The Vampire's Favorite

by V. R. Cumming

  Remy gently discouraged them from calling in the state police or the FBI. I was pretty sure he was the reason they were ignoring Di, too, but hey. As long as they stayed out of our way, I was happy.

  And stay out of our way, they had to. There was nothing local law enforcement could do to help us unless their BOLO turned up information on Landis’ car.

  Almost two hours after we put out the fire, Alden called. One of his wolves had spotted Landis at a gas station outside of Fargo.

  The hairs on the back of my neck twitched. I glanced at Eric and caught the same worry I felt in his expression. Landis, a military vet and an experienced hunter, had stopped in the middle of kidnapping a young girl and allowed himself to be seen in public?

  Yeah, sure. And I was Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy, all rolled into one.

  Alden had ordered Landis captured, if possible, and cornered if not. He relayed the address of the gas station to us, and five minutes later, most of us scrambled out of the house and crowded into either Kyle’s brand new Bentley or the back of Remy’s limo, leaving Pop, Ma, and a protesting Charity to hold down the fort and keep Di in check.

  Eric, Tangi, and I opted for the limo, which was just fine by me. The farther away from Mad Trilly I was, the better.

  My phone buzzed about thirty seconds after my ass hit the seat. I dug it out of the front pocket of my jeans and grimaced. Charity.

  Not fair, Jase.

  I cradled the phone in my hands, staring down at the words highlighted on the bright screen. My heart twisted into a knot about like it had the day Gigi was attacked. I’d told Char why she couldn’t come with us. I’d told her it was safer for her to stay at home, that I needed her, at least, to be safe.

  I hadn’t told her I was doing everything I could to protect her, to give her time to grow up so she’d have a choice, so she could decide on her own if she wanted to be fully human or enter the dark world I’d been dragged into.

  Eric’s hand covered mine, pale and narrow, comforting not in spite of its small size, but because of it. I’m sorry, Jase. If I’d known bringing you into the Vampyr would lead to this…

  I cut him off with a sharp shake of my head. There’s no way you could’ve predicted this.

  I should’ve.

  A world of regret filtered into me through his simple statement. Maybe he should’ve known. He loved his decision trees, loved chasing down possibilities and outcomes.

  But this wasn’t his fault. It wasn’t anybody’s fault. Fate was a nasty bitch. She would’ve gotten her way regardless.

  I tapped I love you into the message screen, pushed send, and dropped my phone into a compartment in the door. Across the car from me, Tangi pressed his cell against his forehead.

  “She texting you, too?” I asked.

  “I told her not to.”

  I nearly laughed at the low growl in his half-grumbled words. I hadn’t missed the goo-goo eyes he’d exchanged with my middle sister, or the way she’d punched his shoulder when he’d told her to get back inside. Half mad and halfway in love. Holy hell, she was too young for that.

  Then again, I wasn’t so old I could give her shit about it. And at least Tangi would try to rein her in a little, fat lot of good it’d do.

  I shot a smirk at Tangi. “Get used to it.”

  Wicked humor flashed in his dark, nearly human eyes. “Yeah. Guess I should.”

  He tossed his phone to me, and I tucked it away. For the rest of the drive, we were mostly silent, each of us contemplating the coming battle as the limo sped down Highway 75 toward Fargo and Landis’ last known location.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Tangi’s cell rang not three minutes past the merge onto Highway 10. I sorted his phone from the half dozen stashed together and, with his unspoken permission fogging my head, answered it.

  “Got Landis,” Alden said, his gruff voice more grunt than speech. “The girl’s not with him.”

  My stomach sank, a heavy rock dragging my gut into my knees. Fuck all. What the hell had Landis done with Anna Grace?

  “Address?” I asked, struggling to keep the snap out of my voice. Alden might be on the other end of a phone, but he knew where I lived. I had a funny feeling he wouldn’t forget disrespect, regardless of the root cause.

  Paulo passed a black ink pen to me, and I jotted down the address Alden rattled off on the back of my hand, then texted it to Kyle. A short drive later, Remy’s driver parked along the immaculately manicured curb of a tiny, pale pink house located on the North Dakota side of the Red River of the North. We piled out of the car, sticking to the shade offered by the mid-growth trees. Across the street, a sprawling brick complex dominated the neighborhood, its parking lots empty.

