When Darkness Hungers: A Shadow Keepers Novel (Shadow Keepers 5) (36 page)

“I’m glad you agreed,” Serge said. “The thought of you in a cell ripped me up inside.”

“It wasn’t my idea of a good time, either.” They were standing next to each other, and Alexis reached out automatically to take his hand. She caught herself and shoved her hands in the pockets of her jeans.
Not going there
.

The truth was, she was glad to be free. Glad to be partnered with Serge and to have a purpose again. A real job. But from the first moment she’d seen him after she’d followed Luke into his Malibu house, Alexis had realized just how hard this was going to be. She needed to keep her distance—needed to protect her heart and keep Tori, her family, at the forefront. Yet the attraction was still there. That longing. That need. And it was all she could do not to tell Serge to ignore everything she’d said and to pull him into her arms.

They stood only inches apart, and yet the space between them seemed as wide as a chasm, filled with unspoken words and a thousand regrets. It weighed down the air until Alexis couldn’t stand it anymore. “I’m so glad you’ve told Luke and Sara, and that you’re using the beast to fight rogues instead of letting it control you.”

“I couldn’t do it without you. I need you at my side if I’m going to control it.”

“I know, and I’m glad I can do it. Glad that I can help
you like that. And I appreciate more than I can say that you worked this out. Got me this job, I mean, so that I can work out in the open instead of from my dark little cave.” She grinned. “Leena’s going to freak when I tell her. Hell, she’ll probably want to sign up, too.” She drew in a breath. “But what I really want to say is that I’m sorry. I’m sorry that it can’t be more. That I can’t give you more than just partnership. I know it’s not enough, but—”

“You’re everything to me,” Serge said. “But I would never demand more than you can give. Want, yes. But I understand. And under the circumstances, I think you’re giving me more than I deserve.”

She shook her head. “We’ve already talked about that, and no. You deserve everything good in the world, I’m just not the one who can give it to you.”

They stood in silence for a moment; then he shifted. “I’m going to go take CeeCee up on that rematch on the Xbox. When you feel like coming in, I think Luke and Sara want to talk about how we’re going to approach our first assignment.” His fingers brushed her shoulder in a gesture of good-bye. The contact was simple, yet shocking at the same time. It sent a buzz of electricity coursing through her, warming her. Her body seemed to beg for more, but that was a demand she wasn’t willing to succumb to. Instead, she tightened her grip on the deck railing and looked out over the ocean, its roiling waves mimicking her own jumbled emotions.

After a few moments, she walked back inside, expecting to find Serge with CeeCee. But the living room was empty, and she found the girl in the kitchen with Sara.

“Hey,” Sara said, flashing the same welcoming smile that she’d greeted Alexis with when she’d arrived. “Luke
and Serge went into his office. CeeCee and I are working on dinner. She’s taking a break from zombies. Grab a stool, and help yourself to some wine.”

“Thanks.” Alexis poured herself a glass and settled in at the counter to watch. “It’s a good thing I saw the Xbox. Otherwise considering the world I’ve stumbled into, I might’ve thought you meant literal zombies.”

CeeCee snorted and rolled her eyes.

“It’s a lot to take in, isn’t it?” Sara asked as she worked some pastry dough in a bowl. “I was right where you are not that long ago. Knowing this whole world exists takes some getting used to.”

She turned to the sink to wash her hands, and Alexis couldn’t help but notice that the sink fronted a huge window with a view of the ocean. There were no curtains or blinds that Alexis could see.

“What about the sun?” Alexis asked.

“I’m still new enough that it doesn’t bother me,” Sara said. “But we have electronic shutters on those windows that haven’t been replaced yet.”

“Replaced?”

“Serge invented a type of glass that keeps the sun out. Makes living in a house feel almost normal.”

“Serge did?” She’d seen his inventor’s heart in action, but still she clung to this new detail. A pearl that rounded out the picture of the man who’d come to mean so much to her … even if he wasn’t a man she could have.

