Haven

by Celia Breslin

  “Whoa, Faith, you look smokin’ hot tonight.”

  “Yes,” she agreed, “as will you.”

  Kai stretched out on the bed, staring at his cell phone. “Text from Mark. He says Ren is awake and starving. They both say they’ll kick my ass if I don’t shadow you all night tonight.”

  I crossed my arms. “I don’t need a sidekick on a date in my own club.”

  “Because it worked out so well for you kids the first time around.”

  Okay, maybe he had a point. “I’ll be fine. Tell Mark and Ren not to worry. I’m glad they’re feeling better, and I’ll visit them tomorrow. And put xo xo at the end.”

  Kai cocked an eyebrow. “XO? Who are you and what have you done with Rina?”

  “Shut up.”

  Kai grinned. “Ah, there you are.” He sent the text I’d dictated.

  Faith sat next to Kai and opened the large make-up case. The trays fanned out revealing brushes, pencils and assorted eye shadow, blush, and lipstick. A rainbow of girlie products. From the bottom of the case Faith pulled out a pair of black patent leather, knee-high go-go boots with a two-inch square heel.

  I looked the question at her.

  “I saw what you’ll wear tonight.” She handed me the boots.

  “Of course you did,” I replied, bemused.

  “Did what?” Tony appeared in the doorway, a bottle of red in one hand, four wine glasses held upside down by their stems in the other. Like Faith, he was club-ready. Snug, black, v-neck tee, black jeans, black and gold belt, designer shoes. A gold chain link necklace adorned his neck with a matching bracelet on one wrist.

  He tilted his head and a lock of hair fell across his forehead. His wavy brown hair was stick straight and smooth tonight, sweeping forward to frame his handsome face, drawing attention to his large milk chocolate eyes and high cheekbones. My gorgeous brother, the perfect male model. He would be very popular with the boys at Haven tonight.

  “You look ready to party, my brother.”

  “Of course. Wouldn’t miss it.” He flashed his perfect, white teeth and struck a pose. All we needed now was a camera.

  He put the glasses on the dresser and poured the wine. “What’s up, my party people?”

  “Faith had a vision about what I’m wearing tonight.”

  “Cool.” He handed me a glass and settled next to Kai on the bed, legs stretched out, back against the headboard.

  I surveyed my clothes. With the ultimate dance-a-thon in mind, I chose a black, short sleeved, hooded crop top with plunging v-neckline. Three buttons and extra material to tie under my breasts provided enough coverage for a black bra. I was endowed in the breast department—a hearty handful, Adrian said—and needed the support for hardcore dancing. Pants would not do in the hot club, so I slipped into a black mini, pleated around the hem for a sexy sailor look, with black and lacey boy cut panties underneath.

  Next, I pulled on the low-heeled, black go-go boots provided by Faith. A good choice for dancing all night without twisting an ankle. I accessorized with the barbell navel piercing I already wore and a pair of long, black, fingerless fishnet gloves.

  Tony insisted on doing my face and Faith fussed with my hair.

  “Finished,” my brother declared and turned me to the mirror. He possessed true talent when it came to artful makeup. I supposed that came with the model territory. My skin was its usual pale-as-snow color, yet smoother and aglow. Blood-red lipstick plumped my lips. Cleverly applied eye-makeup gave me enormous eyes.

  He draped an arm across my shoulders. “You like?”

  I nodded. I liked the hair, too. Faith had wrangled my long layers into some sort of funky French roll using two, dark wood hair sticks and assorted jeweled hair clips. Jagged pieces of hair fanned out here and there, while another swath of hair slashed across my forehead, held in place by a shiny red clip near my right temple. Another good anime style. I sensed a theme for the two of us this evening.

  I smiled. “Wow.”

  He patted my arm. “We’ll take that as a thank you.”

  “Why do I look all aglow?”

  “It’s called blush. You should try it sometime.”

  I gave him a faux pout. “Maybe I like my dead girl look.”

  “One more thing,” Faith said.

  Tony stepped away while she buffed the exposed bits of my torso with glitter body powder. “So, Little Miss Psychic, is this her outfit in your vision?”

  Faith nodded. “Of course.”

