Because the Night (The Night Songs Collection) (15 page)

Chapter Thirty Two

“I think Talis has Blade.” I said to Lennon as we got to work. She had pretty much become my mentor since I’d moved to Las Vegas, especially where Tristan was concerned. No one I knew understood the vampire world. Keisha didn’t want to listen, she just told me to come home every time things got tough. Everything was a fantasy to Janelle, like she watched it on TV. Somehow, even though she immersed herself in it, she was still so removed from what really happened.

“Talis doesn’t take prisoners.” Her voice had a shaky edge to it. “If she’s got Blade, he’s either a vampire or just plain dead.”

“God.” I leaned my head back against the wall of lockers in the back room. “He never wanted to be a vampire.” It went without saying he didn’t want to be dead.

“I’m going to go set up.” She squeezed my hand and smiled as brightly as she could. “We’ll keep an eye out, see what we can find out.”

“Can Jacey help? Or is he bound by that bitch too?”

“Maybe there is something he can do.”

I folded my clothes to put in my locker after Lennon went out. I didn’t want to leave her with all the work. The door closed behind me. “Hey, Jack.”

“You should really think about what you say, Calliope.” All the breath went out of my body. Talis had cornered me in the office. “When ‘that bitch’ you talk about has you on payroll.”

“You own this place, too?” I stiffened, trying to keep my face as brave as possible.

“Interesting way of wording it.” She smiled then sat down at Jack’s desk. “I own many things in this city. Including Tristan.”

Her nerve was incredible.

“Lady, I don’t know how old you are, but slavery was outlawed in this country one hundred and fifty years ago. You can’t own people.”

“Aren’t you cute, giving me a history lesson. Here’s a lesson for you. Vampires aren’t people. We don’t play by your rules, your laws. We consider ourselves above those things. It’s something you should keep in mind if you insist on continuing to defy my orders to stay away from Tristan.”

“So do you have Blade?” I matched her glare. This bitch played dirty. If she wanted to, she could obliterate me right now and just tell Jack to put up the help wanted sign on her way out. But for some reason, she kept wanting to test me, to draw me into her game.

I had no other defense than to tell her loud and clear I didn’t want to play. My whole body shook with fear. She had to know my bravado was just an act. She knew I had nothing to fight against her with.

Or did I? I had to wonder if she had warned Tristan away from me. If she had, he wasn’t listening.

Interesting.

I had to wonder if she could smell him on me. His blood coursing through my veins.

“Blade’s run away before.” She continued, tapping a heavy pen against the desk. She might as well of just ran her manicured fingernails down a chalkboard.

“From you.”

It was Talis’ turn to purse her lips. “From all of this. Which you seem hell bent on becoming a part of. Can’t you see there are consequences to your actions, Calliope? As beautiful as Tristan is, he doesn’t know what to do with the brains God gave him. It’s always worked in my favor, but now —”

Did I have the upper hand here, against this power hungry maniac? “But now what?”

Talis smiled and the temperature in the room dropped. “I told you that I don’t like complications. And I don’t think you do, either. You and I aren’t so different, Calliope.”

“No, we’re not.”

Talis sat up straighter and gave me a puzzled glare. She may have her immortal super powers in her favor, but no one could out bitch my mother. I smiled, realizing this, and met her stare. I’d had almost nineteen years of training for this. Bring it on, you crazy dead bitch.

She missed a beat with her obnoxious pen tapping, but kept smiling. “It’s about time you humans realize you don’t have a choice when I want something. You, your Blade. Although, I must say it’s convenient that the two people most defiant in this city wound up in bed together. I have to hand it to you, you’ve taught him well. And he seems to enjoy pain.” I winced, holding my reaction in the best I could. “Your
boyfriend
is somewhere in this city. The question you need to ask yourself is does he want
you
to find him?”

Shell-shocked, I went out to the bar to start my shift as Talis sat at the desk and watched me leave.

“What the hell happened?” Lennon stopped stocking glasses when I came out. I was shaking like a leaf.

“She has him.” I whispered.

“What?”

“Talis just cornered me back there. I didn’t know she owned this place!” I whined like a little kid, throwing a rag down on the bar.

“She usually doesn’t interfere with much around here, but oh yeah, it’s hers.” Lennon said sadly. “I should have warned you. She’s made this a place that all vampires can come to, regardless of what clan they belong to, to give them a place to belong.”

“What a diplomat.” I rolled my eyes. More like a militant dictator.

