The Blood Boss by Davidson King

Chapter Twenty

Cain

When my phone had buzzed at one in the morning, I’d answered it quickly so it wouldn’t disturb Jayce, who was sleeping deeply beside me, his head on my chest.

“Hello?”

“Sir, my apologies for calling at this hour. We have a situation by the Rappaport Tunnels. One of the scouts reported several vampires beheaded.”

“I knew this peace wouldn’t last. Let me call Lance to drive me, and I’ll be there in about twenty minutes, Natalie.”

“Yes, Sir.” The call ended and I sighed as I took in Jayce’s peaceful form.

I didn’t have the heart to wake him, so as carefully as I could I slid out of the bed, resting his head on my pillow. I texted Lance, who said he was up and would meet me in the foyer.

By the time I got down there, Emil and Petru were with him. “I need you two to stay here with Jayce.”

“Why?” Emil asked. “No one’s getting in here, and you shouldn’t be going to the tunnels without backup. Rappaport leads to the sea and if it’s just you, Natalie, and Lance, it won’t be enough if Rogos and Sable bring in soldiers. This could be a trap.”

I knew Emil was right, and while I hated leaving Jayce without my two best vampires, I also knew the place was secure. “Fine, let’s go.”

I texted Jayce that I had to run out about something, purposely being vague as to not alarm him. If he woke before I returned I didn’t want him to worry, and I knew he was always checking his phone.

Once we reached the tunnels, Natalie and some human officers were there. Natalie turned when she heard our car doors shut and came over.

“Do we know who the vampires are?” I asked her as I passed the officers who were closing off the area.

“No. Their heads are missing, and all their identification is gone.” Natalie led me over to where three headless vampire bodies were. “But look.” She pointed to the wall where the words “Our prince will return to the sea,” was spray-painted.

“Why kill vampires? I mean, yeah, we aren’t exactly friends with the fishfolk, but the message doesn’t make sense with the killings.” Emil crouched in front of the bodies, lifting their sleeves. “No tats.”

“Tritons and Sirens are savages, Emil, there’s no rhyme or reason. These three were likely patrolling as I’d ordered. Their deaths would summon me here to see this.”

“Sounds like a lot of fanfare to do something a simple text could.” Emil chuckled, but it wasn’t filled with happiness. No, three vampires had been murdered to give me a message.

“They’ll kill us off one by one to get to him,” Natalie’s tone was like ice. “They can leave the water, Cain, though we can’t go into it to fight them. You swore we were at an advantage on land. But look.” She flailed her hand in the direction of the bodies.

“They can’t leave the sea for long, and they can’t be far from it. These vampires were patrolling.” After one last look at the vampires, I waved Petru closer. “Please see that these three are sent to be examined. We should try to identify them for anyone looking for them.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“I stand by the fact that this was way over the top to tell us something we already knew.” Emil stood, leaving Petru to go about moving the bodies with the help of an officer.

“Did you think they’d remain peaceful forever?” Natalie scoffed.

“I see what Emil’s saying. The message is one we know. They have made it clear they want to destroy Jayce or take him. This,” I gestured to the vampires. “It’s redundant.”

“I don’t think it is, Sir.” Lance, my driver, came up next to me. “Sirens are known to guide sailors to them to be killed. It’s a tactic that has served them well. I think you were led here for a purpose, but it’s not to figure out who these three vampires were or to chatter about their obvious message.”

“Please, Lance, pray tell us the purpose of our field trip?” Emil smirked at the driver, waiting for the answer, but I already knew it.

“It was to get us out of the house.”

“I believe so, Sir.”

No sooner had Lance finished talking that I began running toward the estate. I could move at speeds no car could, so I wasn’t waiting for Lance to get me back. I heard others following but didn’t bother to stop and see who. I’d left Jayce there thinking he was safe, and in doing so I might have gotten him killed.

I stopped at the front door, noticing it was locked, hoping Lance had been wrong. I punched the code at the door and when it opened, I went inside. The foyer was empty, the house quiet.

“Maybe Lance was wrong,” Emil said from behind me. Of course he’d follow.

“Maybe not.” Petru tilted his head in the direction of my study, where the door was open.

Inside it was as if a tornado had gone through every inch of the place. Papers, glass, ceramic, all of it everywhere.

“Let me check on Jayce. Sir, stay here, please.” I nodded and Emil raced up the stairs.

“Maybe they didn’t bother Jayce. This seems to be the only room ransacked, the library is fine, as is the sitting room, and great room.” Natalie’s reassurance did nothing to calm me.

