by Nina Walker
“Ah, there you are.” Adrian appears at my side. His familiar scent of warm cedar and bergamot washes over me, but underneath it is the iron of blood, and I want nothing more than to claw his eyes out. “You clean up nicely.” His tone is mocking.
“What is she doing here?” I hiss, nodding toward Mom.
He chuckles darkly. “She’s the business I was talking about. Your mother is here to teach you a lesson.”
“And what lesson is that?” Though I’m afraid I already know.
“You cannot stop her gambling,” his tone is no longer amused, “and you cannot stop me from doing anything I wish.” He yanks my body around like a rag doll and his stone-like fingertips dig deep into my upper arms. I wince and tears spring to my eyes. I refuse to cry which only makes it harder to push them away.
“You’re hurting me,” I seethe.
That only makes him squeeze harder. “You are not going to step foot in my casino ever again. Is that clear?”
I should agree to his demands, I know that, but I don’t. I hold back a response and meet his steely gaze with one of my own. Just because the pain of his crushing fingers is overpowering and I’m about ready to bawl my eyes out over it, doesn’t mean I can’t be a defiant brat. He squeezes harder.
“Fine,” I say at last.
He releases me and strides purposely toward my mother. His hands are clenched into fists but they might as well be sledge hammers. I know the strength in just those fingers, what could his whole fist do? Is he going to kill her?
“No!” I rush after him.
He doesn’t listen.
“Are you Paulo?” He asks the man sitting next to my mother. The man turns and asks, “Yes, why?” Adrian then grabs the sweaty Mediterranean-looking guy, lifts him clear off his seat and snaps his neck.
The body collapses to the floor with a dull thud.
Humans scream and scurry from their seats, but a couple of the vamps are quick to meet them, compelling the humans to sit back down, insisting they didn’t see anything. The vamps work quickly; it doesn’t matter that there are less of them when they’re the wolves and we’re the sheep.
It all happens so fast, and my mother doesn’t even notice me standing there, gaping like an idiot who should’ve seen this coming. Within the course of a minute, she’s back to playing her game as if there isn’t a dead man at her feet.
Something happens to me that rarely happens, if ever; I’m speechless.
Adrian can’t do this. He can’t kill a man. It’s illegal. Vampires are out in society under certain agreements, and they can’t just go around killing people. Except, apparently they can. Same as vampire hunters can kill and get away with it. Sometimes things that happen at night, stay in the dark.
Adrian motions to Kelli who sashays over seductively. If I didn’t know better, I’d think that annoying smirk of hers was permanent.
“Yes, Master?” she asks coyly, batting her lashes.
“Enjoy your treat,” he tells her with the flick of his wrist, “but get rid of the body.”
“Throw him over the side?” She’s giddy now and I’m honestly about to puke.
“As long as he’s not going to wash up anywhere, I don’t care what you do with him.”
She picks up the body as if it weighs nothing, sinking her teeth into the dead man’s neck like it’s a juicy steak as she walks him out of the casino. His blood drops are the only thing that’s left of the guy, but I’m sure those will be gone soon, too.
And none of the humans even give her a second glance. They’re entranced by their casino games. It’s not their fault, but I still want to scream at them to wake up.
I feel like I’m sinking into the hardwood floor. My entire life is a ticking clock, counting down until my prefrontal cortex is developed and I join the sheep. My legs are weak noodles and I try not to lock my knees. Last thing I need to do is pass out in a place like this. I probably wouldn’t wake up.
Adrian steps closer, and I inch back.
“Do you see now, Angel?”
I nod once. “Yes, I’ve seen all I need.” Fear is thick in my tone, but I can’t deny it, not for a second. Adrian terrifies me. He is not someone I want to cross.
“We have places like this, places where people disappear. Paulo back there chose to make enemies with a friend of mine so I took care of him. Did you notice that you’re the youngest one on this boat tonight?”
