Work.
Did a concept like work even matter anymore? I couldn’t summon the energy to care if so.
I’d discovered two railings of clothing inside my room this morning. I didn’t care who might have come in and seen me in my sorry state. I didn’t give a single shit about any of these monsters. I just pulled the tags off a hugging white dress with a thin yellow belt, flats, and new underwear—recalling the fatal decision to forgo panties before the trip to Level 66. Even with the temple demons dancing a tango in my head, I’d had the presence of mind to grab my pack, shoving everything inside, including my dirty laundry. If opportunity presented itself, I was out of here.
I groaned.
Should have stopped at bottle two last night. I had almost no memory—everything was there until I put on the robe to walk to Tommy’s house. Then nothing.
Dammit, I hadn’t had a hangover this bad since Caveman, and seeing as no one had come in to tell me what to do, I might as well continue sitting here clutching my pounding head.
Beast vibrated on the desk.
“Yuss,” I mumbled, picking up the phone, careful not to dislodge the charge cable.
Ten percent in twenty minutes. Enough for the phone to turn on.
“Please let that be enough for you to stay awake,” I begged him.
Beast chimed in a furious trill.
You don’t seriously expect me to believe that?
I groaned. There were about one hundred messages from Tommy. As expected, she’d believed Angelica’s camping cover story not one bit. I’d never camped in my life.
Basi, where the fuck are you?
I went to your place and saw a bunch of guys moving your shit out! Wtf!
My gut twisted.
Not that I could have done a thing to reassure her, but I hated that Tommy spent the last three days freaking out. And Clint could have hurt her if she’d confronted him.
Please answer me, Basil. I’m so worried :(
All the worst things are running through my head right now.
I opened a new message having decided two days ago how I’d handle the cover-up. That I was about to lie to my best friend just added a fresh layer of bitterness to my predicament, but her safety was paramount.
Tommy, I’m so, so sorry :(
I got in a jam with Clint and he kicked me out. I went glamping with work so I had somewhere to sleep for a few days. I hated every second of it.
I have so much to tell you, babe. <3 <3
I’m back at work now—crashing at the tower until I get paid and can get a place again.
I’m safe, I promise. Love you <3 <3 <3
I hovered my thumb over the Send button. Fucking hell, the burning behind my eyes was back. I wanted my bestie bad. I could only tell her about Clint and losing my stuff, and I’d have to make up a bunch of lies about glamping, but my soul needed her.
I fired off one last line:
I miss you so much, Tom. <3 <3
I gathered together what strength my hangover had left me with and hit Send.
A second later, Beast vibrated.
[Message auto-sent to security recipient. Please do not reply to this message]
What did that mean? Had Tommy’s phone credit run out?
I read the message again.
Wait.
My jaw dropped. Those fuckers. My texts were being monitored by their security!
I cursed aloud, a filthy word that would have made my grandmother swat me—even though I’d learned all the words from her and Dame Burke.
“Is this a bad time?”
His voice plagued my nightmares and dreams. I was out of my spinning chair and pressed against the full-length window behind before registering that lust hadn’t overtaken me.
I didn’t budge, looking across the office at Kyros.
His throat worked, and his green gaze darkened. Regret? Pity? Shame? Who knew.
“The thrall is over,” I stated. Of course, or I wouldn’t be back at work and my white dress would already be the latest clothing sacrifice.
Kyros inhaled. “It is. You’re safe from me now. Considering my behaviour, I wanted to see for myself that you were unharmed.”
“How nice of you,” I answered sarcastically.
Not a speck of anger entered his expression. “You will be here for the foreseeable future, and I don’t wish for you to feel unsafe in my tower. Being human, none of what happened is natural to you.”
“Your apology is worthless,” I informed him. Not that he’d actually said sorry. “None of what you did can be undone.”
I would remember standing naked in front of all those vampires for the rest of my probably short life. And that was only if I forgot him torturing me. The list was a mile long by now.
His eyes darkened again. “A long time has passed since I last compelled someone with blood, and that was with a Vissimo. My arrogance led me to underestimate the effect of a blood compulsion with a human. I should have put more safeties in place. I realise that humans are more conservative than—”
I snorted loudly. “You think I was humiliated because I was naked?” Had he even been there? I lost my mind up there, the end result being that I nearly had sex with someone I hated.
Nudity was the least scarring part of what happened.
Kyros searched my face and inhaled. “Let me assure you that you have nothing to worry about. I’m just glad no real harm befell you.”
Real harm?
Real harm. “You mean that we didn’t manage to have sex in front of hundreds of people?”
He maintained eye contact. “Yes.”
“If your siblings had their way, things might not have worked out that way.”
“They have been dealt with. And Angelica.”
I doubted the punishments for royal family members would be harsh. I stared at him only seeing someone I detested with every part of my being.
When he didn’t show a flicker of remorse, I exhaled, channelling my grandmother. “Is that all, Kyros?”
