Deadly Is the Kiss (24 page)

For centuries, the Deschanel did their best to control the Medeiros, monitoring their behavior. But as time passed, the line became more dangerous, until the decision was made to exterminate the Medeiros in order to protect the secrecy of the clans. It was considered a dark spot on the legacy of the vampire clans, and one that Deschanel scholars still debated today.

Mo continued reading from the page. “It says here that the poison collects in pits which are located beneath the skin on the vampire’s wrists and in their throats, just under their jawline. If you stab them in one of the venom pockets, it kills the vampire almost instantly.”

“Son of a bitch,”
he cursed, cutting his gaze toward Juliana, who was standing in the center of the room with her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide with panic. His memories of the battle against that blond guard were dim at best, but one thing he could clearly recall was sliding down that bloody wall, his gut twisting with fear for Juliana as he watched her thrust the knife into the guard’s throat. Just under the bastard’s jawline.

“How the hell did you know to do that?” he growled, fisting his hands at his sides to keep himself from crossing the room and doing something he would later regret.

Juliana lowered her hand, licking her lips as she cast a nervous look toward Mo, who had gotten up from the table and was quickly leaving the room, the door closing softly behind her. Returning her gaze to Ashe, she swallowed, and said, “I…I didn’t. I just got lucky.”

His expression darkened with rage. “Don’t lie to me. Not anymore! You didn’t stab him there by accident. That much I remember. You aimed right for that specific spot!”

“Okay, fine. I knew!” she shouted, her insides twisting with agony from the way he was looking at her. “I knew what he was!”

With a guttural groan, he lowered his head into his hands, shoving his fingers back through his hair, his body rigid with tension. “How?” he demanded, forcing the words through his gritted teeth. His head shot up, his dark eyes burning with raw, savage fury. “How the hell did you know? And why didn’t you tell me?”

She spoke in a breathless rush. “I’ll tell you everything. I promise. But we can’t talk about this here,” she whispered, pain lacerating her heart as she realized she was on the verge of losing him. “Not unless you want to put Mo and her family in danger.”

He didn’t say anything more; he just turned and left through the door that Mo had used. A minute later, he came back into the room with their bags over his shoulder. “Move it. Now.”

Juliana slipped into her jacket and made her way to the front door, following him outside. The wind had picked up since their arrival, dark storm clouds rolling in hard and fast. The sidewalks were empty as they headed down the street, back toward the station, the blustery weather keeping everyone indoors. She had to practically run to keep up with Ashe’s long, angry strides, the waves of rage pulsing off him so intense she could have sworn she felt them blasting against her.

Nearly ten minutes of strain-filled silence had passed before he finally said, “I want an explanation, Juliana. And I want it now.”

She fought to smooth out her choppy breaths, her thoughts so scattered it was difficult to find the right words. “The D-Delacourts,” she stammered, her jaw shaking. “Raphe…and his m-mother. They’re Medeiros.”

He ran a shaky hand down his face, muttering something foul under his breath as he kept walking.

“They hide it somehow,” she continued. “But I…I don’t know how.”

Grabbing her arm in a brutally hard grip, Ashe suddenly yanked her off the sidewalk, pulling her along behind him as he headed into a small, wooded park that was thankfully empty.

The pain in his chest was so damn raw he was sucking wind, his lungs working like a bellows. Christ, he felt like such a fool! All this time, he’d been trying to work out what kind of evidence her parents had against the Delacourts, and she’d known all along. They’d obviously discovered the truth about the Delacourts’ bloodline, threatening to expose them. That would certainly explain Lenora’s willingness to risk censure from the Council for their unauthorized deaths. As well as her determination to see the Sabin family destroyed before his investigation into their sentencing stirred up questions she didn’t want anyone asking…or finding the answers to.

He couldn’t believe Juliana had kept something this important from him. He felt as if she’d taken a sledgehammer to his breastbone, the blow even sharper for the way it’d come on the heels of watching her play with Mo’s grandchildren, his head filled with fantasies about their future. A future that would never happen now, because he couldn’t stomach the thought of tying his life to a devious little liar.

Staring down into her tear-filled eyes, he swallowed the lump of rage in his throat and said, “I want the full story, Juliana.”

She huddled within her jacket and lowered her gaze to his chin, as if she was afraid to look him in the eye. Then she took a deep, shuddering breath, and said, “I met Raphe Delacourt on my nineteenth birthday.” Her voice was soft, and eerily hollow. “He was very charming, and despite the whispers I’d heard about him, I was…I was infatuated. I didn’t believe he was a criminal, even though I’d heard people gossip about how he made his money. But I didn’t want to listen to vicious rumors. Instead, I made sure to visit certain places where I knew he’d be, and it…it wasn’t long before he started…pursuing me.”

Disbelief roughened his voice. “And your father allowed it?”

Her eyes slid closed and she gave a dry, brittle laugh. “Hardly. He was furious. He forbade me to so much as talk to Raphe. But, of course, I was young enough to think he was wrong…that I knew what I was doing. So I…I started meeting with him in private.”

Ashe’s fangs burned for release, while some kind of dark, primitive sound tore from his throat.

Deep down inside, he’d secretly feared that it would be something like this. Maybe that was why he hadn’t pushed her harder, all those times they’d talked about her past. Maybe on some instinctual level, he’d sensed that the truth wasn’t something he’d want to know, the idea of Jules in bed with his worst enemy making him ill.

