Cora's Secret: A Vampire Ménage Urban Fantasy Romance (10 page)

“You’ve made that abundantly clear,” Aithan replied.

Rhys moved around him, until he was between the two of them. “You’ve always lived alone. You’ve always
been
alone. I thought that was because you were afraid that close relationships would reveal who you were. But that’s not it, is it?”

Cora tried to pull her wrist free again. “Let me go.”

Aithan’s dark eyes were drilling into her. Through her. Seeing everything. “You don’t want to belong, do you?”

Everything inside her seemed to seize up in shock. She stared at him.

Aithan tilted his head, his eyes not letting her go. “You don’t even want to belong to your clan. They’re in Toronto, you’re here in Erie, Pennsylvania, with a whole international border between you and them. You won’t suffer another supernatural in your town. You don’t even want to be a vampire.”

There was heat curling through her, but it wasn’t pleasure. It wasn’t even anticipation. It reached the base of her throat and seemed to spread and congeal into a hard, painful knot. “You don’t understand.” The words came out in a choked whisper, working around the knot.

“Try us,” Rhys said quietly.

She shook her head. Once she started down this path—once she started talking, she knew that would be the end of it, that she would not stop talking, that they would know everything and somehow, they would make it work. But she didn’t
want
it to work.

She wanted to be alone.

“Cora.” Aithan touched her cheek. It was a gentle touch and felt completely natural. Nice.

Tears welled in her eyes, like hot slivers of diamond. They rolled down her cheeks, shocking her. She hadn’t been able to cry for five years. Not since they had made her. She put her fingers to her wet cheek.

“Tears,” Aithan breathed.

“And you’re warm to touch.” She shook her head. “I can’t
belong
. I won’t stand it.” She wrenched her hand out of Aithan’s loosened grip and
moved
, regardless of any humans that might be in the hotel corridor. She used the first fire escape she found and ran down the stairs and out into the parking lot before she slowed to draw breath.

Then she realized she could jump back to her apartment.

“No,” she told the air and anyone who might be listening. She wiped her face of tears. “I’m damn well gonna walk there.” She moved fast, but not beyond human speed, until she was a good block away from the hotel. Then she slowed to a more sustainable and human-like pace and hurried home. She was on the other side of town from the complex, but that was good. That was just fine and dandy. The idea of standing or sitting still was repulsive.

Cora saw Meta just ahead on the sidewalk, walking slowly. Meta was wearing her jogging shorts and running shoes, but as it was sundown and not sunrise, this had to be a gentle walk for her. Meta always did her serious training as the sun came up.

Cora felt a touch of relief. “Meta!” she called out and waved when Meta turned to look behind her. The dark-haired woman was only just over five feet, which made nearly a foot difference between the two of them, but there were far more things they had in common, including being confirmed bachelors. Meta liked living on her own. She had confessed to Cora that she had spent years making her home suit her exactly and anyone who intruded, including the occasional man, tended to make her grumpy and out of sorts.

Meta was one of Cora’s favorite humans and she seemed pleased to see Cora, too. “Day off?” she asked.

“Thank the heavens, yes,” Cora said. “Heading home?”

“It’s such a beautiful day. I wanted to catch the last of it, so I jogged down to the river and walked back.” She turned and walked alongside Cora. Cora adjusted her stride to match Meta’s short one. They angled around the side of the complex to head for the back of their building.

“Was it my imagination, or did you have a gentleman caller earlier?” Meta asked, glancing up at her.

Cora sighed. “It’s complicated.”

“That’s not like you. You’re supposed to boot ’em out the door the next morning before ten. Didn’t I teach you right?”

Cora gave her a small smile. “I tried.”

“He came
back
?” Meta looked up again, a little smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “He might be a keeper, honey.”

They moved into the service area behind their building. Faceless garage doors lined the long, narrow area. Tucked between each were covered walkways leading to each back door. The lane was heavily shadowed, for the sun only reached into the access area when it was high overhead.

“More complicated than that,” Cora said.

“He’s married?”

She shook her head.

“Gay?”

Cora rolled her eyes. “There’s two of them.”

Meta pressed her fingertip to her lips, holding back a smile. “When you fall, you do it with gusto, don’t you?” She stepped around a garbage can sitting on the sidewalk. “Pick the best guy.” She shrugged.

“They’re a package deal.”

Meta halted and Cora turned back.

Meta was looking at her with her hands on her hips and her head tilted. “And you
kicked them out?
What, are you nuts?”

Cora laughed. It was a shaky sound, but it felt nice to be able to laugh even a little bit.

Because she was looking over Meta’s short head, she saw the creature sooner than it might have intended. In the gloaming she caught a glimpse of something very tall with a ghostly, drawn face. It was moving toward them. Black cloth fluttered around it, disguising its body.

Cora grabbed Meta and pushed her behind her.

“What the hell?” Meta demanded. “Oh my god….” The fear in her voice made Cora look over her shoulder. There was another of the tall things coming from that direction. This one was well over seven feet. Its…his eyes looked like black pits in the skull-like white face. There was a dark shadow where the mouth would be.

“Go inside, Meta,” Cora told her. “It’s me they want. Go now.”

“What
are
they?” Meta’s voice shook.

Cora was pretty sure they were Grimoré, even though she had never seen one before. They matched the description Lindal and Seaveth had given her.

Seaveth!
The reminder was sharp and Cora sucked in a breath, bracing herself. The mental shout she let loose seemed to echo in her head.
Seaveth! Grimoré! Come quickly!

She turned back to spot the first one. He had moved closer while she was watching the second. They were working together.

“Meta, you have to go
now
.”

