Tainted Blood (55 page)

In that next moment, I realized that he shared something more than blood with Oliver: that crooked smile that always took my breath away. Oscar had his own, and he used it on me as he made a “tsk tsk” sound. “Do you challenge my love for my wife, Laney?”

The memories Julz had shared with me had surfaced and mixed with my own. I was torn. I wanted to love him. I wanted to hate him. My feelings were disorganized and they were betraying me. It was like his crazy was contagious and I’d caught it! I struggled with wanting to give into him, lean against him and have him hold me; and wanting to stab him with the first sharp object I could find. As I struggled with these emotions, Oscar kept freaking talking!

“Have you agreed to mate with him, to spend eternity with him?”

“I’m not sure how to answer that,” I told him. If I said yes would he leave? I wanted to smack myself right then because I really couldn’t decide if Oscar leaving was a good thing or a bad thing.

In the very, way back of my mind, I was pretty sure I heard a very faint voice screaming, “A GOOD THING!”

“Has he told you that a bonded male will kill his mate to break the bond?”

I then said something else that surprised me. “He mentioned that the crazy ones do.” I could’ve smacked myself in the forehead. Had I lost my mind? I mentally shook myself and tried to focus on Oscar’s words.

He was just being so casual. It was almost like he was treating our conversation as one that two old friends might have. Not one a terrified and confused girl was having with a rambling madman. A rambling
vampire
madman.

My phone, still sitting on the coffee table, rang. We both focused on it, and I knew I’d never get to it before Oscar. The picture of Oliver and me on our first date popped up on the screen and my heart sank. I closed my eyes as I thought of Oliver. His voice was just out of my reach and he had no clue that I was listening to my phone ring while I sat on the couch beside his brother.

“How sweet,” Oscar said, obviously sickened by the happy picture on my phone.

I opened my eyes to find him cradling my phone in his hand. When it stopped ringing Oscar said, “I’m dying without her. He didn’t tell you that, did he?”

I couldn’t remember what Oliver had told me right then, but what I did know was that Oscar’s demeanor had changed. I knew I should try to run, but I also knew that I’d never get far and that if I did try it would probably anger him. Angering a lunatic seemed like a very bad idea.

Plus, something was keeping me there and I think it was Julz’s stupid feelings for Oscar.

He set my phone back onto the coffee table, and as he sat back, his arm brushed mine. I felt…nothing, unlike when Oliver touched me. Oliver made me tingle inside. With Oscar there was absolutely… nothing. They were gone! It was fear keeping me there, not Julz’s feelings.

I suddenly felt like me. My thoughts, my memories. Memories of Oliver, not Oscar. Julz was out of my head. I don’t know what triggered her memories and her feelings to go away. Maybe it was focusing on Oliver. Maybe it was knowing that he tried to call, which meant he would soon have his freedom back. Maybe it was seeing the picture of us together, smiling, back when everything was fresh and new. Maybe it was all of this, it didn’t matter. I was me and I was sitting right next to Crazy. And Crazy was
still
talking!

“You know, I swore an oath to avenge our sister. Oliver didn’t. Perhaps he thought she wouldn’t want that. He did know her better than I did. But he didn’t know the sneaky side to our sister. His love for her blinded him to everything but her goodness.”

I had to get him away from me. I stared at my phone. If I could only get it and dial Felix…

“I hate what I am, Laney. It’s what took Olivia from us. It’s what ruined our lives.”

He had my attention again. “Killing Julz will not bring your sister back.”

His dark blue eyes settled on me. “You know, I thought she was still alive. Just the other night, at that concert thingy, I thought that was Olivia up on that stage with what’s-his-face.” I assumed what’s-his-face was Isaac. “But when she spoke, I knew it wasn’t her. But for that one moment I had hoped that she’d survived and that my brother had been hiding her from me all this time.”

I scooted closer to the edge of the couch, hoping Oscar wouldn’t notice and hoping that I’d be able to grab my phone. He was so focused on that ring on his finger while he spoke.

