Thorne Ch. 02

"Yeah, put her on for minute." Leon said.

They talked for a few minutes before Louise handed the phone back to Nathan. Leon had asked her a very valid question.

"Is someone going to call Barb?"

No one other than Gene had spoken to Barb and she hadn't given him her phone number. As much as she wanted to honor barb's request that she not be contacted, Louise was going to do it anyway. As soon as Nathan was done talking to Leon, she would ask him to use their computer program to find Barb's number. If she hung up, then they would go to her apartment.

As soon as Nathan hung up, he looked at Louise already knowing what she was thinking.

"Stay put, I'll get the laptop." He said.

Fifteen minutes later, Louise had Barb's phone number.

"You call her and I'll try to reach Thorne." Nathan said.

"You're really going to call him?" Louise asked surprised.

"Yes." Nathan replied. "The fact is whether I like it or not, Thorne Blackwell is now tied to us because of Barb. That means that we are as responsible for his safety as well as he is for ours even if he doesn't realize or want to acknowledge it."

"He's going to be angry isn't he?" Louise asked.

"He'll have to get over it." Nathan replied. "We are now connected for eternity."

Louise nodded, picked up her phone and dialed Barb's number.

*****

Barb was in the process of deciding what to wear when her cell phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and cursed when she saw that it was Louise. She almost didn't answer it, but she wanted to know how Louise had gotten her number.

"What do you want and how did you get this number?" She snapped.

"Barb, listen I know that you don't want to talk to me, but I have to warn you..."

"Warn me?" Barb asked. "And you still haven't told me how you got my number."

"That isn't important." Louise said. "I just wanted to tell you to be very careful. Something bad is here and I don't know what it is. Nathan is..."

"Since you called." Barb interrupted, "I'll give you a bit of news. I'm getting married to Thorne Blackwell. I was in the process of deciding what to wear tonight for dinner..."

"Barb will you listen to me for a minute? You have to be careful!" Louise insisted.

"Aren't you going to congratulate me?" Barb asked conveniently forgetting how she had acted when she found out that Louise was getting married. "Oh and there's one more surprise... I'm pregnant too."

"Congratulations!" Louise said as a different feeling of unease grew in the pit of her stomach. "Are you taking care of yourself?"

"I'm fine." Barb replied happy that the conversation was centered on her. "I saw a doctor last night."

"Good... who are you seeing?"

"Someone that Thorne knows... Gretchen Matthews. She's kind of creepy if you ask me, but I like her."

"That's who I'm seeing." Louise said. "I like her and I don't find her creepy at all."

Barb tensed, what had started as a tense phone call was evolving into as pleasant chat between sisters and that wasn't what she wanted. She had wanted to take the opportunity to gloat. She abruptly changed her tone.

"Was that all you wanted?" She asked abruptly. She could tell that Louise was taken aback by the sudden switch back to her previous attitude.

"I just wanted to warn you to be careful." Louise replied wondering what had happened. If the conversation would have progressed in a pleasant manner, she would have asked Barb what she knew about Thorne.

"Thanks and Louise? Don't call me again... I'll call you."

Barb hung up with mixed feelings. It felt good to talk with Louise, but on the other hand; Louise still represented something that she didn't have which didn't make sense. She now had Thorne Blackwell in the palm of her hand. What else was there? Barb shrugged the question off deciding that it didn't matter.

*****

Thorne checked the time and made a call to the club to touch base with Duke.

"How are things going?" He asked.

"It's busy as usual." Duke replied. "But it's going well."

"Good." Thorne said. "I may not be in tonight, call me on my cell if any problems come up that you can't handle."

No sooner had he hung up when the phone rang again. He looked at the caller ID and scowled.

"What in the hell does he want?" he muttered under his breath as he picked up the phone.

"Blackwell." He snapped into the phone.

"This is Nathan..."

"I know who you are now what do you want?"

Nathan's originally friendly tone turned cold.

"Whether you like it or not, we are now connected." Nathan said coldly. "The thought doesn't make us any happier about it than you are, but be that as it may; we are now obligated to help and protect each other."

"I'll ask again, what do you want?" Thorne demanded.

