Honorable Rogue

by Linda J. Parisi

  She smiled. “Not so private anymore.” She turned to look at him. “Mercy doesn’t hold a grudge; why should you?”

  Mercy swallowed hard, her tone like ice. “Don’t put words in my mouth.”

  Vanessa smiled. “Perhaps I was a bit hasty in this part of my assessment.” She slid her fingers over the side of the well-polished car in what looked like a caress. “Oh well.”

  “Serena was part of my cell,” he growled. “She was unique. She had a way of—of bringing light into our darkness.”

  He could see the pain swirling in Vanessa’s gaze. But not so much in her thoughts. Seemed Vanessa had grown over the years. She’d used to be much more transparent. “I don’t normally admit this, but I actually loved her, you know.”

  Hunter’s heart constricted. Every time he let his guard down and cared. Every time. “She was my daughter.”

  “As much as anyone can be these days. But I get it. It’s easier to pin her death on me than on yourself. Just remember, Serena was like trying to cup water in your hand. There for a moment, then gone through your fingers. She was damaged way before she became a vampire.” Vanessa let go of pretense, her voice turning to steel. “You should never have changed her.”

  Hunter thought of Tori, so strong, so steady. Then he thought of Serena, so mercurial, so flighty. Whimsical. But so beautiful. A beauty that shouldn’t have gone to waste. “You’re right. I should never have changed her.”

  Dead silence. Funny, Hunter never thought he’d ever surprise Vanessa.

  “Did I just hear you correctly? Did you just admit making a mistake?” She laughed. How bitter she sounded. “Wait a minute. Why isn’t the sky falling?”

  “I think that’s quite enough,” he shot back. He lifted a single brow to make his point. “Trust me, it won’t happen again.”

  “The mistake, or the admission?” she asked, enjoying his discomfort way too much for his liking.

  “Both.”

  She leaned in. “Well, all right, then.” She reared back. “Wait a minute. Is that—is that human perfume I smell?” Laughter swelled through the damp night air.

  Hunter ignored her even though his guts burned. Serena wasn’t a subject he wanted to focus on. “Mercy, get Vanessa situated and bring her up to speed before I kill her. Then both of you come and join me at the far end of the parking lot. There’s no telling where or when these rogues will attack again. We have work to do.”

  Hunter walked away, but he could still hear.

  “Ness. Stop. He admitted he made a mistake,” Mercy admonished.

  “Won’t bring her back,” Vanessa sighed. Hunter understood pain. He understood Vanessa’s pain all too well.

  “If he hadn’t turned her, she would have died from her human wounds,” Mercy continued. “You can’t fault him for trying to save her. He thought he was doing the right thing.”

  “I know.” Ah, there was the bitter overcoat, the taste that still lingered.

  “There was no way to know she’d been trying to commit suicide.”Hunter found he appreciated Mercy’s defense of his actions, even though they didn’t need defending. “Maybe she ran out of the house thinking better of it. Point is, human or vampire, she wanted to die. Eventually, she did.”

  “I know, damn it!” Poor Vanessa. They’d both loved the wrong woman for the right reasons. “I couldn’t stop her.” Then he asked himself the true question. Had his actions stemmed from love, or had they grown out of pity?

  Silence. Long, drawn out, and telling. “You do realize,” Mercy continued, “your pain tears me apart, don’t you?”

  Now Hunter could hear the misery in Vanessa’s tone. The past did carry the sting of a viper at times. “I’m sorry. You know I never meant to hurt you.”

  “And I told you I’d take any piece of you I could get. Still will. But you need to get rid of her ghost. Or you’ll never truly be free.”

  Ghosts. Letting go of them could be a difficult proposition, Hunter thought. Especially when they wanted to remove you from existence. He thought of Casperian, and his insides steeled. There would be a reckoning after all. Part of him rejoiced. The other part wondered.

  The longer one lived, the more ghosts one seemed to compile.

  Not a great place to be.

