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Inside the ensuite, Dacoda stepped into the shower to wash away Andrei’s seed before slipping on his robe. Then she sat on the toilet, with tears stinging her eyes. She burned with shame that she had allowed the cheating with Andrei to continue until Evan walked in on them.
She hurt, realizing the pain and embarrassment she had forced on Evan. He had only ever shown her tenderness and love. And to have Andrei attack him. Yet a damn again. How could she ever expect him to forgive her?
But hiding in the bathroom wouldn’t help. She had to face the consequences of her actions. She took a deep breath and stood up just as the door opened after a brief knock. Evan stood there, his lashes concealing the expression in his eyes.
“I can explain,” she said quickly.
“Did he coerce you?”
Oh, God. “No,” she admitted.
“Not this time?”
She sighed. “Not at any time.”
“Then what do we have to say to each other?”
“I know you don’t believe this, but I love you, Evan.”
“Yeah, I could tell how much you loved me by the way you were letting him fuck you. Raw.” He looked at her stomach and remembered Veelee’s accusation. “Are you really carrying my baby? Or is it his?”
“No! How can you ask me that?”
“How can I not after what I just saw you letting him do to you?”
Her throat felt tight, and her chest ached because she knew she deserved to have him ask the question. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have let it go this far. I should have....”
“What? Left me for him?”
“No! I would never leave you for anyone.”
“Then what was your plan? To keep sleeping with us both for how long? Until he got tired of sharing you and killed me?”
“No! You think I would let him hurt you?”
“How the fuck would you have stopped him?”
She sighed. “Andrei cares for me, so he wouldn’t hurt you to please me.”
“He nearly choked me to death just now, Dacoda!”
“No.” She shook her head. “I know he can be violent, but if he wanted you dead, you’d be dead.”
“You need to get a grip on reality, Dacoda. Do you know what people call women like you?”
She sucked in a breath, waiting for Andrei to appear and intervene. But he didn’t. “Where is Andrei?”
“He left us alone to talk.”
“You mean for you to degrade and shame me?”
“Don’t you think you deserve it? Sneaking around to fuck him every time I turn my back?”
“Yes,” she admitted. “So go ahead and remind me of what an unfaithful slut I am. Nothing you say would be worse than what I’ve already called myself. I know you deserve much better than I’ve given you.”
“But?”
“I can’t help how I feel about him. I love you, Evan. But I love him too. I know how that makes me sound. I just can’t help myself. He calls, and I go because....”
“You have to go?”
“No. I go because I want to.”
“Where does that leave me? Do you expect me to pretend I don’t know you’re screwing around on me with him?”
“No! I’ll end it. I promise. I never wanted to hurt you.”
“You’re assuming I still want you now that I know he never compelled you. How am I supposed to feel knowing you’ve been with him by choice? How many times?”
She shook her head.
“Never mind. I need time to think.”
She reached out to grip his arm as he turned away. “I do love you, Evan, but I understand if you don’t love me anymore.”
“That’s the problem, Dacoda. I do love you. I always have and probably always will.”
“Then please try to forgive me.”
He turned back to press his forehead against hers. “Oh, God, Coda! Don’t leave me for him!”
She hugged him. “I won’t. I promise that was never a possibility. Never. Please forgive me. I promise I’ll work hard to regain your trust if you do. And I’ll end it with him.”
He sucked in a breath and then sobbed.
As she held him in her arms, she knew she faced a difficult road because although she would always love Andrei, she would never leave Evan.
* * *
EVAN SPENT MOST OF the drive home with Dacoda preying that Andrei had found and killed Veelee. Only with Veelee’s death would he be free to confess to Dacoda and apologize for trying to shame her for the same behavior he was also guilty of.
But once home, she said she was tired. Evan bit back the urge to point out that she was tired because she had spent hours allowing a full-blood vampire to fuck her. He slipped onto their bed and fell asleep, holding her.
Come to me, my handsome lover.
Hearing Veelee’s strident command in his head roused Evan from a deep sleep. He slumped in despair. Andrei had not been successful, and she was still alive.
He lay in bed, tossing and turning, trying to resist. But in the end, he rose, dressed, and prepared to answer her summons.
When he returned home in the morning, Evan found Dacoda asleep in their bed. He sat next to her, tears streaming down his face and despair engulfing him. He felt a lump rise in his throat and let out a shuddering sigh. He had failed her. Again. And He knew it would not be for the last time.
When she stirred, he steeled himself for the onslaught of sharp words and disappointment. He deserved both, especially after his angry outburst from yesterday.
She looked at him with kindness and compassion when she opened her eyes. And his guilt increased because she showed him more grace than he’d shown her the previous day.
“When I woke up, you were gone.”
