Bajoie stepped forward. “Allow me.” The enforcer’s expression was respectful. I understood he was volunteering himself as a guinea pig like a good second would.
I jerked my chin in assent, and he kicked open the door.
Joey Vittore was pressed against the opposite wall, hands clenched, his youthful face haggard. Fear came off him in waves.
The cell was pitch black. The bastards had kept him in the dark.
But he bravely raised his fists, bared his teeth. “Stay back.”
Bajoie took a few steps inside and then gave me a thumbs-up. “It’s clear.”
I was already moving forward. “It’s me,” I told Joey. “Gabriel Kral.”
“Yeah?” he said without dropping his fists.
“We’re here to take you home. Your sister Camila sent me.”
He did a doubletake. “Gabriel? S’that you?” He blinked rapidly, and then lowered his fists and took a wobbly step forward. He grabbed my arm. “You’re not a dream?”
“It’s me.” I urged him out the door. “I’ll explain everything. But first, let’s get the hell out of here.”
He stumbled into the hall and then dug in his heels. His curly black hair was matted against his head and he appeared dazed, with dark smudges beneath his eyes and his pupils enlarged as if he’d been drugged. Even the feeble hall light made him wince and put up a hand to shield his eyes.
My gaze locked on the bite wounds on his throat. The bastards had already started feeding on their new blood slave.
“What about Mila?” he asked hoarsely. “We have to help Mila.”
“She’s fine.” I squeezed his arm. “I have her safe. It’s over, Joey.”
He passed a shaking hand over his face. “Okay. Okay.”
“Let’s go.” I urged him forward again. “She’s at my place, waiting.”
“Thank God,” he whispered. His eyes closed, and he swayed on his feet.
I grabbed him before he fell, and half-carried, half-walked him to the stairs. When he looked at the first step as if he didn’t know what to do with it, I slung him over my shoulders in a fireman’s carry and jogged up the steps while Bajoie and the two dhampirs took another look around the basement.
In the foyer, I set Joey on his feet again. “Can you walk?”
“Yeah.” He pulled himself upright. “Sure.”
Just to be sure, I slung an arm around his waist. “Lean on me.”
As we reached the front door, Tomas appeared. “You go ahead with the boy. I’ll stay here and help clean things up. Most of the vampires are still asleep, but we found locked rooms on several of the floors.”
“Blood slaves,” muttered Bajoie.
I hesitated, but until we were sure who to trust, I didn’t want to let Joey out of my sight. “All right. If they’re holding blood slaves, take them to a safe house.”
You couldn’t just release a blood slave. If they’d become addicted to the high, they had to be weaned off the blood slowly, like any addict. Otherwise, the shock to their system could make them deathly ill.
Tomas lifted a brow. “Your father?”
My father didn’t allow blood slaves in the Kral Coven, but he turned a blind eye to what the other covens did.
“I’ll clear it with him. There are two vampires locked in the basement, too. Find out why.” I waited for his nod and then jerked my chin at Bajoie. “You. Come with me.”
“Yes, sir.”
Outside, I deposited Joey in the front seat and then handed him one of the orange juices Lougenia had packed. “Drink.”
He obediently brought the bottle to his lips. The kid was parched. He drained the bottle in a couple of gulps.
Bajoie stood guard until we were both safely in the car and then inserted his large body in the sportscar’s tiny backseat. As I pulled into traffic, Joey finished the juice and then slumped in his seat, eyes half-closed.
I glanced again at the bruises on his face and arms, and flashed on my brother, bruised but defiant, the silver chaining his wrists.
At least Joey’s bruises weren’t recent; he’d probably been roughed up the night he was kidnapped. Still, he’d clearly been drugged, and treated more like a dog than a human being. He smelled rank, and he’d obviously been wearing his Baltimore Rat T-shirt for the past week.
My jaw tightened. I wondered what the slayers would think if they could see how their vampire allies had treated Joey. The man was barely out of his teens.
We were almost to my building when he roused himself. “Mila’s all right?” he asked again. “She’s with you?”
“She’s fine, don’t worry.”
