Fractured (The Deep in Your Veins Series Book 5) (14 page)

He ignored me. “Bring my Imani to me. If she wants to hear about the insignia, I’ll tell her.”

“You’ll toy with her,” I corrected.

Again, he ignored me. “It’s a fair deal. You let me live, and I’ll tell Imani what the insignia means.”

“If we let you live,” began Jared, “it would be inside this cell.”

“At least I’d be alive. Bring her to me. Or don’t. The choice is yours.”

Before I could tell him to go fuck himself with a jagged blade, I found myself standing in Sam and Jared’s office.

I immediately began to pace. “He doesn’t know anything. The bastard’s just buying time and playing games. He’d say anything to see Imani. He’s obsessed with her.” Not that I was in a position to judge.

“I agree,” said Sam.

I heard a ‘But’, and I didn’t like it. “But…?”

She sighed. “But this has to be Imani’s decision.”

“No,” I bit out.

“Butch, think about it—”

“He’s bullshitting us, Coach. We can’t ask her to let him play a fucking game with her. He’s hurt her enough.”

“I know, but I will not make decisions for her. It would insult and disrespect her. You know that, which is why you’re not going to pressure her into making the decision you want her to make.”

Inwardly, I snorted. Sam didn’t know me well if she thought that. I was as overprotective of Imani as I’d warned her I’d be. During the transition, she’d been in so much pain, so crazed, and so close to death, that there had been several moments when I’d been sure I would lose her—and it had been fucking excruciating. Whenever I thought about it too much, anxiety chafed the edges of my consciousness until I wanted to punch something.

It had been so fucking hard to watch her in such gut-wrenching pain; to feel so helpless because there wasn’t a damn thing I could do to take it away. The only way I’d been able to help was to feed her. Sam, Jared, and Antonio—being the most powerful on the island—had also acted as regular donors. I’d be eternally grateful for that.

Although a whole lot of people had stopped by to see Imani during the transition, I hadn’t allowed any inside; aware that she wouldn’t have wanted everyone to see her that way. The only vampires I’d let inside that hadn’t been donors were Chico and Lena.

Of course, Fletcher being incredibly dramatic, had staged a protest outside her apartment; marching with huge ‘We want to see Imani’ boards. One deathly look from me had sent him scampering.

Taking a calming breath, I unclenched my fists. “You saw her, Coach. She’s not at full strength yet. And we have no fucking idea what ‘full strength’ will even be now for Imani.”

“I know, and I hate that as much as you do. But there are different kinds of strength. Imani will
never
be weak. She can do this. Marco can’t hurt her when there’s an impenetrable glass wall between them.”

“There are different kinds of hurt,” I said, paraphrasing her. “We could just torture the info out of him.” I was up for that.

She shook her head. “Imani told us that his gift is to shut off pain, remember?”

I cursed. “Coach, I can’t condone this. The sick fuck will sense that she’s vulnerable, and he’ll leap on it.”

“Probably,” said Sam, grim. “But it still has to be her decision.”

“And if she decides to do this and he fucks with her, we pull her out of there,” Jared vowed.

There was no ‘if’ about it. Imani would do this, Marco would mess with her, and she’d been through enough the past few nights. Still, I nodded, because I knew it was the best deal I’d get. I just hoped Imani declined.

(Imani)

I was just making my way back from the bathroom—and I was
not
about to admit to anyone that the simple act took a fair amount of energy out of me—when the front door opened. Seconds later, Butch strolled inside the bedroom with Sam and Jared close behind.

As Butch’s anger crashed into me, I tensed. “Did you find out which one of them did this to me?”

“They’re still maintaining their innocence,” said Butch before smacking a kiss on my mouth. “Tait says she’d happily see you dead but claims it wasn’t her. Juliet says she doesn’t care enough about your existence to bother trying to end it. And Marco swears you’ll always be safe with him.” Butch gave a snort of derision. “There’s something else that Juliet said. She claims Marco didn’t abandon you; that Lazarus sent him away from you to punish him. I don’t think she was lying, baby.”

I frowned. “But why would Lazarus lie to me about it?”

“I don’t know.”

“There’s one other thing we need to discuss,” announced Sam.

Cursing, Butch cupped my neck. “You don’t have to do this.”

Sam spoke again. “We never mentioned this before because we didn’t think it was significant, but there is a small symbol on the blog that’s blabbing about our kind. Marco claims that it’s some kind of insignia and it means something. He offered us a deal. If we let him live, he’ll talk. But…he’ll only talk to you.”

