by Shana Vernon
Blood rushed through my veins and I yanked a blade out of my discarded boot, pointing it in his direction. “Who the hell are you?”
Chapter 3
The stranger examined my naked body and a grin slowly took over his features. “Well, well, well. It looks like Maximus has left me a midnight snack.” His fangs slid down his gums and he ran his tongue over one of the sharp points, his eyes glowing.
I glanced at them, unimpressed, “How quaint.”
He stepped back, the glow from his eyes dimming as they widened slightly before he grinned mischievously and sniffed the air.
“That blade isn’t made from iron lovely, so you should know it won’t kill me.”
How arrogant.
I lobbed the knife toward his torso and dropped to my bag, pulling out a lightweight, iron stake. A soft thump and an audible exhale brought my attention back to the stranger, who was staring open mouthed at the weapon protruding from his shoulder.
I shrugged, "It might not kill you, but it sure hurts.”
I expected him to get angry or yell or attack me. What I didn’t expect was for him to release a deep-throated laugh.
“You’re absolutely vicious, aren’t you? I love it!”
“You need to turn around so I can get dressed or you’ll find out just how vicious I can be.” Too much had happened that day, and I was in no mood to joke around.
“I think I would enjoy that immensely.”
My rage surged and without thinking, I pounced forward, the stake aimed for his chest.
He zoomed out of the way and I whipped around, swiping the stake in the direction he moved to. He didn’t step with the speed I knew he possessed, possibly to see what I would do, or because he was certifiably crazy. I leapt forward and grasped his shoulder, holding the iron weapon against his diaphragm, his breathing a little heavier than normal.
He stared into my eyes, his own gleaming with excitement. “Now that you have me, what are you going to do with me?”
I glared at him, my hand beginning to tremble as it pressed against his body.
“Might I suggest a truce?” He offered.
I had no idea who this vampire was, if he meant what he said about being close to Max, or if he was bad. He was without a doubt dangerous, but whether or not he was a danger to me was a question I didn’t have an answer to. Yet.
“If I remove my weapon, will you turn around so I can get dressed?”
He shrugged but complied as I brought down the stake. “You don’t have anything I haven’t already seen, sweetheart.”
“Ew, don’t call me that.”
I slipped on my clothes and whistled, the stranger’s head whipped back around to face me as my loyal hawk companion, Joe, glided into the room, landing on my shoulder. “Go tell Max I’m here please,”
Joe gave me a shrill chwirk before soaring back out the window.
The stranger yanked the dagger out of his shoulder. He looked at it with an odd glint in his eyes before passing it back.
I twirled the stake around my fingers and couldn’t help lifting the corners of my lips as his eyes tracked my movements.
“What? Scared of the little human and her pointy stake?”
He scoffed. “Don’t be absurd.”
My gaze trailed the strange black markings down the lean, sinewy muscles of his arms.
How does a vampire get tattoos?
He followed my eyes and grinned. “See something you like?”
“You don’t have anything I haven’t already seen, sweetheart,” I shot back at him before continuing, “What are those markings? I’ve never seen anything like them before.”
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” he winked.
Ugh.
I aimed the stake at his leg, ready to impale him in a non-lethal way when the door burst open and Maximus strode in. “Lenna, are you here? Joe just —”
He halted, his blonde hair tied back at his neck, and scrutinized the two of us. Me, with the stake pointed at the stranger’s leg, and the stranger with that excited gleam in his eyes.
Max straightened his pin striped suit and lifted his hands in a submissive gesture. “You can’t kill him, Solnyshka. I’m sure whatever he did to warrant your reaction was justified, but he is on our side okay?”
The stranger barked out another laugh and Maximus threw him a warning look.
“Maximus, you aren’t seriously suggesting that this human would have a chance at killing me, are you?”
It was my turn to scoff, and I stuffed the stake into my boot. There was no way I would put it back in my bag in the off chance I would need it again. “Fine, I won’t kill him. For now.”
“I’m not suggesting anything, Luka,” Max said.
So, that’s his name.
“Alright, it’s time for Spike to leave. I need to talk to you,” I said to Max. I knew that if I didn’t get Luka out of the office in the next few moments, he would witness my breakdown. Seeing Max had brought my grief to the forefront of my mind and I was having trouble keeping it contained. I didn’t want to seem weak in front of the stranger.
“Spike?” Luka asked, his lips turned up in a lopsided grin.
Max’s brows furrowed in concern. “Luka, I’ll meet you upstairs soon.”
“Alright,” He retreated slowly, shooting looks between the two of us as he exited.
The moment the door closed behind Luka, my knees wobbled, and I staggered to a chair, sinking into the plush fabric. The dam surrounding the grief in my mind crashed down, and I buried my face in my hands, letting out a sob.
Max zoomed over and folded me into his arms, tucking my head under his chin. “Why are you crying, Solnyshka? Tell me what happened.”
I gripped the lapels of his jacket and rocked back and forth, my shoulders shaking uncontrollably. Tendrils of light flittered around us, moving in pace with my sobs.
