Ember Learns (The Seeker) (4 page)

She rested her hands in her lap. “Just start from the beginning.”

“Right. Your family line goes back centuries. The blood became diluted over the years by men and women mating others not of our race. You still carry the blood, but not enough to prevent you from living a halfway normal life.”

“So, what you’re saying is we have screwed ourselves human?”

His lips twitched. Her attempt at humor made her even more precious in his eyes. “Something like that.”

“Vampires really exist. This is just so unbelievable.” Her eyes widened. “Do you know which of my parents carries the blood?”

“Your father.”

Ember let that piece of shocking news sink in. “That explains a lot. His allergies, iron supplements, and restlessness at night. I have so many questions.”

“I know, and I will answer them all, but first we have to make sure you’re safe. As long as the Seeker still lives and breathes, you’re in danger.” The thought of that psycho being anywhere near Ember enraged Angel.

“What does he want with me?”

“It’s not really you he wants…it’s me.”

“I don’t understand.”

Angel’s reflections turned inward. “Long ago, it was forbidden for us to mate with anyone outside our own species. My grandfather Marco fell in love with King Edward’s illegitimate daughter, Roselle Anne. He mated with her, and a child was conceived from their union. The baby was born with the dark gift, and therefore couldn’t ingest breast milk. Sources say a maid witnessed Roselle feeding the child animal blood, and ran screaming from the castle. Word reached the king of the abomination, as they called it, and he took a small army with him to investigate.”

“Animal blood?”

“Yes. It works just as well, although not as tasty.” He grinned, showing off the tips of his fangs.

She shifted on the bed. The scent of her arousal reached his nose and skipped straight to his cock. He arranged himself in a more comfortable position in his now too-tight boxer briefs. “Ember…”

“Go on.” Her husky tone left no doubt he affected her also.

He shook off the thought. If he didn’t, he’d never finish his story. “My grandfather happened to be away visiting relatives when the king and his soldiers stormed his home. I don’t know all the details of everything that happened that day, but upon Edward’s order, Roselle and her child were to be killed and strung up in front of the castle as a warning to any of my kind who dared to procreate with humans again.”

“Oh my God. He had his own daughter killed?”

“Yes.”

“And the baby?”

“One of the kitchen staff managed to hide the child in a secret room beneath the cellar where Marco usually slept.”

“What happened to your grandfather?”

“He lost his mind and went into a fit of rage, slaughtering half the king’s court. He disappeared shortly after that, and wasn’t seen again for nearly a hundred years.”

“Wait…what? So the stories are true. You’re immortal?”

Angel chuckled. “Hardly. But we do have a very long life span.”

She stood and approached him. “How old are you?”

“Let’s just say I’ve written a few letters with a feather in my time.”

A laugh burst from her. It wrapped around him like a warm blanket. One word came to mind.
Home.

“So, the child lived?”

“Her name is Rosie. She’s my mother.”

He watched the play of emotions on her face. She had expressive eyes that he could get lost in.

“And your father?”

“His name is Andrei. He and my mother travel a lot since Helen’s death.” The sting to his gut arrived right on cue. He wondered if he’d ever be able to speak her name without pain.

Ember closed the distance and wrapped her arms around his waist. She touched her lips to a spot right above his heart, then turned her head and laid her face against his chest. “I’m sorry.”

He hugged her back. “I wasn’t there to prevent her death, but I will protect you.” And he would, no matter what he had to do. He’d taken her blood. She belonged to him now.

“Tell me about the Seeker.”

“The first one came into existence after Marco took his revenge on the ones responsible for his wife’s murder. The Seeker single-handedly took out a dozen or so of our women and a few of the men.” Anger rose up, threatening to choke him.

“Why did he go after the women?” He could hear the horror her voice.

“Because it was easier that way. If he killed a female, it would most certainly bring down her mate.”

“Do you mean bring him out in the open?”

“Once one of my kind mates with another, it’s for life—a bond that can’t be broken, not even by death. So if she dies, he usually follows not long after, unless there are children involved. But once the kids are old enough to defend themselves, the last living parent will go underground to sleep for hundreds of years. Most never emerge.”

