The Witch's Vampire (New Adult Paranormal Romance) (Mystery Springs Series) (9 page)

The grin on his face was more like a condescending smirk which marred his good looks. She really detested men who acted like they knew they were all that. They were really quite annoying. “Good evening, I’m sorry for bumping into you. Are you alright?”

His voice was a deep tenor and the lilt matched Giovanni’s. It was in that moment she noticed how cold he was, and his touch didn’t create warmth, it made her shiver with a chill. She pulled back from him, fearful of frostbite.

“No, I’m sorry. I wasn’t looking.” 
I was too busy being angry over something ridiculous!
 She beat herself up mentally. Why was she acting like a foolish child? Why did she insist on letting her emotions get the better of her and cause her to get temperamental? No wonder her father treated her that way, he had no choice. She acted immaturely and he responded like a protective father should. 

She shook her head to clear it. She wasn’t thinking straight, and with Giovanni’s ‘no games’ rule she needed to get her head right before she lost any chance she might have with him. If she hadn’t already. She needed to go back and fix what she just did. “If you’ll excuse me.” She turned around to go back outside and accept the date, but when she did she came face to face with her father and Giovanni. They’d followed her back inside. 
Crap!
 She wondered how much they saw, but didn’t have time to ask.

“Gio!” the blonde girl ran up to him and curled into his chest. She recognized the girl as the one hanging on Giovanni on the dance floor at the club. Wow, did she feel stupid. Of course a man as handsome as Gio would have a girlfriend. Why didn't she think to ask that question earlier?

He smiled and patted her on the back. “Marissa, I’m sorry I left you at the club. Did Jeremiah take care of you?”

She smiled a dazzling grin that stunned the room and crushed Sophie’s heart.

“He did, but he’s no replacement for your company. Nicky offered to bring me over when he got the call to come here.”

“Nicolai, why? What call?” Giovanni asked, a concerned frown marred his ruggedly handsome face. His hand was still around Marissa’s shoulders and hers around his waist. Sophie swallowed down the green jealousy demon as best she could, but if the blonde continued to cling to him she didn't know what she'd do. They were comfortably intimate in front of the crowd which made Sophie's anger roll over into embarrassment. She wanted to shrink down to nothing and disappear. A few minutes ago she had her tongue down his throat, and her hands all over him. She felt like she was going to be sick as her heart shattered.

Was he dating someone else?
 Doubt crept into her mind like a thief in the night and threatened to steal her confidence. She wasn’t a home wrecker, she wouldn’t be responsible for breaking them up. She wanted to run upstairs, away from the obviously happy couple, but she had a feeling this was important. So she decided to swallow her pride, and would deal with the emotions later.

“I’m to take the nephilim in for more questioning. It seems his story isn’t adding up. Marianna had admitted to hurting the human, but she said it was only in self-defense. She said she and Marco were attacked on the street. Marco is dead and she simply tried to defend herself.” He looked down at the floor before continuing. “She also said that Marco was the one who infected the human.”

“Which is why she isn’t able to heal normally, why he needed you, Sophie. She needs supernatural healing.” Giovanni spoke his thoughts out loud. She liked the way he mulled over his thoughts out loud. Everything about this man was sexy and set her on fire. She needed to put space between them before she got burned beyond repair.

“Why is that?” Sophie asked, curiosity getting the better of her, keeping her feet planted in the ground, refusing to leave as her mind advised her to do. Her heart wasn’t ready yet.

“Because her sire was killed. All Marco’s children, his entire vampire line will die within the week. The only thing really keeping her alive is that she isn’t a vampire yet.” Giovanni offered the answer before anyone else could speak. Marissa and Nicolai exchanged worried glances. “We need to see if he has any sired children out there in the world and start working on damage control.”

Nicolai, who was uneasy with the information Gio was sharing with the witches offered a tight nod, “Marianna is looking into any possible children. She can only think of three, but he lived a long time. Don’t you think this conversation should be taken someplace quieter?” He suggested.

“Why? Sophie needs this information and we trust Rafe.” Gio turned threatening eyes on Rafe, “we can trust you, right?” Rafe nodded with a smile on his face and Sophie knew he was telling the truth. Giovanni nodded, the intense moment over, and turned back to Nicolai continuing the conversation as though nothing had happened. “And of course any of their children as well.”

Sophie swallowed hard past the lump forming in her throat. Gio was a dangerous man and one that, if his reputation was correct, you shouldn’t cross. The moment between him and her father worried her. But he was right about one thing. She needed this information. “Why do they die?” Sophie plunged herself into gathering intel that could help her save Tiffany’s life. It was a good distraction from the image of Gio holding the blonde in his arms possessively.

“It’s a built in defense from the beginning of our creation. Legend says Hades was concerned his children would battle just as his naturally born children did. He worried they’d kill each other before the vampire race had a chance to take hold. They had his nature running through their veins after all and Hades is a vengeful God who airs on the side of justice.” Nicolai was the first to speak, he had pride shining in his eerie blue eyes.

“So he built in a fail-safe. He didn’t want fighting in the ranks, but he didn’t consider the enemies vampires would make in the real world.” Giovanni finished the story. “It’s a curse. If our father dies, so will we. Only those saved by the true mating bond would survive the fate.”

“True mating bond?” Sophie repeated his words slower as she tried to process them. It sounded like one of those plot twists she read about in the fictional paranormal urban fantasy tales.

Giovanni felt the corners of his lips twitch up. His little witch doctor was a curious girl. “That's another story. I think we’ve more pressing things to deal with now.” He pulled out his phone preparing to make a call, stepping away from the stunning blonde's hold. “Is the blood bank and testing facility still intact?”

