Hot Decadent Rising (Breath of Darkness) (13 page)

INTENDING
TO KEEP his conversation with Mary Tate private, Leland Terrick leaned across
the table. “She’s gone. You sent two vampires to retrieve her from the
hospital, and both have been destroyed.”

“It happens. Vampires aren’t always the
smartest creatures,” Mary said. “In truth, if she survived, aren’t you the one
who failed?  Didn’t you give her a lethal dose of heroin?
Nevermind
. It doesn’t matter. I’ll send more vampires to
deal with her once and for all.”

“Convince me. Tell me why you are so
certain that the next vampires you send will be able to find Kara and that
bastard and kill them. My men told me that after I left a woman killed one of
the vampires. Not only killed…the damn thing got down on his hands and knees
and begged for mercy. The woman forced them to give me up. She threatened to
find me, to kill me.”

“The baby is dead.” Mary handed him a
file folder. “And if you’re referring to Mia Harte, I can assure you that it
was a trick or an illusion of some sort. Her demon killed the vampire. Not
her.”

He opened the folder. It contained a
medical report for Kara the night she’d been taken to the hospital. He wasn’t a
doctor, but it appeared Mary was telling the truth. The baby hadn’t survived.
For a moment, he wondered if allowing Kara to live, knowing she’d failed to
protect her baby would be a better, a crueler punishment. But it wasn’t an
option. Kara knew too much. She had to die.

He looked up at Mary. “This is good
news, but it isn’t good enough. Kara has to die. And I have serious doubts
about your ability to get it done. A woman killed one of the vampires. My men
do not lie to me, and they sure as hell aren’t easily deceived by illusions.
They’re highly skilled at their work. They’re the best of the best. They don’t
make mistakes.”

“If that were true, she would’ve been
dead long before you asked for my help.” Mary smiled. “Don’t worry about Mia.
She won’t be an issue for much longer. She has a special talent for walking
blindly into traps. I’ve almost killed her several times. I’ve made
arrangements for her. Soon, she will die.”

“When it comes to killing, almost
doesn’t count.” Leland was having serious regrets about getting Mary involved.
If her vampires managed to kill Kara after he’d failed, he would be even more
indebted to her. The last thing Leland wanted was to owe anything to a woman
crazy enough to believe she had any control over vampires.

“What makes you think the vampires will
do as you command and not turn on you?”

“That’s simple,” Mary said. “If they
fail to find and kill her, I will be unhappy. They don’t want to do anything to
disrupt my happiness.”

Leland lit a cigarette and leaned back
in his chair. “You’ve completely lost your fucking mind if you think vampires
care about your happiness. They’re bloodthirsty killers with no moral code.
What makes you think they won’t turn on you at some point? They feed on human
blood, which makes you a food source.” He laughed aloud. “You are one seriously
fucked-up bitch. I can’t believe I actually thought I could trust you to move
drugs without sampling.”

“Look around you. There’re twenty
vampires in here at this very moment. They wouldn’t do anything to upset me.
This includes touching one of my girls without my consent, for doing anything
to make me unhappy is their greatest fear.”

“You think they fear the thought of you
having a bad day?”

“If I’m not perfectly happy, Demetri
Demidov is not happy. No one, including you, wants to be around when Demetri is
unhappy.”

Leland turned his head toward Demetri,
who was sitting at a table across the room. He didn’t know much about Demetri.
He’d had his people check him out, but they weren’t able to come up with any
reason for him to be in a personal or business relationship with a woman like
Mary. “I have to tell you that in all the times I come here, I’ve never seen
Demetri appear to be even slightly happy. He looks as if he’s ready to kill
someone at any moment.”

She shrugged her shoulders. “Demetri is
not much of a people person. I’ve done what I can to help him develop better
social skills, but a woman can only do so much.”

“Is he a vampire?” Leland wouldn’t mind
having a man like Demetri working for him as long as he was human and
controllable. He’d flirted with the idea of approaching Demetri with a job
offer in the future. “I’ve heard rumors that he has powers far greater than the
vampires.”

