Y
LIAM WAS BESIDE me in the next moment, his arms scooping me up and quelling my struggles.
"She isn't dead," he said in a low voice in my ear. "That fall wouldn't be enough to hurt either one of them."
"How do you know?"
He chuckled. "I've thrown the alpha off much higher objects during the course of our acquaintance."
"Caroline's barely been a wolf for a few months. She won't have his healing," I returned as I tried to wriggle out of his arms. His grip tightened, and he dropped his head to run his nose along the side of my face, breathing deeply at the same time. He dipped his head further until he could reach the wound in my shoulder, his tongue darted out in a move much like the wolf's as he licked it once before straightening.
"No, hers is better. A consequence of her taint," he said, sounding unworried as he resumed walking at a pace that had the trees blurring around me. "They'll fight it out until the moon sets, at which point she'll be taken into custody. You can see her then."
I let my head fall back, looking up at his face. "What will happen to her?"
His eyes met mine. "That has still not been decided."
I set my forehead on his shoulder and closed my eyes. I'd survived, but it didn't feel like I'd won anything since Caroline's fate was still up in the air.
We reached a road that had several cars parked along it, including several black Escalades I assumed belonged to the vampires. Liam carried me to one car, barely pausing as Eric appeared to open the door for us. Setting me inside, Liam climbed up beside me as Eric shut the door, sealing us alone in the car.
Liam wasted no time, divesting me of my shirt so he could get a better look at my wounds. His hands were clinical as they pushed and prodded the tears in my skin, which still sluggishly seeped blood.
“I never did thank you for saving my life after the werewolf bite,” I said. “Even if I could have done without the coffin full of blood.”
His lips firmed. “I wasn’t going to let you die so easily. The blood bath was the best way to keep you alive. The wolf’s bite had spread and almost killed you by the time Brax returned and was able to pull some of its poison from you.” He gave me a meaningful glance when I opened my mouth to argue. Brax might have returned, but I suspected it was my trick with the tree that saved my life.
His eyes held a warning, as if telling me to keep my mouth shut about being able to see magic. For now, I’d listen. Mostly, because I was too tired to do otherwise.
"You need more blood," he said in a decisive voice before I could say anything else, rolling up his sleeve.
I turned my head away when he held his wrist up to my lips. I know he'd lost way more blood than me in the last twenty-four hours, and though weak, I wasn't at death's threshold. "I'm fine."
“Aileen,” he snapped.
The door on the other side of me opened, and Thomas climbed in, pulling it shut behind him and taking a seat beside me. He looked at the two of us, noting the frustrated expression on Liam's face and the mulish one on mine. He guessed the cause in moments. "You either take blood from Liam, or you take blood from me. Your choice."
My expression turned even more stubborn as he quirked an eyebrow at me, making it clear he wasn't going to budge on this. I had a sudden vision of being held down with one of them forcing my mouth open as the other dripped blood into it and knew that I would be on the losing end of any struggle. Faced with drinking under my own volition or being forced into it, I took the path that would at least leave me with some modicum of dignity.
Liam was smart enough not to let a smile cross his face when I turned to him, though there was a certain smug light in his eyes that made me want to throat punch him. He tugged me so that I was leaning back against his chest and facing Thomas, one of Liam's arms a snug band around my chest while he held the other to my lips.
"Drink, Aileen," he rumbled in my ear.
My fangs snapped down and I sank them into his skin, relishing the soft pop as they pierced his flesh, then the dark taste of his blood as it coated my tongue—better than chocolate, more decadent than the most delicious of desserts, aged to perfection and dancing across my senses with a maestro's expertise. My eyes slid shut as heat suffused my core, spreading with a lulling fire throughout my body, waking up parts of me that had long been ignored.
There was a heavy groan in my ear, one echoed by my moan moments later. I could feel him harden against my back where I pressed against him. I wiggled back, relishing the power it gave me when he muttered a curse in another language, the arm around my waist briefly tightening.
"That's enough, acushla." His voice was a tickle against my neck as he gently pulled his wrist away.
I opened my eyes as his thumb caressed my bare stomach in a gentle movement, sweeping back and forth as I returned to myself. Thomas watched us with an enigmatic gaze, his chin propped on his hand and his fingers tapping at his lips. The lassitude that had taken over my limbs was slow to fade. It was like I was a lion gorged on a good meal, nothing seemed too important.
