chapter Thirteen
Seamus thought he might have an aneurysm when he saw Alexis running into the room, brandishing a sword, for Christ's sake. Cara was behind her, at least, but it wasn't at all reassuring.
"Stop!" he yelled at Alexis. She careened to a halt, Cara nearly plowing into her from behind.
"Oh, my God, Kelsey," Cara cried.
"Let her go." Alexis went into her kick-ass sword-swinging stance.
Next to Seamus, Ethan gave a sigh. "She said she'd cut Dona- telli'stesticles off. I thought she was kidding, but clearly she wasn't."
"Get out of my way," the assassin Kelsey called Ringo said, in a low, calm voice that disturbed Seamus more than anything he'd seen so far. This was a dangerous man.
Seamus stepped in front of Cara, eased her back into a corner. He'd let Ethan disarm his wife. But this guy was serious, and for Kelsey, they needed to play it safe.
"Alright, just let Kelsey go and you can walk out." They'd catch up with him later and get some answers.
Cara tried to move around him, but he held her back. She grappled with him, desperately grabbing and clawing to get free, so he wound up stumbling forward, "Cara, what the hell are you doing? Knock it off, babe."
"Get out of my way, Seamus," she said, her voice growing hysterical. "Look at Kelsey."
The fear in her voice made him turn. Kelsey had been holding the guy's wrist where he was pressing the dagger to her throat. It had seemed natural, instinctive, for her to try to shield herself, pull the weapon away. Now Ethan realized that she was actuallypushing the knife into her flesh. She was bleeding, torrents of red starting to stream down over her bare skin, racing to her bikini top.
"Kelsey," he said in confusion, as Alexis let out a scream.
Kelsey's eyes were rolling back, gliding shut, her knees giving out, but she pushed harder, hitting her jugular.
Ringofinally seemed to realize something was wrong and he jerked the dagger back and let it clatter to the floor. Seamus figured he'd bolt, and at the moment he didn't really give a shit. His concern was Kelsey and all that blood. It was everywhere, arching in a violent spray.
But the guy didn't leave. He gave an agonized groan. "Kelsey what why " He held on to her even as she went down like a thin rag doll, cradling her in his arms. The look he wore was blank, stunned, confused, as they all saw the blood spilling down the entire length of her: Ringo had blood on his face, chest,arms .
Cara pushed around Seamus, yanking her T-shirt off as she fell to her knees. She pressed the fabric on Kelsey's neck in a futile effort to stem the flow. "She'll heal, won't she, Seamus?"
Her action propelled him forward. "Yes, she'll heal." Though he couldn't imagine why the hell she'd done what she did. He took off his own shirt, and laid it over Cara's back. He didn't like her sitting there in her bra, regardless of the circumstances. "There is blood in the fridge. She'll need to drink to replace all this lost blood."
"Got it," Ethan said.
Seamus eased Kelisey out of Ringo's arms and put her on Cara's lap, where Cara petted her hair and murmured to her. Keisey had passed out, her fair skin taking on a bluish purple tint. Ethan popped open a blood bag and poured it between her lips.
Which left Seamus to deal with Ringo .The guy sat back, his mouth pressed tightly together. Absently, he wiped blood off his cheek.
"If we're going to throw punches, can we move to the other side of the room?" Seamus asked cautiously."Away from Keisey ." He was on the balls of his feet, but he was ready for a fight if this guy wanted one. It had to be his fault Keisey had sliced herself, and that pissed Seamus off.
Ringojust shook his head, expression unreadable. "No." He held out his hands. "Shit. Just cuff me. That's what Kelsey wants." That threw Seamus off. He wasn't sure how to respond. "How do you know what the hell Kelsey wants?"
"She has a hard time staying out of my head. She wants me to detox . Says you'll take care of me. That's why she did it." A finger went across his neck in a slitting motion."Her way of forcing me to stay." He held out his hands again. "Come on. I only have another hour or so before I'm going to be desperate for some drug blood. If I leave here, it doesn't matter what I tell myself, I'll go right back to him, right back for another fix. Lock me up now before I change my mind."
Seamus hauled him to his feet by his outstretched wrists. "Who do you work for?"
"You know who." Ringo shook Seamus off and fixed his suit jacket, his expression scornful. " Donatelli,And by now the whole Nation knows that you have a fledgling who is a stripper.Just a little election gossip."
Glancing over at Cara, Seamus shifted uneasily. He had seen this coming.All his goddamn fault. He should have turned Cara and just resigned right then and there. He should have taken her and gone back toIreland to let things blow over.
