by J. P.
“You don’t think—”
“No.” Luke cuts her off.
“Alright then,” Olivia says. “Before I go, do you want to help me tomorrow during fight training?”
“Can’t. I have to stay here with the prisoner.”
“C’mon Luke, live a little,” she whines. “Bring Nina with you.
“That’s the worst idea you’ve ever had.”
“No, the worst idea I ever had was to stay here. I should’ve gotten out while I had the chance.” Her voice sounds sad, and I feel bad for her. “Whatever. It’s better now that you’re here.”
“I missed you too, kid.”
My heart sinks into my chest. So, he is still capable of real emotions.
Olivia leaves a minute later, and I hear the sound of Luke’s boots on the marble floor as he retreats to his room.
The next morning, I almost forget where I am. I look around and see the huge, beautiful apartment. I glance over at the clock, and it’s ten in the morning. I stand up and feel my feet freeze as I make my way across the room, barefoot.
I walk back into my closet and try to pick out an outfit. Everything seems incredibly fancy for a prisoner. I finally find a pair of leggings and a navy-blue sweater. I guess they always have the air conditioner on high in this place because it’s freezing.
After brushing my teeth, I’m fully ready for the day, but I don’t even know what I’m doing today if anything. I glance around the room and find a bookshelf. I walk over to it and see that it’s full of classics. I pick up Pride and Prejudice and sit on my bed as I turn to the first page.
Luke’s door opens an hour later, and he glances at me before he heads for the bathroom.
“Morning, sunshine,” he says with a condescending smile as he passes by me.
I ignore him and get lost in my book for a while until Luke returns.
“Olivia asked me to assist her today in fight training. You’ll be coming with us and observing. Don’t cause any problems.”
I don’t speak to him as I place the book on the table and stand. He changed out of his pajamas and is pulling on his navy-blue bomber jacket with a grey shirt underneath and dark wash jeans.
“Got it?” he asks when I don’t respond. I give him a quick nod, avoiding eye contact. “The silent treatment? Really? What are we, seven?”
I wasn’t doing it intentionally, but I need to ignore him for a while so I can readjust my perception of him. For some reason, I can’t get it in my head that he’s a bad guy.
“Whatever.” Luke lets out an annoyed breath before he takes my arm and leads me down the marble hallways.
We travel down the grand staircase before Luke takes a sharp right turn. He opens a door, revealing another set of stairs.
Whenever I thought of Ethan and his hideout, this is more like what I pictured. Dark stonewalls with torches lighting the way, dirt floors with rocks and pebbles scattered at our feet. I hear a commotion, and Luke pulls on a door revealing a large room.
There are young people all over the place, all fighting. Not like screaming or anything but training. They are using their fists and kicking each other. People are flying all over the place. They are carrying stakes with them, but they aren’t made of wood. It looks like they’re made of plastic. Some of the kids carry the stakes in their hands, others stuffed a stake into their back pocket or into the waistband of their pants.
“Luke!” Olivia waves her arm, calling him over.
Luke looks around quickly before he leads me to the corner of the room. “Stay here. Don’t talk to anybody, don’t look at anybody, don’t cause any trouble.”
I continue to ignore him as I sit on the floor and rest my back against a wall. He stares at me for a moment, and looks like he’s about to say something, but heads over to his sister.
I watch as Olivia greets him, her long blonde hair pulled up into a ponytail.
“Luke, did you come here so I could teach you a lesson?” Olivia asks as she flexes her arm. It’s actually very impressive.
“You know I could take you in my sleep, right?” he asks.
“Prove it,” she says as she shoves his shoulder.
He jogs over to the mat she’s standing on, and they start to fight. It seems like there are no correct moves, they are just going at it.
Olivia goes to grab Luke’s bicep, but he twists out of the way and grabs hers instead. He throws her to the ground and glances over at me, but while he is unfocused, Olivia grabs his ankle and yanks on it, making Luke fall on his butt. I feel my eyes widen, shocked that he allowed himself to be knocked off his feet.