“How is the Seeker able to kill Vampires? I mean, I’ve seen how fast you are…”

“For years, mates didn’t sleep together if they had children. It made them less vulnerable to rest in two different places, and they changed locations often. If something happened to one, the other would have to survive to take care of the offspring.”

“They are killed in their sleep?”

Angel rested his chin on top of her head and nodded. “The Seekers have turned into some kind of secret organization over the years. We have no idea how many members there are or who heads it up. Some of the ones we have caught actually folded and gave up a name, but then that person would be dead by the time we got to him.”

“How did he know to come after me? And why not just kill me instead of strangling those women?”

“Because your blood is too diluted to bother killing you. His plan all along was to draw me here by using you as bait.”

Ember leaned back and gaped at him. “He wants to kill you?”

Chapter Six

Ember’s mind whirled with information overload. She’d just been told the nightmare she’d lived for the past year had been a series of events meticulously planned by the Seeker in order to kill a Vampire. Before tonight, she never would have believed such beings existed, but a big, tall, fanged one stood in front of her now. “How would he know you would come to me?”

“He was not sure which of us would show. But he has access to the same database that we do. Every bloodline in Vampire history is recorded.”

“How does he have access to the names?

Angel’s expression hardened. “It was taken off one of the elders that the Seeker killed.”

“My family is in danger. We have to warn them.”

“Your parents are safe. They are too old to be of importance.”

“I don’t understand.”

“They can’t procreate, and their blood is too diluted. The Seeker hoped one of the purebloods would come if he dangled you in front of us. It was his way of saying
I am here. Come and get me
.”

She reared back and searched his face. “I have to warn my cousin, Shon.”

“You can’t leave here until the Seeker is caught.”

Surely she’d heard him wrong. “I have to return to my job. I worked for years to get that promotion. It wasn’t easy, let me tell you, and I didn’t kiss anyone’s ass to get there.”

He gripped her shoulders. “There is a good possibility the Seeker is employed with the newspaper company or has someone planted there. It’s not safe.”

“But you said yourself it’s not me he wants, and he doesn’t know what you look like.”

“He’s already taken the lives of several women. Just because he hasn’t killed you yet doesn’t mean he won’t. If he grows tired of waiting, he may just do it to lure me out in the open.”

Ember’s stomach dropped. “How are we going to stop him?”

“
We
aren’t doing anything. You’re going to get some sleep before you end up sick, and I’m going to make some calls.” He gently backed her toward the bed.

We’ll just see about that
. “Are you staying the night?”

“I’m going to be your shadow until this lunatic is caught.” He pulled back the covers.

Ember divested herself of the borrowed robe and climbed into Angel’s big bed. “I have to go to the station in the morning to make a statement.”

His jaw tensed. “Call the detective and tell him you won’t be in until tomorrow evening.”

“If I do that, he will likely show up at my place again. Or Laura will. Angel, I can’t avoid work.”

“You have to. Now get some rest while I make some calls.” He kissed her on the forehead after tucking her in, and then left the room.

She closed her eyes, trying to shut out the images of the innocent women in those photographs. They had lost their lives because of her, to make it appear she was being stalked by a man they’d dubbed the Watcher. The Seeker knew once the media learned of Ember being targeted, it would only be a matter of time before the Vampires descended. And they’d played right into his hands.

Ember ran her tongue over her teeth, thinking about fangs, blood, and Angel. Her skeptical side wanted to balk at the idea that Vampires existed, but she’d seen the evidence. She’d experienced it firsthand. If someone had told her yesterday that she would be drinking blood fresh from a vein, she would have laughed in that person’s face after gagging first. But she’d not only done it, she’d enjoyed it. Hell, she wanted to do it again. She rolled over onto her side with a jaw-popping yawn. The last thought she had before sleep claimed her was how she was going to keep all this from Laura.

