Cherry Stem

by Sotia Lazu

  The lighter the shade of blonde, the fewer people it looks good on. Some complexions, mine included, are simply too pale to pull it off without the end result looking like someone threw them in the washing machine, and others are too dark for the hair to look anything but alien contrasted to them. I’ve always found it extremely thoughtless of the powers that be that they gave me the combination of hair and skin they did. Couldn’t they have read a copy of Cosmo prior to blending features together?

  Still, there was a way for cosmetics to fix what nature had messed up.

  I started applying foundation and thought of how that golden-white blonde worked on Ádísa. Not that I’d ever seen her without makeup on. For all I knew, she looked like Scarface in a wig. Nah. The woman was naturally gorgeous, and it was a good thing her personality was that of a cockroach because if she were nice too, I’d have to seriously despise her more than I already did, and I wasn’t up to such a Herculean feat.

  Speaking of gorgeous blonds, Constantine would have called back by now if he needed to talk to me. I pulled my phone out of my cleavage and checked for missed calls—not that I wouldn’t have felt them. Nothing.

  I added blush and proceeded with a generous amount of charcoal eye shadow, ignoring the questioning looks Alex threw my way.

  I was done applying a double layer of mascara and about to finish it all up with cherry-flavored lip gloss when Alex said, “Don’t. It’ll smudge when you feed.”

  Why hadn’t I thought of that? The upcoming confrontation with Willoughby had killed my appetite, but I still had to eat before we left. “You’re a wise man, Detective Marsden.” I stood on tiptoes to give him a peck on the lips on my way to the freezer. Out came a pack of frozen blood.

  Down on my hand came Alex’s huge palm. “You’re not eating that.”

  I withdrew my hand and popped the package in the microwave. “You need all your strength tonight. Make that offer to me again when we get back. I promise I’ll say yes.”

  He didn’t press the matter more, but I knew he’d hold me to my promise.

  Chapter Eleven

  We were at the Dark Sun at a little after ten to scope the place out.

  The mountain of a bouncer outside the VIP section raised a meaty palm when we approached. “Reservation only, this way.” Sweat glistened on his forehead and marked him as indisputably human.

  “I’m Mr. Erebus’s guest. Is he here yet?”

  The guy checked the list he had in his other hand and shook his head. “Says here party of two.” He looked at Alex. “He’s not going in.”

  I looked at him, smiled, and said, “Yes, he is. And you’re going to make sure we get no trouble for it.” I used my slow, mesmerizing voice. Alex could have just flashed his badge, but we were trying to stay under the radar.

  “Of course he is,” the guy said with a goofy grin. He barked orders into his headset, and a busty brunette with barely more than a bikini on came to lead us to our booth, where a bottle of champagne awaited.

  Willoughby’s seduction style hadn’t changed since we’d first met. I parked my ass on the edge of the leather semicircular couch. Since my maker wasn’t there yet and Alex was busy locating the fire exits, I took the opportunity to assess my surroundings.

  For a place with such a name, I’d expected the Dark Sun to be a bit less…perky. Then again, for such an exclusive place, I had expected its patrons to smell a bit less of perspiration. The stench of it was everywhere, and it was too early in the evening for the sweaty bodies that were undulating around us. The women wore clingy, sexy outfits, but the majority of men looked bored. I didn’t get that. Why weren’t they interested? I guessed it was a case of overabundance of supply bringing value down.

  One pop song followed the other, but my mind wasn’t on the ambience. We still had time until the rendezvous, yet I scanned the crowd. Willoughby might have also decided to arrive ahead of schedule, and it’d be in my best interest if I spotted him before he spotted me.

  “Dance with me.” Alex’s breath caressed my ear, his whispered words more of an order than a request.

  “No.” My refusal had nothing to do with the reason we were there. In all honesty, despite the weight loss that preceded my turning, when it comes to dancing I mostly feel like the chubby teenager who didn’t get a date for prom. Whenever I think of myself doing anything more than nursing a drink and gently swaying on the dance floor, I get a vivid mental image of the hippo in the tutu from Disney’s Fantasia. “Cherry doesn’t do dancing,” I said, trying for a joke but sounding shrill despite the music.

