Vampires Are Forever (31 page)

“No hospital,” he assured her soothingly as she moved restlessly in his arms. “I’ll take you back to the townhouse now.”

A little sigh of relief slipped from her lips and Inez closed her eyes and went still in his arms, but her expression was still tight with fear. Thomas felt a slow rage begin to burn in him as he peered down at her.

No woman should have to live in fear, and he’d be damned if his was going to, Thomas thought grimly as he started up the stairs. The moment he had Inez back to the townhouse he was going to turn her. The immortal would still be able to read her until she was taught to put up—and keep up—guards, but she would be harder to read and control…and definitely harder to kill. At least she’d have a fighting chance.

The streets were relatively quiet. Thomas only past a few people on his way back to the townhouse and had little trouble wiping the memory of their passing from their minds. The last thing he needed was someone calling the police and telling them they saw a man carrying an unconscious woman through town center. Still, he was so relieved to reach the townhouse that he didn’t notice that the lights he’d turned off on the way out were on again as he struggled to unlock the door and get Inez inside.

Thomas had just kicked the door closed and turned to carry Inez upstairs to the bedroom when that realization struck him. He stopped, one foot on the bottom step as adrenaline began to rush through him, then jerked his eyes to the top of the landing as the sound of a door opening upstairs reached his ears.

When no one appeared at the top of the stairs and he heard movement in one of the rooms, Thomas whirled and hurried silently across the hall and into the living room. He set Inez out of the way on the couch, then turned back and crept toward the door, slowing only long enough to snatch a lamp off a table and jerk the cord out of the wall, before continuing out into the hall.

Fourteen

“You can’t turn Inez without her permission.”

Thomas scowled as Etienne repeated that refrain and wished he’d never mentioned his plans, but simply gone ahead and done it. Actually, he wished he’d koshed his cousin over the head rather than stop himself at the last minute when he’d realized who had just walked out of the bedroom.

After leaving Inez in the living room, Thomas had crept upstairs, the lamp at the ready to batter some immortal butt. He’d been on the landing, just approaching the only closed door—the one with the double bed—when it had suddenly opened and Etienne had walked out.

Thomas had lowered the lamp with relief and then the two men had hugged in greeting and Rachel had come out of the bedroom as Etienne explained that he’d met his deadline and she’d managed to get some time off work and they’d come to help in the search.

The crotchety old man next door had let them into the townhouse when they arrived. He hadn’t been pleased to be rousted from his bed in the middle of the night, but Etienne had slipped into his thoughts and erased the whole event from his mind before sending him back to sleep. When he woke up in the morning, the man would think he’d slept peacefully through the night.

When Rachel had then asked what they’d come up with so far, Thomas had recalled Inez and rushed back downstairs and into the living room with them on his heels.

Rachel had taken one look at the unconscious woman lying pale and soaking on the sofa and sent Thomas upstairs to fetch a nightgown or something for her to change her into. Thomas had rushed upstairs, opened Inez’s suitcase, peered at the sexy black negligee that had been purchased and sent to the hotel in Amsterdam, and promptly closed the suitcase. He’d be damned if Etienne was seeing her in that. He’d then gone to his own knapsack and retrieved one of his shirts, sure that—short as she was—it would hang well past her knees. He’d taken it down to Rachel only to find both he and Etienne banished from the room as Rachel stripped the unconscious woman of her wet clothes and replaced it with the shirt.

The two men had waited in the kitchen until she was finished and then Thomas had given them a quick rundown of what had happened and the deductions they’d come up with before heading upstairs to change. On the way to the stairs, he’d looked in the living room to see that Inez was asleep and tucked under a throw on the sofa.

Etienne had approached while he was staring at her and had said quietly, “Bastien says she’s your life mate.”

Thomas had nodded. “She is and I’m turning her as soon as I finish changing.”

“She’s agreed to it already?” Etienne had asked with surprise.

“No, but I’m doing it anyway,” Thomas had announced and turned to head upstairs.

