by W. J. May
Liam rubbed his chin as he recalled how the events unfolded, “They said I had a choice. I was dying, that much was very clear. The hit to the head would have killed me—I had lost a tremendous amount of blood—but they had all taken turns, draining what was left of me. They said my heart was only a few beats away from stopping. If I drank their blood, I would be reborn as a vampire. I would be a Blue and could avenge my parents by going after the Reds. If I refused, I would be dead in moments from blood loss.”
“And you chose to be a vampire?” Kallie stated the obvious.
“They offered me immortal life over death. What would you have chosen?”
“You make it sound so simple… but your family was dead. I don’t know if I would want to live after experiencing that.”
“Well, their use of the word avenge had struck a chord with me. When you see your family ripped apart like that—” He stopped, the emotion washing over him. He let it soak in for a moment then shook it off, cleared his throat and continued. “And I have tried to avenge them. I try every day. That’s why I became a detective. It gives me access to files and I can hunt down the killers.”
Kallie smiled. He really does see himself as a vigilante vampire. But something about his choice of words caught her off guard.
“Hunt down?”
“Yes. These Reds need to be stopped. If I ever think for a moment that a case is vamp related, I jump on it.”
“Like the night with me and my dad.” She was fishing for answers. It had been an accident.
“Like the night with you and your dad, yes.”
Wait… what? “You were there that night… but I still don’t get how.”
“I haven’t caught the vampires who killed my family, but there’s one that was young. I’ll never forget his face, even after I turned.”
“What does that have to do with the night of the accident? It was an accident.” Please don’t say it was Caleb. Please don’t say it was him.
“Was it?” Liam stared at me, as if daring me to remember something.
I couldn’t. It took me a moment to realize he was referring to my comment, not the thought in my head. “I barely had my license and the weather turned awful.”
“That’s all you remember?”
“Yes.” She knew there was more, but she didn’t want Liam to know.
“I was there.”
“You told me that. I don’t remember seeing you.”
“I f—I was hunting down the Red Blood.”
“Caleb was there too.” She held her breath, waiting to see if he would say it was Caleb who had killed his family.
“That’s the rumor,” he said casually.
Kallie brought a hand to her head, this was all so confusing. Gangs of vamps, good versus bad. Red against Blue. The ones who drain her father… accidents on the road. Her head was spinning. “Wait. You said you turned two years ago.”
“Shortly before your accident.”
Beyond crazy. She wasn’t getting answers she had hoped to find, it was only creating more questions. “So now you see yourself as some sort of vigilante?” she asked out loud. She needed to hear it from him. How else would she know if he could be trusted?
Liam shrugged. “That’s one way of putting it.”
“How would you put it?”
Liam straightened up and locked his piercing blue eyes on hers. “I’m the law.”
“It sounds more like you want to be Batman.” She pressed her lips together. “I think you’re abusing your power.”
“How so? I get the bad guys. These Reds are the bad guys, Kallie, make no mistake about that. Look what they did to my family! They turned your father. They need to be stopped.”
“Maybe some Reds are good.” Her thoughts drifted to the two she knew of.
“Like Caleb?” he scoffed.
Kallie hated the arrogant look that twisted his otherwise handsome features. “Well, it’s not all that farfetched. Look at my father, he’s a Red and he’s good!”
“He’s good because you and your mom have made him good!” He stood and began to pace. “Those carnage vamps drain him every month! Having never pierced the flesh of a human and sucked them dry, he’s pure which makes him powerful. If he wasn’t drained, how do we know what kind of vampire he would become? Perhaps he wouldn’t be so good. For all you know they cotter him. Maybe your dad is a natural hunter.”
“I think you should go.” She could handle a lot from Liam, but having him talk smack about her dad… that was crossing the line.
“Don’t be like that, Kallie.” He walked over to her.
She gripped the edge of the mattress for support. All he did was take three steps and he was sexy. Because he was a vampire? Or because he had just given her honesty? Or because he was just… Liam?
