4 Vamp Versus Vamp (6 page)

“I’m supposed to be the adult here, remember?”

“Then start acting like one.” I laughed.

“Yeah, yeah.” She grew quiet.

“What is it?”

“I talked to Jack about Europe and Puerto Rico.
He was hired by Cecelia Romanov, Lex
. He was just a pawn in her game, or I guess I could say playing her game for her. Ralph was hired by Romanov, not Jack.”

I thought back over the past. There was a time in Spain where the car was bombed. Al had said it wasn’t ninjas, which meant it was probably Cecilia’s crew. While I couldn’t fault Jack for taking the business deal, I could fault him for following through with it, knowing that he was messing with peoples’ lives. “Thanks for telling me.”

“No problem. I’ll see you in a couple hours. Imara was the one who told me what happened, so she already chartered a plane.”

“See you soon.” I pushed the “End” button on my phone and tossed it on the nightstand. “Where were we?” I pretended to ponder. “Oh, yeah. I believe you owe me a kiss, Mr. Bancroft.”

He struggled not to smile. “What for, Miss Jackson?”

“For saving your life, of course.”

His smile disappeared. “I owe you a lot more than that.”

I sat down on the bed beside him. “Kellan, I was joking. You know you don’t owe me anything. I love you. I would do anything for you regardless of what was there for return.” He nodded once, but his forehead was still full of creases.

Abruptly, he grabbed my shirt and pulled me into him. His lips landed firmly on mine; our minds instantly connected.

Flashes of images appeared. A black bag was thrown over Kellan’s head, cutting off his vision; something tightened around his throat immediately. He fought hard, exerting every bit of his vamp strength, but it was no use. When the bag was removed, he was in the cellar, surrounded by an army of vampeens.

I winced at the first slap of the whip, the edges studded with spikes. That was the cut on his shoulder. Craig was yelling beside him, but the words were muffled. All I could feel was the sting of the first
hit,
feel the blood oozing down him before it healed.

I held still, my lips offering first what my mind would convey.
“I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t better prepared. We need to buckle down.”

“How’s Craig?”

“Shaken, but okay.”

Kellan pulled me deeper into him, his arms sliding down me, gently easing me flush against him. I relaxed into him, allowing him to take the lead. My hands landed on his chest as his tongue swept across my lips. I wanted to dive deeper into him, to devour him. I’d never get enough of him.

“Are you willing to try?”

“I’ll love you regardless,”
he mentally replied.

“Let’s try.”

I squealed when I landed on my back, Kellan hovering above me. He broke the kiss and peered directly into my eyes. His emeralds reflected all the love I knew he possessed for me. I’d never find another man who’d love me the way he did, who’d do all he’d done for me. He felt insecure, as if I were the hero of the relationship, but in reality, he saved me every day I was with him.

“Try not to kill me.” He smirked.

“Way to kill the mood, Romeo.” I pursed my lips.

His biceps bulged, his muscles flexing beneath the material as he looked at me, a gleam slowly appearing in his eyes. “I think I can fix that.”

***

We lay side by side, our breathing just beginning to regulate. His arms were wrapped around me possessively as he watched me through hooded lashes.

“I didn’t hurt you, did I?” I felt the wrinkles on my forehead as I studied him closely.

“Quite the contrary. You made me feel very good.” He growled
,
pouncing on me, knocking me onto my back as he playfully nipped my shoulder.

I laughed, shoving him off me. “Stop! We need to get ready for school.”

“Ugh. Way to kill the mood, babe.” He groaned, dramatically dropping onto his stomach, face down into the pillows beside me.

“Yeah, yeah.” I leapt out of bed in search of clothes for school. “What time is it, anyway?”

He lifted his head, peering at the clock on my nightstand. “5:09 a.m.”

“Hurry up. I want to go see Mel before school.”

“You never told her about your year-round, on-command Christmas lights, did you?”

I shook my head
‘no’
as I walked into my closet.

“Lexi! Come down when you get dressed!” Aunt Claire called.

“Oh, God. I hope she hasn’t been here long. I didn’t even hear her come in.”

“We were a bit preoccupied.”

I yelped when Kellan slapped my rear. His arms snaked around my waist as he nuzzled my neck. “Sir Staten mixed in or not, you smell delicious.” He ran his tongue up the length of my neck, eliciting a moan from me.

“Kellan, put it back in your pants for now and stop monopolizing my niece,” Aunt Claire yelled.

“Yeah, stop monopolizing me, Mr. Bancroft.” I stuck my tongue out at him as I withdrew myself from his grip.

“I plan to monopolize you again later, so pencil me in.”
He wiggled his brows suggestively.

My cheeks hurt from the big smile on my face. “Okay.”

“You have thirty seconds before I come up there, young lady!”

“Coming!”

I threw on a pair of light denim skinny jeans with a few decorative rips, a simple cami beneath an oversized grey sweater with a hint of silver, and my black ballet flats. I grabbed a hair
scrunchie
off my nightstand, throwing my hair up into a messy bun atop my head on my way down the stairs.

Chapter 6

“What’s going on?” I asked as I hit the bottom step. I halted the second I saw Auggy standing with Lawrence and Felipe. Heat hit my cheeks as I realized they’d heard everything Kellan and I had spoken aloud.

“Hello, Alexa,” Laurence stated.

“Hi.” My voice came out raspy.

“
Buenos dias
, Lexi,” Felipe said, a smile lifting the edges of his mouth. I nodded, acknowledging that I’d heard him.

“This must be important for all three of you to be here.” Kellan came behind me, placing a hand on my shoulder.

“Why don’t we all have a seat in the dining room?” Aunt Claire suggested. I heard her swallow hard. She was nervous, uneasy about something.

