Until he’d kicked me out, that was.
“It was a different kind of ghost,” Mr. Lincoln said.
“What do you mean?”
“It was a vampire ghost.”
Chills erupted on the back of my neck. “Oh?”
“Yeah. He was helping the vampire I saw. He protected the vampire from the cop.”
“I see.” If the man wasn’t on drugs, he was a few bricks shy.
“The vampire stole my clothes and what little money I had. That’s why I came in that night without clothes. Remember?”
“I do.” That was a visual I couldn’t unsee. Mr. Lincoln was a nice man, but homelessness had taken its toll on his body. A young man of twenty-five or so should have been robust and healthy. Instead, Mr. Lincoln was too thin, and red patches marred much of his skin.
“He hypnotized me.”
“What?”
“The vampire. That’s how they feed on humans. They hypnotize you so you don’t remember.”
He truly was off his rocker. “I see.”
“Do you?”
What was I supposed to say to that? I had nothing, so I asked a question instead. “If you were hypnotized, how did you know a ghost was there?”
“I could still see. I just couldn’t talk or move. I remember everything. Maybe that’s because I don’t usually get hypnotized. I just let them bite me. They don’t take much, and they always buy me a hot meal afterward. It’s a good deal.” He touched his neck. “See? These marks. That’s where they bite me.”
I looked him over, palpating the marks. Mosquito bites, most likely, just like the one I had on my own neck.
“Just how many vampires live here in New Orleans, Mr. Lincoln?” Might as well humor him. It would help him take his mind off the minor stabbing.
“We’re friends, aren’t we, Erin? You should call me Abe.”
“No kidding? Your name is Abe Lincoln?” Definitely not ruling out drugs.
“It is.”
“Do you have any ID?”
“Nope. But that’s the name my maman gave me.”
“Your mother was French?”
“Yes. Cecile Lincoln. Born Gervais. And about two hundred or so.”
“Two hundred or so what?”
“Vampires. You asked me how many vampires live here in New Orleans.”
Right. I had. “That’s a lot of vampires.”
“Not really, when you consider the population of the city is almost four hundred thousand.”
He had me there. “Did a vampire stab you?”
“No. Most vampires are decent people. It was some stupid kid looking for drugs. I didn’t have any, but he stabbed me anyway.”
“I’m very sorry this happened to you.” And I was. The man might be delusional, but he didn’t deserve this shitty luck. No one did.
“It’s part of life on the streets.”
“Don’t you have any family who could help you out?”
“Nope.”
“Have you tried the missions? I can get a social worker in here to talk to you. I’m sure there’s help available.”
“I’m fine. I’m comfortable unless it gets below forty degrees, which it doesn’t often, luckily.”
“Even at night?”
“That’s when the vampires help me. They come out at night.”
“Because they’d burn in the sun, right?”
He shook his head. “That’s a myth. They just have really sensitive skin and need to wear a lot of sunblock.”
“I see. So do I, actually.”
“Yeah, you’re pretty pale.”
“Thanks. I think.”
“I didn’t mean it as an insult, Erin. You’re very pretty.”
This conversation was rapidly going way out of my comfort zone. “The pain meds will kick in soon, Mr. Lincoln.” No way was I calling him Abe. “I need to see to some other patients.”
“Wait!”
“Yes?”
“You need to believe me.”
“Why? You asked me that first night if I’d seen the vampire. But you allegedly saw the vampire before you came to the hospital. I wasn’t with you then, so how in the world could I have seen him?”
“Because he was here. In the emergency room.”
Again, my neck went cold. “I need to see other patients,” I said again. I walked out of the room and hightailed it to my computer to make a note for a social worker to visit with Mr. Lincoln. The man needed some serious help.
I jerked when a hand clamped down on my shoulder.
“I need you for a few minutes, Erin.”
Chapter Nine
Dante
“The queen says you’ve been obstinate and you need to be punished.”
My heart sped up like a freight train. “I’ve done nothing.”
“You haven’t been eating.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“You need to eat your protein. Red meat. We feed you excellent meals.”
“What good are excellent meals when I’m tied down? I can’t even take a shit without you unbinding me.”
“The queen’s orders.”
“Fuck the queen!”
“You won’t say that again, you piece of shit.”
“Fuck her, fuck her, fuck her!” I spat.
The masked man inched toward me. “I’ve been warned not to spill a drop of your precious blood. Luckily, I’m skilled at many levels of torture, and your blood will be spared.”
“What are you going to do to me?” I said through clenched teeth.
“I’ll leave that to your imagination,” he said, his voice low. “Anticipation and all that.”
I was already naked. They’d taken my clothes away.
He unclamped my bindings. “Stand up,” he ordered.
“Why doesn’t the queen dole out her own punishment?”
“You’d have to ask her that,” he said. “But it works out well for me. I enjoy it.”
Fucking sadist. I lunged toward him, but he poked me with a cattle prod.
“Aaauugh!” The jolt shot knives of pain through my body, making me tremble.
