Fury Calls

by Caridad Piñeiro

  When the last of the workers had been fed and the kitchen was spotless, it was nearly midnight. Blake and she reunited at the door to the alley.

  “Is everything all right, love? You seemed distant tonight,” he said, laying a hand on her shoulder.

  She shrugged off his touch and stepped away from him, earning Blake’s perplexed look. “Meghan?”

  “I’m just worried, that’s all. Stacia—”

  “Don’t let her get to you,” he urged, and reached for her again.

  “Like she got to you?” she challenged, but then shook her head. “Sorry. I know why you did it.”

  “And it won’t happen again, love. I promise,” he said. At her nod, they walked together to the meeting in the office where Diego, Ryder and Diana were already seated.

  The three were having some brandy and, when they entered, offered them a drink. Blake quickly accepted, but she demurred. She had never been much of a drinker, and she blamed Mr. Cuervo in part for her decision to go to the back rooms with Blake that long ago night.

  The civility of the drinks and the genteel sipping that ensued seemed at odds with the reason for their gathering. Since she was eager for news, she pressed forward after she and Blake sat down on the sofa.

  “Have you found out anything, Diana?”

  Diana was sitting at Diego’s desk in one of the chairs that had been turned to face the sofa. Diego and Ryder stood on either side of her, looking like the muscle in a movie star’s entourage. Diana took a sip of her brandy and nodded before beginning. “In studying vampire blood, Melissa discovered that in addition to the typical human blood cells, there are two vampire cell strains.”

  “Why was she playing with vampire blood?” Blake asked, earning a glare from Ryder and a sharp command for silence from Diego.

  “Sorry. Forgot that I’m just the hired help here,” he said, as he leaned back and took a sip from his snifter.

  “The second of the vampire cell strains,” Diana continued, “is rather fragile and survives just a short time after the blood is drawn from the vampire.”

  It was apparently Diego’s turn to be impatient. “What does this have to do with the outlawed sanguinarium drug?”

  “Melissa confirmed that the dead vamp’s blood contained similar trace elements to those left in the vial, so the vamp had clearly used the drug. She also found that there was an abnormally large amount of the one strain and the total absence of the more fragile cells in the dead vamp’s blood.”

  Meghan spoke up. “So this vampire crack causes one kind of cell to go crazy and destroys the second?”

  Diana nodded. “Apparently it’s the fragile strain that keeps control. Without them the bigger cells, which seem to deal with healing and vamp power, go wild and create—”

  “Horny, demented, throat-slashing bloodsuckers,” Blake chimed in. “So how do we stop a vamp who’s stoned on this stuff?”

  Ryder shrugged and crossed his arms. “Melissa is still working on an antidote. What have you been able to find out?”

  Blake squirmed in his chair and uneasily glanced at Meghan from the corner of his eye. “I talked to Foley at the Blood Bank. Seems he’s not the owner of the club.”

  “Really? That’s news. So who is?” Diego asked, clearly surprised by Blake’s revelation.

  Meghan replied at once. “The kiang-shi. Lee has been behind the scenes from the very beginning.”

  This earned a questioning look from Blake. “Found that out while you were having your little tête-à-tête with the Chinaman, did you?” A hint of jealousy filled his voice.

  “I did. So what else did you learn during your little mano a mano with Foley?”

  Blake shifted to avoid the glances of the others and slugged down a healthy gulp of the brandy. “Nothing that’s pertinent to this discussion.”

  “And you’ve made that determination because you’re suddenly an expert on criminal investigations?” Diana asked, arching one brow in challenge.

  “What Foley and I discussed is private and personal. Nothing else to say about it.” He fidgeted in his seat once more and Diana must have decided that there was no sense pressing him. Looking up at Diego, she said, “So what happened with Maximillian and Hadrian?”

  Diego leaned back against the edge of the desk and looked downward, his discomfort clear. “Hadrian has too much to lose right now to be involved in this.”

