They Come by Night (44 page)

“Are you sure? Okay, okay.” I offered the rege a smile. “Good evening, sir. I’m sorry you got called out.”

“Things do tend to be lively in your vicinity.”

That wasn’t my fault! Was it?

“You are a most unusual sabor, Tyrell Small.”

I was going to take that as a good thing. “Yep.” And I grinned at him.

“Raymond, you have the clothes of the rogues?”

“Yes,
mon seigneur.
Ty left them by the garage.”

“You heard?” the rege asked, turning toward the front door, and that was when I noticed a number of other vampyrs standing on the porch.

Mina was curled up near my foot, and from her attitude I figured they weren’t a danger. “Um… anyone want to make introductions?”

The rege saw where my gaze had gone. “These are my
oameni de
pace
.”

“Enforcers?”

He nodded. “I regret this happened to you.”

“We all know de Vivar is a wackjob.”

“We do, but I wasn’t expecting others of my subjects to attack you.”

“They were young, Your Grace,” Ekaterina said again. I hadn’t thought so, but maybe she meant the amount of time they’d been vampyrs.

That didn’t seem to appease the rege. “Wait here,” he ordered his enforcers, and then he crooked a finger and walked into the living room. Raymond and Ekaterina followed him.

“Why are enforcers here?” I asked Adam.

“We need to know if this was a band simply attempting to take advantage of the situation, or if it’s an incipient coup.” He ran his hand over my hair, then turned to the front door. “Áedán.”

“Aye, m’lord.” From his accent, I could tell this vampyr was Irish. He had red hair tied back in a queue, but his eyes were so dark a brown they almost looked black.

I recognized this vampyr. I felt my gut clench, and I would have backed away except for Adam’s grip on me.

“You’re not welcome here! Adam…. He’s one of vampyrs who showed up after de Vivar. I wouldn’t give him permission to enter my house.”

Adam kept his arm around my shoulders as he urged me toward the porch. “This is Áedán Mac Lochlainn.”

“You’re vouching for him?”

He nodded. “He’s been working for the rege.”

“Undercover?” I peered at Áedán, and he grinned at me.

“The
Duque de Málaga
sent four of his vampyrs, and me. He didn’t turn me. I let him think I was discontented with the way things were run, and so he… recruited me.” His grin turned hard, and he looked exactly like the vampyr who’d come to my door, expecting me to love him and let him in. “I’m a quarter Castilian—my grandfather was one of the few survivors of
La Girona
, when it went aground near Dunluce in 1588. Instead of going to Scotland with the others, he stayed in Ireland and wed my gran. I have no use for the ruling class, be it English or Romanian,” he added mockingly.

“What about the other vampyrs he sent?”
La Girona
? I’d have to look into that.

“They have no love for him, but they are his, and they do fear him. Except, perhaps, Antonia. She was the first de Vivar sent to you.”

I thought back over that. “She was dressed in the costume of a peasant woman.”

“De Vivar was never interested enough to discover what she was.”

“And what was that?” I asked.

“She worked for the pope,” Adam murmured, and the Irish vampyr stared at him in shock.

“How could you know that?”

“Adam is the rege’s equerry,” I said proudly. “Of course he’d know!” I leaned close and whispered, “How
did
you know?”

Adam chuckled and brushed another kiss over my temple. He was being very tactile tonight. “My sabor.”

Well, if it came to that…. “My vampyr.”

“Ah….” Áedán Mac Lochlainn shook his head. “I regret I had to approach you as de Vivar’s representative. Perhaps one night m’lord Dasani will permit me to come to call as myself.”

I glanced at Adam. His expression was closed off. I couldn’t think of a polite way to tell Mac Lochlainn not in this century, so I just said, “Y’know, now I think of it, Rhiannon was the only one who went ballistic when I wouldn’t let her in.”

“She is a feisty lass, isn’t she?” The corner of his mouth curled in a hungry grin.

“Come along, Irish.” Raymond came out of the living room and gathered up my jeans and T-shirt. “I’ll show you and the others where the clothes are. Ekaterina?
Avec moi
.”

“Yes, Raymond.”

