“Nicki cut the brakes on our limo.” My voice wavered as pure rage continued to pound against my stomach. Then I thought of Mr. Jackson. “How is Mr. Jackson? Darcy?” Oh my God, my best friend had been almost killed by vampires… again. “Did anyone get hurt at the funeral home?”
“Whoa!” Sam said. “One thing at a time.”
Dad traded places with Dr. Vieira, who was fiddling with my chart. His dark-green eyes locked on my diamond. “Beautiful.”
Nicki and everything that had happened dulled in the background for the moment as though the diamond surrounded by amethysts had the magical ability to make me smile.
“I have a lot to catch up on,” Dad said. “But I’m afraid that I must go.”
I angled my head. “Where?”
“Dad broke out of jail to save Abbey,” Sam said.
“So you’re going back to jail?” I asked. “And what do you mean save Abbey?”
Dr. Vieira pushed Dad to the side. “Enough. Her heartbeat is all over the place, and until she gets some rest, no more talk about enemies, jail, or death.”
“We’ll talk soon,” Dad said.
Webb eyed Dr. Vieira. “Can I have five minutes alone with Jo?”
“Not a minute more.” Dr. Vieira started to usher Dad and Sam out of the room.
“Steven,” Webb said. “We need to talk before you return to Boston.”
“Dad?” I called.
Dr. Vieira glared at me. “Make it quick, Jo.”
Sam and Dr. Vieira disappeared, while Dad stood at the foot of my bed. His shoulder-length black hair was mussed around his shoulders, and the lines around his eyes seemed to have multiplied since he was arrested.
“My grandfather told me that I would be the one to kill Edmund.”
Dad swayed for a second. “Is he the old man in your dreams?”
I nodded once. “I always knew he looked familiar. Anyway, he said that if Edmund doesn’t die, then he’ll continue to cause death and destruction, and Abbey will die in the process.”
My dad lowered his gaze as though he already knew of the premonition.
“But you know the rest. Don’t you, Dad?”
On shaky legs, he sank into the chair in the corner of the room. “I do.”
Lines dented Webb’s forehead. “What’s going on?”
Dad pinched his nose. “Just before my father died, he told me that a little girl would be born who could see into the future before she could even walk or change into a vampire and that she would come into my life when I was least expecting it. But when she did, I was to do everything in my power to protect her.”
“Because Edmund would use her for his own lab experiments,” Webb said.
“True.” Dad sighed. “But more importantly, she is the only natural-born female vampire who will be able to have children that will also bear the natural-born vampire gene.”
Up until that moment, I’d never thought too hard about having children or even wondered if I could conceive. I knew vampire children were born to a male vampire and a human female who carried the unique blood type of Vel negative. I also knew that our population was dwindling because of the rarity of human females with that blood type. Nevertheless, I was suddenly sad that Webb and I would never have children. Even so, I asked, “So I can’t have kids?”
My dad sighed. “I’m afraid not, pumpkin.”
Webb leaned in close to my ear. “We can always adopt.”
I wasn’t so sure how we could raise a human baby unless our race had children who carried the natural-born vampire gene. Even then, those types of children wouldn’t be able to turn vampire, not without the blood of their biological fathers.
“Dad, my grandfather also said that Abbey is naturally and slowly changing into a vampire. She won’t need Edmund’s blood to make the change, and by the age of sixteen, she will be a vampire.”
“Which explains her powers at the age of four,” Webb said. “Steven, Abbey shouldn’t be near or with Jonah. He can’t be trusted. We’ve had one too many moles among us. My sister and now Dr. Case.”
I did a double take. “Dr. Case is a mole?”
“He stole all the reserve blood that Dr. Vieira kept for emergencies,” Webb said. “That’s why you almost died.”
The machines and other items in the room started to shake as my anger rose, or maybe Dad’s anger was helping to cause a small earthquake.
“Stop. Both of you.” Webb raised his voice. “We need to regroup, figure out how to clean up the problems we have, and prevent other issues from happening. And that means finding and killing Edmund and Patrick. According to Case, Patrick is the one in charge. He’s the one that instructed Case to give all our reserve supply of blood to Agent Thomas with the CIA.”
