by K. L. Kreig
Geoffrey may have racked up untold sins, but maliciously killing innocents wasn’t one of them.
“He’s inside,” said Circo.
He’d come to learn that Circo’s special talent was to detect another vampire’s skill. He’d also learned that the night of the last raid, they knew Xavier wasn’t in the compound before they’d struck. That simply reaffirmed what he’d known to be true about the lords. They were selfless and benevolent. Without Xavier present, they could have easily retreated after they’d rescued Damian’s mate, leaving the females there to suffer and likely die, but they hadn’t.
Circo ran down the list of skills he’d vetted in the compound and if they could kill Xavier, this should be a piece of cake. It was almost too easy, he thought. He’d fully expected Xavier to stand him up as he’d done many times before. He was about as unreliable as a candle in the wind.
Geoffrey would flash inside, meet with Xavier, and Rom would be just minutes behind. The less time they gave him to figure things out, the better. And Rom would be the first one in the compound. As soon as Circo could place the proximity of his skill, Rom would follow in short order.
Sounded easy enough, right?
“It’s time,” Rom said, clasping him on the shoulder like they were comrades. It felt oddly … good. “Stick to the plan and I’ll see you at the rendezvous point. And keep your fucking ass alive. I need you for another mission.”
Yes, the it’s-time-to-kill-Rom’s-father mission. Rom had mentioned that he was taking Geoffrey up on his offer to assist him. Should he live, that is.
Not wasting another second, Geoffrey flashed inside the steel reinforced complex and was immediately met by two vampires, guarding the door. He recognized both and breathed a small sigh of relief when he was allowed to pass without issue or question. He had to believe that if Xavier was onto him that the guards at the door would be one of his first lines of defense. Xavier did like to play with his food, however.
Quickly making his way to Xavier’s office, he knocked on the door, waiting for his cue.
“Enter,” his slimy voice seeped through the fortified door.
When he opened the door, his steps faltered. Sitting in front of him, naked and tied to a chair, was the young vampire who’d provided the information on the secret compound. And he’d been worked over pretty good.
Fuck.
“Troubles, my lord?” he said nonchalantly, as he walked in and closed them in.
The vampire was already covered in blood and wounds, and it appeared he’d been here quite some time. Behind the gag, he whimpered, his eyes alight with fear. That was something Xavier never did. He thrived on the screams of his victims. He never gagged them.
They were fucked. He was so onto them. Rom couldn’t get here fast enough.
“Good of you to join us, my loyal servant,” he purred.
Yep, he was dead.
Xavier picked up a long knife and tested its sharpness. Geoffrey fully expected him to use it on the vampire currently immobilized in the chair, but faster than he could react, Xavier had unleashed the knife in a vicious throw directly at him, pinning him through the throat to the door behind him. In quick succession, he threw several more. Fire and agony erupted in nearly every part of his body. He was being used as a fucking dartboard, and because of Xavier’s stasis power, there was nothing he could do to fight back. This is why he’d never been able to escape. Xavier was simply too powerful.
This was the end for him. Rom would never reach him in time before Xavier severed his head where he was now restrained.
Xavier picked up his favorite weapon. The sword of Damascus. One of the sharpest swords in the world.
“Do you know what I do with traitors, Geoffrey?”
He panted, almost unable to breathe through the throbbing anguish. Where the fuck was Rom?
“You know good and fucking well I do,” he spat, blood pouring from his neck with each and every syllable. He cut them up like fish food. And he enjoyed every single second of dismembering his prey, like the sick motherfucker he was.
Xavier smiled, but it was full of evil and malevolence. Like his soul.
“Disloyal and disrespectful. Well … at least you don’t go half-assed,” he said wickedly, slowly plunging the sword into Geoffrey’s gut. He sliced upward, continuing to babble. “I raised you like a son. I trusted you, yet you go behind my back and climb into bed with my greatest enemy. Our greatest enemy! I’m going to enjoy cutting you apart, Geoffrey. I’m going to enjoy peeling the flesh from your bones and watching your duplicitous blood coat the floor.”
A lung now punctured, he couldn’t speak. He couldn’t even think through the pain viciously ripping its way through every nerve ending. Decapitation would be too easy. Xavier would make his death slow and painful.
Geoffrey would like to say he remained stoic and silent in his last minutes as his insides were being cleaved apart, but he didn’t. He couldn’t. The agony was simply too unbearable and he bellowed his misery and sorrow for failing in his mission.
For failing the lords.
For failing himself.
For failing his Moira.
As the darkness engulfed him, he began to hallucinate.
He thought he saw Romaric Dietrich.
He thought he saw a brief battle.
And he thought he saw Xavier’s head leaving his body.
But that would be too good to be true. There was no doubt Geoffrey was headed to hell, but only in his wildest dreams could he ever hope to spend eternity in the fiery pits alongside the monster who’d sent him there. Because while his body would spend perpetuity in utter agony, at least his mind could rest in peace knowing the spawn of the devil would be suffering right alongside him.
As he fucking deserved.
