Samson's Lovely Mortal

FIFTEEN

Ilona paced the full length of her eighth-floor condo, holding her cell phone pressed to her ear. Without interest she glanced out the floor-to-ceiling windows with the city lights sparkling just below. Tonight she wasn’t in the mood to admire the stunning view.

“No, you’re listening now. I’ve had it, you incompetent fool!” Her voice bristled as she let out a frustrated huff. “If we’d done it my way in the first place, we wouldn’t be in this predicament. But, no, you thought you could handle it better. Don’t you dare interrupt me.” She paused briefly, but the caller on the other end had finally started to listen to her and didn’t let out a single peep.

“Good. Here’s what you do, and I really don’t care how, as long as you do it tonight. I want her gone. Not only is she going to figure out what we’re trying to do to his company, but now he’s even made her his lover. Do you know how that stings? Do you?”

There was no reply. “I’m talking to you.” She was furious. No wonder everything was falling apart if she had to rely on family.

“I thought you didn’t want me to say anything anymore,” her brother finally said on the other end.

Did they really have any DNA in common? It was hard to believe.

“Idiot! I can’t believe I’m related to you.”

“Hey, I’m not as stupid as you make me out to be. I got you all the inside information you wanted. Don’t forget that. At least I can keep my mouth shut, not like you.”

“Don’t you dare bring that up again!” Her own failure still stung, even after nine months. She’d been so close! She’d virtually been able to taste victory.

Her brother flared up. “Oh, yes I will. If you had just continued to suck his dick until you were blood-bonded to him, all his money would have been yours, and you could have just let me kill him, but no, my big sister can’t swallow, can she?”

“Maybe you should have sucked his dick instead!”

“I’m not his type. So don’t make this sound like I’m the one who screwed up. You got yourself into this situation. Do you have any idea about the things I have to go through to fix this for you? No, you think it’s so easy.”

Ilona stomped her foot, not that her brother would know, but she needed an outlet for her frustration. Too long she’d worked on this, and finally the prize was within her reach again. Just another few days and all of Samson’s money would be hers.

“Oh, stop whining. Once all this is over, you’ll be swimming in money. Are you nearly done with the upload?”

“I’m working on the encryptions. A few hours more work and then I can start authorizing. We’re almost there.”

Ilona let out a sigh of relief. “Good. But we still have to take care of her. We can’t risk her finding what we’re doing and stopping us just before we reach the finish line.”

“I’ll get rid of her. Just as well he’s made her his lover. Samson will be so devastated; he won’t even notice what’s happening to his company. It plays right into our hands.”

What was her brother talking about? “Devastated? He’s just fucking her.”

“Just fucking her? Dream on. He’s in love with her, calls her ‘his woman.‘ Looks like he’s finally over you. Took him long enough. I’ll call you when it’s done.”

“Wait,” she tried to stop him, but he’d already disconnected the call.

Samson was in love with that little bitch? She didn’t give a hoot one way or the other about Samson’s love life, but to be replaced by a human? Now, that hurt. Bastard!

Ilona tossed her phone onto the couch and kicked off her stilettos. On the way to her bedroom she shrugged off her dress and let it fall to the floor. Her staff would clean up later. She had more important things to do.

Amaury dialed Thomas’ cell phone and was connected instantly.

“I need your expertise.”

“What about?” Thomas sounded distracted. In the background he could hear somebody else.

“I need you to go through some files for me. You’re better at IT than I am.”

It was true. Thomas was the resident IT expert on anything to do with Scanguards. Whatever was needed, Thomas knew how to do it.

“Now? I’m in the middle of something.”

Amaury rolled his eyes. “Stop fucking Milo and get your ass in gear. I’ve found something that makes me think John Reardon was involved in something bigger than just siphoning off a few grand. He uploaded encrypted files to headquarters, and I need to know what’s in them.”

“You don’t need me for that. I know you’re capable of cracking the encryption yourself,” Thomas pushed back.