Cara was stroking Kelsey's hair, whispering to her while Ethan popped open a second bag of blood, tossing the empty one onto the carpet. Kelsey's neck was covered in thick, clotted blood, but Seamus could see it was healing. Her skin was a more normal tint, and her breathing had evened out. Cara hadn't bothered to pull on the T-shirt, but didn't seem aware of the fact that she was sitting there in a red lace bra.
She was beautiful.
And Seamus realized he had done the same thing all over again. He had fallen in lust with Cara initially, which had clouded his judgment. It had been the same with Marie, and like then, others had paid the price for his weakness. Cara, Ethan, and even Kelsey were paying for his lack of self-control, and he felt the guilt crushing him all over again.
He loved Cara. But sometimes that wasn't good enough.
Cara was aware that Seamus was watching her, a strange pained look on his face. It made her uncomfortable, but her main concern was Kelsey, who was starting to shift uneasily. "Are you sure she's going to be okay, Ethan? "
"I'm sure. But I'll have the Frenchman check on her just to be sure."
"The Frenchman?"Alexis said, stopping her anxious pacing. "You mean Corbin?"
"Yes," Ethan said.
"Is he in town?"
"Yes."
"And you knew?"
"Yes. He has been detoxing the vampire who went out the window and who is right now probably on his way back to his drug pusher. We'll need Atelier to help Ringo through his withdrawal."
Cara winced, thinking there wasn't going to be any easy way to break an addiction. Yet she found she was having a hard time dredging up sympathy for the man who had bitten Dawn two dozen times and left her almost drained of blood naked on the dressing room floor. Maybe it was the drugs that had caused
Ringo'sbehavior, but it was going to take her a long time to get over what he had done.
Alexis glared at her husband. "How long has Corbin been here?"
"A week."
"You could have mentioned that to me."
"I suppose I could have." Ethan was impassive. "But it's not relevant."
Alexis gasped. "I would have liked to talk to him."
"You still can. He's right outside the door."
Cara watched a tall, debonair man enter the room. He smiled charmingly.
"Good day to all of you. Did you require something, Mr , Carrick?"
"We have another patient for you." Ethan pointed to Ringo , who had been tied into a chair by Seamus. A cigarette dangled artfully from his lips.
Corbin made a sympathetic sound."Of course." He walked past Alexis, bowing his head. "How are you, Alexis?And your sister, Brittany? I trust she is recovering from the flu?"
Alexis narrowed her eyes. "How did you know she has the flu?"
His steps faltered. "She told me." Then he knelt down beside Kelsey. "Miss Kelsey has had an accident, yes?"
"You could call it that," Ringo said sarcastically.
Cara pulled her T-shirt off Kelsey's rippled wound. "Her throat was cut, but I think it's healing."
Corbin examined the laceration, his long fingers moving with precision and gentleness. "Yes, she will heal. You, however," he said to Ringo . "You are in for a difficult time."
"Bring it on," Ringo said, tossing his hair out of his eyes.
Kelsey's eyes snapped open. She sat up in Cara's lap. "Kyle? Where's Kyle?"
"Right here, Kels ."
She turned and sighed in relief when she saw Ringo . "I had to, you know.For you."
"I know. But you could have warned me."
"No," Kelsey said. "I couldn't."
"I know." Ringo shrugged.
Cara felt Seamus's shirt slip off her back. She realized she was still sitting there in her bra, so she dragged the black T-shirt on over her head. Seamus's scent enveloped her. It made her feel comforted,I love you , she told him, needing to hear his voice.
But he didn't answer. In fact, he didn't even look at her. Cara realized he must not have heard her. She wasn't exactly an expert on the whole thought-projection thing.
"Why don't we go get you into the shower,Kelsey. " The sight of so much blood all over Kelsey's body was incredibly gruesome.
"Good idea," Seamus said, inspecting the shattered window, knocking out a few remaining shards."Why don't you ladies go to bed for the day? I think everyone could use some rest." He leaned over and looked down. "No body on the street."
Cara realized she had been dismissed. He was talking to Ethan with that last pronouncement, not her. It was puzzling, but she reassured herself that the night had been completely overwhelming. Seamus was obviously distracted, thinking, strategizing.Obviously.
"I could use a shower," Kelsey said, standing up, using Cara's shirt to swipe at her chest. "Cara, oh,my gosh , I ruined your shirt. I'm sorry."
