The Blood Boss by Davidson King

Chapter Twenty-One

Jayce

When I came to, warmth surrounded me, there weren’t any abrasive lights shining in my eyes, and it was so quiet. I knew I was in Cain’s room before I even looked around: I could smell his intoxicating scent, and I knew the pattern of his ceiling. Of course, when I did go to survey my surroundings, the blinding pain that shot from my neck to my spine stopped me.

“Whoa.” Emil’s face came into view. “Can’t move.”

I opened my mouth to talk but no sound came out, just a whining whistle where my voice should be.

“Yeah, you’re going to have a hard time talking for a while. But I promise you will. You need to heal.”

I had so many questions. Did they know about Germaine, that he worked for Rogos? What about that he was searching for something in Cain’s study? Wait! Where was Cain?

“Okay, breathe. I can see your brain is spiraling. You have a million questions and want to tell us everything that happened. Let me see if I can ease your mind on a few, okay?”

I tried to nod, but it felt like someone was stabbing me in the neck.

“No moving.” Emil sat on the edge of the bed, but close enough that I didn’t have to struggle to see him.

“Most important, Cain is fine. As a matter of fact, he had left you a text saying he had to go out to investigate some vampires that got killed, but you never read it, so you had no idea.”

That made sense. The relief that washed over me upon hearing Cain was safe was immense.

“Next, Margarite and Harper found you in the kitchen, being attacked. You were passed out by then, but Harper jumped the guy who got away. Margarite hid with you in the pantry. She protected you.”

I’d be sure to thank her as soon as I had a voice to do so.

“We know the attacker was Germaine, Abigail Hester’s partner. Not sure you knew that but if not, now you do.”

“How…” I struggled but the grating pressure on my throat wouldn’t let me speak.

“Sibell called the staff; that’s how they got to you before anything permanent happened.”

Sibell. I would have to thank her, but I really needed to see Cain. Emil didn’t give me a chance to say a thing.

“Cain will be in shortly. I texted him that you were awake. He’s dealing with a few things…I’m sure he’ll explain everything. Just rest. Want some water?” He chuckled when all I did was stare at him, unmoving. “Okay, blink once for yes, twice for no.”

I blinked once and he got up. He never left the room, and I heard the tinkling of ice and the swoosh of water. A moment later, a straw was gently slipped into my mouth.

“Slowly, Jayce. Take a little sip, see if you can swallow.”

The water felt cool and refreshing but swallowing did, in fact, cause a painful ache. I took it slow and relished in the relief it brought.

Emil placed the water on the bedside table and looked over his shoulder. “There he is.”

The bed dipped again, and this time Cain’s gorgeous face was an inch from mine, ruby eyes assessing me, brow furrowing as he glanced over my neck.

“I was so scared,” he whispered. “In all my time, I’ve never felt a fear like it.”

I heard Emil shut the door and knew it was just Cain and me, and when I felt his lips press against my forehead, every emotion came to the surface, and I wept.

“Shh, I’m here, Jayce, you’re safe. I’m so sorry I left you.”

Never had I realized how important my voice was until I lost it. I wanted to tell Cain everything. He needed to know I didn’t blame him, and…so much more.

He kissed my cheeks, eyelids, chin, and mouth. It was as if he were loving me back to life.

“Cain,” I wheezed.

“You need to rest your voice. How about I do the talking and you listen? I have some things to tell you and, to be honest, I’m still trying to wrap my head around a lot of it.”

I brushed my hand over his cheek, unable to tell him anything, relying on touch.

Cain sat up and very carefully helped me prop my pillows so my neck was secure, but I could see him and the room better.

“It’s funny. Hundreds of years ago, I was accused of killing my brothers, judged and punished for a crime I never committed, and marked with vampirism. From there I turned humans who sought purpose, were loyal to not just me but to the existence of humankind. A few were gifted with the ability to turn others, but not many. Natalie was one of the gifted. She always asked me before doing it, and I thought she was truly loyal.”

