Prologue 5 страница

didn’t feel alone and rejected.

When his tongue slid into my mouth, I

welcomed it. He’d kissed me before,

months ago, and back then, I’d felt mild

enjoyment but no real emotion. This time,

I was filled with such aching loneliness

that I explored his mouth as thoroughly as

he did mine. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t

the man I loved. All that mattered was he

was here.

After several moments, Maximus pulled

away.

“I wish I didn’t care about you so

much.”

“What? ” I asked breathlessly. Vampires

might not need oxygen, but I couldn’t kiss

like that without paying a price.

His eyes resembled the nearby traffic

light with how green they were. “You’re

overstressed, overtired, and emotionally

vulnerable. I won’t take advantage of that,

but if I cared less about you, Leila”—his

voice deepened—“we’d be in the nearest

alley with your legs wrapped around my

waist right now.”

Heat should have swelled at that

explicit image. Instead, an icy bucket of

shame washed over me. What was I

doing? Despite my actions, I didn’t want

to start anything with Maximus. I wanted

to find Marty’s killer—who hopefully

wouldn’t turn out to be Vlad—murder that

person, and then grieve for my best friend

while putting my life back together.

Getting involved with my ex’s right-hand

man wasn’t anywhere on my list.

Maximus must have sensed the change

because he let me go, his gaze turning

from glowing emerald back to smoky gray.

“My point exactly, ” he said, dryness

etching each word.

I crossed my arms over my chest,

wishing I hadn’t thrown my coat and shirt

away. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to, ah—”

“Save it, ” he interrupted crisply. Then

his voice softened. “I understand. You

needed to feel something good in the midst

of everything crumbling around you, even

if it was only for a moment. Humans don’t

have a monopoly on that, Leila. Vampires

need it sometimes, too.”

Then he picked up his discarded shirt

and coat, giving me a single hard stare

before he turned away.

“But right now, we need to get back to

the car and then you need to find out who

killed that bomb maker.”

Chapter 11

I t didn’t take long to find the images I

sought. Although nothing was more

densely packed with memories than a

person’s bones, death was a stand-out

event for everyone. Pity the images only

played like clips from a film reel instead

of me being inside Adrian’s head when

his murderer came calling.

“Who is it? ” Adrian replied to the

knock, as if he wasn’t looking at the

other side of the door through a security

feed.

“Don’t be boring, dearie” was the

reply he received.

My brows went up. Adrian’s killer was

a woman. She didn’t have an accent so

much as a pretty lilt to her speech, but I

doubted her nationality was American.

Adrian minimized the screen before he

opened the door. The woman walked in,

wearing dark glasses and a scarf around

her head. To make matters worse, what I

could see of her face seemed blurry.

What a time for my psychic vision to

need a tune-up.

“Make yourself at home, ” Adrian

drawled, shutting the door behind her.

“You thirsty? ”

“Of course, ” she purred.

That tone would’ve screamed, Danger!

to me, but Adrian didn’t seem to notice.

“What’ll it be? ” he asked.

“When we’re done, your blood, ” she

replied pleasantly.

He turned, startled, and then froze as

she took her glasses off. Though her face

was still blurred, the inhuman glow from

her eyes came through clearly. I could

almost see Adrian’s willpower being

hijacked under that hypnotic gaze. If he

hadn’t made a bomb that killed my best

friend, I would’ve pitied him.

“You will erase all records of our

dealings, from bank transactions to the

camera feed at your door, ” the woman

stated.

No! I thought, but of course that didn’t

change Adrian’s actions. He went to his

computer, booted up a bunch of files, and

then methodically deleted them. He even

erased secondary backups and ghost

files, too, much to my dismay.

“It’s done, ” he said woodenly once he

was finished.

The woman took off her scarf. I caught

a flash of rich, dark hair before

everything blurred again.

“Time for that drink now, dearie.”

Then she yanked Adrian’s head to the

side and bit down on his neck. When his

death ended the vision, my frustration

grew.

Not once had I gotten a good look at

her face.

“F ive foot four, about a hundred and

twenty pounds, dark hair, and a slight

accent that could be Welsh, English,

Scottish, or Irish.”

Maximus scowled. “That’s all you got?

A female vampire that might be from the

UK? ”

I knew how useless that information

was. “I’ll try linking to her again, see if it

works better this time.”

