Destiny (6 page)

“You will defeat him someday.”

If only. For now, I had to drink nine vials of likely tainted blood, save Faith and Kai, and kill Dixon, all without telling a soul. All without help. Awesome. “Guess I need to train harder then.”

“Indeed.” Jonas snagged a tissue and pressed it around my injured ear.

“Really? That’s your idea of a pep talk?” An irritated huff escaped me. I plucked the tissue from his grasp and dabbed at my bloodied neck.

Onyx eyes bored into mine, and he prodded at the shield in my mind.
I see the barrier in your head. What are you hiding, my little warrior. And why?

My barrier held tight.
I’m entitled to privacy. You don’t need to know everything in here.

Did Dixon…hurt you?

I almost shook my head but stopped. He thought Dixon had sexually assaulted me. I could use Jonas’s assumption to my advantage.

Dixon
had
manhandled me while sporting a nausea-inducing erection, he
had
placed his cold blue lips on my skin, crushed me against his body and forced me to drink his vile blood. I shivered and hugged myself as real revulsion socked my stomach.
I don’t want to talk about it.

Did. He. Hurt. You?

My body shook as I replayed Dixon’s pawing and thrusting and grinding. His acrid, smoky scent. The foul taste of his blood. His hand squeezing my thigh, lifting my leg, his cock rubbing my mound. Goose bumps ran riot over my skin and a ball of ick
settled in my throat.

Jonas gripped my arm. I let him see just that one, horrible moment. It was enough.

My mentor bared his own formidable fangs and hissed, his dark snake eyes glittering with fury. “He is dead.”

“I can’t talk about this. Just want to forget.” My voice shook as much as my body, adding veracity to my words. Let Jonas think the worst, to distract him from the real truth I hid.

Jonas gave me an almost imperceptible nod. We rode in silence the rest of the way to my house. The second I stepped from the car, he whisked me vampire-fast to my top floor living space, where—surprise—my uncle Thomas awaited me, perched like a king on my couch.

“Sit,” he ordered, gaze fixed on his laptop, fingers tapping the keys in quick staccato.

I bristled at his command, but sank down next to him without a word and watched him work, his stare flitting from laptop to the flat screen TV on the wall. He’d tuned into some finance channel. No surprise there. When my uncle, known to all vampires as the “Warden,” wasn’t busy playing sovereign ruler of my father’s West Coast Kingdom, he glued himself to his computer and made us lots of money.

“Tell me about your evening,
cara mia
.”

“No.”

His fingers stilled, and he turned his emerald green eyes on me. “No?”
Then show me,
he whispered through my mind, his power tapping on my temple.

“No. And stay out of there.” I couldn’t let him in. I pictured the castle and that windowless tower holding my new secrets.

He bowed his head. “Fair enough. We have other matters to address.”

He wanted to talk about my dad, of course. I crossed my arms. “If the
other matters
involve absentee daddy, forget about it.”

Thomas shut his laptop and set it on my coffee table. “You are so like him when you behave in this manner. It is good.” He smiled, flashing even white teeth.

My uncle was a handsome man with clean-cut Ivy League good looks, trim blond hair, cheekbones to die for, and even a small character cleft in his chin. His eyes, green like new, spring grass or the finest cut emerald always sparkled when he looked at me. Like now. The smile was genuine, his face bright with amusement and love.

My guard dropped a bit, and my own lips curled upward in response.

“
Va bene, cara mia.
Now let us—”

“No, Uncle Tommy. Just because I cracked a smile doesn’t mean you’ve won.”

He opened his mouth to speak, but I held up a hand. “Let me just cut to the end of this chat.” I ticked off the key points on my fingers. “I won’t speak to him, or go to Italy, or assume my royal responsibilities in our
cosca.
My life is here. And I’m in the middle of opening our second dance club.”
And Dixon is back, and he has—

Crap. I slapped my hands over my mouth and doubled over. I’d almost thought about it
.
Can’t go there. Castle, tower, repeat, repeat.

Thomas put an arm around my shoulders. “C
ara mia
.” He rubbed my back in slow, soothing circles.

