43

“I should drink you dry,” Valérie growled in my ear. “See what makes you so special. Maybe I’d be special then too.”

I struggled again, but she was too strong. I couldn’t move her weight. I was just a human trapped by a vampire. Again.

The bathroom door banged open behind us, cracking against the wall hard enough to leave a dent. Aimée rushed in, letting out a bloodcurdling roar before Valérie’s head rolled across the floor in front of me, her blue eyes open wide, her perfectly styled blonde hair coming loose from the chignon.

13

Nic

I

 nodded as Sebastian pointed to the tract of bayou land on the map we’d spread out over the desk. “Well, it’s closer than I intended to advance in one move, but—”

I stopped, the rest of my words suddenly caught in my throat as I struggled to breathe for a moment.

“Nic?” Seb’s eyes widened. “You okay?”

Kyle stepped forward. “You don’t look so good. Sit down. I’ll get Jason.”

“Leia,” I hissed. “It’s Leia.” I shook my head, trying to dislodge the fear obscuring my thoughts. I needed to get to her. Something was wrong.

Holy shit. There was nothing slow or creeping about the sensation. It blared like a four-fire alarm inside me, and I couldn’t think of anything else but my mate. I shoved my desk aside, ignoring the way it cracked against the wall, and left the room at a run.

I didn’t have time for explanations—I was being drawn down the stairs and through the nightclub almost like an invisible thread connected me to my mate, like I could find her anywhere.

There she was. I raced into the ladies’ bathroom, but it was okay. Leia was okay. Her hands were clasped to her neck and her eyes were wide, but her scent filled the room, and her heart still beat.

A body lay at Aimée’s feet, but it was headless, and Aimée was breathing heavily.

“What happened?” I tossed the words over my shoulder as I moved with purpose toward Leia. She was my focus, my priority. Every other last person in this room could go to Hell and burn there. I only needed to save one.

“You were right,” Aimée ground out, her voice heavy with regret. “She’s safest in the house.”

I nodded, echoes of the fear I’d felt in my office still sending chilling waves through me. I was used to being right, but this time it brought me no pleasure.

I reached Leia, and it was like when I’d rescued her in the New Orleans street all over again. She was frozen. She’d frozen in Francois’s house, too. In the street, I’d destroyed the vampires who’d scared her, but Francois still roamed free.

Thanks to Aimée, Valérie now lay in pieces at my feet. Valérie. Fuck. The number of people I could trust grew increasingly small.

“Get this cleaned up.” I gestured around me and glanced at Aimée, who nodded.

When I reached Leia, she stared right past me, her eyes glassy as she wrapped her arms around herself. I reached for her and drew her toward her. “Shush,” I murmured, even though she wasn’t making a sound. “Shush, it’s all right. I’ve got you.”

How many fucking times had I told her that? And how many fucking times would she hear it again? What about a time I didn’t make it to her? I almost hadn’t this time. It could be next time or the time after that when it was too late. It wasn’t reasonable to keep Leia chained to me for protection.

Leia wasn’t safe as a human.

I folded her into my arms, my heartbeat slowing even as I cupped her head, holding it against my chest. My heart had raced since the moment in the office when fear first gripped me.

“I’ve got you,” I said to Leia again, although I was sure I was soothing myself more than my mate, reassuring myself again that this time I hadn’t been too late.

She trembled in my arms, and my chest tightened. She whispered something, and I had to bend lower to hear it.

“For fuck’s sake,” she ground out, and I realized she wasn’t trembling as echoes of someone else’s fury filled me. “I only came to the bathroom. What the hell, Nic? Your fucking assistant? I just… I can’t even with all you… All you…people.” Her eyes blazed before she stopped talking, her mouth snapping shut as she closed her eyes like she could unsee the things she’d just witnessed.

“I’d take it all away,” I whispered into her hair. “I’d take all the memories away if you wanted me to.”

She stiffened slightly in my arms.

“I’m sorry, Leia. Let me take you home?” I tilted her chin with my forefinger so she faced me, and anger still simmered in her eyes when she opened them again.

Good. I approved of anger. I could work with that. It would make her vigilant.

“Nic?” Jason burst through the door.

“Where’ve you been?” I kept my voice low and flat, even though I wanted to rage. Not at Jason particularly, but at everyone who was closer to Leia than I wanted them to be.

“What… What happened?” He closed the door behind him. “Kyle’s closing the club. Plumbing issue in the bathrooms.”

I nodded. That was sensible. “I’m taking Leia home. Help Aimée get this mess cleaned up.” I gestured at the pieces of Valérie again. “Looks like I need to reevaluate some of my staff.”

“She always had a thing for you, man.” Jason knelt down and studied the pool of blood soaking into the carpeted area. “But, damn, Aimée. Why couldn’t you have aimed for the tile? This is going to be a bitch to steam out.”

While Jason was complaining, I scooped Leia into my arms. “I’m taking her out the back.”

She could walk, and the set of her mouth indicated she thought she should, but I wanted her close. For me.

“Kyle has called Jenkins. He’ll be ready. I’ll bring your car when I return.” Jason spoke like he could truly preempt every one of my needs, and maybe after so long by my side, he could.