Because the Night (The Night Songs Collection) (16 page)

“No!” I shrieked. I didn’t think he’d really hurt me, again, but I didn’t doubt he’d mark his territory.

“Come on then,” he pulled me up by my wrists, loosening the death grip slightly. “We wouldn’t want anyone to know you took your clothes off.” I didn’t miss the bite in his tone.

I followed Tristan wordlessly back into the bathroom. I wasn’t going to fight with him about Blade. He wasn’t going to change my mind or make me feel guilty. He stood behind me, and positioned me in front of the full length mirror. I gasped when I looked at myself.

From chin to chest, I was covered in Tristan’s blood, with a few scarlet rivulets making their way down my breasts to my stomach.

“I look like a freak,” I whispered, eyes wide, trying not to sob.

“You look more beautiful than you ever have. Let’s get you cleaned up.”

He turned me towards him, holding my arms lightly, and began kissing and licking me until there was no signs of what we had done. When he was satisfied with his work, he turned me back around to the mirror for my approval. I looked at him in the reflection, not sure what to do next. He kept one hand on my arm as he filled an intricately patterned bowl with water and dipped a wash cloth in it. The reflection of the colored glass danced against his tattooed arm. He dragged the warm velvety cloth across my skin slowly, rhythmically, like he was thinking about every move he made. His eyes never left mine in the mirror, except for when I closed my eyes to fight the gnawing in my belly he created, as the fabric caressed every inch of me.

“There,” he whispered in my ear. “We’ve washed away all your sins.”

If only it were that easy.

Chapter Thirty Four

“What did you find out?” Dave’s voice turned cold as soon as he realized it was me on the phone.

“Talis has him. Says she doesn’t like it when people defy her. Janelle says that some Immortal Dilemma fans have disappeared before.”

“My brother’s not some random groupie.”

“I know that. But he didn’t listen to Talis. And now he’s disappeared and she has him. Maybe there’s a pattern.” I knew I shouldn’t tell him the next part, but I couldn’t help myself. “Tristan can’t help. Talis can read his mind.”

“Of course you went to see him.”

I ignored his sarcasm. “He thinks Talis might have a plan for Blade.”

“There’s some news. Of course she does. She’s probably got him strung up in some dungeon, his innards hanging out, while you’re off screwing some guy thinking you’re getting inside information.”

Bile rose in my throat. “Stop it. Do you want to find out what she can and can’t do? We can’t fight her unless we know.”

“Fine. You win. I hope it was worth the price you paid for that little nugget of information.”

I hung up the phone, defeated. This was not a team effort. Dave didn’t offer any information to me. Did he have any?

I wasn’t doing this for Dave. He obviously didn’t want my help. Screw him. I was doing this for Blade.

Janelle had never even heard of Embrace before I started working there. So much for being the Vampire Gossip Queen of Las Vegas. She was no help. I asked Lennon to meet me at the pool. I thought it was a less dangerous place to talk than at work.

“I feel like I’m burning today.” I said to her as we set up and she poured lemonade out of her decanter. Usually, my skin browned nicely on command. Today I was turning red. “It’s not even all that hot.” Funny how not all that hot become relative in the desert. It had to be over one hundred degrees.

“Welcome to being a morph, doll.” Lennon pulled a seat out for me under the umbrella. “Your days of sun worship may be over.”

“And I thought you were just trying to prevent wrinkles with your fabulous hat and all that goo you slather on your skin.”

“Survival.” She sighed. “Speaking of, any more news on Blade?”

“No. His brother is totally shutting me down.” I rubbed sunscreen on myself. I hated the smell. “What does Talis say about you and Jacey? Does she have a problem with you?”

“If she does, it’s none of her business. She’s not Jacey’s creator.”

“What? I didn’t know there was more than one master creator in Vegas.”

“Of course there is. There’re many clans. They’re just not as powerful. Talis is just the Queen Bitch of them all.”

“You know, I’d love to go see Fire Dancer sometime.” Maybe another master could help me find Blade.

“That would be so much fun! We’ll totally go this week! I can’t wait.”

“Me neither.” I couldn’t wait to see how the other clans lived.

I decided to go for a swim. At least that I could still enjoy. Before work I had time to get in a quick nap and to do some research on Fire Dancer.

