“Oh yeah?” Lucy braced her hands against the walls on both sides of the stairs and stuck out her chin defiantly. Andre took yet another step closer, bracing his arms next to hers, and leaning in close enough that their noses brushed and his breath tickled her cheek. She stood her ground, despite the fact that her limbs had already become as insubstantial as jelly.
“You shouldn’t test me, Lucy.”
“You don’t scare me,” she countered in a trembling voice.
“I suspect I don't,” Andre whispered breathlessly, tilting his head until his lips brushed hers. “But maybe I'm the one who is afraid.” He reached his arms under her own and closed the gap between their bodies, pressing his mouth completely against Lucy's in a kiss so achingly tender, yet so full of need that all previous thought vanished instantly from her mind. Vampires, sabotage, plots against her very life, none of that mattered. The only thing that did matter was that Andre was kissing her with a passion that she had hardly dared even fantasize about, yet the reality was infinitely better than she could have imagined.
She relaxed her grip on the banister, which caused her to lose her balance, but Andre’s arms circled her waist and guided her back against the stairs, until his full weight rested comfortably against her. She arched her back, pulling Andre closer so that his knees rested on the stairs on either side of her hips. His hands toyed with the hem of her sweater and Lucy gasped as his fingers strayed lightly against the bare skin of her stomach.
Lucy reached up, tangling her hand in Andre’s thick, ebony curls. She placed the other hand on his chest, tracing the knotted patterns of scar and muscle down to his stomach. Mimicking Andre’s own actions, she slipped her hand under the material, trailing her fingers up through the soft line of hair on his abdomen, and then back down until she reached the rough denim of his jeans.
“Lucy,” Andre hissed. His muscles tightened under her touch and he pulled away. The break in contact was almost painful, leaving her with a feeling of emptiness and longing that left no doubt about the fact that she was falling hard for her partner. Lucy opened her eyes to see that his were as glazed as she knew hers were.
“We need to go to bed,” Andre whispered thickly. Not trusting her own voice, Lucy simply nodded. Andre stood, swaying slightly, and held out his hand to help Lucy to her feet. As she stood, he pulled her into his arms, burying his face in the wild mass of tangles her hair had become. “Our own beds,” Andre murmured. A hint of disappointment tinged his words that echoed in her own thoughts. He brought his hand up to her cheek and leaned in for one last sweet, lingering kiss.
“Good night, Lucy.”
Lucy stood powerless as Andre slipped past her, up the stairs, and into his room. With her thoughts and emotions in turmoil, Lucy climbed the stairs wearily and fell heavily into bed, wondering exactly what had just happened.
Chapter 26
Lucy was disappointed, yet relieved to find that Andre was not in the apartment when she awoke later that afternoon. She sat down with a fresh pot of coffee and caught up on emails from the group back home. Andre had apparently sent Evan a detailed email regarding the situation with Joseph and his wife, to which Evan had replied and copied her in. Smiling, Lucy noticed that he left the original missive, which Andre had neglected to copy her in on. Lucy scrolled down to read that first.
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: CONFIDENTIAL
We’ve discovered the information leak, rather, Lucy’s keen eye discovered the leak. Yes, I’m willing to give credit where credit is due, but you aren’t going to like this. ES abducted Ephebia Beauchamp and have been blackmailing Joseph for information. All of our profiles and territories were leaked. The good news is that we were able to corner Joseph and relieve him from duty without alerting anyone else here as to why. Marco and Edmund are watching him. I am sending him straight to you as soon as Ephebia is safe.
Unfortunately, that isn’t the worst of it. The ES vamp blackmailing Joseph informed him that they would trade Ephebia’s life for that of the dhampir currently in your employ. Sound like anyone you know? Apparently, they never mentioned Lucy by name, but it’s pretty clear she was being watched in New Orleans. Given this, it is safe to assume that everyone is being watched. I was in position to overhear a conversation outside the place where Ephebia is being held and yes, I can confirm, it’s Lucy they want.
Of course, Lucy, in her typically hardheaded fashion, immediately jumped on a plan in which she would give herself over to the vampires in exchange for Ephebia, claiming that she would somehow find a way to destroy their organization from the inside without any forethought to planning what so ever. Given what we now know, I’d feel much better if I could put her on a flight back to New Orleans as soon as possible.
I obtained the name of a client of Mira’s who may be willing to give us the information that we need. I will be in contact with him later today. Please have Mike forward me any information he can find on the name Oscar Pierre Blanc and the club Noirotique.
I’ve re-secured all lines of communication and as of right now, no one at HQ2 has records access. I’ve transferred admin rights temporarily to Mike. Naturally, I’ll keep you informed as we move forward.
Lucy had been shocked and more than a little scared to discover the nature of the conversation that Andre had overheard. It was true that her records were not in the database with everyone else’s, but a lot of people within the organization knew what she was capable of, even if it was not supposed to be general knowledge. The idea that someone, especially an ES vampire, had been spying on her for the last few months was unsettling. Lucy read Evan’s reply.
