Dalton, Tymber - Love and Brimstone [Brimstone Vampires 1] (Siren Publishing Classic) (18 page)

* * * *

It was dark outside, and someone had removed the IV while she slept. Taz carefully sat up, and the room threatened to spin before settling. Her stomach growled. How long had she been out?

Finally making it to vertical, she sat on the edge of the bed as the room dangerously tipped again. The empty IV pole stood nearby. The bedside clock read 8:15, but was it accurate?

She’d been out over twelve hours?

The room obligingly settled, and she staggered to the bathroom. On the hamper she found new underwear, a fluffy robe, and pajamas, all in her size. Deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrush, and floss, all the brands she used, were set out on a shelf by the sink.

Robertson
.

She wanted to be mad at him. How much had he lied over the years? All this time, he’d worked for Matthias.

But he
was
her only family.

She stepped into the shower, her hand on the wall for balance. She still felt a little woozy, but better. Her favorite shampoo and conditioner, new bottles, sat on a shelf just inside the door. And a new scrubbie. And her favorite bodywash. And a razor and shaving gel.

Robertson thought of everything.

With the shower as hot as she could stand it, she lost herself in thought. What did her house look like? What did the thing that trashed it, and nearly trashed Matthias in the process, look like?

There was disbelief and there was denial. She could choose to not believe what happened, but she couldn’t deny the severity of Matthias’ wounds or how fast he healed.

She had the scar on her wrist as proof of what happened.

Why did it attack her? And would another Other come after her?

The Other’s brother from another mother.

Okay,
that
was definitely stress. Lots and lots of stress.

She dressed and went downstairs in search of food. Robertson stood when she entered the kitchen.

“Taz!” He threw his arms around her, more emotional than she’d ever seen him. “Don’t you
ever
scare me like that again, sweetheart.”

She returned his embrace and eventually managed to free herself. “I think
I’m
supposed to be angry at
you
. Can you fix me some eggs?”

He smiled. Was that relief? “Sit. How many?”

“Three, please. To start. I’m starving.” His scrambled eggs were the best in the world. Fluffy and cheesy, without a hint of whites. It was always her favorite meal, and no one ever cooked them as good as he did.

Albert appeared. “You’re looking a lot better.”

“Thank you. Did I really sleep all day?”

He nodded. “It’s nearly nine.”

“Where’s Matthias?”

“He’ll be in shortly.”

A moment later the door to the garage opened, and there he was, wearing a short-sleeved light-blue chambray shirt, jeans, and barefoot. Matthias looked like a yuppie, not a vampire.

He paused when he saw her. “Did you sleep well?”

Anastazia nodded, reaching out to touch a fresh, pale scar across his forehead. It had been a deep, bloody gash across his flesh when she saw him in the bedroom. “It’s gone.”

“Yes. Thanks to you.”

“I want to see the thing’s head.”

All three men frowned. Robertson plated her eggs and handed them to her. “Taz, that’s not a good idea,” he said.

“Why not?” She dug into the eggs. Oh, they were great! She’d need more. This wouldn’t be enough. She was ravenous, ripped into them like a starving wolf. “I want to see it. I think I’ve earned the right.”

Matthias studied her for a moment and nodded. “All right.”

He returned with a clear garbage bag, like they used for recycling in the office. The thing’s head was semilupine in shape but twice as large. She saw dried, brown smears of blood through the plastic and closed her eyes.

“Okay, all right. I’m convinced.”

He took it away. When she heard the door to the garage close she opened her eyes. “Holy crap! How can they stay hidden looking like that?”

“That’s why they’re called the Others,” Albert explained. “They mostly stay to themselves. They’re actually the origin of the Bigfoot and Yeti myths. The Chupacabra. Any reliable sighting of a bipedal, crypto-zoological creature that isn’t a shape-shifter is most likely an Other. They have hybrids and humans helping them. Why they’re involved in this is—”

“Complicated,” Matthias said, returning. He carried the sword, wiping it with a white cloth. He laid it on the counter, and she noticed strange symbols inscribed on the blade. “I think it was a contract hit.”

Taz finished her eggs, her appetite fading with that new revelation. “Why me?”

Matthias sat across from her, his eyes boring into hers. “Because they want something from you.”

What?

Matthias looked at the counter. Robertson and Albert suddenly scooted, leaving them alone.

Okay, so she hadn’t imagined the mind reading.

Spooky.

Matthias looked at her. “If you want the truth, you cannot get angry at me for telling you.”

“Sure I can. Try me.”

