Nope, I wasn’t supposed to be noticing that. Or thinking about it. I never really paid much attention to humans at all. So it figured the one human I was attracted to beyond feeding had to be the one human who was off-limits.
We finally reached the part of town where a port existed. I had to get Ten underground so she could rest. I didn’t sleep, but she was human, and we hadn’t even had time to stop so she could put shoes on.
I opened the door to a two-story brick building that used to house an auto mechanics shop. Ten’s heart raced against my back as the darkness of the building descended on us. Tha-thump-tha-thump-tha-thump. Her hair stuck to my sweat-dampened neck. I patted her leg. “We’re almost there.”
“Almost where?” she whispered.
“A place we can rest.”
“Oh,” she said.
With a flick of my wrist, I materialized the port in the floor. The wooden planks rippled, turning opaque to show the dark stairs beneath.
I reached back to take Ten’s hand, but she was leaning backward, hands up. “Whoa.” She shook her head. “No. Nope. I’m not just hopping through some weird vibrating…hole-thing in the ground. Are you kidding me?”
“It’s a port.”
She stared at me like I’d lost my mind. “It’s a port. As if it’s normal to like…wave your hand and make solid objects not solid. Fuck that.”
I knew she was freaking out, but we didn’t have the luxury of time. We had to get hidden. Now. “Later we’ll have a chat about doing what I tell you and trusting I have good reasons. When we’re safe. But right now you need to take my hand, or I will force you.”
She blinked at me, then at my outstretched hand. Myriad emotions flickered over her face. Did all humans show this much of what they were thinking? Finally she slipped her hand in mine and said on a wince, “Please tell me we’re not going into the sewer.”
“No sewer.” I tugged her toward me, then set her bag on the floor at my feet. A sliver of moonlight through a shattered window gave her human eyes something to work with. “It’s going to be tight quarters heading down, so you need to walk.” I rummaged around and pulled out a set of sneakers, then helped her off my back so she could slip them on.
Brex sat huddled in the corner of the duffel, a lump of very pissed-off fur.
“I’m so sorry, Brex,” she murmured. “I’ll get you out as soon as I can.” She zipped the bag back up and peered up at me. “Why’d you bring the cat anyway?”
“I didn’t. He snuck into the bag when I packed it.”
“Oh. Well he’s been really helpful. He sensed the bad guys.”
“The bad guys, huh?”
“Yeah.” She shivered. “I saw one poke his head out the window. Bald and ghost-white, and he pointed a finger at me.”
My heart thudded. “What did you say?”
She brushed her hair off her shoulder and squinted at me. “I said one stuck his head out the window. Why does he look so different from you? You have hair. And you aren’t that pale.”
I squeezed my eyes shut and rubbed my hand over the back of my neck. This was going to complicate things. They really, really didn’t want her to live. “That wasn’t a Valarian. That was a Quellen.”
“Quellen?”
“Assassins for hire,” I said. “That’s what they do. Their specialty. They have no allegiance but blood and money. And the Valarians have a lot of both.”
Her lips parted in an O. “So the Valarians hired these pale bastards to kill me?”
“Pale vampire bastards. They are a different clan. And yes, that’s what I’m saying, if that’s what you saw.”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I saw. What does this mean? You seem surprised.”
Quellens rarely ventured into Mission City. When they did, they covered up to hide their inhuman features. But they’d let her see who they were. That was a bold, direct threat. I chose my words carefully, because I didn’t want to scare her any more than she already was. “It means we have to be more cautious. I’ll have to alter our escape route a little.” She nibbled her lips, and for the first time, she dropped the tough act and looked worried. “Hey.” I gripped her chin and forced her to look at me. “The Quellen are the best at what they do, but I’m the best at what I do.”
“Okay.” Her voice trembled.
“I will die protecting you, and I’m fucking hard to kill. Understand?”
A faint smile appeared on her lips. “Yes, I understand.”