  Alex’s arm wrapped around my waist, and he lifted me so my toes barely touched the ground. “Come on, you’re too tense. You’re supposed to be a wannabe starlet out for a good time, not the best-dressed wallflower in the establishment.”

  His hips ground against mine, urging me to follow their motion. It should have been sensual. It would have been sensual if I wasn’t as graceful and pliable as a brick wall. His words had given me an out, though. “I’m also supposed to be here for him,” I said. “Alone. Not dry humping you on the dance floor.”

  He let me find my footing and withdrew his arm but didn’t move away. “Well then, you have to play the room.”

  I knew what he meant, but that didn’t mean I liked it. It had been such a long time since I’d last flirted just for the sake of flirting that I felt rusty and old. I reclaimed my seat. “And you have to keep some distance.” I wanted him out of the line of fire, so to speak.

  His hesitation was evident in his eyes, and it wasn’t like I didn’t share his worry. Honestly, though, if Willoughby recognized me before he was close enough for me to press the sharp piece of wood against his chest, there was no way Alex would stop him from fleeing. If, on the other hand, Willoughby got close enough and chose to attack me despite the danger to himself, Alex could do nothing to help me.

  Speak of the devil and he appears. As soon as Alex followed my advice and took a couple of steps back, I saw someone swaggering my way.

  I lowered my head so that my hair hid as much of my face as possible, and looked up through my eyelashes. Yup, that was Willoughby all right. He was taller than average but not as tall as Alex, with perfectly parted, light brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. He was dressed to the nines, as if he were going to the opera and not a nightclub, and had on that self-satisfied smile that had once upon a time seemed classy to me but now paled in comparison to Alex’s grin—and even Constantine’s smirk. And why did he keep popping up in my head?

  Willoughby took his time approaching and appraising me at the same time. I sucked in my stomach and made a show of crossing my legs, careful not to reveal my weapon, yet positioning my left thigh so I could grasp the stake easily. I didn’t realize my mistake until it was too late: there was no way for him to sit right beside me unless I moved deeper into the booth, and that would give him time to recognize me. That only left me with one option. The moment he stood in front of me, I looked up and smiled. “Hey, you.”

  From the corner of my eye, I saw Alex close in behind him. Stupid man; he shouldn’t stand between a vampire and his escape route. Without thinking, I grabbed the stake and threw myself at Willoughby. I wrapped an arm around his neck and held the stake between us, pointing it straight at his heart. I hoped the crowd would see that as an overexcited hug.

  “I have a pointy stick between your ribs, and I’m not afraid to use it,” I whispered in his ear, certain he’d hear me despite the loud music. “Now, pretend you’re happy to see me and walk me out of here. We have some things to talk about.”

  “Cherry. Always a displeasure to see you,” he said flatly. “Didn’t you get my message? I have your friend. If you hurt me, she is as good as dead.” He sounded unperturbed by my threat, so I pressed the stake in a bit, hoping it stressed my point.

  “I think she’s dead either way. And who said anything about killing you? We just want you to answer a couple of questions.” Uh-oh. Major uh-oh. Why did I have to go and say we
?

  He caught my slip of the tongue as soon as I did. He grabbed my waist, spun to his left, and immediately spotted Alex, who with his alert stance stuck out like a sore thumb. “You’re actually working with the human?”

  I was still grasping for a witty comeback when Willoughby threw me on Alex, just as the latter was pulling out his badge.

  I bounced back and, with a fleeting look at Alex, started after my maker, who was getting away.

  Willoughby could have fought me and probably won. He was older and stronger, and I actually gave a damn about the humans around us while he didn’t. So why was he running?

  Behind me, Alex yelled, “Police. Make way.” I didn’t turn to see how that worked out for him.

  Willoughby was already disappearing among the humans. I couldn’t fly after him, not with so many eyewitnesses there; if I failed to brainwash even one of them afterward, our whole kind might be at risk. So I ducked and I rolled and I sidestepped, and the distance between myself and Willoughby kept growing.

