by Raven Stone
“My real name?” I interrupted.
“Yes.” His eyes met mine. “Why won’t you tell him? Don’t you trust us by now? Don’t you know we won’t hurt you?”
I tried to pull away, but his arm tightened around my waist. Caught, I stared at him. “My real name is one of my biggest secrets.”
“Why? It’s just a name.”
“It’s just a name to you, but you or Degarr could destroy me once you know it. You could wreck my whole life.”
He stared at me. “I don’t wreck other people’s lives. They wreck mine. And Garr –”
“Yes?”
“Garr just kills people. He removes anyone who’s dangerous, and protects the rest. It’s simple, and a whole hell of a lot nicer than what other people do.” His thumb swiped across the back of my neck. “He won’t destroy you, and neither will I. Your secrets – all of them – are safe with him and with me. Always.”
Always.
My arms closed around him.
No one could be this good, right?
I swallowed, and squeezed my eyes shut.
I was afraid again.
Because being cared about? That hadn’t happened to me in a hell of a long time.
Much less with a dangerous vampire, and his sweet ginger-haired son.
Chapter 53
Nadia – Chicago
Jamie and I were playing videogames when the sun slipped below the horizon. I probably wouldn’t have even noticed it, but Jamie’s phone rang.
“Shit! Watch out for that guy, okay?” He pointed.
“Okay.”
He answered his phone, then turned down the sound on the TV.
“At Nadia’s,” he said.
Then he listened for a bit, while I shot glances between him and the screen before giving up and pausing it.
“Okay. Just be careful, and come over when you’re done.” He hung up.
“That was Degarr, right? What did he say?” I asked.
“He’s going to go pick up the drugs.”
“Alone?”
“He doesn’t want Green to know about me, and he says it would be out of place for you to go. But he’s not going alone. Remember those people from the other night?” Jamie asked.
“The Nightfall people?”
“Yeah. He’s going with them,” he replied.
“And you’re okay with that?” I asked.
Jamie picked up his controller again, running his fingers over its edges.
“This will be one of the least dangerous things he does all week. If I fight him on it, if I try to keep him on a short leash, then I’ll lose him.” He shot me a look. “Same goes for you, and for Gabriel. Each of us has to figure out which things we’ll fight him on, and which ones we won’t.”
“Pick our battles, you mean?” I asked.
He nodded.
“What are you willing to fight him on this week?” I asked.
His jaw tensed, then he answered. “I’m going with him to that meeting tomorrow night.”
“Me too,” I replied.
“Good. We’re in agreement then.” He smiled.
“Absolutely,” I said.
Then we went back to the game.
Honeygirl brought dinner a couple of hours later. We stopped long enough to eat, then Honeygirl joined in on playing the game too. I’d lost track of how much time had passed when someone knocked on the door.
“Come in,” I shouted, keeping my attention on the game.
“I could have been anyone,” Degarr said, coming in and closing the door behind him.
“You weren’t,” Jamie replied, his eyes on the screen. “I would have stopped her.”
The other man sighed.
“Guys, take over.” I put down my controller and grabbed the envelope. “How did it go tonight?”
“Well enough,” he replied. “Both of us were satisfied.”
“Good. You should read this.” I held out the envelope.
He raised his eyebrows, but he took it from me. We went over to the kitchen where it was quieter, and Degarr read through the whole thing quickly and silently.
“He’s a master,” Degarr said finally, sliding the pages back into the envelope and handing it to me.
I had no idea what that meant.
“That shouldn’t excite you,” Jamie said. He shot a look over the couch at Degarr.
“Jamie!” Honeygirl cried out, drawing his attention back to the TV.
Degarr brushed his lips against mine.
“I need to make a phone call. In private.” He gave a pointed look towards Honeygirl.
“Take my bedroom.”
He nodded, and went down the hall.
I was grabbing refreshments from the kitchen when Degarr joined us again. He’d almost made it to the couch when an old-fashioned ring tone split the air. Degarr went still for a moment, then pulled a burner phone from his pocket.
“Jamie, quiet now.” He ordered.
The ginger flew into action, pausing the game and then putting a hand over Honeygirl’s mouth when she made a sound of protest. As soon as everything was quiet, Degarr raised the phone to his face.
“Yes?” he asked.
His entire tone, his entire demeanor, shifted before us, and I shivered.
“Yes, I have them. Since you refused to pay Green, he sold them to me for quite a bargain.” He walked away from the couch, towards the door. “Green’s under my protection now. You want something from him, you come to me first, understood?”
My mouth fell open as it dawned on me that he was talking to the man – the vampire – that we’d been searching for. He must have gotten the phone number from Green.
“It’s my understanding that I’m already meeting you tomorrow night. At midnight?” He glanced at me and I nodded, confirming the time. “Yes, that’s me. I’ve been wanting to meet with you for some time. I’ve heard some very interesting things about you.”
God, that voice.
