The Pursuit (9 page)

“And did you meet someone?”

“Yes.”

“Do you remember his name or what he looks like?”

She frowned. “No, it’s blurry. Why would he be blurry?”

“He made you forget.”

“He can do that?”

“What about his voice—did he have an accent?”

“No. He sounded normal. Like you and me. He…” She stopped and rubbed her temples.

“What is it, Annie?”

“He called me something.”

“Can you remember?”

“Yes. He called me his
beautiful girl
.” Tears rolled down her face. “He told me if I was a good girl he wouldn’t kill me like the other one.”

Talia’s throat closed, and she struggled for air. Chris. It was Chris. All of it. Melanie
and
Annie. Talia was going to kill him.
Damn.
She should have killed him before. And now Annie had to suffer because of her.

“Are you okay, Talia?”

God, Annie was trying to comfort her? “Yes. I’m fine. Why don’t you rest for a while? I’ll come check on you later.”

She stepped out of the room and locked the door. It would be dark soon. She would hunt him then and kill him for what he had done to Melanie and Annie. What he had done to her.

Talia ran down the corridor to her room. Someone had left her bag in the room and she pulled out fresh clothes. Before she could take off the hospital scrubs, tingling ran down her spine.
Not now!
Jean Luc was back. He would stop her. She couldn’t tell him the truth. He would go after Chris and die because of that damn blood oath.

“What are you doing, Talia?”

She turned to him and smiled. “I was going to take a shower and then change into something else.”

“You are feeling stronger?”

“I feel great. Have you found Renato yet?”

“No. I spoke with Leo. Renato is meeting with Jia Li.”

She stopped herself from gasping at his name. She had to keep Chris away from Jean Luc.

She stared at his face, into his dark eyes. She loved him. Had never stopped, but now she had to leave him again. Had to protect him from her mistakes. From her stupidity in trusting Chris and then not telling Jean Luc the truth.

He stepped forward and laid his hand on her cheek. “When this is over, Talia, let us renew our discussion, this time with honesty.”

And for once, the emotions on his face, in his eyes, were front and center. He wanted her. If she were noble, she would walk away now. But she couldn’t do that, either. She wanted to hold him and be with him one last time. She was selfish, but she was already damned, so she had nothing left to lose.

“Talia. Are you okay?”

She placed her fingers over his lips. “Please. I don’t want to talk. I need you. Can you do that? Can you be with me?”
One last time.

He froze for a moment, staring hard at her. Was he going to back away? He opened his mouth, and she started to lift her fingers away, but he grabbed her wrist and held it to his lips. She gasped when he ran his tongue along her fingertips and sucked them into his mouth.

Warmth shot up her arm and filled her chest. His eyes flashed red, and when he finally opened his mouth to release her fingers, she could see his fangs were fully extended. He was the most gorgeous male—human or supernatural—she had ever seen.

“I have missed you, Talia.”

“I’ve missed you, too.”

She leaned forward and brushed her lips over his. So soft, so perfect, as if their lips were made to be pressed together. Two pieces to a puzzle. No. She couldn’t think about what they could have had, what could have been. This would be her goodbye to him. In the future, when he thought of her, hopefully he would remember this moment instead of her betrayal.

* * *

Jean Luc’s lips tingled. Actually tingled where they met Talia’s. He thought he had remembered what it felt like to hold her, to make love to her. He had played it over and over again in his mind. But the reality was so much more delicious than his memories.

He leaned back and looked at her face. At her eyes sparking gold. “Are you sure you are well enough for this?”

She smiled, and it was like a siren call, and he was lost in a turbulent sea.

“I’m fine. Your blood healed me.”

She licked up his jaw and nipped his earlobe, and he groaned aloud like an inexperienced virgin. She chuckled and ran her hands down his arms, grasping his hands with her own before tugging him toward the bed.

He stopped, and a sadness filled her eyes, as if she expected him to turn away. He kissed her hard, and then let go of her hands to walk to the door. He pulled the door blinds and locked it.

“Visitors would be unwelcome at the moment.”

