Hunter by Night (22 page)

How long had it been since Theresa had been held? Unquestionably her departed mate had loved her, protected her, cared for her. But he had not been demonstrative in this way, the way Xander had settled her sleeping child in a nest of cushions and pulled her close. The heavy arm that tugged her against his chest made her wonder and want things she never should. The way he breathed now, so quietly and rhythmically against her on the couch, she almost wondered if he’d fallen asleep. With her.

She settled carefully, enjoying the stillness of the dimly lit hotel suite. The closeness. Xander puzzled her. One minute she would think that perhaps he was there to care for her only out of duty, and then his voice would carry hints of endearment that made her wonder if maybe there was something more. He’d sat next to her just now and tended to Eamon so thoughtfully. They were both widowed. Maybe the universe had a message for them. Or maybe she was hoping too hard.

The only other time Theresa had killed with her power, it had been in self-defense. Eamon had been there then and mated her to protect her reputation. She had needed someone, and he had been there. She had come to love and rely on him. Yet raising their son alone had angered and isolated her these past months. Xander, he had been there for her. At the beginning, anyway.

He’d left, though, to go back to fighting. If he left once, he might again. This harsh realization stung, but perhaps she needed it to. An equally harsh burst of bright light flared from Xander’s phone on the table, accompanied by a loud buzz.

His hand shot out. Had he been awake after all? “Cell reception must be back.” With one look at the phone, he said, “Shit. Gotta go.”

“Everything okay?”

“If they’re calling me in, probably not.”

“You. Not us?”

He squeezed her hand as he stood. “Hang tight.” He made a call and hung up after a series of terse, monosyllabic replies. “That was Lee. Trouble at the estate. Tyra’s coming to transport me.”

Whatever was going on, it must be very bad indeed if there wasn’t even time for Xander to drive home. Fear clawed at her chest and her throat. Months ago, this was the way she’d lost her Eamon. An urgent call, and then a mortal injury barely a mile from home.

Gone in an instant.

Theresa returned the squeeze on Xander’s hand, hers still in his. “You need blood before you go to fight. When did you last feed?” His skin looked pale. He couldn’t go out there without proper nourishment.

“Last time I fed from you.” This said like a guilty child, caught in a lie.

Her breath stuttered. “That was months ago.” She’d given him blood after an injury while he’d guarded her and Eamon Junior. If he hadn’t had blood since then, he took a significant risk running into a battle now. “You can’t.” She held up her wrist, with his hand still clutched in hers. “Hurry. You said Tyra was coming.”

He looked like he might argue, but then he didn’t. He wasn’t stupid. He needed to leave this room charged to full power. She could do this much to help.

His fangs hit her wrist before he even finished sitting. The bite pinched, but not terribly. She could handle this. Even though every time she gave to him, it bound them more tightly together, and it would make saying good-bye that much more difficult.

Especially after what he’d done for Eamon.

Theresa ignored the rush of heat that came from his lips on her skin and the press of his thigh against hers. The deep moan when he swallowed. What did her blood taste like to him? Did he enjoy the flavor? It shouldn’t matter. Still, she wondered.

Just as they finished, Tyra appeared in the room. “Sorry to interrupt you guys.” The king’s sister abruptly offered her back to give them privacy. “Let me know when you’re ready.”

Xander licked the punctures at Theresa’s wrist. “We’re done. Let’s head out.” He gave a curt nod of thanks to Theresa.

“You’re sure it was enough?” Truthfully he looked better already, but she didn’t want him to leave. That was a foolish excuse and he was leaving whether she wanted him to go or not.

He nodded again, this time with a slight smile. “I am far better prepared.” Unexpectedly he turned back, pressing his lips to her forehead. “Thank you.”

“Stay safe,” Theresa whispered.

With that, he’d returned to Tyra’s side. “Let’s get this done.”

Tyra nodded grimly. “We’ll need all the help we can get. There’s a swarm of what look like guardians at the estate. Lee predicts we’ll need your power, my friend.” She gave a quick nod to Theresa as well, and Theresa bristled, oddly exposed and angry that Xander was being taken into danger. Defending against these attacks was his job. She just didn’t want it to be.

Perhaps her next mate needed to be someone safe and far removed from all this action. A doctor or a librarian. Maybe when Eamon Junior was older, she could get out and meet other eligible vampires. Perhaps she needed to move off the estate.

