vampires of san francisco 07 - suckers lost and found

by mcbrayer, jessica

  “You look so innocent and shine with beauty.”

  I snort. Sebastian gives me a questioning look.

  “Bast, after that, after what we just did, you can still call me innocent?”

  He lets out a bark of laughter as he grabs me and pulls my face to his.

  “Yes, you are innocent and pure and beautiful. Always will be in my eyes, wife. Better get used to it.”

  I want to cry again but squelch it. My traitorous lip trembles. Damn hormones. Sebastian gathers me to his side and we find our way out the door and to our meeting point. Aidan and Alessandro look up as we walk towards them. Aidan gives us an indulgent smile. I’m sure our auras are out of this world right now.

  “That’s how you got her in this condition,” Aidan says pointing at my stomach and Sebastian laughs loudly.

  “Hush, now we have a whole menu of things we can have done. I expect you men to have full treatments too. Alessandro, that means you too,” I say to the tall man guarding us even now.

  “No signora, I will stay just to the side of you and guard you. Please. It is my job and privilege.”

  “Alessandro, thank you. I will rest easier knowing you are with both the girls.”

  “Si, signori.”

  “Please call me Sebastian. I thought we covered that?” Sebastian says as he grabs and the man and pulls him into a one arm hug, slapping him on the back. Alessandro laughs with him.

  “Si, Signori Sebastian. I will try to remember.”

  “Good. Male bonding begins now. Shoo.” I grab Manda’s hand and drag her to the mud rooms.

  We have tables side by side. Alessandro determines that the room only has one entrance and he is outside guarding it. No one here gives him a second look. A lot of famous people use this spa and I suspect bodyguards are not unusual.

  Manda sighs as they brush on the French clay mixed with essential oils. It will purify and soften our skin. Not that we really need it but it feels heavenly. Nature sounds are playing so low it feels like the air is infused with the peace it generates. We rest our eyes and relax. After a wash down we are wrapped in big white robes and shuffled to our next destination, massages. Again Alessandro stands outside the room.

  I hear Manda groan and mumble something unintelligible while they start working on her. Because of the baby, they put me in a chair instead of a table. Soon I am mumbling my own nonsense as they find places that I didn’t know were sore. I am getting the special pregnancy massage and it focuses on my shoulders and feet. It is divine.

  When they finish our massages we get a quick snack, the ladies intending to get a massage after us work nicely for a little sip. Alessandro laughs and shakes his head at us before leading us to our facial appointment. We chat all day about the guys, the wedding and what she wants to do with her now almost immortal status. It is all so relaxing and I’ve gotten to know Manda much better.

  Next, after the facials, we get manicures and pedicures. Tomorrow we have appointments to get our hair styled and makeup done for the wedding tomorrow night. We meet the boys in the bar for drinks and they look as relaxed as we are.

  “Lily, you are glowing. You look radiant. Tell me, what have you done today?” Bast asks.

  “Oh, all the girly stuff we could fit in. Of course we gossiped about you two all day. It was the best day.” I sigh and drop into my seat to drink my sparkling apple juice.

  “Alessandro, you will tell us what they said, right?” Aidan demands with a raised eyebrow.

  “I do not divulge the secrets of those I am protecting.” Alessandro winks at me and Manda and we crack up.

  “There are rules if you are going to be in the man-club, Alessandro. You have to tell,” Sebastian says.

  “He can be in our club. He doesn’t need a stinky man-club,” I retort.

  “Who stinks? I’ll have you know, love, that your husband and I have been pampered all day, too,” Aidan says.

  “Good. We were hoping that you would enjoy yourselves,” Manda says while smiling. In fact her smile is so pearly white and genuine that it makes me feel happy inside.

  Sebastian’s cell phone rings. He puts his finger up when he sees the caller ID.

  “Allo? Matteo, what’s wrong?” Sebastian puts it on speaker phone.

  “Sebastian, we’ve had an incident at Julian’s. Giulia figured if she couldn’t get to you then she would attack those dear to you. We’ve moved Hannah, Diel and the babies over to your home but Julian and Helena refuse to move so Liam and Andrew are staying with them. I’m trying to watch both homes but I can’t feasibly do it.” He sighs. “It would be best if you came home.”

