Seduced by Blood

by Laurie London

  “You’re fast. Much faster than me.” He noted a faint tinge of regret in her tone. It always bothered her that as a changeling, her abilities didn’t match up to a born vampire’s. “But even you can’t outrun a Ferrari.”

  Another reason he was a dismal failure as a Guardian. Gravely injured, their enemy should’ve been easy to catch. He’d have gladly staked her himself, given what she’d done to humiliate him.

  “I’m leaving the Agency,” he said flatly.

  Sadie exhaled and didn’t say anything for a few moments. When she spoke, her voice was soft. “How can I get in touch with you?” The two of them had hooked up in the past, but neither of them had romantic inclinations toward the other.

  “You can’t.”

  “But—”

  “It’s time I moved on, Sadie. It was good while it lasted. There’s no room for me any longer. Especially if things are in a state of upheaval. I don’t want them to manufacture a job for me just because.”

  She fastened and unfastened one of the harness closures, the repetitive clicking noise the only sound inside the elevator for a moment. “Where are you going to go?”

  “I’m not sure yet.”

  She pulled out a scrap of paper and scribbled a phone number. “I’d very much like to stay in touch. I know of some… Well, when you’re ready, give me a call. Okay? I’ll be around.”

  The elevator doors opened silently and they walked through security together, not saying another word. He nodded at the two security guys, neither of whom he recognized. Things were changing already. Out with the old guard and in with the new.

  With one hand on the door, he turned to look at Sadie. If he wasn’t mistaken, he saw a glimmer of moisture in the corner of her eye. “Take care of yourself.” He hooked a finger under the harness strap at her shoulder and gave it a little tug. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

  Then he stepped into the night and disappeared into the shadows.

  * * *

  ROXY COULD TELL Santiago had been drinking the moment she entered his office. Not only could she smell it, but several empty bottles sat on his desk next to a glass. Maybe she should come back later when he’d sobered up. Hearing that you were going to be a father was the sort of news that should come when you were cognitively able to handle it. Then again, it was also the kind of news that could drive you to drink. At least maybe this way, he wouldn’t notice how nervous she was.

  He was staring into a computer monitor and barely looked up when she entered.

  “Hard day?” she asked.

  “Nothing I can’t handle.”

  At least he hadn’t resorted to another tantrum or self-torture. Or she didn’t think he had. She glanced around the room but didn’t see anything broken or out of place. But then alcohol was a more accepted crutch. At least it had been for Ian.

  “Leave me alone,” Ian had said to her the last time they’d been in their house together. “I’m not hurting anything. Everybody gets drunk now and again.”

  It wouldn’t have been a big deal, but he’d been attempting to cover up the fact that he was addicted to Sweet. Maybe he thought he could cover up the real problem. Or maybe he was just guilty and drinking was his way of coping.

  But either way, his lying had gotten out of hand and had affected every aspect of their lives. He’d forgetten about plans they’d made together, leaving her to eat by herself at restaurants when he’d fail to show up.

  When he no-showed his mother on her birthday, Roxy had broken down and told the woman what had been happening. Mary Alice could be sweet and charming, but that day Roxy saw a side of her she’d never seen. The woman had a come-to-Jesus meeting with her son, told him that if he didn’t shape up, he was going to mess up his life, sully his family’s good name and lose the woman he loved. He promised he’d change, said it’d never happen again, but then it all started up soon enough.

  He never did admit he had a problem. When Roxy had first confronted him about it, he said he’d been around a sweetblood whom he’d helped get away from a Guardian and that was why he smelled like Sweet. But these excuses started getting more and more difficult to believe. Sitting next to a sweetblood on the train. Staking a DB who’d just drained and killed a sweetblood. The worst lie was when he was gone for a few days and said Darkbloods who forced him to take Sweet had imprisoned him. He said they were trying to convert Guardians over to the Darkblood side. Believable enough—it had happened before to other Guardians—but it was the second time he’d used that excuse and he didn’t want to tell their superiors. He’d made up a story about being sick when he hadn’t shown up for work. When she told him he should seek out help, he refused. He said he didn’t have a problem but that if he did, he’d be able to kick it on his own.

