by Unknown
Brogan jumped up and started pacing. “Shit!”
The vampyre tried to escape his chair when the man stopped in front of him. Unfortunately, it would mean knocking the mistress over, and that could get him killed.
“Is this the same Malachi who was at the council?” Brogan asked, describing him. When Mathew nodded, he cursed. “Damn it!”
“Flynn, she may not have a clue,” offered Jacques, coming to stand by his side.
“I have to go see her tomorrow and find out what she knows.”
Mathew sat there in silence.
“If he’s doing this, then we’ll have to notify the council,” said Jolie, tapping her finger on her chin. “We will take care of this tomorrow evening.”
The vampyre in the chair didn't move.
“Why can’t you go back to the house, Mathew?”
“They know that I came here to warn you.” He let out the breath that he had been holding. “They will do horrible things to me if I go back. Boris still has spies in the house.”
Jolie looked at her mates before reaching for Chloe. Immediately, the woman appeared in the family room.
“Chloe, please take Mathew into the kitchen and give him some tea to calm him.”
“Yes, Mistress, as you wish.”
Jolie turned to Mathew, unsure if he would indeed leave with the stranger. “Please go with her. I can promise you that she won’t hurt you either. For now, I need to discuss all this with my mates, and we’ll come for you.”
He followed Chloe to the kitchen, his head lowered in fear and panic.
Brogan turned to Jolie. “What now?”
“We’ll stop Malachi and take care of the situation. If the council finds out, well, then we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. We can’t risk he denies it and pulls it off. If we go into council first, we’ll look aggressive, and that will fuel the fears that I’m here to take over.”
Jacques smiled and kissed her on the forehead. “What of Mathew? He is obviously smitten with you.”
“Smitten? Who says that?” asked Brogan, laughing at his mate.
“When you’re my age, you can use any word you like. For the record, I happen to like smitten, it rolls off the tongue.”
Okay, he had a point on both counts.
“What do you think I should do with him?”
“You can’t send him back. We can’t let him be tortured,” said Brogan, flashing back to his own vicious abuse.
“No, he can’t return, and you can’t leave him on his own. Someone, like Malachi, will scoop him up and use him for nefarious reasons.”
“Then, we’re agreed?”
“Oui,” they said in unison. Jolie laughed, taking each of their arms before kissing them on the lips. “Thank you for being understanding.”
“You do realize that we’ll kill him if he touches you,” said Brogan.
“Yes, and it’ll be painful too,” agreed Jacques completely.
“Gentlemen, look at the two beautiful specimens in my bed now. Why would I need another?”
“See, that doesn’t really reassure me,” stated Flynn. “At least you could have said, ‘yes, loves of my life’, or ‘you’re the bosses’,” he teased.
Leading them to the kitchen, she laughed seductively in their heads, and it skimmed down their bodies like silk. When they both inhaled sharply, she was pleased.
She was still the boss.
Mostly.
When they entered the room, Mathew was alone, sitting at the kitchen table and drinking tea from a mug. When he saw them, he put the cup down and stopped moving.
It was very reminiscent of an animal backed into a corner. He was making himself as unobtrusive as possible. Brogan noticed they all did it. This had to be part of the vampyre repertoire of staying safe.
It was good to know.
“Mathew, we’ve decided what to do with you,” Jolie began, sitting beside him at the table.
“Please don’t send me back,” he begged.
“What did she do to you?” asked Jolie quietly. “What has you so afraid of being there?”
He finally built up the courage to look into her eyes. “You know the mercury that she used on her daggers?”
“Oui.”
“She would use it during sex,” he whispered, like it was a dirty word that shouldn’t be said out loud.
That was very telling.
Jolie wanted to weep for the young man.
“She would dip her claws into the mercury, paralyze her partner, and then torture them. She was a sexual sadist. Some of the family actually died during her playtime.”
Jolie dropped her arm around his shoulders to offer him comfort, and he jumped. When the tea spilled, he looked even more panicked.
“Oh, God! I’m s-s-sorry,” he stuttered.
Brogan grabbed a towel and wiped it up. “Hey, it’s okay. It’s only tea. No worries,” he tried to reassure. “I spill things all the time.”
“It’s okay, Mathew,” she said, hugging him to her body. “She’s dead and can’t hurt you anymore.” He nodded, clinging to Jolie as if she was his only chance at safe passage. He may have been almost two hundred, but he was more child-like than an adult.
“We discussed what to do with you,” said Jacques, stepping forward to touch the man’s shoulder.
Mathew looked at them with no emotion in his eyes and still held fast to Jolie.
“We have a room here that you may have if you would like to stay with us,” said Brogan.
Everyone watched the look of pure peace cross his features, right before he buried his face in Jolie’s shoulder.
“Thank you, Mistress and Masters.”
“How about we show you to your new room?” she asked pulling him up from the chair.
He wrapped his arms around her waist and stayed by her side, unwilling to let go. He couldn’t believe they were going to let him stay. Wait until he told Trina and Clariel.
They wouldn’t believe it.
Brogan reached for Jacques. “We’re going to have problems with him. I can already see it on the horizon.”