“I’m not trying to hurt your feelings. I’m stripping away the lies. You need to be aware of how real all of this stuff is. It’s real and it’s dangerous.”
Kallie jumped off the bed. “You don’t think I know this is real?” Her hands automatically went to her hips as she whispered hoarsely. “You think I’m this naive little girl? I’m not stupid, Liam!”
“I never—”
“I’m not finished!” She held her hand up to stop him as she cut him off. “You act like you’re this bodyguard who protects me by waving your badge. What’re you going to do if I’m in danger, call for back up? Nobody’s after me!”
He gestured with his hand for her to lower her voice and pointed in the direction of her parents’ room, his ears obviously picking up on something she couldn’t.
She was pissed. At him and at herself for allowing him into her room so she could end up on an emotional roller coaster. And she had school tomorrow! “We’re alone, and I bet the only thing you can think about is biting my neck and drinking my blood.” Tears welled up and sprang forth, running down her cheeks. She didn’t want to cry in front of him, but she had lost control. Thinking that he would even dare imply that her father—her loving, nurturing father could behave like one of those savage vampires… it was too much. He’d just blown everything. Her anger melted into disappointment and heart break. She dropped her head and closed her eyes.
Liam cupped her face in his hands, and lifted her chin so she had to look at him. His hands were cool against her warm cheeks. With his thumbs he wiped away her tears. “I don’t want to kill you, Kallie.” His teeth ran over his lower lip as his gaze dropped to her mouth. “I would never hurt you. The taste of your blood would be amazing, but let’s not go there.”
He flashed his crooked grin and Kallie felt weak under the intensity of his gaze. He ran his tongue over his lips and Kallie felt her lower stomach flip. She wanted to feel those lips against hers. It was this pulling need inside of her. His lips were inches from her face, all she had to do was lift herself up on her toes and crush hers against his…
Perhaps Liam knew her intent, for he dipped her head and kissed her forehead. The kiss was both exciting and disappointing. “I’ve put you through enough tonight. I’ll leave you to rest or read that trashy book, whatever floats your boat.” Kallie spun around and saw the book was on the floor by her bed. The shirtless stable boy on the cover caused her cheeks to flame red. She was alone with a guy even hotter than the cover model, and he had just given her a chaste kiss.
Liam scooped her into his arms in a moment she hadn’t even realized had happened. She lay pressed against his rock-hard, chiseled chest.
“What are you doing?” she asked a tad louder than she had intended.
Liam curled his pouty lips at her. “I’m tucking you in.”
She tried to squirm out of his arms, but it was like being caught in a set of Chinese finger-cuffs. The more she squirmed, the tighter his lock on her grew. She finally gave up and let him take the three steps to the side of her bed.
Liam was mysterious, and she had no idea if she could trust him, but she wanted to.
He gently laid her down, pulling the cover over her. He ben
t down and chuckled quietly as he straightened and handed her the book. “I bet if you read this, you’re pretty much guaranteed sweet dreams, huh?”
Kallie rolled her eyes. “I’m not going to even dignify that with a response, other than we all need an escape every now and then.”
“I can’t argue with that. Goodnight Miss Matheson. I hope you dream about that stable boy tonight.” He gave her a wink and jumped onto the window ledge faster than Kallie could blink. He was balanced on his toes, his black boots an unlikely choice for such acrobatics. “You know what? I take it back… I hope you dream about me.” He leaped out the window then, and Kallie could hear the faintest crunch of his feet hitting the grass. He had the stealth of a wild cat.
She rolled over, placed the book on her nightstand and turned off the light. When she closed her eyes, all she saw was a beautiful pair of blue eyes looking back at her.
When she woke in the morning, reason would numb her female body senses and she’d be mad at him again. But for now, she’d settle on sweet dreams. She could really use the sleep these days. As long as visions of his death didn’t snag themselves onto her dreams and turn them into nightmares. Would this roller coaster of emotions and questions ever end? They would have to for tonight… or this morning, whatever time it was.
