Bound by Blood (Vampire Romance)

by Tara Manderino

  “Before I tell you about myself, I am going to ask you remain here again tonight.”

  She nodded her head.

  “Even if you feel it is not in your best interest to do so, trust me, it is.”

  “Are you going to be here, too?”

  “Most likely not, but it will be safe for you.” He hated this part. He had never told another person what he was to tell her, but her safety demanded it. The safety of the child called for it. He let both hands slide up her neck to cup the back of her head so she could look nowhere but at him.

  “Carlos is dangerous because he’s a vampire.”

  Her eyes widened then crinkled in amusement. “You expect me to believe that?” She put her hands on his to move them from her neck.

  Instead of releasing her, he gripped her tighter, and pulled her face closer. He wanted her to focus only on him. “It’s the truth.”

  “I don’t know why he told you such a thing or where you heard stories, but there are no such things as vampires.”

  “No?” He brought her infinitesimally closer. “I am one.”

  Again, her eyes widened, but this time, they were wary. “There are no such th—“ she ended her sentence in a yelp when he pulled her closer still so they stood practically nose to nose. “Your father must have told you stories. I know the area where you grew up, the stories that have circulated for decades, centuries. Many of them are true.”

  “No,” she whispered. “They were just stories to frighten the children.”

  “No, the stories frightened the adults more because they knew they were true.”

  She tried to shake her head in denial, but he kept a firm grip on it. “Vampires are make-believe. They’re creepy looking, have long teeth and drink blood.”

  His gaze never left hers. “We do need blood to survive.”

  “Everyone does,” she said quietly.

  “The blood of others.” Her gaze focused on his. He could see she was actually considering what he was telling her.

  “Vampires fly.”

  “I don’t know I would precisely call it that.”

  She put both hands on his and tried to pull them away from her. “I don’t like playing games, Alex. And you’re frightening me.”

  “You have to know what you are up against. Why you cannot chase after Carlos alone.”

  “There are no such things as vampires,” she insisted. “How can you expect me to believe there are?”

  “How can you believe there are not?” He needed her to understand her danger.

  When she had no answer, he stepped away from her, putting more space between them, but not releasing her. He felt her shiver.

  “Louis calls me Alessandro.”

  “Yes.” The word was said warily.

  “Because that is who I was. Who he knew me as.”

  “How old do you think you are?”

  He gave her a crooked smile. “Two hundred and fifty, give or take a few years.”

  Again she shook her head. “That’s not possible.”

  “I assure you it is. I even lived in your area of the world for a while. I knew the smugglers who moved Napoleon’s brandy.”

  “That’s not hard to know. The facts are common knowledge. It hardly proves you’re over two hundred years old.”

  “I can remember when the Black Swan Inn was built.” He watched her absorb that piece of information before continuing. “None of that matters now. Understand I am the reason Carlos has the child.” He actually felt her fingers grow colder through the sleeve of his shirt. Rather than releasing her, he slid his arms down and picked her up, cradling her as he brought her over to the sofa and sat with her in his lap. He enjoyed the feeling more than he thought possible, absorbing the very essence of her. He rested his chin on the top of her head; she made no struggle. No other protests. He didn’t know if he should be worried or relieved.

  Chapter 11

  She moved around, trying to sit on her own, but he held her tighter. She forced herself to relax, to draw a deep breath and release it slowly. Outwardly, she tried to project a calmness she was far from feeling. How could she possibly believe what he had to say? He had to be mentally deranged. Didn’t law enforcement have their own set of tests, making sure their people were sane, mentally stable? The things he told her were ludicrous. For now, she would have to stay where she was. The tenseness she had sensed from him earlier seemed to be gone for the moment, but while he held her this close, there would be no escape. She had agreed to stay here this evening, so she would, especially if he was not going to be here. As soon as he was gone, she would leave. It would be safe then. And he had confirmed that Carlos had the child.

  “Will you rescue Sandy tonight?”

  “If possible. I will have to see how much help I can get.”

  “I would think the entire force would want to be there. Especially if she really is there.”

  “She is there, but I would not choose to endanger anyone more than I have to.”

  “These agents are trained to deal with situations such as this, and you know it. You probably had a good bit yourself.”

  He lifted his head, and pushed her away enough to look into her eyes. “Somehow, I did not think you believed me earlier.”

  His voice sounded resigned.

  “Oh, I did.” She assured him, crossing her fingers behind her back. What would he do if she were lying? Would he do anything?

  In the next moment, she forgot everything save holding on to his shoulders. In the space of a breath he had stood, with her in his arms. Only now he was not standing on the floor. His head brushed the ceiling. She reached her hand out to keep from crushing against it. How could that be?

  “Umm… nice trick.” She had heard of people levitating, but usually not this high or with someone in their arms. She wasn’t heavy, but could hardly be listed in the featherweight category.

  Before she finished the thought, he was on the other side of the great room. Carlos moved the same way. She couldn’t refrain from pointing that out.

