Irresistible Nemesis (19 page)

“Yes. The lines of text reflect the same passionate feelings and loss of control you described in your coupling with the huntress.” Andreas always admired his father’s intellect and keen analytical mind. But Aristotle’s uncanny ability to pick apart small details and put them together in a logical and cohesive fashion still amazed him.

“However, the emotions Eva stirred in you were far from typical. In fact, they will no doubt have life-changing affects, not only on you, but on the human and vampire realms alike.”

“What in the name of the gods does that mean?” Andreas shouted in defense. Aristotle made it sound as if sleeping with Eva had brought about the end of the world as we know it.

“Son. You may want to sit down for this,” Aristotle gestured for his son to take a vacant seat. The unexpected request put him on edge. He rubbed the aching muscles at the back of his neck and paced the length of the library once more, before pulling up a stool next to his father. After what seemed like an eternity, Aristotle continued.

“Listen to these lines of the sonnet. They are very telling.

“For no greater rapture doth seal, Thy mending of hearts and mingling of blood. Bring forth Thy One in the name of salvation, Intertwining fates in reconciliation.”

“Hmm. The verses seem to hint at a treaty of sorts. A reconciliation of vampires and humans?” Andreas shook his head back and forth, still unsure he grasped the true connotation of the words. “But if so, how? What could possibly bring unity to two species that have been at war for centuries?”

“‘Thy One.’” Aristotle frowned at his son, presumably waiting for the light bulb to turn on. Andreas racked his brain as he tried for the life of him to pinpoint precisely who “Thy One” referred to. Then the elder shot him a rather unnerving glare, not content with his son’s inability to connect the dots. Whatever mind-altering explanation Aristotle had concocted in his head was bound to throw him a curve ball large enough to send his chaotic world into a full-fledged death spiral.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Hindsight

Natasha shoved open the door to the interrogation room.

Furious. “Ivan. I need to speak with you outside. Now.” Natasha’s voice quivered with anger as she spat the words at him. She heard the rustle of clothes and saw his massive body reposition itself in an attempt to follow her. As she turned toward the door, Natasha saw the woman’s profile. Red, splotchy marks had already appeared along the other woman’s jaw line, and she knew without question, that the blood rushing there would soon turn her skin a deep purple.

Once out of the room, Natasha unleashed her fury on the former bodyguard. Even with his six foot, four inch frame and hulking biceps, Ivan Olshanskey was no match for her.

“
Mudak
! I told you to keep your fucking hands off the merchandise.” Natasha cursed aloud as she read him the riot act in Russian. “If we want a good price for her, she needs to be kept in perfect condition. No marks. Especially on the face!” Natasha’s urge to kill the huntress blinded her. But death would be far too merciful. Eva needed to suffer and what a better way to acknowledge her sins than through the humiliation and self-deprecating pity she’d experience once sold on the black market. The human trafficking rings in Eastern Europe would snatch her up and devour her in a single gulp. Mind, body, and soul. It was almost too easy for Natasha to contact her seedy compatriots in Moscow and set up the online auction that would sell Eva to the highest bidder. It’d been even easier to acquire a counterfeit passport and smuggle Ivan back into the country to help orchestrate the entire extravaganza.

After all, the former security officer had a knack for roughing up woman. He could make almost anyone submit to his demands.

In his broken, error-laden English, Ivan capitulated. “I sorry, Natasha. But the son of bitch has a wicked tongue. She insult my manhood.” Ivan pointed to the area below his waist. “She said I have small dick. She said no woman in right mind would have me. I know she only try to anger me, but still, I can’t control my temper. She deserve what she got!”

Natasha could feel the blood bubble up inside as her patience wore thin. She bared her fangs and grabbed the much-bulkier man by the throat before she tossed him across the room. Older and much more powerful, Natasha watched him flail through the air. His husky frame bounced against the wall over and over again like a ping pong ball before falling to the concrete floor. Then, she strode over to him and laid her three-inched spiked heel atop his chest, right above his heart.

“
Zavali yebalo
. One more word. One more scratch on the girl and God help me, I’ll end your good-for-nothing life with a simple twist.” Natasha never lost control. She uttered the words in a calm, even cadence as she applied just enough pressure to puncture his skin with her stiletto heel. She picked Ivan up by the collar of his shirt, and pushed him toward the door. “Now get back in there and get whatever information you can from her about BPA!
Without
doing any damage to her exterior.”

