by Dawn Ibanez
Blue eyes watched as she turned and marched back to her car. Ashton smiled evilly as he looked down the alley where the corpse was. “The brat grew a backbone. This is going to be fun,” he said in a whisper.
* * * * *
Eric frowned as he walked to Lilavanti’s apartment. Aside from the echoes of magic he could feel sheer power in the air. He knocked on the door. “Lilavanti, it’s me,” he called out.
The door opened and Lilavanti looked at her boss sadly. “I didn’t think you’d stop by,” she said honestly. Her eyes turned to the glass in her hand and she allowed the door to swing farther open. “Come in.”
Eric walked into the apartment and took notice of the drink she held in her hand. “What’s going on?” he asked. When she started to laugh he took a step toward her. “Lilavanti, if you’re in some sort of trouble I can help.”
Her laughter took a hysterical edge to it. “You can help me?” she asked before taking another drink. “After you find out what happened you’ll be first in line to kill me.”
The bottle of Jack Daniels on the coffee table was quickly grabbed by Eric. When he turned to her, he saw that she was glaring at him. “I want an explanation,” he demanded. “You never call out. Now I show up here and you’re drinking and accusing me of wanting to kill you. And what is this power that’s here?”
Lilavanti looked at Eric for a long moment before sitting heavily on the sofa. If he wanted an explanation then she would give him one. “My name is Lilavanti Dallas. For years everyone called me Lily. I’m a Succubus,” she confessed. She looked at Eric and motioned to the bottle in his hands. “One of us is going to need that. Either give it back, or grab a glass.”
Eric sat next to her and put the bottle on the table. “Succubi are supposed to be extinct.”
“I know,” Lily said before pouring herself another drink. She leaned back and examined her whiskey. “Cord and I were born around the time the hunts started. We were hidden in Nowhere Nebraska. When we hit puberty our foster father started moving us. Cord and I were completely out of control. I’m talking we’d make the cities Sodom and Gomorrah blush.” She paused long enough to take a swallow of her drink. She then stood and walked over to a photograph hanging on the wall. “Over time, I grew up. I followed the rules Dad had set for us. Cord didn’t.” Her eyes filled with tears as she looked at Eric. “I covered up those bodies your brother went to investigate. Cord killed them. And there’s one more down by the Wolf’s territory.”
Eric slowly inhaled as he watched her take another drink. “Where is your brother now?” he asked. When she started to shake her head, he took the glass from her. “You don’t seem to understand. That last victim was the ward of the Wolf’s Alpha. If he doesn’t get your brother, he’s going to want you.”
Lily’s eyes flashed for a second. “You don’t seem to understand,” she spat. “I don’t care if I die. After what I’ve done I deserve it.” She snatched the bottle from the table and brought it to her lips. Her glare dared Eric to try and take the bottle from her. When his hand wrapped around hers, she tried to pull away from him. “Leave me alone,” she snapped at him. As Eric pulled the bottle away from her, she slapped him. “Better yet, kill me. I’m dead anyway.” When she looked into his sad eyes, she pushed him away from her. “Don’t stand there and pity me. Do your job Keeper. I broke the law. I hid those bodies your Council found. I knew what was going on when you sent your brother to the morgue. I protected Cord. I deserve to die!” she screamed at him.
Eric allowed her to rain slaps and punches on his chest and shoulders. His heart broke as he watched the young woman break. He took her hands into his and quickly turned her away from him. As he trapped her in his arms, he felt the lure of her Succubus nature. He pressed his lips together as he forced her to look into their reflection in the window. “I will do my job,” he whispered into her ear, “but you listen to me. You do not deserve to die for protecting your family. I won’t allow it.”
Her head fell back against his shoulder. “Just let me die,” she whispered.
