Blood Will Tell

by Colleen S. Myers

  While distracted, Alex slapped her hard on the ass. “Pay attention.”

  She clenched her jaw and turned to glare at him. He let out a beatific smile at her ire. Her heart stuttered. Alex's hair was sweaty, and he had an unruly cowlick by his face. Isabelle's fingers twitched to smooth it out. His eyes twinkled, and the corner of his mouth tilted up as he watched her response to his slap.

  Damn it, his flirting was getting to her. Her breath rushed out, and she turned and went to the porthole to catch her breath.

  “I can’t believe you let me get away with that. Does that mean I can get away with other things?”

  She swung around to retort but her words dried up. Roke stood just inside the door completely still, muscles tensed, knuckles whitened as he gripped the doorframe. His gaze drilled into Alex who had yet to notice him. Alex noted her stare and turned.

  “Roke, didn't see you there, buddy. Did you need something?”

  Roke stared at him a second longer. “Just checking how you two were doing with the training.” He addressed Alex, not even glancing at her.

  Isabelle turned back to the porthole and drowned out the rest of their conversation. Her heart hurt. Fine, he wanted to ignore her, she could do that. That was how Jack liked to handle her jealousy or any problems as well. Make her feel stupid for being upset. She was the selfish one and not worth bothering with. Or his endless prattle, he did it for them, for her. Like hell. He did it to get off. Anger flooded her. She deserved better. She longed for better. Screw Roke and his hot/cold feelings.

  “You can turn around now. Roke's gone.”

  “Screw Roke.”

  “Not really my thing there, lollipop.” He paused and circled behind her. “So, trouble in paradise?”

  “He just runs cold. He says he wants me, but then he turns away. I can't take that. Jack used to do that to me. He used to do a lot of things I didn't like, and somehow it was all my fault he did them.”

  “As much as I hate to say it, the Roke you know isn't the Roke I know.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He is flirty and happy with you. That’s not how he usually acts. He is quite dour. Very serious and stiff.”

  “Well, he does get stiff.”

  He groaned at the pun. “That was just horrible, sweets, and a bit cruel.”

  “Sorry. So, he isn't normally protective and caring and nice?”

  Alex snorted. “Yeah, no. He is not. You bring out a side of him I have not seen.”

  She turned back to the view with a smile.

  Hope filled her.

  Chapter Sixteen

  After giving her a tour and a personal invitation to his bunk, Alex left but Isabelle couldn't sleep. She tossed her blanket aside and went to the porthole. In the darkness, the water glimmered. It reminded her of the water from Roke's balcony. Damn it. She had to stop thinking about Roke. That way lay madness. The dark depths were still, ominously so. A walk might settle her nerves.

  Grabbing a sweater, she went out the door and turned left. If memory served her, the deck was that way. It had been so quiet, a creak alerted her to danger. She ducked into a nearby doorway and snuck a peek back into the passage behind her.

  Two men slipped down the hallway. Light glittered off the edge of their weapons. One had a knife out and ready. The other a gun with silencer already attached. Of course, the men stopped outside the room she had just left. A chill raced down her spine as they kicked in the door. Flashes filled the hallway. Isa's hand groped backward. They would soon discover she wasn't in there. She needed to hide.

  Thoughts churning. Isa ducked into a nearby doorway. A body lay in the bed. She ran over and shook the person's shoulder.

  Alex rolled over. Voice rasping, he asked, “Isa? What are you doing here?”

  Her hand covered his mouth. She leaned closer and whispered, “Two men just went into my room. They were armed.”

  That fast, Alex went from sleepy to lethal. He darted up and pulled weapons out from under his pillow. Alex stuffed a chair under the doorknob and put her behind him, gun drawn.

  Tense, they waited. A few more minutes and she would have been in this room. If not for thoughts of Roke. She flinched at the muffled shots. Isa ducked behind Alex as wood splintered. Alex returned fire through the door, moving them against the wall.

  Alex pushed her farther down into a ball on the ground. After the first few shots, the hallway was silent. Isa's hand roamed Alex's waist. She looked up into Alex's wide eyes.

