Deadly Liaisons

  But the woman was a huntress, and he couldn’t force her to reveal anything she didn’t want to.

  Tezra’s back grew rigid and she said through clenched teeth, “Tell me where Katie is, Mrs. Sargento. The vampire who’s after me could very well be targeting her now.”

  Tears dribbled down the older woman’s cheeks. “I…oh, Patrico. If he got involved… I-I told him not to do this. I warned him the vampire… Oh, what has he done?”

  “He apparently wanted to protect my sister,” Tezra said, but from the way she was scowling and the tone of her words, Daemon didn’t believe she truly felt Patrico stole Katie away from the facility for her own safety.

  Tezra folded her arms and looked even more cross. “But I fear Patrico has only made it worse for Katie. Please, tell me where he is.”

  Mrs. Sargento reached out and touched her hand. “You’re not one of them?”

  “No. I just need to make sure my sister remains safe from the likes of the vampire who murdered our parents.”

  The woman chewed on the inside of her cheek, then let out her breath. “He’ll be here in about an hour. He didn’t mean any harm.”

  “I only want my sister back.” Tezra’s voice attempted to appease but had a sharp edginess.

  Daemon relayed the word to his vampire companions, proud Tezra could move the woman to tell the truth without violence when he couldn’t entice her with his vampiric abilities. Now to confront Patrico.

  Having a hard time believing Patrico was truly alive after all these years, Tezra stared at Mrs. Sargento.

  “Is he coming here with Katie?” Hope instantly renewed. A chilly breeze played with her hair, but as angry as she was, she didn’t imagine even sitting in the middle of a frozen iceberg would cool her down. On top of that, she felt like her stomach was still back at Daemon’s house, or maybe at the hospital before that. The constant transporting was making her discombobulated.

  “I don’t know.” The woman looked at the porch.

  “Does anyone else realize your son is alive?”

  The elderly woman shook her head. “They think he’s dead.”

  Tezra took a breath of relief, glad the SCU wasn’t in on some cover-up.

  “Are we finished here, Tezra?” Daemon asked. He seemed anxious to leave.

  She nodded. “We need to return before the hour is up though.”

  “Most assuredly.”

  “If you think to warn your son that we’ve been here, remember this, Mrs. Sargento. The vampire is after me, and most likely my sister now too. We’re the best chance Patrico has against the menace. I doubt the killer will let Patrico escape unharmed again.”

  “Yes.” Mrs. Sargento wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her sleeve. “I-I imagine what you say is true, dear. I’m-I’m so sorry about your sister and you. Believe me. I only wanted my son to remain alive.” She turned and headed into her home. “I’m so sorry.”

  Mrs. Sargento shut the door behind her, and the lock clicked.

  “Will she warn Patrico?” Daemon asked, his voice worried.

  “I don’t think so. He can’t just get rid of Katie now—at least I don’t think he would be capable of doing anything so cowardly as that. And I truly believe Mrs. Sargento feels we’ll protect her son from Krustalus.”

  “Still, I wish I could have wiped her mind of our visit. It would have made things simpler, more secure.” Daemon wrapped his arms around Tezra and held her close, his warmth like a blanket on an icy day. “My home,” he ordered Atreides, Maison and Voltan.

  This time she tensed for the next wave of discomfort.

  When they arrived in his greatroom, Tezra collapsed on the nearest sofa. Unable to stand, she tried to hide her physical distress while Daemon sat beside her. Dizzier than before, she took a moment to focus on her surroundings.

  “We’ll return within the hour. It was too risky for us to wait around, but in the meantime, I need to know more about your dealings with Krustalus, Tezra. You said he’d been murdering humans and you overheard his telepathic communications?” Daemon asked.

  Everyone observed her as if she were on trial, making her skin prickle with annoyance. “I heard him speaking to someone about the killings. Until I told him I was listening.” And she hated herself every day for the stupid thing she’d done.

  “What was the pattern of the killings?” Daemon took her hands and gently massaged them.

  The friction helped to chase away the chill in her fingers but did nothing for her queasy stomach. She took a deep breath, hating to relive the murders she’d kept alive in her memories so she could catch the murderer. “The victims were killed two weeks apart.” Exasperated, she pulled her hands free from Daemon. “What has this got to do with Patrico absconding with my sister?”

