Follow Me When the Sun Goes Down (19 page)

“No, it’s nothing you did.  And there’s nothing to be done for it.”  His jaw tightened, his whole posture tense.  “You deserve to be happy, I’ve no call to make you feel badly for it.”

“You lost me.”  I stared at him blankly.

Rob loosened his tie, leaning against the desk, and he still wouldn’t meet my eyes.  “I heard you and your boy talking tonight out under the stars.”

“You’re talking about Bishop?”

“Yeah, and I heard him as good as tell you he still cares.  I told you, it’s nothing you’ve done wrong
. I just didn’t expect to walk up on it is all.”

So that’s what had him all bunched up?  “You were eavesdropping?”

“I wouldn’t have approached you at all if Tucker hadn’t sniffed me out.  I’d have left you to it.”

Unbelievable.  Here he’d been giving me the cold shoulder all night over that?  “You suck, you know that?”

His shoulders hunched.  “I know I had no right to listen in on your private affairs.”

“No, I mean you suck at eavesdropping.  You think Bishop and I are getting back together?”  He must not have heard the whole conversation.

“You don’t have to deny it.  Like I said, you’ve every right to happiness.”

“
Did you hear the part where he basically said he preferred to live in misery with Carys – even knowing she was compelling him – than believing what we had was real?”

“I’m sure he didn’t say anything of the sort.”

“He may as well have.”  I pushed myself into his personal space, forcing him to look at me.  “Rob, Bishop and I are over.  I might’ve been clinging to some romantic notions when we first got here, but it’s pretty clear we’re in two completely different headspaces.  Not to mention the fact that he’s shacking up with Angel.”

“I’m sure if you crooked your finger he’d drop her in a heartbeat.  He’d be a fool not to.”

“Didn’t you hear what I sang to you?  I don’t care if Bishop’s starting to realize what he threw away.  It’s you I’m falling for.”  I didn’t know if it was love yet, but Rob was the one I wanted to be with.   

His hazel eyes were haunted instead of happy when I said the words.  “You ought not to be saying such things so openly.”

“Why not?  I don’t care who knows how I feel about you.”

“Well, I do,” he scowled.  “This is what I’m talking about.  You can’t go around showing me anything more than friendship.  Do you think Felix or Bridget won’t notice?”

“Felix doesn’t care, and Bridget already knows there’s something going on between us.” I hadn’t talked to her about Rob since that one night in Malibu, but I was pretty sure anyone who spent any amount of time around us could tell we were more than friends.

Rob grabbed me by the arms hard enough to make me wince.  “Do you think I’m telling porkies when I say that Jakob could very easily kill me, my sister
, even you if the mood strikes?”

“Rob… I don’t think he’d ever actually hurt me.”

“I’ve seen it before.”

“Who?”

“That’s all I’ll say on the subject.”  He let me go, thumbs brushing over the red splotches on my skin that already started to fade.  “But please, I beg you, bury this thing between us.  Bury it deep where it’ll never see the light of day again.”

“You don’t mean that,” I breathed.  He wanted me to pretend like it didn’t exist? 

“I don’t want to have to leave again, but I will if I think that’ll keep you safer than staying by your side.”

My stomach clenched into a hard little ball of dread.  “You wouldn’t really leave again, would you?”

“Try me.”

* * *

“No more meetings for tonight,” I waved to Felix as I passed through the sitting room in our shared suite.  “Put off Macallister, I’ll meet with him tomorrow night instead.”

“The Masque is tomorrow night,” he frowned.

“Fine, then the night after.  It’s not like we can’t talk to him once we get home anyways.  I’m tired.”

Felix held his hands up.  “Alright, you got it, boss.  Hey honey, how about you come and add a little sugar to soften the blow?” he
asked with a wink for Bridget.

“Sure thing,” she agreed readily, pausing by my door as an afterthought.  “Are you okay?” she mouthed. 

I nodded, adding a smile I didn’t feel.  Bury it deep, he’d said.  That meant no talking to Bridget about it.  I could see the wisdom in it, even if I didn’t agree with Rob.  There was no telling what Bridget and Felix covered in their pillow talk, and I’d rather not lose Rob altogether. 

They left, and I sent Gunnar on his way while Rob was in the bathroom tidying up for the night.  “You don’t have to sleep outside my door at night, Tucker,” I called out to the werewolf when he took off his suit coat and tie.

