by Brenda Drake
“Well? Now do you know who he is?”
“Nope. Is it chick music?”
Of course, I know who he is.
“No.” A grin spread across her lips. “Okay, maybe. Girls go crazy over him.” She picked up the last glass of beer on the side of the table and gulped down a fair amount of it.
“Then I’ll take it as a compliment.” He pressed his lips together to stop another laugh from escaping.
“Hey.” She lowered her glass and playfully glared at him. “You do know who he is.”
“I do.” A laugh burst from his lips. “But it was so much fun to hear you sing out of tune.”
“I was not out of tune.”
“Okay, if you say so.”
She opened her mouth to protest and a loud burp escaped. Her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh. Excuse me.”
He chuckled, placing his glass on the table. “What exactly are you trying to do?”
“Forget,” she said.
“Well, that won’t help.” He nodded at the two empty beer glasses in front of her and stood. “Come on. This place is dangerous.”
“Yeah? How?” She trailed him.
“I’m not sure. Just a feeling.”
The lights in the hallway were dim, the carpets tattered, and the wall stained. Five sets of metal bunk beds lined the dorm room walls. After getting their bags, they grabbed one of the bunks by the window.
“Take the top,” he said. “That way I can make sure no one messes with you.”
He liked her smile, especially the one she was giving him right then.
“Okay. I’m going to wash up.” She shuffled across the room to the shared bathroom.
Eyes up.
Andrei couldn’t help himself. His gaze traveled over her curves just as she glanced over her shoulder. He swiftly stared out the window, not daring to move until he heard the bathroom door shut.
The dorm room was a sauna. He opened the window, and the noises from the street assaulted him. The smell of pot drifted in. Two dudes puffed smoke out the next window over. Drunks down on the road yelled to each other in German. The walls were wafer thin, and conversations and doors slamming somewhere in the building seemed magnified.
He stretched out on the bottom bunk. There was no way he’d get any sleep. Not with all the noise or with Daisy above him. How would he know if she was safe? She was changing fates and giving readings regardless of the dangers. Miri had told him it only took one touch.
One touch and she could kill him.
Daisy hurried across the floor, flip-flops smacking against the heels of her feet. Her hair wet, she wore baggy sweatpants with a tank top. He’d never seen her look so sexy. Natural and relaxed. Too bad she was lethal.
He slipped out of the bunk. “Be careful. The ladder is questionable.”
She slipped her bag under the bottom bunk next to his pack and clutched each side of the ladder. He jerked away when she got too near, and she shot him a puzzled look.
“Seriously? You’re still afraid I’ll touch you?” She hopped off the ladder and stepped over to him. He backed up until the wall stopped him. She grabbed his arm. “There. We’ve touched. Now you don’t have to be afraid.”
Andrei combed his fingers through his hair. “Listen, it’s just…well, you keep messing with those cards. You have to stop that.”
She glared at him. “I can’t. But I’m careful. You just have to trust me. I’d never transfer a bad fate to someone.”
“What about you?” he asked. “Those nosebleeds mean something. You’re hurting yourself.”
“I was only doing tarot readings,” she said and threw her hands up. “Forget it. I don’t want to rehash this with you.”
She stomped up the rungs of the ladder, clutching the sides as she climbed. The metal shook and pulled backward. He caught her by the waist, and the ladder slammed back against the bed. Her breath caught. She glanced down at him and their stares locked.
“Um…thank you,” she said, quiet and shaky, then continued up and onto the mattress.
The sight of her, hair falling around her face, eyes wide and lips parted, moved something inside him. He wanted to take her in his arms and explore those pouty lips of hers.
Stop. Can’t go there. Miri will kill me.
Andrei lay back on his bed. Over his head, the outline of her body showed through the thin mattress. He felt something for her. He wasn’t sure what it was. Friendship? More? He didn’t have a good track record with girls. Broken many hearts. Not that he wanted to hurt them. It was just that he couldn’t help it. He’d tried, but there were no feelings involved.
But Daisy was different. She meant more to him. Many times, she’d been there as a friend for him while adjusting to his new life. Once, at three in the morning her time, she wouldn’t get off-line until she was confident he was okay.
He never met someone as strong as her. She was more than he expected. Caring. Would risk her life to save a little girl facing death. Risk organ failure to follow a homeless woman into an alley to change her fate. He wished he were like that. Selfless.
Daisy rolled over onto her other side, the bed shaking with the movement. She sighed deeply, and he couldn’t breathe.
The bed shook this time as he rolled onto his other side.
“Good night,” Daisy whispered.
Her voice was even sexy. “Night,” he said and pulled the pillow over his head.
It took a while before he could get her out of his head and fall asleep.
A jet of hot air blasted the room. Sweat dripped down the side of Andrei’s face. Voices argued somewhere in the room. Near the bathroom? He pushed himself out of the bunk bed, straightened, and peered through the railings of the top bunk to check on Daisy. Her bed was empty.
He padded across the linoleum floor, heading for the bathroom. In the dark, bodies under sheets were like white mounds on the beds as he passed. Snoring sounds and squeaking springs scratched his eardrums. Two figures, one tall and bulky, the other shorter and slimmer stood in front of the bathroom door. Daisy?
