CHAPTER 23
Larson had kept his word and had not come in early to wake me for training. However, I still didn’t get to sleep in. Guess I should have been more specific, and included Nathan in that promise. My bodyguard was currently yelling so loudly that it sounded as if he were in the room with me.
Annoyed, I cursed and threw off my sheets. Pulling on my only robe, I stormed out of my room to see what was going on. And to bitch him out. I am so not a morning person.
I stalked into the living room to find Larson standing with his arms crossed and looking mildly annoyed while Nathan let him have it. “You have officially lost your damned mind!”
Larson’s eyes flitted over to where I stood and Nathan, whose back faced me, stopped his ranting. Sensing company, Nathan cast a glance over his shoulder. Some of the intensity left his face, and his body posture relaxed a fraction.
“I distinctly remember saying I wanted to sleep in,” I said coldly to the two of them.
“I didn’t mean to wake you,” was Nathan’s whispered reply.
I rolled my eyes. “Kind of pointless to whisper now.” Nathan offered an apologetic look that I dismissed. “Whatever. Since I’m already awake, would either of you two care to share with me why in the hell y’all are having a screaming match at the ass-crack of dawn?”
Nathan shifted uncomfortably. “Maybe you should go back to bed,” he said. It seemed he wasn’t too eager to deal with me in my current mood. Hell hath no fury like a sleep-deprived bitch.
“Oh, please. How could I sleep with the two of you screaming in my ear?”
Larson raised an eyebrow at me as if to ask, the two of us? Coolly, he replied, “I believe I haven’t raised my voice once, love.”
“Yeah, well, I appreciate it, but clearly you’re not so innocent here. I highly doubt Nathan initiated a screaming rampage just for the hell of it. What did you do this time?” My patience was running thin, and I was in no mood to deal with their drama.
Larson’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t speak. So, he had nothing to say for himself? It was only too clear that Larson was behind Nathan’s outburst.
I managed to grind out the question through clenched teeth. “What. Is. Going. On?”
Nathan made the wise decision to confess, though he did so apprehensively. “Larson, here, decided it was a good idea to let his vampire friend go.”
My eyes practically popped out of my head, “What?! Why? He had info we needed!”
“Not Psymon,” Nathan growled, staring daggers in Larson’s direction.
It took me a moment to remember Trish, our second hostage. Though her usefulness had expired, I still wasn’t fond of the idea of letting her lose to walk the streets again. Call it a gut instinct, but I had a strong feeling I wouldn’t enjoy running into her again if Larson really had freed her.
“He’s joking right?” I directed my question to Larson, who still hadn’t said a word.
He returned a devil-may-care look.
“Damnit Larson, why?”
He shrugged, “We couldn’t very well keep her and Psymon in the basement together. Surely, the two of them would have come up with a way to escape. I’m only one vampie, love—it’s simply too risky. We stand a better chance against one psycho vamp, than two. I am only thinking of your safety. What would you have had me do?”
“I don’t know! You should have thought of something—anything. Now she’s free to tell any curious vampire or demon where to find us.”
Larson’s voice was tinged with annoyance, “I’m not stupid, love. I made sure to incapacitate her while I transferred her out of the city. Trish won’t be able to lead anyone anywhere.”
I exhaled, “I just don’t like the idea of her stalking the state of Texas. It freaks me out.” That, and she was a thieving slut, and I still wanted to pay her back somehow for her little attempt at trying to use me as her ticket to Richville.
Nathan nodded. “My point exactly.”
“Well, what’s done is done.” I said defeated. I made my way past the two of them and plopped down on the couch. Nathan followed and took a seat next to me.
“If we’re done here, I have something to attend to,” Larson said. I nodded, knowing that “something” was Psymon. He’d probably try and torture information out of that creep of a vampire all day, and I’d be a much happier person once Larson returned with some useful tidbits—like where in the world was Atlas Caine? I waved him off, and Larson headed towards the basement.
I turned to Nathan, tucking my feet under me to help keep them warm. “How’s Kelsey doing?”
Clasping his hands together, he informed me, “She’s been asleep ever since we got home last night.” I couldn’t help but envy her. At least, one of us was getting a good night’s rest.
“Can I see her?” After seeing what she went through last night, I couldn’t help but sympathize and fret over her. The poor girl had to be traumatized by last night’s events, and whatever else she might have gone through in Caine’s care. I felt it was my duty to help her in any way I could.
There was this overwhelming protective need in me that wanted nothing more than to keep her from experiencing anything like this from happening to her ever again—or preferably make her forget what happened altogether. She hadn’t deserved the things she went through—no innocent did. It made me angry knowing Atlas had taken away her innocence, and now she would forever know the true nightmares that lurked in this world. Kelsey couldn’t be more than a few years into high school, and though her mind should be filled with thoughts of boys and parties and prom, those imaginings were now surely replaced with demons and death. How would a teenage girl deal with that? Probably the same way I had: fear, anger, and isolation.
My hands balled into fists. I was fuming. Atlas better pray I never find his ass.
“It is probably best if you wait. Let her come around on her own,” Nathan advised.
I nodded in agreement. He was probably right. If I were in Kelsey’s position, the last thing I’d want to wake up to was a bunch of strangers crowding around my bed. Personally, I’d rather be alone than surrounded by unfamiliar faces. She’d probably want the same.
Nathan’s hand started to reach out toward me tentatively, but he pulled it back, and ran his fingers through his hair. “You know, you could get a few more hours of sleep if you want. I can get you when Kelsey wakes if you like.”
“Yeah, alright.” I rose from my seat beside Nathan and he rose with me.
“Viktoryia?” He asked, watching me with a gaze that could melt steel.
My chest tightened. “Yes?”
“I have told you from day one that everything would be okay. And it will be. We will protect Kelsey, we will find Atlas, and we will get Roland. I promise you this.”
His use of “we” had me reeling. If anything, I could at least keep his company until then. And what would I do after all this? Move back into another small apartment, go back to working at Dan’s diner, and live out the rest of my life in moderate isolation? Maybe I wouldn’t try so hard to find Roland. Not right away at least. Having Nathan and Larson around was a nice change. I didn’t have to hide anything, they knew my secrets. That was comforting in itself. It was a lot less lonely here.
“Thank you, Nathan. Thanks for bringing me here that night. I—I owe you so much.”
His eyes lit like hot blue flames, smiling diminutively. “You owe me nothing.”
My heart constricted at seeing his small smile. It was nice being at the receiving end of one, since they were so rare. “I think I’ll head to bed, then—but don’t forget to wake me. I want to see Kelsey as soon as possible. I’ll feel better once I know she’s okay. Well, okay as she can be.”
He assured me with a nod, and I made my way back to bed hoping to catch up on some much-needed rest. But as exhausted as I was, I spent the next hour or so in and out of sleep unable to slumber deeply. Just as I’d start to doze off, I’d jolt awake from the same recurring nightmares: A sea of blonde hair, then Trish’s teeth buried deep in my throat.