Replica (The Blood Borne Series Book 2) (17 page)

“I doubt it. You are weak. You want only death, but you
are
death, Cazador. That is your calling now, to prey on the weak. To feed from them.”

“NEVER!” The word ripped out of me and I ran from the place I’d called home and into the dying night. Never. I would never prey on the weak. I would hunt down the one who’d made me.

The one who’d taken my second family from me.

I jerked awake as the jet gave a shudder. Captain Johnson’s disembodied voice crackled over the speaker. “We’re getting ready to land at Heathrow in about an hour. Shouldn’t be more than another one-hour delay. Everyone stay on the plane.”

“Lea, you okay?” Rachel asked.

I turned to her, realizing only then that I still had my fingers on her wrist. I pulled back.

“Yes.”

“Nightmares?”

That she’d guessed so easily should have upset me. But it was a relief to share even a small part of myself with her.

“Yes.”

“Bad.”

I nodded. “I’m going to chat with the captain. Make sure the compulsion is still on him.”

Rachel’s blue eyes softened—only a little, but I saw it. “You want to talk?”

“Not yet. Maybe later.” I stood and walked away from my first friend in a long time.

I paused mid-stride and couldn’t help but glance at Ivan. He slept still, snoring softly. Maybe two friends in a long time.

What in the world was happening to me? If I wasn’t careful, I’d end up going soft.

And soft wasn’t something I could afford to be.

RACHEL

Lea disappeared into the cockpit and I turned in my seat. Antonio sat in the last row, on a front-facing seat across from a back-facing one. He flashed me a grin that pissed me off six ways to Sunday. I had no idea what he was up to, but I sure as hell was going to find out.

I unbuckled my seatbelt and moved to the back of the plane, sitting in the chair across from his. “I don’t believe we’ve been formally introduced,” I said sarcastically.

His grin spread and he sat upright in his seat. He gave off an air of nonchalance, though he was anything but. As his sharp eyes watched me, his fists slightly tensed. “I believe I introduced myself when you got into the car.” He shifted, then held out his hand. “Antonio Valdez.”

I sat back in the seat and crossed my arms. “Rachel Sambrook, but you already know that, don’t you?”

He winked.

I stifled a groan. One of those assholes who thought he could get a woman to do whatever he wanted. “You work for Victor?”

“Everyone needs a job, no matter how unsavory.” A non-answer. His gaze flicked to the front of the plane. He was talking about Lea, but I wasn’t sure in what context.

“So where do you fit into the whole supernatural hierarchy?”

He shifted, resting his arm on the armrest, but his grin never wavered. “I’m on the outside looking in. Courtesy of my job, of course.”

“Oh, really? Did your job have you working on the subway last night? Where I just
happened
to run into you. And you just happened to be carrying an extra silver blade. You need to renegotiate your contract if you’re really working 24/7.”

Aggravation filled his eyes, and he leaned forward. “There are some things we shouldn’t discuss here.” His gaze darted forward again.

I looked behind me. Ivan was still sleeping—although I wouldn’t put it past him to be faking—and Leah was still up in the cockpit. I swung back around, lightly resting my hands on the armrests. “I don’t like secrets. Why are you really here?”

He chuckled. “A reporter who doesn’t like secrets? Next you’ll be telling me there’s no Easter Bunny.”

“I ferret out secrets, and right now, I wish I had a giant backhoe to dig into you. You obviously don’t want Lea to know what you’re up to, and yet you expect me to trust you at your word.”

His grin faded and he grew serious. “I have your best interests in mind.”

“Ha!” I snorted. “If I had a dollar for every time a man told me he knows better than I do…” I leaned forward. “Try again, dick weed, because I’m pretty damn sure Lea can rip you to pieces. And I mean that quite literally.”

His eyes darkened. “She can try.”

Time to take a new tactic. I pushed out a breath and gave him a sexy smile. “You think you can take her?”

“I know I can.”

I leaned forward and lowered my voice into a husky whisper. “So you’re strong?”

He looked wary. “I can take a vampire.”

“One as old as Lea?”

“Of course. I’ve killed many.”

“I suppose it’s wrong to tell you that totally turns me on.”

One corner of his mouth tipped up. “Not as far as I’m concerned.”

I moved toward him, settling myself sideways onto his lap, facing the window.

Of course, Lea came down the aisle just then, and her expression turned ugly when she saw me. “Rachel.”

I lifted my eyebrows and gave her a smirk. “I’m not high on vampire blood. I’ve just always wanted to join the mile high club.” I turned to Antonio. “Is there somewhere more private we can go…play?”

Antonio wrapped his arm around my back, digging into my hip. Oh, the cocky bastard. “I know just the spot.”

Lea looked like she was about to rip my head off, but I stood and let Antonio take my hand and pull me to the back into a small hallway and shut a curtain.

