“There is another rather sensitive question we wanted to ask. Whether you wish to keep the child.”
Nicole opened her mouth and closed it again. She took a deep breath and said, “I know I may be putting my career in jeopardy again, but I’m not getting rid of my baby.”
“That is absolutely your choice. But the option is there for you if you are not ready. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”
“I know, thank you. But I would never get rid of it. I can’t. I even tried already.” Her voice started to crack. “I was there at the clinic. I was ready. I’d filled out the form and they called my name. And then I couldn’t move. All that kept going through my head was Nick’s face and I just kept thinking ‘It’s his. It’s the only thing I have left of him.’ I remember the way his face lit up when he talked about having kids. He wanted them so badly. I just couldn’t abort his…our child.”
“He meant that much to you?”
The answer was easy, quick. “He meant everything to me. I loved him. I still do.”
Dr Sarsky blinked away the emotion in his eyes, too, and tried to smile. “PJ, we might be having a new houseguest in a few months, if you want to live here with us?”
“You’re letting me stay?”
“We would love it.”
“I don’t know what to say…”
“Then don’t say anything.” Dr Sarsky smiled. “You are a valuable and skilled researcher and you are also a friend. We’ll figure this out, step by step. You’re not alone in this.”
*
The Del Ray Estate – formerly the Slade Estate
Talia burst through the door into her mother’s room, and even though she could hear her cries from well outside, the sight of Radha naked with two men in her bed caused Talia to cover her eyes.
“Least I know why two of my guards are not doing their jobs.”
“Oh, believe me,” Radha heaved, not bothering to move. “They are doing a hell of a job.”
“Is this a joke to you?” Talia still had her hand up. “This is what you wanted? To be ravaged by men half your age, to make yourself feel young? Do you have no respect for yourself?”
“Oh please. You need to lighten up…”
“Lighten up? Don’t be stupid, Mother. Do you realise we have been scouted in the last four hours? I do. Because I heard the motion sensors along the perimeter. That was my only notification. I went to the security room and saw that not only was it empty, but that no fewer than three men were looking us over with binoculars. They must be Tynan Ross’s men.”
Radha sighed. “Wait outside, boys. And don’t bother getting dressed.”
Talia sneered in disgust as they moved past her and Radha put on a robe. “Why are you doing this?”
“Because I enjoy it. I needed a good seeing to. Years with no sex does make one quite randy.”
“God, Mother. This is not what we are here for! Not what we wanted.”
“Not what you wanted. I want to live a life of luxury for a change. I have scrimped and begged every day on this earth up until now. Oh, to not have to trudge through the dirt and grime, just once! You wanted to be the Alpha, and you are. I’m fine just where we are.”
“Well, I’m not fine. This was House Slade. The house that you claimed was one of the most fearsome packs in all of England. Regardless of your feelings towards Wilson, the only thing I see here is that House Del Ray, our name, is nothing more than a few lazy drunks. I wanted to find somewhere I belonged. I wanted to be with my people. To fit in, somewhere. But this is not that. Ross is planning something. He knows a new Alpha is here.”
“Because we got scouted?” Radha chuckled. “You’re so dramatic. Wolf packs are scouted all the time. It means nothing. Tynan obviously never succeeded in bringing Wilson down and he was the biggest lazy drunk of them all. This place is a fortress. We will see an attack coming from a mile away.”
“And yet Wilson was still defeated by an attack he didn’t see coming…”
“Wilson was an idiot. The pack defeated him as much as Creed. Wilson lost their respect and civil war broke out. You want to be an Alpha, so be one. Don’t fuck up in the same way. Stop with the drama and live like you were meant to. Enjoy men, or just one, if you’re a prude. You’ve never had one. Save the fuss and carry on for when there really is a threat at our door. Now if there’s nothing else…”
“There is. I found something else in the security room. A video clip from a few months ago. It was Sydney airport footage of someone being thrown into a wall. What is that?” Talia noticed her mother stiffen slightly.
“It’s nothing.”
“Don’t lie to me. I know it means something. I checked. The last one to watch it was you.”
Radha sighed and rolled her eyes. “Fine. That is your dearly departed brother. The clip is from the wolf invasion of Sydney that came to nothing. Creed and his men were ultimately defeated by the vampires.”
“I know that part already. So what is to be gained from looking at old footage? What were you trying to find?”
“The girl.”
“Girl?” Talia frowned, thinking back to the brief few seconds she saw of the curvaceous brunette who had been speaking to the guy who was apparently her brother. “What about her?”
“Tobias was the one that saved the footage. You know, the one whose heart you ate? He was very interested in her it seemed.”
“And that interest should’ve died along with him.”
“But it didn’t. He had used facial recognition software to identify her. She’s apparently now here in England, studying under a Dr Alan Sarsky.”
“And so?” Talia raised her voice. This was going nowhere.
“Based on the footage, it seemed she and Slade junior were a pair. I believe he wanted to identify a weakness for Nicholas he could exploit. I’ve had her followed for a few weeks now and picked up something very interesting.”
“No. Stop. How dare you?” Her mother was meddling where she didn’t belong. Again.
