by AJ Larrieu
“I mean, are you going to do it? I know how you feel about them.”
“Of course I’m going to do it.” He came close to me and cradled my face with his hands. “I have to. If it’s true, you know I have to.” His uncle was in his mind, so many memories. The way he’d taken me in without a second thought, the way he’d fought to keep Shane and Mina out of the foster system when their mother died. The way he’d given Bruce’s laid-off friend a place to stay for weeks.
All of that was in Shane, too, and it always had been. It was a wonder none of us had seen it before.
“You’ve seen what it does to people.” I thought of Susannah, of the first time we’d met her. How alien she could seem. I thought of the prison where Ryan was held. I couldn’t bear to see Shane go so cold.
“I’ll still be me,” he said, and there was fierceness in his voice. “I’ll make sure if it.”
I leaned my head onto his shoulder so he couldn’t see my face. “I know you will.”
The city couldn’t have a better guardian. But I was going to have to leave.
It was becoming more and more of a struggle to control my powers around Ian. How much worse would it be with Shane? I felt the subconscious link between us and knew it would be much, much worse. I’d end up draining him and the city to death. I could already see it.
“We’ll find out more from Susannah,” I said.
“After this is over.”
“Yes.” I rested my head on his collarbone and didn’t say, If we survive.
“We will.”
And afterward, I’d be gone.
I shoved the thought as deep as I could, covered it with darkness. This wasn’t a night to waste on false assurances. The decisions were already made for both of us, but we weren’t gone yet.
I ran a hand from the top of Shane’s shoulder to his left pectoral and traced the lower curve of the muscle. He tensed and took a quick breath, but he didn’t move. I fastened my mouth to the spot and swirled my tongue over his skin. Soap. Warmth. Shane.
He tipped his head back and let me taste him. I moved to his throat and he grabbed the hem of my shirt and tugged it off. I could only see pieces of him, only close-up windows. Neck, biceps, hip. I got on my knees in front of him.
“Cassie...”
I snaked a hand to his lips and silenced him. He drew in my finger and sucked, and I sagged, resting my forehead against the taut muscle of his belly. The bulge in his pants was right in front of my eyes.
I used my free hand to struggle with the drawstring closure. A moan escaped me when I freed his erection, and he threaded his fingers gently though my hair. I took him in until I almost gagged and pulled back. He stroked his thumb against my scalp in time with my movements, and I felt his breath quicken and his muscles tense.
“Cassie.” He pulled me up by my arms. “Not like this. Not this time.”
I let him roll me under him, all warm, familiar man. The pressure of him bearing down on me made it easier to breathe, somehow. I wrapped my legs around his waist and pulled him closer.
Shane nipped the base of my throat and used one hand to guide his erection, barely breaching me. I spread my legs wider, but he didn’t move deeper, teasing me, drawing it out. His tongue on the hollow of my throat matched his movement below.
“So close,” I said, my voice barely above a breath. “Christ, you’ve got me so close.”
“I know, baby.” His voice was deep and soothing. “Stay with me.” He slipped in another half inch, and my whole body jerked.
“Please please please please...” They weren’t quite words, more like formless pleading.
Shane gripped the back of my neck with one broad, strong hand and kissed me. He kept his mouth on me and went in slow, taking me in fractions while I shuddered. I sank into his head as he sank inside me.
—closer, closer—God—more—
He drove his hips against me, compressing the mattress, seating himself.
—jesuschristmore—more—
I pressed against his lower back with my heels, arching, taking him deeper.
“Fuck me that’s good, Cassie. More...”
I released my legs and spread them, bracketing his body and matching his rhythm.
—never leave you—never leave you—
I turned my head so he couldn’t see me cry when I came, but of course, he knew it anyway.
He rolled off of me and gathered me on top of him, crooking his arm so I fit perfectly. He let me sob until I quieted.
“You won’t have to leave.”
My head snapped up. “How did you—?”
“Come on, Cassie.” He smiled a little and shifted so he could meet my eyes. “Of course I know. How could I not?”
“Shane...”
“It’s going to be okay. We’ll figure it out.”
“You don’t understand—I can’t control it anymore. I need it.” The admission made me feel lightheaded.
“I know. I know.”
“What am I supposed to do?” I almost sobbed the words.
“I don’t know. But we’ll figure it out.”
It was easy to agree with him in that moment. The drugs hadn’t quite worn off, but they would, and then the wanting would be back. Just thinking about it made me aware of it, like knowing there’s a wasp in the room without knowing where. I could hear the buzz of it, almost feel the vibrations of its approach. It was only a matter of time.
* * *
The hotel had a free continental breakfast. The muffins were bland and rubbery and the do-it-yourself waffle batter was lumpy. I thought of telling Lionel, of how he would be outraged at such substandard food. I had time to finish the thought—to actually imagine how he’d laugh—before I remembered he was dead.
I hadn’t been all that hungry, anyway.
I drank black coffee and picked at a slice of pale melon. Shane sat across from me with one of the terrible waffles. He only ate one bite.
“How long do you think we have?” I asked him.
