by Moore, E. M.
I urged to go back, but it wasn’t the same. To see Galen and Kayleigh with one another was like a blow to my whole existence. Maybe it was exactly like he was getting at. Maybe it was seeing them that made me realize my life was meaningless. But it didn’t matter. It only made me want to go in the complete opposite direction. We were vampires. We were fucking blood-sucking predators, and that was how I intended to live. I didn’t want to see how much Galen had changed every day. “I don’t think I belong there anymore,” I told him truthfully. It was something that was eating away at me that I didn’t want to acknowledge, but there it was now—and it was the truth.
It was like our lives had taken a complete right turn out of nowhere. He’d went down the soft path while the wicked ways still itched at my fingertips. I wanted to sink my fangs into a pretty girl and fuck her until she cried out. I wanted to rip her fucking throat out and lick the blood from her cold skin. I didn’t want to fuck the same girl day in and day out like it was a job. He’d completely given up his feeders. Sure, he still fed from them, but he didn’t fuck them.
That was just completely mind-blowing to me.
“It’s not as if I’m the first vampire in history to have a mate, Simon, for Christ’s sake.”
But he was a Dumont. Dumont’s didn’t do shit like that. Dumont’s conquered the world, made the world bend to their needs instead of the other way around. At least, that’s what he’d always taught me.
“I don’t believe I’ll be back today,” I told him, mimicking what I’d been saying to him the past month.
“Fine,” Galen growled. Then, the line really did go dead.
I squeezed my cell phone so hard the interior started to crack. Immediately, I slammed the phone down on the table next to me. The last thing I needed was to have to replace my phone again. I went through them like a whore went through condoms.
Glancing over at Delilah, I noticed her eyes start to flutter. I sniffed the air, trying to see how much of the concoction still lingered in her system. Not much, which meant she was probably on the verge of waking up soon. I ran to the bedroom and ripped a pillow case from a pillow and ran back to the room. Her limbs were still dead, but her eyes were trying to force themselves open. Quickly, I wrapped her hands behind her back and returned to my seat in the chair across from the couch, waiting.
She moaned. The sound shouldn’t have made my body react, but it did. It was breathy, like how she’d sounded with the vibrator pressed to her pussy. Her eyes blinked rapidly until they lazily opened as if each one weighed a hundred pounds. Her eyes widened as she took everything in. Then, when her gaze landed on me, her cheeks burned red and she struggled to stand.
She didn’t get far. I imagined the heavy dose of sleep additives I’d slipped her made her mind groggy and her limbs heavy. “You,” she choked out.
“Me,” I said smiling, pleased with myself.
I brought the tips of my fingers to my lips in a triangle formation and stared. I waited until she dragged herself into a sitting position, grimacing when she realized her hands were tied behind her. “What the hell do you want with me?” she spat, disgust twisting her features. Dark flyaways haloed her hair. It wasn’t the sleek, straight hair of a goddess from earlier tonight. She looked like she’d been put through the ringer already and I hadn’t even done anything to her yet. Well, besides kidnapping her, I guessed, but I did that shit all the time.
“You, my dear, are leverage.”
She shook her head, confusion riddling her features. “Is this because I was touching myself to you? I’m not some sort of freak, and this kidnapping kink doesn’t turn me on. If you brought me here thinking I was just going to roll over and fuck you, you’re mistaken. I don’t want you. Let me go.”
I chuckled. The point about her wanting me or not wanting me was neither here nor there, but the fact that she was trying to deny it to herself amused me. “I didn’t take you to fuck you, Delilah. In fact, what I came across in your room was just a happy little accident. I certainly didn’t think I’d find you screaming my name into your pillow when we’d met only a few minutes before. Is that how you get your kicks?”
Her face turned hard. She nibbled on her lip, and I could almost see her think through what I said. I didn’t fault her. I’d gotten what I wanted plenty of times on a whim. Met someone I had to have, took her, and then walked away. She’d essentially done the same thing just in the privacy of her own bedroom. This girl may even make a good vampire…
“Don’t worry,” I told her. “All will go well for you as long as your grandfather complies.”