The
oameni de
pace
, who’d been observing us with interest, bowed and disappeared into the night. I closed the door, went back to Adam, and leaned against him, yawning broadly as he spoke to me. It wasn’t even midnight, but I was so wiped out I didn’t understand a word he was saying.

It didn’t matter. The sound of his voice washed over me, leaving me feeling safe and secure. And… loved.

“Mmm.” My eyelids drooped, and I thought I’d have to keep them pried open with my thumb and forefinger. “Adam, it was the weirdest thing.”

“What was,
dragul meu băiat
?” Adam ran a palm up and down my arm.

“Mina. I was holding her when we were attacked, and I’d swear it felt like she weighed a ton!”

He looked down at me. “I explained that to you.”

“You did?”

“Tyrell, that’s what the breed is… what they do.”

“Huh?” I yawned again.

“I’ll explain again after you’ve had some sleep.” He kissed my hair and closed his arms around me. Was he… was he
worried
for me? I rested my head against his shoulder and sighed happily. “You’d better go to bed.”

“Can’t. I’ve got company.”

“You’re asleep on your feet.”

“No, I’m not! See how awake I am?” I leaned back and opened my eyes wide.

“Yes, I see.” He sounded amused. “Come along.” He turned me around, pausing to say to the rege, “Ty’s going to bed.”

“Adam.”

“Your Grace?”

“I need to speak with you now.”

“Will you be all right, Ty?”

“Sure. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You’re exhausted. I’ll put you to bed soon. The rege and I need to sort things out.”

“Okay.” I started to lean against the half wall—between the hours spent in the ocean, the adrenaline rush, first with the
adepţi
and then with the rogue vampyrs, not to mention the long drive home… exhaustion was swamping me. But if I did prop myself up against the half wall, I’d probably start to doze, and then the next thing I knew, I’d topple to the floor,
kaboom
, and embarrass myself.

I went into the dining room, sat down at the table, and buried my head in my arms.

I had no idea how much time had passed, but then Adam was urging me to my feet. “Bedtime for all good sabors.”

“No, it’s not. Besides, I have to walk Mina.”

“I’ll take care of her.”

“Thank you.” I sighed wearily and kissed his cheek. “Tell the rege and Ekaterina g’night, ’kay? And thank her for all her help?”

The next thing I knew, I was lying down and Adam was pulling the sheet over me—it was cool on my body… he must have taken off my clothes. He whispered something in my ear, but I was asleep before I could make out what he was saying.

W
HAT WAS happening?

Adam had told me to go to sleep, but now bedlam was breaking loose inside my little house.

Raymond was trying to explain to Adam why he’d been unable to contact me; Ekaterina was describing to the rege the scene first at the beach and then in the rest area parking lot. All the while the other vampyrs watched me discreetly, but I could see the hunger in their eyes. I knew they wouldn’t do anything with Adam here, but I’d invited them in….

I had?

Of course you did! How else would they be able to stand in your foyer?
a snarky voice demanded.

In that case… yeah, then I must have. And they could come back at any time.

I turned to Adam to ask him about this, but my words caught in my throat. His eyes weren’t their normal cinnamon brown, but were almost bloodred.

That voice in my head seemed to warn me I should be very afraid, and for a second I felt as if I were in a bad horror movie. I brushed the warning aside. This was Adam, who’d never hurt me, even when he was feeding from me. I wasn’t afraid of him.

As it turned out, I should have listened to the voice. Adam was furious. At me.

“You simpleton! You dunce! You pathetic little fool!” Adam closed his hands over my shoulders and with each word shook me.

Vampyrs were reputed to have preternatural strength. For the first time Adam used that strength against me. He shook me until my teeth rattled, and my head whipped back and forth so hard I wouldn’t have been surprised if I’d gotten whiplash.

And there was nothing I could do to make him let me go.

“Adam! Enough!” the rege thundered.

Adam released me so quickly it was as if he threw me away from him.

Why was he so mad at me?

My shoulders ached so much I could barely raise my arms. When I looked at them, would I see the marks of Adam’s individual fingers? With a little more pressure, would he have crushed the bones?

