Chapter 14 #3
“I’ll see what I can do about uncovering potential threats. I may reach out to Winter for help on this.”
Marcus smirked. “I think Winter would be happy to help you sneak about. It’s what he enjoys the most.”
Aiden nodded. “I’ve always thought you were wrong to believe that Rafe is the biggest troublemaker. Winter enjoys stirring up mischief far more.”
“Maybe, but Rafe tends to be the most flamboyant about it, while Winter’s methods are far more secretive.”
It also went without saying that Rafe’s version of trouble tended to have a much lower body count when all was said and done. Winter had no qualms about turning one clan against another if he thought it would protect his family.
Marcus picked up his glass and started to take a drink when he paused just before it touched his lips. His gaze had caught on a familiar face. Meryl was standing at the bar, her glass raised in a mocking toast, but Cain was nowhere to be seen.
Lowering his glass and setting it on the table, Marcus turned his attention back to Aiden. “We need to leave now.”
“What—”
Aiden didn’t get to finish the thought before muffled screams could be heard from the first floor. Considering the amount of soundproofing that separated the two floors, Marcus could only assume that anarchy had broken out in the nightclub.
Grabbing Aiden’s arm, he pulled the older vampire to his feet and started walking through what had been a quiet respite from the world. Other vampires were rising and hurrying toward the door to either investigate the growing sounds of chaos or to escape.
Human servants rushed around, and Marcus could only hope that they had their own hiding spots within the building. Any wounded vampires would be seeking them out before the night was over as a quick and easy meal. The humans were the least likely to survive if things grew worse.
Heart pounding within his chest, Marcus started for the exit with the others, constantly scanning through the panicked throng for signs of Cain.
Meryl was a danger all by herself, but Cain’s size and strength naturally made him a formidable adversary as well.
Marcus would rather not find himself fighting against both of them if he could avoid it, even with Aiden at his side.
Before he could get more than a few steps, Aiden was stopping him and leading him down a dark corridor.
He followed without question, praying that it was an alternate exit.
At the end of the hall, they pushed through a swinging door and into the bright lights of a kitchen filled with stark white walls and stainless-steel counters and appliances.
The scent of cooked meat and vegetables rose up.
There were hints of spices and something sweet, maybe chocolate for a decadent dessert.
A couple of humans were working on orders and preparing plates.
They gasped and shouted at the sudden intrusion.
The noise from sizzling food and general shouts from the staff as they worked had drowned out the cries from the first floor.
“Get out!” Aiden bellowed before anyone could argue. “There’s an attack on the first floor. Everyone out.”
No one lingered to question Aiden. They just flowed through the kitchen, running toward another exit at the back of the room.
Marcus started to follow, but Aiden grabbed his arm and motioned with his head toward the chopping block at Marcus’s hip.
A butcher knife with a black handle was resting among some fresh cuts of beef.
Without a word, Marcus snatched up the knife and stepped away from Aiden, giving them both some room to maneuver in the aisles of the kitchen.
The door swung open again and Meryl strolled through, a grin slicing wide across her face. “I knew it was only a matter of time before Aiden rolled into town to join his little clan. The wayward sire has returned.”
“Aiden is never far from his family,” Marcus snapped.
The elder vampire might be forced to travel great distances to give Julianna a break from his presence, but the brothers always stayed in contact with him, giving him updates on everything. Aiden and Julianna might not have ever married, but Marcus had always seen Aiden as part of their family.
Aiden glanced over his shoulder and flashed him a grateful smile before directing his attention to Meryl. “We want nothing to do with your faction’s plans,” Aiden growled.
“Doesn’t matter.”
A cold prickling crept up Marcus’s neck.
Tightening his grip on the knife, he swung around, raising the knife.
Cain lurched out of the reach of the blade, his eyes wide in surprise.
He’d been attempting to sneak up on them from the exit at the rear of the kitchen.
The massive vampire hadn’t made a sound, and yet Marcus had sensed some movement, some growing threat.
He swung the knife again, forcing Cain back another step. Meryl screamed as she launched her attack on Aiden, but Marcus couldn’t risk looking over at his sire to see if he needed help. Cain might be large, but he was also fast. He’d undoubtedly take advantage of any distraction.
Cain’s fist flew through the air, and Marcus barely managed to get out of the way in time.
The breeze ruffled his hair and brushed his jaw.
The aisles were too damn narrow for him to place more room between them.
He and Aiden were trapped between Cain and Meryl.
Marcus needed to take out Cain in some way before he could help Aiden.
Marcus kept slashing at Cain, trying to drive him back, while cookware crashed to the floor, sending up an awful noise. Meryl screamed again, but the cry seemed more out of frustration than pain.
“Do it, Marcus!” Aiden suddenly shouted.
He didn’t know what was happening to Aiden, but he didn’t hesitate. With a small grin, he tapped into the one power he’d been granted when he’d been reborn as a vampire. There was a sense of relief in using it. Like he’d been tensing a muscle for too long and was finally able to relax.
