BloodlustandMetal (5 page)

“Welcome aboard, Mr. St. Clair. I’m Patrick Bentley. We’ve
taken care of all the arrangements for a hassle-free journey.”

* * * * *

Daylight was approaching. When I called Stefano to tell him
we’d arrived in London, he was pleased, but told us to take cover until sunset.
He lived over an hour away and slept through the day. “I’ll expect you here
tonight.”

I took Layla to my flat in London, grumbling that I’d have
to be stuck with a vampire in my place throughout the day. I carried her over
to my bed since I didn’t have a guest room here. No need, I didn’t have
overnight guests. Unless they were sleeping in my bed.

Even as dead weight in my arms, she felt so light, like
carrying a child. When I placed her on my bed, I couldn’t resist inhaling her
scent. I thought vampires would smell of death and decay, but she smelled like
flowers. I picked up that floral scent again, which reminded me of lilacs. Was
it coming from her hair or her body? I lifted a lock of her hair. It was soft,
like silk. Then I bent forward to sniff it, but she muttered something in her
sleep and rolled, startling me so I jumped away from the bed.

That was close.

A distressed look came over her face and she muttered
something that I couldn’t make out. The next word was clear—“No,” she called
over and over. “No, no, no.”

“Shh,” I whispered. “It’s okay.” I sat down on the bed next
to her and ran my fingers soothingly over her face before realizing what I was
doing. Her white skin was so soft, like the petals of a delicate flower. I knew
I shouldn’t be doing this, that I shouldn’t care about her, but I couldn’t
resist touching her cheek.

She stopped crying out and the knotted expression gave way
to a more peaceful one. Reluctantly I pulled my fingers off her and climbed off
the bed, fighting a growing urge inside me to lie down next to her and pull her
into my arms. Protect her from whatever it was causing her such anguish. But I
remained standing next to the bed, monitoring her. Within a minute or two, her
breathing deepened as she sank back into a deep sleep.

What was she upset about? Was she having a nightmare? Was it
triggered by me touching her hair? I hated seeing her like that, in such
anguish.

I sat down in the armchair in my bedroom that I’d never had
a use for until now. Minutes passed as I watched her sleep, waiting to see if
she’d cry out again. She still wore that lacy, white baby doll dress that
captured my attention when she sang last night. Had it only been a night? With
all the miles and the ocean we had put between the club in the United States
and London, it seemed like many more hours had passed.

Jetlag, time change, yeah, that had to explain it.

Her dress had ridden up enough to expose part of her white
thigh. I pictured myself going over there and touching her leg, traveling up to
explore…

No, Devon, stop where you’re going with that.
I
forced my eyes away from her thigh and traveled down her legs. She still had
the boots on. I should probably remove them to make her more comfortable.

When I was certain she was back into a deep sleep, I
loosened the laces on one boot. As I unraveled them, moving down her slender
calf, I tried not to think about how silky her pale skin was. Like satin. I
pulled one of the boots off and a black sock. Her feet were tiny, toenails
painted a pale-pink. Then I removed the other boot, trying carefully not to
touch her more than necessary since the effect rattled me and I wasn’t sure
why.

I grabbed a blue-and-white quilt my grandmother had made for
me and used it to cover her up. Then I sat back down and watched her sleep.

Now that all the hair products and makeup had worn off, she
had a more natural look. I was struck by how young she appeared, as if just out
of college. How old was she anyway? In human years, before she changed into a
vampire. I’d only heard of vampires being made, not born, so I assume that’s
how she became one. How long had she been a vampire? The more I thought about
her, the more questions came up. My brain was so swamped with questions about
the woman in my bed and how she came to be the vampire she now was.

How did she get mixed up with Stefano? Was he the one to
turn her? If so, was she a willing participant or forced? Did he suck so much
blood from her that the only way for her to continue was as the undead? Did she
have a choice?

You don’t know much about vampires. Except how to kill
them.

The bounty hunter in me reminded me to remain detached if I
wanted to pull this job off successfully.
That’s all you need to know. She’s
a job. Plain and simple.

