“I hate when you do that,” he muttered.
Vanth laughed. “I had a biological mother, if that makes you relax a little,” she offered. “As for Death…she wasn’t born like a harbinger, destroyer, or angel. Death just exists.” Then, she paused. “I think. I may be wrong.”
“How old are you?” asked Trina.
“I’m over eleven thousand years old, and technically a demon. Before you ask what I look like, you can’t see me. If you stare upon my true form, I have to take your life.”
Everyone’s mouth opened and Vanth smiled, teeth gleaming.
“Only those in between life and death can see me as I help you cross over into Death’s waiting hands.”
“I know what you look like,” said Flynn softly. The memory was very vivid in his mind. When he almost died, she was there to cross him.
Jolie took his hand and squeezed, offering him peace and reassurance. “I also know what you look like, Vanth,” she stated. “You’re not scary looking at all. You’re one of the most beautiful things that I’ve ever seen in my life.”
“You can tell them,” she stated. “We’re family.”
Jolie glanced over at her mate as they shared that common memory. “She has gold and red ringlets and large luminescent wings.”
Flynn agreed. “They look soft to the touch, but when you get closer, they’re like jagged shards of razor sharp glass.”
Vanth smiled. “Yes, that’s true.”
“Her eyes are like nothing you’ve ever seen before,” Jolie added.
“They’re larger than normal, and almost cartoonish in size. When you stare into them, they go from black to this blood colored red.”
Jacques was enthralled, and a little jealous that he couldn’t share this with them. As he scanned their minds, that visual was oddly not there.
“If you see me, Jacques, you’ll die,” Vanth stated. “That’s why you can’t see the picture in their minds.”
“Flynn’s right. I hate when you do that too,” he admitted.
“She’s not scary looking--just…otherworldly. Sexy in that dead destroyer kind of way,” Flynn teased.
Vanth laughed. “Thank you for that, Detective,” she whispered before bowing her head. “It’s not many who describe me as anything but destruction. I was once was alive, and it’s nice to be seen for what I am.”
They were lucky to have shared that moment.
“I’m sorry for the trouble that I've caused you, Jolie,” Vanth admitted. “I just don’t know what to do.”
Jolie offered her reassurance. “I’ve lived a long time, my friend. This isn’t trouble. This is merely a bump in the road. We’ll work through it. What’s the worst that can happen?”
Flynn went to open his mouth, only to have Jolie kiss him. When her hands slid through his hair, drawing him into the lip lock, it cleared his mind.
They all laughed, especially when they broke apart, and he’d forgotten what he was thinking.
“Cheater,” he muttered, licking his lips.
“A girl has to do, what a girl has to do,” she teased.
Jacques dropped his arm over both their shoulders, connecting them. “We’ll get through this,” he reassured. “We’re stronger than all of this.”
Jolie believed it.
They’d overcome so much.
This was nothing but a bump in the road.
Or so they hoped.
CHAPTER NINE
Tuesday Early Afternoon
As quickly as the darkness overtook her, it fell away, pushing her body up as if she were floating toward the surface and about to break water. Her name was being called. At first it was muffled and far away, but then finally crystal clear. Opening her eyes, above her stood Chloe, and her immediate response was to panic.
“What’s happened?”
Beside her, Jacques was still with death, but her other mate was oddly missing. Alarm rushed through her.
“Oh God! Where’s Flynn?” she blurted. Had something happened to him? When home, she was accustomed to waking without him, but while traveling, he was always at her side.
“We have visitors, Mistress. Detective Montclair and his partner are here to see you, so Master Flynn is getting dressed.”
“Oh, bloody hell,” she blurted, jumping out of their bed. The last person she wanted in their rental was that man. Down the hall, there were dead vampyres.
Rushing toward the closet, she ran right into her mate. He grabbed her before she fell over.
“Not what I had in mind when it came to banging,” he teased.
