Bound by Blood (Vampire Romance) (12 page)

He chuckled. “You think not? He knows you from when he picked up Cassandra. Your scent marks you, and he will use it to follow you. When he is awake he will discover you have been there. As soon as he opens the door he will be able to identify you.”

“And you? Will he know you were there with me?”

Alex slowly nodded his head. ”He’ll know I was there, but not that we were together.”

She moved away from him then stepped around him, heading for the door. He reached out an arm and stopped her. “You need to stay here,” he told her. “It is not an option.”

“You never said why it’s so important. I think I will be equally safe at a mall or someplace, even the station where you work would be better.”

“Listen to me, Lisa. I don’t think you quite believe what I tell you, I can see it in your face.” He wished she would not blush, would not send the blood rushing through her veins. “But it is the truth. I can have Louis stay here with you. He will be comfortable here, or I can take you there, those are the only options.” Philip was perfect for the daylight hours, but he didn’t like to test the man’s stamina through the night if he didn’t need to.

She started at the other man’s name and raised a hand to her lips. “Are you going to tell me Louis is a vampire too?”

He gave a curt nod.

“I’ll stay. I would rather you took Louis with you – to watch your back.”

Her response was not what he expected. He stretched out his hand and caressed her cheek. “Thank you.”

~*~

He didn’t know if he really trusted her to stay put, but there was little option. It was imperative he discover why Carlos wanted the child. But before he could go there, he needed to see what Louis had been able to find for him aside from an address.

In a matter of moments he was inside Louis’s office. He seldom saw the other vampire anywhere else but knew he had a home.

“Why did you give her Carlos’ address?” he asked before he even closed the door.

Sitting behind his desk, Louis didn’t bother to rise to meet him. “She asked.”

“She’s mortal and you know it. Carlos is dangerous enough with our kind.”

“What did you want me to do?” He sat forward in his seat, leaning on his elbows and focusing on Alex. “I certainly didn’t expect her to go after him alone.”

“This is the twenty-first century, Louis.” He leaned his back against the door. “Women do everything on their own now.” Sometimes it amazed him at exactly what women chose to do themselves. In his world, women had been fragile creatures to be cosseted and protected. He had noted how they changed over the centuries, but sometimes he feared Louis was unaware the centuries had passed.

“So, any leads as to why Carlos wants the child?”

“Nothing.” Louis stood and came around the front of the desk, leaning against it and bracing his hands behind him. “I’m not sure it’s not for some normal reason. Maybe he just wants the child for ransom. The parents are well off.”

Alex shot him a scathing look, but didn’t even bother answering such a comment. They both knew the other vampire must have a reason. That the girl was of Alex’s lineage could not be coincidental. He didn’t believe in coincidence.

“You know, Alessandro, I can’t quite tell who you have more concern for; the woman or the child?”

“You think it’s unusual?”

Louis chuckled. “For you, probably not. For any others of our kind, I would definitely wonder.” Bringing his hand up to his face, Louis tapped his jaw with one finger. “You know, there was something that Carlos said one night. This was several months ago. It made no sense to me but perhaps it will to you.”

Alex looked at him, waiting for him to speak, rolling his hand in the air hurrying his friend along.

“He said, ‘Rubies are more valuable than you know.’ I though it a strange comment because we weren’t talking about jewels at all. He just slid the comment in, apropos to nothing. “

“How long ago?”

Louis shrugged. “Maybe two months. We were at the bar, just talking.”

“About what? Why would you remember that now?”

“Blood. We were talking about how easy it was to obtain blood these days.” He gestured to Alex’s hand. “And because the light caught the stone in your ring.”

Quickly, Alex brought his hand up to study the ring. A heavy gold signet with a polished ruby in the center, he seldom noticed it. He had worn it practically forever. From the time he was mortal, it had been his. It was part of him. “It was my great-uncle’s,” he told Louis. “We were rather close, so when he died, my father thought I might like it.”

“You would never find gold like that today. Nor a ruby. Pretty perfect looking, actually. Do you think that’s what Carlos wanted?”

