Blood Secrets

nineteen



ALEX WAS SCREAMING AND FIGHTING. SHE TWISTED AND bucked, trying to dislodge the heavy weight that pinned her. “Get off me!”

“I don’t think so,” Peter said, laughing. “I’m rather enjoying myself.”

Her fist connected with his jaw, leaving him momentarily stunned. She kicked him aside, scurried off the bed, and darted for the door.

Arms encircled her waist like iron bands and yanked her off her feet. “Gotcha!”

“No!” She clawed at the doorjamb, trying to find purchase for her fingers. Smooth wood offered no salvation. The world spun as Peter flung her onto the bed. She bounced over the mattress and tumbled to the floor on the opposite side. Something popped in her wrist as she tried to brace her fall and pain shot up her arm, making her cry out.

“We could’ve been so happy,” Peter said as he stalked her from the foot of the bed. “But your father had to mess everything up.”

Alex backpedaled across the floor. Her injured wrist refused to support her weight and gave way. Hissing with pain, she cradled it to her chest and continued her awkward retreat until her back hit a wall.

“And then you found a way to reach out to him.”

“You’re insane.”

“Bernard thought the same thing. Even said as much when he refused to take me on as a Hunter-Talent.”

As he spoke, Alex realized she could see again. At least somewhat. Instead of unending blackness, everything was now fuzzy gray with amorphous dark blobs. Imperfect vision was better than none at all. “What are you talking about? My father was a history professor.”

“That’s what he told you because you were too young to understand what he really was.”

“You’re lying.”

“Your precious Varik”—he spat the name as if it tasted bad—“was Daddy Dearest’s partner. Your father was the one who sent him to kill our kindred.”

Alex dove for what she hoped was the bed, worming her way underneath. She shrieked as she felt a hand close over her ankle.

“Tricky tricky, chickie chickie,” Peter chanted, pulling her out of her hiding place. “You’re a quick little—oof!”

She used her free leg to kick him in the shin. As he collapsed, she scrambled to gain her feet.

He lunged and landed atop her.

“Let me go!” She raked his arms with her nails, leaving bloody welts.

He managed to grab her injured wrist and squeezed.

Alex gasped and wailed as fresh pain rushed up her arm.

Peter seized her other wrist and settled his weight over her, pinning her facedown to the floor. “You think I like hurting you? Huh? I don’t, but you leave me no choice. We’ll never be happy unless you stop fighting me!”

“Go to Hell, you lying sack of shit! There is no f*cking us!”

He switched his hold on her wrists to one hand, used the other to flip her onto her back, and covered her with his body again before she could strike another kick. His breath beat against her face as he spoke. “That’s your father and Varik talking. You’ll see that you and I are meant to be together, that everything I’ve told you is true.” He stroked her hair. “I’ll make you see.”

Alex grunted as he pulled her to her feet. He kept a firm grip on her injured wrist and tugged her along behind him, heading for a destination only he could see.

Tasha stood in the doorway of the employee break room, watching Varik as he sat on a low sofa in the separate lounge area, elbows on his knees and head in hands. She’d never seen anyone look so thoroughly dejected. The primal scream he’d sounded earlier turned her blood to ice, and the memory of it even now made her shiver.

“Good job today,” Damian said from behind her within the break room.

“With what?”

He picked up the cup of coffee he’d poured. “Convincing the Garver girl to come to the scene and talk to Kirk. If she hadn’t distracted him, we would’ve been forced to breach the house. The outcome probably wouldn’t have been as tidy. As it stands now, docs at the hospital say Janet Klein will make a full recovery.”

“What about him?” Tasha jerked her head toward Varik. “Will he make a full recovery?”

“He’ll live,” Damian said softly, joining her. “Once we find Alex.”

“And if you don’t?”

“I’ll be looking for a new Director of Special Operations.” He crossed the hall to the lounge and offered the coffee to Varik. When the offer passed unacknowledged, Damian sighed, lowered himself onto the sofa next to Varik, and began speaking in tones too low for her to hear.

She left the break room and entered the common area, where uniformed officers and the junior detectives crowded into small cubicle spaces. As she headed for her office, Tasha was surprised to see Morgan leaving it. “Can I help you, SI Dreyer?”

