by Tinnean
“I’ll get out here and keep watch.”
“Take Mina. Leave the cooler. I’ll get the backpack.”
“All right, Tyrell Small.”
“Listen. Call me Ty. I think we’ve been through enough together that you could do that.”
She looked like she was going to object, but then she smiled and nodded. “All right.”
“All right.” After I had the car in the garage, I got out, opened the trunk, and stared down at the ash-covered clothes. “I am definitely not touching those!” I muttered to myself. I removed the broken vial and dropped it into the small trash can I kept under my workbench.
But I didn’t want Adam’s sabor to come across as a wimp in front of the day watcher. I picked up the clothes, held them as far from my body as I could, and dumped them just outside the garage.
Frankly I’d have preferred to burn them in the firepit in the middle of the back lawn, but two things kept me from doing that. First, Raymond might need them to identify the vampyrs who’d attacked us, and second… I didn’t have a firepit.
I stood stock-still. Why didn’t I have a firepit? When Adam came to visit, I could roast wieners and mickeys and make s’mores.
Okay, that went on the list for the next time I went to Lowe’s.
I retrieved the backpack, stuffed all the beach stuff back into it, and slammed the trunk shut. Then I punched in the code to lower the garage door and started across the lawn.
“I was just about to come after you.” Raymond stood in front of the day watcher, his hands on her shoulders. “Rina, what happened?”
She laid her palm on his chest above his heart and said somberly, “De Vivar sent his adepţi to strike at the beach.”
“And a bunch of vampyrs too…,” I started to add, but Ekaterina was shaking her head. “He didn’t?”
“No. Those were rogue vampyrs.”
“More rogue than de Vivar?”
Raymond scowled at me. “They intended to make you theirs.”
“Stupid move on their part. I’m not supposed to feed a vampyr for another couple of weeks.”
“This wouldn’t have been the type of feeding you’re used to.”
“You mean… what do you mean?”
“Not all vampyrs are as honorable as Adam or mon seigneur. They would have taken your blood by force.”
That didn’t sound good, not one little bit. My stomach felt as if it was giving me a choice: it could tie itself in knots, or its contents… such as they were… would be more than happy to put in an appearance.
“Do you understand now why it’s so important for you to take care of yourself?” Raymond asked. “Why it’s imperative that you have your phone with you at all times and that it’s charged?”
“I was positive it was. Mina, go potty.” She trotted a few yards to the curb, and while she took care of business, I turned back to Raymond. “Is it safe to talk out here?”
His head reared back and his nostrils flared as if he was actually scenting the night. “Safe enough, but….” A crease appeared between his brows. “Were you injured in the attack?”
“Huh?”
“Were you injured?” he repeated. “I can smell your blood.”
“Uh….” How did he know what my blood smelled like? “It’s nothing, just a bit of a scrape on my ribs.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Ekaterina closed her fingers over my shoulder, and I shied away. She froze, and then she dropped her hand and stepped back. “I beg your pardon.”
“I want to see this scrape,” Raymond growled. “Into the house.”
“Yes, master, yes, master,” I groused under my breath. Pushy vampyr.
“Excuse me?”
“Nothing. What do we do with the clothes?”
“What clothes?”
“The ones belonging to the rogue vampyrs. They didn’t have any use for them, being nothing but piles of dust at that point, and we didn’t think it was a good idea to leave them lying around.”
“Where are they?”
I gestured toward the garage.
“Leave them for the time being. Perhaps they’ll be a warning for any other rogues who decide to make a try for you.”
“Oh, that makes me feel safe.”
“Tyrell, please stop mumbling!”
“Yes, Daddy.” But I mumbled that as well. “All done, pup?” Mina was back beside me. “Okay, then.”
I left the backpack on the porch—I’d take care of it in the morning—and Raymond followed us in, but Ekaterina paused just outside the door.
“What?”
“May I enter?”
“You’re not a vampyr.”
“No, but it’s just polite she ask,” Raymond said.
“Sorry.” I wanted to cover my face with my palm. “Come on in.”
