I pulled the blankets back and found I was still fully dressed, minus the heels. I stretched my arm across the bed and grabbed my phone off the nightstand. It was nine forty-eight. Dante hadn’t texted back. Valerie had.
Valerie: You better have a damn good reason for bailing.
As soon as my feet hit the floor, I headed over to Noel’s room, not bothering to change.
Her door was open.
“Noel?” I whispered before entering.
Noel’s bed was neatly made as though she’d never slept there. Okay, that was weird. I peeked inside the office just in case, but all was in order and unoccupied.
I descended the stairs, the hem of my long dress catching and dragging on the step behind me. From the hallway, I smelled coffee and toast. I walked into the kitchen and came face-to-face with Fane. He had his back to the counter, sipping a cup of coffee, facing me as though he’d been waiting all along.
“Good morning, Aurora,” he said pleasantly.
I gaped at him. “What are you doing here, and where’s Noel?”
Fane set his mug down and walked over to the coffee pot. “Cup of coffee?”
“I don’t drink coffee.”
“I’m not much of a chef, but I warmed some toast,” he said.
“Thanks.” I grabbed two plates out of the cupboard and held one out to Fane.
“I’m good with coffee,” he said.
Fine. I put one plate back, dished up the toast, and set it on the counter.
“Did you spend the night here?”
“On the couch,” Fane said, nodding towards the living room.
I tapped my foot against the linoleum floor. “And Noel?”
“She left for a party. Said she wouldn’t be back until later this afternoon.”
“Why did you stay?” I asked.
“I couldn’t leave you here passed out alone, especially not when Giselle Morrel is stalking you.”
I huffed. “Does Noel inform you of everything?”
Fane shrugged.
“Do you know Giselle?” I asked. If Fane was going to get all nosy, he might as well make himself useful. I could use all the information I could get on her: strengths, weaknesses, and history. I also wanted to discuss anything other than what happened last night.
Fane took a sip of coffee before answering, “I met her briefly in Paris decades ago.”
“What? Didn’t hit it off?”
Fane studied my face a moment. “She was too cold for my taste.”
Great. A vampire that was too cold for another vamp’s taste.
“In other words, I’m screwed.”
“Noel told me Giselle is the vampire you saved in Sitka.”
“Yeah.”
Fane stared at me. I couldn’t read his expression. Suddenly, he broke out into a wide grin.
“Of all the vampires in the world, you chose to save Giselle?”
“Why’s that so amusing?” I asked. “Is she the world’s worst vampire or something?” Doubtful. That honor belonged to Jared.
Fane took another sip of coffee. “I didn’t find her particularly alarming, but I didn’t mess with her life companions. As I recall, Giselle was a loner except when it came to her adopted family. Now they’re gone.” He took another sip.
“Did you meet all of the Morrels?” I asked.
“There was a woman, Henriette, and a man, Andre, whom I saw again at one of Marcus’ gatherings. There was a young man, too, if I recall.”
I leaned forward. “What about Jared?”
Fane stared at me and shook his head.
“Or Xavier? His name was Xavier in France.”
“Xavier Morrel,” Fane said, slowly. “I heard about him. The police arrested him on murder charges—wouldn’t be the first vampire arrested for his crimes. They hung the fellow.” Fane lifted his chin. “Our necks are as fragile as a human’s.”
Oh, yes, I knew that well.
“Somehow he escaped,” I said. “He goes by the name Jared now and works for the same boss I work for. He’s the agency’s recruiter.” I balled my fingers into fists. “He hit my car.”
Fane’s eyes narrowed to slits. “It wasn’t an accident?”
I shook my head. “It’s worse. I think my boss gave him the orders. I think he’s creating his own army of assassins to wipe vampires off the planet.”
“As long as there’s disease, there will be vampires,” Fane said.
“I don’t think he cares.”
“So we’re dealing with a madman?”
What did he mean by “we”? I pushed the plate of toast away.
“Not entirely mad, but there’s definitely something off about him.”
“Agent Melcher, you said?”
I nodded.
Fane set his mug on the counter with a clunk and walked over to me. My breath hitched when he stopped inches away and looked me in the eyes.
“Don’t you think it’s time we started working together?”
Work together. Not sleep together. That would be okay, wouldn’t it?
I moistened my lips. “I don’t know that it’s a good idea.”
Fane straightened. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s a bloody brilliant idea. You need all the help you can get. What’s the hesitation?”
I looked at the ground.
“Dante?” Fane suggested.
My head shot back up.
“Oh my god! He could be here any minute. I can’t believe he’s not here now.” I pushed past Fane, out of the kitchen and into the hallway, hoping he’d follow me. “He has to be wondering what happened to me last night.”
It was a small miracle he hadn’t shown up earlier and found Fane sleeping on the couch—just the two of us home alone together.
I looked into the kitchen where Fane hadn’t moved.
“What time is it?” I asked.
“A little after ten.”
“He must not have seen my text,” I said, shaking my head in bewilderment. Wouldn’t Dante have checked his phone to find out where to pick me up? That was the plan.
I shook my head again. “No, someone must have taken his phone.”
