by Jaz Primo
“What kept you guys?” I asked Dane.
“I haven’t the foggiest, but believe me when I say that you don’t want to know,” he replied. “Now, be a good lad and get in the vehicle.”
I opened the passenger door and started to join Marla in her vehicle, but someone whistled. I turned to see Kat point to the SUV parked next in line.
Lyra walked directly toward me and I almost slammed the door shut before she arrived near it.
Instead, I politely held the door open for her as she hopped inside.
She gave me a suspicious look before reaching out to grasp the door handle.
“Thank you,” she said quietly.
Something in the way she said that sounded odd.
I made my way to the SUV that Kat was standing beside.
“So, did you have a good visit with Lyra and Dane?” I asked.
She opened the door for me. “Wouldn’t you like to know? Now inside with you.”
Two vampires sat in the front cab while Kat and I sat in the back seat. A smoked glass barrier rolled up before us to provide us with some privacy.
“Do me a favor, won’t you?” she asked.
“Sure,” I replied.
“Try to be nicer to Lyra,” she said.
“But I just—”
“I know,” she said. “I saw that.”
“Well, she started—”
“Yes, I realize that might be the case. Just don’t give up on trying, okay?” she asked. “I understand that you’ve both been digging at each other.”
I folded my arms before me. “Just giving back as good as I’m getting.”
“Really? Ah, well then, how’s that working for you?” she asked with a knowing expression.
I started to say something, but decided against it.
“Nice start,” she said. “Keep that up and you’ll go far, I think.”
I looked up at her to catch her sly look. Then she gave me a quick kiss.
“I have confidence in you, my love,” she said.
“I hope someone challenged her to do the same,” I said.
“I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised about that.”
Why did I end up feeling as though I was blindly stumbling in on the tail end of something?
* * *
Kat and I went to her hotel room and, to my surprise, I dozed off on the couch for a few hours.
Upon waking, I found a note from Kat asking me to meet her at Alton’s office. A wave of dread washed over me.
My meeting with Alton.
Within the hour, I stood before the door to Alton’s office. I looked down the short distance of hallway toward Marla’s office, where she and Kat stood watching me.
“Go ahead,” Kat whispered while making shooing gestures.
I hesitated before finally knocking.
“Come in,” Alton said.
I took a deep breath and entered.
“Hello, Alton,” I said.
“Hello, Caleb,” he said, standing from his desk chair and walking around to greet me. “How good of you to come.”
“I hate to bother you if you’re busy,” I said.
We shook hands and he motioned to the nearby couch. “Perish the thought. I’ve been looking forward to us having a chat.”
I bet.
I sat down at one end and he chose the opposite end. Then he crossed one leg over the other and stared at me.
“Well, where to—” he began.
“Look, I was completely an idiot for running out like I did, and I realize how utterly disappointed you must be in me,” I interrupted.
“I see,” he said.
“But things were getting crazy and I was unbelievably stressed, and I didn’t know where my place was anymore. Hell, I didn’t even know where my future with Kat was headed, or even if we still had one. I mean, I sort of had to find myself and figure everything out,” I continued, feeling as if everything was rushing out of me like a geyser.
“But my experiences were really helpful and brought everything further into perspective. I think that I understand exactly where I want to be in life now. I’m totally committed to Kat, and college, and you—”
He held up one hand. “That’s a lot to say without taking a breath, especially for a human. Just breathe, Caleb.”
I inhaled, the smell of Alton’s office filling my lungs.
“Now, let it out slowly,” he said. “Don’t stop until you finish counting to seven.”
I exhaled until I’d pressed nearly every bit of air from my lungs.
“There. Now breathe normally,” he said.
He watched me. “Much better.”
I leaned my head back against the couch.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about exactly what I was going to say when we finally met,” I said.
“And I think you left very little of it unsaid already,” he said wryly.
“Yeah, I know,” I said. “I’m sorry. I’ve just been sort of dreading our meeting.”
Realizing what I had just said aloud, I looked over at him staring at me with upraised brows.
“Oh, shit,” I said.
I was once again the victim of an overshare.
“Brutally honest, as only I can appreciate,” he said good-naturedly.
I closed my eyes and rubbed at my eyelids with my fingertips.
“Caleb, how do you continually manage to find yourself in the most desperate of situations?”
“I dunno. Chalk it up to a lifetime of practice, really,” I replied.
He chuckled. “Oh, how I’ve missed our chats.”
I opened my eyes. “Really?”
“Chats, yes,” he said. “Reckless jaunts across the globe with complete disregard for your own safety or the feelings of those around you? No.”
Any hope of an easy conversation immediately evaporated before his steady gaze.
“I’m very disappointed in what you did,” he said.
“So was pretty much everyone else important to me.”
“As well they should have been,” he said. “Have you already forgotten our conversation following your interview at Yale?”
“What? Of course not,” I said.
He gave me a long look. “I think you have.”
I fell silent, waiting for him to continue.
He stared at me.