  She recalled what Ventra had told her about having an affair with him. God, what an asshole. There were probably other lies he told that she didn’t know about.

  She thought now about coming around the desk and massaging Santiago’s shoulders. He looked stressed out and tired. Clearly the events of the past two months had caught up with him and now that the gala was over, he was letting that stress show. Her fingers itched to help him, but given what she had to discuss, maybe it would be best if she kept things more formal.

  She perched herself on the chair in front of his desk. Santiago swiveled away from her but not before she saw the worry lines around his eyes. Ever since he’d been released from the clinic, it was as if he’d been avoiding her. And now that Lily was back, Roxy wasn’t needed up here any longer.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.”

  L…i…a…r…

  Okay, even if her intuition hadn’t been more heightened lately, she could’ve figured that out.

  “If now’s a bad time, I can talk about this later.”

  “Talk about what?” he said gruffly with just a slight slur of words. He shuffled through some papers on his desk and she got the distinct impression he didn’t want to make eye contact with her.

  She didn’t really want to get into a deep conversation when he was angry and drunk about the fact that she was going to make him a father.

  “That’s okay. It’s nothing. I can see you’re busy.” She pushed herself to her feet and headed toward the door. “I’m packing my things to head back home, so I can just talk to you about it later before I go.”

  “You’re leaving? You mean…”

  “Yes, with Lily back, the situation in Seattle resolved, and…now that I have answers about Ian’s death, I think it’s time I get back to my regular life. Mary Alice has been dog-sitting Ginger for long enough.”

  What that “regular life” would look like now that she was going to be a mother, she didn’t know. She stood at the door, waiting for him to say something. To protest her going back to Florida. To tell her he loved her. But he didn’t.

  He clutched the glass, probably wishing it wasn’t empty. “When…when are you leaving?”

  “I thought about taking a red-eye tomorrow night, but we’ll see.” She really didn’t want to tell him the news over the phone when she got home. Better to do it in person.

  A war of emotion crossed his face. It looked like he wanted to say something but just didn’t know how to say it.

  Santiago, tell me. Please.

  He put his hands to his head and pinched his eyes shut. “The blade. Grim. It was…”

  No, no, I can’t. His thoughts echoed in her mind like they had back in the trailer. Then it was as if a steel door closed and she didn’t hear anything more.

  She didn’t understand. What couldn’t he tell her?

  Perplexed, Roxy looked at him, waiting for him to continue out loud, but he didn’t. “What about Grim?” she prompted. “Are you getting flack for having made that presentation?” She wouldn’t doubt that Sturgeon had a fit when he found out. He loved the limelight and would be pissed to discover that someone had stolen his thunder.

  Santiago’s hands were balled into fists a
nd for a split second she thought he was going to send all the items on the top of his desk flying. “Nothing. I’m… It’s nothing.”

  L…i…a…r…

  Her breath caught in her throat. Why would he lie about Grim? Was he covering up something?

  She walked around to his side of the desk and started rubbing his shoulders. Instantly, a bitter taste filled her mouth, the same as when George from OSPRA had lied, only this was ten times stronger. She pulled away from him. He definitely was lying about something. And it was a big one.

  “Santiago, you need to tell me what’s going on.”

  “Don’t you have some packing you need to do?” he said gruffly. Then he stood, swayed a little. In an effort to steady himself, he knocked over the bottle and sent it crashing to the floor.

  He was much more inebriated than she thought. He was drunk and lying to her. Just like Ian.

  She headed toward the door. Forget about telling him this information in person. She’d gone down a similar path with Ian. A man had ruined her life once with his lies and drinking and addiction. She wasn’t about to let it happen again. She’d try to talk to him again in the morning, but if that didn’t work, she’d do it over the phone. From Florida.

