Shades of Red

by T L Christianson

  Reaching down, I tugged at his silky boxer briefs, easing them off his athletic body.

  Leaning in, I captured his mouth in my own and the gap closed between our bare bodies. His warm silky skin brushed up against mine.

  Taking him into my hand, I asked, “What are you waiting for?”

  Pushing himself up on his elbows, the leader of the New York Clan looked down at me. “Just reveling in this moment. Reality is much better than my imagination.”

  “You’ve pictured me naked?” Then a thought occurred to me. “Wait, have you seen me naked?”

  He laughed and shook his head before his mouth kissed the skin of my chest. A moan escaped my lips, and his knee parted my thighs.

  Nudging my entrance with his arousal, my breath came in shaky pants.

  His gaze locked onto my own, his expression solemn, he pressed into me. I felt my willing body give way to his and all rational thought left my mind.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Exhausted and laying in fatigued stupor, my angel held me in his arms. His kisses on my face made me smile.

  The sun began to peek in through the window and light up the room as it rose.

  Aurev’s phone had been vibrating on and off in silent mode throughout the night, but he’d ignored it.

  When his doorbell chimed several times in a row, he sighed and sat up on the edge of the bed. Covering himself with a robe from the bathroom, he left the room to answer the insistent visitor.

  Sitting, I strained to hear the whispered conversation.

  It was Elsbet Smith, his assistant. “Yeah…Lawsuit…EU….”

  Licking my chapped lips, I’d remembered rumors of this before. Chronos had released a new pain relief drug about six months earlier. It was based on a component of moroi saliva and thought to be a safe alternative to opioids. It had been in R&D, then testing for over fifteen years. Before I took on the case to defend Karsten, we’d heard rumblings of push back from the leading opioid pharmaceutical companies.

  Aurev’s conversation hadn’t lasted long, and afterward, he quickly showered and returned to me wholly dressed.

  “Oh no,” I told him. “I suppose I’ll have to share you with the Clan.”

  “I need to put out some fires. Stay here, I’ll be back,” He told me as he inserted in cuff links and slipped on his shoes. “Where’s my belt?”

  I pointed near the window, and he plucked it from the carpet and began threading it.

  Pulling the sheet around me from the bed, I stood as he crossed the room to cuddle me in his arms.

  Kissing my hair, then my lips, he examined my face. “I’ll have Ms. Smith have some coffee delivered from the restaurant across the way. If you think of anything else, give her a call, and she’ll deliver it to you.”

  I motioned to my own apartment, “I can just go home…”

  “No, they’ve moved all your stuff.” He waved a hand, “Stay here, there’s food in the kitchen and blood in the fridge. Help yourself,” he laughed, “I like having you here.”

  When the door closed behind him, I felt empty but reassured myself that he’d be back. Besides we might live forever. We had forever, right?

  Throwing the sheet back to the bed, I made my naked way through the living room to where my suitcase sat next to the door. It reminded me of my Louis Vuitton luggage that I’d ditched in Peru. Wherever it was, I hoped the person was enjoying it.

  A smile graced my lips, as I took the bag and opened it on the sizeable retro dresser in the bedroom. I’d been in this apartment many, many times but had always used the main bathroom.

  Finding clean clothes and toiletries, I opened one of the double doors that led into an opulent master bathroom.

  A deep stone bathtub beckoned me from the window. Aurev must have had his floor reinforced to hold such a thing.

  Turning the faucet, I began to fill the large basin. A sunflower showerhead loomed above, and I tested it by turning the middle knob, making it rain. I reached out to feel the droplets then switched the water back to the faucet. Stepping in, I leaned against the cold rock, resting my head. The rush of hot water pouring over the custom spout sounded like a waterfall.

  Noticing a button on the wall, I pressed it, and a squirt of scented liquid plopped into the rushing water.

  After the water covered my thighs and made its way up the side of the tub, I reluctantly turned it off.

  Propping my feet up onto the edge, I slunk down until the water came to my chin.

