Eternal Hearts (41 page)

Deciding she had to go on with her night, Toni climbed out of bed and stretched out her muscles. A giddy, girly feeling wiggled through her as she glanced up and noticed a folded piece of paper lying on the kitchen table. She burst into an all out run and snatched it up.

Toni,

Sorry I’m not there right now, but I knew if we woke up together I wouldn’t be able to leave. I hope everything works out with your sleuthing for “The Man”. I’ll see you soon. I promise.

I love you,

Drake

She smiled wide as she set the letter down. Only Drake could make her feel like a lovesick teenager. How she’d been lucky enough to end up with a man like him, she still didn’t know – but she wasn’t about to question whatever forces the universe had aligned in her favor.

Toni let out a loud groan when the doorbell screamed through the room yet again. She didn’t know what the damn thing had against Drake, but it obviously didn’t even want her thinking about him, much less touching him.

As she tried to slide new clothes on at warp speed, she heard someone start yelling from the hallway. “Open up, we know you’re in there! We’ve got the place surrounded!”

She laughed and fell over as she attempted to pull her jeans on. Only Clint would stand in the hallway screaming movie lines at her.

After righting herself, she quickly finished dressing then walked over to the door. “
No
hablo
ingles
,” she drawled, thickening her accent.

“
Déjeme
adentro
,” a deep, raspy voice called back.

Toni stared at the door. She knew that wasn’t Clint asking to be let in, but she didn’t recognize the voice. There was the slightest hint of familiarity…she felt it trying to fire in her mind, but she just couldn’t place it.

Deciding there was only one way to find out, she pulled the door open. Her mouth dropped open as she stared at the two men standing in the hallway. Clint she’d expected, but the other…the other she was almost afraid to believe was really standing there.

He shoved Clint out of the way and moved to stand in front of her. His black metal plated motorcycle boots, black hard leather pants, and white tank top were definitely familiar. But it was the string of tribal tattoos that spanned his shoulders and the length of his arms that told her everything she needed to know.

Toni covered her mouth with her hands as tears welled in her eyes. She remembered those tattoos. She remembered those light brown eyes.

She remembered her big brother.

She jumped into Dominic’s arms and squeezed him with every bit of strength she had. She’d spent over a decade hoping he was still alive, praying he was all right, but she never believed she’d actually see him again.

At eight years old, and only weeks after their father had died, she’d ridden her bike around the neighborhood every single day, from sunrise to sunset, for over three weeks looking for him. She’d asked every person she passed if they’d seen him, but no one had. She’d even gone to a few parts of town she should have never been in, without her mother’s permission, searching for him. And had Isabel not
ratted
her out and gotten Mama involved, she probably would’ve never stopped looking for him.

But Mama had a way of reasoning away even the most painful things. She’d said that Dominic was old enough to make his own decisions, and needed the space to do so. He was eighteen years old, and should be treated like a man, not a child. Eventually, Toni realized her mother was right and let the pain of missing her older brother fade into a dull ache.

However, at the moment…the pain was back full force.

Toni eased away from Dominic and stared up at him. There were so many things she wanted to yell at him for, but now that he was right in front of her – she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. All she wanted was to hear him promise he’d never leave her again.

Apparently it was Clint’s turn to do the shoving as Dominic stumbled past her and into the hotel room. “Why don’t we go inside and have ourselves a little chat,” Clint said with a smile.

She wiped the tears from her cheeks and nodded. After closing the door, she grabbed Dominic’s hands and shook them hard, instead of him. “Where have you been?”

He shrugged. “I’ve been around. I spent some time out in California after I got thrown out of Chicago. I moved about a half hour south of here a few months ago.”

“You got kicked out of Chicago? Did you get in trouble with the police or something?”

He laughed a rumbling sound that filled her with a hundred different memories. He pulled his hands from hers and used one to rub the back of his neck. “I guess you could say Locke didn’t’ like it when I tried to rip the head off of his Sydney doll.”

Toni could only stare at him for a moment. “You’re a vampire?”

“Yup.
Made by the same fucking guy who made you, from what I hear.” He lowered his eyes and tapped the toe of his boot against the floor. “That’s why I left after dad died. I couldn’t risk you guys finding out what I was. I hope now you can understand. It wasn’t what I wanted to do. Leaving you guys was the last
fuckin
’ thing I wanted to do.”

She frowned as she watched him fist his hands. She understood completely, because she had to do the very same thing. Only when she’d left home…their family had died.

She chewed the inside of her bottom lip. “I understand. I just…I missed you, Dom. I miss…” She trailed off when he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into another hug.

“I know…me, too.” He went quiet for a few moments before he cleared his throat. “But I’m back now, and Clint told me you might need some help with an investigation. Mind if I tag along?”

As his words fully sank in, all at once every emotion Toni felt warped into seething anger. She turned out of Dominic’s arms and focused all her rage directly on Clint. “All this time…you knew he was a vampire? You knew where he was and you didn’t tell me?”

“Don’t feel bad,” Dominic said. “He didn’t bother to tell me you were a vampire either until last night. Everybody just
fuckin
’ let me go on thinking you got killed right along with Mama, Bell, and Ray.”

