Dare to Bleed (Emily Sullivan Series) (9 page)

“
Almost, huh?”

“
I said I
nearly
get killed, and it was a big cut. The doctor in the ER said it was the biggest razor cut he had seen that day,” I stated.

“
Oh, well then, it’s settled. You
are
unlucky. Plus, you can’t forget the pnuemonia incident.” He grinned, having way too much fun with this.

“
Hey, stay out of my head!”

He laughed loudly. “Trust me, honey, your head is so jumbled up I wish I
could
stay out of it. You’re making me crazy.”

I stuck my tongue out at him. “So, Ezra, I want to know everything about you,” I said, attempting to change the subject.

“
My favorite animal is a horse. I don’t like clowns and, before I was turned, I used to be afraid of blood.” He glanced over at me and smiled.

“
That’s everything?” I asked sarcastically.

“
Of course not, but if I told you everything there would be no mystery left,” he stated.

“
How old are you?” I asked curiously.

“
Older than your great-great-grandfather,” he replied, smiling.

“
You cradle robber,” I joked.

We rode another hour, listening to the radio with the windows down, when Ezra groaned. Before I could ask what was wrong, we turned the car down a gravel road. From the loud clanking coming from the rocks hitting the car, I guessed that he was probably worried about damage to his precious little car.

“
Where are we going?” I asked.

“
We need to get somewhere safe, and this is the closest safe house I know of.” We drove for what seemed like forever before he shifted gears and slowed the car down. We stopped in front of a tiny old metal shack. The place was surrounded by woods and even in the daylight was scary looking. It looked as if it had been painted red back in the 1800’s since the paint was peeling and was replaced with rust.

“
Are you serious? This is the safe house? It doesn’t look very safe, looks like I’m going to get tetanus from this place.” I really didn’t want to even consider getting out of the car.

“
Looks can be deceiving, my dear,” Ezra replied as he stepped out of the car. I groaned but followed. As soon as I closed my door, the horn honked and the doors locked.

“
That was a joke, right? Who’s going to steal your car out here? Swamp thing?”

He grinned in reply. We walked up to what would essentially be called a door. Really it was a piece of wood with a lock. Ezra unlocked the shack and pushed the door open. We were greeted by darkness and dust as we walked inside. Small patches of sunlight peered in through the holes in the wall and roof. After my eyes adjusted, I realized there was nothing in the shack. No furniture, no bathroom, no nothing.

“
You have got to be shitting me. Take me back, Damon can have me.” I glared at Ezra.

He laughed in return and stepped out to the opposite side of the room, did something to the wall that caused a beep and suddenly the floor began to shake. A panel on the floor a few feet in front of me shifted and below the panel was a stairwell.

“
Ok, I didn’t think it was possible, but our adventure together just got creepier.”

He smiled again and started down the stairs.

Chapter Nine

Fearing being alone in the run down cabin, I followed Ezra down the creepy stairs. When we reached the bottom, I noticed a light at the end of a tunnel. I was so happy to see electricity I started walking faster. As we got closer, a door came into view with light escaping at the bottom and sides. I thought I had died or was in the movie
Poltergeist
and wasn’t sure which one was a scarier thought. Beside the door was a small key pad. Ezra punched in a bunch of numbers and we heard a loud click. He turned the knob and pushed the door open.

“
Welcome to my home,” he said as we walked in. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust but I was speechless when they finally did. The floors were made of egg white marble, between each wall were rows of tall columns and the ceiling had artwork Da Vinci himself must have painted. The entire room looked more like a gallery at a museum than a room in a house. In the middle of the grand room was a giant Victorian style water fountain.

“
Wha.. What? This is your
house
? You live here?” I finally got out. Our steps echoed against the walls as we walked to another room which looked quite different from the first. It was more relaxed and less expensive. A big white plush rug sat in the middle of the room with a modern looking white couch on top pointed at a roaring fireplace. I thought it was a bit overkill, being a vampire, to have everything white but who am I to judge. Blood stains, that’s all I’m saying.

“
Ah, Ezra, welcome home, my dear!” A tiny old lady walked into the room and greeted Ezra warmly. She couldn’t have been over five feet tall and was about eighty years old. Her cute little pepper gray bun and apron made her look like she just walked out of the Keebler Elf tree. I bet she could bake the hell out of some cookies. She walked over and gave Ezra a hug.

“
Thank you, Nelly. This is my friend, Emily. She will be staying with us for a while, please make sure she gets anything she needs. We had to leave her home in a rush so she might need quite a few things to make her stay comfortable.”

She turned to me and took my hands in hers, which were pleasantly warm. She reminded me of a grandmother I never had. I don’t know if it was from all the adrenalin of the day or I was just crazy but I started tearing up.

“
Oh, dear, please, sweet heart, come here.” She pulled me into a hug and it was so comforting, I didn’t want to let go. She smelled like apple pie and chocolate. I felt the urge to run my hands up and down her back as if I was the one comforting her. Ezra cleared his throat and I felt embarrassed about my awkward behavior.

“
Wow, I am sorry, I guess I’ve just had a crazy day and needed a hug. Hope that wasn’t too weird, I’m not a crazy person,” I said to her as I let out a strange laugh that probably made it sound like I was crazy. What the hell was wrong with me?

“
It’s perfectly ok, my dear, it happens all the time. I’ll just go make you a snack.” She turned on her heels and walked out.

I felt completely out of it, and turned to Ezra. He was laughing.

“
What the hell just happened? Oh my lord, Ezra, I am so sorry, I don’t know what just came over me,” I apologized.

“
Emma, Nelly is a supernatural, just like us. She is a brownie.”

“
Like an elf?” I was thinking of a Keebler elf again.

