Enslaved In Shadows (Shadow Unit Book 1) Page 5

  Marcus would be given over to his government, tapped on the ass and sent on his way. Immortal law compared to mortal law was brutal, you fucked up you died. Most of the time. It was rare that second chances were given. If it was a House matter, and the Shadow Unit wasn’t involved, well… immortals prayed it never came to that. The Houses had a way of regressing to a time where their primal instincts ruled their decisions. Death was a better sentence than what would happen if a House decreed. Draven had signed up with the Shadow Unit intending to do some good for his kind. Not for babysitting a mortal with a child. The selling of VAB and other immortal trinkets of concern were considered sacred and punishable by death.

  The sound of his phone shook Draven from his thoughts and he picked up on the second ring.

  “Stone.”

  “Baby, it’s me. Just wanted you to know I have everything ready for dinner. Steaks extra rare just the way you like them. I’m stopping by the office on my way to my mom’s, but everything is in the oven waiting for you. Okay?”

  “Alright. Thanks, and tell your mother I said hello.”

  Melissa. There hadn’t been a mate bond between them, but they talked about it constantly. His wolf wouldn’t recognize her as his mate, yet the two of them decided a while ago that starting the process would be wise. His wolf would follow suit. She was the one for him, whether his wolf bowed to it or not. There’d been plenty of wolves mated without the bond that went on to live long, fulfilling lives. He planned to be one of them, with Melissa. It would take a while, years perhaps, but they’d have children of their own.

  Stone rounded the corner and stopped dead in his tracks. Impossible! His nostrils flared to take another breath, just to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. That smell. He would never forget that fucking smell as long as he lived. Warm island breezes scented with coconut and pineapple, infused with vanilla and nutmeg. My island flower. Stone shook his head in finality. It couldn’t be her. It’d been five years since he’d last seen her and buried his cock in heaven’s warm embrace. He’d left her in the jungle. Then betrayed his wolf and her the next moment he got. He hadn’t even gone after her when she’d left Cyrian’s party with her friend. He had been an asshole those two nights back at Odessa’s, and it still plagued him.

  Sometimes, he would wake up in the middle of the night haunted by that smell. Drenched in it. Having to take care of his never-ending erection when it came to dreaming about her.

  6

  The phone in Jesminda’s hand startled her as she made her way through the front door of the office building. There were no markers to identify that she was in the right place. The man on the phone had just given her the building number and cross streets. She was finally taking steps to get her freedom back. She could have stayed, watched all those people fall under the power of Marcus’s thumb. What kind of person would that make her? She valued life and didn’t want to see it destroyed, even if they were Vampiri. Jes palmed her phone in her left hand while adjusting the strap to her purse with the other. Coming here was the right thing to do.

  “Yeah, baby.” She answered on the second vibrate. She’d known it wouldn’t be long before her daughter, Faith, phoned her again.

  “Mommy, mommy! Auntie Bells is making sweet tea! I love sweet tea soooo much!” Her daughter sang into her ear.

  Jes smiled, glad Faith was in a suitable place and safe from danger, safe from Marcus. That would only last so long before he went in search of her friend. She hadn’t spoken to Bells in over three years. She was thankful she still had a friend to turn to. She’d followed in her mother’s footsteps and become a statue of unfeeling emotions. She’d met Marcus on the plane back from Belize. Had known his family was wealthy and owned the entire island of Caye Chapel. His family had cornered the market in vacation home construction, later selling them for millions. He had let Bells come around for the first couple of years. After a while, Marcus had told Jes that Bells wasn’t a loyal friend to her or her daughter. She hadn’t even put up a fight, not because it was true, but because she wanted her friend out of harm’s way.

  Bells was a shifter from House Phoenix. Jes hadn’t known at first, but after the first year of Faith’s life and the entire debacle back at Odessa’s, Bells’ had come clean. Immortals hid their true nature from humans. It was meant to stay that way. Otherwise, the governments would try and control them. They’d signed a treaty and rules were rules. They were trying to enact a law where immortals would have to register in a database. That way, the government could keep tabs on them and what they were doing. Bells explained that all the Houses had agreed to go against the ruling, and this was how the Shadow Units came about. Policing their kind and helping the government as best they could with new medicines and some forms of magic along the way. They didn’t share all their secrets, just enough to be trusted and make the governments comfortable.

