a look of irritation. “I won’t let you play with my new dolly no matter how much you beg this time,
Daddy.” She tilted her head to look up at Joseph. “You aren’t an idiot. Don’t worry. Mommy will put him
in time out for a very long time. She will make him say he’s sorry for calling you a bad name.” She
glanced over at Caylee. “Right Mommy?”
“Absolutely, sweetheart.” Caylee gave Haden a stern look. “What are you waiting for? Get to it. Tell
Joseph you’re sorry.”
A barely discernible growl rumbling in his throat, Haden frowned. “I’m sorry for calling you an
idiot, Joseph.”
Megan looked up at Joseph again. “See. It’s okay,. Daddy is sorry now.”
The moment Megan wasn’t watching, Caylee reach over and pinched Haden’s arm.
“Ouch.” Haden rubbed his arm as if it hurt. “I apologized.”
“But you didn’t give him a hug to make him feel all better, Daddy,” Megan said.
“I would much rather hug my sweet, beautiful little princess.” Haden picked Megan up and spun her
around. She giggled and squealed and then kissed him. “Mommy too, right Daddy?”
“That’s right. Mommy too.”
“And my new dolly.”
It was a little distracting to attempt a serious conversation while Megan was making her doll give
Haden kisses, but Mia needed to get everyone onboard with the auction. “It’s for an important charity. I
really need all of you to do it. Joseph and I have already submitted your pictures to the women that will be
placing the bids.”
“That’s your problem. I’m not doing it.” Haden managed to say with the doll pressed up against his
mouth.
Brianna placed her hand on Nikolas arm. “It’s to help the shelter that takes in women and children in
domestic violence situations. They’ve lost the majority of their funding. They will be closing their doors
if they can’t catch up on their mortgage and other bills.”
“Don’t worry, little one. We don’t need to have the auction. We can just give them the money.” As if
noticing Nikolas for the first time since they arrived, Megan pushed away from Haden and reached out to
Nikolas. Without any hesitation he took her from Haden and he too began to receive kisses from the doll.
“They aren’t using real money in the auction. They’re already planning on us to give them the
money needed to save the shelter,” Haden explained.
“If that’s true, why is the auction so important?” Nikolas asked.
“It’s simple. We will each be a private waiter and serve dinner to a woman from the shelter.” Joseph
wrapped his arm around Mia to show her his support. He always had her back.
“Please do it, Nikolas,” Brianna said.
“Okay. I’ll do it,” Nikolas agreed.
Haden laughed out loud. “Show Nikolas what he’ll be wearing when he’s auctioned off and serving
dinner.”
“It’s for a good cause.” Mia spoke up to stop Haden from saying anymore. She didn’t want to take a
chance of Nikolas changing his mind. Not that keeping Haden from spilling the beans really mattered.
Nikolas was going to eventually find out.
“It’s nowhere near good enough to get me to parade around in my underwear.”
Twisting her entire body to look at Haden, Megan giggled. “You can’t go to a parade in your
underwear, Daddy. Everyone will point and laugh at you.”
“That’s right, sweetheart. I can’t.”
“Come on. You all have kick a…” She glanced up at Megan who was still happily having her doll
give kisses to Nikolas. “You guys, especially Joseph, all have it going on in all the right places. I’m
serious, you are like living gods. The women are all so incredibly excited to see you all up close. I’m
desperate. I need your help. They need your help to lift their spirits.”
Megan squealed and giggled. It was funny seeing Nikolas give her butterfly kisses. “How much do I
love you?” She held her arms out. “Bigger than the whole world.”
Just as Mia expect they all finally agreed to do it. She knew flattery would work. She’d spent more
than enough time around demons to know that a little ego stroking could get them to do just about
anything.
***
Before leaving, Nikolas took Brianna outside to get her alone in hopes of convincing her to go with him.
After her encounter with Demetri, he didn’t want to leave her though he wouldn’t go so far away that he
couldn’t return to her in an instant. He pointed at his Harley. “Come for a ride with me.”
“You know I love to go for rides with you, but I can’t right now. I have to work today.”
He wasn’t ready to give up just yet. “You don’t have to work. I have more than enough to take care
of you.”
“It isn’t a matter of making money. I want to work. I enjoy being here. I like spending time with my
friends.”
Deep down he felt a dark and volatile jealousy that rose up in him. It was a viscous emotion he’d
only begun to know since meeting her. He’d let it consume him a few times, but he wouldn’t allow it to
take the light out of her eyes again. Yes. He wanted to keep her all to himself. He didn’t want her to want
to spend time with anyone but him, but he knew damn well it was wrong. To be happy she needed her
friends as much as she needed him. In a different way. For different reasons. But she needed them. Rather
than allow the darkness in him to dictate his actions, he took her in his arms and gave her a quick kiss. He
knew his limits. If he spent any more time kissing her he just might cave in to the demands of his darker
nature.
“Is something wrong?”