In a breath, all light in the room flowed into Marcus’s body, plunging the room into total darkness.
Vampire eyes operated more like cat eyes.
The pupils could expand, sucking in all available light so that they could see on the darkest of nights.
But there had to be at least some light in the room.
Marcus’s power turned the room into a black hole.
He drained it of all light, making Cain, Meryl, and even Aiden completely blind.
But Marcus could still see using the light he’d gathered inside of himself.
Both Meryl and Cain cried out in panic. Marcus chanced a quick glance over his shoulder to see that Aiden had gotten a hold of Meryl and was pulling her into him already.
Looking at Cain, he found the large vampire’s hands out in front of him, fingers trembling, as he searched for Marcus.
Dipping under his hands, Marcus soundlessly slid in close and plunged the knife into Cain’s heart.
Cain shouted in pain, his hands clamping down on Marcus’s shoulders, but his hold was weaker than it normally should have been.
“Aiden?” Marcus called out.
“Finish it, Marcus. They mean to kill us and our family.”
Meryl screamed out, but the sound was suddenly cut short.
Marcus ripped the knife from Cain’s chest and plunged it into Cain’s throat until he hit bone.
Cain’s mouth opened on a gurgle and he released Marcus to reach for the knife.
Blood poured from his chest and neck, weakening the giant further.
Marcus pulled the vampire down, hacking at his throat and pulling at his head, while bracing one foot on his chest. Cain fought as much as he could, but he was growing weaker by the second.
At the end, there was only a small gasp of air as Marcus pulled his head from his body.
“Marcus?” Aiden demanded, worry thickening his voice.
Dropping the knife with a clatter to the blood-slick tile floor, Marcus pulled back his power and released the light he’d captured.
He looked over to see Aiden blinking and squinting as his eyes tried to adjust to the sudden brightness.
Meryl’s dead body lay on the floor of the kitchen while Aiden clutched her head by the hair in his hand.
Decapitation wasn’t the only way to kill a vampire, but it was certainly the quickest and most effective.
Marcus looked down at himself and sighed. His suit was soaked with blood. He could feel it running down his face and dripping from his fingers. He’d been expecting a quiet meeting with Aiden to discuss recent issues. Not a fucking bloodbath.
“This is merely the beginning, Marcus,” Aiden said softly.
Marcus could only nod. He needed to speak with his brothers. They needed to come up with a plan to protect themselves. To protect their mother.
It was after one in the morning when Marcus sat on the edge of his bed, holding his phone in his hands.
He’d just gotten out of an extremely long shower, scrubbing away Cain’s blood from every inch of his body.
He might crave blood for his survival, but that didn’t mean he longed to bathe in the sticky substance.
His lingering human side still demanded that he maintain some semblance of civility.
Luckily, the suit he’d been wearing hadn’t been one of his favorites, because the damn thing needed to be incinerated.
He hadn’t heard yet how many other vampires had been slaughtered at the club, but he knew he’d be hearing from the American Ministry about the deaths of Meryl and Cain.
Aiden had already said that he would handle that matter, and Marcus could only grunt his agreement.
He didn’t want to worry about standing before the Ministry for an accounting of their deaths.
Not that he was overly worried about it.
Meryl had gone out of her way to threaten Marcus in his home just days earlier.
He and Aiden were protecting themselves.
The matter had been concluded outside the view of humans.
Nothing needed to be resolved. Case closed.
Before his shower, he’d taken the time to call all three of his brothers to give them an update on his conversation with Aiden and to give them warning that more threats were likely to come their way.
Yet, his family was not on his mind as he sat staring at his phone.
He wanted to call Ethan. Since stepping out of the club and climbing into his car, he had an overwhelming need to go to Ethan, to talk to Ethan, to reassure himself that he was safe.
At first, he’d argued that he couldn’t go to Ethan while he was covered in blood.
That would only cause the young man to panic.
Now he was clean, and the world was quiet.
Rational thought was kicking in again to battle the feelings trying to command his actions.
His heart was demanding that he throw on the first clothes he could find and rush over to Ethan’s apartment.
It wanted to not only know he was safe, but to gather his small body against his own, to feel his heart beat and soak in his warmth.
He wanted to taste his mouth and listen to his needy sounds of pleasure.
But going to Ethan was a mistake. He was bringing danger and potentially death into Ethan’s world. His family had already been stolen from him. Somehow Ethan had managed to escape such a horrible fate and deserved a chance to live a long, productive life doing whatever his heart desired.
Marcus refused to risk Ethan’s life.
There was no tomorrow for them. There would be no more kisses. No more lingering looks and little touches that sped up his heart. And if he was smart, no more lunches filled with Ethan’s laughter and brilliant mind.
His world was slipping back into the pale gray it had been before he met Ethan. As it should be.
What he’d told Rafe so many nights ago was true. Vampires were not meant to find love.