“Go on,” Bishop prompted as if nothing was wrong.
Going on two nights and they hadn’t found the kid. Much like human time frames for missing children, each day that passed spelled a worse outcome for the child.
The thug Bishop had hunted down earlier was lying through his teeth, but Bishop sensed he didn’t know anything. The male was mostly concerned with protecting himself and his own in underhanded dealings.
Bishop held up a hand to stop him. “Pilsner, do you or do you not know of any vampires looking to market children?”
“No, Master Laurent, no one’s approached me for documents for a minor. I swear to you, I wouldn’t provide service to any who’d mean our young harm.”
Unless the price was right. They often hit Pilsner up for information, and with a certain level of bribery, he was very accommodating—to an extent. Pilsner protected his revenue stream; he’d never turn in his client base. But he’d gladly turn over those who interfered with business, and customers who brought Demetrius and his crew knocking on his door fit the bill.
“You know how to reach me if you hear anything.”
Bishop ignored the sniveling male and stalked away. His demon-bitch-induced migraine blocked out the words.
Before he met up with Rourke at the latest crime scene, Bishop roamed the quiet streets. He didn’t get out much lately. It shamed him he was relieved Grace’s drama redirected his team’s focus from his unusual behavior. Hanging out in his place watching movies shouldn’t be a cause for concern, but he’d been known for how frequently he fed his baser drives.
At least until that demoness tricked him. He shook his head, his body growing to half-mast hearing her sultry voice float through his mind. Since he couldn’t cruise the social scene for sex, he was reduced to jerking off to her summons. Adding salt to a wound didn’t begin to describe it.
Rubbing his forehead, he glanced up before he wandered into trouble with either humans or vampires.
An attractive woman sauntered toward him. Any other night, pre-bonding, she would’ve turned his head. Not the normal sexpot who approached him at the clubs, she possessed the curves and the stature he looked for.
I choose what you like, Bishop.
Oh, fuck.
He slowed to a standstill. She approached, her eyes reflecting her delight.
“It’s you, isn’t it?” His body knew the answer. Their bond electrified his nerves, until he was aroused to painful levels.
“Bishop.” The human’s voice purred. Pleasant enough, but not sex to his ears like the one in his head. “I’m flattered you recognized me.”
She curved an arm into his; he jerked as if shocked. Their connection had grown even stronger. He followed as she led him into the darkened entry of a store. To any onlookers, they’d appear to be any other couple trying to sneak a quiet moment.
He pried her off and pushed her to one side as he stepped back to the other. “What do you want?”
Those pretty red lips pouted. She eyed him coyly and fingered the low slung collar of her wrap dress. “I take care of you. You must be starving.”
He was. Hunger roared so sudden he slammed himself against the wall of the cove to keep from jumping the woman. As much as he wanted to throttle the demon until she turned blue and her head popped off, he wouldn’t hurt an innocent human, not even one who was dumb enough to play with demons.
She swiveled her hips. “What’s wrong, my big strong male? This host knew what to expect when I took over…mostly.”
“You lie to them.” He didn’t have to ask. Demon equaled lie.
Her cunningness shone through the host’s brown eyes. “You think so little of me. She was told I needed her to talk with a vampire.”
“You’d use her body to fuck me.”
The demon dramatically rolled her eyes. “Please. The idea of feeding a vampire thrills her. Why do you think these little pretenders flock to—well it doesn’t matter.”
Note to self: find the fucker who recruits the hosts and rip his fucking head off. “Feeding, demon. Not fucking.”
The pout returned. “She’ll feel nothing but pleasure, and you excel at that Bishop.”
His body screamed yes I do, yes I do. Her fucking proximity was making him go haywire.
She waved her hand to change the subject and adopted an enticing simper. “Anyway, I’ll feed you after you tell me all the juicy news happening in your world.”
“I will tell you nothing.”
“Aww, Bishop. That’s cute, but I need to hear all the details.” She thrust her breasts out, as if that was all it took for him to turn on his team.
He said nothing.
The teasing grin fell from her face. “I need you to talk. All of it.”
Driven to obey her command, his mouth opened. He snapped it shut.
“Come on, come on, Bishop. What do you and your fearless leader Demetrius know about demons, huh? What is he planning?”
All the information poured into his head, pushing to get out. He had an urgent need to tell her about the tome Calli found in her dad’s possession, the murders they were investigating, the families they knew who hosted one of the thirteen.
He gritted his teeth. No! His friends were his family; his job encompassed the entirety of his being. None of them would be lost this way.
“Bishop,” her voice had an edge, “tell me everything.”
The words danced on his tongue, coaxing it to wind itself around each syllable and pass them onto her.
“Tell me, vampire.”
Strangling sounds crawled out of his throat. He choked them back down.
“No.”
Her eyes grew wide in disbelief, then narrowed in determination. “Tell me, Bishop.”
He fought back the urge. “No.” She opened her mouth to command him again, but he laid a finger over her lips. Desire flared deep in her gaze. “I don’t turn on my friends. Gut me, torture me, send me to Hell, I won’t say a word.”
His finger dropped, and he waited for her tirade, her commands.