  “What tie would the police officers have with the vampire?” Daemon asked.

  Tezra wrapped her arms around herself. “I keep thinking maybe they killed his vampire friend.”

  Atreides swore under his breath. “Like the police officers killed our uncle.”

  Tezra glanced at him and saw the anger in his eyes. Hell, the way he looked, he could have been a rogue himself.

  Daemon growled at him. “They made a fatal mistake, but we don’t kill policemen in retaliation.”

  Then a new thought occurred to her and a chill centered in her spine and radiated outwards. “When did your uncle die?”

  “Six weeks ago.”

  Not liking the coincidence, she swallowed hard, but nothing would ease the dryness of her throat. “The timing is right for the recent police killings. What if the killer murdered them because he was a friend of your uncle’s and sought vengeance? Do you know which policemen killed your uncle?”

  “No. Afraid of retaliation, the police department withheld the names, and since Uncle Solomon is my relation and I’m the head of the family, it was left up to me to learn of them. I felt there was no need. We do not kill humans to avenge our kind when the case was purely an accident. But now…” Daemon’s voice was terse, his eyes black as a river at night. “Maison, find out which officers killed Uncle Solomon.”

  “I’ll check into it,” Maison said and vanished.

  Tezra’s cell phone jingled, and her heart leapt into her throat. She looked at the Caller ID, but the name and number were unlisted. “Hello?”

  “It’s me, Bernard.” His voice was again gruff. Same old Bernard, and she was relieved to hear him sounding like his old self.

  “What’s up, Bernard?” If he was calling, it couldn’t be good.

  “You have to turn yourself in,” he said, serious as could be.

  “Turn myself in?” She faked a laugh. “I’m investigating a murderer, and I have to turn myself in?” Telepathically, she slipped a message to him. “Why didn’t you tell me you had a vampire grandfather?” She didn’t mean to sound accusing, but did he believe she would think ill of him because he didn’t have pure blood?

  Then again, she’d been pretty untrusting of vampires after Krustalus killed her parents.

  “H-how can you telepathically communicate to me?” he asked.

  “Are hunters listening to our telephone conversation?”

  “They’ve tapped my phone.”

  “I’ve already told Julie I’m safe,” Tezra assured Bernard over the phone. “Don’t worry about me. If I try to leave the safe house, the murderer will track me down. You were right. I’m offering myself as the bait. We’ll get him soon.”

  “Dammit, Tezra. Dammit to hell!”

  Now that was the Bernard she knew.

  “You can’t go offering yourself up like some damned sacrificial goat.”

  “Goat, as in stubborn? Lamb sounds sweeter.”

  He growled.

  “I’ve learned Patrico’s alive, and he’s taken my sister hostage.”

  For a minute, Bernard didn’t say anything, and Tezra thought they’d been cut off. Then he cleared his throat and said, “The SCU has issued a warrant for your arrest, stating th
at you’ve been turned and are in league with the criminal element.” Again, a significant pause ensued, then he added telepathically, “And dammit, Tezra, Patrico’s dead. Everyone knows that.”

  “I haven’t been turned, and I’m after the criminals!” Though if she could change Daemon’s mind, Tezra had every intention of being turned. “And for your information, Patrico apparently doesn’t know he’s dead! The hospital administrator verified he took Katie.”

  Daemon ran his hand over her hair and kissed the nape of her neck. “Are you certain Bernard can be trusted?”

  Tezra covered the mouthpiece. “My gut instinct tells me yes.”

  “Yet you willingly went with him when I sent him for you,” Atreides warned. A superior smirk crossed his face.

  She scowled at him, but Bernard distracted her. “If you haven’t been turned, how can you communicate with me like this?”

  “I can’t explain right now. I hope to catch up with Patrico soon, but if something happens and I miss him, can you find out anything about him?” To give the hunters listening in on their phone conversation something to overhear, she added, “Tell Julie I’ll be in to the office soon.”