"This is an interesting development," Thomas finally said to Liam over my head.
My guard snapped down, and I stiffened and would have drawn away if Liam hadn't held me close, his warm embrace suddenly turning tight.
Whatever gaze they exchanged must have spoken volumes because Thomas didn't make any further comments, his gaze dropping to mine.
"Now that I see the yearling is safe and fed, I think it's time to take care of that other matter," he said, his face a polite mask.
"Theo," I said. It wasn't much of a guess. I could think of no other reason for Thomas to be here.
One side of his lips quirked up in answer.
Damn.
"He's probably close," I said. "He planned to kill Caroline after she'd taken care of me and collapsed into a coma after her shift back."
He wouldn't want to be far away, but he also couldn't be too close without risking her turning her focus to him.
"Yes, there's a cabin not far from here that his master used to own," Thomas said in an amused voice.
"Makoto is a hacker," Liam said in answer to my unvoiced question. "When pointed in the right direction, he was able to uncover a lot of very interesting information."
Eric got into the driver's seat, Anton by his side in the passenger seat. It was odd to see someone other than Nathan in that spot. Anton didn't turn to address any of us, staring forward with a fixed expression.
"What do you plan to do with Theo when you find him?" I asked, looking away from the enforcers as we began to move.
Thomas’s face turned amused. "What do you think I have planned?"
"I don't know. That's why I'm asking," I said in a measured voice. My fear was that Thomas would do exactly as Theo wanted, turn him into a vampire. If he did that, I very much suspected Theo would bide his time until he could act against Thomas. Eventually, he would come after me, and I would never be safe.
"What do you want to have happen to him?" Thomas asked, his head tilting in question.
I wanted him dead. He'd killed multiple people, and he'd planned mine and Caroline's deaths, not to mention almost sacrificed his sister when she tried to help us. He was a psychotic killer. Making him a vampire wouldn't change that. It would just make him a more efficient killer.
I didn't know if Thomas would see it my way. Though the relation was long ago, Theo was Thomas’s descendant. How would I feel two hundred years from now if I was in Thomas’s shoes and it was Jenna's great, great grandson facing judgment? Would I still feel an attachment to that long-ago family?
Liam's hands tightened briefly in warning around my waist.
"He's Steven's creation," I finally said. "And he's responsible for at least two deaths that I know of, though I suspect you'll find many more that can be lain at his feet."
"And?" Thomas arched an eyebrow.
Vampires didn't have the same attachment to life I had. At his age, Thomas alone was probably responsible for more deaths than I could count.
"He tried to kill me," I said, lifting my chin. "I want him dealt with in a very permanent way."
A part of me broke at that request. I wasn't the sort to solve my problems with violence, and basically asking for someone's death went against the human part of me I tried to cling to. I saw no alternative. Next time Theo might not be content to plot against just me. He might go after Jenna or her daughter. I couldn't risk my family, and if it meant sacrificing some of my humanity to ensure their safety, so be it. Every soldier knows they might have to sacrifice a life in defense of their country.
"What will you give me for this outcome?" Thomas asked, an anticipatory expression on his face.
I opened my mouth and then closed it, meeting his stare with one of my own. That was what Liam had been trying to warn me about. That's what all his questions had been leading toward. Tricky, tricky vampire.
"Nothing," I said with a note of finality.
Anton's head turned slightly before he directed his attention forward.
"Nothing?" Thomas looked amused. "You're not very good at bargaining."
I arched one eyebrow, not allowing his words to shake me. "It’s in your best interest for you to take care of the matter permanently."
"Oh?" His lips curved.
"Yes, your enemy did a very good job convincing him you were the problem. Theo has a very developed victim complex, and in his eyes, you're the source of all the wrong in his world. How long do you think it will be before he starts plotting against you?" Answer: Immediately. "I know vampires are very long-lived. It may be centuries before he sets his plans in motion. I bet you never even see it coming because he will have utterly convinced you of his loyalty."
"You don't have much faith that I can sway him to my side," Thomas returned, a half-smile on his face.
I snorted. "Please, I've seen your methods of persuasion. They need a lot of work."
That surprised a soft chuckle out of him.
"Whatever he might have been, whoever he could have been, died as soon as Steven got hold of him," I said, my expression serious. "He tried to sacrifice his own sister for his plans. This isn't someone you can ever trust. You'll need to watch your back around him for all of eternity and never show him any weakness. Is that really the kind of person you want on your side?"
