Dark Warrior's Legacy

by I. T. Lucas

  Andrew rubbed his neck the way he did when he was uncomfortable saying something. “Maybe you should stop working altogether. Financially, you no longer need to. Only if you enjoy it.”

  Nathalie shook her head. “I wouldn’t know what to do with myself all day long. I love baking, and I love interacting with customers. What I hated was the grueling routine. I had no life to speak of. I was waking up at four in the morning and collapsing at nine. That’s no longer the case. Thanks to Jackson and his crew, I can take it easy and enjoy myself.”

  Andrew nodded and pulled her closer, kissing the top of her head. “Is she the best, or what?”

  Nathalie rolled her eyes. It was nice to have an adoring guy gushing about every little thing you did and said, but it was kind of embarrassing in company. “Stop it, Andrew, you’re making me blush,” she whispered, forgetting it was futile. The freaking immortals could hear a butterfly flap its wings in the other room.

  Braving a glance at her new family, she was relieved that most of the indulgent looks were directed at Andrew and not at her. A man in love was allowed to make a fool of himself over his woman.

  The only one who wasn’t smiling was Kian. He appeared deep in thought. “I’ll give you Ingrid’s phone number.” He pulled out his phone from his pocket. “You should call her and schedule an appointment. She can show you all the available apartments to choose from. Andrew, I’m sending you the contact.”

  Andrew’s phone pinged. “Got it.”

  Kian put his phone back in his pocket and lifted the mostly full beer bottle to his lips, took a short swig, and lowered it back to the table. “I have an idea I want to run by you, Nathalie,” he said, training his intense gaze on her.

  She was getting used to the immortals’ strange eyes, but the intensity that was unique to Kian still managed to unnerve her. “Yes?”

  “What if we open a coffee shop like yours right here in the building? Most of the lobby is a wasted, empty space. We can section off part of it and build you a trendy and elegant place.”

  Wow, that was one hell of an offer. One she unfortunately couldn’t accept. Not unless her five years of back dividends amounted to a small fortune. Because that was what building a fancy coffee shop in a high-end building like this would cost.

  She shook her head. “I have no idea how much I’m getting in those dividends you’ve mentioned, but I’m sure it’s not enough to cover the cost of something like this. Besides, I don’t know if it’s a financially viable idea. Spending so much money could only be justified by very favorable profit projections.”

  Was she imagining it, or was Kian looking at her with newfound respect?

  He grinned. “It’s a pleasure to talk business with someone who actually understands it. The thing is, I’m not thinking profits here. I’m thinking about a nice place for our people to hang out at, where they can grab a quick bite, or sit down with a cup of coffee and shoot the breeze. We have nothing like that, and I think it would improve the quality of life here. I’m willing to finance the entire building project, and you can collect the profits from whatever you sell.”

  When she tried to object, he raised his palm to shush her. “If it makes you feel better, you can pay the clan a symbolic rent.”

  Tempting, it was very, very tempting.

  “What am I going to do with my other location?”

  He shrugged. “Either close it or give it to Jackson and collect a share of the profits. From what I hear, he can run the place with minimal input from you.”

  “I’ll have to talk to him. I think he would love to have the old place to run as he pleases, but I’ll probably need his help with the new one.”

  “Well, you have plenty of time to figure it out. It would take a month or so to build the place.”

  “A month? I thought something like that would take much longer.”

  “Not really. We are not even going to build walls to enclose it because the ceiling is too high. It’s not a complicated project.”

  “What about the kitchen?”

  “We can use the commercial one in the basement for the baking, and have only a prep area upstairs.”

  Nathalie had no more objections. Apparently, Kian hadn’t lied when he’d said a coffee shop at the keep was something he’d spent some time thinking about. Either that or he had a very quick mind.

  “Well, what do you think, sweetheart?” Andrew asked.

  “I love it.”

  Chapter 24: Anandur

  “Lana.” Anandur accepted the collect call. Ever since she’d called him from Mexico that first time, he’d been jumping every time his phone rang. It was good his immortal body was immune to coronary disease or he would’ve dropped dead from the stress by now.

  Why the hell did he care so much?

  He didn’t love Lana, and the rest of her crew were barely tolerable, but he felt responsible—especially for Lana. If anything happened to her, it would be on him.

  “We have a problem,” she said.

  He gripped the phone tighter, the metal casing groaning from the pressure. “What’s going on?”

  “We have cargo. Four.”

  They weren’t on a private line, and she was right to be cautious, choosing her words carefully.

  “The same as always?”

  “Yes, but this time also customers on board.”

  Fuck and double fuck. That complicated things. “How many?”

  “Also four, each purchased one for himself, and they be here until next stop.”

  “They are getting off at the next port?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. We can wait.”

  “No. They take cargo with them.”

  Anandur raked his fingers through his bushy curls, pulling out hairs and welcoming the pain. Maybe it would help sharpen his focus. “What’s the next port?”

  “Acapulco.”

  “How long will it take for you to get there?”

  “We go slow. Three days, maybe a little more.”

  “We’ll be there before.”

  She sucked in a breath. “Anything we should do?”

  “Absolutely nothing. Business as usual.”

