by Lynsay Sands
“His father is the Council,” Ildaria said grimly. “There are others on it, but they’re all in Juan Villaverde’s pocket and vote whichever way he wants.”
“I see,” Jess murmured, and then asked, “And what does his father want Vasco to do?”
“Obey him, get out of his way, and stop raising a stink about the fact that he’s charging such exorbitant fees for blood. But ultimately to make him stop helping the poorer immortals get blood with the shark feeding tours, so that they have to buy it, can’t pay their rent or mortgages, and can be forced out of the area he wants to develop.”
“Ah, jeez,” Jess muttered with disgust. It always came down to money. It seemed immortals could be just as greedy and selfish as mortals.
“I do not understand,” Raffaele said now. “Vasco thinks he is helping poorer immortals by going rogue and making them go rogue too?”
“He isn’t rogue,” Jess said patiently. “They only feed once they are in international waters. I guess Council laws don’t reach that far?” she asked.
“No, it does not,” Raffaele agreed, and then said, “So, he is taking poorer immortals out to international waters to feed because they cannot afford the blood because his father is—”
“Because his father is a corrupt hijo di una hyena,” Ildaria snapped, slipping into Spanish in her upset.
Jess wasn’t sure, but it sounded like she was calling the man a hyena or something. She didn’t ask her to clarify, though. It didn’t seem to be the moment. Jess didn’t explain anything to Raffaele either. He seemed to have a grasp on the situation. Instead, she said, “We have to do something, Raffaele. It’s our fault those men are here.”
“Not entirely,” he pointed out gently. “Ildaria was feeding on your friend Tyler before the ship was in international waters.”
Jess glared at him. “I never told you that. It was plucked from my mind. What wasn’t plucked, because I didn’t know it at the time, is that Tyler deserved it.”
“What?” Raffaele asked with disbelief, and she nodded firmly.
“He sexually assaulted Ildaria. She was just teaching him a lesson. One he didn’t even remember afterward,” she pointed out grimly. “Essentially, he got off scot-free, and she could be killed because he’s a jackass pervert.” Mouth tightening, she added, “That or Vasco will be forced to stop helping people to save her and then all those people, every crew member on this ship, will lose their homes and not be able to get the blood they need. All because his father is a selfish prick who wants to build something where they live.” She fell silent then, her heart pounding and fury rushing through her veins, and then narrowed her eyes when she noticed the way Raffaele was looking at her. He was staring at her as if he’d never seen her before, she thought, and asked warily, “What?”
“I am just amazed at your fire, cara,” he said with a smile. “You are beautiful when you are impassioned.”
“Oh.” Jess smiled crookedly, and then patted his arm. “That’s sweet,” she said, and turned to head for the door.
“Where are you going?” Raffaele asked with concern, but it was Ildaria who got to her first and grabbed her arm.
“Vasco said to stay here,” the woman reminded her, trying to steer her away from the door.
“Vasco can’t order me around,” Jess told her calmly, and then spotting the determined expression on Raffaele’s face as he approached, added, “And neither can Raffaele. I’m going to go see what I can do to fix this.”
“Still glad she isn’t a doll for you to control?” Zanipolo asked dryly as Jess headed for the door.
Jess glared over her shoulder at the man, but then glanced to Ildaria when she caught her arm, drawing her to a halt again.
“You can’t fix this,” Ildaria said firmly.
“Of course I can. I’ll deny that I saw you feeding on anyone, or say it was in international waters,” she assured her, tugging on her arm.
“Thank you,” Ildaria said sincerely. “It is kind of you to want to help me, but that will not work. They can read your mind, little dove,” she reminded her gently. “They’ll know you are lying.”
Jess stopped struggling and frowned, but couldn’t just do nothing. She knew intellectually that it wasn’t her fault if Zanipolo or Santo had read the memory from her mind and told someone. But emotionally she felt responsible. Besides, she was starting to like the woman, and she had been snooping when she’d walked into the galley. If she’d minded her own business, Ildaria wouldn’t be in danger of being burned to death. Mouth firming determinedly, she asked, “Is there a way to stop them from reading my mind?”