“There’s a very high chance he’s just playing games,” Jared warned me.

As I took in Jared’s expression, I said, “But you don’t think he is.”

“He had every motivation to hurt you,” Jared conceded. “But from all accounts, Marco isn’t a messy killer. He covers his tracks. We can’t link a single kill to him. If he was going to hurt you, it doesn’t make sense that he’d do it in a way that put him under suspicion.”

Though I was loathed to admit it even to myself, Jared made some good points. “I’ll talk to Marco.” Because whether he tried to kill me or not wasn’t the issue here; it was whether or not the insignia truly meant anything.

Butch froze. “Imani.”

“You can be there,” I told him. “You’ll know I’m safe. He can’t reach me through the glass.”

“Which is why he’ll play with you,” said Butch. “Even if he’s telling the truth, he’ll still play with you.”

“I know. But what do we have to lose?”

“You don’t have to do this.”

“I do.”

“You can take Fletcher along as well,” said Sam. “He’ll give us an idea of Marco’s emotional state. I want to know whether he’s pissed with you or as obsessed as he seems.”

“It’s probably a little bit of both,” grumbled Butch.

Seeming in agreement with that, Sam and Jared headed for the door. Just as they were about to leave, she turned and said, “Oh, I almost forgot. Lazarus and Annalise have been asking to speak with you. Obviously, it would be via teleconference since Lazarus doesn’t leave his castle and none of us are comfortable with you going there. Will you be up to speaking with them tomorrow after meeting with Marco?”

I nodded. “Sure. I’d like to talk to them.” I’d like to know whether Juliet was telling the truth.

“All right. Take some time to wind down and recover your strength. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

Once the pair was gone, I asked Butch, “Do you think Marco even knows anything about the insignia?”

His mouth twisted. “I think it’s unlikely. But I also think we shouldn’t talk about it or that fucker. Sam’s right; you should wind down. After the rough time you’ve had, you need it.”

“We both need it.” Being with me during the transition had to have been hard for him.

He surprised me by running a bath; filling the bathroom with the scent of jasmine. As he slowly stripped me, his touch was caring and soothing, not sexual or invasive—dammit. His eyes glittered with possessiveness as they raked over me. My nipples tightened under that heated gaze, but the bastard ignored that and helped me into the tub. After shedding his own clothes, he slid in behind me.

Resting against him with a happy sigh, I caught sight of his toothbrush next to mine. It was only then it occurred to me that a lot of his stuff had found a place in my apartment. I kind of liked that. “So are you just planning to move your things in here, little by little, hoping I won’t notice until suddenly
bam
you’re all moved in?” Butch could be sneaky like that.

He nuzzled the crook of my neck. “Don’t you want me here?”

“Well, sure. You’re nice to have around—you’re a good cook, you’re pretty to look at, and you make baths and showers much more fun.”

“But…?”

“There’s no ‘but.’ I just thought you would have liked to stay in your own apartment until you were certain that this is working for you.” I didn’t want him making huge decisions like moving in here permanently unless he was one-hundred percent sure. I didn’t want him to regret it.

His fingers traced my collarbone. “This isn’t a complicated situation for me, Imani. I have no doubts whatsoever about you. I’m sure that this is what I want. Just because I’m not very good at relationships doesn’t mean I’m scared of the commitment.”

“Okay, I was just checking.”

He spoke into my ear. “You know, sometimes I’d dream that you were with me. Then I’d wake up, and you weren’t there. And I’d remember that I let you go. I hated that. I don’t want to wake up and not find you right there again.”

Swallowing, I shook my head. “I really had no idea you were feeling this way. I’m sorry that you were hurting. And I’m sorry I didn’t see it. As your friend, I should have seen it.”

“It was my own fault. You offered me you, and I didn’t give you what you need.”

Well he’d given me what I needed over the past few nights. “It just occurred to me that I haven’t thanked you yet.”

“For what?”

“Staying with me. Taking care of me during the transition.”

He nipped my ear. “You don’t have to thank me. You’re mine. I’ll always take care of you.”

“Dude, you say some pretty nice things.” It wasn’t that he was attempting to be romantic, sensitive, and soppy. He was just being honest, and I loved that. “Did you even take a break while I was going through the transition?”

“Of course not.”

“Not even for a change of clothes?”

