Mallory jerked away from him when someone pounded on the door.
While he answered the door, she slipped into the bedroom. Sank down on the mattress and forced herself to take several deep breaths.
She didn’t have a clue what she’d been about to do. Except maybe taste him again. Let him taste her.
Mallory jerked the tunic around herself, then tied the silk scarf as tightly around her waist as she could. From there on out, she was only wearing the vestis that buttoned. It would be best just to make sure neither of them was tempted again. She stretched out on the mattress and listened to the voices coming from the sitting area. The words had gotten louder, more determined.
Something had happened. She rolled off the bed and opened the door a crack, watching Aodhan and the head of Aodhan’s personal staff, Phelan, as they discussed a note clutched in Aodhan’s hands.
Aodhan was cursing. Then he crumbled the note in his fist. “Has the Jareth Equan been notified?”
“Not yet. I figured it was best to speak with you. Matthuin Lycurgus has also gone missing. No signs of him. We need to assume he’s been compromised.”
“And they’ve found no signs of who took the females?”
She heard the anger in Aodhan’s voice, saw the tension that held his body. It was different from the tension that had held him just moments earlier. Now, he looked angry and worried. For whom? Had something happened to his sister? To someone else she knew? Her cousins or Mickey?
Mallory stepped into the sitting area. “What’s going on? My family?”
Aodhan’s head jerked up, and he stared at her. “No, it does not involve your family, kitten.”
“Then what?”
“The chief healer and her daughter, Rydere’s heir, have been abducted.” And he was worried. She could sense it.
“What? Shouldn’t you call the police or FBI or something?” Who would they call? FBI for vampires? It probably didn’t exist.
He shot her a pointed look. Mallory got it then—she was no doubt looking at what passed as the cops for the Dardaptoans. Why wouldn’t that be his role around here? Big, muscled, tough, not afraid of anything—he was perfect for the role of protector.
“For several reasons. Two that we can readily think of. Healers of our Kind are exceedingly rare and extremely valuable. That Kindara is a female healer and is chief healer for Dardanos just increases her value to the right people. Phelan, pull every available security officer except those assigned to the new Rajnis. If we act quickly, maybe we can find them. Fast.”
23
Hours came and went. Nothing. Not a word. Mallory waited for him. She hadn’t intended to, but it had just happened. She tried to tell herself it was worry for the two missing women, but it wasn’t all that. It was worry for him.
Exhaustion radiated from him. And defeat. They hadn’t found them, then. Mallory pushed the covers back and sat up. He jerked, startled. “I didn’t know you were still awake.”
“I was worried. Anything?”
“Two sets of footprints, obviously male. The abandoned car. We think they took them in opposite directions. Just carried them away. Jierra’s going to be terrified. Kindara, not so much. She’s more likely to fight her way free, to get back to her daughter. But Jierra…she’s extremely naïve.”
“I’m sorry. I was hoping…do you think you will find them?” The idea of two women she’d met missing, taken by men she knew nothing of—it had her shivering. And afraid. Afraid for them and for what might be coming next.
“I don’t know. We’ve had healers abducted before and never returned. Theo’s aunt disappeared a week after his mother died. We think the Lupoiux took her. That was over fifty years ago. No signs of her since. Dardaptoan healers are sought out for so many reasons. And in other worlds, they are often kept as pets for the amusement of others. The healing gift is not always a gift.”
“You don’t think my grandfather has anything to do with this, do you?” Mallory hadn’t wanted to ask the question, but the thought had plagued her for hours.
“I hope to three hells not. I don’t think Kindara could handle it.” He pulled his vestis over his head and tossed it toward the bathroom. His pardus followed.
Mallory forced herself to not look down. His body was large and toned and strong. He was really a beautiful vampire, almost perfectly formed. She wanted to touch him, to run her fingers along his shoulder blades and down the muscles of his chest. Every part of him was designed for speed or strength. Beautiful.
“I have warriors searching the hills. If they are still nearby, we’ll find them. I’m going to rest for a few hours, then I’m joining the teams. I only came back to speak with Theo. To see if he could get any vision. Sleep next to my female for a few hours before going back out. Cormac and Naeron are out looking now.”
Mallory still wasn’t sure she believed in precognition, but Mickey seemed to believe in Theo’s abilities. “And did he?”
“Only that there is clear danger to both Kindara and her daughter, but the dangers are not from the same sources. He didn’t see the outcomes. Just that it means another change for everyone. I hate it when he gets that way. His visions are so damned cryptic.” He sank onto the bed beside her, then stretched out beneath the blankets. Mallory scooted over quickly. She knew she touched him while they slept, but it was different when they were in bed and awake. “Cormac is furious, of course. And terrified. They are the closest family he has, and he will stop at nothing to find them. I just hope we find them quickly. I don’t think the two of them can deal with any more trauma.”
“What do you mean?”
He hesitated. His expression closed. “Forget I said anything. All that matters is finding them quickly.”
“Why do you not want to tell me?”
