Bite the Bullet (Bitten Book 5) (25 page)

My head came up as the door opened quietly. Then the lower edge hit the metal vase I’d placed in the door’s path. It fell onto the hardwood floor with a bang and rolled away.

I reached out and turned on the lamp beside the bed.

“I’m sorry I woke you,” he apologized, stepping into the room and closing the door behind him.

I got out of bed and went to pick up the vase against the far wall. “I wasn’t asleep,” I murmured.

I replaced the heavy vase on the dresser and faced Asher. He looked a great deal more relaxed than he had before. We studied each other from across the room, neither of us speaking.

Finally, I broke the silence.

“You seemed upset downstairs. Is something bothering you?”

He walked past me toward the closet, unbuttoning his shirt as he went. “No, I’m fine.”

I could feel the brush of his emotions against my mind and he was telling the truth. Now, he was fine, but he hadn’t been before. He might be a complicated man, but he couldn’t hide that from me. I shared things with him and his evasion stung.

I followed him into the walk in closet. He’d already stripped off his shirt and slacks and dropped them in the hamper.

Taking a deep breath, I let go of my pride. “Please talk to me, Asher. I want to know if I did or said something that upset you.”

Something in my voice made him stop and really look at me. “But you didn’t,” he answered.

“Then why did you get so tense and quiet when I talked about going back to work?” I knew it had something to do with that conversation. That was when his body tightened and he’d stopped talking.

He hesitated.

“Talk to me, Asher. Please. I don’t want you to feel like you can’t share things with me. Even if it’s not what I want to hear. I’m a big girl, I can handle it.”

After another pause, he finally answered me. “I realized tonight that you’ll probably be going back to your job at the security firm, which means that you’ll also likely take on dangerous assignments.” His eyes locked on mine. “I know you value you’re independence. And I also know you’re well trained and more capable of taking care of yourself than any other female I’ve met, but I hate the idea of you putting yourself at risk. I have to admit, I hate the idea that you’ll be gone on long assignments from time to time. Now that I have you, I don’t want to let you go far.”

I understood why he’d been hesitant to talk to me. We’d argued when I told him my plan for defeating Cornelius for these exact reasons.

However, this was different. We weren’t talking about removing a threat to my life; we were talking about what I’d be doing once our lives returned to normal.

“You’re right. I would be gone on long assignments. Probably often. As soon as my boss realizes I’m a vampire now, he’ll probably give me the most dangerous jobs because he knows my body is nearly indestructible.” And he would too. I liked my boss, but he was coldly pragmatic. I hadn’t given it a thought before, but my turning would change everything for me at work, and not in a way I’d like.

Asher’s eyes glittered at my words, but he remained silent.

“But I don’t like the idea of becoming cannon fodder, especially now that I have someone to come home to at night.”

The stiff set of his shoulders relaxed slightly.

“I still want to work in security,” I stated.

Asher came toward me, resting his hands on my waist. “I understand.”

I placed my palm against his bare chest, right over his heart.

“I appreciate what you tried to do tonight, Asher, but please don’t do it again.”

He looked down at me with a quizzical expression.

“You can’t be the only one who compromises in this relationship. Eventually, you’ll start to resent it, and me. I realized tonight that you fit into my life as though you were made to be there, yet I have no idea if it’s the same for you.”

Asher covered my hand with his, pressing it harder into his skin. “Shannon, I didn’t have a life before I met you. I merely existed.”

I leaned forward and rested my forehead against his pectoral. “You always say the sweetest things.”

He released my hand and used the side of his index finger to tilt my chin up so that he could see my face. “No, I’m always telling you the truth.”

“Stop it! I don’t know how to handle the sweet talk!” I cried. “Sweet talk has never been part of my relationships before.”

Asher grinned. “Okay, what kinds of things should I say?”

“I don’t know. How about
make me a sandwich
? Or
no, honey, your ass doesn’t look fat in those jeans. It looks flat
?”

He chuckled. “I’ve never been a human male, but I’d say that may be why none of them can keep a good woman.”

“You’re probably right.”

T
oday was the
winter solstice.

Ricki and Calder would be arriving right after lunch and Lex would bring Ivie over just before sundown.

The foreboding I’d been feeling for the last week seemed to grow exponentially overnight. The sensation was so intense, I expected to look out the window of the house and see a dark cloud hovering over the property.

From the moment I woke up, I felt like I was going to crawl out of my skin. Asher must have gotten up a while ago because his side of the bed was cold. I dressed in workout gear and went to the gym for a run on the treadmill. It was enough to work off the excess adrenaline so I could focus.

After a shower, I got dressed and headed downstairs. Donna was in the kitchen, eating breakfast.

“Hey, how did you sleep?” she asked.

I shrugged. “Okay. You?”

“You’re funny. Sleep wasn’t my friend last night.” She shook her coffee cup at me. “I’m empty. Will you please get me another cup while you’re up?”

I took her cup and filled it, then poured one for myself.

“Are you nervous?” she asked when I brought her coffee back to her. “Scared? Terrified for your life?”

I smiled at her. “Yes, I’m nervous. Even knowing how this is going to turn out, I’m still on edge.”

“You look like you’ve got your shit together.”

“Years of practice,” I quipped.

I grabbed some bread out of the breadbox and stuck it in the toaster.

“So are we just going to sit around and stare at each other all day?” Donna asked. “Just waiting for the asshole to show up.”

I hadn’t given it much thought. I’d been consumed with plans and preparations. I hadn’t taken the time to think about what we would do before shit went down.

I shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Let’s do something normal. Something we haven’t done in a while, like watch a movie or something,” she suggested.

“That sounds good,” I answered, nodding.