To: [email protected]; [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: RE: CONFIDENTIAL
Good eye, Lucy. I’m glad to see my gut instincts are still working. You two are a great team. While I’m disturbed by the news about Joseph and the fact that he went along with a no win plan rather than talking to us, I understand what he is dealing with. A full inquiry and reassignment WILL happen. I’m more worried about the two of you attempting a rescue on your own, especially involving one of Mira’s clients, this smells like a trap. I’m going to insist that you, Andre, evaluate the HQ2 team and select no less than two capable hunters who have the ability to keep their mouths shut to assist on this mission.
As for the phantom watcher, we’ve rerouted communications and no one has heard anything out of the ordinary, though you are correct, we could still very well be being watched. I’m calling an emergency meeting tonight to address this.
I’m fully inclined to agree with you, Andre, Lucy should be here and out of danger, but as Lucy’s partner, a fact that the ES may be aware of, you may be as much a target as she is. I can’t let you act alone, and since Lucy is there, and is your partner, I’m counting on the two of you to do one thing only, and that is to organize a team to get Ephebia to safety, then I’m bringing you both home.
In the meantime, BE CAREFUL, both of you! Be aware of your surroundings and anyone you see more than once. Look out for each other. Your lives depend on it. I’ll be in touch with both of you later.
Lucy checked the time and calculated that it would be almost noon in New Orleans, Evan was likely working his ‘real’ job, but she had to talk to him. She sent him a text.
Fausto’s mother? Aside from the fact that there was zero resemblance between the two, Fausto appeared to be old enough to be Mira’s father, this made no sense based on everything she had been told about her own improbable existence.
Lucy shivered at the word “creations.” Not people, not even animals, simply beings brought into the world through unnatural methods. As horrible as the ES was, Lucy was reminded of the way slaves were once considered property and not humans. The only difference was that the ES were enslaving their own offspring.
The last thing Lucy wanted to do was talk to Andre about anything, especially not Mira. Lucy heard keys in the front lock and frowned. Like it or not, she was going to have to deal with Andre.
Andre paused briefly in the doorway and prayed that Lucy would interpret the pink flush of embarrassment on his face as just the natural reddening from the chilly weather. To his relief, Lucy’s eyes were downcast, concentrating intently on the phone in her hand as if the text she was scripting was the most important thing in the world.
“Hey,” Lucy mumbled, nodding her head slightly, but not looking up. Beyond the curtain of thick brown waves that shadowed her face, Andre caught a glimpse of cheeks as red as he imagined his were. He took advantage of the awkward moment and went to the small kitchen under the guise of foraging for lunch.
“Been up long?” The two rooms were small enough to make conversation possible without having to see each other.
“About an hour, I’ve been checking email and talking to Evan.” Lucy stole a glance into the other room just as Andre did the same. Andre quickly returned his attention to the refrigerator. “Don’t bother, there’s nothing in there.”
Lucy was right. Aside from a half empty bottle of milk and a few stale rolls, there wasn’t much in the kitchen. Andre shut the fridge and wandered back into the living room, taking the chair across from where Lucy sat curled up on the sofa. “I'll call for takeout, I don't suppose we have time for grocery shopping, but we have got to eat. I’m afraid it’s going to be another long night.”
“Oh?” Lucy set aside her phone to give Andre her full attention and tried her best to subdue the conflicting emotions she was feeling.
“I contacted Oscar earlier,” Andre said and shifted uncomfortably. “He’s quite an actor. He knows all about Ephebia being kept at Noirotique, and he knew quite a bit about you.”
Lucy froze. “What about me?”
“Everything,” Andre sighed. “He never mentioned you by name, but he specifically mentioned your healing abilities. That worries me. He claims to be a VIP member of the club and that he can get you in under the assumption that you’re just a visiting vampire from the States, and he claims that he can have Ephebia brought to his private suite for rescue.”
“Do you believe him?” Lucy asked incredulously.
“Not at all.” Andre shook his head slowly, staring at Lucy with a pained look that she could not quite read. “I spent the rest of the day at the office, tweaking some of our programs. What I’d like to do is get a feel for the layout of this club, and find a way in, find where Ephebia is being kept, and get the hell out of there as fast as possible.”
“And?” Lucy asked, looking hopeful. “Do you think we can do that?”
“In all likelihood, no, I’m at a loss. I can’t send you walking straight into a trap, but I don’t know what else to do, and we have less than twenty-four hours to come up with a plan because we’ve got one shot at getting you into Noirotique and it happens tomorrow night.”
“But if they know me, how do we know they won’t just ambush me when I walk in the door?”
“We don’t,” Andre said with disgust. “Oscar claims that one of the ES spies in New Orleans saw you get attacked, and saw what happened to the vampire that attacked you. We’re banking on the fact that this spy only ever saw you in disguise.”