“Please tell me what happened,” he begged.
I calmed my ragged breathing and pulled back, meeting his bright, cerulean eyes.
“It’s Papa,” I said, my voice trembling. “He...he’s dead and it’s all my fault!” I let out with a gasp and fell back into his embrace.
He stiffened. “Alexei is dead?”
“I tried to heal him, but it didn’t work.”
“Tell me what happened,” Max repeated, and I obliged, stumbling through the earlier events as the tears flowed freely down my face.
I sniffed and wiped the wetness from my raw eyes and peered up at him. “I’m so sorry, Max. I couldn’t save him.”
Max looked down at me and I saw the sorrow in his eyes the moment before his own tears began to fall. Max and Papa had been so close, he was the one person who would share in my heartache.
“Lenna, your father knew exactly what he was doing, and I can tell you right now that neither he nor myself consider you at fault.”
“I should have been more actively searching for him, not wasting time pretending to train!” I exclaimed.
“You weren’t even supposed to be doing that much. You were supposed to be in hiding if you recall,” he said, his exasperation palpable.
“He was my father, Max,” I said, my voice catching on the word was. “It was so fast, one second he was standing right next to me, joking about going home, and the next, he was on the floor, the light fading from his eyes.”
“I can’t believe it,” he breathed. “He always seemed so invincible.” Maximus quietened, lost in thought I rested my head in the crook of his neck. He pulled me closer into his arms and squeezed tightly. “So, where do you want to go now? Paris? Milan? Barcelona?”
Huh?
I peeked at him through my damp lashes. “Why would I be going to Europe?”
“Now that your charade is up, we need to get you into hiding.”
I extricated myself from his grip and got to my feet. Heat rushed to my face as my anger rose. Why did people keep assuming that I would sit idly by like some docile flower and not act? “I most certainly will not.”
/>
“There isn’t anything else here for you, Solnyshka. It’s time to leave.”
I shook my head. “No. I have things to do.”
“What things?” He demanded.
I grabbed a blank piece of paper and a pen from his desk wrote down two names and handed it to him.
“What are these names?” Then his eyes widened with understanding. “Lenna, no!”
I clenched my fists. “No? Sorry, but you don’t have the right to tell me that. There are people who need to pay for what they’ve done. They cannot and will not go unpunished.”
“Then let me handle it. There is no reason for your to get your hands dirty.”
“My hands haven’t been clean in a long time, Max.”
He scoffed. “If you’re referring to your time at that infernal cesspit of a fighting ring, that hardly counts.”
I didn’t know he was aware of my night time rendezvous at The Blood Pit. “Max, what do you think I’ve been doing at my job? You know... as an assassin?”
Before he could answer, I waved my hand dismissively. “It doesn’t matter. I will find out exactly who was involved in Papa’s capture and torture, and they will pay.”
“So you don’t plan on stopping with those two names?”
“Of course not. There are others who were involved, and I already have a plan on finding out their names.”
Max pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t think this is a good idea, Lenna. Going down this path is not one you will come out of whole.”
“Whole? I will never be whole again after what happened,” I said as my light grew brighter and brighter with my rising anger.
I slammed my hand down on the desk, sparks bursting from my palms leaving charred markings in the wood. “They will know how it feels to be tormented and be moments from death with nothing to do about it.”
“Do you hear yourself, Lenna? You are raving.”
“I’m not on some crazed suicide mission. Those people will die, but that isn’t the only reason why I need to stay,” I said indignantly, before settling down in another chair.
He sighed. “Well, are you going to tell me?”
I glowered at him. “I am going to save the hybrids. All of them.”
His mouth dropped open. “Your father just died today trying to do that very thing. He was one of the most skilled assassins and even that wasn’t good enough in the end!”
“I’m not going to be doing it alone. I’m going to have help, plus my gifts are stronger than his and I will train. A lot.”
“Are you sure about this? There is no going back once you start. The minute they find out you are on to them; they will come at you full force.”
“I know.” I really did, but I wouldn’t let that deter me.
He shook his head. “I don’t think you really do. We don’t have any clue how far back this goes. It definitely isn’t just Killian Abbott.” He approached and knelt down at my feet. “What if it’s the government behind this?”
I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned back in my seat. “Then I guess I will need to take out the government.
Max threw up his hands. “This is lunacy. Alexei would kill me for even considering helping you with this.”
That was the moment I knew I had won the argument. “No, he’d know I would do it no matter what you said and would prefer to you’d have my back.”
Max loosed a breath. “This is not going to end well.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a sigh. “What is your plan should we be successful in finding hybrids? Where will they go?”
I bit my lip as I pondered his question, then my face split into a wide grin. “We’ll use the safe houses you and Papa had prepared for me before I came to you.”
“So they will live their lives stuck inside forever? Look how well that worked for you! Instead of doing the same thing, you put yourself through unnecessary risk just to avoid reclusion.”
“I’m not doing this to avoid being alone, I want to kill everyone on my list…and help these people, of course.”