Sucking in a sharp breath, Etienne had immediately chased after him to argue the point as he changed. By the time Thomas had finished and started out into the hall, the argument had been getting pretty heated. Only the sight of Rachel in the hall had calmed them both down. Unfortunately, it hadn’t made Etienne shut up.

“You can’t,” Etienne repeated firmly, following him when he started downstairs.

“You turned Rachel without getting her permission first,” Thomas growled with resentment.

“Rachel wasn’t conscious. I couldn’t get her permission,” Etienne pointed out, on his heels. “And she was dying; it was the only way to save her.”

“Well, Inez nearly died tonight,” Thomas argued as he stepped off the last step and started across the hall toward the living room door.

“But she didn’t,” Etienne growled, losing some of his patience.

“Only by pure luck,” Thomas said in a soft hiss to avoid waking Inez as he reached the side of the couch where she was sleeping. He peered down at her sleeping form with worry.

“Don’t be so bloody bullheaded. When she wakes up you can ask her and if she agrees you can turn her.”

Thomas stiffened and then wheeled around, his heart thumping with alarm at the suggestion. “And what if she refuses?”

Etienne halted and peered at him silently, obviously uncertain what to say to reassure him. It was Rachel who spoke. Following them into the room, she slipped her hand into her husband’s, presenting a united front as she asked quietly, “Have you not discussed it with her at all?”

Thomas glanced away. “She knows she’s my lifemate, and a little about the turning, but she hasn’t agreed to either be my lifemate or be turned.” His mouth twisted with displeasure as he admitted, “I wanted to give her time to consider it.”

“Well, she’s had some time to think,” Rachel said slowly. “Maybe she won’t refuse.”

“But what if she does?” Thomas persisted and admitted painfully, “I don’t want to lose her, Rachel, and if I turn her now, I won’t.”

“Are you sure?” Rachel asked quietly. “Turning her without permission might actually make you lose her. I wasn’t happy to be turned without my permission, but when it was explained that Etienne had done so to save my life, I understood. Inez would be a different matter entirely. She might resent having her choice taken away and might never forgive you for it.”

Thomas sagged and let his breath out on a sigh, knowing she was right, but…Raising his head he admitted, “I’d rather lose her from my life, but know she was alive and well than lose her altogether to death.”

Rachel’s eyes widened slightly and then slid to the side and back before she clarified, “You’d be willing to live alone and without a lifemate for the rest of your life just to insure Inez was well?”

Thomas nodded grimly.

“Then you must love her a great deal,” she said quietly.

“She’s the woman I’ve been waiting for all my life.”

A sound to the side made Thomas glance to the sofa. He stiffened as he saw that Inez’s eyes were open and she was struggling weakly to sit up, her eyes wide as she peered at him.

“Inez.” Stepping quickly to her side, he lifted her in his arms and then settled on the sofa, settling her upright in his lap. Holding her there, Thomas pressed her close and rubbed her back, his gaze worried as he glanced over her pale face. “How are you feeling? Are you all right? You look so pale,” he added fretfully.

Inez peered at him silently, her expression solemn and then nodded and turned toward Rachel and Etienne as a rustle of clothing accompanied their moving farther into the room.

“This is my cousin, Etienne, and his wife, Rachel. Aunt Marguerite is Etienne’s mother. They’ve come to help us find her.”

Inez managed a small smile and nod, but didn’t try to speak as she offered her hand to the couple in greeting. Recalling that her voice had been hoarse and weak when she’d tried to speak by the riverside, Thomas asked, “Is your throat sore?”

Inez nodded again and then tried to say “yes” but it came out a painful rasp.

“I’ll see if there’s any honey or something to soothe her throat in the kitchen,” Rachel said as she released her hand.

“Thank you,” Thomas and Inez said together, but his voice was the only one to be heard. He scowled and said, “Stop trying to talk. You’ll just hurt yourself.”

“So turn me and stop the pai—” Her raspy voice died as she was claimed by a coughing fit.

