“I know. We went through the same, when Peri’s father was hunting her. Every instinct of mine was to hunt him down and destroy him, but I knew we had to let her do it herself. Your situation is different, Sabrina is human, she's very vulnerable to our kind. You're doing the right thing going to your Sire’s. Once you get there, you will have more options. You can leave her in his protection and hunt this Vampire yourself, or you can stay there with her and wait until he finds you. With both you and Boyd there, destroying him will be much easier.”
Kyle thought about Josef’s words, he was right, but he didn’t know what was best. He knew he would get an argument from Sabrina, if he even mentioned leaving her. It may be an argument he couldn't escape.
“Oh, how is the security for the jet? I’ve got one of my guns, a modified Ruger P89 with thirty silver bullets in the mag. I was wondering if I could take it?”
Josef smiled, “A gun? Hm, well, my cases have never been searched this end, so that would be fine. On the other end? I'm not sure. I have arranged for it to land in Lugano, Switzerland. I have contacted Boyd, he was the one who recommended it, he will either be waiting on you or have someone meet you. If you tell him about the gun, I'm sure things will go smoothly at that end, too. If I were you, I would take it. Those weapons are not easy to come across, and, if you want my advice, I would teach your mate to use it, too. She's feeling helpless, at the moment. A gun may help her to feel more in control and strong.”
Kyle was a little taken aback, Josef never ‘gave advice,’ usually because he didn’t give a fuck about anyone else, certainly not a human female.
He thought on what he had said and realized his points were valid about the gun. Sabrina had even asked about learning to shoot and use a firearm, he guessed maybe he should do as she asked. Even though she had been a cop in Scotland, they are not armed as cops in America are. She would never have handled a gun before, but with lessons she would become proficient, he would see to it.
“I think you’re probably right, I’ll do it once we’re in Italy. I’ll phone Boyd in a bit and let him know about me bringing the gun. He’ll make sure it gets through, one way or the other.”
They lapsed into silence, as the sun rose over Vegas. It was going to be another hot day. Kyle loved Vegas and was not happy at being chased from their home, he hoped they wouldn’t be away too long.
“I'll be ordering some food for Peri and the Wolf, does your mate have any preference for breakfast?” Josef asked, and Kyle was surprised again, the Witch had certainly changed the ancient Vampire.
“She loves orange juice, but will eat just about anything in the morning. Sometimes she eats very little, depending on how she’s feeling.”
“Our little Witch loves OJ, too, so there'll be plenty of that, along with coffee, I usually order a lot of different things and she chooses first, and that young Wolf finishes off anything else. He would eat anything put in front of him.”
Kyle chuckled, “That’s Wolves for you - always hungry.”
“Yes, they are,” Josef replied, as he got up and moved to the internal phone. He placed a pretty large order.
Just as he was finished, the bedroom door opened and Peri walked out, wrapped in her fluffy robe, and as soon as she was within reach, Kyle saw Josef pull her to him and kiss her, passionately, before releasing her.
“Good morning, my little Witch, did that Wolf let you have any sleep?” Josef teased and Kyle watched, shocked at the way the man was with the young woman.
“Yes, eventually,” Peri giggled and then blushed scarlet when she saw him sitting there.
“How’s Sabrina? I thought I heard her scream, or was I dreaming that?” Peri asked, still with a blush on her cheeks.
“She’s asleep, she had a bad nightmare, but she settled down afterwards. This is all...”
“Scary!” Peri said, interrupting Kyle’s train of thought, she had been terrified of her father, who was a very powerful Witch, and Sabrina had an insane, ancient Vampire after her blood - literally.
“Yeah, she’ll be fine, she’s tough,” Kyle replied, with a hesitant smile.
“I'm sure she will, if there’s anything else I can do to help just let me know,” Peri was once again on Josef’s lap, as he sat back down in his chair.
Kyle turned to look at the hallway leading to their room, he was sure he had felt Sabrina stir. A moment later, she appeared in one of the robes, her face white, as she walked towards him.
