Damek's Redemption

Chapter Nine

The more distance the limo put between him and Sonia, the larger the hole in Damek’s chest seemed to grow. Every instinct he possessed was screaming at him to go after Sonia and keep her with him. But he couldn’t do that. Fool that he was, he wanted her to tell him voluntarily whatever secret it was she was keeping from him. If he took it from her, he would irrevocably damage whatever was between them.

He snorted and stared out the window at the passing people and never-ending lights of the city. He should have taken her memories of him from her. It would be easy. A simple process of reaching into her mind with his own and psychically blanking out all the brain cells that contained his physical image or emotional imprint. But he didn’t want her to forget him. He wanted to haunt her days and nights as she would haunt his.

He was a fool.

Nothing could come of his attraction to her. She was human and he was a vampire and, contrary to what some people believed because of movies and certain novels, making a vampire was no small task, nor was it a sure thing. A person had to die to become a vampire, and only a very few who actually went through the process survived. The rest stayed dead. No way would he risk Sonia’s life on the slight possibility that she might be one of the ones that survived.

That’s assuming she’d even want to become a vampire.

Now he was being a complete idiot, something he detested. He was not fond of weakness or frailty of the mind, especially when it was his own. He should return to her hotel, take her memories from her and be done with it. That was the safest option for both of them.

The area in the region of his heart ached. Humans might believe otherwise, but his heart still beat in his chest, albeit at a much slower rate than a human one. And it was still capable of hurting.

What was it about Sonia that conflicted him so? Yes, she reminded him of Elizabetta, but that was neither here nor there. It was a mere passing resemblance that had attracted his attention. The two women were nothing alike in personality. Sonia was…Sonia. She was no copy of another woman. She was strong and vibrant and intelligent and simply beautiful to him.

And courage, the woman had more than enough courage for three men and then some. The way she’d stood up to him and to Isaiah was foolish, considering she knew what they were. But she’d done it anyway, and it only made him want her more.

Her gray eyes seemed to see right into him, past all his defenses. That alone made her a danger to him, and he’d always dealt with danger quickly and quietly. He let few people into his life, didn’t allow himself to get close to anyone. They’d all be gone in a matter of decades while he’d still be here…alone.

Sonia’s breath caught in her throat as her attacker grabbed her. She clutched at the thickly muscled arm that was cutting off her air supply. It tightened and she gasped for breath and tried to fight. The knife flashed in the darkness.

Vampire hunter. Why she was so certain, she didn’t know, but she didn’t question her instincts. The man holding her was larger than her. Muscular. But she was much stronger than she appeared and was fighting for her life. Sonia lifted her foot and managed to kick her attacker in the shin. He flinched and cursed, but held on to her.

Even though panic was closing in on her, she reached inside herself and tapped into the part of her that was different, drawing strength from the blood of her ancestors. Giving a hoarse cry, she shoved at his arm with all her strength.

Her attacker’s muscular arm snapped back and she whirled away. His reflexes were sharp and he was fast, a hunter through and through. The sharp blade slashed at her, cutting through her coat and sweater and into her arm.

A dark premonition pressed down on Damek and he hissed with growing fury. Sonia was in danger. He had no idea how he knew that, but he didn’t question it. He pressed down on the intercom. “Stop the car.” Jerome obeyed immediately and put on the brakes. “Go back to the hotel and wait for me.” Ignoring the blare of horns from the irate drivers behind them, Damek threw open the door, surged out of the vehicle and quickly slid into the shadows.

Using his preternatural speed, he raced back to Sonia’s hotel, cursing himself all the way. He should never have left her alone, should have brought her to his home for safety’s sake. He knew the vampire hunters were watching her. They might not have known where she was going tonight, but they knew she’d return to her hotel.

And he’d dropped her off and left her there. If anything happened to her—

Damek blocked such thoughts from his mind. Sonia would be okay. There was no other option.

