Her Vampire’s Promise

by Jordan K. Rose

  They didn’t move. Instead they simply watched her like she was a sideshow freak.

  “We can never know for sure what’s real if we don’t experiment.” She needed that drink. Without a second’s hesitation she slugged back the shot of whiskey and slammed the glass down. Swallowing against the burn roaring down her throat, she said, “Hit me again.”

  Reade sat beside her unmoving. His mouth hung open. His dark blue eyes were wider than when she’d hit him.

  Garrison grabbed another bottle from under the bar. “So at three years old you were conducting an experiment?”

  Chapter Seven

  “What are you talking about?” Reade said.

  Lawrie fidgeted. “What’s he talking about?”

  “Did you drink vampire blood again?” Garrison refilled her glass.

  “What do you mean ‘again’?” She reached for the whiskey, and although her stomach turned and her skin had taken on a green tinge, she brought the drink to her lips and swallowed it back. “How did you know about the other time?”

  “Well, of course we knew.” Garrison poured more whiskey and nudged the glass closer.

  She looked down, and Reade could imagine the thoughts flying through her mind. Her eyes flitted from left to right as though she was running through some memory, trying to understand how something happened.

  He was shocked to think she could remember that day. She’d only been three at the time, and Lawrence, though he was clearly heartbroken with worry, remained calm in front of her, never once reacting like any parent whose child had just gotten into the cleaning supply closet and ingested some toxic chemical.

  Reade remembered getting the call from Lawrence to come as quickly as he could. Forcing back the deluge of tears until his little girl had finally fallen asleep, the poor scientist broke down in an uncontrollable panic.

  That was the night Reade promised his own life for Lawrie’s.

  Dropping her shoulders back, Lawrie raised her head. “Fine. I did it. What are you going to do about it? It was mine, my father’s, which makes it mine. You have no rights where this is concerned.”

  Reade studied her face. Her eyes had been brown before she’d gotten into Lawrence’s supplies. When she awoke from her nap, they were as blue as his. Their color had faded a bit over the years, but they were still blue.

  No one knew what the side effects would be, or even if there were any. For several weeks they’d taken turns keeping her hidden from Raymond, who was perfectly pleased not to have to be with her, seeing as she was the only girl and thus would not carry on the Tyrone name.

  Garrison cleared his throat. “Earth to Reade. Come in, Reade.” He snapped his fingers in rapid succession. “You want to explain this or do you want me to take this one.”

  Reade shoved Garrison’s hand away. “What of your father’s notes? Have you found them all?”

  She nodded, looking from Reade to Garrison. “I have them.”

  “You found the room?” he asked.

  A jagged breath escaped her.

  Reade waited for her answer. If she’d found the room, then she probably had more questions than she knew what to do with.

  “What room?”

  “She’s lying,” Garrison said.

  “I’m not.” She sat up tall, leaning forward in her seat and curling her fist. Her eyes darted to the left where the stake lay on the bar.

  Garrison shifted his weight, stepping closer to the bar and squaring his shoulders.

  “Really?” Reade looked from Lawrie to Garrison. “Are you two going to have another go of it now? She bested you once. You sure you want to try it again?”

  “That was luck and a silver weapon. She’s unarmed now.” Garrison used the bar rag to push the stake out of her reach.

  “She’s also been drinking vampire blood, which explains why she’s so damn fast.”

  Lawrie fidgeted in her seat. “Stop talking about me like I’m not here.”

  “Why did you drink the blood again? Did you like the taste?” Garrison asked. “Maybe you’ve got a craving for it.”

  A wild and savage whirlwind of emotion rolled off Lawrie. Her body practically hummed. He couldn’t tell if it was anger or fear.

  “What if that’s a side effect? What if once they taste it, they want us?” For a split second panic passed over his face. “What if she’s an addict?”

  She scowled. “I told you. I was experimenting.”

  “On vampires?” Garrison’s voice was a deadly growl.

