“There were several plans to extract you. But David expected the vampires and was prepared for the wolves. In the end, we knew he wouldn’t keep you forever. His Halloween party tonight was largely a show for gathering all of his people into one place for protection. Several attempts were made from different angles tonight. Some failed, some were backup. All were distractions, because amid everything else, he’d never expect them to send me.”
Not the protected human of the Murder King. Everyone knew she wasn’t to be allowed around anything seriously dangerous. She pressed her lips and buried the issue. Not the most important thing to focus on at the moment.
She’d been safe, unless she’d screwed up. But she’d learned vamp tricks at Sebastian’s knee as a child. Not to mention those she’d created as a rebellious teenager trying to circumvent her vampire and werewolf foster family.
Many had argued. Violently. She was too weak. Sebastian would go insane at just the suggestion. This was too important to leave in the hands of a human. In the end, she’d had the simplest plan to back and if she failed, well, hopefully at least one of the plans wouldn’t.
“And it worked.” She smiled triumphantly into the rear-view mirror, thinking carefully over the last few days and all the plans she’d made, picturing them in detail for him to pluck from her mind.
At great risk to yourself.
Mary sighed. She knew he wouldn’t like that part. To Sebastian, risk to her was unacceptable. But did he realize the terror she’d felt when he’d been captured? She’d never forget the sight of him, his once vital, invincible body strapped helplessly to that table, tubes draining him of the powerful blood he needed to survive? His skin graying with a sick blue tinge as they took him from her, drop by drop?
Mary checked her mirrors, blinking and moving her eyes to air dry them as she breathed deep to fight the crushing images. She’d only seen those things today, but every moment since his disappearance she’d imagined images just as horrible. Some even worse. She’d do anything to aid him when he needed her.
He wasn’t just her childhood savior. Or the dominating law of her youth. He was so much more important to her than those phasing images.
I… the sound in her mind was similar to a sigh. An acceptance. I do thank you.
“You would do no less for me.”
It would be much less dangerous for me.
Again she pictured his thinning skin, his sunken chest. His veins blackened from the tainted blood they’d forced into him. The pain he must have felt was unimaginable. She’d tried. She’d seen first-hand what vampires could do, and not just when she was a child. Those memories would never leave her. Pain was pain. Torture was torture. No one, vampire or human, was exempt from the risk of agony.
It had all come down to one salient point. Which could she live with best: risk of death, be it quick or slow, or live with the loss of him, knowing she’d done nothing to prevent it?
How did you know I still lived?
She’d felt it. “Intel.”
Silence.
“Why the elaborate set up, the snail’s pace torture? If he wanted you dead, why not a quick, clean kill before he lost his chance?”
They didn’t tell you?
And break the code of secrecy they loved so well? She snorted. The subtext had flown around, but no one had wanted to explain. At first because they didn’t want her involved, then because she’d have less to think about, therefore less chance to screw up the rescue. She had a long way to go to prove herself to them. Or, at least, to the Crows willing to let her prove herself.
You have nothing to prove and no reason to try so hard.
A blank wall rose in her mind. Mostly white with a gray crack that split in so many directions she could mentally trace it for hours. Which she had done before. She’d been using this trick for years since it seemed the most effective of all she’d tried. By the time he broke her, the thought she hid would be long gone.
He sighed again. David had a sister. She crossed the line.
The Murder had been created long before the vampires had expanded past the Old World, before the ruling Monarchy had been replaced with more of a republic, with Senators representing the territories they ruled. Meaning the Murder existed outside of their rule, as the law itself. Everyone, citizen and ruler, answered to the Murder. Not for minor infractions, territories could govern themselves, but anything cross-territorial or a major violation. Whenever a rogue believed he answered to no one, killed indiscriminately and risked lawlessness and war, Senator or peon, The Murder was called.
Tatiana ruled an area in France a hundred years ago. She took a page from the bloody countess and bathed in the blood of virgins, not for the youthful beauty the countess had sought. Tatiana did it for pleasure and gluttony. Her antics, while legal in her territory as she was the ruler, risked vampires as a whole. The Murder was called and I dealt the death blow. David, as well as many others of her people, were ordered to watch and learn the lesson.
“And instead, he learned to hate you.”
My mentor and predecessor was killed during the battle. Her death marked my ascension to Murder King.”
Ahh. For someone to profit from a sibling’s death. That would be impossible to accept. “Why wait so long for revenge?”
He waited until victory was certain.
Meaning David thought the Murder King was finally vulnerable. There had been a hole in Sebastian’s security. She tightened her grip on the wheel.
Her first two years of college had been full of online classes backed with evening classes. But this year, the courses she needed were only at certain times – day times – and her presence was mandatory. She’d moved into a dorm, living the college student’s life, separate from the Murder for the first time since that fatal family camping trip.
She’d needed the independence, the chance to mature away from their watchful eyes or they would forever see only the defenseless child she’d been. Or the protected pet she’d become. Unless she got away long enough to become the capable woman that was her destiny.
