“Fair enough,” Brigid said. “I’m not interested in getting them into trouble. I’m more worried about whatever they were planning and if they got in over their heads.”
Tonya nodded slowly. “You got a piece of paper?”
Brigid withdrew the notebook that lived in her leather jacket. “As a matter of fact, I do.”
* * *
“Daniel Siva,” Brigid read from her notebook as they drove to their friends’ house in Pasadena. “He has a record, but only for minor drug possession and one disorderly conduct in some place called Indio. I don’t know where that is.” She glanced at him. “So odd to see you driving a car.”
“It’s been a while.” Carwyn leaned back and navigated the Los Angeles streets in his friend Giovanni’s classic Mustang. Classic cars lacked the digital technology prevalent in newer cars and were far easier for vampires to drive. “It’s a bit cramped though. Must be built for an Italian.”
“Ha ha.”
“Indio is out near Palm Springs. Is that where this Daniel is from?”
“Tonya says he has a sister here in LA, but she thought his mom lived somewhere out in the desert. So maybe?”
“And no idea where his house is?”
“No.” Brigid continued reading through the notes she’d taken when she was out with Father Anthony. “Tonya said Daniel was involved in all sorts of causes. Homelessness, immigration, animal rights, the environment.”
“Immigrant rights could have been something Lupe was drawn to considering her legal status.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised. I wonder if Daniel knew Lupe’s situation. Tonya said he worked for at least four organizations she knew of.”
“Busy lad keeping himself occupied.”
Brigid tapped on her notepad. “Drug possession on his record. He might be in recovery.”
Carwyn had known more than one addict in recovery—including his darling wife—who couldn’t abide being idle. Idle time meant space to think about getting high.
“None of the organizations he worked for will be open at this hour,” Carwyn said. “Do you want me to try to stay awake in the morning and give them a call?” He’d be groggy, but he could manage, unlike Brigid. At her age, she was out with the sunrise.
“Don’t be silly,” Brigid said. “I’ll ask Beatrice.”
“Oh right. Good idea.”
The friends they were staying with were not only vampires but also some of Carwyn’s oldest friends. They were also investigators in their own way, though their business had more to do with retrieving rare books and the odd document that immortals misplaced over the centuries.
Giovanni and Beatrice had impeccable connections in Los Angeles. Beatrice was also a day-walker, an immortal genetic quirk related to her vampire sire. Uncommon, but not unheard of.
“Beatrice usually has half a day to kill at least,” Brigid said. “Might as well give her something to do. And her great-great-great-grandfather is the vampire in charge of the city. She’ll know the right people to call.”
“In addition to information about this young man” —Carwyn angled his shoulders to try to get more comfortable— “can Beatrice see about a more comfortable vehicle?”
“Something along the lines of a monster truck?”
Carwyn’s eyes lit up. “You brilliant woman. Can we?”
Brigid laughed. “You’re mad; we’d never find parking.”
“We’re not going to be driving during rush hour. We’re dead to the world all day.”
Brigid sighed. “Don’t remind me. I have a feeling that’s going to complicate this case. Too many humans involved.”
Personally, Carwyn considered vampire sleep one of the highest benefits of immortality. There was no chance of insomnia or restless sleep. You were awake or you were out. It suited his personality beautifully.
He eyed his wife with some satisfaction. “Enjoying yourself?”
She gave him a sideways glance. “Enjoying myself seems like an odd way to put it when we’re trying to track down a missing girl.”
“Have you talked to Murphy and Tom tonight?”
She looked out the window. “Called them when we woke up.”
“And?”
Brigid crossed her arms. “And nothing exciting is happening in Dublin—is that what you want to hear? The most excitement they’ve had is a visit from a manufacturer in Ghana who’d like to produce a new kind of shell for Murphy’s hardware. Are you happy?”
“Are you?” Carwyn kept strict control of the smile that wanted to erupt. “All I’m trying to point out is that you’re out here, doing good in the world, while business back in Dublin is proceeding exactly as it should with a security team that’s more than competent.”
