by Casey Lane
“We shouldn’t be doing this,” he said suddenly, not making any move to let her go. “You’re still under my thrall.”
“Your thrall?”
“The euphoria you went through since I bit you…”
She shook her head, remembering that feeling after the bite. It was kind of foggy; she couldn’t remember much besides the intense feeling of euphoria. It made something click in her brain, finally. She’d been vulnerable after the bite. He hadn’t taken advantage of that. He’d put her to sleep because she’d come on to him.
“I woke up without that.”
He stared at her. “You mean you’re doing this because you want to?”
“Don’t make it sound weird,” she told him off, feeling her skin warm and for once glad of the darkness around them. “Like you don’t know you’re attractive. Anyway, I was just trying to get your guard down at first.”
His expression was hard to read in the dark, but he seemed to be brooding over something. She wondered what was going on inside his head, then she told herself off for caring. He wasn’t a potential boyfriend. He was dangerous and she’d damn well better remember that if she wanted to avoid taking a dirt nap anytime soon.
What the hell was she doing? She backed up and he let her go. Crazy ideas usually weren’t good ones. Desperate times, she told herself, trying to forget the feeling of his body against hers. Taking a few deep breaths, she inched back towards the bed. “I think you’re right. I should stay over here.”
He didn’t say another word. She climbed onto the bed and wondered why the hell he wasn’t doing whatever it was he was supposed to with her. Not that she was complaining about not being murdered. Sighing, she lay down and tried to get comfortable about the vampire lurking in the dark.
Chapter Ten
Theo fought the impulse to move towards her. The throbbing in his trousers wanted him to finish what Skye had started with her lips, but he knew he couldn’t. To claim her in any way would be wrong. She didn’t belong to him. She had a life, somewhere out there, and he wouldn’t be the one to take her from that. Her kiss had surprised him, and everything they’d done had awakened a desire in him that wouldn’t die.
He had to get her out of his room.
His enhanced vision let him navigate the unlit room swiftly. His hand gripped the receiver of the phone as his gaze drifted over the woman on his bed. Bad move. He turned away from her as he placed the call. He just had to hold it together for a few more minutes. Stacy could send someone to take Skye home.
He cleared his throat and the bed creaked behind him.
“Who are you?” Skye asked as he waited for the brothel’s receptionist to pick up his call. “I mean, I know you’re vampire now. But I’m guessing you weren’t born that way, were you?”
Stacy still wasn’t answering his calls. He didn’t know what the hell to do. Hanging up, he moved away from the bed and forced himself to concentrate on Skye’s question. Talking could work. He hoped. He sat down in front of the wardrobes.
“I wasn’t always a vampire.” Though he hardly wanted to talk about that, it did manage to cool down his libido. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief once those urges took a hike. He was tired, worn out from the damage he’d inflicted on his body starving himself.
“So what happened?”
“I was turned by someone who wanted to torture me.”
The mattress creaked and he glanced over to see her sit up, leaning against the headboard.
“You were?” She sounded anxious. “Did they bring you here?”
He laughed. “No. This isn’t a prison.”
“Could have fooled me,” she said.
“This place saved me.”
“Hmm,” she murmured. “A likely story.”
“It’s true. Brody saved me, to be more precise. He found me and he helped stop the men who turned me. I couldn’t do that alone. Much as I wanted to. My maker could control me. I couldn’t fight him.” His blood boiled just thinking about it.
She was quiet for a minute before she spoke. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s ancient history.” He wished it felt that far in the past. A few years of struggling by hadn’t helped to dull the pain. Making a good friend and learning to feed without killing had kept him going, operating on the most basic levels while he waited for something to happen to make everything better again. He’d gotten past waiting. Too bad Brody hadn’t let him waste away.
“Like last century kind of history or it hasn’t been long enough?”
He had to smile. “The second one.”
“This has been one seriously weird day.”
“Tell me about it.”
The phone started to ring. He got up quickly and moved towards it.
She reached for the receiver and caught it before he could. Her gaze locked with his as he stared down at her.
“Hello?”
“I need to speak to Theo.” Stacy sounded tense.
Skye didn’t give up the phone. “I want out of here.”
“Theo, please, now.”
He didn’t make a move to take the phone from her. She frowned before she handed it over.
“Tell her to let me out of here. And I do mean this whole entire place, not just your room.”
Theo smiled tightly. “Stacy, you need to…”
“Theo, you need to listen. Brody’s father just arrived and he’s on the rampage. As far as he’s concerned you’re not here. You both need to sit tight. Don’t make a lot of noise and don’t put the lights on, whatever you do.”
“The bulb in the lamp blew earlier.” He glanced towards the bathroom. “I’ll turn off the bathroom light. Anything else?”
“Hang tight. We can’t get you anything while he’s here. Sorry.” She hung up and he looked at Skye.
“What was that about?”
“That was very bad news.”
