Christian (Vampires in America: The Vampire Wars Book 10) (15 page)

The female vamp looked up with a smile. “Natalie. Are you all set up in the conference room? Is there anything—” She broke off with a frown as she studied Natalie’s face. “What’s wrong?”

Natalie had to force her legs to keep moving, to walk over to a chair where she could sit down. She didn’t want to tell Jaclyn what had happened. She’d be furious. But Jaclyn had to know about Cibor and what Anthony had done. As for the rest of it? Like Anthony blackmailing Natalie into going out with him, because he had this delusional idea that they were going to run away together? That was her problem, and she’d deal with it. But Cibor was Jaclyn’s, and Jaclyn was Raphael’s. Natalie didn’t understand everything about vampire politics, but she understood that much. Anthony had crossed a line.

“Natalie,” Jaclyn said sternly. “You’re scaring me. What happened?”

“It’s my fault,” Natalie said faintly.

“What is?”

“I don’t know anything for sure, but—”

“Just spit it out,” Jaclyn demanded, clearly worried now.

“I think Anthony messed with Cibor’s head. I think he—” She looked away, not sure how to say it, but Jaclyn was already on her feet, storming around her desk.

“Tell me what the hell happened,” she snarled, getting closer.

Natalie stood in alarm, and explained quickly. “Cibor was standing in the doorway, watching while I went to the restroom. But when I came out, he was gone, and Anthony was waiting for me. He said—” She stopped. She didn’t want to tell Jaclyn about the supposed date, because she’d tell Christian and he’d go nuts. “Anthony wanted to talk to me, but when he finished, and I came back to your office . . . Cibor was there, and he was acting as if he was just seeing me for the first time tonight.”

Jaclyn’s expression, which had been getting darker with every word Natalie spoke, now turned positively terrifying. She spun for the door, fangs bared, eyes glittering, as she yanked it open. “I’ll kill him,” she hissed.

Natalie cringed. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, but Jaclyn was already gone.

Natalie followed more slowly. She didn’t have a hope of keeping up with the vampire’s speed, even if she’d wanted to. Which she didn’t. It might be better if she simply avoided Jaclyn and Cibor for the time being. Neither one of them would be eager to see
her
. Not after she’d brought all of this down on their heads, even if it hadn’t been deliberate. It wasn’t her fault Anthony had suddenly become obsessed with her, but she shouldn’t have let Christian talk her into involving Jaclyn and Cibor.

She went directly to the conference room, determined to gather her things and go home. She should have stayed there anyway, should never have let Christian persuade her to come into the office. She didn’t need to be here. She could work anywhere. A part of her recognized she was trying to find a way to avoid seeing Christian, to avoid telling him about her “date” with Anthony. He wouldn’t even begin to
listen
to her argument for why she should just go out with him, and get it over with. It was just one evening. She would go along with Anthony as he made his pitch, and then let him know gently that she wasn’t interested. Maybe his pride would be pricked, but he’d be back in New Orleans soon, and there were plenty of women there who would welcome his attention.

Christian would insist she was in danger from Anthony, but she couldn’t really buy into that. He’d waited two
years
to make his play for her, and probably would have waited longer if he hadn’t seen her flirting with Christian in his office. She absolutely believed he’d hurt Christian, however. Anthony hated him for reasons that went way beyond her. She was attractive enough, but she was no Helen of Troy, for God’s sake.

On the other hand, Christian had messed up Anthony’s plan for the outcome of the challenge.
That
was what had really pissed him off. In fact, she thought his sudden interest in her might be motivated by a desire to win her away from Christian.
That
idea held merit. She wasn’t the great passion of his life, she was a thing. A thing that Christian wanted, and, therefore, Anthony was going to take her away from him. It would be even richer when Christian discovered she’d gone out with Anthony in order to protect
him.

Natalie almost groaned out loud at the thought
of telling Christian just that. She didn’t know him all that well yet, but she knew he’d be furious. Not only at Anthony, but at
her
for going along with such a scheme. But while she might be reluctant to tell him, she was more certain with every minute that she was doing the right thing. Which meant she had to get out of there before Christian returned. If Anthony was keeping an eye on her, she wanted him to see that she’d gone home, and that she hadn’t gone to Christian looking for help.

