Lucian snarled. “You will show me some respect, boy.”
“Only when you earn it, leech,” Tarian said with a derisive laugh.
Before Melissa could diffuse the situation, her father launched himself at Tarian. With a cry she rushed forward only to pause when her lover threw out a hand.
Lucian stopped in midstep, his clawed hands raised, fangs glistening.
Tarian’s eyes were cold as he stepped toward the immobile man. “You might do well to remember you’re not the top of the evolutionary chain, vampire,” he hissed. “I am.”
“Tarian, let my father go,” Melissa ordered.
His gaze flicked her way before returning to Lucian. “You, I promised immunity,” he said to her. “No one else.”
“You can’t kept that up forever. Please.”
The entire room waited in silence to see how he would respond to her entreaty. Finally he flicked his fingers. Lucian stumbled forward a step as control returned to his body.
The vampire bared his fangs, which had Tarian raising his hand in warning.
A soft chuckle broke the tension.
“They always say girls date their fathers,” Abbey laughed. “My god, Melissa. You didn’t branch out much.”
Three sets of incredulous eyes swung to her.
“Abbey,” Lucian reproved.
Ignoring him, Abbey focused on Melissa and ticked off her points on her fingers. “Old as the hills. Powerful. Has a temper. Ruthless in defense of those he loves. Hot, and, forgive me, but I’m assuming one hell of a lover, if you brought him here.”
“Aw…ick,” Melissa said, pressing her hands over her ears. “Abbey, really.”
The human shrugged. “Am I wrong?”
Tarian and Lucian eyed each other.
“I do not see your basis for comparison,” Lucian said.
“Ah, honey. I know you don’t.” Abbey grinned up at him.
In typical Lucian fashion, her father chose to focus on the one fact in Abbey’s speech she’d rather he not.
“Are you lovers?” he demanded.
Tarian drew up in affront even as Melissa sprang to the rescue. “That is not your business.”
“Given his bloodline, it most certainly is.” He caught her arm and pulled her to the side. “Our kind are vulnerable to his. How do you know he did not take advantage of the situation?”
“That’s it,” Tarian said, shaking out his hands. “I haven’t killed a vampire in decades, but this seems as good a time as any to dust off old skills.”
“Stop,” she growled at him in exasperation. “Lucian, I spent four nights with this man and he did nothing but keep me safe. Doesn’t that tell you something?”
“He knew the exact best way to get into your pants?” her friend piped up.
Melissa shot a death glare at Abbey. “Not helpful.”
The other woman shrugged. “Honestly, I’m not sure what side I should be on.”
“Not all necromancers are evil,” she said, facing Lucian. “This one group that kidnapped me, sure. But Tarian risked a lot to come to my rescue. Are you going to vilify him for that?”
“He could have had you call me the second you were safe,” Lucian replied. “Drake knew what he was about when he kept you by his side for these past nights.”
“It would have put her in danger,” Tarian said. “My grandfather’s reach is wide. He would have stopped her from boarding a plane.”
“I have resources your grandfather doesn’t,” Lucian snapped. “Melissa would have been perfectly safe.”
“Are you willing to bet her life on it? Because I wasn’t.”
Lucian leveled an icy glare at him. “I would have kept her from harm.”
“I did,” he argued.
“And what do you want for it, hmm? What’s your price for returning Melissa unharmed?”
“It’s not like that,” she tried, even as Tarian spoke.
“Clemency for the necromancer community,” he said. “We are not all in support of violence to settle our score. I propose we meet with the council and review the terms of the necromancer ban. My people are suffering, and yours are the cause.”
Melissa flinched. This had always been the plan, but even so, it hurt to hear him claim that protecting her was just to achieve his goals, not because he cared.
“There we are,” Lucian said, tension leaving his shoulders. “The heart of the matter.” He glanced at Abbey before shaking his head. “Because my daughter obviously cares for you—just as I’m sure you guaranteed would be the case—I will make you a deal.” When he turned back to Tarian, Melissa flinched at his intractable expression. “I will vow no vengeance for Melissa’s abduction against any part of the necromancer community, provided you return to your shadows. There is no room for you here in New York.”
“That is not enough. If you don’t at least think about making changes, this unrest will never end.”
“This is all I’m offering. Refuse and I will happily tear your head from your shoulders before hunting down every last necromancer I can find.”
“Lucian,” Melissa tried to protest.
“No.” He silenced her with a wave of his hand. “This is about more than you and your boyfriend. I will not endanger the vampires of this city.”
“We only want peace,” Tarian growled.
“And you have nothing to bargain with. Take my offer, and leave my home.”
Tarian’s shoulders stiffened. “You swear neither you, nor the council, will come after any faction of our society?”
“My word,” Lucian agreed.
Tarian’s eyes met hers, and she read the resignation in them. No matter that he was in the right, the vampire community held all the cards.
“Father, that’s not fair,” she tried to cut in.
“I’ll deal with you later, Melissa,” Lucian replied. “But right now I am speaking as the elder of the vampire race, not as your father.”
“Lucian…” Abbey tried. “Think carefully about this. Is Tarian’s request so out of bounds?”
