Page 12 of Redeemed
“Damn. What’s that about?”
“They say I’ve created an unauthorized pack.”
I blink at him, too sleepy to really follow what he’s saying. “I mean, your dad knows about…us, right?” David’s father, the American Were Authority Alpha. The biggest of the big dogs.
“Of course he knows.”
“So who would do something like that?”
“I don’t know yet, but I’m going to find out.”
“Is there a name on the complaint?”
He snorts a laugh, fingers dancing over the keys. “Nope, but Abby’ll know who I can ask. Some dumb fucker is going down.”
Glad that I’ve managed to stay on David’s good side, I decide my eyes are focused enough to deal with whoever’s texting me.
It’s Detective Boudreau from the LAPD, letting me know the supernatural liaison position is open.
I tell him I’ll think about it, although I don’t think I’ll have time to work for the LAPD until we get this thing with Jacques sorted out.
Chapter Five
Trajan
I RISE ALONE.
As usual, my lovers left me at sunrise and now silence holds my windowless room in thrall. If either of them are in the house, I would know. Music would play, or the ping and rattle of a computer game would prickle my consciousness like nettles.
I could stay here in the darkness. David and Connor are gone, either to find us another place to hide out or to otherwise rescue me from the mess I’ve made.
Am I jealous that the two of them have found common ground? I barely pose the question before my conscious mind shouts it down. It’s only natural that the three of us would have different interests, that there might be things I share with Connor that are different than those I share with David. We’re new at this. We need time to get to know each other better.
Time and safety.
I’m about to crawl out of bed when someone knocks on the door. My entire body flinches, more startled than I should be. I try to sit up, to sling my legs over the side of the bed, but I can’t move. I lie frozen and the door opens.
Jacques Betancourt walks in, visible even in the darkness.
He flips the switch for the light and takes a seat in the room’s lone chair. He looks healthy, vibrant even, and for a moment I just stare. Vampires don’t change from day to day, but this is the Jacques I knew a hundred years ago. The last few times I’d seen him, he’d been frailer, gaunt even.
The figure before me sits preening under my appraisal. I want to ask what he wants, but my mouth is as paralyzed as the rest of my body. He’s wearing velvet trousers and a silk shirt that’s open at his throat. He crosses one leg over the other, hands clasped around his knee. “You didn’t know I could do this, did you? You’re my child, and I can visit you whenever I want.”
There’s a smugness to his tone that makes me want to snap a response. I can’t.
He heaves an exaggerated sigh. “Your visit with Levy went well enough. He tells me you want to move back into your condo.”
Fear for the trouble I may have caused Levy joins the roil of anger and frustration in my belly. I can’t even blink.
“See, Levy understands me. I asked all my scions to notify me if my prodigal son contacted them, and he did.” Jacques leans forward, bracing himself with his palms on his knees. “But you, my prodigal one, have not done the one thing I’ve asked.”
His eyes turn hard, boring into mine. “Do you remember when we first met?” He speaks barely louder than a whisper. “Where were you going to sleep, the night I met you?”
It’s a good thing I can’t respond because who knows what I’ll say. We met one stifling August night in 1850, in some nameless town along the Mississippi where I’d been trying to win enough at cards to afford a room with an actual bed, instead of bunking in some dark stable.
“You were a strapping big boy, weren’t you? You caught my eye the moment I walked into the saloon. I’d never made another into such as us before I met you. You were my first, my oldest companion. My pride.”
He’s trying to sound wistful, but I’m not fooled. This is a demonstration of power, a reminder of how thoroughly he owns me.