“Morning, hon, how’re you feeling?” He asked, and she tried to smile, but only a glimpse of her usual smile was there.
“I’m fine, just a bit tired,” she saw Josef with Peri on his lap.
“Oh, hi, morning, hope our drama didn’t affect your sleep too much,” she said politely, embarrassed that they had brought this trouble down on top of these folks.
“It was not your ‘drama’ as you say, more like that darn Wolf!” Josef exclaimed, and Peri punched him playfully while her face burned red.
As if on cue, Gabe appeared, thankfully in a robe this time, and stretched his muscular body, as he made his way to the sofa.
“Someone talkin ‘bout me?” he yawned, and Peri giggled again.
“Food's on the way - before you ask Wolf. I know I told you about the jet, it's going to be leaving early this afternoon. I did not see the point in hanging around and there was a slot for it, so I told the pilot to go ahead. As I said, it's going to that Swiss airport, Lugano, it's not too far from there to Boyd’s place, or so I believe. The airport is nearer than the ones in Milan, and Boyd says he uses it all the time, he has ‘contacts’ there.” Josef's tone was casual and held none of the anger of last night.
Kyle nodded, “Thanks, Josef, I’ve not been to his new place. It’s near Lake Como, but I’m sure he’ll have all mod cons. He’s like you on that score.”
Gabe snorted, “Must be a Vamp thing.”
“Door, Gabe,” Josef said, just a few moments before there was a knock at the door.
The Wolf got up and opened the door quickly, obviously wanting his breakfast, and let the man in wheeling the trolley loaded with food. After he set it up on the table he left, leaving the trolley near the door as instructed, Gabe was smiling widely.
"Food, yum, come on you two, pick what you want before I eat it all," Gabe chuckled, but Kyle was pretty sure he meant it. He had seen this Wolf put away massive amounts of food before.
They moved to the table, Sabrina sitting and pulling a plate towards her and placing several items on it. He sat next to her and poured her some of her OJ. She smiled at him and waited on Peri to sit down and get her food before she started. Manners – Sabrina was taught it was bad manners to start eating before everyone had their food.
That didn’t happen, though, Peri was just about at the table, when all of a sudden her smile left her face and it turned pure white. Her eyes widened and a hand shot up to her mouth, before she turned and ran for the bedroom. Gabe and Josef right at her back, he and Sabrina looked on, wondering what the hell was wrong.
A few seconds later, they could clearly hear the sounds of Peri throwing up, a lot. Sabrina raised an eyebrow at him, “Is she pregnant?”
“I don’t know,” he replied, as he began to wonder. Pregnant? It would obviously be Gabe's, if she were, but hell, a pregnant mate? He couldn't even begin to imagine the kind of changes that would bring to the Wolf and the Vampire.
“Think they may be a while, eat up,” he said, motioning to the food she had on her plate.
“Not sure if I can,” she said, remembering the sounds of the young woman vomiting.
“Try, you need to keep up your strength, babe. We’ve got a long trip ahead.”
She looked at her plate and started to eat. She didn’t manage very much, but was surprised she could eat anything at all. She had two glasses of orange juice and two cups of Josef’s excellent coffee before pushing her plate away.
“Let’s go shower and dress, I want to be all set, when the time comes to leave,” he got up and took her hand, pulling her up and after him back to their room.
After a very leisurely shower, where he made love to his mate slowly, they were dressed and packed, all ready for the trip. He hoped they managed to get away without any more trouble. He already felt bad for bringing that nut here. He had killed one of Donovan’s men, Kyle felt terrible about that.
He carried their suitcases back through to the main area, left them near the door, and pulled his phone out. He dialed Boyd's number and listened to it ring, once, twice, and on the third ring he heard his Sire.
“Yes, Kyle?”
“Boyd, I understand that Josef has been in touch to let you know we’re using his jet to fly into Lugano. I’m just checking to see if it’s all right for me to bring my Ruger?”
“Ah, yes, your Ruger, still firing silver bullets, I presume?" A note of sarcasm was in his Sire’s tone.