Jolie knew he was trying to lighten the mood, but there was tension on his face too. The last thing they needed was a bloodbath.
“It’s okay, baby. We’ll handle it,” he reassured, zipping up his jeans.
Jolie shouted out from the closet, “I don’t like them in our house. I didn't think they’d show up here. I like fighting on neutral ground. Not where innocents like Trina, Clariel, or Mathew could get hurt.”
Flynn understood.
“We’ll meet them, and then get them the hell out of here,” he stated.
Jolie liked that idea. It was probably a good thing that Jacques was still with death. “Chloe, what did you tell them?”
She tried to reassure her mistress. “Only that you’re on a long distance call to your office back home, and that your fiancé is working on some police matters from the states.”
That mollified her. Jolie normally wouldn’t be so nervous, but this house held some pretty scary things--Death, a harbinger, and vampyres…
Flynn, unwilling to let the moment pass, added his two cents, “You should have told the bastard that I was in bed with Jolie, and we were fu…”
Jolie cut him off. “Maybe another time,” she stated, finally laughing. “Until then, can you head down and keep them from wandering, Flynn?”
“If they try, can I kill them?” he asked, his fangs sliding into his mouth.
Jolie looked up at him. “I want to say yes, but one of us has to be good. We know that’s obviously not going to be you.”
She crossed to him and gently gave him a kiss. In his mind, she planted the order for the fangs to retract, knowing that he sometimes couldn’t control it.
“Thank you, baby,” he offered.
“Let’s have cold drinks on the patio. I want them to see me out in the sun, and you too. Then they may not think we’re the undead.”
“Sure thing, beautiful,” he offered, buttoning his shirt.
“I’ll dress and be down as soon as I can,” she said, slapping on sun block. Jolie really wasn’t happy to have to entertain this jackassery in her home.
“I’ll stall them by talking cop.” Flynn winked before heading downstairs to entertain their unwanted guests. Deep down, he was hoping that the men would start something, so he could end it. It pissed him off thinking that they were hunting vampyres. While he knew some deserved to die, Jolie and Jacques didn't. They were his family.
His heart.
Jolie perused their vast closet before pulling on the most un-vampyre like clothes she owned. There was no way she was going to give them any room to suspect it. Since Montclair was a hunter, he wasn’t going to be the village idiot. He’d come from a long line of murdering bastards, and she couldn’t take the chance.
Making one mistake could mean costing them their lives.
Pulling on the red suit jacket, khaki Capri’s, and heels, Jolie checked herself out in the mirror.
It was pretty normal.
She actually looked human.
Rushing downstairs, she barely remembered to grab her sun hat from the rack. Outside, she put on the act of being nothing more than a doctor as she did her job. On the patio, she saw her mate smiling pleasantly as he served up glasses of iced tea.
He glanced up, his icy blue eyes meeting hers. “Hello, baby,” he said.
The men outside glanced over.
Jolie was proud of him. Flynn was acting the part of the perfect host, s
miling and laughing with the company. She knew that deep down, he was seething.
She could feel it.
“Here she is now, gentlemen. Jolie, baby, would like some tea while our company is here?”
“Oh, Flynn! I would love some. I’m parched. Do you have any unsweetened?” she asked, moving toward them.
He smiled. “Of course I do, sweetheart. It’s your favorite.” Flynn made sure that Chloe had Codonopsis brewed for her. Jolie would need it to survive out in the light. This was a dangerous ruse, and it was making him angry.
“You’re too good to me, my love,” she admitted, taking his outstretched hand as she approached.
Both detectives checked her out as she stood by the table. Jolie felt Flynn’s hand tense in hers. There was no doubt that he’d caught the looks.
Before Flynn could speak, the one detective was up and out of his seat. He’d moved so fast that if Flynn had a gun, he might have pulled it.
