Relentless (Vampire Awakenings Book 11)

by Brenda K. Davies

  “I can help,” she said. “You’re meeting with her during the day, so there won’t be any Savages out. If you think I’ll get in the way, then tell me, but I want to help you find Julie. I’d like to see this through to the end.”

  Dante considered her words; he couldn’t see how her safety would be at risk during the day, and he couldn’t think of another reason to tell her no. She could be helpful with Paris, and he could think of a hundred reasons why he wanted her there.

  “Okay,” he relented. “I’m meeting her tomorrow at eleven in the common by the swan boats.”

  Cassidy kept her face impassive, but she was trying not to smile over the prospect of spending more time with him and helping to find Julie. Nearly dying in a fire had left her feeling almost as invested in locating the girl as Dante.

  “I’ll meet you at your place tomorrow at ten then,” she said.

  Dante squeezed her hand as she turned the corner onto another street. “How about I meet you at your place?”

  “Do you want to see my brothers again?”

  “No,” he admitted, “but I’d prefer it if you didn’t walk the streets alone.”

  Cassidy rolled her eyes. “Again, I’m quite capable of taking care of myself.”

  “I know, but—”

  “There are no buts. I’m strong and fast. I am not some fragile little thing. Please don’t treat me that way. I get it enough from my brothers; I won’t accept it from you too.”

  His eyes widened slightly, and she had to admit her vehement tone surprised her a little, but she was so tired of being treated like a weakling when she was stronger than him and Kyle.

  “It will be easier if we meet at your place,” she said more calmly.

  Dante didn’t argue with her; she was right, she could handle her own; she’d proved that tonight. However, he couldn’t shake his almost desperate, overprotective instinct to keep her safe. He didn’t understand, and he’d certainly never experienced it with any other woman, but it festered inside of him.

  “Okay,” he said. “We’ll meet at my place.”

  Cassidy fidgeted with the ends of the sleeves of her new sweatshirt. There was something else she should tell him, but she had to talk to Brian first. She wasn’t exactly sure how her brother-in-law’s ability to locate people worked. He could probably help find Julie, but she didn’t know about Maya.

  Still, she felt wrong keeping the possibility she might know someone who could find his sister from him. However, after everything he’d been through with Maya, there was no way she would get his hopes up only to destroy them.

  They turned another corner, and her apartment building came into view. The headlights of the cab driving toward them bounced off the sidewalk. Cassidy lifted her hand to shade her eyes as from inside the taxi, a woman let out a low whistle.

  “Hello, handsome!” she yelled, and the other women with her laughed.

  Cassidy glared daggers after the taxi, but Dante didn’t react to it. She wasn’t sure if he didn’t know the woman was calling to him or if he didn’t care. Or maybe he’d gotten so used to women throwing themselves at him that he didn’t notice it anymore.

  “This is my place,” she said as she stopped in front of her building.

  Dante glanced at the brownstone before looking at her again. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

  “You will,” Cassidy said.

  Before she got too lost in her head and overthought her actions, she rose on her toes and kissed him. The second her lips touched his, all doubts faded and a sense of rightness stole through her. This was precisely where she was supposed to be.

  Dante was starting to lose himself to her when the hinges of a door creaked open. Cassidy pulled away from his grasp. When he lifted his head, he spotted her brothers in the doorway of her apartment. The light behind them emphasized their silhouettes as it spilled down the stairs to the sidewalk.

  He braced himself for a confrontation while he waited for them to charge down the stairs at him. He was not in the mood for a fight, but since he intended to keep Cassidy in his life, he would not back down from them. They’d have to get used to seeing him and having him in her life as he didn’t plan on going anywhere unless she told him to get lost.

  Instead, her brothers remained where they were. Their mouths parted as they gazed back and forth between them. And then their disbelief vanished and something like sadness came over their faces.

  “Are you okay?” Kyle asked.