“Excuse me?”
“I don’t care what interest Tobias had in her. Or whether she and Nick were together. The battle is over, the attempt failed. It’s none of our business.”
“But it is! Tobias wasn’t the only one with access to this footage. You have no idea the harm she carries—”
“Leave. Her. Alone.”
Radha shook her head in almost disbelief. “Stupid girl. On your own head be it.” She peeled off her rob again and Talia made a face and turned for the door.
Be an Alpha? How? What did she have to compare it to? Creed, the traitor. That one that started the rot, the disintegration. Or Wilson? So strong, so powerful, yet let himself be betrayed. How the hell did he keep the pack in order for the best part of two decades? What did he have? Was it strength? Talia had that. Was it fear? Talia instilled that, too. Respect was something she hadn’t earned yet, it’s true. But as she walked and met the smirking faces of the naked men in the hallway, something clicked into her brain. A question. What would Alicia do?
“If you two don’t start doing your jobs, the next time you walk in there, you’ll be carried out, in bags.”
Chapter 21
Long Overdue
Dante frowned up at the strange sky. Despite the unusual darkness, Dante knew it was still relatively early in the evening. He shouldn’t be here. He should be doing what he needed to do as king. For the city. Melina had lied to him, as had Clive. More than ten vampires had lost their lives in the latest encounter with Nightingale. Four newborns. Catching this former prisoner was proving more difficult than he’d anticipated. Nightingale was unnaturally strong. He must be taken care of, quickly.
Dante knew this, but still could not stop himself from getting in his car and driving. Away from where he should be, and closer to where he wanted to be.
He was taking some time for him. For his own piece of mind. He had to see Alexandra. He had to know she was safe.
The building windows above him
were black, but something, a faint hint of lavender, told him she was up there. Perhaps it was just hope.
Dante checked left and right, making sure no one could see or hear him, before placing his hands on the brick of the building and heaving himself up. In his drained state, it took longer than he wanted, but he finally made it to the top floor, and swung himself onto the small balcony outside her bedroom.
On the bed, Alexandra; peaceful, her back toward him. He shifted and what moonlight there was spilled across her nude, supine body. The bed sheet had ruffled and pulled down well past her hips.
He unlatched the door and slid the pane across, as a mist of cold air rushed out of the room. He stepped in, wondering how she could sleep in that type of temperature. He closed the distance between them with no sound. With the backs of his fingers, he caressed her arm gently. Her flesh was slightly cool.
He reached for the sheet and blanket at her legs and raised it up, as she turned over to her back, still in a deep sleep. Her beauty shone through the darkness and clung to his gaze like a sunset over mountains.
In an attempt not to wake her, he held the covers up, making sure she wouldn’t be disturbed. Her beauty was not the only thing that clung to his gaze. They had been naked together many times, and he had always kept a respectful appreciation of her body. But he had never admitted to her, or himself how truly desirable he thought she was. The rich scent of her body and blood reached him and he found himself gripping the bedclothes harder, the dark veins in his fingers almost pulsing at the thought of relief so close. With her head turned to the side, he could see her main artery pumping under the skin of her neck. Down to the hard nipples, and under them, the veins of her breasts.
And something else. A tattoo. That’s new. And then, almost as if she knew he was there, she bent her leg out at an angle, exposing a place on her upper thigh—a favourite bite spot. Without thinking, his fangs clicked down as the memory of her taste came to him. The distance between them had done nothing to curb the feelings he had kept hidden for so long, in fact it had expanded them. He wanted her, everything about her, but she was not his to own.
Dante let his eyes range over her body for several more seconds before feelings of guilt flooded through him and he eased the covers back down. He had seen her naked many times, yes, but it wasn’t right to look the way he was. Not when she didn’t know he was there. But it was best if she didn’t.
She was safe. That’s all he’d wanted to know. Yet there was one thing he could do. One thing he’d planned, just in case she wasn’t home. It turned out she was here, but even so, why not? He reached into his pocket and placed the object on the pillow next to her, and placed the most tender kiss he could’ve given on her lips.
*
Alex snapped awake and sat up, finding her room empty and cozy warm, finally. That’s so weird. Could’ve sworn I felt someone kiss me. Must have been dreaming.
She lay back down and felt something strange poke her shoulder. She reached for it and found it to be a tulip. She couldn’t make it out in the darkness at first, but it didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was who had left it.
Dante’s been here. And her room was warm, she was almost tucked in. Why didn’t he wake me? Just making sure I was ok.
Alex brought the flower to her nose and inhaled. And he kissed me.
“I miss you too,” Alex whispered to the room.
*
Dante waited in his study for Melina. She entered composed, with a purpose.
“You wanted to see me?” she asked.
“I want your side of the story.”
“What story?”
“Spare me the run around. Clive told me everything.”
“Well if that’s the case, you really don’t need me to tell you about it, do you?”
“I want you to explain. It looks to me like you deliberately withheld information from me concerning your whereabouts. In doing so, you managed to get almost a dozen vampires killed.”
“Oh come on, since when have you cared about us dying?”
