––––––––
Serenity stood on the other side of the door, listening to the voices of the vampires. It became clear Demitri was aware of her involvement in trying to get Elizabeth back, she just wasn’t sure how much he knew.
Feeling faintly ridiculous despite her fear, she took the small fabric pouch from her pocket. Sweat slicked her palms, leaving damp patches on the silky material. Her heart felt as though it had crawled into her throat, its pounding filling her whole body. The amount of adrenaline pumping through her veins made her sick, but her only focus was Elizabeth and Sebastian. No matter how frightened she was, she’d do anything to get them back.
Bridget had stitched the pouch shut—apparently necessary to keep in the magic—so she tore at the stitches with her blunt nails. At first the cotton held, but then the threads began to fray until they finally popped.
Please let this work, please let this work...
She repeated the chant over and over.
I’m doing it now, Bridget, she called out in her mind, hoping somehow her thoughts would be transported through the ether and Bridget was doing her part of the process.
Serenity pulled open a split in the pouch. The thought that she was doing something people on the outside might view as crazy washed through her again, but she ignored it and tipped the contents over her head and shoulders. Bridget had burned the hair and herbs down to a fine powder and Serenity barely felt the dust fall over her.
She held her breath, expecting a different sensation to wash over her, but there was nothing; no tingling over her skin, no prickling of the hairs on the back of her neck. Nothing.
Oh God, it’s not working.
She knew it as certainly as she knew her own name. She didn’t understand much about magic, but when she’d been in its presence the air had been charged. Right now, she felt no different than if she’d just sprinkled the contents of a teabag over her head.
Her stomach sank and her throat closed with despair. She heard a thin, whining sound and realized it had come from her own mouth. What did they have now? What should she do? She could hardly leave Sebastian and Elizabeth here and go back to the hotel to see Bridget and find out what had happened.
She reached back into her pocket and fingered the second pouch Bridget had given her—the ‘insurance’ Bridget had thought to give her.
Had Bridget somehow known she’d need it, that the spell wouldn’t work? Surely Bridget wouldn’t have sent them in knowing the magic wouldn’t work.
No, Serenity shook the thought from her head. The vampire blood must be to blame. Damn it.
She couldn’t just turn her back and walk away from her family. The idea was unthinkable. She had no other choice; she needed to go in, face Demitri, and get her daughter back.
Serenity closed her eyes for a moment, centering herself. To show fear to the vampires was like waving a chunk of steak in front of a tiger’s face. She needed to go in with her shoulders back and her head held high.
Taking a deep, shuddery breath, she forced her legs to move. She placed her hands against the double doors and pushed.
The moment she entered the room, Demitri’s gaze turned to her.
“Mommy!” Elizabeth cried out in delight, her dark eyes brightening.
Sebastian spun to face her and she crossed the room toward him, wanting to take her place beside him in front of the evil bastard who sat behind his pretentious desk with her daughter on his lap.
Though she trembled all over, she put her hands on her hips and stared back at Demitri.
“Give us our daughter back, you son of a bitch.”
“What are you doing, Serenity?” Sebastian exclaimed. His eyes had taken on a glint of panic she was unused to seeing in his face.
“I won’t simply exchange your life for Elizabeth’s. I love you both and I intend on taking my whole family home with me.”
Demitri threw back his head and laughed. “This is all too good to be true. The whole family here together. How touching.” He released his grip on Elizabeth and she sprang from his lap and raced over to Serenity.
Serenity scooped her up in her arms, burying her face in her daughter’s soft hair. Elizabeth clutched her, her arms around her neck, her legs locked around Serenity’s waist.
“I’m sorry, Mommy,” she mumbled against Serenity’s neck.
“Shhh, you’ve got nothing to be sorry for.”
“I told them what was going to happen. He gave me blood to drink, and I really liked it, and that’s why I told them.”
Sebastian’s head flicked back to Demitri, glaring at him, eyes blazing. “You fed her blood?”
