Dark Peril (37 page)

DOMINIC TO SOLANGE

C
esaro saw Dominic and Solange coming and rode out to greet them on a dark horse. In full gaucho gear, he was an impressive sight. The horse all but pranced under him. He flashed a wary smile in greeting. “All is well?” he called.

Dominic shook his head. “We may have discovered a plot against Zacarias, Cesaro. We are not certain, but would like to discuss matters with you. You know more about this ranch and the people on it than anyone else, I would imagine.”

Cesaro slipped easily from the horse’s back, retaining the reins. “Of course. You have only to tell me what you need.”

“The undead are gathering near this place and your people are all in danger. The undead will be seeking blood each night. Because there are many, they will take many lives. They can take any form, man or creature, including bats. How prepared are you should they come?”

“Each house is protected, but we must guard the cattle,” Cesaro replied.

They got into the house the other night,
Solange pointed out to Dominic, not wanting to disprove Cesaro’s statement and hurt his pride. As a woman, he wouldn’t like the protest coming from her.

“Forgive me,” Dominic bowed slightly, “but how did the vampire get into the main house the other evening? He attacked young Marguarita. Did you make inquiries?”

Cesaro frowned, swept off his hat and scratched his head. “I can’t think how such a thing happened. She would never invite anyone inside the house, and she would know she was safe inside.
Don
Zacarias has given precise instructions and we all follow them
exactly
. Each family residing here knows it is life-or-death. No one would open the door for the undead. For
anyone.
”

Zacarias would have protected all of them from compulsion as well,
Solange reasoned.
All the brothers protect their families that way. Someone opened the door and let the vampire inside. Someone here is working for the vampires.

Dominic turned Solange’s statement over and over in his mind. It still didn’t feel right to him. He was missing something. “I would like to check on Marguarita, and discuss this further with you, Cesaro. Perhaps you could introduce me to those working here.”

Cesaro’s eyebrow shot up. He was responsible for the men and women working for the De La Cruz brothers. “Do you believe we have a traitor?”

Dominic chose his words carefully. Most of those working on the De La Cruz ranches were related in some way. “I just want to make certain that everyone is safe.”

Cesaro turned his head and whistled. At once a younger teen bounded up and took the horse’s reins, his eyes curious, but he didn’t ask questions. When Cesaro waved him away, he looked disappointed but he took the horse back toward the corrals.

Dominic glanced down at Solange’s upturned face and the question in her eyes. She’d been in his mind when he’d touched the boy. He could see Zacarias’s barrier firmly in place. If a mage had managed somehow to take over one of the workers, he would have had to go through that barrier.

Marguarita? Could she have been possessed and opened the door for him?

Dominic shook his head.
The undead tried to get into her head and was unsuccessful. He questioned her, and even though I felt the strength of the compulsion in his voice, she refused to give him information.

They followed Cesaro to the house. Dominic glided rather than walked, although he appeared to be walking with his easy, fluid, graceful stride and paying attention to Cesaro as he identified workers they passed. He didn’t want to take a chance of making it appear as if he was examining the mind of every person within range. Everyone appeared protected.

The house rippled when they walked in. Dominic stopped abruptly. “Has Zacarias been here?”

“He would not leave with the undead walking the night. The cattle are restless and last night we lost several to the bloodsuckers. They dropped down from the sky. Two of my men barely escaped with their lives. Zacarias returned right after that and strengthened the protection in each house. He told us the cattle were not worth dying for and he wanted his men inside at night.”

“And yet, it is night and you are watching the cattle.”

Cesaro frowned. “We cannot just let them be slaughtered. This is what we do. Who we are. We are taking precautions. If there is a disturbance, we all go inside immediately. We have shelters set up for our protection.”

Dominic exchanged a long look with Solange. These men were feudal in their own way. They had a job they took great pride in, and they weren’t about to abandon their cattle to the vampires rampaging near their homes.

