Secret Life Of A Vampire (9 page)

Carlos's eyes gleamed. “So how do you want to do this? Shall we start at the top and work our way down?”

LaToya arched a brow. “Sounds good to me.”

“Officer Lafayette.” Jack bowed slightly as he reached the bottom of the stairs. “A pleasure to see you again. I hope your ex is no longer causing you trouble. I believe his name was Bob?”

“He's fine,” LaToya grumbled. “But your ass could be in trouble.” She stomped up the stairs with Carlos.

Jack turned to Lara, his eyebrows raised. “I'm in trouble?”

No, she was in trouble. Her skin was tingling, and he hadn't even touched her. “Is there someplace we can talk?”

“This way.” He motioned to a room on the left.

She strolled into a living room. Three maroon couches surrounded three sides of a large square coffee table. The fourth side faced a widescreen television.

“Would you like something to drink?” Jack asked.

“Some water would be nice.” The pizza she'd eaten earlier was making her very thirsty. She sat at one end of the middle couch. She placed her handbag beside her so there would be something between her and Jack.

She noted a desk against the far wall, topped with a computer. To her left, maroon curtains flanked a large bay window that overlooked the street. Metal shutters were closed tight, as if they were worried someone might get a peek inside. But as Lara scanned the room, she couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. Maybe someone was extremely opposed to sunlight.

“Here you go.”

Jack's voice caught her off guard. That was fast.

He handed her a glass of ice water, then placed a wooden coaster on the coffee table in front of her. “Shanna will have my head if we leave water marks on the table.”

“Shanna? Who's she?”

“Roman's wife. They own this townhouse.” Jack settled on the couch beside her.

“Roman Draganesti?” Lara sipped some water.

“Yes.” Jack shifted sideways to face her and propped an elbow on the back of the couch. “You did your homework. I'm guessing you ran the plates on Roman's car.”

“Yes.” Lara drank some more water. “LaToya doesn't actually have an ex-boyfriend named Bob.”

The corner of Jack's mouth lifted. “What a surprise.”

Damn, he was cute. Lara set her glass on the coaster. “You're not thirsty?”

“No, I'm fine, thank you.”

It seemed odd that he never joined her for a drink.

She glanced at the window. “I've never seen such heavy-duty shutters in a residence before. They look industrial strength.”

“They cut out the noise from the city.”

“That's for sure. It's as quiet as a tomb in here.”

He rubbed his whiskered jaw. “You could say that.” His gaze shifted to Lara with an intense look. “I missed you.”

Her throat tightened. “You could have called.”

“I've been trying to resist you.”

“Trying? I would say you were entirely successful.” Lara slapped herself mentally. She was sounding too needy. She waved a hand in a dismissive gesture. “Not that it matters. I was avoiding you, too.”

He regarded her sadly. “That was wise of you.”

“Why? Are you involved with someone else?”

“No.” He touched her hair. “After meeting you, how could I want anyone else?”

She gulped. Did he really mean that, or was he just a smooth talker? She shoved her hair behind her shoulders and out of his reach. “This is a professional call.”

“I see. How can I help you?”

“Where were you last night?”

His eyebrows rose. “Are you working a case?”

“Yes.” She lowered her gaze to her clenched hands in her lap. Now she felt like a heel. “A college girl disappeared last night. She may have been kidnapped. And it looks like someone altered her friends' memories.”

“And you suspect me?” he asked quietly.

“I don't—” She swallowed hard at the lump constricting her throat. “I don't want to, but you're the only one I know who can manipulate minds like that.” She cast a nervous glance his way. “Are there others who can do it?”

“Merda,” he muttered, his brow creasing with a scowl.

“Tell me there are others. Tell me you have an alibi.”

“Do you really believe I would kidnap a young woman?” He tossed her purse on the coffee table, then scooted closer to her.

She stiffened. “What are you doing?”

“If you think I'm a criminal, you obviously don't know me well enough.” He scooped her onto his lap.

“Stop it.” She tried to wiggle off his lap, but he held her tight. “You could get in big trouble for hindering an investigation—”

“Lara,” he interrupted her, gazing fiercely into her eyes. “I was at work last night.”

“At Romatech Industries?”

“Yes. We celebrate Mass there on Saturday night. There was a reception afterward.” He gritted his teeth. “About thirty people were there, if you wish to question them.”

“I-I'll do that.” She couldn't find a place to set her hands other than his chest or shoulders. “You had a church service at work?”

“Yes. Father Andrew comes every Saturday night. Our… enemies know about it. They've attacked before, so I had to be there to provide security.”

