As her light faded, I tore the flesh of my wrist, my body shaking with dread. What if I waited too long? What if she didn't turn? What if she was immune to the vampire virus? What if I did everything right and it still turned out wrong? What if she never awoke from the vampire embrace? What if, what if, what if? Had I done it right? Fear stirred deep within my heart as I gazed upon the woman of my dreams, of my love, the only hope for my undead life.
My blood flowed freely as I held my wrist to her mouth. “Please drink, you must, otherwise, I'll lose you forever,” I begged her to take what I could give and I forgot the questions screaming in my head. Reaching out to Vanic, he returned my grim thoughts. But also I felt his regret, for what he had become and allowed me to become. As the seconds ticked by with no response from the woman lying in my arms, my limbs started to shake. I'd done something wrong, she wasn't drinking. I'd waited too long. As I watched her lay unmoving in my arms, desperate tears rained from my eyes. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she licked her blood encrusted lips.
My heart sang as she struggled to pull my wrist tighter against her lips, drawing into her body what I could give her until I felt lightheaded and had to break the seal. She heaved a harsh breath, as her body shook trying to accommodate the newness of this different life. Her heart seized one last time, before pounding out her new life. Recognition bloomed new in her expressive eyes that didn't lose their luminescence. If anything, as the vampire virus came to life, they grew stronger, brighter, full of her new life.
As I held in her my arms, her beauty grew to a wondrous thing, vibrantly bright to light up the night. Yet she was the same, the woman who held my stuttering heart in her hands.
“You saved me, death reached for me, but you saved me. I'd hoped you come, that I'd see you one last time. But you saved me instead.” Even though it was the last thing Vanic had ever wanted me to do, I felt his pleasure, his acceptance, his outright joy that another had joined us. Reaching out to Sarah, I saw she reflected the shared feeling. She was weak but pleased with the knowledge of my new found love.
At that moment Raymond entered my thoughts, sheepishly sorry to have lost himself so completely in his beast. When he discovered another's thoughts inside my own, I felt his mind widen as I knew his eyes would, fear and happiness mingled as one. He felt the newness of Sheree's existence, and the wonder at the emotion of love, something he had yet to experience.
“Never did I want to make another like myself, but I'd barely started to love you, to lose you would be a torture I couldn't endure. Pathetic I know, I was too weak to let you leave. When you agreed to join me, I acted without a second chance to reconsider. Forgive me.” I buried my face in her illustrious riot of hair, becoming more beautiful, one of the hunting mechanisms vampires enjoyed, bringing beauty to the eyes of the prey, beauty within the beast. My heart surged with a frantic new beat. Her scent had been like honeyed vanilla, but it grew sweeter, if possible, more desirable, her beautiful beast would not be denied.
Raymond soon joined us, having disposed of Loupgarin's underling. The youngling understood what took me a century to fully realize, life is what we make of it. He smiled back at me. He could feel my pride for him and I realized another thing, I thought of him as a brother. He wasn't just the rogue youngling bound to me anymore. He'd grown to fill another void in my life. I stretched my hand out to shake his.. There would still be times when the beast wanted to possess his soul, but he'd proved worthy of my decision to spare his life.
As her strength returned, I gathered Sheree close, and with Raymond protecting our backs, we left her old life behind. Regret showed briefly in her eyes, not for the life she was leaving behind, at least not only that, but for the home she'd made. I squeezed her briefly. “We can make another.”
“Together.” She looked into my eyes and smiled, happy with her decision to become my mate, my life mate, to spend her life as an equal in our love and in our lives.
*****
There was still much to do on this night, and time was growing short as the minutes ticked by. Franc Crifaseno survived the night almost unscathed, Donny had not been so lucky, but with the help of a few drops of vampire blood, he too would survive. Unfortunately, the Crifaseno residence had suffered greatly. Its gaudy features had been destroyed, the room with the blood red velveteen sofas had been taken apart, real blood now splashed the walls. But, Franc knew a contractor who specialized in covering up the bloody messes sometimes left in the wake of his business dealings. This time it would be no different. It would be a long time before Franc Crifaseno would want the bloody color in his home.