  “Uh, Isa? What are you doing?”

  “I need a gun. I’m getting damn tired of hiding. You need to arm me.”

  If she wasn't mistaken, pride crossed his face. “Why, that I do.” He crouched and approached the door.

  Isa reached out and pulled him back by his waistband “What are you doing?”

  “Checking to see if they’re gone.”

  The sound of the fight, shouts and growls, reached them. The door splintered from a kick. Alex raised his gun and sighted down the barrel.

  “Isa!” Roke strode in and stopped on the threshold.

  Alex held the gun steady then blew out a breath. “Just you.”

  Roke nodded. “Just me. You both okay?” This time at least he spared her a glance. His gaze trailed over her face.

  Isabelle's hand tightened and she leaned into Alex's back. “I’m fine.”

  Alex answered at the same time. “We’re good.”

  She looked at him with a smile as he grinned back at her.

  A growl filled the room. Both of them glanced toward the door. A muscle twitched over Roke’s eye. “So, you both are just fine?”

  “Yep.”

  Without a word, Roke pivoted and left.

  Silence hung behind him.

  “He’s back to his normal self,” Alex said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Ice cold and prissy. That's our Roke.”

  “With me, he was always nice. Well, nice-ish.”

  “I know, it was weird.”

  She grinned at him. “What can I say, I bring out the best in people.”

  Alex's eyes heated. “Oh really?”

  Suddenly, he faced her, chest to chest. She gulped. “Uh.”

  He chuckled and bopped her on the nose. “So eloquent.”

  Eloquent, that was her. Isa struggled to regain her line of thought.

  Wait, was she supposed to respond? “Um.”

  He busted out laughing, face nuzzling her neck, pulling her up into him. “Oh, Isa.” Her face burned and she gave him a hug. She was not looking for Roke to come back, no sirree. But then over his shoulder, she saw one of the crewmen enter. His hand was raised to knock but upon seeing them, he tiptoed back out but not quick enough to go undetected.

  Alex dropped her. “Johns, report.”

  “The raiders are being taken care of.”

  While sleep had eluded her earlier, its call wasn't denied now. As soon as Alex's attention wavered, Isa laid down on his bed and was out quick, accompanied by the sound of their voices.

  In the morning, Isa woke refreshed. Stretching, she turned over and looked around. This room was bigger than her own. She hadn't noted the details last night due to the situation, but she glanced around now. The walls were paneled wood, a bookshelf took up the left wall, on the right, a dresser near the bed. A screen covered the distant corner of the room and a rather elegant table filled the rest of the space. The door had been bolted and covered with plywood, a chair propped under the handle still.

  A few pictures drew her notice on the bookshelf. One was Alex as a young boy, a mini version of himself with lighter eyes and a chubbier build. He stood next to an older couple that could only be his parents . His family. The picture was taken in Disneyland. Sadness tugged at her. Disneyland was no more she reckoned. Located on the water, but so spread out. Hard to wall that up. She turned her head into the pillow and finally noted Alex.

  He had curled up with a blanket on the thick-pile rug beside the bed. His h
and rested under his pillow and he laid on his side. Isabelle reached down and finally flattened his cowlick. His eyes blinked open and warmed. “Hey.”

  She smiled over the edge of the bed; her hair fell around her face. “Hi. Sleep well?”

  “Yeah.” Alex rolled onto his back and grinned up at her, his hand drifted along his abs as he stretched. “Mm. You?”

  “Yeah, thanks for letting me sleep here. I have no luck with the other room.”

  “Ha. You’re welcome here anytime. Not to be pervy, I might have you stay here. One of us, Roke or myself, needs to stay with you. Hopefully, we’ll make some distance today toward Louisville and your mom.”

  Her eyes widened and she lay back on the bed. Jesus, they could be in Louisville in a few days. Whoa, her mom. In a day, she might see her mom. Butterflies filled her stomach.

  Alex's head popped up next to her. “You okay?”

  “Yeah. Just. Yeah.”

  “She really is a nice lady.”

