by Scott, K. M.
Vasilije’s heart raced in terror as his mind searched for the spirit of each vampire he’d sired. One by one, he located each of them….and then nothing. Desperately, he reached out to Teagan, one he hadn’t seen since he’d left for America six years ago, but felt his life slip away until only a void remained.
Blind with rage, Vasilije threw on his clothes and in minutes was ready to begin looking for the bastard who’d killed one of his own. When he found them, they’d beg for him to do as they’d done to Teagan.
He wouldn’t be that merciful.
Vasilije looked around the room he’d just appeared in, his body alert to any danger. He’d followed the sense he’d gotten before Teagan’s spirit had been extinguished and knew he was in his home in New Orleans. Everything about the place was Teagan—from the Turkish cigarettes he smoked, to the bottle of Guinness that sat on the coffee table, to the musky scent that identified him as one of Vasilije’s vampires.
And the beautiful woman staring at him.
“Who did this?” Vasilije demanded.
Big brown eyes stared back at him. “I don’t know. It happened so fast. I left to grab another six pack and when I got back, someone had a stake…”
Vasilije stood watching the stranger as she cried, needing more information but forced to wait until there was a break in her tears.
“Who are you?”
The woman dried her eyes and sniffled. “Sasa. I was his girlfriend.”
At the use of the past tense, she began tearing up again, but Vasilije didn’t have time for it. Whoever had staked Teagan couldn’t have gone too far and any more time wasted with Sasa’s crying may mean he’d lose the fucker.
He moved to leave and her hand caught his arm.
“Please don’t go.”
She looked up at him with such a sad expression for a moment he didn’t want to go. But he couldn’t let Teagan’s murderer escape. Vasilije touched his hand to hers to remove it from his arm, but all this did was make her squeeze tighter.
“Please,” she begged in a voice that matched the pathetic look in her eyes. “Don’t leave me alone now.”
The urge to tear his arm from her hold and leave her to her misery spiked in him, but it was overruled by that small part of him that understood her sadness.
“Fine. Follow me. And keep up. And if I tell you to do something, do it. Do you understand?”
For a second, she looked surprised, and Vasilije thought he was going to hear a string of irritating questions. None came, though, and when he turned to head out the door, she followed silently.
At the street, he stopped and inhaled deeply, hoping to sense something that would help him find Teagan’s killer. Nothing came. But there’d been something in the apartment…something that he was sure he recognized.
Eyes closed, he let his other senses take over, but he got nothing. “What did he look like?”
“I don’t know. It was so quick. Blond, I think.”
Vasilije snapped his head to the left to look at her. “Man or woman?”
Instantly, Tatiana’s threat repeated in his head. Now I take something you cherish. Had she staked one of his vampires in retaliation over Alex? Vasilije doubted even Tatiana would stake a vampire herself, but she wasn’t above having someone else do it.
“Man.”
That didn’t mean Tatiana wasn’t behind Teagan’s murder. And who was this woman who claimed to be Teagan’s girlfriend?
“Did you see which direction he ran?”
Sasa shook her head sadly. “No, I’m sorry. Are you his sire?”
“How do you know about that?” he asked, more suspicious than he’d been just a minute earlier.
“Teagan was a vampire, and you just look like a sire would. That’s what you call them, right?”
As she spoke, Vasilije studied her under the streetlight’s glow, still unsure she was who she claimed to be. Not bad looking, she seemed like someone Teagan could like. He’d always preferred brunettes with big eyes and bigger tits, and although she didn’t measure up to porn star level, she still had a nice body. He could see her as Teagan’s girlfriend.
“Yeah, I’m his sire and right now I need to find the fuck who killed one of my vampires,” he said looking down the street.
“What’s your name?”
Turning to look at her, he raised one eyebrow. “You’re a curious one, aren’t you, pet?”
“Well, I think I should know your name if we’re going to work together to find Teagan’s killer.”
Vasilije continued to work on getting any sense of who he was looking for, but nothing came to him. Frustrated, he’d need time to think and find his way around this new place before he could search for the killer, and the last thing he needed was a weepy woman tagging along.
“Uh, no. We’re not going to be working together to find anything. Just point me to the nearest place I can get something to eat and I’ll be on my way.”
In a second, her hands were back on his arm and squeezing. “Please let me help. I want to see the person who did this brought to justice.”
Justice? Vasilije smiled at the idea of justice, sure she would be appalled by what he intended to do to Teagan’s killer. Humans were always more squeamish than he thought they should be, considering their own history.
“How long were you and Teagan together?”
“Why?”
Vasilije noticed her defensiveness immediately. Her body language screamed she was hiding something.
“You just seem very attached. That’s all.”
Sasa shifted her weight between her feet. “I was. I mean, we were. Attached. And even though we had problems, we were trying to work things out.”
“Problems?”
A sheepish look came over her face. “I forgave him and we’d have worked things out…”
Sasa’s lip quivered for just a second, and Vasilije was afraid she’d begin crying again. Teagan hadn’t changed in his new home, it seemed. A notorious ladies’ man, his wandering eye had been the reason he’d moved four thousand miles away from the only place he’d ever called home. Obviously, that relationship hadn’t survived since Sasa stood next to him all dewy eyed over his death.
