He stood from the bed and went to the closet to dress. "Don’t insult me with that shit, you no fucking well I love you and being with you."
"Yeah till you get off, then it's off to war like every night."
He spun on me, dropping his shoulder holster and charging me. His arms gripped my shoulders and I fell back on the bed. "Not like you didn’t get off Princess." He ground his pelvis against me and I could feel he was hard. "Need another go at it? Need to take your anger out? Go ahead use me, but know that I will still need to go out tonight. I don’t shirk on my responsibilities."
I pushed him off of me and he went easily. If he wanted me to stay there I would have had no fight against him, he was only trying to prove his point. But he had lied to me. "Why lie then, why not come back and say you'd stay for a while? Why in the shower you said you would finish feeding from me after I ate? You knew all along you weren’t staying."
He sat on the bed now fully dressed and leaned forward to tuck two small blades in his steel toe boots. He had set two clips on the bed and now took them and put one in each back pocket. "Yell at me later Princess, or don’t. Either way I am going out tonight."
I watched him weapon up and realized that he had been with me tonight without a gun or dagger at his hip, he said and did all the things I had wanted and only now that I'm off his back does he come clean.
Like that I stopped fighting. There was no point, it was getting me nowhere and now I wanted him to leave, the sight of him infuriated me, made me sad and ultimately resent him even more now. "Go then, but know that I may not be here when you get back."
Liar.
He walked to me and stood before me, I expected him to cup my cheek or reach for my hand but he stayed still. "Princess...." He waited till I looked up at him. "I told you once if you leave I'll find you."
Now I wanted to leave. "Fuck you Cash."
"Later." He said and placed the daggers in his chest holster and his gun on his hip. He was fully armed and he wasn’t buying my bluff, but I wasn’t buying his either. Something was up, he never got this hateful, or annoyed no matter how bad I could get and maybe my bluff was something more.
And I wasn’t sure I was bluffing anymore.
I waited till he left to sit on the bed and break down. Why was it that tonight felt like it was too much? It was just too much.
*
Chapter Twenty Five
Cash
I was in so much trouble. She didn’t even know I had locked her in the room. Last time I locked her in a place was the van, knowing that didn’t go over well I knew this time would be catastrophic.
I was a real shit, I knew it and I never claimed to be a saint. Tonight I proved how low I could stoop. If what she thought happened tonight was the truth then she had every right to hate me, if she knew the truth she would hate me for keeping the memory hidden, not giving them back though. I was a shit.
If she forgives me for this I am a lucky SOB, if she forgives me for being the major dick I just portrayed, well.... she should be sainted. I had to play mean though, I had to find a way to keep her in the room and away from the Nex death match that took place oh... aaaaaabout an hour ago.
She would kill me for locking her in though, no question about it. I was a dead man now, when she was done I would be a corpse.
I stepped into the kitchen where Leushus and Preacher sat waiting for me. My house, true to their word looked like shit but not like a battle of good and evil took place an hour before. "Where’s London?" Leushus asked eyebrows raised. He knew the minute I did what I did there was no point in explaining my reasons.
"Leave it Leush." I said and reached into the fridge for a bag of blood. Looking for my mug I turned to Preacher. "Where’s my mug?"
"You left it on the counter when you left tonight.” He looked at the mess in the kitchen, the well duh going unsaid. “Got killed in the fight." He pointed to the trash and as I peered in I saw the remains of the word stupid and hissed. "Fucking worthless soulless Nex. I'm losing my fucking mind here." I propped my hands on the rim of the sink and hung my head. Was it even possible for a Vampire to get a migraine?
"Where is Cookie?" Preacher asked. Fuck forgot about him.
I took a seat at the table and scrubbed my face with my hands. What to say didn’t matter, he was gonna be pissed. "I didn’t take her memories."
He looked at me dumbfounded. Hm, didn’t expect that.
"What the fuck mate?" He looked at me with shock and a little fury.
Never mind that’s what I expected.
"Look Preach, I fucked up. The memory I gave her apparently was one she liked..... a lot. I couldn’t give her this nightmare back after making a dream of hers come true."
"But you didn’t make her dream come true; this shit is smoke in mirrors. You’re a liar if you don’t show her." He was right but now to give the memories back I would have to take the false one either way she would get hurt and if I wanted any chance of her trusting me again..... Well she would hate me.
"Why is it so bad Preach? For once I was able to take the ugliness from her, to make it all seem a little less frightening." God knew we both deserved a night of peace, though I took any peace she felt before and stomped it till it was good and dead.
"She needed to know what happened tonight Cash. She needs a good dose of reality to wake her arse up and see how serious this is." He stood from the table and threw his Denny's mug in the sink, I heard it break the sound was absolutely depressing. "You went and gave her a lie, a pretty one but at the end of the battle a shit load of ‘I love you's’ won’t keep her safe, I bloody well know it better than anyone."