“I know I am. It’s just taking me longer than it will take you. So, do it.”

Thomas was clearly hesitating, until he finally conceded. “Fine. I’ll get on it. What’s the location for the files?”

Amaury informed him of the server location and the code by which to identify John’s files.

“We’ll split the work. I’ll start on the bottom and work my way up. You’ll take the top. Call me when you find something,” Amaury instructed him and finished the call.

It was a good thing Amaury had seniority over Thomas. When push came to shove, Amaury normally won the argument. It also helped that he was Samson’s closest and oldest friend.

He’d spent the last hour going through a history of what John had worked on in the last month, specifically which files he’d accessed. Delilah’s suggestion to look at everything accessed under his login had proven successful. John had been all over the place, sticking his nose into files he’d had no business viewing in his position, files other staff should have worked on, not he.

Carl stuck his head into the office. “Amaury, is Mr. Woodford with you?”

He shook his head. “You can call him Samson, you know. I know he’s offered it often enough.”

“I’d rather not.”

“He’s out with Delilah. What do you need?”

“I’ve remembered something that’s been bothering me.” Carl shifted from one foot to the other.

Amaury pointed at the chair opposite the desk, silently asking Carl to take a seat.

“It has to do with Miss Ilona.”

“Ilona?” Amaury couldn’t suppress his surprise. Nobody had mentioned her name in Samson’s household in over nine months. Just as well he wasn’t home. And hopefully wouldn’t be in the next five minutes. If he heard her name uttered in his house, there would be no telling how he’d react.

“She spent a lot of time here. I know she never liked me, so I stayed out of her way as much as I could. I didn’t want to upset Mr. Woodford, and after she left there wasn’t really any good time to mention it. Mr. Woodford was so unapproachable for a long time.”

Amaury remembered well. His friend had been withdrawn and preferred his own company to that of his friends. He’d built up a lot of anger, and the anger had turned to depression until he’d finally returned to what seemed his normal self. Except for the fact that he’d shunned the company of women after that.

“And then I just forgot about it, figured it wasn’t really important.”

“Carl, you’re waffling.” Amaury was eager to get back to analyzing the encrypted files.

“Sorry, Amaury. It’s just, I don’t even know whether it’s important.”

Amaury gave him an unmistakable look. Either talk or get out of the room.

“Miss Ilona. I saw her at his computer one day when he was out. I’m not sure whether she was able to log in or not, but when she saw me she pretended she was looking for a pen and some paper. Later that same night, Mr. Woodford threw her out. When I saw Miss Delilah sit at the computer last night, I remembered it again.”

“I didn’t realize you came back to the house last night.”

“You were all so engrossed in your work, you didn’t hear me. I didn’t want to disturb.”

Amaury nodded. It was true; they’d been so absorbed that they’d forgotten the time and missed sunrise.

“Don’t mention anything about Ilona to Samson. It’ll only upset him. I think we should keep it to ourselves. I’ll make some inquiries and see what I can find out.”

Carl got up. “Thank you, Amaury. I’m sure it’s nothing. It was just odd. Especially given that he never lets others touch his computers, except for you, and now Miss Delilah.”

Amaury smiled. “I think we all should get prepared for a lot more he’s going to let Delilah do.”

“You think she’ll become mistress here?”

“Mistress? I guess that’s as good a description as any. She sure has him in the palm of her hand. Not that she has any idea.” Amaury shook his head and smiled. How a woman could be so oblivious to the effect she had on a man, was beyond him.

“It will not be easy to hide who we are if she stays.”

He gave Carl a surprised stare then slapped his hand on his forehead. “Oh, that’s right. You don’t know yet.”

“Don’t know what?”

“She found out a couple of hours ago.”

Now it was Carl who had a stunned look on his face. “And she’s still with him?”

A loud thud told them that somebody had slammed the door shut. Seconds later the door was opened again and slammed a second time.

“We’re not done talking!” they heard Samson’s furious voice.

