by Wendi Wilson
I shook my head to clear it. So much for clearing out the negativity.
No. I needed to be a supportive friend. True had been fully behind my relationship with Levi from the beginning, and the least I could do was reciprocate.
“Looks good,” I said, as she turned around. “Can’t even tell it’s there.”
I offered her a small, albeit fake smile, but she seemed to buy it because she smiled back. Pulling a compact from her pocket, she dabbed a bit of powder over the concealer and the rest of her neck to make the spot completely invisible.
“So, I met Amelia this morning,” I said, purposefully changing the subject.
“You want to hate her, right? But you can’t?” she asked, smirking.
“Yes,” I answered, drawing out the word. “She’s so perfectly perfect, it’s nauseating.”
“It doesn’t seem to be an act, either. She really is that nice. Big change from Sarah.” As the last word came out, True slapped a hand over her mouth before mumbling. “Oh, God, Piper. I’m sorry. I don’t know why I brought her up.”
“It’s okay,” I said, waving off her apology. “We can’t pretend it never happened. It did, and I have to deal with it.”
“Okay,” she said, nodding. “You ready to go eat?”
“Always,” I said, smiling, and she linked arms with me as we walked out of the cabin.
We chatted about Levi and how I was going to miss him, the excitement of a new group of campers coming in later in the morning, and what the new Chef Zelda might be cooking up for breakfast. The conversation felt easy and normal, like the world hadn’t gone crazy over the last week.
When we walked into the mess hall, I noticed several things at once. The smell of bacon permeated the air, making my stomach grumble with anticipation. The windows were all open, letting in a fresh breeze while the sounds of slow jazz music floated through.
And all the counselors were sitting together in the middle of the room at one long table. Amelia spotted us and waved a hand toward the two empty chairs near her. True gave her a thumbs-up before pointing at the buffet table, and Amelia bumped the heel of her hand against her forehead like she felt dumb for forgetting we needed actual food.
Once we filled our plates, I followed True to the table and slid into a seat between her and Miranda. The redhead gave me a tentative smile, which I returned. Naveen called out a greeting, which was echoed by Ian and Analise. Xander leaned in close to True, throwing an arm over her shoulder as he whispered something in her ear.
“Gross,” a blonde beauty, who could only be Rose, said. “Get a room.”
She said the words with an impish grin, letting me know she was only teasing Xander. Though I couldn’t hear the words he whispered, the vampires at the table could.
“I’m Rose,” the girl said, confirming my thoughts as she looked at me from across the table. “It’s Piper, right?”
“Right,” I said. “Nice to meet you, Rose.”
She had long, beachy waves with natural-looking highlights, pale skin, and a wide mouth accentuated by full, lush lips. Her thin body had curves in all the right places, and her voice was smooth and sultry.
Why were all these vampires so perfect? I felt myself shrinking inward, feeling myself coming up lacking as I compared myself to them.
“I can see why Levi likes you,” Rose commented, pulling me from my thoughts.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Rose.” The word sounded like a warning coming from Amelia’s lips. I looked from one vamp to the other, waiting for one of them to explain.
“What?” Rose asked, her eyes on Amelia. “He’s always had a superhero complex. We all know it, Amelia. And saving this poor human—no offense, Piper—is right up his alley.”
No offense? She said “no offense” like it would negate the offensiveness of her words.
I did not need saving. Obviously, no one had told this heavenly creature that I’d stabbed one of her kind in the heart with a wooden stake to save four people, myself and Levi included. No offense.
I grunted as my eyes chased to True. She met my gaze, and I arched a brow, silently saying, “I thought you said she was nice.” She seemed to catch the meaning in my expression and shrugged. Rose was nice… to True.
I was going to have to watch my back with Rose. Her caustic words about Levi’s reasons for being attracted to me reeked of jealousy. I wondered if they’d ever been an item. I shook off the thought. Levi was with me, now.