  I sipped my wine, leaving behind a red print on the rim. “You know, Tony, we should’ve waited until after dinner to do the whole perfectly-luscious-lips.”

  “Nonsense. A girl should always look her best. Never know who might stop by.” His eyes glinted with mischief.

  I narrowed mine. “Like?”

  Tony fussed with his hair. It was already perfect.

  “C’mon, Tony, who’s coming over? Do you have a new boyfriend I haven’t met?”

  “Nope.”

  “Then who?” I prompted.

  Tony shrugged and shot me a sly smirk.

  I sank onto the bed and drank more wine. “Fine, if you won’t tell me who’s stopping by, let’s talk about something else, like my absentee father.”

  The wine and pampering had relaxed and rejuvenated me, so chatting about the hot topic sounded like a fine idea. Definitely the alcohol talking.

  Tony froze in mid-primp and our eyes met in the mirror. I’d already given him—and Dom—an abridged version of events before their arrival. He knew what I now knew, but I recognized the trepidation in his eyes. He didn’t want to talk about it. He usually laughed his way around tough subjects, the master of light-hearted distraction. No laughing this time. Or talking.

  Faith broke our staring match. “Yes.” She snuggled up to Kai.

  “Yes, what?”

  “Yes, I knew he was your father.”

  I gave her a long, slow blink. “How long have you known?”

  “Since my vision at the clinic.”

  Why had she kept something so monumental from me? She could’ve told me at the clinic, or before we hopped in bed this morning, or after we woke up, or before I went for a run in the ’hood. I wanted to be mad at her, but this was Faith. I trusted her. Unlike the vampires, she had no hidden agenda.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” My voice was calm.

  “Well, at first it was a confusing jumble of words and images. I needed some time to sort it out.”

  “How long did that take?”

  “Not too long. But I had some help. After you and the Key—I mean, Alexander went outside, the Contessa and Thomas helped me sort through the pieces.”

  Ah. The meddling vampires strike again. “They asked you not to tell me, didn’t they?”

  Faith nodded.

  I let out a bitter little laugh. “Of course they did.” The vampires were managing me, as per their usual, controlling the flow of information at every turn. I took a big drink of wine, squeezing the stem. Urge to throw a tantrum rising...

  “Please don’t get drunk, lil’ sis.” I let Tony take the glass and set it aside. “We don’t have to talk about this stuff now.”

  “When would be a good time?”

  He gave it some faux thought. “After we shake it all night on the dance floor?”

  Ah, there was the Tony I loved. Distraction from the rough stuff.

  My anger faded. Phew. “Yeah, and then we’d be too tired to talk. I got your number, brother. Seriously, though, there’s no perfect moment for anything. Apparently, we have so many family skeletons it would take weeks, no, months to sort them all out. Might as well start now.”

  “Nonsense.” Tony waved a dismissive hand. “Let’s leave them in the closet.”

  My lips curled upward. “I can’t believe you of all people just said that about the closet, mister way-out-of-the-closet.”

  He pulled me to my feet. “C’mon, let’s go have fun. I mean, how often do we get to party together? It has been way too
long and it will be so much better now that you remember everything. Maybe we can even get Dom to come.”

  “Oh, I doubt that,” Dom replied from the doorway, a red-and-white checkered dishtowel in one hand. “Dinner is ready.”

  “Great, let’s go.” Tony pulled me to the door.

  “We’re not done with this,” I objected.

  “Yeah, yeah, we’re never done with the family drama. C’mon.”

  Thirteen

  In the dining room, Dom had everything on the table. Pasta spirals in red sauce, Caesar salad, sliced and warm sourdough bread, grated Parmesan, black olives, red wine.

  I bumped his shoulder with mine. “Thanks, Dom, this looks great.”

  He nodded.

  I sat with my brothers, facing the living room. Kai and Faith took the other side. We’d just passed around the food when the front door opened. Stella strolled in clad in a black cat suit, boots and a leather jacket. “Ciao, tutti.” She sank onto the living room couch.

  “Hey, Stella,” I greeted her. “How’s Lorenzo?”

  “Sleeping.”

  “Good.”

  Stella grabbed a magazine off the coffee table, ending our brief chitchat.