He tensed, waiting for her to demand an explanation for his absence.
She sat up. “Are you hungry? I’ll get up and get you something to eat.”
“No. No. I just need to lie in bed with you and have you hold me. Please.”
She stroked her fingers through his hair and kissed him. “I want that too.”
As he lay within her embrace, he vowed that he would not submit to Veelee again.
* * *
WHEN DACODA LEFT WORK a few days later, she felt a sudden chill. She glanced around the parking lot. Her vehicle was one of only a few remaining. She saw no one, but the feeling of dread remained. Hurrying across the lot, she decided she would have to stop working so late.
Seconds before she reached the driver’s side door, a tall, slender blonde with dark eyes placed her hand on the door handle.
Dacoda stopped, sucking in a quick breath because she immediately knew two things. The other female was a fem. And she was not friendly. Dacoda waited in silence, strangely not overly afraid, her right hand clenched into a fist.
“Dacoda Chandler. We meet at last.”
“And you are?”
“Veelee. Perhaps you’ve heard of me.”
“From whom?”
“Andrei or your delicious husband, Evan.”
And just like that, Dacoda knew the source of Evan’s frequent disappearances. She recalled his questioning her about her relationship with Andrei and felt sure his relationship with the fem was not consensual.
This fem was compelling Evan into a sexual relationship. But to what end? And why was she here now?
“I’m here to do you a solid, of course. When I left them, your two lovers were arguing. I’m certain Andrei is going to kill him this time. If you value his life, I suggest you go to them while you can still save his life.”
The instinct that allowed her to know of Andrei’s presence convinced her the fem was lying. But she knew better than to challenge her. “Thank you.” Unlocking her vehicle, she slipped inside.
The fem rapped on her driver’s side window.
Dacoda reluctantly slid it down.
“They’re in the park at 33rd Street. You’ll find them just behind the first Park Mansion.”
Dacoda nodded and drove away. Glancing in her rearview mirror, she saw the fem rushing to another SUV. Moments later, she roared past Dacoda and out of the parking lot.
Dacoda pulled into another parking space to take several deep breaths. She knew Andrei was violent and unpredictable, but she doubted that he would kill Evan, knowing she would not forgive him. To be on the safe side, she called Evan. When the call went straight to voicemail, she called Andrei. He didn’t answer either.
She considered calling Tat but decided against it. Andrei might batter Evan, but he would not kill him. And Tat deserved to enjoy the first months of her marriage without constant interruptions from Dacoda whining about Andrei hurting Evan.
So she drove home and paced the apartment as she waited.
Evan arrived several hours later as she lay in bed.
He undressed and sat on the side of the bed.
“Are you all right?” She asked.
He shook his head.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“No, but I have to,” he said.
“Not if you’re not ready to talk, you don’t.”
He sighed and raked his hands through his hair. “I love you so much. I hope you know that.”
“I do, and I hope you know I love you too.”
“So I have to apologize and make a confession.”
She sat up and stroked his arm when he remained silent, seemingly struggling for words. “Does it concern Veelee?”
He stiffened. “How do you know about her?”
“I met her.”
“When? Did she hurt you?”
“No, but I know what she’s doing to you and—”
“I’m so sorry for mistreating you and speaking to you with such anger and disrespect for doing the same thing—”
“Don’t apologize. She’s forcing you. Andrei didn’t force me. I deserve your condemnation. You don’t deserve mine. We must find a way to get you free of her.”
He shook his head. “I don’t think that’s possible.”
“It has to be.” She paused before continuing. “Maybe Andrei can help.”
“Why would he do anything to help me?”
“Because he cares about me, and I love you. He knows that.” She lay down and urged him to join her. “But now you need to sleep.”
He shook his head, rising. “I have to shower first. Being with her always leaves me feeling dirty and sad.”
* * *
TORTURED BY HIS INABILITY to find and kill Veelee, Andrei returned to his condo, angry, dispirited, and missing Dacoda. He regretted leaving her alone to face an angry Evan to pursue the damned Veelee, who had been long gone by the time he reached the parking lot.
And because he knew Evan finding them together would have humiliated and shamed her. That meant he would have to push hard to get her to see him again. He longed to see her as every moment separated from her felt like torture.
His phone rang. He saw the number, and his rage burned, but he struggled to contain it as he answered. “Veelee.”
“My darling Andrei. It’s so good to hear your voice again. I’ve missed you.”
He felt bile rise in his throat as he wondered how he had ever enjoyed being with her. “Have you? Is that why you tried to have Tat killed? To show me how much you miss me?”
“Okay. That was probably a mistake.”
“You think?”
“Okay. Show me a full-blood who hasn’t done things they shouldn’t have.”
