Vampire in Geek's Clothing (Psy-Vamp Book 6) (12 page)

Phoenix was glad not everyone who’d been in the kitchen
lived in this house. While she’d spent plenty of time around Andrew, she was
still a little uneasy being surrounded by so many vampires. The difference
could be they all knew she was a hunter, while Andrew hadn’t. She’d honestly
been surprised that Andrew had known so little about hunters. When she’d first
met him, she’d thought he was one of the most obnoxious people in the world,
and he was in many ways. The second time she’d met him, they’d bonded over
their lives. While neither of them had revealed too many details, they’d both
felt trapped by the circumstances of their births.

Neither meeting had been accidental. She’d intentionally
sought out Andrew after recognizing him as a vampire, because she’d needed
confirmation that vampires were terrible people. Instead of convincing her she
should hate all vampires, Andrew had become her friend, something other hunters
and breeders would have never understood. She wondered if the vampires were
really as accepting of her relationship with Isaiah as they appeared to be.

At the moment, she was tucked away in Isaiah’s room. The
place was more like a studio apartment than a bedroom. There was a king-sized
bed, a sofa with two matching chairs, a small table with chairs where one could
eat, and a huge computer desk. There was even a small kitchen area with a bar
fridge, microwave, and sink.

She’d wanted to go with Isaiah to pick up her clothes, but
Roman had sent her to Isaiah’s room, insisting she was overwrought and needed
rest. Even after arguing that she was an adult who could decide when she needed
a nap, she’d still ended up in Isaiah’s room. Roman Draksel apparently didn’t
need any mind control abilities to get people to do what he said.

“I’m not tired,” she grumbled to the empty room, annoyed at
how childish she sounded.

There was a knock on the door, and when she opened it,
Phoenix found Andrew standing in the hallway, looking tired and sad.

“Roman’s gone, babe,” he told her. “You can come out of your
room now.”

“My room?” she asked. “Why does everyone assume I’m sharing
a room with Isaiah?”

Drew chuckled. “It’s because you get all wet when he’s around.
I’ll bet you finger yourself thinking about him.”

“Andrew!” she shrieked, wondering if he’d always been this
bad.

“Actually, I go by Drew,” he corrected her. “I told you my
name was Andrew because I wanted to be somebody else around you. Drew’s an asshole
and a killer. Andrew was a guy who could have a normal life. I’m sure you
understand the need for a new identity sometimes.”

She nodded. “Do you still want to be someone else?”

His hesitation was answer enough, but he pasted a smirk on
his face before responding. “Why would I want to be someone else? I’m pretty
fucking awesome.”

For now, she’d let it go, but she had every intention of
talking about this later. There were some things that were haunting her friend,
but she figured he was dealing with enough already without adding more stress.

“Let’s go watch a movie,” he suggested.

“Are you harassing her, Drew?” Trish asked as she approached
them.

“Sure am,” he replied with a shrug. “Were you looking for me
or Molly?”

“Phoenix,” she corrected him.

“Fine. Were you looking for me or Nixie?” he asked.

Phoenix raised an eyebrow. “Nixie?”

Trish studied her before speaking. “It suits you better than
Phoenix. I was actually looking for both of you. Caitlin was worried, so she
sent me to check up on you.”

That came as a surprise to Phoenix, and her reaction must
have shown on her face.

“Caitlin can feel people’s emotions and read minds
sometimes,” Drew explained.

“It’s really annoying,” Trish added. “Life was so much
easier before she was a know it all.”

“Caitlin’s also a raging bitch, most days,” Drew added.
“It’s funny as hell because she’s always trying to comfort people when they’re
upset, but she’s a serious bitch about it. Thankfully, she gets others to do it
most of the time. For some reason, she never asks me to comfort anyone.”

Trish snorted. “She’s not that much of a bitch.”

Phoenix’s head was spinning.

“So, how about that movie, Nixie?” Drew asked.

“Sure,” she agreed, and he looped an arm around her
shoulders.

“You coming too, babe?” he asked Trish.

“I need to pick Hunter up from Hannah and Noah’s,” Trish
told him.

Phoenix felt the tensing of Drew’s muscles. While he was
obviously trying to mask his emotions, it was obvious there was a lot bothering
him.

“Tell the kid I said hi,” Drew told Trish.

Trish hesitated before moving closer to Drew and tugging on
his shirt until he bent down so she could kiss his cheek. “I’m going to call to
check on you later.”

