Just then, Tristan tackled the gunman, the masked assassin firing a wild gunshot into the air. When Carlos dropped to the ground, face first, I ran toward him without thinking.
“Carlos!” I slid to the ground beside him, rolling him onto his back.
His eyes were clamped shut, but at the sound of my voice they widened astronomically. “Cami?” he whispered, reaching with trembling hands to touch my red hair.
“Are you hurt?” I mumbled, trying to keep the tears at bay. I was touching him! I could hug him. He smelled of the spearmint gum he was always chewing and soap.
“Cami?” he repeated, clearly in shock.
Instead of asking again, I checked his body for any blood or open wounds, but he was fine, he wasn’t hit. He just dropped to the ground at the sound of gunfire.
“Thank God you’re okay,” I muttered as I patted his chest, resisting the urge to squeeze him into a hug. I looked over at Tristan just as he got another gunshot to the chest and another to the leg. I jumped at the thunderous sound of the gun, although it wasn’t as loud as it was in the warehouse.
I couldn’t see the man beneath the hood, but I was almost positive I knew who it was. The man ran away, taking advantage of Tristan’s weakened state. The vampire fell to one knee and let him go. He was weak and needed blood soon.
“Cami, how—how is this possible?” Carlos stammered, ignoring everything happening around us. He was clearly stunned at the sight of his sister, whom he had assumed was dead for the past six months, crouched in front of him. “Where have you been?” He sat up and I leaned back on my heels to give him space.
“It’s … it’s a long story, Carlos—”
“We thought you were dead!” I flinched at the vehemence in his tone. “Ma barely sleeps, Pops hasn’t been the same. We—”
“The man who attacked you has been after me,” I cut him off. “I’ve been in hiding ever since the night I disappeared.”
“Cami,” he sighed and pulled me into his arms. “You should have come to us,” he said into my hair. “We could have gone to the police. We could have protected you. You didn’t have to do this alone.”
I held onto him tightly as the tears streamed down my face. I wanted to agree with him and say You’re right; I should have. But I couldn’t. How could I tell my family that I had a magical phoenix inside me that prevented me from dying? Even to the most open-minded family, it would be too much.
Instead, I held him close and said, “I love you, Carlos.”
Someone cleared their throat behind us, and I peered over my shoulder to find Tristan staring down at us. He was limping on one side; I knew he was hurt badly and needed to get back home soon.
“I told you to stay put, Octavia,” Tristan grumbled. He tried to stare me down, but it didn’t have the intended effect. His normally icy glare was diminished in his weakened state.
“I thought he was hurt! I couldn’t just leave him to bleed out,” I argued.
“Octavia?” Carlos questioned, reaching for a strand of my red hair. “Did you change everything about yourself?” he murmured.
I winced.
“He can’t remember you were here, Octavia,” Tristan said. “We need to make him forget.”
“What?” I shot up from the ground. “What do you mean?”
“It’s called enchanting. Mind suggestion. With it, he won’t remember you were ever here. He’ll just know that he and his friend were attacked on campus. That’s it. But you’re being hunted, and if anyone knows you’re alive, it makes them a target.”
I turned back to look at a confused Carlos, who was trying to follow our conversation, while my mind raced to come up with an alternative to Tristan’s solution.
Maybe Carlos can keep a secret. Maybe he can help us!
I just wanted a piece of my old life back, and looking into the warm comfort of my little brother’s eyes made it hard to resist. My eyes dropped to the ground where his books were scattered and what I saw made my blood run cold.
The stem of a familiar flower was cradled between his books.
“Carlos, what is that?” I pointed to the ground where I saw the end peeking out between two notebooks.
Confused, my brother plucked it from between his books and held it up. It was just as I feared—a black dahlia. “I don’t know. I found it in my things when I got out of class. Figured it was a secret admirer. Why?”
I turned to Tristan with worried eyes and he nodded with the knowledge that something was very wrong. He’d seen me with the flower before.
