by Holly Hook
“That's how bullies operate,” Jeremy tells me. “Be more than them, and they hate that. And just in case you don't get it, that is not an insult.”
Then he sits, and we're only two feet apart.
My cheeks heat. Did Jeremy just compliment me? Does he think my bad temper is cool? Could he be in my corner?
No. No way. The President's son won't care about a girl from central Florida with blue-collar parents.
“Um, thanks?” I gulp. “I know this is going to sound rude, but why are you here?” He could have handled that in a much better way.
“Well, first I need my dinner jacket back,” he says, motioning to the new dining room table. Apparently, I slung Jeremy's tan jacket over it before I passed out.
“Is that all?” I press. I'm getting the idea that I might survive tonight after all. “Why else are you here? Do you want to tell me how fucked I am now that I signed that contract?”
He just gives me a serious nod. “You deserve the truth if you want a ghost of a chance to get out. I couldn't scare you away once I saw you had what they wanted, and I'm honestly amazed.”
I stiffen. “You were trying to help me?”
“And you refused my help. I should leave you to your fate, but I can't.” Jeremy studies me with his eyelids lowered.
“Refused your help? Raking your fangs across my neck is your idea of that? Why didn't you just say, 'get the hell out while you still can?'” I let my voice rise.
“Because the agents close to me that night are in cahoots with other politicians, and if they'd heard me do that, they would have reported me,” he says, scooting to the edge of the couch like he wants to stand. “Do you know what? It took a lot of effort to make this visit happen. Members of the First Family do not travel freely. Ever.” He goes to get up.
“No. Don't leave,” I say, reaching out for Jeremy.
He's got me. Jeremy smiles down at me and sinks back onto the couch, crossing his legs with confidence.
Ugh. Another power play.
“Now, are you going to accept my assistance?”
I swallow. Once again, I'm trapped. Jeremy could, ironically enough, be my only link to salvation. I have nothing else to try, and my brother’s life is on the line. I can dismiss him now, but then I'll be back on my own, with no answers for Silvia. “Yes.”
“Why didn't you leave like the other potential panelists who trusted their gut?”
He doesn't ask with a knife for a question mark, to my shock. Instead, there’s a pillow at the end of the question. Seriously, does he always change his mood on a dime? The other vampires are graceful, but Jeremy could win an Oscar.
“Going back home wasn't an option, to be fair.” I let myself sink into the cushion. “My parents aren't the best and let's just say they'd roll over and die if they caught me talking to you. After killing me first. And if I survived, I'd end up homeless, and I'd probably never escape from them. You heard the rest at the FHDA.”
You eugenicist. Don't you realize that's all the Spade Party is?
I cringe, hating that I'm more scared of my parents' reaction than I am of sitting on the couch with a high-status vampire. That's seriously messed up.
He grips the arm of the couch and frowns. “So they like their partisan politics and they're probably dictators to boot.”
“Yep.” I'm delaying the inevitable. Jeremy's here to spill my fate. It could be a game to see how I react, but I need the truth.
Then Jeremy nods like he understands. “You have high stakes, then. The other vampires know it. They use the Young Activists' Dinner every year to find candidates.”
“Every year? Zara said that dinner was the first one. They wanted more humans in decision-making. Or something like that.”
“It's a lie, and it worked because I don't think Emmy Jackson ever brought in people as young as you and Silvia.” Jeremy leans close to me and our gazes meet. His stare is powerful and takes my breath away. I could study those divine eyes all day. “Did you know vampires are sterile?”
“Huh?” I ask. “They are? But that makes no sense. You're the son of the President, and Beatrice is Zara's daughter, and the others are all the children of Senators and Representatives and all that.”
Jeremy shakes his head and stays silent, letting me absorb the information. “The academies are a lie, too. It's all a story to cover the fact that there are no vampire babies and children. There never have been.”
I shake my head. “What the hell? Are you messing with me?” Why talk about this?
I wait for a grin, but Jeremy keeps his lips in a straight line.
“Vampires are not born. They're made. And only the strongest, bravest, most motivated young members of society receive that 'honor' if they survive the trial.” He spits out honor as if it's burning him.
His words float above my head at first, and then they crash down.
“What the actual hell?”
Jeremy lunges forward.
He takes my arms, and our faces hover just inches apart. I blink because he's so blurry, but my eyes adjust.
“Do you understand?”
“Made? Honor? Survive?”
He nods. “You have time, Ember, before they turn you. But you have to live long enough first. Someone is out to kill you, and it's survival of the fittest. Not all the candidates will make it to the end of the trial period. And that’s when Congress votes on the new laws. But those who do--”
“Get picked to join vampire families?” I hiss.
Jeremy slowly nods. And he doesn't release me.
“Yes.” He lowers his forehead and turns his gaze upward at me. “If you want to escape, stay alive first. You have time with the other problem. Political families take a while to choose their children once the trial is over. And we’ll have time to help your family.”
I can't even gulp anymore. “You know about Mike?”
“I heard Zara threatening you.”
All I can do is stare at Jeremy as our foreheads almost touch. Holding down a freakout, I bite my lip.
