Foreshadowed (5 page)

CHAPTER 9

            I was sitting in the deli wearing a comfortable dress and flats and flipping through a magazine when Kara came bounding up to the table. Enveloping me in a quick hug, she threw her pocketbook on the table and collapsed in the chair across from me with a dramatic sigh. Used to her theatrics, I merely raised an eyebrow in question.

            "Sorry, I'm late. I was trying to leave when some lady stopped me in the lobby to ask what floor Alex was on." She cocked her head to the side and asked, "She had really long platinum blonde hair, super pale, and was kinda snobby acting. You know her? She said she was an old friend of his."

            How could words feel like a punch in the stomach? With a calm I didn't feel, I said, "Yeah, that sounds like Ophelia. I heard she was in town. Let me put it this way-- with a friend like her, who needs enemies? That just about sums her up." I threw the magazine down on the table in disgust.

            Kara's eyes went wide. "Well, maybe I should have directed her to the wrong place then. Darn. I wanted to do that anyway just based on her sorry attitude. Glad to know she's not really a friend of yours."

            "Not at all."

            I listened and commented as Kara talked about her recent date catastrophes and happenings at work, but my mind was elsewhere. I was wondering just what Ophelia was up to. She had an agenda. That much I was certain of.

            Deciding against using our telepathy to ask Alex about Ophelia's visit, I headed over to his office once Kara and I had finished lunch. As I was nearing the front entrance of Chase, I saw Ophelia sliding into the back of a cream colored town car. I watched as it pulled away before walking briskly through the glass doors into the building. Remembering how far Alex and I had come with our trust issues, I made an extra effort to calm myself as the elevator climbed slowly up. Once I stepped off, I gave a quick wave to his secretary and slipped through the door of his office. Alex was sitting at his huge desk, leaning back in his chair with his hand on his chin, deep in thought. When he saw me, a gorgeous smile spread across his lips and he stood up, coming around the desk to kiss me. And, really, unless you've been subjected to the force of Alex's charms, you couldn't know the effects. They'd completely destroy a girl's best intentions in a minute. And right then, they had me forgetting what day it was; let alone my intent to discuss Ophelia's visit. In fact, not only was I returning the kiss equally, but I was beginning to debate an alternate use for the large desk that Alex had been sitting at. How quickly he could make me forget everything except for him when we were together.

            Alex pulled back giving me a knowing grin.

            "I'm telling you. You make it very hard to stay out of your head when I know you’re thinking things like that." He swept me up and deposited me on his desk. "And I think it's a perfectly good idea."

            I tried my best to look annoyed. But, honestly, I wasn‘t feeling it. “You’re not allowed to look at me like that right now.”

            He grinned mischievously. He knew exactly what he was doing. “Like how?”

            “The way you’re looking at me. Like you could devour me. Not when I’m supposed to be irritated with you.”

            Alex gave me a grin that caused the dimple to show in his left cheek. Something that
always
did me in. He shrugged. “I can’t help it. You’re irresistible when you’re angry. And when you’re not. Hell, let’s face it. You’re just irresistible.”

            I bit back a grin. “And you’re impossible. But I love you anyway.” Err, we were getting so off subject here.

            Coming to my senses I placed a hand on his chest. "You're very distracting, you know. I came here for an important reason and this wasn't it."

            "Oh yeah? It was your idea, wasn't it?" He leaned down kissing me gently on the neck.

            Ignoring the delightful shiver that this produced, I slid off the desk, walking over to sit in one of the plush leather chairs in front of his desk.

            I sighed. "It was, kind of. Though if you would have stayed out of my head, you wouldn't have known."

            "Oh, I'd have known," he said intently.

            I just shook my head at him, knowing there was no arguing that. Looking him in the eye, I said, "I heard you had a visitor today.
A long lost friend
by the name of Ophelia."

            He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "How did you know?"

            "Let's get to that later." I paused. "What did she want?"

            Alex sat down in the chair next to me and gave me a knowing look. "Yeah, I'm not the only one to have a visitor from a long lost
friend,
now am I?"

            I sighed again. "No, you're not. Brad accosted me again today."

            "When?"

            "While I was taking a walk out to the pond."

            Alex shot up in his seat. "He was on our property?" He didn't wait for an answer. "That's what I get for not checking up on your thoughts today. I would have seen what
asshole
was up to if I had." He ran a hand through his wavy hair-- a good sign that he was extremely irritated. "It seems he doesn't know what's good for him. He's got a death wish."

