“Good,” he said, shoving another forkful of pancakes in his mouth. I reached over and grabbed a blackberry, delighting in its tangy sweetness.
“We need to collaborate on how you’re going to explain your absence,” I said. “We need to make sure we’re completely on the same page and not stray from the details. Keep it as vague as possible, but give people just enough that they don’t ask too many questions.”
“I already have my story thought out,” he said, smiling confidently with his mouth full of food.
“Chew first, then you can fill me in,” I said, shaking my head, smiling happily at the sexiest man in the universe, half-naked and all mine in my kitchen.
TWENTY-FOUR
LEO
My heart soared with anticipation as I showered. Ma was going to be so excited to see me. Bessie would probably just give me a quick sniff and go back to being Bessie.
I’d have a lot of explaining to do.
I knew I’d hurt Ma. I knew she’d scream and yell and cry, but she’d be okay after a few days. Hopefully, just seeing me alive would be enough to assuage her pain and make her happy. I really wanted to make her happy again.
And then there was the Captain I had to go see, as well. I’d have to do a lot of talking to get my job back. He’d be concerned about my health, of course, and I’d somehow need to convince him that I was fit and strong as ever and my heart wasn’t a problem anymore.
I took a few moments under the hot water, imagining what my life would be like now. Addy and I should move in together, as soon as possible. Integrating our lives was the most important thing to me. I wanted to keep her close. My cock hardened as I thought about just how close I wanted her, all over again…
I’d made love to her all night long, and it still wasn’t enough. I was beginning to wonder if it was ever going to be enough. Even seeing her stuff herself full of maple syrup and pancakes at breakfast made me want to take her back to bed. Every move she made, every time she laughed, every time she flashed those pretty baby blue eyes at me, I wanted to pounce.
At this rate, I’d never get anything done, so I’d refrained this morning, knowing it would take all day to make love to her the way I wanted to, the way she deserved.
Today, I needed to walk back into the life I’d abandoned and try to make sense of it. I needed to pick up the pieces. And after I’d seen Ma and gone home and gathered a few things, I was planning on coming right back over here to Addy’s house and making her dinner.
I didn’t give a shit if we didn’t need real food to survive. Eating together was a civilized, romantic thing for couples to do and I wasn’t about to give it up. Especially if we weren’t going to gain weight. I made a mental note to ask Ma for her cobbler recipe, too.
I dried off and wrapped a towel around my hips, whistling with joy as I walked back towards the kitchen.
“Hey, babe, I want to make you dinner tonight. Do you like Thai food?” I called as I came down the hall. I stopped dead in my tracks when I rounded the corner.
“I don’t know,” Dane said, an ice pick pointed straight behind Addy’s right ear, “I’m more of a sushi guy myself.” They stood behind the kitchen island that was covered in what remained from our pancake feast. Flour and sugar dusted the marble countertop between us, with the butter dish and syrup bottle sitting on the side. The dishes were half washed in the sink and the sponge lay on the floor at Addy’s feet.
“Dane!”
“Hello, Leo,” he sneered. “How’s it hanging? Is Addy here teaching you the ropes? Have you graduated from Vampire 101 yet?”
“Let her go,” I demanded, my head spinning as I looked at Addy. She shook her head slightly, her eyes wide, struggling against Dane’s grip.
“Nope,” he said, pressing the tip of the ice pick against her head. “Little Miss Addy here needs to pay for what she’s taken away from me.”
“Dane, I’m sure we can work something out,” I said. “Please stop, man.”
“What’s to work out, Leo?” He asked, shrugging. “Such a shame you got involved. I really thought you were a nice guy.”
“Oh, yeah? Is that why you convinced me to throw away my life on some fake reality television show? Is that why you took me halfway across the world to get murdered?”
“Well, in spite of that, I guess,” he said, a sick smile spreading across his face. “But nothing turned out the way we planned, did it? Pity…”
“None of this is Addy’s fault. If you want to blame someone, blame me,” I said, my eyes darting around as I looked for something to use as a weapon against him. He was older than me, but I had no idea if that meant, as a vampire, he was stronger or faster or weaker and slower. Nothing in this vampire world made sense.
