“Come and sit down.” She didn’t move. “Please.”
She took a seat beside him, looking up at him with a trembling bottom lip.
“You haven’t called me ‘chér’ since you’ve been here.”
“You know that my thirst for blood has increased.” Michelle nodded. “There’s a reason for that. An ancient one.” She didn’t say anything, but he saw the fear in her eyes. “It’s very rare for this to happen.”
“I’m scared, Remi.”
“A thirst on the level that I’m experiencing... it only occurs when a vampire’s fated bloodmate is close by.”
“You were with me, Remi! Each time it happened, I was there! Remember? Either in the apartment or the car! I’ve been with you while you’ve been suffering! I was there to help you! That means it’s me!”
He shook his head and said, “I don’t wanna tell you this. I don’t wanna hurt you.”
“You assured me you meant what you said! That losing me would be unbearable!”
“And I meant it with all my being.”
“Now you’re saying it isn’t true?”
“I don’t love you, Michelle. Not anymore. It’s out of my hands.”
“But you did love me?”
He nodded, hating himself for the way he had to hurt her to make her hear him.
“Those feelings are gone as if they never existed.”
“No! No! I don’t believe that! You’re just confused because of this weird thing that’s happening! It’ll come back!”
“Non, I’m perfectly clear on what I need to do.”
“And what’s that?”
He whispered, “I have to find Sophie.”
“Why?” Remi looked into her eyes and then away when recognition of what he’d said crossed her face. “SOPHIE? The girl I helped at Marcel’s? She’s your mate instead of me? You’ve never even met her!”
“I know, yet I can’t fight this. Her clothes that were in the laundry room…. Once I found them, I felt whole on a level I’ve never known. Her scent is what’s driving me, compelling me, to be with her. She and I belong together.”
“No!”
“Michelle, listen to me. My desire for her surpasses anything I’ve ever felt in the past... for Grace or for you.”
“What? You don’t wanna try? For me?”
“I’ll keep my promise to take care of you.”
“How can you say that? You’re ripping my heart out, Remi! This can’t be happening!”
“Before this hit me, you made me so happy, and I intended to never let you go.”
With tears streaming down her cheeks, she slid off the sofa, down to the floor, and wrapped her arms around his leg, as she begged, “Then, please, Remi! Let’s run away, somewhere that whatever this thing is can’t touch you! Where we can be together!”
“I would end up killing you, Michelle. I came close once already! I won’t allow that to happen.”
“What do you mean?”
“It was when we were driving back from Luc’s, and you thought you passed out. I was overcome, Michelle. You offered to feed me, and… I became lost in your blood. You almost died because of me. I brought you back when you went limp in my arms. You were barely breathing.”
“I don’t believe you, Remi! You would never do that to me! I told you that Paulette—”
“I did!” he yelled, and then he lowered his voice. “We can’t outrun the Thirst. It will become more and more impossible for me to control. The night would come when I would drink you until your heart no longer beats, and I would have no desire to save you. Only being mated with Sophie will give me peace.”
“Not if I’m a vampire! You couldn’t kill me then! I’d already be dead!” Thrusting her wrist up to him, she cried, “Do it, Remi!”
“It doesn’t work that way!” he shouted, slapping his thighs with his hands.
“There’s no hope?” Remi shook his head. “The cards! Ask them! Play them on me like you used to do! They’ll tell you to keep me!”
Withdrawing the deck, he looked into her eyes and said, “Hold out your hands.”
After shuffling them, he laid one on her left palm and another on the right.
With tears of his own clouding his vision, he said, “If this one is higher, we try to find a solution. If the other is, the Thirst has won.”
Turning the first, he revealed a three of clubs.
“No! Please, God! Please!”
“Don’t make me do this, Michelle.”
“There’s still a chance!”
“You know which side will lose.”
“No, I don’t! And neither do you!”
Remi remained silent after flipping the second—the king of hearts.
He dropped his gaze to her trembling hands, not knowing what else he could do, as he was unable to lessen her pain. The cards said it all. He took them back and set the deck on the coffee table.
Michelle fell over and curled into a ball, wailing, screaming, her fingers bunched in her hair, as she understood the reality of what he’d told her.
“God, please! No! This isn’t happening! It can’t be! I’ve loved him since the night we met!”
Gathering her up into his arms, he sat back down and rocked her while she cried, as the Thirst raged through his veins.
“I am so very sorry.”
Chapter 25
The next night, Remi walked through his apartment, going to get another whiskey mixed with blood, while he waited for Luc to arrive with his contacts from The Directive.
He’d somberly packed Michelle’s things and arranged for them to be delivered to her. Paulette was keeping her company and helping her to understand that none of what happened, the end of their relationship, was Remi’s choice. The universe had decided for them, and though he agonized and sympathized with her, a part of him was growing anxious to find Sophie and make her his. In the short time since they discovered what was ailing him, his feelings for Michelle had disappeared.
Hearing footsteps, Remi went to the door and opened it. Luc entered first, followed by the others.
“Please.” He gestured to the living room. “Take a seat wherever you like.”
