What was he doing? I almost went after him, but even wounded, Josh was older and stronger than me. Besides, rousing attention was the last thing I ought to do, and he had a jacket to cover his wound. I knew what happened to those who drew attention to our existence.
A moment later, Josh returned with a young man dressed in slacks and a suit jacket that didn't quite match. The man carried a briefcase and glanced around the room in a business-like manner. When he spotted Nik bleeding on the bed, his brown eyes widened and he tried to back out, but Josh stood in his way. The short vampire finished closing the door and flipped the deadbolt. The businessman flinched at the soft thud and moved as though he were planning on shoving Josh out of the way, but Josh was faster. He grabbed the man by the arm and twisted it behind his back. For the first time, the businessman let out a noise of shock and pain.
Josh pushed him toward Nik, forcing the man's arm over Nik's face. The older vamp’s eyes widened and he clamped his mouth over the man's hairy wrist. The businessman gave a gurgle of surprise and tried to pull free, but Josh was there, already pushing the collar of his suit jacket out of his way. Before their food could begin to truly fight back, Josh had sunk his own teeth into the man's neck.
The smell of blood filled the room, masking the scent of cigarette smoke emanating from the man's suit, reminding me that I too was very hungry. I pushed the thought down, forcing myself to take slow breaths through my mouth. When this wasn't enough, I ran into the tiny bathroom and shut the door. I turned the water on cold in the bathtub and climbed in, fully dressed.
The frigid water helped shock my brain back into sanity. I continued to breathe through my mouth as I splashed water on my face. As my mind continue to clear, I relaxed into the cold water until only my head poked out the top. When the water was starting to lap against the emergency drain, I used my foot to push the nozzle down.
There were no sounds from the bedroom. No doubt the men were resting after their meal. I cringed at the thought.
How could they?
I hesitated, my eyes suddenly burning with what I expected would soon be tears. Despite everything I had seen, I had allowed myself to believe Nik and Josh never killed people. Though I never deluded myself into thinking all vampires survived on blood bags, I had hoped at least my friends would value human life.
The tears began streaming down my cheeks and mixing in with my cold bath water. I didn't try to stop them or wipe them away. I didn't just cry for the loss of the stranger's life, but for the part of me that was dying. I had always considered myself an ethical person, but what had I just done? Nothing. And that was the problem. What was the quote everyone spouts when faced with moral dilemmas? “Only thing evil men need is for good men to do nothing… ” or something like that. I was now part of those supposedly “good” people. I let them do what I knew to be wrong, and a man had died as the result.
I felt worse for this than I had after killing a woman myself. It slowly dawned on me that last time I had not exactly been myself and, though I felt remorse, it didn't feel like my crime. What few memories I had of attacking the woman in the alley were only strange details, like the taste of her suit before the blood began to flow. I couldn't even picture her face.
In the present instance, I was fully aware of myself, or at least, conscious enough to know what was happening was wrong. I could completely imagine what the business man had looked like as the panic set in. There was no excuse for my actions, or lack of actions.
The worst part of it all was that a part of my mind understood their reasoning. If we were attacked by the fae, or any other sort of mystical being, I would be a sad last defense. Without my bodyguards, I was pretty much helpless—baggage, as Nik had put it.
We all have these moments, when we fail to maintain our moral standing. It's just that most of us do it by telling a lie or failing to tell the banker he gave you an extra twenty. So few people stop to consider what their ethics would be after murdering someone.
I remembered my father always saying my morals were all I had to call my own. Boy, how I had failed him. I'm sure he had never imagined his baby girl becoming a murderer, something he would fear, something that would crave his death.
And so I let the tears fall freely down my cheeks.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Sometime in the middle of my crying spree, I fell asleep. Thankfully, my head stayed above the water. Though it might not have really been a problem, as I was already dead. I woke to the sound of splashing. My eyes slowly opened to find a shirtless Nik leaning against the counter and cleaning his own blood off his now healthy chest. The once white hotel rag was a soft pink, despite his attempts at rinsing it out.