What could I tell him? Not the truth. I could, however, use bits of the truth as I had with Jonas. I straightened. “I can’t let Dixon ruin everything.”

Thomas exchanged a look with Jonas. From the fury that stormed across his face, I knew Jonas shared the image of abuse I’d shown him in the car.

Thomas schooled his expression and took my arm. “We will keep you safe, little star.” He trailed two fingers up and down the vein in my forearm. His caress had the desired effect, relaxing me now as it had when I was a child.

A dubious laugh escaped my throat. “You can’t promise that. Too many bad variables in this world.”

“You are strong,
cara mia.
You are your father’s daughter. And so much more.”

My gaze tracked the movement of his fingers. “I’m a half-breed vampire princess, and my fire power is a work-in-progress. But, yeah, I’m strong.” Had to be, with an important mission to accomplish. My backbone reasserted itself, and I pulled away from him. “Thanks for the pep talk, Uncle Tommy. And the warm fuzzies.”

“We are not finished. I have news of your brothers.”

Hope warred with worry in my heart. I kicked off my shoes and curled my legs under me, grabbing a throw pillow to cuddle to my chest. “And?”

“Antonio attacked Domenico.”

My chest tightened. “Is Dom hurt?”

“No. Tessa and your father intervened before any permanent damage was done.”

Sounded bad. “So he was hurt.”

“He will heal, little one.”

I expelled a relieved breath. “Alexander told me seeing Dom and Lo-Lo helped. Is Tony still too far gone to think straight? Will he—” Emotion clogged my throat. Will
my brother always be more rabid animal than man?

Thomas gave me a considering look. “On the contrary, he seemed quite coherent in his anger.”

“He’s mad at Dom?” Made no sense. Dom was quiet, honest, hardworking, and always there for his siblings.

“Apparently, Antonio took offense at Domenico’s negative opinion of us.”

“I don’t—oh. Us, as in vampires.” Amid all the drama of these past months, I’d forgotten my brother’s one flaw. Dom hated vampires.

I understood his feelings. Vampires ruined his childhood. Our mother died giving birth to me, and his human father died at the hands of my vampire father’s enemies. Vampires destroyed his happy childhood and yet vampires—specifically my father and his
cosca—
were also the reason we lived and thrived as a family. “Dom needs to suck it up, no pun intended.”

“Indeed. However, I feel, no, we
all
feel Tony’s disposition would improve dramatically with your presence.”

I tossed the pillow to the floor. “And we’re back.”

Thomas snagged my gaze with his mesmerizing green eyes. “Come home,
cara mia.
Help your brother. Reunite with your father. It is time.”

“No.”

“Little star, you have forgiven me, Tessa, Jonas, and your brothers for our necessary deception. Why can you not forgive your own father?”

I surged to my feet. “Because he
is
my
father
,” I snapped. “We’re done here.”

Beyond done, in fact. Dixon was blackmailing me, my best friends were in mortal peril, my father continued to have all of his people do his communicating with me instead of facing me himself, and my bonded mate Alexander was acting strangely, possibly hiding something from me. Said he’d
text
me sometime.

My chest heaved as rage flirted with helplessness and danced with guilt in my gut. My life contained too many moving parts, and all of them needed me to do something to make them right. I didn’t have time for this dysfunctional family drama, or even my soul mate’s weird behavior. Faith and Kai mattered the most. I had to get a grip and save them. And lie like a pro while doing it.

Thomas rose with catlike grace from the couch and took my hands in his. “You are the brightest light in your father’s dark world. Go to him,
cara mia,
go to your father and experience the truth of my words. Nothing is more important to him—to any of us—than you.”

His words sank in. “You’ve said all that before.”

“Because it is the truth.”

I sniffed. “It’s hard to trust any of you. You all lie so easily.”
Oh, that’s rich. Liar, liar, pants on—
I yanked my hands from his grasp.

His tender expression cooled, and he stepped back. The determined look on his face told me he wouldn’t give up.

Well, since I was becoming a real pro at the lying game, “Fine. I’ll go to Italy.”

