Chapter Eighteen
New Orleans Homicide Detective Jane Hart stalked through the cemetery. The heavy stone mausoleums rose up around her and the statues seemed to watch every step that she took. It was long after midnight, and the cemetery should have been deserted…
Jane turned right.
And found a voodoo queen waiting for her. A bandage covered Annette’s neck. “It’s done,” she said simply.
Paris curled his hand around Annette’s shoulder and she settled back against him.
So, yeah, they’re definitely a couple now. Jane was happy for them, and really damn curious to see how that relationship would work. Considering that Jane and her beast were now bound to happily-ever-after forever style, she was one hundred percent sure the voodoo queen and the werewolf-slash-vamp would make an incredible team.
“Are you sure he’s out cold?” Jane asked. She crept closer to the group assembled. Paris, Annette, Aidan, and Lena were all standing in front of a crypt that looked positively ancient.
“Vincent couldn’t be destroyed,” Lena said in her soft, husky voice. “But he can sleep. I put him under and he won’t be waking up.”
Jane stared at the entrance to the crypt. Wolf carvings were on the stone doors and a heavy, thick chain locked those doors closed.
“He’s unconscious, and he’s trapped inside a stone coffin,” Aidan rolled back his shoulders. “Werewolf guards will keep patrolling this cemetery, just in case, and Annette will scry to be sure the vamp won’t have any chance of escape.”
Jane slowly exhaled. This was the plan they’d come up with—imprisonment. Locked away, Vincent wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone else.
“We could have kept him awake,” Lena said, tilting her head as she studied those stone doors. “That way, he would have felt every moment of his imprisonment.”
That was…inhumane. And there was still too much humanity left in Jane for her to do that. But…her gaze took in the lines of strain near Lena’s mouth. “How long were you with him?”
“Five centuries.” Lena’s head turned so that she met Jane’s gaze. “And every moment was hell.”
So…Lena really was a djinn. Or a genie. Or whatever folks were calling her kind these days. Though from what Lena had said, she was the last of her kind.
She could grant wishes. Could wield enormous power, but if anyone possessed her heart…
They controlled her. Completely.
Five centuries was a very long time. Jane could see why the woman would want her share of payback.
But we have to be the good guys. We can’t let the darkness take us over. Because as she’d seen with Aidan, the darkness could be far too powerful, once it got a grip on someone. “It’s better this way,” Jane said. “He won’t hurt you again. You’re free.”
Lena smiled at her, a real smile, one that lit up her green eyes. “Yes, I am.”
Paris cleared his throat. “So…what does a djinn do…when she’s free from five centuries of hell?”
Lena tossed back her head and laughed. “Anything she wants.” Wind seemed to swirl around her. “Anything…” Her body shimmered. But then she stared at Jane. “I said he was asleep…I never said I wasn’t going to give the bastard bad dreams. I hope he chokes on the nightmares.”
Then…she vanished.
“I think I like her,” Annette said. “She has style.”
Style and the ability to kill with a thought. Scary.
“Even if a…nightmare…were to somehow wake him…” Annette laced her fingers with Paris’s. “Vincent wouldn’t go anyplace. Before the crypt was sealed shut, I took the liberty of making a circle around his coffin. He’s not getting out.” She brought Paris’s hand to her lips. “Time for us to go, love. Cemeteries…they’re just not that sexy to me.”
He laughed. “Time to go.”
Annette and Paris had taken just a few steps when the voodoo queen hesitated and glanced back at Jane. “It could have ended differently.”
A chill skated over Jane’s spine.
“The bond between you and Aidan could have been weaker…we could have all lost everything.” Her gaze darted to the crypt. “And someone else could have been inside there.”
“Who?” Jane asked.
Annette just gave her a sad smile. “It’s nice to know that fate isn’t always determined. We can change things. If we love enough, if we fight hard enough.” Her breath expelled in a soft rush. “I’ll see you again, soon, Mary Jane Hart.”
Jane watched Annette and Paris walk away, her friend’s words still rolling through her mind. If we love enough, if we fight hard enough…
Maybe people just had to fight harder for the ones they loved.
When she couldn’t see Annette and Paris any longer, she sidled closer to Aidan and cleared her throat. “I stopped by to see Dr. Bob.” He’d hugged her until she’d thought she might pass out from the pressure of his grip. Apparently, the man had been very glad they’d all survived another battle. “He confirmed your suspicions…your cells aren’t aging any longer. You’re…you’re like me that way.”
His hand curled under her chin and he gazed down at her. “So that means I have forever, with you.”
“Yes.”
He leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. She rose onto her toes, loving that gentle touch. Loving him.
“So, my Jane,” Aidan murmured. “What do you want to do with forever?”
She stared into his eyes. Her family was gone—her brother buried. Had Drew changed his mind at the end? Realized that what she was, it wasn’t so bad? Jane liked to think that he had. He’d saved her, for a second time, and the last word he’d spoken…
It had been love.
The girl she’d been so long ago still loved her brother, despite everything.
And the woman she was…she loved the man before her. More than anything.
“What do I want to do?” Jane asked. She smiled at him. “I was thinking maybe we’d take a vacation.”
He blinked.
“Go someplace…far away from death. Take a break from murder.” Her hand pressed over his heart. “Get naked and make love as often as possible.”
“Sounds like a fucking fine plan to me.” His words were a rumble.
It was time for them to get away. They’d fought their battles, good had won and now…
Forever was about to begin.
There would be no end for them. There would just be life—good and bad and everything in between. But during those long days and nights, they’d be together.
Happy.
Living their life. Loving each other…with a bond that was stronger than blood. Stronger than death.
One that was soul deep.
Vampires and werewolves didn’t have to be enemies. Sometimes, they could be perfect mates.
Jane and Aidan walked out of the cemetery, and they left the dead behind.
The End
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If you enjoyed the Bitter Blood, keep reading for an excerpt from THE WOLF WITHIN, Purgatory, Book 1.