“Jared packed me a bag and brought it to me.” He kissed my hair. “It was hard to see you like that. Weak and in pain. You didn’t even know who I was most of the time. When you did recognise me, you kept asking me to make the pain stop. But I couldn’t, and I hated that. I couldn’t even hold you tight because your skin was so sensitive. Then you turned into a cat in heat, and I was worried I’d hurt you. But
not
fucking you seemed to hurt you more.”

I grimaced. “I wish you hadn’t seen me like that.”

“I’ve seen you in worse states than that.”

My frown deepened. “Oh yeah? When?”

“Like the time you and your squad were totally shitfaced and stripped down to your underwear to go for a swim in the ocean. You then fell asleep on the sand with seaweed in your hair—but not before putting a shell over each nipple.”

And, in my drunken state, I’d been convinced I looked like a mermaid. “You saw me?” Oh, the shame and horror.

“Who do you think carried you to your apartment?”

I blinked. “I thought I walked home but just didn’t remember.”

He snorted. “You couldn’t have lifted your head, let alone walked. You did mumble a few things, though, while I was carrying you.”

Something about his tone told me this was going to be embarrassing. “What did I say?”

“You started squirming, so I told you it was just me. You said that no one who’s as much of an asshole as me should be ‘so damn hot and so good with his hands.’”

Groaning, I closed my eyes. “Tell me you’re kidding.”

“I shit you not, baby,” he chuckled.

“You just left the other girls sprawled all over the sand?”

“They aren’t mine. You are.” He kissed my neck. “Onto other things…You haven’t told me how you’re feeling about Lena’s news. It can’t have been nice to hear.”

Total understatement. “It would be fair to say I’ve avoided even thinking much about the subject.”

“Then think about it now. Work it out in your head.”

“What do you want me to say? Am I worried? Yeah. Am I pissed? Yeah. Do I find it ironic that I was devastated at the thought of being human again when once upon a time it would have thrilled me? Yeah, I definitely do.” I shrugged. “But there’s no point in dwelling. As far as I’m concerned, I’m still a vampire. Just a vampire with an edge.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

(Imani)

Waking up alone, I did a long, languid stretch. I could hear Butch moving around my apartment, and I smiled. He wasn’t an early riser, but since I was a late
riser he was often awake before me.

Slipping out of bed, I took inventory. The nausea had subsided and my head no longer hurt. Also, my body didn’t feel so heavy tonight. In fact, I felt refreshed. Invigorated.

How awesome.

I pulled on a long t-shirt and headed straight for the bathroom. While I was standing in front of the mirror, checking my irises for signs of any changes, Butch came up behind me. I met his gaze in the mirror and smiled. “Hey.”

“Hey, baby.” His bare chest pressed against my back as he curled his arms around me.

I snuggled into his warm hold. “There’s no change to my irises.”

“Lena said your body’s state was frozen again now.”

“I know, but she also said there are all kinds of symbols in my DNA that she doesn’t understand.”

He nuzzled my neck. “You don’t look so tired tonight. How do you feel?”

“Better.”

“Still queasy?”

I shook my head. “Nope. I feel fine. Really.”

“Good.” He sucked on my pulse as his hand slid under my t-shirt and closed around my breast. “Because I want to fuck what belongs to me.”

I was totally down with that. He whipped off my t-shirt one-handed, and I arched into the possessive hold on my breast, hooking my arms around his neck. It felt like months since he’d touched me like this—the sex we had during the transition didn’t count as I barely remembered it—and I’d missed it. Missed him.

His fingers danced down my navel to my slick folds. He gently squeezed them together, teasing my clit. I gasped. Damn, that felt good. He did it again. And again. And again, driving me freaking insane. I moaned when he rubbed them from side to side. “Butch…”

“You have no idea how important you are to me.” Raking his teeth over my pulse, he thrust a finger inside me and swirled it around. “Sometimes I wake up and can’t quite believe you’re there.”

I swallowed hard at the emotion in his voice. “I’m here, and I’d really like to come.” But he withdrew his finger, the bastard.

“I want in you.” There was the sound of a zipper lowering, and then his cock bumped my folds. I tilted my hips back for him. “Good girl.” He thrust hard, burying himself balls-deep inside me in one smooth stroke. My muscles clamped around him, and a growl rumbled up his chest.

The burn of his cock stretching and filling me was heavenly. I needed more. “Move.”

One hand gripped my hip while the other moved up to span my throat. “All mine.”

He rode me hard, fingers biting into my skin. Savage possession glittered in the dark eyes that met mine through the mirror. Every merciless slam of his cock built the friction until I could feel my climax creeping up on me.