“What’s going on, Cami?” my brother asked anxiously as he stood and took a wary step away from me.
Tears streamed down my face as I watched him stare at me with wide, frightened eyes. He was scared of me. I pulled him into an embrace and he flinched at my touch.
“I love you, Carlos. Don’t forget that. I’ll be home soon,” I whispered to him before pulling away. I turned to Tristan and nodded. “Do it.”
As Tristan and I drove back to Marina del Rey, I knew he was itching to ask me. So instead of waiting for him to broach the subject, I just blurted it out.
“Since before we met, I’ve been getting these flowers—black dahlias. At first, I didn’t know what kind of flower it was because I’d never seen it before, so I had to look it up. I thought one of the girls from the club was leaving them for me, then I thought maybe it was one of the clubgoers who had taken a liking to me. Now I’m starting to wonder if it has something to do with all of this.” I waved my hand around.
Tristan snorted. “You think? Why am I just now hearing about this?”
I shrugged. “I didn’t think it was important at the time. It didn’t seem like a phoenix problem.”
“Looks like you have an admirer … of the supernatural variety. Damnit, Octavia, you need to be more careful. It could be your killer.”
Chastened, I peered out the window of the passenger door and kept my mouth shut. He was right. It could be my killer. And there I was, playing right into his hand.
By the time we arrived back at the penthouse, it was late. Tristan headed straight for the shower, leaving me in the kitchen to cook my own dinner.
I was still shaken after the events of the day. From phoenix practice, to being threatened and almost shot by Nick, to digging bullets out of a vampire’s skin, to seeing my brother accosted and then allowing his mind to be wiped. I was still heartbroken about leaving my brother and his friend on campus, but unfortunately, we couldn’t take him anywhere. We stayed behind a few extra minutes to make sure the hooded man didn’t come back and then we left.
I couldn’t believe I got to see Carlos and hug his neck. Even if it was just for a short amount of time. My hands trembled and I rubbed them on my thighs to calm myself down. I couldn’t dwell on this all night. I resolved to relax my mind and continue to make dinner.
I made pasta, nothing fancy, and placed the steaming bowl on the table with some garlic bread and salad. I knew I’d most likely be eating alone, but … On second thought, I crossed over to the fridge and grabbed a blood bag. Opening several cabinet doors, I finally found the wine glasses and plucked the biggest one I could find. Taking a leap, I decided to put the blood bag in the microwave to warm it up. I didn’t know if he preferred it warm or not. I mean, the other day Maverick drank it straight from the fridge. But using the logic that when he drank from a human, he drank it at ninety-eight-point-six degrees, I figured warming it up couldn’t hurt.
When the microwave beeped, I poured the blood into the wine glass and nearly gagged in the process. This was undeniably gross, but I owed him. Today, he’d not only saved my life but that of my brother’s. Sure, at this point we were pretty sure I couldn’t die, but the intent was there.
I carried the glass to the table and placed it at the chair at the head, taking care not to slosh the thick, red liquid over the rim. Then I took the chair beside it and sat down to eat my pasta, occasionally shooting disgusted glances at the blood beside me.
A few minutes later, Tristan came down the hallway and entered the kitchen to find me at the dining table. He sniffed the air speculatively, his eyes zeroing in on the wine glass.
“You didn’t have to do that, Octavia,” he said as he tried not to smile, though I could see his upper lip twitching.
I lifted a shoulder as if the thought of someone guzzling blood next to me at the dinner table wasn’t a big deal. “I figured we could have dinner together.”
He raised a brow. “You don’t find it … repulsive?”
I swallowed a mouthful of pasta and washed it down with a sip of soda. “It doesn’t matter what I think. You have to … eat, don’t you?”
He pressed his lips together to hold in his laughter. “Very well. Thank you.”
Tristan walked around to the head of the table and sat down, all prim and proper. It made me want to roll my eyes. I wanted him to slouch, just once. He picked up the wine glass and then darted his eyes to me.
“It’s warm.”
