Night's Surrender (25 page)

“Know who I am, do you? Good. You killed my sister, you vampire-loving whore. In another minute, you'll be dead, and then I'm going after the rest of your bloodsucking family.”

“Nick . . . no . . .”

Abbey's vision narrowed. The world grew dark, darker. In her mind, she screamed for Nick, but it was too late.

A black pit yawned before her. Helpless to resist, she slid over the edge into oblivion.

 

 

Abbey's voice penetrated the darkness that surrounded him. Rising from his lair, he followed the link between them with all the speed at his command. Nearing the shack, he dissolved into mist when he sensed the presence of a hunter. When he was behind the woman, he resumed his own form. Grabbing the rifle from her hand, he tossed it aside, then turned her to face him.

He felt the rage build inside him. He had vowed to rip the heart out of whoever kidnapped Abbey. Time and circumstance and Abbey's presence had prevented him from fulfilling that vow with the other two, but Fate had kindly granted him one more chance.

The hunter stared at him defiantly. “What are you waiting for, bloodsucker?”

“I just wanted you to know who killed you,” he said.

And kept his promise.

After tossing the body aside, he wiped his hands on his jeans, then lifted Abbey in his arms and willed them home.

In their room, he laid her gently on the bed and peeled away her shirt. He stared at the ugly bullet wound above her heart, at the blood smeared across her breasts.

So much blood.

Had he arrived too late to save her?

Eternally too late?

Nick dropped to his knees beside the bed, Abbey's hand clutched tightly in his. She couldn't be dead, not now. Not after all they had been through. But even with his preternatural hearing, he couldn't detect a heartbeat. She wasn't breathing.

He bit into his wrist, praying that he wasn't too late, that there was still a spark of life deep within her. Parting lips that were already turning blue, he held his wrist over her mouth, watched anxiously as each dark red drop dripped onto her tongue.

“Drink, love.” He stroked her throat in an effort to make her swallow. “Dammit, Abbey, don't you dare die on me!”

He felt a rush of power as Mara and Logan materialized on the other side of the bed.

Mara glanced at Abbey, lying still and silent, her clothing drenched in blood. At the blood on Nick's hands. “What happened?”

He answered without looking up. “She was shot by the other woman who kidnapped her. Drink, Abbey. Come on, love, drink.”

“Is this what she wants?” Logan asked quietly.

“We discussed it,” Nick said. “She wanted to wait a few years, but that's no longer an option.” He bit into his wrist again, deeper this time, so that a steady stream trickled into her mouth. She swallowed once. Twice. “That's it, love.” Relief swept through him when she reached for his arm.

Some of the color returned to her cheeks as she continued to drink.

Mara laid a hand on his shoulder. “Nick, you can't give her enough blood to sustain her through the change.”

“I don't care if she takes all I've got.”

“Let me help.”

“No!” He shook his head. “She's mine.”

“She'll still be sired to you, Nick, but my blood is more powerful than yours. She won't need as much.”

Reluctantly, he withdrew his arm and let Mara take his place. Ordinarily, when a vampire turned a mortal, the vampire drank the mortal's blood and then gave it back. In this case, there had been no blood left for Nick to drink, but that didn't matter. He had tasted Abbey before. She had tasted him. There was already a bond between them. It would be stronger now. Unbreakable as long as one of them lived.

Minutes later, her heartbeat was steady, her breathing and color normal.

“She'll be all right.” Mara licked the wound in her wrist, sealing it. “Have you contacted Rane and Savanah?”

“Not yet. I thought she was . . .” Unable to say the word, Nick brushed a few blood-stained strands of hair from Abbey's cheek.

“And the woman who did this?”

“She's dead. Shit! I left the body in the pasture.”

“Logan, why don't you go dispose of the body while Nick and I get Abbey out of these bloody clothes?”

With a nod, he left the room.

“Nick, go wash up.”

He was reluctant to be away from Abbey for even a few minutes, but he did as Mara said.

He returned carrying a wastebasket. He dumped Abbey's bloody shirt inside. “Do you think she'll be all right?”

“Why wouldn't she be?” Mara removed Abbey's boots and slid her jeans over her hips.

He shrugged as he removed Abbey's bra and dropped it into the basket. “She was as close to being dead as you can get. What if I didn't get to her in time? What if . . . ?”

“Stop worrying. With your blood and mine in her veins, I'm sure she'll be fine.”

“I hope to hell you're right.”

Between them, they got Abbey into her nightgown. Nick tucked her in, then stood by the bed, gazing down at her. He could have lost her tonight. It was a sobering thought.

Mara laid her hand on his arm. “Do you need anything?”

“No.”

“Don't worry about her. You should get in touch with her parents tonight.”

He nodded. “Thanks for coming,” he said, but she was already gone.

Nick caressed Abbey's cheek. It was cool to the touch. Her breathing was shallow now, her heartbeat slowing, as she sank into the dreamless sleep of his kind.

