The Pursuit (8 page)

“Talia, she—” He pulled out of Misha’s grip and ran toward the back of the hotel.

Where was she?
He stopped for a second and concentrated. She was above him. The elevator was too slow. Where was the stairwell?

He stopped himself from flashing in front of the hotel guests, instead ran down the hall and pushed open the door to the stairs.

Kyle’s shout echoed from above. “Let her go!”

He flashed up the empty stairs until he reached the third-floor landing. Kyle sprayed a fire extinguisher at a fledgling vampire who was ravaging Talia’s neck. Before Jean Luc could flash again, Kyle swung the extinguisher hard against the vampire’s head.

Kyle didn’t take a breath before she swung the extinguisher with all her might again, knocking the vampire across the floor.

Jean Luc bared his fangs and stood between the fledgling, Talia, and Kyle.

A door slammed open from below. Within seconds, Will and Misha thundered up the stairs.

“Shit!” Will exclaimed, reaching for Talia.

Jean Luc growled.
Non! Mine.

Misha grabbed Will’s arm. “Don’t touch her, Will. Take care of the vamp, and let Jean Luc help her.”

Will’s eyes widened when he glanced at Jean Luc. “Okay.”

While Will and Misha grabbed the fledgling and handcuffed her, Jean Luc started to breathe again. He flashed to Talia, yanked his coat off, and then his shirt, which he used to wipe the blood and foam away from her neck. Blood gushed from the wound, and he clamped his hand over her skin and bent, holding the tear together and licking her throat.
Stop the bleeding
.
Stop the bleeding.
Why was it taking so long? The chemicals in his saliva should help seal the wound.

After a few minutes, her neck was partially healed, but she still lay limp in his arms. She had lost a lot of blood. He wanted to see her eyes open and sparking with flecks of gold.

“Jean Luc.”

He would need to feed her soon. Otherwise, it would take days or even weeks for her to heal.

“Jean Luc!”

He looked up at Kyle, and she smiled, even though her eyes were tight with worry.

“Misha is pulling the van around back. We can go down the stairs and out that way.”

He glanced around the landing and realized they were the only ones there. When had Misha and Will taken the fledgling away?

“She’s going to be okay?” Kyle asked.

“
Oui.
”

Kyle let out a hard breath. “Good.” She pulled her coat off. “Wrap this around her to hide the blood on her clothes. And put your own coat back on. We can’t have you prancing around shirtless. Women will swoon.”

Jean Luc let out his own shaky breath and complied with Kyle’s orders. Then he lifted Talia and walked carefully down the stairs. He tucked Talia’s head against his chest, where it belonged. She would be all right, and they would be together again.

He would see to it.

Chapter 13

Talia couldn’t open her eyes.
So tired.

She didn’t know where she was. But she did know she was safe. Jean Luc’s scent surrounded her, as did his words, first English, then French, telling her she would be fine. She ached, needing something. A wrist pressed against her lips, and liquid warmth invaded her mouth. It tasted like citrus and spice, like life and power. She lapped her tongue over the skin, and then began to suckle.

She didn’t know how long she fed, but eventually, the wrist was removed, and the words came back, telling her to rest. She faded again, but not before lips lightly touched her forehead.

She woke to the sound of a heartbeat. No, it was two heartbeats. Hers and…she turned her head to the right. Jean Luc sat in a chair in the corner of the room. When he saw she was watching him, he stood and stepped up to the bed.

“How are you feeling?”

She took a deep breath. “I’m fine.”

His gaze narrowed on her, as if judging the truth of her statement. “Do you remember what happened?”

“Annie attacked me. Is she okay?”

“Doc is with her. We have her sedated. She was very upset when she realized what she had done to you.”

“We’re at the BSR facility?”

“Yes. Why did you risk going near the fledgling? You know how dangerous a newly turned vampire can be.”

“She was hurt, and I didn’t sense that she had just been turned.”

“Right now she is feral. Hopefully once things are explained to her she will get a handle on her hunger.”

Talia
should
have known better, but her emotions had blinded her. “I thought Annie had been attacked like Melanie. I needed to help her.”

