by Claire Marta
My jaw tightens and my fists curl at my sides. I would love nothing more than to hand this job over. I never asked for it. It was a fucking coincidence I was born just days before Phillip.
I know I’m lucky the bastard decided to claim me then, but after losing his first son to the war with the Carr family, he wasn’t taking any chances.
“There was nothing to be done. We need to secure the rest of the holding sites. Who knows where they’re getting their information from. Keep it on a need-to-know basis only.”
“Are you telling me how to run my business? How to organize my men?”
“Yes.”
The whoosh of air and the sting of my cheek is the only warning I get. My mother’s cool blue eyes meet mine as she retracts her hand from my face.
Stupid bitch.
“You will watch your tongue.” Lucius says coldly.
“Or what? You’ll have a female kick my ass?”
“You’ve gotten cocky, Damien. It’s best you remember your place. We don’t have the time or the resources to clean up your mistakes.
Get a handle on this issue, now, before it’s too late.
No Carr will take my city from me. Ever.”
With a nod I turn to leave.
“And, Damien,” this time it’s my mother who calls to me, “do try to keep yourself in check. I’d hate to see you lose your life because you can’t control your mouth.”
I should spit at her feet, but I don’t. The last thing I need is something else for them to be pissed about.
Across the manor in my own office Jamal and my three brothers wait in stony silence.
“I can feel you pulsing from here, brother,” Oscar comments. “That bad?”
“Worse. He’s out for blood. If we don’t give him something to sink his blade into soon, he’s more than likely going to spill ours.”
“Is that a mark on your face?” Michael asks. Yes, I know the irony. I used my youngest brother’s name when I almost fucked a female tonight. Not the first time and won’t be the last.
“Your mother or ours?”
“Mine. Stupid whore.”
“Better not say that too loudly, brother. You know he’s having you watched. Disrespect his favorite whore and you might not see the sunrise.”
“I almost hope I won’t see it. Can’t remember the last time I got any decent sleep around here.”
“What will you have us do?”
“Secure all the safe houses north of Manhattan. Leave the few we have south of there empty with minimal guard. I want to smoke these bastards out.
Put the word out that any informants who can give us anything concrete on what is going on inside that ugly ass mansion will be paid exceptionally well. Blood, booze, drugs, cash, whatever they want.
Also, call Chicago, D.C., and New Orleans. Make sure nothing suspicious has been going on there. The last thing we need is another sneak attack.
Get me one man. Just one of theirs. Not some hired thug either.
I want a guard. Preferably one from the house. I will make him sing until his blood runs out.”
“Anything else, your highness? Maybe a happy meal?”
“Fuck off, Phillip. Just do it.” I snap. “Oscar I need you to tap into any surveillance footage. I want to know exactly who did it tonight.”
“Planning to send a gift basket, are you?”
“Don’t even start with me. I will cut all your cocks off.”
“Please, you don’t have the balls. Sheila will kill you first.” The sad thing is Phillip is right. His wife is mean as fuck.
“How long do we have? If you’re expecting results within the next twenty-four hours you can go do it all yourself. We’re good, but not that good.”
“You have seventy-two. Good enough for you, Oscar? Or do you need me to hold your hand as well.”
“I’ll get you what you need.”
“Good man. Now, if you’ll excuse me. I have more important things to do.”
“Got a whore to fuck, do you?” Michael taunts.
“Already did that. It wasn’t bad either. You should try it. Or are you still too young to use your cock?”
“Go to hell,” he says.
I already am in hell though.
Despite the fact that my brothers would rather be taking orders from Phillip than me, I know they’ll come through for me. In this house, the loyalty we have to each other is the only thing we can trust.
This war has been raging for over seventy years, back when my grandfather was still kicking around, before Lucius stabbed him in the back, literally.
Those bastards came over from the U.K. and thought they could just take what has always been ours.
Sixty years ago Lucius’s first son was killed. Some Carr henchman cut his throat right out. Didn’t matter the boy was only seven-years-old. Savages.
For fifteen years Lucius went without an heir. Then he impregnated not only his young mate but his whore as well.
Almost destroyed our coven from the inside out as most protested having an heir who was the son of a newly turned whore.
Sometimes I wonder what my life would be like if Phillip was born first. But then I shake myself of those thoughts.
Like Michael said, they’re always watching us.
We’re powerful mind invaders for a reason. Three centuries of Rochesters have been able to penetrate mental defenses easier than any other members of our kind.
My mattress feels amazing underneath me. I know someone will be waking me before dusk, no rest for the weary in this fucking war, but for now I can close my eyes and pretend that I am anywhere but here. Fucking the faceless Ava sounds like a good place to be.
With those amber eyes at the forefront of my mind I allow sleep to take me.
CHAPTER FOUR
Ava
“AVA, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”
I don’t look up at the sound of Kylie’s voice but continue to stuff my things into my shoulder bag. “What does it look like? I’m getting the hell out now before he sells me off to the highest bidder.”
