“Do you think your…?” Steve began, and I shot him a vicious look.
“Don’t even go there. Kristair is not behind this.” I jumped up from the couch, running a hand through my hair as I walked over to the window. The late winter sun was pale and watery as it shone through. I wanted to speak to my lover, just for the comfort of his presence, but it would have to wait until the sun set.
“Hey, Jake, what do you expect me to think? You’re screwing a vampire, the same fucking vampire who landed me in the hospital.” Steve shook his head. “I still can’t believe this.”
“I told you, it was an accident,” I snarled. The stress of the past two weeks was getting to me. First Kristair and Kayla had been hurt then Steve and Tony, then Kristair went all wonky on me by refusing to wake up, and now Tony was missing. God dammit, what did it take to get a fucking break? I felt torn in a hundred directions, stretched thin, and there wasn’t an end in sight.
Steve and I glared at each other across the room. I don’t know what I was thinking when I told him about Kristair. I thought he would’ve understood, but instead, he’d completely blown up. We’d had a huge fight and now I was staying at the hotel all the time. Until Tony disappeared, I hadn’t heard from him, though I saw Tony in class. I guess Steve had decided not to clue him in because other than constantly trying to get us to talk to each other again, he never brought it up. I certainly wasn’t going to. Losing one friend was enough.
“I’m sorry,” Steve muttered. “I know I’m not helping. It’s just…. Damn, Jake, can’t you see why I’d be upset? You’ve changed. I don’t want anything happening to you too.” He spun around, punching the wall.
“It already has,” I replied wearily, dropping down onto the sofa. “So much has already happened that I can’t even begin to go into. Yeah, I’ve changed, but not for the worse… I hope.”
Steve sat down on the other couch, looking at me steadily. “Okay, if it’s not your boyfriend, then what about those people who are after him? Could they be behind this?”
I thought about it, and then shook my head. “I don’t see why. Maybe if I had still been at the apartment, but I’ve been here at the hotel for the past week. It doesn’t make any sense.” I considered it again. “What makes you think it might be them?”
Steve shrugged. “I don’t know. Little things. He kept thinking he was being followed. He mentioned it a couple of times, then laughed it off as his overworked imagination. It made sense, after….” Steve paused and glanced at me. “Well, you know, wasn’t that how you felt at first when Kristair was stalking you?”
“You just had to say it, didn’t you?” I couldn’t even summon up real anger anymore, not when Tony was missing. Steve had a very good point. It did sound like what I went through last fall.
“Well, what else would you call it?”
“Point taken.” I scrubbed a hand over my face. “I can ask Kristair when he wakes up. He might have some ideas.” I glanced over at the bedroom door. It was tightly latched and I never looked in there unless I absolutely had to. Seeing my lover like that, so cold and still, gave me the willies, especially with everything else that was going on.
Steve sighed. “Well, I guess that’s all we can do for now. And if I don’t hear anything by tomorrow I’m calling the cops.”
I got up and snagged a couple beers from the mini-fridge, handing him one. “We should call his parents first. They might take it more seriously coming from them.” I hated thinking about calling them because it made it more real. Jesus…. Not Tony.
“After all those questions when we were carted to the hospital? No, man, they’ll take it seriously.”
Time paced slowly as we sat on the couch, sipping our beers. I watched the sun creep below the horizon, fidgeting and pacing. We talked a little, tentatively trying to bridge all of the angry words that we’d thrown at each other. As the light faded from the sky Steve jumped up, placing his bottle on the table. “Come on; let’s go see your boyfriend and get things started. I’m going nuts.”
“He’s not awake yet.” I rose to toss the bottles away. “It shouldn’t be too much longer. It tends to take him a bit.” Kristair said it was because he was so old. I don’t know. It just made me nervous sometimes; I got paranoid he was never going to wake up.
“How do you know?” Steve snapped. “Damn, at least let’s get moving. Maybe he’ll wake up while we’re on our way.”
