Hear Me When the Sun Goes Down (27 page)

It was easier to track them than I thought it would be.  All I had to do was follow the scent of freshly spilled blood.  I caught up to Amunet, who had the would-be rapist on his knees, his nose bloodied and smashed in.  Bishop stood by on the sidelines, watching.

Amunet bent close, her lips brushing against the man’s ear.  “I could make this painless for you, but I won’t.  Do you know what I’m going to do to you instead?”  The guy shook his head hard enough for bloody spittle to fly from the corner of his mouth to his shoulder.  “I’m going to tear off the protruding parts of your body and then feed them to you one by one.  And only after you’ve been unmanned will I kill you, so can never disappoint another woman again.”

He gave a strangled cry, lurching forward.  To my utter surprise, she let him break free and run down the street. 

“Ah, he’s getting away,” I said, when she showed no signs of pursuing him.  Why was she letting him get away?

“This is my favorite part.”  A horrifying smile curved those perfect lips and then she was on him in seconds flat, a terrified shriek escaping the man before she silenced him. 

Instead of worrying over the ruckus, I remembered his threat.  No one in that neighborhood would care and his own boast had ended up costing him his life.  “I will never understand the need for games,” I shook my head.  “I understand the need for blood, but why go through all the trouble of playing cat and mouse?”

Bishop cleared his throat.  “The fear and adrenaline, it spikes the blood.  It’s considered a delicacy.”

I thought back to my own experience, the one time I’d lost all control, deliberately causing pain instead of pleasure.  The taste of the blood had fed my hunger for violence.  “Oh… ye
p, I guess it does,” I realized aloud, and he shot me a surprised look.  “Don’t ask, it’s not one of my prouder moments.” 

Amunet let him fall to the ground when she was done, returning to us with the contentment of a satisfied cat.  Bis
hop offered her a handkerchief and she patted at her face delicately, removing flecks of blood, but she was remarkably tidy considering the damage she’d done to the guy. 

“That was exhilarating, thank you,” she smiled. 

The man lay crumpled and broken on the sidewalk like forgotten refuse, and I swallowed back a wave of revulsion.  I’d pretty much gotten that guy killed.  Sure, I could assuage my guilt by remembering he’d been the first one to attack, but it was still a life taken.  “I’m glad you had a good time,” I said, managing a faint smile in return. 

“Shall we play the reverse now?”

That meant my turn as predator.  There was no way I was going through the performance bit again.  “No, actually I’m good.  I’ll eat later, it’s starting to get late and Jakob will miss me.”

“Oh, I feel badly to have robbed you of the hunt.  For all the power we have, we still dance to the tune of our master when he calls, don’t we?”

“Don’t worry about it, I’m sure Jakob will more than compensate me for the lost sport,” I replied, letting her draw her own conclusions from that.  “Bishop, I don’t suppose you could…” I gestured to the body, unsure how to best handle it with the Order still scrambling to find their place in society again. 

“Yeah, I’ve played this game before,” he answered with a tight smile.  “I’ll take care of it.”

Amunet handed back his handkerchief, smoothing her hands over the curve of her hips.  “And now, to feed another hunger.  Shall we go back to find Rob?”

She still wanted Rob?  What the heck was I doing then?  I scrambled for a better option.  “Or… you know, you might want to try something new.  I saw someone giving you the eye back there.”

“That hardly sounds appetizing.”

“Oh, he is.  I can personally vouch for him.”

“Truly?” Her lips took on a speculative pout.  “Lead on then, I have no reason to fault your taste thus far.” 

I just prayed Rob stayed out of sight until I could make sure Chad tempted her fancy.  Then again, how did I know she wouldn’t kill him too?  It was one thing for her to keep Rob alive as one of Jakob’s favored subjects, but some random guy probably wouldn’t rate that level of caution. 

“So, you ah, you’re not looking to make another kill, are you?  Because I’d rather not see this one end up at the bottom of the bay.” 