Sonia cried out at the shock of the blade sinking into her flesh, but kept moving, knowing that to stop could mean her death. The hunter was almost as dangerous as the creatures he hunted, maybe even more so. He wouldn’t care that she wasn’t a vampire. If he was here it was because he’d determined she knew something about one of the paranormal creatures he was hunting, and she knew he’d do anything to gain that information.

Her heart skipped a beat. Was she responsible for bringing Damek to the attention of the vampire hunters? It made her stomach lurch and her chest ache to think so. She had to get away. Had to warn him.

To do that she had to get out of the room or at least attract the attention of someone outside. “What do you want?” Grabbing the chair from the table, she put it between them. The dim light from the window, along with her acute sense of sight, illuminated him enough for her to make out his shape. He was broad and tall with short blond hair. His thin lips were set in a sneer and he glared at her as he tossed the knife from hand to hand, doing his best to frighten her.

He was succeeding.

She forced herself to think, to watch his every movement. He was wearing dark jeans and a dark shirt, which made it harder to see which way he was leaning.

The man moved closer, his knife glinting in the light from the streetlamps. “I want to talk to you about the company you’re keeping.”

Oh, God. She was right. This was about Damek. “Who are you?”

This had to be the same vampire hunter Damek said was following her. With everything else that had happened tonight she’d completely forgotten about him, a mistake she was currently paying for. She’d let her guard down and that was simply not done, not when one was a member of The Keepers. Hunters of one sort or another were everywhere.

He moved closer and Sonia eyed the bed off to her right. She could jump on it and make a break for the door, but she knew she wouldn’t make it. The bathroom was an option. She could at least lock the door and yell for help.

“You don’t need to know who I am, but I know who you are.” He was so much larger than she was and he was brawny. He would also have skills he’d honed to slay vampires. She might be stronger than the average human, but Sonia knew she couldn’t beat him in a fight. “You study vampires and werewolves and other unnatural creatures.”

Sonia managed a derisive laugh. “I study folklore and legend and how it affected people in the past and in modern day. Hardly worth getting upset over.” She had to keep him talking.

He smiled slowly and it sent a shiver down her spine. The slight stubble on his jaw made him appear even more menacing. He was enjoying her fear, feeding off it. “My boss thinks you might have stumbled upon something real and wants to talk to you.”

Crap. Crap. Crap. She could get out of this. “You’re obviously off your meds if you think vampires and werewolves are real. They’re. A. Myth,” she said the last three words slowly, drawing them out as though he were too simple to understand. “Like Nessie or Big Foot.”

As long as she could keep him talking he wasn’t attacking her. She didn’t think the situation would last long, but she was going to do her best to keep it going. The longer this went on, the more of a chance she had to attract attention of some kind. Her gaze flew to the desk. Maybe she could grab the lamp and heave it through the window, or she could simply pick up the chair and use it to break the glass. Now that would attract attention. But he’d probably kill her before anyone could get to her.

His jaw tightened and he took a step closer, his nostrils flaring. “Oh, you’re gonna talk. You’re going to tell me everything I want to know.”

She knew exactly how far away she was from the bathroom door and prayed she could make it. Without any warning, she jumped on the bed, shoving the chair toward her assailant as she did so. Her feet fit the mattress and she bounded off the other side, sprinting the few feet to the bathroom door.

He swore behind her and she knew without glancing back that he was almost on her. Her hand hit the door as he grabbed her hair and yanked. Sonia fell back, hitting his broad chest with a thud. She lifted her feet, giving him her full weight. He tried to keep his hold on her, but couldn’t, and she fell to the floor with a solid thud.

Instead of rolling away as he would expect her to do in this situation, she rolled toward him, fingers clasped into a fist. She didn’t aim for his stomach but for a more vulnerable area just lower. He pulled back to keep from taking the full force of her blow, but she managed to punch him in the family jewels.

“You bitch. You’re going to pay for that.” He was doubled over slightly, but he was coming for her again. The man was a machine and she was very afraid she’d just signed her own death warrant. Her breath hitched on a sob and she scrambled toward the bathroom, her feet and fingers digging into the carpet.

