Blood Entangled (25 page)

Mason lived near the bridge in Pacific Heights. Pulling up to his house, Kos felt nostalgic, or maybe sentimental. No, neither of those were the right words. He just remembered. All the years he’d spent—visiting Mason, chasing women, wasting time—they flashed before his eyes, making him feel empty.

“Nice house,” she said quietly. Indeed, on a block of nice houses, his was the biggest and best maintained, as always.

Ethan parked his car on Union Street and answered his phone. “Bennett.”

“It’s Derek. I’ve got news.”

“What’s that?”

“Marasović’s distributor is expecting a shipment of their Blood Vine any day now. Let’s be sure it arrives.”

“Indeed, it could be a trail of bread crumbs, leading us right to the other vampires.”

“Exactly.”

“Good work, Derek.” Ethan hung up.

He grabbed a paper sack and walked a block up Lyon Street, where he slid into the passenger seat of the car he’d rented for Gwen. Handing her a sandwich, he said, “Best deli in the city. It’s not New York, but it’s not bad. Extra peppers for you.”

A crease formed between her eyebrows, and she glanced away, reaching into the bag. “Thank you.”

When he’d ordered the sandwich, he’d heard her lilt. “The spicier the better.” He had no idea if Zoey liked spicy food. Gwen had invaded his mind little by little, but that was how tectonic plates shifted, slowly moving entire continents, building up enough pressure to fuel volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.

“Seen Kearney?”

She held her sandwich aloft, pausing before she took her first bite. “No. Just a middle-aged man. Pudgy. Short. Definitely not Mason.”

Ah. Mason, was it? She knew him well then, and apparently he was not short or pudgy. No surprise there. Vampires were fit by nature, and attractive by selection.

At the sight of the unassuming Pac Heights mansion, deeply bred instincts rose up in Ethan. He reached for his phone to call in the Hunters. They could storm the house and take down Kearney so easily—but, no. He patted his phone where it remained in his pocket, feeling the rough lump of the toy soldier alongside it. Mastery of his instincts set him apart from the Hunters, and qualified him to lead them. They could point and shoot, but he could orchestrate a war of strategy. Mason Kearney was his newest pawn.

“How did the assault go?” Gwen asked.

“Poorly. They have an invisible shield around the estate. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen. And as soon as someone in the house saw smoke, they extended the damn thing to the boundary of the property. If I didn’t know better, I’d think it was magic.”

“You believe in vampires, but not magic?”

“I’ve seen vampires.”

“Sounds like you’ve seen magic as well.” She scolded him like the professor she was.

It was a taunt, a challenge, and it gave him an erection. When her stakeout was over, he would take her back to his apartment and remind her who was boss. The backseat was too risky. Although, he could keep an eye peeled if she leaned over and—

A Mercedes pulled up, and Kosjenic Marasović and his girlfriend stepped out. The vampire tilted his nose up to the air. Could he smell Ethan? The foggy wind was nearly a gale, and the Presidio’s eucalyptus trees were pungent. He’d thought he was safe. Then Marasović was all eyes for the woman, and Ethan knew he was in the clear.

“That’s my target’s son and the blood slave.”

In the vineyard, the blonde had clung to the vampire like a lifeline, and he had grasped her protectively in turn. Ethan was surprised he was pawning her off on this Kearney, though the vampire’s bunched shoulders made him look less than pleased about it. Did he know what kind of punishments Kearney could deal out? Of course, that was still only a suspicion.

Kearny burst from the front door, well-dressed and slick. Gwen shuddered, shaking the car and confirming Ethan’s suspicion. The vampire had severely traumatized her. Ethan both hated him for it and was rather grateful. Kearney had turned her into Ethan’s perfect match.

Zoey had looked lovely, stalking through the blackened and ashy vineyard like it was just another conference room for her to command. And, as always, she’d willfully challenged him. Once he had thought he liked her assertiveness, but thanks to Gwen he knew what he really wanted was to break Zoey. Maybe he could learn from this Kearney just how to go about turning a brilliant woman into his masochistic pet.

For now, he had Gwen, already satisfyingly submissive.

“What do we do?” she whispered.

“We watch. We wait. Soon, we will get the girl. She is clearly that vampire’s Achilles’ heel.”

“I want to rescue her from Mason.”

He patted her knee. “Of course we will.”

Chapter 19

K
OS’S
C
HEST
S
QUEEZED
so tight he could barely breathe. Lena stepped out of the car. Leaving. Forever.

He stood and reached his hand over the top of the car. “Lena, wait.”

She spun, looking from his hand to his face.

“No, Kos. It’s time.”

Mason exploded from the front door, looking the same as ever—an exquisitely cut, exquisitely expensive suit, hair a little messier than the clean cut of their carousing days, as current style demanded. His face held that blinding smile.

“Hello, beautiful.”

Lena smiled at him, lowering her eyelids, clearly pleased by the compliment. Hadn’t Kos praised her beauty enough already?

“Hi, old buddy.” Mason offered his hand.

