I was weird.
To my relief, Derek chuckled. "How about a cup of coffee?"
"Right now?" I'd planned to go to Jonas straight afterwards, but only if what Derek told me suggested it was safe to.
"No, Lucy, as a date."
I blinked a couple of times as his request sank in. "Did you talk to William?" I blurted.
He frowned. "What's William got to do with any of this?"
"Nothing, never mind." I waved his question away hurriedly. I didn't fancy going in to the fact my fiancé had said I could date other people so long as I told him. Even to me it sounded a little...dysfunctional. Or maybe not. I still hadn't decided how I felt about it.
"Is that a yes, or a no? You don't seem very certain." Genuine concern flitted over his face, as if he wasn't sure if he'd genuinely insulted me or not.
"Sorry, yes, it's a yes." Going with my gut instinct seemed like the best option.
"Great. How about we have that coffee the morning after the night before." He winked at me, a devilish grin on his face.
My blood ran cold. Well, colder.
"Lucy? Did I cross a line? Are you okay?" He stepped forward, holding his arms out as if to comfort me, but then pulling them away as if thinking better of it.
"Oh, no. Sorry." I shook my head and plastered a smile on my face.
"Lucy..."
"Just, drop it, please?" I didn't want to talk to him about my lack of sex life just yet. If I went with William's idea, then I knew I needed to at some point, but right now just felt wrong.
"Okay, I'm sorry..."
"You don't need to be." I waved his apology away. At the end of the day, this decision was very much on me and not him, he didn't need to apologise for that.
"The watch has been tampered with."
"Huh?" For some reason, hinting around sex had completely distracted me and I'd forgotten our main topic of conversation.
"The watch, Lucy. The one you brought me to look at."
"Oh, sorry. Go on?" I looked up at him hopefully.
"Someone's tampered with it."
My heart skipped a beat. "They have?"
He nodded. "Pretty badly, I think. It looks like it's been done by an amateur. But I can't tell you much more than that. Other than the marks where it's been opened, I can't tell what's been changed inside it, which I know doesn't help..."
"It helps a lot." I said, and moved forward, closing the gap between us. I went up on my tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek, feeling a little bolder than I had before. "Thank you, Derek."
"You're welcome." A small blush encroached on his cheeks. That was one of the downsides of being a vampire. No matter what gender we were, when we blushed, it was incredibly noticeable.
"Now I'm guessing you want me to put it back together again?" he teased.
"Please." I shot him a winning smile. "And if you do, maybe I'll add a croissant to your coffee at breakfast," I joked.
Chapter 16
Jonas' neighbourhood wasn't any more welcoming this time I was visiting than before. Maybe it was even worse now I knew he'd actually done some tampering with the watch. Or maybe the Captain had. It was hard to tell who was to blame for that one. Whatever the truth was, things were getting more complicated by the second.
But I was going to get to the bottom of this.
I pressed the buzzer to be let up into Jonas' flat.
"Who is it?" his brusk voice answered.
"Lucy Corentine, vampire for hire," I chirped back. Apparently, when faced with certain danger, my brain wanted to be happier and more upbeat than ever before.
The door beeped, letting me through. I rushed up the stairs, glad my vampire stamina meant I wouldn't be out of breath, I doubted that would have been a good look.
Jonas was waiting for me in the doorway of his flat, an expectant look on his face. "Did you get it?"
"Yes. But you know that, don't you?" I asked, watching for his response.
"How could I possibly know whether you'd achieved your task or not?" But I could tell he was unnerved by my question.
"I have a few questions about my task."
"Your job isn't to ask questions, it's to find the answers."
Hmm. This job had just gotten odder, if I thought that was possible.
"Now, if you'll just hand over the watch, I'll transfer the rest of your fee and a bonus for keeping your mouth shut into your account."
I opened my mouth to say that wasn't necessary, but then thought better of it. If he thought he needed to pay me to keep my mouth shut, then there was definitely something dodgy about all of this.
"Here you go." I handed it over to him, hoping that Derek was right and he wouldn't be able to tell that it had been taken apart an extra time. That didn't help my nerves.
"Thank you." He moved to close the door.
"Wait, don't you want to know where I found it?" I asked.
"No."
Wait, what? Why the fangs wouldn't he want to know when he said it was one of his prized possessions? That made no sense at all.
“Now, scram. Your service is no longer needed.”
Before I could reply, he slammed the door in my face and audibly clicked the lock in place.
Great. So much for gratitude. How was William friends with him again?
Hesitantly, I shuffled back and forth. My assignment was over, but it didn’t feel finished. There was more going on and I wanted answers. But snooping… That was a little beneath me.
“Lucy, I hire you,” I whispered to myself, nodding happily. There, now I was on a new case and it wasn’t snooping anymore, it was investigating.
I checked that the hallway was empty again and rummaged through my small purse. The collapsable glass I carried would be perfect for hearing through the door. With my fingerprint kit I swiped an imprint from his doorknob and pocketed the sample. That would come in handy if I needed it somehow. A quick swap of the dirt from his doormat and a hair later, I had everything I needed.