He flashed to her, grabbing her around the waist. She laughed and rested her hands on either side of his face. Talia kissed him again, but this time the softness was replaced with hunger and passion as their tongues danced together.

They fell on the bed, a tangle of limbs and wet kisses.

“Help me get out of these scrubs.”

The claw on his index finger suddenly appeared, and he sliced down the center of the top and then the pants. Within seconds, she lay naked before him, and blood surged through his body like lava. She was his once again, and he was not about to let her go.

He stroked his lips along her neck to her pulse point, where he kissed and suckled lightly. Her lavender fragrance enveloped him, but he would not bite her tonight. She was still not fully recovered, and he would not risk it. But soon, he would once again draw her blood into his mouth and into his soul.

His lips traveled south, and when he teased her nipple, she moaned. She reached for his shirt and yanked it over his head. He stood for a moment and divested himself of the rest of his clothes. Her gaze felt like a physical caress as it moved over him. She held out her hand, and he grasped it, crawling over her.

He wanted to worship her slowly. But all thoughts of languid exploration evaporated when she ran her hand down his length and steered him to her. It had been too long, and he wanted her too much. He slid inside her in one stroke and held himself against her. Perfectly still. Willing his heart to beat in rhythm with hers so there was only one heartbeat between them.

Only then did he finally begin to move.

Chapter 15

Talia hurried down the hall. She had slipped away from Jean Luc, her mission clear. It was time to end this with Chris.

“Talia?”

She hung her head at the sound of his voice.

“Where are you going?”

She turned and faced him. He had dressed again, although his shirt was open, his chest and stomach on glorious display. “To get some air, Jean Luc.”

His eyes narrowed on her, as if trying to unlock her secrets. “Why do you insist on being alone? On pushing me away?”

“I needed you tonight. But we can’t go back again, Jean Luc. You have to let me go.” She swallowed. “When this case is over, I’m leaving. Don’t make this any harder than it needs to be.”

He opened his mouth to argue, but she held up her hand. “Please. Go find Renato and figure out who is doing this before someone else gets hurt.”

His face shuttered, all emotions wiped away. He nodded and walked past her.

She closed her eyes. Her breathing hitched. He would be safe, and that was what mattered. She would not let him die for her.

Hands clapped, and she opened her eyes to see Kyle standing at the end of the hall.

“That performance deserves an Oscar.”

“What do you want, Kyle?”

Kyle marched over and leaned in close. “Why are you shutting him out?”

Talia had no time for this. “That’s none of your business.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. You’re hurting him, Talia. And I won’t tolerate that.”

Talia stepped even closer. “
You
will not tolerate it? What do you intend to do?”

Kyle shook her head. “Oh, I know you could gut me where I stand, Miz Tough Vampire. But you won’t.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because Jean Luc wouldn’t love someone who could do that to his family.”

Talia froze.

“For some reason you’re lying to him. You have some misguided need to protect him right now. I get it. I
was
you, pushing everyone away and lying to protect them.”

Talia shook her head. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I have no idea what your problem is, because you won’t tell us, but I know what I’m talking about. Let us help you. Let Jean Luc help you before you push him away for good.”

Talia didn’t respond.

Kyle stared for a moment, but when the silence stretched on, she turned and walked into a room. She shut the door with a definitive click.

* * *

Talia stood on the hotel rooftop and closed her eyes. Jean Luc had once told her a vampire could track their sire if they tried hard enough. That the link between sire and vampire was strong enough to make it possible. And Talia was all about the possible.

A light tickle ran along her spine into her brain, and she turned to the south. It was as if a thread of sensation twisted around her arms and legs and drew her like a marionette toward Chris. But he would not be her puppet master. She would be in control, and she would end this before anyone else was hurt.

She flashed along the quiet streets. Downtown Cleveland at night was not a popular area in late February. Talia stopped, her breath drifting around her in frigid waves. She was getting closer. The energy string now felt more like a thin rope wrapped around her wrists. She flashed again and found herself along the river leading out into Lake Erie. In front of her were several buildings that looked like out-of-business bars and restaurants.

