by E. S. Moore
Of course, I wasn’t sure how much she was really suffering. She was unhappy, sure, but I don’t think Levi was hurting her. Then again, mental abuse is still abuse. She was terrified of the man. I couldn’t let it keep happening.
I opened my mouth a few times but gave up trying to say anything. What could I say? Telling him about Delai was out. He already knew about Baset, though he knew nothing of Strinowski. There was The Left Hand, and I’d also made a scene in Polaris, so there was Count Mephisto to consider.
“Start from the beginning,” Jonathan urged. His hand was running up and down my arm. It sent tingles throughout my body and helped distract me from my misery.
“I found a body,” I said, deciding The Left Hand was the most immediate threat to him. The rest was my problem.
“What kind of body?”
I had to laugh at that, though there was no humor in it. My ribs protested and I stopped abruptly.
“The dead kind,” I said.
Jonathan gave me a wan smile, though the concern never left his eyes.
I took too deep a breath and nearly screamed. The pain shot through me so fast and hard, I just about blacked out. I was thankful it would be better by morning. Being a vampire did have its perks sometimes, even if I often hated it. Still, if I’d been a normal Pureblood, I wouldn’t have gotten myself in this mess to begin with.
“It was a werewolf,” I said. “He was laid out, placed as if for someone to find.”
“Okay?” Jonathan’s brow furrowed.
“His throat was slit and he bled out.” I stared at him meaningfully.
It took him a moment, but realization dawned. “Completely drained?”
I nodded.
His hand stopped moving on my arm. I noticed his other hand was resting on my knee. I never even realized he’d put it there until that very moment. I shifted in my seat so it fell away.
“There was a cross placed on his forehead. He was left lying in his own blood. It had to have been The Left Hand.”
Jonathan stood and started pacing. “Are you sure? It could have been someone else.”
“As sure as I can be,” I said. “You saw how they work. There was no sign of a struggle. Whoever did it had to have snuck up on the wolf, injected him, and then slit his throat. He’d managed to start his shift, so I’m guessing he must have heard something just before his attacker struck.”
Jonathan was nodding, a distracted look on his face.
“And this wasn’t a small guy either. He would have fought a whole hell of a lot harder if he’d been able. It had to have been them.”
He didn’t say anything.
“We should talk to Davin,” I said. I made my slow way to my feet, wincing with every inch. “He might know something else about them that might prove useful.”
Jonathan froze. He was looking away from me so I couldn’t read his expression.
“What?” I asked.
“We can’t ask him.”
I frowned. “Why not?”
Jonathan sighed and turned to face me. I didn’t like the look on his face. “Because he’s not here anymore.”
“Okay,” I said, nonplussed. “Then where is he?”
Jonathan’s frown joined my own. He ran a hand through his hair, on the side that actually had hair. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?” My voice rose as a flash of anger shot through me. The pain in my ribs flared up, but I didn’t care. “How can you not know? You had him locked up in your fucking basement.”
“We did,” Jonathan said, heat in his voice. “But we honored the deal you struck. We took him out to see the moon as promised.”
My anger bled away at that. I’d all but forced Jonathan to agree to it, hadn’t really given him a choice. “And he escaped?”
“With help.” Jonathan sighed. “I can’t be sure, but I have a feeling Adrian had something to do with it.”
Adrian.
I turned and kicked the chair I’d been sitting in. It jumped a little and my ribs hurt even worse, but it kept me from shooting someone.
“How in the hell could he have managed that?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “I was told it happened fast.”
“Wait,” I said, turning an angry glare on him. “You weren’t there?”
“I had more important things to worry about at the time,” he snapped. “Nathan and a few Cultists took him outside so he could see the moon. They were jumped.” He held up a hand as I was about to say something else. “No one was hurt. They were restrained by men with hoods, most likely other werewolves due to their strength, though it could have been vampires as well. We just don’t know for sure.”
I shook my head. “How?”
“How what?” Jonathan said. “How did they manage it? By superior numbers and stealth. How did they know when we would be taking him out?” He shrugged. “That is the question I can’t answer.”
I was so pissed I didn’t know what to say. I never liked the idea of keeping a vamp locked up in the basement, but I didn’t want him running free either. He knew my face, knew who I was. It was just another threat running loose I’d have to eventually deal with.
“Fuck,” I finally managed. At least this time I refrained from kicking anything.
“Exactly,” Jonathan said.
“What are we going to do?”
He spread his hands. “We go on as we normally would. We can’t do anything about Davin’s loss now. If Adrian had a hand in it, then so be it. If it was a vampire House, then I will need to learn how they knew we had him and when we were taking him out.”
I chewed on my lip, uncertain. I’d been counting on Davin for information on The Left Hand. They were going to be a problem sooner rather than later, I was sure.
“We know this group is made up of Purebloods,” Jonathan went on. “They hunt vampires and werewolves. Our goal will still be to find them and stop them before they kill someone dear to us.”
“But how? We don’t know who they are, where they are hiding. They’re supposed to be good at this stuff, remember?”
“We wait until they make a mistake.”
If they ever did.