“You’re a pretty young man, Dante. A young vampire on the cusp of true maturity. Too bad I can’t really fuck you up. It’s almost a shame to hurt you.”
“Then don’t.” My voice cracked, sparks still snapping inside me.
“I have my orders, and as I said, I enjoy it.” He eyed his tool, a sick smile curving his lips. “Funny thing about electricity. As long as I gauge the current, I can cause you unbearable pain without harming your body at all.”
I shot up in bed. Bill was in his study, and River had gone to work.
I hadn’t told them anything, even though Bill had pressured me. River wanted the truth for a different reason—to investigate. To find who’d done this to me. He was still skeptical that something different was going on with my scenting of Erin, but Bill believed me. I could tell by how he’d looked at me.
But he was a little freaked out. He didn’t know why it was happening. That bothered him. Bill didn’t like not knowing.
I rose, drank some blood and made some breakfast, and then decided to search the Vampyre Texts. Bill had two copies—one he kept in his office, and another more ornate version that he kept in the living room. As kids, we’d been warned not to touch it. I was no longer a kid. I picked up the heavy tome, sat down on the couch, and opened it.
To no avail. The words were written in ancient French, and I couldn’t decipher them. Could anyone in this day and age? I’d need to find a linguist. A linguist I could trust.
Yeah, right. Linguists were a dime a dozen. Not.
Bill was one hundred and two years old. Still, ancient French hadn’t been spoken since the fourteenth century. I wasn’t sure how I knew that. Must have learned it in history class a long time ago.
My grandfather was the only person I knew who might be able to make some sense of the Texts. I put the book away and walked to his office.
“Come in, Da
nte,” he said before I could knock.
I entered, trying to figure out what I wanted to ask.
“The Vampyre Texts,” he said. “You learn the important content at the age of eighteen, after you complete your high school studies.”
This was the third time since I’d returned that he’d read my mind. I wasn’t at all comfortable with it. He’d always been intuitive, but this was getting beyond strange.
“I’m well past eighteen. Can you teach me?”
“It’s not that simple. The content of the Texts is taught through symbolry and example.”
“So? You taught River and Em, didn’t you?”
“I did. But they were ready.”
I am ready.
“You’re not,” he said.
“Why do you constantly say that?” I demanded. “You have no idea what happened to me.” Then it dawned on me again. I hadn’t said those words aloud. “Stop it! Stop getting into my head!”
“I’m not.”
“Bullshit. You’ve been reading my mind since I got home.”
He looked up, his eyes wide, and removed his glasses. “You’re mistaken. I don’t have that ability.” He cleared his throat.
His tone was familiar—the same one I remembered from my childhood. We’re done discussing this. Drop it.
But I was no longer a child. Bill was hiding something. Either he’d been reading my mind, or he knew things he should have no way of knowing. Which meant he had a way of knowing. I just didn’t know what it was.
All of that was the least of my concerns at the moment, though. I needed to learn the content of the texts, and I’d find a way to do it, with or without my grandfather’s help. I had no other choice. I had to figure out what was going on with Erin. The answer must be within those pages somewhere. It had to be.
I turned to leave Bill’s office—
A knife of ice speared into the back of my neck, and I gasped.
“Dante…”
But I ignored my grandfather’s voice.
Erin.
Erin was in danger.
I screeched into the hospital parking lot. I was a good driver, but my license had long since expired—something else I’d have to take care of.
Erin’s scent…
She was in the hospital.
Someone was with her. Someone who meant her harm.
I wasn’t sure how I knew, but I did. I smelled only Erin, but she was not alone.
My gums prickled as my fangs descended. I needed to keep my mouth closed. No way did I have enough control to make them retract. Not right now. Not when my blood was boiling beneath my skin.
And then—
The other individual was gone.
The prickling on my neck ceased. My teeth began to shorten. Erin was fine. No longer in danger.
I stopped in the middle of the driveway to the ER and stood, immobile.
Erin was inside.
Erin…who I wanted more than my next breath of air, my next drop of blood.
I continued standing as an ambulance blared up to the door, stopping just before hitting me.
“Hey!” An EMT rushed over to me. “Get out of the way! You could have been killed!”
Still I stood, my gaze riveted to the door of the ER, until something buzzed against my skin.
My new phone. It was River.
“Hello?” I said.
“Dante, you need to come over to the ER. It’s Emilia.”
My heart raced. “I’m at the ER. Is she all right?”
“We’re at Tulane. Where are you?”
“At University. I’m on my way.”
My sister lay in a hospital bed in one of the ER exam rooms. I felt helpless. Helpless in a different way than I’d felt when I’d perceived Erin in danger.
How had I made such a mistake? Erin was fine. Could I no longer trust my instinct? Erin had wreaked havoc on my senses, and not necessarily in a good way.
I’d been sure another person had been with her, hurting her.
My mind was unstable. That was the only explanation. Being held in captivity, tortured, violated—it had taken its toll.
Of course it had.
I needed help.
I didn’t know any vampire therapists, and how could I explain to a human therapist what I’d been through?
