Lucas (Immortal Blood) (9 page)

“Katie?” Sam asked, unsure. Then her hand flew to her mouth. “Did I interrupt something?”

Kate looked uncomfortable and Sam looked at me. I met her eyes steadily but didn’t deny or confirm her assumptions.

“Oh ... my … God!” She giggled. “I’m sorry. I’ll just … you know … disappear or something.” She flashed a knowing smile and turned to leave. Kate quickly grabbed her wrist. Sam glanced at her and the smile died on her face. “Okay. What’s going on here?”

Kate fingered the hem of her dress and I could see the inner struggle she was battling with. What the hell. I nodded slowly and she jumped up.

“This little creep is actually my uncle, that’s what’s happening,” she spat and looked disgusted for a second.

“
Ewww!” Sam cried and her eyes pleaded with me to deny it. I didn’t and she put some distance between us. “Really? That’s … ewww. Are you sure?”

“Oh yeah.”

“But I don’t understand. If he’s your uncle that would mean your dad was his brother.” I watched closely as understanding hit her brain. “So gross. It’s like I was making out with your … oh no! I need some fresh air.” She waved her hand in front of her face as if she could smell something rotten, and vanished.

Kate smiled at me and the look on her face was victorious. I scowled at her angrily and rushed after Sam.

I pushed the door open and saw her standing a couple of feet from the club. The bouncer glanced at me angrily and I wondered what was going on between him and Sam, as he’d seen my tattoo and knew perfectly well what I was capable of. Yet he chose to defy me and protect her. I ignored him.

“Sam!”

She turned her back on me.

“Sam, come on! Don’t be like that.”

“Like what?” she snapped and turned to me fiercely. “Like ooh, I screwed my best friend’s uncle, or ooh, the guy I fell for is a douchebag?”

“No,” I said slowly and took a cautious step towards her. “We didn’t do anything wrong and we certainly didn’t sleep together.”

“Oh yeah?” She lifted her chin. “What would you call it then?”

“Snuggling,” I suggested.

She laughed in my face. “Snuggling? You’ve got to be kidding me! I don’t know if they called that snuggling when you were young, but these days it’s called making out and it’s one step from sleeping together.”

I shrugged. What could I say? It didn’t change the fact that we had hooked up and almost done ‘it’.

“And what are you doing here anyway?” She poked at my chest.

“Getting drunk.”

She snorted. “I didn’t mean here here. I meant here in London.”

“I told you. I’m looking for someone and I think I’ve found him.” I entwined my fingers around hers. She tried to shake my hand away but I didn’t let her. “Look, can we pretend that we’re just a boy and a girl who are drawn to each other?”

She threw her head back and laughed almost manically. “Are you insane? This…” She waved a finger between us. “…is gross on so many levels that I should be puking now.”

Right. If that was her final opinion I should really change my strategy, and yet I found myself trying once more. I gave her my most dazzling look.

She struggled free from me and stepped back. “Argh! You’re so full of yourself!”

“Sam, seriously, you have to believe that I care for you. I don’t want to, but I can’t help it.”

She looked at her shoes and I could feel how hurt she was. There were millions of reasons why I shouldn’t care about her, not to mention that by feeling anything for her I was openly defying my creator, and if he ever found out about us he wouldn’t hesitate to make me suffer. I swallowed and stepped closer.

She lifted her gaze and looked wounded. “Right. Like that would change anything.”

“But it does. Can’t you see that we don’t have to care what the others think? We can go on from where we left off and―”

“No, we can’t,” she interrupted. “There is no we anymore, if there ever was. This, whatever it was, is over. Okay?”

So not okay. But at that point there was no way I could turn her head, so I just nodded.

She smiled, pleased. “Okay,” she sighed and went to the door.

I wanted to call after her and say the cliché ‘friends’, but that might have stretched her nerves too much, so I settled for watching her walk away and hoped she would at least turn and look at me before disappearing into the club. She didn’t. The bouncer looked at me but didn’t say a word. I saluted him and disappeared into the night.

I woke up to a demanding knock on my door. I grabbed a towel from the back of a chair, wrapped it round my waist, and rubbed the last sleep from my eyes. I hadn’t actually been sleeping, but something in between as I enjoyed lying on my bed and letting my thoughts wander.

I opened the door. “What are you doing here?” I snapped.

Kate took a step back, paling. “I…” she stammered and my eyes drilled into her, not helping at all. “I wanted to apologize,” she managed to splutter and blushed deeply.

When I didn’t say a word she looked at me, and I mean really looked, and seemed to notice for the first time that I was half naked. I grinned. Her eyes couldn’t help but check out my body and stopped on my hand, which was loosely holding up the towel. Yeah, I know. I was a cocky bastard. She swallowed and I lifted my eyebrow questioningly.

She swallowed again. “Maybe I should come back later.”

“Why?”

