Point of No Return (30 page)

“Your duty?” I said, confused, my eyes
shifting to him.

“I’m responsible for the vampires in my
territory,” Danial said patiently. “I am supposed to keep them
under control. They have to respect me, in order for me to do that.
If anyone steps out of line, I have to discipline them harshly. You
must have heard Devlin speak of this before?”

“Yes. Has anyone else given you trouble?”

“No. For the most part, everyone is pretty
well behaved. It’s the newer ones that usually make trouble, and
there aren’t many younger vampires in New York. The youngest is at
least fifty years old. I haven’t had to discipline anyone except
Manir.”

I shivered, remembering. Manir had attacked
Danial’s home twice looking for Theoron, trying to take him for his
own. Theo had killed him last summer, but his name still made me
uneasy. “Who rules New York now? When you took Devlin’s power,
someone had to fill your shoes.”

“You remember Akira, from the Hallows
parties? He rules New York now, with Chi at his side. He’s doing a
good job so far.”

“Yes.” Akira and Chi had been Japanese
Samurai at the first Hallows party I’d attended, though I couldn’t
remember seeing them since then.

“We are almost there, Sarelle. Please tell me
you are done asking questions.”

“Is there anything you can do about the
bounties on Theo’s head, and do you know who put them there?”

“There are three now,” Danial corrected. “The
Peterson one is done

with—”

“Can you do anything?” I said anxiously. “I’m
worried.”

“I’ve already done what I could,” Danial
assured. “There has never been a time Theo has not been in danger,
even before he worked for me.”

I gripped his hand tightly. “Who are they?
You said it’s not the mob.”

“Samuel, for one. He tried to call it off,
but the assassin he hired was already paid. But that will probably
work itself out without trouble.” He paused. “Tasha’s father has
also put out a hit on Theo. He knows by now that something happened
to his daughter, and that Theo was the one she left with. He has
offered a million dollars to the man or men who kills Theo, and
brings him proof.” He paused again. “But that is not the
worst.”

“What could be worse?”

“Robert,” Danial said with finality. “He
works for Zane. He’s what you might call the third most well-known
assassin, after Lash and Theo.”

“Third ranked?”

Danial nodded. “But that’s not enough for
him. He would like to be the best, yet he doesn’t dare go after
Lash. Second place is what he’s after.”

“Why is he scared of Lash and not Theo?” I
said, irritated on Theo’s behalf. “Theo’s scary, or he can be, when
he’s angry.”

“By now the word has spread that Theo is
married, that he’s settled down and thinking of raising a family.
Robert thinks this is the best time to strike.”

“How do you know?” I asked, looking at him
wildly. “Has he tried—?”

“Watch the road!” Danial shouted, grabbing
the wheel.

I pulled over and cut the engine.
God, it
was midnight already. Shit, we were never going to get there at
this rate.
“Has he tried?”

“Yes,” Danial answered. “Robert tried to
shoot him back in November during an overnight trip. Theo dodged
the bullet, then shot him in the arm. Theo went to finish the job,
but Robert escaped, because someone reported the gunfire and the
police showed up. We had to get away, before we had to answer any
questions, as it was nearly dawn.”

Theo hadn’t told me. We’d been dealing
with a lot then, maybe he hadn’t wanted to worry me.
“I didn’t
know any of this.”

“He’ll be okay, Sar,” Danial said soothingly.
“He can take care of himself.”

I nodded, but I wasn’t so sure. Theo and I
would have a talk when I got home.

Finally, like a miracle, the park sign was
before us. I pulled into the entrance to the park, which was
surprisingly little more than a dirt road. “This is rough. Isn’t
this supposed to be a big place? Hundreds of acres?”

Danial checked the map, as I drove
slowly.

“It’s a lot more wild than I thought it would
be,” I continued, looking around.

“Yes,” Danial said tentatively. “Because you
are on the wrong side of the river. You took the wrong
entrance.”

“No, I didn’t,” I said haughtily, and
continued to drive. A few moments later, the dirt road became a
worn track of mud accessible only by all-terrain vehicles. Very
irritated, I carefully turned around. Danial was smartly
silent.

I drove back the way we came. After crossing
a bridge over the river a few moments later, the main entrance to
the park appeared, huge gates that looked like brick or stone in
the headlights. I gaped at them appreciatively. This was a little
more like what I’d been expecting.