Her eyebrows furrowed until dawning hit. “My grandfather?” she asked. All the drugs I’d pumped into her system seemed to all but evaporate in that moment. She was of sound mind and body again, her arms twisting in the pillowcase to free themselves. She smirked. “My grandfather.” Then, she laughed as if the funniest thing in the world was happening right in front of her eyes. “I should have known it was about him. Whatever you want, my grandfather will give it to you. Just call him up and let’s get this over with. I’d like to get back to my life today. Or tonight. Or whatever the fuck time it is.”
So confident. Then again, I was too because I’d thought up the plan in the first place. “I already left the ransom note, dear. I don’t plan on wasting time either.”
She smiled and nodded. “Excellent.” She laid her head back on the sofa, staring up at the ceiling. She wiggled down into the cushions as if to get comfortable. She wasn’t the scared woman anymore. Taking a page out of my book, she actually looked bored. “So, you’re not a neighbor, are you?”
I shook my head. “I lived in Philly a long time ago, but no, not anymore.”
She sighed. “I don’t know why I always meet the crazy, weird, psycho ones.”
“You’ll have to ask your therapist.”
She frowned in the next instant, and something inside me told me it wasn’t because of my comeback. Her lips thinned. I ground my teeth together to refrain from asking her what was going through her head. She was so expressive, but I didn’t care. She was here for only one purpose.
I stared at the cell phone, hoping it would ring. On the ransom note, I’d left my number along with the instructions to get his granddaughter back. Surprised it hadn’t rung already, I picked it up to check the screen, making sure I hadn’t done any damage to it when I’d been talking to Galen.
It seemed fine, so I placed it back down again.
“Ronnie,” she said, the name coming off her lips with a breath.
My lips turned up. “Oh, I’m sorry, did you really care for him?”
She shook her head, her eyes turning glassy. “No. That’s what makes me sad. He tried to fight for me and I hadn’t even cared.”
I shrugged it off. “He’s paid to fight for you.”
“That’s not why he did it,” she said, her voice hard. She swallowed, and red blotches worked up her neck.
I nodded, finally understanding. So, this girl liked to take a ride on the wild side now and then. If I wasn’t using her for another purpose, she may have even been a good distraction while I stayed away from Galen.
“How long have I been out?” she asked, getting antsy again.
“A few hours.”
Her head whipped toward me. Mouth dropping, I could see the fear in her eyes. “And he hasn’t called yet?”
Chapter Four
Delilah
The next few hours were filled with silence. I stared at the phone, willing it to ring. Why hadn’t Gramps called yet? Part of me filled with doubt, but the other part of me knew something else was up. Maybe he knew who took me and was rounding the guys up to come in guns blazing. One thing I knew for sure was that he wasn’t going to leave me here with this creepy child predator. As long as Simon wasn’t lying and had actually left a ransom note, I was getting out of here. For all I knew, though, Gramps could be dead along with the rest of the guards. He’d killed Ronnie so easily. What was to stop him from doing that
to every other person in the house, Gramps included?
My mouth dried as I pictured Ronnie falling to the floor. His throat had been cut, but it happened so fast I hadn’t seen a knife or anything. That meant he was skilled. Perhaps another drug ring worker who had problems with my grandfather?
I eyed Simon who was flipping through a magazine across the room. He looked too young to be anyone of importance but looks could be deceiving. When I was little, Gramps told me how young he’d been when he’d gained control of his business. For all I knew, Simon could be the head honcho of a rival business using me as bait to get at Grandpa. He hadn’t moved from his position on the chair across from me this whole time. I had a feeling he enjoyed the silence more than my questions. I only wished I could think of anything to say just to annoy him, but at this point, I really wanted this whole thing to be over. Gramps had protocols for this sort of thing. I didn’t exactly agree with what my grandfather did for a living, but it had given me my life, and I loved my life. And I loved my grandfather too despite what he did. He was the only family I had.
