We Own the Night (The Night Songs Collection Book 3) (32 page)

“It’s a good thing I am.” He was pissing me off. “A lot of people wiped their hands of you, too. Because there was no helping you. If they hadn’t done that, we would have never met.”

He glared at me before turning his eyes back to the road. I refused to apologize for this.

As we pulled into the driveway, I had a whole new reason to panic.

Lennon. We’d left her alone.

Tristan barely brought the car to a complete stop before I got out. After the last few days, I couldn’t take any more surprises.

Now I knew my way around Ryder’s house, and I headed straight to the bedroom we’d left Lennon in. The crowd had gathered there, choking the doorway. I pushed my way past everyone to get a look at what was going on.

Lennon was awake, sitting up, holding her head, and looking dazed.

Rachel and Josiah held on to her, and Ryder was trying to convince Melanie to get out of the room.

“It’s not safe for you in here,” he insisted.

“She needs me,” Melanie countered.

“He’s right,” I told her. “It’s not safe. Don’t make her do something she’ll regret later. She doesn’t have any control yet.”

I sat at the foot of the bed. “Lennon, honey, we’re all here.”

She looked at me like she’d never seen me before. Oh, shit. When I came to as a vampire, I knew exactly who Tristan was. Please tell me we didn’t make another mistake.

“Do you know who I am?” I asked her, keeping my voice soft.

Lennon looked at me for what seemed like forever, then looked around at the room. I wished I knew what she was seeing and thinking. Her mind just projected static. This was just so totally different than what I had experienced. Finally, she nodded.

And hissed at me.

“I did that to Tristan when I woke up.” I laughed. Rites of passage. “Doesn’t it feel weird?”

“God, yes.” She still sounded like herself. I wanted to hug her, but I knew it was too soon. She couldn’t hurt me, but I didn’t want to provoke her. “What happened?”

I wasn’t sure what to tell her. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

“We went back to my house to get clothes. You wanted me to stay with you. How did we get here? Where are we?” She looked around at everyone, confused. “Why is everyone here?”

Thank God she didn’t seem to remember anything with Cash. I wanted so badly to check her body, to see if she’d been able to heal from her injuries, but not with all the guys in the room. We had forever to find out.

“We’re at Ryder’s house. A lot’s happened while you were joining us. We’ll tell you later. All you need to know now is that you’re safe and we love you.”

“I’m a vampire?” She looked at me in disbelief.

I nodded.

“Well, it’s about freakin’ time.” She fell back against her pillows. The room erupted into laughter.

“Rachel is your creator,” I told her. “So we’re all going to give you a couple minutes with her and Josiah, and they’ll show you what you need to know right off the bat, okay?”

“Okay, I guess.” She was still confused, of course. Everything would be off for her at first. Smells, sight, touch, it was all different for a vampire.

“It’s getting late.” Tristan leaned against the doorway, still irritated with me. “We’d better head back soon.”

I looked back at Lennon. “I’ll be back first thing tomorrow night.”

“Give me a hug before you go,” she insisted. I had to admit, I was nervous. Women vampires were supposed to be programmed to tear each other apart. I put my arms around her, tense, but she gave me one of the tightest hugs I’d ever experienced, not knowing her strength, and a kiss on the cheek. Instinctively, I brought my hand up to my cheek to wipe away the lipstick mark she usually left.

Tristan took my hand on our way out the door. It might have been his way of apologizing for earlier, or just accepting my decision.

“You know, Blade didn’t do anything we haven’t done,” I said once we got in the car. “We’ve killed people, too.”

“I know.” Tristan looked straight ahead at the road.

“We don’t deserve to be buried alive.” Maybe we did. But I certainly didn’t want it to happen.

“No.” Tristan didn’t say anything else for a few minutes. “I get why you did what you did. I don’t agree with it, but I respect it.”

“You do?” I could live with that.

He pulled into the parking garage under the Alta Vista and didn’t answer my question until we got into the elevator.

“It’s what you said about me that drove it home.” He held on to both of my hands, but he looked out the window as we rose into the sky. “You’ve always seen the good in me when no one else has.”

“I don’t know how people can’t see it.” I sighed as I tossed my jacket over the back of the chair. “You’re impossible sometimes, but you’re not even close to a bad person. You just need a lot of attention.”

Tristan grabbed my ass. “I’d like some attention right now, but as I was saying, if you didn’t show up here when you did, honestly, I don’t know what would have happened. I was so fucked up, every night, and angry at everyone about what I was.”