  “Too much to lose? Like what?” Ryder pressed.

  From across the room Meghan sensed Diego’s reticence to answer. Whatever he had to tell them was going to be a bombshell, she suspected, but she wasn’t prepared for what Diego said next.

  “His new wife is pregnant.”

  A stunned stillness settled over the room. Involuntarily Meghan’s hand fluttered upward to rest over her abdomen. “Pregnant? And she’s a—”

  “Vampire. He sired her after she’d been mortally wounded during a robbery. That siring produced—”

  “A baby,” Diana said with such a heartfelt sigh that Meghan felt her own heart clutch with pain. Diana’s head jerked to Ryder and then to Diego.

  “How is that possible?” she asked in whispered disbelief.

  “It’s rare, but…” Diego laid a hand on Diana’s shoulder. “If a woman is fertile at the time of siring and mating occurs, there’s a very small chance that a child can be conceived.”

  Meghan rubbed her hand over her barren belly. It hadn’t struck her until that moment that there might have been one glimmer of humanity still possible in her undead life. Clearly Diana felt the same way, judging from the wistful look that came to her face, only…

  Diana was still mortal, she thought. Making a baby with Ryder was therefore a possibility. It was a possibility Meghan had been robbed of thanks to…

  Blake.

  Thanks to him, there was nothing left of a normal life anymore. No husband. No kids.

  No happily-ever-after.

  Pain filled her at that thought and must have communicated itself to Blake from the special connection they shared.

  He reached out and laid a hand over hers, stilled the nervous motion of it against her empty womb.

  “I’m sorry, Meghan. Truly I am.”

  His words could never make up for not only her barren womb, but for the stark eternal life she had envisioned one time too many.

  Emotion swelled over her, so overwhelming that she ran from the room and back to the pantry. She laid her arms against the wall and buried her head against them, fought a losing battle with the tears and sobs that rattled the bones of her body.

  A second later she felt his touch on her arm, but she didn’t turn, didn’t release herself to the comfort he offered.

  Instead, Blake wrapped his arms around her waist. Leaning his head close to her ear, he said, “I wish I could take it all back, but I can’t.”

  No, he couldn’t, she thought. But the bigger question left to be answered was whether he could be the one to change her future. To possibly give her the hope that life eternal could hold some joy and not just loneliness.

  He held her for long moments, gentling her with his presence, as if trying to convince her that her current undead state didn’t need to amount to endless solitude. Look at Diego and Ramona, she told herself. And Hadrian and his pregnant wife.

  She drove away the thoughts of all she had lost, sucked in a long, settling breath and gathered herself. Turning, she said, “We need to go back in so we can find out what they want us to do next.”

  “If that’s what you want to do.” He cupped her cheeks and wiped away the trails of tears with his thumbs.

  “It’s what we need to do,” she said and moved away from him, but he was quick to act.

  “Don’t run away from me, Meghan. I know all of this is unexpected—”

  “That’s an understatement,” she confessed.

  He leaned his forehead against hers and dropped a quick kiss on her lips. “Trust in this, love. Give it the time it needs to develop.”

  “I g
uess time is one thing we have plenty of, isn’t it?”

  He recognized the bitterness of her words and backed away. “I’ll take you home after this, if you’d rather.”

  Meghan thought of the large, empty apartment awaiting her if she took him up on his offer. She had been rattling around the rooms for months, almost lost. As luxurious as it was, it didn’t feel like home.

  She had to admit to herself that the apartment didn’t provide her the kind of comfort she had experienced since setting foot in Blake’s unusual apartment.

  With a quick hitch of her shoulders, she said, “Your place is…cozier.”

  Blake chuckled, clearly trying to keep the tone of their talk light. “Cozy being a right proper euphemism for small.”

  She smiled reluctantly. “Nope. Cozy being another word for homey. Comfortable,” she added at the last minute, surprising even herself with the confession.

