“It’s fine, Percy. What’s wrong?”
“I came to tell you that we can’t find Mariana and Ariel. She’s is not in her quarters and Ariel is missing from the nursery.”
Jolie stood, slipping into her dress. “Has the house and grounds been thoroughly searched?”
“We’re doing that right now. We don’t have any missing cars, so we don’t think she drove away. Maybe she’s gone for a walk with Ariel.”
“What of her mate? Is Demetre here?” she inquired, as both mates took their normal sides.
“Yes, Mistress, and he’s a mess. He can’t feel her and swears she’s dead.”
Jolie was worried. “Okay, finish searching the house. We’ll be in the living room gathering the family for a meeting. Please call everyone together there.”
Percy bowed. “Yes, Mistress.” With that, he rushed back toward the house.
Jolie turned to her mates. “Zola.”
They were aware.
“She must have taken her while she was with her child.”
“How do you know?” asked Flynn, supportively squeezing her hand.
“We don’t sleep with our young. They go to a nursery when they go to death, and a nanny watches over them. Zola would not have known whose baby was whose, unless she was already with Mariana. We have a couple of infants in the family. Zola must have grabbed Mariana after she was awake. It’s quite possible that she was taking a stroll outside with the baby.”
“We’ll find her,” reassured Jacques, leading them back toward the house.
“I’ll kill her, Jacques, if she harms either of them. Marianna is a child herself, and Ariel’s a mere baby. If they have one damaged hair on their heads, my wrath will be immeasurable!” The energy ran down her arms and into their joined hands.
A silent look passed between both men.
In her heart, there was a quickening as she thought about the children she was creating. If anything happened to them, how would she continue on?
“Come. Let’s go inside to wait and see if she’s found before we worry.”
Jolie and her mates wandered into the house to find Demetre. He was sitting on a loveseat, looking beyond terrified over the loss of his mate and child. Jolie approached him, taking his hand in hers.
There was so much pain in his eyes.
“Please find my mate and our child, Mistress,” he whispered, through the fear and tears.
Jolie patted his hand reassuringly. They’d do everything in their power to bring them both home safely. “Demetre, go to your quarters and try to rest. We’ll figure all this out.”
“Yes, Mistress,” he said, leaving them to keep their promise of finding his heart and child.
Flynn paced and Jacques leaned against the fireplace. All they could do was wait and see what happened. The tension was evident in the room, as was the anger.
It flowed off Jolie in waves.
Before long, Detective Gress and Camille entered with Cari in tow. Immediately, the little girl spotted Jolie and raced toward her. Jolie saw her coming and caught her up in her arms.
The girl helped drain away some of the worry.
“Hello, little imp. Did you rest well?”
“Oh, Jolie, I love my room! Momma told me not to jump on the bed, but I couldn’t help it. I’m sorry.” Cari tried to look guilty, but it wasn’t working.
“That’s fine little one. I don’t mind. I was going to have Clariel take you and mommy shopping, but now I think you’ll have to shop online.”
Jolie called for Clariel. They waited patiently as the emotionally wounded vampyre glided into the room.
“Yes, Mistress, you called for me?”
“Yes, Clariel, I did. How are you?” Jolie questioned, knowing the woman was still heartbroken over the loss of her mate.
“I’m trying, Mistress. Some days are better than others.” It was the absolute truth.
Clariel smiled at the little girl in Jolie’s lap. “Hello, who are you?” she asked, crouching down to be face to face with the little girl.
“I’m Cari, and I like your dress. The colors are very pretty,” she said, pointing at the reds and vibrant blues.
“Thank you, Cari. I like it too. Color is very important. I’m supposed to take you shopping, but it isn’t safe, so we’re going to take this credit card and shop on the computer. You can get anything you want.”
“Really?”
Jolie laughed. “Yes, imp, anything,” answered Jolie, glad to see someone was at peace. Her insides were a churning brew.
