Authors: Jeannie Holmes
The room’s door scraped open, startling her. She heard retreating footsteps and the hiss of hydraulics as the door closed. The soft scuff of shoes on linoleum and the intensified smell of sandalwood and cinnamon told her Varik remained and had moved closer. She reached for him and was surprised when he pressed a warm cylinder into her hand. “What’s this?”
“Fresh blood. It’ll help the healing process.”
“Where did you get it?”
He chuckled. “We’re in a hospital and you have to ask that question? What kind of drugs did they give you? I think they’re affecting your brain.”
“What I meant was—”
“I know what you meant, and no, I didn’t steal it or bite anyone. I found a registered donor who volunteered to have some drawn by one of the nurses.” He nudged her hands toward her mouth. “Now be a good girl and make the superyummy treat disappear.”
“Fuck you.”
“I’ve never done it on a bed with wheels. Could be fun.”
Alex let his attempt at humor slide and drank the cooling blood. The thick liquid reminded her of licking a salt-encrusted spoon—brackish with a metallic edge—as it coated her tongue and slid down her throat.
Flashes of memory from the donor’s life sparked in her mind: the rush of freedom that came from riding a bicycle for the first time without training wheels, a profound sense of loss as a hearse passed on its way into a small cemetery, the soaring joy of seeing a newly born son lying at his mother’s breast.
The memories faded as quickly as they appeared, leaving lingering warmth that spread throughout her body and made her fingertips tingle.
Varik removed the cylinder from her hand. “Feel better now?”
She nodded. “What about you? How are you feeling?”
“Fine. You want to tell me about your little adventure with the Dollmaker?”
“I told you all there was to tell on the way here.” She tucked her hair behind her ears. “Somehow I ended up in what I’m assuming was his house. There were dolls everywhere. My dad showed up. They fought.”
“Then you and Bernard jumped through a window and you woke up in the salvage yard.”
“Blind as a fucking bat.”
“You got a good look at the Dollmaker?”
“Tall, blond, and creepy.”
“But you could identify him?”
“As soon as I can see again, yeah, I can do that.”
“Good, because I really want to nail this son of a bitch.”
Silence crept into the room as they both became lost in their own thoughts. The memory of the screams emanating from the dolls rose unbidden from her subconscious, making her shiver.
She reached for Varik, eager to feel his touch, to have him banish the screams, and was rewarded with his fingers interlacing with hers. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“For what?”
“I fucked up in front of Morgan. I was stupid.”
“No, you weren’t,” Varik said softly, his body pressing against her knees. “We were both attacked. If you hadn’t followed the possessing entity into the Shadowlands, I might still be there. I don’t have the ability to part the Veil like you.”
“I know.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you could access the Hall of Records?”
She shrugged. “I didn’t think it was that big of a deal. I’m sure there are plenty of others who can do it.”
“No, there aren’t. It’s a rare ability, even rarer than parting the Veil.”
“Dad could do it.”
“I know, that’s why he was—” Varik abruptly stopped speaking and pulled away from her.
“Why he was what?” Alex reached for him and found only dead air. “For that matter, how did you know my father? He was just a history professor.” She felt pressure on her legs as he returned and laid his hands on her thighs.
“You know how close-knit the vampire community is in Louisville,” he said and she could hear the smile in his voice. He traced lazy patterns on top of her jeans, sending small electric pulses through her body. “The same was true back then. Bernard had a reputation for being a great professor. It was my job to know certain things about prominent members of the community.”
She stopped the motion of his hands, and his fingers entwined with hers. “That’s it?”
“That’s it,” he echoed and then chuckled. “Would I lie to you?”
“In a fucking heartbeat.”
“Only if it was in your best interests.”
“Or yours.”
“Remember our conversation in the Shadowlands about trust?”
“I remember it, but I know you, Varik. You keep secrets like some people keep houseplants. Your brain is a greenhouse for lies and half-truths.”
“At least I’m honest about it.”
Alex sighed and leaned forward, striking her nose against his shoulder. Hissing in pain, she pulled back and fought to restrain the tears that threatened to spill over. “Damn it! How the hell am I supposed to do anything when I can’t fucking see?”
