“What happened? We were celebrating, and I feel like I lost some time.”
Flynn told him everything. When he got to the part about what Death had warned, he looked nervous.
“That’s not good. Have you patrolled the house and the property yet?” he asked.
“No, I’m going now. I wanted you to be awake when I went out there.”
“I’ll go with you.”
He patted his mate on the bare leg. “No, you’ll stay with Jolie. I can’t be killed. If the Tueur are out there, you’re in as much danger as she is.”
He didn’t fight.
Flynn had a point.
“I’ll pop out there and look around. I won’t be gone long.”
Flynn gave Jolie a slow kiss. “I love you, baby.”
When he stood, his fangs were out, and his eyes were black. “Miss me.”
Then he was gone.
That was new. Flynn didn’t pop in and out before. Going back to wherever they were must have opened more of his memories.
He was getting stronger.
“Hey, my love, are you hungry?” Jacques asked. “Do you want to feed?”
She did.
As she climbed into his lap, he cuddled her close. “You feel upset.”
“I’m worried.”
“About?”
“Flynn.”
“Why?”
She told him about the demon thing, and as she did, Jacques face said it all.
“I absolutely want him to convert you. You’ll never die, and that’s a blessing. Don’t worry about me. I’m hard to kill, and you wear the bull’s-eye.”
“I will worry about you, Jacques. You’re our mate.”
He kissed her on the lips. “Yes, and my duty is to make sure you’re safe.”
Jolie sniffed her mate. When she played with the ring on his finger, both of their hearts skipped.
“Married men are sexy.”
He laughed. “I should have married you six hundred years ago.”
Jolie found the artery in his neck and bit down. His blood rushed into her mouth, and she fed their children. When she was done, Jacques cuddled down into the bedding with her.
“So, what’s Demon Flynn like?” he asked.
“He’s strong, powerful, and can shut Death up with a snap of his fingers.”
He was amused.
“What’s he look like?”
Jolie shared it with him.
“So not like Flynn?”
She shook her head. “He has some attributes, but that’s it. The hair was the same, his nose was his, but his cheekbones were sharper, and his mouth fuller. He’s more dark, mysterious, and lethal.”
He was a little jealous.
How could he not be?
Jacques wanted to see their spouse in his real form too.
As he was about to say more, there was a loud crash from downstairs.
Jacques went on alert.
“You stay here.”
She wasn’t going to do that, and he should know it by now. As he raced down the stairs, he found Detective Gress moving around the room, destroying everything in his path.
It was very reminiscent of what had happened to Jacques when the spell overwhelmed him.
“He’s out of control,” Jolie said, only getting his attention.
When Tommy pulled out a gun, pointing it at them, they knew they were screwed. The chances were, it was loaded with silver.
As he raised his arm, Jacques moved to stand in front of Jolie. At the sound of the gun going off, he closed his eyes…
And hoped for the best…
∞ Chapter Thirty ∞
Flynn was searching the trees for any sign of the Tueur. So far, he couldn’t pick up a trace of them. If they were there, he’d know. After all, he could smell those animals a mile away.
When he found them, and their leader, he was going to cut the head off the snake—if not for abducting Jolie’s brother, but for hunting his mate.
His wife.
As he crept through the trees, he suddenly heard Jolie’s gasp in fear.
It scared him.
Flynn popped out of the trees and back into the house.
That’s when he saw it.
His friend, and partner, was about to kill them. Tommy’s finger was on the trigger, and he knew with his aim, it was going into someone’s heart.
So, he did what he could.
Flynn moved in front of him.
He stood there, acting like armor for the two people he loved. As Tommy kept pulling the trigger, he felt the silver hit his body shot after shot.
They left burning holes in his flesh.
The last one hit him in the heart.
Flynn’s heart stuttered in his chest, and before he knew it, he was falling to the ground.
He could hear Jolie shout his name, and see Jacques head right for Tommy.
He hoped he’d been in time.
Flynn didn’t want to lose his mate.
Ever.
Jacques neutralized the situation.
As soon as he pinned Tommy Gress to the ground, he feasted from him.
It drained the human enough that he’d be manageable. When he was done, he glanced over at Flynn, lying on the floor. He wasn’t moving, and Jolie looked worried.
“What’s wrong?”
“The bullet didn’t work itself out,” she said, glancing up at her mate.
Jacques knelt beside them and dug his dagger out of his boot. He was glad Flynn was ‘dead’. He wouldn’t like this.
Sticking it into his flesh, he dug the silver bullet from his heart, and as he hoped, Flynn took a breath.
“Are you both okay?” he asked, blinking a few times.
Jolie stroked his cheek. “We’re good.”
He struggled to get up. “Is Tommy dead?” he asked.
“No, I drained him.”
Flynn helped Jolie from the floor. As they headed toward the man, Flynn could smell the spell.
“They’ve visited us again, and it’s pissing me off,” he roared.
The room shook with his anger.
They had come close to killing Jolie and Jacques.
“They will die.”
