“The truth isn’t always as cut and dry as most people believe,” she added. “What do you want to know about me?”
“What do you do in your spare time?” he asked.
“I spend time on the beach,” she replied.
“Something tells me you’re not out there sunbathing,” he said with a chuckle.
“You’re right,” she told him. “I go out there because the sound of the waves is soothing. I like to run on the beach, but some days, I just sit out there. For the first few years of my life, I didn’t go outside much.”
“Why not?” he asked, and she almost cursed herself for revealing so much.
“The people who were raising me didn’t want me outside,” she admitted, trying not to reveal too much. “What about you? What do you do in your spare time?”
“I hike,” he replied. “It’s probably for the same reason you go to the beach. When I’m out in the middle of nowhere, with no one talking, I can think. Sometimes, I don’t like what I think about, but it usually helps ground me when my mind is caught in a loop—unable to stop reliving the most horrible parts of my life.”
“Like the times with your mom,” she guessed.
“Yeah,” he admitted gruffly. “I don’t like thinking about anything related to her.”
“From the little I’ve heard about her, I can understand why,” she told him.
“How do you know anything about her?” he asked.
“We found out about her activities in this area,” Talia explained. “We were considering ways to deal with her before her death. Even if I hadn’t heard about that, I was there when Lydia and Phoenix ripped into Roman for leaving you with her when you were a kid.”
“My feelings involving my mom are confusing and frustrating,” he admitted. “I loved her. No matter what shit she put me through, she was the only one who was really there for me growing up. My dad was obsessed with my mom and had nothing to give me. Basically, my parents could have written a manual on how to raise a monster.”
“We’re all monsters,” she said softly. “Some just stand out more than others. From an early age, I was trained to kill vampires in case they suddenly go on a killing spree. We are still training children to become killers on the off chance they need to defend the world from crazed vampires.”
“It could happen,” Drew admitted. “My mom’s the perfect example. There’ve been others, and we don’t always do a great job of policing problems. Who’s to say a whole family won’t lose their shit and end up with no one policing them?”
Talia rolled to her other side so she could face him. “You’re one of the few vampires I’ve met who feels that way. Most claim there’s no danger of vampires getting out of control.”
“The people after Shayla make it obvious there needs to be someone policing both sides,” Drew told her. “Who polices the hunters?”
“According to them, they do a fine job of policing themselves, but vampires are probably just as good at policing themselves,” she admitted. “Neither side is perfect.”
Talia’s phone buzzed again, this time with an incoming message, probably from Mason.
“We should get up,” she said with a sigh.
Drew nodded. “This has been a strange morning for me.”
“You don’t usually talk to people while you cuddle in bed?” she asked, trying to sound nonchalant about the whole thing, like it wasn’t strange for her, too.
Drew sat up, keeping his back to her when he replied. “I don’t cuddle.”
Talia was about to say something casual and teasing to lighten the mood. Instead, she decided to just be honest. “I don’t have much experience in that area, either.”
“Do you want to shower first?” Drew asked uncomfortably.
“Go ahead,” she told him. “I didn’t bring any clothes.”
Drew reached into his overnight bag and pulled out a gray hoodie. Turning toward her, he gave her his confident smirk and tossed it at her. “You should wear this. It’s cold outside.”
“Thanks, Drew,” she said with a smile.
“We’re friends, right?” he asked, and Talia didn’t miss the vulnerability in his voice.
“Shocked as I am to admit it, yes, we’re friends.” She slipped on his hoodie and hurried out of the trailer, only to find Mason waiting for her.
“I thought you were staying with Phoenix and Isaiah,” he remarked calmly.
“Their light was off and Drew’s wasn’t,” she told him.
“You know this is a bad idea,” he pointed out.
“What, Mason?” she demanded, stopping to face him with her hands on her hips. “What exactly do you think is going on?”
Mason opened his mouth to speak, but he must have picked up on the fact that she was going to kick his ass if he said something stupid. She was nowhere near ready to forgive him.
