The Vampire's Mark 3: Cold Heir (Reverse Harem Romance)

by Rachel Jonas

  It wasn’t a lie—I did catch certain ones on Julian’s staff eyeing the princes like they were a full-course meal.

  “You have my word that I’ll be on my best behavior. Besides, I already told you, Love,” he started with a laugh, “I’ve only got eyes for you.” After speaking, a tender kiss was pressed beneath my ear.

  Heat crept up my entire body with the look he gave as I lowered into my seat, still staring when he closed the door behind me. In the short time it took Silas to join me, I focused my thoughts again after having Levi steal it for a moment. Breathing deep, I acknowledged that this first step in the action Silas and I were taking was it.

  The point of no return.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Corina

  We were silent as we drove off, leaving the palace in the rearview mirror. It wasn’t until Silas took my hand that I realized he’d been saying my name.

  “Corina.”

  I turned. “I’m sorry. Yes?”

  He smiled warmly, giving my hand a gentle squeeze. “I asked if you were nervous.”

  Breathing deeply, I shook my head. “No, just going over things to make sure we haven’t forgotten any details,” I answered. “You?”

  He shook his head without hesitation. “Not even a little. Call me crazy, but I have a feeling we’ll make a great team.”

  I agreed with him on that, even beyond this mission.

  We were in darkness after a few minutes driving, and when Silas pulled off the road, this assignment became real. The headlights went dim and the engine fell silent.

  “Wait here a moment,” he instructed, leaving me inside the car alone. When he came into view again, he carried a blanket with him to the passenger side where I sat. I watched as he carefully spread it before returning for me, unlatching my door and then taking my hand to assist me.

  The purpose of the blanket wasn’t apparent at first, but it became clear when my heels didn’t sink into the dirt, keeping my feet and the hem of my dress from getting filthy. He truly had thought of everything, including how to avoid minor inconveniences.

  Chivalry was alive and well, as far as Silas was concerned.

  Inundated by the sound of lively crickets who’d settled beside the stream that babbled nearby, I waited while Silas popped the trunk. He passed me a set of dark clothes folded neatly into a stack, with a pair of black shoes perched on top. The items would certainly suit me better than the dress I currently wore.

  “Should we go over the plan?” I asked, trying to ignore the fact that he’d just removed his jacket, his tie … and then his shirt. If he wasn’t shy, I wouldn’t be either. I eased the sleeves of my dress down my shoulders and shimmied out of it.

  “I think I’m good,” he smirked, blatantly checking me out when I was down to my undergarments. “But if you’re starting to doubt me, we can certainly run through it again.”

  “No, that’s not what I meant,” I blurted, afraid I offended him. “It’s just—”

  “Relax,” he chuckled. “I wasn’t serious.”

  The corner of my mouth curved up into a smile as I slipped dark pants over my hips. “Cute.”

  His tight midsection flexed when he positioned a dark thermal shirt over his head before sliding it on. I hadn’t gotten a good look at his build before now, but holy sugar, this man was something to marvel at—skin so smooth it looked like liquid velvet poured over a perfectly sculpted, steel frame. Enticing divots carved into his hips, teasing as they disappeared beneath his waistband.

  Turning away, I reminded myself that my focus ought to be on, you know, not dying and whatnot. So, I pulled on the shirt and zipped the dark hoodie I’d been given, and then tied the laces of my gym shoes. We quickly gathered our things, and pulled two bags from the trunk that Silas had filled with tools, placing them in the backseat for easy access.

  “Here.” He paused to place a com in my hand. “They’re already linked,” he added, pressing a second piece into his ear. “It’s safe to assume you already know how to activate it.”

  I didn’t miss what he hinted at, especially when he smirked again.

  “I’ve used one once or twice.” Pressing the small button on the outside, we were linked and ready just in case we got separated inside the building.

  “And we’ll need to put these on,” he commanded, tossing me one of two black, nylon mask to pull over our noses and mouths to hide our identity. I slipped mine over my head, leaving it to rest around my neck until they’d be necessary.