“Thank you.”
After they were settled, Luc introduced everyone.
“So,” Clarence said, “I understand you have news.”
“Perhaps,” Luc replied, as he went to the bar.
He brought back four bottles of Abita and handed them to the members of The Directive.
“Go on,” Jana said.
As they listened, Luc explained how the Thirst had affected Remi, and then he went on to tell them about Sophie, Gregor, and Hans. Lastly, he relayed what he and Remi had found at Marcel’s—how they were able to enter the establishment, which meant the owner of it had to have been dead.
“Do you know them?” Remi asked Clarence.
“I’ve heard of them,” Ethan said. “They moved into a place in the French Quarter. Not sure how long ago. Never had any reason to check them out.”
“Until now,” Clarence said, before taking a swig. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
“Where?” Remi asked. “I’m going with you.”
“No, you’re not!” Jana rose to her full height, her eyes going yellow, as she stared at Remi. “This is Directive business, and you will stand down! There is more at stake here than the Thirst!”
Luc grabbed Remi by his arm and said, “He won’t interfere. I’ll make sure of it.”
“You fuck this up for us,” Jana growled, “and I’m coming for you, Remi Bellerive, and I have all the resources of The Directive at my disposal. Understand?”
“She’s my bloodmate.”
“And you’ll have her as soon as we do.”
“Are you going to cause problems for us, Remi?” Clarence asked. “I can have you removed and locked away until this is resolved. Maybe longer. Inmate records can get lost so easily. Sad when that happens.”
Luc stepped in front of Remi and said, “Tha
t won’t be necessary.”
“I hear you saying that. Not him.”
It wasn’t the threat of incarceration that scared Remi. The thought that he wouldn’t be able to go to Sophie once she was found forced his agreement.
“Oui. I won’t go over there.”
“I think we’ll put some surveillance on this apartment to make sure you aren’t tempted to stray.”
“Oui. I understand.”
The rest of them stood, and Remi watched Ethan’s gaze slide to the boxes of Michelle’s things. He eased over to them, bent down, and sniffed the air deeply.
“Remi, who does this stuff belong to?”
“Why?”
Ethan shrugged and said, “Just wondering.”
“My ex. I’m gonna be sending them to her where she’s living now.”
“Oh, okay. What’s her name?” he asked, inhaling once more.
“Michelle.”
“Hmm. She’s got a stronger scent than most females I’ve been around.”
“You coming, Ethan?”
Jerking his head up, he nodded and said, “Yeah, but can we get something to eat first?”
“We’ll stop by a drive-thru on the way.”
“Good. I’m starving.”
Clarence pinned Remi with his eyes, saying, “And you? Are you able to control your Thirst?”
“Oui.”
“How?”
“Drinking around 40 pints a night.”
Jana shook her head in understanding, as she said, “That’s some rough stuff you’re going through, but it’ll be worth it in the end.”
“That’s what I’ve heard.”
“Do what we say, and it won’t stretch out any longer than it has to. I’d hate to see the two of you go insane from not being together.”
“I think I’m half-way there already.”
“You have no idea how bad the Thirst could take you over,” Jana said. “When it’s reached its pinnacle, death is a mercy, one I’ve personally delivered in the past.” Remi nodded. “We’ll be in touch.”
Chapter 26
“Sir, there’s a car at the gate. They’re asking to come inside.”
“Who is it?”
“All they would say is that they’re here on The Directive’s business.”
“Go tell Hans to make sure Sophie’s quiet and to come to my office after he’s changed his clothes.”
“Yes, sir. And the visitors?”
“Let them in, take them to the study on the other side of the house, and tell them I’m on a business call but will be with them momentarily. And use the outside walkway. I don’t want them coming in the front door.”
“Yes, sir.”
Gregor went to the window and watched, as the limousine slowly made its way up the driveway, the headlamps shining dual streams of light. It then wound around to where the guard told them to park. The chauffeur got out and went to the back of the vehicle, opening the door for the occupants.
“Clarence Collins… and Jana Noskova. A vampire and a shifter. Covering their bases well.”
“Gregor!” Hans called out from behind him.
“Hans! How is our fair Sophie doing under your guidance?”
“As I told you she would be—pliant, yielding, and obedient.”
“Perfect! And she’ll stay silent for a while?”
“She’ll do whatever I tell her to do.”
“Anything?”
“Yes. I can give you a demonstration later if you’d like.”
“That won’t be necessary. It might give her hope that her time with you is over.”
“I’ve enjoyed her tears.”
“Enough talk about Sophie. As long as that independent spirit is squashed, that’s all I care about. You’re aware that The Directive is here....” Hans nodded. “We must endeavor to get them to our side.” Gregor’s eyes went to slits. “We have to be clever about it and not let them suspect anything.”
“Of course.”
“If worse comes to worst, there’re only three of them.”
“I’ll dump the shifter in the swamp. We can sweep up the ashes of the vampire and figure out what to do with the third once we have him trapped.”
“Agreed. Let’s go.”
