Awakening (The Vampire Destiny Series Book #3) (8 page)

Laughing, I swiped at my eyes with the back of my hand.  "Uh, no.  I couldn't have told you.  You would have thought I was crazy."

"True," Anna nodded.  Her attention focused on Nikolaus.  "You must be Nikolaus, right? You're Josie's brother."

"Yeah."  He shoved his hands in his pockets nervously.  The muscles under his tattoos flexed and contracted.

She almost floated to his side, placing her hand on his arm.  "You're like Josie, right?  You're a psychic too."

He had a surge of confidence as he straightened his back and puffed out his chest.  His devilish smile made his face even more handsome.  "Yeah.  Among other things."

"Josie told me about you before we left Bali." Her eyebrows narrowed and her brown eyes suddenly gleamed brightly as a memory came to her.  "I know your game.  Don't even pull that swagger shit with me."

Nikolaus seemed taken aback by Anna's comment.  A frown pulled at the corners of his mouth and he crossed his arms in a defensive pose.

"And exactly what is my type?" He shot back.  His green eyes flashed angrily as he glanced quickly to me and back to Anna.  “Since you obviously know me so well, I’d love to hear your thoughts on who and what I am.”

"You're good looking and you know it.  You’re also more than your obvious attempt at trying way too hard.  If you're anything like Josie, you'll be smart enough not to know you can’t play me with your charm."  Anna stepped closer to him and stared up into his eyes.  "Other than that, I think I'm going to like you, Nikolaus."

I watched their exchange with growing interest.  My brother was more intrigued with her than before.  He relaxed slightly, pushing his hands back in his pockets.

As if on queue, Lukas entered the apartment,  His ice blue eyes ran over Nikolaus in obvious appreciation.  "I wondered where everyone disappeared to.  Who's the guy?"

"This is Josie 's brother, Lukas.  Nikolaus is not gay so you’ll need to find another man to mentally undress and sexually harass,"  Anna shot to Lukas snarkily.

Lukas pursed his lips and rolled his eyes.  "The straight ones are always so pretty.  And always taken.  It’s such a pity."

"Isn't that what woman say about gay men?" Anna said, placing her hands on her hips.

“Bitch,” Lukas beamed affectionately at Anna.

Anna’s laughter pealed loudly.  “And this is news?”

Poor Nikolaus stood between them like a deer caught in the headlights.  He'd lived much like me and all of this attention and intimate interaction made him obviously uncomfortable.  He was in for a huge adjustment if he was planning on spending time with me or Anna.  There was no such thing as privacy or calm around Lukas.

With the stress of the last few days over, I'd had enough for one night.  There were too many people in the apartment and it was imperative that I talk to Stefan alone.  Nikolaus’ admission to me was twisting my stomach in knots.  As much as I dreaded telling him, Stefan had to know what Kian had done.

"Stefan, can we get out of here for a while?  Or do you need to stay with Anna?"  I asked him.  Stefan had also been following Anna, Nikolaus and Lukas with rapt attention.

"Yes.  Lukas, you can watch after Anna?"

"Jesus, I'm right here.  I'm fine and I promise to not run into the street, killing and maiming innocent people," Anna grumbled.  She flipped her brown curls over her shoulder. She looked between Lukas and Stefan.  "I know I'm new to this.  Please don't treat me like a child while I learn."

Stefan's lips twitched in amusement at Anna's reply.  "Agreed.  Josephine, where do you want to go?"

"Let’s go for a walk.  I need to stretch my legs."

My mind was bombarded with a dozen ways Stefan wanted to stretch my legs.  Not one of them involved walking or being clothed while doing it.  Normally,  his mental images would make me second guess my original plans and do delicious things to my libido.  My nervousness and anxiousness kept my arousal at bay.

"Very well."  He noticed my lack of response and reached for my hand, inclining his head to Lukas.  "We will be back."

We'd reached the door when Nikolaus sidled up to us.  He grabbed Stefan’arm, stopping us.  "You're gonna have to decide after you listen to what my sister has to say.  We'll talk sooner than later.  She has my number."

Stefan regarded Nikolaus with reserved curiosity, glancing down at his hand with annoyance  "Please remove your hand, Nikolaus.  I think you know my stance."

"I know what you said before.  This information may sway your stance," Nikolaus replied matter-of-factly.  He dropped his hand from Stefan’s arm to pull me into a one-armed hug.  "I'll see you later."

"Bye," I kissed his cheek and motioned for the door, drawing Stefan along with me.  "Let's go."

Stefan ushered me out of the apartment.  Blocking my thoughts from him, we walked down the hallway.   He remained quiet until we reached the elevator.

"I am not going to like what you have to say.  Anytime you shield yourself so strongly there is a reason."

Pushing the elevator down arrow, I avoided his eyes.  "No, you aren’t going to like it.  You have to know what’s going on."

The bond between us filled with apprehension.  It mirrored my own feelings.  How do you break the news to someone that they were a puppet in a madman's scheming ways for the last decade?

***

We walked along the Highline hand in hand.  It was early evening and we did our best to blend in with the passing people, turning more than a few heads in the process.  Stefan looked particularly sexy, his blond hair and pale skin contrasting with the dark sweater that succeeded in clinging to the broad muscles of his chest.  His long legs were sheathed in dark denim, making them look a mile long.

