“Yes,” Tenzin said. “We’re extremely wealthy.”
“Tenzin—”
“It’s good you’re not shy about it,” Ana Lisa said. “People with money can do a lot of good things in the world as long as they don’t think money makes them better than other people.”
“No,” Tenzin said. “Most of the very rich people I know are horrible.”
Ben could do nothing but let it ride. His grandmother was going to think what she thought, and he’d probably never see her again anyway.
“I like you,” Ana Lisa said. “You’re very honest.”
“Yeah, she is.” Ben squeezed Tenzin’s hand. “Sometimes a little too honest.”
“No such thing,” Ana Lisa said.
“Can I let the birds out?” Tenzin asked. “They can only fly around in here.”
“Yes, they’d love that.”
Tenzin and Ana Lisa both walked to the birdcage, and Tenzin opened the little door. She laughed in delight as the birds hopped toward her, cocked their head, and whistled. Then one after the other, they hopped out of the cage and took off to fly around the lush greenery of the glass house.
They flew and sang, chirping at each other and hopping from one branch to the next. They ate at the table where Ana Lisa spread sunflower seeds. One jumped over to her shoulder to bob up and down before he took off flying around the glass house again.
“Look at them.” Tenzin had a delighted smile on her face. She looked at Ben. “They’re exactly where they need to be.”
28
The next morning dawned without a single cloud in the sky. Ben had one day left in Puerto Rico and a lot of things to do. He cleaned the rental house and the car, washed all the clothes he had left, and wandered around Old Town San Juan for hours. He sent a text message to the captain of the boat he’d chartered, then another to the agent on the island who’d arranged for his rentals.
Everything was in order.
Ben did all the touristy things he’d ignored when he first arrived. He went to the museum and walked around the fort. He watched surfers on the water and sailboats along the horizon.
He went to the beach and lay in the sand, soaking up the sun. He planned to soak up as much sun as possible in the week they’d scheduled to get from San Juan to the Florida coast. By the time he got back to New York, he’d be as brown as he could possibly be. Skin cancer be damned.
By the time he got back to the house, he was ready to leave the island. Not that he wasn’t going to come back. He was definitely going to do that. Liza and Ana Lisa made him promise to visit again and… he wasn’t reluctant. Tenzin had to drag him away the night before.
She was hovering in the living room when he returned. “You were gone all day!”
“I had a lot to do.” He tugged on her knee to bring her down to the ground. “What have you been doing?”
“Cleaning. And watching lovebird videos on YouTube.”
Ben shook his head when he realized the direction she was going. “No.”
“They’re very friendly birds!”
“Tenzin, we travel too much.”
“We can take them with us.”
He grimaced. “Seriously? I’m not going to be one of those people who brings exotic animals on the plane. No. Just no.”
Her eyes were wide and shining. “You never let me get a pet.”
“This is literally the first time you have ever asked for one. Ever. Are you… are you trying to make yourself cry?”
“Will that garner your sympathy and make you more amenable to giving in to what I want?”
“No.” Probably. “Don’t cry.” Ben found the very idea disturbing.
“But I want a pair of lovebirds!”
“We do not have any place to put them.”
“We have a whole loft. And I’m going to build a glass house in the garden. They can stay up there.”
“When it’s snowing?”
“We’ll get a heater!”
He wiped a hand over his face. “You have got to be kidding me.”
“I feel like having pets would bring our family closer together.”
Ben had to bite back the urge to laugh. “You’re insane.”
“Chloe needs a pet. She’s been asking for one.”
“She mentioned getting a cat.”
“Which she would take care of! So I’m sure she’d be fine taking care of birds too.”
“A cat and birds are not even close to the same thing, Tenzin.” He raised a hand. “Can we not argue about this? The sun is about to go down. We have to meet the boat at midnight. We have shit to do.”
She shook her head sadly. “You never prioritize the things that are important to me.”
“Tenzin, we are literally in Puerto Rico because it was all you could talk about, even though I didn’t want to go ever.”
She smiled. “But aren’t you glad you did?”
He took a deep breath. “Yes. But that doesn’t mean—”
“So don’t you think you’d be glad if we got a pair of lovebirds too?”
She was impossible.
And they were probably going to end up with birds in the apartment.
The outboard motor on the tender dipped in the water and buzzed on low as they made their way away from the beachside bungalow and out toward the yacht waiting for Ben and the captain in the distance.
The captain’s name was Marko. His wife’s name was Jasna. They were part of a Croatian water vampire’s shipping enterprise and had come recommended by Ben’s friend Terrence Ramsay, who also happened to be the VIC in charge of London. Terry recommended them for low-level security and, most of all, discretion.
Terry knew most of the trustworthy smugglers—as much as that sounded like an oxymoron—in Europe and the Americas. Tenzin had contacts with most of the ones working in Asia and Africa. Between the two of them, Ben and Tenzin could move most things anywhere in the world.
“So you’re expecting company on this trip?” Marko asked. “No interference?”
“Don’t”—Ben shifted the small chest as they made a turn to move past the cove where the surf shack was fading into the distance—“don’t worry about it. I don’t even expect you and Jasna to be on deck. Leave me and Tenzin to sort things out.”
