4 Vamp Versus Vamp (16 page)

I sighed. I understood the cravings aspect. I still remembered what a Starbucks Frappuccino tasted like. When you grew up relying on food for comfort, it was painful at times to not be able to anymore. I was forced to face everything head on. “I’m going to start small. If I like it, I’ll keep going. I’m not making any promises, though.”

“Yay!” she cried. She was up out of her seat and squeezing me in the blink of an eye.

I chuckled before backing away to give her a stern look. “Now, do you care to explain how in the middle of an argument with Kellan you thought to call him for business?”

“Because it was for business. Kalel here is who Kel’s been sneaking around with at night.” Gabi cut her eyes at Kalel.

“What we’re doing is none of your business, Gabi.” Kalel frowned.

“Then why did you even mention it?” she snapped.

“I said I couldn’t do anything Saturday night because Kellan and I had plans.”

“You also indicated that it wasn’t the first time you had rendezvoused with Kellan at night.” She cupped her hands on her hips, leaning into her words.

“Gabriella, this conversation is over,” Kalel commanded. His eyes flared; his full lips tightened into a straight line. I’d never seen him this angry before.

“Fine. Whatever. But if you’re doing anything even remotely illegal or anything involving women, your
asses
will be bacon the moment I find out.” She plopped back down on the love seat with Jack.

Jack had been observing the interaction silently from where he was. He squinted his eyes, cocking his head, and he glanced back and forth between Kellan and Kalel. He closed his eyes for a minute; the room fell silent as he drew into himself. His eyes shot open and met Kalel’s. “Be careful.”

The lone warning sent chills down my spine. Serum rose in the back of my throat. Fear danced through my veins. Curiosity boggled my mind as my heart began to race, the unknown causing its flight.

I chewed on my lip, creasing my brow as I fought to control my reaction. Slowly my veins began to illuminate.
Crap.
This wasn’t the time to get worked up. I looked to Kellan. His face softened the moment he saw me.

“I’m not cheating.”

“I know that, Kellan.” My frustration surfaced. I was angry that danger had to party so closely to us all the time. “I also know that Jack wouldn’t issue a warning unless there was something to be cautious about.
Don’t
get hurt.”

His eyes traced the blue lines running beneath my skin. “Calm down, babe. We’re taking every necessary precaution. You have nothing to worry about.”

“Honey, why don’t you move away from the electronics, just in case,” Aunt Claire suggested in the calmest voice possible.

I stepped closer to the front door, away from everyone. I took a few deep breaths, waiting for the expansion of my lungs to squash my angst. A few moments later, I was back to normal.

Every face in the room held concern as they watched me from afar. I gave them a small smile, trying to brush off the issue.

“Are you okay?” Kellan asked, closing the gap between us. He enveloped me in his arms, kissing my head.

“Yeah.” My voice was barely above a whisper.

“Are you sure, sweetie?” Aunt Claire’s forehead creased as she studied me.

I shook my head. “I’m sure, thanks.”

“Um, why don’t we focus on that blood contract you brought, Kalel,” Gabi interjected, breaking the unspoken tension: their belief that I wasn’t okay.

“If you’re starting small, I won’t worry about a contract. I’ll just sell to you by the case at a discounted rate since I know you’ll be a repeat customer. If business grows, then we’ll set up a fixed-rate contract based on the units of blood per month auto-shipped.”

“Sounds good. By chance did you bring any blood with you?”

“I have some in my trunk. Kellan, why don’t you come with me to grab it?”

Kellan kissed my cheek. “I’ll be right back.”

I didn’t have to be out there to know they were talking about what did happen and what would happen Saturday night. It didn’t sit well with me, but I trusted the men enough not to press the issue. Kalel had been around long enough to know, and Kellan was smart enough to judge for himself.

“Aunt Claire, Gabi, want to be my kitchen assistants?” I smiled.

“Only if it means you’re going to be cooking more sweets right now.” Gabi hopped up from the couch, her face lit up.

Aunt Claire grinned. “Thank God I don’t have to worry about my figure.”

“Jack, how good are you with graphic designs?”

“What do you need?”

“How did I know you were the man for the job?” I chuckled. “Actually, I know. It was that massive wall of equipment in Puerto Rico. I still don’t know how you managed to get any service up there.”

“In most cases I say never assume; however, you were correct this time.” He stood up and followed us into the kitchen.

“I want to fully embrace the cliché here. They say the most obvious things are usually right in front of us. So I was thinking my company title could be ‘Bloody Bakes.’ I want a fashionable and cute female cartoon vampire eating a cupcake or some sort of dessert that’s oozing blood to be my trademark.” I looked at the women. “What do you think?”

“I love it!” Aunt Claire rubbed her palms together.

“It’s bloody awesome,” Gabi exclaimed in a fake British accent.

“Can you create something like that, Jack?” I faced him, waiting excitedly for his response. It was already coming together in my mind.

“But, of course, mademoiselle.” His Caribbean accent had the words flowing gracefully from his mouth like a Parisian gentleman.

The guys returned, a large box in Kalel’s arms.

“What do you have in mind, Lex?” Gabi asked. She pulled out all the baking pans she could find.

“A little of everything. I need to take my mind off some things, and I figured this would be the perfect time to test recipes.”

“I fully support this taste testing. Are you going to make the cake?” She set the final pan on the counter and faced me in anticipation.

Aunt Claire placed the mixing bowls on the counter and focused on me again.

“No pressure.” I rubbed my palms along my hips. “I’ll try,” I said, turning back to the fridge to remove the eggs we’d just purchased.

“Where do you want the blood, Leka?” Kalel asked.

“On the table
is fine
, thanks.” I watched as he carefully set the item down on the modern dark wood table. “How much comes in a case?” I checked as I set the eggs on the counter beside the orange
KitchenAid
mixer.

