by Unknown
Suddenly, the crowd of people seemed to be getting closer, and Jolie went on alert. Then, she noticed that they were all cops. She knew who was responsible for getting her some bodyguards. Sending Jacques a thank you, she blew him a mental kiss as she waited for Brogan to finish.
Searching the crowd, Jolie noticed a young girl staring at her with a look of panic in her eyes. Jolie moved toward her. “Stop,” she whispered.
The girl was trapped.
“Did you see what went on here?” she asked, adding compulsion to the question.
“Yes, Mistress,” she replied, trying to fight the coercion of answering her, but Jolie was too strong for her.
“What’s your name?”
“Leela.”
“Who did this, Leela?”
“I don’t know who, but there was a blonde woman, a redhead, and a man.”
Jolie swept her mind and got the visual description of all three of them. “Thank you, Leela.”
Jolie called out to her mate’s mind. “Jacques, I’ve a visual of the killers. Get home, and I’ll bring the detective with me. Did you hear me, Flynn?”
“I hear you, and I think I’m ready.”
Jolie and Brogan loaded into the H2 with some more whistles and hoots. Flynn wasn’t sure if it was all for the vehicle, or the beautiful woman with him. Then again, she was wearing body hugging leather pants.
Yeah, it was definitely all about her.
Brogan had to admit that it was handy working with a vampyre. They could coerce the information right out of you, and talk to each other with their minds. That was a neat little trick to have in the interview arsenal. When he realized the H2 was silent, he glanced over at her in the passenger seat.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m making sure that Jacques isn’t in danger.”
“Where is he now?” asked Brogan.
“On a motorcycle about one block back,” she said, focusing on the man beside her.
“It’s handy being a vampyre, isn’t it?” he asked.
“I don’t know any other way. This has been my entire life,” she added, not having anything to compare it to.
“What’s it like living as long as you have? Is it great?”
“It has its moments, Flynn. It’s hard to watch your human companions die off, but it’s nice to have your mate and know your time together is limitless. It’s greatly improved over the last few centuries. There were many wars and famines. Technology has made it a better time to be alive, but trust me, Flynn, the dark ages were appropriately named.”
Jolie thought back to the years that still haunted her. The secrets she kept were buried deep in her mind even from Jacques.
“What ever happened to your parents?” he asked, looking over at her as he tried to read any emotion from her.
“They were killed by the hunters. My mother was helping a human servant who was trapped in a well, and someone saw her use her abilities. They called out the killers. She was decapitated during the daylight, and her head put on a pole to deter others. My father went after the betrayer, to enact his vengeance, but it was a trap. They staked him out in the daylight, and let him burn to death,” she answered, with no emotion. Jolie had seven hundred years to dull the pain.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think daylight could hurt you.”
“It can if we’re out in it for long periods of time. Once our energy is gone, we’re more susceptible to it. We have precautions now that weren’t available then, like strong sunblock and creams. It would take a while in the sun to kill me, but it would be painful. Immolation is not my death method of choice.”
“You have a preference?” he asked.
“If I have to go, I want to go fast.”
“I understand.” Wasn’t it the same for him as a cop?
“Why? Are you thinking of getting rid of us?” she smiled, trying to lighten the mood.
“No, just Jacques. Then, I can carry through with my nefarious plan to marry you,” he admitted, as he heard Jacques, in his mind making rude comments in French.
Even Jolie giggled.
“You’re too funny, Flynn,” she stated, sending Jacques love, warmth, and reassurance.
“Does your kind ever get married?” he asked, feeling Jacques again brush through his mind, as if curious for her answer.
“As in a union to humans? Sometimes we do, if the situation is warranted. Usually, if we bond to another vampyre, then no there is no need. Mating is for life.” Jolie was curious why he was asking her the twenty questions.
“What about kids?”
“My, my, you’re curious tonight.”
“Sorry,” he said, looking back at the road. “That’s personal, and I had no right to ask.”
“It’s okay, Flynn. Female vampyres are supposed to mate with a human male in order to have children. Our males are sterile. Jacques and I can’t have any children together.”
“I’m sorry. I should have minded my own business. It’s just this is new, and it’s my nature to be curious.” He could distinctly feel Jacques send Jolie love to comfort her, and it piqued his interest.
“I can always have sex with a human, when the time comes, if we decide to have a child. Our relationship with our mate isn’t the same as a conventional human marriage. We do what we have to in order to keep our species going. By now, I should have had my mate for at least five hundred years, and I might have had two children or so too. Unfortunately, until recently, I had no need for a partner.”
Yeah, now she longed for more than one. Fate was funny like that.
“Wow, being married for five hundred years is a long time,” he laughed.
“When it’s your mate, it’s like ideal chemistry. Jacques was drawn to me before I was to him. I just woke up one morning, and it eventually clicked.”
Jolie saw her house appearing in the distance. As Brogan pulled into the garage, she hopped out of the H2 and waited for Jacques.
It didn't take long as he came tearing down the road on his bike. “Speaking of mates,” she said, as she watched him pull into the garage directly beside her.
