Blood Moon (Moon Books) (10 page)

“Even with all the crazy stuff that’s happening, I still get butterflies when I look over and see you sitting there. Is there something wrong with me that I can be so happy when we’re hiding from people who are trying to kill us?”

I smiled back at him. “No. I’m really happy too. I keep getting all excited that you’re going to be in the city, living in my apartment. I can’t even tell you how many times I wished I could wake up with you next to me. I’ll have to rearrange my classes so I can be up with you at night.”

“Zack, I don’t want you to have to change your life for me.”

“Don’t even start. I already said I’d do anything for you. Taking a few night classes is nothing. I don’t like to be up in the morning anyway. You know that.”

“I do know that. You’ve always been nocturnal.” He smiled at me in the darkness and I grinned back.

“See? We’re perfect for each other,”

We were quiet again after that but the silence had changed. I could tell our last conversation had done some good. The air wasn’t filled with quite so much worry and guilt. We enjoyed each other’s company as much as we possibly could in the weird circumstances we happened to be in. I supposed that it was always going to be like that with him, wondering if someone was after Noah or both of us. It didn’t really matter. I’d meant it when I told him I didn’t care. I’d run from a whole army of Harpers if I got to be with him while I was running.

* * * *

I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew I could see the lights of the city in the distance.

“We’re here already?” I asked.

“Yeah. You were asleep for a long time.”

“Sorry, I wasn’t better company. I guess I was pretty tired.”

“I haven’t exactly been letting you sleep much.”

I grinned and squeezed his hand, thinking of what we’d been doing instead of sleeping. “Believe me. Not complaining.”

“Me neither,” Noah said, and lifted my hand to his mouth for a little kiss.

“Hey, you want me to drive? I know we’re almost there, but city traffic will be a bitch if you’re tired.”

“Nah. You don’t know where we’re headed so it’ll be easier if I drive.”

“What do you mean? Aren’t we going to my place?”

“I gotta make a stop first. We’re going to visit a friend of mine.”

* * * *

We pulled into the city around two in the morning. I didn’t need to wonder about who Noah knew that would be up so late. It was New York after all and he probably had some pretty unusual friends. He wove through the streets like he’d driven them a thousand times. I could tell he was familiar with the city. I didn’t want to think about how often he’d possibly been only a mile or so away from me. It was too frustrating. We were headed towards the East Village, a place where I’d spent many hours in the past three years.

“So, we’re going to see my friend Pascal. He goes by PC.”

“PC? Like the computer?”

Noah rolled his eyes with a wry smile. “No, ‘PC’ like Pascal Charles.”

“Vampire?” I was hoping he was one of the nice ones.

“Um, no. Not exactly.”

“Just tell me. I think I’ve gotten past the freaking out stage. Are there any surprises left?”

Noah laughed sarcastically. “Oh, I’m sure there are a few. PC isn’t a vampire, but he’s not fully human either. He’s a lycan.”

“Lycan. I’ve heard that before. Are we talking about a werewolf here?” Of course we were. What was next, Frankenstein? “Okay, I thought you guys were, like, mortal enemies or something.”

“You watch too many movies. I don’t have any mortal enemies...well except anyone who tries to hurt you. PC is on our side. He’s tired of having to hide, just like me.”

“Did he get...bitten too?”

“No. The gene is in his family from his mother’s side. They weren’t sure it was going to happen to him. He didn’t change for the first time until he was about eighteen. It tends to manifest with puberty but I guess he was a late bloomer.”

“Is it a full moon thing?”

“Not at all. Lycans aren’t werewolves. They can control the phasing. Well, PC still has trouble controlling it when he’s mad, but he’s working on it.”

“Oh, did he just start?”

“Nope. He’s twenty-three. His dad’s French and his mom’s Romanian. I’m not sure which of them has a more fiery temper but he’s got it coming from all sides. He’s pretty good at controlling it now.”

He seemed to know an awful lot about this non-werewolf. I felt a prick of jealousy. Another part about being with Noah, I was probably going to be jealous of every guy that looked at him sideways. That’s what happens when you’re with a pretty one. I was prepared to deal with it.

