Rana froze. Nico materialized between her and the car. His eyes glowed with the fires of a hundred suns; his lips pulled back revealing fangs. Rana slowly unzipped her purse and reached in. Nico’s hand curled into a claw and shot into the air. Her purse fell to the ground spilling its contents at her feet. The bottle of holy water rolled off the sidewalk under her car. Her stake protruded from the black bag. Nico growled and kicked her handbag off the curb. Rana’s eyes darted down the street. Nothing but blackness. No one would even hear her if she screamed. She took a step back, ready to flee back into The Voodoo Den. Nico grabbed her arm and jerked her toward him.
“Going somewhere, pretty lady?”
“N-no…”
Suddenly, Nico’s body flew across the sidewalk and collided with the brick wall behind them. The impact threw Rana against the side of her car. She stumbled and looked up to find Alexandru’s eyes penetrating hers. The fierce look on his face turned her blood to ice. She had never seen him so angry. “You all right?”
Rana nodded, unable to speak.
He pivoted with a snarl and strode menacingly toward Nico. He grabbed the other vampire by the throat and lifted him into the air. “This one is off-limits. You understand?”
The words spoken softly, but supernatural power radiated from Alexandru daring the younger vampire to disagree. Nico nodded and paled to an almost translucent state. Rana blinked at the skeleton glowing just beneath his skin. Alexandru dropped him on the concrete with a thud. “Next time you will not live to regret it.”
Nico scrambled to his feet and rushed back into the club. Alexandru glided back to Rana. “You shouldn’t have come.”
“I know.” Rana bent down to retrieve her bag. She scooped up the spilled contents. Alexandru lifted a brow and pointed to the wooden stake. “Is that a present for me?”
Rana’s face heated like a furnace. Did he know? “O-of course not. I just brought it for protection. Just in case.”
“Protection from whom?” Alexandru asked softly.
Rana kept her thoughts firmly clenched behind her mind’s window. “Them.” She pointed toward the club.
“I see.”
Rana tightened her hand on the stake. Should she do it now when no one else was around? She swallowed. No, killing him now would not do. Not after he had just saved her life. Even she couldn’t stoop that low. Besides, one stab to his heart and she would be surrounded by the underworld. They would protect one of their own at all costs. She would have to get him alone first. She let go of the stake and it fell into her purse. She zipped her bag closed. Killing him would have to wait. “I should go.”
“I’ll see you safely out of the territory.”
Rana grimaced. Since when were vampires chivalrous? Weren’t they all evil sub-humans like her father? “That won’t be necessary. I’ll be fine.”
“With your wooden stake?” His words mocked her. Rana lifted her chin.
“Yes.”
“And you think this will stop one of my kind?”
Rana knitted her brow. “Of course. You don’t think it would?”
He shrugged. “Depends on the vampire.”
“What do you mean?”
“If the vampire is very old or very powerful, then I’m afraid your little stake will prove to be only a nuisance. It will not kill an elder.” Amusement flickered in his Caribbean eyes.
“I have other weapons.” Rana shifted to her left foot. Did he think she was daft? Of course, she knew a wooden stake wouldn’t kill all vampires. But it would weaken them. Enough for her to escape, at least.
Alexandru’s eyes traveled the length of her and gleamed with appreciation. “I imagine you do.”
Lightning slashed across the night sky followed by the continuous rumble of distant thunder. Within seconds, large drops of rain fell from the moonless sky. Alexandru opened her car door. “Get in.” Rana hesitated. Though Alexandru wasn’t an old vampire, he was a powerful one. He had been turned by an elder, which meant her former fiancé now possessed exceptional powers. Powers that could cost Rana her life if she wasn’t careful. Cloud-to-ground lightning ribboned dangerously close to her car. Rana flinched as a clap of thunder boomed overhead. She’d rather take her chances with a vampire than a thunderstorm.
Rana slid into the driver’s seat. The door closed behind her. She looked through the rain-coated window. Alexandru had vanished. Again.
