by Unknown
She agreed. “Will you join us, Flynn? Are you feeling up to it with your injuries?”
Brogan took another bite of his sandwich. “I’m just about to full strength again. I don’t hurt when I move, so count me in. When are we leaving for the other house?”
“As soon as you’ve finished eating,” answered Jacques. Then, he dropped the bomb. “I think we should bring Mathew with us.”
“Why?” asked Jolie, thinking of the man’s delicate mind-set. Bringing him there might push him over the edge.
“If we show up without Mathew, they may think nefarious things have happened to him. If they can see him alive and happy, maybe it will ease the transition.”
“I agree with Jacques,” Brogan stated, touching her cheek. “He looks at you like you’re his salvation, and he’ll do anything you ask.”
Jolie knew they were right. “Is this going to be a problem for my mates?” she asked, grinning wickedly.
“No,” answered Jacques calmly.
“We’ll just kill him,” said Brogan, with a straight face as he finished his sandwich.
Jacques nodded in agreement. “You’re a two man show, and we’re the headliners,” he stated.
Jolie kicked him under the table. “You realize that there was a time when I was in charge, right. Oh wait, I still am.”
Both men said nothing, but the looks on their faces said it all.
Jolie knew it was a waste of time, so she reached out to Chloe. After giving her the orders to bring Mathew to them, she focused on her mates.
“Stop scowling. You’ll scare the hell out of him,” she teased.
Brogan went to open his mouth and instead, she kissed him. It seemed to work. When she pulled away, he didn't say a word.
Jolie would have to remember that trick.
They heard him enter.
“Yes, Mistress? You needed me?” he asked, with fear clearly showing on his face and in his voice.
“Please sit down, Mathew,” she said, pointing to the seat across from them at the table. “We’re going to the other house and we want you to come with us.”
Mathew looked like he was ready to bolt and run out the door. “I can’t,” he whispered, cowering back in his chair as if he was being threatened. “Please, I’ll do anything you ask. Just don’t send me back there. I thought I could stay here.” More panic washed over him. “I’ll be better! I’ll do whatever you ask!”
Jacques had to grab his arm to keep him from bolting. The second he made contact, the younger vampyre froze in place.
“Mathew, you misunderstand what I’m asking. You’re never returning there to live. I need you to accompany us. If I go there without you, they may think I’ve harmed you. I need you by our side as proof that I’m not cruel.”
He looked a little calmer. “I can return here and to my room?”
“Yes,” she said, reaching across the table to take his hand. “You’re part of our family and belong with us now.”
“Really?” he asked, clinging to her hand like it was the only lifeline he had back to safety.
“Yes.” Jolie felt the men reaching for her mind and she opened for them.
“We’ll be forced to take him to France,” said Jacques.
“I don’t think he could handle it if we left him behind,” answered Brogan.
Jolie sent them both love and warmth. “He needs us. It’s our duty to heal him. We can’t let him spend his eternity this scared. I can’t do it alone.”
“Oui,” said Jacques. “Count me in.”
“Me too.”
“Then, it’s settled. We’ll take him, Mina, and Chloe,” replied Jolie.
“Yes,” they answered together.
Jolie squeezed Mathew’s hand reassuringly. “We have a few matters to settle yet, but then we will be leaving the United States for a while to return home to France.”
He looked panicked again. “Who will protect me?” He started to push back from the table. “They’ll find me and make me go back there to that house.”
Jolie kept his hand in hers and stood. “Mathew, we would like you to come with us. We can offer you safety if you join us in France.”
He looked nervous and still wary that there was a trick. “I get to go to France? You aren’t going to leave me there, are you?”
Her heart broke for him. Delina really destroyed so many lives, and Jolie was glad she was dead.
“Never. We’ll go, have fun, and relax. There’s so much to see there. Do you like museums?”
He nodded. “I think I do. I’ve never been to one, but I’ve seen them online.”