Chapter 57
Rom
He almost felt gipped. How they’d spend a half a millennia chasing after Xavier’s sorry ass, only to end his life in less than sixty seconds was, well … anticlimactic. He’d hoped to at least break a sweat. No matter. The threat had finally been eliminated and a twisted empire dismantled, so at least there was that.
One menace down. One to go.
They’d wiped out the enemy, but sustained three severe and two mortal injuries on their side. Most everyone else returned with at least a few wounds, but all had been accounted for and the dead returned for proper interment by their families.
The second he was within distance to the estate to speak telepathically with Sarah, he did, letting her know he was safe and that he would still be quite a while, taking care of the injured and debriefing for hours. Her relief was palpable, as was her anxiety when he’d left. The need to go to her was almost too much to ignore, but he knew if he did, he wouldn’t be leaving her side anytime soon.
Like every time he’d reaped a new skill, it hummed like a thousand volts of electricity in his arteries and veins and capillaries. It would take a few days to control and master it. And, as it always did, it created such an adrenaline rush, he could barely think of anything else besides fucking his mate.
Repeatedly. For days.
“How is he?”
“Touch and go, my lord. We’re keeping him sedated until his internal organs heal,” replied Big D.
“Keep me updated.”
Rom left the infirmary and made his way to debrief. The meeting room was filled to capacity with loud, smelly, bloody vampires, every one of them hyped up on the adrenaline from battle. Renaldo, Dev’s lieutenant, had been charged with running this meeting and he looked concerned, his face tight with anxiety.
“Quiet!” Ren finally yelled. After the noise had died down, he continued. “First order of business … ding dong, the fucking witch is dead!” The quiet was obliterated by a loud, bloodthirsty roar, which took several more minutes to contain.
After calming the melee down again, he continued. “Pay attention so we can get the hell out of here. I, for one, need to get laid,” Ren growled. “The mission was a success. We capt
ured a few rogues for interrogation, but the rest were destroyed and the females and children rescued and placed in the shelters. However …” Ren paused, staring directly at Rom, “the special compound in Nebraska that Geoffrey talked about was empty. Everything was gone, like it never existed.”
Fucking hell. Outside of killing Xavier, that was the top priority.
It was clear when Rom arrived and Geoffrey was being sliced up like a Thanksgiving turkey that Xavier knew of his treachery. So … he’d managed to move this location before they struck and now that everyone else was dead, they had no fucking idea where to find it. Great.
Rom nodded. He had no doubt Geoffrey would pull through his grave injuries, so as soon as he was conscious, Rom hoped he’d be able to provide some insight. If he’d had arrived much later, he was sure there would have been a completely different outcome for the vampire.
After two hours, showered and redressed, he stood in the corner of the shelter’s kitchen, which was in total and utter chaos. Vampires and humans swarmed the place like bees. The medical staff tended to the physical health of the females while others tended to their mental health, including Sarah. He would never be able to keep her out of the fray. This was where she belonged. Through her own experiences, she had something invaluable to provide these tortured females.
Solidarity.
Sarah was a survivor and as he watched her, his chest swelled with pride. When she spotted him, she patted the female’s hand she’d been talking to and made a beeline straight for him, wrapped her arms and legs around him and kissed him squarely on the lips. He turned them, sitting her on the counter.
“Thank God you’re okay. I love you,” she whispered between pecks.
“I love you, my beauty.” He held her tightly; not wanting to ever let her go.
“I’m going to be quite a while yet. I just don’t feel like I can leave until we get everyone settled.”
“Anything I can do to help?” he murmured, not quite sure why he’d offered, but unable to take it back now.
She drew back and smiled. Ah … that’s why he offered. God, he loved this female beyond all reason.
“No offense, but I think you may be a little too scary for some of these women to handle. But thank you for offering. I know being here makes you uncomfortable.”
He reluctantly let her pull back, desperately wanting to flash them home instead, but understanding her need to help. Leaning forward, he whispered against the shell of her ear, “Try to hurry. I need to be buried balls deep in your sweet heat something fierce.” A shiver caused a small smile to turn his lips. “You have no idea how much I ache for you right now.”
“I think I do,” she muttered against his neck before nipping lightly.
Grabbing her hips, he pulled her forward so her core was flush with his throbbing cock. “Be very careful, Sarah. I’m about ten seconds away from shredding your clothes and taking you right here in front of everyone.”
Her eyes flared, but she quickly recovered. Damn. His sweet Sarah wasn’t an exhibitionist, was she?
“No,” she yelped, slugging him in the arm.
“Good. Because I’m not sharing you.” His voice hardened. “With anyone.” They both knew exactly to whom he was referring.
“I need to go,” she sighed. “You’ll stay at the mansion until I’m done?”
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else, beauty. Let me know if you need anything.”
He took a step back, letting her ease off the counter. She gave him another peck before walking back to the female she’d earlier abandoned.
As he watched her go, he steeled himself for the next battle to come. The most important fight of his life. And he only hoped what Taiven said was true.
Had his brother really found a way to save their mother’s life, while ending their father’s?
Chapter 58
Sarah
A week later, things were finally slowing down at the shelter. Most of the women had returned home, but sixteen still remained. She and Rom had spent their days at Dev’s, but their nights back at their home in Washington. She had to admit it was certainly advantageous to be bonded to a vampire, what with their speedy mode of transportation and all.
