by Jaye Wells
My laughter left a bitter taste in my mouth. I might have been a bitch, but I’d never tell someone I loved them if I didn’t mean it.
Funny, until ten hours earlier I hadn’t believed Callum capable of such lies.
“Nice try, Romeo. The only person you love is yourself and your ambition. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to be going.”
With a nod to Freddie, I turned on shaky legs to leave. The door was about to close when Callum’s voice rang out.
“Fine! Run. Ruin your life. In less than twenty-four hours your father will find you and have you on the first flight to Norway.”
Halting in the doorway, I turned.
“I’d rather be locked in an icy prison than have to listen to one more of your lies!”
Slamming the door, I marched down the steps with Freddie hot on my trail.
“Wow, you really told him, huh?”
The weird thing was, I didn’t feel triumphant in the least for getting the last word in. In fact, I’d never felt more miserable in my life.
Chapter Twenty-Two
A motley crew of minions bowed as I entered the living room of the run-down farmhouse. They all looked shocked to see me. I suppose it was the new look. They were used to me wearing black leather, not ball gowns.
“Where is everybody?” I asked.
Freddie cleared his throat behind me as the other people shuffled their feet and avoided my eyes.
“Yeah, about that. Some of the other minions decided they didn’t want to wait around for you to get in touch, so they bailed.”
“So much for loyalty,” I said, shrugging. With seven people left, the six before me and Freddie at my side, that meant about fourteen people were missing.
“Where did they go?” I asked.
“Well, a few decided to form a band, others decided that being your minion—forgive me, Mistress—sucked, and the rest are probably grounded or hanging out at the mall.”
Freddie cringed as if waiting for one of my trademark rages, but oddly I couldn’t work up to feeling annoyed. I was shocked that I wasn’t upset, but figured the stress of the day was distracting me.
“All right, so it’s just us,” I said, causing the minions to look at each other as if confused by my nonchalant attitude. “Someone update me on what you’ve been doing.”
Janice, a pixy dressed in black from head to toe with the exception of her lily-white face, stepped forward.
“Mistress,” she said, bowing.
“No, no. No more bowing,” I said.
Janice looked up from her bent-over posture, looking confused. “But, Mistress, you told us if we didn’t bow to you, you’d kick us out of the group.”
Had I really said that? Why did these kids put up with me?
“Well, I’ve decided that was a stupid rule. From now on the rule is anyone who bows gets kicked out.”
She snapped up so fast she put a hand to her head as if dizzy.
“Yes, Mistress—"
I cut her off again. “And no more of this ‘Mistress’ crap. Just call me by my first name.”
“Yes, R-Raven,” Janice said, looking uneasily at the others, who appeared shocked.
“No, not Raven. Call me Gabby.” I paused. Callum had been the only one to call me that.
“On second thought, call me Gabriella.”
“Ga-Gabriella?” she stammered. “I thought your name was Raven?”
I sighed. “Look, my real name is Gabriella. Raven was kind of a nickname.”
“Oh, I see,” she said, appearing not to see at all. “Well, per your email, we rented this new lair and got it all set up.”
Looking around, I nodded. “Yes, this is a much better location. That old warehouse totally sucked. Too dreary. I like the new digs.”
The old farmhouse was on the outskirts of Raleigh, far away from prying eyes. It had a kind of rustic appeal with its faded eyelet curtains and wide-planked pine floors.
“The lady who rented it to us was really nice. Paul and I posed as newlyweds and asked for lots of privacy,” Janice said, sending a shy glance at Paul, who was kind of cute if a person liked computer nerds. Obviously, Janice did.
“And you accessed my accounts to pay for it?” I asked.
“Yes, Mis— I mean Gabriella,” Paul said, hastily correcting himself. “I hacked into the bank system.”
I sent him an approving nod. “Good job. And the furniture came with the place?”
Janice nodded. I glanced around the room, taking in the old, but well-maintained furniture. The place was homey.
“We stocked the kitchen and the bathrooms.”
“Great, because I have a feeling I’ll be hiding out here for a few days until the heat wears off.”
“You think they’ll come after you?” Freddie asked, looking excited by the prospect.
“Yes, I do,” I said, thinking of how angry my father would be when he found out I’d left.
“I think we should ambush them,” Freddie declared. The others cheered, looking like bloodthirsty children.
“Wait a minute,” I said, holding my hands up. “Nobody is going to ambush anyone, got it?”
“But why?” Freddie asked, whining like a child.
“We don’t do that anymore. We’re going to lay low while I figure out a new plan.”
Seven sets of eyes looked at me with disappointment. I couldn’t help but feel I had let them down.
“What happened to you? You used to get excited about planning ambushes,” Freddie said.
“I grew up.”
Three days later, I had Janice drop me off at Miranda’s shop. Not only was I curious about why no one had come after me yet, but the minions were driving me nuts. All the whining and talk about computer games was enough to make any vampiress long for a stake.