“I don’t m-mind.”

“You’re a good friend,” I smiled softly.

“Don’t be sad.  He c-cares about you.”  His head dipped so that the hair fell in front of his eyes as he spoke, and I remembered that he’d been privy to not only my conversation with Bishop, but some with Rob as well.  Tucker knew more about me than most people did. 

“Maybe so, but that doesn’t mean we’ll ever be together.”

“He doesn’t love her, I can tell.”

“Love who?”  My brows drew together in puzzlement.

“Angel.  She’s always h-hanging all over him, but most of the time he’s mean to her.  He’s been sad ever since you left.”

He meant Bishop.  And here I thought he’d been talking about Rob.  That was for the best, I realized.  “Thanks for telling me that, Tucker.  But I wouldn’t hold my breath on the chance that we’ll ever get back together again.  That ship has sailed.”

His forehead puckered, but he didn’t say anything in response.  Instead he started to take his shoes off, and I bid him goodnight and closed the door before I got an eyeful. 

Rob appeared, smelling faintly of soap.  “Told you.  He wants you back.”

“It doesn’t matter what he wants.  It doesn’t matter what you want, or what I want.”  I closed the bedroom door behind me, leaning on it for a long moment.  “Nothing matters.” 

I let myself mope for the rest of the night, swimming around in it, listening to sad, sappy songs at full volume with my earbuds on.  But the next night when I rose, I bottled it all away.  I had other things to worry about.  I called Macallister myself and apologized for blowing him off the night before.  He seemed to take it in stride, assuring me it wasn’t a big deal and he looked forward to rescheduling.

“How about now?” I suggested, still feeling guilty for shirking my duty.

“Sure, if you don’t mind missin’ the first part of that fancy shindig tonight.”

“Oh right, the masque.”  I’d have to spend extra time getting ready for it, but the entertainment wasn’t supposed to start until midnight, as I understood it.  “
How about you come over before it starts and we’ll see if we can’t hammer this thing out?”

“You got it, darlin’.  I’ll be there in two shakes.”

That gave me enough time to print out a counter proposal for him, like I’d talked about with Felix.  It also gave me time to help Bridget into her dress, but just barely.  I got her corseted within an inch of her life in a heavy dress of burgundy velvet.  Instead of the ladies spilling out the top, the dress had been cut to accommodate her generous curves and she looked absolutely stunning in it.  I still hadn’t had a chance to open my package and check out my own dress yet, but I was sure it’d be gorgeous. 

Macallister showed up with a jaunty knock just as I’d started helping her untie the rag curls she’d set before going to sleep, and she waved me off to go take care of business.

“Hey there, cous’,” he grinned, looking very sharp in his tuxedo.  I had to admit, the guy did clean up nicely, with the scruff gone for once and his shaggy blonde hair slicked back.  “I expected to find ya all gussied up for the party.”

“I’ll get ready after our talk.  We work before we play around here,” I replied, waving him into the sitting room.

“Can’t we do both?” he winked, taking a seat on my sofa.

I shot Rob a look, but his face was completely devoid of any expression.  “Sorry, I never mix business with pleasure.”

“Well, ain’t that a cryin’ shame,” Mac grimaced, leaning forward eagerly.  “I expect that means you’re ready to deal?”

“It does.” I smiled, sliding my counter offer to him across the coffee table.  Mac took the proposal, shrewd eyes scanning it before he spotted the bottom line.  He let out a low whistle, leaning back against the couch again. 

“For that amount, I could hire my own army to defend the homestead on the off chance that anyone comes a’knockin’ on our door.”

“You could,” I allowed.  “But it wouldn’t give you legitimacy.  In addition to formalizing this treaty between
Texas and the West, I’m prepared to lobby on your behalf to have Texas recognized by the other Houses.”

Macallister recovered his smile.  “Ya don’t say.”

“I do,” I smiled back, pleased to see he held that as something of value.  “I’m not guaranteeing it’ll work. I’m the new kid on the block, so I don’t have a whole lot of say in the matter, but I’ll be in your corner.  So, what do you think?”  I put the pressure on, taking a page from Corley.

“Ya drive a hard bargain, woman.  Ya realize it’ll take us a good long while to recoup a fee like this.”

