Chapter 15 Rosemary #3
“I tried really hard,” I ground out. “I swear.”
“Of course you did,” Aunt Halle replied incredulously. “No one ever thought any differently. Are you kidding me?”
She let go and backed up enough that I could look her in the eyes.
“You did everything you possibly could, Rosemary, and I better not hear you say anything different.” I opened my mouth to reply, then snapped it shut again when she glared.
“Seamus was hurt because some assholes wanted to hurt my mate. The only reason we got out of there in one piece is because of you and Gary and the Bouchers. Your uncle would’ve been so proud if he’d seen you in action last night. I know I was.”
“I was shitting my pants,” I confessed.
“You and me both,” she whispered back. “But that didn’t stop us, did it?”
“Nope.”
“I love you, kid,” she said, pinching my cheek gently.
“Love you too.”
“What the hell are you doing out of bed?” Alice bitched as she stepped into the room. “I thought I told you to bring her upstairs.”
“I was just about to bring her back,” Daniel replied.
“Alice?” Daniel’s mom called. She rose from her chair.
She must’ve seen something in Alice’s expression that no one else had, because the small woman nodded her head and then burst into tears. “He’s awake,” she choked out. “He’s asking for Erik.”
“Oh, thank the Gods,” Daniel’s mom whispered, her fingers pressed to her mouth.
She rushed toward Alice and wrapped the smaller woman in her arms, ushering her out of the room.
“Come on, baby,” Daniel said, scooping me up off the bed. “Time for you to rest.”
“I’ll come back down later,” I told my aunt and cousins. I met Ian’s eyes, worried because he hadn’t said a word. Relief filled me when he scratched his nose with his middle finger, flipping me off.
“Much later,” Aunt Halle called. “Get some rest.”
The house was silent as we moved through it, but Erik intercepted us on his way through the kitchen.
“Good news,” he announced as he passed us.
“Tell him I’ll come see him in a while.”
“You’ll have to get past Alice,” Erik joked, disappearing around the corner.
I laid my head on Daniel’s shoulder and didn’t raise it until we were in his dark bedroom and he was setting me on the bed.
“Lay with me?” I asked as he pulled back.
I could’ve napped by myself. The bed was extremely comfortable, and I knew that he was itching to get back downstairs, especially since his uncle had woken up, but I wanted him with me. It felt like years since I’d felt his body press into mine while I slept, not just a day.
With a silent nod, Daniel helped me slide between the sheets. He carefully situated himself next to me, his hand on my belly, careful not to brush against my hip.
“Your bed’s so big,” I mumbled, wiggling my toes. They didn’t even reach the end.
I didn’t hear his response because I fell almost instantly asleep.
I didn’t wake up for hours, and when I did, it was because my wounds were fucking throbbing.
“Fuck,” I groaned, opening my eyes. I’d somehow managed not to roll over in my sleep, and I was still lying on my back, one arm across my chest in the sling, the other hand tucked up under my chin.
“I ran and got you some painkillers,” Daniel said sympathetically. “I had a feeling you’d need them when you woke up.”
“Good call,” I rasped. “Gimme.”
I didn’t even bother sitting up. I just let him lift my head a little so I could take the two pills with water from a straw.
“It shouldn’t take long for those to kick in,” he assured me, lying back down beside me.
“In other news,” I said, turning my head to look at him. “The mating heat seems to have disappeared.”
“Noticed that, did you?”
“Kind of hard to ignore.”
“Don’t get used to it. I think it’s just dormant while your body is healing. But it shouldn’t be as bad when it comes back, since we’ve completed the bond and your canines dropped.”
“And, you know, we’re in the same place,” I added dryly.
“That too.”
“And we’re going to stay in the same place,” I continued. “Right?”
“I’ll even leave the door open when I shit,” Daniel vowed in mock seriousness. “My bowel movements are your bowel movements.”
“You think you’re funny,” I countered. “But which one of us will be laughing when I come in while you’re on the toilet and sit on your lap to tell you about my day?”
Daniel laughed. “Please don’t.”
