The Vampire SEAL Collection, page 138
Sam gripped his father’s shoulder. “That’s all in the past. I’m your son, and I love and respect you.”
Jo slipped her fingers in mine. “Dad, I agree with Sam. If the course of events from that day when my foster dad stabbed me didn’t happen, then I wouldn’t have met Webb.” She peered up at me with love in her eyes then regarded her father. “And I wouldn’t have met you. We’re a family now. And Webb will be your son-in-law. So can we please go home? I have a wedding to plan.”
After eyeing Edmund’s head one more time, Steven walked over to the edge of the earth and tossed the head into the black abyss.
If that wasn’t the ending to close up the past, then I didn’t know what was.
All of us stood in silence for two heartbeats before Steven sighed heavily. “Let’s go home.”
Man, that sounded fantastic. The realization of the mission, Edmund’s death, my future with Jo, starting a family, getting out of the military, getting married, and most of all, making love to Jo hit me like a F5 tornado. My stomach knotted, my pulse sped up, and all I wanted to do was sweep Jo into my arms and take her right there. But she deserved a plush suite, soft music, champagne, and a bed of rose petals rather than dirt, dead bodies, and a dungeon.
As we made our way out, Jo explained to us how Jonah had killed Patrick.
“So Steven, that phone call you got at the hotel before Tripp and I left, that was Jonah?”
Steven nodded as we exited through the door in the mountain. The crisp air was a welcome relief over the stench in the dungeon.
“I couldn’t tell anyone,” Steven said. “When I heard he and Dyson had fled, I got ahold of Jonah. I didn’t know how successful Jonah would be, but I had asked him to take out my brother first chance he had.”
I trudged through the thicket. “And Dyson’s motivation for siding with Edmund? Did Jonah explain that part?”
“Apparently, Dyson’s reason was merely family,” Steven said from behind me. “He has a sister who lost the chance to make the change from human to vampire because their father passed too soon. So he funded half of Edmund’s operation.”
I’d been way off base. I would’ve sworn Dyson wanted money or power. Regardless, I owed Jonah for giving me blood so I could heal so quickly and also for being there for Jo. I had seriously thought that when I finally got into the fortress, I would find Jo’s dead body. Then again, that thought paled in comparison to the memory of my sword embedded in Jo’s throat.
I shook off that image. Man, I had so many memories of near-death experiences that it would take an eternity to erase them all. But I didn’t care. I had Jo to help me forget all the bad that had happened in my life.
21
Jo
After four weeks of preparation, my big day was finally here. I stood in front of a mirror in an upstairs bedroom in Victor’s mansion, staring at myself and willing the nervous nellies to quiet down inside me.
Since we’d gotten back from Alaska, life had been refreshing, crazy, joyous, and to some extent, a little strange. It had taken a week after our return for Edmund’s death to sink in. Even then, the notion that I wouldn’t be fighting, running, or always looking over my shoulder for Edmund hadn’t come to light until I started planning my wedding. Dad hadn’t protested when I wanted to go shopping. He hadn’t sent bodyguards with me. I could hang out with Darcy without worrying if one of Edmund’s men would turn up and kidnap one of us.
I sighed, thinking about how Webb would react when he saw me in my wedding dress. I’d hardly seen him in the last couple of weeks, and that was probably a good thing since we couldn’t keep our hands off each other and he was still being a gentleman. My pulse sped up at the notion that tonight would be the night we would make love for the first time. Yeah, my heart was full-on galloping at that thought since I’d never had sex before. It wasn’t that I was scared. I knew Webb would be gentle, but my fear was whether I would be good or know what to do. Out of all of our make-out sessions, I had kissing and groping down to a science, but nothing else.
I took in slow and even breaths as the door squeaked open. Darcy glided in with her blond hair twisted up in a fancy style, much like mine. Her red dress hugged her curves as the satin fabric pooled to her feet. I’d wanted red for my maid of honor and my bridesmaids, Olivia, Alia, and Crysta. The color was festive and matched the pretty poinsettias that were scattered around the mansion along with the Christmas decorations.