“I see.”
“It’s not like that. It doesn’t matter what you think anyway. I just owe it to him to find out who did this.”
Vasilije smiled at Sasa’s words. She was probably completely unaware that the one she’d caught her boyfriend with was likely one of many. Such blind devotion.
“Love, I don’t think you understand what’s going to happen when I find the guy who did this. My idea of justice and yours aren’t the same, I guarantee you.”
Sasa’s eyes grew wide. “Why? Is there some kind of ritual you plan to perform when you punish him?”
Vasilije’s fangs snapped into position and he grinned to show her the weapons he’d use to punish the motherfucker who killed one of his own.
“No ritual. Just these and all the blood I can handle.”
The shock at his words was written all over her face. “You plan to drain them?”
“My kind of justice, love. So if you plan to stick around, you know what to expect.”
Sure he’d frightened her enough to change her mind, he began walking toward the nearest main road. Before he could begin searching for Teagan’s killer, he had to find something to eat. Then he’d use Teagan’s house since it would be set up for someone like him and work out of there.
“Will you bite me?”
Vasilije turned to look at her standing there staring at him, the fear gone from her eyes, replaced by something he couldn’t quite put his finger on.
Curiosity? Desire?
“Only if you want me to, love.”
As if she’d expected him to say yes and when she heard a different answer her mind instantly moved on to something else, Sasa marched past him, waving him on to follow her.
“Follow me. I’ll take you where you can get something to eat and I can get a drink
.”
Vasilije grimaced at the idea that this stray woman was now giving him orders. He should have gone with his first instinct and left her. Maybe Teagan had cared for her, though, and would want her to help him. He owed him at least that much.
*
Sasa’s legs shook so violently she was sure the large vampire behind her would hear her knees knock and become suspicious of her. In one night, she’d been foolish enough to become involved with not just one but two vampires. Three if the one she’d watched murdered was counted. And she couldn’t decide which one was more frightening.
As she questioned whether she’d finally lost her mind, she remembered the man following her hadn’t given her his name. Spinning around, she asked as casually as she could muster, “So what’s your name?”
Her heart skipped a beat when he stepped close to her and said in a deep voice, “Vasilije. And I’m hungry.”
She genuinely hoped he meant for food, especially since she thought she saw him eyeing up her neck.
He walked past her, giving her a chance to thoroughly check him out from behind. The front view had been stunning, albeit frightening. His black hair was straight and glossy with stray strands that fell into his eyes. She imagined it would feel incredible between her fingers, like strands of the darkest silk sliding over her skin.
Then there were his eyes. Crystal blue, they were cold and expressive at the same time.
But the most frightening part of him was his mouth, and he knew it. Unlike Tatiana’s, whose fangs sounded more ominous than they looked, Vasilije’s fangs looked razor-sharp, like a wild animal’s. She’d noticed Teagan’s were similar and wondered if a vampire’s sex had anything to do with their fangs’ sharpness.
Poor Teagan! She’d had no idea Tatiana meant to kill him when she followed her to his house. She’d ranted on about this one all the way there, but when she’d called Teagan by name, Sasa had thought perhaps she’d been spared the sight of Tatiana killing someone tonight.
What have I gotten myself into?
“Love, you’re supposed to be leading the way. Stop daydreaming and take me to some food.”
“I’m sorry. I was just thinking about…”
Sasa let her sentence trail off, sure by the look of disgust on Vasilije’s face that he wouldn’t ask about what she was thinking. Catching up to him, she hoped she wouldn’t have to pretend to be the sad girlfriend much more. As it was, she was giving an Oscar-worthy performance, but she had to be careful not to overplay her role. If this vampire found out she was working for Tatiana, something told her she’d know instantly who was more frightening. He might look like the most erotic dream a woman may have, but she was sure angered he’d quickly become her worst nightmare.
Sasa led him to a side street off Teagan’s street and a little hole-in-the-wall bar called Napoleon’s. She’d been there once with the boyfriend she’d used as material when she’d told Vasilije of her problems with Teagan and remembered it being secluded. Perfect for a discreet drink with a vampire.
He stood for a moment eyeing the sign and turned to her. “Original for these parts?”
She couldn’t help but smile as she opened the screen door to enter. To locals, the idea of a place being named Napoleon’s seemed perfectly natural, but to an outsider, she knew it must have seemed almost campy.
“It’s a local thing.”
In a voice as sarcastic as he’d used for his last comment, he remarked, “I guess the thought is if it works once, it will work every other time?”
Sasa walked directly to the darkest booth and slid in followed by Vasilije. The fixture on the wall next to them threw little light, and for the first time that night, she relaxed despite the fact that he was staring at her. She tried to sense his emotions, but for the most part, all she felt was irritation.
“You said your name was Sasa, right?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Well, Sasa, something tells me this isn’t a place with waitresses, so tell me what’s good to eat here and I’ll go tell that man behind the bar.”
