Stake and Dust (Stake and Dust series, Book I) (21 page)

He glanced at her, those all so blue eyes
studying her as he halted their steps once more. She buried her
hands in her coat pockets. Despite wearing gloves, she was a tad
bit chilled.

He gripped the collar of her jacket and
pulled her closer. "Did you know decorating a tree is a pagan
ritual? It was believed each tree had a 'tree' spirit attached to
it. So chopping down a tree seems… cruel."

Her brows furrowed, but before she could
dwell too long on his words, he leaned in and captured her lips. It
didn't take too much coaxing for her to relax. She stepped into his
embrace and pressed her body to his.

She didn't care about Christmas when she was
with him. She didn’t care about anything. The troubles of the world
seemed to melt away. An illusion? Most likely, but when she had
Tremayne at her side, when it came time to face the demons –
literally and figuratively speaking – she knew he'd have her back
and she'd have his.

When they came up for air, his lips curved.
"If you want me to drag a Christmas tree home, I will."

She chuckled. "Will you let me put a Santa
Claus blowup on your lawn, too?"

"Now, you're pushing it," he said as he
lifted his phone from his pocket. "Sorry, it's work."

"No worries. I'll just look for that tree
we're taking back to your place."

She'd only taken a few steps, but stopped
cold at the sound of Tremayne's voice. Something was terribly
wrong.

"You bastard," he hissed. "You better not
harm them or I'll kill you. Of this I promise."

She strode over to him.

"Are you there. Dammit," he cursed as he
stared at his phone. Obviously, whomever he'd been talking to had
ended the call.

"What's going on?" she asked. She'd never
seen Tremayne so angry.

"He has them."

"Who?" she asked.

"Gunthorn is at Eternal Bliss. He's cleared
out the place, but he's holding Morris and Georgina hostage."

"Oh God, no." She covered her mouth. She'd
been so happy, she'd forgotten all about Gunthorn. "I thought the
GOJ were on it?"

"They are, but apparently Gunthorn's been
clever enough to avoid capture."

"What does he want?" she asked and dreaded
the answer.

"His trophies."

Chapter Thirty

Tremayne had no one to blame but himself.
While he was playing human, Gunthorn had been stalking their every
move, but he'd been too preoccupied with courting Cassandra to
realize they were in danger.

"We'll give him what he wants," Cassandra
said. "It's not worth Morris and Georgina's—"

They're already dead," Tremayne said.

She shook her head. "You don't know
that."

"Don't I?" He met her gaze.

Her hand rested on his forearm. "No, you
don't. We have to play this smart. We can do this."

He shook his head, but she was
persistent.

"You said it before, he wouldn't leave town
without his souvenirs he's collected from each of his kills. He
knows he won't get what he wants if he kills Morris and
Georgina."

"Maybe," he said and felt a boost of
confidence that she might be right.

"We need a plan," she said. "Are you with me,
partner?"

A half an hour later they had a plan. Would
it work? He had no idea, but to do nothing was out of the
question.

Are you with me, partner?
Tremayne
thought of Cassandra's words as he stood across the way from
Eternal Bliss. If she only knew. Her partner rested at the bottom
of the ocean, but he couldn't dwell on it now. He had to focus.
Lives depended on him, and he couldn't enter his pub as a hunter.
He had to enter it as Oiche Sith, or they were all dead.

He had every intention of telling Cassandra
the truth. He just hadn't planned on it coming out this way.

He glanced at his phone as the text from
Cassandra flashed on his screen:
I'm in position.

Fifteen seconds later, he strode into the pub
with his hands up to signify he was unarmed. A formality, since
Gunthorn would know he didn't need a weapon. He was the weapon if
he used his vampire strength.

He took in the situation. Morris and Georgina
had their hands bound, and each had a noose secured around their
necks as they balanced themselves on the backrest of a chair
appointed to them. Gunthorn stood to the side with the other end of
the ropes wound around his waist. If Tremayne made a move to drop
Gunthorn, the vamp's weight would lift Morris and Georgina off
their feet.

"So glad you could make it," Gunthorn said.
"I was just getting to know your employees."

