Blood for Blood (A Keira Blackwater Novel, #2)

by K. R. Willis

  “Well...” I thought about her offer for a second, and though it had appeal, I already had plans for tonight. At least I hoped I would. “I would like to, but I can’t.” The smile on her face faltered, and something cold flashed through her eyes, but then the smile returned, and I wasn’t sure I’d seen anything at all. Maybe I was overreacting with everything that had been happening lately, and seeing things that weren’t really there. “I already have plans. But I might have a spot available next week, if you can wait that long.”

  Her posture changed from relaxed to confident as she strode past me and ran her fingers down the side of the coupe, staring at it as she did. “I’ve already waited too long,” she said, sounding wistful. “If I wait any longer, I might lose my chance.” She made a trek around the car and came back to stand in front of me. “You really need...”

  “Keira?” Sam cut off whatever Vicki was about to say as he entered the shop. He walked up to us, eying Vicki the whole way. “Sorry, am I interrupting?” He stepped up next to me and dipped his head in acknowledgment of her. She stared at me a moment before turning to Sam and offering him a strained smile.

  “No,” she said, “I was just leaving.” She turned back to me. “Perhaps next week.” She excused herself and headed for the door without so much as a bye or thank you.

  We both watched as she left. “That was strange,” Sam and Rya said in unison.

  “Yeah, tell me about it.” I knew she was in a hurry to check out the lead on the truck before they sold it to someone else, but her behavior seemed so odd. She could have gone by herself already. She didn’t need me, but maybe she wanted me there to make sure it was the real deal. After all, five grand was a lot of money. I shook my head and made a mental note to pencil her in somewhere next week.

  “You good?” Sam asked. He’d been watching me stare at the door she had just left through, deep in thought.

  “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  He gazed at me a second longer, then looked around. “Wow, Leo’s cleaner did a good job, huh? For a minute I thought maybe that woman had noticed something he’d missed, and that’s why I felt some tension when I walked in, but there’s not a speck left anywhere.” His eyes darted around the shop, looking for the tiniest hint of what had happened. “If I hadn’t been here for it, I wouldn’t have a clue.”

  “Yeah,” I said, “Sometimes it’s nice knowing people with connections.” Although I really wished my life was still simple enough that the only people I needed to know were parts suppliers and other mechanics.

  My thoughts must have been written all over my face because Sam smiled at me sadly, then laid his hand on my shoulder and squeezed, offering comfort. “Everything will work out,” he said. We stood silently like that for a few seconds, then he glanced down at his watch. “Sorry, but I’m running a little behind, so I gotta head up. If you need me just holler.” I nodded and watched as he jogged to the stairs that led to his dojo.

  I sighed. Sam was probably right about everything working out, but sometimes it felt like fate had a big ole bull’s eye painted on my ass.

  ∞∞∞

  The sun had settled far enough behind the trees, so I called Leo. If things worked out the way I wanted them to, I really would have plans for tonight.

  “Please tell me you do not require the services of the cleaner again,” he said upon answering. He sounded tired, and a little pensive, as though he dreaded my answer. A pang of guilt shot through me that I’d needed the cleaner and Leo so much in the last couple days. Which was why I’d called him.

  “Actually, no,” I said, trying to hide my growing excitement from him. “With everything that has happened here lately, I think it’s time for some fun. I called to see if you would like to go on a date with me.” My pulse quickened. “Tonight.”

  Silence answered on the other end of the line, making my heart beat faster. Maybe he’d changed his mind. What if he’d decided I was too much trouble? A sliver of doubt crawled down my spine, whispering of how much of a burden I was, but I squashed it and waited for him to say something.

  Finally, he burst out laughing. Not exactly the response I’d been expecting. “It is about time,” he said, sounding amused. But then he quickly sobered, and spoke more cordially. “I would be honored to accept your invitation. May I pick you up in an hour?”

  My heart skipped a beat. “I’ll see you in an hour.”