“Without her, the vampire culture wouldn’t be what it is in this city.” Was Lennon taking her side? “We wouldn’t have this job, or probably any job in this economy, and there would be no Immortal Dilemma.”

“Exactly. And Tristan would have continued his life, happily ever after.” I pouted again.

“Cal, we both know he wasn’t happy, or else he would have never become such an addict. This is probably the best thing that could have happened to him.” She put up her hand as I tried to protest. “Let me finish. Honey, he’s safe here. He can do whatever he wants with no consequences. Before, he was trying to kill himself. What would you have done if he was gone forever? Now you don’t have to worry about that.”

My body softened a little bit as her words sunk in. “I guess you’re right.”

“I know how you feel about both Tristan and Blade, and I get it. But sugar, you’ve got to stop trying to save the world. It’s too big of a job for just one person. Both of them dove into this mess head first, just like you did.”

“But Blade,” I couldn’t just let him suffer. “He needs us.”

“He does. And we’ll do what we can. But Callie, you have to prepare yourself. You might not like what you find out.”

Chapter Thirty Three

Despite being worried sick about Blade, my very essence pulled me to Tristan with an inexplicable force. I didn’t want to fight it.

He smiled warmly at me when I walked into his apartment, catching me off guard in my Blade induced haze. The snarky smirk was gone. It felt like we’d erased the past and got to start over.

“I got you something.” Tristan motioned for me to sit in one of the stools near his bar. He circled around to my back and lifted my hair. I froze, on edge with my neck exposed not having any idea what he could be doing. A cool pendant dropped into the center of my chest. I clutched it as he fastened the silver chain at my nape.

I picked up the purple and white dragonfly. Intricate and delicate, it looked somehow Native American. Handcrafted and one of a kind.

“Do you understand what it means?” He came back to the front of me and ran his finger along the chain. His other hand fell in my lap, his fingers intertwined in mine.

I pulled away from him slightly, not enough to break contact, looking at him with wonder. I never would have guessed there was any meaning behind the charm besides its being beautiful. I should have known better. Tristan’s presents, as gorgeous as they were to look at, always meant something. “No, I don’t.”

His fingers dropped to the pendant, cradling it as he spoke. “The dragonfly is a spirit that’s always with you. Do you know what the wampum is?”

“Native American money?”

“Besides that. Do you know why I chose it?”

“Because purple is my favorite color?” Although I knew nothing was that simple with Tristan.

“That, and,” Tristan lowered his eyes from mine and focused on the jewelry in his hand, resting just next to my pounding heart. “It signifies an unbreakable bond between two people.”

I sucked in my breath sharply as I waited for him to raise his eyes to meet mine. When he did, I saw something in them I’d never seen before. Shyness? Vulnerability?

“It was always you.” He leaned in and kissed me in Technicolor. Fireworks burst throughout my body.

“I need to get ready for the show.” Tristan leaned his forehead against the top of my head, still holding my hands in my lap. “Do you want to help me?”

“Sure. How?” I didn’t know if I’d be able to do anything right then.

“Come with me.” Tristan led me through the apartment towards his bedroom. He let go of my hand and motioned for me to sit on the bed. I had no idea what he had in mind. He disappeared into a closet that was the size of my bedroom, and came out later with an armful of clothes he laid out on the bed behind me.

“What should I wear? Dress me.” He instructed.

I looked at him like he was crazy, but picked through my choices. I chose a pair of lace up leather pants and a red T shirt. He sat perfectly still for me, raising his arms up over his head like a little kid. When he stood up so I could undo his jeans, I had to think of anything else but was happening in this room. If I really looked at him, I would push him back on to the bed and neither of us would be getting dressed any time soon.

My mouth watered at the thought of how his blood tasted.

Tristan sat so I could slide the pants over his feet, and then stood up again. “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea,” his voice had an edge to it he moved away from me.

I breathed a sigh of relief. There was only so much longer I could keep myself glued together. “No. It was a terrible idea.”

Tristan burst out laughing, dissolving the cloud of tension. “Come on, you can still help make me pretty. I think we can handle that.”

He motioned for me to follow him into the bathroom, and then sat down on the closed lid of the toilet.

“What do you want me to do?”

“Put my makeup on for me.”

Now it was my turn to laugh. “You’ve got the wrong girl. See what I’ve got on? Lip gloss. I have no idea what to do with that stuff.” The whole thing was ridiculous. I was sleeping with a guy who wore more makeup than I did.

