Reawakening (12 page)

Rom’s entire body stiffened like he’d just been electrocuted and he refused to meet her eyes, staring at the night sky instead. “Some vampires never find their Moira,” he answered tautly.

Now she was absolutely convinced there was a story there, a personal one, but she didn’t push. She longed to ask him what the girl in her dream was sorry for, but was equally not sure she wanted to know.

Needing to bring back the relaxed Rom she’d just spent a most enjoyable evening with, she did the only thing she could think of. Only inches separated their hands, so she reached over, taking his in hers. At that gesture, he turned his head toward hers and they lay there quietly gazing into each other’s eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“Why are you sorry, Sarah?” His voice didn’t hold quite as much vinegar as just a minute ago and she knew she’d made the right move. She longed to know the pain life had thrown at him, which he’d buried so deep. Whatever it was, she was convinced it had to do with this girl she’d dreamt about and an uneasy feeling crept over her.

“For whatever I said to upset you.”

His demeanor softened significantly and he reached his free hand to cup her cheek. “You didn’t upset me, beauty.”

Secrets. They were like a slow growing cancer eating you from the inside out until the growth was so big, so noxious, it refused to be ignored anymore.

They were quite the pair. They both held secrets they didn’t want the other to uncover. And
that
both upset and hurt her feelings. The fact that she was being a hypocrite wasn’t lost on her. She expected him to open up, but wouldn’t do the same.       

“I think I should go to bed.” She moved to get up, but found herself pinned underneath a heavy, hard vampire instead, his thick shaft pressing into her belly.

Oh my.

“Stay.”

“No.” Guess she
could
say no to him after all.

“Sarah …” he growled.

“This sounds oddly repetitive,” she retorted.

He exhaled heavily, putting his forehead to hers. “I don’t want to be parted from you.”

“Why?” She instinctively felt this was more than the Moira thing and was acutely important to him. He seemed almost
afraid
to let her out of his sight. Did this have to do with Xavier?

“I’ve been safe here, Rom. Nothing will happen to me.”

His voice and face hardened and she saw an almost cruel side of him she hadn’t before. “Nothing will happen because you will be under my watch at all times, Sarah. That is not up for debate or negotiation. You will stay.”

And with that little announcement, he rose and strode back into the room, leaving her lying alone in the dark of night to wonder what the fuck just happened.

Chapter 16

Geoffrey

Sitting in this sleazy, low-life human bar was grating on his very last fucking nerve. Xavier had sent him back into the lion’s den, aka Milwaukee, to do some further recon on the clubs the lord’s owned and search for additional clues on the whereabouts of his daughters. More likely he wanted him recaptured and killed by the lords. Too bad for him taking his sorry ass down was the number one priority on Geoffrey’s list, and he wasn’t going to spend eternity burning without Xavier in his hip pocket.

The easiest way to find further information on Xavier’s offspring would be to go back to Dragonfly and hit up a few of the slutty women who prostituted themselves all in the name of pleasure. Or a buck. But he couldn’t stomach the thought of looking at another woman, let alone touching one. So here he sat, nursing a bitter rum and Coke, trying to plot his next chess move.

He was well and truly fucked. On one hand, he was an infiltrator in his own organization. On the other, were powerful death-wielding lords just waiting to slaughter him if he made one wrong move. Hand over information to Xavier about their whereabouts … die. Don’t … die. Pretty fucking bad choices all around. He’d have to walk a fine line if he wanted to make it out of this alive, which looked bleaker by the minute.

His mind drifted to Beth. The fact that he’d found his Moira under such heinous circumstances was not only inconvenient, but distressing. But the fact that he’d been unable to protect her from the ravagings of the monsters under Xavier’s boot made him murderous.

