Bitter Blood (Blood and Moonlight Book 3)(76)

Jane’s brother was dead.

The djinn was free.

Paris was holding tight to Annette.

And Jane…

Aidan and Jane were still standing.

“I’ve already died once,” Aidan told Vincent, keeping his eyes locked on that soulless bastard. “And I came back. Your brilliant plan to end werewolves? It backfired. I’ll get Heider to run all of his tests, but I know what he’ll find…just like Jane, I’ve stopped aging. Death isn’t standing over me, waiting, because I’ve already defeated that bitch once. So I won’t be going anywhere. I’ll spend forever at Jane’s side. I’ll watch her back and I’ll love her. And you will never hurt those we care about again.”

Vincent’s face crumpled. “No! No! She was the end—”

“We saved Paris, too. Now that he’s stronger, we know how to keep werewolves who transform sane…they just need enough blood, fast enough. Werewolf blood. You didn’t destroy the werewolves. You just made us stronger.” Now it was Aidan’s turn to smile. “And my whole pack will be here soon…”

“Doesn’t matter.” Vincent shook his head once, hard. “I can’t be destroyed! I can’t—”

“A stake might not take you out, losing your head might not even stop you, but…” Jane said, cutting through his words, “but you can spend an eternity in hell.”

Vincent stilled. “Wh-what?”

“I hope you’re ready for the end,” Jane told him. “Because for you, it’s coming.” She turned in Aidan’s arms and stared up at him.

Yes, they were thinking the same damn thing. He could see it.

They couldn’t kill Vincent…

But they could stop him. They could contain him.

His end. It was f*cking at hand.





Chapter Eighteen


New Orleans Homicide Detective Jane Hart stalked through the cemetery. The heavy stone mausoleums rose up around her and the statues seemed to watch every step that she took. It was long after midnight, and the cemetery should have been deserted…

Jane turned right.

And found a voodoo queen waiting for her. A bandage covered Annette’s neck. “It’s done,” she said simply.

Paris curled his hand around Annette’s shoulder and she settled back against him.

So, yeah, they’re definitely a couple now. Jane was happy for them, and really damn curious to see how that relationship would work. Considering that Jane and her beast were now bound to happily-ever-after forever style, she was one hundred percent sure the voodoo queen and the werewolf-slash-vamp would make an incredible team.

“Are you sure he’s out cold?” Jane asked. She crept closer to the group assembled. Paris, Annette, Aidan, and Lena were all standing in front of a crypt that looked positively ancient.

“Vincent couldn’t be destroyed,” Lena said in her soft, husky voice. “But he can sleep. I put him under and he won’t be waking up.”

Jane stared at the entrance to the crypt. Wolf carvings were on the stone doors and a heavy, thick chain locked those doors closed.

“He’s unconscious, and he’s trapped inside a stone coffin,” Aidan rolled back his shoulders. “Werewolf guards will keep patrolling this cemetery, just in case, and Annette will scry to be sure the vamp won’t have any chance of escape.”

Jane slowly exhaled. This was the plan they’d come up with—imprisonment. Locked away, Vincent wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone else.

“We could have kept him awake,” Lena said, tilting her head as she studied those stone doors. “That way, he would have felt every moment of his imprisonment.”

That was…inhumane. And there was still too much humanity left in Jane for her to do that. But…her gaze took in the lines of strain near Lena’s mouth. “How long were you with him?”

“Five centuries.” Lena’s head turned so that she met Jane’s gaze. “And every moment was hell.”

So…Lena really was a djinn. Or a genie. Or whatever folks were calling her kind these days. Though from what Lena had said, she was the last of her kind.

She could grant wishes. Could wield enormous power, but if anyone possessed her heart…

They controlled her. Completely.

Five centuries was a very long time. Jane could see why the woman would want her share of payback.

But we have to be the good guys. We can’t let the darkness take us over. Because as she’d seen with Aidan, the darkness could be far too powerful, once it got a grip on someone. “It’s better this way,” Jane said. “He won’t hurt you again. You’re free.”

Lena smiled at her, a real smile, one that lit up her green eyes. “Yes, I am.”

Paris cleared his throat. “So…what does a djinn do…when she’s free from five centuries of hell?”

Lena tossed back her head and laughed. “Anything she wants.” Wind seemed to swirl around her. “Anything…” Her body shimmered. But then she stared at Jane. “I said he was asleep…I never said I wasn’t going to give the bastard bad dreams. I hope he chokes on the nightmares.”

Then…she vanished.

“I think I like her,” Annette said. “She has style.”