Gaslight (Crossbreed Series Book 4)
Page 37
“It’s complicated when you have willing victims. The elders don’t like people like that in the selection process to begin with. They become tools in our world if they fall into the wrong hands. It’s possible the authorities might pair them with Vampires who will mentor them, but finding honorable men willing to devote their time to a youngling isn’t easy.”
“At least the one we rescued will have a better shot at a normal life—as normal as life can be for a Vampire.”
“Normal is subjective.”
I draped my arms over my legs. “You can say that again. My life wasn’t even normal when it was normal.”
I thought about my childhood from the beginning. Growing up with a biker dad who didn’t live with my mom, and then my mom’s tragic accident. Just thinking about her death gave me a headache. Would I ever be rid of this discontent?
“Sometimes I feel like Dorothy on her way to Emerald City. I thought I was going down the right path and figuring myself out, but ever since Fletcher, I’m lost again. I feel like I got caught in a twister and lost my direction. What if I’m going backward to my old self—before Keystone?”
Niko gazed off into the distance at nothing. “You can’t always know where the path you walk leads, and there will always be obstacles to slow you down. Perhaps you need to walk into the storm to find your answers.”
I shivered and blew a hot breath into my cupped hands. “The Vampire who took me was my maker.”
Niko gave no reply, and I watched him for a moment to read his expression. He didn’t appear surprised.
“What’s confused me is that I like him, Niko. That’s why I went with him in the first place and allowed him to turn me. He’s not conventional, and he’s kind of like you. He sees the world differently and believes people should be true to themselves.”
Niko’s blue eyes grew stony. “But I would never sell you to another. Believe it or not, it took me a long time to realize my Creator was an evil man. I wanted to find reason in what he was doing. Perhaps your maker is a wise man with unconventional ideas, but consider that he might also be insane. Some of the ancients acquire so much knowledge in their lifetime that they’re apathetic to those around them. They rationalize all their wicked behavior. For them, there is no good and evil. They no longer believe in a higher order, and so the world becomes their sandbox.”
“But isn’t that a better idea? A world where there aren’t good and evil people—that maybe it’s all just action and reaction? Good and evil don’t exist in the animal kingdom. All they know is survival and instinct. Why are we bound to those beliefs of morality?”
“Because it’s what separates us from the beasts. Evil deeds make evil men, not the other way around. It darkens our light, but you know all about that. If you keep searching for labels, it’ll make you doubt yourself and everyone around you. It may even destroy you. We’re not born one way or the other, and as long as we draw breath, we have the capacity to change. It sounds like you have a lot of soul searching to do, but take heed not to allow this man any influence over your life.”
“It’s not like that. He never hurt me like Fletcher did.”
“That doesn’t make him a better man. I don’t know anything about your maker or what you went through, but stay true to your heart.” He nudged his shoulder against mine. “That’s a separate thing from your mind and your instincts, Ravenheart.”
“I can’t make him my enemy. I made a promise. He let me keep my memory of him knowing I could use it against him. Maybe I should, but I can’t. He knows where my father lives, and even though I don’t think he’d do anything, a betrayed man is a dangerous man.”
“Do what you must to survive and protect what’s important.”
When we rose to leave, my foot slipped. Niko caught me. I stared down three stories, realizing how lucky I was to have people who genuinely cared about me.
Once Niko climbed inside, I started to crawl through the window, and then Claude’s strong hands suddenly hauled me the rest of the way in. Sometimes I felt like a pygmy standing beside him.
“I missed my girls.” He wrapped his arms around me, and a loud purr vibrated against my cheek. It was like cozying up to a lion.
I pulled away and closed the sash to the hall window. “What’s everyone doing here? I thought the roof was my private thing.”
He put his arm around me. “Private? Nothing you do around here is private for long. I have good night vision, and I’ve seen you a time or two, walking the ridge. You came home without saying hello.”
“Hello.” I branched away and peered around the corner.
“Looking for something, female?”
I swung my gaze up at Claude, who gave me a tight-lipped smile. “Just curious if you brought anyone else. You two are acting suspicious.”
Claude put his arm around Niko and tipped his head to the side. “You slay me, Raven. Since when is checking in on friends a suspicious activity?”
“Since two minutes ago.”
Claude and Niko fell into step beside me as we headed down the hall.
“I wonder what’s on the menu tonight,” I said, thinking how nice it was not to have cooking duties anymore.