“Enough!” Dante bellowed, pounding his fist on the desk. His head pulsed with pain, and as he looked at the back of his hand, he could see that the dark red veins once only visible on his fingertips were traveling up toward his forearm. “Do you think this is a game? You three could’ve been killed.”
Melina sighed and sat down across from him. “Look, I had no idea he was that strong.”
“Even after your first encounter…”
“I’m sorry. I thought maybe the problem was that Lauren and I tried to take him one at a time. I thought with this many of us, it would work. I may have failed to bring this cocksucker in, but at least I’m out there. Doing something for the vamps and humans around us. Nightingale is a danger to everyone. I wanted it done quickly and quietly but…” Melina shook her head, “there is something about him. He’s freakishly strong and can heal within minutes, sometimes seconds.”
“You should’ve come to me sooner.”
“And what? What could you have done, that I couldn’t? You can barely move right now. All you would’ve done is go charging off like you always do, and then you would be the one who is dead. Face it, Alejandro, your inaction to help yourself has forced me to do this. You sit here pining for the blonde that can help you, yet you still stay. I have never seen you like this. We are facing a crisis if this continues on.”
“The welfare of the city is more important than me.”
“Do you even hear yourself? As vampire king, your fate is intertwined with the welfare of the city. For that very welfare of the city, Nightingale must be stopped. Don’t you see that you are dying? How can you hope to protect the city or yourself or her or anyone if you don’t feed?”
Dante paused in his reply as Clive came into the room, carrying a Styrofoam box. “They’re here.”
“Thank you,” Dante said, holding out his hand.
“Red cross?” Melina asked, peering at the label on the box. “What’s going on?”
“You’re right, in part,” Dante said, retrieving a plasma bag from within the container. “The Red Cross destroy hundreds of litres of blood every week after expiration. Instead of wasting it, it can be a plan B for all of us. Clive just re-routed their delivery trucks and their instructions. He’ll collect them from a warehouse once a week.”
Melina made a face. “Stale blood? Really?”
“Uh, Dante—” Clive started, but Dante held up a hand.
“Non-expired blood could still potentially save lives. This blood will save ours. There’s no point throwing it away.” Dante pierced the bag with his fangs and tipped it down his throat. The liquid had the consistency of a thick, cold gloop. Dante did his best not to taste it, but couldn’t help a small cringe. He looked at his hand and some of the longer veins that had reached highest on his arm began to recede back towards his hand. An improvement, despite the unpleasant taste and consistency.
“I will never understand you,” Melina said, talking over Clive’s second attempt to speak. “You were the one that ran with this donor thing. She is out there and you refuse to go to her, instead doing everything you can to leave her alone. Let me summon Nadia. For god’s sake, I give you permission to take as much as you need from her.”
“Nadia may be your handmaiden, but she is not your property. You cannot just give her out.”
“Dante…” Clive tried again.
“Don’t give me that!” Melina fired back. “Hello? Nightingale! Focus. We all need to be on the same page here. We have no idea where he is, what he wants or who is next.”
“HEY!” Clive said, waving his hands in the air. “I’ve been trying to tell you. Another body has been found.”
“Where?”
“Undeadly Desires.”
“What? Where is that?”
“The vampire brothel,” Melina answered, her tone distinct with worry.
Clive nodded. “It was reported on the secure server. Only found an hour ago. Same symptom
s. Waxy skin, died screaming. They want us to take care of things before the clients find out. They can lock the room and repaint after the body is gone but they don’t want to alarm anyone or risk word getting out about a murder at the club. They don’t want anyone to know that anything happened there at all.”
“Why not?” Dante asked.
“Because they don’t cater to only vampires. For a steep price, some humans are allowed membership. It is run under strict assurances of confidentiality but more than that, safety.” Melina said, crossing her arms. “As far as I know, there has never been an incident before. The place makes millions because it sells sex and pleasure for monsters and humans. Violence is bad for business. It’s not tolerated there. Except for feeding. Some humans pay heaps to be fed off.”
“I’m sure,” Dante said. “Very well. Melina, it sounds like you’ve been there before?”
“Many times. Love the place.”
“Then I need you to go there again. Find out what you can. See if you can get any information. Anything to let us know where he is. A motivation. A weakness.”
“This isn’t my first rodeo. Relax.”
Melina left briskly, leaving Clive and Dante alone. “Was there anything else?”
“Your foundation, Keep The Heart Beating, they’ve been sending in messages to speak with you. Apparently they can’t reach your phone?”
“It was destroyed in the fight at the school,” Dante sighed, sitting on the edge of his desk. “It wasn’t a priority to get a replacement. Surviving was. Though it must be done soon.” Dante wondered if Alexandra had tried to call him and couldn’t get through. “Very soon.”
“Ok well, I’d get on that. Their annual get together is coming up again, to show off and auction their donors. They wanted to go over plans with you, but I said you’d get to them when you could.”
“Why don’t you go with Lauren? Be my representatives.”
“Personally, I don’t know whether having a get-together is a good idea at the moment.”
Shadow Chaser (Undeadly Secrets Book 3) Page 14