by Amber Riley
“We’ve got company,” Flo told me as I crossed back into the dining room.
Francesca was here. Things were about to get interesting.
Chapter 13
The vampires on the other side of the front door weren’t going to like my answer tonight. I wasn’t planning to let them survive long enough to dwell on it too much though. I stormed for the door, determined to put an end to everything.
Francesca was waiting with Davis and the Marquis on the lawn. They stood as still as statues. Their silhouettes were outlined in the moonlight, showing their perfect figures.
I took a deep breath and dove off the porch. Stu and Sullivan both tackled me from behind. I landed face-first on the grass with a thud. It knocked the wind out of me, and I coughed.
The Marquis chuckled. “Smart move.”
“We’ve got more to lose right now,” Sullivan reminded me. “The werewolves are weak, and your friend is inside.”
I knew that, but I hadn’t the slightest intention of letting them beat me. I wasn’t afraid anymore. I was stronger than them. I knew I was. And I outnumbered them now.
“Let me up,” I growled.
“We’re here to ask for the last time.” Francesca sighed while they kept me pinned to the ground. “Are you coming back to Spain or not? Yes or no? I’m a little tired of asking.”
“No, I’m not going with you,” I grunted. “I don’t know why it’s not sinking in. You can keep killing people off, but you’ll eventually run out of them, and I would rather live here alone than go anywhere with you.”
“Is that so?” Francesca yelled. “I believe you borrowed yourself some daylight muscle. When I phoned the appropriate vampire, he didn’t know a thing about it. Funny, isn’t it?”
I knew it. There was no way to sneak the Philadelphia pack out of New York. It was amazing that I had lived for centuries without any problems, but the second my past reared its ugly head, conflict lined up, quite literally, at my door.
“Don’t worry,” Francesca said from her spot on the lawn. “He promised not to take any actions against you yet. I suppose if you’re reinstated to power, he wouldn’t want to be on your bad side.”
I pushed Sullivan and Stu off me. I stood up and dusted myself off. I wanted to lunge at her again, but I knew I would end up back on the ground. “And Oliver?” I asked.
Francesca shrugged. “I don’t really care.”
I wasn’t going to stand there and argue with her. If I wasn’t going to kill her, then I was done with the conversation. If it wasn’t too late when the whole ordeal was over, then I’d make some sort of deal to save Oliver’s life. He was smart. He would go into hiding as long as he could.
“Is there anything else?” I asked.
The Marquis appeared in front of me, his face an inch from mine. His perfect, smooth skin gleamed in the moonlight, and his eyes danced. “Not exactly.”
My stomach clenched. I couldn’t stand him being that close. My scars remembered him. They tingled beneath my T-shirt. “It’s time for you to leave,” I said through clenched teeth.
The ivory dragon head on his cane touched my cheek and slowly slid down my neck. “I look forward to working with you again.”
“Marquis,” Davis called in an authoritative voice, “we’re leaving now.”
He tapped the end of my nose with his finger, smiling. Seconds passed before he backed his way down the steps and I could breathe again. Davis got frustrated waiting and grabbed the back of his shirt collar. He pulled him back into line with Francesca.
“Two days,” Francesca snarled. “We need to try to keep some semblance of order. We’ll meet at your club to discuss the time and place for the fight.”
Then they were gone, and we were standing there like idiots. Two days. We had two days. That was too long. I wanted her dead now. Two days left plenty of time to hunt down and kill anyone I knew. It was two more days for Christopher to change his mind and take a strike against me.
“That’s just ridiculous,” Stu said.
Flo punched his upper arm. The two of them started to fight with each other when my phone vibrated in my pocket. I looked over my shoulder at Sullivan. He looked at me from the corner of his eye and shrugged.
I let out a long breath and answered it without looking at the caller ID. That was always a bad idea, especially when you had an entire list of people hating you.
“You kidnapped my niece,” the voice shouted back at me.
I held the phone away from my ear and cringed. “Tom?”
“Yes, Tom,” he screamed. “How many other nieces have you kidnapped? Is it a bad habit of yours? Do you befriend families and then steal their daughters away? Kill sisters and wives?”
“Tom,” I shouted back, “I didn’t kidnap anyone. I don’t know where you’re getting your information from, but I really resent the accusation.”
I ended the call without another thought. To say that he was insulting would have been an understatement. I was helping Lyn, not trying to drain her of all her blood. I wouldn’t need to weasel my way into his good graces if my plan was to meet and eat. Maybe I had forced her to go with me, but I hadn’t kidnapped her.
The phone went off again, and I flicked it open. “What?” I snapped.
“Don’t lie to me. Frank just left, and he told us everything.”
“Frank?” Anger flooded over me. The last thing I needed was high school drama. “I don’t think he told you everything, Tom. She’s safe here. No one is going to touch her.”
“I’m more worried about you touching her,” he wheezed.
“Me?” I held my breath and stopped myself before I threw the phone. I wasn’t going to listen to that. I turned on my heel and stormed back inside. Lyn was still waiting in the downstairs bedroom. I pushed the door in and tossed the phone onto the bed. “Your uncle thinks I’ve kidnapped you,” I said, trying to keep calm.