 
“My Demetri a
vampire?”
Mary laughed. “That’s funny. But I should warn you…he would
not like hearing that you might entertain such a low opinion of him. In the
world of immortal beings, think of him as being on the very top of the food
chain. He is far more powerful than any vampire. He could easily kill any one
of us sitting here with one careless thought.”

“And you feel safe with him?”

“He would never harm me or allow anyone
else to harm me. The wonderful thing about demons is that despite all their
power and strength they are utterly incapable of doing anything to harm their
true mates. They are unstoppable immortal warriors, created to destroy any
enemy, but their hearts are weak. As a demon, Demetri honestly believes that
there is only one true love for his heart and soul. I own his heart and soul.
He’s completely devoted to me, to my wellbeing and happiness.” Mary leaned over
the table and whispered, “Demetri, come to me.”

Leland looked up as Demetri slowly
turned his head toward them. “He heard you?” He had the most powerful urge to
run as far and as fast as he could, when he felt the floor vibrate beneath his
feet.

“I assure you he has heard our entire
conversation and more.” Mary smirked. “I bet you're wishing you would’ve refrained
from voicing a few of your opinions. But it actually doesn’t matter if you say
them out loud or not. As a demon, he has the ability to hear your every
thought.”

“And that doesn’t scare the shit out of
you?”

“Why should it? It doesn’t matter what I
think, say, or do. In his eyes, I can do no wrong. I own his heart and soul. In
short, I own Demetri.”

When Demetri stood up and started moving
toward them, Leland felt as if fear had physically gripped his heart and was
squeezing the hell out of it.

He towered over everyone in the club.
His body was huge. His chest and abdominal muscles visibly rippled beneath his
shirt as he so very slowly walked. It was like the parting of the Red Sea.
Everyone moved so quickly that several stumbled over their own feet to get out
of his way. No one so much as brushed up against him.

To Leland’s shock, his heavily armed
bodyguards backed away to allow him to freely walk past them to the table. His
bodyguards were considered the most lethal men in the business. No one ever got
past them. And worse, he didn’t even bother to glance at them. He just kept
walking without any visible regard for anything going on around him.

Demetri pulled a chair out and sat down.
Leaning back with his massive arms crossed over his chest, he glared straight
into Leland’s eyes. Up close Demetri was so much more than intimidating. His
eyes were solid black and seemed to burrow deep into Leland’s soul.

“Leland has threatened to end my
business arrangement with him because he doubts the sincerity of your
commitment to ensuring my happiness.” Mary stood up and straddled Demetri’s
lap, and then wrapping her arms around his neck she tipped her head back to
look at Leland. “Or was it that you feared Demetri’s ability to keep my pets
under control enough to murder your daughter?”

Leland’s heart was pounding; his entire
body was trembling. It was unquestionably the single most terrifying moment he
had ever encountered. Demetri’s gaze never left his. Leland attempted to look
away, but he couldn’t do it. His unblinking eyes, so full of dark hatred, just
stared into Leland’s eyes for several excruciating, heart-stopping moments.

“You wish to test me?” Demetri asked in
a voice that resembled a large predator’s growl.

Mary laughed out loud as she lifted her
head to look up at Demetri. “It seems as though he does.” She reached up and
traced his frown with the tip of her index finger.

“Unfortunately, I can’t say I blame him,
Demetri. I thought I mattered to you. Perhaps it is time for us to go our
separate ways and end our arrangement. I’ve told you time and time again that
you need to work on being more sociable. You act like such a terrible grump,
that even he has noticed that you seem unhappy to be with me.”

It scared the shit out of Leland when
Demetri lifted his lip. Clearly, it was not a smile. It was the snarl of a
predator seconds away from attacking and devouring its prey. “I do not appear
happy enough for your liking?” Red flames burned in Demetri’s black eyes as he
continued to stare into Leland’s eyes.

Leland felt something deadly enter his
mind, as a creepy chorus of high-pitched laughter echoed. A dark shadow moved
behind his eyes. The pain started as an irritating, prickly sensation in the
center of his forehead. In a matter of seconds an excruciating, crushing,
vise-like pain enveloped Leland’s head. Seeming to notice his need for their
help for the first time since Demetri walked over to the table, Leland’s
bodyguards moved forward. But each one fell to his knees, clutching his head
and crying out in sheer agony.

