Erik clasped his hand over his chest. “Her love for me moves me to tears.”
Rose felt the warmth of Kallias’s body as he came up beside her. Zach straightened a little at the sight of Kallias, frowning at the tall, muscular vampire.
“We need to leave,” Kallias whispered, too quietly for Zach to hear.
Rose glanced up at him. “Kallias, this is Zach, my brother,” she sighed, sweeping her hand out toward Zach. “And Zach, this is Kallias, my boyfriend.”
Zach lifted his eyebrows. “You have a boyfriend?” he said incredulously.
She flashed a sassy smile at him. “Try not to sound so surprised.”
“I’m just trying to figure out how someone could tolerate you enough to date you,” Zach said. “I couldn’t have paid someone to date you in high school.”
Her mouth fell open. “I wasn’t that bad,” she muttered. “I was just shy.”
“And a complete and total nerd,” Zach added, “with no social skills.”
Rose winced. “I’m not sure that’s changed much, actually,” she muttered.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Kallias said to Zach, his voice remarkably polite, for once. Then, he leaned toward Rose and whispered, “We can’t stay here long.”
Rose nodded. “Okay,” she sighed. “We won’t all fit in the car, though.”
Kallias tilted his head toward the hotel. “I can call for a rental car.”
“Oh,” she said, tapping her fingers nervously against her thighs. “Okay.”
“He’ll be fine,” Kallias assured her, his voice no more than a low rumble in her ear. “We’ll protect him, just like the others. We just have to keep moving.”
Rose nodded and offered him a weak, grateful smile. “Okay,” she sighed.
Zach watched curiously as Kallias turned and walked back to the hotel.
Erik rounded the car and came up beside Rose, with Audrey and Owen trailing close behind. “Who picked you up,” he asked Zach, “in that black car?”
Zach glanced up at Erik, somewhat startled by his sudden appearance. “Uh…the driver. I don’t know his name. He just said that…Rose sent him.”
“How could I?” Rose mumbled. “I didn’t even know you were out.”
“It was Kara,” Erik said to Rose, “but she must have had a reason.” He turned toward Zach. “Did you see anyone else there when you were leaving?”
Zach shrugged. “I called a taxi. I saw it in the parking lot, but when I started walking toward it, the black car showed up. It kind of…blocked my path.”
Erik exchanged a meaningful look with Rose. “It was probably one of the Assassins of Light in the taxi. That’s why Kara sent someone to pick him up.”
He’d said it too quietly for Zach to hear, but Zach was beginning to get suspicious because of all of the whispering. “Is something wrong?” he asked.
Rose looked up at him, her bright blue eyes flashing with anxiety.
But thankfully, Erik saved her from having to think of a lie. “Our friend sent the car that picked you up. She wanted to make sure that you got here safely.”
Zach nodded. “But how did she know I got out today, if Rose didn’t?”
Erik smiled. “She has…connections,” he said vaguely.
“To the prison?” Zach asked with a puzzled frown.
Erik laughed. “To everywhere,” he corrected. “Pretty much.”
“What is she?” Zach laughed, his frown deepening. “The mafia?”
“Worse,” Erik snorted. “I’ll get your bag.” He stepped forward and took the small bag that contained Zach’s few belongings. He carried it over to the car.
Zach studied Rose for a moment. “Rose, what’s going on?” he asked slowly. Suspicion flashed in his bright blue eyes. “I thought you only lived an hour from the prison. I’ve been riding in that car all day. Why are you at this hotel?”
“All day?” Rose repeated, changing the subject. “Have you eaten yet?”
“Yeah,” Zach said. “The driver made sure I got everything I needed.”
“That’s good,” Rose mumbled distractedly. She wished that she could call Kara and thank her for what she’d done for Zach, but they’d already gotten rid of their phones. “I’m not going home yet, but I need you to come with us.”
Zach scowled at her. “Rose, I’m not even supposed to leave the state.”
“You’ve already done that,” Erik called out. “You’re in Virginia now.”
