Bound by Blood Box Set

by Lane Hart

  “That’s the ring I gave Kate’s mother, although we never had a chance to get married. I hope you’ll give it to Kate when you ask her,” he said, as he started getting emotional.

  I held the small ring still hanging from the chain. It was a single and perfectly clear round diamond raised on a silver band.

  “I will. Thank you, I know this will mean a lot to her,” I told him, as I felt overwhelmed by my own emotions. Then the doorbell rang, making both of us jump.

  “Oh fuck,” I said as I put the small delicate ring in my pocket and walked to the door.

  “Answer it. I’ve got you covered,” her dad said as he pulled out his big ass gun.

  I looked out the peephole and let out my breath. “Thank God! It’s just Joselin.”

  “Joselin?” he asked as I unlocked the door and opened it for her.

  “Hey, Joselin. I completely forgot you were coming in today. There’s been a lot of shit going on.”

  “Oh Sam, I’m sorry. I should have called and given you a heads up when I got to the border. What’s wrong? Is Kate okay?” she asked as she gave me a quick hug then walked into the living room. She froze, seeing that Kate’s dad had his gun pointed at her.

  “It’s okay. Joselin, this is Kate’s dad, Tom Adams. Tom this is my um, vampire mom, Joselin,” I quickly made the introductions to hopefully diffuse the situation. I figured I didn’t need to call Kate’s dad “Mr. Adams” after being an accomplice to his first degree murder, and I was about thirty-five years older than him.

  The two of them continued to eye each other. Joselin looked mostly the same as the last time I’d seen her. I always forgot how young she looked when I hadn’t seen her for a long time. She acted like such an old hen, even though she only looked a few years older than me. Her dark hair had grown out longer down her back and she was wearing a dress, making her look even younger. Her dark brown eyes were still assessing Kate’s dad, and I hoped she wouldn’t make a scene.

  At least Tom had changed and gotten all the blood off of himself before he came over, or she really would have freaked out. He finally put his gun down his back waistband and we all heaved a sigh of relief. He stepped forward and held out his hand to her, shocking the shit out of me.

  “Nice to finally meet you,” he said. Finally? Oh yeah, that’s right, he said Liz had told him about me and Joselin.

  “You too,” Joselin said taking his hand. “Although it feels like I already know you from all the times I’ve seen your face on TV. Except for the hair, which makes you look about twenty years younger,” she rambled as she smiled, still sounding a little nervous. “So what’d I miss?” she asked looking between the two of us, knowing something was up.

  “Well, Chris is no longer with us,” I told her. I couldn’t help but smile.

  “He found you? How?”

  “Spell, we assume. He kidnapped Kate at gunpoint while I was out, but he didn’t make it far. Kate’s dad had been tailing him and blew his head off.”

  “Oh!” she said as she looked from me to Tom.

  “Just hate I didn’t kill the fucker sooner,” Tom said apologetically.

  “Where’s Kate? Is she okay?” she asked.

  “Yeah, she’s been out of it ever since, but we think she’ll be okay. I hate to do this but maybe you can keep each other company? I want to be there with her when she finally wakes up.”

  “Yeah sure,” Joselin said. “Don’t worry about me.”

  “Or me,” Tom chimed in, looking pretty damn chipper all things considered.

  “Okay, thanks. You can bring your bags in and get settled in your room if you want Joselin, first room down the hall on the right.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Oh, and sorry Tom. I don’t know where you’ve been staying, but Kate’s been so worried about you I’m sure she’d like for you stay here. At least for a few days. But all we can offer you is the couch.”

  “We can share the spare room,” Joselin offered as she looked at Kate’s dad.

  “Um, yeah, it’s not really that big-,” I started before he interrupted.

  “That’d be great, thanks,” he said as he smiled at her. What the fuck had just happened? I looked back and forth between the two of them and they were smiling at each other like goofy-ass teenagers. Too fucking strange.

  “Okay, well, you two have fun,” I said with a smile. I wanted to be there for Kate when she woke up just in case she freaked out, and I couldn’t wait to tell her about this.

  Epilogue

  Kate

  I was suffocating, trapped in a hot claustrophobic space. I couldn’t find a way out! I screamed when I heard an earsplitting explosion, then my face was suddenly covered with something dark and wet. I tried to get it off but it only kept spreading and the smell of it was making me gag. Blood? Was I covered in black blood? Oh no! Someone will see it and know I’m a witch.

  “Sam!” I cried out, but he wasn’t there. I was going to be trapped in here until I died. “Sam!” I felt helpless as my chest tightened even more and the tears started running down my face, my sobs making it even harder to get any air.

  “Kate.”

  Oh thank God! He’d finally found me. I could feel his arms holding me, but I couldn’t see him. Maybe I was only imagining him because I was so scared and I missed him so much.

