Immortality Stolen (The Mortal One Series Book 2) (17 page)

We all stood up and made our way out of the bar and found ourselves back on the dimly lit
Rue Malar
.

“The
Fontaine des Innocents
is on the way to the hotel, if you like,” Olivier said.

I nodded. “Please.”

“Is there anything else you would like to see?” Olivier asked.

Nico shook his head. “Only if there are things Dylan would like to see.”

I shrugged. “The fountain is a good start. I’ve done the tourist thing and the shopping thing, so I’m okay with this walking tour. If there is something I want to stop at, I’ll let you know.”

Both men nodded and we began walking down the
Quai d’Orsay
.

“
Pont Royal ou Pont Neuf
?” Olivier asked as we progressed down the road.

I laughed. He fell into French and didn’t even realize it.

“
Ce qui est mieux
?” Nico questioned back.

“You speak French?” I asked.

Both men stopped.

“What?” Olivier asked.

I shook my head. “You asked us something in French and then Nico just answered.”

Nico and Olivier both laughed.

“Yes,
mia mortale
, I speak French,” Nico said.

“
Mia mortale
? Cute,” Olivier commented.

I laughed awkwardly. “Okay, so what was the question? In English, please.”

Olivier chuckled low. “Do you want to walk over the
Pont Royal
or the
Pont Neuf
? The bridges?”

“And I asked which one is best,” Nico said.

“Okay, so which is the best?” I asked.

“
Pont Royal
is closer but
Pont Neuf
is the oldest, so it’s up to you,” Olivier said.

“Then let’s go over the Pont Neuf since it’s the oldest,” I said.

“As you wish,” Olivier said and we continued to walk down
Quai d’Orsay
. The view of the Seine on our left was stunning. Pitch dark with the light from the city playing on the water. Every now and then, a boat was tied off at a small pier. I wished we had access to a boat.

Olivier caught my gaze. “Perhaps next time I can arrange one.”

I nodded. “That would be nice.”

To say it was a longer walk to the older bridge was an understatement. I’m glad I wore comfortable shoes, but my calf muscles were killing me by the time we crossed.

“Are you doing okay?” Nico asked. I had slowed down and both men took notice.

I sat down on one of the rusted metal benches. To make it look like I did it to enjoy the view was futile. My legs were screaming. It pissed me off because I had been working hard to build up my endurance. I ran constantly and it still wasn’t enough to keep up with these vampires that didn’t appear to be tired or uncomfortable in the slightest. It didn’t seem fair, but then again, they did have immortality on their side.

Once we crossed the bridge, it wasn’t far to the Fontaine des Innocents. It was absolutely breathtaking. Seeing it at night made it look a little cryptic and Olivier and Nico took turns about telling me the history of it. While I knew a few things about it, I hadn’t known that it was moved and that a fourth wall had been built around it when it had.

Nico and Olivier were starting to communicate a little more. Maybe they bonded over sharing the history of the city with me or Nico felt more comfortable now that he knew the whole truth about Olivier. I didn’t know and wasn’t about to ask. It was nice to see them not at each other’s throats and I’d be damned if I was going to say anything to change that.

We stood around the fountain for a little while and then it was time for me to be the party pooper. I was tired. It had to be three in the morning if not later. I could barely muster enough energy to keep walking and even though I knew Nico would carry me if I asked, there was no way in hell I would ask and he knew it.

“Can the two of you drop me back to the hotel?” I asked.

Nico stopped and looked at me and then Olivier. “Tired?”

“Exhausted,” I said.

Nico nodded. “I apologize.”

I hated asking. Three in the morning was like asking him to go to bed in the middle of the afternoon. He still had another three or four hours before he had to go down. Olivier looked like he was ready to spend the night on the town with the both of us, but we made a turn down towards
Republique
for me.

“I just need to be dropped off. You can spend as much time as you like out here. I don’t need a keeper nor do I expect you to turn in early,” I said.

Olivier gave me a look of respect.

Nico looked at me for a moment. I could tell he was trying to figure out what to do.

“Go ahead,” I said.

We were at the front of the hotel. “I’ll see you tomorrow night,” I said to Olivier.

He leaned in and gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Good night.”