Adam would never do that to you
, a small voice whispered in the back of my mind, but another, louder voice sneered,
Yes, he would!

“Adam—” I swallowed, but it didn’t help. His name was dry as dust in my mouth.

It occurred to me whatever it was I had done, it had put me beyond the pale. But what
had
I done?

And why wasn’t I allowed any mistakes?

I felt hurt and betrayed, and abruptly angrier than I’d ever been in my whole life.

“You’re damn right it’s enough!” I snapped. “I’ve had it! I rescind my invitation! I want all of you out of my house.
None
of you are welcome here!”

“Tyrell—”

“No!” I interrupted the rege,
and I didn’t care how rude that was
.
“I am no longer a sabor!”

It was suddenly so silent in my house, a snowflake falling to the floor would have been heard.

“You can’t—” Raymond started to say.

“Watch me!” I snarled. I refused to let myself look at Adam.

The rege gave a signal, and just like that, he was the only one who remained in the room. All the other vampyrs and the day watcher were gone.

“Tyrell, you have to understand—”

“No, I don’t, and you know what? I’m through trying.” I wasn’t going to second-guess myself. I’d done everything the vampyrs had told me I had to do, and the result was I had a vampyr who was looney tunes coming after me, the vampyr who I loved…. I gasped from the pain. Yes, in spite of everything, I still loved him.

Maybe what happened in the dark sort of made everything else okay….

No. I’d be damned if I hung around and let him treat me like I didn’t have two brain cells to rub together.

“I’m going to bed,” I told the rege. “In the morning I’ll be moving back to my father’s house. I’ll leave everything here….” Clothes, credit cards, the keys to this house. “…and you can have someone come to Clewiston to pick up the car. Mina—” The pain at the thought of giving up my pup was like having someone reach into my chest and rip out my heart.

I wasn’t going to admit the pain of no longer having Adam was even worse.

“
You can take M-Mina with you.” In spite of my best effort to keep my
voice firm, there was a hitch in it when I said my pup’s name

“Tyrell—”

“No. I didn’t ask to be a sabor, and I’ll be damned if I let you treat me like a… as if what happened today was my fault.”

“You have to understand….” Why did he keep saying that? “Tyrell.” He must have seen he wasn’t getting through to me. “You’re very important to us.” His tone was so patient all I wanted to do was take a poke at him.

“Because of my bloodline. I know. God knows you’ve told me often enough.” I could hardly assault the king of the vampyrs, so I laughed instead, and okay, it was bitter, but I couldn’t help how it sounded. And I found I didn’t care. “Please lock the door on your way out. I don’t need any more vampyrs coming to visit.”

I turned on my heel, went to my bedroom, and made sure both doors were closed and locked, deliberately keeping Mina out for the first time since I got her.

I didn’t bother turning on the light; I just got into bed.

In spite of the warmth of the evening, I was freezing. The events of the day, the reality of what I’d done, crashed down on me.

The thing was, I was Adam’s. No matter what had happened in the past, no matter what the future held, I was his sabor.

Was he still my vampyr?

I buried my head under my pillow and cried like a baby.

“Tyrell!” Powerful arms came around me, and I clutched at the shirt, turning it damp with my tears. I needed this comfort, but I also knew I wouldn’t be able to overcome my aversion to being touched for long. “Hush. Hush,
dragul meu
.”

“Adam?” I forced my eyes open, and yes, it was my vampyr holding me.

“None other.” He brushed a kiss over my temple. “Your Grace, it isn’t safe to leave him here!”

“You’re right, Adam. We’ll take him to—”

It didn’t matter what the rege was saying… nothing did. Adam was with me.

“I’m sorry, Adam. I’m so sorry!”

“You’ve done nothing to be sorry for.”

“I must have. You were so angry with me!”

“Never.”

“But….”

“It was a nightmare, nothing more.”

“Just a nightmare?” What was I saying,
just
a nightmare? It had been horrible!

“Nothing more,” he repeated. He dropped kisses over my cheek and finally settled his lips on my mouth. “I could never be angry with you,” he murmured against them.