“Stop doing that!” Rana slammed her fist into the steering wheel. Couldn’t vampires just stay put? She inserted the key and turned the ignition. The car hummed to life. Rana carefully backed away from the curb and pulled onto the street.
He hasn’t changed.
Still stubborn, arrogant, sexy as the devil and yet darker and more mysterious. And more powerful. Standing on the sidewalk, he had practically blended into the night. But somewhere beneath the creature was Alexandru.
Her Alexandru.
Tears stung her eyes. How could she possibly ever kill him? Him. Her Alexandru? She eased down the street and pulled onto the main highway. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. Cars whizzed by.
Finally, back to civilization.
A feeling someone or something watched swept over her. She adjusted her review mirror.
Nothing.
Get it together, Rana. Your imagination is working overtime. No one is following you.
Still, an eerie presence filled her car, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that she wasn’t alone. She ignored it and concentrated on driving home in the rain. An hour later, she pulled into her drive and hurried into her house. Once inside, she dismissed the babysitter — a college girl who lived next door — watched her safely enter her own home then went to check on Damien.
She felt his forehead. The fever still ran high, and his color hadn’t improved. If anything, his skin seemed paler. His small chest barely rose and fell with each labored breath. Rana’s heart constricted. “Don’t worry, baby. I’ll get him.” She kissed his forehead and nearly cried out as his skin burned her lips. “Somehow I’ll get him.”
Memories grabbed her by the throat. Rana choked back a sob. Why was this happening? What happened to her happy little boy? The one who loved to play Snakes and Ladders with her until it was way past his bedtime. The one who insisted on licking the bowl every time she made a cake even though Rana always told him he’d get a bellyache. Rana swallowed the lump in her throat. He looked so miserable lying in his bed, face pale and feverish, his tiny body drenched in sweat.
Damien moaned. The sound shredded Rana’s heart. Where was her happy, cherubic baby? Was he still in there somewhere or had darkness swallowed him up, determined to stifle every ounce of life out of him?
Rana sucked in a sharp breath. She had to find a way to save her son. He meant everything to her. Damien was her life. She left her son’s room and checked the door locks for the third time. Finally satisfied that they were safe, she flipped off the living room light. A flash of lightning lit up her front yard. Out of the corner of her eye through the sheer curtain covering her bay window she saw a shadowy figure floating inches above the ground. Fingers of fear tightened her abdomen. Someone or something was watching her. And that something now knew where she lived.
Chapter 3
Alexandru strode through the French Quarter, the street alive with the usual Friday night glitz. Bar hoppers, prostitutes and tourists. Neon signs flashed their welcome on nearly every corner. Jazz music wafted from inside various bars along the street. The sweet scent of blood pulsed through the veins of the innocents that surrounded him. Laughter and excitement exuded from their very souls. He thirsted for their vibrant lifelines, thirsted for their carefree lifestyle.
Two young women chatted in a nearby alley. Alexandru’s mouth watered. It had been a long time since he had fed the old-fashioned way. A very long time indeed. He entered the alley. The women stopped their conversation and stared in horror at the dark, looming figure blocking the entrance. One of them screamed and ran the other way. T
he other — a petite blonde with heavy makeup and a tight honey-colored mini-skirt — stood transfixed, unable to move. With hypnotic eyes, Alexandru beckoned the woman to him. She came. With careful control, he planted submissive thoughts in her mind until she tilted her head and allowed him full access to her lifeline.
Alexandru lowered his head, fangs lengthening, and punctured the pulse point throbbing at the nape of her neck. The woman sighed and sagged against him. He drank hungrily. Greedily. The sweet, coppery liquid warmed his throat. Still he thirsted. He took more and more, but nothing satiated his hunger. He stopped just short of taking the woman’s life. His blood turned to ice. He had only killed once before, and he had never forgiven himself for it. He would not do it again. Alexandru hated killing. Now, he rarely took a victim — and for those he did take he never took more from them than they could handle — choosing, instead, to feed at The Voodoo Den and the occasional blood bank. But seeing Rana last night had unleashed primal desires he no longer could control. He wanted her. Always had and always would. Even if it meant his death. Disgusted with himself, Alexandru lifted his head and set the woman down. He wiped the back of his hand across his mouth and with a sweep of his arm erased the woman’s memory. She would never know she had been his victim. He turned on his heel and disappeared into the night, leaving the stunned woman gasping for breath. Only one thing would satisfy him now.
