Stephen (5 page)

“
You were such a pussy back then. And I’m betting that you’re no different now than you were back then. A fucking pussy that always keeps to the rules so that you’re the all mighty Stephen when it comes to vampires.” Her anger blasted through her; what she would consider her carefully laid out plan to get him to come back to her was quickly falling apart. “You never did play. What the fuck are you doing now? Playing the concerned and wealthy human? How lazy you’ve become.”

“
Lazy?” Stephen pretended to consider her words. “I suppose you could call me that. I work hard to make myself blend in, something you never wanted to do. And as for my wealth? Yes, I do have a great deal of it. More than I could ever spend. But I like that too. I give much more than most humans make in their entire lifetime to causes that mean something to me. So I suppose you could call me lazy. But I’d call me…happy.”

“
Happy? Happy?” She was shrieking now, and he didn’t even try to hide his smile. “What the fuck do you have to be happy about? You don’t do anything, not as a vampire. Why aren’t you out there showing the fucking humans what we are? Kill some of them. Christ, you’re not even drinking from them, are you?”

“
I do. When it suits me.” Wherever she was, he knew that things were being destroyed. He could see her lifting things and throwing them, but not exactly what they were. Back when they’d been together, her anger had scared him a little. Not for him, but what she’d do to the ones around them when she unleased it. Nothing, nor anyone, was safe from her wrath.

When she seemed to calm, he looked around his lair. There was nothing here to give her any clue as to where he might be other than a dark room. And he was reasonably sure that she hadn’t found him physically either. But she would. Stephen had kept his name over the centuries simply because he’d move rather than change his name. It was simpler.

“
I came to see if you and I could take up where we left off, but I can see that’s never going to happen. Even if you did want me back, I’d—”

“
I don’t want you.” She growled, and he smiled. “And I want you to stop looking for me as well. We’re through. And as soon as I’m finished talking to you, I’m contacting the council to let them know that you’ve been released.” Velvet moved toward him, but he simply let her. She couldn’t touch him, and even if she could, he was a good deal stronger than her on her best day. “You’ll heed what I say. If you do not, your maker will hear about it.”

“
You mean the one I killed this evening?” She tossed back her head and laughed. “After today I will make it my life’s work to find you and destroy you. Everything you love, everything you care about, I will kill and tear apart. You’ll regret what you’ve done to me. And if the council thinks they can control me, or even catch me, they’ll die as well. I’m coming for you, Stephen. And when I find you, you’re going to pay.”

Her image disappeared, and Stephen sat there for several minutes trying to block his mind from her. It was difficult, but he did manage to get most of her attempts stopped. There would always be a slight connection, but he hoped that it would be too small for her to find him. Of course, it would be equally difficult to find her, but right now he had too many people depending on him to let her near them. Going out of his lair, he headed toward the stairs. The woman had to be cared for first and foremost.

Chapter 3

Samuel wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do while hanging around the house watching the woman in Stephen’s house, but here he was. Stephen had called him first thing this evening when he’d risen and asked him to come here. Stephen had a meeting and said he’d explain things when he got finished. That had been over two hours ago. And in all that time, the woman had never moved.

She was pretty, he supposed. Pale, but not too bad, and her hair was dark. He could see now that someone had washed it. The clothes she had on now, he knew, belonged to Stephen, because there was no way they belonged to her. They were entirely too large for her frame, not to mention he doubted she’d be wearing a silk dress shirt.

“
She is a wonder, is she not?” Samuel looked over at the faerie and nodded. “I know that you will not believe this, but she is very special to us. Some of us have watched over her since she was born. Her mother, Cleo, would bring her to the fields when she came to think. I believe it was to hide from the human whom she had wed, but I did not know either of them then. It is a great honor to watch one such as her.”

“
Is she human?” Leith shook her head and flew to sit on his knee. He never really felt comfortable when they did that, but said nothing to her. Samuel was always terrified of squashing one of them. He looked at the woman again. “Do you think her stepfather is the one that she’s hiding from?”

“
I believe he is. He is not a nice person and is the cause of her wound. And though it is a good thing, she was in a great deal of pain when it came to pass. When her mother passed from this world, he was very angry with this child. Cleo had been gone too long and had not been there when he returned from his place of work. He found her in the hospital with the daughter, and he…we all know that he murdered her. The man claimed he had no idea that her car would be robbed. He has been free because humans are afeard of him.” Leith moved to the bed and sat near the woman’s face. “Her name is Clarice Kelley. I found it today. Her mother never told us her name because we were afraid of knowing it. Do you know why?”

“
A name holds power.” She nodded and smiled at him. “Her stepfather? Do you happen to know his name? Stephen will need to know it so that he can make sure she is safe.”

“
He will not care. He does not want her. It is very sad when a man does not want what does belong to him.” Samuel knew this, and it bothered him that Stephen was so set in his ways that he’d not even give them a chance to make it work. “When she leaves here, I will follow her. There will be several of us to try and keep her safe.”

“
And how do you propose to do that?” He flushed when he realized what he’d said. “I’m sorry. I just don’t understand how someone as small as you can do much for a human. Or anyone for that matter. It’s not that I don’t believe you’ll try, but I just don’t see how it would help her if she’s in trouble.” He remembered when a group of them had killed a person once. Had simply torn him apart without even enough to know that he’d been there.

