Flowers and Fangs (Stake and Dust series, Book II) (13 page)

Her gaze fell away from Derek. He was human.
Tremayne hadn't flat out stated the fact, but she was a big girl.
There was no future for her and Derek. Not that Derek ever
mentioned he wanted a relationship with her, but after last night,
she had hoped.

"Derek is a Hayes," Tremayne reminded her as
if she needed reminding. "It would not be easy for him to be with
you."

"But you're with Cassandra," she pointed
out.

"Aye, but it would make life easier if we had
not fallen in love with each other." He glanced at Cassandra and
reached for her hand. "She is a hunter and as much as her family
dislikes vampires, my sept, the Oiche Sith also loathe the hunters
in return. My immediate family, the Graystones are accepting and
respect my decision to be with Cassandra, but not all in the sept
share their opinion. And Cassandra's family, other than Derek and
now Wade, are unaware of our relationship. You witnessed Wade's
reaction."

She nodded. "But Derek isn't against
Cassandra and you being together. He called you for help. He told
me he did."

Cassandra chuckled. "Don't let his tolerance
be fooled with acceptance."

Tremayne nodded in agreement. "He tolerates
us because he loves his sister and he has perhaps fallen in love
with you."

She inhaled sharply. "What makes you say
that?"

"Even if I was not a vampire with heightened
senses, I would have known. He gazes upon you with longing. He does
not hide his feelings very well."

She highly doubted Derek was in love with
her. They barely knew each other. They had only a brief high school
romance, and now a dalliance under pressure.

Even as she denied the possibility, she knew
it to be a lie. She was halfway in love with him herself, and if
time would allow them the luxury, she could easily fall in love
with the rugged hunter.

Chapter Fifteen

Derek felt the animosity rolling off of Wade,
but at least he hadn't pulled out his blades and tried to kill
anyone in the last hour. He did however shoot daggers with his eyes
and most of them were in Cassandra and his direction.

"Tim has killed homeless men—easy targets,
but it doesn't mean he won't venture out into the main populace,"
Wade said. "He's desperate and untrained in the art of covering up
his transgressions."

"More reason to hurry and bring him in,"
Tremayne agreed. "Tim may crave blood, but through his blood haze,
he returned to Sloane's house to claim her. Because he failed,
he'll plan another attempt."

Wade glanced at Sloane. "Why are you so sure
he'll take the risk?"

"He bit her and he fed her his blood,"
Tremayne argued the point. "He began a bonding ritual whether he
knew that or not. He will want to either finish the job he started
or end her life. He will not be able to resist. He's newly made and
has not had time to fight the urges that rule his existence."

"How do we know she won't turn on us?" Wade
sneered at Tremayne. "How do we know
you
won't?"

"I have tolerated your rudeness because you
are Cassandra's brother, but I will not have you question my
honor."

Wade harrumphed, folding his arms across his
chest. All eyes turned on him and he came to realize being
outnumbered wouldn't bode well—for him that is. "Fine count me in
on the asinine plan. But one false move, Tremayne Graystone and
you're dust. I don't care if my sister has the hots for you or
not."

The vampire didn't even flinch.

Derek sat next to Sloane who fidgeted in her
seat. She was anxious, the tension radiating off her in nervous
energy. "Are you all right?" He leaned near to ask her.

She rubbed her temple. "I…don't know. My
head…buzzing in my head."

His brows drew together and he glanced at
Tremayne. With the vampire's excellent hearing, he picked up on
Sloane's distress.

"It is the transition," he said with a frown,
making Derek believe he thought something else was wrong.

Sloane squeezed her eyes shut and Derek
wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close.

"So touching," Wade grumbled. "Can we get on
with the plans? I'd like to finish this before Axel becomes
suspicious and makes a house call. He's not as forgiving as I can
be."

Cassandra snorted, but she didn't say a word
to the contrary.

"We'll need you to call Tim," Derek said to
Sloane and she opened her eyes and stared at him. "Set up a meeting
with him. You'll have to be convincing. As much as he wants you,
he'll be suspicious of your intensions."