Kos returned the grasp. “Good to see you, Mason.”

“Please, come inside.”

Mason interrogated Kos about what he’d been doing lately, Kos answered absently, watching Lena take in the house from the corner of his eye. Mason’s home was stylish, always up to date, which made it a stark contrast to the stodgy Kaštel Estate. Another reason this was a good place for her—after all, Kos was only slightly less aloof to fashion than Andre.

On a dime, Mason’s face went blank, revealing he’d lost interest in Kos’s news. He’d always grown bored easily.

“Where is the lovely Lena?” He turned, looking for her.

She occupied the doorway of a sitting room, peering in, but too polite to enter without an invitation.

“Please, lovely, let’s go in and have a seat.”

Lovely?
How slimy, a nickname already.

She sat down on a sofa, and Mason sat next to her and leaned in. Lena stilled, understanding he was sniffing her. Andre had probably done the same thing to her when they first met.

Mason looked up, narrowing his eyes at Kos. “I thought you said she was Andre’s. Your scent is all over her.”

Krist
. He’d forgotten about that part. Lena jerked her head to stare at Kos, eyes brimming with tears. Shit. She did not need this. What would spare her dignity?

“Mason, Lena works for Andre, but we’ve become friends. She is very dear to me, as are you. I’m pleased she will be working for someone I trust. I apologize if our intimate good-bye offends your sense of propriety, but she wasn’t yours yet.”

Mason leaned back into the cushion, pressing his palms together and steepling his fingers. “Of course. Who wouldn’t want to say a thorough farewell to a women as stunning as Lena?”

Cold sweat broke out on Kos’s hands.

Lena had wiped her tears quickly, before Mason noticed, but she was trembling, poor thing, her emotions finally shaking her composure. He could relate. But she was stronger than him, had risked her heart on him, even after Andre had crushed it once. A weaker woman would have trained herself to feel less.

And suddenly, he knew—life in a household would never work for her.

Mason continued to speak to her, but Kos couldn’t hear them. Why hadn’t he seen it before? She was too passionate, too sensitive to be used that way. Blood service would always be exploitation for her.

He interrupted their chitchat. “Lena, I just thought of something. Can I speak to you?”

Again, Mason glared. Kos ignored him.

She pressed her lips together and shook her head. “I’m just getting to know Mason. Can you tell me another time?”

“No, it really can’t wait. I forgot until now.”

“Lena, let me make sure your room is ready.” Mason settled the matter by blurring out of the room.

“What is it?” she snapped.

He didn’t care if Mason could hear, the words just poured out: “Lena, you can’t stay here. I see now, it’s all wrong. You’re not cut out for this life. Let’s go back to Kaštel and start from scratch. You need a real, human life.”

“No.”

“Listen to me. This isn’t going to make you happy. It’s going to kill all your passion and generosity.”

“You have no right to tell me what will make me happy. There is only one thing you can say that will make me leave with you, and if it’s not on offer, then I’ll find my destiny with someone else.”

Her ocean blue eyes blazed with the same raw look he’d seen when they’d made love. It was a challenge—admit he felt the same way, or deny it.

She deserved the truth.

He rubbed the back of his neck, rolled his shoulders, tried to work up his nerve. “I love you, Lena. I’ve never felt this way about anyone. But we can’t be together. It never lasts. And then we would end up like my mother and father, broken, if not dead. I can’t do that to you.”

“You love me?” The tears spilled down her face.

“Yes. Which is why I can’t keep you.”

Her thumb came up to her mouth, and she bit the nail as the tears flowed. She wiped them away with the back of her hand and sniffed, shifting her feet and standing straighter.

“I don’t know whether you’re a liar or a coward, but I want you to leave. Don’t come back.”

And then Mason was back with smug smile that showed he’d heard the whole thing.

Kos didn’t say another word; he turned and left. How many barrels of Blood Vine would it take to drown this feeling? He drove back to Kaštel as quickly as possible, determined to find out.

Lena faced Mason, and her knees went weak. She locked them, reaching for the back of a chair. God she was tired. Could probably sleep for a week. “I’m sorry about all that. We should have had our words in the car, but I stonewalled him. It’s not his fault.”

“I understand, he’s remarkably sensitive. Always has been.”

“Yes, he is.” She rubbed her eyes with her fists.

“You’re tired. It seems Kos’s good-byes have worn you out.”

Charmed in spite of herself, her lips pulled into a tight smile. “That’s true.”

“What do you say to an early night? We can get better acquainted tomorrow.”

Tomorrow? No, damn it. She wanted to get this over with, needed to move on, find her destiny.

“Mason, if it’s all right with you, I would like to get acquainted tonight.”

His eyes moved up and down her body. Her skin grew hot under his gaze, but goose bumps sprung on her arms and legs. He didn’t answer. Oh, God. Maybe he didn’t like her.

“I mean if you want to…”

He strode to her in two longs steps and wrapped a lock of her hair around his finger, tugging it gently. “Ah. It’s like that, is it? They didn’t want you.”