Blood and Sand (44 page)

“Then we understand each other better than most, don’t you think?”

And suddenly he did.
 

Constantina
. The lavish tomb in the rich cemetery was not something one did for an obligation. It was the tomb of an honored lover. Ivan
had
loved Constantina. Perhaps he had brought the Elixir to Mexico, thinking it would allow the human to live with him forever. Perhaps the truth had been as much of a shock to him as anyone else. But despite that, when Ivan had learned the reality, he had sought profit and power. He hadn’t cared for his lover in her final, painful days. That job had gone to another.

“I may understand you, Ivan. But don’t think we are the same,” he said quietly.
 

“I would never make that mistake, my friend.”

“Did the cartel know?”

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Carlos had disappeared. Rory was gone. He hadn’t caught a whiff of any tempting waitresses on the way in. Ivan had indeed learned a lesson in caution.

“You were operating right under their nose, but they didn’t even get a cut. Plausible deniability? Or were they truly unaware?”

Ivan’s smile grew wider. “
If
I was conducting any business without their permission… hypothetically…”

“Of course.”

“Then I’d hardly worry about them listening to rumors, would I? Things could get…” He winced dramatically. “So complicated. No one would want that. Why, then they’d have to find someone else to run this territory and clean up their messes, wouldn’t they? And they’d have to admit that someone was more clever than them.”

“Hypothetically.”

Ivan raised both eyebrows innocently. “Of course.”

“And Juarez?”

Ivan shrugged. “Such an odd situation. Who knows what is happening there? It could be any number of things. So often, people make assumptions. Especially humans.”

So Ivan
had
used the Juarez murders as a cover. And the human police were still looking for the connection between the two. As far as Baojia was concerned, they could keep looking. He was confident they would find nothing pointing to either Ivan or himself.

Ivan said, “It’s so strange how things work out sometimes, isn’t it?”
 

“How so?”

“
If
I were involved with something as hypothetically damaging as murdered women—”

“And human hunts?”

“So you say. And
if
someone were to clean up all the loose ends for me… Kill everyone involved, for instance. Whoever did that would be doing me a favor.” Ivan’s friendly gaze grew keen. “No one to spread lies. It would leave me… quite blameless. Hypothetically.”

Baojia leaned forward. “Wherever has Carlos run off to?”

Ivan shook his head sadly. “I’m afraid my first might have been involved with some rather unsavory characters. I’ve already reported it to my sire. I do hope he can be found, but I’m not terribly optimistic.”

“Such a shame to lose valuable people.”

“I’m sure your sire thinks the same thing.”

Baojia leveled his gaze at Ivan. “I’m sure my sire will be fine. He is already shoring up his defenses with all the activity happening along the border. Nicolas is taking over my position since I am moving.”

“How very fortunate for Ernesto. He’s a good man.”

Ivan didn’t look pleased, which was exactly what Baojia was hoping for. He’d used Beatrice’s influence over Ernesto to put his chosen successor in a more powerful position. As much as he wanted to cut ties with his sire, he could not, in good conscience, leave the southern border unguarded. He’d trained Nicolas himself.
 

Warning Ivan off Ernesto’s people was only part of the reason he’d come down for a visit. He was also following up with Father Andrade. The priest, despite their fears, was still healthy and helping the poorest in Ensenada. Carwyn had been worried when the man hadn’t called, but in the end, it appeared a simple wrong number had led to the mix-up.

It was always the most unexpected things.

 
Ivan took a deep breath. “The last few months have been rather messy, haven’tsy, have they?”

“Nothing we’re not used to.” He scooted forward. He’d found out the truth about Juarez—as far as Ivan was concerned. He’d warned the cartel that Ernesto’s people would be well guarded. And he’d checked on the priest for Carwyn. Baojia was ready to leave.

A hint of temper lit Ivan’s gaze. “Does it bother you to go to work for someone else who will just expect you to clean up their messes?”

Baojia paused. “I work for whom I choose. I do not have your ambition, Ivan.”

Ivan shrugged. “There are some who might see ambition as a virtue. They might appreciate immortals with talent, such as ourselves.”

“Because we’re
so much alike?”

The vampire turned a seductive grin on Baojia. “We’re more alike than different. Whether you’ll admit it or not.”

Baojia smiled and stood. “So you say. I need to go now. It was interesting to see you.” Both vampires stood, neither holding out a friendly hand to shake. Baojia began walking away.

“Baojia?” Ivan called.

“Yes?”

“When you get tired of other people’s problems, let me know.”

“We’re not alike, Ivan. Don’t fool yourself.”
And I have promised to kill you myself. It won’t be tonight, but I do
not
break my promises.

Ivan only smiled, as if he could hear the challenge in Baojia’s thoughts. “I’ll see you soon.”

He turned and looked over his shoulder. Ivan was still standing, hands in pockets, face in a mask of polite deference. Perhaps they
were
more alike than he’d thought before, because Baojia doubted most would recognize the anger and pain that burned beneath Ivan’s piercing stare.
 

“Yes,” he said quietly. “I’ll see you soon.”

Baojia left. He walked down the stairs and out the door without a single look back. He listened for his car’s distinctive pitch and followed it, tapping on the window so Luis would unlock it. Then he ducked in and relaxed into the seat, letting out a long, relieved breath.
 

“Take me home, Luis.”

EPILOGUE

Six months later…

The doctor held the stethoscope to her heart, then lower, smiling as he did. He couldn’t use the more modern equipment his nurses could, but with his keen immortal senses, Lucien Thrax could diagnose illness or catch medical problems with inhuman skill. Because, well… he wasn’t human.