  “I’ll let her know you said so. Take care, Tezra.” Bernard again channeled his thoughts to her. “I’ll find out what I can about Patrico. He’ll wish he was still dead if he’s harmed Katie in any way. You can count on it.”

  “Thanks, Bernard.” Tezra spoke to him privately. “Be careful. I’m not sure who can be trusted.”

  The phone clicked off, and she worried whether she should have put her trust in Bernard, given that the SCU wanted her in custody now. She knew all Bernard ever cared about was her safety, and if he didn’t believe she was safe, he might relay to the SCU Council everything she had revealed to him.

  How could the SCU want her in custody? Well, not like they hadn’t pulled stuff like that before in the name of state security. Give someone a little bit of authority and—

  “I’ll wait near Mrs. Sargento’s house and let you know when Patrico arrives,” Maison said to Daemon.

  “We’ll be there shortly,” Daemon responded and patted Tezra’s hand.

  Maison vanished and Atreides said, “Can we trust Tezra’s bodyguard?”

  Tezra couched her annoyance. Only she was allowed to suspect Bernard’s actions, not some vampire who didn’t know anything about him.

  The sound of vehicles pulling up into Daemon’s circular drive caught their attention. Daemon moved with vampiric speed and peered out the front picture window. “Three black SUVs.”

  “The SCU,” Tezra said, barely breathing, but before she could see anyone’s reaction, Daemon pulled her from the couch and took her into the swirling black void.

  Bewildered, she found herself standing beside prickly holly shrubs enclosing Mrs. Sargento’s front yard. Wood smoke from a nearby chimney drifted on the frigid breeze, scenting the air, and the sound of footsteps hurrying toward the front door of the house caught her attention.

  “Tezra, I’m right here.” Daemon touched her shoulder.

  The front lamp was out, and except for the neighbors’ lights casting a pale glow at the edges of the property, she could barely see anything. Everything happened so quickly after that, events blurred.

  Someone let out a strangled cry, and before she could respond, she was whisked away again into darkness.

  Tezra didn’t catch Daemon’s controlled command, but the next thing she knew, he led her to a black leather couch where she collapsed, her mind frazzled.

  “We’re at Atreides’s home.” Daemon crouched in front of her, caressing her hands.

  Voltan held onto Patrico’s arm where they stood a few feet away. Patrico’s blue eyes couldn’t get any wider, and he ran his free hand through his long, curly, strawberry blond hair.

  Daemon grasped Tezra’s hands, his face drawn with concern. “Your fingers are ice cold and you look pale as death. Are you all right?”

  Her mind and stomach swirling, she sat dazed. “Transporting so quickly and so many times makes me feel like I’ve been on a horrible roller coaster ride that won’t end.” Yet she refused to give in to her human weakness and turned her attention to Patrico. “Where’s my sister?” She tried to stand, but her head felt like it could float away.

  Daemon gripped her hands tighter and made her stay put. “I’ll do this my way.” He faced Patrico and instantly unsheathed his canines. “Where is Katie?”

  Patrico lifted his chin higher and stared Daemon in the eye, daring him to proceed with his threatening posture. When he didn’t answer, Tezra tried to get him to talk. “I only go after the bad guys. You know it. The SCU knows it. But you’ve taken my own flesh and blood. Not to mention you’ve faked being dead all these years. As far as I’m concerned, you’re as evil as the one who killed my parents.”

  She didn’t really sense that about him, but she had to use whatever leverage she could to break through his defenses and make him see the truth concerning Katie. She attempted to read his thoughts, but it was useless. Hunters from an early age learned to control their thoughts around vampires.

  “By all accounts you’re already dead. No one saw you tonight at your mother’s house because it was too dark. Someone will inform the hospital administrator that a person made up to look like you stole your identity and took my sister. You’re a nonentity like her. No one will miss you, and your mother will be compelled to accept as true that you died ten years ago like everyone else thinks. Is that what you want?” She hated to bully him, the only person who had believed her when her parents’ tragic murders occurred. “I want to help my sister. I love her. Can’t you understand that?”

  Daemon interceded. “Tell us where she is.”

  Patrico ground his teeth but didn’t respond.