She would sleep through the night and tomorrow, and when she woke tomorrow evening, she would be a fledgling vampire, albeit a very powerful one. All that remained was to see how she would handle the transformation. In spite of her decision to accept the Dark Gift in a year or two, talking about the possibility and actually becoming a vampire were two very different things. But she was alive.

And for now, that was the only thing that mattered.

 

 

Dreading the call he was about to make, Nick moved away from the bed and punched in Rane's number. He hadn't finished explaining what had happened when Rane and Savanah materialized inside the bedroom.

Savanah immediately knelt at her daughter's side, a pair of crimson tears sliding down her cheeks as she took her daughter's hand in hers.

“She's going to be all right,” Nick said quietly. “I got to her in time.”

“What happened, exactly?” Rane asked, his gaze on Abbey's face.

“She took Freckles out for a ride.”

Rane frowned. “I'm not sure that was a good idea.”

“What did you want me to do? Lock her in the house? Believe me, I thought about it, but I knew she was afraid that if she let her fears rule her life, it would cripple her. I didn't want that to happen.”

“And the one who did this?”

“Is rotting in hell,” Nick said curtly.

“Who was it?”

“The other woman involved in the kidnapping. Logan disposed of the body.”

“I know I haven't treated you with the respect you deserve,” Rane said. “It's no secret that I was against this marriage from the start, but—” He took a deep breath. “You saved my daughter's life tonight and for that, I'm forever in your debt.” He squared his shoulders, then held out his hand. “Thank you.”

Nick regarded the other vampire for a moment, then grasped his hand. “It's all in the past, Cordova. All that matters now is Abbey.”

 

 

She struggled to breathe, to fight off the repulsive creature that was slowly killing her. His fangs tore into her throat, ripping through flesh, piercing her jugular. He was drinking her blood. She could hear him swallowing, feel him stealing the life from her body, taking more and more. Taking it all. She grew weak, weaker. She tried to scream for help, to beg for Nick to come and save her, but she couldn't speak, couldn't move.

Darkness closed in around her, thicker, deeper than anything she had ever known. She tried in vain to run from it, but the world around her grew darker, until an endless black void opened in front of her. Helpless to resist, she felt herself being dragged toward it, sliding over the edge of the precipice, falling, falling into a yawning chasm as wide and deep as eternity as all that she was, all that she had hoped for, slowly slipped away into nothingness.

And then, like a miracle, her mouth filled with liquid fire. It scorched her tongue as it slid down her throat, burning through every cell and fiber of her body, relentless as death itself, until it found the last flickering spark of life smoldering in the very core of her being. Found it and embraced it, ignited it, until that last faint ember blazed with new strength, new life, stealing her soul from eternity's grasp.

Clawing, gasping for breath, she fought her way out of the stygian darkness, searching for . . .

“Nick!”

“I'm here, love. I'm here.”

Strong arms wrapped around her, crushing her close. A familiar hand stroked her hair. She felt his tears on her face as he whispered her name.

Content, she rested her head on his shoulder . . . and frowned.

Suddenly overcome with a wave of sensations, Abbey drew back, her gaze searching his face. He looked the same, yet different somehow, as if someone had taken blinders from her eyes and she was seeing him, really seeing him, for the first time.

Her gaze swept the room. It, too, looked the same, yet different. Colors were brighter, more intense. The lights were off, yet she could see everything in sharp detail—the faint cracks in the walls, the tiny black spider tiptoeing across the ceiling. Her fingers detected each individual thread in Nick's shirt. Without trying, she heard people stirring downstairs—her parents were here, as well as everyone else in the family. They were talking softly amongst themselves but she heard each word as clearly as if they were in her bedroom. They were all worried about her. Glad she was alive. Grateful that Nick had found her before it was too late.

Too late?
She frowned.
Too late for what?

Her confusion growing, she looked at Nick again.

And read the truth in his eyes.

“Forgive me, love,” he murmured, squeezing her hand. “You were a heartbeat away from death.” He shook his head. “I couldn't let you go.”

She stared at him, her thoughts chaotic. This wasn't supposed to happen, not yet. She needed time to prepare, to make sure it was the right decision. And now the choice had been taken out of her hands. Her first thought was to rail at him, to scream that he'd had no right to make such a life-shattering decision for her.

She wrenched herself out of his embrace. She wanted to hit him, to make him hurt....

“Go ahead. Hit me if it'll make you feel better.”

Hands clenching, Abbey stared at him, shocked by the force of her anger. She rarely got mad, and never like this.

“Everything is heightened,” Nick said quietly. “All your senses. All your emotions. You'll learn to control them, in time.”

She took several deep breaths, her anger cooling. How could she be angry with him when he had saved her life? Snatched her from the very jaws of death?

She still had time to think it over, she reminded herself. She was a new vampire. If, in the next few days, she decided being a vampire wasn't for her, there was always Pearl's cure. Hadn't Mara said it always worked on fledglings?