  A school. Just what we needed today.

  I sighed and rubbed a hand across the nape of my neck, swiping away a thin layer of sweat. Ah, the muggy heat of summer, the only reason we didn’t have dozens of curious witnesses staring at us from those parking lots. School was out. Maybe we’d get lucky and they’d all be away at camp.

  A door slapped shut, dragging our attention to the house. An athletic woman stood on the miniscule porch, her inky hair a straight sheen across her shoulders. “Park the car around back, for Chrissakes.”

  Remy nodded at the driver, who obligingly reentered the limo and pulled away from the curb.

  Tangi stepped forward and speared the woman with a firm gaze. “Thank you for letting us use your home, Sadie.”

  “I’m letting you use my home.” Sadie pivoted on the ball of one foot and stalked inside, her rectangular face twisted into a disapproving scowl. “Fucking vamps,” she muttered, not quite low enough for any of us to miss it.

  Paolo’s mouth twitched, then smoothed, hiding his brief humor. “I wonder what Alden threatened her with.”

  She stuck her head through the door and glared at Paolo. “Nothing. Now get your asses in here. I got kids coming home from day camp soon.”

  “Wouldn’t want the younglings to be tainted by blood sucking monsters,” he murmured.

  Eric coughed into his fist, cleared his throat of the laughter creeping through his bond into me. Never thought I’d say this, but God, I miss Darien.

  I slid a side-eyed glance at him. What? Not getting enough fresh meat here?

  Eric choked on a breath and his cheeks flushed bright red. Jesus, Jase.

  I grinned and followed him inside behind Remy, Paolo, and a couple of other pets, ignoring the distinct purr of Kyle’s Bentley pulling into the back driveway, unseen by this half of our party.

  Sadie led us through her home toward a glossy blue door tucked between the kitchen and a bedroom. It opened onto a stairwell descending into a faintly lit basement. She loped down the unpainted wooden stairs, taking them two at a time, her hands loose at her sides.

  The stairs petered out in a musty, windowless concrete block room. The floor was bare dirt, compacted over time into a dull granite sheen. Dark blotches stained its even surface in an irregular pattern. Two guesses what those stains were.

  Landis was tied to a rail-backed chair in the middle of the floor under a single, bare light bulb in the ceiling, in front of open metal shelving holding an array of odds and ends. He glanced at us over the knotted gag digging into his cheeks. His left eye was bruised and swollen and his lips were cracked in a couple of places. Other than that and a slight wheeze, he seemed fine, not like a man should look after a run in with the two bruisers standing guard on either side of him.

  Wolves weren’t known for their gentle touch. Even I knew how brutal they could be.

  Remy arched an eyebrow at Eric. “Shall I?”

  Eric nodded, a cool bow of his head. “You are the master.”

  Remy laughed, and his next words rifled through all our minds. Not for long.

  Sadie flinched. “Keep your chatter out loud, vamp.”

  “As you wish.” Remy crossed the room and knelt in front of Landis. “You know what we want.”

  Land
is’ eyes drifted to the side, away from the vampire’s compelling gaze.

  “Tell us now,” Remy said, as gentle as a leaf floating on the wind, “and on my honor, you will go free.”

  Landis’ shook his head, his eyes still averted.

  “Hunters always choose the well-trod path.” Remy sighed and shifted onto his haunches. “Very well, Mr. Landis. The hard way then.”

  He touched a single fingertip to Landis’ chin. Sweat broke out on the hunter’s caramel toned forehead and his breath panted out in one harsh huff around the knot between his teeth.

  “Where is she?”

  A vibrant note underscored Remy’s melodic accent. It slithered around the room, spearing each of us in turn, a venomous fiend searching for a victim. The muscles around my spine tightened, and I shivered under its darkly tempting sway. Words pooled in my mouth, secret words, silent longings. I gritted my teeth, caging the need to spill my guts and name every single one. Goddamn Remy. Did he have to wield his sword so broadly?