He came here to apologise, did a piss poor job of it, and didn’t even know what he was apologising for. He should have started at frightening me to death and finished at refusing to put distance between us because he didn’t want to lose face in front of his stupid clan.
Looking at his handsome face hurt my chest. I’d kissed that cruel mouth without realising I’d lost myself.
I never wanted to feel that again.
“There’s another matter to discuss,” he said tersely. The vampire strode across the room, his phone in the air.
Frowning, I edged forward and read the screen.
“Who is Tom?” he asked in that rumbling voice of his.
Mother. Fucker.
“You are monitoring my phone,” I accused, rounding the desk to put space between us. The thrall was over, but I wasn’t willing to push the boundaries.
Kyros slipped the phone back into his waistcoat. “This is a separate security matter.”
His bullshitery was incredible. “You’re joking me. What if the person I text was called Annie? Would it be a matter of security then?”
I had the satisfaction of seeing his green eyes narrow.
Shaking my head, I turned my back to the vampire.
“What have I told you about turning your back to me?”
I leaped and pivoted in one movement, my heartbeat ramping.
His eyes had brightened to blazing, something I assumed was associated with his temper.
“I didn’t warn you for fun,” he snarled. “I warned you because if you listen, you may stay alive. My predatory instincts are heightened when you turn away. I am an alpha, Miss Tetley. My reaction to a direct challenge is incredibly hard to suppress.”
My hands balled and the demons in my temples upped their tango antics. “Three days ago, I found out the world is not the world I knew,” I told him flatly. “Since then, I’ve discovered that the city I live in is not the city I’ve known since birth. And I’ve been trying to protect m
yself from a horny vampire. Forgive me if some things are slipping through the fucking gaps, Kyros!”
I threaded my hands through my hair and—to hell with it—screamed. “Jesus Christ!”
I spun away from him, squeezing my head as though it could force the last week from my brain.
Strong hands tugged at my wrists, easing my fingers from my hair.
Kyros tugged me to his chest, but I wrestled to break his hold.
“No,” I gasped, panic gripping me. I shoved against his chest and he stood back from me, eyes wary.
“Don’t touch me, you fucking monster,” I said, hating the tremble in my voice. “Don’t ever touch me again.”
His chest rose sharply.
“Very well,” he said in the quiet following my outburst.
This time he was the one to put the desk between us. The vampire planted himself near the doorway, crossing his arms. “You’ve lost weight.”
Huh.
My mind tripped over the subject change.
“When did you last eat?”
Not since you sank your fangs into my neck.
I needed to eat. I was feeling faint and dizzy and my hangover was far worse because I’d had nothing in me to soak up the alcohol.
“Kyros, I’m a big girl. I’ll eat when I want to eat. I don’t know if being alpha includes force-feeding your clan. But I’m not, and will never be, part of your clan.”
A growl rumbled toward me, dark and menacing. His face worked until the sound faded away.
Kyros fixed me with an expectant look.
I threw my hands in the air. “What?”
“I’m waiting for you to tell me who Tom is.”
I rubbed my temples, closing my eyes. “This isn’t happening to me.”
“People generally find it easier to answer my questions, Miss Tetley.”
“Is that because you’re an annoying ass?”
He growled, almost too low for me to hear. “Out of consideration for what you went through yesterday, I’ve allowed you to speak in such a way to me. Do not push your luck, human.”
My head throbbed as I tossed my hair back. I wanted him gone. “Tom is a friend.”
He growled. “What kind of friend?”
“How is that relevant to protecting your clan and family?” I growled right back.
“… It’s not.” He sounded surprised by the admission. “If you would humour me, Miss Tetley. I’m still feeling some effects of the thrall.”
I opened my eyes. “The thrall is over. I don’t feel anything anymore.”
Anger swept across his face.
Poor baby, did I hurt his oversized ego?
“I find your question downgrading and possessive. But that’s about been my experience of your kind so far, so if I tell you who Tom is, will you leave?” I asked.
He considered that and nodded.
“Tommy is female. We do not have sex.”
Kyros hummed, watching me. “I never asked whether you had sex or not.”
Sure. Like that isn’t your real question. “You said you’d leave.”
“I was always going to leave,” he replied, smirking. “There’s one more thing I wish to make clear.”
Clenching my teeth, I didn’t respond.
“Angelica took it upon herself to show you the inner workings of this tower. You are limited by the constraints I put on your mind, but I wanted to tell you why I can’t let such information get to our enemy. I hope that it might help you to understand why I acted toward you in what must seem a brutal way.”
It didn’t just seem brutal. It was brutal. The torture part at least. Kyros should have kept his distance on Level 66, but neither of us were in control once he got too close. He was just faster and stronger about doing something with his lust than me.
“The clan we battle against, Clan Fyrlia, are brutes without a moral code.”
I tried not to laugh my little monkey-mouse head off at that.
“Nearly all crime in Bluff City can be linked to their clan. Most Vissimo clans have made strides to become cultured over the centuries, cultivating ourselves so we are not animals to better ensure our survival. Fyrlia has not. They can act the part if needed, but behind closed doors, they are savages.”
