But my newfound confidence went right down the drain when I climbed into the driver’s side and saw the stick shift next to the seat. Shit! How did I forget that Lucas drives a manual car?
“You don’t know how to drive a stick shift,” Lucas guessed, seeing the horror on my face. “It’s not too difficult. I’m sure you can master it by the time we’re back to my house.”
“Okay,” I said slowly. I was glad somebody believed in me. Come on, Rory, you can do this.
“Just remember to press the clutch in when you switch gears. Once we’re on the highway you’ll be fine.”
I looked at him blankly.
“The pedal on the left side – use your left foot,” he explained.
Lucas leaned back against the seat and closed his eyes. I started the car and hit the gas. We lurched forward and the car died.
“I guess resting on this journey is out of the question.” Lucas gave me a feeble smile.
“I don’t know if I can get the hang of this,” I said morosely.
But miraculously, after two more failed attempts, the car jolted forward and didn’t die.
Lucas placed his hand on top of mine. “I’ll help you shift gears,” he said. “Hit the clutch when I tell you to.”
I tried to ignore his hand and focus on the road – and his instructions. With Lucas’ help, we were on the freeway in no time.
“You can rest now if you need to,” I offered.
“Thanks, let me know when we’re close to my house.” Lucas leaned back again and shut his eyes.
I was really glad dead girls didn’t sweat, because my sundress would have been drenched. Wow, that was stressful!
But I felt proud that I had done it. By the time we arrived Lucas’ house, I was ready to be out of the car. I would definitely like to try driving again, but I thought I should start with an automatic before trying to master a stick shift!
I helped Lucas into the house. He didn’t seem like he needed my arm around his waist this time, but I liked the feel of it. I liked how it made my skin tingle. I wanted to squeeze him close to me, to run my hand over his six-pack abs. But I didn’t.
Once inside the bedroom, Lucas collapsed down onto his bed. He was groaning and sweating.
“Are you okay?” I asked in alarm.
“I will be,” he said. “Right now it’s still so strong. How long were they pumping me full of that stuff? Five minutes? Ten?”
“Everything was moving in slow motion for me,” I admitted. “For all I know, it could have been an hour.”
“The problem is that now I have a taste for it. I – I need you to do me a favor. I feel terrible asking you for help, after what I put you through, but I don’t have anyone else.”
“It’s no problem,” I assured him. “What do you need?”
“For you to lock me up.”
“What?” That was the last thing I’d expected him to say.
“I’m serious, Aurora. In my closet. There are two pairs of handcuffs. Please get them.”
I laughed nervously. “Who keeps handcuffs? Please tell me I’m not about to touch some kinky sex toy.”
Lucas chuckled. “Nothing so exciting I’m afraid. I keep them for…if I have a relapse. It’s the only way to make sure I don’t go hunting. I have to stay locked up while this shit is in my body.”
“How long will that take?” I asked.
“That’s why I was trying to figure out how much they gave me. I think I should be okay tomorrow. Trust me, I’ll be able to tell.”
As requested, I opened Lucas’ closet and located the handcuffs. He turned on his back, stretching his arms to either corner of the bed frame. Wordlessly, I cinched one cuff around each wrist and one to the frame.
“Thank you,” Lucas said softly. “I’m sorry you have to do this, babysit me like a fucking two year old.”
“It’s okay. I don’t mind.” I really didn’t.
“I just can’t believe I thought we were going to see Nicholas. I should have been more careful. I could never forgive myself if something had happened to you.”
“Who were those freaks?” I asked.
“They hate me because I killed their brother thousands of years ago.”
“Why did you do that?” I asked. “Was this before or after you were reformed?”
“Before. He turned a girl into a vampire. It was someone who I wanted to turn, and he beat me to it. I was so angry I staked him through the heart.”
“Were you in love with her or something?”
“In lust is more like it. There’s a special connection between two vampires when one has turned the other. I was jealous that he was going to share that with her, so I made sure he didn’t have the chance.”
“You saw those guys tonight,” Lucas continued. “Their older brother was no better. I actually had no idea Bartholomew and Thomas were still around, or that they still had it out for me, after all these years. That will teach me to be more careful.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” I argued. “As much as you’ve done for me, as much as you’ve risked for my case, I could never be mad at you for an honest mistake.”
“Thanks, I do appreciate you saying that. I really thought it was Nicholas who called me.”
I had been standing awkwardly at the edge of the room. Lucas cocked his head towards the bed. “You can sit down. I won’t bite. Not you, at least,” he quipped.
I chuckled and sat down on the foot of the bed. Lucas still didn’t look normal, but I was glad to see he seemed to be a little bit better.
“Are you sure they don’t know where you live?” I asked.
Lucas sighed. “I would have said yes, but after tonight I’m not trusting my instincts so much. Henry did a real number on Thomas. They’re going to have to find help if they want him to live. So, at least for tonight, we’re safe.”
“You mean like a vampire doctor?” I asked.
“I guess you could call it that.” Lucas laughed. “How did Henry know we were there anyway?”
“I was supposed to call him when we got back here. Are you okay if I leave you alone for a few minutes?”
