“Yeah, I’m not feeling so well,” he admitted, as his eyes started to close.
“Flynn, stay with me,” Jacques ordered, watching the man’s eyes pop back open. “Here, feed,” he offered.
Leaning down, Jacques lifted Flynn’s head to his throat. There was no hesitation, and he began to drink. Jacques relaxed into it, noticing that the sensation was incredibly pleasurable, despite their surroundings.
“I’ll make sure that everyone gets home,” he promised. “You can sleep.”
Flynn knew why he wanted him to zone out. Removing that blade was going to suck. He removed his fangs from Jacques’s flesh. “Just do it,” he hissed.
Jacques wasn’t going to like hurting his mate.
This was going to be tricky.
“I trust you.”
With those words, the vampyre got ready. Reaching into Flynn’s stomach, he pulled some of his mate’s flesh to the side. “I’m sorry, Flynn,” he whispered, pulling free the silver blade.
Flynn fought not to scream.
It wasn’t easy.
Blood and flesh made a sickening sucking nose as he freed the silver from his body.
Flynn fought to stay awake as the room rolled in gray swirls. If he passed out, Jacques would ride his ass for the rest of eternity.
‘Yes, I will,’ he silently teased.
As if on cue, Jolie sat up, rolling to her feet to move to her wounded mate. She had enough energy, and Mathew had reassured her that he was okay. For now, the most injured needed her attention.
‘Flynn,’ she whispered into his mind. ‘Are you okay, handsome?’
He laughed out loud. ‘I’ve been better.’
Jolie dropped to her knees by his side. Immediately, he pulled her down to cradle her bloody body against his. It was the only thing in the world that would give him peace.
‘You better not leave me. I’ll be really pissed.’
He grinned. ‘I’m aware. I’d like to point out that even at death’s door, you’re bossy.’
She was pleased to hear him joke around. That was her Flynn. Now, she could relax. He’d survive.
‘Jacques, can you get Mathew out of here? He’s barely awake. He’s going to need to be carried out.’
“What about you and Flynn?” He hated to point out the obvious, but if it came down to losing someone in that room, Jacques wouldn’t let it be either of them. They were his priority. Mathew…well, honestly, he wasn’t.
‘Take him first. Flynn will keep me company, won’t you, big guy?’ she asked.
Flynn protested. “Take Jolie first. I can get Mathew,” he offered, sitting up.
Jolie stopped her mate by giving him a kiss.
‘Take Mathew. I’ll keep Flynn busy.’
Jacques obeyed. At the coffin, he freed the other vampyre. Once in his arms, he moved as quickly as he could to get back to them. “I’ll be right back. Go to sleep, Flynn,” he suggested, seeing the pain on the man’s face. A kiss from Jolie wasn’t going to cut it.
Not this time.
Jolie waited until Flynn leaned back and closed his eyes. Only then did she relax and join him. It wasn’t until she heard the movement in the room that she knew they were still in danger.
Shit!
“Well, well, well. It appears that you’ve been left behind with only a wounded human mate, and no one to protect you,” taunted Belladonna.
Jolie glanced over at her. If looks could kill, she was sure the other woman would melt into the floor. Belladonna was just lucky she was drained or there would be more blood spilled.
“Look who I have?”
Jolie glanced at the woman Belladonna was dragging with her. She was older and fit the description of Margharite.
Well, mystery solved.
“Your mate killed mine,” Belladonna admitted. “I wish I could be angry, but he was getting tiresome, and while alive, he did serve his purpose. I think I’ll leave this human and take you with me this time. I can make you help me now.”
Jolie tensed. She knew she was practically empty of energy. There would be no calling Death to save them.
It looked like she was going to have to protect them until Jacques returned.
Yeah, they were screwed and likely dead.
Just as she prepared to stand, Flynn sat up. His gun was drawn, and he was firing off the silver bullets.
While his aim was not on target, it did the job. Belladonna took a chest hit and released the human in her grasp.
Jacques came running, his fangs out as he was prepared to kill.
Belladonna screamed in pain, leaving the human behind. “Next time, Jolie, you won’t survive,” she promised, as she vanished into the other room.
Jolie pulled Flynn onto her lap, resting his head there so she could stroke his hair and whisper words of love.
‘Thank you for saving us,’ she said to him, trying to share what little energy she had remaining.
‘Anytime, but it’s your turn now. I’m about to pass out like a girl.’
With that, he was gone.
“Let’s get you out of here,” Jacques stated to Jolie. “I’ll carry Flynn. Can you walk?” he asked.
Jolie nodded. Then she pointed at the woman, reminding her other mate that she was there.
“Are you Margharite?” Jacques switched his focus to the woman on the floor.
She nodded hesitantly.
“We’ll take you back to our home,” he stated, noticing that she began backing away. It had to be a rough night for her, so he couldn’t blame her.
Jacques knew what to do. “I’m Jasmine’s brother. Look into my eyes. I think you’ll see the familiarity.”
The woman did as he asked, and Jacques shamelessly used vampyre tricks on her.
They didn't have time to play around.