What remained of the dry husks of Loupgarin, his underlings, as well as the murdered guards both at the Crifaseno home and Lake Park were in need of disposal. Fire was the only pure cleanser.
“Raymond, go out, gather the husks and the bodies, both in Lake Park and Crifasenos. Bring them back here.”
Vanic arrived as Raymond sped away, his gaze found mine. “I'm afraid we'll have to arrange for another accident to dispose of Loupgarin's remains and those who shared his madness.” The old vampire had created so much destruction.
I nodded my agreement. “Loupgarin's sickness couldn't be prevented, at least not by our family.” I stood, my arms never leaving Sheree, the sheet wrapped tight around her body.
A sadness graced Vanic's features, one I was familiar with. “I abhor the senseless taking of life, I'm so sorry it was inflicted upon you.” Even in his vampiric existence, Vanic never took life, any life, for granted. “I wish we'd met under different circumstances.”
Sheree's pale cheeks tinted. “So do I.”
“Vanic, this is Sheree Crifaseno Jennings. I hope soon to change that.” I buried my face in her sweetly scented hair. “She's more than I deserved and everything I need.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
There was one thing left to do for Sheree, and to do so, we'd have to revisit her father's home. In the bid to stop Loupgarin, her father had come faceto-face with the cold hard facts of vampiric existence. Something would have to be done about that and the subsequent attacks. Franc Crifaseno still had questions to answer before his memories were taken away. He'd have to forget his daughter too, but I didn't really think he'd mind. He didn't seem to notice when she was in his life every day. This was Sheree's goodbye. We came through the now open iron gates, up the long drive, and to his door. There she halted.
“What do I say to the man who has been my father, but not ever really there? He'll forget me entirely, won't he? At least my mother isn't here.” She grew quiet, but what was going to happen would be for the best.
Wrapping her in my arms, I held her, whispering how much I loved her. “It's going to be difficult, saying goodbye to your father. I wish it could be another way.”
“I don't.” She glanced up at me. “I never wanted any part of his life, and now I don't have to be a part of it.” Then she rang the bell.
Donny answered, looking worse for the battle, but he was mending. “Ms. Jennings, your father's in his study.” There was no waiting on pins and needles tonight, Franc Crifaseno was waiting for us.
When we entered, Franc rose fluidly to his feet. “Sheree, sweetheart, are you all right?” His mouth said the words, but his eyes were always cold and distant.
“Yes, Dad, I'm fine, better than fine actually.” She laughed, and when she smiled, the tiniest bit of fang was revealed. Her father was not a kind man, but he was still her father. She would miss him, but no more than when his death came. All mortals die, leaving us behind, the reason vampires never take human mates. “I'm going to miss you, Dad.” Real tears glistened in her eyes.
“Now, what are you talking about? I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere.” Franc glanced from his daughter and back to me, looking for an explanation.
“I know, Dad, what I meant to say is, I'm going away. Maybe someday, I'll come back, but not for a very long time.” She smiled and took my hand. “I'm in love, Dad, please be happy for me.”
“You're in love? With him?” He raised his eyes to his daughter's. “You're crazy, you know what he is?”
“Yes, I do. I just came to say goodbye.” She leaned over and gently kissed his beard stubbled cheek.
“You're moving in with him?” he asked as if he couldn't believe his eyes or ears, and I had to smile.
“Goodbye, Dad, take care of yourself.” She backed out of the room as I stepped into her father.
“Hiya, Frankie. I have a couple of questions for you.” I grinned into his paling face. “I'm not even going to say anything about how you've treated your daughter or some of the things you've said. It doesn't matter anymore.” Sighing, I turned to what I needed to know. “You know, when we were trying to save your ass the other night, the old vamp had some interesting thoughts. Now, why don't you tell me why he chose your family out of all the families in Chicago to decimate?”
Franc blanched, growing paler. “I don't know what you're talking about,” he lied, I could see it in his eyes, smell it as he broke out in a cold sweat.
