She hurried inside, just in case Sarah decided to hire a living, breathing human being, and locked herself in. The suite was silent. She’d been here alone before. Plenty of times. But now the quiet was eerie. Spooky. Unsettling. She made a beeline for her office and hit the power button on her radio, filling the space with the sound of the B-52s’ “Love Shack.” Instantly, her mood lifted.
Feeling much less uneasy, she plopped into her chair and flipped open the file sitting on her desk. The tab on the file read
SARAH GRAY
. The sticky glued to the front was from Max. He said he’d found only the basics so far. She decided to flip through it anyway.
Right away, she was glad she did.
Name.
Date of birth.
Mother’s name.
Father’s name.
It was that last one that made Mandy’s heart jump.
Father’s name: Bruce Reeves.
That could be no coincidence.
Sarah had told her her father’s name was Dave Gray. Supposedly, he’d died many years ago. Cancer. If what Max had found was true, Sarah had lied about her father’s identity.
Some of the puzzle pieces seemed to fall into place.
Why would an innocent person lie about committing a crime? Mandy knew the answer—to protect someone else. Someone important. Someone you loved.
Sarah was willing to go to prison to protect her father.
Her father, the man Mandy had slept with.
Her gag reflex kicked in.
She rushed to the bathroom. To her relief, she didn’t throw up. But she came mighty close. After heaving for a few seconds, she doused her face in cold water. She stared at her reflection in the mirror.
Bruce Reeves wanted her dead. Why? Probably because of Zane.
Zane needed to know.
Mandy wobbled on still-shaky legs back to her office and dialed Zane’s phone number. It rang once, twice, three times ... six times, seven ...
Mandy gave up, slamming the phone back onto the cradle.
It had to be true, she decided as she started pacing back and forth in her office. It made sense. In a sick, disturbing, shocking way, of course.
I need to tell Zane.
He won’t believe me.
Oh, hell.
Mandy picked up her phone again. This time she dialed Max’s cell. He answered on the second ring. It was decided—he’d get a raise ... as soon as Mandy could afford to give him one. “Hey, Max. I need a huge favor,” she said, skipping the whole “Hi, are you busy right now” thing.
“Sure. Anything.”
“I need you to come into the office and dig up some dirt on someone.”
“I don’t need to do that at the office. I can access my computer remotely from home. Go to my desk.”
This man was a freaking genius. Mandy sprinted to his desk and sat.
“Power up my computer,” he told her.
She poked the power button. “Done.”
“Hit the Okay button that pops up on the screen.”
A little box popped up. Mandy clicked the mouse on the button in its center. “Done.”
“Now the magic begins ...” Screens flashed. The mouse curser moved on its own, opening windows. Letters typed, filling in log-in screens. And minutes later, she knew everything there was to know about Bruce Reeves, including the one thing that made every piece of the puzzle fit.
Mandy thanked her brilliant assistant for a job well done. He pshawed it off as “no biggie.” She printed out everything, stuffed it into a tote, and checked outside—still a little daylight left.
It was worth the risk.
She broke a land-speed record—that is, her own personal record—running to her car. She broke a few laws driving to Zane’s. The sky to the west was mostly purple with a few streaks of pink when she pulled up to Zane’s house. She rang the bell, aware of a car rolling up the driveway behind her.
Please, don’t let that be Bruce
. Her heart was pounding so hard she could hear every single beat in her ears as she twisted to look over her shoulder.
Dammit.
She poked the doorbell a second time.
Why wasn’t anyone answering? Where was Zane?
Bruce parked his car next to Mandy’s. His door swung open and his lean body emerged. He tossed her a casual wave, which she returned.
She pasted on a smile. She hoped to God she could pull this off.
“Hey,” he said as he stepped onto the front porch.
“Hey back.” She motioned to the door. “Nobody’s answering.”
“Oh, that’s no problem. I have a key.” Bruce produced a ring from his pocket, slid a key into the lock, and gave it a twist.
