She vanished from the doorway in a blur.
“Keep us posted on Damien and Chelsea,” Dakota said quietly without taking his gaze off the empty doorway. “I have a safe place we can stay in Fredricksville. That’s where we’ll be headed, and I’ll text you when we get there.”
“Dakota?” Olivia’s voice, edged with concern, stopped him before he stepped out the door. He didn’t turn around. “Don’t let her get hurt. She’s my family.”
“Not a chance,” he said curtly. “She’s mine too.”
With the chatter of the others fading, Dakota went into Xavier’s lab to stock up on weapons and ammunition. As he strode through the massive storage room and carefully selected exactly what he wanted, he couldn’t help but wonder if he was the one who would get hurt. A vampire’s physical injuries healed swiftly and left no trace behind.
A vampire’s heart didn’t beat and Dakota was no different.
His heart was a shriveled-up husk inside his chest, a remnant of a life no longer lived. With no heartbeat, he should be impervious to love—free of the heartbreak suffered by humans who lived and breathed. Dakota was a vampire, and therefore he had no heart to wound.
If that was true, then why did it hurt so fucking bad?
Chapter 12
Trixie and Dakota barely said two words to each other on the entire trip down to Texas. They traveled through the extensive underground tunnel system by day, and once the sun went down, they flew side by side the rest of the way to Fredricksville. Whenever Dakota looked at Trixie he found that same grim but determined expression on her face. It was a combination of fury, guilt, and sadness, and Dakota had had about enough. Before they got to the ranch, there was a conversation they needed to have.
Without a word, he pointed to the winding creek below that cut through the ranch. Trixie simply nodded and followed him to the water’s edge, landing noiselessly beside him. She adjusted the black backpack she was carrying and hooked her thumbs behind the straps, avoiding his stare all the while.
“Where are we?” she asked, looking around them. Looking anywhere but at him. “I thought we were staying at some ranch or something.”
“This is it. The Circle S has almost a thousand acres to it. Used to be more, but we sold land off over the years. Most of it is part of the state park now, back that way. My family’s ranch sits right along the edge of it.” He snagged the strap of the duffel bag he had slung across his chest, pulled it over his head, and tossed it onto the ground. “The main house and cottage are just over that hill,” he said, nodding to his left.
“Then why’d we land over here?”
“You and me need to get a couple things straight before we invade the peace and quiet of Hector and Addie’s lives.”
“Hector and Addie?” Trixie’s brow furrowed. “Who are they? Familiars?”
“Sort of.” Dakota moved closer but Trixie didn’t move. She kept her gaze on the horizon. “They’re my family. They live in the main house but keep the cottage available for me when I come back this way to visit.”
“What do you mean, your family?” Her head snapped toward him, her eyes wide in total surprise, but she recovered quickly. “I never met a vampire with a human family that was still…”
“Alive?”
“Well, yeah,” she said with a small smile. “It’s not exactly a regular thing. Most vamps leave their human family behind, and then they eventually die off.”
“Well, like you, I wasn’t turned all that long ago. Hector is my nephew, my brother’s only kid, and Addie is his wife.” He smirked and settled his hands on his hips. “He ain’t much of a kid anymore. Hell, he was a baby when I was turned, but the man is in his sixties now. Anyway, he and Addie never had any kids, so they’re all that’s left of my human family.”
“Okay,” Trixie said slowly. “So…they know what you are?”
“They surely do.” He let out a sigh. “After Jonner died, I was kinda lost. No maker. No siblings. He was the only other vampire I had any contact with, because that gargoyle hunt was top secret. I decided to go home. I’d stayed away for over a year, and tellin’ ’em all the truth seemed a lot easier than makin’ up some big old lie.”
“Wow…they must have really loved you.”
“I suppose they did… Especially my mama. Anyway, I hung around for a couple years, and let’s just say I didn’t exactly fit in. Eventually, I went to the local czars and enlisted as a sentry. I come home from time to time. They know what I am, but I wouldn’t say they embrace it. In fact, Addie refers to it as a lifestyle choice.”
