Dangerous Retaliation (The Harcourte Vampyre Society Book 4)

by Kelley, Morgan

  His mistake would be her win.

  As she opened her mouth to speak, Patrick stared into her eyes. “Quiet. You will speak only when spoken to, my sexy little snack. Are we clear?”

  Jolie pretended to be under his compulsion.

  She nodded.

  Outside, his laughter filled the air. “Now, how about we get to know each other?”

  Then he grabbed a handful of her ass right before he roughly kissed her.

  Oh, he was in so much trouble, and not from her mates. Jolie was going to make him bleed.

  Patrick was screwed.

  Inside, the mates brushed off the human women. As they pawed at them, it made both men uncomfortable. Not because they were under Patrick’s spell, but because any woman’s touch but Jolie’s made them ill.

  As the women circled around Mathew, the men shook their heads. He looked a little too happy, and that spoke volumes.

  “Mathew, stay here,” ordered Jacques. No one missed that the accent was back and thicker than ever.

  Someone was pissed.

  Flynn pointed at the guardian in training. “Watch our backs, not the babes.”

  Mathew grinned. “I can multitask.”

  They let it go at that. For now, the men had more important things to do. At the back door, they peered out into the darkened alley.

  Both men wanted to kill Patrick.

  Jolie was backed against the wall looking completely helpless. Instinctually, they wanted to rush out there and help her, but they knew now wasn’t the time.

  Jolie had a job to do.

  Instead of letting them suffer, her laughter floated through their minds. She was with them, offering peace.

  “I’m going to kill him,” Flynn stated. “When this is all over, I’m going to peel his flesh from his body.”

  Jacques placed his hand on Flynn’s shoulder. “It’s okay, my friend. Jolie has this. Watch. She’ll have him in the palm of her hand in a minute. I’ve seen her do this over the centuries. Sometimes you catch more flies with a pretty face.”

  He stared at his mate. When had they switched roles? Generally, Flynn was the laid back one, and Jacques was overprotective.

  “Honey, Jacques. It’s ‘you catch more flies with honey than vinegar’.”

  “Whatever it is, she’s going to catch him in her web.”

  Flynn simply shook his head. He gave up. For now, he’d wait and be ready for anything.

  * * * H a r c o u r t e * * *

  He was watching her like prey, and that was exactly what Jolie wanted from him.

  “What’s your name?” she asked.

  “Patrick, and yours?” he whispered, focused on her throat. He was licking her neck and getting ready to sink his teeth into her flesh.

  “Jolie Harcourte.”

  That got his attention, or maybe it was the hand on his chest, draining him. The look on his face was one of shock and surprise.

  “You're a vampyre.”

  She laughed. “Yes, I am, and I’m going to kill you, Patrick. But first, let’s get down to business.” Jolie motioned to her mates waiting in the shadows.

  “What do you want?” he growled, trying to break free.

  “How astute of you to realize I’m here for a reason. I’ve come for the abducted baby. It’s been brought to my attention that Zola Saran gave you a child she stole. Well, she’s part of my family, and you’re going to tell me where she is.”

  “I don’t know nothing about no baby,” he insisted.

  Jolie could smell the lie.

  “Tsk tsk, Patrick. You’re not being forthright. That’s got to stop, or I’m going to have to beat it out of you. Trust me when I say that I may look like I’m weaker than you, but I pack one hell of a punch.”

  She called Death.

  The man’s eyes went wide.

  “You’re the harbinger!”

  She laughed. “Among other things, yes. I’m your worst nightmare, Patrick, so it’s best you tell me where the baby is, and we can be on our merry way.”

  He struggled.

  Jolie had enough. Leaning into him, she kept her lips slightly away from him. As she opened her mouth, a blue haze began leaching from his body and into hers.

  Both mates stared. Jolie’s power was getting stronger.

  Death’s laughter filled their minds.

  “Please!” he begged.

