by A A Mize
I figured I would show up unannounced, lure him in, and we’d be off to New York in no time. Of course, I knew convincing him to leave the Quarter was going to be a little bit of a challenge, I’m now seeing the full scope of the work that has to be done. Oh well, Ivanka’s working out nicely. I’m excited to see what will happen next.
Well, it’s a mere half an hour to sunrise now and I am a little restless. I should see what Rowan is up to. I know he isn’t sleeping. I can hear him pacing around in his room. The other two are still downstairs, so I should get moving before they go to bed. Then again, it might be positively delicious if they catch me sneaking to his room... I’d love to see the look on Sophie’s face.
Yvette tossed her journal aside as she stood, straightening her satin kimono bathrobe. The black fabric with its delicate gold details only served to bring attention to her porcelain skin. In the mirror she reapplied her crimson lipstick and primped her golden locks. She blew a little kiss to her own reflection before leaving the study.
“Rowan,” she whispered, sing-song, to his closed door, “let me in.”
On the other side, Rowan paused. He composed himself, and against his better judgment, opened the door. As soon as he saw her in her kimono, his eyes couldn’t help being drawn across the satin and down her long, shapely legs. Letting her enter would be a terrible mistake, but at this point he could feel his resolve slipping.
“Stop calling me that,” he said, his eyes shifting toward the stairs. Surely Matthias would have had to make up some sort of excuse to Sophie for Yvette calling him Rowan instead of Dominic, but he hated for her to make matters worse. “It’s Dominic.”
“You’re really trying that hard to keep up your ruse? She’s just a human, dear,” Yvette neared him, slipping her nimble fingers into the front of his half-buttoned shirt. He shuddered at her touch but somehow managed to grab her wrist and remove her hand from his chest.
“I’m not interested in this game, Yvette,” he warned, dark eyes flashing with anger, mostly directed at himself. The game had already begun and whether he was interested or not, he was in it up to his neck.
“No games, Rowan. I mean, Dominic.” The corners of her lips twisted in a sly grin. “I’ve missed you more than you know. I’ll just have to prove to you how determined I am to call you mine.” She stepped forward, forcing him to step back into his bedroom.
Footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs and Rowan locked eyes with Sophie as she reached the landing. For an instant the world slowed to a crawl. There was a mix of surprise and disappointment clearly displayed on her face and that was the image Rowan had locked in his mind when Yvette peeked mischievously over her shoulder and shut the door on Sophie.
“Now then, where were we?” Again Yvette approached him, backing him up until he was at the foot of his four-poster bed. His face contorted in surprise when he realized he had been pushed back so far and his hands gripped the hard wood of the foot board when she neared. Yvette smiled at the look in his eyes, pressing her hands to his chest.
“You’re cold, love. Haven’t you been feeding?” She leaned in so close he could feel the heat from her lips on his.
“That is none of your concern,” Rowan answered dryly, fighting to keep his hands to himself. The whole thing was a setup. He hadn’t fed and the warmth she retaliated drew him like a fly to honey.
“You have a meal right down the hall and you’ve not indulged in her yet? Has the icy Rowan allowed a human to thaw his heart?” she asked, locking eyes with him and pulling the hair tie from his raven locks, letting them to cascade down his back.
When she wound her fingers into his hair, he knew he was losing. Her kiss tasted of blood, his stomach gripped with hunger and he could not help pulling her closer. Even with his eyes closed it was easy to feel the smile in her kiss.
She was winning, winding his mind around her little finger with ease. For a moment, Rowan called forth his willpower, fighting back against her temptation in a quick push that caused her to stumble back, eyes ablaze with surprise and anger. Yvette was as a spoiled child, unwilling to relent until she got her way.
“If you won’t take that human girl’s blood, maybe you want a taste of mine?” she said, pulling her hair away from her shoulder. “Remember how we used to bond this way? Come, Rowan. Take your fill from me.”
“Get out.” Rowan braced himself in the frame of one of the French doors that led out to his private garden out back. He caught sight of his own reflection in the glass, grimacing at what he was met with. Hunger was not the only thing causing him to feel ill. There was genuine disgust in his eyes that he could not even control his own urges. He had preached to Matthias about self-control, and there he was, nearly powerless against his former Pupil. How far had he fallen? How pathetic was he, trapped in this comfortable life where he no longer had a reason to strengthen himself?
Yvette wrapped her arms around his slender torso, burying her face into his back.
“You can’t fool me, Rowan. I know you want me to stay,” she replied, standing on her toes to whisper in his ear. Rowan shuddered, closing his eyes tight against his reflection when he felt her fangs graze his neck, her hands unbuttoning his shirt. The wood of the window frame gave under his grip, his nails sinking into the wood like a knife into butter. Resisting her was futile. She knew exactly how to catch him.
When he felt her kimono drop to the floor at his feet, he became dizzy. It was as if her fingers were probing into his brain, gently plucking every memory of her that she could, tangling it around his current emotions and every bit of willpower he possessed. Yvette slithered between him and the window, her warm flesh pressed to his bare chest, and in that moment, he knew the game was over and he had succumbed to her completely.