Enemies? That sounded over the top. But on the other hand, if Jack was at church, he couldn't be involved with Vanessa's disappearance. It looked like her prayers had been answered. “What about the mind manipulation? ”

His frown deepened. “There are others with the ability.”

“Friends?”

“Yes.” His eyes hardened, the gold glinting with anger. “And enemies.”

Gooseflesh skittered down Lara's arms. Friends and enemies with mind-control power? She shivered, suddenly feeling like she was teetering on a precipice, about to fall.

He touched her cheek. “This is shocking to me.”

“Tell me about it.” What on earth was she getting into? She tried to make sense of everything, but it was hard to think with him touching her and looking at her so fiercely.

He skimmed his fingers along her jaw. “I'm… stunned by how much it hurts for you to think ill of me.”

She swallowed hard. “I didn't want to. It was making me sick. I-I didn't want to believe it.”

“Then don't.” He raked his hands into her hair.

“I want to trust you, Jack.” But it was damned hard when his eyes were taking on a reddish glow.

“You can.” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

He must have turned masochistic in his old age. How else could he rage with desire for a woman who suspected him of being a criminal? Jack molded his mouth against Lara's, easing her lips apart so he could invade her with his tongue.

He rubbed his hands down her back. Mine. Santo cielo, he was becoming possessive. Possessive to the point that common sense no longer made sense. So what if they were wrong for each other? So what if every affair he'd had in the past had come to a terrible end? He no longer cared. She was Lara, and he had to have her.

He stroked her tongue with his own, and a surge of joy shot through him as she grabbed his shoulders and kissed him back. Yes! She wanted him, too.

“Lara.” He dusted her face with kisses. Her cheeks, her brow, the little freckles on her nose. “Cara mia.”

“Jack.” She delved her hands into his hair. “I-I shouldn't let you.”

“Don't be afraid,” he whispered against her temple.

“But… you have strange powers.”

“The better to love you with.” He drew her earlobe into his mouth and suckled.

He knew from experience that a Vamp's saliva tended to make a woman more sensitive and titillated, but it usually required some mind control to work, and Lara was immune to that. He tickled her neck with his tongue.

She moaned.

He grew hard. She was so glorious, so responsive. Even without a mental connection, her body reacted to him as if… as if they belonged together.

He ran his hand down her hip to her thigh and squeezed.

“Mmm.” She wiggled closer to him.

He winced as her hip rubbed against his erection. He'd reached the limit of how much torture he could bear.

“Time out.” He shifted her lovely rump onto the couch beside him, so she was lounging sideways with her head resting against the side cushion and her legs draped across his thighs. Her pink tint warned him that his eyes were still red. He turned his face away from her and circled a hand around her ankle.

“I saw your eyes, Jack,” she whispered. “They're glowing and red.”

“I know.” He massaged her delicate ankle bone. “It's a sign of how much I want you.”

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I want to know your secret. Who are you?”

He closed his eyes briefly “Nine circles of hell. I'd tell you if I could.”

She groaned. “This is so frustrating. At least tell me what's the deal with the nine circles of hell?”

“It's an old habit.” He took her hand and stroked her fingers with his own. “When I was a young lad in Venice, my tutor was an old priest. He taught me to read with Dante's Divine Comedy. It starts with Inferno and the nine circles of hell.”

She grimaced. “What a strange choice of reading material for a child.”

He laced his fingers with hers. “Father Giovannni was trying to scare me into being good. He didn't want me to follow in my father's footsteps.”

She gave him a wry smile. “Did it work?”

He smiled back. “Unfortunately, I found the descriptions of Inferno more interesting than Paradiso.”

“Well, most kids would. It's the literary equivalent of a horror movie. So nine circles, huh? That's a lot of hell.”

“According to Father Giovanni, there are a lot of sinners.”

She snorted. “What a fun teacher. So which of the nine circles is waiting for your untimely demise?”

The question caught him by surprise. After living two hundred years, Jack no longer gave much thought to death. And that was a mistake. He could always die in battle with the Malcontents. And then, what would happen to his immortal soul?

Would he prove Father Giovanni right and end up in Inferno? He'd killed before, but only in self-defense. He'd fed off women, but he'd always tried to repay the favor. When it came to sin, only one loomed before him that he couldn't possibly deny.

“Jack.” She squeezed his hand. “You look so serious. I was only joking.”

He met her gaze. His vision was no longer tinted red. Nothing like thoughts of eternal damnation to kill the mood. “I would go to the second circle, and there,
I would spend eternity, being tossed to and fro by a violent storm.”