“I also realized that the only way for that child to look almost exactly like my sister was that she had to be mine. Or my brother’s. But she can’t be Oliver’s can she?” His pained blue eyes turned toward me. “I know she’s not Oliver’s,” he said quietly, and when my phone rang again, that same picture of Oliver and me popping up, Oscar chuckled. “I’ll bet that boy’s still a virgin, right?” I said nothing, mostly because I was unsure if he was or wasn’t anymore. It broke my heart to think he’d possibly shared that with Avery in their time together while Oliver was…off. I stared back at Oscar and hoped this boy would either get to his point or freakin’ leave!

My phone stopped ringing, and he continued, “I want to meet her. What’s her name—Hayden?” He paused like he was waiting for me to answer him.

“I have no control over that,” I told him.

“But you could convince him,” Oscar said in a voice that almost convinced me. I actually had a moment where I thought I would be able to talk Oliver into letting Oscar meet Hayden. Oscar turned toward me and took my hands like he was so impressed by my abilities to convince others to do as I asked. The touch of his cold fingers made me my skin crawl.

“I-I don’t think I could,” I told him, feeling a bit confused again. He was not Oliver but there was a tone Oscar had that sounded so much like his brother. But he felt different, looked different. Oh, and he was a raging lunatic!

“But she’s MINE!” And like that, he snapped. “They are both
mine
! Juliet is my wife and that is
our
daughter! Not tha-that-that, dirtbag’s!” he spat out the words, and other than being terrified, I was a bit offended that he would speak of Isaac in such a way. That “dirtbag” had raised Oscar’s daughter as if she were his own even when he knew Julz still loved Oscar.

Oscar was up, pacing around the coffee table, his movement causing the candlelight to flicker. I pulled my knees up on the couch. I was further away from my phone then but also out of his path. “In the beginning I thought the child was Oliver’s, and then I realized
he
was back in the picture… So I figured the child was his but-but when I saw her the other night, I realized I was right from the beginning. My brother stole my girl and fathered a child with her.”

What the… I stared up at him in amazement, an eyebrow sky-high “You’re kidding me, right?”

He got right in my face and I shrank back into the couch trying to get away. “What part of this do you find funny?”

He was up and pacing again, his knuckles to his mouth in contemplation. He was deranged! He’d just said that Hayden was his, and even after being sure Oliver was a virgin, he accused him of fathering his own child. Only a bonded male can create life with his mate. Maybe Oscar didn’t know this…

“My brother has always been too high on his morals. He would never admit to premarital sex, let alone fathering a child out of wedlock. No, she’s got to be mine.” He stopped and stared into space for a moment. I eyed my phone and figured he’d be able to see me reach for it. His mental state was obviously unstable, and I was too afraid to find out what would happen if I set him off.

Suddenly, he laughed, but the sound lacked humor. He paced some more. His movements were so close to Oliver’s but there was just something about them that made them different. Plus, he was smaller than Oliver—shorter and thinner. His voice did hold that occasional tone that made me question if I could mistake Oscar for Oliver if I could not see him. His thinner build and his dark wavy hair that lacked the curl like Oliver’s had as it got longer could not be mistaken for my Oliver. Nor could his dark blue eyes or the fact that their facial features were quite different. Sure I could see resemblances, but Oliver had sharper features where Oscar’s features, were rounded, with a softer quality, surprisingly.

Oh, and then there was the crazy that Oscar exuded, that was a dead giveaway. Oscar may share many things with his brother but Oscar was far from my Oliver. My Oliver, who happened to be trying to reach me, yet again.

Oscar paused amidst his pacing to stare down at my phone. When the picture of Oliver and me showed across the screen, Oscar growled and slapped my phone across the room. I jumped back at his sudden and violent movement.

His eyes settled on me, and he moved quickly to sit beside me. He faced me, grabbed my hand and held it tightly as he asked, “The daughter is mine, isn’t she?”

