Jacques came first, always.
He heard a door open above him and then footsteps on the landing and down the stairs and he stood, pushing his hands in his pockets, waiting for Jacques to appear. When he did, he could see how shy and nervous he was. He could barely look him in the eye and he kept staring at the floor with the occasional glance towards him.
No, Miguel wasn’t having any of that.
He slowly walked towards him and raised his hand, cupping his cheek, and smiled. “Are you hungry? Sacha’s cooking.”
“Oh, I was supposed to cook today.”
Jacques rushed away towards the kitchen. Miguel smiled, following more slowly. When he walked in there, Jared was sat at the kitchen table, holding Sacha’s hand, smiling. Neither of them said any words, but the expressions on their faces spoke volumes as to what they were saying to each other.
Miguel looked up and watched Jacques rush around the kitchen, finishing the food that Sacha had begun preparing.
“What can I do to help?” Miguel asked, stepping up next to Jacques.
“Oh no, there is nothing that you can do. I said I’d make lunch.” Jacques waved a hand towards the table. “Go sit down with Jared and Sacha while I finish this off and then we can all eat.”
Miguel grinned at him and leaned over to kiss his forehead, which startled Jacques, and his grin widened when he saw the blush cover his cheeks. He pulled the chair out and sat down at the table, smiling at Jared and Sacha.
“So, a little bird tells me you don’t like caves?” Jared said.
Miguel shuddered and shook his head. “I got trapped in a basement when I was a child. I’ve hated small, dark places ever since.”
“I love caving but got to admit I wouldn’t want to be those kids stuck in that one. Long winding tunnels, complete darkness, and the sounds echoing around them.” Jared shook his head. “They were five brave kids.”
“How did they get lost?” Sacha asked.
“They thought that they’d have a laugh with their scout leader and hide in some bushes.” Jared shook his head. “Unfortunately, the leader hadn’t noticed them missing until they’d traveled another thirty minutes, and by the time they’d returned, the five kids had moved on, trying to find the rest of the group. They realized it was getting dark, and one of them remembered the caves in the area, so they went there to shelter for the night. Again, unfortunately, they went in too far instead of remaining at the cave entrance and got lost. The only good thing to come out of this was the fact that all five remained together and didn’t split up. It could have been a very different outcome if they’d split up.”
Jacques started bringing over the lunch, a simple Italian pasta dish, and they ate as Jared and Miguel continued to talk about the caves. Miguel was quite open over his fear, which was strange to him, because he usually kept quiet about it. But in the company of his mate and his friends, Miguel felt at ease and able to discuss it.
Miguel brought Jacques into the conversation as often as possible, noticing that he was becoming more withdrawn. Maybe the kiss and what had happened between them earlier was causing him to pull away and that was something Miguel was hoping to avoid. He didn’t want Jacques to regret what happened between them, and by the time lunch had ended, Miguel had decided it was time to go.
He helped to clear the table and said goodbye to Sacha and Jared then placed a gentle kiss on Jacques’ lips.
“I’ll see you again when you ready. Just let me know and I’ll be here.”
“Okay. I’m sorry.”
“There is nothing for you to apologize for,” Miguel assured him. He traced Jacques’ cheek with his fingertips and smiled at him. “Text me when you’re ready, and I’ll be here.”
With those words, Miguel turned and left, walking back towards his truck. When he got in, he started the engine and with a final wave at Jacques, pulled away.
Small steps, but please, let it be in the right direction.
Chapter Nine
It had been over a week since Jacques had last seen Miguel, but they had been in constant contact, texting regularly. They had even spoken once. It helped ease some of Jacques’ fears and get to know Miguel and his family. It was clear by the way Miguel talked and wrote about them that he loved them all.
Miguel was the youngest of four, having three older sisters, and he often had Jacques in tears of laughter, regaling him with tales of what it was like growing up with them. It sounded like Miguel had spent his younger years as the test subject for the girls to practice their hair and make-up on. He’d even told Jacques about the time his eldest sister had made him dress up in an outfit, so she could see what it looked like.
Miguel often joked that was the reason why he was gay. Growing up in a house full of women was enough to turn him off them for life.
Jacques only spoke a little about his family, but Miguel never pushed him and for that, he was grateful. Miguel understood why Jacques didn’t want to talk about them. Considering his parents had sold him to be a slave, knowing full well what he would endure, meant Jacques didn’t give a shit about them. The only two people he cared about were his brother and sister and he was still waiting to find out what had happened to them.
The news reached him that his parents had been arrested and were being held by the council. He was also informed that all of their belongings and properties had been confiscated, but he still didn’t know what happened to his brother and sister.
He hated not knowing about them and in all honesty, he couldn’t understand why no information was being passed to him. Had they been sold like he had? Were they somewhere being used and abused?
Jacques needed to find out. He needed to make sure that they were safe and being cared for.
Between talking to Miguel and worrying about his brother and sister, Jacques had been helping Sacha and Alessio search the records and histories. Genealogy charts, birth rates and deaths, the number of vampires alive at any given time and the areas these vampires lived in.
