by Lisa Olsen
“Right, I know, it’s not his fault. I’ll see you later. Welcome back to hell, buddy.”
“Stay safe out there,” Bishop cautioned before hanging up.
His next call was to Jenessa, but it went straight to voicemail. “I hope this means you’re laying low. If that’s the case, stay wherever you are, don’t come back to the city unless you hear from either me or Anja that it’s safe. If you need me for anything call, I’ll do the best I can.”
The next conversation would be better served in person, but Bishop stopped himself about halfway to Anja’s house, not sure if he could take showing up to find her and Rob in bed together. Maybe that was selfish of him, but it was an image he’d rather not have burned into his memory, his imagination was troubling enough. Better to give her a heads up, and he dialed her number by heart.
“Bishop?” Anja’s voice came through sounding tired and far away.
“I need to see you right away, can I come over?”
There was a long pause on the line and for a moment he thought the call might have dropped before she came back on again. “It’s kind of late. Can it wait until tomorrow night?”
“Nope.” He could have elaborated, but it was something he really needed to talk to her about in person.
“Is it serious?”
“About a serious as a corpse – if there was anything left to identify as a corpse anyway.” He heard her soft intake of breath, he’d managed to shock her.
“Alright, but not here. I’m on my way to you. Are you at home?”
“I will be in about ten minutes.”
“Great, I’ll meet you there. Bishop… it’s not Jenessa, is it?” There was no mistaking the concern in her voice.
“No, I haven’t been able to reach her. Do you know where she is?”
“Marcus said he’d been trying to get her to leave town for a few days, but I haven’t heard from her since we got back.”
“That’s a good sign then. If she got out a while ago, chances are she’s fine.”
“Whatever it is, it sounds bad.”
“I’ll tell you all about it when you get here.”
“Alright, see you in a few.” Was it bad that the blood ran a little faster through his veins at the prospect of seeing her again?
When her knock came, Bishop was there to pull the door open in a flash, only to find Rob standing there, looking just as eager to see him, practically blocking his view of Anja.
“Hi. Rob needs to do a brief security sweep before I can come in, is that okay?” The top of Anja’s head peeped over Rob’s shoulder.
“Uh, sure… if you think it’s necessary.” Bishop stepped aside, letting the bodyguard in.
“Ain’t my rules, mate,” Rob grumbled, brushing past him to sweep the open floor plan. “You can thank Jakob for the added security protocols.” He disappeared into the bedroom, giving Bishop a few moments of unease.
“Yeah, but… it’s me.”
“I know, but Jakob’s gone way past the deep end these days,” Anja sighed, leaning against the doorjamb. “It’s nothing personal, I promise.”
“All clear, you can come in now,” Rob reported. “I’ll be waiting for you downstairs.”
“Thanks, I won’t be too long. Will I?” Anja turned to Bishop, who gave her a surprised shake of the head. He’d assumed Rob would stay for the entire visit. Had Anja asked for some alone time with him?
“No, this won’t take too long. I know it’s late, thanks for coming over on such short notice.”
“You made it sound important.”
“It is,” he nodded. “Can I get you anything? A glass of wine, juice? O positive?” The corner of his mouth tugged up into a half smile.
“No, thanks. Well… do you have any hot chocolate? I didn’t get to drink mine.”
“I should still have some, yes.” Bishop retreated into the kitchen, glad to have something to do besides stare at her. “I thought maybe you’d still be out celebrating. Did the party wrap up early?”
“It didn’t feel like much of a party after Jakob’s display,” she muttered, taking a seat at the breakfast bar.
“Uh oh, what did I miss?”
Anja went on to describe the interrupted ceremony and the deaths of the three humans at Jakob’s hand. It was a waste of life, it was true, but to be honest, Bishop spent more time watching the pucker of worry that popped up between her brows whenever she said Jakob’s name, and the way she bit the corner of her lip. The death of three feeders troubled him less than Jakob’s disregard for her moment of honor, but he could appreciate how the loss of life would upset the tender hearted Anja.
“Jesus, what the hell was Jakob thinking?” Bishop shook his head, sliding the mug across the counter to her.
“Right?” she nodded enthusiastically. “What kind of a message is that giving people? Like I don’t have enough trouble getting vampires to see how wrong it is to kill people, now he’s using them for party favors.” A shake of the head was given. “How come you left so early?”
“What?” He hadn’t realized she’d seen him there at all.
“I’m sorry, it’s none of my business,” she apologized, only to waffle back again. “Is it because of Laveda?”
“Would it bother you if it was?”
“No, of course not.” The words spilled out quickly, and Anja pressed her lips together afterwards. Bishop wasn’t sure how to take the response. Was she happy or sad that he’d left with Laveda?
“Actually, it sort of ties in with why I asked you to come over tonight.”
“You don’t need my permission.”
“For what?”
“To date Laveda.”
Bishop’s brows inched skyward. “I’m not asking for your permission to date her.”
“Well, you don’t have to rub my nose into it either,” she scowled, clearly offended.
“No… that’s not what this is about. I didn’t take Laveda to the party.”
“But you left with her.”
