by Jessica Lee
“Stay away from Enrique,” he commanded.
“You don’t get to tell me what to do,” she snapped.
Markus’s eyes flashed a fiery red. “Listen to me. He’s dangerous. Do not seek him out,” he said, each word perfectly enunciated.
“What is it you’re so afraid I’ll find out?”
“That’s not what I’m worried about.”
“Really? You could have fooled me.” What the hell was he keeping from her?
“He was Marguerite’s former commander. The one before me. Let’s just say, we were rivals for her attention, and I won.” His brows lifted in amusement. “Enrique didn’t particularly like the outcome.”
“What’s that got to do with me?”
“I’m your sire. For that fact alone, he’d like nothing more than to take out one of my fledglings.”
“Uh-huh.” She nodded. “That’s what all this is about…I’m your fledgling so he’d get his kicks from killing me?”
“What more could there be?”
“You’re such a damn liar,” she snarled. “We made a deal, you bastard. For some reason, you wiped my memories. I want them back.”
“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.” He sauntered away from her and leaned against the wall, crossing his ankles and going all Mr. Nonchalant and shit. “You should be heading upstairs. Dawn is coming soon.”
She wasn’t buying what he was selling. Anger raced like hot lava in her veins, and her fangs slid into place. He’d played her. Markus had never intended to give her any answers. At least not the ones she wanted to hear.
“Whatever happened in Marguerite’s lair didn’t wipe out weeks of my life from my mind. This had nothing to do with some kind of traumatic response.” She closed the distance between them. “You took them from me. And now it’s time to own up to what you did and fill in those blanks. You owe me!”
Markus glared down at her. “I don’t owe you a damn thing.”
“Tell me why you did this,” she bit out, her pulse throbbing at her temples. “What are you hiding?” she shouted and lunged at him with her fists. She couldn’t have stopped if she’d wanted to. God help her, she’d beat it out of him. Alex pounded into him, unloading a year’s worth of frustration onto his chest.
Yet he wasn’t fighting back. Dammit. He wasn’t even trying to block her punches.
“Damn you! At least hit me back!” Her vision narrowed, blurred, until all she could see was the white of his shirt. Everything inside her wanted to rip him apart. Hot streams of tears ran down her face, scalding her cheeks. She wanted to hurt him. Destroy him the way he’d destroyed her life. So why the hell was she the one crying?
“Alex!” Large hands clamped onto her wrists from behind, stalling her blows. “Alex. What are you doing?”
Dammit. Kenric.
The male yanked her back and into his chest, surrounding her with his arms. “Christ! What the hell are you doing in here?” The Enclave’s commander spun her around to face him. “Alex.” He stared down at her, confusion narrowing his eyes into a frigid blue glare. “Talk to me.”
Her chest heaved from her exertion, with her rage. “I wanted answers. And I know he’s holding out on me.”
“So you felt the need to put yourself at risk and come inside his cell?”
“I can handle myself,” she chewed out. “Besides…look at him.” She glanced over her shoulder at the male still propped against the wall. Markus nailed her with a sticks and stones kind of look. “What do you really think he can do to me in that state?”
“Still.” Kenric moved her toward the door. “You shouldn’t be in here. He’s contained for a reason. Markus is dangerous. Unpredictable. You, of all people—”
“I’m sorry,” she softly said. “It won’t happen again.”
“You’re right. It won’t,” he said, his expression grim. “I should have never allowed you in here alone in the first place. Elle will want my head for giving you one-on-one time with him.”
Kenric was right. She should have never come in there. It had been a stupid, impulsive idea. Markus would never be the answer for anything she needed. “Like I said.” She looked once more in the direction of the dark vampire. “It’ll never happen again.”
Alex made her way out of the containment area, darted upstairs, down the hall, and into the kitchen. And came to a halt. No, no, no… She did not need this now. Elle stood with a coffee can in her hand, chatting it up with Kenric’s personal assistant, Michael. Damn. Why did they have to be such social butterflies this morning?