The council appeared to be stonewalling Alessio, and Sacha would tell him how frustrated Alessio was becoming with them. His inside man was also struggling to find any new and relevant information that could help them in their search and they were worried that someone knew what was going on.
They were sat around the kitchen table at Sacha’s, looking through some new paperwork that had been unearthed. Alessio was muttering in a mix of Italian and Greek, stabbing his finger at the laptop in front of him. Sacha sighed, stood and walked over to him, picking up the laptop and replacing it with a book.
“Here, read this, Father.”
“I don’t know why you have to have all of these things. Pen and paper work just as well.”
“Yes, they do, Father, but it’s much easier to access information from across the world with this–” Sacha lifted up the laptop in his hand, “–than with that pen and paper in front of you.”
“Don’t get smart with me, Sacha. I’m well aware of the limitations of pen and paper, but a laptop will never replace it.”
Sacha rolled his eyes and sat down, putting the laptop in front of him. “Whatever you say, Father.”
Ignoring Sacha, Alessio asked, “Do you think anyone that Jared knows might be able to, er, you know, get access to the council files?”
Sacha widened his eyes and put a hand to his chest. “Why, Father? Are you asking for Jared or one of his friends to hack the council’s files? That’s a bit naughty for you, isn’t it, Father?”
“Stop being smart with me, son.”
Sacha grinned. “It’s just so strange hearing you say something like that. Breaking into the council system. I can say I would never have thought I’d hear you say something about breaking the law and hacking the system.”
“Do you think Jared will know someone?” Jacques asked. “They could find out information about the blood slaves, Sacha. They must be our first priority. I know what they’ll be going through, what they’ll be suffering... we need to find them. All o
f them.”
Alessio reached across the table and gripped Jacques hand in his. “Of course, Jacques. They are our first priority, and nothing will change that. Given what we found out at Graham’s, I can only conclude that there must be others being held. The number of people Graham would have had come into his mansion, the number of people who have been exposed to the fact that he had those slaves, tells us that there are others involved. This has clearly gone on for much longer than we originally thought, and it involves many more people, vampires and humans, then we are being told.”
“Why do you mention humans, Father?”
“Where else would vampires find the numbers they would need? I strongly believe that humans are selling humans to the vampires. It’s the way we are, isn’t it? The things we will do for money. There are people out there, humans and vampires, who think nothing of selling someone if it will make them rich. You hear about human trafficking rings all the time. This is no different, is it? They are being used for their blood and for their bodies.”
Jacques whispered, “Both, yes.”
“I’m sorry, Jacques,” Alessio said. “I don’t want to drag up any painful memories for you, but if you do know anything, if you can recall anything that happened or overheard anything when you were with Graham, please, please tell us.”
Jacques pulled his hand free and stumbled from the table, leaning against the wall. His heart raced in his chest, a cold sweat broke out over his skin, and he moaned as painful memories rose to the surface. He knew he needed to say something, tell them something that he’d seen or heard, but he was still afraid. Even though he was free and far away from it all, he was still scared. But he had to. He had to overcome his fear and help the others. “The council knows,” he whispered. “I heard voices that sounded like members of the council.”
Alessio stood and slowly walked over to Jacques, making sure that Jacques could see him. When he reached him, he slowly pulled Jacques into his arms and hugged him tight. “Thank you for telling us, Jacques. I know how hard that must have been for you. Can you give us a name? Just one for now.”
Jacques nodded into Alessio’s shoulder. “Lagina. Councilman Lagina.”
“Thank you, Jacques. That’s where we’ll begin our search.” To Sacha, Alessio said, “Get in touch with Jared and find out if he knows anyone who can hack Councilman Lagina’s system. There must be something there that can help us.”
Sacha nodded, and his eyes grew distant. When he refocused on Alessio and Jacques, Sacha said, “This new guy on the team, Hunter Blanchard, is an IT specialist. He’ll try to access his system for us.”
“Do you want to continue working with us, Jacques?”
Nodding, Jacques answered truthfully. “Yeah, just give me a couple of minutes.”
“Sit down, Jacques, and I’ll make us all some coffee.” Sacha stood and went over to the counter, putting the coffee machine on.
Alessio helped Jacques to a chair and sat down next to him, again reaching out and holding his hand.
“Thank you for that, Jacques. I know how hard that was for you to tell us. No doubt you’re very scared by it all and worried about what will happen to you. They saw your face, and they know your family.”
“I don’t care about my parents, sorry for how that sounds. It’s my brother and sister I’m worried about.”
“I know,” Alessio said. “I’m struggling to find any information out about them. My inside man has been blocked and is getting nothing at all. And what worries me more is the fact that we’re not getting any information about the humans who were blood slaves along with you either. Where have they been moved to? What hospitals were they sent to? We’ve been told nothing except they are all alive and well and are being looked after.”
“Nothing at all about the humans?” Sacha asked, his eyebrows raise and surprise. “Surely they would have gone to the nearest hospital. Paramedics were in attendance, according to Jared.”