“Abbey? Say something.”

“I'm sorry I got mad. I should be thanking you for saving me.”

His gaze searched hers, his expression wary. “You don't hate me, then?”

“Of course not. But I feel so strange.” She wrapped her arms around her middle. “So empty inside.”

He nodded. “You need to feed, but don't worry. Like I told you, you don't have to hunt. You can drink from me.”

She nodded, but it wasn't Nick's blood she craved. Far off in the distance, she could hear many hearts beating. The steady thrumming called to her like sweet music, promising relief from the horrible pain swelling inside of her.

She knew she should feel revulsion, horror at the mere thought of preying on humanity. She tried to summon a sense of guilt, but to no avail. She glanced at Nick. If she said the word, he would let her drink from him.

But it wasn't vampire blood she craved.

It amused her that he was treading so lightly, watching her so carefully, as if he was afraid she might explode.

“Abbey, we should go downstairs. Your parents and the rest of the family are anxious to see you.”

“Later.”

He nodded. Her eyes were bright and tinged with red as she stood and effortlessly pulled him to his feet.

“I'm thirsty, Nick. Take me hunting.”

After Abbey changed into a pair of jeans, a black sweater, and boots, Nick transported the two of them to Sacramento. On the way, he explained that it wasn't a good idea to hunt where you lived, at least not too frequently.

Nick glanced at her often as they strolled hand in hand down Main Street. It felt strange, hunting with Abbey at his side, stranger still to think she was now a vampire.

He watched her carefully. She had been very close to death, but she didn't seem to be suffering any ill effects from her ordeal. He was surprised that she had accepted it so readily, that she didn't hate him. Then again, she had grown up with vampires. And there was always Pearl's cure to fall back on.

He grunted softly. He had told Abbey he didn't care if she accepted the Dark Gift or not. If she decided it wasn't for her, he wouldn't love her any less, but, deep in his heart, he hoped she would accept the change.

Watching Abbey hunt was an amazing experience. She didn't need a great deal of guidance, but seemed to know instinctively how to call her prey to her. He had expected her to be squeamish about feeding, since she had expressed a good deal of concern about it previously. Once again, his fears were groundless.

“I think you were born to be a vampire,” Nick remarked as they left her third victim behind.

“Maybe I was. I never knew hunting could be such fun. Is it always like this?”

“Pretty much.”

She laughed. “If I'd known how wonderful it was to be a vampire, I might have asked Mara to turn me years ago.” She smiled up at him. “But I'm glad I waited for you.”

“So am I.”

She flung her arms out to the side and twirled around. “Everything looks so amazing! I feel wonderful! Strong. Invincible.”

“Don't get carried away, Lady Dracula,” he said dryly. “You're not immortal, you know.”

She stuck her tongue out at him. “I know.”

“We should get back home. Your parents are waiting.”

“Along with everyone else,” she muttered.

“They just want to welcome you into the family,” Nick said. “When you were dying, Mara gave you a little of her blood. It made the difference. There are vampires who would do anything, sacrifice anything, to have her blood running in their veins. There is none more powerful anywhere on earth.”

He stroked her cheek, thinking she had never looked more beautiful, more desirable. “I understand you're feeling a little uneasy, facing everyone as a vampire for the first time. Don't let it worry you. We're all related now, in more ways than one. Mara's blood connects us all.”

Sighing with resignation, she said, “Let's go get it over with.”

Entering the house, Abbey felt like some foreign oddity on display as every eye swung in her direction. As Nick had said, they were all there—her mom and dad, Rane and Kathy, Brenna and Roshan, Vince and Cara, Derek and Sheree, Logan and Mara. Even Edna and Pearl had shown up, along with their new husbands, James and Monroe.

There was a moment of silence. At first, it made Abbey uncomfortable. She could feel their individual power pushing against hers—taking her measure, so to speak. Without realizing it, Abbey was unconsciously doing the same and as she did so, she knew what Nick had meant. They were all connected by Mara's ancient blood. Should the need arise, Abbey knew she would be able to find any one of them whenever necessary, just as they would always be able to find her.

And then the moment passed.

“Abbey!” Savanah hurried forward to embrace her, then drew back, her gaze probing her daughter's. “You're well?”

“I'm fine, Mom,” Abbey said cheerfully. “Never better.”

Savanah nodded, then stepped aside so Rane could hug his daughter. After that, they each came forward in turn, to hug her and welcome her into the family. Mara last of all.

“You are truly one of us now,” Mara said. “Blood of my blood. If you ever have need of me, you need only call and I will hear you.”

Abbey nodded. “Thank you for sharing your power with me.”

“You have always been family,” Mara said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “But now the bond runs deeper, stronger.”

“Family,” Abbey murmured. For so long, she had felt like she didn't quite belong. Now she understood why. Not only had she gained a measure of immortality and a husband she loved more than life itself, she had finally, truly, come home.