Dalakis Passion 4 - Eternal Brothers Read online

  An Ellora's Cave Romantica Publication

  www.ellorascave.com

  Eternal Brothers

  ISBN 9781419913839

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

  Eternal Brothers Copyright © 2007 N.J. Walters

  Edited by Mary Altman.

  Cover art by Les Byerly & Syneca.

  Electronic book Publication October 2007

  This book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written

  permission from the publisher, Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 44310-

  3502.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales

  is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the authors' imagination and used fictitiously.

  * * *

  DALAKIS PASSION:

  ETERNAL BROTHERS

  N.J. Walters

  * * *

  Dedication

  Thank you to my husband, Gerard, for sharing this incredible journey with me.

  Thank you to all the readers who have embraced the Dalakis family and this series.

  As always, thank you to my amazing editor, Mary, who works above and beyond

  to make each book sparkle!

  * * *

  Eternal Brothers

  Prologue

  The hair on the back of his neck stood on end. Sam Cassidy flicked back the corner

  of the curtain ever so slightly and peered out into the evening gloom descending on the

  city of New Orleans. He scanned the street but could see nothing. Nonetheless, he knew

  someone was out there watching the house. He'd been a cop for too long to discount his

  instincts.

  "What's wrong?"

  Cassidy didn't jump or flinch. He was getting used to the other inhabitants of this

  house taking him unawares. It didn't bother him anymore. After all, they were all

  vampires and therefore had abilities beyond mere mortals. He chuckled to himself as he

  let the end of the curtain drop back into place and turned away from the window.

  "Something amuses you?" The corner of Lucian's mouth turned upward.

  Cassidy shook his head. "I just find it damn strange at times that I'm working for a

  bunch of vampires."

  "Ah, the capriciousness of fate." Lucian strolled farther into the opulent family

  room, stopping by a wine decanter and pouring himself a glass. The ruby red of the

  liquid had Cassidy staring hard at it. "It's only wine, my friend. But an exceptional

  vintage." He picked up the crystal goblet and swirled the liquid around. "Are you sure

  you don't want one?"

  "Positive." He glanced out the window again. "Someone is out there watching the

  house."

  All remnants of humor disappeared and Lucian was standing at the window before

  Cassidy could blink. He still couldn't get used to the preternatural speed and other

  powers that Lucian and his family possessed. It would take time, he supposed. He'd

  been friends with them for several years but had only taken the job as head of their

  security two weeks ago.

  Lucian focused his attention out the window and Cassidy knew he was using his

  exceptional psychic powers to scan the area. "I sense only normal activity."

  "Doesn't matter." Cassidy strode to another window and checked the street. It was

  early October and, with the night closing in quicker, it was impossible for him to see

  much of anything. "Someone is watching."

  Lucian stepped away from the window. "If you say that someone is watching us,

  then I believe you. But there is always someone watching us. That is one of the

  problems of being rich." Dismissing whoever was outside on the street, Lucian picked

  up his glass and strode toward the door. "Delight and I are taking her brother out for

  supper. He's heading back to New York tomorrow and Delight wants to spend the

  evening with him."

  Cassidy watched him disappear back up the wide staircase. Delight Deveraux--

  well, she was Delight Dalakis now--was the reason that he'd met Lucian. She'd been in

  the wrong place at the wrong time a little over three years ago and had witnessed her

  boss being murdered. Unfortunately, the lowlife scum who'd been doing the killing had

  discovered her and they'd chased her with the intent of silencing her. Fortunately,

  Lucian had saved her. Cassidy had been one of the detectives assigned to the case.

  They'd never found the bodies of the assailants and that had led him to look a little

  more closely at the Dalakis family. Lucian and his brother Stefan lived alongside each

  other in the French Quarter. Rich and powerful, they kept a low profile in the city.

  The crime boss who'd ordered the hit had wanted all the loose ends tied up and

  that had led to the kidnapping of Delight's then eighteen-year-old brother, Chase. The

  night everything had come to a head was one that Cassidy would never forget. He'd

  seen things he never would have believed if he hadn't seen them himself, and there

  were still some days where he questioned his own mind.

  Delight had been shot and was dying when Lucian had grabbed her. Before

  Cassidy's very eyes the man had grown fangs and began sucking what was left of

  Delight's blood from her body. He had started to interfere but was stopped by both

  Chase and Stefan. Lucian had then opened up his own vein and had tried to get Delight

  to drink. It had been horrifying and fascinating to witness at the same time.

  She'd been dead. He was certain of that. But then she'd latched onto Lucian's wrist

  and sucked. Her wounds had begun to heal in front of Cassidy's eyes. That night had

  been a nightmare, and for the first time in his law enforcement career, Cassidy hadn't

  told the full truth. He'd kept the Dalakis family and Delight out of his reports.

