Secrets of the Sapphires

by T. Sue VerSteeg

  Garrett stepped over to the bulky officer, hands up, complying with the order. “I’m an agent for the CIA. My badge is in my back pocket.”

  The obviously out of the loop official looked over the blood spattered, filthy mess of a man before him, raising a cynical brow. “Yeah, and I’m Elmer Fudd.”

  Nia kicked Garrett’s gun to the officer. “Seriously, look in his pocket.”

  After the befuddled officer looked over Garrett’s badge and called the number in, he holstered his gun, ran a hand over his shiny head. “I’m really sorry. You just look more the part of the intruder than the victim.”

  Garrett looked down at his bloody clothes. “That I do.”

  “And you look more like Mr. Clean than Elmer Fudd,” Nia muttered, sliding onto her back on the cold tile floor.

  The security guard glared at Nia. “I’ll go get someone to take a statement and take care of the body.” Mr. Clean disappeared through the door.

  Garrett carefully scooped Nia from the floor and tucked her into her bed. “You saved my life again. That means we aren’t even anymore.”

  Nia offered a weak smile through the excruciating pain. “I like it when the odds are in my favor.”

  As the medics picked Lexie’s inert body from the floor and put her into the body bag, Garrett slid onto Nia’s bed next to her, carefully enveloping her in his arms.

  “Are you okay?” He kissed her forehead.

  Nia nestled her head into the nape of his neck. “I am now. I can’t believe you remembered that I love daisies.”

  “Not just daisies, brightly colored daisies.”

  She felt him kiss the top of her head and began to relax. She looked down at the fresh crimson stains on his shirt. Startled, she snapped her gaze back to his. “Whose blood is that on you?”

  “That would be Brandon’s. I just rode with him in the ambulance back here. I probably wouldn’t have been here to help you if it hadn’t been for that.”

  Panic again rushed through her veins. “Is he…?”

  Garrett smiled. “They said he would make it.”

  Nia relaxed, snuggling back against him. In a warm fuzzy, drugged state, in the safety of Garrett’s arms, Nia allowed sleep to take over again.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Garrett kissed Nia’s forehead, smiling at the purring noises coming from her gaping mouth. Gently, he pulled his arm from under her and crawled from the hospital bed. The ordeal they’d been through had taken its toll on her; she’d undoubtedly sleep for several hours. Garrett pulled the sapphire from his pocket and watched it twinkle in the fluorescent lighting. He didn’t know where to hide it, though he did have an urgent feeling in his gut prodding him to put it somewhere safe.

  But where?

  His only viable option at that point was to hide it back at headquarters. Anywhere else would be an easy mark for the clan. After checking the guards’ credentials with the CIA database, making sure they had the proper weapons, he put Nia’s life in their hands and headed for the office. It was a double-edged sword, leaving her there. If he stayed with her, she was in danger because the sapphire was there. If he left her to hide it, he wouldn’t be there to protect her himself. He chose the lesser of two evils.

  He drove like a madman even though the last thing he needed was a cop to pull him over. As he skidded into the parking spot closest to the doors of the office complex, he stared down at his blood-spattered clothes. He dug around in his back seat, found a sweatshirt, and pulled it on over his crusted shirt. He checked his face in the mirror, removing some red smudges and smoothing down his tousled hair. His efforts made him passable for human, not a bloodthirsty cannibal.

  When he opened his car door, his cell phone vibrated in his pants pocket. He dug it out, glancing at the caller ID. It was blocked, enticing curiosity to get the best of him. He sank back onto his car seat, flipping open his phone.

  “Hello?”

  “Garrett?”

  The woman’s familiar voice stabbed at the tucked away memories in his brain, yanking them back to the front of his mind.

  Tara?

  “Who is this?” Garrett spat, anger crushing him.

  “It’s me, Tara. I know, you…”

  Garrett cut her short. “Liar! I saw her dead.”

  “Sweetheart, you of all people should know what really happened. Come on, my body wasn’t there when you sent the mission cleaners for it.”

