by Jana Denardo
Arrigo pulled him close. “I think you proved that tonight. I told you. I’m not much of a mentor. Expect me to make mistakes.” He stroked Luc’s cheek.
Luc trembled slightly at his touch. “I think I know what to expect. Arrigo, if you’re angry at me just say so.”
“I’m disappointed you didn’t call and tell me where you were going. You could have said you wanted to see Lily. I’d have been fine with that.”
“I wanted to go alone.”
Arrigo scowled. “And you could have said that. I’m sorry if I’ve made you feel like I’m smothering you. You are potentially a dangerous creature now. It doesn’t take much to create another Eleni.”
Luc huffed, tension draining out of him. “I get that. Next time I’ll tell you before I take off.”
“Thank you.” Arrigo caught Luc’s hand. “Are you okay? You had to have been scared.”
Luc saw the worry in Arrigo’s dark eyes. A shudder ran through him as he remembered the fear, which had given him a backbone. He pulled out of Arrigo’s grip and headed for the bedroom. “The sun is coming up soon.”
“Luc.” Arrigo followed him.
“I was scared shitless.” Luc kicked his shoes off. They thumped against the wall. “I can’t imagine how much pain and damage a pool stick up the ass would cause. Suddenly I wasn’t scared no more. I was pissed. They hurt me my whole life. No more. I wanted to fucking kill them, but I didn’t. Even if you hadn’t shown up, I was walking out the door. That counts for something, right?”
“It counts for everything. It tells me what kind of man you are. I have a lot less worry you’ll go dark on us. If you can stop yourself from killing people who frankly fucking deserve it, you are going to do good, Luc. In that respect, I’m very proud of you.” Arrigo clamped a hand on Luc’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze.
Luc smiled, trying to fight back a swell of emotion that would probably ruin the moment if he cried. He took a step back and peeled off his shirt, which reeked of smoke and booze.
He tossed it toward the hamper but missed. “Sometimes I think of killing them all. Does that change your mind?”
Arrigo shook his head. “I’d be disturbed if you didn’t.”
“Good.” Luc wanted to grab Arrigo and wrestle him down to the bed, not so much for sex but for a desperate need to feel close to someone after what happened tonight. First, a question he had been too afraid to ask blazed its way to the forefront of his mind. Luc had to ask it. “Arrigo, do you love me?”
Arrigo blinked, looking so panicked Luc’s heart sank. “What brought that on?”
“It’s a fair question. Do you love me? We were dating. I hoped it was heading somewhere more than sex even if I couldn’t figure out why you wanted a poor dumbass like me. I get why better now.” Luc spread his arms wide. “Then Eleni happened. This huge thing happened to me and everything changed. We’re teacher and student but now we’ve started fooling around again. So where does that leave us? Are we boyfriends? Friends with benefits. I’m not good with the latter. That’s not me, so I need to know, do you love me? Because I know how I feel about you.”
Arrigo sat on the bed, patting the mattress. Luc obliged him. “You’re right. It’s a fair question, and everything did change.” He rested his hand on Luc’s knee. “I’ve asked myself this. At first it was mostly sex, but even before you became a vampire, it had changed. Our relationship definitely changed when I became your mentor. I have all the power over you. When you think about it, it’s not that big of a change. I’ve always had all the power. It’s an unequal relationship, and I know neither of us was comfortable with that part.”
“You tried to make it better, but, yeah.”
“Tonight when I saw you being wolf-packed, I was terrified, I couldn’t stand to see you hurt again, so I guess that answers the question. I am falling in love with you.”
Luc sighed leaning against him. “Good, because tonight I was afraid I’d never see you again, or you’d see me all fucked up and hurt again. I couldn’t have it.” He swallowed hard. “I’ve been afraid for a while maybe you didn’t love me back. I know we’re friends but… you know.”
Arrigo wrapped his arm around Luc’s shoulder. “I understand what you’re trying to say. We’re in a strange, often awkward situation, but, yes, I care about you very much. I do love you.”
Luc twisted, tossing his arms around Arrigo. He tucked his head against Arrigo’s shoulder. “That’s what I needed to know. Stay with me tonight.” Luc knew Arrigo always went to his own room. He didn’t want to make it harder for Luc to keep control, and of course there was that whole awkward thing.