Was Kyros aware he just described himself?
“If we lose Ingenium,” he continued, looking out the window, “the consequences are severe. For my family. And for our people who will be forced to join Clan Fyrlia. If I or those in this tower come across as ruthless, it is because of what we stand to lose.”
Friends, family, and a better world were the only things worth fighting for, in my opinion. But to put any of those things at risk over a game was something I couldn’t abide. I didn’t give a single shit about the consequences of losing Ingenium and how he used that as an excuse to treat me as he had.
“I hear you,” I replied. I won’t ever forgive you, bastard.
His eyes narrowed, but he straightened after a beat. “Very well, I shall leave you to your day.”
Finally.
Kyros strode to the door and, with a mind of their own, my eyes slipped down to his ass, outlined in his pinstriped suit.
My mouth dried and heat stirred in my stomach.
He’d said the blood compulsion thingy still affected him, right? I still had some of it in me too.
“Perhaps coming to speak to you was a mistake.”
Kyros looked at me from the doorway, one hand on the frame. The care with which he made the movement made me realise how easily he could destroy this office, this skyscraper, and this city. I’d witnessed his strength.
“I just wanted you to understand.” Kyros finished.
Never more serious, I met his weary green eyes. “If you’d asked, Kyros, I could have just told you understanding this is the last thing I want right now.”
“What do you want?” he said low.
Kyros hadn’t given me empathy or a real apology, but he had given me honesty. I rewarded him with the same. “I want to wake up and discover you don’t really exist.”
His lips pressed together.
Were his breaths deeper than before? I couldn’t tell.
We stared at each other. Then Kyros jerked his head in a tight nod.
“You will find your appointments for the day in Monocle,” he told me, gesturing at the computer. “You’ll be able to create your own login when it opens this time. Vampires usually sleep from 3:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., but you’ll work 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.—human hours.”
The last part flowed in one ear and out the other.
“Appointments?” I said weakly. “Like preliminary visits?”
Outside of the tower?
My breath caught.
“Yes, like preliminary visits,” he said shortly. “The addresses are stored in the software, and there’s a white car in the garage parked closest to the elevator. It is yours to use for site visits. Keys are in the ignition.”
Holy. Shit.
This wasn’t happening.
I was totally, totally out of here.
16
The thing about the loan car was I only had my learner’s licence, but a tiny thing like not knowing how to drive wasn’t coming between me and escape.
The flashy bit of white metal from Kyros came equipped with GPS—luckily, because Beast didn’t lower himself to that modern shit.
Two small scrapes later, but no crashes, I pulled over outside 77 Bard Boulevard—a two-bedroom house in Orange.
The high-pitched whine of metal rang out from outside, and I jerked on the wheel.
“Crap!” I kept forgetting how wide the thing was. I mean, it wasn’t my car, but if this was my getaway vehicle, I wanted to keep it nice.
I sighed, turning off the car—it took me ten minutes to find a button in the middle of the dashboard that turned the stupid vehicle on. Turned out the keys are in the ignition wasn’t a literal instruction.
“He’s made it too easy,” I told the dashboard.
The one thing I wanted was to drive to my grandmother. Kyros had given me a car, the keys, and hadn’t set any restrictions—aside from the mind compulsion. I didn’t have a guard tracking my movements. I supposed people could be watching me, but if they were, I couldn’t see them.
The street was otherwise empty of cars and people.
… Kyros had offered me my escape on a silver platter. It was too easy by far.
“He’s testing me. Or he knows something I don’t.” I groaned and thumped back against the headrest.
An entire morning spent researching my two afternoon prelim visits while I knocked back glass after glass of water had lessened my headache, but my eyes felt scratchy and my body weak. The hope that fuelled me after hearing about the car had siphoned away.
I really had to eat. A visit to Sister Sushi was in order. I had fifty-five dollars to burn. And—I straightened in the deep, plush seat.
“I get paid today!” Today was Thursday. I should have been paid yesterday. Angelica had kept herself scarce since our last encounter.
I’d have to hunt her down to get every cent owed.
Except that would require going back.
Which I wasn’t doing.
Or had Kyros known I’d be back for the money? The guy was a games master for a living. Why should I assume this ploy was anything less than another game? Was giving me a car actually a test—or had he just banked on me thinking it was a test?
“Oh man, that’s getting too crazy,” I spoke to the car again.
Thumping my head against the black leather headrest once more, I grabbed the file for 77 Bard Boulevard and swung the door open. Tucking the small remote that I guessed passed for a key these days in my bra, I walked up the steep driveway.
The car beeped at my back and I spun.
No idea what that meant. Had it self-locked? I winced at the long scratches down the curb-side tyres and body.
The small scrapes weren’t so small. “Oops.”
I grinned at the thought of the damaged car sitting in the garage of the tower until someone told Kyros.
Blood Trial: Supernatural Battle (Vampire Towers Book 1) Page 18
