by Sarra Cannon
Rend’s arms wrapped around me, shielding me from the glass and debris. He pulled me down toward the floor and covered me with his body as the wind storm destroyed his office.
“Franki,” he said, his voice distant but commanding. He placed a hand on my cheek and pressed his face close to mine. “It’s okay, Franki. It’s going to be okay. I’m going to help you. You’re not alone anymore.”
His words slowly calmed the storm raging inside me. The winds died down as he held me tight against his strong body.
I put my arms around him, clinging to him for dear life as my heartbeat slowed and the storm passed. I gasped for air at first, then concentrated on the slow, rhythmic rise and fall of his chest against mine.
“Just breathe,” he said as he stroked my hair.
Despite his soft tone and caressing touch, his entire body was tense and hard, as if he was struggling to hold on to his control, the same way I had struggled.
After a few minutes, I pulled back but didn’t let go.
“I think I ruined your office.” My breath hitched in my chest.
I was scared to look, so I kept my eyes on his, still matching him breath for breath.
A sad smile wrinkled his eyes. “I don't care about my office,” he said. “I just want to know that you’re all right.”
His face was inches from mine. I had never wanted to kiss someone so badly in my entire life. But at the same time, I felt completely exposed and afraid. No one was ever supposed to see me like this. I had worked so hard to conceal and control it.
This power of mine had terrified and pushed away the only person I had ever loved, and when she left me three years ago, I promised myself I would never let it happen again. I would never lose myself to anger like that again.
And I would never let anyone close enough to see it, just in case.
Now I had let a stranger bring me to the breaking point. I wanted to hate him for it as much as I hated myself.
I reached up and took his hands in mine, then slowly pulled them down, away from my face. It was too intimate. Too revealing.
Trust was too damned hard.
“I should go,” I said. I tried to stand, but my knees gave out and I fell back to the ground with a whimper.
Rend stared down at his hands, now smeared with red blood.
His fingers trembled, then curled into strong fists. He stood, turning away from me and wiping his hands on his jeans.
“You need to rest,” he said. The tenderness that had been in his voice earlier was replaced by a stiffness that punctuated every word. “Something so powerful can take days of recovery until you’re feeling normal again.”
“I should get home,” I said.
“No,” he said. He practically growled it. I shrank down, away from him. What had caused this sudden shift in him? Was he angry about the office? “I'll take you home later, but first you need to rest for a while.”
He picked me up into his arms like I weighed nothing. I tried to protest, but all the strength and fight had been sucked from my body.
He lowered me onto the soft leather couch and pulled a blanket across me. I looked up into his eyes, begging for some return of that softness he'd shown earlier, but he stood quickly and backed away, putting distance between us.
“Franki, there's something else—”
A frantic knock on the door interrupted him.
“What is it?” He reached for the back of the leather chair that still stood upright in the chaos of his office, gripping it so hard his knuckles turned white.
“Is everything okay in there?” A man’s voice.
“We're fine.”
“We heard—”
“I said everything was fine.” His voice was rough and commanding, leaving no room for argument. “Wait for me in the bar. I’ll be out in a minute.”
“Okay, sorry, boss.”
Rend glared at the door, his jaw rigid and hard-lined. He released his grip on the chair and when he turned back to me, I knew whatever moment of closeness we had shared had passed. Whatever he had decided to say to me was bottled back up inside.
He said he wanted to protect me, but there was something bothering him. Like, he wished he didn't have to protect me.
I wanted to tell him I didn't need him and that he could just leave me alone, but the thought of those men coming after me in the dark, fangs flashing, had me settling back under the covers like a good girl.
“I’ll be back in a few hours,” he said. “I have some things to take care of first, but I’ll be back to check on you when I can. I’m expecting you to really rest. If I come back and find that you’ve cleaned up one piece of this office, you’ll have to answer to me, you understand?”
I swallowed down my normal smart-ass-response instinct and nodded instead. I was so exhausted, rest wasn't going to be a problem. There would be plenty of time to be a smart-ass later.
Rend turned off the lights as he left, leaving me alone in the darkness.
Dangerous Or Not
When I woke up, I was back in my own bed in the dorm apartment I shared with Katy. The room was nearly pitch black. What time was it?
I sat up, my mind fuzzy, like I had slept for five days. My mouth tasted of ash and cinnamon. Not a pleasant combination.
I grabbed my cell phone from the side table and hit the power button to bring up the time. Fourteen after eleven. I checked the date just in case, relieved to see that I hadn’t somehow missed a day.
But how had I gotten home?
I climbed out of bed and padded into the small living area Katy and I shared. We were seniors and after three years in crappy small rooms on campus, we had practically won the lottery with our small dorm apartment in the middle of campus this year. It had two small bedrooms, a bathroom, and a separate living and kitchen area. Katy had her laptop set up on the kitchen table and was checking email.