Ildaria hesitated, and then said, “Repeating nursery rhymes in your head sometimes prevents their reading you, but you have to really concentrate on the words . . . And they can’t read you if they can’t see you.”
“So, if I stand behind someone or something like that?” she asked.
“Sí. They wouldn’t be able to read you then,” she said, and Jess thought there was a touch of hope in her face now. It was enough to make her determined to do something.
Nodding, Jess patted Ildaria’s hand gently, and then pried it off her arm. “Wait here. I’ll see what I can do.”
She headed for the door again, but was aware that Raffaele and his cousins were following. She was grateful to have them with her, but was very aware that they were leaving Ildaria alone to worry.
Raffaele moved up to Jess’s side the moment they stepped out on deck. Clasping her elbow lightly, he glanced around as they paused to survey the situation. It looked as if every member of the crew was topside, except for Ildaria. The crew, men and women both, filled the deck, looking tense and troubled.
Vasco and Cristo were standing at the rail on the side of the ship, looking down at the water below, so that was the direction he steered Jess in. Although there wasn’t really any steering necessary. She appeared determined to save both Vasco and Ildaria from the results of the woman’s actions. Raffaele could sympathize. Normally, he would have left the matter for the local Council to deal with, but it was starting to sound like the Council here was corrupt, and a fair judgment wasn’t guaranteed.
Since Jess was upset by the situation, and he felt somewhat responsible for instigating the call to the Council when Jess had been taken, he felt he should do something to help.
“What are you doing here?” Vasco’s sharp voice drew his attention and Raffaele glanced to the man as they reached his side. He didn’t bother to answer, however, but peered over the side of the ship to see that a sleek-looking motorboat with two men on board was just coasting to a stop next to the pirate ship.
“You should go below until we handle this, lass. This could be a bit tetchy,” Vasco said grimly when Raffaele ignored him.
“I know. But we want to help,” Jess said anxiously, trying to move up beside Raffaele to look over the side. He immediately caught her arm, and drew her back as he turned to face Vasco.
“Are either of these men older than you?” Raffaele asked, keeping Jess by his side.
Vasco grimaced. “Both are.”
Raffaele nodded, and then urged Jess toward him. “Keep her back from the rail. They can’t read her if they can’t see her.”
Nodding, Vasco took Jess by the arm. Careful, Raffaele noted, to grasp it on the sleeve rather than the bare skin. It was a small thing, but told Raffaele a lot. The man wouldn’t try anything while she was in his care.
“If the men start to board the ship, take Jess below to your cabin, and stay there with her so you can’t be read. You’d better go too, Zanipolo,” he added, glancing at his cousin. “You’re young enough to be easily read and you saw what was in her memory.” He wasn’t worried about Santo. He was old as hell and would not be easily read.
When his cousin nodded, he glanced to Vasco and added, “You’ll want to make anyone younger than the two Enforcers, who know what happened with Ildaria and Tyler leave the deck too and stay out of sight.”
“No one but Cristo know
s besides Ildaria, myself, and Jess,” Vasco said solemnly.
“But I’m older than both men,” Cristo announced now. “They won’t be able to read me.”
“Good. Then if they come on board, tell them that Vasco is in his cabin trying to convince Jess to be his life mate and won’t appreciate being interrupted.”
“That won’t stop them,” Vasco said solemnly.
“Then I’ll have to make sure they don’t come on board,” Raffaele said grimly, and turned to the rail.
“Raffaele?” Jess caught his arm, and he paused and turned back to glance down at her. Smiling crookedly, she said, “Thank you. Please be careful.”
Raffaele smiled faintly back and bent to press a quick kiss to her forehead before turning back to the rail and swinging a leg over it.
“Don’t worry about him,” he heard Zanipolo say as he swung his other leg over and started to climb down. “Raffaele can kick ass with the best of them. He’s spent half his life as a warrior of one description or another.”