She made a face. “That's awful. What sin have you committed to deserve that?”

He lifted her hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss into the palm. “Lust.”

Her eyes widened. “That hardly seems fair. I mean, lust doesn't seem all that evil. At least your lust doesn't. Not when it's directed at me. It is me, right?”

“Oh yes.” He rubbed his thumb over the spot he'd kissed, wishing he could permanently imprint his claim on her skin. “Definitely you. Only you.”

Her eyes sparkled. “I like that.” Her gaze swept over him with a seductive look. “Maybe we could find a way to appease your lust.”

“Cure a sin by giving in to it?” He smiled as he wrapped a hand around her calf. “That's a novel approach.”

“Hey, what good is a sin if you can't enjoy it?”

He chuckled. “What a naughty angel you are. But as tempted as I am, I don't believe your solution can work.”

“Why not?”

“You're assuming my lust can be appeased.” He gazed at her body with a wistful look. “There is no cure for this. The more I get, the more I want. Even so, I am touched that you would so nobly sacrifice yourself to save me.”

Her face turned a deeper pink. “It wouldn't be entirely unselfish on my part. I'm afraid I'm suffering from the same sin.”

He leaned toward her to touch her face. “Don't worry, cara mia. There is an easy way out. Easy, but also very rare. If lust grows into true love, then we would find ourselves in Paradiso.”

“Jack, you're so sweet.” She curved a hand around his neck. “There's something very old-fashioned and romantic about you.”

He was definitely older than she thought. “You bring out the romantic in me.”

She watched him with worried eyes. “There's so much about you that I don't know. I wish you would tell me more, 'cause I… I just don't know what to think.”

“I understand.” How could she trust him when he wouldn't confide in her? Maybe he could prove himself by earning her trust. He kissed her lightly on the lips, then straightened. “Tell me about this case you're working.”

She groaned. “Okay.” She told him about the college student who had disappeared Saturday night, and how the friends all appeared programmed to tell the same lie.

“Here, I have some stuff to show you.” Lara slipped a hand into her jeans pocket, lifting her hips slightly in the air.

Jack groaned. “Have mercy, bellissima.”

She grinned. “You have a one-track mind.” She handed him the photo, then unfolded a pink sheet of paper. “LaToya and I found this on a bulletin board. We checked it out, and the building manager did the same zombie act that the girlfriends did.”

Jack studied the photo and then the flyer. “Do you want to stay young and beautiful forever? Free seminar.”

“Yeah, I think that's how the perp attracts the girls. Then he picks one out like Vanessa and makes sure no one else can remember him. Roxanne said there was another girl last year who went missing.”

Jack glanced at the photo. “Was the other girl a redhead like this one?”

“Close. Strawberry blond.”

A twinge of unease pricked at Jack's gut. Lara was exactly the kind of girl this kidnapper was looking for. And given the kidnapper's ability to manipulate minds, chances were good that he was a vampire. A Malcontent who preyed on pretty young women for food and sex. And like most Malcontents, he probably considered mortals a disposable food source. When he tired of one, he would drain her dry and toss her out like an empty milk jug.

If Lara came across him in the course of her investigation, he would want her. He would grab her and teleport away, and there would be no way to track him down.

Jack swallowed hard. He couldn't let Lara pursue this vampire. “This… criminal is dangerous. I think you should leave his capture to someone else.” Like me.

“No way.” She scowled at him as she swung her legs off his lap and sat up. “I want to be promoted to detective. If I can help with this case, it'll prove that I'm ready.”

“Prove yourself on someone less dangerous.”

She scoffed. “They're all dangerous, Jack. That's why they're called criminals.”

He folded the flyer and handed it back to her. “Have you been officially assigned to the case?”

“No.” She stuffed the flyer in her pocket. “Some detectives in LaToya's precinct are handling it. Normally, it would be a really big no-no for us to do our own investigating, but we feel compelled to do something because we know about the mind-control aspect. I don't think the detectives will ever figure that out, and I really don't know how to explain it to them without them wanting to lock us up in a psych ward.”

Jack also doubted the detectives would figure out that a vampire was involved. But if they did, it would be disastrous for all the good Vamps, who needed secrecy in order to survive.

He would explain the situation to Connor and Angus. They would agree that the matter needed to be resolved by Vamps, quickly and quietly with as little mortal interference as possible. “Since you are determined to work on this case, I would like to… assist you.”

“Really?” Lara's eyes widened.

