Heart of a Warrior

by Theodora Lane

  “You need to do it soon.” Fiona sat down next to him.

  “Just give me tonight to think this over,” Nic sighed.

  “Fine. Just tell me your decision in the morning.”

  “Look, in this situation, in my job, my decision is final. You understand that, right? We can’t have a difference of opinion come between us, and I can’t have you second-guessing every move I make. I’m the one in control. I’m the boss.” Nic looked at her from under his dark lashes.

  “I understand. You’re the boss. About your work.” Fiona nodded. ”You’re a good man. You’ll see reason and do the right thing.” She changed the subject. “Did they really say it was okay if I worked with you?”

  “Yeah. They asked if you were pretty.” Nic smiled and reached up to brush a strand of dark hair from her face.

  “What did you tell them?”

  “That I thought you were beautiful.”

  “That was sweet.” She slid over and snuggled against him.

  “What do you want to do tonight?” he asked as he brought her hand to his lips.

  “Do I get a say?”

  “Don’t be a bitch,” Nic warned her.

  “Can I be your bitch in bed?” Fiona looked at him, lowering her head and letting her long hair fall over her face. With a slow toss of her head, her hair flew back to reveal a wicked smile.

  “Oh, darlin’, in bed, on the floor, in the shower, on the dining table…” Nic pulled her to him and rained kisses on her face, shoulders, arms, and even the tips of her fingers.

  “Let’s eat first. We’ll need our strength for tonight,” Fiona murmured between kisses.

  “How about seafood?” Nic suggested.

  “Sure, I like fish and shrimp.” She kissed him, her tongue slipping between his lips to taste him.

  “I better order a dozen oysters.” Nic grinned.

  “Make it two dozen.” Fiona gave him a final kiss and stood.

  “Cho, are you coming?”

  “No, I don’t like seafood.”

  “Can I fix you something before we go?”

  “Sure, Fiona.”

  She went to the kitchen and began to prepare something for Cho to eat.

  Nic sat on the couch, his eyes closed to think about his dilemma. Already, he knew it would be a real bastard to figure out.

  — • —

  “I’m going out for a while. I’ll be back soon,” Ivan said as he headed for the door.

  “Can’t I come?” Annie sat on the couch and looked expectantly at him.

  “No, there’s some business I have to take care of, baby.” Ivan smiled and headed up the stairs.

  Annie sat back, turned on the TV, and flicked through the channels before finally settling on a Hallmark family movie. She pulled a pillow to her chest and sat back to watch.

  — • —

  Ivan stood in the dark alley and watched the whore as she approached him. He was starving. If Annie knew what he was going to do, she’d be pissed.

  “Hey, baby, you lookin’ for some fun?” The whore stepped up to him. He could see the dark circles under her eyes, the wrinkles, and paleness of her skin. She looked ten years older than she probably was. “Twenty bucks gets you anything.”

  And I think I’m damned.

  She was a crack whore, asking just enough for her next rock of coke, and then she’d be right back on the street looking for the next john and her next high.

  “Yeah, been waiting for you.” He took her arm and gave her the twenty, leading her to the van. “Get in, we’ll do it here.”

  She stuffed the money in her bra, climbed in the back with his assistance, and he closed the door.

  “What you want? A fuck?” She smiled at him. Her teeth looked bad.

  The thought of putting his cock in anyone but Annie sickened him, and he shook his head.

  “No, just a suck.” His amber eyes glowed in the dark.

  She nodded and crawled toward him on the mattress. Pulling her to him, Ivan twisted her around, her back to his chest, and covered her mouth with his hand. He nuzzled her neck, found his spot, and bit.

  The woman’s blood pounded into his mouth, and he feasted, drinking it down, letting it fill him up. He focused on her heartbeat as he drained her.

  Gradually, it slowed and the woman became limp in his arms. Soon, she would be drained of life, and as the bloodlust welled up in him, he wanted all of it.

  Damn. I promised Annie.