  “Of course he does,” he said, as he descended, his feet touching the floor. “We share some traits. Speed is one of them.” He let her slide down the length of his body until her feet touched the floor. It was a nice feeling. Too bad the man was demented. He was, wasn’t he? There could be no other explanation.

  “But why would you think you are the reason Carlos kidnapped Sandy? She’s a Morgan, she has nothing to do with you.”

  “I see you still do not believe what I tell you, but there is more.”

  “About you being a vampire?” She stood back and looked at him. “Alex, have you told many people about this? I mean, what you think you are?”

  He twisted his lips in a travesty of a smile and shook his head. “Amazingly, you are only the second person, second mortal,” he corrected himself, “I have ever told. And you do not believe me.”

  “Did the other person?”

  “Oh yes, Philip is very aware of it.”

  He had released her near one of the chairs on the other side of the room. She sank down to lean against its arm and perched on the edge of the seat. Philip had seemed perfectly sane to her, but then so had Alex. Obviously she didn’t know how to judge people. A very real possibility.

  “Cassandra…Sandy,” he corrected when she raised an eyebrow at him, “is not unknown to me.”

  Lisa shook her head as if to clear it. “Are you related? I never heard of you before Sandy was kidnapped.”

  “You know about family trees, of course.”

  “Who doesn’t? What does that have to do with anything? Are you from some other branch of Morgan?”

  He stood in front of her but not close enough to hem her in. She appreciated it. Looking straight ahead, she stared at his chest. His broad, hard chest. She looked up to meet his gaze instead. It seemed somewhat safer since it would keep her from reaching out to run her hands along his rock hard muscles.

  “More. You do not believe I am a vampire.” He held h
is finger against her lips when she started to protest. “Just for the moment, suspend your belief and listen.” She gave a reluctant nod and he moved his finger, letting his hand fall away. He slipped both hands into his front pockets as if unsure of what to do with them. “When I was mortal -- more than two hundred and fifty years ago, I was engaged to be married. Katherine was my fiancée. We were not different from other couples.” He gave an elegant shrug, “and you could politely say we anticipated our wedding vows with disastrous results.”

  “She became pregnant?” So he had understood what she went through. Oh God! That sounded as if she believed him.

  He nodded. “But I did not know for several months. In that time, I had met a group of friends.” He said the last word as if it were something completely different; totally distasteful. “That turned out to be the real disaster.”

  “They made you a vampire?”

  He gave a brief nod. “I didn’t really understand what had happened until it was too late.”

  “You could have still married your fiancée.”

  “Hardly,” he scoffed. “I was new at this. What you see now is a civilized version of what I was.” He shook his head once, as if negating the horror of it. “There were changes that could not be masked. Changes I would not have wanted anyone to see, especially someone I loved. Eventually, I came to terms with what I am. And these days even feeding can be handled with a lot less fuss than even fifty years ago.”

  She was glad he didn’t elaborate. “So,what? You disappeared?

  “Not immediately. I created a story as to why I could not marry Katherine, why we would not suit.”

  It was her turn to shake her head. “I’m not sure if that was better or worse than my story – if it’s true.”

  “Oh, it’s true. When I realized I could not marry Katherine I approached a good friend of mine. He was delighted to marry her.”

  “You found someone else to marry her? How could you do that?” The horror she felt must have shown on her face.

  Reaching out with both hands to grip her upper arms tightly, he pulled her closer to him, up, so she was practically on her toes. “I had no choice. I loved Katherine. The world you know today is vastly different from one in the mid-seventeen hundreds. I could hardly leave her to fend for herself, to be shunned by her family and friends.”

  “So your friend knew what you had become, but your fiancée didn’t.”

  “He never knew. There was nothing for me to do but disappear. You cannot fathom it, but life was very different then, especially for women from a certain station in life.”

  “What about your family? Your parents?”

  “I kept in touch the best I could. I never wanted them to know what had truly become of me. It took quite a few years for me to come to grips with what I was.” When she made a slight struggle and pulled from him, he loosened his grip, keeping his hands on her arms.

  “Then what? How is this about the Morgans?”

  “Katherine had a son. I had a son, but he never bore my name. I followed him through his life, then his children, and so on. Cassandra is the last in the line. The Aguilar’s have never been a prolific family.”

  “How does Carlos fit in with this?”

  “That, my dear Lisa, is exactly the question I need to answer.”

  Chapter 12

  “How old is Carlos? Older than you?”

  He shook his head, then letting his hands slide down her arms he captured her hands in his, twining his fingers between hers. He detected no fear now; she wasn’t exactly relaxed, but neither was he. Not when she was this close, when he could inhale the scent of her. He squeezed her fingers before releasing them.

  “I plan to visit Carlos – alone. You will stay here.”

  “I do have a room at the Morgans. Why are you so insistent I not go there?”

  “You are safer here, especially now that you have gone to Carlos. He will know your scent and be able to follow you.”

  “I never went in. He won’t know I was there?”

  He chuckled. “You think not? He knows you from when he picked up Cassandra. Your scent marks you, and he will use it to follow you. When he is awake he will discover you have been there. As soon as he opens the door he will be able to identify you.”