  * * *

  INTERLUDE

  * * *

  Antonius Flavius Proculus Casperian despised failure. He despised these “modern” men even more. Not one of them had an ounce of strength in them. Not one of them would withstand the intricacies of an emperor’s court. Why, he’d had slaves tending pigs with more brains. And to return empty handed? So very, very unacceptable.

  “Such a simple task, gentlemen. Such a simple task. Kidnap one human female and bring her to me unharmed.”

  Neither vampire spoke. Thank the gods! At least they understood the peril in such an act.

  “I even allowed you to taste the Nirvana,” he chided. “To enhance your powers.”

  “We only did what you said sir,” the one called Peter answered. “Honest.”

  “Did you?” Casperian asked, ignoring the man. “You know the rules. Nirvana is not to be trifled with. When I gave my consent, when I allowed you all to taste, my order was to be carried out with moderation. With restraint. Did you think there’d be no consequences?”

  “Sir?” the one called Harry squeaked. Such a pity, a name like Harry. Short. Dismal. Without honor. Much like the vampire trembling before him. “Sir?” he asked again. Casperian watched his Adam’s apple bob up and down as the idiot swallowed hard. At least this one knew enough to be frightened. “Donnie couldn’t help himself, sir. It was like he was, well, addicted. Kept talking about it. All the time. Never stopped. Got to be annoying after a while. Nirvana this, Nirvana that. I wanted to shut him up, I did.”

  “Yes, yes,” he waved the answer away. “I’m beginning to understand.”

  An unforeseen side effect. Instant addiction. And from there? Continue to feed. And go rogue anyway, it seemed. “How much did he take?”

  “Only what you said,” Harry reiterated. “One drop. No more. At least, as much as we knew. He could’ve taken more, but we didn’t see him try.”

  An army of rogues. Completely unstoppable. Such a delightful thought. Almost as sweet as the end result of his plan. A shiver ran through his body.

  “Gotta tell you,” Peter chimed in. “This stuff. Crazier than any shit I’ve ever taken. Man, what a rush.”

  He already knew. The idea was simple. The plan brilliant. Create an army of rogue vampires who would listen to one voice. His and only his. They would kill on his command. Then they would die a few weeks later, only to be replaced by new soldiers whenever he needed them.

  The execution of the plan? Now that was disappointing. And the addiction? Very disturbing, but at most a temporary setback. The uncontrollable thirst was the true problem. An army of vampires with uncontrolled thirst would decimate their food supply, possibly to the point of extinction. He shuddered at the thought.

  No. They could be managed. He had to make this work. Think, man. Think. Why was the addiction random? Why one vampire but not another? Was it as simple as an IQ of ten? He snorted. Not bloody likely. No, he had to find the trigger. He had to figure out how to control the vampires before they went rogue.

  As he stared at the two idiots before him, Casperian’s mind whirled. Could a rogue be trained like an animal or a pet? Given blood for a good deed, starved for a mistake until the rogue knew who his master was?

  At first, the idea titillated so much the consequences became overshadowed. Now, not only did his one failure haunt him, that witch Samira knew of his existence. A secret he’d managed to preserve for nearly two thousand years with the help of his maker.

  “I didn’t call you here to discuss your personal enjoyment,” he bit out, his tone colder than the Arctic. “I need answers.”

  Neither of them dared.

  He was Antonius Flavius Proculus Casperian of the Equestrian Order of Rome. Direct ki
nsman to the line of the Caesars. To think he was now forced to deal with such inadequate beings. How low would he really have to go?

  Casperian shuddered. This modern world was becoming a major disappointment. However, if this was indeed a setback, stupid had its uses.

  “Go and rest,” he told them, softening his tone. “When you awaken, find the woman. You know her scent.”

  “Yes, sir,” Harry replied, backing away and leaving as soon as possible.

  But the other one lingered. Peter. That was his name. Casperian lifted a brow and stared down at the vampire, who cleared his throat to hide his fear. “We tracked her to her home. Big dude was with her. Black hair. Really cold eyes.”

  He’d already surmised. “And?”

  “His people tracked us back to the helicopter. Thought you should know.”

