Chapter 41

Remy kept Ephie behind him. Ephie's father. Unbelievable. He knew the man wasn't here for any good reason. Bad intentions wafted off him like smoke. "I don't care who you are. You're trespassing. You need to leave now."

Solomon stuck his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket, looking amused in the most annoying way. "Really? You don't care that I'm both the father and the maker of the woman you claim to be in love with? Rather disrespectful, considering I am your elder."

Remy shook his head. At the moment, he didn't give two figs about vampire etiquette. He'd like to punch the smugness off the man's face. "You didn't turn her. I did. And I don't care how old you are. This is my house and my property. You are not welcome here."

At least he couldn't get in without an invite.

Solomon's laughter held an air of condescension. "Your opinion doesn't matter, and I don't need your permission. Nor do I care about what you want or don't want. That is my daughter. I have every right to see her."

"No, you don't," Leonie hissed.

Remy realized they were getting nowhere fast with this egotistical intruder. It was time to put an end to this nonsense. "Well, you've seen Ephie. You've had your visit. You can leave now."

Solomon shook his head. "Not without my daughter."

Ephie snorted. "I'm not going anywhere with you."

"Oh, but you are," Solomon said. "You see, you've made your choice to become a vampire. I knew you would eventually. Now I've come to take you home with me and educate you in the ways of our kind. You are the heir to my throne, so to speak. I am quite a wealthy man with a great deal of influence. The life that awaits you is beyond your dreams."

"I couldn't care less," Ephie muttered, lip curled in disgust.

Solomon held his hand out. "We really should go."

Darryl stepped forward. "Not while there's breath in my body, you aren't taking her anywhere."

Remy cringed inwardly. Darryl meant well, but Solomon wasn't going to like being challenged by a mortal. Darryl would be safe so long as he stayed inside the house, though.

Solomon's eyes narrowed into cold slits, his voice just as icy. "Is that a request? If so, I will gladly grant it. Just step outside and –"

"Enough," Remy spat. Anger coiled in his body like a cobra about to strike. He let his fangs down and gave himself over to his true nature. "You touch any of them and I will turn you to ash before you can speak my name."

Solomon leaned forward, his face inches from the invisible wall keeping him out. "Remy Lafitte." Then he laughed. "Such spirit. I find it highly amusing. Ephelia, that's quite a young man you've chosen for yourself, but you'll soon see there are so many more, shall we say, interesting choices. I will introduce you to men that will make this one look like the rustic he is." He sniffed. "A pirate's grandson. How very droll."

He gestured toward Ephie again. "Come."

"No." Ephie moved out from behind Remy to stand beside him, her shoulder touching his. "First of all, Remy is an amazing man. Stop trying to run him down. I don't like it. And you're only making yourself look like a moron."

Darryl grinned.

"Secondly," Ephie went on, "I don't care who you are or what part you think you played in my life, but I'm not going anywhere with you. You took advantage of my mother, then you abandoned us both. You chose not to have a relationship with either of us. If you think suddenly showing up changes any of that, you're not just a moron; you're a brain-dead moron."

Solomon's eyes glittered with a steely, supernatural glow. "I will overlook your insolence this time, but you have a lot to learn. Exactly the reason I'm here. Let me start by teaching you a very important rule. I am your maker, and I am in charge. This decision isn't up to you."

"Of course it is," Ephie said. "It's my life. I make my own choices."

Solomon arched his brows, lips pursed in a moment of frustration. Then he smiled. "You are a treasure. You have your mother's stubbornness, but as I'm sure you're aware, I overcame that. This is going to be fun." He pulled a pocket watch from the interior pocket of his jacket. "Plenty of time before the sun comes up, but we need to get going all the same."

He put the watch away. "Say your goodbyes, Ephelia."

Remy took a step toward the man, stopping just shy of stepping outside. "Are you so old that your hearing has failed? She's not going anywhere with you. The only one who needs to leave is you. I'm done discussing this. Get off my property before I really get angry."

Solomon sighed like he was bored. "Such strong words for a man with a cat on his shoulder. It's quite a look, by the way." He shook his head and looked past Remy toward Ephie, Leonie, and Darryl. "This younger generation. Who can keep up?"

Leonie clicked her tongue. "I see you never stopped being an idiot. I guess a leopard can't change its spots."

Solomon scowled. "You could have had an amazing life with me, Leonie. Sad how bitter you've become. Is that from living with so much regret?"

"You need to go," Remy repeated. "Ephie is not coming with you. You have no relationship with her and never will."

"That's right," Ephie said, linking her arm through Remy's.

"Neither of you seem to grasp the reality of this situation," Solomon said. "She's coming with me. It would have happened sooner, but she took quite a while to finally decide she wanted to be a vampire. Now that you're turned, Ephie, you belong to me."