I had to harden my resolve and not let this woman get to me.
Only a fool would let a beautiful woman get under his skin and make him drop
his guard. And in this case, it would be especially dangerous. Because the last
look she had given me before she passed out was one of pure hatred.

The woman on my bed who looked like an angel was anything
but one. She was a cold-blooded vampire, one who sucked the blood out of her
victims to sustain her thread to whatever form of life she had.

I made sure she was bound tightly to the bed before I went
to catch some sleep on the sofa. She should stay asleep for most of the
daylight and I didn’t get much sleep on the plane. I set an alarm on my watch
to wake me well before sunset though. I had to be there when she woke.

I knew I had to sleep with one eye open. Because she would
try to kill me at the first available opportunity.

One thought struck me before I fell asleep. I thought maybe
she had used some vampire charms on me in the club and that’s why she got into
my head the way she did. While she was out cold from the expensive vampire
sedative I had purchased from a witch in Barcelona, which had a mix of garlic
and other herbs, she wasn’t able to exude any of those charms. And I was still
thinking about her in ways I shouldn’t.

Layla

I woke up in a haze. When I tried to move, I found I was
still restrained, which jolted me back to the precariousness of my situation.
My arms were fastened to a bedpost, but at least my legs were free. I looked
around the room to see heavy maroon drapes covering the windows, and my captor
sitting in a dark-red armchair. A lamp on a small table next to him illuminated
his corner of the room.

He was watching me.

“Where are we?” I asked.

I could speak, I realized with relief. My mouth wasn’t taped
anymore.

“You’re awake,” Devon said. “You’ve been out for hours.”

I replied, “That should hardly be surprising to you
considering you drugged me.”

“I had to for the journey.”

At least the look on his face did fake an expression of
regret and not one of relishing the experience.

“You’d be too difficult to transport otherwise. Besides,
dawn was coming and you needed to sleep. I needed to get you under cover.”

“How magnanimous of you. My protector,” I dragged out the
last part to let the sarcasm linger. “And what do you mean journey? Where the
bloody hell are we?”

“London. We’re at my flat. We’re waiting for the sun to set
so we can move.”

“London? Not only did you kidnap me, but you took me across
the damn ocean?” I pulled against the restraints, knowing full well it would be
futile and he’d made sure they were effective, but I had to express my
frustration somehow. I was powerless and I hated every excruciating moment of
this helplessness. “How the fuck did we get over here? How long have I been
out? What day is it? And what the fuck do you want from me, you goddamn
psycho!”

“Calm down, my fiery little bloodsucker, and I’ll tell you.”

I pulled against the restraints again to make my displeasure
known and then stopped moving, letting my heavy breathing slow down. And then I
fixed a stare upon him with all the fury I could muster, waiting for him to
give me some answers.

“We flew here. Special arrangements that Stefano took care
of. All the papers and sunlight-blocking shit that you vampires have to deal
with. For immortality, you pay a pretty price, don’t you? Never being able to
see the sun. Living in darkness. What good is eternal life if it’s spent in the
shadows?”

What the fuck did this guy know about anything? I never
chose to become this way, I was forced. If given the choice, I don’t know what
I would have picked. To live eternally and never get sick is what so many
humans yearn for. Did they know it would entail living apart from your family
and friends, having to watch them grow old and die, while you continued day in
and day out in isolation, looking for sustenance from blood?

I didn’t think so. They wouldn’t think about that, would
they?

Becoming a vampire sounds like a seductive option at first
until you realize the reality of the life you have chosen. The unbearable
thirst. The loneliness. The darkness. Eternal darkness.

“How did you find me?” I asked. I had thought crossing the
ocean to return to the States would give me a wide berth to hide. The US was
huge, with many cities. How the hell did he track me to Boston?

“I’ve been doing this for years,” he replied.

“But how? I thought my cover was great.”

“Kind of like hiding in plain sight?” Devon replied.
“Disguised but in the public eye. Seen, but overlooked.”

“Yes. Yes. And yes. And it worked for months until some
British guy who thinks he’s a badass commando comes into my club, pretending to
be a fan, and snatching me off the streets!”