“No need for that,” Drew assured her. “I’m fine. It’s not
like I was that close to my dad. For him, it was all about my mom, except when
he was fucking other women.”

“Stop trying to act like a big bad vampire,” Trish scolded,
and Phoenix almost laughed at Drew’s eye roll.

“I don’t have to pretend to be a big bad vampire,” Drew
drawled. “I’ve proven time after time that I’m a killer with no remorse.”

“Stop being an ass,” Phoenix said with a huff. “She’s
worried about you, and you should appreciate that she cares. You don’t have to
push everyone away.”

“I do appreciate her concern, and Trish knows it,” Drew
assured her. “I appreciate her being here for me, and I definitely appreciate
her for displaying her fantastic boobs in low-cut shirts from time to time. In
fact, I think texting me a picture of those boobs is the best way to prove she
cares.”

Trish shook her head. “I am not showing you my breasts. Some
days, I don’t know why I put up with you.”

“Hey!” he called out when she started walking away. “I
helped save your life!”

Trish looked over her shoulder and gave him a warm smile.
“That’s one of the reasons I won’t let you push me away.”

“That should be one of the reasons you want to send me a
picture of your boobs,” he insisted.

Trish sighed and walked off.

“That was rude,” Phoenix scolded him.

Drew made no effort to hide his appraisal of her chest. “Sorry.
I didn’t mean to imply that your boobs aren’t impressive, too, but Trish’s are
the kind a guy could suffocate in. Most guys would be begging to die that way.”

“What movie do you want to watch?” she asked, hoping they
could stop talking about Trish’s breasts.

“There’s this movie about a teacher who gets caught touching
herself in class and the principle has to punish her,” he suggested with a
straight face, and she had no idea if he was serious or not. One thing she
remembered about Drew was how much he enjoyed all things sexual, especially
watching. He might very well suggest watching porn with her.

“Not likely,” she told him.

“Last time I let you pick a movie, we had to watch some
crappy film where nobody noticed the hot chick was hot until she dressed
differently and took her glasses off. There was no boning and no killing, so
what was the point of watching the movie in the first place? And again, how the
fuck did they all miss that she was hot just because she had glasses and baggy
clothes? No guy is that stupid.”

“I haven’t watched a movie with you in more than four years.
How can you possibly remember the last movie we watched?” she asked him.

He shrugged. “I was just guessing since you made me watch a
few of those movies. Movies should have boning or killing. It’s best when they
have both.”

They’d walked to a large room with sofas and a huge
television with several gaming consoles.

“Did you really want to watch a movie, or did you just want
to talk?” she asked. “I get that you don’t want people to know how much your
father’s murder is bothering you, especially since they weren’t around when you
were growing up, but you can talk to me. Despite what you told Trish, I know
you were closer to your father than you’re letting on.”

His relationship with his father had definitely been
complex, and she already knew his father had been neglectful through much of
Drew’s childhood, but she also knew Drew had some treasured memories of his
father. That complex mix of emotions would make this even harder.

Drew stepped away from her and ran both hands through his
hair, tugging on the ends. “You were my only friend, and then you were just
gone. Shortly after you disappeared, I was sent here because my father decided
he didn’t want me out killing with my mom anymore. I still have no clue why he
suddenly gave a fuck about me. My mom had been taking me on kills since before
I could talk. Hell, maybe he didn’t give a fuck about me, and he just sent me
away so I wouldn’t take any of my mom’s attention away from him. Even if he was
still alive, he probably wouldn’t tell me which it was.”

She flinched. “Why would your mom drag you along on her
kills?”

“There wasn’t much killing going on when I was hanging out
with you,” he told her, not answering her question. “By that point, my father
was starting to worry that my uncle, Roman, would order my mom’s death. You’d
think he’d have wanted to stop all the killing because his own kid was being
trained to be a serial killer, but it wasn’t anything like that. Instead, he
was just worried about my mom getting caught. I guess he should have worried
more about me being trained as a killer since I ended up being the one who
killed her.”

Phoenix walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. “That
couldn’t have been easy for you. I know how much you loved your mom, even if
she was pressuring you to live her life.”

Drew hesitated. “It says a lot that the only person who was
ever there for me was an evil bitch.”

Phoenix studied Drew. “You’re angry at me for abandoning
you.”

“Yeah,” he admitted; Drew wasn’t one to sugar-coat things.
“Even though I get your reasons, you left me, and it’s a reminder that no one
sticks around in my life.” Before she could answer, he continued. “You were
naïve back then. It makes me sad to see so much knowledge in your eyes. I know
I’m not much older than you, but I’ve seen and done some serious shit in my
life. Sometimes, I hated myself for being with you, because it seemed wrong to
taint you the way I was.”