  Garrett sat speechless for a moment in disbelief, searching through his memories for something to dispute her words. Only one thing made sense. “You can’t be one of them.”

  “Oh, but I am. I was one of them even when we were partners. I couldn’t exactly bounce back from a bullet between the eyes without blowing my cover, though.”

  “Excuse me, your cover?” No sooner had those words left his mouth when it all fell into place.

  “Don’t play stupid. It really makes you look sad.”

  “We slept together. We were partners for a long time. How could I have missed that you were a vampire and a double agent?” He dropped his head against the steering wheel, releasing his breath into the phone. He suddenly doubted his ability to be an agent, taking some consolation in the fact that he was a rookie when they met.

  “Hon, it’s amazing what we can do with mind control these days. Bet you didn’t even notice a difference in my body temp. It was my job. I had to make you believe I was as human as you. That wasn’t too hard considering…”

  “Considering what?” he snapped.

  “Well, considering that you have the same urges most vampires do. I know a few things about your lineage.”

  “No! No, you don’t know what you’re talking about. You…”

  Tara cut in, “Me thinks thou doth protest too much. I know who your parents are, who your parents’ parents are, and so on. I know all about you.”

  “You think you know…”

  “Oh, I know. I know you descended from Judas, just like all those born into our world. I know you have the same bloodthirsty desires I do. I also know you descended from the goody-two-shoes family side, not the clan side. You had the choice between human and vampire. Granted, there’s always the desire, the thirst for blood. Your side was given the option. Unless you feed, you will continue your pathetic, short-lived existence. I envy you that a bit at times. You will break and join us soon enough. On that, I’d stake my own life.” Tara giggled. “No pun intended.”

  Garrett slapped his free palm to his forehead, nervously threading his fingers through his hair. “If you know so much about me, then tell me how my parents died.”

  “Huh.” The phone went silent for a few seconds before she spoke again. “I guess that’s one thing I’m in the dark on.”

  “One of your sacred clan members broke all sorts of ancient laws and turned my father. He’s now one of the most powerful vampires because of their error in judgment. You see, when you turn one of us without our consent, things get all messy and we pull rank. As if that weren’t bad enough, he was given the choice to either kill my mother or bring her over to the clan. I can’t say to this day whether he made the right decision in killing her or not. My commitment to myself to stay human is iron clad due to this, so you might as well rid yourself of your delusions on turning me.”

  “See, that’s where you’re wrong again. I’m pretty sure we have something you might consider worthwhile.”

  Garrett released a sarcastic chuckle. “I rather doubt that.”

  “Garrett? Don’t listen to anything…” Nia’s voice was weak and desperate. Garrett nearly vomited in his own lap.

  Tara chided, “See, I think you might want to come see me now.”

  “How in the hell did you guys get past the guards this time?”

  “We sent some distractions inside and cut through the window glass. No guards there. Oopsy for you.”

  “You’re doing all of this just to turn me? Let her go and I’ll come in. You can have me in her place.”

  “Don’t f
latter yourself, big boy. You know what we really want.”

  Garrett punched the dashboard. Through gritted teeth he replied, “The sapphire…”

  “That’s right. You’re just a bonus.”

  “Son of a bitch!” He slammed an elbow into the door. “Where do you want to meet?”

  “Don’t sound so glum. It isn’t like there won’t be perks to seeing me again. The sex was fabulous, best I can remember. We’ll have forever to get reacquainted. Meet us alone where you killed Gregor. I wouldn’t recommend keeping us waiting too long. Caine seems to have a thing for your girlfriend.”

  The line went dead. Garrett slapped the phone shut and threw it against the windshield. Buried deep in his thoughts on how to rescue Nia, the phone’s ring startled him. He picked it up, ready for another argument but saw Levinson’s number instead.

  “Shit,” he muttered as he flipped it open. “Agent Van Deren.”

  “They have Nia.”

  The fingers of his free hand were in his hair again. “I know. I’m on my way to get her.”

  “You know where she is?”

  “Uh, I have an idea.”

  “Tell me where to send backup,” Levinson said with hope returning to his voice.