Clint raised a hand. “I knew your brother was a vampire, but I wasn’t sure where he’d gone. And I didn’t tell you when your family died because I didn’t want Mr. Biceps for Brains to come rolling back in here looking for revenge. Finding out your brother was still alive, but then died, wouldn’t have helped either situation.”

Toni stood still as Clint stepped forward and cupped her cheeks in his hands. “I did what I thought was best for you at the time. Dominic was exiled almost ten years before you became a vampire, and you were having a hard enough time dealing with that. The last thing you needed was another surprise dropped into your lap.”

She sucked in a deep breath and tried to settle the wild lashing in her stomach. She really wanted to kick Clint, but he’d shown her time and time again that he’d never do anything to intentionally hurt her. “Okay, I get it. I do. But I’m still pissed at you right now.”

He rested a hand on her shoulder. “I really am sorry, Toni. When it comes to you, I’ve always tried to do the right thing. And in keeping with that tradition, I’m going to leave and let you two discuss the investigation and catch up.” When she nodded, he turned and glared at Dominic. “Don’t kill anything this time, especially her,” he growled as he pointed at her. “And remember what I said back in your garage…because I meant every word of it.” He turned back around and dropped a kiss Toni’s on the cheek. “I’ll talk to you later. Good luck with the investigation.”

She arched a brow. “What did you tell him back in his garage?”

His lips thinned into a smile. “That’s between me and him. But do me a favor before you get upset again, because I see the look on your face and I know that’s where you’re going. Try to remember that your brother’s been around for well over a decade now. He already has established relationships with people, not to mention a reputation, and neither have anything to do with you. Much like anyone else with his temperament, he’s loved by some and hated by others. I’ll put up with most of his antics because I care about you, but there are other Elders and Ancients in this city who won’t, and you have to be prepared for that.”

“Why don’t you tell her the truth?” Dominic asked before he growled at Clint. “Tell her I don’t eat all the crap that Elders like you try to feed anybody who actually remembers what it’s like to have a heartbeat. And you fuckers don’t like me for it. Why don’t you tell her that, instead of all the other bullshit?”

Clint reached up and scratched the back of his head. “As you can see, your brother
has
quite the temper on him, only outdone by his nonstop mouth.” He motioned to Dominic. “Toni, meet the reason why, when you gave your last name to most Enforcement Teams or Lords of other cities, they summarily threw you out on your butt.”

Toni whirled around to face her brother.
“Oh my God, Dom.
How much trouble have you caused since you left? Do you know how many times I got shot whenever I told someone my name?”

He grinned at her.
“Probably a lot.”
When she shot him a nasty glare, he straightened. “What? There’s shit I’ll deal with and shit I won’t. Being fucked in the ass by some Elder because she thinks she’s better than me is some shit I just won’t take. And just so you know, I didn’t cause trouble anywhere else. I only caused trouble here, and that bitch Sydney turned around flapped her gums to every Doll in the whole damn country.”

“Sydney’s the Elder Councilor who represents the Dolls here in Chicago, just in case you didn’t know,” Clint added. “And her network of contacts isn’t anything to—”

“I don’t give a fuck about her network of contacts!” Dominic yelled. “She deserved everything she got. And I’m telling you right now, if I see her while I’m here, you’ll be damn lucky if I don’t try to pop her head off again.”

Toni jumped when Clint cuffed her by the arm and dragged her to stand in front of her brother. “Do you see this?” he growled at Dominic. “This, right here, your baby sister…
she
is what you risk losing if you don’t keep yourself under control. And I swear to God, if she ends up with so much as a scratch on her arm because of you…I’ll put you down myself.”

Dom leaned forward, his nose only inches from Clint’s, fangs clearly visible. “You mean you’ll try.”

Clint released her arm. “Toni, I’m really sorry about everything…but I need to leave. If you can, try to keep him out of trouble. And like I said before, I wish you the best of luck.”

Toni didn’t even know what to say when Clint walked away then slammed the door closed behind him. Was it too much to ask that the most important men in her life actually get along? Clint hated Drake. Apparently her brother hated Clint. And Lord only knew how Dom and Drake might get along.

She looked up at Dominic. “What’s wrong with you?”

“I don’t
fuckin
’ like him, that’s what’s wrong with me.”

“Yeah, I kinda picked up on that.
But why?”

“Because he shows up late last night, talking all kinds of shit about you still being alive and how you need my help. But he didn’t actually say that, because he was
doin
’ that whole subtle word game shit where he’s saying something but he isn’t really saying it. And then he’s telling me he had to make some deal with Locke to get me back in, and how I need to behave because he has to answer for me now, and if I get in trouble and get punished, he does too. But it’s all crap. He just wants me to feel all indebted to him and shit, that way when he needs some fucked up favor later I’ll have do it, no questions asked, because I owe him. It’s like he doesn’t think I know how this shit works.”

For a moment, Toni could only stare up at her brother. “Wow. I don’t even know what to say to that.”

“There’s nothing to say. It is what it is, and I know what the fuck this is and how it works. I’ve been here before and I’m not about to take it in the ass again by some Elder.”