Bloodlust (12 page)

Authors: Michelle Rowen

Tags: #Fiction, #Paranormal, #Romance, #Horror, #Occult & Supernatural

BOOK: Bloodlust

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A breath caught in my chest. “How do you know all of this?”

“Consider it a bit of a side project I’ve been working on. I’d hoped it would benefit a friend of mine before he decided he hated my fucking guts.” Noah flicked a glance at Declan. “Oh, and by the way, Molly’s fine. I set her up with a family who love cats, even one-eyed flea-bitten bitches like yours. No offense.”

His voice was distant to me now because I was trying to sort out what he was saying. Jade, the dhampyr, wouldn’t have blood that could imbue true immortality like a child’s, but her blood would be able to heal Matthias and give him his strength back.

Then he could go and stop Kristoff when he was awakened. And Declan could put going after the vampire king out of his mind. I didn’t want Declan to die. Dhampyrs weren’t immortal. They might be able to heal horrific injuries in record time, but they lived the same lifespan as a human.
Less
by the sound of it.

A glance at the dhampyr in question made me realize that he’d been following my train of thought and the expression on his ragged face wasn’t one of approval.

“You’d offer up this dhampyr to Matthias and let him drink her blood to heal him?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said without hesitation. “In a New York minute. Are you in?”

“I’m not sure I feel quite as strongly about Matthias’s recovery as you do.”

“Then do it for purely selfish reasons. She can help you, too.” I turned to Noah. “Tell Matthias we’re going to get her tonight.”

“Awesome.” Noah nodded, although he looked nervous. “I love amusement parks. Do you think they have a Ferris wheel?”

THERE WAS A FERRIS WHEEL. A BIG ONE. TO THE LEFT of the expansive beachfront grounds of “FunTown,” the full moon shone high above the Pacific Ocean.

I hadn’t known what to expect of an amusement park owned and operated by vampires. I guess I thought it would be something horrible. Something with an aura of danger and death about it.

I did feel dread at the sight of it. But it was coming from me, not the park itself. I’d even been to this one a while back with my sister and her two daughters. It had been during the day then. We were here an hour after sunset due to the fact that Matthias was going to be joining us. Yes, it was me and Declan. Noah and Matthias were arriving in another car. All of us together at the park. Somehow my love of cotton candy and arcade games wasn’t the first thing on my mind tonight.

We were going to rescue the dhampyr. And she was going to help heal Matthias and figure out what was going on with Declan. Finding her and safely getting her the hell out of here as quickly as possible was the only thing I wanted to focus on.

“Stay in the car,” Declan advised as he shifted the car into park in a spot a couple dozen feet away from the entrance walkway to FunTown.

I just looked at him. “I want to help.”

“It’s too dangerous.”

He’d gone out for the better part of the afternoon in search of more dhampyr information. Despite his emotionless ways, he seemed to be in a foul mood tonight. It was another sign that his serum was not working as well as originally advertised.

We wouldn’t be returning to the motel room again. I felt a bit of guilt at what the maid would think when she opened the door on the damage and bloodstains we’d left behind. But it couldn’t be helped. Declan left a stack of bills on the ruined bed that would cover most of the damage.

I put my hand on his thickly muscled arm. “It’s going to be okay. Once we get her, she’ll be able to help us. And there’s no way I’m waiting in this car.” I frowned at the strained expression on his face. “What is it?”

“You don’t get why I’m trying to keep you from all of this, do you?”

“All of what?”

“Everything. Vampires, death and destruction, pain . . .”

“Because all of that stuff sucks ass?”

He shook his head. “Sometimes I feel as if I kidnapped an angel and dragged her into the belly of hell.”

I stared at him before I smiled. “I never knew you were so poetic. But if you’re calling me an angel, I think you’re a bit delusional.”

He twisted his fingers into my long black hair, looking at it for a moment, before his gaze locked with mine. “The more I try to protect you from all of this, the deeper you sink into it.”

I knew Declan had me on a bit of a pedestal. I represented a normal life to him—a normal woman who’d been forcibly taken from her regular life and plunged headfirst into his. And he was right in some ways. I had one of the most average lives of anyone I knew. Didn’t mean it was all that happy. I had the scar on my left wrist to prove that. The deep depression I’d sunk into after the deaths of my parents five years ago caused me to take a razor blade to my wrist one horrible night.

The pain had given me second thoughts, but the scar was there to remind me that hope was not something I wanted to lose again. That moment when I touched the blade to my wrist and pressed down to see the blood well up was, emotionally, far bleaker than anything I’d had to face since meeting Declan. That darkness had come from inside of myself, not outside. Big difference there.

While I’d been through a shitload of trouble and pain and misery in the last two weeks, that tiny spark of hope hadn’t completely extinguished for me, although it had come very close a couple of times. I was still fighting. I hadn’t given up. Part of me knew there was a way to crawl out of this rabbit hole I’d fallen into. It wasn’t going to be easy, that was for damn sure, but I still had hope it was possible.

And when I found a way out of this dark hole and into the sunshine again, I planned to bring Declan along with me.

My fingers tightened on the small photo of Jade Connolly that Declan had in his dhampyr files that looked as if it had been taken well before she’d been kidnapped by vampires. Pretty girl. Red hair, bright gray eyes. Smiling for the camera.

It reminded me of the picture of me in the newspaper. Someone who had no idea of the danger waiting just around the next corner.

