Her Vampire Mate (14 page)

She quickly pushed herself to a stand. In the next few seconds, her body contorted, sprouting fur and morphing into that of a large brown wolf, her fur the same chestnut color as Jennalynn’s hair.

A second vamp raced toward her and she leapt, meeting him in mid-air and knocking him down with the impact.

From his prone position, Antonio could no longer see what was happening with Jennalynn. Then the vamp beside him moaned. Antonio gritted his teeth and reached over to snag the man’s gun out of its holster. He put the gun to the vamp’s forehead and pulled the trigger.

That wouldn’t actually kill a vampire but it would keep him out of the fight. He’d need hours to heal and that’s if he got blood.

Who else could Antonio shoot? He wasn’t a great shot but if the target was close enough he could hit it.

Jennalynn and the vampire she was fighting had moved back into view. The vamp hit at her with lightning speed, landing blows to her head and body. She gave as good as she got, clamping down on his arm and wrenching hard enough that even Antonio could hear his shoulder as it popped out of the joint. The vampire screamed and hit at her head with his free fist.

Antonio wanted to help but they were moving around so much he was afraid he’d shoot her instead of the vamp. Then another vamp walked over from the car carrying an ax. He moved sedately as though he had no need to hurry.

Vicenzo.

Antonio hadn’t seen his sire in several years but if history told him anything, it told him Vicenzo still wanted his head. If he’d had any doubt, Vicenzo showing up with the vampire hit squad would have sealed it. Antonio slid his hand with the gun just slightly under his pant leg so it wouldn’t be visible.

Vicenzo stopped at Antonio’s side, blocking the arm holding the gun. “Not dead yet, eh? You will be soon. But not quite yet. I want to savor this.”

How exactly was he going to pull the gun on Vicenzo? He’d need to roll a little so he could get it out from under the edge of his leg. Shit. Not only was rolling going to hurt like a sonofabitch, he also wasn’t sure he could do it.

“You’ve made my life hell,” Vicenzo said.

“I did nothing. You’re the one who chose to hold a grudge for hundreds of years. You could have let it go long ago.”

“What, and forgive? You must be kidding. You took one of my progeny from me.”

“He wasn’t yours yet. And if you wanted him so badly, maybe you should have told him not to cross the Medici family. He got what was coming to him.”

Vicenzo leaned forward. “Enough. Now you’re going to get what’s coming to you.” He reared back, lifting the ax over his head, aiming for Antonio’s neck.

Antonio ground his teeth together, rolled upward a few inches. He pulled his arm out, aimed for Vicenzo’s chest and fired over and over. Each shot thrust Antonio’s shoulder back into the ground and hurt like hell.

Blood exploded from Vicenzo’s chest. He looked down at it, his arms bending. Then he pushed his arms higher, his face tightening.

Antonio aimed at his head. He hoped Vicenzo wouldn’t drop the ax on him; Antonio wasn’t sure he could get out of the way.

Antonio fired. His first bullet grazed Vicenzo’s cheek, taking a chunk out of his nose. The second hit him below the chin and went straight through his head and out the top.

Vicenzo dropped to his knees, his fingers losing their grip on the ax, which fell to the ground behind him. His body listed to the side and collapsed.

One more enemy down. Jennalynn still struggled with their last attacker but she seemed to be getting the better of him. And Antonio still couldn’t get a shot off for fear of hitting her.

Vicenzo wasn’t dead any more than the other guy Antonio had shot. But they were both out for a good long while. Should Antonio finish him? He could. Vicenzo would never stop coming after him and Antonio sure didn’t have a problem getting his hands dirty. Plus, the ax was right there. The only problem was managing to wield it.

Most of all, now that Antonio had Jennalynn, Vicenzo would come after her too. For that reason more than any other, Antonio couldn’t allow Vicenzo to live.

Jennalynn appeared above him, tongue hanging out of her mouth, traces of blood on her teeth.