“No,” Eric said just as soft. His eyes widened when Lilavanti’s body went limp in his arms. He easily lifted her into his arms and carried her to the sofa. His innocent secretary wasn’t as innocent as he first thought and that didn’t bother him. He was troubled by her desire to die. Without a word he picked up the bottle of Jack Daniels and went to the open kitchen area. As he went to pour it down the drain, Eric saw another two bottles in the recycling bin. His shoulders fell as he looked at the sofa. He would have to find some way to help her.
As Eric turned to go to her bedroom his cellphone rang. He looked at the display and frowned when he saw Barry’s picture. “You okay?” he asked simply.
“I just found out that my two sisters are supposed to bring about the Apocalypse,” Barry answered. “What do you think?”
Eric ran his hand over his face. He really didn’t want to deal with his brother’s attitude right now. “I think that I just found another of the Horsemen. And right about now I want to talk her out of her death wish. So before you go off on me keeping secrets from you, fuck off.”
Barry went silent for a moment. “Who did you find?” he asked lowly.
“Lilavanti,” Eric answered. He went to her bedroom and saw a pair of jeans and a sweat shirt at the foot of her bed. “She’s a Succubus and her brother is the one leaving the bodies all over the area.” He quickly searched her drawers and found additional clothes to take. Eric then straightened when he realized how quite his own brother had become. “Barry? You still there?” he asked.
“I knew she was hot under that sari!” Barry exclaimed.
Eric felt his shoulders sag. “Now is not the time, Barrence,” he said in a disgusted tone. “She’s in a fragile state right now. I’m going to grab some of her things and then I’m taking her home with me.”
“You could always bring her here,” Barry offered. “I’m sure Mathias will make room.”
“I would leave her here alone before I trust her with you,” Eric said quickly. “I don’t care what she is, I’m not letting you add her to your collection.”
Barry sighed into the phone. He knew his brother was right. It was fun teasing him. “Well, she is a Succubus. I mean, it would be like she was using me, really.”
Eric inhaled slowly through his nose. “I’m going to act like I didn’t hear that,” he said in a growl. “You can tell Mathias that I have her and I’m taking care of her. If he has a problem with that, then tough shit.”
Barry paused again as he thought about his brother’s tone of voice. “E, what’s going on with you? Everything alright?”
Eric’s eyes fell to the picture of Lily and another man. From his coloring, Eric could only assume that this was her brother. “Lilavanti has done everything she could to help her brother and now she’s wasted on her sofa.” He went over to her closet and quickly found an overnight bag. “It reminds me of how Madison used to get.”
In an instant Barry understood. “We can’t change the past E.”
“I know.” Eric started to shove Lily’s clothes into the bag. “I couldn’t protect Madi then, but I can protect Lilavanti now. Like I said, I have her, and she’ll be fine.” Eric hung up his phone and shoved it in his pocket. His eyes scanned the room again. There was no way he was going to leave Lilavanti here. She was in no condition to be on her own. He would have to find out more about her foster father later. Right now his main worry was the way she begged for her own death. Eric finished packing her bag and draped it over his shoulder. As he went back to her side, he looked at her.
Barry was right. She was beautiful. Her partial Indian descent combined with the way her hair seem the color of wine in the sunlight. The saris and tight buns she hid behind were going to be a thing of the past if he had anything to say about it. Eric smiled as he shook his head. He knew he wasn’t immune to her Succubus nature, but just knowing what lengths she went to while trying to hide her nature kept her firmly in the
friend category. He went to her side and picked her up. “Let’s get you home. This way Sloane can kill me and baby you,” he said before going to the door.
Chapter 17-
Troy watched Madison as she reviewed the security tapes. When she was working, there was a completely different air about her. Her entire posture was rigid. If he didn’t know any better, he would have thought that she was the Noble princess that Victor raised her to be.
“Right here,” Madison said. She didn’t see the way Troy flinched when she spoke. Her entire focus was on the screen in front of her. She glanced over her shoulder and saw the young security officer sitting next to her. “I want a print of that man’s face. If you can find a better shot, then I want that too.”
