Unafraid (9 page)

She told him everything there was to know
about her life, her family, and what few friends she had in hopes
he would open up but he never did. She didn’t know where he went
when he left for work or even what kind of work he did. When he was
home he got frequent calls that he either ignored or took in his
study. Tessa was beginning to see the hopelessness of their
relationship.

* * *

It was early. The first light of day was just
beginning to lighten the sky when his phone rang. Griffin detangled
himself from his usual sleeping position wrapped around her to
snatch the phone off the nightstand with a sleepy grumble of
agitation at being disturbed so early in the morning. She knew it
was important because he quickly climbed out of bed and left the
room naked. She heard him answer the phone in the hall and ask the
caller to hold while he went to his study and shut the door. He
rushed down the hall and came back to the bedroom heading straight
for his closet just a moment later. He dressed and kissed her
deeply before giving her instructions to stay inside. He ran out
the door with a hurried excuse about an emergency at the
office.

Tessa wasn’t sure if he didn’t understand or
just refused to acknowledge that his secretive behavior was hurting
her. Maybe he thought she was stupid and didn’t realize that he was
obviously still very much ashamed of being with her in spite of his
declaration of love the day he first brought her to his home. He
had never said the words again. It was almost as if he was
embarrassed by the emotion. Or maybe he’d only said it because she
had and he didn’t know what else to say.

One thing was for sure, things were never
going to change if she allowed this shit to continue. It was time
to go home. She would need to call Sebastian and get her job back.
As much as she hated returning to the restaurant, she would go back
at least until she could pay back the money Sebastian spent on her
rent fees. There was just no way she could remain indebted like
that to anyone. It was nice of him to hold her job, but Tessa was
not looking forward to going back to Bella Notte and dealing with
Sal’s insults. Her life was in a rut and she needed to get going,
but she had to clean up a few messes first.

She just hoped Griffin would make the
decision to be open and honest with her if he didn’t have her at
his beck and call every night when he got home. He still had the
insane notion that she belonged to him. It was probably true, but
she would never admit it unless he changed his ways. Slowly
crawling out of bed, Tessa began to search for her things. Griffin
had bought her some lovely new clothes and shoes along with a nice
winter coat but she wasn’t taking any of that with her. She would
leave in what she had on when she arrived and get back to her
life.

She loved Griffin with all of her heart, but
she couldn’t be one of his possessions. That was how he made her
feel, like a toy he could keep on a shelf until he was ready to
play. Tessa had had enough. She found her clothes in Griffin’s huge
closet and dressed before she could change her mind. All she had to
do was grab her purse and jacket from the entry closet.

* * *

Mason Deidrick sat on the exceedingly
comfortable sofa at his best friend’s love nest. It had been a
simple matter to enthrall the guard in the lobby and get the spare
key for Griffin’s new condo. It was odd that he had purchased a
place in a human owned and operated building, but it made it much
easier for Mason to gain entry. A lingering vanilla scent he was
sure was human floated through the air when he entered. It seemed
Griffin must also have hired some human help to cook and clean.
Normally his kind employed other lower class vampires, especially
to work in their homes, but Griffin had been doing many odd things
lately.

It had taken a little time but he’d uncovered
Griffin’s hiding place. The call from his private investigator came
late the night before and Mason decided it would be best to catch
Griffin off guard and check out the situation before confronting
his friend. The P.I. was able to confirm that Griffin had purchased
a condo and he had a lady staying in the home with him. It was easy
to get Griffin out of the condo with a fabricated story about his
mother calling in the Enclave warriors to find her missing son.

The vamp had gone completely off of the grid
recently and Mason knew a female was involved. Many females had
attempted to lure in Griffin and Mason to further their own
standing. It was a blessing and a curse to be at the top of the
social food chain. They had all the female attention they could
handle but the females were more like groupies than dates or real
girlfriends. One of these lovely little debutantes had obviously
turned Griffin’s head.