“Oh yes, we are. I’m not marrying a vampire!” Delilah shouted back.

Carl and Amaury exchanged smiles. “A hundred bucks says she won’t marry him,” Carl suggested.

Amaury shook his head. “You have to learn a lot more about women. Not only will she marry him, she’ll blood-bond with him.”

He stretched out his hand to seal the bet, and Carl took it. “And you have to learn more about Mr. Woodford. There’s nothing more that he likes than his peace and quiet at home. By the sounds of this, she’s not going to give him that.”

Amaury laughed out loud. Carl might have been spending more time with Samson in the last eighteen years than he had, but Amaury was the one who truly knew his friend best. And peace and quiet was not what Samson liked best at home. Not by a long shot.

There was one thing his friend craved more than anything else in his life, something he had never had since he was a vampire, despite the friendships he’d formed: family. But Carl couldn’t know that. His friend had never verbalized his deepest wish, but Amaury had always felt it.

Another door slammed, and he knew Delilah had entered Samson’s bedroom.

For the second time in as many days Delilah swung her suitcase onto the bed and threw in the few items she’d taken out earlier. She tried to avoid looking at the tangled sheets on the bed, evidence of their night of passion.

How could this have happened? She was in the house of a vampire. She’d had sex with him, mind-blowing sex, and he’d dragged her to the shrink where he’d announced that he wanted to marry her. And not only that. Blood-bond with her, whatever that meant. She hadn’t waited for an explanation.

Not that a girl didn’t like to get a proposal once in a while, but by a vampire? At the shrink’s office? It couldn’t get any stranger. Had Samson really thought she’d be jumping at the idea?

She couldn’t reconcile the man she’d made love to with the vampire who’d licked her blood off her hand. They were two different people. One she knew she was falling in love with, the other she didn’t even know.

The pain in her chest knowing she had to leave him felt unbearable. But she had to do it, and do it now. This man had lied to her at every turn. She would never be certain of what the truth was.

“Don’t shut me out,” Samson’s voice came from behind her.

She hadn’t heard him come in.

“Delilah, please talk to me.” His voice teased at her neck.

She shook her head.

“What are you afraid of? I know you’re not scared of me. I can feel it.” Samson touched her hand with his and intertwined his fingers with hers.

His touch was the last strain her psyche could take.

“Please, let me go. I can’t be with you.”

“I can’t let you leave. I’m connected to you. And you’re connected to me. Can’t you feel it? I’ve never felt this close to anybody. I can sense things about you … the lavender meadow … it’s like I’m in your head …”

“No, please.”

“There is more. I can feel the sadness, but I don’t understand it. It’s there when you think about the meadow. It’s as if there is pain associated with it. Delilah, let me in …”

How could he know about the pain, when she herself had tried to bury it deep in her memories?

“I can’t.”

“Sweetness, I need to understand you. I need to know.”

“You can’t know. Nobody can ever know what it was like. What I did!”

“I’m here for you. Please, tell me what’s causing you this pain. I can feel it here.” He pressed his hand to his heart.

She couldn’t explain why he knew anything about her past, but she herself had had strange visions which were all related to him.

“The meadow,” she started, “it’s located near a small village in France.”

She looked at his face, but didn’t see him. All she saw was the meadow and herself as an eight year old girl …

Delilah cradled her little baby brother in her arms.

“Careful,” her mother cautioned. “He’s fragile. Hold his head up with your arm.”

“I can do it, Mom, don’t worry. I’m a big girl. See?” She showed her mother that she knew how to hold little Peter. “He’s so tiny. Was I so tiny, too?” With big eyes she looked up at her mother, who gave her a warm smile.

“Just as small. And just as cute as he is.” Her mother kissed her on the top of her head.

“Well, there are my two favorite girls!” Her father’s voice suddenly echoed from the path leading to the lavender meadow as he approached them.