  Lawrie sat back. “No!” She shook her head. “I’ve never met one before meeting you.”

  He curled up his lip and dropped his jaw, making a show of his fangs. “Where’d you get the blood?”

  Lawrie’s heart pounded faster than it should. Reade had noticed how erratically her heart beat from the moment he walked into the bar. He was sure Garrison could hear it, too.

  “Do you have vampires trapped in Panthera? Where are they?” Garrison’s voice sounded nearly demonic.

  Lawrie’s face turned bright red. Her breathing sped. Sweat dripped along her neck. Her heart was in overdrive.

  When she’d been rambling on about her life, her heart beat furiously. At one point he wondered if she wasn’t going to keel over with a heart attack. When she fought with them, her heart slowed to a near stop. He was confounded by what was happening but too shocked by her behavior to focus on it.

  “No. No, I don’t know. I’ve never seen any vampires in the building.” She shook her head. “He wants one, but he’s never caught one as far as I know.”

  At a volume so low Reade was sure Lawrie had to strain to hear it Garrison growled a warning. “If you’re lying to us, we’ll rip your heart out and eat it.”

  Lawrie gasped and her hand went to her chest. “I’m not,” she whispered.

  Reade’s eyebrows pinched together. “We will not eat your heart.” He glared at Garrison. “Knock it off.”

  Garrison backed down. “Can’t trust her. She tried to put a stake through mine.”

  “Can’t say I blame her at this point.” Reade reached for Lawrie’s broken hand, and she jerked away. “We’re not going to hurt you.” He took her hand.

  He couldn’t help but touch her. He’d missed her. Twenty years of searching for someone who was supposed to be dead would do that to a man. Never mind the fact that her accidental consumption of his blood when she was three had irrevocably linked them.

  “I hope you know what you’re doing.” Garrison’s attention centered on Reade and Lawrie’s hands. “This could be a trap. She could have been sent here to lure us back.”

  Shaking her head, Lawrie said, “No. I wasn’t. I swear. Raymond would…he’d never trust me with any assignment like that. He…I’ve never been allowed to participate in anything important.”

  “Just the same, if this is a trap, you won’t make it out alive,” Garrison said, his words a clear warning for both Lawrie and Reade.

  The feel of her hand in his own stirred something deep within Reade, something familiar, yet very different. He had always cared for her as a child. It was impossible not to, but now seeing her as a woman and not a chubby little baby he felt a new longing, a need he had never expected would happen when he thought of Lawrie Tyrone.

  “Lawrie, if you’ve been drinking vampire blood, then you found the room.” Reade’s thumb brushed over her knuckles. He fought the desire to give her more blood to help heal her broken hand. “I’ll assume that if you’re sitting here alone, then Raymond doesn’t know about the room.”

  “No. He doesn’t.” She sighed.

  “How much blood did you drink?”

  She shifted in her seat. “Not much. One or so.” Her breathing hitched and she cleared her throat.

  Before the incident Lawrence’s inventory of Reade’s blood had been extensive. He’d taken at least a dozen pint-sized bags from Reade. Lawrie had consumed two by the time he found her.

  “By one do you mean an ounce?” She had to be more wary
about drinking blood now that she was an adult.

  She bit her lip. “A full bag.”

  “A full bag!” Garrison yelled. “Have you lost your mind?”

  “If I don’t return to Panthera, Uncle Raymond will tear the place apart looking for me. He’ll find the room. Then he’ll come looking for me and he’ll find you.”

  “Or so?” Reade asked.

  “Or so? Or so what?” Garrison poured another shot of whiskey into Lawrie’s glass, but before she could reach for it, he’d already emptied it into his own mouth and started pouring again. “I never should have agreed to let you come with me. You’ve been getting that crazy look in your eye these last few nights.” He raised the bottle at Reade. “Crazy. Like an animal gets when there’s a bitch in heat somewhere in the neighborhood.”

  “Or so,” Reade repeated, watching Lawrie fidget. She scratched her head and let her hair fall over her face. “How much exactly?”