That almost made her laugh. "It's okay. It can be replaced." She wasn't sure why Kelsey had slit her own throat, but she knew it had something to do with Ringo .Which was just astounding. Cara wondered if she could make herself rip open her flesh for Seamus. That seemed a little drastic.
Alexis didn't put up an argument about leaving, nor did she say good-bye to her husband. Their only contact was when she started toward the door, and Ethan yanked her back by the sword she was carrying.
"Leave the sword, Baldizzi . And quit watchingHighlander reruns."
Alexis surrendered the sword without a word and the three women went into the hall, Cara nervously holding on to Kelsey's arm. She didn't want Kelsey to suddenly drop or anything.
"I am so angry I could spit," Alexis hissed. "Why the hell didn't he tell me Corbin was here?"
Cara was feeling a little uneasy herself. Seamus hadn't exactly been Joe Affectionate in there. "They feel like they have to protect us from everything. Maybe it's because they were raised in earlier centuries, when women were considered the weaker sex."
"I don't know. I think that may be true for Seamus, but when Ethan was a kid, women were pretty tough. They had to be to survive." Alexis narrowed her eyes. "I think Ethan is just being an asshole, that's all."
"Yeah, they do that, too, sometimes." Cara sighed. Something was wrong with Seamus. She could sense it. He hadn't evenlooked at her when she left.
They got on the elevator and three women gasped in horror when they looked at Kelsey.
"Actress," Alexis said, pointing to Kelsey. "They're filming a movie here in the casino.Vampires in Vegas."
"Really?That's exciting," the one wearing a Margaritaville T-shirt said.
"And that blood is so realistic," her friend added.
"Thanks," Alexis said. "I'll tell the specialeffects guys. They always need ego stroking."
They got out at the twenty-fourth floor, waving to the women.
Kelsey shook her head. "I don't think Mr. Carrick would like you telling people they're filming a vampire movie here."
"Fuck him," Alexis snarled.
"I'll leave that to you," Cara murmured, and they all grinned, glad to have the somber mood broken. "Did you see their faces when we walked in? I thought they were going to wet themselves. I guess we should have been more discreet."
Kelsey unlocked her door.
"Where the hell were you hiding that key card?" Alexis asked.
Cara was wondering that same thing. Kelsey's bikini could have been bought at babyGap .
"I'll never tell," Kelsey said,then promptly told them. "Here, in the front of my bottoms. I never lose it that way."
Guess not.
"I used to lose it all the time and the front desk people were getting bitchy with me. So I try to be better about it now."
They stepped into Kelsey's hotel room, which was just a standard room with a king-size bed, sitting area, and bath. There were clothes, makeup, and books over every surface. Cara wandered over to the dresser and spottedThe Secret Life of Bees, Gossip Girls, The Complete Works of Shakespeare, The Origins of Islam , andWhy Do Men have Nipples ?, all crowded together in a precarious tower.
"Wow, this is quite a selection."
"I like to read," Kelsey said.
Who would have thought?
Alexis shoved a black cocktail dress over and sat on the bed. "Okay, Kels , maybe this is rude to ask, but why the hell did you slit your throat?"
Cara would never have had the guts to ask, but she was glad Alexis had. She was morbidly curious to know what had inspired that drastic action.
Kelsey didn't look offended. She took her hair out of its now messy ponytail and shook it free."Because Kyle is addicted to drug blood. That's why he stays with the Italian and why he does things he shouldn't. He's a good man in there, but he's been lost. I knew if he left today, he'd be lost for good, and I knew that if I hurt myself, he'd pass on his chance to escape so he could help me. So I slit my throat, and now he's going to be okay, I'm sure of it."
"I'm impressed," Alexis said.
"That was a very compassionate thing to do," Cara added, a lump in her throat. There was something that was bothering her, buzzing around the edges of her consciousness, irritating and nagging.
"I had to," Kelsey said, slipping out of the bloody bikini, no concern for modesty. "I had to make it right for him. It was scary when my memories were all messed up, it was like everything was scrambled in the dark, but now I think I remember everything, and I know that Kyle can be saved."
Alexis looked skeptical, kicking her feet back and forth on the side of the bed. "Holy shit, you've got a thing for him, don't you?"
"Yes," Kelsey said, and walked into the bathroom, her very long legs pale with streaks of rusted blood. She didn't bother to shut the door, but the shower came on.
"She's falling in love with a sicko murderer for hire. I can't believe this," Alexis said, shaking her head.