Rana.
Something watched her. Rana could feel its presence inside the small bookstore. There were no customers and she only had a few minutes left until closing time. She shot a look toward the glass door.
Nothing.
The streetlight outside flickered on just as the moon rose above the cypress tree alongside her building.
She straightened the display center and returned two books to a shelf at the back of the store. The hairs on the back of her neck stood as she rounded each corner. Rana’s heart slammed against her ribs. Her skin prickled as an unseen shadowy presence settled over her. Though her eyes couldn’t prove it, her sixth sense picked up on every labored breath and every stealth movement.
She wasn’t alone.
Rana quickly checked each aisle before returning to the front. Five more minutes. She stared at the clock on the wall willing the hands to move faster. She usually didn’t worry about being alone in the store, but tonight fear played tricks on her mind. She couldn’t wait to lock the door. She opened the cash drawer and began placing the money into the bag. She punched a button on the register to run the daily report. The noisy hum grated on her nerves in the otherwise silent store. She glanced back at the clock. Two minutes. The register spit out the report, and she placed it in the bag alongside the money. She leaned down and opened the safe underneath the counter.
The bell on the front door jingled. Rana’s head shot up. She looked around the store. Nothing. A soft breeze brushed through her hair. She swallowed. The fans were already off, yet something had rustled her hair — something that felt like someone had just walked past her. Fear gripped her heart. She shoved the bag in the safe and shut it. She gave the combination lock a quick turn to secure it. Her nerves jittered.
Eight o’clock.
Finally.
Rana checked each aisle once more then hurried to the door and locked it. She turned around and let out a bloodcurdling scream.
Alexandru stood behind her dressed in a black shirt and snug-fitting black jeans. Jeans that emphasized his sexy, muscled form. Rana swallowed. Despite her shock of finding him in her store, her body wasn’t immune to the tsunami of sex appeal that rolled off him in tidal waves. “What are you doing here? You scared the daylights out of me.”
“I wanted to see you.”
“Why? You made it perfectly clear last night you never wanted to see me again.” Rana’s nerves were already on edge and he wasn’t helping matters standing in her shop exuding a supernatural aura.
“You caught me off guard. I’ve had time to…” his gaze slid over her … “re-evaluate the circumstances.”
Wonderful.
He’d re-evaluated, and she didn’t even have her slay kit with her. Since she lived an hour from the nocturnal playground, she didn’t need it at work.
Until now.
“Have dinner with me tonight.”
“Dinner? Do you — I mean can you…”
Alexandru laughed softly. “No. I don’t eat, but I can sit with you. It’ll give us time to get reacquainted. There’s a great little Mexican place around the corner.”
“Mexican?” Rana bit the inside of her cheek.
“It’s your favorite isn’t it?” The corner of his mouth lifted into a rueful smile.
“You remember?”
“I remember everything about you. About us.” His words dripped with soft seduction. Rana blinked. Her heart fluttered. For a moment, he almost appeared to be the man she had loved. The man whom she had planned to spend the rest of her life with, until that one fateful night that changed them forever.
Why? Why? Why? She wanted to scream. Why did he have to be in the wrong place at the wrong time? Her thoughts drifted to that night. She couldn’t remember exactly what had happened, but she did remember the man she had thought was a mugger. Instead, he had been Vladmir Gustovez, Master of New Orleans Nocturne Society. One of the oldest, most powerful vampires in the Crescent City. A man she had hated and hunted all her life, and that night he had turned Alexandru into one of his kind. She should have killed Alexandru then and there to put him out of his misery, but she had loved him too much. Instead, she blacked out. When she came to, Vladmir and Alexandru were both gone. Rana never went back to find the man she loved. She left the city and started a new life for herself by opening the small bookstore. And guilt over leaving Alexandru to deal with his own horrors alone nearly ate her alive. But her guilt did not outweigh how much she despised vampires.
