Blood Vow

by J. R. Ward

  But it worked in his favor.

  Because he wanted her--

  The job, he corrected. He wanted the job.

  "So I'll be in touch," Felixe said as he rose to his feet.

  "Yes," Axe murmured to them both. "I think you will be. And I'll give you my answer right now. I accept the position and I can start whenever you two are ready."

  omplete. Chaos.

  As the beast broke out of Rhage's body, triggered by Bitty's suffering, Mary covered the little girl on the exam table with her own body--although not from any fear that the dragon would hurt her.

  Parts of the ceiling were raining down, chunks of plaster falling from where the great dragon's head had slammed into the panels. And then that barbed tail was slashing back and forth, splintering cabinets and scattering equipment, smashing into the sink and springing the pipes.

  As a spray of hot water golf-sprinklered all around and lights flickered, Havers and his staff had the exact wrong idea. Instead of freezing, they made themselves targets by bolting around, trying to get to an exit that was blocked by something that might eat them.

  But come on. Like any of them had dealt with this before?

  "Stop! Don't move!" Mary barked.

  And that was when the beast roared.

  Mary turned her head to try to get one of her ears protected, but she wasn't going to use her hands. Bitty was so exposed--

  Behind the dragon, the door to the exam room broke open, Zsadist, V, and Lassiter crowding in.

  "Close the door!" Mary yelled. "And stay out!"

  Her best shot for this not turning into complete carnage was to make contact with the dragon, soothe it, and keep the thing trained on her and Bitty. As long as she could get and keep its attention, no one was going to get hurt--

  The dragon's jaw snapped closed. And then the beast seemed to shudder as its reptilian eyes swung around and focused on Bitty. Chuffing noises came out of its throat, and it took a step forward, the clawed foot landing heavy as construction equipment.

  Mary slowly straightened, letting Rhage's alter ego see the child. "She's okay. Come on, investigate for yourself."

  The massive head of the monster lowered slowly, as if it didn't want to spook the little girl, and as Mary backed off, the muzzle snuffled over Bitty. Worried sounds of inquiry came out, part nervous purr, part aching chest rattle.

  Bitty lifted her hand up and stroked the purple-scaled cheek. "I'm okay...."

  Her voice was surprisingly strong, and then she smiled, as if the room wasn't a wreck, and people weren't scared to death, and she hadn't been through torture.

  Mary put her palm on the bulging neck of the beast, feeling the muscle and the power. "It's all right...shh...that's right, snuffle over her...."

  Without moving her head or even eyes, she whispered to Havers, "Tell me you got the bone reset."

  In her peripheral vision, she saw the male straighten his horn-rimmed glasses, which had gone cockeyed and a half. "I'm s-s-sorry--what?"

  "The bone," Mary repeated in the same quiet, even tone. "Did you do what you needed to?"

  "Y-y-yes, I believe...yes. I n-n-n-need an X-ray to confirm."

  "Okay, let's not try to do that now."

  The nurses clutched together even tighter, as if they were afraid of their boss challenging that.

  "I...no," he said, "I agree it would not be advisable the now. Permit me to inquire--how long...ah, how long does he...?"

  "It all depends. But we're going nowhere until Rhage comes back."

  Bitty and the beast were still communicating with touch and sound, and as far as Mary was concerned, considering the distress that the girl had been in, the two of them could spend the next six hours together and the rest of the adults in the room were just going to have to suck it up.

  On that note, Mary glanced around and winced. This was going to run into some money, she thought, as she checked out the ruined floor, the battered ceiling, the debris field of glass-front cabinets. But then she looked back at her hellren and her little girl. The beast was a big part of their non-linear, freaky family, and deserved to be counted--

  The door opened a crack, and then Lassiter, in his game gear, stepped inside the room. As he held something out, Mary couldn't see what it was--

  Wait a minute, was that a Snickers bar?

  "What are you doing?" she blurted as he cautiously approached.

  The beast snapped to attention, its jowls curling up in a snarl at the angel. But Lassiter was undaunted--so not a shocker.

  "Here," he said. "Have a Snickers. You're not yourself when you're hangry."