“Of course not.”  She sounded scandalized I’d even brought it up.  “I’ve already slaked that thirst.  I value human life as much as the next vampire.” 

“Then what was that back there?”

“I thought you’d played predator and prey before?”  Her brow crumpled in confusion.  “Anja, dear, the game is designed to cull the less than desirable from the herd.  I’d never be intimate with someone I intended to kill. 
Not on purpose, anyway.” 

I wasn’t sure if that made me feel better or not.  What if she accidentally killed Rob?  Would some kind of tribute and a pretty apology be accepted by Jakob for the faux pas and that’d be the end of it? 

“I’m glad to hear it,” I replied, walking back to the tavern with her.  “A lot of vampires could care less about humans, Jakob included.”

“Jakob is an
Ellri
, that’s to be expected.”

“Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

“I see.  Then I give you my word, I’ll be careful with this one, and whoever else I take to my bed for the duration of my stay in your lands.  Does this please you?”

“Very much, thank you, Amunet,” I smiled, breathing easier.  On the way back I told her all about Chad (as much as I knew), emphasizing his physical attributes and the streak of chivalry I remembered.  She sounded interested enough, and didn’t look for Rob as we reached the bar. 

I led her right over to Chad’s table.  “Amunet, this is Chad, he’s the one I’ve been talking about.”

Chad’s brows drew together as he studied us both.  “I’m sorry, do I know you?”

“It hurts that you don’t remember,” I sighed, playing the jilted lover.  “Anyway, what do you think?” I asked.

“Oh yes, he’ll do.  He’ll do very nicely,” she smiled, fingers brushing over the top of his shoulders.  “Do you have some kind of transportation?”

“I, uh… I have a truck,” he replied, more than a little confused at all the sudden attention. 

“Splendid.  You will take me for a drive now,” she issued the command, but no compulsion, I thought.

“Yes, ma’am,” Chad replied, the hint of a dimple showing.  I knew he had a thing for single lonely women out slumming for the night, so this should keep everybody happy.  At least I hoped so.  If Chad ended up another casualty of the night, I didn’t know how I’d be able to live with myself.

“You’ll be
fine then?”  I felt bad about ditching her in that kind of neighborhood.

“Yes, of course,” she replied, slipping her arm through Chad’s as he rose from the table.  “Give my love to Jakob
. I’ll be in touch about Bakareh’s timetable.” 

“Will do.  Have fun you two.”  I trailed along behind them as they left the bar, watching as Chad escorted her to his beat up truck.  She seemed as happy as a clam though as they drove away, and I felt a whole lot better as Rob joined me on the sidewalk. 

“You took a gamble there,” was all he said as he fell into step beside me.

“I don’t think she wanted to be fed, she wanted the chase.  She wanted something unpredictable and new.  I needed to dangle something more appealing than you are.”  I was silent until we reached the car.  “I couldn’t let you go with her tonight.  I thought you wouldn’t want to.”  Had I been wrong?  Had he wanted to rekindle their
friendship
?

“I told you,
my feelings don’t often enter into things.  It don’t matter to Jakob what I want.” 

“It matters to me.” 

“It was dangerous.” 

“I really didn’t mean for him to die, no matter how much of a creep he was.”

“I didn’t mean to him.”

“I don’t care.”  I was willing to risk a
smidge of danger to keep him safe.  That and more.

“You should.”

“I protect what’s mine.  Even if I can’t claim it openly.”

His gaze held mine.  “Is that what I am?”

“Aren’t you?”

I could see the answer behind those hazel eyes, and I felt it in the way he touched my cheek.  Yearning warred with duty as he drew near, the plume of his breath reaching out to me in the ghost of a kiss.  I knew it the exact moment when he lost hold of that famous self control.  His lips crashed against mine, almost punishing in their need to possess me for even a few brief moments.  I poured everything I had into that kiss, the fear and jealousy of the night giving way to joy as the music soared between us. 