“Oui, he’s like love struck puppy.”
“Uh huh.”
“Stop it, both of you,” interjected Jolie, laughing in their minds. “I have two mates. I’m not interested in, need, or want three. I’m done.”
Jacques and Brogan laughed.
“Like that was even an option,” Brogan added possessively.
“Agreed,” Jacques said.
Jolie let them go on with their banter, since she really couldn’t blame them. If there was a female vampyre hanging on them, she’d feel the same.
They all stopped in front of the suite which had belonged to Zola and Devin. When Jolie opened the door to show Mathew his new home, he just stood there with a blank look on his face.
“Is something wrong?” asked Jolie gently. “We have other rooms if you don’t like this one. We can let you pick one you would like instead.”
“No, it’s just I didn’t expect a room like this.”
Jolie looked confused. “What did you expect?” She touched his arm, and he focused on her face with his aqua eyes. “Where did you sleep in Delina’s home?” She felt him brace as if expecting a blow.
“Wherever she wanted us. We weren’t allowed our own quarters. She would make us spy on each other and inform her of any indiscretions. We would sleep with whomever she dictated and it changed nightly. When and where was her choice. We had no space of our own.”
That appalled all three of them.
“You are safe now, Mathew. Let me show you your room.”
Jolie walked him through the suite and into his own private bath. He was astounded that it was all his. Jolie watched as he touched the fixtures and counters with awe and pleasure.
“Really? This is all mine?”
“Oui, but I ask one thing in return.”
He paused, expecting just that. He watched her with his cautiously blank face. Mathew had been waiting for the bi
g catch to her kindness.
“I demand unconditional loyalty. If you’re going to call this home yours, then the family goes with it. We respect each other here, putting the welfare of the whole first, especially over our needs.”
That was really it? He couldn’t believe it.
“Mistress, you have it,” he said, bowing to let out a breath of relief.
“Then, this is all yours with nothing more to owe.” She walked him to his balcony, which faced the flower gardens. When he blinked in pure happiness, she was pleased.
“Can I go out there?” he said, pointing to the patio below. “It looks peaceful.”
Jolie patted his cheek. It was very motherly. “Absolutely. You can go anywhere you want in the house, but if it’s a private room, knock first.”
“Thank you, Mistress.” He bowed his head and kissed the inside of her wrist again. “This is more than I ever believed I would ever be graced with.”
She smiled and kissed his cheek, hoping he would heal from the wounds Delina had inflicted on his heart.
“Rest now, Mathew, and if you need anything, Chloe will assist you. We’ll be retiring to our quarters for the night. I hope you find peace here,” she offered, before leaving his company.
Mathew stared out at the twinkling garden and didn't doubt it. “I found everything I ever needed, Mistress,” he whispered into the night.
He finally had a home.
∞ Chapter Twenty-Four ∞
Wednesday
Late Afternoon
Brogan knew something was wrong. He could feel Jolie pressed against his body, but another female was in the room. The perfume was off, but yet familiar.
Reaching with his mind, he scanned his surroundings. It still wasn’t easy, since he was still a little weak from his injuries. There were more than one person there, and that was definitely off.
Rolling to his back, he opened his eyes to see a nine millimeter pointed right at his skull.
Yeah, they were three days past screwed.
For now, he needed to buy them some time. He couldn’t take on his partner, a gun, and the male vampyre in the shadows. Not being injured.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, already pretty sure he knew the answer to that question. It looked like they were about to solve their biggest problem; Jolie, Jacques, and himself.
“Get out of bed slowly, Flynn,” she ordered, backing up.
“Shit, can I at least put my boxers on?” he asked, hoping to stall until Jolie and Jacques woke. They would be awake soon, since he could feel the afternoon turning to dusk.
Once that happened, Malachi and Lily were screwed.
“Yes, but move slowly,” said the male from the shadows of the room. They both watched Brogan slide out from under the white silk sheets, expecting him to do something incredibly stupid.
“Don’t play hero,” Lily warned.
He watched his partner’s face run the length of his naked body. “Problem?” he asked, stalling more as he took in the look of horror.
“What happened to you?” she asked, motioning to the scars which were viciously crisscrossing his body.
He never thought that he’d be happy to be naked, held at gun point, and having a discussion about his body with his partner. He prayed for a little more time to stall.
“A vengeful vampyre,” he said, pulling on his boxers slowly, as he wondered how he would get to his gun beneath the side of the bed.
“I moved it already, Flynn,” she warned, as if reading his mind. “What vampyre?”
“The one I told you had it in for us from Philadelphia. She got her hands on me and tortured me to teach Jolie a lesson.”
“Did it work?” Lily asked sarcastically.
“Now, you’re just being a bitch, and I’m really beginning to hate you as much as that soul stealing bastard you call a mate.” He heard Malachi hiss from the shadows.
“So, you’re aware of our endeavors then.”
“Yeah, we put it together around dawn this morning. You’re lucky. We were coming to kill you this evening after the council approved it.” He watched Lily’s face. “You do know that he has been behind the slayings of all those kids.”