“Yes, but only because she said we had to.” At Anja’s raised brow he felt compelled to explain. “Not because of that. Because she had a feeling things were going to go badly at the party.”
“Does that happen often?”
“Enough that I’ve learned to trust her hunches.”
“Laveda wasn’t wrong. She might’ve been in danger of ending up like those other humans if she’d stuck around.”
“There’s another reason why she thought I should leave though.”
“I’ll bet,” Anja muttered, barely reaching Bishop’s ears.
“And that’s the reason I had to see you tonight. Anja, this violence against the Order has got to stop.”
“I know, isn’t that why you came back here? To help smooth things over?”
Her faith in him was touching, but Bishop didn’t pause to savor it. “This has gone way beyond my powers of intervention. You’ve got to do something.”
“I know, but I can’t find Byrne anywhere. It’s like the weasel went to ground. Hmm… maybe I should get Gunnar and those guys to comb the sewers, I’ll bet that’s where he’s hiding out. I don’t suppose you guys have any high tech scanners we can use, do you? Sort of like those motion detectors in Aliens, so we can detect life signs down there?”
Bishop laid his hand on the table, which held an array of his personal weaponry. “You’re pretty much looking at the extent of the Order’s resources right now.” That wasn’t strictly true. He knew the others would have their own personal stash of gear, and there was a weapons drop not too far away. But the tech, the labs, the computers, they were all gone.
She stared at him blankly. “I don’t understand.”
“The headquarters building was attacked tonight.”
“Oh my God, was anyone hurt?” Her pretty blue eyes clouded with sympathy.
“We lost Trick and Preacher. At least we’re assuming so, they were in the building when it exploded.”
“There was an explosion?” Her jaw dropped.
“With enough heavy duty explosives to level the place.”
“Holy Hannah, this can’t be happening… How can things fall apart this badly? People are dying now?” Anja buried her face in her hands with a strangled cry before she looked up at him, eyes bright. “What do I do, Bishop? How do I fix this?”
“You can try to appeal to people, get them to stop the violent attacks, let them know the Order won’t be able to sit on something like this. They’re going to have to retaliate and then things will get worse.”
“Oh sure, threaten them, I’m sure that’ll work.”
“It’s not a threat, it’s the truth. I have to think that Frost has already called this in. They won’t leave this unpunished.”
Anja shook her head, reaching out to capture his hand with hers. “The thing is, most of them aren’t involved. They’re good people, Bishop. I’ve talked to them, they want this to be over as much as we do. It’s Byrne and his handful of terrorists, they’re the ones responsible. I don’t know, should I put a bounty out on his head or something?”
Distracted by the feel of her hand on his, it took him a few moments to respond. “That’s an interesting idea. Make it so he’s unable to move freely around. It’ll probably just drive him out of the city, but it could help cut down on the attacks.”
Her teeth worried at her bottom lip. “Maybe, but in the meantime you guys need more immediate assistance.”
“We can tough it out.”
“Easy for you to say, not everyone’s as old as dirt.” Bishop opened his mouth to protest, but she waved him off. “You know what I mean. Listen, put the word out to your team, I’ll offer what Sanctuary I can.”
His brows inched higher. “Are you opening your house to the Order?”
“It’s the only thing I can think of for now. At least they’ll be safe there until we can calm things down.”
“That’s a genius idea.” Bishop smiled widely, instantly warming to the plan that put him so close at hand. “I’ll put the word out and be there before sunrise.”
Anja withdrew her hand, shifting uneasily on the stool. “Ah… no, not for you.”
Bishop froze. “Why not?”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t.” Her brows drew together as she searched for the right words. “I need that level of detachment from you and I know you can take care of yourself.”
It hurt like hell, but Bishop nodded. “I understand.” He turned away, reaching for a bottle of burgundy and a wineglass.
“Bishop…”
“No, it’s fine. You’re right, I can take care of myself. And you need your space right now.” It was surprising how steady his voice sounded as he poured himself a glass of wine.
“If you need Sanctuary I’ll find a place for you. You can use my old apartment if you need to, or…”
He turned to face her, offering a tight smile. “That’s okay. I do know a thing or two about staying under the radar. I can figure it out.”
“Are you really alright?” Her head canted to one side, studying him for a chink in his armor, he imagined, and he considered opening up to her, actually telling her how he felt. But what good would that do? She’d just said she didn’t want him too close.
“It’s late, you should probably get moving before Rob comes up here and busts through my door to make sure you’re safe.”
She gave him a sad smile, sliding off the stool. “Yes, I think he might at that. He worries about me.”
“Can’t blame him for that,” Bishop said, coming around to walk her to the door. “Thanks for coming. I’ll get the word out, like I said, so expect some visitors over the next couple of days.”
“Okay, I’ll be in touch. Thanks for letting me know about this, Bishop. To be honest, I don’t know why no one else came to me about it. You’d think with something of this magnitude I’d hear about from my own government, right?”
“I’m thinking most people were too absorbed with your party to hear about it yet. In fact, I thought you might be out there partying still.”
“Well, you know me. I’m not much of a party animal.”