  “I know. I loved my mom. I mean, I guess I love my mom. It's just weird. I haven't seen her since I was twelve and she is a vampire, and I have so many questions.”

  “What has Roke told you?”

  “He just says it is her story to tell. Pretty sure the dude is in love with her a little.”

  “With her? I am pretty sure that you are who he cares about.” Angling his head, he looked at her and wiggled his eyebrows.

  She turned on her side, away from him with a grumble. “He’s not interested in me that way.”

  “Yeah, right. That is why laser beams shot out of his eyes last night and he slept outside the door.”

  Really? Her head swiveled toward the door. “Did he?”

  Alex raised a brow.

  “I was just curious, and he actually flat out told me he did not want me, so there.”

  He snorted. “So there, you’re getting more and more articulate over time.”

  She folded her arms and rolled away from him. “Ass.”

  His cackle followed him out of the room.

  Isabelle got up and went to her room. The devastation floored her. They’d blown up her bed. The covers were marked with multiple bullet holes; feathers from the pillow decorated the floor. Had she been able to sleep, they would have killed her. The thought was sobering.

  She gathered up all the feathers. After a few minutes, she had a good pile that she stuffed back into the pillow. The bed wouldn't hold anyone anytime soon, though. Sighing, she went to the porthole. This sucked. She never felt safe in the city but out here it was better, at least until she was hunted.

  The water zoomed past the boat as it picked up speed toward Louisville.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Isabelle traipsed into the hall then headed left again. This time she would make it onto the deck. Fresh air would clear her head. The hallway ended in a staircase. She took the steps quickly and burst onto the deck. Nobody in sight. Isa went toward the hole from the first raider attack. Boards and sheet metal covered the area. It was like a water-born fortress. She was surprised it could still float given the metal lining the walls. Barbed wire covered the top.

  Isa looked toward the bow and saw Alex. He stood inside the wheelhouse talking to a crew man. When he saw her, he gestured for her to join him.

  “Couldn't get enough of me, eh?”

  The other man snickered.

  She lifted her nose. “I couldn't stand the smell in your room anymore.”

  “Oh, that hurt, Isa. After our time together, last night?”

  She flushed. “Nothing happened last night, and you know it.”

  His brown eyes twinkled; a lock of his hair fell into his face. A five-o’ clock shadow darkened his jaw and made him even more devilish looking— if that were possible. Her stomach turned over and she looked away. Roke stood at the door. She glanced away again. There was no safe place to look so she focused on the sky. “How soon ’til Louisville?”

  Roke approached from behind. She felt him staring at her back. “Yes, how long, Alex?”

  Alex raised his eyebrows. “We should get there in three days. The locks will slow us down, and we’ll be at risk for an ambush. That’s how they got in last night.” He frowned at Isa. “Apparently, they lay in wait for you specifically.”

  “How do you know?”

  “We kept one of them alive long enough to get information.”

  The echo of what that meant hung in the room. She should be horrified but wasn't. The law of the jungle ruled now. She smiled faintly at Alex, nodding.

  A crewman entered and drew Alex away leaving Isa alone with Roke. She didn’t know what to think of that.

  Roke touched her shoulder, drawing her attention. “Are you, all right?”

  Looking at the river, she edged away from his touch. “Yeah, I’m good.”

  The water sped by quickly. Three days. Three days on a boat with Roke, Alex and nothing to do. This was going to be rough. A deep sigh drifted out of her as she let her head fall. What would she find in Louisville?

  Roke's hand touched her shoulder again. “Your mother loves you.”

  Isabelle shrugged off his hand without looking at him. “Yeah, yeah.”

  “Can we talk, Isa?” His voice softened.

  “Why?”

  “Just wanted to clear the air.”

  “The air is fine over here. I think we both understand perfectly where we stand.”

  “Isa,” Roke drawled slowly, “I care about you. You test my control too much. I don't want to bite you. That is why I pushed you away.”

  “Mr. I-have-perfect-control lost it over me?” she hissed at him, voice low. “That is why you ran out, after shoving me off you, staring at me in disgust? I don't think so.”