The machines and furniture in the room skidded across the floor as Dad flew off the chair. Then he came to an abrupt halt as a whirlwind of fire with long black hair and rosy cheeks swooped in.
“Mander.” Abbey jumped into my dad’s arms. “There’s a real wolf out in the lab.”
The tension pinging off the walls vanished as my dad smiled at Abbey. “Is that so? I thought you were my little wolf.”
“Nah. I’m a vampire. Why are you sad, Mander?”
“I miss your mom. Do you know where she is?”
She hooked an arm around Dad’s neck. “No.” Then her blue gaze landed on me. “Jo, I knew you would make it.”
“How?” I asked.
When I first met Abbey, she had shown me a vision of me running in the woods from a man with red eyes. I couldn’t say her vision had come true, although it felt as if anytime I was running from someone, I was running through the woods.
She puckered her lips and shrugged. “I don’t know. I see things. You know, I turned five last week,” she said as though I was supposed to know that five was the magic number for her unique abilities to blossom.
I looked at Webb and Dad. “You did. We’ll have to celebrate.”
She squirmed in my dad’s arms. “Ooh. Can I have a pink cake?”
“Any kind you want,” Dad said. “Let’s go see if the mess hall has some cake. And Jo, I’m glad you’re alive.”
I was too. I wanted to marry the handsome vampire who looked like death and needed a year of sleep.
When Webb and I were alone, he released a huge sigh. “Finally. I wanted everyone to leave ages ago.” He sat on the edge of the bed and leaned in, brushing his lips across mine. “Don’t ever do that again. I seriously thought I’d lost you. I’ve been going nuts.”
I flattened my palms on his stubbled jaw. “I’m sorry that I scared you. Kiss me?”
His tongue was in my mouth before I finished my sentence. Tingles coated my body as I returned the kiss. I wanted him to crawl into bed with me, but my eyes were getting heavy.
He broke away, rubbing the back of my hand that wore his engagement ring. “I love you more than you can imagine. Please, please be more aware of your enemies, our enemies. I can’t lose you.”
The trepidation in his voice caused my tears to surface. “I’m sorry. Everything happened so fast.”
“It always does in battle. You need to start wearing an armored vest anytime you leave the base.”
The Sentinels had special armored vests, designed to withstand daggers and swords. Regardless, I’d been at a funeral, mourning Ben’s grandmother. “How is Mr. Jackson?” The last I remembered, Ben had laid his father down on a lawn across from the funeral home.
“He’s fine. Ben is bringing him here to the infirmary. Nicki compelled him. But don’t worry about him or anything else right now. I do have some things I need to take care of. Sleep. I’ll be back before you wake up.”
I grasped his hand. “Wait. How will we capture and kill Edmund and get through every other problem we have? I really would like to get married soon.”
Happiness flickered in his eyes at the mention of marriage. “We have the mole. And before we do anything, you and your father will read the minds of every vampire and h
uman on our team. No more moles. This time when we fight Edmund, we will win.” The confidence in his tone could have filled ten football stadiums.
We would win, and if my grandfather was right, then I would be the one to kill Edmund.
11
Jo
The hot shower beat down on me, washing all the grime, blood, and grease from my hair and body. I’d slept for a solid twenty-four hours, and when I’d awoken, Webb was right beside me, sitting in the chair next to my hospital bed. I couldn’t wait until I woke up to him every morning in our bed at his house in Maine—just him and me, with no enemies on our tails, no moles, no military, and definitely no Edmund lurking in the shadows.
A knock sounded on the bathroom door. “Jo,” Dad called. “Hurry up. We’re meeting down in the war room in fifteen minutes.”
I shampooed my hair. “I’ll be there on time.”
