Amaury's Hellion
Page 16
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“No, please, I don’t need it. I fed earlier,” Carl insisted and handed the bottle back to her.
To Amaury’s knowledge Carl had never fed from a human. He’d been raised on bottled blood and was comparably young. He’d been a vampire for only eighteen years, sired by Samson who’d found him dying after a vicious attack. Carl was the only vampire ever created by Samson.
“No, thanks, that’s okay.” When she tried to hand the bottle back to Carl, Zane jerked up from the couch and snatched it.
“Take the damn bottle, Yvette, and shut up! We all know how cranky you get when you haven’t fed, so do us all a favor and drink.” Zane gave her an exasperated look as he shoved the flask into her hand.
Inwardly Amaury had to grin. She could be an absolute pain when she was hungry. At least he didn’t have to be the one she would be annoyed with for the next few hours. Zane had just taken over that favorite spot.
Yvette grunted something incomprehensible and put the flask to her mouth. Amaury smelled the blood and felt his own stomach constrict. He normally fed only once a night, but the search for his mystery woman had drained his energy more than usual, and he hadn’t had time to feed a second time before he and Carl had left for the airport.
Amaury felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket and pulled it out. He wandered into the hallway and, after checking the caller ID, answered the phone, keeping his voice low.
“Samson, you heard?”
“Yes, Oliver called me. He’s on his way. What’s going on?” Samson’s voice sounded concerned.
“Somebody tampered with the car. I’ll arrange for it to be towed to one of our mechanics to check it out, but from what Carl’s saying, it pretty much looks like somebody didn’t want us to arrive at our destination. Quinn thinks it was explosives.”
“Damn! A mole?”
Samson’s guess didn’t come out of left field. After they had been betrayed by Thomas’s lover Milo only months earlier, nobody was above suspicion. Milo’s betrayal had resulted in life-threatening injuries to Samson, and only the quick thinking and selflessness of Delilah had saved his life.
“We can’t eliminate the possibility. I’ll look into it.”
“You don’t think that one of our New York crew did this?” Samson asked. “How did Quinn know it was an explosive?”
Amaury didn’t want to put a black mark against any of them, but anybody could be a traitor. “I noticed him sniff. Could have smelled the residue, especially if he’s familiar with plastic. Is he?”
“He did a stint with a bomb-disposal unit a few years back if I remember correctly,” Samson confirmed. “How about the others? Anything suspicious?”
“They were in just as much danger as Carl and I, unless one of them had an alternative plan. Zane sure was eager to break into any house to beat sunrise. Thank God, it wasn’t necessary. I had my lockbox key.”
Samson chuckled. “I can always count on you to multitask. So, what’s the house like?”
“Definitely worth a look. I think you and Delilah should check it out. Only, it’s a little suburban. Is Delilah up for that?”
Samson let out another soft laugh. “If it was up to Delilah, we’d be staying in our current house even if we had five kids, which frankly, could happen. But we’ll need the space, so this will be one decision I’ll be making.”
Amaury let his grin spread over his entire face. “Sure, if you say so.” Like his friend had any chance once Delilah made up her mind about something.
“Not funny, Amaury.”
Of course it was funny. Ever since Samson had bonded with Delilah, he had softened when it came to anything to do with her. In business he was still the tough guy he’d always been, but his wife was definitely his soft spot.
“I’ll check in with you later.”
He disconnected the call and walked back toward the den when he heard the engine of an approaching vehicle. Quickly, he went into the living room and slid back the curtain to peer out the window. A ray of sunshine grazed his hand.
“Ouch!” he hissed and jumped back, letting the curtain fall shut again. The smell of singed body hair filled the air. He glanced at his burnt hand. It shouldn’t have happened. He was getting sloppy.
Somebody had to go and open the garage door from the inside, so Oliver could drive the van in. Throwing a look back at the den, Amaury shrugged. If he wanted something done, he’d better do it himself.
He opened the door to the garage and hit the electronic garage door opener just to the left of the door. Expecting the garage door to lift automatically, he instantly stepped back into the hallway and closed the door behind him.
