by L. C. Davis
“Take mine, I have like three. Here,” he said, digging around in his desk. “This is the one I use when I'm at family stuff. Just in case mom decides to snoop. Here's the car charger and all that jazz.”
I hugged him again, but it was tighter than I realized because he made a breathless “Oof,” sound. I released him immediately.
“Whoa, have you been using the dungeon up there or the gym?”
“Sorry,” I said sheepishly. “Thank you so much, Arthur. I'll get it back to you as soon as possible.”
“Don't worry about it.” He eyed the crumpled wad of cash in my hand. “Where is Victor, anyway?”
“My old town,” I admitted warily. “It's a long story.”
He sighed. “No way is that gonna get you to Austin. Take my card and pay me back when you can.”
I shook my head. “I can't do that, Arthur. That's incredibly sweet, but-”
“It's the only way I'm letting you leave without telling your boyfriend what you're up to.”
I sighed, pocketing the card. “Thank you. I might not even need it.”
“Better safe than sorry. How are you gonna get to the airport in Olympia? You weren't planning on driving, were you?”
“No, I was gonna call a cab.”
He pulled another phone from his pocket and started typing a message. “I got it.”
“Are you texting the cab company?” I asked, curious.
“Nah, I've got an app.”
Of course he did. I took a moment to peer outside the window. No signs of Sebastian yet, but he could be driving any of the other cars in the lot. Especially since I had his keys.
“Done!” Arthur said triumphantly. “One will be here within fifteen minutes.”
“Perfect.” I hoped sooner, but beggars couldn't be choosers. “Thank you so much. Now I need to ask one more favor.”
He grinned. “You know how I feel about drama. It's not really a favor, but go ahead.”
I took out Sebastian's keychain and offered it to him. “I need you to give these to Sebastian when he inevitably comes looking for me. His truck is parked out front.”
He took the keys, wide-eyed. “You stole it?”
I winced. “Kind of? It was an emergency.”
“Damn.” He pretended to wipe a tear from his eye. “My little baby's all grown up and committing grand theft auto.”
I groaned. “Not grand, just... mini theft auto. I barely drove it two miles.”
“Whatever you say.” He was still grinning.
“What?” I asked warily.
He shrugged. “You're just so different from the guy I met at the beginning of school. He'd never do anything this crazy. I like it.”
He was right. The old Remus hadn't even been willing to take Jeff's car to the airport when he finally got the courage to run away. Now I was hurting people I loved in a mad dash to prevent hurting them even more. It was hard to see it as an improvement.
“Hey, it's a good thing,” he said, putting his hand on my shoulder. “I'm glad you can actually make your own decisions now, even if they are technically criminal.”
I sighed. “I don't think Sebastian is going to be pressing charges.” Although maybe, if he thought it would keep me from getting over the county line. All the more reason to not be here when he came.”
Arthur's phone buzzed. “That's the cab company. Your driver's outside.”
I peeked through the blinds to make sure he wasn't being pounced on by an angry wolf. Just a cab driver.
“Arthur, I really can't thank you enough.”
He gave me a squeeze. “Just take me out to coffee and give me all the details when you get back.” He dangled the keys mischievously. “Don't worry, I'll stall your boy toy when he gets here.”
I wasn't sure how I felt about that, but there was no time to protest. “Thanks again!” I called, grabbing my duffel and dashing for the stairs. To my relief, the cab driver was still there, undisturbed, when I made my way out the front door.
I thanked him as he loaded my bag in back of the car with me. “Where would you like to go?” asked the weary looking driver.
“The airport in Olympia, please.”
“You got a credit card?” he asked doubtfully. I guess I looked like someone who wouldn't. “For trips over thirty miles, you gotta pay upfront.”
I handed him mine, intent on saving Arthur's for emergencies only. I passed it through the driver's window and he swiped it on a tablet attachment. Cabs had gotten sophisticated since I'd ridden in one to my final foster home.
He handed the card back to me and started out onto the road. I scanned the parking lot, trying to recognize any of the muscle cars from the Lodge. One that looked like it could be Brendan's Charger caught my eye, but the lone occupant was a lacrosse player I knew vaguely from the dorms.
He waved at me as we passed and I smiled and waved back. Once we were off campus, I started to breathe a little easier.
Sebastian had surely woken up by now. Maybe he hadn't caught up to me by now because he wasn't chasing me at all. As much as that should have been a relief, it wasn't. I couldn't blame him. I hadn't even given him the courtesy of leaving a note like Victor.
I reached into my pocket for the note to read it once more, just in case I'd missed any clues, but it was gone. With a gasp, I searched all my other pockets in a rising panic.
“Forget something?” asked the cabbie. “Ain't too late to turn around.”
“No,” I said, leaning back in my seat. “It was nothing important.”
He shrugged and turned his attention back to the road. I wouldn't say the silence was companionable, but it did give me time to think.
Once we made it past the county line, I took out Arthur's phone and texted Sebastian. I must have started and erased the message a hundred times before I settled on one.
It's me. I know you're furious, you have every right to be. I'm so sorry for everything. I keep telling myself that if you knew what I know, you'd understand, but maybe that's unfair.
