Crimson Debt Read online

  “You are very welcome, Addison,” Corbin murmured. “Now, is there any place else you are in need of healing?”

  I thought of the inner bend of my elbow where Taylor had bitten me just the night before. It was still red and raw and painful, almost as though I’d been bitten by an animal instead of my friend. Not that it was her fault. I opened my mouth to tell Corbin about the fresher wound and closed it again. I couldn’t have his mouth on me anymore tonight. Not if I didn’t want to embarrass myself by coming right in front of him.

  “Addison?” he asked again, frowning and I realized I’d been taking too long to answer his question.

  “Uh, no. No, that’s it for scars,” I said, which was technically the truth. I’d only recently had Taylor start using the inside of my elbows because the much-abused veins in my wrist were getting too hard to find, so there weren’t really any scars there yet.

  He looked at me for a moment more and then nodded. “All right, then. Let’s go. I want to surprise Celeste when she is just waking up.”

  I followed him out of the office and into the purple Tampa twilight with a feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach. I ought to be glad—we were going to get Taylor out of her life of bondage, after all. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had bitten off more than I could chew.

  Chapter Five

  Celeste’s house was exactly as I remembered it. Decorated in a dramatic black and white motif, it seemed like something you’d see in a fashion magazine, not an actual place you’d want to live.

  I had been wondering how Corbin planned to gain entry to the house. If he would knock politely or blow the door open with some kind of as-yet-unexplained vampire mind power. After the way he’d healed my wrist I wouldn’t put anything past him. However, he surprised me by doing neither. He just turned the knob on the ornate, blood red door and walked into Celeste’s living room as though he lived there. He must have seen the surprise on my face.

  “What is your question? Ask, Addison.”

  “Well…” I looked around nervously. I didn’t exactly have the best memories of this house. “I guess I thought you’d, uh, make more of a dramatic entrance. You know, to get Celeste’s attention.”

  Corbin shrugged. “What could be more dramatic than bypassing all of her carefully constructed wards and entering her home without an invitation?”

  I looked back at the blood red door which he’d left standing casually open. “You mean we shouldn’t have been able to just walk in like that?”

  He shook his head. “No. And please do not ever attempt to enter a powerful vampire’s home unannounced without me—the result could be nasty to say the least.”

  “I didn’t know,” I said, feeling like I should have.

  Corbin shrugged again. “How could you? You prefer to harass us at our places of business where such wards are not possible, do you not?”

  “Hey, buddy, that harassment is part of my job.”

  He smiled. “I am not complaining. I never would have met you if you hadn’t come to the Fang to harass me.”

  I opened my mouth to shoot back some smart reply but at that moment Celeste herself appeared and I forgot what I had been going to say. She was dressed in a long red silk robe that draped around her dramatically and made her pixie-cut blonde hair look almost white. Her dark eyes were filled with rage.

  “You.” To my great relief she was talking to Corbin, not me. “What are you doing in my house at this time of day?”

  “It’s twilight outside, Celeste, no longer daytime. Or are you unable to go out until full dark?” He shook his head. “Such weakness. What a pity.”

  “What are you doing here?” she repeated and then she saw me. “And why ever did you bring that annoying little non-glam with you?”

  “I have come for a fledgling you created. I understand you have been abusing her.”

  “What? Why should you care what I do with my creations? Unless…” Her eyes narrowed and she glared at me. “You are speaking of Taylor, aren’t you? She is the one you have come for.”

  Corbin inclined his head gravely. “Indeed. So if you could please produce her, I will be on my way.”

  “It’s not so easy as that,” Celeste spat. “I don’t know how this little human has bewitched you into taking her side but Taylor is mine. I brought her over and I am not willing to let her go.”

  “Come, Celeste—this isn’t worth your time or trouble. I understand the one in question—this Taylor—has been a grave disappointment to you. You should be happy to be rid of her.”

  “I am never happy when someone invades my home and tries to take what is mine,” she snarled. “And besides, I am not done with Taylor yet. So is so sensitive—I quite enjoy tormenting her.”

  I saw Corbin’s eyes harden. “You must forgo that pleasure in the future. Produce the fledgling at once or face the consequences.”

  “How dare you!” She rushed forward, her hands hooked into claws, but it was me she was headed for, not Corbin. I was already reaching for my Glock but I would have been too late—much too late—if Corbin hadn’t stepped in front of me.

  He caught Celeste in his arms and bear hugged her until I could hear her ribs creak. Considering that a real bear couldn’t have gotten that response from a vampire’s body, it was pretty damn impressive.

  “Let me go. It was that stupid little human who put this idea in your head—I know it was. I never should have let her leave here alive in the first place.”

  “Are you threatening my consort?” Corbin growled.

  Abruptly she stopped struggling. “You’re serious? You actually claim a human as your consort? I could understand using her as a snack or even a fuck if you’re feeling destructive but a consort? Even a shifter would be better than a human.”

  “It is true it would be better if she were brought over,” Corbin said. “Nevertheless, Addison is my consort and as such she is under my protection both day and night. I will kill anyone attempting to harm her. Is that clear?” He shook Celeste once, like a rag doll before depositing her almost gently on the ground.

  Celeste looked up at him, her eyes still glowing with rage. “It’s clear. Clear that this human has you under her spell somehow. How she has done it, I don’t know. But now I must pay the price for it.”

  “What price?”

  The voice belonged to a new vamp who was suddenly standing behind Celeste. He was dressed like a gentleman from the Civil War era with a waistcoat and a white linen poet type shirt and his hair was in loose, dark waves over his shoulders. But what caught my attention were his tattoos. Beneath his left eye were four tiny blood red stars. And beneath his right eye were two more.

  Six hundred years old. I couldn’t help sucking in a breath. Holy shit, Corbin was the oldest vamp I’d ever met and this one—who had to be Roderick—was two centuries older and thus, considerably stronger. If things went south now, we were in very big trouble.

  But even stronger than my fear was my fury. This was the asshole who had been forcing Taylor to do demeaning, disgusting things. This bastard had made her want to kill herself. My hand was still on the butt of my gun and my finger itched to pull the trigger. But if I killed a vamp in a non-official capacity, I was in for a shit-load of trouble and not just from the government. Vampires had been known to exact their own revenge for illegal kills and it was never pretty. Reluctantly, I kept the Glock holstered, hoping for a legitimate chance to use it later.

  “What is all the commotion?” Roderick asked, looking between Corbin and Celeste. His eyes didn’t even register me at all. I guess humans weren’t worth his time or attention.

  “Inquisitor Roderick.” Celeste bowed low to him and Corbin inclined his head. “Corbin here has taken it upon himself to come and take away one of my fledglings because he heard I was being cruel to her.” She laughed as though it was the most ridiculous thing she’d ever heard.

  Roderick frowned at Corbin. “Explain.”

  “Celeste has lived in my area for over a