“It’s another one of those things that you just won’t believe.” I wasn’t about to tell Steve he was sleeping in the next room and I’d told him enough without bringing in the mental hoodoo too. In his current mood, Steve would go charging in there and attempt to shake Kristair awake and I was pretty sure my lover was the kind of man who would wake up swinging.
Steve cursed under his breath, but shut up. About an hour later, I sensed Kristair stir, and a smile came over my face. “He’s awake,” I announced, hopping to my feet. “Wait here a minute, Steve. I’ll be right back.”
I hurried into the next room, shutting the door firmly behind me. Kristair was sitting up, running a hand over his scalp. Under normal circumstances, I’d find that to be damn cute, but now I tucked the image away for a good teasing laugh later on. “Good evening, Jacob,” Kristair said, a brief smile flickering over his lips. “How were your classes today?”
That was one argument I’d lost. Kristair told me to go because he wasn’t going to have me flunking my classes because of him. My mind wasn’t on class when I was there, but it made him feel better and in exchange he’d helped me write my essay. It was really weird to do something so everyday and ordinary with him. I liked it.
“They were fine.” I sat down on the edge of the bed. “We’ve got a problem… maybe.”
His gaze sharpened and he shoved the blankets away and got out of bed, starting to get dressed. “What’s wrong?”
“Tony’s missing,” I replied, my gut sinking again. “We’re wondering if you think… if maybe the Syndicate might be involved.”
Kristair’s brows furrowed as he started to button his shirt. “That’s a possibility, I suppose, but if so, and forgive my insensitivity, that was rather sloppy of them.” He reached for his slacks and stepped into them. “Does he have a habit of taking off without word?”
“Not really. He may be gone overnight if he gets lucky, but not for a couple of days. He’d tell us.”
“How long has he been missing?” he asked as he sat on the edge of the bed and tugged his socks and shoes on.
“Two days.” I wish Steve had said something sooner, but hell, this was college. We wouldn’t have noticed if he was gone for one day. If things weren’t so screwed up we probably wouldn’t have been worried at the two days either. Considering the turn my life had taken, I was terrified for Tony.
“It’ll be okay, mo chroí,” Kristair said coming over to me and laying his hands on my shoulders. He leaned down to give me a kiss. “I’ll look into it. Why don’t you stay here? I should be back in a couple of hours. You can call someone to come over and keep you company. Maybe Kayla.” I read the thought that flickered across his mind. He’d like to know she was out of harm’s way.
“Well, Steve’s here already.” I shrugged as surprise flashed in his mind and gave him a tight smile. “I’ll call Kayla too. We’ll keep her in line.”
He arched an elegant brow and pulled on his coat. “You make me laugh.”
“That’s my job.” I followed him to the door and watched as Steve rose from the couch, staring Kristair down.
“I’ll see what I can find out,” Kristair said, his voice the ominous rumble of a spring storm on the bayou. “I should know something one way or another within a couple of hours.”
“How do you plan on starting? I thought you destroyed their last hidey-hole.” I cocked my head, puzzled.
Kristair gave me that dark smile of his, the one that made him look so predatory. “I’ll sniff him out, love.”
“I hope he knows what he’s doing,” Steve
muttered after Kristair left.
“He’s got a better idea than I do.” I sprawled in the chair and picked up the phone. “And we’ve run out of options.”
“Just as long as Tony hasn’t,” he grumbled, glaring at nothing in particular.
That was a chilling thought. I dialed Kayla’s number and left a message for her when she didn’t answer. Once she had been released from the hospital, she had resisted Kristair’s efforts to move her out of the dorm to someplace safer, but she did have a point. She was probably better off where there were so many people moving around.
“Who was that?” Steve asked, thrusting his chin toward the phone.
“That, my friend, is the hottest chick on campus. And probably the most unattainable too.”
“I thought your vamp was the love of your life?”
“He is… but that shouldn’t keep a guy from looking when—”
“I can hear you, Jacob.”
I had to laugh at the crisp, prim tone to Kristair’s voice. “I’m just teasing, love.”