“Like Blade.” I wrapped my arms around his neck.

“Exactly.” He kissed my neck. “You saved me, beautiful.”

My knees went weak, and I was thankful that we held on to each other.

“You saved me,” I said. “If I didn’t meet you, I’d be stuck on that island for the rest of my life. I’d have no idea about, well, anything.”

“So, I guess we were meant for each other.” He smiled down for me.

“I guess we are.” I went up on my tip toes to kiss him, but stopped just as my lips brushed against his. “And I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

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We Own the Night
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The Night Songs Collection continues in November 2014, with
Silent Night
. This story features new characters, and some you’re familiar with, in a different part of the same world. Keep reading for the Prologue.

Sneak Peek of

O
ur tradition was simple, but perfect. Every Christmas Eve, my Memere and I would open one gift early. Pajamas, it was always new pajamas. We'd get nice and comfy in our new duds, then curl up on the couch under a mountain of blankets and watch
A Christmas Story
over and over again. Every year, she'd ask me what I wanted for dinner that night, like there was ever any chance of variation. Every year, I picked tourtiere, French Canadian pork pie. Christmas Eve night was my favorite part of Christmas.

But this year, there was no pie, no pajamas, no movie marathon, and no Memere.

I wasn't doing well.

"Kyndra, you know you're more than welcome to come over. Jason's family will all be there. It will be loud and rowdy but fun. Kids everywhere. Tons of food." My supervisor, Katie, made one last attempt to invite me to her family's Christmas celebration.

"I'm headed to my aunt's house, but thanks. Again." I didn't look her in the eye as I hung up my uniform blazer in the locker room. If I did, she might pick up how awful her invite actually sounded to me.

Lies. All lies. They were becoming easier than the truth.

My aunt mentioned Christmas to me sometime around Halloween, which was the last time I talked to her. She'd made no effort to follow up and make sure I actually had a place to go. I'd fielded and turned down many invites. I came up with The Aunt Story rather than offending them with the truth, which was I just didn't want to go. That I held on to some kind of hope that I could spend the day with the ghosts of Christmases past. It was better to put everyone's mind at rest. I gave them enough to worry about.

The last thing I wanted to feel like on Christmas was an alien. The thing that wasn't like the others. The one that didn’t belong. The idea of having to intoduce myself to anyone's family, or explain why I wasn't with my own family--or worse yet, explain that I had no family—filled me with a fear rivaled only by having no place to go on Christmas. I didn't want to put a damper on anyone else's celebration. I couldn't be happy on this day, yet. I'd dreaded it for the last six months. I‘d decided it was better for everyone if I spent this day alone.

I just needed to sort things out on my own. I didn't ask anyone to understand.

I bundled up better than usual, just in case the inevitable happened. I kept as much stuff in my work locker as I possibly could. Winter clothes and books tumbled out every time I opened it. No one even paid attention anymore, and I bundled up good tonight, emptying the locker with my efforts. With the end of the holidays came the end of overnight shifts, and I was trying not to freak out. I hadn't actually been working that shift, but no one said anything when I slept in the breakroom. It was my way of giving my friends a break from feeling like they had to take care of me. They couldn't say yes all the time, and sometimes I didn't ask. Like tonight.

The city was all snuggled in for the holiday. Hardly any cars passed by me as I walked towards the shelter. Only the street lights lit up the road weakly without the aid of the neon business signs. Everyone was home with their families that night, where they belonged.

Even the old school that was now a women's shelter stood eerily quiet. My footsteps crunched in the fresh snow that had fallen during the day as if on cue for insta-holiday cheer. They echoed against the dark buildings, the only noise on the normally busy street.

My heart lept up into my throat. I knew the drill. I was late. But I'd offered to help close the store tonight. I didn't want anyone to miss family time to sell panties and loungewear to procrasinators.

"Hi Marcy." My smile was too big for my face, hoping for a miracle. The Spirit House Momma wouldn't miss a night, even one of the most holy of the year. "Are there any beds left?"

"Oh, sweetheart, no." Marcy looked devastated. "It's a busy night tonight, especially with the snow. I can see if there's any extra blankets and maybe we can make you up a bed on the floor. It's the best I can do."

I tried to remember to breathe. I couldn't have her come back and tell me she didn't have more blankets. I couldn't get my hopes up again. "No. That's okay." I turned and pushed the door back open.