Jacques put his hand over Jolie’s. “Then, you’re in for a treat. I happen to know all the amazing places that artists hang out. You can watch them while drinking wine. It’ll be fun.”
Brogan jumped in to help. “It’ll be my first time there too, Mathew. We’ll explore together.”
He didn't know what to say. It was almost too good to be true. “Thank you. You don’t know how much this means to me, or how unaccustomed I truly am to kindness like this from the one who owns me.”
She needed to put a stop to thinking like that. “We don’t own you. We’re here to support and protect you. There’s a difference.”
He stared at her.
“I promise,” she offered. “We’ll go and return from Delina’s house, and then France. I promise that we won’t leave you there, and we’ll protect you.”
Mathew was overwhelmed with emotion for his new family. So much so that he lowered his head to their joined hands. “Thank you,” he whispered.
“We need to get going,” Brogan stated
“I’m ready,” Mathew said, standing.
Once in the garage, Mathew wouldn’t let go of her. She had no choice but to sit in the back with the vampyre. Both men gave her a look, and she didn't even need to go into their heads to hear their thoughts.
They weren’t happy another male was that close to her.
Jacques was edgy and Flynn looked scary.
Jolie sent them reassurance that this wouldn’t be forever. As soon as they calmed the man down, he’d assimilate easily into the family.
Neither was buying it.
On the way to the other house, Jacques and Brogan distracted themselves with what needed to be handled before they headed out for Paris.
“What about work?” Jacques asked his mate.
“I’ll take a leave. I’ll make up some excuse about how I’m distraught about my partner going missing,” he said, pulling his Glock and checking the clip and chamber.
The slide of metal against metal had Mathew cowering in his seat.
“Good idea,” Jacques said, declining the offer of a gun from his mate. “I’m good,” he said, flicking his wrist and having a knife slide out into his palm.
“I need one of those,” Brogan said, grinning.
Jolie sat in the back, trying to calm Mathew. Her mates were just being themselves, but it was stirring up the young vampyre. Unfortunately, they may need all those weapons when entering. It was better safe than sorry.
When they pulled up in front of the house, Mathew swallowed as he held onto her hand.
“It’ll be fine, Mathew. My mates will keep you safe. Flynn is very reliable, and Jacques is a trained guardian. Trust us.”
He nodded.
They emptied out of the H2 and crossed the lot. At the front door, Jolie saw it was open. Immediately, the men moved closer to her sides, putting Mathew behind them.
“Something is very wrong,” she said.
“Oui,” said Jacques.
Brogan pulled a gun and pointed it at the floor. “Mathew, stay behind us,” he ordered. “No matter what, don’t step between me and anything that comes at us, are we clear?”
“I understand completely, Detective,” he answered before welcoming the man inside.
Immediately, they were on alert.
“What’s downstairs, Mathew?” asked Jolie, as they wandered through the house.
/> Mathew looked as if someone just shocked him with a cattle prod.
“Mathew, what’s down there?”
He started shaking his head and backing up. He walked squarely into Jacques’s chest, forcing the vampyre to wrap his arms around his shoulders to keep him from bolting out the door.
“Mathew?” Jolie repeated again. “I need to know. Our lives depend on it.”
“That’s where she sent us. It’s Delina’s playroom,” he whispered. “Please, don’t make me go there. Nothing good ever happens down there.”
Jolie touched his cheek, sending calming energy into him. “It’s fine. You’re not being sent there. We’re going to face this together. Take my hand and tell me what we’re going to find.”
“That’s where she would take us when she wanted,” he murmured, closing his eyes before continuing, “to torture us.”
“Torture or sex, Mathew?” asked Jacques, already suspecting the answer.
“Sex was torture with her,” he whispered, his voice hoarse.
Jolie glanced at her mates and the horror was equally shared. She didn't have any choice but to add a little push to her following command.
