Page 87 of Betrayed in Blood
He sat sideways on the couch, leaning back against the armrest as he pulled me down, twisting me so I was wedged between his legs, my back to his chest. I stretched out my legs, letting my body relax into his, and closed my eyes.
“Did I ever tell you the story about the time Sergi and I hid in a harem while on the run from the sultan’s guards?”
My eyes popped open. “I’m pretty sure I’d remember that.”
His chest rumbled with humor. “My father had received a request from a House in the Ottoman Empire to broker peace between two sultans. Their skirmishes were creating a problem for the trade route. I took Sergi and a small contingent of guards to meet with both sultans. One agreed to host a dinner to talk peace.
“It was a ruse by both sultans. The one hosting had prepared an ambush. The other one suspected it and brought an army who waited close by. Sergi and I were at the meal, caught between the two forces. Fortunately, Sergi had caught the eye of one of the sultan’s concubines. She was aware of the duplicity and led us toward what she claimed was a safe place.”
Devon played with my hair as he shared his tale, and my body relaxed further into his, fitting together like puzzle pieces.
He chuckled. “Sergi balked when she handed us silk wraps to cover our heads and armor. She knew of a secret passage that led us around the harem guards, who were more focused on fighting off the opposing army. We were hidden behind women and children, dressed in their same colorful cloth, waiting for a chance to escape out the balcony.”
“I think I’ve seen this movie.” I smiled as I tugged his arm closer.
“When the young concubine told us to go, Sergi and I refused. The battle was at the door to their harem, and neither of us was willing to leave the women and children if the sultan’s guards were unable to hold the door.”
I pictured them in ancient armor draped in silk with their swords drawn. It should have been a funny story as Devon meant it to be, but all I saw was honor among two friends, unwilling to leave those weaker than themselves. I wouldn’t have expected any less from either of them.
“After what sounded like a contentious battle, the door burst open. Without a second thought, and only seconds before me, Sergi jumped out in front of the huddled women, who held their children close, his sword raised. The palace guards had won the day, but they weren’t quite sure what to make of us. The concubine, a brave young female, stepped in front of us, shouting to the guards that we were there to protect them should they have fallen.”
He sighed. “It had been a tense moment as the guards stared us down. Then their leader told us it was time to go, but to take care—the battle still raged outside. We didn’t have to be asked twice. With our silk wraps still hanging from our heads and shoulders, we jumped from the balcony. Fortunately, our men were waiting not far from the battle with our horses.
“Once we were far away, the silk wraps ragged and filthy, my army couldn’t stop the jeers. Of course, they weren’t meant for me. They wouldn’t dare. Sergi took it all in good jest until he’d had enough and challenged them all to a fight.”
“How many was that?”
“Oh, about thirty men in all. He fought them one by one and quickly beat nine of them before the rest backed off and took a knee.” He chuckled. “I can still see Sergi’s face when he finally ripped the last of the silk wraps from his shoulders and draped it over the last vampire, still recovering before his feet. Sergi walked off that field with his head high. But later that night, while we were in my private tent drinking raki, Sergi swore if I ever allowed him to be dressed in silk again, he’d personally take my head.”
I could feel his grin against my temple.
“What I never told him was that I caught him stuffing one of the silk wraps, freshly washed and folded, into his knapsack. Whether it was for the concubine or her act of kindness—perhaps both—I never forgot his simple deed to hold on to that memory.”
“I wonder whatever happened to it.” Devon’s story touched me, my worries about the mission temporarily stuffed away. But what stuck, maybe because Sergi and I had developed an ongoing and unexplained challenge between us, was a glimpse of his rarely seen soft side. And I suddenly questioned who he had loved through the centuries. Had there ever been a woman who’d captured his warrior’s heart?
“I never saw the silk again,” he answered. “Though I’m sure he kept it for a long time.”
We laid quietly for some time, and we might have dozed.
When I opened my eyes, the sky had an orange cast to it. It was almost time.
Devon kissed my temple. “We should go down. I imagine Sergi will have the transports in place for the teams.”
He helped push me up, and I slung on my vest and utility belt. Then he pulled me in for a kiss that made my knees weak. “The plan is solid, and the teams are prepared. You’ve got this.”
I nodded. My energy was restored and not with nerves but with steely determination. This was my family we were saving. There would be no mistakes.
We strode down the hall shoulder to shoulder. Maybe Devon’s story wasn’t to relax me after all. Perhaps it was to remind me of what was at stake, and no matter what, we didn’t leave the defenseless behind.
The transport vehicleswere waiting for us in the front drive. Four black SUVs and two black vans waited with doors open and vamps stationed next to them. Everyone was dressed in black with vests and belts. Some had their scabbards hanging from their hips, while others wore their daggers in thigh holsters.
Devon had bought me a short sword because he got tired of watching me stab vamps in the neck until their heads were barely attached. It was a long and tedious process until one day, he finally said, “You’re taking too much time to kill. It puts your team at risk.”
That hit home. I didn’t always want to kill, just maim long enough to keep them down, but he was right. There were times when there wasn’t a choice. But tonight wasn’t that night. I didn’t want my mother to see that—at least not from me.
We had no idea what we were walking into, and I wouldn’t put the team at risk by telling them what they could or couldn’t use in completing the mission and coming out alive. Devon and I stopped next to Sergi, who stood on the top step, reviewing his tablet and ensuring final measures were in place.
Simone walked along the vehicles, speaking with each detail, probably going over last-minute assignments. Lucas and Ginger stood next to the second SUV, and as usual, Ginger was chatting up the other two vamps that would be going with them. Each of the SUVs would have a team consisting of four vamps and one driver.
