Baited Blood (13 page)

“You are not Miriam. Not by a long shot.”

“That’s right. I don’t have her education or own a business.”

Colin shook his head. “You need to stop this jealousy. It’s very unattractive.” He stood up and paced the room, raking a hand through his hair. “Vampire mysteries be damned. Women are the real mysteries. As long as I’ve lived, I’ve never understood them.”

“No,” Madison reassured him. “This isn’t about jealousy or even about Miriam.” She took a deep breath. “All my life,
people
have used me and discarded me. I don’t want that to happen anymore.”

He stopped pacing and turned to her. “What makes you think I’d do that to you?”

“Once you have my body and my blood, what’s to stop you?”

Colin was at a temporary loss for words.

“Then again, you’ve already had my blood, both you and Samuel,” she continued. “He told me you shared the blood those creeps took from me last October with him.” She shot him a disgusted look. “What did you do? Toast my future with vampires with Waterford crystal goblets?”

A slow grin crossed Colin’s face. “It was Baccarat, actually.”

She scowled. “And now you want more.”

“Yes, I do.” His words were blunt with honesty. “And you want it, too. Or at least you did out in the living room.” He took a few more steps, then turned to her, his face screwed up in irritation. “I should have just taken you in the heat of the moment, but I wanted your first time to be special. Stupid me.”

“Mike Notchey thinks I’ve been screwing you all along. Said he can tell by the way you look at me. He didn’t believe me when I told him I wasn’t.”

“So tonight was revenge sex?” Colin stood in front of Madison, looking down at her in disbelief. “You and Notchey having romantic problems of your own, so you’re getting back at him with me?”

“There’s nothing going on between me and Notchey.”

Colin let out a short, dark laugh. “Like hell. Just as he’s watching me, I’m watching him. He wants you in his bed, same as I do.”

“Lucky me to be such a popular girl,” Madison hissed. “Notchey also thinks I’m doing Samuel—that the two of you are sharing me, much as you share Miriam with everyone.”

“Would you stop bringing up that tart’s name!”

The room went silent. Madison stayed curled in the chair like a disgruntled porcupine. Colin flopped down on his back on the bed and stared at the ceiling.

“So,” Colin said, breaking the silence. “What was your plan?” He sat up and fixed his dark eyes on her, the earlier affection gone, though they still smoldered with desire. “After me, were you going to hop into Samuel’s bed—let him also bite and feed off of you? Was that how you were going to teach Notchey a lesson?”

“That’s so unfair.” She uncurled. Swinging her legs to the floor, she stood. “I went to your bed because I wanted to, Colin, no matter what this damn thing says.” She shook the wrist with the bracelet at him. “Mike put doubts about you in my head, yes. Am I worried about being used and dumped? Yes. But I came to you willingly.” She ripped off the bracelet and threw it to the floor. “There. Now there’s nothing to stop you.”

Colin shot off the bed with blinding speed and grabbed the bracelet. Pushing Madison down on the bed, he climbed on top of her, his fangs out and close to her face. “Don’t you ever take this off again. You hear me?”

Frightened by his anger, she nodded her understanding. He sat up, lifted her left arm and roughly shoved the bracelet back onto her wrist. “Never!” He got off the bed and plopped himself down into the chair she’d vacated, dropping his head in his hands.

Sobbing, Madison got off the bed and dragged herself into the living room. Stripping off Colin’s shirt, she collected her clothing and started to dress. She was nearly finished and her tears had stopped when Colin entered the room fully clothed. He was wearing a black pullover sweater, along with boots and a leather jacket. He held her panties aloft in his fingers.

“Don’t forget these.” He tossed them to her. “Or are you going to start going commando, too?”

Madison stuffed the panties into her bag. “I’m not cool enough for that.” She tossed her long hair back over one shoulder and stood up to put on her own jacket. “There’s no need for you to walk me out.”

