Taste of Torment (7 page)

“Jare
d
”

He pulled back to cradle my face. “You just don’t get it. You never have. You are essential to me. I told you the night of our Binding ceremony: I need you here with me, always, no matter fucking what.” His expression said, ‘And you’d agreed’. Yes, I had.

“Bu
t
”

“Did you see the look on Luther’s face when he mentioned that decision you’ll have to make?”

Yes. He’d looked stricken, wrecked. And it had put the bloody shits up me.

“He said your safety rests on it.” I opened my mouth to speak, but Jared shook his head and stepped away. “You might be prepared to risk yourself, Sam, but I’m not. Not for you, not for anyone.” His eyes, expression, and tone were adamant – he wasn’t budging on this.

Anyone else might have accepted their fate and backed down, but that wasn’t who I was. “I don’t expect you to like my decision to help them. I don’t even expect you to respect it. But I’m asking you to understand it. Evan’s been a great friend to me, like a brother, and I adore him. Max and Stuart are part of our squad, I care for them, and it’s my responsibility to protect them.”

Jared simply shrugged, seemingly unmoved. “They’ll understand.” Annoyingly, they would. In fact, they would insist that we didn’t even try to find Paige West. They would put me before themselves, the plonkers. I couldn’t let them do that.

My words were quiet, pained. “I can’t let them die.”

“And I can’t let you be hurt.”

“I love you for caring as much as you do, Jared, I do. But this is Evan, Max, and Stuart we’re talking about.”

He smiled a little. “Trying to put me on a guilt trip, baby? It’s not going to work. I know how you think.”

I took a deep breath. “Okay, let’s look at it this way: Luther said the whole ‘me being faced with a decision’ thing
could
happen, not that it definitely would.”

He shot me an ‘oh for God’s sake’ look. Of course he did. I was clutching at straws, and we both knew it.

“His vision means we’ve got a heads-up. It means we know we need to be even more vigilant and careful than usual. That puts us a step ahead.”

He shook his head, incredulous. In fact, he looked like he was considering throttling me. “You’re just not getting it. Maybe that’s my fault. Maybe it’s because I don’t tell you I love you often enough. Baby, you’re the only ‘good’ thing that I’ve ever had. There’s simply no fucking way I’m letting anything at all happen to you. No. Way.”

“Jared, please jus
t
”

“Put yourself in my position, Sam.”

Oh the bastard just had to say that, didn’t he?

“If Luther had been talking about
me
just then, would you have been so eager to go track down Paige West?” When I didn’t answer, he gave a soft, humourless laugh. “Didn’t think so.”

But there was another way to look at it. “If Luther
had
been talking about you, would you have wanted to sit back and let Evan, Max, and Stuart die just because I was worried and scared of losing you?” He wouldn’t even meet my eyes, let alone respond. “Didn’t think so.”

A muscle in his jaw ticked. “You won’t talk me in circles, Sam. You won’t get your own way this time.”

“You think I
want
to risk myself? Now that we’re Bound, we’re interconnected so tightly that if I die, you die. Even the thought of you dying makes me feel ill.”

“Then you know exactly how I’m feeling. To risk ourselves is to risk each other – neither of us wants to do that. This conversation is pointless.”

I counted to five in my head, seeking patience. It didn’t work. “You’re twisting what I’m saying. My point is that you can count on me being on high alert and having a distinct sense of self-preservation simply in order to keep you alive.”

His smile was rueful. “Touching, but
I will not risk you
.”

“And I will not risk them.”

There was still no hint of compromise in his expression at all. “Stalemate, baby.”

“What if we get other people to track Paige down for us?” Maybe if I agreed to sit in the background a little, it would settle his nerves.

He snorted. “Nice try, but it won’t make any difference, and you know it. Luther said that Paige West coming here would be the catalyst. It’s not going to matter who brings her.”

“So we’re just going to sit back and watch Evan, Max, and Stuart die?”

“Hell, no. I’m not giving up on them. But I’m not bringing Paige West to The Hollow, and that’s final.”

We couldn’t even take Evan, Max, and Stuart to see her instead. They needed to remain contained. “How about a compromise?” I held up a hand to halt any attempts he might make to object. “Just hear me out. We spend the next few weeks trying to find some way of helping them. We’ll track Quentin Foy down as well; ask him how The Call suddenly struck his nest. During that time, we’ll have Sebastian locate Paige West. If we don’t find a counteragent or some other solution in those few weeks, we approach Paige then. That’s a reasonable deal, Jared.”

