Younger, Bree - Burn [All American Vampires 1] (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Bree Younger

  “Don’t be ridiculous. You’re no trouble.”

  “I really don’t know why I got sick all of a sudden. I’m usually pretty healthy.”

  Ty couldn’t meet her eyes. “Eat.”

  She rolled her eyes but picked up her fork and began eating. “You know, I’m not a child, Ty. You don’t have to treat me like one.”

  “Believe me, babe, I’m well aware of the fact that you’re not a child. And I’m just trying to make sure that you are taken care of. It’s my fault you’re sick…”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. It’s certainly not your fault. Everybody gets sick now and then.”

  Ignoring her eyes so she couldn’t see the guilt in his, he pushed her plate closer to her. “Now, finish your meal.”

  She shook her head, but a small smile tilted her lips and she began eating. Finally she pushed back. “That’s it. That’s all I can eat, Ty.”

  He looked at her plate and decided that, while she hadn’t eaten quite as much as he’d have liked, she had managed to eat about half of what he’d given her. “Tell you what, drink the rest of the juice, and I’ll consider it done.”

  After she’d done just that, he stood and started clearing away the dishes, putting everything on the room service cart and moving it out into the hall. As he was about to head back to shut the door, the elevator dinged. It was Quinn’s assistant with the groceries he had ordered. He thanked the young vamp and took the bags.

  When he got back to the kitchen, Libby got up to help him. “Sit back down, Lib. You’re supposed to be taking it easy.”

  “I hardly think putting up a few groceries is going to put a big strain on me,” she retorted. But he could see how quickly she subsided into her chair and knew that she was still feeling weak. “Ty?”

  “Yeah, babe.”

  “Have you been getting—er—enough to eat yourself?”

  He darted a look at her. He could tell she was trying to keep her expression blank, but he could see the curiosity and maybe even a slight twinge of jealousy. “We have people who donate their blood to us.”

  “You mean like at a blood bank?” He knew she was struggling with the idea.

  He smiled. “Sort of. Some of the donated blood we bottle. But it’s not as good as it is fresh from the source.” Looking at her face, he could see she understood what he was saying.

  “You drink straight from the donors?”

  He nodded. “Usually.”

  “Do you…have sex with them?”

  “Sometimes.”

  “Have you been—lately?”

  He shook his head. “Not lately. I told you I wanted us to be exclusive, Libby. I meant it.”

  She smiled, and he almost chuckled at the pleased expression that crossed her face.

  “Tell you what, why don’t you go on into the den. It’s right down this hallway. There are books on the shelves that you’re welcome to help yourself to or you can watch some television. There’s even some DVDs in the cabinet to the right of the TV with some really great movies.”

  “Are you sure you don’t need me to help you?”

  “Absolutely. Go on now.”

  “Okay.” Libby stood up and slowly made her way out of the kitchen.

  As soon as he’d finished putting away the groceries, he went to join her. He found her on the couch with a current best seller in her hands. “Great. I see you found something.”

  “Yeah. You guys have a great book selection. I’ve been wanting to read this one for a while.”

  “I’m glad. Look, Lib, I hate to have to leave you alone, but I need to meet with Quinn and do some poking around.”

  “That’s okay, Ty. Really, I’m fine and dandy right here. I might even take a nap or something a little later on.”

  He was hesitant to leave her, but he really wanted to be in on that meeting with Quinn and Hawk. “Okay. Where’s your cell phone?”

  “In my purse. Why?”

  He dashed down the hall to her room and found the cell. When he brought it back, he took a moment to program in his cell number. Then he set it on the table beside her. “If you need anything, call me. Okay?”

  She nodded. “Sure. But I won’t need you, Ty. I’m not some helpless ninny.”