  He disappeared through the fire exit while I was still trying to wade my way through the crowd.

  I was helping up a girl I’d tripped in my efforts to get to Willoughby when Alex caught up with me. His eyes were restless, scanning the crowd. “Are you okay?”

  I wasn’t sure if he was asking me or her, but I nodded anyway.

  “What the fuck is wrong with you?” The girl looked too young to be out and drinking. She tugged her top away from her chest. It was soaked. “My mom will throw a fit if she sees this. Does vodka come off silk?” Yeah, she was okay too.

  Alex flashed her his badge. “I think you should go home and start washing it now.”

  “Hey! I’m over twenty-one.” She rummaged in her purse, but he stopped her with a hand on her wrist.

  “You’re not. Don’t make it worse by showing me a fake ID.” The girl turned away with a huff, and Alex grabbed my arm. “Let’s go. We have one more chance of finding him.”

  I frowned at him, unsure what he had in mind.

  “He thinks Sheena sent us. He’s probably going after her now. We can catch him at her place. Hopefully she took your advice and skipped town, but we have to hurry in case she didn’t.” I have to admit I was slightly upset he thought of it before I did.

  I let him lead the way out the door but didn’t exactly keep my mouth shut. “You know, it was pretty stupid of you to try to block his way out.”

  “Seriously? You think what I did was stupid? You jumped on him.”

  “Yeah, well, I tried to surprise him.”

  “And how did that work out for you?”

  “He was definitely surprised! And he couldn’t dust me in the middle of the dance floor. He could easily have snapped your neck, though. You didn’t have to play the hero.”

  “I’m pretty sure I’ve already told you this—and numerous times—but I am a cop! I’m supposed to go after threats to society, and that’s exactly what I did.”

  “Well, you didn’t have to. I’d have it under control if he hadn’t seen you!”

  “But he did. And I had to act before he hurt you. Or anyone else.”

  I guess I couldn’t blame him for that. He’d done his job and had followed his protective nature. “I guess we both did what we thought best,” I said. “Just please be careful next time.”

  “You too.” He pulled me to him and kissed me hard until I found my hips bucking against his. “No more leaping into trouble. Though you were kinda brilliant.”

  Seconds later, when I told him we wouldn’t be waiting for his car, he retracted that statement.

  Once we were airborne, a thought that had been trying to register since Willoughby had spotted Alex in the club finally made it through the adrenaline that had been fuzzing my brain: why had Willoughby been shocked that I was with Alex? Hadn’t he referred to Alex as my boyfriend when he’d sent me that threat via Mark?

  It’s a well-known fact that altitude doesn’t do much for carrying sound, but I thought I’d try and share that thought with Alex, anyway. Looking up at his face, however, made me decide to leave it for later. He was paler than me, and his eyes were squeezed tightly shut. I guessed he more than “didn’t like” to fly. I was contemplating that when the wind stole my pretty wig—which had until then been a real trouper and stuck to my head as if with superglue.

  Thank goodness Sheena’s house was soon within sight, so I lowered us as gently as possible and pretended that her red doormat held me too entranced to pay any attention while Alex emptied the contents of his stomach a few feet behind me.

  Chapter Twelve

  I had every intention of letting Alex save face after his projectile vomiting by allowing him to kick open Sheena’s front door, but he said stealth might be a better option. Without making a fuss about it, I tried the doorknob. Surprisingly it turned and the door swung open. Nice way of staying safe, Sheena.

  Certain that Willoughby was already there, I was prepared for him to jump out at me. What I wasn’t prepared for was something solid landing hard at the back of my head as soon as I set foot over the threshold.

  “Ow!” I twirled to see Sheena squinting at me in the darkness, a frying pan in hand.

  “I thought you were him.” Her tone hinted at no intention of apologizing profusely.

  “What the hell are you still doing here?” I slammed my hand on the light switch, and the hallway brightened. I heard movement behind me and turned slightly. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alex blocking the entrance with his body, his back to us. I resumed glaring at Sheena. “I told you I’d kill you if I saw you again.”

