A Vampire's Honor (19 page)

I
waited until Gabriel slid Francine into her parking stall between Lola the Lamborghini and a Dodge Viper he called Velma. The silence between us on the drive back from the hospital was strained because Gabriel was brooding about something.

“Why is it that all your cars have names better suited to B-movie actresses from the fifties?” I asked in an effort to break the tension. I certainly didn't want to take this mood of his back to the apartment. God knows the atmosphere up there was sensitive enough with Aleksei opening old wounds while exorcising his past. One slightly unstable vampire with a short fuse was all I could handle right now.

“I liked the era,” Gabriel answered. “Things seemed less complicated back then.”

“Really? No civil rights, no equal rights, substandard health care, and let's not forget raving paranoia generated by McCarthyism.”

“I didn't say it was perfect,” he chided gently. “Just that I liked it.”

“I guess you had to be there.”

“Yes, well, you were.”

“You mean . . . in one of those lives I don't remember?” I stared at him, feeling a sudden dryness in my mouth as he nodded.

If it was his intention to shut me down, he succeeded admirably. I sighed and leaned back on the comfy bench seat. He turned off the engine but kept the key locked so the radio stayed on. Something classical with a piano and violins was playing. It was very soothing, and Gabriel seemed in no hurry to get out of the car. But this could only mean one thing. If we were going to hash out whatever was wrong, then he was going to make me work for it. Which I also took to mean he thought I was somehow at fault. Shit.

“Gabriel?” He turned to look at me, his face highlighted by the soft glow of the dashboard panel's lights. Perfect bone structure complemented by intriguing hollows made the breath catch in my throat. It was like seeing him for the very first time and falling in love with him all over again. Except I hadn't realized I was in love with him then. I put a hand on his arm. “Look, I'm sorry if you feel like I railroaded you into helping Laycee, but it was important.”

“Was it?”

“Of course it was.” If it was important to Laycee, then it was important to me . . . and he knew that. From the other side of the car I heard a grunt and then the soft drumming of his fingers on the steering wheel. I folded my arms, and my irritation began a slow burn. “If you didn't want to do it, you should have said so,” I snapped.

The hand that had been keeping time on the steering wheel flashed out and caught my chin, forcing my head around so he could look at me. His eyes were dark and furious.

Hearing my own voice come out of his mouth was unnerving, to say the least. I had no idea he could imitate me that well. Jerking my chin out of his fingers, I gave him a look of my own. “This is about the stupid consequences, isn't it? You think I'm going to renege when it comes time to pay the piper.”

“Not intentionally.”

I was insulted by his lack of faith in my integrity. Did he really think so little of me? “I gave you my word, Gabriel. Surely that counts for something?”

“Of course it does.” He sighed. “I'm not worried about that.”

“Then what is it?” I snapped. “You've been like a bear with a thorn in its paw ever since we left the hospital.”

“Seldom is our help asked for, at least not so directly or for such selfless reasons. Perhaps this is why words carry more weight with a vampire. Why we do not make promises lightly, nor do we break those promises without good reason.”

“You still could have said no. I wasn't exactly twisting your arm.”
Are you kidding? The guy would stake himself out in Death Valley if you told him you were just thinking of asking for it.

I was pretty sure my inner bitch was exaggerating.

“No, I couldn't,” he said firmly. “Once Laycee asked, I was honor-bound to help her.” He gave me a quirky smile. “My get-out-of-jail-free card lay in her not accepting the terms of my protection, which as Jenna's mother was her right. But—”

“—she didn't get the chance because I butted in and took responsibility for it?” It was a guess, and the correct one.

“Yeah . . . you did.”

“And your honor code or whatever allows me to do this?”

He nodded, his long, silky hair moving over his shoulder. “Anyone who is present can agree.”

“That's a little reckless, isn't it?”

“Most people don't agree until they know what it is they're agreeing to.”

I wanted to ask him what had him so worried, but I was stung by the reproof in his voice. I was on an emotional seesaw, and at that moment I didn't need to deal with anything negative. And I had a sinking feeling I might have overstepped my limits, but my euphoria at seeing my best friend embrace motherhood and wanting to help her protect her child had taken over. So, no, I hadn't given any thought to whatever consequences came with asking Gabriel for his protection. Whatever it cost, in the long run, it would be worth it.