“Liar.” He laid a possessive mental kiss on my lips. “I had another idea. Why don’t you and Steve go wait at your apartment? If Tony is okay, that’s where you’re likely to run into him.”
“Okay. Do you think it’ll be safe?”
“I’ll have someone keep an eye not too far off.”
I didn’t like the idea of someone spying on me, but considering all of the insanity lately, I wasn’t about to argue. As I broke off my conversation with Kristair, I found Steve watching me strangely. I flushed. “He just suggested we wait at the apartment instead. In case Tony comes home and makes us all look like idiots.”
Steve nodded, rising to his feet. “What? He can’t use a cell phone?”
I shrugged and grabbed our coats. “I think he thinks they’re somehow immoral. I love him and all, but he’s a bit stuck in the past.”
“Ya think?”
“Kiss my ass.” I couldn’t help but grin, despite the situation. It was so damned good to be speaking with Steve again. We left the hotel, taking the bus back to our apartment. The entire time we joked and laughed, which helped hold off the worry that something was very wrong. I tried to shake it off, telling myself that I was being crazy. My life had been nothing but a series of insane events since the fall, so it was a little hard to ignore the churning in my gut. I was about ready to pull out my hair until I was as bald as my lover.
The elevator creaked and grumbled as we took it up to our floor. I hadn’t ever paid it any attention, but after a week of living the good life, it was much more noticeable. As we stepped out, I remembered Kayla and smacked my hand against my forehead. “I’m an idiot.”
“Tell me something I don’t know,” Steve shot back as he took out his keys. “Why this time?”
I shoved him. “I just remembered I invited Kayla over and there’s no one there. She’s gonna be hot. I’d better call her.”
“You do that,” Steve replied, opening our door. His face lit up and then he scowled. “Tony! What the fuck, man!”
My heart leapt as I peered over Steve’s shoulder. Tony sat on the couch, remote in one hand and a beer in the other, and all thoughts of calling Kayla left my head. The scene was so familiar, I laughed. I knew it. I was just being paranoid, that’s all. I pushed past Steve and darted in, tackling Tony to the floor. “You freaking moron.” Oh damn, it was so good to see him.
Tony tried to fend us off as I put him in a headlock and Steve joined in and we gave him a couple of good hits just because.
“Wait, wait, guys,” Tony protested, elbowing me in my stomach as he tried to squirm his way out. “I’m sorry, but damn, guys, if you’d seen her.”
Steve made a sound of disgust and I clambered off him, shaking my head. “I knew it. A girl,” I said, heading toward the kitchen to grab us all a beer.
When I returned Steve was still scowling, but he’d let off on pummeling Tony. I handed one to him and another to Tony, since his had spilled during the little brawl. “She had better have been the hottest piece of tail you ever had because I’ve had to put up with Mr. Mother Hen all day.”
“Fuck you, Jake.” Steve chucked a pillow at my head, before popping the top on his beer and making himself comfortable on the chair. “I swear, Tony, if you ever pull something like that again, I’m gonna kill you. It’s bad enough that I have to put up with crazy shit from Jake… I’m not doing it with you too.”
Chapter 27
IT BOTHERED me that Jacob’s friend was missing. I didn’t want to alarm him so I kept my misgivings to myself. It would be an easy enough matter to track Tony down. I just hoped it was happenstance, because I didn’t want to be the one to tell Jacob something happened to his friend because of my enemies. If that boy was hurt I was going to bring a war to Rome that rivaled anything it had seen in the past.
I had started at their apartment. The place had been dark and shabby as always. I knew my overprotective nature drove Jacob crazy at times, but I wanted to give him everything. The lovers I’d had in the past had enjoyed being spoiled. It was rather ironic I lost my heart to the most independent, stubborn man I’d ever met.
There hadn’t been much to find in Tony’s room or anywhere else in the apartment. There was no sign of a struggle, no scent of Tony’s blood. At least when I had fed from him it now served some purpose other than alienating Jacob from his friends. It would be much easier to track. Everything seemed normal in their apartment except for the instinct I just couldn’t shake off.