  “And you have Quinn’s number, too, right?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Ty…”

  “Okay. Okay. I’ve got it. You’re a tough chick.” He eyed her skeptically. Tough was not the word that came to his mind as he took in the picture of Libby on his sofa. The soft cotton of the T-shirt she wore clung to her obviously unbound breasts and her hair was its usual wild tumble around her face. Soft lips and wide green eyes gave her a vulnerable appearance when combined with the paleness of her complexion. Her feet, which had so captured his attention earlier, peeked out of the bottom of a pair of well-washed jeans that molded her thighs in a way that made his blood pound in his veins. “Tough. Right.”

  She smiled. “That’s right.”

  “Hmm…” He picked up a cotton throw that draped across the back of the sofa and covered her legs with it. Then he grabbed the remote to the television and set it beside her. “There you go. All set. Is there anything else you need before I leave?”

  She let out a drawn-out sigh. “No, Ty,” she said in an exaggeratedly patient tone. “I don’t need anything else. Would you please just get the hell out of here?”

  He bent down and dropped a quick kiss on her parted lips. “I’ll be back in a couple of hours. Make yourself at home, okay?”

  She just gave him an annoyed look and then picked up the book and began to read.

  He got the message and left.

  * * * *

  Libby read for a couple of hours before her head began to hurt. She took another pain pill and decided to take a short nap. Then maybe she could watch a movie. There were several in the cabinet she had been dying to see but hadn’t had the chance. Before she did that, though, she really needed to get in touch with Eddie and let him have it about that stupid “cabin” of his.

  As soon as he answered he started. “Lib? Is that you? Where the hell have you been? I’ve been worried sick. You were supposed to call me whenever—”

  “Don’t even,” she interrupted his monologue. “You no-good, sorry pinhead. Do you have any idea what that sorry excuse you called a cabin was like?”

  Silence.

  “It was so bad I thought it was going to collapse while I stood there. Jeez, Eddie, when was the last time you saw it?”

  “Ah,well, when I was a boy we always used to—”

  “When you were a boy? Good grief. Well, let me tell you, the whole thing needs to be demolished. It’s a safety hazard. I coulda been killed.” Okay, maybe that was a little bit of an exaggeration, but he needed to get the point.

  “Oh, hell, Libby. I’m really sorry. I had no idea it was so bad. I thought Pops and my cousins were still using it, but I guess not.”

  “Humph. Well, you need to do something about it soon. I mean it.”

  “I will. Promise.”

  What the hell. He’d meant well. “Listen, I need you to let everyone know that I’m not gonna be home for the next few days.”

  “Really? Where are you?”

  “Ah, well, actually, I’m sick and staying with a friend until I feel better.”

  “Which friend?”

  “You don’t know them. Just somebody from work.” She didn’t really want to get into too many details with Eddie. He was sweet as could be, but he was also unable to keep his mouth shut about anything.

  “Oh. Okay.”

  “If anybody asks, tell them they can get me on my cell and not my house phone, ’kay? And could you stop by my house and water my plants and just check on things for me? I should be home by Friday.”

  “Sure thing.”

  They chatted a little more, and then she hung up, relieved that that was taken care of. She hadn’t really had a chance to take in her surroundings before, but now she did, and she found herself absolutely stunned by
the beautiful rooms. The apartment was huge, two floors on the top of the casino, and very open. A huge bank of windows faced the Gulf and she wondered that they would risk the exposure to sunlight until she saw the controls for the automatic shutters which were set to close an hour before sunrise and open an hour after dusk.

  She walked around, admiring the beautiful hardwood floors and elegant but understated furnishings. She avoided Quinn’s suite of rooms, feeling uncomfortable about invading his privacy, and concentrated her explorations on the common areas. The kitchen was amazing, especially considering that it was rarely used. Beautiful oak cabinetry and granite countertops gleamed in the glow of the recessed lighting. It was a cook’s delight, and Libby knew that she could happily putter in this room for hours on end. A small music room was a delightful surprise. She ran her fingers over the keys of a baby grand piano and wished that she’d taken more than a single year of lessons when she was a child. She knew Ty’s rooms were upstairs but didn’t feel right about going up there, though she was very curious as to what she might learn about him.

