by Serena Robar
“Yes, suite.” She frowned at me and spoke more slowly.
“My apartment for my visit.”
At the word “visit,” Thomas and I exchanged a look.
“You have a room, which you will be sharing with two other sisters. There is no suite.”
“No suite?” It was her time to sound confused.
“I’m afraid not.”
“But what about my things?” She gestured to the growing mound of stuff accumulating around her.
“We can probably store most of it, since you brought it with you. Some of the other girls arrived with slightly less, uh, stuff so we might be able to pack most of it in the back room.” Heck, we didn’t have a housemother so we could use that room for the time being.
“Pack it away?! Oh no, that simply won’t do. I brought only my essentials. I need all of it.”
“I see,” I murmured, beginning to realize that Ms. Romanav was fast becoming a pain in my backside I didn’t really need right now.
“Might I suggest you give Ileana a tour of the house while her men wait with the luggage and then we can make an informed decision on where to put her things?” Thomas politely suggested, the eternal diplomat.
“Agreed.” Ileana clapped her hands in enthusiasm. I stepped back and she immediately moved forward, taking Thomas’s arm and entering Psi Phi House. I was effectively placed in the role of tour guide, again. She spoke little through the tour of the main floor, merely nodding as I showed each room, her face carefully masked to show only polite interest.
The veneer cracked upon entering the upstairs bedrooms, when I reminded her that House rules indicated she wouldn’t be sleeping in the room, merely housing her clothes and things with two other girls.
“This simply won’t do. I brought my housemaid Sophie and she stays with me at all times.”
We looked at each other, both of us waiting for the other to back down, while Thomas uneasily shifted his weight back and forth on his feet. His obvious unease punctured my stubbornness. I realized I was the one in charge. It was up to me, the Protector, to play diplomat and make this situation work. Sometimes being in charge bites.
“Ileana, why don’t you pick out a room? We’ll put your luggage, trunks and such downstairs to store in the housemother’s room. I believe we will have enough space in the beginning that Sophie may have a room as well; you could store your additional clothes and such with her.”
“Very well,” she agreed, noting my tight smile. She probably sensed that was as much as I was going to offer. Smart girl. Obvious pain in the butt, but smart. And she should be satisfied because she now had two rooms to store her things. That might not be a suite, but it was more than everyone else had.
Four
“Tell me why you’re a pickup service again?”
I grabbed my lightweight sweater from the coatrack and my purse while Thomas walked to the door.
“You saw how Lucy and Angie arrived? Thomas was checking into it when he discovered there are two half-bloods being held in some house in Paradise Point, California. The person who has them refuses to give them up. Piper, they are probably chained in some dark basement somewhere having God knows what done to them. We’re going to free them and bring them back.”
Piper still didn’t look convinced, or impressed.
“So why can’t Thomas go get them? Why do you have to go? And more importantly, why do I have to stay and babysit Psi Phi House?” She definitely needed more convincing.
“Because we want to get in and get out and to do that, it would be easier to free them during the day. You know, when the vampires are sleeping? Thomas knows the area and has the credentials. Also, he’s Blooded and other vamps listen to him.” I looked toward him dubiously. “Well, that’s his theory anyway.”
“So you guys are grabbing a nocturnal flight, getting your captives and flying home tomorrow evening. You’ll be back in no time?” It was weird to see Piper so jittery.
“Relax. Everything will be fine. The girls will sleep and all you have to do is make sure they get to Nordstrom on time. Mrs. Durham will meet you at the concierge desk and take everyone around. Get yourself something pretty. The Tribunal owes you a new outfit for helping me anyway.” At least, I thought they did.
Thomas snapped his cell phone shut and spoke up. “Carl is on his way. He’ll be with you until morning and back again for the shopping trip. I don’t expect much activity during the day. You should be safe.”
“Safe? You think I’m worried about being safe? These girls are whacked. And that snooty English chick is in a category all her own. I’m not worried about my safety. I’m worried about my sanity.”
