Well, hell.
Alejandro glanced at Daria for a moment, but just for a moment because in this position it was hard to hold his head up. The guards held her firmly by her upper arms, but the assholes weren't fondling her now. “Are you okay, Valerie?”
“I'm fine.” Cold rage, tightly restrained, seemed woven through those two syllables.
“Bastard,” Alejandro swore at Carlos. He pushed up, trying to dislodge the strong grips of the guards. “You let them hurt a hair on her head, and I'll have your throat for dinner.”
Carlos clucked his tongue. “Don't make threats when they're un-called for. She's fine, Emanuel. That's your true name, isn't it? Emanuel Alejandro Martinez?”
“I'll judge whether or not she's fine.”
“Emanuel, I don't want her hurt, either. If I don't want her hurt, she won't be.”
“Call me Alejandro.”
“I prefer your first name. You were born on Earth in the country of Spain, isn't that correct? Madrid is your city of naissance and where you spent your childhood. Your parents were both unmarked and live there still.”
“Yes.”
“Your father is a commview repairman. Humble beginnings, Emanuel.”
Alejandro stilled for a moment under the restraining grasps of the guards, fear flickering through him. How deeply had they researched them? If the GBC's protections for their peacekeepers hadn't held up, he was dead. If the ABI hadn't provided a convincing background for Valerie, so was Daria.
Alejandro grunted as one of the guards decided to press his knee into the base of his spine. “There's nothing wrong with humble beginnings.”
“No, not at all. I come from humble beginnings, myself. Many of us do.” Carlos walked toward Alejandro and paced slowly in front of him. His boots clicked with every step. “You are young,” Carlos continued. “So very young, yet exceptionally strong for a vampire who is only seven years of age. Your blood mother is Lucinda Valentini, yes? She holds a GBC seat and a territory in the Barand sector. An Italian by birth, I believe. She offered you a coveted place in her inner circle, but you declined.”
“That's right.”
He clucked again. That was really starting to get on Alejandro's nerves. “That's not very loyal, is it? Or smart. Lucinda is a very powerful Chosen. So, I wonder, is it a problem with loyalty that you have?” He leaned down near Alejandro's face. “Or brains?”
Alejandro felt his jaw lock. “Neither,” he ground out.
He straightened. “Really? Then tell us the reason. We want to comprehend.”
Rage seared his veins. He gritted his teeth, then snapped, “Rampant and resilient heterosexuality.”
“Ah. That I understand.” Carlos laughed. “You may have to explain it to your lady friend, however. She looks confused.”
“Let us go and I will.”
Carlos ignored him. The clicking of his boots on the marble began again. “So you left Lucinda to return to Danpong City where you work in personal security. Or, at least, you did until you decided to bring your new love here to live.” The clicking of Carlos's heels stopped in front of Daria. “Your girlfriend's name is
Valerie
.”
“Not so nice to meet you,” Daria replied.
“Who is even younger than Alejandro, a newborn infant, in fact, and has a mouth on her that, in my day, would have been very unbecoming on a lady.”
“Yes, and I come from New Chicago. Humble beginnings. Yadda, yadda. Can we cut the drama and get on with whatever it is we're doing here? I'm getting bored.”
Silence.
Daria
really
needed to learn to control her mouth.
Alejandro wrenched his neck to see what was happening. Carlos stood in front of a very angry Daria. She was probably scared. When Daria was frightened, she became infuriated.
Carlos tipped his head back and laughed. “Fine,” he said finally. He stepped away. “You're lucky I find your insolence amusing, Valerie.”
The guards slammed her back up against the wall, which had Alejandro struggling again. These assholes wanted to play patty-cake with him while Daria was being felt up against her will. He hated being over here and unable to do anything about it. If they'd been human men, she might have been able to throw them off on her own, but they were Chosen and she was weak right now.
