Jonas expelled a derisive snort. “She is lost to us, Thomas.”
“Perhaps it is you who have lost your touch, Jonas,” Tessa called from the couch. Was she blithely sitting there this whole time?
“She is of no use, Tessa. She cannot help our cause.”
“You do not know that. We have yet to open her.” Thomas relaxed on the couch, unfazed by my cries for help. Was Alexander still out cold on the floor?
Yes. Jonas replied to my thought with a thought.
Faith?
Asleep. More or less. Jonas considered Thomas. “Yes, yes, by all means, let us have a deeper look inside. Though I am not optimistic of the outcome.”
“I do not condone your methods this night,” Tessa cautioned. “And I am sure Maurizio would not, either.”
“He has left it to my discretion,” Thomas interjected. “You had your chance, Tessa. Your gentle caress proved inadequate.”
“You dare.” Her power pulsed through the room. “With a bit more time—”
“No,” Thomas cut her off. “We do it now. Our way.”
I didn’t like the sound of that.
Thomas joined us and they each took an arm. Oh, hell no. I knew where this led. Been there, already experienced that. Didn’t want a repeat performance.
I locked eyes with Thomas. “Please, don’t.”
He brought my hand to his lips. “What is closed must open.”
“But you said never without my permission. I don’t give it. I say no. Don’t.”
“Did I say that?” He nuzzled my wrist. Jonas mirrored his action with the other.
My heart hammered. “No. Tessa, make them stop.”
“Please, stop,” Adrian pleaded.
“Sleep,” Jonas commanded and Adrian passed out.
My throat constricted around a scream. “Alexander?” I croaked.
Jonas’s lips curled back from his fangs. “The Youngling cannot help you. Just as you cannot help yourself.”
“So it is left to us,” Thomas added.
“To us,” echoed Jonas.
Foreboding frazzled my last nerve. I addressed Thomas. “But why? Why now? Why like this?”
Tessa joined the men. “Little star.” She stroked my forehead. “There is much to tell, but little time, my darling. If you open alone and far away, they fear you will be lost forever.”
Her lavender scent surrounded me, but pain still spiked my head like a thousand stabbing knitting needles. “Are you saying if you’re not around to help that I’ll go crazy when my memory returns?”
“Yes.” Jonas nipped my wrist. Shocks sizzled my skin where he teased it and I shivered.
“Or die. For your power unlocks along with your memory.” Thomas expelled a breath over my wrist, his power like chilled water bathing my arm.
An angry growl heralded Alexander’s arrival. He towered over Tessa, pressing forward, but she stopped him with a dainty hand to his chest.
“Desist, Youngling,” she commanded, voice sharp. “Do not force us to restrain you once more.”
He backed down, arms crossed, handsome face lined with worry.
My eyes flicked to Jonas. “Do you have to bite me for this to work?”
Jonas nodded.
“But why?”
“Enough questions.” His teeth grazed my skin.
My heart pounded a chaotic rhythm in my chest.
“Carina, cara mia.” Thomas’s lips hovered over my frantic pulse. “Blood is power. Blood is control. It must be done.”
“Enough talk,” Jonas grumbled.
I gave Thomas wide, watery eyes.
He kissed my wrist once, twice. “As it was done, so shall it be undone. As one.”
“As one,” Jonas echoed.
I closed my eyes, unwilling to watch their betrayal of the few shards of trust I held for their memories. “Do any of you truly love me?”
“Yes,” Jonas murmured against my wrist. “Oh, yes.”
Six
Fangs pierced my flesh. My arms burned. Something warm and wet on my legs. My screams. Alexander’s frustrated roar. Blood spurted from my nose. My body thrashed, head hitting the bar over and over. Pain, so much pain. On and on they drank.
I jerked awake. “It’s all right, Rina,” Faith soothed, hand on my shoulder. “You’re safe.”
A door opened and closed.
“She’s awake,” Faith explained to the new arrival.
“I see,” a deep male voice replied.
My eyes watered, the world too blurry and bright. I blinked and our family physician, Doctor Scott, came into focus. His friendly gray eyes smiled down at me from his handsome, freckled face.
