Cain's Identity (Scanguards Vampires Book 9) (15 page)

“I can’t let you go,” Cain said and turned her to him, holding her close and pressing her head against his chest.

A few yards away, under the copse of trees, he noticed a bench. He lifted her into his arms and walked to it, lowering himself onto it with Faye in his lap. He pressed her head against his chest and caressed her hair.

“Don’t cry.” He placed kisses on her head, wanting desperately to soothe her sorrows. “I’m sorry for having upset you. I didn’t mean to. Please, Faye, don’t leave.”

She lifted her head. Pink tears ran down her cheeks, and he wiped them away with the pad of his thumb.

“I can’t stay. It hurts too much.”

He pushed a strand of her dark hair behind her ear and stroked his thumb over her soft skin. “Tell me what hurts,” he said softly.

She lowered her lids, avoiding his gaze. But he didn’t allow it and lifted her chin with his thumb and index finger and made her look at him. “Please help me understand you.”

He gazed into her eyes. Was all this an act she was putting on for him so he would take her back now that she’d broken it off with Abel, or was what he saw the real Faye? Did she really want him for his own sake, or was she coming back to him because he was king?

And did it even matter? Wasn’t it enough to have a woman like Faye by his side, in his bed?

“It hurts too much to have lost your love.”

He sighed. If he were a different man, he would tell her now that he loved her whether he did or not. But he couldn’t profess something he wasn’t sure was the truth. “A year is a long time. We’ve both changed, Faye. We need time to readjust.”

Her lips trembled. “You’re punishing me because I accepted Abel’s proposal. You feel that I betrayed you.”

Cain shook his head. “I’m not punishing you. I’m trying to understand why you decided to marry him when you don’t love him.”

“I know what it must look like. But it’s not like that. I didn’t do it for myself.”

Curious, he said, “I don’t understand.”

“As queen I would have had influence.”

Cain closed his eyes. So she wanted the power her position as queen would have afforded her. He felt the blood in his veins turn to ice. How could he be drawn to a woman like that? A woman without a heart? Was that truly his destiny? Had he loved a heartless woman in his past life? What did that make him? A heartless man?

“Your brother is less lenient a ruler than you are,” Faye continued. “Somebody has to make sure the members of our clan were treated fairly.”

Her words made him open his eyes and furrow his forehead.

“They need somebody to look out for them.”

The implication of her words finally sank in. But could he trust her words? “You were doing this for the clan?”

“I wanted to continue what you’d started.”

Cain brought his face closer to hers. Was she telling him the truth?

Her breath bounced against him and he inhaled her scent. A vision of two naked bodies entangled in silk sheets appeared before his eyes. Soft moans and sounds of pleasure drifted to his ears.

“And now that I told you my reasons, please let me go. I can’t stay here, not when you’re going to bring another woman here to make her your queen.”

“What?”

Faye tried to get off his lap, but he didn’t let her. He needed to find out what she was talking about.

“Cain!”

Cain whipped his head in the direction of the voice. Haven was marching toward them.

“I’m sorry to disturb,” Haven started.

“Not now!” Cain ground out, while Faye scrambled to get off his lap. This time he couldn’t stop her.

“You said you wanted to be notified the minute John is back.”

Cain jumped up. This was extremely bad timing. “Where is he?”

“Waiting for you in your office,” Haven announced, casting a quick glance at Faye.

Cain turned to her and took a step closer. He lowered his voice. “We’ll talk about this later. Don’t make any hasty decisions.”

When she didn’t answer, he turned to Haven.

“Let’s go.”

21

Putting aside Faye’s odd statement about another woman, Cain stormed into his office. John stood near the fireplace, while Thomas leaned against the backrest of the sofa, watching him.

Behind Cain, Haven closed the door and remained standing there.

Jaw tight, Cain walked up to John. “Where the fuck were you?”

“I apologize, but I had to attend to an emergency,” John responded, his face unreadable.

“You left me on my own in those tunnels! And we had to come here without the benefit of your guidance. This had better be some fucking big emergency. You should have told me!” Cain ground out.