He made a 'hmm' sound and turned away, not answering my question. My lips tightened. Fine. If I needed to find a way to end the threat Theo presented, I would.
"Also, you give him what he wants, and you can kiss goodbye any chance of ever persuading me to your side," I added as an afterthought, letting him see how serious I was. For whatever reason, Thomas still thought he could win my loyalty. It might not be much, but the possibility of my endorsement was all I had to bargain with.
He didn't respond beyond a thoughtful glance my way.
We turned onto a dirt road, the car jostling on the uneven path. A cabin sat between the trees up ahead, rundown and looking like it was one stiff wind from falling apart. It was the type of place that would have been right at home in a slasher film.
The Escalade came to a halt, and Eric and Anton got out of the car, the doors slamming at the same time they appeared on the porch. I started to shift so I could get out when Liam's arms tightened around me.
"Let them handle it," he said in a soft voice.
I settled, seeing the logic in that. Though his super blood had energized me, helping the wounds heal at double the speed they had before, I was still tired, hurting, and mentally exhausted. If he wanted his enforcers to do all the heavy lifting, I wasn't going to argue.
Moments later, Eric appeared in the doorway with Anton behind him, dragging Theo with a firm grip around the neck. The human in his hands was bloodied and bruised, one eye turning black, and his cheek swollen—his arm bent at a weird angle.
Thomas shoved out of the car.
"Why don't you wait here?" Liam suggested when I tried to follow.
"It was me he tried to kill. I want to see what happens to him," I said. If Thomas granted him mercy, if they let him escape unscathed, I wanted to know—one way or another.
Anton threw Theo to the ground at Thomas’s feet, the human flopping down in an ungraceful heap.
"I'm disappointed great, grandnephew," Thomas said in an amiable voice. "If you wanted my attention, you only needed to ask."
Theo lifted a tear stained face from the ground. "He broke my arm."
Thomas lifted an eyebrow at Anton who gazed back at him with a stone-faced expression, no hint of remorse on it. "Did he now? Well, you can't really blame him. You did kill his companion."
"That wasn't my fault. Lisa was only supposed to scare her, but she fell and hurt herself. Lisa lost control."
"Liar," I said, stepping forward. Vengeance beating in my chest. Red tinged the world around me as I felt my vampire side take over. That side wanted to rip out his intestines and make him watch as I knitted a quilt out of them—a human intestine quilt, bloody and awful.
Liam caught me and pulled me back, murmuring soothing words into my hair.
"It's not true," Theo said when Thomas glanced back at me. Desperation tinged his voice. "It was an accident. I was hoping to help you by exposing Caroline for the menace she is."
"By starting a war?" Thomas asked, his voice silky. I shivered at the predator I heard there, one that I knew lay within me too.
Theo shook his head. "No, we were just trying to show where Aileen's loyalties lay, and how she would betray you for her friend. I was trying to help. Perhaps I went about it in the wrong way, but I've only ever wanted your esteem."
I hissed, the sound that of a pissed off mountain lion. This little ass. He was trying to lay the blame on me.
Thomas considered him, his thoughts hidden behind the genial mask he wore. "Why didn't you come to me when you first realized you were my descendant? You must know descendants are given first priority for the kiss."
Theo blinked and looked taken aback, some of the smugness wiped from his face. "I was afraid you wouldn't believe me. You must know that Steven raised me." He got a crafty look on his face. "He had a hand in Aileen's arrival in your world as well. I can tell you about it if you'd like."
My eyes widened and my mouth dropped open. Liam's arms became steel traps. "Don't move," he rasped in my ear. "Wait."
I settled down, meeting Thomas’s gaze as calmly as I could, given Theo's little lie. Thomas studied me with an unwavering expression. It was a mystery how much stock he was putting in his grand nephew's words. I stood my ground and straightened my shoulders. If this meant my death, I was going to do it standing, unafraid.
"I believe you are owed a blood debt, Anton. Do what you will with him," Thomas said, his eyes never leaving mine.
Anton's fangs snicked down, a feral expression taking hold. Gone was the emotionless warrior, in his place was wrath given form.
"What?" Theo's eyes widened with real fear, and he struggled to his feet. He didn't make it further than his knees before Anton stomped down hard down on one leg. The crack of a bone reached me as Theo let out a high, thin wail.
