Adrian (The Dark Shadows Book 4) (3 page)

“
A
ngelina
!” Vivian’s voice snapped Angel out of her thoughts. She was currently in the middle of bringing clean glasses out from the back. Whatever idiot was on shift before her, apparently didn’t feel the need to wash glasses before they left, leaving them for Angel to do.

“Yes, Vivian,” she replied.

Dread filled her stomach at the tone of Vivian’s voice. She hated when someone called her by her full name; she was just Angel. Angelina was the person she was before that fatal night, when she was attacked and turned.

She knew that Vivian didn’t care for her and she didn’t hide it, either. She had no clue what the hell she did to warrant such an attitude toward her, but she tried to stay out of the vampire bitch’s way whenever she could. She walked through the double doors with the rack of glasses, and sat them down on the counter.

“Your services are being requested,” Vivian snapped, as her eyes narrowed on Angel. “I don’t know what the hell you did for the prince to have him specifically request you—”

“I didn’t do anything!” she exclaimed, backing up as Vivian advanced on her.

The prince was back, and he was specifically requesting her services? Her heart did a little jig at the thought.

“Well, see that you don’t fuck this up!” she snapped. “Having royalty is a good look for the club, and will help boost patronage.”

“I won’t,” Angel blurted out.

“I don’t even know why Dave hired you,” Vivian hissed. “Whatever the prince requests, you better damn sure give it to him,” she snapped, her eyes roaming Angel’s body, making it easy to understand the innuendo. “Now go! He and his guest should not be left waiting!”

Angel grabbed her pad and pen as she walked from behind the bar. The clicking sound of her heels was drowned out by the thumping of the heavy bass of the music. She literally felt as if butterflies were fluttering in her stomach as she got closer to the VIP section, where she knew the prince would be. Angel was confused on why he would request her to be his waitress tonight. She didn’t do anything special the last time he was here, except watch him with Mindy and Babs.

Her footsteps slowed as she got closer to him. In the booth with him was a stunning woman, with long blonde hair, dressed in a miniskirt that showed off her legs that went on for miles. Compared to the stunning woman, she felt like a little runt. The heels that the nightclub required her to wear put her at a solid five foot four. She knew she was a little curvy, but there was nothing she could do about it.

She looked to the prince and found his ice blue eyes on her. “Good evening, Angelina,” he said, with a wide smile spreading across his face.

“It’s Angel,” she corrected him.

She refused to fall for his charm, as he was here with a date. She sighed internally, wondering what she had done so wrong in life to now be tortured to have to watch him with yet another female.

“Angel,” he murmured, as if tasting it out on his tongue. “I like it,” he concluded, as he settled back on the couch, with his arms spread along the back of it.

“Well, I’m glad my name pleases you,” she snapped, irritation flooding her. “What can I get you tonight?” she asked, turning to the female.

She could feel that little thing called jealousy creeping up into her chest again. She didn’t understand why, but she wanted to kick this female in the face. In reality, she knew she couldn’t act on that and keep her job, so she took a deep breath to calm herself down, and offered the woman a small, genuine smile.

“I’ll just take a gin and tonic,” the female vampire said, smiling back at Angel, which made Angel feel like a heel. She turned her eyes back to the prince, waiting for his order.

“I’ll take what I had the other night,” he replied, his ice blue eyes again taking her in from head to toe, making her want to squirm.

“The whole bottle, with a glass?” she asked, watching the female’s eyebrows rise sharply.

“No, just a glass would be fine for now,” he replied with a cough.

Angel quickly turned to leave, confused about the emotions that washed over her. She made it over to the bar to make their drinks.

Todd, the bartender for the night, was slammed with the customers surrounding the bar, and she knew he would be making drinks for the other waitresses. Tonight, Temptress was busier than usual, and it was only Thursday. She quickly made the prince and his lady friend their drinks, and placed them on her tray. She grabbed a couple of napkins before making her way to their table.

Vampires were unable to consume regular food, but were able to drink regular fluids. Blood was the only substance that provided vampires with all the nourishment that they needed.

That was hard for Angel to get used to, since she was a turned vampire. She could still remember the taste of a juicy hamburger and fries, from the restaurant she would frequent back in her human life.

“Excuse me,” she said, pushing past a couple of drunk humans as she left the bar. She expertly dodged drunks and groping hands in her killer heels, as she made her way to the prince and his date.

“Let’s get this over with,” she muttered to herself.

* * *

“
I
s that him
?” Phaelyn pointed toward the entrance of the club.

She crossed the booth and kneeled on the other side of the couch, as she looked out into the throng of partiers. Adrian stood, so that he could see where she was pointing.

“Yes, that’s him,” he growled, as his eyes narrowed on the thin vampire with stringy dark hair. Jaxon stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the humans. The strobe lights flashed across his features, displaying his unusually pale skin.

Adrian’s eyes followed the rogue Jaxon as he walked around the crowded club, scanning the room, as if looking for someone, and stopped off in a dark corner near the bar. Adrian moved toward the entrance of his booth, waiting to see what he would do.

“Who is he looking for?” Phaelyn asked.

“I have no idea,” Adrian replied, not taking his eyes off of him.

