Her Vampire Mate (12 page)

A minute later, he slipped into the seat across from her. “Hi.”

She smiled. “Hi.”

After a few seconds of gazing googly-eyed at each other, he said, “There’s a Chinese place a few doors down if you want to get dinner.”

“You’re inviting me to dinner? Our first date.”

“So we’re a little backward. We had earth-shattering sex and made a lifelong commitment to each other before we started dating. No reason we can’t rectify that.”

She put out her hand. “Lead the way.”

The host at the Chinese place wanted to seat them in the back. Antonio had to slip him a twenty to get him to put them at one of the four-seater tables next to the window. The place was practically empty but maybe the host was expecting a dinnertime rush. It wasn’t yet six o’clock.

They settled in, Antonio with the better view. Jennalynn had had to be alert for the past few hours; it was his turn to keep an eye out.

They ordered, then Antonio took her hand in his. “Tell me about your family. You have two brothers? Any sisters?”

“Just the two older brothers. How about you?”

“I had sisters. They’re all gone now but there were five of them. I was the baby of the family.”

“And let me guess—they doted on you.”

“Of course they did. Are you saying your brothers don’t dote on you?”

“Of course not. Don’t get me wrong—if anyone tried to hurt me, my brothers would rip them limb from limb and feast on their entrails.”

Antonio shivered.

“But they don’t dote on me. Instead, they did their best to toughen me up and make sure I was ready to face the world.”

“Entrails?”

“They’re a little protective. When I first told Darius about you and that I worried I wouldn’t be able to convince you to be my mate, he said—” She broke off.

“Go ahead. Tell me what my future brother-in-law, the alpha of all of North America, planned to do to me.”

She smirked. “He said they’d lock you in a room so I could visit you every day and not go mad.” She squeezed his hand. “I’m sure someone would have let you loose after I died.”

“Decades of incarceration. I guess it could be worse.”

“Oh, it definitely could have been worse. But he must have known I’d object to his hurting you.”

“And locking me up for years wouldn’t be hurting you.”

“It was necessary.”

He shouldn’t be surprised. If one of his sisters had been in that position, he’d have done the same. But it didn’t feel too good to be on the receiving end.

“It’s all right. I’m your soulmate. Problem solved.”

“Indeed.”

Their food arrived and they dug in. Vampires didn’t have to eat, but they could, and Antonio continued to find it a pleasant pastime.

He kept his eyes on Grace Harper’s apartment windows. “You think she’ll come back.”

“If not, we’ll go to plan B.”

Ambushing her in the alley. “Plan A would be easier. And this way we’d be more likely to find out if she has goons guarding her.”

“Yes and no. If there are goons, they’ll be with her at the club too.”

“Maybe I just don’t like the idea of going back there. It was close. Too close.”

“Agreed. I can call in reinforcements. But I can guarantee if Darius sends more wolves, any question of the world-walker going with you will be off the table.”

That wouldn’t be a good thing. His life depended on his handing the world-walker over to the Vampire Council. Not to mention a good chunk of money.

“We’ll be all right,” Jennalynn said.

Just as Antonio took another bite of his General Tsao’s Chicken, he saw a light come on in the apartment window. “She’s here.”

Jennalynn took a look. “All right. Next step?”

Antonio raised his hand to the waiter to get the check. “We finish up quick and go check out the building. I don’t see any additional activity on the street but we’ll still need to be careful.”

Ten minutes later, Jennalynn headed across the street while Antonio watched from the alley by the restaurant. He had wanted to be the first one over there but as she’d pointed out, she was stronger and a much better fighter. He’d countered that he was faster but she’d won the argument all the same.

So he watched from the shadows while his woman walked into possible danger without him and he fought the instinct to follow her. She’d told him specifically not to.

As though he would obey.

Once she’d disappeared into the building, he raced across the street and made it through the door before it shut. He slid quickly into the shadows of the lobby and watched her as she walked up the stairs.

***

When Vicenzo reached the Vampire High Council chambers, he could barely hold back his excitement. Nothing could have come together better. He was about to score a major coup with the Council and eliminate his biggest frustration all in one thrust.

High Councilor Jacques Amirault sat at the front of the room with his lower councilors arrayed on either side and a long table in front of them. Vicenzo had to walk through the long room toward them, with them watching him all the way. He knew it was designed to intimidate anyone coming to speak to the High Council, and as such it was quite effective.

Vicenzo stopped in front of Jacques. “I have news about the world-walker.”

“Has he been found?” Jacques said.

“We believe so. Has Antonio not checked in?”

“He has not. Tell us what you know.”

Vicenzo quickly outlined what his progeny had told him. “And so we fear Antonio may hand the world-walker to the werewolves.”

Jacques’s face hardened. “We shall have to make his elimination that much less pleasant for even considering betraying us. In the meantime, we will send a squad to retrieve the world-walker and eliminate Antonio.”

“I would like to be on that squad,” Vicenzo said.

“You are not a fighter.”

“I can fight well enough. I have helped you thus far and asked no payment—nor will I. But I would like to see Antonio executed. I want to be there.”

Jacques paused for a long moment, totally still except for two of his fingers twitching. “Very well. But if my commandos tell me you have gotten in their way, there will be hell to pay.”

“Yes, High Councilor.”

Finally. Finally, the long nightmare of being Antonio’s sire would end.

***

Jennalynn walked cautiously up all three floors to get to the world-walker’s apartment but didn’t encounter a soul. Was it possible Harper wasn’t being guarded? Or maybe it wasn’t even her in the apartment. Maybe Jennalynn would find a decoy instead.

