Authors: Toni Kelly
“Get some rest. We’ll wake you when it’s time to leave.” He came to his feet and left the room.
* * * *
Luke glanced sideways and took in Savannah’s stoic expression. She sat as stiff as a statue in the passenger’s seat. Gone were her smiles, affections, caresses. This would make parting easier. He had been naive to hope for more.
“Why is Broderick angry with you?” she asked.
He lifted his chin. “I could not say. He is a halfling and prone to erratic mood swings like you humans.”
“I’d say irrationality is a trait universal to all species.”
He’d asked for that one. “He has trouble accepting some of my decisions.”
“Is he right?”
Not if she were to continue living. “He understands what I must do but his feelings allow him to get too attached.”
She breathed in deeply, the sound loud amongst the silence. “Are feelings bad?”
“I should ask you.” Luke glanced her way, momentarily met her gaze. “Are they?”
“Not if a pair is meant to be and their relationship is a feasible one.”
Ah, so now it was clear. “And we are not feasible, is that it?” He could have kicked himself for pressing her but wanted to hear her say why they could not be.
She knotted her fingers together, breathing unevenly. “I changed for someone once before and it hurt deeply. With you it would be an even greater change, and I’m not sure I can risk the hurt.”
“I see.” Even now she would not admit her true thoughts about his kind. “Is that all that’s holding you back?”
“Why do you push me?” Her voice rose. “Why do you want to hear me say something cruel?”
“Not cruel, the truth.” His body shook as he tried to maintain calmness.
“Could you promise me you would never kill again?” Her voice broke on the last two words, as if it cost everything to say them.
“No.” He would never make a promise he could not keep. Even now he made plans to save her. If those plans involved killing Lorenzo, he would do so without a second thought.
“Why not?”
“Death is a part of me. You stated you could not change for anyone ever again. I cannot change who I am, either. As much as I want to.” He brushed her chin with his fingers. “I could not live with myself if anything were to happen to you, understand?”
“I wish I could,” she said.
His chest seized at her words. The road curved ahead, slithering like a snake through verdant landscape. A heavy mist glowed silver beneath the moon’s light, its arms stretched and wafting across the hills. The lonely scene spoke to him. Its rhythm would have matched his heart’s beat, had he possessed one.
“Beautiful night,” Savannah whispered as she faced the window.
“Yes.” As a young man, he’d dreamed of traveling the world, seeing not only Italy but the Orient and the Americas. Nights like this one stunned him with their beauty and yet tonight possessed a sadness, as if his dreams would soon come to an end. “Tell me about your restaurant.”
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Back in Boston before you were hit by the car, you must have made plans to open it. What were they?”
She smiled as if remembering something wonderful. “I wanted to be a chef. I was going to start trying my recipes on the bar crowd.” She shrugged. “If everything panned out, I hoped to one day get my own place. Of course, I thought this before I ended up tens of thousands of dollars in debt.”
“You will have your restaurant one day.” Somehow, he would make sure of it.
“It’s hard to believe now.”
“I want to see you cook.”
“What?” She frowned. “Why? You don’t even eat food.”
He wanted to see her happy but could not say the words. “Does not matter, I think it would be interesting. Victoria never learned to cook—times then were different.”
“I can imagine.” She bit her lip as if thinking about her response, and his stomach flip-flopped in the silence. “When do I cook?”
The charity auction was tomorrow but they could arrive later, after dinner. “Tomorrow.”
“Okay,” she said. “On one condition.”
“What?”
“You invite Broderick.”
He scowled. So much for his brilliant idea. “Why on earth would I invite him?”
“Because he can actually eat my food. And it seems to me you owe him an apology. I don’t know what you two argued about, but I do know he is only watching out for your best interests.”
“Fine.” He did not like it, but she spoke the truth.
Savannah laid her head back. Her eyelids drooped, nearly meeting the dark circles beneath her eyes.
Reaching over, he brushed her leg then whipped his hand back. He did not intend to make her more uncomfortable than she was. “Rest.”
With a quick nod, she let her lashes flutter closed.
26
The best weapon against an enemy is another enemy.
—Friedrich Nietzsche
Lorenzo slid his hand over the deep indentation of the woman’s waist then spanned the curve of her hip with his fingers. A masterpiece and yet, not what he searched for. She didn’t possess ivory skin, ebony hair and cat-green eyes.
“I am done here.” Annoyed and bored, he pushed the brunette off his lap. “Where is he, damn it? He should be back now.” Each day, Savannah became more of an obsession. Was this it? Had he been relegated to a stereotypical drug pusher who spent his every free moment fucking whores?
Marcelo guided the woman from the spacious booth and turned to him. “My lord, are you referring to Giovanni or Paolo?”
“Does it matter?” Both in fact, but he was more concerned Giovanni had done something stupid and fallen prey to Luke. “I told Giovanni not to try anything without my go ahead. He said they reached the cabin last night. I spoke to him this morning. It is now nightfall and he has yet to call. This is my punishment for sending a boy. Foolish idiot probably got distracted.”
“Paolo will find him, I am sure of it.”
“He better.” He laid back his head, closed his eyes and concentrated on keeping himself calm. He thirsted now and would need to drink soon.