What would Silvia say? One step at a time.
“How do I stay alive, then?”
Jeremy smiles. “You already know one answer.”
“Which is?”
“Be the predator they want you to be.”
A tingle sweeps over my skin as his words sink in.
“And the other?” I ask, shuddering.
Jeremy's fingers caress my bare arms, and I hold in a gasp.
“If the other vampires see you with the First Son, they just might get some sense and back off. Even whoever is jealous of you should have second thoughts of pissing off the Haywood family. Be my favorite victim. Accept the gift of my presence.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
I barely remember Jeremy and his agents leaving. He gives me no parting words and sweeps out of my apartment, closing the door and locking it behind him.
I sit there on the couch, catching my breath, trying to make sense of what just happened. Am I dreaming? Was that a pleasant escape or a total nightmare?
Be my favorite victim?
“Shit,” I say, shaking as I look at the couch cushion where Jeremy Haywood sat a moment before. The indents from his knees are still there beside me, as if we had been passionately making out. At the thought, sweat breaks out over me and I take a sharp breath. No. This has to be a game that he's playing.
I stand up and pace.
That vampires can turn humans into one of them is just a dumb conspiracy theory that's been circulating online for years. People have posted photos of missing people and then young vampires who look vaguely like them, claiming that turning into a vampire changes your appearance for the better and hides the fact that they're actually the missing. Of course, one species can't become another.
Or can they?
I eye my luxury apartment as my pulse quickens. My plain old, sane murder theory can’t jibe with how much money they're spending on us activists. And we on the housing panel aren't the only ones
here. There are other Young Activist panels, which means a lot of cash. Congress has a budget for this program.
I eye my phone on the floor.
How can I tell Silvia? She feels shitty enough about “dragging me in.”
I want to scream. I’m in for it. Will something happen to Jeremy him if he's caught treating me like a person? I have so many other questions that I know he can't answer now.
The pressure of his grip remains on my arms.
I'm calling Emmy and picking her brain. I grit my teeth at the thought of her inviting me here, but none of this was her fault. It's Zara's, who betrayed Emmy's trust. And Emmy must have been too old when she started politics to get targeted like this.
She answers with an audible smile. “Hello, Ember. How are things going in the nation's capital?”
What the hell do I say? I plop down on my bed and breathe out. “We talked to Senator Goodman last night.”I tell her about the new set of laws coming which are supposed to cap off how much funding some agencies can get.
She gasps. “Goodman? He's the last one I expect to budge on housing issues. He's a hardcore Spade and the Majority Leader. He can kill new bills before they even hit the floor, by himself.”
“I made him flinch,” I admit. “Which was shocking, as he has a thing about biting into his assistants' necks during meetings.”
“I've heard,” she says sadly.
Tell her something. Drop a clue. Anything.
“We talk to the Minority Leader on Monday,” I say. “Ava Warrington. Becky says that should be much easier than Goodman. She wanted to get the tough part done first.”
“You go get her,” Emmy says. “I know it's hard. The Spade Party has the majority right now, and Goodman has a lot of power. President Haywood is a bit more of a centrist and willing to reach across the table, though. I wish you panelists had a way to get to him.”
I swallow.
“Um,” I start, my original plan flashing back into my mind. I still have to cut off Dream Developers' funding and be the predator, as Jeremy said. Maybe I won't have to go directly against Zara after all. Goodman probably supports Dream Developers, and he'd need a ton of pressure on his ass to let any cut to the FHDA go through.
Could Jeremy help with that?
No. No way. This program is about putting us on trial and parading us in front of every politician who’s in the market for a new heir.
“Ember?”
“Never mind,” I say. “Just thinking. I'll talk to you later, okay?”
* * * * *
The weekend passes and Silvia and I keep things low-key. Though we're allowed to leave the apartment complex and go explore, I'm very sure that the moment we try to leave the city, whatever government agency is watching our GPS will send the order to have Mike seriously hurt or killed while broadcasting a live stream of the horror right to my phone. I wonder if any of the other activists, who are living in the same building with us, know what might come. Or if any of them have gotten too big and threatening and already died.
I can't bring myself to tell Silvia about what I heard or about Jeremy's surprise visit until Sunday, when she asks me why I've been so quiet over the weekend.
And at last, over dinner at a small cafe, I break the news as gently as I can.
“...and I don't know for sure if this is true or not, but Jeremy told me they pick the strongest activists for turning,” I finish, whispering over my cappuccino.
Silvia's eyes widen. “Are you serious? That's just a conspiracy my crazy uncle posts about online.”
“But what if it's true?” I ask. “Why else would they provide room and board like this?” I watch as her face turns five shades lighter. “That's what he told me. And then he left. I have to hang around him so whoever is trying to murder me, won't.” Someone doesn't want me to pass this trial, and Jeremy's convinced that whoever it is feels inadequate. I can't imagine any of the vamps being capable of feelings like that.
“What if he's the potential killer?” Silvia lets her gaze dart around the narrow room and the round wooden tables.
I force a sip down. Yeah, caffeine will really help my nerves. “Then he would have killed me when I was alone with him. And he could have gotten away with it.”
