“Should we contact Seth?”
“No. Rumor has it he’s going to propose to Leah tonight.”
Roland’s eyebrows rose. “He is?”
Marcus gave him a meaningful look. “After he takes her to meet Tomasso and Cassandra.”
“Oh.” Roland’s look turned pensive.
“Exactly.”
“Let’s not bother him then. If the couple Henderson spoke with knows something and tries to share it, I’m sure the network will catch them and put a stop to it.”
Marcus nodded. “And if one of the soldiers from the military base stole the Humvee, he is likely dead because all loose ends appear to have been tied up.”
“Except this one.”
“And the missing gifted one.”
Roland frowned. “Right. Do you think the two are related?”
“I doubt it. I think Reordon is probably right. Gershom most likely killed the missing gifted one. We just haven’t found the body yet.”
Gifted one? Lisa thought. What was a gifted one?
Roland’s features darkened. “I wish I could’ve seen Seth take that bastard down.”
“Me, too. Are you hunting tonight?”
“No.”
“Me either. While we have a moment to ourselves, how is Michael?”
Roland sighed. “As traumatized as Adira.”
Marcus studied him. “And you?”
Roland’s eyes flashed brighter as fury darkened his features. “Every time I think of what those fuckers would’ve done to them if the children hadn’t been capable of protecting themselves, I break out in a cold sweat.”
Marcus’s eyes began to glow. “I do, too. I can still hear them crying for us in that hellish place.”
Had they been among the vampires held captive at the base? Had children been held captive in the base? She vaguely recalled Brad mentioning as much but had forgotten until now. The notion horrified her.
“As can I,” Roland admitted. “Thank you for letting us bunk in your room. Michael didn’t want to let Adira out of his sight.”
Marcus clapped him on the back. “Anytime. You can do so again if need be… for however long it will take the children to feel safe again.”
Roland nodded. “Thank you. Let me get you back to David’s place.”
Both vanished.
Lisa expelled a sigh of relief.
Taelon relaxed.
Then Roland reappeared.
Both tensed.
Roland glanced over his shoulder.
The door to the motel room swung closed with a quiet snick and locked itself.
He had telekinetic abilities, too?
“If you’re here,” he said softly, “hiding where I cannot find you, I warn you… do not betray us. If you do, you will find us a formidable and terrifying enemy.”
Lisa did not doubt his words.
Reaching into a back pocket, he retrieved his phone and dialed. “Henderson? It’s Roland again. The room appears to be empty. I hear heartbeats but see no one. You know I’m a suspicious sort, so I called in Marcus. He thinks it’s probably animals in the attic or crawl space since we’re out in the sticks. But I’m not so certain.” He listened for a moment. “Yes. Do you need anything else?” Another pause. “All right. I’m heading back to North Carolina.” He disconnected the call, then made another. “It’s me. I’m on my way.”
Taelon’s hand tightened around Lisa’s.
Roland vanished.
“Wait!” Taelon lunged out of bed.
Lisa jumped, startled by his shout. But the vampire was gone.
Swearing, Taelon crossed naked to the door and flung it open. He even stepped outside and looked around. He glanced over his shoulder at Lisa. “Did you catch his name?”
“Roland War-something,” she answered.
Taelon faced the parking lot and bellowed, “Roland!”
Lisa gaped at him. What was he doing?
Taelon shouted the vampire’s name several more times.
When Roland didn’t miraculously reappear, Taelon stepped back inside and slammed the door.
Her eyes remained wide as she watched him.
Oblivious to his nudity, he paced back and forth in stiff, agitated movements that surely must aggravate his injuries.
As if to confirm her concerns, he clutched his chest.
A hard cramp ripped through her abdomen. Hissing in a breath, she clutched her belly, only then remembering her own nudity.
He stilled. “Lisa?”
Breathing deeply, she reached down, grabbed the sheet, and tugged it up to her breasts as the pain intensified.
Taelon returned to the bed and sat down beside her. “Are you okay?”
She nodded and started to tell him it would pass. But when she looked up at him, she lost her train of thought.
Blood trailed from one of his nostrils.
“You’re bleeding!”
Glancing down, he examined his chest. “No, I’m not. It just hurts.”
“Not there.” She drew a finger across the stubbled skin above his upper lip, then held it up to show him the blood. “Here. Your nose is bleeding.”
He wiped his nose, then frowned at the blood that streaked his fingers.
“Why is your nose bleeding? Do you have a head injury you didn’t tell me about?” Fear rose. Head injuries, if left untreated, could kill.
“No. I think it’s because I read his mind.”
The pain in her belly began to recede. “Your telepathic abilities are coming back?” That was a good sign, wasn’t it?
He shook his head. “No, they aren’t. The whole time those men were here, I was trying to read their thoughts. I wanted to determine whether they might be allies since they have reason to hate the butchers, too.”
“The enemy of my enemy is my friend?”
“Yes. But sometimes the enemy of my enemy is just another enemy.”
