Kade's Dark Embrace

Chapter Nine

Sydney stirred and tried opening her eyes. The light was blinding. And she had a killer headache. Where am I? She woke in a warm, soft bed that smelled of lilac. She wondered if she was dreaming. Her head hurt something fierce. Need Advil, now. If she could only get out of bed and look for her pills, she’d be good. Sydney placed her palms flat against the bed and slowly pushed up. She felt soft but strong hands pushing her back down into the bed. Who is here with me?

Kade saw her stir. They still had an hour before they landed. What was she doing? Getting out of bed? She was a walking disaster. He reached over and gently pushed her back into the pillows. “Easy there, Sydney. You’re safe. Just lie down, and I will get you some water. You in pain, love?”

She yawned, “Where am I? Kade? Oh my God. A vampire. My condo.” Sydney was starting to panic as memories flashed into her head. She looked around, struggling to get her bearings. She was talking fast, not letting Kade get a word in edgewise. “Am I...in a plane? How the hell did I get in a plane? Where are we going?” She had traveled enough to recognize the hum of the engines.

Kade smiled. It didn’t take her very long to try to control the situation. That was his girl. “Yes, we’re in my plane, and we’re on our way to my home in New Orleans. Now, come on love, lie back and let me take care of you. You are safe now. The vampire who attacked you...not so much. You took care of him back there. He’s dead.” He smiled at her...that warm, sexy smile that she could not resist.

He wanted to ask details about what happened, but was apprehensive. He didn’t want her to talk if she wasn’t ready. He still wasn’t exactly sure what happened to her, but it was hard to ignore the fingerprint bruise marks that were starting to appear around her neck, she had been strangled. “You have a small cut on the back of your head, but it has stopped bleeding. I iced it, but I can get you some more. Here, take these for your headache.” He handed her pills and a bottle of water and sat down next to her. “Sydney, about what happened at the condo...”

“Considering that I can barely open my eyes, I'll forgive the fact that I'm in a plane heading to New Orleans. Couldn’t you just take me to a hospital or something? You know, that would be a logical course of action, but then again, nothing seems to make sense since I met you.” She was just too tired to fight, but when she regained her strength, Kade had some explaining to do. On the one hand, she would prefer to work the case in Philly, on the off chance more dead girls showed up. On the other hand, if Kade was going after Simone, she wanted to be there. Payback was a bitch...and after her little encounter with the sumo wrestler vamp, she was so up for it.

Sydney was starting to remember pieces of what happened back in her home. It wasn’t her first fight, but she’d be lying if she said it didn’t shake her up a bit. She wasn’t used to battling against vampires, or any other supernaturals, but she was a fighter and that was what counted. She laid her head back, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. She glanced up at Kade. “I was in the shower and heard a noise. He slammed me to the floor, before I had a chance to see who was in my condo. I always keep a spare gun hidden in the bathroom, and a few other places, you know, just in case. A girl can’t be too careful. Anyway, the gun went flying into the kitchen. Before my shower, I’d been going through my weapons...and I was fooling around with a stake and shoved it in the pocket of my robe. But, the gun I had in the bathroom...it didn’t have silver bullets or anything, so I knew it wouldn’t do much good. I played like I was going for the gun. ” She shook her head. Sydney suddenly remembered the vampire saying something about Kade being his Mistress’s mate. Was Kade married? He said they were lovers, but did he marry her? “He said Simone sent him to deal with me since, apparently, I was messing with her mate.” She looked up at him, hoping for a response. Kade must be good at poker, because he remained expressionless as she continued to speak.

“He thought he could play a little before killing me. I don’t even know how he got in...broke into my apartment.” Her voice trailed off. She looked down at the water bottle not wanting to look at him when she said the words. “He...he was going to rape me. I staked him instead.” She fought back tears knowing how close she’d come to being violated, killed. Kade was about to interrupt and tell her it would all be okay, but she held up her hand preventing him from speaking. “Kade, please. Don’t say anything. You warned me. I'm a big girl who makes her own decisions. Rape, violence, it’s not new to me. I mean I’m a cop. Every day this happens...just not to me.”

Kade did not want to show emotion, lest he freak the hell out right in front of Sydney. He was so furious that another vampire dared to lay a hand on her that he wanted to break something, but he knew any further violence would only demonstrate to Sydney what monsters vampires were. Now was not the time. What she needed was comfort. He needed to calm her, soothe her. He decided to save the anger, to harness it for when he obliterated his enemy. Simone, and whoever else was helping her, would pay dearly for hurting Sydney. As incensed as he was, he needed to help her heal, physically, emotionally.

He moved onto the bed, lay down beside her, and held her in his arms, cradling her against his chest. Instead of fighting him, Sydney laid her head across his chest and allowed him to hold her, to care for her. She was safe with him. She needed this. “Kade, I’m sorry. You need to know that this is who I am. I'm a fighter. And what just happened...I just can’t forget it. I plan on finding this bitch and taking her out. The dead girls, and now this. I have a feeling that it will only continue. Killers like Simone, they don’t usually stop. They hone their craft, believing they are smarter than the cops, but we usually get them. She will make a mistake, something...I sure as hell hope we get some clues about where she is down in New Orleans.”

Kade kissed the top of her head. His heart swelled at his brave warrior’s words. She’d just been attacked and here she was ready to get back in the fight. He knew that telling her ‘no’ would be useless. He would put a security detail on her once they got home. Home? His home. Their home. He would protect her, so this never happened again. No matter how tough she thought she was, a vampire could easily kill her. She had gotten lucky back in the condo. She wasn’t even trained to fight with vampires; a few stakes didn’t make a human safe.

Kade felt Sydney start to doze off as he held her. It felt so right to have her in his arms. Soon they would land and they would begin the hunt for Simone. He heard a knock at the cabin door. “Come in.” Kade continued to lay motionless in the bed with Sydney, not wanting to disturb her. He wasn’t ready let her go yet.

Luca stepped in and raised an eyebrow at Kade. He had known his friend for a long time and knew Sydney was changing him. Still he was wary of the human. They could not always be trusted, and they were so weak, easily broken. “Kade, we are landing in about thirty minutes. How’s the detective?” Luca preferred to keep it professional. Even if the woman was tough, it didn’t mean she would survive the impending fight.

“She’ll be fine tomorrow. Right now, she needs rest. I will make sure she sleeps so she heals. Is security in place for when we land?”

“Yes, it’s all in place. Etienne and Xavier are meeting us at the airport to help with the transfer. Dominique is at the compound securing things.”

“Thanks, tell Dom that I will need her help with Sydney when we get there. Make sure they all know she is arriving. Also, make sure they understand that she is under my protection and must not be touched. Am I clear?” Kade knew the other vampires might feel tempted with a new human on site. While they often had human donors and staff work at the compound, he did not want anyone to think she was available for their needs. She was his.

“Yes, it will all be ready. Do you need help with Miss Willows?”

“No thanks, I’ve got her. Just make sure Etienne and Xavier are ready to go. I don’t want to waste time at the airport. Simone could have minions anywhere at this point. We need to get to a safe location. Any word from Ilsbeth?”

“Yes, she has been in seclusion with her coven. I summoned her to the compound, and she is expected to arrive tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Luca. We will need her assistance locating Simone. We also need to get details on what kind of magic is being used...why the girls were killed in the manner they were. Something is off.” As Luca left, Kade pulled the blanket up over Sydney’s shoulders. Finally, they’d be back in New Orleans. He could feel his power increasing, thrumming throughout his body as they got closer to the city. No one was going to hurt Sydney again and live to talk about it.