“You’re sure? Those dicks said if I didn’t cooperate, they’d hurt her.” His throat worked.
“She’s safe at my apartment. You’ll be able to see for yourself in five minutes.”
I pulled into the garage. Joey exited the car without any help, but Bajoie and I stepped up on either side just in case.
He glanced from the big enforcer to me. His eyes narrowed. “Kral,” he spat out. “You—you’re one of them.” He turned and hobbled away as fast as he could.
I swore under my breath. Mila had kept the fact that I was a Kral from her family, but I’d assumed they’d eventually figured it out.
“Joey. I got you out of there, didn’t I? Now come with me. Mila’s waiting for you.”
He leaned against a concrete wall, breathing heavily. “Prove it.”
I shrugged and pulled out my phone. “Mila? Joey wants to say hi.”
“Joey?” Her gasp was audible. “Where are you?”
He took the phone. “In a parking garage with two fucking vampires.”
“Oh, God. I’m sor—”
I’d had enough. I nipped the phone from Joey’s fingers. “We’ll be right there.” To him, I said, “Come,” putting just enough compulsion in my tone to get him to obey, and wrapped an arm around his shoulder.
But he shook me off to walk the few feet slowly to the elevator on his own. On the way up, he leaned against the elevator wall, chest heaving like an old man with emphysema.
Mila waited in the foyer. At the sight of her brother, she clapped her hands to her mouth. “Joey. Ohmigod. You’re safe.” She darted into the elevator and threw her arms around him. “You’re safe.”
I guided them out of the elevator and told Bajoie to go back to Redbone’s nest to help with the cleanup. “My own security can handle things from here.”
“Yes, sir.”
Mila still had her arms around Joey. As the elevator door closed behind the enforcer, she sent me a look over her brother’s shoulder. “Andre?”
I wordlessly drew my finger across my throat.
“You’re sure?”
“I staked him myself.”
Her eyelids squeezed together. “Oh, God. Oh, God.” She held out a hand to me, her dark eyes bright with tears. “I don’t know why I’m crying,” she said, sniffing. “But thank you. Thank you so much.”
My heart constricted. Didn’t she know I’d do anything for her?
I wrapped my fingers around hers. “He’s your brother. That makes him family. But he’s hungry—I’ll tell Jessa to make him something to eat.”
“Oh. Right.” Mila sprang into action, seating Joey on the couch, getting him water, bringing him a plate of cheese and crackers while Jessa prepared something more substantial.
I made sure they had everything they needed, then sat on the opposite side of the room and checked my texts, so they could have some privacy.
After downing two glasses of water and the entire plate of cheese and crackers, Joey began to revive. Mila got up to show him to a spare bedroom where he could shower. They paused in the hall to mutter about me. They kept their voices low enough that I could’ve tuned them out, but fuck that. I needed to know what I was up against with Mila’s family.
“He hasn’t let you call Mom and Dad?” Joey growled.
“They took away my phone,” she admitted. “Not Gabriel—it was Andre
Redbone.”
“Like Gabriel couldn’t have given you a new phone.”
“It’s complicated.”
“The hell it is,” Joey said in a furious whisper. “Sounds like you’re a prisoner, same as I was. Just because the man bought you some new clothes and lets you run tame in his fancy penthouse doesn’t mean he’s going to let you go.”
“It was Redbone who had me kidnapped,” she hissed back. “Remember?”
“Then you can leave whenever you want?”
A pause. “Well, no. But I don’t want to. I—"
He made a disgusted sound. “For Chrissake, Mila. Would you listen to yourself?”
She blew out a breath. “Go take a shower. You need to eat, rest. Then we can talk.”
“Fine. But we will talk about this. And if Kral won’t let you leave, I’ll stake the motherfucker myself.”
“The hell you will. The man saved your life.”
“To make points with you.”
“You know what? We’ll talk about this later when your head’s clear.”
“My head’s fine,” Joey gritted.
“I’ll get you some clean clothes.”
Mila was shaking her head when she came back into the living room. I kept my eyes on my phone.
