“YOU WERE BANISHED because of a woman?”
Vail jumped up from the bed to look out the window. “They’ve found us.”
Lyric peered over his shoulder. “I don’t see anyone. You’re just trying to avoid the truth.”
Tension drew his frown tight as he moved her to look him directly in the eye. “Look now.”
She turned her head, but he slid a hand to her cheek to maintain her gaze on him. “Don’t turn your head, look out the corner of your eye.”
She did, and— “Something fluttered past the window.”
“We should be going,” he said.
She clasped his hand, wanting to know about the woman he’d been friends with. The reason he had been banished? It was too fascinating not to learn about, but she wouldn’t sacrifice safety for a few juicy tidbits about his life.
They needed to move, to stay safe from vigilante faeries who wanted to bring her to Zett or, worse, kill her.
“We could go to my brother,” she suggested. “I swear to you he is a safe retreat. Trust me, neither of us want what the Santiago family has to offer.”
He stroked her cheek and in the darkness the fine glimmer on his skin made her feel protected, as if an entire universe surrounded her.
“Being a Santiago hardened us,” she said. “Made us something we didn’t want to be. All right, so Leo took to thievery well, and hasn’t stopped, but he doesn’t want to serve Mother’s whims anymore.”
“Yet he stole the gown?”
“To appease her. He had no idea Charish intended to hand me over with the gown. If Leo had known he may have never stolen it.”
He opened the door and headed for the emergency exit. “So you kept the secret because…? You wanted to do this for your mother, didn’t you?”
“She’s in a bad situation with a lover who thinks he can take control of her and the family. You know how it is when an abused woman stays with the man because she doesn’t know how to begin to escape?”
“Sorry, I don’t.”
“Well, that’s my mother. I thought going along with this deal would make her rich. Give her a means to escape.”
“Why doesn’t someone take out the bastard vampire who’s threatening her?”
“He’s got a powerful hold on my mother, Vail. He remains in the shadows, yet controls her and, soon, the entire Santiago clan, I’m sure. I hate him. I fear him.”
“I don’t like hearing that you fear anyone. I’ll kill the bastard for you, and end this whole problem.”
She tugged him to a stop at the outer door. “Is it so easy for you to take a life to make your own better? Even for my mother, I would never condone murder.”
He kissed her. “And that is what I like about you. Your strange morality makes me want to do better.”
“So you think I’m strange now?”
“Not so strange as I am. All right, no killing for now. We’ve faery vigilantes to escape. Let’s head to your brother’s place.”
“Come on,” Lyric encouraged. “He’ll want to meet the man who’s been protecting me.”
“Are you going to tell him that before or after you tell him about the broken neck fiasco?”
“Haven’t decided yet.”
* * *
CRUISING IN THE MASERATI through Paris in Vail’s usual speeding, careless style wasn’t exactly playing it on the down low. Innocent bystanders fled the sidewalks for their life. Johnny Cash crooned about a boy named Sue who’d had to learn to tough it out in the world branded with the awful moniker.
Lyric turned down the music. Vail may have flashed her a wild look, but dark sunglasses shaded his eyes.
“What did you say you get out of all this?” she asked. “After you’ve handed me and the gown over? I think you missed that part when you were telling me about living in Faery and your mother.”
Vail cocked his head to the side and took a sharp turn that slammed her against the passenger door. She didn’t wear a seat belt. After all, a crash wasn’t going to kill her. But she got the I-don’t-want-to-talk vibe from him, loud and clear.
They drove through a tunnel, which briefly blocked the late-afternoon sun. The mirror flashed brightly in Lyric’s vision when they emerged to daylight.
“Your silence does not deflect my curiosity,” she said, rooting around in the backseat and finding Green Snake. She allowed the three-foot-long green mamba to curl about her forearm. “It means you’re not willing to be as honest with me as I have been with you. Typical.”
“I am the furthest from typical,” he snapped.
“Physically, sure. But mentally? You’re like all the rest of the men. Closed up emotionally, hot to get it on physically.”
He shifted and navigated another sharp turn. “We had sex too soon. That was probably wrong.”
“Hey, I’m not complaining. I wanted it. I thought you did, too.”
“I did. I enjoy having sex with you, Lyric.”
“You’re changing the subject, yet another typical male reaction to being asked the important questions. If you’re not going to spill about the kitsune cat shifter, then I need something.”