“Frankie, Frankie, Frankie ...” He backed away as I came closer. “You know I can tell when you lie, why do you try? Come on, just between us guys.” I pushed his shoulder, maybe harder than I needed to, “why would the old vamp want you and your family dead?” My fangs bloomed into life, my beast didn't like Franc, not one little bit. But that didn't mean it wouldn't bathe in his blood.
He backed away, closer to the door, as if he'd be able to make a quick escape. I had to laugh, my beast would be on him faster than he could blink an eye. And I moved closer still.
Finally, he found his voice, and wheezed out an answer. “You think you're the only vampire in Chicago? We had a bad one, a while back. She had to go. She had her nose where it didn't belong, costing me money. She started asking questions, started snooping around. Then that bald headed vampire came to see me.” Franc grinned at me, like he had something on me. “He said he was the boss of all the vampires in Chicago, and if this vamp was giving me problems, he'd take care of her. He only needed one favor.”
With hooded eyes, I asked in a deadpan voice, “What was the one favor, Franc?”
“See, that's the strange part. He said he needed my help importing some drug. He already had the drug purchased, he just needed someone to bring it into the country.” He tugged on the collar of his shirt. “But I don't share any of my territory, no sir, not the money making part of it, not any of it, and that's what I told him. He said not to worry. He wasn't selling, he was using.” Franc barked out a hard laugh. “Only losers use their own product.”
“Did he say what kind of drug he was bringing in?” My beast rolled a little, biding its time.
“Nope, he just needed transportation and I didn't need to know.” He shook his head, uncaring.
“So, how did you bring the drug in?” I backed him up as I moved closer.
“Well, that's the funny part.” And he smiled. “I was sending Bobby to Mexico on some business, you don't need to know about. I told him to take my daughter, she needed a vacation. I needed the drug brought in. It was easy from there. Sheree didn't even know.”
As Franc told his story, I listened in growing disbelief. In his arrogance, he had knowingly involved his daughter in drug trafficking and it didn't bother him. It probably wouldn't matter to the police either. Valerian looks like any other weed. It isn't illegal to anyone, except vampires. To us, it's a big taboo, it wasn't deadly, but with today's chemistry, who knows? If I was a betting man, I'd bet the Hierarchy had no idea about the Magistrate's private store, just another reason he needed to die. It also explained Loupgarin's need to see an end of the Crifasenos. They were the instruments by which he was tortured.
“You're a bigger fool than I gave you credit for, Franc. Do you know what you did?” Franc backed further toward the door. With unnatural speed, I stood, barring his exit. “You don't, do you?”
“I don't know what you're talking about. It was a business deal, nothing more.” But he blinked, and I saw it.
“See, Franc, the old vamp that came to see you, the one with the little drug problem?”
“Yeah?” His hands shook as he tried to hide them.
“He was using your family to bring my family into Chicago. What was the name of the vamp you were having problems with, the one you wanted taken care of?”
“Bella Sangreet, soon as I said there was a problem, she vanished. No interruption to my business. That was all I cared about anyway.”
Sighing deeply, the whole sordid story finally fell into place. The Draculs wouldn't have any knowledge of a Sangreet family member gone missing. But the Sangreets' took the justice it deemed necessary with the unsanctioned death of one of their own, assumed to be the work of the Draculs. Stupid fucking vampire politics. Which in turn led the Hierarchy, in all of its wisdom, to provide their own form of retribution. “He wiped out two families to help you out, so you'd bring his drug in.”
“Well, that has nothing to do with me.” His face paled, his hands wiped down his pant legs.
“Wrong, Franc, it has everything to do with you. Not only did he wipe out two families, but he had you bring in an illegal drug. You used your daughter to do it. You're a fool. This old vamp of yours used the drug as a means of torture. He wasn't using, he was abusing, driving Loupgarin to madness. But guess what?”
The old fool shrugged his beefy shoulders.
I shook my head, disgusted with the whole business. “He escaped and came after you and your family. He was either given the information or discovered who helped in his torture. He swore to kill all those involved, including Sheree.”
