Bite the Bullet (Bitten Book 5) (2 page)

Recognizing a polite dismissal, I got to my feet. “Thanks for taking the time to talk to me.”

Conner scowled at me. “You never have to thank me. Donna loves you like a sister, which means you’re family. You can talk to me about anything at any time.”

My heart melted at his words. Though he wasn’t technically human, Conner was the best man I’d ever met, and it made me incredibly happy that Donna had found him. However, since I couldn’t handle intense emotions head on, I responded as I usually did; with humor.

“So does this mean you won’t complain when I bring my laundry over and raid your fridge? Because that’s what annoying little sisters are supposed to do.”

“Just like her,” he murmured. “It’s fucking uncanny.”

Laughing, I walked with him toward the door of the study. Before I could open it, Conner laid a hand on my shoulder.

“I’ll have more information for you in a few days, Shannon.”

“Thank you.”

He nodded and opened the door for me, letting me walk out first.

“I believe Donna is waiting for you in the kitchen,” he murmured.

He disappeared down the long hallway leading to the back of the house, leaving me alone in the foyer.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed open the kitchen door to find Donna standing at the counter, pouring tequila into a blender.

“Midnight Margaritas!” she called.

I laughed, shaking my head as I walked to the counter and plopped down on a barstool. “It’s barely eight o’clock.”

She added fresh lime juice, triple sec, and agave nectar to the pitcher. “Are you telling me you don’t recognize a line from your favorite movie?” she asked.

I laughed again. “I do. I just wanted to point out the flaw in your use of that quote.”

“Oh, shut up.”

Before I could tease her some more, she dumped the ice in, snapped the lid on, and started the blender. Grinning at her, I didn’t say anything else.

Finally, she shut off the machine and poured us each a huge glass. As she handed me mine, she casually asked, “So Conner is going to help find a vampire to turn you?”

“Jesus, did you have your ear pressed against the door?” I asked.

“No need. I could hear your conversation, even with the door closed,” she responded, sipping her margarita.

I sighed. “Yes, he’s going to help me.”

“Are you sure you want to do this, Shannon?” Donna asked, her expression somber. “I know that the whole vampire thing sounds sexy, but there will come a time when every human you know will die. You’ll lose everyone you care about.”

I took a large sip of my drink. “Yes, I’m sure. I can’t explain it…I just know I need to become a vampire.”

“Is this some weird psychic thing? If so, why in the hell didn’t you use it to our advantage before? Like say, winning the lottery?”

I rolled my eyes. “It doesn’t work like that. Or at least it didn’t until a couple months ago. Ever since you met Conner and all this shit with the Faction started, my powers are getting stronger.”

“Okay, so you couldn’t always do this?”

“Only some of it, and usually only right before something was about to happen.”

Donna took a drink, eyeing me. “Why didn’t you tell me any of this before now?” she asked.

I laughed. “Before you met Conner, would you have believed me?”

“Good point.”

We drank our margaritas in silence for a few moments.

“You still could have told me,” she murmured.

With a sigh, I set my glass on the counter. “You have to understand, Donna, my parents always told me to keep my gifts a secret. It’s been for my own protection as well as for the safety of my friends and family.”

“Do you think I would’ve told people?”

I shook my head. “No, of course not. But if someone discovered my abilities and wasn’t concerned about breaking the law, they might try to get to me through my friends.”

“Isn’t that what’s happening now with the Faction?” Donna asked.

“Yeah, I know. It sucks.”

She nodded. “Hmm-hmmm.”

We fell silent again, drinking our margaritas and lost in our own thoughts. Mine weren’t pleasant.

I was relieved when Donna asked, “Do you want to go watch Conner and his guards train? Usually at least half of them are shirtless.”

“That’s the best idea you’ve ever had,” I answered.

L
uca rushed me,
moving so quickly he was just a blur. Still, I was expecting it, so I managed to evade the charge, but barely.

Suddenly the room spun and I landed face up on the mats, all the air leaving my lungs in a whoosh. I stared at the ceiling as I tried to catch my breath. Luca’s concerned face appeared above me. This was not how I expected our daily training session to go.

“Jesus, Shannon, you’re slow today. You usually would have seen that one coming.”

I scowled up at him but I couldn’t speak.

“Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth, nice and slow,” he instructed.

I narrowed my eyes in response because I was already doing that.

He lifted his hands in mock surrender. “Just trying to help.”

Since my diaphragm felt as though it were finally working again, I slowly sat up. Luca settled on the mat next to me.

“Better?” he asked.

I nodded and accepted the bottle of water he held out to me. In the last month, I’d begun daily physical training with the vampires Conner assigned to guard me. When I’d been forced into hiding because of the Faction, I’d also had to give up my job at the security firm. Used to being active and working long hours, it wasn’t long before I went stir crazy from being cooped up in the safe house all the time.

Since going places wasn’t really an option, my guards Luca and Duncan had taken it upon themselves to find ways to keep me from driving them nuts, which I tended to do often because reading and watching television were my only other pastimes.

We worked out together for at least an hour and a half daily. We played poker and other card games. They also allowed me to torture them with my TiVo choices on a daily basis. Centuries old vampires didn’t really appreciate the nuances of
The Real Housewives of New Jersey
or
Snapped
. I think they knew the only reason I watched those shows was to drive them crazy anyway.

As the days turned into weeks, and the weeks became a month, we’d formed a bond. I considered them friends, and they treated me as an equal rather than a burden.

“You seem distracted,” he murmured.

I shrugged. “I am.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

I glanced at him in surprise. Luca talked to me about lots of things; religion, philosophy, history, even art. Somehow, he managed to avoid anything too personal. It was the first time he’d asked me if something was bothering me.

