Hunger Untamed H3 (18 page)

Victor gripped the phone tighter, tempted to crush it in his fist. He couldn’t say for sure why he’d reached out to Cicero, other than knowing he needed an in on the way the Council worked. He’d never been good at subtlety though. How to come out and ask for help with evading Council notice eluded him.

“I’m just saying, sometimes they might let things slide because they’ve got bigger and better things to worry about.”

“I don’t know, man, what is this about? Maybe, I think... Yeah, there was this one thing I know about, but only because it involved an executioner, which is maybe one step away from being a guard. A guy who turned someone.”

Victor perked and worked to keep any excitement out of his voice. “Yeah? What happened?”

“I don’t know. Gerulaitis, like the tennis player. He turned a woman, ended up marrying her. Thought for sure the Council would have sent more executioners after them, but all you have to do is mention that name and vampires are suddenly reassigned, the matter dropped. Don’t know how he managed it, but he put the fear of God in that group.”

“Know how I can get in touch with him?”

“Wait, what? Whoa. What kind of shit are you getting yourself involved in, merc? Last time we talked, it was about Sage, which was scary enough. I just told you that people start disappearing when they bring up this guy, and you want to get involved with him?” A pause. “Wait a minute. You’re not thinking about going after him for a payday, are you?”

If that would get him the information he needed, sure. “Could be. You think they’d pay up?”

“Maybe. Like I said, it’s a touchy thing. I can let you know what I find out—”

“Great—”

“For a finder’s fee.”

He expected nothing less out of Cicero. “Ten percent.”

“Thirty.”

“Fifteen.”

“You know we’re both going to agree to twenty, so let’s cut this off right here. Twenty percent of whatever the Council pays you. I’ll text you when I know something. Maybe an hour.”

“Yeah, fine,” Victor said. “You’re still a dickhead.”

Victor disconnected the call to the sound of Cicero’s chuckle. The consequences of their conversation continued to sink in. Someone out there had defied the Council’s edict of never turning a vampire without their expressed permission first. Killing off vampires didn’t meet the same consequences because, face it, fewer predators competing for food.

Never before in his life had he worried too much about the Council or their actions, because what he did stayed beneath their radar. He didn’t engage in politics of any kind, never before had reason to consider progeny. For Lucy, he would engage all of them. He’d done this to her and would find a way out of this mess for her sake.

Still, for now, it pained him to face her inside that tiny house where her disappointment lay between them like a living thing. He went to the Mustang, sat on the hood and replayed in his mind those final moments. The minutes when he’d been forced to watch her life slip through his fingers. He heard himself asking—begging—her to accept the gift of vampire life and waiting for the reply. His heart had stopped working right while he anticipated her rapid blinking. Had he jumped the gun? Maybe, desperate for her response, he’d allowed himself to see something that wasn’t there?

By now, the werewolves had written him off as any kind of ally. After wounding a number of Locke’s people, killing two at least, nothing he said or did about Sage would ever ingratiate him in their graces, so he might as well say goodbye to that, not that it mattered. At some point, he’d lost whatever loyalty he had for them and had given it all to the tiny human with the courage of a lion.

His heart began to double-thump, a change he’d noticed from the moment Lucy had stopped breathing and the vampire blood in her system began to blossom. He didn’t know a whole hell of a lot about transition, but he knew a sire could always recognize the nearness of his charge when that telltale heartbeat began to race.

He looked up to see her approach and was once again struck by her amazing beauty. She’d been unreachable before transition and now, in the throes of transforming into a preternatural creature, she’d left the human plane to become otherworldly. A goddess among plebeians.

His own imperfections set him so far away from her, he shouldn’t be allowed to exist on the same planet. In making her, he’d pushed her away to a place he’d never be able to reach. His soul splintered beneath the realization.

She hoisted herself onto the car hood beside him, but for the first time since he could remember, they didn’t touch. “Are you still going to help me?” she asked while looking into the distance.

“Of course,” he said, studying her face. Memorizing it for the last time. “Nothing’s changed about that. We started this with one goal in mind, and I don’t stop until you tell me to.”

Lucy turned sharply to regard him. “That will never happen.”

He nodded. “Then I’ll still help you. Between now and then, we go back to training and coming up with a plan for getting to him.”

“The clock’s not ticking anymore, though. I don’t have just weeks to—”

“You do only have a few weeks, maybe only a few days to work with.” Victor glanced skyward for help in explaining this. “It’s bad. There are consequences to making a new vampire without permission and as a result, they’ll come after me. And you.”

“Who?” Her eyes widened, the blue now flecked with white that made her eyes seem like diamonds.

