A Vampire's Honor (24 page)

Anxiety and fear spiked in me, and Gabriel, sensing my snowballing apprehension, was suddenly framed in the open doorway. The air of hostility between Kartel and me was now thick enough it could be neatly sliced with a knife and passed around on plates, but my relief at seeing Gabriel was short-lived. Taking a step forward, my lover was thrown violently up against the opposite wall. An invisible barrier prevented him from entering the room. The embedded rune above the door pulsed with a red glow as Gabriel snarled. At least from the way his face contorted, I assumed that's what he was doing because the rune was also blocking all sound from the hallway.

“You can tell him his sentinel isn't the only one who knows how to cast runes,” Kartel gloated.

I watched as Gabriel got to his feet and ran his hands around the doorframe, a frown marring his brow. He looked at me and began to speak, but I put my hand to my ear and shook my head, indicating I couldn't hear him. He nodded in understanding. It was in a way unfortunate that he could see me. My fear over Kartel taking my blood, and the effect it would have on Gabriel, was growing exponentially.

I continued to watch as Gabriel placed a tentative hand on the doorframe and snatched it back almost at once, shaking his fingers as if he'd just received some type of electric shock. I looked about me for something to write on and found a pad of paper and a black Sharpie on a shelf beneath the counter. I could kiss Tomas for his efficiency.

I darted out from behind the bar, holding up the pad and the word I'd written in black marker. I pointed above the doorway and then at the pad. Seeing the word
RUNE,
Gabriel nodded, and I heaved a sigh of relief as Tomas suddenly appeared next to him. If anyone knew how to break through, surely it would be an experienced runecaster.

The sentinel ran his hands around the doorway. He didn't get shocked, but his expression quickly changed, and he grimaced more than once. The rune implanted in the wall was having a decidedly unpleasant effect on anyone who touched the doorway.

“Pathetic, absolutely pathetic,” Kartel said, coming up behind me and snatching the pad of paper from my hands. “By the time that idiot is able to determine what I have cast, I'll be long gone.”

My frustration boiled over, and I rounded on him, punching him wildly in the chest with my fist. “Fucking asshole!” I screamed.

He laughed at me, sounding like a hyena on crack, and grabbed my wrist, holding me off easily. “Really, Rowan, if you keep this up I shall have no choice but to think you want to fuck me.” That stopped me at once. I yanked my hand from his grasp, making him laugh again. “Now where were we?” He snickered. “Ah yes, I do believe you were going to give me a taste of your blood.”

“Did it ever occur to you that perhaps the formula was wrong to begin with? Maybe that's why it didn't kill me.” I was stalling, hoping to give Gabriel and Tomas time to break through the door.

“Impossible. One syringe was potent enough to bring down an elephant. I know, we tried, and you had two. You should have been dead within minutes.” He tilted his head to one side and narrowed his eyes. “So why aren't you?”

“I'm a Promise. Maybe it doesn't work on us?”

Kartel shook his head. “No, that's not the reason either.”

I started. There was only one way he could be that certain. Had he used Petrov's concoction on another Promise? His own perhaps? The smirk on his face told me everything, so I screamed, “Fuck you!”

“What is it about humans and sex? As intriguing as I find your proposition, I'm going to have to pass. I'm not sure Gabriel would be
that
understanding.”

“But you think he'll understand your taking my blood?”

“Of course not, and I don't expect him to. He can add it to the long list of unforgivable things I've done.”

“What about me? Don't I have a say in this?”

He gave me a pitying look. “You don't have the strength to deny me, so . . . no. Still, if you'd like to test yourself, I'd be more than happy to accommodate you.”

I was so pissed I picked up the closest thing I could find, a really pretty Murano glass paperweight with a fish design that I was quite fond of. I threw it at Kartel's head. He barely had to flinch to avoid my chronically bad aim, as the paperweight hit the back of the bar. I may have missed the vampire, but the bottle of Ballantine's exploded in a spectacular fashion.

“Enough,” Kartel snapped. “I've no more time to waste. Give me your arm.”

Of course I didn't.