  The fact you were born immortal and never made one didn’t rest well with the government at all. Some officials had wanted to research their immortality, but they couldn’t. It created a rift between the Houses and the government. Immortals were willing to help in some cases, but not all.

  Because Faith was an immortal, Bells had revealed her immortality. It hadn’t been too big of a shock to Jes. She’d known her daughter was different the moment she’d held her in her arms. Her beautiful little girl had tiny claws for fingernails and incisors that would put knives to shame. It explained more things than she cared to remember. Cyrian and his private parties, Marcus and his gloating on how he knew immortals were real. He’d told her immortals existed after three months of dating, boasting his knowledge as a way to appear strong. She should have seen that as a stop sign then, especially since his family practiced Obeah. Sometimes called Obi, was a termed that originated in the West Indies to refer to folk magic or sorcery. Half the population in Belize was firm believers; a byproduct of their Caribbean and West African culture. Obeah had originated in West Africa. Her mother had shunned all those who were into sorcery and magic, but her father had embraced it. Jes hadn’t believed until her best friend of eighteen years shifted right before her eyes. Bells was stunning in her phoenix form. She had beautiful red and gold feathers with streaks of blue and purple. Her violet eyes turned a fire gold, almost liquid. Jes was amazed by her transformation, and at how fast it happened. To immortals, phoenix were rare and considered sacred. The decision to remain secret from the world’s governments was unanimous among Belinda’s kind. Bells promised that Faith would remain out of harm’s way until the Shadow Unit could take over the duty of guarding them. House Phoenix didn’t want to get any more involved in Jes’s situation, but Faith was safe and that’s all that mattered.

  “That’s good, sweet pea. I’m glad you’re having such a good time with Auntie Bells.” There was rustling on the other side of the phone, and then loud giggling. Squealing into the phone, Faith laughed, and soon Bells was on the other end of the line taking deep breaths.

  “Girl, this daughter of yours is going to run me ragged. She talks all the time, asks the most absurd questions,” Bells paused before she continued in a little girl’s squeaking voice. “Auntie Bells, how old are you? When is it going to be my turn to change? Am I gonna turn into big bird, too?”

  Jesminda sputtered a laugh, and the two of them talked about Faith’s daily ritual of watching the Backyardagins, Yo Gabba Gabba, and SpongeBob. Jes would be reunited with her daughter in three days. It gave her something to look forward to. She quickly disconnected the call after assuring Faith they would see each other soon. She’d never been apart from her for more than a few hours. Three more days.

  As Jes approached, the lady sitting in the lobby of the building at the front desk eyed her like something was stuck on her face.

  “Yes, can I help you?” the woman asked in a nasally voice.

  “Yes. My name is Jesminda Zealand and I’m here to see Captain Dravaggio.”

  The woman typed something on her keyboard and looked up from beneath her lashes, eye
ing Jes with a steady glare.

  “He says to come on up. Fifth floor, second door on the right is the conference room. Someone will meet you at the elevator.” The woman’s voice was earsplitting, to the point it almost caused her physical pain. Fran Dresher had nothing on the woman who manned the desk.

  Jes nodded and clutched her purse tighter as she headed for the elevators. This meeting scared her to death. She’d never met a conscious vampire before, well, a fully conscious one. Don’t think like that. Nothing is going to happen. They are here to help.

  The elevator dinged open and she stepped inside. Soft jazz played through the speakers; a comforting tune of some long ago song. Jes hit the number five, and the doors dinged closed, taking her to meet her saviors or her doom. It was a toss-up. These men were her last chance. No one else could help her unless she went to another Shadow Unit. But they had jurisdictions, and hers fell under this Unit’s. She’d only just found out how to reach them from Oliver’s captive daughter, Teresa. The girl had been semi-conscious and kept saying that her father worked for the Shadow Unit, telling Jes to look them up on the Internet.