Alex shrugged. “Who knows, but it’s something to consider.” It was something else for him to add to the puzzle he had given Philip. Absently thanking Louis, he took his leave.

Moments later, he was standing in front of the older man.

“That really is unnerving, the other man told him,” although he said it with a light note in his voice.

Alex grinned at him. “I suppose it is.” Quickly, he outlined his visit with Louis.

Philip waved him to the side table where he had spread out the message Alex had received earlier. Both men looked at the paper. “I’m not sure if it’s a threat, an observation, or a warning.”

“That hardly narrows it down. Perhaps he is just taunting me.” Reaching in his pocket, Alex pulled out the second note he had received and laid it near the first. “This one is of more concern to me.”

Philip glanced at the message, then at Alex. “French?” He held the paper closer to the light and looked again. “Lengadocian,” he said with a satisfied air before reading the message.

“I can translate.”

“I can read.” He shook his head when he was done. “I know you’re literally a blood hungry bunch, but this,” he indicated the papers on the table with his hand, “is total destruction. Practically Armageddon.”

“What is in it for the survivor? I have to believe Carlos, if this is indeed from him, plans to be among the victors.”

“That’s not so easy to say. Immortality, perhaps, or invincibility.”

Alex pushed away from the table and straightened. “There has to be more. Carlos doesn’t strike me as the type to lust for either of those things, aside from the fact that he could be considered immortal now. No, he’s simply not smart enough to think he needs  to look for more than what he is.”

“You knew him a long time ago,” Philip reminded him. “People change; they grow.”

Alex scoffed. “Not this much. In fact, while I think Carlos delivered these messages, I find it impossible to believe t he actually wrote them. I’m not sure the man even knows Lengadocian. It’s little enough known, and Carlos has a hard enough time with Spanish.” Born and raised in Mexico, those were harsh words against Carlos, but he meant every one of them. There had to be someone else. The language itself should be a clue. “What about the ruby?” he suddenly asked Philip.

Philip stood, his fingertips still on the edge of the table. “What about it? Louis’s message or Carlos’ words? I don’t know if, or how, either fits in with this,” he gestured to the papers on the table.

“Then why would he say something about it?”

Philip shrugged. “It doesn’t seem he really said anything, merely that it was valuable.”

“It has to mean something.” Alex twisted the ring on his finger. “I’ve had this for over two hundred and fifty years. Why would it be important now?”
“Maybe it’s not this ruby at all.”

“Perhaps not.” There was total lack of conviction in his voice. He looked to the window at the slightly lightening sky.

“It will be light soon,” Philip said, following his gaze.

It was good that Philip was one of the few people who managed to watch the night with him. He had known the man for years. Philip had studied vampires before he ever believed they were real. Now he was an ally as such, definitely a resource. One that many of them used. And they used his place as a safe haven when the need arose.

“You are waiting until right before sunrise?”

Alex nodded. It was the best time. He would not be quite at his peak, but neither would Carlos, who was not a terribly strong vampire to begin with. If the child was still with him he would make sure she was returned to the Morgan’s no worse for the wear. More importantly, he would discover what Carlos wanted, otherwise he might strike again.

~*~

Lisa wandered around Alex’s house. She didn’t know what she was looking for, if anything, perhaps some clue that would explain his reasoning for what he had told her or the tricks he performed. No way could she absolutely, unquestioningly believe what he had said. It had to be a bunch of nonsense. How gullible did he think she was?

With him out of the house, she could relax. It was probably the first real breath she had taken since he walked out the door. She didn’t know why she thought he would be any safer here than anywhere else, but she had to admit she had little desire to return to the Morgan’s empty handed. He seemed intent on keeping her away from them. Or was he keeping them from her? Either way made no sense. It wasn’t as if they would have done anything to their own daughter.

