Blood Revolution (God Wars, #3) (19 page)

"All right," I moved to sit up. Charles took over and lifted me into a sitting position. "Feel better?" he asked.

"Yeah. I don't know what happened," I said.

"Gavin will feed you again before bed," Charles said. "I don't think you got enough the first time." He turned to Gavin, who nodded his agreement. I whimpered at the thought of drinking even more blood.

"You must learn to eat better, even if you find drinking repulsive," Gavin declared as Charles stood and lifted me off the bed. I wanted to tell him that if I had a veggie sub, I would make my way through it quite happily.

"I'll try," I replied instead.

The drive to Gavin's manor, which was built and decorated in Louis XIV splendor, didn't take long—perhaps half an hour. I was shown to a suite that included a bedroom, a sitting room, a large closet and a really nice bath. At least the bedrooms were more modern, and I was surprised the bed linens and curtains were more to my taste than the rest of the house.

"I am to your left, at the end," Gavin informed me. "Charles will be on your other side. Should you require anything, ask us. Anthony is on assignment, but will return soon. You will be introduced when he arrives. Have no fear of him—he will not harm you."

"Thank you," I said.

"No, the gratitude should come from me," he said, causing me to stare at him in shock. "You saved my life. I am grateful for that."

"You're welcome," I sighed.

* * *

"It's a church," Trajan set his cell phone in front of Winkler. A photograph was displayed of a rather large, new building, its construction almost completed.

"Are they in a hurry to save people? That thing has gone up in two and a half months."

"I wasn't aware that the area was zoned for that—it's two miles away and in the middle of a pasture," Trajan observed.

"There are laws protecting religious land use," Winkler pointed out while examining the photograph. "Did you see this?" Winkler tapped the phone screen, enlarging a portion of the photograph.

"Yeah. It has a tag, now, but it sure looks like the same car," Trajan said. "White Pontiac Grand Am. Same one, in my estimation."

"Why were they driving in front of the house?" Winkler stood and stretched. "Get Director Bill to run that plate. I want to see who owns the car."

"Already on that. Got a message from Bill's assistant—she's checking the car—says Bill is working on something else, and he's worried."

"That doesn't sound good. Probably has something to do with that building that exploded in San Francisco," Winkler said. "And Zach Tanner trying to kill Bill shortly after. Want coffee?"

"Yeah. Jimmy's in the kitchen—he'll make it for us."

* * *

"So, nobody has seen Breanne Hayworth since her impromptu appearance at Hank Bell's club," Colbi tapped a pen against her legal pad.

"Except me, and I'll never tell," Janine smiled. "I'm set up to take pics of Jayson Rome tonight, and you can splash those wherever you want tomorrow."

"What will he be doing?" Colbi was more than a little interested. "I mean, if we point in his direction and hint that he and Bell had something to do with Breanne Hayworth's disappearance, we need something juicy to make the public believe it might be possible. Damn, I always wanted to take down a big fish." Colbi scribbled notes on the pad.

"Oh, he's into flogging and fire play. I can probably get pictures of both."

"Before you came along, I'd have said this was impossible," Colbi made another note. "Too bad I can't get a camera crew in there."

"I can do video with my phone, if you want it."

"Good. We can block out other images—I just want Jayson Rome and Hank Bell. Any chance you can get photographs of Hank?"

"Not really. I've been banned from his club, and that's where he'll be."

"Right—the restraining order," Colbi said. "Too bad. Do you know any regulars at his club who might get images—for the right price?"

"Maybe," Janine sniffed. "If the price is right for me, too."

"I thought it might come to this," Colbi said, opening a drawer and pulling out folded cash. "Here. A thousand, and you'd better deliver."

"Oh, I will," Janine dimpled. "I will."

* * *

Breanne's Journal

Breanne? Please answer
. Bill's mental voice woke me from a sound sleep.

Bill?
I hadn't known his mindspeech might be powerful enough to reach me. Obviously it was.

Thank God. Tell me where you are, sweetheart, and I'll come for you.

Bill, you can't. I'm with the vampires. They sort of own me, right now. If I leave, some of them might die, and that will be a really, really bad thing.

You're in the UK?

Yeah. Bill, I'm okay for now, and you ought to know I can get myself out of here if I have to. There are some things I have to do, and if I leave now, they'll come hunting. You know why.

Rogue. Yeah. I get that. Look, everybody else here is worried. What do you want me to tell them?

That I'm fine at the moment, and that things got sidetracked and I have work to do. Hank won't understand that, but let's face it, he wasn't very nice the last time I saw him.

He said so
, Bill confirmed.
I just can't tell you how glad I am that you're all right. Can you tell me what happened in San Francisco?

I found Oscar Forde and Keir Arthur
, I said.
I was ready to take them down when Gavin Montegue showed up and burst into the room. You know Gavin, don't you?

I've worked with him
, Bill replied.

Yeah. Anyway, the minute Gavin came riding in on his vampire high horse, thirty-five vampires—all rogues—flew in behind him. It was all I could do to take down Oscar and get Gavin the hell out of there before he died.

How did the building explode?

Well, there was the question with no easy answer.
Lissa could do it
, I said.
I can, too.

Lissa. I see
.

Bill didn't really, but he accepted the explanation anyway.
All the vampires and all the employees at KingDom's were obsessed,
I went on
. There wasn't anything we could do for them unless we found the one who obsessed them, and some of them were involved in the murders we investigated. I got everybody else out and then took the building down. I hope it hasn't caused too much trouble
.