“The vampire Council.” He went on to explain their laws and how they’d eventually deal with Victor and Lucy. By the end of it, he thought she’d be fearful or even livid over the upcoming days on the run.

“So let me get this straight,” she said in a soft voice. “You’ll kill new vampires because control, but poison a bunch of humans—also messing with your food source—and not blink an eye? What kind of fucked-up logic is that?”

Victor’s phone chimed. His mouth parted, his brain working hard to come up with some sort of reasonable explanation for her, but he had nothing. The dark woods surrounding them blasted a chorus of crickets, as if nature decided he needed a soundtrack at the moment.
Thanks for that
,
Mother Nature.

He swiped the screen and read the display. His brow furrowed. The address Cicero texted him couldn’t have been more than a two-hour ride by car. They could get to the former executioner in person while staying mobile and less of a target for both vampires and werewolves. “Go grab some supplies. Food and clothes for yourself for at least two days.”

“I thought I’d be drinking blood forevermore,” she said dryly.

“You can, but it doesn’t have to be the only thing you consume. Besides, you’re still in transition. The entire process takes three days plus or minus some hours. Nothing exact. It could be a while yet before you stop being human. In the meanwhile, you might get the munchies.”

Lucy nodded, then hopped down from the car. She tucked her hands in the back pockets of her jeans, and he couldn’t stop himself from watching her ass as she moved away.

His gaze raised when she stopped and turned to face him. “You know, no matter how this all turns out, I know that I’m not hurting anymore and I have you to thank for that. I don’t like how you did it, but I am grateful to you for feeling normal again. So...I guess, thank you.”

She gave him an odd look after that, one that suggested that maybe she felt conflicted on the dissolution of their partnership. Maybe it was more wishful thinking on his part, though.

Once he managed to remove the price on their heads, he’d try to repair what remained of their tattered relationship.

First, remove the threat from the Council. Then remove Sage.

Victor had some calls to make.

Chapter Twenty

The car ride with Victor left Lucy more confused than ever. At least listening to the GPS give directions provided an excuse for staying quiet and focus on her roiling thoughts. They’d traveled by day this time, the change in schedule leaving her disoriented and fatigued.

Yet, for the first time in months, her breathing came easily. Nothing hurt.
Nothing.
She could stretch without being aware of every muscle and bone involved in the process. The brush of her clothes against her skin didn’t make her want to curl up into a ball and sob. She’d forgotten what it felt like to be normal until he’d given that gift back to her.

But the price she’d paid for it seemed too high. Way too high. How could she condemn vampires with her last breath when she now counted as one of them? The vitriol she’d felt toward them, slowly developing over the last several years, now left her thrown. If given the chance to drink from the most exquisite, would she take it?

She chanced a glimpse of Victor. This beautiful, imperfect man.

He made her heart squeeze with longing. Even now, when she wanted to hate him for forcing her into a life she would have never considered before. She’d been raised around vampires, lived a luxurious life because of them and never once ever thought it glamorous or fashionable. Let authors turn them into fantastical beings worth romanticizing. Men like Sage had ultimately taught her better.

“We’re here,” Victor said.

Great. Wherever here was. She hadn’t bothered to ask, caught up in her own concerns. Stubborn pride wanted to keep the fires of anger at Victor still stoked, and not speaking to him helped. Childish, maybe, but effective.

She hated becoming a vampire. She loved being alive and well.

Lucy studied the house where they’d pulled to a stop. A large ranch-style home with olive siding and gray trim parked in front of a flank of massive oak trees. The cobbled walkway stretched from the street to the front door. For Christ’s sake, there was even a white picket fence surrounding it on three sides.

The family in the side yard triggered Lucy’s emotions as she watched them interact with each other. The woman, a pretty brunette with enviable curls, laughed as a tall man chased after a toddler who obviously planned on joining the Olympic track team. The little girl pumped her arms as her legs kicked out in the most awkward of ways. Lucy’s head tilted to the side as she realized the girl listed too, ensuring she’d end up on her ass before the man could catch her.

“Who are they?” she asked, enthralled. She’d return to being angry later. Right now, her curiosity took over.

“Corin Gerulaitis, a former vampire executioner.” Victor pushed open the door, as if his short response needed no further explanation. Which it did. Weren’t they supposed to be hiding from people exactly like him?

The husband caught up to the girl, swinging her into the air where she began to kick and flail. Her face swelled into an outraged balloon of red until her father pulled her into a tight hug and began to blow raspberries on her belly. The girl squealed in protest, which turned into infectious giggling. Her father smiled down on her, the love on his face like a beacon. She had him wrapped around her little finger; he knew it and didn’t seem to care.