            I bit my lip to keep from smiling. It wasn't often that I got to see Alex get worked up about something and he
really
didn't like Brad. "Hold you horses, Alex. He actually came to warn me that Ophelia was around. I guess he cares despite himself."

            Alex looked unconvinced. "Hmm. I don't trust him."

            "Yeah. Me neither. Speaking of people I don't trust-- what did Ophelia want from you today?"

            "She said she came to warn us about Lucien."

            "Lucien?"

            "She claims he's heading here to the States. She said he was enraged when he found out you had escaped. Which, that comes as no surprise; but she also thinks he has plans to force you back to Romania... and she says a majority of the council is behind him."

            The shock of what he was saying left me frozen. This was the point that, if I had still been human, would have been the perfect time for a panic attack. Reminding myself of the powers I'd been holding at bay since my change, calm began to set in. I assured myself that Alex and I were both well equipped to deal with whatever came our way. In fact, according to most, we were among the strongest vampires in existence. Thanks to our highly rare bond, most believed when our powers combined, we'd surpass even the strongest. Fortunately, we hadn't yet had to combine our power. But I had a feeling the time was drawing near; very near. Honestly, I had clung so much to my human qualities that I hadn't even began to test my vampire abilities. The one that I knew for sure about had been pulled to the surface by my extreme dislike for Ophelia. When I'd met up with Alex in London, after Ethan had helped me escape from the Regency, Ophelia had stopped by to antagonize me. Little did either of us know, it was the perfect catalyst to bring forth my power to throw an object, or vampire as it turned out, across a room simply by willing it. I hadn't even touched her. My anger had erupted and the next thing I knew, her body was slamming against a wall. When she'd tried to come back at me, I'd simply willed it to happen again with the same effect. Realizing my power was much stronger than hers, she'd left. Since then I hadn't been angry enough for that, or any of my powers, to surface again.

            Feeling a renewed strength, I turned to Alex.

            "I'm getting sick and tired of waiting for Lucien, or the Regency, or the Coalition to strike.  I'm simply
not
going to worry about it anymore. When and if they show up-- we'll deal with them." I walked up to Alex, letting my fingers slide down the lapel of his jacket. "Besides, there are much better things we can do with our time than worry."

            "There you go again with that dirty mind of yours."

            I gave him a playfully stern look. "I'm sure yours is no better. I'm just a little more respectful of your privacy and don't try to read your mind without your permission."

            "I can assure you that what you would see would leave you blushing from head to toe.” He swung me around to sit on the mahogany desk behind us, stepping between my knees and sliding me towards him. "Here. Let me show you an example."

CHAPTER 10

            Anna had stopped by after work that evening and we had taken up residency on the black velvet sofas in Alex's living room. Well, technically it was my living room as well, but I had only been living with him for a month and I guess it would take a little while before it felt like mine.

            I sat with my foot propped up on the coffee table, polishing my toenails a pretty blood red color that set off the gorgeous ruby red diamond Alex had given me as an engagement ring. Gory as it may seem, the diamond's interior was filled with Alex's blood, hence the blood red color. Before we had completed our bond, it had been essential that we remain near each other and he'd added his blood to the diamond in case something separated us for too long. Thank God he had, because Lucien had carted me off to Romania and we had been thousands and thousands of miles apart. I couldn't imagine how I would have gotten by without the ring staving off the gut wrenching pain that the separation would have caused. Yes, the ring had been a lifesaver. And since vampire blood was a brighter red and much more viscous than human blood, it didn't react to air the same way; it never dried up or turned a dark brown color like human blood. So, even though Alex had added his blood to the ring over a month ago, it still had its glistening ruby red color-- and always would.

            Anna was lying on the couch across from me, flipping through a magazine. She glanced over. "I feel kinda left out now. You, Alex, Ethan, Paul and even Kyle are all vampires and I'm stuck in this extremely less glamorous human form. Actually, I'm downright jealous. Maybe I need to get someone to turn me."

            I looked up at her from where I was leaning over adding a clear coat of polish to my toes. "Anna, you're ridiculous. Anyone would kill to look like you, vampire or human, so that's a really silly reason to want to be turned. Besides, you said you wanted to wait until you found the right person to turn you."

            Anna wiggled her eyebrows at me. "Maybe I have."

            "You can't be serious. Who?" I had a pretty good idea of who she was talking about, but I was holding out hope that I was wrong.

            She just shrugged and went back to flipping the pages of her magazine. Sighing, I let the subject drop, knowing it'd do no good to press her on it. That was one thing we had in common; we were both extremely stubborn.