Her attacker was on her in a split second, taking her down, flat on the floor. He sat on her back, fisted his hand in her hair and yanked hard. The blade caressed her neck and she froze. “That’s right, bitch. You’re going to tell me everything I want to know or I’m going to cut you again. I might even cut you just for fun.”

Sonia was afraid to swallow, afraid to breathe. A trickle of blood seeped down her neck just above the collar of her sweater. Her scalp burned where he held her hair tight in his fist and his weight was cutting off the air supply to her lungs. Black spots appeared before her eyes and she struggled to stay conscious. She couldn’t pass out. God only knew what he’d do to her.

All she had to do was watch and wait for an opportunity. She had more reserves of strength to call on when the time came, provided she stayed conscious. But first she had to stay alive. She stilled and her assailant moved the knife back a fraction, easing up enough for her to be able to take a shallow breath. The oxygen burned on the way to her starving lungs.

“You going to behave?”

“Yes.” She didn’t dare nod with the knife still so close.

“Thought you’d see things my way.” Instead of getting off her, he let more of his weight fall on her. She gasped as he drove the air from her body again. She clawed at the carpet, trying to get away. He let up seconds later and gave a cruel laugh. “I’ll keep doing that every time you don’t tell me what I want to know.”

His thick fingers tightened in her hair and he gave it a hard tug. Her eyes were watering and blood seeped from the cuts on her arm and neck, but Sonia wasn’t beaten, not by a long shot. She said nothing and waited for her attacker to get to his questions.

“Why are you in Chicago?”

She swallowed hard. “Studying why people seem to lose all inhibitions when they’re in a crowded nightclub. People do things they wouldn’t do in their everyday lives.”

“Bullshit.” The guy slammed her head down on the floor and, even though it was carpeted, her forehead hit hard.

Sonia cried out as pain shot through her skull and down her spine. She closed her eyes to ride out the agony ricocheting through her. “It’s the truth,” she managed to get out.

“I don’t think so.” He sat down hard on her again and this time she knew for sure she was going to pass out.

Suddenly, the air pressure in the room changed, becoming denser and thicker, like it was a living, breathing entity. Her attacker jumped off her back and dragged her to her feet, holding her in front of him like a shield.

Sonia gasped for breath and tried to steady herself to take the pressure off her scalp. What was happening? Even though his knife was still pressed against her neck, she had to be ready to fight if an opportunity presented itself.

The shadows coalesced at the far end of the room near the door and a man glided out of them. No, not a man, a vampire. A very angry, dangerous vampire.

Somehow, someway, Damek was here.

Her attacker tightened his hold on her, jerking her up onto her toes. “Come any closer and I’ll cut her.”

“I don’t think so, John.” Damek’s soft voice was more chilling than if he’d roared in anger. His eyes glowed a blood red, but other than that, he appeared calm and in control. “In fact, you’ll put her carefully on the bed. Do that, and I might not rip out your entrails and choke you with them.”

Sonia shuddered at the threat, wondering if Damek truly meant it. One glance at the expression on his face made her a believer.

John. Her attacker’s name was John. How did Damek know that?

Sonia could feel the tension in her enemy’s arms as the muscles quivered. She wanted to swallow but didn’t dare. The blade was still too close.

“Put her on the bed.” The command in his voice was inescapable. “Carefully.”

Sonia found herself trying to get to the bed just to obey him. The power surrounding him pulsed across the room, surrounding them like a thick blanket, and John moved, his arm releasing her. She hit the bed and gasped for breath even as she rolled to the far side away from John.

“That’s a good boy.” Damek mocked. He seemed to flow across the room to her side and traced his finger over the trail of blood on her neck.

“Leave her alone, bloodsucker.”

Damek whirled and fury pulsed in the room like a living, breathing entity. Sonia thought she saw the walls undulate under the pressure of Damek’s anger as she struggled to sit.

