by Jana Denardo
“A cocktail that costs ten grand,” Siobhan replied, rolling her eyes.
“You’d spend ten K on a damn drink?” Michael bellowed. Luc couldn’t find his words.
“It has all the best liquors in it, plus we’d get diamond cuff links.” Arrigo shrugged. “Too much? How about the ménage à trois at the Tryst? It’s only three thousand, and you get a gold-plated drinking straw studded with a diamond.” His eyes were bright, leaving Luc wondering if Arrigo was joking or not.
He deflated into the couch cushions. “All I really wanted was a beer. I can’t even… I could do so much with ten grand!”
“Who couldn’t? Arrigo’s joking, but he’d probably get you one of those cocktails if you wanted it. Here, I brought something.” Siobhan got up and went to the fridge. “More for me, but you might like it.” She brought him back a brown bottle.
Luc sniffed the open mouth. “Root beer?”
“Not Your Father’s Root Beer. It’s alcoholic,” she said, love for it in every word.
“Just when you think he couldn’t be more of a sissy.” Michael rolled his eyes.
“I’m going to let Luc take you out, Michael, and amend the reports to say Eleni did it,” Arrigo threatened.
“No, hell no! I’m still dealing with the thoughts of ‘my fucking God, I murdered someone!’ Not that killing Mr. Mouth isn’t tempting,” Luc said, slugging back some of the root beer. Holy hell, it was delicious. For a second he forgot what he had said, then it all came rushing back. “God, how could I have done that? I’m like my father.”
“No you are not.” The sharpness of Arrigo’s tone cut like a knife. “And you didn’t murder her. You put down a rogue who was trying to kill your friends. At worst, it was self-defense.”
“I don’t…. It’s the one of the Commandments. I know you don’t believe in that stuff, Arrigo, but I do.” Luc shook, nearly dropping his drink.
“Hey, Fluff, you did what was needed. She would have killed you all. You stopped her. That’s what you need to remember.” Michael stabbed a finger toward Luc, and then pulled his phone out when it rang. “Uh-huh, be right there.” He pushed the phone back in a pocket and got up. “That’s my ride. I know you’re having trouble with this, but you did the right thing. You did good, Fluff.” He rapped his knuckles against Luc’s head.
“Thanks, asshole.”
Michael laughed, and let himself out. Arrigo joined Luc and Siobhan on the couch. He took Luc’s hand.
“Are you okay?”
“I will be.” Luc leaned against him. “If I don’t think too much about it, I’m okay. I know if I hadn’t done it, you would have. Part of me wishes you had. Part of me is terrified how dark I went so fast. I never thought I had any of my father in me, but after that maybe I’m wrong.”
“I think it’s less your father and more the bloodlust that can take us. Siobhan and I warned you about it. It’s never been real to you until that moment in the diner. It’s hard to deal with it. You regained control fairly easily. I’m impressed. And I’m sorry you had to be the one to kill her, even though I know you half wanted to.”
Luc sucked in a deep breath, holding it for a moment before slowly letting it out. “Yeah, I did. Does it get easier?”
“Killing a rogue or living with it?”
“Both, not that I’m thinking of killing another rogue. I’m not sure I could be Chiaroscuro like you two. I’m not sure I’m tough enough.”
“You are plenty tough. You can’t be blind to how you’re changing,” Siobhan said.
“But that’s all you guys,” he protested.
“Yes, true, under our guidance, but that only goes so far, Luc.” Arrigo squeezed his hand. “The rest has to come from you, and it has. You are changing, and you’ll continue to change. To answer your question, it takes time. The first time I killed, I was still human. It was war. I was told the man I killed was my enemy, and still, I felt sick and sad for weeks afterward. In spite of how long ago that was, I still remember it. But you learn to live with it.”
Luc mulled that. “The worst part is I’m not sorry she’s dead.”
“Neither am I, if that helps,” Arrigo said.
“A little. The booze is helping, but I didn’t want to say that with Michael here, because he’d call me a sissy again.”
Arrigo snorted. “Ignore Michael. Alpha males are a pain in the ass.”
“That’s what she says about you.” Luc patted Siobhan’s knee.
“And I’m right,” she replied.
“And she’s right.” Arrigo grinned. “But I’m here for you. So is Siobhan. If you need to lean on us harder now for a while, that’s fine.”
Luc wormed out of Arrigo’s grasp, leaning back on the couch. He ran his hands through his hair as he stared up at the ceiling. “Thanks. I mean that. I will be okay. I mean, shit keeps happening to me, and I always make it through, don’t I?”
“Why do you think we keep telling you, you’re stronger than you know?” Siobhan asked.
“Okay, I get it. Arrigo, you keep saying you suck as a mentor. If I’m wrong about being weak, you’re wrong about that. Maybe we’re both changing.”
Arrigo’s smile was sweet enough to kiss, and his eyes glistened. Luc wondered if Arrigo would cry. “Thank you,” he said, his voice soft.
“It’s true.” Luc got up. Being in the huddle felt good, maybe too good. It had been like that during the day. At one point, once the police were done chewing them like a dog with a bone, he and Arrigo had curled up in the bed. Luc thought Siobhan might have joined them but that could have been a dream. He decided he didn’t need to know which, because either way it had been harmless comfort taking. Jesus knew he needed it.