All up until Bishop cleared his throat. 

Rob sprang away from me, harsh words of self recrimination under his breath, and I cursed Bishop for his lousy timing.  “Give us a minute,” I asked
, pleading for a little longer before we had to return to the farce I called a life. 

Bishop looked uncomfortable at finding us, and I wouldn’t have blamed him for storming off in a snit, but he hung close.  “Jakob won’t like that you’ve been gone for so long.  It’s time to go back to the party.”

“I don’t care, he doesn’t own me.”

“That’s a matter of opinion,” Rob growled, rubbing at his face as he tried to regain his composure.  “If you say anything, you’ll be sealing her fate,” he glowered at Bishop who didn’t back down from the challenge there.

“You don’t have to worry, I’d never do anything to hurt her.” 

“And yet, you can’t seem to stop.”  Rob stepped forward, almost spoiling for a fight and I had to cut a swath in the testosterone before someone choked on it.

“Guys, that’s enough.  You’re right, we have to go back.  Hey, for all we know Jakob hasn’t even noticed I left the party.”

Only that wasn’t the case at all. 

The instant I reappeared, Jakob swept me up into a hug tight enough to make my ribs creak.  “Where have you been?” he demanded, shaking with anger.  As I drew back, I realized it might be fear that drove him into such a state, not anger.  Though why he was so worried was utterly baffling to me. 

“I went to spend some time with Amunet, like we talked about.”

“We did not discuss you sneaking off alone,” he thundered, and I realized the entire room was staring at us, listening in on the conversation. 

“I didn’t sneak, I left.  I had Rob and Bishop with me for protection, I was perfectly safe.”

Jakob’s eyes snapped up to Rob.  “You know she is not to leave without her security detail.  How could you betray me thus?”

Rob held his ground remarkably well,
while I was quaking in my heels at the fury in his voice.  “I was released from my duties for the night, by your command,” he replied calmly.  “I’d no idea she intended to join us, and when I did, I brought her back safe and sound.  No harm done.” 

Jakob making Rob the focus of his anger was the absolute last thing I wanted to happen, and I did my best to draw his attention back to me, my hand stroking his chest in a soothing manner.  “It’s not his fault, it’s nobody’s fault, Jakob.  I’m not a helpless girl, you made me strong enough to handle just about anything that comes my way.” 

“Not strong enough,” he groaned, crushing me to him in another tight hug. 

What the heck was going on?  “Jakob, you’re starting to freak me out.  What’s this all about?”

“Nothing.  You are whole and it’s nothing,” he sighed into my hair.  “Come, sit beside me where you belong.”  Jakob all but dragged me back to his throne, pulling me onto his lap.  For the duration of the night, I perched there, like a demented ventriloquist’s dummy, only speaking when he asked me a direct question. 

I couldn’t get a word out of him as to what filled him with so much dread about the thought of my going out alone and I started to wonder if centuries alone had warped his mind a
little.  For whatever reason, he’d fixated on me.  Enough to kidnap me and turn me into a vampire.  Enough to abandon me for my own safety, if he was to be believed.  And enough to step forth and claim me as his own when my life was threatened.  He said these feelings stemmed from love, but I started to think there was something else behind his obsession with my safety.  

At the end of the night he escorted me back to my house, even though I said it was silly for him to come all the way out there since he was already home.  I almost thought he’d try to pressure me to let him inside again, but instead all he did was steal a kiss.  A kiss that went on for much longer than I liked, and I felt a
little sick at the way he was able to coax a response out of me once he pulled away.  Like it or not, there was a bond there.  Maybe it was only because he was my Sire, but it existed, no matter how much I consciously hated the thought of dating him again. 

As I escaped into the sanctuary of my home, I didn’t feel safe, as I usually did.  All I felt was trapped. 

I woke up the next night to Bridget shaking my hip, an open bottle of aquavit in the other hand.  “Hey, where do you keep the good booze?  This stuff tastes like shit.”   