He’d gone off on a dangerous mission, hunting down a rogue vampire, for me. Because he cared about me. He’d given me some kind of magically spelled knife that could kill a vampire on contact, because he wanted me to be safe and trusted me to use it wisely.
Shit. Rose better watch out, or I just might show it to her.
“Don’t mind her,” Amelia whispered, leaning in close. “She’s just jealous. She tried to hook up with Levi a couple of decades ago, and he brushed her off.”
“Shut up, Amelia,” Rose yelled from across the table. “I am not jealous of this… human.”
Amelia looked at me and nodded, giving me a wink. I looked from her to Rose, who was frowning as her unfocused eyes gazed at the table. When she looked up and caught me staring, the frown tugged at her lips before she quickly covered it with a big, fake smile.
Oh, yeah. I was going to have to go get that knife from under my pillow. As soon as possible.
Chapter Seven
Being a camp counselor was exhausting.
The new girls had shown up on time, arriving with suitcases and sleeping bags, bug spray and energy.
Lots and lots of energy.
For this round, Saka’am Cabin was hosting a group of nine-year-olds, and, holy moly, were they loud. The amount of squealing and shouting gave me a pounding headache after only an hour. I was excited to get to know them, but I was just as excited to know that, in about an hour, they’d go to the amphitheater for orientation with Sasha. Some peace and quiet, while they sat and learned about the rules, the schedule, and the health and safety precautions, would do me some good.
While I was fantasizing about silence while we were trying to get the girls to settle down, make their beds, and hang up their clothes, a knock sounded on our door frame. I glanced through the open door and saw a girl with a perfect oval face framed by blond beach waves that would put beauty bloggers to shame.
Rose. Just seeing her in a red Camp Shadow Lake t-shirt expertly cropped to show off her midriff lifted my hackles.
“The dean wants you,” she said, a hand on her hip as she stared at the chaos my girls had wrought. Clothes and bedding were everywhere as they performed a sloppy version of a dance from the app they were currently obsessed with.
Maybe I should’ve gone to the mountains to chase murderous vampires after all. Death might be better than slow torture through loud boy band music.
“The dean wants me?” Had Levi found something already?
“That’s what I said. ASAP. Move your ass. You don’t want to keep the dean waiting.” Rose turned and flounced off the porch, leaving me staring at an empty doorway.
Damn. Rose could give Sarah a run for her money with her sassy attitude and apex-predator self-confidence. She was as unlikable as Amelia was sugary sweet.
I turned my thoughts to what she’d said. It had only been twenty-four hours, give or take a few since Levi had left on his mission to find my father’s killer. It was too soon to have information, right? But what else could he want? Thoughts of harm befalling my mother flashed through my brain. She had to be all right. She had to.
“True, I gotta go,” I said, turning to her.
She’d seen and heard the whole thing and was already waving me out of the door. “Go, go. I got this.” Then, turning to a camper, “Amanda, put that lamp down or I swear to God… And, Keisha, I’m gonna call the dean if you don’t stop shrieking.”
Worry rushed through my system as I left the cabin and hurried up the path toward the dean’s of
fice. I made it in record time, but as I neared the front door, two male voices argued on the other side of it.
One was obviously the dean’s. And the other?
Well, the Aston Martin sports car parked near the dean’s reliable SUV answered that question for me.
Warren Thornberry.
What was he doing here?
Despite the raised voices, I walked up to the door, turned the knob, and pushed inside without knocking. Their kind had nearly killed me and mine. This gave me a certain boldness I hadn’t possessed before my near-death experience. Badass Piper was in residence.
But they were vampires, and they heard me coming before I entered. The fighting stopped as both men turned in my direction.
My boldness deserted me as I stared into the two powerful vampires’ faces.
“Um, hi. Rose said the dean wanted to see me,” I stammered.