  She inhaled and squirmed in the seat.

  “Lawrie.” Reade held her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

  “Nothing happened when I drank the first bag.” She rolled her shoulders.

  Garrison’s head jerked to the left. “You drank more than one bag?” His voice shot up several octaves. “Who does that? You can’t drink vampire blood. It’s blood. Humans don’t drink blood.”

  “You said you knew about the first time. Why are you acting so surprised?” She pulled her hand away from Reade. “When Raymond finds the room, he will come for me.”

  Her defiant stare wasn’t as convincing as she might have hoped. Behind her eyes there was doubt. Did she really belong at Panthera? She had to know Raymond wouldn’t look for her to save her. He’d only want her because she was Lawrence’s heir, and she’d be his newest test subject.

  Garrison chuckled. “No worries on that front, firecracker. At least none for us.” He sat back on the cooler opposite the bar. “He can’t get into that room. Only two people in the world can. And you’re both sitting right here.”

  “And neither of us is going back to Panthera.” Reade watched as defiance was replaced with shock.

  Chapter Eight

  “I…you…I…I am most certainly going home tonight,” Lawrie said.

  The audacity of these two to think she would simply go with them. She had no intention of not returning to Panthera. It was her home. She belonged there. “They expect me there. They’ll notice I’m missing.”

  Both men sat in silence. Garrison’s fangy grin widened.

  “They will. They’ll wonder where I am,” she huffed.

  “I’m certain at some point your uncle will notice. I can’t imagine he doesn’t keep some sort of tab on you.” Reade reached for her hand again. His fingers brushed along her skin.

  His gentle caress made her stomach summersault. No man had ever touched her so tenderly. Actually, no man had ever touched her, at least not since her father died.

  “Though, clearly, if you’ve managed to sneak off the compound tonight he hasn’t figured out about the room because if he had, he’d be obsessed with you and you’d have never been able to leave it, let alone the compound.” Reade’s thumb circled over the back of her hand, and she couldn’t help but watch the slow, featherlight movement.

  “I…I…” Why was he so nice to her? What kind of trick was this? Was she being mesmerized? Was he trying to confuse her?

  She pulled her hand away. “You shouldn’t do that.” She crossed her arm over her chest and tucked her hand under her arm.

  “You know you can’t go back to Panthera. If he figures out you’ve been drinking vampire blood, he’ll use you in ways you’ve never even dreamed.” Reade’s eyes darkened. “I’d love nothing more than to kill that bastard, but I’m not giving him a shot at you, not this time. He’s had you trapped for far too many years. Never again.”

  Lawrie sat back, inching away from the anger radiating off Reade. His fists clenched on the bar, and he breathed loudly, like an animal preparing to attack.

  She’d never seen a man react this way. She’d certainly seen men get mad. Nearly every time she saw her uncle he was yelling about something. Her cousins behaved in much the same way. Several times their angst was directed at Lawrie for one reason or another. But never had any of them become upset about something on her behalf.

  “I haven’t waited this long to rescue you from the clutches of a madman just to let you walk back into his grip.” The color of Reade’s eyes melted to black. “I’ll not lose you again. Your father will finally rest in peace.”

  No one ever defended her. No one. Not even the nanny who’d helped raise her and certainly not any of the employees. Her emotions tumbled, bouncing between excitement and mistrust to hopeful then annoyance.

  “You have not rescued me,” she said.

  “You’re no longer trapped in Panthera. I’m not letting you go back to being a prisoner.” Reade’s eyebrows pulled together. “The Guard can provide a safe haven for you.”

  “You did not free me from Panthera. I walked out, well, rode my bike out on my own. I did not need you to free me.” She couldn’t help but set him straight. No one ever let her take credit for anything good and right. “And I don’t need to be made a prisoner in some other location.”

  Lawrie had been the scapegoat for every bad thing that happened for as long as she could remember. If she was free now, she would take credit for getting herself to freedom. Some stranger she barely knew would not take that from her.

