by C. L. Quinn
awaken, I’ll eat, and we’ll go.”
He nodded, and walked away.
Windari threw herself back down on the bed. Like she’d sleep now anyway.
Darkness arrived, curling through the brightly lit streets and buildings in Chicago, filling spaces with black where it could. It was a vampire’s night, clear skies, cool air, and a full moon.
Koen stood on the balcony watching the last of the pink fade from the horizon he could see between the high buildings. Alisa came up behind him and slipped between his arms that were pressed against the rail. He looked down at her perfect face smiling at him.
“How long do you think you’ll be gone?” she asked.
“I really can’t say. We need to find that murderous bitch as soon as possible. Hell, she’s probably already gone. If she had any sense, she headed out as soon as she saw me. She had to know someone would fill me in. I hope to hell she didn’t have enough sense, though, since she needs to be…” He hesitated. “Captured.”
He wouldn’t tell her that it was the ultimate crime in the first blood community to kill another first blood. Plus, this was personal. Jacob had become a good friend, and so had Starla. Then there was the first blood child she carried. No. Windari would not live through this betrayal if they found her. No. When they found her.
Alisa tilted her head. “Well, no rush. Percy has reservations for 9, so I’ll be several hours beyond that. I’ll just curl up here on the couch if you’re not home by then and catch a show. Naked.”
Koen lifted her into his arms, his head buried in her neck. God, how he wanted to taste her. “I will hurry.”
He tried to carry her back through the room, but Samson began to nip at his heels and he was afraid he would step on the overexcited pup. He lowered Alisa and watched her drop to pick up the squirming pup who assaulted her entire face with his tongue.
She looked so happy. He knew the puppy was a part of her joy, but it was this new love they had found with each other that made her shine.
Standing, the pup cradled in her arms, Alisa looked at the clock on her DVR.
“I’m out of time. I’d better get dressed. Here.”
She dumped the pup into Koen’s arms and hurried to the bedroom.
Samson looked at the big man, hanging suspended from his large hands, the whites of his eyes showing since his head was bowed.
“What? You better get used to me, little guy. I’m sharing her with you, not the other way around.”
The pup began to wiggle, and then crawled up to carefully lick Koen on the chin.
Alisa came out of the room a few minutes later in a tight-fitting sweater dress that clung to her figure, her hair twisted high in some kind of fancy knot.
“I’m out of here. Good luck tonight, baby. Be careful.”
Koen stretched out on her couch, texting Jacob as she dropped into his lap to kiss him goodbye. She walked to the door, stopped, turned back with a soft smile, and whispered “See you later,” then closed the door behind her.
With his cell phone paused in mid-air, suddenly he found himself concerned. She was fine, Windari had no reason to go after her. Alisa would be at a restaurant with Percy, so Windari wouldn’t even know where she was. Shaking his head to clear the worry, he returned his attention to the text to make sure he knew where to meet Jacob’s team.
Jacob had assembled a search team from local vampires who brought their well-trained blood-bonded soldiers. Koen made sure they knew that they were searching for a woman with powers much stronger than any they had ever known, and that they were to do recon only, and report back to Koen if anyone sighted her.
Eillia would be arriving shortly with his daughter Park. As one of the newest generation of first bloods, Park was more powerful than either Eillia or himself. Together, Eillia and Park were a formidable force. They had captured and contained Windari’s twin Tamesine when she was hell-bent on killing Eillia in Alaska less than a year ago.
Since then, things had gone bat-shit crazy. Tamesine was now a guest in his home, the caretaker of Eillia’s first blood child, and apparently, a whole lot less insane. Koen still had trouble accepting that, but his head hurt when he thought about it, so he just trusted his daughter and Eillia, and accepted that everything in their lives was fluid and subject to change.
At this moment, though, the one thing he would not change was that he planned to find that murderous bitch and let Park and Eillia put her down long enough to secure her to be returned to South Africa. Ahmose was on his way here, so she might not even be taken from Chicago. He may dispense justice right away rather than risk transporting her. Even with Park and Eillia’s skills, they could not be sure she would be one hundred percent secure, and he would not risk his family for Windari.
First, they had to find the bitch. With her life signal masked, she was invisible to them. If she hadn’t run into him here in this city, they may never have known where she had gone.
Bas, Park’s husband, had an excellent IT guy. Tim had already hacked the city’s security camera feeds and had been poring through it with facial recognition using Tamesine’s face as criteria. Now, with boots on the ground in every part of the city, men and women dressed like citizens combed every possible lead.
They all answered back to Koen until Ahmose could get here. Koen would still help, but he wanted to speak with Alisa tonight. As soon as he got back to her apartment, he planned to tell her what he was and let her know that he wanted her in his life for the many centuries they would have together once she was converted.
A vampire made by a normal vampire achieved very long life, possibly immortal, unchanged from the age they were when made vampire, enhanced sexuality, and increased strength and speed. But when a human was changed by a first blood vampire, all those changes were intensified. He thought Alisa was beyond beautiful as a human woman…he knew she would be beyond stunning made vampire. He couldn’t keep his hands off of her now. He couldn’t imagine how he could ever let her leave their room in his villa after she was changed.
