Deceived (Burned Book 2) Page 9

  "Let's just enjoy the next few minutes. We can have a lazy day this weekend and continue the snugglefest."

  "Snugglefest?" His deep laugh shook his whole body. "Is that what this is?"

  "Yes, of course." I closed my eyes and relaxed against him. "Now, hush."

  "Yes, senorita." He buried his face into my long hair and inhaled. "I love the way you smell; lavender and honey. Mmmm." It was bunched on the pillow in complete disarray. It would be a mass of knots after last night.

  I needed to get up. Fixing the tangled mess would take more time than I'd like. I sighed, too comfortable in his embrace to move, and stared outside.

  The light shifted as the sun slowly rose in the sky. The colors bled into the bright blue of daylight, a shade that matched a pair of familiar eyes. Guilt gnawed at my insides as I turned my head and caught Alejandro's gaze. His careful brown eyes watched my every motion.

  Chapter Eleven

  "Does it ever bother you?" I blurted, unable to hold back my curiosity.

  "What?" Daniel asked. He took a sip of his drink, watching me over the rim. Steam rose from the tea like ghosts dancing on air.

  The coffee house was nestled in the Channel District. A perfect view of the bay spread before of us. Tourists loaded with shopping bags from the surrounding shops were thick like rats, scurrying about. Their inane chatter as annoying as the lovebugs that awkwardly flew by smacking into everything in their haste to copulate mid-flight.

  "Letting them drink from you? Use you like that?"

  He pursed his lips, then rolled the question on his tongue. "Not really. They need what I have to live, right?" He paused, continuing at my nod. "I'm providing them a service."

  "Like a cow does with milk." I snorted.

  He rolled his eyes. "Sort of."

  "But that doesn't bother you?"

  He sighed heavily, his shrug weary. "I'm going to be one of them. If this is the price I have to pay until I earn the privilege of becoming immortal then so be it. Plus it feels good, and sometimes it can feel really good." He wiggled his eyebrows at me.

  I smacked him on the arm. "Perv."

  "No really. It's awesome during sex, makes it even better."

  I considered his response. "It's pretty spectacular now." And it was. He'd had a lot of time to perfect his technique in six hundred years. I certainly wasn't complaining.

  "What is pretty spectacular?" Kyra walked up behind Daniel, kissing his neck. Her eyes flashed, almost glowing when they landed on the fresh bite marks.

  "Ari's sex life."

  "Hey!" I smacked him again, harder this time. "Over-sharing."

  "I don't keep secrets from her."

  Kyra's smile dipped and her eyes clouded, but the change was so fast I might have imagined it. "I'm happy for you." She flopped onto the seat next to Daniel. "Great sex keeps you young." Resting both feet on the low table between us, she brushed a magazine from the stack. I watched as it slid off the side and splayed on the wood floor. She made no move to pick it up. "Maybe that's Alejandro's secret."

  "Sex?" I frowned, my attention diverted by the magazine lying unnoticed on the floor. It was open to the event section; a spread about the upcoming charity gala caught my attention.

  "Maybe it's not being a vampire that makes you live forever, in a perpetual state of youth and vitality," she mocked, "but down and dirty vampire sex."

  Our combined laughter was loud and boisterous, turning a few heads. Their expressions varied from annoyance to curiosity.

  "If that were the case, I'd never age." Glancing at my hands, I picked out their imperfections. The veins that stood out more than they did a few years ago, added wrinkles that weren't imagined. I frowned and added, "I'm pretty sure I'm aging."

  "Alejandro could fix that for you if you asked." Kyra cocked an eyebrow, her tone clipped.

  Her attitude stiffened my back and my eyes narrowed.

  "Alejandro can't drink from our girl here." Daniel patted my knee and I clenched my teeth, struggling to hide my irritation. "He has to get his snacks elsewhere," Daniel added. Kyra's brows lowered, confusion swirling in her eyes.

  "Alejandro won't drink from me," I clarified, "I'd likely lose my powers … Or at least that's the general consensus."

  "You wouldn't be as useful to him then," Kyra stated flatly. The words were spoken with no barb or inflection but they pierced my skin just the same. "Looks like you are in a tough situation." She stretched the word out.