  She left his office without saying goodbye.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  HOW COULD HE be such a fool? He put his head in his hands and listened to the sound of Roxy’s footsteps as they faded down the hall.

  When he made his way back to his quarters—an hour later, ten hours later—her things were gone.

  The first thing he noticed was a small black box sitting on his desk among the books and papers. He didn’t want to open it up but he forced himself. Inside was the ring he had bought her when they were fake married. Although it sparkled against the black contrast, it had looked prettier sitting on her finger.

  He set it down and trudged past the bed, the table, the closet. The space felt hollow, empty without her. He felt empty without her.

  She’d come to tell him something and he blew her off, afraid to confront the truth with her, and now she was gone.

  The water in the shower sprayed his skin like tiny needles, exhilarating and painful at the same time. He’d get cleaned up then go apologize, try to talk her out of flying back to Florida tonight. Tell her—no, ask her—to stay around just a little while longer.

  But when he got to the room she’d been staying in when she first arrived at region headquarters a lifetime ago, she wasn’t there. He went to the next room, but it was empty, too. He grabbed his cell and called her.

  No answer.

  He waited a minute and called again.

  Nothing.

  It wouldn’t surprise him to learn she was avoiding him again. He checked the sanctuary to see if she was lighting candles. She wasn’t in her classroom either.

  Numbly, he made his way back to his rooms and he dialed Jenella’s extension. “Where’s Roxy? I can’t find her anywhere and she’s not answering her phone.”

  “Uh…I thought you knew.”

  “Knew what?”

  “She left for Florida right before dawn, sir.”

  Gone? Roxy was gone? He fell to his knees, every bone in his body feeling as if it had shattered. “But she said she wasn’t leaving until tomorrow night.”

  “Yes, but one of the VIPs who attended the awards gala offered to fly her home on his private jet, so they were able to leave earlier. The plane was scheduled to leave around ten o’clock.” There was a slight pause. “That would be right about now.”

  Rand St. James. He should’ve guessed as much. That sly, backstabbing sonofabitch.

  He threw the phone and it hit the wall with a crack. The back of his neck prickled, his ears heated and a dull roar reached out from his subconscious until it was all he could hear. Before he knew it, items on his nearby nightstand began to rattle. A few books fell from the shelves. While earthquakes weren’t uncommon for the Northwest, he knew this was entirely man-made. By him.

  He stormed into the bathroom and splashed cool water on his face, feeling it trickle down his neck and dampening his shirt. But it didn’t make a difference. He still felt the same. Lost. Dead. Alone. He slumped down onto the closed toilet seat lid and put his head in his hands.

  Why was he always fucking things up? Why couldn’t he be like others, calmly and rationally maintaining relationships with people—human and vampire? In the time she’d been here, Roxy had made friends with almost everyone, whereas people scattered when they saw him coming. She’d been here a few short weeks and he’d been here for years.

  He imagined her in the plane on the tarmac calmly drinking a cup of roasted green tea before speeding down the runway and taking off, heading far away from him, while some other man was trying to engage her in small talk. Was she even thinking about Santiago right now or had she mentally sloughed him off? Was St. Dicko making the moves on her already?

  Alfonso’s words kept ringing in his head. What was he afraid of?

  He stood and stared at his reflection in the mirror. The dark, bloodshot eyes. The military-short hair. The menacing black tattoos.

  This was not the face of a fearful man. He lived life by his own set of rules and people either did what he told them or they got out of the way. These were not the eyes of someone who was afraid of anything.

  Except for one thing.

  He was afraid of losing Roxy and how lost he’d be without her.

  * * *

  ROXY PAID THE taxi driver, grabbed her bags and walked through the wrought-iron entry gates of the compound. She could’ve asked him to drive her all the way in, but given the way he stammered and gripped the steering wheel when they pulled up to the entrance, his apprehension was obvious. Like many humans in close proximity to a group of vampires, he instinctively knew he’d be surrounded by potential danger if he continued past the twin gargoyles at the bottom of the driveway.