Nicolai nodded.

Marianna and Marco were two of the nicest vampires around. They ran the vampire blood bank in town and had been working on creating a synthetic blood source for the vampires for years. From the reports he’d received, Marco was close to a breakthrough. His loss was going to be great. “Christopher, the nephilim, should be upstairs with his sister.” He began to dial the phone. He needed to secure the blood bank just in case.

“I’ll take you.” Sophie offered. She needed an excuse to leave.

“Wait, Sophie, I need to…” Gio started but was interrupted by Jeremiah’s voice on the other end of the line. "One minute, Jeremiah."

“No need,” she put a hand up to silence him as she looked from Marissa to Giovanni, they were a perfectly matched pair “I’ve seen all I need to. I don’t play games, either, Mr. Mancuso.” She turned on her heel and started up the stairs. Nicolai tossed a confused glance between Sophie’s fleeting back and his brother.

Giovanni nodded his approval and offered a tight smile, not that Nicolai needed it, but the uncomfortable look he gave him forced him to feel he had to. He could imagine what horrible thoughts Sophie had of him at the moment. He really should’ve thought that kiss through. All he wanted was a taste, a simple light brush of the lips to show her his interest. He never expected it to explode into a moment of passion. And now he had an act of war on his hands. War against the Hunters didn’t bode well for them, but the hunters threw the first punch so he needed to retaliate or step back. He'd have to gather more information and discuss his options with the council. He only hoped he had time before the next possible strike. He needed to understand why Christopher would’ve attacked his people unprovoked. His concern needed to be on his duty not the spunky little witch.

“Marissa, I need you to go home. There are dangerous games afoot and I don’t want my little sister to get hurt.” Giovanni spoke with genuine affection to the blonde beauty.

“I’m tougher than I look. If there is danger I want to be there by your side like I always am, just as you’ve always been there for me.”

“Marissa, this isn’t the time for heroics. I have enough to worry about…”

“Sssh, silly goose.” She placed her index and middle finger on his lips. “You know I won’t leave you.” The determination in her blue eyes reconfirmed her words.

Giovanni considered using compulsion on Marissa when a crash came from upstairs, and Nicolai flew backward into the hall. His sharp incisors lengthened and he charged back into the room with an angry snarl. Giovanni snapped his phone shut without saying goodbye to Jeremiah and took the stairs two at a time. His concern wasn’t for his brother, he knew his brother could handle himself in a fight, even against a nephilim. Nicolai was one of their best warriors.

His concern at the moment was for Sophie. She was a new witch with budding powers. She couldn’t defend herself against a trapped nephilim who was as dangerous as a cornered animal. The rest of the house was behind him. He heard the pounding footsteps on the floor as he burst into the spare bedroom where Sophie was working on Tiffany.

His fear for her slammed into him with the force of a car hitting a guard rail at eighty miles an hour as he took in the sight. Christopher held a fire sword against Sophie’s sweet neck. He heard her heart beat race, her pupils were dilated, and the smell of terror vibrated off her with so much intensity he felt his own teeth lengthen. His desire to protect her drove his own sanity level close to the edge. The instinct to kill kicked in and he jumped in front of Nicolai with a hiss and a deadly light in his eyes.

“Back up, vampire or I’ll slice her head off.” Christopher snarled angrily and pressed the sword closer to her throat, cutting into her skin. Gio could smell her blood on the air which only kicked the predator in him into higher gear. It was like a demon on fire in his very soul. Adrenaline pushed through his veins with so much force he didn’t know if there was anything that could stop him from tearing the cupid boy’s head off his shoulders.

"Careful, brother." Nicolai warned, his voice so low only supernaturals could hear.

Christopher let out a nasty laugh, "yes, careful
, brother." He spit each word. "You wouldn't want something to happen to the pretty, novice witch."

Sophie was remarkable. She didn’t scream, only let out a tiny cry as the fire blade cut through her skin as easily as melted butter. Her mortality, her softness, her ability to compa
rtmentalize the attack were the only things keeping the deranged angel hybrid from taking action. Her strength and unexpectedly calm demeanor in the face of this tragic turn of events helped Giovanni find a clear head. If she could be strong in the face of danger so could he. Besides, if he made a move there was no doubt in Gio’s mind that Christopher would kill her. The very idea of losing her before he even got to know her was the greatest torture he’d ever felt.

Gio held both hands up to show he was unarmed. “You don’t want to do that, Christopher. Sophie is the only one that has been able to give your sister relief, she may even be able to heal her given enough time. Otherwise, your sister will become one of us. You don’t want that, do you?” He chose not to tell him Tiffany’s sire was dead. It was a secret he’d never reveal to his enemies.

“Tiffany isn’t getting better and your people are trying to take me into custody. Trying to take me away from her. I won’t be detained by a filthy, scum-sucking vampire. I’d rather die and I’ll take her with me.” He laughed maniacally-there was the look of insanity lighting his eyes, “That would really weaken your town wouldn’t it?”

He was right. If the town lost Sophie, there would be some major damage control needed to repair it, but that wasn’t what Gio cared about. If he lost Sophie there’d be hell to pay. He'd go rabid and take out every person Christopher ever cared about one by one, slowly, methodically, and when the nephilim had no one else, he'd exact his own ugly form of vengeance.

“You'll die if you harm my daughter, I have no doubt Gio is ready to tear your head from your shoulders and then I’ll torment your soul in the after life.”