“The guests are arriving,” Darcy said. “Are you ready?”
I inhaled then shivered. “I am. Maybe a little nervous.”
She giggled. “You should be. It’s your big day. And you look absolutely beautiful.” She went over to the chair near the fireplace and grabbed my veil. “Turn around.”
I faced the mirror once again while she secured the veil to the back of my hair, which was braided into a twist. I’d wanted a dress that was simple, and I’d found one almost immediately when I’d entered a dress shop in the city. The sheath gown had a beaded bodice, empire waist, and capped sleeves. It was made of satin and crepe with a sweep train that fell to the floor elegantly.
“There,” she said. “Now you’re ready.”
I fingered my mother’s ruby and diamond necklace that my dad had given me. I wished my mom was alive and here to see me now.
“She is.” Dad’s voice peppered the air.
I tore my gaze away from my reflection to find him waltzing in, dressed in a tuxedo with a red bow tie. His hair was pulled back and secured at the nape of his neck, his face was smooth, and his green eyes were cloudy as he came up behind me.
“Your mom is watching down on you.” He grasped my shoulders gently and guided me around. “And if she was here, she would say how beautiful her daughter is and how proud she is of you. Just like I am. I can never take back that I left you with your aunt when I was deployed overseas or that you ended up in foster care. But I want you to know that I’ve loved you since the day your mom told me she was pregnant with you and Sam.” He leaned in to kiss me on the forehead. “You’ve had a rough life, but now I want you to live like you’ve never lived before.”
Tears welled up. I blinked several times, trying not to let any spill, or else my makeup would be ruined. Then again, it didn’t matter. I was probably going to be crying all day.
“I love you, Dad.”
“One thing before we go. I know things have been crazy, and you’ve been planning your wedding, but I’m not sure if you remember. You and Sam had a birthday last week. I completely forgot about it with all the cleanup we’ve been doing. But you both officially turned eighteen.”
Holy cow! “I did forget, but we did have other things to worry about.”
“I thought your birthday was in February,” Darcy said.
I forgot I hadn’t explained to Darcy why we had a birthday in December and not February like Sam and I had thought and had always celebrated. “The short version is because Sam and I were born with the natural-born vampire gene, and our birth records had to be changed to reflect a normal human blood type. Otherwise, our DNA would be in question, and that would raise a lot of red flags within the human government. In fact, our birthdates are changed as well to further conceal our true identity from humans.”
“Well, birthdays are fun,” she said. “But a wedding beats a birthday. We can celebrate another time.”
Agreed. I might have been eighteen, but I felt so much older after how my body had changed when I turned vampire, not to mention all the fighting and training and stress I’d been through.
“Darcy’s right,” Dad said. “Today is by far a huge celebration. You’ve turned into a wonderful young lady. And I couldn’t be more proud.”
“You’re not helping my tears.” I caught one before it slid down my cheek.
Dad held out his elbow. “Shall we?”
“Can I have a minute?”
“We’ll be in the hall,” Dad said as he escorted Darcy out with him.
I kept blinking until my eyes dried, although the butterflies were having a party in my stomach. I was about to get married to one of the most gorgeous vampires a girl could want. Dad was right. I had had a rough life. So much had happened. Dad had all but disappeared on Sam and me when we could barely walk. Our mother had died at a young age. Sam and I had jumped from one foster family to another until the day our last foster dad had attacked me. Since that day, my life had changed so drastically. But in the end, I wouldn’t have changed a moment, day, or anything, although I could’ve done without Edmund and his team. Still, if it weren’t for him, I might not have been getting married.
And on that note, I walked out to start my new life.
22
Webb
As I fidgeted with the bow tie on my tuxedo, I couldn’t believe that I was actually standing in a bedroom in Victor Costner’s mansion, waiting to get married. In mere minutes, I would say I do to the most beautiful creature I’d ever laid eyes on.
