Bound by Blood (Vampire Romance) (24 page)

So how had Alex obtained the ruby?

“When the Cardinal died, no one ever saw the ruby again. That’s why we’re so sure it’s a myth.”

Should she say something?

“The ring is mine,” Alex declared, earning him a second sharp look from her father, then a dry chuckle.

“Hardly likely.”

“But true, never the less,” Alex declared.

“The cardinal had a brother, to whom he bequeathed the ring. Eventually it came to me.”

Her father studied him again. “I never heard anything to that effect.”

“I hadn’t imagined that you would.”

“So it’s been in your family for the past, what, two hundred and fifty years or so?”

“Give or take.”

When they heard her mother’s voice calling them, her father suggested they have something warm to drink and then discuss the matter later if need be.

“Dad, we really need the book.”

He didn’t answer, but nodded and walked to the door. Lisa wanted to cry. Why couldn’t he just give it to them?

“In good time, Lisa,” Alex said in her ear as she stood.

She was too impatient by far. How could Alex be so calm after he and Louis, and even Philip, impressed upon her the dire consequences of not getting back in time.

“It is so good to see you, sweetie,” her mother said while she poured Lisa’s tea, then some for Alex. Lisa looked under half lowered lids to see what he would do with it. To her surprise he took a sip, then raised a sardonic brow in her direction. She felt herself blush then turned away.

“It’s great to see you too, Mom.” What else could she say? She had a ton of questions, but nothing to prompt asking them now.

Her mother reached out a hand and patted hers. “We wanted you to come home, but you left so suddenly…”

Left? As if she had done so voluntarily. “No, I didn’t leave, Mom. You asked me to leave.”

Her mother bit her lip and turned her face away from her.

“There were reasons,” her father said, looking between her and Alex, as if unsure if he was aware of the circumstances.

“Alex knows about my sordid past,” she said. She might have said more, but Alex reached his arm across her chair, his arm a hairsbreadth away from her shoulder. Very comforting, though she suspected he meant it more as a warning. They didn’t have the book yet.

Lisa waved her hand in the air. “It doesn’t matter. It’s in the past. What I need now has nothing to do with that.”

“I just want to be sure you’re not in something else over your head,” her father said, “and I very much fear you are. This is about as serious as it gets.”

She struggled not to scoff at that. If he only knew how involved she was! “This is not the same, Dad. Alex can vouch for that.”

“And this Philip. How does he fit in with all of this?”

“He’s a friend of mine,” Alex said calmly. “He and another friend discovered the book we needed was in England. I believe you would like Monsignor Philip Lassiter very much; he’s a scholar also.”

“Lassiter! I just read some of his works.” He looked at Lisa, “You didn’t tell me he was the same person. I can not believe I spoke to him and never asked about some of this theories.”

“Frankly, if we wrap this up favorably, you may be able to do exactly that,” Alex said. “In fact, I will arrange it.”

“Is this one of those authors of those dreary texts you are always reading?” her mother asked.

Lisa hid a smile behind her hand. Her mother truly had not changed except for perhaps a few more gray hairs. “I suspect so, Mom.”

Since they were finished, Lisa suggested she help her mother clean up, letting Alex and her father retire to the study. She ignored Alex’ penetrating look before he left the room. She wasn’t sure if it was a warning or not.

“A very interesting man,” her mother said to her as they did the dishes. “Where did you meet him?”

Quickly, Lisa again outlined the events of the kidnapping and Alex’s role as an officer.

“But why is here now? You two appear to be in a rush. You didn’t even bring anything for an overnight stay.” She looked at her daughter sharply. “How involved are you with him? Is this going to be a repeat of Travis?”

Lisa twisted her lips. “I assure you it’s not at all the same.” And that was putting it mildly. Alex was far from a boy, she had no fear of being pregnant, especially by Alex, even if he were interested in her. No it wasn’t at all the same, even if her feelings were involved.

Chapter 24

Once in the study, her father held the book, letting the weight settle in his hand before handing it over to Alex.