I had called Mr. Ussier and borne his teasing, but it had paid off. One of his men was going to watch the place from a distance until I returned. Maybe I was being overcautious. I didn’t care. I’d learned the hard way to trust my instincts. And if Jacob was going to be there I was going to be damned certain someone was watching his back if I wasn’t.
The apartment was a confusion of scents, some old and some new. The only thing I knew for certain was that Tony had not been there in the past couple of days. I started heading toward the campus, checking out likely spots where students gathered, searching for a more recent sign of him. I kept a light contact with Jacob as he bantered with his friend. Despite his worry he seemed much happier than he had been since his blowup with Steve, for which I was grateful.
Pittsburgh was a rabbit warren of streets and buildings squeezed on a spit of land between the rivers. Old steel mills sagged, rusted and forgotten on the outskirts, and warehouses and piers crowded the waters. Forbes Avenue cut through the heart of the city, dissecting Pitt’s and Carnegie’s campuses, and many of the establishments in the area catered to the college crowd. The weather was slowly warming during the day, but the chill returned with the setting sun and despite the cold, the streets were crowded with kids laughing and going about their business.
I hadn’t been searching long when Jacob’s sudden elation alerted me. “What is it?” I had to wait until he calmed down enough to notice my question. I sensed a confused babble of voices and a scuffle, but it seemed friendly so I stifled my impatience.
“Sorry.” Jacob was laughing. “You don’t have to worry about it anymore. Tony’s here; he’s been shacking up with some girl.”
I frowned, hackles rising. There was no suspicion in Jacob’s mind, however. He was distracted, carrying on and talking with his friends. In his mind relief was prominent, mixed with a bit of irritation. “Is it like him to leave no word? Or to not contact you? Does he seem different at all?”
“Relax, love. He seems fine to me. We’re not each others’ keeper, after all.”
I opted to keep my concerns to myself and check in on them surreptitiously. There was no need to alarm Jacob, especially if I was being paranoid. “Are you coming back soon?”
“Not right away. I just want to hang out for a bit.” He gave me a mental caress and then returned to his conversation, his mind drawing away to a peripheral awareness.
I couldn’t blame him. It had been some time since he’d spent time with his friends,
without stress hanging over him. Still, I was a trifle jealous, or maybe it was just worry. I turned and started backtracking toward the apartment. It wouldn’t hurt to check on Tony’s story.
I snuck up the fire escape, masking my mind from Jacob so he wouldn’t feel the need to get defensive over his friends, and peered in through the living room window. It was much harder to spy this way, and I missed using my abilities to alter my form. I didn’t dare try it now, not after I had lost control and had been trapped. All my abilities were suspect now.
Immediately, my eyes zeroed in on Jacob’s face. He was laughing and gesturing as he spoke, and I felt the familiar flush of warmth I always did when I looked at him.
I forced my attention to Tony before I alerted my lover. Jacob had a way of knowing when I was watching him. It was an instinct he picked up on quicker than I would’ve believed possible.
Tony didn’t seem to be any different from before. It was difficult to tell. I did not know him well. I watched them for a few moments, seeing nothing out of the ordinary, then eased back out of sight. I nodded to Mr. Ussier’s man keeping watch on the other rooftop. He would do for now while I continued to hunt.
I went around to the main entrance and picked up Tony’s scent again, my instincts heightening. It was different, changed somehow, though I couldn’t tell exactly what was different. I started to follow it down the street, more determined now to check up on his story, but ended up losing it a couple of blocks away. He must’ve come here by car, but why not go all the way to his apartment?
The fine hairs on the back of my neck stirred; my nostrils stung. I wanted to go to the apartment and snatch Jacob out of harm’s way. Hadn’t I alienated him from his friends enough? Besides, Jacob’s reaction would not be pleasant indeed. I could start stalking through the streets of the city to see where he left from, but that would take all night and leave Jacob alone in Tony’s presence the entire time. Slowly I turned back toward their apartment building. I would have Tony followed if he left alone again; that is, if Mr. Ussier would be interested in granting me yet another favor.
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