Morgan spun around, eyes wide and startled. “Lieutenant Lockwood,” she stammered before composing herself. “I was just—I left some papers for you to sign on your desk.”

“Step back in my office and we’ll take care of it right now.”

“No,” Morgan barked. “What I mean is, I can’t now. I have a meeting to attend.”

“Okay, but it shouldn’t—” Tasha stopped as Morgan walked away, clutching a thick stack of papers to her chest. “F*cking vamps,” she muttered and entered her office, closing the door behind her.

The papers Morgan mentioned were for the complaint she’d filed against Varik. She skimmed the documents, verifying them for accuracy, and picked up a pen.

She hesitated. If she signed the papers, invisible wheels would be set in motion that would ultimately end with Varik standing before his own Tribunal inquiry. She’d been pissed off at him when she told Morgan she wanted to file the complaint. Now, seeing her harsh words outlined in black and white, she wondered if she could really go through with it.

“Ah, hell,” she murmured and leaned back in her chair. Indecision clouded her mind. There would be no harm in waiting to sign the papers, at least until she had more time to think about the ramifications of charging a federal agent with inappropriate conduct.

Tasha picked up the papers and slipped them into her desk drawer and discovered the evidence bag for Mindy Johnson’s journal.

She frowned, staring at the bag. She’d removed it, taken it home with her, and promptly lost it, according to Rueben. Picking up the bag, she was gripped with confusion and suspicion as she felt its heaviness. She looked inside and discovered the journal, seemingly intact.

Tasha retrieved the pink leather-bound book and flipped it over in her hands. The pages slipped easily between her fingers as she scanned the looping handwriting she recognized as Mindy’s. Halfway through the book, she stopped, staring at the jagged remains of several pages that had been removed.

Guilt stilled her breath. Had the pages been ripped out before or after she took the journal from the lab? Where had it disappeared and who’d returned it?

The most plausible explanation was that Rueben had stolen the book from her. But why? As for how it came to be in her desk, Morgan Dreyer had been in Tasha’s office only moments prior. Could Morgan and Rueben be working together? If so, what was their connection to her mystery callers?

A commotion outside interrupted her thoughts. Shouts and curses drew her to the door and as she stepped into the common area, she saw two Enforcers dragging a still-ranting Kirk Beljean toward a rear exit of the Jefferson Police Department. The Bureau didn’t waste time in cases where vampires were the direct cause of a human’s death. Beljean would be flown to Louisville, evidence would be presented, and he’d be dead by morning.

One of the Enforcers reached for the exit and Kirk broke free, barreling up the hallway in a desperate attempt to escape.

Tasha went for her sidearm but was too slow. The rampaging vampire slammed into her and her Beretta skittered across the floor. She shrieked as fangs pierced her clothing and sank into her forearm.

Hands grappled with Kirk, ripping his mouth from her arm. Tasha glimpsed Damian’s massive silhouette before he scooped her up, carrying her to the safety of the deserted Municipal Center’s lobby.

He set her down on the lower wall surrounding the silent water feature. “Give me your arm.”

Breathing hard and fighting back hysterical tears, she obediently held her arm out for his inspection.

The big Enforcer ripped the sleeve from her blouse at the shoulder in one fluid movement. He glanced at her with golden eyes when she sucked in a breath and then turned his attention back to her arm. His oversized hands were gentle as he assessed the damage. “No apparent broken bones, but it’s a nasty bite. You’re going to want a doctor to check it out.”

A high and long screech sounded from the JPD wing and suddenly fell silent, leaving an eerie quiet in its wake.

“Shouldn’t you—” Tasha began and stopped as Varik pushed through the glass doors and into the lobby.

Crimson beads dotted his face and ran down the front of his shirt in dark splotches. He limped wearily to Damian and Tasha, extended his hand toward Damian, and dropped two bloody nuggets in the Chief Enforcer’s palm. He then focused on Tasha. “Kirk won’t bite you or anyone again,” he said, deadpan.

Tasha cradled her injured arm to her, watched him head toward the exit and disappear down the front steps of the Center. Only after he’d melded with the night’s shadows did she look at what he’d left behind.

Two bloody fangs lay in Damian’s hand.

The world tilted violently and then she was surrounded by darkness.