Jolie waited for him to remove his helmet. As she suspected, he flashed her a grin, baring his fangs. Normally, they wouldn’t have been at their full length, but he was tracking prey and the animal in him was very close to the surface.
She had to admit that he looked dark and incredibly dangerous. His green eyes had bleed almost black and gave him a feral look of a killer.
Immediately, he swung his leg off the bike and stalked toward Jolie. When he got there, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her as he ran his hands possessively across her back.
“Uh, hey! There’s a third person standing here watching you,” said Brogan, laughing.
Jacques leaned down to Jolie’s ear. “We’ll finish this later,” he promised, as he nipped at her ear. At her shudder, he was extremely pleased.
“Thank you for watching over her.”
Brogan nodded. “Not a problem. I have a feeling though, that if someone came at us, it would be her doing the protecting,” he teased, as they all entered the house.
The door led into the giant kitchen, and once more he was curious. “Why do you have a kitchen this big, if you don’t eat?”
“So that others think we do. Help yourself to anything you want, since it’s fully stocked. I think there are four different types of beer in the refrigerator,” she offered.
“Jolie, don’t joke about beer. You can hurt a man doing that,” he joked, even getting a laugh from Jacques.
“You should sit down and eat something, Flynn.”
He was good with that. “We can sit in here and talk about the killers while I fuel up.”
Jolie moved toward the stove to heat up water for her tea. She took down two cups and dumped the herbs in a pot while the water boiled. Covertly, she observed Flynn pulled out some roast beef and bread and made a big sandwich. There was something about the man that grabbed her attention.
He
had really big, sexy hands.
Meeting her at the table, he glanced around the large space. “So, you can’t eat anything at all?”
It was Jacques who answered him. “There are a few things we can ingest. Like red wine and some fruits. No meat and no dairy.”
“I wish I could eat ice cream,” said Jolie. “I always wondered what it tasted like. It looks like it would be so good,” she said wistfully.
“I like chocolate ice cream myself,” added Flynn, and paused when Jolie looked at him with a blank look. “You’ve never had chocolate? That almost seems like sacrilege for a woman to not be able to have any.”
Didn't she know it?
“Chocolate would kill us, just like coffee. The caffeine is deadly. I guess if you’ve never had it before, then you just don’t miss it,” said Jolie, tossing her hair over her shoulder.
They all moved to the table, and Jacques brought both cups of tea with him before sitting beside Jolie. Instinctually, he pulled her against his frame. His eyes were almost back to their normal green color, and there was no sign of his fangs.
“It must have been a bitch to be French with all that chocolate, cheese, and bread.”
Jolie and Jacques laughed.
Brogan yawned. “Okay, I guess we need to get to work.” Glancing up, he looked at the clock. It was almost one in the morning. “I’ll need to get some sleep sometime tonight, but I’ll get up and do some work after dawn.”
“I’m sorry, Flynn,” she said, grinning. “This is like the afternoon for us. What is it that you want to know?”
He took a bite of his sandwich and chewed. “What did they look like? Can you describe them to me?”
“I can do better than that, Flynn.” Jolie closed her eyes, and he could feel the whisper light touch of his mind being brushed against. Then, there was a picture frozen in his head of the three killers.
“That’s a handy skill to have access to,” said Brogan.
“We think so,” added Jacques.
“When do we interview the girl?”
“Chloe will make the arrangements and let you know when we wake. Feel free to ask her tomorrow when you’re up. She’ll be bringing you breakfast to your room in the morning.”
“Okay,” he replied, as he got up from the table. At the sink, he washed the dish, and then stretched. “I’m going to sleep. I need to crash for a while or I’m going to be useless.”
They both sipped their tea.
“You two kids behave yourself,” he said, winking at Jacques before disappearing from the room. His laughter could be heard down the hall, all the way to his luxurious quarters.
“Are you ready to retire, mon amour?” asked Jacques, kissing her neck.
“Yes, Jacques, I believe that I am. I could use a bath, I feel like I’m coated in death.”
He would give her anything that she wanted, just to help alleviate some of the stress that was weighing on her shoulders.
Jacques filled the tub with steaming water and fragrant bubbles from their homeland. As he reentered their bedroom, he noticed that she was staring at him.
“What, mon amour? Is something wrong?”
“No, I just love you, that’s all.”
He pulled her toward him. “Here, let me get you naked and into the tub. I have a surprise for you.”
“A surprise?” she repeated. “What kind of surprise? Is it going to involve underwater games?” she teased, and then laughed when he contemplated it.
“Follow me, and I’ll show you,” he said, walking into the bath with a small box in his hand. Once in the water, he held his hand out to her and helped her join him.
“Well? What is it?” she asked.
“Put out your hand and close your eyes,” he said, waiting for her to obey. When she did, he placed the little box in her palm. He watched her open her eyes and stare at the gift, truly puzzled.
Finally, she popped it open and just stared.
“Jacques. It’s absolutely beautiful!” she declared, pulling a platinum ring decorated with blood red rubies out of the box.