Only one way to find out.

She knocked on the apartment door then stood to the side. She didn’t really think it was necessary but she couldn’t stop the vision of Harper standing on the other side of the door with a shotgun from going through her head.

After a short pause, a woman called out, “Who’s there? Show yourself.”

Whoops. She’d forgotten that hiding from the hypothetical shotgun meant she wouldn’t be visible through the peephole. At the same time, Harper would recognize her from the night before. Jennalynn hauled her hoodie up over her head then moved partway into view. “It’s me, Jen.” Most people had at least one friend named Jen.

“Jen? What are you doing here?” The lock snapped and the door opened a crack, the chain still in place. “You’re not Jen.”

Jennalynn put her hand on the door so Harper couldn’t slam it shut. “I just want to talk.” She could feel the other woman putting her weight against the door, trying to close it. “My name really is Jen. Look, I don’t mean you any harm.”

“I don’t have to talk to you.”

She hated to get nasty but it might be the only option. “I could snap the door open in a heartbeat and break that flimsy little chain of yours. How ‘bout you stop trying to slam it in my face?”

Harper put her forehead against the door. “Why won’t you all leave me alone?”

For a second, Jennalynn felt for the woman. But it didn’t matter. She had a job to do and Darius wouldn’t thank her for letting the world-walker loose just because Jennalynn felt sorry for her. “Let me come in,” she said in a softer voice. “I just want to talk.”

“And let me guess—you’re not leaving until you do.”

Yeah, the poor woman had been through the wringer. “That’s about the sound of it,” Jennalynn said gently.

Grace straightened. “You’ve got to let me close the door in order to undo the chain.”

“Just remember if you try to run, I’ll break the door down.”

A few seconds later, Grace pulled the door open. Jennalynn stepped inside and just like that, Antonio stepped in behind her, his hand on her back. Grace screamed.

Jennalynn managed not to jump. “I thought I said I’d take care of it.”

He leaned close and whispered in her ear, the warmth of his breath waking all sorts of things up inside her. “I never agreed to that. You don’t really think I’d let you walk in here without backup?”

Part of her felt annoyed that he couldn’t have just said that beforehand while another part of her felt pleased he’d been concerned about her. Was this what being mated felt like? Would she ever agree with herself again?

Grace stood in the middle of her small living room, hands clasped together, arms straight. “Please don’t hurt me.”

“We won’t,” Jennalynn said. “Why don’t we all sit down?”

In spite of her furniture looking a little threadbare, Grace had clearly spent time trying to make the room look nice. Throws and pillows lent a splash of color to the tan couch and covered up some of the stains. An inexpensive but well-kept rug on the floor underneath the glass coffee table probably covered up more flaws. Scented candles on the table gave the room a lemony smell.

They sat. Grace’s eyes darted from Jennalynn to Antonio and back again. “What’s a werewolf doing with a vampire?”

Jennalynn and Antonio shared a look. “How do you know we’re a werewolf and a vampire?”

Grace shrugged one shoulder. “It’s part of my so-called gift. Are you going to answer my question?”

“It’s a long story,” Jennalynn said.

“We’re mates,” Antonio said at the same time.

“You really think we should be spreading that around?” Jennalynn said.

“I think we need to be honest with her if we want her to trust us.”

Jennalynn couldn’t quite believe Antonio was the one saying that. She’d always heard vampires were sneaky and underhanded. And who knew—maybe most of them were. Maybe Antonio really was the anomaly he claimed to be. “All right.”

Antonio leaned toward Grace, elbows on his knees. “We met just recently when we were looking for you. As you’ve guessed, we’ve been sent by two different groups who are both interested in working with you.”

Grace slumped in her seat. “At least this way I can tell you both ‘no’ at the same time.”

Jennalynn ignored that. “I take it you’ve been approached by others? How did you manage to evade them?”

“You mean how is it that I wasn’t captured by someone?” Grace said. “I was. The mob came calling about a month ago. But they quickly realized they couldn’t hold me. I can slip into another dimension from anywhere. And when I’m there, I can slip back into ours in some other spot. So they locked me in a hotel with a bunch of guards and I stepped into another dimension. I walked about a mile and came back. They managed to catch me the first couple of times until I realized they’d put a tracker on me. Then they came to realize how impossible it was to hold me.”

So coercion wasn’t going to work. Jennalynn actually felt relieved. Persuasion was much easier on the conscience.

“And they didn’t try to blackmail you or force you—” Antonio said.

“Of course they did. But I have no family they can hold hostage, no pets to butcher and no money to speak of. They have nothing to hold against me.”

“What do you want?” Jennalynn said.

“I want you to leave me alone,” Grace said. “I didn’t ask to be a world-walker. I’m lousy at negotiating. Hell, I don’t like people all that much. I have no desire to be a liaison for one of your factions. Just leave me alone.”

“You must know that’s not possible,” Jennalynn said. “Tell me something. How close is this world to colliding with us?”

Grace leaned back in her easy chair, crossed her legs and shoved her hands between them, palms together. “A year, maybe two.”

Shit. Every time there was a collision it threw Earth Prime into turmoil. Jennalynn had lived through it only once so far; she wasn’t looking forward to doing it again—and so soon. “Let’s say you work for us for that year or two and you come out the other end with enough money to set you up for life. Would a year or two of doing what you hate be worth a lifetime of ease?”

When Grace didn’t say anything for quite some time, Antonio added, “After this, you’d never have to work a job you hated again.”