She tried not to watch while Tyra and Xander clasped hands and faded from view. Nonetheless, the hotel suite that had been cozy and warm with Xander there closed in around her. Eamon Junior cried from his nest of cushions and she pulled him close, seeing to his needs and snuggling in with him on the sofa.

“Just you and me alone again,” she whispered to her son. “No worries. We’ll be fine.”

She tucked her baby’s still-sleepy body against her chest and kissed his downy head as they settled in to wait, she hoped, for Xander’s return.

They
would
be fine. Whether Xander returned or not. Her pure, innocent baby needed a mother who could be strong. Not a mother who relied on a mate. Worse yet, on a fighter who was only around to help once in a while. Wonderful though he was. For her son, for herself, Theresa needed to gather herself together and learn to stand on her own two legs.

But
he
took
Xander’s blood without getting sick, when he hasn’t been able to take yours.
Theresa hugged Eamon tight. She didn’t have an answer, but she’d find one if she had to camp out at St. Anne’s and scream at every doctor in the place. She would find a way to heal her son.

She’d defined herself as a fighter’s mate for too long.

***

Lee had protested against Tyra’s mate living among their kind on the estate grounds since day one. He questioned Anton’s loyalty as a former enemy of their race. The guy hated to kill, which made him a pansy in Lee’s book.
You
say
pacifist. I say pussy.

Still, as he stole up the tree-lined drive that led to the estate’s main gate and found Anton whaling on a guardian for all he was worth, Lee’s valuation of the male improved further. The grim determination on the former wizard’s face and the bright red glow of his skin told Lee that Anton flexed his power, and that the guardian he fought was about to eat gravel. Good. That was good. So the guy could cough up some balls when the moment demanded.

Siddoh and some of the off-duty patrols crept up and fanned out along the perimeter. “Where is everyone? I can feel them, I just can’t see them. Well, two can play at that fucking game,” Siddoh whispered sharply as he turned invisible, and only the crush of grass under his boots told Lee he headed away.

Most definitely, more would come.

“And what was that explosion?” Lee mumbled under his breath. If something was out here blowing shit up, that needed to be his target.

“That was me.” Thad stepped forward from the shadows. He threw out a fireball across the wide gravel road to hit a guardian behind a tree. “Idiot must have been carrying something flammable.”

“Jesus, T. What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Defending my home is what the fuck I’m doing here.”

“That’s my job. Right now your place is with your queen and your child.” Regardless, Lee charged his shields, spreading his arms until electric prickles of power danced along his arms. He sidled close to Thad until their bodies touched to ensure that his king would be protected as well.

He caught Thad’s tight nod from the corner of his eye. “Being away from them is eating me alive. But you know I can’t sit back and let these assholes try to beat down our front door without coming to greet them personally.”

“Of course you can. I believe it’s what the human leaders do.”

“Good for them.”

“Dickhead.”

Thad cast a narrowed glance Lee’s way. “We’ll talk later about your insubordination.”

No, they wouldn’t. For decades before Thad took the throne, Lee had been the one in command and Thad had been the drone. They were friends still, first and foremost. Right now, Lee spoke from love for his friend more than anything. Besides, “if you’re still alive in the morning, we can address whatever you want, sir.”

Thad chuckled quietly into the night.

Movement across the road. Thad drew his weapon, silencer on. Lee did as well.

“Stay close to me,” Lee said quietly. “Stay in contact.” So long as Thad touched him, Lee’s shields would offer protection. It was the best he could do under the circumstances.

Thad turned, their backs almost touching. Two pops fired. “I know the drill.”

“Good. Then while you’re at it, keep being a dick.”

Thad hissed.

Lee slowed his breathing. He took aim and dropped a guardian who’d gone after one of the newbies. He let out a shrill whistle, and the subtle outline of Siddoh’s cloaked form moved past him, as did several other cloaked figures.

Thad turned to the side. “Any sign of your old enemy?”

“I’m seeing guardians, but I haven’t seen Haig. I’m wondering if this is some smoke-and-mirrors thing that Siddoh’s uncle cooked up before his death. Perhaps Haig’s ghost is only that.”

Out of nowhere, one of the guardians stepped into view, an orb of bright light conjured high in the air.

Lee sounded another whistle. A warning. “If you have a defensive power, step up. Everyone else fall back.”

