Midnight Labyrinth

by Elizabeth Hunter

  “Will she contact any human authorities? The police? Social services?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Did you know this was happening, Benjamin?”

  Ben could hear the subdued anger in the doctor’s voice. “I suspected. I wasn’t sure.”

  Arjan was judging him. Ben could tell.

  “Does she have anywhere else to go? Her parents—”

  “She can stay here,” Ben said, all thoughts of getting Chloe her own place abandoned. “We’ve got plenty of room. She’ll stay here. Her parents aren’t an option.”

  The doctor gave him a quick nod before he tapped on the door. “Chloe?”

  “I’m ready.”

  Ben grabbed Arjan by the shoulder. “She doesn’t know about… you know.”

  The doctor’s eyebrows went up. “And you want her to stay here?” His voice dropped to a whisper. “How long do you think you’ll be able to keep Tenzin a secret?”

  That… was going to be a problem.

  Ben picked up the phone hours later when Chloe was sleeping. She’d flat out refused to go to the hospital when it was suggested, but Arjan was fairly confident she had no serious head trauma. Her injuries looked horrible, but she’d heal quickly. The doctor had given Ben pain medications to help her sleep, bandaged the broken ribs he felt, and ordered Ben to keep her eyes iced. He’d also ordered Ben to wake her every three hours just to be safe.

  Ben called Gavin at two a.m.

  “He’s still here,” the Scotsman said. “Pissing himself in the basement.”

  “Let him go,” Ben said.

  Gavin was silent.

  “Let him go home,” Ben said quietly.

  “Are you sure about that?”

  Ben grabbed the bloody washcloth he’d cleaned Chloe’s face with and put it in the sink. Then he dumped his forgotten food and straightened the cushions on the sofa. Tenzin still hadn’t made an appearance, but that wasn’t unheard of. Sometimes she’d be gone for days.

  “Send Audra to the apartment,” Ben said. “Have her grab anything that looks like it might be Chloe’s. Move her stuff out so he can’t touch it. Pictures. Anything with her handwriting. I want her to disappear from his life, do you understand?”

  Gavin said, “I’ll send Audra and another guard right now. Shall they take her things to your apartment?”

  “Take them to the pub. I’ll get them later.” The fewer people who knew where he lived, the better. “After the apartment is cleaned out, I want you to let him go.”

  “Ben—”

  “Don’t tell him anything,” Ben said. “Just let him go. I want him scared for a few days.”

  Gavin sighed. “I forget how cold you can be sometimes.”

  “Make sure he doesn’t leave town,” Ben said. “Other than that, don’t touch him.”

  “Let me take care of this. Let me or Tenzin—”

  “No.”

  “Ben—”

  “I want him holed up in his apartment, scared shitless,” Ben said. “I want him in his safe place when I come for him.”

  7

  Ben heard Tenzin land on the roof. “Gavin, I need to go.”

  “I’ll let you know when it’s done.”

  “Thanks.” He hung up the phone.

  Tenzin walked in and took a deep breath, her eyes narrowing immediately. “That is not your blood.”

  “Chloe’s.”

  She bared her fangs. “The boyfriend made her bleed?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then we will make him bleed.”

  He put a hand on her arm. “One, making him bleed is my job, not yours. Don’t argue, you know I won’t budge on this. Two, Chloe is here, sleeping in my room. Dr. Singh came by and cleaned her up. Bandaged her ribs. She needs time to heal, so she needs to stay here for a while.”

  “Very well.”

  “Which means you need to be human for a while.”

  “Not possible.”

  “Tenzin—”

  “No.” She threw off his hand. “Is she in your life? Why are you hiding things from her if you trust her?”

  “She’s already had one shock.” He sighed. “I’ll consider telling her, just… give her a break before she gets the next shock, all right? She may not even want to stay in New York. If she wants to go home, I’ll take her home, but for now can we just be a little bit human? For me?”

  Tenzin was silent.

  “Please.”

  “Fine,” she said. “I’d like to point out that I’ve never asked you to be a little bit vampire for me.”

