Claude's Conquest (Maura's Men Book 2) Read online

  “Seriously Liz, first you go after Justin and now you’re fawning over some old fart,” Gina sneered.

  Gretchen frowned. She had told Gina and Hailey to go on without her.

  “You have no fucking clue what you’re talking about.” She pushed past them and headed towards Dr. Aiken.

  Dr. Aiken smiled pleasantly at her, and she took a deep breath. She had no clue what she was going to talk to him about, he’d been very thorough in his lecture. She stopped just short of the podium where he stood and opened her mouth to start some small talk only to end up spilling the whole sordid tale of the night prior to him. He’d listened quietly and even though he barely said a word Gretchen felt at ease for once in the past 24 hours. In the end, they had exchanged contact information, and he had encouraged her to apply for an internship with his department in Scotland.

  Felix hadn’t been able to keep his focus on his presentation. Not because of the imbecilic questions from his less than attentive audience, it was an overwhelming sadness emanating from one student in particular that had him so distracted. She sat with the worst of the offenders, but she was quiet, and seemed the most interested in what he was talking about except maybe the professor that had invited him to come. Despite himself, Felix found himself drawing the young lady to him.

  It was a bad habit from his time under Maura’s thumb. He could hardly pass a woman in distress, especially a beautiful young woman. She was average in height and build. There weren’t many curves to be seen in her slightly baggy attire, but judging by the bleach blond hair cascading over her shoulders and dramatic smoky-eyed makeup that enhanced the gray of her eyes, this wasn’t her usual mode of dress. Other than her clothing and mood everything about her screamed ‘I’m a party girl, come play with me.' She reminded Felix of a time long ago, a time he so desperately wanted to forget.

  Felix tried not to frown as he noticed Maura’s curiosity in the man entering the room. This could hardly be a good thing. This whole night had only been to cultivate some fresh blood for Maura’s latest binge, not to add to her collection. Felix turned his attention back to the charming young woman in front of him. Many years had passed, but it seemed the only thing that had changed was the fashion. This woman was so enticed by the thought of a future with him; it was almost too easy to convince her to slip away with him later. Felix desperately wanted to have a conscience as he began to lead the girl away from the party, but it had been a long time since Felix had felt human enough to have that kind of emotion.

  As the girl got closer, her emotional turmoil ripped him out of his self-loathing. Why the woman had coaxed the memory of his first encounter with Claude, he had no idea, maybe because it was the first time that Felix had ever questioned Maura’s motives. Felix felt the familiar stirrings within himself, the lust for blood mixed with the need to possess. It wasn’t until they were face to face that Felix knew that this was something different. The look in her eyes was too eerily familiar for him to ignore. He urged her to share her story with him and after twenty minutes Felix was so angry he was afraid he might reveal his true self to the young woman.

  He felt the need to protect her, to help her right the wrongs in her life. Felix knew that letting her talk about it would help, but what she needed was a change of scenery. Staying here with her so called friends was not going to help her so he did the only thing he could. He gave her his information and asked her to apply for an internship with him at MacDonald Estate.

  Not only would it give her something to focus on and help her out of the hole she had dug for herself, but it also benefited Felix to have someone too distracted with themselves to focus on the excavation. Gretchen would like a change of pace, and Maura’s grave would possibly be safer with students who were looking for an escape from the ordinary more than making any significant discovery. Felix made a mental note, e-mail his assistant to put Gretchen’s application at the front of the pile.

  MacDonald Estate, Scotland 2010

  Gretchen Jones compared the map in her hands to the landscape in front of her. The main house seemed overwhelming and pretentious in its stone design. It stood like a fortress, in the center of everything, the grounds surrounding it manicured to perfection and the wood at the back side of the property obscured the drop of a very steep cliff edge. The cliff was the only area not surrounded by a massive stone wall.

  The MacDonald Estate, Felix had explained to her when she first arrived, was built to keep the world out (or people in, if the rumors were to be believed). The grid she was considering was located about half way between the main house and the edge of the wood. She was in the middle of surveying the section to excavate, when she heard Janet’s flirtatious giggle from behind her. The high-pitched bubbles of sound carried far in the chill of early evening. It was almost time to pack up for the day. Shaking her head, she marked a promising grid on her map.

  Janet had always been easily distracted by the opposite sex. Hearing Janet’s giggling again, Gretchen looked up and spotted Janet chatting it up with a man who most definitely wasn’t one of the people working on the site. Frustrated, she set down her map and made her way over to the duo. Ever since Felix’s disappearance, the original group of interns had lost what little work ethic they had. Not that she could blame them.

  Working under Declan Murray was punishing, to say the least. Sure he had made the first major discovery since the first network of passages had been found inside the main house, but everyone was over his Indiana Jones attitude. Even after finding nothing of importance in the room he discovered, he pushed everyone like a slave driver. With any luck, they would discover another room soon, and this time not an empty one.

  That should get Declan off their backs for a bit. Not that he was overly micromanaging during the day, in fact, he was quite absentee, but when he did grace them with his unwelcome presence, the mood on the site turned glacial at best. Just thinking about Declan replacing Felix in any way made her heart hurt.