Varik removed her sunglasses and his gentle hands cupped her face. The blood-bond pulsated and warmed as Varik’s voice slipped into her thoughts.
You let me help you
.
A clear image formed in her mind. She saw herself—hair tangled, face streaked with dust, and clothes rumpled—sitting on a gurney. Seen through Varik’s point of view, it was disorienting at first when he looked around the room. Bandages, gauze, and tape littered a rolling tray near the door. Gray cabinets hung on pale blue cinder-block walls. Then he focused on her once more.
Alex smirked and saw the action mirrored by the image in her head. “This is like watching yourself on live television. It’s freaking me out.”
“I can help with that, too.” The image faded as Varik closed the bond’s connection. “You just need to relax.”
Excitement pulsed through her body as his lips found hers. Her hands slipped around his neck and her fingers curled in his shortened hair while his arms encircled her waist. She parted her legs to allow him to step forward, pressing close.
His hands slid down her back to cup her bottom and pulled her even closer. Their natural scents of jasmine and vanilla, sandalwood and cinnamon swirled around them and enticed them to explore their desire.
A new vision, one born of fantasy, pushed its way into her mind. Muscles in her lower abdomen contracted in anticipation and she gasped.
Varik chuckled and kissed the scar on her neck.
See what you’ve been missing by ignoring me all day?
I haven’t been ignoring you. We were working
.
You’ve avoided me, avoided this
. He nibbled her earlobe, teasing it with his fangs.
Coherent thought faltered and fled before his pleasurable onslaught. She wrapped her legs around him and shivered as his fangs grazed her neck.
I want you
. His hand edged under her shirt, tracing her jean’s waistband and prickling her flesh.
Alex giggled.
You
do
realize we’re still technically on duty
.
He leaned forward, gently pushing her onto the bed. One hand remained at the small of her back while the other left a trail of tingling fire over her ribs and cupped her breast. His lips reclaimed hers.
Fuck duty
.
Raised voices in the hallway made them pause, and a knock on the door forced them apart. One voice outside rose above the others and Varik groaned. “Your brother’s here.”
Alex sat up, smoothing her clothing. She sensed Varik moving to her side as the door opened and an intoxicating mix of new scents mingled with hers and Varik’s. Her nostrils flared as she replaced her sunglasses, and she recognized the fragrance of musk and cloves Stephen possessed, her mother’s natural perfume of lilac and lavender, and the spicy ginger and sage combination that was Damian.
The air vibrated with the intensity of their emotions. Fear, sadness, and concern washed over her followed by anger. Alex shrank from them, seeking to find a refuge from the emotional storm that assaulted her.
Varik’s weight on the bed beside her and the protective
arm that snaked around her waist reassured her. She leaned into him, letting the aura of calm he projected encompass her.
“Oh, honey.” Emily’s voice was heavy with the bulk of the fear and sadness Alex sensed. Her hands smoothed Alex’s hair away from her face. “Damian told me what happened.”
Alex grabbed her mother’s hands, guiding them away from her head. “I’m okay, Mom. It’s not as bad as it sounds. I was really fucking stupid, that’s all.”
“Nonsense,” her mother said and Alex could hear the half-smile in her voice. “You were doing your job. These things happen. I’m just glad you’re all right.”
“These things seem to be happening a lot more often now that
he’s
in town,” Stephen grumbled from across the room.
Alex felt Varik stiffen and the carefully constructed bubble of calmness around her popped. “Varik had nothing to do with this. We were attacked.”
“Which wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t dragged you into the case.”
“He asked for my help.”
“He’s a fucking Enforcer, or at least claims to be. Let him deal with it himself.”
“Oh, grow up, Stephen.”
“That’s enough, both of you,” Emily scolded. “Stephen, now is not the time for you to launch into an anti-Varik campaign. If you can’t calm yourself, then you can wait outside in the car.”
“Why is everyone determined to defend this guy?” Anger and frustration carried Stephen’s voice into a higher octave. “For that matter, why aren’t
you
defending yourself? Why are you hiding behind my sister and mother?”
