Giovanni (Blood Brothers Book 6) (12 page)

“What?”

“I have to leave. It’s for the best.”

Just then, the door opened. Ida walked in and if looks could kill he’d be dead on the spot. “What the hell are you doing here?”

Chapter Twelve

Sydney had never heard her friend sound so angry. Why did Ida have a problem with her having visitors? She knew Ida didn’t care for John but she wouldn’t allow the woman to dictate who she could talk to. “He’s visiting me,” she spoke up.

“Yes,” John added. “And I was just leaving. I was also telling Sydney that I’ll have to go away for a while, so I’ll be out of your hair, Ida.”

“Good,” the older woman muttered. “You’ve been nothing but trouble since you got to the house.”

“Ida! You’re being rude!” Sydney gasped as a sudden sharp pain sliced through her head. It disappeared as quickly as it came but it made her fall against her pillow in agony.

“What’s wrong, Sydney?” John demanded, sounding frantic.

“You’re what’s wrong,” Ida argued. “You’re stressing her out. You’re not supposed to be here.”

Sydney moistened her suddenly dry lips with the tip of her tongue. “Ida I know you’re just looking out for me, but I’m perfectly capable of speaking for myself. It was just a pain in my head. It felt like I was about to get a migraine but it went away.”

“Maybe you should rest.”

Sydney rubbed her temples, fearful the pain would come back.

“Sydney, do you want me to go?” John asked.

She remembered that he’d told her only a few minutes earlier. “Weren’t you about to leave anyway? John, you don’t have to worry, I’ll be okay. Thank you for visiting me. It means a lot.”

“You heard her.” Ida sucked her teeth. “She’s not up to having visitors.”

Sydney would have said something under any other circumstances but she felt tired and weak all of a sudden. She simply didn’t have the energy to play referee. “Yes, John. Maybe you should go.”

He didn’t respond immediately. “Okay.”

To her surprise, she could feel John’s heat as he seemed to get closer and closer and then he kissed her forehead. His lips were so warm they nearly burned. Despite this, a shiver that was akin to an electric wave vaulted through her. It felt familiar and she didn’t understand why.

“John, are you feeling well?” she asked.

“I’m fine,” came his hoarse response.

“You’re burning up. Maybe you should see the doctor before you leave the hospital.”

“I’ll be okay. I’m going now. I’m still paid up for another couple of months at the house so you may hear from me before then. If not, take care of yourself, Sydney.”

“And don’t forget to take your stuff with you,” Ida interjected rudely.

“Ida!” Sydney was more than a little annoyed at her friend’s hostility toward John.

“Well, we’re not a storage facility,” the woman muttered.

“Goodbye, Sydney.”

Those were John’s last words before she heard the door open and then close again, indicating that he’d left the room. She didn’t understand why, but Sydney felt a little sad, and betrayed by the fact that he was leaving without notice. He was free to come and go as he pleased and she had no right to want him to stick around but she did. There had been a connection between them that she couldn’t quite explain, but it was strong and under different circumstances it might have been something she would have pursued.

And then there was that kiss. Suddenly the memory of him pressing his body against hers, and slipping into her wetness caught her off guard. It seemed so real but she was sure that didn’t happen. She would have remembered having sex with him.

“Sydney, are you listening to me?” Ida snapped her fingers near Sydney’s ear, interrupting her thoughts.

“I’m sorry. What were you saying?”

Ida exhaled deeply, probably from frustration. “I’ve been trying to get your attention for the past couple minutes. You were daydreaming. Were you thinking about that man?”

Irritated by Ida’s tone Sydney grimaced. “And if I was? Are you trying to control my thoughts?”

“There’s no need to get snippy. I’m just concerned. I told you I had a bad feeling about that guy and now I know why. I did a little asking around town. Folks have told me that they’ve seen him around these parts before. Said he was watching you.”

Sydney snorted. “That’s ridiculous. John is new to town. Most of our boarders have heard of us through the online ad. I think they must be mistaken.”