“Marguarita took a turn for the worse,” Cesaro said. “She ran a high temperature and could barely breathe.
Don
Zacarias must have sensed she was dying and came to try to heal her again. He spent much time with her and then left. He is not resting here. He said it would be too dangerous for all of us.”

“Perhaps he is right,” Dominic acknowledged. There had been a touch of guilt in Cesaro’s voice, as if he was ashamed that Zacarias would think they could not protect him while he slept. “He is feared by the undead and they do not know I am here. They believe he is the only one between them and what they want. They will try any means to kill him.” He looked Cesaro in the eye. “Do you understand what I am telling you? He does this because you are his family. He will go to any lengths to protect you, even from himself.”

Cesaro heaved a sigh. “I understand. It is our duty to serve and protect him as well. This does not feel right to me.”

“He is lucky to have you,” Dominic said with another small bow.

Ask him if anyone visits regularly that maybe doesn’t work for Zacarias but borrows his vehicles once in a while,
Solange prompted.

Dominic pushed a smile into her mind. Of course she would hit on the right question. He loved her all the more that she understood the way these men thought and acted, and it didn’t bother her. They would feel much less inhibited discussing the workings of the ranch with a male than with her. He was Carpathian, like the family they worked for, and they knew he was Zacarias’s friend. She was a shifter—a cat they equated with being an enemy. Cesaro was respectful but uneasy in her presence.

I do not care what others think of me,
Solange said.
Only you.

He could feel the truth of her words and it warmed him. She belonged to him—she
wanted
to be his alone.
You know I value you above all else.
Her opinion, her skills, most of all the love that was beginning to show in her cat’s eyes.

His heart tripped a little over that shy, very new look. Sometimes when she looked at him, her expression sent his body into a violent, almost brutal state of arousal. She was so new to the idea of actually sharing her life with someone, and yet she was trying very hard to find a way around absolute terror to come to him whole. He loved the experience of watching her struggle to accept not just him, but her growing love for him. It was an unexpected journey he’d never thought he’d take, and he found himself loving her all the more for it.

“Cesaro.” Dominic halted just outside of Marguarita’s room. “Do you have a neighbor who is allowed to use the De La Cruz vehicles? Perhaps someone who was here the day of the attack, and two nights ago?”

Cesaro froze with his hand on Marguarita’s door. He turned slowly, a wash of color in his face. His eyes went diamond hard. “There is such a man, he has been trying to court Marguarita. The De La Cruz family has been good to him. He bought the ranch that borders ours about a year ago. He had little left after the purchase and we have helped him several times.”

“You say he is courting Marguarita.”

“
Trying.
We all found it amusing. Marguarita, as you have seen, is quite beautiful, but she is young and a little wild. Not with men, do not get me wrong. She is a good girl. But she likes her independence. She cooked and cleaned for her father and has the pick of the horses. She loves horses and is a good rider. This man, he can’t tame her. Her father and I had many nights of amusement over this courtship. Marguarita has not even appeared to notice what he’s doing with his flowers and candy. She smiles at him, as she does with all the workers, and thanks him on behalf of her father and all who would get joy from his offerings. She acts as though he brings things because he is allowed to borrow equipment.”

“Has he shown anger over her rejection of him?”

“No one can be angry with Marguarita. She is a joy.”

Dominic indicated to open the door. The moment he stepped through, he knew death had been very close. Had Zacarias not risen, this young, once vibrant woman would have died. She looked so pale she was nearly translucent. Dominic approached the bed. He glanced at Solange. She nodded, understanding. He would leave his body and go into Marguarita’s to examine her, ensure she survived and check, this time, for splinters of possession. Solange would have to watch his back for him.

“It would be best,” she said softly, “if you could leave us alone for a moment, Cesaro. And then we would very much like the name of this man who has visited and used one of your trucks.”

Cesaro nodded and left the room. Dominic knew he stood beside the door with a hand on his weapon. Whether to protect them or Marguarita, it mattered little. The man had a duty as he saw it, and was prepared to defend the De La Cruz property and everyone in it.

