by HELEN HARDT
“Ejaculate, Dad? We’re all adults here. And no, not that I recall, but there are a lot of things I don’t recall.”
“True. I still don’t have a full recollection, and I’m no longer bound by the limits of a human brain. Plus, there are other ways she could have gotten what she needed. Surgically.”
The thought made my balls hurt.
“How could we have been so wrong?” River asked. “I thought for sure she’d be hoarding your swimmers.”
“For breeding, she doesn’t necessarily need us,” my father said. “Any vampire male will do.”
“But why not have the best?” River asked. “Gabriel stock?”
“Unless we’re wrong,” my father said. “Maybe breeding wasn’t her primary purpose. In fact…”
“What, Uncle Jules?”
“If we’re right, and my father read the prophecy in the Texts, that means the rest of the council doesn’t know about the prophecy. But they do know something, something that had to do with the women who were taken.”
“Yeah,” I said. “And Levi Gaston was a genetic researcher.”
“Exactly.”
“But Bonneville describes Gaston as a hack,” I said.
“That doesn’t mean she hasn’t used his research,” my father said. “She considers anyone other than herself a hack. She’s that much of a narcissist.”
“I don’t buy it,” River said. “Breeding had to be her primary goal. Why else would she have kidnapped women who can produce vampire babies?”
“Research,” my father said. “Pure and simple research. She wanted to see if it could be done. If she wanted a father, she had her thugs.”
“So taking us was for an altogether different purpose,” I said. “The prophecy.”
“Exactly,” my father agreed. “But there’s one more thing.”
“What?” River asked.
“She’s over a hundred and fifty years old, and invincible to everyone but you, it seems, Dante. She’s been drinking male vampire blood for a long time. She could have just taken all of us as blood slaves for all we know.”
“She had her thugs for that,” I said.
“True, but they served another purpose. They went above ground a lot to run drugs and blood products for her. Take care of the business she needed.”
“How did she bankroll all of this?” River said. Then he laughed. “Stupid question. Drug money.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “Plus you can save a lot of money when you work for over a hundred years.”
“She even could have stolen money. As old as she is, her glamour is very powerful. Probably more powerful than my father’s even.”
But not more powerful than mine.
I knew that instinctively.
“I can take her out,” I said.
“Are you willing to do that?” my father asked.
“The thought of annihilating another living being doesn’t sit well with me. I admit it. But she’s evil, Dad. She has to be stopped.”
“Agreed,” River said.
“What if she has another cryostorage somewhere, though?” I said. “What if—”
“We not only have to destroy her,” my father said. “We have to destroy this place.”
A horrible thought occurred to me. “Does Bill know? About this place?”
“I have no idea,” my father said. “It wouldn’t surprise me, though.”
“What if the council knows about her breeding research but doesn’t know what else she’s doing down here? Trying to force the prophecy?”
“Then the council is not who we think they are,” my father said. “It’s hard to believe my father would turn his back on his beliefs. All he taught us.”
“He wasn’t a council member when we all disappeared,” I reminded him. “Being on the council changed him.”
“Or reading about the prophecy did,” River said. “Why else would he have thought you and my dad were the primary targets rather than Dante or me?”
“I don’t know. I just don’t know.” My dad let out one of his ghostly sighs.
“I think both changed him. Somehow, the council managed to get him to change some of his long-held beliefs. We just don’t know which ones. And then reading the Texts really spooked him.” I shook my head.
“We’ll find out,” my father said. “Bill is done lying to us. I’ll see to that.”
“He’s probably recovered from his self-inflicted poisoning by now,” I said. “Do you think he knows where we are?”
“I have no idea,” my dad said. “I haven’t checked in with him. You two, Brae, and Em have been my focus.”
River nodded. “He’s up to something. He deliberately interfered with Dante’s conversation with Lucien Crown, which means he knew Crown was there. He’s been tracking him somehow.”
“He is his cousin,” my father said.
“I know,” I said. “But does Bill even know that? Crown himself said that Alex Gabriel no longer exists.”
“I have no idea.” My dad sighed again. “I will deal with Bill. But not before we end Bonneville. Em is in good hands at the moment. Right now, I’m needed here.”
“We have to get Patty and all the others out of here,” I said. “Including you and your dad, Riv.”
“Hell, no. I’m not leaving.”
“Riv…”
“Hey, she might not have held me for ten years, but I’m as in this as the rest of you. I’m seeing this through to the end.”
“My brother needs medical attention, River,” my father said. “We need to get him to Jack and see if he can reverse whatever Bonneville did to him.”
“You mean I need to get him to Jack,” River said. “Bullshit.”
“You’re his son,” I said. “I’d do the same for my dad.”
“I’m not leaving! And I’ll bet my dad isn’t either.”
“He’s right, Dante,” my father said. “Brae will refuse to leave until this is done. As much as I want to get him to Jack, not one of us can force him.”
“I can,” I said.
“Probably,” River said, “but you won’t. Or you’ll answer to me.”
“I can take all of you out,” I said, the dark energy rising within me. “All of you. With a single thought.”