  “And I never said I didn’t want to go back to Panthera. Everyone is allowed a night out. I went out and I will go back.”

  “You can’t go back.” Garrison threw his hands up into the air. “Aren’t you listening? When Raymond realizes what you’ve done, you’ll become a lab rat.” His head shook, mouth hanging open like he was trying to figure out what else to say.

  “Panthera is my home. The only home I’ve ever known. I don’t have anything else. I don’t know anyone else. I don’t even fully understand how life outside the compound works.”

  She looked from one vampire to the other. Who were they kidding? She couldn’t go anywhere. She had no idea what she’d do with herself outside of Panthera.

  “Panthera is not a home. It’s a compound of laboratories,” Reade said.

  “The only place I’ve ever been outside of the compound is here. And this is only the third time I’ve come. I can’t go anywhere else.”

  She wasn’t brave enough. She knew it. She’d never leave Panthera. Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.

  “All that I have, everything I own, everyone I know, everything that was my father’s is at Panthera.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I can’t leave.”

  She’d always dreamt of leaving, of having a new wonderful life where people appreciated her and believed in her ideas, but when it came down to it, she wasn’t willing to give up on her father’s work or his memory.

  She’d only just begun to understand certain theories. Throwing them away or leaving them for Raymond to find wasn’t an option.

  “When did you start leaving the compound?” Reade asked.

  “A few weeks ago.”

  “When did you start drinking the blood?” He licked his lips.

  Lawrie noticed the way his tongue glided across his bottom lip, leaving it moist. She’d seen handsome men at the compound, though none had truly interested her, mainly she was sure, because everyone considered her the company pariah.

  But this man, vampire, person seemed interested in her. He had a connection to her. He’d been a friend of her father’s. She’d read his name in her father’s notes. Was it possible he truly wasn’t the scourge of the world as Uncle Raymond proclaimed all vampires to be?

  “A few weeks ago.”

  He smiled.

  She wanted to believe her father, but Uncle Raymond’s pronouncements countered every single thing her father had written. And Father was dead. So who should she believe?

  “That sounds abo
ut right.” Garrison inhaled. “She even smells like you.” He poured another whiskey. “This just explains everything.”

  “I don’t suppose you’ve beaten anybody up at Panthera.” Reade’s voice was still nasally from the broken nose she’d given him.

  “Never.” She shook her head and realized the side of Reade’s face was swollen and black. “I…that was completely out of character. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

  She didn’t know what had come over her when she hit him. It was as if she’d been driven by wild desire to make him pay, some crazy sort of eye for an eye need to get even.

  “You couldn’t help yourself, and I deserved it.” Reade touched his cheekbone and winced.

  “I’ve always wondered if all that talk about the link was true.” Garrison grinned. “Appears so. I cannot wait to tell everyone about this. Of course, I still plan to show everyone that picture. She kicked your ass.” He laughed. “Let’s have a look at it again.” He retrieved his phone from his back pocket. “Wow. Look at that.” He held it up. “Cracked the case. Must have happened when she knocked me down. You little firecracker.”

  “Is he drunk?” Lawrie asked.

  Reade shook his head.

  Garrison leaned closer on the bar. “Look at this. Look at his face.” He held the phone so Lawrie could see Reade’s face twisted in pain. “He’s holding his balls.” He slapped his hand on the bar, still laughing.

  Lawrie couldn’t believe she was sitting at a bar with two vampires, one of whom laughed out loud at the other’s misfortune. When she thought back to her decision to go out tonight, she remembered the anticipation of doing something exciting and hoping she’d meet someone new and interesting. Yet, she never could have imagined this.

  “It has been theorized that when a human drinks vampire blood, she takes on some of the emotional characteristics of the vampire donor. In fact, your father was the scientist who helped to advance this idea.” Garrison showed her another picture. “Good ol’ Lawrence. Did you know before you were born we called him Lawrie?”