“What? Really?” he heard Jess ask with interest. She sounded impressed, he thought with a smile, and decided he couldn’t wait to be able to actually tell her about himself and the adventures he’d had. More than what he’d been doing just the last decade or so. He suspected she’d enjoy the tale. He also suspected they’d have a lot more interesting adventures together in the future. He was looking forward to it.
“There was no need to climb down. We are boarding the ship.”
Raffaele heard that announcement behind him as he drew level with the smaller boat, and ignored it as he turned and stepped on board. Nodding a silent greeting, he looked the two men over. He knew at once which one was Vasco’s brother. The two men could have been twins. But while Miguel was older than Vasco, he was younger than Raffaele, who had no problem reading that the man really didn’t want to be here. In fact, Miguel Villaverde would rather be working with his brother than against him. He abhorred what his father was doing, but felt he couldn’t rebel like Vasco. It would leave their sister alone to deal with the old man. Until he could get her away from him, Miguel Villaverde was forced to act as an Enforcer for the corrupt old bastard. A job he hated, and one that made him feared by people who should be able to look to him for protection.
Deciding he wouldn’t be a problem, Raffaele withdrew from his thoughts and turned to the other man. The moment he slipped into his mind, Raffaele loathed Dieguito Cardoso. Darkness and a sly intelligence pervaded his mind like a cancer. But there was also cowardice in there, Raffaele noted, and felt himself relax.
Withdrawing from the man’s mind, he smiled widely and finally responded to the comment.
“I felt bad for dragging you out here for nothing,” he said with a shrug. “So, I thought I’d save you further trouble and come down to you.”
Miguel looked relieved, but Dieguito eyed him suspiciously and Raffaele felt a nudge in his mind. Ignoring it, he continued silently reciting “Old Mother Hubbard” in his head. It was a necessity to keep the younger immortal from reading anything he didn’t want from his mind. Normally, Raffaele’s advanced age would ensure that wasn’t an issue. But all immortals were easily read after first meeting their life mates. Even ones as old as him.
“We were told Vasco had kidnapped an immortal’s life mate,” Dieguito said finally.
“Mine,” Raffaele said with a wide smile that he couldn’t have held back if he’d wanted. Jess had chosen him. He savored that for a minute and then turned his attention to the situation at hand, and said, “Unfortunately, I was mistaken. It seems she could be a life mate to Vasco too, and she came willingly. As I learned when I and my cousins gave up waiting for you and came out to the ship to get her ourselves.”
“Vasco has met his life mate?” Miguel asked with surprise.
“No,” Raffaele assured him. “He met a possible life mate, who is also my possible life mate and who I intend to claim and make my actual life mate.”
“Oh,” Miguel said, and frowned with concern.
“That’s fine, but we were also told that Vasco’s people were biting mortal tourists,” Dieguito said now.
“Yes. They are,” Raffaele agreed easily. “My cousin read that from my life mate’s mind. Unfortunately, until we got here, he did not read further to learn that they do it in international waters. None of them are rogue.”
“Well, then I suppose this was a wasted—” Miguel began almost eagerly, but was cut off by Dieguito.
“We’ll need the girl to tell us that,” Cardoso said firmly.
“No,” Raffaele said mildly.
“What?” Dieguito asked sharply.
“I said, no,” he repeated, dropping the smile as he added coldly, “Because that’s not going to happen. I am not having my life mate interrogated. I have already passed on all relevant information. Unfortunately, Vasco is not a rogue, nor is anyone on his ship. I wish I could claim otherwise and have him burned alive to get him out of my hair. However, it would be a lie, and my life mate would not approve. So, I am stuck with the truth, and letting the bastard live.” Pausing, he raised an eyebrow. “So? Are we done here?”
“No. I want to speak to—” Dieguito began.
“Sí. We are done,” Vasco’s brother said firmly, overriding Cardoso. The two men glared at each other briefly, and then Miguel turned to Raffaele and nodded. “Give my brother my regards.”