I shrugged, a blush creeping up my neck. “I figured,” I coughed, “that maybe you preferred it that way.”
At that, he couldn’t hold it in anymore. He barked out a guffaw that was so unlike the Tristan I’d come to know, it surprised me. He threw his head back in laughter, closing his green eyes as his shoulders trembled with the force.
“This isn’t funny,” I gritted between my teeth.
“No,” he chuckled louder, holding onto his stomach as he tried to catch his breath. “It’s probably the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. Thank you, Octavia.”
I frowned, not sure if he was making fun of me or not. This is the last time I’ll ever do something like this ever again! The asshole.
“Truly, Octavia, thank you,” he repeated, this time with a more sincere tone.
I nodded and continued to eat my food. A comfortable silence settled between us as we ate, and he even reached for one of my garlic sticks and munched on it, much to my surprise.
The days’ events spooled through my head like a movie—a horror movie. I couldn’t believe Nick was dead. Yeah, he turned on me, but to kill him for it? Tristan did it unflinchingly, like he’d done it hundreds of times before. It reminded me of how dangerous he was. I had to be careful. He was protecting me now, but just like Nick, he could turn on me just as easily once I was no longer of use to him. He’d already done it once when he planned to trade me to Killian and his pack of shifters.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Tristan interrupted my dark musings. The look on my face must have shown my confusion because he pointed to my forehead and added, “You get these crinkles on your forehead when you’re deep in thought.”
“Oh.” I touched my head self-consciously. “It’s nothing.” I looked down at the plate of pasta that was mostly eaten and changed my mind. “Actually, I was thinking about Nick. Did he have to die?”
Tristan sighed as if he’d been waiting for this conversation. “He had to, Octavia. He knew your real name, which meant he could look up your family and where they lived, if he hadn’t already. He could have outed you—or worse. We don’t know what he was willing to do for those people. And he tried to shoot you. Nick was an unknown variable that had to be eliminated.”
His reasoning made sense in a cutthroat kind of way, and deep down I knew he was right. It still felt so, so wrong.
“Would you have killed my brother for the same reason? He knew about me.”
“No,” he answered quickly. “I never would have done that to you.” He bit his lip, contemplating for a minute what he must have known I wanted to say … that instead of death, maybe Nick could have been enchanted to forget me.
Tristan reached for my hand and held it. “I know it’s uncomfortable, and I hope you never get used to taking a life, but it had to be done. He was the only one who knew what you looked like now, and I’m wagering he kept that information a secret to use as leverage over your killer. Not to mention, your killer would have come looking for you through Nick sooner or later. So you see, it had to be done. He was a danger to you in more ways than one.”
“What about you? Are you a danger to me?” I turned my weary eyes from our hands to his steely green eyes.
He removed his hand as if I’d burned him. Just as Tristan opened his mouth to say something, the front door burst open and Maverick vaulted in with a wide smile on his face.
“My people!” he hollered as he made his way into the dining room. “What’s up? What’d I miss?”
I peered over at Tristan, but his expression was completely neutral as if we hadn’t just shared a moment.
“You missed a lot, Rick. We’re still waiting to hear from Echo, but I’ll fill you in.”
Maverick sat down across from me and listened intently as Tristan conveyed everything that had gone down today. He even told him about my training and the progress I made, which meant he planned to tell Echo, too. I supposed nothing was a secret around here.
“Well, damn,” Maverick sighed. “I really need to get me one of those talismans so I can walk around during the day and not miss all the action!”
Talisman? Is that the necklace that Tristan always wears?
“Rick,” Tristan reprimanded.
Oops, I guess I’m not supposed to know about that. Very interesting.
“Echo is at the warehouse now combing through the computers, trying to glean some useful information. Anything that can lead us to whomever is after Octavia. I’m going to go see if she needs any help. Will you—”
Maverick nodded and grinned. “I’ll babysit.”
“Hey!” I exclaimed. “I don’t need a babysitter.”