  There was a heartbeat of a pause. And then she couldn't help it.

  She had to start laughing. "Really. Really?"

  And it was funny, as Lassiter looked over at her, his expression behind the open grille of the hockey mask was goofy--yet his eyes were anything but. That pupil-less, glowing stare was dead serious, offering her a kind of lifeline through the painful reality that she loved a child who had been horribly mistreated and that was something she was going to have to deal with for the rest of her days.

  "Thank you," she whispered to the angel as the beast reached out and sniffed at the brown wrapper.

  "G'head," Lassiter said to the dragon. "Take it."

  And what do you know, with a precision that was impressive given the dagger-size of those chompers, Rhage's alter ego took the tiny little candy bar between its front teeth and munched it down.

  A split second later, there was a poof! and Rhage was naked and shivering on the floor.

  "Am I good or what!" Lassiter proclaimed. "Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeah."

  --

  Rhage came back from the far side of Beast World blind, freezing cold, and in an absolute panic. As he flailed around on a floor that seemed slippery, he was petrified there was blood everywhere--but no, he didn't scent any carnage. What he did smell was electrical burning, plaster, and astringent, and he was dimly aware that he wasn't nauseous, which was another good indicator that he hadn't eaten anyone--

  Wait, why did he taste peanut and chocolate? And something plastic-y?

  "Mary...!" he called out into the darkness. "Bitty--"

  "Everyone's okay." Mary's voice was close to him and utterly calm. "Everything's all right...."

  As her hand smoothed over his forehead and brushed through his hair, he mumbled, "Bitty?"

  "I'm right here, Father. The beast just wanted to make sure I was sorted...."

  Rhage exhaled--and then realized he was lying on a bunch of debris. And there was rain hitting his face?

  Oh, God, how in the hell had the beast fit into the exam room? It wasn't like the damn thing could ratchet down on its size.

  Talking. Footsteps. A light weight being drawn over his lower body. A loud scraping noise like some big piece of a wall or the ceiling or part of a tall cabinet was being moved out of the way. Meanwhile, all he could do was lie there like a planker, drowning in a pool of aches and frustration.

  It fucking sucked.

  Vishous's voice came up close. "My brother, we're going to put you on a stretcher, okay? Then get you out of here. Fritz is coming in the Mercedes because we can't fit you in the GTO as easy."

  Fuck me, Rhage thought. He was so fucking tired of this shit.

  Bitty had needed him, and what had he offered her? A fucking mess. What the fuck had made him feel like he could be a father? He couldn't--

  "I want to go with him," Bitty said.

  Doc Jane spoke up. "We need to set your limbs, sweetheart."

  "I'll wait!" Rhage barked. "I want to wait!"

  Bitty's voice grew strident. "Put the casts on and we'll go. But we want to be together."

  Rhage closed his lids even though it didn't change how much he couldn't see. The last thing the girl needed to worry about was him--

  "You got it, Bit," Vishous affirmed. "That's why I asked for Fritz to come."

  "I have to take care of my father."

  "Of course you do." V
ishous was talking in as gentle a way as he ever did. "And you got it right, kid. He'll do better with you."

  No, Rhage thought. He was supposed to support Bitty.

  This was a total fucking nightmare.

  But at least things moved fairly quickly after that. Havers cleared a path and rolled in a portable X-ray machine, and the image confirmed the thighbone was where it needed to be. Then there was a flour-and-water kind of smell as fiberglass casts were put on both of Bit's legs and her arms. Rhage refused to leave her, staying on the hard wet floor until everything was dealt with.

  And then they were off.

  Bit had a wheelchair. He was a slab of meat on a gurney. And the grim entourage of Z, V, and Lassiter fell in step behind Mary.

  Talk about the halt and the lame.

  "Hey, Rhage?" Lassiter said softly.

  "What?" he mumbled.

  "If your career as a trained killer doesn't work out? Don't go into interior design. You don't have a knack for it."

  Rhage had to laugh. "You are such a fucker."

  "Yeah, and you're a good male. Even if you just caused about two hundred grand of damage back there. Don't worry, I think we can write it off your taxes. You know, as a demolition deduction."

