Because the Night (The Night Songs Collection)

by Strassel, Kristen

  “No. How can they enforce that, anyway? Nothing will come of it. They didn’t catch you in the act. They have no proof.”

  “I don’t even care at this point.”

  “Do you want to take a shower?”

  “Desperately.”

  “Okay. Let me grab some towels. You know what? I’ve got a better idea. My tub is a soaking tub. Great for bubble baths. Let me draw you one and I’ll find something for you to wear. I don’t know what, you’re so tiny.”

  “I don’t care, as long as it’s clean.”

  Minutes later Lennon summoned me to her bathroom. She’d lit candles and filled the tub with bubbles. She placed her IPod in the dock. “I programmed it to play Etta James and Sam Cooke. They always make me feel better. I left you some sweats and a T shirt. Take as long as you want, but I’m going to come in and check on you to make sure you don’t fall asleep.”

  “Thank you. You’re an angel.” I said to her before she blew me a kiss and shut the door behind me.

  Nothing felt better than kicking off the stale clothes I’d worn for almost twenty four hours and sinking into the warm, soapy water. I concentrated on the music. I didn’t want to think too much about anything. I couldn’t trust my brain right now. I didn’t want to think about Janelle’s family getting the worst news of their lives today.

  I didn’t want to think of Janelle’s lifeless body, lying on a slab somewhere.

  Once my skin shriveled from the water, I dried myself off and put on Lennon’s clothes. I found her perched on the couch, watching a soap opera.

  “Better?” She asked.

  “I can’t even explain how much.”

  “Good. Are you hungry?”

  “Starving.” I sat down in the club chair. “But um, it’s hard for me to eat, you know, with Bloodlust.”

  “What do you have trouble with?”

  “Processed food.” Just to have someone understand this was more than I could ask for right now. “Does it happen to you too?”

  “I crave red meat. The rarer, the better. So gross. Let me see what I’ve got for you.” She disappeared into the kitchen. “How about fruit salad?”

  “Perfect.”

  She presented me with a bowl full of citrus fruit and melon. I hoped someday Lennon became a mother, because she had the touch. “Have I told you how awesome you are yet today?”

  “A couple of times.” Lennon batted her eyelashes at me. She looked so different not made up. “I’m assuming you want to go see Tristan tonight.”

  I nodded.

  “I’ll give you the spare key. I’m working tonight. Stay here. Tomorrow I’ll give you something to help you sleep. You look exhausted, but it would knock you out for the rest of the night.”

  “I know I just said it, but you are amazing.”

  “Don’t worry about it. That’s what friends do.”

  Chapter Forty

  Tristan’s dance card was full this evening. My personal tragedies were not enough to stop the Immortal Dilemma machine from churning. I had no interest in being swallowed in the hoopla that night. Janelle’s murder was sure to have whipped the other girls into a frenzy, rightfully so. I’d have to wait until I could have him all to myself.

  Exhaustion exerted its gravitational pull on me. I couldn’t go through the story again. Tristan knew enough about what happened to understand I could do nothing but collapse in his arms. He led me into his bedroom and lay with me on top of the covers, stroking my hair while neither of us said a word.

  I could only keep him for a short time.

  He left me with instructions on how to work the TV and its many remotes so I could watch movies and a number to call if I wanted anything to eat before he kissed me on the lips and transformed back into a rock star.

  I stared at the TV blankly for an immeasurable amount of time, trying to picture this transformed Tristan watching comedies and playing video games. It seemed too pedestrian for him. Too human. I fought picturing Blade doing the very same things. Movie nights were our thing. Finally I succumbed to unconsciousness.

  Tristan woke me by pulling the covers up over both of us and pulling me into him.

  “You slept.” He murmured. “Good.”

  “More like passed out.” I turned my body towards his.

  “I didn’t mean to wake you.” He snuggled in against me, and for a moment, I forgot things weren’t normal.

  “I’m glad you did.”

  “Feel any better?”

  My head throbbed. “I feel like I got hit by a train.”