  Landis sucked in a breath and squirmed in his chair, his shoulders hunched, his limbs straining against the duct tape binding him. I almost felt sorry for him. Remy’s spellbinding query had only grazed me, thank fuck, and look what it’d done to me. It couldn’t be pleasant enduring the full weight of his attention, especially for a non-beacon.

  A fleeting thought brushed by me. Safe. Eric stiffened beside me and turned a laser sharp gaze on Landis. “Stop.”

  Remy glanced at Eric over his shoulder, his finger nearly attached to Landis’ chin. “Yes?”

  “I caught something.” Eric strode across the room and crouched beside Remy. He pressed his palm against Landis’ chest, over the wild rhythm of the hunter’s clearly audible heartbeat. “Something about a friend. Kindness, trust. A gray van carrying her to safety. ”

  Eric inhaled sharply through his nose and dropped his hand. He stood in one fluid motion and turned toward me. “He doesn’t know Oriana has been searching for you and your sisters. He doesn’t know Anna Grace is in danger.”

  A keening wail emitted from the hunter. Eric whirled around and, before anyone could stop him, yanked the gag out of Landis’ mouth.

  He swallowed hard, spat on the dirt floor, swallowed again. When he spoke, his voice was rough and rusty, and his skin nearly ashen under the caramel hue. “Oriana, the brash bitch holding the twin cities?”

  I shot a triumphant look at Eric. See? I wasn’t the only one who used that particular epithet to describe her. Harpy bitch sounded better, but brash bitch did the trick, too.

  Eric bent and met Landis eye to eye. “You know what Fen does to those under his mistress’ care. Imagine how Anna Grace will fair as Oriana’s acolyte.”

  Landis cursed under his breath. The hoarse litany echoed in the dank basement air, joined by the low murmurs of the wolves at his side. They’d had a taste of Oriana’s hospitality, too, I guessed, maybe personally, maybe not, but they knew. They knew what she would do, when Fen finished playing his games.

  Fen.

  I sagged to the floor, consumed by the sick nausea roiling in my gut. Fen in the same room with Anna Grace? She’d never survive. Her adorable smile would dim and fade, and her spirit would break under the slash of his knife, long before her sturdy body succumbed to Fen’s torture.

  Tangi threw back his head and howled, and the hair on the back of my neck stood erect. Sister, the eerie plaint whispered, layered over and under a single, forceful thought.

  No more.

  Landis chuffed out a breath, his head bowed low. “I didn’t know Oriana knew about the girl.”

  “I know,” Eric said softly. “Help us keep her safe. That’s all you wanted, isn’t it?”

  “Safe.” Landis barked out a short laugh. “You’re supposed to be the bad guy.”

  “Maybe later.”

  Remy dropped his hand and swiveled toward Eric. “We have what we need.”

  “Yes,” Eric said. “He should come with us.”

  “Agreed.” Remy stood slowly, a graceful aristocrat in his prime, and directed his golden gaze on the woman. A slow smile spread across his well-formed lips. “Vampires, werewolves, and a hunter join forces. Interesting.”

  Yeah, about like the Fellowship of the Ring, and look how their quest had turned out.

  Eric peeked over his shoulder, his exquisite features taught in spite of his smile. I knew you enjoyed those movies.

  Oh, hell no, was I ever admitting to that, no matter how much happiness it brought my lover.

  Kyle was waiting for us under the thin shade of a black cherry tree stationed at the edge of Sadie’s yard. Bonaventure stood beside him, his burly bulk a silent shadow. I slowed my pace down the front steps and glanced around, a wary eye on Trillium’s whereabouts, in spite of the sun splashing in a painful tickle across my skin. Which was more deadly, it or her? She hadn’t laid a hand on me lately, and I wasn’t about to give her a chance to. I’d rather face the sun head on than her.

  Kyle broke into a grin. “She’s in the car with Donald.”

  I grimaced. Was I that easy to read?

  Eric brushed past me, seemingly oblivious to the sunlight that had damaged him so badly mere hours before, his humor a light weight in my mind. Yes and no, Adonis.

  Well, wasn’t that a goddamn comfort?