  “I’m fine,” Cassidy said for what felt like the hundredth time tonight. “I’ll be inside in a minute.”

  They both hesitated before retreating into the building and closing the door. Dante stared after them in confusion. After the difficult time Kyle gave him every time he entered the bar, he expected a lot worse from them.

  “They took that well,” he muttered.

  Cassidy gave him a half-hearted smile. Once she got inside, she’d be facing an inquisition, but they wouldn’t interfere if they suspected Dante might be her mate. And since they’d never really seen her with any other guy, that was probably exactly what they suspected. She was still uncertain about everything, but she was grateful for the reprieve from her brothers.

  The sound of a window rising drew Cassidy’s attention back to the building as Aida poked her head out from their kitchen window. Her best friend beamed and waved at them. Cassidy rolled her eyes as Aida ducked back inside and closed the window.

  “I should get inside,” she said.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” Dante said.

  Clasping her chin, he lifted her face and kissed her again. Reluctantly, he pulled away and turned to leave. With every step, he told himself not to look back, but he couldn’t resist when he reached the corner.

  Cassidy stood in the glow of an oncoming car. When she lifted her hand to wave, he waved back and watched as she jogged up the stairs to her building and vanished inside. He felt as if she’d taken a piece of him with her.

  Chapter Nineteen

  It wasn’t Kyle and Julian, who met her inside the door, but Aida. Her friend’s golden-brown eyes sparkled as Aida practically pounced on her. Pulled back in a ponytail, Aida’s black hair bounced against her shoulders as she followed Cassidy down to the laundry room and waited as she bought some detergent, removed the stakes from her coat, and tossed it in. She added more detergent than was suggested, but it was going to take a lot to get the smell of the fire out of it.

  “What, were you in a fire?” Aida asked as she hopped onto a washing machine and swung her legs back and forth.

  “Yes.”

  Aida stopped swinging her legs to gawk at her. “Seriously?”

  “Yeah, and it sucked.”

  “Everything okay?”

  “Yes.”

  “Want to talk about it?”

  “Not really, but I’m sure my brothers will be looking for some info, so why don’t we discuss it then?”

  “Fair enough. Wasn’t that the same guy who was in the bar a couple of weeks ago and last night?” Aida asked.

  Was that really only last night? Cassidy dragged a hand through her hair as exhaustion nearly overwhelmed her. She turned and leaned against the washing machine as she folded her arms over her chest. “It is.”

  Aida’s eyebrows shot up. “You’ve been holding out on me.”

  “No, I haven’t. When he came into the bar again last night I… well, I… kinda invited myself into his life.”

  “I have a feeling he probably didn’t put up too much of a fight about it.”

  “He wasn’t thrilled in the beginning. You know that whole ‘must keep me safe’ thing and all.”

  Aida rolled her eyes. “Oh, I know. So, what did you do? Where did you go? What happened?”

  “You’re as bad as my brothers.”

  “I can guarantee your brothers don’t want the details I do.”

  Cassidy laughed and then cringed at the idea of discussing sex with her brothers. “We went to a bar… and I’ll fill you
in more on that with Julian and Kyle. Then we went to his place, and now I’m here.”

  “That can’t be it.”

  “I hate to disappoint you, but there aren’t many juicy details to reveal. Come on, I’m exhausted.”

  Aida jumped off the machine; she walked beside her as they left the basement and trudged up the stairs toward their apartment.

  “I saw that kiss; there is definitely more to reveal,” Aida said.

  “That’s all we did.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “If there were more to reveal, I would tell you.” Cassidy linked her arm through her sister-in-law’s. “How bad are my brothers?”

  “They’ve been unbearable asses all night. When they saw you walking down the street with him, I thought they were going to tear him apart. I chased them down the stairs to stop Julian from acting like an ass, but once they saw you kissing him, they decided not to become complete, barbaric morons. I think they suspect he might be important to you.”

