes had some episodes of dementia and early onset Alzheimer’s. “Dale, it’s just a bunch of old dusty books. It’s fine,” she said softly. “Did you drive here? Can I call someone to pick you up?”
He frowned. “Be careful, Jade. You’re putting yourself in harm’s way. You must be on your toes at all times.”
“I’m going to be fine, Dale. Trust me. Nothing here is worth that much, okay?”
He gave her one final look of concern before he kissed her on the forehead and slipped out the door. She watched out the window to make sure he got to his car safely before shrugging it off. Clearly, the storm was bringing out the strange and paranoid.
Chapter Two
The stench of alcohol and cigarettes surrounded him, but Damien Cladeaux was used to it. It was almost like home, but even it didn’t do anything to dull his inner turmoil. For decades, the same night haunted him over and over again.
“We could have it all, Damien. We could roam the streets freely again. How could that not be something that you want?”
“We do roam the streets freely, brother. Why can’t you accept an era of freedom and peace?”
“Freedom and peace? You move every ten years so people don’t become suspicious that you’re not aging. You haven’t joined in on the old celebrations in decades. You haven’t truly feasted since the turn of the century.”
“Humans are our equals.”
“And they should be our slaves. You’ll never be by my side.”
“I am loyal to the Slavante Brotherhood.”
“And what about me, Damien? Would you kill your flesh and blood for a seat at the head of the table?”
He tossed back another glass of whiskey and knocked the empty glass on the bar. He could not kill his brother, and now more than a few humans had paid the price.
And some of the brotherhood as well.
Every day, he remembered raising the sword to give his brother an honorable ending. And every day, he relived the moment he’d put his sword down and slipped away in the shadows, condemning his brother’s future victims.
Cresher had managed to call forth a demon. And the demon had called a nest of hybrids that destroyed many. The only bright side was that it drew his second hand man to Sierra, his Coyquiha, a hybrid’s better half.
And Cresher hadn’t summoned a demon just to kill. He experimented with the demon’s blood, mixing it with a human to see the reaction. It caused Lana to morph into a killing machine. Thankfully, she focused only on protecting her own love and destroyed the demon instead. The rancid blood dissipated, and she married Cole, another brother in the group.
And now there was no nest of hybrids and no demon to protect Cresher. This was Damien’s chance to act, but Cresher had disappeared. No one had heard from him in months.
With nothing better to do, Damien drank.
“Don’t you look good enough to eat?”
Damien spared a quick look to his left as the sultry voice wrapped around him. A beautiful young black woman dressed in a skin tight red dress took the seat next to him. The look she gave him was full of seduction and the promise of a night he would remember for a long time.
“He already has a date tonight.”
Damien cursed as two familiar shadows flocked behind the woman. She cast one look at the men and quickly slid off the stool. “He’s all yours.”
Damien pounded another one as Preston and Cole slid onto the barstools. “I thought I told you two that I wanted to be alone tonight,” he muttered.
“I don’t think you going home with her is considered alone,” Preston said gruffly. He held his hand up to the bartender, pointed to Damien, and slashed his finger across his throat.
Apparently, Damien was cut off. “Don’t you two have wives at home now,” he said as he glared.
“Yes, and the sooner we get home, the happier they’ll be. Pay your tab. We need to talk some place more private,” Cole muttered.
“If this is about my drinking, I’ve told you two time and time again…”
“It’s about Cresher.”
Damien immediately reached for his wallet. If Cresher had surfaced, Damien was ready to act. This had gone on for far too long. He tossed far too much money on the counter and followed his two best men out. The rain was still pounding on the streets as they folded themselves into a car.
“Has he surfaced?” Damien demanded.
“An elderly man came into the station this morning ranting that his best friend’s granddaughter was in danger. The granddaughter owns an antique bookstore, and we went out to talk with her. She claims the man is simply disoriented, but I pulled the tapes just to make sure there wasn’t something strange happening. Cresher was her first client today,” Cole muttered.
“Did the man recognize Cresher?” Damien asked.
“No, and when we asked for specifics, the man clammed up. Said we’d never believe him anyways. The bookstore owner seems to have no idea what’s going on, but if she did, she wouldn’t talk to us.”
Preston shifted in his seat. “I called someone that I know who deal in rare books. They said her shop is only a few months old and most of the collection comes from her grandfather. The books themselves are fairly inexpensive in the scheme of antique books, but they are priceless to a small group of collectors. She’s not dealing in first editions or ancient manuscripts. It’s mostly just journals.”
Damien sat back in the seat and frowned. “I have most of the notable old books. What could he be possibly looking for in an antique bookstore?”