For the moment, I would gladly put aside all of my problems to deal with hers. A day ago I didn’t know she existed, but now my goal was to free her from this place no matter how we had to do that. If we did and she was okay and healthy, it would prove to Declan that he didn’t have to worry quite so much about his future. That he wasn’t slowly turning into a monster that I needed to fear.

A car pulled up alongside us. I could feel the vampire staring at me even before I turned in my seat to confirm it was Matthias and Noah.

I was glad I’d been unconscious last night during the fight between him and Declan. I hadn’t witnessed Matthias losing his shit before, and I didn’t think I wanted to.

“I’ve been thinking about Matthias,” Declan said quietly.

“What have you been thinking?”

“Maybe I was wrong about him.”

I turned away from the vampire in the car next to us. “You’re going to have to be a bit more specific.”

“About Sara. Maybe I’m wrong to keep her location from him.”

That was surprising. “You were so certain about it last night.”

“I was.”

“So what changed your mind?”

“You did. But there was also something in his eyes when he spoke about his daughter. All he cares about is her safety. He desperately wants to protect her.” Declan’s own gaze was distant. “And he’d kill anyone who tries to hurt her.”

“You saw that in his eyes?”

“Yeah.”

“And how do you know for sure it was for real?”

He blinked. “Because it’s the same way I look at you.”

I steeled myself against the lump in my throat. “Declan—”

Noah rapped on my window, jolting me out of the moment. Declan was seriously the most frustrating man I’d ever met. He was stone-cold emotionless one moment, and then said stuff that made me want to throw my arms around him and never let go the next.

Declan exited out of his side of the car and so did I. Matthias stayed back about ten feet from me, his hands clasped in front of him.

“It’s all right,” Declan said.

Matthias looked at him with confusion.

“You can come closer,” he clarified. “I want to give you something.”

“What?” The vampire’s voice was guarded.

“The address of the woman looking after your daughter.”

Matthias frowned. “Why would you do that for me?”

“Because you deserve to know.”

“After last night with Jillian, I thought—” He broke off. “I was certain you’d never tell me.”

Declan fished into his pocket and pulled out a small spiral-bound notepad and a pen that he used to scribble something down on the paper. “I’ve faced a lot of vampires in my life and not many showed the slightest bit of remorse for what they did. I haven’t always been the best judge of character, but—” He hissed out a breath. “Don’t make a fool out of me, Matthias. I swear, if you harm that child I will personally hunt you down and kill you.”

He held out the piece of paper. Matthias looked at it for a moment, before moving close enough to take it and study the address.

“She’s here?”

“Yeah. It’s Carson’s sister, actually. She took care of me when I was a kid and she’s probably the only reason I’m not more fucked up than I already am. She’s a good woman. I strongly suggest you leave Sara with her for now, but if you want to see her, I won’t try to stop you.”

Matthias nodded his head once. “I appreciate this more than you know.”

I felt a huge sense of relief. Not only did Matthias know where his daughter was now, this might mean he’d tell me how to save Declan. It was very nice to know there would be options.

Matthias tucked the paper into the pocket of his black pants and regarded the entrance to the park. “I’m familiar with the clan who run this place. It would be better if we don’t come face-to-face with them.”

He said it lightly, but it made a shiver run down my spine. Stealing a valuable dhampyr from right under their noses wouldn’t be something they’d be happy about.

“We’ll be quick. Jill has a picture of the dhampyr.” Declan held out his hand and I gave it to him. “Noah, you wait by the cars with Jill while Matthias and I locate the dhampyr. If there’s any sign of danger, leave immediately.”

I wanted to help. I hated the idea of waiting and not knowing what was happening, but I stayed silent.

“Fine with me.” Noah rubbed his chest. “Really. I’ve had enough drama to last me a decade and I’m still nursing my last life-threatening injury.”

Matthias crossed his arms. “The clan lives underground as I did, only their dwelling is on a much smaller scale. They have humans run the park. It’s only a cover for them.”

Declan nodded. “Then we’ll have to go below and check things out.”

I felt bad that I’d come all this way and wouldn’t be any help in the rescue, but the logical part of me saw it was for the best. It was crowded and busy aboveground. Lots of kids and teenagers and families and people on dates. There was safety in numbers. Not so much safety in underground lairs with vampires who hated trespassers, especially since I could attract them like bees to honey.

Having me along would only be a burden. I understood. Didn’t like it, but I understood.

I touched Declan’s arm. “Be careful. Both of you.”

Declan held my gaze for a moment longer, then nodded and walked with Matthias into the park. I watched until they were swallowed by the crowd. A chill went through me despite the warm evening.

“They’ll be fine,” Noah said. “Seriously. The two of them together? Death incarnate.”

“That’s not terribly comforting.”

He leaned against Declan’s stolen car, eyeing me cautiously. “How are you feeling tonight?”

“I’m all right. But last night . . . Noah, I haven’t felt pain like that for over a week. Before it was in my gut, but last night it was in my head. Felt like it was going to explode.”

“Luckily it didn’t.” There was a catch to his voice so I turned to look at him directly to see that his bottom lip was quivering.

“What’s wrong?”

He shook his head. “I hate seeing people suffer.”

“I’m not suffering at the moment.”

“I wish I could find another solution for you.”

I swallowed. “I know.”

Noah wiped at his face. “I like you, Jill. You know that, right? I don’t want bad shit to happen to you. You don’t deserve that.”

“Right back at you.”

“At the very least, I think you’re safe at the moment,” he said.

“How do you figure?”

“Because there are so many scents here—good and bad ones—that even a vamp nose would have a hard time locating you.”

“That is oddly comforting.”