“
No, not like an elf. I swear, where do you come up with this stuff? Anyways, Brownies are similar to humans except they have heightened abilities, Nelly, for instance, has an exceptional ability to comfort the soul. Your reaction to her was completely normal.”

“
Good thing you cleared that up, I swear I was about to turn into a granny loving lesbian.” I sat down on the couch. I was almost afraid to sit, it just doesn’t feel right to sit on a perfectly white couch, almost uncomfortable. Ezra sat beside me and pulled me into an embrace. I felt ashamed when he did and I compared him to Nelly. Geez, I was trying to rob the nursing home. Ezra laughed and pulled my face to his. He planted his lips on mine and let them linger for a moment. He pulled away

“
I’m sure Nelly can’t kiss as well as I can.”

I laughed and calmed down. We had lunch together in the dining room. All three of us sat around a table that could seat twelve people. Nelly and I had amazing homemade chicken noodle soup, with crackers and, of course, cookies for desert. Ezra just watched intently. After lunch, I made a grocery list for Nelly and she left. I never saw a second car outside and I wondered if she lived in the house with Ezra and how she planned on getting to the store. As soon as Nelly was out of the door, Ezra turned to me and offered me his arm.

“
Would you like a tour?” he asked.

“
That would be splendid my dear sir,” I replied in my best British accent, which isn’t that great. I linked my arm in his and we started walking. I learned that the house was once part of an underground bunker used to house lost underworld creatures. Ezra explained that at one time different species of supernatural creatures could do as they pleased with no rules or boundaries. A vampire could make another vampire and leave them to fend for themselves. Finally to protect humans, the FBI stepped in and started a supernatural agency. The agency would hunt down new creatures and bring them in. They would then train them how to conform and live secretly in society. He explained that once they set rules for creating new life, they no longer needed the bunker, so he bought it. Apparently it was quite the remodel.

“
And this is my room,” Ezra stated as we finished the tour. The room was the size of my entire apartment. A giant canopy bed sat in the middle with a crystal chandler hanging over the top. Again, everything was white.

“
What is up with white? Is that vampire pun?” I asked.

“
Actually no, that’s my favorite color,” Ezra replied as he jumped on the bed, giving me a big toothy grin that was just as white as the comforter he laid on. I went over and sat beside him. If I hadn’t been so tired from the activities of the day I might have been nervous. He sat up and looked me in the eyes. He had the brightest blue eyes I have ever seen. With all the excitement, I hadn’t had much of a chance to admire his perfectly sculpted body and model ready face. His hair fell into his face and I pushed it back gently. His skin was cold and ever so soft. He leaned in closer and I could feel his breath on my skin. He gently placed his lips on my neck and I thought I would explode. His touch sent shivers throughout my body, even my toes curled. His phone burst out into song, ruining our perfect moment. Good thing too, because I wasn’t so tired anymore.

“
I will kill whoever that is,” Ezra said with a serious look on his face. I wasn’t sure if he was joking or not. He reached in his pocket and pulled out his phone. As it came out of his jeans I realized what song was playing. “Ding dong the witch is dead,” sang the munchkins loudly though the speaker as he answered the call.

“
What the hell do you want?” he scolded into the phone,

“
I sure hope that’s not Nelly on the phone,” I snarled at him, not realizing I had said it out loud. I needed to get away from this brownie, she’s totally messing with my mojo.

“
She’s fine, Damon knocked on her door and we had to leave.” Ezra still didn’t look very happy about the interruption. He sat for a few seconds in silence before he sighed. “Actually no, you just missed her,”

I snatched the phone from him. “Hey, Gavin! How’s my witch from another bitch doing?” I greeted.

“
Emma, are you ok?” Gavin asked, ignoring my greeting.

“
I’m fine. Why?” I asked as if nothing was happening. Being in the moment with a hot vampire will do that to you.

“
I got to headquarters and Robert told me you called him and you guys left the apartment. I need to meet up with you, I’m your protector,” he said, as if I needed protection. The only protection I need is from Ezra.

“
Well, I have Ezra here and I don’t think anyone is going to find us. But I’ll ask him, hold on.” I put the phone against my hand and turned to Ezra, who was now pacing the floor.

“
Gavin said he needs to be here with us. I don’t exactly know how to give directions to this place. Do you have an address or something?” I was unsure if I was asking the right question. Clearly Ezra was not happy about Gavin being involved anymore but I didn’t think he had a choice in the matter. I was catching on, Robert called the shots and the boys took orders.

I was still wondering how you would give directions to the house. Take a left at the second swamp, go down till you see the dead opossum on the side of the road and take a right, park in front of the creepy shack, spin around three times, click your heels together and say there’s no place like Ezra’s place.

Ezra snatched the phone from my hand.

“
Ow.” It didn’t really hurt my hand but I was pissed that he was being such a douche about it.

“
You know damn well I cannot tell you our location.” He fell silent. “Why ask then?” His eyes darted from me to the floor and he finally sighed and hung up the phone. We didn’t make a sound for a minute till I was fed up with the silence.

“
Soooo, I take it Gavin will be here for dinner,” I stated sarcastically. I knew it bruised his ego but he was an ass for snatching the phone from me.

He glared at me and then smiled. “Sorry you are caught up in the drama.” His perfect smile made me remember what we were doing before we were interrupted, yet I was too annoyed to even consider starting that again.

“
Ezra, it’s not drama when he is trying to keep me safe. I don’t understand what the deal is between you two.”

He returned to the bed and sat down beside me. I could tell he was trying to figure out how to answer. “Let’s just say vampires don’t trust someone who can cast a spell. It’s not natural.”

I was offended. “And a vampire who drinks blood is natural?”

“
Ok, bad choice of words. What I meant to say is vampires don’t trust witches, wizards or warlocks. We tend to stay as far away as possible.”