Koen stood outside an old office building downtown, where he had coordinated the search and met with Jacob’s search teams the night before.
So far, they had found no trace of Windari or anything that seemed unusual which might reveal first blood powers. The search continued as a black Mercedes SUV pulled up near Koen, and Eillia got out.
The petite woman with Asian features came quickly to him. Eillia kissed Koen on each cheek and held him in an extended hug. When she pulled away, he noticed the tears in her eyes.
“What?” He barked in a gentle tone.
“You’re in love. Oh, my dear friend, you are finally in love.”
Taking her face in both hands, he ran his thumbs gently under her eyes to wipe away the falling tears. His smile was soul deep, Eillia could feel it.
“I am.”
He hadn’t told anyone what he was doing when he left France a few weeks earlier. He’d just told them he had a matter to attend to. At the time, he hadn’t been completely certain how this was going to turn out.
“She’s the woman I crashed into in Paris about three months ago when we found Jacob.”
“Ah,” Eillia said. “I remember that both your auras looked intensely bright. You were connecting even then.” She paused. She also remembered there was something else about the woman’s aura that troubled her, she couldn’t remember what it was, but it concerned her.
“Everything is all right? She is okay with what you are?”
“I plan to tell her tonight. And yes, all is well. I love her, and she admits she is in love with me.”
“But you haven’t revealed your nature?”
“No. You know how it works. I waited until I knew she would be in my life forever. She will be.”
“Then I look forward to meeting her. She must be extraordinary.”
“Absolutely. Tomorrow night, though, Eillia. I have arranged a protective room in one of this city’s finest hotels for you and Park. After I let Alis
a know what we are, I will bring her there and introduce her to my family.”
“I understand. You two have an important night ahead. Why don’t I finish this for you and you can go home to her? Park will be here shortly.”
“Thank you. I think I will. But I’ll wait for Park to arrive first. I’ve been away from her too long, too.”
As if ordered, another SUV pulled up and a gorgeous redhead with a long ponytail swinging wildly about her head, rushed up to him.
“Father,” she whispered with a soft smile. It had been nearly three weeks since she’d seen him, their longest separation since they found each other only about a year earlier. She nudged Eillia aside and buried her face against his.
“Hey, sweet daughter. Did you leave my granddaughter at home?”
“I did. Bas can take care of her. And there’s watchdog Tamesine, who seems to have adopted both of our children.”
Eillia nodded. “True. And they love her just as much. Koen, we haven’t told Tamesine about Windari yet. We’re not sure how she will take it. Obviously, she has no memory of her.”
“Probably wise. I still don’t think she’s stable, so better err on the side of the less insane. Park, I have to take care of something tonight, so I’m sending you and Eillia to your hotel room. This is a pretty city. You won’t have any trouble figuring out something to enjoy tonight. Then tomorrow, I want to bring someone to meet you.”
“Father, Eillia told me. You’ve found your mate. I couldn’t be more pleased for you.”
“I never expected this. But I know you’ll both love her. Well, get to your rooms. Eillia, you two ladies just enjoy yourselves. I’ll wait here until Ahmose arrives. He’s but an hour away.”
“Alright, my friend. We will see you and your woman tomorrow night after rising for first meal.”
The women departed in the same car, and Koen stepped back inside the building to wait for Ahmose. The wind was frigid and in spite of his vampire constitution, too cool on his exposed skin.
Number Two wandered back into the room as Number One finished packing.
“Mistress, I don’t know if this would interest you, but when I was getting the food you asked for, I saw the woman that was with that big vampire.”
The little human? The one Koen had seemed overly happy to choose over Windari? Windari would love to kill her, just to send a message to the arrogant big-ass first blood.
“Huh. I’m interested. You wouldn’t happen to know where she is right now, would you?”
“I saw her just a few minutes ago around the corner. I think she was heading for Mama Giovanni’s for dinner. She was dressed like she was going out and that’s the only restaurant in that area.
Windari made a sudden decision. “Both of you, go get her. Now!”
Alisa thought the sweater dress would be warm enough tonight, but the breeze weaving through the streets between the skyscrapers was on a mission. Its cold breath blew chill bumps all over Alisa’s arms as she hurried to meet Percy at their favorite little Italian restaurant. It was just down the street from Lauren’s flower shop, and she glanced at the dimly lit sign as she walked by, still wondering what the story was with the striking woman and the man she loved.
Running late, she was thankful Percy was a patient man. He would know she would be there shortly, so she forced herself to slow down before she turned an ankle. Her feet were becoming considerably less reliable with each passing week, and she knew the cute heeled boots she wore now would be of little use soon. Tamping down the regret, she turned the corner just before she arrived at the restaurant. The wind caught her unexpectedly and nearly took her breath away. Winter was trying to assert itself, and although it was too soon, this frigid wind tonight was a promise of how it would feel in a few short months.
She smiled as she thought she might be in the south of France by then.
