Ethan finally spoke, “Freddie and I got a few hours’ sleep after we left New York, then we both had a productive day.”
My coffee was delivered, and I was shown a menu. Pushing my glasses up to read it, I chose the roast chicken with potatoes.
From the corner of my eye, Ethan’s fingers tapped the table anxiously.
“How do you like New York? Have you lived there long?” I asked our table mate, trying to ease the tension.
The men seemed completely fine before I arrived, what was the deal?
Freddie stared at me again, his eyes glazing as if he were zoning out.
“Fred?” Ethan cut in, trying to gain the man’s attention. “Caroline asked you if you like New York.”
Shaking himself, the stranger’s eyes left my neck and darted toward Ethan. After clearing his throat, the ginger spoke, “New York? I’ve been there for almost a century. Dirty, smelly, overcrowded. No, I don’t like people.”
Ethan and I exchanged a look.
I examined the odd stranger. This guy was one of the most powerful CFOs for one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies? If I hadn’t known about vampires, I wouldn’t believe it.
“So, Aster says that she worked with you on another project. She says you’re a really gifted numbers guy,” I said, throwing it out like bait.
His behavior was beginning to grate on my nerves. Maybe this is why my boss had sent me to the back of the plane.
Thankfully, our food arrived, and I concentrated on my meal instead of my new friend.
However, one could only eat for so long. After we finished, Freddie’s creepy demeanor once again reared its ugly head.
“What blood type are you?” He asked suddenly, his words breaking into the sound of the engines.
I choked on my glass of water before meeting his eyes. “Blood type?”
Ethan blew out a sigh and shook his head. “Freddie’s asking because he’s working with a hematologist to decrypt information as DNA in blood.”
My brows came together. “Why?”
Freddie turned to me, “Why? Why? The human genome is a miraculous storage system. Think about this. Data can be stored inside human beings. It can be reproduced and decrypted centuries from now.”
“But people’s genes mutate. Won’t you lose data? Won’t it change?”
Ethan raised an eyebrow at Fred. “Those are good questions.”
“We can’t use gene-editing technology on humans inside the United States,” the New Yorker blurted out.
I thought not talking was disturbing, but Freddie talking turned out to be way worse.
Weren’t vampires supposed to all be sexy and smooth, like Ethan?
“Well,” hemmed Ethan. “Let’s talk about our current project.” My boss turned to me, “I told Freddie that he didn’t need to oversee this part in Brașov, but he insisted.”
“Yes, there’s a skilled workforce in Romania, good programmers. Even Microsoft buys software off of Romanian tech companies, but Balaur is the best. It’s run by moroi.” Freddie told me, getting a slight eye roll from Ethan, who rubbed his brow with thumb and forefinger.
My boss butted in, “Yes, they’re competitive and inexpensive, but we’re not buying software. We’re delegating sections of code to be written.”
I narrowed my eyes, “So no one single company has the entire code, except you?”
Freddie shot me a glance. “You’re a smart one- what do you do at Ethan’s company? Coder?”
“I’m his assistant.” I bit my lip.
Thankfully, we all were saved from further conversation when the plane began to descend into a wide valley. The lights below were starting to flicker on as the sun dipped low in the sky.
We passed over little villages with red roofs and churches before landing on an isolated runway nestled between glistening snowy fields.
The mountains loomed around us, like gray lumps in the distance.
Ethan and I stared out the windows into the growing twilight of Romania.
As we taxied on the runway, a thought crossed my mind. “Isn’t this supposed to be where Dracula’s castle is?”
Unfortunately, Freddie answered me. “Bran Castle is nearby, but it’s just fiction made up by Bram Stoker. Vlad’s real home was in Sighisoara.”
“Really? But not here in Brașov?” I asked.
Fred continued, “It is true—Vlad Dracul was one of us. But not how you think. That writer, Stoker, was a hack. The guy never even visited Romania. Just cobbled a bunch of legends up and made Vlad out to be a monster instead of the protector of Walachia that he was.”