  It was only now that Felix was gone that she had been able to admit how close they had gotten over the last two years. Dr. Felix Aiken had been tall and handsome, but it was his enthusiasm for The MacDonald Estate that had swept her away. He had been a true intellectual, not the playboy type she’d hung around in her early college days. Another fit of giggling interrupted her thoughts, and she continued on her path. This was still an active excavation, not a tourist attraction. If Janet’s friend were here for any reason other than business, she would have to escort him out.

  As she approached, Gretchen studied the man Janet was with. While Janet was flaunting her smile and ample bosom, the man didn’t even seem to notice. His handsome yet slightly gaunt face was serious as he talked, and Gretchen wasn’t quite close enough to make out exactly what the conversation was about. If Janet’s puzzled expression was anything to go by, the man wasn’t buying what she was so obviously offering.

  “Can I help you sir?” Gretchen asked, intruding on their mostly one-sided conversation.

  The man looked relieved that there was someone new to the conversation as he introduced himself, “Dr. Shane Pearse. I am a colleague of Dr. Felix Aiken.”

  He extended his hand for her to shake, and Gretchen took it. His hand felt a little cold in hers, even given the chill in the air, but he didn’t look like he was in full health at the moment.

  “Gretchen Jones. What brings you to MacDonald Estate?” She cut to the chase.

  A few people had visited claiming to know Felix in order to see if there was anything of value around the site. She didn’t have time for games, but after a few more questions, Dr. Pearce seemed legitimately interested in what was going on. Janet tried to get Dr. Pearse’s attention, but again Gretchen steered the conversation back to the dig and what they had found. Janet seemed to get bored with the conversation quickly now that it seemed Dr. Pearse wasn’t interested in anything more than the progress on the dig.

  “Like I was saying, Dr. Aiken may not have been super-motivated as far as progress on th
e dig, but he taught us a lot otherwise. I just don’t understand why he would just up and leave. I don’t believe he would do that willingly, and I definitely don’t understand him putting Declan in charge. Everyone knew they didn’t get along in the least. Not that Declan is a very personable person. He wasn’t even here for the experience. He gave me more of a treasure hunter vibe than a serious archaeologist,” Gretchen blurted before she could catch herself. She bit her lip and blushed.

  Gretchen wasn’t the gossiping type, at least not anymore. She really needed to get her emotions in check. Dr. Pearse wasn’t the first person to come asking about Felix, but for some reason she felt comfortable giving him more information than what was necessary. Almost like the first time she had met Felix, she found herself spilling her guts without reservation.

  “So when was the last time you saw Dr. Aiken?” Dr. Pearse asked, and she sighed.

  “He usually kept to himself after the work day was over. The last time I saw him, we had convinced him to join us out at Uisge Beatha, it’s a local pub named after the Scottish national drink. The place is a dive, but the drinks are cheap. Anyway, that was the night before the room was discovered. Everyone was there, well except Declan, but no one minded since he was usually a drag. Dr. Aiken left early, and in a hurry like he had forgotten an appointment or something. I only remember because he practically knocked me over on his way to the door,” Gretchen said, and Dr. Pearse nodded.

  “Did Declan ever show up that night?” he asked, and she shook her head.

  “No, but like I said that wasn’t unusual for Declan. He always thought he was better than all of us and rarely hung out with anyone. He was too focused on finding buried treasure and hated Dr. Aiken for stalling him in finding his fortune. Declan seriously thought he was on the verge of discovering the fountain of youth. Surprisingly, he took it rather well when it turned out to be an empty room,” Gretchen said.

  Dr. Pearse nodded and asked a few more questions about the progress on the dig before excusing himself to find Declan. She was almost glad, though she had been at ease around Dr. Pearse, she hadn’t been okay with how easily she had lost her professionalism. With a shake of her head, Gretchen went back to the workstation where she left her map and noticed an envelope that hadn’t been there before.

  “What is this?” she asked a passing intern.

  He shrugged and kept going, so she picked up the envelope and opened it. It was the lab results from the soil samples. A small jolt of excitement went through her, they would finally know the secret to the red dirt. Declan had been against her sending them, but she had anyway. The soil composition was valuable archaeological data, especially given the strange red hue the whole room seemed to have.

  It was completely different from any other area surrounding the room. Her excitement died as she read the results. A chill crept up her spine that had nothing to do with the weather. Now they knew why the soil was red, it was saturated with blood. Gretchen shoved the results back into the envelope and stuck it into her back pocket. These results would be going straight to the authorities as soon as she was done here.

  The sun was getting low, and everyone was starting to wrap things up for the day. MacDonald Estate might be impressive and well-manicured during the day, but at night it could easily be used in a horror film. The massive stone walls cast ominous shadows in the moonlight. Not to mention the evidence of foul play burning a hole through her pocket.

  She was busy securing her things for the night when she saw Declan approaching. He wore his usual scowl as he headed directly for her. He seemed even more menacing since Dr. Aiken’s disappearance than he had before. It was evident in the way people jumped to get out of his way and refused to look in his eyes as he passed.