“Nina liked that move,” Olivia says as she sticks her tongue out at Luke.
He glances over at me again, and Olivia uses him being distracted to her advantage as she grabs his shoulder. She slams him onto his stomach as she pulls a fake stake out of her back pocket. She raises it up when he arches his back up, throwing her off of him, and she rolls to the ground.
He grabs the stake out of her hand and lifts it up. I gasp as he is about to stab his sister, but he stops just as it is about to make contact with her skin.
“Boom, you’re dead,” he says, and she groans.
“I wouldn’t die, I would be stabbed, but I would heal.”
“Sure, you would. All that matters is that I have reclaimed my title as the best fighter in this place,” Luke says with a cocky grin.
“Let’s go again.” Olivia gets up, a fire in her eyes.
“Don’t be a sore loser, Olivia.”
“Don’t be a coward, Luke.”
Luke shakes his head as he gets into position again.
“Hey,” I hear from my left. Dark eyes find mine as Will sits next to me. “What are you doing here?”
I involuntarily smile at the Sean look-alike. “I don’t know. I’m a prisoner, I don’t really have much say in where I’m going.”
Will laughs at that. “You’re right, I should’ve guessed.”
“Hey!” Luke shouts from the mat. “Step away from the prisoner.”
Will holds his hands up as he stands. “Relax, dude.”
“Luke, chill,” Olivia says from the mat.
“Did you touch her?” Luke asks as he rushes over and scans me up and down.
“What if I did?” Will challenges. “She’s a half-breed. Aren’t we supposed to feed on half-breeds?”
Luke looks so angry, he might explode. “Not this one,” he says as he gets in Will’s face. “Touch her, and you die.”
Will glances at me and shrugs. “Might be worth it.”
Luke moves to lunge at Will, but Olivia holds him back.
“Will, don’t antagonize him,” she says, sounding bored. “Go train with everyone else.”
Will glances at me one last time before he moves away from us. I shiver, thinking about what he just said about me. Looks like you really can’t trust anybody these days.
“You shouldn’t let him get to you like that. He’s just trying to get under your skin,” Olivia tells her brother.
“Take the prisoner back to her room,” he snaps, ignoring her comment.
“But—” Olivia starts to argue.
“Now.” Luke stares at her for a moment until she nods.
“C’mon Nina,” Olivia says as she motions for me to follow. She sighs as she takes hold of my arm.
Before we leave the room, I look over my shoulder, and my eyes widen as I catch Luke stalking over to Will again.
“Don’t worry,” Olivia says when she notices me watching. “I don’t think he’ll kill him.”
I’m confused by Luke’s actions, and Olivia continues to be an anomaly to me. Which side is she on here?
After climbing the stairs, I feel a rush of AC, causing me to shiver as we make our way down the marble hallways.
“So, listen,” Olivia says as she looks both ways before she enters the room. We step inside, and she shuts the door behind us. “I want to train you.”
“What?” I ask as I raise my eyebrows.
“I want to teach you how to fight.”
“Why?” I blurt out.
Olivia blinks as she furrows her brow. “Right, why would I want to train you?” she thinks out loud as she taps her chin. “I don’t know, I just want to give you a fighting chance at getting out of here.”
“Why?” I ask again.
“Don’t worry about it.” She waves me off. “Alright, get into some workout clothes.”
I stand there and stare at her for another minute. Why is she trying to help me?
“Move!” she orders after I take too long.
7
“There are no set moves or actions. When fighting another vampire, they won’t play by any rules or honor code, so we don’t either. You just fight for your life, and you hope you win,” Olivia explains as she paces around the room.
“Why do you want to train me again?” The past few minutes, as she’s been talking, I’ve been studying her, trying to figure her out.
“I’m the head of fight training in Malum.”
“Really?” I ask.
“Yeah,” she says with a grin.
“And you want to train me, the prisoner? Wouldn’t your dad be upset?”
