Sophia (5 page)

Jeremy drew a deep breath and seemed to gather himself. His back stiffened and when he spoke next, his voice with firm with resolve, “I am not a soldier, my lord. I know this. But I wish to join you in bringing down these animals. The blood of my mate has earned me a place in the hunt.”

Raphael heard the unvoiced desperation in his plea. Jeremy’s blood had not been enough to save Mariane’s life. That it was Raphael’s blood which saved her lessened the pain of his failure, because Raphael was master to every vampire in this compound, his power so far beyond theirs that it transcended description. But still, his failure to save his mate himself would sting. He could, however, avenge this attack on her.

“Your assistance will be invaluable, Jeremy. You know the area and you know the people. And through you, your mate can tell us much about these creatures who dared attack her. On my word, Jeremy, they will pay the ultimate price.”

Jeremy’s head fell to his chest, his long, dark hair covering his face before he raised eyes now brimming with gratitude. “Thank you, Sire.”

Raphael studied his child carefully, noting the tension in his stiff gait as he climbed to his feet and took a chair nearby. He ached for Jeremy and would rather have spared him the retelling of the night’s awful events, but it was necessary. And far better that Jeremy tell him, than ask Mariane to relive it.

Loren moved to sit next to Jeremy and began a low-voiced conversation. Cyn took the opportunity to lean close to Raphael’s ear and whisper, “Will he know what happened?” Her question was voiced softly enough that, even in a room full of vampires, it was for him only.

Raphael responded in kind, saying, “Jeremy is young, but they’ve been mated a few years. His connection to her should be strong enough for him to have seen most of what happened. It will be enough.” He felt Cyn breathe out a sigh of relief next to him.

“Jeremy,” Raphael said more loudly.

The vampire immediately cut off whatever he’d been saying to Loren and faced Raphael.

“My mate, Cynthia, will begin the questioning. She is a trained and experienced investigator, quite skilled in these matters, especially when it comes to humans. Her insight will be particularly helpful.”

Cyn sat up straight, leaving a cool spot on his arm as she withdrew the warmth of her body. Raphael glanced up at her and caught a frown of concentration, followed by a gentle smile for Jeremy.

“I’ll start with some questions about the events of that afternoon,” she said. “It will be painful for you, and I’m sorry. I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t absolutely necessary, please believe that. But every detail matters. You never know what might be the one thing that gives them away.”

Jeremy nodded, swallowing nervously.

Cyn leaned forward, her posture and gaze intent. “Okay, let’s start with the basics. Was Mariane home when these guys broke into the house?”

He shook his head, his gaze haunted. “She was out. Our house is very secure, but they smashed through the back door with an ax. They must have hidden their vehicles and waited for her to return. I knew when she arrived home, I felt her presence—she always enters through the front door—and then I felt her terror. They grabbed her before she even realized they were there.”

“Is Mariane normally awake during the day?” Cyn asked. “Forgive me if this is private, but . . . she doesn’t sleep with you?”

“Most days she does, yes. But on some days, she remains awake to run errands. She shops in Cooper’s Rest, which is the small town near here, and on rare occasions she drives down to the city below. She buys food for herself and does whatever else needs doing. There’s the mail to be picked up, of course. And sometimes . . . sometimes Mariane simply wants to enjoy the sunlight.”

Cyn nodded, and Raphael knew she would understand Mariane’s need for sunlight. It was the same reason Cyn kept her condo just down the beach from his estate. She didn’t live there anymore, but she still spent time there on occasion, sitting in the sunlight, walking along the water in the warm sand.

Cyn spoke again, drawing Raphael out of his reverie. “Does she follow a routine? Maybe certain days of the week, every other Monday or something?”

Jeremy frowned, concentrating. “Perhaps. Not specific days, but she does go into town at least twice a month. Usually in the morning. And when she comes home, she remains awake—cleaning, making phone calls, sometimes sitting on the porch if the weather is nice.”

“Who would know about this besides you?” Cyn asked. “Does she have any friends here? Maybe someone she meets for coffee? Does she go anyplace in particular?”

 
Raphael saw Jeremy’s brow lower in a troubled frown. He was a very young vampire and his relationship with Mariane even newer. The suggestion that she could be meeting anyone, possibly even another male, while Jeremy slept would rouse his possessive instincts. And unlike Raphael, who was old enough and powerful enough to sense whatever Cyn was doing at all times, Jeremy would not usually have a link strong enough to follow his mate through a normal, uneventful few hours. It was only the traumatic nature of the attack that had forced their link into full-blown awareness for the duration. That and the fact that, while Jeremy had probably been sleeping in a vault below ground, he would not have been far from where Mariane was being brutally assaulted.

“She goes to the post office,” Jeremy was repeating. “And the grocery store. I’ve never gone with her. I don’t generally go into town at all. My business is at home, mostly via computer or phone. The truth is, unless they’re Vampire, I very rarely meet anyone in person, not even my clients.”

“What is your business?” she asked. Raphael had seen her do this before, using routine questions to relax the subject.

“I’m an accountant, a CPA. I do taxes mostly.”

“How well did you know Marco? Or
Preston
?” Cyn asked, naming the two dead vampires.