Zach frowned at Erik, who stood over by the car already. “He has pretty good hearing, doesn’t he?” he said under his breath. He shifted his gaze back to Rose. “Yeah, I kind of figured we’d passed several state lines in that long drive.”
Rose swallowed. “We’ll get you back to Florida as soon as possible, but for now,” she sighed, “I think we’re going to have to break this one, little rule.”
“What’s going on?” Zach said. “And don’t lie to me. I may have been gone for the last five years, but I still know my sister. I can see that you’re scared.”
Rose chewed on her lip nervously. “You…might be in danger.”
His brows furrowed. “What do you mean? Why would I be in danger?”
“For the same reason we are,” Audrey said bitterly. “Because of Rose.”
Rose cringed a little at that as she watched Audrey return to the car, to stand next to Erik. Owen followed after her as well, leaving Rose and Zach alone.
Zach just watched her curiously. “Are you in some kind of trouble?”
“Um…kind of? A little?” Rose said hesitantly. She shrank back in shame.
But Zach just nodded in understanding. “Okay. What did you do?”
“It’s not so much what I did,” Rose corrected, “as it is…who I am.”
“What?” Zach said with a confused frown. He ran his hand through his hair. “Is it because of me? Or because of Mom? I know she had some…debts.”
Rose shook her head. “I’ve already paid those,” she assured him.
“Really?” Zach said with a sympathetic look. “That must’ve been hard.”
Rose shrugged. “Our lives have always been hard,” she said dismissively.
“Yeah,” Zach sighed. He stepped forward and pulled her into his arms, enveloping her in another warm, familiar hug. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here to help.”
“It’s fine,” Rose mumbled against his chest as she returned the hug. He smelled familiar, even though she hadn’t been a vampire the last time she’d seen him. There was something in her that recognized that he was family—the only family she had left. He smelled like cigarettes and soap and…home. “I’ve missed you so much,” she sighed, “and I’m so happy to see you.” She stepped back, out of his arms. “But I’m afraid that you got out of prison at the worst possible time.”
Zach searched her face, puzzled by the distress he saw in her bright blue eyes—the eyes that looked just like his own. “Rose, what is it? What happened?”
A tiny, nervous laugh escaped Rose’s lips. “A lot,” she muttered. Then, she lowered her voice. “The short version is…there’s a group of people who want to get to me. I don’t know if they want to kill me or if they want something worse, but,” she paused, anxiety flashing in her eyes, “they’ll use anyone to get to me.”
Zach nodded in understanding. “You’re worried they’ll come after me?”
“I’m worried they already have,” Rose corrected. “I think that’s why Kara sent that car to you—to stop them from getting to you.” The cool, autumn wind blew her hair forward, and she pushed the messy, red hair out of her face. “I can’t let anything happen to you. If you come with us, I think we can keep you safe.”
Zach smiled. “Rose, I just got out of prison. I can take care of myself,” he laughed. He brushed his knuckles against her shoulder, pushing her playfully. “It’s you I’m worried about. Last I checked, you weren’t that good at violence.”
She let out another nervous laugh. “I may have gotten better at that.”
“Really?” he teased, laughing in disbelief. “By doing what? Reading?”
“Uh, yeah,” Rose lied, wincing a little, “and…maybe some other stuff.”
Zach frowned. “I really need more information than you’re giving me.”
Before she could answer, a black Jeep pulled up beside them, the brakes squealing as it jerked to a stop. Someone flung open the passenger-side door.
“Get in,” Kallias called out to them, sitting casually in the driver’s seat.
Rose blinked in shock. “How did you get that so fast? You just left.”
“I was very persuasive,” Kallias said with a smug grin. He waved his hand at them, watching as the others climbed into Erik’s car. “We need to go! Now!”
Zach planted his feet in place, still confused and reluctant to leave with strangers, but Rose grabbed his arm and, much to his surprise, dragged him to the car. “You’re a lot stronger than I remember,” he muttered under his breath.
“Hurry. Get in,” Rose pleaded, her words rushed and shaky. “Please.”
He frowned worriedly at her and then slid into the backseat with a sigh.
Rose jumped into the passenger seat and quickly fastened her seatbelt.