Nico bristled a little but didn’t say anything. “I will see you tomorrow night as well,” he said to Olivier. The affection Olivier showed me was probably enough to be the deciding factor for Nico.

“We can meet at a bistro a few blocks away from the Catacombs tomorrow night,” Olivier said.

Nico nodded. “Text me the address. Ten?” He asked.

“Sure. And thank you for allowing me to show you around Paris,” Olivier said. He gave Nico a pat on the shoulder.

Nico forced a smile. “Thank you.”

Nico and I pushed through the double glass doors of the hotel.

As we got into the elevator, I looked over at Nico. “That wasn’t so bad now was it,” I said.

Nico stared at me before saying anything. He started to say something and then shut his mouth.

“What?” I asked.

“When we get in the hotel room,” he said after looking down the hallway.

Fuck. That was not a good sign.

We got into our hotel room, closed the door, and then I took a seat on the bed, waiting.

“You could have made tonight a lot easier by telling me about him earlier,” Nico began.

I nodded.

“He stole his immortality? He stole a second bloodline? He has two fucking vampire bloodlines in his body? Do you know how fucking dangerous that makes him?” His voices was getting loud and shaky.

I nodded.

“Stop fucking nodding at me, Dylan.”

“Yes, he stole his immortality. Yes, he has two bloodlines. And I saw how intrigued you were when he said he had two, Nico. Don’t tell me you aren’t a little jealous in the slightest.”

Nico paced. He always paced when he was pissed. It was unnerving. I waited for him to say something and the waiting was killing me.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He finally asked after another minute’s worth of pacing.

I shrugged. “There was never a good time. I wasn’t back in Florence long enough. I wasn’t sure it was my place to say what he did or didn’t do.”

“That’s bullshit.”

It wasn’t bullshit. Everything had been on fast forward since we found out about the zombies and it was exhausting.

I yawned and got up from the bed. I went into the bathroom to take my makeup off and get ready for bed. I was too tired to argue with him. He was right, I should have told him about Olivier. I just didn’t know how to tell him. It was the secret I had been willing to keep for Olivier to ensure he got the help he needed putting down the zombies. It would come out in due time and it had. No harm, no foul.

“You’re going to bed?” Nico asked. He obviously wanted to argue or yell or fight some more. I had other plans.

I pulled back the cover on the bed and nodded. “Yes.” He stared at me as if waiting for me to explain myself. I stared back, showing that there was nothing left to be said for the night.

As Nico went to the curtains and adjusted them to ensure no light would shine through, it dawned on me that he would be sleeping beside me. This wasn’t something we had done yet. When he slept over at my apartment, he took the guest room. Antonio had told me about what to expect. Nico would be dead to the world. Cold to the touch. Not breathing. A dead weight.

Nico kicked off his shoes and began unbuttoning his shirt. I didn’t bother to watch. I climbed into the bed and let sleep take me the moment my head hit the pillow.

Chapter 16

I WOKE TO the sound of housekeeping knocking on the door. To my left, Nico was underneath the comforter, hidden from the world. I climbed out of the bed and padded to the door.

“
Non
,” I said to the petite brunette and closed the door. I knew it was rude, but my French wasn’t as good as my Italian and that meant it was pretty bad. She would get the hint and I put the ‘Do Not Disturb’ equivalent on the door.

The room was dark and I had to remember that Nico was in the bed. The urge to throw back the curtains was biting at me and it was Nico in the bed that kept me from doing so.

The clock showed that it was already past breakfast time. I took a shower, lingering under the showerhead. I was dressed and ready and Nico was sound asleep. Or dead. Still wasn’t sure how to classify that one.

I couldn’t sit around in a dark hotel room all day long waiting until sunset. I would lose my mind before that happened.

Scribbling a note to Nico in the event that I wouldn’t be back before sunset, I grabbed my messenger bag before heading out of the room.

The housekeeper asked me something about cleaning the room now and I told her no. I prayed she listened.

The elevator was already on my floor, making it easy for me to get down to the lobby fast.

“Dylan.”

I cringed.

Leuc came at me, smiling. “How are you? I did not realize you were staying at our hotel again,” he said.

I nodded. “The reservation is under my husband’s name.”

“Oh, is he with you?”