Despite my disgust, for a second time I

rubbed the burnt piece that Maximus had

yanked off of Adrian’s body. Flashes of

lights followed a rocking sensation, but

when I concentrated harder, those images

faded and I began to feel dizzy.

“Leila? Are you all right? ”

“Fine. Just a little carsick, ” I muttered,

trying again. After a few moments, I

caught a glimpse of a woman wearing the

same outfit as Adrian’s killer, but that and

the thick spill of walnut-colored hair was

the only way I could be sure it was her.

Her features were completely

indistinguishable. The tiny blue room she

was in rocked, which was odd. Then all

my attention focused on what she was

saying.

“... no, it wasn’t too risky... I took

care of it, dearie. He’s dead, ending any

chance this will be traced back to us.”

From how she spoke, she must be on the

phone. I stared at the blurred spot where

her face would be, concentrating, but

instead of getting better, it made the

haziness worse.

“You’re overreacting, ” she went on.

“Even if there are suspicions, they won’t

lead anywhere. Whatever she might have

been worth to him alive, she’s less

dangerous to us dead...”

I tried to focus on her more, but then my

dizziness came back with a vengeance.

My ears rang, too, and I felt something wet

trickle out of them.

Maximus swore. Then the car swung so

sharply that it fishtailed, adding crashing

to my list of concerns. I couldn’t seem to

voice a complaint, though, and now the

only thing I saw were large black spots.

That can’t be good, I thought, right before

something hard smacked me in the

forehead.

I had a few minutes of blissful

nothingness until I became aware that I

was choking on coppery-tasting liquid. I

tried to spit it out, but a hand clamped

over my mouth.

“Swallow, dammit! ”

Left with no other choice, I did,

grimacing as I recognized the taste.

Vampire blood. Pureed pennies would’ve

been less repugnant. I opened my eyes to

find Maximus crouched over me. My seat

belt was off and my seat was all the way

reclined. At least he’d pulled over before

utterly ignoring the road.

“Yuck, ” I said once he finally dropped

his hand.

He didn’t look offended so much as

relieved. That’s when I noticed both his

hands were smeared in red and so was the

front of my shirt. This couldn’t all be from

Maximus forcing me to drink his blood.

That whole lack of a pulse meant

vampires didn’t bleed much even when

they were cut. Add that to the steering

wheel being ripped off, and I’d missed

something big.

“What happened? ”

He tossed the steering wheel into the

back before flopping back into the

driver’s seat. “You started hemorrhaging

from your eyes, ears, and nose. Then your

heart stopped. I had to give you CPR and

blood to bring you back.”

Hearing that I’d come so close to dying

should’ve terrified me, but all I could

muster up was a weary “This day sucks.”

Maximus’s incredulous expression

made me want to laugh, an even more

irrational response, but what was I

supposed to do? I couldn’t cry because

that wouldn’t fix anything and we didn’t

have time for me to slowly rock myself

while shaking, which was the only other

thing that sounded appealing.

“I must be using too much power within

too short a time, ” I said. “Plus, I’m not

fireproof anymore, but remnants of Vlad’s

aura might still be messing with my

system. Between the two, I should’ve

guessed that my body couldn’t handle it.”

Maximus still stared at me as though he

couldn’t believe my nonchalance over

almost dying. I ignored that, directing my

attention to more important issues.

“What happened to the steering wheel? ”

“It was in my way when you needed

help” was his reply.

“Well.” I forced a smile that must’ve

been lopsided at best. “Thanks. Too bad

we have to get another car now.”

His teeth flashed in a matching

humorless grin. “That’s the least of our

problems.”

Great. “What’s the worst of them? ”

Maximus pulled out his cell phone and

wagged it at me. It didn’t ring but the

screen was lit up, showing an incoming

call.

“This is the third time Vlad’s tried to

reach me. I have to answer or he’ll get

suspicious.”

“Don’t you—! ”

Maximus held up a finger. “Don’t even

breathe loud, ” he muttered before

answering his phone with a brief “Yes? ”

I froze when I heard Vlad’s voice. That

familiar, cultured cadence affected me so

much that for a few moments, I didn’t

breathe at all.

“Maximus, ” my ex said coolly. “Am I

interrupting anything? ”

Smoky gray eyes bored into mine as

Maximus replied, “No, why? ” in a tone so

casual that I blinked. Good liar, I noted

for future reference.

“Because this is my third call” was

Vlad’s implacable reply. Guess it was too

late to keep him from being suspicious.

“I left my phone in the car while I found

someone to eat, ” Maximus said glibly.

