Cast in Blood (Morgan Blackstone Vampires Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

“Where is that infernal device?” Elizabeth snatched his jacket, and before Marcus could chew her out, produced the phone from a pocket. He took it from her with a slight nod and flipped it open.  
    “Are you going to enlighten me; or do the whole ‘I’m the boss and to hell with you’ bullshit routine all night?” she asked, with a low growl, as he dialed.
    “Not now.” He lifted the cell to his ear. It rang several times before it connected and a voice Marcus knew all too well came over the line.
    “Nicholas here, what can I do for you?” His tone betrayed no emotion.
    “You can get your ass on a plane to New Orleans last night, Assassin,” Marcus growled putting special venom in the unofficial title given to the lead enforcer, the name no one called him to his face. He knew it would piss Nicholas off, and that was, more often than not, the best way to get his former best friend to act.
    “Marcus," Nicholas responded, not rising to the bait. "I’m sure you and Elizabeth are more than capable of handling the Rogue she’s told me about. I am rather swamped at this time.”  
    Of course, when I need him to take my bait, the bastard stays calm. “Where is your wife?” Marcus whispered, trying not to think of Morgan, or the screams. He knew he should try to reach out to her, to see if they could make the connection again, but this wasn’t the right time.
    “She’s on one of her trips. I expect to hear from her soon,” Nicholas replied, his tone taking on a sharp edge as he spoke.  
    “How long, Assassin?”
    “Since I heard from her? I don’t see how that’s any of your business, Old Man,” Nicholas snapped. He was getting pissed, but in this situation, Marcus figured pissed was good.
    “She didn’t take her cell phone, did she? Did she leave Charles and Christophe in charge of her latest project, that nightclub, what’s it called, The Dracul?”
    “Why are you asking all these questions, Old Man? The truth. Cut the crap.” The order was clear. Even if he’d wanted to lie, Marcus would have been hard pressed to. He shivered a little, thinking of the abilities that the Council’s Lead Enforcer wielded, and how much damage could be done if the wrong vampire was chosen to fill the post.  
    “She’s in trouble. Last night Elizabeth, and I were examining the Rogue’s latest victim before the human authorities arrived and I heard her screaming,” Marcus answered keeping his tone even, hoping to calm the very hornet’s nest he’d stirred.
    “Screaming?” His voice held no emotion.
    “In my mind, Assassin, it was like a blade through my skull.” Marcus replied. “I was only able to figure out that it was her and something about a swamp.”  
    “Why didn’t you call me sooner?” Marcus could feel the rage rolling out of the phone in waves even across the distance.
    “I collapsed. Didn’t wake until now, you are my first call.”
    “What do you intend to do?” The fear in Nicholas’s voice sent a chill down Marcus’s spine.  
    He knows that by all rights, under vampiric law, I could just walk away. Leave Morgan to her fate and the Council wouldn’t do shit to me. They would rule that it was a fair exchange for Nicholas’s failure to protect Sarah. He thinks I’m going to do it that I’m going to demand a life for a life. “I’m going to get off Elizabeth’s couch, grab a bite on my way to the bayou, and see what I can find.”
    “That’s a lot of area to cover. I can send some enforcers,” Nicholas answered on a long exhalation of breath.
    “That wouldn’t be wise, Assassin.”
    “I’ll be there as soon as possible.”
    “Good.”  
    “Is this your cellular?” Nicholas asked, catching Marcus by surprise.
    “Yes.”
    “So, she got to you too?” Nicholas asked.
    “Morgan has always been enamored of technology.” Marcus chuckled, realizing that Nicholas had used caller ID to get his number, and committing it to memory.
    “Find her Marcus, and keep her