  “I bet. Try to go back to sleep, beautiful.”

  “I just want to stay here with you forever.” I sounded like a little kid with so much sleepiness still in my voice.

  “I wish you would.”

  I picked up my head slightly so it was even with his. “Can I spend the night? Or day? You know what I mean.”

  Tristan nodded. “You can stay here any time you want.”

  “Not here.” I propped myself up a little more. “I want to stay with you. I want to wake up just like this.”

  “Not tonight.”

  “Why?” I faked a smile the best I could. “Do we need to get to know each other better?”

  He sighed. “I’m not ready for that.”

  He blew my mind. He let me drink his blood, but he didn’t want to actually sleep with me? “I don’t understand. I’m not afraid of you, Tristan.”

  “I’m afraid of me.” He sat up, pulling away from me. Just the small distance felt like a mile. The chill without the blankets felt cooler than his body against mine. “I don’t know what I’ll do. What if attack you in the middle of the night, because I smell your blood? What if I can’t stop?”

  I shivered at the thought of him being able to smell my blood. Did he hunger for it? How well could he control himself when he was awake? Drunk? High? How would I know, since he never wanted to tell me anything about what he was? Was that one time just an accident, or was it an accident that it hadn’t happened since? “Has that happened before?”

  “There’s always a first time.”

  “When was the last time you spent the night with someone?”

  “Human?” I fought to block any images of him intertwined in these sheets with Talis.

  “So you’re going to wake up alone for eternity? You’re just going to let fear win?” I should understand. Sleep scared me too. I couldn’t control my mind, the horror film that kept flickering in front of my closed eyelids. But I wasn’t going to let up on him. We were bound to each other, we needed to move forward, whatever that meant.

  Tristan exhaled, falling back down on the pillow next to me. “This is how you want to spend tonight? Fighting?”

  I shook my head.

  “Me neither.” He pulled me back in close, resting his forehead against mine. Our legs instantly tangled together. “I heard about your friend tonight. A lot of people cared about her.”

  My eyes welled with tears. “That should have been me.” I whispered.

  His hand caressed my cheek, comforting me. “That’s not going to happen.”

  “See why I want to stay? I avoided being killed last night because I was with you!”

  “Shh.” He didn’t say anything else for a few minutes, probably giving everything a chance to sink in. “Where are you staying? Not in that apartment, I hope.”

  “The apartment is an active crime scene. I’m staying with Lennon. You know who she is, right?”

  He scoffed. “How is my favorite drama queen doing?”

  “What drama? She’s the only girl friend I’ve really made since I’ve been here. She understands what’s going on. She doesn’t question it. She helps me a lot, Tristan. If it wasn’t for her, I’d be here in the same clothes I was in yesterday. Still covered in your blood.” His version of Immortal Dilemma history again seemed different than what Lennon had to say. He did this with Blade too. Lennon didn’t seem to have any ill will towards Tristan at all. The only things she had said about him that
could even be put into the negative column were that he was wild and unreachable.

  Who was telling the truth? Would it ever matter?

  “I worry what happens when I’m not around.” He leaned in and kissed me. “You’re a handful, beautiful.”

  “I learned from the best, didn’t I?” I kissed him back then let the day dissolve into a hideous memory.

  Being human proved to be a disadvantage in my campaign that night. I woke up alone in the guest room as the sun reappeared over the city.

  I found a note on the nightstand and could do nothing but sigh when I read it.

  I’m sorry. XX

  Lennon’s couch waited for me when I made my less than triumphant return to her apartment, made into a makeshift bed complete with sheets and a tucked in blanket. Sleeping pills waited on a piece of paper marked with a smiley face. My heart filled with gratitude at the simple gesture. It felt good to be wanted somewhere, finally. If this was drama, I could live with it.

  I slid in between the sheets, swallowed the pills, and let sleep wash over me as the medicine shut my brain down.