“Got him?” Antonio said.

She nodded her head.

Antonio let the gun slide to the ground, his hand with it. He motioned toward Vicenzo with his head. “Meet my sire. I think it’s time his head was separated from his body.”

Jennalynn shifted to human form in one quick, sinuous move and reached for the ax.

“I’ll do it,” he said.

“You can’t even sit up.”

“I should be the one to kill my sire.”

Jennalynn gazed at him for a moment. “Fine. I’ll get you up on your knees and hold you steady. You’ll have to swing the ax.”

“Thanks.”

A couple of minutes later, Antonio knelt by Vicenzo’s body, Jennalynn behind him. He supposed he should feel something right now. For most vampires, a sire-progeny relationship was special. For him, it had been torture from the beginning.

Antonio put his hands over his head and Jennalynn placed the ax in them. He steeled himself and swung, aiming for Vicenzo’s neck.

His first strike didn’t quite do the job, but he felt energized by it. Jennalynn helped him pull the ax free, then Antonio swung again. On the third try, Vicenzo’s head rolled free.

Antonio dropped the ax. “We need to get out of here.”

Jennalynn dressed quickly then picked him up and carried him to the motorcycle. “I’d take the sedan but we don’t want to give them any more of an evidence trail than they’ve already got. If I put you behind me, can you hold on for a few miles? I’ll stop at the closest hotel.”

“I can hold on.” With Jennalynn, he’d hold on forever.

Chapter 13

Jennalynn didn’t want to stay at the hotel for very long, but Antonio needed to heal. As it was, he’d barely managed to stay on the motorcycle for the five miles they’d had to go.

She had laid him in the bed as soon as they’d gotten their room, then she went out to tuck the motorcycle away in as hidden a spot as possible. The last thing they needed was to be found because someone spotted the bike.

Then she returned to the room. Antonio was out cold. They had another two hours until sunrise and relative safety from vampire hit squads. Unfortunately, that also meant they had two hours to move or be stuck here until dark.

She went into the bathroom so she wouldn’t wake Antonio and called Darius.

“Do you know what time it is?” he growled into the phone in lieu of a hello.

“About five a.m. for you. Suck it up. I’ve got trouble.”

“What is it?” His tone had changed as he became the commander and big brother all rolled into one.

She filled him in on their situation. “We might be okay here until dark. At this point, I don’t think we have a choice. He’s not in any shape to go anywhere. But as soon as the sun dips below the horizon, we need to be out of here.”

“You’ll come here.”

“We don’t have the world-walker. I want to try again to reach her.” Neither Antonio nor Jennalynn had given Grace their cell number and Jennalynn couldn’t stop kicking herself about it. They hadn’t expected to get separated. There was supposed to be plenty of time to exchange numbers after they got to the safe house. And for assuming they were safe, Jennalynn lost the world-walker and had no way to get in contact with her.

“Not right now. It’s too hot. If you go back again, you’ll have a hell of a lot more backup. But right now you two need to get on as early a flight as possible and get to Connecticut.”

She couldn’t agree more. As much as she hated leaving the world-walker job dangling, they nearly got killed and the vampires wouldn’t stop. Retreat and regroup. Good plan. “I’ll set up a flight and text you the info. I guess I’ll have to pack up my stuff.”

“I’ve been thinking about that. We can’t have a vampire in the Holding. I know you know that. But there’s no reason you can’t live in Wethersfield and continue your duties in the pack. As long as that works for your mate.”

“You’d let me keep my rank?”

“I don’t want to lose a lieutenant as capable as you are. Besides, you’re my sister.”

“Don’t give in just because we’re family.”

“I’m not. But think about what you’re saying—if we don’t take care of family, what good are we?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “Send the flight info to Killion and Cael, too. We’ll make sure someone’s there to pick you up.”

“I’ll arrange for a hotel room in Wethersfield, too. For now.”

