Love Like Blood: (Royal Blood #5) (13 page)

“
T
his is eerie
,” I declared as X parked the car out the front of a picturesque cottage. “I’m seriously getting the creeps.”

After the phone call with Vaughn, we’d immediately driven to the location he’d texted us. It turned out to be a two-story bluestone cottage in an isolated pocket of Devonshire just outside of the city of Dover with its famous white chalk cliffs. A wild and windy patch of the country that seemed fitting for an assassin on the brink.

X raised his eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“What do I mean?” I exclaimed, pointing at the bluestone cottage. “Look at it!”

He shook his head and unclipped his seatbelt. “It’s isolated.”

“It’s exactly like ours,” I retorted. “It’s like the upscale version.”

“It’s of no consequence where they choose to hole up. A cottage is a cottage no matter where it is. Our place is ours alone, and so is their’s. The fact that Vaughn trusts us enough to give us the location is a feat.” He opened the car door and went to slide out. “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, Mercy.”

I rolled my eyes again, knowing I’d probably get eyestrain before the day was over. “Aye, aye, Captain.”

He reached across the console and grasped my thigh. “Tact.”

“You’re saying I’m not tactful?” I asked, trying to conceal a smile. “I take this very seriously just so you know. Remember when you went crazy and kidnapped me? That was very serious business.”

X grimaced. “Not one of my finest moments.”

I nodded toward the house. “Past experience that might come in handy, huh?”

He shook his head and slid from the car. Following him, we walked across the graveled drive as the door opened, and Vaughn appeared. By the looks of it, he’d been waiting for us ever since he’d called. I couldn’t blame him really. If I were in his shoes, I’d have done anything to help X. Remembering how I’d gone to Mei behind his back, I wondered if this would be the same for Lorelei. A betrayal.

Their story was different to ours though, so maybe it would be a welcome development.

The last time I’d seen Vaughn, he looked a lot worse for wear. He’d had the shit beaten out of him and had been thrown into the same cesspool as I had. Then he’d limped off into the sunset with Lorelei.

“Hey,” I said, pointing at him. “Your face actually looks human.”

He raised his eyebrows. “I didn’t know that smartass commentary came with the package.”

I peered at him. “
Nice cottage
.”

He shook his head and turned to X. “Thank you for coming.”

“Of course.” X held out his hand and the two men shook like they were sealing a business deal.

“Come in,” Vaughn said, gesturing to the open door behind him. “Make yourselves comfortable. We’ve got a lot to discuss.”

Moving past The Hangman and stepping into his cottage, I raised my eyebrows. It was nothing like the little refuge X had kept secret near Exeter. Compared to this, it looked like a run-down shack in the woods. Once a billionaire, always a billionaire.

We were guided into the lounge where a fire was popping merrily in the hearth. X sat on an armchair, making himself right at home as Vaughn perched on the couch. I chose to poke around, peering at all the things on the mantle. Curiously, the photo frames held nothing in them.

“Working for the government?” Vaughn asked, getting right into it. “Seriously?”

“Not directly. It’s black ops,” X replied.

“What’s the difference? You’re still working for the greater good. I didn’t think that word was in your vocabulary.”

“I couldn’t deny my past, not after remembering my family.”

“What are we doing here, then? I know MI6 would love to get their hands on me.”

“There’s history here, too. Another thing I can’t turn my back on. After this is done, there will be nothing left to interfere with our work.”

“Nice of you to imply we’re a loose end that needs tying off.”

Leaving the two men to continue their pissing match alone, I wandered through the kitchen and found a little study tucked away at the rear of the cottage. The shelves were lined with all kinds of books, and a desk stood at the far end, large windows opening up the rear wall, so all I could see was the field beyond.

The sound of footsteps echoed in the silent room, and I turned to find Lorelei standing behind me, her arms crossed over her chest. She was just as I remembered her from The Watchman’s compound in Bristol. Tall and beautiful with flawless skin and a deadly expression. The only thing that had changed was her hair. It was shorter, the curl more pronounced without the added weight.

“Mercy Reid,” she stated, giving me the once over.

“Nice haircut,” I replied. “Long hair is such a drag. All the brushing and shit.”