Troy looked at the live monitors and saw Dennis make his way behind the bar. His lips pressed together as he thought about the woman that could have been as close to him as a sister. He went to Madison’s side and pressed a kiss to the side of her neck. “I’m going to see how the old man is holding up,” he whispered.
Madison pressed a kiss to his lips in return. “Do what you have to,” she said with a nod. Before Troy even stepped away her attention was on the screens again.
Part of him wanted to be insulted but knowing that Leigh’s baby sister was the victim, he could only admire her determination. Troy made his way to the bar. When he saw Dennis, he could only feel sorry for the man that he had told himself he hated. “This is a nice place,” Troy said taking a seat across from his father.
Dennis looked at his son for a long moment. There was so much of Belle he could see in Troy’s face. “I loved your mother.”
Troy leaned back in his chair. “So you’ve said,” he replied neutrally.
“And I wanted to be a father to you.” Dennis sat two brandy snifters on the bar and pulled down a bottle of Remy Martin. “But it would have been difficult to explain to your mother.”
“And you didn’t know if I was going to take after you or remain a human,” Troy added. When Dennis looked at him, he shrugged. “Leigh and I did a lot of talking in California.”
Dennis nodded slowly. “So you know how much Megan and Leigh mean to me.” He took a sip of his brandy and looked up at the door to the main offices. “They became my daughters.”
Troy drank some of his own brandy as he watched Dennis. “Leigh always said Megan’s dream in life was to have a Mate and cubs of her own.”
“It was.” Dennis allowed a regretful muse escape him. “I didn’t think any of her suitors were good enough for her.” He finished his brandy and poured more into his glass. “I should have just let her have her Mate when she was 18.”
“She respected you more because you didn’t.” When Dennis looked at him, Troy shrugged. He may not have known Megan well, but he had spent time with her after she graduated High School and went to visit Leigh. “You were always hard on everyone. With her more so. You knew more about the world than she did and she knew everything you did was to protect her.”
Dennis finished his second drink and quickly poured a third. “I want the cocksucker that did this to her.” His growls filled the air as he thought of Megan’s last pleas to Madison. “I will go against the Council on this one. He is mine.”
Troy slowly inhaled. “Am I going to have to explain Megan’s death to the boys?” he asked quietly. When Dennis looked at him sharply, he held the other man’s gaze.
After a few silent moments Dennis quickly drank his brandy. “The cocksucker’s fucking head,” he growled.
Madison walked out of the security office and closed her cell phone. She walked over to the bar and stood toe to toe with Dennis. “I need your word you will let me handle this.” When Dennis looked at her with darkened eyes, she held her ground. “I just got off the phone with Mathias. He wants this Cord guy brought in. He won’t be charged with death just yet. But I will make sure he’ll pay.”
Dennis growled at Madison, but stopped when Troy pulled her behind him. He blinked at his son for a moment. When his eyes turned back to Madison, he saw that her own jaw was slack with shock. “She was mine. I get his head. It’s as simple as that,” Dennis said coldly.
“No, it’s not,” Madison countered. “There are other players involved, and I need more time. I can’t give you special treatment.”
“Why not?Because I’m not Victor or Crispin?”
“Don’t talk to her like that,” Troy warned.
Madison slowly inhaled as she stepped away from both men. She knew they would all have to adjust to Troy being her Mate. Now was not the opportune time. Her eyes looked at her Mate. “He’s used to talking me like that. It’s fine,” she said quietly.
Troy’s eyes flashed for a split second before he turned to Dennis. “Not anymore,” he growled.
“Watch your place, Boy,” Dennis commanded. “This is still my territory.”
“I don’t give a fuck. She’s my Mate and will be respected as such.”
Madison stepped between them and pushed Troy back. “I don’t want to do this now,” she said sharply. When Troy looked at her, she straightened her spine. “I can’t do this now. There’s too much on the line.” She then turned to Dennis. “And as for you, I was trying to keep into account that Megan was like a daughter to you. I wanted you to stand down so I could have some time and get Cord for you. All you would have to do is wait. But if you feel like you’re as green as the Puppy I called you, then I will order you to back the hell off!”
