The vampire reels back a moment before the impact would have hit Finn.
“Stop! Please!” Finn says, voice shaking. “Please… I don’t know what your obsession with me is, I don’t know why you picked me and why you won’t ever let me go, but please don’t kill him.”
The elder vampire grabs Finn by the front of the shirt and jerks him forward. “I’ve tried to be nice, but you’ve tried my patience again and again. I want to keep you safe and still you insist on this nonsense. I’m trying my hardest to keep myself from killing you. And I know you’ll be safer with me watching you at a distance. But if you won’t listen, I’ll be forced to keep you by my side, and I can’t promise what will happen to you. Do you understand?”
Finn nods. “I do.”
“Then you will end this nonsense. I appreciate that your… pest is determined to keep my doll safe but if he goes against me again, I will kill him and find you someone else to care for you, understand?”
Finn nods again while standing over me as I realize that I have failed again to keep the person I love safe, and it’s driving me crazy. It’s making me rash and stupid, but this monster has made me feel so weak.
The man reaches out and cups Finn’s face and I want to jump to my feet and smack his hand away, but I know that I’m nothing compared to this monster. “Good. You’re my precious little doll. You need to stop being so reckless, okay?” he asks.
“I will. I’m sorry.”
“If either of you come hunting for me again, I will take you with me, doll, and kill him. There will not be a third time that I spare him. I can only be kind so long, even if it benefits me.”
“I understand. Thank you,” Finn says, voice sounding so hollow that it kills me that I can do nothing to protect him.
And just like that, the monster is gone.
“I’m sorry,” I say as I grab onto the metal piece and pull it from my chest before throwing it. It fucking hurts, but it should heal within minutes.
Finn quickly turns around and drops down onto me, like his legs have given out. “For what? For trying to save me? For loving me and ending up in this fucking mess? What do you have to apologize for?” he yells.
“For being useless. What kind of vampire am I if I can’t even protect the person I love? What kind of useless fucking person am I? I would have just died because I can do nothing for you, Finn.”
“Nothing? Marcus, you’ve done more than anyone else could have.” He grabs onto my shirt with his right hand, fingers balling it up as he pulls on it gently. “Stop beating yourself up over this shit. Clearly, we have to raise the white flag, Marcus. This isn’t going to end in anything other than our deaths. So we need to stop now. It was foolish to even get started in this. It was extremely stupid, and I’m sorry to have done this to you. I’m sorry for involving you in this. I’m sorry you got hurt. I’m sorry this ended up the way it did. I could just apologize all day long and it wouldn’t be enough.”
I sit up and wrap him in my arms. Even though I feel disappointed in myself, I’m angry that I couldn’t keep him safe. I’m furious that I couldn’t stop this monster, but I know I need to keep myself from falling into that pit of self-hatred when I have Finn to worry about. So I push those horrible feelings back and hold him tightly, glad we’re still together. “I don’t care, Finn. I will go through anything for you because I love you. Okay?”
He nods as he leans into me. His fingers run over my torn chest that’s already healing. “We’ll just do everything he says. It was stupid being stubborn. It was stupid trying to fight him. I’m sorry.”
I wrap my arms tightly around him and rub his back. “Stop apologizing,” I say, and that’s when I realize I smell blood on him. “Did you get hurt?”
“My arm got busted when I was thrown into the side of the car. I’m fine, but Watson’s not going to be happy.”
“He’ll be happy you’re safe. And that’s all that matters.”
I have to force myself to believe the same thing. I won’t be able to save him from his monster, but I will do everything I can to protect him. Right now, it seems like protecting him means staying by his side and not going against the monster who haunts him. And it pains me so much to force myself to understand that. But I will do it because right now, I understand my defeat. I understand that this might be the only way to protect Finn.
I kiss the side of his head and try not to think about the end of our hope. The end of the idea that this monster could be stopped.
I can’t help but wonder how I never realized how old Miller was, but maybe he could control his aura like I can. It’s allowed me to pass as human more than once.
As we walk back to the car in defeat, I see that the vampires we’d stopped are all gone. Even though we have information on his origin, I feel like we’ve gained nothing from all of this. We’ve failed again.
Chapter Twenty-Four
FINN
It’s been two weeks since the last incident and life is slowly getting back to normal. The worst part is not having my prosthesis, which was broken in the fight. Watson has a second prosthesis that isn’t as high tech that I could use, but the impact hurt my upper arm and he wants me to keep all weight off it for at least two to three weeks. But it’s not like it matters, I rarely leave Orin’s house now anyway.
Marcus and I haven’t even talked about going home yet, but that’s because when Marcus leaves me to go to work, Orin stays behind and sits with me. They’re like my very own guards, always watching. I told them to stop worrying; it doesn’t matter if both are here or neither are here, he will take me when he wants me.
But he’s stopped harassing me because I’ve been good. Some nights, when I take the dogs out, I can feel him. I can sense his presence and I know he’s watching me, and I hate it. I hate it so fucking much, but I know I have to act like I don’t sense him. I have to pretend I don’t feel him because I know Marcus is trying to pretend everything is okay, just for me. I hate that he’s beating himself up because he thinks he can’t protect me, but I don’t know what to do about it.
