The Vampire’s Priceless Treasure
Page 17
“So? If you’re happy, what else matters?”
She took another sip of her coffee, letting a few moments pass before she answered. “Nothing. But…it would be nice to have someone else to spend time with.”
He smiled. “I agree. I’d like to be that someone else.”
She smiled back. “I’d like that, too. I don’t want to rush into anything. But I’m all for hanging out and seeing where things go.”
“That sounds perfect to me. I’m in no hurry to jump back into a serious relationship.” So long as whatever relationship they were in included kissing.
She finished her coffee, then got up. “I know I need to do some research on the cathedral, but I’m going to get some sleep first. I’m not used to being awake during daylight, and it’s making me foggy.”
“Okay. See you in a bit.”
He caught her hand as she went past and pressed it to his cheek, then kissed it before releasing her. “Rest well.”
“Thanks.” She smiled at him before heading to the plane’s bedroom.
He didn’t intend to stay up much longer either, but doing a little research wasn’t a bad idea. He should have done more on the castle, but he’d been distracted by thoughts of Kora and her father—and the werewolf’s warning.
That reminded him that Birdie hadn’t responded yet to his request for info about the Brotherhood. He should send her a little nudge via text.
But instead, he sat quietly for a while longer, just looking out the window and thinking about everything that had happened so far. He started to drift off, giving in to the tug of sleep and the exhaustion of the trip.
Then his phone vibrated, snapping him back to reality. He checked the screen, fully expecting it to be the info from Birdie.
We know you’ve found the next clue.
A chill swept through him, followed by anger. He didn’t recognize the number, but he knew who the text was from. How they’d gotten his number wasn’t that much of a mystery. Anything was possible with the right connections and enough money.
He texted back, What are you so afraid of?
A little time passed with no answer, and he wondered if his response had shocked them. Maybe they hadn’t expected him to respond at all. But then they answered.
A power shift. A war. Human casualties.
The words gave Greyson pause. He couldn’t imagine that whatever awaited them at the end of this treasure hunt was that valuable. Money wasn’t usually enough of a factor for supernaturals. Most had more than they could spend. So what kind of power did this treasure hold? Was it really Rasputin’s source of power? If so, who had the most to gain—and the most to lose—from such a thing? He had to ask them more questions. What is it you think we’re hunting?
If you don’t know, it’s better that way.
Maybe a different question would get him a better answer. Who are you afraid will use this power?
Another long pause. The one you and your friend are working for. And more like her.
Her? You mean my friend?
No. The woman she’s working for. Stop your search before it’s too late.
Did this group know who Kora was working for? This Fox? It sounded like they did and they thought the Fox was a woman, something Kora didn’t even seem to know. Greyson looked up. Or did she? Could Kora have kept that information from him for some reason? But why? What did it matter to him what gender the Fox was?
He sent Birdie a text, reminding her he was waiting on her answer.
She got back to him almost immediately with an apology and the info he’d been asking for. He read it, but his mind was on Kora.
He didn’t want to think she’d deliberately held information back. But the Kora he’d once known absolutely would have. How much had Kora really changed? Enough that she was now honest about everything?
He closed his eyes. He wanted to believe that the woman he was falling for had truly changed. He did believe that. And yet, it was hard not to have doubts after their history.
The struggle inside him raged on. Nothing would stop him from protecting her, but he realized that letting himself have feelings for her wasn’t a smart move. Not until this whole thing was over.
Or really, maybe never. Not if there was a part of him that wasn’t sure he could trust her. Because what kind of foundation would that be for a relationship?
Kora’s head hadn’t been on the pillow for more than five minutes when her phone lit up. It was still on silent, but the screen showed an incoming call. She picked it up to see who it was.
Hattie.
She smiled and answered. “Hi, Mémé. How are you?”
“Oh, honey, I’m just fine. It’s so good to hear your voice. How are you? Are you all right? Are you safe? Are you getting enough rest? You know travel can be very tiring.”
Kora laughed. “I’m doing just fine, and I’m lying down right now.”
“Did I wake you? I’m sorry. I didn’t know if it would be a good time to call or not, but I thought I’d take the chance. Are you alone?” Then Hattie laughed. “If you’re in bed and you’re not alone, maybe don’t tell me, okay? I know you’re all grown up, but there are some things I’m not quite ready for.”
Kora snickered. “I’m alone, and no, you didn’t wake me. Everything all right at home? How’s Waffles?”
“He misses you, I can tell, but he’s doing just fine. My lands, that cat sure does fill up his litter box.”
Kora’s face was starting to hurt from smiling. “I’m glad he’s all right. What else is new? Did you find out why Dad was so cranky?”
Hattie sucked in a breath. “I did, and that’s what I’m calling about.”
“Oh?” Kora sat up a little. “What’s going on?”
“Apparently, Greyson isn’t responding to his texts, and your father is mad because of all the money he’s paying him to keep you safe and—”
A chill went through Kora. “Dad is paying Greyson?”
