“Natalie, we have to go now.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Baojia was still feeling a sense of unease as he drove away from the Kirbys’ comfortable, secure home. Matt was almost as paranoid as he was about safety, and the human had just become a father. The house had the best security money could buy, complete with surveillance, motion and heat sensors, and an armed guard that Mrs. Kirby probably didn’t know about. It was obvious Matt took no chances with his family. There were only a few places more secure in the city of Los Angeles, and those had systems Baojia had designed himself.
No, it wasn’t Natalie’s safety that had him uneasy. It was the distance in her eyes. It set his teeth on edge. Her silence in the car had annoyed him. Her eagerness to leave his presence at her friend’s house had annoyed him. And the fact that he was so irritated about her mood annoyed him.
“I’m brooding more than the Italian,” he muttered, steering the car toward Long Beach. He hadn’t called or announced his presence in LA. He knew from talking with Rory the night before everything fell apart in Mexico that Ernesto was staying in the house in Long Beach. When Baojia showed up, he’d just have to talk to him. He saw the guard’s eyes widen when his car pulled up.
“Good evening, sir. Is Mr. Al—”
“Open the gate, Jim. He’s not expecting me, but I need to talk to him.”
He stared the human guard down. It only lasted a few minutes. Sad. That was far too easy. The man would have to be replaced. As he parked the car and walked into the house, he noticed all sorts of areas that needed improving.
“Outside perimeter is weak,” he said quietly. “Not enough lighting or guards.”
He brushed past the humans at the door. “Too many humans; not enough vampires.” What the hell was Rory doing?
Baojia knew the minute the real security caught him. Thank God someone was actually working. He was halfway to the library before a real impediment emerged.
“Baojia.” His second-in-command, Nicholas, held up a hand. “Please wait.”
“Ridiculous.” Baojia snorted. “If I was trying to break in and harm him—”
“You’re preaching to the choir on that one,” his former assistant murmured. “But you know there’s not much I can do.”
“I’m glad you’re here, at least. Let him know it’s me and I have to talk to him.”
“You know he won’t be pleased.”
“Of course I do. Which should tell you how serious this is.”
Nick nodded for two younger vampires to come stand on either side of him. “I’ll go announce you.”
“Fine.”
“Please don’t kill the boys if I take too long. They’re new, and I’m still training them.”
He rolled his eyes. “Just go, Nick.”
The younger vampire disappeared toward the library and Nick’s two foot soldiers stared at him in silent awe. At one point, he leaned toward the library, just to see them jump. He was still wearing the twin blades he had taken to Mexico. Nick had forgotten to check him for weapons, which was foolish. He’d have to speak to him about that. A few minutes later, he heard steps coming down the hall and a familiar energy reached out.
“Paula.”
“Hermanito.” She made a quick motion and the two guards departed. “What are you doing here?”
“I have to see him. Is he in the library?”
“What happened at the casino last night? Jared called me in a panic. There was a young woman killed?”
“That’s what I need to speak with him about.”
She looked flustered, which didn’t seem right. “Well, why didn’t you call Rory? If you’d gone through him—”
“Paula, I need to speak to my sire.” His words became clipped. “Is he in the library? I’ll deal with his temper.”
Nick’s voice broke in. “Baojia?”
“Yes?”
“He’s waiting.”
Baojia frowned as Paula stepped away from him. She did not follow him, but turned and walked in the direction of her office. He smothered the fleeting hope he’d felt for a moment when he’d seen her face. He hadn’t been face-to-face with his sire in almost three years. Baojia had hoped for months the invitation would come. Had hoped he would be forgiven and welcomed back. But he knew whatever eventual homecoming happened, his father would not forgive this impertinence. Baojia had been sent away; it was up to Ernesto to set the terms of his return. By appearing like this, he might never be welcomed back as an honored son.
He took a calming breath. His sire’s reputation and safety were more important than Baojia’s own position. He walked toward his fate with resolve.
When Nick opened the door, Baojia saw him. The rush of affection was natural, the blood in his veins recognized the immortal who had given him life. But layered upon that were years of devotion and respect. “Father?”
Ernesto did not look up from his seat behind his desk.
“Father, I ask your forgiv—”
“Why do you come to my home when you have not been called?”
The sting was immediate and ripping. He swallowed the hard lump in his throat. “I must tell you—”
“There was a human murdered and her body dumped near the Salton City casino. Your brother has already informed me. What did you do with the body? The human authorities should have been contacted. This is not a concern of mine.”
“But it is.”
“I am told it is not.”
Baojia frowned. “Who has told you this?”
His father finally looked up. “What have you done with it, Baojia? Why are you going against protocol? The human police should have been called.”
“There is something very wrong here. I did not take her body, Father. Tulio did, along with the others.”
He heard his sire start to grumble. “That meddling hermit. I should kick him out of my territory.”
“I would not advise that.”
“And what would you advise?” His voice rose. “Going down to Ensenada after foolish women? Attacking a rival organization’s guards? Confiding in a newspaper reporter?”
It was worse than {as e ru he’d anticipated. “If you would let me explain—”
“Explain what?” Ernesto’s anger was legendary, as loud as his child’s was silent. His voice echoed through the house, and Baojia could hear the guards scurry to the door.