He splayed one hand over my lower stomach. “I can feel me moving in and out of you. Owning you.” The words made my body clench. “That’s it, baby, squeeze me. Play with your clit, Imani, make yourself come.”

“That’s your job.”

He flashed me a crooked, bad-boy grin and then took my hand. “Is that right?” He used my finger to work my clit; alternating between circling it, flicking it, and rubbing the side of it over and over. “I can feel you getting hotter. You ready to come for me, baby?”

“Yes.”

He upped his pace, grunting into my neck. “I haven’t tasted you for almost five nights.” He licked my throat. “Not going without it any longer.” His teeth sank down. My body tightened, and my climax slammed into me. He roughly jammed his cock deep and exploded with a growl.

“I seriously needed that,” I panted as I leaned back against him.

His arms looped around me once more. “Your blood tastes different. Not in a bad way. It just has a slight fizz to it...like sparkling champagne.” He kissed my neck. “I like you this way. All soft and relaxed with sex-drunk eyes.”

I chuckled. “I’m more buzzed than relaxed. I’m also hungry.”

“Then I’ll feed you.”

We both cleaned up and pulled on some clothes before heading to the kitchen.

“I need you to try something.” He took an NST out of the refrigerator, opened it, and held it out to me.

I recoiled at the smell. “No thanks.”

He resealed it and set it aside. “Hmm.” Leaning toward me, he bit his lip hard enough to draw blood and then kissed me. “What about that?”

I licked my lips, tasting him, and smiled. “I’ll never turn down your blood.”

“So it’s just human blood you have an aversion to,” he mused. Both our cell phones beeped at the same time.

“That’s probably a message from Fletcher telling us he’s ready for our meeting with Marco.”

Butch’s smile faded. “Probably. You can change your mind, you know.”

“I know, but I won’t.”

“I know you won’t, you’re too damn stubborn.” He curled his arm around me and drew me against him. “First, you need to feed.”

It was oh so very tempting but…“I fed from you for three nights straight during the transition.”

“Then you went twenty-four hours without any blood or food, which I’m going to note is totally unnatural and worrying the shit out of me. In that time, I drank plenty of NSTs. I’m fine.”

“You’re sure?”

“Positive. Whatever you need, you’ll have.” He kissed me. “Feed.”

I lapped at his pulse, and his arm contracted around me. I bit down and moaned as the taste of him filled my mouth. No blood or NST had ever tasted this good. When I pulled back, I sealed the bite closed and smiled up at him. “Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me.” He patted my ass and disappeared. In the blink of an eye, he was back, cell phone in hand. “It
was
Fletcher. He’s ready.”

“Tell him we’ll meet him at the entrance to the cells.” As Butch typed the message, I followed him to the door. Just as his hand reached for the knob, a knock sounded. Keeping me behind him, he opened it wearing the scowl from hell.

Alora’s smile was somewhat animated. “Hi, Butch. It’s nice to see you.” He grunted.

Maya cleared her throat. “We’d like to see Imani.” She peered around him and grinned at me. “I expected you to look like shit. You look…well fucked.”

Ava chuckled. “It works on you.”

In a rush, Paige charged past Butch and clamped her arms around me. “I’m so sorry I was an unsupportive bitch. I was so worried about him letting you down that I didn’t realise
I
was the one letting you down. And then you got hurt and…and…”

I patted her back gently. “Hey, don’t cry.”

“I’m not.”

She was.

Jude looked at Butch. “And we’re sorry we didn’t even give you a shot.”

Cassie nodded. “We were totally out of line, and we hope you’ll give us the chance we didn’t give you…even though we probably don’t deserve it.”

Without releasing me, Paige glanced at him over her shoulder. “You really took care of her during the transition.” Which showed them just how serious about me he was. “Thank you for that.”

Butch just stared at her.
Ooookay.

“Your irises really are back to normal,” marvelled Ava, shoving Paige aside. “Dude, this is some crazy shit.”

“Yeah,” I sighed.

“I’m so sorry we weren’t there for you during the transition,” said Alora. “We wanted to be, but…well, Butch was right to send us away. We totally messed up, and we hope you’ll forgive us.”

I stepped away from them and moved to Butch’s side. “Honestly, girls, I’m glad you’ve come and I’m glad you’re sorry. But I can’t truly move past this unless you’re
all
willing to give Butch the chance he deserves. He’s important to me. I need you to accept that or there’s no moving forward.”