Of course she felt the ugliness of darkness he was battling within. He gave her his most convincing
smile, the mask that allowed him to appear completely emotionless under the most trying conditions.
“Not at all, little one. I love you.”
She wrapped her arms around his waist. “And I love you.”
Resting his chin on top of her head, he ran his hand down her back. That’s when he sensed Demetri
nearby watching them. He released her and stepped back. Knowing he was about to disconnect with her
to deal with Demetri and she wouldn’t be able to see, he placed her hand on the door. “I won’t be far
away if you need me.”
She started to push the door open, but stopped “I’ll see you at the charity event tonight, right?”
“From the sounds of it you will be seeing a lot of me,” he teased while reaching around her to open
the door. He gently nudged her through it. He didn’t want her to know that Demetri was nearby. He
wasn’t ready to hear her defend him again.
“I will enjoy every minute of it.” Glancing over her shoulder, she gave him a smile that simply
melted him. “I know you aren’t thrilled about it. Thanks for agreeing to do it.”
“You’re welcome, but there’s no need to thank me. I’m happy to do it if it pleases you.”
One look at Haden told Nikolas that he was aware of Demetri’s presence. Handing off Megan to
Caylee, Haden followed by Joseph walked to the front of the boutique to join Nikolas outside.
“What the hell is he up to?” Haden asked.
A wind rose up from the east. Thunder rumbled in the far off distance while the sky began to darken
as heavy black clouds moved in from the east and covered the sun.
“He showed up at my place last nig
ht. I believe he was studying the safeguards, trying to figure out
how to get past them,” Nikolas explained. “I confronted him, but he just took off. I couldn’t follow him.”
“He wants us to know he’s here,” Joseph said. “He isn’t really doing much of anything to hide his
presence.”
Nikolas nodded. “He was able to get past my safeguards to get into Brianna’s apartment. The only
thing stopping him from getting to her right now is the fact that we are here. He’s trying to draw us away.
He needs Brianna. He was able to use her to connect with Sara. The connection was broken before he was
able to locate to her.”
“We need to figure out what happened to Sara. It is possible she is alive. Can you find her through
Brianna?” Joseph asked.
“No. You know I’ve already tried,” Nikolas said.
The wind increased as the gathering storm clouds gave way to buckets of rain. Lightning whipped
across the sky along with the crackle and rumble of thunder that shook the buildings. While everyone on
the sidewalks and streets ran for cover, the three demons stood motionless on the side of the street
watching and waiting for an attack.
Seeing a lone figure approaching, Nikolas pointed. “Who’s that?”
“Caleb Stone,” Joseph answered.
Haden laughed. “He drives Mia nuts.”
“I bet.” Nikolas sensed Demetri’s amusement. It seemed more of game than anything else. “He isn’t
going to attack right now.”
“What the hell kind of trouble did you guys stir up?” Caleb asked.
“It’s Demetri.” They all answered in unison.
Caleb stopped at about fifteen feet away from them. “How long are you all going to allow the son of
a bitch to screw around with you before you do something about it?”
Nikolas didn’t dislike Caleb for being a vampire, but he’d be damned before one told him what to do
and when. Something about him at that moment rubbed him the wrong way. “Go ahead. Have at Demetri
if you think you can handle him better.”
“Demetri is running the show right now. You idiots aren’t handling him at all.” At once realizing it
wasn’t Caleb, but Demetri in Caleb’s form, all three demons growled. “Look at you. Not one of you
questioned whether or not I was a vampire. All I took was Caleb’s form. I didn’t even try to mask my
nature. You’re all idiots. Oops.” He put his hand to mouth. “Naughty me. I guess I’d better apologize for
calling you all a bad name or else Mommy is going to put me in a very long timeout.”
Before anyone could react Zack Savage dropped from the sky, hitting the ground with the force of a
bolt of lightning. He landed in a crouched position facing Demetri who was now in his own human form.
“Where is she?”
Nikolas knew Zack was particularly unstable. He didn’t know the details of what was going on, but
he figured Zack was talking about Emily. Nikolas held his hand up to stop Haden and Joseph from
interfering.
The vampire blood in Zack made him unable to contain his emotions as well as the others would’ve
expected. He would likely turn on them if they got in his way. In time Nikolas believed Zack would
overcome its influence, but he wasn’t even close at the moment. He was bordering on insanity.
“Oh look. Another idiot has come to join the party.”
Zack took a step toward Demetri. “Where is she?”
“You had her. You left her alone. Figure it out yourself.” With a wave of his hand, Demetri flung a
ball of fiery energy at Zack hitting square in the chest.
Unfazed by it, Zack lunged for him as Demetri shifted away.
“Demetri keeps getting weirder every day. Why does he keep shifting to avoid physical conflicts?”
Nikolas knew Demetri wasn’t afraid to go up against Zack.