23
The house had been dead silent when Sophie snuck out about noon. The sun warmed her face and the clouds passed in thick white puffs overhead. For all her hours of tossing and turning she hadn’t been able to sleep long enough for it to count but she needed to get out of the house. Roberts gave her a reason to do so by inviting her to lunch and although Sophie was still skeptical of the police, she gladly left Rowan’s house behind without a second look.
It was the first time since she’d been told Rachel’s cause of death that the police had said anything to her and she had wondered what Roberts could want with her. Frankly, Sophie would have been more interested in meeting up with Dustin, as she didn’t think the police had anything more to say about Rachel’s death, but that wouldn’t be possible for some time, if at all.
Ginger, as Roberts had asked Sophie to call her, met her with a broad grin and a handshake. She looked different out of uniform, friendlier. Softer. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail and her cable knit sweater was a shade of pastel leaf green. The pair of them settled into a two-person table by a roaring fire, the stonework framing it stained black with soot.
“I’ll be glad when it’s Spring,” Ginger said, pulling at the collar of the sweater.
“Same,” Sophie replied, forcing a smile.
“I was a little surprised to learn you were still in the city. Don’t you live in Mississippi?”
“I do. Well, I mean, I did. Hard to say how things are going right now. I’ve been thinking about moving here.”
“Yeah? It can be a little hard to get started but I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be.”
“Have you always lived here?”
“New Orleans born and raised,” Ginger replied proudly. “I’ve done my share of travelling though. Never found a place I liked enough to stay.”
“I’m sorry, but why did you ask me to come here?”
Ginger’s smile faltered for a fraction of a second. “I council family members of victims sometimes. I just thought I’d check up on you. See how you’re handling things.”
“I see. It’s going as well as it could I guess. I haven’t had much time to sit down and think about what happened. Let it process, you know? Between the memorial
, finding a job, and a place to live I’ve hardly had time to breathe.”
“Have you had any luck?” Ginger asked, pausing for them to order drinks and food. “Sorry, have you had any luck making your way?”
“Yeah. I don’t know if it’s something I’ll do long term but one of my sister’s friends lives nearby and I’ve been staying there.” Sophie recalled the reaction Officer Roberts had when she handed over her address and she saw their lunch as an opportunity to figure out what that was about.
“You know the person you’re staying with personally? That’s good. There are some crazy people in this world.”
“Oh yeah, we go way back,” Sophie lied. She felt like she was being led toward more of an investigation than a casual lunch or even grief counseling as Ginger said she was doing.
“Then I guess it’s working out well. You find a job yet?”
“I have. A little bar out near Jackson Square. It’s different from what I’m used to, but I enjoy it.”
“Did you friend help you get on there?”
“He did.”
“Well, it seems you’re doing pretty well for yourself.”
“So far, yes.”
“I love your ring, by the way,” Ginger said, taking Sophie’s hand in hers to observe the fleur du lis and cross emblazoned on its surface.
“Thanks. I’m just borrowing it.”
“I see. Well, it’s a beautiful piece. So, does your friend have a name?”
“Lukas.”
“Is that his ring? I’d love to ask where he got it.”
“No, it’s not his. It’s his roommates. But I can ask him if you want?”
“Nah, don’t worry about it. I probably couldn’t afford it anyway,” she laughed. “But if he’s single maybe I can make it happen.”
Sophie thought about Yvette and the mischievous smirk she’d shot her while closing the door on her. Single. “Sorry, I think there’s a girl he’s involved with.”
“That’s too bad. Worth a shot though, right?” Ginger asked, draining her wine glass.
Silence and tension settled between them as thick as the soup they ate. The rest of the meal passed with only small talk and although Sophie didn’t feel she was being interrogated after that, it was still the longest meal of her life and she was glad when they parted ways. She snuck back in as quietly as she had left, crawled between the cool sheets of her bed and slept until sunset.
“Get it together, Soph,” Lukas warned gently from across the bar, eying Mamma as she came in from getting drink orders outside.
“Sorry. I just keep drifting off, I guess,” Sophie mumbled, ashamed of how many times Lukas had to correct her or call her attention back to the task at hand over the course of the evening. No matter how hard she tried, the image of Dominic, shirt half open against his chest, eyes meeting hers before the door closed, kept rushing back. Seconds had passed like hours as she stood there on the landing, confused by her own emotions.
Although she had known that Dominic had a certain effect on her, she wasn’t aware that the feelings were deep enough to elicit jealousy at the thought of what was happening behind that door. It bothered her that the look in his eyes was so different than his normal detached gaze. He almost looked shamed at the situation, though Sophie wasn’t sure why he would be. Yvette was beautiful, and they obviously had history.
Either way, the scene kept replaying in her head, as if her heart needed another reason to ache. It was as if dreams of Rachel weren’t bad enough and her brain needed more reasons to lay awake and stare at the wall. When she closed her eyes, she could see her cousin’s face, abnormally pale, lips tinged purple. It would be a long time before the image would pass and she’d be able to remember Rachel the way she was.