* * *

Staring out Janet’s hospital window, Emily wondered if she was fated to spend a majority of her life in hospitals. When she and Bernard married, she’d been the one to care for him and any wounds he suffered as a Hunter until he was tapped as a Talent and taken out of the field. Then Stephen was born and the usual boyhood scrapes and occasional broken bone had to be tended.

Her boys had been boys through and through, and Alex had been no slouch in the rough and tumble department either. Bernard may have called her “Princess” but the precocious child had been anything except a princess. Emily had lost count of the number of trips to the emergency room Alex had fostered during her teens. She smiled with the memories.

However, her smile soon faded, replaced by sorrow. Alex was missing and there’d been no word on the search. Varik offered no updates after he arrested Kirk and Janet was whisked away to the hospital. He’d simply said if he had any news he would call.

“Mom?” Stephen said softly from the room’s doorway.

Emily motioned for him to enter and to be quiet. “She’s sleeping,” she whispered as he drew closer, glancing at the bed in which Janet lay. “The doctor says she’ll be fine but they want to keep her overnight as a precaution.”

Stephen nodded, his eyes locked on Janet. He suddenly turned to Emily and placed his head on her shoulder, wrapping her in a tight embrace. “I’m so sorry, Mom. I should’ve been there with you both.”

Dampness spread over her shoulder and she realized he was crying. “Oh, honey,” she murmured, hugging him in turn and gently stroking his back as she had when he was a child. “You can’t blame yourself for any of this. You had to meet with your investors and discuss the plans to rebuild Crimson Swan. Janet and I both understand that. I’m sure the police tried to reach you.”

Stephen pulled away, swiping angrily at his tears. “That’s the problem.” He flung himself onto the small couch beneath the window. “There was no meeting. I lied.”

“You lied?” Emily frowned and perched on the edge beside him. “Why? Where were you?”

“At the library, in the archives.” He sighed and avoided looking at her. “After Damian told us Alex was kidnapped and what happened to Varik and they suspected this Dollmaker guy of being the one who grabbed Alex, I felt so helpless, like I should be doing something—anything—to find Alex but I didn’t know what.”

“Stephen—”

“She didn’t give up on me when those Midnighters kidnapped me and burned Crimson Swan. She knew what to do and didn’t let anyone stand in her way. I’m not an Enforcer. If I tried to shoot a gun I’d probably blow off my foot.”

“Alex knew what to do because she’s been trained to do it.” Emily draped her arm over his back and gave him a sideways hug. “No one expects you to go charging after her like a white knight on horseback.”

“I know, but I couldn’t just sit around waiting. That’s why I lied about the meeting, and why I went to the archives and started looking into this Dollmaker.” He reached inside his jacket and produced a stack of folded papers from an inner pocket. “Mom, what I found scares the hell out of me.”

Emily took the pages from him, unfolded them, and began reading the fuzzy printed images of old newspaper articles. The oldest dated back to the early 1900s in Chicago with the most recent from Louisville, dated 1968.

Each article detailed the gruesome murder of at least one young girl, but most often several. There seemed to be no pattern to the victims in age, ethnicity, or occupation. The only commonality Emily could see between any of them was the horrible manner in which they died—partially skinned and their throats slit.

“This is the psycho that the Enforcers suspect took Alex,” Stephen whispered. “And that’s not all.” He handed her another page. “Look in the background of the photo.”

She studied the grainy black-and-white photo. Stone-faced men carried what could only be a body wrapped in sheets down the front walk of a Colonial-style home. Holding the paper at an angle to increase the amount of light, she searched the equally grim bystanders who stood outside of the police barricade. One face stood out and she whispered, “Bernard.”

“That photo was taken in Louisville in 1968, just a few months before he was killed. What was he doing at a crime scene in the middle of the day?”

Emily folded the paper, hiding the photo. “I don’t know. Perhaps it was near the university and he stopped on his way to work.”

Stephen shook his head and took back the paper, unfolding it. “The article listed the address. This house is close to the river, nowhere near the campus. So why was he there?”

“I said I don’t know, but I’m sure he had a reason.”

“I thought he might be in the area because of the affair, so I looked up Siobhan, which wasn’t easy considering I only knew her first name.”

Fear sliced through Emily, leaving her cold and robbing her of her voice.