  Tony and Kai struck up a conversation about music while the rest of us ate in silence. Well, external silence, anyway. The thought of my upcoming date with Alexander jangled my nerves, and the doubt-versus-desire tug-of-war resumed in my head. Were the feelings real or a trick? Should I trust them? Him? Hell, could I even trust myself?

  I stabbed a piece of romaine lettuce harder than I needed to and attempted to quash my mental struggle.

  There were plenty of other topics to explore, abundant unanswered questions, and my brothers probably knew more than enough answers to satisfy my curiosity. So why not tackle the whole my-uncle-is-my-father deal? Plenty of questions about that. For example, what did this mean about our mother? Did she have an affair with Uncle Zi-slash-dad or had Edoardo been the other man, or, were they—ew, uncomfortable idea forming—were they a ménage à trois?

  Okay, I had to ask, but would they tell me the truth? I could tell when Tony lied. Like me, he had no poker face. Dom, on the other hand, was good at hiding his true emotions. His blank-face would make a statue proud.

  I ate the last few bites of pasta and salad on my plate. I had to go for it. It would drive me crazy all night if I didn’t. “Tony. Dom. What was the, um, love triangle deal with mom, dad, and uncle Zi?”

  Conversation halted. Dom froze, fork full of pasta halfway to his mouth.

  Faith and Kai hopped up to clear their side of the table. Tony rose off his chair but Dom stopped him with a stormy glare. Tony slumped, crossed his arms and legs and pouted at me. I rolled my eyes and faced Dom. He put down his fork.

  The silence stretched on too long for me.

  I opened my mouth to ask again, but the doorbell rang. Stella, who was closest to the door, didn’t move or glance up from her magazine, indicating our visitor posed no threat.

  I pushed back my chair, but Dom touched my arm. “I’ll get it.”

  He strode to the door, opened it and stiffened. “You’re not welcome here. I don’t invite you in. So beat it.”

  Tony and I exchanged a look and stood in unison, hurrying for the door. I’d never heard Dom sound so much like Lorenzo. So hostile, but why? Dom’s tall body blocked my view. I heard car doors slamming and knew Paolo and Greg had hopped out of their car. Not good.

  I tried to open the door wider. “Dom, who’s here?”

  He resisted my pull. “Stay out of this, Carina.”

  “Dude, what’s going on?” Tony pulled on the door, too.

  “Move so we can see.” Impatience colored my voice.

  “Back off, you two,” Dom snarled.

  “What’s your problem?” Tony asked, perplexed.

  “Back off!”

  My temper flared. “No, you back off. Whoever is out there isn’t life threatening or you wouldn’t still be standing there, alive and kickin’, so what’s your problem?”

  “He’s the problem. He’s not welcome here.”

  “Who—?”

  “It’s him.” Faith hovered in the living room. “The Key.”

  I gave her wide eyes. My mouth didn’t know whether it should grin with glee and excitement or grimace with worry and nervousness. Kai laughed at my discomfort and flopped onto the couch next to Stella. She gave him a withering look that should’ve made him bolt, but he was too busy laughing at me to notice.

  “You,” I pointed a finger at Kai. “Shut up.” Then at Faith. “And you, stop calling him that. He has a name. Please use it.”

  Faith bowed her head. “Alexander is here.”

  “Yeah.” Nervous bees buzzed in my gut. On the one hand, I was glad my lame voice mail message hadn’t scared him away, but on the other hand I still had my doubts and basic control issues to contend with. Why was he here? How had he known I was at Adrian’s?

  I focused on Dom. “Get out of the way. Let him in.”

  “No.”

  Alexander chimed in. “One. This is Adrian’s house. You have no authority here.” He sounded calm and confident. Pleasant even. The mere sound of his voice made me shiver.

  “Two,” Alexander’s tone darkened. “Adrian has already opened his home to me. I can enter any time I please. Three. Do I need to spell out number three for you?”

  A chill ran down my spine. There it was. The thinly-veiled threat.

  My stupid brother ignored it. “This is a family dinner. You have no business with my sister. So get the fuck out of here.”

  “You heard the man.” Paolo. On the porch. Greg would be there, too, and both would have weapons drawn. Trouble.

