Consumed (5 page)

He put a finger to my mouth. “You kissed me back, Ava. You want this as much as I do. If you deny it, you’re just insulting your own intelligence. Others might think you’re dizzy and flaky, but we both know that’s not true.”

That was probably the nicest thing a guy had ever said to me.

With that, he stalked to the door and opened it wide…only to find Alora there, her fist raised and ready to knock again. Clearly taken aback, she simply stared at him.

“What’s up?” asked a familiar voice. Then Jude was bumping Alora aside. Her eyes widened at the sight of Salem. “Oh.”

And Salem being Salem, he just grunted at them. Then he glanced at me over his shoulder. “Expect a call from Sam and Jared in the next few hours. We’re not done with the assignment tonight. I’ll be seeing you soon.”

Once he was gone, Alora and Jude both rushed inside, talking at once.

“Well, well, well,” drawled Jude, closing the door.

“Now I know why you didn’t turn up at the café for lunch.” Alora grinned.

“Oh shit,” I muttered. I’d arranged to meet them at one of the cafés. The Hollow contained plenty of cafés, stores, bars, and even a nightclub and a bowling alley. It was surrounded by a tropical rainforest, and had a man-made beach in the centre for all the residents – vampires and humans – to use. Only Sam, Jared, their immediate staff, and the legion had access to the private beach behind the mansion.

“Sorry, I should have called to say I couldn’t make it. You heard about the brothel, right?” Nothing remained secret on the island for long.

Jude’s upper lip curled as all three of them settled on the sofa. “Sickening, isn’t it?”

“I went along.”

“So
that’s
what Salem meant.” Alora’s expression softened. “Aw, sweetie, that must have been hard. No wonder your mind was elsewhere.”

I told them about the assignment, filling in the gaps in the account they had been given.

“Why did Sam and Jared ask you to join them?” asked Jude.

“She said it would be good experience for me, and that I was in Luther’s vision so it was important that I went. It occurred to me that she might have been hoping that taking me on an assignment, showing me the good the legion do, would convince me to join. If so, it’s worked.”

Alora’s face lit up. “Yay!” With her quirky clothes, she often came across as hippy-like. It was true that the female was free-spirited, but she was also bold and daring.

Jude grinned. “I knew you’d cave eventually. But this good news is not going to distract me from asking what the hell’s going on between you and Salem.”

“Nothing is, and nothing will be.”

Alora’s mouth dropped open. “Dear God, why not? I mean, he’s scary but he’s also spectacularly hot. Just don’t tell Evan I said that.”

“He wants a serious relationship.” I repeated the things Salem had said, including the possessive words he’d spoken.

Alora actually fanned herself. “I think I’m going to swoon.” I laughed, shaking my head.

Jude leaned back, folding her arms. “Do you think by ‘hold you tight’ he meant he wants you guys to Bind?”

Huh. I hadn’t even considered that. Binding was so much more than marriage – a powerful psychic connection formed between the two vampires, joining them on a level that far surpassed anything else. “I can’t imagine Salem ever Binding with anyone.” He was just too…Salem. Serious. Curt. Emotionally introverted. Too guarded to ever give that much of himself to anyone.

“But he wants a real relationship?”

I nodded. “And I just…I can’t. I’ve told you about my unsuccessful dating life.” It had been just like my childhood – a constant cycle of people unable to accept me as I was, trying to change me. “I’ve learned my lesson.”

“You say that like it’s going to be easy for you to keep resisting him.” Alora’s perceptive eyes were sympathetic. “Ava, nothing about this is easy for you. You’ve been drawn to the scary bastard since day one.”

I’d never found him scary. “He makes me feel safe.”

Jude seemed stunned. “Well, he makes
me
nervous.”

Yeah, that was a typical reaction toward Salem. But I didn’t think I was weird for feeling safe with him or for finding him kind of adorable. In my opinion, these people who feared him didn’t see what I saw; didn’t see the unfailingly loyal guy who put everything he was into everything he did, who was so invested in his job because he
cared
about the safety of his kind. They only saw the surface – the grunting, scowling, sullen surface that watched everything with a predator’s eye.