I know I don’t have much time. Even though it’s healed after a visit from a blood donor I can still feel the imprint of Ivan’s fist against my cheek from the previous evening. He has never struck me before. My father has never permitted it even when I have acted out at my worst. Things have changed and I am chillingly aware of that.
“He’s having you watched.” Kylie is still hovering by the closed door to my room.
“Do you really think that’s going to stop me?”
I don’t mean to snap, but after a night filled with erotic dreams of a masked and very demanding male my nerves are frayed. Why I can’t get Michael out of my head is a mystery. One I shouldn’t even be entertaining after every bombshell that has shattered the world I know.
Finally, with my bag full I snatch up the photo on my bedside table. It is the only possession I own that I refuse to go anywhere without. Stroking the gentle smiling features of the woman staring up at me I swallow down the lump in my throat. My mother’s kind eyes, so like my own stare up at me calm and serene. I know the photo was taken before she met my father. Under his rule she was crushed by his cruelness. Even the fact that she bore him a child did not save her. Men like that don’t know how to love. They lack those emotions and any compassion that goes with it. Maybe it was a blessing he hadn’t been able to produce anymore heirs. Deep inside I know if he’d managed to father a male my existence would have ended, just like my mother’s.
“You can’t just run. We both know he will hunt you down and he has enemies that wouldn’t hesitate in killing you if they thought they could get to him by doing it.”
“I’m not about to leave one gilded cage for another. Whoever he chooses won’t care two shits about me. All they’ll be after is the backing of my father’s name and power.”
“That and an heir.” My friend reminds me quietly.
The betrayal at my only family’s treatment cements around my heart like ice killi
ng anything left I might have felt for the man who shares my genes.
“I would rather slit my own throat then allow a child to come into a loveless mating. Especially if that’s all I have been raised for.”
Finally turning, I survey my bodyguard. Her short cropped hair is tousled. Mottled bruises decorate the side of her face and neck. The mark of brutal hands is undeniable.
“Christ Kylie, what happened?” Concerned I wrap an arm around her waist and hug her into me. Her wince of pain doesn’t go unnoticed.
“I just had words with Ivan about him hitting you.”
“He did that to you?”
“Oh he got off far worse don’t worry. The Butcher won’t be walking properly until he’s had a long feed and time to heal this evening.” Taking my shoulders she pushes me back. “It also gives us the time to flee.”
For a moment I search her earnest blue stare. I owe her so much. If it wasn’t for her then I would have given in long ago. My only friend and companion is this hell she has never once let me down.
“You were right before though...we can’t just run aimlessly.”
“Leave that to me honey. I have friends in this town that can help us lay low. I promised your mother I would always watch over you and that is something I never intend to stop doing.”
Retrieving my bag I swing it over my shoulder. My room is nothing but an extravagant cell. Walking away from it doesn’t make me sad. In fact it just hardens my resolve. I am in no way disillusioned. Once I run my father won’t relent until he finds me. What I need to do is disappear.
“Come on we can’t waste anymore time if we are going to make this happen.” Taking my hand Kylie’s reassurance gives me the strength I need.
Approval lights her eyes at my choice of clothing. Trainers, sweatpants and a tank top make it easier to move. My long black hair is tied in a perfect plait just how she taught me.
In silence we slip out into the hallways. Although vampires are immune to the sunlight it can still weaken us. I know a lot of the guards on our estate will be sleeping. The change of men happens every four hours.
Sneaking down the passage Kylie motions to me to stay quiet. We both know our way around the place like the back of our hands. It’s one advantage when you need to keep to yourself.
The soft tread of footsteps reach our ears. Flattening ourselves against the wall we wait for whoever it is to pass.
“Yo Kylie, you there?”
Giving me a wink my friend steps around the corner. “Ricky, we’re over here.”
My father’s brawny driver gives me a once over underneath his mop of ash blond hair. We’ve never spoken apart from snatches of chit-chat, but I have always seen the sympathy glittering in his eyes.
“You’ve got twenty minutes before the next shift change. Five minutes while the surveillance cameras are stuck on a loop.”
“That’s all we need.” Kylie assures him giving his bicep a gentle squeeze in thanks.
“Yeah well it’s my arse on the line with yours if you fuck this up.”
Not waiting to give him a reply she ushers me towards the back exit.
“What about the guards at the gate?” In no way am I naïve enough to believe she has sweet talked them into aiding in our escape. My father is feared. They all know the penalty for failure.
“They won’t see you don’t worry.”
Cautiously opening the back door she points towards her waiting Fiesta. It’s nothing fancy like the cars my father keeps, but right now I don’t care.
“Unless I’m invisible that isn’t possible.”
Shoes crunching on the gravel she leads me to the boot of the car.
“You have to be fucking kidding me.”
Inserting the key she opens the back wide. “Stop being such a princess and get your arse inside.”
Wrinkling my nose and shooting her a glare I unceremoniously scramble in. Laying with my knees curled up into my chest my belongs dig uncomfortable into my back. There is barely enough room to swing a cat. Dreading to think about how long I am going to have to hide within the cramped space I glance up to meet Kylie’s gaze.
