by J. K. Coi
“We were arguing,” Alric continued, shaking his head. “We were arguing and I was angry and I stomped out on her. If I hadn’t… If I had stayed with her, been watching over her, then she wouldn’t have been able to get to the knife—”
“Wait a minute. What happened here Alric? Did Diana…did she do this to herself?” Baron asked, the shock evident in his voice.
He jerked around to look at Max, but she barely noticed. The images were coming from Alric fast and hard and it took everything she had to keep from crying out. She knew what their argument had been about. She saw the desperation in Alric’s eyes as he tried to convince Diana to take Max’s blood and the frustration that made him finally leave the room. She knew he’d spent an hour frantically pumping iron in the gym in an attempt to release that frustration before going back to her to say how sorry he was. Only to find her in the bedroom with a long, long knife in her hands.
“She cut herself the first time before I even had a chance to blink.” Alric held one of Diana’s bloodstained and crudely bandaged wrists so gently in his own massive hand. “Before it had even sunk in what she was doing, she was going for the other wrist.” He stared, lost in his feelings of recrimination and self-hatred. “I couldn’t…it totally threw me—” He choked the last words and paused. Max thought he wouldn’t be able to continue, but the words started pouring out of him. “I knew I’d never reach her in time. She’d already cut herself again—so I did the only thing I could. I yanked the knife from her with my powers.” He stopped and spared a tortured glance at them, his silver eyes filling with tears.
“God, the blood…Baron, all that blood. And then…then she started laughing. It was almost the worst part. That laugh…it wasn’t her. The vampire was looking out at me with her eyes, laughing at me through Diana. I can’t stand the thought that he got inside of her, that his sick, twisted mind was linked with her like that.”
Baron knelt on the floor by Alric’s feet. “It’s okay now, he’s gone. He can’t hurt her anymore.”
“No, it’s not okay, Baron. He’s done something to her. I know it. Something in her mind. Why won’t she wake up?” Alric’s expression turned black with rage. “I should have been prepared,” he said. “I fucking knew that bastard had something up his sleeve. I could have handled any direct attack, but this…there was nothing for me to fight.”
Alric brought Diana’s body closer and pressed a kiss to her brow. It worried Max that she still hadn’t made a sound or moved a muscle, and Max started to think Alric was right about Devon having done something else to her. She just lay there, unconscious and pale, locked in a well of pain deep inside herself.
“So much strength, Baron, you know? But what the fuck is any of it good for if I can’t even…”
“Alric, don’t. You can’t play that game. It won’t help her.” Max was amazed by Baron’s calm, rock-steady manner.
She realized again that no matter how much history was between them, this was still a man who in many ways remained a mystery to her. There had been so much of his life that she hadn’t been a part of. He’d been exposed to so much violence and death. She supposed it was really no surprise that he would know what to do in a situation like this.
She bit her lip and struggled to control the torrent of images being thrown at her as well as the pain that radiated from Diana. She felt the despair rise up inside her in response and cursed herself and the powers that she still fought to control.
No more. It was time she stopped being a victim, time she took a stand against Devon and the evil he had infected her with. Because she wasn’t of any use to anyone like this. Afraid to act, afraid of herself…afraid.
She was a vampire. So what.
Admittedly it was a problem. But she wasn’t the only one in the world—hell, she wasn’t the only one in this room—with problems, and Max swore this would not be the thing that broke her. She would be strong for Baron and his friends. She would deal with it like she’d dealt with every other hurdle life had thrown at her—by pushing aside the fear and tackling it head-on.
With that in mind, she closed her eyes and redoubled her efforts. Immediately, the bloody, painful images started to recede to the back of her consciousness.
When she was certain she had it under iron-tight rein, she opened her eyes and approached Alric and Diana.
“Alric.” She kept her voice low and soft, as soothing as possible, since she knew just how close he was to the edge. “Alric. I’m going to take Diana now. You’ve done the best you can, and you saved her life, but she needs to rest, okay?” Reaching deep into herself, Max called on her vampire abilities on purpose for the first time, hoping she had enough power to subtly push Alric into letting Diana go. She was weak, her ability unfocussed, but Alric was distracted enough that it just might work.
His own powers must have given Baron the ability to sense what she was trying to do, but he didn’t stop her and for that she was grateful. Given her track record, he had more than enough reasons not to trust her, but it seemed he did anyway.
“Take her,” Alric choked out finally. “Make sure she’s okay. Please.”
Max stepped forward and lifted Diana into her arms. Alric resisted for the length of a heartbeat before he let his hands fall and released the love of his life to her care. She felt humbled by his trust.
At least these new vampire abilities were proving useful in some ways, lending her strength where before she would have struggled with Diana’s weight.
She gingerly carried the woman back into the adjoining bedroom, but paused at the doorway. She didn’t want to lay her down in here, not with all the blood still staining the floor. Instead, hoping that Alric wouldn’t come charging out of the bathroom after her like a raging bull, Max took Diana down the hall to Baron’s room—making sure to keep the door wide open—and placed her gently on the clean linen bedspread.