Marko shook his head. “If you’re sure.”
“I’m sure.”
“Jasna is very accurate with a spear gun,” Marko said.
“That’s good to know, but for now I’ll pass on the offer.” He thought for a moment. “Tenzin may want lessons though.”
“You’re the boss for the next week, my friend.”
It was all part of the package. An eighty-eight-foot yacht to take them from Puerto Rico to Florida’s west coast, a captain, a chef, and miles and miles of sun and ocean for the duration.
It was certainly promising to be more comfortable than the last ocean cruise Ben had taken, which was an unexpected freighter cruise from Shanghai to Long Beach that Tenzin had tricked him into.
As they pulled up to the gleaming white yacht, Ben saw Tenzin floating overhead and a dark-haired woman waiting with a rope.
Yes. His eyes caressed the wide deck, lounge chairs, and teak furniture. Much better than last time.
Tenzin floated down to the deck as soon as he and Marko came aboard. “I still don’t know why I have to be here, especially if I have to hide.”
“Because I want you here.” And you’ve stuck me with the boring parts one too many times. “And you agreed to this when we were going over the plan with Giovanni. Besides, I’m carrying all your stuff.” He pointed to the duffel bags in the tender. “Aren’t you missing Cara?”
“Yes!” She reached for the bag she’d packed and marked with a red tag. “There’s a video about hatching eggs I’ve been meaning to watch.”
“No. Tenzin, we are not—”
“Bye!” She ignored him and walked away from the tender, whistling and cradling her tablet.
Jasna turned to him. “How long hav
e you been together?”
“We’re not— It’s not…” He sighed. “About five years now.”
“Hmm.” She nodded. “I can tell.”
“I don’t know what that means.”
“Come,” she said. “I’ll show you to your stateroom. I’ve already shown Tenzin the light-safe room we keep for our vampire guests.”
“Do you get a lot of immortal charters?”
She smiled. “More than you might expect.”
They lifted anchor and took off into the tropical night, heading northwest to skirt past the coast of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. They avoided Cuba as they headed north toward Turks and Caicos. At night Tenzin flew over the water, dipping down and skimming over the waves, laughing when dolphins jumped up to play with her.
Ben slept during the mornings and spent the afternoons basking in the sun. He reveled in the warmth and the silence on the water, the sound of the waves and the breeze that lifted his hair and settled his soul.
He was lounging on the foredeck as they drifted off the coast of some small Bahamian island. He heard Tenzin take flight overhead, heard her laugh before she floated down next to him. She turned her face into his arm and took a deep breath.
“You smell like sun.”
He turned and smelled her hair. “You smell like coconut and saltwater.”
“I like this boat. Should we buy one?”
“Why? We can just rent this one whenever we want to.”
“I suppose that’s true.”
They lay in utter silence and peace for another half an hour.
“Do you think he’s actually going to come?” she said.
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Are you getting impatient?”
“Maybe.”
“I think he’s going to come… tomorrow.”
“No you don’t. You’re lying. I can tell when you’re lying.”
“Okay fine. I think he’s going to wait until we’re fairly close to the Florida coast.”
“Why?”
“Because that’s where he lives, according to Giovanni.” Ben turned to her. “Do a lot of vampires live in Florida?”
“A surprising number, considering how sunny it is.”
“Huh.” He closed his eyes and turned his face back to the stars. “Well, old people do like Florida.”
She elbowed him and Ben laughed.
“He wants to lull us,” she said. “Wants us to think we’re home free.”
“Probably.”
“I should stay inside as we get closer. If he’s watching, you don’t want him to know I’m here.”
Ben frowned. “Won’t you get bored?”
“I’m sketching out what I want my aviary to look like,” Tenzin said. “It’s highly distracting. Don’t worry, you’ll love it.”
So they’d gone from a glass house and two birds to an entire aviary?
Ben grimaced. “Goody.”
They were two days out of Cape Coral when Ben got the feeling they were being watched. He was reading a book on the aft deck and watching the wake churn behind them. The moon’s reflection rippled on the water as a dark shape cut back and forth behind them.
At first he thought it was a dolphin. They often followed the boat, jumping in the waves the engines made as they pushed the yacht forward.
But no. It wasn’t a dolphin.
This shape didn’t jump, and it didn’t lose interest.
It followed the boat for an hour before it swam away. Ben stayed awake, waiting for something to happen.
Then the sun broke over the horizon, and Ben went down to Tenzin’s light-safe room. She was sitting on the center of the bed, meditating.
“He’s here.”
She opened her eyes. “On the boat?”
“Following us.”
She nodded. “He’ll come back at dusk.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking.”
She made a face. “And you’re sure I can’t—”
“Bad form.” He lowered his voice. “We give him the other half. We move on. Everyone gets what they want, remember?”
“Fine.”
“I’m going to sleep.” He eyed the bed next to her.
Tenzin caught his gaze. “You can sleep here if you want.”
“It’s easier to sleep in the black room,” he explained. “The shades in my stateroom—”
“You don’t have to explain.” She moved over. “Just sleep.”