“Thank God, you’re awake,” she said, barely looking up from the screen. “I was starting to think you’d sleep the rest of the night away. What happened to you? You were gone when I got up this morning.”
“Were you here when I got home?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No, I was at the library studying this afternoon. Why?”
I yanked on the door to the fridge and stood there for a second trying to decide what my best option was for washing this taste out of mouth. I grabbed a Pepsi and downed half of it in a couple of seconds.
I was also stalling. How much should I tell her? I didn’t want to get a lecture from her, but I guess she needed to know that I had a new job. I knew she wouldn’t like it, though. Especially not after how spooked I’d been when we left the other night.
“Franki?”
I leaned against the bar that separated the living room and kitchen. “I don’t know how I got home,” I said simply.
That got her attention.
She turned in her chair, her eyes fixed on me. “What do you mean? Where were you?”
Apparently she hadn’t noticed my t-shirt yet. I stood and pointed to the front. Her eyes grew wide.
“You went back there? Why?”
I turned around and pointed to the back of the shirt. “I sort of work there now.”
“Holy what?” she said, popping up from her chair and coming to stand across from me. “I knew you needed a new job, but I thought you were totally creeped out by that place? You yanked me off the dance-floor so fast last night, I got whiplash.”
I took another drink of my soda. “I don't know. I guess it's not so bad,” I said. “That guy? The hot bartender? Turns out he owns the place. He offered me a job and I really couldn't afford to turn it down.”
I always believed honesty was the best policy, but when it came to vampires and indoor tornadoes and magical powers, I decided Katy was better off not knowing the whole truth. So how was I supposed to explain my new job?
“You’re acting strange,” she said. “Last night, you were acting like you never wanted to step foot in that place again.�
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I shrugged, trying to play it casual. “I had given the bartender my number and he called this morning and told me they had an opening if I wanted it,” I said. “He said I could make some killer tips.”
I cringed at my own words. Killer. Yes, I was now working at a place where people had tried to kill me. And probably would again.
Rend said he could protect me, but for how long? And what if one of the vampires from the club figured out where I lived? It wasn’t like I could expect him to keep me safe when I was home or walking around campus.
Still, what choice did I have? He assured me that those guys didn’t mess with his girls, and now, apparently, I was one of his girls. Whatever that meant.
“Are you sure it’s worth it?” she asked. “That club was weird, to say the least. And wait a second, if you were there today, why don’t you remember how you got home? Did something happen?”
“I passed out,” I said, running a hand along my head. A sharp pain was forming just behind my left eye.
Katy propped her elbows against the bar. “Franki, this is insane,” she said. “You kind of look like hell, to be honest. Are you sick?”
“I don’t know,” I said, which was the truth. Rend had said using that much magic without practice could be draining, but damn. I wasn’t expecting that to mean hours of feeling like crap. “I think I just pushed myself too hard after being out drinking late last night.”
“Do you think that guy brought you home?” she asked, a curious smile on her face. “The bartender or owner or whatever he is?”
“His name is Rend,” I said. “And I don’t know. Maybe, but how did he know where I live?”
“Did you fill out paperwork and stuff to work there? He probably just read it on there.”
“Oh, yeah,” I said absently. I didn't want to tell her what Azure had said. We technically weren’t on the books. Paid in cash every night. It seemed sketchy.
Besides, the dorm apartment wasn't even my real address. My driver’s license still had my Mom’s old address on it and my mailing address here on campus was a P.O. Box. So how the hell did he figure out where I lived?
It spooked me, for sure. What was I getting myself into with this new job?
“When do you go back?” she asked. “Do you have a schedule or anything? I’m going to be sad if you’re working late nights again, like you did when you worked at Shade last year. That sucked. We never saw each other except in class, and we don’t even have any classes together this semester.”
“We didn’t get a chance to go over my hours or anything,” I said. “But they don’t even open until, like, eight every night. I can’t imagine he hired me to work during the day. Besides, I’ve got class every day except Fridays this semester.”
She groaned. “I still don’t know how you managed that one,” she said. “I’m so jealous I could die.”
I laughed. Yeah, I had gotten super lucky with my course schedule this semester. I had a three day weekend every single week, and it was awesome. Of course, now I was probably going to be working late on weekends. The club didn’t close until three in the morning, so that could mean I wouldn’t be home until nearly four. Ugh, that was going to suck.
Unless the money really was good. I could certainly use it. Rend and Azure had both failed to mention money at all.
I had a small scholarship, but most of my expenses were being paid out of money I’d earned over the past few years, working sometimes two jobs to make ends meet. I had no idea what I was going to do when I graduated in May.
I’d need some starter money, though, regardless of what I decided to do. A down payment on a new apartment and new work clothes and stuff like that wouldn’t be cheap.
I envied girls like Katy who had their parents to fall back on when they needed it. Her entire college education was paid for. They even gave her money for food and clothes and books and anything else she needed. She only worked part-time so she could have money to go out on the weekends. I don’t even think she realized just how lucky she was to have that kind of support.