He shrugged. “Hard to say. Can’t be long.”
“We’ll have to find a new place tonight.” For all I knew, Janine had already picked up our trail.
“It’s going to come to a battle no matter when we face her,” Shane said. “The sooner, the better.”
The truth was, I didn’t want to avoid a battle. I craved it. I wished that the thought of facing her left me terrified, but all I could think about was the pull. And even that didn’t scare me as much as I wished it would.
“Maybe there’s another way,” Shane said.
“How? You’ve seen how strong she is.”
He didn’t have an answer for me.
I stood up. “We should fix plates for them.”
I piled plates full of bland melon, overdone bacon and miniature powdered donuts. Shane poured two mugs of coffee and we took them upstairs.
In his room, Ian’s wings were in full view. He was watching the news, which very unfortunately featured his face. Oddly, they didn’t mention the prison break—it was only the same story we’d seen before. Ian’s face was blank as he watched, but I felt a tremor of rage and regret go through him when they mentioned Emily’s name.
We set the mugs and plates down on the cheap wood veneer desk, and Ian ate his breakfast mechanically while he watched the report. I got the sense he would’ve eaten cardboard or filet mignon with the same degree of enthusiasm. Shane brought Diana over from the room next door, and she fell on the mini-donuts with glee.
Ian had already made coffee in the hotel pot, so Shane and I sat on the foot of one of the beds and drank from the mugs we’d brought. Caffeine enhanced a converter’s powers, and as I drank, I could feel my awareness of Ian’s presence sharpening even more. I set the mug down.
“Tranquilizers.”
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Shane and I both looked up. Diana stood in front of us, her mouth full of donut, powdered sugar splotches all over her shirt.
“Come again?” Shane said.
“She just has to drink from someone who’s had tranquilizers. Then she’ll be weak, and you can...you know.”
“Right,” I said, my voice clearing with relief. For an instant, I’d thought she meant me. “She wouldn’t bite me after they injected me with that stuff. She said it affected her.”
“So I just dose myself up, let her bite me, and Ian takes her out.” Shane sounded determined. “Sounds easy enough.” He added, only to me, “And that keeps you out of it.”
“Not you,” Diana said, and even Ian looked up. “It has to be me.”
Chapter Twenty
“Hell no.” I hadn’t been sure Ian was listening, but Diana’s assertion was enough to snap his attention away from the news. I shared his opinion. But after Diana explained her plan, even Ian had to agree it had the best chance of working.
Diana was convinced Annette would never harm her. There was too much history between them. She’d kill Shane on sight—he’d be dead before the drugs could kick in—but she’d never willingly harm Diana. What she would do was drink from her.
“I just have to fake a vision in front of her,” Diana said. “If I refuse to tell her what I saw, she’ll take my blood to get to my memories.”
“Has she ever done that before?”
“She takes sips when I have visions, just to get the images. But if I try to keep it from her, she’ll take more.”
With Annette incapacitated, Ian could kill her. I wouldn’t have to pull from him; I wouldn’t have to do anything except knock out a guard, if that. I should’ve been happy about this, but all I felt was disappointment. I kept it to myself. This was the way it was supposed to go down, a guardian killing a vampire. My powers had no place in it, and when it was over, I could start getting back to normal.
Provided we weren’t all dead.
The easy part was breaking into a vet pharmacy to steal the drugs. It was Sunday, and it was simple to find a place that was closed. Diana and I broke in through the back while Shane and Ian idled out front. We came out with enough ketamine to take down an elephant.
The hard part was getting Diana caught.
I knew how Janine worked. If we got into her range, she’d pinpoint us, and then it would only be a matter of time. So we drove slowly toward New Orleans, checking the rearview mirror and waiting for the sun to set. When we got to the center of Baton Rouge, Ian perked up.
“Wait.” His wings, scrunched in the back seat, flickered in and out of view.
“What is it?”
“Head north.”
Shane looked at him, puzzled. “That’ll take us farther out of the way. Why north?”
He shook his head. “I can’t explain it. I just—I know we need to head north.”
“North will take us to that motel,” I sent to Shane. “The one where we left the clothes.” We were almost to the right exit.
Shane zoomed across two lanes of traffic and made it down the ramp. Diana gripped the door handle and let out a little squeak, but we made it without causing an accident. Thank goodness. I didn’t want to think about what would happen if we got pulled over.
Ian stared straight ahead. “Keep going.”
“What do you feel?” I asked him. With his hat and sunglasses on, I couldn’t read his expression.
“It’s like...a buzz.” He rolled his shoulders. “Not sure I can explain it. They told me this would happen—said I’d be able to pick up on danger.”
“Is it her? Janine?”
“What else could it be?” Shane said. “That stuff we left...”
“How much farther?” I asked him.
“Five minutes. Maybe less.”
I glanced at Diana. “Are you ready?”
She nodded. I wasn’t sure she believed herself, but she was making a good effort.
I quelled the fluttering panic in my chest. Shane, steady as always, drove the speed limit with both hands on the wheel.
“There,” Ian said as we passed the motel. “I’m sure of it.”
