The much anticipated next Night 13 page redheaded woman came out instead.
“I said to meet me at the third door,
Leila,” she said, flashing Shrapnel a
brilliant smile. “Not that it isn’t easy to
get lost in this huge place.”
I’d first met her months ago. Vlad
counted her as a friend, which was why
she’d been one of our wedding guests, but
for the life of me, I couldn’t remember her
name. Still, I gave Shrapnel an apologetic
shrug and seized on the excuse, tucking my
hand into my skirt pocket. He’d run
straight to Vlad if he knew what I’d really
been doing.
“Sorry, wrong door.” Then to the
redhead I said, “Ready?”
She flashed another dazzling smile.
“Sure am.”
Her Barbie-doll perfect looks jogged
my memory. Right, her name was Cat and
she was married to Bones, the vampire
that had taught me how to block Vlad’s
mind reading by mentally singing. That’s
how Cat had known I was about to be
busted by Shrapnel. She could read minds,
too, and her helping me showed that she
could be trusted. Otherwise, she would’ve
let Shrapnel bust me.
Thank you, I sent to her.
She waved an airy hand. “I can’t wait
to see the communications room,” she
said, as though continuing a conversation
we’d had before. “It’s on this floor, isn’t
it?”
That question was directed to Shrapnel,
whose frown was back. “Yes, but only
authorized persons are allowed.”
Cat snorted. “Vlad’s wife isn’t
considered ‘authorized’?”
Shrapnel opened his mouth . . . and
nothing came out. Now that I’d married
his boss, he couldn’t be certain if anything
was off-limits to me. Cat took my arm,
whistled at the current that shot into her,
and then went on with her cheery chatter.
“I bet Vlad’s got the most high-tech
stuff available to protect his people, so the
communications room should give you
great ideas for what you want in voiceactivated
software.”
It was all I could do not to kiss her.
Where would the traitor have likely left
the most incriminating essence trail? In the
room that would’ve been used to locate
Maximus’s cell phone signal. Cat must’ve
been listening to my thoughts this morning
for her to know exactly what I was after.
I controlled my grin with effort. “Great.
I’m sick of not being able to use any tech
stuff.” Then I turned to Shrapnel. “Which
way is it again?”
Those generous lips pursed in
disapproval, but he said, “Left at the end
of this hall, then it’s the first door on the
second hallway to your right.”
“Thanks!”
As soon as Cat and I were out of his
sight, I stopped her.
You don’t have to go any further , I
thought rapidly. If Vlad finds out you
helped me do this, he’ll be pissed.
“That’s why Bones is packing now,”
she said with a little laugh. Then her voice
lowered and she leaned in close. “But you
don’t shelve your best weapon just
because using it is risky. Vlad told me that
once. He’s just too deep in Overprotective
Male Mode now to remember it.”
“You nailed that one,” I said dryly.
An eye roll. “I’ve had lots of
experience with it. One night we’ll swap
stories over drinks. But be smarter than I
was, Leila. Know your limits, and when
you reach them, ask for help.”
“Believe me, I’m not looking to jump
into the grave.”
The stare she gave me made me wonder
if I’d misjudged her age. It seemed to hold
the weight of centuries even though I’d
pegged Cat to be recently undead.
“Sometimes the grave finds you
whether you’re looking for it or not.”
I said nothing, once again covering my
thoughts with Vanilla Ice’s one-hit
wonder. Even if it did bring the grave one
step closer, I was doing this. Until we
found the traitor, no one in this house was
safe, least of all me.
The communications room looked like a
smaller version of something NASA
would have. A dozen manned computer
stations were spread out around a large
map of the world with multiple pinpoints
indicating safe houses for Vlad’s people.
Another interactive map could be
rearranged by grabbing things out of thin
air, and a third 3-D image was a digital
recreation of this house. Right now, all the
lines on it were green. If any of them
turned red, it indicated a security breach.
When Cat and I opened the door
unannounced, the area for this room went
red. Then, much like Shrapnel, Vlad’s
staff decided they didn’t want to be the
ones to tell me I needed better clearance
than the wedding ring on my finger and it
returned to green.
“Check this out, Leila,” Cat said,
pointing at the screen nearest to her. “The
different sections on this security grid
indicate that it checks for trespassers on
the grounds, in the air, and a hundred feet
below the ground, too.”
“That’s right,” the monitor tech said
with faint surprise.
Brisk nod. “I designed a similar system
for my old job.”