“Yes, Piper, please come in and sit down.” The dean gestured to the ancient couch that occupied most of the waiting area. I sat while both men continued to stand, their postures making me think that whatever argument they were having was far from over.
The dean looked as he always did: an unflappable, middle-aged man with a trim goatee and short gray hair. He wore his signature subdued outfit consisting of a Camp Shadow Lake Polo and slacks. As I glanced at his expression, trying to read it, he took a deep breath, burying whatever frustration he’d had behind a fatherly smile.
“The new campers treating you all right, Piper?”
I nodded. “They’re… energetic.”
“I’ve heard.”
I smiled, not sure if he meant someone had told him or if he’d literally heard their screaming all the way from my cabin. It was probable even without vampire hearing.
My eyes shifted from the dean to Warren, taking him in. He was anything but subdued in all-black: the designer jeans, t-shirt, and suit jacket were tailored and screaming wealth like someone had professionally styled him. And I couldn’t begin to guess the price of the sparkling watch on his wrist. The dark shades and his forever-frozen-in-time five-o’clock shadow made him look like a movie star on a Hollywood runway.
His mouth quirked up. “Piper, good to see you again.”
And that British accent. Sheesh. The man was sex personified.
“Warren,” I said, remembering Levi’s words. I shouldn’t trust Warren. Even if he had helped my mother and me by paying off all our debt.
He took off his glasses, folded them, and put them in his suit coat pocket so he could look me in the eyes. “I hope you aren’t worrying about our little expedition into the mountains. I sent my two best men with Levi. The three of them make quite a team. We’ll see your father’s murderer brought to justice.”
I swallowed thickly. As much as I wanted my father’s killer found and dealt with, it was also like opening a raw wound every time we talked about it. And, mentioning Levi in harm’s way didn’t help, either. Yet, I didn’t want him to think I was ungrateful.
“Thank you for all you’ve done for my family, Warren. Er… Mr. Thornberry.”
“Call me Warren, please. And any time, Piper. After what you did for our community, rooting out those selfish vampires, we owe you a debt of gratitude.” He clasped one hand over the wrist of the other and tilted his head toward the dean as if subtly indicating the dean should speak next. Maybe this was what they were arguing about.
The dean took a deep breath, cleared his throat, and seemed to acquiesce. “Warren has come here offering his services. With Levi gone, he thinks you might benefit from learning to defend yourself.”
I glanced between them. “Defend myself?”
The dean nodded. “So what happened with Sarah doesn’t happen again.”
Boy, they sounded like Levi. It appeared everyone was of one mind about me and my apparent inability to take care of myself. Mainly, that I couldn’t. The words “chauvinistic pigs” came to mind.
Only… It seemed the dean wasn’t so sure. His tone was tight and his expression pinched, almost like he was only saying what Warren wanted him to say. And here I was stuck in the middle. I wanted to learn to defend myself. Sarah’s death felt like more of an accident than anything else. Sure, I’d acted in the moment to save myself and my loved ones, but it was only luck that sent the stake straight through her heart, killing her instantly. And, yes, Levi had given me that dagger, but I didn’t know the first thing about using it. Anyone could disarm me in a hot second. Maybe even one of those nine-year-old girls I was supposedly in charge of.
Badass Piper needed to up her game.
“I want to do it,” I blurted.
Warren smiled, but the dean looked concerned. “Are you sure? You’d have to miss afterglow activities. True would be left alone with all those girls.”
Before I could feel bad and reconsider, Warren interjected. “I can send someone over to fill in for Piper while she’s training with me. Her absence won’t affect anything. And Piper,” he locked eyes with me, “I think you’ll find my training most beneficial. We’ll start tomorrow.”
With a nod to the dean and a wink to me, Warren left the office and slipped into his sports car. The dean and I both watched as he pulled away, kicking up gravel and dust. I had to hand it to him, Warren Thornberry knew how to make an exit.
When he was gone, the dean started to retreat back down the hallway to his office. “If you’ll excuse me, Piper, I have to get back to work.”