I shook my head and leaned against the wall. Pain and exhaustion sapped the anger out of me.
“There is little we can do now,” Jonathan said. “I’ll make sure to alert the Cult about them. We’ll watch for any indication as to who or where they are. We can do little else.”
“I know,” I said. I raised my hands to my head. I felt dirty from head to foot and I had blood on me. “I need to go home and clean up,” I said. “I’ll figure out what to do later.” I started for the door.
“You can shower here,” Jonathan said.
I stopped walking. Good sense told me I should keep going, that I should just walk right out the door and go home and shower in my own room. There was nothing else I could do at the Den. I couldn’t bring up Delai. I couldn’t do anything about The Left Hand. Or Baset. Or Mephisto.
But I didn’t want to leave. If I went home, I’d have to face reality. I’d have to go down, talk to Beligral, and tell him he was right. I didn’t want to admit it, but the goddamn demon had been telling the truth. I could almost see his satisfied grin. The mark was just about throbbing with it.
I turned around and looked at Jonathan. He stood across the room, hands held respectfully behind his back. He looked good, even with his marred features. All I wanted to do was to sit and have him hold me so I’d stop hurting so much.
“Okay,” I said at a whisper.
Jonathan crossed the room, took me by the hand, and led me into his bedroom, past the bed, and into his private bathroom.
Dear God, what was I getting myself into?
26
My coat came off first, falling to the bathroom floor in a heap. Jonathan went to a closet for a washcloth and wet it down for me. He started dabbing at my face, though I wasn’t actually cut. The dried blood had come from my mouth and a little from my nose, but he wa
s careful anyway.
“Is it bad?” he asked, indicating my ribs where I kept my arm pressed tight.
I shook my head.
The washcloth felt almost gritty against my skin, like sandpaper rubbed a little fine. The water was warm, soothing, and the soap he used smelled of spring.
I closed my eyes and let him take care of me. It felt good not to have to do it myself. I was so tired of having to do everything on my own. Just sitting back and letting someone else do all the work was like bliss, something I should have done a long time ago.
Jonathan put the washcloth down and gently touched my face. “At least you weren’t cut here.” His voice was heavy, deep. His eyes traveled to my ribs. “Can I see it?”
I nodded again. The world felt far away, like I wasn’t even in my body anymore. I was vaguely aware of his hands as he worked at my shoulder holster and removed it. Then his hands slid down to the bottom of my shirt. He started to lift, but my arms were in the way. I tried to lift them to help.
And that’s when the pain ripped through the daze. I hissed in a sharp breath and jerked away from him.
“I’ll get it,” I said through gritted teeth. I wasn’t sure how I was going to manage it myself without causing more pain, but I wasn’t going to let him baby me forever.
I turned my back on him. Some semblance of sense was returning and I realized I couldn’t be stupid. Just because he was being kind to me didn’t mean I needed to let my guard down. The last time I ended up topless in the Den, things came up missing.
“My gun,” I said, thinking back to that night. I turned around with my shirt still firmly covering by breasts. “I left a gun here.”
Jonathan’s brow furrowed. “When?”
“Months ago. Do you still have it?”
Any moment that might have been building died. Jonathan frowned, looking both hurt and confused.
“No,” he said. “I didn’t know you left one here. Where was it?”
“I think I left it beside your bed.” A flush crept up my neck when I thought of the bed and how close we had come to doing something that day. It might not have been that close for anyone else, but for me, it was a huge leap.
“I’ll look for it while you shower,” Jonathan said. Yep, he definitely sounded hurt. “Maybe it got kicked under the bed.” He walked out of the bathroom, back stiff. He closed the door softly behind him without looking back.
I almost called for him to come back. It was lonely in the bathroom by myself. I’d spent so many lonely days and nights in my own room, I didn’t want to spend another elsewhere. It would be so easy just to call for him, to make sure I never spent another day alone . . .
Biting my lip, I peeled off my shirt. My skin was bruised where my rib had cracked, but it was already fading. By next evening, the bone would be healed enough for me to go about my night like always, and the bruise would be completely gone.
I started to unbuckle my belt but paused to lock the bathroom door.
Okay, so part of me wanted Jonathan’s company, wanted him to wrap his arms around me and tell me he’d take care of everything, but the more sensible part of me knew that it would never work. He was a werewolf. I was a vampire. There was no way to mix those two things and come out with something good. It was a disaster waiting to happen.
I stripped down and quickly stepped into the shower. I didn’t want to be naked in the Den for very long. Who knew who might walk in, who might have a key. It would be just my luck to step out of the shower to have Pablo standing there, eyeing me up and down. Just because he hated me didn’t mean he wouldn’t ogle me if given the chance.
I jacked the heat up as high as I could stand it to burn away any desires I might have. I couldn’t believe I’d even put myself in this situation at all. I should have been smarter, should have rejected his invitation.
Jonathan’s showerhead shot water at me like it was coming out of a gun. It pounded my face, stung where it met flesh. I whimpered in pain as it battered my ribs, yet it also felt good in a way. I needed the pain to prove I was alive.