  Blake made her feel comfortable. She had never expected to feel that way about the man who had irrevocably changed the course of her life, but she did. As baffled as she was by all that she was feeling, she had taken the time to consider Diana’s words of the other day and her fears about future heartache. She had realized that in the years since he turned her, Blake had been there to protect her time and time again. That he had made himself a part of her circle of friends, always there to lend a hand. Always there without being asked or even appreciated.

  He had been proving himself for years, only she had never been willing to accept it or him. Even now, she feared to believe as he asked, but maybe if she did…

  Maybe some things were possible.

  He slipped his hand into hers without saying anything as if he knew that by speaking he would splinter the fragile trust she had bestowed with her earlier words.

  She accepted that silence and followed him back to the office. All eyes were on them as they reentered and took their places again. As they sat, she slowly pulled her hand from his, wanting to guard what was happening between them for the moment. It was still too new, too fragile and too uncertain for her to shout out about it with any public displays of affection.

  “What do we do next?” she asked, wanting to return to the reason for the meeting.

  Ryder spoke first. “Melissa is going to try and isolate the active ingredient in the drug that causes the imbalance between the two cell strains. If she can do that, she may be able to create an antidote that will neutralize the drug’s effects and end the bloodlust.”

  Diana immediately jumped in and added, “You two should head to the Blood Bank again. See if there’s anything that appears like drug dealing going on with the vampires. Find out more about this kiang-shi. See if he’s old enough to know about the drug.”

  “And boss man here?” Blake questioned, motioning to Diego.

  “I’m going to keep an eye out around here. Talk to Stacia and see if there’s some way she can help us find out where the drug is coming from,” Diego replied.

  “Sounds like a plan,” Blake said, and rose from the couch. “We’ve got to go. Late night. Need to rest up for work tomorrow,” he said, and faked a yawn.

  “This isn’t a joking matter,” Ryder said.

  In a fatherly tone, Diego added, “You two need to take this seriously.”

  Meghan met Blake’s gaze and it was intense. His bright-blue eyes were alive with life and humor. With a crooked grin, he said, “Oh, I believe we are quite serious this time. Right, Meghan?”

  Once again it was difficult for her to deal publicly with whatever was happening between them, but she couldn’t hurt him and so she tried to make her response as neutral as she could.

  “We are serious, Diego. We understand the consequences of what may happen.” As she said the words, however, she realized they were about much more than the investigation, as did Blake.

  His smile wavered for a moment, but then he added, “Totally understood. Some things are too important to risk.”

  When he slipped his hand into hers this time, she couldn’t deny him, sensing she would jeopardize whatever was happening between them. Sensing that whatever was happening could make a huge difference for the future.

  Maybe a future filled with something other than heartache and desolation.

  Lee had selected the three women not just for their beauty but, more important, for their decided susceptibility to suggestion. A thought implanted here and there, coupled with the pull of his undead power, was enough to guarantee him both bedmates and a meal.

  Tonight he had all three women pleasing him physically. That he could order them to do anything he wished only increased the gratification he took from his debaucheries.

  “Baobei,” he said to the Chinese girl on her knees before him.

  A shy smile came to her face, and she bent her head obediently. “This treasure would like to please you, Sun Tze.”

  At his curt nod, she encircled his flaccid penis and from behind him he heard, “May I pleasure you as well?”

  He glanced over his shoulder at the tall African-American girl, and something cold slithered down his back. As he spied what was missing from the wall of the back room, he grinned and said, “Why of course, my pet.”

  The third woman—the young blonde who reminded him too much of the feisty chef—took a place at his side. With a sexy pout, she rubbed her naked breasts against his arm. “What? No room for me?”

  “Do not worry. There is enough of me for all of you,” he said, but a rough gasp was torn from his throat as the woman behind him finally penetrated him and the woman on her knees took him into her mouth.

  Not to be left out, the blonde beside him reached down and cupped his balls. With practiced caresses she squeezed and fondled him, stroking the sensitive gap between his balls as the two other women continued with their ministrations as well, building his passion.