“G’night, Liam,” she said to the darkness, and wondered if he heard her.
Chapter 4
Being at school felt strange. It had only been a few days but so much seemed to have changed in that small time. Kallie felt like she was all alone in a crowded auditorium full of people. The daily routine became a blur, almost as though she were walking through a painting and not her actual life. She saw familiar faces, chatted with professors and grabbed a steaming cup of coffee before heading to her second class. She hadn’t seen Lisa and Jeanna yet and she didn’t intend to. Kallie was always the one who took the early classes. Her friends wouldn’t stroll onto campus until at least eleven. Maybe she would meet them for lunch. If she made it through this class. Right now college seemed like the least important thing in her life.
The other thing was, Kallie didn’t know how to be friends with these girls anymore. They were links to her past, a time when she was a regular teenager like everyone else. But now, everything was different. She had moments where she wanted to be like them… carefree and self-absorbed. She just didn’t have the option now. She became an adult the moment her car spun out of control two years ago. While her friends compared lipstick colors and worked on their tans, Kallie had to protect her father and try to figure out who in this crazy world was worthy of her trust.
As the professor droned on about writing the perfect paper, Kallie tuned out and an image of Liam popped into her head. She rested her chin in her hand and drifted off into a daydream. She had to admit, seeing him scale the wall and come up to her bedroom window was not only unbelievably hot, it was super romantic. The kind of romantic you read about in that book Liam had teased her about. Didn’t she deserve a little old-fashioned romance in her life? She replayed the scene over and over in her mind, the smile scrawled permanently across her pink lips. She almost liked the fact that he hadn’t really kissed her. To be honest, it made him more desirable. The daughter of a Red, being secretly visited by a Blue. Kallie let out a dreamy sigh. It was like Romeo and Juliet… but with fangs.
She thought about how it felt to be in Liam’s arms, how even though he was cold, it had been comforting. And that longing she had to feel his lips against hers. The disappointment from him choosing to kiss her forehead instead still lingered. The boy wasn’t a dummy. She was in her bedroom in her parents’ house, with her Red Blood vampire father.
It was kind of nice to be treated with so much respect…even if the man in question may want to kill Caleb, and possibly her father. God, Kallie! Snap out of it! Stop acting like such a stupid girl!
“Ugh!” Kallie slammed her pen down and grabbed at her hair, momentarily forgetting that she was still in class.
“Is everything all right, Miss Matheson?” the professor asked, and Kallie could see he was angrier with her small outburst than actually concerned for her wellbeing.
“Sorry, sir. Just a sharp headache, that’s all. I’m going to get some water.” Kallie fumbled getting up, embarrassed at all the eyes that followed her as she left the room.
Once out in the hallway, she grabbed her phone out of her back pocket to check her messages. There were two. One from the Jeanna, asking if she was on campus and if she wanted to grab lunch.
The other was from Caleb.
Hey beautiful. Rumor has it you’re back on campus. Hoping I can see you later Caleb XXX
Kallie read the message again. What did the three x’s at the end mean? He hadn’t tried to contact her once when she was home, but now that she had tried to slide back into her routine, he had pounced like a cat. How the hell did he know she was back on campus? Or away from campus for that matter? She wondered if he knew about Liam’s visit. If Liam had just stayed away last night, would Caleb have tried to reach out to her?
Now her head did hurt, so she drank some water at the fountain as she thought about how to respond. Seriously, both guys wanted to chat with her after ignoring her since the bombshell of words and actions had just occurred?
I have schoolwork to catch up on. Don’t know how free I am tonight –K
No sooner had she hit send, when another text came through.
Tonight? Don’t think I can wait that long, beautiful.