  “I can’t do that, sir. You have to trust me on this.”

  “Trust you? This has nothing to do with trusting you.”

  “Yeah, well, I also need to tell you something else, in case this doesn’t go according to my plans. I have one of the sapphires in my possession. That’s why all of this has been happening.”

  “You what?” he bellowed.

  “Yeah, the whole time travel thing only works with one of two cursed sapphires on either end of the time continuum. Nia snagged the one on this end when we got transported back so the clans couldn’t get to it. She thought I was stuck back in time and knew that was the only way to get to me.”

  “So the laser we destroyed wasn’t the transporting device? How the hell did I not know this? All of the intel I had on this mission and…” Levinson released a heavy breath into the phone. “Lexie.”

  “That would be my best guess. I’m sure that Nia didn’t say anything because she thought she was keeping you safe. The less you know and all that. I just found out she had it when I was with her in the ambulance. I’m sure that’s what Gregor was after, why he did those awful things. She stashed it at headquarters. He couldn’t get in without Nia’s help.”

  “Well, I’ll be dipped in shit. If I had known about this, I could have kept her safe.”

  “I’m going to get Nia back. They want me to come alone with the sapphire.” He heard his boss inhale a deep breath, ready for a rebuttal. Garrett cut him off. “I don’t have any time to argue about it, sir.”

  He snapped his phone shut, saying a little prayer that his job would still be there if—no, when—he got Nia back safely. He started his car again and slammed it into reverse. He sped back through town, daring a police officer to pull him over. Garrett was ready for a fight and pretty sure he’d get one, just not from an officer of the law. He pulled into a parking spot on the road right outside of the familiar alley. After retrieving his now trusty sword from the trunk and strapping it to his hip, he trekked down the alleyway. The sun touched the tops of the buildings, inching behind them as he walked. A harsh chill nipped the air. The frigid cold that slammed into his gut when he grabbed the doorknob to the basement apartment made the outside temperature feel like a heat wave.

  Knowing the frame was broken from earlier, Garrett didn’t knock, didn’t announce his presence, or even care if they knew he was there. He shoved the heavy door with so much force the handle imbedded itself into the drywall when it slammed open.

  “Tara?” Fading sunlight spilled down the stairs, the rest of the room remaining in shadows. He squinted into the darkness, not sure if he really wanted his eyes to adjust. He called upon his memories of earlier in the day and made his way down the staircase. As he stepped off the last step, a hand clamped onto his shoulder.

  Fear left his body. All that remained was adrenaline. He grabbed the hand of the unknown person, twisting it around, yanking the person attached to it in front of him. A feminine squeal surprised him.

  Tara’s voice whispered directly into his ear, “Took you long enough.”

  Garrett brusquely threw her hand, spinning her away as though she would poison him. “I came right over. You didn’t give me much choice. Where’s Nia?”

  “Now, why do you think I’d be willing to give you what you want before you give me the sapphire?”

  “Do you think you’re dealing with a complete moron?” Garrett turned toward Tara. His eyes, finally adjusted to the dark, caught a glimpse of her smirk in the candlelight. “Don’t answer that.”

  “You took all the fun away. You always were a kill-joy.” She lunged toward him, sucked his earlobe into her mouth, and bit down.

  Garrett pulled away from her and felt blood trickle down his neck. “Where’s Nia?”

  His surroundings came into focus; the same black walls and furniture, the same candlelight. Panic shot through him as the door at the bottom of the stairs opened; Caine appeared, licking blood from his lips.

  Garrett drew his sword, pointing it toward him. “You’d better have some other poor soul you’re draining in that room!”

  Caine dropped his head back, releasing a booming laugh. His eyes glowed red, glaring back at Garrett. “Nia is mine. Her blood, her body, her soul, they are all mine.” The walls of the apartment shook with each syllable of his declaration.

  Common sense escaped Garrett. He crossed the small expanse between them, shoving the sword against Caine’s abdomen. “If you harmed even one hair on her head, I’ll kill you.”

