by Melody Raven
“I know you’re not going to believe this, but we didn’t authorize the attack.”
“You’re right. I don’t believe it. You were asking about Cora hours before it happened. I believe you called her ‘the kid.’ Sounds like classic distancing. You wouldn’t want to use the name of the little girl you’re about to abduct.” She decided not to mention the exterminator analogy in front of Dante. She couldn’t really hold him back if he actually wanted to attack Joshua.
“I stand by what I said. But there was a meeting that went all the way up to the president, and the final decision was to foster the alliance growing between the US and the vampires. We’re committed to eliminating the threat of the invading Vopura, but bringing in some juvenile who could possibly be connected to those invaders was deemed not necessary.”
“If you don’t know who did it, what good are you?” growled Dante.
Joshua turned to Dante. “I said we didn’t do it. I never said that I didn’t know who did. The major dissenting voice at the summit, from what I heard—I wasn’t actually there—was General Wesley. He had a black ops team come in after sunrise to pick up the girl.”
“Cora,” said Alyssa. “Her name is Cora.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw but he didn’t fight her on it. “Cora,” he conceded.
“What about the bullets?” added Dante. “I’ve been shot before. The rounds they had were different.”
Joshua sighed. “Those are the wolfpiercers.”
“Werewolves?” asked Alyssa. “You have to be shitting me.”
Next to Joshua, Talon nodded and mouthed, There totally are werewolves.
“They’re not for actual werewolves. But they have a silver core.”
“Fuck, man. You didn’t tell me about those,” said Talon.
“We’re more than happy to work with you,” said Joshua calmly. “We just have to cover our asses too. We can’t pretend the Siege of Seattle never happened.”
“So where is this General Wesley?” asked Dante. “Give me five minutes alone with the man and I promise we’ll know where Cora is.”
“I can’t just give you the location of a United States general.”
Dante started forward and Alyssa fisted her fingers in his shirt to stop him. “You have to give us something.”
“There’s a plan in motion. There’s a team that’s going to work to contact Wesley. We’re going to tell him that we’ve okayed bringing Cora,” he made a point of saying her name this time, “in and get him to hand her over to us. Unharmed,” he added hastily.
“That sounds acceptable,” admitted Dante. “What do I need to do?”
“If you show up anywhere near any sort of drop point we’re setting up, it will scare Wesley off.”
Dante sure as hell wasn’t going to think that was acceptable. Alyssa intervened before Dante said something he’d regret. “Come on, Joshua. You can’t expect him to just sit around and do nothing.”
“I agree,” said Joshua unexpectedly. “We don’t want you sitting around and doing nothing. We want your help.”
“What kind of help?”
“According to our estimates, there are thousands of your kind who scattered after the Siege of Seattle. Every day, they’re killing more humans. Fathers and mothers. Daughters,” he said pointedly.
“And you want me to hunt them down for you?”
“No. I mean, kind of. We’re setting up a special task force to handle the Vopura and vampires who need policing.”
Talon let out a grunt of disapproval. “You can’t police vampires.”
Joshua was undeterred. “Tell that to the wolfpiercers that hit your friend.”
Dante grunted. “And you want me to join this task force?”
“We want you to help train them. We’ve been hearing rumors of a Vopura nest forming in Portland. We’re sending two guys over to check it out and I want you to go with them.”
Dante seemed to consider it for a moment. “No. I’m not going on some mission for you when Cora is still in some psychopath’s custody. I’m going with you.”
Joshua rolled his eyes and turned his attention to Alyssa. “Think of this as a kidnapping. The cops don’t let the parents in on the investigations. I’m not being an asshole here.”
She pursed her lips. “You might not be an asshole, but you have to admit we don’t have a lot of reason to trust you.”
“You have plenty of reasons to trust me. You know me. Why do you think I’m here? Do you think it’s a crazy coincidence? I was hoping you would still be here so I could tell you directly. I’ve given you a ton of classified information here. It’s a show of trust on my part.”
Alyssa let her eyes drift shut and quickly went through all her options. Dante would hate doing nothing and he wasn’t exactly an easy one to control. But what if they tried to be heroes and ended up getting Cora killed? It wasn’t as if she wanted to sit back and twiddle her thumbs, but Joshua wasn’t wrong. If Wesley thought Dante was getting close to him, he’d probably cut his losses.
But that was assuming there were only two choices. There were always more than two choices. She popped her eyes open. “You’re not using Cora as leverage.”
He let out an exasperated sigh. “I’m not lying when I say I want this to be a cooperative partnership. Not everyone thinks we can turn this into a workable relationship. I put myself out on a limb for this. I’m trusting you.” He glanced around to Talon and Dante. “I’m trusting all of you. I came here alone. No backup. I’m at the disadvantage.”
Alyssa crossed her arms over her chest. “Except for your button cam and all the listening devices you have on you.”
He didn’t deny it. “Even with that, I’m in a vulnerable position here.”
He wasn’t wrong. On one hand, it was too good to be true. They hadn’t seemed too concerned about Cora when they were shooting machine guns through the door to get to her.