I’d barely seen Jo since we had returned from Alaska, and I’d been having withdrawals. Every time I’d made a point of seeking her out during the last four weeks, she was doing something for the wedding, which was probably a good thing since I had business to shore up before I retired. The elders had approved my retirement papers, and I couldn’t have been more stoked.
Speaking of the elders, Dyson had been shipped off to the vampire prison in Puerto Rico, which left an opening for a new elder. Hollings and Raddison made an offer to Steven, who had gladly accepted. So that left Steven’s position open. He had asked if I would reconsider retiring to take on the role of commander, but I’d said no thank you. I was done with the military, and if I did want to work at some point in the future, then I would do something along the lines of private security or private detective work. For now, work wasn’t on my agenda. My final responsibilities before my wedding day had been making arrangements to move Nicki to the same vampire prison as Dyson then working with Sam to erase Agent Thomas and Dr. Case’s memories. Steven and I had decided to wipe Case’s memories rather than stick him in a prison somewhere. He knew too much. Even part of Nicki’s memories had been wiped. We couldn’t risk an ounce of what Patrick had concocted getting into anyone’s hands, whether human or vampire.
In fact, Steven had had a team of folks clean out an office complex that Patrick had owned. Jonah had gotten the key that helped us to confiscate all Patrick’s research data. Dr. Vieira had wanted to examine it, but Steven had said no. Instead, the servers and all Patrick’s notebooks and files were burned.
Footsteps clobbered on the wood floor outside the door before Tripp entered, looking as though he’d just stepped off the pages of a GQ magazine. His tuxedo was sculpted to his broad body, his blond locks were slicked back but free about his shoulders, and his jaw was clean-shaven. “Ready?”
Even though nerves poked at my stomach, I was more than ready. I couldn’t wait to see my bride, kiss my bride, say I do, and above all else, make love to my vampire beauty. I blew by Tripp and out the door into the short hall.
“Wait up.” He chuckled. “We’re not putting out a fire.”
“You don’t understand.” I stopped in the doorway of the large room on the first floor of the mansion, the same room in which the charity event had been held many months ago.
Soft music played in the distance.
Tripp clapped me on the shoulder. “Oh, I understand. Let’s not forget you’ve been talking about your big night with Jo since you proposed to her. My only advice—go slow and be gentle.”
I angled my head even though I knew he was talking about how I had wanted to make love to her since I met her. I’d confided in my best friend from the beginning. “I’m always gentle.”
He laughed, showing white teeth. “You may be, but your body will be screaming.”
No doubt about that. “Well, I have to get married first.”
We walked into the pine-scented room that was saturated with big and small Christmas trees, poinsettias, chairs filled with guests, and a piano. We hadn’t invited many people. We’d wanted to keep it small and relegated to family and close friends.
George nodded at me from the front row, while Sam, Kraft, and Kodiak strutted down from the back of the room, dressed in tuxedos to match Tripp and me. All three were groomsmen.
Kraft’s mahogany gaze swept over me. “Are you ready?”
“You better treat my sister well,” Sam said.
Kodiak rolled his eyes at Sam. “Seriously, dude? Webb is the most put-together man I know. It’s Jo who better treat Webb well.”
I chuckled. “Okay, you two. No fighting. Jo would tear us a new one if any of our tuxedos got ripped before the vows.”
Laughter rolled off them.
Victor crossed the room over to us. His dark hair was slicked back, and a black robe covered his suit. “In your places as we rehearsed last night.”
Victor had been appointed by the council of elders to marry us. Unlike the human world, vampires didn’t need a priest or a minister, nor did the person marrying a couple need to be licensed. He just needed approval from the council of elders. Victor had asked Jo and me if he could marry us. He’d wanted to repay us in some way for saving his grandson, even though opening up his home was payment enough, at least in my book.
Once everyone was in place—Tripp next to me, then Sam, Kraft, and Kodiak—and the guests were settled, Matthew keyed up the piano. On the first key, Abbey came into view from around chairs in the back row. She wore a white dress and black shoes with white lace ankle socks. She smiled and waved before Alia, who was behind her, urged Abbey to throw rose petals down before she took a step. All eyes watched the little girl as I kept searching behind Alia, Crysta, Olivia, and Darcy for Jo.