"Maybe once he's off the drugs, he'll be alright." Kelsey certainly believed that. Maybe they should, too, for her sake. And maybe Cara could learn from Kelsey how to trust people, learn that caring for someone, showing compassion, didn't make you vulnerable. That at some point you had to take a leap of faith and love. Cara had done that with Seamus the night before and she wanted to be as confident as Kelsey that she'd done the right thing.
"Drug addicts don't just get better. And nasty people don't do one-eighties and become suddenly good." Alexis held up one of Kelsey's very, uh, suggestive panties. "What is this thing? It looks like she put it through the paper shredder."
Pressing her lips together, Cara tried not to laugh. "They're panties the back is crisscross strings."
"So all you have on your ass are these stripes?" Alexis shuddered. "I'm sorry, that's just ridiculous. I mean, how totally uncomfortable. And it would make crisscross lines in your pants. And I really, really find it hard to believe that men are attracted to women's ass cracks."
"I've never taken a survey." Cara rubbed her stomach. "Damn, I'm hungry. But I don't think we should leave until Kelsey is safely in bed. And I don't know where Seamus is."
"What does he have to do with anything? I'm sure Kelsey has blood in her fridge. Just snag a bag. I could feed, too."
Alexis was already up and opening Kelsey's minifridge . "We should make sure Kelsey has another bag before she goes to bed."
Cara debated if she was hungry enough to drink it cold from a bag, and decided she was. "I usually hate it in the bag, but for some reason I'm starving."
"Do you need a glass or something?" Alexis asked, pulling out three bags of blood and tossing them back and forth in her hands.
"No, I like it from Seamus." Cara was kind of embarrassed to admit that, though she wasn't sure why.
"What do you mean, from Seamus?" Alexis looked at her blankly.
"I drink blood from him. Youknow, his blood." Cara could feel her face starting to burn. Damn, she was blushing and Alexis's reaction wasn't helping. Her friend's eyes went wide.
"You mean, like when you're having sex, you take a little nip here and there?Just a taste?"
"Well, yeah, that, too. But I mean, even when we're not having sex, when I need to feed, I drink straight from Seamus." Even as she said it, she realized something sounded strange about that. It had never once occurred to her to wonder why she fed from him but Seamus fed from a bag. She had liked it too much to wonder about the logistics.
"He feeds you?" Alexis asked in astonishment."All the time?"
"Well, not every time. I have had it from the bag, but I didn't really like that. So usually Seamus just, you know, lets me at his wrist " Cara trailed off as Alexis gaped at her like a hooked trout. "What? Is there something wrong with that?"
"Yeah.You know all those unwritten vampire laws? Well, that is one of them. No feeding from other vampires."
"Why not?"Cara pressed her hand to her forehead. This didn't make sense.
"Because one, you are usually taking blood from a more powerful vampire, increasing your own power. Two, you are draining them, meaning they have to drink double their normal quantity. Three, most importantly of all, it can be used as a means of control, a way for an older vampire to create a submissive fledgling because it's addictive. Essentially, it's illegal so we can protect the rights of fledglings." Alexis shook her head."Holy shit. I can not even fathom why Seamus, of all vampires, would do this."
"Addictive? It's addictive? I'maddicted to Seamus?" It wasn't love she was experiencing, it was chemical dependency? Cara felt hot everywhere, a sick churning in her stomach, panic rising up into her throat. "You mean I'm like Ringo ? I have to check into rehab or what?"
"I don't think that's a good comparison," Alexis said quickly. "He's chemically addicted to drugs. I think what vamp feeding does is more like an association of extreme pleasure with feeding."
"Oh, that sounds so much better," Cara choked out. She was stunned, humiliated, devastated. "I have to talk to Seamus." Murder him.
"Okay, okay." Alexis shoved the bag of blood at her. "Here, if you want it. And Cara, I'msorry, I didn't mean to just blurt it out like that I'm sure it's not a big deal."
"Of course it is, and you know it. I'm glad you told me." Cara glanced disdainfully at the blood bag, knowing it was going to be cold and tinny. Then anger propelled her to grab it. She would drink it and she would like it. She was not going to be addicted to Seamus Fox, slimy lying pervert that he was.
Tossing her head back, she drank the whole thing, trying not to gag. She managed to keep it all in, and shuddered, crushing the empty bag in her hand like a frat boy with a beer can.
"Hungry?" Kelsey asked as she came into the room wearing a fluffy white towel.
"I'm going to kill Seamus," Cara told her.