Almost every afternoon when he was done with teaching he’d find them lounging in the meadow, enjoying the long summer days. They would spend their afternoons laughing, playing games and chatting, the perfect family. A loving mother, father, and a little baby brother. It was all she’d ever wanted.

Delilah’s childhood was perfect. She didn’t mind the fact that they lived in a country whose language she barely spoke, and that she had to make new friends at school. All her difficulties were forgotten when her bother was born. He made their little family perfect.

He was like a little doll she’d play with all day long. And she never got bored of him. She loved her brother, more than all her toys together.

Her parents trusted her with him. One night at the end of the summer, her parents wanted to celebrate their anniversary by eating out at a local restaurant. It was only one block from their house, so they left Delilah in charge of her brother.

It would be an early dinner, and they wouldn’t stay out longer than an hour. Peter was asleep when they left. He’d been fed and bathed and was a happy little boy when he was put to bed. Delilah was to call the old lady who lived downstairs from them should her brother awaken, and she in turn would fetch them from the restaurant.

All went quiet after her parents left for the restaurant. Delilah played with her dolls. She checked on him to make sure he was covered by his blanket. And that’s when she noticed something.

Peter was too quiet. She couldn’t hear anything. He just lay there in the crib surrounded by silence. She shook him.

“Peter, wake up.” He didn’t wake like he normally would when he heard voices. She shook him again, but he didn’t respond. Maybe he was just really fast asleep. Maybe he was so tired he couldn’t hear her.

But he wasn’t tired, and he wasn’t asleep. Fear froze her to the place where she stood, looking down at his quiet body. No breath, no movement came from him. And Delilah just stood there, in shock, unable to move, unable to make a decision. She wasn’t prepared. She only stood there.

Delilah hadn’t moved from the place by the crib when her parents returned twenty minutes later. She barely heard her mother’s screams when her father lifted Peter’s lifeless body out of his tiny bed.

He was gone, because she had hesitated. It was her fault. She was in charge of him, and she let her parents down and destroyed the family.

After Peter’s death, they moved back to the States. Her parents never blamed her openly, but she knew it was her fault. She never saw her mother laugh again. And her father, he tried everything to cope with the loss and to help his wife as best he could, but the loss of his son was too much for him too, and it seemed like all joy had left him.

Delilah blinked the tears away when she felt Samson’s strong arms wrap around her.

“You were eight years old.”

“It doesn’t change anything. I froze. I didn’t do anything, when I could have saved him.”

He shook his head. “No, sweetness. It should have never been your responsibility.”

“But it was.” His embrace felt good, but she knew it was only temporary. She wanted to soak up as much as she could, before she had to leave him.

“Shh. Think of the meadow. Think of how happy you were back then. I was there with you.”

She looked up. “But how? It’s not possible.”

“Every time you kiss me, you take me there. Because that’s where you were happy, and that’s what you wanted to show me. A place to be happy. Take me there now, Delilah.”

Samson put his hand under her chin and nudged her head up. His lips met hers for a gentle touch, then a deeper connection, before she abruptly pulled away from him.

“I can’t. I can’t stay with you.”

“But why?”

“I don’t know you. You’ve been lying to me so many times. It’s not a basis for a relationship.”

“I’ve apologized for that, and I’ve explained why I did it.”

Delilah shook her head and shrugged off his hand. “You want forever from me. I can’t give you forever. I don’t even know how I’ll feel tomorrow or a week from today.”

“I know it’s hard to accept what I am, but you know that I will never hurt you—”

“That’s not the point. You want me to make a decision which will affect the rest of my life. I’ve only known you for three days. How can you want a lifetime commitment from me after such a short time? How can you even be sure?”

She saw a smile form around his lips. His face was soft and gentle. “I feel the bond between us. I know you’re the one. It’s something I’ve never felt—not with Ilona or anybody before her. I know we’re meant to be together. To be blood-bonded.”