She’d been taken captive while he’d been on another assignment, so by the time he’d returned she’d been there for almost a week. And while he didn’t know everything that had happened during that time, he had a pretty fucking good idea. He’d managed to protect her when he returned, but by then the damage had already been done. He only hoped she’d be able to emotionally heal, move forward and live a happy life. He’d like nothing more than that life to be with him. He craved it, but she’d likely never want to see his face after what she’d been put through.

A voluptuous, striking blonde, who was clearly vampire, walked into the dimly lit bar and his radar immediately pinged. The vampire community wasn’t necessarily a small one, but it wasn’t all that large either. And the female vampire population was even smaller. Geoffrey had been around for over five hundred years, so he knew most of the female vamps running around the United States. And this was not one of them.

She had sharp cheekbones, arresting green eyes and long hair so pale it was almost white. Her fair skin stood starkly against her all black attire. And her painted on black leather pants and tight fitting Henley didn’t leave much to the imagination. If he hadn’t found his Moira already, he might be trying to tap that, but there was absolutely no spark of desire, just … interest. Who was she and what was she doing in the heartland of the US?

She scanned the bleak place with a look of disgust on her dainty features and was just turning to leave when she spotted him. Not hesitating a moment, she made a beeline straight toward him, nonchalantly taking the seat opposite of him, like they were old friends meeting for a night of chitchat.

“I’m looking for someone.” She spoke English, but with a heavy accent, waving off the waitress who had scurried over to take her drink order.

Not breaking eye contact, Geoffrey took another sip of his unpleasant cocktail, the cheap rum lingering far too long on his tongue. “And what makes you think I would help you?”

She sneered. Geoffrey knew a predator when he saw one. He’d grown up around the worst kind all his life. Hell, he
was
one.

“I could make it mutually beneficial,” she purred.

“I highly doubt that, sweetheart.” A month ago he would have been all over that shit, whether he’d decided to help or not.

She regarded him contemplatively, trying to figure out her next play. Yep… takes a player to know a player. But she was on his playground now and he was the motherfucking king of the hill, so she’d better bring her “A” game.

“I’m sure you’re well aware of the hierarchy in this country, yes?”

“Meaning?”

She tried very hard to hide the fury boiling underneath her china doll façade. Unsuccessfully. “Don’t be obtuse, asshole.”

“Get to the point, sweetheart. This is boring the fuck out of me.”

“One of your lords is in danger.”

He laughed mockingly. “And this is newsworthy?” The lords were always in danger. If not from Xavier and his minions, then from many other foolish vamps who thought they could overthrow them. But okay, he’d play along. “Which one?”

“Romaric Dietrich.”

“And you care … why?” Romaric could take any vamp blindfolded. Probably even in his fucking sleep. Of any lords being threatened, he was the one Geoffrey would be the least concerned about.

“Let’s just say, it’s personal.”

Personal?
“And who might you be, exactly.”

“An old friend.” She smirked.

Riiiight.
A scorned lover perhaps.

“An old friend with or without a name?”

She leaned back, crossed her arms and smiled silently. She wanted to play like that, fine by him. He threw a twenty on the table and got up to leave. It was twenty too much. Fuck, they should have paid
him
to drink that pigswill.

He’d just stepped foot outside when he heard her call after him. “Do you know where I might find him? It really is life or death.”

He turned, pinning her with his glare and baring his sharp teeth in what anyone who had a functioning brain cell would understand was a threat.

“No.” Truth. “And even if I did, I’m not inclined to get into the middle of a lover’s spat. Or hand over his whereabouts to a groupie stalker simply because I have a cock and she batted her long eyelashes and dressed to show off her assets to their greatest advantage.”

She looked genuinely torn. He’d discuss this with Rom the next time they connected, which was in a week’s time, at a place that Rom would disclose an hour before the meeting. He’d picked up several burner phones, provided all numbers to Rom and had left them at various locations so Xavier wouldn’t catch on. He had no doubt he was on a short leash and Xavier would be tracking every movement he made, which was all the more stupid that he was here and not at Dragonfly, which was where he was headed next.