  My attention was again drawn to the magazine forgotten on the floor, irritation tensing the muscles along my back. I fought the impulse to pick it up.

  "Makes sense, though, why he's always snacking on everyone else." She rubbed the side of her neck, the ghost of the twin wounds taunted me. Was she flaunting the fact that she could give Alejandro something that I couldn't? She was his preferred snack at the moment.

  Did they ever—

  I cut the thought off before it could fully form and sink into my heart. Something like that could take root, burrow down into the depths of my mind and grow.

  "Don't worry, I certainly have no designs on him." Her knowing eyes met mine which widened in surprise. "I'm awash in men at the moment. I don't need anymore," she snorted loudly. "We are juggling a balance as it is, right? No need to fuck up a good thing."

  "Hey, I'm not the one complaining. You know I'm happy." His focus sharpened, frowning as he dropped his constant blanket of humor. His naked vulnerability peeked through. "Right?"

  "Right." Kyra smiled and stared deep into his eyes.

  I was an outsider, intruding on an intimate moment. Shifting uncomfortably in my seat, I cleared my throat. "I should go."

  "No." Daniel's eyes shot to mine as he frowned. "We are having a fun time. Don't ruin it." He stuck his tongue out at me.

  "So mature," I said, my haughty tone a little nasal. The familiar sibling-like banter eased the tension that had stiffened my posture and the vice on my heart.

  Things were changing. While our relationship was as strong as ever, it was clear I was no longer his priority. His priority was sitting across from me, her hand gripped solidly in his.

  That left the ever burning question: Whose priority was I?

  ***

  Oh God, not again.

  I held my tongue. The words never escaped their confinement, much like the shifter in front of me. He glared back, his yellow-green eyes flashing with disgust from behind the steel bars. I'd be safe on this side. He had no way to escape. My heart raced in my chest. I clasped my hands to keep them from shaking.

  I knew Kyra was walking through the door before she stepped through. Her gasp echoed through the concrete room. Soundproofed, to keep anyone from the outside world intruding on our inner sanctum, and keeping our dirty deeds hidden from the careless people upstairs. The Harmony, the lobby, were only feet above us. It was amazing how close anyone could be to hell and not know it.

  "What's going on? Who are you?" the shifter snarled from the cage. His eyes blazed with accusation, focused intently at Kyra. Interesting. While he'd practically ignored my presence, he flung questions at her. Anger emanated from him in waves.

  "Answer me!" he bellowed. "How can you do this?"

  Kyra didn't acknowledge him. Instead, the mask returned, cemented in place. Her stare was unfocused as Alejandro explained what was going to happen. Thank goodness only one of the vile witnesses was here tonight. I'm not sure if my nerves could stand both vampires so close to me. Most of the room was filled with the steel cage, making the side we all waited on smaller. Although I was still several feet from the beady-eyed snake, my skin crawled. He may wear a nice suit, but it hid a viper.

  By then end of the session, I was trembling. I'd turned my back to the shifter once he'd changed into a wolf and my powers became useless. Once they shifted, they could no longer speak and were unable to lie. However, I wasn't allowed to leave in case he transformed back. God, how I'd wanted to flee.

  Kyra couldn't hide though. It was obvious she'd
mentally checked out; her vacant gaze looked out onto nothing as she did Alejandro's bidding. I hoped it helped her survive. Sometimes that's the best you can do. Survive.

  Nausea churned as another wave of burned fur and skin hit me. My heart sped, but I forced my breath to stay shallow and as steady as I could. Each measured breath was drawn, shaking, into my seizing lungs.

  Finally, when nothing more could be done, when the strong shifter was reduced to a whining mass of charred flesh and fur, we were able to leave. We'd accomplished little, knowing only that he was lying about something. A lot of help that was going to be.

  There was something going on outside the walls of my platinum existence. A rumbling was coursing across the preternatural world. Not everyone was happy with the way things were. Some tired of listening to the old ways, to the absent parents who dictated directives from an ocean away. The old world vampires were on top, but for how long? We needed to discover what was happening, but I wasn't convinced this was the way to do it. The end didn't always justify the means, though Alejandro seemed to think so.