“Take it or leave it,” he told Tarian. “With one phone call I can rally an army against your people. And the first place I’ll start is with the woman in your home.”
Tarian’s shoulders bowed. “I accept,” he said, disdain dripping from his words.
“Good. Then there is just one more condition you need to agree to in order to ensure immunity for your people.” Lucian’s gaze turned to her. “You will say goodbye to my daughter and never contact her again. If you do so, I will retract my promise to leave the necromancers alone.”
“No,” Melissa cried. “You can’t do this. I’m not a child you need to save anymore.”
“You will always be my child,” he replied. “And I will always protect you. Even if it’s from yourself.”
Abbey pushed to her feet. “Lucian, this is exactly what I was talking about. You can’t control who she cares about.”
“Perhaps not. But I can keep the damned necromancer away from her, where he can’t continue to blind her with infatuation.” He looked back to Tarian. “Do we have a deal, or should I make my call?”
Melissa met Tarian’s tortured gaze and knew how this night would end. They’d suspected, of course, but planning for a lonely future and facing it were two different things.
“Please don’t do this,” she said to Lucian, without taking her eyes off her lover.
“I have no other choice,” he replied. “Not when it comes to your safety.”
Tarian’s expression blanked. “I accept. I will leave New York at once and never come back.”
“And what if I go with him?” Melissa demanded, rounding on her father. “What if I give up my life here and follow him?”
“Then I will consider his bargain null and void and go after the necromancers who took you.”
“Melissa.”
She turned to find Tarian at her side. He took her hands and pulled her close, ignoring the growl that rumbled from Lucian’s chest. “We kn
ew it would turn out this way.”
“No,” she denied. “We can reason with him. I can change his mind.”
A tiny smile curved his lips. “You are a powerful, capable woman, sweetheart. But I doubt even you are capable of that.”
Her hands tightened on his. “I can’t say goodbye to you.”
Tarian closed his eyes as he leaned his forehead against hers. “Thank you,” he whispered.
A sob caught in her throat. “I did nothing. Less than nothing.”
“I didn’t lie when I said I no longer hated your kind, but neither did I exactly care for the vampire population.” His hands transferred to her waist, pulling her close. “But you changed all that.”
“How?” she asked, her voice little more than a breathless sigh.
“When I look at you, sweetheart, I see the woman behind the fangs. One who I will never forget. One who matters more than you will ever know.”
She closed her eyes, feeling a suspicious moisture gather behind her lids. “I don’t want to say goodbye.”
“Eternity is a long time. We might meet again.”
It was cold comfort when her arms would be empty tonight.
“I—” But she couldn’t say the words her heart cried. It was too soon. And too cruel. He didn’t need such a burden when walking away from her.
“I know,” he breathed, his voice almost too soft for her supernatural hearing. “Have a happy life, Melissa. Find your mate.”
I already found him, she wanted to scream, but instead she nodded. “Goodbye, Tarian. Be safe.”
He pressed his lips to her forehead, a mockery of the kiss she truly craved, before stepping past her. Tarian didn’t pause as he walked out of the door and out of her life.
Melissa waited in silent pain as her ears heard the sound of the elevator doors close behind him.
Only then did she turn to her father.
“I will never forgive you for this,” she vowed.
He looked at her with bleak eyes as he inclined his head. “I know.”
Turning on her heel, she marched away from the family she’d spent days trying to reach.
Chapter Fourteen
“There’s a walk-in for you, Ms. Redgrave.”
Melissa glanced up from her desk. “I have a few minutes, Mary. As long as the issue isn’t too pressing, show them in.”
She turned back to her computer screen, staring sightlessly at the plans for the museum fundraiser she’d once been so excited about. But that had been B.T.D. Before Tarian Drake. Life after him seemed far more colorless than it ever had before. Her charities and responsibilities were monotonous. For all of the difference she was making in the human world, she had zero power in the supernatural one.
“Melissa?”
The soft voice had her head shooting up. Abbey stepped through the doorway, crossing to her desk as she had a hundred times before.
“Don’t,” Melissa warned as she sat.
“It’s been a week,” she said. “Time to come out of mourning.”
“Oh really?” She arched a brow. “How long were you laid up the first time Lucian dumped you?”
Abbey flinched, and for a moment she regretted the harsh words. Her friend was not the real target of her anger.
“As you point out, I’m no stranger to loss,” Abbey began.
“Temporary loss,” Melissa cut her off. “We can’t trade war stories until Lucian walks away from you and never looks back.” An impossibility, and they both knew it.
“Lucian is my mate,” Abbey tried. “It wouldn’t be the same.”
She turned back to her computer and refused to look at her friend.
“I’m sure Tarian was adventurous and fun, but he wasn’t your mate,” Abbey said.
Silence stretched while she refused to comment.
“Was he?” Abbey breathed.
A growl caught in her throat. “I don’t know,” she nearly snarled. “My father ruined any chance of finding that out.”
“But…it’s so fast.”
“You are the relationship expert. Tell me how long mates normally take to recognize each other.”
