by Lisa Olsen
At the corner booth were two girls, both human and unremarkably pretty, one fair haired like me but deeply tanned, and the other with smooth café au lait skin and bright copper colored hair, an interesting mix. The man at the table wasn’t a vampire, but he wasn’t completely human either. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but it definitely caught my attention. He was attractive, in a dangerous sort of way. Why I thought of danger… I wasn’t really sure. He wasn’t visibly armed, and there were a half dozen other men wearing a casual t-shirt and jeans in the bar. Hair so short I could clearly see his scalp through the dark stubble and five o’clock shadow to match, he exuded an easy confidence, even surrounded by predators. Didn’t anyone own a razor anymore?
“We found ourselves a new friend,” Jarrod beamed as soon as we reached the table. “This is Rob, Cammie and Jett. May I introduce Anja.” He presented me like a trophy and I smiled and nodded to each of them, trying not to look as awkward as I felt. “Scoot down then, girls, make room.” The girls each slid over without complaint, but Rob held his place, forcing one of the brothers to sit at each side of the semi-circular booth. I took the end spot, for which I was grateful, I would have felt trapped with either of the men blocking my way to the exit.
“I’m pleased to meet you all,” I nodded to each in kind, taking another sip of my drink which cooled my dry, parched throat.
“Rob, now that we’ve found another companion, you can have Cammie. You don’t mind, do you, sweetheart?” Leander said in an offhand manner. Clearly they weren’t involved in any kind of serious relationship.
“I don’t mind,” Cammie smiled blandly, but Rob looked completely disinterested in the offer.
“Thanks all the same.” His voice had a distinctly British lilt to it, but not polished, more like from the streets. “Don’t need your castoffs, mate.”
“Too right, Rob here does fine with the ladies, never you fear,” Jarrod winked at me.
“So… how long have you owned this place?” I asked politely.
“Since nineteen twenty-three.” Jarrod raised a champagne glass to his brother.
That made them both at least a hundred years old. I tried not to look too impressed, seeing as how I was supposed to be much older.
“It’s nice to have a private place to relax with our kind and proper villains, eh Rob?” Jarrod raised his glass to Rob, but he didn’t return the salute. Who knew vampires would be such heavy drinkers? But everyone there seemed to have an alcoholic beverage in front of them.
“Don’t lump me in with you lot,” Rob shook his head, eyes crinkling with a smile. “I’m just here for the free drinks.”
“Do you always keep such unusual company?” I asked the man. I couldn’t quite figure him out. He seemed almost annoyed by the twins’ company, but there he was at their table. Was he really just there for the free booze?
“It seems that way these days, but things are looking up.” He raised his beer to me before drinking, and I smiled softly over what I took to be a compliment.
“Now then, tell us every little dark secret you keep locked away in the dusty corners of your soul.” Leander’s eyes shone eagerly. “We want to learn absolutely everything there is to know about you.”
Chapter Twelve
What had I opened myself up to? I darted a look at Bishop who dropped his eyes in the same motion, but I definitely had the feeling his eyes were on me. Was he listening to the conversation? Would he save me if I screwed up too badly? I opened my mouth to try deflecting Leander’s question with a compliment on the music, when raised voices caught all of our attention.
“Get your own guy, bitch. This one’s mine.” Bridget’s voice rose over the sound of the music.
“Who you calling a bitch, slut?” The other woman’s eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. Dressed to kill in a green silk dress and shoes that cost more than a month’s rent, the woman seemed out of place next to Bridget and the handsome blonde stud. He looked like an off duty construction worker in tight jeans, a blue button up shirt, and workboots.
With a groan, I realized Bridget was in the middle of an ugly triangle between the human she’d been grinding on and his vampire date.
“Your human is delightful. Does she taste as spicy as she sounds?” Leander leaned over to touch my hand.
“She’s… a mouthful alright. If you’ll excuse me please?” I was already getting up, hoping I could diffuse the situation before any blood was shed. Because honestly… I wasn’t sure whose side I would land on if actual blood spilled.