“I didn’t have sex with him, not that it’s any of your business,” she snapped.
Mason motioned for her to follow him into the trailer they were sharing before he spoke again. “Normally, I would agree with you about this being none of my business. In this case, I’m trying to keep you alive. That vampire is a risk to your safety. He’s far too involved in all this. I also don’t like the idea of him trying to use you for sex while he’s thinking about someone else.”
“Drew is my friend,” she ground out. “When I needed a place to sleep last night, he let me stay with him. He didn’t try anything. In fact, he was a nice guy. You don’t have much room to judge anyone for their behavior, Mason.”
“You’re right,” he agreed on a sigh. “It was a dick move, but that doesn’t change the fact that you can’t get involved with Drew.”
“I suggest you back the fuck off if you don’t want me to kick your ass, Mason!” Not waiting for a reply, Talia stormed past him and into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. She loved Mason, but he really was a prick at times.
Chapter Sixteen
The drive back was quiet, and Drew welcomed the silence. He needed to think about everything. When he’d left home, he’d only been thinking about helping Shayla. Nothing else had mattered. Now, there was a lot more consuming his thoughts.
That morning with Talia, he’d felt good; more than that, he’d felt relaxed and at peace with the world. Waking up with her in his arms, he’d been painfully aroused, but he’d also had a strong desire to just hold her. There was no way she could have missed his dick pressed against her ass. Since she hadn’t asked him to move, he’d stayed there. The sound of someone else breathing was usually enough to make him wake up in a cold sweat. Not the case with Talia. Much to his amazement, he’d not only fallen asleep with surprising ease, he’d actually had a peaceful few hours of sleep. He couldn’t remember the last time that had happened.
“What are you thinking about?” Phoenix asked from beside him.
“Friendship,” he replied.
She reached over and squeezed his hand. “You look tired.”
“He had a big night,” Isaiah muttered. When Drew looked over his shoulder briefly, he caught Isaiah’s annoyed glare.
“You did?” Phoenix asked him. “I thought you headed straight to bed after dinner.”
Isaiah and Mason just snorted. Drew said nothing, but Talia reached to her side and yanked out several of Mason’s arm hairs.
“What the fuck?” Mason howled.
“I told you to keep your mouth shut,” Talia reminded him. “You are already on my bad side.”
Drew chuckled. “I wouldn’t push her,” he told Mason.
“Oh, so now you know Talia well enough to know I shouldn’t push her?” Mason demanded.
“You don’t have to know her that well to know she’ll kick your ass if you get on her bad side,” Drew pointed out.
Mason glared at him over his shoulder before finally letting out a sigh of frustration. “You’re right about that. She already threatened to kick my ass this morning.”
“And you’re still pushing her?” Drew
asked with a smirk.
“Maybe I should pick a fight with you instead,” Mason suggested, looking pissed.
Drew figured Phoenix was the only person in the car who didn’t know he’d spent the night with Talia. Mason and Isaiah were clearly unsure of what spending the night with Talia entailed, but apparently, they’d made their own assumptions. Isaiah’s attitude surprised him since his cousin seemed to have been pushing him to try something with her. With any other woman, he’d tell them to go fuck themselves and let them believe whatever they wanted, but not with Talia. She deserved better.
Slipping off his sunglasses, he allowed his eyes to turn cold, a look that made most nervous. “Talia is my friend. She isn’t some whore who came to my room to ride my dick. If you ever fucking insult my friend with your assumptions or insinuations again, I’ll make you wish you’d never been born.”
Mason and Isaiah were both staring at him like he’d grown a second head. Phoenix patted his hand again, still smiling even though it looked forced. Talia’s reaction was the one that warmed him all over. She was laughing, not some delicate tittering but great guffaws of laughter.