  Ivan groaned, pulled his teeth out of the whore, and lowered her to the mattress. He licked his lips to capture the last drops of blood. They really did all taste the same. But he loved the rush, that mix of hunger and sex that felt so damn good.

  Blood was his drug, and he was just as addicted to it as she was to crack.

  Her eyelids fluttered, and she groaned.

  “What happened?” She looked around.

  “You passed out. Are you all right?”

  “Yeah, I just feel really weak.”

  “Here, let me help you.” Ivan helped her sit up, and he opened the door to the van.

  “Come on.” He motioned for her to get out.

  “Can I keep the money?” She was pathetic in her need for the fix.

  “Sure.” Ivan helped her to the wall of the building, and she slid to the ground.

  “I just need to rest here.” She leaned her head back and passed out.

  Ivan got in the van and drove off. What he’d taken from her wasn’t enough. He needed one more, and then he had to a stop to make before he went home to Annie.

  — • —

  Annie looked at the clock on the wall and made a face. Damn him, he said he’d be back. What the hell was he doing? Then she knew. He was feeding, and he didn’t want her to know because he knew she’d be mad.

  She stood up and paced angrily. He was out there killing someone right now. She’d told him she wanted that to stop. She wanted him to change, to be better.

  “Was I asking too much?” she said aloud. Taking a breath, she let it out and slumped onto the sofa.

  “Maybe I am.” Annie chewed on her thumb. He’d been the way he was for over four hundred years. Now she waltzes in and tells him the rules have changed. Could she blame him for sneaking out to feed?

  But she had asked him to do it for her. And he said he would. Crossing her arms, Annie pouted. She was hurt and angry.

  Hearing his key in the lock, she tensed as the door opened and she turned to face him. From the first look at him, she could tell that he’d fed. His color was better, and he looked vibrant, alive, and she moaned…so damn good.

  Ivan stood in front of her, his hands behind his back, and watched her face.

  “Hi, baby,” he offered and looked at his feet.

  “Ivan. You’ve been out feeding,” she accused.

  “Well, yeah. I had to do it. With all the blood I lost, I was very weak. And I’m going to need my strength soon. We need to be prepared in case there’s trouble.” His gaze searched hers. He was right and she knew it.

  “Okay.” She let out her breath. “Is she dead?” Her gaze bored into him, demanding the truth.

  “No, I stopped. I had to find two. I left them weak but still alive.”

  “Did you fuck them?” Annie’s voice trembled, along with her bottom lip, scared to know the answer because she didn’t know what she’d do if he had.

  “No. I couldn’t, baby. I couldn’t be with anyone but you.” He smiled and shrugged.

  Annie’s nostrils flared. A vampire’s sense of smell was almost as good as a dog’s. “What’s that smell? Some of her cheap perfume?” she snapped.

  “No, it isn’t her.” He took a step forward. “I brought you something.”

  “What?” Annie’s anger changed to surprise. “You brought something for me?”

  Ivan pulled the bouquet of red roses from behind his back and held them out for her.

  “You said you liked flowers. They’re for your vase.”

  “Oh, Ivan, they’re be
autiful! I love them!” She rushed to him and wrapped her arms around him, burying her head against his broad chest. He’d remembered. It was so sweet.

  Pulling away, she took the roses and began to place them in the crystal vase.

  •

  Ivan sat on the couch and watched Annie happily arranging the flowers. He loved her, he knew that, and he wondered how he’d ever be able to let her go.

  She’d find someone else eventually; he was sure of it. Some vampire younger than he was, someone more like her. As soon as he trained her to be on her own, he’d have to let her go. When that happened and she left him, he’d come back and find Nic and his sword.

  Challenge him to a duel, like in the old days. Nic was worthy. Ivan thought he could give Nic a run for his money, knowing that in the end, Nic’s skill with the great broadsword would win.

  Yeah, that’s what he’d do. To live on without Annie would be unbearable. Utter damnation.

  Annie turned to him and caught the faraway expression on his face.

  “What’s up, baby? You look funny.”