"Say what you need to say, Josephine.  Mentally eye-fucking me is not helping,"  Stefan advised as we walked along.  The bond came in handy.  I didn’t need to look at him to know that he was upset, the tension emanating from him.

"I showed Nikolaus my uncle's letter and caught him up to date on what happened while we were in Bali,"  I hedged, slowing our gait.  "Nikolaus caught me up on what happened here while we were gone."

Stefan pulled me to a bench, tugging me along with him.  We sat and his handsome face became grim in the early evening light.  The darkness he tried to conceal was threatening to break free.  "Continue."

I drew in a small breath.  "He thinks that Kian is behind Derek's attempt on my life.  After reading the letter and my explanation of what happened to them, he strongly suspects my aunt and uncle's death wasn't an accident."

His head snapped to look at me sharply.  His eyes took on that cold reptilian quality I'd glimpsed only once before.  It had been so fleeting the first time that I thought I'd imagined it.

I hadn't.

"He and I agree on both of those points then. There is more, yes? What else do you know?"

Frowning, I ran my hand over his muscled thigh.  I looked up at him with pleading eyes.  "Promise me you won't act impulsively."

He laughed dryly, running a hand through his blond hair.  “I will make no such promise.  If this involves your safety..."

Cutting him off, I squeezed his leg.  "It doesn't.  It involves you and the Board."  I flicked a loose strand of hair away from my face nervously.  "Maybe I should rephrase.  It actually involves you and my father."

Stefan simply stared at me.  His glacial blue eyes waited for me to continue.

"Nikolaus took it upon himself to fish through vampire minds.  He came across interesting information in the process."

His hand came to rest on top of mine.  "Such as?"

"Kian knew of your search for me.  He did his best to keep us apart for at least the last 10 years.  Part of his way to keep you occupied and away from me was sending you on your missions."  I let my words sink in before I finished.  "If you came close to finding me, suddenly you'd have a vampire to punish and a job to do."

He carefully took my hand in his, as if holding on to me would keep his anger tethered tightly inside of him.  His turbulent emotions were barely being held in check as he waited for more.

"Kian brought false charges on innocent vampires to keep you occupied," I blurted out.  "He used them to keep us apart."

His sudden rage blasted me, the force almost knocking me off the bench.  "You are telling me that he had me murder innocent vampires because he wanted to keep us apart?  He fucking used me and my appointed position to kill for his own needs?"

Flinching, I could only shake my head in agreement.  His anger and rage had rendered me speechless.

"He also deceived the entire Board and Council. However that is not what bothers me the most.  He kept us apart.  I spent many years searching for you.  It was wasted time..." Stefan's voice thinned.  He brought my hand to his lips, brushing his mouth against my skin.  "I want to rip him apart like the innocents I murdered for his agenda.  I want him to pay for what he has done to us."

Shivering at the hatred and resolve of his words, I knew he was capable of doing it.  I’d watched him rip Derek limb from limb.  His only remorse was that I witnessed his vengeful wrath.

"I hate him, Stefan.  I hate that he kept us apart.  He killed my mother, my aunt and my uncle.  We can't do anything without a plan."

A wicked smile broke through the grimness of his face.  "That is exactly what I will do.  His death will be mine.  I need as much evidence as I can gather.  The question is will you help me?”

It didn’t take a split second to answer.  There was no reason to even consider any other option.

“Yes.”

Chapter 3

Tell Me What You See

It really wasn't much of a choice.  I'd choose him above anyone or anything.

The soft smile that he’d reserved only for me was back on his lips.  He stood and offered me his outstretched hand.  "Let us go home."

Slipping my fingers into his, we walked along.  We looked like any other young couple in love, walking along the Highline.  More people passed us, oblivious and unsuspecting that they were walking among immortal creatures.

"You will be surprised at how many of us there are, vackra."

Elbowing him, I released his hand and slipped my hand into his back pocket.  "I'm still waiting to see more mythical creatures.  Trolls, fairies..."

The shrill ring of my cell phone interrupted me.  Normally I knew who was calling without glancing at the phone.  No matter how much I concentrated on trying to see, it was coming up a blank.

"Are you going to answer your phone?" Stefan questioned.  He watched me with a raised eyebrow.

"I can't see," I mumbled.  Giving up, I pulled my phone from my pocket, peeking at the display.  I groaned unhappily when I saw the caller’s name.  It was Aidan.  Stefan leaned to peer at the phone.  He sent me a look that told me he wasn't surprised at the call or the caller.

“Hey Aidan,” I said.  Testing our bond, it was apparent that even though Stefan wasn’t surprised on the caller, he wasn’t exactly pleased either.

"Josie, can you meet me for a drink?"

Fidgeting nervously, I glanced up at Stefan in question.  He shrugged and nodded in agreement.  His voice was devious when it entered my mind.
"Do not tell him I am with you."

We resumed walking and  I pursed my lips.  "Sure.  Where are you?"

There was a shocked moment of silence.  "I'm heading to The Tippler on W. 15th.  I'll grab us a table."