Blood Vengeance (Blood Curse Series Book 7) (15 page)

twelve

Brooke Adams-Mondragon stood on the front veranda of the royal manse, watching as Ramsey and Tiffany made their way up the lengthy drive. While she certainly had a few misgivings about the potentially messy situation, as a whole, it was truly no big deal.

Correction
: It was certainly a big deal for the poor battered woman, but it was never a big deal for a vampire to corral, contain, and control a group of humans. A vampire’s powers were just too immense. She brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear and smiled as the dark Escalade came to a complete stop, and then she made her way to the back door, strapped Phoenix’s carrier into the middle seat, and efficiently plopped the child in the SUV, all before Ramsey had a chance to jump out and help her.

“I would’ve done that for you,” Ramsey said in a polite but no-nonsense tone.

“I know,” she replied. She waved enthusiastically at Tiffany and then shrugged apologetically at Ramsey. “I’m an old hand at this,” she explained. “I don’t even wait for Napolean—it drives him to distraction.”

The sentinel nodded, lowering his chin and averting his eyes in a gesture of respect, even as Tiffany sat upright and waved her hand wildly, clearly thrilled to see her best friend. “Hey, Brookie!” the pretty blonde called.

Brooke’s heart lit at the sound. “Hey, Tiff.” It was so nice to be on good terms with her
bestie
again. Just the same, Brooke immediately saw through all that outward good cheer: Tiffany Matthews was clearly wound as tight as a drum, and this new situation couldn’t be helping. Brooke double-checked all of the carrier belts to make sure the connections were secure, and then she swiftly buckled her toddler into the fortified seat. “All set.”

“Hey there, Phoenix,” Tiffany cooed in a soft, high-pitched voice as the child settled into the seat.

“Be still,” Brooke admonished, when he immediately began to bob up and down like a hyperactive buoy in response to Tiffany’s greeting.

“What is he wearing?” Tiffany asked, scrunching up her nose in mirth.

Brooke chuckled. She had bundled Phoenix in a warm winter jacket, a cozy wool hat, and a pair of padded mittens, all of which were totally unnecessary for a fourteen-month-old vampire who could already regulate his own body temperature, especially when it had been sixty degrees at noon, even if it was December. She threw her hands up in exasperation. “Oh, heck; at least he won’t get cold.” What else could she say—she just couldn’t help it? Those latent human impulses still kicked in from time to time? Probably not the best thing to say to Tiffany right now, considering that conversion was undoubtedly a touchy issue.

“Well, you’re definitely right about that,” Tiffany teased.

Brooke gave Phoenix a wet and noisy kiss on the forehead, told him to be good, and then nodded once more at Ramsey, who was waiting rather restlessly in the driver’s seat. He probably wanted to get the whole sordid affair over with. Taking her cue from his demeanor, she decided to cut straight to the chase: “So, you’re sure this is a good idea?” She posed the question at both of them.

“No,” Ramsey replied.

“Yes,” Tiffany said, at the exact same time.

Great.

So, they were clearly in agreement.

Brooke chuckled inwardly, and then she waited patiently for one or the other to elaborate.

Ramsey shifted anxiously in his seat, and Tiffany shrugged.

“Okay, well, it’s a bizarre idea at best,” Tiffany began, “meeting in a park, after dark, but if the goal is to help the lady get away from her
situation
”—she cleared her throat and eyed Ramsey cautiously—“and to do it with the least amount of human interference or intervention possible, then I think the sentinel is our best bet.”

Ramsey snorted, and Brooke almost cringed.

The
sentinel?

So it was like
that?

Still?

Brooke flashed her most gracious, queenly smile at Ramsey, hoping to lessen the tension, and then she nodded. “I’m sure Tiffany is right.”

Ramsey arched his back, ostensibly to stretch. “Ever the diplomat, I’m sure Tiffany would rather approach the situation with subtlety and tact; however, I plan to simply attack it hard and fast.” He narrowed his gaze at Brooke. “Rest assured, milady, it’ll be handled swiftly and with finality.”