"I only called to warn you that something is here. We don't know who or what it is, but we have gone on high alert." Nathan replied ignoring Thorne's belligerent attitude.

Thorne hesitated. One of the things he remembered about the Sinclaires was their uncanny ability to sense trouble. It had saved all of them, his family included more than once.

"How do you know this?" Thorne asked his tone more reasonable.

"My mate is a seer as well as an empath." Nathan replied. "I am also both of those things because of her. We have been experiencing feelings of foreboding for the past few weeks, but they have always gone away."

"And now they haven't." Thorne said.

"No." Nathan replied. "I don't know if you've told Barb about what we are yet, but I cannot stress strongly enough that she understand how imperative secrecy is."

"You don't need to tell me what I already know." Thorne said coolly. "Is there anything else?"

"No." Nathan replied. "I'll call you with any further developments and one more thing, be at Ethan's house tomorrow night at six."

"Are you out of your mind?" Thorne asked surprised. "There is no love lost between our families."

"I know this." Nathan replied. "The only reason that I called you is because of Barb. Unfortunately she ties you to us and that makes us responsible for the safety of each other."

Thorne was quiet. It seemed that the day was filled with truths.

"Thorne, I know that our families used to be close. We were friends and allies, maybe we can straighten out the misunderstanding and become friends again especially since we are tied together."

"Don't count on it." Thorne said his tone cool. "Call me with any changes."

After Nathan hung up, Thorne thought about the past. The Sinclaires and the Blackwell's had been friends and allies and then one fight and two deaths changed everything. Thinking about the past also brought back another question. Why didn't Noel remember being at the fight? It was a question that would be addressed after he dealt with Barb Yancy Simpson soon to be Blackwell.

******

Barb was ready by five thirty after changing her clothes several times. Billings was at her door promptly at six. By seven, they were pulling into the parking lot of what looked to be a rundown office building.

"Where are we?" Barb asked disappointed. She had imagined that they would be going to a nice restaurant.

"This is one of Mr. Blackwell's offices." Billings explained.

"Why are we here?" Barb asked.

"I only know that Mr. Blackwell told me to bring you here. Shall we go inside?"

Felix helped Barb out of the car and took her into the building. The inside was much different than the exterior. The inside was tastefully decorated and was masculine in taste.

"This way." Billings said leading her to an elevator.

Moments later, Barb was in an office sitting across from Thorne who took in her expression of disappointment.

"Were you expecting a romantic dinner?" He asked.

When Barb didn't reply, he continued.

"I chose my office because it is a place of business and what we will be talking about is business. First, get the idea of a wedding and a honeymoon out of your head. It isn't going to happen. Before you say anything about appearances, you should remember that I don't give a fuck about what people think or say about me. Do you have any questions so far?"

Barb stared at him and knew that he was serious. There was no point in arguing about it now. She only wanted the wedding so that she could show off.

"Good, then I'll continue." Thorne said after waiting for a moment. "I have accepted the fact that the child that you carry is mine. You will receive the best medical care and will be moved to my home."

Barb smiled.

"I'm not done." Thorne said coolly. "There are guidelines that you will be expected to follow."

"Are you going to make me sign a lease or something?" Barb asked sarcastically.

The coldness in Thorne's glittering green eyes stopped her from making any further comment. Thorne looked at her for several seconds before he continued speaking.

"You will receive a generous monthly stipend to spend as you wish, but once it is gone; there will be no more until the following month. Accounts have been opened in your name at several stores. Again, there is a limit as to how much you can spend at each store. Any attempts on your part to have the staff make concessions will be reported to me.

Now, let's talk about the care of our child. There will be no live in nannies nor will you pawn him or her off to as babysitter while you spend your time shopping or whatever it is that you plan to do."

Barb listened furious as Thorne shot down her plans one by one.

"You look angry." Thorne said as he leaned forward in his chair and rested his elbows on his desk. "I gather that I blew your plans to hell. But let's continue shall we? No matter how I may feel about you, our child will be loved and cared for. I will be an active participant in his or her life. The moment I find out that you've been trying to put the care of our child into someone else's hands, you leave and the child stays. But somehow, I don't think that would break your heart. I know what this child is to you. It's nothing more than a meal ticket and don't bother denying it."