“Of course, thanks again for the entertainment, Serena’s been spoiling for a fight for weeks,” he called out after me.
A glance to Bishop’s table showed he was watching the situation, but he made no move to intercede. We were on our own.
“Oh I’m sorry, did I say slut?” Serena did indeed look like she was spoiling for a fight, the color of the dress suiting her mood well. “I meant to say skank. A skank who’ll be nothing but a stain on the bottom of my shoe if you don’t let go of my man this instant.”
Bridget seemed unconcerned. “I have to say, it doesn’t really feel like he’s your man.” She held her ground, and the object of discussion started to look a little worried.
“Uh… ladies, calm down now, there’s more than enough of me to go around,” he grinned, hands coming up in a supplicating manner.
Ugh, did that line ever work in the history of it being uttered? What on Earth made him think to attempt it with an angry vampire? I had to get in there before Romeo got himself or my best friend killed.
“Excuse me, ladies,” I approached them, my voice pitched low even though I knew every vampire in the bar could hear our every word. “Let’s handle this in a civilized manner, shall we?”
“Civilized stepped out of here two minutes ago. You should have kept a muzzle on your bitch, her ass is mine now.” Serena looked angry enough to spit nails.
“Yeah, like you’d be my type if I did chicks,” Bridget snorted and I could have happily throttled her myself. Couldn’t she see the danger she was in? I supposed not, apart from the angry scowl, Serena didn’t look all that dangerous in her designer heels. If I didn’t know she was a vampire, I’d lay even odds Bridget could take her in a fight.
I tried to inject a rational note into the conversation, placing myself between both women, just in case. “I’m sure we can resolve this like adults. My mother taught me not to solve things with violence.”
“I killed my mother over three hundred years ago, so I don’t particularly care or remember what her pearls of wisdom were,” Serena’s lips curved into an arrogant sneer. “Since you’re so big on lessons, let me teach you one. Learn to control your pet before you let it off its leash.”
“Bring it, bitch!” Bridget thumped her chest with both hands, stepping around me to get right in her face.
In slow motion, I could see Serena’s arm cock back, her hand forming a fist as she prepared to take Bridget’s head off. Operating on pure instinct, my hand came up to stop hers, finding it incredibly easy to intercept. I was so intent on stopping her fist (which I assumed would be much stronger than mine), that I went a little overboard, driving her down to her knees with a cry of pain as I squeezed with more force than was strictly necessary.
“Holy shit…” Blonde guy took a step backwards and I heard a collective gasp in the room.
“I’m sorry!” I let go of her instantly, afraid I’d seriously hurt her from the way she immediately cradled the hand to her body. “But you can’t go around tossing threats like that and expect not to get hurt.”
“Trouble here?” Bishop appeared at my side, his face a perfect mask without recognition, as if he’d never met me before. Geez, was he going to arrest me for picking a fight? I thought vampires were allowed to handle petty disagreements as they saw fit? Breaking up a bar fight seemed out of his jurisdiction, especially since only one punch had been thrown.
“It’s just a misunderstanding, Bishop, we’re fine here. Aren�
�t we?” I looked down at Serena and she immediately dropped her gaze, nodding.
“You tell her, An,” Bridget leaned on my shoulder, gloating down at the vampire.
“How about you go sit the rest of this dance out? You look like you need to cool down a little yourself,” I shrugged out from under her arm, turning her towards an empty table.
“Fine, I could use a drink anyway. You coming, Cole?”
The blonde guy looked torn, his gaze going back and forth between Bridget, Serena and me, as if he wasn’t sure who to give his allegiance to. Serena refused to lift her head, and he looked to me next. Had I inherited a minion? “It’s alright, Cole, is it? You can go get a drink with Bridget if you want to.”
“Thank you, Mistress,” he nodded, trotting off after her. I winced over the Mistress bit, giving him a benign inclination of the head.