  ∞∞∞

  Leo knocked on my door exactly sixty minutes later. Excited, yet terrified, as if this was my first date, I checked myself in the mirror one last time. My hair looked stylish in the up-do I’d chosen, something I’d found on the Internet. The makeup I put on was subtle, accenting my darker skin tone, again something I’d learned from a couple YouTube videos. Leo texted me to let me know I should wear something dress casual, so I’d opted for a pair of white capris with strings dangling from the ends, caged flats that laced up the back, and a blue baby doll top that ruffled slightly at the sleeves. All in all, not bad.

  You look great, Rya said. Now shoo. You shouldn’t keep him waiting. She had sprawled out on my comforter, amused by watching me run back and forth trying on clothes before I’d settled on the ones I had on.

  Thanks. I hurried to the door.

  My breath caught in my throat when I opened the door, and for a moment it was difficult to breathe. Leo stood there, dressed to the nines in a white button-up shirt with thin gray stripes, the stitches set off with the same gray thread. His black dress slacks, and black penny loafers polished off the outfit. Subtle, yet sophisticated.

  And sexy as hell.

  “Wow,” I said. There were better words to describe how he looked, much better, but they all seemed to have fled my brain. He smiled at me devilishly, as though I’d said the right thing. I smiled back.

  “You look ravishing.” He kissed the back of my hand, a smile playing at his lips. Leo held out his arm to me. “Shall we?” I slid mine into the crook, and shut the door behind me on the way out.

  Have fun! I heard Rya yell before we were too far for me to hear her. She’d volunteered to stay at the apartment to give us some privacy, citing the fact Leo could protect me just as well as she could. My insides twisted with nerves as we climbed into the elevator. Alone.

  We rode the two floors in companionable silence. It felt good to be on his arm, to be the date of a two-hundred-year-old vampire who had seen countless things. Done countless things. Who was handsome enough to pick and choose anyone he wanted, and yet, for some reason I didn’t understand, wanted it to be me. A flutter of exhilaration raced through me at all the prospects that lay before me, and I couldn’t help the smile that tugged the corners of my lips. Leo tucked his arm tighter against his side when I leaned into him.

  A second later, the elevator doors opened. The small parking garage was empty as Leo led me to his car. My heart sped up a notch when I saw the Morgan, and I realized I had a tiny crush on the small exotic beauty. It was nothing like I was used to—sleek, fast, expensive—and a momentary pang of guilt shot through me as we passed Old Red. Her headlights stared at me in judgment. I patted the old girl on my way by, and relaxed. Nothing would take me away from the classics I loved.

  But I could have a little fun in the Morgan every now and then.

  Leo opened the door, and helped me sink into the soft leather passenger’s seat. Once behind the wheel, we eased out of the garage and headed north.

  “Where are we going?”

  “It is a surprise,” he said, turning to look at me for a long second, before putting his eyes back on the road. My belly did a little flip-flop, curious and anxious to see what the surprise was.

  I sunk deeper into the seat, and watched the buildings fly by in the early dark of night. The larger warehouses and businesses quickly faded into the background as we drove, giving way to farmhouses and ranches that sprawled the open countryside. The tiniest hint of light glinted on the horizon, bathing the land and houses in a soft orange and pink glow. Pasture after pastu
re was back lit by the dying light, casting ghostly shadows off bales of hay as ranchers rolled the last of the year’s crop in preparation for a cold winter.

  Leo turned down a side road, leaving behind paved roads and civilization. He slowed his pace on the loose gravel, careful not to kick up any rocks that might mar the beautiful paint job. I looked out the window at the gravel shooting out sideways as his tires crunched over them, and thought that maybe we should have driven Old Red, or another of Leo’s less special cars.

  I was about to mention something along those lines when we turned off the gravel road onto a path that led into a perfectly manicured open field. Leo parked the car on the grass as I sucked in a deep breath.

  A walking path had been lit with candles inside antique-looking mason jars. Their flames danced in the light breeze that slipped in through the opening, casting tiny moving shadows all around them through the glass. My eyes trailed down the path, and ended at an antique white wrought-iron gazebo with a gray cloth canopy that rippled gently.

