“Thank you,” the woman said. She looked at the paler blonde who hadn’t said anything yet. “Mama?”
There was no way the other woman was her mother. Unless…Jade looked at them both more closely.
Neither woman was human. Jade would bet everything she had on that.
She kept her mouth shut until she had the two women upstairs in Mickey and Mallory’s suites.
Then when the strawberry blonde was in the shower, she turned toward the other woman. “So…just what exactly are you?”
“What do you mean?” The woman looked at her with wariness in her gold eyes.
“You’re not human. We both know that. So what are you? I know Rand is a werewolf. I’m not sure what Rathan is, but he smells like sulfur sometimes. So what are you?”
“How do you know these things?”
“Simple.” Jade shot her a smile. This woman would play it straight with her. Jade liked her. “I just always have. I know they aren’t human, and sometimes, I know other things. Like…you know my sister. And you know what exactly has happened to her. So…tell me…what you are? And where is Joselyn?”
The woman stared at her for a long, long time. “I think that is something you’d best ask your cousin. He seems to have all the answers to everything you need to know.”
“Just tell me this: Is Joselyn going to be ok? I know she’s been hurt. I’ve…I just know it.” Jade’s eyes filled. This woman had the answers she needed. “Is my sister going to come home?”
The woman smiled softly. “She’s going to be just fine, Jade. I promise. You’ll see her very soon. Now, sit. Tell me how it is you know these things?”
5
His skin felt too tight. Barlaam fought the restlessness of inaction as the helicopter flew toward what had been identified as the Taniss vacation home. His lip curled in a snarl as he imagined the terror Kindara would have felt being taken from a dark highway and forced into proximity with the grandson of Leo Taniss.
To be taken to Taniss’s home. To the goddess, it sickened him to even think about it.
She had to be terrified right now. For herself—but mostly for her daughter.
Hopefully, neither had been harmed too greatly.
His sister-in-law Emily had reassured them all that her cousin would not have physically harmed anyone. She’d been insulted to even consider it.
Her cousin Mallory, twin to the male responsible for the abductions, sat nearby. Barlaam could practically feel the girl’s anxiety. Neither she nor Emily were comfortable fliers.
No doubt due to Emily’s mother’s death in a small-engine plane when she had been twelve and her young sister barely six.
Human lives were so fleeting.
He sent a wave of soothing warmth toward both young females. They had been through so much in the last few weeks. It wasn’t any wonder they appeared so fragile to him.
Aodhan wrapped one arm around his redheaded mate. She didn’t snuggle into him—they were not quite fully bonded, Barlaam sensed—but she did relax some.
Barlaam shot a look at his sister-in-law. Rydere had wrapped her in his own arms, and she had her head pressed to his chest. They had fully bonded, and no one could miss that.
Barlaam smiled. They were such an odd pair, she so small and delicate and Rydere so tall and strong. Emily was far smaller than most Dardaptoan females. That fact had terrified his brother at first.
Her conversion had not been easy.
He had heard her screams. Had seen the damage done to her and her three cousins internally. Never would he wish to see another female go through that horror again.
There was a reason the goddess had bid all the healers to keep the conversion of humans a secret all those thousands of years ago.
It was far too dangerous and far too painful for the human. Only that the four Taniss females had been given mates to four Dardaptoans had made it legal at all.
All but one female had almost died during the conversion. Aodhan’s had been physically strong enough to convert on her own. Cormac had held his female’s spirit in her body by his force of will alone. Theo had breathed for young Mickey for hours. And Emily…she had almost been too small to withstand the bloodletting that had been necessary.
His brother had gotten damned lucky that his female had lived.
Barlaam shot up a fervent prayer to the goddess that no more female humans were mated to his Kind.
No female deserved that…torture.
6
Kindara, the blond woman, had given her very few answers. The woman was a master at evasion. No matter how Jade had pushed, she hadn’t quite gotten the right answers. No matter; she’s just confront Rathan or Rand when she got a chance. Probably Rathan. He was a bit more malleable where women were concerned.
He was an old softy. She’d known it for years. Once a woman looked past his sex appeal to see the giant teddy bear beneath.
Although…the way he’d practically been stalking Kindara made her wonder if she’d be able to distract him long enough to get her answers. Rathan was rather intent.
Jade wasn’t giving up. They knew where her sister was. And they were going to tell her.
Joselyn needed her. Jade just knew it.
Jade checked her text messages and her email, something she’d done almost hourly since her sister and cousins had been missing. She’d half hoped one of them would contact her.
Emily’s call days ago was the only contact she’d had.
There were three emails; one from her cousin Becca saying she’d be down tomorrow after her last class, one from her friend Loren checking that she’d made it to the vacation home safely, and one from Anna—Joselyn’s closest friend. Anna was worried, too. She didn’t believe Rand’s damned memo he’d sent out stating that Joselyn was on an extended family vacation.
Joselyn would have told Anna she was leaving. Jade had checked with Anna herself. The research the two were involved in wasn’t the kind someone could just walk away from like that. Anna had made that perfectly clear.
