by Nina Walker
I make a beeline for the elevator and sigh with relief when it arrives and nobody is inside. I hit the button for the top floor and close my eyes all the way up. When I get back to the room, I’m going to take a hot bubble bath and then go right to bed. Sounds heavenly. The elevator dings and I step off into the hallway.
I stop short and freeze. I’m not alone.
Chapter 22
There are two penthouse suites up here. They take up the entire top floor, swanky enough for a prince. I already know the one on the left belongs to Adrian.
And the other…
A man in a black tuxedo has a woman in a silky ballgown pressed up against the door on the right. He’s kissing her hungrily, she’s groaning, and they definitely need to get a room. I try to sneak past, but my footsteps snap them out of their bubble.
“Ah, if it isn’t Adrianos’s little pet.” Hugo turns to me and smirks, wiping a smear of lipstick from his mouth. He leans down to whisper something to the human woman. She murmurs a response and opens the door behind her to disappear into the dark suite. “I heard you were staying with my brother but I’ll admit, I found it hard to believe.”
“And why’s that?”
He chuckles but doesn’t reply.
“So I guess I don’t have to wonder who has the other penthouse suite in this place, huh?” I shrug and point after his woman. “I think you’d better get in there and take care of her.” My smile is fake as I pull out my key to unlock the door on the left.
“Before I do,” Hugo appears in front of me, blocking my way and nearly making me jump, “I have something I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Geez, do you have to do that vampire Speedy Gonzales shit?”
His black eyes narrow. “You haven’t seen anything yet, my dear.”
I don’t know what to say to that, so I just raise an unimpressed eyebrow and try to appear aloof. Inside, my heart is pounding wildly and I’m certain he can hear it.
“You’re staying with Adrian,” he continues. “Nobody stays with him.”
“So? It’s not like the guy is here all that often, and you people don’t sleep anyway. He’s doing me a favor, that’s all.”
“You two are not involved?” He says “involved” like it’s a filthy word.
“We’re . . .” Oh, crap. What do I respond with here? That I’m working for the sucker? Do I lie and act like I’m in love with Adrian? Do I pretend to be his fledgling wannabe vampire groupie? I’m at a loss. “I don’t know what we are.”
He clicks his tongue. “Romance isn’t my brother’s thing. Sex? Often. Business? Always. So what is it?”
“Business.” One word. One simple word. Business. And yet it has so many implications when it comes to what I’ve wrapped myself up in these last few days.
“I appreciate you telling me the truth.” He smiles and steps impossibly close. “I can still smell your virgin blood. Had you lied to me, I would have punished you.”
“I work for Adrian. Not you.” I wrinkle my nose. His eyes flash with anger one second and then with amusement the next. “And how can you people smell virgins? That’s so weird, do you know that?”
“It dates back to when priests used to send virgins into graveyards to find vampires to stake. Virgins are attracted to us and we to you. Think of it like the biblical Adam and Eve story, only we’re the serpent. We can’t help but want to tempt you, young Eve. You can’t help but want to be tempted. I can’t explain it beyond that.”
But maybe that explains why I was able to track that vamp from the frat party.
Yuck.
“I find you quite intriguing.” He runs a piece of my hair between his long fingers. I don’t move. I’m suddenly very aware of how vulnerable I am in this moment. With Adrian, I’m the angel making deals with the devil. With Hugo, I’m not Eve, I’m the simple field mouse standing at the mouth of the serpent. “Now tell me, Evangeline, what would you do to have your own car? To have your own home? What would you do to be able to pay off the Italian mobsters who are after your mother?”
My body goes cold. “You know about that?”
“You made me curious, so I had you followed.” My eyes bug, but he shrugs like the disgusting invasion of privacy means absolutely nothing to him. “I know why you’re in that little uniform. I know you work for a bank during the day and at a restaurant at night. I know your mother is a colossal disappointment, failing you time and again. And I know your best friend in the whole wide world is away at college.” He tilts his head in sympathy. “You’re lonely.”