Even so, he would have borrowed someone’s and contacted me, or, at the very least, come over to see what happened. Maybe he had too much to drink and passed out.
“You need to go now,” I told Fane.
He folded his arms. “I’m not leaving you here alone.”
“Fane, you have to go.”
“The only way I’m leaving is if you agree to work together.”
“Fine. Maybe you can be a consultant or something,” I said without a second thought.
I needed him out of the house.
“Can I finish my coffee first?”
“No!”
I stormed down the hall, not checking whether Fane had followed me or not. He’d better be right behind me. As I neared the front door, there was a quick knock before the knob turned. I stopped in my tracks.
The door swung open, and with it, the vixen entered, fiery red waves tumbling past her shoulders. She’d obviously had a chance to go home and change. She now had on tight jeans and a skintight three-quarter-sleeve sweater.
“Want to tell me about the “big” problem you ran into last night?” Valerie said as she closed the door.
Oh, god. Please tell me Fane hadn’t followed me into the hallway and wasn’t right now standing behind me. Please let him be in the kitchen, finishing his coffee, and now standing out of sight.
Valerie looked past me. She sucked in a horrified breath. Her nostrils flared and she sneered. I had my answer.
“What the hell is Fane doing here?” she demanded. She looked at him accusingly. “Did you spend the night?”
Her eyes flew back to me, looking over every inch of my dress.
“So it’s true? Wait until Dante finds out about this. I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to know you’ve been sneaking around with a vampire behind his back.”
My heart slammed against my chest lik
e a fist. I wasn’t planning on telling Dante the vampire part. Spending the night with an ex rather than him was bad enough without turning the whole thing into a bloodbath.
Valerie shot Fane a malicious smile. “I bet Aurora didn’t tell you that Dante hunts vampires. I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes when Dante finds out. He enjoys killing vampires almost as much as he does fucking Aurora.”
Without a second thought, I took three swift steps up to Valerie and slapped her across the face. My hand stung like a bitch afterwards, which meant Valerie’s cheek had to throb. It matched the color of her hair, anyway.
She pressed her hand to her cheek. “You... bitch,” Valerie said, fighting for breath.
For one brief blissful moment, Valerie looked too stunned to speak more than those two words.
I braced myself, fingers curling into fists, expecting her to lunge, but Valerie gave me a death glare instead and said two words worse than the previous ones.
“Big mistake.”
She turned on her heel and headed for the door.
“Wait!” I called out, following after her. “Where are you going?”
“To talk to Melcher. He can decide what to do about your unauthorized fang banging. As for Fane, I recommend he leave town before Dante has a chance to catch up to him.”
Panic seized me. I sprinted for the door and jumped in front of Valerie.
Her eyes flared. “Out of my way, Aurora.”
“Tell Melcher whatever you want,” I said. “I don’t care if he punishes me. But you can’t tell Dante about Fane. You know what he’ll do.”
“Fine,” Valerie said, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “You both have to promise me that you won’t see or speak to one another ever again.”
“No,” Fane said in a hard voice that carried across the hall.
His jaw, which had been moving side to side, stopped.
“No?” Valerie repeated, a look of challenge in her eyes.
I didn’t know who was more intimidating at the moment: Valerie with her death glare, or Fane with his glacial stare and chilling voice.
“I survived two world wars. Outbreaks. Earthquakes, famine, and flood. I survived the plague.” Fane grew taller with each disaster he named. “You are the least of my worries, Valerie Ward.”
“You ought to worry, Fane. You forgot to mention volcanoes, and you have yet to experience the red fury. You have no idea what I’m capable of.”
“I could say the same thing,” Fane replied. “I have a lot of friends. One word from me, and you could disappear tomorrow.”
A ghastly silence filled the hall. I was pretty sure Valerie felt as shocked as I did.
“Was that a threat?” she asked slowly. She looked at me. “Did he just threaten me?”
It took me a moment to find my voice. “You threatened him first,” I said.
Valerie ignored me. Her eyes narrowed on Fane. “We’ll see about that.” Her voice turned sticky sweet. “It was nice knowing you, Fane.” She yanked open the front door.
“Valerie, wait,” I said.
“Let her go,” Fane said.
After she slammed the door, I looked at Fane.
“I need to talk to Dante before she does.”
“I’m not afraid of your big brother type.”
“He’s not my brother. He’s my partner. I’m not with him the way Valerie implied, but I care about him.”
“I still want to help you,” Fane said.
Our eyes met, and in Fane’s stare I felt my heart ooze with longing. I pushed the feeling aside.
“We can work together, but that’s all. Right now I need you to leave so I can talk to Dante.”
“I think I should be here when you speak to him.”
“You’re the last person who should be here when I talk to him!” I cried. “Please, Fane, let me handle this alone.”
Fane straightened. “Last time you asked me to leave, you were drugged and nearly outed as a vampire hunter.”
“You can’t follow me everywhere,” I said.
“Watch me.”
I walked up to Fane until we were a breath away.
His eyebrows rose.