  We waited a moment longer, while Silas took one last precaution to conceal one of his most telling traits—his eyes. He put a set of red contacts in place that was, honestly, jarring to see on him at first, after having gotten used to the silver. But they did what they were meant to do; they allowed him to blend in with the rest of Ianite society. A second set was handed over for me to put in as well, making me look like one of them, and then it was time to press forward.

  We climbed back inside the car and continued on our way. The Tine Facility was a mere twenty-minute drive from the palace, and Silas and I were silent the entire way. I liked that he didn’t press me for conversation, liked that he let me get deeper into my zone without asking a ton of questions someone new to the game might ask.

  From what I could tell, he actually trusted me.

  About a mile out, we parked discreetly, and removed Julian’s license plate just in case. After strapping on our backpacks, we each took a spare flashlight and knife to holster to our thighs. Those had been my suggestion, and Silas didn’t even bat an eye at them. Nor did he question my knowledge of the list of weapons I requested that he secure—most of which were Ianite military-grade.

  After raising our masks and hoods into place, we headed straight for the pristine, white structure ahead of us. It was highly secured and heavily guarded, but I knew for a fact it wasn’t impenetrable. Still, that didn’t mean it would be easy to infiltrate.

  Leaves crunched beneath our feet, and we crouched at the base of a towering, electrified fence—the first line of defense against intruders. Silas’ gaze was trained on me as I dug through the bag I carried, revealing the purpose of one of the items I requested. Ducking to one of the power supply panels, I plugged in a device that would temporarily diffuse that section of the barrier.

  A solid red light flashed green quickly, and then went dormant altogether. Peering up at Silas, I nodded.

  “We’re good to go,” I informed him.

  “And if they notice and reactivate it before we return?” he whispered back.

  “We’ll be in and out long before that happens,” I smirked. I’d outsmarted the authorities at this particular location on more than one occasion.

  We climbed together, pausing at the top to cut through the barbed wire before going over to the other side. My feet hit the ground with a thud, but Silas was far stealthier. I smiled a bit.

  Show off.

  Staying low, we hurried closer, keeping our eyes locked on the watchtower to our left.

  “Your eyes are definitely better than mine,” I admitted. “Are you able to see how many guards there are?”

  Silas took a moment to observe. “Looks like two.”

  “Ok, as soon as they’re both panning in the other direction, say the word and we’ll run for it,” I instructed.

  He didn’t answer, just kept a watchful eye on the tower as my heart raced with anticipation.

  “Ok, go!” he urged, prompting my feet to move faster than I think he expected. We were so close to our destination—a steel ladder positioned near one of three back entrances.

  This was such a rush, a burst of adrenaline that was unmatched. As difficult as this had been for me in the past, I honestly loved that I was able to find some small way to contribute to the cause. And tonight, with the help of Silas, that sense of purpose had been restored. I wouldn’t forget that he’d been in support of that.

  He trailed right behind me as I climbed, glancing toward the watchtower every so often to ensur
e that we were still flying under the radar, and luckily, we were.

  As we reached the rooftop, a massive grate to the right was our next destination. And lucky for us, the deadly fan blades inside it weren’t whirring tonight, which meant we’d just been granted a small favor because there was one less step to take. One less opportunity to be caught.

  Silas decided to lead the way, having memorized our plan, and the map I designed. Meticulously, he removed the large bolts that held the grate in place, gently dropping each into the palm of my gloved hand. After a few moments of checking over our shoulders for the guards in the tower, our way in was suddenly wide open.

  I couldn’t see his expression through the mask, but I knew Silas was smiling. The glint in his temporarily red eyes told me so.

  “After you,” he offered, gesturing with his hand.

  More than ready for this, I didn’t hesitate.

  After slipping between the metal blades with care, my knees touched the cool surface of the airduct, and we entered in almost complete silence. I felt my way through the darkness, for fear of a flashlight shining through one of the registers, alerting someone that they had company. We hung a right, and then a sharp left which would take us toward the center of the building where the vault was.