She stopped in front of one with a large window overlooking the water. The tingling had turned into a roar of heat in her brain. He was powerful, but she couldn’t back down now. Besides, he already knew she was here.

Talia pushed open the door. It wasn’t much warmer inside, but at least the building protected her from the wind. She turned slowly to examine the room. Upturned chairs sat on tables covered with dust. A bar ran along the far wall with barstools sitting in a neat row, as if waiting for customers to return.

A whimper sounded from behind the bar. Talia stepped slowly, her breath stuttering when she caught the fresh linen scent. She stepped around the bar. Annie was crouched down in the corner.

“Annie? How did you get here?”

She hiccupped a sob. “He found me.”

Jesus.
There was no time to ask for details. She pulled Annie to her feet. “Where is he now?”

“I…I don’t know.”

“I’m right here, Talia.”

Talia spun toward the door and stepped in front of Annie. “Stay behind me.”

Chris walked toward the bar. “Are you going to protect her from me, Talia? A little late, don’t you think?”

A sultry chuckle sounded behind her, and dread shot along Talia’s nerve endings. Annie stepped around her toward Chris. Talia stared in shock as Annie’s scent changed. Her fresh linen aroma morphed into something spicy.

“I’m so glad that’s over. It’s exhausting playing the damaged ingénue.”

Chris reached for Annie and pulled her close. She rubbed herself wantonly against him while Talia’s skin crawled.

“Talia, you’ve already met Annie, my wonderful actress. She had you fooled, did she not? When I turned her twenty-five years ago, this wonderful female surprised me. She is still able to pretend she is newly turned when the need arises. It is a unique power.”

“Why, Chris?” Talia asked.

“You need to be more specific, my dear. Why what?”

“Why did you kill Melanie?”

Chris stroked Annie’s chin, and she closed her eyes and practically purred. “I need beauty around me. Melanie was gorgeous. She would have made a glorious vampire. Unfortunately, I allowed Annie to taste her, and she got a bit carried away, didn’t you, my beautiful girl?”

Annie smiled and batted her eyes like a heroine from a silent movie.

Talia shook her head. “She didn’t
accidentally
take too much. She killed her on purpose. You didn’t want the competition, did you? Someone who was prettier than you attracting Chris’s eye. That wasn’t something you could risk.”

Annie glared at her. “You’re just jealous because he kept me and threw you away.”

Talia ignored her, directing her next words to Chris. “Why the production?”

“When I saw you again after all these years, I couldn’t believe it. I thought you had died that day, but yet there you stood in front of me, swearing vengeance. And it made my blood race. Finally, a challenge! A new game to play. And I lobbed the first ball at you, telling you of Jean Luc’s oath to me. Instead of lobbing the ball back, you backed away altogether. You were willing to throw it all away to protect him.”

“So you lobbed a bigger ball at me.”

Chris grinned. “What could I throw at you that would force your hand? Make you come after me even if it meant Jean Luc’s life? A victim who had been turned the way I turned you. Someone who would remind you of what I had done to you.”

Annie curtsied. “That would be me.”

“Did you tell her to drain me as well?”

Chris’s eyes widened at the question.

Anna smiled. “I improvised. I wouldn’t have killed her, of course. That fun I left for you.”

“You sultry minx!” He grabbed her around the waist, and she giggled when he growled at her.

Talia took a deep breath and swallowed the acid that surged up into her throat. They were both psychotic.

“So now what, Chris? You kill me?”

“Not yet. Now the game begins again but with bigger stakes.”

“What do you…?” But Talia didn’t finish her question. The tingling at the back of her neck gave her the answer. Jean Luc was close by.

“No, Chris. This is between us!”

“Not anymore. Not when you involved him. Is he your lover, Talia?”

“Why do you care? You left me for dead thirty years ago.”

Jean Luc burst through the door. He looked from Chris, to Annie, and finally to Talia. “What is happening here?”

Chris pushed Annie away, and she frowned at the abrupt gesture. “Glad to see you could make it.”