The closer he got, he noticed a guy from the common room holding her arm tight.
“Come on.” The guy’s words were slurred. “I saw you looking at me.”
“If I was looking at you, it was because I thought you were a creep,” she snapped, tugging her arm away from him. “Get out of my way.”
Andrei didn’t think. His mind was full of rage. In four long strides, he had a grip on the guy’s collar and pushed him up against the wall. “She said get out of her way.”
“Hey, man, back down,” the guy said, slobber spitting out on his lips. “I didn’t know she was taken.”
“Taken?” Andrei tightened his grip, and the guy choked. “She’s a person. No one owns her. You don’t touch girls unless they ask you to.”
Daisy yanked Andrei’s arm, breaking his grasp on the guy’s shirt. “Let go. You’re choking him. Do you want to kill him?”
Andrei backed away from the guy. “Find someplace else to sleep.”
“But I paid for a bed,” the guy said.
“Then sleep it off in the hall.” Andrei took a heavy step toward the guy. With wide eyes, the guy rushed off, stumbling several times before he reached the door and disappeared into the hall.
Andrei faced Daisy. “You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m good. Thank you.” The tears glossing her eyes said differently.
He towed her into his arms and hugged her, all fears of her touch forgotten. She felt small in his arms, and he inhaled the fragrant shampoo scenting her hair. His heart thumped loud and fast in his chest, he worried she could hear it. Hear the excitement burning under his skin at the press of her trembling body against his.
She untangled herself from him and turned away. “We should get a few more hours sleep. I’m beyond tired.”
“All right,” he said, following her to their bunk.
She climbed up, then looked over the side at him as he rested his head on his pillow. “Thanks, aga
in.”
He nodded at her. His words were stuck in his throat. What was he feeling? It had to be the adrenaline caused by the confrontation with that asshole.
The rest of the night, he tossed and turned on the uncomfortable mattress, listening to her breathing above him. Trying to forget how the thought of her in his arms drove him insane. Miri was wrong. He’d touched Daisy, and nothing had happened. She was careful. He had seen firsthand how fate changing worked—the precautions she made.
The risk was all on her. He just had to stop her before she killed herself by helping others.
He just had to keep her safe from that Thorn man. Hopefully, he could pull off convincing her the later train had canceled. He needed to get them on an earlier one.
Her hand fell over the edge. The moonlight coming through the window illuminated her infinity scar peeking between her bracelets. It was flaming red. Irritated. She’d been scratching it. Which meant someone she encountered in the hotel was fated to die soon.
Chapter Seven
Daisy
After eating the hostel’s complimentary breakfast of toast with Nutella, coffee, and juice, Daisy lugged her backpack down the street to the station. The first heir on their list was Bram Aldershof. He lived in Vienna. She smiled at the joke Andrei had made when they first discovered the boy’s name.
“Sounds like a great vampire name,” Andrei had said.
They were supposed to be on a later train, but it was canceled due to mechanical problems. Good thing Andrei was obsessive about checking their itinerary each day for any delays. Also, they were lucky to get on the one leaving at eight in the morning.
Andrei’s eyes drooped, and his shoulders sagged under the weight of his pack. He had to be tired because he never slouched.
Before getting on the train, Daisy texted Iris an update. Iris immediately sent a reply. The Van Burens’ staff were spoiling her, and it was as if she were in an episode of Downton Abbey. Daisy put her phone away as the train approached the platform.
The train was a lot more crowded than the one from Amsterdam to Frankfurt. It would be an eight-hour trip, so Daisy pulled out her copy of The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. She flipped to the bookmarked page. There was a long list of classic books she could pick to read for her English class next year, and she decided to get a jump on as many as she could over the summer.
Andrei took out his book, A Tale of Two Cities. Also, a classic.
“You’re reading that?” Daisy wanted to take that back as soon as she said it. “Not that I don’t think you read classics. I’m just surprised.”
Just shut up already.
“And I’m not surprised,” she said, sticking her foot further in her mouth to the point of choking. “It’s just—”
“I get it,” he said, stopping her. “I wouldn’t think you’d read that book, either. English class?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“Same.” He raised his open book higher, so she couldn’t see his face.
So that’s it? He’s going to ignore me now.
She sighed and began reading.
Diagonally across the aisle, a guy smiled at her. A silver ring on his right index finger caught her eye. It was a crown of thorns. He nodded at her, and she dropped her gaze back to her book.
Great. Simply Great. Now I look like a gawker.
Once the train was out of the city, the view from the window opened up to countryside and villages. Six hours of reading her book, going to the restroom several times, napping, snacking, and repeat went by, and they still had two hours left until arriving in Vienna.
Daisy woke up from her latest nap to find her backpack was unzipped and had tipped over, some of the contents were scattered over the seat. She stuffed the items back into her bag.
Andrei made his way down the aisle and plopped down in his chair.
“Man, that bathroom stinks.” He adjusted in his seat. “What’s the frown for?”
“It’s nothing. I forgot to close my pack,” she said, removing her book and zipping up the main pocket. “Stuff fell out.”
