Blood Wager (Blood Destiny 1)

"Yeah." The boy's eyes went blank. Gavin and Harry walked out of the teen's bedroom, breezing past parents who wished Mr. Smith and Mr. Jones goodbye. The two vampires climbed into the rental Gavin had gotten at the airport to drive away.

"I have the name and phone number of his dealer," Harry held up a slip of paper.

"Good. Let's take care of that next," Gavin said. They met the dealer in the parking lot of a nearby bar. It only took a bit of compulsion to get the man inside the rental with the two vampires. "You're the one who was bitten by the female vampire?" Gavin demanded.

"Did she bite me? I thought she kissed me. Man, that was the best sex I ever had with my clothes on." Gavin expected the man to smell of stale sweat and marijuana. Surprisingly, his scent was fresh, smelling of body wash and freshly laundered clothing instead.

Harry snickered a little at the dealer's comment but cut it off at Gavin's frown. "You will no longer remember the incident and you will not recall meeting us. Get in your car and go home." Gavin was finished with this one.

They watched as the dealer drove out of the parking lot. Harry sighed. "She really hasn't done that much damage, if you think about it," he said. "I mean, that had to be her first time and the compulsion wasn't strong enough to take completely. Apparently she's gotten better at it."

"Those fools botched this," Gavin growled. "And now I've been sent to terminate her. If they'd shown even the slightest bit of responsibility," Gavin didn't finish.

"At least we know where she is," Harry sighed again. "She was lovely, wasn't she?" Gavin didn't reply. He couldn't consider any target lovely. He had to kill them. Gavin left Harry at his home in Moore before driving to the airport. The Council's private jet was there, waiting for him to check on the prisoners before they left for London.

"Russell, Stephan," Gavin nodded at both Enforcers. Edward and Sergio were chained with silver and titanium while the Enforcers prepared to load them onto the jet. "Too bad we weren't allowed to kill you; I think I might have taken pleasure in doing you both," Gavin showed his fangs to the captives. "But Wlodek wants to question you instead. Perhaps I'll be back before he passes sentence."

Edward Desmarais hissed at Gavin. Grinning, Stephan cuffed Edward for his impudence, his white teeth a contrast to flawless black skin. Russell, slightly taller than Gavin but not as wide across the shoulders, snickered, slapping Stephan on the back. The hard blow failed to shift Stephan's solidly muscled frame.

"There's more where that came from, so you'd better behave yourself," Russell informed the prisoners.

"I don't believe you wish to tangle with either Stephan or Russell," Gavin warned Edward, who'd been knocked off balance by Stephan's blow.

"Why aren't you returning now?" Sergio had the temerity to ask.

"Because I have to stay and clear away your little f**k-up," Gavin growled. "If you'd had the balls to take responsibility, this might be turning out a bit differently. As it is, she's not going to live over it. Doubtless, that was your plan all along but I find it dishonorable and unjustified. You took someone who wasn't a viable candidate according to the laws, and a female in addition to that. If she'd not accepted the turning, you'd be just as guilty of murder and potential exposure of the race as any of the rogues we kill. And then you allowed her out on her own. Every sire is obligated to watch over his turns. You left her locked in a cellar while you amused yourselves. Which one of you turned her, anyway?"

"He did," they each pointed at the other.

"It matters not to me at this point," Gavin growled. "Wlodek will be asking and there's no way you can deny his compulsion. I warn you to be honest so your death might be swift. He can draw it out, you know."

Sergio shrank back at Gavin's words. Gavin knew then who'd done the actual turning. Edward and Sergio were loaded into the plane and extra chains were placed on both, holding them to special seats inside the jet. Prisoners were always transported in this manner. "Good luck with that filth," Gavin told Russell, Chief of Enforcers for the Vampire Council. Russell nodded, flashing a grin at Gavin and waving as he leapt up the steps. The door closed shortly afterward and the plane rolled out toward the runway. Gavin heaved a sigh and walked toward his rental. The Skirvin Hotel in downtown Oklahoma City was his destination, where he planned to spend the night. The cellar where the female had been kept was his chosen objective after checking into the hotel. Gavin wanted to visit it one last time before flying to Dallas the following evening.

* * *

Gavin sniffed his way through the cellar. It held a musty odor, overlaid with that of Sergio, Edward and Harry, even. There was a lighter scent, too, that belonged to the female. It was a more exotic spice than that of the males. Vampires always knew one another by scent. Humans sensed it too, at some level. It was designed to attract them to vampires so they might feed. A female vampire's scent was an aphrodisiac to some males of the species. Gavin had been close to Ilaisaane and Susila many times—they were both female Council members and he'd not felt as much pull from either of them as this slight scent from the cellar. He reminded himself to be careful; she was a kill and he was going to get this over with quickly.

Back inside his hotel room, Gavin downloaded the information from the flash drive he'd gotten from the teen into his laptop, sending that plus the other information to Wlodek's personal computer. Feeling restless afterward, Gavin walked the streets and wandered the canal that wound its way through Bricktown. Two women offered themselves to him as he walked through the nearly deserted sidewalks. Gavin growled at both of them. One of the women called him an unkind name as he left her behind. She was of no consequence; tonight he had other things on his mind.

Gavin's cell was ringing the moment he stepped out of the shower the following evening. Recognizing the number immediately, he tapped the button to answer. "Yes, Honored One?" he said.

"Gavin, I appreciate the information you sent," Wlodek said. "We have a new strategy, now."

"Honored One?"

"Oh, I still expect you to eliminate the girl, but there are other things to accomplish first." There was almost a smile in Wlodek's words and the Head of the Vampire Council didn't smile often. "We learned through channels that she's working for William Winkler as a bodyguard. I want you to get as close to Winkler as you can. Use her, if necessary. Become a bodyguard for him yourself; that might work best. We need to know how well his software is going to work, Gavin. If it is as good as the rumors make it out to be, you understand how it might impact our race. I expect you to use discretion if it performs as promised. It must not be allowed onto the market."