Her phone buzzed before she could respond, and Phoenix pulled
it out of the back pocket of her jeans. She didn’t recognize the number, but it
was local, so she figured it might be one of her coworkers.

“Hello,” she said.

“Phoenix?”

“Shayla? Where are you?”

“Close by,” Shayla replied. “I just took care of the witch
who was going to tell Hayden how to find you.”

“What witch?” Phoenix asked, knowing it couldn’t be Brian.

“Tall and muscular, with a bunch of tattoos,” Shayla
replied.

“Mitch,” she breathed out. “Are you sure he was planning to
tell Hayden where to find me?”

“He was muttering to himself about you being a selfish bitch
for putting his family in danger, so I killed him,” Shayla explained.

“How do you know he planned to tell Hayden where to find me?
Shayla, he could have just been upset about Brian running.”

“I also heard him arguing on the phone, telling someone he
was turning you over to Hayden to keep people safe. I guess he was talking to
the witch who did your tattoo,” Shayla explained. “Anyway, I hit him over the
head and tattooed ‘traitor’ on his forehead before I slit his throat.”

Phoenix was having trouble processing what her cousin had
just said.

“Phoenix, you need to get out of this area,” Shayla
insisted. “Hayden is still here, and he’ll kill you if he finds you. For all we
know, that witch may have told others that you’re here.”

Phoenix was clutching the phone and trying to make sense of
what she was hearing. “Why are you doing this?” she asked Shayla.

“You protected me,” Shayla whispered. “You also protected
the baby. Now, I’m going to protect you.”

“You don’t need to protect me,” Phoenix argued. “Where are
you?”

“Why?” Shayla asked, sounding paranoid.

“Because I want to help you,” Phoenix insisted. “Tell me
where you are, and I can bring you here to keep you safe.”

“If you want to help me, then run before it’s too late.”
Shayla ended the call.

It came as no surprise that Shayla didn’t answer when she
tried calling her back.

“Damn!” Phoenix shouted, tossing her phone across the room.
Things had just gotten even worse than she’d imagined they could.

Isaiah had trouble finding Phoenix when he got back to
Nathaniel’s, so he decided to text her, rather than waste time searching.

I’m back. Where are you?

Her delay in responding worried him, but eventually his
phone buzzed.

I have no idea. I’m with Drew. We were going to watch a
movie.

His phone rang, and he was surprised to see Drew was
calling.

“Where are you?” Isaiah asked by way of greeting.

“I’m in the gaming room,” Drew told him. “You need to get
over here. Seriously, the call Nixie got was totally fucked up.”

Without waiting for Isaiah’s reply, Drew ended the call.

Isaiah hurried down the hall to the gaming room, which quite
honestly didn’t get much use unless someone wanted to watch television.
Nathaniel had gone through a video game phase, but it had only lasted a few
months. Isaiah wasn’t going to pretend he didn’t play video games, but he
preferred to play them in his room.

Phoenix looked somewhere between bewildered and panicked as
she paced the room.

“Why don’t you sit down so we can figure this out?” Drew
suggested, sounding, of all things, concerned.

“What’s going on?” Isaiah asked.

“Shayla called,” Phoenix began.

“Hunter’s mom?” he asked, and when she nodded, he continued.
“Where is she? We can bring her here. Trish may be a problem, but she doesn’t
live here, so we can work around that.”

“She’s out on a killing spree,” Drew chimed in, sounding
morbidly cheerful.

“One murder isn’t a killing spree,” Phoenix argued.

“They all start with just one,” Drew pointed out with a
shrug.

“Can we start at the beginning?” Isaiah asked.

“I’ll give you the short version,” Phoenix told him. “Do you
remember Mitch?”

“Tattooed guy who was threatening you?” he asked.

“That’s him,” Phoenix confirmed. “Shayla somehow learned
that Mitch was going to tell Hayden where to find me.”

“Fucker,” Drew muttered.

“What he said,” Isaiah added. “So, Shayla killed Mitch?”

Phoenix nodded.

“I guess this explains my father’s attraction to her,” Drew
remarked. “He always had a thing for the lunachicks.”

“Lunachicks?” Isaiah hadn’t heard that one before.

“You know, lunatic chicks,” Drew clarified. “That girl’s a
psycho.”

“Shayla is not a psycho!” Phoenix insisted.