Jean Luc placed his hand on her arm. “It is midafternoon. You have been asleep since this morning. You are healing, but slower than normal since you lost a lot of blood.”

“You’ve been feeding me.”

He nodded, and she frowned. If she couldn’t even defend herself from a fledgling, how would she face Chris?

Jean Luc removed his hand from her arm. “There was no time to ask your permission, Talia. It would have taken weeks for you to rebuild your blood supply without my help.”

“No. I’m not upset about that. Thank you for helping me. What are our next steps?”

“Renato and his guards have gone missing. We must find him before he strikes again.”

Talia shook her head. “Something’s not right about this, Jean Luc. Why would Renato attack her? And in the same hotel where he’s staying? Why would he want to bring trouble knocking at his own door right before he was involved in a tribunal? It doesn’t make sense.”

“Maybe he has gone mad.”

“Or maybe someone is setting him up? Someone in his contingent?” She sat up in the bed. “Or one of the other founding vampires?”

“To what end?” Jean Luc asked.

“If the tribunal is called, how is a new leader chosen?”

“Several founding vampires must allege misconduct on the part of the leader, and if he is removed, then those vampires are vetted as candidates for the new leader.”

“Renato is in the running for this, right? What if one of the other founders wants to make sure he is not chosen? Right now, he doesn’t look like a good choice after what’s been happening.”

“You have a point. But I still need to speak with Renato.”

“So go look for him.”

He hesitated, and she smiled.

“I’m fine, honest. I’ll be good and stay here and rest. But I’m out of this bed tomorrow morning. Do we have a deal?”

“We have a deal. Are you up for visitors while I am gone?”

He didn’t fool her. Visitors meant someone to watch over her, but she wouldn’t fight him on that either. “Yes.”

Jean Luc walked toward the door, and she called out to him, “Don’t go after Renato alone.”

He looked over his shoulder, his lips turning up slightly. “I thought you said it was not him?”

She opened her mouth to argue, and he continued, “Misha would not let me go alone even if I chose to. But he will want to see you before we go, so I will send him in.”

Five minutes later, Misha and Will bustled into the room.

Will grabbed her hand. “You doin’ okay, T?”

“Yes. Thanks.”

Misha grinned. “You scared me, my dear. Don’t do that again.”

“Yes, sir. Has anyone talked to Annie yet?”

“Nope,” Will answered. “She’s sedated. Since she’s having issues with bloodlust, Doc suggested I shouldn’t get too close, since shifter blood is so yummy to you vamps and all.”

Talia rolled her eyes. “That ego of yours is going to get you into trouble one of these days, Will.”

Will motioned to Misha. “Maybe Mr. Stinky Blood here can talk to her.”

“My blood is not stinky!” Misha sputtered. “It’s not palatable to vampires, which I personally think is a good thing. The fledgling is not too happy with
either
of us, since we cuffed her and brought her here.”

“Well, what about Kyle?”

Will and Misha shook their heads at the same time.

Will spoke up first. “Annie won’t let Kyle near her. I don’t blame her. Kyle let her have it.”

Talia frowned. She couldn’t remember exactly what happened, just snippets of Kyle shouting. “What did she do?”

Misha cut in. “It was brilliant. Shades of the show
Alias
. Sydney Bristow would be proud. She grabbed a fire extinguisher and sprayed Annie to shock her into letting you go. Then she walloped her with the canister. Twice.”

Will chuckled. “If Kyle wasn’t dating the leader of the shifters, I would so go after her.”

“I owe her my thanks.” Talia said.

Misha leaned down and kissed her on top of her head. “Kyle will be in to visit in a little bit. Close your eyes for a while and rest.”

“I’m not tired.”

“You know I’ll keep arguing with you until you agree, yes?”

“Stubborn Russian. Fine. I’ll rest if you watch out for Jean Luc.”

Misha’s eyes narrowed on her. “Always.”

Will squeezed her hand before following Misha out of the room.

Talia closed her eyes. She wasn’t tired. She would just close them for a few minutes.

* * *

Talia opened her eyes. Once again, she was not alone in the room. Kyle sat in the chair Jean Luc had vacated.

“How are you feeling?”

“Great.”

Kyle stood and walked closer to the bed. “
Right.
”

Talia ignored her tone. “How long was I asleep?”