He sighed tiredly, shaking his head. “You never give up, do you?”

“You like that I never give up.”

“In other circumstances, yes, I do.”

I closed the distance that he’d created between us and fisted a hand in his t-shirt. I kept my tone gentle, sensitive, cajoling. “At least agree to Sebastian tracking her down. What harm could that do?”

It was a long moment before he answered. “Fine. But I won’t agree to her coming here.”

So bloody stubborn. I wanted to argue that further, but I knew he wasn’t going to budge on this. Not now. Maybe if in a few weeks’ time we hadn’t found another possible way of helping Evan, Max, and Stuart, then maybe Jared would relent. I just had to hope that we
did
find an alternative to involving Paige West. If not, it was quite possible that we were all fucked.

(Jared)

When I set off with Sam to see the guys in the containment cell, I hadn’t expected to find them playing poker – acting like nothing was wrong. But maybe that was how they were coping with the situation. Spotting Sam and I standing on the other side of the glass, they all paused in their game and approached us. They looked completely normal, healthy. I might have wondered if they had been immune to The Call if it wasn’t for the fact that their bite marks were oozing rather than healing. Soon enough, their symptoms would begin and I’d be looking at three skeleton-like vampires if I didn’t find some answers fast.

“I don’t suppose you have anything good to tell us.” Max didn’t appear optimistic. Neither did Evan or Stuart.

I told them about the teleconference with Harry Covington, but neatly avoided the subject of Paige West. When I sensed Sam’s discomfort, I quickly spoke in her mind.
Don’t mention Luther’s vision. Antonio was right – it would only give them false hope, and they won’t support your case to bring her here anyway.

Her almost imperceptible nod was begrudging.

Satisfied, I continued. “We’re going to search for Quentin Foy, ask how his nest became tainted. Maybe he has answers as to when The Call first struck. If it didn’t surface inside those tunnels, it means others outside the nest might be tainted. If that’s the situation, we need to know before it has any chance of spreading.”

Evan nodded. “But we’re kidding ourselves if we think we can fight The Call, Jared.”

My expression hardened. “You don’t know that for sure.”

“Yes, I do.”

“Evan’s right,” said Stuart. “This thing has been around for centuries. No one was able to get rid of it, and – as far as I know – no one was ever immune to it.”

Sam scowled at them. “If you expect us to just sit back on our arses and let this drop, you can think again.”

Evan smiled sadly. “I just don’t want you both exhausting yourselves, searching for something that doesn’t exist. I know how you are, Jared. You’ll start feeling guilty that your efforts are fruitless. I’ll bet you’re already blaming yourself for what happened down there.”

He’d always been able to see right through me. “I shouldn’t have let you come with us. I knew your head wasn’t in a good place, I knew you’d be reckless, but I let you go anyway.”

“You couldn’t possibly have known what lay in wait for us down there. If it’s anyone’s fault that I’m tainted, it’s mine. I didn’t listen to you in those tunnels. I threw myself into a dangerous situation, and I even put myself in the lead. You told me to back away from that vampire, you warned me that he’d attack, but I ignored you.”

“You’re not responsible for what happened to Stuart and me either,” Max adamantly stated to Jared. Stuart nodded his agreement. “You trained us well, and you kept us behind you in those tunnels because you thought we’d be safer that way. Even when you heard the first horde of vampires coming, you tried to get us to leave instead of asking us to face them with you.”

“Shit like this happens,” said Stuart, shrugging. “I knew when I joined the legion that my immortality would be fragile. Every time I left for an assignment, I was conscious that it could be my last. It’s no one’s fault that we got hurt. If you can find a way to help us fight The Call, great. But if you can’t, it doesn’t make you responsible for what will happen to us.” He smiled widely. “Just know that my replacement in the squad will have big shoes to fill.”

I couldn’t imagine replacing any of them. Sensing Sam’s anguish, I took her hand in mine and squeezed it lightly. “We’ll do what we can.” Evan’s expression was begging me to let it go. “If it was me in there, if the situation was reversed, what would you do?”