With a nod, I guided her through the port. She stretched out her hand to touch the vibrating floor, her eyes wide. When we were well below it, I closed the port, and we were plunged into darkness. She inhaled sharply at the sudden loss of light.
I gripped her hand. “I can see in the dark better than you, so just hold on to me. There’ll be some light soon.”
“Okay.” Her voice trembled slightly, and she squeezed my hand back.
We descended the stairs slowly, and we’d gone probably the equivalent of five flights when she must have spotted the light at the end, because she said, “Oh.”
I felt the need to reassure her. “Halfway there.”
“That’s good,” she said softly.
When I was given this job, I’d viewed her as an object I was meant to take and deliver. But now that Ten was with me, her fingers tangled with mine and her light footsteps treading behind me, my plan was turned on its head.
She was a person, not a vessel of blood. While the Gregorie clan respected humans and didn’t wish to see them enslaved, we weren’t known to…care for them. They were small and weak and smelled delicious.
I had to get my head together. The presence of the Quellen was a complication I didn’t want, and the journey home was going to take longer. We’d have to stay mostly underground, and rely on the entire Gregorie vampire community to get us home.
When we reached the bottom of the staircase, I led her down a hallway with metal doors. Behind those doors were Gregorie vampire families, who all lived under the rule of my father—King Connell. And soon, Idris.
At the end, I stopped and knocked on door 223E, shoving a silent Ten behind me.
When the door opened, Zeb stood in front of me, shirtless and drinking a bloodshake. He wiped his chin and grinned at me. “A! My man. It’s been a minute since I’ve seen y—”
I shoved him inside with a hand on his chest and pulled Ten in after me, slamming the door behind me and locking it. Ten stood with her back to the door, wide eyes staring at Zeb as he gaped at her, blood still dripping from his lips.
“Holy fuck,” Zeb muttered.
“Are you all this fucking huge?” Ten said through clenched teeth.
Zeb’s jaw dropped open.
I tugged Ten to me, not that Zeb was any threat but I needed her close, touching me, or my anxiety over her safety spiked. “Zeb, this is Tendra Parrish. Ten, this is Zeb. An old friend.”
Ten swallowed as she took in Zeb’s massive form.
As for Zeb, his gaze shifted to me. “Uh, you know I never mind you visiting, but what are you doing here with a terrified human?”
“I’m not terrified,” Ten said quickly.
“I’m here,” I said slowly, “because I need a place to hide out. This is the Gregorie Sanguivita.”
Zeb blinked at me, then at Ten. “Oh, shit.” There was a beat of silence, and then he went into panic mode. “You couldn’t even fucking call?” He tossed his bloodshake in the sink and began to straighten up his apartment. “I just got done working out. I stink. I have barely any food for humans.” He pointed at me. “You know how I am about first impressions.” He disappeared into his bedroom. “I can’t believe this.” His voice filtered out over the sound of running water. “The Sanguivita is here, and I look like a gym rat, for fuck’s sake.” He poked a head out of his room and sniffed. “And why the hell do I smell a cat?”
“Oh!” Ten gasped and ripped the duffel out of my hand. She unzipped the top and scooped up Brex, holding the striped cat to her face
. “I’m sorry, baby,” she crooned. “You were such a trouper.”
Zeb, now dressed with water dripping from his brown hair, stood with his hands on his hips, staring at her. “I’m lost right now.”
I nudged Ten toward the couch, where she curled up in the corner with Brex. I sat down next to her, making sure she was comfortable before I turned to my friend. “I’m sorry I didn’t give you a heads-up. This wasn’t exactly planned. We thought we had more time, but the Valarians found her. And they’ve contracted Quellen.”
Zeb sank down into a chair across from me. “Shit.” His gaze darted to her, and he shot her a small smile.
“I need a place where she can rest, get some food and water. We’ll be out of your hair once she sleeps.”
“Sure, I’m glad you came here.” He stood up and walked over to his refrigerator to peer inside. We didn’t eat the same things as humans, and not nearly as much. We ate food for the taste and a very small amount of nutrition. Our main sustenance was blood. “So,” Zeb said, “I got some hot dogs. Oh, wait, no, they’re expired. Um, I have some cheese. Crackers. Don’t humans need protein?”