Kallias slammed on his gas pedal at the same time that Erik did, and their two cars sped out of the empty hotel parking lot and entered the Interstate at a dangerous speed. Within a few minutes, they’d crossed over another state line.
“Is someone going to explain to me what’s going on?” Zach complained.
Rose turned around in her seat to look at him. He sat in the back seat, unbuckled, of course—because apparently buckling up would be too law-abiding for him. “First, fasten your seatbelt. Second, it’s…a really long story,” she sighed.
He crossed his arms across his chest. “Who are you running from?”
“I’m not exactly running from them. I’m just…trying to keep them from hurting the people I care about,” she said. She shot a questioning look in Kallias’s direction, wondering what she should or shouldn’t tell Zach, but Kallias kept his gaze on the road, his grip tight around the steering wheel. She returned her gaze to Zach. “The people who are after me call themselves the Assassins of Light.”
Kallias’s gaze shifted toward her, a hint of warning flashing in his light brown eyes. Clearly, he didn’t want her to tell her brother any more than that.
“The Assassins of Light?” Zach repeated. “Do they…assassinate light?”
Rose pursed her lips. “No. They are Assassins, and they’re…of Light.”
“Rose,” Kallias growled at her. “He doesn’t need to know that.”
“Who the hell are you, and why do you get to decide what I get to know?” Zach snarled. “She’s my sister. If someone is after her, I want to know why.”
“Calm down, Zach,” Rose said gently. “Kallias is just concerned.”
Zach glanced at her, his eyes still narrowed. “Why are they after you?”
“Because I’m…different,” she said hesitantly, “and they don’t like that.”
“Different how?” Zach said with a frown. “What kind of difference would cause Assassins to come after you? Is it because you’re so smart? Or gay?”
“I’m bisexual, not gay. It’s little different,” Rose corrected, even though Zach was already rolling his eyes at her. “I’m attracted to men, too.” She pointed awkwardly at Kallias, who raised an eyebrow at her. “Namely, my boyfriend.”
“I didn’t ask for vocabulary lesson, Rose,” Zach grumbled. “I just want to know what’s so different about you that there would be Assassins after you.”
Rose tried to lie, “I…uh…made a discovery about…vampire bats.”
Tried was the key word.
And based on the look on Zach’s face, he didn’t believe a word of it.
Kallias groaned, “Damn it, Rose. Is that really the best you can do?”
Zach shifted his bright blue gaze from Rose to Kallias and then back to Rose again. “Why are you so afraid to tell me? I’m your brother, Rose. I’ve always been there for you. Maybe not for the last five years, but I couldn’t help that.”
“I know you have,” Rose said quickly, her stomach twisting with guilt.
Kallias’s gaze shifted up toward the rear view mirror, and he made eye-contact with Zach’s reflection. “Rose will be safer if you don’t know,” he stated.
Zach’s demeanor deflated a little at that. “If that’s true, then…all right.”
Rose raised an eyebrow, surprised by how easy that had been for Kallias.
Zach leaned his head back against the back of his seat, his blonde hair falling back. “You guys want to hear a funny story?” he asked. When Rose turned to look at him again, he continued, “When you said ‘of Light’ like that, it reminded me of this guy I met in prison. He got transferred to the psychiatric ward a few days in because he was seriously delusional. But he swore up and down that he did not kill his girlfriend. That it was a—get this—vampire.” Zach started laughing. “I guess I’d say something like that, too, if I was serving time for murder. Anyway, the guy never called them vampires. He always called them Creatures of Darkness.”
Rose and Kallias exchanged a worried look.
“It just reminded me of that, for some reason,” Zach laughed.
The Trap
They arrived at Kallias’s house much sooner than what should’ve been possible, if they’d been driving anywhere close to the actual speed limit, but Rose wasn’t about to complain, not when an army of Assassins were after her friends.
The front door of the house opened before they even reached it, and two familiar faces greeted them at the door. Unfortunately, Rose didn’t have time to warn her friends that they were about to meet two more vampires because, by the time she realized that Emma and Geoff were there, Emma had already thrown her arms around Rose’s neck, unintentionally choking her with a death-grip hug.