Once she was inside, Raymond closed and locked the door. “Now….” He braced his hands on his hips and scowled at me.
I had no clue what he was going to say, and I didn’t want to find out. “Check Ekaterina, would you?”
“Why?” His eyes narrowed. “She’s injured?”
“She was holding her ribs.” As I’d hoped, the diversion worked.
“Rina.” He tore open her shirt and ran surprisingly gentle fingers along the tank top that covered her torso. “What happened to your sleeve?”
“It was torn in the battle, so I removed it.” She gave me a look, but when I kept my mouth shut, she continued, “I’m all right. They were young, not more than seventy-five years.”
Yeah, I guessed that was young from a vampyr’s point of view.
Raymond growled. “The ones who turned them have no idea how to train them. If it had been done correctly….” As it was in his day? I bit my lip to keep the words between my teeth. “…none of tonight’s events would have occurred.” Satisfied the day watcher was okay, Raymond turned back to me. “Why are you shivering?”
“It’s chilly in here.” The night was humid, but I’d left the air on in the bungalow all day. Or maybe it was because of everything that had happened today. “Aren’t you cold?”
“Of course not.”
Of course, of course not. Vampyrs didn’t feel heat or cold. But then I thought of Rául after the confrontation with de Vivar’s minions. God, I was too tired for this.
“Never mind.”
“Up,” Raymond commanded.
“Huh?”
“Your T-shirt. I want to see.”
“I’m fine.”
“Let me be the judge of that.”
It was my turn to scowl, but I yanked up my T-shirt and waited stiffly for him to run his fingertips over my rib cage as he’d done with Ekaterina. Instead, he just studied my torso. I peered over the shirt, but all I could see was a reddened stretch of skin.
“Hmm. I still smell blood.” He gestured for me to drop the shirt. “Take off your pants.”
That distracted me from my shivering. “Excuse me?”
He stared at me coolly. “Do you want me to ask Rina to leave the room?”
I felt like rolling my eyes—it wasn’t as if I was commando under the jeans. I unbuttoned them, unzipped the fly, and started to skin out of them.
His eyes widened. “What are you wearing?”
I looked down at myself as I toed off my Nikes. “Swimsuit. We were at the beach, remember?” My jeans were around my ankles now. “Oh crap.” There was a deep scrape on my shin. It must have happened when the vampyr pulled me down to the graveled parking lot during his death throes, and probably the stress of the whole attack was why I’d been unaware. It began to throb, really hard. “I’ve got some gauze and stuff in the medicine chest in the bathroom.”
“I think Adam had better take a look at this.”
I’d have groaned, but I didn’t want Raymond to think I was in pain. “I’m gonna clean this up, and then I’ll make something to eat. Dinner got trashed, and I’m starved. Ekaterina?”
“If it’s not too much trouble?”
“Not at a
ll. I’ve still got leftovers from the Memorial Day barbecue at my dad’s, if you don’t mind cold hamburgers? Throw some onion rings on them, slather them with mustard, and we’re good to go.” All I’d need to do was toast the hamburger buns.
“You’re such a guy.” She flushed. “I apologize. That was flippant. I should not have said that.”
“Why not? I am a guy.” I grinned at her, pleased when she seemed to relax. “But if you’d rather, I can make you an omelet.”
“If you wouldn’t mind?”
“You’re such a girl, Kat.” I couldn’t bump my shoulder against hers, but I gave her an innocent look. Raymond could call her “Rina” if he chose, but she looked like a “Kat” to me. And then I realized what I’d said, and it was my turn to flush. I cut a glance toward Raymond. “I’m sorry—” He looked away, but I could see from the way his lips were tightening that he was trying to keep a grin in check. He was a good guy. I turned back to Ekaterina. “The bathroom is through there if you’d like to freshen up.” We hadn’t had time to use the bathrooms at the rest area, and since my bladder was starting to feel like it was about to burst, I was sure hers must feel the same way. “And then you can tell Raymond in detail what went down today. I don’t want to talk about it.”