It was a good thing I had all these things with me. Perks of the job.
With all my evidence neatly tucked away, I pressed my collapsable glass softly against the wooden door and leant my ear on the flat side.
“...Safely retrieved. Yeah, I know it took a while. It ain’t my fault you can’t come into the neighbourhood yourself, man… Yeah… Hang on, let me open this thing up.”
Aha. So there was something inside. If only Derek had figured out what, then I didn’t have to keep listening.
“Fucking small screws. I ain’t got hands for this shit.”
Wow, Jonas’ language was completely different from just a moment ago. A lot rougher, tougher, and entirely more scary. If he’d spoken to me like that, I probably would’ve maced him.
“Yo, it’s here. Tell Alpha I got the code. The next shipment can arrive.”
Goods? Code? What was he doing? Was he smuggling things? Drugs?
Shit. Did he use me as a drug mule?
No, Derek didn’t find anything. It couldn’t be that. But then… What was going on?
In my excitement to hear more, I tripped over his mat and the glass thudded to the ground. The loud clunk cut through the silence of the hallway and echoed against the walls.
Shit.
“Hold up, dog. There’s some noise outside.”
He heard me. As quick as I could, I rushed away. His front door was a lot closer to him than the stairway was to me. If I wasn’t fast, I’d be caught, and that seemed very unwise.
Just as I pushed through the heavy door and into the dark alcove of the staircase, his cracked open. A strip of light fell on the spot where I’d been standing.
Oof. That was close. I shouldn’t have stayed so long and risked being caught. That was really reckless of me.
With my heart pounding in my ears, I descended down the stairs and waited in a corner on a different floor. Jonas’ window had a view of the front entrance, so if I left now, he’d know I stuck around for longer.
I’d just
have to wait this out and slip away when I thought he was no longer watching. Hopefully, he’d have a short attention span.
“Lucy, Lucy, Lucy,” I muttered to myself, scolding me for my own behaviour. I could’ve gotten into real trouble there. Jonas didn’t seem like a guy to mess with and even if he was William’s ‘friend’, I didn’t want to test his loyalties. That seemed like a dangerous game to play.
The afternoon ticked away and only when evening fell, I dared leave the building. I shouldn’t have stayed so long, but I wanted to make sure I’d have the cloak of darkness to hide my presence when I snuck away.
Maybe that was overcautious of me, but this didn’t seem like a laughing matter. Something was going on and it sounded big. A real mystery. And I was going to unravel it.
With my hood tightly pulled around my head, hiding my features, I walked out of the building as calmly as I could muster. Nothing was more suspicious than someone running away.
Only when I was far out of sight of Jonas’ building, I dared to quicken my pace. As soon as the edge of his neighbourhood came into view, I sprinted towards the safety of the upper city. Towards the safety of home.
Chapter 17
"William?" I shouted as the door slammed behind me. It was odd he wasn't waiting in the hall, he normally did. It was like he had some weird sixth sense about when I was coming home. It would be creepy if I didn't find it endearing.
No one answered. That was strange. I ventured into the house, aware of the ominous air surrounding me. It was like I knew something wasn't quite right. Hopefully it was just William not answering me.
Oh well, I'd lived basically alone for nearly twenty years, it didn't matter if my fiancé had disappeared for a bit. I didn't need him to be comfortable in my own home.
I hung my jacket on the coat stand, and kicked off my shoes. Jester hissed in response. Oops. I'd forgotten the cat was about and hadn't meant to scare him.
Crouching down, I held out my hand and made a weird squeaking noise. Owning a cat was making me weird. If I really owned him, I wasn't completely clear on that. In reality, I suspected that Jester owned me.
To my surprise, he actually slinked out from under the cabinet and rubbed his head against my hand. Finally we seemed to be getting somewhere in the affection side of things too. This I could get on board with. Jester was kind of cute. I never saw that coming when I opened his box.
"You don't come with conditions, do you?" I asked him as I scratched his chin.
Jester purred.
"Maybe I should skip past the men and just focus on cats for the rest of my life. At least that way I won't be considered a stereotype."
Jester cocked his head, looking straight into my soul. Or he would, if he had eyes. How he'd lost them was just one of the many mysteries about them. Maybe I should turn Jester into my next assignment rather than working out what Jonas was up to.
"Yes, yes, I know, it's supposed to be the male vampires with their harem of brides. At least I'm subverting that stereotype."
He nodded. Or just happened to bob his head. That seemed more likely.
"Where's William?" I asked him, as if he'd somehow have the answer. I was getting crazier by the second if I thought Jester would actually answer me.
He didn't do anything other than push himself under my hand once again.
"Fine, I'll go find him myself." I stood up, ignoring the protests of the cat. I smoothed down my skirt, noting the huge amount of cat hair that covered it. I was never going to have clean clothes every again. Weirdly, a big part of me was okay with that.
My feet padded against the wooden floors as I travelled deeper into the house and towards my room. William definitely wouldn't be there, but I was at a loss for what else to do. I wasn't hungry and it was too early for anything decent on TV.
