“What are you doing, Parker?” Phil growled under his breath.
A huge smile formed on Mr. Cruor’s face. “Looks like I need to do a lottery. Write your name on a slip of paper. Katie? Be a darling, will you?”
Katie popped out of her chair and zigzagged around the room, collecting names. I tore off the sheet with mine and handed it to her.
“About time,” she said with a smirk.
She moved past me and her glare landed on Phil.
“I ain’t drinking the Kool-Aid, sister,” he said to her.
I bit my lip to stop myself from smiling.
“You’re an idiot,” Katie retorted as she went to collect Sam’s name.
“Sorry,” Sam said with a sheepish fake smile. “I’m not interested.”
“Seriously? After everything?” She let the air push between her lips. “Your funeral.”
After Katie collected everyone’s names, Mr. Cruor smiled and shook the bowl they were in.
“First name is…” People beat on their desks like drums. “Mr. Kennedy.”
Tyler let out a whoop.
“And… Ms. Grant.”
Katie feigned surprise while the other girls practically hissed at her. If this wasn’t rigged, I didn’t know what was.
“Last but not least.” Mr. Cruor’s eyes found mine before he looked at the name. “Ms. Parker.”
My head pulled backward. Me? I could see Katie rigging herself and Tyler, but not me.
“What? No way?” Mandy seethed. “She didn’t even give blood!”
“Now, now.” Mr. Cruor waved his hand and the class noise died down. “Let’s not get upset. This was fair and square, and there will be other opportunities in the future. Everyone deserves a second chance.” His gaze lanced onto me and guilt bubbled forth, like he read my mind. The worst part, I couldn’t tear my eyes away. “And for you lucky three, come to my house after school. I suspect you’re aware where that is.” He continued to watch me, holding me in that sinister stare. Then he slipped the names of the chosen into his pocket and tossed the rest into the trash. “Let’s begin today’s lecture.”
Once he looked away, I leaned back into my chair and shook my head. After what went down on Wednesday, today was a complete turn around. Did he just defend me to the entire class? Had I been completely mistaken and judged him before knowing the facts?
Mandy and the ex-vamp tramps took turns glaring my way. I gulped down my worry and picked up my pen to take notes. Maybe Nicholas was right. Maybe Mr. Cruor was a good guy after all.
~|~
At lunch, Nicholas and I ate alone. After my visible defection from our little trio, Sam and Phil wanted nothing to do with me.
I popped a grape in my mouth and watched them stare into each other’s eyes like they wanted to kiss each other’s lips off.
“That’s cool you were picked to volunteer,” Nicholas interjected, ripping me out of my thoughts.
“Yeah.” I smiled up at his crystal blue-eyes and felt the overwhelming love I had for him. “I’m sorry I doubted you.”
“You didn’t.” He stroked my knee, making me feel hot inside.
I so badly wanted to ditch school and make out, and forget about everything. Actually, my secret wish was that we were vampires and didn’t have to abide by the rules at all. Go wherever we wanted and forget about school or work. We’d be sober, of course, and we’d be good. Like a modern day Robin Hood. Rob from the bad guys and give to the poor kind of thing.
“It’s ironic, actually,” Nicholas continued. “In this life, Dr. V. and Mr. Cruor are the good guys.”
“I know,” I said, studying Phil and Sam again.
Mr. Cruor’s comment came to mind, that everyone deserved a second chance. I didn’t need to hold a grudge, not when he wasn’t the bad guy from the past. Like Nicholas had suggested, things had worked out. It just sucked Sam and Phil were still involved in my insecurities. They were carrying a torch they didn’t need to carry anymore.
“What if it’s your blood?”
I peered up into Nicholas’ eyes. “What?”
“What if your blood has the missing gene? Now that would be ironic.”
“Hmmm… that would be something.”
He nuzzled my ear. “You save the world from vampires in the past and save the world from cancer in our present. How can I compete with such a super hero?”
I laughed and leaned into him as his hand wove around my waist and pulled me tight. “I don’t know. How could you?”