“He is up in the room feeling under the weather,” I lied. “He just needs some sleep.”

“Absolutely,” Leuc said. “We will make sure he is not disturbed.”

Good. That was one less worry.

“Can I get you a taxi anywhere?” He asked.

I thought about it knowing I didn’t want to be inside the hotel room, but had no idea where to go. “Can you recommend something to do?”

Leuc smiled. Apparently he lived for this kind of thing. He called over to concierge and said something quickly in French. The man behind the desk nodded and then yelled out to the doorman to hail a taxi.

“A tour down the
Seine
?” Leuc asked.

I smiled. “That sounds perfect.”

A taxi was out front in no time in order to take me over to the pier where a boat tour would be leaving shortly.

Aside from seeing the
Seine
in some of my walking tours and last night, it was one of the few places in the city that I hadn’t had a chance to explore. Taking a tour down the river seemed like a great way to pass at least a portion of the day.

***

“We always seem to run into each other,” a voice said behind me as I left the pier area. The thick German accent was familiar.

“Gregorio,” I said, turning to meet him.

“I just got into the city.” He smiled.

I nodded behind me at the pier. “Passing the time.”

“Ahh yes, the mortal one in the equation,” He joked. “It must be tiring to do everything on your own during the day.”

“Sometimes. Sometimes I prefer the peace and quiet.”

Gregorio nodded without saying anything. He seemed to understand that.

“I was going to get something to eat,” I said. My stomach growled as it decided to chime in on the conversation.

“Is that an invitation?”

I smiled. “Yes.”

“Very well,” he said and we began walking down the boulevard to the downtown area where more bistros were located. “Any place in particular?”

“No. Do you speak French?”

“
Oui
.”

“Great, then you can do the ordering.”

“You do not speak French? I am surprised by that,” he said.

“Really? I speak English, obviously, and am learning Italian because that’s where I live now. As for French, it’s not coming to me as easily.”

“Well, you may have to work on that,” he smiled.

I nodded. I’d get started on that with all of my free time.

“Perhaps you can visit Berlin again. I can have you speaking German as well.”

“Berlin was a beautiful city and the people seemed friendly,” I said. Berlin was definitely a place I’d like to visit again and spend some more time. Beyond Checkpoint Charlie and the hop on bus, I hadn’t seen much.

“If you and Nico ever desire a getaway, I would be happy to be your tour guide,” Gregorio offered.

“Thank you. I appreciate that and we may take you up on that offer one day.” I was about to step through a group of people when Gregorio put his hand up in front of me.

“Stop. Look.” He pointed to three men that were walking amongst the group. They appeared to be drunk and were knocking into people. They were being pushed around and said nothing. A few people cursed in French at them, but there was no response. The glazed look over their eyes said it all.

Before Gregorio could tell me what they were, I knew.

“People are going to notice,” I said. He had to do something. It was only a matter of time before someone went up to a police officer to report them.

Gregorio nodded. He waited for the crowd to thin out a little and then went up to the three men. He put his arm around them and guided them across the street to a park area that didn’t have anyone around.

The zombies were not cognizant of anything going on, so they followed without question.

“Do you see?” Gregorio pointed along their necks.

Flesh was beginning to flake away. Exposed tendon and bone could be seen as he pulled along the collar of their shirts.

“This,” he said, “is a problem.”

I turned away. It was disgusting and I felt bile rising up in my throat.

Gregorio whispered something to each of them and tapped his thumb to their forehead. They stumbled through the park and sat down at a bench.

“What did you do?”

“I sent them away from the public,” he said.

“Why not just take them down? Less for you to do tonight,” I said.

Gregorio shook his head. “It’s not that simple. I need human blood and it’s the middle of the day. There’s no way to perform a ceremony in daylight without having a dozen or more witnesses. That’s not a chance I can take.”

I nodded. Oh.

“So, lunch,” he said.

My stomach turned. After seeing rotting zombie flesh, lunch wasn’t really at the top of my mind any longer.

He laughed. “It’s part of life. You have to eat because when we get together with everyone else tonight, there will be no time. If you think three is bad, wait until there’s more.”

He was right. Damn it, he was right. “Okay.”