Plus, I had a craving for Lifeblood. I’d had the minions stock the fridge with bagged blood. But I’d gotten so used to the synthetic stuff that the plastic taste of the bagged disgusted me. I knew Miranda would have some Lifeblood handy. Luckily, I’d happened to have a bottle Sun Shield in my purse when I left, so I wasn’t forced to limited my movements to the night.
Sneaking through the back door, I tiptoed through the storeroom, listening for signs of life. It was early—seven a.m.—but I knew workaholic Miranda would be there getting ready to open for the day. I just needed to be sure she was alone.
The sound of a keyboard clicking came from the front of the store, but no voices. I breathed a sigh of relief and started to walk normally.
“Who’s there?” Miranda called. “You came to the wrong place if you’re looking for a weak woman to rob.”
Laughing, I pulled aside the curtain and entered the main store area. “It’s just me.”
She was standing next to the desk with her legs braced and her fangs extended. Obviously, she really had thought I was an intruder.
Her posture relaxed instantly when she saw me. “Goddammit, Raven. Give me a heart attack will ya?”
“Jeez, sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you,” I said, feeling guilty for sneaking up on her.
Her relief turned to anger. “Where the hell have you been?”
Despite her angry tone, she rushed over and wrapped me in a hug. I squeezed her back, happy to be with someone I trusted again. The minions were okay, but I suspected they were planning a mutiny if I didn’t give them some dirty work to do.
“I’ve been hiding out, trying to come up with a plan. I figured you might have some information for me,” I said, pulling back from the hug.
“You mean you haven’t heard?” she said, her eyes wide.
I hesitated. This couldn’t be good.
“Heard what?” I asked warily.
“Girlfriend, you’d better sit down for this.”
Preparing myself for the worst, I let her lead me to a pair of chairs in the dressing area. The same area where Sydney had asked me to be in her wedding a couple of months earlier—the day we became friends. I felt a twinge in the area of my c
hest at the thought. I missed her, and felt bad about leaving without saying good-bye. But it couldn’t be helped, I reminded myself.
Focusing on Miranda and her news, I took a deep breath. “Okay, before you tell me, do you have any Lifeblood?”
She nodded and went to grab me a bottle. When she returned, I took a healthy chug. It hit the spot. Feeling better, I nodded, letting her know I was ready for the news.
“So when you left, things got pretty ugly. Callum was really pissed off. I was outside talking to Jorge and Geraldine when he stormed past. We all figured you were the only one who could make him that mad, so we followed,” she said, pausing for a breath. I grimaced at the reminder of the fight he and I had had.
“Anyway, so he goes up to your father at the reception.”
She paused again.
“And?” I asked impatiently, practically holding my breath.
“And he demanded to know what your father had said to you that afternoon. Callum said that you’d left, but before you did you said something about your father and accused Callum of being a liar.”
“He confronted my father?” I asked, dumbfounded.
“Yes, can you believe it? So, your father flips and demands to know why Callum let you leave. They argued for a few minutes about whether your father should chase you down right then, but Callum demanded they let you go.”
“What?” I was totally confused.
The last time I’d seen Callum, he’d looked like he was about to go nuclear. Then he turned around and confronted my father? It didn’t make sense.
“Yeah, so your father tells him that his impertinence is threatening his seat on the council. And do you know what Callum said?”
I couldn’t begin to imagine, but I wished she would stop being dramatic and get to the damned point. Luckily, she didn’t wait for me to ask.
“He said, ‘You can shove the seat up your ass for all I care!’” Miranda hooted with laughter.
“He did what?” I gasped.
“Yeah, so get this, your father gets all offended. But Callum’s not done. He tells your father that he’d better exonerate you of all charges or he is halting the distribution of Lifeblood!”
All the air left my body. I heard her words, but I couldn’t believe them. Callum not only gave up his chance at the council, but also threatened my father?
What the hell?
“But why did he do that?” I asked.
The look she gave me clearly told me she thought I was an idiot.
“What?” I asked.
“You’re a fool. If it isn’t obvious why that man would defend you, then there’s no helping you.”
“But he used me!” I said, struggling to hang on to reality as I thought I knew it.
“You mean for the council seat he gave up for you?”
“But . . . but . . . ”
“Raven, that man loves you. He confronted your father, gave up his future on the council, threatened to cancel the distribution of Lifeblood, and convinced your father to call off the dogs. If those aren’t actions of a man in love, I don’t know what is.”
I slumped back in my seat as the truth hit me like a a zap of lightning. My father had lied to me. I didn’t know why, but at that moment it didn’t matter.
“Oh no!” I said. “Miranda, he told me he was going to tell me he loved me that night and I laughed at him!”
“You did what?” she shrieked. “How could you?”
“It wasn’t my fault! My father told me Callum had used me to get on the council. I had no reason to think he was lying.”
“You mean except for the fact that Callum had never lied to you before, and your father is an asshole?”
“Yeah,” I said, “except for that. I am an idiot! What am I going to do?”
What, indeed? If Callum hadn’t betrayed me, I was back to square one. What did I want? It was time to make some decisions.
She leaned forward, looking me in the eyes. “The first thing you have to do is admit you’re in love with him.”
“Uh,” I said hesitantly.