“You talk about this with such certainty. I don’t have that. And blood-bond? I don’t even know what it means. I know nothing about your life. How can you make me choose between my old life and a new one when I don’t even know what I’m choosing?” Delilah felt confused. Nothing made sense. What Samson wanted from her was too all-consuming. It was something she couldn’t control.

“A blood-bond is a unique connection between two people who love each other. It’ll tie us together for eternity. We’ll belong to each other. Everything that’s mine will be yours.”

“I don’t want your money. I want nothing. I don’t know what I want. Don’t you understand? This is too much, too soon …” She felt tears build up in her eyes. “How can you even be sure that you love me? You know nothing about me.”

Samson shook his head. “I know everything about you.” He put his hand to where his heart was. “I can feel you inside me. When you’re in pain, I can feel your pain. When you’re happy, I take part in your happiness.”

“It’s not possible. You just want me because you were starved for sex, needed it like a drug to fix your ‘condition.’ What you feel now will vanish, and then? What are you going to do then? Discard me? No, I can’t do this.”

“Delilah, what I feel for you is true. It won’t go away. So what if we’ve only known each other for three days? Have you never heard of love at first sight? I fell in love with you the moment you fell into my arms when I opened the door. I just didn’t know then. When I’m with you, my world is perfect. The things you make me feel … I’ve never been a tender man, but with you, I yearn to be tender and loving. You bring the best out in me. You soothe me, you warm my heart. I know I’ve made mistakes, but I’ll start all over again for you. I’ll give you anything in the world you desire. I’ll do anything to make you happy.”

His words touched her. She couldn’t deny it. But she wasn’t ready to make a decision like this, a decision she couldn’t reverse. Forever was too foreign a concept.

“Samson, I can’t—”

A loud knock at the door interrupted them.

“Samson!” It was Amaury.

“Not now!” was Samson’s reply. “Please, Delilah, stay with me. Be mine. Let me be yours.”

“We have a traitor in our midst!” Amaury’s voice was insistent.

Samson yanked the door open.

“I think it’s Thomas; he’s behind it.”

Samson’s face froze. “Oh, God, no.”

He looked back over his shoulder. “We’ll talk later, Delilah. You are my life now, whether you want it or not.”

Delilah gave no indication whether she believed him, but Samson couldn’t wait any longer. The unshed tears in her eyes made his heart constrict, and more than anything he wanted to hold her, but he had to take care of this problem now. Thomas, of all people. He didn’t want to believe it.

He rushed down to his office, flanked by Amaury.

“Show me.”

Amaury pulled up the transaction screens and explained what was happening. “Here, see, Thomas is logged on as we speak, and he’s authorizing all of John Reardon’s encrypted transactions.”

The screen was littered with pop-up windows showing approval notices.

“What are they?” Samson scanned the screen.

“Wire transfers. He’s wiring all our cash to offshore accounts.”

“All?”

“Yes, all he can get his hands on. Millions. If we don’t stop him, you’ll have to shut down the company tomorrow—we wouldn’t be able to even make next week’s payroll.”

The news was devastating. Thomas, his friend of almost a hundred years was betraying him, stealing from him. And not only that, he was the one who’d tried to harm Delilah. No matter how long his friendship with him had lasted, there was only one thing to do now.

“Let’s go,” he ordered Amaury. “Carl?” he called out into the hallway as they rushed out. Carl appeared out of nowhere.

“Yes, Sir?”

“Protect Delilah.”

“Yes, Sir.”

They jumped into Amaury’s Porsche which was parked on the street and raced toward Thomas’ house. Samson pulled out his cell phone and instructed Ricky to meet them there and bring two of his men. They needed all the help they could get. A vampire out of control was a dangerous animal. They had to be prepared for everything.

“Doesn’t this thing go any faster?” Samson couldn’t contain his impatience.

“I’m going as fast as I can without killing anybody. I’m just as angry as you are,” Amaury confessed.

“I know.” Samson looked out the window, recalling what Delilah had told him.

“Do you love her?” Amaury’s question was unexpected.