“Your water's gone cold,” he said, his eyes flickering to my dark pink bath.
“It was never warm.” My fingers weren't wrinkled, but they had been resting out of the water, so I couldn't tell how long I'd been asleep. Then again, Nik was completely healed so it must have been some hours.
“Your leg hasn't healed,” he announced, reaching down into the murky water and lifting my left leg out. I had thought the pink color of the water came from his blood that had been transferred to my clothes. It never occurred to me that my leg was in need of treatment. Sure enough, the gash from a thrusting spike of ice was far from healed. It dripped pink water for a few seconds before the darker blood took over.
“My back is probably worse,” I commented in an apathetic voice. Despite the sleep, I felt drained of all energy, almost as though I was drugged. My limbs felt disconnected, as if Nik could detach them and fling them across the room without me noticing.
“You should have drunk some blood.”
“What… from that man you killed?” I scoffed. A small part of me hoped he would indicate that the man was not dead. Nik's silence told me just how ridiculous that hope was.
“You need blood to heal quickly. It's a basic fact of your existence.”
“Then I'll heal slowly,” I said in a firm voice. It would have been more impressive had I not shivered at that moment. “I've already killed enough people to last a few lifetimes.”
Nik reached back into the water and pulled the plug as he took a seat on the edge of the tub. We sat in silence, except for the sound of the water gurgling down the pipes, while Nik tore away the leg of my ripped jeans. He removed my sodden shoes and tossed them into the sink. I suddenly realized I had no dry clothing to wear back to Olympia. This was going to be an uncomfortable drive.
Before taking the strips of his shirt to the sink, Nik began refilling the tub with hot water. It felt good. It would have been better had I not been wearing clothing, but I wasn't about to disrobe in front of Nik if I could help it. He cleaned the strips of fabric and laid them over the counter to dry.
“When you've warmed back up, I'll bandage the leg and check your back. We'll be able to leave in a few hours. Hopefully by then your wounds will be healed enough that you won't slow us down,” he added as he reached for the door.
“Slow you down? Is that all you think about? Battle tactics?”
“When I'm at war.”
“War? We're not at war. That man died simply so you could be ready to fight a fae you pissed off. Had you just stood up to Emma and told her ‘no,’ that man might still be alive.”
“That is not the way this world works. Unlike humans, we pride ourselves in honoring our promises.”
“That doesn't change the fact that a man died so some prick of a princess could have a conversation starter!”
“Wrong. That man died so that I could keep you safe,” he snapped, the door to the bathroom forgotten.
“Oh… so this is my fault?”
Nik sighed, rubbing his palm against his face. “No.” He paused for a long time. “Please don't assume I like killing. But I am able to make the hard choices. I chose to save you.”
With this final statement, he left the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.
I jammed the water off, released the plug and stoo
d up, a sudden deluge falling from my clothing. Once the dripping had slowed, I began taking my clothing off and hanging them from the shower curtain railing. Thankfully there was one of those tiny blow dryers attached the wall. After wringing out my undergarments, I used it to dry them. By this time, my clothing had completely stopped dripping. This didn't mean they were dry; not by a long shot. I spent the next hour blow drying my clothing to a point of clammy uncomfortableness. It was an awkward process, and I was glad no one could see me trying to stretch the cord to the bathtub, where I stood to keep blood from leaving a stain on the floor.
Just as I was beginning to pull my jeans back on, one leg half missing, a soft knock resounded on the door. I called for Nik to enter, knowing it was him by the impatient sounds coming from the other room. I finished buttoning my jeans. My shirt was still off, but it would have to be for him to bandage the gash across my spine. Besides, my sports bra was pretty concealing. Nik entered and worked to keep a smirk off his face as he examined me still standing in the bathtub, blood oozing from my different wounds. The only one that had stopped thus far was the minor cut across my cheek.