But that was before they knew who Cora was. And Dante wasn’t just any vampire. He was a Vopura who had connections with the vampires. She could understand that he could be more valuable than a Vopura kid.
Maybe.
“All right, we’ll do it,” she said.
Dante’s head whipped around to her. “You don’t speak for me.”
“No one speaks for you. But I think we should give this a try. I’d rather have Wesley hand Cora over than have her go through another shootout. Especially not one with poison bullets. You might not be able to trust him, but you can trust me. And I think this is the safest way to get your daughter back.”
Dante looked between the three of them, and Alyssa could see the indecision playing across his face. She willed him to say yes. They might not know each other well, but she needed just ten seconds of trust.
“You have one day. If I don’t have Cora back by tomorrow, I’ll find her myself. And I won’t stop until everyone who laid a hand on her is choking on their own blood and—”
“Great!” Alyssa cut him off. “I’m so happy we have an agreement. So what’s the plan for now?”
“Special Unit 4 is heading to Portland now. I’ll send you the address for a meet-up.” He then held his hand out toward Dante. “Here’s to our partnership.”
Dante looked down at the hand with disdain. “I’ll shake it when I have Cora back.”
Joshua nodded as he took his hand back. “Lys, are you okay here?”
She realized that he was looking at her neck as he asked, and he must’ve noticed the puncture wounds. For some reason, they barely hurt—which was great—but also meant she kept on forgetting they were there.
“Yeah. It’s all good.” Good grief, even she didn’t believe what she was saying. But it wasn’t as if she would accept a ride out with Joshua at this point.
“I’m glad you’re okay, Lys. I’ll be in touch.”
Joshua left and she, Dante, and Talon waited in silence until they heard his car driving off.
Talon stared at her intensely. “You really think you can trust h
im?”
Alyssa raised a brow. “Joshua? I don’t know. But I now know the identity of who was behind Cora’s kidnapping. And now we can start our own investigation without the government’s help.”
“I don’t think this is a good idea.”
Dante ignored Alyssa as he got into the driver’s seat of the car that Talon had supplied. “I told you already. This way you can look for Wesley while I drive.”
“That all makes a lot of sense. You know, except for the part where you can’t drive.”
“I’ve seen it enough. Get in the car.”
“You know I can’t heal instantly. If you get into an accident, that’s all well and good for you but I’ll be dead.”
“Then we won’t get into an accident.”
“I swear, you might be another species, but you’re just as arrogant as any man I’ve ever met. Am I allowed to give you directions or do you know exactly how to get to Portland from here too?”
Dante shook his head and got in the car. He’d agreed to this crazy plan of hers, but that didn’t mean he was going to surrender every inch of control. Besides, if he wanted to survive in this human-dominated world, it was apparent that he’d have to learn to drive.
And his logic still held. Alyssa could work on her phone, and Talon had promised him that there would be additional Night Watch support for them.
Alyssa finally got into the front seat and slowly, pointedly buckled her seat belt. He decided to follow suit. Like she said, he probably didn’t need to, but if it would make her feel more comfortable, he’d suffer through the restrictive band.
Then he looked down at the odd contraption. He’d been driven in cars enough times. He’d seen people driving on TV. But it was his first time actually in the driver’s seat.
“This is a bad idea,” repeated Alyssa as he turned the key in the ignition. Like he’d seen others, he turned until the engine came to life and then released the key as the engine kept turning. Success.
He then reached down for the gear shifter and tugged it down until it was at the D for “Drive” before pressing on the gas. The car lurched forward at first, but he was able to move his foot to the brake. He risked a glance at Alyssa to see her clenching her eyes tightly closed.
“Which direction do I turn when I get to the main road?” he asked, hoping to get her mind off her anxiety about his driving. He hit the gas again, this time much more gently, and they slowly got off to a start.
“Right. Now remember to look at the signs, okay? The speed limit here is twenty-five. The red octagon means stop. The yellow triangle means yield. Remember to always keep your eyes on the road. Motorcycles are harder to see, so you need to be vigilant. And for the love of God, don’t be one of those douchebags who doesn’t use a turn signal. It’s an inch away from the steering wheel. You can nudge it with your finger.”
“I’ll pay attention,” he promised. “Now get out your little phone and start working.”
“To be honest, there’s not a lot I can do.” Dante’s grip on the steering wheel tightened to the point that it started to bend, and Alyssa quickly added, “But I know someone who can help! I’m no hacker or anything but I know a guy who might be able to get access to any security cams hooked up to Wi-Fi, and he might have access to a facial recognition software. It won’t be cheap, but he might be able to locate Wesley before even Joshua can.”
“I don’t care what it costs. Pay it.”
She let out a small laugh. “How much money do you have exactly?”
“None. But I can get it.” He had no doubts about that. If it meant getting Cora back, he’d find his way into any safe, vault, or bank he needed to in order to get the cash.
“Good. I’ll hold you to that.” She typed into her phone before glancing up to the road. “The entrance for the freeway should be coming up. Remember you want to use the entrance ramp to get up to speed. The people on the freeway have the right of way, so you have to find a hole to merge and then make it work.”