“Read the inside,” he said.
She turned the ring in her hand and did what he asked. When she had finished reading the inscription, which was carved into the band, her eyes filled with tears.
Jolie, I’ll love you forever plus a day, Jacques.
Glancing up into his eyes, she was touched. “Jacques, you’re my heart,” she whispered, as she climbed into his lap.
The love flowed between them.
“Let me slide it on your finger,” he offered. “You’re my everything, Jolie.”
“Jacques, I don’t have words to tell you how I feel. Instead, let me show you,” she replied, kissing him deeply.
As they sunk below the fragrant bubbles, she kept her word, showing him what lived in her.
And it was him…
∞ Chapter Sixteen ∞
Thursday
Late Morning
Brogan sat in his temporary quarters, reading over the notes that he had taken on all the victims. As he sipped a truly spectacular cup of coffee, he was in heaven. So far, staying in Hotel Harcourte had been a pretty good deal. When he woke, Chloe had brought him breakfast while he was still in bed.
It was like he was living a dream.
How was he going to give this up?
After showering and pulling on some of Jacques’s clothing, he thought that he would feel weird wearing leather pants. Once in them, he realized that he had been wrong. The fit and comfort was there, and he knew why both vampyres preferred them. His only complaint was that they didn't work well with his boxers.
As he sat there working, he was amazed by the stillness of the house. It was hard to believe there were twenty vampyres roaming around. Obviously, they were able to move about silently. All night, there was nothing but peace.
Lifting his coffee cup to his lips, he heard a creak. It was the same one that he had heard the other day as he was exiting their room.
Was that her door opening?
Maybe Jacques or Jolie had gotten up early after all.
Brogan figured that since he was dressed, he would go and greet them. Standing up, he headed toward his door and peeked out into the hall. Jolie’s door was indeed open.
Awesome!
He could use the company. The silence of the place was unnerving. That was probably why he strapped on his gun as soon as he was awake. While he trusted them, he was wary with the other family members who might consider him a snack.
He hoped he wasn’t going to barge in on them doing anything couple-like.
Then again, it could be Chloe just going to feed them. Oh well, he could thank the woman for taking such good care of him.
Why not be polite?
As he paused at the door, he could tell something was immediately wrong. There were whispers coming from the room, and none sounded familiar.
Cop instincts kicked in, along with the need for survival and protection of Jacques and Jolie. He kicked the door open with his bare foot, and pulled his Glock from the holster. What he saw chilled him to the bone. Three men stood around Jolie and Jacques’s bed with daggers.
“Freeze, police!” he shouted. He watched as the largest man slashed the knife down toward Jolie’s throat. Flynn fired off two rounds into his chest, throwing him back before he could complete his task of beheading her.
The slash was a deep enough cut to viciously mar her beautiful neck.
It turned Brogan’s stomach.
She didn’t move or flinch, since she was already being held in death’s hand. Fury filled him as the intruder had intended to decapitate her.
After the man fell from the shot directly to the heart, the second man went for Jacques. Flynn had no doubt that the silver blade was going to be buried in his heart. Firing off a few shots, he managed to hit him in the arm and then the head.
As the knife clattered to the floor, he focused on that last intruder. Only, he was too fast. Before he could pivot and take the
man out, he saw the blade coming at him in an underhanded arch.
Brogan knew it was going to meet its mark.
He pumped the trigger and got two rounds off at close range into the man’s chest, but the knife had already done its damage. It tore brutally into his body, slicing deep into his bowel. Instinctively, he put his hand over the hilt as he dropped to his knees. The room spun as Chloe ran past his falling form, right toward the only one who could help.
As he lay on the floor, he watched as Chloe pushed energy into Jacques to call him back from death.
It was now out of his hands.
Jacques immediately sat up, sensing the danger. Something was definitely wrong. His first instinct was his mate, and as he glanced over, he was overcome with the scents of blood and death.
When he could finally focus on her, he saw the inflicted wound on Jolie’s body. Jacques bellowed a horrible howl. Motion to his side drew his attention as one of the assailants struggled to finish the job.
With very little effort, Jacques reached down and grabbed the man’s head with his bare hands. With a twist, the room was filled with the sounds of bones crunching and flesh tearing. Then, the head remained in his hands as the lifeless body fell away to his feet.
Scanning for more intruders, Jacques then saw him. Rushing toward the detective, he assessed the situation. He touched Brogan on the face, trying to get him to look up at him.
When Flynn stared into his angry black eyes, he wasn’t afraid, despite the fangs and blood on his hands. Instead, he felt nothing but pain and sorrow.
“I’m sorry, Jacques. They got to her before I could stop them,” he whispered, as he glanced down at his hand covering his stomach and the blood bubbling from around the dagger’s hilt. “Shit. I think I’m dying,” he murmured, as the room went completely black.
Jacques picked up their savior and laid him next to Jolie. Leaning down, he inspected her neck, weighing his options. They didn't have much time if he wanted to save the detective.
Well, at least the neck wound she had wasn’t the worst that he’d ever seen her survive.
