Blood Leverage (Bloodstone Chronicles Book 1)

by J S Hazzard

  When that didn’t get a response, I slid my hands down to his neck and somewhat grudgingly admitted, “Yes, I will miss you. I’ll miss you terribly. I’ll miss the way you take everything I say too seriously and the way you laugh as though amusement is something precious and not to be taken for granted.

  “I will miss,” I said softly, my thumb tracing his jawline, “the way you look at me and find things to admire where others see either a nuisance or someone to be humored.” And then I kissed him.

  Admittedly, I’d kissed Ian before—among other things—but this was different. We weren’t caught in a haze of bloodlust or preparing to fight for our lives. No distractions, no imaginary girlfriends and for the love of God—no offense, Keanu—no vassals. For the first time we were alone and focused solely on each other. Compared to our previous activities the kiss was chaste, but it blew its predecessors out of the water.

  I felt an urgency his bloodlust induced kisses had lacked, combined with an intensity of focus that made me melt. I wondered if that level of concentration was a vampire thing or an Ian thing. It certainly wasn’t an ability I possessed. In fact, my mind was racing with so many things it was a miracle I managed to keep up at all. I couldn’t shut my brain down.

  I was simultaneously dissecting the meaning of the kiss while wondering where Ian would be relocating and when I’d see him again—all mixed with the constant awareness that I was kissing a vampire.

  And then my tongue brushed against one of his fangs. In a burst of inspiration, I accidentally-on-purpose pressed the tip of my tongue against it just firmly enough to break the skin.

  Ian’s response was instantaneous—his knees literally went weak. Or at least he stumbled off balance. This was only obvious because my legs had somehow found their way around his waist so he was supporting us both. One of his hands braced against the wall so we remained upright and locked together.

  He made a low growl in his throat—sexy, not scary—and I knew he could taste me. A few seconds later I felt the pulse of warmth in my tongue, practically imperceptible, and knew he’d healed me.

  My arms were locked around him in a death grip, but the flare of heat accompanying the healing somehow reminded me how strong Ian was. Surely he could support my weight without my assistance, freeing my hands for more important things.

  He was wearing a long sleeved shirt in a weird waffle knit with tiny buttons at the top, all of which I unfastened in a surprising burst of coordination. (Never underestimate the power of motivation.) Then I met with an obstacle as I ran out of buttons. Dissatisfied with the insufficient exposed flesh, I tightened my grip and prepared to rip.

  Realizing my intention, Ian moved to intercede but stopped when I pierced my tongue against his fang again. With a muffled laugh, he conceded defeat and tore the front of his shirt himself.

  The next few minutes were a laughing blur of repeated piercing and healing while I struggled with the remnants of his shirt. And though we had few options in a room without a scrap of furniture, Ian finally nudged my buttons open. He wasn’t as slow as my dream, but I’d been close. Ian apparently wasn’t one to rush anything. Finally, I threw the last clinging bit of his shirt to the floor and knocked his hands aside—with his cooperation, of course—to run my hands over his chest.

  And then I froze.

  “Your heart is beating! How can that be?” I pulled back as far as I could in Ian’s arms and gazed up in wonder.

  He smiled and dipped his head to nuzzle my bared collarbone before answering. “I wondered when you’d notice. Your mother’s book covered vampiric metabolism on a cellular level, but Dr. Neilson’s notes didn’t mention the other effects of human blood.”

  “Other effects? Plural?” I arched an eyebrow.

  “I guess you’ll have to learn as you go.”

  I laughed breathlessly. “I’ve always been an enormous believer in education.”

  My tongue unerringly sought his fangs before we were interrupted by the oddest sound I’d ever heard. It was a long, low honking—like the world’s largest, angriest goose. We broke off the kiss as I jolted in alarm and Ian exhaled in annoyance.

  “Keanu’s back. That was the horn of our moving truck.”

  I fumbled with my buttons, trying to focus. “Where’d he rent a truck?”

  Ian reached over and fixed the two buttons I’d fastened incorrectly. “After retrieving the phone, Keanu ran to Toronto to liberate a vehicle while I stayed here to finish and keep an eye on you. Thank goodness it rained all morning,” he added. “It would’ve been a pisser of an errand in the sunshine.”

