Revisited (Redemption Series) (13 page)

“It’s good to see you’re healing. You’re eye looks so much better.” Becca pulled back to look at him fully.

“Yes. I can see more than just a blur. The doctors think once the swelling goes down, it will be good as new.” Gideon pressed his smile against her lips.

“I can help with that.” Becca brought her hand up beside Ian’s bad eye.

“Becca, I don’t think—” Lily took a step forward.

Becca cut her off with a soft, but firm glare. “It should be up to him.” She turned back to concentrate on the injured eye. “Would you like me to heal it for you?”

Gideon swallowed hard. Her touch had calmed him into a state of speechlessness. He agreed with a silent nod and then waited.

Becca smiled and placed her hand over his eye. She pulled from within herself and poured out the deep calm to heal his swollen flesh.

“That feels good.” Gideon sighed as his skin tingled with an odd intensity.

Help me,
Ian whispered in a soft, almost frail voice.

“I am helping. Just give it another minute.” Becca laughed and shook her head, but Gideon jumped back out of her grasp. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Gideon blinked rapidly, his vision restored in his eye. “It was just getting a bit intense.” He smiled a little.

She heard me!

Gideon held back the growl he felt rising deep within him.

“It’s okay. It was a bit strange for me too.”

Gideon loved the smile Becca held in her eyes as she stared at him. He had almost forgotten Lily was in the room until he noticed her movement from the corner of his eye. He took Becca’s hand and brought her to his side to face Lily. “I’m not sure what to say at this point, Lily.” He hoped that would let him off the hook, and he wouldn’t have to delve into their past relationship.

“I don’t either, honestly,” Lily said.

“Your leaving . . .” Gideon wondered how to word it to seem hurt, but not broken. “It devastated me for a time. Then I found Becca, and even though we went looking for you, I felt my life finally click back into place.”

“Right, I understand.” Lily moved her hair behind her shoulder, trying to calm herself.

“And you have Ryan back, I hear. All is well then.” He smiled.

“Yes, I guess so.”

Lily darted her gaze toward the door and noticed Abe, Ryan, and Nathaniel as they entered. Becca’s breath caught in her throat, noting the pain on Abe’s face at the sight of her hand in another man’s.

“Abe.” Gideon gave a nod.

“Ian. Glad to see you up and about. This is Nathaniel Archer and Ryan Edwards,” Abe said before grabbing an apple and taking a large, satisfied bite.

“Ah, yes.” Gideon dug deep to bring forth his inner charmer. “Pleasure to meet you both, but I believe Becca and I have a bit of catching up to do. If you wouldn’t mind excusing us.” He took her hand and led her out of the kitchen while Abe placed the half-eaten apple on the counter.

“That’s your competition, huh?” Nathaniel asked honestly.

“Not funny, Archer,” Abe quipped in return. “He’s been back for two seconds and he’s already taking her over.”

“Abe, this is difficult for her. She’s still adjusting to so many changes at once. Just give her a bit of time,” Lily consoled him. “Besides, I didn’t even know you were back. Did you track down the third donor?”

Abe laughed a bit. “Yep, six feet under in Arlington National Cemetery.”

“Shit!” Lily slumped down in her chair.

“But . . .”

Her eyes jolted up to Abe’s. “But what?”

“His daughter is very much alive and willing to help.”

Lily rushed to Abe and grasped his arm. “So we can get her sample? Will she come with us if we need her?”

“Yes, Deputy Director Palmeri is more than willing to lend a hand.” Abe laughed once again.

“Marla? You’re sure?” Lily asked wide-eyed. She had no idea Marla was related to the third donor.

“Yes, I’ve already tested a sample. She’s a match. We’re good to go.”

“Thank heavens.” Lily looked upward in a sign of thanks before Ryan wrapped his arms around her. “Now the real work can begin.”

She heard me! She heard me, you fucker!
Ian shouted with all his might.

Gideon tried not to panic, as Becca brought him into what he assumed was her room.

“Are you tired? You can take a nap.”

“I’m not tired. Come sit with me.” Gideon took her hand and walked over to her bed. They sat on it and rested their backs against the headboard.

“That was awkward,” Becca stated.

“Yes, but I didn’t expect it to be easy. My ex, your ex, Lily’s husband . . . a little overwhelming, wouldn’t you agree?”

She squeezed his hand before turning to face him. “Yes, I would.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “There is something I need to tell you.” 

“You can tell me anything.”

“Well, you know I’ve received my powers since I was able to heal you.”

“Yes, I had an inkling.” He smiled and brushed a few strands of hair behind her ear.

“It’s all kind of new. Lily was explaining a few things to me just before you came in.”

“Really? Anything of concern?” He wondered if Lily’s continued presence would pull his Rebecca away from him.

“Just that I should be careful these first few weeks. I might have surges of adrenalin, or any number of different hormonal changes. I just need to be careful not to let things get out of hand.” Becca smiled, hoping he would understand.

“We won’t be picking up where we left off before Liam broke us up, then?”

“No, not right away.”

Not ever, prick. She will see. She will know you’re not me.
Ian let out a satisfied mental chuckle, which only brought forth a groan from Gideon.

“Sorry, but I just can’t trust myself, and I don’t want to rush into anything. Things are complicated enough right now.”

“I understand, but this doesn’t mean you’re leaving me behind, does it?” Gideon fought the urge to hold her.

“Not unless you’ve changed your mind.”