Hands tapped down his arms and legs, then up his torso. Alejandro fought them for every inch, kicking and using his elbows. Then, they simply uncuffed him and backed away. He lay sprawled on the smooth marble floor for a heartbeat, stunned that he didn't have to fight anymore.
“Get off me!” he heard Daria yell and then a thump of flesh meeting flesh and an
oof
.
Alejandro shot to his feet. Daria stood unrestrained near one of the guards who'd searched her. Her newly brown eyes shimmered and burned with anger. The offending guard leaned up against the wall behind them, holding a hand to his solar plexus.
He slid his gaze down Daria's body. She was clearly pissed, but seemed fine physically. She looked a little unsteady, but maybe that was because she'd just expended far more energy than any new vamp should.
Alejandro swung around to stare at Carlos. “I don't know what game you're playing here, but I want it understood now that this woman is mine. No else is to touch her. We don't stay at the Shining Way unless that is
comprehended
right here and now.”
Carlos blinked slowly. “Living here in paradise is an honor for any Chosen, Emanuel. If you don't like the way we do things, you can leave.”
“Doesn't seem much like paradise to me,” said Daria. She'd wound her arms over her chest in a protective gesture.
“It was a test for you, Valerie,” said Carlos. “You are maybe a week or so old, correct? According to our records you were an unmarked human, yet you got past the succubare stage. That's a very rare thing. We needed to check your strength.”
“Why can't you just feel my strength from a distance?” she asked.
Carlos smiled. “That can be misleading. Don't you agree that strength is often something more mental than physical? It's in the mind, in the
will
. I suspected you had an exceptionally strong will, and you do. Sometimes, even weak people, when put in a situation they find untenable, become strong. You're newly Chosen, yet you threw off Austin.” He motioned to the injured guard. “He's not easy to deter when he's allowed to frisk an attractive woman. I sent him to you for that very reason. I wanted to see how you'd react.”
Alejandro's gaze sought Austin. Right now, he was the source of all of his frustration and anger. No one tried to stop Alejandro's stalk toward him. Austin watched his progress across the chamber with growing horror in his blue eyes.
Alejandro grabbed him by the front of the shirt, pulling him away from the wall. Satisfaction coursed through Alejandro as he sent him to the floor with a punch so hard it made pain flare through his hand and up his arm. Austin groaned and fell silent.
He turned and crossed the space separating himself from Carlos and got right up in the other man's face. He heard noise at his back and knew the guards had moved in to flank him, in order to protect the older vamp. Carlos held up a hand, telling them to stay back.
Alejandro's fangs lengthened as they did when he was exceptionally pissed off and he let a growl trickle through his lips. “I never,
ever
want Valerie to be tested like that again.” He turned and stabbed everyone in the room with a cold stare. “Understand? Back off and leave us alone.”
Carlos smiled. “That's the reaction we were looking for from you, Emanuel. You were also tested.”
Alejandro spoke in a deceptively quiet voice. “Pull that shit again and I'll give you a reaction you'll never forget.”
Carlos held his gaze for a long moment, still smiling, though it didn't reach his eyes. The look on Carlos's face was more threat than anything else. “Gordon, show them to their quarters,” he said finally. “I think they've had enough for one day.”
Alejandro turned away, seeking Daria. One of the taller guards Alejandro presumed was Gordon motioned for them to follow. Neither Daria nor Alejandro looked back as they left the building.
Once outside, he looked up into the “sky” and saw that the sun was going down. At least, whatever it was that passed for a sun. It seemed a little late for that, if they were trying to keep pace with Darpong. Obviously they could make their own rules in a domed environment.
“I think that went well,” Daria muttered under her breath as they followed Gordon down one of the narrow pathways that led to a round building that looked like an apartment complex with only one floor.
Alejandro wondered if Brandon had been “tested” upon his arrival, too. “Are you okay?”
“I feel like I need a long, hot shower and a strong bar of soap, but other than that, I'm okay, I guess. The asshole just groped me. I've been groped before. I feel really tired, though.”