“Them’s the breaks, kid.” I flashed my eyes at him, enjoying the exchange.  “How about we tack on another forty years to the term then?”

“Ya got a deal, darlin’,” he grinned, rising to his feet to offer his hand. 

“Great.  I’ll have Felix draft up something that adds that extended term and send it on over.  It was a pleasure doing business with you, cous’.”  I clasped his hand, grinning back mightily myself. 

He held onto my hand once the shake was through.  “
That takes care of the work, now comes the play.  Ya got a date for the party?”

“No, I’m flying solo tonight.”

“Want one?”

There was a time when I might have been easily swayed by those dimples, but it wasn’t hard at all to gently pull my hand from his grasp.  “Thanks for offering, but no.  Like I said, I don’t like to mix business with pleasure.”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

“Does everything have to be about fun?”

“It should be, darlin’, or ya ain’t doin’ it right,” he winked.

* * *

The ballgown was the most elaborate dress I’d ever seen.  In a bright peacock blue, the theme was continued by a wealth of embroidered feathers in a deep indigo, trailing from one shoulder across the bodice to cascade down the opposite side of the full skirt darkening the overall hue from gaudy to eye-catchingly magnificent.  A frothy spill of jagged ruffles beneath the design accentuated the look and flowed with each step I took.  A golden mask came in a separate box, packed carefully so as not to crease the brilliant plumage that streaked out from the corners of the eyes.  I’d turn heads with this number, that was for sure. 

I went heavy on the makeup, going dramatic for once.  It was too bad I didn’t have Maggie with me to concoct some fantastic hairstyle to go with it, but I settled for curling the ends of my long, blond hair and piling it up on top of my head with a gazillion pins to keep it in place.  Overall the effect came out rather well, I thought, but I stepped out into the sitting room for the real test. 

“How do I look?” I asked Rob, turning one way and then the other so the ruffles floated around my legs. 

His expression didn’t disappoint, a brief, deer in the headlights look coming over his face before his eyes warmed, heating me from the inside.
  But all he said was, “You look nice.”

“It’s just you and me here,” I pointed out, moving closer to him, and I saw yearning slide over his features.

“You make me want to forget everything and steal you out of here.  Is that what you want to hear?”

“That’s exactly the look I was going for.” A smile stole across my face.  “Help me with my mask?  I didn’t want to wreck the hair.”

Rob took the mask dangling from my fingers by gold ribbons and stood beside me, leaning close to get the positioning just right on my face before he carefully tied it in place.  “There, you’re all set.”  His fingers brushed across the tops of my bare shoulders, and a frisson of awareness raced along my skin.

My head turned toward the sound of his voice, to find his face scant inches from mine.  “I could stay in tonight.  Claim a wardrobe malfunction.  No one would have to know.”  We’d spent plenty of innocent evenings before, playing cards or watching movies.  No one would have to know there was anything more between us.

We swayed closer together, near enough to feel the heat springing from his body to mine.   “You’d better get downstairs before you’re mussed.”  And still, neither one of us moved an inch. 

“I wouldn’t mind a little mussing.”

“Wouldn’t be nothing little about it,” he growled, his breath hot against my neck, but in the next instant he let me go, striding with great purpose for the door.  “Best to get moving now before they send someone up to check on you.”

Taking an extra moment to catch my breath, I glided to the door, pausing before him.  “Okay, but we’ll come back to this.  There won’t always be so many eyes on us.”  There had to be a way for us to make it work, even if it was only a few stolen moments like these. 

Rob dropped his gaze, pulling the door open and standing aside for me to pass through.  He wouldn’t walk beside me on the way down to the ballroom, but remained a step or two behind, like a subordinate.  Gunnar picked us up in the hallway, and I entered the party feeling every inch the princess arriving at the ball. 

The room was
packed.  Made even more so by the stage added to one end of the room.  Servants were adding chairs in front of it, crowding the dancers and milling people more and more with every row. 

Aubrey claimed my attention almost from the start, greeting me with a flourish.  “If I had breath, the sight of you would steal it from my body,”
 he declared, lifting my wrist and bringing it to his lips. 

“Thanks, you look very nice yourself,” I smiled.  He did look pretty yummy in a black tux with white on white tie and shirt. 