She nodded almost guiltily.
“So, you knew the entire time and let him do it?”
“Yes. I had to see if you figured it out, and then I tried to point it at your mate to get you off track. We both know how that worked out.”
“Why, Lily? You’re a cop,” asked Brogan, sitting in the chair that Lily had arranged for him. He would have preferred to stay on his feet, but then his partner would have known that. He only prayed that when she shot him, his mates were right about him being closer to their species than his.
His life was going to depend on it, since he couldn’t let them go after Jolie and Jacques.
“I’m his mate first,” she admitted, gazing over at the shadows.
“Enough, Lily. I don’t want you telling them more,” Malachi said, still in the corner.
Brogan wanted to slap some sense into Lily. “That is complete and utter bullshit,” he said, reaching for Jacques and Jolie. He didn't know how much time they had left until death released them yet.
“He’s my mate,” she offered again.
“I would have turned on them if I found out that was what they were doing.” He pointed at his mates. “He’s killing children! These are babies from cribs and their mother’s arms.”
“I’ve been with Malachi for two hundred years, Flynn. I’ve only been a cop for ten. Trust me when I say perspective changes over the centuries.”
“Priorities, Detective,” said Malachi, smiling with pride at his mate’s loyalty. It took quite a few years to get her to bend to his will, but now it was a given.
“Well, since you plan on killing us anyway, mind telling me why?”
Malachi paused as if to think. “I will humor you until they wake. I was part of the Dubois society. You could say that I played a big role. I was the guardian to the primus.”
“Well hell.”
“Yes, Detective, it was, but we learned through the arts of Voodoo how to take the soul and retain its power for a limited time. Children have untapped energy, and that is the reason we use their souls. They’re new to the world, pure, and clean.”
“You’re a filthy animal,” hissed Brogan through clenched teeth, as he gave his partner a disgusted glare.
“I am sure you feel that way, but we were forced to do this. When you and your mates arrived, I knew that she would take over the council, and I would have no choice but to bow to her. I don’t bow to women, I find it… distasteful.”
“So, this was all about getting power and control over her?”
“Yes.”
He stared at Lily and shook his head. His partner had saddled herself with one hell of a choice in mates. He was a certifiable wackjob.
Suddenly, he could feel Jacques slowly waking, and he sent him a silent warning.
“Jacques, Malachi is here to kill us. I can’t get to him, since my partner has me at gunpoint.”
“Oui, I will warn Jolie. Try and keep him busy.”
“Why, Lily?” He knew how to draw their attention. By standing, he towered over her and drew all their focus.
Lily lifted the gun and pointed it right at his heart. “Sit, Flynn. I don’t want to kill you.”
“He’s going to kill me anyway,” said Brogan, pointing at her mate. “So, I prefer to stand and face my murderers.”
She backed up to stand next to Malachi. “Can’t we let him live? He’s a good cop, and he’s a trained guardian.”
“No, he’s her mate. The second we kill her, Flynn will come for us.”
Lily simply sighed and lifted the gun again.
Brogan opened his mind to Jolie and Jacques, who were now awake, hoping they had a plan.
“What do we do?” he asked silently
“We need to surprise him,” said Jolie. “Jacques you have to pretend you’re asleep. You’
ll be our ace in the hole. Since Malachi was a guardian, you’ll have to take him out. I’ll handle that fluff brained idiot holding my man at gunpoint.”
Had the situation not been dire, both men would have laughed at her terminology.
“Jolie, don’t do anything dangerous.”
Her laughter brushed their bodies erotically.
She breathed in deeply, alerting Malachi and Lily that she had pulled away from the death’s grip. She slowly sat up and glared at Malachi, and then Lily who was pointing a gun at her mate. “You dare come to my home and threaten me and my mates?”
“You were coming to ours to kill us.”
“Oui, but I wouldn’t have come into your home until I addressed it to council.”
Okay, so that was a big fat lie, but why instigate them with the truth?
“This just goes to show the poor manners present in the younger vampyres.” She slid her long legs off the bed and stood to face them.
“Don’t move, Jolie,” warned Lily, pointing the gun at Brogan. She wanted there to be no doubt that she would pull the trigger.
Jolie ignored her. “Excuse me? You don’t get to call me by my given name. I’m eight hundred years old and deserve the respect I’ve earned. You’re children compared to me, and what I’ve lived through.” Energy vibrated from her body. “The last person who threatened my mate had a very untimely ending to his life. I suggest you think about that,” she said, eyes flicking to Flynn, as she moved closer to him. If Jolie could get by his side, she could keep him safe.
“Lily, you’re making a mistake,” said Brogan. “Think this through. Council will figure this all out, and they’ll come for you.”
“She would kill us,” said Lily, stepping behind her mate, as if she could gain his protection. The entire time, the damn gun never left his chest.
Brogan argued with her, “She’s kind, loving, and wouldn’t kill unless provoked.”
Lily looked doubtfully at the vampyre.
“Well, right now I’m rightfully provoked,” said Jolie angrily. She was weak from the death and knew that she wouldn’t be able to subdue Malachi without feeding.