"I can do this." She fished out her phone
from her pocket. None of them were sure Tim had kept his cell
phone, but there was only one way to find out. Sloane put the phone
on speaker as she waited for Tim to pick up, and he did.

"So what do I owe the pleasure, dear, dear
Sloane?" Tim's voice had an edge to it, making his question sound
more like a snarl.

"We need to talk," Sloane said with
confidence though Derek could feel her tremble in his arms.

Tim chuckled. "Do you really expect me to
believe that?"

She ignored his snide remark. "I don't
understand what's happening to me. I'm… I'm scared." Her voice
wavered.

Tim didn't respond at first. Most likely
debating if Sloane spoke the truth and if he could trust her. His
need to have her must have won out. "I can make it all better."

"How?" she asked. "Tell me what I need to
do."

"You have to have faith that I know what's
best for you."

"I do."

"Really?" His tone indicated he didn't
believe her.

"I want to," she corrected. "But everything
has been so…freaky. That guy breaking into my house and attacking
you..."

"I thought you knew him?" he said with
suspicion. "Are you saying you didn't?"

"No…of course not. He told me he was looking
for you. What was that all about? Why did he want to hurt you?"

"You attacked me too, Sloane," he bit
out.

"You hurt Lad. I reacted," she said with a
pout.

Again Tim fell silent for a breath of time.
"And where is the hunter now?"

"Hunter? Do you mean the guy who attacked
you? I don't know. He took off after you. I wasn't going to wait
around for him. I haven't been back to my place since."

"Oh? Where are you?"

Sloane squeezed her eyes shut and cursed
beneath her breath. "I'm at a…hotel," she said quickly enough not
to seem suspicious.

"Hmm… Tell me where and I'll come for
you."

"No… I mean what if that guy follows you. He
found you once. Who's to say he won't again. I don't want him to
know where I'm staying. I better meet you somewhere."

Silence greeted her.

"Tim?"

"I'll get back to you on a location." He
didn't wait for her to agree. He disconnected the call.

Sloane breathed a sigh of relief and Derek
rubbed her back. "You did fine."

Derek met Wade's gaze. His brother rolled his
eyes, obviously not liking his open affection toward Sloane. He
stalked out of the kitchen. His brother may not agree with keeping
Sloane alive, but he wasn't going to mess up their chance to stop
Tim, and Sloane was their best bet to flush the vampire out.

Derek excused himself and followed his
brother outside. He was on the phone with Axel, letting him know
they had the vampire situation handled and he could take on the
next assignment. "I hate lying to him," Wade said as he ended the
call with their eldest brother.

"Do you think I like it? We don't have a
choice."

"That's the thing, Derek. We do have a
choice. We're supposed to follow protocol not go half-cocked in the
other direction. What are you and Cassandra thinking?" He took off
his Stetson and brushed back his hair. "For God's sake, our sister
is shacking up with a
fanger
, and you…" he waved his hand at
him. "You're damn well considering it."

Derek opened his mouth to deny it, but his
brother was right. He wanted to be with Sloane and he knew damn
well her future wouldn't be pretty. She was destined to become a
vampire… There was no way to stop the process. Her body was already
changing. Her eyes flickered to red when her adrenaline spiked and
he knew soon she would sport a pair of pearly white fangs. "Fate's
a bitch."

"No, bro, for it to be Fate, it would mean
all this messed up crap was meant to be. This is a detour from
Fate's plan. Fangers shouldn't exist."

"What are you trying to say, Wade? We're
Fate's enforcers and we have the right to do her bidding?"

Wade had the decency to flinch.

"You've slept with preternatural beings,"
Derek accused. "Don't go denying it. What makes you all high and
mighty now?"

"I might have dabbled, but I'm not pledging
my undying love to one of them. We're hunters. We take down the
freaks of nature. It's kill or be killed with them."

"You dabbled? What a tool you are. Sleep with
the enemy and it's okay. Well, Sloane isn't a freak of nature—as
you like to say. She's a young woman who had her life taken from
her. She didn't ask to be changed. What if it had been Cassandra?
Would you be able to snuff out her life so easily?"

