Vampire Debt: Supernatural Battle (Vampire Towers Book 2)

by Kelly St Clare

  “Gina.” I greeted.

  She arched a brow. “Miss Tetley. Or should I say Miss Le Spyre?”

  The Vissimo peered past me to the estate. “Quite the secret you kept. Can’t say I blame you—knowing who your true mate is.”

  Fresh hurt stabbed me, but I worked to keep my face and voice free of the emotion. “Why are your brothers visiting me in the middle of the night?”

  “Because they’re bitter and twisted inside,” she answered.

  Couldn’t argue with that.

  She pursed her lips. “I have the misfortune of being their sister. I don’t have the fortune of being blind to their faults.”

  “They’re seriously messed up,” I told her. “An impartial clan ruled the matter between me and your family closed and done. Are they going to be an ongoing problem?”

  Turned profile, she glanced at me. “I don’t need to answer that, do I?”

  I sighed. Thought as much. “Just so you know—because you seem to have some hold over them. My Vissimo will fuck them up if they step foot inside this property or go for me elsewhere.”

  “Vissimo,” she murmured, eyes running over the ranks around me. “Interesting.”

  The same word applied to her.

  Clan Sundulus painted their enemy clan as mindless savages. That wasn’t to say that this woman wasn’t part of what happened in the basement. She’d watched on. She’d held a blade to my throat to force Kyros to stop fighting. But Gina possessed reason and restraint. I saw her as no different to Kyros or any of his siblings.

  I narrowed my gaze, forgetting for the moment that it was the middle of the night and I was surrounded by beings with fangs. “What do you think of Ingenium, Gina?”

  The ghost of a smile floated on her lips. “What an unusual question, Miss Le Spyre. In apology for my brother’s misdemeanour tonight, I’ll answer it.”

  How nice.

  She faced me. “Ingenium. I think that it’s a great thing I’m immortal. The idea of wasting my entire life engaging in this bullshit farce would otherwise have driven me insane long ago.”

  I blinked. Wow. Really honest.

  Weirdly, her answer did feel like a boon. “Thank you.”

  Gina dipped her head.

  I smiled sweetly. “Now fuck off. I don’t like being woken in the middle of the night.”

  She quickly recovered from her shock, laughing quietly. “I might like you.”

  “Mutual,” I said before thinking of it. “Shame we’re on different sides.”

  “Are you on their side, Miss Le Spyre?” Gina asked. “You and Kyros are separated. Tell me, is there trouble in paradise?”

  Understatement of the year.

  A lie hovered on the tip of my tongue, but I stopped myself from aligning firmly with Clan Sundulus, considering my reply. Should I look a potential gift horse in the mouth?

  “I’m on no one’s side but my own.” Holding her gaze for a leaden moment, I spun on my heel. “Nighty night.”

  Her laughter followed me inside the gates. “Goodnight, Miss Le Spyre. Be a dear and say hello to my brother Kyros, won’t you?”

  I hummed. “Serious.”

  “Fucking serious.”

  “Fucking serious, Tom. You watched Grandmother’s recording. I need you to work for me. And I need to buy your house.”

  Her throat worked. “The house is in my name. I had the mortgage transferred to me because Dad’s credit history is bad and the interest rate was sky high.”

  “Things would be easier if your father doesn’t have to be involved, obviously, if you decide to sell,” I said carefully. “You’d receive the house back for free after I win—” I cut off, gurgling.

  Ugh.

  She shook her head. “If you win, I’ll pay you every cent for the fucking house that you gave me. Tetleys don’t accept handouts.”

  Boy, didn’t I know it. Nothing made her angrier than charity—thus why I had to give her my hand-me-downs for Christmas.

  “Just think about it,” I said. “You know why I’m doing this. You know why Grandmother did it. If you work for me from the estate, it means I can better ensure your safety too.”

  Tommy shook her head, eyes fixed on the desk. “I just— My world was flipped a week ago and now there’s this to add to the shit heap.”

  Guilt churned low in my gut. “I know.”

  “Lucky, bats are my spirit animal.”