“Maybe he’s not looking for a book,” Cole said darkly. “Maybe he’s just there for the girl. She’s not part of any hybrid family. I checked. But that doesn’t mean that she’s not valuable to him. Some of my contacts say that these bookstores are a great way for pockets of criminals to ship very rare and expensive books. The shipment looks legit, and they track it down and buy it for pennies. So we don’t have any way of knowing whe
ther she’s legit or not.”
“Well? What are we waiting for? Let’s go check it out.”
Preston hesitated. “The other brothers are concerned.”
Damien stiffened in rage, but there was really nothing he could be upset about. He was supposed to kill Cresher decades ago, and he didn’t. All of those deaths were his fault. He couldn’t blame the others for wondering if he could finish the job now. “I just want this to be over,” he said tiredly.
“We’re not concerned that you can’t follow through,” Cole said as he started the car. “We’re concerned that you’re too drunk to keep from getting yourself killed.”
“If that were the case, I’d be dead already.”
“True enough,” Preston muttered.
Damien ignored the comment and settled back. “What’s the girl’s name?”
“Jade Morgan.”
Jade Morgan. “Never heard of her.”
Jade cradled the phone between her ear and shoulder. “I don’t know, Mom. I mean, the police came to the shop yesterday. They said Dale went to them and claimed that I was in trouble. They took video footage of my shop. I couldn’t tell if they wanted to protect me or arrest me. Are you sure you don’t know anything about these books? I’m going to be really upset if I open up one and find drugs or something.”
“Jade, I’ve already told you. I didn’t know much about Darren’s father. Darren never really talked about him. Dale’s an old man. He’s probably just mixing up information in his head. I wouldn’t worry about it, honey.”
Jade sighed as she hefted another box on the counter. “Well, now I’m worried about Dale. He’s all alone, and he still travels so much, and you know he’s not well. We should have done more before Dad died. He listened to Dad.”
“Sweetheart, if it makes you feel better, I’ll call Dale today. He’ll probably not even going to remember the event. Maybe I can get the number of a relative of his that might be able to convince him that it’s time to see a doctor.”
“Thank, Mom.” Jade carefully cut into the box as she said her goodbyes. Hanging up the phone, she pulled out the three leather books inside.
Adjusting her black-framed glasses, she entered the account numbers in the computer and set them aside. She repeated the process with the second box before shelving the books. She was several stacks back when she heard the bell on the door.
“I’ll be there in just a minute,” she called out as she hefted the large books on the shelf.
Scurrying around the corner to greet the guests, she ran into something warm and solid. Shrieking, she fell back only to have two hands grip her tightly just before hit anything.
“Goodness,” she muttered as she looked up. Beautiful grey eyes. Jet Black hair. Strong chin. High cheekbones.
Hard body.
The man pulled her up effortlessly and stared at her. “Are you okay?”
She shook her head as she pulled herself out of the sudden erotic daydream that popped into her head. “Ah, yes,” she said breathlessly. “I’m so sorry. Most people that come in don’t really browse, so I figured you’d be waiting for me up front. I’m Jade.”
“Damien.”
He stared at her and offered no additional information. She cleared her throat nervously. “Damien. What can I do for you?”
“As it so happens, I think I’m just here to browse.”
She smiled warmly. “There is something so exciting about getting lost among books for a bit. Feel free to take a look around. If you have any questions, just give me a shout. I’m doing some stocking.”
Jade stood a second longer staring into those eyes before she forced herself to move away. If she started being creepy, no one would buy any books from her. Still, she kept one eye on him while she unloaded another box.
Frowning, she pulled out the first book. “What the hell is this?” she murmured. There was an odd set of symbols on the front. She pulled up her computer and checked her order. It was only for two boxes. So where had this one come from?
Grabbing the phone, she called the collector. “Hi Jim, it’s Jade. First of all, thank you so much for the books. They’re in great shape, but I think you might have made a mistake. I ordered seven books, but you sent me eight. I’ve never heard of Ormassus Lenthys. Did you send it to me by mistake?”
She gasped as the customer in the store suddenly appeared at the desk. Damn, he was fast. “No? Are you sure?” she asked as Jim assured her that he’d only shipped two boxes.
There were something intense in Damien’s eyes, and she slowly hung up the phone. “Did you find something you wanted?” she asked softly.
“Where did you get that book?” he said in a low voice.
A light bulb went off in her head. “I think it was a mistake. Do you have a brother? I swear there was a man in here yesterday who looks quite a bit like you.”
His eyes widened. “You did meet with Cresher.”