Another swerve. This time the Maserati clipped a hedge.
“Hawkes is going to give me information to find my father. I’ve never met him.” Short, precise answer. He definitely did not want to elaborate.
“What will you do when you see him?”
He stopped at a sign and tugged his glasses down to look over the rims at her. The faery ointment around his blue eyes was always startlingly sexy.
“I’m going to look into his eyes,” he said. “To see if they are mine.”
Lyric couldn’t remember her father’s eyes. “You’ll be lucky to have that opportunity.”
“Yeah?” He shifted and revved the engine but didn’t take off. “After I see what I want to see, then I’m going to kill him.”
The Maserati peeled through the intersection. With a flick of his fingers, Vail twisted the music volume to high.
* * *
VAIL PULLED INTO an underground lot beneath the building Lyric had directed him to and got out, attempting not to slam the door, but he was riled and—fuck it—he slammed the door. It wasn’t Lyric’s questions; it was that he’d let those questions get to him. So he had father issues. Mother issues, as well. Didn’t everyone?
Apparently, he and Lyric shared virtually the same issues. He should be able to talk to her about them. They’d shared a lot in the few days they’d known each other. So why had he clammed up and acted the asshole?
Lyric strolled around the trunk of the car behind him, tugging self-consciously at the dye-stained T-shirt she yet wore. They both needed a change of clothing.
He scanned the dark lot, seeking anything out of order. Now, more than ever, he had to remain alert, and see everything before it saw him. The ointment would help him spot the sidhe. What he needed was some serious weaponry for when he did see them. His blade had been sacrificed when fighting the worm wraith.
“I don’t understand you wanting to kill someone you’ve never met,” Lyric said.
Didn’t the woman know when to stop?
“He’s your father. Like him or not, aren’t you at least going to give him a chance?”
Apparently she did not know when to stop.
Vail turned and clamped his hands onto her shoulders. She took off his sunglasses and propped them atop his head, which he didn’t like, but he’d learned she was a female version of him—strong, stubborn and persistent.
“Listen,” he said. “I told you my father buried my mother alive beneath Paris for over two centuries, but before doing so, he raped her. My brother, Trystan, hates me because he claims I’m the one who made our mother insane, regardless of the fact I served the blood debt he should have paid. Do you really have to wonder if the bastard who fathered me deserves a chance?”
Leaving her by the car, Vail strode off toward the building elevator. He had pushed the button when Lyric whistled and pointed to a door.
“Penthouse,” she said, without looking at him. “He’s got a private entrance.”
Another elevator pinged open and Vail followed Lyric inside.
“Sorry,” she said, and hit the single button with the side of her fist. “Won’t bring it up again.”
She positioned herself to the right of the elevator, staring at the camera mounted above the door. Wanting him to stand behind her, she tugged him over by a belt loop. Vail removed himself from her grip and stood, arms crossed, in the middle of the elevator.
“Suit yourself,” she muttered.
The next ten seconds dragged like a century as they silently watched the camera flash floor numbers beside the screen. Vail wished for the drone of Muzak to cover the uncomfortable quiet. She shouldn’t have apologized. It wasn’t necessary. He was just in a bad place mentally.
When the elevator stopped, she said, “Leo is private. Necessary, as I’ve explained. You should step behind me.”
Vail remained in place, not about to be ordered around by a chick.
The camera blinked on and a red explosion flashed in miniature on the LED screen above the buttons. Dramatics?
The doors slid open to reveal metal doors, and down the center Vail saw the arrows release from a mechanism. From top to bottom, six arrows sprang free.
He dodged right, slamming against Lyric’s body, but still managed to take an arrow to his shin. “What the hell?”
“Booby traps,” she offered calmly. “I told you to stand behind me.”
“Ch’yeah, but you could have given me a reason.” The pant leg had been ripped open and the abrasion on his leg bled. “Ouch!”
A man’s face appeared on the elevator screen. The long face was capped by bleached white hair that emphasized his slender nose and bright blue eyes, a match to his sister’s features. He nodded at Lyric and looked beyond her where Vail stood. “Who’s with you?”
“His name is Vaillant,” Lyric said into the speaker box. “He’s cool. He’s with me, Leo.”
“Why did that question not come before the arrows?” Vail hissed. “Bloody Herne.” His leg stung, but the arrow hadn’t cut too deep. “I hope there wasn’t poison in those.”