When we reached the staircase, Claude sat on the flat handrail and slid down ahead of us. “Whatever it is, I’m sure it’ll involve french fries.”
“Why do you say that?”
He looked up from the landing. “Wyatt was using a visual demonstration to convince Kira that frozen french fries are healthy. She makes hers from scratch in the oven, but you know how Wyatt loves grease. She didn’t look confident about using a deep fryer.”
“Better she not learn,” I said. “He’ll have her bringing those upstairs every six hours. It’ll smell like a dumpster in there.”
“I’m not comfortable with her serving us at all,” Claude remarked, walking ahead of us.
“Like it or not, she has a job to perform,” Niko said. “To refuse her service devalues it. She’ll think you don’t respect her.”
“I respect her,” Claude fired back, turning sharply to look at us. His golden eyes pulsed as his pupils briefly widened. “Which is exactly why I’d prefer her not to serve meals. Food is sacred among my people. Males serve females, not the other way around. It was difficult enough accepting it among the team, but we were rotating responsibilities, so it was a shared duty. This female’s sole job is to cook and serve me food… as if I’m her master.”
I chuckled and unzipped my leather coat. “Your problems are the dreams of other men.”
When we reached the first floor, I veered down the corridor that led to the dining room. Claude snagged my arm.
I wrenched away. “What gives?”
He jerked his chin in the other direction. “Christian wants to speak with you before dinner.”
Niko nonchalantly headed to the dining room. “I’ll save you a plate.”
I gave Claude a guarded look. “What’s this about?”
He shrugged. “I’m merely a messenger, m’lady. He’s in the garage.”
After Claude bowed and turned away, my stomach knotted. I hadn’t seen Christian, who had spent the whole eleven hours in the trunk, since New Brunswick.
Maybe this time I’d gone too far.
I could have rescinded the bet since I’d made it before our night in the cabin, but I wanted to see if he was a man true to his word. Had it been me who lost, I would have done it. My daddy used to say that a man is only as good as his word.
I went outside toward the underground garage, the last drop of daylight finally gone. The door was open, so I headed down the ramp. It wasn’t a massive sea of parking spaces like in commercial buildings, but it comfortably housed our vehicles with extra room to grow. The wall up ahead had a workbench with lots of tools, and we parked the vehicles to the left or right. Unlike most of the mansion, there were overhead lights. They gleamed against the white floors and sparkled on the cars. Claude’s Porsche, Wyatt’s classic Mini Cooper, Shepherd’s grey Jeep,
Viktor’s black van, Christian’s bike and Honda, and Blue’s blue Mustang. There were a couple of other cars, but I wasn’t sure if they were in running order.
I looked at Christian’s bike, no sign of him.
“Over here,” he said.
When I turned the opposite way and looked behind the ramp, my heart stopped.
A blue pickup stood out like a sore thumb. Christian was sitting on the open tailgate, ankles crossed as he watched my reaction. I blinked a few times to make sure I wasn’t dreaming, but the 1974 Ford pickup still had the OUTLAW decal on the back windshield.
It was my daddy’s truck.
I flashed toward it, afraid it might actually disappear. “He sold it.” I walked alongside the classic, my fingers sliding across the smooth exterior.
Christian stood up in the bed and rested his arms over the top. “Aye. Shepherd lifted the hood to look around but said she was in mint condition. Your da takes care of the things he loves.”
“Yeah,” I said wistfully, memories flooding back as I peered inside. It looked like he’d replaced the carpets and cleaned the vinyl seat cover. The bench didn’t have armrests or dividers to separate the driver from the passenger. I pressed my nose against the window and wondered if the interior would still smell like that awful cologne that he sometimes wore.
“It’s all yours for six hundred dollars.”
I backed up and gave him a lethal glare. “That’s all you gave him?”
His eyes swung up. “He said it brought back too many memories, and it mattered more to find an owner who would appreciate it and not use it for spare parts.”
“He didn’t recognize you?”
Christian tapped his hands on the panel. “You wanted the truck, so here it is. If you’d rather I take it back—”
“No. This is the best thing anyone’s ever given me.”
It felt like a piece of my soul had been restored. I’d been through more hell in my life than Nine Circles had rooms for, and yet somehow all I needed was this damn truck to see me through the next chapter.
“I shined her up.”
I admired the new tires. “Why would my daddy spend money on new tires only to sell it for a few hundred bucks?”