“Standing up?” I asked. “Could be tricky if there’s turbulence.”

“Nah…I want to savor this.” He showed me to the seats behind a barrier in the back, presumably for flight attendants.

I gave his chest a hard push, and he stumbled backward, landing in one of the seats. I straddled him and slid a hand down his neck. “I should hate you, you know,” I whispered.

“There’s a fine line between lust and hate,
mi amor
. I’m just surprised you’re so assertive.”

“I’m about to pull off the craziest stunt of my life. There’s a strong likelihood I won’t survive this. It’s been too long since I’ve had sex.” I pressed my mouth against his warm neck and slid down toward his collarbone. Definitely not vampire. “We’re two consenting adults here.”

“
Si, mi amor
, we are.” He grabbed the back of my head and kissed me.

Had I not been so determined to see this through, I might have been detoured from my plan. There was no denying the chemistry between us, so there was no
pretending
to enjoy it. He wasn’t the first bastard to try to use my body against me, though, and the stupid fool couldn’t see he was being played.

He pulled my shirt over my head, exposing my black bra, and I let him. Then I tugged his off too. He looked up at me with lust-filled eyes and I grinned down at him. He was almost where I wanted him.

He grabbed my head again, bringing our lips together in a hard kiss I enjoyed a little too much. At least I wasn’t faking my reaction to him. “Lea can hear us.”

He grinned. “I don’t care.”

“I do. I’m not into voyeurism.”

He gave me an exasperated look. “Do you want me to toss her off the plane?” He looked a little to eager to follow through.

“There’s no need for something so extreme.” I pulled out my phone and opened my music app, picking something with a strong beat and turning it up loud. I wanted answers, and I wanted to run them through my own filter before handing them to Lea. I had no idea if this would actually drown out our conversation for a vampire and a werewolf, but it was worth a try.

I tossed it onto the seat next to him and gave him my best fuck-me smile. Admittedly it was a bit rusty from lack of use, but he seemed to get the meaning.

“I like how you think,
mi amor
.”

I pushed him back and took in the sight of his chest. What a waste of a gorgeous man, but I’d learned long ago that the prettier they were, the more they thought women were stupefied by their charm. But unfortunately for him, I was a reformed addict. I lowered my mouth to his, less than an inch away. “I’m more than just a pretty face, Antonio.”

“I agree, you have a body to match.”

I’d considered letting this go a bit further to catch him off guard, but that statement just pissed me off. I bit his lip a little harder than playful and he jolted, only settling back after I licked it.

“You like it rough,
mi amor
?” he asked, sounding even more turned on.

“Oh, you have no idea.” I leaned forward, kissing him hard as I reached into my boot and withdrew the silver blade, then quickly brought it up to his jugular. Barely lifting my lips, I whispered, “Just how rough,
Diablo
?”

His body slumped slightly, but there was no anger in his eyes. “I am not your enemy, Rachel.” I was grateful he kept his voice low. He must have quickly jumped onto the same page as me, although that could be to my disadvantage.

“You’re sure as hell not my friend.”

His cocky grin returned. “I disagree. We were pretty friendly a moment ago.” He lifted his hips, pressing against my open legs to show me just how friendly he still wanted to be.

“What’s your part in this?”

“I told you, I work for—”

I pressed the knife harder, drawing a drop of blood to the surface of his skin. “Try again.”

“If Lea worked for Victor, why couldn’t I?”

“Because you’re not a vampire.”

“And do you even know what she did for him? What he paid her to do?”

“He was her benefactor.”

“But what does that mean,
mi amor
?”

“I’m not your love, so save the bullshit for someone who falls for it.”

“You evaded my question. Maybe you don’t want to believe your friend can’t be trusted.”

“Okay, asshole, tell me why I can’t trust her.”

“She’s a vampire, and vampires by definition are selfish, soulless creatures with one purpose.”

“And that is?”

He grinned. “Okay, maybe two. Fucking and eating.”

“So?”

“They are parasites that must be scourged from the face of the earth. They prey on humans and take without asking.”

“Their blood.”

“Among other things.”

I cocked my head. “Look, maybe the vague bullshit routine works for you with all the other pretty faces you screw, but I have a headache the size of Cleveland, which is making me a little twitchy, if you know what I mean.” I twisted the blade slightly to make my point. “So how about we cut all the bullshit out of this dog and pony show and you just tell me the facts.”

His eyes filled with appreciation, along with a hint of respect. “I worked for Victor so I could keep an eye on the underworld. He had a fascination with vampires and anything supernatural, and he drew them to him. It made my job easier.”

“Why would you want to keep an eye on them? What are you? The underworld police?”

“In a way. Each species has their own enforcers.” He cast his eyes sideways. “The werewolf with your friend was one for his pack.”

That didn’t surprise me. I’d already figured that out from Lea and the werewolves on the train. “If each species has its own enforcers, why are you needed?”