“Ready?” he asked in a frosty tone. I did my best to ignore him while turning around to show him my back. He moved quickly to keep the descending blood from reaching the waistline of my jeans, not that it mattered. These jeans were going into the garbage when we got home. He used a folded strip of cloth to form the thick part of the bandage and used another to tie it into place.
Once finished, I stepped out of the tub. I tried not to wince as I hoisted myself onto the countertop, but I'm sure he noticed. Oh well. I'd heard his unconscious moaning after the icicles to the chest; what did I care if he knew my leg and back hurt? At least I could handle it myself instead of taking an innocent life to dull my pain.
Nik used the remaining strips of shirt and tied them tightly around the deep gash. I winced and tried to pull my leg free. He didn’t go out of the way to be gentle. When finished, he left without another word, clearly not over our last fight.
When I limped back into the main room, Josh was already gone, presumably to deal with the body.
“Ready to go?” Nik asked.
I nodded.
Nik led me back to the car where we met Josh. As we pulled out of the parking lot, I was surprised to see smoke billowing out of the room next to ours. I didn't ask. Naturally they would want to hide the evidence, and what better disguise than a businessman smoking in bed.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
We drove straight to The Viewer’s Lounge, the restaurant used as the front for the seethe. One of the bouncers jumped out to take Nik's keys and park the car. Another ran around the side of the car to let me out, his free hand holding up a large umbrella. Umbrellas are not common sights around Olympia despite the continual moisture falling from the sky. Most people residing in Western Washington simply grew gills and flippers. It's easier that way. Nonetheless, I was thankful. My clothing had just reached the point of what I might call dry.
I allowed him to escort me to the door of the restaurant with Nik and Josh following. I wondered if I would receive this treatment if I wasn't with Nik. Doubt it. The car zoomed off toward some unknown parking lot while we entered the restaurant, the evening guests chatting quietly while their eyes occasionally flickered toward the enormous screen. Being Saturday night, it was packed with eaters and drinkers alike. Like the food, I had heard they served wonderful beverages—the kind that make you want to hug everyone in sight.
I held my breath, knowing full well just how hungry I was. I couldn't remember the last time I'd had any blood. I tried not to think about it. Instead, I practiced reciting the basic list of prepositions in my head as a distraction. It didn't work very well. Really, all it did was remind me how long it had been since high school. I got to “before” and gave up.
As we neared the partition a woman in a skimpy red dress bumped into me. She smiled drunkenly and tried to apologize. From this short distance, I could hear her heartbeat. My teeth descended faster than ever before. There was no slow building toward the breaking point. I was vaguely in control and then I was not. Simple as that.
I grabbed her and began to pull her next to my waiting mouth when Nik jumped forward and spun her toward the nearest table and out of my tight grasp. Josh held me by the waist as I tried to hold on to her arm and dragged me behind the partition. I'm sure I had left bruises on her pale arms. Josh pushed me through the door. A second later Nik was following us down the steps.
I didn't want to ask, but I had to know. “Did you kill her?”
“No. She's too drunk and it happened very quickly. She won't remember anything tomorrow,”Nik said in a cold voice.
We descended the stairs into the concrete bunker and entered the main room. For once, Mikhail was nowhere in sight. In fact, most of the room was empty. A few people I didn't know sat on one of the couches near a fireplace. They looked up at our entrance, one even standing.
“Go get Mikhail,” Nik ordered. The person standing rushed out of the room in a blur of color. While we waited, I went to the nearest leather couch and curled up into a small ball. I was having trouble ignoring the hunger and thirst that refused to go away. My chest felt tight, my breathing was speeding up, and my fangs were still pressing against my lips.
I had fangs. When was that going to stop feeling so incredibly strange? I tried to shake my head, clearing it of the haze created by the hunger. On top of all this, my wounded leg burned and my back throbbed despite the lack of a heartbeat. I felt drained of life.
