by Jackie Ivie
The earth slowly settled. The mountain was going back to sleep. That had been a major earthquake. Major. It was odd that Mikhal had known of it. No. It was weird that he’d gotten a phone call that alerted him to it. She couldn’t believe it. Because if she believed that, she had to believe the nonsense about assassins who would destroy a work of archeological wonder. And then she had to believe that this wasn’t a dream. She was really experiencing this. She’d actually been in a treasure-filled ancient site, lined with gold, she’d found a fantasy-created man, had the best lovemaking session imaginable, and she was actually standing here right now in the dark, breathing fresh air with a woman-eating cat for company.
It was too mind-blowing.
Becky lifted her arm to check her watch. More unbelievable stuff. She still had his warrior commendation khipu. She’d had it held so tightly, the impression was imprinted onto her forearm. And exactly four minutes had elapsed since she’d left the bathroom.
No way. It couldn’t be true. None of it. Because believing meant she had to accept that Mikhal...electa-whatever he’d-said-his-name-was – had to be exactly what he appeared to be.
A vampire. A real one.
Shock clawed at her brain while fear claimed her body. Freezing cold caused massive shuddering as the rain-filled fresh air added to it. Becky hugged herself to stop the quaking. It didn’t help. He was a vampire! A real, holy-shit, vampire? She’d made love with a vampire? And this was how he’d left her?
“I can’t believe he left me!”
The cat seemed to have the same reaction. She turned and snarled at Becky before prowling across the width of the space they were in. And then she went across its length. Then she circled it. And then she started over. The cat occasionally turned her head to stare at Becky with yellow eyes before resuming her pacing. She had huge paws, too. They made a soft, swishing sound as she moved.
Seconds lengthened into minutes and then they went to hours. That’s what it felt like. She checked her watch. One minute, five seconds had elapsed. Time was passing with excruciating slowness. And then Kaiya started making the most heartrending sounds. The cat never stopped it’s pacing, but every so often she’d stop, put her head back and send a soft cry into the enclosure. Becky’s eyes watered. She blinked rapidly against tears. Her heart hurt.
Where could they be?
And if anything happened to Mikhal? Her heart pained again. The next time Kaiya did her soulful cry, Becky almost joined her. She swiped at a tear before it went down her cheek.
“It’s okay, Kaiya. He’ll find him. Shadow will be here. Mikhal will bring him.”
This was more unbelievable stuff. She was commiserating with a jaguar. She wondered if the cat might be upset if she joined her in pacing. It couldn’t hurt. Becky started following Kaiya. It helped. But just barely.
The cat stopped. Gave another mournful cry before starting her prowling again. And that’s when Becky knew. Mikhal had been exactly right. Nothing in the physical realm was of much value without love. And she’d had it. With him. It didn’t matter what he was. Where he’d come from. Or even what planet. She loved him. That was what mattered.
Kaiya next cry stabbed at Becky’s heart. She went to her knees. Put her hands over her face and shook violently. She felt the cat join her. Kaiya leaned in as she circled. Then the cat stopped, stood for a moment with her face on the same level as Becky’s, and she didn’t balk as Becky flung her arm over her, planted her nose into the fur and started sobbing.
~ ~ ~
“Becky?”
Her head shot up at the whisper. Becky extricated her arms from about the large cat and rubbed at her eyes, turned her head, and felt the instant stab of absolute joy as a dust-covered Mikhal came into view. She was on her feet a moment later, and then she slammed into him, rocking him backward, hugging her entire body against his.
“Mikhal!”
“You are okay?”
“You came back!”
“I promised I would.”
“You were gone hours!”
He grinned. “Minutes, love. I had trouble.”
“Shadow? Is he—?”
She couldn’t bring herself to put it into words. Kaiya had also gone to her feet, and had the most hopeful look to her eyes as she looked up at them. Becky wondered how she’d ever thought them murderous.
“He is right behind me. I had to extricate him.”
“He’s okay?”
“He is a bit worse for wear.”