“What can I do for you?”
“Meet with me for one last interlude, and we’ll end the evening as friends.”
How had he never realized how delusional and bat-shit crazy she was? “Tat almost died, and you think I want to touch you?!”
“Almost doesn’t count! If you don’t want me to keep doing what I’ve been doing, meet me for a final fuckoff. If you don’t, there will be consequences.”
“Don’t you threaten me, bitch!”
“It’s not a threat. It’s a promise. Only this time, I might expand it to include a particularly plump, plain Jane you seem to be fond of. And you wouldn’t want me to turn my attention toward her. Would you?”
Andrei closed his eyes, imagining how much he would enjoy killing her. “Where should I meet you and when?”
“In the park at 33rd St. In two hours.”
“That area’s not very conducive for fucking.” Not that he’d ever touch her vile ass again.
“That’s about the only thing it is good for—delicious midnight romps. Two hours. And Andrei, come alone.”
“Or?”
“Or I will go after her.”
“Touch her, and I will chase you till the end of time, you vile bitch!” After ending the call, he considered calling his mother but decided against it. He knew Matt Dumont resented him and her promise to help him. And saw no reason to cause problems in her marriage. Not now that he knew where Veelee would be and when. The end might finally be in sight.
* * *
AFTER HER CALL WITH Andrei, Veelee smiled. From her SUV behind the Park Mansion, she called Evan to her. She was about to make Andrei pay for thinking he could use and discard her for some overweight plain-Jane human.
Evan, my handsome lover. Come to me now.
No.
Come!
No!
Come now, or I will come to you. And if I have to come to you, I’ll have to take issue with that delicious wife of yours. And when I finish, she will have lost Forester’s baby.
It’s my baby! Mine!
Come now, or she dies! Call me when you’re on your way to let me know how far away you are.
When she was satisfied that he would come, she made another call. And then another. And then she waited for her plan for revenge to reach fruition. Of course, she regretted changing plans, but her original plan to kill Andrei and Dacoda would have brought so much heat that even The Brotherhood wouldn’t help her. This way, she could rain misery on the entire Walker-Dumont line of full-bloods without risking a war.
* * *
ANDREI TURNED INTO the park off 33rd St and drove down a long drive until he came to the first Park Mansion. He heard gasping and jumped out of his vehicle and smelled blood. He saw an SUV parked several feet from a couple on the grass. As he neared them, he realized what was about to happen.
Veelee crouched over Evan, her eyes glowing. Her incisors were bared, and her hands were outstretched, her long nails digging into his throat. Blood seeped from several wounds on his body, pooling on the ground beneath him.
“No!” He shouted racing across the grass.
With a single, powerful motion, Veelee tore open Evan’s throat, sending a spray of blood across the ground. She licked her lips hungrily, her eyes still glowing with a sinister hunger.
Evan lay shuddering on the ground, dying. the woman looked up at him. Her eyes glowed, and blood ran from her mouth. She smiled and slowly rose.
“You vile, bitch! What have you done?” He charged toward them.
Veelee backed away. “You can follow me, or you can try to save him. You can’t do both.” She turned and ran to jump into the running vehicle.
Infuriated, Andrei chased her and reached the door just as she slammed it shut and floored her foot on the gas pedal. He leaped back, preparing to jump onto the vehicle’s roof, and force her to stop. Then he heard the gurgling sounds Evan made.
Realizing how close his hated rival was to death, he turned and walked back to him. In the distance, he heard Veelee getting away and another vehicle approaching. Finally, the moment he’d longed for was near. With Evan dead, Andrei could have everything he wanted. Dacoda and the baby would be his.
But with Evan dead, Dacoda would grieve and have difficulty forgiving him if she knew he’d arrived in time to help him but had chosen to go after Veelee instead.
Dropping to his knees, he saw that Veelee had ripped his throat open in one of the most vicious attacks he’d ever seen. There was only one way he could save Evan. That was by turning him. But if he did that, he would ensure that Dacoda would remain with him because he knew she would never willingly leave him.
Placing his hand over the gaping wounds in Evan’s neck, Andrei bent his head and sank his incisors into the other side of his neck. Evan! Evan! Hold on for Dacoda. Hold on for her!
He struggled to establish a mental link with the dying man. Evan! Obey my command! Hold on for Dacoda.
He felt a faint one-word response. Coda.
Knowing he couldn’t save Evan, Andrei tried to ease his passage into death. Dacoda loves you, Evan. She loves you.
And then nothing. Blood gushed through his fingers seconds before Evan stopped breathing.
Thinking of Dacoda’s reaction to his death, Andrei felt a surge of pain. No! Damn you, Veelee. Damn you to hell for this!
