Chapter Twenty-Four
Warmth surrounded Dani. She snuggled deeper underneath the thick blanket and moaned. The bed was so soft. She must’ve been lying on clouds. This was pure heaven.
Heaven.
Dying.
A small memory tugged on her.
Cold.
Fighting.
Angelina.
Ramsey.
Alex.
Antonio.
Wait. Is this really heaven?
Dani snapped her eyes open in a panic and sat up. “Ramsey!”
“I’m here, love.”
She looked down to find the handsomest man in the world stretched out on the bed next to her. Ramsey looked the part of a god. His hair was messed up and he looked as though he’d missed a few nights of sleep, but he was perfect in every way. He was shirtless. Possibly bottomless, too, but with the sheet covering his hips she couldn’t tell. Fine dark hairs dotted his chest and down to his six pack of perfectly muscled abs.
Damn. Ramsey was one fine specimen.
She had to pull her eyes off him in order to think straight. She specifically remembered freezing to death in Antarctica. “What happened? Where am I?” She glanced around the room, and immediately she recognized the chaise off to the side. The television on the dresser. The chest of drawers. And how could she have forgotten the bed that they’d made love in? She was at Ramsey’s house. Safe. That she felt in her bones. “But how?”
“Vallus brought you home. You were unconscious. Your body heat was already dangerously low, and thanks to Angelina you were missing a few pints of blood, too. I had to give you some of my mine—again.”
She wrinkled her nose. “The other vampires think I stink now.”
“Good, because you’re all mine.” He pulled her down and adjusted the sheet over her shoulders.
Dani let him take care of her, fussing over her pillow and making sure that she was tucked under the blanket. “You have a habit of saving me.”
He didn’t meet her eyes, as a pain had settled behind them. “And sadly, I also have a habit of getting you into trouble, too.”
She scrunched her eyebrows. “What? No, you don’t. Unless you sent Angelina and Alex after me that is.”
He didn’t respond. He lay on his back and stared at the ceiling.
She lifted to lean over him. Her hair stroked his shoulder. “Wait. Did you send them after me?”
“Of course not.”
She gave him a soft smile. “It was a joke. I know you didn’t.”
He still wouldn’t look at her. “But it’s my fault you’re in danger. If you hadn’t met me I wouldn’t have almost drained you, Angelina wouldn’t have attacked you, and Alex wouldn’t have kidnapped you. I promised to protect you, and I failed.”
“Ramsey. You couldn’t help what you did the first night we met. And Angelina and Alex? They’re both batshit crazy. I don’t blame you for them.”
“But I got you hurt.”
She sighed and flipped to her back, to stare at the pristine ceiling as he did. “Yeah, they hurt me. But you hurt, hurt me.”
“I’m sorry. I should’ve told you about Angelina before. I just … I just didn’t want to ruin what we had by bringing up the past.”
“But sometimes if you ignore the past it will come back in an expensive party dress and try to spear you to death.”
Wait.
Dani popped up again. “You—” She didn’t finish her sentence. She focused on his shoulder, running her finger across the skin she’d seen the spear sticking from. He no longer had a gaping hole there. In fact, all his holes were gone.
“Dani, I’m fine.” Finally, he met her eyes, grasping her hand into his. “I’m healed.”
“That weapon. It wasn’t normal, was it? It looked like a wood stick. But if it was, how could it have hurt you?”
“It was one of Angelina’s artifacts.” He pulled her to lie on him. She snuggled into his side, and he wrapped his arm around her, holding her close.
“I don’t understand how she had something that hurt you that bad. I didn’t think you were going to survive.”
“Angelina is heavily involved with the supernatural. Ever since she found out vampires existed—with her proof being me—she’s been obsessed. She uses her free time—which she has a lot of now—in search of supernatural artifacts. That was one of the reasons she joined the Third Reich.”
“Wait. As in Hitler’s Third Reich?”
Ramsey nodded. “Hitler had an interest in the supernatural, and he had what Angelina needed. A readily available team and resources to search the world for the artifacts she wanted to get her hands on. She showed Hitler what she was and that fueled him to ramp up his quests.”
“Oh, God, he was a monster.”
“Angelina is partly the reason for that, too. Since he knew that vampires existed he … experimented on innocents to find out what else the human body could endure or how the body reacted to changes.”
“And she got away.”
He squeezed her arm. “I’ll find her again. Her ego won’t let her hide away for long.”
“Then what will you do with her?”
Ramsey was quiet.
Nothing. Because he still loves Angelina.
“I understand,” she said softly. “She’s your wife.” Her eyes watered over. She tried to pull away, but Ramsey tightened his hold.
