Wicked Sunset (Sunset Vampire Series, Book 4) (8 page)

Heaven help me if he ever realizes that in full. I may lose all influence over him then.

Except regarding issues involving his security and welfare.

I’ll never relinquish those.

However, as with today, I’d let the ‘bitch out of the barn’ a little too much with him.

Still, it’s a woman’s prerogative to overreact on occasion, right?

I glanced up at the screen to note that Caleb’s SUV had stopped, so I zoomed in on the location.

“Old Skools?”

A quick Google search revealed what I needed to know.

“A Goth bar?”

Okay, that confused me a little bit. I couldn’t recall him ever going to a Goth bar before.

I glanced at the clock and sighed, realizing there were still a couple of hours of prime daylight left before I could do anything.

Well, kudos to him for making his grand escape in the afternoon. I can’t go after him until after sunset or I’ll be burned to a crisp.

I went back upstairs to heat up a ceramic mugful of blood in the microwave.

As I waited, a thought struck me and I raced to the phone near the counter, causing a stack of mail to flutter onto the floor.

I dialed with one hand while tossing the mail back onto the countertop.

“Hello, Sexy Blondes Incorporated,” answered a familiar perky voice.

“Paige, I need your help,” I said. “Caleb stormed off a little earlier.”

“Another fight, huh? What up with dat’, girlfriend?” she asked in a sarcastic tone.

“
Paige
,” I growled.

I had a sneaky suspicion she knew more about it than she was letting on.

Being careful not to reveal any details that might embarrass Caleb, I quickly explained to her a little of what had happened.

As we talked, I went upstairs to the second floor master bedroom that was rarely used. I fleetingly recalled how Caleb and I had made love for the first time in that room.

“And you say he went to a
Goth
club?” she asked.

“Yeah,” I said, while rummaging through the lesser-used clothes that I’d stored in the closet.

Suddenly, I spied an outfit that just might fit the occasion.

“Shorty, you’re the only one of us who’s currently equipped for a daytime mission,” I said.

My limited mobility during daylight was something I intended to address in the not-too-distant future.

“Please, just talk to him and see if you can coax him to return home,” I said.

“C’mon, Red,” she said. “Let the kid blow off some steam; give him a little space. You smother him sometimes, if you ask me.”

I didn’t ask your opinion.

I calmed myself to avoid an argument, though it was challenging not to bite her head off.

“I understand what you’re saying,” I said diplomatically. “However, after what happened downtown the other evening, I’d rather he not be out on the town unprotected.”

Given the subsequent silence, I thought that our connection had been lost.

“All right, that makes sense, I suppose,” she said with a tone of resignation in her voice.

“So?” I asked, shaking my head in mild frustration.

“Yeah, yeah,” she said. “But what if he doesn’t exactly want to return home? I mean, from what you said, he was pretty pissed at you when he left.”

I hoped that wouldn’t be an issue.

No, he’ll vent and then want to come back home.

“I have a backup plan, but it’s no good until after sunset,” I said.

Please, just come home, Caleb. I’ll make it up to you somehow…

“Don’t worry, Red. I’m on the case,” she replied.

Then she giggled. “This should be good. I haven’t been to a Goth bar in years.”

“Uh-huh,” I said.

Well, at least one of us was amused about the situation.

I just want him safely back home. Maybe if I can hold him and talk to him, we can try to heal the wound that’s been opened between us.

Of course, I realized that in order to heal the wound, I’d need to understand what type of injury I’d be treating.

Bruised ego, or bitter resentment?

Or maybe a little of both?

I thanked Paige for her assistance and retrieved my mug of warmed blood from the microwave. As I perched on a kitchen barstool and took a sip, appreciating the warm liquid flowing down my throat, my emotions finally began to calm a little bit.

I quietly analyzed the events of recent days, including the unfortunate exchange with him earlier that afternoon.

Slowly, the logic of his behavior dawned upon me, like a morning sun peering over the treetops, banishing darkness in its wake.

Oh, my dear, haunted Caleb. I think that I finally understand what’s really at play here…

I felt stupid for not seeing it already.

Chapter 7

Caleb

By the time I’d secured a small table in the back and finished my second beer, I was surprised to admit that the bar was starting to grow on me.

For one, the music was actually pretty good; it reminded me of a harder version of the alternative rock that I liked. For example, I considered that Angelical Tears’ music would fit right in here.

My mind wandered for a bit before returning to my aggravation with Kat.

Sometimes she’s just so damned overbearing.

I stared into my beer, searching for an oracle of some kind.

Unfortunately, I doubt any answers are coming from this glass of beer.

When I looked up again to survey the room, the place was starting to fill up, which kind of surprised me. I wouldn’t have expected this kind of crowd to be prevalent in the Atlanta area.

Maybe New York or San Francisco, but not around here.

I rubbed at my forehead with one hand, trying to dispel the tension that had formed.

I removed my hand just in time to see a familiar blonde-haired woman walk into the bar carrying a pile of folded leather riding gear, along with motorcycle helmet and black boots, which she placed on a small table near the entrance. She took only a moment to take in her surroundings before boldly strutting into the bar.

No way.

Paige wore a little black leather miniskirt, sheer long-sleeved top that revealed a leather bra underneath, and high-heeled ankle boots. Black eye shadow outlined her smoldering blue eyes and a studded black leather collar accented her petite neck.

Oh, she’s hot.

Her edgy, sexy look immediately caught every set of eyes in the place, and she rocked her hips like a dangerous vixen on the prowl to the sound of Razed in Black’s “Oh My Goth!” blaring overhead.