“How long have you known him?” I had to ask. I didn’t want to sound like I was digging for details...but I was.

“I met him not too long after I was changed. I got his number from an acquaintance at the bar in case I ever ‘needed anything.’ We’ve gotten to be friends over the past year or so.”

“Needed anything?” The jealousy surged.

“Yeah, like if I needed protection.”

“So that’s why we’re going to see the werewolf? He’s a bodyguard?”

“Uh, lycan. Don’t ever call him a werewolf to his face. That’s kind of an insult. And yes we’re going to see him because he can help us but he’s definitely not a bodyguard. He has some, uh, shady mafia connections that will be pretty useful right now. He can get us weapons you’re not really supposed to have and can help us make this car disappear. Plus, it’s always good to have the lycans on your side when things get bad.”

I was still reeling from the idea of a werewolf friend with underworld connections when I registered the last sentence.

“Do you think they will?”

Noah gave me a slow look. “I really hope not but it’s always better to be prepared. If there’s one thing my family’s good at, it’s finding people who don’t want to be found.”

I couldn’t help but agree.

* * * *

PC the lycan lived in an old brick building in the middle of the East Village. I’d always loved the Village, felt like I could almost hear the Beat poets of the past sitting around in coffee shops, effortlessly cooler than we could ever hope to become. It felt different than usual, though. Didn’t take a genius to figure out why. After the fight with Grandfather Dearest and Noah’s assurances that assorted vengeful Harpers were hot on our tail I had every reason to feel uneasy.

I gripped Noah’s hand tightly when we got out of the car. I didn’t like the fact that I felt uncomfortable in what was essentially my own neighborhood. It seemed like every dark corner held someone watching us, ready to report our whereabouts to good old Grandpa Harper. I was more nervous than I had been at any time that afternoon. I probably would have felt better if I had Noah’s old hockey stick in my hand. I supposed that’s why we were going to visit the lycan—to get protection. Didn’t make me feel much better.

“Zack, baby, calm down. They can hear your heart beating from Chinatown.”

“They?” Suddenly I was even more nervous.

He chuckled quietly. “I didn’t mean anyone in particular. It was a figure of speech.”

“I can’t help it. I’m a little freaked out. How do we know that none of these people work for your grandpa?”

He pulled me closer, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. “We don’t. I don’t recognize any of them but that doesn’t mean anything. I didn’t recognize any of his employees in the bar that night and there was obviously someone there watching me. There’s nothing much we can do about it anyway. As far as they know we’re going to visit a friend and then leave. Which is true.”

“Okay. My tough vampire boyfriend will protect me anyway, right?”

He grinned and then his smile softened. “I’d protect you with my life,”

It made shivers go up and down my spine. I rubbed my head against his shoulder then followed him into the building in front of us.

Of course Noah’s friend had to live on the top floor of a building with a broken elevator. By the time we got up there I was panting and starting to perspire in the un-air conditioned swelter of the stairwell. Next to the unruffled and cool Noah I felt like a sweaty pig. He grinned at me and brushed his lips across my damp forehead then took my hand to lead me down the hall. When we reached the fifth door on the right, Noah stopped and raised his hand to rap quietly on the antiqued wood.

I could hear footsteps on the other side and the door was cracked open cautiously before being thrown wide. I was very surprised by the guy on the other side. He didn’t look a day over seventeen. He was small and lithe and I couldn’t even imagine there was a big brawny wolf existing somewhere inside of him. I had to admit that when I heard ‘werewolf” I was expecting someone more along the lines of Hugh Jackman and not the twerpy little kid in front of us. Goes to show what Hollywood does to our perceptions.

“Noah!” he exclaimed, coming out of the apartment and giving Noah a huge brotherly hug. Even I, who thought there wasn’t anyone in the world hotter than my boyfriend, had to admit there were no intentions in that hug. PC was just like a sweet little...puppy.

“PC, this is Zack. My boyfriend.”

“You mean Zack-Zack. This is—”

Noah nodded grinning. “This is him. Zack, PC.”

I smiled and shook his hand. “It’s nice to meet you.” I didn’t forget for a second that I was actually meeting a real live were—I mean lycan. I wondered if I’d ever get used to all of it.