“
We have our own magic, Master Samuel. And when we take on the job of watching someone, more is granted to us. I have my magic, plus what was given to me when I asked and was granted the job of keeping her safe. I can take on a man your size and then some.” Samuel started to ask her to show him, but Leith suddenly stood up and stared hard at Clar. “She is dreaming of him. Of Master Stephen. Her heart is pounding. Mayhap he is in trouble because of what she did.”

Samuel could hear her heart beating. Leith was right, it had started beating a good deal faster. Thinking of his friend, he touched Stephen’s mind just before Clar moved on the bed.

I’m fine. Pissed, but fine. I was going to tell you when I got back, but there is a vampire out looking for me. She has no idea where I am, but apparently neither does the council know where she is. The fucking whore. They were under the impression she was still buried…the woman, not the council. Though there are days I’d gladly bury them.
Samuel didn’t have a clue what he meant, but Stephen explained at least a little of what he was talking about.
She had been sentenced to death, this other vampire. Back in the day, we were a lot more tolerant of our kind, and she was buried in a silver-encased casket with spells put on it. She was to be there forever, but someone found her.

Found her or happened upon the casket?
Samuel regretted his question after a few minutes. Stephen didn’t answer him for so long he got up to go to the window. He’d be a little more diligent from now on. Especially with his own family.

You’d think that would be their first question, wouldn’t you? But no, they’re trying to figure out where the silver has gone. They seemed to be concerned that someone robbed them. Fucking morons. So I’m still trying to figure that one out. According to the humans that live around where she was buried, they’d been hearing all sorts of things at night until they finally called the police. Once they got involved, someone had the bright idea to call in a dozer, and they disturbed her grounds.
Samuel looked at Leith when she came to fly around him. He put out his hand so she’d have somewhere to light as Stephen continued.
They released her, and she went on a feeding frenzy. There are nineteen dead bodies here that should never have been. Four of them are children.

I’m sorry.
Samuel looked out the window again and could see the wolves that watched the grounds. He wasn’t sure, but he thought there were several more than there had been last week when he’d been here.
You’ve beefed up security because you’re afraid she’ll come here to get to Clar. Oh, by the way, her name is Clarice Kelley. Leith just told me.

Thanks. I’ll talk to her when I get there. The council is trying to figure out where the vampire has gone. I’m thinking anywhere but where we are currently, but they have rules.
Samuel laughed when Stephen growled low.
And they think that I should take the place of Jared. In no uncertain terms, I’ve told them no.

And how is that working for you?
Another growl, and Samuel knew that it wasn’t working at all.
What about your realm? Will they expect you to do both?

Yes.
There was a long pause, and while he was waiting on Stephen to say more, Samuel explained to Leith what was going on. She flew back to Clar and sat on her chest again. They, too, he knew, would beef up their own security around Clar. When Stephen spoke this time, there was a good deal of anger spilling between their connections.
I’m coming home. Can you please do me a favor and ask your wolves to patrol the grounds more? I have a connection with their boss, of course, but right now I’m not so sure I’d be all that nice, and I think I’ve already pissed off enough people.

“
Sire, she is waking a little.” Samuel looked over at the bed when Leith spoke and stared into the most amazing eyes he’d ever seen. The woman was indeed awake. She never said anything, but she looked at him for several long moments before she closed her eyes again.

Stephen, she just woke for a minute or two. And good Christ, you should have seen her eyes. I think…Christ, it was like looking into an ocean, they’re so blue.
Stephen said something, but Samuel didn’t hear him. He was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that saying her eyes were blue was like calling him different. They were like both the heavens and oceans with a mix of everything warm and fuzzy. A few minutes later, Stephen walked into the room.

~~~

“
What do you mean you’ve no idea where she is? I asked you to find her, and you come in here with excuses. I need her found now. It’s been years since I started this search; don’t you have any idea where she is?” Edward didn’t really need her, but it was the principle of the matter. He owned her ass, and as far as he was concerned, she owed him. And until the debt was paid, he’d look for her.

He was well off…very well off as a matter of fact. His poor dearly departed wife had left him in good shape. Cleo Kelley-Barron had made sure that there was enough money for her daughter if she passed, and that had doubled when she’d been murdered in a carjacking all those years ago. It couldn’t have gone better if he’d planned it. Which he sort of did.

He’d only meant to have her scared. The fucking woman would not take the limo that was ready when she was for all pain in the world. Cleo would drive herself around with that brat of a daughter as if she were nothing more than a poor homeless person. And that car was an embarrassment to him. To say it was old was a gross understatement. It was older than her daughter had been.

“
It’s mine and it’s paid for. Why do you care about what it looks like? It’s not like you ride anywhere with me.” And he never would so long as she was with the product. “I love my freedom to come and go as I please. Perhaps if you drove yourself once in a while, you’d be surprised at how much money you could save.”

That had been another sore spot about her. She never took the money all that seriously. He’d have to make her buy a dress for any function they were asked to attend. Cleo would have worn the same dress over and over had he not stepped in and had a dress sent to her. Finally, he’d had to toss out her old dresses and have new ones sent to her. That had become harder and harder as the years went on as well. To be honest—and Edward was nearly always honest with himself concerning his wife and the product—he was nearly at the end of her being his wife anyway.