Detour: A Cyn and Raphael Novella (Vampires in America 13.5) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Praise for D.B. Reynolds’s Vampires in America . . .

  Other Titles by D. B. Reynolds

  Detour

  Copyright

  Detour

  Please visit these websites for more information about D.B. Reynolds

  About the Author

  Praise for D.B. Reynolds’s

  Vampires in America . . .

  “D. B. Reynolds always tells a fantastic story with all sorts of twists and turns in her complicated worlds that you can’t help but love! I can’t wait to see what her genius-self cooks up next!”

  —Cassandra Lost in Books on QUINN

  “. . . another can’t-put-down book, so clear your schedule and hunker down for a terrific read.”

  —La Deetda Reads on RELENTLESS

  “This is a power read, and fans will not be disappointed in the latest installment of Reynolds’s tantalizing series. Top Pic! 4 1/2 Stars.”

  -RT Book Reviews of LUCIFER

  “Captivating and brimming with brilliance, CHRISTIAN is yet another defining addition to the ever-evolving world of Vampires in America created by D.B. Reynolds.”

  —KT Book Reviews

  “Did I mention that the sizzling sex factor in this book is reaching the combustible stage? It is a wonder my Kindle didn’t burn up.”

  —La Deetda Reads on DECEPTION

  “D.B. Reynolds has outdone herself with this exhilarating story, and VINCENT is a worthy addition to Reynolds’s always excellent Vampires in America series.”

  —Fresh Fiction

  “Terrific writing, strong characters and world building, excellent storylines all help make Vampires in America a must read. ADEN is one of the best so far.” A TOP BOOK OF THE YEAR!

  —On Top Down Under Book Reviews

  Other Titles by D. B. Reynolds

  VAMPIRES IN AMERICA

  Raphael * Jabril * Rajmund

  Sophia * Duncan * Lucas

  Aden * Vincent

  Vampires in America: The Vampire Wars

  Deception * Christian * Lucifer

  The Cyn and Raphael Novellas

  Betrayed * Hunted * Unforgiven

  Compelled * Relentless * Detour

  Vampires in Europe

  Quinn * Lachlan

  The Stone Warriors

  Damian * Kato * Gabriel * Dragan

  Detour

  by

  D. B. Reynolds

  ImaJinn Books

  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), events or locations is entirely coincidental.

  ImaJinn Books

  PO BOX 300921

  Memphis, TN 38130

  Ebook ISBN: 978-1-61194-977-3

  ImaJinn Books is an Imprint of BelleBooks, Inc.

  Copyright © 2020 by D. B. Reynolds

  Published in the United States of America.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

  ImaJinn Books was founded by Linda Kichline.

  We at ImaJinn Books enjoy hearing from readers. Visit our websites

  ImaJinnBooks.com

  BelleBooks.com

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  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  Cover design: Debra Dixon

  Interior design: Hank Smith

  Photo/Art credits:

  Couple (manipulated) © Konradbak | Dreamstime.com

  :Mdsx:01:

  Detour

  CYN BIT HER lower lip, struggling to conceal a smile that threatened to become a laugh as she watched

  Raphael reassure Juro one last time that he would be perfectly safe without a bodyguard, or five, to watch over him.

  “I’m sure my Cyn will protect me. Won’t you, lubimaya?” he added, raising his voice so she could hear from where she stood waiting on the other side of the Land Rover.

  “Hey, don’t get me involved in this,” she called, laughter bubbling over despite her best efforts.

  Raphael shot her a thanks a lot glare, but there was no heat to it. Once upon a time, he’d have been mortally insulted at the suggestion he was incapable of protecting himself. He was, after all, an extremely powerful vampire lord, and very likely the most powerful vampire alive. But Juro was one of his closest friends as well as his security chief. He’d gone along with this romantic getaway vacation, but that didn’t mean he liked it. Hell, Cyn fully expected to see familiar faces peeking around corners at every stop.

  She had to cover her mouth when the thought doubled her amusement and the volume of her laughter.

  “I should go,” Raphael said dryly. “Before amusement tumbles my mate to the ground, and we’re delayed even further.”

  “Very well,” Juro sighed. “Should you have any doubts as to your safety, please call. I can have a team there, wherever you are, in moments.”

  Well, that’s an exaggeration, Cyn thought. Not even Raphael was supposed to know where they were going. She’d been super careful in making the reservations. Had gone so far as to make her calls from off the estate, and had used a burner phone, for fuck’s sake. There was no way Juro could know, much less have quick response teams set up everywhere. For all anyone knew, they were driving to the airport and flying to fucking Finland! Not that they were, but only because it was too far for a quick getaway. She’d thought about it though. She’d seen pictures of glass huts in the snow, with the dark winter sky lit up in psychedelic colors. The long nights wouldn’t have been bad, either. But Raphael hated the cold.