Thomas looked back at him, unruffled, his expression unchanging except for a sly amusement that tugged at the corners of his eyes. "I am not such a fool as to believe the lies of one such as you. I'm glad my brother is long dead. He would weep to know such a pathetic specimen came from his line." Thomas looked at Anton. "You have until sunrise. Make sure he doesn't see the light of the morning sun."
Anton inclined his head in a formal bow. Thomas acknowledged it with a flick of his fingers before turning his back on Theo as he started screaming for mercy.
"Let's go. You don't need to see this next part." Liam didn't wait for my agreement, turning me and guiding me to the car, his hold firm.
Theo's screams followed us, the kind that I would hear in my nightmares, the kind that would haunt me for years to come. That piece of humanity I thought I was willing to part with, I wanted it back, even knowing it was too late now.
We got into the car, Thomas climbing into the front passenger seat as Eric took the driver's seat. We didn't say anything as we drove off, leaving Anton and his victim in the clearing.
"You were right about him," Thomas said as he stared out the window.
I turned my head to look at him but didn't say anything.
"He would have betrayed me in the end." I didn't know if the words were meant for me or for himself. "There was no other choice."
I took that to mean the decision regarding Theo's life had been a hard-fought one—up in the air until Thomas spoke with him. I went back to staring out the window as the car sped down the twisting road. I didn't know how I felt about that, or if I had any right to feel anything.
It was over. I had survived. That would have to be enough for now.
*
Two days after the full moon, I followed Sondra into the basement of Lou's Bar, my footsteps echoing harshly on the stairs as we descended. I’d slept for most of that time, exhausted from my trials. My sleep hadn’t been peaceful, instead interrupted by the voices of the dead. Even though I’d managed to save Caroline, I felt like I’d lost a large piece of myself by leaving Theo to die. It was an irrational feeling, but then feelings often were.
Events after Caroline’s fall from the cliff had unfolded exactly as Liam predicted. The wolves had chased Caroline to ground and battled each other the entire night, until Caroline collapsed into her post-shift coma shortly after sunrise. Once they’d come back to themselves, Caroline had been taken into custody
The only thing left to do was recover, gather our strength, and find a more palatable solution for Caroline’s dilemma.
I reached the bottom of the stairs, noticing the silver cages that rimmed the perimeter of the room. Only two of them were occupied. Caroline sat on the hard ground, facing the stairs as she looked out from behind the bars with a dead expression on her face. Lisa glared from a cage across from her.
I stopped at the sight of Caroline, momentarily off balance. Except for a few bruises that already looked weeks old, she looked unharmed. Physically, at least. Mentally and emotionally she looked bereft, as if she had lost that spark that made her Caroline.
"What did you do to her?" I hissed in a low voice at Sondra.
"Nothing. She's been like that since she woke up in here." Sondra looked upset about that fact. "She's not eating or drinking. She refuses to talk to any of us. I hoped you could get through to her."
So, that's why they let me down here with minimal argument when I showed up at Lou's. I thought I'd have to call in a few dozen favors to get this chance, but they'd shocked me by being reasonable for once.
Sondra watched her with sad, regretful eyes. "I don't understand this. Her wolf seemed to accept us toward the end."
"Perhaps it has something to do with being locked in another cage." My voice was acerbic.
She didn't respond to that.
“What do you plan to do with her?” I asked. “Last we spoke, you and Brax were entertaining the idea of putting her down.”
Sondra looked unsettled, her gaze going to Caroline. “That’s over now. I don’t know what happened that night, but her wolf has settled. She’s not experiencing the unstable shifts that were a side effect of the demon taint. Her bite has also become less deadly. Now that her wolf sees him as her alpha, Brax is able to exert some control over her. It has bought us some breathing room.”
That was very good news. Thomas had been most interested to learn about the wolf whose bite was lethal to all. Such a weapon in his hands would have meant bad things for any who opposed him. With that out of the equation, it meant Caroline could be a normal werewolf.
It did beg the question of whether any of Caroline’s stabilization stemmed from what I had done to the snarl of burnt umber and pitch-black webbing I’d seen in Caroline’s chest when she attacked me. Even now, it lay pliant and smooth, the strands of magic looking almost harmonious. Whatever I had done that night seemed to remain.
Caroline's eyes shifted to me. "Have you come to break me out?"
I stepped forward and stuffed my hands in my pockets. "Not exactly."
"Figures," she snorted.
"You're not eating?" I asked, lifting an eyebrow. "That doesn't seem very bright."