Chapter Eleven
Brody’s father was notoriously violent about his son’s shortcomings. It was one of the first things Theo learned when he came to work for the guy. Brody tried to keep things fair for everyone involved. His father didn’t give a shit about what was fair. He had his eyes on the bottom line, and Brody had to jump through his hoops to avoid punishment suffered through the death of his friends. Theo knew that. He was at risk.
The irony made him smile. If it wasn’t for Skye’s safety, he’d welcome death at the hands of his friend’s arsehole father. Brody had picked a terrible time to pull this stunt with the girl. Collateral damage didn’t bother his father at all, so Theo was going to have to find a way to keep Skye safe from his murderous sight.
“This is going to sound pretty fucked up,” he started, hands on his hips as he tried to figure out how to deal with the problem. He didn’t even know where to begin explaining this, and there wasn’t much time to do that, besides.
“I heard the phone call. What did she mean?”
He considered it long and hard before he leaned down and pulled her into his arms. “She meant we need to hide from someone who might kill us for just the hell of it.”
Her gasp against his chest tickled his skin. She put her arms around his neck as he turned and started to move. He shifted her weight in his hands as he reached into the bathroom to turn out the light. The glittering shards of glass on the ground looked sharp. He was glad now that she hadn’t managed to kill him. Who knew what that might have meant for her?
“Where are we going, exactly?” She was whispering, a hint of fear in her tone.
He moved to the wardrobe and kept his voice low as he spoke, “We need to hide, and we need to keep quiet.”
He slid open the wardrobe door and laid her inside. She got into a sitting position and put her back against the wall as he got in beside her and closed the door. It was a roomy, though not quite a walk-in, but it still felt wrong to be sitting inside.
“How quiet?” she whispered into his ear.
He turned to face her, keeping his voice low, “We need to not speak at a
ll.”
She raised her eyebrows, and he could see the apprehension in her expressive face as she slumped back against the wall.
He shrugged at her by way of apology, worry beginning to nag at him as he stretched out his enhanced hearing. He closed his eyes, ignoring the pain as his stomach cramped. Starving himself had seemed like such a good idea at the time, but he was really beginning to regret it now, if only for the inconvenient side effects. His concentration was too split to really allow him to hear anything beyond the beating of Skye’s heart and the increasingly shaky sounds of her breathing.
He opened his eyes as she leaned into him, whispering into his ear. “Can’t you fight him?”
He wished it were that simple. He could tell by the look in her eyes when she pulled back that she was confused underneath the apprehension. She’d never met a vampire before, so he doubted she’d ever met a witch either. The relationship between the two was a double-edged blade. Witches had created the first vampires, binding human body and soul to a demonic soul looking for a way to walk the earth. Witches were the original makers of vampires and retained complete control over the vampires they created. Though vampires could become makers too, it didn’t happen as often because of the risks involved.
He leaned in and whispered, “He uses magic. I can’t fight that.”
Her eyes widened. She opened her mouth and closed it again. Shaking her head, she leaned back against the wall.
He wished there was something more he could do to keep her safe, something other than hiding like a coward, but the truth was there was nothing. If Brody’s father decided to kill him, a simple word spoken would be enough to end his life, doubtlessly engulfed in flame as he seemed so fond of doing to the vampires his son became attached to. He smiled wryly just thinking about it. Brody had saved him, but he might also become his death. If it wasn’t for Skye, he could live with that thought.
He glanced at her, her eyes closed as her lips moved soundlessly. She was counting silently, it seemed. Her breath was shaky on every exhale to begin with but normalized as her lips kept moving her count into high double digits. He promised himself he’d find a way to get her out. He knew Brody would do what he could to stop his father. He just needed to have faith in that. As soon as this threat had passed, he’d get Skye out of the brothel. After that…
He shook his head. After didn’t matter. All that mattered was getting her out of harm’s way.
Chapter Twelve
Skye started counting the seconds, trying to calm her quickening heart. That she was hiding in a wardrobe with a vampire, in a terrifying game of hide and seek that might end with her death, she couldn’t quite believe. It was too crazy. Every time she thought she had the monster of the day figured out, the rug was yanked out from under her. Apparently, the guy who’d brought her here wasn’t a bad guy. She was going to take that with a pinch of salt. Then there was the vampire she was locked in the room with, who hadn’t tried to hurt her at all and actually seemed to want to protect her. Unless this was all some kind of mind game. She groaned inwardly at the thought of that. She was already attracted to Theo and starting to think of him as a good guy, but going by her past choices she could hardly trust her own judgment.
She opened her eyes when she got to one thousand seconds. The distraction tactic was just not working anymore. She told herself there was air and she wasn’t really trapped, but she was beginning to squirm about it. How long would they have to hide like this? She seriously needed another distraction. She turned her head to look at the vampire. He seemed tense, every muscle straining as his crouched position gave away the fact that he was ready and waiting for an attack. Her worry grew as she took in his furrowed brow and clenched jaw. He was freaked the hell out.
The built-like-a-tank vampire was scared. This didn’t bode well for her plan to live through this weekend from hell. There had to be a way out of this. Then something hit her, hard enough to make her gasp in a breath. The guy who’d brought her here had used magic, that was what the blinding light had been, the last thing she remembered about that night. If he was Theo’s friend, truly, then surely he could use his magic to get her out of here?
