02 Blood Roses - Blackthorn (13 page)

Chapter Twelve

T
ugging Leila from the chair, Caleb stunned her by tucking her behind him, keeping what could have been mistaken for a protective grip on her wrist, his attention unflinching from the vampire who sauntered gracefully towards them.

She was tall, lithe, a toned slender leg appearing from behind the deep slit in her long, tight dress. The dark purple silk shimmered with the purposeful sway to her hips, the spiked heels of her silver sandals clicking rhythmically against the wooden floor.

‘Caleb,’ she crooned, her full pale lips smiling languidly. She sauntered past Jake, her height matching his.

Jake’s frown was unflinching, his anxious gaze in Caleb’s direction adding to Leila’s unease as much as Caleb’s tense grip.

‘Feinith,’ Caleb replied coolly.

If he hadn’t seemed so surprised, and displeased, to see Feinith, Leila could have easily believed that he’d been stalling with her – that she was about to be handed over. But both the look in Jake’s eyes and Caleb’s protective stance demonstrated the contrary. And whoever Feinith was, the fact Caleb felt the need to shield Leila from the visitor only alarmed her more.

Feinith stopped square-on to him and tilted her head to the side, jealousy stabbing deep in Leila’s gut as the vampire dragged a long painted nail teasingly down the buttons on his shirt. Her skin was tight, flawless, but something behind her large, preternaturally bright eyes betrayed her true age. She smiled more fully, revealing a hint of incisors. ‘It’s been a while. Too long.’

‘For you maybe,’ Caleb said.

Feinith smiled, a smile that didn’t reflect in her eyes. She bit into her plump, pale bottom lip as she assessed him appreciatively. Slowly she slid her hand back up his chest, over his shoulder, her painted fingernails glistening. ‘Still as perfect as ever,’ she remarked, her palm exploring each of his toned curves. She slipped her hand up under his shirt at the waist, a hand that disappeared out of Leila’s sight. ‘Remember this,’ she exclaimed softly as she moved closer. ‘Such a pretty tattoo. Do you remember what you said when you had this done for me? When you promised me loyalty forever?’ Her mouth met his, Feinith kissing him deeply, intimately.

Leila lowered her gaze to the floor. What she was feeling made no sense, the pain in her chest uncomfortable.

‘So reluctant,’ Feinith mused, pulling back slightly. ‘Things have changed.’

‘Betrothal does that.’

‘Come now, Caleb. Don’t sulk, my love. You know I have to stay true to my rank.’

Leila’s gaze snapped warily to Feinith. Rank meant only one thing.

‘Except when you’re on your back under me,’ Caleb remarked coldly.

Her mouth and throat turned arid. She didn’t know what was worse – a Higher Order vampire stood less than a foot away or that Caleb had been with that vampire and, seemingly, it hadn’t ended by his choice.

Feinith tutted playfully. ‘Ouch. You are bitter.’

Wherever Feinith’s hand had wandered, Caleb caught her wrist and pushed it away. ‘No, you
wish
I was bitter. Sorry to disappoint. What do you want, Feinith?’

‘I’ve come to find out what you’ve been getting up to.’

‘That’s none of your business.’

‘You’ll always be my business, you know that,’ she said, gently easing her wrist from his grip but not relinquishing her gaze. ‘Especially when you summon a witch to save your dying brother.’

Leila’s heart skipped a beat.

Feinith smiled. ‘Don’t look surprised, Caleb. You can’t seriously believe word like that wouldn’t spread.’ Turning gracefully on her heels, she sauntered over to Jake. She circled him, her hand sliding over his chest, around his back, her attention not leaving Caleb the whole time. ‘One minute Jake’s on the edge of second death and the next he’s partying it up in the club again. There’s only one way that can happen.’ She strolled back towards him. ‘So, either there was a nasty rumour going around, or you’ve been a very, very bad boy.’

‘You know what rumours are like around here,’ he said, his tone impressively unwavering.

Feinith smiled again, only this time the look in her eyes chilled Leila to the core. ‘Who would have thought it – my precious Caleb harbouring a serryn? And protecting her from my presence, too. How sweet.’ She leaned into his ear so Leila could hear her every word despite her whisper. ‘You’ve tasted her. I can sense it on you. What else have you done with her, Caleb? Insatiable as ever I’m sure.’ She licked her lips slowly and smiled. ‘And did the little slut give herself to you willingly?’