But, dear God, she’d left the Murder King vulnerable. His guards had been with her. This was her fault.
No. He bit the word out with a sharp snap. This is David’s fault. He was coming for me sooner or later.
“But he had a chance because of me.”
I left myself in the open.
She could hear the click as pieces fell into place. Over the last week, she’d heard a few facts of his disappearance. He’d been out of the compound at the time, but not on a case. Something that hadn’t happened in a hundred years. But, more than that, Sebastian’s werewolf bodyguard had glared at her, his hazel eyes accusing. Lucas was never off duty. Strong, lethal, loyal. Pretty damned hot.
Sebastian growled in the back of her mind.
Lucas had blamed her. Then, each of the others had fallen in suit. “You were checking up on me.”
Silence.
“I knew you had me watched. I haven’t fought the guards because I understand why I need them.” And her guards had kept it low key, granting her as much freedom and privacy as possible while keeping her safe. The Murder King had too many enemies and his human ward knew too many secrets.
Those aren’t the only reasons why.
“Did they threaten me?”
Yes.
“And you came for me? By yourself?”
No. But there were enough distractions that I was separated from the others.
She sighed and focused on her driving. Music played softly in the background and she let her attention drift with the words and the scenery. A half hour later, she pulled into a double wide storage unit. Using a slab on wheels and a winch system, she transferred his light-proof crate to the back of another SUV, cleaned anything that could identify them, set the scent-scrubber bombs and drove away in a vehicle with Oregon plates. A quick trip through a drive-thru netted her a burger and drink and she continued on.
Through it all, he was quiet. Considering
the height of the sun in the sky, he probably slept like the dead. He didn’t actually have to, but after being tortured for a week…well. She finished her burger and bagged the trash.
Something had to change. She needed college. Not just for her or for creds in the real world, but for the distance. For years now, she’d had one dream. Likely Sebastian knew. Bits and pieces at the very least. She wasn’t that good at hiding her thoughts, but maybe some of it had stayed private.
The fact was, he’d never been a father figure to her. She remembered her own dad too well for that. No, Sebastian wasn’t her dad, but he was everything else. He was the strength that rescued her, not only the once, but every night in her dreams. He was the wisdom that guided her growth, as well as the growth of a coven of fifty vampires and as many wolves. Policing rogues wasn’t a cushy job.
But beyond all that, his humor made her smile. His anger alternated between making her cringe and sparking her blood. And his big, hard, healthy body made her wet…in places she dare not think of with him in the car with her, whether he was asleep or not.
She couldn’t have him. Not yet. She would not be a liability to him. Despite the years of training that could’ve earned her a blacker than black belt, or the excellent marks she’d made with all her tutors, she needed two things before she could fulfill her dream and become his woman.
Unfortunately, they were the two hardest things for him to grant. Time and distance.
Distance so her thoughts could be private while she worked on herself. So her gradual changes could be noticeable when she returned home. Then Sebastian and the others would see a different woman. A grown, mature woman, worthy of respect.
And time for her to become that woman, a strong partner worthy of their leader. The kind he needed. Any weakness in her would reflect on him. A human could only do so much in his world, physically, but mental weakness was worse. Anything she could do to avoid appearing like a child would be to his benefit.
And that included age. He’d been turned in his thirties. She had a good five to ten years before she could stand by him without looking like his kid sister, or worse, as now, his daughter.
Five to ten years of living, a degree in business, minor in politics, and then he could turn her. Assuming, please God, that he wanted her by then. That she’d proven herself.
Mary breathed deep, pulling back from her vision of the future. She had a vivid imagination. Too much focus on it and she might forget she wasn’t there yet. She’d skip the years of hard work and imagine the next step, lying beside him in soft cotton sheets, their bare bodies close. Touching.
Which was much too detailed two hours from sundown. Mary leaned forward and cranked the radio. A quick check of the maps on her cell phone, re-reading the directions to the safe house, and she settled in to sing with the radio, emptying her mind of all else.
The sky was a mix of orange and yellow, the last burst of the sun before it fell below the horizon. Mary pulled into the garage and closed the doors, making careful mental note of the placement of items and doors and switches and, especially, of the alarm code for Sebastian. He wouldn’t exit the crate until the sun was fully down. There were too many ways the house might not be fully light-proof.
Is this place secure?
Mary thought over her plans and precautions, letting him see the details. “I paid cash and rented it under that emergency name you gave me.”
Then only the two of us know.
“What about whoever made the ID?”
Not an issue.
Mary shivered at the implication and continued into the house. The bagged blood would have smoothed the edge of his starvation and sickness, but for true healing he would need fresh blood. She found the master bedroom and attached bath, set a duffel bag on the counter and took the necessary washes to the shower. She had to scrub away the face-altering makeup and every inch slathered in knock-out gel.
Forty-five minutes later, Mary exited the steamy bathroom in a tank top and matching sky blue cotton shorts. Her hair hung in a straight, wet curtain to the middle of her back and thin wisps drying to blonde framed her face. Finally, she looked like what she was, a youthful, relatively innocent college student.