“You dare tell me to leave her alone when it is you who hurt her.”

John suddenly went flying, his back hitting the wall with enough force to break through the plaster. Instead of falling to the floor in a heap, John was held against the wall by an unseen force. His knife was still in his hand, but he couldn’t seem to use it.

“At least I’m human.” John flung the insult at Damek. Personally, Sonia thought he’d be better off keeping his mouth shut.

“That is debatable.” Damek walked into her bathroom, grabbed a towel and walked back to the bed. “Let’s get your coat off and see to your arm.”

“You came back.” There was so much she wanted to say, but her throat ached and her entire body hurt.

His touch was gentle as he helped remove her blazer and sweater, both of which were ruined, leaving her top half covered in only her lavender-colored bra. He paused for a brief moment, his gaze skimming over her breasts before he turned his attention to her arm. “Yes, I came back.” He wrapped the towel around it, putting pressure on the wound. “I don’t think this is too deep. Are you strong enough to pack? You need to get out of here.”

She nodded. “Give me five minutes.”

The sweet smell of her blood filled Damek’s nostrils along with the sharp tang of her fear. His fangs were down and they ached to bite into her soft skin and drink from her veins. Her pulse thrummed in her slender throat and sweat dewed her tender flesh.

His cock ached and throbbed and he wanted to strip Sonia naked and lick every inch of her, bringing her to orgasm before sliding into her heated depths and claiming her as a man and as a vampire. Biting her, feeling her blood slide down his throat as he fucked her would be the ultimate orgasm. His cock flexed in agreement.

And he was truly a monster for even thinking such a thing. She’d been attacked and hurt and needed comfort, not his lust. He could have stopped the bleeding on her arm simply by drawing his tongue over it. There were agents in his saliva that would heal her injured flesh. But he was afraid to. Afraid if he truly tasted her blood he would never let her go.

As it was, the one bead he’d tasted earlier on her lips still thrummed through him like a fiery memory. He’d never tasted anything quite so fine. No other blood had ever quenched his hunger so quickly, while at the same time leaving him craving more.

Sonia scooted off the bed and staggered to the bathroom, her balance shaky from her ordeal. He heard water running and knew she was cleaning the cut on her neck. Thankfully, that was only a scratch and had already stopped bleeding.

Alone in the room with the vampire hunter, Damek raised his head and skewered the man with his glare. “Why are you here?” He needed answers. “I told you she knew nothing.”

“That’s what I told Luther. Fucking vampire, you messed with my mind.” He struggled to break Damek’s mental hold on him, but couldn’t budge no matter how much he struggled. “Luther figured something wasn’t right and told me to keep watching. I lost her earlier at the club but knew she’d eventually have to come back to her hotel.”

Damek watched him fight, but felt no pity for his plight. He’d hurt Sonia so he had to die. It was that simple.

“Why are you here?” he repeated. This time he drove into the vampire hunter’s mind, sending out dark tendrils of compulsion, compelling him to answer. Refusal wasn’t an option.

“Luther wanted to know why she was here. Thought she might have a lead on a bloodsucker or a maybe a wolf.”

Sonia was in more danger than he’d imagined. It was one thing to be on the vampire hunter’s radar, quite another to be watched so closely. “What were your orders?”

Damek heard Sonia come back into the room and start getting her things together and knew she was listening to every word. He longed to draw her into his arms and comfort her, but didn’t know if she would accept it after the way they’d parted.

John struggled briefly but his will was no match for Damek’s. “Interrogate her and then bring her to Luther.”

Interesting. “And where is Luther Kostas?”

The hunter struggled to fling up flimsy barriers in his mind that Damek broke down as quickly as they were erected. He would pay for using so much power and would need blood. But he didn’t care. He wanted answers and he wanted them now. He drilled mercilessly into John’s brain, digging out memories even as he compelled the other man to speak.