  I was home. Aurev was here. We’d be happy.

  I could forget about the thumb drive, couldn’t I…?

  …

  …

  I couldn’t.

  Something niggled at me in the back of my mind. If Aurev had nothing to hide, why wouldn’t he just let me go to Italy and visit Dr. Seals?

  Why go to all the trouble to pull me off a commercial flight?

  I chewed the side of my cheek.

  My mind raced, and I tried to shake all my wayward thoughts, but the longer I lay in that tub, the more troubled I felt.

  Either Aurev knew about the contents of the drive and lied to me or…he wasn’t bothered by it. Why wasn’t he bothered by these accusations?

  If Aurev wasn’t bothered by this, I definitely needed to be.

  Draining the water, I pulled a plush towel around my body. Sitting on a comfortable round stool, I patted my skin dry.

  I trusted Aurev. I’d trusted him for almost 100 years, why couldn’t I simply calm myself and patiently wait for his return?

  Pulling on a pair of my first ever jeans, I smiled at myself in the mirror before slipping into a blouse and socks.

  In between the kitchen and living room, on the bar, I found a full carafe of coffee, two cups and a basket of pastries.

  I turned on the TV and poured myself some coffee, liberally adding cream and sugar.

  Sighing, I began to flip through channels.

  The news came on, talking about someone being convicted, a shooting and…I changed the channel. Cartoons, reality shows, and middles of movies. Yuck! Daytime television.

  Flopping down onto the couch, I settled on a home improvement show.

  But my thoughts came swimming back to the drive. The disease. I needed to talk to Mary Seals about OVC and find out what she knew before moving on to the other scientists on the list.

  My mind circled back to the question, why had Aurev pulled me from that flight? He didn’t flaunt his wealth or power like that. He didn’t fly out of New York unless there was a very, very good reason.

  Aurev was strategic and calculating.

  When my phone chirped, I nearly jumped out of my skin.

  It was Sarah.

  “Hey there,” I answered.

  “Oh my god! I just noticed your location on find my friends. I thought you were going to Italy.”

  I shook my head. “Are you stalking me?”

  She laughed, “Yes, but it’s because I’m worried. Why are you at Chronos?”

  I let out a long sigh. “I don’t know what to think. I’m so torn up inside right now but so unbelievably drained and content.”

  “Uh oh. I know that tone. What happened? Because I have news for you—but it can wait.”

  “Shit, Sarah. Can anyone overhear me?”

  “No,” I pictured her shaking her head.

  “Okay, Aurev and I slept together.”

  “It’s about time! You guys have been eye-fucking each other since I can remember.”

  “I’m an idiot. I’m in love with him…” I let my sentence trail off.

  “But?”

  “But, I don’t know. Something’s going on with him, Karsten and Chronos.”

  “What happened?”

  “Nothing, I haven’t seen anything or heard anything. It’s subconscious. I feel it in my bones. I can’t explain it, but I know there is some kind of plot or cover-up. The problem is that I don’t know what it is I’ll need to fight.”

  “Mmm…”

  I continue
d, “I told Aurev about the drive, hell, I gave it to him. He claims he doesn’t know anything about DNA editing.”

  “Speaking of which, I’ve done some research on Dr. Seals.”

  “I could’ve spoken to her already if Aurev hadn’t pulled me from my flight!”

  “Well, maybe it’s good you didn’t go to see her because I’m pretty convinced that she’s the only person in the world who could engineer a disease like OVC.”

  “Owen said the moroi scientific community doesn’t believe Amy is behind it any longer.”

  “Yes, because of me. I’ve uploaded the best of her research to open-source platforms. I mean, Amy’s brilliant and for what she worked with, she’s learned a lot for us as a community. But Mary, shit, Mary has like tons of degrees. She’s THE top expert in DNA and genetics, and pretty well known in immunology and virology circles. I can’t believe I overlooked this. I can’t believe we were all made to think Amy was the Butcher.”