  Truthfully, she really didn’t feel up to it. She was so tired and achy. Hopefully she would feel better after a nice long nap. Deciding that she’d done enough exploring, Libby went back to her bedroom and crawled into the bed. She lay there for a few minutes thinking about the odd twists her life had taken in the past few days. It was hard to believe that she, Libby Shaw, harried waitress and part-time student, was currently the guest of two gorgeous men in a luxurious penthouse apartment overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. Definitely silver lining material, Lib. On that thought, she snuggled down into the soft cotton bedding and fell asleep, a slight smile curving her lips.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Ty went down to the office he had next to Quinn’s on the administrative floor of the casino. After booting his laptop up, he opened his e-mail program and quickly scanned through his inbox. There were a couple of replies to the e-mails he had sent out, so he opened the first one. It was from the Master Vampire in New Orleans. As Ty read over the message, he smiled coldly. The next reply was from a Shield who worked out of Jackson. He scanned through a couple more and then clicked out of the program. After thinking for a moment or two, he picked up his cell phone and started making some calls. Once he’d talked to several people, he closed his phone and set it down.

  He definitely needed to speak to Quinn.

  A minute later, he strode over to Quinn’s office. Quinn’s PA, Nicolette, was seated at her desk. “Hey, Nic. Is the great man in? I need to talk to him for a minute.”

  Nicolette looked up, a happy smile on her face. “Ty!” She got up and came around her desk to give him a hug. “It’s so good to see you back. We were all really worried about you.” She stood back and her eyes checked him out. “Well, you look no worse for wear.”

  He laughed. “No. I’m good as new. But it was touch and go there for a while.”

  Her face grew serious. “I was so worried. We all were.” She slanted a glance toward the door of Quinn’s office.

  Ty just smiled and gave her another hug. “I know.”

  Then she stepped back and turned once again into the model of efficiency who ran Quinn’s office like clockwork. “Go on in. He’s expecting you.”

  Ty gave a brief knock on the door before entering. Quinn was seated at his desk, talking on the phone. He gestured for Ty to come on in and he did, lowering himself into one of the comfortable chairs that sat in front of the huge mahogany desk.

  Quinn finished his call and looked at his brother questioningly. “So, what have you learned?”

  “I checked those e-mails. Got some interesting replies.”

  Quinn leaned forward with his elbows on the table. “Oh, yeah? What’d they say?”

  “Michael Boudreaux over in New Orleans had three bodies turn up similar to ours, drained and hidden in out-of-the-way places. They were found within a week or so of each other, and they assumed, like we did, that it was a rogue who had passed through.”

  “Interesting.”

  Ty nodded. “I thought so. Also they’ve had similar bodies in Jackson, Mobile, and Pensacola. All within the last year. And all so far apart, in terms of both time and distance, that nobody has made any connections between them. Until now. Because there were few bodies and they were so spread out, no one even considered that there might be something else going on besides some rogues.”

  “Didn’t anybody find it strange that they never actually found this ‘rogue’?”

  “I guess they were just figuring he moved into another area. Alerts were put out, but then when nothing else happened, they just wrote him off. Figured he’d moved on and was someone else’s problem or that he’d finally just self-destructed somewhere.” It wasn’t uncommon for rogues to overfeed to the point that their hearts would burst.

  Quinn absorbed that information. At last he stood up and walked over to pour himself a shot of bourbon. After he drank it down he turned to face Ty. “Fuck. You know what this means, don’t you?”

  “I think so. This isn’t a matter of one person keeping bloodslaves, which was fucking bad enough. The area is too widespread. I think someone is selling slaves all up and down the coast. And apparently there’s a helluva market. It may be that this is just the tip of the iceberg.”

  Quinn nodded, his face as grim and foreboding as Ty had ever seen it. “Human trafficking. It’s got to be. I’ll have to contact the Council and tell them what you’ve found. This is obviously much more than we’re going to be able to handle on our own.”

  “Yes.”

  “Do we know anything else about the bodies? Any of them been identified?”

