02 Blood Roses - Blackthorn

by Lindsay J. Pryor

  ‘I’m right, though, aren’t I?’ Jake said, his eyes sullen. ‘Feinith used your festering hatred of that first serryn, renewed by the one that killed Seth, to reel you in.’

  ‘It wasn’t just down to her.’

  ‘But she encouraged you.’

  Caleb looked back ahead, his free hand tightening on the barrier. He could feel his brother’s eyes burning into him.

  ‘Have you slept with Leila?’

  Caleb knew he didn’t need to answer.

  ‘Why, Caleb? Why go that extra step?’

  Caleb knocked back a mouthful of drink. Because he’d needed to prove something to himself. Because he’d wanted her to unravel. Because he’d needed to prove himself right. Because, quite simply, he’d wanted to.

  But he hadn’t wanted to enjoy it. He hadn’t wanted the buzz she had given him. He hadn’t wanted the anger and frustration that had followed. He hadn’t wanted to be left questioning himself.

  ‘I saw the way Feinith looked at Leila, Caleb,’ Jake added. ‘She’s only going to make this even more personal now. You know how possessive she is over you. Please, just tell me that’s not why you slept with her. Please tell me you didn’t use Leila for that.’

  Jake was right – there was a time when this would have been the perfect opportunity to have Feinith right where he wanted her.

  But not anymore.

  ‘How many times do I have to say it, Jake? Feinith means nothing to me.’

  ‘Then why sleep with Leila? What were you thinking? She’s done nothing but save me.’

  ‘You make it sound like a punishment.’

  ‘Wasn’t it?’

  Caleb knocked back another mouthful. ‘It just happened.’

  ‘Oh, please – this is me you’re talking to. It never “just happens” with you.’ He paused. ‘Are you attracted to her?’

  Caleb glanced across at him and scowled. ‘What’s this – the night of stupid questions?’

  ‘Things were looking intimate enough when I walked in. And that was quite the protective stance you gave her when you saw Feinith.’

  He’d stunned himself with his reaction – the way he had shielded her had been instinctive even if he didn’t comprehend it.

  ‘I wasn’t planning on letting her get close enough to see what Leila is.’

  ‘And that’s all there was to it?’

  Caleb met his brother’s narrowed gaze. ‘I know what you’re thinking.’

  ‘So were you? Tempted?’

  Caleb looked ahead again. ‘No.’

  ‘Caleb, I’ve just found out I’ve already lost one brother to a serryn. I can’t lose another.’

  He broke from Jake’s troubled gaze. He couldn’t tell him how close he’d been – how stupidly close. He couldn’t put that weight on his brother’s shoulders, not when he hadn’t come to terms with it himself yet. ‘You won’t.’

  ‘You’re sure?’

  ‘I’m perfectly sure.’

  Jake looked far from convinced, his brow still furrowed with concern. ‘All the same, maybe now more than ever it’s time to put her somewhere else. Maybe put her in one of the apartments like we’ve done with Alisha. Hade can watch her. Humans are immune, right?’

  There was no way he was letting Leila out of his sight now – not only because of the risk Feinith posed but because of his own need to prove to himself that it had been nothing more than a moment of weakness.

  ‘I know what I’m doing,’ Caleb said, sensing the impatience in his own tone, adding to the uncomfortable feeling of knowing Jake’s accusation wasn’t as empty as he was trying to get him to believe.

  ‘Things go wrong, Caleb. Neither of you might intend it to, but it could. It already is.’

  ‘I’ll find a way to sort Feinith.’

  ‘Then you’d better do it quick. Because if you say an outright no to her and she reports it to the Higher Order, we’re over – us, the business, our reputation. We either get prosecuted or banished, and where will we go? I’ll tell you – to The Pit with the rest of the vampire scum. And she’ll do it, Caleb.’

  ‘We have two things on our side – she wants Leila alive and she wants this kept quiet. I’ve just got to work out why.’

  ‘And while you’re working that out, Leila is also working out exactly what she’s up against. She’s not just going to sit back and do nothing. We’re on borrowed time from every angle. You wanted the serryn in her unleashed, Caleb, you might have just done it. Face up to the fact you might finally be out of your depth this time or we’re all going to sink.’