Michael was also the Enclave’s trusted human driver and cook. But that’s where his role ended. He didn’t serve them as a Calyx, a vessel used for feeding. They respected him, and the feeling was mutual.
The majority of humans didn’t realize vampires existed outside of a horror movie. But Michael did, and Kenric trusted him. So for the rest of the Enclave, that was good enough. And from what Alex could tell about the human, Kenric was right. Michael was a good guy.
Alex took a step in reverse. Maybe if she were careful enough, she could make it out of there before her sister ever noticed her presence.
Silently she turned, aiming for a quiet but quick exit.
“Alex!”
A sigh slid from her lungs.
“Hey there, sis.” Elle’s hand brushed Alex’s arm. “I almost missed you.”
“Hey.”
“What’s going on?”
“I’m fine.” Alex shrugged.
“You don’t look fine.” Elle’s brow wrinkled. “Were you downstairs in headquarters?” She nodded in the direction from which Alex had come.
“Why?” Shit. Elle was like a dog with a bone when she had something on her mind.
“I’m surprised to see you coming from that direction of the house. That’s all. You never go down there.”
“Maybe it’s time I do.” Alex shrugged once more and sauntered back into the kitchen. “Is there coffee?” No matter how many centuries she lived, Alex couldn’t imagine ever outliving her taste for the dark brew. And right now, she really could use a cup.
“Yup. Just finished,” Michael replied.
At that moment, Eve strolled into the kitchen wearing a white cotton robe and a pair of flip-flops. “Morning, Michael,” she said, pausing behind him to grab a mug and pour a cup.
“Good morning,” he said. “You heading outside for your morning swim?”
“Yes, I do enjoy watching the sky brighten as I get in a few laps,” Eve said. “A girl’s got to keep her shape.” She laughed and flexed her free arm.
Watching the sky brighten… How wonderful would it be to experience a sunrise once more? Alex lowered her eyelids, recalling how the horizon would burn with the fiery brush strokes of a South Carolina summer sun. Yet she would never experience that again. Neither she, nor her sister.
However, Eve, being the only born-vampire, could survive in daylight. Having become close friends over the past several months, they had discussed Eve’s differences from a typical vampire. She could tolerate sunlight and she could knock out her opponent with a mental pulse. Eve had also shared how she could implant vivid telepathic images in the minds of people and had done so once, to an enemy—crippling him. But it was her ability to walk in the sun that had made her a target in the vampire world back in Europe. Thank God, Guerin and Kenric had located her when they had and brought her back to the States, where she was safe among the Enclave.
“Wish I could join you,” Alex said. “I could use the exercise and the distraction.”
Eve rounded the counter. “I would love that, too.” The softening of her expression telegraphed the sincerity of her words. “I’m sorry. I hope you don’t feel as if I am boasting about going outside at this hour?”
“Don’t worry about it.” Alex smiled. “I didn’t take it that way.” Eve had been nothing but kind to her ever since they’d met. There wasn’t a cruel bone in her body, despite who her mother had been.
; “Neither did I, Eve,” Elle added. “Please enjoy your swim. I mean it.” Elle gave one of her best vicious glares, daring her to say otherwise. But it was laughable. Her sister had never been intimidating. At least not to Alex. Elle was a softy when it came to her.
Chuckling, Eve started back toward the rear of the house. “All right. Maybe we could all take a dip later on this evening?”
“Maybe,” Alex said. “We’ll talk later.”
“I’ll take you up on that,” Elle called out.
“Sleep well, ladies.” Eve waved over her shoulder.
And that was Alex’s cue to slip away from Elle and grab her own cup of coffee.
“Okay. Now that Eve’s gone.” Elle came up behind her. “Don’t try to deflect me. You know that won’t work. What’s really going on?”
“Nothing, all right?” Alex reached up and snagged a mug from the shelf. “I’m just tired of being everyone else’s problem. I need to learn to take care of things myself.” That much was the truth. She was sick of allowing life to happen to her. It was time she took the reins and controlled her own destiny.