They weren’t as big as Immortal Dilemma, but they still had quite a following. They played at The Riviera, not trendy like the Alta Vista, but they still had a residence and their own theater. The music sounded similar, hard rock, but it was a little more melodic than the screaming Immortal Dilemma trademarked. I’d never admit it to Tristan, but I liked Fire Dancer’s music a little better. The band members similarly wore a lot of leather and had tons of tattoos. Lennon never told me what Jacey looked like, so I was surprised to see he had bleached blonde hair that fell a little past his shoulders but spiked way up in the front. He wore much more makeup than Tristan, and in a more feminine way.

“Hey, do you ever go see Fire Dancer?” I asked Janelle as I got ready for work and she headed to the Alta Vista.

She wrinkled up her nose. “Ugh. No. I told you they have a huge rivalry with Immortal Dilemma.”

“That doesn’t mean you can’t go see them.”

“Even the fans of the bands don’t get along.” Wow, these girls took things seriously. No wonder Janelle had been so hot to have me move in. Her scope for gathering information was narrow.

“Callie, you need to be careful, you know.” She continued as I pulled my hair back in a barrette. “You’re not going to be able to help Blade if you go missing, too.”

“You really think that’s going to happen?”

“We just don’t know what we’re messing with. These people don’t play by our rules.”

Didn’t I know it. “I didn’t expect you to get spooked so easily.”

“You just can’t go into the great unknown with guns blazing. You’re human. You break. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

We didn’t discuss it any further. Lennon knocked on the door to pick me up for work. I needed to get out of there before Amanda showed up for Janelle and caused any problems. Janelle didn’t like Lennon, but at least she could be polite. Amanda could never keep her mouth shut.

The tables of Embrace were full by eleven. There were so many people, I wondered if they were all vampires. They looked so normal. Donors swirled around the tables, stopping when someone wanted a drink, then getting back up, still dripping blood from the wound, until the next vampire beckoned them. Many of them had multiple wounds, on all the major arteries. Not one of them ever changed their blank expression. It was impossible to tell if they enjoyed it, hated it, or just didn’t feel anything anymore, which terrified me the most.

Most of the patrons did want Venom or wine, and mostly by the bottle. I just opened it, put it on ice, and added the appropriate number of glasses and sent it on its way. Two waitresses joined us as the night progressed. High tickets and generous tips. I could get used to this.

The noise level in the room rocketed around one. The amount of leather and latex rose in proportion. A rowdy group of guys who looked awfully familiar bellied up to the bar, ordering shots of Patron with Venom chasers. Immortal Dilemma.

Of course I’d expected to see Tristan here eventually. He sat to the far left of the group. I could see him looking at me with amusement out of the corner of his eye but I did my best not to make eye contact with him. If I expected to finish my shift with any success, I had to avoid getting sucked into his vortex.

I passed the bottle of Patron over the four shot glasses, and then did the same with Venom. I pushed them all in front of the guys, stopping in front of Tristan, wordlessly acknowledging his existence. They toasted with the shot glasses and downed the tequila. Except Tristan, who put his down on the bar. He rose up on his stool, and quicker than my eyes or mind could process, he pulled me up on to the bar and sat me down on it.

“What are you doing?” I said through clenched teeth as he climbed up on the bar next to me. He smiled but said nothing as he pushed me down on my back in front of the rest of the band, who hooted and hollered in approval.

“Just shouting our relationship for the rooftops. Well, bartop.” He finally said before he poured the shot in a line from just below my belly button to my collarbone and licked it off of me.

I could only raise my head to protest. His hands held my shoulders firmly down on the bar and his feet hooked over my legs. I closed my eyes out of embarrassment of being on public display, and tried not to moan as his tongue worked along the inside of the perimeter of my bra top.

When he was satisfied, he pulled me up into sitting position and kissed me. I slapped him as much force as I could muster across the face, which got an amused rise out of the rest of the band. After the initial shock wore off, he seemed amused as well, which made me want to slap him again.

“What was that for?” he asked with a lazy smile.

“You’re going to get me fired!” I hissed at him and pushed my hands against his shoulders. He didn’t budge. I looked over his shoulder to see if Lennon had or anyone else reacted in any way to his stunt, but everyone else carried on like nothing had even happened.

