Rourke dragged a hand over his jaw. "If this is what you truly want, then so be it," he said, and offered Vega his hand.
The other vampire hesitated only a moment.
Ana Luisa smiled as the two men she loved most in the world shook hands. Rising on her tiptoes, she kissed Jason on the cheek, and then she kissed Ramon. "Thank you," she said. "Both of you."
Rourke took both of her hands in his. "If he ever hurts you, if you ever need me..."
"I know. Thank you, Jason, for everything."
He nodded. With a last warning glance at Vega, Rourke turned and headed for home. He grunted softly. He had no home, no place to call his own save the shed in Karinna's backyard, and that wasn't really his. He needed to find a more secure lair, perhaps some kind of employment, though he had no idea what kind of work he could do in this day and age. Still, he wasn't the kind of man to let a woman support him. He had allowed Karinna to provide him with clothing and shelter, partly because it was necessary, and partly because he wanted to be near her, but it was unfair to expect Karinna to continue to provide for his needs. He had every intention of repaying her for what she had spent on him, and on Ana Luisa, as well.
As a young man, he had been in charge of his family's estate. He had looked after the land and the livestock, managed the family finances, settled whatever disputes arose, but that had been 736 years ago.
Muttering an oath, he turned down a dark street in search of prey. It took only minutes to find what he sought. Bending over the woman's neck, he wished it was Karinna in his arms, Karinna's essence filling him, warming him.
Karinna...She wanted him, he thought, but not enough to accept him for what he was. The thought saddened him even though he could understand her apprehension, perhaps better than she understood it herself. For the first time in his life, he was in love, really in love. Ana had found someone to love. The fact that Vega was a vampire hadn't kept her from loving him. Ana had wanted to be with him and she had taken the steps necessary to join her life with his.
Rourke swore softly, annoyed with himself for envying Ramon and Ana Luisa, angry with Karinna because she couldn't love him as wholeheartedly as Ana loved Ramon Vega.
Releasing the woman in his thrall, he sent her on her way.
Heading for Karinna's house, he wondered how he could overcome her innate wariness of what he was and win her to his side.
He shook his head. Perhaps she needed some time to herself. Perhaps it was time for him to go to the house of Vilnius and retrieve his father's sword. It was all Rourke had left from his father, the only physical possession that he had owned that was important to him after he had been turned. It represented his father's love, his home and his family, and all that was forever lost to him.
Maybe it would be wiser to let Vilnius keep the sword, he mused as he turned down yet another dark street. Maybe he should just forget who he had been and where he had come from. That man was dead. And yet, it was because the sword reminded him of who and what he had once been that he refused to let it go. It would be all too easy to lose himself in what he had become, to let go of his tenuous hold on what was left of his humanity, to become what so many others of his kind became--merciless hunters who preyed on mankind as if men and women and even children were no more than so many sheep, put on the earth for no other reason than to provide nourishment for his kind.
Muttering an oath, he turned the corner and headed back toward Karinna's house. He needed a place of his own, he thought again, a lair where he could take his rest in more comfortable surroundings than the wooden shed in Karinna's backyard.
Chapter 24
Vilnius rented a car at the airport. It was amazing how much had changed in the fifty years since he had last been to America. He didn't remember the freeways being so crowded, the buildings so large or so numerous. Of course, there had been similar changes in the rest of the world, as well. Houses springing up where there had once been only acres of green fields. Highways snaking their way through towns and cities, over mountains and along the coasts.
He had always admired the ingenuity, resourcefulness, and endless optimism of the people of America, but he much preferred his own land, where life was slower and not so crowded.
He stopped at the first hotel he came to. The clerk informed him that there were no rooms available without a reservation, but five minutes and one quick spell later, Vilnius was relaxing in the bridal suite on the top floor, a bottle of expensive champagne and a basket of fruit awaiting his pleasure.
Americans, he thought, they certainly know how to live. He glanced out the window, surprised by the sense of lethargy that tugged at him. He had expected to be eager to confront Rourke; instead, he found himself thinking of Luisa, wondering how she had died, and if she had suffered. He was even more surprised to find himself grieving her loss. He had scarcely thought of her in three hundred years. Now that she was gone, he could think of little else. He had once had plans for his daughter. He had intended to free her from the painting at some future date and continue her instruction in the art of magic, perhaps even teach her the Dark Arts. What a pair they would have made.
He was mourning, he thought, with no small measure of astonishment, mourning for his only child, mourning for what might have been had she not sacrificed her innocence to that bloodsucker.
Turning away from the window, he moved restlessly through the room. He had never been one to do anything halfheartedly. His only daughter was dead and he would mourn her after the manner of his people. For the next seven days, he would sprinkle ashes on his clothing and deny himself food and water. Each night, he would light a candle to commemorate her life.
And when his period of mourning was over, he would destroy the man who had defiled her.
Chapter 25
Ana Luisa woke with the setting of the sun. Opening her eyes, she saw Ramon lying on the bed beside her, the sheet pulled up to his waist. Propped on one elbow, he smiled at her when he saw she was awake.
"Were you watching me sleep?" she asked.
He wrapped a lock of her hair around his finger. "Maybe."
"Why?"
He shrugged. "I like looking at you."
"Even when I am sleeping...." Her voice trailed off. "It is not really sleeping, is it? I did not fall asleep. One minute I was awake, and the next, darkness enveloped me. I did not dream...." She looked at him, her expression troubled. "It really is like death, isn't it?"
"You'll get used to it." Leaning forward, he kissed her cheek. "You're not sorry I brought you across, are you?"