Niccolo (Blood Brothers) (8 page)

Chapter Seven

Niccolo was still in a state of shock when he made it into the house. If what Sasha said was true and her powers really were bound, then everything he thought about her was wrong. All these years he had been living in a cloud. Were things even the way he recalled? Why had her father taken her powers?

It made no sense. If she’d lost her abilities then why did it feel like he was being held in her thrall? How could he explain the uncontrollable lust he felt whenever she was near that drove him to distraction? It made him question what he had felt for Petra.

“It’s good to see you’ve finally joined us, Nico,” Dante welcomed him with a crooked smile and a raised black brow.

“Sorry,” Niccolo muttered, his mind still reeling from Sasha’s revelation.

The comfortable sitting room was full of people, including Romeo and Dante in the center. Their host Wolf, nodded in acknowledgement to Niccolo before returning his attention to Dante. Two of Dante’s lieutenants sat on the far end of the room. Angel Ramirez and Carter McKenna had been in the Underground for several years and were two of Dante’s most trusted agents. Niccolo liked both vampires, but it was hard to trust anyone, especially after the Trent Black affair —a betrayal and murder they had yet to solve.

Niccolo’s gaze drifted to Sasha. She looked paler than normal and her dark eyes looked larger than ever in her small face. She sat on the couch with Yuri’s arm draped possessively over her shoulder. Niccolo’s jaw clenched. When this was all over and he was assured of his son’s safety, he planned on beating the shit out of Khrushchev.

Are you okay?
Romeo’s voice entered his mind.

We’ll talk about it later.

Is it
Khrushchev
? I’m not averse to
fucking him up
. There’s something about him that I don’t like or trust.

I know. You said so in the limo, but let’s first hear what Dante has to say about Jagger before
we rip this asshole to shreds.”

Romeo nodded.
Naturally, but if he makes a single move that I don’t like, he’s dust.

Of course,
Niccolo agreed before closing off his mind. He turned his attention to Dante. “Tell us what this is all about. How is my son involved?”

“I’m not really sure what his exact involvement is. We’re still in the discovery phase of this mission. As I told you over the phone, I picked up a scent a lot like yours, but I knew you were still in L.A.,” Dante said. “I felt an overwhelming connection with the vampires who had been there.”

“What happened?” Niccolo wanted to know.

“There was a function—some kind of party with about twenty or so people. Someone crashed the event and left no survivors. It definitely looked like the work of rogues, but we all know that rogues generally don’t bother humans, and if they do, they don’t leave messes of this magnitude. They certainly never leave bodies behind. It seems someone is trying to send a message, but we don’t know who, why, or what. Not long before you arrived, we got word that there was another incident just like it between here and the Austrian border.”

Dante looked troubled by the news, although he had seen a lot of carnage in his lifetime. Niccolo knew then that there was something Dante wasn’t revealing. He was about to challenge him about it, but Carter stood up.

“It was very similar to the first killings. There was lots of blood smeared on the walls, and it looked like a feeding had taken place. The media is reporting these incidents as some kind of satanic ritual murders. From what I could see, rogues were not the only immortals involved in this slaughter—there were shifters. Some of the claw and bite marks were very distinctive.”

“Rogues and shifters? Rogues usually work alone, and shifters only hunt with their own pack members, at least for the most part,” Niccolo mused out loud.

“Judging from the scene, that’s the only logical conclusion we could come up with,” Carter added.

“Jagger cannot possibly be involved in this. You must be mistaken about picking up his scent.” Niccolo knew he was grasping at straws. Dante was rarely wrong when it came to their work.

“Do you think I want this to be true, Nico?” Dante shot at him.

Before Niccolo could respond, Sasha sprang to her feet. “I don’t care what you want. My son wouldn’t have done that! You’re wrong!”

“I hope to God that I am, Sasha. I can appreciate your anxiety at the moment. I’m just as concerned about my nephew’s safety as you, but we have to keep cool heads or nothing will be accomplished.” Dante walked over to her and put his hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture.

She shrugged his hand off. “You tell me to be calm, but it is easier said than done. And I doubt anyone can care as much about his well-being than his mother. Jagger ... he’s all I have in this world. If anything bad were to happen to him...” Her voice trailed off, and she looked on the verge of tears, with Niccolo aching for her because he understood her pain.

Dante tried to reassure her. “I promise you that we’ll do everything in our power to find him.”

