Thomas's Choice

by Tina Folsom

  “Not at all. Come in. I haven’t seen you in a while. How was the party for Haven?” She motioned him into the living room and he followed her.

  “They should have really held it where you and Nina could have joined. And Ursula too.”

  Delilah made a dismissive hand movement. “Don’t worry about me. I’m not one for parties.

  Besides, I would have had to find a sitter for Isabelle.”

  Eddie smiled at the baby. She was a cute little girl, and he was sure that one day she’d break a guy’s heart when she rejected him. “I don’t think you’d have any problems finding a sitter.

  She’s one of the most well-behaved babies I’ve ever met.”

  Delilah chuckled. “And how many babies have you met?”

  “Well, a few,” he lied.

  She rolled her eyes. “Anyway, my problem is that I need a vampire or a hybrid babysitting her. She’ll drive any human crazy as soon as she realizes she’s stronger than them. Won’t you?”

  She gave her daughter a conspiratorial look.

  Eddie laughed. “It’s all a matter of discipline.”

  “If you’re ever a father, I’ll remind you of that, shall I?” Then she and her daughter locked eyes for a long moment, and Eddie realized that they were communicating telepathically.

  Isabelle had a special gift that allowed her to tell her mother what she wanted, even though she couldn’t speak more than a few syllables yet.

  “Excuse me, Eddie, but Isabelle wants her bottle now.”

  “No worries. I’m here to see Samson anyway. Is he here?”

  She nodded. “In his office. Why don’t you take Isabelle to him while I heat up the bottle?”

  Without waiting for his reply, she handed the girl to him.

  Isabelle gave him an assessing look, then she smiled and threw her tiny arms around him.

  “She likes you.”

  “I like her too.” He stroked his hand over her soft hair. “Come, let’s see what your daddy is doing.”

  “Dada,” she said.

  “That’s right: Dada.” He carried her along the dark wood-paneled corridor to the back of the house.

  When he reached the door to Samson’s study, he rapped on it briefly, and immediately heard Samson’s voice.

  “Come.”

  He opened the door and entered. On seeing them, Samson rose from his chair behind his massive desk and walked around it.

  “Hey, Eddie.” Then his voice changed, becoming softer and more playful. “And what pretty little lady did you bring me today?”

  Something sounding like a chuckle came from Isabelle’s lips as she stretched toward Samson, reaching her arms out as far as she could. “Dada!”

  “Hey sweet cheeks!” he cooed and took her from Eddie’s arms, pressing a soft kiss on her forehead while he rocked her in his arms.

  “She’s grown a lot,” Eddie commented, feeling somewhat awkward at witnessing the tender exchange between the most powerful vampire in San Francisco and his daughter.

  Samson looked up and smiled. “Faster than I would like. At this rate she’ll be grown up and dating before I can blink.”

  “And she’ll be a heartbreaker,” Eddie speculated.

  “Don’t I know it? I’m going to have to fend them off with a stick.”

  Eddie winked. “Not all of them. There’ll be at least one who you’ll have to let get close.”

  “He’d better be a good man.” He gave his daughter a mock-stern look. “You hear me, sweet cheeks? You’d better fall in love with a good guy or we’re going to have a problem.”

  Isabelle turned her head into the crook of Samson’s neck and Eddie heard her smacking her lips.

  Samson laughed. “And if you think you can appease me with a kiss, you’re wrong.” Then he looked back at Eddie. “So, what’s up? You wanted to see me?”

  Eddie nodded. “It’s about Luther.”

  Samson’s expression instantly hardened. “Luther?”

  “My sire.”

  “Oh, I know whom you’re talking about. What is this about?” Samson asked tightly.

  “I need to see him.”

  “Luther is incarcerated.”

  “I know that. But I still need to see him.” Only Luther could answer the questions he had.

  Questions he needed answered as soon as possible. He couldn’t wait.

  “After all he’s done to you, to your sister, to all of us?”

