Command My Heart ~ Book 2 - The Royal Blood Collection

Chapter 12

Of all the people in the world that I had to fall in love with, it had to be a princess that was in the firing line of one very nasty gangster. The guy on the lounge, the guy that I'd assumed the worst over, it was her brother. She couldn't even tell me that, I felt annoyed and a little hurt. Maybe it was too new for her? I don't know.

What I did know was how much trouble I was now in. Worse than that, Nisha was in trouble too. Could it be the reason that she had to return here? Was there a threat in the north? Maybe it was Otanawa.

I smiled when I thought about that baby. She was a sweet little thing and it felt like I owed it to her mother to be there for the child. Passing her off to another was not what the beta wanted me to do and I felt a little deprived. And definitely annoyed.

It was cold and I was grateful that I'd stopped by the shops and bought a space heater and a microwave on my return home. Now I sat by the window, drinking a cup of warm blood in my heated room, watching as the army raided the motel across the road. My movements would have to be more covert now. If I wanted to get to Nisha then I'd have to be careful.

As for the army finding this apartment, they'd have trouble. I'd registered it in a false name because my life before joining the army was one of risk. Having somewhere safe to sleep during the day was necessary because vampires could not be out in the sun but having that safety was not easy. I'd joined the army to escape and hide. Now I've walked straight back into it. I was a fool that was being led around by my heart. If I wasn't careful, I'd be dead soon.

Then there was the other issue, the fact that Lucius wanted Nisha and her family dead. If I didn't do the job, someone else would. Munro was an idiot but Lucius didn't like failure so, the fool would get the job done. Lucius was right about one thing tonight; my timing was impeccable.

Stepping away from the window, I dropped the blinds and pulled the heavy material across the rod. When I'd moved into this place, they had a flimsy rod with a thin piece of material that was full of holes. My first task was that I replaced it with something that was strong and spanned the entire wall. Then I hung a heavy and thick piece of material that blocked out every ray of light that tried to get in here.

Ensuring the locks were turned, I rinsed out my cup and got ready for a day of sleep. I'd like to say it would be a good sleep but I had a terrible feeling that I'd spend the entire day turning constantly. Worrying. Stressed out. If I had the ability to deal with the issue right now, I would but the sun would be rising soon and I didn't need to be burned to a crisp. The issues would wait. Lucius had assigned the task to me, no one else would be going after Nisha and her family.

As I laid down, I sighed. I didn't realize how much I'd miss my own bed until I felt the army's version of a coffin. They were definitely not made for comfort. Lowering the lid, I hoped that the information that Lucius had given me tonight was solid. I'd walked into that place hoping that he'd be able to give me a led to Nisha, little did I know that he'd give me so much more.

Lucius told me where I needed to be. He told me how to get close to the royal family because he understood that I'd been in hiding for a while now and didn't have any idea or knowledge of the changes that had happened. In his opinion, he was gracious when giving me a week to get the job done. If it were Munro, it would have been a day. I was grateful too but a day would have made me more determined. Of course, I was determined but with a week, I could do a little surveillance first.

Not that I wanted to spend a week watching Nisha. I wanted to rush to her, tell her everything and then hold her tight. To keep her safe, to keep her in my arms. I wanted to see Otanawa, I wanted to see how well she was doing. Resigned to the fact that for a few hours, I couldn't do anything, I closed my eyes and hoped that sleep would take me quickly.

When I heard a beeping sound, I opened my eyes. Feeling groggy and bewildered, I lifted the lid and realized that I'd fallen asleep. As to how long, I don't know. The room was dark aside from the alarm clock that glowed with the time. One bright green light told me that it was three pm and definitely not the time for this tired vampire to be awake.

The sound was not coming from anywhere in my apartment. Standing in the coffin, I pressed my ear to the wall and sneered. My neighbor had an alarm and it was loud. Thumping on the wall, I yelled at them to turn it off. Seconds later, I was drowned in silence. It was too late, I was wide awake and very annoyed. My trip home tonight, I'd be buying a pair of earplugs.

At three pm, the sun was still high and bright. I didn't want to be awake this early but there was no chance of falling asleep again. Begrudgingly, I got out of the coffin and lumped myself on the lounge. Flicking the television on, I changed channels and reveled in the simplicity of it. No being told what to do or drop and give me fifty. Just lazing around on the lounge, watching the news.

My thoughts of lazing on the lounge were soon dashed, I perked up when seeing the brother. The report was mostly about his partner, she was doing the ribbon cutting at a new welfare center. He stood in the background, letting her have a moment to shine.

Hearing noise outside the building, I flicked off the television and stood next to the window. Carefully I pulled back the material and looked out at the street. The sun was on the other side of the building. Safe enough for me to look out the window, not safe enough to be walking around yet.

The army was back or maybe they'd never left. They were still across the road, rounding up the occupants. I thought they were looking for me but it would appear that I was wrong. Both men and women were being dragged out of the building and loaded into the back of several trucks.

Conscription was not on the agenda; the army had a surplus of bodies to fight the humans. Vampires were eager to sign up for the war. So, what was the deal here? The only thought that filled my mind was that they were humans that were plotting to bring down the vampires. In the past, the humans were just killed for such a thing but we had a new king now and it would appear that he's benevolent. Although, the view of the street was not an indication of their future.

Turning down the sound on the television, I had a shower, dressed for a new day and warmed a drink of blood. Waiting for the sun to go down was a pain in the ass. With a huff of frustration, I stretched out on the lounge and waited for the clock to tick the rest of the day away.

Hearing a thump, I sat up with a fright. Bleary eyed, I looked around the small apartment. It was dark and the thump on the wall was from the neighbor on the other side. Flicking off the television, I stood and checked that the sun was down. Satisfied that it was safe, I pulled on my jacket, grabbed my bag of tricks and left the apartment.

As I made my way out of the building, I pulled on a cap and did up my jacket. Not seen by the world that passed me by. Avoid their attention, don't make a lasting impression. It is the only way to remain alive in the dark and seedy underworld that I had once inhabited. I was being dragged back into it, I didn't want to but if it meant that Nisha and her family were safe then I'd do it.

My thoughts lingered to Otanawa, wondering how she was doing. I wanted to see her again, I'd barely had a chance to hold her. Was I going to regret going to the o club for the rest of my life? Yes, absolutely.

Grabbing a map from the city information desk to pretend I was a tourist, I kept going until I found somewhere that was out of the cool breeze. Finding the leader's home was easy, getting in would be the hard part.

I was doing it all on foot, avoiding any cabs or the horrid transit system. It out of anything was the most dangerous for me, the place was littered with cameras. The city street was bad enough, lots of security cameras that could cause problems if someone recognized me. It was likely that Fenwick now knew that I'd fled. Then again, he thought that I was a flake so maybe he thought that I was passed out somewhere, sleeping off a lot of alcohol.

If he wanted to think that I was a flake and it kept him occupied while I got the job done, then so be it.