by Tina Folsom
Katie rolled her eyes. “Why don’t you at least sit down while you’re eating?”
She turned to the hanging cabinets and pulled three plates from it, then placed them on the table, while Cooper put the baking tray with the pizza in the middle of the kitchen table.
Luther pulled the chair back for her and motioned her to sit. She could sense that he was still baffled about Cooper’s comment and looked over her shoulder. “Maya, Gabriel’s mate, is a doctor. She pioneered a fertility treatment for vampire females. It was successful.” She ran her hand through Cooper’s dark mane. “And this boy here is one of the results.”
“Hey, I’m not a boy. I’m a man!” Cooper protested.
Lydia laughed and scooped a slice of pizza onto her plate. “Yeah, right.”
“So vampire females don’t have to be infertile anymore,” Luther said, clearly digesting the news. “How does it work?”
“I’m not a doctor, but the way Maya explains it is that when a vampire female wants to conceive, Maya injects her with human stem cells to prepare her body,” Katie started. “You see, conception was never a problem for a vampire female. But as soon as a fertilized egg tries to implant itself into the womb, the vampire’s body perceives it as an injury and heals it, killing the egg. So by injecting human stem cells, Maya in effect creates a human womb. During the entire pregnancy Maya monitors the vampire female and continues injecting human stem cells to keep up the right environment for the fetus to thrive until it’s time for the birth.”
“That’s amazing,” Luther said.
“Guess they don’t keep you up to date in prison,” Cooper said.
“Cooper!” Katie chastised, but Luther immediately squeezed her shoulder.
“It’s okay,” Luther said.
Lydia looked up at Luther. “Dad filled us in. So we volunteered to bring Aunt Katie’s car back.”
“Thanks, honey, that’s nice of you,” Katie said and smiled at her niece.
She bit into a slice of pizza, ravenous now. She couldn’t remember when she’d last eaten something. Oddly enough, she hadn’t even noticed until now. Maybe the fact that Luther had given her his blood to heal had kept the hunger at bay.
“Though Dad did say that you can’t go anywhere,” Cooper added now and glanced at Luther, looking him up and down.
Luther sat down on the chair opposite Katie’s, not saying anything about Cooper’s obvious curiosity. For a moment there was silence.
“Have there been any developments?” Luther asked, directing his question at Cooper, treating him like an equal.
Cooper immediately sat up straighter and pulled his shoulders back. “Nothing new. They’re looking into all the leads they have. Thomas and Eddie are going through all the databases to see if they can find any other hideouts this Forrester might have.” Cooper sighed.
“Did they match the voice on the recording to Forrester’s to get a positive ID?” Katie asked.
“Not yet. They’re trying to get a sample of Forrester’s voice from prison records.” Cooper tossed a look at Luther. “But apparently there’s been a bit of an incident at Grass Valley.” His eyes shone with admiration now. “So you’re some kind of badass, huh?”
“Cooper, please!” Lydia hissed. “You’re embarrassing me.”
“How am I embarrassing you?” her brother griped. “I’m just stating a fact. Everybody’s saying the same.”
“Yeah, but not to his face!” Lydia snapped, and immediately slapped her hand over her mouth. Ashamed, she lowered her lids. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry for me,” Luther said evenly. “I deserve everything people are saying about me. Nobody should have to whitewash what I am or what I did.”
Katie locked eyes with him across the table, trying to tell him with her eyes that she appreciated everything he’d done to help them find Isabelle. But Luther averted his eyes and instead looked at Cooper.
“I’m an ex-con, Cooper. There’s nothing romantic or admirable about that. Nothing anybody should aspire to.”
To Cooper’s credit, the kid didn’t back down. “Do you regret it?” He held Luther’s gaze.
Katie felt her heart pound out of control. Luther’s eyes shifted to her. They turned darker, became unreadable.
“Eat another slice, Coop,” Lydia said and broke the spell. “And don’t ask questions that are none of your business.” She turned to Luther. “I’m sorry. He’s only sixteen. He really doesn’t know when he’s getting on people’s nerves.”