Arrigo stroked Luc’s arm. “Of course.”
Luc let go of Arrigo and lay back on the bed. He wanted to mention about helping Lily to Arrigo, but his energy had fled. Tomorrow would be better. Right now, he simply wanted to rest next to Arrigo and forget most of this night had ever happened. “That makes a bad night so much better.”
Arrigo leaned down, kissing him. “Good to hear.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
“WHY ARE you still here so late, Taabu?” Arrigo asked as he walked into their business, Luc following behind him. “And how’s it going with Cheryl? Is she here?”
She waved a hand at the half-dozen people sitting in the lobby to silence him. Taabu opened his office door, waiting for him and Luc to walk inside before saying, “I was gone for a few weeks. I have a backlog and rent to pay. Cheryl’s in my office, and it’s working out fine with her. She’s great company. Even Shani likes her, but if I were you I’d avoid Shani. She’s in a foul mood after so many weeks of not getting anywhere on the case. Speaking of not being here in weeks, do you ever come in and get your mail? You can be so lazy.”
Luc snickered.
Arrigo elbowed him. “I’ve been busy with Luc.”
“Oh, so wrong L word, lusty not lazy.” Taabu gave Luc a knowing look.
“Can’t he be both?” Luc asked sweetly with a flirty wink.
Arrigo dug his elbow in harder. The last thing he needed was these two ganging up on him. “Someone wants dumped in the desert.”
“So cruel. Come on, you’re keeping Taabu from her work.”
“He’s a doll, Arrigo.” Taabu gently tugged one of Luc’s curls. “It’s about time you started bringing him around. In spite of meeting him a couple times, I was beginning to think his continued presence was a pleasant daydream.”
“And he’s turning into a nightmare tonight.”
“Really? And after I was so nice to you earlier.” Luc put on his best wounded look.
Arrigo narrowed his eyes at Luc. “You weren’t teasing me then.”
“Yeah, I was.”
“You were probably more naked.” Taabu patted Luc’s arm before heading out of the office.
Arrigo rolled his eyes. Luc snickered and tossed himself in one of the comfy office chairs.
“Will we be here long tonight?” Luc stared up at the ceiling tiles as he lounged on the chair.
“Not really. We could do a little ghost hunting back at the diner if you want to see Lily again.”
“I’ll text her and see if she’s at work, or we could do that bowling thing.”
Arrigo considered it for about three seconds. He leaned back in his chair, covering his eyes, which did nothing to block the images bubbling up. “Sounds like a hilariously fun bad time.”
“Mini golf is still a possibility,” Luc said.
Arrigo wrinkled up his nose. “I might be less awful at golf.”
“I think it’ll be good for me to see you being less than perfect.” Luc eyed him.
Arrigo snorted, then sorted through the accumulated paper mail. “Either one of those would work.”
“I should take video for Siobhan.” Luc’s blue eyes lit up as he pulled out the phone Arrigo bought him.
Arrigo stopped sorting to peer at Luc over an envelope. “Now you’re pushing it.”
“And for Taabu, I could YouTube it.”
&n
bsp; “I could tie you to a deck chair by the roof pool and let you wait for the sun.”
Luc flipped him off. “Such violence. The Chiaroscuro would not approve.”
“Cold comfort when you’re fitting into an ashtray.” Arrigo grinned at him.
“Now I’m telling Siobhan.”
Arrigo snorted again, then froze, his eyes glued to a card with a name on it he hadn’t used in decades. The name was the one he went by when he had killed Eleni’s lover. It was postmarked Reno.
Luc straightened up in his chair, then leaned forward. “What’s wrong?”
“I think this is from Eleni.” He picked up the letter.
“It looks too small for a mail bomb. Maybe it has anthrax in it.” Luc knitted his brow. “Can we get anthrax?”
“I think you watch too much TV. And I don’t know.” Arrigo made a face. “We run too cool for a lot of bacteria, and I don’t know where Eleni would get anthrax.”
“You gonna open it?”