“Doctor Harcourte, let me offer you my seat,” said Montclair, trying to be chivalrous. The look that followed was aimed at Flynn, and it showed his contempt for the rude American. He had no idea what the genius doctor saw in the man, since his manners were atrocious.
“Oh, thank you, Detective, but I’m good. If you don’t mind, I’ll sit over here,” she stated, moving toward Flynn.
When he sat, she stared into his eyes. “Is this seat taken, handsome?”
He laughed. “It’s reserved for you, and only you.”
When he patted his lap, Jolie took her customary spot.
Immediately, he pulled his sunglasses off his face and handed them to her. Jolie, as usual, had forgotten hers. While he was sensitive to bright light, her eyes were worse.
She loved him so much for that little gift. Giving him a kiss, she slipped them on. “I have to stop hiding in that office all day. It’s such a beautiful day outside,” Jolie admitted.
The men agreed.
Leaning back into her mate, she slipped into his mind.
‘I need to feed or I’ll start to blister and give us away.’
‘Baby, it’s no problem. Take what you need from me.’
She took her mate’s hand, and slowly drained energy from him. All the while, she focused on the men before her.
“I have to ask why you’re here. I didn't expect you to show up at my house. I know I didn't disclose our address when we met,” she stated, looking directly at Montclair in challenge.
The younger detective took the opportunity to blush. “Mademoiselle,” began Detective Bevier. “It wasn’t too hard to locate you. This is a well-known estate, and it’s usually shut down. Not many people can afford to rent it.”
Jolie stared at him.
“You’re the talk of the village,” Detective Montclair stated. “They’re gossiping about the native who came back with her American boyfriend. We put two and two together and figured it out.”
“Fiancé,” she corrected, not wanting to give Montclair any room to assume anything else.
“Pardon, mademoiselle, I meant no offense,” he said, glancing over at Flynn. “Monsieur, none to you either. I simply meant that you stand out in town.”
“That’s all fine and good, but what is it that you want from us? I doubt that you felt the need for a social call.”
“You’re right, Doctor. We’ve come to see if you’d be willing to help us with a situation we have.”
Flynn tensed beneath her. “A situation?”
“Yes. We’ve had some murders, and I was hoping that you’d help us out. We’re at a loss.”
Yeah, Flynn wasn’t buying that at all.
Neither was Jolie.
“Detectives, as I have explained before, I’m on vacation. While I would love to assist you, I’ve promised Flynn that I would really take a holiday.”
That’s when she saw it.
Shit!
Staring past the detective, there before them was Death’s messenger. Yeah, that had to be a very bad sign.
Jolie knew when Flynn realized that she was there. The iced tea froze halfway to his lips. Then he managed to cover his pause by coughing into his hand.
“Sorry, allergies,” he admitted.
She touched his cheek, sharing a look with him.
“Doctor Harcourte, please.”
Taking a long sip from her tea, she waited a few seconds to weigh her options. While she wanted to stay far away from this man until she had to hunt him, Jolie knew her hands were tied. The little girl popping in had changed everything.
Jolie was going to have to take a hands on approach.
Flynn cleared his throat. “Jolie, baby, we’re on vacation,” he offered, trying to sway her from what he suspected was coming. It didn't make him happy to know she was going to be near this vile, disgusting man.
Jolie made a face, trying to convince them that she was making her decision. Only, her mind was already made up. “I know, my love, but I have a duty to help when I can. You know that.”
Shit!
She was going to do it.
“Flynn, what should I do?” she said, hoping he’d back her up.
He knew they didn't have much choice. By helping, she could keep her eyes on the man. Then, when the time was right, she’d strike. It would make it easier for all of them.
“Jolie, I fell in love with you because you always want to help, and this is no different. If you feel that you need to assist, who am I to stop you? Sweetheart, you have my full support.”
She knew how hard that was for him. Leaning down, she ran her lips over his, letting them linger.
God! She loved him.
Flynn had to swallow the big ball of rage that was beginning to fester in his gut. Offering Jolie up to this man went against everything he was.