I said nothing. All I could think was what a lunatic he was, and if I’d survive this encounter. But I guess he thought I had an answer to his question because he got excited in the next moment.

“I felt that! I’m right!” he shouted. I was too scared to correct him.

He was smiling slightly, his fangs showing, but his thoughts were elsewhere. He was holding my hand, but I don’t think he realized that he still was. “Stop staring at my teeth, Laney.” His head turned in a slow and creepy way. I felt my breath catch in my chest at the change in his behavior. His eyes suddenly had a super, super sinister look about them. “It is part of my condition, the reason they stay out all the time.” He must have felt my confusion because he continued by saying, “Being separated from my mate has caused me to lose control of this aspect of myself.”

I believed him—that his fangs stayed out all of the time. Mostly because I hadn’t heard him lisp one time and Oliver did. It was cute when Oliver tried to talk with his fangs out, because I’d always catch a lisp here and there.

There was a very quiet knock on the door and a bit of hope sprang up inside of me. “It appears we have a guest,” Oscar said, and he gestured for me to answer the door. The knock had been so quiet that I couldn’t imagine it would have been Felix, but if I could have made one single wish right then, that would’ve been it. I took a deep breath and opened the door. Every last bit of my hope shattered.

There, standing half naked and soaking wet was Avery.
Damn, this night just keeps getting better
. She was dripping wet, her hair was stuck to her head, and dark eye make-up mixed with glitter streaked her face like she was a psychotic demon clown. Even though she rarely had on a lot of clothes, this time she was wearing even less than usual.

“What do you want?” I was ready to slam the door in her face. There was no way this little rat was going to help me escape Oscar and I couldn’t imagine how she could make the situation any better.

Avery bit her lip as if she couldn’t decide what to say, and then she began crying.

“Ugh!” I groaned loudly as I realized she was probably on my doorstep, AKA Oliver’s doorstep, because she was stalking my boyfriend.

I made to slam the door and she whimpered out, “No, wait!” I stopped and glared at her. “I-I came to apologize.”

Even with my impending doom looming behind me, I couldn’t help but scoff at her. Oscar was behind me then and Avery’s eyes grew to the size of saucers as he slipped his arms around my waist like I was his. I felt my skin crawl and his touch suddenly made me shudder all the way to my spine.

Avery began to stutter out a mass of, well, they were probably supposed to be words, but they ended up being just a jumbled mess of sounds. But I’d seen the recognition in her eyes when she looked at Oscar. This wasn’t their first encounter. “I take it you two know each other?” I said.

“Actually, we do,” Oscar said, and Avery fell silent, staring up at him as he took a step around me and then one more so that he was just as close to her as he was to me. “After my last apprentice failed to meet my expectations, I decided that I needed to find someone a little more…appealing.” The sky lit up with a flash of bright light, and as thunder boomed over us, Oscar jerked Avery inside, locking the door behind us.

I stood by the closed door and gathered my thoughts for a moment.
Apprentice?
Was he seriously talking about making Avery a vampire? I was positive her brother would not approve… Hell, I didn’t approve!

Oscar led Avery to the couch and insisted that I join them. I sat as far away as I could but Oscar still managed to be right beside me with Avery on his other side. He was whispering quietly to Avery, telling her lies to make her feel better about herself. I watched in disgust as he kissed her in an X-rated way and then sank his fangs into her neck. She cried out for a moment but it wasn’t in pain. She liked it! Apprentice, my ass! She was his blood whore!

I wanted her out of my sight. I especially wanted to avoid seeing what the next step in the sick game Oscar was playing with Avery would be. “Can we just get rid of her?” I asked.

He lifted his head from her neck, and his eyes lit
up while
blood dripped from his mouth. “Why, Laney. Are you suggesting I kill your friend?” he sounded excited.

“She’s not my friend and no, I’m not suggesting that you kill her.” Although… It wasn’t as if the thought hadn’t crossed my mind.

Oscar stared down at the dirty sleaze in his arms and just let her go, dropping her right out of his arms. She slipped off of the couch and hit the floor.