“Everything all right? ”

Even if I wasn’t a couple feet away in a

closed space, I still would’ve heard

Vlad’s whiplike reply. “No, everything is

not all right. When did you last see

Leila? ”

I couldn’t help it—I sucked in an

audible breath. Maximus frowned at me

before responding with “Last week, when

I dropped her off at Marty’s trailer in

Atlanta.”

Nothing from Vlad for so long, I

wondered if he was speaking too softly

for a nonvampire to overhear. Then

Maximus asked, “Are you still there? ”

dispelling that idea.

“Yes.”

One word, bit out so harshly that I

flinched. Something had Vlad furious. I

wanted to grab the phone and demand to

know if he’d tried to kill me, but of

course, I didn’t. I waited, breathing as

shallowly as I could despite my heart

racing.

“Why did you ask about Leila? ”

Maximus prodded, still doing a great job

of sounding guileless.

Another loaded silence. Then Vlad

replied, “She’s dead, ” in a tone so casual

that tears sprang to my eyes. Even if he

hadn’t ordered it, he didn’t care. Hearing

the apathy in his voice cut me in places I

didn’t even know I had.

I must’ve made some sound because

Maximus scowled while holding his

finger to his lips in the universal command

for silence. Then he said, “What? How? ”

with such believable shock that I mentally

upgraded him from Good Liar to Fantastic

One.

“A gas line ruptured near Martin’s

trailer. I’m told both of them were killed

instantly in the explosion. I leave for

America tonight to return Leila’s remains

to her family.”

Oh shit! In the midst of everything, I’d

forgotten Gretchen and my father would

also think I’d been killed. I began to mime

at Maximus that we needed to stop Vlad,

but he clapped a hand over my mouth,

tightening it when I grunted.

“That’s terrible, ” he said, rolling down

the car window with his other hand.

Traffic noises soon merged with my

grunts, muffling them. If he hadn’t saved

my life twice in the past week, I would’ve

taken off my gloves and dosed him with

enough electricity to make him glow, but

he had so all I did was glare.

Well, that and I bit him. He deserved it.

“Yes, tragic, ” Vlad said, sounding

bored this time. “Meet me in Atlanta

tomorrow. We’ll fly from there to

Gretchen’s.”

“That might be difficult, ” Maximus

replied, flashing his fangs at me when I

continued to chomp on the fleshy part of

his hand. I took that as Keep it up and I’ll

bite you back so I stopped after one final,

angry nip.

Iciness returned to Vlad’s voice.

“Why? ”

“I told you I was checking on some of

my people while I was in the States.

Seems a couple of the younger ones have

taken to feeding in the open. I have to deal

with that, of course.”

“Of course, ” Vlad all but purred. “If

you don’t punish their disobedience now,

who knows what betrayals they’ll inflict

on you in the future? ”

From the way Maximus’s features

hardened, he, too, thought those comments

were more warning than instruction.

“Pass on my condolences to Leila’s

family, ” he said, mouthing, Don’t make a

sound at me.

Since his hand was still clamped over

my mouth, I couldn’t, but my glare

promised that we weren’t done with this.

“I will, ” Vlad replied.

Then they hung up. Vampires weren’t

big on saying good-bye, as I’d learned

after years of living with Marty. Once he

double-checked that the call had truly

ended, Maximus took his hand away from

my mouth.

“We can’t let my family believe I’m

dead” were my first words. “That’s too

cruel.”

“What’s more important? Their safety,

or their temporary sadness? ” he retorted,

nailing me with a hard stare.

“Safety? They have nothing to do with

this! ”

“Not yet, ” he countered ruthlessly, “but

they will, if you reveal that you’re alive.

You think they can fool Vlad? One sniff

and he’ll know they’re only faking grief.”

Despite his logic, I was torn. My dad

was strong, but I didn’t know how much

Gretchen could take. She still had

emotional scars from finding me after a

failed suicide attempt a decade ago when

my new abilities had nearly broken me.

“I still don’t think Vlad is behind the

bomb. He might not care that I’m dead, but

if we play on his pride, he’d be a hell of

an ally while we looked for the real

person responsible.”

The look Maximus gave me was both

annoyed and pitying. “He’d also be a

worse enemy if you’re wrong, and then

what do you think will happen to your

family? ”

I banged my fists against the car seat.