Demitri shrugged. “I needed to make her vampire side stronger.”
“You sick piece of shit.”
“Now, now, Sebastian. I know you, remember? I know all the things you used to get up to before you went all...” He made a circular motion with his hand as if searching for the word. “Humanized on me.”
Wanting to keep her hands free, Serenity untangled Elizabeth’s limbs from hers and set her down between herself and Sebastian. Sebastian reached down and placed his large palm on Elizabeth’s head. The little girl looked up at him with wide, adoring eyes and Serenity wanted to cry. She couldn’t let anything tear them apart, she simply couldn’t.
Elizabeth tugged on Sebastian’s shirt. “You’re going to get hurt, Daddy. I saw it!”
Serenity felt as though someone had just punched her in the stomach, an automatic ‘oh’ of shock bursting from her lips. Sebastian, however, didn’t react to the news, at least not on the outside.
“Shhh,” he stroked Elizabeth’s hair. “I’m going to be just fine. You wait and see.”
“But I saw it happen! I saw you getting hurt.”
Demitri watched, making no effort to stop Elizabeth from telling them. Perhaps he felt sure the future couldn’t be changed, that her telling Sebastian of his fate wouldn’t affect the outcome.
Serenity prayed he was wrong.
Demitri walked around his desk and stopped in front of Serenity. Like Sebastian, the vampire seemed to take up more space than a real person—as though his aura were a tangible part of him. His long dark hair shone like silk and, as she watched, he reached up and tucked it behind his ears. His slightly too broad nose did nothing to diminish his features, instead making him appear even more masculine. His dark eyes, with their gold rims, bore right through her.
He stopped—his body only inches from hers—and stared into her eyes, focusing on her with his intense gaze. She forced herself to stare back, hoping he didn’t pick up on the tremors which seemed to wrack through her body.
Demitri lifted a hand and touched her cheek with cool fingers. Beside her, she heard Sebastian’s sharp intake of breath. The air between them seemed to stiffen as Sebastian held himself back from what Serenity felt sure was his desire to attack.
“Maybe I should keep you too,” said Demitri. “You are very beautiful and it’s been awhile since I had a human companion.”
From behind Demitri’s desk, one hand still resting on his chair, Natasha glared at Serenity.
Serenity forced herself not to flinch from Demitri’s touch. “I’ll stay with you if you let me take care of my daughter.”
“Serenity!” Sebastian’s voice came, shocked. The pain she heard in that solitary word burned through her heart.
Demitri laughed again, clearly enjoying the show.
“If he won’t give her back to us,” Serenity continued, talking to Sebastian, but her eyes remaining on Demitri’s face. “I’d rather be here with her willingly, than risk leaving her alone. We both agreed Elizabeth was the most important person in all of this. You should know I’d never leave her if I had any other choice.”
Though she didn’t want to meet Sebastian’s gaze, didn’t want to see the pain in his eyes, she turned her head.
Their eyes met.
“What are you doing, Serenity?” he almost begged.
“What needs to be done.”
“Well,” Demitri said, clapping his hands together. “If that is all agreed, I guess Sebastian is free to leave.”
Sebastian’s fists clenched at his sides. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Demitri opened his arms wide. “So, welcome to the fold, Sebastian. You hand Elizabeth and Serenity over to me and you can become one of my underlings.”
Sebastian snarled, his fangs protruding. His face was stark white in his anger, his eyes burning. “Never!”
“No? And may I ask why not? After all, the rest of your friends and family have decided my way is the best way.”
At the word ‘friends’ Sebastian’s eyes narrowed and his forehead creased, a line appearing between his dark eyebrows.
Behind them, the door flung open and the big, bald vampire, Vincent, strode in holding Bridget by her upper arm. In Bridget’s other hand was the small rucksack Serenity had packed, the one that was full of Elizabeth’s precious belongings.
