Midnight Temptation

by Shari Nichols

  “And that’s when all the hysteria began?” she asked, taking another sip of her wine. The firelight caught a glint of red in her hair and a flush of pink on her cheeks from the wine. He wanted to look away but he couldn’t, too captivated by her beauty.

  He nodded. “When I turned twenty-six, I became ill with a condition known as Catalepsy, where a person lapses into a catatonic state. Their pulse and heartbeat become nonexistent, and they’re believed to be dead.” He picked up the wine bottle from the table and refilled their glasses. “My family had a funeral for me. You can imagine everyone’s shock when I woke up and emerged from my coffin. I too was labeled a dracule, and the villagers wanted my head. Shortly thereafter, we were chased from our home. We lost everything.” He never planned to open up to her, but all that changed the moment he held her in his arms.

  She reached out and squeezed his knee, and a jolt of electricity shot up his leg. “Oh, Garrett, I’m so sorry. What a terrible thing for your family to go through. How did you escape?”

  “We had to go into hiding.”

  The rush of memories forced him to swallow hard. He refocused his attention on his hot and sour soup instead. She didn’t press him, and he was grateful.

  After he finished his soup, he continued, “Our only hope was to get over the border to Hungary where we’d be safe, but the villagers followed us. We tried to hide in abandoned shacks and caves, but I grew weaker, and we were starving. I knew I was going to die. The only thing I cared about was saving my family.”

  Her chest rose and fell as though she needed to get something out.

  “What is it? Gillian? Please, talk to me.”

  “We share a brutal history. My great-grandfather was Gilles Howe, the only male accused of witchcraft and later pressed to death back in Salem,” she said in a soft voice. “Was there anyone who tried to help you, anyone who realized that you and your family were innocent victims in all of this?”

  He stared into her beautiful face and wanted so much to be the kind of man she could see herself with, not the monster he had become. “A local blacksmith and his wife took mercy on us and let us sleep in their root cellar, but I knew deep down it would just be a matter of time before the villagers found us. They were out for blood and wouldn’t rest until they chopped off my head and drove a stake through my coffin. The blacksmith and his wife devised a plan to get us safely to the border, but it was too risky. There was a very good chance we’d all end up dead. That’s when Malcom showed up.” A thick silence settled over them.

  “Did you know he was a vampire?” Her brown eyes grew wide. He’d never been with a woman this easy to talk to. In all his years of courting, he’d never felt the need to until now.

  “Not right away. I’d see him around the village—in and out of the pubs. I just knew there was something unusual about him. I never imagined that vampires could be real, let alone that he was one of the most powerful ones. The night before we were supposed to escape, I snuck out of the cellar. I was close to death. I wanted one last look at the stars and the feel of rain on my skin. That’s when Malcom approached me. I didn’t realize it at the time, but he was an Ancient traveling through Europe, trying to turn as many males as he could.”

  She stiffened beside him on the chair. “Why? What did he get out of turning men into vampires?”

  “I discovered later he was an aristocrat who lost his title and all his money,” he muttered. “It turns out he was a greedy bastard and needed a way to live the lifestyle he’d grown accustomed to. Malcom showed me what he was and made a deal with me, one I’d live to regret. He vowed to get my family safely over the border if I agreed to let him turn me.”

  The only sound came from the crackle of the fire and her soft, shallow breaths.

  “After he turned you, what did he want from you?” She motioned with one of her chopsticks, digging into the veggie lo mein.

  “He ran a business and wanted me to work for him as a kind of apprentice. I soon learned there were other vampires like him looking for women to bond with. Back then this kind of thing was quite lucrative, especially for women who didn’t have good prospects for marriage or those who couldn’t get work in other fields.” When she grew silent, panic began to set in. “Say something, Gillian. I need to know what you’re thinking.” He half expected her to recoil in horror, but she surprised him when her expression changed from shock to compassion. Warmth filled his chest.

  “I’m thinking you did what was needed to save your family.” She set the carton on the coffee table and wiped her hands on a napkin. “No one could fault you. What choice did you have? Stop blaming yourself.”

  “You say that now, but you haven’t heard the rest of the story.” He let out a pent-up breath, amazed at how easily he could confide in her. Since the day she’d walked into his home, she turned his dark, dreary world into a place of light and beauty. “Malcom kept his promise and delivered my family safely to Hungary. I couldn’t check on them right away because the first few months of the transition are very difficult. The fact is many end up dying from the toll it takes on the body. The thirst for blood is so consuming you can’t see straight. I thought I’d go out of my mind from the craving.”

  Her brow creased in concern. “You’ve been through so much. I had no idea.”

  “When I could finally control my urge to bite anyone with a pulse, I held up my end of the bargain and found a willing young woman who’d fallen on desperate times. She was looking for a way to earn some fast money. I sent her to Malcom and prayed I wouldn’t be damned for eternity.” He lifted his glass to his lips and took another sip.

  She paled. “What happened?”