“I wasn’t going to.” His voice was stiff as he picked up his motorcycle helmet. “I’m going out.” He pulled out his cell phone and punched the keypad. “Hey, Miriam, it’s me.” He looked directly at Madison while he spoke. “Feel like a booty call tonight?” He listened, then laughed. “See you in fifteen minutes.” He ended the call.

“You pig,” Madison shot at him.

“Just living up to people’s expectations, luv.”

FOURTEEN

W
hen Madison returned home, it was around eleven. Samuel’s car in the driveway meant Hyun was still on guard. The sight of the Dedhams’ vehicle meant they were home from their evening. She’d hoped the Dedhams were still out on the town with Samuel and Keleta. Her plan had been to go to bed before they returned and avoid prying eyes. Entering the kitchen from the driveway side door, she spotted Hyun through the window, seated at the patio table still keeping his post. Seeing him, Madison realized she’d forgotten to ask Colin about King Leopold and Ann’s connection to him.

She opened the patio door and poked her head out. “You’re here almost as much as I am these days.”

Without interrupting his scan of the yard and woods beyond, Hyun told her, “They’re inside. They’ll be glad to see you.”

“The Dedhams or Samuel, too?”

“All three.” He gave her an odd look. “You okay?”

“I’m fine.”

Madison slipped into the bathroom off the kitchen to check her face and immediately saw what had put Hyun on alert. Enough time had lapsed since she’d left Colin’s that her eyes weren’t swollen from crying, but her mascara was ruined. Pulling a small washcloth from a nearby cabinet, Madison wet and soaped up one end, then carefully dabbed at the smudges around her eyes. It wasn’t great, but it was better.

She checked her ear. Dried blood had crusted around the wound. Using the soapy cloth, Madison gently wiped the area, being careful not to open it up again. No doubt the vampires in the other room would pick up on this—they could smell fresh blood a mile away—but she wasn’t going to help them out.

Much to her surprise, she’d liked having her ear nipped and sucked. It had been exciting in combination with Colin’s other attentions, and she wondered if really being bitten by him would bring the same excitement, only intensified. Madison made a face at herself. Colin was probably screwing and biting Miriam right this minute, the bastard. Then fine—let him. She had other things to worry about, like who and why someone was dumping vampires into the Dedhams’ pool.

Running her fingers through her long hair, she made sure it covered her ear, then turned on her heel and stomped out of the bathroom, hoping her anger would mask her hurt.

The Dedhams were entertaining Samuel in the comfort of their den. A small fire crackled in the fireplace, lending a cozy atmosphere to the room. Doug was tending the fire when she walked in.

“Good,” Doug said, putting the poker down and turning to her. “We were hoping you’d come home soon.”

Dodie and Samuel were in conversation. Samuel was seated in one of the large leather club chairs, and Dodie was on the sofa. They stopped talking and turned to her. The three of them were still in their evening clothes, though the men had loosened their ties.

If the vampires sensed or noticed anything unusual about Madison or smelled the blood on her ear, they kept their opinions to themselves in mannerly behavior, though Madison did catch meaningful looks being tossed between Dodie and Samuel.

Madison leaned against the door frame. “Kind of an early night for vampires, isn’t it? Wasn’t the restaurant any good?”

“It was grand,” answered Doug. “We had a wonderful time.”

“Come on in, dear,” invited Dodie, “and visit with us.” She patted the sofa seat next to her.

“Actually,” Madison replied, “I’m quite tired. I think I’ll go to bed.”

Samuel fixed her with a knowing look. As usual, it annoyed Madison. “Don’t you want to know what we learned from Keleta?”

Her curiosity won over her desire to be shed of vampires for the rest of the night. “Yes, of course.” Madison took a seat in another club chair opposite the sofa. “Were you able to find out the identity of Lady?”

“Unfortunately not,” Doug answered as he took the seat next to Dodie.

“But,” Dodie added with a smile, “we did learn a lot about his family. Keleta is such a charming young man and so bright.”

During the exchange, Samuel stared at Madison with his penetrating eyes. She tried to block him out but she was too tired to concentrate on the effort. Instead, she stared back at him with a knitted brow, silently telling him in colorful language to back off. He tilted his head back and laughed. Doug and Dodie locked eyes, Dodie letting Doug know with a few quick blinks that she couldn’t tell what was going on.