  She continued feeding from him like that, until she could feel his body nearly depleted. A part of her wanted to question this new gift, but she wouldn’t. It was working in her favor.

  When Patrick was ready to drop, she touched the side of his face. In his mind, she found the truth. The child was definitely safe. He’d delivered her to a society to raise because he didn’t want to kill a child.

  It appeared that Patrick had a conscience after all.

  “So, Zola thinks you killed the child?”

  “I don’t do kids! She was a helpless vampyre baby. She never hurt anyone, and that’s a line I won’t cross,” he muttered, getting weaker.

  She had a choice to make, and it was one that wouldn’t please her mates.

  “You just saved your own life, Patrick.” Jolie stood back as his body crumbled to the ground.

  Her men approached.

  “Are you going to finish him?” Jacques asked. “Or do you prefer I do it?”

  “He’s not dying today.”

  Flynn opened his mouth, and then closed it again. He trusted Jolie. He had to believe she knew what she was doing. Besides, he once challenged her, and she’d had a plan the entire time. He wasn’t going to go that route again. “What now?”

  She was pleased that he’d not fought with her over this one. “I need my phone. I’ll call Nathaniel and have him get back Ariel. It’ll look better if the head of council does it, not us. We might scare the shit out of them.”

  The men didn't doubt that.

  Flynn handed Jolie her cell, and she made the call. It was quick, succinct, and to the point. When she was done, she hung up.

  “Flynn, can you go to the society and retrieve Ariel?” she inquired, hanging up the phone. “Nathaniel is contacting them and will meet you there. I’ve called for Mina to drive there for the baby. I don’t want to send her alone. I trust Nathaniel about as far as I can throw him.”

  “Absolutely, baby,” he said, dropping a kiss to her lips. “I’m on my way. I’ll see you both back at the house,” he said.

  Jolie stroked his cheek. “Thank you, my love. I’m blessed to have a man who trusts my judgment.”

  He grinned. “It’s those jeans. I’m helpless.”

  Jacques laughed as their mate walked around the side of the building to get to his bike. They heard him fire it up.

  “Are you going to tell me I should have killed him?”

  “No, my love. I’m not. I trust you.”

  She kissed him next. “Thank you, Jacques.”

  Then, she realized something.

  “Where’s Mathew?”

  “He’s inside with the women. He was graciously letting them crawl all over him as he watches the door.”

  “Poor Mathew. How hard is life when that’s your job?” she asked, laughing.

  “We should grab him and head home. It won’t take Flynn long to make the pickup.”

  As she scanned, Jolie didn’t feel right.

  Something was off.

  There was a familiar energy inside.

  Jacques followed her into the bar, staring at her ass in the skin tight jeans. His mind wasn’t on the situation inside, but what he planned for her later that night.

  The brief distraction was a mistake.

  It was the first he’d made in six hundred years of protecting his mistress, and it was going to cost them.

  Jolie cleared the door first and knew what was going to happen.

  Zola was there, and her focus was on Mathew.

  If she didn't move fast, Zola was going to make him pay for her hatred for Jolie.

  Mathew wasn’t
watching anyone’s back. He had a hand on each woman’s ass, as they rubbed wantonly against him. He was being a young vampyre, and it was about to cost him dearly.

  Beside him stood the little blonde messenger from Death, and she was staring up at Mathew, unseen by the vampyre.

  Jolie knew what she needed to do.

  Mathew was about to meet his maker by Zola’s hand.

  “Jacques!” she warned, right before she moved toward Mathew. It took seconds and was instinct. He was like her child.

  Jolie couldn’t let him die.

  “Mathew, no!” she shouted, drawing both his and Zola’s attention. It bought her the time she needed. Jolie was able to insert herself between them, taking the blow meant for her guardian in training.

  The knife came so fast, it was a blur. The sickening sound of it cutting flesh filled the air. Jolie stood frozen as if time stopped. Her hand went to the knife embedded in her body.

  There were no sounds around her.

  Then, it all sped up.

