Blood and Destiny (21 page)

Unwilling to dwell on it, I held on to Marcus’s hand and led the way in. It was time to have some questions answered.

The first thing I did while Peter and the cadre of guards were herding Luke and Betsy in after us was pick up the phone. I thought allowing all five vampires in the room to watch over Luke and Betsy was overkill, but it beat having them loitering on the sidewalk with the two watchers.

I left a brief message on Dr. Vincent’s service to meet us here before we let his wife leave. I’d honored my obligation to him as far as I was concerned. Hanging the phone up, I ignored the blinking message light on the machine and leaned against the desk facing the room.

Marcus moved around me to sit in my chair to leave the seats for Luke and Betsy. I didn’t mind. I wanted to be on my feet for this little chat.

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Betsy’s face was tearstained as she sat down. Luke’s was impassive. His nose had stopped bleeding and there was no indication I’d broken it. I pushed down the disappointment at that. It would have served him right to have a lifelong reminder of the cost of betrayal.

“Tell me why I shouldn’t kill you and be done with it, Luke?”

It was a little more abrupt than I should have been, but I was tired and riding adrenaline. I wanted to be showered and tucked into my own bed before it wore off.

“I told Marcus the whole story. I don’t really feel like repeating it.” His tone was resigned, but there was a measure of determined pride hanging in his expression to his face. I didn’t take pity on him for it.

“Well, I was a little tied up at the time. Give me the short version.”

“Or what?” This time, Luke’s voice held the heat of anger.

“Do as the lady asks,” Marcus advised. “Or I will withdraw my protection. Being the unwilling dupe only carries so much wiggle room, after all.”

At that, every vampire’s attention in the room sharpened. They wanted a shot at him for what he had done to put Marcus in danger.

“Alexander came into a blood marker against my twin brother. He agreed to give it to me in trade if I could deliver him a certain lioness that happened to be closely connected to an exclusive wedding I had an invitation to. Kale and I went to Stanford and had classes together while you and Yasmine were still at Berkley. Yasmine was the topic of more than one night of alcohol and mooning on his part. We’ve stayed in touch over the years.”

“You’re an accountant?” I couldn’t help but gape at him. He certainly didn’t look like the geeky man Kale sent to help me with my taxes every year. So much for stereotypes.

“It’s an honest living.”

“So, why now? If you’ve been their lion in the hole, so to speak, why drag you to town and dump you off on me now?”

“Until six weeks ago, I had a territory all my own. Since I doubted you were interested in moving to Arizona, the point was moot.”

“So what happened six weeks ago?”

“The Rex was killed in a car accident. My brother and I were the strongest contenders for the position. It was either defeat him in honest combat or step aside. I never really wanted the pride, just to live in it. It wasn’t much of a choice.”

Coincidence or vampire mechanisms? It seemed entirely too neat and tidy for my comfort. When he paused, I prompted, “And then?”

“My brother ran off to celebrate his new position with a weekend in Vegas. He came home in debt to a bookie and married to a stripper. The marriage was easy enough to make go away, but the debt? Not so much. He ran to the local vampire queen to borrow the money. Thus, the blood marker. I was moving funds around to liquidate enough to buy it back when I received a phone call from Alexander. The rest you know.”

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The pieces fell together.

“Except Alexander liked having you in his pocket and wouldn’t make good on the promise.”

“Pretty much. Now, I assume that marker passes to Marcus.”

Luke’s gaze slid past me to Marcus. Both men sat there weighing the other until Luke spoke again.

“I offered myself in his stead. If it’s a life you want, take mine. Paulette was interested in blood and sex to work the marker off, but her interest would have seen one of us dead before she was done with us. Alexander wanted a life. I aided him in his plan, which means I’ve already forfeited mine since I backed the wrong horse. I ask that you be satisfied with me and not take down my entire pride for what I’ve done.”

“Oh my God, you’re going to kill me too.”

Both men turned to look at Betsy as if they had forgotten she was there. Perhaps they had. Peter materialized at her chair before the wail was out of the air.