“Oh God, Bridget,” Serenity cried. “How did they find you? I’m so sorry you got caught up in this.”
No wonder the magic hadn’t worked, she thought. Vincent must have found Bridget before she’d got the chance to use it.
Demitri smirked. “Oh, don’t worry. Bridget has been caught up in this from the start. How else do you think I knew all about Elizabeth?”
Sebastian shook his head, the line remaining between his eyes. “Bridget, what’s he talking about.”
Tears shimmered in her eyes. “I’m sorry, Sebastian. I never meant for it to come to this.”
Vincent had let go of her arm, but she made no attempt to get away, she just stood at his side.
“I’m so sorry. Vincent is my son and I had to do it. Demitri threatened to make him suffer if I didn’t help him. Demitri had already heard rumors about Elizabeth and wanted to find out more about her. He made Vincent put me in your home to watch how things developed.”
“What do you mean, ‘put me in your home?’ I employed you, no one put you there!”
“Where did you find her, Sebastian?” Demitri interjected.
The bewildered expression remained on his face. “Another vampire recommended her.”
Instantly everything fell into place for Serenity. “Someone you knew,” she said, directing the comment at Demitri.
The vampire gave her a charming smile that never reached his eyes. “Well, of course.”
“I can’t believe you’d do this to us, Bridget.” Sebastian said, staring at his employee. “Elizabeth treated you like a mother and all the time you were spying on us.”
“I’m sorry, Sebastian. I couldn’t believe it when you said you planned to bring Serenity here to try to make her better. At first, I hoped you were talking about a different vampire, but it was obvious you weren’t. I tried to tell you not to come, but you wouldn’t listen. What was I supposed to do?”
“Tell us outright what was going on!”
“I couldn’t! Demitri told me that if I said anything, he’d destroy my son.”
“You lied to us! I should kill you right here!”
“No!” cried Elizabeth, clutching at her father’s leg. “Leave her alone!”
Demitri watched the exchange with an amused smile on his face.
“Anyway,” continued Bridget. “I thought you’d find out about the ‘arrangement’ when you brought Serenity here. I thought Demitri would make his intentions clear. But then you came back and said everything was fine so I thought perhaps Demitri had changed his mind. After you didn’t say anything, I hoped you’d sorted something out between you.”
“I didn’t say anything,” said Sebastian, glowering. “Because I knew you’d disapprove.” He barked laughter. “I was actually worried about what you’d think.”
“You were worried about what I’d think because I’d already warned you not to come. Yes, I played my part in this, but I tried to make things right. You were the one too pigheaded to listen.”
“Now, now, children,” said Demitri raising both hands. “Let’s not fight among ourselves—although Bridget, please understand your attempt to warn Sebastian has not gone unnoticed. I’m almost tempted to make a meal of you myself for that little piece of betrayal.”
As if to prove his point, Demitri darted toward Bridget and hissed. Serenity drew in a sharp breath of shock, certain he’d attack Bridget, though she was pleased the proximity of the vampire to her family had been decreased.
Vincent stepped in front of his mother, his face hard, his fangs drawn.
Bridget put out a hand and touched his arm. The vampire, probably knowing he was out of his depth, slunk back down like a whipped dog.
“Better,” said Demitri, his expression matching the one on Vincent’s face seconds before. “So, Bridget, would you like to explain to me your reason for trying to stop Sebastian’s coming here?”
“Isn’t it obvious? I didn’t want them to find out the truth.”
“Why? What did you think would happen?
“The worst. Sebastian might kill me for betraying him and then you would do whatever you wanted with my son.”
Serenity still struggled to think of Vincent as being Bridget’s son. The big, hulking vampire was nothing like the sweet, young man she’d pictured when Bridget had been talking about him. This guy didn’t look like he needed protecting from anything.
“Anyway,” Bridget said. “I never trusted you. Having Sebastian and Serenity on my side was like a little bit of insurance.” She turned to Serenity, her bright blue eyes locked on Serenity’s face. “I hope you’ll forgive me, Serenity. Sometimes we all need a little insurance when it comes to protecting our children.”
