Accidentally Married to…a Vampire?(Accidentally Yours #2)(57)
Author: Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

A hand grabbed his shoulder to steady him. “The effect will wear off in a moment,” Niccolo said.

“Where the hell are we?” Andrus asked, sliding his sword from his back. The tunnel looked like a sewer, but the smell did not match. It was dank and moldy, but not overly offensive.

Niccolo turned and began walking. “Barcelona. These are ancient catacombs built by the Christians in the thirteen hundreds. The Obscuros used them for hiding during the daytime.” Niccolo continued marching at a fast clip. “They kept humans down here for food, too. I obviously put a stop to them some time ago.”

That explained the bones he’d just stepped over.

“Soon, the world won’t need to worry about such things.” Andrus’ nerves sizzled with anticipation.

After several minutes of trudging in the darkness Andrus barked, “Where the hell is she?” You better not be f**king with me, Vampire. If I don’t call my men within the hour, they’ll recapture your Helena.”

He wanted to brag about how he’d made certain Helena had a phone before she’d left the Demilord compound. Like the one she’d carried before, it had GPS.

“I have Reyna restrained with silver in a cell,” Niccolo answered dryly.

Andrus’ ears perked. He suddenly heard the faint sound of Reyna’s voice screaming to be untied. It was like nails on a chalkboard. He hated the sound of her voice. He’d had nightmares for centuries of it.

They marched on until Niccolo suddenly stopped and turned to Andrus. “This way.” Niccolo leaned into the stone wall of the tunnel. A doorway ground open. It led to a long, narrow passage. Reyna’s raging voice poured through the air. “Enjoy my friend.”

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” Andrus growled.

Niccolo turned to leave the way they’d come. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to spend the last few moments of my long existence with the woman I love.”

“Is it that you really care for Helena, or is it simply the bond?”

Niccolo’s eyes flickered. “She is everything to me. I only wish I’d realized it sooner. It is my only regret.”

Life was full of regrets. Some things simply could not be helped.

“Niccolo! You f**king idiot! I can smell you. Get your ass in here and untie me, or I’ll have your head!” Reyna screamed.

“Good luck.” Niccolo was gone in the blink of an eye.

Andrus turned his head toward the sound of Reyna’s voice. This was it. The moment that would change the world.

The narrow passageway was dark and long, but there was a tiny flicker of light ahead. Sword drawn, his hand trembled with anticipation. He hadn’t seen Reyna since the night she’d shoved him in a steel box and shipped him off to Mexico to be transformed by the gods.

With each step, his heart thumped louder and harder. It was as if the vampire blood in his veins—her blood—was calling out to its maker. Thoughts of Helena suddenly entered his mind once again. When he’d met the spirited young woman, she was so desperate to “divorce” Niccolo and start her life over. She’d asked him how to break the bond with a vampire. Now he suddenly knew the answer to her question.

There’s only one way to rid yourself of a vampire…death—preferably the vampire’s.

He reached the end of the passageway. There was a narrow, steel-plated door. Light poured from a gap along the side with the hinges. He pushed. The door swung open and Andrus lunged into the small, dark chamber. Several candles were burning in the corner and there, in the middle of the room, was a small table and a chair.

Empty.

Andrus’ heart stopped as he spotted Reyna standing to his side. She grabbed him and threw him on to his back and pinned him to the floor.

Reyna straddled him, a wide, evil grin stretched across her face. “Hello, Andrus honey. You and I are going to have a long, long talk, and then I have a little revenge of my own to dish.”

***

Niccolo was surprised by how well his plan had worked. It actually seemed a little too easy. Initially, he’d debated whether or not to tell the queen about the Demilord’s plans to assassinate her. Reyna was known for being hotheaded and vengeful. But he figured if he could convince her to play this out his way, she could stop Andrus and save Helena and his men.

He slipped his phone from his pocket. “Yes,” Viktor answered.

“It’s over, my brother. My plan B went off without a hitch.”

It was one of the reasons Niccolo never lost—he thoroughly planned elaborate contingencies for multiple scenarios.

Viktor let out a long breath. “I knew you wouldn’t let us down.”

“There is more,” Niccolo added. “The queen granted our freedom in exchange for delivering Andrus.”

What I do not know yet is my fate. Will I still end up in the queen’s dungeon as Cimil predicted?

“You—we—are free. If you choose to fight Obscuros, it will be your choice. It will be on your own terms.”

“Thank you, Niccolo. I’m speechless.”

Niccolo had spent so long dreaming of the day he would be free from Reyna, and yes, it felt better than he’d imagined—even if he did not know how long that freedom would last since he’d not fulfilled the prophecy—but giving his men this gift was an even greater joy.

“Are you and the men in the safe house? Is Helena all right?” Niccolo asked. The safe house was a location they prepared ahead of time with supplies—extra weapons, a medical bag, and bagged blood—before they went into any risky situation. They either used one of Niccolo’s homes—he had one in almost every major city—but many times, they’d rent a room at a hotel within sifting distance for the other men.

Today they didn’t want to take any chances. The Demilords knew too much about Niccolo, so they’d rented the penthouse at the Fairmont in San Francisco. “Yes, she’s shaken up, but otherwise…” Viktor paused. “…intact.”

He registered that something was wrong. “I’ll be right there.”

“Niccolo, I—I will not be here.”

Had he heard his ears correctly? “Sorry?”

“I have something I need to do…something which has waited much too long.”

Niccolo did not want to pry, but Viktor was like a brother. “If there is anything I can do to help, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Thank you. You have always been too kind to me. I hope someday…to pay back the favor.”