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

23. Moving In

Cassie listened carefully to Michael as he explained the situation. His parents, his past—everything up to and including the horrible things he'd witnessed and taken part in when he was with Sangue Nero.

Everything except his current debt to Gio. That he kept to himself.

"They were the original Mafia?" she squeaked after all was said and done. Michael nodded. "Holy shitballs."

It had all been old news to Eli, but he still couldn't help but think about that poor unborn baby and the mother who'd seen it die before her life had been blotted out most viciously as well.

"If Michael hadn't done all those wretched things, he could have been punished. There are tortures that they inflict on a vampire without killing him. Silver spikes, starvation. Some are even forced to nearly die of it before given a blood bag in the shape of a small child or infant." Eli swallowed thickly over the lump that developed when he thought of Adam or Charlotte dying in that way. As a blood bag for a tormented vampire. "It's abominable. Regular Mafioso seem like fluffy bunnies in comparison to Sangue Nero."

"Christ." Cassie shuddered. It took a lot to freak a vampire out as they were much more attuned to their baser instincts, that reptilian inner core of their brain. This was true even after the change from human to vamp.

"So, you think that they may have you followed or possibly do something worse—is that what I'm getting out of the undertones of all this?" Eli asked.

Michael hesitated before nodding his head briefly. "It's always a possibility. My mother is a bullheaded as ever, and a tiger never changes its stripes." He made a face. "Is that the turn of phrase you use? Or is it leopard never changes its spots?"

"What do you suggest, Eli?" Delia finally asked. She'd let Michael describe everything up until now, but she was getting antsier by the minute. Standing on the knife's edge of a life-changing decision could do that to a person—or vampire.

"I think it's best if you stayed away from your condo if you think them having you followed or cased is a possibility. Your jobs are secure enough as there are other vampires around, so that's not a real issue here." He sighed before scrubbing a hand down his face and running it over his goatee a few times. "Honestly, I think it's best if you both stay here as it's hard to get past the walls and gates, and we have every entranceway and exit on closed circuit television monitoring. We have motion sensors sharp enough to pick up any subtle movement. It's state of the art. Also, we have plenty of room, and it's not like it's the first time we'd be kidnapping Delia, at any rate." He gave a sad sort of smile as the nod to the last time Delia had stayed with them. It was around the time Cassie had been taken, and Delia had still been human then.

It was also on account of her living with them at Alex and Ellie's place that she met Michael. How things seemed to always circle back to familiar ground.

"We couldn't intrude—" Michael said, standing.

"I don't think that's going to—" Delia and Michael both spoke at the same time.

Eli stood as well, his hands up to stave off their protests. "It's not a bother. Truly. We would love to have you here for a while, and I think Cassie would feel better for it as well. If Sangue Nero don't see any movement from either of you after a month, I think they'll quit looking and—"

"And try something else, possibly," Michael finished, sounding exasperated.

"Well...yes, that's possible—"

Michael shook his head. "It'll never end, Eli. I'll be moving from place to place with Delia until I'm out of places to go to. I need to deal with this in some other way—"

"And until then, you can move in temporarily here while we think of something," Eli interjected.

"It's only for a bit—or at least until we can figure something out that's more permanent," Cassie quipped, agreeing. "And I would love to have you here, and I'm sure the babies would love to see more of their Auntie Delia and Uncle Michael." She smiled charmingly at them both until Michael blew out a breath.

"Sposina?" The word was a question, one Delia readily nodded her head to.

"It's fine with me. It doesn't matter where our home is, so long as we're together."

***

They took no time in getting their things together quickly, Michael grabbing luggage back at the condo and placing all their essentials inside them, as well as most of their clothing. Delia took the time to pack up blood into a cooler, adding some of the already crushed ice to keep it fresh on the ride back over to Eli's and Cassie's. Though they both didn't want to admit it, they felt better for having at least some sort of plan, even if it was no further than just getting the hell out of Dodge. For the time being, it was something. A place to regroup and think about what they could possibly do in the long term.

Michael hated to rely on Eli for his mate's protection, and he waffled between feeling grateful and feeling helpless. Helpless that he couldn't protect her better, but there were few places that he could bring Delia at the moment. She was still new to the supernatural life, though getting better at quelling her hunger every day.

They didn't stop until they'd packed everything they could possibly need for an extended stay at the Paynes, and Delia did a quick inventory of their things to make sure she wasn't missing something vital. When all was said and done, they had five suitcases between them and the cooler for their batch of blood.

They once again left via the freight elevator and were just able to fit everything into the sensible sedan Michael owned. Saying a silent goodbye to her first home as a vampire—for now—Delia sat in the passenger seat and fought a serious case of déjà vu. Her s**t was packed up in suitcases and moving to Beverly Hills with her and her mate. No one was kidnapped so far, but it gave her all the horrible emotions she'd felt the year before when Cassie had been taken by Tanner.

