ALEXANDER

Alexander repeatedly stole glances at Katharine as he drove back to the warehouse. He couldn’t read her mind, and her facial expression was nothing short of a pout. Whatever went on in her head, she kept it to herself.

He gripped the steering wheel. “Why were you at that hospital?”

“Why were you with another woman?”

“Katharine, please let us not waste any more time. Answer my question. Why were you there?”

“I followed your scent,” she said, crossing her arms in front of her.

“My scent?”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes. I can smell my master and sense his presence as long as we’re in the same city. I am uncertain about the exact distance limit. That is why I was never able to find you while I was with Ghoul Master. You were too far away and out of my reach.”

The silence between them was broken by Katharine’s words a minute later. “Now explain to me why you were with another woman. Is she the one you’re…interested in?”

He picked up on a cold edge in her voice. “She is someone I know. Nothing more.”

She snorted. “Lying to me already? What will you do next? Ship me off to some deserted island because I no longer please you?”

“That’s not what I mean.”

“Oh please, do not drag this out. You no longer hold the same affection for me as you did two centuries ago.” Her fingernails dug into her upper arms. “I see it in your eyes and smell her on your clothes.”

Alexander pulled into the first free parking space he found and turned to her. “I thought you were dead, Katharine. I have never stopped punishing myself for the hell I have put you through. I may not have the same feelings for you, but you are someone I have given a second life to. I will not abandon you, no matter what you think of me.”

A glistening tear ran down her cheek. She let it cascade downwards until it was absorbed by her green blouse. “I am still very much in love with you. You were the only thing that kept me going all these years. I knew you were alive, I felt it, but I could not leave. Seeing you with another woman, moving on without me, brings me much sorrow.” She rubbed her eyes, smearing her mascara. “Is it so wrong of me to love you? Is it wrong of me to want to be with the man I have loved for centuries?”

His chest ached at her heartfelt plea. He drew her into an embrace and let her cry into his shoulder while he stroked her hair. To hide his tears, he blinked them away and cleared his throat.

“I am sorry for everything I did to you…” he whispered into her ear.

She nodded, clinging to his shirt. “Do you plan on turning her?”

“What?”

“Will she become like you, a vampire?” she asked, moving away.

Alexander frowned. He hadn’t once thought about turning Abigail. Their relationship, or the blatant lack of one, couldn’t push him to commit to something so serious just yet. “No, I have no plans for that.”

She smiled and kissed his cheek. “Then, I am content. Let us return home.”

When they arrived at the warehouse, Alexander’s mind was preoccupied with the events of the day. He enjoyed having Abigail around. She brought light into his dark existence of work and convenient hook-ups with his donors.

Could I learn to love again?

What would happen if she discovered how broken he was? Any normal mortal would leave him to seek out their happiness elsewhere. Any woman with half a brain would escape his clutches or keep her distance.

He entered his office and closed the door behind him. Taking long strides to his desk, he jerked open his alcohol drawer and selected a new bottle of The Macallan whiskey he had Tanya purchase for him at a private auction. He uncorked the bottle and swallowed a few mouthfuls without a glass. To his dismay, the burn in his throat did not take him away from his problems. In such a small amount of time, his world had come undone. Katharine was back in his life, he started to have feelings for a mortal, and Lucious no longer considered him to be a friend. Fate certainly had a way of playing tricks on those poor souls who were trapped within its web.

Letting out a bitter chuckle, he collapsed into his office chair. He rubbed his eyes and laughed at the hopeless situation he had found himself in. He could not leave Katharine alone, and he could not fully open up to Abigail without bringing her into his dangerous world. She would be safe where she was—away from the death and horrors he had witnessed over the years.

A knock on his door caught his attention. “Come in.”

Andrew stumbled in and fell into an armchair by the door.

“You should stay in bed,” Alexander chided.

“I’m sick of it. Tanya is keeping me away from work, and it is driving me nuts,” he explained, rubbing his face.

Alexander stood and offered him what was left in his whiskey. “Would you like to drink with me?”

“What’s the occasion?” Andrew eyed him as he accepted the bottle.

“There does not need to be a reason to drink fine alcohol, young man.”

Andrew swallowed a mouthful and blew out a breath. “It’s strong.”

“It needs to be to keep me sane,” Alexander replied, taking a seat on the edge of his desk. “So, why come to me and not sneak out of the building?”

“Tanya would kill me if I left.”

Alexander nodded. “That she would. She has grown attached to you since you have become like a son to me. Have you considered returning to education? I could get you admitted to Harvard if you like. There are people on the board of directors who owe me a favour or two.”

“No,” Andrew said, shaking his head. “I think I want to work. It takes my mind off of…” He ran his hand through his light-brown hair. “I just can’t believe that after I left Helena alone, she had suffered so much. I should have stayed by her side, despite my feelings.”

“You could not have known what would happen. Distancing ourselves from pain is instinctual.”

“Yeah, but now I can’t go to see her.” He took another swig from the bottle and covered his eyes with his trembling palm. “I really am a terrible friend.”

Alexander snorted. “Join the club. Lucious hasn’t spoken a word to me since I let her go to that meeting.”

“I thought he would have forgiven you by now.”

