“I was twenty-eight when I was turned,” he said. “That was ten years ago. Your parents are really—” He pitched his voice a lot lower. “—vampires?”
Cassidy smiled as she rested an elbow on the bar and leaned against it. “They are. What about yours? Do they know about you?”
“They both died before I turned.”
Cassidy managed to suppress a wince as she kicked herself for that question. “I’m sorry.”
“It was years ago, but thank you.”
“Kyle!” a woman called down the bar and waved at him. “I’d love another drink when you get the chance.”
“And I’d like another water,” Cassidy reminded him.
Her twin glanced at her before shooting Dante a warning look.
“I’d like another whiskey sour too, please,” Dante said.
“Hmm,” Kyle grunted.
Reluctantly, he turned away and smiled as he strode toward the woman with their glasses in hand. The woman beamed at Kyle and leaned across the bar. Unwilling to see the exchange, Cassidy focused on Dante again.
She admired his olive skin and the black stubble lining his chiseled jaw. That stubble would be rough against her palm and face if she rose on her toes to touch and kiss him. What would it be like to nibble on his full bottom lip before flicking her tongue against that stiff upper lip while she ran her hands—
Cassidy jerked herself from her fantasy and focused on the bar as she tried to suppress the heat burning its way up her neck and into her cheeks. She took a deep breath to try to calm her racing heart and telltale blush. Looking for a way to distract herself, and him, from her red face, she latched onto another question.
“What was it like being a police officer?”
Dante studied the pretty flush in her cheeks as she kept her attention riveted on the bar. “Interesting and at times depressing and scary but rewarding. I loved my job; I was doing good in the world and protecting people. I planned to become a detective and had passed the test when I was turned, and plans changed. I figured, hanging out around a bunch of police and detectives wasn’t the best way to keep my secret.”
Cassidy chuckled. “Probably not. Were you a Boston cop?”
“Yes.”
“I bet you saw some really sad things.”
The sorrowful tone of her voice made him question what she’d experienced in her life. His sudden urge to protect her from anything bad surprised him, but it was impossible in this world. Still, he wanted to draw her close and shelter her from the worst of this world.
“Do you think this girl you’re looking for is hanging around bars in Boston?” Cassidy asked.
“I’m not sure. She got herself messed up with a group of kids who like to pretend they’re vampires before she vanished.”
“Stupid kids,” she muttered.
“I checked out three vamp bars, but no one has seen her at any of them.”
“Just the three?”
“Those are the only three I know about.”
“Were any of them the underground ones?”
“No, they weren’t.”
He should have known there were underground vamp clubs, but hanging out with vamps wasn’t his idea of a good time. Cassidy was the first one he hadn’t gone out of his way to avoid. When Dante removed his pad and pen from another inner pocket, his fingers brushed against one of the stakes he kept there.
Chapter Seven
“Can you tell me where they’re located?” he asked.
Cassidy had never been one for a guy in uniform or cop shows, but it was pretty hot when Dante got that serious look on his face and went into detective mode.
“No, I can’t,” she said. When Dante glanced at her, she saw his confusion and rushed to explain. “I’ve never been to one before, and they move. You have to know where to go to find them.”
“Can you tell me where to go?”
“They’re real vampire bars. Have you ever been to one of those?”
Dante lowered his pen. “No, have you?”
“No.”
But Kyle had, and he’d told her where to go to get the information about them. Though she was curious about them and plied Kyle with questions, she never intended to enter one. However, she didn’t like the idea of him venturing into one of them on his own. Kyle never told her when he was going, and at least he could tell vampires and Savages apart. As a turned vamp, Dante didn’t possess that talent.
“I’ll go with you,” she offered.
“That’s not a good idea,” Dante said.
He suspected these clubs were probably far different than the three he visited tonight. She didn’t belong in them, and he wouldn’t risk getting her hurt. She opened her mouth to reply but closed it again when Kyle returned with their drinks. This time, Kyle didn’t stick around but left to fill some of the other customer’s orders.
Cassidy made sure her brother was distracted before speaking again. “You can’t tell a killer vamp from one who doesn’t kill; I can. That will help keep you from walking in there blind.”
For the second time tonight, she’d dropped another bomb on him. “You can tell the difference between a vampire who kills and one who doesn’t?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Cassidy tapped her nose. “Purebreds can smell Savages, and believe me, they do not smell good.”
“Holy shit,” Dante breathed at this fantastic revelation.
“They smell worse than shit.”
Dante gave a small snort of laughter before sobering. “Is that what you call the killers amongst us, Savages?”
“Yes, and I know you’re not a killer. Otherwise, you’d smell like a landfill filled with five-day-old roadkill.”
“That wouldn’t make for a good candle scent. I much prefer pumpkin spice.”
Cassidy laughed. “I prefer eucalyptus.”
“That’s a good one,” he agreed.
Cassidy almost rested her hand on his arm again, but this time, she managed to keep her fingers to herself. Still, she itched to touch him so badly she had to dig her nails into her palms to keep herself restrained.