She heaved a breath. “You heard that, didn’t you?”
I moved a shoulder. “If you want to keep a conversation private around me, make sure you go into the bedroom and shut the door. Better yet, go into the bathroom and shut that door, too.”
She sighed. “I have to tell him about the blood bond, but right now I don’t think he could handle any more.” She dropped onto the couch, slid me a look. “You are going to let me contact my mom and dad, aren’t you?”
I scowled. Because part of me didn’t want her to contact her parents. If I lost her now, it would gut me.
She accepted the blood bond, my darker half growled. That’s forever. Only you can break it now.
To save her brother, returned my other half. Force her to honor the bond, and you really are the monster the slayers say you are.
Mila’s face fell. “Never mind.” She jumped up again.
“No, wait.” I pulled up the Vittore’s number on my phone and handed it to her.
Because trust had to begin somewhere.
A tiny crease appeared between her eyes. She looked from the phone to me like there might be a catch.
“Go ahead.” I closed her fingers around the case. “Text your mom and dad. Just basic information, though—that Joey is with you, and you’re both safe. It’s for their safety as much as yours. And tell them Joey will be home tomorrow afternoon. I’ll send him in one of the limos.”
Her mouth quirked. “He’ll like that.” She sat back down and snuggled into me, legs folded to the side. “I do love you, Gabriel. In case you’re wondering.”
My heart punched in my chest. I’d thought she’d never say those words again—or that if she did, I’d believe her.
While I stared at her, arrested, she bent her head and tapped out a message to her parents.
21
Mila
In the time it took Joey to shower, Jessa not only produced a pair of shorts and a couple of T-shirts in his size, she prepared us each a large plate of eggs, bacon and home fries.
Gabriel had gone to his study to work, so we were alone at the dining room’s barn-sized slate table. The T-shirt hung on my brother’s too-thin frame, and under the dark scruff on my brother’s cheeks, I could see fading bruises. But it was the puncture wounds that made my stomach clench.
He’s okay. And Andre’s gone, a heap of ashes and bones.
It was still sinking in that everything really was okay. Just yesterday, I’d been trapped in a nightmare, blood-bonded to a man who didn’t trust me and sure I was going to lose either Joey or Gabriel, or both.
My brother finished his breakfast and eyed my plate. “You going to eat the rest of your bacon?”
The tears took me by surprise. How many times had Joey asked that when we were both teens?
“It’s yours—all of it.” Swiping the tears away, I handed him the plate. “I missed you, squirt.”
He stopped eating long enough to reach across the table and squeeze my hand. “Back at you, Mila-Bila.”
Jessa appeared at my elbow with a coffee pot. About my age, the housekeeper had her hair in a frizzy red topknot and a body that was all muscle. In her free time, she was either a runner or gym rat, or both.
“More coffee?” she asked.
I cast her a grateful look. “Yes, please.”
While Joey finished my breakfast, I sipped coffee and peppered him with questions. I was hungry for any news—him, my parents, Nonna, our cousins.
Nonna had taken a trip to Italy and enjoyed seeing all her old friends so much she’d almost stayed for good, but she was back in Baltimore now. Cousin Sara was married with a baby on the way. As for Joey, he was partway through a chemical engineering degree.
But Mom and Dad were just going through the motions, not sure if I was dead or alive. “It’s like you dropped off the face of the earth,” Joey said. “They reported it to the police, hired a private detective to look for you.” He didn’t tell me again that I should call them, but his disapproval weighed like a thundercloud in the air between us.
My throat clogged. “I’m sorry,” I managed to say. “But I did it for them. They threatened you, Joey. All of you.”
His jaw set. “The private eye said they should give up—that you were probably dead.”
My stomach turned over. “Oh, God. I didn’t think—I mean, I left a note.”
“Yeah. But who knew what happened after that? You couldn’t even send us a fucking Christmas card?”
I glanced at the kitchen where Jessa was polishing the stainless steel refrigerator, and lowered my voice. “I was afraid to.”