  “I’m not in a joking mood, Tenzin.”

  “I can tell.” She stared at him. It wasn’t an angry stare, just a persistent one.

  “What?” he asked.

  “It’s not your fault she was hurt.”

  He didn’t say anything. Ben walked to the bar and poured two fingers of scotch in a glass.

  “It is not your fault she was hurt,” Tenzin said again. “You don’t control the world.”

  “I should have listened to my gut.”

  “And done what?” Tenzin asked. “Dragged her out of her home like a Neanderthal? Lectured her?”

  Ben swallowed half the scotch and enjoyed the quick rush of heat. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

  “Have some respect,” Tenzin said. “She came here because she knew it was a safe place. Don’t ruin that.”

  He looked at Tenzin and said quietly, “He’s not going to touch her again.”

  “I have no doubt about that, but be smart. Don’t try to order her around for her own good. Don’t be a fool.”

  “Sometimes women go back.” His own mother had. Over and over and over. She went back when Ben’s dad hit her. She went back when Ben’s dad hit him. It didn’t matter. His father would knock on the door and she’d let the bastard in.

  “Women go back because they don’t have options,” Tenzin said. “Give her options and she won’t need to go back.”

  “Done.” He finished the scotch and set the glass on the bar. “I need to go to Gavin’s to get her things. I’ll be taking the truck. Can you stay here with Chloe? Wake her up every few hours. Change her ice packs.”

  “I can do that.”

  “No flying.”

  She planted both feet on the ground. “If you insist.”

  “I do.”

  “Can I assume we’re postponing our visit to the museum tomorrow?”

  He worried his lip with his front teeth. He really didn’t want to wait another week to take Tenzin to the museum. He knew she’d be as hooked on the mystery of the Labyrinth paintings as much as he was… as soon as she saw them. But with Chloe at the house, he didn’t trust anyone but Tenzin or himself to stay with her.

  “We’ll wait until next week.” He suddenly realized he hadn’t seen Tenzin since he’d seen Emilie again. “Did I tell you I ran into Emilie at Café Lilo?”

  Tenzin frowned. “Had you mentioned to her that you go there?”

  He shook his head. “Just a coincidence, I guess. She apologized for taking off at the museum, and we made dinner plans for next week. Can you believe it?”

  Tenzin was still frowning. “Maybe?”

  He rolled his eyes. “Don’t be paranoid. I’m keeping the date. I’ll see if I can get any more information from her about the Labyrinth paintings or this Historic New York outfit.” He felt lighter just thinking about dinner with Emilie. Did that make him a bad friend? He hoped not. What were the chances he’d run into a girl like that again?

  Tenzin asked, “So you hadn’t mentioned what neighborhood you lived in or anything?”

  “Is it that hard to believe I’d just run into her again? Manhattan isn’t that big, Tenzin. I ran into Chloe, didn’t I? Sometimes even New York is a small world.”

  Tenzin didn’t trust coincidence. She was still thinking about the chances of Ben running into this girl hours later as she sat in his room, staring at Chloe’s bruised face. She’d woken the young woman with a gentle nudge, roused her to
consciousness, and replaced the ice packs over her eyes before Chloe drifted off again.

  Dawn was approaching, and the girl was still sleeping. Ben’s room wasn’t light safe. Tenzin would have to leave soon.

  Chloe opened her eyes with a short gasp. She stared at Tenzin with blank eyes.

  “Chloe?”

  The woman’s breathing changed, but she didn’t speak. Tenzin kept to the shadows in the corner of the room. Not only was it more comfortable, but she was trying to conceal her fangs from Chloe. There was no hiding them unless she mumbled.

  “Do you remember me? I’m Tenzin, Ben’s roommate. We met when you were in school.”

  She whispered, “I thought I was dreaming.”

  “You’re not.”

  “You look exactly the same.” She blinked rapidly. “Did you wake me up last night?”

  “I did. We needed to change your ice packs.”

  “Where’s Ben?”

  “Getting your things,” Tenzin said. “I believe he’ll return soon.”