“Are you saying they don’t need me?”
Trick question, Carwyn! Do not walk into the trap.
“I’m saying…” He smiled slowly. “That the organization and updates you’ve set in place have allowed Dublin to operate as one of the safest cities in the vampire world.”
There. Avoided that hazard handily. Nicely done, self.
The corner of Brigid’s mouth twitched. “What a diplomat you are.”
“I only speak the truth. Who knows? Maybe Lupe would enjoy studying in Dublin. She seems a very bright girl.”
“Hmmm.” Brigid turned her eyes back to the road. “What is that girl up to? What was she thinking?”
“You’ve been a teenage girl far more recently than I have, so you’re going to have to take the lead on that question.”
“Ha!” Brigid shook her head. “I was a mad, angry little thing. I didn’t think about anyone but myself. Lupe sounds like the kind of girl who hoists the whole world on her shoulders and is determined to carry it.”
“Maybe that’s where we start then.” Carwyn steered the car off the highway and onto the quiet, dark streets of Pasadena. “Who did Lupe think needed her help?”
“Oh dear.” Brigid sighed. “That could be a problem.”
“Is it?”
Brigid opened her phone again and looked for something.
Carwyn brought the car to a stop at a light and she held out the screen for him to see. “Who’s that?”
“That’s Daniel Siva, the boy she disappeared with.”
Carwyn groaned. “Dark, brooding boy with long locks and soulful eyes. Drug possession. Are we guessing he has a tortured past?”
“I don’t know if he does or not,” Brigid said. “But if Lupe thought Daniel needed her help, do you think she’d refuse?”
“I’ve read too many romance novels to doubt you.” He steered the car toward the exclusive enclave of San Marino and the walled estates where his friends had found safety and anonymity in the middle of the city. “I think your instincts are right. If we find Daniel Siva, we’re going to find Lupe Martínez.”
* * *
It was close to dawn when Brigid exited the spa-like bathroom in the guesthouse at Giovanni and Beatrice’s place. She walked out of the bedroom and into the living area, looking for her husband while she rubbed a towel over her short crop of hair.
“Carwyn?”
“Outside!”
She stayed barefoot and walked out to the garden, but she still couldn’t spot her mate. “Where are you?”
She didn’t hear Carwyn, but he sent a tickle of energy through the blood bond they shared. She turned to the left and headed behind the guesthouse and down a short hill covered in various species of palm trees.
The rustle of the breeze soughing through the leaves brushed her ears like silk against skin. The night was deep and silent around her, and the only sound was the wind through the palms. The thin nightshirt she wore fluttered against her hips, and the night air was cool on her bare legs.
She sensed him before she heard him. She turned to the right and smiled a second before he tackled her to the ground, caging her body with his so she felt nothing of the impact but the soft ground against her back and his mouth capturing hers.
The ea
rth curved around them, moving as her mate commanded it. He wore a pair of loose pants and nothing else. His chest was sprinkled with red hair, and his body bore the scars of human life and immortality married to a fire vampire.
She was past worrying about the scars she sometimes left when her element overtook her. Carwyn didn’t seem to mind the sting, and more often than not, he provoked it.
In the dark shadows of the palms, he tugged her shirt up and over her head, latching his mouth to the sensitive rise of her breasts.
Brigid closed her eyes and wiggled out of her clothes as her mate feasted on her. His fangs nicked the sensitive underside of one breast, making her gasp. She scented the blood rising to the surface and the slow, leisurely pull of his mouth and tongue as he fed from her.
The earth beneath her back hummed with energy, pushing her into his arms. Carwyn sealed the delicate wound and worked his mouth down her body, tasting the hidden corners and angles she covered with armor through the night.
She had no armor with him. None. He stripped her bare, and she came back every night for more. He was her own personal supplicant, worshipping her body as he knit her soul together a little more with every passing night.