“Po-boys are really good. So are the crawfish. Do you know what they are?”
“No. Why don’t you tell me what Teagan liked and I’ll go from there.”
Sasa’s stomach clenched and she scrambled to think of what to say. All she’d known of his dead friend was he’d had an English accent.
“Po-boys. Shrimp po-boys. He loved them.”
Nodding, Vasilije said, “Then a po-boy it is. What do you want?”
“Oh, nothing to eat. Just get me a beer. A light beer.” Reaching into her purse, she pulled out a twenty. “Here, in case you don’t have money.”
Vasilije walked to the bar, and Sasa’s gaze followed him. Dressed in black pants and what looked like a shirt meant to be worn with a suit, his body filled out both nicely. Where was he from? He didn’t have an accent like Tatiana or Teagan, but he definitely sounded foreign.
As she waited for him to return, Sasa’s mind drifted back to her mother. Tatiana had done as she’d promised and made her into one of them. For the first time in years, she felt good. That she was horrified about what Sasa had done bothered her, but she’d forgive her some day. What mattered was that she was no longer in pain and able to leave the bed she’d stayed in for so many years. She’d see that someday. For now, she was at her cousin’s house with the blood Tatiana had given her, and Sasa silently prayed to God everything would be all right.
As silent as a cat, Vasilije slid back into the booth and sat back once again to stare at her. “The man behind the bar says my food will be ready soon. There’s your change and your beer.”
Sasa was thankful for the drink. If she ever needed a drink, it was now. She quickly emptied the glass and rose to get another. “Do you want one?”
“Scotch. Rocks.”
After a few minutes at the bar, Sasa returned with their drinks and his food. As he ate, they sat in silence, something she was thankful for. Every sentence she uttered was another chance she’d say the wrong thing and expose what she was doing. If she could steer all their conversations toward general topics, that would be great, but as she watched Vasilije finish his first taste of southern food, she doubted he was much for sports or movies, the two topics she knew she could handle easily.
When he finished, he sat back against the booth. “Thank you, Sasa. That was surprisingly good. No wonder Teagan enjoyed them so much.”
“I’m glad you liked it, although I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone eat a po-boy with a scotch,” she said with a chuckle.
“I’m sure.”
Sasa finished her second beer and stood to return to the bar. “You want another?”
“No, thanks.”
By the time she’d finished two more beers, she was feeling more relaxed than she’d been in years. She knew she was supposed to be helping Tatiana, but as they sat together in that dark booth, she began to sense the sadness Vasilije felt at the loss of Teagan.
The words “I’m sorry” sat on the tip of her tongue, and she so wished she could comfort the man who sat across from her.
Five
Vasilije was thankful Teagan’s girlfriend remained silent, allowing him the chance to reminisce on the last time he’d seen him. Six years had gone by in a flash, and it seemed like only yesterday he’d been in his parlor making his case for a move to America.
No matter how many times he’d gone through the loss of one of his vampires, Vasilije never got used to it. Never got used to the feeling that a piece of him had been cut out, lost forever. Never got used to the sadness that mingled with rage and threatened to take him over.
It was a potent combination that made his insides churn. Like every time in the past, he’d be forced to walk a fine line between mourning and unremitting anger until he found the one responsible. When he did, he’d willingly allow his emotions to control him to punish the man.
Until then, however, he needed to stuff down both the sadness and the anger if he wanted to functi
on.
Lost in his thoughts, Vasilije hadn’t noticed Sasa had downed two more beers and now seemed a different person. The bar had begun to fill up, and he smelled desire coming off the men around them toward the only female in the bar.
“Sasa, it’s time to go,” he said as he stood to leave. “Take my arm.”
A confused look settled onto her face. “Oh, okay. Why?”
“Just do it, love.”
Sasa took his arm and Vasilije felt the tension in the bar dissipate as those around them understood she was protected. He wouldn’t mind releasing some of his own tension on anyone who pissed him off, but for now he’d prefer leaving without the hassle of a fight.
Once outside, Vasilije attempted to take his arm back, but she held fast to it and leaned her head on his upper arm. “What made you think I was in danger in there?”
“How do you know I didn’t just want you close?” he joked.
They walked for a few blocks and finally she answered, “You seem like the type of man who’d handle that smoother.”
Vasilije looked down at her head resting against him. She was drunk. And she was Teagan’s girlfriend. Doing anything like what he was thinking would be taking advantage of her.
As he worked to convince himself that sleeping with someone who’d just lost her boyfriend only hours earlier was shitty, he didn’t realize they’d made their way back to Teagan’s house and were already at the front steps.
“Sasa, I should’ve taken you home.”
All she did was shake her head and squeeze his arm.
Vasilije didn’t bother to turn the lights on once inside. In truth, as a vampire, he saw as well in the dark as humans did in the light. Even more, there was no point in acting like they were going to sit on the couch and talk or watch television.
He knew what she wanted and he wanted it too.
Closing the door behind him, he reached out to her and pulled her to him, enjoying the feel of her body pressed to his. She was so warm. So willing.
