Bloody Heretic (24 page)

    “
Female!”
He bel
lowed. She flew to him. “
Ally?”
He nodded to the skittering females watching the scene unfolding around them. She smiled up at him.

    “
Very good, Dom. They are allies.”
She cut past the fighting Vamps to speak to the females. As best he could make out w
hile he continued to fight was her explanation of why they fought and instructions on where to go if they wanted to leave with them. They nodded, agreeing to round up more of their brethren and meet outside of the complex.
After they slipped out of the hal
lway his female came to rest next to him, watching as the last of the guard fell. A large wolf tore at a body on the ground; a female with long, dark hair rode atop another, tearing into his throat with her teeth. They all looked a little worse for wear b
u
t they were alive. He took hold of the woman beside him and kissed her again, pressing her against the wall. He licked at the blood coating her face and neck.

    “
Well, it seems everyone has paired up nicely. You want to make out, Elliot?”

    “
Not on yo
ur life
. What are we gonna do about those two anyway?”

    “
Honestly, I say we leave them here. I
’
m not going to be the one getting between that,”
the
Vampire said behind him. The words were processed but inconsequential.

    “
I
’
ll give you t
wenty bucks to stick your hand in there,”
the other
quipped. Dom turned to snarl at the youth. He jumped back, the smile upon his face effectively wiped off.

    “
Jeanne!”
Yelled a female. “
Cut it out, we have to go. Now!”
She yelled again when neither reacted. Suddenly the woman, Jeanne, was yanked away from him. He turned to see the red head holding her away from him. “
Tell him to stand down, Jeanne,”
she said without looking away from him.

    “
She is right,”
his female
said. “
Let
’
s get out of here first.”
She
turned away and headed past the bodies littering the floor. He followed, as the rest of the group did. The red head lead the group through the marble hallways, eventually leading through a large metal door that sli
d open to the outside. A cold breeze blew past them smelling of stale river water and snow. The group headed south down the embank
ment, through
a ravine and up onto the street. Standing outside t
he building
were more brightly dressed females. They huddled
together, looking nervous, waiting to be herded inside. The orange clad female spoke quickly to the red head.

    “
Some of the girls ran as soon as we got outside. I couldn
’
t stop them.”
She shivered, rubbing her bare arms.

    “
It
’
s
alright,
as long as
they have somewhere to go they are free to do as they please. We
’
re going to search the building again tomorrow for anyone else, and then we
’
re going to burn it to the ground.”

    “
Thank you! Oh, thank you!”
She threw her skinny arms over the red head
’
s n
eck and squeezed her. Dom watched his tiny pink haired female, patiently waiting for her signal to leave. She felt his eyes on her and turned her head to look at him. A smile curved her lips and she turned to the red head.

    “
Gloria, I
’
m done for the nig
ht. You
’
re welcome to stay with Orleans again tonight,”
she told her.

    “
I
’
m sure you are. And I
’
d like to have seen you stop me from staying with him,”
she answered back. The female looked to the large male and they shared a secret smile. Dom shifted
, i
nching tow
ard the doorway. They all took the
hint and walked inside. Jeanne grabbed his hand and he followed her inside, up a flight of stairs and into a room that was coated in her scent. She pushed him down onto the nearest bed and pulled her blood soake
d d
ress over her head one handed
. He growled at her, reaching out to pull her down. As his teeth grazed her throat she pulled back and put a finger to his lips.

    “
I think you
’
ve had your fill tonight. It
’
s my turn.”
Her eyes slid down to his chest. She
ripped the fabric away
, licking
a clean path from his stomach to his collarbone. When her teeth slid into his shoulder he fell back against the mattress. The rest of the night was a red blur.

Chapter Eleven

    “
Jeanne...,”
she heard
. “
Jeanne...”
Again a voice called out,
whispering softly just beyond her consciousness. She opened one eye to see Gloria
’
s
face hovering above her own. She closed her eye again.

    “
What?”
She groaned.

    “
You
’
ve slept way past sundown. I was getting worried. We al
ready cleared out the compound.”
Jeanne sat up at the news, looking at the clock on the nightstand. It read ten o
’
clock.

    “
Did you search Michel
’
s rooms? He might have had evidence in there. Or at least something historically valuable.”
She put a hand
to her head as the room started to spin around her. Another groan escaped.

    “
Way ahead of you. We cleaned out his private suite and we managed to find the locations to all of his other properties.”
Gloria stood up when Jeanne motioned for her to move.
She put her feet down only to realize that she still had her heels strapped on.
The previous night rushed back.
A quick unnecessary look to the other side of the bed revealed that Dom had snuck out while she slept.
The bastard.
He did however leave a note.
She plucked it from the pillow. She scanned it quickly and then read it again slower. The note was short and to the point but it
bore
rereading.