We crossed back over the street now that the zombies were out of our way and stepped into a small restaurant. It was a lot more intimate than it looked from the outside, but we found a table and took a seat.

I looked at my watch and realized that it would still be at least three hours until sunset. At least I would have some company until then.

Gregorio handed me a menu, breaking me from my daze.

“Any idea what you’re going to have?” He asked.

“
Plat du jour
.” It was the plate of the day. Being a foodie, it was easier to order that than anything else and it usually earned me points with the staff for not putting up a fight.

“Adventurous,” he commented. “I will do the same. So you do speak some French.”

“That counts as knowing French?” I laughed. “If that’s the case, sure I know about 100 words.”

He smiled. “That’s better than a lot of Americans. Many refuse to speak it at all. They will not even say please and thank you in a foreign language.”

I had heard that and it always upset me that people weren’t willing to speak another language. I shrugged. “I’m open to the culture. It gets me further if I can at least struggle with the language.”

“I agree completely,” Gregorio said.

The server finally came over and stood there, waiting for our order.

“Do you drink wine?” Gregorio asked me.

I nodded enthusiastically. Silly man, of course I drink wine.

Gregorio placed an order in French. The server perked up once she noticed he spoke French and that meant we would get better service. The only part of the conversation I understood was wine, two plates of the day, and thank you. So really, I understood the important parts. Point for me.

The wine came first and Gregorio poured two full glasses and set the bottle between us. It was white and upon inspecting the bottle, noticed it was a Riesling. It was a little sweet, but ice cold and went down maybe a little too easily. After walking around the city, it was better than anything else I could imagine.

“It’s German,” Gregorio commented, noticing I was enjoying the selection.

“Nice.”

“How are your men getting along?”

I almost spit my wine out. “Excuse me?”

He laughed. “I apologize if that was forward or out of line. I just noticed that you seem to be caught in a bit of a love triangle.”

What the fuck?
I had no idea how to respond to such a thing and shook my head. “I’m married to Nico.”

“Yes, but you went to Berlin with Olivier.”

“Yes.”

“And Olivier wants to be with you.” So it seemed that everyone was aware of that fact.

“I’m married to Nico,” I reminded him.

Gregorio smiled. “Yes, you mentioned that. Are you reminding me or yourself?”

Ouch. He rendered me speechless after that comment.

He continued. “Not many people take the vow of marriage seriously these days. If you do, that’s wonderful. But if you were not aware of Olivier’s intentions, he is looking to be with you.”

I nodded. “Yes, he has made that known to me as well.”

“And you are not interested?”

Before I could answer, he said, “Yes, I know you’re married.”

That earned him a snort. “Well, yes. I’m married. I am friends with Olivier. That is it.”

“But they are yours. Whether you realize it or not, they are both yours. They are your vampires.”

I shook my head. “They’re not mine. Nico is mine,” I said, holding up my hand with the ring on it. “But not Olivier. He is not mine. I take no claim to him.”

Gregorio put his hands up. “I could debate this with you all day. I am a man, remember. He is not interested in anyone else. I see how he is protective of you. Nico may have marked you, but Olivier is not planning on giving up that easy.”

Well, shit. I didn’t even know where to go with that one. Luckily I didn’t have to because the server came over and put plates in front of both of us. She said something quickly, looking more at Gregorio than me and he shook his head.

I looked down at my plate, not sure exactly what was in front of me. There were vegetables scattered in organized chaos with a drip of red sauce that connected them. Periodically, there were chunks of meat that looked like they had been stripped from the bone moments before being stacked on my plate.

Gregorio began dragging the meat out of the piles and into the puddles of sauce. I watched, waiting for him to identify the protein for me. He slipped a few bites into his mouth, obviously enjoying the food.

“Well?” I asked.

He was oblivious to me watching him. “Yes?”

“What is it?”

“Oh, rabbit. It’s good. Eat,” he said, sinking back into his plate.

Rabbit. That was a new one. I had eaten frog legs and snails and all sorts of things since getting to Paris. After dragging some of the meat and cutting up some of the vegetables, I popped some in my mouth. It tasted a lot like chicken, only more moist. It wasn’t gamey like I expected it to be.

“Good, right?” Gregorio had been watching me.