  I jogged the rest of the way to Kyle and Bon and the relative safety of tree shade, and greeted the latter with a man hug. Hands clasped together at our chests, a firm pat on the back, step away before anyone can stuff us into the Bromance category.

  “What news?” Kyle asked.

  Eric stuffed his hands into his jeans pocket and tipped his head back, his eyes focused on something only he could see. “Wild goose chase. The hunter dropped Anna Grace off with a friend who’s headed straight for Oriana.”

  Kyle bit off a sharp curse. “Did you beat a location out of him?”

  “No need. He volunteered it.”

  I was always amazed at how calmly Eric delivered the most outrageous news, like it hadn’t taken a full-on vampire and a strong as hell pet to worm the info out of Landis.

  Bon crossed his arms over his broad chest. “Any chance of catching that friend before Oriana does?”

  Eric shook his head. “We’re working on it. No guarantees.”

  Yeah, no guarantees. My stomach shriveled into a tight knot, locking my breath in my lungs. God, please, let us get to Anna Grace in time. The alternative was simply unthinkable.

  We bundled back into the cars, Kyle and Bon into the Bentley with Trilly, Donald, and another pet, the rest of us in Remy’s limo, including a bound and gagged hunter.

  It was getting mighty crowded in there.

  Landis’ friend turned out to be a middle-aged woman whose home served as a sort of underground railroad for young beacons, mostly those who’d already been dragged into the service of a vampire.

  Which was against Lanu’s rules, but what the hell. I guess when a vampire got old enough, she didn’t give a shit about rules, even those laid down and enforced by a queen as formidable and fucking scary as ours. Lanu might be a petite little thing, but she packed a helluva punch.

  Oriana wasn’t old, but she was fuck all cocky, especially with a monster like Fen at her side. Maybe Lanu would come down hard on her and maybe not. Didn’t matter. Either way, the harpy bitch still had me and mine to deal with.

  Nadine, the railroad hostler, lived in a nondescript house in Maple Grove, on the outskirts of Minneapolis. It was nearly a straight shot there from Fargo down Interstate 94. Traffic wasn’t bad and Remy’s driver had a lead foot, but it still took more than three hours to make the drive.

  Three hours waiting for word from Alden, staring down the hunter responsible for dropping Anna Grace into a fucking dangerous situation. Three hours hoping against hope somebody rescued her before Oriana figured out what was going on. Three hours wondering what the hell I could’ve done to keep this shitfest from happening in the first place. Three hard hours of year-long se
conds wrapped around a millennium of nauseating desperation sitting smack dab in the middle of my chest.

  Eric’s hand rested on mine throughout the nail-biting trip, a cool, reassuring comfort. Every once in a while, his fingertips rubbed the places where my rings had been. He always knew what I needed. He always knew everything I was holding back, everything I couldn’t voice, everything buried in my heart, where only he could see.

  Love flooded through me, so unexpectedly bright, I caught my breath. Eric glanced up at me, a soft smile in his hazel eyes, and I couldn’t resist. I cupped his jaw and tilted his mouth to mine, and kissed him tenderly, savoring the sweet taste of his lips, the muted pleasure of his touch. In that moment, I knew I could never leave him, no matter what he asked of me, no matter what hell we were dragged through.

  No matter what, I would always love him.

  I eased out of the kiss and nuzzled my face against his, and stayed that way during the remainder of our silent journey.

  We arrived at Nadine’s prepared to encounter armed resistance.

  We hadn’t expected to find her front door gaping open under the afternoon sun.

  Landis tensed. His eyes slowly turned toward mine, cast-iron glints in the car’s shaded interior. He lifted his clenched fists to me, and I took the offer as it stood. I dug my pocketknife out of my pants and sliced the duct tape binding his wrists together. Vengeance could be levied later. Right now, he and I had a common enemy.

  Frankly, I needed all the help I could get.

  We piled out of the limo into the unshadowed verge, most of us flinching against the sting of sunlight splashing onto exposed skin. The stench of freshly spilled blood slapped at us halfway across the yard. I broke into a lope, terrified I’d find my sister’s body among the dead. A silent prayer filled the void created within me by the horrifying possibility of her broken, bloodied remains being scattered across a stranger’s living room floor.