I grabbed both her shoulders and looked deep in her eyes. “I believe in you.”
Then I sort of chucked her on the upper arm with my fist as a form of moral support and escaped Psi Phi House with Thomas. To be honest, I was feeling more than a little bit relieved to get away from my new sorority sisters.
I’d expected things to be different. Well, to be honest, I expected things to be a lot different. I guess I was living in a bit of a fantasy world, assuming they would be grateful I’d brought them to college and under my wing, to learn the ways of the vampire world. They all seemed pretty annoyed to be there. And I couldn’t blame them.
I certainly wasn’t pleased when I was attacked and turned into the walking Undead, so throw in a relocate without any say in the matter and—whammo!—it’s safe to say I had a house of ticked off sisters. And I was leaving them with Piper. I tried not to look back at her when I got into Thomas’s car. She still stood at the doorway, staring in disbelief that I was actually leaving and worse still, leaving her in charge.
I made a mental note to pick her up a souvenir from Paradise Point. Something fun and beachy with shells to help make it up to her. Carl picked us up and we sped along to Sea-Tac International Airport to catch our flight into LAX. We still had a couple hours’ drive ahead of us once we landed. Luckily it was a short flight; we should have plenty of time to get to a vampire safe house so Thomas didn’t fry in the morning sun. Traveling with a full-blooded vampire really made vacationing a little less spontaneous.
Once we made it through security and onto the plane, it was time to get serious.
“So, tell me everything you know about this evil slave-trader vampire.”
“Well, Cookie Flanneg—”
“Cookie? Cookie?! The evil slave trader’s name is Cookie?” My voice raised an octave and the lady in front of us looked over the back of the seat disapprovingly.
“As I was saying, Cookie Flannegan”—he gave me a warning look when he saw the expression on my face—“runs a sort of resort for vacationing vampires. She has two half-blood slaves who she is apparently unwilling to release into our custody.”
“What does she do with them?” I asked
“Unclear. She’s had one for awhile now and recently acquired”—I snorted at his choice of words—“another.”
“I thought it was illegal to make half-bloods.”
“For the general vampire population, yes.”
“But Cookie is an exception to the rule?”
“You have to understand that many vampires on the Council and in the Tribunal enjoy the hospitality of Cookie. She is somewhat of a favored full-blood. Certain allowances have been made. A sort of don’t-ask-and-don’t-tell policy.”
“Okay, so say Mr. Holloway makes his way down to sunny California for a little R & R and gets his kicks at Ms. Cookie’s Vampire Emporium. He sees some chained-up half-blood that’s forced to do who knows what sort of evil and degrading things—he just turns a blind eye?” I was incredulous to say the least.
“I think we should reserve judgment until we have all the facts.”
“The facts? We have the facts! Cookie the Creep is enslaving half-blood vampires and the Council doesn’t care! In fact, they’re all ‘Hey Cookie, that’s okay. Thanks for the good time.’ ”
Thomas looked at me with a half-smile.
“What?” I demanded, unnerved by his tender look.
“What?!” I demanded again, “Do I have dirt on my cheek?” I rubbed my face furiously with the palm of my hand.
“No, no dirt. It’s your fervor. You get very passionate about your job. I like that.”
He gently tucked a stray tendril behind my ear, sort of deflating my righteous anger. Now I just felt kind of gushy and warm and, if you must know, tingly in all the right places. What can I say? I’m not a complicated chick.
“Do we have a plan of attack?” I asked softly; my mouth felt kind of dry and woolen.
“First, let’s get there and check into our room. Then, if there’s time, we can go to the house. Otherwise, we’ll wait until tomorrow night.”
My whole body came alive at his mention of our sharing a room but I was immediately distracted when he suggested waiting until the next evening to do anything.
“Why can’t I scout out the house during the day? There won’t be any vampire activity and I might be able to talk to the hostages or free them on my own without a fight.”