"I don't belong to you." Ephie practically snarled the words out. "I don't belong to anyone."

Solomon shrugged. "You've left me no choice." His eyes took on the vampire glow again. "Ephelia, come here. Now."

Remy heard a strain of power in Solomon's voice that hadn't been there before. It wasn't something anyone but another vampire would have picked up on. It made his skin prickle and the little hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He didn't know how old Solomon was, but he definitely had power.

Ephie walked toward Solomon.

Remy grabbed her hand before she stepped across the threshold. "Ephie, no. Block him out."

Ephie kept moving forward, her eyes never leaving Solomon.

Remy tugged her back.

The man lifted his chin. "She's under my sway, Lafitte. She always will be. She has no choice but to obey the one who made her."

The doorbell rang, followed by three short knocks. Ephie shook herself before moving closer to Remy. She pointed at Solomon. "Stay out of my head."

"Must be the pizza," Darryl said. "You want me to get rid of him?"

"No." Remy pulled money from his wallet. "Here, pay him."

Darryl took the money and went to take care of things.

Solomon inched back a few steps, glancing anxiously at the front of the house. "You have twenty-four hours to say your goodbyes, Ephelia. Running won't make a difference. I can find you anywhere. Remember that."

Then he left, vanishing off the deck in a blur. Remy closed the sliders and locked them, then joined Darryl at the front door.

Remy took the three pizza boxes Darryl was holding and nodded at the young man who still had the bag with the salads and desserts hooked on his arm. "Don't worry about the change. That's all yours."

"Thank you, sir." The young man pocketed the money and handed over the bag to Darryl. "Y'all have a good night."

"You, too," Remy said. He nudged the door shut with his foot.

Darryl turned, looking toward the backyard. "Solomon's gone? Where'd he go? He was right there."

"He's gone. I guess he wasn't sure who was at the front door and it spooked him," Remy said. He pulled his cap off and ran a hand over his head. The spot where he'd been burned was almost fully healed. "Unfortunately, he'll be back."

"Vampire speed," Darryl whispered.

"That's right." Remy nodded. Darryl was dealing pretty well with all the new information he'd recently gotten. The man would make a great vampire, but Remy wasn't about to mention that.

A soft sob escaped Leonie's throat. She put her hand over her mouth. "What are we going to do? We can't let him take Ephie."

"I won't go with him," Ephie said. "I won't. Remy, how do we stop him from having control over me?"

Remy didn't have an answer, but there had to be someone in this town that did. He had a pretty good idea who that might be. "I don't know. Yet. But we'll figure it out. I'll figure it out. This isn't a town that takes kindly to people like him."

Ephie shook her head. "I can't go with him, Remy. I can't."

"You won't have to. I swear." He put his hand on her shoulder. "I will do everything in my power to make sure that doesn't happen." He meant that, too. If it meant battling Solomon in a duel to the death, so be it.

Ephie came first. In everything.

"How?" Leonie cried. She pointed at the door, her finger trembling. "He told me once that he'd come back for Ephie someday. I thought it was just a threat. I thought he'd forgotten about both of us. Obviously, I was wrong."

Remy carried the pizza boxes to the dining room table and set them down. "I need to make some calls. Go ahead and eat. You might not feel like it, but we're all going to need our strength."

"I have no appetite now," Ephie said. She wrapped her arms around herself.

Leonie shook her head. "Neither do I."

"I understand how you both feel," Remy said. "But Ephie, you need sustenance. You're still healing. Your body needs energy and resources for that. Please eat. All of you." She'd also need blood, but he'd get her that after Leonie and Darryl were gone.

Leonie ignored him, going to her daughter instead. She hugged Ephie, her voice weak with worry. "I'm so sorry."

Darryl looked lost. He took the rest of the food to the table and just stood there a moment, clearly feeling for the two women but not knowing what to say.

Remy understood. "It's going to be all right." He wasn't sure how just yet, but he'd find a way to make it all right. Whatever he had to do. Someone in this town would have an answer. He'd start with the oldest vampire he knew, Elenora Ellingham.

Darryl nodded. "I believe him, ladies, and so should you. Look what he did to save Ephie from the fire." He went to them. "You think he's going to let another vampire take you away, Ephie?"

Ephie smiled weakly and shook her head. "No. But you don't understand the control Solomon had over me. I was powerless. It was terrifying. I couldn't do anything but obey him."

"That was exactly what he did to me," Leonie said.

There was fear in Ephie's eyes when she looked at Remy. "Do you really think you can figure out a way to keep me here?"

He hated that she was scared. He loved her. It was his job to protect her. "I do. I just need a little time."

Leonie looked less convinced. "Well, then, you'd better get started. You only have twenty-four hours."