by Lisa Olsen
“What do you mean?” The end of things? Did she mean our friendship?
“With you moving out and living the vampire dream, it’s not like we’ll run into each other at Mickey D’s, is it?” She cocked a single brow and I realized what bothered her even more than the ruined couch.
“Bridget, we’re friends, why wouldn’t we see each other anymore? I mean we are, aren’t we? Friends?”
“We don’t really have a lot in common,” she shrugged, focusing on picking the chipped polish off her nails.
“Sure we do. We both like to stay up nights, we both like ice cream and Sandra Bullock movies and we both like Rob here,” I tried to get her to smile.
“Take that back about the Sandra Bullock movies and I’m in,” she threatened, blinking away the shine of emotion in her eyes.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to out you.” I flashed Rob a smile, which he returned behind her back. “So no more talk about not seeing each other anymore or I’ll compel you to be my friend.”
“Just as long as you don’t force me to watch those sappy romance flicks on the Hallmark channel,” Bridget said, pushing herself out of her chair. “I’ve gotta motor, some of us have jobs.”
“Right, I’ve got to find one of those too,” that reminded me. “Don’t let me keep you then, I just wanted to pack up a few things to take to Bishop’s. I’ll have the rest of my things out as soon as I can make some arrangements.”
“No rush, I’m in no big hurry to get a roommate any time soon, unless…?” she sent Rob a hopeful smile and he cleared his throat uncomfortably.
“I’ll just make myself a cuppa.” Ignoring the question, he moved with familiar ease through our small kitchen. Maybe he didn’t want to talk about that with me in the room. He’d been practically living there for a while anyway, now that I’d be moving out, they’d have a lot more privacy. Win/win.
I left them to their discussion, digging for a couple of bags to stow my belongings in. Folding my clothes tightly, I packed about half of my wardrobe into two duffel bags and started loading up my backpack with essentials like my laptop and mp3 player.
“Brought you a drink.” Rob gave a single knock on my open door, bringing in a mug.
I could smell the warmed blood from across the room, and steeled myself to turn it down. “Thanks, but I’m not supposed to drink bagged blood anymore. Not until all the anti-coagulants are completely out of my system.”
“It’s not,” he said, setting the mug down on my dresser.
“What do you mean it’s not?”
“It’s mine. I left out the bagged this time since you got sick.”
“You’ve been feeding me your blood?” Suddenly I understood why it always tasted better when Rob brought me a mug of blood, he’d been mixing his own blood into it for a while and I’d been too dumb to notice.
“I had some to spare,” he gave a half shrug and for once his nonchalance really bugged the crap out of me.
“Why would you do that?”
“It’s not that big of a deal.”
I couldn’t help but feel it was a strange thing to do without telling me though, and I was less than hospitable with my next question. “What are you still doing here? I thought Bridget had to go to work?”
“Making sure you live to see another night, so to speak. I’m here to look out for you, yeah?”
“Why? I’ll be fine. I just need to finish packing, I’m perfectly safe.”
“I think it’s obvious by what happened here, you’re nothing of the sort.”
“I won’t eat any one while I’m here, and I’ll be fine.” I looked down at the mug of blood he offered, that included his. Not that I didn’t trust him, but I started to get a weird vibe. Why was he so keen to look out for me all the time?
“All the same, I’ll be here looking out for you,” he replied, unflappable.
“So, what am I on house arrest?”
“No, we can go wherever you like.”
“You don’t have to watch over me, I’m a big girl, I can take care of myself.”
“Actually, I do.”
That was it. I knew his heart was in the right place, but I didn’t need him fixating on me like that, I had Bishop to watch out for me. “Rob,” I caught hold of his will with mine. “You don’t need to stick to me like glue, I can take care of myself.”
Instead of the glossy stare and the immediate affirmation, Rob’s head canted to one side, his eyes narrowing. “You don’t want to be doing that.”
“What are you?” The question tumbled out as I stared at him in awe. I didn’t think anyone could resist a vampire’s compulsion.
“Sagittarius,” the corner of his mouth twitched.
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
“Rob… I have to admit, you’re kinda freaking me out here.”
“Take a breath then, there’s nothing villainous afoot,” he backed off, hands coming up in supplication. “Anja… I think we both know you’re both more and less than you seem.”
“What do you mean?” I asked warily.
“That you’re newer at this than you like to admit, but stronger than most vamps in these parts. I can guess at why, and I won’t ask you about it, but I’ve tried looking out for you because you remind me of someone I once knew.”
“If you say Carys you can get out right now,” I growled, tired of attracting admirers because I reminded them of her.
“No, that one died long before my time,” he shook his head. “It’s not important who she was. Sufficient to say, I’ve got secrets of my own and I know sometimes living up to the image you create can wear on a body.”
“It can,” I agreed, still wary. “I don’t suppose you’d care to share a secret or two with me?”
“You’ve guessed some of it already. You can tell I’m not entirely human, none of my family is.”
“How does that work?” I took a seat on the edge of my bed, patting the space beside me. “What are you if not human? You’re not a vampire.”
“More than human, and less. My family’s been in service to vampires for a long time. In exchange they shared their blood with us, and over time we… evolved.”