Evan answered without missing a beat. “Search high and low for a way to fix this fucking mess.”

“Then don’t expect me to do anything different.”

“Do you want us to contact Alora about what’s happening?” Sam asked carefully.

Grinding his jaw, Evan replied, “No.”

“She cares about you, Evan.” Sensing Evan’s scepticism, she quickly added, “It was written all over her face at the Binding ceremony. I don’t know why she resisted staying here with you, and I’m not asking – that’s your business. But if it was Alora who was tainted, wouldn’t you want to know about it?”

“Yes, I would. But I don’t want her to see me like this.”

“It’s possible that she’ll find out from Bran,” I pointed out.

“If she turns up at The Hollow, you don’t let her down here.” Evan’s voice was harsh. “Not for any reason.”

I understood why he was so set on this: if he was going to slowly wither until he eventually died, Evan wanted Alora to remember him as he was before. In his position, I would have wanted the same thing. But…“You’re not going to die.”

Evan ignored that. “Promise me you won’t let her down here.”

I nodded. “I promise.”

Evan looked at Sam then, brow arched expectantly.

After a brief hesitation, she spoke. “I promise.”

Satisfied, Evan gave a slight smile. “Now get out of here. We’ve got a poker game to play, and I was winning until you both showed up.”

Max snorted at Evan. “You
think
you’re winning – there’s a difference.”

Bantering, the guys returned to the table at the centre of the room and went back to their game. And I hated the thought that that could have been the last rational conversation I’d ever again have with my twin brother.

CHAPTER FIVE

(Sam)

Frustrated, I slammed the thick book on my office desk. From his seat at his own desk, Jared arched a quizzical brow, smiling in amusement. I just shook my head. His smile widened, but he said nothing and returned to…well, whatever the hell he was reading.

Five days had gone by of researching The Call by reading books, surfing the V-Net, and consulting various knowledgeable vampires by teleconference. But none of the information had proven to be any more informative than what Antonio and Luther had been. We had explored every possible idea and examined every possible theory in our search for a counteragent, but our efforts had so far come to nothing.

Furthermore, there was no trace of Quentin Foy anywhere, so we were no closer to finding out if there were more tainted vampires on the loose or not. Another squad within the legion had searched the borders of Quentin’s tunnels and also the nearest towns, but no tainted vampires had been found.

According to Sebastian, who regularly kept in contact by cell phone, Robert Langley hadn’t been much help with the Paige West situation. Sebastian sadly didn’t believe he was close to finding her yet. Jared was still refusing to even consider bringing her to The Hollow, but I was just thankful that he had at least conceded that there was no harm in Sebastian attempting to locate her.

Conscious that we had been badly neglecting our usual duties, Jared and I had given the squad the rest of the night off and then retreated to our office. Although the squad were in top shape and had amazing control of their gifts, we still worked with them each week Monday through to Friday in order to ensure that things stayed that way. Unfortunately, recent events had messed with that schedule – not to mention the morale of the squad. Still, to their credit, they hadn’t slacked off.

Unable to concentrate on the work matters in front of me, I’d again read through many of the huge, old, musty-smelling books that contained information on The Call on the off-chance that I’d missed something. But it quickly became apparent that I hadn’t. So I’d inhaled another whirlwind’s worth of dust for nothing.

And now I was utterly pissed.

A knock was quickly followed by the entrance of Fletcher. He hardly ever waited for a ‘come in’. Humming to himself, he placed an NST and some crisps on first Jared’s desk and then mine. Busy reading, Jared merely gave Fletcher a nod of thanks. It still made Fletcher melt on the spot. Yes, my PA had a thing for my mate. Who didn’t?

Being an Empath, Fletcher instantly picked up on my mood and shot me an ‘Are you all right?’ look over the rim of his glasses. I forced a smile and nodded, but he didn’t seem convinced. No doubt he’d quiz me later, I thought as I watched him leave the office.

I glanced at Jared to see that he was still reading. You would think he would be just as pissed as me, given his brother’s condition. But no. For the past five days, Jared had been nothing but positive and optimistic. Maybe refusing to accept the possibility that Evan might die was his way of facing it, of dealing with it, and avoid falling apart.

My way of dealing with it? I didn’t have one.

With a groan, I let my head flop down onto the desk. My forehead met the oak with a thud. Ow.