“Honestly, I hate this place. I don’t believe in my dad’s stupid mission statement. I think he’s just being really difficult, which is why I mess with him so much. He needs me more than I need him, so he puts up with me.”
I feel my eyebrows raise in surprise. “So, you don’t want to kill me?”
“No,” Olivia says with a laugh. “You’re too young to die.”
“How old are you?” I ask.
“Sixteen.”
“Really?” I ask as my eyes widen. “You’re so young.”
“Which is why I never tell people my age. They always underestimate me, so I’d appreciate it if you kept the secret.”
I look at her for a second, finally starting to understand who she is. She clearly doesn’t want to be here. Maybe I can talk her into helping me escape.
“Okay, enough with all this talking. Let’s train.” She holds a hand out for me.
I take it, and she grabs my arm and throws me on the floor. “Never trust anyone,” she says as she gives me time to get up.
She shows me a few basic moves, even though, according to her, there are no moves. After that, she makes me do a few strength-building exercises like planks and push-ups, and then finally, she stands across from me, ready to fight.
“Ready?” Olivia asks as she takes a stance.
Suddenly, this becomes very real. “No, I can’t do this,” I say, taking several steps back.
“Yes, you can. C’mon, Nina.” She chases after me until I’m stuck in the corner. “Hit me.” She turns her face, giving me her cheek.
“I can’t hit you.”
“Sure you can, I’ll heal. It’s fine.” She leans closer to me.
“No, I just can’t.” I press my back against the wall.
Olivia backs away from me for a moment and studies me as she takes her blonde ponytail in her hand and twists the end around her fingers. “I know a lot about you. I was debriefed on your entire history after Luke contacted us and told us he had you in custody. Dad thinks if we study people, we won’t have to deal with any surprises.” She rolls her eyes. “Anyway, I know about what my dad did to you in the warehouse. I know what Sarah did to you in Laguna Beach. You never stood a chance fighting back against a vampire because you didn’t know how.” She looks me in the eye. “Don’t you want to learn?”
I bite my lip as I stare at Olivia, impressed at how wise she is for her age. “I do, I just…this isn’t me. Fighting and stabbing people, I don’t think I can do it.”
“This isn’t any of us. Look, I know it isn’t ideal. I know kids our age are worrying about what makeup they should buy, and not what artery they should stab to kill their opponent—”
I shiver at her brutal comparison, and she notices.
“Sorry,” she says with a sheepish smile. “But seriously, I know it’s different, but you do what you need to in order to survive.” She sees that I’m still not sold on the idea of fighting her. “Be happy that you’re not being forced to learn this stuff to survive. I’m teaching you correctly so that if you actually have to apply this stuff, it’ll be much less traumatic.”
“I guess so…”
“Plus, I’ll heal. So, c’mon, let’s do this.” Olivia tilts her cheek out to me again. “Go ahead. Punch me as hard as you can.”
I bite my lip again and bring my fist up, still in disbelief that I’m really doing this.
“Go on,” Olivia says, impatiently.
I pull my fist back, and it lightly connects with her cheek.
Olivia sighs in frustration. “Nina, that’s not going to do. Channel some anger or something. What gets you angry?”
“I don’t know,” I say, already not liking where this is going.
“C’mon half-breed,” Olivia replies with a sneer and a smirk. All of Ethan’s children really have that smirk down.
I try again, but the punch is almost the same amount of force as the last one.
“I heard your boyfriend cheated on you.” Olivia wiggles her eyebrows up and down.
“Jeeze Olivia, are you trying to get her to fight you or make her cry?” Luke asks from the couch. Both of us jump.
“When did you get here?” Olivia asks.
“A minute ago,” he says as he leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
“Perfect.” Olivia turns to me. “You hate Luke now, right? Fight him.”
“No,” Luke answers for me. “Why are you even training her, Olivia? That’s totally inappropriate.”