“You simply must save me the first dance, but for now, you’re just in time for the festivities.  Come and sit with me, sister dear, right up front where you won’t miss a thing.” 

“Sure, that sounds like fun.”  Tucking my arm through his, he led me to the front row of seats by the stage.   There was a small program sitting on each seat, and I picked mine up, leafing through it. 
Vetis had brought in a troupe to put on a play of Death and Cupid.  Well, not a play precisely, but a pantomime show.  The brief description explained it was the story of Death and Cupid, who accidentally exchange arrows for a day, sending young lovers to their deaths and old fogeys into each others arms. 

It was fascinating to watch.  Sort of like ballet, the movement and music telling the story without words.  We watched as the main players made mistake after mistake, sometimes with comic results and sometimes through tragedy.  There was a brief intermission while they reset the stage, during which more glasses of blood were circulated, as well as fresh champagne for the humans.  The lights dimmed to signal they were ready to begin again, and the player portraying Cupid came downstage to address the crowd, a single spotlight emphasizing his powdered features and powerful physique, only barely covered by the costume around his waist. 

“For this next scene we require a few volunteers from the audience to portray partygoers at the dance of the dead.  What say you, will you join us?” He paused in front of the delegate from Salete.

“Why not?” he declared with good humor, hopping up on the stage with a flourish. 

“Shall we go up there?” Aubrey nudged me gently.

“No… you go ahead.”

“Volunteers?” Cupid paused before us, waiting expectantly and Aubrey rose to his feet, his hand outstretched to me.

“I’ll only go if you join me.  Come on, it sounds like fun.” 

“Here we are, two more,” Cupid beamed in approval, and I found myself taking Aubrey’s hand and letting myself be pulled on stage.  Once we were up there, the other members of the cast gave us each a prop.  Felippo was given a giant rubber scythe to hold onto, to his great delight, and he kept giving it a swing in the direction of a pretty girl dressed like a fawn.  Aubrey was given a large, jeweled cup filled with water, and I got an oversized fan made from peacock feathers which actually matched my gown pretty well. 

Three more volunteers were called up, and each of us were placed very deliberately on the stage and given a few whispered stage directions.  To Aubrey’s disappointment, he was set halfway across the stage from me.  I waved my fan at him before turning my attention back to my assigned partner, a very handsome human dressed like a Roman soldier. 

“Relax and have a good time.  It’ll be over before you know it,” he whispered, winking at me before schooling his features into a stern mask as the lights came up and the music started.

We all pantomimed conversation at a party, and I felt silly pretending to speak to the Roman, but he looked so serious
that I didn’t dare break character and laugh.  Mostly I nodded and smiled, pretending he had the most interesting things to say.  We were supposed to ignore Death, who circulated among the crowd, unseen. 

Death stalked us, but when he let his arrow fly, the intended victim
s instantly fell in love with the first person they saw.  The audience laughed when Felippo was struck and took the opportunity to start making out with the startled fawn girl. 

I tried not to react when the hooded figure trained his arrow at the Roman’s back, and it was harder than you’d think to completely ignore him and pretend he wasn’t there.  I prepared myself for the theatrical kiss I was sure would be coming next, but at the last moment, the tall man stepped aside and the arrow struck me. 

Only instead of the floppy arrows that hit the rest of the cast through the entire show, the arrow fired at me was real enough to strike me down.

There wasn’t time for even a gasp of shock as the arrow pierced my chest.  It seemed
ridiculous that I’d really been shot, especially in front of so many witnesses.  I wanted to look down and make sure for myself, but my body wouldn’t cooperate.  Still, I knew the arrow had found its mark, I felt the bite of the wood before the cold spread through my limbs, leaving nothing but a numb heaviness. 

Why was there no pain?  Shouldn’t I be in agony with a wooden shaft going through my heart? 
My eyes slid shut, no matter how hard I tried to open them again, or were they open?  It was hard to tell, but everything went dark.  Something wet and sticky oozed from my side and onto my hands, and I thought I smelled blood.  Was it mine? 

“My dress…” I cried, only not a sound came from my lips.  I was paralyzed, unable to so much as breathe, though I could still hear
.  Even that sounded funny though, like I was listening through a tin can. 

Screams. 

There was screaming, and I felt my body passed through many hands, some rough and some tender.  I thought I heard Rob yell my name, but everything spun out of control as my mind shut down.