Emma jumped up and down with delight. “We missed you so much!”
Geoffrey had his attention on his clothes, his fingers fumbling with his crooked tie and wrinkled, white shirt, but when he noticed Rose’s reddening face, he stepped forward and tapped Emma on the shoulder. “Let her breathe, love.”
“Oh! Sorry!” Emma said. She patted Rose on the arm as she gasped for air. “Breathe away.” She hugged Kallias next. “I hope you don’t mind,” she said as she stepped back, “but while we were waiting, Geoff and I had sex in one of your guest rooms.” Behind her, Geoffrey turned seven different shades of red.
Kallias stared blankly at Emma, his eyes wide. “I’ll…change the sheets.”
“Umm,” Audrey said, leaning closer to Rose, “what’s up with this girl?”
Rose cast a wide-eyed look at her friend. “She’s just…very, very honest.”
As Emma hugged Erik, she said, “Did you kill your crazy ex-girlfriend?”
Zach’s bright blue eyes widened in shock. “Did he…what?” he sputtered.
“Emma,” Geoffrey said under his breath, “it’s not polite to ask that.”
“Not to mention,” Kallias said quietly, “we have humans present.”
Emma’s small, hazel eyes shifted toward Rose’s friends and her brother, who all stood right behind Rose. “Oh, yay!” she said happily. “New friends!”
Zach glanced at Rose. “Seriously, what is wrong with this woman?”
“She’s happy, and she’s nice,” Rose said. “What more could you ask for?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Audrey muttered, watching the beautiful, brunette vampire with a bewildered frown. “A little knowledge of basic social etiquette?”
“You’re always complaining that I’m too dark and sarcastic,” Rose said. “Well, she’s the exact opposite. I don’t see any reason you shouldn’t love her.”
“So, my only choices are happy weird or sarcastic weird?” Audrey asked.
“Pretty much,” Rose said with a playful smile. “Everyone is weird according to some
one’s standards. Some of us are just better at it than others.”
Emma turned toward them, her red dress swaying around her thin body as she moved. Rose heard Zach’s quick intake behind her, and she grimaced as she realized that he must have been affected by the allure. Emma smiled brightly at Rose, so brightly, in fact, that Rose was pretty sure that everyone could see the razor-sharp fangs in her mouth. “Am I good at being weird, too, Rose?” she asked sweetly, tucking a loose strand of brown hair behind her ear. She wore the rest of her straight, brunette hair in an elegant updo, pinned to the back of her head.
Rose returned the smile. “You are brilliant at it.”
Emma laughed. “Oh, I almost forgot. I stole some clothes for you.”
Rose’s smile faded. “You really didn’t have to do that,” she said uneasily. “You know I don’t usually wear things that are,” she paused, sweeping her gaze over Emma’s red dress and her insanely-high stilettos, “uncomfortable.”
“Ohhh,” Emma said, drawing out the word, “so no high-heels, then?”
Audrey snorted, “Not unless you want Rose to kill someone with them.”
Emma nodded enthusiastically. “I’ve done that before. It’s fun.”
Audrey, Owen, and Zach fell silent, their eyes wide and terrified.
“So,” Geoffrey said quietly to Kallias, “why do we have…guests?”
“It’s a long story,” Kallias sighed. “Have you been watching the news?”
“Yes,” Geoffrey said anxiously, “and boy, do I have a lot to tell you.”
Kallias nodded. “Let me get everyone settled into the guest rooms, and then, we’ll meet in the living room to talk. I have quite a bit to tell you, too.”
“I can do that, if you want,” Rose offered. “Get them settled in, I mean. I wanted to spend time with Zach, anyway.” She shrugged. “It’s been five years.”
Kallias glanced at her. “Yeah, of course,” he said easily. “Go spend time with your brother. I can fill Geoff and Emma in on everything that happened.”
Rose smiled at him. When he disappeared into the living room, she spun around to face her friends. She gestured toward the staircase. “So…rooms, first?”
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