“Yup, I’m thinking it will be a good idea to teach Sabrina how to use it,” he said, as he watched his mate, her eyes widened and she smiled. She so wanted to shoot that Ruger!
“I think that’s a good idea, and yes, you can bring it. I have...an arrangement...at the airport, so you won’t be stopped or searched. I will send a car to pick you up, seeing as you will be arriving in the middle of the night. I may be a Vampire, but I do like my rest at night.”
Kyle stifled a laugh, getting a vision of Boyd in checkered pajamas and slippers. “Okay, see you soon, Boyd...and thanks.”
“Absolutely no thanks necessary, Kyle, you are one of mine, and I always take care of you, even if some are remiss about visiting.”
Kyle did laugh this time, the dig at him not taking his mate to visit earlier was very clear. “Sorry, I'll make sure I don't stay away as long again, bye.”
Boyd said, “Ciao,” then hung up.
He couldn’t wait to get his mate to Boyd’s, knowing his Sire would keep her safe, they could sit down and decide what to do. At this moment, he was unsure of what his course of action was going to be, only that it must end with that Vampire destroyed!
“So you’re gonna let me use your gun?” Sabrina asked, as soon as he was off the phone.
He frowned, as he looked at her excited face, “It’s not a game. Firearms are very dangerous and need to be treated with respect. I’ll teach you, but none of it will be anything other than hard graft and practice.”
Sabrina’s eyes widened, “Kyle! I’m not an idiot. I do know what guns can do in the wrong hands. I’m just excited, as it will give me a little bit of...oh, I don’t know how to put it...strength...no, that’s wrong. I mean it will make me feel not so feeble, if I can use a gun with silver bullets. I’m not looking to go on a shooting spree. I just want to be able to protect myself, even a little, if that nutcase finds us...me. I’m feeling a little vulnerable, at the moment.”
He saw her eyes fill up with tears, and he shook his head, angry with himself for snapping at her. He couldn’t even begin to understand how she must be feeling about all of this.
Moving closer, he put a finger under her chin, making her look at him instead of down at her lap, where her hands were clenched tightly. “Hey, sorry for snapping. Guns are scary, if not used properly. I just want you to understand how dangerous they can be.”
“I was a cop, remember, I know how dangerous they can be. I’ve seen the damage a few times, not often, as we have much stricter gun laws in Scotland, but I have been involved in some cases where guns were used,” she all but whispered.
“I know, sometimes I forget that and I’m sorry, really. I’m sorry about all of this, not just the gun comment.” His fear was eating him up inside, making him snap at the one person he had ever loved.
“Okay, and I don’t blame you, it’s not your fault, no matter what you think. I only want to be able to look after myself a bit better, that’s all,” she gave him a small smile, and he was relieved.
Really, she should be pissed at him, no matter what she said, this whole thing was his fault and that was killing him. He had put his mate in mortal danger. She was in the cross hairs of an insane ancient Vampire. Things couldn't get much worse than that.
Chapter 9
At that moment, Josef and the other two came back through all dressed. Gabe had a huge grin on his face. Josef went to the table and filled a glass with orange juice, which he handed to Peri. She took a drink and saw them watching her. She blushed slightly before moving to sit on a sofa.
As soon as she did, Gabe sat down and picked her up and put her on his lap, still with his grin in place.
Sabrina had watched the girl closely and she was pretty sure the young woman was pregnant. She had dealt with many pregnant women and young girls and there were usually signs and most women would notice.
“Are you okay now?” she asked, and Peri nodded her head.
“Yes, thanks,” was all she said, though.
“Sorry, babe,” Gabe said before he blurted out, “we think Peri’s pregnant!” He said it with such pride in his voice that Peri looked deep into his eyes. His joy and pride were there for everyone to see, sense, and feel.
“I thought so - I have to agree - call it cop’s intuition or women’s intuition, hell, whatever you like, but I would say you are, too. Congratulations.” Sabrina's smile was warm and wide, joining in with Gabe’s.
“A baby? You going to do the dirty diapers, Josef?” Kyle nearly choked on his laughter at that thought.
