12. Chapter Twelve
Chapter Twelve
Damyr
I was worried.
It was an alien sensation. I wasn’t normally burdened by it, but there I was, watching the emotions play across Benjamin’s beautiful face and I was unsure of what to do.
It wasn’t the dead body, he seemed comfortable with that. So that just left me that he could be uncomfortable with. I didn’t know why I cared, just that I wanted to care. About everything to do with him. If I was being brutally honest with myself, the whole dynamic between Benjamin and I unnerved me. I’d never had this kind of visceral reaction to someone I’d fed from before, so what made Benjamin so special?
“Look at this,” Banjamin said, holding the gift tag in his hand. He rubbed it between his finger and thumb. He had such lovely hands. Long, elegant fingers. Soft and caring. Not like mine which were scarred and showed signs of a brutal life.
Benjamin held out the gift tag. “It’s made from a thick parchment, and the ink looks like it came from a fountain pen or something. Doesn’t look like a biro made this. It kind of reminds me of old love letters you’d find in a museum.”
I took the tag from him, a shock of electricity zipping through my fingers as they brushed his. He was right. The tag looked old and there was something familiar about it. I couldn’t quite pinpoint what though. Why deliver Theo’s body to me? What did this Ronin want me to do with it?
Theo Montgomery had been the black sheep of the Royal Family since he’d been old enough to legally buy alcohol. Continuously getting into political scrapes and scandals, he’d been a thorn in his brother’s side for too long. I’d been approached to make the guy ‘disappear’. At the time, the Morozovs had been climbing the ladder of the criminal underworld and that hit had gained us some notoriety. So the fact that Theo was in my entrance hall begged the question: where the fuck had he been all this time, and how did he end up finding Lucia and Remy at some shady motel?
“Who would have sent this to you?” Benjamin asked, interrupting my thoughts.
Another question I didn’t have an answer for. “I don’t know.”
“What are you going to do with him?”
I had to dispose of the body, but did that mean I had to expose Remy and Lucia? Someone had gone to a lot of trouble to frame them and send me all the evidence. If I publicly exposed Lucia and Remy, a divide would appear between the Three Families. They’d broken the rules and would have to be punished. It would undo many decades of hard work, stability and prosperity in the city. If I exposed the fact that Remy had seemingly killed a human, and a royal one at that, we’d be fucked.
“For now, I’ll have him stored in the morgue.”
Benjamin snorted. “Of course you have a morgue.”
“Don’t all mafia mansions?”
His gaze snapped to mine and there was a spark of confusion in those green orbs. “Wait, did you just make a joke?”
I shook my head. Maybe I was too old for this. Too old and too out of touch. “Let me take you to your room. It’s late and I’m sure you’re tired.”
Benjamin’s jaw tightened as he pinched his lips. “Sure. What’s on the cards for tomorrow? Light torture and another interrogation?”
I sighed. I wondered how long he was going to be mad at me for. I still needed to figure out why that bothered me so much. I didn’t say anything back to him, just held my arm out towards the stairs and hoped he didn’t fight me. Although, I wouldn’t mind throwing him over my shoulder.
I wasn’t so lucky. With a harrumph and a little stomp of his foot, Benjamin headed up the stairs. His eyes roamed everywhere as he followed me, perhaps I could give him a tour of the place later. It was a large place and full of interesting things. All my history intertwining with the original family that owned it. I’d lived for nearly 500 years and today was the first time I’d ever wanted to walk someone through my past. Not even the man I’d thought would have been mine forever, had made me feel that.
We came to a stop outside the room I’d allocated for Benjamin’s use and I was on the cusp of making up an excuse to keep him with me a little longer.
“You’ll find all your things in here.”
He scowled at me, his eyes darkening to a deep mossy green. “Of course I will. What about my cat?”
“He’s in there too. Just keep him away from Vlad.”
“Is he allergic?”
A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. “Not exactly.”
I watched him for a moment, not wanting to say good night. The silence extended between us but it wasn’t strained, it was just… there.
“Damyr, I—” He huffed a breath and looked at his feet. When he met my gaze again, there was a determination in his eyes. “I know I’m new to this world of yours, but you can’t keep me here against my will.”
“Are you saying you’re going to escape?”
“If I have to.”
I stepped closer, using my height to loom over him. “Benjamin, let me make one thing clear. There is no escape. You’ve put yourself here by trying to be a good man. I could have killed you, but I didn’t—”
“Lucky fucking me,” he hissed. “Way to go on not committing murder, Damyr.”
“Oh, Benjamin,” I said with a harsh laugh. “The sooner you realise that life has no meaning in this world unless you have something to barter it for, the sooner you’ll understand how easy murder is.”
“And what do I have of value for you to keep me alive?”