  He nodded and dismissed Peter with a wave of his hand. Amazing, the objects man had learned to create. Airplanes and cars, buildings reaching the sky. And yet man had also lost the ability to delve into the devious, to circumnavigate intricate plots, to wend his way through mortal—no, moral—combat.

  The helicopter had been a flash of brilliance if he did say so himself. But Venatorius was no fool. Thank the gods. The thought of an adversary of lesser nature was unworthy. However, the element of surprise had been lost. Very well. Giving away part of his plan could be dealt with. And, he was quite certain, so could the problem with his drug. On the surface, his plan might look more like a sieve. But the game was far from over. Far from over.

  Chapter Twelve

  Tori looked up from finishing up leftover paperwork as Hunter returned to the townhouse. She wished he could feel the pain in her head from the wine, eased now by taking some pills and drinking a full bottle of water.

  Still, wanting him to commiserate didn’t help the empty feeling inside.

  True to his word, he stayed right next to her. Closing up the house was easy, and she gave what was left of her perishables to Mrs. Cantone, her neighbor. The elder woman always enjoyed her free gifts. Tori took a great deal of pleasure in cooking and always made too much for one person.

  They drove back to the mansion late Sunday night after the bulk of the shore traffic had made its way north. Neither one spoke much, and Tori tried to keep her thoughts under control. So much better for both of them this way, to let the wall surround her mind and her heart. Better to think about working, use their medical problems as a way not to think about anything else, and, above all, not let him know what she was feeling.

  Now she stood in the lab staring, unable to believe he’d done exactly as he’d said. Tori walked around gazing at all the shiny new equipment feeling like a kid in an FAO Schwarz Christmas commercial. “Who set all this up?”

  “Distributors. We deal with several in the medical device field because of the donation services.” He paused, and she turned, catching a rare smile on his face. “They were only too happy to comply.”

  Tori still gaped. She knew the drill. A sale like this meant field service engineers to install the equipment and tech service reps to run them and make sure they were functioning properly.

  “And each company had strict instructions to make sure their equipment was running perfectly before they left.”

  Hunter wasn’t one to mess around. Still, she couldn’t help but drool over her new domain. And no regulations. How lucky could she get?

  “If I’d known these things were going to be such an aphrodisiac,” he teased, “I’d have purchased more.”

  “Very funny.”

  “I’m not sure I was kidding.”

  Tori pulled back her gaze to stare at him. Every damned time. Every single goddamn time. Heat sizzled in her belly. His gaze darkened. The room began to fade. “Oh no you don’t,” she muttered. “I have work to do.”

  He smiled. He didn’t need to say anything. Simply standing there looking gorgeous was enough. He knew it too.

  “I need samples,” she replied, ignoring the embers waiting to spark. “Lots and lots of samples.”

  “You wish is my command,” he replied with a mock bow.

  She shook her head. “I highly doubt that.”

  His mouth quirked. “I’ll have my people come down after their shifts are complete.”

  “Excellent.” His head cocked, daring her to acknowledge their connection. Damn him. “All right. Enough. You need to leave. Now. You’re a distraction I can’t afford.”

  “Am I?” a feminine voice asked.

  Tori whirled. “Stace!” They both half ran to hug each other. Then they leaned back, laughed, and hugged again. “Oh my God, I can’t believe you’re here.” When Tori let go, she found Chaz standing right next to Stacy. She could almost see the bands that knit them together. “It is so good to see you.”

  “Ditto.”

  Her gaze flicked over to Hunter. A slight smile played about his lips. “I thought you’d enjoy the surprise.”

  “Yes. Thank you.” Stacy smiled at Tori, and Tori found she no longer felt completely outnumbered. “God, it’s good to be with someone who understands.”

  “Another human?” Chaz asked gently.

  A bit ashamed, Tori said, “Look, that didn’t quite come out right. That’s not what I meant.”

  “No,” he countered. “It came out exactly as it was meant. What you’re implying doesn’t mean you’re wrong. We are two different races.” Despite his words, Tori thought she heard an edge in his voice.