Ethan raised an eyebrow. “Erm…We’re working with the local moroi. We’ll be staying in a Bed and Breakfast owned by the Dragon Clan.”
I laughed, “Stop. You’re pulling my leg. We’re going to Transylvania to work with Dracula?” I shook my head at him.
Freddie gave me a disgusted expression. “Vlad left this area long ago. I can’t tell if you’re excited or afraid.”
Silence hung in the air for a moment before Ethan spoke. “Well, Vlad isn’t part of the Dragon Clan any longer.”
“Isn’t Dracul—dragon in Romanian?
Another disdainful look from the New Yorker, “Dracul literally translated from Romania is Devil. Dragon is balaur.”
“The Dragon clan is Balaur? This is the company—Balaur—we’re working with? Why didn’t you just say that in the first place? I’ve spoken to them on the phone a bunch. Okay, …okay.”
The sun had fallen behind the mountains by the time we stepped off the airplane. The icy wind hit me like a stinging slap, biting into my exposed hands and face.
Two SUVs were parked nearby on the tarmac, the engines running. I stood shivering as Ethan and Freddie conversed with the drivers in a language I could only assume was Romanian.
Our luggage was divided among the waiting vehicles while Ethan ushered me into the closest car, taking the seat next to me.
“Is Freddie coming with us?” I asked.
“He has other business first here in town. We’re driving over to the village, where we’ll be staying.” He reached forward to turn the car’s heat to high.
I tilted my head, still stiff with cold. “How far is the drive?”
“A couple hours. The drive isn’t bad, and I think you’ll like the village. It’s historic and quaint. Also, the bed and breakfast is in an old castle,” Ethan told me before typing out a text message on his phone.
“Oh? That’s cool.” I found my seat-heater and flipped it on.
My fingers itched to call Aubrey, but when I checked my phone, I didn’t have service. No surprise there.
The snow began falling slowly at first, like a few white sparkly flakes in a snow globe, but as we left the confines of the valley, the white stuff began to pile up on the narrow road.
As we drove, the pavement became snow packed and limited our visibility.
When the SUV slid on a turn, Ethan looked up from his phone. Surprise colored his features, and he began to speak to the driver.
Our driver, a dark-haired man with a close-cropped beard, shook his head. He was refusing whatever Ethan had suggested.
I tapped my companion, “What are you saying to him?”
“I’m telling him that he needs to slow down.” Ethan’s body remained tense.
The driver eyed us both in the rearview mirror, and from the tone of his voice and expression, I knew he was trying to reassure us. I gave him a Brooklyn accent in my head, saying, “I’m a professional, let me do my job.”
Ethan checked my seatbelt after buckling his own. He gripped the handle above his door tightly.
An inappropriate laugh escaped me, and he gave me a stern look.
“Why are you white-knuckling the oh-shit handle?” I asked, starting to get a bit worried.
He sniffed and pointed out my own death grip on my matching bar. “You are too. This guy’s going too fast. I told him I should drive.”
“Isn’t there
anything you can do? I mean, I thought he was just teasing us a bit.” I ducked my head, “Are you really scared?”
The driver, obviously aware that both his passengers were having serious concerns about his driving, eased off the gas.
Ethan met my eyes as we continued to wind through narrow passes of thick pines and leafless birch trees.
“I tried to compel him, but I need to be closer, and direct eye contact helps a lot.” He whispered to me.
I let my head fall back, my left hand still gripping my handle. “Hold up a moment. Compel. You mean, like brainwash? Or mind control?”
Okay, my voice did come off pitchy, but, in my defense, what the hell?! Compel?
Ethan narrowed his eyes, which I pointedly did not meet.
“I haven’t ever compelled you if you were wondering,” he told me defensively.
Turning back to him, consequences be damned, I met his gaze. “Maybe you should have. Maybe you should’ve compelled me to forget the mountain lion and the two nights I spent in your house.”
