Darkest Risings (29 page)

She
was as tall as he was and had unique and intriguing greenish-brown eyes. She
was flawless from head to toe, and all of his blood immediately rushed to his
groin.

“Better
answer me now before I cut your head off,” she calmly said.

What
had she asked? Oh yeah. Who was he? “I’m Grady.”

“And
what the hell is a drifter doing in the Aleksandrov’s garage?”

He
held his hands up in mock surrender. Damn, he’d love to tangle with her, except
the distraction from his rampant attraction to her might be the death of him.

“I
assure you I’ve been invited to stay. You can check if you don’t believe me.”

She
lowered her sword a bit after taking in his appearance. “I guess even a drifter
wouldn’t be dumb enough to break into a house with a nest of hunters just to
take a shower. Still doesn’t explain why they’d invite one into their home.”

“I’m
not exactly a drifter.”

She
lowered her sword more. “Wait. I think I remember Aldin mentioning something
about a drifter named Grady.”

“Yeah.
I’ve been helping them with this nasty little uprising Trinidad has devised.”

She
finally slid the sword in its sheath behind her back.

Damn,
the woman was stunning. He licked his lips as he took in the long legs encased
in black leather, gently flared hips, tiny waist, perfect sized breasts, and
kissable lips. He was sporting a serious towel tent, and he didn’t give one
damn.

She
raised a brow at said towel tent, and he shrugged. “What do you expect? You
have looked at yourself in the mirror, right?”

“Looks
aren’t everything.” She eyed him closer.

“No,
but they sure don’t hurt.”

He
walked to the bed where he’d laid out clean jeans and t-shirt—courtesy of
Ashe—before getting into the shower. He immediately dropped the towel—modesty
never had been his strong point—and reached for the jeans. She gasped behind
him, but after he’d pulled the denim over his hips and turned around to face
her, he was pleased to see she hadn’t averted her eyes.

Damn
but he’d like to have a go with her between the sheets. “What brings you to the
Aleksandrovs’?” he asked as he tugged the t-shirt over his head.

“I
crash here once in awhile,” she said quietly.

Suddenly,
he got the distinct feeling that under her badass facade was a frightened
child. Was she alone? “Why don’t you go home?”

“Nothing
worth going home to.” She shrugged.

She
was alone. If she crashed here on occasion, she had to be a friend of the
Aleksandrov family. Then why hadn’t they brought her into their house and
offered her protection? They must know that anyone tied to them would be in
danger.

“You
can stay here if you like. I don’t bite. Unless you want me to.” He smiled and
winked.

“Don’t
flatter yourself. I’ll find somewhere else to stay.”

“What
is your name?” He needed to know her name almost as badly as he needed his next
breath.

“Alaina.
Alaina Czernik.”

“Well,
Alaina, you can have the bed. I’ll sleep on the couch over there. It’s no big
deal.”

She
hesitated and he held his breath. Finally, after what seemed like forever, she
let out a long sigh. He was sure he’d convinced her to stay, although the fear
of being alone with Trinidad on the loose probably had more to do with
convincing her than he had. Either way, he was going to get to spend some more
time with the sexiest woman he’d ever laid eyes on.

“Fine.
But no funny business.”

“Cross
my heart.”

“Uh
huh. For some reason I don’t believe you,” she said.

“We
can watch movies or play games or just talk if you want. It’s not as if I have
anything pressing going on at the moment. Except for keeping out of sight and
trying to stay alive.”

She
raised a brow at him. “I swear if I find out you’ve lied to me about being
here, and this is some kind of sick, twisted drifter thing, I’ll kill you.”

“I do
believe you would try. But to be clear, I’m not exactly a drifter.”

“You
look like one.”

“Yeah.
I get that a lot. It’s a long story, but hell, I’m willing to tell.”

“Spill
it then. I don’t have anything to do at the moment anyway.”

He
watched as she pulled the scabbard containing the sword from her back and
placed it on the end table next to the couch. She sat down beside it, keeping
it within arm’s reach. He couldn’t blame her. He’d become pretty damned
paranoid himself since Trinidad had brought his ugly mug to the party.

Maybe
if he played his cards right, he could convince the beautiful Alaina that they
could give one another some comfort, some horizontal comfort. His emotions
might be dulled from his botched deal with Satan, but they weren’t dead.
Besides, he’d bet she possessed the ability to bring even a dead heart back to
life. He hadn’t felt this horny in a long time and damned if he wouldn’t try
his best to relieve himself with Alaina. After all, she was the cause of his
discomfort. Why shouldn’t she be the cure for it as well?

It
wasn’t as if she wouldn’t enjoy it. He’d never been a selfish lover, and he’d
be more than generous with her. He put on his most charming smile as he went
and sat beside her. This could prove to be an interesting night. A very
interesting night, indeed.

The
air in the mansion was heavy, tense, and Wilhemina’s warning radar pinged
non-stop. She hadn’t seen Aldin in two days.

While
she’d been worried about the sudden somberness that had seemed to overtake
everyone in the household, she’d been preoccupied by catching up with Lindsey.
She’d missed her sister terribly. And while she didn’t understand the details
about the prophecy that everyone was worried about, she realized that she and
Lindsey were safer here—the modern day
Fort
Knox
of St. Louis—rather than on their own. A visit from Ebony yesterday
had made it clear to her that they were in danger until the uprising was dealt
with.

As if
all of that weren’t enough, her confusing emotions where Aldin was concerned
didn’t help matters. She loved him, but Lindsey had made it perfectly clear
that she would not tolerate anyone in the Aleksandrov family any more than
necessary. While Lindsey had given her blessing if she chose to be with Aldin,
Wilhemina worried that blessing would come with an unintentional strain on her
and Lindsey’s relationship.