Choking on the bitter taste in his mouth, he forced himself to say, “So you started screwing him.”

She opened her eyes, locking her tormented gaze with his. “Not…exactly. We started dating. But we…we weren’t sleeping together.”

Oh, hell. Just how stupid did she think he was? “You really expect me to buy that bullshit? Raphe Delacourt has a reputation worse than mine. There’s no way he would have dated you without getting in your pants.”

“Whether you believe it or not, it’s the truth. We dated for months without anything happening.” She turned her face to the side, staring into the trees. “I’d already had a few serious boyfriends, so I couldn’t understand what his issue was. He seemed to think I was this fragile little creature he needed to protect, and it drove me crazy. But I put up with it because I thought he loved me.”

Ashe’s head started to pound, a cold ache twisting through his gut as he listened to her story.

“I even had this crazy idea that he wanted to…marry me.” A bitter smile touched her lips. “But then I was out with some friends, and I saw him on a date with another woman. That was when I realized that the entire time we’d been together, he’d been getting sex elsewhere. I was young and stupid and hurt enough to convince myself that the mature thing to do was to show him that I was woman enough for him. So I…I went to his house that night to prove that he didn’t need those other women.” Her jaw shook, her face getting paler as she said, “I got what I wanted, and we ended up in bed together. But then…things went wrong. Raphe…changed, taking his Medeiros form.”

Ashe choked back a sharp curse, his mind supplying enough gruesome detail for him to imagine how terrifying it must have been for her. He’d read back at the academy that when a Medeiros male shed his control, he became something that was more monster than man.

After a moment, Juliana went on. “Obviously, I realized something wasn’t…right. That Raphe wasn’t a Deschanel vampire, as I’d believed. So I got the hell out of there and did what all frightened young girls do. I ran home and told my daddy what had happened.” She shifted her tear-filled gaze back to his, huddling deeper into her jacket. “If I’d been thinking straight, I’d have realized how furious my father would be. But I was too…upset. I told him everything, and he was the one who figured out Raphe’s true species, based on my descriptions. Believing my life was in danger, he convinced my mother that they had to go before the Council immediately and launch a formal accusation against Raphe. But on their way to the Court, Lenora’s guards intercepted them and they were killed.” She drew in another shuddering breath, then slowly let it out. “I should have known that Raphe’s mother would do whatever it took to protect him. If I hadn’t run… If I’d just stayed and let Raphe kill me, then no one would have suffered.”

“
You
would have suffered,” Ashe stated in a low voice, wanting so badly to believe her. But he…couldn’t quite do it, the ability slipping through his fingers like wisps of smoke. All he could think about as he looked down at her was that a beautiful little liar had played him all over again. Her excuses didn’t matter. Why should he believe them, when he couldn’t believe anything else she said?

Responding to his comment, she wiped the tears from her cheeks with her sleeve, saying, “I’ve been suffering ever since I told my parents what happened that night. And the guilt has been eating me alive ever since.”

He cocked his head to the side, studying her through his lashes. “Yeah, that guilt of yours is one of the first things I ever noticed about you. Which makes me wonder if what you’ve just told me is really the way it happened.”

She blinked, looking as if he’d slapped her. “What do you mean?”

He wouldn’t have thought Juliana would whore herself out for Raphe Delacourt’s wealth, but hell, what did he really know about her, anyway? Who knew if she’d just been playing him from the moment he found her sitting out on that patio in London? Who knew what was real, and what was simply the talent of a cunning actress?

“I mean, are you sure you didn’t plan to get your share of Raphe’s dirty money, no matter how it was earned? Maybe even join up with him, like a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde? Until, of course, you found out he was more than just a playboy criminal who liked to fuck younger women.” His voice got harder. “Are you sure you just didn’t get in over your head? Though I guess you should get some credit for not going through with it, once you found out his dirty little secret. Screwing a criminal for his money is bad enough, Jules. But spreading your legs for a monster, just so you can grab a few bucks? That’s as low as it gets.”

Tears poured down her cheeks as she took a step back from him, her expression stricken. “I thought he l-loved me,” she said, her voice cracking. “I didn’t want his money, and I didn’t believe he was a criminal. But even if he was, I’d thought I would be able to help him change.”

His low laugh was mean and ugly. “First rule of relationships, Jules. Never try to change your lover. Accept them for exactly what they are—criminal, murderer, liar—no matter how sick it makes you.”

Very quietly, she said, “I know you think I’m a scheming liar, Ashe, but I’m not. I’m not like that woman who hurt you.” She brushed her tears away with trembling fingertips, and went on. “Every single person who knows the truth about the Delacourts has suffered. My parents…my family. It’s even the cause of Micah’s suffering. The woman who poisoned him—he was with her because he was trying to get information about Lenora. That’s the only reason I didn’t tell you. I didn’t want you to know because it’s like a curse! I was only trying to protect you!”

“Bullshit. You just didn’t trust me with the truth! This whole investigation has been nothing but a fucking waste of time!”

“That’s not true,” she argued. “I still need proof of the assassination orders to take them to the Council. That hasn’t changed. If I try to go before them and make the same claims about Lenora’s bloodline that I did before, they’ll laugh in my face.” She took a step forward, lifting her chin. “And
you
of all people have no right lecturing me about trust and the truth!”