by Anya Nowlan
“That’s ridiculous. I know better than to get attached to a human,” Harlan scoffed.
“Yes, because you’ve always been so good at separating your heart and head,” Julius remarked, raising a brow at him.
“You know me so well,” Harlan replied, an edge of bitterness in his voice. “And what would you know about it? I’ve never known you to get attached to anyone.”
“I got attached to you, didn’t I, old friend? Enough to give you my gift,” Julius said quietly.
“I didn’t ask for it,” Harlan said, his voice rising. “You made the decision for me.”
“So you’d rather be dead for real, right now?” Julius asked.
This was not a discussion Harlan felt like having, not after he had just hurt Ruby the way he did. Watching her walk away from him, clearly upset and feeling betrayed, was one of the hardest things he’d had to do, which was saying something.
He wanted to mourn the fact he would never see his Ruby again, not dredge up the past with Julius.
“That’s not the point,” Harlan argued, letting out a frustrated sigh.
“What is the point? You’ve always held on so tightly to your humanity, to your beliefs of right and wrong. You’ve preferred their company for decades now, as you party your way through the country. But you’re not fooling me. I know you’re just running away from ever caring about anyone in fear of getting hurt,” Julius said, walking over to stand in front of him.
“Great, now my disappointed dad is psychoanalyzing me,” Harlan scoffed.
“I’m not disappointed in you, Harlan,” Julius replied, surprising him by placing a hand on his shoulder. “When you killed Samuel… I have to admit, I was wounded that you didn’t come talk to me first. You thought because I had history with him, I wouldn’t do the right thing. How was I supposed to know he’d become a killer?”
“You didn’t try very hard to find out what he had or hadn’t become,” Harlan remarked.
“Samuel saved my life once, Harlan,” Julius said. “That’s why I was giving him the benefit of the doubt. Because I owed him a great debt, and because the Samuel I once knew was a decent man. But I would have done what I had been sent there to do if you had told me what you had found out about him.”
Harlan was having a hard time accepting what his Maker was saying. Had he misjudged Julius all those years ago? Had he just been looking for an excuse to strike out on his own, while still holding on to the fact he didn’t get a choice when it came to being turned?
I didn’t know Samuel saved his life…
Julius didn’t bother waiting for his response as he carried on.
“I was never disappointed in the choice you made that day, because you stayed true to what you believed was right. And I never faulted you for going down your own path. But what I find frustrating was how you lost your sense of purpose.
“Floundering about, wasting your time on drink and pretty donors, that’s not you, my friend,” Julius said, searching his eyes. “And it seems it has taken meeting a certain Ruby Danvers for you to see that.”
Harlan didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want to admit Julius was right, but he couldn’t deny it, either. His life had been empty for a long time before Ruby came along. Closing himself off from everything that could end up disappointing him had seemed like a valid choice, but now, he was beginning to see how that had eroded his soul.
I used to take chances… I used to fight for my beliefs. And I didn’t used to be afraid to open my heart.
“She’s special,” Harlan said quietly.
“Then why did you lie to her? You know we don’t have to bring Grant in alive. It would be great if we could question him about what he has been up to and who he has told about our existence, sure. But if he doesn’t want to come peacefully, we have every right to put him down,” Julius replied.
“You’re right. I do care for Ruby. That’s why I lied. I can’t put her in danger and she’s far too stubborn to ever stay on the sidelines. It was easier to push her away, since we don’t have a future together anyway,” Harlan admitted.
“You do know that’s ridiculous, old friend? There are no guarantees in life, even when it comes to undead life. Even if Ruby were a vampire, she could still be killed, she could still die. Fearing the worst is not a good enough reason to deny yourself happiness,” Julius said, removing his hand from Harlan’s shoulder and crossing his arms in front of him.
“I don’t remember you being this insightful,” Harlan commented.
“You never listened to me much now, did you?” Julius shrugged, earning a chuckle from Harlan.
“I’ve been a real idiot, haven’t I?” Harlan sighed, tilting his head to the side.
Someone like Ruby came along once in a lifetime, and he had screwed what they could have had up by being afraid. The more he thought about it all, the more ridiculous his decision seemed. If he was going to close himself off from anything that might bring him happiness, then what was the point of existing, anyway?
Might as well put a stake through my own heart, then.
“Finally, I’m getting through to you,” Julius replied, and Harlan could swear there was a hint of a smile on the man’s lips. “Now let’s find Theo Greene, let him lead us to Grant, and bring an end to this all so you can go and apologize to your betrothed for being a complete jackass.”
Harlan nodded at that, feeling more driven than he had in years.
“Sounds like a plan to me.”
18
Ruby
“Ruby, what the hell is going on?” Mark asked, looking around the empty parking lot she had chosen for them to meet in. “We got a call to your apartment, and the place was wrecked, bullet holes everywhere, not to mention three dead guys lying on your floor. Care to tell me what that’s about? You haven’t been picking up your phone. I thought you were dead, for god’s sakes!”