It had been a long time since I had seen Preacher loose his composure this bad, roaring as loud as he could, his voice distorted and his big body trembling. I stood from my chair and met him shout for shout. "You are not my Sire, not my Dominus and certainly not the man who loves her so back off."
A look of shock on his face made me step back. "You do love her don’t you? That’s what this is about. You’re in love with her?" I stood my ground a level stare between us, both waiting to see who would throw the first punch.
"Sod off with that bullshit. I love her but not like you do. You insult me and the friendship between us with such a hateful petty accusation."
"Then explain why you’re so pissed about my actions when it's my decision?" I waited, on guard and on point.
"Because it wasn’t yours to make! When this all comes to a head and we find that fucker Conlin you'll see I'm right."
"What the fuck Preacher? Do I have to give you a god damned order? Stay out of it!"
Classic tit for tat and for the first time in almost a century I heard some of what he was thinking. Color me surprised because the good father wanted a fight. "Oh you think you want to throw some blows huh?" I asked and kicked the chair as I stepped up into his face, nose to nose we stood, the anger between the two of us had the floor vibrating and Leushus standing to intervene.
Preacher stormed out the broken door, I didn’t know where he was going but in that moment I was glad to see him go. We both needed separate corners and all the space we could get or we would draw blood. Leushus who had sat silently through all of this finally spoke.
"He doesn’t love her, not like that anyways."
Great now Leushus to.
I sat back down, tired. "I know.....fuck I know that."
"Then why be so foolish?" He walked to the sink, looking at Preachers mug like he felt as bad about that as I did.
"I can’t think right now, clearly anyways. I'm so fucking close to losing it Leush." My voice was barely a whisper and for the first time in all my years I let the pressure I was under out. Leushus took it in stride and smiled.
"I wondered when this day would come. All Custos have a moment like this Cacius and they get passed it...." He paused and sat again next to me. "If you keep the memory from her you will be responsible for the consequence, you know that right?"
"What consequen
ce?" I asked not sure what I was even asking.
"Every decision has a consequence Cacius, no matter how small. By making the choice to keep her from this, you accept the outcome and consequence fully on your own."
"And what will the consequence be?" I asked not sure if he had the power to know the answer.
"I can read thoughts Cash, but not the future. I don’t know what it will be, but history with this type of shit.... It won’t be good."
"What would you do?" I asked but he didn’t answer because in walked Klem.
"I found your boy Stupor, he was...colorful to say the least. I sent him with Red and Fred to feed he was in some bad shape my friend. He sent me with a gift for you though." He looked at Leushus with mild disgust and no problem hiding the fact. "Leushus the great, tell me are you here to help your men out or spout your useless dreadful bullshit like always?"
Yeah Nex hated Leushus more than they hated us.
Leushus smirked at the bitter comment. "Klem, don’t you have a bar full of souls to corrupt?"
"They'll be there when I get back, they always are." He said and looked at me. "He's on the porch..." He smiled a smile that made me sick. Klem really was one of the bad guys, why he was helping was beyond me but I would take the favors as they came. "He's a little....sore for lack of a better term."
I stood and walked out the door, on the steps was a mangled body of a Nex, well three quarters of a Nex. He was missing a leg. I let the night out on him, blow by blow I would have beat him to death had it been possible.
Leushus finally stopped me and I took him to the prison in the basement where three Nex lingered battered and bloodied waiting for death and I was the dealer. If Conlin wasn’t playing fair than neither was I.
This ended tonight.
*
London
I went to bed alone as usual. I had gotten up around four AM and went to go down to the kitchen for a glass of water when I realized Cash had locked me in. I had told him that I would leave and he took me serious. I wouldn’t have left had I known I had the option, taking it from me made me want to act out just to act out. I was so sick of being managed by the men in my life.
Unable or unwilling to cope with all the shit going on in my head I went back to bed and willed my eyes to close. I wasn’t sure if I was asleep or dreaming but I heard the lock disengage and open. Light from the hall filtered in and the shadow of a large man entered. Closing my eyes not in the mood to talk to Cash I pretended to be asleep.
It was definitely a dream because when I felt the bed dip and a hand nudge my shoulder it was Leushus I heard. "Wake for a moment London."
I opened my eyes and dream me seemed to be surrounded by fog, though in Cash's bedroom I felt like I were laying on a bed of clouds not black satin. "Leushus?" Dream me asked and my voice sounded like bell chimes. Funny I would have thought I would sound irritated, I hated being woke up, or was I awake? It was all so confusing.
"I will need to find you and answer you one day, and it is sooner than I thought. You need to drink from me London and never tell a soul."
"Cash will kill us both." I said remembering his reaction to me offering to feed Preacher a while back.