   
Jeanne, I can
’
t
bear
to see the look on your face when you wake up. I
’
m sorry for everything. You
’
ll nev
er know how sorry I am. I wish you a life full of peace and happiness
. 
–
D

    She stood up, bracing herself on the wall before stomping toward the door. Gloria snatched her by the arm on her way out. Jeanne pulled her arm out of the woman
’
s grasp, tilti
ng sideways before righting herself.

    “
He
’
s gone, Jeanne. And you
’
re naked
and still drunk
.”
She held her hands up in an attempt to calm her.

    “
What do you mean he
’
s gone? Didn
’
t he help clear out the compound?”

    “
He stayed long enough to pack h
is things, turn in his resignation
with Adam and then he was gone,”
she answered sadly. Jeanne processed this, wondering on the meaning. His guilt, or her betrayal? Perhaps both. They hadn
’
t done much talking last night, none at all really. If he had just
stuck around they could have
discussed what had happened, why she had done what she had done. He needn
’
t
fee
l so guilty about what he had done in the club. The girls were fine and she felt no
remorse for what had happened
after. If anything she was thrille
d by it. Apparently being the first man she had given herself to since Gabriel meant nothing to him. Anger suffused her whole being. Whether her rage was cen
tered more on herself or Dominic
she wasn
’
t sure, but she would have bee
n willing to bet if the man was
standing in front of her in that moment, he wouldn
’
t have been standing long. She turned away from the door and flew into the bathroom,
slamming the door behind her. After a long shower, in which she numbly watched the blood
flow down the drain, she stood in the bathroom staring at her reflection in the mirror. It had been a long time since she had last loved another, longer still that she had loved a man. Once her trust was lost she refused to give second chances. She had b
e
t everything that Dominic was the sort to stick around. That he would understand what he had in her, a partner and a friend. Perhaps his guilt outweighed his want to work things out but his leaving ensured her pride outweighed her need to find him and fix
things. Love was for fools anyway. She punched the mirror, shattering the glass and splintering her reflection.

    “
Are you alright?”
Gloria called out. Jeanne turned away from the mirror, leaving the bathroom.

    “
I
’
m fine.”
Her suitcase bounced as she
threw it down on the bed. Gloria sat across from her.

    “
Can I ask...,”
she started to say before Jeanne cut her off.

    “
No,”
she snapped. Her sweater tore as she yanked it over her head. She pulled it off, growling in impatience.

    “
Okay,”
she dra
wled. “
Do you need help getting dressed?”
Jeanne looked her dead in the eye, daring her to speak again. Her lips flattened shut. She had good instincts.
After another go-round with her chosen apparel, she left the room, ignoring Gloria as she followed, com
ing to an abrupt halt outside of the meeting room. She refused to label it Dominic
’
s room now that he had abandoned her...Them! He had abandoned the whole group.

    “
It
’
s all gibberish to me,”
Claude was saying as she entered. Everyone looked up with varying looks of pity and curiosity. She cursed Dom all over again.

    “
What?”
She snapped at them. Everyone had the decency to look away, except Adam. Of course he had no care for her pain. “
Did
you even try to stop him?”
She asked him.

    “
Of course I did. He wouldn
’
t listen.”
His answer was sincere but she was still angry and Adam was the perfect target.

    “
You should have tried harder.”

    “
What would you have had me do? Tie him down? He
’
s a grown man, if he wanted to leave there wasn
’
t a thing I could have said to make him stay. He knew we could finish without him.”

    “
I was there, Jeanne. He was determined to go,”
Vic agreed. Jeanne looked away.

    “
It
’
s done. Like you said, he is h
is own man,”
she said after a silent moment passed. “
What did you find in the compound?”
The change of subject eased some of the tension in the room. Claude cleared his throat and handed her a thick folder filled with paperwork. She quickly flip
ped through
it, reading the scribbled Russian handwriting
. The legitimate hiring
’
s and employee documentation were all there. They even had Michel
’
s extensive property holdings, just as Gloria had said.

    “
We
’
ve crossed off all of the missing girls we connected to
the place. We even had to add three to the list we didn
’
t know about. I finished interviewing them about an hour ago and I
’
ve got all their information. Most have even established communication with their families, so they
’
ll be on the
ir way home as soon
as possible,”
Vic said as she was looking over the paperwork.