“You will trust us to keep you safe,” she whispered, brushing her lips against his forehead. She pumped energy into his body so that it wrapped him in a cocoon of peace, hiding the mental order to obey.
He suddenly calmed.
“Trust me, Mathew.”
The young vampyre nodded.
Jolie pulled away and reached for her mates. “There are three vampyres in the basement,” said Jolie. “I can feel them.”
Jacques agreed. “Oui, and two aren’t well, mon amour.”
“What’s the plan?” asked Brogan.
“We go in and face the things that go bump in the night. Please watch Mathew, Flynn. Jacques and I will handle the other vampyre. The two females are close to death. We have to move fast,” she stated.
“The entire house reeks of death,” said Brogan. “It’s very disturbing.”
“Yes, and I think we’re too late for most of the family. Whoever did this has slaughtered quite a few of them.”
“I believe you’re right, mon amour,” answered Jacques honestly.
Jolie stepped toward the doors in the hallway before glancing back at Mathew. “Here?” She watched him swallow and nod.
The men in her life moved into action. Flynn got behind his mate and kept Mathew right beside him. In fact, the man was holding onto one of his belt loops, much like a child.
If anything, he felt for the vampyre.
The simple act of opening the door brought wave after wave of death and blood. Yeah, there were a lot of bodies down there.
All three hissed as fangs descended into their mouths.
Mathew jumped when Brogan glanced over at him. He didn't know what to think. Their human master had fangs like them. That scared and intrigued him at the same time.
Walking into the darkness, they searched for their prey. “The walls are coated with blood, so be careful, mon amours,” she warned.
“What the hell happened here?” Brogan whispered into their minds.
“Something very bad,” she replied, cautiously checking out all the shadows for anything alive. All around them sat piles of ash and still decomposing bodies of their family. Some hung sickly from chains on the wall, while others swirled around their feet in disturbed dust.
“Oh God,” whispered Mathew. “What has he done?”
“Was this Boris, Mathew?” asked Jacques.
He nodded and started to shake more. Brogan placed his hand on his shoulder, pulling him toward his body to help calm him. By wrapping his arm around him in a hug, he offered the man what Jolie promised-protection and safety.
Jolie continued past the dead vampyres, anger bubbling up into her body. It was such a waste of life. Since she knew where they ended up, there was pity and sorrow.
“Damn it!” she muttered.
Mathew recognized some of them. “These were the family members who did not want to go to Malachi,” whispered Mathew. “Boris was eliminating anyone that stood in his way.”
Jolie headed to another room that was sealed off with a steel door. “We have to go in here,” she said, glancing back at Mathew. “What happened in here?”
“Rape.”
The one word said it all.
This was going to end here and now. Touching the door, she could feel the energy. “Someone is using their power to keep us out.
“Can you open it?” asked Brogan.
Jolie did better than that. She touched it, and it exploded in on its hinges.
Yeah, she was pissed off.
All four entered, some with fangs bared. Inside was no better than the mess leading up to it, except there were far more grotesque atrocities. There were vampyres chained to tables with their entrails hanging sickly from disemboweled bodies.
Against one wall, they found Clariel and Trina chained in painful positions. Their broken bodies hung there, bleeding.
Mathew immediately headed toward them, whispering their names. When they didn't answer, he became more vocal.
It drew attention to them.
Jolie felt it before she saw it. Something moved toward them, and her flesh rippled in response. Death was calling its children and wanted to feed.
Suddenly, he attacked, slamming into her body and taking her to the ground. The second he touched her, he howled in pain and leapt from her.
Both mates divided up. Jacques went to her side, pulling her up, and Flynn headed after Mathew.
“Come out, Boris! This is over.”
“I’ll kill you for my master,” he bellowed from the darkness.
Jacques’s flesh tingled from where he had touched Jolie. Something was going on inside her, and it made him nervous. Yet, now wasn’t the time or the place. He needed to help keep her safe.