Actually, he was going to take charge, but he'd keep that to himself for now. “I have some experience in investigative work. And I could be considered an expert in mind control.”

“Yeah, I noticed.”

“I'd like to meet Vanessa's friends,” Jack continued. “I might be able to retrieve their real memories.”

“Oh my gosh!” Lara jumped to her feet. “That would be great. We could get a real description of the kidnapper.”

“Then you agree. We will work together.” And he could protect her from harm. He stood and motioned toward the foyer. “The car's out front. I'll drive.”

“Great!” Lara dashed into the foyer. “LaToya!”

“What?” LaToya yelled. Footsteps pounded on the stairs. “I'm coming! Are you all right?”

“I'm fine,” Lara shouted. “I'm going out with Jack. He wants to help us with the case.”

“What?” LaToya halted on the second-floor landing and gasped for breath. Carlos stopped right behind her. She gave Jack a wary look. “He can't help us: He's a suspect.”

“He's fine.” Lara smiled at him. “He's a good guy.”

Jack's heart expanded in his chest. “Grazie, bellissima.” He took her hand and kissed her fingers.

“Wait a minute.” LaToya marched down the last flight of stairs, glaring at Lara. “You're going somewhere alone with this guy?” She glanced at Jack. “No offense, but you're not exactly normal.”

Jack bowed his head. “I understand. And I applaud your desire to protect Lara. I feel the same way.”

“Ain't that just dandy?” LaToya grabbed Lara's arm and pulled her away from Jack. “Girl, we need to talk.”

“He has an alibi for last night,” Lara explained as she was dragged into the living room. “He was at church.”

LaToya snorted. “Right. He's a regular choir boy.”

“What's going on?” Carlos whispered as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

Jack held a finger to his lips. He wanted to listen in on the conversation next door. Carlos nodded.

“Have you lost your mind, girl?” LaToya whispered. “One minute you think he's a suspect, and the next, you're ready to believe anything he says?”

“He has an alibi,” Lara repeated. “A lot of people saw him last night.”

“You only have his word for that. And what if he programmed those people to say they saw him?” LaToya asked. “What if he's messing with your mind, too?”

“I'm immune to him.”

LaToya snorted. “Girl, if that man had the flu, you'd already be running a fever.”

“He's an honorable man,” Lara insisted. “I—I sorta offered myself to him, and—”

“What?”

“Shhh,” Lara hushed her. She lowered her voice so that Jack had to strain to hear. “I offered myself to see how he would react, and he turned me down, even though it was obvious that he wanted me. It was so sweet.”

“How special,” Carlos whispered with a wry smile. “I feel strangely nauseated.”

Jack shot a look at Carlos that said, Butt out. Still, he was surprised that the shape shifter's hearing was as good as his. “How did the tour go?”

“Fine,” Carlos kept his voice low. “I made sure she didn't see any bathrooms with missing mirrors.”

“Good.” Jack focused once more on the conversation in the living room.

“He's going to help us find the kidnapper,” Lara whispered.

“What if he's steering the investigation away from himself?” LaToya asked.

“He's not,” Lara hissed. “Did you come across any imprisoned women upstairs?”

“No, but I haven't seen the basement yet. You know there's something weird about him.”

Lara sighed. “Yes, I know.”

“What do you know?” LaToya asked sharply.

“I know that I don't know.”

“Well, I know that.”

Lara moaned. “This is getting us nowhere. I'll be fine. Why don't you go home, and I'll be along later.”

“All right,” LaToya grumbled. “But before I leave, I'm going to finish checking this place out. If you need me for anything, call me.”

Jack strode to the console and collected the car keys. “Are you ready, Lara?” he called.

“Coming.” She rushed into the foyer, swinging her handbag onto her shoulder.

LaToya followed her and glared at Jack. “She'd better come back safe.”

He nodded. “I would never do anything to hurt Lara.”

“I'm holding you to that. I've got a cousin in New Orleans who's into voodoo. Don't make me start playing with dolls.”

Jack looked at Lara and smiled. “I'll try to behave myself.”

She leaned close and whispered, “Don't try too hard.”

He squeezed her hand. “Whatever you say, bellissima. I always aim to please.”

“Oh God.” LaToya grimaced. “Y'all are so sweet, I'm going into hyperglycemic shock. Just kill me now.”

Carlos laughed. “How about a beer?”

“Sounds good.” LaToya crossed her arms, still watching Jack with a suspicious eye, while Carlos disappeared into the kitchen. “So, choir boy, what's in the basement?”

“A dead body or two, usually.” Jack smiled. “But they're gone now.”