  “Okay.”

  “Be well, Lana.”

  “You too.”

  As soon as he disconnected the call, Anandur speed-dialed Kian. “I need to see you right away. Lana just called.”

  “I’m in my office.”

  Three minutes later, Anandur pushed the door open, strode into the office, and took a seat in front of Kian’s desk.

  “Do you want me to come back later?” Shai asked Kian.

  “No, stay. Take the files to the conference table. You can work there until we are done.”

  Shai nodded and lifted the stack of files from Kian’s desk. Tucking them under his arm, he grabbed a notepad and a pen in his other hand and walked over to the oblong conference table.

  “Shoot,” Kian said.

  “They have cargo.”

  “Damn.”

  “And customers on board.”

  Kian banged his palm on his desk. “What the hell is he doing? Running a bordello aboard his yacht?”

  “I think the customers wanted a taste before finalizing the deal. Lana said that they would be taking the girls with them when they disembark in Acapulco in three days. That’s our window of opportunity. We have to move fast.”

  Kian ran his fingers through his hair. “I need to call Turner. We need a human crew to handle the customers.”

  Anandur narrowed his eyes at Kian. “What do you mean by handle?” Kian was a bloodthirsty bastard, but he usually managed to control those urges.

  Kian chuckled. “I wish there was a market for male sex slaves. It would’ve been the perfect payback. But I guess throwing them in jail will get similar results. Even hardened criminals don’t tolerate pedophiles and slavers. They’ll get what’s coming to them.”

  Anandur nodded. “Are you going to make the call now? Time is of the essence.”

  “
Yeah, but knowing Turner, he will take his sweet time answering. I'm not sure if he's really a sociopath with no emotions whatsoever or just a great actor. As far as he is concerned, nothing is ever urgent. Things get done at the pace he thinks they should be done and that’s it.”

  “That’s good. He keeps a cool head under pressure.”

  “Yeah, that’s true. But I have a problem with purely analytical people who keep emotions out of the equation. The mind can come up with pretty convoluted stuff if it isn’t guided by at least some feelings.”

  “Way over my head, Kian. I’m not one for deep thinking and philosophizing. This is a conversation you should have with someone smart, like Edna, not me.”

  Kian waved a dismissive hand. “You don’t fool me for a moment with that dumb act. I know you have a good brain under all that red hair.”

  Anandur dipped his head. “Thank you.”

  Wow, a compliment from Kian was as rare as a smile from Bhathian. Perhaps he should look for the guy and see if he could get a smile out of him. Two positive outcomes increased the possibility of the third one being positive as well.

  Damn, it seemed Dalhu’s stupid superstitions had managed to infect him as well.

  Chapter 25: Andrew

  “What do you think, Papi?” Nathalie opened the door to his new room.

  “Is this the same hotel room we stayed in before?” He asked while trudging to the BarcaLounger Okidu had been kind enough to schlep from Syssi’s penthouse down to their new apartment.

  “Not the same room, but the same building.”

  He lowered himself carefully, bracing his weight on his hands to help his weak leg muscles and achy knees on his way down. He sighed when he sank into the soft comfort of the chair. “This is such a good easy chair. I wish I had one like that at home.”

  “We will be staying here for a while, and you can enjoy it to your heart’s content.” She was expecting a rebuttal, but her father found the remote and got busy flipping channels on the big flat screen hanging on the wall.

  “Do you want your door closed or opened?” Nathalie asked as she stepped out.

  “Closed, thank you,” he said without sparing her a glance.

  That went way easier than she’d thought it would, which meant that the shit storm was still waiting to happen. She wasn’t that lucky. Instinctively, she rubbed her hand over her belly, a mini panic attack stealing her breath away.

  Whatever it was, it had better not touch her baby.

  Nathalie closed her eyes and willed herself to calm down. Stress was bad for the baby. She was silly and superstitious. Of course, she was lucky. She was blessed beyond belief.

  She was getting married to a man who was better than any dream she’d ever had, was expecting a beautiful and healthy baby, was opening a new business, and she was about to live like royalty in a most gorgeous apartment.

  Ingrid had shown them several of the already furnished ones that had originally belonged to the timeshare portion of the building. She’d explained that most of the apartments she was readying for incoming clan members were smaller, with only one or two bedrooms. After all, with very few exceptions, most lived alone.

  That entire floor was getting annexed for what comprised the clan’s living quarters, and as Andrew and Nathalie had walked from one apartment to the next, a bunch of technicians had been rewiring cameras in the wide corridor.

  The layouts and furnishings of the apartments on this level were almost identical, but this one had the best view. A living room and a dining room shared one big space, with a bank of windows overlooking the city. In addition, there were three bedrooms and three bathrooms, a laundry room, and a kitchen with a walk-in pantry—a true luxury.

  The only things she’d brought from her old home were a few pictures, pillows, Papi’s favorite throw, and clothes.

  There were walk-in closets in all three bedrooms, and the master’s was as big as her entire bedroom in the old house. The best part, however, other than having a room in between the master and her father’s, was the master bathroom. It had a bathtub big enough for two and a shower big enough for four. Not that she was planning on inviting anyone other than Andrew into that shower.