Her eyes fell to his mouth again. What does he taste like?
She couldn’t recall a time where she yearned to kiss someone as badly as him. There were plenty of boys in high school she’d kissed, and she’d made out with a couple of guys since moving to the city, but they were nothing serious. This would be more like…
Well, she had no idea what it would be like, but she was dying to find out.
“So, your brother also knows I’m not a killer, yet he’s still so friendly to me.”
“That’s because Kyle thinks all guys are like him,” she said as she met his dark chocolate eyes again.
“And what is he like?”
Cassidy glanced down to where Kyle flirted with a group of women who were hanging on his every word. The women all laughed as Kyle flashed them a devilish grin.
“He’s a bit of a… uh… free spirit when it comes to women.”
Her smile remained, but sadness now shone in her eyes. His impulse to comfort her was so fierce he had to flatten his palm on the bar to keep from touching her.
“I see,” Dante murmured as he memorized the curve of her cheekbones, full lips, and the heightened color lingering on her ivory skin.
When her eyes met and held his, her breath caught a little, and her cherry scent grew thicker on the air. He swore that scent was burrowing into his skin and branding itself onto his cells. For the rest of his life, and even if he never saw her again, he would remember her delicious aroma.
Was her skin as silky as it looked? Did those lips taste as sweet as he imagined they did? He was dying to know the answers to those questions. Though he had no intention of doing so, he took a step closer to her.
Inches separated their chests, but he was so close her next inhalation caused her breasts to brush against him. Dante froze as a red-hot poker of lust speared him. His cock hardened to the point of pain, and w
hen her next inhalation brought her breasts into contact with him again, he felt the press of her nipples.
If they weren’t standing in a packed bar with her brother only feet away, he would have taken her right then, and he didn’t think she would stop him. As it was, the reminder of the crowd and her brother were barely keeping him restrained from fucking her on the bar.
He’d never felt almost animalistic with his need for someone before, but the vampire part of him craved her in a way it had never craved another. And he was sure it wouldn’t be satisfied until it had her.
“Cassidy!” Kyle called from the end of the bar.
It took far more effort than she anticipated, but she managed to tear her gaze away from Dante to focus on her brother. Kyle pointed at the clock on the wall.
“Oh!” she blurted. “I have to get back to work. My manager, Rick, freaks if we’re a minute late. I’ll go with you tomorrow night to find those vamp clubs. Mugs coffee shop is down the street; I’ll meet you there at six.”
Before he could reply, Cassidy turned and weaved her way through the tables. She called out hellos to some of the familiar faces before jogging up the steps to the stage. She tried not to think about her words to him. She’d never been the brazen type, but she couldn’t let him leave here tonight without knowing when she would see him again. It would drive her crazy.
These last two weeks were tumultuous enough without having to go through it all again. At least now she knew when and where she would see him next. However, there was the possibility he wouldn’t show up at the coffee shop.
She shoved aside that depressing possibility as she lifted her microphone from its stand and returned to the center of the stage. The buzz of the crowd died down, and she couldn’t stop herself from smiling as she gazed at the sea of faces. Excitement thrummed through her veins; this was where she belonged.
Something more than lust tugged at Dante as Cassidy’s face lit with joy and her eyes met his. A carefreeness came over him that he hadn’t experienced in years. It was as if the joy on her face lifted the massive weight he’d carried on his shoulders since Maya disappeared. Her happiness was his, and he grinned stupidly back at her.
Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes to calm herself as the opening notes of “Piano Man” filled the air. When she opened her eyes, the crowd faded away as she started singing.
Dante sipped his drink while he listened to the song and considered her final words to him. He knew which coffee place she was talking about; it was where he met Missy earlier. He would meet Cassidy there tomorrow, but she couldn’t go with him. He wouldn’t put her in jeopardy to find Julie.
Cassidy was starting another song when the door opened and the vampire couple Dante saw here a couple of weeks ago entered. The man’s eyes latched onto him almost immediately, and he drew the woman closer against his side.
The woman frowned at him before looking toward the bar, spotting Dante, and rolling her eyes. Dante couldn’t hear what she said, but the vamp didn’t relax as he glanced toward Cassidy and then Kyle.
When Dante finished his drink, he pushed the glass and some money toward the edge of the bar. He walked away from the bar and wound through the tables toward the front entrance. As he approached, the vampire remained by the door with his arm locked around the woman.
Dante was almost to the vamp when the man nudged the woman aside and stepped out of his way. The vamp’s eyes narrowed on him, and Dante held his gaze until he walked past them. At the door, he glanced back to find Cassidy anxiously watching him.
She gave him a small smile before focusing on the crowd again. Dante pushed out the door and stepped into the fresh spring air. The chatter of people strolling the sidewalks and the noise of the establishments lining the street were usually calming to him. He grew up in this city, it was a part of him, and he thrived on the noise and chaos that sometimes provided a distraction from his troubles.
Tonight, he found no respite from them as he walked toward his apartment. He’d just left her, and he didn’t want her going to any of the vamp clubs with him, but he couldn’t wait to see her again.