  Cassidy glanced down to find Aida’s eyes twinkling mischievously as she grinned.

  “I may or may not suspect the same thing myself,” Aida said.

  “You’re so subtle.”

  “Always. So, spill! Do we suspect he’s something more?”

  Cassidy considered everything that transpired between her and Dante and the way he made her feel. There was no denying he was completely different from any other guy she’d ever known, but…

  “I don’t know him well,” she said. “He’s a good man.”

  Of that, she was certain. No one spent their lives tracking down missing loved ones for people and relentlessly tried to pump life back into someone they didn’t know if they didn’t have a good heart.

  “As long as he’s good enough to deserve you,” Aida said.

  “He is.”

  Aida squeezed her arm and rested her head against Cassidy’s arm. “Good, because you deserve the best.”

  Cassidy dropped her head on top of Aida’s and smiled. Not for the first time, she found herself extremely grateful Aida had turned out to be Julian’s mate. Now, not only was her best friend also her sister-in-law, but they had many years to spend together.

  Cassidy sighed when they arrived at the top of the stairs and she saw the door to their apartment was open. She felt like she was walking to the guillotine as she and Aida approached the doorway.

  She wanted them to like Dante. Her family was her life, and their opinions mattered to her, but she wasn’t sure how they were going to react after they learned what happened tonight. And she couldn’t keep it from them or lie to them about it.

  Julian was sitting on the couch when they entered, but Kyle stood in the kitchen with his hands clasped behind his back while he stared out the window. Last year, before Julian moved in with them, the couch and TV were the only newer things they owned.

  Now that Julian was helping to pay the bills, they’d upgraded the kitchen table to a pretty oak one with matching chairs. A trunk that slid open to reveal the video games Julian and Kyle stashed inside had replaced their battered coffee table. A larger TV hung on the wall above a new entertainment center.

  Cassidy closed the door behind her and waited for the barrage of questions to start, but no one spoke.

  “So, how was your night?” she asked to break the silence.

  “I’m guessing it was a lot less interesting than yours,” Julian replied.

  “I bet it was,” she agreed. Then she took a deep breath and focused on Kyle. “You can never go back to Lavender Moon.”

  Kyle turned to face her. “What did you do?”

  “I tried to help.” And with that, she filled them in on most of the details of her night.

  She left out what she’d learned about Dante and his sister, but she told them almost everything else. Dante’s story was his own to reveal, and if he decided to share it with her brothers one day, then so be it. Until then, it wasn’t any of their business.

  Kyle and Julian weren’t happy she went with him to a vamp bar, but they didn’t harass her too much about it. She suspected the nervous looks they kept exchanging with each other had something to do with that.

  “Do you think he’s your mate?” Kyle asked when she finished her story.

  Cassidy walked over and collapsed onto the couch. Aida strolled over to sit on Julian’s lap and draped her arms around his neck.

  “I don’t know,” Cassidy said.

  “But you think there’s something different about him,” Julian stated.

  “I do.”

  That was the only reason they weren’t jumping down her throat about going to a vamp bar and why they weren’t vowing to beat Dante to death. They’d been around enough mated vampires and knew the rules; if they hurt him, they hurt her, and they would never do that.

  Besides, no one wanted to drive someone’s mate away. Now was a tricky time, and if she didn’t navigate it carefully, she could lose everything, including her life. Her brothers weren’t willing to risk that.

  “Do you want me to come with you?” Kyle asked from where he sat beside her on the couch.

  “About as much as I want a hole in the head.” And then, to soften her words, Cassidy paused in tying her boots to smile at him. “I know you’re worried about me, but I can take care of myself.”

  Kyle’s deep blue eyes, the same color as hers, revealed his apprehension as he smiled at her. “I know you can, but I could charm this girl into telling you every one of her secrets.”

  “If anyone could, it would be you, but I prefer to go alone.”

  “Just don’t go into any more vamp bars alone, okay?”