I didn't want to overwhelm him with a huge block of text and on the off chance that my memory of his number was failing me, I wanted to see if he would reply before I gave away anything truly damning.
It didn't take long before a message popped up.
Where are you
No punctuation, but it probably wasn't a question as much as a demand anyway. I wasted no time in writing back.
I'm on my way to find Victor. He's going to get himself killed. I know that doesn't mean anything to you now, but it will. If something happens to me, ask Clara.
I bit my lip and considered my message for a moment before I hit send.
If there's anything left in my brother that's worth saving, he won't want you to do this. Tell me where you are. I can help. I found the note in my truck. It's bullshit, he's just trying to get in your head.
I couldn't help but smile. Of course he didn't believe it. Even after seeing me attack two men, he would rather believe it was all part of a conspiracy than accept that I could be anything other than his pure, innocent soulmate.
Victor was never manipulating me, Sebastian. He can't. All he did while he was inside my mind was trigger an avalanche that was already coming. Even you have to admit, it all makes more sense now.
Dots formed on the screen immediately, like he hadn't even read my message before he replied with,
Come home. I promise I'll listen. I'll find Victor myself and bring him back to you if he's the one you really want, but for Her sake just let me protect you.
It felt as if my heart literally clenched in anguish. I must have made a sound because the cabbie eyed me suspiciously in the mirror. We were more than halfway to Olympia, if the mile markers were to be trusted.
I covered my mouth and struggled to regain my composure. So that was what he thought. That this was me running away to choose his brother. I didn't know how I could make him understand, or if I should even try.
If he thought I really was choosing Victor,
maybe he would let me go. I didn't know what was going to be waiting for me in Austin, but I knew it involved Jeff and his father. Victor hadn't mentioned his name directly, but we already knew Jeff was the bastard who'd turned my mind into a psychic labyrinth for his own amusement, so who else could it be? If even Victor was afraid of him, I had been a fool to think that getting on a plane and running would be enough to truly escape.
Instead, I'd just drawn everyone else into it. I was tired of hurting the people I loved, and if getting on another plane was what it took to reverse it, so be it. Unfortunately, that resolve did nothing to ease the pain of what I was about to write.
I can't let Victor take the fall for me anymore, Sebastian. I can't live with the guilt knowing that he let himself be imprisoned rather than tell you the truth. I did sleep with him but I was more than willing. I seduced him. I'm sorry.
I turned off the phone and stared out the window to obscure the cascade of tears streaming down my face at least somewhat. I didn't truly care if the driver saw them. All I could do was focus on the passing landscape and take comfort in knowing that if Sebastian had somehow managed to track my movements, he would surely give up now.
He would stay here. He would be safe. He would be better off without me.
25
The Olympia airport was the much smaller and less obvious choice than Seattle International, which was equidistant from the Lodge, but that was its charm. If Sebastian was still tracking me, the one-way one-connection flight I had just purchased a ticket for would be in the air by the time he realized I wasn't in Seattle.
It felt like the rotten deception it was, but I reminded myself for the thousandth time that night that it was to protect them both. They were always sacrificing to protect me. Their minds, their bodies, even their relationship with each other. It was about time that I returned the favor.
I carried my boarding pass and duffel that was just compact enough to make it as a carry-on and made my way towards my gate. It wasn't a long walk, but a peddler selling single-stem roses out of a basket grabbed my arm and stopped me anyway.
Normally, I got caught talking to these types for minutes on end simply because I wasn't able to find a polite way to extricate myself. This time, I wasn't in the mood. I jerked my arm away but he held fast with enough strength to hurt me.
I spun around, startled by his features. He was a slim man of some vague Mediterranean descent, but he was white as a ghost.
“Flower for the beautiful boy?” he purred in a thick accent I didn't quite recognize, plucking a rose from the basket with great delicacy.
“No, let me go,” I said, successfully tugging my arm away this time.
He tsked shamefully. “But it has already been purchased as a gift. It is rude not to accept.” He thrust the rose into my face and I grabbed it instinctively only to feel the thorns dig into my flesh. What kind of street peddler left the thorns on a rose?
I carefully pulled the barbed stem from my flesh only to realize there was a tag hanging off one of the leaves. When I looked up, the peddler was already trying to sell roses to a group of girls in Olympia U T-shirts.
I looked down at the card and my blood ran cold when I realized it was in Jeff's handwriting.
Have a safe trip, my darling, and smile. Your dog is sad enough for the both of you. Don't worry, I'll keep him safe 'til you get here. We both know it's you I'm really after. ~ Your first admirer
I shuddered and tossed the rose, card and all, into the first trash bin I could find. The words echoed in my mind. Your first admirer. That was what Jeff had called me back when he was first trying to woo me. I was waiting tables in a gentlemen's club he liked to frequent to pay my tuition bill.
He wasn't a usual customer, but he became one. He'd sit at the same table nearly every night, just watching me. It infuriated the other dancers, but he didn't care. He became my favorite customer quickly. He always tipped big, asked for things politely, and didn't try to grope me like I was a menu offering. I was too naive to realize that his dark side was just in hiding, waiting to be spent on even worse things than lewd comments and an unsolicited pat on the ass.