Joey dragged his hands down his face. “Whatever.” Shoving back his chair, he rose to his feet. “I’m going to bed. Jessa said I could sleep in that room where I took the shower.”
“That’s right.” The housekeeper stopped working long enough to flash him a professional smile. Polite but no real warmth. “The bed’s made up and I put fresh towels in the bathroom.”
“Thank you.” Joey turned to leave, then hesitated. “You sure you’re okay?”
“Of course, I am. I’ll be right here when you wake up.”
“Okay.” He dragged a hand down his face. “I’m too tired right now to ask what the fuck is up with you and Kral. You can tell me when I get up.”
My mouth dropped open. Since when did I have to explain myself to my kid brother? “What?”
“You heard me.” He was already out of the dining room.
I was tired, too, but I couldn’t sleep, so I went exploring instead.
The penthouse’s main rooms were on an open plan, with high ceilings and jewel-toned skylights that let in muted sunlight. The kitchen flowed into the dining room, which flowed into the living room, where a wall of smoked-glass windows overlooked the East River. Like the foyer, the living room was filled with tropical plants and potted flowers.
This, I thought, was Gabriel’s real home, not the beach house. A big but cozy cave, with floors of gray tiles and rough wood walls, some painted black, others left unpainted. Edison light bulbs hung from rustic bronze fixtures, and the furniture was a mix of more slate and bronze, with the chairs and couch covered in earthy reds and oranges. The paintings were large, slashing abstracts in more earth tones, and one wall held built-in shelves spilling over with books, games and primitive stone statues.
The place was spotless. I was almost afraid to touch anything in case Jessa went batshit crazy on me. Something about the housekeeper made me uneasy.
I mean, who irons socks and underwear? But earlier, when I’d glanced into the utility room off the kitchen, she’d been pressing Gabriel’s T-shirts, and on the counter next to her was a stack of freshly-ironed socks.
The master bedroom was o
n the opposite side of the apartment from the kitchen, along with the two guest bedrooms. Gabriel was still in the study next to the master bedroom, but Joey’s door was ajar, so I peeked in.
He was face down on the mattress, arms and legs by his sides like a felled log. His upper body was bare, the sheet pulled up around his narrow waist.
My chest squeezed. He’d slept like that when he was a kid, too. He’d go-go-go like a maniac all day, and then when night came, drop into bed like someone had cut his strings.
My fingers tightened on the doorjamb. He was safe. That’s all that mattered.
I backed out of the room and glanced at the closed study door. But I could hear Gabriel on the phone, so I returned to the living room and stood at the windows, gazing down at the East River through the darkened glass.
The summer sun refracted off the water in glittering shards, and kayaks and sailboats vied for space with tourist-heavy cruise boats circling the island of Manhattan. They seemed so far away, so distant. I wondered if that was how vampires felt, observing humans…like we were creatures from another planet.
A brush on my nape was the only warning that Gabriel emerged from his study. A shiver went up my spine, a good shiver. I smiled and turned to face him.
He stared back, unsmiling. He’d showered and changed into another dark T-shirt and pants. He smelled clean, male.
“You can’t go outside,” he said. “We still don’t know who sent those vampires after you. But my guess is this is bigger than just Redbone and his nest.”
“That’s okay. I don’t want to leave Joey anyway. But—” I hesitated, biting my lip. But I had to ask. “It couldn’t have been your dad, could it? I mean, he’s the one who sent me away.”
He heaved a breath. “I’ve been asking myself that. But it’s not his style. He may not be all warm and fuzzy, but he wouldn’t have toyed with you like that. He would’ve just ordered the hit and been done with it.”
Goose bumps prickled my skin. I rubbed my arms. “Right,” I muttered.
“I will talk to him,” Gabriel promised grimly. “But he’s…away right now.” Something in his face warned me not to ask questions. “Here.” He pressed a cell phone into my hand. “Here. I want you to have this. I put my phone number in it. I have to go out again, but you can use the phone to call your mom and dad if you want. It’s a burner phone—it can’t be traced.”
Pursued: A Vampire Syndicate Paranormal Romance (The Vampire Syndicate Book 1) Page 18
