Only Vampires Cry Blood (5 page)

“Hey now, you are in no position to talk about men. You've never even been with one.” Kale admonished, pointing at an ad for feminine products. It was one of the applicators versus fingers ads. “See now that right there is just another thing men don't ever want or need to see.”

The look on Kale's face was priceless as he stared in horror at the ad. I had to laugh, which felt nice since it put us both at ease. The expected tension wasn't nearly as bad as I'd anticipated.

“Anyway,” Jez looked at me pointedly. “That's not why I called you. I just wanted to know what's up.” Her voice dropped low, and she raised an eyebrow. “Do tell.”

Handing her the folder, I said, “How fucked is that?”

Kale leaned over her shoulder to look as she thumbed through the brief notes Veryl had made for me. “Seems like it's probably the last thing you want to deal with.”

I made a sound of disgust. “It's a waste of my time and so typical of Raoul to leave behind more shit for me to shovel. Like I don't have enough going on right now.”

“What do you mean?” Jez glanced up from the paper in her hand, concern in her eyes. “What else are you dealing with?”

I shook my head and pressed my lips together. I didn't want to talk about it with Veryl in the building. “It's no big deal. I just need to speak with a certain someone that Arys wants me to stay the hell away from.”

“Ah,” she nodded knowingly. “Got it. We'll chat later. I've got to make a few phone calls.” Abandoning her magazine, she handed my folder back.

I turned toward the exit. “Yeah, I'm taking off now. I am more than done here.”

“I'll walk you out.” Kale followed me to the door, and Jez went to her office.

… So much for not being alone with him.

I barely felt the chill of the night air due to the sudden nerves. My stomach twisted with worry. I was leery of his reasons for following me out, hoping it wasn't personal. I'd reached my quota for the week as far as vampire dramatics went.

A light snow was falling; it had already covered our vehicles with a light frosting.

Kale turned to me as soon as the door had closed behind us. I was slightly surprised by the deep concern in his mismatched eyes. Born with heterochromia iridium, Kale had one deep brown eye and one amazingly blue one. It was something that the change to vampire hadn't altered, and it was an intriguing feature that captivated my attention.

“Alexa, you're not planning to walk into The Wicked Kiss, are you? I assume it's Harley Kayson that you referred to inside. Please, tell me you're not that stupid.”

“Oh thanks for that, Kale.” I scoffed. I didn't appreciate the stupid reference, but the honesty was credible. “What's stupid is if I listen to Arys and don't talk to Harley. He knows things. Things that I need to know. And, the more people tell me to stay away from him, the more certain I am that I need to see him.”

We walked toward my car, the softly falling flakes landing perfectly, so that I could see every elaborate detail. Despite the cold and the hellish road conditions, I loved this time of year as much as any other.

“Of course Arys would want you to stay away from his sire. Harley almost bound you. And now that he can't, he may just come up with other plans for you.” Kale crossed his arms over his chest; the sound of his leather duster as it moved was pleasing to my senses in its familiarity.

“Like what? It's not as if he can gain much by killing me. He knows I'd be back with a vengeance in a body lacking a heartbeat. That couldn't possibly do him any good.”

Pulling my keys from my pocket, I unlocked my car and wondered again why I didn't get the remote start feature. “Anyway, Arys threatened me. So his opinion right now means fuck all to me.”

“He threatened you?” The shock adorned Kale's face like a mask. It was almost funny.

I paused, replaying Arys' careful words. His actions were worse, and the remembrance of his aggressive lovemaking caused me to flush, hot with anger. I was pissed with him, but I was angry with myself, too. His actions had been stake worthy, and I'd allowed it to happen. Love may be blind, but the stupidity really does me in.

“Well, yeah. He basically promised that I would regret it if I went to Harley. And, whatever that means, I know it won't be pretty.” I cast my eyes down at the snow-covered ground. I didn't want Kale to read the humiliation in my gaze.

I could feel the heavy weight of his appraisal before I had the strength to meet his eyes again. “Are you sure that's something you're willing to risk? I mean, do you love him?”

Now there was a heavy hitting question I would have expected from my best friend, Kylarai, but not from Kale. I had to swallow a few times before I could give voice to my response.

“I do. But, if it means being controlled by him, then we have a serious problem. I have to love myself more. I learned my lesson already. Loving men like Arys rarely works out the way you'd like it to.” Ok, so I wasn't really talking about Arys there, but he was so much like Raoul with his extremely dominant tendencies.

“And besides,” I rushed on, hoping he wouldn't ask any more questions. “This isn't about love. It's about me getting the information that I need. My power is useless if I don't know how to command it entirely. Might as well run around with an Uzi after ditching target practice.”