She had been worried that the close proximity with Diana would trigger her blood hunger, but so far she was able to keep that at bay. She felt clearheaded and was focused on getting Diana cleaned up and comfortable, hoping it would help to settle the other woman’s mind and bring her back to them.
Max quickly dashed into Baron’s en suite and rifled through the cabinets until she found a very comprehensive first aid kit. One thing was for certain, Immortals sure knew the value of a high-quality medicine cabinet. Probably came with the territory.
Returning to Diana, Max carefully removed the bandages that Alric had desperately wrapped around her delicate wrists, wanting to cry at the damage to her poor arms. Thankfully, the bleeding had almost stopped, but Max knew the gashes would still have to be stitched, and the woman would live with horrible scars for the rest of her life.
A nervous glance at the medical supplies confirmed that there was indeed a suture kit—several of them, actually. But that didn’t solve the problem of how in hell she was going to do this.
“It’s okay, Max, I’ll take it from here.” Baron approached the bed and placed his hand on top of hers, taking the needle from her. “Not that I don’t think you could, but I have some experience with this type of thing.”
Max let out a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank goodness,” she said, rising from the bed to let Baron sit down with Diana. “Where’s Alric?”
“I told him to clean himself up. Said it was because I didn’t want him to scare Diana when she woke and he was covered in blood, but really I need him out of the room until we get her patched up. With his head being where it is right now, the less he sees of her like this…”
“I understand.” She handed him supplies as he worked, both of them silent and reflective. Baron did indeed have some experience. His stitches were smooth and tight, his hands steady. Max breathed another sigh when the deed was done and the first of Diana’s wrists had been bandaged up all clean and tight.
“How did you know how to do that?” she asked.
He kept his head down to his task and shrugged his shoulders. “It’s something you learn pre
tty quickly when you start carrying a gun 24/7,” he answered. “I’ve stitched up my fair share of gunshot and knife wounds in my time. I even had to suck poison out of a guy’s inner thigh once when he got bitten by a Palestine Viper.” A wry grin turned his upper lip. “That was definitely an experience I could have done without,” he joked.
“I can imagine.” Max handed him a gauze pad and watched as he deftly wrapped Diana’s other wrist and secured the dressing with a tidy knot.
“And, well…while we Immortals may not die as easily…that doesn’t mean it bleeds any less when we screw up and some demon gets a shot in.”
Max closed her eyes on a wince that she couldn’t stop but nevertheless tried to hide. She obviously failed, since Baron swore under his breath and reached for her hand. “Hell. Max, we should talk about what happened earlier,” he said.
She managed to avoid his touch by making a grab for the basin of pink water they had used to clean Diana’s wounds. Not trusting her voice, she got up without a word and disappeared into the bathroom.
Carefully avoiding any glimpse of her reflection in the mirror, Max rinsed the bowl and let the water run in the sink, staring down into the gentle whirlpool swirling down the drain. This was her fault. It was through her that Devon had managed to find a way to Diana. She had unwittingly let him use her to distract Baron so that he wouldn’t be able to help his friends.
After a long time, Baron knocked on the door. “Max?”
She leaned her forehead against the smooth wood finish. “Is Diana going to be all right?” she asked.
“Physically…she’ll be fine, I think.” Baron paused. “But she still hasn’t woken, so…I don’t know. Alric’s got her now.”
“How is he doing?” In the short time she had been here, Max had come to like Diana and her bear of a husband very much, and it hurt her heart that something so horrible had happened to them—because of her.
He didn’t answer right away. She heard a hollow thump of sound against the door, and imagined that his forehead was pressed against it just opposite hers. If not for the barrier between them, she might already be in his arms…ah, but the division between them was so much thicker than a bathroom door, now wasn’t it?
She heard Baron’s sigh and closed her eyes tightly against the visual of him that rose in her mind and the surge of longing that went along with it.
“I don’t have to tell you that Diana is his whole world,” he said finally. “If she’d died…or dies still…I think we would lose him too.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Baron reluctantly left Max closeted inside the bathroom, sensing that she needed time and knowing that forcing his way in would only makes things worse. But it grated. He wanted to break down the door she’d shut in his face, and the larger wall that had grown up between them like a wild tangle of thorny vines.
Unfortunately the night was ticking by, and every minute that passed was one minute less he had to find Devon.
He let his senses flare open, searching for any hint of the vampire’s sick psychic signature, but he couldn’t pick up anything in the immediate vicinity of the compound. Now that the damage had been done, Devon was no doubt already headed for some slimy rock to hide under.
Grabbing his cell phone from where it rested in its charging dock on the dresser, Baron flipped it open and dialed Roland’s number.
“Baron, we’re already on our way,” Roland said. “How’s Diana?”
Baron sighed. He was relieved not to have to explain the situation. “Kane have one of his visions?”
Roland hesitated, then said, “Yeah. We know what happened. Look, we’re heading in—be there in two minutes.”
“Good, I’ll meet you in the garage.” Baron hung up the phone and grabbed for his coat and weapons. He strapped the sword to his back and clipped his holster to his waist, then swung the long, heavy trench coat over his shoulders. He paused, glancing toward the closed door of the bathroom, but there was no choice now. Maxine would have to wait.