And while a part of me was still reeling from hearing Aleksei's story, another part was recalling the mess I'd been when my dad died. How was the big guy able to survive the devastating loss of his entire family? And that too had played a part in my decision, because nothing was more important than family.

“But, Gabriel, there were only the two of us in the corridor and three in the room,” I pointed out. “Well, three and a half if you count the baby. No one else knows what you agreed to.”

He reached out and caught a curl that had escaped the confines of my ponytail holder and twirled it around his finger. “Do you honestly think the Dark Realm isn't watching the events in our lives?”

Something else I needed to beat myself up about. There was at least one inhabitant watching that I knew of. Perhaps Gabriel and I were his equivalent of a Dark Realm reality TV show. However, the knowledge that I had my very own demon taking a personal interest in our love life was something I tried not to think about.

Maybe you ought to.
I sent mental daggers to my inner bitch.
Okay, okay . . . just saying!

“Well, it's done now,” Gabriel said with a sigh of finality. “She has my blood in her.”

“How does it work exactly? Does a vampire have to sniff her to know she has your protection?” Having had my own share of neck sniffing, it seemed a reasonable assumption to make.

“They'll never have to get that close.”

That was good. No chance of teenage Jenna making out under the bleachers with the new hot guy in class who's also a vampire. “So do you have to, I don't know, check to make sure your protection is still in force?”

He shook his head. “My protection stays until it is removed, but I think, given Laycee's feelings about vampires, it would be better if I had minimal interaction with the child. Obviously I cannot go to your old house, and Laycee will not come to the penthouse, so just make sure you let me know when she plans to visit you at your new apartment. That way I won't accidentally surprise her.”

Despite his concession, he sounded irritated, and I really couldn't blame him. I'd put him in an impossible situation, asking him to do something that might damage a lifelong friendship if he refused. “Gabriel . . . what did I agree to?”

“Nothing we can't deal with when the time comes,” he said with a shrug. “Besides, there is another question that troubles me.”

“Oh, what's that?”

He slid across the bench seat and pulled me into his arms, covering my mouth with his. His kiss was hungry and demanding, and I melted against him as his tongue pushed its way inside my mouth and danced with mine. Velvet softness combined with fiery heat made my body tremble and my head swim. This was Gabriel's way of forgiving me.

Moving his lips from my mouth, he put them next to my ear and whispered, “Who told Laycee she could ask for my protection to begin with?”

I
t was mid-morning, and I was standing in front of the big sliding-glass doors that led onto the terrace. The sky was sullen and overcast, and it had started to rain. Normally I don't mind the rain. Gabriel had once made love to me in a particularly memorable downpour, but night rain is different from the stuff that falls in the day. Don't ask me how or why, it just is. And this rain looked miserable. A miserable morning to suit my equally miserable mood. Not even the mug of coffee I had my hands wrapped around could change my mood.

The sound of throat clearing made me turn around. I was expecting to find Tomas, the only other person who should be awake at this time of day, but instead I was surprised to see Aleksei, who was holding a mug of his own. Someone else who appreciated a good cup of joe as much as I did.

“Are you okay with this?” I asked, gesturing to the glass panel behind me. While the light outside was gray and gloomy, it still was daylight.

“Is okay as long as I don't have any direct contact with the sun.” He took a step past me and looked outside. “No chance of that, I'm thinking.”

Gabriel had had a special film coated on all the glass doors and windows, allowing him to see outside even when the sun was shining. But Gabriel was an Original Vampire who was able to tolerate even direct sunlight for a short while. I didn't want to take any chances with a vampire who was a juvenile three hundred years old. Looping my arm through Aleksei's, I steered him back toward the “living” area of the main room. He plopped himself down in one of the oversized club chairs across from me.

“How is Anasztaizia?” I asked, rearranging the cushions behind me.

“Tomas gave her something to help her sleep.” Ah, one of Tomas's home remedies. The lovely Magyar might be down for the count for a while, but it would be a very therapeutic knockdown. “And Gabriel?” An arched brow accompanied the question.