She blinked at me and silently picked up the phone. “Uncle Tom?” He started to yell on the other end of the line. “No, no. I wasn’t. I’m fine, really.”
I walked away and let myself fall into the corner of the couch. I laid my head back on the chair and shut my eyes. Why me? I asked. It had to be some kind of karma for all the bad things I had done in the past. The last century had just been preparation for this torture.
I could hear Tom yelling into the phone and Lyn trying to interrupt him. I was alone with her now, I realized. Flo and Stu were still outside arguing, and Sullivan was supervising. I would have to double my self-control. It was different than the night I spent watching movies at Lyn’s house. Killing her there might’ve left a shred of evidence. Here, it was almost too easy to clean up.
“Here’s your phone.” She set it on the end table and sat down next to me. “Does he know?”
“He knows about me, yes.” I opened my eyes and looked at her. “There’s something I have to do, and you’re going to have to come with me. You’ll be exposed to more vampires. None of them will be like us. You’ll have to stick close to me and the others.”
She looked at her hands resting in her lap. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, exposing her neck. I fidgeted and forced myself to stop looking at the veins just below her skin.
“Do I have to go?” she asked.
I nodded. I knew this was all new to her and she wasn’t exactly all right with it yet, but if she was with me then I knew she would be safe. If I left her alone, then it would be too easy for Francesca to send a werewolf in to kidnap her. Really kidnap her.
“So …” Her voice was a bit steadier. “Where are we going?”
She was looking at me now. Straight at me. Her shoulders weren’t slumped, her body wasn’t shaking, and her breathing was normal. I didn’t understand what had happened. All of a sudden she was trying to be brave and unafraid.
“The Amaryllis,” I answered carefully. “There needs to be a formal meeting to decide the time and place.”
“The time and place?” she asked.
&n
bsp; “For”—I hesitated—“the fight.”
The color drained from her face. “Fight?”
“Things aren’t exactly stable right now. Don’t worry. I’ll send you home as soon as it’s over.”
That was the plan. I was assuming I would be around to do it. I hadn’t really thought any of it through. It was something I would have to revisit later.
“But it—it will be a fight to the death, right? In the movies, they—”
I reached over and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. She didn’t flinch again, but there was a nervous look on her face. “This isn’t a movie. And they want me alive, so no matter who wins, you’ll get back safely. Trust me. You’ll be fine.” I shut my eyes and listened to her heart beating frantically in her chest. I could feel her looking at me as she fidgeted. “Tell me what you’re thinking,” I said.
There was a light pressure on my shoulder. Lyn was resting her head on me like it was normal. The heat from her body soaked into my skin, and I felt that familiar tingle start in the tips of my fingers. I gripped the edge of the leather cushion. I had just fed; I shouldn’t have been feeling the urge to bite her that badly.
I patted her knee and stood up. I still had to get blankets and food out to the garage. “Will you help me raid the fridge?”
Chapter 14
I paced back and forth in my room, cracking my knuckles. The shades were still open, and moonlight was pouring inside. Lyn was sitting quietly in the oversized armchair with a plaid blanket wrapped around her. Her eyes were watching me carefully as I wore a hole in my carpet.
I was beyond upset. I was so close to falling off the edge. If they had just let me kill Francesca, then the whole ordeal would be over with. It was four against three. We could have won. Forget Sullivan’s strategy of being calm. I wanted to tear something apart.
“I’m sure you have questions,” I said while I continued walking back and forth. Anything that would take my mind off the entire situation was fine with me. “We haven’t gotten a chance to talk. Ask whatever you want.”
“Well …” She squirmed, watching me nervously. “I was wondering about, you know, vampires.”
“What about us?”
She blushed. “About the myths, I guess.”
“We can’t touch crosses,” I said distractedly, counting with my fingers. “Holy water is like acid. Sunlight will burn us. A stake through the heart is effective, but it’s easier to behead us. We can see ourselves in mirrors. We don’t turn into bats. Anything I missed?”
“Garlic,” she whispered.
I stopped pacing and glanced sideways at her with a little smile. She looked adorable huddled up like she was. Her hair was spread over her shoulders, and her cheeks were flushed. “It smells awful,” I replied.
Her forehead creased. “So it’s all real then. Really real?”
I nodded. Unfortunately it was, and I had been living it for far too long. It didn’t seem so long ago that I had hopped on the boat heading for the United States. Back when I was still running around with Francesca and everyone else, it had all seemed fun.
Decades flew by like days, and each day held something new and exhilarating. If we weren’t going out on missions to turn people for Phoenix, we were having parties, or attending them. In any case, people ended up dead. It was the chase, the games you got to play, that kept everything exciting.
Now that I was finished with all the intrigue and bloodshed, things took on a bleaker look. There was business to take care of, making sure anything supernatural was behaving and running the club to keep up appearances. There were a few good shows on television, and that about summed up my life. I was alone, and that was how I wanted it. But I was beginning to question if it was the right way to spend an eternity.
“How old are you?” she asked me quietly.
How old was I?
It was a good question but not one I was expecting. Age really was just a number for me. Major events were measured by the year, while other things were by centuries. There were only a few dates that I remembered precisely.