  Jacques screamed her name.

  Flynn howled into her mind, begging her to stay.

  Zola grinned wickedly in victory as she escaped out the door.

  Jolie got one word out as everything went completely black.

  He couldn’t let this transpire.

  Not on his watch.

  Jacques knew better than to get distracted. In that brief second, everything happened so fast. The glint of metal caught his eye as the dagger sank its way into Jolie. He reached for her as she began falling to the floor.

  ‘Jolie,’ he screamed through their minds.

  ‘Mercury,’ she gasped as Death pulled her away from awareness. Jolie wasn’t sure if she was dying, or if death was screwing with her.

  Jacques didn't waste any time. He swung her up in his arms just as Mathew reached for her. “We have to get her home.”

  Inside the bar, everyone watched curiously.

  The vampyres wouldn’t call the police, but the humans might. That was a chance he couldn’t take.

  Jacques strode past all the patrons in the bar with her in his arms. Mathew raced behind, already beginning to apologize.

  “Oh god, she saved me,” he whispered looking horrified. When he’d finally saw Zola, it was too late. He’d been helpless to move out of her way. After she struck, she was gone.

  “Yes, she did. I need you to focus and pull the knife from her body, Mathew! Hurry! It’s mercury tipped.”

  Mathew didn't hesitate. The second they hit the door, he did as his master asked.

  Outside, they were surprised to find Chloe standing there, only it was Vanth’s eyes watching them.

  “She’s with our mistress. I heard the scream,” she admitted.

  “What can we do?”

  Chloe followed them to the detective, sitting in Flynn’s Hummer. “We get her home. Death isn’t keeping her. She’s likely protecting her.”

  Jacques didn't know whether to be grateful, or scared shitless.

  Tommy jumped from the vehicle and opened the door for Jacques to get in. “Is she…”

  “No, she’s not.”

  He was glad. “I’ll get a ride back here later and get the bikes,” Tommy offered.

  Jacques didn't care. Someone could steal them. He’d pay for them and let it go. Jolie mattered more.

  His heart was aching to know if she was okay.

  “Jolie, I need you to wake up. I can’t give you blood if you’re with Death,” he said, sensing the hysteria building deep in his body. “Jolie,” he pleaded.

  “Tommy drive us home,” demanded Jacques.

  Flynn was in his mind, and it was taking everything he had to focus on Jolie and their situation. Zola could be waiting for them. If she was going to strike when someone was weakest, this would be the moment.

  “Please, Vanth, bring her back,” he begged. “Wake her!”

  Vanth shook her head. “I can’t, Jacques. She isn’t in there. Jolie is safe. You have to trust me. I wouldn’t lie to you. The minute she was hurt, my mistress dispatched me here. I’ll be your intermediary. It’ll be okay.”

  “Please, call Death! I’ll give anything to have her back,” he whispered, tears filling his eyes. “I need her to live.”

  In all honesty, the guilt was overwhelming him.

  He stopped protecting her, wasn’t focused on the job, and this happened.

  Vanth shook her head. “I’ll try, Jacques, but if Death wants to hold her there for now, there’s nothing we can do.”

  She closed her eyes and called for her mistress, but there was no reply.

  Death didn't want to be bothered.

  She had business to attend to.

  When Jolie opened her eyes, she knew where she was. The garish colors and gilded furniture gave it away.

  She was dead.

  If that wasn’t enough to freak a girl out, she was resting on a black silk covered bed with her head in Death’s lap.

  “Crap,” she muttered.

  It made her companion laugh.

  “Really? Is it that painful to visit your maker once in a while and pretend to enjoy it?”

  How was she supposed to answer that?

  “Am I dead again?”

  “No, I brought you here until your body absorbs the mercury. That’s nasty stuff and could harm your children. I’m just taking a precaution. Fear not, little one. ”

  “We need to talk about that,” Jolie said, sitting up. “How did you manage to make me pregnant with one of Jacques’s children? He’s sterile.”

