Of Blood & Consequence (Book 2 of The Blood Bond Series)

5. Syndicate

Michael wanted to bring up the subject of his parents to Delia one of these days, but he just didn’t know how much was too much for her. The Mafia, be it Sicilian or vampiric, were very secretive. The only reason Michael got out without being dust in the wind was his parents. The head of the DiSalvio family of crime.

It had been passed on on his mother’s side, and his father had been Guiliana’s father’s right-hand man until he’d been imprisoned and then died of a complication from a heart condition that had been untended and ignored to prior to that.

Yes, his mother had once been human, and when she was marked and mated to Nicholas Jensen, Guglielmo DiSalvio’s most trusted protégé, they had turned their little version of the Italian Mafia into a supernatural one as well.

Now many of Nicholas’—who Giuliana called Nico—most trusted advisors and consigliere were vampires as well, a shake-up that astounded many of Guglielmo’s men when Nico took over. Michael didn’t know how he smoothed over the transition without much blood lost, but it was done, and now the DiSalvios were feared more than any other gang of criminals.

Though Giuliana was more of a symbol of the DiSalvios, she was only on the sidelines and let Nico do the heavy lifting for his mob of vampire and human factions. He kept the vampiric members close to his home and let the humans deal with humans—mostly with Anselmo Lastra in charge of the mortals in the cartel. Anselmo had been almost as close to Guglielmo as Nico had been, and was one of the few ‘people’ that knew about vampires. It kept him the way Nico and Giuliana wanted him—scared and respectful. Anselmo had seen Nico rip a man’s heart right out of his chest before, and the man had actually made the sign of the cross and uttered a quick Hail Mary in Italian when he’d seen that. Nico was not a man to cross, and Anselmo knew just how badly things could go for him if he so much as hinted at anything supernatural about Nico, his mate, and their whole operation. He had a wife and family to support, so he kept mum. On pain of death.

Delia was happily humming along to the radio as they drove home from Eli and Cassie’s place. They’d stayed far longer than intended, but that was usually the case. Once Delia and Cassie started chatting, it wasn’t long before the hours had passed, most likely due to the fact that Delia was pretty much homebound unless going to or from work, or at SecurElite itself. She kept in touch with the world around her through the news and magazines, but seeing it on paper wasn’t the same as having a life.

Another six months, Michael thought to himself. That was about the time it might take to curb Delia’s ravenous appetite for humans, though he was hoping for sooner. He had vacation time he wanted to use now that he had a reason to use it.

And Delia had been talking about visiting her grandmother for almost as long as they’d been mated. Unlike Cassie—thank God—Michael and Delia had marked each other only a little while after things had settled down after her kidnapping and being held prisoner in the mountains. Delia was impulsive, whereas Cassandra White was careful and thought things through before making any life-altering decisions. Michael thought Eli to be the most patient man when it came to his mating. After waiting over 400 years to find her, he had still been just as resolute about giving her a bit of time—with a few minor exceptions—as ever. You only got one mate in a lifetime, and it was always for a lifetime. You didn’t need to push the one person away that made you complete. A rejected mate was a good as dead, for a vampire. Once the bond was broken, the vampire would seek vengeance on anything or anyone. Refusal of the mating pull was a death sentence.

“Sposina, have you thought of what you want to do after you’re able to blend with the human population again?” Michael asked over the low tones of the radio.

Delia looked over at him to see him perfectly honest in his question as he glanced over at her. “Not really. I know you’re not a fan of me working at Promises again, so I was thinking of heading back to school if I can find the money to do that.”

“SecurElite has a fine program for people who wish to further their education. When you go back on Monday, you should head to the HR department and find out more about it. I want you to enjoy your life with me, and I know working in an office is not precisely your dream career.”

She smiled at that. “Neither was working at a strip joint, but the dough certainly up for it.” She shrugged her shoulders. “But I’ll look into it and see what some of the online courses have to offer.”

“What about graphic design?” Michel suggested. “You seem to like art well enough, so that career might be something to interest you. You could do web design or advertisements. It’s a pretty flexible option, and you could even get some of your stuff recognized in movies and TV if you wanted. Think about it.”

She nodded her head, looking pensive. It had sparked an actual idea in her head—a goal. That’s what she needed right now, and Michael smiled to himself and thanked the heavens he had spoken with Eli when he did.

So, his life was pretty humdrum when it came to the security business. But he enjoyed it, even found some satisfaction when it came to nabbing crooks or finding holes in the surveillance or safety measures. Being good with computers helped, and he was sure that he could assist Delia as well with them if she started to struggle.

“How many kids do you want?”

Delia shocked him with the question, though it was on his mind more often these days as well. Though it took a few years for newborn vamps to reach full maturity enough to be in fertile, going over to Cassie and Eli’s and seeing the twins always had it lurking in the forefront of his mind.

“I always wanted at least two when I was looking for my mate. Most of our kind love children and want to procreate, but we realize that having too many would create a surge in the vampire population. Still two or three would be nice—that is, if you want them as well.”