  Even though it was after midnight, little light streamed from the first pod-complex she passed, and the lawns out front were empty. She’d never noticed before how much the people here kept to themselves. They didn’t socialize like they did at the Horseshoe Bay Region. In the enclosed walkway leading to her town house, she passed a man who taught at the Academy with her, but for the life of her, she couldn’t remember his name.

  “Hey, how’s it going?” she said, smiling.

  He didn’t look up from his tablet device, just nodded his acknowledgment and continued walking.

  After spending so much time at a place where everyone was friendly and welcoming, she wasn’t looking forward to her old routine were people stuck to themselves. At one time, she’d relished her privacy, didn’t want people nosing around in her business, but now, it just felt…lonely.

  When she got to her town house, she planned to quickly unpack, throw in a load of laundry then drive over to Mary Alice’s estate to pick up Ginger. At least her dog would be excited to see her and keep her company.

  How long should she wait before she came up with an excuse to go back to Seattle? She touched her still-flat belly. At least now she’d have reason to visit regularly…as long as Santiago wanted to see them. Maybe she would consider Mary Alice’s invitation to move in with her. The woman would be ecstatic. And so would Ginger.

  On the plane, Rand had told her that the plans to open another branch of Tracker Academy on the West Coast were a go. He’d fished around to find out whether or not she was interested. Maybe she’d look into that further. Being a mother would mean a new life for her anyway.

  She put her key in the lock and immediately heard barking. That was strange. Mary Alice didn’t tell her she was bringing Ginger home. Maybe she hadn’t gotten Roxy’s message that Rand had needed to make an overnight layover in Denver. If she’d flown commercial, she’d have been home before now.

  When Roxy opened the door, fifty pounds of shaggy, black excitement greeted her, and she laughed. “I missed you, too. How did you get in here?” She dropped her bags and wrappe
d her arms around her dog, scratching her belly and behind her ears. “I was worried you’d forgotten about me.”

  “Impossible. You’re the most unforgettable woman on the planet.”

  Roxy’s head jerked up and there, not ten feet away, Santiago stood in the door to her kitchen. With his hands tucked casually into the pockets of his jeans, he leaned against the doorjamb, one foot crossed over the other. He appeared to be completely at home in her house.

  Her heart cranked into overdrive, beating like an uneven load of laundry and just as loud. She had a million questions for him, but when she tried to say something coherent, her tongue was as thick and rubbery as one of Ginger’s chew toys. “Whaaat?” was all she could manage.

  Amusement simmered behind his eyes and a corner of his mouth quirked. Was he laughing at her, her dog’s antics or the whole situation?

  “I wanted to talk to you,” he said in that gravelly voice that rubbed her in all the right places.

  Collecting her thoughts, she stood and brushed the dog hair from her shirt. She tried to curb her excitement at seeing him again. As much as she wanted to wrap her arms around him and fall back into their easy routine, they had unresolved issues that needed to be dealt with. His sudden presence had to mean—

  “What are you doing here? How did you get inside?”

  “Mary Alice let me in.”

  Her eyes narrowed. So Mary Alice was in on this? “But…why did you come?” There was that rubbery tongue again. “Why didn’t you just call?”

  He took a step toward her, but she backed away from him. Whenever he touched her, her brain went on hiatus and her body took over. He obviously had something important to tell her and she wanted all her wits about her when he did.

  “Because I wanted to see you.”

  “Ever heard of Skype before?”

  He was undeterred by her sarcasm. “I wanted to see you see you. You know, face-to-face.” He snatched her hand before she could pull it away and led her into the living room, where they sat on the leather sofa. She was still holding her keys, so he took them from her and set them on the coffee table, then he angled to face her. “First, I need to apologize to you. I wasn’t completely honest with you about something.”