Bobby drove us back to the airport, and when we landed in Perth, my cheeks were still heated from the whisky and I was feeling quite content. I let Forge bundle me into the waiting car, and then fell into a blissful sort of fog as he and our new driver fell into a string of unintelligible Gaelic.
“Selena, we’re here.”
I lifted my head off his shoulder—somehow, I’d fallen asleep on him—and looked around. Cameron Distillery was nestled in a deep gorge between two sheer spires of granite. Smoke billowed out of the tall chimney stack, and I felt Forge’s fingers intertwine with mine as he tugged me out of the car into the cool, pine-scented air.
Of every other whisky I’d ever tasted, Cameron was my hands-down favorite. This distillery was even older than mine, and their blend was the whisky I hoped to rival with Dad’s special batch—and all the ones that came after. I can’t believe I’m actually here. I spun in a circle, my arms thrown wide, the coat flying out like a cape.
“This place is…magical.”
For a second, Forge froze, then cupped his hand beneath my elbow. “It is, isn’t it,” he murmured as we made our way to the building. Surprisingly, Forge didn’t knock, just pushed through the door, bringing me inside with him.
Cameron was everything I’d imagined a Scottish operation to be. Stone floors, high plastered ceilings and a thick, palpable layer of history over the entire place. Forge flicked on the lights, bathing the room in the golden light of old incandescent bulbs. “I’ll fetch glasses and a bottle,” he said as he strode away, leaving me to wander.
This distillery didn’t strive to be on any Scottish Highlands tour—it was a bare-bones operation with no intention to impress. Somehow, not what I’d expected. I did remember when I’d researched Cameron that their online presence had been meager, just a landing page with a generic picture of the Highlands.
I paused in front of a faded, stained photograph. It was clearly the distillery’s staff, gathered out in front of this building, arms thrown over each other’s shoulders. The date scratched in the corner was 1921.
Right in the center of the group was Forge, looking exactly the same as he did right now, except without his usual, forbidding scowl. Somehow, he looked—if not as happy as everyone around him—content. A half-smile curved his lips up, and his eyes looked lighter, brighter.
God, he’s handsome, I thought, my heart leaping at the quiet joy in his face.
“That was a good crew,” he commented softly over my shoulder, and I jumped a mile into the air. He slid a glass into my hand, brushing his fingers against mine as he did.
“Jeez, Forge, don’t sneak up on me like that.” I hoped he wasn’t doing that creepy sliding thing that Dobson did, but I sure hadn’t heard any footsteps. “Or should I say…the reclusive owner of the Cameron Distillery?”
“That’s me, guilty as charged.”
I mock-punched him in the shoulder, almost spilling whisky everywhere. “You could have told me,” I said, trying to figure out why he’d hide this from me. “Although it explains a lot. Like why you loaned Ambrose the money in the first place.”
“We were competitors here in Scotland, small-time, unlicensed distillers, but we were happy enough. As taxes and English oversight increased, it became problematic to produce enough to keep ourselves afloat. We decided to go to America and try our luck there. I had no intention of staying; I only went to see Ambrose get established. But…then things changed.”
“You mean you changed?” He did look almost…happy in the photograph, and I wondered why he had stayed in the States. Especially when this place was so wonderful.
“That, amongst other things. I liked America. I appreciated the freedom it offered, and watching a new country grow was…exciting. I stayed, until one night when I…” As his voice trailed off, I remembered his Maker’s name.
“Then you met Mara,” I prompted, willing my voice not to harden.
“You remembered her name.” He sounded genuinely surprised. Well, yes, since she’s my competition. Or who I’d begun to think of as my competition. Or whatever she was. Forge nodded, his black hair spilling over his forehead. “Yes, I met Mara Sheldon, and she changed me.”
“How does that even work?”
“We became lovers—unheard of at the time, a vampire and a human, but Mara was never one for conventions. Eventually, I decided immortality would give me time to accomplish everything I wanted to do. She changed me into a vampire. It’s a painful process, but Mara helped me through it. We remained together for years.” He paused. “Although I’m sure you’ve figured that out.”