John dropped his head. “I couldn’t. You wouldn’t have approved.”

“Explain yourself!”

“I have a human lover. In the French Quarter.”

“What’s that got to do with what I approve or don’t approve?”

“The leader of the king’s personal guard isn’t supposed to have a private life, let alone be involved with a human. You never approved of vampire-human relationships.”

“And how the fuck would I have known that?” Cain stabbed his finger into John’s chest. “Amnesia, remember?”

“I’m sorry, I just assumed that your feelings and preferences would still be the same, no matter whether you remembered anything about your past life or not. It’s part of your character.”

“Well, guess what: I don’t care who you sleep with! But I do care about you doing a disappearing act on me without an explanation!”

John gave him a stunned look, as if he couldn’t believe his ears. “You
have
changed.”

“Don’t stall! Why did you leave?”

“My lover was in trouble.”

Cain narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “What kind of trouble?”

“She was attacked by several thugs and injured. She needed my blood to heal.”

Cain contemplated John’s words. “Why didn’t she go to a hospital?”

“They stabbed her in the womb. She was scared that the doctors wouldn’t be able to save her.” He looked down at his feet. “She wants children. Giving her my blood guaranteed that she healed completely. At the hospital she would have had only a fifty-fifty chance. I couldn’t risk them performing a hysterectomy.”

Stunned by his confession, Cain blew out a breath. “Are you blood-bonded?”

John shook his head. “No, but I was planning to once Abel was on the throne and I had passed on my knowledge to him. I knew he had another man in mind to become the leader of his personal guard. It would have freed me from my duties. I could have taken a wife then.”

“And now that I’m back?” Cain asked, calmer now.

John looked straight at him. “I’ll remain in your service. Nothing will change.”

“And the woman?”

“She’s healed.”

Cain shook his head. “No, I meant, what will happen between you and her?”

“I will have to end it with her.”

“Why did I not want the leader of the king’s guard to have a wife?”

“You weren’t the one to make this rule. The kings before you established this restriction. They wanted to make sure that your personal guard has no divided loyalties.”

“A little old fashioned, don’t you think?” Cain asked and motioned to Thomas and Haven. “Both of my friends here are blood-bonded. And it hasn’t diminished their capacity to execute their duties.”

“You mean you would consider changing the rule?” John stared at him in disbelief.

“Consider it abolished. Every man has a right to happiness.”

John’s chest lifted, and he tried to say something, but seemed to stumble over his own words. “I don’t know what to say,” he finally uttered. “Had I known . . .”

“Well, then we’re in agreement. And the next time there’s an emergency, I need to know immediately, no matter what you might assume my reaction may be. And I’d like to meet the woman. What’s her name?”

“Nicolette.”

“Good, now about my welcome home celebration.”

John’s forehead furrowed. “What celebration?”

“My brother is throwing me a party in a week. It should have been his coronation, but instead it’ll turn into a welcome home party for me. It’ll give me an opportunity to meet all my subjects. I’m counting on you to help me. I don’t want people to get suspicious when I don’t know who they are.”

“Of course,” John said quickly. “I’ll be by your side all the way.”

“Good.” Cain patted him on the shoulder. “That’s all for now.”

“Thank you.” John walked to the door and left.

A moment of silence followed, before Cain turned to his two friends. “Contact Eddie and have him and Blake check out his story.”

“You don’t believe his story about a human lover?” Thomas asked.

“Oh, the human lover I believe. But not the rest. The story was just a little too convenient for my liking. Have Eddie and Blake find Nicolette and get her to corroborate his story. Then ask them to come to the palace. We won’t need them on the outside anymore. It’s better if they stay at the palace. We need all the men we can get.”

Thomas nodded in agreement. “I’ll call him.”

Cain walked to the door.

“What are you up to?” Haven asked.

Cain tossed a glance over his shoulder. “Finishing my conversation with Faye.”

Haven grinned. “Didn’t look like a conversation from where I was standing.”

“And your point is?”

“I wasn’t trying to make a point.”

“What then?”

“Just giving you some advice which you’ll probably ignore anyway.”

“Which would be?”