So much for Zane’s place being her sanctuary. She’d be no safer here than in a deserted parking lot at midnight. “Great,” she said, following him inside. The lights were off. The place was dark. Where was Zane? Mandy headed straight for the staircase.
“He isn’t up there,” Bruce said from the bottom of the staircase. “He spent the night at
my place
last night.”
Mandy couldn’t be certain, but she could swear Bruce had sneered as he’d said “my place.”
That meant she was alone with the man who wanted her dead. The man who had stood by and watched his daughter take the blame for something he’d done.
Mandy did a one-eighty, trotting down the stairs. “Oh, okay. I guess I can wait for him in the family room. ...” She gave Bruce a wide berth as she turned down the hall that led to the back of the house.
“Good idea.” Bruce’s footfalls
click, click, clicked
on the stone-tiled floor behind her. “I could use a drink,” he said, moving to the refrigerator. “Would you like something?”
Like she’d be so stupid, to accept a drink from him after being drugged by his daughter. “No thanks.” She felt a dark energy coming off Bruce when their gazes met. It made her skin crawl. The corners of his mouth curved up, producing the slightest hint of a smile.
I need to get the hell out of here.
“You seem a little ... jumpy tonight, Amanda.” He uncorked a bottle of wine and poured himself a glass. It was red. Made her think of blood. “Is something wrong?”
“Nope. Work’s just been a little crazy. I’m having a hard time unwinding.”
“Mmmm. I could help you there. If you let me.” He drained his glass, then set it down and came toward her.
She did a quick survey of her surroundings and decided the door to the attached garage was her best bet. Trying not to be too obvious (and no doubt failing miserably), Mandy strolled toward the door, which was at the opposite end of the kitchen. She’d have to get past Bruce to reach it. Would he try to stop her if he knew she was leaving?
“What did you have in mind?” she asked as she moved closer. She aimed for a playful expression. She could tell from his reaction she’d missed her target.
“I think you have some notion.”
“I don’t know what you mean.” She broke into a run, her gaze locked on the door. He didn’t follow her. She yanked it open, and the odor of gasoline and mown grass hit her. Then a huge, dark form lunged at her, hauling her off her feet.
She screamed, but a gloved hand clapped over her mouth, muffling the sound. A thick arm, strong, snaked around her midsection. She kicked. She wriggled. She cried. The attacker carted her to a vehicle parked in the garage, a vehicle that didn’t belong there. A delivery van. The closer she got to the van, the harder she fought. By the time she was being shoved through the open door, she felt like she was going to throw up.
Inside, a second man waited, with restraints ready. Despite Mandy’s frenzied motion, her hands were bound behind her back. Her legs were tied at the knee and ankle. A gag was shoved into her mouth.
Tears streamed from her eyes, blurring her vision.
Bruce poked his head into the van. “I just wanted to tell you it’s nothing personal. The time we shared was great. But I can’t let you take him away.”
She was willing to talk about this. She tried. The gag wouldn’t let her.
Wait! You don’t have to kill me. I’ll let you have Zane. I’ll walk away—for now. I’ll let you think you won ...
The garage door opened with a deep growl. The door lifted. A car’s tires squealed nearby. A low rumbling engine roared up behind the van before it could move.
“What the hell is going on?”
Zane.
Thank God!
“You’re just in time!” Bruce said, sounding breathless. What the hell was he breathless for? He’d done nothing. His goons had done all the hard work. “She attacked me!”
“What? Who?” Zane said.
“Amanda. I let us both into the house, to wait for you, since you were sound asleep still. And she said some shit about not wanting to share you, and the next thing I knew, she clobbered me on the head with the fireplace poker.”
What a fucking liar!
“Who are these guys? Where’d this van come from?”
Mandy jerked at the bindings holding her wrists. If only she could get the gag out, she’d tell Zane the truth. And the truth, unlike Bruce’s lie, would make sense.
The van’s rear door swung open. Mandy’s heart took flight when Zane’s worry-filled gaze met hers. He knew she’d never do such a thing.
“She said something about me attacking her and that’s why she needed to get rid of me,” Bruce said, sounding injured.