Lucy brightened. “That’s a good point. Since joining the organization I’ve hardly left headquarters undisguised, and never at night. Listen, we at least have the advantage of knowing it’s a trap, right?”
“That’s not really much of an advantage now, is it?”
“Yes, it is!” Lucy insisted. “This Oscar guy, he thinks you trust him, he won’t suspect that I’m armed to the teeth. Which I will be, that’s for sure.”
“There’s another complication,” Andre added.
“Oh?”
“Mira.”
Lucy sighed. “Why don’t you explain to me from the beginning, exactly what this Mira chick’s deal is? I asked Evan if we can trust her and he said no. How do you know her?”
Andre pulled out his phone. “This is going to take a while, so I’m going to order our dinner.” Lucy waited patiently while Andre ordered from an Indian restaurant in the neighborhood. “Has Ida talked to you about her outreach program?”
Lucy nodded her head. “A little.”
“Back around the same time Evan was starting the organization, Ida and a couple of other vampires were running around trying to convert mods to a normal lifestyle. At first, they had a problem with Evan’s motives, but they started working together and from what I understand, have had some pretty good results over the years. Ida still runs the outreach and she had mentioned asking you to help out before the attack that landed you over here.
“Several years ago, while I was still in school, I met Fausto. He was clearly a mod, but something about him made me think he wasn’t ES. He was in pretty bad shape and I admit, when I found him, half dead in the alley behind the Royale, I nearly killed him. Luckily, Isaac, he was a mod that started the outreach with Ida, was with me. With Isaac’s help, I got Fausto back to HQ and he told us his story. He grew up like any other ES creation, trained from birth to believe in is superiority over humans. At some point, Fausto came across his records, which noted Mira as the donor of the egg that was fertilized to conceive him. Something about the way it was worded broke Fausto’s programming and he considers Mira his mother. Remember, this group doesn’t have children. They create them. Let’s just be charitable and say that Mira didn’t win any mother of the year awards. Regardless, Fausto managed to feel love for his mother.
“Isaac brought Ida over here and they helped Fausto set up an outreach program similar to theirs. Last time I checked he had about a dozen mods living at the hotel, learning to live without human blood. You may have noticed that Fausto has a passion for cooking, it was Ida that turned him on to it.”
“I take it Mira didn’t have a sudden change of heart,” Lucy observed wryly. “How did she end up living in a vampire halfway house?”
“No, she most certainly didn’t come quietly,” Andre continued. “She tried to kill me the first time I found her. Had she been anyone else, she would be dead several times over by now. After our third encounter, I had Fausto convinced to give up on her. She wasn’t interested in changing her lifestyle for anyone, not even her ‘son.’ Then one night I found her, in the same alley where we found Fausto, more dead than alive. Fausto nursed her back to health, and in the process changed her metabolism so she couldn’t hunt anymore.”
“Wait, what?” Lucy stared open mouthed at Andre.
“What, what?”
Lucy rolled her eyes. “You just said that Fausto changed Mira’s metabolism as if it was the most normal thing in the world. How is that even possible?”
Andre shrugged. “It’s not impossible, just not somet
hing most vampires want to subject themselves to. It’s a simple matter of certain drugs and a specific diet. All of the vampires in Ida’s program go through it.”
Lucy looked aghast. “If it’s that simple then why do we kill them?”
“It’s not that simple,” Andre protested with a look of exasperation. “You can’t just force someone to change their diet and take medications if they don’t want to. Mira was an exception because she was unconscious when I found her. If she had her way, she would have been back on the streets and feeding the minute she woke up.”
“Still,” Lucy clenched her jaw, “we should be doing more. How many of the vampires that I’ve killed could have been saved?”
“Lucy,” Andre sighed, “we don’t have time for a morality argument right now. We can fight about this later.”
“I’ll hold you to that.”
“Getting back to the point,” Andre said impatiently. “No, we absolutely can’t trust Mira. She is an unwilling participant in the life she now leads. However, she knows better than to do anything stupid. She and Fausto are both aware that I am the only member of the organization who has vowed not to kill her. If any of the others catch her feeding or harming anyone, they will kill her just as they would any other vampire.”
“So how does Mira fit into the plan we have?”
“Mira’s got an issue with the way they do business at Noirotique and she sees this as an opportunity to get her revenge on the owner. What we’re supposed to believe is that Oscar is going to present you not as the dhampir the ES is looking for, but in the same role you are already playing, as my vampire fiancée. The only difference is that you are supposedly planning on marrying me to gain access to the inner sanctum of EJC. Oscar is going to use your ties to the organization to get you in. The two of you will be Oscar’s guest. His treat so to speak, to get information out of you both. He’s already been told that you will be unarmed.”
Lucy’s eyes bulged. “That’s suicide! Worse than suicide! How am I supposed to get out alive if I can’t even trust the people who are supposed to be on my side and without weapons?”
The Eyes of the Sun: The Complete Trilogy Page 25