“Very loyal people,” Solange said.

Loyalty, Dominic knew, was a quality Solange very much admired. He glanced at her face. Cesaro was a handsome man.

Solange laughed. “You’re such a
male.
”

He wrapped his arm around her waist and drew her tight against him. “
Very
male,” he confirmed. “And I keep what is mine.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Evidently you’re feeling a little insecure this evening. Have I done something to make you think I’m looking at another man?”

“You were not looking at me.”

Her soft laughter was like an aphrodisiac to him, sexy and teasing and all woman. “I’m always looking at you, Dominic.” Her voice changed, dropped the teasing note, and was pure, raw honesty. “You fill my vision so much there’s no room for me to see another man—ever. I only see you, Dominic.”

His hand curled around the nape of her neck and he bent his head to taste her again. She was like the finest mixture of honey and spice and he could never get enough of her. “I could kiss you forever,” he whispered against her lips. He tasted both warrior and woman, and it was a potent mixture.

“I had no idea kissing could be so addictive,” she said. For a brief moment her body melted into his, soft and pliant and accepting. She glanced down at the pale woman. “Do you think the neighbor deliberately marked her for death at the hands of a vampire because she wouldn’t cooperate with him?”

He saw the shift in her mind, the depravities of the jaguar-men, and knew her thoughts sickened her. His hand moved to her ponytail, playing gently with the thick strands. “There are good men and bad men in every race and species, Solange. Living here, doing the work you do, has made you see all men in a bad light. Cesaro would never strike his woman. Once you are able to scan minds you will be able to see for yourself that many good men exist in the world.”

She shivered slightly and he knew his reference to her being fully Carpathian disturbed her a little. She had brought the subject up once in a roundabout way, but he knew she wasn’t allowing herself to go there yet, and he respected her need to come to terms, very slowly, with what their life would be like together.

Dominic turned back to Marguarita and shed his physical body to become wholly spirit. He had no doubts that Solange would guard his body from harm while he worked at healing the young woman whose throat was so mangled. Zacarias had given her blood, more than he probably could have spared. The interesting thing was, he found traces of Solange’s pure royal blood. The Carpathian blood was usually predominant, and here it was, but her strain was very distinct and it had somehow attached to the Carpathian blood, fully compatible, but not taken over. Her blood was very unique and had definite healing properties.

There was no way to repair the vocal cords fully. The undead had used razor-sharp talons, shredding through the cords. Both Dominic and Zacarias had concentrated on the muscles in her throat used for breathing and swallowing. She would live, be as beautiful as ever, but she probably would never speak again, or if she did, in no more than a husky whisper. But she would live. They had done their best for her.

He examined her mind, her memories, but there were no dark slivers of possession. She had not opened the door to the vampire. She’d heard her father’s dying warning and she’d obeyed him, backing into her room and waiting for the workers to come. She had been crying for her father, knowing he was dead, but she had not gone to the door.

And that meant someone else had been in the house without her knowledge. That someone had been familiar enough to enter without detection, and the safeguards didn’t affect him. He was not considered an intruder.

Dominic pulled back to reenter his body, swaying a little with no idea of time passage. Solange paced like a restless cat from window to window. She glanced over her shoulder at him. “You okay? You look pale. Do you need blood?”

“Not yours. You are killing the parasites and we need them. I will ask Cesaro which man is strongest here.”

“He will insist you take his blood.”

Dominic smiled at her. “I know.”

She covered Marguarita gently and brushed tendrils of hair from her pale face. “She’ll be traumatized by this. And if a friend betrayed her, it will be all the worse. Maybe we should ask MaryAnn to come visit.” She looked up at him and there was trust in her eyes. “Perhaps you could suggest to Cesaro they send for her.”

Knowing her need to help women abused by men, he nodded. “I think that would be a good idea.”