“Not in the least. Right now, I just want to be near you.”

“All right.” She kissed him before pulling back. “But you do need some rest. I don’t think I can angelically give you the energy you’ll need to function.”

He laughed. “I concede, this time.”

Becca got off the bed and pushed him down on his back.

“A little bossy, are we?”

“Just rest. I’ll be back to wake you in a few hours.” She left him with another soft kiss and a sigh.

Gideon took advantage of being left alone at last to make the call he should have made days before. He took Ian’s cell phone from the nightstand beside the bed. Gideon had the presence of mind to keep it close throughout the whole ordeal and made sure it would be found with Ian. He searched through the contacts for Liam’s number, the one he’d saved under an alias.

“Hello?”

“Liam, it’s Gideon. We’ve got problems.”

Liam let out a frustrated groan. “What now?”

“Lily is still alive.”

“I had a feeling.”

“You had a feeling! What the hell does that mean?” Gideon whisper-yelled so as not to be heard by everyone else in the manor.

“You could call it a sire thing. I could feel that our connection hadn’t been broken.”

“Get Debir and Filipp on this right away. They need to get rid of her, for their sake, as well as mine.”

“I’ve got a few problems of my own here, but I’ll work on it.”

“Problems of your own? What, the vampire life you begged us all for isn’t what it was cracked up to be?” Gideon laughed.

“It turns out my vampire elders have handpicked around thirty humans for me to turn. They want an arsenal.”

“You didn’t expect that?” Gideon rolled his eyes at his young friend’s obvious naiveté.

“Not right away. I’m still adjusting. Cut me some slack for about five seconds.”

“Fine. Just get working on it. We’re at Leatherby Manor right now, but we’re going to some secret lab in Italy in the next day or so.”

“Italy? What’s there?”

“I don’t know. I’ll let you know when I do. Just get working.” Gideon ended the call and almost threw the cell across the room.

Things not going as planned? Aw, poor Gideon.

“You, shut the fuck up. You’re quiet for hours, and now you decide to be talkative?”

Get used to it, asshole. You picked me, now you have to live with the consequences.

“Fuck!” Gideon pounded his fist against his forehead and wondered if the deviation to his plans was the right choice.

Liam slipped his phone back in his pocket before exhaling. His breath caused a dense fog in front of his face as he stood in the near freezing temperatures. He lolled his head back, taking in the conversation with Gideon.

    Lily was alive. He knew that already, but to have it confirmed had him twisted up in odd feelings. First, he was elated to be right about the bond they had formed and that it remained intact. Second, he felt dread for the possibility it could indeed be severed soon. Lastly, and most of all, was a feeling of terror at what would happen if Filipp and Debir found out she lived?

The blood at the corner of his mouth from his latest kill began to chill as the wind whipped around him. He licked it off, careful not to waste a drop, then looked at what lay at his feet. The roe deer had left him satisfied in his choice of meal. The blood wasn’t anywhere near as sweet as the human blood Filipp had supplied him with, but the bitterness gave it a nice aftertaste, a slight burn that fueled his new life force with intensity.

The soles of his shoes crunched twigs on the forest ground as he walked to the main road. He didn’t run, but walked, and spent the time to reflect on what he could do next. When he made it to the door of the hotel suite, he still had no idea.

“Something you’d like to share, young Liam?” Filipp sat in a plush white leather chair at the opposite end of the room. He tapped the rim of his half-empty Vodka glass and stared the young vampire down.

Liam lifted his shoulders in a shrug before removing his jacket. “I got hungry. The deer was right there. I thought you wanted me to keep a low profile. That would include not committing homicide, would it not?”

“The phone call!” Filipp threw the glass across the room and it hit the wall with such force, glass shards flew all over the room. “Lily is alive? How the fuck did that happen?”

“How did you hear?” Liam endeavored to be nonchalant.

“Your phone. You didn’t think I would give you a phone and not have it monitored?”

Liam attempted to dust the glass shards from his clothes. “Well, I’m not sure what happened with Lily, but she has friends in high places. I would have thought you would have accounted for this scenario.”

“I’ve been trying to get rid of that bitch for over forty years. I finally thought this was it, the perfect plan! That bitch just won’t fucking die already.” Filipp picked up the chair he had been sitting in and ripped it in two; wood, leather, and stuffing littered the floor.

“This started way before me then?” Liam plopped down on the still-intact couch.

“You think that Blood Feast was an accident?”

Liam swallowed hard at the terrifying look in Filipp’s eyes.

“I’d had that formula for years. I developed it with Anton as a way to get rid of our vampire enemies. Then he just had to go and use it on himself.”

Liam sat up straight at the mention of Anton’s name. “You mean my great-grandfather?”

“I guess it may be time to hear the rest of the story.” Filipp paced in front of Liam and began to rattle off the tale. “Anton turned me over three hundred years ago. He also turned my sister, Nava.”

Liam ran his fingers through his hair as the shock of the statement settled in. “His wife.”

“Yes. He told me the formula was to protect us all. Then one day, they were gone. I found them in America about ten years later, aged and with blood pulsing through their veins. I was about to turn them both back when a five-year-old boy ran in. It was more than obvious he was theirs. It wasn’t enough for Anton to create children any longer. He wanted to nurture and grow them, with my sister no less. Since she was an Ahbmonite, it gave Anton the excuse of continuing the line. He swore I would thank him one day. I didn’t until the day I found you, my nephew.”