  The evil man leaned into the sword, letting it puncture his skin. He backed away, letting the sword tip exit his flesh. He released a quivering moan of pleasure. “I assure you, her hair is not on my menu.”

  “You son of a bitch!” Garrett pulled the sword back to run him through, but Nia’s muffled voice stopped him.

  “Garrett, there are more of them down here. If you kill Caine, they’ll devour us both.”

  Garrett ducked around Caine and sped through the doorway. He slammed the door behind him, leaning against it. The tiny bedroom was lit by a single candle on a TV tray beside a twin-sized bed. The same black color tinged the walls. Nia was curled under a blanket on the bed, still dressed in her hospital gown. Garrett flipped the light switch up and down. Nothing happened.

  “Is electricity too damned much to ask for?” The door rattled behind him; he held firm. He wasn’t ignorant to vampire powers, knew they could easily obliterate the wood he leaned against. He just needed to assess Nia’s condition and decide how to get her out of there. “Did they hurt you?”

  Nia held her arm closer to the candle, showing an oozing slit across the top of her wrist. “Caine wanted to taste me.” Even in the dimly lit room Garrett could see her roll her eyes.

  The door slamming into his back got harder, quicker. He dug his heels into the carpet. “I don’t know how I’m going to get you out of here.” Garrett glanced around the room, his mind reeling with different possibilities. Unfortunately, none of them ended with both leaving alive. He looked at the ground, shaking his head.

  Nia pushed herself up on her elbow, wincing in pain, waggling an accusatory finger at him. “Don’t give up on us! We are getting out of here.” The door smashed into his back, propelling him against the side of her bed. As Caine made a grand entrance into the room, Nia grabbed Garrett’s hand and whispered, “No matter what happens, I...”

  “We’re getting out of here, right?” Garrett latched both hands over hers.

  She stared at him for a split second then smiled.

  He decided that false hope was better than the truth at that particular moment. He ripped his hand free from Nia’s grasp, standing to face the first of his roadblocks to Nia’s safety, his sword at the ready.

  Caine snorted, his mas
sive form nearly filling the doorway. “That sword doesn’t scare me a bit. You may have caught Gregor off guard with it, though I assure you, that won’t happen again.” An evil grin spread across his lips revealing blood stained fangs at the corners of his mouth.

  Garrett inhaled a long, slow breath, calling upon all of his strength to prepare for the battle of his life. When he whipped his sword back, Caine opened his mouth, releasing a malevolent hiss. The vampire’s eyes blazed a brighter red that cast an eerie glow in the small room. He lunged for Garrett with his fingers now morphed into claws, splayed at the ready. The sword sliced through Caine’s chest, serving only to delay him as he paused to revel in the pleasure/pain combination the wound offered.

  Caine swiped a hand through his own blood and brought a finger to his lips. He sucked the thick, red fluid from his hand. A lopsided grin crooked one corner of his mouth. “Would you have me yelp in pain like a wounded pup? To me, there is no such sensation.”

  He swiped a claw toward Garrett, but he whipped the sword across his arm, slicing tendons at the elbow leaving Caine’s arm limp.

  “Now you’ve pissed me off!” Caine’s voice boomed again. He lunged toward Garrett with his good arm, his mouth open to feed.

  A shot rang out and both men fell to the floor, Caine on top of Garrett.

  Nia screamed hysterically, “Garrett!”

  Shoving the huge, limp lug off of him, Garrett slapped his hands over his chest to assess any damage. With the amount of adrenaline coursing through him at that particular moment, he took nothing for granted. Blood covered his chest; the cool temperature of the fluid telling him it was Caine’s. Garrett reached a bloody hand up to Nia; she latched on to it.

  “I’m okay,” he muttered, “I can’t say the same thing about Caine.” He rolled over, assessing the oozing exit wound in the other man’s chest.

  Caine’s face contorted in confusion. “A silver bullet?” he hissed, “This…,” He vomited blood then continued, “will only ensure your certain death. Once the silver poison is gone, you will also die by my hands.” The huge lump of man closed his eyes and went limp.