Brooke winced and turned to regard Tiffany, hoping to read her expression.
So…
Tiffany wanted to feel it out, let the situation unfold naturally, and only intervene when necessary—erase the jerk’s memories and send him on his way, only do it with kid gloves for the sake of the woman’s emotional state. Whereas, Ramsey wanted to pull up in the Escalade, wave his hand over the whole damn park, freeze everyone within a three-block radius exactly where they stood, and then handle the business with a swift and brutal mind scrub. Perhaps they would meet somewhere in the middle.

As if reading her thoughts, Tiffany offered, “He’s going to walk right up to the boyfriend, scrub his memories of the woman, of Tawni, and then tell him to relocate to Alaska, no questions asked.”

Brooke frowned. “Alaska?”

Tiffany shook her head as if to say
don’t ask
; then she took a deep, measured breath and smiled. “The whole encounter shouldn’t take more than five minutes, once I’ve made contact with Tawni in the park, and Ramsey’s either lured the abusive bastard out of his truck, climbed in the backseat, or followed him around the corner. Either way, I’ll tell Tawni that she and I are going to wait at the playground until her boyfriend leaves—let’s give him plenty of time to pull away—and then my own friend, who’s waiting nearby, will help her escape. Depending on how it unfolds, Ramsey will just have to erase her memories, too.” She turned to face Prince Phoenix and reached over the console to give him a pat on the lap. “Our little one should only be out of the truck for a couple of minutes.”

Brooke nodded. “Are you sure you don’t want backup?”

Ramsey frowned. “Santos and Saxson are working tonight, and Julien needs to hunt—the male hasn’t fed in a month.”

“Right,” Brooke said, “but what about Saber Alexiares?” What she couldn’t share, not even with Tiffany, was the fact that Napolean had a sixth sense about the fearsome male who used to be a Dark One. He was watching Saber closely, seriously considering him as a potential fourth sentinel, hoping Saber would come to the conclusion on his own. Of course, nothing would happen unless and until the stubborn vampire finally made a full commitment to the house of Jadon, unless and until he finally placed that crest ring on his finger and took the public oath. Still, he was probably available. “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind,” Brooke said. “He’d be happy to accompany you, if you asked.”

Ramsey grew unnaturally quiet, as only a vampire could do. He was undoubtedly thinking the same thing. “Thought about it,” he bit out, “but…
that ring
.” He shrugged. “Don’t get me wrong: I trust the male as much as one predator trusts another, and he’s even starting to grow on me as an individual, but—” He sighed, letting his hunched shoulders relax. “Until I see the insignia from the house of Jadon sitting on his fourth, right-hand finger; until I watch him bleed for the people and hear him vow to die for the same; I’m not going to extend that kind of invitation to him.” He cocked his head to the side in reflection. “He needs time? That’s cool. But so do we.”

Brooke leveled a private gaze at Tiffany, and the two exchanged an
alrighty-then, perhaps-we-should-just-leave-this-subject-alone
glance, before returning to a companionable silence.

After a few awkward moments had passed, Brooke adjusted Phoenix’s straps one last time and kissed him once more on the cheek. “Well, he is just a human, this abusive boyfriend. Even little Phoenix here could probably get the best of a mortal.”

Tiffany glared at her then, thumbing her own chest in an exaggerated gesture. “Um, speaking as the resident
human
in the car, let’s not be rude.”

Brooke chuckled, and Ramsey quirked his lips in a subtle but affable smile. “Right,” Brooke said. “How soon we forget.” This invoked an even harsher glare from Tiffany, which made Brooke decide to back off, drop it altogether. She kissed Phoenix a third time, drawing a somewhat impatient glance from Ramsey, and the child squirmed. “Be good, my brave little Justice, and look out for Auntie Tiff.”

Phoenix bounced up and down excitedly in the seat and shook his Bobee back and forth—
thank all the gods of providence, the stuffed toy was back in its master’s arms
. “Auntie Tiff!” he squealed, causing the brooding blonde to laugh.

“And on that note,” Brooke said, stepping back from the open door, “I will let you guys get to it, and I’ll see you back here within the hour.”

Tiffany glanced at Ramsey, and they exchanged an unspoken understanding.
Yep, they were closer than they pretended to be, more deeply bonded than they realized.
“The way Ramsey drives, we’ll be back in a half an hour,” Tiffany said, and then she laughed.

And so did he.

“Don’t worry. We’ll be quick about it,” he added.