“Not today,” Leo said.
The screen went dark and the elevator doors slid open, left to right, to reveal a wall stocked with arrows aimed at both of them. That wall slid up to open into an apartment.
Vail waited for Lyric to step across the threshold. He wouldn’t doubt there were murder holes in the frame of the doorway. When she passed through and landed in her brother’s arms for a hug, he limped forward but was stopped at the threshold by the invisible barrier.
“It’s good to see you, sis,” the man said. “But what’s up with your hair? And this awful shirt? This is so wrong.”
“I’m hiding from dangerous sorts. Vail had me change my color. It’s awful, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” The man, with an arm about Lyric’s waist, turned to Vail. “What the fuck was your name, goth boy?”
“Vaillant,” he offered. “Could you invite me in?”
“No—” Leo started. But Lyric said, “Come in.”
Vail leaped quickly inside as the doors closed behind him.
“Nice,” Leo said in a tone that sounded anything but pleased.
Vail offered his hand to shake, but when the surly vamp looked aside, he said the first thing that came to mind. “I’m charged to bring your sister home to your mother—”
The man was on him faster than a worm wraith. Slammed against the closed elevator doors, Vail huffed out his breath and winced at his aching skull. The man had actually head-banged him!
Leo held Vail firmly against the doors with an arm across his neck. “You’re not taking her anywhere. What are you?” He glanced over his shoulder to Lyric.
“Vampire,” she confirmed.
“The hell he is. I don’t feel the shimmer. What’s that scent?” He shoved off from Vail, then bent to smack his palm against Vail’s wounded leg. He spread his fingers, covered with Vail’s blood. “This shit sparkles.”
Leo stood as tall as Vail, and was long and lean, but his muscles impressed him. Had to do a lot of head-banging to get biceps like those. But he couldn’t figure how they would come in handy being a thief. Shouldn’t he be lean and slender?
“What the hell are you looking at?” Leo swung a fist at Vail but he dodged. “Get the dust freak out of here before he poisons my home with his breath.”
“Leo, drop the tough-guy act. I said he’s with me. And he’s not a dust freak. Maybe.”
Vail winced at her need to add maybe. He wasn’t a dust freak. He just did it to—yeah, whatever.
“You don’t like the company I keep?” Lyric pressed the elevator button. “I’ll leave.”
“Fine, he stays. He’s not a vamp, though.” Leo squinted at Vail. “He sparkles like a damned faery.”
Ready to spout a diatribe in favor of faeries, Vail paused when Lyric stepped before him, hands on her hips, and said to her brother, “His uncle owns Hawkes Associates.”
“Ah.” Leo nodded, smirking. “That explains a thing or two. But not why he is with you. Playing for a new team now, sis?”
“Stop it, Leo.”
“So he took the gown?” Vail asked, knowing neither would confirm nor deny it, even though Lyric had already told him as much.
And neither did. Instead, Leo stalked into the living room furnished in modern brown leather pieces, and flipped a suitcase from the floor onto the couch. “I was packing. Got a job in Berlin tonight. What do you need, Lyric? Did you say you are on the run?”
“Yes. From faeries, and creepy worm wraiths. I need a place to hide out.”
“Worm wraiths?” Leo whistled. “What have you got her involved in, man?”
“It’s my fault,” Lyric protested.
“Yeah? Charish thinks you were kidnapped.” He kissed the corner of her eye. “I knew better. ’Bout time you got out of there. But if some vampire wannabe thinks he’s going to take you back…” Leo smacked a fist into his palm and eyed Vail.
“I had to make a break,” Lyric said. “If Zett gets his hands on me he’ll kill me. Did you find a way to remove the mark?”
“I’m still looking. I don’t have the right connections.” His bravado dropped and he tugged Lyric in for a hug, running his hand over her back reassuringly. “I’m sorry, sis, but we’ll figure this out.”
“Thanks for trying.”
Leo looked to Vail, who could only offer a shrug. “How do you think he is going to help you?”
“We have a deal,” Lyric said. “After we find the gown—” the siblings exchanged a look Vail guessed was more than knowing “—I get a head start to run.”
“Generous of you,” Leo said to Vail. “She’ll be off your radar before you can remember the scent of her perfume. Unless you’ve been tapping her. Have you been tapping my sister, goth boy?”