“Thanks, Luca, but I’m still figuring it out myself.” I took another sip of water.

“Conner called me this morning,” Luca stated. The words were casual, but his expression wasn’t. “He wanted to know if I’d be willing to turn you.”

I choked on my drink. As I coughed and hacked, Luca patted me on the back. When his last pat felt like more of a swat, I waved a hand at him.

“I’m okay, I’m okay,” I wheezed. “Give me just a second and stop smacking me. You’ll crack one of my ribs.”

As soon as I could breathe somewhat normally again, I lifted my head to look at him.

“What did you say to Conner when he called?” I asked, studying Luca closely.

I wasn’t sure how old Luca was when he was turned, but he looked to be in his early thirties now. His sleek black hair was long and he often wore it pulled back into a ponytail. His features were striking in the way only a person with perfect bone structure could be. His face was a study in perfect symmetry with his full lips and high cheekbones.

Though he was beautiful, it was his eyes I found the most arresting. They were so dark they appeared to be black, but it wasn’t the color that made them noticeable.

It was the stark pain that filled them. Whatever had happened to Luca in the past, it hurt him deeply.

Not only could I see it in his eyes, I felt it emanating from him every time I was near him. My abilities also made me sensitive to emotions. Even if I wasn’t trying read him, I was able to feel the pain anyway because it was sharp and heavy, emanating from him like the endless waves of the ocean. My heart ached just experiencing a small portion of it.

He never talked about it. Luca was close-mouthed about nearly every aspect of his life. Still, I understood enough about him to know he was a good man. Well, a good vampire.

“I told him I would do it if you wanted me to,” he murmured.

“Okay, but is that what you want to do?” I pressed. I didn’t want him to feel obligated because of pressure from Conner or even me. If he wasn’t truly willing, then it could become a disaster.

Luca looked down at his hands and didn’t speak for a long moment. Finally, he answered my question. “Yes, but it wouldn’t be right.”

I was surprised by his words. Considering his tendency to keep to himself, I assumed that he would have adamantly refused. “Why do you say that?”

“You….ease something in me, Shannon, something I never thought could be eased. But if I turn you, you’ll be forced to share my burdens and you don’t deserve that. No one but me should pay the price for the choices I once made.”

“Luca—”

He shook his head vehemently. “I’m not going to bare my soul for you. Not now, and probably never. Just know that I’ll do it if you want me to.”

Before I could respond, he got to his feet and headed out of the room, the stormy swirl of his emotions following him.

*     *     *

“Shannon?”

I looked up from the book I’d been pretending to read to find Duncan hovering over me.

“Dinner will be ready in about fifteen minutes.”

I nodded. “Thanks, I’ll be right there.”

He didn’t walk off as I expected. Instead, he plopped down on the love seat next to me. “Wanna talk about what’s bothering you?” he asked.

I sighed. “Not really.”

“Okay, how about we talk about Conner calling me this morning?”

Crap. I hadn’t thought through the ramifications of any of this when I talked to Conner last night and that was unlike me. I usually thought out every detail I could think of and made numerous contingency plans, yet I hadn’t considered for one moment that Conner might ask the vampires I’d been living with the last month if they would be willing to turn me. It should have been the first thing I contemplated.

“Did he talk to you about my request?” I asked.

Duncan nodded, but didn’t say anything else. While Luca was broody and dark, Duncan was much more like me. He was mischievous and tended to use humor or sarcasm to redirect uncomfortable conversations. I found his short silence unsettling.

“And?” I prompted.

He shrugged. “It depends on you, Shannon. Of course I’m willing to help you, but this will be a big deal. Since we’re not mates, the kind of closeness we’ll experience at first will be disconcerting. I’m sure there are things we’d both like to keep private.”

I studied him closely and, for the first time, caught a glimpse of suffering much like Luca’s. With his short light brown hair and scruff, Duncan looked to be in his mid-twenties, and he always seemed to have a playful gleam in his bright blue eyes.

Except now.

As I watched, the emotion moved across his face before disappearing behind an affable half smile. I suddenly realized that Duncan just hid his pain in a different way, but it went as deep as Luca’s. He kept it carefully concealed.

It seemed that I didn’t know Duncan as well as I thought.

And God knew I wasn’t jumping for joy at the idea of someone having a window into my head.

“I understand,” I responded. I wasn’t sure what else to say. Now that I had this new insight, I didn’t know what to think.

Duncan touched my arm lightly, which surprised me. Neither he nor Luca touched me unless we were sparring. Ever. They both seemed keen on keeping a physical distance.

“We’ll help you if you want it, Shannon,” Duncan stated. “We only want you to be sure of whatever decision you make.”

“Thanks.”

He nodded and got to his feet. “Dinner will be ready in a few minutes.”

I watched him leave the room, but my mind was elsewhere. I shut my book and tossed it on the cushions next to me. Pulling my knees to my chest, I wrapped my arms around my legs and stared at the fire that Luca had started in the fireplace earlier.

The situation was getting so much more complicated than I expected. My gifts were telling me to hurry, that it was a necessity. My heart was telling me to wait.

I was torn between two paths and, for the first time, I couldn’t bring myself to make a decision. Indecisiveness wasn’t normal for me. For years, I’d lived and worked in a world that required me to take action quickly or people could get hurt.

Now it seemed as though the entire world was out of focus, clear cut beliefs I’d once held were wavering.

“Shannon!” Duncan called. “Dinner!”

I uncurled my limbs and climbed off the couch. Stretching my arms above my head, I winced as sore muscles from this morning’s session made themselves known.