The Watcher, page 39
part #1 of Fleur de Lis Series
The thought of crazy vampire cats roaming the New York City streets struck me with terror. I pictured a cat entering a home and attacking a baby.
“But why vampire cats?” I asked.
“Because Maximo enjoys experimenting with animals, weapons, and people's minds,” Zachary said.
“That's disturbing,” I said, glaring at the impure kitten.
“We will find them all—by the end of the night,” Zachary said.
We reached Fernan's mansion and entered the garage. Zachary lifted Christian and carried him inside the elevator. Gabriel licked Christian's wounds, holding the cat away from his body.
“What a night,” I uttered.
Gabriel exited the elevator on the first floor and headed to see John with the kitten in his hands.
I opened my brother's bedroom door, and Zachary carefully placed him on his bed. Serano walked into the bedroom and laid down next to him.
“Good boy, Serano,” I said.
“He needs his sleep. Tomorrow is a new day,” Zachary said.
“Thanks,” I said.
We exited and Zachary closed Christian's door gently.
“We need to get debriefed,” Zachary said.
“Why aren't you tracking Maximo Reyes?” I asked.
“Because there is no way that I am leaving you and Christian. John has sent other Guardians to track him. Maximo is clever, and you both need me or my brother to watch over you,” Zachary said, and he leaned toward my lips and kissed me.
“I shouldn't have brought Christian there. He didn't need to see that in person,” Zachary said as we descended in the elevator toward the surveillance room.
“How could you have known? Christian would have seen it in photos, and he would have still freaked,” I said.
The vision of Laura's corpse was starting to also take a toll on me. I started to feel guilty for disliking her.
“Let's just get through this night,” I said, trying to sort out my thoughts.
“Just take a second to breathe,” Zachary said, and he held my hand as he opened the surveillance room door.
All eyes stared when we walked inside, and Fernan was petting the black kitten.
Chapter 25
Dancing with the Devil
“I can't believe she died so young,” a brunette sobbed, wearing a short, black dress that showed off her cleavage.
“She must have been drunk and on her medication to have fallen down the stairs,” a blonde woman said, snapping her thin lips, chewing gum.
“Shut up Jen. Why is it that she had to be drunk and high? It was late at night, maybe she just fell and broke her neck. Don't turn her into an alcoholic!” The brunette responded with anger.
“I am sorry,” Jen muttered, fixing her long blonde extensions.
Jen's skirt was short enough to reveal a large Betty Boop tattoo on her left thigh. She wore high heel boots with extravagant gold buckles on the side.
“Don't yell at her Lisa! We are all upset, trying to figure out what happened,” a short redhead said with tight black leggings and a tight low-cut shirt.
Lisa smoked a thin menthol cigarette, outside, leaning against the stair railing of the funeral home. Her red nails were long, and her curly hair reached her collar bone. She spoke with a Brooklyn accent. Three of her friends crowded around her. They all wore inappropriate clothing with high heels and short leather jackets. One of them had on a strong perfume that was making me want to sneeze.
“Who is she?” Lisa asked in a low voice, glaring at me.
“That's Christian's sister,” Jen whispered in Lisa's ear.
They all stared at me. I was wearing Armani black pants and a black jacket. My new leather boots concealed a razor-sharp blade inside the right pointy sole that can protrude by pressing the side of my heel. A Christmas gift from Vivian. My hair was up in Chinese hair sticks. And a grey scarf was wrapped around my neck.
“She's the stuck-up martial artist,” Lisa said loudly as her eyes stared at me.
I looked away. Not wanting to cause any problems at the funeral home, knowing quite well that Laura never liked me. The sky was beginning to turn dark with a few clouds hovering over us. I was standing, ten feet away, on the other side of the railing, waiting for Christian and John. They were paying their respect to Laura's family. Christian had decided to donate money for the expenses. He had ordered hundreds of beautiful flowers, and a white casket with gold trimmings. I felt terrible about her murder and waited outside.