“Well … this…” She waved her hand vaguely in front of me. “…this…” She hesitated. “Well, it’s obviously not a good time.” The red in her cheeks deepened.

“I think it’s a perfect time,” I whispered.

“It is?” she cried in a small voice.

I nodded.

She may have all the vampire power - speed, strength, and good looks - but deep inside she was the same insecure little girl she had been before she was changed, and I used the knowledge of that shamelessly. I stretched my arm up and rubbed my neck, letting her see my perfect abs. She almost choked. My grin grew wider.

“I … I … I…
” she stuttered.

“Yes?” My voice was all honey.

“I really just wanted to apologize,” she managed to say.

I decided to stop teasing her. “No need to apologize.” I stepped aside. “Want to come in?”

Her eyes looked eager but she shook her head. “Not really. But I was wondering if I could offer you a meal. As a peace offering?”

I stared at her. Was she even real? But then the bastard side of me took over and I smiled devilishly at her. “Sure. Why not.”

“At my house. Seven o’clock?”

This was getting even better. She invited me to the one place I was most likely not welcome but where I needed to go to accomplish my mission. I shrugged. “Seven’s okay.”

“Okay.” She sighed and took a step back. I moved a bit and her eyes flew back to my body. “Okay,” she sighed again and almost drooled.

“Okay.” I laughed and started to close the door. “Bye then.”

“Bye,” she breathed and I did a little happy dance behind the door. I knew it wasn’t manly but I couldn’t help myself.

Seven o’clock sharp, I knocked on her door. She opened it hastily and disappeared into the kitchen. I followed her, listening to my surroundings, but the house seemed quiet and I wondered where everyone was. Kate was wearing a black tube top and a denim mini skirt and she looked relaxed. I handed her a small bucket of lilies.

“Thanks,” she said and rushed to the stove.

Something smelled delicious. “So, what’s for dinner?” I asked and sat on the corner of the kitchen table.

She glanced at me. “Oh, nothing much. It’s a stew.” She shrugged. “Sort of.”

I leaped next to her and she stiffened but didn’t move away. I looked in the pot. Oh, it was a stew all right. But a bloody one. I grinned at her. “Family recipe?”

“Something like that. Wine?” She picked up a bottle and showed it to me.

“No thanks. I’m more a whisky on blood kind of guy.”

She put the bottle down and an awkward silence fell between us.

I broke the moment. “So, where is everyone?”             

She sighed with relief. “It’s movie night. So almost everyone else is at the theater.”

“So, a perfect night to ask an unwanted guest to stop by.” I picked up a spoon and tasted the food.

“Exactly,” she admitted and looked at me questioningly.

“Good,” I said and put the spoon down. She wouldn’t win the chef of the year competition, that was sure, but it was edible. “Kate,” I grabbed her wrist lightly. “Why did you really ask me here?”

She blushed. “I told you. To apologize. I was a total jerk at the club and there are certain things I regret saying. Yeah, I was so out of line.”

“So? I’m a jerk all the time. If I started to apologize for my behavior I wouldn’t have time to do anything else.”

“Yes, but I’m not like that. So I wanted to clean the table and start again. After all, we share a name and blood.”

“And?”

“And I wanted to clear something up.”

“Okay.” I sat on a stool and felt a storm coming. But before she said anything else we heard voices from the living room.

“Shit,” Kate whispered. “It’s Dane. You’d better hide.”

I didn’t move an inch.

“Or not.” She looked in pain and her eyes were darting wildly around the room.

But the voices stopped outside the door and I heard Sam saying, “Can’t we just stop pretending? I think I’ve suffered enough.”

“You slept with him,” Dane said coldly, and I heard her inhaling sharply.

“I did not. Besides, we were not together.”

Dane didn’t reply and someone, probably Sam, moved restlessly.

“Dane,” she pleaded. “Please.”

“I’m sorry,” he sighed. “I just can’t.”

“Why?” Her voice was almost like a cry. “Dane, I know I screwed up. Big time. But nothing happened. I swear.”

“Look,” he sighed. “It’s not just what happened with Lucas. It’s everything. You’re acting like a spoiled brat and everything you do ends up badly. And I … well … I have responsibilities.”

“Responsibilities?” she spat. “And you’d choose your responsibilities over us?”

“Yes,” he said quietly. “But you’re also one of my responsibilities. As your creator I’m responsible for everything you do, and I can’t be with you and try to fix your mess-ups when I should be taking care of you and making sure you’re going to be fine even if I’m not around.”

“What do you mean?” Her voice was suspicious. “Are you going somewhere?”

“No,” he said wearily. “But that’s exactly what I mean. If I went, you’d probably burn this city in a blink.”

“No I wouldn’t.”

“Yes you would. And you wouldn’t even notice before it’s too late.”

“But what about me?” she asked, defeated. “Where would it leave me if you go?”

Dane didn’t answer.

“Dane?”

“I’m sure you’d manage.”

“But … but I love you,” she cried.