“I could be your chauffer, for starters?” he asked while nipping at my ear.
“Chauffer? Like to Mr. Cruor’s?” My eyes slipped shut, and I fought a moan. “I’m afraid I’ll never make it there if you do.”
“True,” he said playfully.
“I wish you were coming and not Tyler. It’s like it was rigged or something.”
“Katie has to be doubly stoked.” Nicholas chuckled.
The thought to confront him on how he seemed to understand Katie so well floated through my mind, but Nicholas’ warm hands under my shirt, inched along my stomach and were enough of a distracter to stop me. I didn’t want to ruin the moment, no matter how much PDA we were bestowing on the student body.
Something cold splashed onto my neck and down my back.
I jumped to my feet, yelling, “What the—?”
One of the ex-vamp tramps held up her hand. “Oops. Sorry.” The empty soda cup was still in her fingers. “It slipped.”
“Sure it did.” I moved forward to knock the cup from her hands, but Nicholas stopped me.
Katie gave a quick up and down as she walked by and flipped her short hair. “Looks like you need to change.”
This wasn’t going over well at all.
~|~
After being forced to wear my gym clothes for the rest of the day, I sulked over to my car, anxious for a shower.
“You going home first?” Nicholas asked.
I looked at the time and shrugged. “I want to, but if I’m late, Mr. Cruor will give my spot away. It’s not so bad.”
I tried to be brave, but I was sticky and stinky, and I wanted to go home.
He leaned in and wrapped me up in his arms, then began to kiss up my neck. “Hmmm… Coke. My favorite.”
I laughed and pushed off of him. “Stop it. I’m gross.”
His eyebrow pitched upward. “Oh, no you aren’t.”
I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “Just go. I’ll call you later.”
He nodded and climbed into his Charger. Within seconds he was gone.
I rummaged through my trunk, hoping to find something more suitable than my red SLV Athletics shirt.
“Hey, Parker.”
I swiveled around, then clutched my chest to feign a heart attack. “You’re talking to me?”
“Of course, I am.” Phil’s lips thinned.
“Good. Because it’s silly that we aren’t.”
I turned around and continued to rummage through my car, finding only aprons from work.
“What are you doing?”
“Looking for something to wear.”
“Why?”
“’Cause I don’t want to go to Mr. Cruor’s in this.”
His eyebrow pitched upward. “You’re still going?”
“Well,” I huffed, “yeah.”
“Parker. You can’t go to Cain’s.”
“It’s Mr. Cruor, and yes, I’m going. He’s not a bad guy.”
“Not a bad guy?” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. On it was my name. “Look what I found.”
I stared at the paper. “Yeah? So?”
“It was in the trash, Parker. Cain didn’t randomly choose your name. He wants you and you’re willingly falling into his trap. You’re going into his lair.”
I laughed and slammed the trunk shut. “That’s crazy. I’m getting a recommendation for college. It’s for a good cause.”
Phil grabbed me and held my wrists. “Parker, don’t go. I’m w
arning you. It may look innocent, but it’s still the same players.”
I shirked off his grip. “I can take care of myself and I most certainly know when someone is lying or not. I’ll be fine. I’m going with Katie.”
“I don’t trust her either,” he said with a smirk. “You were doused by Coke today and she did nothing but laugh. This won’t be the end.”
I gritted my teeth. He didn’t know what I knew now, and I couldn’t fault him, but I didn’t have time to explain. He didn’t need to worry about me. “Okay,” I lied. “I won’t go.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
“No, really?” Hope flickered into his eyes.
“You’re right. I’d rather shower anyway.”
“Good.” He smiled as I crawled into my car.
I pulled out of my parking space feeling rotten, but if I’d told him the truth, he’d follow me and prevent me from going. This was for his own good.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
If the outside of Mr. Cruor’s estate wasn’t impressive enough for those who drove past every day, the inside was a hundred times more ostentatious than I could have ever imagined, which shouldn’t have surprised me considering his past. Apparently, that had carried over into this life from before. An attractive woman with blonde hair secured in a bun answered the door. She wore a crisp white shirt and a black pencil skirt, and directed me to a sitting room off the foyer. Though the soda on my jeans had dried, I was afraid to sit on the white couches.