  Eddie noticed how Samson held Isabelle even closer, and realized what was going through Samson’s mind. Because of Luther, he’d nearly lost Delilah, who’d been pregnant with Isabelle at the time.

  “Despite everything, I have to talk to him,” Eddie insisted.

  “Why?”

  “I’m afraid that’s between me and my sire. It’s private.”

  Samson raised an eyebrow and remained silent as if contemplating his answer carefully. “Are you having any problems?”

  “There are things I need to clarify.”

  “You have a very capable mentor. I’m sure he can help you. Thomas has been around for a long time. He knows everything there is to know. You can—”

  “No. This is between me and Luther.” Thomas was the last person he could talk to about this.

  “As you wish. I will talk to the council and request a visit for you. I can’t promise that it will be granted. If I knew what it was about, you might have a better chance at swaying the council.”

  Eddie avoided his boss’s gaze and studied his shoes instead. “Please, just ask them. It’s important.” When he looked up again, he met Samson’s eyes.

  “Fine. I’ll take care of it.”

  “Thank you. I appreciate it. I really do.” Then he turned on his heels and headed for the door.

  “Eddie, if there’s anything I can help you with, you’ll come to me, won’t you?”

  Eddie put his hand on the doorknob and looked over his shoulder. “This is not something you can help me with, Samson.” He turned the doorknob and left the study, hearing the echo of his boots as they pounded the wooden floor in the hallway.

  17

  Thomas looked up from his desk in his office at Scanguards’ headquarters and stretched.

  He’d entered profiles of the four vampires he’d seen the night he’d been out patrolling with Eddie into the system for every Scanguards vampire to view, describing them as best he could.

  Should anybody else come across them, they would be warned and could take action.

  Having done his duty, he’d searched for the deed of Al’s shop online and found only the one that had been issued over twenty years ago, when Al had first purchased the place. If there was a new deed, then it hadn’t been uploaded to the Assessor Recorder’s online system yet. Most likely it was sitting in some clerk’s inbox waiting to be scanned in.

  Was it worth breaking into City Hall to rummage through the paper records? Or should he send a human employee during daytime hours to request a copy of the deed? The latter suggestion was probably more prudent. With security at City Hall being tighter than ever, after the Supreme Court had cleared the way for gay marriages in California, and the resulting clashes between proponents and opponents of same-sex marriage, a breakin was a last resort.

  Thomas composed an email requesting an employee to procure a copy of the deed and sent the work order to the central dispatch unit at Scanguards. Then he pushed his chair back, rested his feet on his desk, and stared at the ceiling. His relaxing pose was interrupted by a knock at the door.

  “Come in.”

  The door opened and Cain popped his head in. “Hey! Got a minute?”

  Thomas motioned to the chair in front of his desk and lifted his boots off the desk. “What can I do for you?”

  “I saw the profiles you uploaded.”

  Thomas pulled up straight. “Did you come across those guys?”

  “Can’t be a hundred percent sure. But I saw four vampires tonight. I only saw the system update when I got back a few minutes ago
. Do you have any better description of those guys?”

  Shit! Thomas felt annoyance surge in him. Because of what had happened with Eddie later that night, and then the encounter with one of Kasper’s disciples, he’d not reported the incident earlier. He’d screwed up.

  “Unfortunately not. I had to be careful not to be noticed and could only get a glimpse of them. But I overheard them talking. I’d probably recognize their voices. Where did you see them?”

  “I saw them enter Sergio’s Book Emporium.”

  “How long ago?”

  “About a half hour.”

  Thomas jumped up from his seat and grabbed his jacket. “Did they see you?”

  “No. We didn’t go in; there were no other customers in the store at the time. We would have stuck out like a sore thumb. Besides, they didn’t do anything suspicious. We saw them browsing through the stacks of books.”

  “Let’s go. With some luck, they might still be there.” Then he hesitated for a moment. “Who were you patrolling with?”

  “Oliver.”

  “Where is he now?”

  “Our shift was over; he said he was going home.”

  “Did you actually see him leave?”