“That’s true, too, unfortunately. Is that why your nose bled, because you were trying so hard to read their thoughts?”
“Yes. It isn’t supposed to do that. Telepathy is easy for my kind.”
But his nose had bled. “What if you damaged yourself? You’re already wounded and—”
“It was worth it.” He took her hands and held them tightly.
“Why? What did you see?”
“My sister.” His Adam’s apple bobbed in a swallow. “She’s alive, Lisa. Amiriska is alive.”
Chapter Nine
Lisa stared at him. “What?”
“Amiriska is alive. I saw her in Roland’s mind when I finally managed to peek into it just before he left.”
“Oh Taelon, that’s wonderful!” Untangling her fingers from his, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight.
He lifted her onto his lap, wrapped his arms around her, and buried his face in the crook of her neck. “She’s alive, but how will I find her? Roland left before I could question him. And I can’t reach her telepathically.”
“I don’t know. But we’ll think of something. We’ll find her, Taelon.”
He shook his head. “I should have let them see me.”
“You did the right thing. You heard what that soldier in black back at the base told us. They were determined not to leave anyone alive who could carry tales. We were a loose end they were trying to tie up. For all we know, they planned to do that by killing us so we wouldn’t go to the media and tell everyone what we’ve seen.”
“Why would they not want us to do that?” Loosening his hold, he drew back a little and stared down at her. “Don’t they want those butchers to be punished?”
“I’m pretty sure they already punished the butchers themselves. And they did it in a way that kept it from being broadcast all over the news.” She motioned to the television. “I haven’t seen a single mention of it. That means these guys wield a lot of power. The fact that I didn’t know vampires actually existed until they attacked the base just confirms it. They clearly don’t want anyone to learn abou
t their existence. So… even though we were prisoners there, too, that may not stop them from killing us so they can ensure their existence will remain a secret.”
His brow furrowed.
“And Roland didn’t exactly look like the friendly sort. He even told us we should fear him.” She wiped his upper lip again. That his nose continued to bleed concerned the hell out of her. “How did Amiriska look in his thoughts or memories or whatever you saw?” If his younger sister was still being tortured on a daily basis, Lisa knew it would devastate him.
He seemed to consider it. “She looked good.” Confusion entered his features. “She looked like she was one of them.”
Her blood went cold. “They turned her into a vampire?”
“No. At least I don’t think so. Her eyes didn’t glow. But she was dressed like they were. Black pants with many pockets and a black shirt with short sleeves that left her arms bare. He called her Ami in his thoughts.”
She chewed her lower lip. “Did you sense any hostility he might feel toward her?”
He shook his head. “I have no empathic abilities. And the glimpse I had of his thoughts was too brief, lasting only a second or two.” Even such a short peek had made his nose bleed.
Lisa pondered his words. She hoped the vampires hadn’t turned Amiriska or whatever it was vampires did to make a mortal one of them. “What happened to the first facility that held her?” Taelon might have already told her, but she couldn’t remember.
“It burned to the ground.”
“How? What caused the fire?”
“We couldn’t uncover that information.”
“Maybe the vampires did it. Maybe that place took some of their own captive as well and the vampires came across Amiriska while rescuing them.”
“If that’s true, then I have needlessly placed you in danger.”
She frowned. “How do you figure that?”
“If they accepted Amiriska and offered her shelter, they might have done the same for us and I squandered an opportunity to find you safe harbor.”
You, he said. Find you safe harbor. “Don’t you mean find us safe harbor?”
“Your safety will always come before mine.”
Warmth unfurled in her chest. Damn. It would be so easy to fall for him. He was such an honorable guy. She couldn’t repay that by being less so. “We don’t know yet that they accepted her,” she said gently. “I know you said she looked well, but… maybe they made her their Renfield.”
His brows drew down. “What’s a Renfield?”
She recalled the many Dracula movies she had seen over the years, as well as the vampire novels she’d read. Some of the Renfields, or human assistants, in them had been horrific. Inhuman. Catching and eating live insects and rodents. Their bodies changing in grotesque ways. And some of those who weren’t like that either descended into insanity or lost all concept of right and wrong.
“Lisa,” he prompted when she didn’t respond, “what’s a Renfield?”
She studied him helplessly. “You have to understand, Taelon, that everything I know about vampires is based on fictional stories, so I don’t know what is truth and what isn’t.”
“What’s a Renfield?” he asked again. “It’s something bad, isn’t it? You wouldn’t hesitate to tell me if it weren’t.”
She sighed. “In fictional tales, vampires often have human or mortal servants. People sometimes call them Renfields because of a character in the first vampire novel that was written over a century ago.” She frowned. “At least I think it was the first vampire novel written. Folklore predates that.”
“What do these servants do?”
“Vampires drink blood,” she told him. “They need it to survive. In the movies I’ve seen, they don’t eat food to gain nourishment. They subsist entirely on the blood of others.”
His brows drew down.