Kallie felt a wave of cold wash over her. She was very aware of how vampires couldn’t go out in the day. He’s probably just messing with me. Or maybe he wanted her to meet him at his place. Kallie wasn’t comfortable with that. Yes, she had gone to Liam’s house before, but she didn’t really know what he was then, so it didn’t seem as dangerous. Caleb was still brand new to her, she barely knew him at all, not that she really knew Liam. She glanced down at her watch and realized she had been in the hallway for almost ten minutes. Crap!
Swinging the door open harder than she had anticipated, Kallie once again disturbed the professor’s class.
“Feeling better, Miss Matheson?” The professor glared at her over his glasses.
“Much better, thank you.” She knew he was mocking her, so she crept back to her seat and started writing as fast as she could before the professor changed the screen and the notes disappeared. Her phone vibrated in her pocket. Again? Ugh! Kallie tried to be nonchalant as she peeked at her phone.
Why do I feel like I’m being ignored? :( Caleb.
Is he serious? Kallie thought. Dude knows I’m in class. If this is his idea of flirting, it’s a bit much.
Her phone vibrated again. If I don’t answer him, he’ll never leave me alone. Kallie glanced down.
I just want to see for myself that you’re okay. How do I know if you’re perfect if you don’t answer me, beautiful? Caleb.
Kallie looked around, everyone seemed to be in a trance as the professor spoke in his monotone voice about different ways to interact with bystanders who were witness to an accident or newsworthy incident. Trying to hide the phone under her desk she texted him back:
I’ll text you later when I’m free.
She slipped her phone back into her pocket when it went off again.
“Seriously?” Kallie said loud enough for her neighbors to glance at her, but thankfully not loud enough to disturb her professor a third time. She glared down at the screen and felt her heart tighten in her chest. It wasn’t Caleb.
Hey girl, I spent the rest of the night thinking about you. Hoping I get the opportunity to tuck you in again…soon. Liam.
Kallie stared at the screen before sighing. These boys were going to kill her.
Not wanting him to start chain texting her as well, Kallie replied:
In class. Chat later.
Her phone vibrated in her hand once again. She tried not to look but her thumb purposely hit the screen slide as she stuffed it into her backpack to avoid any more di
stractions. It was from Liam.
I can’t wait.
She had about two weeks before the next full moon to help her dad. Now the two people that might actually be able to help her not only hated each other, they were both vying for her attention? When had this all gone so horribly wrong?
Kallie decided whatever either boy wanted, or needed, it could wait till this evening. She needed time to get her head on straight. Neither Liam nor Caleb could come see her during school daylight hours and Kallie didn’t want to be on her own suddenly. She met Jeanna and Lisa for lunch.
Jeanna ran over when she saw her and gave her a big hug. “We missed you!”
Lisa held back. “You’re not going to get us sick, are you?”
“I’m pretty sure it’s passed now.” They settled on a spot under an old, large oak tree and sat down. Kallie took small bites of her salad to keep up with the facade of recovering from the stomach bug. She listened to them gossip, nodded and added her input when necessary, but she couldn’t help but steal peeks at her phone every few minutes. It had gone into text-silence.
“Uh, hello! We haven’t seen you in days and you’re more interested in your phone than us,” Jeanna said, waving her fluorescent pink nails at Kallie’s phone like it was a bug that needed to be crushed.
“She’s obviously waiting on a text from one of her many hot men. Would you pay attention to us if you had not one but two gorgeous men chasing after you?” Lisa chimed in. She gave Kallie a wink and popped a grape tomato in her mouth.
Thanks a lot, Lisa. Kallie felt her face flush scarlet. “It’s not like that.”
“Then why do you keep checking your phone?” Jeanna hated being out of the loop.
She wondered what their faces would look like if she told them the real truth. She forced the thought from her head. “It’s my dad. He hasn’t been feeling well lately.” It wasn’t a total lie. Kallie was worried about her dad. Who knew if the next time he submitted to those vamps if he would come back? Each time seemed a worse gamble, and Kallie didn’t like the risks.