“Who are you?” She faced the broad-shouldered vampire with a snarl to her voice.
“Devlin, and you must be Ariana.”
“How do you know my name?” Her muscles tensed, ready to spring into action should he make even the slightest move toward her.
“Because Joaquin’s talked about you often enough. He told me you were beautiful, and he wasn’t lying.”
Ariana’s lip curled. Was this vampire really trying to charm her? Obviously, he knew nothing about her. She zoomed forward, catching him around the throat and off-guard. “Where is he?”
Devlin caught hold of her wrist, attempting to yank her arm away, but she held tight. “Let go of me or things are going to get very ugly.”
“Why? Because you’re a vampire?” She said the word with so much venom there could be no doubt in his mind what she thought of his kind. Her fingers flexed, and she lifted him off the ground. “Now, I’ll ask you again. Where is Joaquin?”
“I’m not your personal GPS. If you want to find him, you’re going to have to do it without my help.”
Once he made the statement so plainly, Ariana threw him across the parking lot. He bounced off the hood of a Toyota before dropping to the asphalt. He knew where Joaquin was, and now that she was this close to him, she had to see him.
Devlin was back on his feet before she made it half way across the asphalt. “I did mention this was going to get ugly, didn’t I?” He sped forward, and they clashed together like two locomotives going at full steam.
The heels of her boots digging in, Ariana pushed back, giving as much strength and force as he gave. Her body went on autopilot, following all the necessary steps to meet the ultimate goal. Kill the vampire.
Duck. Turn. Weave. Kick. Each move executed without hesitation. Without thought. Or emotion.
“Ariana!”
The shout brought the match to an abrupt halt. The voice she still remembered in her dreams called her name again. Sweat pooled between her breasts, a grim reminder of the man she was about to face and her own disillusionment. The sound of his footsteps raised the hair on her arms, and she turned slowly.
Dressed all in black, he looked like he’d walked off the pages of a men’s magazine, stylish and sexy, but his eyes reflected pure fury. For a brief moment, she wondered if she could fulfill the task ahead of her.
She didn’t doubt her physical ability. That had never let her down, but those other vampires were nothing. Meant nothing. This was Joaquin.
Her mind flashed back to the nights spent aboard his yacht en route to the Bahamas, the sunrises watched from the darkened windows of the hotel room on Grand Cayman, and the crisp blue waters where they’d snorkeled at night.
This vampire meant something.
“Devlin, get out of here.”
“I’m not leaving you alone with her.” Devlin came to stand beside Joaquin, his voice just as hard.
“Let him stay, Joaquin. Two kills are better than one.” Refusing to allow the gleam in his eyes to scare her, she stared straight back at him. “You never told me that you had vampire friends, too. Oh, wait.” One fingernail tapped her cheek. “You didn’t even tell me that you were one.”
“So all these vampires that have been dying. That’s your handiwork?” Joaquin didn’t move any closer, just stood watching her with his hands in his pockets, the wind ruffling his hair.
“I had to do something to make the world a safer place. I just wish I could have stopped you sooner.”
His eyebrow arched. “Stopped me? For what exactly?”
The bastard probably didn’t even remember the girl he’d killed seven months ago. No doubt he’d ended so many lives his victims all ran together. “I saw her, Joaquin, and before you can ask, the woman you killed a night or so after I made you leave.”
“What in the hell are you talking about?” Devlin took a threatening step toward her, obviously eager to continue their battle.
“Of course you would stand up for him. You’re his friend.” She spat out the last word like an epithet. Who knew vampires could have friends? “But I know the truth, and you’re the reason I’m doing what I do. Thanks to you, I now have a purpose, a duty even. Eventually, I’ll get around to you…unless you like your life to end tonight.”
Joaquin studied her for a long moment, long enough to send shivers down her spine. She’d never seen him so furious. “You might want to rethink your calling, Ariana.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Don’t push this. You don’t want me for an enemy.”
The threat in his voice incited her anger. “I’ve changed a bit since we last saw one another. I can take care of myself quite well.”
“So is Charon the reason you’re doing this? Did she tell you our kind needed to be eliminated? What about what she is? Did she tell you that, too?”
“The only thing that matters is what you should have told me. The truth. You owed me, Joaquin.”
“Why? So we could have missed the nights we had together? I treated you like gold. Did you really think I would have hurt you?”
A lump formed in her throat. “You think lying to me didn’t hurt?”
“How long are you going to act the part of the scorned lover?” Joaquin’s question slapped her in the face.
The sudden rush of tears shocked her, took away her control. She needed to get away. With this newest stab to her heart, she bled inside, and fighting would have to wait.
She didn’t say anything else. No, she couldn’t say anything else. When she turned and sped away, neither vampire followed her. But Joaquin’s words stayed with her with each mile she ran. So cold. Unfeeling. And so unlike the man she’d given her heart to.
His arms went around her waist, pulling her back against his chest. A warm tongue licked her cheek, and Ariana shivered.
“I missed you,” he whispered.
She didn’t ask where he’d been. It was more important that he was with her again. Each time he came to her, she never wanted him to leave. He was in her soul now, a part of her.