The quiet vampire straightened Natalie’s gown and smiled. “Everything sounds wonderful. We’ll wait for your blood work, but so far, it looks like a totally normal pregnancy.”

She couldn’t hold back the grin. “Cool.” She sat up, arranging the clumsy hospital gown around her on the table. Despite the exterior, the house on the Northern Coast was a functioning hospital on the inside, complete with exam rooms, labs, and research facilities she didn’t truly understand. She still grilled Lucien about his work on the Elixir every time they met, much to the earth vampire’s frustration. But that afternoon, the focus was on
her
newest project, not his. It was her three-month checkup, and so far, everything looked good.

“How are your legs?”

She nodded. “All right. The right one seems fine, though there’s pain when the weather changes, and the left is getting better every day.”

“Keep up with your physical therapy.”

“Trust me, my physical therapist is a slave driver.”

Lucien smiled. “With your best interests at heart, I’m sure.”

“That’s what he keeps saying,” she said with a frown. “I have my doubts.”

She finally got Lucien to laugh. No mean feat for the quiet immortal with sad eyes. She’d known him for almost a year, but Lucien Thrax was still a mystery. He could be awake for most of the day, so Natalie guessed he was old—very old. He was tall, with a lean face that looked older the longer you looked at it. She wanted to hand him a pair of very old-fashioned eyeglasses even though she knew his eyes didn’t need them.

Her instincts told her Lucien had suffered loss like she couldn’t really imagine. And yet he was one of the kindest men she’d ever met. Unfailingly calm with his often unruly patients. Brilliant beyond her understanding, yet always ready to explain some point of research to her. But there was a sorrow that lived behind his eyes, giving Lucien a stern gravity despite his young face. She was glad he and Baojia were becoming friends.

Lucien said, “There’s no reason you shouldn’t have full use of both legs eventually, though the pregnancy will increase your body’s stress.”

“I know. Baojia said the same thing, but I didn’t want to wait.”

“Impatient girl.” He shook his head. “You can get dressed now. Did you want me to leave?”

She nodded toward the curtain in the corner. “You’re fine. I have a couple questions for you.”

“Of course you do.” Lucien smiled and sat in his chair as Natalie went to pull on her clothes.

“So, what I’m wondering is, if I decide to change at some point in the future—and that’s still an
if
—would my legs heal completely? How does that work?”

She heard him sigh. No doubt this was another one of those questions with a way longer answer than she wanted. She smiled when he started to answer anyway.

“It’s hard to say. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any hard and fast rules about some things. It’s a bit like human genetics, to be honest. No one knows what characteristics a baby will be born with. He or she could be the spitting image of one parent, a combination of both, or look nothing like either, but some very distant relative. There are some general rules, but not hard and fast ones, except for our elemental strength, which I liken to blood type.”

“So, it might heal and it might not?” Well, that wasn’t helpful. She was still debating the issue. She liked being human. She liked it a lot. And being a vampire had a lot of drawbacks. Some benefits to be sure, but drawbacks too. The biggest benefit was still sleeping in their room because the sun hadn’t gone down yet.

“It would be most accurate to predict that function would improve, but not perfectly. That’s why it’s very important to get your body into peak physical condition before a change, if it is planned. Becoming vampire increases the strengths you already have, which is why Baojia is so strong, even though he is relatively young for our kind.”

“Got it.” She buttoned up her jeans. They were snug; she’d have to get new ones soon. The thought made her smile.

There was a long pause until Lucien finally said, “Can I ask… are you leaning toward yes? After you’ve had your children?”

She took a deep breath and stepped from behind the curtain. the cur “I don’t know. To be completely honest, some days I watch the sunset and think… how could I spend an eternity without this? And then I see him when he wakes up and think, how could I ever say goodbye? How could I ask him to live the rest of his life without me? To watch our children—our grandchildren maybe—without me? Is this too cruel?”

“He wants this child as much as you do.” Lucien smiled. “Maybe more.”

She blinked back tears. “So every night I lean a little more toward that compromise. But I don’t know; I still have doubts. What do you think, Doc?”

She saw Lucien look toward the window that had been blacked out with shutters. A faint glow of afternoon sunlight peeked through. “I don’t want to influence your decision, Natalie.”

“But?”

He looked back at her with a rueful smile. “I had to say goodbye. And I didn’t want to live afterward. You have nights you still debate living as a vampire? Well… so do I. So I’m probably biased.”

Her heart broke for him; she walked over and kissed his forehead. “We’d miss you if you were gone.”

“I’m sure he’d say the same thing.” Lucien squeezed her hand. “Better get out of here if you want to catch that sunset. You can take a picture for me.”

“You got it.” She patted the phone in her pocket. It was new. Baojia broke them every six weeks or so. It was a good thing the guy was loaded.

Natalie left the hospital, walking into the afternoon sun and down the path leading toward the ocean. Her new home rested on top of the cliffs with a winding path that led down to the beach. She was still working on making that walk by herself without a cane or a helping hand, but she’d get there eventually. For now, she sat down on a clump of rocks that overlooked the Pacific and watched the scarlet sun set into the water. She took a few pictures to show Lucien later, and she waited.

The salt spray rushed up the rocks as the tide came in, tickling her nose with the scent of the living water. The ocean here smelled exactly right. She worked as much as she wanted to and had a new life growing in her. Change was good. Change was living. And the world was always changing. What wonders would she see if she lived as long as Lucien? Would the world still excite her? Could she ever grow bored? An eternity stretched in front of her if she wanted it. An eternity with Baojia by her side. An eternity to watch him change. Watch herself change.