Samson's Lovely Mortal

ELEVEN

“You said ‘Clay Hall’?” Amaury looked at Carl with surprise. They stood facing each other across the kitchen island.

“Yes, down near Taylor, it’s a large condo building. I picked up all her stuff. She didn’t have much, just some clothes, her computer, and those files.”

“That’s a strange coincidence,” Amaury mumbled, talking to himself. He didn’t believe in things happening at random.

“What coincidence?”

“You don’t know, do you?”

Carl shook his head, confused. “Know what?”

“That Scanguards owns a couple of condos in Clay Hall. I should know. I bought them for the company.”

Amaury’s main job working for Samson was to take care of all his real estate investments, both his private ones as well as the company’s. He held a real estate license in California and acted as his own broker. Luckily, the medieval rumor that vampires had to be invited into a home was entirely unfounded, which made it possible for a vampire to work as a real estate agent.

“It doesn’t have to mean anything. She said she’s from New York and on a business trip.”

“This’ll be easy to check. What was the unit number?”

Carl stared blankly. “Well, it was high up.” It looked like he was trying to remember walking down the corridor of the floor he’d been on and finding the right door. “Eight Twelve.”

“Voila. It’s ours. The only way she could have access to that condo is if she worked for us. Samson said Oliver was with her all day.”

Carl nodded in agreement.

“Get him on the phone. Let’s see where he took her.”

Carl punched in Oliver’s number, then put the phone on speaker mode. “Hey Oliver, it’s me.”

“Carl, this better be important. I’m dead tired,” Oliver’s sleepy voice came through the phone. Amaury glanced at the clock on the oven. It was barely past nine o’clock. He shook his head in disbelief. Humans!

“Hey Oliver, Amaury here. Sorry about the disturbance. Hope we didn’t wake you.”

“No problem, Amaury.” It sounded like Oliver straightened up. “What can I do for you?”

“You were with Delilah all day?”

“Yes; Mr. Woodford asked me to protect her.”

“Where did you take her?”

“Downtown, to Scanguards’ offices.”

Carl and Amaury looked at each other. Amaury whistled through his teeth. “You wouldn’t happen to know what she did there, would you?”

“She worked.”

“She worked?”

“Yes, she worked. She’s some sort of, I don’t know, accountant or auditor, or something like that, I think.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure. They knew her and were expecting her. Even had a computer set up for her and all.”

“Thanks, Oliver.”

Amaury hung up. “I guess that’s good news. Still one hell of a coincidence, but at least it doesn’t look like she’s a corporate spy.”

“Still doesn’t explain why she’s here with him,” Carl interjected. Amaury could feel Carl’s emotions—the man was protective of his boss and didn’t want him to get hurt again, least of all by a woman. “Do you think she knows who he is?”

Before Amaury could answer, the door to the kitchen opened and Samson waltzed in.

“Who’re talking about?” he asked.

“You,” Amaury answered. “We were wondering whether Delilah knows who you are.”

“I wish I knew.” It was the truth. It would make him feel a lot better if he knew what she knew about him. Whether it was his money she was after, or whether she was truly here for him. Without an ulterior motive. “Where is she?”

Amaury tipped his head toward the upper floor. “She came down earlier, grabbed a yogurt, and went back upstairs.” He paused. “Well, at least we know now who she is.”

Expectantly, Samson looked at this friend.

“She’s some sort of accounting person for Scanguards.”

Samson took a step back. He hadn’t expected this. “She works for me?” He was sleeping with one of his employees? Great, at the very least he was setting himself up for a sexual harassment suit.

“Looks like it. Oliver spent the entire day with her at Scanguards’ offices downtown, and the condo you picked her up from—it’s one of ours.”

Samson rubbed his forehead with his palm. “Then it’s true. She told me last night she’s an auditor.”

Amaury grinned. “You guys had time to talk?”

His friend was one to talk! Samson’s disapproving look stopped Amaury cold from making any further insinuations. His old friend made it sound like he was a sex-maniac. Of course they had talked, joked actually, teased and laughed, even after Carl had delivered the supply of condoms. As if all he did to entertain a woman was having sex with her!

“She said she’s from New York and here on an audit. Have you checked everything out?”

“Not yet, we just only reached our conclusion when you came in.”

“Carl, get Gabriel Giles on the phone.”

Gabriel was Director of Operations at the head office in New York, and since he was a vampire he’d be reachable, even if it was shortly past midnight on the East Coast.

“You’d better be right.” Samson looked at Amaury, a glimmer of hope sprouting in his chest.

Gabriel’s voice bellowed through the speaker a few seconds later. “Hey Samson, how you doing?” He sounded more like a Tony Soprano than a vampire. New York could do that to anybody.