“There’s this part of me that wants to tell you I can take care of myself,” Talia began, out of breath from laughing so hard. “The other part of me wants to see you threaten them like that again. I’ll bet you could make people piss themselves when you use that voice. And the eyes? Holy fuck, you’re good.”
Drew suddenly had trouble keeping his threatening look in place. He wasn’t used to being praised, especially not for trying to intimidate people. Most people told him to rein it in, but Talia wasn’t most people. She was something special.
“Sorry,” Isaiah finally said. “I should have asked you instead of assuming, especially after we talked about this recently. I was just caught off guard, but that’s no excuse.”
Mason’s snort turned to a yelp when Talia reached over and yanked out more of his arm hair. “Ouch! Fine, I’m sorry, too.”
After that, they were all relatively silent for the rest of the ride, something Drew was grateful for. Leaning back in his seat, he slipped on his sunglasses, closed his eyes, and pretended to sleep.
Chapter Seventeen
Talia and Mason decided to stay at the giant vampire mansion in the middle of the canyon. Since they were still working with the vampires, it would save them the long commute from Santa Cruz. Talia didn’t want the other local hunters to know what was really going on, so it was also best to avoid them as much as possible.
The meeting with Shayla was later that day, and Phoenix was hoping to convince her to stay with the vampires. Talia’s gaze shifted to Drew as they carried their bags into the house, and she felt a twinge of guilt. Lying to the others didn’t bother her much, but lying to Drew did. She reminded herself of the reasons she couldn’t tell him the entire truth, but that didn’t make her feel any better.
In the foyer, they were met with the disapproving scowl of Isaiah’s older brother, Justin. He was a doctor who was well-known for developing a supplement that provided nutrients needed so they wouldn’t have to consume blood. He also performed the procedure for those who elected to have their fangs removed.
“Doc Vamp!” Mason called out with a huge grin. One thing Mason loved was messing with Justin. “Where’s my future wife?”
There was a beat of silence before Justin responded. In that time, she imagined Justin was trying to decide if it was worth telling Mason it was none of his business. “My wife has a lab this afternoon and then a study group. I’m supposed to be there. Your request to stay here means I’m going to have to mess with the memory of a professor, and our entire study group, so this is not a good time to annoy me.”
“You didn’t have to stay here,” Drew reminded him. “Despite what you might think, shit can get done when you aren’t around.”
Justin looked even more irritated. “Roman doesn’t think so.”
Isaiah shoved his way around Drew. “Why are we standing around arguing? Phoenix needs to meet Shayla in less than an hour.”
“Where do I get to sleep, Doc Vamp?” Mason asked with a bat of his eyes. “Please tell me I can share a room with you and Caitlin. That woman is so hot she could melt the elastic in my underwear band.”
Talia’s eyes remained on Justin’s twitching lips as he struggled to keep them pressed together in a firm line.
“He’s not really interested in your wife,” Talia told Justin.
Mason snorted. “The hell I’m not. That woman is fine.”
“You say that about every woman you meet,” Talia reminded him. “If someone shows us where our rooms are, I’ll get Mason out of your way. If you don’t mind, I’d also love to use your gym. I need a good workout after being cooped up in that car with Mason for hours.”
“Wanna spar?” Mason asked her, all teasing gone from his voice.
“Sure,” she replied with a shrug.
“If you don’t mind me watching, I’ll show you where the gym is,” Drew offered.
“You want to watch us spar?” Talia asked.
“I want to see if you can do more than rip the hairs out of Mason’s arm,” he admitted.
Butterflies started to go crazy in her belly, but Talia quickly shut them down. There was no way she was turning into one of those twits who acted giddy over some guy, especially not one as dangerous as Drew. “Suit yourself,” she replied with a casual shrug. “First, show us where we can drop our stuff.”
Chapter Eighteen
Phoenix was grateful Drew and the hunters hadn’t insisted on going with her to meet Shayla. They’d all made arguments, but she’d convinced them it was more likely Shayla would run if anyone other than Isaiah came with her. She wasn’t even sure how Shayla would react to his presence, but leaving him behind wasn’t an option.
