A Drop of Red (41 page)

Jonah was the only one who followed. “You didn’t answer me.”

“You’ve got a lot to account for first.” Yeah, like she was going to have a real heart-to-heart with him.
Ever.
“Who did you feed on tonight, Jonah? Do we have to worry about any fallout from your rampage?”

“I wouldn’t call it that. There was a woman in Bloomsbury—very willing, disease free—and she won’t remember a thing. I was careful, even though I wonder if this body is strong enough to ward off any diseases. Notice we’ve never even been sick before.”

“Don’t you dare experiment anymore with Costin.”

God, Costin . . .

She got to her bedroom, wanting to shut Jonah out until he allowed Costin back, but as she closed the door, he reached out a hand to block it.

He stood there, just over the threshold, his eyes a piercing blue, his hair ruffled from a wild night.

Her stomach flipped, especially when she thought of how Jonah had tried to get out when she and Costin had screwed earlier. How he’d been . . . tantalized.

Warped. This was bent and all she wanted was to wake up in the life she used to have before vampires.

“Hey,” he said, bracing his hands against the door frames. “You’ve got your ultimate weapon back for the team, and you might be
this
close to an Underground.”

“You put Costin in the middle of a bunch of possible Underground vampires and you didn’t give a fig about using your powers in the open. Am I tickled? No.”

His gaze went dark again as he leaned into the room. “I can take Costin places that he’s never been able to go during a hunt. His hosts have never been as strong as you made me with that exchange of our blood, Dawn. He’s been wondering for a while whether or not I would be enough to shield him outside of headquarters’ walls. He’d never say it, because Costin doesn’t take risks with himself until the final attack, but he wondered, and
I
acted when he wouldn’t do it himself.”

Then why the hell hadn’t Costin shared this with her? They could connect minds, but there’d always be secrets. He was too good at hiding them.

They both were.

“I hope you’re not questioning his courage,” Dawn said. “He’s got more than any of us.”

“He’s got a lion’s share,” Jonah said, leaning back out of the room and dropping his hands from the door frame. “But with this vampire’s body, he’s not sure of much right now. And for Costin to admit that is to admit weakness.”

Costin, the warrior. Of course he’d never admit to it.

“Let me help, Dawn,” Jonah said softly. “I want to.”

Anger, helplessness . . . She pushed it all down so it joined that dark spot within her, making it grow like a stain that wouldn’t stop spreading.

But she cinched it shut, stopped the flow of it, knowing what she had to do. Hating that Jonah always forced her to bargain with him for Costin’s sake.

“You want to help us more actively,” she said.

“I do. And before you have to ask—yes, if you consider me as an option for the team, that would buy my cooperation. If you meant it.”

There was nothing else to do, especially if Jonah could act as a shield for Costin. They couldn’t continue
this
way.

It was a devil’s bargain, but what else could she do right now?

Swearing to get Jonah back, she locked gazes with him until she opened herself up enough for him to flood her.

He stayed inside her an instant more than she wanted him to, brushing against her mind, causing red, tingling friction to gasp through her before he eased out.

“I’m holding you to it,” he said, his eyes changing color, the ebb of an ocean pulling away to reveal the sun-washed sand.

And just as the last slant of blue turned topaz, he whispered, “Remember.”

When the change was complete, Costin trudged one step forward before she went to him, catching him before he fell from exhaustion, from what Jonah had put him through. She supported him as they slumped to the floor, his arms around her as he buried his face against her neck.

She smelled the night on his coat, in his hair, smelled a hint of blood from Jonah’s last meal. When his fingers tightened on her, she wondered if he’d fully tasted the exquisite trace of it in his mouth just now. She wanted to see into his mind to get an answer, but she stayed out, content to be with him, happy just to have him back.

Because there was time for a few minutes of peace, wasn’t there? Time before they went to Queenshill to find out what was behind the housematron’s door.

Time before Jonah demanded that Dawn honor her end of the bargain she’d been forced to make.

“Costin,” she whispered, as if saying his name over and over would keep him here for at least the rest of the night.

“I won’t allow him back,” he said, his voice thick. And she knew it was because of the feeding, the blood. The self-disgust of having to give in when he’d always been a knight who’d never compromised, never surrendered.

“Everything’s going to work,” she said. “We’re going to find out if those girl vamps will lead us to that Underground, and then we’re going to take on whatever comes our way. Together. Got it?
Together.
”

But he’d already passed out into an undead rest, even though sunrise was a couple hours off.

Dawn pulled him closer, grasping his coat as if her fingers were stitches holding them together, binding them, doubling their strength for what would be coming with just one of the Undergrounds that could free Costin.

And maybe even the rest of them, too.

Dear Reader,

 

I hope you enjoyed
A Drop of Red
, the book that starts off the London Underground portion of the series. You know that this series, as with the Hollywood Underground trilogy (Books One through Three), is structured a little differently than most, and by the time you get to Book Six, the mystery, character, and mythology arcs introduced in this installment will be resolved.

 

This means that, in August 2009, Dawn and the team’s hunt for the London Underground is going to continue in
The Path of Razors
, and I hope that you’ll enjoy what’s to come as Limpet and Associates soldiers on in its endeavors. . . .

 

Until that time, happy hunting, and thank you for all your support. You’re the ones who keep the Undergrounds going.

 

All the best,

Chris Marie Green