by C. L. Quinn
Sitting stone-still, Tamesine understood Eillia’s implication.
“But…I would have known.”
“Not necessarily.”
“That’s quite shocking news, isn’t it? I have a lot to deal with then, don’t I?”
“You do. And Tam, you realize that, based on Starla’s situation, your baby likely survived. Tam, you might have a child out there.”
Tamesine shook her head.
“No. It isn’t possible. I knew Caedmon when he was still in your belly. Before I even knew he existed, I felt him. Wouldn’t I know if I had a child out there in the world?”
“You’ve been sick for centuries. And we still don’t know exactly how all of this works because there have been so few births. But it makes sense. I’m sure you don’t remember anything, but if you’re up to it, after this is all over, would you want to try again? See if we can find out what happened to the child?”
After a few moments, Tamesine shook her head.
“No. Maybe. Give me some time.”
“All that you need. Right now, though, Koen wants you to know how grateful he is that we found Windari. That you did. He’s going to try to capture her tonight.”
“He won’t be able to hold her. If she is anywhere as strong as I am, he won’t have the power. Lia, I have to help him. I have to go to America.”
“Sweetie, you’ve been through a lot tonight. He’s clever, and stronger than you think. I’m sure he’ll be all right.”
“No. He won’t. If this has any chance of working, you need to take me to him. Please, Eillia. I need to fix this. I need to do something. Please.”
Koen’s jet arrived in L.A. during early morning, so they had to stay on the plane until dark. The man who took care of all of Koen’s security needs sat two seats in front of him with three tablet computers propped on tabletops all around him.
Koen had been trying to rest, but he suddenly looked up. “Johnson.”
Johnson got up and came back to Koen immediately.
“Yes, sir?”
“Everything is ready?”
“Ready. Here.” Johnson reached behind him and pulled up a case, snapped it open, and pulled out a machine gun.
“I have four men, they’ll go in, take her down, secure her, and then she’s yours. Another four will scan the property and secure her blood-bonds. We’ll get her, sir, as long as we maintain our element of surprise.”
“Nothing can go wrong. I can’t lose her again.”
“We will do everything we can to make sure this is a success.”
“I trust no one more. Thanks, Johnson. Get some rest.”
The plan was in place. But it still might not work. They could take her down, and bind her up, but no normal bindings could keep her secure for long. Koen would have to get her to talk before she gained her freedom again. He was powerful, but he didn’t know if he was more powerful than Windari.
He sighed and closed his eyes. They were going to find out in just a few hours.
As the sun left the sky, Koen’s team left the plane and got into two large black SUV’s to meet at Windari’s beach house. Several things had to come together for this to be a success. Starting with the fact that she had to be there when they got there. And that they could get to her without detection. Johnson had been right, it all hinged on stealth and luck.
It took three hours of travel alongside the Pacific before they pulled up on the street and quietly parked the vehicles. Lights were on in the big modern beach house where Tamesine had said her twin resided.
Koen stayed in front of his team the entire way from the cars to the main entrance of the house, his life signal cloaked. A driveway went around the back of the house that faced the ocean, so he knew there was a garage under the house with an entrance only on the back side. This worked in their favor.
It took only seconds to release the locks on the doors and move inside. Johnson’s team of four expert marksmen came up right behind Koen and they weaved their way down a narrow hall to a large living area with the back wall built completely of glass. She lay on a couch with a large plate of food balanced on her knees. Her hair was still short in spikes and rose above the high back of the tropical flowered couch.
Koen stepped forward into her line of sight, and the plate dropped onto the whitewashed wood floor as she stood.
“What the fuck…” she began to yell, and then stopped abruptly as gunfire erupted.
The four marksmen fired, multiple times, and she fell onto the ground, dead. Koen leaned down to check her respiration and heartbeat. No air escaped her mouth and her heart was still. She was dead. The plan worked, so far.
Johnson went into action.
“Take her,” he said, and the four marksmen grabbed her arms and dragged her outside to one of several 6 x 6 posts that supported the beach house a full ten feet above ground level. They used thick chains and triple locking mechanisms, one of which was state of the art, fingerprint access only. It wouldn’t stop her from getting free, but it would delay her. Koen planned to be merciless if necessary, as she had been by keeping Alisa for almost seven months now, so he didn’t give a fuck how much he had to do to her to find out where. Luckily there were no neighbors to worry about.
“Thank you, guys. Excellent work. Keep your weapons on her because if she gets loose, you need to take her down instantly. One second delay will mean she’s gone.”
“We won’t let you down, sir,” Johnson told him, giving his team a glance that meant he put the same trust in them.
“It may be a while. When she comes around, she’ll know why we’re here.”
One hour blended into the next, and on the fourth hour, he saw her eyelids move.
Koen smiled bitterly. She was alive again, but she wasn’t planning on him knowing that. He gave Johnson a thumbs up, his team went on immediate alert, and he moved forward to kick her in the shin.
Windari’s eyes flew open.
“What a cunt you are, Koen,” she said clearly.
“Cunt?’