Sweetheart, let me handle the awkward explanations. I don't know whether this had anything to do with KingDom's, but a werewolf assassin tried to take me out a few hours after the building exploded.

What? Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?

No, Bree. I'm fine
, a chuckle came through in Bill's mindspeech.
I was wearing a vest. My worry now is that the werewolf's family will be up in arms, since Jayson killed their brother
.

Jayson?
If I'd been speaking, my voice would have squeaked.

Yeah. Hank has taught him well. He's pretty good with a pistol.

No doubt
, I responded dryly.
I hear Henry Hank Bell is pretty darn handy with that stuff, too.

That's what his records say
, Bill agreed.
I'm offering extended temporary employment to both of them. I'm in desperate need of qualified agents, and since Hank has trained Jayson, he's good enough to add to the roster.

Are they going for it?

Looks like it. Both are worried about you, and being employed by my department will ensure that they get better updates on this mess—and on you, too. Hank's promoted his assistant manager and found two others to fill in. Jayson hasn't had a real vacation in years, so he's taking time off
.

Bill, I need a favor
, I said.

Anything, sweetheart.

Can you freeze my assets? If you don't, the vamps will take them. It's what they do
.

I can do that. Making calls now. Do you want me to set up another account for you, for emergencies? I can put it under an alias and give you the numbers
.

Bill, I want to kiss you for that
, I said.

I'll remember you said that. I'll get back with you as soon as this is done.

Thanks, Bill
.

I love you
, Bill answered.

Honey, I love you, too
.

* * *

Lissa's Journal

"Tell me why." I deliberately kept my arms at my sides and resisted the urge to plant fists on my hips.

"Mom, she was a distraction. At least that's what I thought at the time. And she could have cost me my warlocks."

"Is this my son standing in front of me, telling me he placed compulsion on my sheriff, a vice-director of the ASD and his warlocks, something he promised he would never do, just to cover his ass and destroy any affection anybody might have for Breanne?"

Gavril sat heavily behind his desk. He didn't understand how his mother discovered what he'd done, but she had. "Mom, I don't know how to make this right," he began. "If I remove my compulsion, they'll know I made them forget."

"And you see this as a problem because?" I snapped.

"For starters, I'll lose my warlocks. Yeah, I deserve that," he held up a hand to hold off my immediate response. I was about to tell him he deserved to lose his warlocks. He'd promised them long ago that he'd never place compulsion. Mind cloud or not, he'd broken that promise.

"Would you like me to tell Ildevar that you fucked with a vice-director of the ASD? Breanne has saved Ildevar's life twice. What reaction do you think you'll get if he learns of this? What I don't know, because your compulsion is still in place, is how much they cared about Breanne. Which of your warlocks cared about her, by the way? Gavin was too ashamed to explain any of this to me." I was getting wound up and my voice was getting louder. I'd yelled at this son more after he became an adult than I ever had when he was young.

"Stell. Stellan."

"The one who's never found anybody. The one who thinks he won't find anybody," I snapped. "His brothers have a mate or mates. Stellan, thanks to you, has nothing, and not only that, you cheated my sister, too. She won't even talk to me, because of you. And your father."

"What do you want me to do?"

"It shouldn't matter what I want. What should matter is what's right. Do you even know what that is anymore?"

"You think I cheated Stell out of a mate."

"Yes, I think you cheated Stellan out of a mate. Possibly Trevor and Kooper, too." I tossed up a hand in disbelief. "Hasn't that crossed your mind even once—that you mistreated people, or does that not matter to you?"

"I worry about that in him—that he seems to no longer feel," Dee walked into the room.

"I thought I taught you to have sympathy for all things deserving," I sighed. "I've failed." I folded away.

* * *

"Is that how you see me, now?" Teeg glanced up at his foster-father.

"Yes. It began when you mistreated Reah and kept her from the others, just to have your way and achieve your goals. You assured me then that it was temporary, and that you'd make it up to her later. She has given you a child, and still your mate is nothing but an afterthought. I know not what has happened to you, Gavril Tybus Montegue, but I dislike it greatly." Dee stalked from Teeg's office.

* * *

Hank and Jayson walked into Bill's temporary office at the local FBI headquarters. "You wanted to see us?" Jayson took a seat in front of Bill's desk. Hank slipped onto the other chair and waited for Bill's answer.

"Yeah. I spoke with Bree." Bill tapped his head. Jayson nodded his understanding; Hank's mouth pulled into a frown. "She's fine, but the vampires have her," Bill added. "She says that if she doesn't stay with them for a little while, that some of them could die. I'm not sure exactly what that means, but I trust her judgment."

"What does that mean for us, then?" Jayson asked.

"It means that I want to keep you on. Whether it's temporary or permanent, that's up to you. We're still following the money on KingDom's, and most of it leads out of the country. We have a Sirenali—according to Breanne, and she says all the employees and the vampires at KingDom's were obsessed. Some of them were responsible for the local murders. She got everybody else out and left those inside to die."

"How many vampires?" Hank asked softly.

"Including Oscar Forde and Keir Arthur, probably thirty-seven. Apparently, the Vampire Council sent an assassin in to take Oscar and Keir. Breanne had to pull him out of there before he died."

"Is that how they got their hands on her?" Jayson asked. "One of their assassins took her?"