  Chapter Fourteen

  Caleb glared at the bodyguard who had the gall to block the door to his office.

  The vampire skivvy may have been at Feinith’s beck and call, but fortunately he still knew enough of Caleb’s reputation to break eye contact and step aside.

  Feinith was sat at his desk in the corner of the room, her legs elegantly stretched out on the surface amidst the papers she was riffling through. ‘Well, well, this business truly is thriving, isn’t it? Quite the little gold mine. But you always were the success.’ She stood up from the chair and sauntered towards him. She smiled as she stopped in front of him, placed her palms on his chest. ‘I see we’re alone this time. How romantic.’

  He slapped her hands aside. ‘What the fuck do you think you were doing telling Jake?’

  She widened her eyes slightly, took a step back. ‘Come on, Caleb. You know better than to defy me.’

  ‘You gave me your word that it would stay between us. Only us.’

  ‘And you promised me loyalty but that still didn’t stop you giving it to that little whore.’

  ‘Like you’re giving it to Jarin?’

  She smirked. ‘You are jealous.’

  ‘No. I just despise your hypocrisy.’ He pulled away and marched over to the window, yanking back the drapes.

  ‘Okay, so I apologise. Is that what you want? It came out in a temper, but if you will tease me so…’ She stepped closer to stroke his face, her slender fingers playing over his jaw. ‘You know, you’re still the best I’ve ever had, Caleb.’ Pushing herself between him and the window, she ran her hand back down his chest towards his groin – a delicate hand that summoned death as easily as ordering a drink. ‘The very best.’

  He didn’t flinch. ‘I wish I could say the same.’

  Feinith smiled. ‘I understand why you want to protect yourself.’ She licked her lips and leaned in to kiss him. ‘Vulnerability doesn’t sit easy with you, does it? And you hate how I make you feel.’

  ‘You always think you can win me around, don’t you?’

  She smiled against his mouth. ‘You’ve never wanted anyone like you want me. And we both know it.’

  But not anymore. As he gazed into Feinith’s eyes – eyes so cold and emotionless in every way that mattered – he’d never known it more. How numb he felt in her presence, unable to bear the touch of the female he once craved, who he once thought capable of fulfilling his every need.

  She had excited him once, enthralled him as he’d immersed himself in carnality, revelling in the submersion into his primal instincts. Feinith had fulfilled so many of those darker needs, so much so that she’d become an addiction he couldn’t be without. He had adored her. Thrived on the way they sparked. Before she’d torn him apart as she toyed with his feelings – feelings he’d believed were love.

  She had relished in his darkness, his cruelty, his brutality, and had encouraged it. Now it sickened him, because he understood that all she had done was encourage him deeper into those depths for her own satiation. And hearing those descriptions of his past deeds dripping from her lips with such amusement made him feel a pang of shame – and not least, for some inexplicable reason, because of Leila’s presence as she uttered them.

  ‘Is that what you tell Jarin?’ he asked.

  Feinith paused, her lips hovering, but there was now a slight frown marring her flawless forehead. ‘You know how it works. He’s of good inheritance. An eq
ual.’

  ‘But we both know you don’t get off on having an equal, Feinith. Tell me, does he truly know just how much you enjoyed your visits to me? What all those business trips really entailed, in every little detail?’

  ‘I’m not accountable to anyone, Caleb. I do what I want to do. Betrothed or not.’

  ‘Jarin will never satisfy you, Feinith. He won’t even come near to what I can do. And you know it.’

  ‘He won’t need to. Because you’re going to keep on satisfying me, Caleb. Just like you always have. This doesn’t have to change anything.’

  Caleb pulled away, turning his back on her as he strolled away. ‘You take so much for granted.’

  ‘We don’t have to be of the same breeding to want each other, Caleb.’

  ‘Only because the novelty would wear off if we were.’ Caleb turned to meet her gaze. ‘We both know I’d no longer have the same appeal if you couldn’t sully yourself by being with me.’