Jeremy doesn't want me dead, at least not right now.
And on Monday night, when our cab drops us off at the usual Senate building entrance, Silvia and I walk inside to see a now-familiar figure waiting just past the metal detectors and the guards.
I try not to show my nerves as Jeremy, with his two agents who visited my apartment, stands and waits for me to get through the metal detector. He doesn't move as I collect my phone and stuff it back into my new leather bag.
“Hello,” he says, inclining his head towards me, but with a sneer. “I saw you wanted to argue with Senator Goodman the other day.”
I stop. It’s no shock Jeremy has reverted to full asshole status. I search his face for any sign of whatever he showed back at the apartment, but it's gone. Is this a game after all?
“I think someone needs to learn her place,” he says, advancing.
The guards don't stop him, and before I can protest, Jeremy locks his arm around my elbow. He pulls me to him without effort and grins in my face.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
He yanks me away from the metal detector while Silvia watches and then follows with wide eyes. Jeremy sweeps me down the hall, refusing to let go of my elbow. I try to pull away from him. I will not let some guy control me, even if he is the First Son.
“So are you a Heart Party sheep who needs leading to the right pasture?” Jeremy asks as we pass an open office door where two vampire women are talking at a long desk. “Do you need to graze? Seems like you've been doing a lot of that since you got here. Of course, sheep guzzle down government money like nothing.”
Yes. This whole damn thing is a game. “I'm not in either party,” I say through grit teeth.
“So you're a waste of space, then.” He sweeps us around a corner, and it's taking all my energy to keep up with his pace as the agents' clicking footsteps follow.
He's really pissing me off. I hold down tears of frustration. Why did I let even the tiniest hope that Jeremy legit wanted to help me take hold? Now he's stomping on the plant that I've allowed to grow too big over the last two days. Once again, I'm a source of amusement.
And worse, Senator Goodman stands a few doors down from us, talking quietly with another vampire man who is leaning out of a doorway. My heart stops at the sight of the Majority Leader.
Because he's staring right at me now, expression unreadable.
But before I can react, Jeremy pulls me into an elevator with golden doors, which shut the second his two agents enter behind us. Silvia's left running towards us when the doors close, and now she's out there, just twenty feet from Goodman.
“What crawled up your ass and died today?” I ask, hating that Silvia will have to linger out there and wait for the next elevator.
But Jeremy, to my shock, releases my arm as the elevator dings and climbs. He leans so close to my ear that his breath makes my sensitive flesh tingle. “My desire not to get found out crawled up there. And you'd better pray that I'm able to hold it in, at least until I figure out how to best navigate this mess.”
He has a sense of humor? Holy shit. Also, relief. Jeremy can change personalities so fast that I'm not sure which one is genuine. But I hope it's this one if I have to spend time with him. “Found out?”
He straightens and looks down at me. “It’s expected for vampires to toy with humans this way. Other relationships, not so much. And stealing another vampire’s victim is rude.”
Oh.
So my suspicions about that are correct.
The elevator doors slide open, revealing the next floor.
“You ass,” I say, storming out of the elevator and walking past a small group of staffers, half human and half vampire, waiting to descend. A woman's mouth drops open as she sees who's i
n the elevator behind me.
“Then stop being a sheep,” Jeremy says after me, all casual. “By the way, the debrief room is that way. Get your head on straight.”
I give him what I hope is my best glare because I believe him that this world is dangerous, and probably not just for humans. The thought of flipping him off hits me, but I hold back. No one who wanted to keep their beating heart would flip off the President's son.
So I turn and go down the opposite hall, towards where some double doors are open. Thanks to the changing schedules of everyone in the building, we meet in a different war room before each battle.
Becky, Colleen, Victor, Beatrice, and Asha are already inside, preparing their notes when I burst into the room.
“What just crawled in?” Beatrice asks in a low voice.
“It’s a sheep,” Jeremy says, walking in behind me.
Becky frowns at me, but she won't stand up to the vampires. I sigh and take a seat. Despite trying to give me his twisted version of help, Jeremy is still getting on my nerves.
Silvia enters a moment later, and Jeremy smirks at me as he takes his seat on the other side of the room. I'm safe, for now. Beatrice notices and whispers something in Asha's ear. At least we've kept things looking normal on the surface.
Silvia doesn't dare to ask me what happened as she sits beside me, and the other panelists arrive. I try not to study Beatrice. Wanda. William. They all have such formal-sounding names, names meant for future elites.
Could they really be missing people who never came back out of Washington? How would I tell? A human who got turned into a vampire would look different from before, like an enhanced version of themselves, maybe. Beatrice looks like Zara, but is that just the dark hair and eyes?
People of all ages vanish here, and the scientific explanation is ending up a vampire's lunch or killing yourself from the pressure.
Not this.
Becky claps and paces around the room. “All right, everyone. We should have a much better experience today speaking with Senator Ava Warrington. She's solidly Heart Party, and she's desperate to maintain her voters in the next election. Therefore, I believe she will be receptive to what several of you have to say. We're also lucky because she has time to speak to each one of us right in her office, one at a time.”