Light from the doorway behind her spilled into the darkened bedroom, illuminating the man sitting on the edge of her bed. The light struck his eyes, making shiny sparkles in the vibrant blue. Apparently distance didn’t affect only the way people saw her, but also the way she saw them.
She’d always loved Sebastian, in all his many roles. But this one was new. Still thin and weakened from his ordeal, his skin had healed the small wounds and discoloration. Now his bare chest gleamed golden and his veins had returned to blue from the poisoned black.
His hair gleamed wet from his own shower and he’d chosen a pair of comfortable cotton sweats for the night. His bare feet curled into the carpet and his elbows rested on his slightly splayed knees, his chin resting on his fists as he studied her just as thoughtfully as she did him.
“You have nothing to prove. You will not risk yourself in such a misguided endeavor again.”
His voice was the same commanding baritone he’d always used. His mouth settled into the same thin line, demanding obedience. Unhappy until it was willingly given. But something was different. He seemed more approachable and it wasn’t the amazing amount of muscled strength on display. She’d seen his body before, just as intriguing then as it was now.
No. Not his lack of clothing or the weakness he fought. Whatever was different, she didn’t react with a knee-jerk urge to rebel against his words. Instead, she stepped forward with a calm assurance in her mind, her body, and her tone.
“I will risk whatever I deem necessary in order to aid those I care for. No matter the labels you give it later.”
Sebastian straightened, still sitting on the bed, but his spine was a strong line and his shoulders a broad wall against the darkness behind him. “You would defy my command?”
Mary came to a stop directly in front of him, her eyes not much higher than his though he sat. She met his gaze without flinching. “You would have me be less than the woman you’ve helped raise me to be?”
His eyes narrowed. “No, but I would have you safe.”
She raised her brows, then her chin, asking the question they needed to have in the open between them. “Would you have me be a coward?”
He stared at her in silence, the point of no return a firm line between them. He’d ruled vampires and wolves long enough to know there came a moment when each individual was no longer a child. Her moment had come and he had to accept it.
She accepted that there was much still for her to learn. Levels of maturity she had to earn. Mistakes she had to make. She didn’t want to die. Didn’t want to risk herself in ridiculous acts of recklessness, but like with tonight, she’d had a plan. She’d implemented it with only the help of those she trusted implicitly, and she had succeeded. He was alive and safe and well worth the risk.
His hands clenched on his thighs, the only sign of the struggle inside of him. “I knew the woman you would be the moment I first gazed into your eyes. And while these years have taken forever in your eyes, in mine they’ve been the work of but a moment. I’m not ready to set you free.”
Mary lowered to her knees, settling between his and gently covering his fists with her hands. “I haven’t asked for freedom from you. Only freedom to be me.”
His eyes flared, the blue an intense beam cutting straight to the marrow of her make up. “Are you really so positive you know what that means?”
“It means I am not an empty puppet or a brainless doll.” Her hands clenched tight over his, her eyes wide and earnest. “I am me and that is what you have. I am yours.”
His face lowered over hers, his gaze devouring hers, his lips a breath away. “You vow this?”
That quick, breath left her lungs. She could barely move in the intensity of the moment between them. With one hand, she drew her hair over her right shoulder, baring
the left side of her neck. He needed to feed. She could sense his hunger. But also, she could sense that he hungered for her, specifically. And the promise he asked for would be sealed with her blood. It was the way of the vampire. Blood was life. Blood was sacred.
Wetting her lips, she spoke softly but firmly. Her words brushed his cheek. “I vow that I am yours. Your human.”
Sebastian lowered his mouth to her throat, kissing her pulse. Inhaling her scent from beneath her earlobe and slowly down, to the fragile line of her collar bone, he whispered against her. “I don’t want you to be just my human.”
Mary swallowed, her heart beating so hard in her chest it rocked her to her foundations. “When the time comes, I vow that I will be your vampire.”
Sebastian smiled, his lips stretching and brushing the top of her breast. His tongue was soft and erotically damp as he traced the chords of her neck up, to her ear where he whispered, “Closer. But I want more.”
Mary inhaled deeply, her chest rising. Her breasts aching, the tips tight and pointedly scraping his chest. She held in the moan, searching for the promise he wanted from her.
Arousal tightened the muscles of her stomach, clenched her thighs where she stayed on her knees by sheer force of will. Her hands wrapped over his biceps, holding her to her place before him. His skin warmed to her touch, sparking her temperature even higher. Her desire for him was unmistakable. And he wasn’t pushing her away or forcing her to keep a respectable distance. Instead, he opened his mouth and scraped his fangs delicately along the vulnerable line of her throat. Helpless to hold it back, she moaned.
“I like to hear you think as you reach a decision. Not the ruthless, linear logic my mind works with, but logical nonetheless. There are so many of your decisions I would never understand if I didn’t have this advantage.”
The Murder King's Woman Page 2