They left Gregor’s office, and on their way to the study, they passed the door behind which Sophie was being held. Pausing, Gregor listened with his enhanced preternatural hearing.
“Not a peep!”
“She knows better than to disobey me.”
Gregor turned back, and they proceeded down the hallway. After a few turns, they reached the study, and he opened the door.
“Hello! Please excuse my tardiness. I had business to attend to, but now I’m available for whatever The Directive needs. Oh! I was told that three of you had arrived.”
“Ethan is with the car.”
“I see.” Gregor smiled and approached them, holding out his hand. “Gregor Gaines, and this is my right-hand man, Hans Fischer.”
“Clarence Collins.”
“Jana Noskova.”
“A pleasure. Please sit.”
“We have a serious matter to discuss that requires your complete discretion.” Clarence leaned forward, towards Gregor. “And honesty.”
“Of course.”
“We want to talk to you about a woman who’s missing. She was last seen running from...” Clarence paused and flicked his eyes to Hans. “...you.”
The moment they arrived, Ethan had sensed that something was off about the place, and he told Clarence and Jana as much.
He crept around the estate, careful to keep his steps as quiet as possible. The grounds were dimly lit, but as a wolf shifter, he had no trouble seeing in the dark. His stomach rumbled, and he wondered at that, since he’d eaten a bucket of fried chicken and okra on the drive over.
The youngest in his family of eight brothers, he was also the shortest at 6’2”.
Maybe I’m gonna have a growth spurt and catch up with the rest of the guys. Or… maybe it’s the Legendary Hunger. Michelle’s clothes smelled awful good, and now I’m starving. But it just took Tomas. Is it coming for me, too? It couldn’t take one brother after the other, could it? Nah…
Reaching the end of the side of the building, he peered around the corner and saw two guards smoking. He brought his gun out of his jacket, holding it with both hands, muzzle pointed to the dirt.
“Yeah, I don’t know what they did with her,” one of them said. “Hadn’t seen hide nor hair of her for a while now.”
“You think they killed her?”
“Nope.”
“Why?”
“They let that last lady go who’d messed up. Gave her some trainin’ or whatnot, and then she was back on the straight and narrow with the bossman. It’s probably the same thing now.”
“I’m sure you’re right.”
They wandered off, as Ethan eased away from the wall and began making his way back to the car. Clarence had told him to be ready to go at midnight, which was almost upon them.
They had to be talking about Sophie. And who is the other woman? We need to find her, too!
Chapter 27
Back in their hotel suite, they gathered around the table in the makeshift office they had set up.
“They were lying through their teeth,” Jana said, as she set her valise on it and opened her laptop.
“You thought so, too?” Clarence asked.
Ethan opened the jumbo-sized bag of chips he’d bought from the 24-hour convenience store and took his seat.
“What’d they tell ya?”
“In my experience as an investigator, an innocent man will go to great lengths to explain why he didn’t do something, where he was when the offense occurred, who he was with.... Neither Gregor nor Hans did that. They spoke as little and as circumspectly as they could.”
Looking at his pad of paper, he read the following notes:
“Do you know a woman named Sophie?
Gregor: That’s what you’re her
e about? The mighty Directive in my home about that thief?
Hans: Nods head.
We know that Sophie was last seen running from you, Hans. Why was she doing that?
Gregor: I can answer that. Sophie had stolen something from me, and Hans was merely trying to recover it from her. She left at some point during the day when we were at rest. He began his search once he was able.
What did she steal?
Gregor: Something worth a great deal to me.
And that was?
Gregor: A lucky charm. Small thing really, but it was special to me. She knew that, and she was trying to hurt me by robbing me.
Did she give it back?
Gregor: Yes, she did.
Where is she?
Gregor: I heard through the grapevine that she was moving to Boise, Idaho. I assume that’s where she is now. I haven’t spoken to her in quite some time.
And you, Hans?
Sophie’s never liked me. I suppose even less so now, since I took the treasured item from her. Whatever Gregor said must be true.
Are you aware of any humans who’ve gone missing?
Gregor: This is New Orleans. I’m sure it happens all the time.
Hans: Shrugged.”
Clarence flipped through the rest of his notes.
“The entire interview was like that.”
Jana looked up from her PC and said, “Listen to this. Marcel was killed by the police. This local online news story says that he resisted arrest during a routine traffic stop and moved towards the officer in a threatening manner. Fearing for his own safety, the cop shot him. An ambulance was called to rush Marcel to the hospital, but he was dead on arrival.”
“Does it say where that happened?” Clarence leaned forward. “If anyone else was with him?”
“No.”
“What about witness statements?”
“None are quoted in the article.”
“And so, the plot thickens.”
Ethan popped another chip into his mouth and said, “I heard a couple of guards talking, while I was outside doing surveillance.”
“And?”
“They didn’t name names, but it was pretty clear to me that they were talking about Sophie. One was wondering if Gregor had killed a woman. The other was convinced he hadn’t, because apparently, some other female had betrayed Gregor. They said she was trained, whatever that means, before she was released.”
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