Free Dead Certain (Eve Benson: Vampire Book 3) by P. S. Power Page B

survival for us here, even
though the Vampire that owns the needed information is from America, but she
does not think that will be allowed. Apparently the bitch that we need to deal
with is under the thumb of your sister, Nicole. We have that bit of bad blood
between us, so it is perhaps that, sending us to war? I should have handled
Lenore differently, at the time. I was callus, perhaps, when I should have been
more kind?”
    Eve kept herself from rolling her
eyes. After a bit, she shrugged again, not really knowing if there was a bigger
plan involved than not. On this side of things it seemed like there was
an easy enough fix, wasn’t there? They could just open up some blood
manufacturing farms in Russia. Even if they didn’t make any money from it, it
wasn’t a horrible idea. Some things were more important than making cash.
Almost everything was, really.
    After a bit, she spoke, her voice
low, with Nikki just looking like a guilty child.
    “Ah. Okay then. Well, we need to
fix some things then, if you don’t want to die anytime soon, that is. The
Council won’t put up with this kind of thing for long, will they?” She glanced
at the Vampire and had to fend off a strong wave of compulsion. It was so
constant that she was starting to think he didn’t have complete control over
it.
    “This is truth. What can be done
however? My people here are sick of the taste of boot leather. Even if
threatened with death, they will seek to fight, rather than slowly be ground
down.”
    Nikki managed to shake herself
enough to free her mind a bit it seemed, and she changed the topic suddenly,
her face going a bit tense.
    “Have you been leading these people, Bohdan? The ones that have been robbing the Council embassies?”
    Her boyfriend, if that was the
right word for that kind of relationship, stared at the brightly colored hair
Nikki was sporting, and then shook his head slowly.
    It wasn’t exactly a denial
though.
    “They are my people, but it is
not all to my plan. Nearly a year ago some of the Vampires decided to take the
battle to the Council, weakening them here, by denying them resources. It has
been kept quiet however. How did you learn of it?” Now he was getting
suspicious.
    Nikki either didn’t get that, or
didn’t care at the moment, since she went on like it just made sense to run her
mouth.
    “Three of them attacked the place
we were staying last night. They threatened to rape the ambassador, and us, given that we happened to be there at the time. It’s not a great plan,
trying to hit places like that.”
    The male Vampire, his smooth face
pale and very bland, stopped dead and turned to look at Nikki, suddenly very
angry seeming.
    Eve got ready to end his days,
but his words were different than she would have suspected.
    “The fools! We can’t afford to
add such insult. Do they seek to have The Lord brought down on us? You are not
injured are you? Not abused as they threatened? I swear, they will not exist
past this night! Can you tell me their names?”
    They really couldn’t, but the
team’s description was enough. Bohdan knew who they were, after all, and
winced.
    “I understand. You would have had
no way to stop them... To rape the daughter of The Lord like that… We are all
dead, aren’t we, then? I shall seek to bring them to me, and then submit myself
to your father, Nicole. Perhaps he will show mercy, and kill only those that
allowed this to happen, instead of each of us. Those fools !” This time
the fangs popped out and the man really didn’t seem to care about hiding it. No
one noticed though.
    As far as the people there knew,
there were no Russian Vampires. That meant noticing them wasn’t high on the
priority list, most likely.
    Nicole touched his coat sleeve
and shook her head.
    “No. Those Vampires died ,
well before they could do anything. Eve destroyed them. She’s…” The other woman
stopped then, even if she had given too much information.
    Bohdan seemed shocked