They knew who he meant. The black magick was back, and they were just lucky that it didn’t target all of them. Tommy was the weakest one, next to Mina, in the house.
When he moaned, Flynn patted his cheek.
“Hey! Wake up.”
“What happened?” he slurred.
“You attacked us.”
“I was with Camille and Cari, and I blacked out,” he said, going back under again.
Jolie glanced over at her mates. “Where are Camille and Cari?” she asked.
Flynn couldn’t reach them. “They’re with death.”
Jolie needed to check on them. As she headed up the stairs, and to their room, she could smell the blood.
“Flynn! Jacques!”
Both mates came running.
With her energy, Jolie shoved the door open. On the floor was a ruined Camille and Cari.
They’d been damaged.
“Jesus,” muttered Flynn, approaching the broken child. She looked like a doll that had been tossed around.
Jacques picked Camille up and placed her on the bed. He knew they needed to deal with the situation at hand.
“They’ve lost a lot of blood.”
She had to make a decision. “Wake Camille. We’ll feed her, and when she’s strong enough, we’ll let her handle Cari.”
Flynn shoved energy into her body, and she began waking. She hissed in pain as soon as she was awake.
“Tommy hurt us,” she whispered, when she saw it was her mistress and her mates.
They were safe.
Jacques moved closer to feed her. They didn’t need anyone drinking from Flynn. His blood was pretty toxic.
Who knew what would happen?
“Camille, feed. We’ll get you better, and then we’ll help Cari.”
She too
k his offered throat and started gulping blood to satiate how hungry she was.
When she finally pulled away, Flynn let Camille lean against him.
“What happened?” Jolie asked, as Camille’s wounds began disappearing.
“We were in here playing with Cari. All of a sudden, he stood up and lost it.”
She touched her cheek. “He didn’t know he was doing it.”
Camille looked scared, and heartbroken all at the same time. No one could blame her. That was the problem when you had been abused for all those years. She was going to be skittish.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“It was a spell. Flynn picked it up.”
“It’s true. Tommy is a victim too.”
That helped her relax. “Where is he?”
“He’s in the family room. He’s out cold.”
Jolie touched the vampyre’s hand. “You should go to death. When you wake, Cari is going to need you to take care of her.”
She picked up her daughter and climbed into the bed. When Flynn tucked her in, she stared up at him with tears in her eyes. “He’s going to be okay, right? I didn’t lose him forever, have I?”
He smiled at her, trying to reassure her.
“Tommy is going to be fine, and so are you. Why don’t you rest? We’ll handle the rest.”
She closed her eyes, cuddled Cari against her chest, and called for Death.
When she was gone, Flynn let out a sigh.
“What?” Jacques asked.
“This isn’t over.”
They were confused.
“What do you mean?”
“Tommy just beat the hell out of his pregnant mate and a child. He’s a cop. This is going to break him.”
They understood what he meant.
And Flynn was right.
Tommy Gress was going to hurt.
In fact, he was likely never going to forgive himself.
* * * H a r c o u r t e * * *
Tuesday Early
Morning
Pre-Dawn
It had been a long few hours.
After getting Camille and Cari settled, Flynn and Jacques headed out to find the spell and dig it up. The person who planted it was ballsy.
It was right outside their door—in the same exact spot as the last one.
At least they made it easy.
Now that they were cleaning up that mess, they could focus on what still had to be done.
Cari was a mess.
Flynn had been in contact with Clariel, and she was scared.
The Tueur was coming.
Tommy was going to be wounded.
They had their work cut out for them. As they rested on the couch as the sun came up, Flynn was beginning to wonder if they were in over their heads.
“What are you thinking about?” Jolie asked, rubbing her hand up and down his arm.
“What to do next. I’m worried that we won’t stay one step ahead of the Tueur. Even with death, this is getting messy.”
They’d been thinking the same thing.
“All we can do is try to keep our heads afloat and go from there,” Jacques offered.
“Yeah, I know, but I feel guilty—almost like it’s my fault. We brought the family here, and it’s getting dangerous. I wanted to hunt the Tueur, I made that deal with Death, and now we’re in danger.”
“It’s not your fault, Flynn,” Jacques offered. He’d been thinking the same thing, and he couldn’t help it.
“This is my fault,” said Detective Gress, standing in the doorway. Just the look on his face showed how bad he was feeling about what he’d done to his mate. “I hurt them,” he said, the tears beginning to flow down his cheeks.
Flynn focused on him. “Tommy, you were under a spell. You aren’t to blame.”
“I brought them here. I got scared and came here. I made a mistake.”
Yeah, Flynn felt bad about that too.
Jolie hated to see him suffering.
“Shhhhhh, it is okay, Tommy. Really, you’re not to blame,” she reassured.
“How do I forgive myself?” he asked. “I took the woman I love, and I broke her into pieces.”
His flesh went pasty white, and there were beads of sweat across his brow.
Flynn grabbed the waste paper can and handed it to him.
He was just in time.
Tommy tossed everything in his stomach.