  I frowned at her, then rolled my eyes. “Because bats sleep upside-down and your world was flipped?”

  “That right there is why we’re friends. You speak Tommy Tetley. Yes, lovely. I’ll work for you—for double my current pay, not triple. I don’t know jack shit about HR. When I’m earning you buttloads, we can talk again.”

  I studied her. “You have a way with words, friend.”

  “When do I start?”

  “How long have you worked at that laundry place?”

  “Eight years.”

  “How long have you hated it?”

  “Eight years.”

  I stretched my hand out. “How’s tomorrow?”

  “You’ve got yourself a deal, Basil.” She slid her hand up my wrist and we slapped each other’s forearms in a salmon shake.

  The telephone on the desk beeped. I swiped at it. “Yello?”

  Fred’s voice flooded the line. “Miss Le Spyre, your 10 o’clock appointment is here.”

  Fernando.

  My lips curved. “Thanks, Fred. I’ll be out soon.”

  Tommy’s brows were nearly in her hairline as I replaced the phone in the cradle. “I’ve seen that smile before. That’s your I’m about to hand someone their ass on a plate smile. Like that crazy bitch on The Hunger Games who files her teeth to points.”

  What? Like fangs? Tempting, but I wasn’t a wannabe Vissimo.

  “Fred will put you in touch with other members of my Churchill team who will mentor and guide you in your new role,” I said. “Your job is to expand my acquisition team. To do this, you’ll work under a fake name. I’ll need you and your father to live here full time—in case of backlash.”

  Tommy pursed her lips. “That’ll be a hard sell to Dad… You said that Daniel’s under the impression a criminal chain is after us? I can just tell Dad that security measures are heightened until the criminals are caught and you want everyone on site until the risk passes.”

  And this was why I’d hired her. I trusted her brain.

  “Not a bad idea for the short term.” Most of my staff lived onsite anyway. “I’ll get Fred to spread the word to reinforce it.”

  Tommy brushed off her ruby-red leggings and casual, mustard off-the-shoulder dress as she stood, looking effortlessly classy as always. “I’ll leave you to open the can of whoop-ass on whoever’s waiting outside. Just one more thing though.”

  I peered up from the email sent by the CEO of MediKnow, my medical supplies company. “What’s that?”

  She pointed at the three open jewellery cases by my elbow. They were delivered this morning. “We gonna talk about those massive fucking sapphires?”

  The Udytrite sapphire set included a necklace, bracelet, and earrings inlaid in white gold. Udytrite was an invite-only custom jewellery designer. The set would have cost Kyros a small fortune.

  I wrinkled my nose. “Want them?”

  “Not my style. Maybe you could donate them to the op shop?” she said.

  Huh? “What’s that?”

  “A second-hand store. Y S I S, bitch.”

  Your snob is showing. Dammit.

  It was tempting, but donating the set wouldn’t have Kyros slamming down my door and demanding answers so I could seduce the suit pants off of him. “I don’t think so, but I’m not keeping them.”

  She snarled. “Fucker thinks he can buy you back with bullshit trinkets?”

  Sadness and amusement warred for first place. In the background of my mind, I could feel Kyros. Awake and frustrated. “Yeah. As a Le Spyre, I don’t have nearly enough trinkets.”

&nbs
p; We exchanged a grin before she left.

  Taking my time replying to the MediKnow CEO, I then tidied the strewn papers on my desk, and walked to the door.

  I steeled myself at the sight of Fernando waiting on the piano bench.

  “Fernando,” I said gravely.

  The blood remaining in his face drained away and his blue eyes blazed—showing his loss of control. I had no idea how powerful this vampire was and knew very little about his mother’s debt or how much he owed. For what I had in mind, those details were insignificant.

  He entered the office, and I closed the door, pushing the noise-cancelling button.

  “Sit down,” I said.

  He blurred to sit on the chaise, and I crossed my arms, studying him.

  The vampire hung his head. “I’m a cowa—”

  “I’ll make this quick, Fernando, because, honestly, your selfish actions nearly killed me, and they killed twelve people who you claim to uphold as brothers and sisters. I can barely stand to be in the same room as you.”