“Doors closed when we poop,” I agreed, letting my eyes fall shut.
“It’s over downstairs,” he said after a moment. “Do you want to hear about it?”
My eyes popped back open. “Yes.”
“Francois Baudelaire financed them to find the secret to immortality. You heard that part.”
“Tale as old as fucking time,” I grumbled.
“So he approached General Keihley because they had a bit of a relationship already. When Keihley got on board, he pulled in Morren and Adamson. Morren, because he figured he could bully him into doing what he wanted, and Adamson, because he has a human girlfriend who is not his mate.”
“No way.” My eyes widened.
Daniel nodded. “They’ve been together twenty years.”
“And he’s had to watch her age while he stayed the same.”
“Yeah,” Daniel sighed. “He knew Adamson would be willing to do whatever it took, because if they were successful, then his lover could be changed.”
“Fucking hell.” The implications were extreme. “But what if he found his mate down the road? That would be a clusterfuck.”
“Pretty much.”
“There’s a human man, last name of Hermann, who is in charge of the human side of things. Adamson doesn’t know if he’s a scientist or just a strategist, but he’s the contact that Keihley had with the human faction. Adamson didn’t know how to find him.”
“I bet Chance can,” I said confidently. We’d had more than one discussion about Chance’s aptitude with computers and patterns.
“That’s the next step,” Daniel said. “Find Hermann.”
“Or you could just take out Francois Baudelaire,” I argued. “Stop the money and you stop the attacks.”
Daniel smiled. “He’s on the list too, baby. But it’s not as if he’s giving them petty cash to go buy bullets. We have no idea how much money is already in their hands. Killing Baudelaire may not even slow them down for a while.”
“Dammit.”
“Getting closer,” he reminded me, leaning down to brush his lips over mine.
“Without contacts in Vampire Command, the humans will be hobbled. Arthur has already talked to the heads of government, and they’re going to put out a joint statement warning Vampires not to report their mates, just in case there are any traitors we haven’t found yet. ”
“You think that’s a possibility?”
“I think Adamson gave us everything he knew, but I don’t trust that he knew everything there is.”
“That makes sense.”
“Arthur sent out a cleanup team to Dalton’s property,” Daniel said, propping his head on his hand. “Between the sixty-five men that were killed here and the one hundred eighty-two killed at Dalton’s, I think it’s safe to say that we’ve put a dent in the human militia.”
“Jesus,” I breathed. “One hundred eighty-two?”
“They came ready.”
“Not ready enough, since they’re dead and we aren’t.”
“They weren’t expecting you.” He grinned.
“They weren’t expecting the superhero either.”
“Gods, please don’t say that.”
“What, superhero?” I teased, making him grimace. “Why? I think it has a nice ring to it.”
“If my brothers hear you, they’ll never let me live it down.”
“Then you’d better be nice to me.”
I laughed and then groaned as the movement jostled my shoulder.
“All things considered,” Daniel said, running his hand slowly up and down my side. “I doubt they’ll come for us again.”
“You don’t think they’ll be pissed and want to get even?”
“I don’t think it’s personal for them.” He shook his head. “Our mates and Dalton’s family aren’t worth the risk, not when they can target others who are less prepared.”
“So we’re safe.”
“For the moment, yeah.”
“Well, hallelujah.”
“But it’s not over,” Daniel warned, his hand pausing.
“Because we’re not stopping,” I agreed, running my fingers through his beard.
“Not until they’re all dead.”
“Humans are the worst, am I right?” I said with a sigh, giving his beard a little tug.
“Oh, I don’t know.” Daniel nipped at my hand. “I can think of one or two that aren’t so bad.”
I smiled as he rolled toward me and kissed me deeply. Every movement of his body was carefully calculated not to hurt me, but even though our bodies barely touched, I was still on fire by the time he raised his head again.
“When I can move again, we’re going to fuck on every surface in this room,” I whispered, making him groan.
“Go back to sleep,” he ordered quickly, putting his hand over my face. “Sleep is the best thing for healing.”
I didn’t even mind the throbbing of my hip as I burst into laughter.