He crosses the vast bedroom and sits on the overstuffed couch under the window. Night has settled in, the moon casting its glow over the gardens between the house and the imposing wall surrounding it. Thea lowers onto the seat beside him, hugging a cushion to her chest. 'Okay. You're freaking me out now. What's happened?'

  He licks his lips and looks over at the landscape artwork hanging on the wall opposite him, hoping a script will appear. Some well planned, perfectly articulated speech that will answer all her questions without messing her up more than he already has. No such luck. Whatever happens in the next few minutes, their relationship will change forever. Whether she takes the news well or not, their brother-sister bond will disintegrate, an unfamiliar father-daughter manifestation taking its place.

  He'd only just become accustomed to what they had between them. Thea being his sister is the only true memory he had when he woke up. That lie has damaged him more than losing his memory had. It's like someone has removed true north from his internal compass. Without that one truth to ground him, he feels lost and more alone than ever.

  He looks down as her delicate hand grasps his, squeezing it. 'Whatever it is, we'll deal with it. Talk to me, Court.'

  'Fletch got the results back from your blood test.'

  Her hand goes rigid on his. 'I'm a vampire?'

  He smiles and shakes his head. That would probably have been a better result. 'You're human. Your blood does have some vampire traits, but he doesn't think you're going to change.' He takes a deep breath. She's given him an opening he has to take. 'It's like that because your father... your father...'

  'Who's our father?'

  'No, Thea. I'm... It's me. According to the test I'm your father.'

  His eyes stay on her hand, still resting on his. It's cowardly and weak but he can't bring himself to look at her face. He doesn't want to watch as she pulls away from him.

  The painful silence drags on, each torturous second adding more distance between him and the one person he would give his life for. Then it happens. Along with any chance of getting through this without losing her, her hand disappears from his field of vision.

  Her breath hitches and she swallows a couple of times before speaking. 'How? How is that possible? You're my brother.'

  Still keeping his eyes from her face he clasps his hands together. 'I don't know why we thought we were brother and sister.'

  'I thought that because that's what you told me.'

  'Yeah. I know. I'm presuming I knew the truth, but I honestly don't know for sure. Nix and the others... they didn't know I had— have a daughter. I can only guess I kept you a secret for a reason, but I don't remember why, Thea.'

  The couch moves as she gets up, putting more distance between them. 'How can you not remember? You found me and showed me your file. Was that all fabricated?'

  'I don't know. I...' He scrubs his hands over his face and curses. 'I don't know.'

  'You could have told me the truth from the start. I would have been fine with that. Why did you lie?'

  He looks up at her and his skin turns cold. Tears are pouring from her eyes, but they're not tears of sorrow. She's furious and confused and it's one hundred percent directed at him. 'I wish I knew, but I'm as confused as you are. I wish I could tell you what happened. I wish I could tell you why I told you I'm your brother. But more than anything I wish I could make this right. I don't want to lose you, Thea. I don't give a damn about any of the Blackjack stuff. I couldn't care less if I never find out what happened to my memory. I just want you and me to—'

  'To what? Can you please go now?'

  'Thea, please. I can't leave you like this.'

  'I just need to be by myself for a bit, okay.' She backs into the bathroom, locking the door firmly behind her, killing any chance of fixing this before the damage takes hold. He may have found a part of his old life with the Blackjacks, but he has a horrible feeling it might just have cost him Thea.

  24

  Nix glances up from her screen as someone knocks on her office door. 'Come in.'

  Ethan shuts the door behind him and sits on the chair opposite Nix. 'Fletch told me about Thea. This puzzle is getting more complicated by the minute.'

  'At least we have an answer to that part of the puzzle. I know it will take them time to get used to the idea, but the True Order aren't involved with her. That's one thing I guess.'

  'Very true.' Ethan sits down and crosses his legs. 'So...'

  'So?'

  'How are you?'

  'I'm up to my neck in reports. I don't really have time for a catch up.'

  'Okay, so what's going on, Nix?'