  “Kate, baby, wake up.”

  “Sam!”

  “I’m right here. Shhh, you’re just having a nightmare. Shhh, calm down or you’re going to wake up Madison.”

  At her name I was finally able to break free and open my eyes. Sam was above me, his face close to mine, lit up from the bedside lamp. I couldn’t stop the tears of relief as I came back to reality and wrapped my arms around him.

  “Hey, are you okay? I thought the nightmares had finally stopped,” he said as he brushed my wet, sweaty hair from my face, and wiped away my tears.

  “I’m sorry, I thought so too.”

  “Don’t be sorry, it’s not your fault. You want to get up for a little while, try and clear your head?”

  “Will you just hold me?” I begged him.

  “Always,” he said as he pulled me closer to him. Finally I was able to take a few deep breaths to slow my racing heart and get rid of the shakes.

  “What time is it?” I asked wanting to know how long before the sun would be back up. I didn’t want to sleep anymore.

  “A little after three. Madison woke up around two-thirty and fell back to sleep before she even finished her bottle,” he said, smiling the sweet smile he always had when it came to her.

  Madison, thinking of her calmed me down. Holding her would make me feel better but I wouldn’t dare wake her up. She was only six weeks old and still woke up a few times during the night to eat. Sam would usually get up and take care of her without me ever hearing her cry.

  I never imagined he would be such a great father. Seeing how gentle he is as he holds Madison and takes care of her is absolutely the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen. I knew without a doubt that he loved her just as much as I did, and since the day she was born he’d thought of her as his. Although, it was impossible not to fall in love with her. It was just automatic after she looked at you with her big teal eyes, her adorable dark curls framing her perfect tiny face.

  “Thank you for getting up,” I told Sam as I kissed his smiling lips.

  “You know I don’t mind. You needed the sleep, I just hate you had a nightmare interrupt it.”

  “I’m already feeling better,” I said as I grinned at him and rubbed my hands through his messy hair, pulling his face to mine. The light from the bedside lamp caught the diamond on my hand, making it shimmer next to my wedding band. I never took my rings off. The engagement ring had been my mother’s, the one my dad had given her. It was the only thing I’d ever had that was my mother’s. It didn’t even seem possible that Sam and I had already been married for eight months.

  “I’d like to keep you up the rest of the night making you feel better, but we’ve got
to be up early so I’ll make it quick. Joselin and your dad just got back into town. They can’t wait to see Madison so they’re coming over for breakfast.”

  I laughed. I still couldn’t believe my dad was dating a vampire.

  “They’ve been inseparable for months now. Do you think they’re getting serious?”

  “Oh yeah. Joselin’s already mentioned the two of them wanting to get married soon, and then her turning your dad to keep him forever.”

  “What?” I yelled, then remembered to keep my voice down. “You can’t be serious. He’s going to marry her and then become a vampire? My father? Thomas Adams?”

  “Yep, she said he’s already agreed to do it. I have a feeling that’s really why they’re coming over this morning, to break the news to you. I’ve never seen Joselin so happy and in love. She’s been through a lot of husbands and never turned any of them.”

  “After everything that happened, who would have thought the two of them would be so happy together?” I said shaking my head. I knew my dad and Joselin had been traveling the world together finding spells for me. But the fact that they loved each other so much that he’d become a vampire for her was still astonishing. I’d never even seen my dad look at another woman in nineteen years.

  Sam laughed as he pressed his lips back to mine. “That’s life, crazy and sometimes completely unexpected. When you walked into mine I thought fate had finally given me everything I could ever want or need, but I was wrong. You were just the beginning.”

  Blood Ties

  Bound by Blood Book Two

  By Lane Hart

  COPYRIGHT

  This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue were created from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual people or events is coincidental.

  © 2014 Editor’s Choice Publishing

  All Rights Reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator” at the address below.

  Editor’s Choice Publishing

  P.O. Box 10024

  Greensboro, NC 27404

  Edited by D.B. West

  Cover by Vocal Design at Fiverr.com

  https://www.fiverr.com/vocaldesign

  Blood Ties is a steamy paranormal romance intended for mature audiences only due to the explicit scenes and adult language.

  Author’s Note

  Although Blood Ties is a prequel that begins prior to the events in Blood Drive, it is also a unique sequel which eventually catches up with the events and characters in Blood Drive. It is therefore recommended that readers start with the first book in the Bound by Blood Series, Blood Drive.

  Table of Contents for Blood Ties

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Epilogue

  For all the loved ones we lost too soon …

  Chapter One

  December 1994

  Thomas Adams

  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

  I was reluctantly putting up Christmas decorations when I got the call that would forever change my life.

  "Hello" I answered, as I reached and picked up the ringing phone. I watched Vanessa undo the string of lights I'd just spent forever hanging. Why do I even bother?