Even Alexandru.
“You’re right. You should have killed me then.”
Rana gasped. She had been careless, and he was now in her thoughts. Again. “I couldn’t. I just couldn’t.”
“I’ve adapted.” His smile held a hint of sadness. “Why didn’t you come back to me? I searched for you for years.”
Shame heated her cheeks. “I—I wasn’t ready. You’re a—”
“A vampire. I’m well aware of that. Do you still hunt? Is that why you’ve come back to me? To kill me?”
Rana’s eyes widened. His blunt question startled her. “I—I … No, I came to find you. I missed you.” That much was true. She did miss him. Terribly. But that didn’t change what he was. Or what she had to do. Alexandru stared at her. His eyes glittered in the moonlight streaming through the front glass.
“We have the same goal, you know.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You are a Dhampir. Your job is to rid the world of vamps. I may be an unwilling vampire, but I also try to keep the city safe. I won’t tolerate unnecessary killing.”
“You don’t kill?”
Alexandru’s eyes shuttered for a moment. “No.”
“But don’t you feed?”
“Sometimes. Only when the urge is too great to overcome, but I never take too much. Not anymore.”
“But…” She swallowed hard. “You have killed?”
Alexandru hissed sharply. Torment flickered in his eyes. “Once.”
The word tore from him in a guttural growl.
“What happened?” Despite the horror of it all, Rana realized that somewhere underneath the creature lay the man she had loved and trusted.
“I was new. Had only just been turned for a few days. I didn’t understand the hunger.” Self-loathing laced his words. “Didn’t know how to handle it. I waited as long as I could before feeding. When I finally took a victim, I took too much. The police found her the next morning nearly drained of blood. Her name was Angie Fields. She had two young children at home.”
“Oh, Alexandru.” Rana touched his arm.
He flinched. “Don’
t pity me. I’m a monster. I destroyed someone’s family. Thanks to me those children will never know their mother.”
“It wasn’t your fault. You didn’t know,” Rana whispered. “It was an accident.” It had never occurred to her until now that vampires might have emotions. She had always been taught that they were all horrible, abominable creatures that needed to be destroyed.
“It doesn’t matter. It won’t bring Angie back. It won’t give those children their mother back.”
“No, it won’t,” she agreed gently. “But, you could use your…” Rana hesitated. “…Your gifts for good by making sure no one else gets hurt or worse.”
“I’m trying to.”
Rana straightened a book on the shelf. Did he mean it? Was he really using his dark gift for good? Was it even possible for a vampire to do that? Everything she had ever been told about them pointed to pure evil, yet Alexandru didn’t seem evil. But she still had to kill him. She didn’t have a choice. She shuddered. Damien was her world, but how could she possibly kill Alexandru now? If only there were another way. If only…
“I don’t want you going back to vampire territory again. It’s too dangerous,” Alexandru said. “I won’t allow it.”
Rana’s head snapped up.
Won’t allow it?
Old feelings resurfaced. She couldn’t count the times Alexandru’s arrogance and commanding nature had collided with her fiercely independent one. A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. He had always won a few of their battles, but never the war. It had been the fuel that kept things interesting.
A wave of melancholy swamped her. It wasn’t the first time she had wished things could be different. But fate had dealt them a losing hand. And she knew when to fold.
“You can’t stop me, Alexandru. It’s what I do.” His eyes glittered like frost on a winter morning.
“I can and I will.”
Rana exhaled. She knew better than to argue the point. Alexandru was still a stubborn, stubborn man — or rather, immortal. However, she had no intention of heeding his command. He just didn’t need to know it yet.
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