“I think you forget how rich I am, there will be the appropriate people around to help Peri and us with the baby,” Josef's nose wrinkled a bit, not liking the thought of doing that duty. He would make sure someone else was there do to it.
“If I am, and we don’t know for certain, but if I am, I want to be a hands on mother. I don’t mind some help, but mostly I want to do it myself. I want to make sure the baby is loved and looked after and always knows I’ll be there for her, or him.” Peri’s tone was quite firm, but full of longing, too.
“Of course, whatever you want, baby. Jo, why don’t you make that appointment?” Gabe was obviously desperate to find out for certain.
Josef stood up and disappeared into his office, but was back very quick. “Got an appointment, we'll take Sabrina and Kyle to the airport, then go onto the doctor’s office. We'll leave soon, if you two don't mind being a little early to the jet?”
Sabrina almost laughed, getting to go on a jet, a private blinking jet, she couldn’t wait.
“That’s great, Josef, we’re all ready anyway.” Kyle replied and nodded towards their suitcases near the door.
“Ah, good, I'll check everything is fine with Donovan before we leave, but I have not felt anything from the alert spell that Peri cast. Hopefully we'll manage to get out without him knowing you have left. Peri will sit up front with me, Gabe will be in the back with you two. As we leave you need to get down low, so that if he has got eyes on the area, he won’t see you. The glass is tinted, too, so that will help hide you. Once we are away, then you can sit up. I know it sounds a little dramatic, but he may have accomplices that we do not know about. They may not be able to sense you, but if they have eyes on the place that's defeating the purpose.”
Kyle found this all a bit disturbing, hiding was not something he did normally, certainly not from danger. It rankled him, but he could see the merit in Josef’s plan, he looked at Sabrina and saw her frowning. She wasn’t happy either.
“That’s probably for the best, even if it’s not something I would normally do. I need to keep Sabrina safe, so yes, we’ll do as you say.” Kyle’s voice was clipped, he was not happy about this at all.
The next couple of hours went by with general chitchat, mostly the women chatted while the men listened. Sabrina and Peri seemed to get on well, and Peri was more than a little interested in Sabrina's past as a cop in Glasgow. Sabrina tried to keep the stories socially a
cceptable and told lighter ones that had some humor in them. She was pretty sure Peri didn't want to hear about the darker side of being a cop, especially an undercover cop, dealing with the dregs of society. Peri was also a little shocked when she learned that cops in Scotland and the rest of the UK didn't have guns, She thought all cops were armed.
“Nope, we don't even get trained in firearms unless you join the Armed Response Unit, those are the only guys that ever get their hands on guns,” Sabrina told her, and she saw Peri shaking her head, as if she couldn't quite believe it. Yeah, it was tough being a cop in the UK with only an extendable baton for protection.
Before she knew it Josef was checking his watch and standing up, pulling his phone from his pocket, “Donovan, all clear?...We'll be down shortly then.”
The Vampire turned and nodded, helped Peri up, and walked her to the door, Gabe stayed very close to the girl’s back. As they neared the door, there was a knock and a large man stood waiting. Josef motioned to the suitcases, and the man retrieved them and went back outside into the hallway and towards the elevator.
Sabrina and Kyle followed. He could hear her heart, as it sped up at the thought of leaving the safety of Josef's penthouse. “It’ll be okay,” he said quietly, and she looked at him with a look that said more than words.
Her eyes asked ‘really?’ and her body said ‘I’m scared,’ as he pulled her to his side and inside the private elevator.
Inside, as it moved downwards, Sabrina took several deep breaths to calm herself. She was with two powerful Vampires, a Wolf, and a Witch, she was perfectly safe. She kept telling herself that all the way down to the basement, into the back of the large SUV, then in the space between the front and back seats, where she lay for about ten minutes until Josef said, “Okay, all clear.”
She moved quickly to sit on the back seat, between Gabe and Kyle, her heart now beating almost normally. There was silence for the rest of the journey, and she was quite glad, idle chitchat just didn’t seem appropriate.
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