“You’re one to talk,” her brother protested.
Katie reached for another slice. “And people wonder why I don’t want kids.”
“See what you did now!” Lydia ground out, glaring at her brother. Then she put her hand on Katie’s forearm. “Sorry, Aunt Katie. It’s just… well, we’re all under stress. And we’re all taking it out on each other. The waiting… it’s just killing me.” Tears formed in Lydia’s eyes. “Are we gonna find her?”
“Oh, Lydia.” Katie rose from her chair and pulled her niece into her arms, hugging her tightly. “We’re doing everything to find her. We’ll get her back. We will, I promise you.”
Pressing Lydia’s head to her shoulder and stroking her long red hair, Katie looked past her to Luther. His eyes shimmered golden now, and she recognized the promise that lay in them. Luther would do everything in his power to help them get Isabelle back.
“I’m sorry, I’m normally not such a watering pot,” Lydia wailed.
“That’s okay, honey.”
Unexpectedly, Cooper rose from the table and approached them. “Come on, sis, I’ll take you home.”
“Did you bring a second car?” Katie asked.
“No, we’re taking the bus home. No worries,” Cooper said and put his arm around his sister. “Thanks for the pizza. Maybe you could give Mom your recipe?”
Katie smiled and hugged him. “And lose the reason you like visiting me? Not a chance.”
He pressed a loud kiss to her cheek, then whispered in her ear, “I’ll tell you a secret: I’ve been to Pasquale’s, and their pizzas taste oddly similar to yours.” When he released her from his embrace, Cooper grinned from one ear to the other. Then he winked and looked over his shoulder. “Nice meeting you, Luther.”
Luther, who’d gotten up, nodded. “Bye, Cooper.”
“Take care, both of you,” Katie said and kissed Lydia on the cheek.
“Thanks, you too,” Lydia replied and glanced back at Luther. “Thanks for protecting my aunt. I know you’ll keep her safe.”
“Let’s go, sis.” Cooper walked to the door. “Or Mom’s gonna get worried.”
Lydia followed her brother, but pivoted at the door. “Oh, almost forgot.” She dug into her purse and pulled out a manila envelope, handing it to Katie. “Dad asked me to give this to you. He said you wanted copies of the letters.”
“Thank you, honey.”
With shaking hands, Katie accepted the envelope and watched her niece and nephew leave. For a long moment, she just stood there, staring at the envelope, before she turned around and found Luther standing right behind her.
36
“They seem like good kids,” Luther said and cupped Katie’s shoulders.
“They are, and they drive their parents crazy.”
Luther chuckled. “I can see that.” He brushed his hand through Katie’s hair, loving the feel of it. “Is that why you don’t want children, or were you just pulling their leg?”
“Oh, no, I meant it. And they know it, too.” She sighed. “I love them to death, but I don’t think I was meant to be a mother. I don’t have the patience that Yvette exhibits. I don’t think I’m selfless enough to be a mother and put my own wishes behind that of a child. I didn’t have the best childhood, you know. I feel that I want to live my own life, now that I can make choices for myself. Not everybody should be a parent.”
She turned away and laid the envelope on the table, then started to clear the dishes.
“Let me help
you,” he offered.
“Thanks.” She opened the dishwasher and placed the three plates in it. “Yvette wanted children all her life. Haven didn’t at first.” She looked up and gave him a sad smile. “He was too afraid of losing a child…”
Her words struck him as odd, making curiosity well up in him. “Why’s that?” He handed her the empty baking tray, and Katie put it in the sink.
“I was kidnapped when I was a baby. Long story.” She closed the dishwasher.
“Oh God.” Hadn’t Katie been through enough? Instinctively he reached for her hand and pulled it to his cheek. He pressed a kiss to her palm.
“Haven searched for me for over twenty years. He was eleven when a vampire took me. He became a vampire slayer because of it.” A sad smile crossed Katie’s face. “When he finally found me, he did the unthinkable. He sacrificed his human life so that Wes and I could live.”
“What happened?”