The park office at the gate was closed, so I
drove on through slowly, careful of the twisting road and the
massive stonework walls near the road. In a few minutes, we came to
a large parking lot and several buildings. “The Glen Iris Inn is
next to a fountain,” Danial said, pointing. “Park here. The front
desk will have our keys.”

“Thank you for answering my questions,” I
said politely, as we got out. “I know you didn’t want to talk
about—”

“Enough.” Danial pulled me to him tenderly,
then kissed me fervently.

I kissed him back tentatively, then
passionately. He was right. We had just this week. While we were
here, it was best to make the most of it. When I got home, I’d make
some plans with the knowledge I’d just gained.

Danial pulled back from me. “I have something
to ask of you, Love.” He handed me a dark green velvet box.

More earrings?
I opened it. In the
light from the fake gas lamp above shone a pair of wedding
rings.

“Marry me, Sarelle,” Danial asked softly.

Chapter
Fifteen

“Danial, I’m already married,” I stammered.
“I can’t.”

“For this week,” Danial implored, his eyes
looking into mine hopefully. “Wear it just for this week, when
you’re mine and mine alone. Please?”

Did it matter?
I was going to be
removing Devlin’s choker from my neck while we were here, and
wearing Danial’s instead. That promise hadn’t meant any less to me
than the one I’d sworn to Theo.
In fact, it had meant more.
I slipped off my rings from Theo, and put them into my purse’s
inner pocket. Then I took out the wedding band from the box, and
studied it. It was beautiful, one of a kind, but then Danial was
never satisfied with the ordinary. It was comprised of many colors,
swirled together, like paint almost. “Are those different
metals?”

“Yes. It’s made as swords are made, hammered
and folded. Each one is unique.”

There was an inscription inside that looked
like it was in another language. “What does it say?”

“It says ‘Forever’,” Danial said softly. “As
does mine.”

I slipped it on, then the diamond he had
given me from my left hand. Taking the box from me, Danial removed
his fox head ring, then put it on his other hand. I had never seen
him take it off, not in all the time I’d known him, not for
anything. Carefully, he put the wedding band on his ring finger.
Then he reached out and took my left hand in his

“Come, Love,” he said happily. “We should go
inside before you get too cold out here.”

We walked past the frozen fountain, lit up
with lights, then past the wrap-around porch to the front door. I
followed Danial inside to the front desk. He rang the bell.

“Yes?” a matronly woman said, getting up from
her chair.

“Hi,” Danial said charmingly. “I’m Danial
Racklan. This is my wife, Sarelle—”

I flushed suddenly. The elderly woman looked
at me curiously.

“We’re here on our honeymoon,” Danial said
smoothly. “We’ve made reservations for your stone house, and we’re
very tired. We’d like the keys, please.”

The woman nodded, and looked through her
papers. “No,” she said, after a moment. “Your reservations are for
our cottage.”

Danial was annoyed at once. “Are you sure?”
he said, laying on the charm. “I’m sure it was for the stone house,
the largest one. I paid a large deposit, earlier today.”

“I’m sorry,” the woman said pleasantly. “You
were the one who called, and asked that we move up your
reservations. You could have had the house the week after next, but
the cottage was the best we could do on short notice.”

I was tired, cranky, and in no mood to go
back and forth at this time of night. “It’s fine,” I said,
squeezing Danial’s hand. I flashed the woman a smile. “Just point
us in the right direction.”

She handed Danial some keys, and gave us a
map of the park. “Call the front desk if you have any
questions.”

We walked out, Danial grumbling. A few
moments later, we parked before a full size three-bedroom house.
Danial carried in our bags, and I followed with the food. Dropping
it on the floor, I began to look around. “This is nice—”

Danial came back in, shutting the door after
him. As he did, I saw what he was trying hard to conceal beneath
his coat. “You brought your laptop,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Some
honeymoon.”

“Just in case,” Danial said, placating. “I
might need to check—”

“Please,” I said, smiling, holding up my
hands. “After all this time, I’m not even surprised. All I want is
some food.”

As he set up his computer upstairs in the
spare bedroom, I went into the kitchen and unpacked, making myself
a bagel. As I was finishing wolfing it down, he came in. “Did you
check the fridge?”