“Dean,” I said, stopping him. I felt bold, and there was a question whirling around in my brain. “Can I ask you what you and Warren were talking about before I got here?”
The dean pinched his lips together as if he wasn’t sure he should answer. “He and I… Warren doesn’t always agree with how I run the camp.”
“Have you two known each other for a long time?”
The dean shook his head. “I’m the new guy here, Piper. And Warren represents a long line of powerful vampires who have gotten used to running things in a certain way. The last camp dean did whatever he wanted, so The Society has tightened the reins since I took over.”
Now we were getting somewhere. “And do you do whatever they tell you?”
His answer was quick. “No. I do what I think is right, and that sometimes gets me in trouble with men like Warren Thornberry.” His eyes trailed to the window.
So he didn’t trust Warren either, yet here he was letting me train with him. Interesting. The question of whether or not it was a good idea swirled in my mind, but then I remembered the knife. The insurance policy Levi had given me in the form of a very old piece of steel.
“Dean, Levi said you helped get me that dagger. Thank you.”
His eyes shot to me, and his expression turned deadly serious. “Piper, I strongly suggest that you not show that dagger to Warren, nor anyone else in The Society. They frown on humans having something that...dangerous to our kind. It would be in your best interests to keep it hidden, and only use it for emergencies.”
I blinked, letting his words wash over me. What he said made sense, but Warren wanted to train me to defend myself, so wasn’t that the same thing? No, I realized. One was like tutoring someone in martial arts, while the other was offering them a course on deadly poisons. Self-defense was not the same thing as being able to destroy your enemies.
Not like I could do that or anything. I was, after all, only human.
“Dean, did I make the right choice in coming back here?” I asked, the words spilling out of me. My head was pounding and swirling at the same time, and it suddenly all seemed like too much.
He sighed as that fatherly expression returned to his face. “Only you can answer that, Piper. I can tell you True is happy you’re back. I’m happy, too. And, of course, Levi. We’re all determined to make sure you remain safe and sound.”
He smiled at me, and I offered one in return. I realized, despite all the complications, I was happy to be back.
But one thing was still bothering me. “Sorry. One more question. True
’s been spending a lot of time with Xander Banks. Do you think he can be trusted?”
“Warren vouched for him.” He offered me a tired smile. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to work.”
He walked away, my barrage of questions finally making him uncomfortable. No matter how much I’d learned about their world, I was not part of their world. I was an outsider, a fact that I was seriously starting to hate.
But, if Warren trained me, I’d get to see more of The Society and how it was run. Excitement filled me at the thought. I decided I was going to work my way further into their world, one way or another.
Chapter Eight
“Ow. Shit.”
“You must never lose focus, Piper. Distraction will be the death of you.”
My gaze narrowed at Warren as I rubbed the sore spot over my kidney. He arched a black brow at me, daring me to argue. I couldn’t.
I was distracted. It was twilight, and I’d spotted True leading our campers down to the fire ring for s’mores and a sing-along. Just as I was about to refocus on Warren, Xander had jumped from the bushes with a roar, scaring the life out of the squealing girls. True took a swing at him playfully, and his hand shot up to grasp her fist, using it to yank her into his embrace.
That’s when Warren’s foot had struck out and kicked me in the back. A little too hard, if you asked me.
“Sorry,” I grumbled, trying to ease the censure I could hear in his voice.
“No need for apologies,” he said, his voice pleasant. “Let’s go again.”
I fell into the defensive stance he’d taught me earlier, one leg back and my hands up in front of me. I wanted to keep my eyes trained on Warren’s as he’d instructed, but my gaze kept skittering to his hands and feet. The dangerous parts.
Warren’s left hand flinched, drawing my attention, just before his right fist swung around to connect with my ribs—or it would have if I wasn’t wearing a chest pad that resembled something a baseball umpire might wear. But even through the padding, I felt the sting.