There was a sigh that – annoyingly – had a trace of amusement in it. “Come here, baby.”

“No.” I was quite comfortable where I was.

“Why?” I could hear the smile in his voice.

“I don’t need a reason.”

“Come on, come to me.”

“I’m busy.”

“You’re going to end up with a red mark on your head.”

“So will you if you don’t shut the fuck up.”

He chuckled. “That’s my girl. Now come over here.”

I finally lifted my head. “What do you want?”

“To hold you. I’ve missed you.” He gave me a meaningful look that I easily interpreted. It was fair to say that I had been snappy and impatient with everyone, even him, for the past few days. Rather than taking the let’s-face-this-together approach and allowing us to be each other’s strength, I had emotionally pulled away. It was in my nature to deal with things alone, to disappear into my own head while I worked it out. I was a ‘thinker’, my dad had always said. I’d silently ponder over things, explore the matter in my mind, rather than confide in anyone. It was a good thing, really, since my parents hadn’t exactly been interested in anything I was thinking or feeling. My conception had been an accident, a
bad
accident, and they had never let me forget it.

But retreating into my own head wasn’t fair to Jared, was it? Not now that we were Bound.

What made me feel even guiltier was that he hadn’t complained, hadn’t even commented on it, despite that he must have wanted me with him one hundred percent right now. He’d given me that time, that space. But that time was apparently over. With a heavy exhale, I rose from my seat and went to him.

He swivelled his chair to face me and gripped my hips, pulling me to stand between his legs. “Hey,” he said gently.

Resting my hands on his shoulders, I bit my lower lip. “I’m sorry.”

Slipping his hands under my t-shirt, he pressed them against my back to pull me closer. “So you’re done?” No judgmental words or looks; only total understanding – now I felt even guiltier. “I know you’re worried about the guys. I wouldn’t expect anything different. But you’re letting the stress of it all get the better of you.” Again there was no judgement there. “I hate seeing you like this.”

I understood, since – likewise – I’d hated seeing him an absolute wreck after the wacko brothers had kidnapped me.

He squeezed my hip gently. “You don’t have to go it alone when shit happens, Sam. Not anymore. I’m here.”

“It’s like a mental reflex, but I’ll work on it.”

“Good, because I want my mate back. I miss her. I miss her giving me attitude, and teasing me, and cursing me to hell and back.”

My smile mirrored his. “And she’s missed you.”

“That’s an extremely good thing because I plan t
o
” He paused at the knock on the door. “Yes?”

“Antonio is here to see you,” announced Fletcher. There was an odd note to his voice that made me frown.

Jared rose to his feet. “Let him in.”

Antonio breezed into the room with his guards and pit-bulls in tow. He also had two unfamiliar Kejas with him. “Sam, Jared…I would like you to meet Eloise Montana and Fredrick Collins.” Really? Because he didn’t sound as if he’d
like
us to meet them at all. In fact, he didn’t appear pleased about their presence either. “Fredrick is also one of my vampires.”

“I’m the first vampire he ever sired,” added Collins, cocky and self-satisfied by that fact.

I hadn’t met many vampires that had been sired by Antonio, so I was instantly curious about him. The impeccably neat Collins was average height, had short mousey hair, watchful beady eyes, and looked like he’d be right at home in a corner office. And I didn’t like him. It was an immediate feeling that I couldn’t explain. Every instinct I had severely disliked this bloke. His gaze ran over both Jared and I studiously. Something not holy on the side of the angels glinted in those eyes as he focused on Jared.

Moving my attention to the smartly dressed Eloise, I saw that the tall, slim female was staring at Jared and smiling. People stared at him like that all the time, but there was something in her eyes that told me this wasn’t the first time they had met.

Running a hand over her long mane of coal-black hair, she practically purred, “It’s good to see you again, Jared.”

Yep, I was right.

Antonio’s brow puckered. “Oh. I did not realise that you two had already met.”

Without moving her eyes from Jared, she told Antonio, “We met briefly when I came to attend a gathering here many years ago. Despite the meeting being brief, it was certainly memorable.”

In other words, you bonked her.

Um…yeah.
He sounded loathed to admit it.
It was just the one time and was nothing but a quick fuck. In fact, I was wasted that night. Remember, baby, it was only ever the Heir they wanted.