“Holy shit.” Trixie gaped at him. “Does the Presidium know about this?”
“Maybe. I haven’t given it much thought. I work for them, Trix. They don’t own me.” He took one step closer so their bodies were mere inches apart, her sweet scent filling his senses. It was tempting and wicked, daring him to touch her. But he didn’t. “If you had taken my blood last night to heal those broken ribs, you’d already know all of this—and then some.”
She stilled and nibbled on her lower lip, but she wouldn’t look at him. Dakota linked his hand around her slim bicep and turned her gently so she was facing him. He tipped her chin up with his other hand and ran his thumb over her mouth.
“Care to tell me why you wouldn’t take my blood?” Dakota dropped both hands to his sides, the hurt and pain from that moment rushing back. “That wasn’t too humiliating with Quesada standin’ right there,” he said sarcastically. “I mean, damn, woman, everyone knows we’re bloodmates. What was the big deal?”
“What was the big deal? You really can be dense sometimes.” Trixie’s eyes narrowed and a familiar glint of anger flickered over her face “Everything you know about women wouldn’t fill up the strip of paper in a fortune cookie.”
“Is that so?” He leaned forward. “Why don’t you enlighten me.”
“Okay, cowboy,” she said. “Let’s set aside the fact that I thought Damien was dead up on that roof. Did it ever occur to you that the freaking reason I didn’t want to drink from you—for the first time ever—was because we had a damn audience watching the whole thing? Taking your blood, whether it’s for healing purposes or not, isn’t like drinking from anyone else.
“Come on, man. I have no idea what’s going to happen when I taste your blood, Dakota. I don’t know what I’ll see, what I’ll feel, or how the fuck my body will react. I mean, for all I know, I could’ve lost my damn mind and stripped you naked in the middle of that alley, or had some kind of mind-blowing orgasm. Oh sure. Awesome plan.” Trixie gave him a double thumbs-up and took a step back.
“But excuse the hell out of me for bruising your big, fat male ego,” she shouted. “I am so sorry that I totally didn’t want to share an intimate moment like that in the middle of a dirty alley in front of Shane I’m-a-total-stick-in-the-mud Quesada!”
It wasn’t often that Dakota found himself speechless, but this was one of those times. She was absolutely right. None of that had occurred to him and he felt like a total ass. All this time, he’d been thinking that he was putting her needs first and worrying about her comfort and happiness, but that wasn’t true at all. He’d been so caught up in his own wounded ego that he didn’t stop to think what their bloodmate bond meant for her.
Dakota recalled a moment in his childhood when another boy in class had to wear the dunce cap and sit in the corner. He was pretty sure he needed one of those hats right about now.
“I’m sorry,” Dakota said quietly. “And you’re right. I don’t know squat about women or love or bloodmates. I’m just tryin’ to figure it all out and keep us from gettin’ killed in the meanwhile.”
Trixie tore off her backpack and threw it to the ground, as though the weight of it was too much. Most likely, the bag wasn’t what was weighing on her. Trixie kicked at a rock, then squatted down, resting her elbows on her knees. She stared into the moonlit cre
ek, an air of guilt hanging over her like a shroud.
“It wasn’t only because of that. I was disgusted with myself. I freaked out when those gargoyles showed up,” she whispered. “Nothing worked, Dakota. It’s like my body totally betrayed me for the first time since I became a vampire.”
“What happened to Damien was not your fault.” He spoke softly and with as much tenderness as he could muster, but she still flinched. “I know that Olivia and everyone else already told you that, but I thought you needed to hear it again. Besides, he’s gonna recover.”
“Yeah, but no thanks to me.” She cracked her knuckles. He moved closer, but she refused to look at him. “I’m a damn disaster area—a former drug addict vampire, apparently with witch’s blood in her veins and a massive inferiority complex. What a mess.”
“But a beautiful one, and thanks to Pete, we’ve got that Isadora woman comin’ to meet you tomorrow night. Hopefully, she can help you with this witch stuff.”
He bent at the knees next to her and picked up a smooth gray stone. He tossed it into the creek and smiled as it skipped four times before finally disappearing into the water.