“Hey Doc,” I croaked past a parched throat. How long had I been out?
“Hey, yourself.”
“Where am I?”
“My clinic.” He pressed a button and raised the top half of the bed. “This is one of the top floor suites. Great view.”
Faith raised a cup. “Can she have some water?”
At his nod, she put the straw to my lips. Doc Scott checked my stats on the various machines while I drank.
I shifted, but restraints around my wrists and ankles limited my movement. “What’s with all the tech and the restraints?”
“You were unconscious.” He scanned the info on each machine’s screen.
“A coma?”
“Not exactly. Your brain was extraordinarily busy.” He motioned at the machines. “Data tracking.”
“The restraints?”
He tapped a few buttons. “For your safety. You had some seizures—one before you arrived and three more here.”
“Four seizures.” I suspected more reasons for the restraining business. “How long have I been here?”
“Four days.” Doc Scott unbuckled the restraints. The oxygen tube and IV followed.
I stretched and flexed. Not bad. Bandages covered my forearms, but otherwise no pain or outward sign of damage. I wore a set of my own pajamas, a soft black T-shirt and matching shorts instead of a hospital gown. Thank you, Faith.
“Doc.”
“Yes, Carina?”
“What aren’t you telling me? Were the seizures the only reason you restrained me?”
“No.” He switched off the machines, removed their associated attachments from my forehead and chest then unwound the gauze from my arm. “Faith, would you?” He nodded at my other arm.
Faith tackled the other bandage and answered the question my doctor avoided. “We were afraid you might be a little crazy when you woke up.”
I cocked my head and considered her words. “You mean rabid animal crazy or vengeful victim crazy?”
She shrugged. “Either. Both.”
My focus flicked to Doc Scott. “You know, right? About them. What they are. What they did to me.”
“Of course. I treat an exclusive clientele, primarily within the preternatural community, though it’s rare for a vampire to require medical assistance.” He peeled off the last of the bandages. “You heal fast. Always have.”
Two pale pink circles graced each wrist. Small, not even dime-sized. They didn’t hurt at all, but I squirmed and shivered anyway when the doctor palpated them.
“Tender?”
“No. It’s just—ew!”
He nodded in understanding.
I opened my mouth to grill him about the preternatural community he’d mentioned, but the door opened and two tall, dark and handsome men entered the room. My brothers Dom and Tony. They hovered near the door, awkward and nervous. Dom, the older of the two, frowned, arms straight and tense at his sides, hands balled into fists, looking ready to fight. Tony, also frowny-faced, squeezed the life out of his crossed arms.
Jitters jolted me, too. How should I react to this unexpected visit? We weren’t strangers, of course, but for the last twelve memory-gapped years, I’d considered reserved, workaholic Dom an acquaintance. Social and fun-loving Tony, on the other hand, acted like a party friend. Good times, but no heart-to-hearts.
The certainty of a truer bond rushed over me, memory after memory playing in my head like some This Is Your Life television clip show. Before the vampires wiped my mind, our time together consisted of more than polite silence and vapid banter. My heart swelled at little things like eating meals together, helping Dom make biscotti, playing games, practicing martial arts, vacationing in Italy. They’d even taken me to Disneyland. That rocked.
My face beamed. My brothers rushed to my side, sandwiching me between them. Apparently, I was a cuddly kid before the whole brain drain, because I was digging their embrace. After the vampires made me forget my family, our physical contact amounted to cheek kisses, arm punches, and perfunctory hugs. I liked this hugging-the-stuffing-out-of-me deal better.
Faith and Doc Scott left the room, closing the door behind them.
“Okay dudes, smashing the patient here.”
My brothers backed off.
Tony patted my hand. “That’s all right. We know you can take it.”
“And dish it back, too,” Dom added.
“I would have to agree with that assessment,” I chirped.
Their handsome faces lit up with laughter. Like Lorenzo, they didn’t smile much but when they did...wow. Poster boys for the classic Italian man. Milk chocolate eyes, smooth bronze skin, manly, chiseled faces, thick brown hair. Tony’s layered locks had a bit of a wave, the front spilling across his forehead. Model perfect. Fitting, since that was his profession. Dom’s precision cut called to mind the military, though that wasn’t his calling. He worked with Lorenzo and frequently travelled abroad. In fact, we all rarely inhabited the same place at the same time. To have them both here right now said a lot.
