A Vampire’s Mistress Read Online Free Page B

He grabbed her upper arm in a steely grip. It didn’t hurt, but his hold was implacable.
    “What do you mean Nick’s not really dead?” he said dangerously, ignoring her question for one of his own. “He was beheaded . That’s about as dead as a vampire gets. I was at his damn funeral.”
    She’d been angry when she’d found out too. But anger wasn’t going to save them from the four horsemen. Marina tried to pull her arm from his firm grasp, but found she couldn’t. As a vampire Gabe was far stronger than the Shyeld she remembered and she stopped trying to free herself. “That wasn’t Nick.”
    Gabe’s mouth tightened. “Why the funeral?”
    “It was all part of Nick’s plan.” A familiar ache began to well up in Marina’s chest. Betrayal. Anger. Fear. Her relationship with Nick had been no picnic. The wind off the water laced with salt whipped stinging strands of hair across her face.
    “I thought you didn’t know Nick’s plans.” He dropped his hold on her as if the contact burned.
    The accusation she heard in Gabe’s voice only made the ache worse. She tucked the loose strands of hair behind her ear. “Not all of them, no. I only found out later that Nick hadn’t really been beheaded. At first I thought I was seeing a ghost, but…”
    “But seeing the ghost of a vampire would be impossible.”
    “Exactly.”
    “I couldn’t see any other option. Either he was still alive or I was going insane.”
    Gabe crossed his arms, distrust still enclosed around him like invisible armor. “And the vampire hunters?”
    “They just proved I wasn’t insane. I was a liability. Nick wanted to keep me from talking to the High Council, but he didn’t want me dead. It would have drawn too much attention to him and his plans.”
    “Why would he bother with vampire hunters? He’s a royal. He could have gotten rid of you as his consort easily enough. He didn’t have to hand you over to them to drug you and drain you slowly.” The gruff edge to his voice betrayed his discomfort with the knowledge of what they’d done to her.
    Interesting. Maybe there was something more to Gabe’s rescue mission than just his allegiance to the High Council. Marina shook her head. She didn’t want to think about what could or might be. Right now the only thing she could see in her immediate future was being on the run.
    “That’s what I couldn’t figure out. Not until I realized that having two of us die in such a short amount of time would look suspicious to the High Council. Nick had become fairly tight with Vane,a blond, spiky-haired vamp who dressed like a heavy-metal rock star. They’d sit and talk business for hours, and one night when I was curious enough to see why Nick kept finding convenient reasons for me not to be part of the conversation, I listened in. Turns out Vane isn’t part of any legitimate clan or kingdom in the vampire realm. He’s a reiver from the States, one who preys upon others of his kind and mortals alike to survive.”
    Gabe’s crossed arms flexed. “That can’t be good.”
    Marina took in a breath she didn’t need through her nose to steady her nerves, the fishy smell in the air strong enough to make it sting. Gabe didn’t know the half of it. If Nick and his associates had their way, the entire civilization that had sustained her kind would vanish, their secrecy shattered. “They’re going to reveal vampires to the mortals.”
    Gabe’s mouth dropped. He cupped the back of his skull with his large hand and began to pace. “Dear gods, to what purpose? History has already proven that mortals don’t want to know about us. And anytime they find out all hell breaks loose.”
    “I tried to piece together what I’d overheard. From what I gather, the group is going to extract and sell ichor to humans for medical use. They want to corner the market, make a damn empire out of it.”
    “Ah. So it isn’t about notoriety, or a power play with the High Council, it’s about cold hard cash.