  Lavender had been carefully and thoughtfully woven through the wrought-iron so that it surrounded the gazebo in a purple haze, without being overdone. In the middle of the gazebo sat a round mahogany table and two chairs. More lit candles inside mason jars hung from the top of the canopy like a chandelier, casting a warm glow on the setting for two.

  Leo came around to my side and helped me out. “How did you do this on such short notice?” I asked. He’d only had an hour, plus the thirty or so minutes it had taken us to drive out here. Not nearly enough time to accomplish all this.

  Leo smiled. “I have been planning this for almost a week,” he said, taking my arm and leading me down the path toward the table. “Remember, I asked you first, but you were reluctant to accept my invitation. I remained hopeful, and went ahead with the plans anyway. Minus the food and candles of course.” He pulled out my chair, sweeping into a partial bow as he did so. Once seated, he helped me scoot the chair in, then took his own.

  “This is amazing.” He’d paid enough attention to know that I would love this way more than some fancy, frilly restaurant full of stuffy rich people. The antique gazebo, the candles, the mason jars...every detail had been selected just for me. I couldn’t have planned it any more perfect myself. With any luck, he wouldn’t hear my heart flutter like a hummingbird.

  He tilted his head toward me as if to say “Thank you.” If he noticed my heart thumping, he was polite enough not to let on.

  “Would you like to talk, or eat first?” Leo asked. My stomach chose that time to growl loudly, answering for me. Leo laughed. “Eat first it is then.” I ducked my head, embarrassed. Leo pulled his cell phone from his pants pocket and punched something on the keyboard, then tucked it away again.

  “I hope you like Italian,” he said, voice hopeful.

  “I love Italian. It’s one of my favorite cuisines.”

  He visibly relaxed, pleased that he’d chosen correctly. My insides warmed at the thought he’d gone to such lengths, when he could have taken me to a ritzy restaurant and been done with it.

  The sound of an engine broke through the silence, something large and in the V10 range. Gears complained as it downshifted, drawing closer. I looked to Leo, but he seemed unconcerned, so I relaxed. It must be someone delivering our food.

  A moment later, a large food truck style vehicle pulled into the field. But instead of being an enclosed box with a kitchen inside, a large brick pizza oven took up half the truck. The rest of it, as I found out a few minutes later when all the doors were opened, was a regular Italian-style kitchen. The chef, a tall dark-haired man in his full chef’s uniform, including the white hat, approached us.

  He bowed to Leo, then kissed me on each cheek. “Ciao signore e signora. Posso prendere il vostro ordine?” he asked. “Qualsiasi cosa vorresti.”

  I had no idea what he’d just said, but his smile, which caused his large mustache to ride so high it nearly touched his eyes, was infectious. I smiled back and waited for Leo to translate.

  “Cristofono asks what you would like. Anything at all.” He leaned toward me conspiratorially. “Everything he makes is wonderful, but I have heard his pizza is truly something to behold.” He smiled at the chef, who nodded at him vigorously.

  Anything I wanted. Hmm...

  It only took me a moment to decide. “I’ll have whatever your specialty pizza is.” I looked at Leo, who translated. His Italian flowed from his tongue as fluidly as Cristofono’s had. The chef bowed, then hurried to his mobile kitchen to get started. “What about you?” I asked Leo. I knew he couldn’t eat the pizza, but I didn’t see blood for him here either.

  “Cristofono will take care of that as well,” he said. “As I explained earlier, I already had this in the works with the hopes you would come to your senses.”

  “Hey,” I said, shaking my fork at him, “talk like that won’t earn you any brownie points.” He chuckled softly, and I joined him. It was nice to hear him laugh. He always seemed so businesslike, and lately, I’d contributed to that.

  We killed the time waiting for our meal with idle chitchat. I was amazed at how easy and comfortable talking to him turned out to be. He spoke of some of the things he’d seen and done in his lifetime, pre- and post-vampire. I talked about the shop, the tribe, and my father, making certain to stay completely away from anything that began three weeks ago with Tom’s death. This was our fun night, and I refused to ruin it with depressing talk.