“It’s easy. You’re a crafty girl. You can draw a straight line, right?”

“Sometimes.”

“Just do that. Under my eyes.”

“I’ll poke your eye out.”

“It’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye.” He grinned at me then looked at the ceiling, again sitting perfectly still. “I trust you. Just try.”

My hand shook as I pulled the eyeliner out of the bag he motioned to. I positioned myself with one of my legs between his, and put one hand on the top of his head to steady the both of us. I swiped a line of black kohl under each eye without inflicting any major injuries.

Tristan turned around and looked in the mirror. “Good. Now smudge it up.”

“What? How?”

He shook his head and laughed at me. “You’re serious? Not all of us are naturally beautiful. Just smudge it up with your finger. If it’s too perfect I look like a girl.”

“I guess you wouldn’t want your makeup to look girly,” I snarked as I ran my ring finger under each of his eyes to smudge the lines I drew. I had to admit, it was kind of fun. I looked in the little bag to see what other interesting grooming products he had. Just Chap Stick and moisturizer. How disappointing. I picked up his hair brush and ran it through his long black hair.

Tristan purred in pleasure. “I love it when someone else brushes my hair.”

“No one ever brushes my hair. It would be a disaster.”

He opened his eyes. “Callie, how can you leave the house? You don’t wear makeup, you don’t brush your hair. I don’t get it.”

“I comb it when I get out of the shower and that’s it. Anything else and it would explode.”

“Well whatever you’re doing, it’s working.” Tristan stood up and leaned towards the mirror, running his hand through his hair. “Showtime.”

We made our way down through the labyrinth of back hallways that led Tristan to the backstage area of The Sin City Vampire Club without being seen by any of his adoring fans. He left me in my familiar spot by the side of the stage, and gave me a kiss before he slung his guitar strap around his shoulder and went out to perform.

The show passed in a blur. The band strutted and swayed as they always did, with their backup burlesque dancers giving the audience something else to look at if anyone could tear their eyes off of Tristan. I knew I couldn’t. The crowd showered affection on the band in some sort of cult worship ritual. Sometimes their singing drowned out Ramsey, the singer. The show was always the same in that way, but the band mixed it up each night to keep things interesting.

I couldn’t concentrate on any of it.

It was always you.
Tristan’s words echoed in my head. Those were the words I’d ached to hear since I met him. But the sound swirled around Blade’s image. Blade, ripped and bleeding, maybe somewhere in this building. Blade, tangled in bed sheets, his hair glistening in the sunlight, telling me he loved me.

I needed to press Tristan for answers. Did he have anything to do with Blade’s disappearance? I hated to think to think this show of affection was anything but genuine, but maybe he was trying to throw me off the trail.

During Tristan’s solo, one of the burlesque dancers strutted down from the back of the stage and pranced around to the rhythm of his guitar. She spun quickly, squatted inhumanly low, and then danced lightly like a ballerina when the music called for it. When he finished the solo, he let his guitar slide on its strap behind him and she fell into his arms, letting him suck her blood from her neck until she went limp. I trembled, using all my energy to stand up. The scar on my neck throbbed.

The lights went dark as roadies carried her off stage, ignoring my shock as she passed.

Tristan and I headed out of the theater right after the show.

“Do people know that it’s real?” The image of another lifeless body shook me.

“What?”

“When you drink from the girls during the show.”

“I don’t care what they think.”

“Okay.” His indifference stopped me in my tracks. “Don’t you have to do meet and greets or anything?”

“I’ve got something better to do.” He pulled me against him as he said it.

Focus, Callie.

Easier said than done. Once back in the apartment, Tristan walked over to the wall of windows that overlooked the lights and action of The Strip. The view took my breath away every time. Without warning, he pushed me against the window hard enough to rattle the glass, his hands and mouth exploring my body, stripping away my clothes. The fear of falling through the window was overpowered by the hope he would take me right then and there. I stopped myself short of begging him to do it. I slid down the window, pulling him down on top of me. The hunger to drink from him consumed me, and I thought I’d go insane before he’d let me. When he raised his wrist and rested it against my mouth, I pulled away, confused.

“You’re not bleeding.” I whispered.

“You do it, Callie. If you want it bad enough, you can get inside me as well.”

After a deep breath, I let the need take over and sunk my teeth into his flesh; the sweet tang of his blood flooded my mouth. He moaned softly as I left this dimension, letting the colors and the sensations rush through my being.