“Ah… we have a full bar up in the library,” I replied, pushing the hair out of my eyes.

“Sweet, that’s all I needed to know.  You coming?”  Setting the bottle down without bothering to cap it, she sashayed out of there, her dark hair swinging with each step.  Grabbing my fluffy robe, I caught up to her in the hallway as Rob came out of his bedroom. 

“Some watchdog you are,” I grumbled at him as I shuffled past, yelping when he pinched my behind, the beginnings of a smirk on his lips.  Shooting him a dark look, I gave Bridget a half shrug at her quizzical brow.  “Stubbed my toe.” 

“Aw, poor baby.  Sounds like you need a drink too.”

What was with this early obsession with drink?  I followed her up the stairs, keeping half an eye on Rob as he trailed along behind me, wary of another pinch, but he behaved himself.  “You do realize this is the equivalent to drinking at eight in the morning, right?”

“So?  It’s not like I have anywhere to be.” 

“I happen to have a job.”

“Oh please, you’re the boss.  What’s the point in being the boss if you can’t bail and have a drink with your bestie every now and again?”

“Did you just call me your bestie?”  Now I knew something was wrong.  “Are you feeling okay?  How long have you been here?”  She was dressed in black jeans and a
Mötley Crüe t-shirt with chunky boots, looking more like her old self than I’d seen for a while. 

“You said I could crash here anytime I wanted to.  Nobody seemed to be using Ellie’s old bedroom, so I helped myself.  Incidentally, your home security ain’t that great if all your guards turn to dust as soon as the sun comes up.”

“We have a few humans that patrol during the day, you must have missed them.  Did you know she was here?” I asked Rob.

“Course I did,” he replied breezily.  “Didn’t see no harm in it.  You want me to toss her out on her ear?”

What had him in such a saucy mood?  “No, I think we’re okay.  I’d love a cup of tea if you’re headed that way though.”  I needed to get Bridget alone for a little girl talk.

“Nothing would make me happier, miss.”  His eyes positively sparkled with inner meaning as he sketched a half bow and headed to the kitchen.  

While I puzzled over his odd behavior, Bridget had found the rum in the library and was already chugging like Friday night at a freshman mixer.  “Hey, Bridge?  Not that I don’t love having you here, but is there something wrong?” I asked, when she paused for a panting breath and went right for the next swallow.  She’d end up with alcohol poisoning if she didn’t slow down soon. 

“Of course something’s wrong,” she snapped.  “Why else would I be crashing at
casa de sangre
?”

I took the glass out of her hands, setting it well out of reach as she shot daggers at me with her eyes.  “Why don’t you tell me about it then?”  There had to be a reason why she’d come to wake me up instead of looking for the alcohol herself.  “What happened that’s got you so upset?”

She sat there looking glum for a few seconds, blinking rapidly as her eyes grew shinier the closer she got to forming actual words.  “I walked in on Felix and another woman,” she said finally, reaching past me for the glass and taking another hefty swallow. 

“Oh… walked in on them doing what exactly?”  Not that I needed a blow by blow, but did she mean feeding, or sex, or both?

“What do you think?  He was neck deep in some chick in the coat room at the party.” 

He was a vampire after all.  “That doesn’t sound so bad.  I mean it’s not ideal, but…”

“He had her panties hooked over his elbow and they were getting kinda grindy when I walked in,” she added with a snort.

“Oh.”  There wasn’t much of a positive spin I could put on that.  “What did he say about it?  I assume you confronted him, right?’

“You’re goddamn right I did.”  Her chin came up pugnaciously.  “He said it was none of my business where he got his snacks as long as he came home for supper.”

“Ooh, that’s harsh.  I’m sorry.  Did you guys break up?”  That would explain her needing a place to crash for the night.

“I don’t know,” she said with a hopeless shrug.  “I left the party.  When he came home, he gave me a diamond bracelet.”