“What about now?” Demetri laughed
softly. “Do I appear happy enough to prevent you from placing further doubt in
Mary’s head, or will I be forced to end your wretched life to prevent it?”

Tears in his eyes, sweat dripping down
his face and body, Leland opened his mouth to beg for his life, but no sound
came out. Not even a whimper.  His head felt like it was going to burst,
he couldn’t close his eyes to escape Demetri’s cruel gaze.

Giggling, Mary got up from Demetri’s
lap, walked over, and stood behind Leland. Resting her hands on Leland’s
shoulders, she leaned down near his ear. “Just in case you’re wondering, this
is my Demetri when he’s feeling only a little unhappy. You’re very lucky he’s
only playing.” She moved back to Demetri and wrapped her arm around his
shoulder to lean against him. “That’s enough, Demetri. There’s no need to kill
him yet. Go away now. Leave Leland and me to discuss the new details of the
little arrangement I have with him. I’m convinced we can work out our differences.”

A long, torturous moment of silence
stretched on and on. Rather than subside, the pain in his head increased.
Leland knew he was going to die a horrible, agonizing death. Mary had called
Demetri a demon. He had no doubt Demetri was a demon or a god. They only doubt
he had, was that Mary could control such a powerful being. He hoped like hell
she could, but it wasn’t looking good. Despite the fact she’d called him off,
Demetri didn’t move an inch. He didn’t even so much as blink. He just continued
to stare into Leland’s eyes.

“Stop it, Demetri!” Mary shouted. Leland
realized that she appeared genuinely worried. “I need him! Kill him, and you
will regret it!”

Demetri blinked.
This is not over.
 
He knew it was Demetri’s voice in his head.
I will come for you.
He had
a vision of his body being beaten and ripped to shreds, sprawled out in a pool
of blood at Demetri’s feet.

The pain in Leland’s head slowly
subsided. His bodyguards started to stand up, but backed away rather than rush
to his aide. He was definitely going to have them killed for betraying him.
Demetri stood up and turned toward Mary, dwarfing her; he stared down at her
for several seconds. Leland got the feeling that Demetri hadn’t actually
decided whether or not he would kill him. He found himself holding his breath
even after Demetri turned and walked away.

Leland needed to find a way to end his
business endeavor with Mary, quickly and quietly. But as he began to
contemplate possible methods of getting it done, he remembered Mary telling him
that Demetri could hear his thoughts.

“I need to leave right away,” Leland
said. “I have an important appointment.”

Mary smiled. “I’m sure you do.” She
waved for another man, unknown to Leland, to join them at the table.

“My little pet, Jeremy Lang, will be
joining you. He will remain with you at all times. Think of him as your shadow
that won’t leave your side even in the dark. Basically, he’s going to keep an
eye on you for me, just in case you get the silly notion of backing out on your
arrangement. He has already selected and sent out one of his most qualified
associates to see to it that your daughter is properly disposed of.” She turned
to Jeremy. “Haven’t you, Jeremy?”

“Yes.”

 “Fabulous.” Mary gestured for
Jeremy to lean down. “I knew I could count on you.” Exposing her neck to
Jeremy, she pulled her hair back and tilted her head to the side. “I want to
make sure our connection is strong enough for you to communicate with me at all
times. Do it. Take my blood.” Her voice was low and lustful. Jeremy nuzzled and
kissed her neck. Mary moaned with pleasure when Jeremy’s fangs scraped over her
flesh. When he pierced her flesh and began to suck on her neck, she cried out
in ecstasy.

Staring in disbelief, Leland shook his
head. Where the hell was Demetri? When Jeremy lifted his head and licked his
lips, Leland said, “He doesn’t need to go with me. It’s not necessary. I’ve no
intention of backing out of anything.” He didn’t want the vampire following him
around. What if Jeremy decided to use him as a food source? Nope. There was no
way he was going to agree to a vampire hanging around.