Mathew reached his friends and touched them. Both women weakly opened their eyes at the contact.
“Mathew,” they whimpered.
“We’re here for you,” he said softly.
“We knew you would save us. Thank you, Master,” they directed at Flynn.
He didn't correct them. Brogan was more worried about how twisted and broken their bodies appeared to be. Releasing Trina from the silver manacles, he carefully laid her on the floor. Touching her chest, he sent some energy into her body. Immediately, she began healing.
Mathew did the same to Clariel, sitting with her in his arms. He stared up at Flynn with tears in his eyes. “I shouldn’t have left them,” he whispered.
Brogan knew what guilt felt like. He lived it a lot lately. Patting the young vampyre on the head, he crouched down to touch Clariel. “It’s okay. We’ve got you.” The second his energy ebbed into her, she began to heal. Her broken bones crackled and knit back together. No longer were they bent in sick positions.
“Yes, Master,” she whispered, closing her eyes.
Flynn’s fangs peeked from beneath his lip as he took a protective stance over the women and Mathew. While his mates took care of the enemy, he’d stand guard.
It was hard to watch the woman he loved in danger, but he swallowed his fear.
He didn't have a choice.
Jolie crept around the room, watching Boris with unblinking eyes. She could see him weighing his options.
“Come out, Boris, so I can peel your skin from your body,” she called in a calm voice.
“If you manage to kill me, my master will avenge me,” he called from the darkness.
Jolie could see him lurking. “Do you mean Malachi and his bitch, Lily?” she paused. “They’re dead, Boris. My mates easily killed them.”
That had his attention.
It also agitated him more.
“You lie!”
Jolie continued, “You killed the vampyres under my protection, Boris. By rights of our people, I can kill you. I won’t torture you, but I will melt the flesh from your skin and send you crying for death.”
It was all it took.
With nothing to lose, he charged out of the shadows at Jolie and she raised her hand to stop him. When he screamed in anger, fighting to be free, it only used up more of his energy. Suddenly, he stopped.
The chanting began, and it filled the room with a mind numbing heat.
Jolie could feel her skin blistering and splitting apart. Boris was using the same spell that the vampyre had used in the alley behind Mambo’s shop. Jolie screamed but held him still, trapped in her web.
Jacques stepped toward his mate, but her energy kept him back. As he watched her skin began to slice open and bleed, there was a sense of helplessness.
Brogan struggled to get to her too. “Jolie, let us help you!” he called.
“No! I’m fine!” She stepped forward, sending her energy slamming into Boris until he began convulsing. Satisfaction filled her as he fell to the floor in a pile of limbs and pain. As his flesh began to bubble and melt from his body, only then did Jolie drop the barrier protecting her mates, Mathew, and the two women.
They rushed her.
When she swayed with energy drain, Jacques scooped her up in his arms. “We need to get out of here,” he stated.
“Mathew! Get Clariel and carry her upstairs,” Brogan ordered. “I’ll get Trina,” he added, lifting the wounded vampyre.
Jolie held onto Jacques. “We can’t help anyone else. This is a travesty.”
No one spoke as they exited Delina’s torture chamber. In the family room, they regrouped, needing to hear what had happened. Someone was going to have to explain this to council, and she knew who it was going to be.
“What happened, Clariel?” Jolie asked softly, even as she hated making the woman relive the atrocities.
“Boris tried to talk the family into leaving and going to Malachi’s society. Some chose to go with him, but Trina and I tried to keep everyone here, knowing that you wouldn’t want us to do that. We knew Mathew had gone to you, and when he didn’t return, we had to believe he was safe.”
Mathew held her tightly.
Clariel took a few cautious breaths before she continued, “Boris came back while we were resting and took us down to Delina’s house of horrors,” she whispered, as the tears fell. “He tortured everyone who opted to stay. Everyone’s dead, and we couldn’t reach you, Mathew.”