I blocked my thoughts, unsure of what I was walking into, or being led into. Kellan secured my hand as we headed into the dining area. I sat in the first chair and waited as the others sat on the opposite side with Aunt Claire at the head of the table between us.

“What’s going on?” I blurted the second everyone was situated.

“As you are aware, Dr. H. took multiple blood samples from you while you were unconscious. I’m sure you are also aware of what has infected your cells by this point.”

“Could you please cut to the chase, Laurence?” Serum rose in the back of my throat. I took a deep breath, trying to control my reaction.

“Essentially what he did to you was only possible because you are a vampeen. You must have human cells remaining in order for them to be rewritten.”

“Why does that matter?”

“We believe Cesar is going to try to bait you so he can create a stronger vampeen army. If he gets a hold of your blood, Lexi, then the vampire race will face extinction,” Laurence announced.

The weight of his words slapped me in the face. Kellan squeezed my hand beneath the table. I bit my lower lip, trying to wrap my mind around the idea of a world without vampires. Six months ago, I didn’t know a world with them existed; now I couldn’t picture my life without them.

“How is all this possible? I still don’t even really understand how a body could be switched to produce electricity.” I struggled to control my upset. My heart beat loud in my chest; my anger thrashed about at the trouble my grandfather intended to cause.

“The human body is swarming with currents in a regular state of existence. The signal to the brain is actually an electric charge with information sent via the nervous system to and from the brain. So it is not such a foreign idea,” Laurence explained. He clasped his hands together, setting them atop the table in front of him. Pale green eyes watched me, a sense of compassion present in them.

“What do you have mind?”

“The only way to ensure your safety, and the safety of all vampires, is to stow you away,”
Felipe
said, his European accent slurring certain words.

“When and for how long?” I slid into a business mindset. This was a negotiation.

“Immediately, and for as long as it takes to capture Cesar,” Auggy’s rough voice bellowed in the room.

“I can’t. Mel changes tomorrow, and I promised her I’d be there the whole time.”

Auggy’s hands closed into fists on the table. “Do you really know what you’re risking here?” he pressed through gritted teeth.

My voice was small. “Yes.” I stared down at the ring on my left finger.

“What?” he demanded.

Kellan growled at my side. I tightened my hand around his.

“I’m risking my heart and my life because should the vampire I love die due to my carelessness, surely my heart will stop beating and you’ll have to bury me beside him.”

“What the hell does that do for me when you’re buried and powerful chaos ensues?” Auggy pounded a fist down on the table, cracking the wood.

“Augustine!” Aunt Claire cried.

“Stop, Claire. I love you, but this doesn’t involve you right now.”

“The hell it doesn’t! You’re talking to my niece, not some stranger. Lexi may be young, but she’s fully aware of the risks of this life. Hell, she just lost her parents a couple months ago, and you want to shove this down her throat?” Aunt Claire’s eyes were fiery as she glared at Auggy.

“This is official business, not a family affair. I’m a High Authority member, and the protection and balance of both vamp races is my priority, not tiptoeing around a teenager with too much power and responsibility,” he snarled.

Kellan’s chair flew backward into the wall as he stood, towering over all of us. His hands were fists at his side, a scowl prominent on his face. “She didn’t ask for this. In fact, you were the one who put her in this situation. So I think you need re-evaluate the risks before you go popping off at the mouth to her.” The veins in Kellan’s body were jumping, his muscles clenching beneath his clothes.

“Sit your ass down, Bancroft. The only reason you’re here is because she has you pussy-whipped.”

My jaw dropped at Auggy’s statement. In a flash, Kellan was over the table and on top of Auggy. The chair broke beneath the sharp punch Kellan delivered.

“Kellan!” I screamed.

“Augustine!” Aunt Claire’s voice came out as an angry shriek.

The men paid us no mind. My eyes were barely able to keep up with them the way they whirled about the room. Kellan slammed Auggy into the wall, cracking the drywall and causing the picture nearby to come crashing to the floor. Auggy tossed Kellan into the glass coffee table my mother had meticulously kept smudge-free. Kellan was back on Auggy before I could blink, throwing him across the room. He smacked against the ceiling, which sent him into the wall before he collapsed onto the floor.

“Take it back, you arrogant bastard,” Kellan ordered. The set of his face said he wouldn’t stop until Auggy did.

“Auggy, perhaps you were a bit harsh with your statement. Just retract it so we can leave the house in one piece.” Laurence’s lips were in a flat line. He was clearly irritated by the way the men were acting, going at each other like heathens. Felipe didn’t look any more amused than Laurence.

“Please, Auggy.” I couldn’t believe I was pleading with him.

“You heard them. If this continues, it will be because you solely refused to sacrifice an ounce of pride,” Aunt Claire declared. She crossed her arms over her chest, tapping her foot expectantly.

I looked around at my mother’s formal living room. They’d destroyed just about everything except the sofas. My mother would have had a fit at the sight of it now. Unexpectedly, tears welled. She wasn’t here. She would never be here again. My mother was gone. She wasn’t going to walk in and freak out about the destruction of her prized paintings or her imported accent tables. She wasn’t here to order new furniture online immediately for delivery in under a week. The room would stay exactly as it was now unless I did something about it, unless I changed it.

I felt a single tear trickle down my cheek. They’d destroyed a part of her that was still here, or had been. I was too upset to be angry. Without a word, I walked out the front door. I needed to
get away; I needed fresh air. I needed to escape the reality of what I’d lost so quickly with my parents’ deaths.

I didn’t make it beyond my neighbor’s home before someone joined me. I was surprised to find Felipe keeping pace with me.

“You’ve been through a lot these last six months,” he stated. His hands were in his pockets as he casually strolled beside me. His black hair shone beneath the glow of a streetlight.