She’d give him reason to sound that way soon enough.
She worked her tongue around the gag, trying to push it out of the way. Zane helped her by removing it.
“Amanda?” was all he said.
“He’s lying,” Mandy said first. “Although he is right about me thinking he was the one who attacked me. That much is true. And I have proof!” Where the fuck was her tote bag? She’d had it when she’d gone into Zane’s house.
Zane looked extremely torn and confused. “Untie her,” he barked to the man in the van with her.
“You’re going to let her go? After what she did to me?” Bruce’s voice was low. “She tried to kill me.”
“I need to figure out what the hell is going on here.”
“I’m trying to tell you what’s going on,” Bruce snapped. “She’s jealous because I need you. But I can’t help that. I fucking tried!”
Zane’s expression turned grim. Mandy could see the guilt and regret burning in his dark eyes. That bastard Bruce needed to shut the hell up now.
“He’s twisting it all around, Zane,” she said. “He’s the one trying to get rid of me. And he almost succeeded. Twice.”
“Look at the lump on my head. It’s real.” Bruce pointed to the back of his head.
“
If
there’s a lump—which I highly doubt—he gave it to himself,” Mandy said, unwilling to back down. Zane’s gaze tangled with hers. “Please, Zane. Believe me.”
Zane looked at the van, at the red stripes on her wrists, which she was just noticing, at Bruce’s flushed, strained face. “Dammit. This is all my fault.”
“Don’t blame yourself,” she said. “He’s the one who’s made these terrible choices.”
“No, you’re wrong. It is my fault. Whether it’s you or him who’s being the aggressor, the reason for the problem is me, the shitty decisions I’ve made. I shouldn’t have let one person become my sole source of nourishment—”
“You had no choice!” Bruce yelled. “You were trapped. You would’ve died if you hadn’t fed from me. Once that week had passed, it was too late. You didn’t know I’d become addicted so quickly. You told me that yourself.”
Zane turned his attention back to Mandy. “And I shouldn’t have dragged you into this.” When Mandy tried to interrupt him, he shushed her with a raised hand. “Bruce’s addiction is so bad, he’d probably do anything to protect me. Including kill you. I should’ve realized that sooner.”
“What’s next?” Mandy asked. Clearly, Zane’s idea, about the three of them being together, had to be thrown out. She could walk away, let Bruce have what he needed, and spare herself what was bound to be a complicated relationship. She’d probably save herself a lot of heartbreak. And grief. If only... if only she could drum up the strength to do it.
I’m weak.
Zane’s eyes lifted to Mandy’s once again. “He’ll die without me, but I’ll die without you. What the hell am I going to do?”
28
Z
ane had dialed the number. All he had to do was hit the button and it would be done. He would turn Bruce in to the authorities. He would protect the woman he loved.
And in the process, he would sentence him to death.
“You believe me, don’t you?” Amanda asked for the fifth time. “His story makes no sense whatsoever.”
They were all inside the house now, clustered around the kitchen island. Amanda was alternately glaring at Bruce and lifting pleading eyes to Zane.
He didn’t doubt her. That wasn’t the issue. It was more the notion that he’d created this problem in the first place, and now he was letting someone else clean up the mess if he turned Bruce in to the authorities.
You’re the worst kind of chickenshit if you don’t handle this yourself.
There was another issue to think about. Bruce’s death wouldn’t be swift. It would be slow. Excruciating. Doctors wouldn’t be able to help him. Nobody would.
There’s another solution.
Zane’s gaze met Bruce’s.
How many times had they looked each other in the eye? Thousands? More? This man hadn’t been just a source of nourishment over the years. He’d also been a confidant. A companion. A friend.
“I know you’ll do the right thing,” Bruce said.
Zane had to take some of the blame for him becoming a would-be murderer. It wasn’t entirely Bruce’s fault.
Bruce didn’t deserve to suffer.
Zane knew what he had to do.
“Yes, the right thing.” Zane set down the phone.