Arrigo tore it open and fished out a pretty card, no white powder in sight. He fought the urge to crumple the card and flipped it open. His lip curled as he said, “All it says is ‘Did you like my little gift to you? He wasn’t as pretty as our boy. How is he? Adapting? Tell him Momma’s coming for him.’”
Luc leaped up, snatching the card away with a shaking hand. He read through it for himself. “What? Fuck! Arrigo, can I fight her?”
Arrigo stood and walked around the desk to put a hand on Luc’s shoulder. “Alone, your chances aren’t good. You’re learning to shield your mind from being controlled. Eleni is a master with mind control, but you won’t be alone.”
“Why tell us about this? Why give us time to prepare?” Luc shuddered under Arrigo’s hand. “And why not text it like the picture of the Reno guy?”
“Because she enjoys the fear she knows she’s causing.” Arrigo rubbed Luc’s back. “We’ll protect you.”
Luc shook his head hard, snarling, “No. Use me as bait. Some fledglings end up on their own right? You say it rarely ends well but it happens. Let her think that I ran off or you kicked me out or whatever. Would she believe that?”
Arrigo took a step back in surprise at the fire in Luc’s eyes. “Luc….”
“Don’t argue. I’ve been beaten down for so long. I’m sick of it.” Luc clenched his fists. “I can do this. We find me a place to stay for a little while because she won’t buy it if I’m still in your tower with all the cameras and guards and shit. Let’s make my place in a different section of shitty from where Da is.”
“You don’t have to live in a shithole, Luc.” His stomach went to acid at the thought of it.
Luc snorted. “Of course I do. Look, she knows me as a poor bartender. If she does any research if she comes back to town, she’ll learn I’m bartending at Shifty’s. It ain’t exactly a high-paying job.”
Arrigo spread his hands. “Fair point.”
“And you’ll have to keep your distance, Siobhan too.” Luc paced the room. “She knows you both. She might even know Michael. Eleni knew Hanako was a threat, so stands to reason she has to know about Michael.”
Arrigo nodded. “I agree. She might not know Sykes, but I’m doubting that since she killed his partner. Still, he or Cheryl could keep an eye on you at Shifty’s. We can outfit the whole place with wireless cameras that we can watch from our phones.”
Luc froze, whipping around, panic in his eyes. “They oughtta watch Lily. Eleni knows about her.”
A new worry gnawed at Arrigo’s gut. A threat to Luc was bad enough, but he had fangs now. Taabu would need protecting. He suspected Eleni knew about Lily but having it confirmed worried him. This could get bad. He’d have to let Shani know about this as well and put yet another friend at risk. “I know. We think she could have followed me there. We’ve been keeping an eye out there too.”
“I know Eleni’s been there.” He slammed his fist into the palm of his other hand. “She was there once when I was talking to Lily. I didn’t know her then. She actually was brunette at the time. I thought she was some lonely woman people-watching in the middle of the night.”
Rubbing his brow, Arrigo grunted. Just what he didn’t need. “We’ll be sure to get someone protecting her.”
Luc’s shoulders slumped, tension draining out through them. “Thank you.”
Arrigo embraced Luc hard. “You are brave to do this.”
“Yeah, mais, we better do it fast before I lose my nerve.”
Kissing him softly, Arrigo wished he could make Luc feel how proud he was of him, how much he believed in him. Luc’s inability to believe in his own self-worth would hopefully fade with time, but he wasn’t there yet. “You won’t lose your nerve. You are so much stronger than you know.”
Luc tightened his grip on him, resting his head on Arrigo’s shoulder. “You keep telling me that.”
“Because it’s true. Think of everything you’ve survived already. You are strong, and this, what you want to do, is brave. Now, let me call a meeting and we can work out the details.”
Luc took a step back from Arrigo’s arms. “Are we going to kill her if we get the chance?”
Arrigo smiled. “Damn right we are.” The Chiaroscuro gave him that right, and he damn well planned to take advantage of it.
“Good!”
GEORGE KNEW he had to be the stupidest man alive. Now that they were back in Vegas, he had the perfect opportunity to slip away into the crowd, get to the airport, and leave Eleni behind. He had no idea why he didn’t. It made no sense, this compulsion he felt to remain at her side. He couldn’t explain it, would never be able to, and he stayed rooted.