“Have you decided yet,” Madison asked, “if Keleta is salvageable?”

“It’s looking good,” Doug told her. “So far, Ricky and Byron’s reports have been very encouraging.”

“True,” Samuel added. “Unless something happens to change our course, I believe we’ll be able to acclimate the boy sufficiently.”

Dodie seemed as pleased as Madison with the news. “And he seems so eager to learn. From what little we’ve learned, maybe being dumped in our pool was the best thing that could have happened to him since becoming a vampire.”

Doug agreed. “It certainly sounds like he was given a second chance.”

Madison tried to appear relaxed and wasn’t sure if it was working. Inside, she felt edgy, like she was trying to walk across razor wire. “Any more word on Parker?”

“No,” Samuel answered. “Nothing, but I’m glad you brought him up. I’m sending you out of town tomorrow to do some research on Parker’s identity with Joni Langevoort. It might give us a lead on this Lady.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Yes. You don’t have any classes tomorrow, do you?”

Madison shook her head.

“The council will fly you up to San Francisco late tomorrow afternoon. We would have sent you tonight, but there are no direct flights this late. Eddie Gonzales will meet you at the airport and drive you to Marin.”

“That’s north of San Francisco, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” Samuel explained. “Joni is a former council member and an expert in vampire genealogy. You’ll be working with her, tracing vampiric lineages to see if this Parker shows up. I’m thinking you should start with Ann Hayes and branch out from there.”

“Can’t we just send her Doug’s drawing and see what she comes up with?”

“It’s more involved than that. Besides,” Samuel insisted, “as I told you earlier, I want you to learn how to use her database for the future.”

Doug reached out and tapped Madison’s arm. “Think of it like one of your classes—a crash course in Vampire 101.”

“Can’t I drive up instead?” Madison asked. “If I leave early in the morning, I’ll be there early afternoon.”

“It’s only an hour flight.” Samuel paused and considered Madison. “Are you nervous about flying?”

“No, not at all.” She shuffled her feet.

“You’ve never flown before, have you, dear?” Dodie gave her a small, encouraging smile. “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. Doug and I fly all the time.”

“Get used to it, Madison,” Samuel told her in a direct manner. “There may be a day when you’ll be required by the council to travel a lot longer distance than a few hundred miles. Do you have a passport?”

She shook her head.

Samuel turned to Dodie. “Why don’t you and Madison work on getting her a passport as soon as she returns. She should have one, just in case we need her overseas.”

“Certainly, Samuel,” Dodie responded.

Madison swallowed and nodded. It wasn’t that she didn’t like flying, she’d just never had the opportunity. Until coming to Los Angeles, she’d never been out of Idaho, and she’d driven from Boise to Los Angeles. The idea of getting and needing a passport excited her.

“You’ll only be gone one day,” Samuel continued, giving Madison her assignment like a general laying out a battle plan. “You’ll leave tomorrow afternoon, work all night with Joni, and return Saturday. There’s an important party Saturday evening I want you to attend, so I’d prefer you to return Saturday afternoon.”

“The party in Brentwood?” Madison asked, afraid it was.

Samuel nodded. “Yes.”

“Colin said something about taking Keleta to it.”

“Splendid. Although you’ll be attending with me.”

Madison squirmed. She didn’t want to go to the party with anyone. She didn’t want to see Colin, especially at an event where he might have Miriam hanging on his arm. “I’m not much into parties.”

“Which is exactly why I want you there. I need your keen observation skills. Whoever tried to kill Keleta might be at that party or have people in attendance. Keep your eyes and ears open, especially around Keleta. He seems afraid to tell us any more than he has. He even seems worried about what he’s told us so far. If he sees someone he knows, he’ll probably give off some sort of reaction. I want to know about it immediately.”

“Will Ann Hayes be at the party? She might also be a help. Seems like whoever is doing this is setting her up.”