“We completely accept it,” Jude assured me. “We knew he was important to you, we just didn’t realise you were important to him.” She looked at Butch. “We really are sorry we misjudged you.” It was an authentic apology. It also pulled absolutely no reaction whatsoever from him. He could hold a grudge as well as Paige.

He took my hand. “We have to go, baby.”

Cassie’s brow furrowed. “What’s going on?”

I sighed. “I have to talk with Marco. I’ll explain everything, just not right now.”

“Okay,” said Paige. “Call me later.”

Butch herded them out of the apartment and, my hand still in his, zoomed out of the building in vampire speed. He paused as we reached the mansion and turned to me. “Are you pissed at me for not graciously accepting their apologies?”

I shook my head. “Hell, no. They were totally in the wrong, and I don’t blame you for being wary of them. Just note that I won’t be so forgiving toward your squad either.”

He kissed me. “They won’t apologise, baby.”

“Sure they will. It’ll hurt their egos, but they’ll do it.” I tugged Butch inside the building, and we then headed beneath the mansion where the containment cells were located. Fletcher was waiting there, looking like a bag of nerves. I smiled at him reassuringly. “You’ll be fine. Marco can’t get to you.”

Fletcher fanned his face. “There’s nothing fine about being in the company of a complete sociopath.” Wincing, he said to Butch, “No offense.”

“Butch is
not
a sociopath,” I ground out. “Marco, well, he’s another matter. When you’re around both guys at the same time, you’ll see the difference.”

“I’ve informed Jared that we’re here,” Butch told us. “He’ll teleport in to collect us when we’re done.”

I nodded. “Let’s get on with this, shall we?”

Fletcher straightened his shoulders and stayed at my side as we walked through the passages with Butch leading the way. I couldn’t resist waving at Tait and Juliet as we passed their cells, though inside I was scowling. Finally, we reached Marco’s containment cell. Butch and Fletcher stood against the back wall as I moved closer to the glass.

In a blink, Marco was off the mattress and beaming at me. “Hello, sweetheart.” His smile shrunk as his gaze shifted to Butch. “Why are you here? I want some time with my Imani.”

“If you want to talk to her, you’ll deal with me being here,” said Butch, his tone non-negotiable.

Marco glared at him. “Does she know you’re just as cold and wacked as me? Or do you hide that part of yourself from her?”

Playing games already.
“I thought you wanted to speak with
me
.”

Switching his attention back to me, Marco studied my face. “The serum cured you?”

“No.”

“But it changed you.”

Obviously, but this wasn’t a social visit and I needed to keep the conversation on track. Marco was trying to control it—typical. “You said the mark on the blog is an insignia.”

“Getting down to business already?”

“Either you have something to tell me or you don’t.”

“I brought you into this life without your consent. How did that make you feel? Angry? Resentful? Depressed? Eager for revenge?”

I swallowed. “I just wanted to be human again. But I don’t see how this has any—”

“The blogger and his friends want the same. They blend in with humans and exist in their world, but it isn’t enough for them.” A long pause. “Ever heard of The Order?”

Never but, for some reason, a chill crept up my spine. “No.”

“For a long time, it was just a small group of vampires who got together and said, ‘I hate what I am, you hate what you are, let’s all be hateful together.’ I actually forgot about them…until you mentioned the dragon shifter attack.”

Frowning, I asked, “Why would you think that The Order and the dragon attack are connected?”

“My personal opinion is that the dragons who will invade this place are mercenaries. While we waited for Andres’ agreement to meet with you, I looked into what enemies the Grand High Pair has. Our kind has settled since Sam and Jared took over; people fear and respect them enough to stay in line. So, I asked myself, who hated them enough to risk their wrath? Then I recalled the blog we’ve been monitoring that has The Order’s insignia, and my gut told me to take another look at the association.”

“And?”

“They’ve grown in numbers and strength. They no longer sit around, bemoaning their situation. They now have a mission.”

This wasn’t going to be good. “What’s their mission?”

“To destroy us all.”

Well, fuck.

“I was able to link them to several bombings that humans branded acts of terrorism. Ironically, the humans weren’t wrong. The Order is, in effect, a large association of terrorists. But their targets are vampires. Get Sam and Jared to take a look at the terrorist attacks that occurred in the last two years. Many of them wiped out entire nests and buildings that belonged to vampires. I don’t think that’s a coincidence, considering that The Order has possession of human weapons of war.”