CLUB NUMBER FIVE (Immortal Blood) (21 page)

“You're evil,” I hissed.

“Oh
I know
.
”
He
smiled cockily.

“But you can't make me evil, too. I won't kill anymore.”

“Yes
you will,”
he
said, seemingly friendly. “But not because of me. You will kill because it is your nature.”

“No,” I resisted, but I knew he was right. Eventually
,
something would happen that would force me to kill. And all I had to do was look around to get confirmation of that. I saw arms full of tattoos and I knew that all of them weren't cold-blooded murderers. So no matter how hard I fought
,
I couldn't escape my destiny.

Jason snorted and turned his back to me. The other vampires moved out of his way and bowed, but not all of them were scared. I saw looks
of approbation
here and there and I almost waited for someone to applau
d
. He stopped at the bar and the bartender gave him a full glass. He raised it approvingly and turned to look at me again.
“I think I've been away too long
.
”
Hi
s eyes drilled into mine. “So I've decided to stay here for a while, and you, my dear Samantha, will entertain me while I'm here.”

“No!” I cried.

Dane moved next to me.
“Please, sire
.
” Dane bowed his head. “This girl belongs to me.”

“Oh
I know that
.
” Jason narrowed his eyes. “But there are so many ways to entertain me that I'm sure we can make some kind of a deal.”

“No, please, no. Dane, you can't let him have me,” I whispered in horror and his grip tightened on my shoulder.

“What did you have in mind?” Dane asked dangerously.

“You'll see
.
” Jason laughed and licked his lips.

Dane leaped
in front of
him and grabbed his throat.

Jason didn't flinch. He put his hand slowly on Dane's wrist and threw him
effortlessly across the room.
“I'm over a thousand years old, boy. Did you think I lived
to be
this old just like that? Well, think again. There were obstacles along the way
,
and believe me, you do not want to be
one of them
.”

“Later,” Jonathan whispered and held Dane back.

Dane tried to break free but Jonathan's grip was iron. I watched in horror as Jason came closer and offered me his hand. I didn't take it. He glanced meaningfully at Dane and Jonathan and I swallowed. Dane's eyes were fixed on Jason and I saw how badly he wanted to challenge him. But Jason was right. There was no way Dane could beat him. Neither by himself nor with Jonathan. But I promised silently that I would find a way to get back at Jason. I didn't care how long it took. I would make him pay for what he had done to me and what he was about to do. I knew from the wicked smile on his lips that he had something special planned for me. Something that would destroy more of me than just a random kill
ing
, and I couldn't let him do it.

Jason coughed and glanced meaningfully at me. I stood up like I was in a trance and gave him my hand. He squeezed it and laughed dryly. I stared at Dane, and when I saw his tears I almost cracked and felt my knees giving
way
slightly. Jason put his hand on my lower back and steadied me. I moved my eyes from Dane to Jason and he smiled. My face didn't show any emotion. It couldn't
,
as I was numb
with
fear.

For s
even days I worked at the Club while Jason followed me like a predator. He didn't lay his hands on me. He didn't have to. I felt his eyes all over my body
,
and when he brought humans for me to feed
on,
I could hear his satisfied breaths inside my head. He had made me his puppet and there was nothing I could do about it. I knew it was part of my punishment and he wanted everyone to see how short my leash was. But I hated it. I spent every second thinking of ways to kill him. How I would boil him in hot oil or stake his icy heart over and over again. But nothing changed the fact that I was his slave and only he had the power to end my punishment, when or if he decided to do so. And my guess was it was more like
ly to be
if than when
,
as somehow I amused him and he liked to see me fight against him.

He
was a very handsome man and I had seen women throw themselves
at
him, but obviously they didn't see what I saw. For me he was nothing more than a cruel master
,
and
de
spite his noble words, I knew he wanted all of me. My mind was not nearly enough and he wouldn't rest until he owned me. Dane and Jonathan were in the
C
lub, too. And if Jason's eyes followed me, their eyes followed Jason. I didn't get why Jason didn't just claim me from Dane. Not that I wanted to be claimed or anything, but it just felt so weird. If Jason was a big bad vampire whom everyone else had to obey, couldn't he order Dane to give me to him? But the more time I spent at the Club, the more familiar I got with vampire laws
,
and believe me, if human law was boring, it was nothing compared to this.

Vampires were masters of making footnotes. And in some twisted way they had honor beyond everything else. So Dane as my creator had all the power to decide what he wanted to do with me. Scary, huh? I could only imagine what he would do if I pissed him off limits. So I stayed at the Club and worked my butt off while hating Jason, and when I thought nothing would surprise me anymore, Jason came to me.

“You're free to go.”

I stared at him like an idiot. “What?”

“I said
you're free. Go, enjoy your life
,
and remember these days the next time you think of
doing
something stupid
.
”
He
smiled dryly.

“Thank you,” I stammered and managed to flash him a smile. “But I won't do anything stupid, I promise.”

“Yes
you will
.
”
He
lifted my chin and smiled. “And that's what I'm counting on.”