“What do you say we get on over to the house and get ourselves settled. Besides”—he rose to his feet and extended a hand to her—“I’d like you to meet Hector and Addie. They know we’re comin’ and they might have gotten up extra early to greet us.”
Trixie flicked her gaze to his hand and hesitated for a moment before tangling her soft fingers with his. Dakota squeezed them gently and swallowed the sudden lump in his throat. He’d never been a particularly mushy guy, but Trixie seemed to have a direct line to his heart. She stood up slowly, a smile curving those full rosebud lips. When she inched closer, he linked his other hand with hers. A surge of desire pulsed in him as that lush womanly body wavered inches from his.
“I’m sorry that you felt rejected or embarrassed,” she said quietly. Her tongue flicked out, moistening her lower lip, and she pulled him almost imperceptibly toward her. “I’m not going to lie to you, Dakota. I am freaked out by the whole bloodmate bond.”
“Why?” He rasped his thumb over the top of her hand before bringing it to his lips and pressing a soft kiss there. “Would it really be so bad to get saddled with a good old boy like me?”
“No, it’s not you…it’s me,” she said through a laugh. Trixie rolled her eyes and tossed her head back with a playful growl of frustration. “Jeez. I know that sounded lame. Just give me some time, okay?”
She popped up on her toes and kissed his cheek quickly, then let go, grabbed her backpack, and pulled it on. The gold from the necklace glinted along her throat in the moonlight as she moved. It probably wasn’t wise to be standing out here exposed.
“Well, if there’s one thing us vampires have plenty of, it’s time,” he groused, slinging the duffel bag over his head. “But promise me somethin’.”
“What?” Trixie eyed him suspiciously but a smile lingered beneath it. “You’re not gonna try and get me to go line dancing, are you?”
“I might.” He winked.
“As if!” Trixie let out a short laugh and gestured to her torn jeans, skull-and-crossbones shirt, and colorful hair. “Do I look like the line dancing type to you? A mosh pit? Definitely. Two-steppin’? I don’t think so.”
“Well, smarty pants, that ain’t it.” He grabbed her hand and held it tight. “No more hidin’. Not from me. Not from your feelin’s. And when you’re ready, I wanna hear about what it is exactly that ‘freaks you out,’” he said, making air quotes with his free hand. “Deal?”
Trixie’s mouth set in a tight line and she studied him closely, as though weighing her options, before finally nodding her head. “Deal.”
“Alright then.” Dakota grinned wickedly as he released her hand and whispered, “Last one to the house is a rotten egg.”
With Trixie laughing and cursing right behind him, Dakota flew through the warm Texas evening. For the first time since this whole mess had begun, he had the one thing he’d been missing.
Hope.
* * *
Trixie stood in the large airy living room of the expansive ranch house and did her best not to fidget. This little ranch house was nothing like she’d expected. It was freaking huge. The sprawling one-level home was absolutely beautiful. The vaulted, exposed beam ceilings gave it a cathedral-like feeling, and the whitewashed brick hearth that went all the way up to the roof stood at the center of it all. To the left was a giant kitchen with top-of-the-line everything, and to the right was a huge family room full of lush furniture and a bank of huge windows that made it seem even bigger than it was.
In all her life, Trixie had never been inside a fancy home like this.
She’d never been so nervous in her whole stupid existence, and she was wishing she’d worn something nicer than the T-shirt, jeans, and combat boots she currently had on.
What a dummy.
Here she was meeting Dakota’s human family, practically the Holy Grail in the vampire world, and she looked like she’d just rolled outta bed. Awesome. What had she been thinking? The answer? Not much. She’d had her head up her butt ever since the whole bloodmate debacle started. Her wardrobe certainly hadn’t taken up much of her thoughts over the past couple of days.
Hector and Addie were perfectly pleasant, but she didn’t miss the look they exchanged after being introduced to her. Addie, in particular, looked her up and down with thinly veiled horror. It was probably a safe bet that there weren’t many blue-haired punk rockers in this tiny Texas town.