So tonight, it didn’t matter how cool it was. Percy was waiting, along with an excellent lasagna, so she would enjoy a wonderful dinner with him, and then she would go home to Koen and Samson. She’d never expected to find this kind of happiness after her diagnosis of ALS had made her believe it was all over. And yes, her time was still tragically shorter than it should be, but the remainder of her life would be glorious enough to make up for any lost years.
Alisa looked up against the brutal onslaught of the wind, but it made her drop her head and close her eyes to protect them. Mama Giovanni’s was just a hundred yards ahead, she would be so grateful to get in off the street, but as she stepped off the curb to cross to it, something came down over her mouth. Someone’s hand, squeezing hard, then someone else grabbed her and pulled her backward into an alley almost devoid of light. She was losing consciousness as the hand moved to cover both her nose and mouth. No matter how hard she struggled to breathe, she couldn’t. Moments later, she passed out.
Alisa had given him a key to the apartment, but vampires never had problems with locks. The key still stashed in his jeans pocket, Koen sailed through the door of 817 to find it still and silent. He was disappointed since he really had been hoping to find Alisa watching television, sitting on the big champagne sofa completely naked.
He saw no lights on in the bedroom so he thought she must be out on the balcony, but as he walked out the French doors and scanned the small space, he found she wasn’t there.
Perhaps she was asleep then. Since he had been with her, Alisa had matched his nighttime schedule. But it was normal for her to be tired and sleep at night. She was likely just catching up on her rest while she waited for him to return.
It disturbed him not to know where she was just by sensing her, but after tonight, he would. After he revealed his nature to her, he intended to blood-bond her to him. That way, he could always find her, just in case she ever tried to take off again, although he thought that was settled now. But more than anything, he needed to taste her. Had wanted to from that first night. Needed to now that he admitted he was in love and would make her his mate.
Koen entered the bedroom through the open door to find the bed made, empty.
Where the hell was she? Dinner with Percy should have been over hours ago. Making his way back out to the living area, he stood looking out the French doors as the sleeping puppy on the sofa tumbled off of it and bounded over to him. Koen picked up the dog, wondering how he could get in touch with Percy. He called Tim, who found Percy’s cell number, and dialed it.
“Hey, it’s Koen. Alisa’s friend. Is she still with you?”
Koen listened as Percy told her she never showed up. His breath stopped and he lowered the pup to the floor.
“She’s so reliable, I know if she couldn’t make it, she would have called me. I couldn’t reach her on her cell, so I came to the apartment, but no one was home. I’m worried. She never does this,” Percy told him.
Koen held his phone with rigid fingers. “I’ll find her.”
Then he closed off the call and turned for the door. His chest burned. Something was wrong. Something had happened to Alisa, he knew it. Fuck! He’d waited too long to feed her his blood.
Bright light hurt her eyes the second she opened them, so she closed them again and sat up. Her head ached, and she couldn’t think why. Slowly, she tried to open her eyes again, but kept them slotted until they adjusted to the brightness of the room.
Glancing around, she saw she was in an open area with high ceilings like you might find in a warehouse, with no furnishings except a large bed and the plush French-style divan she sat on. A row of spotless mirrors angled toward each other at the ends reflected her image back to her in multiples. Her hair was wild, but otherwise she looked okay. Sliding forward, Alisa stood, but that went poorly as neither leg held her and she crashed to the ground.
“Graceful,” a feminine voice behind her said.
Alisa twisted her body around to see who spoke and drew a blank for a moment. Did she know this woman? No. But she recognized her as the woman who rudely interrupted her dinner with Koen two nights ago that he was
searching for right now for attempted murder.
The beautiful woman wore a lace negligee that hid none of her perfect body. Long fit legs ended in high stiletto heels. They were moving toward Alisa, who scrambled to gain her feet. By the time the woman got to her, Alisa stood upright again, although none too steady.
“Where am I? Why have you abducted me?”
The woman stopped just in front of Alisa and assessed her, pale blue eyes traveling quickly over Alisa’s form.
“I don’t get it. You’re pretty, sure, but nothing as lovely as I am. And you’re just human.” Windari walked right up on top of Alisa, taller than she by about five inches, although the heels helped, and lifted Alisa’s hair to sniff it.
“You smell human.” She walked away. “Well, not for much longer.”
Alisa realized then how much danger she was in. It was apparent this woman was unbalanced. And that last comment was a barely veiled threat. She looked around the empty room for a possible weapon.
The woman grinned at Alisa as she launched herself onto the bed.
“Please. Forget it. You could be carrying a machine gun and couldn’t hurt me. Don’t you get it? I’m vampire. Like your lover.”
Alisa’s expression was blank as she watched the prone woman on the bed. Suddenly, the woman shot onto her hands and knees.
“Wait. You look like you don’t know what I’m talking about. Is it possible you don’t know what he is?”
Tossing her spiked hair, she rolled off the bed, and used vampire speed to move in front of Alisa.
Alisa stumbled backward as the woman on the bed was instantly in front of her as if she’d teleported. Only the French divan directly behind her kept her from falling again when she clutched the cushioned back.
Vampire? What the hell was this crazy woman talking about? How insane was she? And what did she want with Alisa? Was this an Ex gone crazy jealous?