  She didn’t seem half as disheveled as she’d been the previous night. Or as drunk. “Well, one of you’s gonna do that, anyway. Better you than that creepy asshole.”

  I grabbed the pan from her hand and smacked her thigh with it. It was not a playful smack; if I’d gone for her head, she might have gotten her wish to die at my hand. “You shouldn’t be here. He’s coming for you.”

  “I thought you didn’t care.” Now that sounded mocking.

  “She obviously does.” Alex sounded pissed off. “Fuck if I know why. So why don’t you tell her why you’re still here so we can figure out what to do next?”

  Sheena let out an indignant sniff. “Well, I couldn’t book a flight out without using my credit card, and my limo can be easily traced.” Crossing her arms over her chest, she returned my glare. I noticed for the first time that she was in silk pajamas and high-heeled slippers. The woman had no intention of leaving town.

  “You could have taken a bus.”

  She looked more horrified at that prospect than at having her throat torn out by either me or Willoughby. “A bus? I wouldn’t be caught dead in one of those. Nope, I decided to stay put.”

  Uh-huh.

  Alex’s hand closed around my bicep just as I felt the handle of the pan bend inside my fist. I let it drop. It clanged and I winced. “Sheena, you’re in danger. Don’t you get that, you idiot?” I was no longer in control of my voice. A human could easily hear me from the next house over—a vampire from anywhere within a five-block radius.

  She planted her hands on her hips and lifted her chin. “I thought you wanted me dead, so why do you care? I don’t want to run, and he won’t scare me into doing what he wants any longer. I’m not going anywhere. Let him come.”

  I had no answer to that. I think I growled. She took a half step back, and Alex turned to face me. The extra space she’d given me wasn’t a bad thing; I had some thinking to do. I really had considered killing Sheena myself just hours earlier, but the version of her that stood in front of me at that moment was the version I’d known and loved. She was the woman who didn’t give up, who fought for what was hers, whom I’d considered a friend. I wanted to keep that woman safe despite what she’d done. Once we’d dealt with Willoughby and I knew the exact fate of the girls she’d handed to him, I’d see what I’d do with her. In the meantime, we had to forget our plan about cornering my maker at her
place. I couldn’t deal with him—let alone another vampire—if I had to protect two humans at the same time. My priority became taking Sheena to safety.

  Where might that safety be, though?

  The answer made me grin so wide I knew my fangs showed. “Alex, grab her.”

  Before Sheena could protest or even blink, Alex had her in a hold she couldn’t escape. Before he realized what was happening, I had my arms around them both and was rushing us out the door.

  “Cherry, what the hell are you doing?” Alex asked through gritted teeth.

  I gave him a quick smile and kicked at the ground. “I’m taking us up, up, and away.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  According to some vampire lore, turning into a vampire means losing one’s soul. That is not the case in reality. We actually keep our souls and remain the same people we were prior to our turning. What changes is our perception of limits.

  You see, humans know their life will come to an end, and no matter their religion, the majority go through life keeping in the back of their minds the thought that they will one day be judged. Vampires consider ourselves immortal; to us, judgment day is so remote that it loses its significance. What’s more, we all at some point realize remorse is something that inevitably goes away with time. If we’re not careful, our consciences begin to loosen after the first few centuries, allowing for ever-increasing transgressions. Eventually we act like the soulless monsters we’re believed to be, not because we are inherently evil and soulless, but because we reach a point where we have no fear of consequences.

  Or that’s what Constantine had told me in one of our first meetings.

  I was betting he’d reconsider when I told him I’d be leaving Sheena with him for safekeeping until Alex and I had taken care of Willoughby. I was definitely feeling pretty evil and soulless as I was about to ring his doorbell.

  Knowing Constantine’s eclectic tastes and need for quiet, I was confident Sheena, with her flashiness and incessant chattering when she was excited about something, would get on his nerves in no time. There was no doubt in my mind she’d be excited about spending a few days with a drop-dead gorgeous vampire who meant her no harm.