The twins showed up just as he was grabbing a set of keys. Kane got out of his car, looking wiped. Dried blood smudged his forearm and a nasty-looking gash cut a line across his temple. “Sorry, man,” he said. “We had trouble tonight. A whole pile of watchers hit the university looking for a good time. It was a bad scene.”
Baron didn’t bother asking if they’d been able to take care of the situation—he knew the twins too well for that.
“Alric?” Roland asked as he came around the back of the car and joined his brother. He, too, looked like he’d been in a war, and Baron bet that wasn’t too far from the truth. There must have been a football team’s worth of demons partying it up on campus if these two warriors had taken such a beating.
Baron nodded and ran a hand through his hair. “Alric’s with Diana. She’s…she’s hurt bad, but she should live. Anything else is completely up in the air.”
Kane just nodded. Roland eyed Baron and said, “Your girl?”
Baron felt his back go up at the careful tone of the other Immortal’s voice. “She didn’t take anyone’s blood, if that’s what you’re asking.”
Roland’s gaze was direct, his expression tight. “Baron, I need to know,” he said. “If she’s crossed over—”
Baron leapt for his friend, his hands fisted in the collar of Roland’s shirt as he backed him up against the Ferrari. “You stay away from her,” he growled. “If she crossed and went rogue, and if she had to be dealt with by anybody, it wouldn’t be by you.” Baron knew he’d revealed too much, that his vehemence belied the imperturbable persona he had carefully cultivated since becoming a member of the group. But none of that mattered any longer.
“Max is mine. My responsibility. And if anybody lays so much as a baby finger on her, I’ll cut him in half. And as much as it pains me to say it, man, that goes for you too—both of you.”
Roland, who was usually a pretty laid back kind of guy himself, glared at Baron with murder in his eyes, ready to throw down right here, right now. Baron’s blood boiled and he found himself looking forward to the fight. He could use the kind of physical and emotional release a good fight would give him.
Before he and Roland had made it past glaring at each other, Kane was between them. “Hey, you two,” he said with his customary unlimited patience. “Save the theatrics for another time. It isn’t helping the situation any.” Turning to face Baron, he continued. “Listen, we’re not here to take out your girlfriend. But just know that, if it comes to it, and if you’re too close to the problem to solve the problem—”
Baron shook off the twins and walked around to the driver’s side door of Alric’s Navigator. “It won’t come to that.”
He stood, staring at Kane and Roland over the hood of the car, daring them to contradict his decree. Finally, Roland shrugged. “Good. You make sure of that and we got no problems.” He opened the door. “So, where the hell are you going?”
“It’s early. I have a vampire to hunt. You guys in?”
* * * * *
Their foray into the city’s deepest, darkest, rankest holes in the ground proved futile. But at least Baron had gotten his earlier wish. He’d managed to expend some of his pent-up anger and frustrations on three unlucky watchers hanging out near Hell’s Harem—which had been conspicuously empty. They’d cornered the demons as they were sneaking out the back alley. One of them confessed to Baron that they’d heard all the vampires were lying low because the Enforcer had come to town. Baron believed him—he’d made sure his interrogation technique left no room for misinformation.
The three of them returned to the warehouse, only to find that Baron’s Ducati was missing.
And so was Max.
“Whoa, Baron.” Roland whistled. “Your girl sure has some guts. I can’t believe she stole your bike. And how do you think she knew to reprogram the system?”
A quick check of the console revealed that Max had apparently initiated a timed reset of their security program, giving herself a short,
two-minute window during which the cameras and alarms would shut down and she could escape without the whole house knowing about it.
“She’s a private investigator,” Baron explained distractedly. He knew that didn’t really explain much of anything. He felt his throat closing on him and a cold sweat caused the hairs along the back of his neck to stand on end.
What time was it? It couldn’t be more than an hour before sunrise. “Shit.” Gripping the back of his neck with one hand, he tried to think. “I don’t know how she did it, but she’s always been resourceful.”
Baron was furious with her. Furious and scared shitless.
“Why do you think she reprogrammed the system to arm itself, instead of just shutting it down and making a break for it?”
Baron knew exactly why Max had made sure the system was back on when she left—because no matter how much she worried that becoming a vampire had transformed her into a vicious killer, the truth was she was still the same compassionate, kindhearted person he’d always known. “Because she cares for Diana and Alric. She knew they were in no condition to defend themselves from another attack tonight and didn’t want to leave them high and dry.”
Dragging a fist through his hair for what had to be the hundredth time, he swore. “Something I should have thought of myself. Fuck. I shouldn’t have gone out. I shouldn’t have left them alone.”
“Maybe not. But if we’re going to take care of this vampire, we have to get out there and look for him, take the fight to him,” Kane said. “We can’t keep waiting around for Devon to attack someone else. Either way, ‘should haves’ are pointless. We need to act.” He closed his eyes, and Roland immediately stepped closer to his brother in what looked like a protective gesture. After a brief moment, Kane shook his head. “I can’t see her. She’s not close enough to me for me to recognize her pattern.”
Roland turned to Baron. “Where do you think she’s headed?”
Baron sighed, knowing that there was really only one option. “She’ll be heading home.”