“I’m sorry, Mark. I really am,” Ruby said, trying to find a way to calm down her former partner. “But things have gotten a little crazy lately. I should have thought to let you know I’m okay, I know…”
Mark didn’t even seem to be listening as he shook his head in disbelief.
“And then you call me up asking for a favor? I should have reported it to my superiors. You’re a person of interest in three murders, Ruby,” he carried on, clearly upset and confused.
“Mark, please,” she said, placing a hand on his arm. “You know me. I can explain. Those men were at my apartment to kill me. I acted in self-defense. But I couldn’t stay there to explain, not when I knew there would be more coming.”
“Oh, Ruby,” Mark sighed. “What have you gotten yourself into?”
Ruby didn’t want to lie to him, especially since he was putting his career on the line just by meeting with her. But trying to convince Mark vampires existed might be too tough of a sell. So she opted for a story with as much truth as the situation allowed.
“That night, in the alley… I saw something I wasn’t supposed to see. That man who attacked me and the other woman works for Theodore Greene, and now they’re tying up loose ends. I’m one of them,” she said, and Mark’s eyes grew wide.
“Big Theo is after you? Jesus,” he shook his head. “What the hell did you see?”
“The face of his new assassin, I guess,” Ruby shrugged. “I didn’t really get a chance to ask the goons he sent to my apartment why exactly I’m a liability.”
“Ruby, I can get why you ran… But now, it’s time to do the right thing. Come on, we’ll go to the precinct and you can clear this all up. We can protect you from Greene,” Mark pleaded.
“I can’t. There’s something I need to do first,” Ruby insisted, staring at Mark as the wind whipped her hair around.
It was already getting dark and the weather was taking a turn for the worse. She was still wearing Harlan’s button-up beneath her leather jacket, which she was clutching to her body. The Corvette was parked behind her, black and shiny beneath the flickering streetlight above them.
&nb
sp; The anger and hurt from being cast aside by Harlan was still fresh, but she chose to channel those feelings into finishing what she had started with him. Grant was going down, one way or another, even if she had to do it all by herself.
All I have to do is find Theo Greene, that will lead me to Grant. And I still have some contacts who can help me with that. I just hope they don’t end up double-crossing me, like Mickey.
“No, no, and no,” Mark disagreed. “Whatever you think you need to do, it can wait until you’re safely in police custody.”
“That’s not up to you, Mark. I’m sorry I didn’t call, and that I’ve put you in such a tough spot, but if you are truly my friend, you’ll trust me when I say I can’t do that right now.”
“Why do I get the feeling you’re planning on doing something extremely stupid?” Mark asked, crossing his arms as he studied her closely.
“You might be right. But it’s something I need to do. So unless you’re not going to wrestle me to the ground and take me in by force, which I promise to never forgive you if you do, we should get down to business. Did you bring what I asked?”
Ruby didn’t enjoy forcing Mark’s hand like this, but she was growing desperate. If Harlan and Julius got to Grant before she did, she would never get a chance to give Grant what’s coming to him.
Unless I want to travel to Romania and battle a bunch of vampires to get to him.
With her life continuing to fall apart all around her, it felt like this mission of hers was all she had left. Whatever happened after, it was important that she get this last thing done, to make up for the fact she wasn’t able to save Sarah that night.
Mark sighed, glancing back at his own car. Ruby was well aware she had asked more of him than she had any right to, and she wasn’t sure if her friendship with Mark could survive this.
I’ll make it up to him, on the off chance I come out of this alive, she promised herself.
“I brought it,” Mark sighed. “It wasn’t easy, but the lock-up guy owes me a favor,” he said, turning to walk toward his beat-up Honda. “If it’s not back in its place tomorrow, though…” he trailed off.
“It will be,” Ruby hurried to assure him.
“Good, because removing evidence is a serious offense, you know,” Mark raised a brow at her, trying to joke despite the worry still clear on his face. “What the hell is this thing for anyway?” he asked, popping the trunk. “The techs said it was silver?” he asked, as both he and Ruby peered inside.
The net Theo’s goons had used on Harlan lay inside, wrapped in a neat little bundle. Images of Harlan, writhing in pain on the floor filled Ruby’s mind, but she shoved those thoughts aside. She needed to focus on the task at hand, and this silver weapon was just the thing she needed to get the upper hand.
“Thank you, Mark,” she said as she reached inside and picked it up, conveniently ignoring his questions. “I’ll never forget this.”
Watch out, Grant, wherever you are. I’m coming for you.
19
Harlan
“You’re sure this is the place?” Harlan asked, as he and Julius snuck up on a warehouse on the wrong side of town. “Doesn’t really look like a place a crime lord would visit.”
“And that’s exactly why we’ll find him here,” Julius replied.
“You could benefit from being a little less cryptic, you know,” Harlan sighed.
“Let’s just say I have friends in the right places, and those friends told me Theodore Greene likes to spend his Friday nights at a secret poker game, in a place no one would think to look for him. Satisfied?” Julius asked, unbuttoning his suit jacket as he peered into the night.
They were surrounded by abandoned buildings, with no heartbeats around, except for in the warehouse they were now closing in on. Harlan counted six men inside, which would pose no problem for him and Julius, now that they were prepared for the fact Greene’s men seemed to be aware of their weaknesses.