Brooke nodded. “Very well.” She smiled at her best friend. “You’re a good person, Tiffany. This woman was lucky to have met you.”

Tiffany simpered. “Yeah, I guess. I really shouldn’t be getting involved, but
damn
; how do you do nothing when you can do something, ya know?”

“You learn… in time,” Ramsey said evenly.

Brooke winked at Tiffany. “Napolean is pretty strict about the laws, the ones that govern our interference with human concerns, but I think in this instance, he would understand. This woman approached you—at the executive Prime offices, no less—and now, she’s calling you at
home
? As far as I’m concerned, that approaches house of Jadon business. Better to send them both on their merry way than to let the situation continue… or escalate.” She shut the door with a crisp thud and stepped away from the Cadillac, waving once more at both Tiffany and Phoenix, while biding her time.

Indeed, Ramsey could handle a lone, rotten human being, and even Phoenix could bite, fly away, or assert his will over a mortal female, as long as he understood what that
will
was; but—and wasn’t there always a
but?
—Brooke had made the call without consulting Napolean. The king was busy on official duty, and she hadn’t wanted to interrupt his engagement. Still, that raised her personal level of responsibility and accountability, as well as her general concern. She wasn’t about to leave things to chance, even if there was
zero
chance, really, that a human could ever get the best of Ramsey Olaru.

She watched as the Escalade rounded the curved apex of the driveway, made a right-hand turn onto an unpaved road, and disappeared into the distance. And then she headed straight for her own sapphire-blue Jaguar. She would be right behind her best friend and her best friend’s new mate, following them to Tall Pines Village Park, where she would wait, and watch, from a distance.

The couple would never know she was there.

She sighed.

Well, maybe Ramsey would figure it out in some preternatural, vampiric way, but even if he did, so be it. He would just have to understand.

Brooke loved Phoenix more than life itself, and she felt pretty much the same about her smart but impetuous friend. Tiffany might still be learning the ropes; she might still be getting her toes wet in the house of Jadon’s deep internal waters—after all, she’d only had three days, so far, to make the adjustment—but Brooke was no longer an acolyte. If Ramsey needed some backup, another vampire who could kick some ass,
and the bait being used was Prince Phoenix
? Well then…

Brooke was momentarily startled by the deep, feral growl that rumbled in her own throat.

Enough
said.

She climbed into her car and placed her key in the ignition, chuckling a bit at her own foolish antics. Who did she think she was? One of the sly female detectives from one of her favorite mystery novels?
Oh well
, she thought,
what can I say?

Where the little cub went, Mama Bear was sure to follow.

thirteen

Ramsey Olaru scanned the entire dimly lit park in the breadth of two heartbeats. The playground was empty, the benches were abandoned, and there were no other humans present, no cars parked nearby for several blocks, and that meant it would be easy to keep an eye on Tiffany and Phoenix.

There would be no distractions.

He stilled his mind, tuning out all other senses for the moment, and concentrated solely on the layout of the park. There were two logical entrances, which meant only two exits: one, on the south perimeter, where he and Tiffany were parked, about 200 yards from the playground, and the other, on the opposite side of a grassy field, in the north, which led to a narrow, winding path, edged on both sides by a series of short, well-trimmed bushes, more or less restricting patrons to the designated trail. Visibility to the actual playground was unobstructed from his vantage point.

He glanced at Tiffany, watching as she climbed from the cab of the SUV, opened Phoenix’s door, and began to unbuckle the little prince, wishing he could get out, too, without potentially scaring the boyfriend or provoking a jealous rage, at least too soon. “Keep your eyes and ears open,” he told her. “If anything feels off, if anything makes you even the least bit uncomfortable, you hightail it back to this spot: Understand me?”

Tiffany visibly shivered. “Yes, Ramsey,” she replied, lifting Phoenix from his seat. She headed back toward the passenger door and peered in at the warrior. “I’m just going to be right there”—she pointed at the playground—“near the swings with Phoenix.” The child also pointed at the swings and giggled, and Tiffany’s face lit up with satisfaction. “He’ll have a good time, one way or the other.”