“Conner wants to get married after this is all over,” she mentioned absently. “I told him I wanted a real wedding and a real honeymoon if we were going to do this the old-fashioned way.”

“When?”

“As soon as we can plan it. He’s got that scary event planner who says she can put it together in six weeks.” She glanced up at me. “I told her to make it eight because I intend to have a huge hand in planning my own wedding. I could tell it pissed her off, but Conner was there and she wasn’t going to do anything to make him angry.”

I laughed. I remembered the event planner she was talking about, though her name escaped me. That lady was like a drill sergeant in stilettos.

“Will you be one of my bridesmaids? I’m asking the other girls too.”

“Of course I will!” I cried, coming around the bar to hug her. “I’m honored you asked me.”

“Well, who else would I ask? Kim Kardashian?”

I laughed and hugged her tighter. “I guess not.”

We both jumped when my toast popped up from the toaster.

I released Donna. “As soon as all this is over, I’ll help you with whatever you need for the wedding. Even if it includes strong arming event planners.”

“Thanks.”

*     *     *

We didn’t end
up sitting around and staring at each other all day.

When Ricki arrived, everyone was so happy to see each other that we spent most of the afternoon talking. Calder hovered for a while before disappearing into the study with the male vampires, probably picking over every aspect of the plan.

Mid-afternoon, Ivie and Lex showed up and it was like a reunion. It was the first time the five of us had been together in months, and it felt wonderful.

It was also frightening.

This was it. The final battle between us and the Faction. At some point, Cornelius would come for the Five and it would be done.

We all tried to keep smiles on our faces and ignore the reason as to why we were there, but I knew the other women were thinking about it as well.

“Does anyone else feel like this is weird?” Ivie asked, breaking the peculiar spell that had fallen over us all.

“How about some tea or coffee?” Donna asked. “I’d offer booze, but Shannon and the guys insist that we stay completely sober. Like nuns.”

It was the comic relief we needed to let go of the awkwardness.

We’d barely settled in the living room with cups of tea and coffee, when it happened.

The vision hit me hard, carrying me with it like a riptide. Rhys stood before me, a snarl on his lips and malevolence swirled around him so thick I could barely breathe.

“Psychic cunt,” he hissed, lunging toward me, all lashing claws and bared fangs.

God, I’d been wrong about Rhys. He was going to betray us. Fuck, he’d already betrayed us.

“Shannon!”

Donna’s sharp cry yanked me out of the vision and I gasped for breath, blinking up at her.

That was when I heard running footsteps throughout the house.

Duncan appeared in the doorway. “Rhys is here.”

I glanced at Kerry. “You stay here.” When she sputtered an argument, I shook my head. “You’re strong enough to protect Ricki and Ivie.”

I didn’t wait for a response from any of them. Jumping to my feet, I followed Duncan down the hallway to the foyer. There were ten vampires standing around Rhys, who was lying on his side in the middle of the floor.

I stopped just behind the circle of guards and took a moment to assess the room. Cornelius radiated evil, so thick and dark it resembled metaphysical slime. I couldn’t feel any of that.

“It’s not Cornelius,” I stated, but that was little comfort after the vision I’d just had.

The vampires in front of me parted and I moved between them toward Rhys’ motionless figure.

“He isn’t what I thought,” I began. “He’s—”

“Proven himself very useful,” a voice drawled.

I looked up and saw Rhys standing near the entrance to the study. Only it wasn’t Rhys, it was Cornelius. I could feel his nasty aura from ten feet away.

How in the fuck did he get in here? I looked down at the real Rhys’ unconscious form and betrayal rose in my throat. I’d had faith in him and he was a traitor.

Before anyone could move, another voice spoke. “Yes, it’s amazing what magic can do, isn’t it?”

I twisted around to see another Rhys standing by the mouth of the hall. Again, he emanated evil. Before, Frederick’s aura wasn’t as dark or heavy as Cornelius’, but now I couldn’t tell them apart because it carried the same oppressive blackness.

Then the room exploded into action.

The vampires around me split, each of them going after one of the imposters. Conner had a walkie-talkie to his mouth, calling for more men but there was no response.

He looked at me, a wild expression in his electric blue eyes. “Get the females to safety. If they had Rhys, they know everything.”

“We have to follow the plan, Conner,” I answered.

“They know the fucking plan!”

“This is our shot to end this once and for all. We’re going to the ballroom,” I argued.

“Dammit, Shannon.”

“Conner, I’ll keep Donna safe. She won’t be hurt, I swear.”

“Fuck!” He glared at me, eyes burning fiercely. “Do it.”

Conner tried to help the real Rhys to his feet.

“Leave him,” I commanded. “Or lock him up. He’s a traitor.”

“A traitor?”

“I had a vision a few minutes ago. The fucking bastard tries to kill me tonight.”

“I’ll deal with him,” Conner promised. “Go to the others. Finn’s on his way.”

I nodded and dashed out of the foyer. As I ran down the hall, I could hear the sounds of fighting coming from the back of the house. I skidded to a halt in front of the door to the living room. It was shut and locked.

Knocking frantically, I called, “It’s Shannon. Open the door.”

The door cracked and Kerry’s face appeared. When she saw it was really me, she swung it open.

“What’s happening? I heard a commotion in the foyer, so I shut and locked the door.”

“Cornelius and Frederick are here. I don’t know how many others are with them. We need to move to the ballroom as soon as Finn gets here.”

We waited for two minutes. Then it was five. The tension in the room grew until I was ready to scream.

“We can’t wait any longer,” Kerry stated, her face tight with worry.

I nodded. “Let’s go. Finn knows the plan and he’ll find us.”

We made our way through the maze of the house. I could hear fighting; the solid sound of flesh hitting flesh, grunts, and the occasional cry of someone who was injured or dying.