“What are you doing?” Amanda asked, sounding slightly panicked.
“It’s okay.” Zane took Bruce’s hand. To Amanda he said, “Wait here.” He and Bruce walked out of the room.
“I knew you’d see through her lies,” Bruce said, his voice laced with confidence as they went upstairs to Zane’s suite.
Zane made no comment about Bruce’s continued lies, recognizing them for what they were—a desperate attempt at preserving his life. Perhaps Zane had become jaded over the years, but he figured most people would lie to save their own ass. Perhaps even Amanda.
Once he had the two of them inside his room, he locked the door. He didn’t want to risk Amanda getting in the way.
“So, are you going to call the police?” Bruce asked, motioning toward the cordless phone sitting on Zane’s dresser. He made himself comfortable on the couch, flinging an arm over the back.
“No, I don’t think that’s the best way to handle this situation.” Zane sat next to Bruce.
Bruce, looking convinced of his own lies, shook his head. “I tell you what, she shocked the hell out of me. She’s so sweet, so innocent. Who would’ve thought she’d attack me out of the blue like that?”
Zane nodded. “You never know what people are capable of.”
“So true.”
“Everyone struggles with the light and dark sides of themselves. The animal within.”
“Sure,” Bruce agreed.
“I do.”
“Yeah?” Bruce looked surprised. “I’ve never seen it, if you have.”
“Sure I have. You have, too.”
Bruce shrugged nonchalantly. “I think I’m okay.”
Zane leaned in, cupped Bruce’s face. That was the chin he’d kissed and nipped a million times over the years. Those were the eyes he’d stared into when he’d been swept into climax. He wove the fingers of his other hand between Bruce’s. Looked down. That was the hand he’d held in times of joy and pain.
Fuck, could he do this?
“Zane, I love you,” Bruce said. “More than my next breath. More than life.”
Get it done. Quickly. Don’t give him time to be afraid. To suffer. You owe him that much.
Zane kissed him. It was a gentle kiss, full of tender emotions. “I love you, too.” He kissed Bruce once more, drawing in his flavor, committing it to memory.
This would be their last kiss. Bruce’s final moment of life. They’d share it, and Zane would do his damnedest to make it sweet.
“I can’t live without you.”
“You won’t have to.” Zane kissed Bruce’s eyelids.
Bruce lifted his free hand to Zane’s face. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Moving swiftly, Zane released Bruce’s hand, cupped the other side of his head, and jerked it to the side, snapping Bruce’s neck.
Zane caught his body as it collapsed, lifeless. He kissed Bruce one last time and looked into eyes that stared blindly but reflected Bruce’s emotions during that final second of life.
There was no fear in their depths. No pain. No anguish. Only love.
Tears of sorrow and guilt blurred Zane’s vision as he sat, cradling the man he’d killed. He didn’t hold back. He let the tears come. The awful, gut-wrenching sadness blasted over him in a series of waves. Vaguely, he heard the knock at the door. But he lacked the strength to walk. With Bruce’s upper body lying over his legs, Zane curled over him and rode out the storm.
Mandy pressed her ear to the door again. Someone was crying. Was it Zane? Or was it Bruce? Maybe Bruce had decided to kill Zane? If he was capable of doing what he had to her, might he be capable of that?
Remember, he hired someone else to do the dirty work.
Mandy knocked. No answer. She pounded harder. “Zane?” she called several times. “Are you okay?” Still no answer. She listened, holding her breath so she could hear better. If that was Zane, he was sobbing harder than she’d ever heard a man cry before. He was in agony. She ran to the nearest bathroom, the guest bathroom. There were hairpins in that one. She grabbed one and ran back to Zane’s door. It was still closed. Locked. She straightened the pin, and within seconds she had the door open.
Zane was sitting on the couch, curled over a limp-looking Bruce. Zane was crying, unaware she was there. Mandy clapped her hands over her mouth to keep from making any sudden loud noises and crept over to him. She set a hand on his shoulder.
He looked up. His eyes were bloodred. His face was blotchy and wet. “He’s gone,” he said.