Before Jolie could send them away, Chloe walked into the room with the phone in her hand and a disturbed look on her face.
“Mistress, you have a call.”
“Who is it, Chloe?” she asked, already suspecting who it was going to be.
“Zola.”
Jolie gave Clariel a silent signal, sending her and Cari out of the room.
“Zola, what have you done?” asked Jolie, as she put the phone to her ear. Jolie could hear a screaming infant in the background.
“Oh, yes, Mistress Bitch, finally we get to speak. I’ve waited for this moment so I could enact my revenge on what you did to my mate.”
“He betrayed me, Zola. It wasn’t personal. I had to kill him. I could have destroyed you too. Now I see I should have, since you’ve been nothing but a pain in my ass since I allowed you to walk away. I shall rectify that shortly, Zola.”
“Well, I’m about to be more of a pain in your ass. I left you a present at the cemetery where Genevieve tried to bleed out your mate. You may want to hurry. I bet she can’t last much longer. It was too easy to take her. Women with children must become stupid once they procreate, but then, I’ll never know that, now will I?”
Jolie felt the anger snapping around her in pulses of energy. “If she dies, you’ll suffer. If you harm one hair on that child’s head, I’ll personally rip your body to shreds with my own hands.”
Mentally, Jacques called for Mathew to join them.
“You better hurry, Jolie. Tick tock,” Zola said, laughing as she hung up.
Jolie dropped the phone before racing for the garage. Behind her, were her mates, and they knew how urgent this trip was.
If they wanted to save their vampyre, they had to haul ass.
Once inside the garage, Jolie climbed into the passenger seat, Jolie didn’t care who drove as long as they did it, and fast. “Get me to the cemetery,” she said emotionlessly, as Jacques backed the Hummer out of the garage.
Jolie reached for Percy. ‘Don’t let anyone in or out of the house. Keep the family in the room together and guard the children. Zola is hell bent on hurting the family. She won’t come directly for me, but will try to take us apart one by one.’
‘Yes Mistress! Balzac and I will take care of it--no one will enter our home in your absence.’
‘Make sure, Percy. I’m trusting you with our family.’
Jolie cut off the discussion with the vampyre. Right now, she needed to focus on what was waiting for her in the cemetery.
Jolie knew what was coming.
“This is going to be a trap.”
“We’ll stop her, my love. Don’t get upset.”
Flynn rested his hand on her shoulder in support. When she absently patted his fingers, he knew how dangerous this was going to be. Jolie was distracted.
That meant they needed to be extra careful.
“We’re going to bring her home, Jolie, and we’ll deal with the rest after that. You need to stay calm.”
“I’m trying.”
“Baby?” he asked.
“Yes, Flynn?”
There was no doubt in his mind. He wanted to be the one who killed Zola. The lust for her death only proved that his humanity was almost gone.
“Let me kill her.”
She went to protest.
“No, Jolie. I need to do this. Genevieve locked me in that tomb. I need to do this to get past it.”
Both Jacques and Jolie knew he still had n
ightmares thanks to her.
“Okay, my love.”
It was the least they could do.
“We’re here,” Jacques stated.
With that, they chased Jolie into the cemetery. She wasn’t wasting any time. When she stopped in front of the Dubois crypt, she was faced with the angry slashes of blood.
They were left as a reminder of what had happened here.
Immediately, the hate and anger were being pushed to the surface by death. It screamed to escape, and Jolie didn't even fight it.
Why would she?
Someone was going to die.
“Surprise, surprise,” Jolie muttered angrily. The inside was no better than the outside.
Zola was just short of insane.
They stared at Flynn. He looked pale in the moonlight. Jolie was beginning to doubt that he should be there.
“She’s dead,” Flynn said. He couldn’t hear the other vampyre’s heartbeat, but he could smell lots and lots of blood.
Jacques flipped the tomb open.
Inside, they found her remains.
Mariana was drained dry.