“Ms. Vincent.” Marcus’s voice held compassion as he tried to reassure her. “You were misled and taken advantage of. We hold no blame against you. When your husband arrives, we will turn you over to him and you can set about making what you can of what remains of your life. In fact, there’s a powder room down the hall. Peter will take you there and you can freshen your appearance.”

She leaped at the opportunity to get away from them. Mumbling her gratitude, she bolted with Peter’s hand on her arm to guide her. Marcus waited until she was out of the room before turning back to Luke.

“You helped us get into the hotel in time to save Destiny. That earns you the right to ask for concessions. I have an offer for you. You agree, in writing, to leave our territory and never return without formal petition approval, and I’ll let you go.”

He didn’t say what he would do if Luke didn’t honor the terms. Luke understood it from the way he drew himself up in his chair.

“I’ll leave after the wedding tomorrow. I would like to come back for the christening if Kale doesn’t kill me when he finds out about this.”

“I see no reason for the werewolves to learn of your involvement in anything but the rescue. Of course, that will also mean that you make it clear to them that Destiny is not your idea of mate material.”

Luke’s gaze cut over to me and he gave a ghost of a smile. “I doubt she’d have me, anyway. I never really thought I had a chance. The only attraction I had was instinctive.”

Standing between them, I could only roll my eyes and shake my head. The problem with dealing with alpha leaders was that sometimes a lady had to let them beat their chests and yell.

They both stood and Luke offered his hand first. Marcus accepted it with a nod of acknowledgement. As far as they were both concerned, the deal was signed and sealed. Of course, I knew Marcus well enough to suppose he really would expect a written promise to put in his vault before Luke caught his flight out of town.

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Luke turned to me and offered his hand. His touch was firm, but gentle as he met my gaze squarely.

“Be happy, Destiny. I can’t tell you how sorry I am that I met you under these circumstances. I think, if things had been different, we could have been very good friends.”

With that, he nodded to Marcus, turned on his heel and strode for the door. I couldn’t think of anything to say, so I called after him.

“I’m counting on you to keep Kale from doing anything that will make Yas angry at the bachelor party. He needs to be at the church at noon. Get that done and you don’t owe me an apology.”

He looked back with a jaunty salute as he opened the door. Because he wasn’t watching where he was going, he had no chance to avoid the man hurrying in. Dr. Vincent ran into him with a stumbling stride, knocking him off his feet.

“So much for the graceful exit,” he muttered as he scrambled up without taking the hand Dr.

Vincent offered.

“I’m so sorry, sir. Please forgive me. I’m looking for Ms. St. George? My service relayed a message from her?”

The man in the thousand-dollar suit was very much like I remembered him except his immaculate appearance was somewhat rumpled. His suit was still pressed and expensively tailored, but his collar was crushed where he had pulled his tie loose and his hair looked as if he’d spent the entire drive over running his hands through it.

Luke waved him toward me. Dr. Vincent’s stride emphasized the anxiety written all over his face.

His gaze locked on me as if I was a lifeline.

“I was on my way in to the hospital to meet a colleague. I hope it’s all right that I came right over?

I confess I didn’t think of calling until I turned the corner.”

Stepping forward, I offered my hand and gripped the one he extended with both hands. Poor man was shaking like a leaf. It must be love.

“I was hoping you would, Dr. Vincent. Betsy is freshening up before she comes out. It’s been a trying morning for her. Please, have a seat. Can I get you a drink? Soda, water?”

“Something stronger, perhaps?” Marcus offered from behind me.

Dr. Vincent’s gaze snapped from my face to the vampire and he hesitated. It surprised me that he recognized what Marcus was. Or maybe it was the fact there was a man behind my desk that gave him pause. Either way, his composure reconstructed right before my eyes.

“Something stronger, please.” Dr. Vincent addressed his request to Marcus who inclined his head before moving to the credenza against the wall. The bottle of single-malt scotch was still where he had left it.