As I made my way to the bathroom to pour cool water on my bleeding palm, I reminded myself that this wasn't a surprise. I had known Victor was going to see Jeff long before I read the note, from the moment I walked into that empty room. Somehow the visual confirmation made it real.
I frowned when I realized that the blood wasn't rinsing off my hand. In fact, every time a blast of water would send some down the screen, more would appear to take on the vague outline of a circle. I withdrew my hand from the water and it trembled as a faintly recognizable crescent started to appear. It wasn't as strong, but it was undeniably the same one from my hallucination in the guest room.
Still shaking, I turned to the stranger shaving in the sink near me who was already giving me a weird look. “I'm sorry, this must sound odd, but do you see anything on my palm?” I asked, too afraid to be shy.
The other man squinted and looked at me like I was crazy. An understandable and possibly correct assumption. He shook his head and turned back to the mirror. “Fucking junkies. Ow!”
I turned away as a metallic scent wafted into the room and blood pooled into the sink. I still wasn't sure what being a hybrid meant, but I got out of that bathroom before a shaving nick could become a newsworthy incident.
I told myself it was just a side effect of the mental breakdown Victor had mentioned and resigned myself to ignore it. Reluctantly, I turned the phone on to check how much time I had before my flight started boarding. Five minutes. There were also a slew of notifications, so many I had to scroll down.
Where are you? I'm at the airport. Don't get on that plane, Remus. I'm coming to find you.
I almost glanced over my shoulder before I read his next text, Where the fuck are you? I'm in Seattle. This isn't funny. I've sent the others out looking for you. Call me.
I checked and there were no less than twenty from a few different numbers. I got in line and tried not to look too freaked out as I handed the desk attendant my boarding pass.
“Thank you for flying Air Coastal. Enjoy your flight.”
On my way down the hallway that led into the plane, I had to apologize for nearly bumping into a few strangers as my eyes remained glued to the screen. I was never going to be judgmental about those types again, although I doubted they were in my exact predicament.
You don't understand, the next one read. I didn't want to tell you, you were already so freaked out about me killing all those vampires. They weren't just vampires, Remus. They were mercenaries, so was the one I killed in the woods. They were hired to find you and bring you to their leader.
My blood ran cold. The trauma of seeing Sebastian rip a man apart had suppressed the strange confession he had drawled out in between phases of consciousness, but his words began to trickle back to me.
He'd been watching me through gleaming red eyes, a hungry look on his face as he said, “I bet you I could get a real good price for him period. After you're dead, might just bail out on the job and take you both to the market.”
The job.
I rushed to find my seat and stow my bag in the overhead compartment, which only made the task more impossible. It had been nothing to carry through the airport, but suddenly it seemed to weigh a hundred pounds.
“Need some help?” A tall stranger came up beside me and pushed the bag in the rest of the way without waiting for me to reply.
“Thank you,” I said as gratefully as I could while still staring at my phone in an attempt to type out a message. I gave up and called. I had a window seat at least, and no one else had boarded in my row.
The phone rang and rang until I got his voicemail. I took a deep breath and covered the receiver with my hand to leave a message. At the last moment, I changed my mind and ended the call. It didn't matter anyway, I reminded myself. I wasn't going back. If this was about Jeff wanting to kill me, he had an army of vampire hitme
n ready to do it at any time. There was nothing I could do to change that. I didn't doubt that Sebastian could handle defending me, but if Victor was right, I was just going to die anyway and he would become an unnecessary casualty. Better I just give Jeff what he wanted, plead with him to let Victor go back to his brother, and Jeff could restore the blocks in my mind so everything could go back to the way it was.
I just hoped he would be merciful enough to let me forget them both when he did it. Mercy was not something I had come to expect from Jeff, though.
“Mind if I sit here?” asked a vaguely familiar voice.
I turned to see the stranger who had helped me put away my bag minutes earlier.
“Not at all,” I said, relieved when he took the aisle seat rather than the one right next to me. “Did you have trouble finding your seat?”
“No, but the flight isn't full and the man next to me was already beginning to snore. You looked like better company.”
I smiled politely. “Well, at least there aren't any screaming babies.”
“Oh, I don't mind children,” he said, stretching his legs as best as he could with limited room. He was dressed in a fine gray suit that had probably cost more than my entire wardrobe. His skin was warm and tawny like mine, but a few shades darker. His long black hair was pulled into a ponytail at the nape of his neck and he was handsome in a strange way with strong, angular features that would have been out of place in any other combination.
It was a mystery to me what someone like him was doing slumming it in coach, but it felt rude to ask. “I guess I'm not quite as patient,” I admitted, checking my phone.
“Most Americans aren't,” he mused. I detected a hint of an accident. Eastern European, maybe, but it was impossible to pinpoint any further. “You lack the ability to simply relax and be.”
“Be what?” I asked, only half listening.
His laugh was warm and oddly soothing. It wasn't helping the sudden urge to take a nap. “My point exactly,” he said.
When I realized what he'd meant, I felt my cheeks grow warm. “Life is a bit hectic, I guess. Um, mind if I ask where you're from?”