  There was a squeeze of his shoulder and then Rhage sensed the angel fade back. Taking a deep breath, it was a case of holding it together until he and Mary could get some privacy.

  Then he'd fall apart.

  Onto an elevator. Slow rise. Slight jerk as they came up to the surface.

  The cold, dry air of the night was fantastic in his lungs, but it did nothing to relieve the ache in his chest. And he and Bit both moaned and groaned as they were moved, by other people, into the back of Fritz's S600 4Matic.

  Which was brutal for Rhage and not just because every joint and straightaway of his body was killing him.

  He wanted to be the one lifting Bitty up and settling her in the back bucket seat. He should have been folding up the wheelchair and putting it in the trunk. He needed to offer support to her as they bumped their way over to the paved road.

  It was he who should be carrying her up to her room when they got to the mansion.

  "Rhage?"

  As Mary said his name, he looked in the direction of the front of the sedan. "Yeah?"

  "You ready?"

  "Yeah."

  Or at least those were the words they spoke. What they had actually communicated was:

  Rhage, I know you're not doing well. Can you make it home so we can talk about it then? I'm really worried about you and I'd go into it here and now, but I'm aware that you don't want to do that kind of thing in public.

  Oh, God, Mary, this was horrible. I feel awful. Will you still love me even if I'm the worst father on the face of the earth and I never, ever get any better at it?

  You are not the worst father. We all have limitations, and we all have things that we wish might have gone better. But please remember. Being a dad is a lifelong commitment and you're just starting out. Don't generalize, okay?

  As the car started to move, Rhage took a deep breath and--

  Bitty reached across the seat and took his hand. "Thanks for coming with me."

  He turned his head. "What?"

  "It meant a lot to me that you came--and that you were in the room with me."

  Rhage recoiled. "Bitty...no offense, but I made everything worse. I mean, I trashed the place."

  "I never could have done that last one without you." Her voice was both shy and lovely. "You know...my birth sire? He never did anything like that for me. He never...he didn't even want me to go to the clinic. You know, even though I was hurt...." She cleared her throat. "So thank you. You're the best father ever."

  And then her head went down on his shoulder.

  Tears welled into his eyes, stinging them, and making him blink in the midst of his blindness.

  "Bitty?"

  "Yes?"

  He squeezed her little hand and cleared his throat. "You want ice cream when we get home?"

  "Yes, please. Mint chocolate chip? We can all have some. We'll get three spoons."

  Closing his eyes, he couldn't believe how powerful Bitty's forgiveness was. He felt positively resurrected, while at the same time, he couldn't fathom the generosity. How could this little girl accept him even though he hadn't been the Gibraltar he'd intended on being?

  He'd been far closer to Godzilla.

  From up in front, he could sense Mary staring at them both. And then his female murmured, because she always said the right thing at the right time, "Isn't it wonderful not to have to be perfect to be loved?"

  "Yes," Rhage replied roughly. "And three spoons sounds like heaven to me."

  he call came in to Axe's Brotherhood-issued cell phone at around four a.m., and he answered it as he sat in front of the fire in his father's cottage.

  "Hello," he answered.

  Sure as if he had conjured her up out of nowhere, the female he had been thinking about non-stop said, "Hi, it's Elise."

  "Did I get the job?"

  There was a pause. "Yes, you did. The other bodyguard that came was a female, and my father--"

  "Would never have hired her. Yeah, I guessed."

  "Um...is there any way you could come back to the house? My sire would like you to sign some documents and then I thought we could talk a little more about the next couple of nights? I'm not sure we ironed out how many evenings--"

  "Give me ten minutes."

  "Ah, okay. All right. Thank you."

  Axe ended the call and sat there with his phone in his hand. And three...two...one--

  Sure enough, the call from Peyton came in next. And Axe didn't bother with a greeting, he just accepted it and kept the phone where it was, down by his thigh.

  Through the tiny little ear speaker, the male went off, his voice all treble. "Are you fucking kidding me? What the hell kind of lies did you tell them? You have no business--none!--guarding my cousin. You are--"

  Axe put the phone up to his ear. "Not your decision, Peyton. Sorry--"

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  Axe cranked his head around to the front door. "Are you kidding me."