Fernan sent Guardians to protect the funeral home. Many guests attended and most spoke with Brooklyn accents. Laura had lived in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, most of her life before moving to Long Island City. She also had a big Italian family with many cousins, and I believe Lisa was one of them.
I thought about what had happened in the last few days. Maximo had released stray cats in Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn. It took three days to find them all. Sebastian had been busy and without sleep. The Guardians used heat sensor eyewear to spot the cat’s lower temperature and track them. Fernan ordered to put all the cats to sleep, except for the black kitten we found. He kept him in his bedroom and named him, Little Buddy. Christian cried to Fernan to save the little kitten. He couldn't bear the thought of killing him. This game Maximo had played worked. It had annoyed all of us, and I was ready to rip his heart out. I hated the abuse of animals, and Maximo was going to meet my vengeful sword—one day.
“It was a closed casket,” Christian said, walking down the front steps.
Lisa batted her eyelashes at Christian and her friends checked him out. He slightly smiled at them.
“You did well, Christian,” John said, padding his back.
They both looked sharp wearing fitted black suits, except Christian had on black patent leather sneakers. Dante opened the Limo door for us to enter. I could tell Christian had been crying by his swollen reddish eyes. He placed his sunglasses over them to cover his sorrow and gave the funeral home one last look. Lisa leaned sexy against the rail, showing more of her long legs.
“All the women in this family are the same,” I mumbled, getting inside the Limo, and John glanced at me and then at Lisa.
“I am in the mood for Peter Luger Steakhouse. Let's go to Williamsburg,” Christian said.
“The steakhouse it is,” Dante said, closing the Limo door.
The ride to the Brooklyn restaurant was a quiet one, and Christian looked melancholy. We parked in front of the steakhouse. There were a couple of men in suits smoking cigars outside by the sidewalk. They looked like Italian gangsters. John held the door open for us. The front of the restaurant was an open bar, filled with many businessmen and women. We ordered drinks and Christian gave the hostess a hundred-dollar bill to seat us quicker.
“This way,” she said, after a fifteen-minute wait. She flirtatiously smiling at my brother.
She sat us to the left side of the restaurant. Dante checked out her violet tight dress and high legs as she walked away. The rustic wooden tables gave the place a masculine atmosphere. Every table was occupied by business people and large pieces of steaks. All the waiters sounded Irish or English and were in their fifties. They were loud and extremely friendly. Christian removed his sunglasses.
I looked at the menu, pondering what to order. There wasn't a lot of options, mostly the size of the dried aged steaks to order. Christian ordered the largest steak for us to share with onions, tomatoes, and cream of spinach.
“I love this place,” Dante said and sipped his pint of Guinness.
“I could see why you boys like to come here,” I said, watching Dante roll up his sleeves to show off his tattoos.
“There are mostly business people at this hour, and I like that it's loud,” Dante said.
“And the owner is good friends with Sebastian. The place is guarded by us—for many years,” John said.
“Was the bartender...a vamp?” I asked.
“Yes, he wears contacts,” John said.
“I thought his skin looked too perfect,” I said, remembering ordering drinks from him.
“And why don't you wear contacts?” Christian asked John.
“Because you will still be able to see my eyes glowing—from underneath,” John replied.
“That sucks for you,” Christian said.
The waiter served each of us a large piece of raw onion that had a tomato on top. He handed us two bottles of their sauce. Christian drowned his onion in the brown sauce and took a massive fork bite.
I hesitated to take a bite out of the onion, thinking onion breath and kissing Zachary.
“Stop being a wuss, and eat it,” Christian said with his mouth full.
I cut a piece of an onion and tomato and dipped it in the sauce. I couldn't believe how delicious it tasted. No onion breath either. “I am impressed,” I said.
“Good, huh,” Dante said taking a huge bite.
John was sitting next to me. He ate elegantly, cutting the onion smoothly with a drizzle of sauce on top.
Christian rose to his feet. “Waiter...waiter,” he called out to the Irish man.