“Yes. Your father didn’t say how much, but I got the feeling it was a rather large sum.”
Kora’s smile was gone. So much for not being a client. “What else did you find out?”
“Your father muttered something about him not laying a hand on you.”
“What does that mean?”
“I’m not sure, honey, but based on some of your father’s other ramblings, I think he thinks Greyson might be, how should I put this, romantically interested in you? And your father isn’t happy about that. Which is part of why he’s giving Greyson so much money. I think. Don’t take any of that as gospel, because you know how cryptic and uncooperative your father can be when it comes to details and information.”
“Right.” But all Kora could see was red. She wasn’t sure who she was madder at—her father or Greyson. Both of them deserved a good smack. Her father for trying to run her life and make decisions for her, and Greyson for being a party to it and for being so weak as to give up any shot with her for cash. Especially when she knew how solid he was financially. And what was all that business about a date when they got back? Was that because by then this job would be over?
The nerve of them both.
“Listen, honey, you should get some rest. Where are you headed?”
“I probably shouldn’t say. Just to be safe.”
Hattie gasped. “Are you not safe? I thought you were. Do you need your father to come there? Or meet you somewhere? Or—”
“It was just an expression. I’m perfectly safe, I promise.”
Too bad she couldn’t say the same for Greyson.
Kora was dressed in a tight, low-cut black lace dress that revealed more skin than it covered. Greyson smiled. She looked unbelievably sexy. And she was his. That much he knew. Just like he knew that she was a ghost, but it didn’t matter.
“Greyson.”
Her tone didn’t match the smile on her face, though. Was she mad at him? Had he forgotten to feed the cat? What was his name? Pancakes?
“Greyson, wake up.”
“How much money is my father paying you to take care of me? Hmm?” She crossed her arms. “What is that worth to you?”
Greyson blinked again, still not completely free from the clutches of sleep. “I, um, he said a million doll—”
“A million dollars?” Her fangs were visible now. “Are you serious?”
The last time he’d heard a shriek like that, it had come from Catalina. He was well and truly awake now. He sat up, running a hand through his hair. “That’s what he offered, but I—”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” She shook her head and stomped off down the aisle toward the front of the plane. “Of course you took it. Who wouldn’t? Well, maybe someone who didn’t need the money.” She turned at the cockpit door, glaring at him as she came back around in his direction.
He stood up, feeling like that might give him a better chance of defending himself. “I didn’t take the money.”
She stopped in midstomp and less than twelve inches from him. “You didn’t?”
“No.” She was incredibly sexy when she was worked up.
“Why not?”
“For one thing, I don’t need it. For another, I didn’t want your father dictating what happened during this trip. And I didn’t like the stipulations that came with the money.”
“What kind of stipulations? And why didn’t you tell me the truth when I asked you what my father said to you?”
“I didn’t lie to you. I just kept some info to myself.”
“What did he say? I want to know. What were these stipulations?”
Greyson frowned. Was he really going to tell her all this? He wasn’t sure he had any other option. Besides, she was an adult, and she deserved to know. Lucien might never forgive him, though. Greyson shrugged. “Stipulations. Things that could be done, things that couldn’t be done.”
Kora narrowed her eyes and tilted her head. “I know the definition of stipulations. What were they specifically?”
Oy. She was stubborn. “I had to keep my hands off you.” Which was something he really didn’t want to do right now. In fact, he wanted to grab her and kiss her and show her exactly what he wasn’t supposed to be doing.
“Keep your hands off me? My father said that? In what capacity? I mean, if you’re saving me from falling off a cliff, then—”
Greyson took her by the shoulders and kissed her with all the desire built up from his dream and all the deep-seated need to do exactly what he’d been told not to.
For the briefest of moments, he wondered what Lucien would think. Then Greyson realized he didn’t care. He also realized that even if Kora wasn’t the most trustworthy person in the world, she wouldn’t double-cross him.
He couldn’t bring himself to believe that she would, not when she was pliant and willing in his hands. Not when she was kissing him back with the same intensity that he was kissing her. His hands slid lower to her hips and pulled her closer. There was nothing pretend about the small sounds of pleasure trilling out of her.
Two things were certain. They cared about each other. And Kora had changed. A lot. There was no way she was going to muck all this up by lying to him.
And so, as the kiss came to an end, he knew there was more he had to tell her. Reluctantly, he let her go.
She was silent for a moment, lips parted. She blinked once or twice, as if getting her bearings again. “My, uh, father doesn’t want you kissing me?”
Greyson shook his head. “He doesn’t want me to distract you from your new life and your new responsibilities.”
“He, uh, said something about that.” She nodded slowly like she was underwater. Then a little smile danced across her face. “That was very distracting. But in a good way.”
He allowed himself a slight grin, then indulged himself further and pulled her into his arms, holding her against him for purely selfish reasons. He liked the feel of her this close. The softness of her body, the way they fit so well together. “I think you already know I like you a lot, Kora. I don’t want to jinx this, but we are really good together.”