“Sixteen pints.”

“Awesome. Is there a larger unit than the packets I can purchase it in?”

“Of course.” He faced me. “I cater to all my clients’ needs.” He winked, sending a warm tingle through me at his innuendo. Kellan cleared his throat, drawing the heat to my cheeks.

I shook my head, trying to focus on business instead. “What sizes are available?”

Kalel chuckled, recognizing my move to push past his flirtation. “The bottles at the lake house are twelve ounces. We also offer a twenty-four-ounce and forty-eight-ounce container.”

“Are any of them reseal-able?”

“The forty-eight-ounce one is.”

“That’s what I want from here on out.”

“They come six to a case and keep for up to thirty days in the refrigerator.”

“Out of curiosity, what blood type tastes best? I haven’t quite figured that out for myself yet.”

“Everyone prefers something different.” He shrugged. “The sweetest, and one I’d recommend for you, is B-positive.”

“How was that determined?” I smiled, intrigue amusing my mind.

“It’s the blood type mosquitoes are most attracted to.”

“Have humans figured this out yet?” I knew my eyes sparkled with amusement, remembering several friends being eaten alive every summer.

“Not that I’m aware of. They like anyone with a B blood type, even AB, but B-positive is their favorite. In summer, it’s how you can pick out the best treat.” He wagged his brows.

“Kalel!”

He laughed. “It’s a fact, Leka.”

“Do I even want to know how you get this blood?”

“We pay humans for it, just like the plasma centers. We also have a charity set up that’s connected with a specific blood center throughout the world.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “I don’t know if I want to do business with that kind of underhanded play.”

“Relax, Leka. We are the first to donate blood in large quantities to the hospital in a natural disaster.”

“And any other time?”

He pursed his lips, gauging me. He sighed. “Not on a regular basis, but in a pinch, yes. Believe it or not, Leka, we want to save human lives when we can. They’re our life source, and we need as many as possible. At the last worldwide count, there were two hundred thirteen thousand eighty-six vamps on Earth compared to seven-point-one billion humans. It’s not much in comparison, but at one feeding till death a week by the reported seventy-two percent of vamps who feed off humans, we could knock out the world population in about five years since children and infants contain fewer pints, and, let’s face it, some vamps like to gorge themselves.

“That’s not exactly a promising outlook for our kind. See, humans have figured out how to create food in a lab from nothing food-related. It’s an imitation product that fills their stomachs and sustains them nonetheless. What they can’t create from scratch, they increase in quantity through hormone shots and steroid injections. Unfortunately for us, Leka, we’re reliant on them, but they don’t rely on us, and that will always be our weakness.” He crossed his arms over his chest, his muscles stretching the fabric of his shirt to the max.

“You realize how delicate that situation is, then?” My voice was barely above a whisper.

He placed a gentle hand on my shoulder, waiting until I met his gaze. “Tell me.” His voice was a low but sharp command.

“From a tactile standpoint, it would take only one vamp exposing us for your elaborate scheme to collapse and all vamp kind to suffer.”

“Why do you think the powerful battle between vampires and vampeens has been ongoing for centuries? The war between vamp kinds goes deeper than a bruised ego. Vampeens believe humans can be reasoned with. They are pushing for us to go public, and have promised to do so if they ever come out victorious.”

I swallowed the serum that flooded my mouth. I turned to face Aunt Claire. By her red-stained cheeks, I didn’t even have to ask. “You think they’d accept us and not try to harness us as weapons or negotiate our cooperation in exchange for our food?”

“There are reasonable leaders who still exist.”

“And yet corruption still runs the government.” I frowned. I was stunned by this new admission.

“Do you know how difficult it is to be forced to get a new identity every couple years? Do you know how hard it is to pack up your life and move at least once a
decade,
cutting off everyone you formed a bond with? Things would be easier if I didn’t have to hide.”

I cocked my head, trying to evaluate her openness on the topic. From the set of her jaw and lines creasing her brow, I gathered she was set in her position. “Is that what you really think?”

“Yes, it is.” She lifted her chin, as if to challenge anyone who wanted to argue the point.

“I’m sorry, Aunt Claire, but that’s one lesson Kellan taught me a while back. Our worlds are better off separate. Inevitably, I could only picture loads of blood shed for innocent humans and tons of deception to force the hands of vamps. Before you know it, the humans will be harnessing weapons of mass destruction against us instead of themselves in an effort to control us. How…” I shook my head. “How do you possibly see this ending well for any of us?”

“This isn’t the place or time to debate politics,” Kellan interrupted. My head shot towards him. His firm stare said I was doing more damage than good. I nodded.

As much as I hated to admit it, this slightly skewed my view of Aunt Claire. I didn’t understand her perspective. I would love to live an open life, without having to hide and cover my tracks everywhere I went, but that was the way it had to be and there wasn’t anything anyone could do about it. I’d learned the hard way that I had to focus on what I could control, what I could change.

“Um, Lex?” I turned to Gabi. “Why don’t we get back to baking?”

I looked around, caught up in the mental slosh,
riled
by how easily things shifted, stealing my focus and turning the mood upside down in the room. “Uh, sure.”

“I’m going to check on things in the basement,” Aunt Claire said, quickly escaping.

Guilt instantly chided me. I shouldn’t have blamed her for feeling the way she did. It was a matter of opinion, nothing concrete. Where freedom was given, there would always be liberty, and where liberty lived, so did difference. That’s what made this world so amazing: Diversity living in univers
al
ity. Too bad it was the petty things that forged division and discomfort like I just had. I would have to apologize when she came back. I didn’t want her to feel like an outcast over something that she was passionate about.