She should be feeling tired. New vampires didn't have energy to burn. “They were putting us in our place,” he answered. “Making sure we know where we stand.”
“Waaaaay down at the bottom.”
“Right now we're their toys, but we don't stand at the bottom. Not anymore.
Mierda
, I know the drill. It's like a dog pack. You have to show your strength to get any respect. We just showed strength.”
Still simmering with rage over Austin, he barely noticed that they'd entered the building and had come to a stop in front of a door.
Gordon unlocked the door and handed the key to Daria. “Here's where you'll be staying for now. The walls are soundproofed for your privacy. There should be enough towels for you. There's toothpaste and soap, everything you should need. Return to Sante Hall tomorrow morning for your initiation ceremony.”
“
Sante
Hall?” asked Daria. “Was that where we just were?”
“Yes. Return there in the morning, undergo the initiation ceremony and you'll finally truly be a part of our community.”
“We'll be there,” Alejandro answered.
Gordon nodded his head and even smiled. “Welcome. We're glad to have you here.”
After Gordon left, Alejandro pushed the heavy door open and they entered the chamber. A large, four-poster bed stood in the middle of the room. The opposite side of the apartment was a wall with windows and French doors that opened into a lush, Earthlike garden. Leaf-bedecked vines snaked their way through the open window and curled all the way around the walls of the room. A small beverage panel that would dispense water, coffee, and other refreshments was built into one wall. The place was small, but beautiful.
“Oh, God,” breathed Daria. She whirled toward him and thought,
Doesn't this seem a little suspicious to you? Where's he getting the money to do this
?
Maybe we can find out while we're looking for Ari. Maybe there's more going on here that the ABI and GBC would be interested in.
Without a word, Alejandro and Daria instantly started exploring the room, checking for listening devices. It was unlikely there were any, since vampires and succubare could communicate on private telepathic wavelengths. It made bugging a room a waste of energy.
Still, they might have the room under surveillance since Alejandro was a former patroller. There was reason for Sante to be suspicious of him.
Alejandro stood from checking the base of the bedside table. “There's nothing. It's safe to speak in here.” He pushed his hand through his hair and winced. His hand would be black and blue soon, but would heal quickly enough. It was a small price to pay for the satisfaction he felt.
She walked to him and took his hand in hers. “Was that guy's face made of steel?”
“No, I just hit him really hard.”
She traced a finger over the top of his hand. “This is going to hurt.”
“Vamps heal fast. It'll be fine by morning.”
She stroked her fingers along his palm and the tingling sensation of her touch went straight through his body. He fought the urge to push her back onto the bed. Hell, they'd needed to get their scent over each other anyway. He could think of a number of different ways he'd love to do that.
She raised an eyebrow. “By the way . . .
I'm your woman
? Could you get any more macho than that, Alejandro? The force of all that testosterone you released in there nearly knocked me over.”
“I had to assert myself, Daria. Paint some boundaries for them.”
A huge boundary was Daria. No one was going to be able to cross that one without making him dangerously crazy. He hoped he'd made that clear to Carlos.
“You had to piss on your fire hydrant?”
“Kind of. It's like I said on the way in. Unless you want to be everyone's little froufrou boy, you've got to let them know up front that you're not going to take any shit.”
Her eyes shone. “You learned that in Valentini's territory?”
“I learned a lot from her.”
Was that jealousy that flared across her face?
Interesting . . .
“Thank you for defending my honor, kind sir,” she purred and bat-ted her eyelashes. “You're my hero.”
He curled his hand around hers and pulled her flush up against him. Twining his arms around her, he dropped his mouth to her throat and laid a kiss there. He groaned as he inhaled the scent of her skin.
“How ever will you repay me?” he growled and lightly nipped the place where her shoulder met her neck.
She shuddered against him, and the faint scent of her arousal teased his nose. With a little sigh, she rubbed her cheek against his upper chest. “Maybe I can figure something out,” she said in a breathless voice.