Dream Leushus laughed and I wondered what was funny. "London, he would sooner kill himself than mess a hair on your pretty head. He may want to kill me but since I'll be saving you he will get over it." He slit his wrist and instinct wanted to scream and say no, but as he cut he didn’t bleed.
"Where’s your blood?" I asked and reached for his wrist.
"I'll will it when you’re ready."
I lowered my head in difference because his words had me terrified. "They are going to get me huh?"
He nodded and I seen his blood pool at the wound. "Drink London."
The minute my lips touched his skin I froze and felt so much power and worry and love and...everything roll into me. It was like every emotion at once and I wanted to cry. There was so much sadness and pain and I knew it was what was inside of him, like he took these emotions off the people around him and suffered for them. He was darkness but he was light too.
I felt him pull back and cup my cheek. I wanted to ask him why he did what he did but then as if I were torn from sleep I jackknifed up in bed, my heart pounding and my body slick with sweat. I couldn’t remember what I was dreaming but whatever it was had me rushing to the bathroom.
I felt such darkness in me, I was going to puke, had to, and whatever was in me was dark and hateful and terrifying. I puked for hours, or minutes I’m not sure but finally sleep came and it came in the bathroom, I was scared that whatever was in my sleep still lurked in that bed and I would not go back there tonight.
*
Cash
With every punch my knuckles split, only to heal again before I dealt the Next blow. I had Simon the Nex who gave London Bliss, the Nex who almost killed her and the Nex who was now short both legs, all strapped to chairs in a cell below my house.
Leushus left to check on Preacher, but Bastian had shown up with some serious leads, and of course Klem stayed to enjoy the fight.
I used a bloody hand to wipe the Nex blood from my forehead. It had been a century at least since I had unleashed a fury like I did tonight. I looked at Bastian who stood back watching the beating same as Klem. "So what happened?"
I walked to a nearby weapons chest and dropped my daggers on top of it. I would need to burn them, they were covered in blood to deep to clean and I refused to use warped wood like Preacher and his former cross he converted into a stake.
"Turns out a whorehouse opened about two months ago in Elko. Our friend Conlin uses it as a beard to distribute Bliss. Half the whores in the place are hooked and most the clientele is Nex. The women are beat and raped and used to feed." He looked away from the three bloody Nex as if the sight of them turned his stomach as bad as they did mine. He wanted to kill them I knew it by the look in his eye. Go ahead. I thought but then figured it was a bad call, they would have info I needed.
"Looks like you boys are the three luckiest Nex to meet me."
They said nothing which was smart. I was over the edge and I only needed a reason. I hated these fuckers simply because of association, but to come after my mate, my Princess? It took every ounce of dignity I had to keep from landing a death blow to each one. "The waitress from the PALMS escaped, barely and has been hiding out since then."
I locked the cell back up and headed for the stairs with Bastian and Klem in tow. "Where’s she hiding?" I asked as we reached the top of the stairs and I headed into the half bath by the kitchen to wash up.
"All over. I called Leush, he says’ when he's done with Preach he'll take her to the victim’s sanctuary in Greece. She'll be safe there till we can place her somewhere else."
"Nice." I walked into my office, otherwise known as a room with a computer and a whole fuck load of weapons. I waited for the internet to boot and went right to map quest. "What’s the place called?"
"You won’t believe this but Bliss."
He was right. It was so easy and simple that I wouldn’t think anyone that stupid. It spoke volumes on the Nex intelligence. I typed it in and searched Elko. Sure enough, right off the freeway in the middle of nowhere. I printed the map and address before going for my coat. "I'll be back before sunlight but stay here with London. I'm only scoping the place tonight and see if I can sense how many we are going to be dealing with."
"You'll never get there before sunrise and going alone even to scope is dumb as hell." Bastian said and blocked my way.
"Not anymore. I figured out how to shift tonight and I won’t get close enough to be in danger. Besides, if you haven’t noticed I’ve lost my fucking mind and my backup, I have to go alone." I didn’t wait for an answer, I shifted right there and found myself standing in an empty field five hundred yard away from a packed whorehouse. The faint smell of Stetson hung in the air and I knew who it was. I was a football field away from Conlin Freebold, and I wasn’t leaving without him.
Chapter Twenty Six
London
I woke curled in a ball on the cold bathroom tile. I remembered getting sick but I couldn’t remember why. I must have fallen asleep in the throes of vomiting. Glad that nobody was there to see me in all my green glory I stood and expected to feel like shit, but I felt great, better than great. It was clarity that came over me and I knew what I had to do. I showered quickly and dressed before going over to the door. I knew it was locked but Cash was seriously under estimating me. I had snuck out of alarmed doors and windows that made his simple lock seem stupid. It was, a bobby pin and a library card did the trick and I smiled as I slipped, tip toeing down stairs. I crept into the kitchen and opened the basement door.
Bliss (The Custos) Page 20