He sighed. “Fine, I will agree to help with the hybrids because they are innocent,” Max said, ignoring the last part.
I looked at his disappointed expression. “Are we okay, Max?” I asked. I didn’t want us to fight, but I needed him to see that I wasn’t backing down. He needed to see I was determined to see this out and avenge Papa. Helping the hybrids was an added bonus.
He gave me a small smile. “We will be. I just hope this bloodlust doesn’t consume you. Believe me when I say I know all about bloodlust.”
“You don’t need to worry, Max. I got this.” I looked toward the door, the faint thrums of music emanating from the casino reaching my ears. “I think I’m going to go indulge in the bar for a little while.”
“Don’t go too crazy, you don’t want a repeat of your nineteenth birthday,” he said, a slight hint of teasing in his voice.
A few years back - tired of being stuck at home all the time - I had taken one of my fake IDs and gone to a club for the first time. I’d had about five too many margaritas and stumbled out of the club just in time to vomit everything I’d had to drink in the parking lot.
Until Max had given me back my memories, I’d had no clue how I’d arrived at home unscathed. Now, I knew Max had found me and taken care of me.
Max had been there for me. Always. Even when I didn’t remember.
A lump formed in my throat and I swallowed, attempting to dislodge it. I stepped toward Max and pulled him into a hug. “Thank you for having my back.”
His arms tightened around my waist and he rested his chin on the top of my head. “Always.”
I unsheathed a few of my weapons, keeping the stake secured in my boot, and placed them all in my bag which I strung over my shoulder. Max walked me to the elevator and gave me a short, soft hug, so different from his typical long, tight embraces. A twinge of guilt twisted in my chest, but I pushed it to the side. I wouldn’t let Max come between my revenge for Papa.
I walked into the casino, the calm melodious jazz tune not doing its job to set my body at ease. In fact, it did the opposite. I was itching for a fight, one where I could let all the anger building up inside loose.
I plopped into one of the leather stools by the bar and waved over the bartender. “Give me a few shots of something strong.”
She raised a perfectly manicured brow as her golden eyes roamed over my body, taking in my jumpsuit, before pulling out a bottle and pouring me a few shots of tequila.
“This isn’t going to help whatever shit you’re dealing with, just so you know.”
She was wearing a tight maroon tank top, contrasting with her bubblegum-pink hair, which was shaved on one side. That wasn’t what drew my attention, however. She had tattoos on her chest and shoulders that looked eerily similar to the ones Luka had covering his.
I couldn’t help but stare at them, open mouthed. I hadn’t seen inside her mouth, but I was certain she must’ve been a vampire as well. Human eyes are never that gold.
How are these vampires able to get tattoos? My curiosity was officially piqued.
“Not that I’m not flattered, but you aren’t my type,” she said, having noticed where my attention was placed and misunderstood my intrigue.
I shook my head. “Sorry, I wasn’t hitting on you like a total creep. I was looking at your tattoos. What do they mean?”
She studied my face, as if contemplating my reasons behind asking. “They are part of an ancient, long forgotten language.”
“Must not be that forgotten, because I just saw someone else with the same language all over his arms.”
She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the bar. “What did you say your name was?” Someone called out to her from the other side of the bar, which she ignored.
“I didn’t.”
She grinned, flashing me her fangs purposely. “I think I like you. You’re brave for a human.” She finally took down the order from the other customer and began toss
ing bottles in the air, flipping them over each other as she whipped up his drink.
I looked around the casino, taking in the scene. “Maybe you’re associating with the wrong humans.”
“It certainly seems so,” she said, handing the customer his drink.
“You might want to be careful, Nikita, this one is vicious,” said a newly familiar voice from directly behind me.
Luka leaned down and whispered into my ear, “Hello, little assassin.”
I tensed, my hand shooting toward my boot, where my stake was ready and waiting to be used. My blood already singing with the excitement of a potential fight. That was until I remembered I was in a room full of vampires which would be more likely to side with one of their own. Especially if he let loose that “little assassin” fact.
His fingers encircled my wrist. “As entertaining as it would be to fight with you, others might get the wrong impression. They likely won’t find you as amusing as I do.”
Starting a fight with Luka was one thing, against countless vampires at once? Even I wasn’t that crazy. I nodded and he released my wrist. “I see you’ve spoken to Max.”
“Max.” He said, testing out the nickname. “You two certainly seem familiar.”
“We’re family, though not in the traditional sense obviously.”
“Obviously,” he parroted.
Nikita, who had been watching our exchange with a curious expression, let out a chuckle. “What makes you say she’s vicious? What did she do?”
“She stabbed me!” He said in mock horror, clutching his chest as he took the seat next to me. “Got blood all over my favorite gym shirt, too.” He had clearly showered, his woodsy scent now mixed with soap instead of sweat.
She turned to me. “Why’d you do that?”
I shrugged, returning to the present. “He was being a smug bastard.”
She laughed. “Sounds about right.”