She pulled away again, turning her back on him. ‘Of course she did. They all do. That’s why you were my best hunter.’ She turned to face him again. ‘Still, I’m flattered that you should go to such extremes to taunt me, Caleb. Of course, I may be feeling the remotest bit of jealousy, as I’ve no doubt you intended, if I hadn’t been so impressed you found one. But then if it was going to be anyone, it would be you. And from the way she’s clinging to you, I assume she knows nothing of your past? Of the depraved things you’ve done to her kind? Remember that serryn in Holliwell? Remember what you did to her? I thought she was going to bleed to death before you had time to reach your pleasure. But you kept her going. For how long was it?’ She strolled back up to him. ‘Eighteen? Twenty hours? That was quite some night. That was our first joint venture, wasn’t it, Caleb? Your way to impress me. To prove your prowess.’ She paused. ‘Your devotion.’

Leila felt as if she’d been kicked in the stomach. She twisted her wrist in his grasp, but his grip only tightened.

Feinith pushed her hips longingly against Caleb’s as she slipped her slender fingers around the back of his neck. ‘I can still see it now. I just have to close my eyes and it’s there,’ she purred, lowering her long, elegant lashes, her lips parted. ‘You thrusting yourself viciously into her. Your hands cruel and coarse on her body. You used to love to make them scream, didn’t you, Caleb? The louder the better. And wow, did some of them scream.’

Leila tried to yank her wrist free, but Caleb’s vice-like hold strengthened.

‘Still,’ Feinith said, stepping away to gracefully perch on the back of the sofa before leaning back slightly with poise and balance, ‘even with your background, the Higher Order are going to be far from impressed when they hear about this. You know the rules, Caleb.’

‘Your rules, not mine.’

‘Take her,’ Feinith said, giving the bodyguard behind them the nod.

Leila’s heart leapt, her stomach flipped.

‘Don’t touch her,’ Caleb warned.

The bodyguard stilled. Whatever glare Caleb had thrown his way, it had clearly worked from the bodyguard’s hesitancy as he looked to Feinith for further instruction.

‘So defiant,’ Feinith purred as she spread her arms. Crossing her long legs, she twirled her foot playfully in the air.

‘I found her. That makes her mine. They’re the rules I live by. Not yours. And not the Higher Order’s.’

Feinith studied Caleb for a moment then cocked her head towards the door as an instruction for the bodyguard to back off.

‘Come here,’ she said to Caleb.

Leila expected him to tell Feinith where to go. Instead, he released Leila’s wrist and stepped up to the sofa as instructed.

Leila backed up against the bookcase, watching the showdown as they stood side-on to her, facing each other.

Feinith smiled, rubbed the toe of her sandal up and down the outside of Caleb’s leg before sliding up to his crotch. When Caleb didn’t flinch, her smile broadened. ‘I shall, of course, be able to conceal this little...’ she pondered playfully over her choice of word, ‘reluctance. I will explain your lack of openness as merely a temporary disinclination. That may abate them. And I can always request your punishment be handed to me,’ she added, pressing hard against his groin, causing him to wince.

Caleb pushed her ankle aside. ‘You’re not having her, Feinith.’

‘Stubborn as ever. But don’t delude yourself for one moment that I, any of us, will accept your defiance. Any witch that enters Blackthorn belongs to the Higher Order. Any serryn found is to be handed over with immediate effect. Alive. That is the law.’

‘Any witch that enters my club, my territory, belongs to me – serryn or otherwise.’

She eased off the sofa, looked deep into his eyes, before pressing close to him, lips almost touching his. ‘That little bitch belongs to the Higher Order.’

‘That little bitch is mine,’ he whispered back. ‘I don’t work for the Higher Order anymore, remember?’

After a few moments of silent, pensive contemplation, Feinith smiled. ‘Okay. What do you want for her, Caleb?’

‘You don’t get it, do you?’

Feinith frowned. As her cold eyes locked on her, stabbing her with their icy glare, Leila looked away, her jaw clenched. ‘My, my, she is a powerful one. The first serryn to control the infamous Caleb Dehain.’