“No, but I could use the company,” Maverick said, giving me a sweet smile. With his golden hair tossed in beautiful curls, he looked like a damned model.
“Fine,” I grumbled. I knew he didn’t need the company, that he was really my babysitter, but after the day I’d had, I didn’t have the energy to fight it.
10
After washing the dishes and cleaning up the kitchen, I found myself with not much else to do. It was too early to go to sleep, so I crept over to the living room where Maverick was watching TV in the dark. His leather jacket was lying on the back of the sofa where he was reclining comfortably, his boots were off and his toes were curled into red Spiderman socks. It was quite a sight, and not what I expected to see.
“Uh … Maverick?” I said with a cocked brow, still looking at his red and blue feet.
“Yeah?” he replied mindlessly as he surfed the channels. When I didn’t respond, he turned his head to look at me and caught me staring at his sock-clad feet. “Don’t judge. I like Spiderman.”
I chuckled. “Okay. Well, I wanted to ask for a favor.”
“What’s up?” He leaned back and rested his hands behind his head.
“I need to pick up my last check from NightCrawlers. Will you take me?”
Maverick started shaking his head before I even finished speaking. “Nope. No. No way, kiddo. I’m not getting on Tristan’s bad side just because you want to go on a little field trip.”
I perched on the sofa and leaned in conspiratorially, trying not to touch his feet. “Come on, Maverick. I’d have the best bodyguard with me. What could possibly go wrong?”
“While I appreciate the flattery, a lot could go wrong. You don’t know what NightCrawlers is—”
“I know it’s a vampire den. Tristan told me. Which is why I want to get my check as soon as possible and put that place in my past.” I jutted out my bottom lip and pouted. “Pretty please?”
Maverick frowned. “Aw, no fair! You can’t give me that wounded puppy look.” He winced and looked away. “Fine! We’ll go quickly. But we’re in and out, okay? No dillydallying.”
We took the elevators down to the parking garage and Maverick’s expression when he saw my car was answer enough as to who was driving.
“There’s no way I’m getting in that clunker. It’s barely holding on by a thread!” he gaped.
I followed him to a red, two-door coupe, which was fitting for Maverick’s personality. Flashy in all the right ways, but still masculine.
He opened the door for me and I slid inside the small car, inhaling the scent of leather seats and spicy men’s cologne. He hopped into the driver’s seat and cranked the car and the motor purred to life. Revving the engine, he peeled out of the garage and zoomed down the street like he thought he was racing in Nascar.
We made it to East L.A. in record time. If I thought Tristan had a lead foot, he was nothing compared to Maverick. We screeched to a stop in the NightCrawlers parking lot before they opened, which was perfect timing. I didn’t want to do this in a crowded nightclub, but I knew Roberto would already be inside this early.
Maverick parked at the front door in a no parking zone and we both got out of the car.
“Aren’t you scared they’ll tow it or give you a ticket?” I inquired as I looked at the car one last time.
He shrugged. “Meh, it’ll be fine.”
The front door was unlocked. We walked inside the club and I blinked at the weirdness of seeing all the lights on. It was strange to see the large space completely devoid of screaming people begging for shots. With a grimace, I saw unidentifiable filth splattered on the floor and smudges on the wall-mounted mirrors. Did they ever clean this place?
We were halfway across the dance floor when Roberto came slinking out from the back. “Octavia! Where have you been?” he demanded, obviously irritated.
I grimaced. “Uh … I had an emergency come up. But hey, I’m sorry, but I won’t be able to work here any longer. I just came for my last check.”
Roberto glanced over at Maverick, sizing him up for good measure, then slid over back to me. “No, baby, that just won’t do. You can’t quit on me like that. How about we go into my office and talk about it?”
“There’s really nothing to talk about. I can’t work here anymore.” Putting as much steel as I could into my voice, I put my foot down, knowing that with Roberto, you had to be crystal clear. Now that I knew what he was, I wasn’t playing any games.
Phoenix Burn (From the Ashes Trilogy Book 1) Page 10