  “Mea culpa. But you also must understand that a few days ago, I didn’t know you existed. I thought you were human. That’s not a lot of time to process. Or accept.”

  “You’re right,” Chaz agreed, his features softening as he stared at his wife. “Stacy didn’t quite believe me either.”

  Tori watched them gaze at each other, feeling like she was a voyeur. Such intimacy belonged in a bedroom. Or did it?

  To cover her discomfort she added, “The second thing you need to do is understand every now and then I get stared at like I should be on a plate. Feeling like I’m someone’s dinner is hard to reconcile.”

  Chaz sighed, turning towards her. “I’m sorry to hear you feel this way, but I’m not surprised. Although you are aware of the consequences?” Tori nodded. “I guess this means we all have work to do to trust one another.”

  There went that little word again. So small and yet so big.

  Stacy turned and gave Hunter a quick hug. They both seemed a bit awkward after they let go, and Tori wondered what had happened to cause their discomfort with each other.

  “Very true,” Stacy agreed, her tone getting down to business. “Now why don’t you gentlemen go disappear for a while? Tori and I need to catch up, then we have some serious work to do here. Okay?”

  Hunter turned to leave, but Chaz took his time saying goodbye. Tori almost felt she was intruding. The moment was so…intimate. But then Stace grinned and pushed him away.

  Once the men were gone, Tori stared at Stacy. She looked tanned and fit, such a deep contrast to Chaz with his pale skin. “Sam contacted us,” she added. Stace looked beyond happy. She looked soul happy.

  Filled with chagrin, Tori apologized. “I’m sorry.”

  “For what?” Stace asked. “Hell, I can only take so much beach, you know.”

  “Alone?” she asked, hating herself for the question.

  She watched Stacy’s face fall a little. “You take the good with the bad, sweetie. You know that.” She brightened. “Hey. Any worse than the internal combustion engine Harold? You do remember the night I’m talking about, don’t you? The Mexican food? God! You were lucky. I was sitting in the back seat. I think I washed my clothes three times to get rid of the smell.”

  Tori burst out laughing. She’d forgotten. Leave it to her best friend to remind her. “Stace, c’mon. You know me. I just can’t wrap my head around all of this. I mean, hell. I deal with the dead daily. It’s really weird when they walk and talk, you know?”

  Stacy nodded. “They are, but they are
n’t. I don’t know how else to explain it.” She kind of half grinned. “At least, this is my theory anyway. We’ll have to see if we can find out.”

  Tori agreed but with reservations. “What if we find out something they don’t like?”

  Stacy paused, her fingers trailing over the edge of the chemistry analyzer. “We give them the truth—nothing more, nothing less.”

  The doors opened, and Hunter and Chaz walked back in. Tori watched both, noting Chaz was softer in manner and feature, where Hunter was all sharp lines and edges. Yet both carried themselves with grace and an undeniable strength. “We’re going to plan a defense, so I’m having food brought down for both of you,” Hunter told them. “The rogues that have been created may be able to find you, Tori. They may try to attack the compound. If they do, we need to be ready for them.”

  Tori still felt unsure about needing to be defended, so she didn’t answer. “Your donors should be arriving shortly,” he added.

  She acknowledged Hunter was doing what he thought best. “Thank you.”

  Both men seemed ready to leave, when Tori realized something didn’t add up. “Chaz? May I ask a question?”

  “Sure.”

  “Stacy said you were in security. I always assumed this meant you were or you’d been a human cop. Why do you need vampire cops?”

  He shot a quick glance over at Hunter, then sighed. “Going rogue used to only happen when a vampire began dying. As you know, now it’s much more common.” He frowned. Was he uncomfortable because he didn’t want to explain or because he didn’t like what he did? “Anyway, sometimes vampires can’t face ending their own lives. They let the change happen, and I have to hunt them down.”

  “You kill them?”

  He nodded, his features grim. Obviously both.

  “I know this is indelicate. But I need answers. Every piece of information I get will help my investigation.” Tori paused. “How?”

  He pulled a vial out of his pocket. “Rosary pea extract. It’s a strong mixture.”