“I’m not lonely,” I whisper. Even as I say it, a pang stabs in my chest. He doesn’t know me and yet he’s somehow managed to uncover my deepest wound—the fear I’m not enough for people to love me.
“What did I say about lying, hmm?” He drops the piece of hair. “Evangeline Rose Blackwood, my my my, what a name. I do like it. It would be a great vampire name.”
“I go by Eva.” I glare.
“Well, Eva, I probably know more about you than Adrian does. What makes you think he’s going to protect you, to help you? Leave him. Come be mine, and I’ll give you anything you desire. I will never leave you.”
His eyes shine with passion. His body radiates power. He plays a convincing character but I can’t trust him. Deep in my gut, I know it. This has nothing to do with me. I don’t really interest him. This is a pissing contest with Adrian and nothing more.
“You obviously don’t know everything about me.”
“Oh, what did I miss?”
“I’m loyal.” I push past him and slip the key into the lock, letting myself inside. He doesn’t follow.
“Think about it.” He walks away as I close the door.
My knees go weak and I crumple to the floor, every inch of me shaking. Who am I kidding? I’m not loyal. If I was loyal, I wouldn’t even be here. I wouldn’t have ever agreed to the blood vow, no matter how precarious my situation was at the time. I’d have died before agreeing to be Adrian’s spy. But then my mind flits back to what Hugo said about Mom owing money to the Italian mafia, and just the thought of her reminds me that when it comes to my family, I am loyal to a fault. How many times have I dragged her out of this place? How many times have I helped her? Defended her? Tried to save her? And I never seem to learn that she doesn’t want to be fixed.
And where is she now, huh? Where is she while her daughter is hanging out around deadly vampires and making deals with them on her behalf? I retrieve my phone, knowing I’ll find nothing from her, but hoping there will be something. Anything. A lifeline for me to hold onto for dear life and believe that she still loves me and that I matter to her more than the addiction.
There’s nothing.
She hasn’t called. She hasn’t texted. I drop my phone into my lap, my face into my palms, and burst into tears. I don’t know how much time passes. Minutes? Hours? Eventually, I lay on the floor. All the emotions I’ve knotted up inside of me are unraveling one by one. Anger. Sadness. Fear. Guilt. Frustration. Betrayal.
And yes, loneliness. Deep, deep loneliness. Hugo was right about that one.
I gladly fall asleep in it, letting unconsciousness replace the pain.
Sometime later, cold hands wake me up, lift me into cold arms, and carry me to a cold bed.
When my eyes flutter open the next morning, I long to feel the sunlight on my face. I peel myself from the bed and pad over to the window to throw open the curtains. It hardly makes a difference. These bulletproof tinted windows are too dark and only remind me of exactly where I am. I don’t have anything going on today, but I don’t want to stick around the casino either. The vampires roam around the city at night and are often gone, but since they have to stay out of the sunlight during the day and they never sleep, that means this hotel is probably full of them. Hugo included. I don’t want to run into him again.
I shower and get dressed, trying not to think about last night, my conversation with Hugo, and especially not about my breakdown and Adrian finding me
in a ball of sleepy tears on the floor. He’d carried me to my bedroom and tucked me under the covers. Why on earth would he do something like that? It’s mortifying and confusing and not something I want to ever think about again.
I need to get out of this place. If I could go anywhere, I’d go to the beach. I’d swim in the surf and lay out on the sand and let the sun warm every inch of my body. But New Orleans isn’t very close to good beaches for someone without a car. So instead, I brush my hair up into a wet ponytail and dress in a simple t-shirt, shorts, and sandals. I’m going to walk along the touristy boardwalk today. It’s only a street away. It will be fun. This whole area of New Orleans is historic and draws in tourists from all over the world. There are so many fun places where I can window shop and people watch. It sure beats the alternative.