Yeah, I knew. Vlad would use them

against me. Even if he wasn’t behind this,

the real killer would, if it leaked that I

was alive. The best way to protect my

family was to let them think I’d died—and

hope one day they’d forgive me for the

deception.

I sighed. “They’re going to hate me for

this.”

“But they’ll be alive to hate you, ”

Maximus pointed out, and that was the

most important thing.

I shot him a grim look as something else

dawned on me.

“Even if Vlad isn’t responsible, what

are you going to do when he discovers

you’ve been lying to him this whole

time? ”

From the way Maximus’s expression

closed off, he’d already thought of this.

“I’ll have to convince him not to kill me, ”

he said, voice light as if he were

discussing a game.

I closed my eyes, struck with a sudden,

irrational urge to pray. That would be

easier said than done, as we both knew.

Chapter 12

M aximus green-eyed a passing motorist

into taking us to a Motel 6 inside the

Indiana border. Once there, I forced

myself to eat the drive-through food

Maximus had gotten me even though

traveling with a body part had killed my

appetite. Then I showered before tumbling

into the unoccupied second bed.

Despite having slept only a few hours

the past couple days, I was wide awake.

Maximus, on the other hand, seemed to

fall asleep as soon as his head hit the

pillow.

I glanced at the plastic baggie on the

table between us. At least the smell from

Adrian’s crispy... whatever was

contained. I couldn’t risk using it to link to

the female vampire again for a few days. I

needed regular doses of vampire blood to

stay alive even when I wasn’t overusing

my abilities, or dealing with the lingering

aftermath of a pyrokinetic aura embedded

in me.

Once again, I found myself envying

vampires, this time for their instant

healing. If I wasn’t human, I could start

tracking Adrian’s killer now instead of in

a few days. Being limited by my fragile

mortality was frustrating, but I’d turned

down my chance to switch sides. With

Marty gone and Vlad and I broken up,

there wasn’t another vampire I’d trust

enough to “sire” me. Vlad had been right

about it being an unbreakable bond. I

doubted I’d ever feel close enough to

another vampire to want that permanent

connection with them.

Still, some rest, regular nutrition, and

vampire blood should recuperate me

enough to track down my would-be killer

without risking another hemorrhage and

heart attack. Even if it didn’t, I’d try again

in a few days. The brunette vampire’s

pretty face flashed across my mind,

bringing a fresh surge of determination.

Marty and Dawn deserved to be avenged

and my family deserved to be safe.

Stopping that woman—and whoever had

sent her—was worth the risk.

I floated inside a luxurious private

aircraft, knowing at once where I was.

Vlad’s plane. He was only a few feet

away, wearing a charcoal trench coat

over black pants and a black shirt. It was

the same outfit I’d imagined him in at the

morgue, but he wasn’t threatening

anyone now. His eyes were closed, hair

spilling over his shoulders to blend into

his dark clothes.

This had to be another dream. Since

none of this was real, I could do what I’d

secretly longed to do the past couple

weeks. I floated over to Vlad and

lowered myself until I hovered next to

him, reaching out to stroke his face.

I didn’t feel the stubble that clung to

his jaw. Instead, my hand disappeared

through his face. Still, touching him

fulfilled a need that had clawed at me

night and day since I left him. Even

though everything had gone to hell and

Vlad might be the very person I was

running from, I couldn’t stop myself from

stroking his cheek, his brows, and finally

his lips. Part of me hated him for his

callous treatment, but the rest of me still

missed him so much it hurt.

“I see your powers are back, Leila.”

I jerked away, fleeing to the far side of

the aircraft. Vlad’s eyes were still

closed, but the sardonic curl to his

mouth told me I hadn’t imagined the

words.

“This is only a dream, ” I stated, more

to myself than him. “And we’re on your

plane because you told Maximus you

were flying to America, so my

subconscious used that detail.”

See? Nothing to worry about, I

reassured myself. Too bad he wouldn’t

shut up so I could siphon off a few more

moments of solace. Figures even in a

dream, Vlad wouldn’t be cooperative.

“You’re with Maximus.” A statement,

not a question.

I shrugged even though he couldn’t

see it. “That’s none of your business.”

Flames appeared, crawling up from

his hands to his upper arms. “Oh, but it

is.”

Then his eyes opened and he sat up,

looking around as if to pinpoint my

location. I waved my hand back and

forth, pleased when he didn’t so much as

glance in my direction. Vlad always

seemed to know where I was before when

I spied on him, further proof that none of

this was real.