“I mean, we talked about a lot that day,” I said.
It was his turn to take a deep breath and let it out slowly.
I did remember that it had also been an emotionally charged conversation. Upon reflection, many things flooded back with my memory of the event.
“I remember you said that I could lead an army,” I said.
“Someone who could be a king,” he added. “And be worthy of it.”
“Yeah, I remember that too now.”
His brow furrowed. “Though perhaps I was rash about that.”
My heart sank.
“I wished you hadn’t said that,” I said.
“What would you have me say, Caleb?”
I considered his question at length. “I wish that you hadn’t made it sound as if I was just some sort of complete failure. Rash is a hard word that sounds far worse than a mistake when you say it.”
“Yes, rash is also a word that can portent repercussions,” he said. “Your rash decision to leave jeopardized our position with opposing factions.”
“Wh—? How?”
“Think of what position we might have been in had you been captured by someone hostile to our objectives, much less killed,” he said. “You’re the cherished mate to the second most powerful vampire in our organization. Can you imagine the impact on Katrina?”
There was that, of course.
“And you’re important to me,” he said, leaning toward me. “Though it pains me to have to remind you of that.”
I stared into his steely gaze, unable to look away. It felt like being nailed in place.
“I’m very sorry,” I said with all the earnestness I co
uld convey. “I realize that I screwed up and I’m—”
My breath caught in my throat.
“I’m truly very sorry,” I said.
The tension around his eyes appeared to abate slightly.
“Have you gotten all of that pent-up rebellion out of your system? Are you all sorted out now?” he asked.
“Yes. I’m—it’s all over now.”
He leaned forward.
“Good,” he said, rising from the couch to walk over to a small wet bar. “I’m relieved to hear it, though I’ll happily finish sorting you out, if needed.”
I deliberately swallowed to clear the tension in my throat.
“Perhaps we can right the ship and proceed onward,” he said. “Hm?”
Only then did I release my death grip on the edge of the couch cushion.
“Onward?” I asked.
He retrieved a bottle of Coke, opened it, and walked over to the couch to hand it to me.
“Thank you,” I said, grateful for something to moisten my dry throat.
“You’re welcome,” he said.
The first swallow felt sharply cold and fizzy.
He leaned down closer to me. “Rest assured, Caleb, adopted nephew or not, if you ever do anything like that again, I’ll bite you in the neck so hard you’ll feel it in your guts,” he said.
I choked and coughed uncontrollably.
He reached down to pat me on the back.
“Careful there,” he said. “It wouldn’t do either of us any good if you drowned in your Coke.”
I wiped my mouth on the back of my hand and stared into his eyes. The glint of near amusement reflected back at me made me feel unnerved.
The door to Alton’s office swept open to reveal Kat with a concerned expression on her face as Marla peered inside from behind her.
“Who’s choking?” Kat demanded.
“The boy’s fine,” Alton said. “A bit of soda down his windpipe is all.”
Kat walked over to stand before me.
“Okay?” she asked.
“Fine,” I gasped. “Just great.”
She cast a long, suspicious look at Alton. “How’s your chat going?”
He rubbed his palms together. “Oh, I think our meeting of the minds was rather successful, wouldn’t you agree, Caleb?”
I nodded vigorously. “Minds met. Everyone’s happy,” I said, still trying to catch my breath and ease the burning discomfort in my throat.
“I, for one, feel quite happy now,” he said.
She folded her arms before her. “Happy? You?”
“Well, quite satisfied, anyway,” he amended with a sly smile.
“Mm-hm,” she said.
“So, Caleb,” he began in a good-natured tone. “Since Marla’s here, let’s talk about Thanksgiving.”
“Fine,” I said. “Let’s start with where we’re spending it.”
“Yes, well, that’s a surprise,” he said. “Trust me, you’ll like it.”
“Always with the mystery and intrigue,” I said.
“Oh, I’m full of surprises,” he said. “What would you like to see on the menu?”
I gave him a wary look. “Anything but me.”
Chapter 22
Caleb
With Alton’s stern lecture behind me, I felt as if I had survived a formidable storm. The impact of our conversation continued to resonate with me.
I would have appreciated some quality time with Kat, but she and Alton had an important meeting with a prospective vampire leader.
“You have more meetings than I have classes,” I said.
“Don’t make me get mean with you,” she said. “I would have thought that Alton would be enough for you for one day.”
I folded my arms before me. “Not nice.”
She spared me a more sympathetic expression. “Caleb, it’s important. If we can build a much larger coalition than our enemies, that may forestall more direct actions,” she said.
“You mean killing,” I said. “As in, you out killing people…while they’re trying to kill you.”
She stepped closer to me and encircled my waist with one arm. “Meetings can be good things.”
“Quality time spent with me could be a better thing,” I said, wrapping my arms around her waist and pulling her closer.
“Then you’ll have something to look forward to once our meeting is over.”
“I can’t wait,” I said.
Her lips pressed against mine and I pulled her tightly against me.