  “And you? Will he know you were there with me?”

  Alex slowly nodded his head. ”He’ll know I was there, but not that we were together.”

  She moved away from him then stepped around him, heading for the door. He reached out an arm and stopped her. “You need to stay here,” he told her. “It is not an option.”

  “You never said why it’s so important. I think I will be equally safe at a mall or someplace, even the station where you work would be better.”

  “Listen to me, Lisa. I don’t think you quite believe what I tell you, I can see it in your face.” He wished she would not blush, would not send the blood rushing through her veins. “But it is the truth. I can have Louis stay here with you. He will be comfortable here, or I can take you there, those are the only options.” Philip was perfect for the daylight hours, but he didn’t like to test the man’s stamina through the night if he didn’t need to.

  She started at the other man’s name and raised a hand to her lips. “Are you going to tell me Louis is a vampire too?”

  He gave a curt nod.

  “I’ll stay. I would rather you took Louis with you – to watch your back.”

  Her response was not what he expected. He stretched out his hand and caressed her cheek. “Thank you.”

  ~*~

  He didn’t know if he really trusted her to stay put, but there was little option. It was imperative he discover why Carlos wanted the child. But before he could go there, he needed to see what Louis had been able to find for him aside from an address.

  In a matter of moments he was inside Louis’s office. He seldom saw the other vampire anywhere else but knew he had a home.

  “Why did you give her Carlos’ address?” he asked before he even closed the door.

  Sitting behind his desk, Louis didn’t bother to rise to meet him. “She asked.”

  “She’s mortal and you know it. Carlos is dangerous enough with our kind.”

  “What did you want me to do?” He sat forward in his seat, leaning on his elbows and focusing on Alex. “I certainly didn’t expect her to go after him alone.”

  “This is the twenty-first century, Louis.” He leaned his back against the door. “Women do everything on their own now.” Sometimes it amazed him at exactly what women chose to do themselves. In his world, women had been fragile creatures to be cosseted and protected. He had noted how they changed over the centuries, but sometimes he feared Louis was unaware the centuries had passed.

  “So, any leads as to why Carlos wants the child?”

  “Nothing.” Louis stood and came around the front of the desk, leaning against it and bracing his hands behind him. “I’m not sure it’s not for some normal reason. Maybe he just wants the child for ransom. The parents are well off.”

  Alex shot him a scathing look, but didn’t even bother answering such a comment. They both knew the other vampire must have a reason. That the girl was of Alex’s lineage could not be coincidental. He didn’t believe in coincidence.

  “You know, Alessandro, I can’t quite tell who you have more concern for; the woman or the child?”

  “You think it’s unusual?”

  Louis chuckled. “For you, probably not. For any others of our kind, I would definitely wonder.” Bringing his hand up to his face, Louis tapped his jaw with one finger. “You know, there was something that Carlos said one night. This was several months ago. It made no sense to me but perhaps it will to you.”

  Alex looked at him, waiting for him to speak, rolling his hand in the air hurrying his friend along.

  “He said, ‘Rubies are more valuable than you know.’ I though it a strange comment because we weren’t talking about jewels at all. He just slid the comment in, apropos
to nothing. “

  “How long ago?”

  Louis shrugged. “Maybe two months. We were at the bar, just talking.”

  “About what? Why would you remember that now?”

  “Blood. We were talking about how easy it was to obtain blood these days.” He gestured to Alex’s hand. “And because the light caught the stone in your ring.”

  Quickly, Alex brought his hand up to study the ring. A heavy gold signet with a polished ruby in the center, he seldom noticed it. He had worn it practically forever. From the time he was mortal, it had been his. It was part of him. “It was my great-uncle’s,” he told Louis. “We were rather close, so when he died, my father thought I might like it.”

  “You would never find gold like that today. Nor a ruby. Pretty perfect looking, actually. Do you think that’s what Carlos wanted?”

  Alex shrugged. “Who knows, but it’s something to consider.” It was something else for him to add to the puzzle he had given Philip. Absently thanking Louis, he took his leave.

  Moments later, he was standing in front of the older man.

  “That really is unnerving, the other man told him,” although he said it with a light note in his voice.

  Alex grinned at him. “I suppose it is.” Quickly, he outlined his visit with Louis.

  Philip waved him to the side table where he had spread out the message Alex had received earlier. Both men looked at the paper. “I’m not sure if it’s a threat, an observation, or a warning.”

  “That hardly narrows it down. Perhaps he is just taunting me.” Reaching in his pocket, Alex pulled out the second note he had received and laid it near the first. “This one is of more concern to me.”

  Philip glanced at the message, then at Alex. “French?” He held the paper closer to the light and looked again. “Lengadocian,” he said with a satisfied air before reading the message.

  “I can translate.”

  “I can read.” He shook his head when he was done. “I know you’re literally a blood hungry bunch, but this,” he indicated the papers on the table with his hand, “is total destruction. Practically Armageddon.”