She turned to step towards her, but Caleb cut in front to create a barrier. ‘Stay away from her.’

The malice in the vampire’s razor-grey eyes overshadowed her smile. ‘Ironic. A vampire notorious for slaughtering serryns playing hero to one. Come on, Caleb, enough of the games. We both know what this is about.’ She pressed close. ‘I broke that infamous heart of yours and you want revenge. I understand. And I’m flattered, Caleb. Really I am.’

‘Would you be so flattered if I told you to go fuck yourself?’

Feinith’s eyes flared in indignation. She sidestepped him, forming a perfect triangle between him and Jake. Cruelty emanated from her eyes. ‘And how does Jake feel about the serryn being here?’ She glanced across at him then back at Caleb. ‘With what happened to Seth…’

Jake’s attention snapped to Caleb. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

‘Don’t,’ Caleb warned her quietly, his gaze stony on hers.

Feinith smiled. ‘He still doesn’t know, does he?’

‘Know what?’ Jake asked.

‘And I thought you boys told each other everything,’ she remarked tauntingly, running her fingers back down his chest.

Caleb slammed her hand away with a viciousness that made Leila flinch. Even Feinith seemed momentarily taken aback.

She frowned. ‘All these decades and you still haven’t told him.’

‘Caleb?’ Jake asked, taking a couple of steps closer, his eyes narrowed.

‘Jake, honey, your oldest brother wasn’t killed in a brawl,’ Feinith declared, taking a few sensible steps back. ‘He was slaughtered by one of the sluts your brother’s now protecting.’

Leila leaned back against the bookcase for support. Blood pumped in her ears, her legs feeling too weak to hold her.

‘You vicious bitch,’ Caleb hissed.

Feinith smiled maliciously.

Even amidst her fear, Leila’s heart ached for him at Feinith’s betrayal. But she couldn’t allow it – she couldn’t allow herself that weakness – not now she knew that his despising her wasn’t just instinctive to his nature: it was personal.

Not now she knew exactly what he was capable of and just how lightly she had got off. For now.

‘Caleb?’ Jake took a step closer. ‘What’s she talking about?’

‘I’m talking about your brother having to think very seriously about what he’s got himself into here.’

‘You had no right,’ Caleb said quietly, his narrowed eyes locked on hers.

‘And you have no right to keep an undeclared serryn under your roof. All the years you’ve spent building this place up, your reputation – could all be gone in one click of my fingers, Caleb. Without either, where would you be? I’ll give you an hour to think it over. But I want that serryn bitch before I go or I’ll burn this place down, rip Jake’s heart out and force-feed it to you. Do we understand each other?’ She tilted her head to the side slightly as she reached up to run her fingers over his lips, before kissing him lightly. ‘We’ll pick up where we left off somewhere more private. I’ll be down in your office waiting. Don’t take too long.’ She turned and stepped away. ‘Oh, and it goes without saying that my people are watching you. We’ll know about every move you make. So make the right ones. For all your sakes.’

She sauntered back over to the door and shot him a glower across her shoulder before disappearing across the threshold, her bodyguard closing the door behind them.

Chapter Thirteen

T
he silence that descended on the room was excruciating. Leila’s heart pounded painfully as her gaze flitted between the confusion and distress on Jake’s face and the fury on Caleb’s.

‘Tell me Feinith’s lying,’ Jake said quietly, his narrowed eyes locked on his brother.

Caleb’s attention remained fixed on the door.

‘Caleb!’ Jake snapped, the tremble in his voice reinforcing the anguish in his eyes. ‘Tell me it’s not true!’

‘She shouldn’t have done that,’ Caleb said quietly. Too quietly.

Jake’s eyes flared in horror. ‘You told me he died breaking up a fight.’ He paused. ‘You lied to me.’

Caleb said nothing as his gaze snapped back to his brother.

‘How do you know?’ Jake demanded. ‘How do you know it was one of them?’

The seconds ticked by as Caleb’s gaze on Jake remained unwavering. ‘I was the one who found him.’

‘Dead?’

Caleb shook his head.

Jake’s eyes widened. ‘Like Tay?’

‘I had to end it. I had no choice.’

‘You?’ Jake took a step back. ‘You killed him?’ Jake turned away, held his trembling hands to his head before spinning to face Caleb again. ‘And you never thought to tell me any of this? Just how bad was it?’