  “Sarah, Amy is the Butcher. Don’t kid yourself, she’s still dangerous as hell. She did kill all those people. She just didn’t design the disease.” I sucked in a breath.

  “I just…it’s just Forest led me to Amy. Every source believed it was Amy. Every lead led us to Amy. Forest is the best. I thought he was the best.”

  “Crap.” I gulped the rest of my coffee. “I don’t know what to think. I can’t figure out why Forest could lead everyone so wrong. He is the main catalyst of pinning OVC on Amy.”

  “You need to talk to him.”

  I gazed out the windows, “I have, but not about the disease.”

  “Look, I know he keeps things to himself, but we need to know why he thought Amy was the creator and what evidence he had.”

  “I’ll call him, but I need to get a flight to go see Mary.”

  Silence hung between us for several seconds.

  “You’re in Chronos, where at? I thought your apartment was empty,” she said.

  “I’m in Aurev’s place—He’s gone.”

  “Ohhhhh….” She snickered. “Is he going to come home for a little afternoon delight?”

  I huffed, my mind still on the disease. “You know what bothers me the most? Why blame Amy? She’s been murdering for centuries.”

  “What does Aurev say?”

  “Aurev said that he’d explain everything, but he’s stingy with his information,” I told her.

  She blew out a breath. “Argh! Men! Oh yeah, guess who’s at my house?”

  “Who?” I furrowed my brow.

  “Alexei. Apparently, he and Karsten are friends. Also, you told him about the thumb drive too? Is there anybody you haven’t told? He’s concerned that if Amy is found not guilty that he’ll lose his bounty.”

  “That’s just not true.”

  “Yeah, on top of having a stranger in my house, I’m starting to worry about my kids. If Dr. Seals is the one who created OVC, how much DNA did she change in my kids? Are they part moroi? Owen’s been on the phone to me talking about seeing Mary, but unlike you, he wouldn’t dare cross Aurev.”

  “What do you mean, unlike me?”

  “Running around talking to people, investigating.”

  “Shit Sarah. I’m just trying to figure out what’s going on.”

  “I know, I know. But I’m worried that’s all. You need to be careful.”

  “Careful? Are you serious?” That was rich, coming from Sarah. She was a well-known loose cannon, which was why she’d been placed out in New Jersey.

  “I don’t want to see you in real trouble. I’m not trying to fight, I just don’t want to see anything bad happen to you.”

  We ended the call, and I lay there looking up at the modern ceiling fan as it slowly rotated.

  When the door rattled, I jumped up to see a human woman in a maid’s uniform with a cleaning bucket. She startled when she spotted me, then smiled shyly before starting work in the bedroom.

  The day flew by; I drank a bottle of blood from the refrigerator and began on the supply of fancy, flavored, bottled waters.

  When a vampire show came on, it turned my stomach. I switched the channel and listened to another cooking competition show.

  Sighing, I closed my eyes. About an hour later, the cleaning woman knocked on the door; it opened, and she slid through.

  The sun had gone down, and the sense of urgency built in me even more.

  Thinking about how the cleaning woman knocked to leave, I eyed the door. Was I locked in? Standing, I strode over to the entrance and touched the lever. It didn’t move. The mechanism was locked.

  Knocking on the door, a soldier answered me.

  “Excuse me, I need to leave, I have some errands I need to do.”

  “I’m sorry, Ms. Richards, we’re under orders to keep you here.”

  Pursing my lips, I narrowed my eyes, “Who’s orders?”

  “Ms. Smith.”

  Reluctantly, I closed the door and began pacing the room. I was a prisoner now?

  I dialed Elsbet’s mobile phone. It rang several times before she picked up.

  “Ms. Smith,” her voice purred over the line.

  Aurev’s personal assistant and I never really got along well. Until yesterday, I thought she’d been the only female moroi he’d ever made. I pictured her usual deep red hair pulled into its typical high ponytail. Her long hair smooth and curving around on her shoulder like a fat python.

  “Elsbet, why am I being locked up in Aurev’s apartment?”