The joy contained in Kaiya’s next cry said all that mattered, as a bloodied and extremely dirty dark jaguar limped into view. Becky watched the cats circle each other and then entwine their necks and nuzzle. Then Mikhal’s lips touched hers, her heart swelled even larger with the kiss, and a vista of light opened throughout her body that should have lit the entire space.
She had never felt as loved. Nor as rich.
“You are a vampire,” she told him the moment he pulled back.
“Yes.”
“Am I one?”
“Not yet. But you will be. When you are ready.”
“Well. That was not how I had my life scripted...but I love you, Mikhal. I do. I really do. And I really love your killer grin. Yeah. That one.”
“We must go now. All of us. This only works if there is no heat trace.”
“What...only works?”
“We must disappear. That is one of the ‘D’s of a 4-D Team. Deploy. Destroy. Disinfect. Disappear.”
“Okay. But...how are we going to get up this air shaft?”
“I am a vampire, Becky. I will have no trouble. But you will need to hold onto me. Tightly.”
“Like that’s a problem.”
His grin came again. Her heart surged with it. That was a really amazing sensation. She loved it, too.
“I shall be carrying Kaiya and Shadow. There is nothing for them back here, and an Amazon jungle out there. We ready?”
“We’re...going to the Amazon jungle? I may be...a trifle overdressed.”
“Where we are going, my yaah, you are perfect.”
“Where...are we going?”
“I have property in Guatemala.”
“Is it nice?”
“It is another undiscovered ancient site. It is Mayan.”
“Like Chichen Itza?”
“Much bigger. More like Tikal.”
“Please tell me you have another library of khipus?”
“Sadly, no. We must wait until it is safe to return here to retrieve them. It may be years. Centuries.”
“Bummer.”
“I do have a library of Mayan codices, though.”
Becky’s eyes went wide. “Oh. No way. There are only four in existence on the planet.”
He grinned again. “Correction. There are only four that are known to be in existence.”
“Oh. Wow.”
“I must call in now. Let the VAL know we have survived. Then, I will get us to my airfield, and we will be off.”
“Oh. That’s right. You have a private jet at an airfield near Moyobamba.”
“Yes.”
“And you know how to fly a jet, I assume?”
He grinned again. “I have had a lot of time. I did not spend it—.”
“I know. ‘Sitting on your ass.’ Am I going to hear that for the rest of our lives?”
“Probably. And that is going to be a very long time. Eternally long.”
He moved one arm from her to pull another thin cell phone from his back pocket. Slid it open with one hand and pressed four numbers. And she couldn’t resist. Becky pressed her lips to his throat as the call connected, and then she ran her tongue up toward his ear, giggling while listening to him try and talk.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“You’ve reached the VAL. How can I direct your call?”
“Ni...gel?”
“Mikey! Glad to hear from you. Everything okay? You sound strange.”
“Everything is...fine. Only the puka has been destroyed.”
“Puka?”
“Chachapoya stone structure. Means fortress. That’s the site we just obliterated. The one atop Mikhal’s home.”
Akron answered for him. Becky’s tongue was creating all kinds of trouble with concentration. Mikhal lifted a shoulder as if that would assist with the ticklish caress.
“Thank you, Sir. Of course you’d know that.”
“Stick with me long enough, Nigel, and I think you may gain a working knowledge of all sorts of important things. Like world history.”
“Yuck. History. I was fighting going to college for a reason, Sir.”
“I know. Good-bye, Mikhal. And congratulations. Call if you need anything.”
“Yeah. Call us, Mikey. We’ll be right over.”
“End the call, Nigel, and let Mikhal relocate, so he can get back to mating.”
The call ended. Mikhal tossed the cell phone, turned to his mate. And grinned. “You ready?”
She nodded. So, he grabbed for Shadow and Kaiya’s ruff, and jumped upward, disappearing into the night.
~ ~ ~
Nigel took off the headgear. Hung it on the peg. Swiveled in his chair. Looked through the door to Akron’s study. Gave a heavy sigh. “Well, Sir. Looks like we have another happily mated couple. I hope they are happy.”
“Are you being sarcastic, Nigel?”
“No. Just...a little envious. And a lot sad.”
“It is rather sad. I’ve often wondered why some relationships work out, and others don’t. Have you ever pondered that?”