  “I handled it poorly, I admit,” he said again just as Alex returned.

  “What did you handle poorly?”

  Roke hesitated. “Her protection. I will not lose focus again.”

  “You mean last night? I wondered after you said you would stay with her.”

  Roke growled at Alex and both men gravitated closer to each other. They were so close they could have kissed, and wouldn't that have been the hottest thing ever? Unbidden heat flashed through her.

  “I will take care of her. No worries, Roke,” Alex said with a hostile tinge to his voice.

  Isabelle tugged on Alex's hand. No use making the situation worse. “My room was demolished anyway. I can stay with Alex.”

  “Fine,” Roke growled and stalked off downstairs again.

  “He really is acting out of character,” Alex noted after he left.

  Yeah, but what did it mean? He hurt her, but if she had one person to pick to always protect her, it would be Roke.

  Isa turned back to the water. She dreaded arriving at the locks and looked forward to it all at the same time. What did her mother look like now, would she recognize her? Isa had been fourteen the last time she saw her.

  Alex bumped into her. “You okay?”

  “Yeah, nervous. Is there anything I can do to help? Some activity to occupy my mind.”

  Snickering, he covered his mouth with his fingers. “Well—”

  “Don't be a leech,” Isa said with an eye roll.

  “You're no fun but you could be useful. Your last job was with computers? We have a generator; this is a steam-electric boat. When conditions are right we let it run on coal and sails, rest of time we run on gas, much more expensive to obtain. The only people still connected are the Vamps. We hack them to find their stores and local supplies. Could you handle that?”

  An evil grin spread across her face. Oh yeah, she could do that. “I love hacking. Lead me to it.”

  Alex led her to a back room.

  An old oil lantern lit the wall with gray smoke stains above it. Various computers filled the space. A large desktop gleamed with two monitors. Next to them was an older model computer, some numbers flashed in a scroll down the screen. A thin gentleman sat hunched way too close to the monitor. His glasses reflec
ted the glow of numbers.

  Without looking up at them, the man asked, “What do you want now, Alex? Can’t you see I’m busy?” The curt tone clearly demonstrated his annoyance along with his continued disregard of their presence. His fingers flew across the keyboard as he adjusted some portion of the code before him.

  “Rebs, I brought you help.”

  The guy stiffened and turned. Curly gray hair floated around a tanned face. Fifty if he was a day, face lined and resolved, he looked her over. “Who is this child?”

  Before Alex could answer, Isabelle moved forward. “My names Isa. What is Rebs short for Reba McIntyre?”

  His brows lowered and his face reflected disapproval. “Reboot, as in you need to reboot that attitude right now, missy.”

  “Oh yeah, you’re doing it wrong.”

  “What?”

  “That code? You just put in a sink. There.” She pointed to a line of code. “That is your problem.” Rebs looked at the monitor then moved an inch closer. His mouth fell open as he read the line then turned and appraised her. “Smart talk, slick. Can you back it up?”

  “Oh yeah.”

  Alex snuck out during their chat.

  Isabelle pulled up a chair. Rebs scooted over. His halo of hair glowed in the low light, and, with his glasses, he looked faintly evil. This was awesome. She knew this; she could do this. “What are we doing?”

  “You are searching this code for a virus. Line by line. I’m hacking the Louisville clan.” He cracked his knuckles and winked at her. “It’s what you get for pointing out my missing that line of code.”

  Lovely. By the end of the morning, she would be blind from the dark room and flashing lines. Contentment slid through her. It was nice to do something familiar, something she was good at.

  Isa sat down and used the pointer to start from the beginning. A crease formed between her eyebrows as she focused. The first line swam into focus and she dived in.

  After the world fell so many things were lost.

  Cities now focused on the water and power plants. They lost most workers, but it was a simple system, and after the council took over, cities were controlled by one or two depending on the size. The Internet still existed but access was severely limited. The vampires had their own individual cities and talent and lost little, not like the rest of the world. They noticed any incursion. The knowledge remained, but the means to get to it was cut off. Food and items were regulated.