“If you must use your dick, at least keep a clear head and watch your back. The assassin will strike when your guard is down. Don’t give him that opportunity.”

Cain shook his head. “My guard is always up.”

“You didn’t hear me approach when you were in the garden with her,” Haven contradicted him.

Cain ground his teeth in frustration, knowing that Haven was right. “It won’t happen again.”

22

Faye was glad to find a distraction waiting for her when she reached the fully enclosed walkway that connected the palace to the old plantation kitchen. Like so many old plantations, the kitchen had been a separate building due to the fire hazard it represented. The vampires who’d first taken over the property had enclosed the walkway with drywall so they could reach the small freestanding structure during daylight hours without being burned by the rays of the sun. Few people ever used the kitchen, but Faye liked its cozy feel and often came here just to sit and read, or simply to think.

At the entrance to the walkway two strangers stood waiting. She immediately recognized them as vampires, but they weren’t of the Louisiana clan. Even though she didn’t know every member of the vast clan, their haggard looks led her to believe they had fled another clan. They weren’t the first ones who’d come to her door to ask for help.

The man looked in his fifties in human years, the girl less than half his age, though Faye couldn’t tell how many years they had been vampires already. When the girl pressed herself closer to her companion, her eyes darting around fearfully, Faye slowed her walk and raised her hand.

“Don’t be afraid. You’re welcome here.”

The older man nodded at her. “We were told that you might be able to help us.”

“I’m Faye. Where have you come from?” Faye asked and unlocked the door leading into the walkway.

“From Mississippi. I’m David, and this is Kathryn.”

“Come.” She motioned them to follow her. “I can give you blood.”

“Thank you,” David said and followed her with the girl in tow.

Faye marched into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. “What happened to you?” She turned to look at them, noting their torn clothes and dirty appearances. As if they’d lived on the streets for days.

“The unrest in Mississippi continues,” David explained, his voice sounding hoarse and dry. “We couldn’t stay any longer.”

“You look like you haven’t had any blood in days.” Faye grabbed two cartons of packaged blood and placed them on the table, before turning to the hanging cabinet and retrieving two glasses. “Take a seat, please.”

Kathryn looked like she would collapse and followed Faye’s invitation immediately, for the first time opening her mouth. “Thank you.” Her scrawny arms reached for the container. She unscrewed the top, but instead of pouring it into the glass, she drank it directly from the carton.

Faye watched as she greedily devoured the liquid and glanced at David, who wasn’t touching his container of blood. “Drink.”

He reached for the carton and pushed it toward Kathryn. “Kathryn can have mine.”

Surprised at his selflessness, Faye sucked in a shallow breath. “There’s more.” She retrieved another carton of blood from the refrigerator and handed it to the skinny older vampire.

David cast her a grateful smile and finally accepted the blood. Faye waited patiently until he’d had his fill. What horrors had these two endured to cause them to flee their clan? She looked at the girl. Now that her cheeks filled with color again, Faye could see that she was pretty. She closed her eyes for a moment, recalling the horrors she herself had experienced. Wanting to comfort the girl, she put her hand on her forearm, but Kathryn shrieked and jerked back, jumping up from her chair in panic.

“I’m sorry,” Faye said quickly.

David stood up and slowly walked to the girl, who seemed frightened beyond comprehension.

“Everything is all right, little one,” he coaxed and drew her into his arms. Then he looked over his shoulder. “I’m sorry, she doesn’t trust anyone but me.”

With pity in her heart, Faye looked at the girl. “What happened?”

Slowly, David led the girl back to the table and they both sat down. “The different factions in Mississippi are committing terrible acts. Those who try to flee and are captured are defanged, trying to prevent them from escaping again.” He opened his mouth wide.

Faye recoiled, slapping her hand over her mouth. Where the vampire’s fangs should be were gaping holes. “Oh, my God!” No wonder the two of them were starving. Without fangs they couldn’t hunt for blood. They were dependent on handouts.

“They make sure the fangs don’t grow back during our restorative sleep by implanting a pea-sized ball of steel. It’s covered with a tiny spec of silver, just enough so the wound will never heal.”