“There are humans being murdered in the desert by vampires,” Baojia said, keeping his voice even and calm. “Bodies have been dropped on your land like some dog pissing on a tree, marking his territory. Whoever is doing this is threatening you, your reputation, and everyone under your aegis. Father, you have to listen—”
“Do not call me your father as you stand before me, insulting me with your presence!”
Baojia could not breathe. The pain radiated from his chest as Ernesto rose to his feet.
Ernesto continued on. “Do you think I am incapable of seeing what is before me? Do you think I need you to tell me what is and isn’t a threat?”
He forced himself to speak. “Someone in the cartel—it might only be Ivan, but it could be more—is testing you.”
“Stop trying to justify yourself and leave my presence. Maybe someday I will forgive this disrespect.”
“There is something very wrong with the bodies of these girls.” He looked at the floor, swallowed back the lump in his throat, and kept talking. “Packs are feeding from them—”
“Get out.”
“—and their blood is tainted by something that makes it—”
“I will have your own men remove you, if I must.”
“You must listen to me!” Baojia roared, raising his voice to his sire for the first time in over 120 years. He raised his eyes and met Ernesto’s shocked stare. Slowly, the shock fell away to be replaced by a cold expression.
“You will bring this reporter—the woman from Mexico—to me. Leave her here and return to San Diego.”
His own temper, so long buried, roused itself
. “I will not.”
Ernesto stared at him, his eyes narrowing as he bared his fangs. “You will do this, or I will have it done.”
Baojia let his lips curl back, his own fangs long in his mouth. “No, you will not.”
Slowly, his sire’s face fell, shock returning as he stared at his child. “Baojia?”
His silent heart thumped in his chest as he stared back. His sire would not listen to him. Ernesto had tied his hands behind his back, crippling Baojia from safeguarding those he had vowed to protect: Natalie, his sister, even Ernesto himself.
He had only one recourse. “Ernesto Alvarez, I have been your loyal child for one hundred twenty-nine years—”
“Do not do this.”
“—I have served you faithfully and without question for all that time, as honor demanded.”
“You cannot take this back,” his father hissed. “Once this is done, it cannot be undone. Think.”
“I have,” he said, the pain flooding his chest as bloody tears came to his eyes. “I ask to be released from your aegis this night.”
“Foolish boy.” Ernesto shook his head. “You foolish, foolish boy. After all I have done for you.”
He ignored the tears that tracked down his cheeks and lifted his chin proudly. “Sire, do you release me as I have asked?”
Ernesto let out a long breath. “I release you, Chen Bao Jia, as you have requested. Leave my aegis this night.”
It hurt. Even knowing it wa {knop> s the only way, it ached to hear his father say the words that cut him off from the only family he had known since boarding a boat a world away.
With an air of finality, Ernesto said, “I owe you no protection. You owe me no fealty. Leave this place and do not come back.”
He forced his lips to form the appropriate words. “Thank you, Don Ernesto Alvarez. May honor sustain you, even as I leave your clan.”
Baojia’s eyes rose to Ernesto’s one last time. Then he turned and left the room.
He did not stop at the door. He did not stop at the gate. Ernesto would have to tell his sister she was not his sister anymore. Baojia drove aimlessly through the black streets of Los Angeles, suddenly realizing that for the first time in over one hundred years, he had no mission. None. No protection. He was fair game for any challenger. No human under his aegis could seek refuge or help from Ernesto’s clan. No backup was coming if he got into a fight.
The woman from Mexico.
Natalie. Ernesto knew about Natalie. She was the only one directly under Baojia’s aegis, the only human he had publicly claimed, and now her safety was at risk, not only from Ivan and whoever was working with him, but possibly from Ernesto himself. He didn’t think his sire would physically harm the human unless she threatened him in some way. And Natalie wasn’t likely to threaten a vampire…
Never mind. He closed his eyes in frustration. She’d threaten him.
Ivan was bound to hear that he wasn’t in Ernesto’s clan soon, then he’d make his move, backed up by the cartel. As a newly independent vampire, Baojia had no confirmed allegiance or established allies. And custom dictated he shouldn’t linger in Ernesto’s territory for longer than was necessary to get his personal business in order. Added to that, he had a human woman he had become responsible for. The idea of disappearing into the night to start a new life on his own was no longer an option.
Baojia raced through different scenarios, most of them ending with Natalie and him both dead, until he settled on one that had a chance of working. It wouldn’t be pleasant, but he’d at least survive long enough to make sure Natalie would be safe. Turning back toward Pasadena, he gritted his teeth and prepared for the night to get even worse.
He parked a block away, knowing that approaching on foot would be less threatening. As he neared the gate, he heard the fluttering sound overhead and the slight smoky smell that permeated the grounds. By the time he was in sight, the Italian was already leaning against a brick pillar, his guard vampire perched on top with her legs crossed under her and an enormous smile on her face.
“I told you,” she said.
Baojia halted across the street, hands hanging in his pockets as he stared at the fire vampire who stared back.
This was going to suck.