To my complete annoyance, Nik knelt beside the couch and began examining my leg. I have to admit, he was very gentle this time; that didn't mean his examination was painless. I wanted to give him a stout kick in the head. Thankfully, Mikhail entered before I could muster up the energy. It was probably good, considering how much my leg already hurt.
The primus took one look at me and a low growl issued from his chest. “Get her someone to drink.”
I whimpered at the thought. I was too tired and in too much pain to think of a more profound argument. The longer I went without blood, the more my wounds hurt. Even the cut on my cheek was on fire. I heard Nik sigh before speaking. “A blood bag.”
“She'll heal faster with fresh blood,” argued Mikhail. I saw Nik shake his head. Mikhail waved his hand at the person who was preparing to fetch me a human. “What happened?”
“We found Emma's antiques,” Nik replied, motioning to the blocks of ice placed on a table.
I couldn't remember who had carried them in. Probably Josh and the bouncer. They were melting very slowly.
“Periphetes stole them from the Louvre a couple decades ago. We stole it from him, but his house was booby trapped in the magical sense. We all got pretty banged up.”
“Then why is she still hurt?”
“She wouldn't drink from a human.”
“Nikolai,” Mikhail sighed, drawing out his name.
“She's… obstinate,” Nik said, by way of explanation.
“Then you're well matched,” commented Mikhail just as the other man entered with the blood bag. It took every ounce of willpower I had not to jump off the couch and tear it from his hands, or tear off his hands. The man brought the bag to me. I sunk my teeth through the plastic and slurped frantically at the cold liquid. He set a second bag next to me. While I drank, Mikhail inspected the blocks of ice.
“You say Periphetes had these?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Explains the ice,” Mikhail commented. “And he wasn't there?”
“Thankfully, no. I hadn't expected his private home to be so well fortified. Had he been there I doubt we would have escaped,” explained Nik.
“You got careless. I thought you were beyond that, Nikolai.”
Over the edge of my blood bag, I watched Nik cringe and took a certain level of pleasure from it. Evidently even he was not too old to get a lecture from papa bear. Nik didn't respond. Clearly he knew better than I
did when to shut up. I always argued with a lecture.
“Still,” continued Mikhail, “you did get the items and no one died. But does that mean you are capable of taking further care of Ashley?”
I sat up, snagging the second bag. The first bag had returned a sense of life to my bones; the second, I knew would start the healing process. My leg no longer burned and my back no longer throbbed. Would Mikhail really put someone else in charge of me? The prospect of a new, less frustrating babysitter sounded wonderful. Then again, the next person could be even more exasperating. Besides, Nikolai had proven himself more than once, despite his personal desire to end my life himself. Sure, we'd had a few disagreements, but he had kept me alive. And in the end, which was more important—life or annoyance?
Nik returned Mikhail's glare. “Who else could keep her alive? Will you take on the chore yourself?” I recoiled from his choice of words. Did he have to call me a “chore?” “You know perfectly well no one else could handle this,” Nik added.
Mikhail's eyes narrowed for a long moment before he suddenly burst into laughter. “Ah, Nik, I should put you out of my misery, but I enjoy your company too damn much.” He flung his arm over Nik's shoulders and patted his far arm. “Let's give Emma the stuff so she'll get the hell out of here. Her little favor has created enough trouble.” Mikhail turned to me, forcing Nik to do the same by his grasp.
“Feeling better?”
I nodded.
Mikhail didn't wait for my response. He was already turning toward the man still waiting by the door. “Fetch Miss Tanner.”
The man scurried away. Nik ducked out of Mikhail's friendly clutches and came to sit on the couch next to me.
Emma breezed into the room, the messenger following a little more slowly. She wore a tan dress with a thin black belt at her waist and bright red shoes. Her brown hair was done up in a curly pony tail. She stopped a few feet in and glanced around the room, pausing in her perusal to stare confusedly at the blocks of ice.
The Series that Just Plain Sucks: The Complete Trilogy Page 16