I nod again. Of course it’s for good reason that nobody here is young. The vampires can kill and compel and wash away their sins in the swamp. They can make it seem as if nothing had ever happened. Youth who can not be compelled. We’d be able to expose them.
“Despite our efforts to lower the gambling age, I assure you that this boat will always be reserved exclusively for my older clients. And if I ever have the misfortune to see you in one of my casinos again,” his tone slices through me as he delivers the final blow, “I will kill you.” And just to twist the knife, he adds, “And I will take my time.”
“You won’t see me again after tonight.” My voice cracks, sounding like it’s a million miles away. But I mean it. I am so done.
“Good.”
“Who’s your friend, Adrianos?” a man questions. He slides up next to us so silently that I nearly jump out of my skin.
I turn to find another vampire, one just as beautiful as Adrian––or maybe I should say Adrianos? Nah, too fancy for me, I’m sticking with Adrian. Where Adrian’s beauty is light––bright blue eyes and golden hair––this man is dark. His skin is quite olive for a vampire, casting him with an oddly alluring complexion. His jet black hair is slicked back and his eyes are the color of warm brown sugar. He looks older than Adrian, like he was in his mid thirties to early forties when he was changed. The tiny laugh lines around his eyes and mouth are still visible, a tiny snapshot to the human he once was. His stance and smile are welcoming, and he’s quite handsome for an older guy, but my senses rise up in warning.
I want to step away. I don’t, but only because it would give the wrong impression. He doesn’t need to know that everything about him unsettles me to the core.
He can’t be trusted––none of them can––but there’s something about this one that feels different. I’m not sure how to put words or emotions to it, but it’s definitely there, like a painful itch I can’t scratch.
“Where’s your new child, Hugo?” Adrian asks, changing the subject off of me.
Hugo’s body turns rigid. “Dead.” His tone turns bitter. “She didn’t make it far from her rising. When I went to retrieve her, her grave was empty and I felt no bond.”
“Do you think she rose early?” Adrian almost sounds sympathetic. Almost.
“Yes. I’m afraid she rose on the second night instead of the third.”
“That’s a shame. Maybe the sun got her?”
Hugo raises an eyebrow and slides his gaze over to me. “No, I’m convinced it was hunters.”
Chapter 9
My brain catches up to the speed of their conversation. My own prickly fear taints everything they’re saying. Hunters killed his new child? Just thinking about a grown adult––someone who had an actual human life––considered a vampire’s child makes my skin crawl. There’s a good chance that whoever these two are talking about was the baby vampire I staked last night. I was defending myself, but that doesn’t mean I have any regrets about my actions. I’d do it all over again if I could.
I have to force myself to keep calm. I don’t need my heart rate rising and tipping them off to anything I might be thinking. As far as I know, the old stories about some vampires being able to read minds are just that––stories. I release a slow breath and attempt to clear my mind anyway.
“Hello, dear,” Hugo says, his eyes now locked on mine. “Are you Adrian’s newest fledgling?”
I nearly choke. “What does that mean?” I ask, trying to keep my voice from shaking, though I have an inkling “fledgling” means next in line for soulless immortality.
“Brisa will never allow you to choose another child so quickly,” Adrian quips, “you know that. Don’t push her.”
Hugo’s face contorts into a grimace, as if he wants to say something but is forcing himself to keep the words locked inside. Finally, he utters a smooth reply. “You’re right, Adrian. And it’s such a shame, don’t you think?”
Adrian doesn’t respond, not with words or his face. He’s a stone wall.
Hugo’s bronze eyes run down the length of me. “We could use more vampires like you. Young. Beautiful.” I step back, but he pulls me to him, pressing my body against his in an iron grip. “With a streak of defiance in need of breaking, I see. My favorite.”
He wants to turn me? The very idea of it makes me sick, but the revulsion in my stomach is nothing compared to the fear stirring my thoughts. Maybe he assumes I’m one of those pathetic groupie humans hanging around vamps, trying to get turned. Maybe he thinks that I’d readily agree to his offer, that I’d jump at the chance. If he knew who I really was, that I was likely the one who killed his sired vampire, I have no doubt this vile creature would tear me to shreds.