He shook his head. “I didn’t want you to forget. I don’t want to compel anything from you.”
“Why? I’ve been torturing myself trying to stay away from you, and all this time, you could take it away?”
I didn’t want to desire Ethan.
I didn’t want these inconvenient, agonizing, terrible, magnificent feelings I had for the man.
He spoke, barely above a whisper, his voice breathy, “Because—I see you. I see who you really are, and I’m willing to wait. I told you, I’m a very patient man.”
My heart squeezed.
“I’ve seen those women…and men, that leave your office every day. I can’t compete with that,” my voice cracked on the last word.
He laced his fingers into the hair at my neck. “Why do you think you have to compete with them? You know why they’re there.”
“Blood?”
“Yes, and I need blood every day. Just a little, but I need it. Why did you think Freddie kept looking at you like that? He needed blood and assumed I’d have some on the plane. I didn’t.”
The sloshing of tires cruising over the wet snow outside was the only noise between us until he spoke again, “I will protect you with my life.”
“Why?” I whispered.
He shook his head, “I don’t know. There’s something between us. Some crazy connection that I don’t understand. Tell me, is this a simple attraction you have for me, or do you feel as I do?”
I laughed, embarrassed. “Of course, I do! But you…You’re Ethan Fricking Dumont! I think half of LA feels like that!”
His eyes searched my face. “Attraction maybe, but no connection. Most people have an innate fear of moroi, some are attracted to that. But if your feelings go deeper than attraction, then why do you deny yourself? What’s holding you back?”
I gazed into his eyes, black in the darkness of this starless night.
Then I felt it, just a little slide at first, the wheels sliding on the wet snow.
Time slowed down.
Our SUV had begun to glide toward the side of the road. The driver adjusted and steered, but it was too late. We were in a full-on horizontal skid. Glancing out the window behind Ethan, I was met with a faint hint of pine trees across a ravine, it’s depth masked by the black of night.
I reached out for Ethan and grabbed his hand as we slammed into a low stone ledge on the side of the road.
Faint light reflected off his eyes, eyes that were on mine.
“Relax!” He shouted.
I couldn’t. How could I relax?
I thought the stone border would stop the car, but instead of stopping us, our SUV struck it hard and flipped us over the edge. Our car seemed to stop for a moment, hovering on the precipice. Then, before the momentum and the steepness of the mountain acted on our vehicle, I felt a sting on my hand. Ethan had bitten me.
That’s when I knew this was going to be very, very bad.
Gravity took over, and our SUV began tumbling down the snow-covered slope. The contents of the vehicle became airborne projectiles as we rolled down into the blackness.
I should’ve been afraid and tense, but instead, because of Ethan’s bite, my body flopped like a rag doll.
13
After being tossed around over and over again, the SUV slid to a sudden stop. I hung from my seatbelt and felt the blood begin to rush to my head. We were sideways and half-buried in snow.
After a click, Ethan was beside me in a flash. Smoothing tendrils of hair from my face, he smiled his crooked smile. But this time, instead of cocky, it was shocked.
“Are you okay?” He breathed.
Taking inventory of my body, I nodded. “I think so. I’m…Are you okay?”
Ethan had several scratches on his face, the blood already drying. “I’m fine.”
“I don’t feel as groggy as I did the first time you bit me,” I whispered, holding onto his neck as he undid my seatbelt. He supported my weight and lowered me onto the broken window and packed snow.
I fell into him, my limbs were still heavy like lead.
“It’s because of adrenalin and dosing—I bit you shallow enough so that you wouldn’t tense up,” he told me, pushing me to stand up in the sideways SUV.
I wobbled a bit but maintained an upright position. “I think you saved my life again.”
The front of the SUV lay crushed. I held my hand to my face at the metallic smell of blood.
“Oh! The driver! We need to get him help. I can’t see anything.” I turned toward the front of the car, but Ethan pulled me away.