I leaned in next to Cat, pretending to be
fascinated by the security details. In
reality, I palmed a pen and stuck it in my
skirt pocket. Then we moved to the next
station, where I swiped a paper clip. By
the time I’d feigned interest in every
workstation, my skirt pocket was full of
stolen items.
Cat helped by angling her body to
shield what I was doing, but I could only
hope that if a sharp-eyed employee had
seen anything, he’d chalk it up to me being
a kleptomaniac. Now, to beat a hasty
retreat. I’d used up every minute of the
half hour I’d arranged for releasing
Maximus. With luck, by the time Vlad
heard where I had really been, I’d already
have psychically sorted through my stash
to see if any of the employees on this shift
were the traitor.
“This has been great, thanks,” I told the
group as we left. Once in another hallway,
I gave Cat a grateful smile.
“I owe you. Now, get the hell out of
here.”
She grinned. “You’ve made Christmas
come early for my husband, you know.
Vlad once mocked Bones for his
overprotectiveness by saying he should’ve
married a docile girl who wouldn’t stray
too far from the kitchen.”
Then she enveloped me in a quick hug
before dashing off with a cheeky
“Karma’s a bitch!” thrown over her
shoulder. In the next blink, Cat was gone.
I was still smiling over that when I
rounded the next corner—and almost ran
right into Vlad. Ice Ice Baby, too cold!
rang across my mind as I gave him my
most guileless look.
“Hi. Cat was just keeping me company
until you came back.”
He glanced in the direction she’d
disappeared to before returning his
attention to me.
“Fourteen hundred and thirty-one.”
I blinked. “What’s that?”
“The year I was born, which is not, as
you’ll note, yesterday.”
I stifled a groan. Busted already. “Vlad,
I—”
“Not here,” he interrupted, grasping my
arm. Then he propelled me down the hall
and into our bedroom far less romantically
than he’d done last night. Once the door
shut behind us, I started back in on my
defense.
“Look, I was being careful. See? No
blood, no problem.”
Vlad leaned down until his mouth was
near my ear. “Before Maximus walked out
of this house, I hadn’t paid your bride
price yet. You could’ve picked using your
powers to find the traitor instead of his
freedom.”
“That is not fair,” I hissed, my voice
equally low.
A light kiss preceded his response.
“Neither is life.”
I pushed him away, sending my next
message with my mind because I was too
angry to trust keeping my voice down.
You can’t expect me to do nothing
when my abilities could find the traitor
that leaked information to Hannibal AND
probably helped the person that blew up
the carnival, too.
Vlad crossed his arms over his chest
almost casually. “When it could kill you at
any moment, I can.”
I’m fine! I mentally shouted.
“You were also fine the time before
when your powers caused you to
hemorrhage to death in my arms.”
Spoken in a whiplike tone I’d seen
centuries-old vampires cower under. All
it did was add to my growing ire.
Oh, but all’s well if I bleed to death in
your arms while you’re turning me into a
vampire?
Not a hint of shame colored his tone
when he said, “Yes.”
Pride stiffened my spine.
Unless you lock me in this room, you
can’t stop me from using my powers to
find the traitor.
The grin he flashed me said I’d made a
critical mistake.
“Don’t you dare,” I said out loud.
He closed the space between us, that
charming wolf’s smile never leaving his
face. Then his arms went around me. I
remained stiff despite things inside me
reacting to the feel of his body.
Seriously. You try it and there will be
DIRE consequences.
His lips brushed my ear again.
“Imprison my new bride in our bedroom?
I’d be a walking Dracula caricature.”
He wasn’t giving up that easily. That’s
why I didn’t relax my rigid posture even
when he sensually nibbled on my earlobe.
“But if you use your powers again,” he
murmured, “I will coat you in enough of
my aura to suffocate them for months.”
Son of a bitch! For all I knew, he was
doing that right now. I shoved him, but he
didn’t budge this time.
“You’re safe for the moment, and
you’re right—I can’t stop you from doing
what you feel you must. But then I’ll do
what I must, and you can’t stop me,
either.”
Using the words I’d once challenged
him with against me. Now he decided to
act like a modern man.
His mouth slid to my jaw, showing the
slight curl to his lips. “Be careful what
you wish for, isn’t that the saying?”
Before I could answer, he kissed me
with such raw carnality that I responded
despite my frustration. Anger gave an edge
to my lust, and I grabbed him hard enough
to yank out a few strands of hair when I
pulled his head down to kiss him back.
A chuckle vibrated against my mouth
before he flung me to the floor and ripped
off my skirt with one hard swipe.
“Looks like we’re having angry sex
after all.”