She hated making careless moves. The bookmark had slipped out of her book, too, so she flipped the pages to chapter eight in The Scarlet Letter and read.
Nearly an hour later, Daisy’s eyes burned, so she lowered her book and watched the scenery pass by. Everything in Europe was old, in a quaint way.
“It’s beautiful, right?” Andrei said, pulling her attention away from the window.
She smiled. “It is.”
He stood, stretched, then hoisted his backpack onto his shoulder. “I think we need a change. Come on. Let’s get a better view. Grab your bag.”
She lifted hers and rocked down the aisle following him. “Where are we going?” she whispered, not wanting to disturb the other passengers as they passed.
He gave her a crooked smile over his shoulder. “You’ll see.”
That smile could stop her heart every time.
They ended up in the viewing car. Andrei found them two seats together and dropped his bag on the floor. All the women in the place were too busy observing Andrei instead of the beautiful countryside rushing by. Daisy rolled her eyes and sat down beside him.
“What was that for?” he asked, obviously catching her in the act.
She could do one of two things: say nothing or tell him the truth.
“I think you’re the major attraction here.” She nodded to the most obvious group of twentysomething women.
He smirked. “They only looked because we disturbed them coming in.”
Someone’s delusional.
She wasn’t about to argue with him. Instead, she kept her eyes on the window and did what one does when one is in a viewing car—she watched the countryside until it turned into a city and the train coasted up to the platform in Vienna.
Bram Aldershof’s home was tall, bricked, and very expensive. It was nearing six in the evening, and a rush of anxiety hit Daisy. The many ways she could handle this ran through her brain.
Hi, Bram. I’m a fate changer, and you could be on the verge of death, but hey, I’m here to save you.
No. She should probably introduce herself first.
Hi, Bram. I’m Daisy Layne, and I’m a fate changer. You’re a cousin of Reese Van Buren, and you’re cursed to die. But never fear, I’m a fate changer, and I’m here to save you.
Nothing sounded right. And she was pretty sure he wouldn’t believe her. They needed another plan.
“I can’t do this,” she said.
Andrei rested his arm on her shoulder, the two of them just staring at Bram’s house. “Yeah, if you tell the truth, no one’s gonna believe it.” The sun shining through the trees dappled shadows across his gorgeous face. Sparks ignited in her stomach at the sight of him. She swallowed hard and returned her attention to Bram’s blue-painted door.
“Thanks. Way to make a girl feel better.”
He chortled. “How about you say you’re going door to door handing out fortunes?”
“How about I don’t.”
“Well, what’s your suggestion then?” he asked.
She shrugged. “I have no idea. Let’s stalk him for a while and see if we get any ideas.”
“We haven’t got the time.” He crossed the street and headed for the house.
She darted after him, trying to keep up with his long strides, her backpack bouncing on her back. “What are you doing?” she whisper-hissed. They stopped at the blue door.
Is he going to knock on that door?
He readied his fist.
He is.
Andrei pounded on it.
Holy shit. Breathe. In and out. In and out. Someone’s coming. Think of some—
The door opened. A very frail woman with platinum hair and more wrinkles than a Shar-Pei stood there, a frown on her face.
“Um. I’m here to see Bram. Is he home?” The words shot out of her mouth quickly.
“American?” she said with a very heavy accent.
“Yes.”
The woman practically sneered at Daisy. “No here. At the fields.”
“Fields?” Andrei said. “Can you point us in the direction?”
Her expression softened as she eyed Andrei. “Football fields,” she said and pointed down the street. “Two streets. Then left. Can’t miss it.” She shut the door without saying goodbye.
“So rude,” Daisy muttered.
“How so?” Andrei said as he adjusted his pack and hiked up the steep street. “We’re the ones who interrupted her without calling beforehand. They do things differently in Europe than America.”
She hadn’t thought of that. Daisy panted as she climbed the mountain-like street. Her side was burning. Andrei made the trek look easy.
A soccer game was in progress. Daisy dropped to the grass beside Andrei, trying to catch her breath and wishing she didn’t sound like a wounded animal.
“You okay?” Andrei pulled a bottled water from the outer pocket of his backpack and handed it to her. “Here. Hydrate.”
She definitely should have signed up with her gram for those cardio classes. And she definitely should’ve filled her bottle at the train station. The cold water soothed her scratchy throat. The guys on the soccer field, or football as it was called in Europe, looked like models. Which one is Bram? And what do I say when I do find him?
It was highly likely he’d laugh in her face. That is if he spoke English.
Bram Aldershof was a fourth cousin of her sister’s fiancé, Reese, who knew nothing about Bram or his family. Daisy had third, fourth, and so on cousins she never met. It was sad that she would probably never meet the many mysterious people who shared DNA with her in the world. She focused on the field.
A young boy wearing the same purple shirt as one of the teams lined up green drinking bottles on a bench. He studied the bottles and then adjusted one before examining them again. One of the guys on the field broke from the game and trotted over to the boy.
“Kann ich einen haben, Bram?” the guy said.
“That’s Bram?” she said. The boy was about eight or nine, thin and knock-kneed.
Andrei shielded his eyes from the sun, his gaze going to where Daisy was looking.