“Why are you here?” she asked, scowling at me. “I thought Vaughn only invited Xavier Blood?”

“We’re a package deal. Like you and Vaughn, I suppose.”

She tilted her head to the side. “Me and Vaughn?”

“You are,
you know
, aren’t you?”

“Fucking?” she asked, blinking.

I snorted at her bluntness, kicking myself for tiptoeing around her like she was going to break. She’d snap me in two long before she showed any signs of weakness.

“That’ll do it, I suppose.”

“What do you want, Mercy?” she asked, staring at me like I was unwanted baggage.

“We want the same thing,” I replied. “Lafayette.”

She sighed, not doing a thing to hide her annoyance. “We’re close. We just need to get to Allaire, then we’ve got a clear shot at Lafayette.”

“Julien Allaire?”

“No. He’s dead.” She rolled her eyes, clearly exasperated having to explain her motives to me.

Julien Allaire was dead? The last time I’d seen him was when he was tied up in the catacombs underneath Montmartre Cemetery in Paris. X was meant to let him go… If he was dead, then X had killed him and hadn’t told me.

Sighing, I shook my head. It didn’t seem to matter now, not after X had confronted Greggor and The Watchman and made peace with the monster inside of him. It wouldn’t be constructive if I brought it up with him now. Water under the bridge and all.

“What do you care?” Lorelei asked, narrowing her eyes.

“I was just wondering who killed him.”

“Luckily for me he had a son ready to take over daddy’s business.”

“A son?”

“Damien Allaire,” she stated. “I have the code word that will allow me a meeting, and from there, I will be able to get to Lafayette.”

It sounded like Lorelei had it all wrapped up in a neat little package with a pretty bow. The instruction manual was set out for her in easy to follow steps, but she of all people should know that the best laid plans rarely went as they should. X had taught me that.

“Just say it,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“Say what?”

“Whatever you’re thinking. I can see you’ve got something to say, so just say it, Mercy.”

I took a deep breath. “You make it sound easy, like it’s just some random thing on a shopping list. There are no guarantees that once we get inside Allaire will want to play once he knows who we are. With or without the code.”

“I understand,” she spat. “It’s more than just walking in the front door.”

I didn’t even know how to begin with this whole stupid plan. No thought had gone into it at all.

“We need data,” I said, my mind mulling over Allaire and his own network. “A way into Allaire’s circle. A way for him to think we’re legitimate.” I glanced at Lorelei. I couldn’t be sure that the younger Allaire knew her, but we couldn’t take the chance.

“They will be expecting me,” she said after a moment of silent deliberation.

“I suspect so.”

“Then we send X,” she said. “He’s a ghost like me.”

“X killed Allaire’s father.” Her brow creased as she mulled over this new piece of information. “I don’t know if he was identified, but he certainly was when we eliminated Sykes. It isn’t a stretch to put together the pieces. Word would have gotten back to his son a long time ago.” Being a ghost was probably the only thing saving us both from Damien Allaire’s wrath.

“You didn’t know, did you?” Lorelei asked.

“Know what?”

“That X killed Julien Allaire. He kept it from you, didn’t he?”

“So?” I asked, sneering at her. “What does it matter now? It’s done. Do you tell Vaughn everything you do? Have you told him everything you’ve been remembering?”

It was a step too far, but she was acting all high and mighty, and I’d had enough. Yeah, she was a highly trained assassin, who was currently on the verge of insanity, but I still had to poke the hornet’s nest.

Lorelei stood, her expression one of complete rage. “What’s it to you?”

“You’re acting irrational. You need to slow down and plan this hit. Not just go in blindly.”

She took another step toward me. “Are you telling me how to do my job? The job I was created for?”

“I’m telling you, you need to take a deep breath,” I said.

Right then, I wasn’t sure what was going through her mind—it must’ve made complete sense to her—but she lunged at me, a wild look in her eyes. A look that said she wanted to see the life bleed from my eyes.

We crashed to the floor in a heap, Lorelei astride me, and her hands wrapped around my throat. “I should’ve put you down in that cage,” she hissed, squeezing.

The door burst open, and Vaughn came rushing in, X hot on his heels. Diving on Lorelei, Vaughn wrapped his arms around her waist and heaved her off me.