Theo’s gaze was on hers now, his frown deepening. She leaned in to whisper in his ear and stopped short just as her hand landed on his shoulder. The piercing sound of the phone cut through the silence. Terror gripped her. Why the hell was the phone ringing?
She stared at him as he rose to his feet. It rang and rang. She could barely stand it. Rising to her own feet, she was careful not to jostle the clothes hanging around them. He held his arm out as she moved forward, her hand reaching out for the door. She looked at him and he shook his head. The ringing was ceaseless. Her stomach churned as a million thoughts rushed through her mind.
He opened the door slowly and left the wardrobe, closing the door on her. Her heart hammered in her chest as she stood alone in the darkness, waiting. The shrill noise stopped and she held her breath, one hand clamping over her mouth. The tense few seconds before Theo spoke made her feel sick. She didn’t like this. Not knowing what was going on, freaking out that she might be fated to die today. She moved a little closer to the door to listen in to his conversation. He’d shut the door to protect her or he’d shut it to keep her out of the loop. She couldn’t decide which was more believable. But she was damn well going to find out.
Chapter Thirteen
The damn ringing phone had Theo second guessing himself. At first, he’d assumed the obvious, that the threat was gone and Stacy was calling to let him know. Then suspicions had formed. Would Brody’s father do it to drive him out? The monitor in the reception area would be black from the room being in complete darkness. Maybe that wasn’t enough for him to believe the room was empty. He was certainly sneaky enough to do something beyond just coming into the room and checking it himself. He let the ringing stop and counted to ten before he picked up the receiver and dialled reception. He almost hung up immediately, certain that Brody’s father would answer. He hesitated and decided not to cut the call. If Mr. McIntosh answered, he’d ask to be released from the room to go meet the guy. That would leave Skye out of it. He’d never have to know about her.
“Theo,” Stacy’s voice was low. “He’s gone.”
“He’s gone? Already?” Suspicions formed. He wasn’t a quick visit kind of guy.
“He’s coming back. The place is on lock-down for the night. He checked the register and there were no hourly clients tonight. So, we’re all stuck here until morning. He’s coming back for a thorough inspection then.”
“Translation, we’re screwed.” He swallowed. All it gave them was time. “Where’s Brody?”
“That would problem number two. Liv and Brody were forced to leave. I’m freaking out up here, I’ll be honest. I’m scared.”
“You don’t get to leave after your shift?”
“It’s a lock-down so that would be a no.” He could practically see her shuddering.
“What’s the point of this?”
“We don’t know. At least, Brody didn’t seem to. Liv didn’t seem to care, not that she ever does. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what this is about. He did something to the external phone lines, and there’s a signal blocker in place so I can’t even call Brody.”
“Unlock the door to my room. I’m coming up there.”
“You are?” He wasn’t sure if he could hear relief or panic in her tone, it seemed like a combination of the two.
“I’m bringing the girl Brody brought to my room.”
“Okay. Okay, I’m going to have to send someone to unlock it. The automated system is down. I don’t know why.”
“That’s probably a good thing,” he said, wondering how much worse it would be if she let all the vampires out at once. There’d be pandemonium if they knew what was going on. Being at the mercy of a witch was enough to strike terror into any vampire’s heart. Knowing they were sitting targets for a witch with a vendetta would create complete chaos.
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“Okay. Shayne’s on his way.”
“Good. I’ll be waiting.” He hung up as the wardrobe door opened quietly. He turned as Skye stepped out of the wardrobe. “Do you want the good news or the bad news?”
Chapter Fourteen
Skye stepped out into the well-lit hallway and squinted. Being in near complete darkness for so long had messed with her. Theo steadied her as followed her out of the room. The guy who’d unlocked the door was well over six-foot-tall and bigger than any guy she’d ever seen in real life, in a bulging mass of muscles kind of way. Theo was movie star hot with a body that looked like he hit the gym three times a day. This guy was terrifying. He looked like he could snap a person in half with his little finger. She kept a few steps back as he walked them along the corridor.
She’d overhead that the man who might kill them was gone, but that he was coming back, and worse, he’d locked the whole place down. There was no escape. But there was time to figure out some way out of this, for them both. She glanced at Theo. He put on a smile for her benefit when she caught his eye. He seemed even more handsome in the normal lighting. He wasn’t quite six-foot-tall, but he was more than a few inches taller than her five foot, six inch frame.
“So why is this happening, exactly?” She felt she had to ask.
Theo was the one to answer. “We don’t know. Mr. McIntosh is unpredictable. He does these things for a reason, but we rarely seem to find out what that reason is before it’s too late.”
Ominous. She shivered as she followed the body-builder up a carpeted set of stairs.
“I want my shoes back, and my bag.” She half wished she had a jacket to add to that list of demands too now. It seemed a little bit nippy outside of the room.
“You look cold,” Theo said.