It was so close to that seductive tone he sometimes used that warmth was spreading though my body.
Then he laughed; the sound hearty.
“We’ll talk about that tomorrow.” He hit a button on the phone, then hit a few more and held the phone back to his face, before finally closing it and slipping it into his pocket. Then he seemed to realize that everybody was staring at him.
“What?” he asked, in a completely normal tone.
“Green is under your protection?” Honeygirl asked.
“When it comes to this man? Yes,” he replied.
“That doesn’t leave this room,” I said quickly.
“Mmm,” Degarr replied, those grey eyes gone intense. “When this man is mine, Honeygirl, you’re free to tell anyone you’d like that Green arranged for me and Bellamie to take care of him.”
“Is that the truth?” she asked me.
“Close enough,” I replied, though I didn’t look at her.
My gaze was firmly stuck on Degarr. He looked pleased and recharged, like he’d taken a two-week vacation when I hadn’t been watching. It struck me that Jamie was right.
“You like this, don’t you?” I asked. “Everyone else is scared as fuck of our mark, and you’re pleased as hell.”
He smiled at me. “Yes, love. This has been a small hunt, but I’ve enjoyed it immensely.”
I came closer, my eyes roaming him. He had looked damn good in a suit, but in his regular clothes – jeans that hugged his muscular thighs, and a shirt that stretched tight over his arms and chest – he was downright yummy.
“It’s not over yet,” I replied, coming closer to him, drawn to his fire.
His eyes roamed me in return. “He’ll be mine tomorrow night, love. He just doesn’t know it yet.”
I swallowed. Getting the mark meant Degarr would be leaving soon. My time was running out.
I stopped inches away from him, and slipped a hand under his shirt. I ran my fingers over his firm, muscled stomach, and stared up at him.
“Can I be you
rs tonight, then?” I asked.
He gave me a delighted smile and swept me up in his arms. I put my head on his chest, and he headed down the hall.
“Chocolate mousse is in the fridge,” Honeygirl called out.
Degarr detoured long enough to grab a container of mousse, then carried me back to my bedroom and closed the door behind us.
Chapter 54
Degarr – Chicago
“Tell me your real name,” I said, stroking her hair back from her face.
Nadia stared up at me, resting her chin and hand on top of my chest. She was still tangled up in me, one of her legs between mine, our bodies cooling from what we’d just done.
“Do you do this with all of your lovers?” she asked.
“What? Cover them in chocolate mousse and lick and bite it off of them until they come?”
She laughed softly. “No. Running background checks on them.”
“Yes,” I said simply.
Nadia blinked up at me. “Gabriel?”
“Yes.”
“Orleande?”
“Yes. Although, it’s more accurate to say I investigated both of them. Background checks didn’t always exist,” I said.
She took a moment to consider this. “What about your human lovers, then?”
“If I’m at home they’re already vetted. If I’m not, then it doesn’t matter.” I answered.
She traced lazy circles in my chest. “Vetted? What does that mean?”
“It means any human who lives with us is thoroughly checked,” I replied.
“Background checked?”
“Yes,” I said.
“By you?”
“There’s a whole team that does it. I focus on other things,” I replied.
“So, if I give you my real name, I’m not giving it just to you, am I? I’m giving it to a whole team.” She looked away.
I took her chin and gently brought her gaze back to me.
“You’d be giving it to me and Jamie,” I said softly. “Gabriel would know too, since he’s the King. As for the investigation team, I could make sure that only one person performs the check.”
She blew out a breath. “Four people then.”
“Two of whom you know. A third who cares about me and wouldn’t hurt me. And a fourth whose own safety depends on keeping secrets.”
She lowered her face, eventually resting her cheek on my chest and turning her gaze away from me.
“Why?” she asked. “Why are you demanding to know something I tell no one?”
I dipped my fingers into her hair, and gently stroked the soft strands. “Because I have people to protect, love.”
“I love how you say love.” She sighed. “Could you do that thing you do again?”
“What thing?”
“That thing. That thing that feels like warm cashmere stroking my skin, even when you’re not touching me. That thing that scared Green,” she said.
Oh.
I smiled and let my vampire rise. This time, he was very much a happy puppy as he reached out to her.
She let out a low sigh, her eyes sliding shut.
“God, that’s it. That feels so good. What is it?” she asked.
“It’s my vampire.” I stroked her arms, while my vampire played over her body.
“You say that like it’s a separate thing,” she murmured.
“In some ways he is, and in some ways he isn’t.”
“He?” she clarified.
“Yes. My vampire’s a he, not an it. And he likes you very much,” I said.
“Mmm. I like him very much too. And I like you.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” I said.
I stroked her with my fingers, and with my vampire, until she fell asleep.
She was so beautiful.
I loved having her in my arms. I loved watching her sleep. I loved watching her eyes spark when an idea struck her.
And I loved the way my vampire responded to her, and the way she responded to him.
This was special, damn it. Didn’t she know that?