Her heart skipped as his mouth curled in a delicious half smile. “From what I was able to find out before it died, the Others want to take you before you get pregnant. It didn’t know exactly why, it was just a hired hand.”

“They…
W
hat
?”

“I’m just telling you what it told me.”

She couldn’t even think about what she wanted to say, because he could read her thoughts. “Pregnant? I’m not having a baby with you. We’re not even dating! You’re my boss—”

and I love you

“—don’t those idiots know that?”

Shit.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I know I’ve got you at a disadvantage. If it’s any comfort, it fades at a distance.”

She glared at him. “This isn’t funny.”

“I agree.”

“My house is trashed, something evil is trying to kill me for having Rosemary’s baby, which I haven’t even had. Hell, I haven’t had sex in…in too damn long,
not
that it’s any of
your
business.”

The slightest trace of a smile touched his mouth. “No, they don’t think your baby would be evil.”

“Then what?”

“An heir. Able to continue the line. They think you have the genetic makeup, and for some reason, they want you.”

“What, are they running Match.com for homicidal freaks?
Hello
, I
so
did not sign up for that.”

“Regardless of what does or doesn’t happen between us, I will never force myself on you. I mean that. For now, you need to let us protect you. I can keep you safe.” He reached out and touched her hand, and she didn’t pull away.

He’s cute. And he is…

She looked at him. He was sitting right there. Able to read her thoughts.

She yanked her hand out of his. “I am pissed, you know.”

“You have every right to be.”

“You lied to me!”

“Mostly through omission, but yes.”

“What else have you lied about?”

“You weren’t replacing someone who retired. And Albert isn’t retiring any time soon.”

“You sneak. I
knew
it!”

“I needed you close to me. I’ve already explained that.”

“What about my stuff?”

“We’ll move it here. You can’t go back to your house.”

“In my own room?”

“Of course.”

She had to pace. She stood up and walked around the kitchen. There were worse prisons than this house, and worse wardens than Matthias.

And she didn’t want to die.

She didn’t want him to die.

“What’s next?” she asked.

“Figure out exactly what the Others want to accomplish, why they did this, if they were put up to it by someone else. They never interfere with our business. Never have in the past. Live and let live. Why they should care about an heir, if that really is what this is about, is beyond me.”

“But I thought—”

“I don’t know. That’s the problem. I’m only guessing and putting together some speculation based on what little I got out of that beast before I killed it. You’re on their radar now. Before this, you were unknown to the Others. To anyone. I took great pains to keep your identity a secret. Only one other person outside this family knew about you, and that person is in a position of trust. If it turned out you didn’t have the line in you, I wanted to keep you safe.”

“I’m in danger?”

“Until I get to the bottom of things.”

She was in full snark mode. “Well, why don’t we just get the Scooby gang together and pull the rubber mask off the bad guy?”

Matthias’ tone sounded sharp. “We don’t like this any more than you do. I wanted to ease you into this, slowly guide you to using your powers until you got to the point you couldn’t ignore it anymore. Then we were going to reveal the truth. Over a period of years, if necessary. I can’t undo what’s happened here—”

“Damn straight!”

“—but I promise you, heads will roll.”

When she looked green, he realized what he said. “I’m sorry. Bad choice of words.”

“No, really, ya
think
?”

Chapter Fifteen

Matthias left that night for London to investigate, which was both a blessing and a curse. Apparently she’d missed meeting his cousin, Rafael, who’d arrived and left again while she was unconscious. Taz couldn’t help but worry about Matthias, now that she admitted how she felt about him.
Pissed off, check. Betrayed, double-check.

Romantically attracted to the big dope?

Triple-check.

It was nice not having to control her every thought. She needed time to sort out her feelings for Hawthorne. Obviously, he wouldn’t have a problem having a relationship with her, but she didn’t know if she wanted a relationship with him, or anyone else, for that matter. Not with demons and crazy wolf-things coming after her.

The new routine was creepy at first. Soon, however, it became a comfort. Especially when she thought about the thing that attacked her and nearly killed Matthias…and the evil growl it made. There was always a heavily armed contingent of guards close by, but they were discreet. She reluctantly gave in to Robertson’s request to remain at the house. They gave in to her request to work from wherever she wanted on the grounds, even outside.

Yay strong wireless connection.
Between her laptop and BlackBerry, she was still able to work. And for her, the only choice was to work or figure out how to get a Thorazine drip. Working, at least, kept her distracted. Robertson or Albert, one of them always stayed at the house with her, ran to the office to fetch anything she needed. The second day she sent Albert to Tampa four times, mostly out of spite and irritation. She felt a little guilty later when he didn’t complain about the multiple and mostly unnecessary trips.