Chapter 32
Hours later, I got up, wrapping the sheet
around me as though it were a huge towel.
An amused snort sounded from the other
side of the bed. “It’s a little late for
modesty.”
My bladder urged less talking and more
walking to the nearest bathroom. “It’s not
for you. It’s in case one of your staff
decides to clean the lounge when I’m
crossing through it.”
“I take it you didn’t notice the new
addition to the bathroom this morning.”
New addition?
I went into the black marble bathroom,
which I hadn’t used earlier because I’d
showered in my old one out of habit. In the
space that used to bridge the enormous tub
and glass shower was now a gleaming
black toilet. Such an ignoble item, yet its
presence was like being surprised with a
room full of roses.
“Vlad, it’s . . .”
“You’re supposed to use it, not
compose sonnets about it.”
I shut the bathroom door. He could
mock all he wanted, but I was touched by
the gesture anyway. A few minutes later I
returned, hair combed and teeth brushed,
too. The toilet hadn’t been the only new
addition. Half of the marble vanity was
now stocked with everything I’d ever
need.
“Your people must’ve been crazy busy
yesterday,” I noted.
“Those weren’t put in yesterday.”
He said it without opening his eyes.
Firelight played across his body, turning
his pale skin into a warm amber shade. I
got back into bed and traced the groove in
his chest before following it down to his
hard, flat stomach.
“You had it done when I was
comatose?”
His eyes remained closed. “I had
everything done the day after you told me
you were leaving.”
I was speechless, but my mind wasn’t.
What? Why? You didn’t act like you
wanted me back. You avoided me for
days and didn’t even say good-bye
before I left!
“I thought you would change your
mind.” Sardonic smile. “My pride
wouldn’t let me believe you’d actually
leave, so I upgraded the bathroom while
waiting for you to apologize.”
A strangled sound escaped me. Vlad’s
mouth curled downward.
“Imagine my shock when you boarded
that plane. Then I reasoned that in a week
or two, you’d realize how much you
missed me and return. And so I waited
again, but the only call I received was
from Martin telling me about the
explosion. Once I realized you hadn’t
been killed . . . I was through waiting.”
I’m coming for you, he’d said the first
time we spoke after that. I’d thought it was
a dream, and then later figured he was just
keeping up his reputation as a formidable
protector of his people. Looked like we’d
each underestimated the other.
“You’ve never asked why I offered to
make you a vampire.”
The statement caught me off guard for
more reasons than the abrupt change of
subject. Vlad opened his eyes, the rings of
emerald encircling his copper irises
almost shimmering.
“I’m not changing the subject, in fact.”
I swallowed to relieve the lump that
rose in my throat. “I thought it was
because you’re worried my powers will
kill me.”
“That’s a reason. Not the main one.”
He traced the scar from my temple
down to my fingers before he spoke. “I
offered before that, and if your powers
killed you now, you’ve had enough of my
blood to be brought back as a ghoul.
You’d be no less immortal, so that’s not
the reason why.”
“Then what is?” I asked softly.
“For one, most vampires don’t
recognize our marriage.”
“What?”
He smiled slightly at my tone.
“Vampires honor only a blood vow in
front of witnesses, and you must be a
vampire to make that vow. My people
consider you my wife because I say you
are, but in vampire society, you aren’t.”
Now that he mentioned it, Marty had
told me the same thing years ago when I
first asked him about his species. It also
explained Vlad’s comment about this
being our first ceremony.
“You want to change me into a vampire
to make an honest woman out of me? How
chivalrous,” I teased.
“Normally I don’t care about others’
opinions, but you’d only be granted
certain protections in my world as my
legal wife. That I care about, yet it’s not
my primary reason.”
Vlad caressed my hand. My currents
were muted from all the electricity I’d
released making love to him, so only a
faint crackle remained. That didn’t
compare to the jolt I felt at the sudden
intensity in his gaze.
“I despise flowery speech since those
who use it are usually guilty of the worst
betrayals later. That and the type of life
I’ve lived have made me incapable of
saying the pretty words you deserve to
hear, yet if I made you a vampire, you’d
feel my emotions as clearly as I hear your
thoughts now.”
Then he drew my hand to his chest,
placing it over his heart.
“I never turned any of my previous
lovers because I didn’t want them to feel
how little I cared. You I loved, yet you
left me because I wouldn’t verbalize my
emotions. That will probably happen
again, but if you could feel what you mean
to me, Leila”—his voice deepened
—“words wouldn’t matter.”