“Seriously, Dane,” I continued. “Addy killed that guy because of me. She wouldn’t have been at the sanctuary at all if it wasn’t for me. I’d have died during the hunt and you would have gone on your merry way. This is my fault.”
“How about while we hash out who takes the blame, you take the fucking ice pick from my head, Dane?” Addy said. She wasn’t trying to hide her anger and I tried to remain calm because as soon as Dane started babbling again, it was obvious I was the only one keeping their wits about them.
“Addy’s been the bane of my existence way before you came along, Leo,” he said, sneering.
“Why?” She cried. “Because I wouldn’t fuck you? Get over yourself, you arrogant asshole!”
“That’s not all, Addy!” He spat the words with hatred in his eyes. “You were such a nag, always in my business, trying to tell me what to do, threatening to report me,” he muttered.
“You constantly stole blood samples!” She cried. “Some of us try to follow the fucking rules, Dane!”
He growled, his teeth snapping out, the ice pick still pointed right into her weak spot. A tiny ribbon of blood trickled down behind her ear and ran down her neck. I bristled, my anger rising.
“Dammit, Dane, don’t you hurt her!”
“Why? Because you love each other? Oh, how sweet!” He said, his voice rising to a sing-song, stomach-turning pitch. “See, Leo, you’re making one mistake here.”
“What’s that?” I growled.
“You think I actually believe in love,” he said, laughing maniacally.
“I don’t give a shit what you believe in,” I growled, my voice lowering in rage, “but if you don’t let go of Addy, I’m going to rip your fucking balls off.”
“Oh, look at you, big guy,” he teased. “Maybe I should kill you, instead of Addy. That would hurt her more, don’t you think?”
“I’m right here. Do your fucking best, Dane,” I shook my head. “Just let her go.”
“No,” he shook his head, digging the pick into her head.
“Goddammit!” I said, my heart filling with terror.
I was out of time. Words weren’t going to make any difference with this psychopath. I had to make a move and I had to do it now.
The sound of the doorbell startled all of us.
My eyes darted to the door and back to Dane. We all froze, silent and waiting.
“Police!” A man yelled, followed by more banging on the door. “Open up!”
“Fuck!” Dane whispered, his eyes wild.
Addy and I looked at him expectantly and he shook his head.
“Why are the police here, Dane?” Addy asked quietly, a thoughtful look on her face.
Another knock at the door sounded, banging this time.
“Get rid of them,” Dane said, pushing Addy out of his arms and towards the front door. “Don’t fucking try anything either.”
Addy walked to the front door, wiping the blood from her neck before opening the door. Dane and I stayed in the kitchen, standing side by side, listening.
I looked over at him, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce on him now that he didn’t have Addy anymore.
“Hello, ma’am,” the officer’s voice traveled down the hallway.
“Hello, offic
er,” Addy said.
“Ma’am, there was a woman attacked down the street in Fraser park early this morning. We’re just going door to door to see if anyone might have heard anything or seen anything out of the ordinary?”
“Oh, that’s terrible,” I heard Addy say. I stole a lot at Dane and saw his eyes narrow, the muscle of his clenched jaw twitching. “I didn’t hear anything at all, I’m sorry. Is she okay? The woman?”
“No, ma’am. She’s not. But thank you, ma’am. Like I said, we’re checking with everyone. You make sure to keep your doors locked tonight, okay?”
“Of course. You think they might come back?”
“It’s possible. We don’t have a suspect at this time, but it was a brutal one. We’re taking this real serious. Here’s my card. If you see anything, please call us.”
“Of course,” she said. “Thank you.”
The door closed and Addy’s footsteps quickened as she rounded the corner.
TWENTY-FIVE
THE COLLECTOR
As soon as I saw Addy’s face, I knew she knew. She didn’t have to say it, but she did.