Caleb looked to the floor again before meeting his brother’s stunned gaze. ‘I found her and I dealt with her.’

‘How?’

‘She suffered. That’s all you need to know.’

Jake’s frown deepened. ‘You confided in Feinith. You told that cold-hearted, manipulative, power-hungry bitch, but kept it from me – for all these decades?’

‘You found it hard enough to accept he was gone. What was I to do? Tell you the truth? Have you hunting down every single serryn you could find too? Do you think I wanted you ending up dead like Seth?’

‘Tell me that’s not the real reason why you took up the hunt. Tell me that wasn’t how she hooked you into working for them. You know how Seth felt about it, so please tell me you didn’t start it in his name.’ He shook his head at his brother’s silent confirmation. His frown deepened. ‘Then at least tell me that’s not the real reason why you kept Leila here. Tell me you’re not that stupid.’

‘I can’t believe you’re asking me that.’

‘No? So this isn’t giving you just a little sense of triumph? One small payback for Feinith coupling with Jarin?’

‘This has nothing to do with Feinith.’

‘I thought you were over her, Caleb. I believed you when you told me you were over her. A year, but she still strolls straight back in here like nothing has happened.’

‘I
am
over her.’

‘I’ve seen your twisted games with her first-hand too many times, remember? You must be loving being able to say no to her. You’ve had some fucked-up playoffs with her over the years, but this has got to be the ultimate. Only this time your warped power games could bring the wrath of the entire Higher Order down on us.’

‘If she wanted the rest of the Higher Order involved, they’d be here.’

‘Which tells me she’s here for more than just that serryn. She’s back for you, Caleb. She’ll always come back for you.’

‘Then she’s going to be bitterly disappointed.’

‘Is she?’

‘I will sort this.’

‘How?

‘She’s not coming in here demanding whatever she wants.’

‘She’s our only advocate in the Higher Order right now, unless you’ve forgotten. You play checkmate with that lethal bitch and we’re in even deeper shit than we already are. You should have let Leila go when I told you to, then none of us would be in this mess.’

‘I can handle Feinith.’

‘No one can handle Feinith. Least of all you. She’s not going to let this go. So considering you can’t give her Leila, you’d better come up with something else quick.’

Despite Jake’s curt exit, the slam of the door behind him, the room still felt oppressive.

Leila’s attention snapped back to Caleb as he marched over to the table, kicked one of the chairs across the room. He paced the library like a caged predator, his eyes blackened with fury, his incisors protruding behind his sneer. With one hand, he yanked a bookcase from the wall opposite her, then another. They crashed to the floor in a thunderous roar, their contents spilling over the floor. Grabbing the table, he flipped it over with ease, a stream of expletives pouring out of his mouth.

Leila clutched the bookcase behind her, the devastation a stout reminder of the power of the creature in front of her. A temper, if turned on her, she wouldn’t stand a chance of walking away from. The same temper he would have no doubt unleashed on the serryn who had murdered Seth. She had no doubt now what agony she had gone through.

He marched across to the hallway door, his eyes glazed, his demeanour lacking its characteristic composure.

As he too slammed it behind him then locked it, Leila’s legs weakened enough that she had no option but to slide to the floor.

❄ ❄ ❄

Caleb stepped up to the bar. He snatched a glass from the counter and leaned over to reach for the whisky bottle. He filled the glass to a third of the way and knocked it all back in one before bracing his arms on the counter. He looked over his shoulder to see Jake was out on the terrace, staring out across the district.

He sighed heavily before pulling himself away from his drink, stepping out to join him.

‘Stay away from me,’ Jake warned, his grip tightening on the barrier.

‘We need to talk.’

‘Oh,
now
we do.’ He glowered across at him as Caleb pulled level. ‘Not a century and a half ago when you should have come to me instead of her.’

‘And have you driven by the same hatred as me? Have you running into battle with them? You weren’t equipped for it. You weren’t skilled.’

‘I had a right to know.’

‘I was trying to protect you. I didn’t want you consumed with it, like it consumed me.’

‘You could have come to get me. You could have let me see him.’

‘You wouldn’t have wanted to.’ Caleb braced his own arms on the barrier and gazed out over the district lights as he relished the night air.