“Neat or on the rocks?”

“Neat, please.”

It was all so very civilized. Marcus poured the whiskey into two tumblers. He didn’t offer me one I noticed but decided not to make an issue of it. Instead, I moved around my desk to take my seat,

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leaving Marcus to lean against the credenza while we waited for Betsy. Both men took a long drink from their glasses.

Dr. Vincent’s eyes kept darting between me and the vampire, and I was grateful the extra guards had taken themselves to the back of the house without having to be asked. Our visitor probably hadn’t even noticed them. Then again, he was about to have one of the defining moments in his life so I could forgive him.

Footsteps in the hallway were the first indication the silence wouldn’t be long enough to become awkward. Betsy’s sandals made a strange sound on the carpet runner. We all faced the doorway for her grand entrance. She didn’t disappoint.

She had put her compact to good use. Her makeup was flawless, down to the way she had covered the healing scars along her neck. Betsy had pulled her hair into a twist that accentuated the clean lines of her face and made her look classy despite everything I knew about her. The sundress had been smoothed and retied.

In contrast to her husband’s obvious anxiety as he rose, she glided across the floor with a grace I couldn’t have managed under the circumstances.

“Matthew.”

“Betsy.”

Dr. Vincent seemed uncertain as to what to do. We all gave him the time to sort it out. He finally set his glass on my desk and stepped toward her. He hugged her awkwardly before waving to the seat next to him. She didn’t take it so he didn’t sit down, either.

“Please. Sit. Hear me out and I’ll go. You can be free if you want to be.”

“Let me give you two some privacy.” I did not want to listen to their negotiations. My part in this was finished. “In fact, Peter will be waiting outside the door to lock up after you so take all the time you need. I live upstairs. I’m going to relax. It’s been a hard night.”

Betsy’s cool blue eyes shot to my face and she flushed as she dropped her gaze. Matthew’s response was much more congenial.

“I’m so sorry. Of course. Thank you, Ms. St. George. Thank you for everything. I confess I had my doubts, but I knew you could find her as soon as you took the case. Mr. LeCroy was right.

You are the best.”

The mention of Frank LeCroy made me start. I’d totally forgotten about him. A glance at the clock made me wince. He was probably still sitting in the parking lot of the Cosmopolitan waiting for the execution of our original plan. That is, unless someone had already let him know what had happened. Oh well, I’d owe him a favor.

“You’re quite welcome, Doctor. Good luck.”

I wished I could say something more positive, but there simply wasn’t anything. Instead, I gave him a sincere smile, shook his hand once again, and left him to pick up the pieces of his marriage.

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Marcus stopped in the kitchen to dismiss the guards and earned extra brownie points for telling them to take the watchers on the house with them. He would probably read them the riot act later for their obvious lack of diligence. I started up the stairs, thought of something and stuck my head around the door facing.

“Hey, can you call someone we might have left stranded there and have them swing by to pick up my car from Carl’s? I drove to the rehearsal dinner. The key’s in the rear tire well.”

One of them threw up a hand in a wave as he rounded the corner of the kitchen. Marcus scowled after them, but turned to me with a charming smile. I frowned back suspiciously. He wanted something. I could feel it.

“May I come up?”

My stomach chose that moment to rumble loudly. The adrenaline was beginning to wear off and my feet were dragging. He looked so hopeful standing there in his rumpled shirt.

“Marcus, I’m hungry and tired. Yasmine’s coming tonight and if I don’t get some rest, I’m going to be a horrible friend on the night before her big day.”

“I’ll rest with you. It was a long night for me as well.”

He looked so adorable and earnest that I caved.

“If you make me ruin Yasmine’s last night as a single woman, you and I are going to have a serious fight.”

“She’s technically married by culture now. Tomorrow is for legalities.”

“And thank you for the reminder. That’s not going to get you into my bed today, if that’s what you’re aiming for.”

He laughed softly and held up his hands. “Simply an observation, my lady. I’d be honored to hold you while you sleep, provided that was an invitation?”