His blood jolted through me and I was home. I willed him to crawl inside of me, to become one with me. He entered me as I sucked and we worked at each other in unison, a beautiful dance of need and understanding. My senses didn’t even belong to me anymore. I gave them over to Tristan willingly. He knew what to do with them better than I did. The arm that held his body up buckled, his weight crushing me to the floor. I pulled him in closer so he couldn’t get back up, sucking, biting at him, drawing more blood from his wrist. He cried out as I drained it from him. I dug my heels into the small of his back so I could take in every bit of him, bucking my hips in rhythm with his.

He groaned, the sound not quite human, and pulled his wrist away from my grasp. I dug my fingers into his shoulders, running them down his chest, drawing more blood. Tristan’s head leaned back as I licked it from his skin. I screamed as my muscled pulsed and I reached climax. He quieted me by continuing to work his mouth over my stomach, my breasts, and finally my mouth, still painted with his blood. Even after he was spent and we finished and lay tangled on the marble floor, we were still one.

“I need to talk to you about something.” I hated to have to ruin this moment.

“What could there possibly be to talk about?” Some of the rock star had returned, but his half smirk was still more soft than cocky. I looked into his eyes, bathed in the moonlight and the flashing neon lights below and really saw him for the first time since we used to have our secret midnight meetings on the beach on the Vineyard. The Bloodlust did that, made me see things I hadn’t before. His beautiful face would forever be youthful, but in this state of mind, there was something innocent about him. The scared boy who wanted someone to believe in him had never left.

I exhaled heavily and tore my eyes away from him. The moon shone bright like a spotlight and the city below throbbed obscenely. Its buzz began to swarm inside my brain and if I didn’t block it out it could be my undoing. “I think we should keep this between us.”

Tristan slid out of me, the shock sending me reeling. I instantly felt lost, empty, abandoned. No, he would be my undoing. He tipped my head back to him and rested his forehead against mine. The cool of his skin felt soothing and delicious. I wanted to drown in it.

“Why? Are you ashamed of me?” His face darkened.

As much as I wanted to lie to him, I couldn’t.

“Blade is missing.” I could barely form the words. “And I think you might be able to help me find him.”

“Why would you think I’d want to help you?” Tristan pulled away from me slightly. The look of surprise seemed genuine.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I shuddered with fury. Had he lost every shred of humanity he ever had? Blade was in danger, and Tristan dismissed it.

“Talis can read my mind. She knows everything that I do. Everything. So anything I told you would be null and void as soon as it left my mouth.”

“I know that.” He looked surprised. “Lennon’s told me some stuff.”

“So you can probably understand why Talis doesn’t like you very much.”

“But why Blade?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. She wasn’t happy about how the whole thing ended with him and Immortal Dilemma. She thought he would be a good fit. I don’t know why. Maybe she has a plan for him.”

“She said she didn’t like it when people didn’t listen to her.”

He scoffed. “That’s for sure.”

“Doesn’t it matter what he wants?” I tried to keep my hysteria at bay.

“Not if Talis wants something different for him.” Tristan put his arm around me and we both sat with our back to the window, skin to skin. My fear of falling through had faded away. “Besides, I like him gone. It means I get you all to myself.” He kissed my hair.

I pulled away. “No! How can you be happy when I’ve caused someone else harm? I have to find him.”

“You’ll get used to hurting people.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“You’ll understand someday.” Tristan didn’t show any emotion. It was maddening.

“No, I don’t care if that’s how you feel. I don’t want to be like that. I don’t want to become a monster.” The world flew out of my mouth before I had a chance to stop it.

“Like me?”

“No. Like Talis.” I hugged my knees to my chest. “What else can she do?”

“I don’t know.” Tristan shrugged. “A whole bunch of shit.”

“You don’t know or you don’t want to tell me?”

“Neither. I don’t care.”

“You need to care.” His indifference infuriated me. “This is what you are.”

“I’ll figure it out.”

That was exactly what scared me. I turned away from him, still hugging my knees, and looked out at the city. The lights pulsed and swirled as Tristan’s blood fogged my vision.

He chuckled. “So you don’t want anyone to know you’re here? We’re still protecting Bradley’s feelings, huh?” He grabbed my wrists hard enough to leave bruises and pulled me towards him, his mouth hovering just off of my neck. “I can make sure everyone knows.”