Free Redemption (The Penton Vampire Legacy) by Susannah Sandlin Page B

she could. She hoped Aidan “Godfather” Murphy heard her.

A idan’s eyes flicked open at sunset, exactly 4:49 p.m., and his first thoughts were of Krys. Whether she was more frightened than angry. How much she remembered. What to make of the hunger she’d raised in him—not just hunger for sex or blood, but a bloody mating call, at least as he’d heard it described. Had to be a fluke.
    The room was cool and quiet as he rolled onto his side and reached to click on the bedside lamp. He stretched out muscles tight from too many hours without movement, and ticked through the things that he needed to do before sunrise, trying to push thoughts of Krys to the back burner. Now was no time to get distracted.
    First on the agenda: breakfast. He might have shown a little more intestinal fortitude last night if he hadn’t neglected his feeding. Instead, he’d acted like an asshole. Lesson learned.
    He picked up the cell phone on his nightstand and speed-dialed Will. His lieutenant’s clipped blue-blood accent sounded alert as he launched into a spiel before Aidan could utter a word.
    “Yes, the doctor’s apartment has been vacated. No, I haven’t delivered her pathetic belongings to storage—it was almost dawn when I got in. That human needs a serious style makeover, by the way. And yes, I intend to finish getting her affairs in order tonight. Anything else?”
    “There’s always something else, Sir William.”
    Accent on the
Sir
. A standing joke between them. Where Aidan had been a dirt-poor Irish farmer, Will was a product of his highbrow Yankee upbringing. He’d been turned in his early twenties by his father, Matthias, to ensure him an eternal acolyte. Will had the expensive tastes of early New York high society, but he didn’t share his father’s taste for power and manipulation. He’d thumbed his nose at Matthias and wandered the world until finally joining up with Aidan five years ago.
    “This Irish peasant needs a donor,” Aidan said. “Got somebody you can assign me for a few days? Mark needs to heal, and I want Melissa free to take care of him.”
    Will snorted. “Please. Women will be opening their veins outside my front door when they learn the great Aidan Murphy needs sustenance. Hold on.”
    Grimacing, Aidan heard the click of computer keys and waited. The last thing he had time for was a woman with social ambitions, especially a human.
    While Will looked through the possibilities, Aidan slid out of bed and ran his hands through his hair.
    The gesture brought the image of Krys back to him, the way she’d looked at him with that mixture of vulnerability and desire. Back burner. Right.
    He realized now that her inhibitions had been lowered by the enthrallment, but it wouldn’t have changed her basicpersonality. She was both fiery and vulnerable, a combination that intrigued him and brought back memories that he hadn’t indulged in for a long time. Since Abby died all those years ago, he’d kept his relationships simple: blood from humans, friendship from his fams and lieutenants, and sex that scratched an itch—vampires only. Love was a distraction that ended up hurting everyone.
    “I have a possibility here, sister of a familiar.” Will clicked more keys, jarring Aidan back to the present. “She’s here with her husband. I assume you want a donor already in a relationship so you don’t have to disappoint some poor girl deluded enough to think she can make you love her. Or I could send you a guy.”
    Aidan grunted. “Somebody in a relationship is good. I have enough drama from my psychotic brother. Last thing I need is a woman who thinks she can save me from myself. And no guys.” He might not have sex with his fams, but some intimacy was unavoidable and guys just didn’t do it for him. He’d fed from Mark a couple of times in an emergency, but it hadn’t been comfortable for either one of them.
    He took a quick shower and dressed in a pair of black wool pants and a pale blue cashmere