When I walk out into the family room, Adrian is sitting on the sofa with a newspaper in his hand and what would be a cup of coffee if he were human. I’m sure it’s blood. If it weren’t for his impossible Adonis Grecian beauty, his too-perfect movements, and the aura of danger that oozes off of him, he could pass for a normal man. I suddenly wonder what he looked like before he turned. I want to know his story but I don’t ask.
“Good morning,” I chirp.
He peers up from his paper. “Is it?”
My memory flashes to how he found me last night. “Look, I’m fine, okay? I’ve never been better.”
He returns to his paper. “You’re a liar, but fortunately for you, I don’t care.” As I go toward the door, he clears his throat. “I had some human food stocked in the kitchen for you.”
Hmm, you don’t care, huh?
As if on queue, my stomach growls. “Well, I’m not too proud to turn down a meal. And oh, look at you, you even got a toaster.” It’s sitting on the counter. I go to the cupboard to see what he got. I peel apart a bagel and plop it in the toaster. “I don’t know, Adrian, some might say you’re warming up to me.”
He rolls his eyes. “I can’t get warm, remember?”
“No need to remind me.”
He saunters over and opens the fridge, retrieving a tub of cream cheese from between the stacked blood bags. I turn away and try to scrub the image from my mind. “We only have one coven in New Orleans. Most of the vampires live here in the casino. People are talking.”
“And?” I plop the hot bagel sides onto a plate as he hands me a butter knife.
“And I don’t like anyone knowing my business but me. How much longer are you going to be staying here?”
My heart sinks. “I don’t know. I haven’t made a plan yet.”
“Do you need Kelli to help you find a place? She’s rather good at her job.”
“No offense, but I don’t want Kelli or any vampires knowing where I live.”
He levels me with a heavy gaze. “And yet here you are.”
“Give me a couple days. I want to find a room to lease with one of the off campus college kids. I figure that’ll be cheaper than getting my own place, and I should be around people my own age.” I take a bite of the bagel. “No offense.”
He laughs. It’s real, not bitter or dark, but golden around the edges. It loosens something in my chest. I don’t like it. “Fair enough. I’m the oldest vampire in all of North America after all.” I choke, and he whacks me on the back. “Try not to look so surprised.”
“I’m not. You’ve definitely got old man vibes about you.” I look him up and down. “Total dinosaur.” That’s the complete opposite of the truth. He doesn’t look a day over twenty-five and he’s got sex appeal for days.
His eyes do the same—rove up and down my body. They linger on my legs. “Where are you going today?”
I shrug. “Walking the boardwalk. Taking some me-time. You know, self-care is self-love and all that? It’s my day off.”
“Good. Finish up and get changed. There’s a dress in your wardrobe. You’re coming with me.”
“Uhh––what? Why? Where?”
“Downstairs to meet the rest of the coven. It’s time we put the rumors about us to bed don’t you think?” He walks toward the other bedroom, the one that I didn’t claim. “Unless you’d like to put me to bed?” He says it like it’s a dare. Is he flirting?
I glare. “Virgin blood, remember? I’m not losing it with a sucker. I’m already at rock bottom, no need to dig a hole.”
He chuckles again. “Well, you might want to think about losing it soon, Angel. You’re too attractive to us for your own good.” He winks. “I’ll even provide the shovel.”
“Eww! In your dreams.” He’s totally flirting and I don’t know what to do with that. I’ve never seen this side of him and I want to kick myself for enjoying it.
“One cannot dream if one cannot sleep. Never forget what I really am.”
“You mean you’re what nightmares are made of?” I bat my eyelashes.
“Exactly.”
Chapter 23
An hour later, I’ve curled my hair and brushed it into long Hollywood-style waves. It probably won’t stay this way for more than two seconds, but it looks amazing, if I do say so myself. My face is made up with perfectly dark smoky eyes and bright red lipstick. I try not to think about the color too much or the last time my lips were this red. I slip into the little black dress hanging in the closet with the matching strappy high heels. The designer labels make me want to scream. Here I am, homeless, barely scraping by, and Adrian dresses me up in an outfit that probably costs more than a month’s worth of tips.