I wanted to wake her up, shake her, and beg her.
Please, Nadia.
Please tell me your real name. I don’t want this to end.
I want to take you home with me.
But I stayed quiet, watching her sleep.
Chapter 55
Nadia – Chicago
Every part of me tingled with awareness. Degarr would be gone soon. Jamie too. There was no reason for them to stay after they got the mark.
Could I really let them just leave?
My stomach curled and twisted. I felt like a snake was writhing inside me as I answered the door.
“Amber.” I tried to smile as I let her in, but it quickly slid from my face.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“My stomach’s upset. I think I ate something it didn’t like,” I replied.
She eyed me like she knew I was lying, but she didn’t say anything. Since she couldn’t possibly know what was really bugging me, she would probably chalk it up to nerves.
“I have that ticket for you.” I grabbed it from the nearby table and gave it to her. I could swear I saw tears in her eyes, but she quickly blinked them away.
“Thank you. This will make an incredible difference for me. I wasn’t expecting you to give it to me before the meeting,” she said.
“You earned it,” I replied. “And I’m working on the contacts too. Those probably won’t be ready until next week though.”
“That’s fine. I trust you.” She smiled.
Trust.
That damn word again.
I turned away, suddenly feeling like I couldn’t breathe. “I’m going to get some water. Do you want anything?”
“Wine, if you have it?”
Honeygirl had taken the box of wine bottles last night. “What about beer?”
Amber grimaced. “I’ll take water too.”
I laughed. “I understand.”
There was a knock on the door and I went to open it, peering through the peephole first, like Degarr had asked me to last night. Then I opened it, letting in said vampire and Jamie.
“Amber, you remember Jamie and Degarr from last time,” I said.
“Of course.” She smiled. “Good to see you again. Are both of you going tonight?”
Degarr and Jamie shared a look.
“Yes.” They both said at the same time.
Amber laughed. “That’s cute, how well you two know each other.”
I cracked open a couple of bottles of water, pouring them into glasses before handing her one.
“Do you have the address yet?” Degarr asked.
Amber took her phone out of her purse and handed it to him. He noted the address, then handed it back. He typed something into his own phone, then put it away.
“Good. We have a few minutes before we need to leave, and I wanted to talk with you,” he told Amber.
“Me? What about?”
“Given your heritage,” he said carefully, “my employer would like me to ask you something.”
“Okay,” she said.
“Would you like to meet others like you? Part Fae?”
She tapped her glass with one pinky.
“Yes,” she said finally.
“Good. All I need is your full name, so I can run a background check,” he replied.
This vampire, and his background checks.
“Oh.” Amber’s face fell.
“What?” He frowned and shot a glance at me. I had the feeling he was close to complaining about both of us.
“I won’t pass your check,” she said. “I’ve been to prison.”
My eyebrows rose. I’d had no idea.
Degarr smiled. “Prison isn’t an automatic disqualifier.”
“It isn’t? What do you care about, then?” she asked.
“We care whether you might kill us, or tell anyone else about us. For money, or any other reason you might have,” he answered, his grey eyes on me the
entire time.
I forced down a drink of water, in spite of my churning stomach.
Didn’t he already know I wouldn’t kill anyone?
Didn’t I already tell him I would never betray him?
Amber smiled.
“I don’t kill people. And I promise I won’t tell anyone,” she said.
He turned his attention to her. “Not even for money or contacts?”
She swallowed.
“I’ve wanted money and contacts for a long time,” she said softly. “But I’ve never met anyone else like me. For that, I would keep every secret in the world.”
He smiled.
“Okay,” he said. “What’s your full name?”
She told him, while my heart thudded in my ears.
“You’re taking her home with you?” I blurted out.
“No.” Degarr’s voice was soft. “There’s a multispecies community in California. Some of the part Fae living there have already expressed interest in meeting her.”
“They have?” Amber asked, gripping her glass.
“Yes.” He gave her a gentle smile.
I headed back to the kitchen, trying to quietly suck down air. My chest felt like something heavy and large was sitting on top of it. Maybe some more water would help.
Suddenly Jamie was there, the scent of wolf and pine strong as he brushed past me to grab a beer from the fridge. He smiled and winked at me, and I could breathe again.
“Just one, Jamie. You need to be sharp tonight.” Degarr warned.
The ginger raised the bottle. “It is just one, and I’m not even drinking the whole thing. God, old man.” He rolled his eyes and grinned at me before returning to the living room. “You act like I’ve never been to a super-secret meeting with a dangerous asshole before. Didn’t I go to one the other night?”
Degarr laughed, and ruffled his hair. “No, jackass. The last one was in public. This isn’t.”
“Please.” Jamie threw himself onto the couch. “Come on, there’s plenty of time to watch some TV before we have to go.”
And all of us found ourselves joining him, passing the time laughing, talking, and watching TV together until it was time to leave for the meeting. Then Amber went one way, and Degarr, Jamie and I went another.