“How did this happen, Noah?” PC asked gesturing at me.

I was surprised that he didn’t wait until I went to the bathroom or something to start talking about me but I loved the fact that Noah had obviously told him all about us.

“We ran into each other a few weeks ago,” he answered pulling me close and smiling down at me. “Turns out it’s exactly like I remembered. Better even.” I wanted to kiss him, audience or not. I contented myself with rubbing my hand on his back.

“And does he—”

“Yeah. He knows everything. And that’s why we’re here.”

* * * *

It was fun to watch Noah and PC together. I’d never seen him with a friend other than me and they obviously had a totally different relationship than we did. They joked and flipped each other shit but I could tell that underneath it they were close. Not romantic in any way. Just close. I was glad that Noah had someone that he could talk to.

PC pulled us into his apartment, checking both directions in the hallway before shutting the door.

“You think you guys were followed?”

“No. Zack knocked my grandfather out before we left. He wouldn’t know which way we headed. Even if he knows I’m in the city, it’ll be hard to find me.”

“You knocked his grandfather out?” PC grinned at me. “I gotta hear this one.”

I smiled back at the kid (who was actually older than us but seemed so young) and nodded. “Yeah, he was after Noah with some wicked looking knife. I clocked him over the head with a hockey stick.”

“Niiiiccceee. Hey you want a soda or beer or anything? I got coffee too. I know blood sucker here isn’t interested.”

“Uh, sure. Are you okay with coffee, Noh, will the smell make you sick?” He shook his head so I told PC that I would actually love some coffee. I felt fairly certain that we had a long-ass night ahead of us.

While waiting for PC to return, I was surprised to learn that we weren’t the only visitors in his apartment. A few minutes after we got there, a loudly arguing couple burst from one of the back rooms. The girl was very pale underneath what would have been honey colored skin, with long black waves and a tiny but voluptuous body. She reminded me of a real life version of the princess from Aladdin. I could tell right away, though, that she was a vampire. I guess I was getting good at reading the signs. The guy, as far as I could tell, was human, like me. He was quite a bit taller than her and despite their arguing I could see that they totally adored each other.

“That’s Leila and Jason,” Noah whispered to me. “She’s a vampire, obviously, and he’s human but a witch.”

What the hell? Now there were witches too? I was starting to feel very ordinary.

“Aren’t there any other regular old boring humans like me?”

“You could never be boring. And, no, not really. Most humans tend not to react to us very well.” He smirked at me and raised his eyebrows. I felt a little guilty since I had been one of those who reacted pretty badly at first. I could see the other two were looking at me curiously.

Noah rose and gave the tiny little vampire girl a long hug. She kissed him on the cheek, her almond shaped eyes flashing merrily.

“Hey, Noah love. We’ve missed you. You been holed up with the cutie on the couch?” Noah flushed a little but smiled and nodded.

“Yeah. Leila, Jason, this is Zack.”

I saw another significant look pass between Noah and the pretty girl. She was quite a bit more subtle than PC, but I could tell she knew about me too. It made my heart warm in my chest. I stood up to shake her hand but was enveloped in a surprisingly strong hug.

“It’s about time you two found each other,” she whispered. “He’s missed you so much.”

I smiled at her. “I missed him too. He’s my best friend.”

She grinned at me, teeth shining in the night. I turned and shook hands with Jason as well. His greeting was more masculine and subdued but his smile was warm and friendly. I could tell Jason was happy for Noah as well. I was glad he’d had such good friends to help him through the last few years. They had to have been hard for him.

Noah took my hand and led me to the couch. Leila and Jason took the couch across from us and PC sprawled his lanky body into the overstuffed easy chair. I took my first good look around his apartment. It was very interesting, almost like an apartment you’d see in a movie. It seemed like PC had lived there for years. The floors were scuffed wood, covered with exquisite Persian rugs, the walls were antiqued and adorned with posters of the New York City Ballet, Paris and Bordeaux, and replicated impressionist paintings. The shelves were full of lamps and books and odd collected little objects like a sparkly Eiffel Tower and a little doll with an intricate flowered dress.

“This is a great place,” I told him, still taking in the details.