Just as he lifted his head and placed Evan on the grass, an SUV abruptly stopped, and Dacoda got out. She screamed and rushed forward. “Evan! Evan!”
Andrei rose and stepped in her path. “No. You shouldn’t see him like this.”
“Get out of my way!”
“Dacoda!”
“Haven’t you come between us enough? Get out of my way.”
He stepped back, and she rushed forward to kneel at Evan’s side. Her hands shook. She lifted her head and screamed. “How could you? How could you do this when he never hurt you?”
That’s when he realized that she thought he’d killed Evan. And he knew that he’d allowed Veelee to lead him into a trap. How the hell could he ever convince Dacoda that he had not killed Evan but had tried to save him?
“I did not do this.”
Her scream subsided, and she looked up at him, her eyes filled with pain and hurt.
Andrei instinctively reached out a hand and said, “Please, let me explain....”
She pulled away from him, shaking her head. “I know what you’ve done,” she sobbed. “How can you deny what you’ve done?”
“I did not kill him!”
“I don’t see anyone else here standing over his dead body, Andrei! And isn’t that what vampires do? Kill people they hate? And we both know you hated him!”
He wished he could have removed her pain, fear, and anger. “I know how this must look, but I did not kill him!”
“How many times have you threatened to kill him? You’ve knocked him out, choked him, and now you’ve finally kept your word and killed him.”
“I tried to save him.”
“How? By ripping his throat open like the rabid animal you are?”
Her words infuriated him. “Are you calling me a liar?”
“He’s dead. You have blood on your incisors and mouth, and hands! Do the math, Andrei!”
He wiped his shirt sleeve across his mouth. “I thought it would save him if I could turn him.”
“Then why is he dead?”
“I think he was immune, and I couldn’t stop the bleeding.”
“Can you deny you wanted him dead?”
He kneeled beside her. “No. I wanted him dead, but I did not kill him. When I arrived, Veelee had already wounded him.”
She looked around with tears still streaming down her face. “Where is she? I don’t see her here.”
“I had a choice of pursuing her or trying to save him.”
“And you want me to believe you chose to save him?”
“Yes. Because I know how much he means to you.”
She stared at him. “You tried to save him for me?”
“Why else would I help him? And what are you doing here?”
“She called me.”
“Who called you?” He demanded.
“Veelee. She said you were attacking Evan. She said you attacked her when she tried to stop you. She said that if I came, I could stop you.”
“And you believed her?”
“I didn’t want to, but you have hurt him more than once. And now he’s dead.”
Andrei clenched his fist. “Veelee manipulated us both. She set me up to make it look like I killed him. She was the one who attacked Evan, not me.”
“How can I believe that?”
“Do you think I’d ever do anything to hurt you?”
“I didn’t, but he’s dead. Andrei, my child’s father is dead, and you’re the only one here!”
He rose and forcefully lifted her to her feet. “Go wait in your vehicle.”
“Why?”
“Because you should never have had to see him in this state. Even if you think I killed him, do you really believe I’d let you find him like this?”
“I will never forgive you for this, vampire,” she said before spinning away from him and walking back to her SUV.
He clenched his fists, his throat tightening as he debated whether or not he should follow her. Instead, he pulled out his phone and dialed several numbers. As he talked, he saw her head resting against the steering wheel, her shoulders shaking as she wept.
Twenty minutes later, Tat arrived.
“Drei?”
He looked at his twin, trying to push back a wall of despair. “She called me vampire and made it sound like a dirty slur. How can I redeem myself in her eyes when she won’t forgive me for something I didn’t do? How can I prove my innocence?”
“You don’t require redemption because you are innocent,” Tat said softly. “She knows you’re innocent.”
“No. She thinks I killed him.”
Tat sighed and said, “Maybe I can help her understand.”
Andrei watched as Tat approached Dacoda’s SUV and heard their conversation. “Hey,” she said cautiously. “I’m so sorry about Evan. He was a good man, and I know how much you cared for him.”
“He was alive until Andrei killed him!”
“If he really wanted Evan dead, he had countless opportunities to do it without allowing you to discover him next to his body. But this is not the place we should be right now. Let me take you home while Andrei—”
“If you think I’m going to leave Evan’s body with him after—”
“Please, Coda,” Tat begged softly. “We both know that he didn’t do it. You’re angry and hurt, but you know in your heart that he would never hurt you like this. This is Veelee’s doing.”
Just as they drove away, another car pulled up. Detective Sergeant Jordon Guidry-Sonnier got out. Matt Savoy, with the District Attorney’s office, accompanied him.
Andrei sighed and went to meet them, knowing he was in for a long night. Instead of spending the coming hours comforting Dacoda, he’d spend it answering questions.