  “I thought I told you to direct all visitors to me before commenting about anything involving the progress of the site.” He snarled at her, coming to a stop well within her personal bubble.

  As much as she wanted to take a step back, she didn’t dare move. There was no way she would allow Declan to see just how much he bothered her.

  “I didn’t say anything that wasn’t already in the papers,” she said. It might not be entirely true, but she wasn’t going to tell him that.

  He ran a hand through his hair as he often did when agitated.

  “Anyway, I wanted to discuss with you about management of the site.”

  “We’ve made a lot of progress in the older sections,” she supplied, but his scowl only deepened.

  “Not about that,” he spat running his hand through his hair again.

  Gretchen glanced around, noticing that everyone had stopped what they were doing to watch their exchange.

  “Maybe we should go someplace away from the others.”

  The last thing she wanted was to be anywhere alone with Declan Murray, but she preferred to have this discussion without an audience. Their rivalry was legendary, but that hadn’t stopped any of the others from suspecting a romantic connection between the two of them. She had made it a point to avoid any situation that would give validation to that, but with this particular situation it was unavoidable. He glared down at her for a second before stalking off in the direction of the wood. She had no choice, but to follow. It wasn’t until they got far enough from the others that she stopped.

  “This is far enough,” she said.

  It was one thing to be out of earshot of the others, but she didn’t want to be out of their sightline. She stopped where she was, but Declan grabbed her roughly by the arm. His grip was so tight that it stung even through the padding of her thick sweater. He began to drag her closer to the woods edge, and Gretchen panicked.

  “Declan stop! What the hell is wrong with you? Let me go!” Gretchen yelled, but his grip only tightened as he dragged her into the trees.

  She pulled with all her might, but Declan was stronger than she had thought. She cursed herself for being so stupid; Declan had never cared about other people’s feelings, but she hadn’t wanted to discuss it in front of the other students. Stupidly, she’d followed him away from the others. All the time she had spent in self-defense classes had failed her in her struggle against him. If anything, she only managed to drain her own energy, but she refused to give up. She refused to be a victim, not this time. She continued to fight as he dragged her further into the dense foliage. At this rate, it seemed he might lead them both off the cliff.

  “Let go!” She cried again, giving yet another tug, but he pulled her against him so that they were face to face.

  “None of this would be happening if you had just kept your mouth shut,” he growled, his lips curling up revealing a set of sharp fangs.

  Her body tensed in fear; her mouth open prepared to scream, but he was too quick. Before her mind could comprehend her situation, she felt a sharp pain in her neck and then he was gone. She collapsed, her breathing ragged, she tried not to panic at the massive amount of blood pooling around her.

  Gretchen lay stunned as she watched the most beautiful man she had ever seen beat the living daylights out of Declan. Even the cold seeping into her bones from the forest floor couldn’t diminish the warmth in her heart as she watched her blond guardian angel.

  She was dying. Her blood poured from her body, leaving her weak and hopeless. The only thing keeping her lucid was the searing fireball of pain that was her throat. A part of her was glad he was getting punished for what he had done to her, but the other half was petrified. She only managed a moan of thanks before the world began to slip away.

  Langsmith, CaLifornia

  Six months later

  Maura was furious. Declan was way too reckless, and without her power, she could do nothing to stop it. This sense of helplessness wasn’t something she ever wanted to feel. Sure, she had witnessed the emotion in the men and women she had drained over the years, but to actually feel it herself? Maura had every intention of getting rid of it. Even without her dark magic, she wasn’t completely powerless. She was an ancient vampire with many tricks
left up her sleeve.

  She caught a glance of herself in the mirror left hanging on the peeling walls of her new hideout. She stopped in disgust. Without her dark magic, the effect of the blood she so carefully harvested wasn’t holding up as long as she needed. Deep creases at the corners of her mouth and eyes marred her once flawless visage. Even the jet black of her hair was fading to a pale gray. Soon her strength began to diminish, as well. As if her dreary surrounding weren’t enough to put her in a bad mood.

  The hasty retreat from the MacDonald estate had landed them briefly in an American motel. She’d stayed in a few rat infested shit holes in her day, but never had she paid to stay in one. That wasn’t an experience she would ever repeat.

  This place was only a minor step up, fully furnished in a tasteless hunting theme. The most suitable place Declan could come up with on such short notice, and limited funds. Maura needed to build not only her army, but her fortune. In the meantime, she was forced to endure this squalor. No doubt some hunter’s cabin.

  Staring into the glass eyes of the dead moose head hung above the fireplace below, she could see the appeal of having one's trophy kills mounted on the walls. An idea she might take into consideration when she completed her revenge. The only real bonus was its location, hidden by forest in the mountains near the last known location of her targets.

  Declan was most certainly going to pay for his incompetence. It was his fault Molly was gone, and so was the necklace, the key to all of her power. Molly had seemed like the perfect tool for her revenge. Maura had used a lot of her magic to get Molly’s head back on her body and bring her back to life. Shane had always been weak, and using his not so dead lover against him would have brought him down in no time.