  Jes had tried to find them, but just her luck, there was no Shadow Unit anywhere on Google or in any other search engine. And then her house phone had rung suddenly, and she was greeted with the voice of Captain Dravaggio. He’d given her a location where she could meet with the Unit under his command after she’d explained her situation. She knew from the tone of his voice he wasn’t happy about her dilemma any more than she was.

  The sounds of the elevator door opening shook her out of her trance. As it opened, there was a man standing in an at ease position. He was tall, with dark blond hair and sienna-colored eyes. They looked almost like a warm earth red with a yellow ring around them. He was built like a linebacker, with corded muscles that ran the length of his form. His black fatigues were stretched to their limits. It was like there wasn’t enough room to breathe until he relaxed his stance. His face was handsome in a savage way, which quickly transformed him into a fallen angel when he cracked a smile. She looked away for a moment and cleared her throat. He was too beautiful. He exuded strength and confidence with a hint of calm.

  “Miss Reinhold?”

  She flinched at the use of her ex-husband’s last name.

  “Please, call me Miss Zealand. Or Jes is fine, too.”

  “Sorry, ma’am.” He held out his hand in greeting. “My name is Gabe. If you will follow me, the captain and the rest of the men are waiting in the conference room.” The walls were a dark red and light brown. It wasn’t sterile as she’d originally expected. It was warm and comforting. The double doors to the conference room swung open. There were seven men sitting in various positions at a long table. Some looked relaxed, and others looked tense. She immediately picked Oliver out of the group. His daughter Teresa looked just like him.

  “Oliver?” she asked with a hesitant voice. He sat up straighter and crossed his hands on the table.

  “Do I know you?” he asked.

  She shook her head and felt stupid for blurting out his name like that. He was handsome, but all Vampiri were, especially if they were from the Royal Houses. They all had a diamond-like quality that was hard to miss. Sharp and flawless.

  “No,” she answered, looking him straight in the eyes. She owed him that. “Your daughter Teresa was the one…”

  He was in front of her before she even blinked. He grabbed her forcefully by the arms and shook her.

  “You know where she is?” Oliver shouted.

  He’d shaken her so badly her teeth felt displaced. Her arms were on fire from the pain he was inflicted due to the freezing touch of his fingers. Panic was setting in, threatening to take her back to horrible memories. Think of something else. Anything. He wouldn’t hurt her, he’s just concerned about his daughter. Jes took a deep breath. What had Bells said? Vampiri weren’t dead but living. Only Regs—as she called them—went cold from not enough blood. Regulars were Vampiri not part of the Royal Houses. Oliver was either a Reg or a Vampiri newly joined to a Royal family. His skin was cold and clammy. Before she could answer, Gabe began prying her as gently as possible from Oliver’s bruising grip. She took a steady step back and tried not to wince from the pain.

  # # #

  “Olly, man, ease up. She’s mortal. Damn,” Gabe growled.

  He gently rubbed her arms where Olly had taken hold of her. She was nervous enough meeting him, knowing she was the one that would have to tell him she didn’t know where his daughter was. It would be another reason for him to go on the attack. Marcus moved his locations every other month, and the only reason she’d stumbled onto where he was keeping the Vampiri was because of a misunderstanding with one of his goons. She was supposed to meet Marcus for a lunch date, and instead of Vince giving her directions to the restaurant, he’d sent her GPS coordinates of one of the apartments Marcus owned. She mentally cursed her own stupidity. She’d been so excited that he’d allowed her to come and meet him in public that she’d jumped at the chance to reconcile. Save your marriage. That’s exactly what her mother would have said.

  When she’d first met Marcus, he was charming and had a great sense of humor. It had been after the entire debacle of her summer vacation with her best friend Bells. She and Marcus had sat next to each other on the plane back to the States. She’d known it was too fast to jump into anything, but he hadn’t tried to fuck her and then leave her. One-night stand, and you consented. She reminded herself for the millionth time. No, Marcus took her out to the theater, they ate at regular places, all of the things normal people do. Mr. No Name didn’t even get to that stage in the game. Marcus had made it a point to see to her happiness. He’d even been there for her when she found out she was pregnant.