“Not really. I was a bit hung up with a preoccupation on tits and ass, Sir. As you pointed out more than once.”
“I’ll let you in on a little secret. Some people are just not meant to be together.”
Nigel tilted his head to one side. “Oh, I think Mikhal and Rebecca are going to do just fine. Are you okay, Sir?”
“Never better. Have you checked on your grandson’s site lately?”
“Nope.”
“Really?”
“I’ve found out that being a masochist is not my style. He always has a certain blond near him. They take a lot of photos. I’ll check on him next month. Maybe.”
“He’s in our neck of the woods right now.”
“You’ve been checking on him?”
“With good reason, I assure you. He is the Beethan heir.”
“Oh. Right.”
“And right now he is in Cabo San Lucas, blowing off steam.”
Nigel went silent. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to tell me she is that close, Sir. I am trying to be noble and honorable here. But sometimes...when I least expect it. Well. Let’s just say, I shouldn’t be near her.”
“Paul Henry is in Cabo San Lucas, Nigel. He appears to have a coterie of women about him. Lots of them. But...oddly enough, I didn’t see a cute little blond woman there. So I decided to check on his relationship status, since everyone posts that for anyone to see anymore.”
“And then there’s the problem of—. What did you just say?”
“Paul Henry is posting that he is single. And he is certainly acting like it. I would say that means...Nigel! The ceiling was not built to take that kind of hit.”
Nigel was grinning as he dropped back to the ground, wood splinters following him.
“Oh, Sir! Oh hell! Oh shit! Oh wow! Oh, Sir!”
“Before you run off half-cocked, I’ve got some instructions and a bit of advice, Nigel, my boy.”
“Anything! Oh! Where is she? Why is this link so slow?”
“Because I just blocked it.”
“What? Why?”
“Because you have the oddest idea of focus whenever we mention Mandy.”
“You know her name?”
“Of course. And I happen to know her exact location. Right now.”
“Oh, Sir! Please? You gotta tell me! Please? I’m begging here!”
“Oh. This is more enjoyable than I envisioned. Now, listen up, Nigel. Listen to everything I am saying before you react. Are we clear?”
“Yeah! Yeah! Got it!”
Nigel was jumping from one foot to the other. It was putting dents in the floor. Akron shook his head.
“Mandy is spending a bit of time with her girlfriends in Venice, Italy. I have Stanislaw ready at the airfield to transport you. MacKettryck’s mansion on the Grand Canal is at your disposal. I took the liberty of updating your wardrobe. You should have everything you need. Now. Here is the advice. Nigel!”
Akron called the name with a volume that made everything in the room shudder. Nigel stopped at the door and looked back. “Sir?”
“Be sure and wear the mask.”
“A mask? What the hell for?”
“Two reasons. Number one. She’s in Venice. There is always a carnival going one. And secondly – you look an awful lot like her ex. I’m not exactly certain what transpired to break their relationship up. It may have been acrimonious. It may not. Your appearance may not work to your advantage. If I were you, I wouldn’t chance it.”
“Oh. Got it.”
“Well, then? What are you waiting for?”
Nigel was gone before he finished. And Akron started shaking his head.
-o0o-
About the Author
Jackie Ivie lives in the enormous state of Alaska with her husband and three very spoiled pets. She started her writing career writing hot highland historical romances for Kensington Publishing. There are now ten “Clans series” books, available in seven languages. Keeping her head in the clouds most of the time, Jackie now spends her time researching, developing, and writing her paranormal series – the Vampire Assassin League, as well as her other historical line – the Brocade Collection.
Jackie loves hearing from fans, who can contact her at www.jackieivie.com or www.VampireAssassinLeague.com
Want to keep up with the assassins of the Vampire Assassin League? Consider joining the Assassin Street Team at http://www.facebook.com/groups/379151425455048/
FOR RICHER is the 24th installment of the Vampire Assassin League. Check out all the assassins in the VAL, available singly, in 4-book bundles, a ten-story mega pack and in print as 2-packs.
Like this story? Please consider leaving a review at your favorite ebook site.