  Fernando flinched violently.

  “All you need to know is that the lives of you and your sister are in my hands. Do you understand that one word to Kyros will end your life and throw your sister into slavery?”

  He closed his eyes. “Yes.”

  Good. “We’re on the same page. From this moment forward, Fernando, your ass is mine. You work for me until I say otherwise.”

  His eyes widened, in sync with my canary-eating smile.

  He shifted on the chaise. “What kind of work?”

  I ambled to my desk. “Nothing you’re unfamiliar with. You’ll spy on Clan Sundulus and Clan Fyrlia for me.”

  His silence was music to my ears. I looked up, allowing the memory of the Indebted’s mass grave in Orange to fuel my hardness.

  My voice was harsh. “I want their plans. I want their bluffs. I want their movements. Everything. You’ll continue under the guise of spying for Clan Fyrlia to keep access to their inner workings.”

  Fernando hadn’t blinked in the last minute. “I’ll need to give them information to keep my cover intact.”

  I tilted my head. “I don’t give a fuck what you tell them about Sundulus. If you must give them information about me or this estate, you’re to discuss the details with me in advance. Is that clear?”

  “Y-Yes, Miss Le Spyre.”

  “And Fernando?”

  He waited, perhaps sensing the trap in my purring tone.

  I perched on the desk. “If anything happens to make me suspect your allegiance has shifted again, know that I won’t wait for confirmation of your guilt. I won’t hesitate to alert Clan Sundulus of your betrayal. So you better ensure I’m very convinced of your innocence.”

  The remaining blood in his face drained away.

  Bluffing Basi was out in full force, but Fernando had to believe I meant what I said. This was yet another risk that could go terribly wrong if he decided to blab to Kyros. Laurel had agreed to use eye compulsion on him at random to ensure his loyalty, but Fernando didn’t need to know that.

  “I understand, Miss Le Spyre,” he said. “I won’t let you down.”

  I fixed him with a quelling look. “Let me down again, you mean?”

  He flushed.

  Rounding the desk, I settled into my grandmother’s chair, pulling out a notepad and pen. “Get comfortable. You’re about to spend the next few hours recounting every single thing you know about the clans, the members of the royal families, their current movements, blood exchanges, past strategies, and the clans’ positions in the game.”

  My past mishaps had arisen from ignorance.

  No more.

  13

  The door to my Live Right office opened.

  I’d felt his rage two minutes before and felt reasonably certain of the cause. In preparation for his arrival, I’d adjusted the low front of my skintight top so the swell of my breasts popped out to near nipple-displaying proportions. The bottom hem of the top was tucked into sailor-blue ankle-length pants, a thin brown belt accented my narrow waist, and a blazer with vertical stripes completed the look.

  I’m too busy for small boys. That’s what this outfit, equipped with a high ponytail, put across.

  I liked to think.

  “Basilia,” he said.

  I didn’t look up from Monocle. “Kyros. Good afternoon.”

  His rage swelled in response to my amusement, but the control of his reaction was disappointing. He’d opened the door almost normally and maintained personal distance.

  “You gave the jewellery I sent you to another woman,” he said, stalking into the room.

  That’s more like it.

  Heat smouldered deep within me as he drew closer, and I clenched my thighs together, trying to force the reactions of my body into a box as I did with vampire-induced fear. “Her name is Leila. She works for you. Doesn’t the set look great on her?”

  My amusement.

  His rage.

  “I take it you either didn’t care for my gift or you’re too angry to accept it.” He reached the desk and didn’t stop, continuing around with the same predatory grace to where I sat.

  I tensed as he moved behind my chair. This must be what it was like to play dead while a grizzly sniffed at your neck.

  Typing the next address on my list into Monocle, I said, “I take it you’re either surprised I didn’t accept your gift after you used me to get at my money or you’re unhappy with the replacement woman I selected so you’d leave me the fuck alone.”