“They’re different from regular humans, or Earthlings as you call us. They’re a lot stronger, faster, and—depending on the author of the story—may have special abilities, too.” She motioned to the door. “Clearly some of that is actually true. Roland can teleport and has telekinetic abilities.”
“My people cannot teleport, but some are born with telekinetic abilities,” he murmured. “And these vampires take servants?”
“Yes, although some would consider them more slave than servant. Sometimes they have no choice in whom they serve or how they serve them.”
His expression darkened. “How do they serve them?”
“By bringing the vampires victims they can drain or feed from. Or by being blood donors themselves.”
“These vampires might be holding Amiriska against her will? They might be forcing her to let them drink her blood?” His growing anger practically vibrated through her.
“Mmmmmaybe.”
“Do these vampires have a weakness?”
“They’re extremely photosensitive and can’t bear exposure to sunlight.”
“What happens when sunlight touches them?”
She shrugged. “In some stories they instantly burst into flames. In others they dissolve into ashes. And in yet others they blister and burn and will die if they don’t seek shelter. It just takes longer.”
“Then all one need do to defeat them is expose them to sunlight?”
“Possibly.”
He tightened his hold on her. “I have to find her. I have to save Amiriska.”
She rested a small hand on his face and stroked his jaw. “Remember, these are just stories. I don’t know how much of that is true. The vampires in movies are usually heartless monsters. That didn’t appear to be the case with Roland and Marcus. They were talking about one of them getting married and expressed concern about children. I just wanted to…”
“To prepare me so I would not be taken aback if the worst ends up being true.”
“Yes.”
Dipping his head, he brushed his lips against hers in a light kiss. “Thank you.”
Her heartbeat picked up. “Thank you for protecting me,” she whispered. If he hadn’t been so intent on keeping her safe, he likely would’ve taken a chance and shown himself to the vampires and might’ve learned where his sister was.
“I would protect you with the last breath left in my body, Lisa.”
She believed him. Sliding her fingers into his hair, she drew his head down and claimed his lips in a longer, deeper kiss. His arms tightened around her. His tongue delved inside to stroke her own. Desire swept through her, heating her blood and driving her to fist his hair.
He groaned. And Lisa knew it wasn’t from pain this time, but need. He buried one hand in her hair and tilted her head so he could deepen the kiss even more. His other hand caressed her back and pressed her closer, reminding her that they were both naked. The stubble on his chest teased her sensitive nipples. His cock lengthened and hardened beneath her bottom, making her want to straddle him and—
What the hell was she doing?
She broke the kiss, stunned to realize she was practically panting with need. She’d blame it on pregnancy hormones but suspected she would be lying to herself.
She stared up into emerald green.
Taelon affected her in ways no other man had.
“What are we doing?” she whispered.
A twinkle of mischief entered his eyes. “Breaking a number of Lasaran laws.”
Her lips twitched. “Aside from that.”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. I’m so drawn to you, Lisa. And not just because you carry my child. I would be drawn to you no matter the circumstances.”
“I’m drawn to you, too.” More so than she had been to any other man she’d met.
“Should I apologize for desiring you?”
Heat climbed her cheeks. “No. I desire you, too.”
He pressed a tender kiss to her forehead. “Do you think—how did you put it?—making love would harm you or the baby?” He cupped her big belly with one hand.
She glanced pointedly at the incision
that ran down his middle. “I think it could harm all three of us.” If even one of those stitches came loose…
Well, she didn’t know what would happen.
“If it were just me, I admit I would be tempted to risk it.” He continued to caress the mound their child formed. “But the pains that afflict you worry me.”
“They worry me, too.”
“Your face is pink again.”
The heat in her cheeks intensified. “I know. I can’t help it. As I said, I’m not an exhibitionist. And we’re both sitting here naked.”
His smile turned roguish. “I like you naked.”
She laughed. “Ditto.”
“I’m beginning to understand the definition of that word,” he said on a laugh, then winced and clutched his chest again.
Worry resurfaced. “So what do we do now?”
“I don’t know.”
“If you think we can coax the vampires and their soldiers into becoming our allies, maybe we should wait here and see if they return. I have no idea how to go about locating them. But Roland seemed dissatisfied with his inability to identify the source of our heartbeats, so he may come back for another look.”
He frowned. “How exactly could he hear our heartbeats? He even heard the baby’s. I thought humans’ sense of hearing was comparable to that of Lasarans.”
“Vampires have heightened senses. At least they do in stories.”
“That would explain why he detected the scents of both a man and a woman.”
She nodded. “I’m not wearing perfume and we both used the same soap and shampoo. So I don’t know how else he would be able to discern our genders.”
A sparkle of mischief once more entered his eyes.
“What?”
Ducking his head, he pressed his nose to her neck, just beneath her ear. “You smell very good.” He drew in a deep breath. “Even better when you’re aroused.”
“Oh shit,” she whispered. Even his words turned her on.
“Exactly. You are far too tempting, my little Earthling.”
She grinned. “Do you know how weird it is to be called that?”
The Lasaran (Aldebarian Alliance Book 1) Page 14