I was too busy struggling with my jealousy to even respond.
“We were together when she crossed paths with Xavier, the Elder’s offspring. He tried to… Well, long story short, they fought, and Xavier killed her. Mara wasn’t a fighter. She didn’t stand a chance.”
Forge was staring through the room, absently swirling the whisky in his glass. “I hunted him down and killed him. Murdering an Elder’s offspring was an unforgivable offense, but I had evidence the Elder couldn’t afford to have exposed. He and I came to an agreement: I would stay in America and never set foot in Scotland again.”
“And yet here we are,” I said drily, sure now that this whole thing was a giant mistake. Maybe he was still in love with Mara. He sure sounded in love with her. What I wouldn’t give to hear that tender tone in his voice when he spoke of me.
“Only because he decided to kill Jackson, my only living witness, and call in my debt by dredging up the old crime and using it summon me before the Assembly.” He was watching me intently, clearly trying to make up his mind about something. “You’re my ace in the hole.” As if he’d come to a decision, Forge threw back his drink in one go. “Or, at least, you were.”
“I’m right here, Forge, and I’ve been practicing for weeks to get this right. Not only can I handle this, I have every intention of attending that meeting tonight.”
“That will be impossible, since I’ve decided you’ll be flying back to Philadelphia.”
“Oh no you don’t. We had a deal…”
“Your loan is forgiven.” His voice hardened. “Don’t worry—you don’t owe me a penny, Selena.” He nodded to someone over my shoulder, and I heard the door close quietly behind me. “The driver will take you take you back to the plane, and you’ll fly home tonight.”
I was trying to come up with something—anything—to convince him to let me go to that meeting. Damn it, this wasn’t about the money. This was about my abilities and what I could do with them.
“But before you go…I need you to wear this, Selena. Never take it off, and don’t show it to anyone.” In his palm was a beautiful gold pendant of a serpent swallowing his tail. “Turn around and let me put this on you.” I did, not understanding why he’d changed his mind so abruptly, and trying to buy some time to firm up my argument for staying. Somehow, I had the feeling that I wouldn’t be able to sway him.
Forge hooked the clasp behind my neck, his fingers skimming my nape before I let my hair back down. Instead of stepping away, he settled his hands on my bare shoulders, one of his thumbs absently drawing circles on my collarbone. God, his hands felt so good on me, and for an instant, my mind wandered back to the bedroom on the plane, complete with a king-sized bed.
I picked up the pendant for a closer look. “It’s an ouroboros, isn’t it?”
Forge nodded, a strange expression on his face as he took in the necklace, then my face. “It looks as if it were made for you.”
“Was it, Forge?” I asked, searching for why he was giving me the brush-off, and what could have possibly changed these past few hours. “Was this made for me?”
He ducked his head, whether in embarrassment or dismay, I didn’t know. When his gaze met mine again, his face was indecipherable, but my breath picked up when he finally admitted, “Yes, it was. I had it commissioned.”
“When?”
“The day you came to see me.”
�
�But that would mean…” I broke off, completely at a loss. “Explain.”
“I’m part of a…call it a loose society of like-minded vampires. Not all of us are savages like Dobson. Some of us have a vested interest in helping humanity.” He drew an audible breath. “Humans like you.”
I felt the floor fall out from beneath my feet. “What do you mean like me? Like people who own distilleries, or people who can read vampire minds?” What was he implying? That this wasn’t just a business deal?
“Yes, Selena, special humans who have abilities, mental, physical…any humans we deem special enough to offer our patronage and protection.”
“Protection?” I scoffed. “I don’t need protection, Forge.” My temper began to heat up as I added, “Especially from you. I’m perfectly capable of handling anything that comes my way.”
“You were,” he easily agreed. “Until you showed up at my house with a bottle of whisky and a proposal. Now you’re in my world, and you need me, Selena, like it or not.”