Dom interrupted my thoughts. “We’ve waited so long.”
Tony nodded. “Yeah, and we were pissed when Lorenzo got to you first. We were supposed to talk to you together.”
I shrugged. “Well, that wasn’t exactly planned. More like an oops, I accidentally cracked the memory window kind of thing.”
“Yeah, yeah, still.” Tony gave me serious brown eyes and my own watered. “We’ve missed you.”
Another hug fest would’ve ensued, complete with embarrassing happy tears, but Faith poked her head into the room. “Food is here. And Adrian.”
My happy mood evaporated. “Tell him to go away.” I swung my legs off the bed and stood. Big mistake. They caved. “Whoa.” Silly me, four days in a quasi-coma, what did I expect? Dom grasped my elbow to help me sit.
I patted his hand. “I’m okay.” To Faith, I added, “I mean it. Tell him to go.”
“I’ll tell him to wait.” She disappeared before I could object.
An orderly entered the room with a tray of food. Someone, probably Faith, had arranged for Vietnamese take-out and ordered me pho, my all-time favorite beef and rice noodle soup, complete with my favorite garnishes. Yum. I squeezed in some lime, plopped a chili, sprouts and a few basil leaves into the steaming liquid. A few tastes in, I forgave her for letting Adrian wait outside.
The presence of my brothers warmed me as much as the food. I didn’t even mind them staring at me like some zoo attraction. Halfway through my bowl of soupy goodness, I broke our easy silence. “So, about those vampires.”
Tony narrowed his eyes. “What do you want to know?”
I waved my spoon. “Everything. I mean, it’s great to have my childhood memories back, but dude, our uncles gave me a twelve-year lobotomy. What the hell is up with that? I’ve already heard the vague reasons—danger, power, blah, blah, blah—but I want details.”
Tony exchanged a worried look with Dom.
“Why exactly did they do it to me?”
He frowned. “Well, they were afraid you’d die. You have this gift, and—”
The spoon slipped from my fingers into the soup. “Some supernatural power I still don’t even feel. And?”
Tony glanced at Dom for help. Dom shrugged.
I pushed away my bowl. “Okay, you two need to stop the whole exchanging meaningful glances thing. Give it to me straight.”
Tony’s face darkened. “You don’t understand how hard it was for us when it happened. Watching them hurt you. Knowing we couldn’t stop them.”
He was veering off the subject of why, but the pained expression on his face stopped me from pointing it out.
He gave me haunted eyes. “There was so much blood. You moved and it caught them off guard. Made the wounds worse than they should’ve been. Tessa appeared and took care of you.”
“Appeared? Was she there the whole time? Doing the invisible thing?”
“Yeah, they didn’t want you to know they were there.”
“They?”
Tony nodded. “Tessa and Jonas. Tessa flipped out. I’d never seen her so upset. She cried bloody tears the whole time she dressed your wounds. You were passed out in your—uh, Uncle Maurizio’s arms.”
“He was crying, too,” Dom added. Arms crossed, he glowered at the floor.
“Thomas and Jonas? What were they doing?” Certainly not crying. Neither man struck me as the teary type.
“Watching the chaos. When Tessa finished first aid, Jonas picked you up without a word to anyone and took you to your room. We watched over you in shifts. Jonas and Uncle Maurizio first, Thomas and Tessa next, and us when it was dawn.”
I raised a hand. “Wait. It’s true then? Vampires sleep during the day? So they won’t burst into flames?”
“Well, yeah they sleep during the day, but I don’t know about the burning up part. I’ve seen plenty of vampires out in daylight, especially here. In the late afternoon, anyway, when it’s foggy. I think direct sunlight is painful but not necessarily fatal, or fatal with long exposure. I’ve never asked, so—”
“Back to This is My Life after the Big Bite,” I prompted.