She lifted her shoulder in a shrug. "Haven't been hungry."
"They tell me you're not talking either."
"Hasn't been much to talk about." Her voice was sullen and very un-Caroline like.
I paused before taking a seat in front of her cell. We sat in silence for several moments as we each regarded the other. What I saw sent worry crashing through me. She looked defeated and without hope. And angry—so angry.
"Enough of this shit," I told her. "You're a werewolf. That sucks. You have to obey an alpha. That sucks too, believe me I know. What other option do you have?"
The look she slanted my way was full of wrath. "That's rich coming from someone who refuses to complete the century's service and won't let the vampires train her. I know you’re planning to move back into your apartment. Must be nice."
"Is that it? That's why you're acting like a three-year-old? Because I never fulfilled my contract?"
She shrugged one shoulder and gave me a look that said, “if the shoe fits”.
I growled. "You look at me, and tell me you're not a danger to others. Then maybe we'll talk."
She looked away.
"You damn near killed me, not just once, but twice. Brax and his wolves managed to put off their transformation for over two hours on the full moon. How long did you last?" It did not feel good confronting her with these truths. "Caroline, you're barely keeping it together. Listen to them. Let them help you. They're not your enemies."
"Like the vampires aren't yours?" She met my eyes with a stubborn gaze of her own.
I turned my head slightly, knowing that Liam was just upstairs out of sight, no doubt listening to everything that was being said. I'd been surprised when I'd arrived to find him and Eric having drinks at the bar with the wolves watching them for any sign of aggression.
I sighed, feeling like a hypocrite. How was I to help her when I'd bucked the system at every stage, unwilling to consign my life to another's control ever again? I rubbed my forehead as we sat in silence.
"Unless you're here to get me out, you might as well go. We have nothing to talk about." She looked away from me, trying to shut me out.
“Why are you so angry with me?” I asked. “Really?”
She had been from the get go. Beyond reason.
“You know why,” she said, some of her wolf making itself known in her voice.
“Do I? Enlighten me.”
She was silent for a long time. I began to give up. If she didn’t want to talk, there wasn’t much I could do. I started to turn away.
“You left,” she said, suddenly standing by the bars. “You left me behind, and you never even thought twice.”
I inhaled a sharp breath, feeling stung by the accusation. “I joined the military. I didn’t exactly leave you behind, and you told me not to come back anyways.”
“It certainly felt like you left me behind. You didn’t even tell me before you did it. You just showed up with the papers and said you had to report to basic in two days. I told you everything.” Her voice was tight with emotion. “You knew about my mom, my family issues. I shared every dark secret with you. Yet, you shared so very little.”
Her words felt like little shards of ice. I had never thought she cared, let alone would notice my absence. She never asked me about my life. I was always the tag along. She was always the brains. The brain doesn’t ask what the arms and legs want, it just expects them to comply.
“You were so driven. You knew exactly where you were going and how you were going to get there,” I told her. “I felt lost and thought joining would help me find my way.”
“Why didn’t you tell me that?” she asked.
I lifted one shoulder. “I didn’t want you to think less of me.”
“Well, I did anyway.” She folded her arms and looked away.
That was the truth.
“Then, you came back, but you didn’t. Not really. You had this secret—one you kept for years.” She met my eyes with angry ones of her own. “How would you feel if our situations were reversed, and I had frozen you out while keeping this massive secret that could change everything?”
Furious. Hurt. Everything in between.
“I did it to protect you,” I said.
“Look how that ended.” She looked sad as she stared back at me.
There weren’t words to defend myself with. She was right, but so was I.
We were quiet for a long moment. I didn’t know how to fix what was broken, or even if I should. Still, I wanted our friendship back.
"I didn’t mean you harm,” I told her. “Is there any way you can forgive me?”
Her face crumpled. “We’re friends—even when we hate each other.”
My laugh was a little watery.
“What if I made you a deal?" I asked, clearing my throat and bringing us back to the matter at hand. "I'll be more open to establishing a relationship with the vampires if you learn what you need to know from the wolves."
Her head snapped back to me, her eyes surprised. My mouth was turned down as I stared back at her with a grumpy frown. Yeah, I'd said it. It was a major concession, something I wasn't really known for.
"It's still not fair," she said, looking like she was considering it. "My life is entirely controlled by them."
"I'm not joining a clan," I said in a flat voice.