He lifted his eyes to the ceiling, then looked back at me, his gaze hard. “The truth is, you aren’t ready for this meeting. Maybe with more practice…or more time. But I can’t allow you to walk in there to be eaten alive by those monsters.”
“Can’t or won’t?” I asked. I should have seen this coming. Mercurial changes in plans were what Forge was best at. “Someone should have told you that the worst possible beginning to any relationship is with a bunch of secrets. Shit, practically everything you’ve told me was a lie.”
“Not a lie, just not entirely the truth.”
“Which in my world is also known as a lie.”
For a minute, we were at a stalemate, until the driver cleared his throat behind us. He said something in Gaelic, Forge said something back, rather snippily, I thought, and then we went back to staring at one another.
Did Forge think I was only doing this for the money? Of course, this had all started with the loan, but now…now I wanted to help him beat the Assembly and that creeper Dobson.
I wanted to be part of a team, like Batman and Robin, me being a smarter and more kick-ass partner than Robin ever could be. Besides, it turned out—now that I actually knew about him—Forge and I were a lot alike.
Shitty circumstances, general lack of trust in our fellow species and…well, having a death sentence hanging over your head was definitely worse than crushing debt, but everything else was the same.
So why was he kicking me to the curb right before the big event? A shiver of doubt ran through me. Maybe he really didn’t think I could do it. Maybe he thought I wasn’t good enough.
Not good enough. I snorted to myself. I’m always good enough. I had to be, especially when I followed after Brandon, who was a perfect fuck-up. To counteract my brother’s badness, I became the best, as if that might somehow fix Brandon.
At least it made Dad happy.
My brother spent his teenage years stealing, lying, wrecking cars, and that was just the tip of the iceberg. Then he graduated to bank robbery and heroin, finally finding a home in compulsive gambling. It wasn’t long before his drug and gambling habits spiraled out of control. Cue the loan shark, and cue putting the company up as collateral.
Cue Selena trying to fix it all.
I was left juggling the company and trying to figure out how Dad got involved in Brandon’s mess in the first place. Then came the debts, and the hostile board, and that was when I went to Forge, figuring at this point, what did I have to lose? A lot, as it turned out.
“Don’t you have anything to say?” I didn’t know what I hoped for, maybe for him to beg me to stay, to which I’d spin on my heel and leave him hanging like the righteous bitch I was.
“When I met you—when I realized you could read my thoughts—all I thought about was how I could use you to outmaneuver my old clan. But you have no place in our world, and now, you’re going home.”
Not the answer I’d hoped for, and that probably would have been the end of it.
I might have gone home, forgotten about Forge and gone back to running my company.
Until there was a wet, rasping sound behind us. I turned just in time to see the driver—bleeding from the neck—drop to the floor in a heap.
A stream of blood ran down Dobson’s chin as he grinned at us.
15
Dobson’s pale eyes flickered over me as I raised my shield and immediately felt Forge close the space between us. Then he pressed me to him, an arm across my belly.
“If you touch her, you’re dead,” Forge warned Dobson in a low growl, his arm tightening around me.
“Of course,” Dobson said easily, blood dripping from his chin onto the front of his shirt as his weird eyes remained fixed on me. He really is an asshole, I thought, as my gaze strayed to the dying driver twitching on the floor. “I’ll get my chance…sooner or later.”
“Damn it, Forge…” I murmured, sinking further into Forge’s embrace. Right now, he was my only chance of survival, and I damn well knew it.
“Later. Take my hand and don’t let go.” He wrapped a hand around my forearm, and I shifted closer to him, no intention whatsoever of letting him out of my sight.
“Transportation will be here in a moment. The Elder prefers to do things the old way.” Dobson’s fangs dripped. “I will meet you there.”
What in the hell does that even mean? I thought, Forge’s hand sliding down to clasp mine.
“He only means we will be taking a car, Selena,” Forge murmured. “Remember our lessons, and don’t—for even a moment—forget the sort of monsters that surround you.”