She nearly lost it. “Zola, you bitch, you’re dead. Do you hear me,” she screamed, once she saw the message that was left behind.
‘This is your fault.’
∞ Chapter Eighteen ∞
Jolie couldn’t look at her.
Yes, she should probably be much stronger, but she had to face it. She couldn’t do it.
Her heart broke.
Mariana had suffered, and that was enough for Jolie. Now, she had to stay calm. Her family needed her, and this wasn’t the time or the place to lose it.
Flynn could tell by the look on her face that it was going to be bad. With each step closer, it felt like his feet were being weighed down with concrete blocks. It was painful to relive this, but he was going to do it for his mate.
‘Flynn, are you going to be okay?’ asked Jacques, feeling his mate’s trepidation.
‘Sure.’ He lied like a rug.
‘You don’t have to look inside, Flynn. I understand that it brings back memories,’ Jacques reassured.
Flynn shook his head as if trying to pull from the fog. ‘Genevieve is dead. She can’t put me back into that crypt. Jolie needs all three of us to handle this. I can already feel her getting ready to break down.’
‘We’re both lucky to have you, my friend.’
Despite his mate’s insistence, Jacques blocked the coffin with his body as he assessed the situation. It was his job to protect both Flynn and Jolie. At that moment, they needed him. Once he saw the way Mariana was ruined, he began unbuttoning his shirt to cover her remains.
As Flynn moved closer, Jacques touched his arm. “No, Flynn. Please let me do this for you.” Shamelessly, he added a little vampyre compulsion to it.
Flynn obeyed.
“Mathew, I need your shirt. Yours too, Flynn. We’ll cover Mariana, and then bring her home to the family before she’s nothing more than ash.”
Both men complied.
“Is Ariel in there?” Flynn asked softly, handing over his shirt. While he was pretty strong, his fear was that they’d have to carry home a dead baby.
“No.”
He released the breath he was holding. Instead of saying anything more, he pulled Jolie under his arm and against his body.
“She’s not done,” she whispered into her mate’s shoulder.
Jacques covered the young vampyre’s battered body with the shirts, offering her some dignity in death. “I’ll carry her. We have to move fast. She’s decaying. Her mate is going to want to say his goodbyes before she’s completely gone.”
Flynn led her out. Jolie was shaking against him, and he wasn’t sure if it was in anger or disgust.
For now, he’d be her rock.
“It’s going to be okay,” he whispered, scanning the area for any sign of Zola.
Jolie didn't buy that.
This was on her head, and she knew it.
As they got further away from the Dubois crypt, the death and weight of loss didn't lessen. Instead, the guilt grew, crushing them beneath the weight.
None of them wanted to see the place ever again.
At her sob, Flynn moved into action, scooping Jolie up into his arms. It astounded him how this day had started so good, with the promise of eternal love, but now it was mired in sadness.
Fate was a bitch.
There was no doubt in any of their minds.
“I have you, baby,” he whispered.
Jolie curled into his body, clinging to him. Focusing on his scent, it helped her stay in control. While she wanted to rage around, she had no choice.
The family needed her.
Mathew took the keys from Jacques’s pocket as they carried the remains of one of their own to the Hummer. Now it was time to get home and heal.
Jacques sat in the back with the covered body of Mariana resting in his lap. Jolie and Flynn were close enough that they could all hold hands.
It offered each one of them a little peace.
Flynn reached for his mind.
‘I’m worried. Jolie’s a ticking time bomb.’
‘Yes, she’s holding it all in. I know it’s costing her a great deal more.’
‘What can we do?’
‘I don’t know, Flynn. I’m at a loss. I fully expected her to erupt.’
Flynn stroked her hair as he rocked her in his arms like a child. He was well aware that she could explode at any point, swallowing them all.
He tried to reach her. “Jolie, baby, come on. You’re scaring me. Please talk to us. Jacques and I are worried.”
