Venice Vampyr by Tina Folsom

Lorenzo who’d risen from the sofa.
    “Thank you, my friend.”
    Lorenzo made a sideway’s glance at Dante. “Would you like some? I brought her for Dante, but as we both know, he doesn’t mind sharing. Do you, Dante?”
    As much as he would have liked to accept the offer, he’d decided to only feed from men now that he was married to Isabella. He didn’t feel that it was right to touch another woman.
    “No, thank you.”
    “My brother is smitten with his wife, you must understand, Lorenzo,” Dante drawed, having dislodged his fangs from the woman’s neck. “It appears he doesn’t want to give into temptation by touching another woman.”
    “And Dante seems to stick his nose into things that don’t concern him. Who I feed from is entirely my business,” Raphael shot back. “Now, if you’re quite done with feeding, can we get down to business? What did you find out about Giovanni Tenderini?”
    Dante licked the puncture wounds on the woman’s neck, then got up and carried her to the sofa where he laid her down. Then he wiped his mouth and looked back at Raphael, his face serious now. “He was a Guardian alright. But I’ll let Lorenzo tell you the story. It’s quite interesting, by the way.”
    “Yes,” Lorenzo confirmed. “A Guardian turned Vampire.”
    Shock coursed through Raphael. “What?”
    “You heard right. He was chasing a group of us together with a couple of other Guardians, but we managed to separate him from his brethren. We cornered him in a dead end. There was no way out for him. Nico had the brilliant idea of handing out the ultimate punishment.”
    Raphael held his breath, knowing what was coming.
    “And what fitting punishment it was for a Guardian to become the very creature he hunts, don’t you think? Nico turned him. He struggled, he fought – a very brave man, if I may add. But to no avail. At the end, the deed was done. He’d made him one of us. We heard of his death a month later. I wonder whether he took his own life. He must have known he would drown.”
     “It all makes sense now.” Raphael ran his hand through his hair.
    “What makes sense?” Dante asked.
    “Isabella noticed a change in him in the month before his death. And he never wore his Guardian ring again. But I don’t believe that he committed suicide. More like somebody close to him hastened along his end.”
    “His wife?” Lorenzo asked.
    Raphael gave his friend a scolding look. Isabella wouldn’t harm a fly. “No. Isabella would never hurt a soul.”
    “You seem so sure, my brother. Didn’t I tell you not to trust your wife? Watch out or you might end up like her first husband.”
    Raphael glared at his brother. “Isabella has nothing to do with this. I rather suspect that his cousin Massimo is involved in his demise. Have you had somebody follow him?”
    Dante nodded. “He’s careful. No suspicious meetings with anybody so far. And we haven’t spotted the ring on anybody else. I suspect the Guardians only wear it in private or when they meet with each other.”
    “We’ll just have to be patient.” Raphael glanced at the clock over the mantle. “I have to get back before she wakes.”
    Dante tsked. “I think you should leave her. We don’t need her to get to Massimo. Now that we know his name and whereabouts, you shackling yourself to her isn’t necessary. She’ll only become a liability and put you in danger.”
    Raphael snarled. “She’s mine. And she’ll remain mine.”



Chapter Seventeen

    Knowing he had to feed again, Raphael peeled himself out of the arms of his sleeping wife and slid out of bed. Maybe he should have accepted her offer to take Giovanni’s bedchamber, but he couldn’t bring himself to sleep without her and only visit her to make love. He liked having her in his arms at night wn she slept. It soothed him.
    Trying to be as quiet as possible, he snatched his clothes from the chair and left the chamber, closing the door behind him without a sound. He felt like