Once Abbey reached the end of the aisle near me, she ran up and hugged my leg. That wasn’t in the rehearsal, but who cared?
I squatted down while the bridesmaids slowly closed the distance to the makeshift altar. “You look beautiful.”
She shied away.
“Why don’t you go sit with George,” I said.
Abbey beamed up at me. “When am I going to live with you and Jo?”
“Not for a few weeks. We talked about this, remember?”
Her mom, Rachel, didn’t have any family. Rachel’s mom had passed away after battling cancer for years, her father had died in a car wreck, and Rachel didn’t have any siblings. Even if she did have family, I wasn’t sure if we would have allowed Abbey to live with humans, considering her supernatural powers and the fact that she was naturally turning into a vampire.
Steven and I had talked about asking Alia to take care of Abbey, but Jo wouldn’t hear of it. She wanted Abbey to live with us, and I agreed. Since Jo couldn’t have kids, Abbey would be the perfect addition to our family. Regardless, Jo and I did want a few weeks alone to spend some quality time together before Abbey joined us.
She nodded, biting her lip, almost as though she was going to cry.
“What’s wrong?” If she was about to have a vision, I might lose it unless her vision was of something happy.
She threw her tiny arms around me. “I love you.”
I kissed her on the cheek. “I love you too.”
She squeezed me tightly then darted over to sit with George.
By the time I stood up, all the bridesmaids were next to me, and the music had stopped. The guests rose, fabric rustling, whispers buzzing, as all eyes went to Jo and her father. My heart stopped when my gaze landed on Jo. From there, I didn’t see anything or anyone else. All sounds died. My knees even buckled.
Tripp caught my arm. “I got you.”
Jo’s lips tipped up in a generous smile as she clutched her father, who I would guess was holding her steady because I could hear her heart ramming against her ribs. Hell, my pulse was doing the same. Ever so slowly, her father guided her down the aisle toward me. The closer she got, the more I itched to touch her soft skin, feel her lips on mine, and breathe in her lavender scent.
Once she reached me, Steven lifted her veil, kissed her on both cheeks, then grasped her hand and placed it in mine. “Webb London, I expect nothing but the best for my daughter.”
I nodded because it was the only thing I could do. I was afraid that if I spoke, only a squeak would come out. I took Jo’s cold, trembling hand, and we locked eyes for a moment before facing Victor.
He started in on a speech about vampire laws and marriage. I tuned him out. All I could do was stare at how Jo’s gown clung to her curves, savor how sweet she smelled, and marvel at how my heart soared with happiness because I had finally found someone as beautiful as her to spend eternity with.
23
Jo
No sooner had Webb and I checked into the Waldorf Hotel—the same one we’d stayed in last month—than my palms began to sweat. My body had been iced up until now, simply from nerves. In fact, the entire ceremony was a blur. All I kept thinking about was our future and waking up to Webb every morning. I also thought about what we would do with our time now that we would be Abbey’s adoptive parents.
First and foremost, Webb and I would love her unconditionally, and as she grew, we would teach her how to handle her powers and help her as she naturally transitioned into a vampire.
The door to our suite closed with a bang, jarring me from my haze. Webb had stepped out to get some ice, and now he was back.
He set down the ice bucket on the bar near the bottle of champagne. “You haven’t moved from that spot.”
The suite was different than the one Webb and I had stayed in. This one was larger, had a gas fireplace, and the atmosphere felt cozier and warmer. I needed warmth, although sizing up Webb was sending heat all over my body in a frenzied way.
He’d lost the tuxedo jacket, bow tie, and shoes. I raised an eyebrow at my husband. Eeek. It felt weird to say husband. Still, I hadn’t seen him take off his jacket, let alone his shoes. Maybe I shouldn’t have been staring out at Boston’s night skyline.