“Protein would be good,” Ten said on a yawn.
“Right, protein,” he muttered, going through his cabinets. “Aha!” He held up a jar. “Peanut butter.”
Ten smiled at him, and I was so thankful for Zeb. I’d known his easygoing personality and charm would make her comfortable. “A peanut butter sandwich would be great if you have bread.”
Zeb grinned big. “I do have bread! Peanut butter sandwich, coming right up.”
“And a water, please.”
“Sure thing.”
In a minute, Zeb placed a peanut butter sandwich and a bottle of water in front of Ten. For Brex, he managed to find a few pieces of ham. While Ten ate, her eyelids drooped.
As she wiped the last of the crumbs from her mouth, her body slumped onto the couch. I picked her up and carried her to Zeb’s bed. She snuggled down into the sheets, her blond hair in a halo around her head, black-painted fingernails gripping the blanket. She looked so tiny in Zeb’s massive bed. When I was sure she was settled with Brex curled up around her legs, I left the room and shut the door behind me.
Zeb glanced up from where he sat on the couch. “She okay?”
“Yeah, thanks again.”
“Of course.”
Zeb had the best arsenal of weapons and was one of the best fighters I knew. He worked as a bouncer at a vampire club, but he could have easily been a soldier. He didn’t want to, though, because he said being a bouncer blessed him with his favorite things—blood and pussy.
“So…”
“You got another one of those shakes?”
Zeb laughed. “Yeah, lemme make you one.”
I leaned my head back on the couch and closed my eyes. We only slept when we were hungry, so my groggy head let me know it’d been too long since I’d fed. I’d need fresh blood soon, but Zeb’s shake would hold me over for now. Something warm was shoved into my hand, and I immediately gulped down the thick liquid. “I don’t know what you put in these, but they are fucking delicious.”
“My secret ingredient.” He leaned back and folded his hands behind his head, his gaze darting to his bedroom door then back to me. “I hadn’t realized it was time to claim her yet.”
“It’s early,” I said. “But once we got word her mom was killed, we had to act fast.”
“Is Idris ready?”
I speared Zeb with a glare, but he didn’t back down. He was the only person I allowed to question Idris around me, because we’d all been childhood friends.
“Just answer the question—”
“I don’t know,” I said quickly. When our father ordered me to bring back Ten, Idris had remained tight-lipped and stone-faced. I could have sworn I saw a flash of panic cross his face before he shut it down.
“Look, you know I’m not trying to dog on Idris. He’s a good man.” There was that phrase again. The same one I’d given to Ten. “But I don’t know about king.” He paused and said more quietly, “People are talking.”
I polished off the shake and rubbed my hands down my face. “Shit.”
The problem with Idris, the issue no one wanted to talk about because it was so vague, was that he didn’t have a king-like presence. As the commander of the Army, he shone, but dealing with policies and making tactical decisions that affected the future of the clan…he seemed lost.
Maybe Ten was what he needed to bring out his king qualities.
“So what’s she like?” Zeb asked.
I dropped my hands in my lap. “She’s opinionated.”
Zeb laughed out loud. “You’re not around enough human women.”
This was true. The vampires who lived in Mission mingled more with the part of the human population who supplied their blood. The vampire clubs welcomed those humans. The ruling family? We fed and that was it. Sure I’d fuck them afterward, because feeding caused a rush of endorphins for us both, but I wasn’t making small talk with them.
“She’s tough, too,” I said. “She doesn’t take shit. I’m…impressed.”
“You sound more irritated than impressed.”
I shrugged. “I thought she’d be more docile and easily led.”
Zeb’s grin irritated me. “Aw, A, this is going to be one hell of a trip back to the compound. If I didn’t have a job and shit, I’d tag along just to watch the fireworks.”
“You’re an asshole. This is fucking serious. We have assassins after us.”