Ramsey nodded. He gestured toward the bramble-lined pathway, on the other side of the park, and inclined his head. “Your friend,
this woman
,” he corrected, “she’s either going to approach you from that path or from right here. Don’t turn your back on her—it’s just not good form.” He felt his hackles rise, and he forced himself to settle down.
Good lords; was this what it was like to finally have a
destiny
?
To be consumed by defensive instincts and overprotective impulses? He dismissed the thought. It wasn’t like he didn’t possess more than his fair share of both attributes, already. “I’m going to stay right here in the truck, hopefully out of sight from the boyfriend, but rest assured, I’ll deal with him the moment he steps out of his car, unless he remains seated and tries to watch, of course. In that case, I’ll just show up in his backseat and handle it.” He pointed at the opposite one-way street, located behind the playground, on the other end of the park. “If he does drive off too quickly, then I’ll follow him, so you may be alone with her for a couple of minutes, tops. Are you good with that?”

Tiffany made an affirmative gesture with her hand. “I think I can handle one single confused and frightened woman, Ramsey.”

He chuckled, easing the tension. “Ah, so we’re on a first-name basis now?”

She rolled her eyes and hauled Phoenix even closer to her side. “Besides, I have a few protective instincts of my own, Mr. Olaru.” She instinctively kissed the child on the top of his head, nuzzling him with her nose.

Females
, Ramsey thought.

It was as if they were all given an extra dose of kindness where little ones were concerned. He sure wished the gods would’ve given Tiffany a little extra
something
when it came to him, and then he immediately regretted the short-sighted thought. Of course they had. She was his
destiny
after all. It just might take a little time for her to connect to it; that’s all.

He brought his attention back to the moment at hand and snorted. “I’m sure you do.” And then he immediately switched back to
all-business
mode. “Just the same, I’m here for a reason. Don’t be a hero. If this woman makes you feel uncomfortable in any way, pick up Phoenix and walk away.” He paused, considering his next words. “And damn, I hate to break it down like this, because I know Phoenix is a prince, not a dog, but just the same, he’s a vampire. And he
can
bite. If the woman does anything erratic, and I mean anything, however insignificant, something that makes you feel physically threatened before I’m done with the knucklehead, tell him
Ia-i
sangele
.”

Tiffany wrinkled up her nose. “Ia-i sangele?”

Ramsey searched for an adequate interpretation. “Loosely translated, it means to seize or claim.” He sighed. “It means,
take her blood
.” Tiffany recoiled, and he immediately threw up his hand, trying to head off another debate. “As a vampire, Phoenix is always aware of the pulse, the heartbeat, the movement of blood through any given human’s veins. We all are. If you are projecting fear or urgency, and you tell him
Ia-i sangele
, it will trigger a natural instinct. It’ll at least make him feral.”

Tiffany took a step back, away from the SUV. She looked like she wanted to plant her hands on her hips and give him a piece of her mind, but luckily for him, her arms were full with the toddler. “Are you serious?” she said, anyway. “I mean, really? You want me to tell this sweet child to eat the woman?”

Ramsey bit back a snicker. “Blondie—”

“That is not my name,” she interrupted.

“
Baby
,” he interjected, “it’s not that serious, or unnatural. All I’m saying is—”

“What’s your middle name?” Tiffany asked.

“Excuse me?”

“Your middle name. What is it?”

“Demetrios.” He sounded as hesitant as she felt.

“Well then,
Ramsey Demetrios Olaru
: I will not tell this child to become feral or to seize, claim, take, or drink a human’s blood. Oh, and while we’re at it”—the
ew
factor practically coated her suddenly tight lips—“thank you very much for making me uncomfortable with my best friend’s son for the very first time in his life.”

Ramsey shrank back, just a tad, and then he bit down on his tongue, leaving an indentation in the tip. He needed a toothpick. The woman was way too sassy for her own good—someone needed to tame her one day, and he was looking forward to the challenge. “Just remember what I said,” he intoned calmly, and then he instinctively glanced to the left. There was a dark gray sedan approaching from the northern side of the park, a BMW 750i, no less. Apparently, the dysfunctional couple wasn’t hurting for money. “Looks like your friend is here.”