At least this time, they hadn’t killed a house owner. Eleni paid a lot of money to the hotel to have no maid service until evenings. Mandalay Bay was probably used to oddball clients. She wanted this place because they knew Arrigo and Luc had come here before. Maybe with so many witnesses, Eleni would take fewer risks.
“Are you sure about this?” he asked.
She looked up from the couch she lounged on. The flat reptilian stare she favored him with made George tighten up. “Are you sure you want to keep asking me that?”
George gulped. “It seems to me you got what you wanted. You hurt Arrigo. What more is there to do? We can get out of here, see the world. Do something else fun.”
Her predatory look deepened. “This is fun. Arrigo isn’t completely ruined. I haven’t taken everything from him yet. Once we do that, we can see the world.”
Somehow George doubted he would. The end was coming. If he were a smart man, when he walked out the door, he’d keep walking.
“Now, why don’t you go down to Fremont? I’ve heard Luc is working at the Crypt-Kicker, you remember the one. The bar that made you feel uncomfortable.”
“Shifty’s.” He nodded.
“You won’t need to stay long, but see if you can find out if that’s true or not.”
George scowled. “It definitely won’t be for long. He knows what I look like. I don’t want to face a pissed-off vampire in a bar full of them.”
“Understood. So it behooves you to be stealthy like one of us.” Eleni smiled sweetly, but her eyes remained cold.
George simply nodded and thought about his plan to run off. It sounded better and better.
Chapter Thirty-Six
LUC MISSED Arrigo and Siobhan. A week passed with him living in his craphole apartment with no signs of Eleni or her partner, and wireless cameras were shitty companions. All he wanted was to curl up with Arrigo. It didn’t even have to be for sex. He missed Arrigo’s voice and his spicy, expensive cologne. Just sacking out on the couch with him would be great. Getting a hug from Siobhan would help wash the tension out of him.
He felt surly at work. Unlike the Alibi, Shifty’s expected its bartenders to be personable and, if not cheery, at least not rude. Pearce and Diana understood the pressure on Luc, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t get upset with him if he didn’t shake it off soon.
He fo
ught to ignore all the hot blood pulsing around him as tourists crowded the streets. Luc was never so glad to see the bus to take him to his crappy little furnished apartment, last used by someone who had to have smoked like a stack. Everything reeked of stale tobacco. He hoped Eleni attacked soon so he could get out of the place one way or the other.
Luc decided to take the bus to the diner first and keep a hawk’s eye out for his kin in case they were wandering the streets again. He had an understanding with Arrigo that he would help Sykes keep an eye on Lily. Granted if he were being followed, it might help to cement the idea Lily was important to him. Luc figured Eleni would already know that. He needed to be sure Lily was okay.
The street was deserted when he stepped off the bus. He had an hour before the next one rolled through. Lily greeted him with his usual cheapskate “meal”: pie. The diner was nearly as empty as the street. Luc talked to her about maybe applying for a daytime job down on Fremont. Diana’s friend owned a restaurant. The tips would be better, and she wouldn’t have to have her mom watch the kids all night. It would be safer for her, making Luc happy. It also meant he might never see her again unless she hung around until after dark, but it was worth it to see her eyes light up.
Even though no one suspicious came into the diner, once he thought he felt eyes on him. Luc looked around, not seeing anything other than some movement at the windows of the diner. Someone might have paused and debated a late-night snack. He waved his goodbyes to Lily and stepped outside to catch the bus. Still no signs of life from down the street at the Alibi, and he was grateful for it. He was less grateful for the bus being fifteen minutes late.
As he settled down on a half-empty bus, a car engine rumbled to a start. If it hadn’t been for his heightened senses and even more heightened paranoia, he might not have noticed. Luc peered up at the driver’s rearview, his keen eyesight picking up a plain sedan, probably silver or white, he couldn’t tell which. Luc was admittedly not a car guy, much to his family’s chagrin, but recognized it was a Honda, probably a Civic, and it hung in well behind the bus. He kept a wary eye on it. Yes, it could be a coincidence, but he was so damned paranoid at this point he took nothing for granted.