Natasha had it with weak, incompetent men! If it wasn’t Ivan’s macho, overwrought brutality, it was Andreas’s love-sick puppy dog eyes as he mourned the loss of his one, true love.

Disgusting! If she let the men in her life dictate everything, she’d be long dead. She only hoped she could trust Vladimir, the Moscow-based vampire she’d been working with to establish a new business opportunity back home. Any enterprise involving scantily-clad women ready to do God knows what to please a man would be a success. Even more so, it would help Natasha make enough money to live a lavish lifestyle in her mother country, away from Andreas’s prying eyes. As an equal partner, Vladimir promised to hook her up with right people. People who made insignificant wenches like Eva live out their worst nightmares.

Natasha sat down at the desk and logged onto the computer.

She waited, anxious for the video conference program to boot up.

Then the image of a refined, gray-haired gentleman with slicked-back locks and a velvet smoking jacket flickered onto the screen.

“Vladimir, it’s so good to see you again. I take it everything is in order?”

“Of course, my dear.” Vladimir crooned into the phone with a smooth, confident baritone. “A package will be delivered by courier no later than five o’clock this evening. It will contain your new passport, a pair of one-way tickets to Moscow for you and the girl and instructions on where to rendezvous once you get into town.”

“Fabulous. If everything goes as planned, I’ll see you in about thirty-six hours. Until then,
dasvidania
.” Natasha smiled and disconnected the video feed.

****

With both hands tied behind her back, Eva tried to wiggle her way out of the ropes. But the more she moved, the worse the burns scorched the delicate skin along her wrists. Once she got her hands on Natasha, she would take her apart. Piece by despicable piece. She’d heard her at the door earlier, but so far, the bitch hadn’t had the guts to show her face.

Ivan had been her only companion. And what a prick he’d turned out to be. He wasn’t a man. He was a monster. A psychopath driven by the need to steal life and dignity away from innocent women. A blood-thirsty vampire just like the rest of them. He’d tortured her a hundred ways to Sunday, yet she’d managed to tell him nothing. After a while, he left the room. Frustrated as hell.

Once he disappeared, Eva’s thoughts turned to Andreas. From the onset, he’d been different. Gentle. Loving. Until the moment he snapped. She still couldn’t quite come to terms with what had gone wrong. He went from making passionate love to her to strangling her to death in some kind of masochistic twist of fate. None of it made any sense and once she escaped this hell-hole, she planned to find out what perpetuated his violent, uncharacteristic reaction.

Just as she felt the slip knot begin to loosen, she heard the heavy steel door swing open again. Her back was turned to it, but still, she listened to the heels tap against the cement. She had no doubt the person who entered the room was a woman. The footsteps sounded different. Light and nimble. Natasha. She fed in the last hour too because the pungent scent of blood swirled around the room like effervescent French perfume. Good. The female vampire would need all the strength she could conjure to challenge Eva’s wrath.

“So, we meet again. The last time I saw you, you were licking your wounds from Andreas’ rejection.” Eva flashed a wicked smile.

An obvious attempt to goad Natasha into the inevitable confrontation.

“To what do I owe this happy reunion?”

“Shut up! You’re nothing but a slut. A temporary distraction.” Natasha fumed at the huntress. She slinked close enough to reach out and touch her. “Once you’re out of the way, Andreas will see the light. Sure, he may be a bit emotional at first, and I’ll be there to console him.”

“You underestimate his feelings for me. Our feelings for each other.” Eva raised her chin in defiant confidence, even if inside, she had her doubts. “He will come for me. And God help you when he does!”

A malevolent grin spread across Natasha’s face. She let out a wretched laugh as she moved within inches of Eva’s reach. “By the time he deciphers our current location, we’ll be long gone. And you, my dear, will be selling your body for rubles on the streets of Moscow.”

That did it! Eva could only handle so much abuse. She baited Natasha into an argument. Had intentionally coaxed the vampire into her well-laid trap. Eva’s hands were free behind her back, but her feet were still tied together. She remained affixed to the chair with several layers of rope wrapped around her thighs and mid-section.