She walked down the hall to the conference room, where she’d left her things, and caught sight of Jaclyn and Cibor standing near his desk. Jaclyn had her arms around the much bigger vampire, and his head was lowered to touch hers. Cibor’s eyes were closed, and Jaclyn was murmuring something, her cheeks wet with pink tears. Natalie’s heart ached with guilt. This wouldn’t have happened if Anthony hadn’t come looking for
her.
She lowered her head and went over to gather her purse and laptop. Stepping back to the open doorway, she glanced over at the two vampires. But they were totally wrapped up in each other, and not paying her any attention.

She headed for the hall door, not looking left or right, not calling any attention to herself. Once out in the hallway, she went directly to the back stairs, and down to the kitchen, then out to the parking lot, and over to her little car.

She shivered when she climbed inside and closed the door, her fingers trembling as she inserted the key and started the quiet engine. She told herself it was just the cold night temperature making her shake. That her car had been sitting in the lot for too long, and the chill had settled in. She reached over and turned on the heat, but it didn’t seem to help. Nothing did. But she kept going, driving past the estate guards, waving at their cheerful greetings, and then turning onto the highway toward her townhouse.

She knew what she had to do. Christian would be upset, but he’d understand, she told herself. Once she had a chance to explain. He’d understand.

“AS SOON AS THE meeting’s underway, I want you back with Natalie,” Christian said, as he and Marc clambered down the stairs to Anthony’s office.

“I’d rather stay with you,” Marc said, when they started down the long hallway.

“Anthony probably won’t let you in the meeting, and having you sit on your ass in his waiting room would be useless.”

“But I’d be closer if you needed me.”

“I can hold them off until you reach me.”

“And if they gang up on you? What if this is Anthony’s final play?”

“I believe what I told Natalie earlier. First, Anthony’s style isn’t direct confrontation. When he comes after me himself, it’ll be from the shadows. And second, I need to be in this meeting, to hear whatever intel he claims to have, and to try and figure out his next move.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Not you, too,” he sighed, thinking of Natalie’s smartass response.

Marc laughed. “Nah, you really
are
my lord and master.”

They swung through the open doors of Anthony’s office to the sound of his receptionist’s trilled greeting.

“Good evening, Marc,” she all but sang. Her breasts were thrust out as she straightened to attention, and her eyes were only for Marc.

Christian swallowed a laugh, but Marc didn’t seem to mind. He smiled broadly at the admittedly pretty young woman. “MariAnn,” Marc said warmly. “You’re a gorgeous sight this evening.”

“Oh,” she said, blushing, as she brushed away his words. “Aren’t you sweet?”

Christian rolled a glance in his lieutenant’s direction, before addressing the girl. “Are the others inside?”

She swung her gaze to him for the first time, a look of surprise on her face, as if she hadn’t noticed he was there before. “Oh! Yes, my lord, I think you’re the last one.”

“Excellent. Marc?” he said, reminding his lieutenant what his orders were.

“I’ll be waiting, Sire,” Marc said, flirtation forgotten.

Christian gave a single, short nod, then pulled open the door to Anthony’s office. The remaining three challengers were all there, and they turned, as one, to regard him with very unfriendly looks. It was in the nature of vampires to be generally hostile to one another, particularly in a situation like this, with the challenge afoot. But Christian couldn’t help feeling that he was the common enemy here, the unifying force. It shouldn’t have been that way. After all, two of the remaining challengers were from outside the South. But somehow, he’d been transformed into the focal point of their dislike.

He looked around the office. And found no Anthony.
What the fuck?

“Where’s Anthony?” he demanded.

A bulky vamp with pale hair, one whom Christian had never met before, shrugged negligently. “Taking a shit? Said he’d be right back.”

Christian spun for the exit, suspicion blooming into certainty. But as he reached for the edge of the half-open door, it was pushed wide, and Anthony was there.

“You’re finally here, Duvall,” Anthony said, his scratchy voice grating on Christian’s ears. “Sit. And have your lieutenant join us.”

Christian didn’t bother to hide his surprise. But he did conceal his suspicion. Anthony wanted Marc in the meeting? Why would he do that? None of the others had any backers with them.

“Well?” Anthony demanded. “Get him in here and sit down.”