  I glanced at Stella. She rolled her eyes and shook her head. Okay, my would-be bodyguard wasn’t going to help with this one. Double trouble.

  Tony whacked Dom on the back. “Stop being an asshole. Let the man in the house. I invited him over.”

  My eyes widened and I mouthed, “What?”

  He grinned. I gave him my best I’m-gonna-kill-you-later glare.

  Dom didn’t respond to Tony’s little revelation, other than cursing in Italian.

  I had to do something fast before things escalated further. I didn’t want anyone to get hurt. “Stand down, Paolo. You, too, Greg,” I yelled out the door, hoping they would obey but knowing they probably wouldn’t. I grabbed my brother by the shoulders. “Dominico Emilio Pietro Tranquilli.” I hoped the use of his full name would snap him out of it. “Move aside now or I’ll make you move. Haven’t you heard? I’m super strong now.”

  Dom snorted and rounded on me. Straightening to his full height, he stepped into me.

  I jumped back and glared, fists on hips. “What the hell is your problem? You’re not the king of this castle, you’re so not my father, and you’re close to losing your big brother privileges. I don’t know what stick crawled up your butt and turned you into psycho-freak-boy, but you have zero say in who I date. So get over it and get out of my way.”

  My brother bristled and moved forward, invading the hell out of my personal space. I stood my ground. Kai jumped up off the couch, but Faith held him back. Stella hadn’t moved a muscle. She, like me, didn’t believe my brother was a real threat, but still, how had we ended up here? Dom never behaved like this. He was the quiet one, always calm and cool, never one to throw a temper tantrum. That was my department. And Lorenzo’s.

  His jaw clenched. “He’s not a who. He’s a what. An It. He’s a fucking vampire, Carina. You don’t date the vampires.”

  Tony snorted in disbelief. “Dom, what the—?”

  I shook my head. My mind raced with the bazillion reasons why that was, without a doubt, the stupidest thing Dom could say to me at this moment, but all I managed to utter was, “Are you nuts?”

  His face reddened. It was clear he hadn’t meant to say any of that. He’d lost control and now he regretted it.

  Too bad. I wasn’t letting him off the hook. �
�Apologize.”

  Dom’s scowl deepened but he remained silent.

  “You were beyond rude, Dom. Own it and say you’re sorry.”

  Dom cursed again in Italian. Tony pulled him away from me. Dom allowed Tony to drag him through the dining room and into the kitchen.

  “I guess this is a bad time,” Alexander said.

  “No, I’m sorry about that. Please come—”

  In. My breath caught in my throat. Alexander leaned against the doorjamb, relaxed and confident, unperturbed by my brother’s aggression. And w-o-w, he looked fantastic. Custom-fit, I’m-a-rock-star, black blazer, black T-shirt, distressed designer jeans, also black, stylish rubber-soled black shoes. I had no words other than, Yum. Hot. Mine.

  I smiled. He smiled. Just like that, the doubt and panic bothering me earlier disappeared. Poof. Gone.

  Yay.

  He said something. His perfect, kissable lips moved, but I only heard my lust screaming, I want him. I flexed my fingers, my skin tingling with the urge to grope him. My gaze swept over his thick brown hair, tousled by the cool evening breeze blowing in the door, took in his sparkling blue eyes and thick lashes, caressed the curve of his proud cheekbones, his strong jaw, and those full lips before sweeping down his well-dressed, long and powerful body and back up to that handsome face.

  He stared at me, bemused.

  Oh. Right. He spoke and my reply was to ravish him with my eyes. I gave my head a little shake to clear it and get a grip on my raging hormones. “Sorry, what did you say?”

  His smiled, flashing his perfect, white teeth—no fangs at the moment—and my heart tap-danced in my chest.

  “You were saying,” I prompted, voice breathy.

  “I said,” he straightened and sauntered my way. “You look great.”

  I let out a girlie sigh, my hormones demanding, Jump him. Take him now. Thankfully, at the moment, only my hormones were in play, no trippy pulse of power tried to explode out of my gut, and no power pulsed from him, either. Not even a tickle. Did this mean we might have a normal date tonight? Then again, normal didn’t apply to either of us. The half-breed and the vampire. The sexy, sexy vampire with the killer smile and rock-hard body.