Barb's face burned with fury.

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Barb retorted. "I care about this baby!"

"Only because of what you think that it can do for you." Thorne replied with a cold smile. "I have to give you credit." He added. 'You're one hell of a business woman. Too bad you spread your legs instead of using your brain."

"You tricked me!" Barb yelled as she jumped out of the chair.

"I did no such thing." Thorne replied calmly. "Need I remind you that I gave you every opportunity to back out? You came to my club looking for some rich fool who would be taken in by your looks. Not only that, let me remind you that your family begged you to leave with them. Let me ask you something, your sister, the one that threw up; she made a statement about Hans being for you. What do you think that she meant?"

"I don't know, but let me tell you something." Barb said her eyes narrowed. "I don't know who you think you are, but you don't get to tell me what I can and can't do with my time or my baby."

"Actually, you're right so I'm going to give you a choice. You play by my rules and you get the life that you want. If you don't, I keep the baby and send your ass packing. I really don't care which option you choose, but you will choose one now."

"Now?" Barb asked finally understanding that she was way out of her depth.

"Now." Thorne said watching her.

If she decided to walk out, then he wouldn't have to go into the explanation of whom and what he was. But he knew which option she would choose. The money was too great a lure.

"I accept your terms." Barb replied after several minutes.

"Before we go any further, do you have any questions regarding our agreement? Because once I agree, then there's no going back."

"How much is the stipend?" Barb asked.

"One- hundred thousand dollars. Each of the stores will have a credit limit of ten-thousand dollars." Thorne replied waiting for her to ask about the physical part of their relationship.

"I want a wedding." Barb said firmly.

"No." Thorne said firmly. "I told you that I don't care about appearances nor will I pretend that this is more than it really is; an arrangement in order to do the right thing."

"So you're expecting me to move into your house and live there under your rules without any compromise?" Barb asked.

Thorne smiled as his eyes roamed down Barb's body giving her yet another chance to clarify their relationship.

"Alright, when do I move in?" she asked ignoring his blatant perusal of her body.

"Are you sure that there are no other questions?" Thorne asked. "I don't want to be accused of tricking you and as I said, once I agree; it's done. Oh one more thing, the stipend is not to be used to pay a nanny. I understand that you will need time for yourself so that is one point on which I am willing to compromise."

Something niggled at Barb but she ignored it seeing only her goal.

"How generous of you!" Barb snapped.

"Are you accepting my offer?" Thorne asked. "If you decline there will be no ill will. I take the child and will raise it alone. We will never have to see each other again."

"I... I accept." Barb replied tersely. In her mind, she had lost the battle; but not the war.

"Then I accept, now sit down; we have other things so discuss."

As soon as Thorne said that he accepted, Barb felt an almost unpleasant pull on her heart. What she didn't know was that Thorne felt the same pull. Thorne waited until she was sitting before he continued.

"There is the matter of who and what I am." He said watching her carefully.

"I know who and what you are." Barb said. "You're Thorne Blackwell, entrepreneur and a son of a bitch."

"Don't waste time with the name calling." Thorne said. "I've been called much worse and it accomplishes nothing. I'm not going to sugar coat this or try to be gentle in my explanations. You'll have to accept the situation as it is and you will give me your word when I am through that you will keep your mouth shut."

Barb was appalled at the way that she was being spoken to, forgetting how she normally spoke to people.

"Good, I have your attention." Thorne said with a cool smile. He was actually enjoying himself. "I'm a vampire and by default, you are my mate. That is the only reason why we're even talking You are also immortal, you will remain as you are for eternity."

"Vampire?" Barb asked laughing. "Is this some ploy to get me to back out of our arrangement?"

"Not at all." Thorne replied. "I'm just telling you what you need to know. Our arrangement as you call it is now set in stone. There are things that you need to be aware of as the mate of a vampire. First and foremost, secrecy is our best protection. What that means is that you cannot talk about what we are to anyone who is not a part of this... family for lack of a better term. What it means is that you have a propensity for opening your mouth when it is best left closed. If you will recall, it was the flaunting of the Sinclaire name that got you into trouble."

"There are no such things as vampires." Barb replied.