“We don’t know what you’ll be up against, so it’s best to wait until both of us can check it out.”
I leaned back in my seat, mouth dangling open in shock. I was the Protector of half-blood vampires for crying out loud and he didn’t think I was capable of going to an Undead house during the day without screwing things up? I couldn’t believe he thought so little of my skills that I couldn’t be trusted to do a little recon.
He took my silence as agreement and leaned his head against the window to close his eyes and take a catnap. I fumed silently, stewing in resentment. Sure, I was on the assignment but Thomas wasn’t going to let me do anything. He was just letting me tag along or, worse yet, had been forced to bring me along and really didn’t want me here at all!
I was not going to wait meekly for the big, strong Vampire Investigator to save the world. That was my job. He could be the sidekick for a change. I was going in during the day.
We touched down two hours later with Thomas dozing most of the way. It didn’t take much time to rent a car and head down the coast to Paradise Point. The plan (at least Thomas’s plan) was to gather as much information as possible about Cookie and her beach house while waiting for darkness at the safe house. My plan was to leave Thomas napping and save the two half-bloods myself.
We arrived in Paradise Point in a little over two hours. Thomas took us directly toward the ocean and we did a drive-by of the scenic beach homes.
“What are you doing?” I asked, wondering why we were sightseeing and not heading immediately to the safe house.
“Just trying to scope out the area,” he answered in a noncommittal way. I narrowed my eyes at him.
“You know, sunrise is gonna happen any minute now.”
Which was a bit of an exaggeration on my part, but the man had a way of keeping secrets and pissing me off.
He reached over and patted my knee in a patronizing sort of way. “Don’t worry about a thing,” he said.
Can you believe he actually said that to me?! He might as well have said, “Don’t worry your pretty little head about it.” If I was having second thoughts about leaving him behind and rescuing the prisoners myself (and I might have been), his attitude at that moment sealed his fate. He was so being left behind in our room.
He wound down the long beach road and took a turn east toward a large two-story house, which I could only assume was the safe house. It looked like a sleepy residential area. Thomas drove around the back of the house and parked in a spacious gravel lot, next to a white Mercedes and silver Lexus. Say what you want about vampires, but being around for so long, they seemed to have mastered the material aspects of living.
I was surprised to discover the house was a split-level with a secluded half basement. We entered the back door and stepped into a small alcove, complete with reception desk. Now this looked more like a cute bed-and-breakfast than a safe house. Though I really didn’t know what I was expecting. After all, who goes to a safe house or even knows what one is supposed to look like anyway?
Thomas rang the bell and waited patiently, absently caressing my shoulder with his strong hand. He started to massage my neck and I practically purred with contentment until the check-in clerk bounded down the steps to our left and greeted us.
“Hello, Thomas!” the man’s voice boomed. He was larger than life in every aspect, from his body to his voice.
“Phillip, good to see you,” Thomas returned the greeting.
I noted with more than a little pride that Thomas seemed to match the other man in strength when they shook hands. My man was no wimp.
“What brings you to Paradise Point?” Phillip asked, scouring his counter for keys and paperwork.
“Just taking a break to get away. Thought I’d take Colby here to see everything your fine city has to offer.”
Phillip finally looked up and noticed me. Not that I minded being completely ignored by an innkeeper or anything, but hey, I’m not invisible either.
I smiled and held out my hand. He stared at me and pointedly ignored my outstretched hand. I pulled it back slowly, as though I never offered it to him in the first place, pretending to stretch my arms.
I looked at Thomas and said brightly, “So far I’m lovin’ the local hospitality.”
“Thomas, you know you’re always welcome but she”—he grunted while nodding in my direction—“can’t stay here.”
Thomas moved toward Phillip, leaning over the counter in a semimenacing sort of way, saying, “She goes where I go. You know the law now, Phillip. No discriminating.”
“I’m not talking about discriminating. I’m talking about safety. I can’t guarantee you won’t be harassed here. You know Paradise Point considers itself outside of Tribunal law.”