  Slowly, Cain shook his head, his eyebrows pulling together into a frown. “You don’t think he would do anything stupid? Like play hero?”

  He didn’t think so, but it was best to verify. Thomas pulled his cell from his pocket as he ran out of his office, Cain on his heels. At the elevator, the cell rang. He rushed into the elevator, Cain beside him, and pressed the button for the lobby level.

  “Thomas?” Oliver answered the phone.

  “Where are you?”

  “Heading home.”

  Relief washed over Thomas. “Change of plans. Head back to Sergio’s Book Emporium. But make sure you’re not seen by the four vampires who went in. Wait for Cain and me. We’ll be there in ten minutes.”

  At the ground floor, the elevator doors opened. Thomas and Cain crossed the lobby and exited the building.

  “Shouldn’t we get backup?” Cain asked.

  “Call dispatch.” He looked to his motorcycle, which was parked in front of the building, then addressed Cain, “Where’s your car?”

  “I’m on foot.”

  Thomas motioned him to follow him to his motorcycle. “Hop on. We’ll be faster this way.”

  He unhooked the helmet from the back of the bike and held it out to Cain, who shook his head.

  “You take it,” Cain said.

  Thomas put his helmet on and mounted the motorcycle. The engine roared and Cain slid behind Thomas.

  “Hold on tight.”

  Cain put one arm around Thomas’s waist and Thomas pulled into traffic, racing down the busy street. At the next intersection, he turned right and headed toward North Beach where Sergio’s was located. He heard Cain on his cell phone, calling the central dispatch office at Scanguards to ask for backup; Cain then put his phone away, wrapping his other arm around Thomas’s waist too.

  It was rare that he had anybody riding the motorcycle with him, but it didn’t bother him. Nor did he sense any kind of desire or arousal when he felt Cain’s thighs press against his, and his arms hugging his midsection. He liked Cain as a person, but that was all.

  Thomas wound his way through traffic, dodging cars and bicycles, avoiding busses and taxis without blinking. Riding a motorcycle was like second nature to him. He could practically do it in his sleep. He leaned deep into the next curve, tilting the motorcycle almost forty-five degrees.

  “Hope you know what you’re doing,” Cain said from behind him. “I’d hate to land on my ass.”

  “You won’t. Promise.” An involuntary smile stole onto Thomas’s lips. If Eddie were riding with him, he would revel in the excitement of the drive, and the faster and more reckless the better.

  When he turned onto the block on which Sergio’s was located, a narrow side street off Columbus Avenue, he slowed the bike to a crawl and searched for a convenient place to park. In front of a dive, he pulled to a stop. Cain jumped off and Thomas parked the motorcycle, then perused his surroundings.

  Raucous laughter came from the open door to the bar, and from the entryway of the house next to it, he saw Oliver emerge.

  “What’s going on?” Oliver asked and joined them.

  “The four vampires you saw earlier, I saw them the other night. They were talking about a takeover. And some plans. Some big boss. I didn’t like the sound of it.”

  “Let’s check them out.” Oliver seemed eager for some action.

  “If they’re still there,” Cain interjected.

  “One way to find out. Stay here and wait for reinforcements.” Thomas crossed the street, and used the trees and parked cars to remain hidden from view.

  The store looked closed—the sign in the door indicating as much—but a faint light was coming from the back of it, where the office and storage room were located. Ducking between two cars, Thomas trained his eyes on the light and focused on it. A door in the back seemed to be ajar, but he saw no movement.

  Staying low, he took a few steps forward toward the entrance door of the bookstore and reached for the door handle. He pushed tentatively and was surprised to find it unlocked. Easing the door inside a few inches, he peered into the dark room. The shop was of a good size. There were six or seven rows of bookcases stacked over six feet high, a comfortable seating area in a corner for people to browse, and the checkout counter toward the middle of the room. The scent of books drifted to him. It reminded him of the library his father had kept in his old home in England. He closed his eyes for an instant, inhaling more deeply.

  Shock made him roll back on his heels and almost lose his balance.

  Fuck!