Before she knew what was happening, Thorne was out of his chair and was holding her up against him with fangs bared.

"Vampires exist as do other creatures." He said as he stared into her face. "It will do you well to remember that." He said as he put her down on her feet.

"Oh my god... is that why I'm dreaming about vampires?" Barb asked as she sat down in a daze. "I keep dreaming about Louise... she's always drinking blood and I saw Nathan with fangs... and the baby... it was a vampire too... oh..."

Thorne watched as Barb struggled to accept the truth of what he told her.

"You got much more than you bargained for when you came to my club." He said not feeling any sympathy for her. "While we're at it, I want to explain something to you. The night that you came to the club, you were mated to someone else."

"What?" Barb asked. "No I wasn't..."

"Yes you were, but in your quest for wealth, you refused to see him because he didn't appear to have much. You judged him by what you saw. Your mate was at the club that night. He didn't want you anymore than you wanted him, but for different reasons. Like me, he knew what you were and are but he was willing to step up for you. Several people, including your family heard and saw you deny him. Do you remember now?"

Barb replayed that night at the club in her mind.

"Hans is for you!" Louise had called out as she tried to pull her away from Thorne.

"Hans." Barb whispered. "It was Hans?" She asked Thorne.

"It was." He confirmed.

"I didn't know... I..."

"Cut the bullshit." Thorne said crossly. "Playing the confused female doesn't become you. You didn't acknowledge what you knew because you went by appearances. Hans has almost as much money as the Sinclaires although he doesn't look like it. You did him a big favor when you denied him and I fucked myself when I didn't make you leave with your family. So you see, both of us have to live with the consequences of our choices. But I digress.

You have the need to announce who you are in order to feel important or to have doors opened for you. As I mentioned, it was one of the things that drew my attention to you. You will need to keep your mouth shut. You are not to discuss the fact that I am vampire with anyone who is not a part of our family."

"How am I supposed to know who that is?" Barb asked. Her head was beginning to ache as she tried to absorb all of the information being thrown at her.

"I'm going to tell you because if I do, maybe you'll remember to keep your mouth shut."

"The Sinclaires?" Barb asked shocked. "And Hans?"

"Yes." Thorne said quietly. "Every time you start to speak out of turn remember who you could be placing in danger."

"What kind of danger?" Barb asked. "Aren't vampires supposed to be invincible?"

"We like all species have enemies." Thorne explained. "Our enemies are called hunters. Their sole mission on this earth is to eradicate the vampire species and they don't care whether it's a woman or a child. The hunters are almost always human which makes them especially dangerous during the daylight hours when most of us are at rest. Unfortunately, there are some of my kind who help the hunters. The reasons don't matter, they are traitors and when caught will be treated as such."

"These hunters, how will I know one?" Barb asked.

"You won't." Thorne replied. "That's why it's important that you don't discuss anything pertaining to vampires or the supernatural with anyone even if the subject comes up. More of our kind has been caught by a mate accidentally giving information to a hunter than any other reason. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"I'm not stupid!" Barb shouted.

"That's a matter of opinion." Thorne replied and continued before Barb could say anything. "I got a call from Nathan Sinclaire..."

"Nathan? Why did he call you?" Barb asked.

"He called to warn me." Thorne said. "Apparently, I was right about your sister. She's quite powerful. It's another case of looks being deceiving."

"What do you mean?" Barb asked. "Louise is just ... Louise and what does she have to do with anything?"

"Louise may look mild, but she fought for you." Thorne said. "Of course, you neglected to see that. But at any rate, she is what is known as an empath. Do you know what that is?"

"Once again, I will tell you that I'm not stupid." Barb snapped.

"She is also a seer... I assume that you know what that is?" Thorne asked his tone snide. He took Barb's dirty look as consent and continued. "Both her and Nathan have been experiencing some feelings. They seem to think that something is here and whatever and whoever it is had malevolent intentions."

"And you believe them?" Barb asked.

"I may not like the Sinclaires, but for one of them to call me tells me that they are concerned. In fact, they are so concerned, that I've been invited to the home of Ethan Sinclaire for a meeting. So yes, I believe them." Thorne said. "This makes it imperative that you follow my warnings."