There’s a knock on my door, telling me that it must be Claude. Everyone else just bursts in or shouts “I’m coming in” before barging inside.
“What’s up?” I ask as he pushes the door open. I’m sitting on the bed, using Artie as a backrest while trying to brush Hela as I wait for Marcus to get home from work. Artie seems to think that he should be the only one who gets brushed and keeps pushing Hela out of the way.
“So… I know you guys want me to drop my research, but it’s just… what I do. It’s what I’m good at. And after you told me about the origin of true vampires, I couldn’t drop it, so I was actually able to track down Miller’s true origin. I was able to see where his wife died, which is likely the location where he created the elder vampire.”
“Claude… we promised we’d stop this,” I say.
“I know… but it was a small village. And people started mysteriously dying back to back, so I think we’ve pinpointed it down, Finn. We could figure out a name. I just need a little more time and I think I could get you a name.”
“I don’t know, Claude. I guess if you want to fuck around with it… it’s just risky and stupid and we said we’d drop it.”
Claude seems disappointed but nods. “I understand.” He’s quiet for a second. “Marcus is home.”
I head down the stairs to find Aria scooping up the bags of Chinese from Marcus. “Oh, you’re the greatest person ever,” she says as she rushes to the table with it.
“Thanks,” I say to Marcus.
He grabs me in a one-armed hug and kisses the top of my head. “Of course.”
Even though the true vampires can all eat human food, they don’t too often, but they always sit at the table with us, picking at things as Aria and I eat.
“You’re not hungry?” Marcus asks.
“Yeah, why?” I ask as I glance up at him.
While I didn’t completely quit the VRC, I only do work from home whil
e Marcus stays out in the field. I hate it, but it’s better than nothing.
“You’ve stirred around everything on your plate for the past five minutes.”
I grin at Marcus. “I like mixing my food, of course. Look how mixed it is!”
“You do not!”
“It’s a new thing I’m trying out.”
“More for me,” Aria says as she spoons rice into her mouth.
Claude is too busy staring at his phone to notice. “I need some advice. I know I seem like Cupid or Eros, but this Karsyn guy is just… so difficult. Do you think he’s playing hard to get?” he asks before handing the phone to me.
Claude: How about this weekend for our lovely date where I will serenade you until ecstasy is flowing through your veins.
Karsyn: What about doing ceramics? That could be fun! How tall are you?
Claude: Sounds amazing! Six sexy feet of desire.
Karsyn: Awesome! Google seems to think that six feet might be a bit tall to fit in a kiln, but I think if I bend you a little bit, you’ll fit! I can’t wait!
I start laughing before reading it to everyone at the table who also enjoys a good laugh. “Yes, Claude, I definitely think Alexei’s playing hard to get… or maybe he wants to murder you.”
“But why?” Claude asks. “I am displeased by this. And why am I not allowed to call him Alexei?”
“I’m not either,” Marcus says. “I accidentally said it the other day and he looked at me in pure disgust.”
“Why does he only love you?” Claude asks me.
I beam at him before waving at my body. “I’m just loveable. That’s all there is to it.”
Aria snorts. “Uh-huh.”
“Oh, shut up. You tried eating me through half our childhood! You don’t get a say in anything!”
Aria looks at me like I’m being dramatic. “I nibbled on you occasionally. A tiny nibble.”
“Finn would come running into my room yelling ‘Aria’s trying to eat me!’” Orin says like this is a fond memory.
“Marcus, I was thinking about running away for a bit. Would you like to join me?”
“Like away from everyone at this table?”
“Yes,” I say.
“I would love to. Where would you like to go?” Marcus asks.
“I can’t say out loud or they’ll hear and they’ll find us,” I say with a teasing tone.
He snickers. “Understandable.”
The rest don’t seem to think so as they glare at us. “What if we make our own little group here and we’ll not include either of you, ever,” Aria says.
“Where’s your boyfriend, Aria?” I ask curiously.
“Well, after Marcus talked Dad into taking him to a vampire-only establishment, he’s a bit skittish. He didn’t seem to like the jokes of people eating him like you did,” Aria says.
I grin as Marcus quietly eats his food, like he’s not a part of this at all. Definitely not his fault he terrified the man even more. “That’s extremely sexy,” I say.
“What is?”
“How evil Marcus is,” I tease. “Ooh! Marcus, Orin has a lake house out in the middle of nowhere we could go to!”
“No,” Orin says. “It’s not safe. You need to stay here and be safe.”
I don’t know what snaps in me at that moment, but I think it’s my breaking point because I shove my plate back. “Of course I can’t fucking go anywhere. I can’t even take a piss without one of you following me. What’s it fucking matter?” I ask. “He follows me every fucking where I go. So you know he’ll be right there watching us whether we’re here or at a fucking lake house or anywhere. I’m sick of this shit. I’m going and none of you can stop me. I’m leaving right now, in fact! Right this fucking instant.” I rush for the stairs before people even seem to fully comprehend what happened. I’m more than positive I’m being like a five-year-old having a tantrum at this point, but I’m not allowed to do anything and it’s driving me crazy. Every step I take there are eyes on me, waiting for me to fall. Waiting to scoop me back up and drag me back to my bedroom.