Dennis flinched when Madison’s power pushed him back against the bar. “How dare you!” he yelled. This little upstart had the gall to come into his own bar and threaten him! “This is my territory! My club! You don’t come in here and order me around. I am the Alpha here. Not you!”
“You’re right, you are the Alpha,” Madison said quietly. Her eyes turned red and her voice took on a sibilant quality again. She went over to Troy’s discarded drink and sipped it. “I’m the only chance you have at vengeance. Let me do this my way.” She stared into his eyes for a long moment. “I won’t ask again.”
Dennis noticed the concern on Troy’s face. Madison was doing everything she could to help, even if it felt like she wasn’t. With a snarl, he ran his hand though his hair. “I want to know every step you take,” Dennis demanded. His eyes turned to where he left his empty glass. “I will make the all of the necessary arrangements for Megan.”
Madison eyes were still glowing as she nodded at Dennis. “I will avenge her,” she said in that odd voice. “Once I find out what the Council is after, I will gladly bring him to you.”
Dennis poured himself another brandy as Madison turned to leave. He squared his shoulders and looked at his son’s Mate. “Madison,” he called after her. When she looked at him, it struck him how much the twins resembled her. He raised his glass to her in a salute. “You’re Pack. If you have the chance, kill him for me.”
A vicious smile crossed Madison’s face. “I’ll bring you his beating heart on a plate,” she said before leaving.
Troy frowned as he looked between Dennis and Madison. He glanced at his father one last time. “Don’t push her this far ever again,” he ordered.
Dennis couldn’t discount the concern he saw in Troy’s eyes. As often as he and Madison went toe to toe, she had only gone this far one time. He rubbed the back of his neck and thought of the night some of his Pack had gone and attacked Dylan while trying to get to Claudia. That had been a huge mess that ended with Claudia’s existence being discovered and Dylan being turned into a Vampire. “When she comes out of this, please give her my apologies. Parents should never bury their children. Even adopted ones.”
Troy slowly inhaled. It wouldn’t do anyone any good for him to stay angry with Dennis. “If you need any help on my end. Call me,” he said before going after his Mate.
* * * * *
Lily groaned softly as she opened her eyes. She was lying on a plush leather sofa with her head hanging off the side. A frown crossed her face when she noticed the garbage
can sitting next to her.
“We weren’t sure how your body would react to all of that whiskey,” Sloane answered from a near chair. He walked into Lily’s line of sight and knelt in front of her. “How are you feeling?”
Pale green eyes looked around the room before closing. “Like I should be dead,” she groaned. Her head was pounding and the room was starting to spin. “Like I’m going to be sick,” she added. She sensed Sloane moving away from her and covered her eyes. “Eric didn’t let me seduce anyone, did he?”
Sloane smiled. “No,” he answered. When she started to nod he chuckled. “I had a hell of a good time with him after we got you settled.” Lily’s eyes opened wide in shock. “I think you were emitting some sort of pheromone. I know the old couple downstairs felt it too. I was half expecting one of them to break a hip.”
Lily fought a smile at his gentle teasing. “That isn’t funny,” she said slowly sitting up.
“Sure it is,” Sloane said as he went to the kitchen area. He quickly found the aspirin and a glass of water. “Just because you’re a Succubus doesn’t mean that you have to be the town pariah. As a matter of fact, I won’t let you.” He went over to Lily and gave her the pills and water. “Now, do you want me to fix you anything to eat?”
“Why are you being so nice to me?” she asked suddenly. “After everything, why would anyone want to be nice to someone like me?”
Sloane smiled and put his hand on her shoulder. When her eyes turned up to him, he sat on the coffee table next to her. “Because Eric and I see that while you were wrong, you did it for family. It isn’t like you killed any of those women. Besides, you’re trying to get past your history and make something of yourself.” As she looked at him, he smiled. “Plus we never met this wild woman you say you are. All we know is Sweet Lilavanti, Eric’s super secretary.”