His heart was silent beneath my hand. It
had been that way for centuries, yet Vlad
was more alive than anyone I’d met. He
was also the most complex man I knew, so
the thought of peeling away his layers
through connection to his emotions filled
me with voracious longing. I wanted to
know his feelings, his secrets, and
everything else that made up the man I
loved. But as much as I wanted that, it
wasn’t enough to make me say yes.
I touched my own chest. The steady
beats beneath my hand kept me alive, yet
they weren’t the sum of living. My
abilities had taught me that. Instead,
heartbeats were only the sum of humanity.
Love and hate, passion and pain, strength
and stumbling, despair and forgiveness
—that was living, so the real question
was, how did I want to live? As a human
who needed to drink vampire blood? Or a
vampire who needed to drink human
blood? Both came with their share of
heartache and bliss, yet when I thought of
my future, only one seemed the right path.
I rolled on top of Vlad, brushing his
hair back so I could see every nuance of
his expression when I gave him my
answer.
“This word matters. Yes, Vlad. The
answer is yes.”
Vlad was gone when I awoke, but it
wasn’t a surprise this time. Before I fell
asleep, he’d said he was meeting with
Mencheres this morning to begin
tightening the noose around the traitor.
Since Vlad already had all calls, texts,
and e-mails monitored, plus his staff
wasn’t allowed to leave, under the
pretense of continued wedding
celebrations, I couldn’t imagine how he’d
further clamp things down, but he must
have a plan. I’d find out what it was once
he was back.
Until then, I had some issues of my own
to take care of, like telling my family
about my decision. I wasn’t going to take
the undead plunge today, but I also saw no
reason to put it off for months or years.
Between my abilities plus living with two
different vampires, there was little I didn’t
know about what I was getting into. Hell,
compared to how my accident had
changed my life, turning into a vampire
wouldn’t even be the biggest transition I’d
ever undergone.
I got out of bed, my foot catching on
something soft as I headed toward the
bathroom. Vlad’s shirt. I caught it after an
upward kick and then began to pick up the
other clothes strewn around the room. He
might be used to having servants clean up
after him, but I wasn’t. When I got to my
turquoise skirt, however, the lumpiness in
its pocket made me pause.
My stolen stash was still there. When
Vlad ripped this off me, I thought its
contents would’ve scattered. Feeling the
items through the material filled me with
the same temptation Pandora must’ve
experienced when she stroked that box.
Was the traitor’s identity locked inside
one of these? Or were these items the
gateway to me losing my mortality sooner
than I’d intended?
The idea of eating the occasional meal
of “long pig” as a ghoul wasn’t appealing,
but how could I shy away from avenging
the deaths of everyone at the carnival plus
protecting those here? I hadn’t suffered
any ill effects from using my powers
yesterday. Maybe I still had so much of
Vlad’s blood in me that it countered the
damage my powers caused. For now,
anyway.
There was another reason I shouldn’t
wait. Changing into a vampire could wipe
out my psychic abilities altogether. At the
very least, it could put them out of
commission for a long time. This might be
the only chance I had to discover who’d
betrayed Vlad before anyone else got hurt
—or worse.
I can’t stop you from doing what you
feel you must, Vlad had said, while
warning me about what he’d do if he
found out. I drew in a long, slow breath
before taking off my right glove.
I must.
Then I plunged my bare hand into the
pocket. Images overtook me as I touched
all the items at once. Through the fastforward-
type reenactment of several staff
members, one person stuck out, and it was
the last person I expected to see.
What was Sandra doing in there?
Chapter 33
Vlad gave me a look of such suspicion
that, had I been anyone else, I’d expect it
to be followed by interrogation.
“You want to go shopping?” he
repeated.
“Yes,” I said, and it was the absolute
truth. “Come on, nothing I’m wearing even
belongs to me—”
“They do, those clothes are new,” he
cut me off.
“—and you did everything for our
wedding down to picking out your own
ring. Even if I didn’t want to buy a few
things for myself, which I do, I also want
to get you something. If you go with me, it
won’t be much of a surprise, will it?”
That earned me another what-are-youreally-
up-to look, but my thoughts agreed
with my words and my expression
wouldn’t have been more innocent if I’d
borrowed it from an angel.
“Come on, you own the town we’re
going to,” I added. “It’s not like I want to
borrow the jet for a quick jaunt to Paris.”
From his expression, he was weighing
his misgivings against the time-tested
truism that women liked to shop.
“Guards will accompany you,” he said
at last.
“Of course. I’m bringing Gretchen and
Sandra, too.”
