“The Justicars have found the document to be fraudulent, a forgery.”
“That’s wrong. They must test it again. Someone did something wrong.”
Brayden showed no response to her demand. “Ariss, as the liaison for Master Claude’s clan, I must detain you and your guardian for further questioning until your Master comes for you. Both you and Master Claude are under arrest for forgery and attempting to claim land that isn’t yours. The penalty and justice will be found and delivered by the Justicars and not here in this room. Men please arrest Ms. Ariss and her guardian.”
The guards around the room moved at once towards Ariss. Vera saw only a flash of movement then Ariss pulled a dagger out from her dress and slashed at the nearest guard, gutting him across the stomach, and then slashing across his juggler in another fast slice.
Her guardian attacked the next guard with his own knife and stabbed the blade deep into the guard’s neck until he screamed garbled noises. He extracted his knife by kicking the guard away, then both Ariss and her guardian leaped out the window in an explosion of glass.
The guards jumped out of the window after them. Vera tried to go to the window to see what was happening, but Jacks grabbed her and held her behind him.
Dmetri turned to Brayden. “I’ll tell the Justicars and put out an alert for Ariss and her guardian. They just added murder to their list of charges.” He stalked to the door, stopping at the doorway to look at Vera. “You might want to call Vane now and tell him what’s happening. If Ariss’ Master devised this whole plan then it was for a reason--land. I doubt he’ll want be willing to drop the plan either.”
Brayden gathered the documents in front of him with an easiness that bordered on bored. He looked down at the dead guards with a hard scowl.
“They were good men,” he said. A dark look lingered in his eyes when he turned back to her. “Kategan land is your land. Considering what happened today, we’ll finish the rest of the negotiations tomorrow. We’ll meet earlier since we still have a lot to cover. Then you’ll be free to go.” He stood and walked out the door.
“Why couldn’t they catch her?” The drop alone from the window had to be a good forty feet, though that wouldn’t faze a vampire.
Brayden paused to look back at the dead guards on the floor, sorrow in his eyes. “Ariss is strong and old, and her guardian is very strong. The best warrior in Claude’s clan, that’s why he sent him with her.” The old vampire turned and left.
Vera let Jacks guide her back to their room. She saw the change instantly in the mansion. Already more guards were lining the halls, roaming. With a loose fugitive out, she wasn’t surprised. Yet it was unnerving as hell. She was no coward though. Right about now she’d like to go one on one with that vampire bitch. From the threat of stealing her land to the killing of innocent men—Ariss needed to be put down.
The bedroom door shut behind her and she jumped, startled at the sound. A violent shiver stole over her. God she was so cold, when had the room grown so cold? She was happy that this had happened, that Kategan land was no longer in danger, but then why was she shaking so cold?
Jacks’ arms came around her, and then she realized she was shivering like she was sitting naked in the middle of a snowstorm.
“Shh, shh. It’s okay baby. I’ve got you.” There were too many thoughts running through her head. Part of her didn’t know what was happening, the other was telling her that she’d never seen someone murdered before. The last time she’d been around a dead body was at her parent’s funeral.
She lost herself in Jack’s embrace. She didn’t know how much time passed, but when her mind finally slowed to a normal speed, she blinked and saw that they were sitting in the chair by the warm fireplace. She hadn’t even known he’d moved. She lifted her face from where it was buried in his neck and saw the evidence of her tears in the wet cotton of his shirt.
“I’m so sorry.”
He chuckled at her and pulled her back into his arms, pressing a gentle kiss to her cheek. “Feeling better?” With his hands running delicious warm strokes up and down her back, it was hard not to. She nodded against him. But when the grisly images of the guard’s throat and stomach popped into her mind, she said the first thing that popped into her mind to get rid of it.
“Do you still talk to your mom?” The hands stroking her paused, then continued on their comforting journey. Vera let go of the breath she’d been holding with a soft whoosh.
“Yeah, I talk to her on the phone about once a week. I see her twice a year and send her cards on all the right days.” Vera giggled, picturing him in a Hallmark store picking out a sweet Mother’s Day card. Somehow it was hard to picture the human marine, who so deftly was sharpening his knife with a whetstone earlier sending his mom a pink, frilly card. Another giggled escaped her, and he squeezed her in warning. “Hey now, none of that. I do what I gotta do.”
“Of course you do,” she said when she had control over herself again. A sudden thought hit her and she pulled back and lifted the sleeve of his right arm. “I almost forgot. I’d seen a glimpse of it when we were...you know, but haven’t taken the time to really study it. Rome has the same tattoo, tell me the story,” she said wistfully.
“Ah, no, come on. You don’t want to hear this. It’s lame.” Vera gave him a quick kiss and pouted, blinking doe eyes at him. He grumbled something about damned women under his breath.
“I met Rome my second year in. We bumped into each other and got into a little bit of a fight.”
“I remember him telling me about that. You know, I gotta say I’ve never befriended a girl I just had a cat fight with.” He smirked at her and grabbed her hand, inspected each fingernail with a sharp eye.
“Baby, I don’t think these pretty hands have ever hurt someone in anger.” She winked saucily at him, but her heart tightened that he could see something so easily about her.
“Okay, so when did you guys decide to get a matching tattoo?”
“Well I guess we’d been friends for about a year and as per our usual Saturday we went into town, got shitfaced, and next thing you know we’re getting matching tattoos.” Vera slapped him playfully on the arm.
“Come on now, I know you’re hiding something. Tell me it all.” The corner of his mouth kicked up making him look younger, more relaxed.
“Well, mind you we were young and stupid, but we got the matching tattoo because...ah shit,” he looked away, his cheeks burning. “We were trying to impress some girls,” he said lamely.
Vera’s head shot back as laughter erupted from her. She couldn’t control it, it just kept coming. When she finally calmed, she was down to hiccupping chuckles. When her eyes met his deadpanned, serious gaze, she couldn’t stop herself and broke into another fit of furious giggles.
“That’s it.” She squealed and held on tight as he lifted her and carried her over to the bed. Her breath caught, the giggles dying, as a hot and delicious thrill swept through her. God she couldn’t remember the last time she felt so light, so happy with someone.
As he threw her on to the bed and glared at her with laughter in his eyes, she knew she loved him. Stupid, stupid, fool. This was the very last thing she’d expected to happen to her while on this trip. Yet she wasn’t surprised that it was Jackson Marsh who pushed her heart open so easily. From the first moment she met him, she’d noticed him. The only other man she’d noticed like that was Dmetri, but even then it was different. Meeting Jacks had made her hackles rise, she’d thought stupidly at the time it was because he was a human--and she just plain didn’t like humans much. Now she knew it was something so much scarier, so much better. She liked him. She really liked him.