Bishop grabbed hold of my upper arm, all but dragging me off the dance floor to a door marked ‘employees only’, while Serena tried to recover her dignity, picking herself up off the floor. “This is laying low?” he hissed, giving me a little shake, once we were alone.
“I’m sorry, I can’t help it. I have no idea what I’m doing here!” I whispered back, not wanting anyone else to hear us.
“Go home.”
“You’re not my keeper, remember?”
“I’m serious Anja. You’re in way over your head here. Go home and don’t come back,” he growled dangerously, but I was too incensed at the order to be afraid of him. I lost the apologetic tone as annoyance kicked in. I hadn’t done anything wrong, just stepped in to protect my friend. Didn’t I have as much right to be there as any other vampire?
“You’re not the boss of me. You’re not anything, not even my friend, remember? So you don’t get to tell me what to do.” My chin came up pugnaciously. After all, I’d survived my second fight of the night and it was still early. Why should I be afraid of him?
Bishop shoved me up against the wall, not hard enough to hurt, but enough to rattle my teeth. “I’ll tell you anything I damn well feel like telling you to do, and you’ll do it if you know what’s good for you,” he threatened, but that drink must have gone to my head, because I still wasn’t afraid of him.
“Or what?”
“Huh?” he blinked, obviously not expecting me to challenge him.
“Or what? If I don’t do what you tell me to. If I don’t walk out that door and never come back again.” I did my best to imitate his exact inflection when he spoke. “What’ll you do to me?” For a long moment I wasn’t sure if he wanted to kill me or kiss me, but in the end he let go of me with a little shove.
“Fine, you want to get yourself killed, be my guest. I wash my hands of the entire situation.”
“Fine.”
“Fine,” he repeated as we stared back at each other, neither one of us making a move to leave.
“I hate to interrupt your little lover’s spat, but ah… Cage and I have to roll.” Mason ducked his head in through the door with a look on his face that told me he wasn’t the least bit sorry for interrupting us.
“Fine, go then,” Bishop scowled, not bothering to turn and look at him, his eyes boring into mine.
“Oh, I’m sorry, is it my turn to get ordered around? I thought Anja drew that straw today.” Mason winked at me and I covered my smile with a hand. Bishop’s eyes closed then and I felt a stab of pity for him, things weren’t going they way he wanted them to at all.
“You don’t have to go on my account, Mason. I was finishing up my business with Bishop here. You can go have your boy talk now.” I smiled, scooting out from under Bishop’s nose to squeeze past Mason at the door. “Nice to see you again so soon.”
“Pleasure’s all mine, ma’am,” he drawled.
Part of me wanted to linger and listen to what came next in their conversation, but the practical part of me decided to go while the getting was good. Aware that all eyes swung back in my direction once I re-entered the bar, I found Bridget sitting at one of the round tables, surprised but relieved to find her alone.
“What happened to Cole?”
“Eh, he was too much of a mama’s boy for me. I mean I like to explore domination as much as the next girl, but nobody likes a bottom that’s scared shitless to breathe without permission, you know?” I nodded like I understood what she was talking about, but I was sure there was more to what she said that went completely over my head. “Thanks for getting my back earlier. I could have taken that twit, but it’s nice to see you represent.”
“Right, about that… Bridget, you have to be more careful in a place like this…” I began, but I could see she was only half listening to me, her eyes on Scotty the bartender.
“Whatever, I’ve been in way tougher bars than this place. I’m not afraid of some chick who’ll start to cry the second you scuff her shoes,” she snorted. I wondered if I should try again to impress her with the danger of what might have happened had I not intervened, but in the end I decided it might be better to let it all blow over.
I wasn’t much of a drinker, so when the waitress came over in her retro fifties cocktail dress, I shook my head. “No thanks, I’m good.” I probably should have thought of that before I’d come to hang out in a bar.
“Compliments of Mr. Kursik,” she smiled, dipping low to place the fresh zombie before me.
“I don’t know any Mr. Kursik.” There had to be a mistake, though the drink did look tasty, and I was feeling warm and parched again. Did all vampires go through hot flashes? Was it part of the transition process, or was I going through early menopause because of my unusually aged blood?