“Good to hear your voice, Gabriel. Listen, I don’t want to keep you, but I need you to check something out for me. Did you guys send an auditor down to the San Fran office?”

“Let me check.” He could be heard typing something on a keyboard. “Sure did. Assignment started Monday. What about it?”

“What’s the auditor’s name?”

“Delilah Sheridan.”

Delilah stopped cold behind the kitchen door she was just about to open when she heard her name coming from a speaker phone. She held her breath. Why were they talking about her?

“Did you do a background check on her?” It was Samson’s voice she heard. A background check? On her? What was he trying to find? She held her breath, not wanting to give away that she was on the other side of the door.

“Sure did,” the other voice responded. “She’s clean. Nothing unusual. Single, no siblings, father is in a home, mother died two years ago. What do you want to know?”

“Does she know who I am?” Samson’s voice sounded strangely strained.

While she heard the question, she didn’t understand what he meant by it.

“Doubt it,” the voice shot back. “We certainly didn’t give her any more information than we needed to. You know our policy better than anybody. And since everything is owned by the trust, she couldn’t have seen your name in any of the documents.”

What documents? What the hell was the man talking about?

She’d heard enough. Samson was checking up on her, for whatever reason. She felt violated. Angrily she pushed the door to the kitchen open. Three sets of eyes instantly landed on her. Three surprised sets of eyes: Samson’s, Amaury’s, and Carl’s. They had all ganged up on her.

“Anything else?” the voice from the speaker continued.

“Thanks, Gabriel.” Samson didn’t take his eyes off her as he disconnected the call.

Delilah glared at him, unable to speak for a few seconds. None of the guys dared say a word as if waiting for an outburst. She’d give them one.

“You had a background check done on me?” She tried to make her voice sound even in order not to show the pain she felt.

“Delilah, I’m sorry, I can explain.” Samson didn’t even bother denying her accusation. That confirmed it.

She shook her head. “I’ll save you the trouble. I’m leaving.” She spun on her heels and stormed out. Taking two stairs at a time, she headed to the second floor. Tears burned in her eyes, but she pushed them back. He wasn’t worth it. If he wanted to know something about her, he could have asked her. She would have told him everything, every little detail about her life.

But he hadn’t asked. Instead he’d checked up on her behind her back as if she was a criminal. After the wonderful night of passion they’d shared, he had felt the need to check up on her? What had he thought he would find?

After locking Billy up in one of the containers, but leaving him with water and a blanket, Ricky and Thomas left the warehouse. They weren’t savages. If Samson could treat the man who had attacked him and Delilah with civility, so could they.

“Did you catch what Samson said about her?” Ricky asked.

“You mean the speech about my woman?”

“Exactly. Do you think he meant it?”

Thomas shrugged his shoulders. “You tell me. When it comes to you straight guys, I really can’t tell when you’re into somebody or not. Too much hiding your feelings and crap.”

“Trust me, I can’t tell any more than you can. But I’ve never heard him talk like that. I hope she isn’t getting under his skin. Something like this can only end badly.”

Ricky took the helmet Thomas handed him and swung his leg over the motorcycle to take his place behind him.

“He should have left me my car and taken your motorcycle instead of us cramming onto it.”

“What, you’re worried because you have to hold onto me?” Thomas laughed. “Since when so homophobic?”

“I’m not; I’m worried about my car. He was ready to kill me today. I hope he’s not taking it out on my brand-new ride.”

Thomas jerked his head. “Kill you? What did you do to him?”

“I walked in on him while he was shagging Delilah in the shower.”

“You can’t be serious. That’s why he wanted to kill you?” Thomas’ reaction was not unusual. Among their kind, sex wasn’t necessarily always seen as a private act, unless it happened between a bonded pair. So there was no reason why Samson should get all bent out of shape about being seen fucking Delilah.

“That’s what I’m saying. He basically told me to kiss our friendship and my job goodbye if he ever saw me looking at her again.”

“Sounds pretty possessive to me.”

“Yep.”

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Yep.”

“Oh boy.”

Ricky slung his arms around Thomas’ waist, and the motorcycle took off. It was still drizzling lightly. Thomas expertly guided them through light traffic. He knew the city like his back pocket and had a keen eye for spotting obstacles in advance, helping him avoid major delays easily.

They drove toward the Sunset district past the forties and fifties era homes, the often unkempt front yards, and the ticky-tacky shops on the way. It wasn’t a neighborhood either one of them liked particularly. It was mostly flat and architecturally uninteresting.

The address Billy had given them was a corner home, which looked larger than others on the block and appeared to have been completely renovated. It stuck out like the most expensive house on the block. There was light coming from several of the windows of the home.