“Yeah. You kick like a human girl. If this is supposed to be torture, forget it. You are wasting my time and yours.”
He moved in so close, his breath fanned her hair.
“I haven’t even begun. You didn’t hold up your end of our deal. You were supposed to let her go.”
“I was planning to. But then I decided to relocate, and I knew it was wise to keep my leverage, just in case you found me. And. Oops. Looks like it was a smart move, because here you are. By the way, that really hurt.”
“Where is she?”
“Okay, I will admit I didn’t honor my promise. I’m sorry. I tell you what. Let me go and I will text her location back to you. Honestly Koen, I mean it this time. You will know where she is within the next three hours. That’s the best deal I can offer you. Three hours, first blood. You can’t refuse this.”
He wished it was this easy. That in three hours he would be on his way to Alisa. But he couldn’t trust this fucking bitch.
“Let’s try it this way this time. You tell me where she is, and once I find her, I will let you go. I promise.”
Windari threw all of her weight on the chains as she leaned forward and let her body suspend from her wrists.
“Really? At this point, vampire, the one most likely to be telling the truth is me. I may be an established liar, but there is no way you will let me go once you have your little sex toy.”
No. There was no way. He didn’t care about honoring his word. He just wanted to find Alisa at any cost. He was desperate, though.
“Let me speak to her.”
Windari raised her head. “If I let you, will you agree to my terms?”
“I will.”
“Liar. Worse than me. But okay. If that will start this negotiation rolling, okay. My cell phone is lying on the shelf in the kitchen cabinet second from the door. Have one of your men get it for me.”
Johnson was already gone. In seconds, he was back and handed the phone over to Koen.
“Dial 3 and hold it up for me.”
Koen did so as it began to ring.
“It’s me,” Windari said into the phone. “Put her on.”
Several minutes later, holding the phone to his ear, Koen dropped back onto a lounge chair facing the ocean as he heard a weak feminine voice say something. He didn’t know what the word was and he wasn’t sure it was Alisa. His heart pounding, he spoke, afraid to hope.
“Alisa, is that you? It’s Koen.”
There was some rustling and someone cleared their throat.
“Ko…Ko…Koen,” she said on a sob. It was her, his woman, his mate.
“Baby, I’m coming to get you. I promise. Are you all right? Did she hurt you?”
“Koen,” she repeated. He could tell she was crying. That must be why his name sounded so garbled.
“Alisa,” he said, and kept turned away so his men could not see that she was not the only one who was crying.
“Baby, can you answer me? Are you all right?”
“Yes,” she said finally, only it sounded like ‘yeth.’
“I love you,” he said and heard her cry harder.
“I love you,” she said back, not clearly, but he understood every word. His heart skipped beats in joy and pain. He was so happy to hear her voice, but he didn’t have her yet. “I’m coming to get you. I’m coming as soon as I can.”
A male voice interrupted her next attempt to speak.
“Come soon, sir, because she really needs you. She’s so sick.”
The phone went dead.
Koen turned on Windari and grabbed her by the throat.
“He says she’s sick. What’s wrong with her?”
“How should I know? There are so many things that can go wrong with humans.”
“I’m not fucking with you anymore. Where is she? Answer me, or I swear to you, there is nothing I won’t do to you now.”
“I believe that, but, gotta go…”
He glanced down to see her hands free, the only thing holding her there were his around her throat.
His men had their guns raised, but he knew it was too late. She disappeared.
Koen screamed and raced after her, but stopped just inside her house. She stood in the middle of the living area. Frozen. He couldn’t freeze first blood vampires. What the hell?
Movement to his right drew his attention and he went on alert.
Eillia and Tamesine walked towards him, although Tamesine’s eyes were on Windari.
“Eillia, you did this?”
“No. She did. Tamesine says she thinks she’s stronger than her sister. I guess she’s right.”
Wandering over to the still vampire, Tamesine walked up to just inches from her twin and faced her.
“You look like me,” she whispered. “You look like your sister.”
Windari couldn’t move any limb. But she could speak.
“Yeah, well, that wasn’t supposed to happen either. Sorry, little cat.” Then whispered so low Tamesine could barely hear her. “I can’t believe you survived.”
“You meant to kill me.” Tamesine wasn’t asking, she knew Windari had.
“I’m sorry, but yes. You are so powerful to be able to hold me like this. You stole my power. There should have been only one of us. Only one. This power should be mine.”
Windari looked over Tamesine, from her feet to her shape and finally to her remarkable face that was probably even prettier than the one in her own mirror.
“Why aren’t you dead,” she whispered to her blood kin.
Tamesine turned and went back to hug Koen.
“I’m glad you’re okay. She is unable to hurt you anymore. I will take her to Ahmose and he will seek justice.”
“Not yet. I haven’t found Alisa yet.”
“You will.” Tamesine turned to Eillia. “With your skills combined with mine, I think I can compel her to tell us where to find Alisa.”
“Tam, no one has ever been able to compel a first blood.”
“But she and I have the same blood. I’m blood kin to her. I think I can pull it off with a power boost from you, Lia.”
“Of course we’ll try. Where do you need me?”