Alex let the weight settle in his own hand before flipping it open and quickly scanning the pages.

“Those are written in Latin,” her father said.

“I can see that,” said Alex.

“Do you need me to translate?” The offer was given hesitantly.

Realizing that the man was actually just offering services, Alex assured him he was fine and could read the text perfectly. “I want to be certain all of the information is here before I leave.”

“You’re taking the book?” He frowned at that.

“I must.”

“It’s valuable,” her father protested.

It was Alex’s turn to frown. He placed his finger in the book to hold his page then closed it, still holding it spine down with one hand. “I am aware of that. But since your daughter is with me, I did not think it mattered. Does it?”

The vicar looked uncomfortable, but didn’t assure Alex either way.

Alex looked at him, laid the book on the table then stripped off his watch, handing it to her father. “Will it suffice as collateral?”

The other man instinctively reached for it, his eyes widening as he looked at the Rolex Submariner with its limited blue face. “How do I know it’s genuine?” He let the gold band slide over his palm. “I mean, I doubt a detective could afford such an item.”

“You’re right, a detective could not, but I can. It’s genuine.”

“I hate to ask, I mean, but the book is valuable. I want to be sure nothing will happen to it.”

“Oh, I understand perfectly well. I also understand that you are taking more care of this than you daughter years ago.” He had promised Lisa he wouldn’t physically harm her father, but he had said nothing about verbal exchanges.

The other man bristled. “You don’t understand the situation. I cannot imagine what Lisa told you, but I assure there was more to the story.”

Alex shook his head. “Somehow I doubt it.” He had more than enough years to study human nature. He hefted the book in his hand again. “I’ll take care of this. Actually,” Alex tilted his head to the side and gave him a tight smile, “You’ll be betting your life on it.”

“What do you mean?” There was no disguising the puzzlement in his voice.

“You’ve read this and others. You warned Lisa to stay out of it; surely you realize all that can go wrong if the perpetrators are not stopped.”

“They would need the ruby and I know there is a particular incantation that is needed. Those are at least two of the items. Besides, I’m not sure how many people are really involved in this.”

“More than enough. And they do have the ruby -- and the incantation,” Alex said.

The vicar sat heavily in the desk chair. “I was afraid Lisa would get mixed up in some crazy group. There are too many out there, and an innocent person can be sucked into them all too quickly.”

“Very true, but this is the real thing. Your daughter did not go looking for it, but she found it.” He held the book up with one hand, “and because of your teaching, she was able to recall you had this information. She was, and is, very aware of your habits.” He left the rest unsaid. Even if her father did not know hers. “Be assured if everything goes well, I will return the book to you.”

“And if it doesn’t?”

Alex’s smile was a mere twist of the lips. “Then I fear you may know soon enough.”

“What else can I do to help?”

“At this point, not much. I would tell you to keep Lisa here, to protect her as much as possible, but I fear that would not work. She will go as she pleases.”

Leaving the room, Alex saw Lisa heading in his direction. He did not at all care for the pallor of her skin. It could have rivaled his. He grasped her arm as she made to walk past him.

“Where are you going?”

“I am finished here.” She looked at the book he held. “If you have what you need, may we leave?”

He searched her face. “This is what you want? You don’t wish to stay longer? To visit more? You don’t know what the future will bring, Lisa. You may not again have this opportunity.”

She gave him a sad smile that tugged at what should be his heart with its very pathos. “Do you have so little faith?” she indicated the book with her chin.

He reached to touch her cheek, letting her head rest in the palm of his hand. “If I did not, I of all people would not be here.”

“Let me say good-bye to my father. Can we leave now, or do you need to stay somewhere, or …feed or something?”

“I have what I need on Louis’s plane.”

~*~

Nodding, she walked to her father’s study and found him sitting at his desk, his head in his hands. When he looked up at her entrance, she was shocked to see how worried he looked, almost fearful.
Had Alex told him what he was?
A quick once over showed her no physical bruises.

“Are you all right?”

He nodded once then lowered his hands. “I’m fine. I just had a conversation with Alex. He suggested you stay here and let him return the book himself. It would be for your safety.”