“It was you, wasn’t it?” She asked, standing in front of me, as I pointed the ice pick at them both. “You killed someone.”
“So what,” I shrugged. “It was going to happen eventually.”
“Why’d you have to do it so close to my home?”
“What the fuck?” Leo asked. “You were here last night? What the fuck were you doing here last night?”
“He was looking in the window,” Addy whispered. “Weren’t you, Dane? I felt someone watching us last night and it was you, wasn’t it, you pervert?”
“What?” Leo cried, his voice full of anger. He lunged towards me and I waved the pick in front of him.
“Get the fuck back,” I growled. “I’m sick of both of you. Your perfect fucking world, your fucking privilege, acting like nothing ever happened, fucking all night like a couple of goddamned honeymooners, without a care in the world. Nobody cares about Dane!” I said, the pick swirling in the air between us, as that unruly rage unleashed inside of me.
“Fuck you, man,” Leo said, squaring up in front of me. “You can cut the fuck outta me, I don’t care but I’m not going to let some two-bit fucking peeping tom get away with watching me and my girl.”
I roared with laughter.
“Your girl! Your girl is hundreds of years old! She’s older than your mother, your grandmother and your great grandmother combined! My god, it’s amazing her pussy hasn’t turned to dust yet!”
“You fucking prick,” he growled, his face red with rage, which only pleased me more. “I’m going to kill you.”
“Is that so? How? With your bare hands, Leo?” I teased. “Let’s see…you could reach for a knife, but you’d have to open the drawer first to get it out. By that time, I’d have killed Addy. You could try to restrain me, but if you come at me, I’ll just stab you. Your both kind of fucked, if you ask me.”
“I didn’t ask you,” he said. He was rather adorable. I could see why Addy was attracted to him. He probably had a nice cock, too. But he seemed so dense. A little slow, a little stupid, a little too good looking for his own good. Watching his eyes search around the room, desperately looking for an escape plan…well, I almost felt sorry for him.
I’d seen so many like him before.
It made sense, I guess.
I mean, I’m sure Leo is smart in his own way. He’s a fireman, and all that, but I was pretty sure his street smarts were all based on his braun and not his brain. That’s how I knew that he’d attack me. His main skills were based in physical strength. He wasn't smart enough to think of all the things around him that he could turn into spears. As long as it was sharp enough to pierce my skull, diving into the weak spot of my brain, then it would work. A chair leg, splintered into pieces would work. A broken glass, perhaps. A shattered light bulb might work, too, but you’d really have to shove it in there.
All I’m saying is that if Leo was just a little bit smarter, he’d have already killed me.
Instead, he was wasting time. Listening to me ramble on about how unfair the cards I’d been dealt were for way too long. As if he was waiting to catch me off guard and tackle me. As if I would ever be off guard.
Hell, Addy could whip out her breasts and I wouldn’t be distracted so much to let down my guard.
“I’m going to tell the police you killed that person,” Addy said.
“Is that so?” I said, laughing. “Yes, why don’t you, Addy? Send them to Dr. Dane Benjamin’s residence, will you?”
“I didn’t mean the cops outside, you asshole. I’m going to tell the Vampire Police.”
I waved the ice pick in the air again, her words irritating me with their sheer naiveté.
“There’re already after me for the murder you committed, Addy! For fuck’s sake, stay with us here.”
“Goddammit, Dane!” She exclaimed. “None of this had to happen…”
“And yet here we are!” I shouted. “In the moment! Isn’t it grand, Addy? We’re living! We’re here, experiencing the messy wonderful world together, loving and hating, and feeling every fucking second of misery and joy every step of the way! You murdered someone, I murdered someone, it’s like one big happy morbid fucking club!” My eyes sparkled into Addy’s, as I couldn’t help but laugh heartily. “It’s all part of the —.”
Sharp, flashing heat hit the right side of my head, sending blinding waves of pain through my ear and into my brain. Thick, wet, white-hot liquid seared my hairline behind my ear.
“What the?” I murmured, my hand flying up to my ear. Thick, black blood rushed over my fingertips, my skin smeared with the sticky substance.