“No. Why?”

He opened it. “At least they got this right,”
he said happily.

Inside were two gift baskets all wrapped up
in plastic, and also a single red rose. One huge basket of was of
apples, grapes, cinnamon bread, bananas, and crackers. The other
was of chocolate, and various flavors of cocoa.

Danial handed me the rose. “For you, Love. I
didn’t intend you to have to bring any supplies on this
excursion.”

“You are to die for,” I said lovingly, then
gave him a long kiss. Danial picked me up in his arms, and began
carrying me upstairs.

“Danial, what about my bags?” I teased.

He lay me down in the bedroom and shut the
window blinds. “They can wait.”

I turned on the light, wanting to see him.
Slowly we embraced, kissing tenderly, touching each other with
gentle caresses. Finally, he drew back from me. “It’s nice to be
with you and not worry we’re going to be interrupted. To know I
have you all to myself, not for hours, but for days.”

“I’m yours,” I said lovingly, leaning back
provocatively.

To my surprise, Danial got up, and moved to
leave.

I sat up. “Where are you going?”

“To get your bag,” he said, looking at me
seductively. “It’s way past your bedtime, Sar.”

* * * *

When Danial brought the bags upstairs, he set
one of his aside. “This is full of blackout curtains. We’ll put
these up tomorrow.”

“I’m glad you thought to bring them,” I said,
relieved.

“It wouldn’t be much of a honeymoon if I
couldn’t be where you are,” Danial teased. “I have something else
for you, too,” he added, handing me a gift bag.

Inside was a silk sheath, black with
iridescent glitter. As I moved my hands, it shimmered in the lamp
light.

“Wear it for me?” Danial asked.
“Tonight?”

I nodded. “Be right back.”

In the bathroom downstairs, I put on the
nightgown. Removing Devlin’s choker to my ankle, I put on my fox
head earrings, and fastened Danial’s symbol about my neck. After
swallowing a few of my vitamins to bolster my blood, I went back
upstairs.

Danial was waiting for me in bed naked under
the covers, his arms behind his head. I twirled for him, making the
fabric shimmer, earning an appreciative look.

“Come here, Sweetheart.”

I crawled in beside him. He brought me to him
quickly, his kisses intense and possessing. Danial ran his hands
over me for many minutes, rubbing and squeezing my body he kissed
me. Slowly he stripped the sheath off me, then dexterously moved me
into position beneath him. With a careful thrust, he pushed himself
inside me gently.

“Tell me if it hurts and I’ll stop,” he
whispered.

I froze under him. Danial had never said
anything like this to me before. I knew why he was saying it now. I
let out a sob.

Danial withdrew from me quickly, taking me in
his arms. “Shh, Sar.”

Immediately, I began crying.

“Sweetheart, don’t cry. It’s all right.
You’ll be fine. If you don’t want to have sex, that’s fine. It’s
enough we’re alone here together—”

By this time I was howling, grasping him
desperately, and Danial stopped talking, and just held onto me.

I got myself under control a few minutes
later. Embarrassed, I gazed up at him with unshed tears still heavy
in my eyes. “I’m sorry—”

“Don’t be,” he assured me. “I’m not upset.
Just lie here with me and relax. I just want to be here with you.
Just let me hold you.”

I hugged him. He stroked my hair for a long
time before I lost myself in sleep.

* * * *

The next morning I awoke, groggy. Remembering
where I was, I turned over to Danial and kissed him. “It’s
morning,” I said, yawning. “We should hang up the curtains. I’m
starving.”

Danial nodded. His gaze traveled to our
bedroom window first. It was maybe two feet by two feet, little
more than a porthole, almost near the ceiling. There were blinds
covering it. “This window should be fine,” Danial said, making a
dismissive gesture. “It’s high and small. Let’s do the others.” He
grabbed the roll of curtains.

Around the house, most windows had blinds if
not drapes also. They were keeping out the sunlight, but several
had sunlight getting in around the edges. Danial stood out of range
while I hung the blackout panels over them one window at a time.
When I was done, the majority of the house was sunlight-proofed,
filled with darkness. The kitchen was a problem, though. There were
no blinds, and the curtains were small frilly valances. I took them
down, then hung up the full length blackout curtains. The flimsy
rods held, but just barely.