“Evolved how?”
“We’re stronger and faster than regular people, I can see better in the dark. Live longer too unless we weave when we should have bobbed and end up dead. Some of us have gifts.”
“What kind of gifts?” I pictured all sorts of freaky X-files mutations.
“My sister has the Sight, I have a few flashes of it every now and again, just enough to help me out of a tight spot. It comes in handy when rubbing elbows with your lot, plus I can’t be compelled into doing just any vampire’s bidding.”
“That’s a useful trick if you’re spending a lot of time in our company. So, what are you saying, now you’re in service to me?”
“No, not exactly,” he gave me a faint smile. “It seemed like you could use my help is all.”
“Is that why you’ve been going out with Bridget this whole time, to keep an eye on me?” Bridget wasn’t going to like that if she ever found out about it. Faster and stronger might not save him from a nasty temper and a pair of garden shears.
“Not entirely,” Rob shrugged. “A girl like Bridget can be a lot of fun.”
“But she’s not really your type.”
“No, she’s not.”
I digested that for a moment, deciding to leave her love life out of it for the moment. Bridget was a big girl and I was fairly certain she didn’t expect Rob to be the one. Still, nothing came without a price. “I don’t mean to be rude but, what do you get out of it? Spending all your time looking out for me and giving me your blood… that seems like a lot of effort just because I remind you of someone.” Rob looked down at his hands, and I knew there was something else he held back. “Oh would you tell me for crying out loud?”
“I need vampire blood to survive.”
There it was. “And you were hoping I’d volunteer.”
>
“I wouldn’t need much, and I wouldn’t need to feed from you all intimate-like,” he replied quickly.
“How often would you need it?”
“Just a small vial every couple of weeks.”
That was less than I’d thought, but I wasn’t sure it was such a good idea. “I don’t know, I think I need to talk it over with Bishop first.”
“Bishop is familiar with my family, he’ll know my offer is on the up and up. I’ve no worries there.” Rob seemed pretty confident. “Seems like he’d appreciate the extra help in keeping you safe, he’s got his hands full most of the time with his job.”
“Alright, I’ll ask him about it,” I promised. “I wish you’d told me about this sooner though. Is there anything else you’re not telling me?”
“Course there is, we’ve all got secrets.” His grin stretched wide as he moved to the door. Somehow hearing that honest answer made me feel better.
“Hey, Rob?” I called him back. “How are you less than human? You said a little more and less…”
“We can be… a bit off sometimes. We don’t play well with others, that tends to set us apart from the mainstream population and guarantee we’ll stay in supernatural company.”
“Really? You seem perfectly nice to me.” I always knew he had a dangerous vibe about him and he wasn’t much of a talker, but he’d never seemed like the type who couldn’t function in regular society. Then again, my friends did tend to be misfits themselves.
“Do me a favor, keep that thought to yourself, yeah?” he winked, slipping out the door. I could hear him puttering around in the kitchen, making his tea, and my eyes went to the mug of blood on the dresser. It smelled good even from across the room. Probably the only reason I hadn’t lunged for it was I’d been spoiled by feeding on Bishop for the past few days.
I considered sending Bishop a text, letting him know I’d gone home to pack a few things, but I didn’t want to bug him on the job. How would it look if he was in the middle of intimidating someone and his girlfriend texts him little kisses? I jumped when the phone buzzed in my hand and I saw Hanna’s picture pop up on the display. A little late for a sisterly chat, I took the call, wondering if Mason was with her of if the other shoe was about to drop.
“Hey, Hanna, what’s up?”
“It’s me,” Mason’s voice was pitched low for my ears only.
“Do I want to know why you’re on my sister’s phone at this hour of the night?”
“Yeah, I kinda think you do.” There was no mistaking the tinge of excitement in his voice. “I found out who’s behind all the attacks.”
“You did?” Mason had my full attention now. “How did you find that out? I thought there were no leads.”
“It turns out I was able to break the compulsion on your sister.”
“You did?” I blinked. “I thought that almost never works.” I still remembered Bishop’s efforts to break through the compulsion over Bridget, and he was much better at that sort of thing than Mason.
“It ah, involved getting a little intimate with her.”
“Intimate how?”
“Well, you see, if there’s a strong connection between us, then I stand a better chance of breaking through it and that worked.”
“A strong connection,” I repeated, knowing there was more to it than that.
“Plus… it helps if she’s tasted my blood before she was compelled.”
“And she has?” My voice reached an octave only heard by neighborhood pets and Mason immediately backpedaled.
“She might have…”
“Mason!”
“I swear, it wasn’t enough to hurt her or do anything more permanent, just a taste, you know during…”
“Stop talking!” I interrupted, that was a mental image I didn’t need haunting me until the end of time. “Just when I think I can trust you…”
“You can, I promise. I’d do anything for Hanna, and I didn’t want her to be in any danger, so…”
We were getting way off track. “Who is it? I already know it’s not Nina.” Unless my judge of character was worse than I’d thought.
“It’s Serena.”
“Serena?” I repeated, not sure I’d heard him correctly. “From the bar?” Why in God’s name would she want to kill me?