  Ty shook his head. “No. But I spoke to one of the Shields over in Pensacola who told me something interesting. He said that before they disposed of the bodies they found, one of the doctors they employ did an autopsy. Said he thought the girl might be East European because of her dental work.”

  “Dental work, huh? Amazing what they can find out. That makes sense. Smuggle humans in, promise them jobs so they’ll come willingly, and sell them. Most of them probably couldn’t even speak English, wouldn’t know what to do. No one to turn to even if they could get away. And, when the bodies are found, there’s no way to identify them ’cause they’re not in any system. Jesus.” Ty watched as his brother sat reviewing everything they’d learned. “Okay. Take RJ and go back over to Waveland. See if you can learn anything else about those bodies. Talk to the boys who found them again. Hell, talk to anyone you can think of. See if anyone noticed anyone unusual or out of place. Waveland is a small community. Maybe we’ll get lucky. In the meantime, I’ll contact the Council and tell them what we have. I’m also gonna get Hawk to start digging for more info on McElroy and Cumbest. See if we can find out where his money is coming from. I have a feeling he’s up to his neck in this shit.”

  “Will do. Something else—they’re bringing these girls in somewhere. I’m thinking they might be doing so by ship. God knows, one of the advantages of living on the coast is the easy access to the Gulf. I thought we could check to see if McElroy has an interest in a ship or maybe one of his business associates does.”

  “Excellent. Do it.”

  Ty turned to leave when he was stopped by his brother’s voice. “And then we’ll need to talk to Libby.”

  * * * *

  Libby woke up and rolled over to look at the bedside clock. Damn! It was after midnight. She’d slept several hours. Pushing up into a seated position, she almost groaned. Ugh! She still felt bad, but she couldn’t just stay in bed. Deciding to get up and maybe watch that movie she promised herself earlier, she threw her feet over the bed and stood up unsteadily. Slowly she made her way into the bathroom. Her reflection in the mirror almost scared her to death. Yikes! Her face was a pale white, and her eyes looked twice their normal size. On top of that, her hair was sticking up in every direction, like she’d stuck her finger in a light socket.

  She checked her neck, but the marks that
had been there before had almost completely faded. There was nothing there now but the faintest shadow to even indicate she’d ever been bitten. Ty had explained that vampire saliva had healing properties that sealed the puncture wounds from a bite and also helped speed up healing. That vampire spit must be some strong mojo. They should bottle that stuff and sell it, she thought . They’d make a killing. No pun intended.

  She found a comb in a drawer and tried to straighten her hair into some semblance of a style. She still wasn’t sure why she’d let that hairdresser talk her into this wild hairdo. She looked like she’d just escaped from some Japanese anime cartoon. Maybe she could at least get the tangles out. After a couple of minutes, she set down the comb. There. That would just have to do. She still looked a little wacky, but at least she didn’t think she would scare young children anymore.

  She found the bottle of medicine and swallowed a couple more of the ibuprofens and then left her room and went down the hall to the den, following the sound of muted voices.

  “So we didn’t really learn much new over in Waveland,” RJ was saying but stopped just as Libby entered the room.

  Ty looked up and a smile spread over his face. “Libby, you’re awake.” He stood and walked over to drop a brief kiss on her lips. The other men had also risen, and Ty turned to face them. “You remember Hawk and RJ.”

  “Sure.” She smiled at the two sinfully sexy vampires, one brown-haired and hazel-eyed, with an open face and easy smile, while the other was obviously Native American, with long black hair and eyes to match.

  RJ grinned and came forward to give her a hug. “That’s for saving this dumbass’s life.” His thumb jerked to where Ty stood, glaring.

  “And this”—he dropped a short but thorough kiss on her mouth—“is because you’ve got a very sexy mouth. Whenever you get ready to ditch this fool, just give me a call.”

  Libby laughed as she saw the teasing glint in RJ’s eyes.

  Ty growled—yes, he actually growled, and pulled her out of RJ’s arms and back up against him, throwing an arm around her shoulders and anchoring her against his side. “You’ll have a long damn wait, RJ.”