  After all, who would have believed him?

  The Dalakis men were not trusting sorts and Cassidy couldn't blame them. When

  you were protecting a secret this big, you couldn't afford to take chances. But Cassidy

  had been thrown into their lives again a few months later when Stefan got into a bit of

  trouble in North Carolina. Once again, Cassidy had witnessed a Dalakis brother bring

  his chosen woman back from the brink of death and convert her into a vampire.

  He walked over to the large wingback chair that sat in front of the fireplace and

  threw himself down into it, stretching his long, jean-clad legs out in front of him. The

  hearth was cold, but the nights were still relatively warm. Closing his eyes, he tilted his

  head back against the plush cushion. He seen more horror than he'd ever wanted to the

  past three years and only a small part of it came from his association with the Dalakis

  family. The bulk of it had come from Hurricane Katrina.

  The Dalakis family had evacuated along with everyone else who'd been able to

  leave the city, but he had stayed. As a police detective, it was his duty to serve. He

  swallowed hard, still able to taste the stench of death after all these long months. He

  had vivid memories of the hours following the disaster. Days had melded into weeks of

  scouring th
e city for the dead and survivors as the waters receded. Then there was the

  criminal element that always surfaced at times like this, preying on the weaker and

  finding a way to turn a buck.

  The experience had changed him.

  He'd seen too much, been through too much. In spite of how he'd felt, he'd hung on

  almost another two years, refusing to quit. The dreams tormented him nightly and he

  felt as if he was losing a hopeless battle as the city struggled to rebuild. At thirty-five,

  he'd burnt out and had lost the heart to do the job he'd been trained to do. Handing in

  his resignation had been the hardest thing he'd ever done. Sam Cassidy was no quitter,

  but it was either the job or his sanity, so he'd left the job.

  "You okay?"

  Cassidy opened his eyes and smiled. At twenty-one, Chase Deveraux was the only

  other non-vampire in the house. Cassidy didn't count the housekeeper who only came

  in twice a week. He liked Delight's younger brother, who was much older than his

  years. "I'm fine." The response was immediate, but he realized he wasn't fine. A

  restlessness filled him and he knew that as soon as the family left for supper, he would

  be out prowling around the neighborhood.

  Chase stared hard at him before changing the subject. "How do you like the

  carriage house?"

  Cassidy had moved into Chase's old apartment, a converted carriage house out in

  back of the main house. It was large and clean and more than adequate for his needs. It

  kept him on site where he was needed and it saved him a lot of money in rent. Not that

  he needed to save money now. The Dalakis brothers were paying him a ridiculous

  amount of money to work for them, but that wasn't why he'd taken the job.

  "The carriage house is great. How's New York?" Delight's brother was a budding

  artist and, from what little Cassidy had seen, a damn good one. He specialized in

  sculpture but also dabbled in paints as well. Lucian had arranged for him to move to

  New York to further his art studies.

  Chase's demeanor changed immediately as he smiled. "New York is amazing.

  There's so much to see and do."

  He listened with half an ear as Chase waxed enthusiastic about the joys of the city,

  his mind still on the threat he felt from coming from outside.

  He heard the others coming before he saw them. Female voices drifted into the

  room, announcing their arrival. Lucian and Delight entered the room first. With her

  pale blue eyes and short sandy-brown hair, Delight certainly didn't resemble his idea of

  a vampire. She looked wholesome and natural, more like your friend's kid sister than a

  preternatural being. Stefan and his wife, Laurel Rose, followed them into the room. The

  other woman had an ethereal quality about her. With her long black hair and her deep

  indigo eyes, Laurel Rose looked like she could easily bewitch a man. She was certainly

  the center of Stefan Dalakis' world. The large man hovered protectively behind her.

  Delight smiled at her brother. "You ready to go?"

  "Sure am." Chase headed to the door. "I just gotta grab my coat."

  "You sure you don't want to come with us, Cassidy?" Delight's offer warmed his

  heart.

  "No, I've got things to do here. You all go ahead." He didn't have to worry about

  security at night. No one would get past Stefan or Lucian Dalakis.

  The Dalakis brothers certainly fulfilled his expectations of what a vampire should

  look like and then some. Big and muscular, there was an aura of barely restrained

  power that emanated from them. With their long black hair and piercing green eyes,

  they were definitely intimidating. The women were unquestionably safe with these men

  who would not hesitate to kill to protect them. Cassidy took over security during the

  day when they were all in a deathlike sleep and vulnerable to attack.

  Lucian's eyes narrowed as he watched Cassidy. But Cassidy kept his features

  impassive and the group finally left. The silence of the house wrapped around him and

  he stood and prowled back toward the window.