It was lunchtime and she had a sudden desire to spend a few stolen moments with Rom. Analise had told her the lords were in a meeting in Dev’s office, so she headed that way, hoping he wouldn’t be too upset with her for interrupting.
She had to admit that she felt immense relief that her crazy-assed biological father was dead. She wished there was a place worse than hell because that was far kinder than he deserved. As none of them had been allowed out for what seemed like an eternity, her sisters were planning a little shopping trip in a few days. She had yet to mention that one to Rom because she was sure he’d freak and try putting his foot down.
He could try.
Reaching Dev’s office, she was just raising her hand to knock when she heard loud voices arguing. And Rom’s was the noisiest.
“There is no fucking way we are doing that, vampire,” Rom bellowed.
She didn’t recognize the voice that replied, but in the back of her mind, it sounded vaguely familiar. “It’s the only way.”
“The fuck it is. We’ll find another one.”
“This is the best plan, Rom. And you know it,” Damian replied.
“And if it were your mate we’re talking about, Damian? What would you say then?”
Silence.
“That’s what I thought,” Rom said mockingly.
Not bothering to knock, she opened the door. Damian and Rom stood on opposite sides of the room and Dev sat behind his desk. But the person that had her full attention was the beautiful blond vampire casually sitting in a chair across from Dev, who now had his head turned her way. And by the looks of it, he was just as surprised to see her, as she was him.
“What the fuck, Sarah?” Rom thundered as he walked up to her and tried pushing her out of the room.
“Stop,” she yelled, side-stepping him, never taking her gaze from blondie. “It’s you,” she whispered, barely able to believe her eyes.
His jaw ticked as he stood, fully facing her. Rom had stopped trying to shove her out of the room and now stood protectively by her side, arm wrapped firmly around her waist.
“Sarah? You know him?” he asked incredulously.
“Yes.” With effort, she broke free of Rom’s tight grip and walked up to the vampire that had essentially saved her life. Holding out her hand, she said, “Thank you.”
He looked at her offering before throwing a nervous glance over her shoulder at Rom. She felt rage and confusion radiating from her mate, but she didn’t care. Had it not been for this vampire, she would have been gang raped, repeatedly. And Moira or not, she wasn’t sure she could have moved passed that to bond with Rom.
Clearing his throat, but not moving to shake her hand, he simply said, “No thanks necessary.”
“You’d better tell me what the fuck is going on and right now, Geoffrey, or I swear by all that’s holy, you will only wish you would have died at Xavier’s hands, because I will make your death far more torturous and painful,” her mate growled.
Spinning, she walked into Rom’s arms, hugging him. “Rein it in, King Henry the Eighth. Geoffrey saved me when I was kidnapped. He didn’t let the other vampires hurt me, at least not in that way.” Rom’s arms tightened around her and he buried his head in her long mane of hair. His anger at the mention of her kidnapping was tangible.
“Yah, but he was probably responsible for her being there in the first place,” Damian jeered. Rom’s head whipped up and, once again, she felt his fury, but this time it was like a living, breathing entity. Turning to look at Geoffrey, she could see the guilt written all over his face.
Professor Bailey. She knew it wasn’t him all along ...
“Mother. Fucker. You were!” Damian yelled, starting across the room toward Geoffrey.
“I didn’t know,” he snapped. “She was identif
ied as a dreamwalker in the professor’s study. It was my mission to retrieve her. As soon as I discovered she was a Moira, I kept her safe until I could get Devon to raid the compound.”
Damian was almost upon Geoffrey when Sarah rushed to his side. Foolish move, that. If these powerful vampires wanted Geoffrey dead, he would be.
“Stop.” She should be angry that Geoffrey put her in that situation to begin with, and in truth, she was. It still gave her nightmares. But had he not, she never would have come here. She never would have known this life existed. Or that she had sisters.
And she would never have met, and bonded with, Rom. She would have unknowingly floated through life always feeling like she was missing the other half of her soul, but not understanding why.
“No one is going to touch him. He saved me,” she declared.
“He put your life in peril!” Rom roared loud enough to shake the walls.
“Romaric,” she pleaded. “Don’t you see? It was meant to be. I wouldn’t be here right now, with you, if it weren’t for what he did.”
“Sarah, I can’t believe you’re defending him.” Her mate sounded tormented.
“And I can’t believe you aren’t.”
“Come here,” he croaked, holding out his hand for hers, which she took without hesitation.
“It’s hard to admit when you’re wrong, isn’t it?”
“I want to kill him.”
“Stop,” she chided.
“If I could change things, believe me, I would,” Geoffrey said softly.
“Don’t say another fucking word or I’ll cut out your tongue,” Rom grated. Geoffrey winced, his face contorting in pain.
“Rom, please. Stop it,” she begged, knowing her mate was the deliverer of Geoffrey’s agony. Pulling his gaze to hers, she said, “Come. Let’s get something to eat.” After all, that’s the reason she came, plus she needed to separate Geoffrey and Rom before Rom’s anger made him do something that couldn’t be undone.