Her eyes widened. He hadn’t said that to her. “No, I’m going back to the States with him.”

“He said you would say that too.” He stood and came around the desk, leaning against it, but very close to her, in arm’s reach. “Are you certain? You will be safer here, I’m sure of it. I was worried you might have been taken in by some cult, but Alex assured me, if that’s the word to use, you are very involved in the real thing – unwilling, but involved.”

She nodded. What could she say? “It has been interesting.” And maybe someday she would tell her father the whole story. “You’ve helped us tremendously.”

“Lisa, you’ll be careful, right? We would like to see you again.”

This time her smile was genuine. “You will, Dad.”

“Oh, before you leave.” He reached behind him on the desk and grabbed Alex’s watch. “Your detective left this.”

Nodding her thanks, and not disputing Alex was hers, she took the watch and slipped it into her pocket. Giving him another quick hug, she left the room. Se panicked for a moment when she saw Alex was not where she had left him.

“I’m here, Lisa,” she heard his voice from the shadows of the hall. He handed her the jacket she had arrived in.

She hadn’t realized her mother had followed them to the door, and now looked out. “Didn’t you bring a car?”

“Of course,” Alex lied to her. “We have it parked down the block; didn’t want to raise any gossip and all that.”

Smiling in understanding, her mother nodded and waved them on their way. “And remember what I said, Lisa,” she told her daughter as a parting shot.

“And what did your mother tell you?” Alex asked a short time later as they were seated in the plane.

“It doesn’t matter.”

Alex stooped in front of her chair so that they were eye level, and grasped her hands. When she didn’t look at him, he cupped her cheek and turned her to face him.

“I think it matters very much. I saw you when you left the kitchen and the only people there were you and your mother. So what did she say?”

Lisa looked at him directly, then down. “It was silly. She told me to come and visit, but please don’t make the same mistake as last time. She looked him in the eye then and was surprised to see an almost anguished look in them.
For her?

“I assured her that wouldn’t happen, and that was pretty much it.”

Alex let his thumb run over her lips. “I wish it could be very different for you, Lisa.”

She blinked back the tears. “It really doesn’t matter. I’ve decided what I’m doing, and as long as I get cushy nanny positions like the one with Sandy, I’ll be fine.”

Alex stood, but hadn’t released his touch on her face. “I would hardly call being dragged into the here-before-unknown as cushy.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Something else to consider,” he said. “If we don’t stop this, the rest simply won’t matter.”

~*~

Once they were airborne, Alex could see Lisa was still restless. The visit to her parents had been profitable for their purposes, but on a personal level, he feared it had been too emotionally draining for her. As he had said, if this threat, no more than that-- impending doom, were not stopped the rest simply would not matter. If there was a satisfactory conclusion, he would see that she visited with her parents again, trying to resolve old issues. Standing, he made his way over to her seat and unbuckled her belt.

“What are you doing?”

Instead of answering, Alex scooped her up and sat in her seat with her firmly on his lap.

She sat straight up until he pulled at her shoulders, encouraging her to rest against him, and tucking her head between his shoulder and chin. She pushed against him and reached into her pocket, then handed him his watch. “My father said you forgot this.”

Alex slipped it on his wrist, before pulling her back towards him.
So the man realized which was the greater value.

Once she relaxed against him, he ran his hand up and down her back in a soothing motion. There was much he wanted to tell her, but talk about the time not being right! Instead, he talked about what they would do when they got back.

“Stopping at Philip’s will be necessary, to both collect Cassandra and compare these notes.”

“Won’t Sandy be safe where she is? I mean, Louis could protect her.”

“In this case, not so well as I,” he assured her. “And there is no reason to make her more nervous than she needs to be. She will be comfortable with you.”

Chapter 25

The scene wasn’t quite what they expected when they reached Philip’s.

Louis was waiting for them, but of Philip and Sandy there was no sign. Alex showed no reaction, but Lisa looked about the room, her eyes widening each time they lighted on some new destruction.