“It appears he wants to get to know you,” she smiled mischievously, her head nodding towards a table where an elegant man in a dove gray suit watched me intently. Standing directly behind him was a hulk of a guy dressed in leathers, his eyes hidden behind dark glasses, looking dangerously alert. Bodyguard? Why would a vampire need one in a vampire bar? Kursik’s blue eyes immediately caught my attention. Did I know him? The way he looked at me… the man lacked flowing hair, but he was blonde sure enough. Could he be my Viking? The name didn’t sound Scandinavian, but the ID in my pocket didn’t have my true name on it either. Clearly I couldn’t judge a book by its cover. “Ah, please send him my thanks,” I murmured, realizing the waitress still hovered, watching the two of us.
“See, I told you that was a good look for you. You should go talk to him, thank him in person,” Bridget nudged me, and I realized I’d almost forgotten she was there, still nursing her beer.
“I don’t think that’s a very good plan, I don’t want to give him the wrong idea.” The way he watched me made me feel like he already had an idea or two.
“I think he looks sexy.”
“I think he looks dangerous.”
Bridget gave an indelicate snort. “Why else did you come here, Anja? Were you thinking you might find some new members for your glee club?”
“It’s not a glee club,” I scowled, looking away.
“Maybe you’re due for a bit of dangerous?”
She had a point. What was I doing there anyway? I wanted to talk to vampires, didn’t I? I raised the glass, holding it up to Kursik in a salute before I drank deeply. The burn of the alcohol somehow made me feel stronger.
“Atta girl,” Bridget winked. “Now go talk to him.”
My eyes flicked to where Bishop stood in the corner with Mason, both men seemed oblivious of Kursik’s interest. “I think I need another drink first.”
“Coward,” she hissed as I headed for the bar to see the tattooed bartender.
“Are you looking for a job?” Scotty asked, as soon as I approached the bar.
“A job?”
“Yeah, I’m thinking we could use you as a bouncer. That was pretty impressive back there,” he grinned and I caught sight of another piercing inside his mouth. Wow.
“Serena was more bluster than anything else,” I replied dismissively, hoping it would all blow over soon.
&n
bsp; “The look on her face was priceless. I think she seriously underestimated you. Maybe we all did.” Scotty leaned across the bar and I got the distinct impression he was checking me out again.
Oh boy…“Really, it was nothing…”
“But actually, I meant how you stood up to Bishop in the back. Not many of us would willingly disobey him like that. You’ve got some brass ones, baby.”
“You heard that?” My eyes widened. Bishop was going to kill me if it ever got back to him.
Scotty shrugged. “Some of it. I take it the two of you know each other fairly well?”
“Better than he’d like,” I murmured, and he chuckled, pushing another drink across the bar to me. On the plus side they were definitely all buying that I wasn’t a newborn, but I was drawing more attention than I’d intended. That, and now how was I supposed to ask any questions when they’d assume I already knew the ins and outs of vampire life?
“Well, here’s to hoping we get to know you better here too.” He pulled a bottle out from under the bar, raising it to me before taking a deep swig. I sipped dutifully at my drink, surprised I wasn’t feeling more of the effects. I didn’t feel drunk or out of control at all, just bolder, like there were no consequences of anything I did.
“I’m sure this won’t be the last time you see me,” I conceded. No matter what Bishop had to say about it… Turning back around, a shock went through me as I found Bridget wasn’t at our table. Had Serena come back and dragged her out? My eyes scanned the bar, a breath of relief leaving me as I spotted her sitting with that Kursik guy. Was that a good thing or a bad thing? At least she wasn’t rubbing up all over him, she just chatted up a storm like she did with most people.
“Excuse me, Scotty. I’d better go join my friend before she ends up in another mess,” I murmured, keeping my eyes on the pair. Kursik’s gaze swung towards mine the moment I took a step in their direction and I had a moment’s trepidation, but I tried hard to keep it from showing on my face. You are a strong, confident vampire…