  She pouted, “I’m just following his orders.” She snickered, “I hear you’ve been a very wicked girl, Hazel.”

  I rolled my eyes. Did she just call me a girl?

  “Cut the crap. Tell Aurev to call me immediately!”

  “I’m sorry, he’ll probably be busy all night…you know—Clan business. He’ll get to you when he has time.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “Absolutely not. I will not be caged like an animal…”

  She cut me off, her voice soft and purring like a cat, “Be glad that he hasn’t locked you up in a jail cell. That’s where you should be, you interfering little trollop. Don’t think that because he has a one night stand with you that he’s your boyfriend or something. YOU are one of many. He has whoever he wants. Maybe it’s his fetish to be with criminals before he has them executed.”

  I froze. Why would she say those horrible things? Was I really just one of many? If that was true, then Aurev was extremely sly about it. Yet, he was cautious and careful with everything.

  I couldn’t speak to this bitch any longer and hit the end button.

  Aurev never really denied anything.

  He never truly gave me any answers.

  My heart began to race.

  Sucking in a breath, I dialed his number.

  It went directly to voice mail.

  Oh my God.

  What if our lovemaking hadn’t been the beginning?

  What if it had been a goodbye?

  In a panic, I gathered my purse and frantically searched for my passport.

  It was gone.

  All my ID’s and credit cards were gone.

  Oh my God. Aurev really was a master liar. He wasn’t a dark angel, he was a demon.

  My heart in my throat, I pulled my hair into a ponytail. I grabbed my stilettos by the back straps and opened the glass door that led to the terrace.

  I’d been on that balcony too many times to count, but I’d never looked for a way to escape.

  My bare feet slapped the Italian pavers as I ran to the edge, peeking around and down.

  Whoa!

  I’d almost forgotten how high up I was before glancing down to the ground.

  But…there were two more terraces down the side of the building. I wasn’t sure who they belonged to.

  Also, why didn’t I have one of the apartments with a terrace? Or offices?

  I harrumphed at that then, shook myself.

  Would Aurev really have me killed?

  No.

  No… But could I stake my life on it?r />
  What had I stumbled onto?

  Taking another deep breath, I pulled my purse over my head to lay across my body. Then I dropped my heels to the pavers on the terrace below.

  They each made a thud as they landed. I held my breath, listening in case someone came to investigate the noise.

  I’d never been athletic, so I counted on my moroi abilities to get me down to the next terrace.

  Climbing up onto the edge, I flipped over to my stomach and slithered back until my fingers held the side of the concrete.

  My heart seemed to beat out of my chest, but I let go anyway.

  The drop was decent, and I stumbled onto an empty patio, rolling onto my side in an inelegant sprawl.

  Light streamed through gauzy curtains, but I couldn’t see anyone inside. Plucking my shoes off the ground, I made my way to the edge of the balcony when I heard footsteps near the door.

  Without hesitation, I leaped over the side, landing yet another story down. I’d rolled my ankle a bit, but any damage would heal swiftly.

  Quick footsteps click clacked against the pavers above. I held my breath and flattened myself up against the wall below.

  “Must’ve been a cat,” murmured a woman’s voice, tinged with laughter, before it was muffled by the door closing.

  Letting out a sigh, I turned the lever on the terrace door and found it unlocked.

  This was one of many offices that let out to this wide terrace.

  My heart ached as I stood in the open door, the warm air rushing out.

  Was I wrong? What was I doing?

  How could all those moments, all those hours with Aurev, be a lie?

  But, what if that apartment was my jail cell and I awaited execution?

  I couldn’t risk it.

  I had to get out of this building.

  Stumbling around some furniture, I came to the exterior door and recognized where I was. These were the executive offices across from Aurev’s.

  Outside the glass panel, I could see two guards on duty in the hall.

  “Damnit,” I muttered. I wouldn’t be able to get past them.

  Turning, I made my way back to the balcony.

  Closing the glass and metal door behind me, I realized that this was the last terrace.