Thomas parked his motorcycle around the corner.

“How do you want to play it?”

“Straightforward. We ring the doorbell,” Ricky replied.

Their footsteps made virtually no sound as they walked on the pavement. Thomas’ nostrils flared as they approached the house. He inhaled. A strangely familiar scent wafted into his nose, but he was distracted instantly when he heard a scream from inside the house.

He and Ricky stared at each other for a fraction of a second then ran to the front door and kicked it in.

The sound was that of a woman, hysterically screaming at the top of her lungs. It came from the back of the house. Then the whining of a toddler mingled with the woman’s screams. The sound of the woman was bloodcurdling.

When they reached her, they understood. There was nothing they could do. They’d come too late.

There was no doubt in Thomas’s mind that John had been killed by a vampire. He could still sense traces of energy the assailant had left. John’s body looked almost peaceful had it not been for the utter horror forever etched into his open eyes. He’d seen his murderer seconds before he’d struck.

John’s body lay on the floor of the den. His neck had been snapped. Ignoring the woman’s screams, Thomas bent down and closed John’s eyelids. There was no need for his wife to continue looking at her dead husband’s horrified expression.

They couldn’t stay to comfort the woman, but they could wipe her memory. Thomas laid his palm on her forehead. Her screams subsided, and she went still. He not only erased any memory she had of him and Ricky, but also of her husband’s eyes. It was better if she didn’t know how terrified he’d been in the seconds before his death. Dealing with her grief would be difficult enough.

Delilah threw her clothes into her only suitcase, not bothering to fold them. Somebody had moved her things into Samson’s bedroom during the day, and now she couldn’t get out of it fast enough. She couldn’t be with a man who didn’t trust her. Hell, he hadn’t even made an attempt to get to know her. Instead he’d gone behind her back. She couldn’t tolerate that kind of betrayal.

She heard the door open and close behind her and knew Samson had followed her. She had expected as much. She could sense his presence, but she didn’t want to acknowledge him. He didn’t deserve it.

“I’m sorry, Delilah.” His voice was closer than she’d expected. He couldn’t be more than a foot away from her. She didn’t want him this close. Not now.

“I’ll be gone in two minutes, and don’t worry: I’m not stealing anything from you.” Her voice was icy. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing just how much he’d hurt her. This wasn’t the first time she was disappointed in a man, and it wasn’t going to be the last. He wasn’t going to be the last man in her life. She was more than used to it, used to always dating the wrong guy. Maybe that was why she’d stopped dating altogether. She’d probably make a better choice with a cat or a dog.

“I deserved that.” Samson’s voice was calm. “Please give me a chance to explain.” He probably had a standard speech prepared for occurrences like these. How else could he remain this unmoved?

She felt his hands on her shoulders and pushed them off.

“Okay. I won’t touch you.” He sounded resigned.

Anger welled up in her. She could feel it boil up from her stomach and travel through her chest. It was too much to hold in.

“How could you? How could you go behind my back like that?” Delilah spun around to face him. “You could have just asked me what you wanted to know.” And why was he still so attractive, so sexy, when she needed to be angry at him? In his jeans and black t-shirt he looked as good as he did naked, even though she preferred him naked.

She shouldn’t have turned. She should have just walked out without even looking at him.

His biceps flexed, and she was again aware of his strength and physical beauty. The way his hazel eyes searched hers as if he was trying to look into her soul made her knees weak. She had to pull her eyes away from him if she ever wanted to get out of the room.

“It was wrong. But I needed to know who you were.”

Standing within inches of touching him only added to her agitated mind.

“I told you who I am. What were you expecting?” She let all her disappointment and pain out in her voice. “After all the things we did … you couldn’t just ask me? No. You had to run a background check on me, like I’m a common criminal.”

“Sweetness, don’t—”

Samson raised his hand as if he wanted to touch her face, but stopped when she shot back at him, “Don’t call me sweetness!”

Delilah had liked it when he’d called her that the night before when they were making love, but not now. She turned and snapped her suitcase shut.

“Delilah, I apologize. I wish I’d trusted my instincts more, but I didn’t. When Carl packed your things, he found something and brought it to my attention. I should have gone straight to you and asked you about it, but I … I don’t know why I didn’t …” His voice trailed off.

His hazel eyes stared into hers, trying to force her to listen to him. “You had files of Scanguards’ in your possession.”

“So what? I work for them. Carl had no right to go through my stuff.”

Samson nodded. “Yes. But he saw them. And I understand now that you had every right to have those files on you. I know that now. Because I now know that you work for me.”