“Can I help you?” he asked.
“I desperately need paper,” Christian said.
“I will bring you some paper,” the waiter said.
“What do you see?” John asked.
Christian rubbed Aaron's eagle ring. “A new face sitting with Aaron and Madeline,” he said.
The waiter brought over some paper. Christian thanked him and begun to draw. Madeline was wearing hot shorts and a tiny tank top. Of course, Christian would be drawing her first. The next drawing was of a male that looked like Drako Ward, but taller, and more muscular.
“Clyde Ward,” I said.
“Very good, Skye,” John said. “And how did you know that?”
“Orlando and Svana told me about him in Iceland,” I said.
“There's another Ward?” Christian asked with a disgusted look.
“Oh yes, and he has been hiding for over a decade. I guess he's back to avenge his cousin's death,” John said.
“He's also a rapist,” Dante said, shaking his head.
“Does he have an ability?” I asked.
“He is fast but doesn't have the strength like Drako to throw daggers as fast as bullets,” John answered.
“He quickly grabs his victims, tranquilizing them, and throws them inside a van. They never see him coming,” Dante said.
“And they are all women?” I asked.
“Yes,” John said. “We believe he's been hiding with Maximo for all these years—and now they are peeking their heads.”
“Life is lovely, isn't it?” Christian asked, taking the last bite of his onion and continuing to draw.
“My guess is that Aaron wanted you to see, who else we will be confronting us,” John said.
“Or maybe his eyes just got tired wearing those dark sunglasses,” Christian said.
“I hope everyone is hungry,” the waiter said, holding a large tray.
He placed the biggest steak I had ever seen at the center of the table and four plates of cream of spinach. My eyes widened.
“I don't think we can finish this,” I muttered.
“Oh...we are going to finish this!” Christian said, with a steak knife and a fork in his hand.
“Where's Zachary?” Dante asked, serving himself a large piece of steak.
“He's in charge of the satellite tonight. Giving Sebastian and Fernan some time to rest,” John said. “We also took turns catching the stray cats. I had to chase one inside Saint Patrick's Cathedral—late last night. It attacked the priest.”
“Did he freak out?” Christian asked.
“The cat resembled a ravenous Garfield with red eyes, and it went straight for his neck. When I arrived, the priest was trying to pull it off his neck, and was crying out to God, rebuking the Devil,” John said.
“I would have been crying out to God too,” Dante said.
I chuckled. “I know it's not funny, but it sounds like a scene in a movie,” I said.
“I had to grab the cat, sedate him with a tranquilizer, and heal the priest,” John said.
“Did he allow you to lick his neck?” Christian asked.
“No, he screamed and panicked when he saw my glowing eyes. I ended up knocking him out,” John said.
“You knocked out a priest!” Christian said out loud, making the people sitting at the table next to us stare.
John fixed his glasses that were lightly tinted, clearing his throat. Christian glared at the people next to us and they looked away. The restaurant was noisy, and I could barely hear what the people sitting near us were saying.
“You are definitely going to hell for that,” Dante said, laughing.
“I had no choice. Sebastian was on his way back from Brooklyn. I had to wait for him to arrive so he could erase the priest's memory,” John said.
“Did this happen last night?” I asked.
“Yes, it was a rough night. Maximo is a piece of shit,” John griped.
“I concur,” Christian said.
“Vampire cats, and bloodthirsty villains in New York. It doesn't get any better than that,” I said, then I took a bite out of the steak.
My brother watched me with careful eyes and smiled brightly. He knew right away that I loved it.
“Mmm, wow...unbelievable,” I moaned, taking another bite. “Next time you come here, you better invite me.”
“Did anyone ever tell you, it's rude to speak with your mouth full,” Christian said as cream of spinach and steak came out of his mouth, and then he smiled with food stuck between his teeth.
“Eww, really Christian! I can't take you anywhere,” John complained.
“You just wasted a good piece of meat,” Dante grumbled.