They’d been sitting at the table waiting for Shayla for the last twenty minutes. If it weren’t for the people Isaiah had following her, Phoenix would have wondered if her cousin had taken off.
“I’m not sure why, but she stopped for coffee at a local donut shop down the street first,” Isaiah told her as he looked at the message on his phone. It buzzed with a new message, and Isaiah grinned. “Aiden was able to brush by her while she was at the donut shop.”
Phoenix nodded. She felt a little bad about deceiving her cousin, but the way Shayla took off without warning and never let anyone know where she was, made it necessary. Dangerous people were after her cousin, and they couldn’t risk having her disappear again.
“I’m surprised she let him get anywhere near her,” Phoenix admitted. “Aiden looks too much like the rest of you.”
Isaiah shrugged. “Many people don’t notice that with the beard. He also has brown contact lenses in. Remember, you were just as paranoid as Shayla when we first met, and you didn’t recognize me as a relative of Drew’s in my simple disguise.”
“Good point,” she agreed.
His phone buzzed again, and he looked down at the new message. “She just parked, and she’s heading our way.”
They were seated in a back corner so Shayla wouldn’t spend the entire time looking out the window to see if someone was following her.
Shayla hurried into the restaurant, bundled up in a heavy winter coat with a scarf wrapped around her neck and a beanie on her head. Her eyes were locked on Phoenix.
“Why did you bring him?” she hissed when she sat down across from them.
Phoenix sighed. “Why wouldn’t I?”
Shayla opened her mouth to say something but quickly closed it and shook her head. “You’re right.” She smiled at Isaiah. “Sorry. I’m used to being extra cautious.”
“Considering all you’ve been through, I don’t blame you,” Isaiah replied.
“Will your security try to follow me when I leave the area?” Shayla asked him.
If he was surprised by her realization that he had people following her, Isaiah didn’t let on. “That’s the plan, if you choose to leave.”
&nbs
p; “Because I’m too helpless to take care of myself?” she demanded with a sneer.
The waitress approached their table before anyone could respond to Shayla’s obvious challenge. After placing their order, they waited until they were alone again to continue.
“No one is calling you helpless,” Phoenix began, tired of dealing with her cousin’s paranoia. “You have some serious problems you need to deal with. You’re my cousin, and I love you. I want to help you, but I’m tired of chasing after you, worrying about you constantly. You’re being selfish.”
Everyone was quiet. This hadn’t been what she’d planned to say to Shayla, and Isaiah was clearly just as shocked as Shayla by her outburst. It was the truth. She was tired of constantly worrying about Shayla and answering Drew’s questions about whether she’d heard from Shayla. Her cousin wanted to live her own life—something Phoenix fully understood. That didn’t mean she was going to pretend her cousin wasn’t being selfish and foolish. It made no sense for her to continue running around like her life was in danger. On that thought, Phoenix let out a sad laugh.
“What’s so funny about this situation?” Shayla demanded.
“Not so much funny,” Phoenix began. “Depressingly ironic might be a better term. I was just thinking about how you’re still in hiding like your life is in danger.”
Shayla closed her eyes and nodded. “I’m not sure how that’s ironic, but I can see how you’d find it ridiculous.”
“Your life is in danger,” Phoenix said softly.
Rather than looking shocked or expressing disbelief, Shayla’s eyes flew open, and she started laughing. What started as soft giggles turned to loud laughter, which eventually turned to gasping sobs. Shayla rested her head on her arms on the table, hiding her face from view. Phoenix moved to sit beside her cousin and wrapped an arm around her. In the time they’d been there, Shayla hadn’t removed her jacket or beanie. Her purse was clutched in her hand as if she might need to run at any second. It made her sad. Shayla had felt she needed to live like she was on the run for far too long.
Wicked Crazy Vampire Love (Psy-Vamp Book 7) Page 9