“A bad witch. She tried to harness our witch power by performing a ritual with the three of us. You see, my brothers and I were meant to be the Power of Three, the most powerful trio of witches the world has ever seen. But that witch wanted the power for herself. And the ritual would have left one of us dead. There was only one way to vanquish the power permanently so the witch could never claim it for herself.”
He understood immediately. “The power of a witch can never inhabit a vampire’s body.”
“Yes. I didn’t know the plan Haven and Wes had hatched. Had I known, God, I don’t think I could have stood by and let it happen. Haven stabbed himself.” She shook her head. “He didn’t tell Yvette either what he’d planned.”
Luther squeezed Katie’s hand. “He must have had a lot of trust in her.”
Katie smiled. “Yeah, he did. They’d only known each other for a few days, but everybody could see that despite his lifelong hatred for vampires, he loved her, and she loved him. Although Yvette knew she should hate him for the things he’d done to her kind, she couldn’t help follow her heart. Sometimes a heart makes its own choice and doesn’t care what the head thinks. She turned Haven as he lay dying. They blood-bonded the next night.” Katie sighed. “Anyway… I shouldn’t bore you with family stories.”
She turned abruptly, took the envelope from the kitchen table and walked through to the living room.
Luther followed. “Katie.”
She looked over her shoulder. “What?”
“You didn’t bore me.” He caught up with her.
She motioned to the couch and sat down in one corner. Luther joined her, pulling her onto his lap, before he leaned back into the cushions, one arm wrapped around Katie, the other resting on her thigh.
“I don’t have a family,” he said hesitantly. “And it’s nice to be reminded what it’s like to have people who care about you. Scanguards was my family once.”
“Is that why you came back? To remind yourself of what it was like to be part of Scanguards?”
He sighed and dropped his head back against the sofa, looking up at the ceiling. He didn’t want to answer the question, but something inside him pushed him to do it nevertheless. “I came back to atone for what I’d done to them. For how I wronged them.”
“So you do feel remorse.”
Luther closed his eyes. “From the moment I found out that it wasn’t their fault, I’ve done nothing but regret my actions. If I could only turn back time, but I can’t.” He opened his eyes and found Katie looking at him. “I erroneously believed that Amaury and Samson let my wife die. I was wrong. They offered to turn her when it was clear that she was dying in childbirth. But she refused.” He’d gone half insane when he’d found out the truth. “And I failed her as a husband.”
“How? How could you have failed her? Things like that happen. Medical complications…”
Luther put his finger over her lips. He didn’t want her to make excuses for him. “I never wanted to be a father. I wanted a wife who loved only me. When Vivian got pregnant, I was suddenly not the most important person in her life anymore. I started resenting the child. And I started resenting her for shutting me out.” He shook his head. “It’s my fault that I wasn’t there when she needed me. I left because we were arguing all the time. It was selfish of me not to accept that she was going to divide her love between me and the child. I’m responsible for her death.”
Katie cupped his face with both her hands. But she didn’t say anything. Did she understand now what a selfish bastard he was? That he wasn’t the man who could keep her safe? That she should stay away as far as possible?
“I’m so sorry for what you had to go through, Luther,” she murmured and brushed her lips over his. “So sorry.”
“Don’t feel sorry for me, Katie. I don’t deserve it.”
She wrapped her arms around him, pressing herself to him.
“Please, don’t,” he begged. “I’m not what you want me to be. I’m not your hero. In a few days I’ll be gone. We both know that. You should listen to your brother. He’s got good instincts. I’m only gonna cause you grief.”
“I make my own decisions.” She drew back to look at him, her hands laced behind his neck. “You should know that by now, Luther.”
“I was afraid you’d say that.” He grimaced.
“Don’t look like I’m making you do something you don’t want. If I remember well, you couldn’t get enough of me this morning.”
He groaned, shoving a hand through his hair. “It’s not about that, and you know it. This physical thing that’s happening between us is explosive. The sex is out of this world amazing. And your blood…” He got hard just thinking of it. Of sinking his fangs into her beautiful flesh, while he thrust his cock into her. “I’m not strong enough to resist it. That’s why you should be the voice of reason. That’s why I’m telling you all this. So you know what you’re dealing with.”