“Shit,” Thad muttered. “How would he be able to do something like that?”

Lee shook his head. “The guardians are rumored to all carry Haig’s blood. Perhaps they have enough to conjure up more than simple magic spells.”

The guardian held a white, glowing sphere the size of a grapefruit, and it grew as they stood. With his shields Lee might be okay, but not all the others. “Thad, go. Get out of here.”

“The king does not run, Lee.”

“You left a fight once.”

“Only to protect Isabel.”

Right.

Lee raised his MK23. If he took the guy out, would that thing go flying, or fizzle and die? “Keeps getting bigger,” he muttered. “Thad, get behind me.
Please
.”

Right then Tyra teleported in behind the whole mess, with Xander at her side.

“All right,” Lee whispered. “Firing.” One shot and the guardian was down, but the giant ball of light remained aloft. “Everybody out of the way.” Then it fragmented. Pieces scattered. Thousands of searing balls of light.

Siddoh uncloaked. “You’ve gotta be shitting me.” He glanced back at the young trainees behind him. “Hit the deck, newbies.”

Xander shouted and raised his arms into the air.

All around them, everything went white.

Alexia held back a scream, scanning the bodies lying in the marble foyer.
Lee’s not here.

Siddoh lay shirtless and scorched. The lion and cub tattoos on his chest had barely escaped damage. Tears welled in her eyes. So close to his heart.

Next to him on the floor, young vampires she did not recognize. They had to be new, so baby-faced even by the standards of supernaturally slow vampire aging that their skin appeared peach-fuzzy and too smooth to need shaving yet. The biology of it all escaped her. For all she knew, they had decades on her but… no, they couldn’t. Their painful moans and groans made her stomach cramp.

She knelt by Siddoh’s head. “Where is he?”

“Don’t know…” Shallow breathing. “Went back out.”

Her heart raced faster. She put a hand to Siddoh’s cheek, the one where the flesh still glowed golden and smooth, dusted with stubble. “Are you going to live?” Even as she tried for levity, her chest burned.

He gave a bare nod.

“I’m glad.”

“Me, too.”

Through a blur of unshed tears, she managed a smile. But his eyes drifted closed and she wasn’t sure whether he could actually see her. She rose and headed toward the door, which required passing the horrific, makeshift triage area.

On the far end, Dr. Brayden drizzled blood into the mouth of Jarrek, a young fighter who had guarded Alexia a time or two. The “kid” had oozed intensity and seriousness. Thought very highly of Lee, of his job. Alexia knew the young fighter enough to know that he embraced that whole “honorable soldier” thing all the way down to his bones. The gray cast to his skin and the massive smear of blood under his body turned on her waterworks full force. The grim expression on Brayden’s face… “Is he…”

“I think he’s going to survive,” Brayden murmured. “I know it looks like a lot of blood. It smeared when they put him down. We’ll have to wait and see but… he’s stable. He’s young and strong. I’m cautiously optimistic.” He paused with his mouth open, his fangs long when he lifted wrist to mouth so he could lick his own lifesaving wound closed.

Alexia nearly collapsed to the floor. She couldn’t help but think that if Jarrek didn’t make it and that blood stained the porous marble floor, it would remind them forever that someone had died there. Her heart ached to run outside and scream Lee’s name, but she felt like a jerk going to find him when there were all these injured vampires just lying here.

God knew what she could do for them, but she could clean. She’d worked in a restaurant with a marble bar for a short while. God help anybody who didn’t clean up a puddle of merlot right away. “I should get something to help you clean up that blood.”

Brayden’s terse head shake cut her good intentions short. That fast, his white polo shirt was over his head and on the floor to soak up the pool of ick. “There. Good enough for now. Ivy will clean the rest up shortly.”

Well, then. Nothing for Alexia to do here.

Anton came in. He looked exhausted, cut, and bruised, but better off than some. The pink cast of his skin gave the image that he’d been at a tanning bed too long. “Hey, Doc, you need me to help you move him?”

The doctor shook his head. “He needs time. Let’s get the others.”

They lifted one of the young ones and carried him down the hall. Alexia inched toward the door, at odds. Did she stay and watch over the groaning casualties? Try to help? Go back to her cleaning plan?

From his place on the floor, Siddoh groaned and shifted. She hustled back over to him. “Don’t. Let me help you.”