Samson gave him a sideways glance. “More than my life. But she doesn’t understand what that means. She’s resisting. I don’t think she’s forgiven me for hiding things from her.”

“Does she know that you’d never hurt her?”

He nodded. “And I told her I’ll give her anything she’ll ever want. I explained to her that she’ll have a right to everything that’s mine.”

Amaury shook his head. “Sometimes you’re so dense, it’s not even funny.”

What the hell was his friend talking about? “I’m not dense.”

“Sure you are. A woman like Delilah doesn’t want money or worldly goods. She wants a man who will always be true to her. Somebody who’ll never lie to her, somebody she can always rely on.”

“But I’ve told her I love her. I told her, I’ll never hurt her. I even apologized for lying to her. I’ve done everything I can.” Samson felt exhausted.

“Words. It’s all words. She doesn’t trust your words. She only trusts your actions. You’ll have to show her what you feel. You have to do something for her that’ll prove that you mean what you say.”

“But do what?”

“How would I know? You’ve spent the last few days with her. You know what’s important to her. You feel the bond with her—”

“You know that?”

“You forget that I can sense your emotions. I know you feel the bond with her. Use the bond to find a way to convince her. Give her want she wants, truly wants in her heart, and she’ll be yours.”

His friend’s words made sense. Samson closed his eyes and opened his heart to reach out to her. Too much pain clouded her heart. She had to let go of it before she could recognize what else her heart was hiding. He had to help her with this journey. He suddenly knew what he needed to do, and he hoped it was the right thing.

Samson dialed Gabriel Giles’ number in New York. His call was answered almost immediately.

“Gabriel, I need your help on something.”

Thomas lived in a home built into a hillside below Twin Peaks. It afforded the most stunning views of San Francisco. The house was modern, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city and a hidden cave carved into the mountain behind. This was where Thomas’ bedroom was, shielded from any daylight.

Ricky arrived at the same time as Samson and Amaury and was accompanied by two other vampires in Samson’s employ. This situation needed to be handled delicately, and Samson was pleased to see Ricky had chosen two of his most loyal and discreet employees. While Samson didn’t know many of his human employees, he knew virtually every vampire on staff. Ricky was in charge of vampire recruitment at Scanguards and selected every vampire personally.

They all nodded to each other. Ricky’s normally cheerful face was overshadowed by solemnity. It mirrored Amaury’s. Nobody looked forward to what they had to do. They were a tight-knit group; finding out that one of them was a traitor hit all of them equally hard.

“Amaury, can you sense him?” Samson asked his friend.

Amaury looked at the house and closed his eyes. “Yes, he’s here.”

“Let’s go,” Samson ordered.

“Wait!” Amaury’s voice was a command, stopping the four other vampires in their tracks. “Something is wrong. His emotions don’t make sense.”

“What do you mean?” Samson inquired.

“Too many emotions all at once. All jumbled.”

“Could it be that he’s not alone?” Ricky interjected.

Amaury shook his head. “I can only sense him.”

“We have to go now.” Samson pulled out a wooden stake from his pocket. What he had to do was painful, but there was no other resolution. Thomas had been his friend for many years; at least he would make it quick. No torture, no pain for Thomas. He owed him that much.

Samson caught his friends’ looks as they glanced at the stake, and shuddered inwardly. But he couldn’t show weakness now. This betrayal warranted the highest punishment.

The two vampires Ricky had brought were positioned outside the house to prevent Thomas from escaping.

Ricky opened the door with his spare key—a security measure they’d put into place years ago, making sure the four friends could gain access to each other’s homes in emergencies. Quiet and darkness greeted them as they entered.

Samson’s eyes adjusted to the dim light and quickly scanned the interior. The great room they found themselves in was empty as was the adjacent kitchen and bar area. A wall with a door separated the house into two parts: the open and public area, and the private and dark quarters behind.

Samson made a sign to Amaury and Ricky, indicating he was going in first. The corridor was even darker than the front of the house, but just as empty and quiet. He inched forward, his feet making virtually no sound.