He looked at Zack. He was in rough shape. His natural instincts were at war with the effects of the
tainted blood in him. He was fighting with rage like a corrupted vampire. Demons mastered their
emotions. Rage weakened a warrior’s ability to strategize and to fight. No one could help him. The
younger demon had to find a way to control it or it would kill him. His expression was one of a torment
and fatigue. His shoulders were visibly slumping as he opened his mouth as if to say something but then
he shook his head and took a step back.
“Don’t leave just yet. It’s good to see you, Zack.” Haden offered his hand to Zack.
Nikolas stopped Haden from getting any closer to Zack. “Not now, brother. Let him go. He needs to
work a few things out on his own. He’ll come back to us when he’s able. Right now we need to figure out
how Demetri overheard our conversation inside without any of us knowing.”
“It’s Julie. I noticed she was quieter than normal. He used Caleb to find the path to Julie’s mind. She
would’ve been his eyes and ears,” Joseph explained.
“She was quieter than normal,” Haden agreed.
“I’ll go and look for Caleb. If he’s alive he’ll likely be in rough shape. He wouldn’t have backed
down to Demetri with Julie’s life on the line.” Joseph started off down the street.
“We need to make sure Julie’s mind is guarded at all times.” Nikolas said it out loud though he knew
Haden was already aware of it.
***
The moment Brianna reentered the boutique Julie grabbed her and led her back by the dressing rooms. “I
need tell you something. I don’t know what to do.”
“Sure.”
“You can’t tell anyone.”
Brianna nodded. “I promise.”
“Emily showed up at my place.”
“That is wonderful, isn’t it? Why would we need to keep it a secret?”
“Something absolutely terrible happened to her.”
“What do you mean? Was she high?”
“Not at all. She was not on drugs. It would have been better. She is…oh, God. I cannot believe I am
even thinking about telling you what went down. You are not going to believe me.”
“I will. Just tell me.”
“One minute we were talking and next she just got this strange look in her eyes. They turned red and
glowed. She went crazy, Brianna. Absolutely nuts. She was so strong. I’ve been in my fair share of fights.
A few years ago I took self-defense classes. I’m strong for my size, but I couldn’t stop her. I didn’t stand
a chance. She almost killed me.” She pulled the front of her shirt open revealing black and blue marks
around her neck and shoulders. “She wanted to bite me. She wanted to drink my blood. She’s… she’s a
vampire.”
“Oh my goodness. You poor thing. Wait a minute. How on earth did you manage to get away from
her?”
“Caleb barged in and stopped her. She ran off. He tried to find her, but luckily she disappeared.”
“We need to get help for her. We need to tell someone.”
“Who? Nikolas?” Julie shook her head. “No way. I’m glad she got away. Caleb didn’t just stop her.
He went after her. He was going to kill her until I…I never want to see him again.”
“Until you what?”
“I hit the back of his head with my laptop. It’s broken now. I mean the laptop is broken. Not his
head. Unfortunately he has a super thick skull.”
“I know it sounds terrible, but killing her might very well be the kindest thing to do for her. Emily
loves you so much. She would never do anything to hurt you. Can you
imagine what she is going through
if something evil is inside her and its making her hurt you or any other innocent person?”
“It doesn’t mean she has to die. She could get better.”
Brianna felt Nikolas’ love surround and embrace her. She knew he was with her quietly listening to
every word. I will be with you in a minute.
I thought you left.
You need me. I came back. And I have good news about Emily.
“I honestly don’t think there is a cure, but if there is one, Nikolas would know of it. We need to tell
him. I know he would do all that’s in his power to help your sister.”
Julie shook her head. “How do you know he wouldn’t just decide to kill her like Caleb wanted to
do?”
“I just do. We need to tell Nikolas.”
“Tell Nikolas what?” Nikolas walked around the corner. “What mischief are you ladies up to?”
“It’s nothing,” Julie blurted.
“Julie has a problem. She needs your help.”
Brianna was so relieved by Nikolas’ manner of dealing with Julie. He knelt down to get to her level
and took her hand. “Tell me how I can help you?”
Julie glanced at Brianna. “I’m fine.”
“No you’re not. It’s okay. I would trust Nikolas with my life. You can tell him.”
“Go ahead,” Nikolas said.
Julie took a deep breath and held it for a few seconds before she released it with a sigh. “I don’t
know how it happened, but my sister was turned into a vampire. Last night she showed up at my place
and tried to kill me. Caleb rushed in and stopped her. Now the idiot wants to kill her.”
“Do you know where your sister is right now?” Nikolas asked.
“No.” Julie answered so quickly that Brianna knew she was lying. Trusting Nikolas to realize it as
well she remained quiet.
“I happen to have a cousin, Zack Savage, who has been looking for her because he wants to help her.
She knows him pretty well. Did she mention him?”
Are you telling her the truth?
Yes. Zack is her mate.
“He’s the last person I would ever trust to help her. He took off and abandoned her in the middle of
nowhere in Yakima, Washington. She had to walk for several miles and then hitchhike during the night to
get back here to me.”
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