Another line of thought took her away from her duties and Lukas nudged her again. The night was passing far more slowly than any she had spent in the city up to that point and on top of it all, she was tired even after her post lunch nap. Ginger had texted Sophie shortly before she’d gotten up for the evening, but she had no desire to reply to the message. Lunch had been awkward enough. She didn’t think she could make herself sit through another meeting like that.
In the end she hadn’t asked Ginger anything she had meant to, though she was certain there would be no more answers than she’d already been given. Deep down something still felt wrong and it was upsetting for her to think that on one of the busiest nights of the year, Rachel’s death had gone unnoticed to everyone but the homeless people who cared more about snatching her belongings than calling for help. That thought alone infuriated Sophie and she slammed a glass down a little harder than she had meant to, startling a customer as well as herself.
“Watch it naw, girl,” Mamma whacked Sophie hard on her rump with a serving tray as she passed behind the bar, setting the younger woman’s face on fire with embarrassment. Having Lukas correct her was bad enough, but there was a certain shame to it when it was Mamma.
“Sorry, Mamma.” The blow stung a bit, but Sophie knew Mamma meant well by it. The woman had been accepting and understanding of Sophie’s troubles and there were nights the two had stayed at the bar after hours sipping bourbon and talking about their lives. She’d become fond of the older woman and the stories of her youth. It seemed there was always something she had to say. Some story to be told that might not have been believed by most people.
Mamma had told her about marrying a military man. How they moved all around, settling overseas for a short time where they had their son. Her husband hadn’t stayed in the service after that but Mamma said he was incredibly proud when their son had joined the military and made a career out of it for himself. The things she had gone through and seen over the years gave Sophie a sort of hope for the future.
It didn’t matter that she was nearing thirty and didn’t know what to do with her life. The possibility for change in a short period of time was astounding. Even Mamma had a lot of living left to do and by numbers, her life was half over. Their little talks had been happening more often the past few days, as Lukas had taken to slipping out shortly after closing to wander the streets alone.
Sophie recalled the first night he had escaped Mamma’s after-hours cleaning spree. She’d been suspicious that he had a secret lover. Or many lovers. It wouldn’t have surprised her in the least considering how many women he flirted with on a nightly basis. His repertoire of pickup lines was impressive, and Sophie figured he had been around the block a few times by how easy it was for him to pick just the right line for any girl he took a shine to. Not that his looks hurt his chances at all.
At home later that night, however, she had realized it he wasn’t necessarily sneaking off for a lover. A few hours after he had gone missing, he returned home by bursting in the door and stumbling into the wall. Once he regained his bearings, he slammed the door so hard it rattled the windows.
Sophie had been on the couch, reading by the light of a small lamp on the end table. Peeking over the back of the couch, she watched Lukas rub the ends of his fingers furiously, pacing and talking to himself. Tentatively, she had asked if he was all right, to which he replied in a flurry of cursing. His eyes filled with a hate she hadn’t seen in him before. It was the first time she had noticed his abnormal canine teeth. Just seeing the strangely sharp fangs was enough to make her take a step back. He had stood at the bottom of the stairs, trying to catch his breath through clenched teeth before retreating to his room moments before Rowan walked through the front door.
That was when Sophie became aware that Lukas had a drug problem. He had apologized profusely to her the next day and he hadn’t lashed out at her again. When he’d come in a couple of nights later, high, he didn’t arrive until just before first light broke and was quick to retire to his room before he could cause another incident.
Still she could hear him pacing the floors, talking to himself, and a couple of times it sounded as though he was breaking glass. The outbursts were terrifying, though she hadn’t said as much to
him. She just lay quietly in bed until he passed out before falling asleep herself. By morning he was normal again, greeting her in the kitchen with coffee as if nothing had happened.
In the days that had passed since she had seen him high that first time, Sophie had tried to catch a glimpse of the sharp fangs she had seen, but they weren’t there. Lukas’s teeth were no sharper than anyone else and she was considering the possibility of bad lighting altering what she saw. She couldn’t think of any other explanation.
Closing time came, bringing with it exhaustion. Near constant distractions had caused a lot of trouble through the evening, but as the patrons left, Sophie was able to concentrate enough to catch up with her work. Mamma had given them both a kiss on the forehead, threatening to beat them to death if they didn’t close up properly when she headed out the door.
Once everyone was gone, Lukas meandered around the bar, kicking chairs up to tables and pulling shutters closed. Sophie plopped down on a barstool with an audible groan. If Mamma wouldn’t lecture her, she would fall asleep right there at the bar.
“What’s up with you?” he asked, feeling her forehead for fever. “You’ve been out of it all night. You thinking about Rachel?”
“Yes and no. I have a lot on my mind tonight,” she said, gripping his hand with a reassuring squeeze. Lukas’ discomfort discussing Rachel had become obvious to her, even if she didn’t understand the reason for it. In the end she just chalked it up to her death bringing upsetting memories about his mother back to the front of his mind. “I did get a call earlier, though...from Officer Roberts. She wanted to meet me for lunch.”
“And did you?” he asked, his shoulders rigid.
“Yeah. I left while you were all sleeping.”