I ran my finger along his jaw. “Right now, you have my attention, and that’s a dangerous thing in deed.”
He slapped my hand away, turned on his heel and slammed the door in my face. The lock clicked, but that wasn’t going to keep me out if I wanted to get in. But I’d allow him his privacy, even though my fingers were splintering the doorframe with the effort of staying on this side of the door.
“Good night, Benjamin,” I called through the door.
“Fuck off,” he shouted back.
***
I made it back to my office without breaking Benjamin’s door down and dropped into the sofa, exhaustion creeping into my bones. The sun was up, and I was always weaker when the day came. I wouldn’t burn up in the sun if I decided on a midday stroll, but I’d be closer to human and easier to kill. Newly turned vampires couldn’t stand the sun at all. It took decades to adjust to letting sunlight touch your skin again. For me, it was just over half a century, and even then, I only managed to watch the sun rise for twenty minutes but it was the most glorious sun rise I’d ever seen.
The door clicked open, and Vlad walked into the room followed by Alice. She was on our staff as a donor, and we had strict rules for becoming one. You could only be a donor for six months and you had to have regular health checks with the doctor. We paid well, but at the end of the six months, your memory was wiped, and you were returned to your normal life. Sex was not expected, but feeding was an intimate thing and quite often sex was a natural follow on.
“Good evening, Damyr,” she purred, and I grimaced.
Vlad chuckled at me. “Do you want someone else?”
“No,” I snapped. “It’s fine.”
I beckoned her forwards. She was clad in a gown that draped over her body like silk and her dark hair was pinned on top of her head, artfully exposing her neck.
“Which vein would you like?” she asked, her tone sultry and seductive.
The thought of drinking from her neck repulsed me and I almost blanched. I was a vampire, and I didn’t want to drink blood? The fuck was wrong with me.
“Your wrist,” I said sharply which earned me another chuckle from Vlad. Alice’s brows dipped into a frown, but she didn’t say anything else as she sat next to me on the sofa.
“You probably shouldn’t do that, boss.” Vlad stood casually with his hands in his pocket, a smug little grin across his sharp face.
I just threw him a scowl and sank my fangs into the soft flesh of her wrist.
Alice screamed and I recoiled instantly. The blood tasted like ash in my mouth, putrid and rotten. I spat it out and retched. I was vaguely aware of Vlad scooping Alice up and getting her away from me, but I couldn’t focus on anything but the pain. Shivers consumed my body, and my muscles convulsed.
“Damyr!” Hands grabbed at my face and pulled at my limbs. Vlad’s features swam in front of my eyes as fire seared my veins and stole my breath.
And then, just as suddenly as the pain had started, it faded, leaving my skin feeling clammy and my heart thundering in my chest.
Blood splattered my shirt, and my stomach still churned uncomfortably. “What was that?”
Vlad grinned at me, his smile broad and garish. “Congratulations, boss. You’ve got a mate.”
Fuck.
“I’ll get Benji so he can feed you.” Vlad stood to leave but I grabbed his arm to stop him.
“No.”
“No?” Disbelief sat heavy in his eyes.
“I can’t.” I could tell Vlad didn’t approve, finding a mate was beyond rare, but fear held me back. “I can’t risk losing him.”
Not when I’d just found him.
“Damyr,” Vlad said softly, his hand grabbing mine. “He might not understand what’s happening, but he will still be able to feel it. You’d be doing him a disservice by keeping him in the dark.”
He was right. Vlad had an uncanny knack of always being right. “I will tell him. Just not yet.”
I just needed some time.
Vlad patted my hand. “Okay. But what are you going to do about feeding?”
I pursed my lips. That was definitely a tricky one. Once you’d found your mate, it was impossible to feed on anyone else. “I’ll be fine.”
The big guy snorted. “Of course you will.”
Well, I’d be fine for maybe a week. The mouthful of Benjamin’s blood I’d had earlier would have to be enough.
Vlad handed me a glass of bourbon and sat next to me. I swallowed a large mouthful, glad that the burn of the alcohol removed the awful taste of Alice’s blood. “Is she okay?”
“Who? Alice?” Vlad undid his tie and the top few buttons on his shirt. “She will be fine. The doc is tending her wound. I’ve asked Aleksey to wipe her memory and send her home.”
I rubbed my hand down my face. At least that was one problem solved. “What are we going to do about Theo Montgomery?”
Vlad frowned. “That’s a tricky one. As far as I can see, we have two options. Hide it and risk the wrath of your mysterious Ronin or deliver him to the cops and risk breaking apart the Three Families and all the work you’ve done together to get where you are.”
“My thoughts exactly.” Money runs and drug trades could be rebuilt but the power of the names of Morozov, Laveaux and Rowan were worth more. “Bury him.”
I just hoped the repercussions were worth it.