By the time I was done, my skin was pink where it wasn’t black and purple. I looked down at my clothes and hated the idea of putting them back on. I always preferred fresh clothing after a shower. There was no way I was going to wear anything Jonathan offered me, however, so I reluctantly got dressed.
The bedroom was empty when I emerged. I hesitated before crossing the room into the sitting room. I expected Jonathan to be waiting for me there, but he wasn’t anywhere in sight.
Someone else was.
“Nathan,” I said, feeling all sorts of self-conscious. There was no way to hide the fact that I’d just taken a shower in Jonathan’s bathroom. My hair was still wet and I was sure I smelled of Jonathan’s soap. Who knew what Nathan thought we’d been doing before my shower.
The big wolf just stood there, staring at me. I couldn’t read his face, couldn’t tell if he was angry or confused. He could have been the happiest guy on the planet and I wouldn’t have been able to tell just by looking at him.
Since he was obviously not going to say anything and was solely interested in a staring contest, I stared right back, daring him to say something accusatory.
The seconds stretched by and I started to get an itch on the back of my neck. It felt like he was trying to lure me into some sort of trap, that someone would sneak up behind me while Nathan and I stared at each other. It was a struggle not to glance behind me to check.
“You rem—” Nathan cut off and shook his head angrily. His hair had started to grow out from the buzz cut he’d sported before. It was still short, but now he could actually do something with it.
I had to admit, it did a lot to improve his severe looks. He might even be able to pull off handsome if he’d stop being such a prick.
“Where’s Jonathan?” I asked, just wanting to be out of there. I wasn’t going to stand there staring at him forever.
“He’s looking for someone,” Nathan said. I waited for him to add something, a name, a reason why, when he’d return, but all I got was that stare of his.
“Okay,” I said. “Well, then, tell him thanks for the shower and I’ll let him know how things turn out.”
I took a step toward the gilded doors that would lead me into the Den proper and out of here. Nathan was standing in the way and didn’t show the slightest inclination that he was going to move.
“I want to leave,” I said, putting a warning in my voice.
Nathan blinked slowly. He still didn’t move.
“Is there something you wanted? I’m not going to screw around with you all night. I have things to do.” I really just wanted to shoot him and step over him. It would serve him right, though I knew Jonathan wouldn’t be happy with me if I shot his second in command.
“I believe Jonathan has intentions for you to stay for the day,” Nathan said. “Unless you would like to burn on the way home, that is. If the sun does not bother you, feel free to go.”
The sitting room had a few windows, but they were heavily draped. I felt weak like I did when the sun was up, though that could be from my confrontation with Levi as well. The only way to know for sure was to look.
“It’s still dark,” Nathan said as I started for the windows. “But it won’t be for long. You’d never make it home.”
“I’ll be in a car.”
Nathan snorted. “With windows all around you.”
I scowled. “I’m not staying here.”
Nathan stepped aside. “Then go. I won’t stop you.”
I wanted to spit something back at him, but I didn’t have anything to say. It had been a long night and it could easily be near morning. I really didn’t want to risk getting caught out under the sun, even for a few seconds.
I walked the rest of the way to the window and parted the drapes anyway. The sky was still dark, but the horizon was lightening. Nathan was right; I’d never make it home.
“Damn it,” I said, turning back to the big wolf. “I gue
ss I’m staying.”
“It’ll make him happy.”
Something in his voice irked me and I stalked toward him. “Do you have a problem with me staying here?” I was itching for a fight and Nathan seemed to be the perfect target for my ire. He might be strong, but he couldn’t crush my ribs with a thought. I could handle strong.
“I have a problem with the way you are leading the Denmaster along.”
I froze in midstride. “What?”
Nathan sneered at me. “He believes it will only take time and you will soften toward him. I don’t think so. I believe you are using him to get what you want. Once you’ve finished with him, you’ll discard him, if you don’t kill him first.”
“Who the fuck are you to judge me?” I said, resuming my angry stride toward him. “I’m only here because . . .” I trailed off, my step slowing. Why the hell was I still there?
I glowered at Nathan as if it was all his fault. I might have come to warn Jonathan about The Left Hand, yet something else had kept me here. I could have turned around and walked right out after I’d said my piece. I could already be home, relaxing in my room, waiting for my ribs to heal.
And yet, I’d stayed.
Why?
There were only a few feet remaining between us. Nathan covered it in one large stride. He was mere inches from me. He was much taller, much broader than I was. I was forced to look up to see his face.
And what I saw there confused the hell out of me.
I’d expected him to still be angry. After his accusations, he could easily have come at me angrily, spat threats into my face. The Nathan I knew wasn’t afraid of confrontation, had no problem expressing himself.
But that’s not what I saw. Sure, his mouth was pulled down in what I took to be a grimace and he was standing so close I could smell him. He smelled of cinnamon and something heavier, sweat maybe.
It was his eyes that threw me completely off. There was no anger in them. He looked confused and lost. There was a strange kindness behind his gaze, something I’d never seen from him before.
I took a step back, unsure what to think. I struggled to come up with something to say, but what was I supposed to say to that look? I think I’d much rather have him scowling at me than looking at me like he was.