“Two hours.”

“How is Annie doing?”

“Doc is the only person she’ll let near her without freaking out, and she’s not really talking to her either. I wish I could help.”

“You can’t make her forget, Kyle. She’s a vampire now. Everything she does has consequences. Have we heard anything from the guys?”

“Just that they’re still looking for Renato.”

“I understand from Misha and Will that you’re pretty handy with a fire extinguisher.”

“I felt bad for a split second, but then I thought, eh, she’ll heal.”

“She’ll heal from the extinguisher, but it will take a long time before she heals from the forced turning.”

“It sounds like you speak from experience.” Kyle held up her hands. “And before you go postal, Jean Luc didn’t tell me anything about your past. Your reactions are like a neon sign.”

Talia fisted her hands before her claws extended. “I was turned by force. It’s like a form of rape. A violation. A taking away of my humanity.”

“I’m sorry some S.O.B. thought he could do that to you.”

“I’ve moved forward, but I’ll never forget.”

“Is the bastard who turned you still alive?”

Her nerves tingled in alarm, but Kyle didn’t look like she knew anything. “I believe so.”

“I hope he gets what’s coming to him.”

Talia nodded, her throat too tight to make a sound. He would get what was coming to him. She would see to it.

* * *

Jean Luc read the text from Kyle and took a deep breath. Talia was doing well. He stood in an alley down the street from the hotel, waiting for Leo to show up. He had practically threatened Misha with bodily injury to get the demon to let him meet with Leo alone.

Moments later, Leo appeared and stood before him. “Jean Luc.”

“Do you know where Renato is?”

“I see we are going to dispense with the pleasantries tonight. I believe he is meeting with Jia Li.”

“The founding vampire from Beijing?”

“Yes.”

“So they must be planning a tribunal.”

“That’s what it looks like to me. But take heart. With the recent stain on Renato’s reputation, he won’t be ruling us.”

“I am not convinced he is guilty.”

“You’re sticking up for Renato now?”

“Talia does not believe Renato is responsible, and I agree with her. Why would he risk something like this so close to the tribunal?”

“Because he doesn’t believe rules are meant for him?”

“Perhaps.”

“Do you miss the old days Jean Luc?”

Jean Luc raised his eyebrows in question.

“Oh, I don’t mean The Wars. I mean the simpler times. What happened to solving disagreements with a few punches? Now we call attorneys or spread gossip through social media. Is this what we fought for?”

Jean Luc thought for a moment before responding. “I think that what is truly important never changes. And we have to fight to preserve it in whatever way is necessary.”

Leo frowned slightly before grinning at him. “Spoken like a besotted fool. I’ll get in touch with you when I know more about Renato.” He walked out of the alley.

Jean Luc stared at his retreating back until he was alone. He might be besotted, but he was no fool. Four hundred years had taught him very few things really mattered in this world. And when you found the one who did, you held on tight.

Chapter 14

Talia stood outside Annie’s room, staring through the rectangular door window. Annie huddled in a ball on the bed.

Talia clicked the lock, and Annie jerked, her eyes widening when Talia walked into the room. Talia stayed by the door so as not to stress her out and to maintain space between them in case the fledgling tried to attack again. Annie’s fledgling scent permeated the air. It reminded Talia of freshly washed linens. Why she hadn’t sensed it in the stairwell where she found Annie was a mystery to her.

“How are you feeling, Annie?”

“Okay.”

“I don’t know if you remember me from earlier today?”

Annie nodded and looked away. “I’m so…I don’t know what happened…I never meant to hurt you.”

“It’s okay”

“How can you say that?” She blinked, and a tear rolled down her cheek. “After what I did to you? I’m a monster.”

“No. You’re a vampire.”

She gasped. “That’s crazy. They’re not real.”

“How else can you explain what happened?”

“I can’t. Maybe I have some virus. Or maybe
I’m
just crazy.”

“We want to help you. What do you remember from this morning? Before I found you.”

“I was at the hotel bar last night.” She looked down at her hands. “I was trying to pick someone up. My friends told me if I was looking for a one-night stand, I should go to a nice hotel and sit in the bar.”