If she'd had a beating heart, it would have been hammering against her ribs in double-time.

They once again glanced behind them often in their travels, keeping an eye out for any cars that seemed to be heading their same direction, but it was even quieter now, and none of the vehicles were the same as the ones that were there a minute or two ago. They seemed to still be undetected. By who...that was anyone's guess.

Michael and Delia placed their bags in a room that was on the other side of the house, far away from screaming babies and Eli and Cassie, but close enough so that they felt included in the household. The house was located at the end of a cul de sac and directly next to Ellie and Alex's home, so at least there would be plenty of company in and around the home for Delia to soak up some actual one-on-one contact with others. She hadn't realized how much she'd been missing it outside of work.

As they set their empty suitcases in the walk-in closet and started to put away clothing, they began to talk quietly about how long they would stay at the Paynes' home.

"As Eli said, a month should do it. Make them think that maybe we moved out or found a house or something," Michael was telling her. "It's easy enough to find where you work, but they have vampire guards at all entrances, and they won't let just anyone into the facility. They would need an appointment of some sort to get in. I can give the owner a call and let them know not to accept anyone unknown to them into the building. As they have a vast but very comprehensive list of clients, this should be no problem. He knows a lot of what I've been through with Nico and Giuliana as well."

Since Michael's job took him all over the city, he'd only have to worry about being followed, and he was already alert enough in that sense. If not when starting in the security business, then most certainly before that when he was still vetted within Sangue Nero.

"I hate this," he said as he sat down.

Delia looked over at him. "Hate what?"

"This." He waved an arm around the room. "I want to be in our bed together, not hidden away in someone else's home. It makes me feel completely useless as a mate. I should be the one who keeps you safe, not Eli. I should have the wherewithal to insure your protection, not—"

"You know Cassie would have blown a fuse if we had declined," Delia stated simply. "The last time she risked herself and others coming to meet me just to make sure I was okay. I mean, I wasn't, but she didn't care. She risked lives in order to get to me when Tanner texted her claiming to be me. She would have hounded us until we relented. She's as stubborn as I am."

He rifled a hand through his hair restlessly. "I know. That's the only reason I agreed, but I still feel impotent, and if it was just you and I and we didn't need the income, I'd ask Eli to let us borrow the cabin for a few weeks, but—"

"I get it, Michael. We still have bills to pay and neither one of us is shitting out tons of money. I don't mind. I like my coworkers, even if the job isn't all that exciting. I'm putting off going to college, by the way. I don't think I'd be able to concentrate on classes with things being the way they are right now."

He looked up at her, his eyes wide. "Delia, no. Let me handle this all. They're my parents, and I and certain that we can—"

"I've made up my mind, Michael. More stress on top of schoolwork isn't going to see me at my best, and no matter what you say, I'm going to worry about this, even if you insist on taking all the burden upon your shoulders." She smiled. "It doesn't work that way, you know. What affects you, affects me, and that's just the way it is going to be. Your troubles are my troubles."

He moved closer to her, pulling her into his arms as he sat on the edge of the bed. His ass sank into it, and he took note that it was one of those memory foam mattresses. As he pulled her onto his lap, he sighed. "I don't like you being troubled by this, cara. You have enough to worry about trying to get better with being around humans."

"I'll be fine," she assured him. "The last time I practiced I was nearly normal when that old wino was in the basement with me and you and Eli. Hardly wanted to bite him at all. It's just a matter of time before my appetite is curbed enough that I'll actually be able to venture out into the world again."

Standing up, she started to undress, getting into her pajamas as Michael continued to think deep thoughts with a frown etched on his face. She knew how to turn that frown into something far less disturbed, so she shimmied into a nightgown that was sleek and smooth to the touch. Unlike Cassie, she had no qualms about being intimate with her mate at another person's home.

Michael was distracted and didn't even watch as Delia dressed in one of his favorite nightgowns. He simply wanted to think, though he knew if his mind kept whirring like it was, he'd never get to sleep. When he finally looked up, Delia was climbing onto the bed and moving closer to him, looking pretty as a picture.

"Sposina." His voice simply ached with longing as she crawled closer to him. "What are you doing in that?"

He'd divulged many times that he simply couldn't resist her in the negligee she was wearing and had a feeling she'd worn it on purpose.

"I'm getting into bed."

"No, you're tempting me to be bad, and we're guests at this house."

She shrugged. "Cassie might have let it be known that the walls have been soundproofed in this house. Mostly for the babies' sakes, but I find it quite useful for us as well."

He groaned, quickly unbuttoning his shirt as Delia's body slid closer to him. He was soon naked and gripping the silk over her breasts, pinching the already-taut peaks beneath the slippery fabric.

"Plus, bad can be so, so good, Michael."

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