While he was sick, they waited for him to get it all out. They’d all been there before. Each one of them had lived that guilt.
“They’ll be okay. You have to relax. It’s going to be fine, Tommy,” she whispered holding him as his body shook.
Jacques was about to add his own reassurance when Vanth entered the room.
“Father, we have a very large problem,” said Vanth, glancing over at Flynn.
“What?”
Vanth moved toward the demon who had create her. “Right now, we have over thirty vampyres moving on this house. We’re surrounded.”
That was all he had to hear.
Flynn scanned their surroundings. “She’s right. We have to get the hell out of here.”
Jolie stood and called for Percy and Mina. They had to get moving. “Vanth, can you buy us some time?”
Flynn stopped her. “I’ll go. Vanth, I want you to be all over Jolie. If they get too close, get her out of here. She’s your priority.”
Jacques went to stand beside his mate. “I’ll fight with you. You aren’t doing this alone.”
He hugged him. “You have to stay with Jolie. She has to live. No matter what, you keep our kids alive. My daughter needs to be born. Promise me!”
He held out his hand. “I will die to keep that promise, Flynn. Be safe and come back to us.”
He grinned. “I’ll make sure we’re okay. I have a few tricks up my sleeves. As long as they don’t know what I am, we’re good.”
Jolie kissed him. “Be safe. Come back to me.”
He would.
Then he was gone.
Jacques started working out a plan. He had an idea.
“Tommy, go get Camille and Cari, then meet me in the basement by the wine cellar. Vanth, I need you to make sure as soon as we get into the basement, you seal that door with shelving in front of it, make it look like we didn’t come through there, then meet us in the wine cellar.”
“How will we escape?” asked Tommy, panicking.
Jacques took Jolie’s hand in his. “We’ll wait until Flynn arrives, and then we’ll head out.”
As Jolie stood there, her throat began getting warm. “The necklace,” she said, touching the stone with her finger. “It’s reacting.”
Flynn reached for her mind. ‘It’s the Destroyer’s stone. It can pick up on evil. It senses the Tueur.’
‘Flynn, be safe.’
‘I’m good, Jolie. I’ve killed a few. The rest are heading toward the house. Get that sexy ass of yours into that wine cellar and hidden.’
She didn’t argue.
As they raced down the stairs, they waited until Tommy arrived carrying both vampyres over his shoulders. Percy took Cari, and they crawled into the opening.
They could hear the footsteps on the floor above them.
They didn’t have much time.
“Vanth, make sure they don’t find this door, and then meet us in the cave,” Jacques whispered.
“On it.”
While he would have rather stood his ground and fought, Jacques knew they needed to regroup to do battle another day. Here, in this house, they were at the disadvantage.
Next time, they’d be ready.
When he was inside, crawling toward the opening with Jolie in front of him, he heard the little door close, and he imagined Vanth was moving things around.
As they entered the opening, they could see the sun beginning to rise over the water.
Jacques reached for his mate, and he could tell he was fighting for their lives. Suddenly, the demoness popped into the cave.
“Vanth, get me to him.”
She shook her head. “I can’t. He said to keep you here. Rinnon gave me my orders. Besides, he doesn’t need you. Killing is his specialty.”
They hoped the demoness was right.
They prayed that he was more Rinnon and less Flynn so he’d make it back alive.
Vanth stopped moving. “Shhhhhh. They’re in the house,” she whispered. “They’re destroying almost everything in search for you.”
“What about Flynn?” she asked.
He’d blocked them both from his mind.
“He’s killed at least a third of them. He’s moving through them.”
Jacques sat on the cave floor and held Jolie in his lap. “Keep them from finding us, Vanth.”
She could do that.
They stayed silent.
Tommy held his mate and child against him, Percy had Mina sitting in his lap, and Jolie was cuddled against Jacques.
“Where will we go, Mistress?” Mina finally asked when no one was saying it, but everyone was thinking it.
“Looks like a witch will be our new best friend. That’s the only place we might have a fighting chance.”
Jacques happened to agree. “At least there, we can hide until we move on.”
Jolie worried the ring on Jacques’s finger. All the while, she was hoping her mate would be fine.
She was scared shitless.
“Where is he, Vanth?” she asked.
The demoness scanned the area, searching for him. “He’s outside the house.”
Jacques wanted to be there with his mate. He wanted to help kill the enemy.
“How many are left?” Jolie asked.
“Fifteen.”
Jolie closed her eyes and reached for him one last time. ‘Rinnon, you make sure you come back to us!’ she pleaded.
There was laughter, but nothing else.
Well, at least he was still alive.
For now.
Flynn was in the zone. Actually, he was more along for the ride. Rinnon was on his game, and he was taking down Tueur after Tueur. It wasn’t hard.
They didn’t even hear him coming. By the time they realized what was stalking them, he’d ripped off their heads or tore out their hearts.
They were so focused on the house, that they didn’t see what lurked in the shadows.
Dangerous Sacrifice (The Harcourte Vampyre Society Book 6) Page 36