Flynn was in bad shape.
“Come. I have to get us out of here before she decides to return.”
Jacques carried their mate to the car, and when they were all safely in, he glanced over at Mina. “Go!”
‘We need to rest,’ Jolie whispered into his mind, as she lay holding Flynn on the seat. Mathew was behind them, and he had gone to death in order to flee the fear that would now be haunting him.
“We need blood,” he stated.
Mina was driving, Flynn was still bleeding, and Jolie was in no condition to share.
Margharite turned in the seat. “You saved me. It’s the least I can do,” she offered.
Jacques took her wrist and began feeding. Immediately, he felt better. He could also detect his sister’s scent on the woman, and didn't feel the need to worry any more.
When he was done, and they were home, Jacques knew that he needed help.
“Mina, go get Clariel and Trina. I’m too depleted to carry everyone in.”
“Yes, Jacques,” she replied, racing for the house.
It didn't take long for Trina and Clariel to appear in the garage. “Yes, Master?” they asked, staring incredulously at the state of everyone in the vehicle.
They were a mess.
“I need you to carry Flynn to our quarters please. Be cautious of his stomach. It’s an ugly wound. Trina, take Mathew to your bedroom. He’s going to need to wake with familiar faces around him. If he comes to beside Flynn, or myself, he may freak out.”
Yeah, and neither man wanted him in their bed.
That was a line no one was crossing, wounds or not.
“Yes, Master,” said Clariel, as she delicately lifted Flynn into her arms.
All the way up the stairs, she tried not to jostle him. Once in their room, Clariel wasn’t sure what to do.
Should she wait?
Should she help him get cleaned up?
Gently, she touched his cheek with hesitant fingertips.
When he opened his eyes, they were filled with so much pain. Her heart ached for him.
How could it not?
Her attachment to this human was like none she had ever felt before. It was her hope that her fat
her would’ve been just like him. At least that’s what she daydreamt about.
“Can you help me get undressed?” he asked, knowing that he was a bloody mess. Modesty be damned. Soon, Jolie would be coming to bed, and he was in far worse shape.
Clariel nodded and with delicate fingers, she began pulling away the damaged fabric.
He simply closed his eyes, trying to ignore the pain.
Clariel catered to him like she knew her mistress would’ve wanted. This man was indeed precious to their family.
When he was free from his clothes, he reached for her hand. “Please, where’s Jolie?” he asked.
Before Clariel could reply, Jacques spoke up, “Here she is, Flynn. We’re right here with you.”
Standing her up, he helped Jolie strip out of her bloody clothes. Normally, he’d take her to the bath, but she was focused on Flynn.
As soon as she was free, Jolie crawled across the bed to her wounded mate.
“Energy,” she whispered through her damaged throat.
Clariel placed her hand on both of them and offered them what she had.
When she was done, she vacated the bed.
Flynn was in excruciating pain. The energy dulled some of it, but not enough.
“I need blood,” he whispered, holding her close. A part of him was reliving the hit she took back at Belladonna’s home. It scared him shitless.
“I’ll feed the master,” Clariel offered.
Jolie shook her head. “Thank you, but I have this,” she stated. There was something possessive in her that welled up. The thought of either of her mates feeding from another woman angered her.
No, they were hers to care for and hers alone.
Guiding his mouth to her throat, Jolie waited as he delicately bit into her flesh. The sucking was timed to the beats of her heart. It warmed Jolie, making her shiver.
“Jacques, I placed Mathew in our bed,” stated Trina.
“Thank you, little one,” he offered.
Trina smiled from her spot on the bottom of the bed. “I will go out tonight and get rid of the betrayer’s body.”
“No, I’ll handle it,” Jacques stated. He had a plan. “I want you to stay in with everyone and stand guard.”
“Yes, Master,” they said together.
The two vampyres dismissed themselves to head back to their room. Tonight, they’d watch over Mathew.
“I love you both,” Flynn whispered, touching Jolie’s chilly flesh, and then Jacques’s warm arm. “I’m glad we’re home.”
He patted his hand. “I feel the same, Flynn,” he replied.
Jolie kissed them both, and then slipped into the darkness to heal. She was beat down and abused.
Now, she needed to rest in the solitude of death’s embrace. For once, she looked forward to it.
“Be safe,” Flynn ordered, knowing Jacques would understand that was directed at him.
He grinned wickedly. “I think I can handle myself. This is kind of my thing. You hunt killers, and I kill hunters.”
Flynn cuddled down into the bedding. He wanted to argue, but he was too tired. Jacques wasn’t the only killer.
Not anymore…
When they both slipped into slumber, he stood to change from his bloody clothes. Tonight, there was a mission.
And the outcome was due.
CHAPTER seventeen
There would be hell to pay. Enough was enough. Jacques was sick and tired of his mates bleeding by the hands of others. Tonight, he would kill two birds with one stone. He was going back to the scene of the bloodbath. There, he would leave Belladonna a little gift.
After loading the dead human up, he headed toward the house. There was anger brewing in his gut. He was beginning to not only loathe humans, but his own kind too.
