Vampire Forgotten (3 page)

Perfect. Just beautiful
. Mischa Bonovich was out of the country. Her next door neighbor, a batty old woman who was in the mood to chat, didn’t blink twice about telling him where Mischa had taken off to.

Romania. Travel would tick off another precious day, and it wasn’t like the country was the size of Rhode Island. Somewhere in the middle of millions of people was his last remaining link to the shaman.

It would be like trying to locate a particular snowflake in the middle of a blizzard. His security guys were already digging for Mischa’s itinerary, but in the meantime, he was about to board a flight for a country where English wasn’t the predominant language.

Even with the woman’s location available, it would still take time he didn’t have to get to her. With Romania being over 92,000 square miles, information supplied by his secretary who thought she was helping, Mischa Bonovich could be at the farthest end from the airport.

After popping another pain pill, he handed the flight receptionist his boarding pass and sought out his seat for the 4,000 plus mile journey. His head continued to throb, despite the medication. The neurologist had warned that would happen. Then he’d talked about a morphine pump. That was when Hamrick had tuned him out.

He wasn’t looking for something to stop the pain. He was looking for someone to save his life.

Night fell, and Rhad Valentine hadn’t returned. 
Arrogant bastard
.  If not for the food deliveries, Mischa might have been alone in the house.  The housekeeper offered very few words in thick Romanian, making it clear she wasn’t interested in a conversation. She simply placed the tray on the bedside table, gave Mischa a baleful stare, and marched out of the room like she’d been summoned by the queen.

Mischa pressed a hand to her throat and shivered.  What had she gotten herself into? She was in a vampire’s castle.  His lair.  What on earth had possessed her to think this man might really help her find her sister? And how in the hell had she ended up on his doorstep?

There was definitely trouble brewing in the air, and had Mischa not come from a long line of believers in the black arts, she might have been spooked. But her mother had warned her to always be on the look out for danger…to never let her guard down.

And the one time she had, Mischa found herself inside a vampire’s castle with no means of protecting herself. The question was: would she need to protect herself from Rhad Valentine? Though her sister had extolled his virtues, he certainly didn’t look like the friendly, assisting type.

And as far as she knew, she could be his midnight snack.  Maybe that was why he wanted her to eat.  The shivering intensified.  Well, she wasn’t going to fatten up so he would enjoy his meal more.

She sat on the bed, her legs curled underneath her in a lotus position.  Trying to meditate was useless. A pair of turquoise eyes haunted her.  She flopped back against the stack of pillows behind her and cursed the attraction curling within the pit of her stomach.

Desire sizzled along every nerve ending.  Rhad Valentine had overwhelmed her when he’d walked into the room for the first time.   He’d taken her breath away, and she wondered if, before her mission was over, he would take her life.

She fought back the panic and remembered that she had taken an online course for just such an occasion.

“How to kill any vampire”
promised immediate results with a money back guarantee.  Mischa guessed the friends she’d named as beneficiaries would be collecting that if the class failed. Of course, she never actually believed in the class, but taking it had given her some sense of control over her fears.

“Oh, Rianna, where are you, and why did you come all the way back to Romania on this quest of yours? Why could you not have been happy in Boston?”  She reverted to her native Romanian tongue as she spoke and combined her thoughts with prayers, praying benediction for her wayward sister.   “Soră Fates , a face pe plac la ai grijă de Rianna. Ea este tînăr şi nu de asemenea wise la timp. Chiar ceas încă o dată ei pînă la I a putea află ei. Apoi atunci I’ll a lua încă o dată.”

Sister Fates, please take care of Rianna.  She is young and not too wise at times.  Just watch over her until I can find her.  Then I’ll take over. 
Just as she had since their parents had died seven years ago. 

She’d never complained even though she was forced to give up her dream of being an opera star.  This had simply been her lot in life.  Rianna’s dreams were more important now, and though her younger sister had made a few mistakes in life, Mischa could not imagine her own life without her sibling’s irreverence and carefree spirit.

Her soul nourished by the strength of the prayer, Mischa jumped to her feet and donned the jeans and flowing, white peasant blouse the housekeeper had bought for her.   Not exactly her first clothes of choice, but it certainly beat facing the vampire in a toga again…that was if he was even in the house.

She creaked open the bedroom door.  Gas lamps lined the hallway, providing just enough light for her to find her way to the top of the stairs.  She refused to call for help, determined to find her own way to the master’s den. 

“Mischa, how nice to see you out and about,” Rhad spoke from the bottom of the stairs.

She jumped.  The shadows barely allowed her to make out the planes of his face, but the deep timbre of his voice was enough to restart the shivers. “You have a habit of sneaking up on people.”

“I cannot sneak in my own home.”

“Whatever.  We have to talk.”  She reached the bottom landing and swept past him, trying to ignore the way her heart leaped to her throat as the sleeve of her blouse brushed against his arm. She refused to be seduced by a creature of the night, and yet, her body responded, awakening with the need for sensual pleasure.

Rhad swept out a hand, his fingers pointed toward an open door.  “As you wish.  Here is my study.”

Mischa walked ahead of him, her head held high.  The scent of leather assaulted her nostrils, and she spared a glance at her surroundings, eager to take her mind off the man following her.

Rich, gold-embossed books adorned walls lined with shelves.  Executive chairs with intricately carved legs and wooden floors polished to a shine set the scene, and the thick, heavy drapes added the finishing touch to the room.  She could picture Rhad wearing a black cloak and hair gel while twisting his moustache. 

She looked over a shoulder at him.  “Nice decorating job.”