As soon as I’d woken up that morning, Dad and Webb filled me in on everything that had happened while I’d been on my deathbed. Rachel had left Abbey with Mr. Rose. Dad had broken out of jail to get Abbey because she wasn’t safe with humans. Dr. Case was the mole, and he had given all our blood reserves to Agent Thomas. Saying that the shit was hitting the fan would have been an understatement. We needed Dad more than ever, but Hollings was on his way here to escort him back to jail.
I rinsed quickly, toweled off, then darted into my room and combed out my hair. As I was dressing, I checked the spot under my breast, where Nicki had stabbed me. Before I’d left the infirmary earlier, Dr. Vieira had explained to me that my wound wouldn’t close and he’d had to stitch it until he could find blood that had healing properties. Thanks to my dad’s blood, my skin didn’t show any signs that I had been stabbed.
I threw a T-shirt over my jeans, slipped into a pair of Chucks, then headed down to the war room. When I arrived, it was like walking into a swarm of bees. The fury was buzzing around as Hollings, Dad, and Webb stared at Nicki, who was sitting in the first row.
I climbed down the steps in my own world of happiness rather than anger. Sure, I wanted to rip out Nicki’s throat, but I had questions for her. I’d rounded the first row, when Webb sauntered up to me. His hair was tied back in a low ponytail, his stark blue eyes were bright, and his grin was sexy.
My stomach fluttered even more when he kissed me.
Nicki snarled.
I was tempted to make the kiss more passionate with my fiancé, but I wasn’t there to brag, although the idea of making her jealous did appeal to me.
“You look a million times better,” Webb said in my ear. “And smell good too.”
I warmed at his words. “What’s going on?”
“We were waiting on you.” Dad was dressed in his black cargo uniform, ready for battle. “I’ve been reading minds all night and morning, and I can’t do any more. So we need you to get into Nicki’s head.”
“Are you up for it?” Webb asked at my side.
I was more than ready. Diving into her mind was far better than asking questions that I was certain she wouldn’t answer truthfully. I sat down next to Nicki, who was chained to the chair.
She bared her fangs. “Don’t touch me.” Her dark hair fell over her face as she squirmed, pulling one cuffed arm then the other.
With her vampire strength, she should have been able to break free from the arms of her chair. “Can’t she get out of the restraints?”
“She won’t break free,” Dad said. “Dr. Vieira has given her a mild sedative that will keep her alert, but she will lack the strength to do anything.”
I almost wanted her to break free so I had a reason to fight her until the death.
Hollings, dressed in jeans and a black button-up shirt, which was out of place for the elder, cleared his throat. “Let’s get this show going. I have questions for her.”
“Can we trust you?” I asked Hollings. When Webb and I had met him in his office, I hadn’t trusted him.
“I read his mind,” Dad said. “He’s good. And what we find, he’ll keep from the other elders until we can ensure they’re not working with Edmund.”
I wondered, though, if Hollings knew of Alia Costner’s mind-blocking potion.
Dad responded to my thought. “It wasn’t blank, Jo. He didn’t take Alia’s potion.”
“Once you read her mind”—Webb went over to the table and grabbed a roll of duct tape—“Sam will erase her memories.”
“Hell you will.” Nicki spit as she said the words. “You said you wouldn’t do that if I removed Mr. Jackson out of his compelling state. I did as you ordered.”
What a brilliant idea. Not having any memories would no doubt be horrifying, at least to me.
“Then she’s off to a secure prison in Puerto Rico,” Hollings added.
Webb ripped off a piece of tape and placed it over Nicki’s mouth. “That’s so she won’t bite.”
I drew in a breath then went to work, covering her hand with mine. I closed my eyes and dove into a dark chasm. My eyes flitted back and forth as I looked for an opening or memory. When her hand twitched, I was propelled down the dark hole, the light pulling me forward. Once the darkness vanished and the sunlight beamed down, my muscles tensed at the memory of her and Webb kissing on the deck of his house in Maine. My eyes flew open.
She cackled beneath the tape.
“What is it?” Webb asked.
“Nothing.” He didn’t need to know what I’d seen. I knew they’d had one or two dates, and that was in the past. I couldn’t get jealous, although it was hard not to. I resumed my efforts, shutting my eyes as I tried another tactic. I dug my nails into her warm skin. She groaned, and when she did, the blackness suddenly vanished, and I was on a journey through her mind.