His sigh startled her. He flipped on his side to face her, then laced a hand through the hair that hung loose to her shoulders. “Kindara was held captive by your grandfather, kitten. And Jierra was born in his laboratory. It has left scars upon both of them. If they are his victims again, I am not certain that Kindara will be able to survive again. She still bears the scars from his torture.”
Mallory swallowed the bile that rose at his words. He was quiet and sincere, and she knew he meant it. Her grandfather had done what he was accused of, and these Dardaptoan people were still dealing with the consequences of the old bastard’s actions. What shocked her the most was that it didn’t shock her to hear he’d done things to so many people. “Why don’t you just find him and kill him?”
Aodhan’s eyes widened. “You can say that so easily?”
“Yes. He’s a monster; my entire family knows it. When…when I was attacked, he told me it was my fault for being there in the first place. The man who did it was angry at my grandfather for something. The whole time he was hurting me he was screaming about my grandfather. His last words to me were that I was just payback. And that others were coming—for the rest of us. I lay there thinking they were going after my sisters and cousins until I passed out from blood loss. They say it’s a miracle I lived.”
Aodhan’s curse was harsh, but his hands gentle when he pulled her against him. He cradled her head against his chest for a moment. She listened to his heartbeat, just for one minute. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry that bastard hurt you and I wasn’t there to kill him for you. I’m sorry I took you, hurt you, scared you. All of it. I shouldn’t have done it. I know I shouldn’t have. But…I can’t regret it. I can’t regret finding you. I know it’s weak of me, but I can’t help it. You were meant for me, and the goddess in her infinite wisdom knew it at the moment of my birth. How can I deny what a goddess did? I couldn’t leave you behind and just forget I’d found you. I just couldn’t. I was not strong enough.”
Mallory dropped her head to his chest. “I don’t know. Do I believe you think this is real? Yes. But…”
“But?”
“I don’t know what happens next.”
“I’m asking you to figure it out. Before I lose
what control I have left. It’s up to you, Mallory. The choice is yours. I’m just asking that you not hurt us both.”
And that was the heart of the matter. She didn’t know what she wanted. Or what she was supposed to do now.
24
Mallory still hadn’t figured it out. They’d spoken to each other very little since he’d left the bed and taken the couch.
It had felt different, having him not there when the nightmares came. She had gotten used to his arms around her, fighting the memories of things she didn’t want to remember. She’d missed his warmth, for another thing. And his arms around her.
He hadn’t touched her since. He had barely spoken to her. She tried to tell herself it was because he was busy heading the search for Kindara and her daughter. But she knew the truth—he was hurting.
Because of her. Because of the barrier between them that she just wasn’t ready to take down yet.
Relationships with men weren’t exactly her strong suit. Even before the attack when she was twenty-one, she’d struggled to understand the whole guy-girl dichotomy. Add in that the guy in this relationship was responsible for one of the biggest changes in her life, and was it any wonder she was so damned confused?
She hated this, hated being completely out of control of her life. She kicked another stone, then another, wanting nothing more than to release all of her pent-up frustration.
He honestly thought she was just supposed to say, “Ok, I’m a vampire now, where’s my mate?” Or go along with it because her sister and her cousins apparently didn’t have the sexual hang-ups she did.
She’d caught her sister in a hot kiss with Theo an hour earlier.
Her sister’s hands had been in the man’s pants and his hands had been just as busy under Mickey’s shirt. Mickey. Her sister, who’d never been with a man before, had been pawing at Theo like she was starving.
It hadn’t looked much different from what she’d seen Emily doing with Rydere.
Even Joselyn had softened toward Cormac, becoming almost protective of him since his sister’s disappearance. No, only Mallory was the hold-out on accepting this otherness he’d forced on her.
The odd one out, again.
She dropped to a bench just outside the portico, her thoughts more on Aodhan then the people around her. She was getting accustomed to the guards who stood watching her every move. They weren’t much different than the security officers her brother and uncle insisted surround the Taniss family at all times. She was even getting used to the stares of the other Dardaptoans when she passed.
They all knew she was a Taniss, and Taniss was synonymous with evil.
She was the boogey man, after all.
Grandfather was evil; she knew that.
Hurting others was wrong. Period. Yet Grandfather had hurt so many. His actions had led to her being raped. His actions had led to her being abducted. When would she stop paying for the things her grandfather had done?
She hated this. Hated being forced into anything, and with Mickey and Emily wanting to stay in Dardanos, that was exactly how she felt.
Helpless and defeated.
Mallory cursed, once what she was thinking sank in.
She was neither helpless nor defeated, and it was time she stopped acting like it. She would not be a victim any longer.
The choice was hers. Her family would not force her to stay here after the lab was built; all she had to do was tell the rest of the family that she wanted out, and nothing would stop them from seeing she got what she needed. Aodhan had told her that the decision was hers. She just had to decide what it was she actually wanted.
It was time to finally think of her options. She could stay long enough to get the lab running, which, with the way the Taniss family moved, would be around nine months to a year. By that point, she’d surely have a handle on this Dardaptoan lifestyle.
She could stay and run the lab indefinitely, surrounded by Dardaptoans, and visit her family when she could.