Thomas barely noticed that Rachel had stopped in the doorway and turned around wide-eyed. His heart had leapt in his chest and his gaze was fixed on the woman in his arms. He simply stared at her until her fit eased and she fell against his chest exhausted, then lunged to his feet and held her close as he headed for the door. “You heard her. She gave permission.”

“Just a minute,” Etienne said sharply hurrying after him and catching his arm to stop him.

Thomas paused reluctantly between Rachel and Etienne and turned so that he could see both of them. Eyeing his cousin impatiently, he asked, “What now?”

Etienne hesitated and then glanced at Inez and said, “Do you know what you’re agreeing to here?”

She nodded solemnly.

“Vampires are forever, Inez,” he said quietly. “Or long enough that it seems like forever.”

“Thank you very much,” Rachel said from the doorway in dry tones.

Etienne scowled at his wife. “You know what I mean.”

When Rachel nodded slightly, he turned back to Inez. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

She nodded again.

“You realize you’ll be his lifemate? Forever?” Etienne persisted.

Inez nodded once more, but when Etienne opened his mouth to speak again, Rachel tsked impatiently. “Just ask her what you really want to know.”

Thomas raised his eyebrows as Rachel now moved in front of them and peered solemnly at Inez.

“I’m sorry, but I have to ask this. We love Thomas. He’s a great guy and deserves to be loved. Do you love him? Is that love strong enough to last for centuries?”

Thomas glanced down at Inez, and despite the fact that he was almost positive she’d been trying to tell him she loved him down by the river, her found himself holding his breath. She didn’t simply nod this time, but gave the question the consideration Rachel was demanding. She took a moment, her expression thoughtful, and then she turned a solemn gaze on him for another moment before turning back to Rachel and nodding.

Letting his breath out on a gust of relief, Thomas turned to head out the door. “You heard her. I’m turning her.”

“Dammit Thomas, wait a minute,” Etienne snapped, rushing after him as he started up the stairs. “You can’t do this.”

“The hell I can’t. I can and am doing it right now.”

“Stop thinking with your dick and use your head,” Etienne snarled. “Do we have enough blood here for her to turn? And what about the pain?”

It was the second question that brought him to a halt at the top of the stairs. Frowning, he glanced at Etienne as the man squeezed past to get in front of them on the landing. Rachel followed, and Thomas couldn’t help noticing she was biting her lip and looking worried now.

“It’s painful,” Etienne said grimly, his gaze focused on Inez’s face as he spoke.

Noting the trepidation now growing on Inez’s face, Thomas scowled. “Stop trying to scare her out of it.”

“I’m not, but she should know it’s not all happy, happy, joy, joy,” Etienne said firmly and then turned to Inez again. “I’m not talking toothache pain here. I’m talking unbearable agony, drowning in a vat of acid that’s eating you up inside and out, horrible, nightmare ridden, desperate pain that will make you wish someone would just put a bullet in your brain and end it all…or cut off your head since you’ll be immortal and a bullet wouldn’t kill you.”

Thomas felt Inez shrink against him and snapped, “Shut up, Etienne. How would you know anything about it? You were born one and slept through Rachel’s turning.”

“I was unconscious,” Etienne quickly corrected and then challenged, “And I know you were there for Greg’s turning. Tell her it isn’t true, if you can.”

When Inez turned to him in question, Thomas sighed unhappily. He couldn’t lie to her. From what he’d seen and been told it was a slow ride through hell.

“I’m sorry, “he said finally. “It is very bad. I wish I could go through it for you, but…” He shook his head.

“It doesn’t have to be that way,” Etienne said quietly. “Despite what you think I’m not trying to stop you, I’m simply trying to slow you down. Rather than do it now, why not call Bastien and have him arrange for blood and drugs to be sent here so that she can turn with at least a little less pain?” He glanced to Inez then and said apologetically, “The drugs don’t stop the pain, but they ease it a little, enough, at least, that it won’t leave you insane at the end of it.”