Lucas wriggled his wrists. “I’m not going anywhere,” he assured me.
Chapter 21
Henry answered on the first ring.
“Aurora, I was so worried about you! I’ve been going nuts pacing the house, waiting on your call.”
“We just got back,” I told him. “Lucas is really messed up. Getting a taste of blood is like an alcoholic having liquor again.”
“Is he going to be okay?” Henry asked.
“Yeah, he says he will.” I explained to Henry how I had handcuffed Lucas to the bed so he couldn’t leave, couldn’t go looking for a blood fix.
“That was crazy the way he was yelling at me to get out. It’s like he wouldn’t have been able to stop himself,” Henry said.
“I know. I had no idea it was so bad. But, Henry, you still haven’t told me how in the world you knew where we were. You saved our lives! And the way you flew at Thomas with the stake! That was incredible!”
“I think that’s the other reason I’m pacing the house. I’m totally hyped on adrenaline right now.”
“I’ll bet!” I exclaimed. “Tell me everything.”
“I was sitting in class and I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. So I waited until Ms. Perry turned around so I could look at it. I thought for sure it would be you or one of the guys setting up our next b-ball practice.”
“But no, it was Emmett!” Henry continued. “He’d never texted me before – remember, he likes doing everything in person. All the text said was ‘Call me immediately. This is a matter of life and death.’”
“So I stood up, said that I thought I was going to be sick, and ran out of the classroom. I had Emmett on the phone by the time I was starting my car. He was frantic. Told me you and Lucas were in danger. He gave me the address of where those twins were you keeping you.”
“Wow.” If I didn’t believe that Emmet
t was the real deal before, I certainly did now!
“I didn’t want to waste time going home to get my vampire hunting stuff, but thank God I thought to leave one stake in the glove box of my car. I knew there were two dudes, so my original plan was to stake the hell out of one, then get the other.”
“You did great,” I assured him. “I didn’t even recognize you at first, the way you came at them.”
“I knew that they were planning to send you back to the grave,” Henry said, “so there really wasn’t another option.”
“What else did Emmett tell you?”
“Oh yeah, he said that they were doing this spell and to make sure that I knocked the bowl over. Apparently they had all this specific stuff to collect – stuff that’s not easy to come by – and by spilling the bowl it would ruin all of it.”
“Max!” I wailed. “I saw him sitting there. I totally forgot about him in the middle of everything.”
“Don’t worry,” Henry told me. “I grabbed him on the way out. Emmett was adamant about that too – take the object that was in your grave.”
“What if they come looking for it tonight?” I asked worriedly.
“I guess I’ll have to sleep with one eye open.” Henry was trying to make a joke but he sounded nervous.
“Lucas said that what you did to Thomas may kill him, that they’ll be out of commission – for tonight at least.”
“I hope so,” Henry said. “For all our sakes.”
Chapter 22
After I got off the phone with Henry, I trudged back to Lucas’ room to tell him what had happened.
“Are you awake?” I asked softly. I didn’t want to disturb him if he’d managed to get some sleep.
“No.” Lucas opened his eyes. “It’s not very comfortable lying with my hands cuffed to the bed.”
I started to open my mouth to say that surely it wouldn’t hurt to unlock just one of them, but Lucas cut me off.
“It may not be comfortable, but it’s necessary,” he said quickly. “So tell me how Henry knew something was wrong?”
I filled Lucas in on everything I’d just found out.
“I’m not thrilled that someone else knows about me now, but I can’t really complain, considering that saved us,” he said when I’d finished.
“You don’t think they’ll come for Henry tonight, do you?” I asked. “I know you said Thomas is wounded, but what if Bartholomew wants to take revenge?”
“They won’t come to his house. Probably not ever. Not in a residential area like that. They don’t want to be seen by anyone.”
“Still,” Lucas continued, “once I’m back to normal, I do need to find out where they are and make sure I stop whatever they may be planning next.”
“Are you going to kill them?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
“If need be,” Lucas said grimly.
I shuddered.
“The important thing is that everyone is safe for tonight, at least. I should have a clearer head tomorrow.”
“Okay. Do you want me to leave you alone? I can go watch TV while you rest.”
“I’m alone all the time,” Lucas replied. “It’s actually the last thing I want right now.”
Lucas smiled, showing those teeth again. I still couldn’t get used to his vampire fangs. But, in a weird way, they almost made him look sexier, if that was possible. They certainly suited him.
“Why don’t you lie down? The bed is big enough for two.”
Well, yeah, but you’re huge and muscular and sprawled out across the entire thing!
“You can rest your head on my shoulder,” Lucas said. “Unless you don’t want to,” he quickly added.
“Oh, no, I want to,” I said hurriedly. That sounded so awkward.
I tried to control my voice, make it sound normal. “I am tired. Not that I can sleep, but it wouldn’t hurt to rest my body, relax for awhile.”
I crawled into the bed and scooted next to Lucas, placing my head in the crook of his arm. Impulsively, I slung my arm over his chest before I could think about what I was doing.