“Since I know you were only being facetious, I’ll refrain from thanking you.  Please, sit down.”

Mischa did but didn’t waste time before she launched into her diatribe.  “I want to know where my sister is, and don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about.  Her name is Rianna Bonovich, and I know you were the last person she saw before she went missing.  You’re all she talked about. That’s how I know all about you. I know everything about you.”

He sat opposite her and assumed a relaxed posture though Mischa was sure his muscles were tensed.  “Everything?”

“Absolutely.”  She scooted to the edge of the chair and leaned forward.  “Didn’t I already know about your vampire status?” Her voice dropped a notch as if she were imparting a secret.

Rhad didn’t blink.  “If such is the case, then why would you throw yourself on my doorstep?  Aren’t you risking your own life?” 

 “I didn’t throw myself on your doorstep.”
How insulting
. She couldn’t deny that someone had thrown her there, but she would have retained her dignity…and her clothes…had she any choice in the matter.

“So you just fell on your way to my door?”

Her teeth nibbled at her lower lip. “That’s a subject for a different time especially since I’m not quite sure how I got here. Although, if I thought it would ensure my sister’s safety, I would do anything.”         

“Including die for her then?”

A lump formed in Mischa’s throat.  “If I have to.”

“I don’t know your sister, Mischa.”          

“You’re lying.”

Fury flashed in Rhad’s eyes, and he got to his feet.  “I believe I’ve already told you that I do not lie.”

She got to her feet to stand in front of him, determined not to back down from the danger he presented.  “That’s a load of bullshit. I know you know my sister. She spoke of you often when we talked on the phone.”

“And did she tell you the things I had said to her?”

The first inkling of doubt tickled the back of her mind. The conversations she’d had with Rianna had almost always been about Rhad but never about any communications Rianna might have had with him.

Determined not to let her own doubts sway her, Mischa shot back. “That’s beside the point. I know my sister, and it’s obvious you’re not a figment of her imagination.”

Though Rhad’s jaw tightened, he ran one finger down her upper arm and dipped his head lower.  “You should not take chances when you do not have all the facts.” 

Dark and dangerous, he stared into her upturned face, and Mischa wondered if she’d pushed him too far.  Anger flashed in his eyes, and though she wanted to take a step back, she forced herself to remain in place. 

“I have what I need.”

His hand traveled to her face and he gently stroked her cheek.  “Mischa, if you think to threaten me because a story in cyberspace told you I was one of the undead, then you really don’t know anything about me.”

She clenched her teeth to keep them from chattering. “What makes you think I found out about you online? Perhaps you’re not the only vampire I’ve seen.”

His chuckle was infuriating. “Do not play games with me, little one. I have never been defeated.”

Realization struck like the chiming of a grandfather clock, and a cold chill swept over her body. “You really knew I was coming, didn’t you?” Common sense told her to back out now…to get the hell out of Dodge while she still could. But it was too late. Running wasn’t an option.

“Would my answer make any difference? Would you not have come anyway? You just said you would do anything for your sister so I assume you would change nothing about your current situation.”

She hated his mocking tone.  What she hated even more was her body’s reaction to his touch.  Places tingled she was pretty sure had never tingled before.  And his eyes mesmerized her.  She’d never seen that shade of green on a man, but on him the color was appropriate.  It allowed him to hypnotize his victims.  She found herself staring into the liquid pools and leaning toward him.  Her will power was crumbling like the Berlin Wall.

Forcing herself to hang onto her determination, she threw caution to the winds and gripped a hand full of his starched, white shirt, trying to shake him.  “Where is she?  Tell me where she is, or I swear to God, I will kill you myself.”

Rhad covered her hands with his.  “You mean because you took a course online?  You think that really will teach you how to handle someone like me?”

How did he know so much about her? And the class? Could he read her mind? The thought unnerved her. Mischa licked her dry lips.  “I did have a stake with me, but it must have gotten lost prior to my arrival.”

He dropped his hands down to his sides.  “Perhaps that was for the best then.”

Her arms folded underneath her breasts, she assumed a challenging posture. “You think I couldn’t kill you? Don’t underestimate me, Mr. Valentine. I’m more than capable of protecting my family.”    

His palm slid alongside her cheek.  “Did it ever occur to you that you were brought to my home for a reason other than your own?”

Her gaze stabbed him.  He was deliberately trying to throw her off-guard. “It doesn’t matter why I was ‘brought’ here. The fact remains I was coming here anyway so here I am.” When he didn’t speak, she continued. “I know you were the last person to see my sister, and I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what I need to know to find her.”

He didn’t bother to correct her. “You are inside the home of a man you believe to be a vampire, and you make demands?”

He had a way of talking which caused alternating spots of heat and cold to criss-cross up and down her spine.  “Just stop it, okay? I’m not scared of you, what you can do to me, or anything else. I’m here for Rianna, and if you think I can be bullied into running, well, you don’t know me well at all.”

His eyes flashed his approval. “You might think I know your sister, but perhaps, the Fates know I am truly the only one who can find her…and protect you.”

“The Fates could not be that cruel. Besides that, I don’t need protecting.”

His thumbs caressed the corners of her lips.  “Ah yes, the class. You have a strange sense of humor, Mischa, but I ask you to hear me out.”

She wished he’d stop touching her, or maybe she didn’t.  “I’m still here, aren’t I?”

“I am very adept at finding people, things, places, even.   My ancestors have blessed me with the gift of sight.”

“Are you trying to tell me you’re a psychic vampire, because I’m warning you, my bullshit-o-meter can sniff out a scam in a matter of seconds.”
Sorry, Dad, but this guy just brings out the obscenities in me.