“I don't know what you are talking about,” Christian said, washing his food down with a German beer.
On the ride back home, I could barely move. My stomach was full to the maximum. I checked my emails on my phone and opened one up from Vivian. She was calling me in an hour. I wanted to get back home to speak to her in private.
Christian padded his full stomach. “That was a feast!” he bellowed then burped.
“The smell of your burp is going to remain in my nose for hours...thank you,” John said.
“You are welcome,” Christian said, burping again. He then cringed and swallowed hard. “Gross,” he gagged, touching his throat.
“Some food came up. Didn't it?” I asked.
“Yeah, some cream of spinach that tasted like a little vomit,” Christian replied, savoring his mouth.
Dante entered Fernan's garage as John laughed, “That's what you get!”
We slowly exited the Limo, resembling hippos. “I can finally take a nap,” Christian moaned, stretching his arms in the air.
The garage had a new silver armor truck that shined bright. It was parked next to Sebastian's Maybach. I guess he had decided to stay at the mansion and not at his house in SoHo.
“Don't forget, we are training tomorrow,” John said.
“I know...and Skye you better be there,” Christian said. “No more vacation time and sleeping late with Zachary.”
“I don't sleep late with Zachary. We are up hours before you, doing Tai Chi.”
“Yeah, naked Tai Chi and amongst other things that speed up your heartbeat,” Christian teased.
John started laughing and Dante chuckled as we ascended in the elevator.
If my brother was standing near me, I would have given him a purple nipple. He was lucky to have John standing between us.
“I don't know why you boys are laughing. None of what you see is hidden from Christian. He knows all your dirty secrets and intimate moments.”
Dante's eyes widened. “You wouldn't...right Christian.”
“Don't listen to Skye. I don't watch my friends with their girlfriends, even if they are dating, hot women with voluptuous breasts,” Christian joked, and I began to laugh.
“Told you so,” I said.
“I guess, I should begin wearing dark sunglasses when I am out with Cheryl,” Dante said. “And Katie, Donna, and Jen...”
“Wait, how many women do you go out with?” I asked in shock.
“I could never commit, but I am a complete gentleman...always,” Dante said and smiled at me.
“Now John...I have never seen him with a woman.” Christian said.
“I know, why is that?” I asked.
John removed his sunglasses. “I have a twenty-four-hour job protecting Christian and you. When this war is over, I will have time to concentrate on loving a woman.”
“Dude! Do not torture yourself over us. Have a little fun.” Christian asked.
John's eyebrows flared. “I know how to have fun.”
“My cousin Cai is into you,” Christian said.
“Please let's move on from this topic,” John said with an annoyed facial expression.
As everyone exited the elevator on the first floor, I headed up to my bedroom. I heard a woman's laughter coming from the end of the hallway, passed my door, and saw lights flickering. I peeked inside the door that was halfway opened. The burgundy and gold French room was lit by candles and there was a young pretty blonde sitting on a luxuriant chair. Sebastian had been drinking from her neck. She had two bite marks that were starting to heal. Her eyes were glassy. She was in a trance, and there was a wine glass on the gold table next to her. Sebastian turned to look at me with blood dripping from his mouth. I stood there motionless and speechless. I have never seen Sebastian in his true vampire form. He actually frightened me.
In a few seconds, he was standing in front of me. “Are you afraid of me?” Sebastian asked, closing the door behind him. “She won't remember a thing.”
His long hair was pushed back, and his dark blue suit was modern and fitted to perfection. His silky, striped, button down shirt had blood stains on the collar. And his aquatic scent was intoxicating.
“I am surprised...that's all,” I gasped. “I thought you would be sleeping.”
“I needed a bite to eat first,” he said, wiping the blood off his chin with a handkerchief.
“Did you ever drink from me? Without me knowing?” I asked.
“Is that what bothers you?” He asked with a smile. “I can't hypnotize you—because of your vampire blood. You would have to agree for me to and then fully trust me for it to work.”