“Sounds good. Stay safe. Call me if anything else comes up.”

“I will.”

They hung up.

She hadn’t expected that. Keep her rank and her duties? Sure, it would suck to not live at the Holding anymore—it had been her home since she was born. But she could live with that. At least this way she wouldn’t have to give up everything.

As long as they could get out of Chicago in one piece, life was looking pretty good.

***

By nightfall, Jennalynn had made all the arrangements and gotten some sleep, and Antonio had healed quite a bit better than she’d expected. They checked out and retrieved the motorcycle, stopping briefly at a big box store to get some clothes that weren’t covered in blood. Might be tough getting through the TSA Checkpoint like that.

Jennalynn had gotten them an evening flight and they made it just in time with no sign of the vampires. No sign of the world-walker, either. Jennalynn kept wondering if Grace would show herself, considering the sweet deal they’d offered her. At the same time, Jennalynn and Antonio were lying low and Grace wouldn’t know where to find them. She kicked herself yet again for not giving Grace her number. Even knowing that Grace couldn’t find them, Jennalynn felt disappointed when they boarded the plane and she hadn’t shown.

They both slept on the plane and before they knew it, they landed in Connecticut. When they left the secure area of Bradley Airport, Jennalynn saw Darius and Killion standing front and center waiting for them. Figures her brothers would want to meet her mate. She reached over and took Antonio’s hand. “You’re about to meet the North American Pack Alpha and his second.”

“Your brothers are here?” If he weren’t a vampire, she might have thought he looked a little pale.

“Don’t worry, they won’t kill you. They’d never hurt me that way.”

“These are the brothers who suggested locking me in your dungeon, right?”

She didn’t answer because at that point they’d reached her two hulking siblings, both with their arms crossed over their chests to make their muscles look bigger.

“That’s right,” Darius said. “She tells us you’re on board with being her mate. Just remember, if you ever step out of line, the dungeon is always an option.”

“Stop,” she said. “This is Antonio de Marco. Antonio, these are my brothers Darius and Killion.” She motioned to them in turn.

After everyone had shaken hands and they’d established that Jennalynn and Antonio had no checked luggage, the group headed for the parking lot.

“Will the vampires be after you?” Killion asked Antonio.

“More to the point, will they endanger Jennalynn?” Darius said.

“How long will it be until you accept Antonio?” Jennalynn said.

Darius shrugged. “Shouldn’t take more than a few decades.”

Right.

Antonio slipped his arm around Jennalynn’s waist. “To answer your question, probably, yes. The Vampire Council will want my head.”

“Then we need to do something about that,” Darius said. “Killion, you drive.”

As soon as they got into the car, Darius pulled out his phone and dialed. “I’d like to speak to Jacques Amirault. Tell him it’s Darius Bishop.”

A half a minute passed before he spoke again.

“No, it isn’t. I wanted to let you know that Antonio de Marco is under my protection. If you harm him, it will lead to war.”

He paused.

“He’s the mate of my fourth.” Darius turned to look at Jennalynn and Antonio in the backseat. “He’s my brother-in-law.”

This time, the pause was much longer.

“Just so we understand each other,” Darius said. A moment later, he hung up. “He wasn’t happy. But he’ll keep his hands off you.”

“Thank you,” both Antonio and Jennalynn said at the same time.

“Not a problem. It’s worth a phone call to keep my fourth in fighting condition.”

Jennalynn knew for all his bravado, Darius had done it for her. Not as his fourth, but as his sister. She also knew he wouldn’t want his soft-heartedness revealed in front of the brother-in-law he didn’t yet know if he could trust. So she kept quiet and planned to give him a hug in private.

Half an hour later, Darius and Killion deposited them at the hotel in Wethersfield.

“Are you sure you don’t want to get dinner?” Killion said.

“Tomorrow night, promise,” Jennalynn said. “Tonight we just need to rest and try to recuperate.”