“I can’t.” Meta’s voice was astonishingly calm. “That thing has blocked my way.”

“Shit on a stick,” Cora muttered as the first prowled even closer. She wasn’t sure if it was walking. She couldn’t see its feet. There seemed to be a shadow lying over it, disguising details. Or perhaps it was just an emanation of its black soul. “Stand very still, Meta,” she said. “Tell me when it lunges for you and brace yourself.”

“Brace for what?”

“I won’t say. These things might know English.”

“You’ll have to surprise me, then.”

Cora eyed the one on her side as it drifted closer and closer.

“Cora!” Meta cried.

Cora didn’t turn to look. Instead she spun fast on one foot and leapt upward. She pushed down on Meta’s shoulders, which were below her own because of their differences in height. She used the leverage to pivot herself in the air and bring her boots up, her legs coiled.

She pistoned her legs out with every skerrick of muscle power she could muster and slammed her heels into the thing’s face. The Grimoré flew backward, more lightweight than Cora had anticipated. It rolled when it hit the concrete.

Cora was already falling back to the ground. Meta’s hands gripped her wrists, anchoring them and stabilizing her landing. Her boots hit the concrete. She kept turning, bringing Meta with her and out of the way of the first Grimoré, who had surged forward. Cora leaned back and brought her boot up to slam it into the white face, but a skeletal hand with three long fingers gripped her ankle.

Instantly, Cora pushed off from Meta’s shoulders, bringing herself closer to the thing. She drove her other boot into its face. It wasn’t a strong kick and the Grimoré only staggered backward. But its hand let go of her ankle.

She was in mid-air now and wouldn’t be able to get her feet under her in time. She thrust her hands forward to break her fall and felt the skin shred as they slammed into the concrete. Cora tucked her feet in behind her, finishing in a crouch.

Meta was three feet away, her eyes very large.

“Wyatt, take the one on the left.” It was Seaveth’s calm, rich voice.

“Got it.” It was a man’s voice.

Meta was looking over Cora’s shoulder now and her mouth was open.

Seaveth stepped past Cora, swirling dark green fabric around her feet. A long knife was in her hand. She moved toward the second Grimoré that was just starting to stir. Cora didn’t turn to see what Seaveth was doing. She kept her gaze on the first Grimoré. There was a man she didn’t know crouched over it, his muscled shoulders working.

From the darker shadows forming around the building on the other side of the parking lot came a snuffing animal sound and a low-throated rumble that made the fine hairs on her arm stand up.

From behind came a grunt of effort and a high pitched squeal, quickly shut off. That would be the Grimoré Seaveth had chosen to take care of.

“Cora.” It was a soft call for her attention. She snapped her head around.

Aithan and Rhys were moving across the tarmac, heading toward her. Lindal was just behind them, only he had his black knife out and was staring at the building across the way, where the sounds were coming from.

Cora got to her feet. Happiness was spreading through her and a deep relief that she wouldn’t have to face this alone.

What the fuck, Coralee
? she asked herself. Since when did she ask for help of anyone?

But it was true. She couldn’t deny the joy that was bubbling up just from knowing they were here. That they had come for her.

As soon as they were close enough, she reached out for them. “I was wrong. All wrong, totally wrong.”

Rhys gathered her up against him with one arm and Aithan stood close to both of them. She looked up at his dark eyes. “I don’t understand. You feel more familiar, more dear to me, than any of my family ever did.”

“It’s the bonding,” Aithan said softly. “Seaveth said it was kind, in its way.”

Cora kissed him and Rhys’ arm tightened around her waist as Aithan held her face and kissed her back. It was a delightful kiss, different from Rhys’ as night was from day, but very satisfying. More than that.

“If you’re done?” Lindal asked, sounding both amused and irritated.

Aithan let her go but his hand dropped to her shoulder as he turned to look at Lindal. It put Cora between Rhys and Aithan.

Meta was standing a few paces away, her arms wrapped around her middle, the safety strips on her tee shirt glowing in the dark. Her eyes were very wide, as she looked wildly around at Seaveth, the silent and still Grimoré and the four men, two of them with bloody knives and two of them with Cora.

Uneasiness touched Cora. Meta had seen far too much. She was only human….

“What the hell were you thinking, Cora?” Lindal demanded, pulling her attention back to him. “Walking around like you’re free as a bird, when Seaveth said going outside was dangerous? You put everyone at risk, including your friend, there.”

Cora glanced at Meta again. She was watching Lindal now, a frown puckering her face.

“It’s too late to worry about discretion,” Lindal added. “We’ll have to deal with her another way.”

Cora gasped. “Dealing” with humans who learned too much often meant those humans were never seen from again.

Lindal rolled his eyes. “No, not that,” he said impatiently. “Although we would be wiser to do
just
that and make sure you understood it was your fault.”

More low growling came from behind him. He glanced over his shoulder at the shadows. “You’ve brought the Grimoré out of hiding by flaunting yourself when you were vulnerable.”

Rhys shifted on his feet. “She didn’t do it on a whim.”

“Shouldn’t you be taking care of the vampeen over there instead of lecturing?” Aithan added.

“I’ll lecture until I believe you really understand what you’re doing,” Lindal shot back.

“Lindal,” Seaveth said softly. “Leave it.”

Lindal blew his breath out impatiently and looked at the strange man. “Wyatt, let’s deal with the rest of them.”

The man pulled the long knife out from under his jacket again. “Sounds good.”

They both headed for the other side of the lane.

Seaveth had put her knife away. Cora didn’t know where she hid it, for her dress was form fitting right down to her hips, where it flared out to the ground. The most likely place would be her boot.