Wade slammed his hat back down on his head.
"I would make the right decision." Which didn't exactly say he
would slay his sibling or not.

Wade would have stridden by without a
backward glance, but Derek grabbed his arm, halting his retreat.
"After this is finished, what do you plan to do?"

Wade's jaw muscles worked, indicating how
close he was to losing it. "I'll walk away from this madness. You
and Cassandra can deal with your mistakes. But remember, if the
vamps turn on either one of you and it all goes to bloody hell, I
won't hesitate to dust you. Sibling or not, a vampire is a vampire.
Got it?"

So he had his answer. Derek let his hand slip
away. "As you wish." He didn't want to lose his brother and he was
sure Cassandra would feel the same, but Wade left them no room for
negotiation.

Chapter Sixteen

Sloane kicked off her boots and propped her
feet up on the couch. Tremayne insisted she relax and save her
energy. He didn't want anything to speed up the process of her
transformation until it became unavoidable. She still hoped her
body would reject Tim's bite and she would remain human. Yeah, she
knew it was a fantasy, but she really liked fairytales where the
couples lived happily-ever-after.

She could hear Derek and Cassandra in the
kitchen, preparing a meal for the
humans.
She supposed she
would have to get used to using the correct terms. She would be
joining:
Team Hybrid
. She wondered if they made
T-shirts.

"That's too much cheese," Cassandra
complained from the other room.

"You can never have too much cheese," Derek
argued, but it was all in good humor.

The siblings' banter made her smile,
reminding her of her brother and how they would tease each other.
She didn't want to give up her family, but she knew if she turned,
it would be a must. It was the only way they would remain safe.

Resting her back against the armrest, she
took in the décor of Derek's living room. No pictures adorned the
walls except for an old Star Trek poster the one with the original
cast. Her lips curved. Derek was still a
Trekkie
. She
remembered discussing the crews of each of the series and who their
favorites were. She still liked
Bones
and his snarky
attitude. Derek had liked
Captain Kirk
. She wondered if he
enjoyed the new movies where they reintroduced Kirk and Spock.

She smiled and then focused her attention on
the journal Derek had given her to look over. His notes were his
observation about supernatural creatures he'd hunted. She didn't
recognize half of the creatures listed let alone knew they existed.
A púca was an Irish spirit who could use its ability for good or
bad. It seemed the one Derek and his family hunted thought leading
people to a cliff in the fog was a good thing, especially if they
tumbled over the edge. Really twisted.

She stared at the list of organizations
involved in keeping Otherworldly beings in line. Warriors for the
Light or WFTL were Nephilim. It was a fairly new organization if
she read the notes correctly. They were the PIs of the supernatural
world.

Then there were the Guards of Judgment or GOJ
that were…well as far as she could tell they were supernatural
assassins. They took care of the riffraff by eliminating them.

Finally, there were the Hunters like Derek
and his family. They were the PRB. They hunted Otherworldly
creatures, but as far as she could tell by reading Derek's notes,
they didn't save them.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath,
overwhelmed by everything. Waiting proved torturous. Waiting for
Tim to call. Waiting for her body to change. Waiting…

"Sloane?" Derek called to her and she opened
her eyes. He stood in the archway between the kitchen and the
living room, looking way too cute with the chef's apron he wore
with a body builder's body for the decor. "Dinner is ready," he
told her with a sheepish grin. "Nothing too special. I haven't
shopped in a while."

She gave him a grin. "I'm a fast-food junkie
on most days. Anything home cooked is
special
." She rose to
her feet. Her stomach rumbled reminding her she hadn't eaten since
breakfast and that had been toast and a cup of coffee. Her stomach
was still bothering her.

Once she neared the kitchen the aroma of
cheese and herbs hit her nostrils. Her stomach churned and she
thought she was going to be ill.

"Are you all right?" Derek asked her in
alarm.

She took a deep gulp of air, which proved a
mistake. "Excuse me." She whirled around and dashed down the hall
to the bathroom, falling to her knees beside the toilet. She
heaved, but nothing came up.