He turned back to his mentors. “What happens now?”
“I’ll keep an eye on Taabu for another week or so. That way Shani isn’t suspicious. Then we’ll have the Chiaroscuro fake some footage from Europe somewhere. It’ll piss Shani off that she lost her perp but it’s better this way,” Arrigo said.
“From a country with no extradition pact with the States,” Siobhan added.
“And everyone thinks Eleni got away with it, and we’ll see these murders twenty years from now on those Discovery ID shows you watch,” Luc said, moving to the window. He looked out over Vegas’s sea of light. “I wonder how many of them cold cases are really vampire attacks or something.”
“Probably a few,” Arrigo replied.
“Luc, if you don’t need me right now, I’m going to give you two some space.” Siobhan stood up.
“I’m good. Thanks, Siobhan, for everything,” Luc said.
She came over and kissed his cheek before leaving. Arrigo took up residence next to Luc, the lights outside the window playing off his face.
“Are you good?” Arrigo asked finally.
“No, but good enough. I don’t need to be coddled.” Even though it had felt pretty good, Luc knew he needed to stand on his own two feet now more than ever. He needed Arrigo to believe in him, even if it was really Luc who had little faith in himself. “It’ll take time to get over it. I’m just glad it’s all over with.”
Arrigo slid his arm around Luc’s back, pulling him closer. “Me too. Take all the time you need. I’ve already talked to Diana, and you have time off for a few days at least.”
“Thanks.”
“And you let me know what you need, because I’m not going anywhere.”
Luc smiled. “I’m getting that even if I’m still a little… bewildered by it.”
“We’ll work on that too.”
“What if I need you for a long time?”
Arrigo kissed him. “I can do that.”
Luc stole a kiss of his own. “What if I need you for years and years?”
“I have centuries left in me.” Arrigo grinned.
Luc wanted to believe that. If nothing else, they would go their separate ways and come back again like Arrigo and Siobhan. The idea of centuries sprawling out in front of them sent his heart racing from
fear and excitement both. “I love the sound of that.”
ARRIGO WATCHED Luc do battle with his mini golf hole as they worked their way toward the giant Gene Simmons head complete with lolling tongue. Luc wanted to get out of the apartment, out of his head and his guilt, so Arrigo agreed to going first to church, and then to the KISS mini golf course. While Luc spent time alone with his god, Arrigo contemplated Luc’s simple statement about how he wasn’t a failure as a mentor. Luc probably had no idea what that meant to Arrigo. Arrigo never thought to learn anything new after so long, but here it was. He’d learned to help a fledgling, was loved and respected for his attempt. Arrigo’s heart soared, and when they left the church to go do something fun, Luc seemed much lighter. What he had with Luc was fresh and new. He was in a position he hadn’t been in in eons as mentor and lover. Arrigo had forgotten how good it could feel. It wasn’t often a vampire as old as he was felt bright and young again. If holding on to this meant going to church occasionally and getting beaten at a silly game, then by the gods, he was more than willing to do it.
Arrigo might debate how fun mini golf truly was, but Luc was smiling and laughing, so it was worth it. Hell, even he felt better despite the lingering guilt at Luc being Eleni’s killer. All he could do was to be the rock Luc could anchor himself on.
“Your turn,” Luc called cheerily.
Arrigo tapped his ball. It went rocketing right over the stupid hole and bouncing into a ridiculous position to play next time. He scowled.
“Finally, I’ve found something you suck at,” Luc crowed.
Arrigo huffed. “I’m rethinking that centuries and centuries thing.”
Luc prodded him with the club. “No, you aren’t.”
Arrigo caught Luc’s club, hauling him closer. “No, I’m not. I’m afraid you’re stuck with me.”
Luc allowed himself to be easily snared. “Couldn’t be happier.”
Arrigo couldn’t have put it better. Pulling Luc nearer, Arrigo kissed him. In Vegas, with Luc, he’d hit the jackpot.
JANA DENARDO is Queen of the Geeks (her students voted her in) and her home and office are shrines to any number of comic book and manga heroes along with SF shows and movies too numerous to count. It is no coincidence the love of all things geeky has made its way into many of her stories. To this day, she’s still disappointed she hasn’t found a wardrobe to another realm, a superhero to take her flying among the clouds, or a roguish starship captain to run off to the stars with her.
Contact Jana:
Blog: www.janadenardo.com
Twitter: @JanaDenardo
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jana.denardo
Email: [email protected]
By Jana Denardo
Blood Red Roulette
Published by DSP PUBLICATIONS
www.dsppublications.com
Published by
DSP PUBLICATIONS
5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886 USA
www.dsppublications.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Blood Red Roulette
© 2018 Jana Denardo.
Cover Art
© 2018 Tiferet Design.
http://www.tiferetdesign.com/
Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.
All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact DSP Publications, 5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886, USA, or www.dsppublications.com.
Digital ISBN: 978-1-64080-758-7
Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-1-64080-759-4
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018935338
Digital published November 2018
v. 1.0
Printed in the United States of America