“Giovanni Vecchio,” he said. “I need your help.”
“Natalie, we have to go now.”
He hated to wake her, but it was close to dawn and though Vecchio’s house was only a few blocks away, he needed to make sure Natalie was secure and out of Matt and Dez’s house before he could rest for the day. The last thing he wanted on his conscience was the human family coming into harm’s way because of their presence.
“Natalie.”
She murmured something and rolled over. “In the sun. Can’t be in the sun.”
She saw her eyes flutter open and an unexpected warm rush filled his chest. She was so vulnerable. And beautiful. He brushed the hair out of her face.
“You need to wake up. You can go back to sleep soon, but we have to move first.”
“You’re handsome when you smile, you know.”
Baojia felt the corners of his mouth turn up. “And you’re beautiful when you’re sleepy. But you need to wake up.”
He rose and began tossing her things into the duffel bag he’d taken from her house. Had it only been three nights ago?
“What are you doing?” She finally sounded more awake.
He tried to make his voice as businesslike as possible. “I have been forced to leave my father’s aegis. We need to move. I have found a safe place for us to go right now. I don’t want the Kirbys to come to any harm because of us being here. It’s not far away, and I upgraded the security on the house a few years ago, so I know it’s very safe.”
“Baojia—”
“Dez will be able to come and visit you there with no problem, but the Kirbys are not vampires, so I don’t want to put them in a bad position. It’s complicated. Political. The place we’re going… It’s neutral territory. Sort of.”
“Why did you leave your father’s aegis? What does that mean?”
The unexpected question caused him to halt. “It means I am no longer his son. Please don’t ask me why right now. Please just wake up and get dressed and cooperate, Natalie.” He turned around when she didn’t make a smart comeback. She was looking at him with eyes that saw far more than he had intended to reveal. “I’m just trying to keep you safe.”
She finally nodded. “Okay.”
He left the room so she could dress. Within a few minutes, she had pulled on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt along with her running shoes.
“Are you cold?” he asked. “Do you need a jacket? I didn’t get you a jacket.”
“I’m fine.”
She held her duffel bag, which he grabbed from her hand. As she started toward the stairs, he pulled her back and laid a searing kiss on her mouth. He felt her hands reach up to his cheeks, gripping his cool skin as he kissed her ravenously, almost desperately.
I will keep you safe. I made a promise, and I do not break my promises.
Finally, he broke away and wrapped his free arm around her, burying his face in the soft skin of her neck. He took a deep breath, inhaling her scent. It centered him. Her hands remained on him, stroking his hair and playing with the collar of his shirt. For a brief moment, he felt her warmth seep into his skin and allowed himself the luxury of her touch.
“Do you need to drink?” she asked quietly.
“No. Matt had some bagged blood he gave me earlier. I’m fine.”
“Okay.”
“We should go.” He pulled away and grabbed her hand, walking her down the stairs and out the front door. Matt was there to lock up behind them; Baojia paused at the door. “Matt, my thanks. If there is any assistance I can offer you or your family in the future, it is yours.”
The human smiled. “Thank you. Good luck. Be safe. And don’t kill anyone I like.”
Despite the grim situation, Baojia had to smile. “I’ll do my be
st.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
~th=p>p w
When Natalie woke, she was resting on dove-gray sheets in another room she could barely remember entering. She was still in her T-shirt from the night before, though her jeans had been pulled off and her hair fell loose around her face. A note with her name written neatly on the front lay next to her, illuminated by a shaft of sunlight from the window.
Natalie,
Hopefully, you will get enough sleep. You are safe here, and I’ll see you as soon as I wake. Please make yourself at home here, but do not leave the house. There are humans and vampires here who can see to any need you have while I am resting.
Baojia
She took a deep breath and tried to remember the previous night. Waking had been a blur. She hardly remembered getting dressed or packing. He’d kissed her—she remembered that. He’d been… upset. It was hard to tell with him, but she would have sworn he was deeply, deeply troubled. When he’d kissed her by the stairs, it had almost seemed desperate, and her only thought was that she wanted to comfort him. Probably ridiculous when she’d been such a basket case herself.
She’d been barely conscious when they pulled up to the luxurious home only a few blocks from Dez and Matt’s. She had faint memories of thick hedges and a wrought-iron gate. A fountain and a dimly lit kitchen. At some point, Baojia had picked her up in his arms and simply taken her to a bed—it must have been the one she was sleeping in—because she couldn’t remember much else except his whispered voice in her ear.
Rest, Natalie. I’ll be close by.
Where was he? Where did he sleep? In a bed like this in a room with no windows? Did he breathe? Did he need to? He was so… inhuman. So how had he become so familiar?
Natalie groaned and rolled over, burying her head in the cool sheets. They were safe. For now, at least. She needed food and a shower, maybe then she could get her feet under her. Sitting up, she surveyed the room she’d been sleeping in. It had sage-green walls with warm mission-style furniture. Her mangy duffel bag was sitting on top of a dresser with a bottle of water and fresh flowers placed next to it. She saw two doors, one of which she hoped was a bathroom. Rolling out of bed, she walked to the window, enjoying the sunlight streaming into the room.
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