“Nah.” He batted her hand away. “I can move.” Bits of burnt skin fell from his body as he sat up.

“Oh, nasty.”

“What?” he asked dryly. Amazingly, when his fingers brushed at the burnt places, more fell away to reveal his normal, healthy golden skin below. “I’m not pretty anymore?”

“God, no. You look hideous.” Tyra stood over both of them. She reached down and Siddoh took her hand, which was unarguably far better than Alexia helping him up. Tyra could bench-press, like, a fire truck. With all the riders inside.

So Alexia backed away, her breathing still shallow. Where in the crap was Lee?

Voices in the hall. Anton and the doctor. Alexia decided to break for the door at the fastest walk she could manage without running.

And almost got smacked in the chest by the big, brass door handle.

“Fuck, Lexi. Watch where you’re going.”

Lee. Thank God. “Nice to see you, too.” Seriously, there were angry badgers wrestling around her insides, she was so nervous and scared and happy to see him. He was messed up, no lie. Cut and burned, but standing. He still looked strong and able, and she didn’t burn with that awful searing pain in her center that told her he was about to keel over.

He’d gotten lucky, so much better than a lot of these guys. His face appeared dark and angry, though, when before he’d been thoughtful and concerned about not wanting to see her go. Had he changed his mind?

Fuck the questions. Fuck them. She launched into his arms so fast he had no choice but to catch her. Legs around his waist and everything. “God, thank God you’re okay. I was so scared.”

“Of course I’m okay,” he whispered. When had Lee ever been so quiet? His fingers threaded through her hair, one rough cheek against hers. With his hot breath against her ear and their hearts beating in time with each other, she could not manage to let go, even though God knew who might be staring.

He was right. All along, she’d wanted to be stubborn and to tell herself she didn’t need him the way he said. Not the way he said he needed her. Not after the way he’d treated her in the past. She had her pride. But she couldn’t… not after seeing this. He’d walked out that door, clearly not sure if he might come back. And her last words had been, “I’m scared.” How fucking stupid.

“I was so terrified.” She’d watched the fight from the window.
You
aren’t always okay
. She didn’t say it aloud. She wouldn’t, not in front of the vampires Lee commanded.

“I’m here.”

“You were right,” she said softly. “I’m sorry for being stubborn. I’ll stay.” God, she loved the responding rumble in his throat.

He drew a deep breath, and his arms squeezed so tightly that she could hardly breathe. “What about your purpose?” He disentangled himself and set her down gently. “Your whole need to find a day job?”

“We’ll figure something out,” she said.

Tyra ambled over. “Sorry to butt in, but I might have a suggestion.”

***

Lee was as certain as he was of the fangs in his mouth that Tyra’s “helpful suggestion” was about to be something horrific that would make Alexia jump for joy and Lee punch the wall. He loved Tyra like a younger sister. Sometimes, though, that younger sister failed to follow orders and came up with ridiculous plans. Dangerous plans.
This
is
not
a
drill.

Tyra had once used Alexia in a harebrained plan that had nearly gotten Alexia shot. Lee still wanted to strangle Tyra for that idea. He glared and took a step back. “What’s your helpful suggestion, Ty?”

She gave him a smug look. “Uh-huh. Why you gotta give me that tone, Lee?”

He crossed his arms and stepped closer to Alexia. Fuck it if he appeared possessive. He’d spent too long denying his feelings for Lexi, and now that the proverbial cat was out of the bag, there wasn’t any point in denying anything. “Because you’ve given us all plenty of reason.”

She harrumphed.

“I’m working on a plan to reappropriate what used to be the Ash Falls interfaith homeless shelter. The wizards tore it apart this past winter. I don’t feel safe opening it back up for human use, but I don’t want to leave the folks without a place to sleep. I’ve got a crew working to renovate some abandoned buildings downtown. Anton’s overseeing everything.”

She nodded her head toward Alexia and then shot Lee a look of irritation when he bristled, no doubt quite visibly, at Tyra’s mention of her mate. “He’s spread a little thin. So am I. We could use the extra help.”

Alexia turned a questioning look his way.

He frowned. “You know nothing about construction.” Then again, he’d thought she knew nothing about guns. “Do you?”

She turned back to Tyra. “That’s true. I don’t know much. A little plumbing, but I doubt that’s helpful.”

Much? Plumbing? Dammit, he needed a thousand years with this woman so he could know everything.