“Beloved.” He breathed against her skin and his mouth dipped between her legs and Brigid’s back bowed in pleasure. “Beloved.”
Brigid adored him with a love that bordered on idolatry. As he brought her to climax, she saw stars behind her eyes and felt her skin heat against the damp morning air. Steam rose as Carwyn rose over her, kissing her mouth as she pushed him to his back and straddled his hips.
Her fangs were sharp and aching in her mouth. She lost all sense of control, shoving his pants down his hips and driving her body onto his as he bowed up from the earth and caught her by the nape, pressing her mouth to his neck.
“Bite.” He commanded her in a low voice, and she obeyed.
Brigid’s teeth pierced the heated skin of his neck, and his rich, ancient blood entered her as she rode his body toward climax.
Chapter Six
Famed vampire Giovanni Vecchio was juggling a headstrong six-year-old, a formidable nanny, and a barking puppy when Carwyn found his old friend the following night in the main living room.
“Carwyn!” Giovanni spotted him and his eyes lit up. “Excellent. Can you help me with…” He motioned generally to the chaos around him.
Carwyn picked his niece up by her ankles and lifted her as she burst into giggles. “Giovanni, what possessed you to get this strange chew toy for the new dog? It doesn’t look like it would taste very good, even for a Labrador. And we all know they’re not picky about food.”
Sadia Vecchio, Giovanni and Beatrice’s daughter, had been adopted before she was two. She didn’t remember when vampires weren’t a part of her life, and Carwyn and Brigid were a fixture. “Uncle Carwyn, I’m not a chew toy!”
Dema, Sadia’s nanny, watched from the doorway as Percy, the half-grown black lab that had joined the family four months ago, ran in circles and yapped.
Carwyn glanced at Dema. “How’s the training going?”
“Dog training?” Dema shook her head. “That’s Zain’s department, not mine. I wrangle the child; he wrangles the dog.”
“Speaking of Zain, I was wondering if I might speak to him about borrowing a vehicle while we’re here.”
Giovanni frowned. “The Mustang isn’t a good fit?”
Dema started laughing. “Shoulders, Gio. Look at him.”
The Italian shrugged. Though he was tall and broadly built for a five-hundred-year-old European, his blood was from warmer climes. He looked miniature compared to Carwyn’s bulk.
“Talk to Zain,” Giovanni said. “He’ll be able to connect you with something. A pickup truck maybe?”
“I am voting for a monster truck,” Carwyn said, swinging Sadia back and forth. “Brigid seems to think it’s a bad idea for some reason.”
Giovanni pointed to the girl. “If she vomits, you’re cleaning it up.”
Carwyn flipped the girl upright. Her eyes were going in two directions. “There you go, Sadia, my girl. I suppose you’re not a chew toy after all.”
Giovanni said, “Sadia, can you take Perseus in the backyard so Baba and Uncle Carwyn can talk please?”
“Okay.” She ran toward the french doors, bumping into only one side table on the way toward the backyard. “Percy, come!”
Dema followed them and closed the doors behind her.
Giovanni closed his eyes. “The quiet.”
“Whose idea was it to get a dog?”
“Sadia’s. And Zain backed her up, the betrayer.”
Giovanni and Beatrice’s driver, chef, and man-about-town was Zain. When both parents were vampires, day staff was a necessity. Zain was an excellent human and a bang-up chef. Carwyn would have hired him in a minute.
“Good pup. You can’t go wrong with a well-trained Labrador.”
“Where are your hounds these days?”
Carwyn had bred and raised Irish wolfhounds for centuries. “Wicklow. I handed the mob over to Deirdre’s foreman at the farm since Brigid and I are traveling so much. I miss them, but they’re happy as pigs in mud.”
Giovanni raised a curious eyebrow. “Any progress on what we were talking about last month?”
“I brought up the idea of quitting in New York.” He sank into a chair opposite the fire. “She’s considering it.”
“Things like what you’re doing here are far more her strength,” Giovanni said. “There’s no challenge left for her in Dublin. The city runs like a well-oiled machine.”