“He’s already gone,” the vampire whispered.
“Are you sure?”
Ethan nodded and kicked at the sunroof until it popped outward against the snow.
“Stay here for a moment. Let me look around.”
I nodded, shivering. I hadn’t really brought real winter gear—just some hiking shoes and my wool coat.
While Ethan had a look around the vehicle, I found my suitcase and began to search the contents. As the frigid wind made its way into the car, I quickly changed into my warmest clothing, donning the long coat over a heavy sweater and making a scarf out of another.
Ethan returned and held his hand down into the car to pull me out.
“Do you need anything from inside?” I asked, holding up his messenger bag.
He clutched the satchel and slung it across his body. All he wore was his usual leather jacket, jeans, and t-shirt.
“You’re gonna get cold. What else do you have? Do you have a coat?” I asked.
He shook his head, “Moroi don’t get cold. Come on.”
Not even the moonlight reached the depths of the ravine. No lights shone down from the road we’d been on, and we could hear no traffic.
“I can’t see the street, can you?” I asked, trailing behind—post-holing each step into the heavy snow.
“No, but it’s there. We have to make it back up. Walk in my footsteps.”
I sucked in a shaky breath, the air sending needles of frost through my lungs.
The way was incredibly steep and slippery. What would have been a strenuous hike in the summer had become treacherous that winter night.
I’d fall, get back up, and fall again. Ethan began to walk behind me, holding my elbow and pushing me.
I fought the wet snow, the ice, and the mud. I also began to fight my own body. My muscles ached, and my knees felt as if I’d skinned them.
Every time I thought we’d made it to the road, it would be another false summit.
When my legs began to give out from fatigue and cold, I collapsed backward.
I lay there, gazing up into the sky. The moon had risen, and its glow reflected off the snowy trees. White crystalline flakes fluttered down, landing on my cold face.
“It’s clearing up,” I sighed, not moving.
Ethan loomed over me. “Can you get up?”
When I nodded, he pulled on my arms to right me.
“Come on, we’re almost to the top.”
He only slightly lied. We still had a ways to go, but after my inadvertent snow angel, I was determined to make it up that mountain.
Stumbling onto the road, we gazed around. The tracks of our car and tumble over the edge had been completely covered up by fresh snowfall.
“If we decided to wait for help, we would’ve died,” I muttered, gazing down the road.
A wolf called out in the night, and Ethan reached for me.
“Come on, we need to keep moving.”
“Do you think anyone is looking for us?” I asked. A trickle of sweat made its way down my back.
“No, they’d think that we stopped elsewhere.”
I gulped, “How far away are we?”
“Maybe twenty kilometers. Come on, I remember there being a hunting cabin around here.”
He waited until I caught up to him. More wolves called out now that the sky began to clear.
A few inches of snow covered the road, and our footsteps laid a trail on it behind us.
The silence stretched out, punctuated only by the crunch beneath our feet or the occasional animal sound or howl.
“Have you ever been married?” I asked.
“Yes. As a human.”
“Oh? Any children?”
“No.”
I gazed over at him, but he kept his eyes forward.
Shivering, I tried to make my tired body move faster, but every part of me ached.
“I’m trying to distract myself. I’m sure you have lifetimes of experiences you could tell me about.”
“I’ve got experiences any therapist would commit me for,” he murmured, looking into the distance.
“What’s one of your most favorite memories?”
“Hmmm…laying with you in my bed and watching you fall asleep,” He said in a hushed tone.
“No, really. You’ve seen so much. I mean, how many languages can you speak?”
He kept scanning the woods around us. “Enough to get by. Moroi have good memories, it’s easy for us to learn languages.” Rubbing his hands together, he blew on them, “Let’s see, good memories? The end of World War 2, watching astronauts land on the moon, seeing my first airplane, my first television. Unfortunately, I’ve lived long enough to see history begin to repeat itself. We try, though.”
Bloodthirsty Bastard: A Hero Club Novel Page 12