I’d been working since I was fourteen, babysitting and picking up neighborhood jobs just to put food on the table.
As much as the truth of what Rend had told me earlier scared the mess out of me, there was a part of me that was relieved to know I wasn’t the only one out there with these kinds of powers. I had spent so much of my life thinking I was a freak, worried about how to hide it so that no one ever found out.
What would it be like to just be myself around people? What would it be like to meet an entire world of people who were like me?
Dangerous or not, it was exciting.
And if I could make some good money in the process, I was all in. At least until graduation. I could make anything work for the next eight or nine months.
“Well, you know I’ll support you no matter what you want to do,” she said. “I just hope you don’t disappear on me.”
“I have to work,” I said. “There’s no getting around it. But you know I’m always going to make time for you.”
Katy smiled and before she even opened her mouth, I knew what she was thinking. We hadn’t been friends for the past three years without me learning how to read her boy-crazy smiles.
“Hey, maybe I can come hang out with you at the club. That guy I was dancing with, Marco? He was gorgeous. I wouldn’t mind seeing him again.”
I rolled my eyes and downed the last of the Pepsi. “I doubt I’ll be able to hang out much while I’m at work,” I said. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but I really didn’t want her coming back up to that club. Not if it was really as dangerous as Rend said.
“I don’t want to get you in trouble or anything, but maybe once you get settled, I can get some of the other girls together and come out there sometimes on the weekends.”
“We’ll see,” I said.
She pouted and I could tell I’d hurt her feelings. She wouldn’t understand why I wanted to keep her away, if I couldn’t tell her the truth about the place. This was exactly why I hated not just being honest. Lies and half-truths complicated everything.
But, there was no way I could tell her the truth this time. Not without admitting what I was.
And that was something I just wasn’t ready to do. Not when I still didn’t completely understand it myself.
“Let’s watch a movie,” I said. “I need to veg out for a while. Your choice.”
Her face lit up. “Deal. You start the popcorn and I’ll pick the movie. Meet you on the couch.”
A Very Nasty End
By Saturday morning I felt much better, but a twinge of headache still lingered behind my eye.
I had no idea when they were expecting me back to work at Venom, but I had voluntarily taken Friday off to sleep and lounge around the apartment. I considered it a birthday present to myself.
Besides, I didn’t have Rend’s phone number and when I tried to look it up, I couldn’t find a general number for the club either. In fact, I couldn’t find a single mention of the club on the internet anywhere.
Weird, right? Most clubs had a website, but even if they didn’t, there should at least be some reviews and mentions of it somewhere. I couldn’t find as much as a mention of it on twitter. Not a whisper. It was as if the place didn’t even exist.
I considered just going about my normal life and waiting for Rend to call or come by and insist I show up for work. If he’d wanted me there, he should have left a note or something when he brought me home.
If he brought me home.
But I knew he wasn’t going to let me off the hook altogether. He'd said my life was in danger, and after everything I'd seen, I kind of believed him. Plus, I really did need a new job, so after hours of telling myself I wasn’t going to go in, I got dressed and decided to head downtown anyway.
It had absolutely nothing to do with wanting to see Rend again. Nothing.
Or so I told myself.
I was glad to see my car was parked in its spot out
side in the dorm parking lot. Of course, that just made me wonder again exactly how I got home the other day. I certainly didn’t drive myself, but whoever had brought me back knew exactly where I normally parked.
I shuddered.
I didn't like the idea of someone knowing so much about me when I was still so much in the dark about them.
I took the 'L' to the club instead of taking my car. This time, though, instead of the club being deserted, the bouncer was already sitting in her spot in the tunnel.
I started to reach for my ID, but she waved me off.
“Franki, right? Rend told me you might be coming in today,” she said.
“Hey,” I said. “Selena, right? I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to come in or not.”
“Good memory,” she said, her Australian accent thick and beautiful. “It’s good that you’re here. It’s going to be a busy night, so we can use all the help we can get.”
“Is Rend here?” My voice made this little crack when I said his name and I scrunched my nose. Dammit. I definitely did not want anyone to know that I was attracted to the guy, but it was going to be obvious if I didn’t get my shit together.
“Not yet,” she said, an eyebrow raised and a knowing smile on her face. “He’ll be in later, though. Azure's here. She’ll tell you what you need to do. She's kind of in charge around here when Rend's not available.”
“Thanks,” I said, cursing the blush that warmed my cheeks and neck. I was glad that she, at least, had not bothered to tell me just how off-limits Rend was for a girl like me.
The lights inside were on full blast like they had been yesterday, but this time there were at least ten other people rushing around to get things set up. I wondered if it was always like this on a Saturday or if there was something special going on tonight.
Azure stood at the end of the bar talking to the guy who had been dancing with Katy the other night. Marco. I made my way over to them and they both got very quiet, very quickly. A dead giveaway that they’d been talking about me. Great.