“There’s something you should know,” I said. “The government has me on a monthly antidote. If I don’t take it I’ll become like you. Undead. A vampire. I used to be afraid of immortality. I know it sounds crazy. Who wouldn’t want to live forever?” I shook my head. “I think the thing I fear most is being alone the rest of my life.”
“You’re not alone,” Fane said gently.
I believed him, but that scared me even more. Was this what my life would become? Being Fane Donado’s life partner? What if he wasn’t the one? What if it didn’t work out? There wasn’t exactly Match.com for vampires.
What about my mom and grandma? At what point did I disappear from their lives before they noticed I wasn’t aging? How much time did I have left with them? Four years? Five? Ten?
Mom already knew about vampires. It wouldn’t take too much convincing to tell her I’d turned.
I chewed on my lower lip.
Melcher had put a hit on Selene for telling her family what she was. Who would take Melcher’s place if we managed to take him out? Would they leave my mom alone if she thought I was dead?
What would Dante think? He loved his work as an assassin. He lived for it. How could he ever understand why I wanted out?
They’d send someone after me for sure. I knew too much about the organization.
“We need to fake my death,” I said.
Fane nodded. “I was thinking the same thing.”
“No one can know,” I said. “Only you and me. But first I need to talk to Dante alone.”
I wasn’t entirely sure what to tell Dante. I had to do damage control before Valerie had a chance to make up stories about me and Fane sleeping together the same way she’d told Fane I slept with Dante. I had to tell him Francesco was really Fane, the vampire. If I didn’t, Valerie would. Somehow, I had to convince Dante not to hunt Fane down.
“And afterwards?” Fane leaned forward, lips practically touching my forehead.
“Afterwards we come up with a plan.”
It was much easier to talk Fane into leaving once I’d agreed to end my life as I knew it. My heart raced in terror and anticipation. I hadn’t seen a way out until now. I wouldn’t have to kill anymore. I wouldn’t have to take orders or stay in Alaska. I’d be free.
On the other hand, I might turn into a rabid vampire.
I tried to remember everything Melcher told me during orientation. He said I had been injected with a small amount of all the vampire diseases. Would that make me some kind of mutant vampire?
I was willing to take the risk.
First, I had to talk to Dante. It was clearer than ever that we weren’t meant to be together. We wanted entirely different things out of life. Dante was content to work as an assassin. He once told me it was the best job ever.
And I was about to become the very creature Dante hunted.
My heart steadily dropped with each step I took upstairs. Soon, I might never see Dante again. He was more to me than a big brother. He was a friend I loved dearly. I didn’t want to walk away forever. This was exactly why immortality sucked.
I grasped the handrail along the stairs, suddenly lightheaded.
How was I supposed to survive if I turned? Where would I live? I couldn’t stay with family. Nor could I stay with Fane and Joss. I had too much pride for that.
How would I support myself?
I didn’t have a degree or any skills besides vampire hunting.
Was that why Selene had been with that jerk at the party? I was beginning to understand her motives a little more. I didn’t want to be a kept vampire. No way. Better a government slave with a stipend than Fane and Joss’ charge, if Joss would even allow that. Fane would say it was to help me—he already said he wasn’t leaving me alone again. I couldn’t live like that. I just couldn’t.
I needed to
hang on a little longer. Get a degree. Choose a career. Save up until I found a way to be independent. I couldn’t throw my life away on a whim.
More telling still was the relief that set in when I realized this. I’d get to spend more time with my family and Dante.
Fane would be disappointed, but that was too damn bad. This was my life. I had to consider the consequences.
I made it the rest of the way upstairs, heading to my bedroom to change. I checked my phone first, but there were no messages.
I wrinkled my nose. What the heck happened to Dante?
Where are you? I texted him.
I waited. After several minutes of standing in my room in a formal dress, staring at a silent phone screen, I did the old fashioned thing and called Dante. After multiple rings, it went to voicemail.
I ought to change, but all I could do was pace in front of my bed.
Something was wrong. If Dante had gotten held up for some reason, he would have called me, unless he couldn’t. Had he been drugged, too? Or had too much to drink and passed out? Or gone home with one of the wine girls?
Not a chance.
My stomach growled. I hadn’t eaten any of the toast Fane warmed up.
I should change and go to Dante’s house. It was about a twenty minute walk away if I hustled. I pulled a pair of jeans out of the dresser, but before I could put them on, the front door opened and slammed shut.
I left it unlocked, expecting Dante at any minute, but I couldn’t picture him slamming it like that.
Maybe Valerie had come back to kill me. With Dante MIA, I really wasn’t in the mood.
I stormed out of my room to the landing on the stairs and looked down. Sure enough, Valerie had reappeared in the foyer, arms crossed, a menacing scowl on her lips.
“Now what?” I demanded.
“I only came back because Dante texted me and said to meet here and I want to see his face when I tell him you’ve been screwing a vampire behind his back.”
Thank goodness. Dante was okay and on his way. An hour ago, Valerie’s words would have caused me anxiety, but now I felt nothing but relief.
I made my way down the stairs. I really wanted to change, but first Valerie and I needed to get something straight.
Bad Blood (Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter, Vol. 3) Page 21