“Tea? Coffee? Wine?” she offered.
I smirked. “I’m not twenty-one.”
“Oh,” she laughed. “Of course not. I’ll bring you a soda.”
She clicked away on the marble floor with her tiny black heels before I could question her. Serving minors alcohol? Seriously? My stomach flipped several times over. Was this a trick? And where were Tyler and Katie?
Laughter filtered through the hall.
“Oh, there you are.” Mr. Cruor turned the corner with Katie on his arm. They both wore white lab coats, and Katie held a glass of something sparkling in a champagne flute.
Pencil Skirt brought me a soda at the same time in a tall thin glass.
“Rum and coke?” Katie asked with a wink. “Good choice.”
My brows knit together in shock for a moment, waiting for the “just joking,” that never came. She couldn’t be drinking alcohol, could she? “Um… no.”
Katie glared a Pencil Skirt. “And why not?”
Pencil Skirt ignored her and left the room.
“You’re wearing different clothes.” Mr. Cruor’s eyes fell to my feet and up again. “Did something happen at school?”
Katie burst into giggles. “Boy did it. Mandy was quite annoyed that Jules got picked today and accidentally spilled her soda down Jules’ back.”
I withheld the urge to toss my soda at Katie so she could see what that was like.
“Well, that’s tragic.” He stepped into the foyer. “Mimi!”
Pencil Skirt appeared with a white bundle in her hands. “Yes, sir.”
“Please find Ms. Parker another outfit.”
I gulped. “No, Mr. Cruor. It’s fine. I’m fine.”
Mimi walked over and handed me a lab coat of my own.
“Are you sure?” He inclined his head. “I want you to be comfortable here.”
I nodded profusely. “Really, this is fine.”
Katie snorted into more fits of laughter. “You could just take everything off and wear only the lab coat, like I am.”
My cheeks heated in utter embarrassment.
“Now, now, Katie. No more teasing.” Mr. Cruor patted her hand and pulled her, wobbly legs and all, into the foyer. “Let’s convene in the laboratory, shall we?”
I moved to catch up. “Where’s Tyler?”
“He’s already started.” Mr. Cruor walked up to what looked like an elevator. He pressed the button and the doors slid open.
I slurped down a sip of my coke to hide my gasp. Cherry coke, to be exact, with something extra in it. Something with a bite. I’d never tasted anything like it. “This is… good.”
“I would hope so. It’s my specialty.” Once everyone was inside, Mr. Cruor pressed another button on an unlabeled panel. The doors shut. The car started to move and instead of us cruising upward, the floor dropped below us. I gasped and hung on. The counter above counted down 5…4…3…2…1. Then the doors opened, engulfing us with icy air.
Mr. Cruor held out his hand. “Ladies first.”
I stepped out into a room lined with clear cubicles. My head swayed a bit at all the sparkling glass and lights. People moved around me faster than I could track. I reached out and hung onto the edge of the nearest desk for support. The glass felt cold under my fingers.
The workers all wore white shirts and black pants, or skirts, and they had familiar faces. Then it hit me. Slide, Blondie, and another vamp from LA hovered around a computer monitor, trying not to be so obvious while they glanced over at me. Close by, Bettina and her twin sister busied themselves with a clipboard. I sucked in a breath as alarms shot through my legs. It was a trap. I needed to get out of here.
“Come on, Julia,” Mr. Cruor said, motioning me to follow.
I gritted my teeth and took a step backward just as the elevator doors swished shut behind me. My heel bumped the metal door. Frozen in terror, my eyes found the familiar faces again, but they weren’t ex-vamps at all, just people. Normal people I’d never met before.
I blew out a breath and put down the soda. Too much caffeine, I suppose. Katie gave me a look over her shoulder, and I trotted after them.