“I like you, too. And I agree. It’s crazy that we were once so at odds with one another, and yet now, I feel like…” She leaned back to stare at his chest, absentmindedly playing with a button on his shirt. “Like we could be best friends. Like there aren’t many other people I’d rather be spending time with.”
“That’s a very good way to start a relationship.”
“It is.”
“But what’s not good is keeping secrets.”
She looked up at him with sudden confusion. “I’m not keeping any secrets.”
“But I am.” He sighed. “Not a secret, exactly, but there was an incident at the apartment in Paris that I didn’t tell you about.”
“An incident?” Concern marred her pretty face. “What happened? Was it the man from the pub? Or the vampire from the D&B?”
“Neither. A shifter I’d never seen before. He was waiting for me on the apartment steps when I returned with our meal. He tried to warn me off pursuing this treasure. Said the power we were after would destroy more than it saved. That it could even start a war.”
“That’s not good.”
“No, it’s not. And there’s more. This group, they call themselves the Brotherhood, just texted me with another warning. But in that text, they revealed that they believe the person who sent you on this quest is a woman. Did you know that?”
She shook her head and sat down in the closest seat, which happened to be across from the one he’d been in. “No. I figured he was a man. She was. Whichever.”
“Why?”
She shrugged, looking a little like the air had come out of her balloon. “I don’t know. Just what I thought. So this Brotherhood, who are they? How do they know what I’m after?”
He sat opposite her. “I texted Birdie to see what she could find out. All she could tell me was that they’re an ancient order of werewolves who fancy themselves the protectors of all werewolf kind. Sort of a Knights Templar with fur.”
A half grin bent her mouth for a mere second. “But the Knights Templar were all about protecting the Holy Grail. What’s the Holy Grail for the Brotherhood, then? This thing we’re chasing?”
“Maybe.”
She frowned. “What would werewolves see as something that needs to be protected?”
“What would they think could cause a war because of a power shift?”
They both sat in silence then, thinking.
Greyson steepled his fingers in front of him, but it was Kora who spoke first. “Has to be something that benefits vampires, don’t you think?”
“Definitely.”
She leaned forward. “Let’s say it is the source of Rasputin’s power, but he sent it off to be hidden away…or like Ivan told us, it was stolen by this Romanov maid that he’d turned into a vampire who just also happened to be a witch. It has to be something pretty amazing to cause all that drama.”
Greyson nodded. “Right. But what power would the shifters of the world be most afraid of vampires getting?”
Kora pursed her lips. “There the big one, of course. The power to daywalk.”
“That would be big. But there are already some vampires like myself with that ability and no shifter has come after me. Or the Ellinghams, and they’re well-known for being out and about in broad daylight.”
Kora’s gaze tapered down. “What about the power of shifting? What if vampires could shift?”
Greyson sat up straighter. “Why is it that a lot of old vampire movies show the vampire turning into a bat?”
She lifted one shoulder. “Because once upon a time, there were vampires that could?”
“They say fiction is based in truth.”
She sighed. “All this for something that gives vampires the ability to become bats? I can’t say that really blows my sk
irt up, but I guess it would for some people. Do you think it’s such a great power?”
“I’ve never been anything but who I am, but I suppose there are those who would like the ability to become something much smaller that’s able to disappear quickly.”
She smiled suddenly. “Yeah, when you put it that way, the old me would have been into it.” She laughed. “Okay, I can see how this could cause problems. But hey, if that Brotherhood wants to step in, they can deal with the Fox. I’m just the messenger here.”
Greyson nodded. But he had a feeling the Brotherhood wasn’t going to be so understanding.
The pilot’s voice crackled over the PA system. “We’ll be touching down in half an hour. Sun will be up for another six hours after that.”
Kora got up. “In that case, I’m heading back to the bedroom for some shut-eye. You want to share the bed?”
Did he ever. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Not after that kiss. Not if you really intend to sleep.”
She giggled. Giggled. And with a shy smile, she patted him on the shoulder. “See you in a few, then. Sweet dreams.”
“You, too.” Of course, he already knew what he’d be dreaming about. The same thing he was when she’d woken him.
Her.
Russia was cold enough that Kora added a black turtleneck, leather jacket, and boots to the leggings she was already wearing before getting off the plane.
Greyson had changed, too. He was in black tactical pants and a black wool pullover with gray patches on the elbows. They both looked very chic, but also a little like they were up to something.
Which they were.
The car Greyson had hired took them from Pulkovo Airport into the center of Saint Petersburg. Their ultimate destination, the cathedral, or the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, was easy to see. With its five onion domes decorated brightly in jeweler’s enamel, it stood out from the rest of the staid, monochromatic Saint Petersburg skyline like a carnival tent.
But Greyson had the driver drop them off a few blocks away, at a small tavern, where they went in and sat as if that had been their destination. They ordered glasses of vodka that they sipped. With a vampire’s metabolism, it took a great deal of alcohol to reach a level close to inebriation. The shots might as well have been water.