“Yeah, I know you.” He couldn’t help but stare into those expressive blue eyes, wishing they looked at him the way they used to.
“I should go…” Anja reached for the knob, and Bishop surged forward, pressing his hand against the metal door, holding it closed. “Bishop…”
“I don’t want to hold you up, let me just say this and you can be on your way. I know I messed things up big time, and I’ll have to live with that. But for what it’s worth, I’m glad you’ve found someone who makes you happy.”
A twinge of something that might be pain flashed across her face. “I’m not sure I’d call this happiness,” she sighed.
“I thought that you and Rob…”
She shook her head. “It’s complicated.”
“Because of Jakob?” he frowned. “It doesn’t have to be, you stood up to him before for me. What’s different this time?”
“You and I were already together when he came into the picture. Rob has a long history with Jakob, it goes back with his whole family line. He almost killed you when he found us together, remember? If he finds out I’ve been with Rob… there’s no telling what Jakob might do. To me, to him, to his sister, his whole family for all I know. I can’t risk any of them for my happiness.”
Her admission that she’d slept with Rob cut him to the quick, but he pushed aside the pain, struggling to make sense of the mess. “Then you’re not together?”
“No, not how we’d like to be. And please don’t say anything…”
“No, of course not,” he was quick to respond, still reeling over the discovery. This changed everything. He’d been willing to walk away for the sake of her happiness, but to find out she was more miserable than ever…
“I should probably go, Rob and Gunnar are waiting for me downstairs.”
“Wait, there’s something else I wanted to say, in case I don’t get a chance to say it again.”
“What’s that?”
Bishop didn’t think for once, he just acted. His lips covered hers, unrelenting, coaxing, begging entrance. Anja froze at first, her hands pressing against his chest at the sudden invasion, but he didn’t let her pull away, not yet… he wasn’t done gambling. And then she was kissing him back, lips soft and sweet, her tongue sweeping out to meet his. Her fingers curled into his lapel, holding him close as he drank in the familiar taste of her.
But she wasn’t his anymore, and when he felt her resistance rise to the surface again he left off his tender assault, giving her the chance to pull away. She wouldn’t meet his gaze, her eyes trained on the floor as she sucked in a quick succession of breaths. When she didn’t bolt from his arms, he leaned in again, but this time she pushed against his chest more firmly.
“Bishop…” She used his name as a warning, or was it a plea? He couldn’t tell.
“I know. I wanted to have done that one more time, just in case.”
“You make it sound like we might never see each other again.”
“Would that bother you?”
Her eyes flew up to meet his, startled and wide. “I have to go.”
This time Bishop let her escape without protest, smiling at the way her boots clopped on the stairs. She might be running away from him for the moment, but he knew what he’d felt in that kiss. And it was definitely worth fighting for.
Chapter Twenty-One
Great googly moogly, what had I done? Recognizing the fact that my security staff would take it the completely wrong way if I came barreling out of the building at full tilt, I paused at the bottom of the stairwell to get a hold of myself.
It was just a kiss. Nothing to freak out over, it wasn’t like he’d swept me up and carried me to his bed and… a rush of memories of him doing that exact same thing made me gasp as I tried to steer my train of thought to a safer destination. It was only a kiss. A kiss that he’d started, that was an important distinction, right?
B
ut I’d kissed him back! What the heck was I thinking? I wasn’t thinking, that was the problem, and now, now Bishop probably thought he had a chance again and… I held my breath, counting backwards by fives from one hundred and then forward in German, forcing my brain to think about something else until the panicky sensation started to fade. It helped after a while, but I still felt hot and flushed when I climbed into the back seat of the car with Rob and Gunnar in the front. The other security team followed in a separate car.
“And how is Ulrik?” Rob asked.
“Why did you call him that?”
He gave a half shrug. “Ain’t in the Order, Bishop ain’t his name no more.”
“He’s still Bishop to me.” And he probably always would be.
“I see.”
“You see what?” My head came up, trying to meet his gaze in the mirror, but he looked out the window.
“Doesn’t matter.”
Was something bothering Rob, or had my guilty conscience read too much into it? Deciding I shouldn’t go looking for trouble, I brought the subject around to greater issues. “So, listen up guys, we’re about to go back into the Sanctuary business.”
That got Rob’s attention. “How do you mean?”
I told them about the bombing of the Order’s headquarters and my offer of Sanctuary to the remaining members. “I’ll want to call an emergency session of the council tomorrow to address this before we have full blown war on the streets.”
“But you have promise to Jakob not to invite anyone else into the house,” Gunnar reminded me. I was all kind of aware of the ramifications of my offer, but I wasn’t going to let Jakob intimidate me. Not about this.
“I don’t care. I’m not turning my back on them. If I hadn’t spoken out about the Order to begin with, we might never have ended up where we are. Besides, it’s not like they’re total strangers. Jakob said I couldn’t invite anyone he hasn’t approved, but anyone who’s in the Order has gone through a vetting process and he established that process, right?”
Rob didn’t bother to hide his scowl. “He won’t be happy about this.”
“You don’t seem to approve either.” What did he want me to do, let them get picked off one by one?