  Tezra let out her breath. “Why the hell can’t you see that I’m only concerned about my sister’s wellbeing?” She delivered the message telepathically in frustration, not expecting him to hear her. But when his eyes widened in response, she stared at him in disbelief. “Are…are you telepathic?”

  His jaw dropped.

  Tezra couldn’t believe it. “You’re telepathic too.”

  “I thought they’d changed you, turned you. I thought you were in league with Krustalus.”

  “No, no. Daemon and his people took me in to protect me from the bastard. Years ago, I thought I could make Krustalus slip and give me his name. I taunted him with my telepathy.” Tears filled her eyes. “I was so stupid, and he proved to me how powerful and cruel he is. You know what happened with my parents and with Katie. What you probably don’t know is that he’s stalked me for the last ten years—persistently tormented me in return for my arrogance.”

  Patrico took a heavy breath. “I should have done something to protect you, Tezra. It was my fault you had to face the demon vampire on your own. Four-oh-five Seabreeze, Seaside. That’s my home. That’s where Katie’s sleeping.”

  “All alone?” Her heartbeat accelerated.

  “Let’s go,” Daemon said.

  She knew what was coming next, and she was certain she couldn’t take much more of it. But no matter the momentary consequences, she had to be with her sister.

  Daemon pulled Tezra from the couch and held her securely. “Sorry, Tezra. No more transporting after this.”

  “Buy a car…” Her words faded as she slipped away.

  The next thing she recognized was the salty air and smell of fish. The moisture-laden cold clung to her while they stood on Patrico’s faded gray cedar porch overlooking the Pacific Ocean, as Daemon kept his arms tight around her.

  “Invite us in, Patrico,” Daemon said, his tone dark and persuasive.

  Tezra barely held on to her wits and almost forgot what they were doing here while she watched the foaming waves crash against the rocky beach.

  “Invite us in,” Daemon said again.

  His demanding tone finally filtered into her foggy brain. “Hurry, Patrico. Let us in.” She clung to Daemon??
?s firm body like a vine needing support. His warm touch kept her vaguely in this world. Her mind blurring between reality and a dreamlike world, she had wicked thoughts of getting naked with the man who could bring her body to a fevered pitch.

  Voltan still held onto Patrico’s arm, though the hunter seemed as lost as Tezra felt.

  “Patrico.” She clenched her teeth against new waves of nausea swamping her. “Let us in.”

  “Come in,” he muttered, fumbling with his key. As soon as he unlocked it, the party walked into the house, and Patrico relocked the door behind them.

  Her mind a jumble, her legs gave out and Tezra collapsed. Blue and white couches, white wood floors, seascapes decorating the walls and a white brick fireplace filled her vision for an instant. Then a black satin sheet wrapped around her—shutting out the light, Daemon’s concerned communication and the rest of the world, until even his warm touch vanished into the lightless void of space.

  “Dammit to hell!” Exasperated with himself for compelling Tezra to transport their way, Daemon carried her to the couch, her face ashen, her body limp.

  “I’ll search for her sister in the rest of the house,” Atreides offered. “I sense a woman sleeping nearby.”

  Voltan forced Patrico to sit on the striped couch opposite where Tezra lay on a matching loveseat.

  “What will you do to me?” Patrico’s tone was dull.

  “If you hadn’t taken Katie in the first place—” Daemon growled.

  “Katie’s here .” Intrigue laced Atreides’s words. “Sleeping soundly like a redheaded goddess.”

  “She is strictly off-limits, Atreides.” Daemon didn’t disguise the annoyance in his communication. He turned to Patrico, the man’s eyes filled with worry. “It’s time you answered some questions.”

  Daemon moved Tezra so he could sit with her, then placed her head on his lap, wanting the closeness, to touch her, to listen to her breathing and feel her pulse to ensure she would be all right.

  “What do you want to know?” Patrico matched Daemon’s glare, yet he sat hunched over—and looked soundly defeated.

  Daemon imagined Patrico was around his mid-forties. A T-shirt stretched over his broad, hard chest, though he had a soft, rounded face like his mother’s. “According to Tezra, a vampire was supposed to have murdered you after she told you about her parents’ deaths. So what exactly happened?”