She shook her head. “You don’t need much. Anton can take you down and explain our plans. Be there to answer questions or let me know if something looks majorly screwed up, like they put a toilet in the middle of the kitchen. Start getting some of the smaller stuff in place. You can help interview potential employees. You have a college degree. You’re competent.”

Downtown all day. In a shitty part of town. Unsupervised.
All
day
. Something went “ping” in the back of Lee’s neck.

“If you don’t want me to…” Alexia said slowly. She let the sentence dangle, unfinished, in dead space. Because only one correct answer existed. Lee was being tested, and he could put his foot down and say no if the situation truly demanded, but it would break her heart.

You
haven’t seen Haig. Only his minions. Which was probably all a scam orchestrated by Siddoh’s dead uncle to gain control of the throne.

Tyra shifted uncomfortably. “Listen, why don’t you two discuss—”

“No.” Lee’s nails bit into his palm. “I’m sure it will be safe.” He unclenched his fist and tapped Alexia on the arm, forcing a casual gesture. “You’ll keep in contact. We’ll get you a concealed permit and get you trained with a firearm, like we discussed.”

She practically beamed. “Okay.”

He turned to Tyra. “My only stipulation is that we wait to make sure this latest barrage of attacks has blown over. It’s probably related to Siddoh’s uncle, something the old guy arranged prior to his death. A few more days’ wait would be wise.”

Tyra put her hands to her hips. “Yes. Agreed.”

“Okay.” Lee turned his back to them then. He walked away for a couple of paces, then back. His stress ratcheted. Lee found himself hating Alexia and then himself by turns for his fear and the concessions she was demanding he make. He turned to her again, noting the fullness of her hair, still tangled and tousled from this last time they’d made love. He thought about the full moon, and what was it she’d said? Birth control. Why had she been sneaking out to get something that prevented pregnancy? Had she planned on getting laid somewhere else?

“How long have you been sneaking out during the day, Lexi?”

She stepped back, giving him a silent look that said,
Excuse
me?
“Can’t you just appreciate the fact that I’ve been fine?”

All the times something could have happened to her. He’d never have known. His teeth ached with the force of his anger. “How do we know you weren’t the one who led those fuckers right to our doorstep, going in and out so often?”

Tyra gasped. “Lee.”

Alexia just stood there. He may as well have slapped her. Slapping her would have been far better.

She turned to where the last few bodies lay. The trainees Lee only knew by number and Jarrek, who appeared to have fallen into a torpor from the gravity of his injuries. Brayden and Ivy together had lifted him carefully to carry him toward the hallway. When she turned back, her face was wet with tears and Lee’s hands stayed on his hips because anything he could possibly say would only dig the hole deeper.

He hadn’t truly meant for such a shitty, dickheaded thing to come out of his mouth, but he couldn’t seem to call the words back. He wasn’t even sure what had possessed him to throw out such a ridiculous accusation. Jealousy. Hurt.

So when she turned in the opposite direction from where the wounded were being carried, most likely headed toward her bedroom, he let her leave. Better not make things worse.

“Oh, come on.” Tyra’s derisive scoff was loud and clear. “You’re just going to let her walk away?”

No movement from the east hall once Alexia disappeared. Not that he’d expected any. “She’ll cool off.” He didn’t want to return to the time when things were combative between them. If he followed her now, things would explode.

Tyra’s head swiveled. “You need to apologize.”

He straightened on an inhale. “It was a fucked-up thing to say, but the fact remains that she broke security protocol. We brought her here to the estate to begin with for her safety. For everyone’s. As a human who knew too much—”

“Lee. She didn’t ask for this life. She’s young.” Tyra stepped backward. “And you have to admit, we’ve all been a little too busy to follow up with her lately. Admit it, until very recently, you were motioning her forward with one hand and pushing her away with the other. How do you expect her to deal with that, plus the fact that she’s the only one of her kind living here?”

With a jerk of his head, his mouth snapped shut. Fuck it all, she was right. “You need help moving these guys?”

“Nah.” She gestured down the hall. “If I were you, I’d go make sure she didn’t sneak out the side door at the end of the hall.”

“Fuck.” Tyra was fucking with him, but it worked. He made tracks down the hall, stopping in the entryway. “I’ll be back shortly. We need to talk strategy.”

Tyra nodded. “No shit.”