Georgina's eyes were wide with fear. A tear
slid down her face, but she didn't cry out. Morris looked roughed
up, and Tremayne had a hunch he tried to fight off Gunthorn, for
what little it did.

"They're brave," Gunthorn said. "No wonder
you like these humans so much."

"Let them go," Tremayne demanded.

"Thought we had a deal," Gunthorn said as his
gaze slid over him. "But I don't see you carrying anything? Where
are my trophies?" His voice turned cold.

"Cassandra is retrieving them."

"Don't play me for a fool, Tremayne," he said
and backed up one step. Georgina and Morris started choking, their
eyes wide as they tried to find their footing and couldn't.

"Stop. I'm telling you the truth. We don't
carry the trophies in our pockets."

Gunthorn seemed to consider this a second and
then slowly moved a step forward. Georgina and Morris found their
footing once more. They coughed to catch their breaths.

"Sit," Gunthorn demanded, and Tremayne pulled
out a chair. "Lorelei wanted you dead," Gunthorn continued. "I can
understand why now." When he didn't answer, Gunthorn added, "Don't
you want to know why?"

"Not particularly," Tremayne said.

"I'll tell you anyway. You don't play by the
rules."

"That's rich, coming from you."

"Preternatural rules," he said. You've lived
among the humans so long, you've forgotten what it means to be a
vampire." He chuckled. "Your girlfriend doesn't even know, does
she?"

She probably did now since she'd made her way
in through the back and was most likely contemplating her move as
Gunthorn yammered on, but he remained silent.

"How good of a hunter could she be?" Gunthorn
asked. "I mean, she can't even sniff out a vampire right under her
–"

Gunthorn didn't have a chance to finish his
statement. Cassandra leapt over the bar with her sword, slicing
through the rope and severing Gunthorn's hold on the hostages.

Gunthorn stood rooted for a moment, in
stupefied shock at being duped. Tremayne didn't waste any time. He
flitted toward Gunthorn, his dagger slicing the vampire's neck.

Gunthorn clutched his throat, but he wouldn't
be able to heal fast enough. The dagger had been one of Cassandra's
weapons, iron based, and Tremayne buried it deep inside the
vampire's black heart.

Gunthorn fell to the ground, his limbs frozen
in place as he bled out.

With the immediate threat neutralized, he
glanced behind him to find Cassandra had freed Morris and Georgina.
He strode over to his employees and ignored the pain in his chest
when Cassandra backed away from him. Her expression as she stared
at him, hurt worse than if she'd staked him, but he couldn't worry
about what she was thinking right now. He had a hunch it bordered
on ending his life along with Gunthorn's, but first things
first.

Morris had gathered a sobbing Georgina in his
arms, and they huddled together in fear and confusion.

"Look at me," he demanded Morris and Georgina
to comply. His tone of authority and determination drew the
couple's attention. "You will forget what happened," he told them
and fabricated a plausible story for them to believe as the truth.
He ended with: "You cleaned up and went home after a lovely night."
He'd kept it simple. They'd already been through too much and he
didn't want the glamour to cause any ill effects.

"We had a lovely night," the two said in
unison.

"Now go home," he told them.

The two turned away and headed for the front
door. He turned toward Cassandra who had finished off Gunthorn. He
was only a pile of ash now.
Good riddance, you limey
bastard.

"Are you going to glamour me, too?" Cassandra
scoffed, but her eyes, her beautiful, pain stricken eyes, glistened
with tears. She was angry and hurt and he couldn't blame her. He
hadn't meant to deceive her, but not revealing who he truly was,
had been the worse kind of betrayal.

"Please, let me explain." He took a step
toward her, but she sidestepped with her sword pointed toward him.
He stilled his actions. "It's me, Cassandra. It's still me."

She shook her head. "I don't know who you
are." She kept backing away. Every step taking her farther away
from him, from what they shared, but he was powerless to stop her.
"Don't follow me," she warned. "Don't ever come near me again. If
you do, I'll kill you." She whirled away and was out the back
door.

She left him alive, but her parting words
were like dagger blows to the heart, leaving him dead inside.

Chapter Thirty-One

"What did you expect?" Bram asked as he
handed Tremayne a glass filled with wine and blood.