Peeking down, I saw his hand and took it in mine. His smile was small when I squeezed it, but I’d take it as a win.

“I should’ve seen the signs. She was pulling further and further away from who I knew her to be. She combatted everything I ordered when it came to you and the merfolk.”

What was Cain saying? I thought this was about the Germaine guy.

“Rogos promised her my place in Black Veil if she helped him take you and me out. She admitted she refused to harm me, but she’d help when it came to you. Germaine, he never had good intentions. He came to Black Veil with Abigail, knowing her riches. His goal was for her to fall in love with him, and when he knew she’d bequeath all her possessions to him, he’d kill her. When that began to seem like it was falling through, he heard about the situation with the merfolk and me and offered his inside help.”

What inside help? Cain must have read my confusion, and thankfully he elaborated.

“The Hesters have connections. He said he’d help however he could in exchange for the Hester estate and their riches. Of course that would mean their demise, which was fine with Rogos and Sable.”

“How’d you…” A cough wracked my body and Cain reached over for the water. After a slow, healthy sip I was okay.

“Please, rest your voice. But to answer your question, I found out because I was able to put two and two together that Natalie and Germaine were working with Rogos and Sable based on what happened two nights ago.”

Two nights ago? That was how long I’d been out?

“Ever since then, I’ve been interrogating them.”

Vampires didn’t get rings under their eyes from exhaustion; their skin didn’t shade differently due to stress. But I could see now, Cain’s hair wasn’t as sleek as it normally was, his clothes weren’t pristine. He needed to rest.

Tugging on his sleeve, he got the hint and lay beside me. “Only for a little while,” he said before his eyes closed and I knew he was asleep.

* * *

It took three days for my voice to return. It wasn’t perfect, but I could at least speak without it feeling like someone was taking a cheese grater to my throat. The bruising around my neck was yellow and purple, and I couldn’t touch it without wincing, but other than that I was walking and talking.

I’d asked Emil what Cain had done with Natalie and Germaine and if they were still alive, because I didn’t want to upset Cain. He had so much to deal with.

“Still alive, but for how much longer I don’t know, Jayce. As for the where, it’s better you don’t think about it.”

Easier said than done. I mean, Natalie was never horrible to me, and I agreed with Cain that the longer I stayed here, the more frigid she had become, but I didn’t think she’d actually hurt me. As for Germaine, the only thing I knew about him was how tight he could squeeze a human neck.

“Are they on this estate somewhere? I mean, what if I decide to take a walk and, boom, I slam into Germaine, hanging from a meat hook somewhere?”

Emil quirked a brow. “That happen a lot to you?”

“Well, no, but anything can happen in a house full of vampires.”

He shrugged. “I think you’ll be fine.”

Emil didn’t budge, not once when it came to where they were, and I figured I’d have to bite the bullet and ask Cain.

I didn’t get to see a whole lot of him while he was dealing with Natalie, Germaine, and the psychotic Tritons and Sirens, but he always came to bed.

That night when he crawled onto the bed and hovered over me with a smile, I saw a light in his eyes I hadn’t seen since he’d been interrogating Natalie and Germaine.

“Hi, handsome,” I said.

“How are you feeling?”

“A lot better, what about you?” I caressed his cheek, loving the way his beard tickled my palm.

“I’m getting a lot of information, but I don’t want to think about that tonight.”

The tingle of anticipation grew in my belly when Cain salaciously grinned.

“Oh, what did you want to talk to me about, then?”

He shook his head, black strands danced over my face. “No talk.”

Cain kissed, licked, and sucked every inch of my body that night. He was a beast, thirsty for any way he could have me. I was limited with my neck, but he made sure to be extra careful. By the time he slid into me, thrusting slowly while licking into my mouth, I was undone. He came with a roar and as we slept that night, entangled, I made a silent plea to whoever was listening, to keep this vampire alive. Because I knew, deep in my marrow, that I loved him.