  She sits back and crosses her arms. 'Ethan, I mean it. Say your piece and let me get on with my work.'

  'He's been back two days, right?'

  'Who?'

  Ethan laughs at that and she can't really blame him. 'Seriously, Nix?'

  'Yes. Court's been back for two days. And?'

  'So why haven't you told him about the two of you?'

  She stares at Ethan in stunned silence for a few seconds too long. 'How exactly would you suggest I bring that up? He's just found out he has an adult daughter. Do you not think he's got enough to get his head around without adding a relationship with his boss to the mix?'

  'I understand all that, but he needs the facts, Nix. He's been told about Thea. He knows about the Blackjacks. Why not about you two?'

  Nix lowers her gaze to her desk and sighs. ‘To be honest, Ethan, I’m not sure that’s such a good idea. He doesn’t know and maybe it’s best it stays that way.'

  'Best for who?'

  'Someone took Court. They're still out there. They're still trying to abduct vampires. Now isn't the time to rekindle whatever we had. All it will do is complicate an already painfully complicated situation. I need to stay focused so I don’t lose another member of my team to these bastards. That’s the priority.'

  'Do you still have feelings for him?'

  'Please drop the subject.'

  'No. Do you still have feelings for Court?'

  'Why does that matter?'

  'Because we're friends, Nix.'

  She sighs and slumps back in her chair. 'I love him, Ethan. I thought I was dealing with it, but seeing him again... I still love him.'

  'Then stop being the leader of the Blackjacks for one minute and just be Nix. Tell Court that you love him. Loving him isn’t going to put a target on the team. There’s already one of those on each of us. Has been for years. You really should tell him.'

  She laughs harshly and rubs her forehead. 'It's not that simple. He has no memory, Ethan. Nothing. The Court that came back... that's not our Court. But he is.' She scrunches her fists in her hair, resisting the urge to scream in frustration. 'This is the most infuriating situation I could have imagined. I thought I was handling this better. I guess I failed.'

  'No, you didn't. You're coping brilliantly in a situation that must be a nightmare. Whatever is going on in his head, that's still Court. He's still in there.'

  'You read Fletch's report. He may never get his memory back. We still don't know what they did to him. You know, I used to lie in bed and stare at the ceiling for hours. I'd play the entire situation out in my head. Court comes back, we'd lock ourselves away and make up for lost time. I had planned every single detail out, Ethan. Every. Single. Detail.' Her smile fades as the reality sinks in. 'But then this happens. Don't get me wrong, I can't tell you how happy I am to see him again, but...' She laughs to herself. 'It's a fucking cruel joke, Ethan. I desperately want him to remember me. I keep thinking that maybe tomorrow he'll wake up and suddenly remember what we had. What if he never remembers us?'

  'Then you're back to my initial tell him advice.'

  'Surely you can see how seriously fucked up the timing is. I can't do that to him. Not yet. I need my head to be focused on the group and fighting the True Order. I can't afford to let Court's miraculous second coming get in the way of that.'

  'Wow, I almost believe you. Did you rehearse that?'

  'I don't need you to believe me. I just need you to drop the matter and let me do my job. Which right now involves finding out exactly what the True Order is up to and if they were behind all this.'

  Ethan chews his bottom lip as he stares at her. Hidden by the desk, Nix digs her fingers in her legs, hoping he buys her 'everything is fine' routine. It's not a lie. Just a work in progress at the moment. More like a work needing serious progress.

  If Ethan has any doubts about her ability to do her job, he could request she back away from this. She tries to keep the tears of panic from her eyes. If he forces her to stand down, she'll have nothing.

  'I'm not suggesting you head off with Court on a romantic getaway. All I'm saying is that you both deserve the truth. Being in love with him doesn't make you less of a leader. You've given the Blackjacks everything you are since we started. You are allowed to have a life as well. The rest of the team do too... well, some of them. Don't think Fallon and Davyn are ones for socialising. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that you and Court did nothing wrong. You fell in love. End of story. It's not the disaster you seem to think it is.'