Griffin went missing every night and he never
visited anymore. At first, Mason blamed Griffin’s absence on his
mother’s incessant demands that he pick a date for his arranged
bonding to sweet, innocent Sarah. It was also easy to imagine
hanging out at the new home Mason had built for the family he
planned to have with his new mate would quickly get old. Debbie had
become the center of Mason’s life. Just the thought of his little
brunette mate with her soft, hazel eyes and that toned body had him
stiffening.

He and Debbie were too busy building a strong
bond to be very good hosts. Mason hadn’t gone out with Griffin to
hunt or do anything else in months. The realization made him feel
like an ass for abandoning his friend, but his mate had to be his
number one priority. Debbie wanted a family and they decided to
start trying for kids as soon as the house was done. It was an
exciting time in Mason’s life, but his best friend seemed to be
floundering. Griffin wanted nothing to do with bonding at such a
young age and planned to put it off for as long as possible.

Now Mason believed Griffin had been roped by
a female he wouldn’t be able to keep, so he was hiding away with
his new love. He doubted Griffin would have confessed his
unavailability if he were infatuated enough to hide his lover from
the rest of society. It was Mason’s duty to inform the female, who
he was sure was nothing more than a social climber, that Griffin
was not going to advance her position in the Vampire Nation. He was
sure Griffin’s new obsession would scurry off and find another male
to cling to once she learned of Griffin’s impending blood bond.

The longer Mason sat there, the stronger the
scent of vanilla grew and it had his fangs throbbing. He couldn’t
imagine how Griffin could live with such a tasty smelling human
roaming around his home. Finally the sound of approaching footsteps
drew his attention to the arched entryway that led back to the
bedrooms. Mason hoped it would be Griffin’s lady but he should have
known it was too early for one of the debutante sort to rise from
her bed.

The female that walked into the living room
and froze at the sight of him lounging on the sofa was human, the
source of the aromatic vanilla in the air. The beautiful little
honey blond with stunning ice-blue eyes must be the help. Her
tattered jeans and shoes certainly paled next to the tidy uniforms
generally worn by the help in the homes of his parents and the rest
of the Council members. She blinked rapidly and thawed enough to
begin edging her way toward the door.

“Good morning. I’m sorry to have startled
you.” He smiled reassuringly, “I let myself in.” Mason held up the
key so she would believe he wasn’t an intruder. Even though in a
sense he supposed he was exactly that, an intruder in his friend’s
secret love nest. The female blinked and continued creeping slowly
toward the foyer.

“Could you be a dear and go fetch the lady of
the house for me? Tell her Mason Deidrick is here to speak with her
on an important matter regarding Griffin.” That had the female’s
attention. She arched a confused brow at him. Damn the little thing
was cute. That was another reason having her around would be tough
for an unmated male. She had curves that could jackknife an unmated
male.

“I’m sorry, but I’m the only one here. Can I
take a message for Griffin?” she asked sharply. The fear had faded
to annoyance. Mason gracefully rose from his seat and pulled out
his wallet. He retrieved a business card and extended it to her as
he got closer.

“Give this to the lady when she returns and
tell her to be sure and call me as soon as possible. The matter
can’t wait.” The female stepped back refusing to take the card. She
shook her head.

“I don’t know who you’re looking for, but
Griffin is the only person who lives here. I’ve been staying with
him and you’re the first to visit.” She glared at him. Was it
possible he could be wrong? Had the P.I. misinformed him? Why would
Griffin suddenly and very covertly buy a new home if he had nothing
to hide?

“Are you saying that Griffin doesn’t have a
girlfriend that visits him here or stays over regularly?” The frown
lines on her forehead deepened.

“Like I said, I’ve been staying here. I am
Griffin’s girlfriend. He told me he didn’t have anyone else. I
appreciate you informing me otherwise.” She was angry but hurt
slowly settled over her expression. Her statement knocked Mason for
a loop. He stared disbelievingly at the pretty little human.