  I dragged a pale Kyra to my condo. She fought to hide her tremors, her stiffened posture a weak, brittle ruse. She wanted to go home, but the fact that I'd been able to persuade her into my condo said a lot about her state of mind. She made it into the bathroom, but just barely, emptying her stomach of everything she'd eaten.

  I texted Daniel.

  While I waited, I ungracefully downed a glass of wine and put on some soothing music, my favorite standby: Nina Simone. As her haunting vocals filled the room, I wet a washcloth and passed it to Kyra. I fought to keep my own rioting emotions at bay while I dealt with this unexpected fallout. One crisis at a time.

  Nina's words dug deep as she sang about freedom. I swallowed thickly and struggled to draw in each breath. My heart pounded in my ears.

  No, wait. That was the door. The loud knocking blended with my heavy heartbeat and almost drowned out the sound. I wobbled unsteadily to the door, swinging it open to meet Daniel's angry glare.

  "What happened?" he bit out.

  "Alejandro had us working together."

  He nodded, his normally laughing eyes were drawn, serious. I didn't need to explain further, he knew what that meant. I had never shared details with him. With anyone.

  A cavern slowly opened up underneath me. I was losing him. It's not that he wasn't my friend any longer. No, we'd always be close. I wasn't the person he ran to first; he'd come for her.

  Who did I have?

  Chapter Twelve

  Instead of heading out to dinner with Sarah and some other attorneys after court, I managed to meet Zak. The restaurant he chose was understated, elegant with a clean, simple but modern look. Exactly the type of place I preferred. Upscale, but not as hoity-toity as The Harmony. The food was an adventure for the palate. More of a fusion restaurant, it had a little bit of everything. My favorite was the Hibiscus ice cream—light and refreshing with just a hint of sweetness. It paired well with my Riesling, which I anxiously swirled in the glass.

  My thoughts flashed back to the unsettling events of the prior week, something that was happening with disturbing regularity. The damage Kyra inflicted on the shifter had seared itself on my psyche, adding to the already large bank of nightmares my subconscious had to choose from.

  I wasn't sleeping well.

  After Daniel had shown up, they rushed from my condo like the hellhound Cerberus was at their heels. I'd have never known she was sick, the steel rod was back in place and her mask blocked any emotion. But I'd known. I'd seen the crack in her mask. She might be ruthless and driven, but there was something hiding beneath the iron facade.

  She wasn't what she appeared. What she'd done had bothered her. Deeply.

  "Is this okay?" Zak's words intruded on my thoughts.

  "Yes, sorry. I've got a lot on my mind." I smiled, trying to ease his concern.

  "I can tell. I know I've said this before, but," he pointed to himself, "you are in the company of a marvelous listener."

  I chuckled and I asked him something that had been on my mind since we met. "How do you keep from analyzing and diagnosing your friends?"

  "Who says I don't? I have you pegged as a narcissist and your friend Daniel with dependent personality disorder." My mouth hung open, but before I could get a shocked word out he laughed. "I'm just kidding. I just don't think about it. I can still use the same listening skills I've learned in my profession. They translate anywhere and people normally love to talk about themselves. It's getting them to shut up that is usually my problem. I prefer to avoid labels. Everyone has problems and issues. If my friends want advice I'll offer it, but I don't do it unsolicited."

  "This place is wonderful." I changed the subject, wanting to keep things light.

  "It is. It's owned by a client's mom, who is also the head chef. I'd introduce you but she has the evening off." He leaned back in his chair, one side of his mouth lifted in a smile. "I eat here a lot."

  "I can see why." I picked apart a piece of bread, eating the small pieces one at a time. "It's nice to relax without looking over my shoulder for a few hours."

  "Is it that bad?" His eyes, pinched with concern, warmed my heart.

  "I don't know how to explain it to you." I shrugged. How did I explain what living in the House was like, without revealing anything? "It's not like I'm being controlled all the time. I wouldn't be here if that was the case. It's just…" I gathered my thoughts. "It's like my every action is being judged all the time; like I'm in a glass bowl being observed. Like people are constantly waiting on me to slip up." I laughed. "It sounds like I have some serious paranoia issues, but that's what it's like."