Christian bristled automatically at the order. Anthony might be Lord of the South—for now, but Christian was
not now
and would never
be
his to command. He swallowed his irritation. It was important that he find out what Anthony was up to, and the only way they could do that was by sitting here and listening to the fucker talk. If he wanted Marc in the meeting, if that’s what it took to get this thing started, then it looked like he was staying. He’d have preferred to have Marc guarding Natalie, but Cibor was more than capable, and Jaclyn was, too.

Marc was still standing in the outer office, his eyes on Christian. He’d have heard the whole conversation, and was waiting to see what he should do. Christian gestured him inside, and the two of them sat together, taking chairs around the small conference table. The furniture was obviously new. Probably replacements for whatever Anthony had destroyed during his tirade. Glancing around, Christian noticed there were a few blank spaces on the wall, but if you didn’t know better, you’d believe the place had always looked this way, never guessing that it had been a wreck only two days earlier.

Anthony walked around and sat behind his desk, giving everyone else a sour look, as if they were intruding on his time, and
he
hadn’t been the one to call the damn meeting.

“So, we’re all here. I’d like to know why.” That same pale-haired vamp pushed his chair back from the table, and shifted his unfriendly look in Anthony’s direction. Christian found it rather refreshing.

Anthony glared at the vampire’s disrespectful tone. “I already told you, Weiss. I’ve received intel on the Hubert situation. I’m doing this as a courtesy, so shut the fuck up and listen.”

So this was Marcel Weiss
, Christian thought. The challenger from the Midwest. He was one of Klemens’s people who’d fled Chicago after Aden took over. On the surface, he didn’t seem powerful enough to rule the South, but then,
on the surface,
neither did Christian. They were both hiding their true strength, knowing that they could end up facing any one of the others in this room during the challenge. And a smart vampire learned to shield what he brought to a fight.

Weiss’s only reply was to snarl in Anthony’s direction, after which he leaned back in his chair and feigned boredom.

“All right, then,” Anthony grated. “Scoville,” he said, addressing the only vampire in the room who was one of his own children. The only one of his own left in the challenge, now that Noriega was gone. “Why don’t you set out what we’ve learned, and then I’ll answer any questions.”

“Yes, my lord,” Scoville agreed meekly. The subservient response wasn’t completely unexpected. Anthony was Scoville’s Sire, and that sort of obedience was hardwired into a vampire’s brain. But it spoke to Anthony’s insecurities that he demanded such meekness from his people. So different from the relationship Christian enjoyed with Marc.

“For obvious reasons, Lord Anthony has spies throughout Mexico,” Scoville stated. “Most of them have been in place since long before Vincent took over. But with this new European invasion, their reports have taken on an even greater urgency. Vincent is intent on uncovering any of Enrique’s European allies who might still be lurking in Mexico, but he doesn’t have the luxury of focusing all of his attention in that direction. Some of Enrique’s hold-outs still question Vincent’s newly won rule of the territory, and he has to put down those challenges, as well.

“We, on the other hand, can’t afford to ignore what the Europeans might be doing, and Lord Anthony’s network within Mexico has proven invaluable.”

Christian couldn’t believe the amount of blatant flattery in Scoville’s recitation. Did Anthony require that much ego stroking all the time? Or was this performance aimed only at this particular audience.

“In particular,” Scoville continued, “we have a spy placed very close to Hubert, and he tells us that Hubert will attack sooner rather than later. Hubert thinks to take advantage of Vincent’s distraction, as well as the pervasive confusion on the continent about what really happened in Hawaii with Lord Raphael.”

“Raphael should share the details of what happened. After all, he defeated his enemies. There’s no reason—” Weiss started to say, but Anthony interrupted.

“Give it up, Weiss. That’s never going to happen. Raphael makes up his own mind, and to hell with the rest of us.”

Christian exchanged a glance with Marc at Anthony’s vitriolic tone. He didn’t think the assessment of Raphael was quite fair. But he found it intriguing that the more time he spent in Anthony’s company, the more he realized how much the Southern lord disliked Raphael. Maybe even more than disliked. Had their relationship always been this way? He wasn’t alone in assuming that Raphael and Anthony were, if not friends, then at least friendly with one another. Why else would Raphael have supported Anthony’s rule over the South?

It was beginning to look as though Raphael had chosen Anthony not because he respected him, but because he didn’t. He’d wanted someone he could control on his Southwestern border, and Anthony was weak enough to fit the bill. Christian didn’t like Anthony, but he had to admit that the vampire lord’s resentment of Raphael was beginning to make sense.