Lucy smiled as she watched them, almost regretting that she and Victor needed to interrupt the idyllic scene.

“Corin,” the woman called, a note of alarm ringing. She studied Victor and Lucy, hand at her throat.

The man immediately swung his attention to the brunette and then, noticing the direction where she looked, moved it toward them. The transformation that overtook him was immediate and dramatic. He rushed the little girl to her mother, handing her off in seconds. His wife didn’t hesitate, tucking the girl into her arms and bolting with her into the safety of the house.

Lucy held up a hand and try to assuage their startle. “Wait...sorry. We’re just here—”

Corin scooped a packet from the ground. In a very practiced move, he removed two stakes from a sheath, letting the pocket flutter to the ground. His hands wrapped around the spikes in a grip that she knew would not be easily shaken. “Stay where you are.”

She knew better than to contradict him, especially when he thought his family was in danger. She grabbed on to the back of Victor’s shirt when he would have moved forward without respecting the request. He glanced back at her, made a face but heeded her caution.

“We’re only here to talk. I’d like to ask you a few things, please,” Victor said.

Corin’s dispassionate gaze swept over them both. “How did you find us?”

“A well-connected friend.”

They stood at an impasse while Corin judged whether to let them come closer or to stake them both. As much as she admired Victor and all he’d taught her, she had a sinking feeling that a determined Corin might take them both down with a speed and efficiency that made the werewolves look like amateurs. That brush with death still echoed in her ears, so she’d like to avoid it as much as possible at this point, thank you very much. “You have a lovely family,” she said softly.

“You’re newly transitioned.” He studied her even harder now.

“Yes.” Victor had told her about the cinnamon scent, but she hadn’t considered just any old vampire could pick up on it. The realization was startling, especially as it made perfect sense. “That’s why we’re here,” Victor said. “I need to know about you and your wife. How you managed to escape from the Council without—”

“An unauthorized turning, then. I see.” He shook his head. “Ours was an extraordinary set of circumstances. If you broke the law to create this one, then you’ve signed your own execution order. I’m sorry, but there’s nothing anyone can do for you or for her. Enjoy the time you have together until it comes to an end.”

Stunned, Lucy could only blink at him and let his words sink in. He said it with such casual indifference as if discussing the color of Victor’s car or the state of the lawn.
I’m sorry
,
but there’s nothing anyone can do for dandelions.
Enjoy the time you have plucking them until it comes to an end.
“What the fuck kind of messed-up response is that? You’re sorry?” She whirled on Victor. “Is this what you came here for, or did you come thinking that we’d get some help from someone like us? Mister, you’ve got a beautiful family, but I’m guessing that the Council would just as soon see it wiped out, am I right? Something changed their minds. You have to tell us what it was.”

Corin looked toward Victor, his expression devoid of emotion. The utter lack of regard for their lives shuttled a chill through Lucy. “Take your progeny and go. You might have a month together before they come for you. Whatever you do, don’t return here or I’ll dispatch you myself.”

Her cheeks flushed as if he’d slapped her instead of just dismissing them outright. They burned altogether when Corin turned his back on them, as if discounting them as a threat. They weren’t, but his manner reminded her so much of her time with the vampire elite. Somehow, she’d almost forgotten.

“What do we do now?” she said to Victor. Her gaze wouldn’t leave Corin’s retreating back, some small part of her hoping he’d change his mind and turn around.

“Focus on Sage, I guess. Get to him before they get to us.”

Corin slowed but didn’t stop.

“How? How do we isolate him again? The last time was chance and a whole lot of luck.”

“I don’t know, doll. Let’s head home and I’ll see what I can find out. We’ll get to him before he gets us, I promise.”

Reluctantly, Lucy nodded. She started to reach for Victor’s hand and had to catch herself. How easy it was to forget the change in their dynamic. Especially when she’d been used to turning to him for comfort. The next time she fed from him, it would all come crashing back, and her anger would be renewed all over again.

By the time they got into the car, she chastised herself a few more times to help it set in. This was a partnership. Nothing more than a brokered deal.

The sizzling heat he generated with a kiss collided into her. A visceral recollection she didn’t want.

Her mind bombarded her with a memory of his face hovering above hers, the desire reflected back in his gaze.

So much comfort in simply talking and laughing with him, the vampire mercenary.

No.
She would not fall in love with Victor. It wasn’t too late. She steeled her spine, demanding all emotion related to him to shed from her soul. Later, maybe later, she’d sort it all out.