Insurance.
The tiny pouch Bridget had given her felt like a rock in her pocket, as though the shape protruded, huge and obvious. A brief flare of heat warmed the material of her jeans, as though the contents had reacted to Bridget’s words.
Earlier, before Sebastian reached the hotel room, Bridget had explained what the pouch contained: powdered silver combined with vervain and wolfsbane. The tiny molecules would stick to a vampire’s skin, burning them. The only way to get it off would be to immediately take a long shower or plunge into water. Unless Serenity had the unfortunate luck of using the pouch either in the bathroom or near the coast, the vampire would become incapacitated before he reached help.
They’d needed to keep the contents of the pouch and the reason for it being in Serenity’s possession a secret from Sebastian. Not only would he not want Serenity to place herself in any kind of danger, but if he knew he was taking part in any plan to kill the other vampire, he would be left weak and helpless.
But could she trust Bridget? After everything that had happened, perhaps the older woman was setting her up for more failure.
Serenity glanced down at her daughter, still between her and Sebastian. Elizabeth had one arm coiled around Sebastian’s leg and she hid her face behind him. Sebastian had been the one taking care of Elizabeth this whole time; he was the person she sought comfort in.
Sebastian had saved Elizabeth in the mine, now it was Serenity’s turn. She wouldn’t allow them to be torn apart—she needed to take any chances she had. And right now she only had one.
Demitri was fast and strong—more than Sebastian even. If the older vampire even got a clue that she was up to something, he’d be able to stop her. She needed him to be distracted, but by what? She couldn’t communicate with anyone else to tell them she needed a diversion.
She only had herself as a distraction.
“None of this matters,” she said. “We’re all together now, why can’t we just learn to live together? Elizabeth will be here to show you the future, Demitri. I will be here for both you and Elizabeth.”
Demitri’s eyes flicked to Sebastian. “What about him?”
“What about him? It’s his choice if he doesn’t want to stay with us.”
“Perhaps I should do as I originally planned and bury him in the cellar beneath the club. I could put him there with Bridget and Vincent. We could take bets on which vampire gives in and feeds from her first,” he laughed. “I’m guessing it would be Vincent. After all, he’s still so young and Sebastian has had centuries of self restraint. How ironic it would be if the son she betrayed everyone to protect eventually killed her.”
“No!” Bridget yelled. “He would never do that!”
The uncomfortable expression on Vincent’s face told Serenity that was exactly what he would do.
Beside her, Elizabeth began to cry. “I don’t want Bridget to get hurt.”
Not wanting to use her child, but seeing no other option, Serenity ducked down beside Elizabeth and pulled her into a one-armed embrace. As she crouched, she pulled the pouch from her pocket.
“Shhh, Elizabeth,” she said, “Don’t be frightened, everything will be all right.”
Elizabeth started to pull away from her mother but Serenity gave her a tight squeeze—one that was a little too brusque—and Elizabeth seemed to get the message. She put her arms around her mom’s neck and stayed that way.
With Elizabeth’s body blocking Demitri and Natasha’s view, she got to work on picking at the stitches.
With the pouch being so tiny, the process was frustratingly fiddly. Pinching the body of the pouch between her thumb, pinky and ring finger, she used her index and forefinger to scratch away at the fine thread.
The argument continued around her and for that she was thankful. Without the angry voices, she was sure the vampires would hear the slight but insistent sound.
“Don’t expect me to go down without a fight, Demitri,” said Sebastian. “If you think I’m going to just allow you to lock me up or bury me somewhere and walk off with the woman I love and my daughter, you can think again.”
Demitri snorted. “Woman you love? Who do you think you are, some modern day Lothario? You’re a killer, Sebastian. You’re not human. You don’t have a human heart to even love with, so how can you tell me you love her?”