Ben stripped down to his boxers and didn’t miss her eyes following him, but she said nothing when he crawled beneath the linen sheet on the bed.
In minutes, he was asleep.
“Benjamin.”
Her voice was in his ear. He turned toward her and threw an arm over her, pulling her closer. “Sleep,” he murmured.
“I can’t.” Her voice was sad. “I wish I could.”
“Do you remember what it was like?”
“Only that for a few hours, I forgot everything. And when I woke, I felt new.”
Ben took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of coconut and salt. She was a dream. Her voice was a whisper in his ear. Her skin soft against his skin. The frisson of energy along her arm when he ran his fingers up and down the delicate skin.
“You sleep with me,” he murmured. “You rest with me.”
“I do rest with you.”
In the waning moments of his dream, Ben’s filter was gone. He didn’t think about what came out of his mouth. He just said it.
“I remember.”
“Sleeping?” She snuggled closer. “I would hope so.”
“Remember the cave.”
She froze.
“Remember how you felt.” His hand slid from her arm to the small of her back. “Remember your teeth in my neck.” His fingers dug in; his voice grew rough as his body reacted to the memory. “Remember how I—”
“Stop.” She rolled away from his arms. Got out of bed. Stood over him. “Wake up, Ben.”
Ben blinked and rubbed his eyes. What the hell…?
Fuck.
He wasn’t dreaming. He was in Tenzin’s stateroom and he’d just told her…
“Fuck.”
She said nothing. Her face was blank.
“Tenzin—”
“You should go. He’ll be coming tonight. The sun is setting.”
Ben didn’t ask her how she knew. She knew. She could feel it. Ben tugged on the shirt and shorts he’d stripped off at dawn and walked out of the room, not giving her another look. He walked down the hall and up the stairs to the second floor. He opened his stateroom door and shut it, leaning against it for a second until his heart stopped racing.
He walked to the sink in the bathroom and splashed water on his face. Then he looked at his reflection in the mirror, at the rough stubble that had grown down his neck again, at the hair falling into his eyes.
“What the fuck did you just do, Ben?”
Ben positioned himself on the foredeck, pretending to read a tablet in the moonlight. The yacht had dropped to half speed. Ben had requested they run a bit slower tonight.
He still felt the slight shift when Roberto Cofresí, most famous vampire of Puerto Rico, stepped on board. The boat gave a nearly imperceptible shrug.
Ben set down the tablet and reached for the pistol he’d tucked under his towel. He turned and aimed at the side of the boat just as Cofresí strolled into view.
“That’s not very friendly,” the pirate said.
The vampire was not particularly eye-catching. Medium height. Medium build. Dark hair and eyes like most of his countrymen. He wore a full beard, not unlike Ben’s.
“My uncle warned me you might come calling.” Ben tried to appear shaken. “I didn’t believe him.”
“You should have.” Cofresí smiled and there it was, the glowing immortal charm. The smile transformed his face, making Ben understand why so many stories had been written about the legend of the Puerto Rican Robin Hood. “I’ve come for my treasure.”
“I’m the one who found it. I’m the one who did the work.” He allowed his hand to shake a little.
“Didn’t anyone tell you how this works?” Cofresí said. “I’m the vampire. The map was mine to begin with. Your uncle should never ever have made you a copy.”
“I found the treasure. Not you.”
“I found the map. And you poached it.”
“You were never going to go after it!” Ben rose to his knees, keeping the gun on Cofresí. “My uncle told me about your feud with Macuya. He told me you couldn’t go on the island.”
“But did he tell you my feud with Macuya was about my relationship with his sister?”
Ben blinked. Okay, that was a surprise.
“I see he didn’t.” Cofresí stepped closer. “And a little bird told me that my Inés is no longer under her brother’s thumb. In fact, she’s running the whole damn place, just like she always should have been.”
“She’s one of three.”
“She is the power, and she always has been. I’ll be joining her soon.” Cofresí pulled out a long machete-like knife. “But not until you give me what Enríquez was hiding.”
“I don’t have it.”
“Liar.”
“I don’t!” Ben’s hand shook. “I don’t have it all. Jadzia took half.”
Cofresí frowned. “Jadzia?”
“She’s Enríquez’s daughter. She had documents to prove it. She took half.”
A flare of anger made Ben’s heart genuinely race for the first time. Cofresí wasn’t happy with that news. He waved the knife at Ben. “Put that thing away. Unless you’re an expert shot, it will do nothing to me and you know it.”
“Maybe I’m an expert shot.”
Cofresí lunged toward Ben and Ben played the part. He let his aim go wildly off and shot, the gun’s recoil shoving his arm back and knocking him off-balance while Cofresí tackled him. Ben fell hard on his back, and the two men, human and vampire, rolled down the foredeck, hitting the wooden walkway hard and driving the breath from Ben’s lungs.
Cofresí knocked the gun overboard and held the knife to Ben’s throat. “Give me my treasure.”
“Fucking pirate vampire assholes,” Ben said through gritted teeth.
Blood Apprentice: An Elemental Legacy Novel Page 28