“Wait,” she said as he started up the car. She stared at the pretty house and reflected on the idyllic scene again. Even if Corin couldn’t feel sorry for them, maybe once he told his wife the story of why they’d come, she’d have some sway over him. They looked the type to discuss their days over dinner or as they curled up in bed that night. She could almost hear him explaining how he’d turned down helping another couple in need, a couple who were now in the same position they’d been in once upon a time. It made her wonder what kind of woman his wife was and whether she’d be as indifferent as her husband.

All of Lucy’s hope said no.

She popped open the glove compartment and rooted through some of the papers in there. “Any blank pages or napkins I can write on? And a pen?”

“Both in there.”

She located a small notepad and pen. After scribbling a note and Victor’s number on it, she jumped out of the car and left the page in the mailbox. The worst that could happen would be Corin finding it and tossing it in the trash without a second thought.

With any luck—she’d be crossing all fingers and toes—they’d get a phone call and an explanation. Probably not, but she needed something to cling to. She couldn’t believe the Council and its members, who hadn’t known her name a week ago, could cause so much chaos in their lives.

She explained her thinking to Victor, who shrugged at her supposition. “It can’t hurt. Happy wife, happy life, right?”

Although they’d driven to the house mostly in silence on the way up, the drive home seemed tenser. As if their failure signaled the start of something bad for their future, which it might have. Ever since the night at the bar when the werewolves had tried to kill them, nothing wanted to go their way. How had it all come down to this? Werewolves, more vampires, executioners...it didn’t seem real.

Her eyes slipped closed, the hypnotic sway of the car soothing her nerves and mind.

Lucy jerked awake to the sound of Victor’s voice. God, she hadn’t realized she’d fallen asleep. She looked around and recognized the path to the house, which meant they were only minutes away. But why had they stopped?

“It’s all about Sage, not the Council.” Victor was frowning as he held the phone to his ear. “He’s wanted for poisoning humans, the least of his crimes. There may be more, but I’m not at liberty to speak about it yet and honestly, I don’t have any evidence to support anything else.”

Lucy frowned too, not certain who Victor might be sharing this news with. Although he’d promised to help her with Sage, so it made sense. They needed as many allies as possible in this to provide assistance. If nothing else, should they fail, maybe someone else would be able to take up the cause.

“Questioning for now is all I know. What happens after that, I can’t say... Anything you can do. Anything.”

Victor apparently disconnected the call, then placed the phone in the cup holder. He turned to Lucy and faced her with a shit-eating grin. “Someone’s changed their mind and used the phone number you left in the mailbox.”

Lucy perked. “Oh my God. What did he say?”

“Before morning, we should have Sage’s itinerary for the next day or two. Seems like Corin still has friends in high places, and there’s no love lost between him and Sage. We’ll know what he’s doing tomorrow night and can grab him then. This—all of this—is about to be over.”

* * *

By ten thirty the following night, Victor drove the Mustang at a breakneck speed. He whipped around other cars, cruising down I-95 at eighty-five miles per hour. His baby handled like a dream, eating up the concrete, the engine purring. If the state Troopers were out, they were either on a dinner break or couldn’t be bothered to catch up to him. Their presence would push him to go faster, anyway.

Nothing was stopping them tonight.

He glanced over to see how Lucy was handling the drive and found her staring ahead, hands gripping the seat, but face set in concentration. They’d spent hours going over the rudimentary plan, looking for holes and potential pitfalls. He’d hung back from the planning, allowing her to take lead. She needed this win.

If things went his way, the werewolves would get what they wanted, but so would Lucy. Corin had been able to provide one night’s itinerary. No notice. Very little time to prepare.

Lucy had burned several hours of daylight adjusting to her new vampire strength and speed, but Victor knew it wouldn’t be enough. Sage had been a vampire for hundreds of years before her. As Victor had always known, she was the underdog no matter how they looked at it. She couldn’t do this. It was why he’d have to betray her.

“Having second thoughts?” he asked in a low voice. He didn’t want to break the mood, but they were minutes away from arriving.

“Never. Just thinking about Cindy and how close I am to putting an end to all of this.”

Taking the exit at a respectable sixty-two MPH, Victor glanced at the clock. Thirty-four minutes until their window of opportunity closed.

“Between the two of us,” she said, “I know we’ll get it done.”

Her hand went to his thigh, rubbing over it. Victor’s heart was kicking so hard though, he could barely feel her touch. All thought shut down, some instinct keeping him focused enough to follow the directions of the GPS. He’d been certain he’d lost her. The familiar gesture suggested otherwise. He didn’t dare hope for more, but it was all he had.

He’d come along because he’d been left with no other choice. Without Lucy, he wouldn’t get close to Sage again. Without Sage, the werewolves would forever hunt him down. Now that he’d killed members of their pack, they’d at least be out for blood. Because of Lucy, the vampires would eventually want him marked for death too.