As soon as Cassandra had left he rang Bram
and Sheerin to meet him at Eternal Bliss. "I expected her to listen
to what I had to say. I told her I loved her. I meant it. I know
she meant it when she told me she loved me, too."

"Before or after you revealed you were a
vampire?" Sheerin asked.

He pursed his lips. "Before eejit."

Sheerin lifted his shoulders in a shrug. "I'm
not the one lying about who I am and proclaiming love to a sworn
enemy."

Tremayne leaned against the back counter and
breathed deep. "As much as I'd like to wipe that smug look off your
face, Sheerin, you're right. I'm the bloody fool."

"She did leave you standing," Sheerin
offered. "I'm baffled as to why?"

"She might come back to finish the job
later," Bram said.

Tremayne shook his head. "She won't."

Bram and Sheerin exchanged looks that clearly
stated they thought he'd gone mental. Maybe he had, but he knew
Cassandra had feelings for him. Her touch, the way she kissed him,
and the way her green eyes lit up when she talked to him… No, those
emotions couldn't have been an act, but she'd let him in because
she believed he was a hunter, like her. He'd deceived her into
believing he was, but only in name, only in profession. He'd been
himself. He'd given himself in the relationship. Only she didn't
know it. She'd believed all of it had been a lie.

"Do you want me to follow her?" Bram
asked.

"What?" He glanced at Bram. "No. Let her be.
I'd say she's gone already anyway." His voice choked and he cleared
his throat. "It's approaching daylight. We best be off."

"You should stay with Adryanna and me
tonight," Bram offered. Plenty of room and Adryanna would love to
see you. You've haven't been by the house in a long time."

As much as he wanted to believe Cassandra
would not come after him, he should play it safe for at least a few
nights. "Just for tonight," he said, not wanting to impose. "I'll
text my housekeeper to look in on Shakespeare."

Tremayne knew first hand how a woman scorned
could be dangerous. Lorelei had been proof enough and they had
never been in love. He'd fallen for Cassandra, and he was pretty
sure when she told him she loved him, she meant it. Didn't mean she
wouldn't change her mind and end his miserable life.

"We'll wait for you out front while you close
up," Sheerin said and glanced at Bram with meaning. Bram frowned,
but rose from his seat to follow Sheerin outside.

"What was that about?" Bram asked as soon as
they exited Eternal Bliss.

"Take Tremayne home," Sheerin said. "I'll go
by the hunter's hotel room, just to see what she's up to."

"Do you think that is wise?" Bram asked.
"She'll be looking for trouble and I don't want her to take out her
aggressions on you."

"Do you believe we shouldn't find out what
she's about?" he countered. "Just because Tremayne fell hard for
the hunter, doesn't mean she felt the same toward him. She may have
let him go for now because her way of thinking has been rattled.
Mark my words, she'll rethink her time with Tremayne, and when she
does, she may be pissed off enough to retaliate. Also keep in mind,
Tremayne dumped Mr. Green's body. Don't you think she'll want to
know what happened to the real hunter?"

"I agree we should be cautious because she's
been hurt by Tremayne's lies, but as much as I'd like to refute
this claim, I've seen the hunter with our cousin. She was
smitten."

"Hmm…" Sheerin tapped his chin. "Perhaps you
are right. I've seen them together also. Perhaps not all is lost.
Maybe we can arrange a meeting on neutral ground so they can hash
things out."

"I doubt Cassandra Hayes will agree to such a
thing," Bram said with a tired sigh. "We're her enemy or so she's
been raised to believe. And one of our kind has tricked her even if
it wasn't intentionally."

"Oh aye, nothing we can do about that, but
she hasn't decided what she feels about Tremayne. I believe it's
why she didn't dust him. Let's force her hand and make her see the
truth behind the façade."

"Are you suggesting we become matchmakers?"
Bram said with a raised brow, but his eyes sparkled with
mischief.

"It worked for you, didn't it?"

Bram chuckled. "You did not have a hand in
finding me a mate."

"No? Who came up with the idea to save your
mate so she didn't succumb to the blood loss after your blooding
ritual? Who devised a plan for you and Adryanna to be ushered out
of Graystone upon her awakening, so you would have a future? A
future, I might add that you are still enjoying."