by Julia Mills
It took everything in her not to say what she was thinking, but Cyn had to admit she was seriously losing her patience. Valentina was working up to something. Had put a lot of thought into her presentation and was preparing to move in for the kill. Cyn knew what that felt like and although she hated Valentina unlike anyone she’d ever known, she wasn’t about to interrupt. Besides, maybe it would be something she and Roman could laugh about if he ever wanted to see her again after being stood up.
But then again, he’s the reason you’re in this mess…
Her inner monologue was cut short as Valentina took a deep breath and said, “Roman Marinos, the man you have set your sights on bedding, is a three-thousand-year old King of the Blood. He and his closest friends are part of a group of men who lost their human lives almost three millennia ago, but because of their valor and service to the gods, Zeus allowed them to be born again and serve as his warriors on earth.”
Pausing and taking a sip from a bottle of water Cyn hadn’t noticed until that moment, Valentina raised her heavily painted-on eyebrows as if to say, “No questions?”
Cyn thought about giving her captor the number of a good psychiatrist she knew from work but had to admit she was too intrigued to see what other fairy tales her hostess would come up with, so she simply waited. It was apparent her lack of response bothered Valentina as she tightly screwed the lid back on her drink and set it on the floor at her side with a bit more force than was necessary, making the plastic pop and crinkle.
When she spoke again the strain was evident in her voice, but Cyn had to give her credit for keeping her smile in place even if the look in her eyes was quickly becoming murderous. “Any questions?”
“None.”
Another nod followed by a quick intake of breath and Valentina was again talking, “For all intents and purposes, Roman and the other Kings are immortal. They have traveled the countryside helping those who cannot help themselves, doing the will of the gods since before the birth of Christ. Unfortunately, their longevity comes at a price.”
Valentina paused and her stiff smile turned into more of a smirk as she went on, “You see, once a month they must,” she paused and tapped her chin with the pointed tip of the red nail of her index finger, what Cyn was beginning to think of as a ‘villainess’ signature move, “how should I put this?” Then shrugging said, “They must drink blood to stay alive.”
Unable to school her features any longer, Cyn burst out laughing. Her head fell forward, her arms slipped down around her waist, and she laughed long and hard until tears actually rolled down her face. Taking a deep breath, trying to contain her hilarity, she looked at Valentina, whose smirk had been replaced with a scowl, and while still chuckling, said, “So, let me get this straight. Roman Marinos, high profile businessman, playboy, and millionaire, is actually a what? A vampire?”
Her giggles got the best of her for another moment before she could go on. “And so are his closest friends.” Holding up her hand to stop the retort she saw coming from Valentina, she chortled, “But not the bad kind. No, they’re on a mission from Zeus. Is that about right?” Then shaking her hand to stop Valentina again, she quickly added, “OH! And let’s not forget that you know all this because you’re Roman’s lover, even though he has chased me like the bunny at a greyhound track for almost two years, kissed me like I was the very air he breathed less than two days ago, and demanded I have dinner with him.” Cocking an eyebrow, she pursed her lips and asked, “Is that what you’re trying to tell me?”
Valentina’s scowl was now a scary frown, her tone harsh, and her accent so pronounced it took Cyn a second to understand what she was saying as she spat through gritted teeth while slamming the book on her lap shut, “You will not laugh at me, pórni.”
Pulling a cellphone from her pocket and fiddling with the buttons while Cyn continued chuckling and couldn’t help but add insult to injury by commenting, “And you’re gonna need to insult me in English if you want to hurt my feelings.” Valentina literally shook with fury and growled.
Tapping the screen with her long nails so hard Cyn was sure it would shatter, Valentina had apparently found what she was looking for as she stood and looked down her nose. “Now, you will see the truth.”
With a confidence Cyn had to admire considering the circumstances, Valentina strutted around her chair, reached over her shoulder, and thrust the phone in front of her face. Pressing a button on the side, the still photo became a video, complete with sound.
Cyn watched the new bane of her existence, Valentina, walk into a candle lit room and ask, “You called for me, sire?”