She lifted her chin. "You have to receive training from them like I do the wolves."
I took a deep breath and blew it out with a disgusted sigh. "Fine."
"Every day."
"No. Once a week."
"Twice a week." Her expression let me know she meant it, that that was as far as she'd compromise.
"Fine." Her lips twitched, and then stilled at my next words. "You have to stay part of the pack, and you can't run again."
"Aileen, they want me to quit my job." Her expression was slightly shamed as her eyes fell from mine. "You know what that means to me."
I did know. Sondra had informed me before bringing me down here. They didn't think she was stable enough to be around humans, especially ones on the brink of adulthood with all the hormonal behavior that brought. Caroline defined herself by her work. She'd come so far in life that giving up her goals would feel like a major blow.
"If it makes you feel better, I got fired because of all this," I said with a sly grin when she gave me an exasperated look and rolled her eyes. There really was no comparison between the two, since my job was one I'd fallen into while hers was a career. "It's not forever, you know. Prove you can control yourself, and I'm sure they'll lift the restriction."
"And if they don't?"
"Then we fuck their shit up." I arched an eyebrow, feeling relief when she nodded. I grinned before standing. "I'll tell them you're ready for food."
I turned toward the steps.
"You'll be back, right?" Caroline's voice was insecure.
I looked over my shoulder and gave her my best daredevil grin. "Try to stop me. We'll both make this work. Together."
She nodded. Her eyes were still sad, but she didn't look like she was beaten. It was something. More than when I'd walked down here.
I paused before I headed up the stairs, turning to Sondra. “What will happen to Lisa?”
She looked at the other wolf with distaste. Lisa lifted her chin and gave us a snooty look. “That hasn’t been decided yet. She did kill two people, plotted against a fellow pack member, and conspired with an enemy.”
I hesitated, not sure it was my place to say anything, let alone whether it was wise of me to. Lisa had been painted with the same brush as her brother. While I got the sense that the woman had wanted to get away from him and his schemes, she had waited until the last possible moment.
“If it helps, she did try to free me,” I said, my conscious getting the better of me. “Even knowing it would have repercussions for her. I got the sense from Theo that the companions weren’t entirely her fault.”
Sondra considered that. “I will let Brax know, and he will factor that into his decision.”
I nodded then walked up the steps with grim purpose. That was all I could do for now—all I was willing to do. Everything else regarding Lisa was in Brax’s hands.
Liam leaned against the wall in the hall next to the basement, his arms folded over his chest as he watched me with an appreciative gaze. My steps faltered as I noticed him.
There were a lot of questions I had for him. This wasn’t the best place to ask them with prying ears all around, but I needed to know.
“Why do you keep helping me?” I asked. He’d had plenty of opportunity to wipe his hands of me and my problems. “Sondra told me you’re the reason they were finally able to track us down.”
The waking dream I’d had of him by the beach and ocean had been real—the mark he’d forced on me creating a link he could follow. I may have done most of the heavy lifting in saving myself, but he and the wolves’ timely arrival had gone a long way to helping the situation.
He studied me with hooded eyes, his head tilting in consideration. “You fascinate me.”
I blinked at him, nonplussed. “I fascinate you.”
Not the answer I had been expecting.
He gave me a wicked smile. “In so many ways.”
“Does that have anything to do with this?” I tapped the skin under my magic-seeing eye.
His eyes went to where I pointed and some of the amusement dropped from his face. “That’s part of it. I won’t lie. But, you’re so much more than that. You have potential. I’d like to see that potential realized, in more ways than one.”
Not exactly a romantic declaration, and it didn’t allay any concerns that his interest in me might have more to do with his own alliances. I turned his words over in my head.
His gaze was intense as he continued, “For now, I think it’s best to keep that piece of information to yourself. There are many in this world who would do anything to secure such a unique ability.”
I nodded to show I understood. I’d thought as much. “By that, can I take it that you have no plans to share this with our not-so-mutual friend?”
His smile flashed. “I’ll keep the news close to the vest for the moment.”
I didn’t like the thought of owing him. He was a vampire—one who probably had enough secrets in his closet to sink a ship. Owing him one thing might lead to a whole nest of problems that I didn’t need.
While we did share an attraction, it wasn’t one I entirely welcomed or even understood. His loyalties would always be to the vampires, and while I didn’t view them in the same light as I once had, I still didn’t trust them implicitly. I’m sure he felt the same way about me. It made any potential relationship between us a long shot. Not that I was all that sure he had designs on a relationship either.