“Keep quiet,” she warns me before slamming down the lid.
This is the last place I want to be. Enclosed and trapped, every punishment I had to endure after disobeying Jonathan Carr comes rushing back.
The hours and days spent locked in the basement. The metal bars of the dog cage enthused with silver so it sapped my strength. Unable to get up I had been forced to remain stiffly on my hands and knees.
No amount of tears had ever moved his unfeeling heart. Instead he had watched with perverse enjoyment as his only child had grovelled and begged.
The older I got the more the confined the cage became.
My hatred for him grew every time I had been treated like an animal after breaking his rules.
He may have never touched me, but that never stopped him from other abuse.
Biting down on the heel of my palm I can feel the panic trying to overwhelm me. Tears sting my eyes as I screw them uselessly shut. If I freak out now we’ll only get caught.
Beneath me I feel the rumble of the engine as the car begins to start. Sinking my teeth in deep I ignore the slice of my fangs as they break through my skin. Breathing erratically through my nose I focus my mind in another direction.
Instead of the damp and pitch black basement I imagine the closet from the previous night. Michael’s rock hard body has me pinned exactly where I want to be. My imaginary lover is just as domineering as his counterpart.
Using a knee he arrogantly spreads my thighs. Without a fight I willingly part them as far as they will go.
Dark eyes gleam behind the slits in his black mask. “Oh sweetheart, did you really think you could run away before I had a chance to fuck you?”
I don’t want to run.
This is exactly where I want to be.
Trailing a path of kisses down my neck his hands cup my full tits through my tank top. His touch is possessive and sure. Moaning I push them eagerly into his palms loving the way he pinches my nipples.
“Please,” my beg is a whisper, one I won’t deny. “Make me come.”
As the car journeys smoothly on my fantasy grows. Snaking my hand under my sweatpants I eagerly find the slick wetness my arousal is invoking.
Imagining it to be Michael’s fingers I circle them over my throbbing clit. In my mind he’s already on his knees one of my legs thrown carelessly over his muscular shoulder.
We don’t need words. Locked in our own little world we have no reason for them. Not when he knows exactly what I want.
Swiping his tongue along my slit I feel him swirl the tip of my tight waiting bud. God yes this is exactly what I need. Hips bucking I interlace his thick curly hair through my fingers holding his head in place. My breathing becomes erratic as my pleasure climbs. His grip on my buttocks is merciless as he eats me out with a ferocity that should scare me.
Voices penetrate my self induced lust filled haze.
We must have reached the gate.
Pressing my lips together I don’t slow down, but continue to masturbate. I’m so fucking close now and after the last twenty hours I need the stress relief.
Minutes tick by and we haven’t moved on. Teetering on the edge of orgasm I know it won’t happen until I know we have crossed the line.
Then just as my hand stills against my pussy the car rolls forwards. It’s all I need for my anxiety to vanish. Stifling my cry against my knuckles I let the climax tip me over.
Damien
“Got some news for you.”
“It better be good, brother.” I level Oscar with a look. In the two days we’ve been digging there has been nothing.
Seems the assholes know how to cover their tracks.
“Oh it is.” He takes a seat across from me. “The princess is missing.”
“What?” I sit up straight. “You mean to tell me Jonathan Carr lost his precious child?”
“That�
��s exactly what I’m saying.”
“Interesting. Very interesting,” I muse. “No one knows what this one looks like though. He’s kept her under lock and key all these years.”
“Correct.”
“Have you told Lucius about this?”
“No. You’re the only one who knows.”
“How did you get this information?”
“You said you wanted a guard. I couldn’t get one of those, but I was able to hear them.”
“Get a team together. Try to tap into someone’s thoughts. Make sure that someone is close enough to the house that they know what the missing girl looks like. Then hunt for her.”
Oscar leaves and I sit back in my seat. This is an unexpected but welcome development.
We know the girl is the only heir to that bullshit coven. We know what will happen to her if they find her first, after all there are rumors.
My father might be a bastard but he’s never hurt his mate or his whore.
____________
“There a reason you have us out here?” Phillip asks.
“We’re hunting for a lost princess.”
“Yes, I know that much. My question to you, brother, is why?”
“Why indeed?” Michael murmurs through the earpiece. It’s easy when we wear them, we don’t have to strain our hearing or tap into each other’s minds all the time that way.
It’s only us out here, and Jamal, we sent the others Oscar rounded up to different parts of the state.
Currently we’re staking out a rather rundown part of the city. Seems logical for a runaway and her companion. I don’t imagine she can use any accounts that will lead her father directly to her.
“Because I want to leverage that bastard.”
“You’re not really that idiotic, are you?” This from Oscar. “The bitch escaped. Surely she’s more than just some prized whore.”
“That may be so, brother. But just think if we do have the privilege of finding her first, we might be able to get some valuable information from her.”
“She’s probably locked up tight.”
“I’ve yet to meet someone I can’t infiltrate.” I remind them all. Except Ava. But they don’t need to know that.
“What’s this companion look like, O?” Michael asks.