“I’m okay. I promise.”
He forced her to stare into his eyes. “What can I do to help you?”
“Find that bitch. When you do, help me remove her organs so we can hollow her out like a punch bowl.”
That said it all.
“Deal.”
As the garage loomed ahead, they knew what was coming. There was going to be an ugly scene once inside.
They all felt bad for the mate awaiting their return.
When Demetre saw the silk shirt draped body being brought into the room, he collapsed to the floor and began mourning.
“NO!” he screamed, slamming his fists on the floor. Instead of damaging wood, he was injuring himself. Already, the change was happening. The tenuous bonds were unraveling, and Demetre was losing his gifts.
Jolie motioned to Percy, who intervened.
“No! She can’t be gone! I can’t lose her! She’s my mate, the mother of my child, and my all! NO!”
Jolie stood in the center of the room to address her family. Finally, she found the words lost in her own grief and guilt.
“We’re under attack. No one is to leave the house, and we’ll start sleeping in shifts with the older vampyres remaining alive during the day and the younger at night. The nursery is closed until further notice. All children need remain with their parents until I find and kill Zola.”
The family looked around.
All the mothers clutched their babies even tighter as Demetre wept on the floor.
“Nannies will be assigned to patrol during the day time, checking on the children. If you break any of these precautions, your death is on your heads. Zola wants me, and the only way to get to me is through all of you. So, stay out of her reach until we figure out what to do.”
There were murmurs, but she ignored them. Instead, Jolie immediately turned, heading for the door.
“Jolie,” called Flynn, watching as she walked away. He saw Mathew following her at a safe distance. “We should go, Jacques.”
He wanted to, but they had to deal with the family. If their mate couldn’t, someone had to pick up the slack.
Jacques lowered Mariana into the arms of her mate, making sure to block the horrific view from Cari and the other small children. “We’ll find her and retribution will be ours, Demetre.”
The young man rocked her in his arms, all the while s
obbing uncontrollably.
Clariel stepped forward first, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. One by one, the other vampyres did the same, until they had formed a protective circle around him as he mourned.
Jacques stepped back, allowing the family space. When Detective Gress touched his arm, he turned toward him.
“Shouldn’t we call the police?”
“No. It won’t matter in another hour. She’s decaying as we speak. Shortly, there will be nothing left of her but ash and his memories,” he said, feeling sick.
Both men paused as a voice tore through their minds. It was Mathew, and he sounded alarmed.
‘Yes, Mathew?’
‘You better come quick! Something is wrong with the Mistress!’
‘Yes, we’re coming,’ he said as they raced from the room.
“We have to get to Jolie! I can’t feel her anymore!” Jacques stated, alarm in his voice as they headed outside.
The two detectives followed Jacques to the secret garden that they had just been in earlier.
The atmosphere wasn’t the same.
Gone were the candles and romantic memories they’d hoped would linger, and instead, they’d found Jolie lying on the grassy mound sobbing uncontrollably.
This was bad.
The trees and winter blooming flowers danced violently in the wake of the power pouring off her. With each sob, she shook, and so did the plants.
Jacques tried to get into the clearing, but Jolie obviously didn’t want them anywhere near her.
“Jolie!” Flynn yelled, getting her attention. Instead of moving toward them, she simply stood.
Her eyes were black.
Her face was streaked with bloody tears.
They knew this was going to be bad.
“Jolie, let me in, please, my love,” pleaded Jacques.
She shook her head.
Jolie needed to be alone.
After all, Zola had been right. This was all her fault. When Devin was killed, her first thought was to spare his mate out of compassion even when gut instinct warned her not to do it. Jolie knew there was a chance that Zola would seek revenge. She just assumed that it would all be directed at her. Jolie didn’t think she’d start picking apart her family. Now there was a mate-less human, and a child without a mother.
Dangerous Retaliation (The Harcourte Vampyre Society Book 4) Page 25