“Now was that so hard?” Harlan replied, patting his Maker on the shoulder.
They approached the warehouse, steps as quiet as ever, as the sound of several men talking amongst each other echoed into Harlan’s ears. With the element of surprise on his side this time, he was more than confident he and Julius would take care of Theo’s security in a flash, before getting Grant’s location out of the man.
They won’t even see us coming, he grinned to himself.
But just as he and Julius were nodding to each other, their game plan easy enough, another sound caught Harlan’s attention, and both men ducked out of sight. The vehicle got closer and closer, until whoever was driving it cut the engine, and flicked off the lights.
Now almost coasting along, the car came to a stop near the same warehouse Harlan and Julius had been eyeing. Since the darkness didn’t impair Harlan’s vision, it didn’t take long for him to recognize the car, and its driver.
“Fuck. It’s Ruby,” he whispered, earning a nod from Julius.
“That woman is annoyingly persistent,” Julius replied. “And either brave, or foolishly overconfident.”
“Or desperate to get justice,” Harlan commented.
I should have known she wasn’t just going to let this go.
It wasn’t that he hadn’t anticipated Ruby might carry on her own investigation after their falling out, but he had thought he at least had a head start, with Julius’ connections and all. Looked like Ruby had her own.
But he still didn’t know why she had rolled up here all on her own. What was she hoping to accomplish? She could barely hold a gun, and Theo’s friends were bound to be armed to the teeth.
I’m to blame for this. I didn’t leave her with any choices.
“Well, you better go get her before she goes storming in there and blows our whole plan,” Julius said.
Harlan was already in motion at that point, whizzing past the warehouse and grabbing onto Ruby. Wrapping a hand around her waist, he had to admit he had already come to miss her. Seeing her again was thrilling, even under these inopportune circumstances.
Covering her mouth with his hand, he sped back to the spot where he and Julius had been staking out the place. She was already kicking at him as soon as he came to a standstill, her eyes widening when she realized it was Harlan who had taken her.
For a moment, he thought he might have noticed a hint of a smile in those piercing blue eyes, but then a deep frown settled in between her brows as she glared at him.
“Sorry, but I wasn’t going to let you burst in there on your own,” Harlan said, slowly peeling his hand away from her mouth.
He still kept his arm around her though, unable to let go now that he had her close again. Harlan wanted to explain everything, to tell her how stupid he had been and that he was sorry. She should know that he would be grateful for any time she would be willing to give to him, and that he would cherish every second with his little gem, if she only forgave him.
But standing in the dark in the middle of nowhere, getting ready to crash a crime lord’s poker game, with Julius standing around, wasn’t exactly the best moment.
“I am not standing on the sidelines,” she hissed at him, keeping her voice low. “I have every right to be here, just as much as you do.”
“Can’t you just let me and Julius handle this?” Harlan sighed, already knowing the answer to that question.
“That would be a ‘hell no’, vampire man,” Ruby huffed. “Just because I’m human doesn’t mean I’m useless. I can still shoot a gun, it just takes me a little longer and I might not be as accurate as I used to be,” she reluctantly admitted, avoiding his gaze. “And I am not letting you two get Grant off with a slap on the wrist in Romania or wherever you’re planning on taking him.”
“Can we discuss this later?” Julius interjected. “And before you say ‘no’, I’d like to point out that the heartbeats of the humans inside just accelerated, and I do think that’s the sound of the safety being clicked off on multiple weapons,” he announced, looking only slight
ly less bored than usual.
Harlan perked up his ears for a second, confirming exactly what Julius had just said.
“Shit,” he muttered. “They must know we’re here.”
“How?” Ruby whispered, her anger sidelined for the moment as she shot a glance toward the warehouse.
Now that was the million dollar question. They were far enough from the building that no human should have been able to hear them. And the fact that the people inside had been quiet for a suspicious amount of time now couldn’t be good, either.
It’s almost as if they know we’re listening…
Julius must have thought the same thing, as he brought a finger to his lips, letting both Harlan and Ruby know they should really be shutting up right about now. And there was only one reason for that.
Goddamnit, Grant, Harlan thought, fists clenching, as an alarming realization took over his mind.
With his disregard for the rules, and the fact that he had to be repaying Theo somehow for keeping him hidden, in addition to the way the men in that warehouse had heard him and Julius coming, there was only one conclusion.
Grant has been making vampires for Big Theo.
20
Ruby
“What’s going on?” Ruby mouthed, noting the worried expressions on Harlan’s and Julius’ faces.
“Vampires,” Harlan mouthed back, pointing toward the warehouse.
Oh, shit. As in plural? Ruby thought, feeling her heartbeat starting to race.
She had considered the possibility that Grant might be there, with his sponsor, but several vampires? Ruby was definitely not prepared for that. The net she had gotten from Mark would cover one vampire, tops.
The absurdity of the fact that she was thinking about the logistics of netting vampires like this was some sort of fishing expedition didn’t escape her. But this was the new normal, and she was just going to have to deal with it.