  She’d been just as shocked as he was since they weren’t having any sort of between-the-sheets time. I’m sterile. You’re clean. Sterile my ass! She was furious with herself and the bastard who’d left her that way. Instead of Marcus getting angry, he had understood. Saying everyone had a past, but the future is what they would look forward to. She’d married him shortly after. If she’d only looked deeper into that entire comment about everyone having a past, it would have made perfect sense.

  Once Faith was born, Marcus’s true colors showed. He’d known the minute her daughter was plucked from her womb that Faith was, in fact, different. After her birth, he’d been abusive and cold-hearted. Every time he’d abuse her, he’d say in a soothing tone how much he loved her. That it was her fault this was happening to her. All the while beating her senseless. To this day, she’d cringe at those three little words. Even her daughter knew the pain those three words caused her. She’d tried to go to her parents’ estate back in Belize, but her mother had quickly stopped all communication. Told her if she couldn’t control her husband, there was no reason for them to visit until she could.

  Marcus had become paranoid and controlling as the months passed. He’d told her that she and her daughter were no longer allowed to go outside their home. He’d turned their estate into what she now knew was a compound, her personal jail cell. She’d been taken from her friends and family. Not even her father had been able to get an audience with her. Soon after, she realized it was because Marcus was selling VAB to humans and other immortals. She thought he’d secured them away for their safety, and if she were agreeable, the beatings would stop. She’d even convinced herself she could reason with him, have him go to the authorities and work it out. He dealt in other illegal activities too, including selling flesh to humans who wanted to ingest not only a vampire’s blood, but their skin, as well. They wanted to become like them, immortal. A falsity he sold them daily. Promising they would soon turn once they’d taken in enough of a vampire’s flesh. She shuddered inwardly.

  She used to be so strong and independent. He’d taken that from her, swallowed her identity and more. It took less than two years to make her weak and self-conscious. Her self-esteem was darker than it had ever been before. She didn’t
know if she was coming or going half of the time. Even if she hadn’t left for herself, she knew she had to man up and do it for her daughter.

  “She knows where Teresa is, animal.” Oliver shoved Gabe out of the way and again stood in front of her. She flinched at his closeness. He paid her no attention and kept coming.

  “If you know where my daughter is, you have to tell me right now.” He got right in her face, bearing his teeth. Jes took a deep breath and said the only thing she could think of, the truth.

  “Oliver, sir, I don’t know where Teresa is.” Jes held up her hand so she could continue speaking. “I did see her, but Marcus moves the Vampiri every other month to a new location, and the only reason I stumbled upon this particular apartment was because of Marcus’s bodyguard, Vince. He messed up and gave me the wrong directions.”

  Jesminda took a deep, steadying breath and looked Oliver in the eyes. His shoulders shrank and he deflated. All the fight drained from his sparkling blue orbs. She owed it to Teresa and the others to get them help and that’s exactly what she was going to do.

  The men in the conference room settled back in their seats. Gabe led her over to a chair while Oliver put his head in his hands and plopped down in the seat to his right. She couldn’t tell if he was exhausted or not, he looked perfect. But Vampiri always did. A man at the end of the table stood and approached her. His long strides ate up the distance until he stood inches in front of her. He was taller than even Gabe, a giant. Long, mahogany dreads fell to the middle of his back. He wasn’t dressed like the others. He wore a Valentino suit without the jacket, and a white linen button-up shirt rolled at the sleeves over strong, masculine arms roped with thickly veined muscles. He had a silver torque around his neck. It gleamed brightly against his bronze skin. His face was aristocratic - hard edges and a straight nose, but it was his eyes that were the most alarming. A shade of violet like she’d never seen, dark amethyst, fathomless and arrogant. Immortals always had that extra flare humans didn’t, and it appeared this immortal had received an extra helping.