“Yeah, anyway, you slept so long we worried you’d never wake up. One morning you did, but—” Tony cleared his throat.
“But what?” I gripped his arm, my hand ghost white against his tan skin. The Tranquilli tan gene, like the six-plus tall gene, skipped the only girl in the family.
Tony shook his head, too choked up to speak.
Dom took over. “We were in the kitchen having breakfast when Lorenzo brought you down.”
“And?” I ignored their anguished expressions.
Tony strode to the sitting area, halting by a coffee table loaded with flowers. Roses, violets, mums, dark orange poppies. “You were gone. Your body stood right in front of us, holding Lorenzo’s hand, but you—”
Dom grasped my hands. “You weren’t the only one who lost everything.”
My lip trembled. I closed my eyes. The tears leaked out anyway. Dom crushed me against his chest. Tony came over and we were back where we started.
Family sandwich.
I didn’t complain this time.
~ * ~
My brothers left my side after I agreed to a family dinner the following night. After their departure, Faith and the boys trooped in.
“Hi!” I hopped out of bed on solid legs this time—thank you, delicious pho—and hugged my friends. The sounds of Adrian arguing with someone filtered through the door. “What’s the brouhaha?”
“Lorenzo’s guys,” Mark supplied. “They won’t let Adrian in until you say it’s okay. He’s not happy.”
“Good.” Let Adrian suffer. A tiny revenge, to be sure, but it still felt good.
Mark studied me. “Sure you don’t want to talk to him?”
“Oh, we’ll talk.” And he will grovel. “But for now, let him hang.”
While I ignored Adrian, my friends brought me up to speed. The boys had recovered quickly from their second stint as vampire puppets. They, along with Adrian, enjoyed a nice steak and potato dinner. Faith, on the other hand, hadn’t fared as well, remaining unconscious for a full day. Upon waking, she insisted they camp out in my suite’s living room, because, as she put it, “The darkness knows.”
Those three little words burst Lorenzo’s prote
ctive-big-brother vein, so he placed a constant contingent of his own men on the suite, too.
I pushed away the foreboding slinking up my spine to focus on a more important topic. Alexander. Had anyone heard from my favorite vampire? A knock on the door prevented me from asking.
“Let me in, babe. Please,” Adrian called through the door.
I nodded at Mark to open it. One of Lorenzo’s men appeared. I waved him away. “We’re good.”
He stepped aside and Adrian strode in, impeccably dressed, of course, in a light gray suit and white shirt. No tie. He smiled, but worry clouded his eyes. I crossed my arms and scowled. His shoulders slumped.
Faith placed a soothing hand on my shoulder. “He’s hurting, too.” She joined the boys and the four of them filed from the room.
The seconds ticked by. Adrian’s expression begged me to say something, but I refused to make it easy. He removed his suit jacket and draped it over his arm. Spine straight, his eyes locked on mine. “I’m sorry.”
I huffed. “That’s it? You’re sorry?”
His brow furrowed. “Can we sit and talk?”
“What’s the point? You betrayed me.” My arm sliced the air. “We’re done.”
“Babe, please—”
“Don’t call me that.” I strode up to him. “Don’t you ever call me that.”
“Please forgive me,” he rasped. “I can’t lose you. Not like this.”
He gave me sad puppy-dog eyes and my anger wavered, but I clung to it. “You never had me, Adrian.”
He jerked as if struck. His suit jacket crumpled to the floor. The puppy eyes begged me.
“Don’t look at me like that.” I stalked to the window, ignoring him. Thick fog obscured the top-floor view of late afternoon, leaving my vantage gloomy and gray. No sign of the sun or my nearby family home out this window. I should go there after my release from the clinic. But I wasn’t ready to deal with Lorenzo or the vampires.
Well, there was one vampire I wanted to see. Excitement shivered over my skin at the thought of Alexander, quashing my anger at Adrian. Good timing, too. My friend hovered at the door, hand circling the knob. This was our moment. If I let him go now, it was over.
“Stop, Adrian. I—aw, hell.” I ran my hands through my hair. “Okay, um.” This was hard. I still hurt from his deceit, but I didn’t want to lose him forever.
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