Like a petulant five-year-old being asked to show what's in her hand, I put both of mine behind my back. He muttered something under his breath—I'm certain it was very unflattering—and grabbed my braid. In the blocked doorway I could feel Gabriel going all DEFCON 5, but I didn't dare look over my shoulder at him.

Yanking on my hair hard enough to bring tears to my eyes, Kartel used his other hand to grab my elbow and jerk my arm out from behind my back. I swung my other arm, meaning to punch him again, but he let go of my braid and somehow my fist was enclosed inside his palm.

“If you don't stop being ridiculous, I'll crush your hand, making certain you scream in agony with every single shattered bone while Gabriel watches, unable to help you and unable to stop me.”

The expression on his face told me that he already knew I'd had my fingers broken recently, and he would make sure this would be so much worse. His grip tightened, making my fingers shriek from the pressure. The pain would be unbearable, but more than that, I knew as well as Kartel the effect it would have on Gabriel to see me in pain. And in the end the blue-haired vampire would just take what he wanted anyway.

“Just do what you have to,” I said, turning my head so I wouldn't see him bite me.

I felt his breath fan my skin as he raised my wrist to his mouth. I closed my eyes, grateful that he hadn't insisted on going for my neck. That was much more personal. His bite was swift and sure, striking my wrist just below the heel of my hand. I felt his fangs slide through the skin and into my vein. And then I felt him withdraw.

“Well, well, well . . .” A trickle of my blood ran from the corner of his mouth, and he wiped it with the back of his hand as he stared down at me. “You are either the smartest human I've ever encountered or the most stupid.” No brownie points for guessing which way he was leaning. “You actually made a deal with a demon?” He shook his head. “You don't really expect him to keep his side of your bargain, do you?”

“Yes,” I snapped. “Actually I do.”

“Why?” he asked, a look of stunned surprise on his face.

“Because he said so.”

His laugh was cruel and mocking, and I risked a glance toward the open doorway. Gabriel was on his knees. His bowed head and his hair, falling like a curtain of white, obscured his face from me. But I could sense his suffering, and his rage, escalating with every moment he was kept from me.

Kartel had not bothered to seal the puncture holes in my wrist, and blood now flowed freely from the wounds, dripping off my fingertips and staining the carpet. He frowned and then gestured for me to give him my wrist. I guess having a leaky victim was bad manners or something, or else he figured why piss off Gabriel any more than he had already. He actually had the nerve to hiss at me when I snatched my hand back, refusing him.

“You got what you wanted,” I said, backing away from him. “Now why don't you just fuck off.” Hell could freeze over before I'd let him anywhere near me again.

A sudden pounding that made the walls shudder was immediately followed by the sound of breaking glass. Gabriel had hit the other side of the wall hard enough to make a picture fall. I hoped it wasn't his treasured Chagall.

I thought hearing Gabriel roar was simply my imagination, but one look at Kartel's face told me he'd heard it too. He snapped his head around, and I saw real fear in his eyes. Either Tomas had found a way through, or Kartel's casting wasn't as good as he'd proclaimed.

“Touch her again, and you'll beg me to kill you.” Gabriel's growl, though barely registering as human, was nevertheless comprehensible. The rune's power was definitely faltering.

Either madness or defiance made Kartel grab my arms. Instinctively I leaned back, forcing him to lean further in to me so his periwinkle-blue hair brushed over my breasts. “You tell him the next time I put my hands on you, none of us will survive the experience.”

He half-pushed me away, and I fell to my knees as he walked back across the room, heading for the sliding-glass door. He collected his long gray duster from the chair where Aleksei had thrown it and picked up a gray carryall from the floor. It was similar in design and size to those used to carry a bowling ball, but I didn't remember seeing him bring it in with him.

“I was going to give this to you as an apology, but it might be better if you gave it to Gabriel as compensation.” He put the bag on the table. “And tell him he will not be getting Petrov any time soon.”

I was pretty sure Gabriel had already figured that out for himself.