  Alessandro speaks in rapid Italian over the phone and Matteo answers back. Alessandro frowns and asks more questions. He switches back to English for our benefit.

  “Are the babies safe now?”

  “Yes. I have Diel, Hannah and the babies in the interior of the house. It may be good to allow Hannah to be able to open the safe room too,” Matteo says.

  “We should have done that. Oh my Goddess, did something happen to the babies?” I ask desperately.

  “An attempt was made to kidnap them,” Matteo says in a way that lets us know he will kill for those babies. Children are precious to vampires and our two guards have taken a shine to Finn and Fiona and my unborn wee one. “I wasn’t able to follow them because I had to stay close to relocate everyone.”

  “We are on our way, Matteo,” Aidan says. Sebastian ends the call and takes my shaking hand.

  “Sweetheart, I will bring you and Lilith back for your appointments tomorrow. We’ll make some for Hannah and Helena too. I think we need to get home for now. At least everyone will be at the wedding tomorrow night,” Aidan says.

  Aidan sends our luggage back and then we go to our room and link hands for the trip back.

  We pop into the living room that is destroyed. Matteo lays unconscious and there is no trace of Hannah, Diel or the babies.

  TWENTY-NINE / SEBASTIAN

  “Mon Dieu,” Sebastian says before running to Matteo’s side. Alessandro is checking him out. He’s been staked.

  “It’s missed his heart but he has lost a lot of blood. It was nearly the end of my friend,” Alessandro says. A muscle on his jaw flexes as he grinds his teeth, trying not to lose his temper.

  “Will bag blood revive him?” Aidan asks. “I can get him a couple of donors once he is up to the task.”

  “Si, signori. We will have to use an IV. He is not capable of drinking yet and he is fading fast.”

  Aidan waves his hand and all the equipment is made available. Alessandro is quick to get an IV started and hooks up the blood transfusion. It takes three bags before Matteo opens his eyes. We had removed the stake while he was still out. With the help of the bag blood the bleeding has stopped but he still doesn’t have enough to heal.

  “I was a medic in the second world war. The King let me go for training. It’s helpful to know how to do a few things, like start an IV,” Alessandro says.

  Matteo’s eyes are bloodshot and his fangs are out. He growls at us and Sebastian and Alessandro immediately hold him down. Aidan changes the bag of blood out when the other gets empty.

  “Cherie, you and Manda go get into the safe room. We don’t know what’s happened and Matteo is unstable right now. Try calling Hannah. See if you can find out where they are.”

  Manda grabs my numb hand and starts moving at vampire speed to the safe room. She touches her finger to the pad and the door opens. Once inside she gets me settled on one of the beds and tucks a blanket around me before giving me my cell phone from my purse.

  My fingers shake as I go through my contacts to find Han’s number. It starts to ring and on the third ring she picks up. I am so relieved. My hormones and fear for my BFF and her family is getting the better of me. I only now hear Manda running a bath for me.

  “Hannah, are you all right? Are the babies and Diel with you? Where are you?”

  “Take it easy, sistah. First, everyone is safe.
We had a little visit from your friend Giulia and her minions. I still don’t know how they got in. They were going after the babies and Diel and I took one of her goons out while Matteo was trying to battle them but there were so many.” Hannah lets out a sob. “They s-staked him, Lily. Oh My Goddess. It was horrible. Diel grabbed my hand and we sailed to your portal with Hades. We just made it through and scared the hell out of Dr. Hildebrand.” She gives a little laugh at this.

  “So you are in Hell? Are you at your house?”

  “Yes, just got the bambinos to bed. I’m going to take a long hot bath while I can.”

  “Oh Han, this is all my fault. If anything happened to you guys or the babies, I couldn’t live with myself. The stake missed Matteo’s heart. They are reviving him but he is unstable yet so Manda and I are in the safe room. Aidan is going to program it to recognize your fingerprint too.”