  “He blood bonded with her and offered her up as chattel to the highest bidder.” He raked a hand through his hair. They’d just started to get to know each other. Now he risked whatever solid ground they’d gained. But he wouldn’t lie to her. “In some cases, when a bond is broken, it can lead to madness. The selfish bastard tired of her, leaving her to go mad. I was sick with what I’d done and confronted him.”

  Her jaw dropped. “You confronted the most powerful vampire in the world?” Gillian whispered. “Weren’t you afraid he might kill you?”

  “No, not at that point. I think I wanted to die for what I’d done to an innocent woman,” he said, shaking his head. “But Malcom did something far worse than kill me. He bragged that he’d done the same thing to my sister. It was all a sick game to him. I found out later that he’d turned entire families into blood slaves and took twisted pleasure in destroying them.”

  She gaped at him, opening her mouth and closing it again like she wanted to say something, but then thought better of it. Curiosity flickered in those warm eyes of hers. “Do all humans who blood bond with a vampire go mad if that bond is broken?”

  “Not always. It happens with some. I can only compare it to the same predisposition of those who become addicted to alcohol or drugs. Once a blood bond takes hold, there’s no denying an emotional connection, as well as a constant thirst for blood.”

  For several agonizing minutes, neither of them said a word. The air became thick, snapping with sexual tension.

  A few bites of lo mein and then she asked, “What about Malcom? Did you ever go after him all those years ago for what he did to your sister?”

  “I went to Hungary and found my family. My parents couldn’t take the pain and shame of it all. They’d already endured my death and were still fragile. I wasn’t thinking clearly and showed up at their door.” Reliving that fateful night, even after all these years, made his gut clench with pain. “When they saw me, they realized what I’d become. The shock was too great. My father had a stroke and died, and my mother went shortly thereafter from a heart attack.”

  Gillian sucked in a breath. “What a horrible way to lose your family. You didn’t deserve it, Garrett. No wonder you hate him. You can’t blame yourself for what happened. It was all just a terrible tragedy.”

  “I hold Malcom responsible for k
illing them. I tried to find him to enact my revenge, but he was gone.” Garrett rubbed a hand over his face. “I followed him through Europe for years, but I never found him. I moved around a lot. I lived in France, then Ireland, where I decided to finally change my name, hoping to put the past behind me. Around the turn of the century, I gave up searching for him and came to America to start fresh. I’m glad I did, or I would've never crossed paths with you.”

  The familiar tension thickened, heat creeping between them. Her cheeks flushed an even deeper shade of pink. “Is that when you became a cop?”

  “No, not at first. I took odd jobs and moved around a lot, trying to blend into the background. Once people found out that vampires were real, I was able to stay in one place without raising suspicion.”

  When their eyes met, the pull grew stronger. “You turned your life around, Garrett. Isn’t that the most important thing?” she asked, sounding so sincere it made emotion claw at his throat.

  He loved her optimism. If only it could rub off on him. He’d become jaded living for all these years alone. “I wanted to do something to give back and protect the innocent, not corrupt them. I needed to make up for the deeds of my past. Rumors began to circulate that Malcom came here to the states because of Sybil’s Cave.”

  Her fingers skimmed his cheek. He hissed out a breath. Her touch left a trail of need and raw heat in its wake. “Who you were in the past is not the person you are today.”

  “True,” he said with a nod. “But it doesn’t excuse what I’ve done.”

  His words did nothing to ease the crease around her mouth. “If you have reason to believe that Kurt Lawrence has been working for Malcom, I see now how this case has become personal for you, and not because of me or Brooke.” There was a note of hurt in her voice.

  Garrett decided to leave out the part about obliterating his sire to dust once he got his hands on the vampire. It was the only way to avenge his family’s honor and stop the bastard from harming another woman. But Gillian wasn’t in a state to hear that right now. “From the moment we met, it has always been personal for me.”

  Her eyes widened with a combination of wariness and heat. “Garrett,” she murmured, and he moved closer and glanced at her lips. He needed to remind himself that no matter how much he wanted her, she was a witness and it wouldn’t be right. So he counted to ten to keep from ravishing her.

  “Immortality has been nothing short of hell. I’d give anything to be human again. Reliving the horrors of my past, and watching loved ones get sick and die while I go on without them, can be a fate far worse than death. There’s no end to one’s pain.” He leaned back in the chair, drained from retelling the truth about his past.

  “You’re alive, Garrett, for a reason. By becoming a cop, you turned your life around and your karma. Whatever Malcom did to you and your family will come back to him times three. I didn’t want to bring it up because I wasn’t sure if it was my place, but Saje mentioned something about water from Sybil’s Cave that can turn a vampire human again if combined with some ancient spells and potions.”

  The heartfelt words and passion in her voice stirred something deep in him that he hadn’t realized was asleep. But he had lived too long and been through too much to put stock in such foolish notions. She tilted her head to the side, and her hair slid over her shoulder like a waterfall. He wanted to run his fingers through the silky strands and press his lips to hers, taste their sweetness.

  “Have you ever heard of such a thing?” she asked, interrupting the train of his lust-fueled thoughts.