“Yes.” One word was all it took. Cynthia would know that voice anywhere. Her attention was now riveted to the screen as she watched him stand and meet Valentina in front of a huge mahogany desk.
He gave the tall thin woman a lukewarm smile while she unbuttoned the top two buttons of her sheer black blouse and moved one side of the collar off her shoulder. Without further preamble, he placed his hands on her shoulders, looked her in the eye, and asked, “Do you, Valentina, agree to provide nourishment to me, a King of the Blood, freely and of your own volition?”
“Yes, sire. I do.” Valentina swooned, causing Cyn to clench her fists until her short manicured nails bit into the skin of her palms as she reminded herself not to show any signs that the bitch’s manipulation was working.
“Then I shall take only what I need. Thank you for your service.”
Roman leaned in and placed his lips on Valentina’s neck as the camera zoomed in for a closer shot. As she watched, his canines lengthened and Valentina sighed as he pierced the tender skin over her carotid. Cyn couldn’t stop her gasp as for several heartbeats, she literally watched Roman feed from the witch’s neck.
Removing his teeth from her flesh, he wiped a single drop of blood from her neck with his handkerchief before setting her an arm’s length away and quietly thanking her. Although he showed no signs that it was anything more than a business transaction, Valentina’s pupils were dilated, her breathing shallow, and her cheeks flushed. Cynthia had no idea what she had just witnessed but one thing was for sure, Valentina had a really good time.
Pressing pause, her captor pulled the phone away and whispered in Cyn’s ear. “Nothing to say now, asteío korítsi? No jokes?”
Rage, white and hot and all-encompassing, overtook Cyn as she grabbed two handfuls of Valentina’s hair where it hung over her shoulders and pulled while screaming, “Let me out of here, you crazy bitch!”
Valentina screamed in pain as Cyn pulled with all her might, trying to flip the bitch over like she’d seen people do on TV. But, of course that didn’t work and Laurent was immediately on the scene, pulling her fingers from her captor’s tresses and yelling, “Let go!”
No sooner did he have her hands free of hair than Valentina flew around her chair, slapped Cynthia across the face, and seethed, “You little skýla, you will pay for that.”
Grabbing a handful of Cyn’s hair at the crown and pulling until they were nose-to-nose, Valentina continued through gritted teeth, “I was going to let you walk out of here. Now, you will sleep and maybe you will wake, maybe not, but one thing is for sure, you will be alone with the rats just as you deserve.”
Before she could argue, Valentina slapped her across the face again, pulled a syringe from her other pocket, and with more force than Cyn knew she was capable of, shoved the needle into her neck. Her vision immediately blurred. Laurent let go of her hands and asked Valentina, “Do you want her in the bed?”
“No, tie her to the chair with the knots to the front and leave the key to the chains with the album.” Snorting like she’d told a joke, the Morticia lookalike added, “That way, if she wakes, she can get loose and try to find her way home.”
Unable to focus, Cynthia gasped in pain when Valentina’s nails bit into her cheeks as the nasty witch once again pulled their faces together and gloated, “Now, you know the truth, run ligo deilós, run away. Roman is mine. If I
cannot have him, no one can.”
With her last conscience thought Cyn slurred, “Would you please speak English, you stupid bitch?”
Chapter Five
“I don’t care if you have to knock on every door between here and Istanbul. You will find Cynthia and you will do it now!” His roar shook the tall windows behind him as his cell phone crashed against the far wall, broken pieces raining onto the wood of the library floor.
“I see you have yet to get your temper under control,” Viktor mused as he walked into the room and handed the pacing Roman another phone. “At the rate you are breaking phones, it’s a good thing we own a tech company.”
