Hear Me When the Sun Goes Down (10 page)

“So glad you approve,” she muttered sourly.  “Not that it’s any business of yours to begin with.”

“It’s my business to look after you, especially when you’re living under my roof.”

“Which I appreciate, ta muchly.”  She leaned forward to kiss his cheek.  “But I can manage just fine.” 

I still wasn’t clear on their relationship, it didn’t seem to follow any experiences I had with my distant cousins.  But I could see they cared about each other, that much was obvious. 

Leila appeared, taking her seat at the table and immediately diving into the Tupperware container.  “Has everything been sorted?  I’ve packed your things,” she said around a mouthful of cookies.

“Packed my things?” Rob asked, a pucker of confusion appearing on his brow.

“Don’t be thick, Robby, it makes you sound daft.  I’ve packed Laveda’s things of course.”

Laveda’s eyes stretched wide.  “What, you kicking me out then?” 

“Of course not, you’ll be going with them to San Francisco.” 

“I will?” she gasped.

Right at the same time Rob and I both
said, “She will?”

“Didn’t I tell you before?”  Leila blinked, all innocence as she stole the last cookie.

“You’ll love it there, Laveda, and the jet is posh as anything.  Leather soft enough bite into,” Leila beamed.

I leaned closer to Rob as they chatted about the trip.  “Did you tell her we were leaving for home soon?”

“No, I didn’t get a chance to.  But if Leila had one of her visions… it’s likely Laveda’s meant to go with us.”

“Of course she’s meant to go,” Leila declared.  “I saw it for m’self.  And there’s a surprise waiting for you as well.”

“What kind of surprise?”  Laveda’s eyes sparkled in anticipation.

“Can’t tell you or it won’t be a surprise.”  A roll of the eyes was given. 

“Guess I’d better go give notice then.” Laveda decided, tucking her lip gloss away, unused. 

“Just like that?” I asked in surprise and she turned to me in distress. 

“Don’t you want me to go with?” 

“Well, sure, you’re more than welcome to hitch a ride.  But isn’t this kind of sudden to uproot everything and move half a world away
?  Do you even have a passport?”

Laveda’s dimples sprang back to life.  “She’s adorable, ain’t she?” she grinned with a shake of the head.  “Picking up at the drop of a hat don’t mean nothing to our folk.  It’s what’s kept us alive all these years.”  All of a sudden I was reminded she might not be as young as she looked. 

“Alright then, we’d be glad to have you.  Rob can send you the flight information as soon as it’s arranged.”

“Aces.  Come on then, Leila, time to go walkies.”  She grabbed her coat off a hook hanging inside the broom closet.

“But why?  I’m not going to work and I’ve just made my tea the right shade of tasty,” Leila pouted.

“Because Robby’s bound to bust a nut if we don’t give them some alone time soon,” she said, holding out Leila’s coat.

“Oi, you’re not so old I can’t lay you across my lap if you get too cheeky,” Rob warned, eyes narrowing.

“And you’re not a close enough cousin that I’d mind,” she teased back. 

Definitely an odd family relationship.  “You really don’t have to leave on our account.”  I hated the thought of chasing them out of their own home, especially on a cold winter night.

“It’s no trouble.  Come on, Leila, I’ll buy you a treacle tart.”

Leila’s eyes suddenly brimmed with happiness, reaching for her coat.  “With clotted cream?”

“If you like.”

“You’re not taking her to the Bird in Hand,” Rob warned, winding a white scarf around Leila’s neck.

“Course not, what do you take me for?  We’re for the Pink Poodle instead.”  Laveda shot me a quick wink, but Rob didn’t rise to the bait.  “Don’t let him give you any guff.  He’s all talk, yeah?”

“Well, not
all
talk,” I grinned back.

“It’s definitely time to clear out.  Let’s go, Leila.”

“I’ll call you later, Bits,” Rob promised, dropping a kiss to his sister’s temple. 

“No you won’t, but I’ll forgive you,” she replied with a twinkle in her eye.  “Take care of Anja.  When the time comes, don’t worry about me
.  Won’t be no danger coming to my door.”

“I’ll try to keep that in mind.”

We escorted them to the door, hugs were exchanged, until it was only Rob and me left.  We stood there watching each other, a smile on my lips as we heard the girls clomping down the stairs in their boots, haggling over whether or not hot chestnuts were in order. 