  ‘But it is. When one half of the couple doesn't remember what they had, it's a huge disaster. If I tell him I risk influencing his feelings. The last thing I want is for Court to be with me because he feels obliged. I'd rather we kept it to business than have something false. Now isn't the time to bring any of this up. Please leave it alone. I'm asking you as my friend to leave it alone.'

  He grimaces but doesn't argue. 'Fine. But just for now.'

  'So enough about me. How is your love life? Do your grandparents still think you're a respectable male?'

  His face drops and Nix instantly regrets her words. She's angry at herself and the situation, not Ethan. 'I'm so sorry, Ethan. I shouldn't have said it like that. I'm frustrated and you got the brunt of it.'

  He smiles sadly. 'It's the truth.' Ethan slumps back in the chair. 'I guess we're both lost causes on that front.'

  'It doesn't have to be that way for you.'

  He scoffs. 'Not so sure about that. If I tell my grandparents their only grandchild and heir to their name prefers males to females I'd be disowned. You know what vampire high society is like. Same sex couples are a no-no. My grandparents are so embedded in the hierarchy they can't see beyond it. If they knew I was gay and involved in setting up a rogue group of fighters I'd be ticking so many unacceptable boxes they might just implode.' He pauses and a smile grows on his face. 'That could be an option.'

  Nix laughs at the suggestion. 'It's a little drastic.'

  'Yeah, well so is dictating who people can and can't fall in love with. They're expecting me to settle down and marry an upstanding female and continue their very long and distinguished line. If I bring home a male, upstanding or not, I'd be disowned. Then I'd be broke and there'd be no Blackjacks.'

  'Ethan—'

  'I know what you're going to say. We just need a few more years, okay. Once I build up a buffer to keep us running, I can tell them to stuff their pomp and circumstance. I may even bring home a guy for them to meet. Test out my implosion theory.'

  Nix doesn't push the topic. She's had this conversation with him before and he's adamant the Blackjacks are the priority. His family are at the top of the social ladder and that means so is he. Ethan is already on their wrong side by inheriting most of his mother's human genes. Which is something he has to hide in front of his overbearing grandmother.

  She detests anything human and the fact her son bred with one never went down well. She loves Ethan... well, in her own way, but maturely decided to ignore the human side of him. Maybe she thought it would disappear if she didn't acknowledge it. If they ever manage to get the True Order under control Nix fully intends on dealing with the rigid aristocracy. Their time was coming to an end too. 'It's a conversation you're going to have to have sooner or later.'

  'I'll go with later for now, thank you.'

  'So I guess we'll both die old and alone.'

  'Don't worry, we can keep each other company. Anyway, the reason for my visit wasn't just to stick my nose in your personal life. Since Court reappeared, we've run a few checks on missing vampires in the country.' He digs in the case at his feet and hands the file across the desk to Nix. She reads the number, frowns, then reads again. 'Is this right?'

  Ethan nods slowly. 'Afraid so.'

  'How did we miss forty-seven vampires going missing?'

  'That number covers the whole of the UK. Not that it’s an excuse. We've been tracking reported True Order removals... but these are different. The vampires I'm talking about have just vanished. Their family, friends... they assumed they moved or lost contact, or are hiding to avoid the Order.'

  'Are you sure that's not what's happened? It's a bit of a stretch to think they were taken like Court.'

  'I'd love to say I wasn't sure, but the numbers don't lie, Nix. These vampires, all of them male, are missing.'

  'Have any of them shown up again?'

  'We're looking but so far he's the only one we can find. There's nothing to say more haven't resurfaced. They could be lying low to avoid being taken again. I'll keep going and send over any more information I find.'

  She doesn't look up as he leaves the room, closing the door behind him. Nix stares at the number on the file in her hands. Forty-seven is a terrifying number. Ethan is probably right. She can be with Court and run the Blackjacks, but not now. Not with this many Hybrid vampires missing. Finding out what's going on will have to take priority over her feelings for Court.

  25

  Court stares across the table at Fletch. 'They tried to what?'