  Tonight's dinner was for family and, as he had been his entire life, Cassidy was on

  the outside looking in. He was the hired help, not a member of the family.

  That was one of the things that he admired about the Dalakis brothers--family was

  everything to them. They had an older brother, Cristofor, who lived in Transylvania

  with his wife, Johanna, but, in spite of the distance, they were all very close. But as

  much as they were alike, all three brothers had distinct personalities and Sam liked

  them all.

  All three of the women were always kind to him, trying to include him in one thing

  or another, but he wasn't sure that Stefan and Cristofor really trusted him in spite of all

  they'd been through together.

  That was okay by him. Didn't matter what anyone else thought--he considered the

  Dalakis men and their wives to be his family. He was closer to them than he'd been to

  anyone else in his entire life. As someone who'd never had one of his own, he knew the

  value of family and the Dalakis family was his.

  There was nothing he wouldn't do to protect them.

  Moving away from the window, he strode through the house and out the back

  door, setting the state-of-the-art security alarm as he went. It was time for him to do a

  little snooping around. The darkness swallowed him up as he let himself out through a

  side gate in the wrought iron fence that encircled the gardens.

  Zane York let the shadows engulf him as he watched the Dalakis family pile into

  several luxury vehicles and drive away. He'd thought he'd be able to forget about them

  when he'd left New Orleans almost three years ago and headed back to his beloved

  New York City.

  God knows he'd tried to forget about them. Although he was a big man, he had no

  problem melding with the darkness. He was at home here in the night. It was a trait that

  had served him well when he'd worked the night shift as a New Orleans police

  detective. But he'd given up that job and had been back working in New York when

  Katrina had hit the city. For a fleeting moment he'd considered returning to his briefly

  adopted home but, in the end, he'd forced himself to stay away. It was better for

  everyone, especially him.

  But he hadn't been able to settle back into any kind of a life in New York. Questions

  about the Dalakis brothers plagued him constantly. Were they what he thought they

  were? He watched the headlights of the vehicles disappear into the distance. Were they

  murderous vampires?

  He shook his head. They were the reason he'd moved to New Orleans in the first

  place. With his reputation on the New York police force, it had been no problem for him

  to get a job here. He'd quickly gotten into the routine of his new life and watched the

  Dalakis family from a distance.

  From the outside, they seemed to be exactly what they proclaimed to be--a rich,

  powerful family. But Zane had heard rumors and he'd followed up on them.

  The first whisper of real trouble had come when a woman had been assaulted in an

  alleyway after witnessing a murder. Delight Deveraux had escaped, but the men who'd

  attacked her had never been found, even though there was quite a bit of blood in the

  alley and none of it belonged to the woman.

&
nbsp; Detectives Sam Cassidy and his partner, Jean Gagnon, had been assigned to the

  case. Zane had talked to both of them but had been unable to get much of anything

  from Cassidy. Detective Gagnon was the weak link in that partnership and Zane had

  had a much easier time getting information from him. All it had taken was a few drinks

  at a local cop bar one evening and Gagnon had spilled everything he'd known. Which,

  admittedly, hadn't been much at all.

  There was no doubt in Zane's mind that Cassidy was the brains in that partnership,

  which only proved that looks were deceiving. Gagnon was smooth, polished and well-

  spoken, wearing his three-piece designer suits while Cassidy, with his blue jeans and

  good ol' boy attitude, was frequently overlooked.

  Gagnon had told him that Lucian Dalakis had been with Delight Deveraux when

  they'd questioned her and that his attitude had been very protective. Whether he'd been

  protecting himself or Delight, Zane hadn't been sure at the time. But now there was no

  doubt in his mind that he'd been protecting his woman. The fact that they were now

  married spoke volumes. However, it had also raised Zane's suspicions. What had

  happened to the men in the alleyway?

  Then there was the incident at The Club, a local hotspot, a short time later when

  local crime lord Jethro Prince and his chief enforcer, a man known only as Smith, were

  found murdered. Once again Sam Cassidy had been on the scene and it was written off

  as hit from another crime syndicate--a falling-out among thieves.

  But Zane hadn't been convinced. He'd snooped around the streets and alleys

  around the club and found a drug addict who remembered a large man with fancy

  clothing and long black hair entering the club. No one inside the club remembered

  seeing such a man. That had raised Zane's hackles. The description easily fit Lucian

  Dalakis.

  He'd dug further but had uncovered nothing. Worried about his preoccupation

  with this family, he'd resigned his job and returned to New York. Then a new rumor

  had reached his ears a few days ago. Sam Cassidy was now working for the Dalakis