Regent paused, his mouth agape and his eyes concerned. “It shouldn’t hurt you. I’m praying for your soul.”
“Please don’t. How dare you try to interfere with my soul? I like it just the way it is. Why did you have to come to Paris? You people! You interfering, worthless cops. Go away, and leave us alone here.”
“I’m very sorry, Morana,” Regent said.
“I’ve had enough of all of you,” she said, pushing to her feet and causing the metal-backed chair to clatter to the ground. Then she marched off, leaving everyone in the café watching her go.
“What just happened?” Regent asked, confusion written on his face.
“We can’t expect to change her. If she doesn’t want to be in our lives, we’ll have to leave her alone.”
“But—” Regent closed his eyes for a fraction of a second. “She’s our sister.”
Jess lowered her head. “I think she put the moves on Britt just to show us that she’s not like us. She is what she is. It might be too late for any salvation, any hope of repairing her. She’s damned, and she’s dangerous.”
“I’m not giving up on her,” Regent said gently.
“Of course, you’re not, dearest,” Jess said and patted his hand. “I’d be shocked if you said anything else.”
“Hey, people,” Sampson called as he strode up the sidewalk, unaware of what had just taken place. “Have you ordered yet?”
He paused and looked at each of them in turn. “Who died?”
Jess quietly filled him in.
Sampson’s cynical expression told them he’d expected as much from Morana. “It was bound to happen sooner or later.”
“She’s a challenge,” Regent said. “But given time, we can help her understand our family dynamic.”
Jess wanted to argue that point, but rather than upset him anymore, she maintained a steely form of silence that only a vampire could pull off. She hated seeing the dark side of her sister, her mirror image, because she saw herself in Morana in more ways than she cared to think about. And Regent had had mountains of patience for her, too.
When they ordered, Jess asked for a glass of wine. She wouldn’t drink any, but she often did that to allay the curiosity of other patrons.
“Did you find anything at the museum?” Sampson asked Regent after their meal, surprising Jess that he knew what her brother had been up to.
“The most surprising thing was finding Jess in a fog, in a little room in the Louvre, staring at the ceiling as if she was transfixed. I had to physically drag her out of there.”
“That’s very odd,” Sampson said, shoving his glasses onto his head. “I really must check that out. I know we need to find the raven symbol, but I think this room’s effect on Jess is of bigger concern. What if you find something like that elsewhere in the city? You’d be vulnerable.”
“I was vulnerable,” she admitted, staring at her hands.
“Next time you go searching at the Louvre, don’t go alone. It’s not safe,” Regent said.
Jess made a face. This wasn’t about her. Regent was the one she was worried about. “I’m quite capable of looking after myself, for heaven’s sake. And, of course, I won’t go into that room again.”
“But what if there are other rooms in the Louvre that affect you like that?” Sampson said.
Regent took the last bite of his pasta and pushed his plate away, wiping his mouth with his napkin. “I almost forgot to mention, I saw Captain Lafontaine at the museum earlier today. She didn’t spot me because she was in conversation with a tall, dark-haired man.”
Jess described Vlad’s features to her brother because after his description, the vampire instantly came to mind.
“Could be him,” Regent said. “Why? Who is Vlad? The name certainly doesn’t thrill me.”
“He’s a vampire, though he says he’s not related to the ‘Vlad’ of the impaler lineage,” Jess said. “I wonder why he was in the Louvre?”
MORANA HAD WALKED halfway across the city before she slowed her pace. What the hell was up with her? She had no interest in her sister’s mate, but his smug attitude toward her meant he needed to be taught a lesson. He was lucky she hadn’t kicked his ass at that café, after the way he’d treated her. So why had Regent’s shocked expression stuck in her gut?
She was angry because they were bringing too much attention to her being a vampire in the workplace. Then there was Diesel. He’d been her doormat since day one, but ever since Jess had arrived, he seemed to be growing a backbone. She didn’t like that one bit. She needed him malleable.