T
he rune or spell or whatever the hell it was that Kartel had used to keep Gabriel out vanished the moment he did. I scarcely managed to take a breath before Gabriel was all over me, his lips marking every inch of skin within reach, and what his mouth didn't reclaim as belonging to him, his hands did. I didn't even try to stop him. Not only had his temper been severely tested, his possessive streak had been put on a rack and stretched almost to the limit.

Picking up my wrist, he ran the pad of his thumb over the open wounds left by Kartel's fangs. They were still bleeding, but I knew without his saying the words what he was asking. I nodded, murmuring a soft yes under my breath. He punched his own set of holes through my skin over the marks Kartel had left, going deeper than he normally would in order to completely obliterate any sign of the other vampire's fangs. Then he began drawing up my blood in a strong pull. Two mouthfuls, both of which he spit out into a bowl Tomas held out for him. I wasn't offended seeing him do this. I wanted to be as certain as he that my blood would carry no possible residue from Kartel.

When he was satisfied there was no taint left behind, Gabriel sealed the fresh wound. I took a deep breath, pulling in the scent of pine trees, snow, mistletoe and that other indefinable something that was uniquely Gabriel.

Tomas covered the dish of blood with a cloth and took it away. “Burn it,” Gabriel said quietly to his sentinel's retreating back. I wondered if I would ever have the nerve to ask Tomas what had gone down between Gabriel and Kartel, because obviously something had. And it was bad.

“Why did Kartel want your blood?” Gabriel asked.

He sat cross-legged, Indian style, on the floor, and had pulled me into his lap. I rested my head on his shoulder, still breathing in his scent and exulting in the feel of his hard, toned body beneath my hands. “He wanted to know why Petrov's lethal injection hadn't killed me. Apparently they tested it on an elephant.”

“And it was successful, I presume?”

I nodded, and then asked, “Does Kartel have a Promise?”

“Not anymore.”

“What happened?”

“I heard she died.”

“Do you know how?”

He placed his finger beneath my chin and turned my head so he could look at me. His eyes had darkened to a color that was almost indigo. “There's a rumor that Kartel killed her . . . deliberately.”

“I don't think it's a rumor,” I said, then told him about Kartel having rejected the idea that my survival was owed to being a Promise.

“So what does he think is the reason?” Gabriel asked, his voice slipping into that spine-melting honeyed tone.

“He knows about the deal I made.”

Regardless of my reason for striking such a bargain, I was still mortified that I had entered into such an agreement to begin with. Even if it seemed that it had apparently saved my life. I pulled my bottom lip into my mouth, something I did when I was upset.

Gabriel put his lips next to my ear. “Don't do that or else both Aleksei and Anasztaizia are going to get a first-hand view of your tattoo.”

“Aleksei's already seen it,” I reminded him.

“Something I haven't quite forgiven him for.” He was teasing me, and I sighed, rubbing my hand down his arm, feeling the muscles bunch and flex beneath my palm. “So what else did Kartel say?”

“He said to tell you if he put his hands on me again, none of us would survive.”

“He actually said that?” Gabriel growled.

I pulled back so I could look into his eyes. “Yeah, but I'm hoping I can rely on you to make me a promise if I'm ever in that situation.”

The beginning of a smile curved his mouth, and I traced his lips with my finger. “Ask me anything.”

“I'd really appreciate it if you were to rip his head off for me.”

“Oh, trust me, sweetheart,” Gabriel said, giving me a throaty growl, “that's a promise I will have no difficulty keeping.”

I leaned forward and kissed him, sliding my tongue between his fangs and into the warmth of his mouth. I'm still hesitant about making the first move, so it was gratifying to see Gabriel's eyes glaze over when I pulled back. He picked up my hand and brushed his lips across the inside of my wrist.

“Anything else?” my vampire lover asked huskily.

“You do know he's not going to give you Petrov, right?”

“I knew that the moment he came inside.”

“Then why did you ask him to?”

“Because Aleksei could not.”

I picked up a section of his hair, loving the silky feel as it flowed through my fingers. “Is it true? About Aleksei and Petrov being brothers?”

“Kartel would know better than I . . . but it does make sense. The gene tends to run in familial bloodlines.”

“Will this change the way Aleksei feels about Petrov, do you think?”