“Lucious lost the only woman he had ever loved. I doubt it is as simple as forgiving me for betraying his trust.”

Tanya stuck her head around the door. Once she saw Andrew sitting in an armchair, she scowled. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Andrew raised his hands in defence. “I am enjoying”—he read the label on the bottle and smirked—“expensive booze with your sire.”

She rolled her eyes and grabbed him by the neck. “Bedrest until you no longer complain when I poke you in the side!”

Andrew winced when her nails dug into his skin and handed back the bottle to Alexander. “I think I have to go back to being nursed by the Devil. I’ll speak with you later.”

“I’m not the Devil!” Tanya smacked him on the back of the head. “Hurry up, or I will make more holes in you than you came in with.”

“Yes, boss,” Andrew mumbled, and they left.

The smile on Alexander’s face faded. He walked to the window and pulled back the curtain to look out at the darkness of empty warehouses.

The rest of the night, he spent working. There was no point in allowing the matters of the heart to eat up his time that could be used to make money.

Tanya entered his office with a curious glint in her blue eyes. “So, how did it go with Abigail? You spent the night, didn’t you?”

He stopped typing on his computer. “Since when did you become interested in idle talk?”

“Since I saw you flying out of this office to see a woman who drives you mad,” she replied with a knowing smile.

“I did not fly out of here.”

She waved her hand. “Oh, you know exactly what I meant.” She pulled up a chair and sat across the desk from him. “Tell me, other than sex, what happened?”

“Why do you assume we had sex?”

She quirked a blonde brow as if it was the dumbest question in the world, making him laugh.

“We slept together,” he replied.

“I am not interested in the dirty details.”

“No, Tanya. We slept together, in the same bed.”

Her mouth fell open. She slowly stood and circled his desk before poking him in the shoulder a couple of times. “Who are you and what have you done to my sire?”

“I’ve been asking myself the same question all day.”

Her expression turned serious. “You never let your guard down. How did she manage to put you to sleep? Did she drug you?”

“No. I was tired, and her voice relaxed me.”

“I see…” She bobbed her head. “You have fallen for her, hard and fast.”

“I have not fallen for her. I simply find her interesting.”

“You find stock markets and hostile takeovers interesting. Women? Not so much.”

He sighed as he rested his elbows on the armrests. “Alright, I find her to be more than interesting—fascinating, to be exact.”

“Then go for it. What’s stopping you?”

“I—” The remainder of his excuse never left his tongue. He tried once more. “I have many things to take care of before I can—”

Tanya groaned. “Your work will never end, we both know that. Waiting for the right moment to do something is overrated. Why not, for once, jump in head first and see where it leads you? Speaking in business terms, it’s a high-risk investment, but it may give you a big payoff in the end.”

“Exactly, it is high-risk. What if the instant I bring her into our lives, something happens to her like it did with Katharine or Helena?”

Her excitement fizzled out. “At least, they’re alive.”

He closed his eyes, allowing for a long breath to give him some needed courage. “Send her some flowers…”

“A bouquet of red roses?”

“No, a thousand purple carnations will do.”

“Why? Do you need to apologise for something?”

He inclined his head. “For many things and for what’s to come.”

ABIGAIL

On Sunday evening, Abigail was about to leave to meet up with Ursula but was stopped by a delivery guy who came up to her door with a bright smile. “Are you Ms Greene?”

She gave a slow nod. “Yeah.”

“We have a delivery for you. It may take us a couple of trips to bring all of them in, would you mind waiting?”

“I didn’t order anything,” she protested.

He checked the digital log. “The flowers are from Mr Grekov. Please wait a moment.”

She stood there dumbfounded as the men brought in enough flowers to turn her apartment into a flower shop. She had to pinch herself to make sure she was awake and not in some strange dream. Once she signed the paperwork and the delivery guys left, she stared at the sea of purple her home had become. There was barely any surface left without a bouquet of carnations on it. With a shaky hand, she reached into her pocket and called Alexander’s number.

He picked up on the second ring. “Did you receive the flowers?”

“Yes…”

“Good. Do you like them?” he asked, amusement lacing his voice.

“Is there a way for me to dislike them? They’re beautiful,” she gushed, running her thumb over the soft petals. “Why did you send them?”

He cleared his throat. “I wanted to apologise for the way I acted before and for leaving without saying goodbye last night. I was surprised to see Katharine there, that’s all.”

Her chest felt tight at the mention of another woman. “Are you two dating?”

“No, we aren’t. Things between us are complicated. I will explain everything in detail later. Would you be free to have dinner with me during the week?”

Abigail grinned from ear to ear and rubbed her chest where her heart was beating a hundred beats per minute. “Sure. Text me the time and place.”

“I will text you the time I will pick you up at. Would that be alright with you?”

She struggled not to bounce on the spot as she schooled her face into indifference. “Yeah, sure.”

Before she could hang up, he said, “Abigail…”

“What is it?”

“Wear something nice. I do not take women I’m interested in out to cheap places.”

She didn’t know whether to be happy about being invited to a fancy dinner or the fact he admitted that he was interested in her. With burning cheeks, she ended the call and fanned her face with her hands.

“It’s only dinner, calm down,” she kept mumbling to herself until her pulse was under control, and she could leave the apartment to see her best friend.