I wouldn’t. Not after seeing the hunger in Dobson’s eyes, nor the sense of malevolence he’d brought in with him. There would be no arguing with this one, no begging, nothing that would forestall the death lurking in Dobson’s eyes. He enjoyed killing, and only Forge stood between me and those teeth. I schooled my face into an impenetrable mask and reinforced my defenses as Dobson poked around. A cool, comforting sensation swept through me as Forge added his shield over mine.
“Shall we?” Forge asked Dobson, while I heard the heavy crunch of tires on the gravel outside. Was I heading to my execution? Or was this just a ride to the meeting?
Desperately, I formed the questions in my head, hoping Forge heard them.
Where are we going? To the meeting? Even internally, my voice sounded shrill.
Yes. Calm down. Your face is giving you away.
Fine, I mentally snapped. How am I supposed to do everything at once? There’s fucking blood dripping down the front of him.
You’ve been practicing for this, Selena. Forge’s voice became a dark, soothing presence in my head. Stay by my side and keep your mind protected at all times. If you hear anything you deem important…tell me immediately.
Fine, but I’m not doing any weird stuff. Well, weirder than this already is, I amended.
Dobson kept his eyes on us until we were shut in the car, and when I looked back, he was gone. Although we couldn’t see the driver—the privacy window was up—he took his time piloting the huge sedan through the roads, as if we weren’t on a deadline. At least I saw Scotland before I died. Check one thing off the old bucket list. As soon as we reached the outskirts of Edinburgh, Forge squeezed my hand, hard enough to get my attention.
He leaned in, close enough that I felt his breath on my cheek, and I turned my head, brushing my lips against his. Accident or on purpose, I didn’t know, but I licked my bottom lip, tasting the trace Forge had left behind.
His eyes flared open in surprise, but then they grew hesitant, and I wondered how much worse things were about to get.
I never wanted you to have to see this, but now there’s no avoiding it.
He didn’t let go of my hand as he began changing. I realized that whatever I thought I knew about him and his kind, my popcorn version of a vampire had nothing to do with the real Forge.
He went from broody and unapproachable to frightening, his eyes growing black, his fangs—som
ething I’d barely glimpsed before—on full display. They had to be an inch long. The planes on his face grew sharper, more defined, until Forge hardly looked human at all. There were dark splotches beneath his skin, but it was those eyes that kept pulling me back. Seeing him transform excited me, and God help me, I loved every minute of it.
Instead of worrying about the impending meeting, I was fighting a war inside myself over whether to be thankful Selena was with me, or pissed over the fact I hadn’t gotten her to safety in time. If I’d been a few minutes quicker, she’d be headed back to the plane, and I could deal with the Elder bullshit on my own.
The second Dobson appeared, my heart had almost stopped beating as I realized he was heading straight for her.
Toward everything I had to lose.
When Dobson had the nerve to look her up and down like a piece of meat, I swore I’d pop those eyeballs right out of his head with my thumbs.
“If you touch her, you’re dead.” The threat slipped out of my mouth as I prepared myself to take this fucker out, but unfortunately, Dobson obligingly obeyed. Still, I didn’t feel comfortable until Selena was pressed against me, her heart beating a mile a minute.
Selena tried to argue, but before she said anything damning, I quietly warned her, “Later. Take my hand and don’t let go.” Just to be sure she obeyed, I gripped her arm, grateful she moved closer instead of fighting me.
Dobson closely followed the move, his eyes lighting up as he found some leverage he could use against me. He made a comment strictly to rattle Selena, then dropped the Elder’s name, as if he actually knew the asshole personally. When he added the bit about the Elder, Dobson bared his teeth, as if he’d win this pissing contest.
I clasped her hand firmly, trying to put her mind at ease before I reminded her, “Remember our lessons, and don’t—for even a moment—forget the sort of monsters that surround you.”
Devil's Cut: Immortal Keeper Vampire Paranormal Romance Series Page 8