Behind him, Ricky and Amaury were as quiet as he was. A small sliver of light came from beneath the door Samson knew to be Thomas’ bedroom. They stopped in front of it.

Samson knew that even though the three of them had been quiet, Thomas would have heard them. A vampire’s hearing was sensitive, and Thomas would have picked up any or all of the noises they had made. It was strange that he hadn’t made a move yet, unless, of course, he had set a trap for them.

Samson braced himself when he turned the knob and swung the door open. Within a split second he’d entered the room and surveyed the scene. Ricky and Amaury did the same, positioning themselves so the three of them formed a triangle at the outer edges of the bedroom. In this formation they could attack.

Only, there was nobody to attack. The room was empty. No Thomas.

“Amaury?” Samson’s question was as clear as if he’d spoken it.

“I can still sense him. He’s in the house.” Amaury closed his eyes again, concentrating. “Downstairs in the garage.”

The house had a garage as well as other caves reaching into the hill.

“He should have been alerted to our presence by now,” Ricky claimed.

Samson nodded. “I don’t like it.”

They stalked downstairs and made their way through the garage which was filled with various motorcycles and a sports car. Nothing out of the ordinary.

“Behind this door. I can feel him.”

Samson was about to put his hand on the door knob when Amaury jerked him back.

“No!”

Samson gave him a questioning look.

“Thomas is in pain.”

“In pain?”

“Silver.”

All of them stared at the door knob, and now Samson noticed it. The knob was covered with silver foil. He shrugged off his jacket and wrapped it around his hand before testing the knob. He could feel the effect of the silver even through the thick cloth, but it was muted.

Silver was the only metal capable of burning a vampire’s skin. It served as the only way to restrain a vampire.

Samson nodded to his friends, then jerked the door open. Before them was the dungeon. Samson had always suspected Thomas of having a room where he unleashed some of his baser fantasies, but he had never expected it to be quite like an exhibit as could be seen at the Folsom Street Fair. Flogging galore. Not for the faint of heart.

Samson rushed into the dimly lit room, Ricky and Amaury on his heels. The source of Thomas’ pain was evident instantly. He was restrained against a wall, held in place by silver chains. Chains he would be unable to break. His skin was covered in painful sores where the silver touched him.

Relief flooded through Samson instantly. Thomas hadn’t betrayed him. Somebody had overpowered him.

“Thomas!”

Thomas’ head lifted an inch, but he appeared too weak to look at them.

“Ricky, Amaury,” Samson ordered with a shrug of his head toward the chains.

Ricky and Amaury did like Samson and took off their jackets, wrapping them around their hands to work on releasing the chains.

When the last chain fell free, Samson caught Thomas’ injured body in his arms and placed him on the chaise in the corner.

“Ricky, get him some blood. Upstairs.”

He stroked a hand over Thomas’ burned face and heard him wince.

“Who did this to you?” Samson’s voice was low.

Thomas’ lips moved. “Milo.”

“Amaury, find him.”

Thomas’ hand instantly gripped Amaury’s to hold him back.

“No.”

Samson looked at Thomas, not understanding.

“He’s dangerous.”

Ricky arrived with the blood. “Drink.” He led a bottle of blood to Thomas’ lips and let him gulp it down. Seconds ticked away. Amaury’s impatience showed.

“Milo stole my password. He’s going to ruin you,” Thomas pressed out. “I’m sorry Samson; I didn’t see it coming.” Genuine regret flooded Thomas’ eyes.

“None of us did. We’ll get him, don’t worry.” Samson’s voice was calmer now. Knowing that he didn’t have to kill his friend Thomas had eased his pain.

“I can reverse it. Get me upstairs to my computer. I can do it.”

Samson and Amaury helped him up. “Can you stand?”

Thomas nodded. “I’m better. But you have to hurry. Milo will get away, and so will Ilona.”

“Ilona?” Samson stopped in his tracks.