  “Poor Keanu must feel ghastly.”

  Keanu chose that minute to appear in the doorway, looking like he’d been rode hard and put away wet. His hair was even wilder than usual, parts of his clothes had burned away and his eyes were a horrible bloodshot red. To top it off he looked murderous.

  “That bloody well fucking sucked.” He stomped into the room, oblivious to the sexual tension hanging in the air. Also to Ian’s missing shirt.

  I took a wobbly step back, only to have Ian reach out and steady me. “Pay no attention to him. He’s cranky because of all the work left to do.”

  Maybe Keanu did look a tad primal, but I personally thought a little sympathy was in order. “Can I get you anything, Keanu? Fresh clothes, cold water? A bloodstone? Maybe I could help with the packing and you could take a break?”

  A smile broke through the fatigue on his face. “You’re a sweetheart, you know that? The loading will go quicker without you, but you could pack the kitchen if you’re up for it. We need to finish as soon as possible.”

  It felt like I was leaving things in an awkward place with Ian but I couldn’t say anything in front of Keanu. Besides, it was already two o’clock. I smacked my raging hormones back down. “Consider it done.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  I began with the everyday dishes, packing them into boxes presumably left for that purpose. Meanwhile, Keanu and Ian began loading the truck.

  For once every door was open and I heard snippets of debate as the men argued and snapped at each other to be careful. I alternated between listening and overanalyzing my kissing session with Ian as I wrapped glassware in brown paper.

  Then they were in the doorway. “It’s like a rain forest out there,” Keanu complained. “All wet and steamy.”

  “Better steam than sunshine,” Ian snapped back, clearly as frustrated and cranky as Keanu. He smiled belatedly. “If there are any glasses left, could you pour us a couple lemonades please? Keanu is right. It’s like the tropics outside.”

  I snatched the single glass left in the cabinet and unwrapped the last one I’d boxed with a swift motion. “Sure thing. I finished the cupboards and drawers, but haven’t touched the fridge.” Okay, that wasn’t entirely true. I’d heated some leftovers for lunch, but I needed to know what to do with everything else.

  Ian and Keanu looked at one another and shrugged. “We’ll be without electricity for a few days,” Ian said. “You’re welcome to anything you can fit in the truck.”

  “Sure, thanks.” It would be a pain to sneak the food home, but I hated to waste it. (Besides, my own freezer was still barren after the peach episode.) I rinsed the lemonade glasses to rewrap them. “Let me know when we’ll be leaving. I don’t want anything out of the freezer longer than necessary.”

  Ian looked at Keanu for confirmation. “I think we’ve loaded almost everything. I finished the security screens.”

  Keanu nodded. “We need to take the plates out, and we’re ready to go.”

  Damn they were fast. “Well, I finished your dishes, so they’re ready.”

  Ian laughed. “He doesn’t mean the dishes. He’s referring to the steel plates reinforcing the walls. It’s quicker to reuse them than to have new ones manufactured.”

  “Oh, okay.” I shifted the box of glassware with my foot and kicked another empty box in front of the fridge. “So I should empty this stuff now?”

 
“Yes, that would work.” He took a quick inventory of the boxes beside the door. “Keanu, why don’t you get this stuff out and then you can carry Aurora’s groceries.”

  “He doesn’t need to carry them,” I objected, but it fell on deaf ears.

  “While you do that,” Ian ignored me, “I’ll do a final check and make sure we haven’t missed anything.” He gave Keanu a clap on the shoulder and left the kitchen.

  Keanu shrugged before filling his arms with kitchenware and whisking outside.

  Giving my own shrug to no one, I opened the freezer and began filling the box. I packed a dozen pies, a half dozen frozen dinners, chicken breasts, steaks—you name it. I packed almost everything, feeling a pang of regret over leaving the ice cream. It wouldn’t survive the trip.

  Then I noticed a cardboard box in the very back. Grimacing as I slid my arm between the freezer wall and a sticky ice cream carton, I pulled out a carton full of crab, lobster and various other seafood. Ms. B. and Amy were in for a treat.