“He’s really pretty cool,” CeeCee said loyally, and Alexis was happy to see that she seemed to have forgotten any anger she might have had with Serge for leaving her with Sara and Luke.

“From what I understand, we have you to thank for CeeCee,” Sara said.

“I think Serge had more to do with it than I did.”

Sara laughed. “He definitely added a certain something to the equation. Do you like baked Brie?”

“I’m sorry?” Alexis blinked at the shift in topic. “The cheese,” Sara said. “Some people don’t like it.”

“No, I think it’s great.”

CeeCee took a long sip from the mug she’d been holding. “This is what I think is great lately.” She wrinkled her nose. “Who woulda thought blood would taste so good?”

“She can still enjoy food,” Sara said. “But in the early stages vampires crave a great deal of blood.”

“Don’t worry,” CeeCee added. “No humans were injured in the making of my dinner.”

“And I swear the Brie contains no hemoglobin,” Sara added, making Alexis laugh. “Oh, hell,” Sara said, scowling at the pastry she’d rolled out in front of her. “Are you any good in the kitchen?”

“Not at all,” Alexis confessed.

“That’s better than me. Want to help? We have to wrap this around the Brie, but I’m thinking it may be easier to chuck it all and order a pizza.”

“Hang on.” Alexis came around the counter, and between the two of them they finished wrapping the pastry around the cheese and got it in the oven.

“You’re an angel,” Sara said.

“I’m happy to help. I have to confess that this isn’t—”

“What you expected?”

“Not at all.”

“I hope it’s for the better.”

Alexis laughed. “Definitely.”

Sara’s phone rang and she grabbed it up with a frown.
“The office. I hate to ask, but would you mind watching the oven?”

“Not a problem.” As Sara went off to take her call, Alexis took a seat on one of the bar stools next to CeeCee.

“Want some?” she asked, pushing the travel mug toward Alexis with a grin.

“You’re a laugh riot.”

“Sorry. Sara says I’m coping well. I’ll have to take her word for it.”

“I’m betting that’s a pretty big understatement.”

“Yeah, no kidding. So you used to work for the FBI? That’s pretty cool. Although I think the PEC is cooler, so you’re moving up in the world.”

“I think so, too.”

“Of course, the coolest thing about the PEC is that they’re super-secret.” CeeCee grinned. “And that’s always fun. I keep telling Luke and Sara that they should let me work there, too. Luke said he’d think about it, but I’m not sure if he really meant it or if he was blowing me off.”

Alexis laughed. Apparently teenage angst lingered even in vampires.

“Smells good,” Luke said as he and Serge entered the kitchen. Sara followed soon after, and they all settled around the table, just like normal folks hanging out with friends.

“So how are we going to approach this thing?” Luke asked. “Alexis says you know who’s organizing the rogues?”

“You know?” Sara said, frowning at Serge. “And you didn’t say something before?”

“He’s saying it now,” Alexis said, feeling compelled to stick up for him.

“No,” Serge said. “Sara’s right. I should have said something as soon as I suspected. And I’m still not one hundred percent sure. The truth is that I intended to investigate on my own.” He looked at Luke. “It’s Derrick.”

“I see,” Luke said. He turned to Sara. “Perhaps he should have come forward sooner. But with Derrick at the helm, I understand why he didn’t.”

“Someone from your past?” Sara asked Serge.

“From my darkest days, yes. I need to confront him,” he added, and Alexis understood what he meant. By confronting Derrick, he’d be confronting the monsters inside himself, too.

Alexis looked around the table at all of them. “No matter what should or shouldn’t have been done in the past, we’re doing the right thing now. We just need to work out the plan.”

“Simple,” Serge said. “I’ll make contact. Get in with him. Go out on hunts with his men. Of course, I’ll pull a few fast ones before any humans get hurt—and in the process we’ll take some of Derrick’s men out. That’s where you come in,” he added, nodding at Alexis.

She looked between Luke and Serge. “I thought you were going to use the beast? That you were going undercover in different forms?”