  The blonde sensed his growing arousal and leaned ever closer to him, knowingly caressing him with her hands and with the sweep of her breasts. The demon that he was forgot all about the pleasures of the flesh as the smell of her skin infused him, as warmth of her life pressed against him. As the beat of her heart registered strong and steady beside him.

  He slipped his arm around the blonde’s waist and bent his head to inhale her freshness. He imagined that her blood would be as clean and crisp.

  Just as refreshing as he imagined Meghan Thomas might be if he were to sample her. He envisioned taking the independent chef, violating her while he drank his fill…

  But he was saving her for something else. Something very special that would show all the human wannabes what being a vampire was all about.

  As he imagined that bloodbath the demon erupted, long fangs bursting forth from his mouth to pierce the long line of the blonde’s neck. His eyes became solid orbs of crimson, coloring everything in his world in hues of blood.

  The blonde managed a short scream as he fed, but he drained her so quickly that he was already grabbing the other two women when her limp body fell away and they realized what was happening.

  He continued his feasting on the tall African-American girl, savoring the strength that surged through his veins with her blood. As she, too, dropped away, slack from the blood loss, he finally turned his attention to the young Asian girl, who cowered before him, crying in fear. “Kiang-shi. Kiang-shi.”

  Laughing, he hauled her up and with his greater strength, lifted her so that he could impale himself in her body while he fed, violating her not once but twice. As he did so, he called out to his kiang-shi bodyguards to come and share in the feast. To come and finish granting him his pleasure.

  The first kiang-shi through the door immediately took the place of the African-American girl, driving deep and finally releasing Lee’s climax into the girl he still held in his arms.

  When he freed her, he motioned to the other two kiang-shi bodyguards, offering them his leftovers. What remained of the women’s blood would keep their bodies from decomposing for the next few days. Since he had forbidden them
from exchanging blood with any of their European cousins, they were not filled with the strength and powers of the vampire elders as he was.

  As for the vampire who had rushed in to satisfy him, Lee urged him around so that they were facing. Leaning close, he whispered a kiss across the other man’s lips before raising his wrist to reward him with a taste of his elder blood. Spiced as it was with the life of Foley’s blood, it was more potent and would sustain his Kiang-shi guard for days longer than anything human.

  The glow began in his bodyguard’s eyes, a dull red like that of a lunar eclipse, but as his fangs elongated, the gleam intensified until only bright-red orbs remained.

  The kiang-shi pierced the skin at Lee’s wrist and drank thirstily. Each pull and suck of his mouth roused Lee’s passion yet again. When the kiang-shi was nearly done feeding, Lee pulled him off his wrist, whirled him around and plunged himself deep into the other man.

  The startled cry of pain only intensified the bliss surging through Lee’s veins. As the other man grappled with him to be set free, Lee sank his fangs deep into the thick muscle at the man’s shoulder, punishing him for his desire to escape.

  The shaken kiang-shi stilled and with a soft moan of acquiescence, accepted the violation.

  When Lee was done sating himself, he tossed the kiang-shi away and to the floor, where the two others were finishing up their meals.

  It was then, as the limp body of the blonde snared his gaze again, that he reminded himself of the unfinished business to be settled.

  He had to find a way to foment discord amongst the cadre of vamps at Otro Mundo and their other human haunts. Once they were busy distrusting one another, he would take Meghan and unleash hell upon them.

  If any of them managed to survive, he and his Kiang-shi would be there to finish them off.

  Chapter 17

  Blake had skipped the closing get-together at the restaurant that night in favor of scoping out the Blood Bank again. There was just too much about Lee that he didn’t like, and he figured that the Asian vampire had to have something to do with all the problems going down lately at Otro Mundo. Not that Foley had mentioned anything about that during their talk. So far, all he could pin on Lee was his abuse of Foley and the too-lewd looks he had bestowed on Meghan on various occasions.