I don’t move. I can’t. Even if I wanted to, Hugo has caged me in his arms.
“What’s your name?” His breath is sweet and metallic. He smiles wide and runs his tongue over the tip of an extended fang, as if to entice me.
Adrian sighs heavily. “We’re going now,” he sounds extra annoyed, “and Evangeline is my fledgling, so if you wouldn’t mind unhanding her, that would be much appreciated.”
The two men stare each other down and it’s as if I’ve become the newest toy tossed between schoolyard bullies.
Hearing Adrian call me Evangeline and not Angel doesn’t make me feel any better, neither does him calling me the word “fledgling,” but him pulling me back from Hugo somehow does. Hugo just laughs and hands me off like it’s nothing to him, like I’m one of many possible fledglings and saunters away to go sniff around his other choices.
I’m still stuck on what Adrian just said about me being “his.” The term fledgling itself makes me want to punch someone, preferably someone with fangs. But before I can question Adrian on it, he’s ushering me from the casino and out onto the river boat deck. The night is quiet and dark, the air has lost some of it’s humidity, or maybe the chill is coming from within me. Either way, the boat has docked. It’s late. I’m bone-tired, but I’m also more awake than I’ve ever been in my entire life.
“You’ll make sure my mom gets home okay?”
“Your mother is capable of getting herself home. Don’t ask me for favors.”
I don’t speak as he leads me from the boat to a sleek black sports car sitting in the nearby lot. We’re no longer near the shipping yard we were at earlier. It’s all lit up here, but I don’t see Mom’s Corolla. Adrian opens the passenger side door to his sports car like a proper gentleman, as if this is a date and he didn’t just threaten my mother’s life and kill that Paulo guy in front of me.
I hesitate to get in. “Can I please go home then? Or, I mean, can you take me back to my car?” My voice is meek and pathetic, my thoughts are jumbled. He’s won, and I want nothing to do with him, at least not until I’ve trained with the hunters and could possibly take him down like a proper badass.
“I’ll drop you off on my way to the office,” he says. “You’re lucky I’m not angry anymore, Angel. I do tend to take my temper out on the road.”
“So I should be thanking you for not having road rage?”
He chuckles. “I have plenty of rage with or without the road.”
Sounds promising—not! I slide into the smooth leather seat and force a quick, “Well, thank you, I guess.” Thanking him is the last thing I want to do.
He stares at me for a long second, our gazes colliding like fire and water. “You’re welcome. But after this, remember, I never want to see you again.” He slams the door in my face and all I can think is that I absolutely agree with that sentiment.
Still, I’m met with relief, because whatever that fledgling talk was all about, it must have been a bluff to get Hugo to leave me alone. And thank goodness, because he gave me the absolute creeps.
What else gives me the creeps? The fact that Adrian knows where I live. I don’t have to give him directions. He heads the right way as if he’s driven these roads a million times before. Maybe he has. Maybe he’s lived in this city for ages. Not for the first time, I wonder about his age. Exhaustion weighs heavily, muddling my thoughts, but then it hits me again.
“Wait. Where’s my car?” I thought that’s where we were going.
“Your mother will be bringing it home later. Kelli will give her the keys.”
“I thought you said you weren’t going to do me any favors?”
“Don’t flatter yourself.”
Quite frankly, I find it odd that Adrian wanted to drive me home, odd and worrisome, not flattering. A warning signal tingles down my spine.
When we’re pulling up to the driveway, he answers my question as to why he’d want to drive me home with a single, punishing blow. “I can come into your house anytime I like,” he says. “And I can kill you.” He points to my bedroom window. “I know that’s where you sleep. On the other side of that thin pane of glass is your bedroom. And then the bathroom, and then your mother’s bedroom is at the back of the hall. I know your little home well.”