  “I had so many strange dreams last night.” Chloe closed her eyes and turned her face into the pillow. “Ben was arguing with someone about being a human. Then he turned into a bird and flew out the window.”

  Note to self: keep voices down when arguing.

  Tenzin said, “It sounds like the doctor gave you the good drugs.”

  “I should call the police.” Chloe wasn’t looking at Tenzin. She was staring at the wall.

  “We can if you want to.” Tenzin really didn’t want to call the police. “Do you want to?”

  It took a long time for Chloe to answer. “Not really.”

  “Then why should you call them?” Tenzin rose and took the melted ice packs and the towel they were wrapped in.

  “Because…” Chloe sat up. “It’s illegal to beat someone up. They would arrest him.”

  “Perhaps. But will the police beat him up and publicly shame him for his treatment of you?”

  “Does this look like Medieval Times?” Chloe frowned, then winced. “Of course not.”

  “Will they deal with it swiftly, or will the courts drag the case out for months and years?” Tenzin knew how the modern system worked. Justice came slowly. Too slowly for her taste.

  “I don’t know.” Chloe’s shoulders slumped. “I don’t think he’s been arrested before. But he shouldn’t just get away with—”

  “Let Benjamin deal with it.”

  Chloe hesitated.

  “You know I’m right,” Tenzin said. “You know Ben can handle your boyfriend. You’re a smart woman with good instincts.”

  “Tom is not my boyfriend,” Chloe said, pointing to her face. “Can’t you tell? That’s what prompted all this. I broke up with him.”

  Tenzin gave her a piercing stare. “This wasn’t the first time.”

  Chloe went pale. “No. Just the worst.”

  “Let Ben deal with Tom.”

  “It’s not his job.”

  “He’s your friend. You’re one of his people. It’s his job.”

  Chloe squinted at Tenzin. “I remember you from LA. You really do look exactly the same.”

  Tenzin shrugged, trying not to let her self-protective instincts spike. Vampires were secretive by nature, and Chloe was perceptive. “I guess I have good genes.”

  “Your hair was shorter then.”

  She raked a hand through the long strands. “I’m thinking about cutting it off again. Something more modern—updated,” she added quickly. “More… stylish.” If she was going to play human, it might be easier with less hair.

  “I have a friend who’s a stylist. Maybe we can call her.” Chloe winced again. “If she’s still speaking to me.”

  “Does she work at night?”

  “Yeah, I think so. Why?”

  “I’m…” What could Tenzin say? Eventually Chloe would notice she never went into the sun. Tenzin didn’t want to explain vampire combustion. “I’m allergic to sunlight.”

  Chloe’s eyes went wide. “For real?”

  Tenzin nodded.

  “I’ve heard of that. It’s really rare.”

  “It is. I’m the only one in my family who has my condition.” That was the absolute truth.

  “That’s crazy,” Chloe said.

  Tenzin frowned. “Did someone tell you I was crazy?”

  “Uh…” Chloe stammered. “I didn’t mean… The disease, I mean. It’s crazy that you’re allergic to sunlight.”

  “Oh.” She nodded. “Yes, it’s very inconvenient. Which was why I was asking about your friend working at night.”

  “I know she used to work at least one late night a week, but I haven’t talked to her in a while.” Chloe forced a smile. “She didn’t like Tom. Tom didn’t like her much either.”

  “Let me guess,” Tenzin said. “He didn’t like most of your friends.”

  “He didn’t like any of them. He got me fired from my last restaurant job because he pissed off the owner, who used to be a friend of mine.” Chloe plucked at the blanket covering her legs. “And I’ll probably lose my current restaurant job too. The owners know Tom’s dad. That’s how I got the job.”

  “Can they do that? Fire you for breaking up with him?”

  “I don’t know, but I don’t want to work there. His parents come in all the time. They never liked me anyway.” Chloe curled her lip. “They clearly didn’t want their son dating anyone who wasn’t lily-white, especially if she had to work at a restaurant to pay her bills. Sometimes I think I stayed with Tom just to keep pissing them off.” She touched her fingers to her swollen cheek. “Stupid.”