  Feinith stepped towards him. ‘I want you for who you are, not what you are.’ She stopped within inches of him. ‘Betrothed to Jarin or not, you’ll still be able to give me everything I want. And staying betrothed to him will only add to that.’ She pressed her lean, hard body to his, a body he’d explored in every way possible. ‘And I know how much you enjoy having what you shouldn’t.’

  She unzipped his trousers, sliding her hand inside his shorts. It was a hold that had once been enthralling and provocative. He’d loved her confidence, her sexual prowess and her want of him. And she had wanted him. Deeper than she’d ever admitted. Deeper than she ever would admit.

  But instead of feeling that spark as she touched him, he felt numb. As she kissed down his neck before sliding her tongue up to his ear, images of what he’d done flashed in front of his eyes again. The depraved things they had both relished in now made his blood run cold.

  ‘Though you might find it hard to believe, I do have other things on my mind beside you, Feinith.’

  ‘But nothing more important than me. That’s the only thing you should have on your mind right now.’ She squeezed but then she released him, withdrew her hand from his shorts. She arched an eyebrow. ‘You really are difficult to please tonight.’

  He pulled away, fastened his jeans, and leaned back against the sofa, his arms folded. ‘You made a big mistake telling Jake, let alone threatening him.’

  She raised her pale eyebrows slightly. ‘So is that what this little mood is about now? You know I wouldn’t really hurt him.’

  ‘You already have.’

  ‘Then you shouldn’t have been playing hard to get. I can’t have you humiliating me like that. I won’t. I’m only trying to help you. You know how much trouble you’ll be in if the Higher Order find out about this. How much trouble I’d be in if anyone knew I was here. I wanted to give you a chance. I’m doing this for you.’

  ‘Of course you are,’ he said. ‘As selfless as ever.’

  ‘The Higher Order–’

  ‘Fuck the Higher Order.’

  ‘I know how you feel about them, Caleb. I know how much it frustrates you. I know you disagree with so much of what we are about, but it’s about what is fitting.’

  ‘About keeping us underlings in our place, right?’

  ‘The mixing is not acceptable. You know the bloodline must be retained. Weaken our bloodline and we weaken our cause.’

  He exhaled curtly. ‘Don’t hide behind that, Feinith. You despise some of the ways of the Order as much as I do. You’re not worried about the bloodline; you’re just worried about weakening your reputation – losing your place, your influence, your power. None of which you would be willing to give up for me.’

  ‘I have given myself to you time and time again, like I have given myself to no other. Is that not enough?’

  ‘No, Feinith, it isn’t. But I’ll think about what is enough.’

  Feinith’s eyes narrowed in irritation. She placed her hands on her hips, her temper beginning to seep out. ‘Is that what this is, Caleb? Blackmail? Is that why you’re holding her back?’

  ‘Come on, Feinith. You clearly want her. Really want her. There has to be something more in it for me than just handing her over.’

  ‘Don’t make me take her from you.’

  ‘I will kill her before you get within twenty feet of her. I assume you want her alive?’ He saw the flare in her eyes. For the first time she was unsettled. Unsettled because she knew him well enough to know he meant every word and that he didn’t bluff. She wanted Leila alive. The look in her eyes told him she needed her alive, an advantage he needed to hold on to. ‘Tell me, Feinith, why did the Higher Order change the rules on the serryn slaying? There never was an explanation.’

  She frowned. ‘And as I’ve told you before, those issues don’t concern you.’

  ‘They do now. You playing this so cautiously tells me you must want her badly. Why is that?’

  ‘Just give her to me, Caleb.’

  He folded his arms. ‘Always the stalemate, isn’t it, Feinith?’

  ‘You know her value. It’s no great secret. There’s money to be made for her blood – blood we cannot risk having black-marketed on the streets.’

  ‘Control you can’t risk having taken away from you, right?’

  ‘There were those using them against us, Caleb. Human and vampire alike. We have to keep order. We have to keep control.’

  ‘And that’s the only reason you want her? To keep that little pot of poison off the street? To keep the peace.’

  ‘Exactly.’

  ‘So why not let me carry on killing them? Same outcome.’

  She studied him warily for a moment, the uncharacteristic unease in her eyes even more rife.