“Ann is the one throwing the party. She’s hoping to flush out the person behind this or, at the very least, get some information.”

Samuel looked at Doug and Dodie. “May I have a minute alone with Madison?”

“Of course, Samuel,” said Dodie. The Dedhams got to their feet and filed out the door.

When they were gone, Madison said, “It doesn’t matter if they leave. They can hear everything anyway.”

Samuel got up and sat on the edge of the coffee table, directly across from Madison. “I didn’t ask the Dedhams to leave to keep something from them, but to give us some privacy.”

He reached out and brushed Madison’s hair back away from her ear. Then he touched the wound. She flinched. “Wasn’t Mr. Reddy very hungry?”

“Why don’t you tell me? You’re already fishing around in my head. It’s getting so I can feel you rooting around up there like a pig after truffles.”

“Nice metaphor.”

“I try.”

Samuel chuckled. “You seem more innately hostile than usual. Would you like to talk about it?”

“Why? You already know what’s bugging me.”

Samuel took a deep breath. “Yes, I do, but I ask you anyway because I think it’s good for you to express your feelings. My knowing doesn’t help you sort things out. You discussing how you feel does.”

Madison swatted his hand away from her ear. “Are you my shrink now, besides my boss?”

“I’m someone who cares about you.”

“You know, Samuel, that’s swell of you, but I’ve had a very emotional evening.” Madison got wearily to her feet. “Hell, I’ve had a rough day, starting with daybreak. I just want to go upstairs and go to bed, especially if you’re expecting me to work all night tomorrow night.”

Samuel stopped her by grabbing each of her wrists in his hands. “Madison, Mike Notchey is right. Vampires do care about blood and sex and power. But it’s not all we care about, at least not the more evolved among us. We are capable of strong feelings, including love and loyalty.” He pulled down on her wrists, encouraging her to sit again. She stayed upright.

“Mike has a bit of a love-hate relationship with us—with vampires. On one hand, like you, he’s very close to the Dedhams, and he helps the council as much as possible. But several years ago, his sister fell in love with a vampire and disappeared.”

“What?” Madison sat down hard, her bottom giving off a soft
thud
against the leather.

“I’ll bet he’s never mentioned her to you, has he?”

In shock, Madison could only shake her head.

“It’s true. Libby became the mistress of a vampire, much like Kai is to me, but this vampire didn’t treat her very well. Mike knew nothing about vampires until that happened.”

“Is she … you know.”

“Dead? We don’t know. The council banished the vampire from California for some illegal practices having nothing to do with Libby. She chose to go with him, despite Mike’s best efforts. When he tried to stop her, he got into a nasty scuffle with the vampire and a couple of his beater companions.”

Madison listened with sharp ears and interest. “Is that when he got shot and nearly died a couple of years back?”

Samuel nodded. “Yes. But it’s been seven years now, not just a couple.”

“Notchey made it sound more recent.”

“To him, the pain of losing Libby probably feels like yesterday. As I understand it, they only had each other—no other family.”

Samuel’s last words sunk into Madison’s head with familiarity. Mike Notchey was alone in the world, just as she was. When she thought about it, the news didn’t surprise her. He had the same chip on his shoulder and prickliness she did—a constant shield raised against the outside.

“Mike killed one man,” Samuel continued, “and wounded two others before nearly being killed himself. Rather than tell the authorities what had really happened, Mike passed it off as a drug bust gone wrong, which in reality it could have been. You see, the vampire was the head of a large drug ring, something the council does not tolerate. The wounded men kept their mouths shut about their leader out of fear and went to prison. Since then, Mike’s been staying close to us, hoping to hear some news about Libby. He also works hard to hold the line between vampires and the living.”

“I had no idea.” Madison’s personal sinkhole was forgotten, replaced by genuine sadness and pain for Notchey. “His behavior makes more sense now, though I still don’t like his accusations or that he didn’t believe a word that came out of my mouth.”

“Mike Notchey cares about you. He’s worried you’ll fall into the same ugly situation as his sister.”