“It’s my job. And I’m good at it.” He paced in front of the
bed. “So why the heavy metal band shtick?”

I shrugged. “Who wouldn’t want to chance to be in a rock
band? And besides, the opportunity came up at the right time.”

“In London?”

“What do you know about London?”

“I know when you ran away from him, you ran into a rock club
there.” He stopped pacing and stood facing me.

“So. What does that prove?”

“I tracked you crossing the ocean and coming to Boston. Then
moving through the club scene, mostly where they put on rock shows.”

Crap. And I thought it was a genius plan because I thought
Stefano was so old-fashioned, he wouldn’t ever think to look in modern rock
clubs. Too bad he hired this guy. “And how did you figure out who I was?”

“Like I told you,” he said, rubbing his shaved head. “I’ve
been at this a long time. I know the right questions to ask. And I nailed you
down as the new singer for Bloodlust Diamond. How did you land that gig?”

“Why do you think I’ll answer any of your questions?” I
spat.

“Why not?”

“What kind of job involves capturing innocent people and
bringing them to their death? Sounds more like a crime in itself.”

“Everyone says they’re innocent when I find them. Few truly
are.”

“I am,” I declared, widening my eyes to up the innocence
factor. “I didn’t steal anything from Stefano. I’ve been framed.”

He walked in a half-circle around me, opening and closing
his mouth in a gabbing gesture. Then he repeated, “I’ve been framed,” in a
higher pitch. “Sure, sweetheart. Like I’ve never heard that line before either.
You can save the act. It doesn’t have any effect on me.”

“It’s not a bloody act! I escaped to the US because I knew
how Stefano would react. Once he makes up his mind about someone or something,
there’s no changing it. Since he decided—wrongly—that I stole from him, my life
was in jeopardy.”

Why the hell am I telling him all this? I just told him I
wouldn’t tell him anything. What did I care if he thought I was innocent or
guilty?

“Guess it didn’t work out for you. Since you were found.”

“By you. If you stayed out of it, I would be fine right
now.”

“You’d be on the run. Looking over your shoulder for the
rest of your life. No, not life. You’re already dead.”

“At least I’d be safe!”

“You’d never be safe with a vampire like Stefano looking for
you. His reputation is known beyond vampire circles. He is rich and powerful
and has more connections than you or I could imagine.”

“Why am I telling you anything anyway?” I pouted in
frustration. Would anything work on this guy? Did he have a soft spot anywhere
in him? Time to appeal to his softer side, if he had one. “Devon, if that’s
your real name.”

“It is.”

“Devon, I beg you not to take me to him. If you do, he’ll
kill me.”

“Not my problem, sweetheart.”

“Do you have a soul? A conscience in that big, stupid,
shaved head of yours? I told you I didn’t do it. I didn’t take anything from
Stefano. Whoever did it framed me to take the fall.”

“Like I said, not my problem. If you want to explain it to
anyone, explain it to Stefano. You’re wasting your words on me.”

My thoughts raced around in my head, every bad idea aimed at
this stupid, evil Devon character. “If I wasn’t restrained right now, I’d kill
you. I’d drain every last drop of blood from you until your cold, dead body
dropped to the floor.”

My threat had no effect on him. Why the hell not? He knew I
was a vampire. He knew I was lethal. Without the silver, I could easily
overpower and kill him.

“I’m not so easy to kill, sweetheart.” He tapped his finger
on a table. “So why did you piss this big, bad vampire off anyway? What
painting did you take from him that has him so riled up?”

“I didn’t take anything.”

“Why does he think you took it?”

“I’m done talking to you.”

He pulled his chair across from me, moving a foot away.
“Don’t you enjoy my company?” He grinned with so much self-assurance that I
wanted to wipe it off his stupid face. “If this isn’t enough fun for you, we
can play a card game.”

“Don’t antagonize me! Isn’t it bad enough that you’re
sentencing me to my death?”

“You do the crime, honey, you do the time. Or in this case,
maybe you pay with your life. Vampire justice doesn’t make much sense to me.
You’re all already dead anyway.”