  "Pack your bags Adams. Training's over - we're going on your first assignment," my boss, Senior Agent Winston barked out quickly, never one to waste time.

  "Yes, sir. When do we leave and where are we going?" I asked. Anxiety washed over me at the same time as Vanessa tossed her long blonde hair and gave me the evil eye.

  "Tomorrow morning. We've got a lead in North Carolina. Be ready at eight a.m."

  "Any idea on how long we'll be gone?" I inquired for her benefit, not mine. He could send me away for years and I'd be happy, as long as there was beer and football where I was going.

  "No way to know. Pack a big suit case. I'd say a few weeks minimum."

  Maybe there is a God, I thought, then cringed. I dreaded having to listen to Vanessa bitch for the next several hours.

  "Sure. I'll see you in the morning," I told him, wishing I could leave tonight.

  "So?" Vanessa asked. There was already a scowl on her perfect Miss Pennsylvania face, and her arms were crossed in annoyance over her chest before I even dropped the phone back into the cradle.

  "I've got to leave tomorrow for North Carolina. Winston said we'd probably be there for a few weeks."

  "You better be back before Christmas," she huffed, turning her back to me as if that were the final word, and it was actually within my control.

  "I'll try, but if it goes over maybe I can drive back for a few days," I offered to appease her. Honestly I'd love an excuse to miss my mom's stuffy Christmas party, and I would kill to avoid visiting the hypocritical capital of the world - her church.

  “This is our first Christmas together, and it’s more important than whatever filthy creature is in North Carolina. I can't possibly go to all the holiday parties alone,” she said, flipping her hair over her shoulder with a huff. “What will everyone think since we're newlyweds? And who knows, by next Christmas we might even be adding another stocking."

  Jesus Christ, I hoped not. Damn it, I was going to start sneaking an extra dose of birth control pills into the woman's food. It's not like I could sneak condoms past her, but by God this was my decision too.

  "Vanessa, we've talked about this, and you know how I feel about it. We've only been married two damned months." When she continued to ignore me I added, "And just so there are no more accidents like you forgetting your pills again, we're using condoms from now on."

  Her jaw dropped and she scoffed. "Don't worry. You won't be needing condoms anytime soon."

  "Yeah I know, I'll be gone for the next few weeks," I said, just to aggravate her even more.

  "Oh, it'll be a heck of lot longer than that before I sleep with you again," she snapped, her perfect porcelain face turning bright red. I wouldn't be surprised if hellfire came blazing out of her nose, and I smiled when I pictured red horns sprouting out the top of her head. I still wasn't convinced they hadn't been previously removed with plastic surgery.

  "Good, then there won't be any accidents."

  I would not budge on this. I let the woman talk me into getting married. Hell, I even let her talk me into working for the D.R.A. But I'll be damned if I'm going to let her talk me into ruining some innocent child's life for her own selfish reasons. Just the thought of her yelling, bitching and belittling our child was more than I could take, making me snap at her before I could reel the words back in.

  “Besides, it's not like I can miss something I never have. If the thought of touching me was so revolting, then why the hell did you marry me?"

  “I’d be willing to … sleep with you if you’d give me what I want.” So she was holding out on me until I gave in and knocked her up. Never going to fucking happen. I shouldn’t have married her, and if I could go back in time two months, I’
d hop in the DeLorean with Doc and yank myself out of that goddamn church.

  “You do know a man and woman can fuck without procreating right? Or did they leave that part out of bible study?”

  With that final shot, Vanessa stomped out of the room, then up the steps to our bedroom where I heard the door slam. Ah, peace.

  This wasn't right. I shouldn't want to piss my wife off just to get her to shut the fuck up and leave me alone. And I shouldn't have to worry about her trying to get pregnant behind my back. I knew something was up when she actually wanted to screw me several days in a row, which was a chore in and of itself. The woman was impossible to please in bed, just like she was everywhere else. Getting suspicious, I went looking for her pill container. Sure enough she'd missed almost a week’s worth of birth control. I'd held my breath until she had her period, and swore I'd never be stupid enough to let her pull that shit on me again.

  Everything about that woman was a trap, her appearance first and foremost. How someone could be so beautiful and so damn evil was beyond me. Her gorgeous face, long wavy blonde hair and hourglass figure made men fall all over themselves for her. Even I fell for it. She strung me along with one manipulation after another. I didn't find out until after we were married that underneath that flawless exterior was an arrogant, hateful, and downright spiteful bitch.

  Vanessa and her family thought they were Philly royalty, sort of like my own mother and sister. I couldn’t stand to go out into public with a single one of them. It always ended the same way - embarrassing me by bitching out an undeserving waitress or clerk for being incompetent. The bottom line was it was nothing more than a fucking power trip.