“Was my wife.” He turned so that they faced each other. Their noses touched. “I went after her when she hurt you. I looked for her for weeks. The only thing I had on my mind was ripping her head off her shoulders. And when you’re fully recovered, I’m going back out to look for her again. This time I will find her, and I will kill her.” He pecked her on the nose.
She shouldn’t have found comfort in her boyfriend vowing to kill his ex, but she did.
She kissed him back. She wanted to forget about Angelina all together, but her words hung over Dani’s head. Dani wanted to believe Ramsey, she really did. But everything that Angelina had told her couldn’t be ignored. “You guys have such a long hist—”
Ramsey put a finger to her lips. “I’m not married to her anymore. Not legally and not in mind, body, or spirit either. I realized my mistake two thousand years ago, and I have been living with that error ever since.”
Dani nodded. “She’s pretty. I see why you fell for her.” She looked down at her body and saw breasts that were too big and stretch marks on her hips that looked like lightning bolts. Instinctively, she pulled the blanket to her shoulders.
Ramsey tugged at the cover, exposing her before him. Heat rose to her cheeks. How many beautiful women had he seen … been with? She would never be put into that category.
“On the outside Angelina is beautiful.”
Dani’s heart seemed to drop into her stomach.
“But the ugliness inside her is rotting and festering, spilling out in her attitude and actions. To know Angelina for more than a few minutes is to know her completely.”
That was true. Within a few minutes of meeting Angelina, she’d tried to have Dani kill herself via tabletop.
“I was enamored because she was so beautiful and she’d chosen me as her mate. A simple baker’s son. I did everything that I could to make her happy. I had even defied my mother and father, who saw through her act. When I realized my mistake, it was too late.”
“So you weren’t the one who changed her?”
He sighed. “Unfortunately, I’ve made many mistakes in dealing with Angelina.” He wouldn’t meet her eyes. “I was the one who changed her.”
Dani couldn’t understand it. Why would he willingly give Angelina immortality? From what he’d said earlier she hadn’t been a very good mother and Dani guess that she hadn’t been a very good wife either. “But why?”
“Angelina had been relentless in her pursuit to get me to change her. What I’d gone through was hell. I didn’t want to make anyone go through that—not even her.”
Ramsey paused, and Dani waited on baited breath for him to finish his story.
“What made you finally change her?” she asked softly when he didn’t continue his story.
“I went through an entire year of her begging, pleading, and threatening to out what I was until finally one day she made me an offer that I couldn’t refuse.”
“What was it?”
“Angelina promised to go away and leave me and the girls alone forever. She’d finally figured out the one thing that I’d wanted from her. Her absence. I’d had enough of praying she would become the wife I’d hoped for and mother the children deserved. By the time I was turned, I was exhausted with her and our marriage and just wanted to focus on my children. I agreed and changed her immediately. We stayed together for the next few nights to make sure the change was successful, and then she went on her way and I stayed behind with the girls. I paid a neighbor’s wife to help me out during the day, and the girls and I continued our routine at night. We were finally happy.”
“I’m sorry that your children didn’t have a good mother. I can’t imagine a mother abandoning her kids. My mother would’ve done anything she could for me.” Dani pulled her bottom lip in her mouth. If she had kids she would stop at nothing to keep them safe.
“Oddly, the girls didn’t dwell on her absence. They knew that they had one parent who would’ve moved heaven and earth for them.”
How in the world had she gotten so lucky?
“I did everything I could to protect them.” He clutched her protectively. “Now I’ll do the same for you. You’re mine, Dani.”
She could feel the heat rushing up her neck and spreading to her cheeks. Having a protector was new to her. And she liked it.
“I’ll have Marcos call a moving company in the morning. Your house should be packed up and your things delivered here before week’s end. I’m not particularity attached to anything on the main floors so feel free to put your things wherever you want and throw out anything of mine.”
Wait. The blissful smile slid from her face to make room for confusion.
“Do you want me to move in with you?”
“Um, why wouldn’t you? Angelina and her fledglings are out there. Angelina won’t rest until she gets her hands on you. I have to keep you safe.”
Could she move in with Ramsey? Spending the night together was very different from living together and invading each other’s space. Libby was the best roommate she could’ve ever wished for. Of course, she wouldn’t admit that in front of Jamie. But her and Ramsey?
Dani trailed her finger around Ramsey’s puckered nipple. “Ramsey, what about my life in California? How can you expect for me to just drop everything and come here? My job, my house, my family, my dog.” She let out a sigh. “I don’t know if we’re at that stage of our relationship. Besides, what happens with this arrangement after you’ve resolved your ex problem?”
“I love you, Dani. I want you here regardless. But with her running around the move has to be sped up. What stage does that fall under?”
“I—I don’t know.” She honestly couldn’t think of a reason not to live with Ramsey. She loved him with all her heart, and she knew that in Ramsey’s arms was the only place she wanted to be.