“Or maybe that man is stalking you.” Ida took Sydney’s hand and began to stroke it. “Look, I’m probably being a silly old woman but the only reason I get like this sometimes is because I care. Sydney, you’re like a daughter to me and I’m just looking out for you.”

Ida’s words seemed to have a calming effect on her. Her friend had never let her down before and if it was true what she said about John did that mean she should be worried? She didn’t want to believe it but how well did she know the man beyond what he’d told her. How much of it was truth if any? “Maybe you’re right Ida, but seeing that he’s gone for God knows how long, the point is moot. For all we know he may never come back.”

“It would be better if he didn’t,” Ida mumbled but then quickly added, “Dylan is on his way over to visit.”

Sydney stiffened. She wasn’t sure why Dylan’s name caused her so much anxiety, after all he was a nice enough guy. She rubbed her forehead when it began to throb again. “Dylan? Didn’t you just tell John to leave because you didn’t want me to have any visitors?”

Ida made a sucking sound. “Oh, I just didn’t want
that
man upsetting you.”

Sydney sighed, not having the strength to argue. The sporadic pain in her head was quickly becoming a concern. “Maybe you should tell him to come another time.”

“Nonsense.” Ida stroked her hand harder than before. “He’s been eager to see you since he heard about you being in the hospital.”

“When did he get back into town?”

Ida stopped rubbing Sydney’s hand.

“Ida?” Sydney prompted when the other woman didn’t answer.

“Not too long ago. You’ve been so busy you must not have noticed his return. I’m sure once you see him you’ll feel better. After all, what woman wouldn’t be eager to see her boyfriend?”

<><><><><>

Dante took a seat at the head of his dining room table, which was large enough to accommodate all his brothers and their mates. “Thanks for coming everyone. I know you all are busy in your own lives but I felt this was matter of some urgency.”

Isis, who sat on his right hand side, took his hand and squeezed it in a show of her support. Dante briefly smiled at his beautiful shifter bloodmate before turning his attention to the rest of the occupants.

“You know there’s nothing more important than family.” GianMarco smiled at his brother. He looked more relaxed and happy than he had in years. His arm was casually draped around his bloodmate Maggie’s shoulder.

Romeo nodded. “I agree with Marco. So what’s the emergency? Another rogue threat? Anyone still looking for retaliation because of what we did to The Council of Immortals? I’m not averse to busting some heads. I haven’t seen any action in months…well…at least that kind of action.” He turned to his bloodmate Christine and gave her a wolfish grin.

Christine popped Romeo on the arm. “Not here. Besides, the kids are in the other room. You better watch it mister or you won’t be getting any kind of action.”

Romeo threw his hands up in surrender. “Okay, I’ll behave.”

Christine giggled. “Not too much.”

Dante couldn’t help but smile indulgently at his family and how well everyone was doing in their lives. He glanced at Niccolo, the quietest of the bunch, who rested his hand possessively on the back of his bloodmate Sasha’s neck. Sasha had the self-satisfied smirk on her lips of someone who had just been thoroughly fucked and considering those two had been the last ones to arrive it wasn’t hard to deduce that is exactly what had happened.

Despite the happy portrait his family painted, someone was missing. Giovanni.

“No, it isn’t anything like that, Romeo,” Dante finally answered. “Besides, we all agreed we’d take some time off from Underground business so that we can focus on family for a while. Any rogue threat can be ably handled by my agents for now.”

“So what brings us here today?” Romeo asked.

Dante sighed. “It’s family related. Lately, I’ve been having these premonitions that one of you is in trouble. I’ve had strange reactions, like heat flashes and moments when I can’t control my abilities. These instances are very brief but it’s enough to cause concern. I felt like one of you was in pain. But as we sit here it’s obvious no one at this table is in peril. And Nico, I’m sure you would know if Jagger was in danger.”

Niccolo nodded. “Of course. He and Camryn are doing well. I spoke to Jagger just this morning.”