Within seconds, a smaller male made his way over to Jaxon. He kept his face turned away from Adrian’s booth; the collar of his jacket up and his head low. Adrian’s eyes were locked on their swift exchange of words, before the male scurried away. Adrian slowly made his way toward Jaxon, trying not to draw attention to himself.

He knew that he was supposed to follow and capture him, but if he needed to kill him, he had plenty of weapons hid on his person, and he was sure that Phaelyn did too, even with the little amount of clothes she had on.

His eyes caught sight of the little dark-haired Latina waitress that had been haunting his dreams, making her way toward him, and realized that she had to walk past the rogue to get to him. He glanced back at Jaxon, and found his eyes locked on Angel.

Adrian picked up speed. His heart stuttered as Jaxon grabbed Angel by the arm, yanking her to him. The sound of her scream, and her tray crashing to the ground was drowned out by the blaring club music. Jaxon began dragging her, as she struggled, toward the back of the club, straight toward Adrian.

“Let her go, Jaxon!” Adrian growled. His gums began to burn as his incisors descended. The rogue’s eyes widened at the sight. Adrian felt a presence at his side, signaling the arrival of Phaelyn.

“This does not concern you,” Jaxon hissed, as Angel continued to struggle to break free. She cried out as the rogue gripped her around her throat, holding her against his chest. The music suddenly cut off, and the entire club’s attention was on the four of them.

“This will be the last time I tell you to release her,” Adrian growled, taking a step closer.

Angel’s eyes were wide with fear as she stared at him, causing his heart to clench. He felt Phaelyn slip away from his side, but he kept his eyes on Angel and Jaxon, knowing that she was making her way around, to place herself behind him.

“Why do you care?” Jaxon hissed. “She’s nothing to you.”

“Phaelyn,” Adrian commanded.

Phaelyn sprang into action. Whipping out a small thin wire, she roped it around the rogue’s neck, allowing Angel to get loose and stumble away. Adrian grabbed her before she fell, and pulled her into his side.

Phaelyn, even in heels, was a force to be reckoned with. She calmly dragged the struggling rogue by the wire around his neck toward the back of the club, and out the emergency doors.

“My Prince!” Vivian shouted, frantically dodging through the panicked crowd to get to them. “Are you harmed?”

“I’m fine. Where is your security? Have them get the crowd under control,” he barked, pulling Angel toward the back door.

“Where are you going with her?” Vivian questioned, following behind them. “She’s just a nobody.”

Adrian stopped and turned a hard stare at the hostess. The color quickly faded from her face, leaving her even paler, as she stopped in her tracks. His hand tightened on Angel, as a growl escaped his throat.

Why must they say such things?

The hostess’s eyes widened, as she slowly backed away from him. She turned and ran back inside, shouting orders at the security detail that just arrived where Angel was attacked.

“Are you okay?” he asked, glancing down at Angel, finding her large brown eyes locked on him.

A
ngel rubbed her throat
, trying to stop the skin from stinging. Jaxon’s rough grip had been so tight, she was sure he was going to rip out her throat. She had hoped to never see him again.

She hoped to never to see
any
rogue again, ever.

Ten years ago, she had decided to walk home from work. It had been late at night, and she knew she should have called a cab, but money was tight, and she was on a budget. It was a gorgeous night, and she had figured she could make the twenty-minute walk across campus quickly and safely.

That decision had proven to be fatal.

A lone figure had stepped out of the shadows, claiming to be lost, and asked for directions. The last thing she remembered was the pain of something ripping into her throat.

It was Jaxon who found her and helped her. He showed her the ‘ropes’ of being a vampire. She had to drop out of college at the time, with the promise to herself that she would go back later.

She then got herself a small apartment off campus. She didn’t really have any family; she was an only child. Both her parents had died in a car accident at the beginning of her freshman year of college, and she had been alone ever since. Her mother was an only child, and her father’s siblings were older, passing away when Angel was much younger. She had been alone in the world and now, as a vampire, she was even more so in the dangerous, supernatural world.

Angel blinked away the tears that threatened to fall. She stayed near the building as the prince spoke to someone on his cell phone, requesting a pick up. The female vampire held a wickedly large knife in her hand as she stood over Jaxon.

“What did you want with the little vampire?” the female asked, bending down to put her knife in his face. Jaxon didn’t answer. “One thing I can’t stand to see is a male rough up a smaller, defenseless female.”

“It’s none of your fucking business, bitch,” Jaxon spat. Angel’s eyes grew wide as the female backhanded him. Angel watched as Jaxon spat out blood, then he turned back to the female vampire with a hard glare.

“Phaelyn!” Adrian snapped, putting his phone into his back pocket. “They should be here any minute. Let’s leave the interrogation to Khalid.”

“He always gets to have all the fun,” Phaelyn snapped back, kicking Jaxon in the face before she moved away. Angel watched in horror as Jaxon’s body slumped to the ground. Her anxiety began to grow, as she imagined what they were about to do to her.

“Who are you people?” Angel asked, backing up until her back hit the building. Her heart pounded in her chest, at not knowing what was going to happen to her. She quickly took in the alleyway, looking for an escape route, then silently cursed the heels that she was forced to wear for work. She wouldn’t get far in them if she needed to make a run for it.