Sure, he could be dour and growly. But just because he didn’t bother to put on a polite pretence and smile pleasantly at everyone didn’t make him a bad person. It made him someone who chose not to hide behind a front, who chose to be who he was and not let people’s judgements bother him.

He was also a person who concealed a great deal of pain and guilt, who believed he deserved to suffer. That, too, wasn’t the sign of a bad person. It was the sign of someone living in his own private, self-imposed torment who needed to damn snap out of it.

“Butch makes me nervous too,” continued Jude. “I mean, have you
seen
him and Salem when they go on assignments? They love what they do.” Ha! Like Jude was any more stable! She freakishly loved using that scary knife of hers to slice and dice. She was one of those people who seemed calm and polite but would soon as cut your throat than look at you. It didn’t seem to bother her boyfriend, Chico, though.

“I once heard Salem say that killing was the only thing he was good at,” said Alora. “It’s so sad that he sees that as his only talent.”

Well, he
was
good at it. He didn’t hesitate, didn’t give anyone an opening, didn’t balk at anything he had to do, and didn’t show an ounce of mercy. His ability to throw psychic punches suited his violent nature. But there was more to him than that, and it was definitely sad that he didn’t see it.

“What are you going to do about him?” Jude smiled weakly. “I mean, it doesn’t seem like he’s going to take no for an answer.”

“I can hardly blame him. One second I’m rejecting him, the next second I’m kissing him. Talk about mixed messages.”

Alora waved a hand. “You’re a vampire – a naturally sexual creature. It sort of makes you a sure thing.”

I snorted. “That’s the shittiest excuse I’ve ever heard. But I’ll take it.”

“Let’s look at the situation outside the box.” Alora crossed her legs. “Now that you’ve decided to stay here, it means you’re going to live on an island where no guy is going to risk touching you, which means unless you want to start batting for the other team, your sex life is going to suffer. But here’s this guy – hot, intense, and willing to be totally committed to you – who can give you what you want when you want it.

“Obviously it’s worth noting that you find relationships tricky and uncomfortable. Based on your experiences with dickheads, you’re sure that Salem will try to mould you into someone you’re not. But is that fair to him? Maybe you should give him more credit than that.” 

Jude nodded. “He doesn’t strike me as the type to make decisions lightly. For him to want more than just some fun with you, he must really like what he sees so far.”

“Maybe,” I allowed. “But being with Salem would be really hard for both of us. I mean, he’s super, super intense. He’ll walk all over me if I let him. Which I won’t, so that’ll cause lots of arguments because he likes to have his own way.”

“He’d get bored with a woman who didn’t push back.” Alora sighed. “Evan’s the same. He tries to take over all the time, only he’s smooth and subtle about it. When I call him on it, he just shrugs and smiles. I can’t get mad at him when he smiles at me like that.”

“He still pressuring you to Bind with him?” Jude asked.

“Every damn day.” Alora wasn’t yet ready for that, since her last attempt at Binding went completely tits up. She wanted them to know each other much better first, and to be sure what they had was solid. I could understand that. “But if he gave up, he wouldn’t be Evan.”

I smiled at her. “Sorry, I know he’s yours and everything, but I have to say Evan is, like, achingly gorgeous.”

The redhead’s smile matched mine. “Oh, I know. He’s got a real talented mouth, too.”

I leaned forward. “Ooh, do tell.”

(Salem)

As Sam requested, I came to the office that she shared with Jared in the main building of The Hollow. Before the attack a few months ago, the mansion had been solely Antonio’s home. He’d offered it to Sam and Jared when they ascended, but the couple felt that it was too much Antonio’s, and they didn’t feel right asking him to move out.