I mentally rolled my eyes, exasperated that he persisted in believing that his status and his looks were all that women thought he had to offer. But this wasn’t the time to have that conversation again.

“It’s an honour to meet the Heir.” There was a bitter edge to Collins’ words. Ah, jealousy. “You must be very proud to have been selected for the position.”

Eloise slid her gaze to me. Distaste glinted in those eyes. “You must be the famous Sventé everyone’s been talking non-stop about.”

“You have me at a disadvantage,” I told her. “You’ve heard much about me, but I’ve never before heard anything about you.”

Jared cocked his head at Collins, still ignoring Eloise – wise decision. “I can say the same about you, Collins. It’s odd that I’ve never heard of Antonio’s first-born. In fact, in all the time I’ve been here, you’ve never once visited. Not even for the Binding ceremony.”

Collins flushed. “It wasn’t possible. I have…commitments.” The bloke didn’t even visit his own Sire? A Sire who anyone would be lucky to have? What a prick. I’d have proud to have a Sire like Antonio.

Seemingly uncomfortable and also a little pissed off, Antonio spoke to Collins. “I think it is time that you told them why you and Eloise are here.” Something in his tone had the hairs on the back of my neck raising.

Collins, someone who clearly had an overinflated sense of self-importance, straightened his posture. “Eloise and I work together as representatives within the Prelature.”

The Prelature was the office of the Prelates – a body of vampire ministers that had the authority to perform and
administer various rites such as Bindings and Coronations. These ministers also had the authority to enforce order, and they had ‘representatives’ who were simply paper pushers that dealt with any cases put forth to the Prelature. It was therefore useful in that it could deal with small squabbles or issues, alleviating Antonio’s workload. It existed outside of all forms of authority in order to be totally neutral, and was older than even the concept of the Grand High Master. Of course, most vampires sought out Antonio in times of trouble, but there were some who preferred to stick to the ‘old ways’ and turned to the Prelature.

The Prelature didn’t deliver death sentences or imprison anyone, and it didn’t deal in corporeal punishment. In fact, the Prelates disapproved of such things, but they weren’t always lenient. The Prelature’s punishments came in the form of official reprimands (simply public warnings), exile (banishing vampires from their nests), monetary fines (even so far as taking away
all
the vampire’s belongings; for those who had spent their very long lives accumulating wealth, this hurt), or even dismissal of their positions in cases of gross negligence.

As Eloise shot me a smug smirk, unease slithered up my spine.

“There have been complaints,” Collins informed me.

“Complaints?”

“A member of your squad has made complaints about you, Commander Parker.”

Nothing he said or did could have shocked me more. Not a single thing. Not even if he had stripped off his clothes and done the Macarena dance on my desk in a G-string. Maybe I should have felt hurt, devastated, and betrayed by Collins’ news. But I didn’t feel any of those things because
no way
would I ever believe in a million sodding years that one of the squad would do that. “Bollocks.”

“It is but the truth,” Eloise seemed to take delight in saying.

“What game are you playing?”

Collins lifted his chin. “I realise this must be difficult for you, Commander Parker. But this particular member voiced a number of serious concerns. They didn’t feel they could go to Antonio with this matter as they feared he would not be impartial, being as fond of you as he so clearly is.”

“Concerns? Like what?”

“That you work them too hard and for very long hours. That you use unorthodox methods to train them – methods that involve subjecting them to pain. That you take them on more dangerous assignments than any other squad is taken on by their commanders. That you have harmed, and even killed, many humans on your assignments. That you used the squad in order to help avenge another vampire, which we all know is
not
an assignment. That you absorb their energy in order to use their gifts for yourself – that is exploitation at its worst.”

I just stood there, dumbstruck. I had no words. And that didn’t happen often.

Jared bristled. “Tell me you’re not serious.”

Collins’ tone was grave. “On the contrary, I’m very serious, Commander Michaels. So is this matter – it is not just one complaint, it is a whole list of them.”

Oh it was a ‘list’ all right: it was a list of things that had been twisted into sounding dark and cruel. Yes I worked the squad hard, but I didn’t work them any harder or longer than other commanders did their own squads. It was true that I sometimes hurt the squad during training, but only as part of helping them develop better reflexes. Besides, when you were training with people who had such violent gifts, there was going to be some pain whether everyone liked it or not.