“I just want to make sure he’s safe. I know he’s a man, but he’s still my baby. If only ... Oh, God,” she held her face in her hands and began to sob loudly.

“You see what you’ve done, Grimaldi? You’ve upset her. Why are you standing around here just talking about it? Perhaps you don’t care about Nikita as much as you say you do.” Yuri stood up, stalked over to Sasha and pulled her into his arms.

Niccolo clenched his fists at his side, because he sorely wanted to slam them it into the insolent warlock’s face.

Dante glared at Khrushchev. “I’m sure you think you have a purpose for being here, though you weren’t invited—”

“Sasha wants me here,” the warlock declared defiantly.

“Then if you want to stay here, I’d suggest you be careful with what you say. Whether you’re wanted here or not, keep your mouth shut and stop making a bad situation worse,” Dante advised.

Niccolo saw Romeo take a step toward Khrushchev, but Niccolo shook his head.

The warlock seemed unfazed by the animosity simmering in the room. An amused gleam entered his eyes. “So this is how the Grimaldis operate—by ganging up on one man. I suppose all the talk of your greatness has been just that—talk.”

Sasha looked up at her friend with clear disbelief in her dark eyes. She shook her head and pushed away from him. “Yuri, what’s gotten into you? Your comments are quite unnecessary.”

“Yes, listen to her, Khrushchev. You’re walking a very fine line tonight. Don’t give me a reason to rip your sorry ass apart right here and now,” Niccolo spoke with the little bit of control he had left.

“A threat? How predictable.” The warlock laughed, but was cut off abruptly when Niccolo gripped him by the throat.

Niccolo had had enough of Khrushchev’s asinine taunts. He couldn’t remember another time when he had let someone get under his skin this much. His incisors descended and his fingers shifted, the long nails digging into the warlock’s neck.

“Niccolo!” Sasha cried out with horror, but he ignored her.

Khrushchev attempted to pry the vampire’s fingers from around his neck, but Niccolo held on tightly. The warlock’s face went from a bright red to a purplish hue.

Dante tried to pry them apart, but Niccolo’s rage made it hard for him to budge his younger brother. Romeo and Wolf joined Dante in his efforts to release the warlock.

“That’s enough!” Sasha voice drifted to his ears but didn’t completely register. Eventually, her voice broke through, and he loosened his hold around Khrushchev’s throat.

The warlock pulled away gasping and coughing for air. “You ... will ... pay ... for ... this ... Grimaldi.” A bright bolt of what looked like lightning shot from Yuri’s palm and struck Niccolo in the chest. Niccolo was knocked of his feet by the energy burst and flew across the room. He landed on his ass, but he was back on his feet immediately and rushed toward his adversary.

Dante and Romeo grabbed him before he could reach Khrushchev. Niccolo struggled to break free of the hands restraining him.

“You do that again and I will strangle you myself,” Dante warned the warlock.

“Am I not allowed to defend myself?” Yuri questioned defiantly as he rubbed his bruised neck. “Your brother needs to learn to control himself.”

Dante’s eyes flashed. “He didn’t do anything the rest of us would not have done when similarly provoked. Anyway, I warmed you about keeping your comments to yourself. I don’t care who wants you here, because it’s time for you to leave.”

“And if I don’t?” the warlock challenged.

“Then I’ll release my brother.”

Romeo grinned. “I actually wouldn’t mind seeing what will happen if we let Nico go. How about it, Dante?”

“Shut up, Ro.”

Romeo chuckled, seeming to take no offense. “Spoilsport.”

“He’s here because I want him to be. He’s my friend and he’s as anxious to find Jagger as I am. Instead of fighting, can’t we try a truce for my son’s sake?” Sasha pleaded. “I promise he’ll keep his opinions to himself from now on.”

Sasha’s words made sense, but Niccolo wasn’t in the mood to be rational, especially since her hand now rested protectively against the warlock’s chest. He nearly burst a blood vessel he was so pissed.

Wolf stepped forward. “Look, everyone, tensions are running high and we all need to think about what our priorities are here. One, Jagger is missing, and two, rogues are slaughtering innocent people. Considering tonight’s events, we can be certain that these killings will happen again. Remember what we’re here for and leave the hard feelings at the door. When this is all settled, you two can rip each other apart, but for now let’s focus on finding Jagger.”

Niccolo flushed. Wolf was right. His son was missing and he was trying to brawl. Shit. “All right, you guys can let go now. Let’s formulate a plan.”