As such, the pair lived on the beach in a house that Antonio had had built for them. The mansion was now split into two, at his request; half was his ‘living quarters’, and half was office space – complete with conference rooms – for Sam and Jared. Antonio had felt that such space should be in the centre of the community, thus placing significance on the pair’s role and status.

Sam and Ryder were in the office, sitting either side of her desk. When I entered, she smiled. “All right, Salem. Take a seat.” She gestured to the chair next to Ryder.

I’d met Ryder only a handful of times, since his bloodlust wasn’t yet under total control so he didn’t mingle much. I’d liked him well enough…right up until I heard Ava describe him as ‘pretty’. My jealous ‘How the hell can a guy be pretty?’ question had been met with ‘He has such soft features and emerald-green eyes’. So now I kind of hated him, which was why I only gave him a brusque nod – something he seemed to find amusing.

“It turns out Marge was telling the truth about the owner of the brothel.” Sam twirled her pen between her fingers in a fidgety movement. “All that was left in her memory was a vague silhouette; no features, no name, no hint of what breed of vampire she could be. Marge doesn’t even remember how she came to be hired. I told Ryder everything you told me, so he’s going to take a look at your memories.”

Ryder turned to me. “If the weak silhouette in your mind matches the one I saw in Marge’s memory, we’ll know this is the same person.”

“I strongly recommend you don’t go looking anywhere else in my head.”

He gave me a solemn nod. “I can assure you that I have no intention of doing so – if for no other reason than it takes up energy I’d rather not waste.”

I grunted. “Fair enough.”

“It’ll be easier and faster if you can bring what memories you have to the forefront of your mind – even if they’re unclear. Think about the times you glimpsed her, what she was doing.”

Concentrating hard, I dug up my memories of the woman. I almost lost my hold on them when I felt Ryder’s presence in my head. It didn’t hurt, but it was fucking weird. Like having a hand inside my skull, rooting around.

After a few moments, Ryder pulled back. “It’s the same woman.”

Sam began fiddling with her pen again. “Salem, you say your Sire worked for her?”

“Yes.”

“It’s possible that we could track her through him.”

“Could he really tell us anything about her that we don’t already know, considering her gift protects her?” I somehow doubted it.

“Maybe he might not be able to tell us anything new about
her
. But he could remember anyone who worked alongside her.”

“Marge has memories of two Pagoris who were the woman’s – and this was Marge’s word for them – lackeys,” Ryder informed me. “Oddly, though, their faces were just as vague.”

I frowned. “So if someone’s with the woman, her gift protects their identity too?”

“Possibly,” replied Sam. “It could be that she acts as a type of shield, like Butch. All she would need to do is touch or stand very close to them for her gift to protect them,
if
that’s the case.” She shrugged. “The thing is that the brothel has only been up and running for six months. I’m guessing your Sire’s fighting club has existed for much longer.”

I nodded. “Years.”

“Then it’s possible that at some point, she made a mistake. She didn’t shield one of her ‘lackeys’ or sent them in her place. If so, your Sire would have their names and faces in his brain.”

If Sam thought I could contact him and he’d helpfully tell us what he knew, she was going to be disappointed. “He and I parted on bad terms.” I hadn’t heard from Will since I left for the try-outs. He hadn’t been too pleased about it, had taken it personally. There hadn’t been any yelling. Will rarely lost his cool. But his rage and sense of betrayal had vibrated along our blood-link.

“You think he’ll be difficult?”

I shook my head. “He’ll give you information if you ask for it. But he’ll want something in return. Will never does anything for nothing.”

“Do you think it’s possible that he had any involvement in the brothel?”

“No. Will’s a lot of things, and he’s capable of a lot of things. But although he’s not big on following laws, he has his own set of principles and he sticks to them. He believes it’s wrong to hurt women and children.”

Sam thought on that for a moment. “I’ll contact him later, see what I can find out. Right now, we need to go hunt down Marge’s ‘suppliers’, as she thinks of them – the people who kidnapped and sold the victims to her. There were names and clear images of them in her mind. Our researchers should have their locations by now.”