How
was she supposed to decide between the man she loved and her sister? She tried
to make herself believe that it wouldn’t come to that, and ultimately neither
of them would put her in a position where she had to choose, but no matter what
she decided, the outcome would have a profound affect on either Aldin or
Lindsey…and her for that matter. She couldn’t imagine losing Aldin, but neither
could she imagine losing Lindsey all over again.

“Hey.
Talk to me.”

Wilhemina
had been lost in deep thought and hadn’t heard Lindsey come out of the
bathroom.

“About?”
She was certain Lindsey could detect the lack of sincerity behind the big smile
she’d put on to conceal the turmoil swirling inside her.

Lindsey
rolled her eyes and plopped on the end of the bed. “I know you better than
anyone. I may have been gone for awhile, but you are a part of me. I know when
something is bothering you.”

“It’s
nothing.” Wilhemina shrugged.

“Okay.”
Lindsey sighed. “Let’s get this whole mess out in the open once and for all.
Shall we?”

“What
do you mean?”

Wilhemina
didn’t want to give up the fight. She was worried about the pain this
discussion might ultimately cause.

“Seriously?”
Lindsey raised a brow. “I’ve already told you that I want you to be happy. If
Aldin makes you happy, I want you to be with him.”

“I
believe that you mean what you say, but the consequences could be too high. I
don’t want to lose you again, Lindsey. I couldn’t bear it. And when this whole
ordeal is over, you’ll be out of here so fast, it’ll make my head spin. I don’t
want to be worried about when I might see you because you don’t want to be
around Aldin or his family.”

“Oh,
Willy. Can you not see that even if we do end up having to do some finagling to
see each other, it would be much worse for me if you gave up the man you loved?
I don’t want to be the reason for that. Would you want to be the reason I gave
up the man I loved? I mean, think about it. How would that make you feel?”

“Miserable.
I only want you to be happy.”

“Exactly.
I want the same for you. You are my sister, and nothing will ever change that. No
one will ever come between us—not Marilena, not time, not distance. But I do
not want you to walk away from Aldin only because you are worried that it will
be awkward for me to be around him. You’ve spent so many years looking for me
that I fear you haven’t had much time to enjoy life. I need you to be happy,
Willy. It’s time for us both to be happy.”

“I’m
scared. I only just found you. I—”

“Hey!
You have always been the strong one.” Lindsey smiled. “Answer me this. If I
wasn’t in the picture, would you try with Aldin? No lies. Give me the truth.”

Wilhemina
thought hard about it. There was only one answer. “Yes.”

“That’s
that then.” Lindsey clapped her hands together. “Willy, love is not easy to
come by. If you truly love him, if you truly believe you have something special
with him, don’t let him get away.”

“I
know little about him and all of this vampire stuff. Do you think he’ll want me
to be like him?”

“That
seems to be the going tradition with life mates.” Lindsey shrugged. “You do
know that Ebony, Avril, and even Geri are vampires right?”

“Holy
shit!” She thought about their flawlessness and couldn’t believe she’d been
such a naive ninny. She wondered how she’d ever made it as a journalist or
reporter when she hadn’t been able to see what was right under her nose.

“Yep.
It’s pretty easy to spot a vampire once you’ve seen one. They are all perfect.
Makes me want to puke. Imagine eating whatever you wanted whenever you wanted
without gaining weight. Barely needing any sleep. Looking twenty-something when
you are hundreds of years old. Must be nice.”

“What
about the drinking blood part?” Wilhemina cocked a brow up.

“I
guess that would be gross.”

They
both laughed.

“Willy?”

“Yeah?”

“Go
find Aldin.”

“Did
I tell you how wonderful it is that you’re back? No one but you has ever called
me Willy. I missed you more than words can express, Lindsey.”

They
hugged.

“I
missed you too, sis. Now go find that man of yours.”

Lindsey
was right. They were sisters, and nothing would ever keep them apart again. If
Aldin loved her—and she hoped he did though he hadn’t said those words to
her—he’d never try to keep her from Lindsey. She slid off the bed and rummaged
through the dresser drawers to find something more suitable to wear than sweats
and a t-shirt. She didn’t want to ask the man she loved if he loved her in
return while looking like a slob.

She
picked a long, black skirt that fell just past her knees and a dark blue,
billowy blouse. It reminded her of the outfit she’d been wearing the first
night she’d met him. After taking a quick shower and dressing, she hugged
Lindsey again, and laughed as she gave her the thumbs up before she left the
room.

* * * *

Aldin
kept a careful vigil on the warehouse from atop the building two blocks south.
The first battle would take place within a matter of hours. No one had had come
up with any obvious magical plan to assure they came out on top in this war.
The best chance of victory in any battle was to know your enemy. They were at a
severe disadvantage where that was concerned. Their only and obvious choice had
been to hunker down, watch, wait, be smarter than their opponents and kick ass
when it came to it—and it would definitely come to it.

The
tension in the air was palpable, and the gnawing deep in his gut warned him
that something terrible was going to happen. He prayed to whatever God might be
listening that they all made it out alive after this skirmish.

Adding
to his own stress, he hadn’t seen Wilhemina for nearly two days. The last time
was when he’d been about to confess his love for her. After they’d been
interrupted, he’d kept his distance. He’d been afraid she’d reject him, tell
him she no longer wanted to be with him because of what Marilena had done to
Lindsey. He’d been a coward and had avoided contact with her altogether.

The
distance hadn’t dulled what he felt for her, hadn’t made anything any easier.
Being away from her had only made the ache in his chest grow stronger minute by
minute. He was near crazy with needing her. He wanted to touch her, make love
to her, hold her in his arms while her nearness soothed him like nothing else
in the world could. He may very well draw his last breath tonight—that
probability doubled with his distraction—and she’d never know how he felt about
her.