  “Just thinking. We need to get out of this town. Let’s pack up tonight and leave first thing tomorrow evening.”

  Annie sat next to him on the couch and nestled under his arm. They held each other for a long time.

  “I’m so sorry, Ivan.”

  “For what?”

  “For losing your place here and forcing you to go against the Board to save my sister. For everything.” Annie looked at her hands in her lap.

  “Nothing to be sorry for, baby. I made my choice. You didn’t force me. Besides, I was getting too comfortable, too complacent.”

  “You had a nice life, and I ruined that for you.”

  Ivan turned to Annie, put his hand under her chin, and tilted her head up to look into her eyes. “You want the truth? Before you walked into my life, I wanted to die. You gave me a reason to keep going. You gave me a new life, a better life.” He kissed her and melted into her as she pulled him down. Damn, he loved just kissing her, she was so sweet-tasting, but they had to get going if they were going to leave by tomorrow.

  He broke the embrace. “Let’s get started. There are some boxes in the storage room. We’ll use them. What we can’t pack, like the furniture, we leave.”

  “I assume we’re taking the TV?” She laughed at him.

  “Of course.” Ivan made a face at her as if she were crazy to suggest it wasn’t coming with them.

  “After we pack, can we make love? Right before dawn. I want to fall asleep in your arms.” Annie went to Ivan and kissed him softly.

  “Absolutely, baby. I want you right now, but let’s get busy packing, or else we won’t get anything done.” He swatted her on her bottom, and she went off to get the boxes.

  Ivan stood in the middle of his lair and looked around. Of all his places, it had been his favorite. Maybe because he’d worked so hard to get this territory, it had meant a little more than the others.

  Heading to the computer, he sat down and pulled up all his accounts to check if they needed to be moved or transferred. His investments could stay at the brokerage firm; they were national. However, his local bank accounts he wasn’t so sure about. He wrote a quick letter to his lawyer, amending his directives.

  No matter where he and Annie landed, he’d make sure they would land on their feet. And that Annie would be taken care of. No matter what.

  Chapter Thirteen

  When Fiona woke in the morning, Nic was gone. Sometime during the night, he’d let go of her and gotten out of bed. She stretched a leg to his side. Cold sheets. Sighing, she rolled over and stretched. The clock said six forty-five. The sun must have been up mere minutes.

  She sat up, ran her hand through her hair, got out of bed, and padded to the bathroom. No sign of Nic.

  “Cho, where’s Nic?”

  “Outside, pacing and swinging his sword.”

  “How long has he been out there?”

  “I don’t know, hours maybe.”

  “Does he do this often?”

  “No. Only when something is bothering him.”

  “It’s Ivan and Annie.”

  “Nice couple. For vampires.”

  “He’s in a rough place.”

  “Yeah.”

  “I wish I could help him.”

  “Me too.”

  She looked at herself in the mirror and frowned.

  “I don’t think I can let him do it, Cho.”

  “What will you do?”

  “I don’t know. Help them. Stop him.” She shrugged.

  “Fiona, Nic loves you.”

  “I love him. Enough to tell him he’s wrong.”

  “He’s sworn an oath, and that means a lot to him.”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  “If you go against him, it’s going to kill him.”

  “Better me than himself, Cho. He’ll get over me. How will he live with himself?”

  “Don’t be so sure he can live without you.”

  “Let’s just see what he decided, okay?”

  “Right.”

  She finished brushing her teeth and got dressed. Nic came in the back door after she’d sat down with a bowl of cereal and a large glass of juice. He closed the back door, hung up the sword, and headed to his room without speaking.

  Not wanting to push him, she gave him his space, knowing when he made his decision, he’d tell her.

  She’d washed her dishes and dried them before he came out, fresh from a shower. His hair was still wet and a glistening damp curl clung to his forehead. She wanted to go to him, hold him tight, and brush the curl away, but she stayed put.

  “Want some breakfast? Can I cook something for you?”

  “No. I’m not hungry.” Nic pulled out a chair and sat across from her, his hands flat on the tabletop.