But she would try. Oh, how she would try—

“It’s okay, little one,” Phaelyn said gently, with a small smile. “We’re not going to hurt you. You’re safe.”

“Angel, this is Phaelyn, and she is a member of the Dark Shadows, and I—”

Angel didn’t wait to hear anymore. She took off running as fast as her four-inch heels would allow her. She heard cursing behind her as she headed toward the opening of the alley. She had almost made it, until two strong arms wrapped themselves around her and whisked her off her feet.

“Ahhh!” she screamed, struggling to get free. She was in full-blown panic mode. She had to get away.

She had heard of the Dark Shadows when she was first turned. Jaxon would tell her that the Shadows policed the city to kill rogues, and any vampires that were turned by rogues. He said that if she ever heard the Shadows were near, she’d better run. Jaxon and the other rogue vampires had ingrained this into her brain. If she wanted to live, she would need to avoid the Dark Shadows.

“What the hell—” Adrian cursed as he dropped her on the ground. She crawled away, tears blinding her as she made it to the other side of the alley.

“Please!” she cried out, kneeling on the ground, trying to make herself a smaller target.

She had been a good vampire. She had never bothered anyone, never attacked or fed from random people. Angel mainly fed from the bagged blood she would pay for from the local blood bank. She would occasionally feed from thugs who would attempt to rob her, though. With her compulsion skill, it wouldn’t hurt them, and she didn’t feel any remorse since they were going to rob her anyway.

“Please don’t kill me,” she whispered.

* * *

W
hat the fuck
did she just say?
Don’t kill her?
Adrian stopped dead in his tracks, and watched in disbelief as Angel huddled against the building, as if she expected him to harm her.

What. The. Fuck?

“Angel, get up.” His voice was gruff as he reached for her. She whimpered and backed away, trying to avoid his touch, which only infuriated him more. What the hell was going on? Why would she think he would kill her?

“Angel, why would you think that I would kill you?” he asked.

“Adrian, is everything all right?” Phaelyn asked as she walked toward them, while dragging Jaxon behind her on the ground. He shrugged his shoulders, unsure of what
was
going on.

He knelt down beside her. “Angel, I would never hurt you. Why would you think that?”

She turned her big doe eyes toward him, her face marred by mascara-streaked tears. Just looking at her and her tear-stained face tugged at his heart. Adrian wasn’t sure why, but he knew without a doubt that he would never hurt her.

“Because I’m a turned vampire,” she whispered.

“So am I,” Phaelyn said, pushing Adrian to the side. “The Shadows would never hurt the innocent. Trust me.” Phaelyn reached out her hand to help Angel up from the ground.

He watched as Angel’s eyes widened at Phaelyn’s declaration. She stared at Phaelyn’s hand for a brief second before taking it and standing.

“Don’t listen to them, Angel,” Jaxon gasped from the ground, holding his head. “Remember what you witnessed all those years ago.”

“I hope you’ll be this talkative when we get you in the interrogation room,” Adrian growled, just as a black SUV pulled up to the mouth of the alley. Viktor got out of the truck and opened the back door.

“Fuck you Shadow,” Jaxon spat, as Adrian dragged him to the back of the truck, handing him off to Viktor.

He turned back to find Angel standing next to Phaelyn. Her body jerked as Viktor slammed Jaxon into the back of the truck. His chest burned with the thought that he had put fear into her eyes.

“Come on,” he said softly. He walked up to her and held out his hand.

She shook her head vigorously, causing a few tendrils of her hair to whip across her face. His hands ached to remove the strands so he could see her. He moved closer to her, as Phaelyn walked over and jumped into the passenger seat.

“I can’t. I have to go back inside. I probably won’t have a job now,” Angel said, reaching up with a shaking hand to push her hair out of her face.

“Come with us,” he suggested, making sure the harshness was absent from his voice.

He needed to question her as to why she would be so afraid of the Shadows. He could easily tell that she wasn’t a rogue vampire. Rogues didn’t hold down jobs for one. Something, or someone, had led her to believe that the Shadows were the enemy, and he needed to get to the bottom of it.

Nicu and his parents would need to know this too. His parents were very passionate about their people, and would be shocked to learn that there were some vampires out there afraid of them, and everything that they stood for.

The Dark Shadows were the vampire warriors appointed by the vampire king himself, to protect the vampire nation, and even humans, against any threat.

“I can’t, Your Grace,” she stated, backing away. She tensed as he gently grabbed her hand. He held onto it, as she tried to tug it away from him.

“Adrian,” he said, running his thumb across her hand. “My name is Adrian.”

“But you’re the vampire prince,” she huffed, as she continued to tug her hand away from him. “It would not be right for me to call you by your birth name. I know I haven’t been a vampire for long, but I do know about the class system.”

“I could care less about the class system.” Adrian swore under his breath and moved closer to her. “Please. Call me Adrian,” he whispered, sensing that she was ready to bolt again. She shook her head again. “Well, at least come with us. We need to question you, and find out why that rogue was after you.”