The dogs, unsure why I’m currently raging my way up the stairs, prance and trot around as I head to my room. It’s just like I’m surrounded by the most suffocating people alive. I know they’re trying to help, and I know they all love me and they’re only doing this because they do love me, but I’m so tired. I just want everything normal again, or as normal as it can be.
Marcus is constantly on edge and I know he’s beating himself up over being unable to protect me. But there’s this tension between us where he tries his hardest to be happy every time I look his way, like he doesn’t realize how fucking weird that is. Marcus isn’t a fake smile kind of guy. He’s brooding and grumpy and sighs every time I do anything.
I yank open the closet looking for the bags we’d used to bring everything over here, but I don’t know where they are. I grab a grocery bag and try stuffing a shirt into it, but without my other arm to hold it open, it instantly collapses. Pissed, I shove it to the floor and use my foot to pin it down as I start stuffing shit into it. That’s when the door swings open and Marcus looks in.
“Finn—”
“Either help me pack or leave,” I snap.
“I think—”
I stop what I’m doing to glare at him. “You think what? My father’s right? You think I need to rot in this fucking room all day? You think you need to go punch something?” I yell. I don’t even know why I’m yelling or why I’m so angry and upset. I’m just tired of my life being ruled and controlled by a monster.
“No… I think that shirt you just stuffed in there is hideous,” Marcus says.
I stare at him for a moment, shocked he decided that that was the appropriate response to my yelling. I look down at the bag and the clothes spilling out of it and just start laughing. “Claude bought it for me. It was probably like three hundred dollars.”
“We could burn it if you want?” he says. “We’ll use it to start the fire tonight.”
I nod. “Please.”
He grabs some clothes and tosses them my way. “Ready?”
“We need dog food.”
“I’ll get it. You pack them into the car.”
I nod and hook the bag over my wrist and then pin the rest of the wadded-up clothes to my chest as I hurry through the door and down the stairs. When I reach the door, I realize I don’t have a hand to open it, so I just stare at it until Aria pulls it open without a word. I head outside and over to the waiting car that I haven’t even been inside in five days. I haven’t left this fucking house in five days because no one wants to let me leave the “safety” of this place, like a fucking wall is going to stop a vampire.
“I’m not running away, asshole,” I shout, in case my buddy Ancient Vampire Asshole is watching. “I’m going on vacation.”
The dogs dance around at my feet, ecstatic I’m finally taking them somewhere after having kept them cooped up with me for days. I open the door and send Artie in, who has to crawl in to keep from bonking his head. Hela leaps in after him, dancing around and trying her hardest to get to the front where she knows I’ll be sitting. She decides going under the seat is the best bet and is already up front before I even get in the passenger’s seat. As I’m waiting, Orin comes out and walks over to my window before gently knocking. I hesitate but take a deep breath and roll the window down. Hela stands with her front paws on the sill, wagging her tail as Orin gives me a soft smile.
“I don’t want you mad at me,” he says.
“I know.”
“I’m being a little overbearing… aren’t I?”
“Yes.” I sigh. “But I get it. I don’t blame you.”
“I’m sorry. This whole thing has been a mess.”
“It’s not your fault. Unless you’re the masked bad guy,” I say.
He snorts. “That’s not even funny. Have fun. Be good. Call me every hour, night and day.”
“I’m not calling you every hour!”
“Then I�
��ll call you.”
Marcus comes out, so Orin grabs me in a headlock and kisses the top of my head. “Be careful.”
“I will!”
Once Marcus gets in, we head toward the lake house.
“Is this stupid?” I ask as he pulls out onto the road.
“I don’t think it matters where we are, Finn. He’s already proven that. So just… we’re going to this fucking cabin and we’re going to enjoy ourselves.”
“It’s a cabin of fucking?”
“It is,” Marcus says.
“Sounds amazing. Fuck the worry out of me.”
“I can do that. How far away is it?”
“Like an hour. And it’s going to be dark as hell, but thank god you have cat eyes and can see in the dark.”
“I don’t have cat eyes.”
“I swear I even hear you purring some of the time.”
“I regret this trip already.”
When we pull up to the little cabin in the woods, I’m oddly excited. I think it’s been so long since I’ve let loose and relaxed that the tension in me has been bubbling to the surface and finally, finally I have a chance to get away from it all.
I take a deep breath as I get out.
“Did you remember the keys?” Marcus asks.
“FUCK. I was so eager and excited that I—” I look over at Marcus who is dangling the keys between his fingers. “Oh my god, that’s so hot.”
“Me getting the keys?”
“Yes.”
“Clearly, I’ve been trying too hard then. If only I’d known I just needed to get you keys to turn you on,” he teases.
“That’s all it would have taken,” I joke as I hurry up to the door. I hadn’t realized how much I needed a break from everything until this moment. Marcus slips the key in the door and slowly turns it while looking me in the eyes.
How to Elude a Vampire (VRC: Vampire Related Crimes Book 2) Page 25