So Phillip was a bigot, but he was a safety-conscious bigot, so I guess that made everything okay. Not!
“No one is going to go up against a Tribunal Investigator, especially when he’s accompanied by the Protector.”
Phillip grunted and looked me over one more time. I tried to stand a little taller and look a bit more menacing. The way Thomas said my title, even I wanted to look behind me and see who he was talking about. It sounded downright impressive and a little intimidating. Too bad I was wearing a pink tank top, lacy shrug and black broomstick skirt with butterfly flip-flops. I hardly struck fear in the hearts of vampires anywhere.
“I just don’t want any trouble,” Phillip hedged but gave us keys to a room anyway.
“No trouble,” Thomas promised. “You won’t even know we’re here.”
We moved away but not before I caught the look of disgust on Phillip’s face when he looked at me. This guy obviously thought Thomas and I were going to be spending all our time in the room, and he was revolted at the thought of intimacies with me. With me?! I might not be any Ileana Romanav but I was still one cute package. Jerk.
I shuffled behind Thomas down the hallway and ran into his back when he stopped to unlock the door.
“Oomph.”
“Sorry,” I mumbled, caught up in a tiny pity party for one. Sure, Phillip was a jerk and all but it wasn’t like Thomas was all ready and willing to throw me down on the bed and ravage my half-blood self. Maybe I was revolting on some level to Thomas?
Thomas swung the door open and ushered me inside. The room was done up in grays and blues, lighthouse artwork over the queen-size bed and a small bathroom next to the closet. It was a snug room with no windows but when you’re a vampire, you hardly require an ocean view.
I dropped down on the edge of the bed and put my purse down by my feet. There were no other chairs in the room. I looked around for a television but came up empty. This room was made for one thing and one thing only. I sighed heavily.
Thomas misinterpreted my sigh and said, “Don’t worry about what Phillip said, Colby. We’ll be fine. We’ll hang out until sundown and go rescue the half-bloods.”
H
e sank down next to me and put an arm around my shoulder in a supportive, nonsexual sort of way. I leaned my head on his shoulder and asked, “Thomas, how did he know I was a half-blood?”
When Thomas didn’t immediately answer, I raised my head to look into his eyes. “Do I look so different from regular vampires? I don’t think so. I mean, sure I have the freaky yellow eye thing going for me, but I’m wearing my colored contacts, so that can’t be it. I am just as pasty as he was.” I gasped a little at the thought that crossed my mind next, “Do I smell? Do half-bloods have a revolting kind of odor I’m not aware of?”
I started to sniff my hand, arm and wrist when Thomas grabbed me and started to laugh.
“Colby, you don’t smell. Well, you do smell, but it isn’t some revolting telltale scent.” He leaned closer to me and put his nose to the nape of my neck and inhaled deeply.
“You smell like peaches and cream. Like summertime.” I closed my eyes and swayed toward him a moment, but quickly strengthened my resolve.
“Then how could he tell?”
It was Thomas’s time to sigh deeply as he straightened up. “Shake my hand,” he instructed.
“What?”
“Come on. Put out your hand and offer it to shake.”
I stared at him dumbly for a moment then extended my right hand to shake. Thomas took my hand and lifted it to my face, so my vampire license was clearly visible.
“He could tell I was a half-blood by my license? Does my ring look that much different than everyone else’s?”
“Your license is white gold and has a different crest. See how the shape is a rectangle? Look at mine. It’s a circle and the engraving is different. See?”
I compared our two rings. They were definitely dissimilar. But still, I doubted Phillip could really decipher the difference from such a distance.
I looked doubtfully at Thomas, who finally conceded, “Also, your photo was circulated to all the safe houses so they knew you were to get special treatment.”
“Yeah, I felt special too.”
“By special treatment, I mean you are to be kept safe and out of the way of other, less gracious vampires. Phillip was simply concerned he couldn’t offer you a secure room.”