  Before we knew it, my pizza arrived, and so did Leo’s dinner. A cut crystal glass and matching decanter filled with crimson liquid were set before him. We thanked Cristofono and dug in. Or at least I did. Leo sipped his meal with the restrain of a nun, while I devoured mine. The cheesy goodness melted on my tongue, by far the best pizza I’d ever had.

  After three big slices, I pushed my plate away, unable to eat any more without making myself sick. Leo had polished off a little less than half his decanter, and now sat watching me. Cristofono cleared everything away, kissed me goodbye on the cheek, accepted something Leo quietly handed him, then loaded up and drove away. Again, a nervous jitter ran through my belly at the knowledge that I was alone with Leo.

  We sat in silence for several minutes. I couldn’t tell what Leo was thinking, or if he waited for me to say something first, but the awkwardness in me grew until it felt like I would burst.

  “Why are you here?” I suddenly blurted, surprising myself. I’d been trying to figure out why he liked me and wanted to be with me, but hadn’t come up with any answers. My big mouth finally voiced what my brain had been thinking, so I thought, What the hell. Might as well go with it. “With me, I mean.”

  Leo smiled. “Did you not invite me on a date with you?”

  I laughed, nervously. “Yes, but...” I blew out a breath. “I know why you’re here right now, but why are you with me at all? Why are you interested? You’re a vampire, I’m human. It doesn’t really seem to fit if you think about it.” The pizza I’d just eaten felt heavy in my stomach and weighed me down. I was so bad at this.

  Leo, on the other hand, appeared perfectly calm. “I have loved both vampires and humans in my lifetime,” he said. He sat back in his chair, looking thoughtful. “While it is true that vampires will never grow old and die, that also seems to be our curse. With such long life spans, we tend to become morose and self-centered, caring only about ourselves and our affairs. It is sometimes easy to forget how to simply love someone, to enjoy the modest things in life. Instead of looking for personal gain.” His hazel eyes watched me intently, making me shift in my seat.

  “Despite the fact you are human, or maybe because of it, I have watched you repeatedly come to the aid of others, even though it was not your job. Take George for instance: He is merely an acquaintance, a friend at best, and yet you have risked much to help him. You care for the safety of others above your own. Including mine.” He leaned forward and placed his hand on top of mine. “You help me remember.”

  I tried to swallow
past the tightness that formed in my throat. “Remember what?” I asked, voice soft.

  He smiled. “What it is like to live in the moment. To not have eternal tomorrows ahead. How to enjoy one’s company just because it feels nice, not because something is gained from it.” His thumb caressed my hand, sending shivers down my spine.

  His words brought heat to my cheeks. His reasoning made sense, but I couldn’t help but wonder...

  “You said you dated another human?”

  He nodded.

  “Was it difficult...watching her grow old and die?”

  Some of his smile, which had previously reached the corners of his eyes, faded. He didn’t pull away, but I felt him tense through the hand he kept on top of mine. After a moment he said, “Of course, it was difficult. She was the first one I loved after becoming a vampire. I clung to whatever humanity I could find after surviving the bloodlust brought on by the change, and that included loving a human. I never told her what I was, though she knew something was different as I did not age over the years.” He sat back in his chair and my hand felt bereft without his. I dragged it off the table and let it rest in my lap.

  “I only dated other vampires after she passed away. And though it was less painful because I never had to worry about them growing old or dying, those relationships lacked depth. Meaning. They quickly became strained and lackluster, more about political maneuvering than love.” Leo stood, then came around to my side of the table. He gently pulled me out of the chair until we stood pressed against one another.

  “I began to forget. To drown myself in business dealings, and acquiring new properties.” He gently caressed my cheek with his fingers. “This is how you met me. Trying to do nothing more than force you out of your shop so that I could expand. Then you sacrificed yourself to save me, knowing what I was, and I started to remember.”

  He kissed me then, and this time, I didn’t pull away.

  The kiss was soft and tender, an exploratory quest to see if I would resist or pull away again. Well, I was done resisting. I leaned into him, my body pressing against his, and kissed him back. He paused for half a second, as if surprised, then wrapped his arms around me and kissed me with such passion I feared I might burst into flame.