“I know.”
“Hmm.” Giovanni crossed his arms. “Perhaps Beatrice can convince her.”
“One thing’s for certain,” Carwyn said. “She’ll make up her own mind about it and that’s that. She’s not looking for advice from me or anyone.”
* * *
“No, I’d love your advice,” Brigid said. She and Beatrice were in the library to do some work on the computer loaded with the voice-activated Nocht system that Brigid’s boss had designed for vampire use.
“I don’t know how much help I can be,” Beatrice said. “I’ve never been in your situation. When I quit working at the library here, it was a necessity. I couldn’t work at a human research library as a vampire. And I didn’t have the same loyalty to my employers there.”
“Exactly. I know Carwyn and Murphy don’t get along. I know they’ve always annoyed each other. I just don’t know why that’s supposed to be my problem.”
“It’s not,” Beatrice said. “It’s theirs. They’re grown men, for goodness’ sake. Don’t let them convince you that it should be your issue.” She got out her heavy, plastic-encased computer and set it on the library table.
“It’s just that…” Brigid thought hard. “I can’t forget that I was a mess. I was an addict, and he gave me a chance. Working for Murphy was my lifeline for years. It kept me sane. Working with Tom and Declan… I mean, I’ve never had brothers, but it feels a bit like I do when I’m working with them. I feel like I’m part of something important.”
“And you’re worried that if you quit working for Murphy, you won’t have that anymore?”
“I won’t. I’m not saying they won’t be friends, or even that they’d resent my decision—I don’t think they would—but it wouldn’t be the same.”
Beatrice opened her computer and stared at the screen. “I can see that.”
“I’d be on my own. I’d have Carwyn of course, but I wouldn’t have a team.” Brigid blinked. “Fuck me!”
Beatrice frowned. “What?”
“I just realized something.”
“What? That you’re secretly in love with me and we should leave our annoying husbands and run away together to form a female-only immortal island like Wonder Woman but with vampires?”
“No— Well…?” Brigid nodded. “Tempting, but no. I just realized I’m a team player. I like having a team.”
“Oh. Yes. I agree, you work wel
l in collaboration.”
“Anything you need to talk about? That island fantasy seemed pretty well planned out.”
“No… Maybe? No.” Beatrice opened a notebook and started scrolling through something on the computer, her hands in specialized gloves. “I’m okay. Six-year-olds and puppies are exhausting, especially in combination.”
“That tracks.” Brigid nodded at the computer. “Any news?”
“I heard back from my grandfather’s security guy. Daniel Siva doesn’t show up on any of their radars, so whatever he’s involved in, it’s likely unrelated to anything immortal. That’s good and bad. Probably less dangerous for the missing girl, but also less information I can offer you on tracking him down. Do you need to get into LAPD’s system?”
“Oh no, Declan already got me inside there. It’s not very secure.”
Beatrice laughed. “Yeah. I know. So what are you guys going to do about finding this guy?”
“Old-fashioned legwork, it appears,” Brigid said. “We’ll be needing a car. Hopefully one that fits my husband’s shoulders if that’s possible.”
Beatrice pursed her lips. “Have you thought about renting a monster truck?”
“Not you too.”
* * *
Zain held the keys out with a grim look on his face. “Bring it back with a scratch and you’re repainting it yourself. I just had it detailed.”
Carwyn felt his heart sing. It wasn’t a monster truck, but it was close. “Is that a matte black 1970 Ford Bronco?”
“Yes, it is.” Zain got in Carwyn’s space. He wasn’t as large as the Welshman, but he was tall and thick in the chest. His neat locks were tied back in the low knot he wore when he was cooking or lifting weights. “It’s my father’s 1970 Bronco, to be exact. It’s also been completely rebuilt so it runs like a dream and the suspension isn’t shit. The interior is all new. The seats are custom. This is my baby, Carwyn.”
Saint’s Passage: Elemental Covenant Book One Page 5