He was to protect her.
Keep Jolie safe.
Guard his mate.
Instead, he had served her up on a silver platter for this sick bastard.
Jolie pulled away, and then turned in his lap to face the men. “Since my fiancé doesn’t mind, then I guess I can try to help out. I feel for all those poor people.”
Montclair excitedly jumped up and rushed toward Jolie to pull her from Flynn’s lap. Lavishly, he kissed her knuckles in gratitude. “Doctor! Thank you! I can’t tell you how grateful we are!”
Flynn wanted to repeatedly punch the man in the face until he was dead. It drove him insane that this scumbag was touching his mate.
Where was Jacques when he needed him?
“Merci!” He kissed her hand again. “I don’t know how to thank you enough!”
Brogan was at his final straw. He wasn’t going to sit there like some eunuch while his woman was drooled on by some sissified French asshole. “In our country, if a man kisses another man’s fiancée, even if it is only her hand, we kick the shit out of them to make a point,” he stated, as he fought to keep his fangs from making an appearance. The man was crossing a dangerous line.
When the detective looked confused, he continued, “I’m sure you understand me wanting to keep men from touching my Jolie. Are you married, Detective?”
“Oui, I am.”
“Then you’re aware of the possessive nature of men.” Flynn could feel the revulsion welling up in Jolie whenever the detective touched her. It was rare for her to want to escape, like she did now.
That spoke volumes.
Finally, the man got it.
“I’m so sorry! You have my sincerest apology, Detective. I’m excited to work with such a…”
Brogan’s eyebrow cocked, warning the detective that if he went too far, there would be repercussions.
The line was drawn.
“Genius.”
Flynn accepted that word. It was safe and didn't make him want to rip into the man’s throat to drink him dry. Flynn almost laughed. That was something Jacques would think or do. It made him proud that he could carry on while his mate was absent.
“Well, there are some ground rules. When Jolie helps you, if y
ou have to go somewhere, I’ll be with her. I’m not letting my beautiful fiancée traipse across the countryside chasing some sick fuck without me there.”
The look on the man’s face was priceless.
He got the insult.
There was no doubt that he was the one it was directed at.
“She would be safe,” he began.
“I don’t think you get it. Back home, she’s very well-known. In fact, you picked her out on the street. I’m not risking her. It’s not happening, Detective.”
“But of course.” Disappointment crossed his face. “I understand completely. The last thing I want is to risk her safety while here on holiday.”
Somehow, Flynn knew the man would try to renege on that little promise. In fact, he’d bet his gold shiny badge on it.
Jolie led them into the house and the hallway. It was time to get rid of them. She was well aware that Flynn was seething with anger and hostility. If they wanted to keep up the ruse, the men needed to go.
Stopping in front of a large mirror, Jolie checked herself out. “Oh, Flynn, you didn’t tell me my lipstick was smudged.”
He understood the reasoning behind the comment. She was pointing out the obvious. Vampyres were thought to have no reflection.
Flynn couldn’t help but watch the way she licked her lips. It drew his focus as the anger slid away. Now, he was thinking about something far more enthralling.
“Can you help me?” she asked, waiting for him to stand in front of her. Jolie wanted them to see he was in the reflection too.
Flynn delicately rubbed the smear with his thumb. Then he lowered his mouth to hers to taste her lips. Yeah, they were freaking amazing.
When he pulled away, he knew all eyes were on them. “I’m sorry. I was blinded by your radiance and didn’t even notice,” he whispered, meaning every word.
Jolie captivated him.
She grinned wickedly, teasing him with some sexy images of them rolling around naked. She watched his eyes dilate and knew he was over the anger.
Now, to deal with the men who were watching them. Mentally, she covered the list in her head. They were done with the game.
Sunlight…check.
Drinking…check.
Dangerous Misery (The Harcourte Vampyre Society Book 3) Page 16