Olivia stares at her brother for a moment. “You need to tone it down.”
For some reason, this infuriates him. “You need to stay in your lane.”
“You’re being a dick,” she says to Luke before she steps away from me. “I’m over this. I’m going to shower before the meeting. The meeting that you won’t be attending because you’re stuck babysitting.”
Luke doesn’t take her bait. “Bye,” he says as he rolls his eyes. The second she leaves, his eyes find me. “Learning to train behind my back?”
I continue to ignore him as I walk through the sitting area and to my bed.
“Still ignoring me, I see,” he says as I hear him follow me.
I make my way into the large, walk-in closet and start grabbing clothes to change into so I can get out of these ridiculous workout clothes that I barely used.
“The idea of you training is laughable. You would never be able to fight me and win.”
I take the clothes and walk back out to the bedroom with Luke at my heels.
“Escaping here is impossible. Whatever Olivia said to you is a lie.”
I turn to go to the bathroom and smack into Luke. I slowly look up at him to find him staring back at me.
“You’re stuck here whether you like it or not, prisoner.”
Suddenly, I can’t take it anymore, and the words just fly out of me. “I don’t believe you. You’re not this person, I know you’re not. You don’t have it in you to hurt me, let alone kill me or stand idly by as your father kills me.”
Luke’s eyes widen, and a smirk spread onto his lips. “That’s what you think?”
“I know it. You would never hurt me.” I throw the clothes in my hands onto the bed and cross my arms over my chest.
“If you try and escape, I will hurt you,” he promises.
I frown at him, and before I can think it through, I sprint to the door. I grab the knob, and just as I pull it open, it slams shut. I turn around slowly to find Luke standing right behind me, one hand on the door he just slammed and the other on the wall. I feel my back pressed against the door as he has me trapped between his arms.
I wait to see if he’ll keep his promise. If he’ll hurt me for making an escape attempt, even if it was a weak one. The point wasn’t to escape, though. It was to see if the Luke I know is still in ther
e.
Luke looks down at me and studies my face. No anger or malice is in his eyes. An easy grin spreads onto his face as he lowers his lips onto mine.
I stiffen for a moment, surprised at what’s happening, but then I kiss him back.
I feel his arms slip around my waist, and he pulls me into him as his lips continue to move on mine. I reach up and wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him closer to me. He pulls me back with him, leading me further into the room. His hands travel down my waist, over my butt, and down the back of my thighs. He leads my right leg around his waist and then my left as he lifts me up and holds me against him. He carries me through the room, our lips never separating for more than a second. My stomach turns, and my mind screams that I should stop this, but I don’t want to.
Luke gently places me onto my bed and pulls back for a second as he puts himself between my legs. He rests his forehead against mine and breathes heavily. His deep blue eyes meet mine, and I feel my breath get caught in my throat. He is so beautiful to look at, it hurts, and the way he’s looking at me right now…it’s indescribable. He doesn’t need to tell me how he feels about me. His expression says it all.
I get pulled from my thoughts as he reaches up and tucks my hair behind my ear. He tilts his head and his lips meet mine once more. He kisses me so passionately, I feel like I might faint. He climbs onto the bed next to me and pulls me on top of him. I straddle his lap as he kisses me over and over again.
My fingers trace his cheek, his jawline, down the side of his neck. Luke groans as I run my fingers down his chest. His lips travel down my chin and across to my neck. I think he’s going to bite me, but he keeps going to my collar bone. He shifts back so that his nose is touching mine, and he leans his forehead against mine again as our hearts hammer together. Luke’s eyes flutter closed, and I can tell he’s listening to my heart.
I feel like I could explode of happiness. I knew Luke wasn’t evil. I knew this was all an act. I just want to know why. What’s really going on here?
I bury my face in his neck and wrap my arms around him as I pull him closer to me. He holds me tight before I see him reach up and wipe his face out of the corner of my eye.
I try to think of something to say to him, but I’m truly speechless. I never want this moment to end.