“My heart may not be human, but I still have the capacity to love.”
“Oh, please. It’s not real. What you experience are simply memories. They’re emotional echoes from your human life. You’re acting and feeling the way you do because you think it’s how you’re supposed to think and feel. In truth, you’re no deeper than the rest of us.”
“Bullshit!”
The first stitch popped on the pouch. Even to Serenity’s ears—their acuity improved by the vampire blood—the snick of the thread breaking sounded horribly loud. She paused for a moment, waiting to see if Demitri or Natasha had noticed, but they were all too caught up in the argument.
She went back to work while she kissed Elizabeth’s hair, muttering reassurances to her. She tried to make her actions seem no less natural than any other mother comforting her distressed child.
“Do you think by keeping Serenity and Elizabeth, you’ll have my reason for wanting to live?” said Sebastian. “Is that really what you’re looking for, Demitri? Your existence is empty and you’ve seen something in the way I care for these people that makes you want to claim them for yourself?”
“Hilarious, Sebastian. Truly.”
“They’ll never give you want you want, Demitri. They’ll never love you.”
The final stitches gave way and the neck of the pouch opened.
Serenity gave her daughter a final, fierce kiss and rose to her feet, though she kept the hand holding the pouch hidden behind her back. “That’s not true, Sebastian. If Demitri wants us, we will stay. Elizabeth is young enough to come to think of him as her father over time and I will surely learn to love him.”
“Serenity!” His green eyes glowed yellow.
“I’m sorry, Sebastian, but if this is what needs to happen for Elizabeth and I to stay together and for you to walk away from this, then that’s what we need to do”
She stared into his eyes. She hoped he understood that she didn’t mean what she was saying, but from the pain she saw shimmering in his eyes, she thought he believed her. What she was about to do next would push him to the edge of his restraint. She prayed he would trust her enough not to try to interfere.
Serenity pulled her long hair to one side, exposing the pale line of her throat. “Why don’t you taste me, Demitri?” she offered. “If I’m to be yours, don’t you think you should sample me first?”
She lowered her lashes, looking out at him from behind the dark fringe. “You know I have a thing for vampires. Sebastian just happened to be the first one I came across. But now you’re here. You’re older than Sebastian and so much stronger. I can’t help myself, I find that sort of power irresistible.”
“Serenity,” Sebastian growled. “Stop this.”
She took a couple of small, slow steps toward Demitri, and he held his ground. From behind the desk, Serenity sensed Natasha’s fierce-eyed glare, obviously unhappy about Serenity trying to step in on her territory.
“I told you before, those desires lost interest for me a long time ago.” The vampire’s black eyes smoldered. He lowered his head, almost bull-like, to look down at her, his dark eyebrows knitted together.
Her tone was teasing. “How long has it been, Demitri?”
He narrowed his eyes at her, suspicious, but not before his gaze traveled down over her body, lingering over her high, firm breasts, her rounded hips, her long thighs. With both hands, he pushed his long, black hair behind his ears.
“You can have me, Demitri,” she continued. “If that’s what you want. You can taste me and take me in whatever ways you want. All I ask is that you allow me to be here for my daughter.”
From behind, she heard Sebastian’s low growl, emitted from somewhere deep in his chest.
Please trust me, Sebastian, she willed him. Trust that I love you.
Hidden loosely in the palm of her hand was the pouch; the opening cupped between her thumb and forefinger. She knew her chance would be brief, barely even a second. She needed to be close enough to Demitri for him to not be able to stop her once she’d sent the powder airborne.
Demitri stepped closer so that only a couple of feet separated them. He tilted his head to one side, his full lips curling in a lopsided smile of victory. He reached out a hand and touched Serenity’s cheek. She lowered her face into his embrace.
Sebastian’s rage was palpable. He wouldn’t hold out much longer.
“Demitri,” she said. “You have no idea what your touch does to me.”
Then she threw the pouch’s contents.