I turned in my seat and met Diana’s eyes. “You can still back out of this. We can find another way.”
“No.” Her voice was stronger now. “Let’s get this done.”
Shane pulled into the parking lot. It was half-empty and just as depressing as before. We drove slowly by the manager’s office. The door was cracked. I held up my hand for Shane to stop. Loud voices floated through the opening.
“Come on, asshole, we just need to see your guest log. You do have a guest log, don’t you?”
Someone made whimpering sounds. A male someone. I got out of the car and crept close enough to peer through the crack in the door.
The manager was against the wall of his office, two men in front of him, and one of them had a gun to his temple. Alex—I remembered him. The second one was Jeremy. I wondered if Greg was dead.
“Come on,” Jeremy said. “We know they’re here. All you gotta do is tell us which room they’re in.”
“They checked out! I swear! I swear! I don’t know where they went!”
So much for that ten grand.
“Fuck this, Jerry, he doesn’t know.”
“I dunno. Could be lying.”
“He’s fucking pissed himself twice already. I’m done smelling his ass.” Alex shot the manager in the head.
He used a silencer. If I hadn’t been watching, I might’ve thought someone had dropped a box. But I was watching, and I saw brains and blood decorate the blue-striped wallpaper above his framed Hotel Management School certificate. I darted back from the door and sprinted to the car.
“It’s them. It’s them.” I was panting from fear as much as effort. “They’re here.”
Diana swallowed. She looked very much as though she was going to throw up. “I’m ready.”
“It has to look real.”
She nodded.
“That means you have to run.”
“I will. I’ll run.”
“You can’t make it too easy for them.”
“It’s not as if I’m hard to catch. I’m not fast or strong or brave. I’m not like you.”
I grabbed her by the shoulders. “Don’t say that. It took a lot of guts to get away from her. It takes a lot of guts to do what you’re doing right now. You’re one of the bravest people I’ve ever met.”
She nodded automatically and unbuckled her seatbelt. I wasn’t sure she’d heard a word.
“We’ll be right behind you,” Shane said.
Diana got out of the car, slamming the door harder than necessary, and Shane drove slowly to the strip mall close by. We parked behind a large truck, hidden from view, and I watched through Diana’s eyes as she walked toward the office and peered through the door. Inside, the two guys were wiping their prints off the desk and, not surprisingly, finding the ten grand in cash. Alex pocketed it.
“You better bring that to Annette.” Jeremy said.
Alex shrugged. “What the bitch don’t know won’t hurt her.”
“Your funeral.”
“Whatever, man. Come on—help me with this.” He nodded at the body.
“You didn’t have to kill him,” Jeremy said. “He wasn’t gonna tell anyone about us.”
“Like you know that. Safer this way.”
They bent over the body, and Jeremy looked up as he lifted the dead man’s shoulders. He saw Diana, and his eyes went wide.
Run, I thought, panic blotting out all of our plans. Just run.
She didn’t run. She stood rooted in the doorway, staring at the blood with a convincing degree of shock. Then again, maybe she wasn’t acting. Even for
someone who’d watched hundreds of vampire feedings, seeing a guy’s brains all over the wall was probably unsettling. She paused just long enough to let him recognize her face before she bolted.
She’d lied—she was fast. But maybe it was real panic giving her speed. She tore across the parking lot and headed right for the trees, just like any flushed prey would do. The two men pounded after her. Alex had his gun out.
I scrambled out of the car and ran after them. It hadn’t been part of our plan—we needed to get as far away as we could—but now I was questioning everything.
“Cass! Come back—what are you doing?” Shane, calling me back.
“I can’t let them hurt her!” I kept sprinting.
Diana leaped over the low concrete barrier at the edge of the parking lot and darted into the trees. Jeremy and Alex had gained on her, and I was already far behind. I crouched behind an SUV parked at the perimeter. I couldn’t engage the safety on the gun from so far away—it was like threading a moving needle from across the room—but if they had orders to shoot her, I could deflect the bullet.
I didn’t need to.
Alex tackled her. It wasn’t pretty. It was lucky she’d made it off the concrete when they caught up to her. He wrapped her up and took her down, cutting a muddy trough in the ground as they slid. He actually handcuffed her. A woman exiting her room saw the whole thing, stopped in her doorway with her mouth open.
“Police,” Jeremy said, flashing a badge. “Drug bust.”
Instead of looking reassured, she glanced back into her room. When she looked back toward the scene, she saw me hunched behind the SUV. Her eyes widened, and I shook my head, just once. My heart was in my throat while I watched her, but she only turned around and shut the door.
The two men shoved Diana into the back seat of a black car with tinted windows. I watched through her head as she told our pre-planned lie: She didn’t know where we were, we’d split up to avoid getting caught, she thought we’d gone east.
“You’re lying.” Alex raised his hand to smack her, but Jeremy caught his arm before he could do it.
“She’ll kill you. She’s already gonna be pissed because of those.” He gestured toward Diana’s arms, and I focused my awareness on the spot—the sting of scrapes and the dull pain of an early bruise from the way he’d tackled her.