She blinked. Blinked again. “Do you think for one minute any of them would remain loyal to you?”
It wasn’t a sneer or a statement of derision. She was genuinely curious.
“Not for one second.”
The demon drew back like the concept was foreign to her. Her world must be a very miserable place. A tendril of compassion snaked through his heart, and he stomped that shit back in place.
She was a demon whose goal was to destroy his team, his friends, him.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
A conniving smile twisted her lips. And she was back. “You want to learn about me, vampire? After your disobedience, I will reward you with nothing.”
“I’ll find someone else to feed on.”
A flare of jealousy passed through her expression. Her smile faltered.
Interesting. He’d use it. “I’ll find someone else to fuck while I’m at it.”
A flush pressed up through the human’s cheeks, beads of sweat broke on her forehead. A wave of heat pressed toward him. The girl looked like she had a sunburn. The demon’s power was behind it and if she didn’t cool off, she’d kill the human host.
His softer side won out over cruelty. “Fine. I’ll feed from you…if you tell me your name.”
The heat dissipated. Her threat of not giving him a vein turned empty once he’d threatened to go elsewhere to feed. His gut twisted. Even the human’s body didn’t appeal to him like it should.
She wiped her sweaty forehead off and studied him. “No name. You’ve been a bad boy.”
He growled with frustration. Why was her name so critical anyway? Demon fit her just fine. “Why hide it, demon? We knew Draken’s name when he went after Calli.”
Her features clouded over at Draken’s name. Bishop catalogued that for later. Everything learned about his demon would help his plight.
Her fingers twiddled and she shifted her stance. The first signs of true emotion she’
d ever expressed. Or she could be fucking with him.
“Draken was a little too single-minded.” A grin transformed her back to the trickster she preferred. “I have plans for you. Come.” She waved him toward her and bared her neck. “Feed.”
His fangs throbbed. His hunger suddenly didn’t care he wasn’t crazy about feeding off the human. “We are bound. Why don’t you cross in your true form, why use hosts?”
Her throaty laugh went straight to his cock. “The human world can’t handle me.”
Irritated at his body’s reaction around her, he struck. She purred her approval and hugged his head to her neck.
Damn, he should’ve used her wrist. The lush body rubbing against him threated to override his good sense. No! He wouldn’t take the human. Blood he needed to fight the demon, and it might as well be from a human who allegedly catered to cult life.
His demon reached for his fly, but he shifted. She tried again. Bishop swallowed one more mouthful and closed the wounds. He batted her hands away from his crotch. An idea formed in his mind. His demon had a thing for him. She targeted him, stalked him, and the sex she wanted from him with each encounter was about her, not about using and abusing the hosts’ bodies.
He pinned her against her side of the cove, towering over her. Confidence slipped from her expression and her pupils dilated. Oh yes, she wanted him.
“The next time we fuck, demon, it’ll be with your real body.” His shaft screamed its approval at the thought. Fucking bond. His demon shouldn’t be able to string his libido along like a marionette.
“Be careful with the game you play.” She cupped his manhood, her approval written in her sultry smile. “You want to fuck the real me?”
“No,” he snarled.
The tendril of a lie wafted up to his nose. Hellfire! She controlled him so completely he was turning on himself.
She threaded her hands around his neck. He resisted her attempt to draw his head down to her lips. “I’ll let you have the real me. Just tell me what you know about my world.”
The words welled up. He quashed them back down. “No.”
Heat assaulted him. She was pissed.
No, not just angry. The look in her eye was also…worried?
“I’ll sever our bond,” she offered. “Give me something to take back.”
To be free of her? He should rejoice. Instead his libido mourned the loss of connection before she’d even followed through.
But…he’d never turn on his people. The drawback of a human host was how it dulled the senses. At least, he assumed it would. And he wouldn’t need to lie completely, just feed her impertinent information.
“You’ll free me?”
Meeting his gaze, she said, “I swear.”
Hope surged, but still…she was a demon.
He pretended to think about it when he was really trying to figure out what to tell her. “We’re trying to learn about your world, but we don’t have much to go on. Draken told us things when he was chasing Calli.”
She made a disgusted sound. “He always liked displaying his power. What did he say?”
“He could bond and cross into our plane in his true form.” He omitted the part where having a baby with his bonded would allow him a free pass to cross back and forth, even after the Circle had secured their thirteen hosts and ruled the earthly plane.
“What else?”
“He kept asking us where the book is.” Total lie. “We’ve determined it’s like an instruction manual on demons, and we’d like to possess it.” Not an untruth. They certainly would like to keep it.
“Why would Draken have thought you had it?”
He shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal. “I guess Calli’s mother was big into your world, a power hungry bitch.” His demon nodded like she approved of what Calli’s mother had done. “We don’t know what she did with it.”
“How many hosts to the Circle do you know about?”
What should he tell her? “If they weren’t involved in Calli’s abduction to hand her over to Draken…” He shrugged, letting her think it so he didn’t risk a lie. “Now free me.”
“Oh my dear Bishop. You’re mine.”
She waved a hand in front of his face, and like before, he slipped into unconsciousness and crashed to the pavement.