She was jealous that Kate had two men who loved her, Edmund and my dad. She despised me. She loved Webb. She felt bad that she’d had to compel Mr. Jackson into cutting the brakes on the limo. But if she couldn’t have Webb, then nobody could. So she had resolved herself to killing him too. She owed Edmund her life. He’d found her and her baby sister foraging through dumpsters behind a bar one night. He’d made her a deal. If she worked for him, he would pay her well. So she had put her sister into a boarding school for girls and started her new life with Edmund. Then images of dead bodies flickered by. One in particular had me gasping.
“Jo,” Webb said.
I opened my eyes. “I need a break.” Reading minds was tiring and creepy, and I felt every emotion of the person whose mind I was in.
“Did you learn anything?” Hollings asked.
I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand. “She killed that private detective, Diane Wallace.”
The air left the room as Dad’s rage filled every corner until he was in Nicki’s face. “She was a human. She did nothing to you.”
Hollings shoved Dad away before he clamped a hand around her throat. “You deserve to die.”
Nicki’s eyes bugged out as she kicked and squirmed, even more so when Hollings pulled out a dagger from his back pocket and positioned the tip of the blade at her jugular. “Do you want to live?” He ripped the tape off her mouth with his free hand.
She spit in his face. “You’ll never get any answers out of me. So kill me.”
I found it odd that the elder who wanted us to abide by vampire laws was ready to break one.
Dad clutched Hollings’s arm. “Enough.”
“She’s loyal to Edmund,” I said. “She won’t tell us anything.”
Hollings whipped his dark head around to look at me, his fangs shooting out, almost dripping with venom. “Then read her mind again.”
Dad guided Hollings over to the table. “Let Jo handle this.”
Webb stood close to me.
“You want to keep your memories,” I said to Nicki. “And we want to know where Edmund is.”
Hollings wagged a finger at me, his black eyes flooded with rage. “You’re not making a deal with her.”
A deal was the only way Nicki would listen or help us, e
specially if she loved her sister.
“Greg,” Dad warned, “calm down. We need to clear up all our shit before the humans get their hands on our DNA.”
“It’s too late for that,” Nicki said.
Webb moved to sit on the other side of Nicki. “She’s right. Dr. Case has given our blood reserves to Agent Thomas.”
Hollings spewed cuss words.
I locked eyes with Nicki “I suspect one of the reasons you don’t want to lose your memories is that you’ll never be able to find your sister.”
Her skin paled. “You saw that part?” Her tone was soft—a stark contrast to her snarky attitude.
I tilted my head. “So if you tell us where Edmund is, then we’ll let you keep some of your memories of your sister.”
She considered us as she gnawed on her lip. “She knows what to do in the event I die.”
I had to applaud Nicki for her staunch dedication to Edmund. If I were in her shoes, Sam would have come first over anyone. Then again, I wasn’t sure how I would decide if I had to choose between Webb and Sam, although Nicki wasn’t in love with Edmund… or maybe she was.
“Are you in love with Edmund so much that he is more important than your sister?” I asked.
“Absolutely not. But he saved my life. I owe him mine.” Her rabid personality had died off. In its place was a more controlled attitude as though she had fought her demons and was ready to die for Edmund.
“Over your sister?” Webb asked in a sympathetic tone. I imagined he was thinking of his own sister.
A tear trickled down her face. “She’s better off without me. She’s human, anyway. She doesn’t need to be exposed to this world, and with our father dead, she’ll never be able to make the change.”
“Nicki, please,” I said. “If you don’t want your sister to be part of our world, then Edmund needs to be stopped. If the CIA has our DNA, it’s only a matter of time before they start hunting vampires.”
We were shifting from Edmund building an army to something far greater and worse than what Edmund could do. The human government’s possession of our DNA would be the end of our existence.
On the Edge of Infinity (A Vampire SEAL Novel Book 5) Page 9