Zeb waggled his eyebrows. “Well, then. Good thing I got an entire room full of weapons. All extra-sharp. For maximum bodily injury.”
It was the first time I grinned in days.
Chapter 4
Tendra
Brex’s familiar weight was pressed to my side. I yawned and ran my hands down my face. I hadn’t slept that well in…forever.
I opened my eyes, expecting to see my lavender sheets and old familiar dresser and instead I saw…a large man with dark eyes staring right at me.
Oh, right. I was in an underground bunker thing sleeping in the bed of another large vampire. I rolled onto my side to face Athan. He sat sprawled on a chair, wearing only a pair of black jeans. He was heavily muscled, his veins a map of blue beneath his skin. His feet were bare, and for such a large man, he had pretty feet, with a high arch.
I let my gaze travel back up to his face and met his eyes. In the soft light of the bedroom, his features were less sharp. Now that I didn’t think he was going to chop me to pieces, I could appreciate he was damn nice to look at. His friend had been, too. Maybe that was a vampire thing: must have high cheekbones, strong chins, and a Calvin Klein model jawline.
This was all a head trip, to be waking up in an underground apartment while my vampire bodyguard watched over me. I didn’t have the energy last night to freak out over this—I’d fallen dead asleep. And even this morning, I waited for the panic to come, the resistance. But my heart and my mind were slowly coming around to accepting my fate. Even if I didn’t fully understand what my future held.
Athan pointed to the bedside table. On the surface was a toasted bagel with cream cheese and a mug of coffee. “Thanks,” I muttered, sitting up and reaching for the bagel.
As soon as I took a bite, my eyes widened. “Hey, this is from Fran’s!”
His lips twitched slightly and he nodded.
I took another huge bite, then swiped a finger through the cream cheese and offered some to Brex.
Athan shifted in his chair. “I sent Zeb out.”
“How’d you know to go to Fran’s?”
“I noticed your trash can was full of her shop’s paper bags.”
That was the truth. And surprisingly thoughtful from a…species who sucked blood. I polished off the first half and reached for the other. “You went through my trash?”
“I needed to know as much about you as I could.”
I picked at a bubble on the top of the bagel. “Oh.”
I blew over the surface of the coffee. “I’m…okay.” I was sure there’d be more freak-outs, but right now I was focused on eating and getting in some caffeine. After taking a sip, I tilted my head. “Did you watch me sleep?”
His eyes strayed to my bare shoulder, where my large T-shirt had slipped down my arm. Then he dropped his gaze down and away. “I only came in here a couple of hours ago. I’m anxious when you’re out of my sight.”
Well, that was comforting. I took another sip of coffee. “So…I get the drift you don’t talk a lot and stuff, but I’m going to need some help here. I have questions.”
He focused on me, straightening in his chair. “You can ask questions.”
“Am I on a need-to-know basis here?”
He frowned. “I don’t know what that means. Is that human slang?”
Vampires probably didn’t watch a lot of movies. Okay, then. Just ask your questions, Ten. “First of all, how did we get here? You…made a door. Through solid wood. That was some kind of magic shit.”
“We have ports leading below ground at various points in the city.”
“Ah, so kinda like the Matrix and phones.”
He blinked at me.
Oh, right, the movie thing. “Never mind, go ahead.”
After a hesitation, he kept talking. “Only the Gregorie clan can access them. We have a special chemical in our somnus that reacts with the ports we installed.”
“So the bad vampires…what were their names?”
His lips twitched, as if I amused him. “The Valarians.”
“Right. They can’t get down here?”
He shook his head. “No. Neither can the Quellen.”
“Okay, yeah, so let’s talk about them.”
“Okay.”
“What the hell are they?”
“The Quellen are a vampire clan. They are very old, and very excellent at killing.”
“This is not instilling optimism in me, Athan.”
“I’m also old, and I’m also excellent at killing. Does that make you feel better?”
I held up a thumb and forefinger an inch apart. “Little bit.”
Blood Guard Page 4