River and Bill sat in chairs next to the bed where Emilia lay. I took her hand. “Doing okay, little sis?”
“I’m fine. I guess I fainted at work.”
“You’ve been working too hard, Em,” River said.
“I haven’t been doing anything more than I always do. I’m not sure what’s going on.”
“I can answer that.” A man in a white coat walked into the room. “Could you all excuse me for a few minutes? I need to talk to the patient alone.”
“They’re family,” Emilia said. “I want them here.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure. What could you possibly have to say that I wouldn’t want them to hear? Please. Go ahead.”
“You’re pregnant.”
Chapter Ten
Erin
Dr. Bonneville had wanted me to stop at the Tulane ER on my way home and make arrangements to replenish our B positive blood from their stash. I’d asked why we couldn’t just email them, but she’d been clear that the blood would arrive faster if a staff member made the request in person. Since it meant I got off an hour early, I didn’t complain.
As soon as I got out of my car at the Tulane parking lot, something gripped me.
A pull. A tug. And then pinpricks erupted on my flesh.
I must have been more freaked out from Abe Lincoln’s vampire tales than I realized. I took a few deep breaths and walked toward the entrance.
“May I help you?” the receptionist asked.
“I’m Erin Hamilton, a nurse from University ER. Dr. Zabrina Bonneville asked that I come over and make arrangements to get some B positive blood transferred to our blood bank. We got shorted on our last delivery, according to her, and apparently you have more than enough here to help us out in the meantime.”
“You’ll need to speak to our admin about that, and she’s not in yet.”
I looked at my watch. Seven a.m. “When does she get in?”
“Eight o’clock.”
I didn’t feel like waiting around for nearly an hour, but I didn’t have much of a choice. “I guess I’ll wait. Can you point me toward the cafeteria? I’m starving.”
“Sure. Follow the hallway to the main hospital. You can’t miss it.”
“Thanks.”
I turned, and—
A gasp left my throat.
Walking toward me, as if in slow motion, was Dante Gabriel.
I perked my ears. No music this time. Just Dante in all his male glory. Dante, who I’d last seen when he left the dance floor—and then the bar—abruptly.
He had a habit of leaving me in limbo.
He walked toward me quickly. “I knew you were here.”
“You did?”
“What are you doing here?”
“An errand for one of the doctors. Looks like I’m stuck here for an hour. Why are you here? Are you okay?”
“My sister.”
“Is she okay?”
“Sort of. I mean, yes. She’s…pregnant.”
“Oh! Well, congratulations, then. I didn’t know she was married.”
“She’s not.”
“Oh.” Warmth crept up my cheeks. “Congratulations anyway. That’s wonderful news. Isn’t it?”
“She’s always wanted to be a mother.”
“Good. I’m sure she’ll be a great one.”
“I hope so. I mean, I hope she has the chance.”
“What do you—”
He grabbed my arm and led me out of the ER and down a secluded hallway. He pushed me against the wall.
“I’ve tried to stay away from you, Erin. God, I’ve tried, for your own good. But I can’t stop thinking about you.”
&n
bsp; My skin tingled all over, and my blood flowed like tiny rivers of warm honey in my veins. “I can’t stop thinking about you either, but why—”
His lips clamped onto mine. I didn’t even think about letting him in. I parted my lips on instinct, letting him sweep his warm tongue into my mouth. Never mind that he’d run from me twice now. Never mind that I still knew next to nothing about him. Never mind that my first contact with him had been catching him in a criminal act.
I wanted him. Wanted his mouth on mine, his hands on my body.
I cupped his cheeks and pulled his face as close to mine as I could until our lips were smashed together, our tongues tangling. We kissed ferociously, until I had to push him away to take a much-needed breath.
“My God,” he groaned.
“My God is right,” I replied.
“I want you so fucking much.”
“You have a funny way of showing it.”
“That kiss. Can’t you tell how much I want you?” He nudged his bulge into my belly.
“Yes. But you always—”
He took my lips again.
Would we ever talk? Ever discuss why he was acting so weird?
Right now, I didn’t care. All I wanted for the rest of my life was to keep kissing Dante, keep caressing his broad shoulders, his cheeks, his neck. I threaded my fingers through his silky hair, relishing its softness. I slid my other hand over his shoulder and down his muscular arm, entwining his fingers with my own.
He pushed his erection into me farther. Without thinking, I whisked my hand out of his and cupped the denim-clad bulge.
“Oh, God,” he groaned again against my mouth. “I want you so much.”
“I want you too.” No truer words. I was ready to fuck him right in a hospital hallway.
He deepened the kiss, cupping one of my breasts. My nipple was already hard, but the feeling intensified as he inched his fingers toward it. When he pinched it, I nearly climaxed.
I boiled over, my pussy pulsing along with my heart. He dragged his hand away from my breast and down to my crotch. When he began rubbing me there, I let out a long, low groan.
“Good, baby?”
God, yes. So good. But I couldn’t form the words.
Unchained: Blood Bond Saga: Volume One Page 13