“Dani, I’ve been alone for a very long time. I want to share my life with you. Don’t say no.”
And the blush that had left came roaring back. She nodded. “Okay. But I don’t want to sit around living off of you. I have a degree that I spent a lot of time and money on. Even if it’s part-time, I have to find a job.”
He grumbled. “But what if I want you to stay here and live off of me? There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“Well, my student loans beg to differ.”
He shifted to look at her. “Is that all?”
She chuckled. “You obviously don’t know how much college costs or know the smothering debt of student loans.”
“It’s quite costly. That’s why I had Marcos pay it off for you as a graduation present. He didn’t tell you?”
Her breath caught in her throat. She’d had to take loans out for undergraduate and graduate school. She was sure she would eventually have to use her retirement checks to keep the payments going. She sat up to look at him. “Wh-when did you do that?”
“The day before you were supposed to come to visit. I was going to surprise you.” He frowned. “But then Angelina happened. No wonder you don’t know about it.”
She wasn’t sure how to react. Never in her wildest dreams had she expected him to do something like that for her. “Ramsey, you didn’t have to do that. I’ll pay you back. I promise.”
He shook his head. “It’s my graduation gift to you. You have to accept it.”
“But this is different.”
“I saw on Friend Book that your dad gave you tickets to a concert.” He lifted his brows. “Did you return those?”
She tried to remember. So much had happened that it had slipped her mind that her father’s favorite band’s concert series was happening in a few months. “No, but—”
He used his knuckles to stroke the side of her face. “If you didn’t give his gift back you can’t give mine back. Graduation gifts are meant to be kept. No givebacks.”
She pinned his arms to the bed and claimed his mouth, raining him with kisses. “I can’t believe you did that,” she said between each one.
He chuckled and let her shower him with love. Her man.
“Should I tell you that I paid off your house and car, too?”
She froze, staring at him open-mouthed.
“When Marcos pulled your credit report he figured it was best to clear all your debts.”
She sat back in shock. All her debts?
He lifted his finger. “As a graduation present.”
Dani felt the smile stretching across her face. “You are something else, Ramsey Moreau.”
“So that settles that.”
“I’ll have to explain things to Jamie, my dad and Bride.”
Bride.
Fear slammed into her. “Bride!” She pushed away and searched for her cell phone. “Alex said that he would go after her if I didn’t cooperate. I have to tell her to hide.” Dani ran her hands through the tussled blanket. Where is it? Her stomach clenched, forcing bile up her throat. If something happened to Bride…
Ramsey reached over to grab his cell phone off a side table. “Don’t worry. I’ve already asked Vallus to get your sister and Libby.”
Although she breathed a sigh of relief, Dani still searched for her phone. “I have to let her know that I’m safe and let her know to expect Vallus.” Bride wouldn’t appreciate a stranger showing up to whisk her away from everything that she knew. Especially a vampire. Not after what Alex had done to her. “With Alex taking me, her nerves are probably already on ten. I don’t want her trying to fight Vallus or anything.”
Ramsey punched a text into his phone and smirked. “Don’t you dare warn her. Let her give Vallus a run for his money. He just told me that he was up for some fun.”
She watched Ramsey anxiously, and he looked too happy sending his text. “He isn’t going to hurt her, is he?”
“No, nothing like that.” He set his phone down and snuggled with her.
“Bride isn’t going to appreciate being trapped here.” Dani pulled her lower lip into her mouth, thinking about Bride under Ramsey’s roof. Bride didn’t have a filter. This was going to be a challenge.
“She wants to live, doesn’t she?”
Dani nodded.
“Then she won’t mind being here.”
“But what about my dad and Jamie, Ramsey? Do you think Angelina will go after them, too?”
Ramsey pinched his brows together. “Does Alex know about them?”
She’d always kept things work-related with Alex. If Bride hadn’t been over that night he came, Alex wouldn’t have known about her either. Dani shook her head.
“Good. But I think you should delete your Friend Book account, getting rid of anything personal about you that’s out there. They should be safe.”
Worry made her frown. “But what if he does find out about them?”
“There’s a security agency that’s owned by pair of vampire brothers. They have both human and vampire employees. I’ll call them now. They’ll keep a far enough distance so Jamie and your dad won’t know that they’re being protected, but close enough to defend them if needed. There’s no use in disrupting their lives if we don’t have to.”
Dani settled into the crook of his arm as he called Marcos and told him of his plan.
Ramsey disconnected the line and ran a soothing hand down her arm. “Don’t worry, love. This nightmare will be over as soon as I find Angelina and her fledglings. When I do, I’ll kill them all.”
A calm serenity covered her as she drifted to sleep, snuggled in the arms of the man she loved. “Is it bad that I want people to die?”
He kissed her forehead. “Not at all.”