Dante’s nephew Jagger, who happened to be a hybrid vampire warlock, had recently gone on his mystical journey in Russia under his uncle Steel’s tutelage to master his warlock abilities. During this period Camryn his bloodmate was finishing up the last semester of grad school. The two had recently reunited and planned to move closer to the family when Camryn graduated. That was when they would wed, much to Sasha’s delight.

Dante nodded his head, pleased that all was well with his nephew and his bloodmate. “That’s good to hear. But as I was saying, Isis and I determined that since it was none of us in trouble, it had to be Giovanni.”

Everyone around the table went quiet as they looked around at each other.

GianMarco finally broke the silence. “This makes sense now. I didn’t mention anything before, because like you Dante, I had checked to make sure everyone of us was okay. I saw no issue so I dismissed it.”

Romeo raked his fingers through his short blond hair. “I did as well.”

Dante looked toward Nico for confirmation.

“Yes. Me too,” Nico said. “Now I feel like a major asshole. How could we have ignored our brother he’s in trouble?”

Sasha leaned over and gave Nico a quick hug. “Don’t be too hard on yourself. It’s a simple mistake. You four have always had each other. You didn’t know Giovanni even existed up until some months ago. Giovanni being the one in danger wouldn’t naturally occur to you.”

“Yes, but we should have known,” Nico countered.

“Sasha is right,” Dante spoke up. “We were all off. Part of us not having the automatic connection to him as our kind does with our bloodlines is because he’s much older than us. He’s been able to use his abilities in a way that kept us blocked off from him for centuries. Also, the dark magic he used to practice could have also had something to do with it. We’ve never
felt
him before—until now. I feel him like I never have before but what I’m getting from him doesn’t make sense. The last time I felt this way was when Marco was going through
la morte dolci
.”

Maybe that’s what he’s going through. It’s quite possible that after all this time he’s found his mate,” Maggie pointed out.

Dante nodded in agreement. “That could be it but I sense that there’s more to it. Something I can’t explain. Something dark. We have to find him. I’ve already put some feelers out to get his whereabouts. As soon as I hear back from my contacts, I think we should go to Giovanni and help him.”

“Wait a minute,” Sasha spoke up. “I think I might know something. I didn’t think anything of it at the time but this could possibly be connected.

“If you remember anything, Sasha, you must tell us,” Niccolo prodded gently.

“When I talked to Steel some weeks ago, we talked about a spell he’d used to purge black magic from someone who’s practiced it for a while. He’d only ever used it as a counter spell and not on someone who voluntarily wanted to be purged. As you all know, I’m still trying to gain a foothold of my own powers, but my gift enables me to connect with the keepers of spells so ancient they were around before man walked the Earth. He asked me if there’s a way to find out if the spell presents any other side effects beyond the ones that are known. I told him of a place where he could access that information. He didn’t elaborate on why he needed to know and I didn’t think to ask because I figured he had a good reason.”

“Do you think Giovanni might have contacted Steel to perform such a spell on him?” Dante asked.

“It’s possible. But from what I understand, the spell requires the power of three. The twins or I would be the only ones Steel would trust to take on such a task with him. The twins were recently in Moscow for a visit,” Sasha explained.

“Do you think something went wrong with the spell? Could that be the reason why we’re starting to feel these weird symptoms?”

Sasha shrugged. “It’s possible but I can’t know with absolute certainty unless you find Giovanni. I’ll attempt to get in contact with Steel and if I can’t reach him, I’ll try one of the twins. Someone should know something. Excuse me. I’m going to need to concentrate while I mind link with one of my brothers.” She pushed her chair back and stood up before vacating the table and leaving the room.

Dante’s heart sped up as he thought of Giovanni being in some kind of trouble. His brother had done so much for them even though they didn’t know it. They owed it to Giovanni to help him out of any situation he was in. “Hopefully the Romanovs will know something.”

“We can only hope,” GianMarco agreed with a grim expression on his face.