Chapter Twelve
The carnival was going full force when Grace flashed to the approved section Osiris had shown her. No brimstone-laced scent lingered. She must’ve arrived first.
Her sneakers whispered across the pavement as she entered the throng of fair-goers. The few dollars she’d thrown into her pocket burned a hole with each game she passed. Especially the darts. All night wouldn’t be enough to stand there and pop balloon after balloon until she upgraded to the four-foot plush unicorn, and repeat.
She wove her way through giggling couples. A ping of longing hit her. She touched the spot on her forehead where Rourke’s lips might as well have branded her. Screams swirled from the ride she approached. Metal cars swung around an elliptical path, rocking and swinging on a rotating oval boom.
There he stood, gathering his share of admiring glances from the single ladies in the crowd.
How he and Rourke resembled each other. Same tall, fit body, same broad shoulders tapering to a lean waist. The dark hair and nearly black eyes cinched the similarities, but Grace knew better. Rourke’s dark coffee irises still weren’t demon black like she’d seen his brother’s turn.
Then there was the smile. As much as Grace would love to put one on Rourke’s face, she’d do without until it was real. Osiris’ was not.
Dressing down today, Osiris? If he was attempting to blend in, his burgundy silk button up and pressed slacks were a fail. They made an odd pairing with her worn and comfortable jeans and hoodie. The chill in the air required a sweater. Vampires still got cold. The demon within Osiris must offer him heat to wear a thin shirt like that.
“Grace.”
His false smile set off an itch between her shoulder blades, like she was a target. Which she guessed she was.
“Osiris.” She struggled to keep her tone neutral. He couldn’t know she suspected him of all the murders, but she couldn’t appear to betray Rourke so easily. Not after Osiris hinted at a deeper connection between her and Rourke.
So badly, she wanted to trade the location of her possible birth parents for the location of the missing child. With their picture in mind, she could’ve approached Rourke and Demetrius about finding them. But the request would reveal she didn’t buy Osiris’ bullshit, and by default, that she knew he was behind the murders.
“Walk with me, Grace. Tell me everything you’ve learned.”
He flared an elbow out like she was supposed to hook on to it. She shoved her hands in her pockets instead.
His deep chuckle would be sexy, if he wasn’t evil. “Don’t tell me my brother’s winning you over with his lies.”
“I’m being cautious on both accounts.”
“Even though he’s taken everything away from you?” His tone was cool. “Twice?”
“That remains to be confirmed.”
“He’s responsible. Trust me.”
She almost scoffed, but no wave of lies hit her nose. Her brows drew in. Confidence Rourke wasn’t involved dropped to pretty sure he wasn’t involved. Argh! She was a school teacher; intrigue was not her forte.
“I don’t trust either of you.”
His cocked eyebrow. No lie emanated from her and that cracked a fissure in her heart. This evening when she woke, albeit alone, she would’ve confirmed she undoubtedly trusted Rourke. Yet, Osiris’ words ate away at her confidence—like he’d intended them to.
She just didn’t know what Rourke’s role was in everything. It’s not because she thought he really stole her families from her.
As they strolled, she reported Rourke’s routine the last two nights. Humans sauntered past, oblivious to the paranormal creatures among them. She was no threat to them, but Osiris, she imagined would kill t
hem indiscriminately.
“Are you ready for your next assignment, my dear?”
“I’d like to meet my parents.” Another itch settled in between her shoulder blades. She checked the crowd to see if someone was watching her.
“All in good time. My brother is still at large, putting any kin of yours in danger.” His gaze also roamed the throng of people, like he sensed something was unsettling her.
If Osiris wasn’t responsible for her tickling sensation…what was going on?
“Can I at least see them? In person, so I know they really are still alive?” And I can lay my eyes on them and know I’m not alone.
She interpreted his lack of a decline as a positive sign. “Fine. I’ll take you to their home now. But you must promise me something in return.”
Whatever he asked couldn’t be good. She peered up at him from the corner of her eye. “What?”
“You must swear to repeat what I say.”
“What?” Swearing anything around this male was a tricky prospect. Kind of like making a deal with the devil.
“I have a phrase you’ll need to repeat for me, to swear I can trust you in this. Stopping Ozias’ reign of destruction is of the utmost importance.”
Like hell. Rourke was involved, but not in the killings. “How about I promise to think about it?”
A flurry of activity dragged Grace’s attention to her left. A security guard was squinting at her under the bright fair light, and the man she had an unfortunate incident with a few nights ago was pointing at her.
“Oh shit.” Resisting the temptation to flash immediately, she spun and walked swiftly through the throng of people.
“Hey!” the guard shouted.
“Grace.” Osiris easily caught up with her and wrapped his hand around her bicep. “Friends of yours?”
“I, uh…he thinks I tried to mug him.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “How interesting.”
She was tempted to peek at him, just to see how Rourke would look freely displaying humor.
When his laughter died, she glanced at him and didn’t care for the wicked gleam in his eye. Since he hauled her faster through the crowd, she had no choice but to go with him.
Rourke (New Vampire Disorder Book 2) Page 13