She flashed a half-grin to patrons both left and right of her as she continued her trajectory directly toward my table.

Honestly, I felt the sexual tension quadruple in the room, affecting me in exactly the same way. Even the female bartender appeared mesmerized by her.

She stopped directly before my table and struck an alluring pose. “Oh-my-Goth, imagine seeing you here, kiddo,” she squeaked.

My mouth opened but words completely escaped me.

She beamed at me with a feisty-look as she practically poured herself into an empty chair to my right.

“Oh, how I
love
your expression right now,” she said with a tone of satisfaction.

I had to force myself to take a breath before speaking.

“You. Look. Amazing.”

Good Lord, if I wasn’t already spoken for…

She giggled playfully as she regarded me.

“Just so you know, I could eat you up right now, tiger,” she purred.

Our eyes locked. A sly smile slowly dawned upon her features as I felt a spark of desire flare from deep inside me.

Dangerous territory…

Abruptly, she broke from our stare contest, and I thought that I glimpsed her quickly frowning as she looked away from me.

She made an overly-lengthy visual inspection of our side of the club before looking back at me with a decidedly more playful expression.

“You sure can pick the joints, can’t you?”

In near record time, the bartender made a personal appearance at our table to retrieve Paige’s order.

“Absolut and cran, please,” she ordered. “And another beer for my boy.”

When the bartender departed, Paige winked at me and said, “All the good Goths are drinking vodka and cran nowadays.”

“How do you know so much about---”

“What, Goth? Eh, I lived in southern California for years; it’s like second nature to me,” she said off-handedly, while flashing a flirtatious look at two black-clad young men seated a table away from us.

“The real question is what
you’re
doing here,” she said.

“Kat and I had a bit of---”

“Yeah-yeah, I heard; the drag-down cat fight with your Dom,” she interrupted.

My mouth dropped open.

Kat told her?

She frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t believe that Kat told you,” I said.

“Told me what?” she asked. “That you had a big fight?”

I paused. “What
exactly
do you know about that?”

She appeared puzzled. “Not as much as I thought, apparently. But maybe you can fill me in now that I’m here.”

Yeah, not gonna’ happen.

She snapped her fingers repeatedly. “C’mon, dish. I want all the gory details.”

I slowly let out a deep breath that I’d been holding.

She frowned at me. “Hey, is there something important I should know here?”

“Nah, no big deal,” I said.

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “O-kay, then. Back to my earlier question. Why did you end up
here
?”

I shrugged. “First place I came to.”

She gave me a shrewd look. “Well, aren’t you just Captain Adventure today.”

“You don’t know the half of it,” I muttered under my breath.

The bartender returned and our drinks were smoothly placed before us.

“Thanks,” Paige and I both said simultaneously.

We locked eyes and Paige grinned brightly.

“She’s on my tab,” I said before the bartender walked away.

“Why, thank you, kind sir,” Paige said.

We sipped our drinks in silence as she swayed to the industrial music playing.

“How did you track me here?” I asked.

She shrugged. “Red did all the work. She sounded pretty worried about you, in fact.”

Yeah, I bet.

I offered a sour expression in silent response.

“Oh, that look says it all,” she said. “
Somebody
must have been really raging when they took off. Am I right?”

“That’s about the size of it,” I said.

“Good for you,” she said. “My boy has some balls after all, it seems.”

I nearly winced.

Yeah, well, I’m lucky Kat didn’t step on those while she was at it.

“Penny for your thoughts,” she said as she produced a cell phone from God-knows-where and started texting.

“What are you doing?” I demanded. “Aww, c’mon, don’t text Kat already.”

“Hey, chill. I’m only tellin’ her you’re safe and sound,” she said.

“Well, you can tell her to stay the hell away and leave me alone while you’re at it.”

She glanced up at me wide-eyed. “What? I don’t think I’ve heard you servin’ ’tude like that before,” she said, placing her phone onto the table before her. “Just what the hell happened today?”

I took a long swig of my beer, and then told her about our argument, but without any mention of the ‘floor episode.’

“And just where’s
your
cell phone?” she asked with an arched brow.

“I left it in the SUV somewhere,” I replied.

“Notta’ cool play, dude,” she said. “Bad Caleb; no biscuit.”

I rolled my eyes. She always had a unique way of lightening my mood, no matter the circumstances. She was one of the best friends I’d ever had, and under different circumstances, I could see her as so much more.

She snapped her fingers before me. “Hey, stop broodin’ over your old lady and perk up,” she said with a playful expression. “You’re in a Goth club all alone with Little Miss Dressed-to-Kill! How often does that happen, kiddo?”

I chuckled.

“I’m betting not often enough,” she said.

“You are dressed to kill,” I said. “In fact, you look absolutely hot.”

She squealed an endearing laugh. “Good boy,” she giggled. “Let’s rave!”

Rave?

Before I knew it, she had grabbed my hand and practically jerked me out of my chair. I trailed behind her as industrial music blared from the overhead speakers.

I took comfort in the fact that a crowd of people were already dancing, so at least I didn’t create a spectacle.

Paige’s enthusiasm was infectious, and before I knew it I was thrashing about with her on the dance floor and having a great time. Between her and the rhythmic beat of the music, it didn’t take long for me to banish my former gloomy thoughts in favor of some fun.

In fact, it felt really good.

I wasn’t paying attention to how many songs we danced to, but I worked up quite a thirst.