“In the panic room.” Saying he was comatose in his sarcophagus was too bizarre for me to actually verbalize, even if it was an accurate account of his current state. “I don't think he got much benefit when he had me in there with him.”

“Oh, I think you'd be surprised.” The corner of Aleksei's mouth twitched.

“So why aren't you asleep?” I asked, deciding to let his comment slide.

“Too many memories.”

“I'm so sorry, Aleksei.” I felt a huge responsibility for making him dredge up the past because I wasn't sure it was something he'd been ready to do.

He gave a resigned shrug. “I was going to have to talk about it sooner or later.”

I hesitated before asking, “Are you and Anasztaizia going to be all right?”

The big guy looked at me thoughtfully and then gave a slow nod. “Da, I think so. We both cried a little, held each other, and then cried some more. It was hard for her to hear such things about me.”

“You never told her any of it before now?”

He shook his head. “She never asked about my past.”

No, and why would she? I had problems getting my head around the fact that I was in love with a vampire, but at least I could turn to Anasztaizia when things got too weird. She'd had no one to confide in. No one to explain vampire behavior or customs to her. I could only imagine how hard it must have been dealing with Aleksei during the normal day-to-day course of their relationship. The last thing she needed was any additional drama.

“And you, Rowan,” the big guy said, derailing my train of thought. “Why are you not sleeping?”

“Too much on my mind.”

“Want to tell me about it?”

Let's see . . .

I'd misunderstood Gabriel's reasons for buying me an apartment, followed by a spectacular, if one-sided, quarrel about lingerie. I'd been involved in a car wreck, was subsequently kidnapped, drugged, and threatened with rape and murder, all of which, it turned out, had been orchestrated by an old nemesis of Aleksei's, who was still out to get him. Then I'd listened to a heart-wrenching account of how Aleksei had lost his family to this same vile individual. And if that wasn't enough, I was now feeling guilty at having coerced my boyfriend into giving his protection to my best friend's infant child. An offer that seemed to fill him with resignation more than anything else.

It had been a busy week.

“Living with a vampire can be . . . challenging,” I said, figuring Aleksei had enough on his plate without me adding to it.

“So Anasztaizia is telling me, especially when I don't put down toilet seat.”

“That's not because you're a vampire, Aleksei,” I told him with a laugh.

He looked at me in surprise. “No?”

“No. That's because you're a guy.”

It was good to see him smile, even better to hear his deep, rumbling laugh. The big Russian vampire was many things, but stupid wasn't one of them. He knew there was more going on with me than I was letting on, but he also knew not to push me. Accepting my glib answer and making us both laugh was his way of saying
“It's okay, I understand.”

“So,” he said, settling back against the chair's comfy cushions, “you can't sleep, I can't sleep . . . You want to hear rest of story?”

“Don't you want to wait until Gabriel and Anasztaizia can join us? I'm sure they want to hear it as well.” And it didn't seem right that he should have to relive his nightmares more than once.

“Is not necessary. Gabriel already knows what happened, and Anasztaizia . . .” He paused and ran the flat of his hand across his military-style short hair. “It is better perhaps to tell her only what she wants to hear, and in very small pieces, yes?”

The love he felt for the beautiful woman shone from his eyes like the beacon of a lighthouse, illuminating the gross unfairness of their situation. How could two people love each other so much and have barely any life together? Anasztaizia might live to be eighty or more, but it would be nothing compared to the years Aleksei would continue on without her. “Are you absolutely certain she can't be changed?”

He ran his palm over the bristles that covered his head. “Yes. Humans are born with the marker already in their blood; it is not something they can grow over time. Anasztaizia does not have such a marker.”

“It's so unfair! I wish there was something I could do.”

“Well,” he began slowly, “you could be bridesmaid.”

So not what I was expecting to hear.

“Be . . . what?” I was astounded. No one had ever asked me to be a bridesmaid before. Of course I'd always assumed I'd be one of Laycee's—maid of honor, actually—but I didn't think that was going to happen now. Even if she and Jake did have another ceremony later, it wouldn't feel the same. “Anasztaizia wants me to be a bridesmaid?” Aleksei moved his head in the affirmative. “But . . . why hasn't she asked me?”

“Because she thinks you will say no.”

I was stunned. “Why would she think that?”

“You haven't seen dress you will have to wear.”