Christian turned down his mouth and shrugged.
“You did all this today?”
He sat on the edge and swung his legs over before jumping out. “No, just after Fletcher. I never found the right time. You were away with your thoughts, and I wasn’t sure what a gift like this might do.”
“Afraid I would have driven to Mexico, never to return?” I leaned my shoulder against the truck.
“You sure this is what you want?”
I stepped closer to him and stared at the small buttons on the collar of his Henley. They were undone, as always.
Christian tucked a lock of hair behind my ear and gently pinched my chin. “What’s on your mind?”
“Do you think I’m cursed?”
He arched a brow. “Why the feck would you ask me a thing like that?”
“Remember when we went to Washington? One Eye thought I was a demon—that my eyes meant I was cursed.”
“Are you mental? You’re going to believe the words of an old fart who wanted to put your eye in his own dead socket?”
“What if he was right? The ancients believe all kinds of things, and some of them are true.”
A quiet moment passed, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence.
He gave me a crooked smile. “Now that we’ve managed to get ourselves on the most-wanted list in two countries, why don’t we celebrate?”
I strode around him to the back and slammed the tailgate shut. “I’m not in the mood for drinks.”
Christian walked over and put his arm around me. “Then why not go to that godforsaken diner?”
“Ruby’s?” I thought about how nice it would be to sit at my old table and catch up with Betty.
He led me to the door and opened it. “The onion rings are on me.”
I hopped in and sat facing him. “I’ll settle for apple pie with a scoop of ice cream. After an Angus burger, of course.”
Christian wedged himself between my legs, and my breath hitched when he brushed his lips against mine. “Aye. And if you ever place another bet that involves my riding in the trunk of a car, I’ll feed you to the whales.”
“Promise?” I nibbled his bottom lip. “I jumped out of an airplane because of you. Let’s call it even.”
“Even? That wasn’t my fault,” he breathed. “And who’s the one who hid your corpses?”
I wrapped my arm around his neck and pulled him to me as I reclined in the seat. “I would have taken the blame.”
“Such a martyr you are, Raven Black.”
When he leaned in, I turned my head away.
“Kiss me,” he whispered.
“Why should I?”
Christian tilted my head toward him. “Because your lips belong to me.”
We fell into a passionate kiss—slow and sensual. When it tapered off, I stared up into his beautiful eyes. And yeah, the more I got to know Christian, the more handsome he became in ways most unexpected, even the rogue whiskers that grew down his neck and how the sharp angles of his face contradicted his soft lips.
“You never answered my question,” I said.
He propped himself up and stared down at me. “Which one?”
I played with a loose thread on his shirt. “About being cursed. I might ruin your life.”
Christian cupped my face in his hands and pressed his forehead to mine. “If that be the truth, then ruin me, Precious. Ruin me.”
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THE MAGERI SERIES is an exciting urban fantasy romance about a young woman's claim to immortality. Passionate, humorous, dark, and full of unpredictable twists, the Mageri series will take you on an unforgettable journey of love, friendship, and the hidden power within us all. Cliffhanger-free.
THE SEVEN SERIES is a paranormal romance that portrays Shifters living in secret in the modern world. A blend of humor, heartwarming romance, drama, and real-life issues. This series is for those who believe in family, second chances, and finding that person who completes you. Cliffhanger-free. HEA.
THE CROSSBREED SERIES is a new Urban Fantasy Romance following a rogue who is half-Vampire, half-Mage. Caught between two worlds, she joins forces with a secret organization that takes down criminals. Will desire become her biggest distraction when she is paired up with a Vampire?
Note: All of Dannika’s books are written in the same universe, but each can be read independently from the rest. Some Breeds within are original Dannika Dark creations. If you would like to experience each twist and crossover as it was intended, suggesting reading order can be found HERE. Sometimes ordinary people are destined for extraordinary lives.
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Books by Dannika Dark:
THE MAGERI SERIES
Sterling
Twist
Impulse
Gravity
Shine
The Gift
MAGERI WORLD
Risk
NOVELLAS
Closer
THE SEVEN SERIES
Seven Years
Six Months
Five Weeks
Four Days
Three Hours
Two Minutes
One Second
Winter Moon
SEVEN WORLD
Charming
THE CROSSBREED SERI
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Keystone
Ravenheart
Deathtrap
Gaslight
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