She sent a text back to Anna, telling her that she was still trying to get to the bottom of what had happened. She’d just keep the older woman updated on what was happening, when she could.
Maybe.
She wasn’t about to tell Anna that she was dealing with werewolves and what she thought were vampires.
She’d seen the fangs in Kindara’s and Jierra’s mouths.
Fangs meant vampires.
She just had to confirm it somehow.
And these vampires knew exactly where her sister was.
The familiar sound of a helicopter rumbled up. Jade knew in that moment that her answers were about to arrive.
She was the second one down the front steps.
The pair of helicopters landing weren’t any that she recognized. The word resort was visible on the side of the nearest.
Jade waited patiently. The front lawn of the vacation home was plenty wide enough for multiple helicopters to land, but there was a bit of a walk up the drive to get to the front porch.
All thoughts of waiting flew out of her head when she saw a familiar redhead being lifted out of the nearest helicopter.
“Mallory!”
Jade hopped off the porch before Rand could stop her and started down the long driveway toward her cousin, just as Emily was lifted down after Mallory.
Jade broke into a run.
7
Barlaam heard her. Even over the sounds of the helicopters. He heard a female’s call. And he turned.
The blonde from his photograph was running toward them all.
The guards that had accompanied them tensed, though none wore swords. They were armed, just not visibly.
“It’s a human female of only twenty-two. She is no threat,” he hissed at them before his brother could. “Stand down. Do not dare to frighten her.”
Rydere shot him a look. They could easily hear one another, even over the helicopters. They were Dardaptoan, after all. Their hearing was far bette
r than that of humans. “You recognize her.”
Barlaam nodded, then glanced at Cormac. “She is Cormac’s sister-in-law. Jade, Joselyn’s younger sister. A college student. Very young. They are all very young.”
“Yes, they are.” Rydere nodded at the guards. “Stand down.”
A male with dark-red hair appeared, cutting the young blonde off before she could reach her cousins. Barlaam bit back the desire to rip the male apart when he yanked the girl almost off her feet and dragged her back toward the porch.
Another male waited there, Kindara and Jierra directly behind him.
Barlaam forced himself to calm.
He would do nothing to screw with Rydere’s plans for this meeting. His brother had told him exactly what he and Emily now hoped to accomplish for their people.
It was a good plan. One that would allow their people to benefit from the pain her grandfather had caused to the Dardaptoan Kind. Emily and her three cousins had pledged to help right Leo Taniss’s wrong, as best that they could.
But they needed to get the rest of their family on board first.
Ripping one apart for merely touching the blond female was not a good place to start.
Aodhan’s female pulled away first. She stalked down the drive toward the blond female, who was now arguing with the male Barlaam recognized as Leo Taniss’s eldest grandson.
Arguing heatedly. The blonde crossed her arms over her chest and just glared up at the cousin, who stood a good eight inches taller. She pointed toward Emily.
She turned.
The cousin grabbed her arm and yanked her behind him.
Barlaam’s hiss escaped before he could stop it. No female needed to be jerked around like that. Her skin could bruise so damned easily.
Theo, the half-blind prognosticate of their people, smiled at him. “She is a headstrong one, Barlaam, that Taniss female there. She reminds me much of my Mickey, from what I can see of her. They favor one another.”
They did, especially through the face and build. But whereas Theo’s female had straight, slightly orange hair, this blonde had the riot of curls he remembered from the photos.
Aodhan’s female had reached her brother, Aodhan mere feet behind her. Taniss’s grandson scooped his twin sister off her feet and just held her.
Some of Barlaam’s ire subsided. The male loved his sister. It was written on his face for all to see.
Just as much as Cormac loved his.
Cormac had ignored the sight of his new sister-in-law and had headed toward his own sister and niece.
Kindara flew off the porch and into her brother’s arms. The male who had been guarding her followed quickly. Leaving Jierra on the porch staring at everyone. Then Kindara’s daughter was in her uncle’s arms next.
The tall male on the porch strolled down the steps and toward Kindara.
When he turned, Barlaam got his first close look.
At the demon.
A demon he recognized.
The king of the demon realm now had his hand on the young blond female’s shoulder, trying to pull her away from her female cousins.
Barlaam bit back a howl of rage.
A damned Incubus had his hands on her. Barlaam fought the instinctive urge to kill.
8
Jason Taniss knocked on the apartment door, fighting to keep the impatience burning him under control. He had no time to hunt down his younger daughter. Not when he still had to find his elder.
If Joselyn was even still alive.
Grief for his daughter threatened to bring him to his knees. The not knowing where she was sickened him. But Rand, his eldest nephew and closest confidant, had received reliable information that Joselyn, and the three cousins she’d been abducted with, still lived.
They were just waiting for Jason and Rand to rescue them.
He would not stop until he had his daughter and his nieces back where they belonged. But he also had to make certain that his daughter Jade was safe.