He glanced over at her to see her brows knitted and a deep, contemplative expression on her face. He thought she wouldn’t answer him, but was surprised when, once again, she did. “I’d like that, too. Two or three.” She sighed. “Seeing Cassie and Eli with the twins makes my chest ache, Michael. Sure, Adam is messy and they cry a lot sometimes, but God, I feel it deep in my gut when I go and visit them and listen to their little giggles and baby babbling. It twists in my gut, to be honest.”

He smiled, happy she was right where he was. On the same damn page. It wasn’t often that a vampire mate was averse to having children, but it happened every once in a blue moon.

“Good. I’m glad to hear it. Not the twisting, aching stuff, but I’m glad we see eye to eye.” He pulled into the garage of their condominium’s building. “It may take a few years, but you never know. Look at Cassie. She’s a few years ahead of time on the whole pregnancy thing, but I believe that’s just nature making up for lost time. Eli waited lifetimes to meet his mate, so when he did, his patience was rewarded quickly. Until then, you get to play honorary aunt to two little munchkins and not have to deal with the incessant bathing of Adam whenever Cassie blinks her eyes and he gets into a mud puddle.” He couldn’t help but laugh. Adam was going to be a handful for years to come.

They took the elevator up to their apartment, Michael flipping on the lights and heading into the kitchen to grab Delia something to drink. Being a newborn vamp meant having to feed more frequently, and it was burdensome at times, but it was a price he would gladly pay to keep her happy and healthy.

Once Delia had plied herself with enough blood for a few hours, she went in to brush her teeth. It wasn’t a necessity, for the bones of a vampire were just as sturdy as the rest of them, but it kept the enamel shiny and free of stains. When she popped back up, she was in a nightie and crawled immediately into bed before turning the television on to watch the news. It was more of a habit to do so than a need, but once she was out of seclusion, she wanted to be up to speed with the changing world around her, even if it was just on current events.

“I don’t get it,” she muttered, gesturing to the TV. “What’s the point of looting when all it does is hurt the small business the most? Those are the people that are struggling, sometimes just barely making ends meet.” She shook her head at the chaos in New Orleans after a gang and police-involved shooting went haywire on the outskirts of town.

“Well, one really knows, do they? I like to think of it as part mass hysteria, a bunch of people that have been oppressed to the point where anything, even a loaf of bread or gallon of milk is something that they didn’t have before and desperately need. You never know until you walk a mile in someone else’s shoes.”

Delia’s mouth ticked up a little. “That’s what I like about you, Michael. You always have an answer I wasn’t expecting. I don’t suppose I will ever believe that the answer to violence is more violence, but I get what you’re saying, though it stuns me that it comes out of a mouth of a man whose business is security.”

He thought about that harder than he normally would, though it wasn’t at all surprising to him. He came from a violent world to the U.S. to get away from that, but because he had seen so much of it in Sicily, it really didn’t shock him all that much.

And maybe he’d gone into the security business for reasons even he wasn’t aware of fully yet. What better way for there to atone for past transgressions than to become the foe of sin and greed. Without becoming a police officer, he couldn’t think of a better way than to become involved in a solution to the problem.

He started to crawl into his bed after he’d undressed, wearing only boxers that he was sure wouldn’t be on him for very long.

“To be honest, the most important thing to me is in this bed and with me. As long as that’s safe, I consider myself a happy man.”

Delia pulled him in for a kiss, smiling when his tongue swept out of his mouth and into hers, as hungry as it always was. When she pulled back for a little air, she breathed mint onto his lips, but could still taste the flavor of Michael’s mouth. “I want to see if I can start being around people soon,” she told him. “I’m dying to visit Nena. My mom a little, too, I guess, but mostly Gran. This is the longest I’ve been without visiting, and it’s driving me crazy not knowing if she’s okay or not.”

“She said—”

“Oh, Michael. Gran says a lot of things, but I can tell she’s in pain, and I don’t trust Sasha to look after her for any extended length of time. It’s always the same. She promises to do better, and she does—for a while. Then it’s onto the next man and she forgets all about her ailing mother with the prospect of another d**k to ride. She’s completely clueless and greedy. If it wasn’t for me, I think my Nena would have been in her grave by now. Last time her Lupus acted up, she had to be hospitalized to get the swelling under control. There were so many steroids they put her on that I told her she might as well start to bulk up when she got home. Still, Mom tries, but she’s so self-centered she forgets other people have needs.”

Michael hummed. “Well, we’ll try our best to get you visiting your gran. How about we practice next week? Eli has an unused lower level in one of his buildings downtown that we can use, and there’s always a few bums around willing to make a quick buck. I’ll have Heath and Eli there as well. They offered way back when Cassie was first turned. What do you think?”

She nodded and smiled back at him as he pulled her on top of him with a squeal. “Sounds good.”

“Good.” He pecked at her lips. “Now, enough talking and let’s get you out of this nightie. I should have my credit cards taken away for even buying you clothing to cover yourself in, amo.”