“It ceased to become your business

when you walked away from us without a

backward glance, ” I said, relishing the

chance to unload some hurt. Thank you,

subconscious!

“ I walked away? ” His snort managed

to be both contemptuous and elegant. “I

offered you everything, yet you spurned

it all. I’ve had enemies be less merciless

in their dealings.”

I grabbed his shoulders but my hands

went right through. So much for shaking

some sense into him!

“Me merciless? All I wanted was for

you to love me, but according to you,

THAT was asking too much.”

Those flames extinguished. Good. I

didn’t want to dream about him

accidentally blowing up his plane.

“Words.” His tone sharpened. “I

shared my house, my bed, and my blood

with you, as well as offered you a place

in my life forever. What are words

compared to that? ”

I sighed, my anger dissipating as

quickly as his flames had. “Oh, Vlad, if

you believed that, you would’ve told me

what I wanted to hear to just appease

me. You didn’t, which proves saying ‘I

love you’ means more to you than

everything else.”

His brows drew together like

thunderclouds. “Enough of this. Tell me

where you are.”

I almost said, “South Bend, Indiana”

because what was the harm in telling

Dream Vlad? Then I paused. Why would

I gratify Dream Vlad, either?

“I’m at the corner of None of Your

Business and Screw You.”

His fist slammed down, knocking the

armrest off. “Don’t test me. You know

the gas line explosion wasn’t an

accident.”

“And I also know who might’ve been

behind it, ” I countered nastily even

though I didn’t believe it.

His fists clenched and unclenched. If

this wasn’t a dream, I’d swear I smelled

smoke. “You can’t think it was me.”

Another shrug he couldn’t see.

“Maximus says your pride might have

prompted a little payback for me leaving

you.”

A noise escaped Vlad that was too

visceral to be called a snarl. “He’s

signed his own death warrant twice,

then.”

Even imaginary, there was no

reasoning with him. “I need to wake up.

This dream sucks.”

“You’re asleep? Is that why your voice

is fainter and I can’t catch most of your

thoughts? ”

Alarm bells began to ring. This better

be my subconscious being VERY

creative.

He must have taken my silence as a

yes. Vlad smiled, foreboding expression

changing to infuriating satisfaction.

“You won’t contact me when you’re

awake, but you reach out to me in your

sleep. That should tell you who you

really trust.”

I began pinching my arm. Hard.

Dream or not, it was too upsetting to

keep talking to him.

“Think on this when you wake, ” he

continued, honeyed steel dripping off

each word. “Maximus has always wanted

you. Since the explosion, he has you

believing he’s your savior and you can’t

trust anyone else. A happy coincidence? ”

Wake up, wake up! I mentally chanted.

Out loud, I said, “Maximus wouldn’t

hurt me, whereas you kept doing that

even when you weren’t trying to.”

Vlad’s smile faded, though his lips

remained drawn back, revealing fangs

longer than I’d ever seen before.

“I’m coming for you, Leila. If you care

for Maximus, then you’ll leave him and

then contact me with your location. That

will give him a chance to run. Otherwise,

you’ll watch me kill him when I catch up

with you.”

You wouldn’t dare! trembled on my

lips, but I didn’t say it out loud because I

knew very well that he would.

“I don’t know why I ever thought I

loved you” was what I barked instead,

fear and anger making my tone brutal.

Something flashed across Vlad’s face

that, on any other man, I would’ve said

was pain. But that was impossible. Even

in a dream, Vlad didn’t care enough for

me to hurt him.

That proved true when his expression

became detached again. “I’ll see you

soon, ” he said, waving as if in dismissal.

A surge of fury had me bolting upright

in bed. My abrupt movement startled

Maximus, who awoke with far more

alertness. I was still processing the fact

that my dream was over when he was right

in front of me, big hands framing my face.

“Not again, ” he muttered, cutting his

wrist with a fang.

“Stop, ” I protested when he held his

bloody wrist against my mouth, but that

and swatting at his arm made no

difference.

“Swallow, ” he said sternly.

I did, cursing vampires and their

highhandedness the whole time. When he

finally removed his wrist, I shoved him,

but it had as much effect as a fly trying to

bring down a brick wall.

“What the hell? ” I snapped.

He flicked my nose before showing me

his red finger. “You started bleeding. I

wasn’t waiting to see if your heart stopped

again, too.”

Another nosebleed? But I hadn’t been

using my powers—

My gaze darted down. Yep, the gloves