“Yes. She’s his sister. He’s doing this for her. She’s been after your money all along.”

So she hadn’t given up after he’d dumped her. He should have known.

“How did you find out?”

“Just a hunch that Milo was hiding something from me. And then, when Ricky and I went to find John … When we got to his house …” he hesitated and looked straight at Ricky. “I know I should have said something right then, but that’s when John’s wife screamed and we ran inside.”

“What happened?” Samson asked.

“I picked up a familiar scent. It was faint, but I thought I recognized it. Now I know for sure. It was Milo. He killed the accountant.”

Samson swallowed hard. “I remember that he was in a hurry to leave the warehouse. It should have tipped me off, but I wasn’t thinking straight.”

“None of us noticed … and of all people, I should have caught onto him much earlier. I spent the most time with him. I should have seen it,” Thomas blamed himself.

Ricky waved him off. “He deceived you. It’s not your fault.”

Amaury nodded in agreement. “If anything, I should have picked up on his emotions. I should have figured it out.”

“Stop, everybody,” Samson said. “What’s done is done.” He looked at Amaury. “Milo would have guarded his emotions from you. He knew about your gift. As for deceiving a lover—we’ve all been on the receiving end of it at one point or another. You’re not to blame, Thomas. I’m just glad he didn’t kill you.” He put his hand on Thomas’ shoulder and squeezed it in assurance. “What happened then?”

“I guess it’s a good thing I’m the jealous kind.” He gave a bitter laugh. “I managed to put a chip into his cell phone yesterday to record his conversations. I was just playing them back when Amaury called me to help him with the encrypted files—”

“I thought I’d heard Milo’s voice in the background.”

Thomas nodded. “I recognized Ilona’s voice when he spoke to her. They are brother and sister. I never saw the resemblance, but now that I know, I can see similarities, gestures they have in common.” He cast Samson a hunted look. “You’re lucky that you never blood-bonded with her. If you had, you’d be dead now.”

The realization hit Samson hard. “Dead? Killed by a blood-bonded mate?”

“No. Killed by her brother. She would have been unable to keep her murderous thoughts veiled once you were blood-bonded. You would have sensed it. But if she had arranged everything with Milo beforehand, you would have remained in the dark about her intentions,” Amaury explained in Thomas’ stead.

“All this for money?” Samson shook his head.

“You sound surprised,” Amaury noted.

“I shouldn’t be.”

“Ilona will stop at nothing to get what she wants. That’s why Milo infiltrated our group. It all makes sense now, even the timing.” Thomas looked into the round. “Just after you dumped her, Milo showed up. First he gained my trust, and then he tried to figure out how to get at your money. Took him long enough. So he figures out who to blackmail to get at the books from one side, then steals my logon and password to finish it off. No wonder he didn’t want us to talk to the accountant.”

“Do you know where he is now?”

Thomas shook his head. “No, but we can try to trace the chip. If he’s still got his cell phone on him, I’ll find him.”

They reached Thomas’ office upstairs, and Thomas let himself fall into his chair. His hands instantly flew over the keyboard as various screens popped up.

“He’s somewhere in the vicinity of Ilona’s place. They are probably on their way to pack up and leave the city. You have to go, now.”

“You think you can reverse the transactions?”

“Yes, trust me. The transactions are on a time-delay loop. It’s a little program I put in place a couple of weeks ago for extra security. We’ll get all your money back. They won’t get away with this. You just make sure you catch the two before they can hurt anybody else.”

Samson put his hand on Thomas’ shoulder and squeezed.

A minute later they were outside.

“Ricky, call backup. We need a dozen guards to close in on them. It will take us too long to get to her place from here. They’ll be gone by then.”

Ricky instantly dialed on his cell and gave orders to his subordinates.

Samson’s cell vibrated in his pocket.

“Carl?”

“Miss Delilah is gone.”

Samson’s throat constricted and his heart froze as all the strength flowed out of his body.