She couldn’t leave Mickey and Emily and probably Joselyn, with the way Joselyn had been eyeing her vampire lately behind, though. They’d been a foursome since the moment Mickey and Joselyn had graduated high school and joined her and Emily at the university for their freshman year and her and Emily’s junior.
Mallory was staying exactly where she was.
The only uncertainty that remained in her mind was her vampire man. He was the biggest wrench in any plans she made.
They couldn’t continue sharing a suite, a bed. She’d eventually give into what he wanted. It was inevitable. She already felt the pull whenever he was near.
There was also the whole blood problem. He called it drinking, which was exactly what it was.
She thought she’d needed to since yesterday morning, but he’d been so scarce that it hadn’t been an option for her. She couldn’t even think about doing it with anyone other than him. Especially a man. The mere thought of that had her practically hysterical. A part of her thought he could be withholding blood from her deliberately, but she didn’t think so.
She didn’t think he would be that way. It seemed so manipulative, and she didn’t think that was his way. But then again, she didn’t know him that well when it counted.
He had been willing to kill her, after all.
She was just to supposed to forgive that and fall in love with him—for what amounted to eternity.
She didn’t see that happening. But what she did see for her future—Mallory didn’t have a flipping clue. And that scared her most of all.
25
Aodhan read the note again with a mix of fury and trepidation. He turned toward Cormac, deliberately ignoring the other male’s Rajni. “We have no other options at this point. We cannot kill the bastard, much as I am sure we both wish it. Not now. And especially not by my hand. I’m already having difficulties with my Rajni.”
“No. Don’t suppose you can.”
Cormac was only half listening to him, and Aodhan suspected the little blond Rajni was giving his mind reading friend all kinds of hell inside their private communication path.
“She says to take your Rajni and Rydere’s. Says he’ll listen to them. Especially yours.”
“Well, hells. I don’t exactly like the idea of her returning to her family for any reason. Chances are good she’ll try to stay.” He didn’t want to take her anywhere near her family. It would undo everything he had accomplished so far.
Not that that was a great deal, but the idea that the Tanisses could convince her to stay with them was a definite possibility. Aodhan ran through possible strategies. None were good. “What do we know about this bastard?”
Cormac frowned when his female smacked him with the note from her cousin, then pushed him. She did something with her hands. Aodhan briefly wondered if she was cursing at the both of them.
Spirited, these Taniss females. “He’s the eldest grandson, son of Marshall Taniss. Head of security for all of Taniss Industries’ holdings. Holds an MBA in business, I think. Other than that, not much. He stays out of the limelight as much as possible but is in every photograph we’ve gotten of your Rajni and Rydere’s. From what I understand, he sticks pretty close to the two of them. Guards them extremely closely.”
Exactly what Aodhan had expected.
He’d need to reevaluate his strategy where his female was concerned. Rather than being gentle and kind, maybe he should just tell her the way things were going to be between them. Inform her that she was his and was staying right there beside him forever. No matter what her brother tried to do.
Aodhan couldn’t lose Mallory. The mere thought of it terrified him.
As he left Cormac’s suite and returned to his own, he played that idea over in his mind. He had to discard it. He couldn’t force anything on her, ever again. He just couldn’t. Mallory had to be in charge in this, no matter how impatient he was.
She was pacing around the suite when he entered, dressed in nothing but a large human T-shirt and short red shorts. The sho
rts rested on her thighs and teased him with what lay beneath. She paused to look at him. “What’s happened?”
He handed her the note. “We’ve found them. In a manner of speaking.”
She read the note aloud. “‘Dardaptoan bastards. You took my family from me. Now, I have yours. You want them back, meet me tomorrow at noon. Bring my sisters and my cousins. Then we’ll talk trade. Maybe. Rand Taniss.’ Oh no, he didn’t. That idiot.”
That was not the reaction he had been expecting. “Excuse me? I thought you’d be thrilled. This could be your way home and all.”
“Don’t be stupid. My brother knows where I’m at. And apparently has since days before Kindara and Jierra were abducted. He’d come and get me with one phone call now. I just don’t know what he’s playing at. Rand knows better than this.”
“So do you think Kindara and her daughter are safe?” Worry that they hadn’t been had been utmost in his mind.
She shot him a look that said he was just as idiotic as her brother. “Of course, they are. Rand wouldn’t actually hurt them. He’s very protective of women in general. Always has been overprotective of Mickey, Cass, Becca, Jade, and Joselyn, especially. Me and Em, to some extent. I think it has something to do with our mother and Em’s mother both dying and our fathers being so busy. Rand took it upon himself to keep us safe. Especially after we turned nine or so.”
“What happened then?”
“Someone tried to kidnap Emily and our cousin Marsh when they were walking home from school one day. Rand was following them, with Mickey. He’d gotten her from her kindergarten class. Mitch and I were off on a class field trip. Rand and Marsh managed to chase the kidnappers off, but it still left an impression on all of us.” She dropped to the bed, the note still clutched in her hand. “He wouldn’t have hurt them; I can promise you that. He’s just playing some sort of game after…what you did.”
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