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I’d wondered more than once if there was any chance that she could be my true mate. Then scolded myself for even thinking it because of course not. There was no point to thinking such radical and ridiculous thoughts.
She was human; no chance of us being destined for one another. It wasn’t only unheard of for a vampire and human to share that type of connection, it was impossible. No matter how much I wished for it, especially with Cordelia.
"What thoughts have you frowning so deeply? You seem distracted?" Ash asked. He furrowed his brow at me as he moved the glass of wine toward his mouth. The unspoken words hung between us. I’d told him that this was urgent, that I needed an update right away, and yet now he was here all my mind could focus on was Cordelia.
"You're right.” I gave him a tight smile. Ash could always see when I was bothered. I might as well tell him about Cordelia. Maybe he could help me figure out how to distance myself so even if I couldn’t stop feeling smitten I could at least stop appearing as though I was and thereby painting a target on her back.
“I've made the mistake of growing too close to one of my feeders." I paused, realizing that the word 'feeder' wasn't a very flattering description of the woman I couldn't get out of my head. She was so much more than that. Not that I really wanted to examine what I felt for her. “There's something exceptional about this one. I can't stop thinking about her and find myself gravitating toward her." I looked at Ash, hoping he could provide some insight as to why a human had burrowed so deeply under my skin when I found it so troublesome.
He gave nothing away with his facial expression. The man was a mask of indifference even when he was anything but indifferent. It was one of his skills.
"What's her name?" Ash barely blinked as he waited for my response.
"Cordelia," I replied. Just saying her name caused my cock to stir, though what I felt for her was so much more, so much more potent than simply sex. This was bone deep and went to the marrow.
"When did you meet her?" Ash asked. He still looked like he’d been carved from stone. I admired how stoic he could be.
"About a month ago," I responded, distracted suddenly by the buzzing of my cell. I pulled it out of my pocket and tapped the screen to read a message from Cross. My heart sank and panic rose in my throat as I quickly scanned Cross’ text.
Sorry to bother you while you’re meeting with Ash, boss, but Cordie is missing. I’m searching for her now, but thought you should know. Also tell the asshole hello from me.
How could Cross be so casual about the fact that she’d gone missing? My heart felt like it was about to explode out of my chest. The urge to run from the room and track Cross down to find out what exactly was going on was almost overwhelming.
“What’s wrong?” Ash asked quietly.
“Cordelia is missing.” Each word felt like broken glass coming from my mouth. Ash’s mouth thinned as he realized just how attached to her I had become. “Cross says hello. I’ve had him guarding her as much as possible after she was taken the first time, but he can’t watch her twenty-four hours a day. Once I find her and punish whoever took her I will figure out how to come back to court. I can’t keep putting her through this, it’s not fair to her. Can you look into security companies that would be able to keep an eye on her?”
Ash nodded, looking as grim as I felt. We both knew that each time she was taken could mean her death if we didn’t act quickly enough. That was one thing I wouldn’t allow though. Even if I had to walk away, I’d make sure that Cordie was living a life she wanted and was free from the stress that had landed her in The Nest in the first place.
I wanted to vomit. Just the idea of walking away from Cordie made my stomach turn and my chest go tight. Neither of which was normal for a vampire. I had no idea what I was going to do. The only thing I knew was that I couldn’t let this keep happening. One way or another I’d get Cordie back and this time I’d protect her. Even if that meant removing myself from the equation.
3
Cordelia
After driving for what seemed like an eternity, the van came to an abrupt stop. It nearly knocked me off my perch on the wheel well. They wasted no time. Seconds later, I was roughly yanked out of the sliding door and brought into a building of some kind. I still had the bag over my head so I had no idea what it looked like. A musty scent hung in the air, as though whatever the building was, it wasn’t often used.
Two hunters—they had a way about them, a swagger I recognized as a result of pride—escorted me, squeezing my upper arms tightly, as they moved me through rooms and hallways. I almost tripped over my own feet once and the carpet or a ridge in the flooring a couple of times. The click of a door closing rang in my ears and after a few more seconds, one of them ripped the hood off, scratching my face with both the heavy burlap and a wayward fingernail in the process.
My eyes slowly adjusted to the light, and I realized I was face to face with Milo and Massimo. Freaking great. These weren’t guys I wanted to get up close and personal with. For a brief moment I worried that the scratch may have drawn blood, which could tempt Massimo, but from his lack of reaction I had to assume that it just hurt like hell but wasn’t actually bleeding.
Observing my surroundings, I wasn’t happy about the tight space. The room was tiny, with barely enough room for the three of us. There were two doors that led to who knew where, and a small window near the ceiling that from my cramped spot still near the door looked too small for an adult to fit through. Maybe a chihuahua. A small one at that.
The building must have been abandoned for a while, because there were cobwebs in every corner, floor and ceiling, and in little motes across the small expanse of ceiling. Pieces of debris lined the floor and the air smelled even more strongly of mildew and dust. The walls around me looked newish.
When I looked back at Massimo again I realized that I might have been wrong about my scratch before. He wanted to feed, I could tell by the way he was staring at me with his dark eyes, by the leer on his mouth. "I'd love to know why Rook is so obsessed with you, to the point of making a deal with me," he said as he licked his lips and stepped closer to me.
Oh, no. He was going to bite me. That was the last thing I wanted. Massimo wouldn't be gentle or calm with me. He’d hurt me. Chances were, unmonitored by the regulations that protected feeders, he might even kill me if he lost himself to the cravings.
I suddenly remembered the details of the dream I had where I couldn’t interact with Rook. He and Cross had used intimidation tactics to get Massimo to reluctantly agree to something. But what? And how did it involve me?
Without turning away from them I backed up until I hit the wall, putting as much space between us as possible. "If I'm going to help you with Rook, the least you could do is explain your deal with him and how I fit into it all." I slumped to the ground, sliding my back down the wall against the cold brick. In the tiny room, it gave me the feeling of a bit of space.
Hopefully I was far away enough to keep him from eating me. If he pounced, I didn’t have even the slimmest chance of beating him in a foot race anyway. It only mattered to my comfort if I was standing or sitting.
Massimo glanced at Milo, then turned to face me. He towered above me and crossed his arms. "Fair enough. In order for Rook to return to court and protect the two of you, he offered me a seat at the council table." Massimo smiled and squatted down to my level so we were almost eye to eye. Damn. He was close again. "I don't expect you’re smart enough to know or even be able to figure out what I'm referring to, so allow me to enlighten you. The members of the council are the advisors to the King and Queen of the vampire court. They have influence, power, and territory—which they are allowed to rule as they see fit, for the most part." Oh. All of the greatest tales of treachery were always about power or money.
Massimo stood and slowly stepped away from me. I sucked in a deep breath. With the way it was pounding, along with his super human vampire hearing, he could probably hear my heart reacting to his movements. "As you can imagine, I wanted all of those benefits."