Confused, she looked at him. “I don’t work for you. I work for Scanguards,” she insisted and grabbed her suitcase. “And besides, what’s it to you who I work for? I didn’t think you were all that interested in what I do.” She tried to push past him to get to the door, but he blocked her escape.

“You work for me. I am Scanguards. I own it.”

Delilah stopped in her tracks, and Samson instantly realized that this was news to her. She hadn’t known that he was the owner of Scanguards, that he was worth in excess of a few hundred-million dollars. His heart jumped when the realization settled in, when he understood that his fear had been unfounded. She wasn’t after his money, because she’d had no idea how filthy rich he really was.

Samson could see that she was trying to make sense of his words. But then it was like a dark cloud settled over her face. Her jaw dropped, and she glared at him.

“You thought I was after your money? Oh my God! You thought I slept with you because … Oh my God!”

The pain he saw in her eyes hurt him deep in his chest. If he’d thought telling her who he was would make her understand why he’d acted the way he had, it had backfired. It had actually made it worse. Much worse.

“I’ve never felt so cheap and dirty in my life. I felt cleaner when you thought I was a stripper. But you thought … you thought I would … no, no …”

She ran for the door, but he leapt in front of her and stopped her. He wanted to take her into his arms and kiss her pain away, apologize with his body for everything he’d done. But he knew she’d push him away. He had hurt her, his lovely mortal, and it pained him more than if he’d been hurt himself. At this point he’d do anything to make her pain go away.

“Please tell me what you want me to do to make it up to you.”

She stared at him, her eyes glistening with the tears she was holding back. “You think you can buy me? Haven’t you humiliated me enough? Keep your damn money and get out of my way!”

“Please stop for a minute, and listen to me.”

“Why? Don’t you already know everything you want to know? Isn’t that why you assigned me a bodyguard today? So you could spy on me? Do you control all your women like that?”

“Delilah, it was for your own safety. I never wanted to hurt you, believe me. But you scared me.” He was scared alright, scared of what she could do to his heart. Maybe it was better if he told her upfront what she’d done to him.

“Scared you? How? Because you’ve been slumming it with a poor little auditor? Yeah, that’s downright scary,” she bristled full of sarcasm.

“Don’t say that. It’s the things you make me feel when I’m with you. That’s what scares me.”

“Stop lying to me.” She shot past him and ripped the door open. Her suitcase in her hand, she rushed down the stairs. Samson was right behind her, not willing to let her go.

The entrance door opened a second before she reached it. A sudden blast of cold air entered the foyer and with it Ricky and Thomas. Ricky stared at Delilah and then at Samson who was only a step behind her.

“I don’t think you should let her leave, Samson.” He slammed the door shut before she could exit. Samson heard her frustrated sigh as she attempted to get past Ricky.

“I’m not letting her leave.”

“Good. ‘Cause somebody killed John Reardon. And she might be next.”

“John?” Delilah’s voice was just a hoarse whisper. She dropped her suitcase to the floor where it made a loud thump.

Samson exchanged surprised looks with his two friends. Did she know him?

Delilah braced herself on the wardrobe. A split-second later Samson was by her side; he wrapped his arms around her and led her into the living room. He wouldn’t let her leave, not now, not ever.

Samson gently sat her on the couch and stayed close to her. Keeping his arm around her, he was relieved to feel she didn’t push him away.

“Ricky, pour Delilah a brandy, will you?”

His friend complied eagerly and handed him the glass a few moments later. Samson led the brandy to Delilah’s lips and made her sip from it as he brushed a strand of hair out of her face.

“Here you go, sweetness.” His voice took on a soothing tone while he stroked her arm tenderly. She didn’t protest. He knew she hadn’t forgiven him yet, but right now she was in shock, and he would do anything to make her feel better. Later, he’d seek her forgiveness. And then there was another hurdle to jump over—but she wasn’t ready for that yet.

In the seconds when he’d followed her down the stairs, he’d made up his mind. He wouldn’t let her go back to New York. Screw the fact that she was human. She was his. He needed her, and he could make her happy. He knew it deep down in his heart.

He caught Ricky exchanging a look with Thomas who nodded. Neither one of them had ever seen him in such a tender exchange with a woman. Samson planted a soft kiss on the top of Delilah’s head, not caring what his friends thought of his behavior.

“Delilah, tell me what you know about this man. He was the one who hired that guy who attacked you.”

She suddenly stared at him, her eyes wide in disbelief. “John? John hired that thug?” She looked up at Thomas and Ricky who nodded.

“Yes, it was him. Who was he?” Samson asked again.

“You should know who he is. He works for you.”

“For me?”

“He’s an accountant at Scanguards,” she announced, looking back and forth between Samson and his friends.