“What the hell is that?” Elle grabbed Alex’s arm, and the cup dropped onto the granite with a loud pop of ceramic against stone, right before Elle yanked her limb closer for inspection. Her sister stared down at the residual indentations of the bite marks to her wrists. The wound was already about half its original size, but one could easily discern what the pink impressions represented. And if the observer was a vampire, how recently it had occurred, as in the last half hour.
Glancing up, Elle looked over at Michael, and Alex followed her gaze. The thirty-something male stood there in his usual attire of ripped jeans and a graphic T-shirt, this one reading Face it… You know you’re impressed.
“Will you give us a few minutes alone, please, Michael?” Elle tightened her hold on Alex’s arm. A subtle message that said you’re keeping your ass right here.
“Sure thing,” he said and sheepishly nodded, a few sandy-brown waves dropping onto his forehead. He tossed the towel in his hands onto the counter then strode off toward the front of the house. Michael really was a nice guy. Funny, too. Someone perhaps in her earlier life she might have wanted to get to know better. A time before she’d been turned into something that, if unleashed, could drain him like a juice box. She closed her eyes and mentally shook herself. But her ship called humanity had sailed into the horizon more than a year ago and would never come again.
“You want to tell me what this is all about?” Elle’s gaze darted between Alex’s wrist and her. “Every one of the warriors in this house is mated, and as far as I know, not injured. So I’m pretty damn sure it wasn’t one of them who did that.”
“Leave it alone, Elle,” Alex grumbled and jerked her arm back.
“What were you doing downstairs?”
Trying to tell her sister to mind her own business was like spitting in the wind: a waste of energy. Closing her eyes, Alex inhaled, needing every ounce of calm she could muster. Elle would never understand why she’d agreed to Markus’s deal. Hell, she barely understood it herself.
“You’re scaring me, Alex. My imagination is running wild here.”
“I had a run-in with Enrique tonight.” Alex dropped the first bomb, then resumed pouring herself that cup of coffee.
“Come again?” Elle said. “Marguerite’s former commander? When? How?”
Alex faced her sister, leaned her rear against the counter, and took a sip of the hot brew.
“And what does that have to do with why you were downstairs and how you ended up with a bite on your arm?” Elle crossed her arms.
“Seeing him stirred up a few images—flashes, really,” Alex said and sighed. “These blanks in my memory…I thought I could live with them, Elle.” She shook her head. “Move forward and try to ignore the holes, but I can’t,” she whispered. “It’s driving me crazy.”
Her sister’s palms brushed her shoulders. “I’m so sorry,” she crooned. “I wish I could help.” Her touch fell away. “What happened with Enrique? Did he say or do something, or was it just seeing him that triggered the flashes?”
Alex swallowed hard and weighed how much she should actually reveal to Elle. She didn’t need her going off on Markus if there was the slightest chance that he’d still tell her something. If Elle and Arran ganged up on him, he might clam up—permanently. Yet how was she supposed to explain the bite to her wrist?
Pivoting back around, Alex clasped her sister’s hand. “Are you positive there’s nothing more you can tell me about my time spent in Marguerite’s lair?”
“Like I’ve said, we found you with Markus. He was the one who’d turned you and had apparently been caring for you.” Elle cocked her head, her expression questioning. “Is there more going on here?”
“Enrique wanted me to tell Markus hello.” There was no reason to go into detail with Elle about the sick bastard’s full message. Repeating his words about Markus’s claim on her would only upset Elle even more, and there was nothing her sister could do about it. After everything Elle had been through, being turned against her will while freeing Alex from Markus and Marguerite’s clutches, she didn’t need to hear all of Enrique’s nonsense.
“Did you go see Markus?” Elle pulled her hand free and squared her shoulders. “Is that why you were downstairs?” The pulse at her sister’s neck throbbed, lifting the flesh in time with each beat.
“Calm down,” she said. “I just wanted to ask him some questions.”
“And how did that go, as if I need to ask?” Elle scoffed. “Wait.” She sobered and snatched Alex’s wrist. “Is he the one who did this?” Her eyes flashed a second before her pupils enveloped the white.