His face lit up, but I raised a hand. “Don’t get too happy just yet, Uncle. Hear me out. After Club Destiny is up and running—and I’m comfortable taking off for a while—I’ll go
.
Can’t give you a time frame, though.”

“
Va bene, cara mia.
” He bowed his head. “Your father will be most pleased at the news.”

A hefty helping of guilt lodged in my throat. Sure, I could go to Italy if Dixon’s scheme didn’t kill me first, or worse, make me his sex slave.

I shoved away that unpleasant thought. “I need to shower off the stink of Dixon. I’ll talk to you later.”

Neither man moved and both looked at the door. Seconds later, footsteps pounded up the hardwood hall stairs, then the door burst open and two six-foot-five, two hundred and then some pounds of muscle, testosterone, and protective alpha male rage stormed into my living room.

Mark and Ren, my bodyguards, housemates, and friends, strode up to me, throwing off enough aggressive energy to light all of San Francisco during a blackout. Twin scowls marred their identical handsome faces as they towered over me. They got their good looks from their cute and tiny Taiwanese mother and their height, and everything else alpha male, from their German father.

Not that they intimidated me with their posturing. I gave them a breezy smile. “Hi, boys.”

Mark bristled. “You are
not
allowed to jog without us. Ever.”

Ren gave a sharp nod. “What he said.”

“At ease, soldiers,” I teased in an attempt to lighten their mood.

Both men crossed their arms over muscular chests.

I touched Mark’s taut biceps. “I wasn’t alone. Stella was there.”

He snorted. “Yeah, and we heard how well that worked out.”

I shrugged. “She took out a dozen vamps and a wizard. By herself.
Thirteen
to one. And I’m fine. See?” I made a slow three-sixty.

Mark scrutinized my face, lingering on my red-rimmed eyes. “You cried.”

I tried for nonchalant. “Well, you know, everyone has an off day. Or night. I’m okay.”

I sauntered past the marble counter separating the kitchen from the living room and moved into the kitchen, pulling a tumbler out of the cabinet. I had just lied to my friends with ease. I was far from okay, and Dixon was far from gone.

Guilt took a run at my heart, but I quashed it and loaded the glass with filtered water from the sink. A glance over my shoulder revealed all four men, watching me.

I parked myself on a bar stool at the counter and swiveled to face them. Clearly, I had to give them more. “I appreciate your concern, but I won’t let Dixon or anyone take away my independence.”

Mark ran a hand over his crew cut black hair, spiking the front. “Damn it, Rina, we’re your bodyguards
.
It’s our job.”

“I know that. But you also have other responsibilities, so no, you can’t shadow me twenty-four-seven. It’s neither necessary nor logistically possible. Stella is plenty. You’re insulting her by even suggesting she’s insufficient coverage.”

My comment earned me unhappy twin stares, but they couldn’t argue. Mark headed security for Haven, and I’d given Club Destiny’s security to Ren. I trusted no one else to run either show.

“Jake and Ross can handle Haven,” Mark grumbled. His shoulders relaxed, and he rolled and cracked his neck, then fake punched me in the arm, a sure sign I’d convinced him to back off.

“And Primo can do Destiny,” Ren added. “There, done. We’re on you like sticky rice.” His chin jutted at a stubborn angle, and his brown eyes dared me to object.

I laughed and slid off the stool. “Primo? Funny. Um, let me think about it. No.”

Primo, seven feet of muscle-bound, undead soldier, was one of the oldest vampire warriors on the planet and the walking definition of
badass
. If we left him in charge, our clientele would likely not show up at all, or show up, behave badly, and lose their heads. Literally.

I shook my head. “Can you imagine the carnage? So bad for business.”

Ren grinned. “I’d love to see that. C’mon, could be fun.”

He wiggled his brows, showing I’d successfully distracted him. I grabbed them for a group hug. “I love you guys. Thanks for caring.”

Mark pounded my back while Ren made a play for my ass.

I shifted away and thwacked his shoulder. “Bad boy,” I scolded with a smile.