  He turned and waved to Cain and Oliver to approach. They followed his command instantly, joining him at the entrance just as Thomas rose to his full height. There was no reason to hide now. He knew the vampires were gone.

  When he opened the door wider and stepped inside, Cain and Oliver followed him. The scent intensified, but it wasn’t the scent of books and paper.

  “Oh shit!” Oliver exclaimed.

  “Bastards,” Cain pressed out.

  Thomas pushed the door to the back room open, the scent of human blood assaulting him.

  Bound to an overturned chair, a woman lay in a puddle of her own blood. Her pregnant belly was riddled with stab wounds.

  Thomas fell to his knees beside her, his hand stroking over her round stomach, his eyes searching his colleagues’ in disbelief. He recognized her. He’d met her once or twice.

  “She’s Sergio’s blood-bonded mate.”

  “Who would do such a thing?” Oliver cried out.

  “There,” Cain responded, and pointed to a spot on the floor a few feet away.

  Thomas turned to look, and noticed the fine layer of ash that covered the floor. In its midst lay a few coins, a wedding ring, and keys—things that would remain when a vampire met his end.

  “Somebody staked her mate,” Cain guessed.

  “And then they killed her and the baby,” Oliver added.

  A barely perceivable gurgle came from the woman on the floor. Thomas’s gaze shot to her.

  “Quiet!” he ordered his colleagues and listened intently. A heartbeat! It wasn’t too late.

  “Get Maya here! Now!”

  While Oliver speed-dialed on his cell phone, Thomas bent over the woman and untied her from the chair, then helped her lie flat on the floor. He whispered to her, “We’re here. We’ll take care of you.”

  A breath blew against his cheek. “My baby.” She attempted to lift her hand, but it fell back onto the floor.

  Thomas laid his hand over the wounds on her belly, trying to stop the bleeding. “We’ll do everything we can. You hear me? Just hold on.” Then he turned toward Oliver who’d finished his phone call. “How long?”

  “She’s not far. Five minutes, ten tops.”

  “My baby,” the woman groaned
again. “Save my baby.”

  Thomas lowered his head to the woman’s belly and listened, his hands still on her. All he could hear was the faint, irregular breathing of the injured woman. Nothing else. He closed his eyes, trying to push away the pain that assaulted him. An innocent had died tonight. If only he’d gotten the description of the four guys up earlier, maybe this could have been prevented.

  Something bumped against his hand. Thomas’s eyes flew open. There it was again, a tiny movement: a heartbeat. Faint, but it was there.

  “The baby’s alive!” He turned to Cain and Oliver. “Put some pressure on her other wounds; we have to try and stop the bleeding or we’ll lose them both.”

  Cain and Oliver went into action, each of them pressing their hands onto the gaping wounds on her torso and neck.

  “Give her some blood,” Thomas instructed.

  Oliver brought his wrist to his mouth and bit into it. Blood instantly dripped from the two puncture wounds his fangs had made. Quickly he held the open wound to the woman’s mouth, but she turned her head away from him.

  “Drink!” he urged her.

  A tear ran down her cheek. “Sergio.” Her voice broke. “ . . . made him watch.” A gurgle came from her throat. “Made him choose.”

  Thomas closed his eyes in horror. The memories of his past rushed back to him: he’d seen a similar scene before, where a vampire had been made to choose between his child and his mate.

  And then lost them both. He’d only ever known one person who was so cruel and heartless to do such a thing. A person who was now dead. But his signature was still alive. Alive in his followers. And they were trying to send him a message.

  The moments ticked away until he realized that he could have done nothing to prevent this.

  They’d planned this all along: to show him the extent of their power and how far they would go to make him understand that their offer to join them wasn’t an offer, but a command: join us or everybody you know will die.

  “Make her drink,” he ordered Oliver once more, but as much as his friend tried, the woman refused.

  “Do it for your child if not for yourself. If you die before we can get your baby out, it’ll die too,” Thomas begged her. “Please!”

  The woman’s eyes stared at him. Had she heard him? Would she listen to him?