Knowing that Sinclair knew more about her biological parents than he’d ever admitted to her had also pissed her off. How many more secrets had he been keeping from her? Things were about to change in that department. From now on, she was getting answers, or else. And the first thing she needed to know was how he’d created the drug that satiated her vampiric appetite. She wanted that formula.
Having a priest for a brother and a sister who looked exactly like her changed too much of her known world. It had been hard enough to handle her darkest emotions lately because Sinclair had been growing stingy with the potion that kept her calm. She blamed Jess and Regent, and Sinclair for that matter. Because with all the turmoil finding her new family had brought, she needed the potion more often, not less.
Chapter Twelve
JESS JUMPED OUT of the shower and dashed for the ringing phone. Britt was on the sofa next to the phone, but he didn’t answer it. In fact, his gaze didn’t even flick her way when she ran toward him.
When a roar from a crowd sounded on the television and he smiled, she knew why he’d been distracted—he was watching English football.
“Hello,” she said while tipping her head to see the score of the soccer game. He’d PVR’d it yesterday.
“Bonjour, Jess, it’s Veronique. I haven’t seen you or Britt for a while, and I thought it might be nice if I called without announcing a dead body for a change.”
“Not a problem, Veronique. We’ve been working at being tourists and staying out of police business. In fact, Britt is watching a soccer game right now.”
“The game that played yesterday?”
“I think so. He PVRs them all the time and watches them later. It is the only thing he really likes on television.” She hesitated and waited for Veronique to say something equally mundane, but there was silence at the other end of the line.
“Anything wrong?” Jess asked.
“No. No . . .”
Jess’s hackles went up. “Something’s wrong, Vee. What is it?”
“Nothing at all, really,” she said, sounding more nervous than anything. Suddenly, Jess realized Veronique didn’t want to say anything over the phone.
“Want to get together for a coffee?” Jess asked, as if she could actually imbibe the hot liquid.
“That would be great,” Veronique said, relief in her voice.
“Where?”
“How about that place Britt and I met for coffee once?”
Veronique hadn’t given away the location, and that made Jess instantly suspicious. Was her phone bugged? Was Veronique in trouble? Had she been caught fraternizing with vampires, and her superiors didn’t like it?
“See you in ten,” Jess said and hung up. “Britt, I hate to interrupt the game, but can you watch it later? Veronique just called. Something’s wrong.”
He instantly grabbed the remote, flicked off the TV, and was on his feet in two seconds flat. “Any idea what the problem is?” He ran his hands through his hair to tidy it.
“I don’t know. She sounded weird, like she didn’t dare speak freely on the phone. And she asked us to meet her where you and she had coffee one day. Do you remember where that is?”
“I think so,” he said. “It’s out of the way—a real French bistro where tourists don’t normally go.”
They walked toward the bistro as fast as they could in human terms. The streets weren’t as busy tonight as some nights—there were whole section
s where they hadn’t seen a single soul. With determination, they managed to avoid the more crowded areas where tourists liked to congregate at night. Most of the bridges were littered with humans, but there was one that often had less traffic, so they walked toward it, then crossed over and made their way to the bistro Veronique had indicated on the phone.
“It’s this way,” Britt said, stopping and looking around to get his bearings. “Yes, it’s through that small side street.” He pointed to a shadowed alley, devoid of the usual city streetlamps.
Her hackles went up the second she stepped into the side street. It was dead silent. Or maybe just dead. I didn’t surprise her when two vampires moved in on them. In fact, she looked forward to it.
Without speaking, she and Britt immediately took their stances, back to back. They were ready to take on whatever came at them.
The vampires wore black motorcycle facemasks imprinted with skulls, and while the lead one approached Jess, he pulled a cleaver out from under his jacket.
Her attacker’s face might be hidden, but his eyes were stark and calculating.
Game on!
The vampire made the first move—running full out and slicing that large hunk of metal at her head.