I stared at him, confused. Why couldn't he say what he meant? Instead he had to give me hidden meanings all the time. That was so frustrating! I thought he had wanted me to behave, to control my temper. But now he was letting me think that he was sure I couldn't. So why had he let me go? Jason lifted his eyebrows and
tilt
ed his head. I stared at him and gulped
,
as I could read everything from his eyes. He wanted me to screw up. He wanted me to screw up badly
,
and when I did, he'd have an excuse to punish me again. Even worse, he could claim me from Dane. If I did something bad enough, no one would blame him for taking me under his wing and breaking my will.

“Don't be so sure of it,” I whispered and jerked myself free.

He
burst into laughter. “I can't wait to see you again. You, my darling, have given me a reason to live another thousand years or even more.”

I swallowed. “When I walk through that door, you will never see me again. That's a promise.”

“You're magnificent!”
He
hugged me impulsively. I didn't hug him back. “Don't lose that fire, sweet Samantha. I'll be seeing you soon.”And then he was gone. Just like that and with the final word.

Dane rushed to me and I collapsed into his arms.

“I'm free,” I whispered.

“You're free,” Dane confirmed, his lips on my hair.

I glanced around to make sure Jason really
was
gone, and when I didn't find him anywhere
,
I closed my eyes. My legs were like jelly and I wanted to cry, but I was still recovering from the shock of being Jason's marionette and I couldn't allow myself to think. During the past seven days I had done horrible things, things I could never forget. I was sure he would come back and that he would wait for my next mistake. Knowing myself, I was sure there would be a next mistake no matter what I claimed.
“Let's get out of here,” I whispered, and Dane nodded.
             

He led me to the back door and out of the Club. But I didn't get to the car Jonathan had brought us. Kate was leaning on the wall looking troubled. I eyed her suspiciously, but stayed quiet. Finally
,
she came to me
slowly
and touched my arm.

“Hey, are you okay?”
she asked.

I
shook my head slowly
and she smiled sadly at me.
“No,” I cried miserably
,
“I don't think I am.”And suddenly I was in her arms, crying like a river. She was crying, too. Dane let us cry the worst pain away before gently leading us into the car and telling Jonathan to take us all home.

I sat on the couch and stared at the fire. It was weird how vampires were fascinated by it
,
as it was the only thing that could kill us. Jonathan
appeared
next to me and handed me a blanket. Dane had disappeared the moment we got home and I hadn't seen him for a while. As for Kate, well, there was something off about her
,
but I was so tired I couldn't handle it
that
night.

Jonathan helped me wrap myself in the blanket and pulled me
in
to his arms. I leaned on him gratefully. “He really loves you, you know,” he whispered in my hair.

“He has a funny way of showing it,” I sniffed and we sank into silence.

It was nice and cozy to sit with Jonathan
,
but my soul screamed for Dane. The other vampires in the house were avoiding me and it would've been nice to hear the words 'I love you' from Dane. But no, he had escaped and left me alone instead. I snuggled closer to Jonathan and he squeezed me tight.

“This has been hard for him and he just needs some time,”
he
said sheepishly
,
and I threw the blanket away.

I couldn't believe my ears. I had murdered a girl. I had been Jason's slave and I
’
d had to bear his inappropriate suggestions for days, and Dane was pretending to be hurt. Unbelievable! I got up fiercely and ran to the stairs. When I reached Dane's door I smashed it open and leaped in. Dane was lying on his bed, reading, and when he saw me
,
he lifted his eyes
lazily
to me.

“Dane,” I said warningly
,
“
w
hat are you doing?”

“Reading
.
”
He
shrugged and moved his eyes back
onto
the book.
I grabbed
it
and threw it on the floor. Dane sat up slowly and looked at me expectantly.

“That's not what I meant, and you know it,” I snapped. “Why are you sulking? Everything is fine. Jason is gone and I'm home. Can't we just move on?”

“But that's it,” Dane said slowly. “I don't know if I want to move on.”

“What?” I cried and stared at him.

He didn't move his eyes and I saw he was serious. A cold shiver went through my body. How could he do that? How could he abandon me now? I mean, what happened to all that eternally together love stuff? I swallowed and shook my head. Dane was like a cold lake and I couldn't read anything from his face. No! I shook my head again. He couldn't do this. I wouldn't let him, but when I looked into his eyes
,
a coldness started to spread in me, too.

Dane had never said he loved me. Not that I remembered. It was Jonathan who had said it, but Dane hadn't said it once. So maybe Jonathan was wrong. Maybe Dane had never really loved me and he had changed me just because he was bored or something.

“Dane?” I whispered and stepped forward.
He
got up from the bed and stepped away from me. Okay, that hurt.
“Dane, what's going on?”

“Nothing,”
he
said nonchalantly. “I'm just not sure if it's a good idea to be with you.”

I slumped on
to
the bed. Don't do this, my mind begged, but I couldn't say it
out
loud.

Dane picked the book up from the floor and placed it on
to
the table.
“You're a walking catastrophe and I'm not sure if it's a good thing
.
”
Hi
s words pierced me.

“So now you're dumping me?”