When I was in elementary school, he’d warned me something like this could happen, but I’d gone through twenty-three years of nothing even remotely bad happening. No threats to my life. No close calls. Of course, now, when the hot guy comes strolling into my life, shit hits the fan. The least he could do is tell me what this was all about.
“So, Simon, since I know you’re not my neighbor, who are you? What’s this problem you have with my grandfather that you’re using me for leverage?”
Simon eyed me from the top of the magazine. “Oh joy. She wants to talk.” He threw the magazine down on the table between us. Without any fanfare, he sat back and said, “He killed my mother.”
My eyes rounded, and I felt the gasp leave my throat before I could temper it. “No,” I said to him, already shaking my head. My grandfather was a lot of things, but he was not a murderer. What he said was impossible.
“It’s true,” Simon said, his eyes darkening. A chill went up my spine as I looked at him. “I was young when it happened, and I’ve wanted revenge ever since.”
I just sat there, my head moving back and forth, still unable to believe it. It wasn’t possible. Not at all. I cleared my throat to stop myself from outright denying it. Maybe if he told me the story, I could figure something out. “Well, tell me what happened.”
Simon looked at me curiously. He shifted in his chair, his eyes never leaving mine. When he finally spoke, he talked about his mother’s death as easily as most people talked about the weather. “My mother was hooked on your grandfather’s drugs. He was a dealer at that time and kept selling to her and selling to her. Eventually, she OD’d.”
Relief swept through me. So, he hadn’t killed her with his own hands. It was the drugs. My jaw ticked as I stared at him. Misplaced anger. He was more than likely not from a rival business then. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Grandpa always said people like him had a different set of ethics, but at least they had them. “Your mother,” I started, unsure of what to say, but knew I needed to try to dissuade him for blaming my grandfather. “It was terrible what happened to her, but she should’ve taken responsibility for herself, and for you. Gramps didn’t kill your mom, she killed herself.”
He moved in a blur. So fast he looked like a black streak darting for me just before my cheek stung and a slap reverberated through the room. Falling to the side, I cried out. My hands twitched to cover my burning cheek, but they were tied tight. I breathed out, anger welling inside me before I lifted myself back into a sitting position and stared up at him. I should’ve guessed that would set him off. We weren’t dealing with a sane person here.
Simon placed his hands behind his body and in a perfect even tone said, “Don’t you ever say that at about my mother again.”
Tears sprang to my eyes. I tried to push them back, not wanting to show weakness, but they were on automatic pilot. My skin still stung from the slap. I’d be surprised if I didn’t already have a welt growing there. He was impossibly strong. He barely touched me, yet it was one of the worst pains I’d ever felt. My jaw even ticked when I moved it. “Don’t hit me again,” I said with all the strength I could muster.
Simon turned away. A few moments later, I heard what caught his attention. The cell phone on the table rang, the lifeless tones perfect for the occasion. My heart flew up through my throat as he crossed the room, answering the phone within a second. “Yes?” He turned with a smile before falling back into the chair. “Yes, she’s here.”
Relief flooded through me. I leaned forward on the couch. “Gramps?”
Simon eyed me, shaking his head no. But no it wasn’t my grandfather, or no he didn’t want me talking? Desperation clawed at me. My ears strained to hear what was going on, but at the same time, it felt as if I was stuck in a vacuum. My mind was simultaneously trying to do too many things at once that I couldn’t concentrate. I tried to wiggle out of my holds as if I could grab the phone from Simon and tell him exactly where I was, so he could come get me out of this mess like he always did. Except, I didn’t even know where we were. I didn’t even know what to tell him. My only guess was that we were in a hotel room due to the general layout of the rooms and the unoriginal furniture.
I stayed silent for a little while longer until I knew I’d never be able to hear what was going on. Then, I called out, “Gramps! Help!”
Simon frowned. He covered the phone with his hand and glared. “Excuse me, two adults are trying to have a conversation.”