“You can’t––”
“Your mother already invited me in, Angel.” He turns on me, baring his fangs. “She gave me an open invitation. And I’ve been inside every room, I assure you. Don’t give me a reason to come back.”
I’m frozen. What a total violation of privacy! I want to scream, to run. I want to fight. Something.
“Because I will come back if it’s warranted.” His glacial eyes narrow. “And I’ll like it.”
I nod once and spring from the car, needing to put as much distance between him and me as possible. He got his point across, threats have been sufficiently made, and I need to protect Mom and myself. So I’ll do what he says. I saw what he’s capable of. But I also need to find a way to get Mom to stay away from his casinos. She’s not going to make it much longer if she keeps living at this pace. Forget about money and being broke, they’ll suck her dry.
Adrian drives away, and I groan. I don’t even want to go inside. I’m still wearing the clubbing attire Kelli dressed me in and my stuff is shoved into the little bag in my hand. Instead of retrieving my house keys, I dig out my phone.
I leave my house dark and hoof it to Ayla’s place, texting her on my way. She texts back immediately, welcoming me with a spattering of excited emojis like she always does. The girl has no idea what’s going on in my crappy life, and I want more than anything to tell her, but I can’t put this on my best friend like that, especially right before she leaves on her college adventure. I’m seriously going to miss her. How will I get on with my life while she’s away? I don’t have anyone else like her. I wish she were sticking around town for school like Felix did, but I also can’t fault her for following her dreams. If anyone deserves to study at one of the best interior design programs in the country, it’s that girl.
The streets are silent and empty. It’s almost two in the morning and even though I know I’m an idiot for being out here alone, I kind of don’t care. My eyes have adjusted to the darkness and I know the way to Ayla’s well enough that I play a game where I decide to keep my phone’s flashlight off, walk briskly in these ridiculous high heels, and hope to blend in with the black. At least, I tell myself it’s a game and not that I’m freaked out that Adrian will come back for me. Or worse, Hugo.
I don’t want to be at home if that happens.
An SUV pulls up behind me and my heart speeds, but then it passes and I let out a shaky breath. I need to chill the heck out. I’m not going to be able to become a vampire hunter if I’m so spooked all the time. The SUV screeches to a stop an
d flips around, coming right for me. I tense, I don’t have a stake on me. The headlights are lighting me up and blinding me. So stupid! I should have gone home. I’m fast, but not fast enough to outrun one of them. What if that’s Hugo and he followed Adrian? I’m a sitting duck out here, looking like a glittering disco ball.
The window rolls down and a man speaks low. “Eva, what the heck are you doing out alone at night? Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
Felix.
I kick myself for not realizing it was his SUV sooner. I also praise Jesus!
“I accidentally locked myself out of my house,” I totally lie. “I’m heading over to sleep at your place.”
The fun African American guy from last night leans over from the passenger seat. “She’s going to sleep at your place, Felix.” He snickers. “Lucky bastard.”
“Shut up, man. She’s my kid sister’s best friend,” Felix quips back. “She’s practically a sister to me, too.”
Ouch. My heart sinks a little, but I’m not surprised. Alas, once in the friend zone, always in the friend zone.
“Come on,” he continues, “get in. I’ll drive you the rest of the way.”
I’m not about to say no. I jump into the backseat where, again, the quiet guy is sitting. His dusty brown hair and haunted green gaze give him sort of a sexy standoffish vibe. He nods at me once and then stares straight ahead, as if he’s deep in thought again and couldn’t care less about a girl in a tiny skirt and disco ball top sitting next to him. Heck, a guy like that is probably busy curing cancer in his head––he’s that serious.
“So did you talk to whoever you needed to talk to about me joining your little group?” I lean between the two front seats and waggle my eyebrows at Felix.
“No way,” Felix replies at the same time that his funny friend says, “I sure did, honey.”
“What is wrong with you, Kenton?” Felix glares at his friend. “We talked about this!”