“The only reference I found to a Siobhan in Louisville, Kentucky, around the time that Dad was having the affair was a listing on the FBPI’s Most Wanted list.” He produced another page and read from it. “Siobhan Kelly, brown hair, blue eyes, age 184. Location unknown. Wanted for the murder of three Enforcers in January 1963. Considered armed and dangerous. Approach with extreme caution.”

Emily looked away when he turned his focus to her.

“Is this the same woman Dad was sleeping with?”

She glanced at the small image provided along with the description. It was badly rendered and appeared to have been taken from an old snapshot, but the dark-haired smiling woman was undeniably Siobhan Kelly. Emily nodded. “Yes, that’s her.”

Stephen leapt to his feet, muttering curses, and paced in front of her. “How could Dad get involved with someone like this?” After the fifth circuit, he stopped. “What if she’s the one who killed him?”

“Siobhan didn’t kill your father—or anyone else, for that matter.”

“They never caught the person responsible for Dad’s murder. How can you be so certain it wasn’t her?” He paused. “Unless you know who did it.”

“Don’t be silly. Of course I don’t know who killed Bernard.”

“You said Siobhan didn’t kill Dad or anyone else.” He held up the page in his hand. “If she didn’t kill these Enforcers, who did and why is she being blamed for it?”

“It was your father,” Emily said and continued in a rush before he could interrupt. “Your father killed those Enforcers in order to protect Siobhan and her newborn baby. Afterward, it was decided Siobhan would leave Louisville and take the blame for the killings so Bernard could stay behind and raise his family.”

“Dad killed three Enforcers? What-what about the baby? What happened to him?”

“She stayed in Louisville with Bernard.”

“She?” Stephen repeated. Realization crept into his eyes and he dropped his jaw. “It’s Alex, isn’t it? Alex is Siobhan’s daughter.”

Tears brimmed in Emily’s eyes as she took a shuddering breath and nodded her confirmation.

Alex’s memory haunted Varik. He stood in the center of her silent hotel room, and everywhere he turned his eye was drawn to a reminder of her: discarded clothing, a bottle of lotion, a book she’d been reading. The entire room smelled of her, and perhaps that was why he’d broken every speed limit in town and ran more than a few red lights to get here.

He stretched out on the bed, sending up a wave of jasmine and vanilla. Memories of their lovemaking flooded his mind, seizing on an image of her lying beneath him, the engagement ring he’d convinced her to wear for that night nestled between her breasts.

I love you, the memory whispered.

Varik shuddered as an overwhelming sense of loss crashed into him. How cruel was fate to give her back to him only to take her away?

Dweezil hopped up from the opposite side of the bed, sat down, wrapping his long fuzzy tail around his paws, and stared at Varik. The cat blinked and looked to the door and then back, as if asking where his mistress was.

“She’s gone,” Varik whispered, his voice breaking. “And I’m not sure I can get her back this time.”

Dweezil stretched his long Maine coon body to its fullest before striding across the bed to rub his head under Varik’s chin. His omnipresent purring was oddly quiet as he circled once before curling in a tight ball.

Varik stroked his hand over the cat’s thick black-and-tan fur. He laid his head on the pillow last used by Alex. “I miss her,” he said to no one in particular.

Dweezil began to softly purr next to him, as if voicing his agreement.

Peter secured the final strap around her waist and stepped back to admire his handiwork. Bands immobilized her arms, legs, and torso. He allowed her the freedom to move her head, a luxury he hoped would be a sign he intended her no harm.

It hadn’t been easy to restrain Alexandra—she was much stronger than he anticipated—and she fought harder than the humans he normally had to control. Of course, the humans had all been drugged, but Alexandra needed to be awake and lucid if she was going to understand the level of betrayal perpetuated by those closest to her.

He gently stroked the developing dark bruise on her jaw. He’d had no choice in the end but to punch her, stunning her long enough for him to lock the bands in place. Hurting her was the last thing he wanted. He brushed his lips over the bruise, wanting to kiss away the pain.

His hands followed the line of her arms, her torso, her hips. His fingers found the hem of her shirt and slipped beneath, feeling the flat smoothness of her stomach. It would be so easy to claim her. So easy …

“No,” he gasped and forced himself to back away. “I’ve come too far to risk losing her now.”