I snorted. Anasztaizia had impeccable taste in clothes, and the idea of her choosing a dress horrendous enough to give Aleksei the heebie-jeebies was unimaginable.

“Is like stuff on lemon pudding,” he said with a glum look.

“Lemon pudding?” I asked, thoroughly confused.

“
Da.
White stuff, meringue, only dress is pink.” He leaned toward me and dropped his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “But I am wearing tux. Hugo Boss. Very stylish.”

I confess I was pleasantly surprised. I'd been imaging he'd wear one of his army greatcoats and spiff it up with gold buttons and braided epaulets or something. But matrimonial attire wasn't what I really wanted to know about. “So you're actually going to do this then—get married, I mean?”

“Of course. Anasztaizia wants it, so I want it. And it will make it easier to be in same grave.”

The mug I was holding fell from my fingers. Thankfully Aleksei's lightning-quick reflexes caught it before it hit the low table between us and broke.
Grave?
What was he talking about? Was the big guy intending to sleep on top of Anasztaizia's coffin in the ground? During the day? After she was dead? How was he going to be able to conceal the fact the earth had been disturbed?

“Wouldn't a crypt or mausoleum be more convenient?” I asked faintly.

Now it was his turn to look confused. “For what?”

“For you, of course. I understand you wanting to stay close to Anasztaizia, but you'll still need to eat, and digging your way out from on top of her coffin every night isn't very practical.”

He stared at me for a full minute, or maybe two, before saying, “Trust me, Rowan. Inside I am laughing so hard I am busting gut!”

I frowned and shook my head. One of us was not only on the wrong page, we weren't even reading the same book. “I guess I must have missed something . . .”

I could feel an embarrassed flush heating my cheeks, although I had no idea what I had to be embarrassed about. Aleksei got up and came to sit down next to me. Taking both my hands in his, he stroked my knuckles with the pad of each thumb.

“When my darling Anasztaizia dies,” he explained, “I have asked Gabriel to take my life also. I won't be going anywhere—at least not in this body.” He gave me a few moments to absorb his words before continuing. “Rowan, you love Gabriel very much, yes?” I nodded. “So you understand how I cannot live without Anasztaizia.”

I didn't know if I understood or not. I told myself I did. My nodding head told Aleksei I did. But until I was faced with the reality of it happening, I had no idea how I was going to react. At least I had the next sixty years or so to come to terms with not just losing Anasztaizia, but Aleksei as well.

“I am glad Gabriel found you,” Aleksei continued in a somber voice. “This will be hard on him when time comes, but it will be easier to know I am not leaving him alone.”

As far as I knew, Aleksei was the only human Gabriel had ever turned. Or at least the only one that was still living. And as a vampire Aleksei could only die at the hands of an Original Vampire. I wondered, if he was so concerned about the impact this would have on Gabriel, why he didn't ask Ryiel or maybe another Original Vampire to do the deed?

“Gabriel wouldn't allow it,” Aleksei answered in a low voice, reading my face all too well.

“Of course he wouldn't.” I couldn't say with any certainty if my lack of emotional response was due to incomprehension or was more proof of my waning humanity. In any case, I just nodded like some bizarre toy whose head was attached to the body by a spring.

“Are you okay?” Aleksei asked worriedly as he leaned back to look at me.

He was still holding my hands, so I squeezed his fingers and gave him my most winning smile. “I don't care if I look like a cream puff or meringue. You tell that girl of yours I'd be honored to be a bridesmaid.”

He positively beamed, and that, more than anything else, lifted my mood. “So do you want to hear story?”

I'd be lying if I didn't say I had a vested interest in finding out how such a truly horrible person came to be made a vampire. I also considered that it might be cathartic for Aleksei to share the story of his life with someone he considered a relative stranger.

“Something went wrong, didn't it? Something that prevented you from killing Nikolayev.”

“Not so much a something, more of a someone.”

“Who was it—the count's wife?”

Aleksei shook his head. “No, it was another vampire.”

I frowned. “But if Gabriel was there, why would another vampire be a problem?”

“Kartel is not just another vampire.”

No, he wasn't. He was another Original Vampire. One Gabriel didn't trust, and I could suddenly see how that might be a problem.