She smiled faintly and left the room.
Raymond tipped my head back and stared into my eyes.
I jerked my head free and glared at him. “Do you mind?” To my surprise, he backed off.
I stepped out of my jeans and draped them over a chair. The blood had dried to them, and taking them off had ripped the scab. It started bleeding again.
Raymond’s gaze was on my leg, and he licked his lips.
“Geez Louise!” I propped my leg up on the chair seat and gestured toward it. “Go ahead.”
“I am not permitted….”
“Oh, please. You’re going to flood my dining room with drool in a second. And it’s not like you’re actually feeding from me.” He still hesitated. “Look, no offense, but I’m not in love with you, okay? So just do it.”
“If I do this, I’ll have to inform my lord duke.”
“Fine. Now will you hurry up? Mina needs to get fed too.” She’d been waiting patiently by her bowls all this time.
Raymond studied my eyes for a moment before finally stooping and delicately licking the blood from my shin.
I shivered. It wasn’t the same as when Adam licked my birthmark, but it felt… good. And the pain was subsiding. “Thank you.”
He straightened, caught a stray drop of blood from the corner of his mouth with his finger and sucked it off, and stepped away.
“Thank you,” he murmured. He picked up my jeans and began emptying the pockets. “These will need to be examined and then disposed of.”
“Fine. I was going to throw them away anyway. And this shirt as well.” No way was I keeping the clothes that vampyr had… touched. I pulled the tee off over my head and handed it to him.
“What’s this?” He reached for the mizpah and the vial.
“No!” I closed my hand around them and jerked back.
“I assure you…,” he began stiffly.
“Adam’s blood is on the mizpah. When the vampyr in the rest area touched it… it wasn’t pretty.”
“That’s very unusual. I’ll have to inform mon seigneur of this. But the vial? Ah, of course. The holy water. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” I opened a can of dog food for Mina and filled her water bowl with fresh water.
Once I’d taken care of my pup’s needs, I went into the bedroom through the dining room door and laid some clothes on the bed. Ekaterina’s shirt was pretty much toast, what with the sleeve gone and Raymond popping all the buttons off it. I took out a chocolate-brown button-down shirt and was going to leave it on a chair in the dining room when the day watcher came out of the bathroom.
“Here.” I handed her the shirt, and she blinked and seemed confused. “Your shirt is looking kind of raggedy. Adam bought me so much stuff, I haven’t worn it all. This shirt matches your eyes.”
“Thank you.”
“Why are you noticing her eyes?” Raymond didn’t sound pleased. Was he jealous? Geez.
“My dad taught me that when I talk to people, I look them in the eye.” I wasn’t going to tell him I was a one-vampyr sabor. I wasn’t supposed to be, but that was me. I headed for the bathroom. The salt from the ocean water had dried on my body, making me itchy. “I’m gonna take a shower.”
RAYMOND’S MINISTRATIONS had stopped the bleeding, but that didn’t mean the water hitting the scrape didn’t sting, causing me to flinch.
And what the heck was up with my neck?
I stepped out of the shower, wiped the fog off the mirror, and turned my head sideways. Shoot. I should have realized all that yanking the vampyr did on my mizpah was going to result in some damage.
I took the roll of gauze and the tube of antiseptic cream from the medicine chest, and after I dried off, I smeared the cream on the gouge on my shin and bandaged it. Then I dabbed some on the back of my neck. Finally I pulled on a pair of sweatpants and my Horatio Gates High sweatshirt.
Back in the kitchen, Mina came up to me and tugged on my sweatpants. “What is it, pup? Do you need to go out again?”
She sat down and yipped, but beyond that she had nothing more to say. I leaned down and ruffled her ears.
“I’ll take her out.”
“Thanks, Ekaterina.” I handed her the leash, and she snapped it onto Mina’s collar and led her through the door. Raymond prowled through the rooms like a restless jungle cat. “Do you need to feed? Should I nuke a bag of blood for you?”
“Thank you, I am a trifle hungry.”