“Is there anyone you don’t try to take care of?” I asked when their voices started to fade.  “You were a bit hard on Laveda.”

“She’s family.  I don’t like to see her mixed up in that crowd.”

“What crowd, my crowd?  She’s also a grown woman, capable of making her own decisions.”

“It’s dangerous, her being around vampires.”

“Why’s that?”  The Bird in Hand might not be my favorite place, but it was the most regulated place I’d seen for feeding.  Plus, she wasn’t even a feeder,
so it was probably even less of a risk for a bartender.

“You liked her, didn’t you?”

“Of course I did.  Why would that possibly be a bad thing?” 

“Everybody likes her, vampires in particular.  She gives off a scent that’s particularly alluring, don’t tell me you didn’t notice it.”

“I thought that was you,” I smiled, pulling him closer. 

“It can be dangerous among those that don’t like to take no for an answer.  Laveda likes to think she can take care of herself, but one of these days she’ll end up in over her head, mark my words.”

“Then maybe it’s for the best that she’s coming back with us.  That way you can keep an eye on her.”

“I’d rather keep my eyes on you.”  The silence loomed between us as we both realized at the same time we were utterly alone for the first time in forever.  “Hullo,” his voice rumbled through me as he pressed me up against the door.

“Hi,” I whispered, our breath mingling as we drew closer, drawing out the moment so that I actually moaned the instant his lips touched mine.  The song swelled between us as we finally gave in, the kiss no less sweet without the tang of danger that haunted us at the mansion. 

“I’ve missed you,” I breathed when he left my lips to nudge the underside of my jaw with his raspy cheek, mouth seeking the tender skin at my neck.

“I’ve been right here the whole while.”

“Not like this.” 

“No, not like this,” he agreed, his hands moving lower to slip under my sweater as his hot breath fanned over my moist skin. 

“Are you sure your sister won’t mind, us using her apartment like this?” 

“She ought not to, I pay for the place.”

Not that I would have stopped, mind you, but the thought still went through my mind as his fingers urged my sweater higher, and I reached for his belt.  The sound of a key in the lock registered, my jaw dropping in shock.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Rob muttered.  He went still, hands pressed on either side of me to keep the door shut.  “Whoever it is better sod off or I’ll be calling down a load of violence you ain’t never seen the likes of,” he growled menacingly enough that I sincerely hoped it might be someone else out there, but it was Laveda’s voice who came through the door. 

“Sorry to be a bother, but have you got the flash car downstairs, parked near the corner?”

Rob’s head cocked to one side, as surprised at the question as I was.  “Why?”

“I don’t suppose it matters to you, but there’s a bloke messing around with it.  Thought you should know.”

A string of curses left his lips as he pushed away from the door, headed straight for a window.  Tamping down my frustration, I unlocked the door, giving Laveda a grateful smile. 

“Thanks, Laveda, you did the right thing in telling us.”

“No worries, just doing my part.”  She darted a quick look in at Rob and turned to go.  “I’d better be on my way.”

I shut the door and joined him at the window.  Sure enough, there was a guy down there leaning down to do something on the driver’s side by the front wheel well.  “Can you tell who it is from up here?”

“Naw, it’s too far.  You stay put, I’ll go check it out.”

Okay, so I know I should’ve stayed up there, but I really wanted to see who was monkeying around with our car
.  Besides, what if there were more of them laying in wait?

I caught up with Rob in time to see him approach the guy who was still bent over the car.  “Oi, what you doing to my car?” Rob demanded, pushing at his shoulder. 

The guy wore dark pants made of parachute type material and a white singlet, his arms bare despite the chill of winter.  Short blonde hair was matted and uneven, as though he’d forgotten to comb it for a few days, and his eyes were trained at Rob’s feet.

“Answer me, what the fuck were you doing to my car?” Rob shoved at him again, and the guy gave a limp shrug.  “Right then,” Rob’s hand fisted in the guy’s shirt and his other elbow cocked back, but I reached him in time to keep from throwing a punch. 

“Hold on a sec.  Let me talk to him while you go check the car.”

Rob was distracted enough by my appearance to forget to be mad at the guy anymore.  “You’re meant to be upstairs where it’s safe.”