We rounded a corner and headed toward a room filled with gym equipment. In the far corner, Tyler ran on a treadmill. His face had a mask over it and a multitude of wires fed outward from his arms.
“What’s he doing?” I asked.
“Tests.”
I blinked a few times to clear my head. If he expected me to run, I wouldn’t last long.
“What are we supposed to do?” I asked.
“You’ll see,” he said.
I followed until we ended up in a cubicle against the farthest wall. On the desk was an array of file folders, labels, and papers.
“Katie, please show Ms. Parker what to do.” Mr. Cruor directed her to the desk.
“Sure thing, Horace.”
I cringed at the use of his first name.
She plopped down on the nearest chair and began to move stuff around, explaining we were assembling new patient folders. I looked over her shoulder, a tad disappointed. I thought we’d do something cool, like research or tests on the samples.
Mr. Cruor walked out of the cubicle and went back to the gym where Tyler was.
I slipped into a nearby chair. “Why are you being so rude?”
Katie’s head whipped around. “Rude? You shouldn’t even be here. I should have taken your name out of the hat before giving it to Horace.”
I snort laughed. “You’re calling him by his first name?”
“Of course I am.” She glanced over her shoulder. “We’re close.”
Nausea turned my stomach. Yeah, Mr. Cruor was good looking, but his cold dark eyes took any attraction away I might have felt.
“Get to work,” she growled.
I rummaged through the papers, noting the person’s age and blood type. There were a bunch of numbers and letters listed on sheets with red and green symbols to the left.
“That’s the match panel. Gene matches show all green marks on the left,” Katie interjected, pointing down the list.
“What did yours look like?”
“Mostly green,” she said proudly. “I’ve been the closest match so far. I’m hoping maybe Dr. V. will be able to splice together my blood with another’s to make the perfect sample.”
“How does he know there’s a match out there?’
Katie leaned in. “Because he found someone who was a match.”
“Then why does he need more sampl
es?”
“The test was mixed in with a bunch of other negative tests, then accidentally destroyed.” Katie bit her lip. “Ever since he discovered the mistake, he’s been trying to locate that person, but hasn’t found them.”
My lips formed an O. I thought of what Nicholas had said, about how my blood was special.
“Whoever it is…” Katie flopped back in her chair like she’d fainted. “They’ll be like a major rock star. I mean, could you imagine? The money? They’d never have to work a day in their life.”
I picked at my nail and contemplated what a life like that could look like. I could get my dream wish, without immortality. I could have Nicholas. “So Dr V. just needs to take your blood?”
“Well,” she huffed, “yeah.”
I pinched my lips together and stood up. Before I lost my nerve, I marched down to the gym and opened the door. Tyler waved.
“Mr. Cruor?” I gulped down my nerves.
He turned with that sweet smile he gave me right before biting my neck. “Yes?”
I cleared my throat. “I’d like to give my blood. Maybe I’m a match.”
His eyes brightened and when he smiled, I swore I saw fangs. Within moments, Mr. Cruor had whisked me into an office similar to the one in the RV and had me sit on one of the leather recliners. Katie stood off to the side, eyes wide. Of anyone, I would have guessed her to be jealous, or worried I was a match. Instead, she watched on greedily, like the outcome would benefit her, too.
Mr. Cruor pressed a button on a control pad attached to the chair. The leather underneath me began to heat up. “Just get comfortable.”
A woman in a lab coat entered from the opposing door, and I couldn’t withhold my gasp. Rachel turned and frowned at me.
“Well, the prodigal daughter has returned, I see.”
“What’s that’s supposed to mean?” I asked.
“That she’s happy you’ve returned, right, Ms. Swan?” He inclined his head toward Rachel.
“Yes, and you know I hate formalities. Call me Raquel.”
I blinked at this woman who’s name wasn’t Rachel, but Raquel. Suspicion was replaced with relief once again. Nicholas was right. There was nothing to worry about.
Blood Wars: Book 4 (The Talisman Series) Page 7