Mandy wanted to ask what happened, but she couldn’t. “Are you okay? Can I do something?”
He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he stared down at Bruce’s white face. A long minute later, he said, “Tell me you love me, Amanda. Tell me you’ll always love me.”
“I love you, Zane. I’ll always love you.”
He lifted those grief-filled eyes to Mandy’s. It was hard to look into them, to witness such horrible anguish. “I killed him.”
Mandy’s heart jerked in her chest. She felt her lungs squeezing tight, pushing the air out. “You ... ?”
“It was the only way. He would’ve died in prison. A slow death. So much pain. Too much. It was better this way.”
“Oh, God.” Mandy’s knees were like jelly. She crumpled onto a nearby chair. She had just witnessed Zane’s second killing in a short period of time. The first had been pure and simple self-preservation. This one was different.
A mercy killing.
She would have never believed it, but she respected him more for doing what he had.
“I loved him,” he said. “If there’d been a way for me to die instead, to suffer for him ... Fuck. I have no right to live, no right to love. I have no right to your love.” Zane covered his face with his hands. “I’m a fucking animal. A beast. Look what I’ve done.” He gently moved out from under Bruce, standing. He tugged her to her feet and pulled her toward the door. “You need to leave. Now.”
“But—”
“I don’t want you to see any more.” He escorted her down the stairs, to the door. “You’re safe now. Go.”
Oh, hell no.
Somehow, Mandy knew that if she walked out of his house now, she’d never be let inside again.
“You’re wrong.” Mandy took his hands in hers and turned to face him. “You love fiercely. With your heart and soul. I know now, after seeing you like this, grieving for a man you had no choice but to kill, that you aren’t a bloodthirsty beast. You will protect me, yes. But you’ll always think of me first. Just like you did for Bruce. I could never love and respect a man more than I do you. So please tell me ... please ...” A sob tore up her throat.
“Tell you what?”
She took a second to catch her breath. She was on the verge of losing this man, of having her heart ripped from her chest.
“Tell me I can spend the rest of my life in your arms, the rest of my nights at your side.”
Zane groaned. “Amanda—”
“Goddamnit, I love you.”
His gaze dropped. He pulled his hands free and shoved his fingers through his hair.
“You can shove me out the door, Zane, but I’ll be right there, waiting for you to let me back in. I’m not going anywhere. Period. I love you. You need me. You need love. You deserve love.” She blinked. Dammit, she was crying. “I need you.”
“But you deserve so much more—”
“Okay, you’re not the kind of man I’d once pictured myself spending the rest of my life with. I mean, you’re the epitome of the controlling alpha male, and I’m a headstrong, stubborn female. We’re bound to butt heads from time to time. And you’re not even technically a human. But after doing some soul searching, some talking to someone I trust, and even a little crying, I can’t deny the truth. I love you, dark secrets and all. There’s nothing you can say to change that.”
His gaze lifted to hers. He blinked. Then, moving so quickly she was caught off guard, he jerked her to him, gathered her into his arms, and kissed her.
So glad to be in his embrace, to feel his hard length against her, she flung her arms around his neck and kissed him back. She let her lips, her tongue, her body tell him exactly how much she loved him. The message he sent back was just as emotion-filled and heart-touching. He loved her. There was no doubt.
When the kiss was over, he cupped her face and looked down into her eyes. “Be my wife. I want you. Only you. Forever.”
Her heart felt like it had taken flight. Those were the words she’d ached to hear. It was almost too wonderful to believe. She laughed and cried at the same time.
“So, is that a yes or a no?” he asked when she still hadn’t answered after several moments.
“One question.”
“Sure.”
“If I marry you, will you be snacking on me? Or will you be unleashing those fierce-looking fangs on someone else?”
“That is entirely up to you.”
“Good answer.” She flung her arms around his neck and gave him a great big kiss. “My answer is most definitely yes.” This amazing, mysterious, complicated vampire was hers. For the rest of her life. Her master. Her lover. Her fantasy-come-true.