  "Open your fucking door!" came the demand.

  Axe ended the connection and got up, his knees cracking. Muttering under his breath, he went over, cranked the knob, and opened up.

  "FYI, I don't lock this place," he said in a bored tone. "Next time you come to rant at me, just walk on in."

  As he pivoted away, he had every faith that Peyton would ride his ass, and surprise!, surprise!, that's what the aristocrat did, marching through the little room toward the fire.

  "What, you can't turn the heat up?" Peyton snapped. "And it's dark as a cave as well as cold as fuck."

  "Are rich people like you bred to be judgmental? Or does it just happen because of all the money?"

  "This is not a fucking game, asshole!"

  Axe pivoted and rolled his eyes at the guy. "Do I look like I'm playing Monopoly over here?"

  Peyton got right up in his shit. "Tell them you're not going to do it. Or I will."

  "Who the fuck do you think you are? Coming in here and trying to order me around? You don't know me, we're not kin, and what I do on my free time is none of your fucking business."

  "Deny that you want her. Go on, lie to my face and tell me that you don't want her--and then you can piss around a whole lot of bullshit that you're going to be even halfway professional in this!"

  "FYI, Richie Rich"--Axe jabbed two fingers into the SOB's chest--"I've spent all my life around things I can't have. So I'm really fucking used to it. And you should feel pretty cocksucking good about that. That's what you people do, right. You look down your noses at commoners like me."

  "You're a male. This has got nothing to do with where you come from."

  "Ohhhh, okay, right. So males can't have any self-control. None at all."

  "They can't! Don't be a little bitch--"

  "So you're fucking Paradise, th
en. Behind Craeg's back. Got it. Good to know."

  The guy frowned. "What the hell are you talking about?"

  Axe smiled coldly and leaned in. "You want that female. You want her so fucking bad you can taste it. I see you looking at her, pretending like you're smooth and shit. But you ain't. So, yeah, if males can't exercise self-control, then clearly you've got your dick in her mouth--"

  The right hook came flying in at a perfect angle, and you want to talk about a light show? As contact was made, Axe's head snapped up and over, his brain going loose-cannon in his skull, his vision briefly browning out.

  "You're fucking deluded, man," Peyton spat. "You're totally--"

  Twice. In less than twenty-four hours. The douche bag punches him twice.

  Axe pulled the gun he kept tucked in his waistband out and put it to the guy's temple so quick, Peyton didn't have time to step back. "The safety's off. And I have nothing to lose. So how 'bout we start with you never fucking hitting me again. You got two shots on me. The third will put you in a grave."

  Peyton blinked. A couple of times. And Axe met him right in the eyes just so the male knew how dead serious he was.

  "Get out," Axe said in a low voice.

  "You're wrong about me and Paradise. She's with her male. She picked him. I've never been with her and I never will be. So you just drop that bullshit--and if you don't call Elise's father right now, I'll go over there myself and tell him you're out. You are not getting into that house--"

  Axe moved the gun to the side a thin inch and pulled the trigger. The pop was loud; the impact of the bullet in the wall was louder.

  Peyton shouted and covered his head, dropping to his knees. But Axe was done. Reaching down with his free hand, he grabbed the fuck-twit's expensive jacket and spun the male up and around, punching him back into the wall by the fireplace so hard the plaster cracked.

  "You want to know why it's so cold in here?" Axe gritted out. "It's because I can't afford heat. And that's the reason there are no lights on, too. You may have the luxury of not worrying where your next meal or your next Mercedes is coming from, but I'm pinching pennies and eating at the training center as often as I can. You have no right to tell me to do shit--and my not taking a job just so you don't have to face the fact that your other cousin was recently murdered is not my fucking problem. Oh, and P.S., fuck you--don't stand there in your fancy loafers while you're not with the female you want, and maintain for one second that just because I'm poor, it doesn't mean I can't do the same. We can't help who we're attracted to, but thoughts are not actions. Even for commoners."