“Let me go!” she screeched. “I’ll kill you!”

“What the fuck did you say to her?” X exclaimed, helping me up off the floor as I rubbed my neck with my free hand.

“I questioned how much she was really remembering,” I said. “She’s all gung ho. Wants to shoot up the place like we’re in a kung fu movie or something.” I rolled my eyes. “She ain’t you, X.”

Lorelei was still thrashing violently in Vaughn’s arms. He was doing his best to calm her, but she seemed lost in the haze of her own anger.

Looked like I’d have to whip out the big guns. I glanced at X and nodded toward the door as Lorelei tried to break away from Vaughn. His eyes narrowed, but he turned and left the room. If there was a chance that the words that had been encoded into X’s programming could also be the thing that would calm her down, then it was in all of our best interests to give her a little peace and quiet. Also, my ability to breathe would thank me profusely.

X couldn’t be here when I spoke them aloud. He was free from a lot of things, but that part of his conditioning would probably be inside him forever. I couldn’t chance him falling victim to that part of himself ever again.

Taking a deep breath, I said the words I’d vowed never to utter…unless it was a last resort. I hoped to God that it worked because calming down
that
without them would be a feat.

“
Monstrum in tranquillitas postulat. Et obliviscere sanguinem alium diem.
” Going by my rusty high school Latin, it meant something like, ‘The monster demands calm. Forget the blood for another day’.

Immediately, Lorelei ceased struggling, her gaze fixing on mine.

“
What the fuck?
” Vaughn exclaimed as she stilled in his arms.

“Lorelei,” I murmured. “We’re here to help you. Our goal is one and the same. Okay?”

She slid to the floor at Vaughn’s feet and nodded. “I don’t know what came over me.”

“Your mind is changing,” I explained, sitting cross-legged before her. “It’s trying to reorganize itself into something it can understand. Things might be a little…unpredictable for a while. At least, until it sorts itself out. It happened to X too, but we helped him through it.”

“You did?” she asked, looking hopeful.

I nodded, offering her a reassuring smile. “You’re a free woman now. We’ll help you get your answers and your revenge if that’s what you desire. Vaughn will help ground you when things get rough.”

She looked up at him, and he nodded before turning his confused gaze to mine.

“It was the same with me and X,” I said as much to him as to her. “You just have to let him. It won’t work any other way.”

Lorelei frowned as she thought over what I’d just told her. After a moment of silence, she seemed to have made up her mind and pushed off the floor and onto her feet.

A knock sounded at the door, and X poked his head into the room. “I just spoke to Hawkes,” he said, watching Lorelei. “We’ve got a hit on Allaire’s location.”

“Good,” she declared. “Let’s start planning right away.”

As she pushed past him, he glanced at me. “All good?”

“All clear,” I replied, letting him know that The Watchman had embedded the same code into her conditioning. Just when you think you know all the ins and outs of your stock standard crazy psychopath, they go and forget to change the password.

X grimaced and followed Lorelei. I went to join them, but Vaughn grasped my arm, holding me back as the others disappeared into another part of the cottage.

“What did you say to her?” he asked, his blue eyes full of concern.

“It was a phrase in Latin that I learned during my time with The Watchman,” I said, keeping my voice low. “It has certain…properties.” I didn’t want to say too much, knowing that it could be used against X if the knowledge ever fell into the wrong hands.

“It’s a fail-safe?” he asked.

“How much of it do you remember?”

“Fuck, Mercy,” he hissed. “You came out of nowhere spouting some fancy language that’s not been spoken in hundreds of years and you expect me to remember it?”

“I’ll take that as a tick in the ‘no’ box,” I said dryly. “And before you ask, I will not teach it to you. It’s best those words die with me.”

“I wasn’t going to. I just wanted to understand.”

I smiled up at him, knowing that I’d never understand the depths of what they shared…just like I’d never grasp all of what X and I were bound by. In many ways, we were the same.

“It’s tough right now,” I said. “I get it. X wasn’t exactly Mr. Cool, Calm, and Collected. He was meant to kill me, but he kidnapped me instead, so the fact that Lorelei isn’t trying to decide whether or not to do you in is an advantage in my book.”