Raffaele turned to climb back up the netting without responding. Agreeing to do that didn’t seem like something he would have done after blustering about wishing the man dead.
He felt the men’s eyes following him but didn’t look back. He also continued to recite nursery rhymes until he heard the boat engine start and then fade away as the small motorboat moved off.
“You did it!” Jess cried, hugging him with relief the minute his feet landed on deck. “What did you say? How did you get them to leave?”
“He said I wasn’t rogue, but he wished I was because then they could execute me and get me out of his hair,” Vasco announced with amusement as Raffaele slid his arms around Jess to hug her back.
“You didn’t!” she gasped, pulling back to look up at him with dismay.
“He did,” Vasco assured her before Raffaele could respond. “And it worked. So, I am grateful. Thank you, Notte.”
Nodding, Raffaele accepted the man’s hand and shook firmly.
“But what about Ildaria?” Jess asked once they’d finished and stepped back.
“I told them the bite was in international waters and that Zanipolo just didn’t read that part until we got out here on the ship,” Raffaele explained quietly.
“So, you lied,” Zanipolo said dryly. “And now I’m going to have to lie to back up your lie if Lucian or Uncle Julius ask me about it.”
“And you will lie if necessary,” Jess said firmly. “Otherwise, Ildaria could be executed and she only bit him because he attacked her. It wouldn’t be fair if she ended up being punished because he wanted to rape her.”
“Fine.” Zanipolo held up his hands in defeat. “I’ll lie,” he assured her, and then turned to Vasco and said, “But you have to keep the perverts away from her. Next time she might not be lucky enough to get away with it.”
“There won’t be a next time,” Ildaria announced, crossing the deck to join them. “I’m thinking it might be a good idea if I leave Punta Cana.”
Vasco turned sharply at that news, and frowned. “That’s not necessary, Ildaria.”
“It is,” she said solemnly. “That was the second time I retaliated when a tourist attacked me. I seem to be a trouble magnet. I don’t want to risk there being a third and having it used against you. You’ve been too good to me, Vasco.”
He frowned slightly, but asked, “Where will you go?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. America, or Canada, maybe.”
“You should come to Montana,” Jess said excitedly. “You could come stay with me while you look for a job and stuff. Or if you want to go to school,
we could work something out.”
“Really? You wouldn’t mind?” Ildaria asked uncertainly.
“No, of course not. I inherited my parents’ place and it’s way too big for one person. Three of the bedrooms are empty. You can have your pick.”
Raffaele was eyeing the two women with alarm when Vasco burst out laughing.
“Have fun, Notte,” he said with amusement as the two women moved away, chattering excitedly. “Ildaria has a good heart, but she is a trouble magnet. And she doesn’t have it in her not to retaliate if someone wrongs her.”
Raffaele cursed under his breath and then glanced at the man. “Can we get that ride to shore now?”
“Of course,” Vasco said, sobering. His gaze slid back to Jess, and then he sighed and glanced toward Cristo.
“I’ll take them myself,” Cristo said solemnly without waiting for him to ask. “There isn’t enough room for all of them and two men to row.”
When Vasco nodded, the man started over the rail to climb down to the rowboat.
“I think you’re leaving.”
Jess glanced around with surprise at Ildaria’s comment, and saw that Santo and Zanipolo were disappearing out of sight over the side of the ship, and Vasco was moving toward them while Raffaele waited by the railing.
“I better go get your things,” Ildaria said, slipping away as Vasco reached them.
“Oh, right,” Jess said wryly as she recalled that Vasco had taken everything she had brought with her on this trip. Recalling that she’d also had a few choice words she’d wanted to give him on the subject, she turned to meet him now with a sour look.
Vasco raised his eyebrows at the sight of it. “What’s got ye all a’twitter, lass?”
“You stole my stuff,” she reminded him grimly.
“No,” he assured her. “I was bringing them along so you wouldn’t have to. I would never steal.”
“You’re a pirate, Vasco,” Jess pointed out with sudden amusement at the claim. “It’s kind of what you do, isn’t it?”