“You have a funny way of showing it.”

He walked away and after a while we heard Sam shambling upstairs, sobbing. I moved but Kate grabbed my arm. “Don’t you dare go after her now.”

I growled but she didn’t let go of me.

“The last thing she needs is you rushing in like a knight in armor. Besides, that is one of the things I wanted to talk about.”

I put Sam out of my mind and turned to Kate. Interesting. She seemed weak and controllable, but when it came to Sam she was all steel and strength. I wondered if Sam felt the same way about her.

“Sit down,” she said. “Please.”

I did as she said and waited. She went to the closet and after a while came back with a book. One glance and I knew exactly what book it was.

I eyed her coldly. “I’m not in the mood for family bonding.”

“Neither am I.” She returned my look just as coldly and sat next to me. She opened the book and memories I’d buried deep inside came rushing back to me.

She browsed the pages slowly, making me look at every picture very closely. I knew I could’ve stopped her at any time but I didn’t. As painful as it was, my eyes were glued to the boy on every page.

“You see what I see?” Kate asked quietly.

I didn’t know what to answer, so I didn’t.

“I see two brothers, apparently very close to each other, and I wonder―”

“What?”

“I wonder if I’d had a sister what I would do if she was killed.”

There. The question was laid openly between us. I turned to look at her and narrowed my eyes. “What do you mean?”

She swallowed. “I mean wouldn’t it be logical to avenge her death instead of letting her killer walk free?”

I nodded slowly.

“And wouldn’t it be smart to wiggle myself inside the circle of people who knew exactly what had happened to my sister?”

“What are you implying?” Coldness had spread through me and I wondered how many vampires I’d have to kill to get out of there.

“Nothing.” She lowered her gaze before meeting my eyes. “I’m just saying you should really stay away from Sam.”

“Or what?” I stood up, challenging her.

“You know what.” She stood up too and held her ground.

“Are you threatening me?”

She blinked and I had a hard time keeping my hands off of her throat.

“’Cause if you are, that would be a very, very bad thing. Do you understand?”

She nodded but didn’t back down. “So would be messing with Sam.” Her eyes gleamed and she snarled. “And there is a limit to what I’m willing to do for blood.”

I growled warningly and the air around us seemed thick and unfriendly.

She still didn’t back down. “Lucas, Sam always beats whatever blood-tie you and I have. Do you understand that?” She looked as threatening as she possibly could, which was not much. I’d seen rabbits scarier than she was and I knew I could take her down any time. But maybe it was my brother I saw in her face, or maybe I was getting sloppy, but I knew she would be the first person ever to stay alive after daring to threaten me.

“Damn you, girl!” I snapped and squeezed the edge of the table so hard that wooden splinters broke off it. “Do you have any idea what I’m capable of?”

Her eyes moved to my tattoo and I knew someone had enlightened her, and yet here she was defying me as she tried to protect her friend. A part of me was proud of her. A very teeny, tiny part.

“So, will you?” she asked, swallowing.

“What?”

“Will you stay away from her?”

“No,” I barked and stormed out of the house.
             

I found myself in the club again. It was becoming a bad habit and I should do something about it. People had started to notice me and that was bad. Soon they’d start talking, and it was only a matter of time before I’d find myself surrounded by unwanted company. Yeah, I had that kind of reaction wherever I went. Only a few had met a man with a tattoo like mine and even fewer were alive to talk about it, but word traveled and I hadn’t exactly hidden my legendary mark.

I glanced around and shook my head, gritting my teeth. One man had actually saluted me by lifting his drink, and a young woman was eyeing me meaningfully. I really needed a drink.

When I placed myself at the bar, the bartender gave me one look and poured me a drink.

“You look like you could use this.” She smiled at me and I shook my head. Yet I took the glass and poured it down my throat.

“Thanks.”

“Another one?”

“Sure.” I nodded and she filled my glass.

“Girl trouble?”

I growled and she backed away, glancing at me from under her brow. I was in way too deep if bartenders started to act friendly with me. I really should just do my job and get the hell out of there. Easier said than done. Oh, man.

A hand touched my shoulder and a wide smile spread over my face.

“Care to buy me one, too,” Sam said and sat next to me, sighing. Her eyes looked swollen and reddish, and she was pouting.

“Bad day?”

“In an epic way.” She sighed and I moved my glass closer to her. She hesitated. “No tricks this time?”

“No tricks,” I assured her. “I won’t try to get you drunk this time.”

She waved her hand nonchalantly. “Oh, it wasn’t you pouring drinks down my throat last time.”             

I nodded to the bartender and she brought us a decanter full of deep-red liquid. I turned to Sam and watched her. She stared at her glass, deep in thought. I couldn’t believe my luck. Dane had made it very clear he would always choose his responsibilities over her, and she was in a very vulnerable state of mind. It felt like stealing from a baby. But so what.

“Want to talk about it?” I placed my hand on hers.