“I know who you are: a man who wants to do right. If you really came to atone, then help me save Samson’s daughter. What becomes of you and me doesn’t matter.” She combed her hand through his hair, and the sensation sent a shudder down his spine. “Is it so wrong that I want to enjoy your company for as long as I can? Haven’t we both earned a little reprieve from our past and the misgivings we have? Don’t we deserve a few hours of happiness? That’s all I’m asking.”
He gazed into the green depth of her irises. “You deserve so much more, Katie.” He cupped her nape with his hand and rubbed his thumb along her jaw. “But I’m too tired to fight with you.”
“Good.” A satisfied smile on her face, she reached for the envelope her niece had brought her. “Then help me figure out what Forrester plans.” She pulled a handful of sheets of paper from the envelope and unfolded them. “Stalkers feel superior to their victims and have a need to boast about the things they’re going to do. Somewhere in these letters we’ll find where he’s hiding.”
Katie handed him a sheet.
He gave her a brief kiss and took the copy of the stalker’s letter. “Yes, my bossy witch.”
~ ~ ~
Luther put the letters beside him on the couch. Their author was a lunatic, so much was clear. He talked about eternity under the stars, sailing into the sunset, and diving into a new life. A whole plethora of bullshit metaphors spewed from the scribbled lines. Cliché after cliché sprung from the paper, making Luther’s eyes hurt. As for finding any indication as to what the stalker’s ultimate plan was, Luther couldn’t find any clue hidden in his ramblings.
Katie had dozed off in his lap a half hour earlier, and Luther now looked at her peaceful face. How anybody could hurt a woman like her was beyond him. She signified everything that was good in this world. Katie hadn’t judged him, not even when he’d tried to push her away and revealed the depth of his selfishness. Or when he’d confessed how he’d wronged the men he’d once called brothers. She made him feel that there was still hope for somebody like him. That maybe one day he could put his past behind him and start anew.
Luther pressed a kiss to
Katie’s forehead and felt her stir.
“Mmm.” She reached up her hands and interlaced them behind his nape, pulling him down to her.
“Didn’t mean to wake you,” he whispered.
“Perhaps you should make it up to me,” she said without opening her eyes.
He smirked. “Any preference how?”
“I don’t think you need any directions from me.”
“Guess not,” he agreed and slid his hand underneath her T-shirt, moving north. She wasn’t wearing a bra. He cupped one breast, loving how it spilled over in his palm. “You have gorgeous boobs. I’d love to sink my fangs into them again.”
Katie opened her eyes. “Have you always done that? Drunk from women there?”
He shook his head. “Vivian preferred the neck. And the women before her never made me want to take blood from there.” He squeezed her breast and teased the nipple, eliciting a soft moan from Katie. “But when I look at you, I can’t help but want to bury my face in your breasts and gorge myself on you.”
Katie winked at him. “Just as well that I stuffed myself with pizza and feel strong enough to feed my ravenous vampire.”
Luther groaned. “Katie, you’re not supposed to be so accommodating.”
“Why not?”
“’Cause you make it doubly hard for me to keep from mauling you like a hungry beast.”
“Stop talking, Luther, and kiss me.” She pulled his face to her.
Resigned to the fact that he had no willpower when it came to resisting her, he slanted his lips over hers, when suddenly the ringing of a telephone interrupted him.
He lifted his head, while Katie turned and reached for the phone on the side table next to the sofa.
“Yes?”
“Katie, it’s Blake.”
Luther had no problem hearing the voice of the Scanguards man through the line, just as he picked up on Katie’s heartbeat accelerating.
“Anything new?” Nervousness was evident in Katie’s voice.
“The kidnapper contacted us. He’s made demands. You need to come to HQ. Now. Have Luther drive you and park in the garage. I’ll open the gate for you when I see your car on the monitor. Hurry.”