“And you’re not supposed to beat the crap out of every guy who comes near us.  It’s not even your car anyway, you signed it out at the mansion.”  I turned to the guy, wondering why he wouldn’t look up at us.  “Hey, what’s your name?”

“Nigel.”

“What are you doing with our car, Nigel?”

“I wasn’t doing nothing,” he mumbled, eyes still trained on the ground.

“What’s this then?” Rob said, coming up with a small magnetic device he fished out from under the wheel well.  “You been tracking us?”

“Had to,” Nigel said with another shrug.  “He said we was to watch you at all costs, but I didn’t know what else to do if you was to split up again.  Mickey’s already off with the other two.” 

I caught a whiff of his scent on the breeze then and recognized it right off the bat.  Werewolf.  “Who said?  Brody?”

“Ain’t supposed to say.”

I caught his chin, forcing his head up until I had his full attention.  “Who sent you after us, and why?”

His blue eyes flared with panic as my will caught hold of him, but then the fight went out of him, his responses wooden.  “Jakob sent us to look after you, see you safely back to the mansion.  Said we was to keep out of sight, Mickey and me, but I wasn’t sure what to do when you went into the building.  I figured I’d slip a kit onto the car and track you up into the building when you didn’t come back out straight away.”

Jakob
sent him?  Rob let out a blistering string of expletives at the revelation, and it took me a good couple of minutes to recover enough to ask the next question. 

“What about your friend, this Mickey, he’s tailing Gunnar and Tucker?”

“That’s right, miss.”

“Does Mickey know where you are right now?”

“No, only that I’m followin’ you two.” 

“I can’t believe this,” Rob muttered, sending a stray can skittering across the street with a well placed kick and I reached for his hand.

“It’s fine, I can fix this.”

Rob immediately tore his hand from mine.  “Can you?  Can you fix Jakob sending spies after us at every turn?  This can’t be a good thing, him not trusting me to do my job.”

“Maybe we’re overreacting.  Maybe this is more about his paranoia than anything else.  You know how he is about keeping me safe.”  I turned to the were, making extra sure I had a good hold on his will.  “Nigel, I want you to listen to me.  You followed us to Portabello Road where Rob watched over me like a hawk while I shopped.  After a while I picked out a human and fed, with no mishaps, and then we went to Pandora’s Cross to meet up with Gunnar and Tucker.  We were never here, and we never talked.  Do you understand?”

“I understand,” he repeated. 

“Good, now take this tracker thingy and go sit in your car until we leave.”

Neither one of us spoke as we climbed into the black Mercedes, the minutes ticking by as we sat in silence before I ventured to say something. 

“So much for our rendezvous, huh?”

Rob didn’t reply, his attention wholly focused on the mirrors, where I assumed he watched Nigel watching us. 

“I’ll talk to Jakob,” I tried again.  “I’ll tell him we don’t need the extra protection detail, we can handle it on our own.”

“We can’t let on that we know about this,” he snapped, his mouth turned down into a deep frown and I recoiled from the anger there.

“Why are you so mad?”

“Because I let myself be too distracted by you not to notice we was being followed.  Maybe Jakob has the right of it and I can’t do a proper job of protecting you no more
‘cause I’m too close to see clearly? What if it’d been someone else stalking you and I didn’t see them coming?”

Was that what he was so worried about?  “Of course you can, you’re all about keeping me safe.”  I reached out to lay my hand over his on the seat between us.  “We don’t have to let this ruin our night together, you know.  We could go back upstairs, they don’t know we’re not having an innocent visit with your family.”

“We can’t.”  Rob shook his head, but he didn’t pull his hand way.  “Don’t you see?  We don’t know who else could be out there.  We don’t know who might see us, and who might report it back to him.” 

“It can’t be as bad as all that.  We have no reason to suspect he’d send anybody other than Nigel and his buddy.”

“We had no reason to suspect he’d send anyone after us at all, yet here we are.”  He wouldn’t look at me, no mater how much I willed him to in the intimate confines of the car. 

“There has to be a way.  I know we’re exposed out here, but somewhere.  We could go for a drive… we could…”

“I just… I can’t.”  Unable to resist any longer, his hazel eyes swung around to meet mine, the heat there palpable even in the shadows.  “No matter how much I want…”  The air fairly crackled between us, each fighting the magnetic pull to come together.  “It can’t happen, the risk is too great.”