Her hands covered his. “I missed you, too.”
“But I’m here now.” The purr of his voice washed over her, a heady combination of desire and heat.
“Where do you go when you leave me?”
She had to have imagined the sudden stiffness of his body behind hers. “As I’ve told you before, ma petite, sometimes, I require the night air to clear my mind.”
“You need to clear your mind even when you’ve been with me?”
“Yes.”
The softly spoken answer surprised her and irritated her just a little. “Thanks for the compliment.”
“Ariana, if I did not leave you now and again, I would never regain the strength I need to love you as I do each night.” His fingers tiptoed down her neck. “Being with you is so powerful, it’s almost overwhelming. I do not wish to frighten you with my feelings.”
Her arms lifted and cupped his head, drawing his head lower. “You could never frighten me, Joaquin. I feel safest when I am with you.”
Joaquin stood on the edge of the parking lot so long he lost sense of time. He thought Ariana might return, but his words had cut deep. The second he’d asked the question, he knew he’d wounded her again. A part of him had wanted to.
She was killing his kind. The only community he belonged to. How could he not strike out at her? But it wouldn’t take long for her to regroup. Then she’d come after him with her sense of self-preservation fully intact. She’d be on guard, ready to take him on. At least, that’s what she would think. Whatever special skills Charon had treated her to, they wouldn’t be enough.
Joaquin knew how to get under her skin, make her lose focus. The second her control slipped a fraction, he’d go in for the kill. As much as he detested the thought of a world without Ariana, allowing her to live was impossible. Now that she’d joined forces with Charon, she was dangerous. Not only to him but the rest of his kind.
Turning, he headed back to his suite, his
shoulders slumping a little. He wished he could convince her that he wasn’t the animal she thought he was. Maybe then, she would see past the pain of his lies.
He tilted his head back to see the open window of his penthouse. Devlin had returned to wait for him inside, giving him time to absorb seeing Ariana again. His eyes drifted closed as he pictured her as she’d stood across from him, all curves and feminine anger.
He still wanted her. The truth hit him like a hammer to the gut. So how in the hell was he supposed to kill her?
Chapter Five
Charleston, South Carolina
Ariana burst through the front door of her home, already knowing Charon was there. “What did Joaquin mean when he said what you are?”
Ever elegant, Charon looked up from the glossy magazine in her lap. “What are you talking about?”
With a sigh of irritation, Ariana crossed the floor to stand in front of her mentor. “Joaquin asked if you’d told me what you are.”
“When did you see Joaquin?” Eyes gleaming, Charon closed her magazine and got to her feet. “How did you find him?”
“I’ll get to your questions later. First, answer mine.”
“I suppose he means vampire hunter.” Lips painted perfectly pink tipped upwards in a smile. “He does tend to get a bit dramatic when he’s challenged.”
“When was the last time you saw him?” Ariana had no idea why that question popped into her mind.
Charon blinked at her then made a humming noise as though deep in thought. “Well, let’s see. It has to be have been ten years at least. The last time we saw each other, it didn’t end well for either of us.” Her brows creased. “Why? What’s this about?”
It was about whether or not she could trust the woman who’d been training her, the one who’d helped her become what she was—a killer. But Charon had also given her the means to protect herself. For that, Ariana would always be thankful. If only she could be sure there was a credible threat to her life.
Ariana had never found evidence that Joaquin had intended to come after her. He’d not returned to her house since the night he’d left, and she hadn’t heard from him since. Which was precisely why she figured his intent was to leave her alone and go on with his life. But Charon would never believe that.
“Ariana?” Charon had moved closer, all traces of pleasantness erased from her face. “What else did Joaquin say to you?”
“Nothing. That was it. It just didn’t sound like he was talking about a vampire hunter.” Peeling out of her shirt on the way to her bedroom, Ariana called out to Charon over her shoulder. “Could you close the door on your way out? I’m going to take a shower and hit the bed. I’m exhausted.”
“Now, dear, we both know that for the lie it is, don’t we?” Charon sped down the hallway, meeting Ariana at her bedroom door. “You don’t get exhausted.”
“Not physically but mentally. I just want to be alone.” And she was tired of having to explain why in her own home. For one day, hell, for one moment, she’d like to be the Ariana she used to know. No Charon. No running around staking vampires. Nothing. Just Ariana the writer.
She missed who she used to be…who she never would be again.
When the door closed quietly, signalling Charon’s departure, Ariana breathed a sigh of relief. For one night, she could sink into a tub and pretend her old life hadn’t disappeared.
* * * *
The low growls greeted her, and Charon silenced them with an uplifted hand. “Do not be concerned. I have not spent all this time with Ariana only to have her fail me. She will do what she is supposed to do.”
“Why has it taken so long?”
“Why is she waiting?”
“She could have killed Joaquin tonight.”
The complaints and questions were all valid, but Charon didn’t like them any more. “This will be the first kill that means something to her. When she destroys Joaquin, she will be forever changed.” She smiled at the gathering. “She will truly be one of us.”
“You mean one of us.”