  Fletch makes a face and clears his throat. 'From what I can make out, someone tried to alter your DNA. There's something in Prime blood which makes it pretty damn lethal to Primes in large doses. It's like Russian Roulette for Primes. Too much and they get addicted, not enough and they could starve. It's part of the reason the old families decided to allow mixed mating. Anyway, you're not Prime, but your blood has some of the properties.'

  'I'm assuming it didn't before I disappeared.'

  'Nope. I may not know a lot about what happened to you, but I do know you were taken for your blood. There's no other reason. Your blood has been modified, but I don't know why. The problem is until we figure it out, might be best you don't feed any Hybrids. It's too strong for Hybrids, but not quite strong enough to sustain a Prime.'

  'So what good am I to them?'

  'I'm guessing they have some way to extract the parts they need and use this to feed a Prime without bringing on Blood Fever. To be honest, I'm making this up as I go.'

  'Are you sure he's off limits to Hybrids?' Nix asks.

  Fletch nods. 'As sure as I can be without trying it out on any volunteers, and no Shep, I am not looking for volunteers.'

  Shep grunts as he lowers his hand.

  'It would also explain the tattoo on your back.' Fletch pulls his chair closer to Court's. 'Listen, I know this is probably scary as hell.'

  'You think? I've been genetically modified to be what... a vampire snack bar?'

  Fletch grimaces. 'Would have used a slightly better description myself, but I guess that's accurate. I'm not going to lie to you. This is so far beyond my level of expertise. I'm going to have to get Ethan's guys involved. What I can say is that you are healthy, Court. Apologies for the way this is going to sound, but you were... looked after for the most part. Whatever they did to bring on these changes, they wanted to keep you alive.'

  'Not sure that makes me feel better. Did whatever they do to me mess with my eyes or could I always get into heads and pull memories out?'

  ‘What do you mean by pull memories out?’ Fletch asks.

  ‘I did it a few times to Thea. Not intentionally, but it happens when I’m tired or my own memories are trying to break through. But when I did use the fucked up skill on her I was able to go through her memories and make her relive them.’ Court looks down at the table in front of him and shakes his head. ‘It was horrible for her to go through.’

  Fletch glances at Nix then back at Court. ‘Well, that’s a new one. This new addition could have something to do with whatever they did to you. Prime abilities are far more enhanced than Hybrids. Their pure blood combined with their wings - which kind of act like an amplifier - ramps up their senses and any other little tricks they can do. I'm guessing by enhancing the Prime alterations in your DNA, they've also ramped up your abilities. Your eyesight was scary good before and you could get in people's heads, which is always a fun party trick, but pulling memories out is a whole new trick.'

  'Not quite a trick.'

  'It could be,' Nix says. 'The problem at the moment is you don't have a clue how to use it. We don't even know its full capabilities.'

  'Yeah, and that suits me just fine,' Court says. He has no interest in exploring his new ability in the slightest. 'What about my memory?'

  Fletch sighs as he leans back in his chair. 'Ah, well that's still a bit of a mystery. Unless I know exactly what they did to you, I can't know if that was as a result of what they did or if it was intentional. We're not finished trying to figure all of this out, Court. Every piece of the puzzle helps bring us closer to whoever did this to you. There's no way we're backing down from this.'

  'So why would you bother to go to all this trouble? Not you. I mean whoever did this. Can the Primes not feed each other? Why do they need to alter my blood so they have a food source?'

  'Vampire blood is highly addictive,' Nix says, 'Addiction runs rife in the older generations. The more blood a vampire consumes the higher their chances of becoming addicted. The chances of becoming addicted increases tenfold for Primes. That's part of the reason they're a dying breed. Primes can't drink Prime blood. It's like a heroin addict taking a massive hit of pure heroin. But, drinking Hybrid blood doesn't give them everything they need to thrive, so they generally mix the two. It's only going to work for so long though. The addiction will hit eventually. What the Primes need is something less harmful than Prime blood, but with the same kick.'

 

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