“But you won’t,” River said again.
I growled, baring my fangs. “Try to stop me.”
“Don’t pull that shit on me, cuz. I know who you are and what you’re capable of, but I also know deep down that you’ll never harm any one of us. I have faith in that.”
“Control, son,” my father said. “You too, River. I want Braedon to get help, but I won’t force him or you to leave.”
“He’ll want to see the end of this,” River said. “And so do I.”
“Understood. Right, Dante?”
Anger seeped through every cell of my body. I tamped down the darkness that threatened to pull me in, but one thing did not lessen.
This was mine to finish.
Mine.
And I’d be the one.
Because I was the only one who could.
Chapter Nineteen
Erin
I found nothing else in Braedon’s file that could help us, but I needed to figure out some way to copy it for the vampire doctor who would be taking care of him from now on.
“Do you have a thumb drive?” I asked Logan.
“Sorry.”
I tried accessing my email account so I could attach the records, but the system wouldn’t let me. “How do I copy this file, Logan? His doctor will need it.”
“Sorry. I don’t know.”
“Do you have an email address you can log in to and email them to me?”
“No. Not down here. This server isn’t connected anywhere else. We have to bring down hard copies of the patients’ records.”
“You bring them down from University?”
Braedon growled.
“I think so. It’s all hazy. Or Bonneville gets them.”
“Is there
a printer down here? We’ll copy them and take them with us.”
“Not that I know of.”
“Damn!” I wiped my brow. “All right. I’ll just memorize the dosages. Or here, I’ll write them on my hand. I’ll write them on yours too, Braedon. Where’s a pen?”
Logan scrambled in a drawer. “Here.”
I quickly wrote the steroid and other dosages—man, they were huge—on my forearm and on Braedon’s. “There. Memorize them too in case they get rubbed off. I’ll do the same.”
Dante burst through the door.
“How’d it go?” I asked.
“Negative on sperm. We couldn’t find any.”
I lifted my brow. “That’s good, then.”
“She could be storing it somewhere else.”
Logan shook his head. “I don’t think so. Not that I know of, anyway.”
“She obviously doesn’t tell you everything,” I said. “But if it’s not in the freezer, that’s a good sign.”
“To be on the safe side, we need to destroy this place,” Dante said. “And we need to begin by destroying her.”
Anger rose within me. “I’d love to have a hand in that.”
“Only I can do it, baby. I want the rest of you to get out of here.”
“We’ve been through this, cuz,” River said. “We’re all invested.”
“I know,” Dante said, “and I understand. But I’m the only one who can control her. In fact, I need to go back into the other wing and figure out what to do with the thugs if they’re still unconscious. I’m sure she’s awake by now and up to something.”
Dante reached into his pack and pulled out the zipped bag of Julian’s ashes.
“What’s that?” Braedon asked.
“The remains of your twin,” River said. “Put that away, Dante.”
“Sorry.” He dipped his fingers in and then rubbed some ashes on River’s forehead.
River flinched. “What the hell?”
“You know it works. Look, Riv, I know you’re invested. I get that. I do. But your dad needs medical help if he’s going to get back to normal. Hopefully this stuff can be reversed. Honestly, there’s nothing any of you can do to help me down here. This is between her and me.”
“Fuck no, Dante. Just no.”
“Son,” Braedon said. “I’ve seen what Dante can do.”
“So have I. That changes nothing.”
“No, son, it changes everything. If you can get out, I want you out.”
“I’m not leaving without you.”
“You’re right. You’re not. That’s why I’m going with you. We’ll take garbage man here too.”
“The guy who tortured you? You’re kidding.”
“No, I’m not. We’re going to prove what kind of people we are, River. No matter what was done to me, I’m still a Gabriel vampire, and so are you.”
River finally backed down. “All right, Dad. I’m just so glad you’re alive. Oh. Sorry, Uncle Jules.”
“It’s okay,” Julian said. “I made my own choice, and I have no regrets. You all know why I did it.”
“Thank you, Uncle Brae.” Dante rubbed some ashes onto the older vampire’s forehead. “You’ll be shielded.”
“We’ll get the young lady who had surgery. She’ll be glad to be reunited with her baby,” Braedon said.
“There are others here in the OR wing,” Logan said. “Staff.”
“Can you lead us to them?” River said. “We’ll get them all out. Dante, I’ll need those ashes.”
Dante nodded and handed him the bag. “Just a smudge on their foreheads will do it. Use them sparingly. They’re more valuable than gold at the moment.” He turned to me. “I’ve already shielded you. I want you to go with them.”
“Not likely,” I said. “Besides, you need my blood, especially if you’re determined to take her down once and for all.”
“I agree, Erin,” Julian said. “You need to stay.”
“Now someone is talking sense,” I said. “I’m staying.”
Dante bared his teeth on a snarl.
“Don’t even with me,” I said. “You think those teeth scare me?”
Dante softened, though his teeth didn’t retract. “Dad?”
“I’m leaving with the others,” Julian said.