  “I didn’t go in alone last night.”

  Kyle tugged at his wheat blond hair as he gave her an exasperated look. “How about, no more vamp bars without Julian or me.”

  Cassidy finished tying her boot and sat back. “So, if I have to take you, does that mean you’ll take me the next time you go to one?”

  Kyle grimaced before covering up his reaction. “It’s not the same.”

  She knew that, but it was the principle of the matter. However, she didn’t want to be anywhere near a bar where her brother was hanging out instead of working. She had fully matured, but Kyle hadn’t. When he did, his already heightened need for sex would strengthen.

  Cassidy dreaded the day it happened. There were times Kyle felt a little out of control now; she couldn’t imagine what it would be like when his purebred instincts fully kicked into hyperdrive. If he couldn’t control it, she could lose him, and that would devastate her.

  They’d been together since conception; Kyle knew her better than anyone, was her best friend, and the idea of losing him caused a sob to lodge in her throat. He would stop aging soon, and once he did, things would change.

  “No, it’s not the same,” she agreed. “I don’t plan on entering any vamp bars anytime soon. Besides, Opal told us she only has one party still going.”

  “Opal’s only one of the players in town,” he told her.

  “There’s more?”

  “There’s money to make in it, so there will always be more. Opal’s parties are the best run and the safest.”

  “Have you been to any of the others?”

  He hesitated before answering. “Yes.”

  “Why is it okay for you to put yourself in danger but not me?”

  “We’re different, Cassidy.”

  “And how is that? And if you say it’s because you’re a guy and I’m a girl, I’m going to punch you.”

  At least he was smart enough to look embarrassed as he glanced away. He was also smart enough not to answer. She punched him once when they were twelve and knocked him out cold. It had taken him half an hour to wake up, and by then, she’d turned every piece of furniture he had upside down and glued all his toys to the ceiling. He never called her a bitch again.

  “It’s the twenty-first century, Kyle, and I’m stronger than you are right now.”

  He shot her a look, and she glowered
back at him. They were still glaring at each other when Julian entered the living room.

  “Are we about to have a twin showdown?” Julian asked as he stopped near the couch. “My money’s on Cassidy; she’s meaner.”

  They both turned their glares on him. He grinned as he ran a hand through his tousled hair. She loved that her brother and Aida were so happy together, but she was not in the mood for it right now.

  “Oh, bite me,” she muttered.

  Julian laughed as he made his way into the kitchen and opened the fridge to remove a bag of blood. “What has the two of you so pissy on this lovely morning?”

  “Your brother’s a sexist pig,” Cassidy said before bending to tie her other boot.

  Julian rose and closed the fridge door. “That’s obvious, but what’s the problem?”

  “Thanks a lot, asshole,” Kyle said and gave Julian the finger.

  Julian laughed as he removed the scissors from the drawer next to the fridge, cut the bag open, and poured the contents into a mug. He set the mug in the microwave and turned it on. Aida strolled into the room with a spring in her step and a grin on her face.

  “Good morning,” she greeted as she walked across the room to pull out one of the kitchen chairs. She plopped onto it. “It’s so beautiful outside today.”

  “Save me from the couple in love,” Kyle muttered.

  Cassidy chuckled. “Only if you save me too.”

  She glanced at her brother, and when he smiled at her, she couldn’t stop herself from smiling back. She’d never been able to stay mad at him or anyone else for long. However, Kyle could make her the angriest and also help her get over it the fastest.

  “I’ll always save you,” he said.

  “I know. I have to go. I’ll see you guys later.”

  She rose and bounced on her toes to make sure the stakes she’d hidden in her boots were tucked securely into place. Satisfied they wouldn’t stab her while she was walking, she lifted her jacket and draped it over her arm. She’d gone down earlier and rewashed it before putting it in the dryer. A faint hint of smoke still wafted from it, but it wasn’t unbearable.