“Oh.” Jade smiled. “You are his brother. That’s great because he didn’t leave me his name or contact information, but he was looking to add to his collection. I’m not sure where this book came from, but he might really like it. Let me do some research to find out who sent it to…” she reached for the phone and gasped when Damien suddenly ripped the receiver out of the wall. She stumbled back in fear. “Or I don’t have to. That’s cool too,” she mumbled. Immediately, Dale’s warning echoed in his head. She was in danger.
“You will tell me everything my brother said. Word for word,” Damien hissed.
Jade put her hands up. “Look. I’m not trying to get in the middle of some family feud. If you want the book, you’re welcome to buy it. I really don’t care.”
“Don’t move,” he muttered as he spun the book around and opened it. She watched his face pale as he flipped through the pages. “Fuck. We need to leave. Now.”
“What?” Jade pressed up again the wall. “We?”
“Yes. We. You see, I don’t know how you’re involved, but I don’t intend to let you out of my sight until I figure it out. Let’s go.”
“Okay, see I’m not involved in anything. I just own a bookstore. You can have the book. It’s not even in my inventory yet, so it is not harming me in anyways. Take the book, but I’m not going anywhere with you,” Jade babbled. She heard the fear in her own voice, and she struggled to gain control of herself.
She gasped as his eyes suddenly turned black. “Almoro Assiati,” he said in a low voice. A dull ache spread behind her eyes, and she stared at him. His eyes were turning black.
“What are you doing? How are you doing that with your eyes?”
His jaw dropped open. For a moment, they only stared at each other. “I don’t have time for this,” he suddenly hissed. He reached over and grabbed her arm.
“Ow,” she said. She tried to pull away, but he had her in an iron grip. “This is kidnapping!” She opened her mouth and started to scream at the top of her lungs.
“Damn it,” he swore. Pulled her over the counter, he slapped a hand over her mouth. “Listen to me, Jade Morgan. If you are as innocent as you say, then your life is in danger. And if you’re not, then trust me, no one is coming to save you.”
Jade stopped screaming. “How do you know my name?” she whispered.
“Grab the book, get in the car with me, and I’ll tell you everything,” he said.
She laughed shortly. “I actually really don’t care. I’m not going with you.” The dull ache behind her eyes suddenly doubled, and Jade grunted as she reached up and grabbed her head. “God, are you doing this to me?” she gasped.
“Cresher,” he growled as he pulled something out of his pocket. Jade felt a sharp pain in her neck, and her world went black.
Chapter Three
“Damn it, Damien. You do realize that kidnapping is illegal, right?”
“Calm down, Cole. He may have just saved this woman’s life.”
“Is this what I think it is?”
“Is she going to be okay?”
; The voices, both male and female, seem to come from all direction. Jade slowly opened her eyes and tried to focus on her surroundings. Everything was blurry. She reached over for her glasses, but instead of her nightstand, she just gripped air.
“What?” she murmured.
“She’s waking up.”
The familiar male voice penetrated through the haze around Jade’s brain, and she jackknifed up with a gasp and squinted. The man from the store, two males, and two females stared at her.
“Glasses,” she croaked. “Aspirin.” Her head was still killing her.
“Ease up, Preston,” Damien snapped.
Suddenly, the pain lessoned. One of the females handed her glasses to her, and Jade pushed them back on her face. She tried to take in her all her surroundings at once.
Dark. Lavish. The cushions under her were plush and comfortable, but there was something off putting about the room. Something made her feel uneasy.
Maybe it was because she was there against her will. She focused on the faces around her and stopped when she got to the man on the left. “You’re the detective,” she sputtered. “What the hell is going on?”
Cole put up his hands. “I know you’re scared, but I need you to listen for a minute. Damien did not kidnap you to harm you. While he shouldn’t have kidnapped you at all, he believed you were in danger.”
“In danger? He drugged me with something,” she squeaked. “Are you mad? He’s the dangerous one!”
“I had to drug you because you’re immune to my power. Apparently, you’re immune to all demonic power,” Damien said as he studied her.
She laughed shortly. “Demonic powers. Right. Well, now that you’ve established that you can’t affect me with your powers, could you just show me the exit, please?”
Damien reached his hand out. He whispered some strange words in a low voice, and a ball of light appeared in his hands. Jade scrambled to her feet. “What the hell is that?” she hissed.
“Preston can manipulate human will. Cole can sense souls. My natural power is dominion over souls, but as the head of a powerful community, I’m gifted with several spells that offer me more power,” Damien said softly. “We are demon hybrids, Jade. And you’ve landed in the middle of a war.”
BILLIONAIRE ROMANCE: The Unforgettable Southern Billionaires: The Complete Collection Boxed Set (Young Adult Rich Alpha Male Billionaire Romance) Page 117