Someone cleared their throat.
Kat growled. “Poor timing, Alton.”
“I might point out that you’re using my office,” he said.
She gave me a quick kiss on the lips before gently disengaging from me.
“We’ll meet up later, my love,” she said. “It should only be two or three hours.”
I looked up at Alton.
“Don’t worry, I’ll find something to do,” I said.
“Good,” he said. “Or I can happily find something for you.”
I hastily exited his office.
I went back to our hotel room, but grew bored watching television. I had been to see most of the closest museums and I was in no mood to do any studying or research.
Most of the things that I wanted to do involved Kat.
Within the hour, I sat idly in a guest chair opposite Marla’s desk. Her office was smaller than Alton’s and optimized for efficiency.
“You had better hope that Alton doesn’t walk by and catch you moping around here,” she said.
“Yeah, well, there’s nothing much worth doing in the time I have available,” I said.
“There are six museums within—”
“Seen them before,” I said.
“The London Eye is—“
“Romantic destination for Kat and me,” I said.
“Shakespeare’s is open—”
“Not hungry.”
She gave me a look of annoyance. “Well, try not to be a bother then. Some of us have lots of work to do.”
I watched as she shifted a stack of multicolored folders before her.
“Need any help with those?” I asked.
She appeared pleased. “I thought you’d never ask. Here, let me show you what I need.”
Helping others was nice, but filing and sorting left a lot to be desired. However, I soon came upon something interesting.
“Hey, why is there a file called Saint James the Less Church?” I asked.
“What? Oh, that’s a local church that Mr. Rutherford supports,” Marla replied. “They do a great deal of community outreach to the poor and homeless, and they’re renowned for their local food pantry.”
“Surprising,” I said. “I wouldn’t have expected that.”
“Caleb, don’t be impertinent,” she said. “Mr. Rutherford happens to be an active practitioner of charity toward the common good. He realizes that there’s a practical interest in supporting the community. Woe to the businessman who ignores his local communities.”
I had to admit, the revelation was surprising.
Marla’s mobile phone buzzed and she picked it up to read a text message.
“Mr. Rutherford’s guest has arrived,” she said, rising from her seat. “Stay here and continue sorting. I’ll return soon.”
I had finally fallen into a rather good rhythm when I heard an oddly familiar voice. The man’s classic New York accent was noteworthy.
“Ah, Mr. Rutherford,” said a man’s deep voice. “I’ve heard so much about you in recent years. During our elevator ride, Ms. Rawlings was telling me how surprised you were over my visit.”
“I believe the exact words I used was pleasantly surprised,” said Kat.
“Happy to meet you, Mr. Pitt,” said Alton. “It’s so rarely that we receive you Americans here in London. I find that I’m typically the one flying to North America.”
“Nice to meet you, as well, Mr. Rutherford,” he said. “I’ve seen many parts of the world, but this
is my first opportunity to see London, so how could I refuse?”
“Please step into my office so that we might speak further in private,” Alton offered. “Ms. Kendrick will see to some refreshments for us.”
“Something to drink, perhaps?” Marla asked.
“Type B, if you have it,” the familiar voice replied.
So, he was a vampire.
I was certain I’d heard his voice somewhere before, but where? When?
It was maddening to have something on the tip of my tongue, and yet, not quite accessible. I felt like game show contestants must, when they knew the answer, but couldn’t seem to retrieve it.
The minutes passed as I sorted through memories and places. I’d met so many new people since beginning my journey at Yale. But his voice was that of a vampire, which most assuredly shortened my list of possibilities.
Then again, I had been surrounded by vampires at the Slovene conference. He might have been one of the many attendees. And yet, that seemed wrong somehow.
“Here you are,” Marla said.
I lurched slightly at her sudden appearance beside me.
“Sorry,” she said, proffering a mug of tea toward me. “I think you’ve earned a break. It’s tea time, after all.”
I gratefully accepted the hot beverage. She placed a small plate of cookies on the edge of her desk before me.
“Help yourself to some biscuits, if you’d like,” she said. “I need to check in on our guest now, but I’ll return soon.”
“Thanks,” I said, reaching out to take one of the cookies.
My mind wandered as I nibbled at the cookie while contemplating a host of thoughts, the least of which was why that voice sounded so familiar to me.
Marla reappeared and sat before her desk, only to begin typing on her computer keyboard.
“This is a pretty bland cookie,” I said.
“Yes, well, I admit I’ve had better myself,” she said, typing away on her keyboard. “But they’re a local bakery; only opened a couple of months ago. I prefer the one on the other side of town, but Mr. Rutherford said we need to buy local first. It’s a bit of a waste, if you ask me. Honestly, so few of us around here actually eat them. Still, Mr. Rutherford’s an observer of teatime traditions.”
“So they’re for decoration then?”
She gave me an unamused look, barely skipping a beat with her rapid typing. “I’ll try to look into the matter further. You don’t have to finish them, you know.”