He waved a hand, humans not
concerning him. Inwardly I smiled, but
continued to think of nothing aside from
clothing, shoes, and sexy lingerie. From
the flare to his nostrils, that last one
pleased him.
“I’ll have your escort ready to leave in
twenty minutes.”
Then he leaned down, his stubble
grazing my cheek as he murmured, “Don’t
bother getting me anything. You’re all I
want.”
I didn’t hold back my smile this time.
And you say you’re not good with pretty
words.
“I won’t be long,” I promised.
Twenty minutes later Sandra, Gretchen,
and I piled into the back of the limo.
Shrapnel drove, since with Maximus gone,
he’d moved into the position of Vlad’s
right-hand man. Oscar rode shotgun, and
four more guards followed us in another
vehicle.
“What’s with the entourage?” Gretchen
asked. I shrugged as if I had no idea.
“As the voivode’s wife, guards are
expected,” Sandra said.
“What’s voya-voda mean?” Gretchen
asked, sounding it out.
“Prince, basically,” I replied. “Voivode
was Vlad’s title back in the day.”
My sister slanted a grin at me. “So
you’re a princess now?”
“No,” I said at the same time that
Sandra said, “Yes.”
“No,” I repeated more firmly. “I
already get bowed to. If anyone calls me
Your Highness, my head might explode.”
Sandra laughed, finger-combing her
strawberry blonde hair. “If I were a
princess, I would insist on it. And on a
crown.”
Would you? I thought coolly, but smiled
as if it were a joke. “Romanians are used
to royalty. Americans, not so much.”
The limo slanted as we began
descending the hill. I glanced out the
window in time to see the top of the
mansion disappear behind a wall of trees
and rock. We wouldn’t see much beyond
those two things for the next thirty minutes.
This was the only road leading to town,
and no one but Vlad’s people used it.
Gretchen continued to chatter on about
how if I was a princess, then that made her
famous, too. Like Kate Middleton’s sister,
Pippa. I didn’t bother telling her that no
one outside of really old Romanian
vampires or Vlad’s people considered
him a prince. Why spoil her daydreams
sooner than I had to?
I waited until we were midway
between Vlad’s house and the town before
I made my move. I hadn’t done anything
before in case Sandra had been in the
communications room because one of the
staff was hungry. If Vlad knew I had the
slightest suspicion about her, he’d employ
his methods for finding out the truth, and I
wouldn’t do that to a friend when I could
get the same results without emotional or
physical scars.
So once Vlad was too far away to read
my thoughts and Sandra couldn’t escape
with Shrapnel speeding around corners
with a vampire’s usual disregard for the
steep terrain, I smiled at Sandra, took off
my right glove, and laid my hand on her
arm.
The shriek she let out at the voltage
coursing into her was lost under the instant
swarm of images.
I’d just fallen asleep when the sound
of my door closing startled me into
wakefulness. A dark shadow contrasted
against the cotton candy–colored pink
walls, and when it came closer,
moonlight revealed a vampire I
recognized at once.
“What are you doing here?” My voice
was thicker from drowsiness. “I’m not on
the feeding schedule tonight.”
He didn’t speak, but continued to
come toward me. For some reason, fear
threaded through my emotions. That
made no sense. Vlad wouldn’t stand for
us to be ill treated and I’d fed this
vampire many times before. Yet when he
reached the bed, I shrank back, a bonedeep
instinct overruling my logic.
Not again! I wanted to shriek, yet I still
didn’t know why. Then terror and guilt
rose, the sensations both sickeningly
familiar and overwhelming. Before I
could speak, an emerald glow blinded
me. At once, my concerns vanished. As
the vampire whispered his instructions, I
found myself nodding. Of course I would
relay his message, and I had a message
for him, too . . .
Gretchen’s scream yanked me back
before the last images faded. For a
moment, I hung suspended between
Sandra’s mentality and my own. That’s
why I didn’t react when the vampire in the
front seat held up the small device even
though I knew what it was. I’d seen one of
those before, and while it was no bigger
than a cell phone, its presence meant
death.
Then the final ties to Sandra’s memory
dropped. White light suffused my hand as I
snapped a current toward the front seat,
but it was too late. Shrapnel pushed the
button on the detonator the instant before
my whip cut through him.
The subsequent boom! shook the limo,
but we didn’t explode. The car behind us
did, and the sudden fireball claimed my
attention for a few costly seconds. Long
enough for Shrapnel to yank the steering
wheel to the left, aiming our speeding
Date: 2015-12-11; view: 373
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