“I’m not hiding,” Varik said softly. “I’m showing respect.”
“Respect?” Stephen laughed. “How is letting them fight your battles respectful?”
“Firstly, I haven’t killed you. Yet.”
“You son of a—”
“Knock it off,” Alex growled. “Either beat the shit out of each other—right here, right now—or get the fuck over it because I’m tired of listening to your pissing contest every time you’re in the same fucking room.”
“Language, Alexandra,” her mother hissed.
“Sabian’s right,” Damian said, silencing everyone. “We’ve got a body to identify and a missing girl to find. This isn’t the time for you two to be comparing dick sizes.”
Varik’s hand brushed against Alex’s back and his voice filtered into her thoughts.
Mine’s bigger
.
Stop it
.
I’m just saying, but then again you’ve—
Alex elbowed his ribs and was satisfied to hear a sharp grunt.
“None of this even matters, anyway,” Stephen said. The direction of his voice changed as he spoke. “There’s no way you can keep working.”
Alex turned her head, following the sound movements. “Like hell I’m going to stop now.”
“You
cannot
be serious,” Stephen sneered.
“As a damn heart attack.”
“How can you possibly work? You can’t fucking see!”
“Not with my
eyes
, but I see just fine in other ways.”
Stephen snarled in frustration. “Mom, talk some sense into her.”
“What would you have me do?” Emily asked softly. “She’s a grown woman. She can make her own decisions.”
“Damian?” Stephen asked. “You’re her commanding officer. Surely you don’t expect her to return to duty.”
The silence that followed was menacing in the way it cloaked the room. Finally, Damian spoke.
“Normally I would agree with you and tell her to go home,” he said. His tone switched to a more formal cadence as he continued. “However, given the present circumstances of the Mindy Johnson case and with the upcoming Tribunal inquiry, I expect Enforcer Alexandra Sabian to fulfill her duties as best she can and in whatever capacity she is able.”
She released her held breath in a slow exhale. By using her title and full name, he had made his statement an official decree. Although her duties in the field would obviously be curtailed due to her physical limitations, he wasn’t going to send her home.
“This is bullshit,” Stephen spat. He grabbed Alex’s shoulders. “Listen to me—”
“Let go,” Alex said through clenched teeth.
His grip tightened. “No, you’re going to listen to me for once, damn it!”
“Stephen, I’m warning you.”
“Don’t do this. Just walk away from it, all of it.”
“I can’t do that.”
“
Yes
, you can.”
“What about Mindy Johnson? Can she walk away? Can her family?”
“That’s not fair, and you know it.”
“I understand your concern, Stephen, but like Damian said, there’s a missing girl whose life is in danger. If I can do something,
anything
, to help find her, then that’s what I have to do.” She laid her hands over his and gently pulled them away.
“I don’t want to stand over my baby sister’s grave.”
“We’re not kids anymore. You can’t protect me from all the bullies.”
“I can try,” he growled.
Varik’s arm tightened possessively around her waist.
“And what will you do?” she asked. “Beat up anyone who says something negative about me?”
“Of course not, but—”
“What about the Tribunal? Are you going to take them on as well?”
“You’re blowing this out of proportion.”
“Am I? You’re throwing barbs at Varik every chance you get because of what happened in Louisville. Did you even once stop to consider that maybe he and I have worked past that, and maybe I
want
him to be a part of my life?”
The bond pulsed with Varik’s surprise and excitement even though he remained still beside her.
“He’s going to hurt you again,” Stephen said.
“You don’t know that, and I can’t keep denying the fact that he and I are bond-mates.” Another ripple of emotion jolted the bond. “Regardless of what kind of relationship we had in the past or may have in the future, the bond remains the same. The past can’t be changed. I have to accept that, and so do you.”
A moment of tense silence was followed by the sound of boots on linoleum and the door scraping open.
“I don’t have to accept a damn thing,” Stephen said from the doorway. “Not when it concerns that asshole.”
The door’s hydraulics hissed as it shut. Alex hung her head and sighed, lost in a quagmire of confusing thoughts and emotions. The scent of lavender and lilacs and a gentle hand on her arm lifted her head.