The Blood Ruby (The Arcane Artifacts #2)

Chapter 8 - Impromptu In C-Sharp

Certainly nothing like Laurent. That asshole had been nothing but unfeeling. I'd only seen him once in the past two days, when I intruded on him in his study. I'd gone to try and bargain with him.

When I'd opened the door, I'd found him typing away on his laptop. He hadn't even looked up as he'd said, "Miss Shaw," in that shivery voice.

"I want to make a deal with you." I'd closed the door behind me. He didn't respond, just kept typing. So I'd moved deeper into the room, forgoing an invitation to speak. "You want me to cooperate, so I thought that I could do that better if I knew my best friend, Ania, wasn't worrying about me. Let me tell her I'm okay. I promise to cooperate and stay here and behave myself."

He'd stopped typing then, looking up at me. I didn't miss the way his eyes traced me from head to toe, lingering at my neck, leaving heat everywhere his gaze landed.

"Let me get this straight," he'd then said. "You wish to speak with you friend?"

"If you want me to cooperate, yes."

"No." A single flick of his gaze dismissed me as he returned his attention to the screen.

My mouth dropped open. "No?" I'd clarified.

"No," he'd repeated.

"But...wouldn't it be better if I willingly cooperated?" I'd argued.

"You will willingly cooperate," he'd said, voice flat, disinterested. "Because if you don't, I'll kill you myself. Have I not made this clear already?"

I'd sputtered. It hadn't even been that much of an ask, a mere conversation in exchange for a lifetime imprisonment. I just wanted a chance to tell her I was alive. To keep her from worrying. It made my stomach churn.

"Will that be all, Miss Shaw?" Laurent had said, and he couldn't have sounded more disinterested in my presence had he tried. I'd managed to choke out some sort of yes, and keep my tears at bay. "Then, good day."

That had been that. Recalling the interaction made heated anger sear my skin.

Twice, since then, I'd considered going around him to ask Zola to deliver a message to Ania. But the thought frightened me. She'd been kind, and I didn't want to put her into an awkward position. I'd put that option in my back pocket, for now.

I opened the glass outer door leading into the kitchen, and marched in, my book beneath my arm. I set the basket on the giant island and took in the chaos around me. Vittorio was unloading box after box of foodstuffs, looking it over with an expression of fierce concentration.

"Wow..." I managed. It looked like enough food to feed an army. "Can I help with anything?"

"Thank you, Miss Shaw. No. I'll handle it."

"But...that's a lot of stuff."

"And I could have it finished in thirty seconds, if I felt like moving quickly."

"Oh..." A tiny laugh bubbled up. "I guess you vampires have an eternity ahead of you, and you can all move so fast, that you try to give yourselves things to do to keep from getting bored." He gave me a look that confirmed this. Huh. I'd never considered what that might be like.

"How often do you get food delivered?" I asked, my eyes lingering over the cuts of meat, tightly wrapped, and the vegetables he'd piled in a heap. He heisted, eyes narrowing in my direction. "I just didn't think vampires ate all that much, is all."

His expression cleared. "Master Laurent enjoys a few meals per week, sometimes demands them, when he wishes to gather his family. Other times he eats when I make his favorites. But with you here, I decided to increase the delivery to every three days."