To Amaury’s knowledge Carl had never fed from a human. He’d been raised on bottled blood and was comparably young. He’d been a vampire for only eighteen years, sired by Samson who’d found him dying after a vicious attack. Carl was the only vampire ever created by Samson.
“No, thanks, that’s okay.” When she tried to hand the bottle back to Carl, Zane jerked up from the couch and snatched it.
“Take the damn bottle, Yvette, and shut up! We all know how cranky you get when you haven’t fed, so do us all a favor and drink.” Zane gave her an exasperated look as he shoved the flask into her hand.
Inwardly Amaury had to grin. She could be an absolute pain when she was hungry. At least he didn’t have to be the one she would be annoyed with for the next few hours. Zane had just taken over that favorite spot.
Yvette grunted something incomprehensible and put the flask to her mouth. Amaury smelled the blood and felt his own stomach constrict. He normally fed only once a night, but the search for his mystery woman had drained his energy more than usual, and he hadn’t had time to feed a second time before he and Carl had left for the airport.
Amaury felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket and pulled it out. He wandered into the hallway and, after checking the caller ID, answered the phone, keeping his voice low.
“Samson, you heard?”
“Yes, Oliver called me. He’s on his way. What’s going on?” Samson’s voice sounded concerned.
“Somebody tampered with the car. I’ll arrange for it to be towed to one of our mechanics to check it out, but from what Carl’s saying, it pretty much looks like somebody didn’t want us to arrive at our destination. Quinn thinks it was explosives.”
“Damn! A mole?”
Samson’s guess didn’t come out of left field. After they had been betrayed by Thomas’s lover Milo only months earlier, nobody was above suspicion. Milo’s betrayal had resulted in life-threatening injuries to Samson, and only the quick thinking and selflessness of Delilah had saved his life.
“We can’t eliminate the possibility. I’ll look into it.”
“You don’t think that one of our New York crew did this?” Samson asked. “How did Quinn know it was an explosive?”
Amaury didn’t want to put a black mark against any of them, but anybody could be a traitor. “I noticed him sniff. Could have smelled the residue, especially if he’s familiar with plastic. Is he?”
“He did a stint with a bomb-disposal unit a few years back if I remember correctly,” Samson confirmed. “How about the others? Anything suspicious?”
“They were in just as much danger as Carl and I, unless one of them had an alternative plan. Zane sure was eager to break into any house to beat sunrise. Thank God, it wasn’t necessary. I had my lockbox key.”
Samson chuckled. “I can always count on you to multitask. So, what’s the house like?”
“Definitely worth a look. I think you and Delilah should check it out. Only, it’s a little suburban. Is Delilah up for that?”
Samson let out another soft laugh. “If it was up to Delilah, we’d be staying in our current house even if we had five kids, which frankly, could happen. But we’ll need the space, so this will be one decision I’ll be making.”
Amaury let his grin spread over his entire face. “Sure, if you say so.” Like his friend had any chance once Delilah made up her mind about something.
“Not funny, Amaury.”
Of course it was funny. Ever since Samson had bonded with Delilah, he had softened when it came to anything to do with her. In business he was still the tough guy he’d always been, but his wife was definitely his soft spot.
“I’ll check in with you later.”
He disconnected the call and walked back toward the den when he heard the engine of an approaching vehicle. Quickly, he went into the living room and slid back the curtain to peer out the window. A ray of sunshine grazed his hand.
“Ouch!” he hissed and jumped back, letting the curtain fall shut again. The smell of singed body hair filled the air. He glanced at his burnt hand. It shouldn’t have happened. He was getting sloppy.
Somebody had to go and open the garage door from the inside, so Oliver could drive the van in. Throwing a look back at the den, Amaury shrugged. If he wanted something done, he’d better do it himself.
He opened the door to the garage and hit the electronic garage door opener just to the left of the door. Expecting the garage door to lift automatically, he instantly stepped back into the hallway and closed the door behind him.