  As I finished, Ian poked his head back in. “Keanu not back yet?”

  I barely looked up as I pressed a piece of tape down. “Haven’t seen him.”

  Flushed with success and freezer chills, I sealed the box and considered the job done. As I wiped my hands, Ian lifted the box and I fell into step beside him as I left his home for the last time.

  For once, all the extra rooms were easy. With every single door open, we walked out to the truck in under a minute. “Will your next place be this complicated?” I wondered as Ian left the food in Nicky’s truck beside my duffle that someone had carried out earlier.

  Ian shook his head. “Nothing like this. This was built before we moved. We won’t be able to put something like this together for a while.” The corners of his mouth dropped and I knew he’d miss the home he’d made here, no matter how blasé he acted about leaving.

  “Have you chosen a strategy to deal with the break-in yet?”

  He turned Nicky’s keys in the ignition to start the air conditioning and slammed the door before answering. “Mostly, I think we’ll end up winging it.”

  “You’re certain nothing here can lead anyone to you? Your fingerprints are everywhere.” Mine were too, which wasn’t comforting.

  Ian laughed. “You’ve read too many novels. I was born more than a thousand years before that technology came to be. No one has my fingerprints on record.”

  “Don’t remind me,” I said, earning a cheeky grin in response. Still, it was reassuring. As far as I knew, my fingerprints weren’t on record either.

  “Besides,” Ian shut the door of the truck, “we won’t leave evidence behind.”

  I was about to ask for details when Keanu jumped down from the largest truck I’d ever seen—a behemoth big enough to give Nicky’s truck an inferiority complex. It was twice my height and had trailers hitched to the back. I wondered how he’d managed to maneuver it back here.

  “Ian, there’s no way the plates will fit.” Keanu slammed his fist into his palm in frustration. “I’ve stacked this shit six different ways to Sunday. It’s not happening.”

  “Damn, I was afraid of that. And we still have the appliances and cabinets.”

  Keanu shook his head. “I did those while you were helping Rory. It’s only the plates we have to finish now.”

  I didn’t see the problem. “You guys have several hours of daylight left. Rip out the plates and leave them, then take everything else to wherever you’re storing it. One of you can stay to unpack and the other can return here. You’ll still finish before nightfall.”

  Ian looked at me like I was insane. “Leave them outside? Are you kidding? Those things cost a small fortune.”

  Keanu nodded in agreement.

  I snorted. “It’s bloody daylight. No normal vampires will be out for hours and if humans wandered by, I very much doubt they’d be able to lift your plates.”

  Their expressions told me I was right. They turned in unison and I allowed myself a tiny, smug smile. After all, gloating is only unattractive when someone catches you. Then I sidled over to a felled tree and settled in to enjoy the show

  Call me perverse, but after an entire summer of physical inferiority it was fun to finally see Ian and Keanu truly work. It takes a challenge to make vampire muscle ripple, but these plates did the trick.

  I heard the shredding of plaster and the plates clanking as they were pried out. Interestingly, instead of hiding the plates among the heavy tree cover, they set them two hundred yards away in the sunshine.

  The plate retrieval—or wall demolition, take your pick—lasted nearly half an hour. Out of curiosity, I walked over to the growing stack of plates and realized how Keanu had gotten the truck so close. Dozens of additional trees had been uprooted to widen the path. The tracks left by Nicky’s truck were miniscule compared to the ditches gouged out by the new arrival and I hoped Ian had a plan to deal with them. The tracks were hard to miss.

  Finally, Ian spoke on one of his trips past me. “You’ll want to move Nicky’s truck now.” Even as he said it, Keanu jumped into the other truck.

  “Where should I park it?”

  “Anywhere past the plates, but leave room for the big rig—”

  “Hey, don’t let her leave!” Keanu called over, rolling down the window.

  Ian made a face. “She’s not leaving,” he called back, “but she needs to move the truck before you can have your fun.”

  “What fun is that?” I asked suspiciously. Speculating about Keanu’s idea of fun made me nervous.

  Ian held up his hands. “I promised I’d let him surprise you. And this was his idea so don’t yell at me when it’s over.”