I turned my head, staring into Leo’s flashing, angry, red eyes, his left fist gripping a broken bottle of maple syrup, smeared with my own black blood.
I fell to the ground, the two of them towering over me as they peered down at me. Waves of pain washed over me, the blood pouring from my head like a broken dam. My vision blurred before everything turned red, a deep pulsing red that was soon covered in smoky black images, the faces of demons swirling around me in a sea of crimson blood, their chanting thumping against my ears with a deafening roar.
The thumping turned to cries, cries turned to screams, and the piercing screams finally turned to a sharp, violent screeching that tore at my nerves, ripping into my brain the way my fangs ripped into flesh, the atrocious sound slowly turning to a softly enchanting symphony as the screams floated away and were finally drowned out with the peaceful chorus of death.
My own death.
The death of Dane Benjamin and dozens of other identities that I’d claimed.
The spirit, faded.
The blood, drained.
The life, dead….
Solidly, endlessly dead.
TWENTY-SIX
LEO
“I guess we’re all murderers now,” I said, looking down at Dane’s body.
His flesh quickly broke out into flames, his clothes, limbs and flesh burning hotly and quickly before turning to a shimmering grey ash on the kitchen floor.
The broken maple syrup bottle was still in my hand, covered with Dane’s thick, black blood. I looked down, my eyes trailing after a heavy drop of syrup that fell to the ground, landing on the floor next to Dane’s ashes, a tiny drop of black blood falling on top, the sweet thick syrup mixing with Dane’s ebony poison.
Addy stood next to me, her breathing heavy as she slowly reached for the broken bottle, prying it from my death grip and throwing it into the garbage can under the sink. I watched with fascination as Dane’s body decomposed quickly, the ash turning to a smokey pile, as if he was now a fire sputtering out, carelessly left behind by irresponsible campers. The firefighter in me immediately assessed the conditions to make sure the small flames that were left wouldn’t spread, but they died out quickly, the leftover ashes turning to dust in the air, disappearing into a wisp of a breath.
It
was almost beautiful, the way he went back into nothing. But it was too gruesome for beauty. Nothing about Dane was beautiful.
“He didn’t scream,” I said, my voice sounding as if it were coming from a million miles away. “Stefan’s body didn’t catch fire like that.”
“Not every vampire does,” Addy said. “Leo, you should sit down. You’re in shock.”
“I’m fine,” I said, with a dismissive wave, turning from the badly burned linoleum floor. “I’ll replace your floor tomorrow.”
“I don’t give a shit about the floor.”
“I do. I don’t want to look at it,” I said, matter-of-factly. “I mean, I’m guessing I’ll be spending a lot of time here. I should fix that bathroom faucet, too.”
Addy looked at me with squinted eyes, shaking her head.
“Leo, you just killed someone. I’m guessing you’ve never done that before.”
“Nope,” I shrugged. Her eyes searched mine, and I suppose she was searching for regret or remorse, but I was beyond self-reproach.
“And how did it feel?” She asked, her words slow. She tried to guide me to the couch, but instead I pressed her against the wall, leaning close to her face as a slow, deliberate smile spread across mine.
“It felt fucking incredible,” I growled, my cock raging between my legs now that I was this close to her. Maybe I was supposed to be feeling those things, regret and contrition, maybe I was supposed to condemn my actions, but I didn’t feel any of that.
I didn’t even feel sorry for Dane.
In fact, I was ecstatic that he was gone.
But what I did feel was that familiar need that hit me like a Mac truck each time Addy was close.
“It felt amazing, Addy,” I whispered, kissing her hard. “Tell me, did it feel this good to you? When you killed Stefan?”
“I don’t think —,” she began, but I interrupted her, sliding my tongue between her lips and kissing her passionately, my hands running all over her all at once. I couldn’t control myself and I had a fleeting thought that if she said no to me I might tear the entire house into pieces.
The Sanctuary 2: The Vampire's Passion Page 9