“Two to three months,” she said in reply. “Though not all matches follow that time frame.”
“What was the fastest you have on record?”
Abbey chewed her lip before relenting. “Twelve hours.”
Melissa snorted. “Sounds like time doesn’t really factor into this then, does it?”
“Fair point. But Melissa, if he was your mate, you’d be bleeding right now.” Abbey drew a deep breath. “When Lucian left me it was like the color left the world. I know humans view mating differently than you do, but the devastation would be the same. So the question remains, is that how you are feeling?”
She turned away, unwilling to confess anything to a woman who would only report back to her father.
Abbey waited a long moment before pulling something from her bag.
“You got a 94 percent match,” she said, tossing the folder onto the desk. “I told you Vivian was running a recruitment campaign, and it actually worked. We had a flood of new members in the past few days. There are a few others I could set you up, with but none as high as him.”
Melissa flipped the beige folder open and looked down at the print out of a member’s match profile.
“Gryphon,” she said.
“Strong. Handsome. No baggage. He’s not likely to abduct you before a date.”
“Neither did Tarian.”
Abbey waved the protest away. “Semantics.”
Melissa snapped the file closed. “I’m not interested.”
“A match that high is unheard of.”
She refrained from hissing at her friend. “Did I push you to date when you were abandoned?”
“I believe there was some talk about getting back on the horse, yes.”
Shame shot through her. “Then I’m sorry. That was insensitive of me.”
“You are really taking this hard,” Abbey said, surprise on her face.
Melissa picked up the file and held it out to her. “I’m not interested in any matches. I realize I have four more handpicked dates left, but I really don’t care. Please put my account on hold for the time being.”
“On hold? Are you sure?”
“Yes,” she replied. “As much fun as pretending not to be heartbroken sounds, I’d prefer to stick my hand in sunlight.”
“Melissa,” Abbey reproved.
“My point,” she stressed, “is that unless you are here to tell me Lucian has allowed Tarian to see me without endangering a whole society of people you need to leave.”
“I might be Lucian’s mate, but I’m your friend,” she protested.
“Exactly. If forced to choose, which way do you fall?” Abbey looked away, and Melissa smiled darkly. “I rest my case.”
“So that’s it? Lucian and I never hear from you again?”
She fell back against her chair. “I don’t know,” she answered truthfully. “But I’m done with being treated like a child, and he won’t see me any other way.”
“Maybe we can work on that.”
“He’s got three bodyguards shadowing my every move. Did he think I wouldn’t notice?”
Abbey sighed. “I told him not to do that.”
“Try harder next time.”
“He’s just worried.”
“Why?” Melissa demanded. “He chased off the only man I’ve been serious about in years. I’m well into cat-buying mode by now.”
“Be serious.”
“You think I’m not? Not only are they great companions, they’re fantastic substitutes for those late nights when you just don’t feel like hunting.”
“Seriously?” Abbey asked with a shudder.
“Look, my point is, both of you need to back off. While I have no issue with you per se, you come attached to a man I’d rather not see for a few decades, and if Lucian has an issue with that then he’ll just have to deal. It’s his actions that landed us her
e in the first place.”
“He did what he thought was best.”
“He failed. Now, I have a midnight appointment with the curator of the Met. I’m sure you can see yourself out.”
Abbey sighed as she rose. “We’re still family, Melissa.”
“For millennia to come,” she agreed. “This might make for great family reminiscences three hundred years from now, but not today. Tell Lucian to back off, or I will move to Europe and he won’t see me for a century.”
“I’ll pass it on,” she agreed, but not before she rounded the table and hugged Melissa with an awkward one armed embrace. “I’m here if you need me.”
Melissa watched her walk from the office and wished she could demand she make Lucian change his mind. Tarian would have to give two weeks notice at his work, but after that he’d be gone and beyond her reach. She might never be able to track him down again. After all, one thing necromancers were good at was disappearing.
…
He needed to vanish.
Tarian paced through the downstairs, checking in each room. “Eilin?” he called. Where was that girl?
His real estate agent had called today with an offer for the house. He only needed a few more days to tie up his position, and then he’d be free of the city. Eilin had been less than impressed with the news they had to move again, but he’d refrained from pointing out that it was, at least in part, her fault.
“I’ve got an offer on the house we should discuss,” he called up the stairs. His sister had been avoiding him for days, but he hadn’t begrudged her the solitude. Actually, it had made things simpler. Far easier to hide a broken heart when no one was watching.
Not a broken heart, he told himself once again. He’d have to love Melissa for that to be the case, and a few days in her presence weren’t enough to convince him she was the woman he’d waited lifetimes to find.
Of course, his previous lovers hadn’t haunted his dreams after the relationship ended. They hadn’t consumed his every waking thought. All he had to do was close his eyes, and he remembered the desolate look on Melissa’s face as he’d walked away.
She is not your concern, he thought. In order to protect his people, he could never see her again.
Even if he ached to.
“Eilin,” he called again, running up the stairs. The silent treatment was getting old. His sister was in her eighties, not her teens, and though moving was a hassle, she needed to help with this process.
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