Typical.  “Like that’s supposed to make it all better?” I muttered, but she only sighed.

“It’s a really nice bracelet.” 

She looked almost wistful, as though she wanted permission to accept the bribe and make it all better.  “Then you’re okay with this?  You forgive him?”

Bridget took another drink.  “Shit, I don’t know, Anja.  Part of me wants to say fuck him and this life and go back to the way things were before I even heard of vampires.  And part of me is scared to death he’ll drop me for some new flavor of the month and that’ll be all she wrote.”

“I think it’s perfectly natural to feel that way.  Knowing that Felix makes no apologies for it though… that makes it clear this isn’t a one time thing.  Do you think you can live like that?”

“Could you maybe compel me to forget I know anything about it?”

“I guess I could… but is that such a good idea?”

“It’s either that or I’ll have to go looking for a machete and a pair of pliers the next time I see his two-timing face,” she glowered. 

“Are you sure that’s what you want?”

“I can’t take feeling like this.  I feel like I want to claw my own eyes out to keep from seeing it again and again.”

“What if you tried talking to him
when you’re not so upset?  Maybe you can make him understand how much it hurts you.  Maybe he’ll agree not to feed on other women?”  It didn’t sound plausible.  Then again, maybe if he understood how much it bothered her, he might be willing to change.

“I seriously doubt it, he made it pretty clear the subject wasn’t open for discussion.  In any case, I won’t be able to unsee what I’ve already seen unless you get it out of there.”

“But you might see it again if he doesn’t know how much you hate it.  Maybe you should…”

“Can you just make me okay with it?  Please?” she cut me off with a desperate plea.

“I’m not sure this is the best solution.”

“He’s a vampire, An.  This is what he does.  Just make me okay with it.  Take the memory of seeing it out of there, and make me okay with it if it happens again.”

“Bridget...”

“I love him, Anja.”

The look in her eye… I recognized it well enough.  It was that bargain you made with yourself to make the best of a bad thing because you were so desperate to make it work, you couldn’t even imagine giving it up.  I’d been in that same headspace with Trent when I found out he was cheating on me with Bridget.  I might’ve let him weasel his way out of it too if not for Bridget being there to keep me strong.  So what was the right thing to do?  Be strong for her and encourage her to kick Felix to the curb or give her what she wanted?  Either choice felt like a disaster in the making. 

“
Fine, I’ll do it.  But don’t blame me if it doesn’t work.  I’m not sure I can compel you to be okay with future situations.”

“Thanks, An, I owe you one.”

Only it didn’t sit well with me once Bridget had her wish and was on her merry way.  I kept coming back to one thing – wasn’t I fixing the wrong person’s brain?  I caught up with Rob in the kitchen working on a bowl of something that looked and sounded like gravel as he chewed. 

“If you had the power to correct someone’s bad behavior and make them a better person, would you do it?” I asked, taking a seat at the table opposite him.   

Rob considered that for a moment as he munched.  “That depends, would correcting it truly make their life better, or just ease yours?”

“Neither really, but it would help someone else out a lot.” 

“I don’t think you’ll have much luck keeping Bishop from being a prat, but by all means, have at it.”  He saluted me with his spoon.   

“Very funny,” I said with a smile.  “You’re in an unusually good mood tonight.  What’s up?”

“Was thinking about what you done for me last night.  Didn’t get a chance to thank you proper.”  He nudged his shoe against mine and I rubbed the inside of my foot against his. 

“I thought you did, by the car.” 

“I started to, but I definitely didn’t get to finish it.” 

“So, what’s stopping you?”  I gave him my most inviting smile and his eyes went skyward. 

“Ask me that again when the house is lighter.  For now, I think you’ve more guests to attend to.”  He rose to put his empty bowl in the sink.  “Oh, and by the way?  I’d definitely give Felix a nip and tuck in the libido if it keeps your girl in the pink.” 