“Only Aleksei can answer that.” Gabriel picked up my hand and kissed my fingers. “I want you to know it almost killed me seeing him take your blood.”

“Please don't think I just gave it to him.” I placed my hand on his chest, feeling my palm vibrate as he rumbled. “Actually I did, but that's because it was better than the alternative.” In answer to his quizzical look, I told him about Kartel's threat to crush and shatter my bones. Gabriel's response was to give me more mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. I leaned back in his arms, feeling definitely euphoric once the demonstration was over.

When I looked at him again his eyes were still dark, only now the golden ring around his pupils revealed the level of stress he'd been under. He needed reassurance delivered in a specific combination. Sex and blood. A pairing I was more than happy to provide, until the sound of Anasztaizia's voice reminded me that Gabriel and I weren't alone. Truth be told, we never were, but if you looked up the word
discretion
in the dictionary, it would show a picture of Tomas. It explained why, even though I could yell like a bull moose and frequently did, he'd never caught Gabriel and me having sex. Near misses didn't count.

I looked across the room in time to see the petite Magyar poke Aleksei in the chest with her finger. Like a lot of Europeans, she talked with her hands, especially when she wanted to get her point across, and right now she and Aleksei were having a difference of opinion. I wasn't even sure you could say what they were doing was arguing. It was more like playful bickering. Still, Anasztaizia had also been through a lot these past few hours, and I didn't want to see her upset, no matter how mild it might be. Reluctantly, I got out of Gabriel's lap. “What's wrong?” I asked.

“Aleksei won't let me see what's in the bag.”

“Have you already looked?” I asked the big guy, who nodded back at me. Well, it wasn't a bomb then, but I asked anyway. “So is it dangerous or something?”

“Not dangerous . . . just something.”

I honestly hadn't given much thought to what the carryall might contain, but Aleksei's response made me curious. I mean, how was Kartel going to make up for what he'd done to me? Especially knowing that he had pissed off one already furious vampire. I didn't see Hallmark making a card for that. Anasztaizia snapped her fingers and held out her hand for the carryall.

“Anasztaizia, please!” the big guy pleaded, “I'm only thinking—”

“Aleksei! You're a vampire, and you don't think—you react!” she snapped. “Do you suppose after hearing about your family, after seeing what Rowan has just been through with that monster—”

“—that there's anything left that could scare me?”

The big guy glanced at me, and even though I heard his mouth say no, his eyes said yes, there was plenty, and he knew it. I raised a brow. “What's in the bag, Aleksei?” I asked quietly.

“Are you going to stop Rowan from seeing what's inside?” Anasztaizia asked sweetly.

I didn't enjoy being pulled into the middle of their squabble, but Anasztaizia always had an open, sympathetic ear when I had my own vampire difficulties. It would be churlish of me not to offer my support now. “Will you show me?”

Aleksei scrubbed a hand over his face before saying, “You don't want to see either, Rowan.”

And guys wonder why we sometimes seriously think they're morons. It's one thing to say no, but to say no without a reason? Offer no justification? Nuh-uh, the result is not going to be pretty.

“I'm sorry,” I said, crossing my arms, “but from where I'm standing, what's in the bag is mine, according to Vampire Smurf.”

“Vampire Smurf?” The Russian raised a brow.

“Okay, so they had blue skin, not blue hair, but c'mon, you know I wasn't going to be able to resist calling him that.”

He looked confused. “What is Smurf?”

“I'll show you later,” Anasztaizia told him as her anger simmered down a notch to indignant irritation.

“You might as well let them see,” Gabriel said, deciding to bring the standoff to an end. “Neither of them is going to be satisfied until they do.”

Aleksei looked momentarily stricken. “But Gabriel, you know . . .” He stopped and then asked, “
Do
you know what's in there?”

“Knowing Kartel, I've a pretty good idea.” He nodded in Anasztaizia's direction. “Just make sure you catch her if she faints.”

As it turned out, Anasztaizia didn't faint, but she did grab Aleksei's hand when she puked all over the floor.

The apology-slash-compensation was Rat Boy's head.