  “That would be excellent. I hate having to come down here and I don’t want to miss Manda and Aidan’s wedding. Call me when everything is settled and we’ll plan our return.”

  “Okay. I love you guys. Give Finn and Fiona a kiss from their auntie.”

  “I will. Ciao.” Hannah ends the call.

  “I should have face timed her. I needed to see that they were all okay,” I complained. “At least I got to hear her voice.”

  “Lily, when I grabbed your hand it was ice cold. I want you to get into the tub. I think you’re going into shock. You need to warm up to your normal vamp chill,” Manda says as she gives me a visual exam. I realize I am shaking. I nod my head to her and she helps me into the bathroom.

  Manda sprinkles some lavender bath salts into the stream of hot water. She lights a few candles and then turns to me.

  “Let me help you undress, Lily. You’re still trembling.”

  She gently unzips my dress and pulls it down. The bathroom is filling with steam. I only see a ghost of myself in the mirror. I’m too thin and pale. I’m a sad sight. Manda coaxes me into the tub. I sit and run my hand through the soothing water. What’s happened to me? I was a kick ass girl. I was on the road to self-actualization.

  It’s the baby. I am back to being scared of what I could lose.

  I don’t like it. I feel myself slipping away in this new role and I need to decide now what kind of mother I am going to be and start being it. Yes, some scary shit is happening but have I been in danger yet? Nope. Been gone both times. I’ve got this safe room and a small army of vamps and a djinn protecting me. I am in a “delicate” condition but I need to get my game plan going. My mental game. Who I want to be. And I want to be a protective mother that still lets her children fall and make mistakes so that they can learn from them. I want to love them unconditionally. I want to share this with Sebastian. I would fight anyone for my unborn child so why am cowering in shock in the bath tub?

  Snap out of it, girlfriend.

  I relax in the tub and mull over possible plans to capture Giulia. Sebastian quietly enters, startling me out of my reverie. I smile up at his drawn face. He’s worried and I need to let him know I am okay.

  “Lily, how are you feeling? Manda said you were freezing.”

  “I’m fine Sebastian. It was just a little shock. How is Matteo?”

  “He is snacking on a donor. His third. He should be back to normal in no time. He is already acting like it was nothing and wants to continue his duties. The problem is that his chest won’t be healed for a few hours.” Sebastian runs his hand across his face. “Alessandro had to pull rank on him to get him to agree to rest. Aidan’s put your rooms back to rights.”

  “That’s good. About both things. I’m glad that Alessandro is making him rest. We’ll put him on the sofa in the small living room so he can relax, hopefully.”

  “Your water is getting cold, cherie. Let me help you out of the tub.”

  Sebastian lifts my hand and I rise out of the cooling water. He holds me until I get my balance, then lifts me over the ledge and onto the rug. Then he gently dries me off. And it pisses me off. I swat his hand away and he looks at me like I’ve gone mad.

  “Bast, I’m not that fragile. I can dry myself,” I say, annoyed at him. I know it’s not fair but I am.

  “Lily, I was worried about you. I was just trying to help.”

  I sigh and throw the towel into a hamper. I grab the clothes that Manda brought in for me. Yoga pants and a peasant blouse. While I get dressed, I take some deep breaths to center myself.

  “Bast, I feel like I’ve been acting like a vulnerable, pathetic mess. It’s because I am so scared, but I plan on being more active and less reactive.” I grab some socks and sit on the chair to put them on. “It’s why I snapped at you and I’m sorry.” I grimace trying to get the words out to describe how I am feeling. Bast must be in tune with me because he doesn’t pull me into his arms.

  “Cherie, it’s perfectly natural to be scared. I am terrified.”

  I snort.

  “No, Lily, I am. You and this child mean more to me than my own life.” His voice is hoarse. “If I lost you two, I don’t know what I would do. Probably find a way to follow you as soon as possible.”

  “Shh… don’t talk that way, Bast. Promise me you wouldn’t do that,” I whisper while smoothing his hair back. He bends down and kisses me long and hard. When we part my lips feel swollen.