  He sauntered over to the drinks cabinet. ‘It seems we have some serious negotiating to do,’ he said, placing two glasses on the counter.

  ‘You wouldn’t kill her,’ she said, her usual steady tone wavering a little. ‘She’s too convenient a bargaining tool for you.’

  ‘And far too entertaining between the sheets to dispose of just yet.’ His eyes lingered coaxingly on hers as he held out a glass to her.

  ‘You are not invincible, Caleb,’ Feinith warned, reaching for the drink. ‘You dance too close to the edge with that one.’

  ‘Is that what concerns you, Feinith – my welfare?’

  ‘There is self-assurance, Caleb, and then there is stupidity. Now give me the serryn, or my patience will wear out.’

  ‘I’d say her market value just went up a hundredfold, wouldn’t you? Instead of selling her on the street, I sell her direct to the Higher Order. Just like old times.’

  ‘Money? This is about money?’

  ‘When has it ever been about money, Feinith?’

  ‘Then what do you want?’

  ‘I’m not sure yet. I’d like some time to think about it.’

  ‘No.’

  He shrugged. ‘Then I’ll deal with the serryn myself.’

  She stepped up to him. ‘You wouldn’t dare.’

  ‘I made a vow that I would not rest until every one of those bitches that slaughtered my brother is wiped off the face of the Earth, remember? And I’ve already got this one right where I want her. Why wouldn’t I?’

  ‘You truly think you can bargain with me over this?’ Her eyes narrowed in fury. ‘You think I can’t have this place torn apart to find her if I wanted to?’

  ‘So do it,’ he said, his arms spread. ‘Let them come in here. Let them search every corner. But you’ll never find her. I promise you that. Then you’ll be forced to admit to your lover and the whole Higher Order that you had a serryn in your grasp and you failed.’

  She shook her head slightly. ‘You wouldn’t risk prosecution. For Jake’s sake you wouldn’t. You’d be finished here. Banished to The Pit. To nothing.’

  ‘And you wouldn’t risk exposing that you’d come here to collect a serryn non-legitimately. Because Jarin doesn’t know, does he? Or he’d be here revelling in finally having a reason t
o see me go down. No, I think your actions so far could throw up a lot of awkward questions.’

  He stepped up to her. ‘I think it would be far more sensible for you to curb your impatience for a few more hours while I mull over how I’d like this to work to my advantage and how you’re going to make up for what you did tonight. In fact, if you hadn’t burst in here making your demands, if you’d had the good manners to call first and offer me something in exchange, we could be avoiding all of this. Do you really want to further your mistake and make this more complicated than it needs to be?’

  ‘I am not walking out of here without her, Caleb.’

  ‘Then make yourself at home. The sofa isn’t as uncomfortable as it looks. But you already know that. You’ll excuse me for not inviting you into my bed, but it’s going to be occupied for a while.’

  Feinith shook her head slowly, her eyes narrowed. It was clearly one jibe too many but she watched him with wary caution. ‘Caleb. Always the game-player. But you know I’m not going to walk away from this until I get what I want.’

  He knocked back the contents of his drink. ‘So come back tomorrow night.’

  He placed the glass back on the drinks cabinet, tension gripping him as he waited for her to take the bait.

  ‘I’ll be back at dusk,’ she said. ‘And you’d better have your demands.’ She turned away with the appeal of a sulky child, slamming her glass on the workstation as she passed. ‘Because after that,’ she glowered across her shoulder, ‘I won’t feel like playing anymore.’

  Chapter Fifteen

  Leila clutched the edge of the sofa seat, her foot bouncing in agitation on the floor as she looked back over at the open sash window.

  From the grey sky, dawn could have only been a couple of hours away at most – a dawn that had seemed terrifying enough, but now her and Alisha’s freedom had never seemed more impossible.

  Now that the Higher Order were involved, there was no way she was getting away.

  She bent forward, rested her elbows on her knees and clutched her head as she tried to calm the terror that tore through her at the prospect of being prisoner in some Higher Order lab somewhere, her blood siphoned off for the rest of her life for them to use to maintain order in the ranks.