“I guess I should have known. He’s always
leaving suddenly or hiding in his study to take phone calls, if he
answers them at all.” She cleared her throat and blinked back
tears. The pale blue of her eyes seemed to darken ever so slightly
with pain. “I’ll be going now. When you speak to Griffin tell him
not to bother contacting me again. Please lock up on your way out.”
She brushed past him but she didn’t make it far. Mason grabbed her
arm. He was ripped from his stunned silence by Griffin’s scent on
the little human. He hadn’t picked it up before due to her scent
clouding the room.

“But you’re a…” he couldn’t finish the
sentence. Things were beginning to click into place in his brain
and Mason was horrified.

“Yes, I know. I’m just a lowly human. I’ll go
now and that will no longer be an issue. He can have his vampire
slut!” She glared at his hand on her arm.

This situation had just gone from really bad
to nuclear shit storm. She knew about the existence of vampires.
The repercussions of such a thing made Mason’s head spin. Griffin
had totally lost his mind. Mason had two choices here. He could
report Griffin to the Council for endangering the Nation or he
could wipe the human’s memories before Griffin returned and send
her on her way. No harm, no foul. No one would ever have to know
about his friend’s sins and the girl could go on living a normal,
vampire ignorant life.

Mason quickly attempted to enter her mind. It
was for the best. Griffin would thank him for this one day because
his judgment was clearly compromised at the moment.

“Please get comfortable on the sofa,” he
instructed her with an unrelenting compulsion. She began to obey
but jerked around before taking two steps.

“Did you just try that vampire whammy
bullshit on me? Well you can kiss my ass! I don’t take orders.” She
stomped across the room and yanked open a closet in the foyer,
retrieving a well-used coat and a big denim purse he was sure had
never been in fashion.

How the hell had she thrown off his mental
suggestion? Again, he tried to penetrate her consciousness. All he
had to do was take a little time from her memory and the problem
would be solved. A brick wall greeted him where the girl’s thoughts
and memories should have been. There were cracks in the wall, but
he would need a very strong telepath to knock it down. He knew
she’d felt the mental push because she paused while sliding on her
coat to spear him with her tear filled eyes, but she said
nothing.

He had to stop her. They had to talk about
what she knew. It was entirely possible Griffin was hiding her
because he couldn’t erase her memories of their time together. It
was clear that she genuinely cared for Griffin. Mason would use
that to his advantage.

“Please sit and speak with me,” he implored.
“Griffin is my best friend. I meant you no offense. I was just
trying to protect him.” She ignored him and reached for the
door.

“Do you understand that he could be executed
for this?” She stopped but didn’t turn around. “You could both be
killed because of your knowledge. I don’t want to see that happen.
I love him.” Mason’s voice actually cracked at the end. It was true
that he could lose his friend. It wasn’t likely because of his
family, but he would surely be denied his future on the Council and
that would be a tragedy. Mason needed to understand how Griffin got
into this mess. If the girl really cared for Griffin, she would let
him go. Mason would be sure she fully understood the consequences
of her relationship with Griffin for his people, his family, and
future. “Let’s talk. I came here because he’s in trouble. Help me
save him.”

* * *

Tessa curled herself into a ball on her thin
mattress and tried not to think of the many hours she’d spent
loving Griffin on that bed. That was all over now. Mason had made
the impossibility of her relationship with Griffin very clear.

She knew from the beginning that Griffin
wasn’t your average vampire, if there was such a thing as an
average vampire, but she never would have imagined exactly how
extraordinary he would be. The concept of a Ruling Council, led by
people born into the position, was mind boggling. Griffin was born
to be a leader among his people. It wasn’t just a Nation as Mason
had called it, but an entire species. It was a species that would
never accept her as his mate.

Her omniscient dreams had led her astray,
because this would never work out. She would never be Griffin’s
mate, whether he loved her or not, and that was the part that hurt
her the most. He had hidden her away like a dirty secret and used
her. She knew now why he never shared anything about his life with
her. He had no intention of sharing that life with her. She felt
betrayed by his words of love. You wouldn’t do this to someone you
really loved.