Thankfully, Kale had been around enough years to know when to push and when to let something go. He chuckled in response to my comment. Inclining his head thoughtfully, he held a hand out to catch the snowflakes as they fell. His cold skin enabled them to linger before melting whereas they melted immediately upon touching mine.

“I can't say I blame you for feeling the way you do, but don't go rushing in there without careful consideration. Harley doesn't have to kill you to hurt you.” Kale's words brought frightful images to mind. I expected him to talk me out of it, so I was mildly surprised when he said, “If you want to go back to The Wicked Kiss, I'll go with you. Just don't go alone, Alexa. It's bad news.”

“Really? You'd come with me?” I wanted him to confirm it so he couldn't backtrack later. This might be just too perfect. “I don't want you to have to tangle with him though.”

Kale made a noise of disgust. “Please. He barely notices my existence as it is. Any vampire that doesn't live for the rush of the kill is no better than an insect to him. I think I'm safe.”

That was likely true. However, I'd seen Harley smack Kale around before, and I had no desire to put any of my friends in a situation like that again. However, I just wanted to talk to Harley. Maybe he would be receptive, yet I doubted that Harley’s help would come without a price.

“I can face him by myself,” I said, rubbing my arms as the cold slowly started to set in. “But, if you want to come run interference for me, just in case I need help getting out, that would be great.”

“Just say when.”

Kale's tentative smile revealed fangs in the moonlight. Since he and Kylarai had stopped seeing one another, he hadn't been involved romantically with anyone else. He always had been somewhat of a loner, and I knew it was because of his tortured past.

Still, I would have liked to see him able to share himself with another. Nobody deserved anything less. This life was too hard to face alone.

“Thanks, Kale. I appreciate that. I'm thinking tomorrow night. I'll meet you there. If I put it off any longer, I might just chicken out.”

“If keeping this from Arys is important to you then you don't want to go through the front. It'll get back to him in no time. I'll take you in the back.”

We hadn't talked about the vampire bar, The Wicked Kiss, in a while. Not since Kale had attacked me after I'd dragged him out of the place. Not long after that, he'd attempted to come to my rescue when Harley had me trapped there, risking his own safety in the process.

It wasn't any of my business, but I had to ask. “Have you been spending a lot of time there lately?”

I started to regret my words when his expression grew dark. I really needed to start playing my words in my head before saying them out loud. Kale was a regular patron at The Wicked Kiss. His past was filled with torment at the hands of the vampiress who made him. She'd turned him into a rabid beast. The fact that he was able to regain his sanity at all was a miracle. So now, he fed from the willing at the local vampire hot spot rather than walk the streets looking for a kill like Arys.

If Kale were to start killing again, there's no telling how bad it would be. I'd experienced just a taste of the true vampire inside Kale, and I did not want to see that ever again.

“No more than usual. It's a means to an end.” His tone dropped, becoming smoother and seductive. “You know how it goes.”

I certainly did, though my blood hunger wasn't rooted in death as his was. Not yet. I had more control. The change in his energy was as instant as that in his voice and demeanor. Get the vampire thinking about feeding and pay the price. That was my cue to leave.

Opening the door to my car, I stepped close to it, ready to get in. Kale took a step toward me. His instincts were already driving him. He'd admitted months ago that he wanted me, wanted to taste my blood and bathe in my power. If that ever happened, he'd likely kill me, too.

“I'm going to take off now. I have to meet Shaz at my place.” I watched him closely, warily. He didn't move away, but he didn't try to come any closer either. “So, I'll see you tomorrow night. And, thanks again Kale. I owe you one.”

I dropped into the driver's seat and started the engine. He laughed then and a lock of dark brown hair fell in his eyes.

“I'm pretty sure you owe me more than just one. But who's counting?”

The upstairs master bedroom barely resembled Raoul's anymore. I turned in a slow circle, taking in the entirety of the room. It had taken me months to work up the nerve to come into his old room. Even after I’d washed away the visible signs of murder, the energy of terror and death lingered.

I'd had Lena come in to do a smudging, cleansing the negative energy. Lena was a witch and a close friend that occasionally offered her services to Veryl. Despite how effective it usually was and how great a witch Lena was, I could still feel Raoul’s lover Belle in the room, as if she were there with me screaming for her life. I couldn't shake it so I blocked it out, shielding hard as I moved about the room.

With the bed and carpet both removed, the flooring was now just a nice cream-colored tile, matching the tile in the ensuite bathroom. A dresser remained in the corner near the window. It was still filled with Raoul's clothing. I hadn't had the heart to either go through them or toss them completely. Yeah, I'm real sentimental that way, if you can call avoidance sentimental.

I still didn't know what to do with the room. Eventually, I would have to decide. I'd come in here to try and get an idea of what to do with it. Instead, I was standing in the middle of the room staring blankly.