Tiffany quickly backed away from the door, her gorgeous sea-green eyes meeting his intense hazel stare, and their gazes remained locked for a fleeting moment. Without another word, she shut the door and walked briskly toward the playground, crossing the large grassy field and heading for the swings with laser-like focus. Since the meeting was supposed to be a coincidence, she paused on three different occasions to play nonchalantly with Phoenix, point at the swings, and pretend to notice everything around them,
except
the approaching gray sedan.

Ramsey’s muscles twitched as he sat in the cab of the SUV, watching her, even as his heartbeat grew eerily calm and steady. He had wanted Tiffany to be in position before the couple arrived, but
oh well
. Things rarely went off as planned. He bided his time, glancing back and forth between the sedan’s tinted windows and his
destiny
, waiting for her to secure Phoenix in one of the park’s two allocated baby swings.

It seemed like it took forever.

The sedan finally pulled to a complete stop, and a nervous, skinny woman stepped out of the passenger seat, looking both timid and afraid.

Once again, Ramsey’s hackles rose, but he didn’t quite know why. This wasn’t the same instinct as before. It was something ominously different. He growled deep in his throat as he watched her approach the swings, all the while preparing to dematerialize from the Escalade and insert himself in the boyfriend’s car.
Damnit all to hell
, he thought, just as abruptly. The woman had barely gotten out of the car, and the boyfriend was already pulling away from the curb. He didn’t have time to watch Tiffany’s interaction before he took chase…

He hesitated.

Sons of the original house of Jadon
, something was simply wrong.

Amiss.

Unexplainable.

As foreign as it was…
familiar
?

He stayed a moment longer than he should have, watching the female approach the swings, letting the sedan pull away and gain speed. He couldn’t help it. There was something inexplicably
off
about this woman. Something he just couldn’t put his finger on.

The female made it to the circular enclosure, the gravel pit beneath the swings, and she seemed to sigh with relief—it was as if her entire body relaxed with the awareness that she had finally broken free from her abusive boyfriend, that he had finally, albeit unwittingly, let her go. And then Tiffany whispered something in her ear, and the two of them turned toward Ramsey’s Escalade and watched him, together, even as he continued to watch them, right back.

Tiffany glared at him then, growing increasingly impatient.

Apparently, she assumed he could see her expression from a distance, and naturally, he could. She smiled, waved, and cocked her thumb in the direction of the sedan, trying to hide the gesture from the woman, while simultaneously indicating that she wanted him to follow the car and take care of the boyfriend. “We’re fine.” She mouthed the words, and he sharply inhaled, willing his mind to believe her…

Because his heart was simply
not on
board
.

He hesitated a moment longer, growing increasingly uncomfortable, and then he watched as the woman—Tawni, right?—gave Tiffany an awkward hug, glanced in the direction of the disappearing BMW, and shuddered as if she were still terrified by the very thought of her tormentor.

And truly, nothing stood out as amiss.

Her posture was submissive; her countenance was meek; and her expression was appreciative. But her energy was inexplicably dark, almost primitive—
or savage?
—in a way that just didn’t fit.

This female was damaged to the core.

Ramsey tilted his head to the side, trying to place the vibration, trying to make sense of what his sixth sense was telling him.

There was no explanation.

He just couldn’t pin it down.

For all intents and purposes, she was a five-foot-six, fairly scrawny human female, with ghastly black-and-red dyed hair; and she was clearly terrified of the man who had just driven off in that car. No one could fake that kind of terror.

Maybe the best thing to do was to get the whole business over with, as quickly as possible, so he could retrieve his
destiny
, secure the prince, and send the poor broken woman on her way before anything could go wrong.

The man would be no problem.

Ramsey could catch up to his car, head him off on the roadway, and be in the fool’s backseat faster than the bastard could say,
Who the hell are you?
He could erase his memories and implant a suggestion—time to get the hell out of Dodge—just as swiftly.

And the sooner he got that done, the better.

The sooner he could get Tiffany away from the strange, enigmatic woman.

He shut his eyes and tried to concentrate, struggling to dismiss his apprehension, whatever it was, and then he shifted the SUV into gear and pulled out of the lot at breakneck speed, whispering an inaudible prayer to the sacred star of Gemini, his own ruling twin lords:

Sacred
Geminorum
,
watch over my mate and protect my prince while I finish this silly task. Please safeguard their immortal
souls.