It felt right. I couldn’t stop myself from running my hand along his chest, taking in the bulging muscles.
I looked up at Lucas. His eyes were closed but he was smiling. I watched his chest move up and down with his rhythmic breathing. I thought he must have fallen asleep, when he leaned down and kissed my forehead. I turned my face up towards him, wanting to again feel his soft lips against mine.
“Aurora,” he whispered my name, leaning down to kiss me. This time it was gentle, sweet. Not like the last time, that feverish kiss we’d shared. I kissed him back. Both kisses were nice.
I could tell Lucas was tired. He pulled away. “I could kiss you all night. I really could, but I have to try to sleep this off. It’s miserable, feeling like this. Wanting to go out and murder innocent people. But it helps having you here.”
I smiled. “After tonight, I don’t blame you for needing to sleep.” I snuggled deeper into his arm.
I thought that was the last I would hear from Lucas, but a few minutes later he said my name again.
“Yes?” I asked in surprise.
“I want you to know, no matter what happens, you’re not just another case to me. I really care about you. I just thought you deserved to know it.”
And with that confession, Lucas was out like a light.
Chapter 23
The next morning I got out of Lucas’ bed before he woke up, being careful not to disturb him. I wanted to fix myself up before he saw me. If that’s even possible. I probably look like hell after last night.
But I was pleasantly surprised when I saw myself, considering. My bun had come loose and my hair was a disheveled mess; I looked like the ‘before’ picture in a hair ad for frizz tamer.
I fixed my hair as best as possible and walked back to Lucas’ room. He was awake now.
“Good morning,” he said.
“Hi. How are you feeling today?”
“Better.”
“Should I unlock the handcuffs?” I asked.
“I think so,” Lucas said slowly. “It’s morning now. I couldn’t hunt in the sunlight, even if I wanted to.”
“Do you?” I whispered.
“Yes, the urge is still there,” he admitted. “It’s lessened, though. But I’ll be okay now, thanks to Henry. I couldn’t say that if he hadn’t have shown up when he did.”
I unlocked the handcuffs. Lucas stood up and stretched, rubbing his wrists. “That was brutal; I’m going to be sore all day.”
“What a night,” I said.
“I can take you home now,” Lucas offered.
“Whenever is fine.” I shrugged. “I’m in no hurry. I spend all day at Henry’s house anyway.”
Truthfully, I was hoping for more time with Lucas. I really wanted to ask him about what he’d said last night, but I was scared that today, as the effects of the blood faded, he either might not remember – or worse – might not feel the same way.
We walked into the front room of the house.
“You can stay here today, if you’d rather,” Lucas said.
“Cool, I’ll just hang out for awhile, until Henry gets back from school.”
We sat down on the couch.
“So, do you think Thomas and Bartholomew are going to come looking for you today?” I asked worriedly.
“I’m going to make some phone calls; see what I can find out about those two. I’m guessing whoever originally hired my agency to kill you hired them next. It was probably just an added bonus when they found out I was involved, a chance to avenge their brother’s death.”
“Hey, what ever happened with the order you had to kill me? I thought you were getting pressure about it.”
“I was at first. Remember, I told my boss that the spell I was given didn’t work.”
“And that didn’t have anything to do with getting the object from my grave?” I asked.
“No, this was more of a generic spell; you know,
kind of a ‘catch all’ for getting rid of demons and banishing creatures from earth. It really may not have worked,” Lucas admitted.
“It doesn’t sound like it. I wonder why the twins were hired. Why didn’t the new orders come to you?”
Lucas shrugged helplessly. “Who knows? Maybe someone figured out I’d had contact with you, thought it was too risky, that I was too involved with the case.”
That you were getting too close to me. I hoped this didn’t mean Lucas was going to disappear again.
I jumped when my phone rang. “It’s Henry,” I said, looking at the display. “I hope nothing is wrong. He’s supposed to be in class!”
“Is everything alright?” I shrieked into the phone.
“Yes.” Henry laughed. “I’m on edge too, after last night.”
“Why aren’t you in class then?”
“I’m on break. Emmett texted me. He wants you, me, and Lucas to meet him in an hour. I already got permission to leave a little bit early today. Said I still wasn’t feeling well.”
“What does he want to meet us for?” I wanted to know.
“He didn’t say.”
“What if it’s another trap?” I asked. “I mean, look what happened yesterday.”
“He wants to meet at Starbucks. I’m pretty sure we’ll be safe there,” Henry said wryly.
I agreed that he probably wasn’t going to ambush us at Starbucks; we finalized the details and hung up.
“What was that about?” Lucas asked.
“The psychic wants to meet with us in an hour,” I said excitedly.
But Lucas quickly shook his head. “You can count me out.”
“It’s not a trap,” I started.
“That’s not why I can’t go. I still can’t be around humans, not in that close of proximity.”
“Oh.”
“But I’ll drop you off,” Lucas said.
“Even if I weren’t in this condition, I don’t think I could sit on the patio, pretending to sip a cappuccino in this blazing heat,” he continued.
Stalking Dead (Vampire Hunter Book 2) Page 6
