Forstaken (4 page)

Dagger placed
the large wad of cash into his hand with a frustrated thwack.

Shadee opened
his mouth, as if to say something, but then cut his eyes over at Nadia and
seemed to reconsider. He gave one quick nod and then turned and departed up the
steps in rapid fashion.

Dagger turned
and straightened his cape at the neckline. He cleared his throat.

“I must
apologize for that bit of unpleasantness. He was supposed to be a professional
investigator. Came highly recommended. But I guess your allure is simply too
much to resist, even for a highly skilled tracer such as he.”

Nadia listened
and watched. The words he spoke came out in a soft-spoken voice with just a
hint of Russian accent. She began to get a strange feeling deep inside with
each additional word. She knew this man, this voice. But how?

****

Byron had made
quick work of searching all the possible places Nadia might be. He knew it was
a pointless endeavor, but he hadn’t been able to think of what else he could
do. He simply didn’t know anyone to contact to help him find her. He could call
the police, but what would he say?

Uh, my girlfriend has been abducted by a smart-ass
cowboy, and, oh yeah, he tried to kill me with a substance only lethal to
mermen?

Sure. That
would work. They’d lock him away in a little padded room before the sun had
fully set.

Now, back at
their apartment once again, he sat on the bed trying to think of what to do
next. He lay down on Nadia’s pillow, where the scent of her shampoo lingered. He
closed his eyes and thought of earlier this morning when he’d made love to her
under the water of the steaming shower.

His chest
ached with longing. He’d have to return to the sea before the sun rose tomorrow,
and it was already fully dark now. Sundown had brought the full moon, and his
final flux was imminent.

What if he
couldn’t find her before then? What if he never got the chance to even try to explain?

He clutched
her pillow to his chest and closed his eyes.

Chapter Six

Shadee was a
private investigator, just like any other. Licensed to practice in the State of
Florida
with
the required Class C identification, badge, and other credentials. Only he
didn’t carry the standard handgun most investigators found useful. He came
equipped with a special kind of weapon, his teeth.

He’d been
living in
Florida
for about twenty decades now. Despite being known as the “sunshine state” which
didn’t normally mesh with a creature of the night’s favored habitats, Shadee
liked it just the same.

Sure, he had to take his special
vitamins and wear about a truckload of sunscreen just to get through one single
day. But it was worth it. There was a lot of money to be made down here. Cases
galore virtually landed on his doorstep with little or no effort on his part.

It was only
recently his name had begun to circulate in the Underworld. Probably because
he’d kept a low profile in the vampire community until he’d agreed to take a
case for one of Dagger’s cohorts. He’d done a bang-up job and been discreet. He’d
been paid well, and it hadn’t taken long for his phone to begin ringing off the
hook with other such delicate matters.

He had been
surprised when he’d received a call from the legendary Dagger himself. And he’d
been more than happy to take his case if only to meet the monster behind the
myth.

Like every
other vampire in the world, he’d heard the stories, legends, of the first
vampire to cross the seas and start a colony of his own right here in the new
world. Shadee had also heard rumors more than a few times that Dagger was
indestructible. That he was so full of pure evil and a royal vampire bloodline
that he’d even killed off all his ancestors so as to remain the most powerful
vampire on the planet.

Shadee had
always been suspicious of the myth, and he seriously had his doubts after
meeting the monster in the girly-man type cape. Now that he’d worked the case
for Dagger and met him face-to-face, he really didn’t know what all the fuss
was about.

The man was a
joke, and he’d only taken the case out of curiosity. Well, that and for the
huge paycheck, of course. He didn’t know what Dagger wanted with the girl, but
it had been an interesting bit of research to find out what it took to kill a
merman. He only wished he could have hung around longer to watch him slither
around on the floor. He enjoyed a good death scene. But, truth be told, he’d purposely
lessened the dose of poison. He’d had an inkling of an idea that this fish
fella might just come in handy.

And earlier
tonight, when Dagger had royally pissed him off, had been the moment he’d made
his final decision. He would destroy Dagger if it was the last thing he ever
did. It was time for him to make a name for himself in the vampire community,
and he knew just where to start.

****

“So, you knew
my birth parents?” Nadia voice quivered with excitement and hope.

Could this possibly be true?

Dagger paced
back and forth in the small room. He seemed full of nervous energy as he filled
her in on the details.

“It is all
down to you to focus and make the right decision now.”

Nadia couldn’t
believe what she was hearing. This day had gone from beautiful to normal to odd
to downright unbelievable in a matter of mere hours. It was simply too much
information for her to take in.

“How did you
find me? Make the connection?” Questions rolled off her tongue in rapid
succession.

“Well, I hired
that – that so-called investigator Shadee. You met him.” Dagger seemed
irritated with himself.

“What is he?” Nadia knew she’d
seen something that looked like fangs protruding from the man’s mouth. All of
this was starting to feel somehow normal to her. She couldn’t explain it, but
some long lost information was niggling at the back of her brain, trying to
come to the forefront.