Crap. My mind was scrambling, trying to process everything she’d told me while my heart was trying to figure out where it stood. I thought about my time with him—all our fights and sex and laughter.
Then it hit me. Would I have felt so betrayed by his supposed lies if I didn’t care so much about him? Would I have run and hidden from the pain if I didn’t love him?
There it was. The moment of clarity. Like a shiny beacon, the truth came to me. I loved Callum Murdoch. I loved him so much it hurt.
And instead of trusting that, I’d freaked out at the first hint of trouble and run away. Instead of asking him about my father’s lies, I’d attacked. Then, the worst sin of all, I’d laughed in his face when he told me he loved me.
Miranda watched me as I struggled with my emotions. She must have seen the light click on because she smiled.
“Say it,” she demanded.
Sighing, I steeled myself. Saying it aloud felt more real.
“I l-love Callum.”
Suddenly, I felt nauseous. I’d never said that about anyone before. And to admit it after I’d screwed up so badly really sucked.
“Good, now you’re ready for the next step,” Miranda said, pausing dramatically. “Groveling.”
“Ah, shit, really?” I whined.
“Afraid so, sister. You need to get on your knees and beg that man to take you back.”
“Maybe I could just send him a card or something,” I said, feeling frantic at the idea of supplicating myself even if it was to the man I loved.
She gave me the idiot look again.
“Groveling, it’s the only way.”
“But how?”
“You can start by calling him,” she said, getting up and walking to the desk. She picked up the phone and waved it in the air. “Now.”
“Now?”
“Now.”
Crap.
Dragging myself from the chair, I trudged to her. She forced the phone in my hand.
“I’ll even dial for you,” she said oh so helpfully.
With each ring my heart beat faster. The line clicked, and suddenly Callum’s voice was in my ear.
“Hello?”
“Uh.”
“Hello?” he said again, sounding annoyed.
I cleared my throat and tried again. “Callum?” My voice sounded like a croak.
“Who is this?” he demanded.
“It’s Gabby,” I said, cringing.
The line was silent for a second, then a loud click.
I held the phone away from my ear as disappointment washed over me. I’d hoped it would be as simple as a quick “I’m sorry” over the phone. Unfortunately, it didn’t appear I was getting off that easily.
“He hung up?” Miranda asked.
I nodded.
“I expected that,” she said.
“Thanks for the warning,” I said, replacing the receiver in its cradle.
“Sweetie, you didn’t think this was going to be easy did you? You screwed up big-time. You’ve got to swallow your pride and keep trying until he listens.”
“I guess,” I said, picking the phone back up.
Ten calls later, I threw the phone against the wall.
“That’s it! He’s not even answering anymore,” I said.
“You owe me a new phone,” she said, picking at a cuticle. “I need a manicure.”
Her calm infuriated me. Here I was trying to beg the love of my life to take me back, and she just sat there thinking about her damned nails.
“To hell with a manicure. I need a new plan.”
Her head snapped up. “Oh, no. You’ve got that look in your eyes.”
“He’s not going to take my calls, Miranda. I can only assume approaching him in person would not be pleasant either. He’ll push me away.”
“If that happens, then you just keep trying. Don’t let him ignore you.”
My eyes narrowed. Don’t let him ignor
e me?
“Miranda, you’re a genius,” I said, grabbing her in a hug.
“I am?”
“Yep, can I use your cell phone since I broke your other one?”
She gave me a wary look but handed me her cell. Give the girl some credit, she did know me pretty well. And once she found out my new plan, she’d freak. Let her freak, I decided.
If I had to beg Callum for forgiveness, I was going to do it on my own terms.
Freddie answered on the second ring.
“Gather the minions. I’ve got a job for you.”
The sound of a metal scraping on the wooden floor echoed down the hall. Smiling, I listened at the door. The minions had returned to the farmhouse with their cargo an hour earlier. Impatient as I was, he needed to calm down before I went in there.
Finally, the room fell silent. He was either worn out, which was unlikely unless he hadn’t fed for a while, or he was plotting. I’d have bet money on the latter.
The door creaked on its hinges as I eased it open. The only light in the room came from the small lamp on the bureau across from the bed. But it was fairly easy to spot my quarry lying spread-eagle on top of the cheery yellow-and-white quilt.
Callum looked up when the door opened. The minute he recognized me, his eyes widened, and muffled shouts came from the gag covering his mouth.
He looked adorable.
“Calm down. I’m not going to hurt you,” I said, moving toward the bed. He began thrashing, making the bed frame scratch against the beautiful hardwood floors.
“Now, now. If you ruin those, I’ll never get my deposit back.”
He stilled and looked at me like I was a lunatic.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, I placed a hand on his knee. He jerked his leg away but didn’t get far.
“Callum, I know you’re angry. But I figured this was the only way to make you listen to me.”
His arms strained against his manacles, making his biceps bulge. Once he forgave me, I’d have to convince him to let me tie him up again. He was too sexy.
Shaking my head, I tried to stay on topic.
“Okay, so you hate me for thinking you were a big fat liar. And I really can’t blame you. I’d be pissed too.”