“Okay, then.” My blood had probably been like an appetizer. I took a bag from the fridge. “By the way, we’re running low. You’ll need to bring more.”
He sighed. “This situation is becoming annoying. We have to get this under control soon.”
“Do you think I should let de Vivar catch me?”
He stared at me, horrified. “No!”
“Okay, bad idea. Well, if you can come up with anything, I’m game.”
“Hmm.”
Mina came back in, trailing Ekaterina behind her. “I don’t know why she wanted to go out. She didn’t do anything.”
I felt cold. “Was anyone out there?”
“No….” But she sounded uncertain.
“Ekaterina, come with me.” Raymond went out the front door, and once again Ekaterina trailed behind.
I removed the leash, and Mina made herself comfortable under the dining room table.
The microwave dinged, but the blood could stay there until Raymond returned.
I washed my hands and took eggs, cheese, bread, and butter out of the fridge. Omelets sounded like a plan.
RAYMOND AND Ekaterina returned. He shrugged when he caught my gaze. “Rina was right. There was nothing.”
I didn’t like the way they exchanged glances, but it was getting late, and I was getting tired.
“Your blood is ready. Ekaterina, if you’d like to wash your hands, your dinner is ready too.”
“Thank you.”
Raymond opened the microwave. The day watcher went into the bathroom. I swallowed a lactase tablet.
And then we all sat down to eat.
EKATERINA HAD finished telling Raymond the events of the day and was now tucking into her second omelet. She had some appetite, but then she’d beaten the shit out of a bunch of vampyrs, so I could understand it. I got up to make her another one.
“I must inform the rege of what’s happened,” Raymond said.
“You mean you haven’t already?”
He frowned at me.
My cell phone was on the table recharging. I left the eggs firming up, went to the table, and pushed it toward him.
“What?” His tone was disgruntled.
“You know how to use a phone, don’t you?” I picked up the toast on my plate and bit off a piec
e. “The rege’s number is on speed dial. Don’t look surprised. After that thing with de Vivar in April, Adam made sure it was on there.” Plus he’d upgraded the rege’s service. Yeah, vampyrs suffered from crappy cell service at times, just like everyone else. I went back to the stove and flipped the omelet.
Raymond unplugged the phone and walked into the living room with it.
“Ekaterina, did you want to stay? You can have the bed if you like. I’ll make up the love seat for myself. And don’t worry about Ray.” I raised my voice so he could hear me. “He can sleep in the trunk of my car.” I couldn’t help snickering.
“Thank you, but that isn’t necessary,” she said politely, making it obvious she had no clue Raymond had spent the first day in the trunk of my car. “Raymond will see me home once he has everything secured here.”
“Are you sure? You saved my butt twice today, and it’s the least I can offer you.”
“Thank you, but I should return home.”
“As long as you know you’re welcome here.” My shin was starting to hurt like hell again, not to mention the discomfort of my neck. “Look, I’m going to take some Tylenol. Don’t let Raymond have a cow, okay?”
THIS DAY was turning out to suck donkey dick, and it wasn’t half over by vampyr standards. I swallowed down a couple of Tylenol, leaned on the sink, and stared into the mirror. Wow, I looked awful! In spite of wearing sunglasses for most of the day, my eyes were bloodshot and tired-looking. I was lucky I didn’t tend to burn in the sun, otherwise it would have just been sad.
Well, no sense standing around telling my reflection it looked like crap. I left the bathroom and went back to the kitchen.
Glasses, dishes, and the frying pan were stacked in the sink. If I wasn’t certain I’d be having company soon, I’d leave everything where it was and deal with it in the morning. But company was coming, so I started rinsing everything off and putting it into the dishwasher.
The Tylenol hadn’t even had time to work when the front door was flung open—hadn’t Raymond locked the door when he and Ekaterina came back in?—and Adam stalked into the foyer. Before I could let him know how glad I was to see him, he swooped on me, grabbed my shoulders, and gave me a little shake. Then he pulled me into his arms, which closed around me like iron bands.