“No, Dad. I need you here.”
“No, Dante. You don’t. This is your fight now. Not mine.”
“Dad—”
“I feel strongly about this. This last battle must be between the two of you.”
“It will be. But I need your wisdom, your guidance.”
“You don’t, son. This is all you. Have faith in what you’re destined for. Erin will be here to feed you, to give you the strength and control you need. I’ve taught you all I can for now. You no longer need me. This is something you’re destined to accomplish on your own.”
“Dad, I do! I do need you. Please stay.”
“Faith, son. Have faith.” Julian disappeared.
“He’s not coming back,” Dante said.
“Don’t be so sure.” I hugged him. “You’ll see him again.”
“I know. But he won’t come back down here. I feel it in my bones.”
“He knows you can handle this yourself,” I said. “And he’s right.”
I turned to Logan. “Can you find Patty and the others? Get them out of here?”
He nodded. “I will, Erin. I can. I have to.”
“All right. Then go. All of you. Get out of here as quickly as you can. I’ll stay with Dante, and we’ll be done here soon.”
Yes, we’ll be done here soon, I repeated to myself.
One way or the other.
Chapter Twenty
Dante
Erin and I stood alone in the file room.
They had truly left.
Even my father had abandoned me.
But not Erin. Not my sweet, precious Erin.
My teeth descended with a snap, not so painful this time. Hunger surged through me.
I inhaled.
Erin.
Dark chocolate, Bordeaux, truffles, and blackberries.
Erin.
I yanked her to me and crushed my mouth to hers.
Our lips slid together for a few seconds, and then she parted hers, and I dived in, finding her warm tongue and swirling my own around it. I wanted a raw kiss, a kiss that was a prelude of what was to come.
I was going to make passionate love to her, and then I was going to feed.
And feed.
And feed some more, until we were both sated and ready.
I was hungry—oh, so hungry—and we were alone.
Finally alone, even though we were underground in this godforsaken place. How I longed to undress her, to gaze over every contour of her body, glide my fingertips over each inch of her smooth flesh, and then lay her on a soft bed and make love to her with my lips, teeth, tongue, hands, and cock.
But that wasn’t going to happen. Not now.
Soon, damn it.
But not now.
She removed her pack from her shoulders and lifted her hoodie over her head. Then the bulletproof vest and the tank and bra underneath. She stood, her bare breasts so enticing, wearing only shoes and leggings.
She quickly discarded her shoes and socks and then rolled the leggings off her smooth legs ever so slowly.
My cock throbbed. So fucking hard for her. A growl left my throat as I parted my lips, exposing my fangs.
She stood before me naked.
Naked and so very innocent.
Except she was not innocent. No. This amazing woman had seen things no one should have to see. Done things no one should have to do. All because of me.
Yet here she was. Still loving me. Still wanting me. Still willing to give me the sustenance from her body that I craved, that I needed.
Once bonded, never broken.
Those words now belonged to Erin and me. Only us.
She slowly cupped her beautiful breasts and then began playing with
her hard nipples. The dark skin around them wrinkled.
And my cock grew harder.
“Does it feel good, baby?” I asked. “Does it feel good when you touch yourself like that?”
She closed her eyes on a soft moan and continued to play with her nipples.
I watched, mesmerized. I could look at her forever. Her beauty, her fair skin, her red lips, her pinkish-brown nipples, her slender fingers with nails painted pink as they squeezed and pulled at the hard nubs. Then one hand let a nipple drop and it slid down her beautiful belly, past her black triangle, to her clit. She began gently moving her fingers in a circular motion, closing her eyes, moaning.
Such beauty. Her apple musk arousal—the synthetic hormone scent had lessened, thank God—drifted through the room. I inhaled, letting it warm me, infuse me with all the strong beauty that was Erin.
I could turn her around against the wall, free my aching cock, and thrust into her now.
But it had been far too long since we’d been skin to skin, so I undressed quickly and pulled her to me, kissing her once more with wild abandon. God, the feel of her tongue, the sweet taste of her mouth, the warmth of her lips sliding against mine.
I could kiss her forever, and soon I would.
But now I needed her blood. The kiss had spiked my hunger, and I needed to slake it.
I broke the suction of our mouths with a smack and, for a moment, gazed at her exposed neck, the carotid of her pulse a mesmerizing cadence.
Then I struck, sinking my fangs into her softness.
She moaned, her breath a sweet breeze against my own bare neck. Her red gold flowed quickly from her artery, and I gulped at it furiously. After a minute, I slowed, letting its sweet, intense flavor trickle over my tongue, all around my mouth and gums, before drizzling down my throat in a warm river.
She fed so much more than my body, even my heart, even my soul.
She fed everything that was me, everything that had been and would ever be me. Time had no meaning anymore. We were united as one in every dimension.
I could stay embedded in her forever, taking only the smallest drop of blood, but my cock had other ideas. Again, I considered turning her around quickly and thrusting into her, but I wanted so much to look at her, see her face, her sparkling green eyes, kiss her swollen red lips.