“Thanks again for waitin’ up to see us,” Dakota said, after releasing Addie from a big hug. “I can’t believe it’s been almost five years.”
“Of course, sweetheart.” Addie giggled. She was wearing a floral robe over her soft round form, and her short gray hair was tucked behind her ears. With her ruddy complexion and a wide smile, the woman looked like a grandmother from one of those sitcoms. “You’re family and, well, I suppose you are too, Trixie. After all, you must be special to Dakota if he brought you here. You’re part of the same lifestyle that our Dakota is?”
“Uh, yeah.” Trixie smiled and lifted one shoulder, not sure what else to say. She was still trying to figure it all out, so good luck explaining it to anyone else. “I am, I guess. Thanks for getting up so early to meet us.”
“Honey, this is a horse ranch,” Addie said with big smile. “We’re up before the sun on most days.”
“We don’t have too many visitors out this way.” Hector hitched up his faded jeans and swiped at his round, bald head with a handkerchief. The guy was sweating like a pig. Unlike Addie, he was not wearing his pajamas. Hector looked like he’d already done a full day’s work. “Just us and the horses. And Miguel, of course.”
“Miguel?” Trixie asked, inching a little closer to Dakota. “More family?”
“No. Well, not exactly.” Dakota laughed and slung his arm over Trixie’s shoulder in a casual and familiar way. A day or two ago, a gesture like that might have annoyed her, but not tonight. Right now, she was more than happy to stick close to him. Hector made her nervous. “Miguel is a local fella. He’s been a ranch hand out here for well over twenty years, and he’s a familiar.”
“Oh, cool.” Trixie nodded. “I hope I get to meet him too.”
An awkward silence fell over the group, between the stares and smiles. Trixie gently elbowed Dakota in the ribs. I’m super uncomfortable… Addie looks like she wants to take me to her hairdresser’s, and Hector is eyeing me like I’m gonna drink him dry. Can we go to the cottage now, please?
“We’re gonna get settled over at the cottage,” Dakota said, finally breaking the quiet. His voice echoed through the huge room, which only made it more awkward. “We’ll see y’all after sundown tomorrow. Trix and I are lookin’ forward to a little R and R. If I have my way, I’m gonna get her on a horse and ridin’ like a pro in
no time.”
“Ride a horse?” Trixie gaped at him. “You never said anything about that.”
“You know me, darlin’.” Dakota winked. “I’m full of surprises. Good night, y’all.”
Dakota took her by the hand and walked her to the door, but Hector’s voice stopped them before they could make a clean getaway.
“I’m surprised you two would want to take a vacation here.” Hector pulled some chewing tobacco from a tin in his pocket and deposited it in his cheek. “I thought your kind liked the big cities. Not much to do around these parts. No real nightlife.”
They don’t know about the gargoyles or the gold or any other supernatural stuff. Just vamps. Dakota tightened his grip on her hand. Sorry, I shoulda mentioned that.
“And it ain’t like you’re comin’ here for the sun.” Hector snorted with laughter, obviously feeling proud of himself for the clever joke. “Y’all give ‘sunburnt’ a whole new meanin’!”
The mortified expression on Dakota’s face was priceless. Apparently, being a vampire didn’t rule out the experience of being embarrassed by family.
“Oh, hush.” Addie slapped Hector playfully on the arm and gave Trixie a sympathetic smile. “Don’t pay him any mind, sweetheart. You two lovebirds go on ahead. The place is all ready for you.”
Hand in hand, they trotted down the steps from the wide porch and made their way toward the cottage. The clean country air smelled of hay and horses, and mingled in with it, rising above everything else, was Dakota’s leather and sandalwood.
But something was missing. Cinnamon. Those damn lollipops that he’d always been eating, ever since she’d met him two years ago, were noticeably absent. Her brow furrowed. Come to think of it, she couldn’t remember seeing him with one for a few days.
“After we check out Gatlin’s address tomorrow night, I wanna see if we can jog your memory about exactly where you were when you found that gold. The rest of it has got to be nearby.”
Good, the Bad, and the Vampire Page 15