“No offense, babe, but I know crazy, and that chick jumped
the couch,” Drew argued.

Isaiah decided not to say anything because he wasn’t
entirely certain Shayla was crazy. “So, she did it to protect you?”

“It sounds that way,” Phoenix replied.

“Do you think Mitch was going to betray you?” Isaiah asked.
He saw the pain flash in her eyes and knew she wanted to deny it. “Bastard,”
Isaiah muttered.

“It’s not like that,” she insisted. “Mitch was just trying
to protect his brother.”

“By letting you get killed,” Drew added. “Some friend.”

“You’re right,” she admitted.

“You know what we should do?” Drew asked, completely blasé
about the situation.

“I’m afraid to ask,” Isaiah replied.

Drew chuckled. “C’mon, I have great ideas.”

Even Phoenix snorted.

“What’s your idea?” Isaiah asked.

“First, we should get Roman and Alek to make sure Trish and
the kid are moved someplace more secure. I know you got their new place set up
pretty good with security, but you weren’t expecting anyone to be hunting them
down.”

“That’s actually a good suggestion,” Isaiah admitted, unable
to hide his surprise. “Hayden may not know about Hunter, but I don’t think we
should risk it.”

“After that, we should hit the club where those hunters
Justin and Caitlin ran into hang out,” Drew continued. “Trish told me she’s
seen one of them in that area several times since then. Granted, she hasn’t
been out much since she took the kid in, but she has a friend working there who
might be able to let her know if that hunter’s still going to the club on a
regular basis.”

“Are you out of your energy-sucking mind?” Phoenix
practically shrieked.

“Yes,” Isaiah answered for Drew. “Although, I agree that
involving the local hunters is a good idea.” When Phoenix looked at him like
he’d also lost his mind, he laughed. “I’m even more shocked than you that Drew
had two good ideas. Even one comes as a surprise to me.”

“I have lots of good ideas,” Drew shot back. “You just don’t
know true genius when you see it.”

Isaiah decided not to argue the point. They had too much
that needed to get done. “I’ll call Roman first so he can make arrangements to
get Alek and Trish someplace safer. I’m not sure if he’ll want to move them
here or out of the area. Then, we’ll figure out the best way to track down the
local hunters.”

“No!” Phoenix insisted. “We cannot involve hunters in this.”

“You mean, because they think you killed your aunt and
uncle?” Drew asked.

“Yes, and I’m pretty sure that will be enough to have them
trying to haul me back to Seattle rather than helping me,” Phoenix told them.

“We have to try something,” Isaiah argued. “It’s probably
best if we go without you.”

“I’ll go with you,” she relented. “I’m tired of running, and
even if they drag me back to Seattle, it will still be better than constantly
looking over my shoulder.”

Isaiah cupped her cheek and leaned forward to brush his lips
against hers. “I won’t let them take you,” he promised.

“I’ll go hunt down Justin and see about finding the
hunters,” Drew offered.

“I can do that after I talk to Roman,” Isaiah insisted.

“Nah,” Drew waved off his suggestion. “I heard him telling
Caitlin what a bad girl she’s been, so I’m hoping to find them playing some
kinky games to give me something to jerk off to later. My spank bank’s been
kind of empty.”

“Were you always this obnoxious?” Phoenix asked, and Isaiah
was surprised to see the smile on her face with all she’d been through today.

“Nah, I can rein it in when I’m trying to get in some
chick’s panties,” Drew explained on his way out of the room.

“I think he was trying to make you laugh,” Isaiah mused.
“Christ, it always shocks me when Drew does something nice.”

“He’s really not as bad as you think,” she argued.

As scary as it was to admit, Isaiah was starting to believe
that. Then a thought suddenly occurred to him. “If you’re a hunter, I didn’t
need to buy more condoms when I was out. I can’t get you pregnant, and neither
of us can get an STD. Why’d you buy a box when you don’t need them?”

“Humans should use them, and I was pretending to be human,”
she explained.

“I could have been in you with no condom,” he mused.

Phoenix raised an eyebrow at his sudden change of subject.
“That’s really what’s on your mind, after everything else that’s just
happened?”

“There’s very little that can make me stop thinking about
being inside of your body,” he assured her.

Phoenix was fighting her smile. “You sure do know how to
sweet talk a girl.”

“Wanna go back to my room and see my pocket protector?” he
asked with a grin.

This time, Phoenix lost her battle to hold back her
laughter, and Isaiah felt warmth flood his body as he realized he’d do just
about anything to make this woman happy.