What had happened to honor?
Trust?
The bond of their species?
Jacques was beginning to suspect that he was a dying breed. Thankfully, their other mate was someone who he not only liked, but loved.
When they returned home, Jacques was going to discuss backing away from their kind…for a while.
Something was happening to their people. It was a cut throat world that he didn't like--at all.
Loyalty was a dying trait.
As the house appeared on the horizon, Jacques armed himself with one of Flynn’s guns. While he preferred hand to hand, he wasn’t stupid.
He was weak.
So, he needed all the help he could get.
Parking in the shadows, he scanned the house that they’d just left. There was no sign of Belladonna, or any other vampyres for that matter. She must have gone into hiding, or like them, had a backup house prepared in case they were forced to escape.
He couldn’t blame her.
It would be in her best interest to stay hidden. By entering their home, abducting their family member, and also wounding his mates, she’d marked herself.
Eventually, their paths would cross again, and she’d be eliminated. Until then, he was going to make her life much more difficult and add fuel to her funeral pyre.
With the betrayer in hand, literally, he moved through the shadows and into the house. Once inside the basement, he dumped her body into the coffin--the one that had once had been Mathew’s prison.
How very fitting.
With fangs, he tore viciously at his own wrist, blood splattered across the woman, the floor, and walls before healing without a mark.
“You shouldn’t have screwed with my family,” he whispered, to no one in particular. “That’s a death sentence.”
Finally, to tie the plan up with a vicious red bow, he went to the upper chambers and dialed the police. Altering his voice, using vampyre trickery, he whispered hoarsely into the phone, begging for help.
Perfect.
Belladonna’s lair was about to be compromised. For her sake, she’d better have another place to lay low.
After the scene had been set, the body, the blood, and now the call, it was time to leave. Hastily, he escaped into the darkness. It was time to return to his home to ensure his family would remain safe.
The drive there was filled with deep contemplation. Jacques had to wonder if Paris was going to be a horrible decision on their behalf.
So far, it looked like it.
Once inside, Jacques checked on everyone before locking the place down.
Now, it was time to do what he did best.
Taking a seat, he waited patiently for the players to collide.
Belladonna and Detective Montclair had a date.
With destiny.
The huntress was now the hunted.
* * * H a r c o u r t e * * *
One Hour Later
Detective Montclair walked through the space before heading toward the basement of the spacious home. At that moment, he knew where the vile deeds would be found. The filthy killers would want to be in the deepest, darkest bowels of that hell house. He could hear the officers milling about chaotically downstairs, shouting about the atrocities.
His heart soared.
They’d found another.
When he arrived down there, he saw the coffin splattered with blood. It horrified and excited him all at once.
Almost automatically, he pulled his cross out of his shirt to kiss the crucifix as he attempted to ensure his safety in the vampyre den of iniquity. Now, he just had to find the family it belonged to, and they would be marked for death.
“What happened here?” he asked the uniformed officer.
“It looks like this girl was tortured and bled out here in this coffin. Her throat is ripped apart.”
Montclair inspected the box, examining all the blood covering the girl’s body. It excited him that this wasn’t just another crime scene. He leaned over the wounds in the woman’s neck and inspected the punctures.
He knew it.
They had a winner.
“Bag everything in this house as evidence. I want the name of the owner, and I want it before dawn-
-picture included for a visual ID.”
“What do you think did this? Some animal?” asked the one officer.
Oh, he wished he could tell them all the truth.
“It was most likely a ritual killing. As for the coffin, some people have incredibly sick fetishes.” Montclair smiled at the officer. “We all know that there is no such thing as vampyres. I happen to be acquainted with the foremost expert in deviant behavior from the states. I believe I can get her to look at the scene.”
His heart pounded in his chest. Oh, he would get Jolie Harcourte there, and then he would see how good she truly was at a crime scene. This was where she put her money where her very sexy mouth was.
With that, he walked out of the house. The detective had a few phone calls to make. The first to find out information on this house and its owner. The second would be to his wife to let her know they had another vampyre to hunt.
* * * H a r c o u r t e * * *
Belladonna watched angrily as the police swarmed across her home and around her property. There was no doubt who was responsible for siccing the humans on her.
She would kill Jolie Harcourte’s entire family before this was finished.
There was no doubt in her mind that Jolie could control Death when she needed to. Why she didn't use it to kill her, was puzzling.
Yet, it all reminded her of the eighteen hundreds when she controlled Vanth. That was a time of power and strength, like none she had ever felt. Those years went by too fast.
Oh, but they were coming back.
There was no doubt.
She would figure out something to control Jolie’s power. There had to be a way.
Belladonna watched the police carry a body bag from her home, and she was confused. There should be no remains left to transport. Vampyres decayed within an hour after they died, her guardians would be dust, and Morden would have the same fate too.
Then suddenly, Belladonna realized who they had taken out in the black bag.
Her betrayer.
It infuriated her, since that was the only way into Jolie’s house.
Dangerous Misery (The Harcourte Vampyre Society Book 3) Page 29