“I believe so too, son. But we have been told nothing, except that they are alive and well and are being looked after. I phoned a couple of the hospitals in the area and one of them confirmed that they had received humans from Graham’s mansion, but they were released the next day and that’s the last I know.”
“The council must have them,” Jacques muttered. He raised his eyes and looked between Alessio and Sacha. “They can’t have that information getting out there to the general public. What do you think would happen if they found out that vampires kept humans as blood slaves? The human authorities would want to get involved.”
“But they were, Jacques,” Sacha said. “Silas was there along with the local sheriff. From what Jared said, deputies and officers were also in attendance. The local authority did know, and I have no doubt that Silas would have passed on the information. Graham was his father-in-law and Troy is his son. He would have done whatever was necessary to make sure this never happened again.”
“Why are we hearing nothing, son? Why are we being blocked every time we ask a question? We always get the same answers and I’ve not been able to find any names of the people who were there, the other blood slaves. Not one full name.”
“I was only ever around one, but I do know her name.” Jacques whispered. “Elizabeth Selby.”
“That’s really good, Jacques. Thank you. Pass that name on to Jared and ask him if he and this Hunter can find out anything on her at all. They may want to try the hospital as well.”
“I’m worried about them. I think some of them had been there longer than me.”
“We’ll do what we can,” Alessio assured him. “We’ll do everything that we can, use every resource available, legal and illegal if necessary. I don’t like the idea that the council is involved in this and that they are allowing vampires to keep humans as blood slaves.”
“And vampires,” Jacques added. “I can’t be the only vampire that’s been sold as a slave for another vampire.” He glanced at the paperwork and the books scattered across the kitchen table. “Maybe we should start tracing some of these vampires listed here and see where they are. Some of the younger ones who may have become too modern for the older generations. I don’t know if that makes any sense.” Jacques furrowed his brow, and Alessio squeezed his hand.
“I understand what you trying to say. Because of your sexuality, your parents sold you. Vampires are born to produce more vampires and you wouldn’t have been able to do that. There may be other vampires out there whose sexuality has caused them problems.” He also looked across the table at all the paperwork. “There are only three of us working on this. At first, we were looking into this to try to find a reason for the decrease in our numbers, but now the scope has widened. We’re going to need more help.”
“I could ask Jeremy if he could spare some time. I know he’s busy at the moment, now his business has taken off, but he’ll have a different perspective, being human,” Sacha said as he brought the coffee over to the table.
“Yes, that’s a good idea. What about Silas? He will have people he can contact in different areas of law enforcement. Maybe we could use his expertise and his knowledge to help us further.”
“I’ll ask Jared to speak to Chester. We should know fairly soon if Silas wants to help or not. I can’t see him saying no, considering what happened to Troy.”
Alessio nodded. “Okay. We need a plan of action. What areas are we going to tackle and who is going to be in charge of them? What information we need to gather, where the resources are, who can help us, who we need to speak to.” He picked up his pad and paper and placed them in front of Sacha, who rolled his eyes. “Right, let’s get started.”
Jacques inhaled and exhaled slowly. For the first time in a long time, he had a purpose, and he knew what he had to do. No one else would suffer like he had. He needed to end the blood slaves.
Chapter Ten
Miguel pulled up in front of Jared and Sacha’s house and cut the engine. He got out of his truck and walked towards the front of the house, knocking
on the front door when he reached it. Jared smiled at him when he opened the door and beckoned him in.
“Hi, Miguel. He’ll be down in a minute.”
Miguel stepped in to the hallway, asking, “How’s he been?”
Shutting the door, Jared walked past Miguel and led him into the living room. “He’s having a lot more good days than bad now. I think helping Sacha and Alessio has helped take his mind off it. He’s become more involved in the search for blood slaves, especially the ones he was with at Graham’s mansion. You know we’ve lost contact with them?”
Miguel nodded, pushing his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. “Yeah, that concerns me, considering they were at the hospital and now suddenly they’ve gone. Where are they? And why haven’t we been able to get any details on them?”
“Jacques was able to tell us the name of one of the human women kept there. An Elizabeth Selby. We’ve got a description, and she was at the hospital along with the others. She was discharged the following day, again with the others. From there, nothing. However, Hunter’s been investigating.” Jared waggled his eyebrows, and Miguel grinned.
“Yeah, Hunter’s very good at investigating, isn’t he? Wonder where he learned the skills from?”
“I imagine it was his time in the Marines. He never has said exactly what he did for them.”
“Well, whatever it was, I’m glad he’s on our side now. The slaves need to be found.”
“I couldn’t agree more with you, and that’s what Jacques has been doing. Going through all the records, beginning with younger vampires who might not fit in with the idea of what a vampire should be. Don’t forget, Jacques was sold because he’s gay. How many other vampires out there have had something happen to them because of their sexuality or their beliefs? Vampires are above all of us, you know. They’re better than us.
Say You'll Be Mine Page 6
