Adrian Phoenix - In the Blood

“So what’s the price on that invisible tag, Lyons?” Heather slid the flash drive into her front pocket.

“No price,” Alex replied. “I just hope that once you’ve looked at that, Dante, you’ll make my father answer for it.”

“Yeah? Why do you care?”

“My sister is ill because of the work he did on us before we were even born. But I’ve seen what you can do,” Alex said, leaning forward on the sofa. The nomad’s fingers squeezed. A bolt of hot pain shot down Alex’s arm to his pinkie. He went still and the pressure eased. “I know you can help her.”

“So much for ‘no price,’” Heather muttered.

Dante looked into Alex’s eyes, looked deep, and Alex truth-wrapped his mind with thoughts of Athena and her never-ending whispers, her inward-turned Aegean gaze.

I’m losing her and she’s all I have .

“What makes you think I can help your sister?”

“I saw recorded footage of what you did to Moore at the center. I also know you saved Heather’s life.” Alex nodded at Heather. “They’re hunting her now because of that. And they’ll take her apart to figure out how you did it.”

Dante sucked in a sharp breath. He looked at Heather. “That true?”

“That’s what he says, yes,” Heather said, leveling a wintry glare at Lyons. “And he claims he killed the team assigned to pick me up.” Shifting her gaze to Dante, she added, “We’ll talk about this later, okay?”

Dante held her gaze for a long, silent moment. Then he nodded. Leaning in, he brushed her hair away from her ear and whispered to her. Concern flashed across her face. She placed her lips near Dante’s ear and whispered a reply. She pulled the USB drive from her pocket and tucked it back into Dante’s hand.

Not for the first time, Alex wished he possessed a vampire’s keen hearing. “I bought Heather some time,” he said. “A couple more days to get underground.”

“I appreciate that,” Dante said, returning his attention to Alex. “And I’m sorry about your sister, for true. But—you and me?—we’re done.” He tossed back the drive. “If you wanna help your sister, get her as far from your dad as you can.”

Alex caught the drive reflexively. “That was a gift.”

“No, it wasn’t. Ain’t gonna be game-played or blackmailed or guilt-tripped.”

“I’ll give you my father on a fucking silver platter. All you have to do is heal my sister.”

A dark smile tilted Dante’s lips. “I’ll be coming for your old man, you can fucking put that in the bank. But in my own time and on my own terms.”

The nomad’s hand slid from Alex’s shoulder. “Time to go,” he said, slicing a fingernail through the duct tape binding his wrists.

Reluctantly, Alex stood and dropped the USB drive back onto the sofa as he gathered up his belongings, stuffing them into his hoodie’s pockets. He glanced at Heather. “Can I have my gun back?”

“Sure.” Heather went to the dining room table and picked up the S&W. She removed the magazine, then unchambered the round already loaded. Walking back to the sofa, she extended the empty gun to Alex.

“You know the way out,” she said.

With a wry smile, Alex took the gun from her, then tucked it into the back of his jeans and pulled his hoodie over it. Time to take a chance and plant a few seeds .

He stopped beside Dante. “Genevieve begged to hold you after you were born. She was denied the chance. Every minute you let my father breathe, you deny her justice.”

Dante moved . His hand latched around Alex’s biceps and, in an instant, Alex was flying as the vampire hauled him across the room and outside— sounds blur past, a sharp gasp, Heather; the crunch of drywall, the doorknob punching into the wall —and flung him against a Jeep parked at the curb.

Alex hit hard, and bruising pain radiated down from his right shoulder to his ribs. He struggled to catch a breath. Fury lit Dante’s beautiful face, blazed red in his eyes.

“What part of in my own time don’t you fucking understand?”

The True Blood stared at Alex’s throat and, for one cold-sweat-heart-pounding moment, Alex was positive that not only had he grossly miscalculated Dante’s reaction, but that Dante was going to tear into him, rip him open, and feast .

But instead, Dante’s hands knotted into fists, and he yanked his gaze back up to Alex’s face. “Stay away from me. Stay the fuck away from Heather.” His white skin seemed to drink in what little moonlight there was, channeling it into his veins.

“From what I’ve seen,” Alex said, straightening against the car and rubbing his aching shoulder, “it’s you who should stay away from Heather. How long do you think she’ll last with you at her side? They’re hunting her because of you.”

“Fuck you. Ain’t your worry.” But uncertainty flickered across Dante’s face, and his gaze turned inward like he was listening to someone. “Shhh,” he whispered, soothing that someone. He touched his fingers to his temple.

A chill rippled through Alex. Just how stable was Dante’s mind? How secure his father’s programming? From where Alex was standing, Dante was slipping in a big way.

Exhilaration and adrenaline rushed through Alex, chasing away the chill, and feeding him strength. The True Blood looked ripe for conquering.

All Alex needed was the right moment.

Over Dante’s shoulder, Alex saw Heather standing on the front step, her expression troubled. The nomad rested a hand on her shoulder, but watched Dante.

“I can help you remember my dad. Get you past his safeguards and programming. I can put him in your hands.”

“Fuck you. Ain’t playing. Va jouer dans ta cour a toi .” Dante backed up several paces, then, turning, he loped back to the house.

Heather and the vampire nomad went inside with Dante, and then the door shut with a solid thunk. Light spilled into the yard from the front room windows as someone turned on lamps.

Alex sprinted down the block to his truck and climbed inside. He keyed on the ignition. The engine started with a deep, powerful roar, and he let it idle. He had to admit Dante had thrown him for a loop when he’d given back the USB drive; he hadn’t anticipated that the vampire’s stubborn anger would outweigh his curiosity, his hunger for the truth.

Alex drummed his fingers against the steering wheel. The interaction between Dante and Heather was intriguing. It seemed like her presence helped anchor Dante in the here and now. But judging by her expression just now, his violence disturbed her.

Alex switched on the wipers. As the blades whisked across the windshield, wiping away the last remaining drops from an earlier shower, he spotted movement at one of the darkened bedroom windows.

Something dropped from the window into the bushes below. Then a figure climbed out and jumped to the ground. The slender shadow glanced around, then plucked a bag from the bushes and slung it over its shoulder. The shadow jogged down the street, then hooked a left.

Turning off the wipers, Alex clicked on the headlights, shifted the truck into gear, and drove down the street following the shadow’s path. He was pretty certain the shadow had been female, given the curves and the hip-swinging gait.

And just like that, there it was, the right moment.

Amen, brother, amen.

GYM BAG STRAP LOOPED around her shoulder, Annie strolled backward along the sidewalk, thumb out. Car headlights and winking neon signs from trendy bistros, shops, and gas stations dazzled her eyes, adding to the pain throbbing above her right eye. A budding migraine. Just fucking great.