  "Sounds tough and pretty unhealthy."

  "Probably, but I don't really have a choice anymore. It is what it is. I'm just trying to find a shred of normalcy in my otherwise abnormal life."

  "Is that what I am—your little bit of normal?" His hand slipped into mine. The simple action was a balm, smoothing and grounding.

  "I guess so. Maybe that's why you are so tempting. Why I can't seem to stay away, no matter how I know things will turn out in the end."

  "And how's that?" His blue eyes never wavered as they stared into mine.

  I considered for a moment how to answer. I didn't want to scare him away, or did I? How honest could—should—I be? "Best case scenario one or the other of us gets bored or annoyed with all the sneaking around. Worst case?" I pulled my hand from his. "One of us ends up dead." My eyes darted away, unable to meet his any longer.

  The scraping of plates and muted conversations filled the void that stretched between us. The seconds ticked by. I watched servers as they moved around the restaurant, the other diners as the enjoyed their meal blissfully unaware of the drama being played out in their midst.

  He finally broke the silence. "That's a pretty worst case."

  "Scared?" I dragged my gaze to his. "You should be."

  "Probably. But there is something about you." He found my hand with his again, his thumb rubbed along mine. "Something in you that calls out to me. Resonates within me. I don't know if I could walk away." He tightened his grip when I tried to pull away. "I'm patient. I can be your friend, but I can't leave. I need to see this through. I feel like I'd regret the decision for the rest of my life."

  "Or maybe you'll regret meeting me."

  He thought carefully. "No, I don't think so."

  His eyes sharpened, the blue darkening with his intense focus. "I don't want to weird you out or anything. I don't know if you believe in…supernatural stuff."

  "I'm not weirded out easily." That was the understatement of the year.

  "A friend of mine," he leaned forward and lowered his voice, "told me that I'd meet someone. And that she'd be in a tough situation and would need a friend." The hairs on the back of my neck lifted. A chill worked its way over my skin. "She said that I should be there for that person, that she would need me in order to come to a difficult decision. That our meeting w
ould be the vital cog in a series of events unfolding around us."

  I stared at him, eyes wide with shock. My mind was a storm of questions, but I couldn't ask any of them aloud—not yet.

  "I know it sounds strange." The tone of his voice begged me to listen, to take his words seriously. "My friend is special—very special."

  I picked my words carefully. "I've seen things—things that cannot be explained away by current science." I felt the tension leave his body in a wave. I held my hand before he could say anything and continued, "I'm not saying I believe your friend—I haven't even met her." But I wanted to!

  I filed away his tidbit for future reference. My conversation with Kyra in the forefront of my mind. It could be possible … couldn't it? "I prefer not to make judgments until I can see the evidence for myself."

  "Good." His smile was blinding, cutting off all rational thought. My heart skipped in my chest. The feeling was exciting, but terrifying at the same time. "So I am a vital cog. I like that." He chuckled, toying with my fingers. Tingles danced along my arm.

  Neither of us wanted the evening to end. We took advantage of the nice weather and wandered around the bay. The sun had set; the sky was lit up in a myriad of colors as it sank into the water.

  Settling onto a bench, we swapped childhood stories. His were filled with warmth and adventure. The youngest of three boys in a family that embodied love and acceptance. All his stories seemed to center around hilarious retaliations for scrapes he got into with his older brothers. His childhood was vastly different from mine. There was no love or laughter, only a heavy sense of obligation, responsibility, and constant bickering.

  As I related my desire to escape the unhappiness of the poverty I grew up in, he slipped his hand into mine. Each finger slid into place as if it were crafted for that very purpose. Zak's hand was soft and warm, comforting. The heaviness on my heart eased its tight grip.

  An unwelcomed comparison invaded my thoughts. Alejandro wasn't the hand-holding type. I imagined strolling along the same waters, holding his cool hand in mine and laughed aloud. The streets darkened. Thoughts of Alejandro reminded me of the sinister world hidden in the shadows. With the absence of the daylight, any number of eyes could be watching.