Turning on his friend like a viper, the General grabbed his Commander by the collar and shook him with all his strength as he bellowed, “Do you think I give a fuck about your damn phones?” Shoving his friend to the side, he railed on, “I can feel her.” He pounded his chest. “She’s angry and scared and confused.” He put his fist through the wall beside the door as he turned to pace back from where he’d just come. “And alone.” Running his hands through his hair, he stopped dead in his tracks and shook his head before murmuring, “And here I stand like a parthéna in a porneío.” Scrubbing his hands over his face, he fell into the huge leather chair behind his desk, letting his head fall forward and whispered, “I have failed, oh great Zeus, I have failed the one I was meant to protect above all others.”
A hand on his shoulder was the only warning Roman got as he was pulled from his chair and launched across the room. Jumping to his feet, he raised his fists and took a fighting stance, looking at his Commander as if for the first time. “What the fu…”
Viktor pointed directly at him and in the tone he’d used to command legions of men in a long forgotten time, barked, “Stand down. You will not disrespect me nor yourself nor the blessing of your mate. Now is not the time for weakness. Now is the time to do as you have done for nearly three millennia. Seek out the enemy and rescue your fýlakas tis kardiás mou. There should be no other thoughts on your mind. Failure is not an option.”
Crossing the room, the Supreme Commander batted Roman’s still raised fist out of the way and wrapped his hand around the back of the General’s neck. Closing the distance between them until their foreheads touched as he’d done before every battle they had ever fought, Viktor ordered, “Clear your mind. Focus on Cynthia. See the world through her eyes.”
Letting go of his neck, the Commander walked towards the door and, with his hand on the knob, said, “And if you ever grab me like that again, I will be the one to separate your head from your shoulders.” The door opened. “Get yourself together and find your mate. I will be in the kitchen awaiting word from Nikos and Achilles.”
Roman knew all his comrades were out searching for Cynthia, but it was Nik and Lee he had sent to meet the police where they had found his abandoned limo. Bain, Sal, and Tommy were covering the rest of the area within a fifty-mile radius from the same position. The General wanted to be out searching for her…needed to be out there…needed to be the one to find her, but Viktor had been right when he told him stay put and be ready to race to her side as soon as she was found.
Closing the curtains to shut out the sun streaming through the bank of twelve-foot windows that covered one entire wall of his study, Roman took a seat in what his long-time assistant, Gregorio, called a piece of junk but was still the General’s favorite chair, and tried to clear his mind. Taking deep breaths, he let the stress and tension flow from his body with each exhale. After several long tense seconds of complete silence, in which he feared the worst, Roman worked past her mental blocks to find his beautiful Cynthia was only sleeping.
Wait! No, not asleep…unconscious…
Traversing the light of their connection, the General traveled deeper into her mind, sifting through images and memories all centering around him, and the emotions she felt by simply thinking of him flooded her mind. Technically, according to the rules of their kind, what he was doing was an invasion of her privacy. He was not to delve so deeply into the mind of the keeper of his heart until she knew and understood what they meant to one another. The gods knew he’d been battling himself since she’d turned twenty-one to stay away and stay out of her thoughts, but this time was different. She was in danger. There was no doubt that Viktor, and therefore Zeus, would not punish him for attempting to save his mate’s life. After all, if she ceased to exist, then so did he.
Smiling, despite the situation, at the sheer number of memories and images of him she kept so close to her heart, Roman’s resolution to not only bring Cynthia home safely but to make whoever responsible pay with their lives became even stronger. Whoever had dared to lay a finger on his mate would suffer.
Coming upon the recollection of their latest encounter and the kiss they shared in her office, Roman was helpless to do anything but watch one of the single most poignant events in his very long life unravel in vivid detail. His heart soared at how readily she gave herself over to him. He felt her heart beat in sync with his, felt how much she wanted to be with him in all ways, and most of all felt the love growing within her heart that she fought so very hard to deny. Opening his eyes and staring into the light of the embers glowing in the hearth, the General vowed right then and there to tell Cynthia everything, no matter what the consequences, as soon as he had her back in his arms. It was long past time to let her know of their future together.