“Here, in Chicago. But I don’t know exactly where.” Sweat poured down the man’s face as he struggled not to talk. “Fuck you, bloodsucker,” he yelled as Damek strode closer. Damek stared at the man, his puny attempts to release himself, his quivering limbs and dilated pupils. He stank of fear and of Sonia’s blood.

Damek parted his lips, letting the man see his razor-sharp fangs. Equal parts terror and defiance shot through him. John’s will was strong, as all vampire hunters had to be if they hoped to survive. The man was obviously used to killing young vampires who had little control or power. Those attributes developed over time and all vampires were different in their skills, just like all humans had different talents. But Damek wasn’t about to let the hunter know that little tidbit of information. The less they knew about his kind, the better.

He reached out and gently stroked John’s face when what he wanted to do was catch it between his hands and squeeze until he crushed the man’s skull and spilled his brains out onto the carpet. “What should I do with you?” The urge to kill him, to bathe in his blood for what he’d done to Sonia was great. Someone needed to pay for this. They’d made the battle personal.

“Damek.” Sonia rested her arm gently on his. “I’m ready to go.” Her voice was steady, but he heard the quaver beneath it, and knew he couldn’t kill the other man no matter how much he wanted to. Not with her watching.

She was making him weak. No, she was his weakness, the only person who could stop him from killing. “He hurt you.” That was reason enough for him to die.

“I know. But he’s not worth what it would do to you.”

Slowly, Damek turned his head to study her. She’d dressed in a loose brown sweater with her jeans. Her face was pale but determined, but it was her eyes that drew him. There was such compassion and understanding in those gray eyes. In truth, she should be running from both of them. They were both monsters in their own way.

He looked down at her hand where it rested on his arm. Such a simple touch, but more powerful than any he’d ever felt in his life.

Damek shook his head and turned his attention back to John. He might not kill him, but John would not walk away unscathed. He focused his power and drove into the vampire hunter’s mind like a predator bringing down prey. John’s eyes widened and his mouth opened on a silent scream. Muscles clenched as he tried to move, but was paralyzed, locked in the prison of his own body.

“Dr. Agostino had already checked out of her hotel when you arrived, so you rented her room to search for clues, but found nothing. You partied a little too hard and passed out in the bed.” Damek moved his arm and John flew from his position against the wall and crashed onto the bed. “You will pay for the damage in the room and you will contact Luther and tell him you know nothing. Do you understand me?”

As if a puppet on a string, John’s head bobbed up and down.

“Good.” Damek started to turn away but at the last minute looked over his shoulder. “And John, you will forget you ever met me. I am nothing more than a nightmare that comes to you in the darkest hours of the night.” He put extra effort into the compulsion, ensuring the man would indeed have nightmares about him for the rest of his life. If he couldn’t kill John, he was at least going to make the hunter’s life hell.

Sonia was waiting silently for him and he took her gently by the arm. “Come.” He took her bag from her, wrapped his arm around her waist and guided her toward the door. He shut it behind him, hearing the lock click into place before leading her to the elevator. They made the trip down to the lobby in silence.

Damek detoured to the front desk, pleased to see both night clerks there. It only took him a few minutes and some minor mental manipulation to have them change their records to have Sonia checked out earlier in the day and John Barnes checking in to her room this evening.

When that was done, he led Sonia out of the hotel. He was worried about her mental and physical state. She’d said nothing since they’d left her room.

It was still dark, but dawn was closing in quickly. Damek could sense the sun hovering not far below the horizon. Jerome had the limo waiting out front and Damek helped Sonia inside, storing her suitcase on the floor next to them. He pressed down on the intercom. “Take me home,” he ordered his driver.

“Right away, sir.” Jerome didn’t even glance back at Sonia.

Damek appreciated his discretion and knew he had to be curious, as tonight was the first time he’d had someone other than Byron in the car with him. He’d also never taken a woman to his home. But this wasn’t just any woman. Sonia was special.

As the limo pulled away, Sonia stared at him, her fingers wrapped tight around the straps on her purse. She swallowed hard as she studied him. “Does your power have any limits?”