This just made him laugh harder. He cupped my face in his hands, so gentle in contrast to what he had just done. “You’re in my world now, beautiful. The rules are different here.”

“I hate your rules.”

“You better start getting used to them.” He looked away from me for an instant, over the crowd. I followed his eyes to see what he was looking at as he started nuzzling my chest. My mouth dropped when I saw the crowd parting for Talis and her entourage with Blade, bound by his wrists and legs, his bruised face vacant and dark, being led behind her.

I pulled Tristan off of me by his hair.

“You like it rough, don’t you?” Desire swirled in his eyes. “You know, we could go into one of the back rooms here, or we can just continue right here. I’m sure everyone would enjoy the show.”

“Oh my God, shut up.” Did he not see what I just saw? “Did you know she was coming in just then? She’s got Blade. Get off of me!” I pushed him away, and this time he moved backwards.

“No, I didn’t. But she knows what I do. And you’re her employee. There are no secrets at Embrace.” He moved closer again. “But what happens at Embrace, stays at Embrace, if you know what I mean.”

I slid down off the bar, careful not to knock down any of the well bottles or nozzles on my way to the floor. I grabbed Lennon’s arm as she poured a drink, startling her.

“What’s going on?” She asked.

“Did you see Talis come in? She’s got Blade!” My heart pounded in my chest.

“I don’t think anyone saw anything but your little number with Tristan there.” She winked at me in approval.

“Well, I did. I need to go over there. I’ll be right back.” I must have a break of some sort coming to me.

“Callie! You can’t go in that room. It’s strict. They won’t let you in.” She called after me. I didn’t listen as I wove my way through the crowd, careful not to bump into any of the donors, their bodies slick with blood.

I ran headlong into Jack, who stood in front of the door in guard. “What’s up, Callie? Everything okay?”

Did I imagine seeing them? I couldn’t have. I wasn’t crazy, right? “I don’t know. Did Talis just come in here?”

“Yes. She doesn’t need anything. She has her own bar service. Don’t worry about her.” Jack smiled.

Did he think I was going for employee of the month?

“Blade’s in there with her!” I pleaded with him.

“I know he is, honey. And I know you want to see him, but if I let you in there, I can’t guarantee you’ll get out in one piece. I can’t let that happen to you.”

“But what about Blade?” I teetered on the brink of hysteria. Wasn’t he threatened with bodily harm, too?

“He looked good. Angry, but in good shape.” Jack put his hands on my shoulders. But Lennon’s words thundered in my brain. Talis didn’t take prisoners. If he wasn’t dead, did that mean she’d turned him into a vampire? “She’s toying with you, Callie. And it’s working. Just go back to work. You know he’s alive. We can all figure out our next move from there. There’s nothing you can do about this right now.” He turned me around by my shoulders, signaling the end of the conversation.

Dejected, I headed back to the bar. How was I supposed to take any solace in what I’d just seen? Blade was in one piece, but that didn’t comfort me at all. What were they doing to him in there?

My head swam so much I didn’t see Tristan’s arm extend to pull me into his lap. “Did you save the world?” He purred into my ear.

“What do you think?” I turned towards him, still making him keep me steady on his thigh.

He laughed. “You know, you don’t have to work here if it’s going to be too much for you.”

“I can handle it.”

“Are you sure? If you need money, Callie, I can give it to you. How much do you want?”

My body tingled with fury. “So we should just make it official? You want to pay me to be your whore?”

Tristan rolled his eyes and laughed as I slid down from his lap. “God, you can blow anything out of proportion. Stop being such a prude and live a little.”

“I’m trying to.”

“Why are you so mad at me?” He really looked confused.

My mouth opened in disbelief. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah. I really wanted to help.”

“I need to get back to work.” I started pulling away from him. This wasn’t playtime. The bar was busy and Lennon needed help.

“When does your shift end?”

“Closing.”

“Shit, that won’t work. What about tomorrow? Do you work?”

“No.” I wished I’d told him yes. I knew I was about to get sucked in. Again.

“Come see me. I want to make this up to you, beautiful.” He ran his hand along my cheek before I turned away from him without answering.