  Besides, he couldn’t go off radar for more than a week these days without everyone freaking out and thinking he was dead or missing. Again. Well, the missing part, anyway. Though he hadn’t really been missing, even the one time that had spooked everyone else. She’d known where he was and who the fuck had him. And she’d made sure they paid for every minute they’d tried and failed to hold him captive, too.

  She didn’t have the strength or speed of a vampire, but Raphael was right. She was his fiercest defender. Now it was her turn to glare over the top of the SUV, directing it at Juro for daring to doubt Raphael’s safety as long as she was with him. The big security chief gave her a puzzled look, then closed his eyes in resignation.

  Good choice.

  Finally out of patience and aware the night would only last so long—it was winter, after all, and California didn’t have Finland’s long sunless days—she stood on the running board and slapped the vehicle’s roof. “Okay, Juro, I know you’re getting that empty nest feeling, but it’s time to redecorate the house or something, and let him go. Kiss, kiss.” So saying, she stepped down and into the passenger seat, then rolled her head to one side like a bored teenager and stared at the two vamps. Then she leaned over and pushed the gas pedal with her hand to rev the engine impatiently.

  Finally, the two of them exchanged a manly handshake, and Raphael slid behind the wheel.

  “Quick, close the door!” she hissed.

  He slid his eyes in her direction, but he didn’t waste any time pulling the door shut, either.


  “My God,” she muttered. “I half-expected him to grab you and run back upstairs.”

  “Cyn.”

  She leaned over and kissed his perfectly chiseled cheek. “You want me to drive? It’s been a while since you drove yourself, hasn’t it?” she asked with the utmost sincerity.

  “Are you going to be like this the entire journey?”

  “Maybe. Are you going to pull away from the house?”

  He uttered a filthy Russian curse—which only made her laugh—put the vehicle in gear, and accelerated smoothly up the long, curving driveway. The gate opened before they got there, the vampire guards stiffly aware that this was their lord and master driving past. Raphael gave a single, sharp nod and turned onto the tree-shrouded and very private road to the highway. The road was unlit. Vampires didn’t need much light, and the shadows helped deter any humans who might think to spy on the famous vampire lord.

  Raphael wasn’t actually famous. At least, he wasn’t trying to be famous. But he and Cyn did sometimes mingle with the rich and famous, and magazines loved to include the usually secretive vampires among the beautiful people they splashed across their pages. Not without reason. Vampires were beautiful, for the most part. Cyn had seen a few that weren’t, either because they were too young for the vampire symbiote to have worked its full magic, or because they didn’t have enough power for the symbiote to maximize its effect. But the only ones who were truly ugly were those whose souls were so corrupted and black that not even the symbiote’s magic could make them pretty.

  “Which way, my Cyn?”

  She gave him a happy smile. This trip had been her idea. They had so little time alone, and most of that was in their private suite under the main house. Whenever they went out, they were surrounded by security people, and at home it was sometimes worse. She longed for a few days with just the two of them. No guards every twenty-five yards down the hallway, no ringing phone or business meetings that only he could deal with. Just Raphael and Cyn on holiday like a normal couple. Or, as normal as a billionaire vampire lord and his stunningly beautiful mate could be. Her smile became a grin. “You think they’re watching to see which way we go?” she asked.

  “Probably, but it’s a big state.”

  “Who says we’re staying in the state?”

  “I know you. You won’t want to waste time driving.”

  She snorted, but he was right. “Left. We’re going north.”

  He made the turn onto Pacific Coast Highway and hit the accelerator, unconcerned about speed limits. He could whammy any police or patrolman who stopped them into bidding them a fond good night and walking away. Besides, every driver in California considered speed limits more of a suggestion than a rule.

  “What is our destination?” he inquired.

  “Hmmm. I think I should wait until it’s too late to turn back before I tell you.”

  His brows arched. “You don’t think I’ll enjoy it?”

  “Oh, I know you will.”

  “Then?”

  “Just drive. We’re free.”

  He shot her a quick, concerned glance. “Do you not normally feel free?”

  She sighed and reached over the console to rest her hand on his leg. “Do you remember when cars didn’t have center consoles? When you could snuggle up while you drove?”

  “I do, yes. But you shouldn’t.”

  She laughed. “I’m not that young. It was a while before every car had these things.” She slapped the console. “Bench seats were nice.”

  “Really? Did you have many nice times on bench seats?”

  She patted his hard thigh. “No. Boarding school, remember? By the time I really started dating, bench seats were gone,” she said wistfully.

  “I’m sure we could retrofit your car if that’s what you truly want.”

  Cyn smiled again. “You’re too good.”

  “Only to you.”

  “Of course.”

  “Answer one question.”

  She just looked at him.

  “Will we reach our final destination tonight?”

  “Oh, my God. Yes. Happy?”

  “No.”

  “Relax, fang boy. I’ll keep you safe. You’ll see.”

  He growled softly but covered her hand with his own and squeezed her fingers as they rolled down the dark highway under starry skies.