  “Let’s not talk of such dark things, cherie. I want to get you back into the main house. Hannah and Diel are due soon. Aidan fetched Helena, Julian, Andrew and Liam. They are all anxious to see you.”

  “Okay. What are we going to do to keep everyone safe?”

  “I think Aidan has been thinking that over. He wants Hannah, Diel and the babies here in the last guest room. Then he is going to make some security changes at the manse.”

  “Good. Let’s go greet them. It’s going to be crazy here with all these people staying.”

  Sebastian gets a goofy grin on his face.

  “I know. I love it and I hate it. I want everyone safe and it will be like camping out, a little like old times. Especially nice to have the babies around. We can practice with them,” he says with a chuckle.

  I grin at him over my shoulder as we walk out. Aidan and Manda are gone. I grab my dirty clothes and take them with us to deposit them in our hamper. We walk out to the living room and into pandemonium. The babies are trying to shove everything into their mouths and everyone is running after them. Then Fiona hits Finn over the head with her silver rattle from Basilio. He looks at her stunned that she would do such a thing and then bursts out with a wail guaranteed to bring the house down.

  I rush over to him and pick him up, nuzzling his sweet head. He instantly calms and wraps his fingers around one of mine. He smells so sweet that I can’t get enough of him. I take him over to my grandmother’s rocker, the only thing I have kept from my family, and slowly rock and hum to him. Soon he is asleep. His innocence is disarming and I am awash with panic over his safety. I look up and everyone is watching us. I clear my throat of the tears that I refuse to shed. I will have enough time for internal drama once Giulia is put down.

  “Will someone start a fire? Hannah, do you have the playpens here for the babies? I’m sure he will be happier in his bed.” I see that Sebastian is holding beautiful Fiona and whispering in French to her. She gurgles her approval and Bast stares at me. Yep, we are going to be fine when the baby comes. If we last that long.

  Diel gently lifts Finn from my arms.

  “I’ll put him to bed, Lily, but I think you should work your magick on Fiona too. That way they will both nap at the same time.” His smile for me is full of affection as he cups his little boy’s head close to his chest and walks down the hall.

  Bast hands me Fiona and she and I converse in the advanced language of gurgles and coos all the while I’m rocking her. Her head nods and her body relaxes into my arms as she falls asleep. Hannah winks at me and takes her little girl. I give Fiona a kiss on the head before releasing her.

  “You are amazing with thos
e two,” Bast says.

  “It’s grandma’s rocker. She said there wasn’t a baby born that could withstand its gentle motion.”

  “I’m sure we’ll test that theory,” Bast says and kisses the top of my head.

  Hannah and Diel are back. Alessandro is guarding the babies in the safe room with Hades, but he has a monitor so he can hear what is going on out here as well.

  “Aidan, what are we going to do to keep everyone safe?” I ask breaking the tension that has suddenly filled the room.

  “I’ve already made the manse’s windows unbreakable. I’ve added a second layer of security to their existing system. That’s all Helena will let me do. She doesn’t want a safe room. She has her magick and a thousand years of experience, she told me, and besides I know she is itching for a fight.”

  Helena is giving the stink eye, daring me to object to her decision. I just smile and shake my head. I know when there is no arguing with her. Besides, she loves to fight too much. She’s hoping for some action.

  “Okay, now what about here? I don’t think we can do much more. We need to stop hiding and find her first this time. Go on the defensive. Any ideas of where she might be holed up with her minions?” I ask the room at large.

  Helena nods her approval and Julian’s eyes are glinting. They are itching to end this. Matteo walks in the room. He is mostly healed and he takes a seat near the fire.

  “I think she is downtown in a hotel. That’s where we lost her. She has to go somewhere to regroup. She is overly confident. The best thing that could happen would be for her to show up now. We could attack as a group and end her,” Matteo says.

  “I agree,” comes Alessandro’s voice. It’s soft and tinny because of the monitor and his not wanting to wake the babies.

  “How do we lure her here?” I ask.

  Everyone starts talking at once about how I can’t be part of that. I finally whistle to get them to shut up. I know it has to be me. I’m who she’s after. Everyone looks startled that I would whistle at them and I chuckle.