  Chapter Forty One

  The sleeping pills, cocktailed with Tristan’s blood, seemed to even everything out to almost normal. It muted the reality that someone had kidnapped Blade and killed my roommate looking for me. It dulled the anxiety of going back to work.

  Almost. The image of Janelle’s body lying broken on her bed flickered in my mind any time I let it wander. But it was more like a cheap horror movie than something I’d actually lived through. Hideously gory in an amateur way.

  If Talis had been behind the murder, I’d expect her to be more subtle and refined.

  Would Tristan be able to keep me safe if Talis was responsible? Would he even offer? She knew his every move. If she’d ordered the attack in my room, it seemed counterproductive for Tristan to try to arrange for my protection. He had never been so concerned about my safety before.

  A shiver went down my spine as I pulled my new jeans and top over my uniform. Tristan had sent a care package to Lennon’s apartment. Three complete outfits inside that someone had carefully picked with me in mind. Flare jeans with embellishments, loose, colorful tops, and the fanciest underwear I’d ever owned. I smiled at the lace and satin. I guess Tristan’s good deed was as much for me as it was for himself. I was amazed by the power sexy underwear had on my mind. I needed to feel pretty this weekend. And thinking about Tristan just by pulling it over my skin didn’t hurt either.

  I needed to forget that my life had been roped off by yellow caution tape, even if it was just for a little while. I did my best to keep my mind busy with work. There was some big game on which I couldn’t care less about, but I couldn’t help but be amused watching the vampires do something so human. I smiled to myself, thinking of some of the bar regulars wearing their favorite football jerseys.

  The hoopla made me miss my dad. I knew he was probably watching the same game. I wished I could tell him what had been happening here without the fear of my parents yanking me out of the city. Sure, technically I wasn’t welcome back, but if they knew what kind of trouble I was in, they’d never turn their back on me.

  “How are you doing, doll?” Lennon asked.

  I felt like I moved in half time compared to her. “It’s weird. What if someone in this room killed Janelle? It’s all I can think about.” After all, we worked in a room full of murderers.

  But only one of them hated me enough to want me dead.

  Lennon looked solemnly over the crowd. “God, I hope not. That would really suck.” She looked up at the TV and pumped her fist. “Tips are awesome tonight. Go team!”

  My mouth dropped open at her attempt at a joke. “You’re my roommate now, Lennon. What if they miss again?”

  “Honey, you’re safe here.” She moved in closer to me, still cleaning up after the last rush. “It’s an unwritten rule that no one gets hurt at Embrace, unless they want to.” Her head nodded towards the donors. “If anyone tries anything, they’re going to have seventy five vampires latching on to every vein. We’re family here.”

  I tried to believe her, but I couldn’t relax looking at the lust in the eyes of the vampires as they fed from their donors. Some of them had to be carried off after the vampire had drunk their fill, left too weak to walk away. The vampires looked on in sated elation. They fed off of life force. All around the room, fangs danced in the lights of the televisions, exposed in victory as the game went one way or another. Competition. The hunt. The conquest.

  What the hell was I doing here?

  I looked back to Lennon as she leaned over the bar to give Peter a kiss on both cheeks. I wanted duck down behind the bar when I saw that besides his young, exotic-looking sidekick, he had Noah in tow. The vampire’s eyes were already fixed on me and I shuddered as they raked over my skin. I felt naked and frozen under his gaze.

  “Good evening, Callie.” Peter moved down the bar and took a seat in front of me. The other two men followed suit. Peter offered me his hand, which I took and he kissed the back of mine. His assistant nodded to me silently. Noah took my hand and licked it, winking at me. I fought the urge to knock him off his barstool. Watching the other vamps descend on him like hungry animals would entertain me far more than the football game ever could.

  He mistook my smile for approval and leaned forward in his chair to kiss my cheek. I pulled my hand away from him and stepped back, laughing as he steadied himself against the bar. Peter couldn’t help but smirk, either.

  “Do you guys come here a lot?” I asked as if nothing happened, giving Noah a little time to nurse his ego. “I’m not sure I’ve ever seen you here before.”