“I said exactly what I mean, Rachelle.” Here was one vampire Charon could live without. Rachelle had been a troublemaker even before she was sired, always in and out of trouble. She’d spent more time in the penal system than she had in school. And she’d carried her raunchy attitude with her in death.
Rachelle lifted a shoulder and let it fall, but the knowing look didn’t leave her face. “I didn’t realize you’d become just another vampire.” Her upper lip curled into a sneer.
Charon glided forward to tower over the tiny vampire. “What is it you are trying to say exactly?”
A challenge to her voice, Rachelle pushed her luck. “Does your pet project know there’s nothing ordinary about you, Charon? Wait. Let me answer my own question. She still sees her reflection in the mirror so I assume that would be no. She still thinks she can eat real food and believes her speed, strength, and enhanced senses are all because you’re a benevolent godmother who is protecting her.”
Hands flexing at her sides, Charon fought the urge to twist Rachelle’s head from her shoulders. She had to keep reminding herself of the need for numbers. No more losses could be tolerated, and they couldn’t risk siring anymore people until they had the time to focus on training the recruits.
Ariana might be her pet project, but she was the only one who could eliminate Joaquin. And once he fell, she would have less resistance from the remaining factions.
“I guess there’s no need for you to say anything else.” Rachelle’s sneer had blossomed.
“You weren’t here the last time we attempted to take over this region.” Charon inspected her nails, needing the distraction. “Joaquin and his friend,” she spat out the word, “brought together an army in less time than it took for us to travel from Rhode Island to South Carolina. And when we arrived, they were all waiting for us.”
The humiliation still scorched her. “Joaquin must be eliminated if we are to succeed this time.”
Rachelle faked a yawn, tapping her mouth with her fingers. “This is the same song I’ve been hearing for a year now. What I can’t figure out is why you haven’t done something about this almighty vampire before now.”
Control snapping, Charon caught her around the throat and lifted her several inches off the ground. “Because, you little bitch, no one other vampire can get close to him. His senses are ten times more powerful than ours, and he can smell one of his own kind coming from miles away. But Ariana,” her gaze drifted toward the horizon, “he’ll let her get close. He wants her to get close again.”
With a smile, Charon dropped Rachelle and dusted her hands. “And if you ever think about challenging me like this again, I’ll stake you myself, regardless of the numbers.”
* * * *
Ariana stopped. Turned to look behind her. The city streets of downtown Charleston teemed with people even though it was past midnight. She closed her eyes and filtered the scents surrounding her.
Jasmine. Roses. Spicy cologne. Horses. Exhaust fumes. Then him. His scent. Joaquin had returned to Charleston, no doubt looking for her.
A small flicker of uncertainty made her hands tremble, but she quickly pushed it to the back of her mind. She couldn’t allow nerves to get to her now. Joaquin hadn’t come back to her hometown for a conversation.
It had only been a week since they’d last seen one another, but he’d used those seven days to taunt her. Each night brought a new reminder of his renewed presence in her life. Roses on her doorstep. Scented parchment paper on her pillow with nothing but his name scrawled in black script. And the whisper of lips against her skin she swore she’d imagined. The tortuous list continued as nocturnal warnings. She’d come back into his world, and now, he was returning to hers.
Tonight things would change. She wouldn’t take anymore of the taunts or the late nights wondering if that was going to be the one night he would come for her. His memory had haunted her, making her remember each moment she’d spent with him, and she’d hated him for it. Most of all, she’d hated herself for reliving each moment with such vivid clarity.
Her spine tingled. Charon had warned her this would be her toughest assignment yet, but Ariana had been second-guessing her ability to snuff out Joaquin’s life long before that. Too many memories crowded her, dragging her back into a world she didn’t want to recall.
The long, passionate nights lying skin to skin with Joaquin, the heated embraces, and naughty whispers. She edging into an open alley space between a sushi bar and a coffee shop and tried to shut out the images. She didn’t want to remember anything good about him. The time she’d spent in his arms was long before she’d known what he was.
The past few months had proven Joaquin cared little for the mere mortals he killed. As quickly as he captured his prey, he moved on to the next kill, drinking his fill of his victim’s blood. Though she’d only heard tales of his exploits, Charon didn’t hesitate to make them as gruesome as possible, to provide her with virtual video of every life he took.
Ariana shuddered, her chest heaving. She knew him all too well, and though she tried to shut out the memories, they were powerful forces, pushing past the barriers of restraint until the images rained down on her. God, how she’d loved him, and knowing her final mission only served to create dread in the pit of her stomach.
Joaquin. She wanted to hate him, but her heart wouldn’t allow it.
* * * *
He stood across the street from the sushi bar, watching Ariana’s every move. By now, she would have caught his scent just as he had hers. He didn’t want to be here, but the exterminations had to stop.
Though Ariana might not see it the same way, she was taking the lives of vampires that had chosen not to kill humans for food. They had been forced into this miserable existence, and she was punishing them for a choice they didn’t make. He couldn’t allow it to continue.
Vampire Betrayed (Vampires Destined) Page 5