Once again letting his eyes slide shut, he shut the door on the memory of their kiss and flipped through the next several hours of her evening and the next day, until finally reaching images of Laurent. He saw the limo through her eyes and felt her excitement growing at the prospect of dinner alone with him. The taste of champagne as she took a sip hit his tongue, closely followed by the sting of something bitter and medicinal biting at his taste buds. Roman’s muscles were immediately heavy and his breathing sluggish as his vision blurred in and out of focus, reliving what Cynthia had gone through.
He felt how hard she fought against the effects of the drug and was once again astounded at her strength and resolve. The keeper of his heart was amazing; a true match for him in every way. His fists clenched and his knuckles ached as he not only watched but felt her beat against the windows and yell for help. Roman literally rubbed his eyes and took several deep breaths as Cynthia’s vision blurred to mere shadows and her breathing became labored.
He could see the glow of the dome light in the ceiling of the limo and hear the door open but could only make out shadows of the person who entered the back seat and spoke to his mate. Flashes of an old television show he’d seen Nik and Sal watching many years back flew across Cynthia’s mind with one character, a tall, thin, cartoonish female vampire, taking center stage. None of it made any sense but one thing was for certain, it meant something to his mate and was the clue he needed to find her.
Pushing the vision he didn’t understand aside, as well as the burning rage Cynthia was experiencing while being taunted by the distorted voice of her captor, the General used the extraordinary senses given to him upon his rebirth to zero in on the person who dared to threaten his mate. Brief glimpses and tiny bits of what was being said kept surfacing, but the effects of the drugs on Cynthia’s mind were just too strong. Soon, all he saw was darkness and knew that just like now, his mate had succumbed to whatever sedative she’d been given.
Rushing ahead, he found Cynthia awake and sitting in a chair, looking at her surroundings. He cringed at the memory of the stench she’d been made to endure and the images of garbage and refuse left by squatters. His anger became almost uncontrollable at her revulsion of the rats skittering in the shadows before her.
Following where her memories led, Roman caught sight of the pieces of cardboard strewn about and had to pause the images flowing so freely through his mind. Using his preternatural senses, the General zoomed in on what most would consider trash and then on the window high on the wall that Cynthia was wondering if she could fit through. The view
he saw had the General up and running for the door even before his eyes were all the way open.
As he tore through the house heading for the front door, he bellowed, “I found her!”
“Where?” Came the voices of Viktor and Katarina, the Commander’s fýlakas tis kardiás mou, from the kitchen.
Grabbing his keys off the table in the foyer and throwing the door opened with such force he heard it hit the wall, he yelled over his shoulder, “The abandoned factory past Bellevue. Call Nik and Lee. Tell them to meet me there.” Jumping into the waiting SUV, he drove away without an answer, knowing his old friend would do as he had asked.
Driving so fast the landscape around him became a blur of brown and green, Roman was now sure the kidnapping was perpetrated by an acquaintance. Someone close enough to his inner circle who knew how much Cynthia meant to him and also the location of an abandoned Katsaros Industries factory. They also were privy to his private schedule, which narrowed the suspects down to less than twelve people—and six of them he called brother.
Trying to piece together the facts as he sailed over the countryside, Roman kept coming back to the closed KI property. It was the one thing that didn’t fit. Very rarely did the company that he and his comrades owned close any property without repurposing it and deeding it over to the surrounding community, but in the case of the Bellevue plant, there was no community left to give the building and land to. A fire of unknown origin had swept across the entire area, burning out all the residents and leaving nothing more than a ghost town after all the insurance claims were paid. No one chose to rebuild. They all moved away. So, the Kings had taken special care to buy up all the land and have a very special magical acquaintance of theirs place a barrier around the two-hundred-and-fifty-acre area that made any humans who entered feel uneasy and the immediate need to leave.
So why take Cynthia there? Why take her at all? If whoever had done this was as close to him as he suspected, then that person would know that he would die before he let anything happen to the keeper of his heart. They would also know that without her, his days were numbered. The time of his three-thousandth year was less than twelve months away and without the love and bond of his mate, Roman Marinos would cease to exist. If their end goal was to kill him, then why not just come after him? Why Cynthia and why now?