  Nathalie sat on the king-sized bed and flopped back. So soft. She spread her arms over the coverlet and closed her eyes, letting her other senses take over. Everything smelled new and clean.

  Lovely, but it didn’t smell like home.

  She was so used to the slightly moldy scent of the old building’s walls, to the food smells clinging to the furniture, to the odor of rotting trash wafting from the overturned trash cans in the back alley, and illogically, she missed them. They represented something that was hers.

  Theoretically.

  Practically, the bank owned most of it. Her equity in the place was less than a third. Still, it was more hers than this beautiful apartment in this brand new building.

  Syssi tried to convince her that it belonged to her and Andrew, but it didn’t. Even if she accepted that in some small way she owned a share in the clan’s net profits and its assets, she had a hard time with this communal ownership thing. The building supposedly belonged to the clan, and as such, each member was entitled to an apartment. Logically, she understood what it meant, but in her heart she didn’t feel like it was hers. She hadn’t earned it; she didn’t work for it; so how could it be hers?

  “Are you taking a nap, sweetheart?” Andrew walked in with a bunch of trash bags overstuffed with clothing and shoes.

  She sat up. “No, just checking out the bed.”

  He dropped his load inside the closet and stepped out. “And what’s the verdict? Is it fit for my queen?”

  “Come and check for yourself.” She patted the spot next to her.

  Andrew glanced her way longingly but shook his head. “I’d better not. You know what would happen if I get in bed with you.”

  “You’ll fall asleep?” she teased.

  “No. Your father is going to schlep the rest of the stuff up and walk in on us.”

  For a moment she thought he’d meant Papi and got confused. “We shouldn’t refer to Bhathian as my father with Papi around. He might overhear and get upset.”

  “You’re right.” Andrew bent at the waist and planted a kiss on her lips. “Just a little advance on what I plan to deliver later.”

  Sweet Andrew, always hungry for her. She was indeed lucky. Hopefully, he would still find her sexy and desirable when she was big as a whale. A little snort escaped her throat. She shouldn’t worry about that. Andrew had been a walking hormone before his transition; now he was a squadron of hormones folded into one. He would want her no matter what she looked like.

  Or not.

  What if he started lusting after other women?

  Stop it! Andrew loves you, and he will never look at another woman the way he looks at you.

  Again, logic was saying one thing, while the jealous Godzilla living inside her was whispering hateful things in her ear.

  Nathalie shook her head. The Godzilla was imaginary and easy to banish, and luckily no real ghosts had paid her a visit in a long time. She wouldn’t have minded a chat with Mark, she kind of missed him, but it was nice to have silence in her head, to be alone with her thoughts.

  Maybe it was the pregnancy.

  Who knew what a baby was aware of?

  Perhaps pregnant women were off limits for ghosts, and she was looking into nine months of reprieve.

  Yay!

  Energized, Nathalie got up and headed to the closet. Their stuff wasn’t going to jump out of the bags and magically arrange itself on the shelves.

  She was done with one bag when Andrew came over with a new load. “These are your dad’s things. Where do you want me to put them?”

  She pointed to the far corner of the closet. “Put them there. I’ll sort them away after I’m done with ours.”

  He offered his hand and helped her up, then pulled her in for a gentle hug. “Take it easy, Nathalie. It doesn’t need to b
e all done today. You need to pace yourself.” He placed a warm palm on her tummy. “You need to be mindful of the little one in here.”

  Silly man. She was just at the beginning stages of the pregnancy, and the little one was probably invisible without a microscope. She was perfectly fine working the same as she’d done before. But unless she wanted a long lecture, she’d better humor him. “I will.”

  He lifted a brow. “Promise?”

  Damn, he knew her too well. “I promise. The moment I feel tired, I’ll stop.”

  “I guess that’s the best I’m going to get from you, so fine. I’m going to the house to pick up more clothes. Do you want anything from there?”

  In fact, she did, and for some reason had felt shy to ask. But now that he brought it up… “Your grandma’s china. It’s so beautiful, and it would be a shame to leave it there to collect dust, or worse, for your tenants to break it.”

  Andrew smiled. “Consider it done. And it’s our tenants, not mine. My home is your home.”

  “We are not married yet.”

  He grabbed her chin between his thumb and forefinger and gave it a little shake. “In everything that matters we are. A pagan ceremony performed by a superior being who isn’t really a goddess is not what will define our commitment to each other.”

  “You’re right. We should get married in a civil court.”

  Andrew rolled his eyes. “Stubborn woman. Do you really want to?”

  “Of course. I want to be legally married. We are having a child. She would want her parents to be married for real.”

  “As you wish.”

  Smart man. She wasn’t going to budge on that even though the idea of a civil marriage had just occurred to her.

  “Well, that’s the last of it,” Bhathian said as he walked in with more trash bags. By the shape of them, they contained pillows and blankets and other bedding, which she now realized wouldn’t fit her new, king-sized bed. She should take it back and let Jackson use it.

  The boys had been ecstatic about having the place for themselves, especially since she’d offered it to them as a bonus and wasn’t going to charge them rent.