  “No, contrary.”

  Chloe asked, “What?”

  “You were being contrary. Not doing what others expect. Contrary is not stupid,” Tenzin said. “Going back to him would be stupid though.”

  “I’m not going back.” She pressed her lips together.

  “It’s not the first time you’ve said that, is it?”

  Chloe shook her head. “I thought he loved me. He said he did, and I believed him. My friends, none of them understood. Eventually… I just had Tom.”

  “Until Ben came back.”

  “I guess.” Chloe shrugged. “I should have left him a long time ago.”

  Tenzin didn’t say anything. What could she say? She’d once loved someone who was violent with her. She was violent with him too. None of it had ended well, but at the time…

  “Emotions are produced by chemical surges in the body, which we have little control over,” Tenzin said.

  “What?”

  “Emotions are produced by chemical surges—”

  “I heard that part,” Chloe said. “Are you trying to say I didn’t really love Tom? Or that he didn’t love me?”

  “No.” She cocked her head. “Maybe?”

  Chloe narrowed her swollen eyes. “Ben always said you were weird. I told him he was being rude.”

  “No, I’m very strange to humans.”

  “To humans?”

  “To other humans. People,” Tenzin said. “Other people. Because I’m… a person who doesn’t like many people. And people don’t like me.”

  Chloe said, “I’m not trying to be rude, but I can see that.”

  “It doesn’t bother me.”

  “At all?”

  “No.” She glanced at the window. “I don’t need many people. I have Ben. Giovanni. Beatrice.”

  “I have Ben,” Chloe said with a rueful smile. “I guess now I just have Ben.”

  “And me,” Tenzin said. “You have me too.”

  “You don’t even know me.”

  “I know Ben cares for you more than he cares for most people. I know you’re important to him. So you’re important to me.”

  “Wait.” Chloe blinked. “Are you and Ben…?”

  “Are we what?”

  “You said you were his roommate.” Chloe looked around the bedroom. “I guess I assumed…” She started to get out of the bed. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed. I know
you’re older than him, but that shouldn’t matter. Why should that matter? You’re not that old. My memory must be playing tricks on me. I’m so sorry.”

  Tenzin frowned. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Get back in bed.”

  “But isn’t this your bed? I can use the couch upstairs. I don’t want to take your bed.”

  “No. I have a loft in the living area upstairs. And the couch in the living room is very uncomfortable. I don’t know why he bought it.”

  Ben’s room was on the bottom floor of the apartment, next to the training area. If Tenzin was going to play human, she’d need to get a ladder for her loft. That was annoying.

  Chloe was sitting on the edge of the bed. “I’m confused. You and Ben aren’t…?”

  Tenzin frowned, trying to understand Chloe’s confusion.

  “It’s just the way you talk about him, I thought you were together,” Chloe said.

  “We are together. Well, not at the moment because he’s getting your things. But we live together.”

  “But you don’t share a room?”

  “No.” Tenzin finally understood. “We don’t have sexual intercourse, if that’s what you’re wondering about.”

  “Oh.” Chloe’s face went red. “Sorry. This is awkward.”

  “Why are you apologizing? I’ve heard he’s an excellent sexual partner, so I’m not offended you thought I would choose to have sex with him.”

  Chloe looked at the ground and let out a long breath. “This is a really weird conversation.”

  “Is it?”

  Ben walked into the Bat and Barrel two hours before dawn. There were four moving boxes in the corner along with two suitcases and a heavy purse. Either Chloe didn’t have many things, or Gavin’s people hadn’t collected all of them yet.

  Gavin was sitting at a table, staring at a framed picture of Chloe with a tall man who had his arm around her. Ben recognized Tom from the pictures Chloe had on her phone.

  “This is Chloe?” he asked.

  “Yeah. And that’s the asshole.”

  “She’s lovely.” Gavin swiped his thumb over Chloe’s cheek before he carefully set her picture down. “I’m genuinely sorry, Ben. I wish I’d told Audra to keep closer. We knew—”