“You can’t bring that.” He says the second I step into the family room.
“Bring what?”
“Don’t play dumb.” He flashes forward in that speedy vampire way, reaches under the hem of my dress, and rips the stake and holster clean off my thigh, throwing it to the hardwood. “I’ve told you. If one of my kind finds you with that, you’re dead.”
“So I’m supposed to walk into your creepy little coven lair with nothing to protect myself?”
“Not nothing. You have me.”
He shoves a necklace into my hand. “Put this on. But you’re not keeping it.”
It’s certainly not the dainty little crucifix I normally wear, which I’d decided to forgo today. Plus, I already had to buy a new chain thanks to this guy. Adrian’s necklace is heavy and dripping with huge sparkly white diamonds. It can’t be real. Can it? I snort. Who am I kidding? Of course, it’s real. The vampires have billions of dollars because they’ve been around forever, and Adrian is their little North American fanger prince, after all.
I stop short. “If you’re a prince, does that make Hugo a prince, too?”
Adrian offers a clipped, “yes” and goes stone-faced. He clearly doesn’t want to talk about this more, so I clasp the necklace around my neck and follow him out the door. We ride the elevator down to the level below the casino floor. I don’t want to think about the fact that we’re now underground. This is a restricted area and Adrian uses his fingerprint to get the elevator to open. We’re greeted with dark lighting, a spicy incense scent mixed with the undercurrent of copper, dramatic classical music drifting from a live orchestra, and beautiful people dressed up in suits and gowns. Some are humans, but most are vampires. There’s probably two hundred vampires in this ballroom alone. I didn’t know so many lived in New Orleans and a cool shiver rolls up my spine.
“Stay close to me,” Adrian says, tucking me against him like we’re on a date. Maybe we are? I don’t like it, but I’ll pretend I do for both our sakes.
We circle the room as he introduces me as his fledgling. It’s not true––it will never be true. Fledgling is the term they use for humans who are trying to get turned, and it makes me want to scream to be called something so degrading. I try to hide my frustration and go along with it because it’s not like I want these vamps to know I’m actually an aspiring vampire hunter and Adrian’s little spy, but it’s hard.
“Ah, there she is.” Hugo appears next to us. A wine glass filled with inky blood rests in his hand and I
have to look away. “Came for the fledgling announcement, I see? My my, you two are closer than I thought. Remind me, how did you meet?” Adrian glares and Hugo laughs. “That’s right, how could I forget? She turned you into the police and you formed some kind of enemies-to-lovers bond over it.” He pats me on the back. “You sure know the way to a vamp’s heart.”
“Careful,” Adrian warns.
“Oh, come now, brother. I find it quite amusing! All that VEC nonsense is water under the bridge now that you’ve got your girl, isn’t it?”
Adrian relaxes and cracks a smile. “What can I say? Eva’s beautiful and smart. A winning combination for my next child.”
I had no idea that Hugo had figured out that particular piece of our history. He knows all about the complaint I filed. At least Adrian is trying to play it off like it’s all part of my charm. He smiles down at me like he finds me adorable. “Anyone who would dare to challenge me like that is someone who gets my attention.”
“And she’s just your type.” Kelli approaches with her hand on her hip. “That’s why you turned me, isn’t that right, Master? Because I’m beautiful and smart.”
He smiles at her adoringly. “That’s right, daughter. I don’t like to be encumbered with protégés, so I’m incredibly choosy.” Kelli smirks and kisses him full on the mouth like a lover would, like they’ve kissed a million times, before sashaying away in her tight silver dress. I definitely catch a hateful scathing look from her on her way out. She’s playing me up to please Adrian, but underneath the smiles is a savage beauty who wants me dead. I didn’t ask for this! This whole family coven stuff they’ve got going on here is beyond weird. He calls her daughter but they kiss open-mouthed, and I don’t even want to think of what else they do together.
“Come,” he says, “you’re sitting with me and Kelli up front.”