“I know, I didn’t get it either, but I swear, that’s who she saw. Hanna described her to a T. So, how are we gonna play this? Do you want me to call Bishop or is he there with you? If you want to come over to my place to sit with Hanna I can go round him up.”
The last thing I wanted to do was call Bishop. He’d go in guns blazing and I’d never get any answers out of Serena. “No, I’ll tell him, I’m sure he’ll know how to handle it. You just stay with Hanna, alright? Keep her safe.”
“It’s a dirty job, but somebody’s gotta do it.” I could hear the grin in his voice.
“Hey Mason, thanks. I’m sorry I gave you such a hard time about my sister.”
“It’s okay, I can dig the overprotective vibe. After this is all over we should talk though.”
“About what?”
“I want to tell her the truth about me, about what we are.”
I sat in stunned silence, the pronouncement too big to process right away in the face of everything else. “You’re right,” I murmured finally.
“Then you think it’s a good idea?”
“No, I think we should talk about it more after this is all over. I’ve got to go now, thanks again, Mason.” Without waiting for a reply I hung up, staring at the screen for long seconds as I weighed my options. If I called Bishop he’d tell me to stay put and he’d take care of it.
It was the smart thing to do.
The safe thing to do.
“Hey Rob?” I called out, looking for my new black boots that Bridget had dubbed “ass kicking boots”.
“In the kitchen.”
Swinging my head into the room, I flashed him a quick smile. “I need your help, and you’re the only person I know who probably has access to guns who won’t make me sit it out at home. I’m thinking weapons as in plural, something I can use against vampires.” My words came fast and furious, not giving him time to throw out any objections. “I need to kill someone.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“Slow down, how’s about you go back to the beginning? Who needs killing?”
I’d already left Rob in the kitchen to wrestle my way into the Doc Martens, the stiff new leather fighting me, but I have to admit, I did feel quite a bit more powerful once I had them laced up. Rob stepped out of the kitchen seconds later, a dish towel tossed over his shoulder. Had he been doing my dishes? Boy, he really did want to ingratiate himself to me.
“I think I found a way we can be mutually beneficial to each other. I’ll give you the blood you need if you help me out with this one little thing.”
“Who do you want me to kill?” No hesitation, he tossed the towel back in the direction of the kitchen and waited expectantly.
“No, I don’t want you to kill her for me, I want to handle it myself. I need weapons, something that will take out a vampire, can you hook me up?”
“I can,” he nodded slowly. “But only on the understanding that I come with you when you go on this killing spree, deal?”
“It’s not a spree,” I grinned, feeling almost giddy with anticipation. “Just one person in particular. I found out it’s Serena who’s been trying to kill me. Can you believe it? Serena, who I’ve had a total of one conversation with ever.” I couldn’t even remember everything that was said, just that she’d left angry.
“Pretty powerful conversation as I recall it. Some people can’t stomach losing face in front of their peers.”
“Whatever, she’s a crazy b.i.t.c.h. and I intend to stop her from hurting anyone I love ever again.”
“Right then, shall we go?”
Surprised at how easy it was to bring him into my plan (such as it was), I wasn’t sure where he had in mind. “Then you’re in, great
,” I nodded, tugging on a short leather jacket. “Ah, where are we going? To the Hart? I haven’t seen her in there lately.” Not that I’d been particularly looking either…
“We’ve got to see you properly armed if you’re going into battle.” A slow smile spread across his face. “And I’ve just the thing.”
*
It turns out Rob’s definition of ‘just the thing’ and mine don’t really coincide too well. It didn’t take long to get to his place, a small apartment over a garage a few blocks from my building. Rob pulled up to the big garage door and got out, punching a code into the keypad. The heavy metal door took its own sweet time rolling up and he was back in the driver’s seat well before he could safely pull forward.
“The owner of the garage lets you park inside? That’s nice.” Especially for a fancy sedan like he drove.
“It’s not a proper garage anymore, it gives me more space to muck about with my cars,” he shrugged, and that’s when I realized it was his garage. Besides the black sedan, he had a two seater roadster and an old fashioned Morgan touring car, half pulled apart. “Come on, weapons are upstairs,” he gestured, tossing the keys onto a hanging ring inside the door.
There wasn’t much to his apartment. A microwave and mini fridge in one corner, little more than a cot pushed up against the opposite wall. A small TV sat atop a bookshelf filled to the bursting with books. A single worn easy chair sat in the center of the room. Not exactly home sweet home.
“Do you live here all the time, or is this just where you crash when you’re working on cars?”
“I live here all the time, why?”
“It’s um… it’s nice.” I wasn’t sure what else to say, there wasn’t a single redeeming feature in the entire room.
“It’s a hole,” he let out a short raspy laugh, “but I don’t need much. Move around too often to accumulate many possessions. Most of my toys I leave behind for when I return, they don’t need much in the way of space.” Rob opened the closet door, punching a code into the keypad set into the back of the wall. The light changed from red to green and with an audible click, the entire back wall of the closet swung inward. Inside was a secret room straight out of a James Bond movie. All it lacked was a nerdy guy in a lab coat dispensing gadgets.