She sniffled so lightly it made me wonder if this was her first emotion ever. Her chin rose high, and she looked away from me. “Pride is my sin for a reason.”
I chuckled. She had that right.
“So what? I kill Charles? You want his head or something? Where is he?”
“He lives in New York still. He has a family.”
“Were you guys married once?” Corrine had never told us much about the man who had betrayed her. Just that he was the reason we had rules. “Why now?”
“We never married. The man is a monster. He has affluence. Kill him. I’ll set you free and make sure no one kills you two.”
“Why are you being so kind all of a sudden? Why is he such a high mark?”
“Do you want your freedom or not?” She snapped.
“I do, but is someone going to come after me if I off the guy?”
“Probably. He has many children. Grandchildren even.” She sniffled again.
“I don’t know. Something about it isn’t right,” I said, uneasy. “Give me another mark. I’ll do it. This one is too personal.”
“No. He’s the vampire I want dead. I’m done with this conversation. It is late for me. Desiderio, you may stay until nightfall, but then you must make your decision. If you want to take my offer, I can prepare the information you will need for this job. Otherwise, see yourself out, and I’ll be in touch to kill you both within the week.” She waved me off again and started out of the room, leaving me there, speechless.
A maid came in and began cleaning up the China and blood I had spilled. Another maid came and offered me a room. I knew it would be nearly impossible to get back to the hotel with Scout in the daylight. I had no other choice but to wait it out.
I slept, but not well. My dreams were nightmares. All the brutal murders of my past were returning in montages, only with Scout in the chair, not the original victims. Each death was more brutal, more elaborate, more heart-wrenching. When I finally woke up, I knew a decision had to be made. Could I let that happen to her?
No.
I found Corrine in a greenhouse in the back of her mansion. Fairy lights around the large glass room gave the space a dim glow. She was watering plants slowly but turned when I came in. She smiled at me as if we hadn’t spent the morning fighting.
“I’ll do it.” I sighed. “Just—if I die, leave her alone. Please.”
“Great. I have an envelope for you in my study.”
“Am I allowed to be privy of what exactly happened between you two?” I sauntered over to her, hands in my pockets. She was quiet for a long time.
“We were together when I met all of you. He was very encouraging of my endeavors. I told him I wanted to form a group, and he supported it. Helped me, even. Many of our first jobs were arranged by Charles. Then, I discovered that he had a family.
That could have been the end of it. I didn’t want to hurt him for that. Affairs happen all the time. The man never leaves his wife for his mistress. I’m not naive. We parted amicably, and I thought that was the end of it.”
“How do I not remember him?” I tried to recall a time when Corrine was with someone, even as a friend. I couldn’t.
“Because of his situation, he didn’t like to be seen with me. That should have been a clue,” she laughed dryly. “But then I got pregnant.”
I blinked rapidly. Pregnancy? She saw my reaction, and she smiled tightly, nodding. Blood tears began sliding down her face. They were thin and slow.
“Vampire babies aren’t common. Bloodsheds can’t have them, and when a Bloodborn does get pregnant, it’s something to be celebrated. I was happy. I wanted nothing more than to bring another Bloodborn child into this world. But Charles was not.”
My mouth fell open, and suddenly I remembered. “When you were stabbed. He- he killed your child.” I didn’t ask because I knew. She nodded.
“He had his wife do it. As he didn’t believe in men touching a woman in violence. She made a show of it. She was pregnant at the time as well. She had four children already. Their family was a legacy, and it would not be taken down by a lesser Bloodborn. She held me for three days without letting me drink, and then she took—” Corrine choked up, and suddenly I found her in my arms. I embraced her and rocked her as she cried.
“Shh,” I soothed. I remembered the ending. She’d been stabbed so many times in the stomach that it didn’t heal for weeks. It was horrendous. Every time one wound would try to heal, another would open up. Tully and Dante were by her side the entire time, and even then, we weren’t sure if she’d make it.
“I’m going to kill that mother fucker, and any of his perfect little family that gets in my way,” I promised. I held her closer to me until she stopped trembling. “And then we’ll both be free.”
34