Franc paled further, backing away farther into the room. “I didn't know, I mean, I wouldn't hurt her or want her to be hurt, I just needed a mule.”
“And you didn't care that it was your daughter's life you were jeopardizing? Do you know what that makes you, Franc? I mean, besides an ass. That's makes you a man with a bull’s-eye on his forehead, and your daughter too. You know she died, right?”
Franc's breath caught in his throat, he coughed, tried to clear the obstruction. “What do you mean?”
“She's turned, and it's your fault.” My voice lost all hint of emotion, any bit of humanity, deadly calm came to it. “But don't worry, I'm going to take good care of her.” I stepped in closer.
“Wh-what are you going to do?” He was visibly shaking His nervous fingers plucked at his shirt, first jerking it away from his neck,then self-consciously, pulling it up tighter.
“Not what you're thinking.” I laughed in his face. “I wouldn't drink from you if I was dying of thirst and you were the last source of blood on Earth. But I can tell you this, it's only because she's your daughter that you're breathing today. If it was anyone else, I would have snapped his neck by now,” I sighed in a whisper. “And I promised her I wouldn't.”
As Franc Crifaseno backed further into the room, his knees met with one of the replacement sofas and he sat down, hard. When I saw the sofa, I almost laughed. I was wrong again, it was the same damn blood red color. He watched as I squatted down, pulling in his gaze. It takes time to wipe away a lifetime of memories, but that was okay, I had all night.
Crifaseno tried to find his strength, to show me how furious he was. “You're lying. She's fine, she was just here. You aren't taking her, she has a husband and he'll be back.”
Willing him to face me, I said, “Bobby's never coming back, he beat her, hurt her, and he would have killed her, like he did the baby.”
Shock crowded his features. “You know about that?”
“Yes, that and more, she's a prize Franc, and you chose to treat her like she was little more than rubbish, a worthless bit of flesh at your disposal.” Now, he was trapped, couldn't turn away as my eyes bore deeply into his. He lost his concentration and he limply sank back down into his bloody red sofa. “Your daughter no longer exists in your life, she's never existed, you had a child but you lost her a long time ago. If you should pas
s someone who has a familiar face, you won't recognize her as the child you once had. Do you understand, Franc ?”
“Yes...I lost my daughter a long time ago.” He repeated back dully.
“That's right, Franc, she's never existed.”
There were so few left who knew her as Franc Crifaseno's daughter. Donny would have to be dealt with, but only because he was so close to Franc.
It was a fact she had hidden most of her life, sheltered by her mother as a child. Then, she was sent to expensive foreign schools and college as a young adult, hidden as the wife of a hoodlum in marriage. Her mother feared the violence Franc's contemporaries might bring, causing her to keep her daughter secreted from his life. When she was at school, she had used her mother's maiden name. It was the name she chose to live by now, Sheree Elizabeth Stoffield. Never again would she be known as Crifaseno or Jennings, and I was hoping one day she’d chose to become Sheree Elizabeth Tepes.
Chapter Twenty-Five
It was another two nights before my strength returned to normal, and I was ready for the next challenge.
“You know what I have to do?” I asked Vanic and Sarah. I purposely left Sheree and Raymond out of this discussion, both were still adapting to life.
Vanic closed his eyes, Sarah leaned her head against his shoulder. “Yes, I know it has to be done. I only wish there was another way. One where you weren't in jeopardy.”
Vanic and I had discussed the Council, the Magistrate, and Rafael. Rafael had somehow found his way into the Council, torturing, maiming, and murdering Loupgarin's sanity, maybe over the centuries. All while the Council looked the other way.
“The Magistrate encouraged Loupgarin's torture, then held us responsible, threatened us all. Somehow, Rafael is involved, we both know it. He's a threat to us as well. We can't let that go, if we do, we'll be setting ourselves up for an easy kill to the next vampire that wants Chicago. And harming our family wasn't the Magistrate's worst transgression, he'd wiped at two other families to achieve his sick desires. It was for them that I'll seek justice as well.”
Vlad Tepes, the Vigilante Vampire Page 18