Jake kept his head lowered.

Caleb knew he wasn’t ready to deal with it yet – the full truth of what had happened to Seth that night. And Jake’s silence about it told him
he
knew it, too. It would take time to sink in. Then there would be the questions. Then there would be the conversation they should have had years before then.

‘I’m right, though, aren’t I?’ Jake said, his eyes sullen. ‘Feinith used your festering hatred of that first serryn, renewed by the one that killed Seth, to reel you in.’

‘It wasn’t just down to her.’

‘But she encouraged you.’

Caleb looked back ahead, his free hand tightening on the barrier. He could feel his brother’s eyes burning into him.

‘
Have
you slept with Leila?’

Caleb knew he didn’t need to answer.

‘Why, Caleb? Why go that extra step?’

Caleb knocked back a mouthful of drink. Because he’d needed to prove something to himself. Because he’d wanted her to unravel. Because he’d needed to prove himself right. Because, quite simply, he’d
wanted
to.

But he hadn’t wanted to enjoy it. He hadn’t wanted the buzz she had given him. He hadn’t wanted the anger and frustration that had followed. He hadn’t wanted to be left questioning himself.

‘I saw the way Feinith looked at Leila, Caleb,’ Jake added. ‘She’s only going to make this even more personal now. You know how possessive she is over you. Please, just tell me that’s not why you slept with her. Please tell me you didn’t use Leila for that.’

Jake was right – there was a time when this would have been the perfect opportunity to have Feinith right where he wanted her.

But not anymore.

‘How many times do I have to say it, Jake? Feinith means nothing to me.’

‘Then why sleep with Leila? What were you thinking? She’s done nothing but save me.’

‘You make it sound like a punishment.’

‘Wasn’t it?’

Caleb knocked back another mouthful. ‘It just happened.’

‘Oh, please – this is me you’re talking to. It never “just happens” with you.’ He paused. ‘Are you attracted to her?’

Caleb glanced across at him and scowled. ‘What’s this – the night of stupid questions?’

‘Things were looking intimate enough when I walked in. And that was quite the protective stance you gave her when you saw Feinith.’

He’d stunned himself with his reaction – the way he had shielded her had been instinctive even if he didn’t comprehend it.

‘I wasn’t planning on letting her get close enough to see what Leila is.’

‘And that’s all there was to it?’

Caleb met his brother’s narrowed gaze. ‘I know what you’re thinking.’

‘So were you? Tempted?’

Caleb looked ahead again. ‘No.’

‘Caleb, I’ve just found out I’ve already lost one brother to a serryn. I can’t lose another.’

He broke from Jake’s troubled gaze. He couldn’t tell him how close he’d been – how stupidly close. He couldn’t put that weight on his brother’s shoulders, not when he hadn’t come to terms with it himself yet. ‘You won’t.’

‘You’re sure?’

‘I’m perfectly sure.’

Jake looked far from convinced, his brow still furrowed with concern. ‘All the same, maybe now more than ever it’s time to put her somewhere else. Maybe put her in one of the apartments like we’ve done with Alisha. Hade can watch her. Humans are immune, right?’

There was no way he was letting Leila out of his sight now – not only because of the risk Feinith posed but because of his own need to prove to himself that it had been nothing more than a moment of weakness.

‘I know what I’m doing,’ Caleb said, sensing the impatience in his own tone, adding to the uncomfortable feeling of knowing Jake’s accusation wasn’t as empty as he was trying to get him to believe.

‘Things go wrong, Caleb. Neither of you might intend it to, but it could. It already is.’

‘I’ll find a way to sort Feinith.’

‘Then you’d better do it quick. Because if you say an outright no to her and she reports it to the Higher Order, we’re over – us, the business, our reputation. We either get prosecuted or banished, and where will we go? I’ll tell you – to The Pit with the rest of the vampire scum. And she’ll do it, Caleb.’

‘We have two things on our side – she wants Leila alive and she wants this kept quiet. I’ve just got to work out why.’

‘And while you’re working that out, Leila is also working out exactly what she’s up against. She’s not just going to sit back and do nothing. We’re on borrowed time from every angle. You wanted the serryn in her unleashed, Caleb, you might have just done it. Face up to the fact you might finally be out of your depth this time or we’re all going to sink.’