"I hear ya ," Alexis said. "I'm pretty pissed at my own husband right now."
"I'm very very grateful I am not married to Seamus," Cara said, locating a trash can and dropping the bag into it. "If I was, we'd be heading to vampire divorce court."
Anger felt good. It was better than the alternative, which was bursting into tears. For a second, she had almost succumbed to crying, but this was better. Anger could be stoked, flung at the source of the problem, used as a shield to protectyourself from embarrassing displays of vulnerability.
"A vampire divorce isn't easy to get. I think Ethan's sister Gwenna is only one of a handful whohave managed to do it."
Cara wiped her hands on her jeans. She hadn't even known Ethan had a sister. "Who was she married to?"
" Donatelli."
"No kidding? That guy gets around." She turned to Kelsey. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine." Kelsey was rooting around in the pile of clothes on the bed.
"Okay, thenI'm leaving. Seamus has some squirming?I mean explaining?to do." She patted her pockets to make sure she had her room key. "Too bad Ethan has your sword, Alexis. I could use it right about now."
"Maybe it's good that you don't. You don't want to cut off anything you may regret not having later."
"Hah. I would die?again?before I ever have sex with Seamus Fox." It was the thought of the night before, the way he had made love to her, that sent her careening out the door, the tears refusing to be held back any longer.
Seamus glanced absently at his cell phone. Damn. It was Cara. He and Ethan were strategizing how to approach Donatelli , if at all. They were weighing their options and hadn't yet come to any conclusions.
He knew Cara had picked up on his discomfort earlier. She had looked hurt when he hadn't said good-bye. But he hadn't trusted himself to speak, not after she had spoken into his head that she loved him. He hadn't answered because he hadn't known what to say. He did love her. He loved her immensely, witha richness and depth he hadn't even dreamt was possible. But that very love was clouding his judgment, and he had made grave mistakes.Again.
If he was avoiding her, it was because he didn't know how to explain that, how to make it clear he wanted to marry her more than anything, but that he didn't trust himself.
"You can answer that," Ethan said, relaxing back in the leather chair behind his desk.
"Thanks." Seamus cleared his throat and stood up. It wasn't the time to tell Cara anything, especially since he didn't know how to articulate what he was feeling, but he still felt nervous. Like she knew he was having unexplainable doubts.
"Hello?" he said cautiously.
Even as he answered, Ethan's cell phone rang. "Shit,it's Alexis. Pissed off at me, I'm sure."
"Seamus, I need to talk to you," Cara said. "When will you be back?"
Her voice sounded funny, like other people were around and she was trying to be discreet.
"I'm not sure, babe.Half an hour?"
"How about now.This can't wait."
Uh-oh.That was anger. He knew that tone. That was the pissy, you've totally screwed up voice. He glanced at Ethan, who was grimacing and saying into his own cell phone, "Fine. I said okay.Fine. No, I didn't. Alexis "
His conversation didn't sound any more promising than Sea- mus'sso he figured they were both going to have to take a break from politics and do a little relationship damage control.
Seamus sighed. "Okay. I'll be home in five minutes."
"Good." She disconnected without saying good-bye.
He had no clue what could have possibly made her angry. But maybe that was a positive thing. She wouldn't be so hurt, so side-swiped when he told her he had made a mistake and that he wasn't sure if they were going in the right direction. That he needed to think about his future and assess why he couldn't have a relationship without adversely affecting other people in his life.
Ethan dropped his phone on his desk. "It is not the least bit satisfying to hang up a cell phone. You can't even get a proper slamming action when you're mad as hell."
"Alexis giving you a hard time?"
"Yes. As if she has a right to be irritated about me not rushing to tell her Corbin was in town. What am I, the man's bloody secretary? And then she shows up with a sword this morning and can't possibly see why I'm angry.Bugger." He reached out and bent a ballpoint pen in half. "That feels better. Do you need to leave, too? Alexis said Cara is steaming about something herself."
"Did she say why?" It might be nice to know what he was walking into.
"No." Ethan shrugged and stood up. "Just that she totally supports Cara in the fact that you're a lying manipulative asshole."
"Great." It was better than he'd thought. Hell.
"We're in the proverbial doghouse, aren't we?"
"I think we're actually in the sewers. They've been discussing us with each other. That is not a good thing, Carrick." The more he thought about it, the more Seamus started to sweat. Cara had not sounded happy.
A flash of fear crossed Ethan's face. "What have they got up to?"
"Let's find out," he said with way more bravado than he felt.