Dagger stopped
his pacing and turned to look at her.

“You don’t
remember your real family, do you?”

She wanted to.
She’d tried many times to remember, but it always seemed the more she tried to
recall their faces, voices, essences, the further the details shifted from her
brain and into the dark coils of her mind.

As if sensing
her struggle, he walked over and knelt down before her. He reached out and
delicately touched her cheek with his fingertips. She started at the contact.

“Don’t be
afraid.”

She knew she
shouldn’t believe him, couldn’t trust him. But then she looked deep into his
eyes and found herself lost. Those eyes were deep brown and penetrated her very
soul. Dizzy, she tried to force herself to look away but couldn’t do it. She
couldn’t make herself break free.

Flashes of
pain jabbed behind her eyes as flickers of images assaulted her cerebral
cortex. She cringed, moaned, tried to stop them, but the images kept coming. Her
mother. Her father. Her real life.

****

He held her in his arms and lowered her onto the
feather-topped mattress. She sighed with delight as his lips lingered on the
curve of her collar bone. After weeks of flirtations and dinners, they would
finally make love for the first time. He would show her how much he wanted her,
but he’d take his sweet time. He wanted it to last forever and he wanted her to
know – she was the one.

Making love as a human man was completely different
and yet just as all consuming as sex under the sea. He’d had a couple of
meaningless flings when he’d first arrived on land. He’d acted like one of
those doltish college frat boys himself back in those days. But after he’d met
Nadia, he hadn’t been able to think of ever touching another woman but her.

Now, here she was, in his arms, in his bed. He hovered
above her as their lips touched, melding together in a seamless patchwork of
sensual weaving. She groaned beneath him, and his cock tightened at the sound. He
wanted those groans to be long and plentiful as the night wore on. He wanted
her to be lost in him, sated, fulfilled, and without further wants.

As they’d danced, just moments ago, she’d removed her
own shirt, and he’d lifted his t-shirt over his head. Her bra had followed, and
they’d pressed their chests together while the music swirled around them. Her
tender, erect nipples had poked his smooth chest as his fingertips did a dance
of their own down her slender spine.

Now, he slid his hand down inside her jeans and
discovered – to his pulse-quickening delight – her lack of underwear. His
fingers massaged her slickened folds as her fingernails began to dig into the
skin at his shoulders.

In response to her pleasure-filled grip, he quickened the pace of
his fingers, moving them back and forth, back and forth over the now-swelling
nub of her sex. As she neared climax, he looked down at her face. Eyes closed,
mouth open in a tiny circle. She panted and sucked in air as she climbed closer
and closer.

Then, as her body exploded with pleasure, she lifted
her head and bit him.

Chapter Seven

Byron awoke
from his intense dream to the sound of glass breaking. He slid off the bed and
crept toward the far wall. Disoriented and sporting a huge hard-on from his
memory-filled dream of the first time he’d made love with Nadia.

But the sound
had put him on immediate alert. Somehow, he instinctually knew it wasn’t a
friendly visitor, and with the darkness of the room acting as his cover he
crept out the bedroom door and down the hallway in only a few graceful strides.

Not a sound.

Not a motion.

Complete
stealth mode.

Having an
ancient goddess as your mother had its benefits. For one, he had a knack for
moving through space as if floating. It was one of his special abilities.

Now, it came
in handy as he waited for the intruder to come within arm’s reach. A few
moments later, his wish came true.

“Nice try,
fish-boy.” The southern drawl hissed in his ear as he was suddenly pinned against
the wall.

He knew the
source of the voice immediately.

“What do you
want? Where’s Nadia?” The questions fired from between his gritted teeth were
followed by a reverse head butt into the face of his intruder, and then Byron
slid from his captor’s grasp a moment later. He might not have his full
fighting strength on land, but he still held some useful skills.

“Well, shit. Water
boys do know a little about brawlin’. I thought that was just a myth.”

Byron flicked
on the light switch as he took a defensive stance and eyed the doofus cowboy.

“Why am I not
surprised that you know of my true origin?”

“Boy, you’re
full of questions aren’t you?” The cowboy grinned as he rubbed the bridge of
his nose.

“As the man
who tried to kill me earlier today, I suggest you start answering them and
knock off the bullshit.”

The cowboy
removed his hat and placed it over his heart. He gave one short nod and had the
audacity to look almost apologetic.

Byron wasn’t
falling for it.

“You’re not
wrong. But if it helps, I was hired to do that.”

Byron leered
at him, but thoughts were racing through his mind.
Who would want him dead, and were they really after him? Or did they
just want Nadia?

“Yes and yes,”
the cowboy said as if reading his thoughts.

“Are you a
telepath?” Byron asked. The supernatural vibe he’d thought he sensed earlier at
the car wash was back in full force now.

“Naw, but that
would be a cool power, wouldn’t it?” Shadee looked wistful.

“Enough with the pouty looks. You
drugged me, tried to kill me, know where I come from, and kidnapped my
girlfriend. Start talking, or I’ll start testing out all the ways I know to
kill a man.”