  Death grinned. “I made you both. I can fix things when need be.”

  Jolie stared at her. “I mean it. How?”

  She signed. “I gave him a day of fertility. It wasn’t easy. I do have to be accountable for all my actions.”

  “To who?”

  She laughed. “That my little one is a very long and complicated story.”

  “To God?” Jolie wouldn’t let it go.

  “There’s no such thing. I hate to disappoint all those people who run around thinking that the good book is real, but it isn’t. God never existed.”

  She didn't understand.

  “There’s life and death. That’s all.”

  “Is life a real person?”

  Death shrugged. “Am I a real ‘person’?”

  Point taken.

  Death was death.

  “So, I can go home when the mercury is gone?”

  Death stood, holding out her hand for Jolie. “Yes, you may. I’m only keeping you here to make sure your babies are safe. Nothing more.”

  “Why?”

  “I promised you a pregnancy and birth of two healthy babies. I’m keeping my end of the deal. You’re awful suspicious of everyone. Has anyone told you that’s not necessarily a good thing?”

  Jolie placed her hand over her stomach in a protective gesture.

  “I have to be. These are my children.”

  “Right you are.”

  “Thank you for saving them. I appreciate it,” Jolie admitted. “I really want these babies to be born.”

  “It’s going to be a hard fight,” Death warned. She knew what was coming. Everyone on her side of the realm did. This was centuries in the making.

  Jolie shrugged. “I’ll survive the pregnancy. Life is hard, but I can do it.”

  Death didn't say anything.

  Vanth appeared in the room.

  “I’m sorry to bother you, Mistress, but Jolie’s mates are desperately trying to get her back. One has offered anything to have her returned to them.”

  Jolie stood. “Please. No!”

  Death didn't speak.

  “I need them. They’re all I have in life. If you take them, or listen to a word they’re saying, I’ll suffer. Please. I’ve served you well, Death. Please don’t take them.”

  She grinned, her fangs showing.

  “You can relax, harbinger. I have no need for your very tasty mates. If I wanted them, I could take Jacques in a heartbeat. I made h
im, so I can claim him.”

  Jolie looked horrified.

  “Relax. I’m not lying. I brought you here to heal. Right now, your mate is carrying you into your bedroom. I’ll ignore his requests.”

  She approached her, unsure if she could touch her. After all, Death was just playing with her hair.

  “You can.”

  Jolie took Death’s hand. “Thank you for saving me. I guess I owe you something.”

  Death shook her head. “No, you really don’t. Besides, if I did ask for something, you’d just hand it over. What fun is that?”

  Jolie laughed and couldn’t help it. “I don’t know whether to like you or be afraid.”

  “I know,” said Death, grinning. “I like to keep people guessing. Don’t worry, harbinger. You hold no debt to me on this. You’ve already given me plenty.”

  She stared at her mistress, unsure what her words meant.

  Jacques held her against his body and felt nothing.

  She was empty.

  Now even Vanth was gone too. Chloe’s empty shell stood not far away, saying nothing. Apparently, she was communing with Death.

  He’d really screwed up.

  They should have known better. Mathew was just a man-child. Leaving him alone was a huge mistake.

  And it was on him.

  He was the seasoned killer.

  He knew better.

  When Jacques heard the hustle of boots coming down the hall, there was no doubt who was home.

  Flynn, and he’d let him down.

  Once through the door, he began shedding his leather vest and guns. After kicking off his biker boots, Flynn crawled across the bed to be with his mates.

  “What happened?” he questioned, taking Jolie’s hand in his and kissing her fingers.

  “I screwed up,” he admitted. “Zola must have been watching us. When I left Mathew alone, she attacked. Jolie tried to save him.”

  Although Flynn was sick to his stomach, he knew the truth. This wasn’t only on his mate.

  This was on both of them.

  “This isn’t your fault,” he said, curling around her one side. His hand protectively went to her midsection, and he began pushing energy into her.