“Eventually,” Luke said. “Right now, these human deaths are our focus.”

“Fair enough,” she agreed. “But why not just kill him straightaway? If you can get in close to Derrick, just put your whammy on him and turn him into a mummy. End of problem.”

“We considered it,” Serge said. “But we need to find out who his lieutenants are, especially in other states, possibly other countries.”

“Of course,” Alexis said. “We need to shut the whole thing down.”

“Exactly.”

They talked a bit more about timing and planning and getting Alexis familiar with Division 6. When the oven timer rang, the conversation shifted from work to food and the beach and video games and other normal stuff. It was nice. It was normal. And it underscored Alexis’s belief that she’d made the right choice.

Serge offered to drive her home, since Luke had brought her from the holding cell, and while she said good-bye to Luke and Sara, he wandered into the living room to talk with CeeCee.

Alexis headed in their direction when she was ready to go, but she stopped when she heard their voices, not wanting to interrupt their conversation.

“I’m glad you’re settling in,” Serge told the girl.

“I totally am. And you don’t have to feel bad about bringing me here. I get what happened to you. And the truth is, you did save me.” She rose up on tiptoes to kiss his cheek, then flashed him a grin and bounced back to the kitchen, giving Alexis a wave as she passed.

“Didn’t I say you were a hero?” Alexis asked Serge, and this time she did squeeze his hand.

“When I’m around you, I feel like one. And CeeCee? Right now I feel pretty good about that, too.”

Serge pulled the car into her driveway and killed the engine.

“Thanks,” she said. “For the ride.”

“You realize that I’m coming in with you, right?”

“It’s not necessary. No one knows I’ve been released, remember?”

She was right. Luke had arranged things so that she was transferred from FBI to Homeland jurisdiction. As far as anyone knew, she was still incarcerated, and they intended to keep it that way until Derrick was no longer a threat.

“Even so,” he said. “I feel better playing it safe. Okay?”

She didn’t protest, and for that Serge was grateful. He wanted as much time with her as possible, even if it was just sitting together sharing the same air.

“Maybe we could watch a movie. Or something.”

“I’d like that,” he said. “But I can think of something I’d rather do than the movie.”

“Serge …” Pain and regret fueled her voice, but the scent of desire filled the car. Perversely, he was glad of it, even though he knew that the desire only brought her pain.

“No,” he said quickly. “Not that. I want you to train. You’re excellent in the field, but you can be better.”

“I’ll never be as good as you. I don’t have the ‘vampire’ advantage.”

“No, and that worries me. I want you to be as strong as possible.”

“Well, I have a weight room. I work out.”

“There’s another way to make you stronger. My blood, Alexis.”

He saw the color rise in her cheeks and her throat move as she swallowed. “Right. But I already have that.”

“A bit, but it’s fading. I used the connection to track
you to the alley the other night, and it was already a very thin thread. Am I wrong? Can’t you feel that the strength I gave you is starting to wane?”

“Yes. A bit.”

“Then let me do this for you. Let me make you stronger. You’re walking into this world, Alexis. Let me give you the tools you’ll need to survive.”

“I don’t know.”

“Alexis, please. What if you’re taken? What if I need to find you?” He reached for her hand, gratified when she let him take it, and losing himself in the heat that was always there between them. “The blood connection isn’t foolproof—certain herbs and metals can block the effect—but it’s better than nothing. And the thought of losing you is more torturous than all of my battles with the daemon and the beast.”

“I—all right.”

The relief that washed over him was palpable. It wasn’t a cure-all, of course, but it would help. And it had the added, selfish benefit of being a tangible connection to her, something he still desperately craved, but knew that he could only have in tiny, stolen quantities.

And then, before she could change his mind, he lifted his wrist to his mouth, bit down to break the skin, and extended it to her. “Drink,” he said.

Her eyes flickered up to him, and he saw both longing and determination in her expression. Then she bent her head and drank deep, her mouth hot on his flesh, their bodies melding as the blood connection grew.