Despite the horrific events that had taken place in this room, I found that I was drawn to it when I needed a moment alone with my thoughts. Though, every time I found my thoughts straying to Zoey Roberts. Raoul's daughter had been the one to murder Belle in this room. She would have killed me as well if she'd been able to. Ever since I ran into her before Halloween, I'd found my thoughts going to her, wondering if maybe there was a way to get her back into a human body after all.

Zoey was a hybrid, born of a werewolf father and human mother. It had resulted in mixed blood that gave her many of the werewolf's urges and instincts yet not the wolf body to go along with them. She'd managed to change forms the night of our confrontation, but as far as anyone knew of hybrids, it was impossible for them to change back. They were cursed to live in either one body or the other, until death.

With a sigh, I banished Zoey from my thoughts. I hadn't cared then. Why start now?

In fact, I'd spent weeks, months even, wanting nothing more than to kill her like I should have. I couldn't. I had enough death weighing on my conscience as it was.

The sound of the front door opening downstairs indicated Shaz' arrival. He often stopped by after a shift at Lucy's Lounge. I hadn't heard from Arys since he'd spoken his carefully worded threat. That was fine with me. I wasn't in the mood for a confrontation.

“Up here,” I called down to him, but he was already taking the stairs two at a time.

The man could scent me anywhere. “Hey, babe. How was your night?”

I turned toward the door in time to be swept into his embrace. My nostrils filled with his amazing smell, and I breathed it in hungrily. Wolf, human and all man, how I loved it.

His warmth was heavenly, and I snuggled close against him. Our bodies fit together perfectly, like pieces of a puzzle. It was one of my favorite feelings.

“It's been a long night. But now, it is finally perfect.” He nuzzled my ear, stimulating the nerves, which sent a tickle down my spine. “How was yours?”

“Better than last night, that's for sure. I'm glad you came by. I needed this.” Closing my eyes, I soaked up the moment.

Shaz was silent, his arms tightening around me. He rested his head on top of mine, and I pressed my face into his black cotton t-shirt. The only thing missing was my bedroom, which was downstairs.

“I'm guessing that Arys' pissy mood tonight has something to do with that?”

“You saw him?” I leaned back so that I could look him in the eyes. “Did he say anything?”

His lips twisted into a grimace, and he gave his head a slight shake. “Other than telling me to mind my own business and keep my mouth shut, no. He didn't have much to say to me.”

“Figures. He must be in a real mood.” With an exasperated sigh, I repeated the incident with Arys to him, editing out unnecessary details. If Shaz knew how he'd enforced his threat, he'd be tearing out of here to go and kill him.

When I finished, Shaz' jaw was clenching, and his jade green eyes had darkened.

Tension thrummed throughout his body, and I stroked the side of his face. If Shaz and Arys were to get physical with each other again, I knew it would end much worse than it had the first time, and this wasn't worth that kind of trouble.

“I don't know how that mother fucker thinks he can control you. Lex, you have every damn right to go to whoever you think you need to see. But … I do have to agree that Harley may not be the best first choice. Isn't there anybody else?”

I shook my head, and chewed my lower lip until I tasted blood. It was a nervous habit. “Not that I know of. Besides, I don't plan to go alone. Kale's coming with me.”

Shaz knew about the kiss I'd shared with Kale, but only because I'd told him. Arys knew nothing and never would. Hiding things from Shaz wasn't something I could do, nor did I want to. He was far more open-minded and understanding than the dominating vampire. He understood why it happened whereas Arys would merely finger point.

“The thought of you walking in there makes me sick to my stomach. Can you just take a few days to think about it?”

I smiled and stood on my tiptoes to kiss him. I loved that he worried about me, though I didn't want him to. Our lips met, and for a moment, my nagging problems ceased to hold any power or meaning. The taste of wolf stirred my own beast to life, and I wrapped my arms around his neck to hold him closer.

I dipped my tongue into his mouth for the briefest taste of him. The temptation to linger was strong. He caught my tongue as I tried to pull away, sucking it deep into his mouth. It sent an excited thrill through me, causing my heart to race.

“I have been thinking about speaking with Harley for weeks now. Several. I have to.

And besides, he probably won't even give me the time of day.”

Shaz didn't look convinced. “Or he'll be more than happy to see you and milk it for all it's worth. Just what are you prepared to give him for his help, Alexa? He's not going to give something for nothing.”

Worry shone in his eyes then, and I knew the types of things that he was imagining Harley would demand. I didn't doubt most of them myself. I knew how vampires worked.

“Leave that to me, ok? I have boundaries, and I don't intend to cross any of them.”

My mind wandered to the file folder from Veryl sitting in the den. Dammit. “Why don't you come and join me in a hot bath? And then, I have something from Veryl to show you.”