“Just here by my side. Shall we begin?”
Both women put their hands on Windari.
“Release this woman’s secrets,” Tamesine said while tears sprung into Windari’s eyes.
Windari shrieked. “No. I can feel you clawing at me. You can’t get in. I will not allow it.”
Tamesine, with Eillia’s hand in hers, looked into Windari’s eyes. “You will tell me where you have Alisa.”
Winds began to swirl, and whipped around them. Windari might be frozen, but some of her powers escaped to stir the air, her rage manifesting in wind that rocked the shores behind the house. Sand began to blow.
“Tell me where you have Alisa,” Tamesine repeated forcefully.
Still, Windari fought her. Sweat rolled from her brow and ran into her eyes, down her nose and across her lips and chin.
Koen watched as she broke. The words were staccato and spit at Tamesine with venom.
“South America. Brazil. The address is inside the cell phone in a file called Home.”
Even though she was still frozen, Windari’s body began to shake. Tamesine kept her hand on Windari’s shoulder for a few more moments and then commanded, “Sleep.” Windari fell where she stood, crumpled on the floor.
“I suggest you bind her and I will put a spell on the locks.” Tamesine looked at Eillia. “I learned that from you and Park when you did it to me in Alaska.”
Eillia shook her head and smiled, then hugged Tamesine. “It all worked out well for you. For us.”
Johnson came up to Koen and showed him the screen on Windari’s cell phone.
“Got it. We’re going right away, aren’t we?”
“Immediately. Get everyone in the car and call the pilot.”
He walked over to Eillia and Tamesine.
“Tamesine, you have a home with me for as long as you wish. You have given me back my life and I can never repay you for this. Thank you, both of you, for helping me find her.”
Eillia nearly lost it watching this strong man with tears in his eyes.
“Go. Get her and bring her home. Tamesine and I need to get back to France. We have a wedding and celebration to plan.”
He hugged them both again, and joined his men in the car to go to Brazil, end a nightmare, and save his woman.
TWENTY THREE
Martin gave her the dinner he’d spent the past hour preparing, but she looked up at him from her pallet, then rolled over away from it.
This wouldn’t do. She had to eat. She was so thin.
“Come on. I brought banana pudding. You love this. At least eat the bananas. I know they’re your favorites.”
“Too…hard,” she croaked out.
He didn’t know what was wrong with her. She’d told him months ago that she was sick and dying, but he’d thought it was a ploy to convince him to release her. He would have done so instantly if he had the ability to. But he still couldn’t do anything but follow the Madame’s will. Madame Mercury owned him.
It broke Martin’s heart because he was pretty sure he was watching her die, just as she’d told him she was. This beautiful, sensitive woman was dying because he could not do anything to help her. He was bound by Madame Mercury, but he hated the awful bitch, the noxious woman who did this to him and this woman he’d fallen in love with over the past several months.
He’d done all he could to take care of her, but she was getting sicker and sicker. Martin had to help her to stand now, and she couldn’t really hold the magazines he brought for her anymore. He stayed to read them to her, but her interest seemed gone. And he had to feed her, the little he could get her to eat.
He hoped that man on the phone would get here soon. If he didn’t, it would be too late. And he hoped like hell the man might be able to free him from whatever fucking hold the Mistress had over h
im. He wanted to go home. He wanted to see his son, and go back to work, and just be able to live again. And he really didn’t want to watch Alisa die. If he did, he wasn’t sure he would ever be able to forgive himself.
“Come on,” he urged. “Just try to drink the milk.”
She didn’t move.
Martin gave up. It was time. Nothing he could do now would convince her.
He picked up the tray, started to leave, then paused. “I think the man is coming. Alisa, I think he’ll be here. He’s coming for you.”
Again, with no response from her, he left quietly. He didn’t see the tears slipping down her cheeks. It didn’t matter now. As much as she wanted to see Koen again, her condition was so bad, their life together was already finished. She couldn’t make love with him again. All it would do now would make him inconsolably sad that they’d missed their final moments together. Alisa thought that, at this point, it might have been better if he never found her at all.
The tears continued while she thought about being with him that last time. How they’d finally declared their love for each other, then made love in a way so different than the other times, because now they knew they belonged to each other. How she’d decided to let him know about her condition because she was sure he would want to be there with her until the end. How she planned they would live a lifetime in the months left.
She didn’t know if her medications would have really helped her stay healthier longer, but it was useless speculating now. Her body no longer understood her commands to it. On her good days, she could manage to sit up and even stand, with Martin’s help. But not now.
Koen, I love you, deeply and forever. Forgive me.
She finally fell asleep as those thoughts rolled over and over in her mind.
Sometime later, she didn’t know how much, but it hardly mattered since time meant nothing to her here, she heard voices. Someone was yelling. From her dream state, she felt hands on her arms, pulling her up, cradling her. Martin, it must be. She tried to say his name.
“Mah…mar…tin.” Her eyes opened and someone looked at her, smiling. Not Martin. A dream. Koen, smiling, perfect white teeth, his eyes filled with tears. What a beautiful dream.