“I was born the seventh of July, 1382, and I died the twentieth of September, 1404.” I paused and did some quick math because, honestly, I had stopped keeping track. “I’ve been twenty-two for the last 606 years.”
“Wow.” She closed her eyes. “You’ve seen so much history. It must have been incredible.”
“That would depend on who you asked,” I mumbled. A lot of terrible things happened in history. You could read about some of them in the history books, but the stories were usually twisted to suit specific needs. I had seen the real thing, and it wasn’t pretty.
“I’m asking you,” she said, looking up at me expectantly.
I stopped pacing and turned to look at her. I didn’t know how to answer that. I had seen everything from a different point of view when I was living through it. Now, looking back, everything was jaded.
She smiled, just a small smile. “Kaden, you don’t have to look so serious.”
“Sorry.” I let out a breath. “My own past isn’t anything to be proud of. The rest of it is kind of a blur unless you have specific questions.”
She slowly shook her head. “I have too many. I’ll get back to you when I narrow my list down to the really important ones.”
Lyn yawned into the sleeve of her sweater and started to fold the blanket. I watched her carefully as she stood up and placed it on the back of the chair. She padded across the hardwood floor and climbed into the bed. Her pulse echoed in my ears, and I felt the familiar tingle start inside myself.
I blinked and shook my head. When I looked at her again, she was maintaining that innocent look she always seemed to have. My jaw ached, and my hands tingled. I stopped breathing immediately and tried to step back, but my feet weren’t listening to me. I tried to form the words to tell her to get out of the room, but my mouth was being as disobedient as the rest of my body.
I found myself standing at the edge of the bed before I realized I was moving. She opened her mouth to say something, but she didn’t get a chance. My hands were on either side of her head, holding her in place as my lips pressed against hers. She went completely still for a moment before kissing back. She was warm and soft and tasted sweet.
I was breathing again, inhaling her attractive scent. My entire body was tingling with the excitement. When her tongue brushed over the end of mine, I felt my control slip away. My hands were on her back, pressing her closer to me. I became hyper aware of her heartbeat and the sound of her blood pulsing through her veins.
Stop. Stop. Stop, I told myself. Gravity began to center in my stomach again. All I needed was the strength to pull away long enough to run. Her hands trailed down my chest, making a knot form. Stop, I repeated to myself once more.
Just as I was about to regain my senses, my fang nicked her bottom lip. She gasped, pulled away, and put her finger to her mouth. When she brought it away again, there was a spot of blood.
I couldn’t feel anything. There was no tingling sensation, no bubbling desire. There was nothing. I was numb, and her pulse was throbbing in my ears.
“It’s okay,” she told me, looking at her finger. “It doesn’t hurt; I was just surprised.”
“Lyn,” I managed through a clenched jaw, “you have about two seconds to run out that door before I can’t stop myself anymore.”
She looked up at me with her big eyes and shivered.
“Go.”
She stayed kneeling on the bed, a drop of blood hovering on her lip. Very, very slowly she pulled the neck of her sweater down onto her shoulder without looking away.
“What are you doing?” I growled.
She moved her hair aside and bent her neck. It was an open invitation. She was welcoming her own death. I might not be able to stop myself once I started.
She let out a long, shaky breath, and it sent a chill down my spine. I grabbed her by the shoulders and bent my head to her neck. I hovered, trying to find that last shred of strength in mys
elf, but the battle was already lost.
My fangs sunk into her delicate skin and found her vein. My jaw clamped down, and I felt the warm blood flood my mouth. Every cell in my body felt the shock from her heat. She tasted as good as she smelled. As good as she looked. The more I drank, the more the thirst grew.
I wasn’t aware of how much blood I had stolen from her until my thirst was quenched. I stopped sucking and slowly pulled my fangs out. I loosened my grip on her shoulders and lifted my face away.
“Lyn?” I took her chin in my fingers and held her head up. She was extremely pale. I felt a jolt in my stomach. “Can you hear me?”
Her eyes fluttered open, and she let out a soft sound. Blood was trickling from the puncture wounds. I looked around for something to use to apply pressure, but I couldn’t find anything. I panicked, pulling off the shirt I was wearing and holding it against her neck. It shouldn’t have been bleeding that much. The bacteria in my saliva should have acted as a coagulant.
“Lyn, if you can hear me, say something,” I urged.
Her hand reached up toward her neck. “I can hear you,” she whispered.
“Don’t touch it,” I told her, lowering her hand away. “Are you okay?”
“I’m tired,” she replied in a very low voice.
“Are you cold?” I felt her cheek. “Dizzy?”
“No. I’m just tired,” she repeated.
I pushed the hair away from her face. “Are you positive?”
“Yes.”
I lifted my shirt to check the bleeding. It had finally clotted. I picked her up and pulled back the sheets. “You can sleep,” I said, tucking the sheets around her. Her heart was still steady, and her breathing was normal. She would be all right.
She will be, I thought. She has to be.
I left the room, unable to bear it any longer. The smell of blood, her blood, made me sick. If I had fed earlier, then I would have had more control. I had no one to blame but myself.