            I had just put my polishes back in the silver bag I kept them in, when I heard the door open and close in the foyer. Glancing at my watch, I saw it was about time for Alex to be getting back, but I didn't feel him approaching the way I usually did. By the time I looked up from my watch, Ethan was rounding the corner into the living room. He had on a jet black suit that matched the color of his black hair perfectly and set off his emerald green eyes. Really, I had no idea how anyone that was around him could not know he was supernatural. Alex was the same way with his dark wavy hair and stunningly blue eyes that practically glowed. They both were entirely too perfect to be human.

            Anna obviously thought so. She couldn't seem to take her eyes off of Ethan, who'd collapsed on the leather chair next to me. I rolled my eyes. He always made himself right at home whenever he came over. I guess knowing Alex for hundreds of years gave him that right.

            Blowing air on my still wet fingernails, I propped myself on a pillow and looked at Ethan. "What a nice surprise. And to what do we owe this unexpected visit?"

            I just couldn't help myself from giving him a hard time. I figured this was what it would have been like to have a brother. We both were relentless with our teasing, but when it came right down to it-- we would kill to protect each other.

            He gave me a look that said he wasn't in the mood for my crap. "Is Alex here? I need to talk to him."

            Judging from the seriousness on his face, I switched from my teasing mood. It was never a good thing when Ethan looked nervous. He was known for his laid back I-don't-give-a-damn attitude.

            My stomach dropped a little. My eyes shot over to Anna who had sat up and was listening intently. "He should be here any time now. Why? Is something wrong?"

            "I've received some reports that Lucien and a few of the nastier members of the Regency are in the area. I think it goes without saying that they are up to no good."

            I swallowed hard. "Ophelia visited Alex the other day with a warning that Lucien might come this way. So I guess you could say we were kind of expecting him-- maybe just not this soon."

            "Yeah, well he's not going to leave without getting what he wants. It's just a matter of time before he shows up here or tracks you down somewhere else." He looked at me sternly. "Seriously Brooke. You can
not
just take off without one of us or a guard. He's taken you before and he'll do it again."

            I nodded. "You don't have to worry about that. I've learned my lesson. You'll see no more stubborn adventures from me-- cross my heart."

            Looking relieved he stood up as Alex strode in. Alex stopped to kiss the top of my head and immediately sensing the tension in the room, looked at Ethan. "What's up?"

            Ethan nodded towards Alex's office and the two of them headed off in that direction. I looked at Anna, who had been watching Ethan leave the room.

            "Playing hard to get has obviously been the ticket to getting Ethan to notice you. You'll just need to reel him in," I said teasingly.

            Anna smiled, glancing back in the direction Ethan had left. "That's the plan."

            It was past midnight and the house was silent. Alex was downstairs working in his study and I was climbing the steps to the library, intent on finding a good book to pass the time. As great as it was that I didn't need to sleep, it sure left a whole lot of downtime with nothing to do. I perused the shelves, my hand coming to rest on a thick hardback book about Lady Jane Grey. I pulled it off the shelf as an easy choice. I was just turning away from the bookshelf when a bright flash of light overtook me and, losing my balance, I crumpled to the ground. Visions assailed me at a speed that left the images almost indistinguishable. I was assaulted with images of bloody, matted blonde hair, a rolling green countryside, a choppy gray harbor just before dusk, and flashes of other things I couldn't make out. With a kaleidoscope of images still swirling before my eyes, I felt strong hands lift me up, cradling me and then placing me on a soft bed. When the visions finally cleared from my eyes, I saw Alex's concerned face leaning over me.

            Looking nearly terrified, he asked, "Brooke, are you okay? What happened?"

            I raised a hand to my forehead, massaging a temple. "More visions. Like the ones I first had before I was changed." I looked into his vivid blue eyes. "These were awful, though. Bloody and gory and had such a feeling of dread with them. I'm afraid they're foreshadowing something truly terrible."

            "Are you sure? Maybe it's just the stress of everything you've been through lately." He nodded to himself, as if determining that had to be the cause. "Yes, you've been under entirely too much stress. Maybe we do need to get away for awhile. We'll take security with us, just in case. And it'll throw Lucien off of your trail for awhile. Maybe he'll give up and go home. Or, Regency be damned, maybe I just need to destroy him and call it a day."

            I shook my head. "No, really, it's okay. You're right. I'm probably just a little overwhelmed. I‘ll be fine."