  His hands rested on the back of my chair. “I’m not interested in Leila. Nor any other. They don’t have what I want.”

  Burn. Leila could probably hear him.

  I jotted another few notes and snapped the file shut, shoving it in my oversized Didi purse.

  Standing, I turned to Kyros and slowly removed my glasses. “What do you want in a woman again? A puppet, wasn’t it?”

  His green eyes blazed and he shoved aside the chair between us, clamping an arm around my waist to pull me flush against his hard body.

  “You, Basilia,” he said, drawing his nose from my jaw to temple. “I want you like none other.”

  My inhale hitched.

  Allowing the thought of him to fill me, I lifted on tiptoes, ensuring my breasts brushed his chest. “How can you be certain of that? We don’t know each other.”

  I trailed my lips up his neck in whisper-soft kisses, pausing at the corner of his mouth.

  “You are my true mate.”

  Hmm. “I’m not so sure.”

  “You will be.”

  The white-hot flash under his words jolted through me, nearly eliciting a gasp. I tempered it, peeking up at him through my lashes. “You must have been with a lot of women in your time.”

  The question was out before I could stop it.

  Not part of the plan.

  Kyros’s lips curved. “I was a teenager for thirty years. Does that answer your question?”

  I refused to feel anything over his admission. There was nothing between us.

  His green eyes glinted. “Female Vissimo don’t find monogamy desirable, and I demand it. Most need a harem to have any chance at conceiving.”

  I stepped back, tucking my purse under my arm. “Pretty sure dating the crown prince would appeal plenty to those interested in furthering their social status.”

  He lifted a shoulder. “Perhaps. It is simple for me, Basilia. My true mate exists, and so no one else does.”

  Ugh, I hated that term. True mate.

  I brought the conversation back to my initial script. “Did you really think I’d be swayed by meaningless jewellery?”

  “You want me, I can feel it,” he snarled as I walked to the office door.

  I cast a look back, smiling inwardly as he tracked the swing of my ponytail. “You have nothing I want, Kyros, and I’m not something you can win. Let’s keep it friendly and go our separate ways. After that thrall bullshit, I’m sure you have some pent-up frustration. Fuc
k knows I do. Turn your attention to one of your fellow Vissimo to scratch the itch, and I’ll turn my attention elsewhere too. That’s simple for both of us.”

  Black fury churned through our bond. He didn’t move, but I could feel that simple restraint took every sliver of his control.

  “You will enter another man’s bed over my dead fucking body,” he said in a voice of ice.

  I shrugged. “Doesn’t have to be in a bed. I’ve always wanted to have sex on a car bonnet. A wall. A swimming pool. I’m only twenty-one. Sounds like a good time to explore to me. Oh! But I did have something else to tell you.”

  His jaw clenched and he didn’t answer.

  I couldn’t feel anything from him but intense focus.

  Yep, he was one second from losing it.

  “The Vissimo on my property. They’re scaring my staff, dressed in black leather and lurking in freakin’ corners. They either need to act normal or get the fuck off my property.”

  The churning possessiveness in him receded.

  I’d play this to-and-fro seduction until he lost all control. Fourth exchange, here we come.

  Kyros’s eyes flashed. “The Indebted stay until the threat against you is cleared.”

  We both knew that was a lie. Unless I was in his tower, the Indebted would stay. His jerk ass couldn’t handle anything less.

  But that worked in with my plans.

  I shook my head. “They’ll have to act more like my friends and less like guards. People talk, I’m sure you can see how that’s a bad thing.”

  The back of the chair cracked in his grip.

  I continued. “Glad we could come to an agreement. I’ll come by after my shift ends to pick up my stuff from Level 61.”

  Desperation curled around my heart, none of it mine. What was it that Laurel said? The desperate weren’t known for their 20/20 vision?

  Yeah, I was counting on that.

  “I have no issue with you moving off Level 61,” Kyros stated, slipping a hand into his trouser pocket as he approached me. “Reconsider taking your possessions from the tower.”

  My back pressed into the door frame as he leaned over me.

  Lust. Anger. Hurt.