  The ‘X’ that marked the spot.

  “Ten feet,” I barely whispered.

  Continuing forward with painstakingly slow movements, we closed in on our target. The bright light beaming through the grate, illuminating a portion of the duct, was an indicator. That particular space was, generally, empty. Except on the occasion where someone was either dropping off or picking up samples. Security often did rounds past the circular room, one reminiscent of a fishbowl with all its windows.

  I came to a stop, earning Silas’ attention when I checked for my knife, and readjusted my mask. With a look, I signaled him that it was time to go.

  Tremors rattled my fingers as I gently eased the grate open, knowing it would swing out, alerting anyone nearby that someone had trespassed. Meaning, this particular move was a stab in the dark, a matter of chance. When there wasn’t immediate scrambling beneath us, or gunfire even, I guessed we’d lucked out to have arrived when security happened to be elsewhere.

  Bracing my hands on the edge of the opening, I let my legs fall through the center, and lowered myself down to the ground.

  The bright white of the lab was almost blinding, but adrenaline made my senses sharper as I peered around, doing a scan of all the windows to ensure that we didn’t have an audience. Silas dropped down next, taking a moment to re-secure the grate before crouching beside me.

  I didn’t speak, only nodded.

  His eyes went to the small, glass-front refrigerator straight ahead of us, one filled with blood samples. The labels were unique, which was where Silas’ ability to hack into their system a few days ago had come in handy. With a little work, he determined what code had been used for the tainted lot, which would make our mission a lot more efficient. The less time we spent here, the better.

  Agreeing to sit tight while he crept toward it, I peered over his shoulder every so often. The fridge hissed when it opened and cool air escaped. Silas slipped his bag from his shoulder, and opened the insulated compartment, reinforced with metal specifically for this task. The goal was to keep them cool and intact until we were able to get them back for his study.

  I swear I held my breath right up until he closed the small door again, hurrying back to where I hid—between a large, center counter, and a portable testing station.

  “We’re done,” I whispered with a grin, feeling my heart race at an unhealthy rate, but I couldn’t help it. We’d accomplished the very thing we set out to, all without any close scrapes.

  I expected Silas to match my excitement, but that wasn’t what I saw when I looked him in his eyes. He stared, and I knew something was wrong.

  “What is it?”

  Finally breaking his gaze to blink, he was slow to answer. “There’s something else I need to do while I’m here,” he announced.

  My first thought was that he’d gone insane, that he was drunk on adrenaline and suddenly thought he was invincible. But then his expression softened and I remembered he was much too grounded to ever be ruled by his ego.

  “Talk to me,” I whispered.

  He inched toward the edge of the counter to make sure we were still in the clear, and then I had his attention again.

  “There’s a promise I need to make good on,” he began. “I was supposed to get my hands on some meds—painkillers, antibiotics, vitamin supplements. The plan was to maybe gain access to a medical house, but … we could easily kill two birds with one stone while we’re here. All those things I mentioned are manufactured in this facility, and then delivered across the Quadrant to the medical houses. If we got them now,” he reasoned, “it would minimize the risk of having to infiltrate a second facility.”

  There was tension in my brow, I could feel it. Mostly I was confused as to why he’d make such a lofty promise in the first place … then things began to click.

  “Is this for my team?” I asked, keeping my voice low.

  At first, he hesitated, but then nodded. “It is, and if you’re leery about staying inside this place even a second longer than you have to, I completely understand,” he whispered. “So, if that’s the case, I’ll ensure that you get back to the car safely … and then I’m coming back in.”

  There was absolutely no time for sentiment in this scenario, yet he left me no choice. I was in awe of his kindness, his selflessness. The mere thought of him risking getting caught, risking his crown, or even his life for them … there were no words.

  When I nodded, I don’t think he knew what I meant at first. “Absolutely,” I uttered. “We can do that for them. I’m coming with you.”