Then he did know exactly what I was talking about.  “You don’t think it’s meddling?”

Rob shrugged.  “Long as it’s for a good cause, I don’t see the harm.  Mind you, we’ll have words if it’s anything that ends with the pair of them living here with us.”

“There’s not much danger of that,” I laughed.  “They prefer a lot more privacy.”

“Wouldn’t mind a bit of that m’self sometime,” he murmured, nipping out to talk to Gunnar. 

I had to admit, the idea of the house to ourselves didn’t suck.  And my houseguests seemed to be on the same page.  When I got up to the attic, I found Frost already gone, Corazon and Mason packing up their meager belongings to leave
as well. 

“Aw
w guys… we didn’t get a chance to have a slumber party,” I teased.  “I’ve got a whole box of graham crackers downstairs and all the marshmallows you can eat.”

“I think I’ll pass, thanks,” Mason replied with a shadow of his usual good humor. 

Corazon surprised me by actually smiling for once.  “Don’t sweat it, peaches, all vampire hospitality requires is an open vein and a patch of dark, and you came through on both ends.  No complaints here.” She stood, shouldering her pack.  “I’ll catch you on the flipside, homes,” she said to Mason, and I got a reverse nod before she took the stairs.  Apparently that was Corazon-speak for ‘thanks’.

“I guess it’s safe for you guys out there now, huh?”

“Yeah, hopefully we’re in the clear between your speech and Jakob’s threats.  At least we’re done with that asshole Byrne.”

“
True, that’s one less thing we have to worry about.  So um, where are you headed now?  Back down to San Jose, or are you moving back to your place up here?”

“Actually, I’m thinking about making a bigger change than that,” he said, tightening the straps on his flak jacket.

“Oh?  What kind of change?”  Was he following Bishop’s lead and quitting the Order too? 

“I’m thinking about going back to Boston.  It’s been a while since I spent any time back in the old stomping grounds, I think I’m due.”

“Boston, wow… that is quite a change,” I replied, wondering if it had anything to do with my sister’s new boyfriend.  “Is that something you can wrangle?  I thought the Order didn’t want you guys spending time where you lived as a human.”

“It’s been more than thirty years, I think I’m good.  I can always pass myself off as Spencer’s son if I run into anyone I used to know.”

“Spencer?” 

“That was me, before I joined the undead army.” 

My eyes widened in surprise.  “So the name you gave my sister was…”

“My own, yeah.  I know, talk about a rookie mistake.”

I knew it was none of my business, but I couldn’t help meddling a tiny bit.  “Maybe you shouldn’t give up on her so easily?  Maybe you should stick around and try to talk to her again now that she’s had a chance to cool off.”

“And listen to her rave on about her new guy?” he snorted.  “
No thanks, I think that’s my cue to leave.”  He straightened, strapping on his weapons.  “Thanks for putting us up, we all owe you one.”  

“You’ll let me know before you leave town though, won’t you?  To say goodbye?”

“Sure thing,” he said with a sad smile.  “I’ll see you around, sis.”

* * *

Felix sat beside me on the couch, his mood upbeat, almost frenetic.  “Hey, boss, you wanted to see me?  Is this about the Order investigation?  ‘Cause we didn’t get anywhere with the bomb squad, they turned up zilch.” 

“No, that’s not why I asked you over, but thanks for coming.” 

“Is it about setting up some public offices?  I thought it was a great idea when Maggie brought it to me, but we’ll have to pitch it the right way to Jakob over the whole security issue.”

“Maggie asked you about finding us office space?”

“Yeah… didn’t she talk to you about it first?”

“No, but it’s a good idea.  Especially since I’ve promised Jakob not to invite any new people in until he gives the say so.  Why
, do you think he’ll nix the idea for a public office?  It seems like he’d support it.”

“I’m sure he’ll go for it, boss,” he waved my concern away.  “We gotta spin it the right way is all.”