My stomach twisted. I itched to say something smartass back, but I bit my tongue, not wanting a repeat of the slap.
“Yes, she’s fine,” Simon said, his voice even. He nodded his head while he listened, the corner of his lips turning up. “Of course, I’ll give her back, but I’m going to need something in return.” There was a beat of silence from Simon, then, his smile grew wider. “No, I don’t want your money, old man. Did you not understand the note I left? I thought I made it perfectly clear that nothing else would do, only your life.”
Terror ripped through me. His life? No, I hadn’t just heard that. “What?”
Simon ignored me. He spoke into the phone, slow and deliberate, his eyes focused on me. “Yes, that’s correct. I don’t want your dirty money. I don’t want anything except what you took from me. Since I can’t get that, I’ll take an even exchange. You killed my mother many years ago, Greenie. For that, I want your dead body delivered to me. Then, I’ll let your granddaughter go unharmed.”
Panic swept through me as I listened to Simon calmly explain his plans to my grandfather. But Grandpa was all I had. My parents died before I’d even gone to school as a child. He was the only parent I’d ever known. To lose him… I shook my head, tears spilling down my cheeks now.
“I assure you,” Simon said, his voice rising. “The photo I left you of me and my mother is not a fake. I’ll want that returned as well, maybe stapled to your lifeless chest? Yes, that would do very well. Please add that to my demands.”
I bit back a cry, picturing my balding grandfather dragged into the room by this maniac with a picture stapled to his chest. But something about this didn’t make sense. My grandfather hadn’t been a dealer for many, many years. Simon didn’t look that much older than me. There was no way my grandfather was even a dealer when he was a kid. The timeline was way off.
“You have twenty-four hours to think it through. Oh, and Greenie?” Simon flew to the couch I sat on, almost literally. One second, he was in a seated position across the room. The next, his hands were closed around my throat. His mouth opened. Long, pointy fangs descended from his mouth. I screamed. In a flash, his teeth sank into my skin, tearing through until I was in a haze and effectively cutting off my cry. Simon hummed, a sound usually reserved for the bedroom, then pulled his mouth from my neck while my eyes went out of focus. “Don’t think I won’t punish perfect little Delilah here until you make up your mind. You better be quick.”
/>
Simon gave my cheek a tiny slap. I gasped, choking. The pain in my neck intensified, but in the same moment, there was an odd pleasure too. He’d just bit me. With fangs. What in the actual fuck?
Simon hissed, throwing the phone down in the chair, and then lunged for me again. There was nothing I could do to stop him. His fangs sank right where they had before, staying there until I felt my blood sing. It flowed to his mouth like water from a faucet. He swallowed and swallowed. My eyelids fluttered.
What the hell was he?
I didn’t know how long he drank from me. It could’ve easily been a second or an hour. Time seemed to almost stop as my blood willingly flowed toward him. I’d even leaned in closer, so that when he finally pulled away, I was practically in his lap. My blood ran down his face as I stared up at him, blinking. He smiled, and more red liquid spilled over his lips. His teeth were stained red too.
“Yes,” Simon said carefully as I gazed up at him. “Your grandfather chose to fuck with the wrong creature.”
Creature? My mind was in a fog. Nothing was making sense. I must’ve been having delusions. Maybe from the aftereffects of whatever he gave me to knock me out.
He grinned again as if he enjoyed seeing me in pain. His fangs were displayed prominently this time, clearly cutting through his gumline.
The fast movements. The fucked-up timeline. The blood drinking. My stomach rolled, and I felt like I could vomit at any moment. “Vampire?” I asked, not even thinking the words before they left my mouth.
The notion was ridiculous, but nothing else made sense. Vampires weren’t real though. They were just a myth.
“Why yes, dear,” Simon said. His grin grew wider and his tongue came out to play with his fangs. “And my, you were tasty. I’m going to have to get my fill of you before your grandfather does what I ask.”
The world spun in front of me, and then everything went black.
Chapter Five