He drew a ragged breath, calming his chaotic thoughts. She was his soul mate. He’d known that from the moment he first saw her in the Shadowlands when she was just a child. Forty years he’d waited for this moment. A few more hours at most wouldn’t kill him.

She groaned and her eyes fluttered open. She tried to move but the bands held her in place. Her attempts to escape became more frantic. “What the hell? Let me go!”

Peter moved to stand in front of her. “Not until you’re willing to listen to reason, darling. After all, I’m only trying to help you.”

“Help me?” She smirked. “How about you help me out of these things and let’s see just how reasonable I can be?”

“Nice try.” He picked up a folder from his workstation. “I’ll give you an ‘A’ for effort but I don’t believe you’re ready to run free yet.”

While she continued to struggle and hurl insults at him, he opened the file and withdrew a large black-and-white photo. He held it up for her to see.

She seemed to stare through him.

“Look at this photo, Alexandra.”

“I can’t f*cking see, a*shole.”

Peter frowned and set the photo aside. He grabbed her jaw, forcing her to tilt her head back, despite her resistance. He carefully examined her eyes and then released her. “Temporary blindness most likely resulting from too rapid a transition through the Veil. It’ll pass.”

“Thank you for the enlightenment, Doctor Quackenstein.”

He picked up the photo again, determined to proceed regardless of her limitations. “I got this photo from the FBPI archives. The Freedom of Information Act the humans cooked up has been incredibly useful.” He examined the photo depicting a group of men and a handful of women—twenty-five in total. “It’s interesting. Here are some of the most well-known Hunters turned Enforcers, and who should be standing among them but Daddy Dearest.”

“That photo is a lie. My father was a history professor.”

“No, Bernard was the big f*cking liar.” He picked up a stack of papers from the worktable. “I checked the University of Louisville’s faculty roster going all the way back to when the school was founded. It says Bernard Sabian taught history there from 1957 until his death in 1968.”

“He did.”

“No!” Peter slammed the stack onto the table. “His name was added after he died.”

“That’s insane! Who would—”

“The Bureau—or rather, the organization that would become the Bureau.” He held up the photo again. “I believe you’ll recognize the names Damian Alberez, Morgan Dreyer, Woody Phelps, who now sits on the Bureau Tribunal, as you know, and Gregor Wahl—oh, yes, and of course your father and Varik Baudelaire.”

She clenched her jaw but said nothing.

“They were partners, your father and Varik,” he explained, pointing to each individual as he named them. “You see, Daddy Dearest started life as a Hunter. Yes, underneath that lovable exterior, your sainted father was a cold-hearted, murdering bastard.”

“You’re lying,” she whispered.

“Sadly, no.” He sighed and continued his story. “Once Phelps discovered Bernard’s ability to enter the Shadowlands and, more specifically, the Hall of Records, he was removed from active duty. He—along with the other Talents, as they were called—would routinely scan the vampire population using their psychic abilities, looking for rogues and violations of vampiric law. However, Bernard was given a very special assignment: he was told to scan only other Hunters, including the Talents, for signs of turning rogue.”

He tapped his finger on Baudelaire’s likeness. “Any Hunter or Talent found to be rogue was turned over to Lover Boy, who then dealt with them as quickly and quietly as possible. You see, while Bernard had psychic talents, Varik’s talents lie in killing. He became one of the most feared Hunters of all times.”

He shrugged. “Well, at least he was until he killed an innocent boy who was in the wrong place at the wrong time and swore never to kill again. He then moved on to training other Hunters, and eventually Enforcers, which is how the two of you met.”

His gaze drifted to the dark-haired woman standing to the left of Bernard. “Siobhan Kelly.” Peter smiled. “You recognize the name, don’t you?”

She leaned her head back against the faux wall housing the restraint devices. “No.”

“Now who’s lying, darling?”

“I’m not your f*cking darling, a*shole!”

“Not yet.”

“Not ever.”

“We’ll see about that.” He set the folder and photo on the worktable. “I’ll give you time to think about what I’ve said. Shall we continue in the morning?”

She rested her head against the faux wall once more, refusing to look in his direction.

He hopped down the attic stairs and opened the hidden door into the hallway. As he made his way to his bedroom, a sense of satisfaction enveloped him. Everything was going according to plan and once he finished showing her the extent of the lies that framed her life, she would willingly sever the bond to Varik and finally give herself over to him.