She ducked just as the cleaver whizzed over her. That put her in the right position to punch hard enough to make a human’s spleen explode.
He merely grunted as the air whooshed out of him. It didn’t stall him for long.
Bloodshot eyes burned into her, luring her in order to make her his.
“Jess!” Britt shouted. “Fight!”
She snapped out of it and turned on the evil bastard who’d almost gained control of her. She dove this time, flipping over him and leaving him swinging that frigging meat cleaver wild. Before he spun around, she kicked the cleaver and knocked it out of his hand.
It clanged onto the sidewalk and slid out of reach.
Now it was just between them—hand-to-hand combat. No weapons necessary.
She’d missed this type of skirmish. Not that she’d be foolish enough to drop her guard. Vampires in Europe had skills she’d never encountered before—this fight wouldn’t be easy.
The fact that she’d managed to get the weapon away from him made him roar in anger, and he ripped off the mask and bared his vicious teeth in a warning that he wouldn’t take her alive the next time.
She grinned at him, spiking his anger even more. To hell with the Pact—she’d never take him alive.
From her peripheral vision, she saw that Britt was battling hard, too. Neither of these combatants were an easy take-down, but Britt could handle himself.
Her attacker swung at her. She ducked his massive fist then rammed into him with her shoulder, shoving him backwards. It was another new move for her, and it had worked. This guy had to have her playbook, because prior to that, he’d been able to counter every move she had.
She’d shoved hard enough that he’d lost his balance and landed on his back. He’d barely touched the ground before he recovered, springing back to his feet, angrier than ever. Seething, and with long teeth hyperextended, he readied to rip her flesh from bone.
His teeth were long and aged. His skin looked like gray rawhide clinging to sharp bones beneath. She’d probably never fought a vampire of this age before, and somewhere deep down, she still felt his magnetic pull.
From behind her she heard Britt unsheathe his silver stake. Good thing he insisted on carrying it even though they weren’t supposed to fight vampires in Paris.
“You might want to kiss your ass goodbye,” she said to her attacker, not sure if he spoke English. “You asked for this, and now you’re going to get it.”
The vampire’s enhanced voice cursed her. Yeah, he understood. When he showed his massive eyeteeth again, she had to fight against the nearly debilitating need to bow down to him. Had he seen her hesitation?
His eyes were dead-cold and sharp. There was no doubt he intended to do everything in his power to kill her.
It was kill or be killed tonight. Damn, it felt good.
They continued to battle. So far, Jess had held her ground. She’d used every tactic she had, but since the vampire was ready for each of her regular moves, she had to up her game on the fly.
She ran at him, somersaulted in the air, and landed on his shoulders. That caught him off guard.
She thought she’d actually gotten the better of him until he reached up and drove his massive fingernails into her thighs. Ancient spikes burned into her flesh, tearing and opening her legs viciously.
She managed to push past the pain in order to maintain a vice-grip on his neck with her legs tightening to bone-cracking status. It was a long shot, but she wrenched her body backward into midair to try to topple him. Either she’d gain control, or he’d fall on her and maybe take the advantage.
Before his body could crush hers, she twisted sideways and managed to roll out of his way so he took the brunt of the impact. That two-second window allowed her to twist her legs sharply to the side and snap his neck.
Broken neck or not, he could still come back from that. So she got to her feet and searched for anything she could use. The cleaver wasn’t close, but she spotted a makeshift clothesline from the second-story apartment building spanning the alley. Jess climbed quickly, ripped off a steel rod, jumped back down, and quickly impaled him through the heart.
Bloodshot eyes flashed open, and he screamed so loudly, the windows in the buildings around them rattled as if there’d been a minor earthquake. Strangely, no humans came to see what had happened. Maybe they knew it wasn’t safe.
When he violently exploded into a cloud of decaying molecules, the backdraft blasted her through the air. She tumbled about twenty feet down the sidewalk before slamming into a wall. Geez!