He turned again, intending to head around the side of this shithole and flash to a conveniently inconspicuous spot outside of Dragonfly when what she said caused him to freeze in his tracks.

“It’s his father.”

His father?
Rom’s father lived? Where? Why had he not heard of this before?

He slowly faced her and for the first time, she let the grimness of the situation show on her concerned face. Vampires grew stronger with age and if Rom’s father lived, as powerful as Rom was, he would be more so. So if there was a riff between Rom and his father … well, that was very fucking bad. And that put his own plans very much in jeopardy.

“Who are you?”

“I told you. I’m an old friend.”

“You’d better give me a fucking name or I’m walking.”

The silence was deafening. Finally, she spoke. “Ainsley. Romaric will know who I am.”

“And how do I know
you
aren’t the threat,
Ainsley
?”

Her patience snapped. “Are you going to tell me where I can find him or not?”

“No. But, I will get a message to him and if he’s interested, he’ll find you.”

This time, he flashed away without the cover of dark, uncaring whether a drunk-ass human saw him or not. Once inside Dragonfly, he made his way to whom he’d seen Damian with several weeks ago. He assumed he was the manager of Dragonfly UG.

He only hoped that he wouldn’t get his head severed before he had a chance to deliver the dire message from Rom’s very beautiful, very sexy, and very foreign old
friend
.

Chapter 17

Sarah

He’d locked her in the bedroom.

Fucking.

Locked.

Her.

In.

Like a goddamned prisoner. After several minutes of fuming on the balcony, she’d made her way back into the quiet, still candlelit empty room, intending on returning to her own bedroom, despite Rom’s caveman demands. But when she made it to the door, the handle wouldn’t turn. She’d pounded and yelled for Rom for fifteen minutes before making her way back out to the balcony to see if she could escape there.

Unfortunately they were four stories up, so dropping from a hundred feet in the air was probably only a good idea in the event of a fire, because she’d likely break both of her legs. Or her neck.

Because there was no phone in the room, she couldn’t even call for help and since they were in a wing of the house where only Rom was staying, the chances of anyone else coming to her rescue were slim to none.

Fucking hell. That bastard.

Her own supposed mate was keeping her prisoner. How could he do that to her after all that she’d been through? She’d been a hostage for thirty-three goddamned days, locked in a room she could never leave. They decided when she ate. They decided when she drank. They decided when she slept. They decided when they’d take her blood. They’d decided
everything
. She had no control over her decisions or her life or her body for over an entire month and she swore she’d never put herself in that position again.

She’d
never
forgive him. He could forget taking her to his house because that would happen when hell froze over. And if he tried against her will, she’d just call Kate or Analise and surely Dev or Damian would come to her rescue. Or if he didn’t let her call, which was the more likely scenario, they’d know she was missing within very short order and send the calvary. They wouldn’t let Rom do this to her.

And he could also forget accompanying her to her parents tomorrow too. The minute she got out of here, she was tracking down Thane to see if he would still be available. Screw what Rom wanted. Despite his prehistoric view of women, he did not
own
her.

She
decided what she wanted, when she wanted and how she wanted.
She
was master of her own domain. Never again would she be a prisoner to what someone else wanted.

Hours later she knew he wasn’t coming back for her tonight, so she crawled on top of the plush bedding, gave into her exhaustion and fell into a fitful sleep. As always, the impenetrable shadow was there, hovering, watching, protecting. And while still in the dark, blending into the background, he was also more prominent. His stony, impassive face was still concealed, but she knew it was Rom.

Even in sleep she was pissed and tried to banish him from her thoughts, but he remained stubbornly still. And even through the darkness she could see the bastard even had a smirk on his face. She dreamt of several crazy things, like the fiery pits of hell icing over, before the mystery girl reappeared. All the while Romaric was there, following her from one bizarre scene to the other. Until
she
came. Then he was suddenly and conspicuously absent.