  “No, darlin’, we don’t.” Peter confirmed. “This isn’t friendly territory for us. Tails’ people gather here for the most part. But no one will bother us unless we start trouble.” He stopped to glare at Noah, who smiled back in acknowledgement.

  “So did you just come to watch the game?” I knew damn well why they were there, and it had nothing to do with football.

  “Not that game. But if you want to play, muse, I’m ready.” Noah leaned forward again. I rolled my eyes.

  “Play nice, Noah,” Peter scolded.

  “No fun.”

  “Anyway, I’ve been thinking about your proposition the other night, Callie. I heard about your roommate, and I’m very sorry that happened to her. Lennon says that you think the attacker might have been coming for you. She also said that you’ve had a few run-ins with Talis, before and after Blade disappeared. I think we need to act quickly.”

  “Is that how Talis works? Janelle didn’t die peacefully. It looked brutal. Blood was everywhere. I expected her be more stealthy when she acted.”

  “Well, she didn’t get what she wanted.” Peter shrugged.

  “But wouldn’t she have known I was with Tristan that night?” Now it was Noah’s turn to look disgusted. “If she can read his thoughts?”

  “Maybe he wasn’t thinking about you. Maybe you’re not such a muse after all.”

  I splashed the drink I was holding in Noah’s face. A few patrons along the bar looked over to make sure everything was alright as he wiped himself dry.

  “Are you trying to start a war, boy? Keep your mouth shut. Jesus Christ!” Peter roared. Evidently, Noah tried Peter’s patience as well as mine. “I apologize for him, Callie, but we all need to learn to work together. I don’t think Talis would do her own dirty work. I certainly don’t. Things didn’t go as planned the other night, that’s clear.”

  Wooziness swirled around me as his words sunk in. I held on to the bar to keep myself steady. It should have been me. “What do you think should be done?” I carefully kept the word “we” out of the question, even though I knew he wanted me to do something.

  “Talis is stronger than me. All women leaders are,” Peter explained. “If I can get blood from her clan — especially if it’s passed from another woman — it would weaken her people and strengthen mine. We need Tristan’s blood
. He’s the strongest of all of her creations. He shares blood with you, correct?”

  I nodded, but couldn’t make eye contact with him.

  “We need that blood, Callie. It can help us get Blade away from Talis.”

  “So do you want me to bottle it or something?”

  Peter laughed too loudly. “Aren’t you just the cutest little thing? No, darlin’, one of my boys would drink it from you.”

  “No.” I started to walk away from him.

  “It’s just a little blood.” Noah grabbed my arm. “Don’t tell me you’re squeamish, muse.”

  “I don’t do that.”

  I wanted to hit him again. “Oh are you too good for that? I didn’t take you as such a princess. Can I tell you how many girls line up every night to let me suck their blood?”

  “Well get it from them, then. The only thing I’d stand in line to do with you is spit on your grave.”

  “We need Tristan’s blood, Callie.” Peter repeated. “Or else Talis might have Blade forever.”

  “You are his girl, aren’t you?” Noah taunted. “Even though you do anything Tristan asks you to.”

  “Everyone just shut up for a minute, alright?” I tried my best not to shout. One of the teams had just scored, to the delight of the bar, drowning out my volume. “It’s not something I just do with anyone. It’s different for me, alright? I need to think about it.”

  “There are no other options, Callie. You either want to help Blade or you don’t.” Peter’s tone had become more firm as he realized his plan might not work. His eyes darkened in his plump face. I looked over at his assistant, who’d remained silent and expressionless during this whole transaction. What was his role in all of this?

  “I told you I needed to think about it, okay? My friend just died. I don’t want to do anything stupid just out of retaliation.”

  “Okay, you can think about it. Nothing bad will happen to you or Tristan. It will only help Blade.” Peter threw money up on the bar even though none of the men ordered drinks. He stood up and the other two followed his lead. “I’ll need an answer soon, Callie. Don’t disappoint me. Or Blade. Okay, darlin’?”