  “Yeah, that doesn’t sound ominous,” I said as I climbed into the truck. I drove to the spot Ian had indicated, my spine jolting as I navigated the new tire ruts.

  Keanu maneuvered the moving truck beside me and jumped down before I’d undone my seatbelt. He slipped me out of my seat and whooshed me over to Ian, who looked exasperated.

  “Ready?” Keanu asked excitedly, to which Ian’s only response was to look even more annoyed. Keanu was all but bouncing as he pulled a small black box from his pocket and handed it to me.

  The container was hinged, like a jewelry store ring box but with a hard plastic cover instead of velvet. I flipped it open with interest and noted that instead of jewelry it contained a dull gray switch.

  Watching Keanu, now literally bouncing, he nodded happily when I made a flicking motion toward the switch with my finger.

  “Wait.” Eyes wary, Ian positioned himself beside me and wrapped an arm around my waist before saying, “Remember, not my idea.” Then he gave a resigned nod to Keanu who chanted, “Flip it! Flip it! Flip it!”

  So I did.

  In retrospect, I should have seen the explosion coming. It was like something out of Keanu’s beloved cartoons, only we didn’t end up in a heap of smoking ashes or with our hair standing on end when it was over. (I can only conclude it wasn’t an ACME detonator.) But more than the cartoons, this explosion was spectacular.

  More accurately put, the series of explosions was spectacular and I realized why Ian had taken hold of me. I would have been knocked off my feet otherwise. The explosions began closer to us and moved further inward toward the remains of what I would forever call Ms. Parkes’ house. Then the discharges culminated in a massive blast that sank everything into a large pit.

  I couldn’t do anything other than stare during the fifteen second noise extravaganza, but Keanu felt no such reticence.

  “Hells yeah!” he shouted, pumping his fist. “That is how you do it, my friends!”

  “Holy shit,” I blurted, turning to Ian. “That explains your lack of evidence.”

  He shrugged. “Keanu likes to, as he so eloquently puts it, ‘blow shit up’.”

  Keanu beamed in agreement. “I not only like it, I am great at it.”

  “Uh huh,” I agreed faintly, wondering again how I’d become involved in all this.

/>   After I’d adequately admired Keanu’s handiwork, things turned awkward. “Where are you leaving everything, if I’m allowed to ask?”

  “Of course you’re allowed to ask, but we honestly don’t know,” Ian said. “We have a few ideas but haven’t had time since last night to check them.”

  “We’ve been a little busy,” Keanu put in.

  “Gosh, really? I hadn’t noticed.” I knew Keanu was baiting me, but the best way to cut him off was to ignore him. “Wherever you end up, I’ll want to see Nicky as soon as possible. I don’t want him any more frightened than necessary.”

  “I agree, but we need a way to reach you. Even if we gave you one of our cell phones, it won’t work near your square. It barely works here.” Ian frowned.

  The guys fell silent, but it was Keanu who came up with the answer. “Your mother’s vault. We know its location, it’s easy for you to reach, and you’ve said no one but your mother and you ever go there. Where could we leave word?”

  It was my turn to concentrate. The vault was a massive concrete square with no ornamentation and, of course, no windows. “It doesn’t have convenient nooks or crannies, if that’s what you’re looking for.”

  Ian shook his head. “We don’t need a sophisticated hiding place. After all, I assume you’ll retrieve our message first thing in the morning. All we need is a place we can all find where a note won’t be spotted by anyone else.”

  Then it hit me. “The vault is surrounded by trees, mostly maples and evergreens. However, there’s an enormous weeping willow back on the…” I had to think about it. “I think it’s on the northwest side, but even if I’m wrong it’s the only willow tree anywhere around the vault. It’s huge, you can’t possibly miss it.”

  Ian looked unconvinced. “A tree?”

  I laughed at his expression. “It was my favorite climbing tree and I spent the entire summer up there while the vault was being built. Spying on the workmen,” I explained. “About twenty feet up there’s a knothole in the trunk and no one knows about it but me.”

  Not even Amy knew. The vault had been completed before we’d met and I’d only been back a few times since. “Put the note inside something waterproof and we’re in business. I’ll retrieve it first thing in the morning.”