  He chuckled and extended his arm to rest against the back of her chair. “Nothing against Saje, but I’m not overly confident there’s any sort of elixir powerful enough to turn me human again. The Romani who traveled through Europe back in the day tried to peddle a cure with promises of potions that had transforming capabilities.”

  “Did you ever try one? What if it actually worked?”

  “I assumed they would put some sort of curse on me that would be far worse than immortality.” The pain of getting his hopes up only to have them crushed again wasn’t something he was keen on.

  This bearing of the soul wasn’t his typical interaction. Sure, he dated his fair share of women…wining and dining them. Typically, by the time they’d make it back here for dessert, they both knew what they wanted. In the twenty-first century, women seemed to crave sex almost as much as men—or vampires for that matter. But being with Gillian felt different somehow. Having her here made him feel alive again.

  His phone pinged. “Excuse me for a moment.” He lifted it out of his pocket and glanced at the screen, shaking his head in frustration. Yet another dead end.

  “What is it?” He looked up and Gillian’s pulse pounded at her throat. “Did they find the car?”

  “The bastard must’ve been tipped off and switched vehicles. They found one matching the description you gave in an abandoned lot. But if we’ve learned anything from this little exercise, it’s that you might be onto something with the whole social media thing.”

  When her face fell, he resisted the urge to pull her onto his lap and wrap her in his arms. By far, she was the most alluring creature he’d ever laid eyes on. He wanted to get her mind off things. “I believe you were pointing out your friend’s expertise with spells and potions.”

  “Yes. Willow is part Romani, and Saje is a genius with potions. I’ve been around my share of witches, and trust me, they are some of the most powerful I’ve ever known. Our coven is stocked with a library of Grimoires, ancient spell books from generations of witches. Whatever may lie in Sybil’s Cave, I sense we could find a way to make you human again.”

  “I appreciate what you’re trying to do, Gillian, and I’m not out to burst your bubble. But there’s no cure, and if there was, I’d know. Witches and Romani have been searching for hundreds of years. Any vampire would pay a fortune or kill for such a thing.” Her optimism was so genuine it almost stirred the beginnings of hope in him.

  She sighed, looking crestfallen, and glanced over at their now empty cartons of Chinese food. Her hand moved to her stomach. “I’m stuffed. Thanks for dinner and for the distraction. I’m really glad you confided in me about your family.”

  Sharing secrets between men and women led to intimacy. By opening up to her he risked teetering on dangerous ground. “Gillian, I—” Before he could contemplate the situation any further, his phone buzzed on the table. He picked it up and glanced at the screen. It was a text from Denopoulos.

  Meet me at the RH hospital. Greystone just woke up.

  He got to his feet and shoved his phone in his pocket. “I’m sorry. We have to cut the evening short. I’m calling Dubrosky. She can stay with you. Once she gets here, I have to go.”

  “What’s going on?” Gillian sat up on her knees. “Is it about Brooke?”

  “No, but it’s a lead, and let’s hope it helps us find her. The vampire who attacked you is awake. I’m meeting Denopoulos and Teague at the hospital so we can question him.”

  “How will you get him to tell you about the Brotherhood?”

  “Trust me, there are ways.” And Garrett wasn’t above using them.

  Once Garrett got his hands on the vampire, he’d force him to cooperate. He’d make damn sure of it, for everyone’s sake.

  Chapter 16

  Garrett walked down the dark, cavernous hallway that led to a subterranean area of the hospital where Damon Greystone was being held. It had been built back in the early eighties; right after vampires came out and about. The mage unit sat several feet below the main level.

  After he crossed through a turnstile, he came to an enormous scanner and swiped his badge across the glass. A series of beeps echoed through the hall. Then, a gate opened, and he found himself enclosed in what felt like an enormous freezer. His breath fanned around him as he walked, the temperature dropping a few degrees with every step. The only way to revive the undead was to keep them on ice. Nowadays, most medical facilities housed extra
blood and plasma for vampires in need of transfusions.

  Once he made his way to an area of glass-paneled cubicles, he searched for room number seven. He pushed aside the cloth partition and found Denopoulos and Teague on either side of Greystone’s bed. Teague reclined back in his chair with his feet up on the edge of the bed. He rested his horns against the wall for balance. They both turned when they saw him.

  “Sorry, I’m late.” Garrett decided to keep the part about sharing dinner and a movie with Gillian to himself. She occupied way too many of his thoughts as it was. He glanced at his phone, and his gut tightened. No service. It didn’t surprise him down here. What if Gillian tried to call? At least he knew his partner would keep her safe. He could’ve sent her on this fact-finding mission, but he wanted to be the one to look the vampire responsible for trancing Gillian in the face.

  “No worries. We were just getting started,” Denopoulos said, rubbing his hands together. Bundled up in a black bomber jacket and a ski hat, at least he came dressed for the occasion. His heart went out to the guy. As a human, he felt the cold far more intensely than Garrett or Teague did.

  Garrett glanced over at Greystone. The vampire appeared different than their first encounter at the hotel. For one, his dark blond hair stuck up in all directions, dirty and still caked with dried blood. And he looked leaner and far less cocky than he had the night of the bust. Garrett had to suppress a smile.