Something had his hackles rising. Jade…Jade had always been different. And trouble was on its way to finding her. Jason just knew it.
The door swung open. A young woman smiled at him. “She went to the vacation home.”
Jason swore. That was the last place he wanted Jade to be now. “Thanks, Loren. Where’s Becca?”
“She’s supposed to be on her way to her mythology class. Final exam at two, I think. She went home for a few hours last night, and was supposed to go straight to class after driving up this morning.”
Jason bit back a curse. He’d specifically told both girls to stay put until he could get to them this morning. But Becca and Jade had always been headstrong. “When she gets home, make her call me. She’s not to leave until her father gets here to pick her up.”
Loren shrugged. “I’ll tell her, but she said something about heading out to check on someone in a greenhouse somewhere. I’m not really certain what she was talking about.”
“I know who she means. Still, make her understand that she needs to stay put.”
Loren’s eyes narrowed. “Why? Is something going on? Is Jade ok?”
“She’s just fine. Just keep Becca here when you see her.”
“I’ll do my best. But…personal choice and all that. It’s kind of my thing, you know?”
She gave him a mysterious smile.
Jason felt his hackles rise again.
Sometimes Loren freaked him out, but he had never pushed the issue. Everyone had secrets, after all.
9
Jade held a hand up in front of Rand’s face. He could be so irritating at times. “Em and Mal are just fine, Rand. What do you think is going to happen to me? I’m going to be dragged away on the same family vacation as them and my sister and Mickey? If it’s that harmless, why are you freaking out so much? Put your little doggie brain back in your pocket where it belongs.”
Mallory hugged her. “I missed you, Jadie.”
Jade hugged her right back. “What happened? I know it wasn’t a vacation. And I know Joselyn’s been hurt. And I know those two women are the vampires I’ve always told you all about. Who are those guys? What’s going on? Someone needs to come completely clean before I make up my own answers here.”
“We’ll talk inside, Jade,” Mallory whispered in her ear. “I want to know how you knew about vampires. Because they are real.”
“We’ll talk inside, as soon as we can.” She hugged her cousins again.
Her dad was a great dad, but he had always been involved with Taniss Industries. Sometimes he had to put in long hours. From about the time she, Becca, and Cass had been around six, they had spent long hours with Emily and Mallory watching over them. Her dad had raised her, but Emily and Mallory had been her role models. She adored the two of them, and always would.
“Is Joselyn ok now?” she asked Emily. “Where are my sister and Mickey?”
“They’re back in Dardanos. Joselyn…Joselyn’s ok. She’s been…ill, Jade. It’s going to take her a few weeks to get back up to speed. Mickey’s hanging out with her right now.”
Emily was lying. Jade shot her a look that told her she knew that. Emily just sent her a calm smile in return.
No worries. Jade would find out the truth. And soon.
A big guy who had to be seven and a half feet tall with dark-chestnut hair and an absolutely gorgeous face put his hands on Mallory’s shoulders and pulled her back slightly. Mallory looked up at him.
Mallory didn’t pull away; that shocked Jade to her toes. Mallory had been sexually assaulted eight years ago. Her cousin hadn’t let men get too close to her since.
Well, except for Rathan, that was. Jade had always thought it was because he was Mallory’s twin’s closest friend and Mallory felt safe with him. Or Rathan had cast some sort of spell over her cousin to make her trust him more than she would any other man.
Jade had yet to rule out that possibility.
But the way this guy looked at Mallory told its own story. This guy adored her cousin. Seriousl
y adored.
He was practically drooling just looking at Mallory. Wow.
Jade looked closer at his teeth when he smiled at her.
“Well, looks like a vampire followed you home, Mallory. Is he a stray? Or are there more just like him? Is he at least domesticated?”
Jade finally looked away from her cousins and back toward the group of a dozen men—all tall and gorgeous—who were coming closer.
All of them had their eyes trained on Rand…and Rathan.
Including one in the exact center. One with dark-chocolate hair that blew slightly in the light wind. One with shoulders so wide he probably had to turn sideways just to get through some doors. He was tall—at least seven feet himself—and strong and absolutely beautiful.
And she had seen his face in her dreams almost every night since her sixteenth birthday.
It was him.
Well.
Finally.
Now she had to decide what to do about the fact that she was apparently destined to fall in love with a vampire.
That really put a kink in her plans.
10
“Malickus,” Barlaam practically growled it at the Incubi king in front of him.
“Dardaptos, it has been…many…years.” The demon bowed in a ritualistic greeting.
Barlaam returned it grudgingly.
They had been uneasy allies at one time, when he had been exploring the world of Kohoal in search of cures for his people. He and the demon had teamed up to escape Golohx slavers after they had both been captured.
They owed each other blood debts that they had sworn to one day repay. Allies at one point, but that did not mean he trusted the demon king now.
Especially not with the females that near.
Incubi fed on sexual intercourse with females—or by implanting fantasies into females’ dreams and feeding off the emotions that created.
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