Eva freed her hands, drew back, and punched the vampire square in the face. A crackle and pop echoed in her ear, something akin to the breaking of bones. Next thing she knew, Natasha was bent over, holding her nose in obvious pain. Eva rushed to untie the restraints that kept her in the chair. Before her opponent recovered, she dealt another blow with a hard kick to the solar plexus. The vampire doubled over, her arms cradled around her waist as she fell to the floor with a thud.

Eva mounted her and landed blow after blow to the Russian beauty’s pretty countenance. The pent-up anger broke free. The anguish she’d felt after losing her parents. Her hatred of vampires.

Her irrational, mixed up feelings for Andreas. The hurt and confusion of his betrayal. It all crashed down in that one, succinct moment.

But Natasha didn’t let her wallow in her sorrows for long. The bloodsucker scratched and clawed at her as she arched her back in an attempt to buck Eva off. In a move straight out of a UFC match, the vampire somehow obtained the upper hand. She flipped Eva onto her back and held her to the ground. In that split second, Ivan rushed in the door. He nudged Natasha out of the way and picked the huntress up by the throat before setting her back in the chair. How come these God damn vampires constantly went for her throat?

I must be losing my touch. I need a frickin’ vacation
.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Thy One

“Father, please. Stop with the literary symbolism and tell what the bloody hell is going on. We’re wasting time with riddles while the woman I love could be dying.”

Aristotle peered into his son’s eyes, an obvious plea for him to remain calm. Andreas took note of the older man’s slow and even breaths, a methodical attempt to ease the tension in the room. It was so thick, you could cut it with a knife.

“Andreas. What you described of your experience with Eva this late afternoon is most unique. And there is but one explanation.

Eva carries your child in her womb. It could only have happened in the midst an intense, overwhelming exchange of love and selflessness.” As soon as the words escaped his father’s mouth, Andreas was up out of his seat. Ready to protest. But the elder put his hand up to quell his son’s reaction. “I know this sounds far-fetched.

Vampires and humans aren’t meant to procreate, right? In fact, only the blending of two pure bloods can produce offspring. Or so we’ve been led to believe.”

“If we both know this idea to be utterly inconceivable, why bother bringing it up?” Andreas frowned. He felt the lines of his forehead draw together in the shape of a “V.” “I’ve got one shot at happiness. Just one, Father. And sitting here listening to these preposterous machinations is a waste of time and energy that we could be using to find her.”

“Because it’s not as much of an outlandish possibility as you might think.” Aristotle smiled back at Andreas, trying to ease the obvious pain and anguish the thought of losing his beloved had wrought on his heir. “I am quite a bit older and wiser than you are, my son. I know our history like the back of my hand. The prophecy of

‘Thy One’ is well-documented and widely-accepted by vampires of my time. It is just that we never thought we would see it come to fruition in our lifetime. Listen to your heart. Read the words of the poem and let them sink into your subconscious. Deep down, you know them to be true.”

Andreas took his father’s advice, and read the words of the prophecy aloud once more. He allowed the flowing peaks and valleys of its iambic pentameter to penetrate his mind. The words weaved their way inside his body and soul. Several minutes passed until he was overcome with a sense of peace and tranquility. His earthly body became limp and pliable as his soul freed itself, detaching from the rest of his body. Andreas found himself float as if on a cloud, guided by a heart that searched for its one, true mate.

The sounds of the outside world drifted away, replaced by an angelic voice calling to him. He followed its rhythmic pattern and let his body pinpoint its desired destination. He descended over what seemed like a row of warehouses set by the sea. Andreas had no idea where he was, but he knew Eva was close. He could not only hear her.

He could
feel
her. And as her uniquely-beautiful aura washed over him, he sensed the spirit of his unborn offspring and realized what Aristotle told him was true. She carried his child. His son.

Andreas snapped out of his trance and jumped to his feet, ready to take action. “You were right. About everything,” He admitted against his better judgment. After all of his father’s concessions that evening, it was still difficult to accept that he had been right. “I saw her. She’s being kept in a warehouse somewhere by the Hudson River. I don’t know how I know that for sure. I just do.”