He followed her advice carefully as he accelerated on the ramp and found an opening.
“Okay. The speed limit should be seventy for a while, but keep an eye on the other signs to make sure it doesn’t go down. The last thing we need is a speeding ticket. You’re kind of an illegal alien.” A few seconds later, she added, “We’re going to be on the freeway for two hours. You might as well set cruise control.”
“What’s cruise control?”
“Well, I guess Mr. Smarty Pants doesn’t know everything about driving.” She leaned over to point to the little buttons on the steering wheel.
He immediately took a deep inhale, taking in her scent as she came closer. His hands once again tightened on the steering wheel as he forced himself to keep his hands off her. He didn’t know how much longer he could go on without completing the bond. He hated to be thinking about anything other than Cora right now, but he worried that if he didn’t take Alyssa as soon as they were alone and not in a moving vehicle, that distraction would be so much worse. “I’m a fast learner. I’m not all-knowing.”
“A fast learner doesn’t even start to describe what you are. I can’t believe how well you speak English. I can’t believe how well Cora speaks it. And for you to be able to drive as well as you do on your first try—I really hope the invasion is over, because I don’t think humans could stop you from taking over if you really wanted to.”
“Humans might not, but vampires would.”
She snorted. “Who would’ve known that vampires would be our guardian angels?”
He didn’t want vampires to be her guardian angels. He wanted to be her guardian angel. Her protector. Her everything. “If we’re really going to be in this car for two hours, this would be a good chance to ask all the questions you have.”
Her head whipped around to him. “Really?”
“Why not?”
“I mean... you’ve never seemed all that talkative. And I know you don’t hate me or anything but we’re not really best friends either.”
Oh, he didn’t hate her. If she knew exactly how much he didn’t hate her, she’d probably open up her door and jump out of the car right now. “You’re helping me. You could’ve run home at any time, but you chose to stay even though I don’t deserve it.”
“Okay.... Well, I guess my first and most obvious question is about Cora’s mother. I mean, neither of you have mentioned her. And I’m assuming it still takes two to tango back where you’re from. At least if the vampire movies are to be believed.”
“Yes, Cora does have a mother. She did. Amira was much younger than me. When she was three years old, her family pledged her to me and we were bonded as soon as she was of age.”
“Please tell me she wasn’t forced into this.”
“On the contrary. Amira’s family had always struggled. They had low standing and no skills to elevate themselves. The fact that her mother got pregnant was a miracle, and that she was able to have a healthy girl was remarkable.”
“Are girls really so rare?”
“Because of our long lives, there are still women. However, bonds are very strong, so our males have never been in a position where they’d be willing to share. I’m what you’d call elite. Closely related to the royals. When I was finally able to bond with Amira, it was one of the proudest moments of my life. To have a female to call my own. To show her off. To have what so few could.” He slipped in some information about the bond to Alyssa, but she didn’t seem to cling to that part of the information he divulged.
“So you didn’t love her.”
He felt a muscle tick in his jaw. “I never said that.”
“You didn’t have to. You were happy to add her to your list of possessions. It wasn’t like you were happy to have her around. To show her a whole new world or anything.”
“I’ll admit there was something... missing. But it wasn’t bad. Amira was thrilled to be my mate. She liked the expensive things I could provide her. She liked showing off and bragging. And when she fell pre
gnant, I was overjoyed. Not only did I have a beautiful mate, but I was also going to have a child.”
“Cora?”
He nodded. “I never expected Amira to get pregnant as quickly as she did. I never really expected her to survive the pregnancy. I never expected Cora to survive her first few days, let alone her first few years. But she did. Our little miracle.” He kept his eyes on the road. The bright headlights on the opposing lanes of traffic hurt his eyes but he was grateful for them. They took his mind off the memories these stories were dredging up.
“So what happened then?”
“We were so lucky that both she and Cora made it out of the pregnancy safe. I told her that was it. We weren’t going to push our luck. And then she got pregnant again.”
Alyssa must’ve sensed the negative turn the story was taking. “Oh no. Do you guys not have birth control over there?”
“We don’t. And that’s why I hadn’t touched Amira since Cora was born.”
“Oh,” she said quickly. “Oh,” she said again, louder. “Well, that’s not cool. So I guess this bond thing isn’t that serious then?”
“It is. It was to me. It’s not like your human marriage. There’s a literal bond formed between the couple.”
“Wait. You mean you can, like, read minds?”
“Nothing like that. But you can feel the other person. They’re always with you in a way. It hurts to be apart. You crave the other. It’s a lot more than just signing your name on a piece of paper. It’s signing your life over.” Once again, he didn’t mention their bond. He just allowed her to absorb this information slowly.
But she never mentioned what had occurred between them. “Obviously Amira didn’t feel the same way.”
“She was upset that I wouldn’t touch her. She felt that she had married into a life she’d always dreamed of, and she’d dreamed of being desired at all times. As one of the few women left, she felt it was her birthright. And since I wouldn’t meet those needs, she had them met elsewhere.”
“So is Amira with her side piece now?”
“No. She and her second child died during the pregnancy.”