Chapter Eight
Cassidy felt like a nervous kid on their first day of school as she maneuvered through the crowded Boston streets. The coffee shop wasn’t far away, and every step filled her with dread and excitement.
What if he isn’t there? What if he is?
The questions played on an endless loop in her head as the coffee shop came into view. She’d been to it a couple of times with Aida before her friend became Julian’s mate. Although, Aida sometimes occasionally still bought herself a cup.
What if he was there and left already?
This was another possibility as it had taken her more time than she anticipated to get out of her apartment. Kyle and Julian had parked themselves on the couch to play video games. Except, instead of ignoring her like they usually did, they paused the game to interrogate her. Most of the time, she loved her overbearing brothers; tonight, she’d contemplated choking them.
It hadn’t helped that it took her two hours to figure out what to wear. When she wasn’t working, her wardrobe usually consisted of jeans and whatever band T-shirt or sweater she happened to toss on, but suddenly casual wasn’t right, and she wanted to be a little sexier—something she had never wanted to be before.
She had nicer button-up shirts and black pants for work, but her work clothes weren’t sexy, and she’d prefer not to wear them outside of work. She didn’t feel like wearing her faded, old T-shirts either.
This level of uncertainty wasn’t something she was used to, and she hated it. However, she couldn’t stop herself from pawing through her drawers over and over again, even as they repeatedly yielded the same results. In the end, she settled on a formfitting, black, long-sleeved shirt and her favorite pair of jeans.
The shirt wasn’t exactly thrilling, but at least the jeans hugged her ass and legs in all the right ways. She vowed to do some shopping one of these days, but as she was thinking it, she knew it was a lie.
She far preferred to spend her money on more frivolous things like rent, utilities, and the blood they bought from the hospital every month. The man who supplied them was a vamp who worked in the hospital and had a side hustle going, but he charged a fortune. She could feed on humans to save herself money, Kyle did, but the couple of times she did, it felt weird, so she stuck to blood bags as much as possible.
Before leaving her room, Cassidy pulled her hair into a ponytail, tugged on her boots, and laced them up over her jeans. Tugging on her olive anorak jacket, she tucked a couple of stakes into the inside pockets. She never left home without them.
When she inspected herself in the mirror, Cassidy didn’t know if she looked like the vamps who hung out in the underground clubs or not, but she didn’t think she’d stand out like a sore thumb. She debated makeup but decided against it in the end, mainly because she didn’t have the time.
It was ten minutes to six, and she was already cutting it close when she finally left her room to encounter her brothers. She almost groaned when they paused the game and turned their attention to her. They only had a couple of nights a week off from Addy’s, and she usually spent them whipping their asses at whatever game they picked out.
“Where are you going?” Julian asked.
“For a walk.”
Kyle glanced at the clock on the cable box. “At this time of night?”
“Why not? It’s beautiful out.”
She didn’t worry they would offer to come with her; they wouldn’t pry themselves from the couch until Aida was almost finished with work, and then Julian would go to meet her.
“I’ll see you guys later.” She opened the door and rushed out of the apartment before they could question her further. She wasn’t lying to them; she was going for a walk, but if they kept questioning her, she might have to lie or tell the truth, and she wasn’t sure which would be worse.
Cassidy had fled her building but kept herself restr
ained from running to the coffee shop. She was already feeling out of sorts enough without arriving sweaty and a little breathless.
Still, her hand shook as she reached for the door of the coffee shop. Is he here? Did he leave? He didn’t ask for my help, but would he stand me up? Was it considered being stood up if he never agreed to meet?
She hated the rapid-fire questions rolling through her mind and the fear making her mouth feel like she’d been chewing on cotton balls. Self-doubt wasn’t often her companion; she had to have a fair amount of confidence to sing in front of people, but her confidence had taken a hiatus at the worst possible time.
No, she would not allow this neurotic mess to become her normal. If he was here, then great, but if he wasn’t, she would deal with it. It wouldn’t be the end of the world, it wouldn’t break her, and she would stop second-guessing everything, including her clothes.
With that resolve firmly in her mind, Cassidy’s hand stopped shaking as she lifted her chin, opened the door, and stepped into the coffee shop. The scent of baking pastries and brewing coffee filled her nose the second she entered. The aromas did nothing for her appetite, but they were pleasant, and she could see why people liked hanging out here.
The tables were clean, the booths inviting, and the scent calming. The staff moving behind the glass countertop served the small line waiting for their orders.
People were gathered in the booths and at tables. Some of them spoke with friends, but most had a computer or tablet in front of them and headphones. The dim lighting was enough to give the place a cozy feel, but not so much it made seeing a keyboard difficult. The interior was mostly painted a coffee brown, but the vivid pictures and positive sayings hanging on the walls brought splashes of color to the place.
She scanned the crowd for Dante. She’d told herself she would deal with it if he wasn’t here, but she couldn’t deny the pang stabbing through her.
Relentless (Vampire Awakenings Book 11) Page 4