“You look pale. Shall I bring you a fresh glass of blood?” Marcelo’s voice quavered on the last word, giving Lorenzo pause. He opened his eyes, turned to Blood Bar’s entrance. “What is it?” His throat went dry as Luke entered, weaving through the crowd toward him. “Bring me some blood. Now,” he gritted out. “And make it warm.”
Marcelo hurried off without a word.
“Luke.” Lorenzo greeted Luke with a smile despite the strong urge to strangle the immortal life from him. Now was not the time. There were too many witnesses, both human and vampire.
Luke nodded in acknowledgement.
“I must say I’m surprised to see you here. Didn’t you say you were leaving town?”
“The trip was cut short. I had some business to take care of here.” Luke’s dark eyes were devoid of emotion.
“I see.” Damn Giovanni. If he weren’t already dead, Lorenzo would finish him off once he saw him. “What brings you here on this fine night?” He accepted the glass of blood Marcelo brought to the table and sipped. “Would you like some blood?”
Luke ignored his question and leaned forward, his eyes burning the deep red of the blood in the glass. “Care to explain what you are trying to play at, sending your man to kill Savannah?”
“What?” He bolted up from his seat. “I’ll kill the bastard. He wasn’t to lay a hand on her.” Fire burned through him at the realization Giovanni had nearly destroyed his plans.
“Do not bother, I already did the honors,” Luke said.
He sat down. “I guess a thank you is in order.”
Luke’s impenetrable gaze bored into him. “You lied. He was the one I saw at the auction.”
Lorenzo sipped, then pulled out a cigar. He had to tread carefully in answering his questions. At this point, Luke probably would not believe anything he said. “You’re right. I lied. You wouldn’t have let me close otherwise. I was concerned about you and sent Giovanni to watch you, but apparently he kept his own agenda. I am not so stupid as to go after Savannah, not knowing her value. Besides, I have bigger fish to deal with.”
“Do you actually expect me to believe you? Since when have you had issues controlling your own men?”
“Happens more often than you think. He was an idiot.” He lit his cigar and took a puff. “One who deserved the punishment he got. Come now and let’s leave this alone. No matter what I say, you won’t believe me. So it seems we are at an impasse.”
Luke’s chair scraped the floor as he rose. “I am giving you fair warning. Come after Savannah again and you will not live to see another moonrise. In fact, I will feed you to the Ancients myself.”
If the prick wanted to play dirty, so be it. “Don’t be absurd. I may be trapped in this hell of mine but my allies are many. You don’t stand a chance against me.”
“I do not care a bloody lick for your threats. Come after mine and you are a dead. Do I make myself clear?”
“Who do you expect to protect you from the Ancients?”
Luke turned and headed toward the exit.
“You’ll regret this.”
“I shall take my chances.” He disappeared through the crowd.
Damn it. Lorenzo swiped his hand across the table, clearing it of glasses and a stone ashtray.
Marcelo approached. “Did you discover what happened with Giovanni?”
“He’s dead.”
“And you’re letting his murderer go?” Marcelo bowed his head and stepped back. “Forgive me. I thought you wanted the woman.”
“I do. And I’m through being patient.” He stood and took another puff from his cigar. “Luke is a man distracted.” And he was up to something. “Get ahold of Paolo and tell him to get back here. We need to move quickly.”
* * * *
Savannah woke in the stillness of predawn. Tucked into the warmth of her bed, the chill of being alone seeped into her bones. She was back in Luke’s apartment. Sitting up, she smoothed a hand over her chest and stomach. A silk slip covered her, stopping above her knees. She didn’t remember exiting the car, which meant Luke must have carried her up and changed her clothes. The thought sent a current of heat coursing through her and she hated her body for its reaction. “Traitor.”
She wanted him. As a human, as a vampire, she no longer cared which. Damn him. He made her a hypocrite. How could she ask him to change himself when she refused to do the same? Broderick was right. She should understand better than most the difficulty in being accepted for oneself.
Throwing the comforter aside, she slid off the bed and hurried to the door. She wanted some air, time to think. Outside her room, the hallway was dark, but her sight adjusted as she made her way toward the staircase leading to the roof. Time in the garden might relax her.
As she neared Luke’s room, she slowed. His door was open. Curious, as he never left it open. She paused at the entrance. The bedroom was as spacious as she’d expected. A cozy sitting area opened up into a larger space where a four post bed stood against the middle of one wall. Beyond the bed, the gray light of night’s transition traced Luke’s silhouette against an enormous window. Shirtless, he leaned on the glass. Low-slung pants hugged the base of his back and hips. Slender rays of moonlight dusted his shoulders, emphasizing their broadness and the definition of the muscles in his arms and back.
She placed a hand on her stomach to calm the flurry of nerves whirling within her. This might be easier if she weren’t so attracted to him.
“Only a couple hours until I must close the blinds,” he said. “This is the closest I get to sunrise, as the sun is strongest for us then.”
“Your door was open.” She winced at her statement of the obvious. She’d never entered his room before. Why had he allowed her to tonight?
“Trouble going back sleep?” he asked
“Yes.” She twisted her hands together and stepped forward.
“And yet you entered a monster’s lair.”
After the way she’d behaved yesterday, she deserved his bitter words. “I planned to sit in the roof garden.”