"I hear we're going to be getting to know each other better," he said as I stepped past him.
I ground to a halt. Damn it. I knew he'd been listening.
"I said I'd get training. I never said who it would be from."
He straightened from the wall, his body brushing mine. "As your sire, Thomas will appoint a mentor. We've already agreed it will be me."
My head snapped towards him, he smiled with a smug expression and sauntered past me. "I'll expect you an hour after sunset on Monday."
"This is just temporary," I shouted after him. He lifted a hand in lazy acknowledgment. Just temporary until I learned what I needed to know and could convince Caroline of a better course of action.
Eric stepped past me, startling me. I hadn't known he was back here. He paused before turning. "The owner of the Book Haven's shadow side said he's looking for an assistant. Your friend is qualified and there are no humans to worry about in the night store."
I stared after him with an open mouth as he followed Liam on silent feet. The suggestion was a good one, and I kicked myself for not thinking of it before. The hint the book gave me a few nights ago made more sense now. It had been trying to tell me the solution to Caroline’s problem all along. I just hadn’t been listening. Even more shocking was that it had come from him, a man I could have sworn would prefer to drop me into a deep dark hole. It almost made me like the other vampire.
I'd talk to the shopkeeper before presenting it to Brax, but I was sure I could work out a deal for Caroline. With a solution in mind for her problems, I headed home. My real home. My room at the Gargoyle was luxurious with a shower and bed that would tempt a nun, but it wasn’t home. After the week I’d had, I wanted to be surrounded by my own things in the home I’d created for myself.
*
"Where are my stairs?" I shouted at the foreman who’d been less than helpful since I arrived home.
The man was middle-aged and looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here right now. Possibly because I had intercepted him and the others as they were leaving for the night. It might also have been because I'd been shouting for the past five minutes, beside myself since I couldn't get up to my apartment without that staircase.
"I told you, lady, the former stairs violated building code. The landlord wanted it torn down and a new one built in its place." He chewed a piece of gum, looking like a cow with a piece of cud.
I took a deep breath through my nose. How would it look to Caroline if hours after I chastised her for her lack of control, I murdered an obnoxious construction worker? Don't kill the human, Aileen. You need him to construct the staircase since the old one was currently in pieces on the ground.
"How long is that going to take?" I snapped, tired and wanting to be home, curled in bed with a good book.
He shrugged. "A few weeks."
"Weeks?" My voice reached registers not meant for human ears. The foreman winced, and his crew looked over at us with an assortment of expressions ranging from humorous to scathing. "What am I supposed to do in the meantime?"
All of my clothes were up there. My computer. Everything. I needed to start looking for a new job. How was I supposed to do that when I couldn't access my apartment?
He shrugged. "Not my problem."
My jaw dropped open, and I took a threatening step towards him. "How 'bout I make it your problem?"
He rolled his eyes, obviously not finding me very threatening. "Look, lady, all of the residents were informed of this via letter. You got a complaint, take it up with your landlord."
I hadn't seen a letter. Furthermore, that still did not solve my problem.
The foreman turned his back, not waiting for me to say another word and stalked off, muttering about hysterical women. It took more self-control than I was proud of not to follow him and show him just how hysterical I could be. Instead, I turned and headed to the mailboxes for the building, determined to find the landlord's number and give him a piece of my mind. I'd missed a few days of mail with everything that was going on. It showed too, with the mailbox crammed full of paper.
Even though we were in the digital age, I sure got a lot of junk mail. I sorted through the stuff I could throw away and pulled out two pieces of mail that looked like they were important. The first was from my landlord and included a notice of sale saying that the new owner planned to make a few improvements to the current building and its parking lot. I looked around at the newly paved lot, understanding its presence now. The second was addressed to me and was a form letter stating that construction of the steps would begin on a certain date, and that I would need to arrange alternative accommodations. I checked the date, realizing that was tonight. The letter went on to say my rent would be prorated for those days that I was inconvenienced and unable to get into my apartment.
I skimmed the rest, which was just a lot of fancy lawyer talk. None of which told me what I was supposed to do in the meantime. My gaze caught on the name at the bottom of the letter. A name very familiar to me.
Thomas Bennet.
My hand dropped to my side as I took in the apartment and its brand-new parking lot with a horrified gaze. Everything was owned by Thomas. My sire was my new landlord.