Enraged again, the man approached him with tightened fists and managed a gut punch before Vail could dodge.
“Tapping means drinking my blood,” Lyric explained to Vail as he clutched his gut, wincing, “in case you had concluded it meant sex.”
“Ah.” Vail offered Leo his most charming, and slightly pained, grin. “Well, then, no tapping.”
“Why not? You don’t like her blood?” Leo smacked a fist loudly into his palm. “But you have been fucking her? Who do you think you are? You can’t—”
“Leo!” Lyric insinuated herself between her brother and Vail—which he was thankful for at the moment. “Who I sleep with is none of your business. Now chill, and quit calling him goth boy.”
“Does he prefer dark lord?”
Vail caught Lyric’s smirk and said, “Vaillant would be the respectful usage of my name.” Leo sneered.
Vail added, “Dark lord is reserved for Zett, I’m sure.”
Lyric bowed her head, and Vail put an arm around her waist. He could feel her sigh ripple through his body. He needed something to anchor himself at the moment, yet she felt a bit unsteady herself. “She was doing it to protect her mother,” he said.
“Doing what?” Leo snapped. “Oh, no, you didn’t?”
Lyric nodded. “It seemed the best way to get the largest payoff for Mother so she could be rid of that bastard trying to control her.”
Her brother kicked the couch and punched the air. “That was stupid, Lyric. You should have told me. I would not have stolen the gown.”
“And Mother would be in a worse predicament than she is now. Besides, I had a great plan for escaping Zett by faking my own kidnapping. Until…”
Both siblings looked to Vail—the man sent to take Lyric back to Mommy.
“It’s not going to happen,” Vail said reassuringly. “I won’t take Lyric home, and I sure as hell will not allow Zett to get his hands on her again.”
Leo bowed his head and shook it, exhaling through his nose. “The only way she’ll ever be safe from that bastard is to get the mark removed. You got a clue how to do that, goth—er, Vaillant?”
“I’ve only just learned about her mark. My guess is there might be a healer in FaeryTown who can help, or at least attempt to remove it.”
The brother nodded, obviously not having a better suggestion.
“You were leaving?” Lyric asked her brother. “Can we stay the night?”
“I’ve gotta run right now to catch my flight. And yes, you can stay. But he can’t.”
“Vail will protect me.”
The siblings held off in a defiant stance, Leo standing a head taller than his sister, yet Vail noticed how quickly his straight shoulders sagged, and the brother nodded, defeated.
He lugged the suitcase to the door and paused before Vail. “I don’t like you.”
“Really? I never would have guessed. I don’t intend to harm your sister.”
“If you think taking her home to Mommy is not harming her, you’ve another think coming. She deserves to be away from the Santiago clutches, especially with that Connor bastard trying to take over.”
“Connor?”
“My mother’s fiancé.”
“If you hate the man so much why didn’t you stay and stand up for your mother?”
“You can’t tell Charish what to do.”
“Why didn’t you take Lyric with you when you left?” Vail defied the brother. “Insist she go along with you?”
“Because I—” The man’s jaw tensed. Vail could sense another punch building in his biceps, but he didn’t step back.
“He’s got his own life. And I’m a big girl who never listens to her brother’s advice.” Lyric sat on the couch and stretched her arms along the back. “Stop fighting, boys. You both make me feel so loved.”
“You are loved.” Leo returned to Lyric and kissed her head. “I can’t believe he made you do this.”
“It’s prettier than yours.” She slapped his head playfully. “That cut makes you look like a punk rocker.”
“Yeah, but remember the time I got my headset stuck in my hair and it fell across a laser beam, setting off the security alarms?”
“It was the one time I had ridden along with you on one of your jobs. I thought for sure you’d be caught.”
Watching the siblings reminisce made Vail realize Lyric did have something he wanted—family. Seriously? The camaraderie between the siblings made him pine for the smallest acknowledgment from his brother.
Leo pulled Lyric in for a long hug. Vail could hear what he whispered, and suspected the man did that intentionally.
“You can’t trust him,” Leo warned.
“I don’t,” Lyric reassured.
Vail decided not to challenge what she’d told her brother. He wasn’t sure he’d earned her trust, or that he deserved such trust. If the vampiress was smart, she would not trust him farther than he could blow faery dust.