Khrushchev glared at him. Let the bastard glare all he wanted; there was no way he would allow the warlock to rile him again ... at least not until things were settled.

Dante released him with obvious reluctance. He walked to the center of the room, taking charge once again. “Sasha, Wolf, thank you for being the voices of reason. Now, back to business. I think the best thing to do is to split up in teams. Romeo and Wolf, I want you to go back to where the first massacre occurred and gather any more information you can. There shouldn’t be as much activity there now as there was earlier. Glamour anyone who speculates beyond more than what is being reported by the media. The last thing we need are people questioning our existence. Carter, you’ll come with me to investigate the second site. Nico and Angel, I’ll need you to head toward Vienna. Given the two previous locations, they’re probably headed south.”

Sasha clutched Dante’s arm. “What about me? I can’t just sit here and do nothing. I need to help.”

“You will be a big help by staying here. We need someone to stay put to be our central communication coordinator. I have other agents working on leads elsewhere, and should one of them stop by, it would be helpful to have someone here.” Dante patted her shoulder briefly.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be here with you.” Khrushchev took Sasha’s hand and pulled her against him.

Niccolo grinded his teeth in frustration. The ugly head of jealousy reared and he hated feeling this way about a woman whom he was supposed to have no feelings for. He couldn’t wait until this ordeal was over because he planned to work her out of his system once and for all. And if that included fucking her until he was finally sated, then so be it.

<><><>

Sasha watched helplessly as the vampires departed.
Damn them all!
She refused to be some useless damsel in distress. If they thought she would sit idly by while they went out on their search, they had another think coming. “We need leave and do our own investigation. Perhaps you could involve a search spell.”

“You know I would need a personal item from Nikita to invoke such a spell. Besides, if we go look for him where would we even start? Let the vampires search; they can use their skills to track Nikita down more effectively.”

She frowned at the casualness of his tone. “I’m not staying here. How can you be so calm about this? I thought you loved Jagger.”

“I do. I love him as though he was mine, and I am hurt that you would doubt me. And I love you too. The fact that I’m still here after that beast attacked me should be proof of that.” Yuri sounded indignant. “I cannot believe he tried to kill me.”

Sasha couldn’t believe it, either. She didn’t quite understand what had come over Niccolo. She had always thought him a calm, steady man, but tonight she saw a side of him that frightened her. He acted as if he was jealous, but he had made it clear time and time again that he didn’t care about her. Maybe it was simply that Niccolo and Yuri rubbed each other the wrong way.

“Yuri, I’m not going to try to justify what Niccolo did. He should never have gotten physical with you, but you were out of line for saying those things to him. What were you thinking?”

“I don’t like him.”

“That still doesn’t justify you acting like an asshole. You’re not normally like this. In case you have forgotten, he’s Jagger’s father, and I would be grateful it if you don’t speak like that to him again.”

“How can you defend that bastard after what he’s done to you?”

“You don’t know the situation. Don’t assume that you do.”

He gripped her shoulders, forcing her to meet his gaze. “Sasha, can’t you see I’m concerned for you? Do you know what it’s like for me to watch you pine away for someone so unworthy of your love when I’ve loved you for so long? I would be much better for you than he.”

She shook loose from his hold and turned her back to him. She wasn’t ready to discuss this now. Sasha already had told him that she could never love him other than as a friend. “You are aware of how I feel, Yuri. I thought you respected that.”

“It’s very hard to not express my feelings. Don’t condemn me because I love you.” Yuri grabbed her by the forearm and turned her around to face him once more. There was pain in his dark eyes, and it made her sad. The last thing she wanted to do was to hurt him, but it wouldn’t have been fair to pretend a love she didn’t feel.

“I’m sorry. I’ll understand if you don’t want to help me now, but whether it means anything to you or not, I do care about you and I don’t want you to get hurt by Niccolo or his brothers. They’re all very old and powerful; if you cross them, they will crush you.”

Yuri flared his nostrils and sneered. “I’m not scared of them. Your precious Niccolo and his damn brothers are too arrogant for their own good. They even have you believing the hype. Mark my words, Sasha. They’ll all soon get their comeuppance. Change is coming and the Grimaldis had better watch out.” The animosity radiating from him made her take away from him.

“What are you saying, Yuri? You’re not making any sense.”

“It will all make sense in time.”