  RAPHAEL DROVE steadily, unbothered by the absence of light on the dark road. The moon had come and gone early this night and had been no more than a waning crescent at that. Tomorrow would be a dark moon, a vampire moon some called it, although that was a misnomer. Vampires had no problem with moonlight. People sometimes conflated vampires with the werewolves of popular myth. Or so he considered them. He’d never met a werewolf, or any other were animal. That didn’t prove they weren’t real, but he’d been alive a very long time, more than five hundred years, and he’d lived all over Europe and much of North America. It seemed likely that had were-creatures truly existed, he’d have met one by now.

  Vampires did exist, however, and the only celestial body they had trouble with was the sun. The vampire symbiote—which only a very few people knew existed—disliked sunlight and chose that time to rest and rebuild itself. No vampire—not even him, with all his power—could resist the shutdown of his body during that time. He could delay it longer than most, and he was aware of Cyn even when he slept, but that was the extent of his daylight existence. It had troubled him long, long ago when he’d first been changed. But no more. He enjoyed his life, especially now that he had Cyn to share it with. He hadn’t known he was lonely until he met her.

  He stroked his thumb over her slender fingers. So delicate a hand for such a strong woman. She was a contrast within herself—tall, slender, and beautiful. Most men wanted to protect her, to own her. He was no different. He simply knew better than to try. She would have said they protected each other, which was closer to the truth.

  “We should stop for gas at the next exit,” she said quietly, “so we can drive the rest of the way without stopping.”

  They’d travelled about a hundred miles, he figured. If she expected to drive the rest of the way without stopping, and if they were sticking to Highway 1—

  “I can hear you calculating our destination in your head.”

  He laughed. “No, you can’t. You just know me that well.”

  Her smile was satisfied, though whether at having called him out, or because she really did know him that well . . . probably a little of both. He knew her, too.

  He glanced at the exit sign and gave a mental shrug. He knew of this place but had never visited it. His own Malibu estate pre-dated the immigrant settlement which had become this thriving small city and tourist attraction. He wondered if there would be anything open this late at night, but very quickly saw the lights of a lone twenty-four-hour gas station. He pulled under the canopy and turned off the engine. Without a word, they both exited the vehicle. Cyn might joke about protecting him, and he, her, but the truth was they were each too careful to sit inside unaware while the other was distracted with the gas pump.

  It was Cyn who slid the credit card into place and selected the fuel type, while he lifted the nozzle into the tank and clicked it. After a quick glance around, she stretched her arms over her head, then bent over and touched her fingers to the ground, legs perfectly straight. “Ugh,” she said, coming back up and twisting from side to side. “I love road trips, but I hate the road part.”

  He came up behind her and crossed his arms over her chest, tugging her against him. “Will we have time to exercise when we get there?”

  She laughed and leaned her head against his shoulder. “Maybe. If you drive fast.”

  “In that case—”

  “My lord?”

  They both spun at the unexpected and unfamili
ar voice.

  CYN’S HAND WENT to her gun as she turned, but Raphael lifted a calming hand, telling her there was no danger. She wasn’t sure she believed him, but now that she had a better look at the vampire, she had to agree. He was definitely a vampire, and not a strong one, either. The red gleaming eyes told her that much. There was also the respectful and diffident way he was refusing to meet Raphael’s gaze, while still doing his best to look his fill. He’d called Raphael “my lord,” rather than “Sire,” which meant he’d been turned by someone else. But that didn’t matter if he was living in Raphael’s territory. Which it seemed he was.

  He was dressed simply, in dark khaki trousers and a white collared shirt, with a black zippered jacket over it all. His age was indeterminate to her senses. He appeared to be in his late thirties, but that meant nothing when it came to a vampire’s age. He was shorter than she was, no more than five feet, eight inches. Which in all fairness had probably been on the tall side when he’d been human. His head was bare, his white-blond hair shining under the overhead lights, and his eyes a blue so pale they looked almost colorless.

  Raphael tilted his head in an inquisitive pose, as if rolling through his memories trying to place the vamp’s name. “Jannick Bork,” he said easily, as if they’d spoken only a day ago, rather than the years, maybe decades, Cyn knew it had to be.

  “My lord Raphael,” Bork said in an awestruck whisper. “I’m honored you remember.”

  “I know all my people.” He reached back and tugged Cyn to his side. “You won’t have met my mate, Cynthia. Lubimaya, this is Jannick. He and his nest have lived in this area for some time.”

  Jannick dipped his head in her direction. “Just over a hundred years, my lady.”

  “How did you know I’d be here?” Raphael asked, his voice as calm as ever, but Cyn knew him far better than Jannick. She heard the potential for violence underneath the question.

  “I didn’t, my lord,” he hurried to answer. “I frequently walk these streets late at night. That’s the only time it’s quiet anymore. Especially this time of year. The town needs the tourists, and so I welcome them. But they do bring noise and disruption with them.”