When Emil came back, he shook his head. “He’s not in your room or his.”

Panic and anger battled for purchase, but I couldn’t let emotion dictate my actions. “Search every inch of this place. Maybe he’s hiding, we can call him.”

Emil lifted his hand with Jayce’s phone in it. “No, Sir. Perhaps he’s fed from you?”

Emil assumed Jayce and I had done the acts two vampires do during sex, but we hadn’t. It was done to connect vampires to each other, but Jayce and I never needed that. Whenever we were together, connected from head to toe, when my cock was pumping in and out of him and his heartbeat thundered against my chest, we were more in tune and connected than any two vampires could be. But if I had let him drink from me, I’d be able to locate him through blood.

“No.”

“We’re wasting time.” Petru moved along the corridor, searching for Jayce.

“I’ll search the pool house,” Natalie didn’t hide her irritation as she stomped off.

“I will check the wine cellar.” Emil handed me Jayce’s phone and was gone.

When I hit the button to power it up, I saw he never read my message that I had gone to the tunnels. Did he think I left him? Was he frightened?

I thought about my private passageways and wondered if maybe Jayce was hiding there. It would be a perfect place to go undetected. He wasn’t there. I knew Natalie had said the library, sitting room, and great room were fine but that didn’t mean Jayce wasn’t holed up in one of them. Closest to the kitchen, I opted to start there.

I opened the door an inch and froze. The sound of what I believed was a can falling was like ice water in my veins. Someone was here. I hoped it was Jayce, but my gut said it wasn’t.

Upon entering the kitchen, I didn’t see anyone. The vase that had sat at the top of the stairs for as long as I could remember was near the phone cradle, but no phone was in it. The line was cut, and the realization that Jayce was alone with whoever was here had me seeing red.

The slight shuffling sound, where I was sure the can fell, was coming from the pantry closet. In one swift move, I tore open the closet, ready to strike, only to freeze when I saw what was in there.

“Sir, don’t hurt me.” Margarite, one of my staff, was on the floor. She held her arm up to defend herself, her body protecting the unmoving figure beneath her…Jayce.

“I won’t, is he…?” I closed my eyes and listened; the faint beating of his heart was a balm to my fury.

“He’s alive, Sir, but…” She moved, maneuvering her body to reveal him to me. There was severe bruising around his neck. “We hadn’t heard anything in the staff wing. Sibell, she rang Harper, who woke the house. When we got to this side, we saw someone in here with Jayce, but he wasn’t moving. Harper jumped on them, they fought and the man, he got away but Jayce…” She looked at the man who was quickly becoming the sole owner of my heart.

“Why are you in here and not…never mind, please let me lift him.”

“No,” Margarite shouted. “Sorry for yelling. But his neck, if we move him carelessly, we could make it worse. I slid him in here, not wanting to lift him earlier. I didn’t know what to do and figured we’d be safe here.”

I kneeled, placing a hand on Jayce’s cheek. He was warm but didn’t even flinch at my touch.

“Why didn’t Harper or someone contact me?”

Margarite cocked her head in confusion. “Harper called Natalie, Sir. She said for us to all stay hidden and you’d be here soon. I thought…isn’t that why you’re here?”

“No, I—”

“Sir, we didn’t find him.” Emil stepped up behind me. “Shit! Is he—”

“Alive,” I answered. “We need to be careful, get something to secure his neck, and then call a doctor.”

“Okay.” Emil rushed off.

I needed to speak with Natalie, but there was something more urgent I had to know. “Did you recognize the man who got away?”

She shook her head. “No, I had never seen him here before. I can tell you he was a vampire who had silver hair and dark skin but other than that, I didn’t recognize him.”

I knew every vampire that resided in Black Veil. For the most part, we didn’t get new faces too often, and while I didn’t have many parties at my estate in which my staff would know all who I did, it was rare they didn’t have an inkling. I knew exactly who had been in my home.

“Petru,” I said, knowing wherever he was in the estate, he’d both hear and feel me.

A few seconds later he was at my side, followed closely by Emil, who had a makeshift neck brace.

“Yes, Sir?” Petru glanced at Jayce. The man never showed much emotion, but his eyes widened slightly in surprise.

“Petru. Listen very carefully. I have a job for you that must be done in complete discretion.”

“Absolutely, Sir.” He kneeled to where I was beside Jayce.

As softly as I could, I whispered to him what I needed.