She’d fought a Goliath of a vampire and had won. The internal struggle against revering him had been the hardest part, but she’d managed to deny his strength. She dragged herself to her feet, brushed herself off, then ran to help Britt.
BRITT HAD HIS vampire cornered between the wall and a large air conditioning unit. It didn’t mean the vamp couldn’t spring up and out of there easily, but he didn’t. Most likely because he thought his opponent was human, and he’d been foolishly playing with his kill before he finished the job—or so he thought. After Jess had taken out her vampire, Britt’s attacker’s demeanor turned vile, and he started fighting like the devil himself.
Britt dodged left and slammed an uppercut into the guy’s gut, after the brute had knocked the stake out of Britt’s hand.
The vamp charged him, driving him backward with his vile, ice-cold breath.
“Cripes! Get some mouthwash,” he said to the beast, while surreptitiously searching for the stake. It was a few feet away. He made his move, but when he bent down to grab it, the beast rushed at him with lightning fast speed.
Not undone yet, Britt used the vampire’s move to his advantage by tumbling between his legs and then springing up behind him. It worked. He got the drop on him. Seconds later, when the vampire spun around, Britt rammed the stake into his heart. The eruption of molecules felt like a mini-nuclear bomb going off. He shielded his eyes while the dust wave hit, nearly sending him backwards onto his posterior. Jess caught him before he landed unceremoniously on his ass on the sidewalk.
He stood, bent forward, and ran a hand through his dusty hair. “Thanks, doll. That was quite the blowback. Never experienced anything like that.”
“Me either. Nor did I expect to be attacked by vampires on our way to meet Veronique. It was almost as if they expected us.”
Jess reached up and brushed a little more vampire soot off his shoulders, then touched her cool lips to his.
It was a victory kiss, but it made him want to ravish her. To hell with meeting Veronique.
He adored her oh-so-hot bod in those leathers. “Just like old times, babe?”
She nodded. “Gets the juices flowing.”
And it made her favorite cop hot for his gor
geous vamp. “Let’s get this meeting with LaFontaine over with, so we can go home and have a shower.” Together he hoped.
A breeze came up, swirling the residual soot away into oblivion.
“The bistro is through here,” Britt said, taking a left.
The café had become a bar at nighttime. People were chatting and drinking wine while a guitarist played music, and a woman sang sultry French songs.
Britt searched the crowd. “I don’t see her.”
“Maybe she’s inside.”
It was elbow to elbow in this crowded cafe. They searched the place thoroughly. Jess even checked the ladies’ room, but Veronique was nowhere to be found.
Finally, they made their way back to the main road, avoiding the small side street they’d used before. Britt dialed her number when they were out of range of the noise.
What if the vampires had found Veronique first? She might be dead. By the expression on Jess’s face, she was thinking the same thing.
The phone rang and rang. His gut took a dip.
“She there?” Jess asked, leaning closer to him and looking at his phone.
“Not yet—she’s not answering.”
“Bonjour,” Veronique said finally at the other end, after more than five rings. Britt’s shoulders relaxed a little, and Jess breathed a sigh of relief.
“Britt? How are you this evening?” she said, sounding curious.
“Fine,” he said, stretching the word out. “You?” He put the phone on speaker.
“Oui. Fine. Is anything wrong?” she asked.
“No. It’s all good here, but we’re waiting for you. Are you almost here?”
“Where? Why are you waiting for me?”
“Wait a minute. Didn’t you call Jess and ask us to meet you at the bistro where you and I had coffee? We just arrived after a scuffle with two of the city’s lower forms of life,” he said.
“I didn’t call you.”
By the tone in her voice, he believed her. But if it hadn’t been her, who had called? “But Jess recognized your voice.” When a man’s voice spoke in Veronique’s apartment, Britt could tell she had put her hand over the speaker to talk to him.
Silenced by the Grave Page 16