I pushed my bedroom door open, the creaking sound comforting to my ears. Even so, the slightly ominous feeling hadn't disappeared. Maybe I should plug Derek's Danger Detector back in. Whether I liked it or not, it worked when Jonas had entered my bedroom uninvited.
The moment I stepped into the room, I froze.
A woman knelt on the floor, with hair so blonde it was almost white flowing down her back and contrasting with the midnight black robes she was wearing. Her skin was almost completely covered, other than her hands, face, and neck. The latter of which was framed by the maroon collar of the robes she was wearing.
The woman looked up at me, her wide blue eyes boring into mine. There wasn't a hint of personality in them. They were resigned and submissive.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"My name is Mika, Mistress. I'm here to serve you," she answered, her head bowed once more.
"I know that." It was impossible for me not to, she was wearing the traditional dress of a vampire's blood slave. I might not have had one of my own at any point, but that didn't mean that I didn't know what one looked like. "Where did you come from?"
"Master William engaged my services. He said I’m a gift for you."
I blinked a couple of times, not quite believing what I was hearing. "What the fangs?"
To be continued
Thank you for reading Fangs For Nothing. If you want to find out what Jonas is up to, what Mika is doing in Lucy’s bedroom, and how William, Watson, and Derek are getting on, Lucy’s story continues in What The Fangs (https://books2read.com/whatthefangs)
* * *
Keep on reading on for an exclusive sneak peek of What The Fangs.
Excerpt: What The Fangs
The only lighting in the room was the moonlight streaming through the window above the staircase. Which made it perfect. Or it would be, if Jester would sit still on my lap and not keep trying to get away.
How could I be an evil mastermind if my cat wouldn't sit still?
A key scraped in the lock, and I prayed, to the gods I didn't believe in, it was William and not one of the handymen. The last thing I wanted to do was have to find a new plumber because I scared the current one away.
The door opened and William stepped inside. Good. It was him.
"I've been waiting for you," I said in the most menacing tone I could come up with.
He flinched, before relaxing slightly. "Blood clots, Lucy, you scared me."
"That was the idea," I mused.
Jester hissed and finally freed himself from my grasp. Alright then. At least he'd stayed for my big reveal.
"Why are you sitting in the dark acting like a Bond villain ?" he asked, a bemused note entering his voice.
"Pfft, please. Bond villains have nothing on me," I countered.
"That doesn't answer the question," he pointed out.
"Alright then, how about I answer with a question of my own. Like, I don't know, why the fangs there's a blood slave in my bedroom?" I rose to my feet and closed the distance between us, making sure a strict annoyed expression stayed plastered on my face.
William's eyes widened. "Oops."
"Oops?" I squeaked without meaning to. "Oops just doesn't cover it, William. Why the fangs did you think I would want a blood slave? Do I seem like the type who wants anything to do with such an archaic practice?" Not to mention one that was so barbaric. In the past, blood slaves were just that. Slaves. Ones who would die by sustained blood loss.
Or by their master going a little overboard and draining them dry. Either or.
"I wasn't thinking."
I blinked a couple of times. He hadn't been thinking? How the fangs was that possible?
"Do you have one?" I whispered, dreading the answer. If he thought this was the kind of gift that was okay, then I had to question other parts of his integrity.
"No, of course, I don't..."
"Then why get me one?"
"I don't know. I'd had a few too many gin and tonics and it seemed like a good idea. Nothing I could give you could live up to the presents Derek was sending." He waved towards the piles of boxes that I still hadn't opened.
"So you went from coffee filters to blood slave in
a couple of drinks?"
He nodded sheepishly.
"Wow. I may need to take away your credit card next time you drink."
"Maybe," he admitted.
"What do we do with her now?" I asked.
"Send her back?"
I scoffed. "I've seen the adverts, William. A blood slave isn't just for Christmas, you know." I rubbed a hand over my face. How had I gotten myself into this situation? "Besides, I thought you were okay with me dating Derek?"
I certainly hoped he still was or we were going to have an awkward conversation about how I'd agreed to pay Derek for services rendered.
"I am. But I ordered her before we talked."
"Ah. Not only did you order me a blood slave, but you passive aggressively ordered her."
"Yes." He shuffled back and forth, clearly uncomfortable with the situation. Good. He should be.
"What do we do with her?" I asked, glancing over to the staircase.
"Where is she?"
"Where do you think she is? Still kneeling on my bedroom floor, the poor woman probably needs the bathroom, but I can't very well let her move or do anything or I'll claim ownership of her, and I don't want that."
"How do you know proper blood slave etiquette?" He cocked his head to the side.
"You've met my mother." I thought that explained well enough.
"She supports blood slaves?" He seemed alarmed, which was amusing given what he'd done to support the blood slave industry.
"Not openly. But let's face it, she probably has some." And they were probably young men with more muscles than sense. "Does the woman upstairs know what she's supposed to be doing for me?" A shudder rippled down my back even as I said it. The idea of using someone for that just didn't sit right with me. The last thing I wanted was to kill someone.
"I think so. I don't really remember."
"I swear to Dracula, if you didn't check she was ethically sourced, William, you are going to find yourself locked in a room full of garlic with the curtains open," I threatened.
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