* * * *

Ember stretched while cracking open an eye. The room was still dark, telling her she had longer to sleep. A full bladder coupled with a dry mouth ruined that idea for her. She threw a leg over the side of the bed and sat up. Remembering her nude status, she snagged the robe lying across the nightstand.

She stood and looked down at Angel sleeping peacefully on his back. He was so beautiful it sent her heart racing. With one last lustful look, she trudged off to the bathroom. The tile floor felt cold to her feet as she hurried to take care of her needs.

Once her hands were washed, she crept into the kitchen for a drink. The water moistened her parched throat. She finished the first glass and drank another. She couldn’t seem to get enough.

The clock on the wall read five minutes after seven in the morning.
It can’t be that late. It’s still dark
. It occurred to her that Angel had blackouts on the windows to keep the sun from coming in. The whole Vampire thing seemed surreal.

Ember needed to go home. She had to meet Laura at the sheriff’s department in less than an hour to give her statement. She was also determined not to lose her job, and that meant getting it in gear and showing up. She felt sure she would be fairly safe in a building full of people in broad daylight. Angel was going to be furious with her, but she’d deal with that when the time came.

With a made-up mind, she tiptoed back to the bedroom. She’d have to leave through the sliding door since he’d brought her in that way. Once again she wouldn’t be able to get inside her condo by the front entrance.
I really must start carrying a key on my person.

He hadn’t moved, and she doubted he would until the sun set. She eased to the side of the bed and leaned over him. She let her lips hover over his briefly as feelings rushed to the surface. She was in love with a man she’d known less than three days.

“Angel?” He didn’t stir, so she softly brushed her lips against his. “I love you.”

She straightened and exited the room.

EMBER’S WHISPERED CONFESSION floored Angel. Had he been standing, those three words would have taken him to his knees. She had no idea what it meant to him hearing it fall from her lips. And he was trapped inside himself, helpless to respond.

The sound of the glass door sliding opening swiftly replaced his euphoria with panic. He had forbidden her to leave, and damned if she hadn’t done just that. He wanted to howl in frustration.
Ember!

* * * *

The parking lot of the sheriff’s department was full when Ember arrived, so she pulled in across the street at the courthouse. She slipped a pair of sunglasses on and climbed out, locking her car doors behind her. She was more than twenty minutes late.

Traffic zoomed by in a flurry of color and mayhem. It seemed everyone was in a hurry to be somewhere, including her. She glanced at her watch and pressed the button at the crosswalk. The signal changed shortly after, indicating she could proceed without being run down by oncoming cars. She broke into a jog to make up time and nearly twisted an ankle on the opposite sidewalk. “Damn it.”

By the time she reached the building, she was winded and moderately agitated. At least she’d had the good sense not to wear heels. She pulled open the door and practically ran into a disgruntled Laura.

“There you are. I was just heading out to call you. I’ve been worried sick about you, and Clay is fit to be tied.”

“I’m sorry: I got stuck in traffic, then I had to park across the street and wait for the light to change. I so need coffee.”

“Me too. Come on, he’s waiting for us.” Laura took the lead, striding off down a long hallway, the clicking of her heels echoing off the concrete walls.

Ember followed close behind. “I need to call Barry and explain why I’m going to be late for work.”

Laura glanced back without slowing. “I’ve already spoken with him. I told him we were taking your car in for service, and I would be giving you a ride.”

Relief poured through Ember. The less that people knew of the situation, the better. Especially her boss.

She could hear the murmur of voices over the ringing of phones as they passed several open doors along the way. A picture of the sheriff hung off-center on the hallway wall. Directly below his unsmiling face, a slogan read, DO THE CRIME, DO THE TIME.

Ember thought of Carnley sitting in prison. She wondered how he’d been so careless as to leave behind evidence at the crime scene. Was he a Seeker also, or a distraction to throw the cops off the trail of the real Seeker?

Ember was so lost in her thoughts, she nearly ran into Laura when Laura suddenly stopped in front of Detective Harper’s door.

“You ready?” The blonde raised an eyebrow and gripped the knob before tapping lightly with her knuckles.