  Even through the mask I caught his smile, and with that, our mission had just extended to a room at the end of the hallway. That meant passing guards, dodging cameras, the whole nine. Still, if Silas was willing to risk it for my team, so was I.

  I was beginning to think the keycards he calibrated wouldn’t get any use, but this sudden change of plans meant otherwise.

  Crouching, I’d taken two steps—three tops—when the back of my hoodie was gathered into Silas’ massive hand, being used to snatch me down to the ground beside him. He pressed his finger to his lips, shushing me when I questioned him with my eyes. He pointed toward the window above our heads, and within a few seconds, muffled voices pierced the silence.

  Holding my breath, I gathered my feet close to my body, making myself as small as possible to avoid being seen.

  The continuation of what sounded like an in-depth conversation was probably the reason for the sloppy check. However, I was grateful for it. The two lingered there a while, and Silas and I sat listening, seeing as how we were kind of stuck.

  “Withers is still scratching his head,” a male voice admitted. “The video footage shows nothing, the guards saw nothing, and yet, the girl’s just gone, vanished without a trace,” he explained.

  “Well, humans don’t just get up and walk out of a place like this. Especially one as heavily sedated as HIN-190487,” his female counterpart answered.

  Tension spread across my brow, causing my eyes to slam shut. My mind was working overtime to recall where I’d heard that number. And then, just like that, it hit me.

  Like a ton of bricks.

  “That’s her,” I whispered to Silas, feeling how my eyes stretched wide with the revelation. “HIN-190487 was the woman responsible for producing the first tainted lot that didn’t kill the host.” I paused and pointed at his bag. “The blood you’re carrying to test? It’s hers.”

  His expression deepened and I knew he was now just as intrigued as I was. If we were hearing these two correctly, someone had pulled off a similar feat as the one we did tonight, only their goal was to take the girl. This begged the question: Who? And for what purpose?

  “You’d think that after a
breach as major as this one, we’d be in lockdown right now,” the male guard suggested.

  “That would require acknowledging that mistakes were made, and we both know that will never happen,” the woman replied. “If we’re being honest, we already know how this is gonna go. It’ll be a race to save face. Which means, to the untrained eye, nothing around here will change, simply to avoid calling more attention to what’s happened. Meanwhile, a massive investigation is likely already underway right under our noses, and it’ll continue until she’s tracked down and re-secured.”

  I wanted more information, wanted to hear their theories or list of suspects, but they moved on, continuing their beat. Panting with curiosity, I peered over at Silas, wondering what it all meant.

  “I need you to stay here,” Silas urged when a second guard passed, having a change of heart. “I’ll make the quick run down the hall, grab what we need, and then come back for you,” he promised.

  “But what if you need help? Or what if you get caught?” I reasoned.

  He listened before nodding. “Which is precisely the reason I need you to wait here. If something happens to me, I need you to promise to get these samples out safely. Julian and Levi know a trustworthy colleague of mine and will get them to her.”

  While Silas spoke of getting the samples to safety, I was aware this wasn’t the only reason he wanted me to stay put. He wanted to keep me safe. I wasn’t used to this, being made to stay behind, to sit it out while someone else did the hard things. Only, Silas seemed to insist on it. In so many ways, he was subtle, but when it came to protecting me, it was apparent he was just as vigilant as the others.

  It was the heavy look of concern he wore that forced me to consider it.

  “I’ll wait,” I finally gave in, after a brief standoff, “but if I hear anything, samples or no samples, Silas, I’m coming for you.”

  My declaration brought a quiet chuckle out of him. “I was already fairly certain that would be something I couldn’t talk you out of.”

  He peeked up to get a glimpse out the window, pulled the keycard from his pocket, and surprised me when he didn’t immediately leave. Instead, he pinched the top of his mask and mine, lowering both. A gentle smile passed my way and I returned it, breathing in as he leaned closer, placing a surprisingly tender kiss on my lips. It contradicted the urgency of the moment, making it feel as if time had slowed just for us until he had to pull away.