  “Did you come to a decision?” Fiona sat, folded her hands on the table, and waited. She held her breath.

  He looked at her. His dark eyes didn’t give her a hint of how he felt, and that wasn’t good.

  “Yeah.” He licked his lips. “I’m going to find them. And kill them.”

  Fiona frowned and bit her lip. Slowly she pushed to her feet. “I have to go home, Nic. I can’t watch you do this. I know right and wrong, and this is wrong.”

  “I understand. Go.” He stared at her. She could see in his eyes he knew it would come to this. And he wasn’t surprised she’d leave him.

  “It doesn’t change the way I feel about you, Nic. I love you, nothing will change that. I just can’t understand why you’ve made this decision.” Fiona shook her head.

  “I love you, and I need you to stand by me on this. It’s what I do. What I’m sworn to do. It’s what I am.” He stood also, his hands in fists.

  “This is not who you are. You’re better than this.” Her voice rose as she leaned on the table.

  “Look. I’ve been doing this for almost fifteen years. Now, after only a few days, you’re going to start telling me who I am and what I’m supposed to do? And what is right and wrong?” he yelled. “Who the hell do you think you are?”

  Fiona’s lip trembled. “Someone who loves you.”

  “Not enough, obviously,” he shot back.

  She ignored his cutting remark, but it wounded her.

  “There is more at stake than just standing by your oath. If you do this, if you kill Ivan and Annie, it’s going to eat away at you.” Fiona spoke with conviction, but Nic dashed her words away with a sharp swipe of his hand.

  “You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about!”

  “I know you felt something for Ivan, some kind of kinship. He fought beside you. He probably saved my life. You were united against a common foe. And Annie is just as much a victim as anyone else.”

  “Anyone ever tell you that you’re a bleeding heart?”

  “And you’re an unreasonable, blind, hard-ass!”

  “Yeah, it’s why they pay me the big money,” he sneered. “I’m the chosen warrior, F
iona, not you! I say who lives and dies. Damn it, that’s why I work alone, so I don’t have to deal with this crap.” He swiped his hand through his still damp hair.

  “Crap?” Fiona’s face fell. She held her breath and then let it out slowly, her chest deflating. “I’m ‘crap.’” Stepping away from the table, she left the room.

  “Fiona, come back. He didn’t mean to say that!”

  There was no answer.

  “Nic, apologize, right now!”

  More silence.

  Fiona moved, unseeing, down the hall to her room and threw open the door. She had to get out of here. Go home and get some perspective. Pulling open the drawers to the dresser, she began to throw the clothes she’d put away onto the bed.

  Going to the closet, she lifted her duffel bag from the floor and carried it to the bed. Packing her bag, she viciously shoved her clothes in, muttering to herself under her breath about the stupidity of a certain man in particular and most men in general.

  When that was done, she headed to the bathroom. More muttering. She’d known it was too good to last. Clearing off the counter with a swipe of her hand, she dumped everything into her small case and then stuffed it into the duffel bag too. She jerked the zipper, and of course, it snagged. Struggling with it, she began to cry.

  “Goddamn zipper!” She tugged, but it wouldn’t budge. She sat on the floor, legs crossed, tears leaking. She tried to back the zipper up, but it was caught on the material, the way zippers always do when you’re in a hurry. Wiping her eyes with her hand, she tried to look closely at where it had jammed.

  “Fine, just friggin’ fine.” Why did this always happen, especially when you’re trying to get the hell out of someplace and make a dramatic exit?

  At last, it backed up and she managed to zip it shut. She stood, threw her purse over her shoulder, and then shrugged her shoulder into the strap of the duffel bag. Looking in the mirror of the dresser, she caught her own reflection and froze.

  Don’t go, her heart raged. He needs you. But the small voice in the back of her mind whispered, He needs you to show him the way. So many emotions flashed on her face she barely recognized herself. Self-preservation won out over her heart, and she took a ragged breath, turned away, and left the room.