The soft whoosh of the draperies automatically opening startled her and she frowned and whirled in their direction. Perhaps they had done so the previous night and she didn’t remember, not that she could recall if the drapes had been open or closed. Strange that they should open at this time of day. Without thought, she walked to the plate glass window. From the front, the house sat level with the street, but from the back, the ground sloped away. Standing in front of the glass she could see the treetops bathed in moonlight. She imagined it would be a spectacular view of the sunrise. But what if Alex had been telling the truth?  Did that mean he never watched the sun come up? She shook her head at her own train of thought. No way could he be telling the truth.

She would think better with a hot cup of tea. She got the impression Alex definitely would not be coming home anytime soon, which gave her plenty of time to reach a decision as to how long she should remain here.

Making tea was a good thought, but not one easily brought to fruition. She knew from her previous visit he didn’t keep food, but surely he would have something to drink. There were no pots to be found, let alone a tea kettle. There was a coffee maker. She supposed she could use that if she had to. Not only were there no tea bags, there was nothing in the cupboards save a few mugs and glasses. The man didn’t even have the basic necessities, yet his things would definitely be considered upscale, luxurious even. Spying a container of cocoa in one of the cabinets, she took it and placed it on the counter as she looked for the milk. At least she could make it in a microwave, which he did have.

 The refrigerator yielded several bottles of wine, but no milk. Closing the door, she leaned against the refrigerator for a moment considering its contents. She had teased the detective about drinking on an empty stomach but from the amount of wine he had in there it was probably a normal occurrence. Curious, since she couldn’t remember seeing a label, she opened the door again and looked more closely. Reaching in, she moved and turned a few of the bottles about to see if any of them bore a label she may have missed. One did.

Removing an opened unlabeled bottle, she closed the door with her hip and placed the bottle on the counter before grabbing one of the few glasses. Glad the bottle had a screw top, she untwisted it and began to pour some into the glass. Before more than a few drops left the bottle she stopped the flow. It was thick… and looked like
blood
.  
Her imagination was in overdrive after his suggestions. That was all.
Slowly she moved the bottle to her nose and swallowed convulsively. It didn’t smell like any wine she ever had. Placing the bottle on the counter, she picked up the glass. She hadn’t realized her hand was shaking. Tilting the glass, she let the few drops coat the bottom. She contemplated putting a drop on her finger and tasting it, but what if it really was blood? Tamping down her gag reflex, she quickly rinsed the glass at the sink and set it on the counter to dry then shoved the bottle back in the refrigerator. Could Alex seriously believe he was a vampire – to the extent that he would keep blood? In her mind, she could hear him again, ‘I’m a vampire.’
But they didn’t exist.

Unbidden, stories her father told her as a child came back. Tales Alex had seemed well versed in.

Leaving the kitchen, she poked around the rest of the house, looking to see if there was anything to support or disabuse Alex’s claim. Aside from the great room and powder room on the first floor, which she had already seen, everything looked normal enough. At least she understood why he didn’t have a dining room. The small breakfast bar in the kitchen certainly would be adequate for his needs from what she could see. She shook her head. Could she seriously be contemplating he really was a vampire? Snooping around the upstairs or the basement seemed too much an invasion of privacy no matter how much she wished to know about him

The darkness outside showed it was full night, but she never felt less like sleep. She was too wired without even having any caffeine. If he was busy with his own activities – not that she wanted to dwell on what they might be – perhaps she would be better with the Morgans.

Still, vampires? Did she even believe there were such things, or more accurately believe there were people who believed they themselves were such beings?

Then she remembered being above the floor. That was definitely not her imagination. He had moved at the same speed as Carlos. The real question for her was if she could beat him at it. Oh, she would never be faster, Alex convinced her of that, but she could be more cunning. There had to be a way to get Carlos out of the house, at least out of her vicinity so she could rescue Sandy. That was all that mattered -- the innocent child should be released unharmed.

Somewhere in the stories her father had told her she recalled hearing vampires were weakened by sunlight. She had momentary misgivings when she recalled how Alex had moved about during the day. Further proof that he could not be a vampire? Regardless, her best chance of rescuing Sandy would be shortly before daybreak. Quickly she called and reserved a cab for that time.