Jeremy shook his head. “I knew them, naturally. We’d met a handful of times, I suppose, here at the compound. I didn’t do their taxes or anything, if that’s what you’re asking. They did their own. Computer geeks, you know,” he gave a half smile. “They’ve got a program for everything.” His smile fled. “Or they did.”

“Okay.” Cyn was still sitting next to him, close enough that Raphael felt her draw a fortifying breath before continuing. She was no more eager to hear the details of this outrage than Jeremy was to tell them, but she would do what needed to be done. He rested his hand lightly against her back, offering his support.

 
“I need you to tell me what happened during the attack, Jeremy. I’m going to ask that you leave nothing out, no matter how ugly, no matter how painful. I’ll try not to interrupt you with questions; I’ll save those for later. Just take your time.”

Jeremy glanced from Cyn to Raphael and back, then nodded and began talking.

* * * *

By the time the story had been told in full, with Jeremy’s voice breaking over and over again as he was forced to remember his mate’s agony, the anger of Raphael’s vampires was a sharp, bitter tide of emotion in the room. He scanned them slowly, sharing their outrage, but mindful, too, of the potential for disaster. Their anger would be useful once they began hunting their prey, but that would not happen tonight. He was aware of
Duncan
standing next to him, hyperalert and as watchful as Raphael himself. From across the room, Juro met his gaze silently, shifting slightly to block the closed doors.

And sitting beside him, tears overflowing her eyes as she listened to the story, her hands fisted in a frustrated anger of her own, was his Cyn.

“I’d recognize their voices,” Jeremy was saying, his voice all but a whisper now. “But I didn’t see any of their faces. They kept those black ski masks on the whole time. And when I woke at last, they were gone. When I saw her . . . I was nearly mad with grief. The only thing keeping me sane was the need to get help for her. I knew she was alive, barely, but alive. Colin was trying to help when I—”

Cyn straightened abruptly. “Colin?” she repeated. “Who’s Colin?”

Jeremy blinked. “He’s, I guess—”

“Colin Murphy,” Loren provided. “He’s sort of the police in Cooper’s Rest.”

Cyn scowled. “Sort of? How can someone be sort of the police? I thought you guys were under the
County
Sheriff
’s jurisdiction.”

“We are,” the security chief agreed reluctantly. “But we’re a long way from the nearest Sheriff’s station. They’re not eager to drive all the way out here, and frankly, we’re not that eager to call them. And it’s not just us either,” he added, indicating his fellow vampires. “The human locals here about tend to be loners for the most part. There’s probably more than a few survivalists among them, although not all will admit to it.

“Colin Murphy’s a former Navy SEAL. He did more than ten years before he decided to get out while he still had a few bones intact. The stories he tells . . .” Loren shook his head admiringly, before looking around and cleaning his throat. “That is, he’s a skillful guy. Knows weapons, martial arts, tactics, and a bunch of other stuff I’m sure he can’t talk about. He came here with a buddy when he got out, a guy named Garry McWaters. McWaters grew up here, but he didn’t stay long. His family were all dead or moved away, and he couldn’t take the weather anymore.

“But for some reason, Colin stuck. He’s a good guy. Takes care of nuisance calls, checks on the old ladies, hustles the drunks out of town, that sort of thing. If someone suspected something bad was going on over at Jeremy’s that day, Colin would be the one they’d call.”

Cyn returned her attention to Jeremy. “So this Colin was there when you woke up?”

Jeremy nodded. “I think he was calling an ambulance or something. He had his phone out, and I knew even then that he was trying to help, but . . . I kind of went off on him anyway.” He looked away uncomfortably, still young enough to be embarrassed by what he saw as a loss of control.

“Your mate was under attack,” Raphael reassured him. “You lay there for hours, knowing what was happening, and unable to come to her aid. And then you woke to find a human with his hands on her.” He shook his head slightly. “This Colin Murphy is lucky to be alive. I don’t know if I could have shown such restraint.”

 
Jeremy flushed with pleasure at Raphael’s praise, then drew a breath and continued more strongly. “Colin backed away as soon as he saw me. I picked up Mariane and brought her here.”

“I should talk to him,” Cyn said, turning to Raphael. It was more of a statement than a suggestion, but Raphael hesitated. “I need to know what he found when he got there, Raphael,” she added in a low, urgent voice. “It’s possible he arrived soon after the attackers left. He might have seen something more, something Jeremy didn’t notice because he was so focused on Mariane. Besides, if he’s the law in town, it might be useful to have him on board with our investigation. If nothing else, he knows the people and that gives our own hunt the imprimatur of the local authorities, such as they are.”

Loren was watching Raphael, waiting for his decision.

“Arrange a meeting for tomorrow night,” Raphael told him.

“I’ll see to it,” Loren said immediately.

Raphael stood and everyone stood with him. “Thank you, Jeremy. I know this was painful. Return to your mate, now. She needs you.”

Jeremy bowed briefly. “Thank you, Sire.” The vampire was visibly exhausted. Even with Raphael’s assistance, the depletion of Jeremy’s strength would be severe, his mate’s need a constant drain. He paused for a few seconds, long enough to steady himself before walking slowly out of the room.

Raphael raked his gaze over the remaining vampires. “An outrage has been perpetrated on us, and it will not stand. No one . . . no one touches what is mine and lives. Prepare yourselves, gentlemen. Tomorrow, we hunt.”

Chapter Six

Vancouver
,
British Columbia