Oh shit. This was getting out of hand. “It’s not what you’re thinking.”
“I’ll kill him,” Elle shouted and spun. “I’ll make damn sure he never puts his hands or anything else on you ever again!”
“Stop!” Alex grabbed her, halting her before she could get away. “I agreed to do it.”
“You did what?” Elle whirled on her. “Why would you allow him to touch you?”
“We made a deal.” Alex ran shaky fingers through her hair, pushing it back out of her eyes. She could do this. “After I delivered Enrique’s message, I asked him to tell me more about what happened. But of course, Markus wanted something for answering my questions.”
“That bastard,” Elle spat. “I can’t believe you went through with his blackmail.”
She couldn’t either. It had been crazy. “I know. But after running into Enrique…” Alex smoothed her palm over her sternum. The knot of frustration sat behind the bone, and sometimes the pressure drove her mad. Persistent. Yet just out of reach. And she was helpless to do anything that would give her relief. “I had to try, Elle. Of all people, I’d think you’d understand. The not knowing…days of my life I can’t remember. I can’t stand having gaps in my memory like this.” She shook her head. “I’m so damn frustrated,” she said, her voice tight, cracking. Dammit. She had to get past this. “And I’m sick and tired of feeling like I’m not in control of what’s happening to my body. I thought after I’d finally gotten away from that bastard our mother brought home, I’d be safe.” Alex laughed, but it was that sick kind of chuckle that bubbled up from your gut that had nothing to do with humor. “But the joke was on me, huh?”
“You have no idea how much I wish I’d been there and saved you from that asshole. Our mother—Anita—should have never allowed that to happen,” Elle bit out, her voice hoarse. “She should have never let him stay there.” A solitary tear flowed down her sister’s cheek. Alex probably should be the one crying, but her tears had dried up long ago. All the sobs in the world wouldn’t repair the damage in her heart and inside her head. Ever since they’d been little girls, Elle had always possessed the bigger heart. She may have been the tomboy, but inside, Elle had been the rescuer, endlessly trying to fix Alex’s problems for her. But this was something Elle couldn’t m
ake better.
“It’s not your fault, and Anita’s dead.” Alex cleared her throat. “All that crap happened a long time ago, and no one can change it. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
“That’s exactly why I think you should leave this alone, Alex. Don’t go digging up what’s already over and buried.” Elle palmed Alex’s cheeks. “We don’t know for sure if Markus had anything to do with this or if it’s traumatic amnesia. You’ve been through enough pain.”
“You’re not the one having to live like this.” Alex covered her sister’s hands with her own. “My gut says it was him, and I’ll be damned if I allow him to get away with this. I can’t change the fact that he turned me, and I may not like what’s revealed. But one way or another, I’m going to find out what happened, and why, when he let me go, he felt compelled to take another piece of me.”
Chapter Four
Enrique drew one more sip from his donor’s vein, then lapped at the puncture sites, sealing the wound. He wouldn’t want him to slowly bleed out, allowing a decent Calyx to go to waste. Especially since he still enjoyed the male’s services.
Sliding his cock free from the human’s warm depths, Enrique uncoiled his fist from the man’s hair and lowered onto the mattress. He rolled onto his back as his lover groaned and eased down into a prone position next to him.
“You seem in a particularly good mood this evening.”
“Yes, I am.” Enrique grinned.
“Whatever has put this smile on your face must be pretty damn good.” The man pushed up onto his elbows. “Because this is the happiest I’ve seen you since we lost Marguerite…and Markus disappeared.”
A growl vibrated in the back of Enrique’s throat at the mention of the traitorous vampire’s name. By kidnapping and turning the Enclave’s human female last year while Enrique had been away scoping out a new location for Marguerite’s lair, the bastard had somehow led the warriors straight to them. The Enclave had killed his Mistress, and instead of dying with the rest of Marguerite’s minions, Markus had disappeared with the self-righteous pricks.
